Wither Osun State! We Are Watching

By Anthony Okogie

In Nigeria today, Religion is always used for wrong reasons. We witnessed the OIC palaver of 1986 which nearly split our country in two, the religious riots in the old Kaduna State during which a number of churches were set ablaze and innocent lives were lost, the Sharia controversy in some states in the North in 2000 which also led to loss of human lives and harassment of the Christian minority in those states, the subjection of Nigerians to noise pollution issuing from churches and mosques, the exploitation of religious differences by politicians who would do or say anything to get votes, the use of religion to justify the obviously politically motivated Boko Haram insurgency, to mention but these.

*Okogie 

Religion is once again in the news, this time in Osun State on the wearing of HIJAB.  The much publicized hijab controversy in Osun State and the ensuing altercation between Muslims and Christians in the state should make peace-loving Nigerians apprehensive. Osun State is in the South West, a part of Nigeria that is noted and envied for its inter-religious harmony. It is a part of Nigeria where one could find siblings who practice different religions without acrimony. Let it not be that the hijab controversy in Osun State is the beginning of the end of inter-religious harmony in south-western Nigeria.

Osun State Governor (Ogbeni) Rauf Aregbesola has, in some quarters, been accused of instigating the crisis. The governor, for his part, has pro-tested his innocence. He has asked his accusers to provide evidence to prove the accusation. His accusers, for their part, believe rightly or wrongly, that his protestations make him look like the man who, according to a Yoruba allegory, having shot an arrow, now uses a mortar as his helmet. They believe, again rightly or wrongly, that the government he heads comes across as a government of questionable neutrality in this matter.  

But let us identify the real problem in Osun State. It is neither the wearing of hijab nor the wearing of choir robes. The problem of Osun State is the problem of many of the states in the fissiparous federalism Nigeria has been operating. Osun State, like an overwhelming majority of states in Nigeria, has failed to demonstrate that it is economically viable, and there are sufficient indices to back the assertion. The state government has not been able to pay salaries of workers for months. From the uncompleted intersection at Gbongan on the Ibadan-Ife Road, through the entire state, it is clearly evident that roads in Osun State are among the worst in Nigeria. It is hardly possible to drive one kilometer without a pothole, sometimes a crater.

In 2015, Osun State was ranked 29th of the 36 states in performance in the senior secondary school certificate examination. Quality of life in Osun State ranks among the worst in Nigeria. It would therefore amount to a distraction to make wearing a religious garb — whether it is hijab or choir robes— the issue in Osun State. It betrays a depressing lack of focus. This is the time for the governor and the people to live up to their beautiful name, to think and act like omolua-bi, since they call the state Ipinle Omoluabi. The problem of Osun State I dare say is not religion but the scandalous under-development of the state. Why is it that a portion of Nigeria that is so richly endowed is inhabited by impoverished people? The potentials for agriculture, tourism, sports, education in Osun State and the poor living condition of the people of the state raises a big question about quality of governance, past and present, in Ipinle Omoluabi. Instead of quarreling over religion, the people of Osun State would do well to call all its governors, past and present, to explain why, since the creation of the state in 1991, that state has simply failed to take off.

Holidaying While Nigeria Decays?

By Reno Omokri

For a nation that has already had one quarter of negative economic growth and is in danger of having another negative quarter (which would invariably put us officially in a recession), I was shocked, like many right thinking people, when the Federal Government extended the Eid-el-Fitr holidays which had initially been declared for Tuesday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th of July, 2016 to now include Thursday the 7th of July.

*President Buhari and his wife, Aisha

This record three day holiday effectively rendered the week beginning on Sunday July 3rd, 2016, a wasted week because Nigerians would naturally spend Monday the 4th preparing for the holiday and no right thinking person would expect any serious business to hold on Friday the 8th after the whole nation had been on holiday for the three days prior to that.

The economic implication of this decision is that when the Gross Domestic production of the third quarter of 2016 is being calculated, Nigeria would not be able to count on any meaningful production for one business week.

Flowing from the above, no one needs a crystal ball to predict that Nigeria is headed for another round of negative economic growth when the next quarterly GDP data is unveiled.

Yet this is the same country where 18,000 babies are born everyday and it is doubtful that up to 1,800 new jobs are created everyday. With this grim statistic, no one around the President thought it wise to advise him against making the small percentage of Nigerians who are employed to be underemployed by at least one week because of a holiday.

Is it that we do not understand the economic implications of our actions and how they effect the financial and economic well being of our nation?

Nigeria should be doing everything it can to ensure that it does not have consecutive periods of negative economic growth for the simple reason that having an economy in recession would lead to our economy being further downgraded. The implication of a downgraded economy is that we will not be able to attract the level of Foreign Direct Investment we need to drive growth. Further implications are that we would only be able to access credit at higher interest rates. The resultant effect of that would be loss of value in our stock exchange and a downward pressure on the value of the Naira (further devaluation) and when that happens, it would mean more people out of work and a worsening of Nigeria's Human Development Index.

The question is this-aren't there people around President Muhammadu Buhari who can explain this to him? Should Nigeria be holidaying while Rome burns?

Buhari Is Championing Nepotism – Junaid Mohammed

 …His Relatives Dictate Aso Rock policy

*President Buhari 

Interview by Ishaya Ibrahim (Acting News Editor)

Muhammadu Buhari’s relatives are the ones dictating policy in Aso Rock for 170 million Nigerians, adding nepotism to the festering allegation of narrow mindedness levelled against the president, who critics say surrounds himself with Northerners in running national affairs.

Junaid Mohammed, radical politician and Second Republic lawmaker, named at least seven relatives of the president who are the power behind the throne in the Villa – apart from the heads of all vital security agencies who are from the from the North.
In a telephone interview from his base in Kano, Mohammed accused Buhari of giving key positions to his cousins, nephews, and in-laws, and is therefore guilty of the corruption he is trying to fight.
Mohammed, a virulent critic of former President Goodluck Jonathan, and originally a supporter of Buhari, said nepotism compromises Buhari’s ability to rule the country well, fight corruption, and deal with rogue lawmakers who pose a threat to his administration.

Junaid Mohammed 

His words: “As far as I am concerned, nothing will come by way of contention with the National Assembly (NASS) and the executive branch, because both of them have a mindset which is completely antithetical to democracy. Both the president, particularly his principal adviser, his nephew, one nonentity called Mamman Daura; then the Chief of Staff [Abba Kyari], who in fact was brought up by Mamman Daura; and the scoundrel who is the Secretary to the Government of Federation [Babachir David], including most of the incompetent ministers, are not cut out to work harmoniously in a political environment with the legislature. On the legislative side, they want to continue business as usual; that will mean impunity, blackmail, open corruption to extort money from ministries, departments and agencies of federal and state governments, because they did not come into politics to serve. They came to make money. That is the basic fact. 

"You can see why it is impossible for anybody, no matter how reasonable, to work with the National Assembly, especially the Senate, because unless you are prepared to open up the national treasury and offer it to them, there is going to be no peace between the executive branch and them. And of course, there is the unfortunate, additional bad luck of Buhari being surrounded by his own relations who are not politicians. They are not even members of the APC (All Progressives Congress) but dictate policy, especially Mamman Daura. So I can see no peace, I can see no cooperation, and God save Nigeria.”

CLICK HERE TO READ WHOLE INTERVIEW 

Pres Buhari, Take A Hard Look At Nigeria’s Map

By Okey Ndibe

I recently surveyed President Muhammadu Buhari’s top appointments recently and was left wondering when last he took a long, hard look at Nigeria’s map. Before the president makes another important political appointment, he would do well to spend some time looking at the map of the country that’s under his charge.

*President Buhari

President Buhari’s disdain for geopolitical spread and religious diversity in his appointments is so stark as to constitute a scandal. As far as appointments go, it’s as if the man believes that Nigeria is reducible to one half of its geography, the north, and one major religion, Islam.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Buhari was frequently characterized as a man given to excessive clannishness. Some critics alleged that his fealty to the northern half of Nigeria and partiality to fellow adherents of the Islamic faith trumped his belief in Nigeria and commitment to treat people of other faiths with fairness.

Since his presidential ambition aroused such anxiety, Mr. Buhari might have taken care to reassure Nigerians—as he stated in his inaugural speech—that he belonged to all of them. Instead, he seems to have gone out of his way to validate his critics’ worst fears. His personnel decisions as president have suggested a man whose mindset is as sectional as his political instincts are terrible. In one year as president, his appointments have deeply disappointed many Nigerians’ expectations of equity. He has operated as if unaware of the longstanding requirement that important political appointments ought to reflect the country’s federal character.

I believe every section of Nigeria has a pool of talented people. Therefore, the president’s default stance, choosing candidates for major positions from his own geographic area and religious group, is troubling. Is Mr. Buhari’s vision so blinkered that, each time he looks at Nigeria, he sees (mostly) Muslims and Northerners? And has he no handlers and advisers willing to speak honestly to him, to save him from his parochial instincts, to tell him, quite simply, that his appointments don’t tell a flattering story about him?

During Mr. Buhari’s first few months in office, some excused his lopsided appointments on the ground that he needed to surround himself with people he knew closely, whose loyalty he could count on. But even that apologia was untenable. Here was a man who ran for the Nigerian Presidency four times before he got elected. I don’t recall him professing that, if elected, he would fashion himself primarily into a Northern president. Surely, we should expect that a man who spent so much time and energy seeking to govern his country would have made some effort to broaden his base of loyalists.

Marching In Circles, Walking In Circles

By Chuks Iloegbunam

We must invite Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to come to our immediate assistance. On Thursday June 9, 2016, Mr. James F. Entwistle, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, petitioned Speaker Dogara, accusing three members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly of improper conduct, attempted rape and soliciting for prostitutes while participating in a political programme in America.

*Buhari 

The following is a part of the Ambassador’s petition: “It is with regret that I must bring to your attention the following situation. Ten members of the Nigerian National Assembly travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance. We received troubling allegations regarding the behavior of three members of the delegation to the U.S. Government’s flagship professional exchange programme.

“The U.S. mission took pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland. “The conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a shadow on Nigeria’s National Assembly, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and to the American hosts’ impression of Nigeria as a whole. Such conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States in the future.”

The Ambassador requested “in the strongest possible terms” that the Speaker should share his government’s apprehension with the National Assembly so that the members will understand the “potential consequences” of their actions. The Ambassador had acted appropriately. As was to be expected, the matter sacked every other topic in the Nigerian media, orthodox and social. Calls sprang from the four corners asking for the heads of the accused legislators. Some, more merciful, demanded their imprisonment or, at the very least, their letters of resignation. It was at this point of cacophony that Speaker Dogara stepped in with a dose of fresh air. He called the American Ambassador’s petition by its real name, which is Allegations. And he tweeted severally: “He who alleges must prove. That’s the law. As we speak, no evidence has been put forward other than the letter sent to my office and copied to many others.”

Nigeria:A Problem Like Rice!

By Ray Ekpu  

Over the years rice has grown into Nigeria’s stable food. It can be made in several ways: cooked, steamed, fried, ground. You can have it the way you want it, as coconut rice, waterleaf rice, jollof rice, tuo shinkafa or you can have it in a form that those who like it call “combined honours,” that is rice and beans.

*Ray Ekpu

In the 50s, in the Eastern part of Nigeria, rice was not the staple food. In the rural communities it is still not the main event today, Garri and Yams still rule the roost and rice is considered a Christmas, New Year or special occasion delicacy. But in the urban centres rice is the king. It is the king of foods because it is easy to cook; even a bachelor can cook it. It is kind to the tongue and kind to the stomach.

In the 50s, the rice we ate was grown in Nigeria. It was not polished. When it was rice day a mat would be rolled out and the rice poured on it. We would sit around and pull the rice aside in small bits and fish out the stones. It was fun since we knew that what we were doing was likely to give us food that will be kind to our teeth. It would be stone-free. We did not consider rice to be a problem.

Today, rice is becoming a problem of a sort because of its price tag. A year or so ago, you could buy a 50kg bag of rice for N10,000 or less. Today you may have to buy it for N15,000 or more. There is a report that some officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were caught recently trying to rebag for profit rice that was meant for internally displaced persons in the North East. They did not know that rice, while a friendly commodity, has always had a big hunger for trouble especially when one tampers with its price. They may soon find out.

The Japanese government found that out in 1918. For about two months, July to September of that year, about 10 million people in 33 cities, 104 towns and 97 villages took part in the most notorious rice riots in history. The problem was that the price of rice had doubled within a few months while wages remained stagnant. This generated a spontaneous mass uprising particularly because rice is Japan’s staple food. The placards read “sell rice cheap” “down with wicked dealers.” The workers raided rice shops and the houses of profiteers. It took huge contingents of the police and 50,000 soldiers to quell the riots and bring the situation to normal.

Okojie And Liberalization Of The University System

By Dan Amor

A breezy and cheering news item on page 38 of The Authority  (Daily) of Monday January 4, 2016, made my day. Titled, "NUC targets more private varsities", the report, quoting the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, circulated that the Commission would ensure that more private universities are established in the country in the near future.

 

*Prof. Julius A Okojie

Indeed, Prof. Okojie must be commended for the quantum leap his tenure as Executive Secretary of NUC has brought to the university system in Nigeria. With a paltry 73 universities (both public and private) in the country upon assumption of office in August 2006, Okojie, a scholar of international repute and professor of forestry, has grown the number of universities in Nigeria to 141 in less than a decade. That Nigeria with a population of about 170 million already has a total number of 141 universities is not even encouraging as this is not enough to meet the yearnings and aspirations of our teeming youths for tertiary education.

According to a recent study, the United Kingdom with a population of about 60 million has 120 universities while the United States of America with a population of about 260 million has 345 universities. India, with a population of about 1.5 billion people has 398 universities while Australia with 17 million people has 36 universities. It is against this backdrop that I support the establishment of more private universities in Nigeria.

In 1999, the Federal Government licensed the establishment of four private universities namely, Heritage University in Kaduna; Igbinedion University at Okada, Benin City; Babcock University at Remo, Ogun State, and Madonna University in Onitsha, Anambra State. This was a step in the right direction. Also, in 2003, the National Universities Commission (NUC) approved the establishment of more private universities, among which are: Bowen University, Iwo; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State; Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State. Besides a few private universities that had existed before such as Benson Idahosa University, Benin City; Pan African (now Pan Atlantic) University, etcetera, we now have new ones including Bells University of Technology; Lead City University; several newly established State universities and the 13 new Federal universities established in one fell swoop by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The Restructuring Nigeria Needs

By Arthur Agwuncaha Nwankwo

It is indeed interesting to see so many Nigerians today talking about restructuring the Nigerian state. This is heart warning on account of the fact that today we have come to appreciate restructuring as a necessity for Nigeria’s continued existence. This is a crusade I began almost two decades ago; a crusade that has taken me to prison and back.

*Dr. Nwankwo

In the course of this crusade, I have had my younger brother brutally murdered in cold blood by agents of the state; I have had my residence turned inside-out by security agents brooding over my massive library like maggots rummaging the remains of decaying carcass. I have been cursed and discussed; scandalized and analysed. The leeches of the Nigerian state are mad; and I am happy. The struggle rages on and that’s just the way I love it. My happiness is that my crusade has put Nigeria on notice and today we are all talking about it.

Even though it is a welcome development that we have been caught by the bug of restructuring, I am afraid not so many of us understand the true essence of restructuring. I say this because in recent times I have heard people talk about merging of states as a form of restructuring. I am afraid this is not restructuring by any stretch of the imagination.
The question is: What type of restructuring does Nigeria need? For the avoidance of doubt, Nigeria needs both structural and fiscal restructuring. Structurally, Nigeria must constitutionally define the federating units.

 For now there are six geo-political zones in the country. These geo-political zones should be constituted into the federating units with equal constitutional rights. The states as presently existing make up the zones. 
Each zone will have its own constitution, which must not be in conflict with the federal constitution. The federating units should be in-charge of the zones and LGS. The States’ Houses of Assembly will remain as they are but there will be Regional Houses of Assembly that will function as the highest legislative organ of the region. 

The Avengers As Nemesis Of A Nation’s Hubris

By Alade Rotimi-John  

These are testy times for the Nigerian nation state. She is variously buffeted on all sides by the scourge of insurgency in her North-East geo-political zone, the murderous ogre of Fulani herdsmen in the north–central axis and in the southern states of Enugu, Ekiti, Oyo and Delta, the brimming militancy in the South-South exemplifying itself in incessant bombings of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta, the revamped agitation for self-determination by restive youths in the South-East, an all-time low crude oil price, the irritable upsurge in price level, the plummeting exchange value of the national currency, unbridled unemployment and the abysmal failure or non-functioning of public infrastructure e.g. electricity, etc.

Of all Nigeria’s contemporary difficulties, however, the Boko Haram attempt to take control of the country by force to foist on her its own brand of rabid or unconventional Islamism and the Niger Delta militancy directed at the nation’s economic jugular have understandably taken the centre stage. Both militant agitations must be understood as natural human responses to a perceived unfair or unjust political or social order even as they are a stark reflection of how remiss successive administrations have been regarding the requirement to resolve the contradictions inherent in the Nigerian pastiche. Only half-hearted attempts have been made to interrogate the Nigerian national question.

The socio-economic injustice in the Niger Delta finds unrefreshing or disturbing parallel in the criminal neglect of the fortunes of children and young persons in many parts of Northern Nigeria. Generally, the Nigerian state manifests smug indifference to the plight of her people even as the people are consequently provoked to question the legitimacy or appropriateness of those who have been put in authority over them to resolve the crisis of the status of their stake-holding.

Self-help is resorted to as government marshals state security and military resources to combat the “audacity” of the aggrieved people. For instance, the hubris or overweening pride of the state often displayed by her power wielders defines the response of the state to the people’s protestation of the environmental degradation or ecological scandal that is the plight of the residents of the Niger Delta. Troops are promptly mobilised and deployed just to put out or “crush” any protest. 

The people may be quietened but the rumbles remain loud. The Adaka Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa memorabilia fore-shadowing today’s restive agitations in the Niger Delta region offer a ruminative opportunity for the present occupiers of state offices. The impending battle in Oporoza is the a la carte or regular response of government: make no distinction between the culpable and the innocent, the young or aged; lump all together for violent punishment or mauling as they have not been able to restrain their children or wards from becoming threats to the national economy. Afterall, “All have sinned…”

Nigeria: Re-Structuring Again?

By Oshineye Victor Oshisada  

Lately, the call for the country’s re-structuring is unbridled. The clamour for it rents the air as if without it , the country shall go asunder. The issue is over-dramatised to the point of nausea, and to such degree that every Tom , Dick and Harry is climbing on the bandwagon of the agitation for re-structuring whether or not they understand re-structuring, its processes and implications.

If it is examined critically, it shall be discovered that the agitation for re-structuring is from disgruntled elements; those whose political horizon is bleak and their influence, not to mention affluence, is progressively ebbing. For an example, if a person like Atiku Abubakar, with 954 votes compared with Muhammadu Buhari’s score of 3,430 votes in the 2015 APC primary election, was successful to be the sitting President today, would he be calling for re-structuring? Definitely not. Therefore, the callers for re-structuring are not sincere.

None of the callers for re-structuring except Chief Emeka Anyaoku who once suggested that the country should be collapsed to six geo-political zones has explained what they really want. This is physical re-structure and not power re-structure. In my piece on March 2, 2016, titled “Of Buhari’s Critics, Counsellors”. I opposed this, because I doubted if any of the existing states could be prepared to surrender its hard-earned autonomy. 

In the past 53 years, states were created. In 1960, there were three regions – West, East and North ; in 1963 , Midwest was created ; in 1967 , it increased to 12 states ; 1976 produced 19 states ;1987 witnessed 21 states ; in 1991 , it increased to 30 states ;1996 ,36 states ,with the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja , meaning that seven times , the country was re- structured . Therefore, if someone suggests the collapse of 36 states to six, it is to put back the hand of the clock. The reasons for the creations were to enhance holistic competitions and bring governance to the door of the people. A collapse has the opposite effect of suppressing competition and governance.

Buhari: Before This Hope Turns Into Hopelessness

By Martin-Hassan E. Eze

At a time like this that Nigerians are hungry and angry, saying ‘I am sorry’ may be the best escape route that some of us who championed the sai Buhari crusade and were his ardent supporters in his ANPP and CPC days in the political wilderness of failed political ambition can offer to Nigerians who wish to drag us into the shooting range or send us to Golgotha after the magical wand of the Daura sheriff had failed to perform the needed magic after one year in office.

*Tinubu and Buhari 

Wallahi, I actually believed the APC and Buhari will herald a paradigm shift from the messy stories of the past. I was also convinced that before a year in office, the APC led FG could have proven to majority of my Ibo brothers who seem not to approve of Buhari and the other 12 million Nigerians that rejected him at the last presidential polls that he was a better candidate than GEJ- the incompetent shoeless fisher man from Otuoke and the ‘boo’ of Biafrans. But, some of us are beginning to lose our voices in shame if not regret.

These days I don't worship at my Cathedral where I am a popular face and even sneak in and out of some streets like Nicodemus to avoid confronting citizens who will insist I explain why Buhari has denied every single phantom promise he made during the campaigns or have done exactly the opposite of what he said he will do as if I share the same sitting room with the old man. Biko kwa, I don't know Aso villa and I am not in any way related to Lai Mohammed the megaphone of APC and the FG.

My greatest disappointment with the APC and her greatest undoing is(was) her inability to properly manage her success and adorn the party with a nationalist babariga bearing in mind the ethnic and religious division that greeted the election. I was expecting to see Buhari at the Saint Theresa’s Cathedral in Nsukka sharing smiles and handshake with Most Rt Prof Godfrey Onah, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka or drinking Sapele water with our Ijaw and Urobo brothers in Effurun. The APC and PMB lost the game the moment they failed to realise that after election, partisanship and party politics is sent to the morgue as governance and nation-building take the centre stage. I actually wept when the President started exhibiting the same sectional mentality that robbed him of a nation-wide support that Abiola enjoyed in 1993 in his political appointments. I was expecting a system of appointment that will be so wazobian in nature that all haters and bigots currently dominating and polluting the social space will be relieved of their jobs but the old man just disappointed me. The winner take all school of thought was not what a New Nigeria we were expecting from Buhari needed judging from the religious, ethnic and regional tension the last Presidential election generated. Extending an olive branch to some sections of the country that don’t love his face was a political master stroke and common sense that could have scored some goals for national unity and integration but Buhari and his handlers have so far proven that sense is not common as some of us think.

Saraki: What Do Buhari’s Men Really Want?

By Jude Ndukwe 

Since Senator Bukola Saraki emerged president of the Senate on June 9, 2015, the Senate has been forced to carry out their legislative functions in an atmosphere of suppressed tension as managed by the current leadership of the upper chamber. But for the equanimity with which the senate president and his team have handled the political persecution visited on them by the executive and the cabal within the ruling party, the nation by now would have been in irreversible chaos.

*Buhari and Saraki

It is very rare in democracies like ours for the ruling and opposition parties in a legislative chamber to strike a harmonious chord to the extent that beyond election of their leaders, they both work together to ensure a smooth running of not only the senate but also the national assembly and the nation in general. They also have ensured that the usual rift that characterised the relationship between the executive and legislature has been reduced significantly if not removed entirely.

Even in times when distractions are absent, it is enough an arduous task to lead a senate peopled by high ranking Nigerians who come to the senate with the delicate complexities that precariously hold our nation together, not because they are cryonic or parochial, but because they all represent peoples with divergent identities, peculiar needs and expectations, not to talk of when the leadership of the senate has been hit with needless and relentless distractions of persecution engineered by those self-acclaimed godfathers and members of the cabal not only in the presidency but also in the ruling APC.

With Buhari’s style of governance, a lot of people who had their eyes on Nigeria’s till were disappointed. It is difficult reaching the till for self-gratification or reward for working hard for the party. However, the ingenuous ones among them who have always been ingenuous in doing what they know how to do best have since fashioned a new way of unfairly getting a share of our national cake.

Dangerous Expansion Of Militancy

By Wale Sokunbi

The expanding theatres of militancy in the country are fast becoming a threat to the unity and continuing peaceful existence of Nigeria. Reports emanating from different parts of the country in recent weeks indicate the need for prompt action to stem a slide into anarchy.

Beyond the snake of the insurgency in the North-East, which the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has only scorched, and not killed, the trickles of militancy undermining the national economy with the blowing up oil pipelines in the Niger Delta states are fast becoming a deluge.

From the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which is fast taking on the toga of a reverend gentleman when compared with the ongoing bombing campaigns of the more virulent group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the militancy in that part of the country is growing in geometrical proportions. Nigeria now has to contend with more and more new militant groups such as the Niger Delta Red Squad, which appears to be operating from the Ohaji Egbema axis of Imo State and is threatening to blow up the Imo State Government House and the State secretariat; ground oil companies and destroy all government assets in the state. The group has already claimed responsibility for the blowing up of two Shell oil pipelines in the state.

Even beyond the Niger Delta, some communities around Ikorodu,   Lagos State, identified as Igbolomu, Elepete and Ishawo, were invaded by unidentified militants who killed no fewer than 30 persons at the weekend. The invaders are suspected to be pipeline vandals who are moving westwards and were protesting the killing of two of their members by security agents. Some reports said the communities were attacked because some local residents were suspected to have disclosed the location of the militants to the police.

A Few Heartless Men

By Simbo Olorunfemi  

There is a reason why the rule of law, as opposed to rule of men, is fundamental to the entrenchment of all-round development of a nation. Should men be given the impression that they can get away with infractions and breach of the law, their hearts swell with impunity, they become heartless. They live by their own rules. They take on wings to do as they like. They assume that rules exist to be broken and other men are lesser mortals before them. They become gods. Six years back, I was in some other part of the world to supervise the production of a print job.

One of these days, the General Manager of the company asked if I was familiar with a particular Nigerian and I responded in the affirmative. Who does not know him? On our way out of the factory, he made a detour towards the warehouse and pointed in a particular direction. Seated there were cartons of goods ready for shipping, being held back. He told me that job had been commissioned by this Nigerian several months back, but because he had refused or neglected to make the outstanding payment of $10,000, the company was holding on to the goods. My host asked: “Why are Nigerians like that?” The same man, he said, had called him when he came into town.

He flew into that country in a private jet. He lodged in the penthouse of one of the most expensive hotels in town, but rather than pay the $10,000, he pushed it off the table. Rather, he dwelt more on dropping names of the President, state governors, ministers, and all sorts of irrelevant side talks. Rather than pay the outstanding, he takes on the outlandish, promising some future business, on the strength of connections with the high and mighty. A man will not meet his present obligations, but has no scruples in living large at the expense of tomorrow.

Nigeria: Federal Republic Of Inequality?

By Magnus Onyibe

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, FGN is the country we all call our own. Our country comprises of about 250 tribes or ethnic nationalities with the main ones being Hausa/Fulani,Yoruba, lgbo, Kanuri, ljaw, Nupe, Calabari, Tiv, Ijebu, lgara, Urhobo, Jukun, ldoma, fufulde, Ika Ibibio, Edo etc. In the inaugural speech of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015, he was famously quoted as saying  ”l belong to everyone , l belong to no one”.

*Buhari with former Vice President Ekwueme 

That very welcoming and reassuring remark, which resonated very well with most Nigerians, became a quotable quote that featured in myriads of comments in the mainstream and online media, just as it also became a talking head in torrents of radio and television shows. The reason the quote was significant is quite simple. In the run up to the 2015 general elections, campaign rhetorics vaunting ethnic and regional sentiments were so rife that Nigeria became too polarised in such manner that the Hausa/Fulani in the northern parts of Nigeria were stacked behind, ex-military head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the Hausa/Fulani  stock, while the lgbos, ljaws and other minority tribes in the South east and South south part of Nigeria, queued up behind the then incumbent president, GoodLuck Jonathan, who is ljaw, and one of their own.

The Yorubas in the South west, who having had a shot at the presidency from 1999 to 2007,when ex-army General, Olusegun Obasanjo transited from prison to presidency, became the bride to be wooed by both the political forces from the north and south south parts of Nigeria. In the end, the Yorubas aligned with the north through acceptance of the Vice President slot which the acclaimed leader of the Yorubas, Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state, conceded to a man of impeccable character, an evangelical pastor,his long time ally and former attorney general of Lagos state, Yemi Osinbajo.

Prior to his success at the 2015 polls, President Buhari had tried and failed to successfully clinch the presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011 but on each of those occasions that he lost, Buhari swept the votes in the core northern states like, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara , Sokoto, etc, sometimes garnering about 12 million votes. Even with Yoruba’s vote in the kitty, Buhari still needed the votes from the South east and South south to fulfill the constitutional requirements that votes must be garnered from all parts of Nigeria for a candidate to be deemed to have won. This is to ensure that a situation whereby a particular candidate from an ethnic group with superior numerical strength, does not ride into the presidency relying only on votes from his Kith and kin.

That’s how Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, the heart  of South south, now minister of transport and Rochas Okorocha, incumbent governor of Imo state, the ground zero of lgbo land, became the game changers. With their support, substantial votes  in Rivers and lmo states were brought into Buhari’s kitty that already had the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba votes and the rest, as they say is history. Politics is a game of strategy and democracy is also about numbers of people that politicians are able to swing to their side, which justifies the political dictum,majority carries the vote.

In 2015, Buhari reached out and built bridges across many deserts and rainforests into Yoruba land as well as crossed many bridges and rivers into lgbo and lkwere/Calabari mangroves and creeks and he reaped the  reward of the hard work by becoming Nigeria’s number one citizen. Now, it’s pay back time. In politics, as in business, settling lOUs is usually a very testy experience. In what many thought was a Freudian slip like the one famously made by British prime minister, David Cameroon about Nigeria being a fantastical corrupt country, in the wake of the anti corruption summit in London recently, president Buhari during an interactive session with some Nigerians and Americans, on the sideline of his visit to the USA, stated that he cannot be expected to treat the 95% who voted for him in the north equally with the less than 5% who voted in the south.

As expected in a multicultural multiethnic and multi-religious society, the comment got twisted and dissected with all manners of bias on online media platforms. Unsurprisingly, many members of the elite commentariat also took Mr. President up on the remark from the optics of the numerous ethnic and other primordial sentiments, and l thought the high level of condemnation would challenge Mr. president to offer some clarifications but that was not the case. With the public hue and cry about appointments so far made into executive positions, it would appear that Mr. President is sticking to his guns-literarily-to reward mainly voters from his home base by skewing appointments in their favour.

Is INEC About To Unleash Anarchy In Abia?

Following the June 27, 2016, ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which sacked Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the Governor of Abia State, Okezie approached the Court of Appeal to contest the judgment. But earlier today, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued a Certificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah to be sworn in as Abia Governor despite the motion for a stay of execution pending before the Appeals Court.

*Mr. Ogah receiving his Certificate
of Return at the INEC Headquarters Abuja

Analysts believe that this is an invitation to anarchy. Reports say that Mr. Ugah is on his way to Umuahia to "claim his mandate" while the  sitting governor, following established precedents, is still holding forte as Abia Governor. It will be a case of two governors in Abia State and recipe for crisis.

Observers are worried that INEC, by its action, is about to unleash crisis in Abia State in which the casualty will, as usual, be the ordinary people who will be drawn into it by blind loyalty. 

Is President Buhari A Sectional Leader?

By Jide Ojo

The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to effect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”

– Section 14 (3) of 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended.

*President Buhari with new IGP Tukur

Love him or hate him, President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of destiny. The trajectory of his life’s odyssey clearly points to that. Mr. President has held different public offices from his youth to old age. He has been a military governor, petroleum minister, chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, Head of State and now an elected President of the most populous country in Africa.

Many will vouch for the President as an honest man hence the appellation of “Mai Gasikiya” which means one who always says the truth in Hausa language. He is seen as an austere man who lives a Spartan life despite having held many privileged positions. However, many others have also alleged that the President is a religious bigot and a provincial leader. In trying to puncture the accusation of bigotry, for the four times he ran for presidential office, he always chose a Christian running mate and twice even chose clerics – Pastor Tunde Bakare in 2011 and Pastor Yemi Osinbajo in 2015. However, The President has yet to fully dismiss the allegations that he is a provincial leader.

On his assumption of office, all the major appointments President Buhari made were from the north with the exception of, perhaps, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Ibe Kachikwu. At the time Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was touted as being likely to be made the Secretary to the Federal Government, the President decided to pick Babachir David Lawal from Adamawa State. The President’s Chief of Staff is also from the North. Now, news making the rounds shows that a chunk of the national security and defence sector is dominated not only by people of northern extraction but also Muslims. Let’s take a count: The National Security Adviser; Chief of Army Staff; Chief of Air Staff; Comptroller General of Customs; Comptroller General of Immigration; Comptroller General of Prisons; the Director General of the Department of State Services; the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and now the Acting Inspector General of Police appointed last week.