18/10/2017- A twisted narrative?

This is how the Nigerian media report stories without considering the problem they may be causing.

 

What I believe is a result of this zeal to be part of the story is the chance of creating a false narrative or distracting from the real issues.

The reality is that there are people with guns who have ransacked villages and killed people for many years now.  There is a real chance that these individuals are herdsmen, Fulani or both. There is also the chance that they are neither.

The current political situation in the country favors the narrative that it's Fulani herdsmen doing all the damage.  I've never favored that narrative especially when it seemed every skirmish and murder that took place in every state in the same period was blamed on Fulani herdsmen even before any investigations or press statements were given.

Some keep saying the government is silent and try so hard to blame these things on the chief executive of the country. They obviously don't read or listen to the news for themselves but rely on prejudiced folks to help form their opinions.  A neutral observer may be easily convinced that the nation's military is composed exclusively of individuals from a certain tribe based on the level of animosity against the military. This is the reason supposedly educated people will believe that soldiers who originate from various tribes are out to annihilate them when they aren't terrorists.

The press who should know better and educate the people does otherwise many times.  Oh it's herdsmen carrying AK47s so just Google any image of young boys with weapons to support your story.  Nigerians read this and their disdain for the Fulani and herdsmen is further reinforced.  When one suggests to them to apply caution, it falls on deaf ears. 

It could be any group of people; cattle rustlers, tribal or ethnic militia, armed robbers, religious terrorists etc. who do these things.  They attack at way past midnight, wreak havoc and flee into the darkness.  Same modus operandi used almost 10 years ago in Plateau state when the term "Unknown Gunmen" was in vogue.

Some may want to deny the truth and believe this evil began post 2015, anyone interested in learning the truth knows he/ she can't ignore history. I don't think tagging 'Fulani herdsmen' as terrorist is as straightforward as many expect.  Who is/are the leader(s) of this group?  Where is their headquarters? Have they claimed responsibility for any crimes in the past? Have they made any threats via any medium?  One will ask why IPOB was declared a terrorist organization and not 'herdsmen,' we at least know who to hold responsible for the threats made to burn down the country and kill all inhabitants. Even herders get attacked and robbed of their cattle by rustlers or do we deny such exist?  Rustlers abound in Nigeria, Sudan and all the way to Kenya. 

Nigeria is plagued by many evils. We fight over grazing land, boundaries, gods and God, inheritance, royal stools, farm lands, elections and many other issues including social media relevance.  It doesn't help when we join in the stereotyping especially when there's a chance that evil people who may be hiding under the cover of anti-Fulani herdsmen rhetoric are evading justice because we may just be focused on the wrong suspects. 

For the sake of clarity, I haven't in any way ruled out any group as executors of these acts; neither have I denied that these unfortunate events occur. I'm only asking for caution with what the media use to support their stories.  I don't believe that's too much to ask.

15/10/2017- "When there's something wrong in the cranium."

Let no Nigerian (especially those from the more populated tribes) claim that their economic problems are exclusively or majorly caused by other tribes.

The pest that's eating our vegetables is resident within the vegetable.  He also replaces the vegetable with 'weed' and mixes it with noodles for his people to eat and be high.

A few weeks ago, it was numerous cakes baked by non-Imo people and aso-ebi to celebrate Rochas' birthday. How old is he sef?

Then just this weekend, Jacob Zuma touched down to sign a memorandum of understanding between his JZ foundation and the Rochas foundation to help educate children. Good one you might say.

And as a side attraction, a chieftancy title to take back to SA and oppress his detractors with.

Baba Iyabo was there to grace the occasion.A road name after him to go with it like Ozumba Mbadiwe.

Then they unveiled this statue..........

….. Sorry wrong photo

Surely this statue was unv... 

My bad, wrong photo still. It is surely the next image

A very yuge statue of Jacob Zuma. I wonder what part of the country the sculptors came from.
And don't tell me Imo money paid for this o. I'm sure not a kobo of Imo money went into this. Zuma paid for this himself and got SA sculptors to do it. We haven't been getting statues right laely in Nigeria. Wrong face and wrong shoe sef.

I'm not sure we really do high statues like this in Nigeria. One of Mandela in SA is perhaps taller than this. This proves to me that this is Zuma just festooning his battered image away from his people.

They actually think he's corrupt.. 
I'll introduce him to certain women of the last Nigerian empire.

Rochas isn't done o. He's still planning to bring an anaconda from his pocket. Not the one he hangs round his neck o. 

Another Statue coming soon. Is Rochas now a Baal worshiper?

At higher magnification, it looks very much like a man with a cap on. What I don't know is if it's Rochas' cap or Obasanjo's own. 

Time will reveal. It definitely isn't Kanu.

However, there appears to be at least 6 more statues to get unveiled!!!!

This is a tragedy. Nigerian flags cover 3, what appears to be a Ghanaian flag covers one and a Liberian or American flag covers one too. The last in this image is covered by dark green material.

Will the coming unveilings reveal Charles Taylor/George Weah/Johnson Sirleaf; Donald Trump or Obama.?

Is Jerry Rawlings there? Obasanjo surely has to be.

Imo has entered danfo bus at 5am o.

Even those who had absolutely no issues when the statue of dilector was unveiled are pulling their dada over what Rochas has done. Some may have even worshiped this statue o.

But this painting as backdrop ehn. The anatomy and postures depicted, e get as e be o.

God save Imo state.

13/10/2017-"We get problem o!!"

Some Nigerians on social media when it comes to politics and matters of state have serious problem.

Many hate the man in power so much so that they describe themselves when they make attempts to describe him. When you point this out to them, they will turn the table and plaster insults and curses on your generation unborn.

It's an ethno-religious tussle for these ones.  They can't relate outside of these parameters.

They are those confused by intellectualism. Most are unstable and easily swayed by anyone with a vocabulary of high sounding nonsense.  They think the people in government are stupid so when you come from a sharp corner of 'pseudo-stuff' claiming to know more than the 'illiterate' president, you get hailed and idolized.  Some just lap up any junk dumped in their laps by any Tom, Dick and Harry with an academic or political prefix. They are afraid to tell their idols "but.. Exkiss sir, you are wrong sir."

You are primitive minded if you still think the president didn't get a certificate after secondary school.

There are those who are simply overt political opponents. They will do whatever it takes to become relevant again.  It is those who have internal conflicts I don't understand. Today they'll remember how badly the former government performed; tomorrow they'll be shouting from the rooftop about one fabricated story or the other just to discredit the president.

The current one is one with origin from a meeting between the Nigerian delegation and the World Bank delegation on 21st July 2015 i.e. about 2 years 2 months ago. The World Bank chief who was leader of that meeting reacted to a question recently about the activities of the WB in the northeast of Nigeria.  He perhaps thought he was making sense to Nigerians by emphasizing the immense role played by President Buhari in advocating for the direction of the WB's loan to the NE which has been ravaged by terror and uncertainty over the past few years.

Trust Nigerians to convulse over a non-issue. They became overnight experts on World Bank policy and reinforced their deep seated views that the president is a sectional leader.  Like when he secured the non interest loan from the Islamic bank to fix roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.  They asked why he didn't ask the WB to do same for the South.  I wonder if they asked former president Jonathan to request for an additional $1bn loan to purchase weapons to fight terrorists in the South just as it was happening in the North.

Some clowns continued with their 97%- 5% rhetoric to explain the lopsided WB loan. If Buhari favored the North i.e. the 97% based on their logic, that means he has favored one out of two regions.  The second unfavored region is obviously the South which only gave him 5%. The flaw with this logic is actually obvious. It holds no water since the Southwest gave the majority of votes to the president.  It was actually 7.4% a certain region gave in 2015 which was a massive improvement from the less than 1% from 4 years earlier but somehow the entire Southern Nigeria gets bundled into a '5% pity party truck.'

Some have edited their folly to reflect 95%-5% so that it adds up to 100% but this clearly isn't the context in which that reference was made by the president in 2015. It had nothing to do with how he divided Nigeria in his mind; ethnic bigots only latched on to provide feed for their acolytes to ruminate on like giraffes. I will not go into what 97-5% meant because many Nigerians are calcified and impervious, they won't get it.

The matter was discussed in 2015, it's on the World Bank website and just about every media outfit in Nigeria carried the story: $2.1bn loan from WB to rebuild NE.  There was no secrecy to it but suddenly it is an indication of the president's marginalization agenda.  So if there's a loan to rebuild and clean up the Niger Delta, I'll accuse the president who got it even if he's from the region of nepotism or some other big grammar we like to throw around? What is wrong with us sef? 

Obi Ezekwesili who doesn't shy away from speaking her mind on national issues took to twitter to defuse the situation based on her experience of the operations of the World Bank.  In summary, those biting their tongues accusing the president of whatever vice have no ground to stand upon. One professor like that has spent the whole day writing back to back posts to justify his erroneous stance.  It's your luck if you chose to allow his views drug you for whatever reason.

Channels TV aired an episode of a tourism show they produce yesterday.  The host was in Bauchi state touring the Yankari games reserve and the Wikki facility.  Zebras, giraffes, blue wildebeests, boars, deers, antelopes and other wildlife adorned the area but business is very slow there. The other day, one man bought all the tomatoes in the country and wahala happened, yam is now exported large scale and we are in trouble.  Do we still not get why we need to help stabilize the North especially with the uncertainty surrounding crude oil?

Let's get serious Nigerians.

For those who don't or cannot read.

To those wallowing in hatred and bigotry.

To those caught in multiple minds craving the cucumbers on the Titanic.

Hope this helps

02/10/2017- "El Classico."

I see some folks who had before now used the Catalonia struggle for self-determination as an example of ideal government reaction now trying to downplay the events of this weekend in Spain.

Some have said what happened between the Spanish government and ‘Catalonian agonists’ is way better than what happened in Abia state a few weeks ago because no one died.  I actually think there really isn't any difference; people don't have to die before we can call violence exactly what it is. 

It is unfortunate what happened in Abia on account of IPOB. Such is a potential though avoidable result of rebellion against any sovereign state. I'm not sorry that I think those who absolve Kanu and IPOB of all blame are insincere. If you don't think his actions are treasonable then you exist in an imaginary world. This however is about Catalonia.

The Spanish authorities got court orders, seized materials and eventually rolled out police and special military forces to put down the referendum. They may not have used live ammunition or ordered people to roll in muddy water but I want to ask if it is possible to be killed by rubber bullets or from repeated baton strikes to the head?

The images from the events are not pretty. The young and the elderly, male and female were pulled by the hair, struck repeatedly with batons and dragged out of the voting areas. Is this then acceptable because no one has died yet? There's a strike ordered now all across Catalonia and Barcelona teams are joining. We haven't seen the last of this conflict.

Spain is fighting because if they let one go, Spain may as well cease to exist as a country. The EU and UN know this, I doubt there'd be too much said against Spain in the coming days. No one wants to deal with potential problems in the UK, Turkey, Cameroon and a few other locations across the globe at the same time. 

At least Catalonia has been on this struggle for a while and hasn’t been aggressive like their violent neighbors in Spain. I don't think it is right to try to bamboozle Nigeria for a referendum after a few weeks of struggle and then threaten to blow up Nigeria and kill the people if not granted.  No nation will accept that and silence isn't how they respond.

02/10/2017-"#GUNSOUT"

Peeps are taking knees and locking arms in America because stupid things like policemen shooting black people especially unarmed ones keep happening and the cops almost always get off free while the shot get free PTSD or have to pay for a lifetime of physical incapacitation or a funeral.

Why are these cops ever so jumpy and eager to deploy their tasers or exhaust their rounds? Why are they so quick to display their wrestling moves which could have won America more medals at the Olympic Games? They usually claim that they are scared of losing their own lives as they aren't sure of who is armed or not. In some cases, there are actually weapons involved but the response by law enforcement is usually over the top.

What will make cops despite all their gadgets, armour and training less unstable? Will the assurance of all weapons currently dispersed freely in their schools and community at large getting removed work? If all weapons in circulation get eliminated, will it not translate to cops moving about without the need for personal 9mm guns and all they carry about these days? If both cops and suspects don't have guns, won't the number of conflicts, shootouts and set ups reduce drastically?

But is this not America again? God's own country where they rely so much on an ancient amendment invoked when lawlessness was part of government? A time when folks were desperate to hold on to slaves and attack whoever stood in their way.  This is what America takes pride in till this day. They love their gun shows and their Rifle association buddies still decide who is who yet no one irrespective of party wants to offend them. How many jobs does the gun industry provide again?

Remove the guns and USA may just be like Britain. If you want to fire a gun like you want to have a smoke, go to a shooting range. Why must one be able to pick up assault weapons and ammunition as simple as getting a dozen can beers or prescription medications?

One fellow like others before him grabbed a few units, took a lift up 32 floors in a hotel and rained lead on hundreds at a concert below. 50 dead just like that in 10mins or perhaps longer and America will pray and send warm condolences while the next assailant selects his preferred glock, semi-automatic or assault rifle from the corner shop.

America get serious, more than taking a knee, there are more than enough reasons like Virginia Tech and numerous elementary school shootings to finally shut down your gun industry.

I know this is purely academic; they love their guns. 

01/10/2017- "October 2014 in Stockport"

It was past midday on Sunday the 5th of October 2014 when Thompson and I boarded the Arriva bus from Stanley road to Stockport in Liverpool.

It could have been three of us on this journey but Matthew had to cancel due to his busy schedule. Thompson had not seen his uncle in a while so this was an opportunity to see him again as well as partake in the yearly independence party he had been organizing for some years. As long as it was going to involve food, it was not difficult at all to convince me to tag along😁😁.

Thompson's uncle is Nupe and a grandfather with many years working as a surgeon in the UK. His lovely wife of well over 30 years could easily pass for a 40years old woman; she also has many years of experience as a physician in the UK.

The venue was a hall which their church had used earlier that morning. People began to arrive and the tables were decorated with food including jollof rice. Nigerians who lived in the community were there with their children and spouses and we soon all stood to sing the national anthem.

It was a sumptuous buffet and couples took turns to grace the dance floor as Nigerian music from far and wide filled the room. There was joy in the atmosphere as folks from different backgrounds melted in unity. One man and his wife got other Nigerians to remember their home and it was a success story.

********************************

Thompson and I helped to clear the hall when all was said and done; we also returned the speakers to his uncle's house. He had them specifically bought for this occasion.

Wherever I see or hear people say Nigerians cannot live together, I just laugh and remember that even those in other climes are still nostalgic about the motherland and live at peace with other Nigerians outside of our shores.

I don't see dark clouds, I see the good we all bring and can still bring to the table. I see brother helping brother, one neighbor defending his/her neighbor's honor. I remember beautiful Plateau and the Gombe state university Zoo. I remember the mango trees with fruits almost touching the ground in Benue, I remember riding on okada late at night in Kano and my trips to Dutse and Gumel. I wonder what we were thinking one time at almost midnight in Zaria. We went on two bikes, four of us to find food; the newly married couple the best man and I. I've written this before, there's no difference between parts of Taraba and neighboring Cross River. We need to arise to our collective responsibility to be part of making Nigeria work. I don't think it's really wisdom when all one says about Nigeria is negativity; there should be one thing at least we can be grateful for with respect to ourselves or a family member at least.

I opt for optimism; I will rather wish Nigeria well and do my bit wherever I find myself so that I can organize yearly celebrations to honor a truly great nation.

Happy celebrations Nigeria!!!  We shall celebrate even greater feats.

Nigerians at the Party

Stockport.

15/09/2017- "We need to calm down."

I drove past two or three okada riders throwing punches at the driver of a van this afternoon on Ishaga road.  A bike was leaning against the right side of the white van so I inferred that there must have been a coming together enough to provoke the rider and his colleagues (who had stopped to help their friend) to exchange blows with the driver and force his door open to pull him out.  Using my Naija sense, the riders appeared to be of Northern extraction.

Not long after the above stated incident, I witnessed another scene on Bode-Thomas Street but this time there was no fisticuffs. A bike rider and probably a passenger had been propelled from the okada after a collision with a car.  I assumed that in this, the bike rider most likely was at fault unlike the above case. This rider had features characteristic of a northerner. 

Fast forward to just about one hour ago but this time, it was on Ikorodu road. The driver of one of the big, red, former BRT buses was being assaulted by a gang of aggrieved passengers it appeared.  As I drove past the scene which had caused a mild traffic jam, I saw a young man probably in his early 20s adjusting his body to launch the large stone in his right hand through the window to strike the driver. I doubt if any of the combatants in this scene were Northerners. It isn't uncommon to see this nature of combat on our streets pitting commuter(s) against bus driver and/or conductor.

I'm not certain it is accurate to conclude that we Nigerians are violent people.  One thing that's certain however is that we have a lot of violent people as citizens in our land.  Two men almost came to blows yesterday evening in the next compound to mine; there was a lot of shouting despite the pleas for calm by some ladies present there.  One thing I observed though was that one of the men kept asking the second man who had been contracted to do a job in the compound if he knew who he was and what he was capable of.  Those questions were not answered eventually.

Why are some of us violent and how do we manage this? Is it by discussing or by empowering the criminal and justice system to prevent and punish perpetrators where applicable? Are we beyond the remedy that dialogue can provide or should we go in two footed, studs showing at any trouble maker. I don't know really but what I know is that we should stop excusing wrong behavior irrespective of the prevailing conditions and claims of justification. Law enforcement should be appropriately sponsored so that there can be quick responses to shut down the kinds of conflicts I witnessed today to prevent death and loss of property.

We as a people need to tell ourselves to calm down, there's nothing that is irritating or provoking you that is unique to you and more than what everyone else is confronted with. No tribe or religion should be stigmatized as violent.  We should be advocates of justice and not just undercover bigots motivated by selfishness and hatred towards those we have learnt to hate.

By the way, where did all the buses under Ojuelegba Bridge disappear to? Ambode o!!!! How many times did I call you?

14/09/2017- "THE GAME IS OFF."

I have had to use 1000mg of acetaminophen this evening on account of an ache in my head.  It must have been a result of the numerous engagements I've had in cyberspace since the early hours of today on the current impasse in the Southeast. 

I am in full support of the country's military and the Show of Force in Abia unlike more than a few individuals I engaged today.  I don't believe a government is for organizing tea parties and tolerating all kinds of shenanigans all because some groups feel entitled or justified to foment trouble. Nnamdi Kanu's nonsense has gone on for too long and it's high time that screenplay is yanked off our airwaves.

He began his problems full-time when Jonathan was President and insulted him and just about every Nigerian on his radio station. He even insulted his own people.  He did all these and took it up a notch by calling for the extermination of Nigerians of other extractions apart from his. The funny part of this situation is that supposedly cerebral individuals have excused his utterances and behavior as him just being crude and entitled to his freedom of speech.

He has said he'll take the president's head and boasted that security operatives who approach to re-arrest him for flouting his bail conditions won't leave Biafra land alive. Some people either don't pay attention or they do but can't help their prejudice. "He has done nothing wrong" they say, "who has IPOB killed like Boko Haram has done" others add.  They don't somehow realize that seeking for weaponry against a sovereign nation and plotting evil is treasonable. 

There may not be a universally approved definition of terrorism but the threat of violence or scaring people is categorized as an act of terror in some quarters.  One may easily accuse the Federal government of state sponsored terror in this case but how was the situation in the state before boots hit the ground a few days ago? 

Were the people all into the secession or referendum thing?  What is their impression of the inauguration of the Biafran secret service? I don't know what the people face there but it surely can't be fun. There are non-indigenes working or doing business there, do they feel safe?  Youth Corp members concluded orientation camp a few weeks ago, did the thought of encountering a group capable of declaring a work free day in states with sitting elected governors stir them to redeploy?

What's the economic barometer in the region reading? Taraba is doing large scale greenhouse farming,  Benue is selling all its yams, Kebbi is milling rice,  Edo is opening cement plants while Kaduna is doing potatoes and feed with the Federal government involved to various extents in these ventures.  Yes, the Southeast people are industrious but has this promise of Eldorado slowed down the manufacturing businesses there because those who should be laboring are off to kiss Kanuziah's feet and give their lives for his?

One way or another, the FG alone cannot be blamed for the rise in tension; Kanu has a huge role in this mess as well. So if you must perch on your moral fence, do ensure you condemn all parties involved including the governors who allowed a con artist to direct the play.

If you must use Scotland and Catalonia, know there are other global examples and that these largely autonomously administered states have done quite well for themselves instead of playing the victim stagnation card. The United States of America have had and still have separatists groups in some locations.  Some of the stories aren't pleasant at all.  Please do not help supply fuel to this problem, the military is already involved and it is now difficult to regulate how they will act.

Talking about the military, there is a video of soldiers excessively dealing with supposed IPOB members.  They are flogged and made to lie down prone in muddy water.  One young man is obviously dead while the others lay still.  We don't know the full story yet but this is part of the demerits of military action and it should not be excused now and in the near future.

There is another video from that sector on twitter and I watched it only a few minutes ago.  It showed young alleged IPOB members stopping vehicles on a highway and asking for the ethnicities of the occupants. Some had sticks while some brandished machetes.  They looked inside one bus and let it proceed after being satisfied. Ahead of that spot was a burning articulated vehicle. I don't know what day or time that occurred but it showed that it's not all black or white with IPOB. Are they really non-violent?

Kanu is still speaking with all his arrogance but it's time for his people to resist him and drown his voice with superior arguments. He surely cannot be speaking for the entire Igbo nation. The Nigerian army is made up of Nigerians of diverse tongues and tribes. I think it's mischievous when Biafran sympathizers constantly call our soldiers "Aboki /Hausa" sent specifically to kill them.  I heard my friend's character in the movie 'Half of the Yellow Sun' say this line "the Hausa soldiers are coming” and I wondered why. I'm not sure the concept of Hausa soldiers fighting the Civil war to specifically commit 'genocide' transmitted from that time is accurate.  I'm not certain the army authorities sent soldiers mainly from a certain ethnicity to Abia just to kill people.  It doesn't help; this stereotyping.

Nigeria lost over 60 policemen and secret service operatives in 2013 when they went to secure the Ombatse group in Nassarawa. They were ambushed, murdered and burnt.  I'm not sure we can afford such losses again as those men left families behind.  I'm not certain Kanu's words to have our operatives killed should be treated as just banter.  No serious nation will take such from anyone or group. We can still modify what happens during a dialogue; when it becomes abrasive, it is like the wind.

Do your bit in your own sphere of influence especially with respect to young people. Shoot down fables and manufactured fake news especially those which promote division. Call out bigots and work with authentic information, there's this helpful tool called the internet.

Gani Adams of the Oodua people's Congress led his group to commit all sorts of atrocities in the 1990s while also pushing a 'Yoruba' agenda.  He was eventually caught in 2001 after a 20month long manhunt by Mike Okiro and his team. Gani is a much refined man now with a self-administered ‘General’ title. He made it to the National conference and also got a contract alongside some Niger Delta militants to secure pipelines under the last administration.  I wonder where Kanu and his acolytes were at that time. 

Help calm this storm and push for peace please while Kanu's breakfast is prepared.