Nigerian Economy: The Blind Leading The Blind

By Henry Boyo

A seemingly responsible fiscal plan will become unimplementable, in the modern era, if the underlying monetary indices are out of sync with budget projections. Conversely, the stubborn sustenance of appropriate monetary benchmarks for inflation, cost of funds and exchange rate may still rescue the performance of an otherwise bad budget.

*Buhari 

 Buhari For example, if salaries and other incomes double or triple summarily, as happened during the Udoji salary awards of the 70’s, prices will spiral beyond the comfort level of consumers, as the liberal Naira supply chase the relatively modest output of goods and services on offer. Evidently, if inflation rate for example, approaches 20%, as in our present predicament, then we would all have lost a fifth of the purchasing power of our salaries and incomes.   

The dwindling purchasing power caused by inflation will invariably erode consumer demand for goods and services, and also constrain domestic industrial output, while further investment decisions will ultimately be kept on hold. Thus, in addition to a significant loss in real income values and deepening social poverty, an uncontrolled inflationary spiral will severely challenge the implementation of any fiscal plan that does not accommodate the prevailing rate of inflation; for example, the clearly recklessly ambitious 2016 N6tn budget, has become difficult to implement because of reduced revenue and significant Naira devaluation that has increased local production cost and further spurred inflation closer to 20%.

 For the above reasons, Central Banks, in successful economies everywhere, endeavor to sustain strategies that will keep money supply at an equilibrium level that will not push inflation rate beyond say 3-4%, so as to conserve price stability. Similarly, if foreign exchange is in short supply and auctioned in a market where Naira supply is constantly in excess, the local currency will, invariably depreciate in value, and also make all imports (including industrial raw materials) correspondingly more expensive. Furthermore, the competitiveness of local enterprise will become even more seriously challenged, if CBN’s MPC decides to counter inflationary pressures by increasing the rates at which commercial banks borrow from the CBN to as high as 14-16% as per their recent position in July 2016.

The preceding narrative hopefully explains the need for best practice management of money supply to avert the disenabling and distortional consequences of spiraling inflation in the economy. Clearly, horrendous inflation rates above 20% will seriously challenge any attempt to diversify any economy or foster inclusive economic growth. Indeed, if the inflation rate remains untamed, the Naira’s purchasing power will become seriously diminished and the N1000 note may ultimately be worth less than a dollar. Price stability is threatened and the economy will invariably underperform whenever the CBN readily admits its unending engagement in a very costly battle against perceived systemic surplus Naira.

So the critical questions should therefore be, what causes the evidently systemic excess Naira liquidity and why is CBN losing the battle to wrestle inflation to best practice rates below, say 4% and protect our incomes and industries. Naira supply will obviously increase if government continuously prints more Naira or borrows heavily without caution to fund its budget, as clearly demonstrated in the 2016 budget structure. Furthermore, Naira supply also increases inordinately, whenever government’s forex receipts are directly substituted with fresh Naira supply as allocations, while CBN keeps and auctions the dollars. Fortunately, the CBN also has the option to modulate money supply by establishing appropriate cash levels which banks must retain in relation to their assets.

MEND After My Life – Jonathan

Press Release 

Our attention has been drawn to a malicious claim by a shadowy group which calls itself the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) to the effect that many notable Ijaw and other Niger Delta leaders and elders, especially those perceived not to be too close to the powers that be, are the alleged sponsors of the current crises in the Niger Delta.

For the avoidance of doubt, we are fully convinced that such an idiotic claim is too cheap a narrative, a facile contrivance so badly concocted that any discerning mind would easily see through its disingenuous and duplicitous nature.

*Jonathan 

Since it is not in our place to speak for all those named in the obvious fabrication, we are only intervening to the extent that its hidden intent poses a violent threat to the life of former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, a committed patriot who the Almighty God has given the grace and good health to rededicate his life to the service of humanity, after serving his dear nation as President to the best of his abilities.

We are also not bothered by this baseless accusation, contented that we are not the only ones conversant with Jonathan’s widely-acknowledged sincere disposition to peace, non-violence and better human community.

We are however seized by the feeling of déjà vu occasioned by the resurrection of one dim character masquerading as ‘Cynthia White’, who had in the past served as the spokesperson for a notorious group that had all along shown its hand to be going after the life of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Nigerians could recall that in 2007 when Jonathan emerged as the running mate to the late President Umar’ Yar’Adua in the People’s Democratic Party during that year’s presidential election, this very group invaded Yenogoa with hundreds of militants in an effort to assassinate him. Jonathan was only saved then by the spirited efforts of the combined forces of determined security men, who gallantly repelled the attack.

Let us also not forget that members of this same group later invaded and bombed Jonathan’s compound in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, on a night he was scheduled to attend to an important matter in his country home. He was only saved by the grace of God, who in His infinite mercy created intervening factors that prevented Jonathan from sleeping in his country home that night.

Do we need to remind anybody that the so called Cynthia White is the self declared spokesperson of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), a violent and murderous underground group led by one Henry Orkah, which has not hidden its intention to destroy the former President?

Nigerians, Time To Hold Our Leaders Accountable

By Remi Oyeyemi

Like millions of other Nigerians, one is very concerned. One is concerned about the subsisting chaos in our social order. One is concerned about the turbulence in our economic condition. One is worried about the glorification of charlatanism in our political landscape. One is disturbed about the morass of our moral mill. The absence of integrity, the discountenance of dignity, the disrespect of reason and disregard of facts all combine to give one serious concerns about Nigeria.

*Remi Oyeyemi

When one traverses the social media, rummages through the newspapers, and listens to real life experiences of Nigerians, one could feel the concern of Nigerians. From discussions with variety of Nigerians, irrespective of the social, economic and political status, the concerns have been evident. One could fathom that Nigerians wanted solutions to the manifesting myriad of problems. One would come away with the fact that Nigerian are fed up with the situation in the country.

But what is not very clear is how ready are Nigerians of all hue and clime to get off the sidelines and be involved in changing the course of their destinies. Their attitude of believing in a messiah to come around and liberate them might not be the best one given what we have witnessed so far. It is becoming increasingly self evident that Nigerians have to stand up and take control of their destiny by getting off the sidelines.

It is one’s belief that time is now for all of us to get off our laptops, drop our pens, stop complaining and get off the sidelines. It is time for all of us to accept the fact that we are the captains of our souls. Not all of us can be president. Not all of us can be senators. Not all of us can be governors. But certainly all of us can be active participants in the political process. Through our participation we would all be able to work together to forge a new destiny for our country, forge a new country for our children and for the posterity.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved”  – William Jennings Bryan  

With our active participation as individuals or as members of groups we would be able to decide on the direction of the country and the type of policies that have to be in place. We would be able to hold our leaders accountable. If someone is a local government chairman and he is not able to declare his assets, we would be able to hold him accountable or force him to leave office.  Any councilor that lives beyond his means could be held accountable. House of Assembly members would be forced to be accountable on their stewardship.

The Senators who collect constituency allowance and spend such on their girlfriends would be made to answer questions. Those who become commissioners and live beyond their incomes would have some explanations to do. The political party operatives would not be allowed to get away with deceit and deception. Party platforms and promises would be seriously adhered to. Presidents or governors would not get into the office and deny their promises made during campaigns.  All these could be possible only through mass participation in the political process.

Mass participation is the heart and soul of democracy. It is the life blood of freedom. It is the best check and balance for governance. Mass participation is the best form of holding elected officers accountable. If our elected officers know that we are all paying attention, they would think twice before they steal our commonwealth or engage in any other form of corruption. If our elected officers know that we are informed and very much aware of the way the process works, they would not be able to hold us to ransom or deceive us.

Why Nigerians Won’t Trust INEC

By Dan Onwukwe

When President Muhammadu Buhari, on October 21, 2015, appointed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent   National Electoral Commission (INEC), to succeed the then acting chairman Amina Zakari, the general consensus was that the President made a right choice. The appointment came few months after Prof. Attahiru Jega’s somewhat successful tenure had ended with the 2015 general elections.

No doubt, the position of chairman of INEC is a big and sensitive job that attracts preeminent national and international attention. Such an appointment also tests the president’s commitment to credible, free, fair and transparent polls. Therefore, the chair of INEC is not for the faint-hearted. It requires a man or woman with an eye always on the ball, someone with uncommon courage, somebody with sincerity of purpose. That person must not be pushed around or be dictated to by external influences. In other words, he must have independent of mind. It goes beyond competence.

It’s all about trust. Trust is a priceless virtue. Trust entails being impartial, fair to all, someone who cannot buckle under pressure. Someone who is reliable always. That person must not abandon his duties to pursue narrow interest, in disregard to, and unconnected to the mandate of his engagement.

From the beginning, public perception of the electoral body is terrible, to say the least. It is equivalent to trying to mend a broken egg. It is like battling the demons that hold democracy and credible elections down. Therefore, the questions that many have asked in regard to Prof. Yakubu’s appointment are: Does this man fit the bill of the virtues listed above? Does he have the independent of mind, that leadership ability to be his own man, undictated to, no matter the pressures? Can we count on him on crucial moments?

Leadership must complement conviction to make things work. That has always been the problem of INEC and the man that heads it. On the surface of it, and if academic qualifications are yardsticks to measure competence, no doubt, Prof. Yakubu is in fine fettle. Take a look at his resume`. He made a first class, and to his record, he is up to date, according to Wikipedia, the only Nigerian from the North to make a first class degree certificate in history. To cap it all, in 1999, he graduated from University of Oxford with doctorate in Philosophy, specialising in Nigerian history. In addition, he was a three-time recipient  of the Overseas Research Scholarship and also won the commonwealth scholarship from the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Remembering Ironsi, Fajuyi

By Amanze Obi

Fifty years after their assassination by north­ern military avengers, the gruesome murder of General JTU Aguiyi Ironsi and Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi has received more than a pass­ing attention in the media. At the time of their death, Ironsi was the Head of State and Com­mander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while Fajuyi was the military governor of the Western Region.

*Gen. Ironsi

Since their passage, at no time have they been so fondly remembered and elaborately celebrated more than now. Fajuyi, particularly, is being celebrated by his Yoruba kinsmen for his courage and sacrifice. Ironsi is being men­tioned in passing, probably because his Igbo kinsmen did not roll out the drums for him as the Yoruba did for Fajuyi.

Since the celebration began, many have had to wonder why the Yoruba staged such an elab­orate outing for Fajuyi. The perceived impres­sion in some quarters is that there is more to the celebration of Fajuyi than meets the eyes. I am, however, not persuaded by such suspi­cions. What makes sense to me here is that 50 years is a landmark. It is worth celebrating in the life and death of persons or institutions. Perhaps, the Yoruba may be saying through their celebration of the death of Fajuyi that 50 years of his passage is significant enough in underlining the undercurrents that brought down one of their own, who rightly deserves to be recognised as a national hero. No one should begrudge them the right to tell their own story, as it concerns one of their icons.

Perhaps, what we should question is the loud silence of the Igbo about the death of one of their own whose assassination signposts the endangered position of the Igbo in Nigeria. Why are the Igbo not talking about the murder of Ironsi on July 29, 1966, by northern military officers?

The most immediate reason for this is not far-fetched. The Igbo hardly celebrate any­body. They may recognise you for who or what you are, but they are not interested in symbol­isms. They have never celebrated any one of their greats, be it Nnamdi Azikiwe or Chinua Achebe. Whereas the Yoruba place Obafemi Awolowo on the same pedestal as a demigod, the Igbo are hardly bothered about whatever Azikiwe represents or does not represent in the pantheon of the great.

Perhaps, the only Igbo man the people lion­ise is Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra. The reason for this is simple. Biafra means a lot to the Igbo. The passion flows in their blood veins. It matters to the Igbo that Ojukwu was more than committed to the Biafran cause. He never wavered in his belief in and fight for the cause until death. The Igbo revere him for this. He is their war hero for all times.

Apart from the inherent disposition of the Igbo, which does not encourage the celebra­tion of anybody, there are also remote rea­sons for the non-celebration of Ironsi by the Igbo. The Ironsi story is not an isolated one. It carries with it a myriad of sub plots which, when woven together, define the Igbo story and situation in Nigeria. There is no story of Ironsi without the story of the organised mas­sacre of hundreds of Igbo military officers by their northern counterparts. The story of the murder of Ironsi also necessarily dovetails into the story of the pogrom visited on the Igbo in northern Nigeria. One pogrom followed the other. In all of this, there was no whim­per from the federal military government led by General Yakubu Gowon. The government, which was supposed to protect the life and property of its citizens, as a primary responsi­bility, merely aided and abetted the organised massacres. All of this eventuated in the birth of Biafra. The Ironsi story is, therefore, a complex tapestry, which can hardly be unravelled and understood without making Biafra the subject matter.

Nigeria’s House Of Greed

By Paul Onomuakpokpo   

What is insufferably scandalous about the Nigerian condition is that the more it appears we are on the cusp of effectively routing a debilitating menace plaguing the nation, the more in reality, it becomes deep-rooted.

Nowhere is this more obvious in contemporary Nigeria than the frenetic campaign against corruption. For over a year now, the nation has been regaled with the prospect of the inevitability of victory over corruption as long as at the head of the campaign against it is a  new breed of politicians. But it is clear now that the more the fetishisation of the fight against corruption dominates public consciousness, the more there are revelations of seamy dealings of our leaders that underscore the seeming irrevocable flight of probity from public offices.

House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and
Senate President Bukola Saraki

As though to mock the brutal focalisation of the past administration as the sole embodiment of corruption in the nation’s political experience,  we are now confronted with a situation where those who are the self-declared precursors of a corruption-free era are the ones who are now smeared with the miasma of corruption.

Think of the racking allegations of the members of the House of Representatives being responsible for a massive manipulation of the budget the point becomes clear. Of course, no one inveighs against the statutory right of the lawmakers to  tinker with the nation’s budget. But what has justifiably provoked the ire of the citizens is that such a discharge of a statutory obligation is by no means for the good of the citizens. It is solely for the interest of only a minority of the citizens – the lawmakers themselves.

To be sure, there is no deployment of a newfangled method by the lawmakers for the alleged perpetration of  corruption. For to a large extent, the purpose of seeking a public office in these climes, despite all pretentions to altruism, is simply the padding of budgets. There have only been accusations and counter-accusations because the deal has gone awry.

The Senate has protested its innocence as though such scandals could only be associated with the House of Representatives. Yet, the citizens are aware that the special new breed of  politicians that former Military President Ibrahim Babangida tried to mint through his endless  transition, and that the current dispensation is expected to sire remain elusive in the Nigerian political space. Thus, we remain saddled with politicians  who maim, kill,  forge birthday and educational certificates, sell their houses and borrow,  become cultists, fawn on unscrupulous benefactors and scramble for juicy committees not  because of the big  positive difference they would strive to use their offices to make but the  prospect of self-aggrandisement through padding.

Former Nigerian President Jonathan Leads AU Elections Observation Mission To Zambia

Press Release 

Following an invitation by the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has deployed an African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to the Republic Zambia from 1 – 15 August in order to observe the General Elections scheduled for Sunday 11 August 2016. The objective of the AUEOM is: to make an independent, objective and impartial assessment of the 2016 General Elections; to offer recommendations for improvement of future elections; and to demonstrate AU’s interest in support for Zambia’s elections and democratization process and to ensure that the conduct of genuine elections will contribute to the consolidation of democratic governance, peace and stability in the country.

*Goodluck Jonathan

The AUEOM follows a Pre-Election Assessment Mission by the African Union which visited Zambia from 8 – 17 May 2016 to assess the pre-election environment in the country.

The Mission is led by H.E. GOODLUCK JONATHAN, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and comprises 45 Short Term Observers (STOs) and 10 Long Term Observers (LTOs). The Mission includes high profile personalities and experts drawn from the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), African Ambassadors to the AU in Addis Ababa, Election Management Bodies and Civil Society Organizations from various African countries. The Mission is supported by technical staff from the African Union, PAP and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA).

The AUEOM has a mandate to observe the 11 August 2016 General Elections in conformity with the relevant provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which entered into force on 15 February 2012. The Charter is intended to enhance electoral processes in Africa, strengthen electoral institutions and the conduct of fair, free, and transparent elections. The AUEOM’s mandate is further strengthened by the AU/OAU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (AHG/Decl.1 (XXXVIII)), adopted by the Assembly of the African Union in July 2002; the African Union Guidelines for Elections Observation and Monitoring Missions; the African Peer Review Mechanism; relevant international instruments governing elections observation; and the Constitution as well as the laws of the Republic of Zambia.

Mr. President, It Is About The Economy, Not Corruption!

By Ayodele Adio

I felt a bit miffed at the president’s Eid-el-fitr message not because it lacked compassion or empathy but because it lacked a departure from his strongly held minimalist view of our daily reality. In all sincerity, I have made a solemn promise not to throw empty criticism at Mr. President and only lend my voice to matters in which common sense is clearly shrugged away to accommodate political vacuity.

The message read thus: “I am not unaware of what Nigerians are going through and I want to use this medium to commend the amazing sacrifices of Nigerians in the face of temporary economic and social challenges and also reassure Nigerians that my government is working assiduously towards providing basic needs and other amenities. Let me also use this opportunity to reaffirm that we will not relent in the fight against corruption and we will ensure that all appropriate and legal measures are deployed to root out this malaise”.

Perhaps the words of O Henry, Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man is starving, underpins the very premise of my argument. Again, Nigerians are being congratulated for their sacrifices in difficult times, what needs to be asked though, is if such burdens will climax with better days. In any case, as for me and my house, we will remain skeptics until proven otherwise by the government of the day.

Of more concern, however, is the fixation of Mr. President on the fight against corruption. Without a doubt, corruption is a must kill but I also share the concern of Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that convictions have hardly been made even in the sight of overwhelming evidence of the culprits admittance and willingness to return stolen funds. Neither the president nor his towering integrity can prosecute any war against corruption; he has no choice than to rely on the institutions saddled with such statutory obligation. The best the president can do is to empower such institutions and let the chain off the neck of the proverbial dog.

It is not enough to make public declarations that merely romanticises the populace and whips sentiments but rather a case of putting your money where your mouth is. The president will be guilty of living in the clouds if he thinks that he can champion a successful fight against corruption without a reform of the Police Force, the judiciary and a healthy working relationship with the legislature to pass into law the propositions of the executive.

Hence, a continuous focus on a fight technically outside the arena of the president will be simply straining at a gnat and ignoring a whole camel, a typical case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Someone needs to remind Mr. President that it’s about the economy, about job creation and an improved livelihood, nothing else at this junction matters. I quite agree with Olatunji Ololade in his Friday’s column in The Nation newspaper, when he said: “Buhari seeks to eradicate diseased plants from the nation’s fields of enterprise even as he sows sickly seeds under the roof of the Nigerian barn house”. 

One of the greatest economists of the 18th and 19th century, John Maynard Keynes argues that in a recession of significant magnitude, it is necessary for the government to intervene and actively stimulate the economy. He was famous for recommending that the government should pay people to dig holes in the ground and fill them up because it doesn’t matter what they do as long as the government is creating jobs.

Quite frankly I understand the president’s fascination, if not obsession with corruption and never will I doubt his sincere passion for a nation he fought and bled for but he must come to terms with the fact that strong nations are not built on the integrity of an individual, even if that individual is the president, but on a continuous investment in the people in whom the government derives its authority from. I therefore urge the president to maintain his stance on corruption but give a closer attention to the economy. Mr. President also needs to remember that economic deprivation, stagnation or exclusion will ultimately lead to social and political catastrophe, the very demon he is fighting very hard to expel. 
*Mr. Ayodele Adio, a social critic, wrote from Lagos.

Buhari, The Logic Of Change And Democratic Tyranny: The Lessons Of History

By Arthur Nwankwo

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it"— George Santayana

 One thing you cannot take away from most Nigerians is their penchant for collective amnesia. Despite the lessons of our history, we seem to learn nothing. On several occasions, especially in times like this, most Nigerians find themselves in a state of apparent exhaustion, as though drained of all their physical and mental energies; in a kind of torpor from which we are aroused only by difficulty and hardship. I have come to appreciate the fact that of all human institutions, none is as pervasive and inescapable as the state. 

As socio-political beings, God has destined man to live together; to form groups for physical and emotional sustenance. In forming such groups, the most powerful group, which man has formed is the state. In line with the principles of “social contract”, it is to the state that we grant, explicitly and implicitly, willingly and unwillingly, powers that affect every aspect of our lives. History has shown that when the state exercises its coercive powers without restraint we have little choice about this grant, and we may find ourselves with hardly anything beyond the hope for survival. In such circumstances, we can only take recourse to history to raise society’s consciousness to prevent the birth of tyranny; to avoid finding ourselves with no choices except suffering oppression and brutality.

The present government of Muhammadu Buhari is a direct threat to this country. Make no mistake about this –  the lessons of history weigh heavily in this direction. I have in one of my earlier articles drawn attention to the activities that heralded the collapse of the ancient Mali Empire. In about 1203, Sumanguru (the Sorcerer King) took over what was left of old Ghana Empire. He was cruel and killed all that challenged his power. He killed many Malinka people but did not kill one of the crippled princes named Sundiata. In 1235, Sundiata crushed Sumanguru's forces. This victory was the beginning of the new Mali Empire. Sundiata took control of the gold-producing regions and became Mali's national hero.

Sundiata’s first major assignment was to eliminate all those who helped him to power; introduced a regime of monster and brutality comparable only to the monstrous Maghreb warrior, Samouri Ibn Lafiya Toure of the infamous ‘earth-scorch” policy – much in the mould of modern day Boko Haram attacks. A few years in power, the people of the ancient Mali Empire would actually come to realize that he was more brutal and sadistic than Samanguru. 

History is coterminous with the fact that brutal leaders all over the world have always emerged under the veneer of changing the status-quo in favour of the society. This trend sign posted the emergence of Adolph Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Joseph Stalin in former USSR, Nimiery in Sudan, Jean-Bedel Bokassa in Central African Republic and Mobutu Sese Seko in Congo. This was also the trend that greeted Buhari’s jackboot dictatorship in 1983. Despite the euphoria that greeted the emergence of his military junta, his colleagues booted him out on August 27, 1985.

*Buhari 

In his national broadcast on 27th August 1985, Brigadier-General Joshua Dogonyaro remarked that “Nigerians were unified in accepting the intervention of December 31st 1983 and looked forward hopefully to progressive changes for the better”. Then most crucially, he noted that “almost two years later, it has become clear that the fulfillment of our expectation is not forthcoming. Because future generation of Nigerians and indeed Nigeria have no other country but Nigeria, we could not stay back and watch a small group of individuals misuse power to the detriment of our national aspirations and interests”.

In his own broadcast on the same day, General Ibrahim Babangida threw more light on why Buhari had to go. According to Babangida, “when in December 1983, the former military leadership of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari assumed the reins of government with the most popular enthusiasm accorded any government in the history of this country, with the nation then at the mercy of political misdirection and on the brink of economic collapse, a new sense of hope was created in the minds of every Nigerian. Since January 1984, however, we have witnessed a systematic denigration of that hope…Regrettably, it turned up that Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitudes to issues of national significance. Efforts to make him understand that a diverse polity like Nigeria requires recognition and appreciation of differences in both cultural and individual perception only served to aggravate these attitudes. Major-General Tunde Idiagbon was similarly inclined in that respect”.

Aguiyi-Ironsi: Danjuma's Terrible Act Of Treason

By Obi Nwakanma

Fifty years ago, on a Friday night at the Western Nigerian Governor’s lodge in Ibadan, a group of soldiers led by Major Theophilus Danjuma committed a terrible act of treason. They accosted their Commander-in-chief, Major-General Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Military Head of State of Nigeria only six months in the making, stripped him of his epaulettes and his swagger stick shaped in the form of the Crocodile, and proceeded to arrest him and his host, the Military Governor of the West, Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi.

*Major-General Johnson Thomas
Aguiyi-Ironsi

These soldiers, some of them far too drug-addled, did not stop there. They proceeded to administer brutal beatings and a careless torture of the General, and the Governor, Colonel Fajuyi, supervised by T.Y. Danjuma, and Ironsi’s ADC, William Walbe. They did not stop there: bruised and much bloodied, these two men were later bound hand and feet, as legends would have it, and tied to a military truck driven by Jeremiah Useni, through the streets of Ibadan, and taken to that quiet spot on Iwo road, where they were murdered and buried in mean and shallow graves.

Fajuyi was by then, nearly dead in any case, far too brutalized to endure any further humiliation. But Ironsi stood tall to the very end – the image of a great elephant enduring the beatings that accompanied him finally to the dug-spot. Accounts of Ironsi’s stolid, dignified and courageous handling of his brutal end come to us by a number of eye witnesses. He was travelling with then Colonel Hillary Njoku, Commander of the Lagos Garrison, in his entourage. They were upstairs in the Governor’s lodge when they sensed the change in the air, by the rustle of the mainly Northern troop that had been arranged for his guard detail.

As soon as they noticed the mutiny afoot on the grounds of the Governor’s lodge in Ibadan, they quickly knew that they had only one shot at getting out there alive. Ironsi ordered Hillary Njoku to find his way out of the grounds and make contacts with his headquarters in Lagos to send some reinforcement. Meanwhile, he got through to Yakubu Gowon on the phone which were still working, to send a Helicopter for him. The Helicopter did not come. Gowon, Ironsi’s Chief of Staff, was busy issuing different orders to Danjuma in Ibadan, and apparently to Murtala Muhammed and Martin Adamu in Lagos, the arrowheads of that July mutiny. Neither did any reinforcement come. Just as he was attempting to sneak out of the Governor’s lodge, the mutineers saw Colonel Hillary Njoku, and fired shots at him. He escaped by scaling the fence of the Government House, but was so seriously injured he had to find his way to the University College Hospital, where he was treated.

July: Nigeria’s Month Of Remembrance

By Dan Amor

 For those of us who were born during or after the Nigerian Civil War, Chief Uche Ezechukwu's Monday column on the 50 years of the assassination of Nigeria's first military head of state General JTU Aguiyi Ironsi, provides an illuminating pathway to the events that led to the war. No nation among the third world countries makes a stronger claim on the interest and sympathy of Africans than Nigeria. What Nigeria has meant to the black continent and to blacks across the world, makes her future a matter of deep concern.

*Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
taking the oath of office as the leader
of the Republic of Biafra in May 1967

Nigeria might be doddering or tottering behind less endowed African countries as a giant with feet of clay, no thanks to the tragedy of irresponsible leadership. But whatever happens to her usually serves as a huge lesson for other African countries. To view therefore with judgment and comprehension the course of present and future events in Nigerian life and politics, we must possess knowledge and understanding of her past, and to provide such understanding within concise compass, we must consult history. Yet it is an unbiased, disinterested and unprejudiced inquiry into the history of our country that will ensure that we leave a legacy of truth for generations yet unborn.

In fact, the true story of Nigeria must begin with the foundations of the nation – its geographical and economic character; its social-political and religious influences and the psychology of its peoples. Besides the existence of multi-ethnic nationalities before the fusion of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 by Lord Fredrick Lugard, a British imperialist military commander, and the almost 100 years of British colonial rule, the great period of post-independence crisis – 1960-1970 – must be vividly delineated for posterity. The death in November 2011 of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu who has come to symbolise that great epoch of epic struggle brought to the front burner of national discourse, the issues and convergent forces at play in the Nigerian Civil War. But recent developments point to the fact that our leaders who prefer to learn their geology the day after the earthquake would want history to repeat itself.

Unfortunately, rather than telling in bold dramatic relief, the tragic and magnificent story of what brought about the war and its aftermath, some commentators have elected to mislead the reading public on who actually caused the war. Some have even pointedly accused Chief Ojukwu of having masterminded the war in order to divide Nigeria. What can be more mischievously misleading than the deliberate refusal to allow the historical sense transcend the ephemeral currents of the present and reveal the spirit of a people springing from the deepest traditions of their tragic experience? How could one begin to appreciate a legend who continued to be astonishingly misunderstood even when the realities of the factors that pushed him to rise in defense of his people are damning on the rest of us forty-nine years after his action? Why is it so difficult for us to appreciate the fact that Ojukwu has come to represent, in large and essential measure, not only a signification of heroism but also a courageous attempt to say no to an emerging oligarchy which was bent on annihilating his people from the face of the earth?

50th Anniversary Of Africa’s Bloodiest Coup d’état

By Chuks Iloegbunam

The first shots shattered the peace of the night at the Abeokuta Garrison of the Nigerian Army a few minutes after midnight on July 29, 1966. Three casualties lay instantly dead in the persons of Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Okonweze, the Garrison Commander, Major John Obienu, Commander of the 2nd Reece Squadron, and Lieutenant E. B. Orok, also of the Reece Squadron. It was the beginning of the much-touted revenge coup of Northern Nigerian army officers and men against the regime of Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi. By August 1, when Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon assumed power in Lagos as Nigeria’s second military Head of State, the bullet ridden bodies of both Ironsi and his host, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi, the military Governor of Western Nigeria, lay buried in shallow graves at Iwo, outside Ibadan.  “Within three days of the July outbreak, every Igbo soldier serving in the army outside the East was dead, imprisoned or fleeing eastward for his life”, observed Professor Ruth First in The Barrel of a Gun: The Politics of Coups d’Etat in Africa [Allen Lane The Penguin Press, London, 1970, p317.]

*Yakubu Gowon

But Africa’s bloodiest coup did not stop at that stage, despite the shooting deaths of 42 officers and over 130 other ranks, who were overwhelmingly Igbo. The killing sprees and ever-expanding killing fields spread like wild fire across most of the country. There were three phases to the coup – the Araba/Aware massacres in northern Nigeria pre-July that called for northern secession, the July Army bloodbath, and the ethnic cleansing that went on for months after Ironsi had been assassinated and his regime toppled. The maelstrom prompted Colonel Gowon into making a radio broadcast on September 29, 1966. This was the kernel of what he said: 

“You all know that since the end of July, God in his power has entrusted the responsibility of this great country of ours into the hands of yet another Northerner. I receive complaints daily that up till now Easterners living in the North are being killed and molested, and their property looted. I am very unhappy about this. We should put a stop to it. It appears that it is going beyond reason and is now at a point of recklessness and irresponsibility.”

But Gowon’s salutary intervention changed nothing, as the massacres continued unabated. Northern soldiers and civilians went into towns, fished out Easterners and flattened them either with rapid gunfire or with violent machete blows, leaving their properties looted or torched. According to the Massacre of Ndigbo in 1966: Report of the Justice G. C. M. Onyiuke Tribunal, [Tollbrook Limited, Ikeja, Lagos] “…between 45,000 and 50,000 civilians of former Eastern Nigeria were killed in Northern Nigeria and other parts of Nigeria from 29th May 1966 to December 1967 and although it is not strictly within its terms of reference the Tribunal estimates that not less than 1,627,743 Easterners fled back to Eastern Nigeria as a result of the 1966 pogrom.”

This is contemporary Nigerian history, only 50 years old. But when experts like Dr. Reuben Abati and Professor Jonah Elaigwu write about it, they lose all sense of numeracy and statistical acuity, and glibly state that the July 29, 1966 counter-coup cost “many” Igbo lives. Well, the truth is that the July 29 counter-coup appears to be the bloodiest in the world’s recorded history because the casualty figures it posted far outstrip those registered in decidedly bloody coups like the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in which King James II of England was overthrown by an invading army led by William III of Orange-Nassau; the 18 Brumaire of 1799 coup in which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory on November 9, 1799; the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 that overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the establishment of the Republic of China; the Bolsheviks October Revolution of 1917 that led to the creation of the Soviet Union; and the Iraqi coup d’état of 1936, the first among Arab countries. Each of these coups/revolutions led to war. But none of them managed anything near the sea of blood occasioned by July 29, 1966.

Given their interest in posting photographs and videos on the Internet by Instagram and Snapchat, and advertising mostly poor language on Facebook and other such portals, today’s Nigerian youths may know next to nothing about what led to the catastrophe of July 29. But the details follow here for those of them interested in learning. The problem sat rigidly on the superficiality of Nigeria, a geographical expression contrived by colonialist Britain. At Independence in 1960, the country operated a federal system of government with three powerful regions that didn’t take dictation from Lagos, the nation’s capital. A fourth region, the Midwest, with capital in Benin City, was created in June 1963. But destroying the very fabric of the artificial political entity were tribalism and corruption, corruption which by today’s standards, would seem like cloistered nuns delightfully engaging in a game of Ping-Pong!

W.F Kumuyi: The Missing Link In National Development

By Banji Ojewale

There is a small but vocal circle of Nigerians who do not believe that their country needs more of the quickening touch of the Divine to help turn things around for the prostrate land. They look all over the place and spotting what they see as a sea of churches, they conclude that Nigeria would be better off without a ‘surfeit’ of ecclesiastical industry. They refer to patently disturbing reports of abominable conduct in the Church and return the verdict that the trouble with Nigeria isn’t its politics or economy; it is the Church which encourages a craving for materialist prosperity. They argue that the Church and its leaders no longer aim at addressing the soul as their Lord Jesus Christ taught. Today, they say, the Church is master at pandering to carnal needs.

Pastor W.F Kumuyi

So they want less of sacerdotal activity and more of agnostic enterprise.

Well, this contrasts with the position of a famous French historian and writer as he also studied the role of the Church in the United States of America when that country was struggling with the challenges that came after a war.

The famous French writer Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States of America in the first half of the 19th century and returned with reports of how great America had become not too long after it had emerged from its war of Independence and passed through the teething problems of nation-building. His extensive tour led him to probe the source of this eminence.

When Tocqueville had undertaken an arduous search, he wrote: “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich higher learning and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic congress and her matchless constitution and it was not there. Not until I went to the Churches of America did I understand the secret of her genius and power”.

Tocqueville attributed the prosperity of the nascent American State to the fact that its leaders instituted a national policy that encouraged the Churches of the day to pray to God on behalf of “kings and… all that are in authority” as enjoined in the Holy Bible (1 Timothy 2:2). As far as he was concerned it was obedience to that Divine order coupled with diligent work that brought down God’s blessings both on the American people and on the land. Indeed the concluding part of the text we quoted says such intercessions will lead to “a quiet and peaceable life” adding that “this is good and acceptable in the sight of God” (verse 3).

Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) is in the same class as Tocqueville. He believes that the absence of Jesus Christ in the citizen’s life in Nigeria is responsible for the problems assaulting us, the same way that lack is the source of all of the world’s problems at the moment. The point, he argues, is not to have less of Jesus’ message of tolerance, righteousness, Biblical holiness, love for fellow man (even if he is your enemy), abstemious lifestyle, focus on Heaven etc. Outlawing Jesus amounts to outlawing peace and order. Man’s duty is to admit Him and allow Him full reign.

Kumuyi has maintained a diligent outworking of this faith in the power of the Gospel to change the fortunes of society if sincerely embraced. He has embarked on a back-breaking crusade nationwide. It has taken the Deeper Life Bible Church leader to far-flung areas including such so called no-go states as Plateau, Bauchi, Adamawa and Gombe. He was in those places only last week even in the midst of deadly outbursts of violence.

Adekunle Fajuyi: They Want Us To Forget

By Yinka Odumakin

The ancient city of Ibadan comes alive on Friday July 29, 2016 as dignitaries from all walks of life converge to remember that gallant, brave and outstanding soldier, Col Adekunle Fajuyi, who was murdered 50 years ago by Northern military officers who massed on the capital of the Western Region to take out then Head of State, Major General Johnson Aguiyi- Ironsi.

*Col Adekunle Fajuyi

The International Conference at the University of Ibadan is the place to be as prolific writer and teacher, Prof Niyi Osundare, speaks on “Fajuyi and the Politics of Remembrance”. Fiery preacher, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Prof Wale Adebanwi will spice his thoughts.

I spoke with a 27-year-old a few weeks back and I was shocked he had no idea who Fajuyi was. And it quickly dawned on me that those who stopped the teaching of History in our schools have succeeded in wiping off the   memory   card of our pertinent stories. They want us to be blank but we must keep telling our stories. Adekunle Fajuyi did not commit any crime than the fact that he was playing host to Ironsi on July 29,1966 when Northern officers who staged a revenge coup following the Kaduna Nzeogwu-led coup of January 15,1966 struck.

Disgruntled Northern officers led by Murtala Mohammed, TY Danjuma, Martin Adamu and others spearheaded a rebellion within the army after the event of January. On one occasion, Murtala called Ironsi a “fool” in the presence of other officers and threatened to avenge the death of his Northern officer colleagues. His position as the Inspector of Signals became quite veritable for the planning of the revenge coup nicknamed “Operation Araba” (Araba is Hausa word for let’s divide it). Murtala and his Northern colleagues had totally lost confidence in the Nigerian federation and their plan was to break Northern region from Nigeria.

Their politicians had earlier pulled out of the Federal Parliament in 1953 after the crisis that followed their rejection of Enahoro’s motion that Nigeria should become independent in 1956.They produced an eight-point demand which effectively wanted a confederal Nigeria as a precondition to return. As their coup began on July 29, 1966, it was Murtala who coordinated the take-over of  the International Airport in Lagos, an edifice to be named after him 10 years later. When he and his troops arrived the airport, they hijacked planes to ferry their families back to the North as a prelude to the exit of the region from Nigeria.

 An Igbo officer (Captain Okoye) was captured by them and tied to an iron cross and beaten to death. In Military units across Lagos, Kaduna and Ibadan, Northern troops went gaga and murdered their Igbo colleagues in gruesome manner, eliminating hundreds of them. The arrowhead of the whole operation was Murtala who had close links with NPC as his Uncle Inuwa Wada was the Defence Minister. When Danjuma and co arrived Ibadan they made for the Government House where there was a detachment of 106 Artillery commanded by William Walbe from Plateau State on guard. It later came to light that Walbe was part of the conspiracy. He later became ADC to Gowon. By some act of naivety Fajuyi’s ADC was one Lt Adamu, while Ironsi had Lt Sani Bello.

General Aguiyi-Ironsi: 50 Years After…

By Uche Ezechukwu

Next Friday, July 29th, will mark the golden jubilee milestone in Nigeria’s bloody history. That was the day in 1966, when Nigeria’s first military head of state, Major General Johnson Thomas Ummunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, was abducted and killed by officers led by the then Majors Theophilus Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed, in what was known as the counter to the first ever military coup in the country that had taken place on January 15th of the same year.

*Gen Ironsi 

During the January 15 coup, top political leaders, predominantly from the Northern and the Western parts of the country were slain by the young ambitious military officers. Incidentally, apart from Colonel Arthur Unegbe, who was the quartermaster-general of the army, no other person from the East was killed in a putsch that severed off the top echelon of the political and military leadership from the North. In that coup, both the powerful premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sarduana of Sokoto, who was the leader of the ruling NPC was slain. So also was Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the prime minister of Nigeria. Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the premier of Western Nigeria and the ally of the NPC was also slain; so was Sir Festus Okotie Eboh, the minister of finance. Topmost Northern military officer Brigadier Maimalari was also killed. 

Incidentally, no politician of Eastern Region origin was killed. The powerful Dr Michael Okpara, the premier of Eastern Nigeria and Chief Dennis Osadebey who was the NCNC premier of Mid-West region, and an Igbo from Asaba, were not killed. Of course, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was out of the country at the time, on a medical tour, was also not touched. Even though it would appear as a convenient after-thought explanation to say that the fact that all those Igbo people were spared was not quite planned but was an error of fate.

For one thing, the soldiers sent to Ikoyi to arrest and kill the chief of army staff, Aguiyi-Ironsi, could not meet him at home as he had gone to a party aboard a naval ship at the Marina, Lagos, and had learnt of the on-going coup there. From there, he had found his way to Obalende and Ikeja, where he organised some loyal troops to foil the coup in Lagos. It was also Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the commander of the Fifth Battalion at Kano that foiled the coup in the North.

Yet, how do you explain to the sorrowing Northerners that the coup, whose victims were unfortunately very lopsided at the expense of the North, was not a plot by the Igbo officers in the military? After all, on the list of the coup plotters was mostly Igbo, even as its two leaders, Majors Emmanuel ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, as well as the other majors and officers were majorly Igbo. It hardly mattered that officers from all over the country including Major Ademoyega, Oyewole, Banjo, etc, were among the ring leaders of the coup. Neither, did it matter at those testy times that the coup plotters had planned to go to Calabar Prison, release Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was serving a life–term for treason, and make him the prime minister. It also did not matter that Nzeogwu whose mother was Tiv and who was very angry over the military campaigns in Tivland in 1965, was only Igbo by name.