Paradoxica Nigeriana

By Dan Amor

Nigeria is a beautiful edifice built with bricks of contradictions. Somewhere between the idea and the reality hovers a huge geographical abstraction that beguiles the imagination. Situated at the Eastern end of the Gulf of Guinea, between the 4th and the 14th Parallels, Nigeria occupies a total area of 923,768 square kilometres, slightly more than the combined areas of France and Germany. From Lagos in the South-west to Maiduguri in the North-east is the distance between London and Warsaw.

*President Buhari 

Its population estimated at about 190 million, exceeds the combined population of all other countries in the West African sub-region of the Sahara. Endowed with enormous wealth, a dynamic population and an enviable talent for political compromise, Nigeria stood out in the 1960s as the potential leader of Africa, a continent in dire need of guidance. For, it was widely thought that Nigeria was immune from the wasteful diseases of tribalism, disunity and instability that remorselessly attacked so many other new African states. But when bursts of machine gunfire shattered the pre-dawn calm of Lagos its erstwhile Federal Capital in January 1966, it was now clear that Nigeria was no exception to Africa's common post-independence experience.

Nigeria: Gen Gowon’s Desecration Of History

By Sunny Awhefeada

Nigeria’s history has been so abused and distorted that there is hardly a consensus on what constitutes a genuine national narrative. Nigerian rulers have had to manipulate the history of their record in office to suit their whim. History ought to be sacred as the ultimate guide of a people. It is the unseen, but powerful propelling force from which a nation derives inspiration in the tortuous odyssey of national evolution. But when the history of a nation is subjected to deliberate distortions then such a nation is bound to be moored to the past with the people as captives. This has been Nigeria’s lot. 

*Gen Gowon

Nigeria hosted the 8th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa last week. It was at that forum that Nigeria’s former military ruler, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) did what amounted to a desecration of history. Hear him: “During our time, we did not know anything like corruption”.

He went a great length to buttress his assertion. Let us dream up an apotheosis for Gowon so that even in his lifetime he could become Saint Yakubu Gowon! What Gowon told his audience was far from the truth. The government he led from the hurly-burly of 1966 to the sedate ambience of 1975 was one of massive corruption.

If President Buhari Were A Patriot…

By Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba

President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) is one of only two people who have ruled Nigeria both as a military dictator and as an elected president. In a country of about 100 million citizens, this is not an insignificant accomplishment. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, President Buhari should be at the top, Self-Actualization level. He should not have any more needs. If he were a patriot he should quit right here and right now. 

But he is not.

If he were a patriot he should read the warning signs.

1. His most ardent supporters are showing signs of weariness. They still offer some defense and protection for him but they seem tepid. Mr. Lai Mohammed can lie on his behalf for only so much as his integrity begins to deteriorate. Even Professor Aluko is now willing to accept that some of PMB’s actions/lack or actions are mistakes. Mr. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (former Defense Minister), one of his richer and early backers has openly called for the North Central (NC) citizens to buy arms to protect themselves as the government is unable to do so.

2. The massive demonstrations by Christians in Abuja a few days ago show how deep the disgust of Christians with his administration is. Christians constitute about 50% of Nigerians. When a leader loses the support of most his nation, patriotism demands that he, the leader, steps aside.

Nigeria: APC Congresses Of Blood, Tears And Sorrow

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Beleaguered Senator Din Melaye got a mischievous dig in at his own political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday May, 2018. Shortly after a contentious state congresses of the party, Melaye tweeted, "Congratultions tot he 72 new state chairmen of APC. Everywhere na double double. What a blessed party!!!!" 

 As at the time I stumbled on the tweet on Sunday morning, it had been retweeted 968 times with 2,103 likes.

Dr. Doyin Okupe, a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), re-echoed Melaye’s tweet three hours later.

“36 states, 72 chairmen. APC! Going! Going. Who is d bastard now?” Okupe tweeted.

For The Sake Of Nigeria, Our Nation!

By Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie

For the sake of our nation exposed to insecurity by absence of governance, the time has come for us to differentiate between a political jobber and a statesman.  A political jobber is a merchant who buys and sells loyalty in order to be in power.  He does not care about the morality of his means.  He would, therefore, do everything to win an election or be declared the winner.  His sole and ultimate objective is access to power and to the perks of office.

Cardinal Okogie 

But the ultimate aim of a statesman is not power.  It is service of the common good.  And even if he plans to win an election, he does not transgress the boundaries of morality.  He is fair in running for office and fair in running the office.   He works for the good of the nation and for the good of its citizens.  Rather than use or threaten to use violence, he shares his vision with the citizens, respects their right to share or repudiate the vision, and their right to decide through an electoral process free of fraud or coercion.  Political jobbers manipulate the electoral process.  Statesmen respect its integrity.  The choice before Nigerians in the 2019 elections, therefore, is that of choosing between political jobbers and statesmen.  And, for the sake of our nation, we must make a right choice this time around. 

Electricity: Unending Rip-Off Of Customers By Distribution Companies!

By Godwin Ijediogor

Some may call it cheating, while others may see it as smart billing but it is nothing less than fraud. The system of billing some electricity consumers, otherwise known as estimated billing, adopted by the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria, is a clear case of extortion of consumers without metres, whether prepaid or the old order. Ironically, the DisCos are unconcerned and unrepentant, instead they are passing the buck concerning metering to customers. Imagine living in a compound with four three-bedroom flats and while three metred three flats get billed about N2, 500 each, the remaining one is slammed N10, 000 estimated bill, just for one month, by Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC).

Yet, the DisCos are reluctant to provide prepaid meters or at least minimise the incidence of over billing or crazy bills; just promises and no action.  And the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Adeoye Fadeyibi, tried to justify the action of the DisCos while speaking at a town hall with residents of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos (its customers), saying the ‘crazy bill’ was because distribution companies take the reading of electricity consumption of customers who are not metered directly from the transformer. 

Gov Rochas Okorocha’s Swan Song

By Cos Nnadi

The political rivalry in Imo State is reminiscent of a dramatic form which depicts the circumstances surrounding the fall of despots. The state has been in dire need of such a dramatic conflict, blighted by a long history of poor leadership. 

*Okorocha 

Its last notable civilian governor remains the late Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe, who ruled the old Imo State comprising the present-day Imo State, Abia State and parts of Ebonyi State. Since that seasoned administrator, whose concern for the down trodden earned him the appellation of ‘weeping governor,’ left the saddle 35 years ago, the state has been unable to fill the vacuum. Those who succeeded him all failed to display a similar sense of responsibility, intellectual depth, and social empathy.

Nigeria: The Past As President Buhari’s Utopia

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

Whenever President Muhammadu Buhari lifts the façade and allows us a glimpse into the convictions that propel him, he leaves no room for doubt that he is out of depth with the demands of his high office. At that moment of supposed candour, Buhari rather recommends himself to us as a relic of an antediluvian era that is far removed from the nuances of democracy and the challenges and possibilities of contemporary life. 

*President Buhari

Buhari is fixated on the valourisation of the past as an irreplaceable era that was full of glories that neither the present nor the future can yield. Thus, Buhari yearns for that past. He wants us to exhume that past because it held the secrets of an Eldorado that are elusive to the present.Yet it is a past that the majority of the citizens would like to consign to eternal oblivion because it only afflicts them with searing memories. Indeed, the past that in the imagination of Buhari provided a utopian state is in the reckoning of the citizens a dystopia that he is recreating in the present.

Mad Rush For Expensive Rags!

Before now, these 'clothes' should have been found at a madman's corner at some dirty, disused spot in Lagos, for instance; or used as rags in various homes – by people who no longer find them useful since they can no longer be considered suitable attire for anyone still in possession of a stable mind.

Nigeria: The Impending Implosion Of APC

By Reuben Abati
Just take the phrase: “impending” in the title above with a pinch of salt. I use the word because in politics as in life, things happen – as seemingly absolute situations become redeemable and what originally appears impossible could be the catalyst for fresh opportunities.

 Otherwise, the truth is that the ruling Nigerian political party, the All Progressives Congress is already imploding, it has in fact imploded; the party is in the throes of a debilitating illness. The implosion began almost as soon as the party assumed power in 2015.

The APC emerged as a special purpose vehicle – composed almost entirely from second hand, used groups from the CPC, the ACN, APGA, ANPP, and a break away faction of the PDP, known as new PDP (nPDP) – even if there was nothing new about it, with the sole objective of taking power from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. 

Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ Listed Among Ten Top Stories That Shaped The World

A recent poll conducted by the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) among “writers, critics and academics” yielded the verdict that Chinua Achebe’s classic, Things Fall Apart, published in June 1958 – which turns 60 this year – qualifies as No 5 on the list of “ten top stories that shaped the world.”

Other works on the list are: The Odyssey by Homer (8th Century BC), Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1952), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818), Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949), One Thousand And One Nights by Various Authors (8th – 18th Century), Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605 – 1615), Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1603), One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967) and The Iliad by Homer (8th Century BC) 

In a recent release, the BBC said that the writers, critics and academics who participated in the opinion poll voted these works “as the most influential and enduring works of fiction” ever published.

The 1985 Coup In Nigeria

By Ray Ekpu

The August 1985 coup in Nigeria was regarded as a palace coup, a smooth changing of the guards. I have no idea if anyone died in the operation but the event itself has refused to die, thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari. The victim of that coup, Buhari, has reminded us from time to time that he was unfairly removed as the head of state and kept in detention for three years by the Ibrahim Babangida boys. Let us roll back the tape a little bit. On December 31, 1983 as Nigerians were at various prayer venues asking God to make 1984 a better year than 1983, they had no idea that Buhari and his co-conspirators were on the verge of removing a legitimately elected civilian government headed by President Shehu Shagari.

*President Buhari

Many Nigerians may have been amazed at the scale of rigging in the October 1983 Presidential elections but may not have expected a return of the military to the presidential podium after 13 years of brutal military dictatorship. Nigerians woke up on January 1 not knowing whether to say to each other a ‘Happy New Year’ or a ‘Happy New Government’ since they were uncertain what was in the belly of the coup. One year and eight months later, Buhari was overthrown by the same Babangida Boys who put him on the throne. Babangida now took over the presidential chair and kept Buhari in detention for about three years. Apparently, Buhari has not been able to bring himself to forgive or forget since then. 

Nigeria: The Igbo Are Speaking!

By Humphrey C. Nsofor

The 40 million Igbo people resident in Nigeria and elsewhere, represented by Ohaneze Ndigbo and the South East Governors Forum, will on Monday, May 21, command global attention as they take a stand on how Nigeria can achieve a more perfect union and consequently regain its manifest destiny. It promises a galaxy of Igbo stars in politics and leadership. The promise of the gathering has been accentuated by the fact that it is hosted by Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State whom former Senate President Ken Nnamani rightly describes as the Star of the East. No one doubts that Nigeria, as currently configured, needs a better design. 

*Nwodo, Ohaneze President-General

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) set up a powerful committee headed by Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai to fashion out a more realistic and effective Constitution. President Muhammadu Buhari has stated categorically that he is not opposed to rearranging the country’s administrative structure. Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar has become one of the greatest proponents, after initially opposing it because of his mistaken ideas about it. In other words, the call for Nigeria’s rebirth is popular and patriotic. All of us desire—and are deserving of— a better Nigeria. In the moving and wise language of the late Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Nigeria is a miracle waiting to happen.

Nigeria: A Hard Lesson For Gov Rochas Okorocha

By Olusegun Adeniyi

On 24th March 2012, Chief Rochas Okorocha, then less than a year in office as Imo State Governor, was in Kosovo where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for an independent power plant, an agro processing plant and several other industries that he promised would be established in his state. There were neither feasibility studies nor any clear ideas as to where the money to finance these projects would come from but those sorts of things never really worry the ebullient governor. 

*Gov Rochas Okorocha 

A few weeks before the trip to the Balkan Peninsular, Okorocha had declared a four-day holiday for workers in Imo State so they could partake in the take-off of the Community Council Government (CCG) he instituted. And for this extra-constitutional fourth-tier of government, the governor approved the disbursement of N5 million to each of the communities in the 27 local councils from a subvention of N3 billion that was not captured in the 2012 Imo State Appropriation Bill.. He also declared free education at all levels in the state after announcing that he would be paying salaries to all the primary school pupils (yes, pupils, not teachers alone). And to be sure, Okorocha actually went to some primary schools where the pupils were lined up for him to hand them N100 each! 

Nigeria: Is There Any Democracy Here?

By Lewis Obi 
The last fortnight has been dominated by the miserable stories emanating mostly from the All Progressives Congress (APC), its local congresses, its attempts to select officials for its grassroots, choose delegates to attend the all-important party convention next month, and conduct primaries for its governorship contests.

*President Buhari 

It is hard to know where the sordid tales should begin. But I watched two contending officials of the River State APC trade blames on TV. The Port Harcourt headquarters of the party was eventually set ablaze, and the High Court of justice attacked and for a while was seized by a faction to prevent the other side from seeking an injunction by the court to stop the local government congress.

Nigeria: A Dying State In The Of An Ineffectual Government

By Obi Ebuka Onochie

“People speak sometimes about the “bestial” cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The above line from Fyodor is truer of Nigerian situation today which leaves one to wonder if we will ever come out of this pit. The killings are no longer fluid but continuously stable that many of them go unreported.

Kidnapping is now a mass business and every detail about these kidnappings are questionable raising debate if they were real or staged.

We are so deeply torn apart that evil is triumphing not only within our boarders but the psyche, mind, heart, ability and competence of those entrusted to govern presently. 

Nigeria: Banning Codeine In APC

By Owei Lakemfa

Following a codeine-propelled high drug addiction problem, the Federal Government in a swift reaction, banned the production and importation of codeine containing cough syrup. The syrup usually taken by millions of youths who mix it with soft drinks, alcohol or illegal drugs, leads to physical and mental reliance on the drug and can be fatal.

Five days after the welcome ban, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 5, held its Ward congresses across the country.  In most of the thirty six states, they were characterized by thuggery, manipulation, imposition, and in at least two cases, murder. In Rivers State, a member was shot dead right in the party secretariat while in Ughelli,  Delta State, a party chairmanship aspirant, Mr. Jeremiah Oghoveta was stabbed to death.  In Oyo State, supporters of Governor Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi and those of Communication Minister, Adebayo Shittu, were engaged in a mini Civil War with the Governor accusing  the Honourable Minister and some members of the House of Representatives of perpetuating the violence and threatening arson.

Nigeria: Sweet Codeine, Bitter Consequences

By Wale Sokunbi 

Nigeria is on the global hotspot on account of a crisis brought into bold relief by an investigative documentary trending in the media. The documentary entitled Sweet Sweet Codeine, made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa Eye undercover reporters, featured some workers of three Nigerian pharmaceutical companies – Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Lagos; Bioraj Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Peace Standard Pharmaceutical Ltd., in Ilorin, Kwara State.

One of the workers featured in the documentary openly admitted his company’s massive sales of codeine cough syrup in the country, and boasted that he could sell a million cartons of the syrup in a week. The sales representative has since been fired by the company concerned.

APC: The Broom Of A Broken Family

By Dan Onwukwe 

This has been a dizzying season in Nigerian politics. In the ruling All Congress(APC), the crisis, the divisiveness and mud throwing that have racked the party, indeed should trouble the mind and hurt the hearts. It’s like the forklore called the ‘Witches’ Dance’  that has made shame a sort of passé to the party members. Nigerians are watching in astonishment: what’s going on? 

*President Buhari wields APC broom in Anambra 

It’s all about the outcome of the recent APC Ward and local government Congresses across the states. From South East, to South South,South west to North west and North East, there were unprecedented disputations. Some party faithful were reported killed, many injured. Yes, politics has been described as “hardball” sometimes, but the fractious and parallel Congresses we saw a few days ago across the state chapters of APC foretell a more dangerous consequences nine months before the general elections next year. 

Kaduna Council Polls: Highly Provocative, Indefensible Fraud – PDP

Press Statement

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejects as highly provocative, fraudulent and completely indefensible the alteration of final results and declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner in areas clearly won by the PDP in the Kaduna state local council elections held on Saturday.

From the reports of results at the polling centers, it is clear that the PDP defeated the APC in most of the areas where elections held across the state, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s ward where the PDP led with over 90% percent of the votes cast.