The Killer of Dreams.

They like to say that Nigeria kills dreams.

They used this line a lot during and after the recently concluded Olympic games. What happened to Favour and Ese were considered manifestations of murd3red dreams.

I read a post by someone on Facebook that stated that Nigeria wanted to kill Ese's dream at the Olympics because of what happened before her track cycling event and I wondered to myself how that was so. Was the fellow aware of what Ese's dream was?

Ese became the first Nigerian to represent Nigeria in any cycling event at the Summer Olympic games, considering that cycling has been a constant at every games. She had the privilege and pleasure of wearing the green-white-green in both the road and track events at an Olympic games many did not get to qualify for or participate in for various reasons. A young lady who emerged from obscurity in rural Nigeria got to make history on a global stage and people insist that Nigeria k1lled or is killing her dream?

Ese signed for a cycling team in December 2023. Mathew Mitchell with ProCycling UK reported the story and wrote that "The team, which started in 2022 as part of CANYON//SRAM Racing’s diversity and inclusion initiative, aims to provide a fresh pathway to the top level of the sport. Recruitment has focused on but not limited to, riders from countries underrepresented in the women’s peloton. These riders are given resources and opportunities to live, train, and race in Europe, with full support for a successful professional cycling career."

The CANYON//SRAM team has 9 riders, and Ese is one of 5 Africans. The South African on the team had to win a contest of over 100,000 participants to get this opportunity; Ese did not have to go through that route. Would she have gotten this opportunity if she simply dumped Nigeria and moved elsewhere? Perhaps. What is important is that she has the chance to work hard and live out all her dreams. It will be her business if she does really well tomorrow and turn around to say that Nigeria played no part in her success.

Before the usual suspects appear in the comment section to sermonize about how I'm supporting government and talking nonsense; let me state here that this is just a post to make you think about your mindset and to consider liberating it from the toxic quagmire you may have found yourself in.

I agree that life has not been fair to the majority of Nigerians but the truth is that it is human beings who have made things difficult for others and who continue to do so. Is it not better to address and confront the individuals concerned instead of simply throwing around and trampling on the name Nigeria?

Many of us despise the education we got. Many despise their families, their roots and history. It's been 7 years since the last time I was in direct service to the motherland as a resident doctor but every opportunity I have gotten afterwards have been because of Nigeria. The ability to go through life alone is made possible because of my experiences.

The opportunities were not stellar but I will never use the terrible ones to ridicule my nation. Many others begged for such opportunities but did not get them, yet we find those who got same on a platter treat Nigeria with scorn. I cannot forget sleeping on the corridor outside room 4 in JSS2 boys hostel with my friends Niyi and Gbenga. We had all just transferred to the school and the lads in room 4 were hostile enough to push us out because the room was crowded and could not take additional bunks. On Saturday inspections, the prefect in charge of our dormitory would ensure our bunks fitted into the room so that the teachers who attended the inspection would not know that some boys slept on the corridor, exposed to the elements and whatever lurked around.

We survived that and plenty other things. I still paid 90 naira for accommodation in my first year in the University. I had the privilege of attending the University of Ibadan and will always be grateful despite the wasted year before the first year started and another cumulative year due to ASUU strike during my six sessions. There were times we looked at ourselves and wondered why we stayed on for 8 years to do a 6 years course. I remember my Chemistry 157 practical group in my freshman year and how we could never agree on a way forward during practical sessions. Demola was always the peace maker, now the good doctor is using robots to carry out carry out cardiothoracic surgeries in the US. There are many stories like this of people given launch pads by Nigeria but some people opt to use every moment to focus on the empty glasses instead of celebrating the wins.

Perhaps I need to share these stories of those Nigeria happened to instead of those who managed to leave the shores of Nigeria and spend time online attending virtual spaces to ridicule the country and other Nigerians. Stories of those at home and abroad doing great things; even stories of those who do 'normal' acts of good that is now alien to many.

My experiences taught me to always fight for justice and fairness. I have learned to always focus on the way forward instead of dwelling on the negatives, that is why I know that the way out for sports in Nigeria is liberation from government bureaucracy. Yes, those who are responsible for Favour's name getting omitted should give account but are we calling out the right person(s).

Don't kill your own dreams by dwelling on negativity.

B Block, Independence Hall, UI. 2003

August 15, 2024

HUSH.

History is one subject that captivates me more than others. I have spent some time studying some of our West African neighbors and I am more than ever convinced that certain Nigerians need to talk less or not at all.

Some West African nations have fought civil wars in recent years just like Nigerians did for more than 24 months in the late 1960s. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria all have danced naked and bloody before the world and one thing that is common is the focus on divisions above real issues. All these countries like most African states have been bedeviled by corruption, greed and other vices which successive governments vowed to tackle but where conflicts arose; those who sponsored them appeared to always engineer the discussion to be about ethnicity, religion or social status.

Military coups occurred in many African countries mostly backed by either foreign and/or local sponsors. In many of these cases, these activities were carried out to correct some real or imagined ethnic imbalances. Ghana had more than her fair share of coups but she somehow was spared the waste of a civil war. I don't know why this is so but where wars happened, it appeared fracture lines were made more apparent.

Liberia is a story of settlers (slaves who returned from America) dominating indigenes until Samuel Doe struck in 1980 killing the president before him and executing majority of his cabinet (Johnson Sirleaf and a few others managed to escape). A young non-commissioned officer soon promoted himself to general alongside other opportunists. They practically turned against one another till all things fell apart. Thomas Quiwonkpa, Charles Taylor and Prince Johnson were prominent players from 1980 in Liberia. Quiwonkpa before turning 30 fled the nation and returned in 1985 to overthrow Doe. He succeeded for about 6 hours without realising the Americans had given Doe a hint of the planned move against him. Quiwonkpa was killed, decapitated and all sorts of unimaginable deeds were done with his body. All these happened barely a month after Doe had organized elections and won. He is reported to have gotten over $500million dollars from the USA and met with Reagan. It seemed all a nation needed to do was to tell the U.S. that money was needed to fend off the Soviets. Doe turned on his former colleague's people and killed many of them. It became a 'we versus them' and the aggrieved only required a commander.

Taylor was acknowledged by U.S. intelligence to be one of their assessts while undergoing a trial in a U.S. court in the mid 1980s on account of money allegedly stolen from his role in Doe's government. He broke out of an American prison aided by American intelligence and somehow ended up in Libya with Gadaffi. He returned to Liberia a war Lord in 1989 and it became a 'free for all.'

With ECOMOG presence, Doe who had expected American intervention berated them for not doing so because they didn't want development in Liberia which he as president wanted. The U.S. under Bush snr were only interested in evacuating US CITIZENS which they did. So Nigerians, when next anyone incites other Nigerians or preys on our differences, please find out if they have dual or multiple nationalities. Don't be deceived, those big countries will only save those who have their travel documents which your pastors, imam or social media god may already have or be in the process of procuring.

Prince Johnson was with Charles Taylor as they approached Monrovia but soon broke away. He had been with the commander who had tried to overthrow Doe and seemed to have a personal score to settle. They soon captured Doe and the man who the US had planned an evacuation for was begging for mercy. The once boastful man was castrated and murdered gruesomely. Johnson kept repeating to him all his atrocities and how he didn't show mercy to his opponents.

The Americans were undecided on Taylor and let things play out. It's easy to call on America and other world powers for intervention when fecal matter hits the propeller, it's another thing entirely for them to budge. Ask Syrians. Taylor soon became president and a disruptor in the West African subregion. What he did cost Nigeria cash and blood; Obasanjo hoodwinked him and he got 50years for all his troubles. Prince Johnson is a senator.

I didn't realise how much Sierraleoneans sounded like Nigerians until I watched a YouTube video about their own version of civil war. Some of their names even look Nigerian like Joseph Momoh, Yahya Kanu, Solomon Musa etc. Settlers from slave pasts also stayed in Sierra Leone like they did in Nigeria. They are called Saros in some settings and were found across southern and central Nigeria. They were disputes back in the day with disrespect, land grab and it is on record that they were on different occasions pursued from Lagos and Abeokuta but they returned later.

Ethnic issues also played a role in their war but external influences weighed in considerably. A Nigerian businessman who lost both hands to machetes in Freetown [January 1999] recounted to Channels television in a 2012 interview how his limbs were chopped off by a Liberian rebel and how other Nigerians suffered similar or worse fates in only a matter of days. He said those rebels had francophone accomplices, soldiers of fortune more like. The subregion is that fluid and mercenaries for hire are available. I think we need to be addressing the real issues of poverty and underdevelopment in the region before we forget ourselves in disputes about who is a settler or indigene, black or mixed race and jew or hindu. They deliberately sought for Nigerians in Freetown because of ECOMOG. We have hemorrhaged enough as a nation on account of others. Let's not even for a second wish to bleed again from our own cuts, who will form the ECOMOG that will patrol our mangroves up to our Savannahs? Benin Republic?

We like to throw big words around as Nigerians but we should weigh them before writing or speaking such. Some people through their craftiness have succeeded in manipulating entire groups of people against other tribes and faiths. Educated folks who should examine and correct many of these inaccurate descriptions and stereotypes unfortunately do nothing. The more seeds of discord are sown the more trees of deception grow and block the sighting of truth and restraint.

People don't wait to verify news, they rush to broadcast and spread distrust, hate and rebellion. Some opinions are toxic enough to equate arson and these really don't have to be uttered. Don't even suggest any scale of violence because nothing can be guaranteed; the progression or the end. What some people think is freedom of speech seems to me like licences to kill; such should not be celebrated in any way. Don't play politics with everything, just hush from time to time.

JOA8072018

DEATH THREAT (1)

You see, I have used my facebook wall to call out at least two 'men of God' who say political stuff that I consider prejudicial and inappropriate for the office they occupy. I have done it before and I will do it again.

No one can tell me stereotyping any group or ethnicity is the ideal response in Nigeria considering our history and volatility. Telling people to spill blood, behead people or simply making accusations based on conspiracy theories cannot and I repeat cannot be justified. I have heard sermons or parts of such since before 2015 which have been based on fake news and propaganda.

Christopher Wylie of Cambridge Analytica blew the whistle earlier this year on how his group sought for hacked material on President Buhari's health status for representatives of the previous administration. In his testimony to a UK parliamentary committee, he mentioned how they provided a canadian firm: Aggregate IQ with violent video content to distribute in Nigeria' cyberspace aimed at intimidating voters. He said they had throat slits, burning bodies, hijabs etc all to convince Nigerian voters that it was cool to be anti-Islam for that election but what some people still believe till 2019 is that Buhari was the one with the propaganda.

I have seen supposedly cerebral individuals talk about the rallying call to Fula people worldwide to approach Nigeria and reign. The Fula people they say have their origin in Futa Jallon, Guinea and have been unable to dominate there so they moved all the way to Northern Nigeria where they have found refuge. What they fail to mention is that there are at least four countries in West Africa where a Fula individual presides or jointly presides but that won't be sensational enough. There is just something special about Nigeria that the west coast nation of Guinea and the Futa Jallon highlands doesn't have.

We are constantly reminded of what Usman Dan Fodio did in the 1800s which was halted but has somehow resumed. The spirit of Dan Fodio lives on and some people probably believe it is now upon the 75 years old Buhari and herdsmen who some say he funds. What is certain about Nigeria is that we have many tribes that have stood the test of time. An age of savagery could not wipe them out or subjugate them (we must acknowledge that kingdoms were subdued by Dan Fodio's movement) but civilisation appears to have brought along the fear of domination. This I find perplexing.

Nigeria has experienced numerous episodes of severe conflicts and bloodshed especially since the return of democracy in 1999. I won't go into mentioning Yelwa, Kaduna, Langtang, Jos, Dogo Nahawa, etc because it is now an offence in Nigeria to talk about the past; some consider it as an exhibition of a subhuman state and a lack of empathy so I will let it slide so I am not misunderstood. One of such unfortunate events happened on the 23rd of June 2018 in Plateau state which had otherwise been relatively quiet for the past few years when compared to what neighbouring Benue state experienced for extended periods.

Like most recent conflicts in Nigeria, this one was quickly tagged as the activities of Fulani herdsmen. For someone like me, I do not like this hurried descriptions even before investigations are done. If I am correct, the newspapers were already buzzing the next day with a report that Miyetti Allah had somehow taken responsibility by acknowledging it was a reprisal attack for lost cattle. Governor Ortom of Benue was reported in the Vanguard newspaper joining others to ask for the arrest of the Miyetti Allah spokesman who repeatedly denied that he gave the quotes published in the tabloids.

This Miyetti Allah spokesman Ciroma, represents the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders' association MACBAN. The group is the one Ortom had praised for cooperating with his state's anti-open grazing law (or whatever it is called). Ortom had (he still did in a Channels TV interview a few days ago) repeatedly accused the other Miyetti Allah group Kautal Hore as the culprits in just about all the Benue clashes except the ones he claimed without any investigations were the handiwork of a Benue indigene Gana. MAKH have repeatedly denied involvement as claimed by Ortom and I wonder if we should not grant them fair hearing.

The MACBAN Plateau state chairman granted an extensive interview a few days ago and one online newspaper gave a completely inaccurate headline of the content of that story. Nura Abdullahi mentioned that he is Fulani but an indigene of Plateau state. His opinion of the events of the 23rd of June was that it was his people who were actually at the receiving end on that weekend. He reeled out the names of villages where attacks on Fulani and their herd had taken place in the past and recently and accused some Berom people and other locals of attacking them. He denied the involvement of his people in the attacks but that is his opinion. Should we deny him or his people fair hearing because of prejudice?

When one asks that we are cautious about how we react to the cycle of violence and weigh all arguments, one is quickly brandished as a sympathiser of blood thirsty, privileged terrorists. One is seen as a mere defender of government and any attempt to try to explain that pushing a one-sided narrative helps no one is quickly met by a barrage of insults and curses. Should we deny that the much vilified Fulani have not suffered incredible losses on the Plateau cattle or not? The Human Rights Watch have detailed documents on past clashes in Plateau and Kaduna state especially and many of the stories therein are too gory to mention here. These events have hardly been confronted with justice and only get to have repeat performances from time to time. It is folly to keep saying the muslim incumbent is the one killing people when we had far worse cases under Christian presidents. We need justice urgently and that is a legitimate demand.

JOA3072018

Truly Interested In Solutions?

I posted these last year as well as other screenshots on 3 or 4 other posts. Many won't read to get informed that's why they will suddenly wake up in 2018 and become emergency activists trying to offer solutions to violence in Nigeria when they don't even understand the history.

I finally watched what Ben10 said on the floor of the Senate yesterday, where he mentioned Saraki taking over to end the violence. He sounded very funny really, like someone who just snapped out of a 35 years coma. A newbie to Nigeria listening to that would have thought extreme violence only started in Nigeria on the 30th of May 2015. He probably isn't aware of all the debates on herdsmen - farmers clashes and all versions of the grazing bills discussed in the red chamber before he got to the senate.

When you tell folks that we can't get lasting solutions by stereotyping an entire race and exclusively blaming them for all the violence, they accuse you of insensitivity and act like they alone are affected by the deaths. If you need Ben10 to describe for you how pregnant women and children get maimed or killed in Nigeria, you probably are not a bona fide citizen of Nigeria or your education was a complete waste of time.

If we ask people to propose lasting solutions to the herdsmen-farmers clashes, what we will likely get are emotionally driven and impractical solutions. You claim cattle grazing is obsolete but technically it's not. It's a method of animal husbandry and practiced to certain extents even in civilized societies where farmers opt to feed their cattle with strictly organic feed. One problem we have had in Nigeria is animals encroaching into farmlands. Cattle ranches or colonies are supposed to prevent this contact but one wonders why there's so much resistance. Is it every available piece of land in these states that is cultivated? Then one hears "islamization agenda of the Fulanis" and I can only shake my head.

They say cattle rearing is private business and government shouldn't have any part in it. I am sorry that all those teachers who labored to teach us in secondary school must feel heartbroken that they wasted their time. Livestock is food and government should be concerned about how food gets to the tables or plates of her citizens. When Channels TV carried a story in 2016 on how abattoirs were operated in Benue state, governor Ortom didn't say he was unconcerned that slaughtered cows were burnt with tyres but he moved speedily to order a revamping of all abattoirs in the state. He couldn't have appeared not bothered about the quality of meat sold in Benue markets. Is abattoir business government business?

Politicians have been playing politics with Nigerian lives since forever. They will give you wheelbarrows while they set up world class ranches for themselves. They will buy off real estate that should have provided sensible accommodation for scores because they want to build palaces for themselves. When they are marked for prosecution on account of corruption, they will buy aso ebí for you to fight on their behalf claiming ethnic or religious persecution. Many are applauding Aisha Buhari for her position, perhaps they want a first lady who will be claiming millions of dollars in accounts opened with the names of cronies after PMB leaves office.

Elections are around the corner, who is your candidate? Which horse are you betting on? Are you betting on PMB not running? Let's assume PMB opts not to run (not because of external pressures) and "anoints" someone like Shehu Sani suggested, do you think your candidate will beat any anointed man? The time you have left should be spent packaging your gladiator instead of worrying about PMB. Atiku is a Fulani man, he's running with PDP and Ben10 has anointed him as the next president. Will you a southerner vote Atiku a Fulani man considering how you have vilified the Fulani incumbent? Will you as a middle belt adult vote for Atiku considering how you have become paranoid about an Islamization agenda? Will you vote for the Red card movement instead to spite the top 2 parties or will you vote for one of the new parties with near idealistic ideologies?

How will any of the newbies recover the Chibok girls speedily? How will they transform the economy? Will massive industries suddenly spring out of fallow ground within 2 years? Will they release and allow every separatist and religious fundamentalist to thrive because they want to adhere to the rule of law? Will they be willing to incarcerate or kill anyone who is a threat to the nation? I remember Barack Obama's promise to close down Guantanamo bay prison, the place is still operational till tomorrow. Talk is very cheap at times until reality dawns.

Many have committed crimes in Nigeria, the reality is that it is extremely difficult to get justice speedily. Till then, we should sue for peace instead of replacing our brains with coconuts and retracting into our primitive ethnoreligious shells. Certain parts of our country are educationally and economically disadvantaged; shouldn't we reach out to obliterate the gaps? Communication is how this can be achieved not hibernation. We should not let angry people posing as religious, cultural or political leaders decide the agenda. The best they can do is to supply weapons but it's your children not theirs who will carry these weapons.

PS: All images are screenshots from a 2013 Human Rights Watch publication on Inter-Communal violence in Kaduna and Plateau titled "Leave Everything To God." https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/nigeria1213_ForUpload.pdf

JOA24012018

THEY DON'T FEAR US.

I find it amazing that Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta began his long letter to the Chief Justice of the Federation by describing how he felt symptoms of a malaria attack, how he delayed seeing a physician and how he subsequently got medication to treat the protozoa.

He did not forget to mention how all malaria medications make him drowsy so after he took his first dose of the prescribed drug on the evening of Friday 7th October 2016, he retired to his bedroom leaving his housemaid who was the only person with him inside his house to handle other domestic duties.

The drama began shortly after that and Justice Ngwuta described being terrified by armed men in ski masks and not even an identification card or search warrant presented to him did much to crash his trepidation. The lordship despite being dizzy and lying down a few times described in some detail how the 'terrorists' from the State Security Service ravaged his home from room to room. In one room were found several bags,  briefcases and travel bags most of which contained magazines, papers and old clothes.  A certain small bag locked with a padlock and with its key in a side pocket however contained some money.

Justice Ngwuta then described becoming even more dizzy such that he had to lay down drifting in and out of his terrified state.  At a point,  he claimed he couldn't observe the movements and activities of the operatives and when he or his maid had to move about,  they were shadowed by gun wielding potential assassins.

I  find it very bizarre that the justice mentioned being so afraid of being shot by men who had a search warrant.  I do not know if describing what many 'people of color' are afraid of experiencing at the hands of misguided police officers in the United States was just for effect or if indeed he felt cold steel apposed to his temple. A supreme court justice was then ordered to sign and write his name on a  piece of paper which had a list of items to be taken from his house as evidence.  He signed the paper seemingly under duress even though listed was a huge sum of money he claims he knows nothing about and which was allegedly placed in his house by the SSS.  I still do not understand how a senior member of the bench could be so fearful to sign an incriminating document. Could he not take a hit for the love of country and stand on what is right and true?

The next part of his long essay is quite bewildering.  He highlighted the actual amount of money found in his home to dispute whatever the SSS claimed they had recovered.  $25,000  which when converted is about 11,375,000 naira was found cooling off in a small bag which had the key in a side pocket on a Friday night and not safely locked away in a hidden fireproof safe. He acknowledged that 710,000 naira (which is just over $1,500) was his September allowance from the supreme court  was sunbathing in a brown envelope while another 300,000 naira  ($666) was tucked away in the briefcase which he takes to work daily.

It is indeed fascinating how these huge sums of money and what the learned wig termed "loose change" littered the home of a member of the highest court in the largest black nation on earth. It is even more amazing that some Nigerians justify these occurrences maybe because they believe someone in the office of a judge justifiably earns so much and gets to collect 710,000 naira as a cheque or in cash from the supreme court as monthly allowance. How many Nigerians will be able to sleep without palpitations in their homes if they had $25,000 in an unchained bag and with a housemaid patrolling?  I'm almost certain that many will do worse than the character 'Pa James' in the popular comedy show 'Papa Ajasco' who tied a rope to his leg through a window to a vehicle parked outside his house to alert him of any theft.

Justice Ngwuta thereafter narrated how he became convinced he was in the custody of the SSS when he was driven to their office. He described the situation as an act of impunity and a violation of the rights of a justice of the supreme court. He went further to described his suffering in SSS custody,  the time wasting torture of the men and even the "stained old mattress " he shared with another script writer Justice Okoro. He claimed he questioned his interrogators about the strange money allegedly recovered from his house to which he got no response. Supreme court justice did not forget to remind Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed  of his incorruptible credentials despite past accusations of corruption in 2000 (Ebonyi) and in 2009 (Calabar.)

EKITI and his present plight.

Justice Ngwuta moved into the next chapter of his thesis and traced his current ordeal to a chance encounter with Governor Rotimi Amaechi sometime in 2013/ 2014. According to him,  they exchanged contacts which Amaechi put to good use a few weeks later when the case contesting the election of Ayodele Fayose as the governor of Ekiti state was determined at the Court of Appeal. Amaechi was stated to have met up with the judge two days after calling and "begged him to ensure Fayose's election was set aside and another election ordered for his friend Fayemi to contest. " The response was apparently an emphatic 'NO!!'    

Judge Ngwuta claims he met with Amaechi sometime in 2013/14 (it is unclear the exact date or period) after the court of appeal decision was made.  Fayose was elected and returned as governor on the 16th of October 2014. Fayemi thereafter took his case to the Ekiti governorship election tribunal     contesting the eligibility of Fayose to have contested the election ab initio. Fayose's election was upheld by the tribunal on the 19th of December 2014 and the case moved up to the court of appeal. This appeal was heard and decided on the 16th of February 2015 in favor of the tribunal's ruling.  I do not know if this was actually a glitch in the lordship's memory and if this was actually the period Amaechi called and met with him. The supreme court upheld Fayose's election and return on the 14th of April 2015.  I am not certain if 2013/14 is close enough to February 2015 to be explained as an error.  Should I trust the memory of a judge who swore to an affidavit that his facts were near flawless?

RIVERS COURT OF APPEAL RULING.

The lordship claimed he encountered Amaechi again after the court of appeal ruling in the Rivers state governorship election was decided at the court of appeal. Amaechi reportedly confronted him a few days after the judgement and barked "You have seen Wike"....."Oga is not happy." The oga in question here was reported to have been Mr President but I must confess that this is the most incoherent portion of the entire essay.  Ngwuta told Amaechi "go and talk to his wife" and I wonder whose wife he made reference to and I also wonder as well what "we  shall se" allegedly uttered by Amaechi meant.

The Rivers state governorship election tribunal had  annulled Nyesom Wike's election on the 24th of October 2015 and the court of appeal ruling of 16th of December 2015 affirmed the tribunal's judgement.  I do not understand how such a decision in favour of Dakuku Peterside and the All Progressives Congress  from the appeal court could have caused Amaechi enough distress to storm into a meeting with Ngwuta breathing fire and saying "Oga is not happy? " The day after the appeal court ruling was president Buhari's 73rd birthday and some celebration took place at the presidential villa which Amaechi was part of.  I am not sure if he left that event for a Judge's house who was not even involved in the decision of the appeal court.

Wike took his appeal to the supreme court after losing at both the tribunal and appeal court. The case was heard and decided on the 27th of January 2016 and seven justices of the court were on the bench;  the Chief justice Mahmud Mohammed, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, Kumai Bayang Aka'ahs, Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, John Inyang Okoro, Aminu Sanusi and Sylvester Ngwuta. According to Justice Ngwuta, he spoke with the CJF about not including him in the panel for the Rivers appeal which sat on the 27th of January 2016 to which the CJF replied him that he was already included. 

They allegedly talked about Amaechi's attempt to woo other judges of the highest court to rule in his and APC's favor. He thereafter made reference to a lunch break given to them at 4:20pm on the day of the Rivers appeal hearing and how he went to his chambers where he received a call from Rotimi Amaechi which was perhaps meant to intimidate him.  He switched off his phone immediately after that call.

These events about knowing his inclusion on the panel before the day of the hearing and having a lunch break in his chambers away from the other justices goes against the content of a 3 page document written by a certain Ahuraka Isah who is the media aide to the chief justice of the federation titled "SUPREME COURT: WERE THE JUDGEMENTS REALLY INFLUENCED? " obtained from the bulletin section on the website of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. It was a piece to debunk claims and accusations in certain quarters that the supreme court was rigged to pass judgements contrary to stipulated guidelines and the constitution. He had scathing remarks for those who contested the supreme court rulings with respect to the election appeals of Abia, Rivers and AkwaIbom.

Mr Isah detailed how the CJF went to great lengths to outmanoeuvre any politician who wanted to skew the SC in his/her favor. He wrote about how the CJF selected 16 supreme court justices randomly for the cases on February 3rd 2016 before handing 10 or all of them one or two of the case files for hearing. They were not supposed to know which group of 7 panelist they would belong to,  the Co-panelists or the exact appeal(s) to be heard. Why did Justice Ngwuta beg to be left out of the River's panel?  Was he threatened?  Why would Amaechi approach a judge in 2015 who had rebuffed him sometime  in 2013/14? The Supreme court set aside the judgements of the tribunal and appeal court thereby upholding the return of Nyesom Wike as the elected governor of Rivers.

It is certain that one of Justice Mohammed and Ngwuta is lying and there is a conspiracy to cover up endemic corruption in the Supreme court.  Only 8 justices ended up hearing both governorship election appeals heard on the 27th of January 2016 with Ngwuta replaced by Chima Centus Nweze for the Ebonyi hearing.

THE EBONYI ANGLE.

I am curious to know who the witches and wizards who have been hunting Justice Ngwuta from Ebonyi since 2000 are. It will also be interesting to know how certain people from Andy Ubah's camp are supplying Amaechi with enough ammunition to tarnish the image of the revered judge in 2016. Mr Igwenyi who is a senior staff at the federal judicial service commission must really be a top class negotiator capable of setting up meetings with any individual in the world.  It was no big deal when he managed to take Justice Ngwuta in his car to a highly confidential meeting with a former governor which both Igwenyi and Ngwuta had no clue about what was to be discussed.

Justice Ngwuta and Dr Ogbonnaya Onu are both from Ebonyi state and for men who are above 60 years old,  it is difficult to accept a theory that both men did not know one another or had never interacted in the past and so required a middleman to set up a meeting between them.  Onu was stated to have declared his interest in the court of appeal ruling on the Ebonyi election because the Labour party candidate Edward Nkwegu was poised to declare for the APC if he became the governor of Ebonyi. Nkwegu had asked for an annulment of Dave Umahi's  election and asked for fresh elections but the Tribunal ruled in favour of the People's Democratic Party candidate on October 16, 2015. Dr Onu then asked about his relationship with the president of the court of appeal  which he said was cordial.  Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa was the presiding of the court of appeal Benin division sometime in 2005/2006 when Justice Ngwuta was on the same bench.  Dr Onu allegedly wanted Ngwuta to use his influence as a justice of a higher court to pressure the Court of appeal president to get three already compromised judges on the  5 member panel to hear the Ebonyi case. Ngwuta wrote that he refused and Dr Onu asked him if he knew who the husband of Justice Bulkachuwa was.

Why would Dr Onu ask about knowledge of Adamu Bulkachuwa? The former legislator is said to have been one of the foundation members of the Congress for progressive change which was the former party of Mr President. Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has been accused in some quarters of favouring the APC at the level of the appeal court because of some seemingly favourable decisions. Why did Dr Onu have to go through a supreme court justice when he could have gone through the husband of the Court of appeal president?  It doesn't make sense to me that Dr Onu could have assumed that Ngwuta who didn't get appointed as a court of appeal judge until 2005 (seven years after Bulkachuwa got her own appointment) could have had any influence over the slightly older Bulkachuwa.

The court of appeal threw out Nkwegu's case on the 11th of December  while the supreme court did same on the 27th of January 2016. The claim that Onu was interested in the Labour party candidate appears very similar to Justice Okoro's accusation of Amaechi's interest in the APGA candidate in Abia. I'm afraid that these two scenarios don't make much sense especially the one in Ebonyi which the courts regarded as a completely baseless appeal.

I am not sure if narrating how he was starved for a whole day despite suffering a malaria attack and delayed for long periods has earned him some public sympathy. If it has,  it does not explain how a judge gets to have over 12 million naira and other loose change in bags and suitcases in his bedroom.

Only seven judges heard and decided the two appeals (AkwaIbom and Abia) on the 3rd of February 2016 contrary to the methodology highlighted in the publication by the press secretary to the chief justice. Justices Ngwuta and Okoro  were however both left out of those cases.  I think these justices do not take Nigerians serious and have resorted to what I can only term blackmail and distraction tactics. Their dates don't tally and their claim to influencing or attempting to influence their inclusion in election panels negates what should be a foolproof process of ensuring the judiciary doesn't get compromised.

Justice Ngwuta admits to meeting up with politicians who either offered him bribes or threatened him but he did not take such threats serious enough to inform law enforcement yet he could sleep peacefully with loose change all over his bedroom and feared being shot by SSS operatives enough to sign a piece of paper as ordered by a young man perhaps old enough to be his son. Justice Okoro was captured offering a present to the former AkwaIbom governor at a church service in 2013 to celebrate his appointment as a  supreme court judge. This gesture does not in any way appear appropriate.

I wonder if it is a common practice for justices to have money in both foreign and local currencies adorning their homes;  this development alone convinces me that the nation's judiciary is completely riddled with corruption such that what is right is just is now completely distorted but I may be wrong.  All I can infer from the Okoro and Ngwuta letters  is that both men will do very well as script writers for Nollywood or Africa Magic. They know most Nigerians won't read or search things out for themselves that is why I believe Rotimi Amaechi was selected as the notorious villain in both stories.  If we follow both tales, it is safe to conclude that Amaechi will also appear as the 'Big Boss' if the chief justice of the federation writes his own letter.

If the judiciary had any fear of Nigerians, the members would declare a state of emergency and dismantle all their structures and the entire arm of government sanctified.  The judiciary can be said to be a major reason why we have foreign exchange shortages in the country.

BEND DOWN SELECT

What really is the way out of our economic quagmire?

We have heard before that government has no business running business; we've also heard that the private sector should be involved in how the economy is run. The recent kites flown about selling certain government assets have come from representatives of both the private sector and government. Aliko Dangote suggested only a few days ago to the Federal government to sell off NNPC's 49.0% stake in the Nigerian liquefied national gas.

Those opposed to selling government assets to generate funds have hammered on the issue of failed sales, concessions or partnerships in the past. The more recent sale of power installations haven't yielded the expected improvements in electricity generation and distribution; the sale of NITEL and other government run ventures remain shrouded in controversy and remain unproductive. Most people don't forget to mention mummified projects such as the refineries and steel companies. We cannot also forget the transient revival and subsequent cremation of Virgin's relationship with Nigeria. It appears we have killed and will kill anything we get our hands on.

Should the NLNG be 'tossed?' Margaret Thatcher sold off the British government's less than 40.0% stake in British Petroleum following a worldwide stock market collapse in October 1987. She also initiated the sale of many of corporations or companies run by the government or with significant shares. Mine pits have been sold off since then despite prolonged strike actions by labour unions and formerly government owned Airports are now operated by private companies.

The ever vibrant Heathrow airport is owned by Heathrow airport holdings which currently has majority shares in the custody of a Spanish company. Another airport, the Gatwick international was bought over in 2009 by a company with a Yoruba man Adebayo Ogunlesi as chairman. The Heathrow airport holdings did the selling of Gatwick and other UK airports under its administration but won a bid to acquire an airport in Hungary not too long ago; this I believe highlights the dynamics of private sector participation in business. John F. Kennedy is owned and leased out by the City of New York. Perhaps the Lagos state government can acquire the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Ikeja following the recent announcement of plans by the FG to concession practically all airports in the land.

There are other assets many Nigerians think should be sold. Many sports arenas across the nation are only useful for the periodic religious programs and entertainment shows. With our abysmal showing at international sports competitions, the uninformed would think our sports people came from a nation with only secondary school sports pavilions as training facilities. It's common knowledge that we have next to zero maintenance culture; one wonders how much these facilities would command after valuation. Some people have opined that the National assembly should be sold off which is actually a very good joke however other assets or whatever is left of them exist such as the National Arts theatre and other moribund structures left standing in Lagos after Ibrahim Babaginda took the nation's capital to Abuja. A good number of those structures remain fallow and disintegrating while Nigerians sleep and work under inhumane conditions. Unfortunately there are those who constantly receive wages for working at these collapsed places. I'm not sure there's another country which can be used to adequately define waste.

I'm certain there are many doctors who will support calls to sell off government hospitals for better efficiency but I'm not certain there'd be as much support with respect to educational institutions. The fear of tomorrow and the quest for self preservation will prompt resistance like PENGASSAN is currently threatening. Like someone pointed out on radio, many of these individuals who direct the affairs of this unions belong to unproductive institutions yet get paid on a regular basis. Rupert Murdoch was met by stiff resistance in 1986 and a 54 weeks strike of newspaper workers ensued due to his introduction of technology into the newspaper production business. The job once done by over 6000 people now took just over a tenth of that number to do even more efficiently. Despite offered compensations, the unions embarked on the unsuccessful strike and that union like the others that revolted during Thatcher's 11 years reign got decimated.

Why Thatcher? Nigeria was structured like the British colonial system with the nation mirroring structures inherent in the United kingdom. With the benefit of hindsight, Margaret Thatcher's hard stance and resoluteness in pursuing her economic reform despite episodes of inflation, high and prolonged job losses, low manufacturing output, violent protests, 1979 to 1981 recession and calls for her resignation yielded some positive results. I'm not sure the UK has suffered a great deal from that privatization era but I may be wrong.

It is true that our recent ventures at privatization have failed woefully and it's completely valid for Nigerians to be skeptical about conceding the nation's assets to potentially those who have directly or indirectly plundered the nation. The evidence of the past failure should indict the past administrations but somehow they get a free pass because we shouldn't talk ill of the dead.

Some have suggested that we continue to increase our debt profile while some are convinced diversification in only a few months is the silver bullet. A few defiant ones are only opposed to this suggestion of asset sale because it involves the current administration. I do not think a 'All or none' rule will apply here. There are many points for and against this move which ought to generate continuous elaborate discussion instead of the reflex arc utterances in the public space. We should be focused on ensuring proper valuation of any and every asset we decide to sell; we should consider how Nigeria and Nigerians will benefit maximally from any venture. We should not get to 2029 and lament why we did not sell any asset which could have saved us.

We are in a desperate state at the moment; one which a former first lady is justified for having 20 million US dollars rightly earned from a petty trader mother with domiciliary accounts, as a leading pioneer in the Non governmental organization business and pocket money from her public servant husband who was governor and president.

ABOUT A WORD.

You see, I decided to check what was trending on twitter this evening and saw Kemi Adeosun was. 

I wondered why so I decided to check it out. I didn't bother to dig too deep but the summary of it was that some folks including many supposed to be cerebral slated the finance minister for allegedly dismissing Nigeria's status of recession as "just a word." Some folks asked for her resignation while more 'eloquent' ones demanded for her sack by the president. 

Some were very angry because she appeared to dismiss the 'suffering' of the masses by saying "recession is just a word" while others stated it more accurately "recession is a word" but these ones were still equally angry. 

So I saw this tweet by one fellow who I understand worked with someone associated with the last administration and now a social media celebrity or something like that.  I'm kind of glad I didn't get to know him while in the university of Ibadan. Well the dude now runs an online propaganda outfit where he gets to write a lot about members of the present administration and also publish statements from the likes of Diezani Madueke explaining her financial activities and stuff like that. 

You see,  this guy tweeted the link to an article on his online paper which was about how Mrs Adeosun denied she made the statement through an aide and how a twitter profile allegedly operated by her tweeted the same words and then deleted it before editing the bio and some other nonsense like that.  There are some tweets which indicate that the mentioned twitter account does not actually belong to the minister.  The story also had a youtube video link to a speech delivered by the minister at a town hall meeting in Abuja early in August https://youtu.be/tZcwG36gq3Y. This is their proof that the minister is a fraud, insensitive and deserving of a sack. 

I read the article and watched the video; I'm still amazed that supposedly sensible people reacted negatively to the "recession is a word" comment.  What exactly is the problem with some Nigerians?  Are they just defiant or just deeply flawed and bereft of comprehending things accurately in context? 

I replied the tweet by this twitter intellectual and asked him if the matter on Adeosun's statement and the video was what he tagged "Scandal." I asked him to "get a grip" but he replied and told me to read the article in order to get a grip. I replied that I indeed read his "lame" article and then asked if that was the best he could have come up with.  MrFixNigeria then slammed his hammer and declared my banishment into twitter 'blockdom.' He blocked me from both his personal handle and that of his online machine and I'm left to wither as a destitute in Cyberia. 

Well, that fellow has tomorrow to deal with. I'm sure he'll come forward seeking public office and will use his exploits over the past 5years as leverage but social media will be there to remind the electorate that he'd not be worth it. 

For those who have constantly asked why we have struggles as a nation;  you may do well to watch the "recession is a word" video and pay rapt attention to every word spoken by the minister.  Hopefully the impervious ceiling blocking the download of commonsense to many Nigerians will come crashing down.

Hopefully.

MORE THAN A MYTH.

I have used a part of the text copied here before as a Facebook post but I want to use it again hoping that it'd drive home a message this time around.

The words copied are part of a press statement by Obafemi Awolowo at the Action Group headquarters in Lagos on the 28th of June 1961.

"African Unity is a necessity" is the title of this statement and the part which strikes me the most is that about Africa not affording to behave like the mythical phoenix believing that she can burn and destroy herself before resurrecting from the fire.

Can we replace Africa with Nigeria in this context? There are those (especially 'educated' folks) who are passively or actively wishing that Nigeria burns and disintegrates either to prove a supremacist point or just out of suffering from a bandwagon syndrome. If we ask certain individuals why they detest the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; I'm not certain we'd be able to squeeze out concrete and legitimate reasons from them; they just hate the man mainly because of what they've been reading on social media or due to some autosomal dominant disdain they inherited from their forbears.

I am not one to lump up entire groups of people and stereotype them as all having a common flaw. However, it is my opinion that majority of those who are vehemently opposed to the incumbent administration headed by Mr president have tribe and/ or religion in common and this is significant. There are also those who are opposed simply because of political affiliation or other preexisting sentiments.

John Kerry who currently is the third in line to the American presidency in case of emergency reasons was recently in Nigeria. He met with the president and the 19 Northern governors as well as stopping by in Sokoto to see the Sultan. It is amazing how some people have translated this visit by the American foreign secretary as proof of President Buhari’s 'Islamization agenda'; whatever that means. USA and spreading Islam? Femi Fani-Kayode has recently become the spiritual overseer of many 'Christians' in Nigeria and his recent conspiracy theories should be copied by Nollywood to expand their production capabilities. How anyone pays attention to the high and risen state of FFK is still a mystery I'm trying to solve.

Is it that Nigerians don't have a clue about what Nigeria was or potential is? Do they not know that our exploited resources have in the past been used to develop entire nations? Our artworks still adorn many museums in the United kingdom till today and our blood irrigated Congo Kinshasha, Burma, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Angola got planes, funds and frozen meat from us in the 1970s and apartheid didn't rest from our trouble making.

Gowon paid the salaries of civil servants in another country at one time but by the early 1980s we were caught up in a worsening economic situation alongside other Sub-Saharan nations. The situation must have been so pressing enough for the acting secretary general of the Organization of African Unity to write to the president of the world bank on December 11th, 1984. Dr. Peter Onu conveyed the resolution of the member nations of the OAU to accept the world bank's plan to establish a "special fund for Africa" which was to be financed by certain 'friendly' donor nations. Onu requested for progress report on the establishment of that fund highlighting the economic downturn that confronted the African nations; that sounded desperate to me considering that the OAU had developed a "Lagos Plan of Action" in April 1980 characterized by the creation of an African economic community [like the ECOWAS] liberated from negative trade relations on the global stage; food sufficiency, trade cooperation on the continent and development of transport systems, communication and industry. They said we were not ready and it appears we are still not ready largely because saboteurs have thrived for far too long but I may be wrong. I do not know exactly how the economic crisis of the early 1980s relates to the mismanaged Nigeria of that era but I think there is a chance Nigeria's stability affects the entire continent with respect to economic viability and in modern times, security.

Awo advised us in 1960 to establish large scale ranches in Northern Nigeria and close the educational gap between the North and the South but it appears these counsel still continues to fall on deaf ears. I feel some people are perfectly alright if this status quo remains. When there are calls for livestock grazing areas; the only thing which some people understand is that their land will be seized from them. Land is a resource which ought to be seen as something that'll yield increase whether it's seed sown in it or animals reared upon. Our land area is massive, should we not consider making room for agriculture to thrive upon across the nation? It's not every space that we'll be able to build houses upon; I believe we should trust the government(s) to make appropriate and judicious use of these lands. It's important to note that the main sponsors of bills regarding livestock grazing are actually PDP members.

Agriculture is far more than farming tubers and grains; it is also so more white Fulanis and Red Bororos. Some nations thrive and earn foreign exchange via agriculture and exporting agriculture products as well as indigenously developed technology. Small industries cannot thrive without agriculture; Governor Willy Obiano during a visit to Interfact breweries in Onitsha a few weeks ago announced a 2017 target for the provision of an important raw material from Anambra farms which the operators of the plant had always sourced from South Africa. I'm sure those who heard were unhappy and some Nigerians would have been empowered to sabotage the governor's plans just like other Nigerians do in just about every sector.

If Nigeria succeeds, we all succeed. It is high time certain Nigerians looked at themselves in the mirror to see their self inflicted mutilated faces. Nigeria won't burn and it matter how many times they confess or pray it. Nigeria is a more than a Phoenix; we are not a myth but the real deal. We have weathered every storm and this present incapacitating wave of ethnoreligious and political intolerance is one we can and will ride like we've always done. However, we will rise this time and be that global force with people John F. Kennedy said were her greatest asset.

Let's start being Nigerians again; let's start being human again.

References

Voice of Reason : Selected speeches of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Fagbamigbe publishers Akure. 1981.

Diplomatic soldiering. Joseph N. Garba.