2016: HAPPY NEW YEAR.

It is already time to extend New Year greetings to individuals at specific locations on the globe while some of us have to wait for a few more hours to do same. It is assumed that everyone utilizes the same formula of marking time hence the glamour attached to New Year celebrations across the globe marked in several places by elaborate firework displays and parties.

Most people like to be happy; even supposed evil dictators get to have birthday parties organized for either themselves or for family members. Some people like to go over the top to celebrate wedding ceremonies, child birth(s) and even soccer victories. More than a few acknowledge their creator while some just celebrate humanity. The human body gets weary, broken and old; depression and emptiness are sometimes resident in our kind. At times, no amount of motivation can depolarize us from dispirited states but there may just be something however insignificant that will be capable of making someone happy.

I wonder how sensible life would have been if we did not have calendars, time machines and seasons to keep track of existence. Would it have been without chaos? We must understand by now that we are stuck in time and it is irrelevant whether we believe in a deity or not; the time we will have to be humans will end in only a moment. That fact alone should inform humanity that who or what controls life is way beyond human regulation but the practice of many religions have unfortunately served in no small way in encouraging some people to believe otherwise.

Many religions demand that some days and seasons be celebrated; there may be postural specifications, calls and responses as well as dress code requirements. Religion is capable of discrimination as humans who may not meet the physical specifications to carry out these pathways are not in a sense carried along. Religion could become elitist and make people powerless to truly help humanity; a function which the discipline inherent in religion ought to enhance.

Many have walked away from Christianity mainly because of money issues. Money is the main medium of giving offerings in the church and it is not divine wisdom that some individuals have become incredibly wealthy by manipulating church resources for their own advantage. There is really nothing wrong in giving to the church whether in offering or in tithe; what is important to note is that there must be a clear understanding of why money or anything at all is given.

The church is the body of people who believe in and act based on the teachings of Christ. Giving is a culture which existed long before Jesus Christ; giving is essentially part of human nature and it sustains life. Israelites in the Old Testament donated to the construction of a golden calf by Aaron because they had become weary of waiting for Moses’ return (Exodus 32). They gave their precious items albeit for a negative purpose. In Exodus 36, Israelites gave so much to a construction work that they were later instructed to withhold from giving. King Joash in 2 Chronicles 24 ordered a levy to be collected by the priests and it is recorded that the people gave gladly. What is common to all these positive scenarios is that there was accountability especially on the part of the collectors, officials and workers. They were the ones who reported that the people had given enough and the funds were judiciously used.

Is there accountability in our days? How many church leaders will be willing to ask their congregation to halt their giving especially when an urgent need has been met? What will most likely happen in our days is that these men and women will leverage on the generosity of their people and device avenues to further milk them until they are weary. We should give gladly because there is a need; those who labour in the church actively and those sent as missionaries have needs and the church infrastructure also needs maintenance. The poor and needy as well as communities and nations should not be beyond the scope of a church’s resources. Majority of what is done in our days is unfortunately not different from what celebrity life is all about. A church will readily change the interior design of their auditoriums quarterly than help impoverished children obtain sound education.

When the people are made weary; some begin to see the insincerity of their leaders while others just do not have to give anymore. There is a feedback mechanism which ensures that the leaders device newer strategies to continue to psyche their members to give more. Some will give because they believe that God will multiply blessings unto them and only a few will retain the true reason for giving like the widow with her two coins. Once a church establishes a lavish system following a period of boom, it is usually difficult to practice modesty and contentment if income dwindles. All sorts of untoward practices ravage the church which ends up breeding more unbelievers in the long run.

Giving is what some people want to run away from. They want things to be all about them alone and feel that responding to God equates bondage. Everyone who believes in the church ought to give according to their abilities and with the right attitude. If everyone gave, no one would be weary because there would be more than enough. There are blessings that follow giving but that should not be the leading reason why anyone gives. God instructed that we give; responding to that simple instruction is what is important to God. It takes faith to relate with God, to believe His word even when there is seemingly no palpable blessing attached.

Many people will be trooping to various tents, camp grounds and basilicas tonight to herald the New Year; some preachers have advertised their programs as epic in nature and almost a prerequisite to cross over into the New Year. There will be a lot of cajoling tonight to step up your offering but whatever the attempts at manipulation please do willingly give because you are truly grateful and believe that you are only alive because of grace. There are those who do not feel like leaving their enclaves tonight for church because they feel inadequate or do not expect anything but gymnastics; some want to party all night or do so after church. There may just be a life changing word or experience tonight, some people may just meet friends and family members and discover fresh reasons to be thankful.

Gratitude comes naturally to the human being; it is not something to be repressed because one may think no one is deserving of it. Religion may attempt to condemn those who will not make it for one reason or the other to church because of ill health, work, travel or unbelief; what is important right now is that our hearts are first of all thankful for everything good or bad that we have experienced in 2015.  That should be the bedrock of anything we do and give tonight for those who will be in church; we should not think we are entitled to see 2016 because of whatever we do or give. It is not necessarily right or wrong if anyone does not regard today, tomorrow or any day at all specially; what is more important is gratitude and how we spend each day to positively affect lives.

Happy New Year all, I hope we will not be weary of giving and doing good to all and sundry without any prejudice.

On PMB's media chat.

I watched yesterday's chat from start to finish except for a few moments when my son transiently distracted me. I actually didn't know my 4 year old knew the name of the president and he pronounced it quite well. 

President Buhari was brutally honest and even though he tried to avoid speaking extensively on certain critical subjects,  he still made some remarks that reveals his mindset. One of such matters was the Zaria situation.  His comment about running a state within a state shows he will not tolerate any group which doesn't recognise the sovereignty of Nigeria.  Like I have always advocated,  he wants to wait for the outcome of investigations in the matter. 

Many individuals somehow fail to understand that the president isn't running a one man show. I don't know why they think his view on economic matters is not based on any input from the managers of the economy. They may not be accurate but one thing I know is that economists outside of the government will most likely not be agreed on the way out of our economic quagmire. Some individuals went ahead to insult the president during the chat and others deliberately misquoted him in order to rubbish whatever he said.  That's the beauty of democracy I guess. 

I do not claim to be an economist,  that is one area I always ask my brother to break down for me into 'economics for idiots' format. One thing is clear,  the money regularly looted prior to this administration isn't there anymore;  it has become really difficult to send money to the numerous Nigerian students studying overseas and for Nigerian business people to conduct their business even if they only import rubber slippers and plastic. I understand that Nigerians in South Africa experience a lot of difficulties with sending their monies out of South Africa but I do not think South Africans have a problem with that. At times I wonder if there are far more Nigerian students studying abroad than at home to justify the wails about how students abroad will find it difficult to get money at their bases.  This isn't being insensitive to the plight of students who will be genuinely affected; perhaps it will all make sense when one figures that Musiliu Obanikoro who I think is a grandfather is now among the contingent of foreign based students.

We thank God for the anchor of the show yesterday,  he was the one who kept the chat on track and ensured the two hours spent was maximised to attend to as many issues as possible. That lady to the president's left should be sent for a crash course on how to ask questions,  she was the main distraction on the night. 

The issue of Chibok and Boko Haram came up; the president could only admit to our fears that those young ladies may never return whole. It would have been wrong if he said otherwise without any concrete intelligence backing.  I don't think it's an admission of failure or defeat;  I think it's a good dose of reality so that Nigerians can put things in proper perspective. I am particularly more interested in the return of every kidnapped young lady from Boko Haram enclaves including those carted away from their school in Buni Yadi. 

My favorite moment from the chat came when I thought things couldn't get anymore interesting.  President Buhari answered questions on Biafra agitation and bail. His eyes shot up at that moment and I was glad that the general in him is still alive and well. Nnamdi Kanu is in serious trouble and the president didn't joke when he mentioned treasonable felony, how Kanu passed through airport security and immigration without having any of his passports acknowledged is indicative of high level conspiracy and sabotage. 

Nigerians did not vote for a gutless president, it is important that people understand when slightly less ideal methods are employed to detain corrupt and violent elements. Will those advocating for the rule of law to be upheld with respect to the bail requests of those concerned sing the same lyrics if Abubakar Shekau was arrested and granted bail? It's easy to sit outside a government and condemn all their actions pertaining to security and justice;  the seat of the president is hot and the situation one is encountered with determines to what extent the law can be flexed. 

The American CIA is notorious for doing whatever is necessary to extract information from those in custody. They will waterboard any soul as long as their nation's security is concerned and it doesn't matter how humane and oblivious president Obama comes out to present himself to people;  he understands and authorises such interventions even if he may openly condemn them. Obama's 8 years is almost up yet Guatanamo bay remains funded despite his promise promise to shut the place down.  He must have seen reasons why such a facility should be kept open based on the current permutations. If my president tells me he will not interfere with the DSS' detention of Dasuki because he could jump bail,  should I not trust his judgement as long as Dasuki is not subjected to physical torture? A man who indulged in illegally withdrawing foreign currency at will and inappropriate appropriation under a government that boasted about upholding the rule of law should not be allowed to embark on a trip to London to have his gums checked when I can always be invited to help him with such a check up for just a token fee.

President Buhari asked those wailing about being marginalised to explain exactly how they have been marginalised and who has been marginalising them.  I wonder how appointing someone from my hometown as a minister will improve my financial status.  He said that no one should be prevented from obtaining the full details of all assets he declared.  Those who want such document should take the evidence of that to the appropriate agency to get whatever they want;  he's put his integrity on the line for that one. 

The chat could easily have gone on for longer and it definitely was not scripted like what we had in the recent past.  There were silly questions asked as well as difficult ones.  The president did pretty well overall and exhibited the seriousness and decisiveness required to occupy that office. 

Dasuki's corruption trial from all indications will be trumped by the rot in the Oil sector and even in the military.  I thought I heard him say that the military had over 70 separates accounts before the treasury single account was made mandatory. Those who think president Buhari is senile should be advised to think again. Like my friend tweeted yesterday;  PMB  answered 95% of the questions but GMB answered the rest. This is indeed good news and a word is enough for the wise.

In Demand For Justice

There are people who will beat their maids savagely if they lend their madam's property to their next door neighbor. 

There are those who will break a househelp's head if he or she stole their jewelry or funds saved for Christmas celebrations.

There are pastors who will rain fire and brimstone on their members who dare to steal church funds. It does not matter if such are caught or not, the curses will flow.

There are these people of mine who will lynch anyone caught in their neighborhood for stealing clothes, food or goats.

When I was young, it was normal to hear shouts of "olè olè" in my estate and a few times we would climb up the living room window to observe justice. 

I remember tires around the neck of thieves but I never watched anyone set on fire. What I remember was when a fellow rushed to buy a bottle of coca cola for the thief after which he dumped cement into it and gave the captured man to drink or be set ablaze. He sure did drink of the semi solid mix.

I remember thieves dealt with on the spot even when we were in medical school. Months of stored up anger from stolen property was unleashed one day on a thief who dared to steal during the day.

Nigerians are not alien to shouting thief and descending upon them as rage dictates but what is fascinating is that folks who will readily fall into the above categories will in this day and age spill their blood in defence of those who are daily acknowledging their roles in defrauding Nigeria.

They are plenty in real time and on social media who will defend common stealing and say it is not corruption. My people will read the memo from Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to president Jonathan and fail to see how she lent her madam's property to her neighbor who would then return it before madam gets wind. 

Oh she disbursed the money for a good cause; to buy weapons to fight terrorists so it is all well and good. Money not appropriated was signed off just like that and we should take it like that because Sambo Dasuki is Jack Bauer.

This insanity has got to stop; on the part of both leaders and followers. There is a reason why English comprehension is studied in high school. It is done so that the JSS2 student can read the Okonjo memo and identify the loopholes therein so that no one claiming to be Harvard or Oxford trained will be able to bamboozle and hoodwink an entire nation and generations unborn.

We should learn good things from serious nations. I am not even saying coke and cement tonic; we can start by giving the Ehud Olmert treatment to any leader who has compromised this nation for personal gain.

THE AL-ZAKZAKY CONFUSION

The unfortunate event of Saturday 12th December 2015 in Zaria has turned a few people into overnight experts in international diplomacy and religious conflict. Some have used the clash between Nigerian army officers and members of the Islamic movement of Nigeria (IMN) to justify their pre-election fears that President Buhari is an Islamic fundamentalist who is out to make Nigeria a 100% Islamic nation. I wonder how any individual interested in spreading Islam will go all out to crush a sect that canvasses for the establishment of Islam everywhere. The Aljazeera report on Saudi Arabia leading a coalition of Islamic nations against terrorism did not help the president as some wondered when the country was signed up to be part of any Islamic alliance. I really do not know if that has to do with Nigeria being a member of the Organization of Islamic Countries.

The debate has mostly been about whether the Army was right or wrong in dealing severely with the Shi’ite movement in Zaria and how the killing of over 100 people can be justified. What was the source of the casualty figure? I believe that came from a certain Ibrahim Musa who is a spokesperson of the Islamic nation. He seems to have been the one addressing various media outfits especially some based in Iran. His first submission on Sunday was that Sheik Al-Zakzaky’s wife and son were among the dead. Even when the Army came out on Monday to say that Al-Zakzaky and his wife were in protective custody in Kaduna, he insisted on his story. He also mentioned at a point that the dead numbered hundreds to thousands. Al-Zakzaky’s daughter was reported on an Iranian website to have said that her father was fighting for human rights against a government which did as it pleased. She also said they had video evidence and proof of all that happened. Ibrahim Musa also said that Al-Zakzaky was critically ill after being shot with 4 bullets lodged within his body. He said this was the reason why the sect leader could not leave the house even when it was surrounded by soldiers.

Who really is Zakzaky and what exactly happened on Saturday? There was a website created on bregava.tripod.com and most likely run by the Islamic Human rights Commission (IHRC) in probably 1996 or 1997 to create awareness and fight for the freedom of Sheik Mu’allim Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky who had been jailed in September 1996 along with 3 other men. His biography on that site has it that Al-Zakzaky was born in May 1953 and finished from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with a first class in Economics in 1979. It is indicated there that he was denied his degree because of his Islamic activity. He must have been radical in his mindset prompting him to proceed on a sojourn to Iran from where he returned with Iranian and Shi’ite ideals.

The IHRC were not silent on reporting alleged losses incurred by Al-Zakzaky’s followers from September 1996 to December 1998 when he was released after the demise of the late military dictator Sani Abacha. Abacha was ruthless in dealing with any perceived or real enemy of his rule. He sacked Ibrahim Dasuki as the Sultan of Sokoto and had a former associate Ken Saro-Wiwa hanged with 8 others because of the Ogoni struggle. Abacha must have feared that Al-Zakzaky and other sect leaders could potentially lead an uprising against him so he had them locked away and Al-Zakzaky was charged for treason and sedition in August 1997. They reported that the police kidnapped certain Shi’ite women and children in February 1998 and also killed protesters in April 1998. They also put up photographs of dead bodies from various clashes at that time. The most recent incidents involving the Zaria Shi’ite community are a suicide bomb attack on a Shi’ite procession on November 27 2015 allegedly carried out by Boko Haram and several people killed in July 2014 by Nigerian soldiers including 3 of Al-Zakzaky’s children. Those who have been quick to label President Buhari as genocidal should also place president Jonathan in that bracket based on their logic.

The Army spokesperson who addressed the press on Al-Zakzaky’s apprehension explained that the initial confrontation between Lieutenant General Buratai’s convoy and agitated Shi’ite members began at about 2:30pm on Saturday. There is an edited video on Youtube on the incident which was most likely captured by someone on the side of the army. The short video began with senior army officers ordering their troops to exercise restraint and not shoot at the human blockade. The officers including one colonel (from what I could see) talked with a few men who stepped forward from the angry mob mostly in Hausa. It was clear they pleaded with the mostly young people to vacate the road and allow the convoy to proceed on their journey. The negotiation did not appear to work as the mob moved even closer to where the officers were and practically engulfed them. The officers kept speaking to them and made frantic phone calls supposedly to Al-Zakzaky but the young men clearly brandished machetes, sticks, clubs and other tools which were not very visible on the screen. They began to chant and scream “Allahu Akbar” and something else I cannot decipher. A few of them had what were probably cameras or video recording devices as if they were there prepared for a rumble to breakout.

There is no footage of when the first bullet was fired but the video continued with the Army convoy proceeding on a road blocked by burning tires. The conversation from the footage at this point suggested that there were in an area called Sabon Gari and one soldier could be heard telling another that their commander had ordered that the bodies of the dead should be carried although someone else may have heard counted, I am not sure. Most of us have seen movies where a standoff is in play between good guys and bad guys or two opposing forces. There usually is no intention to discharge weapons until someone steps on a twig or sneezes and all hell would be let loose. Is there a possibility that something like that forced the soldiers to shoot at the Zakzaky’s men and force their way through or were the soldiers just reckless like their past history suggests? The army spokesperson explained that they had to approach the enclaves of the Shi’ite group because of intelligence report that the sect members were regrouped and poised to wreak havoc. Army sources said they suffered losses and casualties due to the response from the sect members while the IMN spokesperson and Al-Zakzaky claimed that everyone in their Husainiyyala was killed as well as some people found at Al-Zakzaky’s home and other enclaves. 

It is difficult to believe the Army’s narrative on the matter of casualties because they did not provide any figures; some people believe that it was a no-contest from the start. The number of dead reported by most media outfits is supported by an audio recording of Al-Zakzaky‘s telephone conversation with someone widely reported to be an Iranian Official. Sheik Abdullah Husseini according to a Press TV (Iran) interview published on Sunday 13th December 2015 is a lecturer at the Al-Mustafa University in Johannesburg South Africa. From the interview, he was in Iran at the time and informed the interviewer that he had called Al-Zakzaky and had subsequently released the audio recording to certain media outfits for propagation. He told the lady that he heard gunshots during the conversation with Al-Zakzaky but I do not know if it is just my ears but I listened to that recording about three times and did not hear fireworks in the background. He ended the less than three minutes conversation by assuring Al-Zakzaky that he would do all he could to assist and he also said he would inform the office of the leader and one Dr ‘Mustafawi’. I wonder who the leader he referred to is; perhaps the Nigerian leader?

Al-Zakzaky sounded pretty much relaxed during that phone conversation and responded calmly to mostly leading questions from Husseini like “how many people have been killed, you don’t know?” and “so your life is in danger then?” Al-Zakzaky made comments like “we’ve heard the bomb” and “they took the whole house and seized it”. He claimed that he had been boxed in for 11 hours at the time of the call on Sunday with soldiers shooting and killing people and I wonder why it took so long for the soldiers to finally apprehend him on Monday morning. Is his house a fortress or are the Nigerian soldiers so bad that they were unable to overrun unarmed supporters who guarded a peace loving cleric’s house? By the time Premium times reported the story on the 13th of December, Ibrahim Musa claimed he did not know where Al-Zakzaky was holed up but the Iranians knew that he was in his house which was surrounded by soldiers and policemen who spent the entire night shooting. 

The army has voluntarily indicated that they will be open to scrutiny by the National Human Rights Commission and have not been too explicit about the entire situation. Governor El-Rufai was reported to have met with Al-Zakzaky and he alongside other prominent leaders has sued for peace. Iranians are broadcasting the news like it was something which happened in Tehran and some people were reported to have protested outside the Nigerian embassy. The narrative generated by the IMN seems to have wooed a lot of sympathizers to their side but I cannot trust such a plot due to the signs of inconsistency and conspiracy that is apparent to me. The army has a history of steamrolling non-hostile civilian populations before so a thorough investigation into this matter and concrete evidence is the only way this institution can be absolved of blame.

One should wonder why following Al-Zakzaky seems synonymous with death. People have been killed for decades now because of being affiliated with this man. I am not certain he should be regarded as the victim in this case; whether we admit it or not he has to be complicit in how things degenerated on Saturday. I will rather wait for the result of the inquiry into the conflict as demanded by other nations and the presidency before I make any conclusions on the army’s role in escalating things. At the moment, I have not seen any footage that proves the heavy-handedness of the soldiers. Karl Maier’s book “this house has fallen” tells a tale of how injustice and corruption in Nigeria led to the rise of various militant groups some of which have matured to full-blown terrorist networks. It is important that some people try to lay their hands on such books so that they can understand the relationship of Al-Zakzaky and other sect leaders like him to the rise of insurgency in the North. There may not be any concrete evidence of violence carried out by Al-Zakzaky’s followers but there has to be something fundamentally wrong with a sect that has stronger ties with Persia than it has with Nigeria. It is important that the sovereignty of Nigeria is exalted above that of any other nation. These nations should not be permitted to dictate to us how to run our affairs. We should be able to properly investigate this matter and ensure justice is served especially if it is proved that our soldiers erred. At the moment, I chose to stand with the Nigerian Army until evidence dictates that I do otherwise.

Apologies for any bias with respect to Sunni and Shi’ite believers; I do not claim to be an expert on this or on Al-Zakzaky for that matter.