January 15: Respect.

15-01-2017

The Nigerian military is one institution that generates mixed emotions amongst Nigerians. The man who's been slapped before by an army corporal or the lady who has been beaten blue-black by Navy ratings won't give a rat's behind about today and what it signifies.

Some don't care about an institution that produced emperors and dictators; the volume of blood shed by some of these men over the years may just be the reason why Nigeria has struggled to make significant progress. The nation still bears the marks and scars of a needless civil war and the ethnoreligious complications which have arisen from it. Most of the blame has gone to the military and although the present officers have little or nothing to do with that era, they have to bear the transferred aggression, disdain and lack of support coming from many Nigerians.

What about the untold stories of valor and sacrifice? What about those spouses, siblings, parents and children who have over the years 'suffered' the effects of having a family member commit to defending the nation? Don't they deserve commendation?

There was a time the military held sway in the country and many parents hurled their kids to write entrance exams into military schools. It didn't work out for some of us, perhaps our lives would have gone on different tangents. Some went all the way and more than a few have paid the ultimate price.

It is technically just a day to remember the unknown soldier; unknown not just because they were missing in action but in my opinion, because their duties and sacrifices far outweigh all the medals we can award to them.

We should not forget the atrocities of the past, we cannot forget Asaba, Odi, Zaria, Tiv land and many other locations, even those outside Nigeria but we should support the efforts of the present crew and hail those who do good.

More good people should see reason to join the military, it is not an abomination to do so.

Respect to all my folks in the military, respect to those currently in training and those who will be joining soon.

Remembering fallen heroes is a big deal in other climes, let's make it a duty to honor ours.

Respect to all those currently serving: Akpan, J Yusuf, Bada, Oyeneyin, Adigun, Akinpelu, Osasuyi, A Yusuf, Chegwe etc.

Huge respect to all those staying awake and combing forests in the northeast and swamps while we sleep.

To all whose parents, siblings, spouses, relatives and friends sacrificed all for Nigeria; God bless and comfort you.

 

Army officers in Northeast Nigeria

Army-Airforce Training

Navy Special force

Navy combat officers

Airmen

NAF pilots

Late Lt. Col Abu Ali hoisted

AJIMOBI THE CONSTITUTED.

14-01-2017

Abiola Ajimobi attended schools in Nigeria and in the USA, he's not a 'stark illiterate.'

Some have blamed the recent outburst of the Oyo presiding officer on the people failing to elect someone who "went to school" but they don't realise that uttering such foolish statements as the man did doesn't really have much to do with anyone's level of education.

The man's uncle was a minister in the old western region while his father was a parliamentarian in the old western house. Does he suffer from delusions of grandeur or how can one explain talking down on students and ordering his security detail to apprehend one of the young men who dared to confront him?

"I am the constituted authority... " ó dà bí orí baba gbálè nínu batrum è ní ojó méje séyìn. I'm not sure he can tell his wife or children that he's the constituted authority over them.

I passed through Oyo state in December and wrote a piece on my phone about the abundance of filth and refuse which litter Ibadan but I opted not to post it. I think the stench from these has polluted the air from Bodija all the way through to Agodi, the man must surely be out of his mind and needs an evaluation.

"Go and do your worst... Is your school the first to be locked.. " lol, I'm surprised the students even let him continue. I thought he would have ended up girding his loins with his agbádá, abandoned his cap and his security detail and fled to whatever hole he crept out from.

He commissioned a 2 billion naira classroom project in the middle of 2016 which was donated by the Japanese government so I expect him to make good use of his finance qualifications and years of experience working in the oil sector and Nestle to make life better for his people. In the interim, he should be confronted with an impeachment notice for disrespecting the constituted authority of Oyo state and sent to see a shrink.

By the way, Ibadan people una town too dirty. Perhaps if you all had come out to clean and pressure the government to clean up, your sole administrator would not be dancing naked in public like this.

I don't quite understand the rationale for privatising all Oyo state owned primary and secondary schools.

https://youtu.be/A8Wtha03Tag

THE LOUD AND EMPTY

12-01-2017

There are those who stick two fingers in the air like Pa Awolowo but don't understand the rudiments of politics.

There are those who wear skinny pants and burn paper like Felá but can't put themselves in the line of fire.

There are those who try to sound eloquent like Ojukwu but don't have the gonads to start a bush fire not to talk of starting a war.

There are those who look and swag like Barry but whose high sounding words are weightless.

Whatever you do, whoever you choose to admire and have as your sinoatrial node, be convinced that what/ who isn't an original cannot be the original even if the genes rhyme.

Some folks want you to live in this age with outdated thoughts, they want you to grub on grudges decades or centuries old and want you to die for their own ambitions. They may claim to have marched with MLK but may have never really known the man. They want you to fight your mother's battles and carry on your back perpetually like a baby the hurts and hate she may have actually let go.

If you follow Fela, MLK, Zik, Adaka Boro, Barry oko Michelle etc, make sure you actually comprehend what they stood/ stand for but still ensure it's devoid of toxins.

Not everything you read from supposed intellectual sources is solid, don't be easily swayed by anything. Ensure you ask questions and do your own studying.

Do not even take this or anything from me so serious, crosscheck things for yourself and cut down on the hero worship going on in real life and Cyberia.

A Molar for a Molar: No Monopoly in Kaduna

28-12-2016

There is no monopoly of violence in Nigeria. I have made some statements about the Southern Kaduna situation and I still stand by my opinion.

I was on the Facebook page of Governor Nasir El-Rufai and read a statement by the police which he posted there. The police cautioned the media to ensure they verify information before publishing or broadcasting. It had to do really with the figure of deceased people circulated in the media, although the Police in that statement didn't provide any figures, there was no endorsement of the number many have chosen to run with (over 800 dead) which I think is outrageous.

I decided to read through the comment section and couldn't help but wonder at the intensity of cyber threats and abuse. One fellow practically threatened the governor and warned him that he wouldn't be lucky to escape next time he visited Southern kaduna. There were accusations of past atrocities and justification of reprisals, more bloodshed was also promised from both camps.

One thing is clear if we assume that these virtual gladiators are representatives of the warring parties; the animosity is deep seated and dates back to many years ago. The gyri of these agitators have images of past conflicts printed upon them, I'm almost certain they sleep and have nightmares of armed conflicts of the past and future. I will repeat it here again, there is no guiltless party in this matter.

I don't think it's sufficient to simply gravitate towards any side because of political or religious reasons. We may just be helping to fan the embers when we do that. I see many have joined the arsonist Femi Fani-Kayode to call on Southern Kaduna people to arm themselves and fight to the death because they think it is the 'Christian' thing to do. Some just do so because they imagine that Southern Kaduna is the underdog in this conflict. I think it is dangerous to simply label only the Fulani implicated in this impasse as the aggressors when we may not have all the facts at hand. It wasn't Fulani herdsmen who burnt the house of the Jema'a local government chairman as well as shops and churches on the 21st of December.

It is difficult to ignore the chance of conspiracy when one observes the periodic upsurge in 'Fulani herdsmen' related violence. It appears that the social media in particular gets flooded with news of attacks in a particular region and this is followed by images of burnt property and/or dead people only for such to die down after a while and then another state begins to trend a few months later.

This conversation I read today still baffles me in a sense. I'm really curious about what fuels this, is it religious, political, ethnic or economic in origin? Is it a combination of some of all these factors?

I guess I don't know since I'm not from Kaduna.

 

These are screenshots of conversation on Governor El-Rufai's Facebook page.

On Southern Kaduna.

27-12-2016

I'm not from Kaduna and I don't live in Southern Kaduna but I can say a thing or two about the security situation there.

The current narrative in Cyberia is similar to how things went down when Agatu and Enugu were trending due to alleged attacks by gunmen described as Fulani herdsmen. Social media was littered with adopted images of armed herdsmen from Niger, Chad, Sudan as well as Kenya to represent herdsmen in Nigeria. The president in particular was accused like he is being accused now of carrying out his extermination of non-Fulanis and many have accused the Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai of supervising genocide.

Like herdsmen-farmers clashes in most North-Central states, violence in Kaduna state especially Southern Kaduna didn't start last month or a year ago. Massive blood letting has characterized the region for many years now and it usually has a ethnoreligious coloration to it.

A 2014 account has it that a group of Muslims discovered that a portion of the fence to their abode was destroyed and accused Christians of the act leading to attacks and reprisals. Another account of El-Rufai's inquest has it that the current impasse stems from clashes which happened in 2011. The report has it that herdsmen who were foreign nationals got trapped in the region during the general elections and got attacked with many lives and cattle lost. They avenged their losses and the blood has not stopped gushing since.

Many have criticized El-Rufai's offer to compensate certain herdsmen for their losses and his plea to them to desist from attacking the Kaduna people. He pointed out that this was probably going to be the same method the late governor of Kaduna, Patrick Yakowa would have utilized but for the unfortunate helicopter crash which claimed his life and that of the former national security adviser General Azazi. Those who see no reason with this method ask why the herdsmen receiving compensation cannot be prosecuted instead. I actually do not know how practicable this can be especially where there may be no direct evidence implicating them and that they may in fact all be foreign nationals who have returned to their bases. However, there are still those who don't agree with the foreign herdsmen theory while a few others believe whatever compensation they got was to restock hardware to commit further murderous acts against Southern Kaduna people.

The militants in the Niger Delta get huge payments to be on their best behavior. The scheme was first introduced irrespective of whatever their crimes had been, be it destruction of oil installations, kidnapping of expatriate workers or simply murder of civilians, policemen or soldiers. The government needed peace and oil to flow uninhibited so if a government thinks that settling a certain group of hotheads could do a trick, should such a move be outrightly condemned? I am not an advocate for governments issuing freebies to anyone especially violent people. I don't care whatever name they are called; militants, terrorists, aggrieved yoots, emancipation forum or supporters club. It only reinforces laziness and perpetuates violence. However, I must understand the realities on ground and realise that feeding and providing some stipend for area boys in one's locality can go a long way in ensuring tranquility in the short term. I want to believe that Governor El-Rufai has been working on long term peace solutions in the region.

Channels TV ran a story 6 days ago about El-Rufai's visit to Jema'a local government alongside his security team. That was said to have been his second visit and his security council was there. He also paid a visit to the Emir and requested for his and the people's assistance to ensure peace. Some reports have it that his convoy was pelted with objects by an angry mob not satisfied with the government's effort to curb murders in the villages there.

It was also reported that the house of the local council chairman was burnt down by angry youths who also set alight churches, shops, vehicles and a few other structures all to vent their frustration. It amazes me that a people who are angry with the government for its seeming failure to protect them could go ahead to raze buildings and cars while evading justice. This is the reason why a curfew was effected by the governor with the approval of the president considering the fact that holidays were approaching.

Some reports have it that over 100 armed herdsmen stormed villages in the early hours of Sunday 25th December 2016, shooting and burning down buildings. One online outfit pegged the dead at 808 while two other more reputable media outlets had 8 and 10 dead. Which figure should be believed? Could 100 armed people with the intent to kill and shooting indiscriminately account for just about 10 dead? I don't know but I chose to wait for the official reports of investigations. Nigeria is on a balance and nothing flimsy should be allowed to tip her over. Why would I believe an official report you may ask, I would because the report of the clash between the Army and members of the Islamic movement of Nigeria disclosed that hundreds were killed and buried. This could easily have been covered up.

I believe the discussion in Southern Kaduna should be about finding lasting peace instead of playing politics and looking for justification of one's fantasies about 2 Fulani men waging a holy war in Nigeria. I believe there are those desperate to reignite the fires which raged in Kafanchan in the 1990s. Such are not suing for peace, they only want to win some ethnoreligious contest and say "I no talk am"?

There are those Nigerians who want to become leaders tomorrow who have prayed that El-Rufai and Mr President would bury their children and others join them to say or type amen. If you are like this, you'd do yourself a lot of good if you try to focus on the facts and history of any matter regarding Nigeria. There's a lot of illusion happening and it only takes a few minutes of patience to see through the gimmicks.

There are too many hot heads in Kaduna and also in other parts of Nigeria who need to calm down. We may be biased towards one group or another but we should realize that there's no guiltless party in all that has happened. That should be the starting point to realize peace.

God bless Kaduna state.

Good bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Link to a crash course on Southern Kaduna I believe

http://books.openedition.org/ifra/761

REIGNERS UYO: An unfortunate and avoidable rain of steel.

I am not quite sure why but I only found the time to get necessary information about Saturday's building collapse which occurred in Uyo on Sunday morning. 

It is really saddening that human beings had to depart in this manner on Saturday morning. Although the actual count of the deceased is not known to me, it really doesn't matter to me whether it will stand at 50, 100 or 200 at the end of the day, the loss of one life would have had the same effect. It was preventable and I'm afraid nothing will most likely be done to adequately investigate the case and people will walk away because of the peculiar status of those involved. May the souls of the departed rest in peace and may God greatly comfort their families and friends 

It's nothing new for disaster to befall us in Nigeria and nothing significant gets done.   There have been building collapses and security operations which led to massive loss of lives. The collapse in Lagos a few years ago which was linked to an unidentified flying object remains without any justice done as certain powerful interested individuals got involved along the way.  Governor Udom seems to know Apostle Weeks who is the general overseer of the Reigners Bible Church quite well; I am not sure the former will sanction any intensive scrutiny of what led to the collapse and subsequent loss of life. That is my fear. 

I'm certain many of the church members are devastated and will simply want to just move on with their lives but the truth is, that structure which collapsed doesn't look like it should have left the foundation laying stage not to talk of supporting huge metal beams.  I think this must be a form of criminal activity against the state which ought to be appropriately investigated like if it was Abubakar Shekau involved. 

To some,  the 42years old apostle should be left alone  but I'm afraid that he, alongside those responsible for planning and executing the construction should be asked serious questions so that justice can be served where indicated and future occurrences prevented.

Some have used this unfortunate event to query the God served by those who passed away for failing to rescue them while some others have rejoiced because it didn't fit into their primitive ethnoreligious settings. The truth is that those who remain alive are most likely not better or more worthy than the fallen. It's not because of what we think we possess or know so there's an urgent need to be humble and modest in the face of all these and how we live our lives in general.   We are not better than all of those who died in past air crashes, terrorist attacks,  ethnoreligious clashes or 'simple' sociopolitical protests. We are first humans before we are religious,  racial,  tribal,  political or gods.  

The images from Uyo are indeed gory, I don't know how people share them all over social media. It is important that a thorough investigation is done and the law applied irrespective of sentiments. 

There was a plane crash the other day in Colombia which practically wiped out a football team from Brazil.  The support directed towards that team since that dark day has been remarkable and I think Christian assemblies in the land should borrow from this template and show solidarity irrespective of the theological lines of separation. I'm not sure this incident from Saturday was a talking and/or prayer point in most churches especially those distant from AkwaIbom state.  I think it should be. 

It should not matter if disaster happens in a church,  mosque, club,  school, market,  court or legislative chamber; as long as it's human beings with neurones and vessels involved,  we all should reach out as human beings.  At other moments, our reaching out could be to prevent disasters.  We should not be found aiding corruption and cutting corners;  we should not keep silent in the face of evil whilst waiting for another to speak for us. 

May God see the families of the departed and the good AkwaIbom people through this trying period. 

Amen.

DALUNG: WHAT EXACTLY WAS WRONG?

The internet recently went crazy, again in the direction of Nigeria's Youth and Sports minister as well as the Federal Government on account of some statements credited to him regarding the current status of the recently victorious senior female football team.

Solomon Dalung has been criticized and abused for his khaki and red beret and also for just about everything he has said about sports in the country; the peak of this onslaught happened during the Olympic games.

But what exactly did he say this time and what was wrong with it?

I have learnt not to join in lynching on social media especially when the press and a marked villain are involved. I finally got to listen to a 58s audio recording of the reported statements made by Mr. Dalung and I found certain parts of this markedly different from what was reported by most tabloids and blogs.

Reports that the ladies were being owed their bonuses and allowances because Mr. Dalung and the FG "didn't expect the falcons to win the African women cup of Nations (AWCON)" truly shocked me. It did not make any sense to me considering that the minister was widely reported to have tipped the team to win even before the semi-final match with South Africa. 

How was it possible for the same man (who only a few days ago expressed his belief in the team's ability) to now exclaim that he never actually had any faith? I wondered how the same man who the press had reported only a day earlier to have abandoned the team for a contract signing mission to London with NFF president Amaju Pinnick could be in Abuja with State House correspondents.

He was actually in Abuja where he had an interactive session with the ladies and the technical crew. Assisat Oshoala was one of those who spoke for the team and she emphasized to the minister that their struggle was way beyond receiving their personal allowances, it was a battle for the soul of female football in Nigeria. They want commitments towards a properly structured league like what the men have; they essentially want the basic things as recommended by the international governing body. At the moment, female football in Nigeria has collapsed and only kept alive by the oxygen of local success on the continent. 

The cover up in Nigerian football and sports in general is aided by certain interested parties and many Nigerians who opt to lunge into two-footed tackles at the government instead of addressing the major culprits of these regular embarrassing situations; the 'Independent sports federations' affiliated to International governing bodies. The football federation in particular is notorious for owing players and officials and somehow get to have the government bailing them out. They seem to be perpetually broke and unable to pay match bonuses and transportation fares; many times the government takes the heat and one wonders if football is the only sport we indulge in as a nation. 

It was an away game in Zambia a few weeks ago and there was so much back and forth with the government about payment for a chartered flight for the players and officials. Reports have it that one of the sponsors of the national team, Supersport eventually provided the resources to save the day.

Would the Nigerian football federation become extinct if the government eventually pulls out of any direct funding of sport associations?

Sitting tight and resisting the NFF is not a new development with Nigerian teams. The falcons have done it before likewise the Super Eagles. This type of confrontation led to the forced retirement of players in the past but it was put to good use in during the 2014 world cup when the Super Eagles boycotted training just before their second round match against France. President Jonathan had released a huge amount of money prior to the event and this with the $1.5 million advance payment from FIFA to prepare the team was expected to settle any rift and outstanding monies owed to the players who were part of qualifying and those who made the final squad. the lads couldn't trust the Federation board at the time and held up for an advanced payment of all they were owed.

Word got to Mr. President and he sent his super hero minister of sport Danagogo save the day. Over $3.5 million later aboard a presidential jet, the eagles were back on the pitch only  be clawed down by the Gallic roosters. 

We were not alone in this anomaly as Cameroon and Ghana were reported to have also held their officials hostage. Ghana also had over $3 million flashed across the Atlantic and the image of John Boye kissing his bundle of dollars must make it onto a feature film thought to be in the works about that event. I wonder why we don't have such planned about our Brazilian adventure.

These abnormalities are what many Nigerians have come to regard as normal, we expect the government to abandon everything every time someone in football sneezes. Many individuals who are currently owed salaries ant lands, houses and millions to be showered on every successful football team when such are not even practiced in saner climes. Members of my professional constituency are at the jugular of this government because of outstanding salaries and allowances; I wonder what impression we would get if we see the government readily rush to baptize any and every sports team with massive cash and structural rewards when we have been expectant for years now.

Some have questioned why the president has not received them since their return but the fact is that the minister who is a representative of the president already received them. There were some notable successes in 2015 especially in football, basketball, scrabble, handball, boxing, weightlifting etc.

These teams and individuals were however jointly honored and rewarded in January 2016 although one could say that the monetary rewards were not exceptional but very modest. The world scrabble champion for example got 1.5million naira for his effort while each member of the victorious basket ball team to the African championship got 600,000 naira each. It appears that whatever the falcons will get from the government will be in early 2017 perhaps.

I believe the NFF is the major offender in this current stalemate; the minister said this in an interview granted to the BBC. Qualification bonuses and other allowances should not be confused with monetary rewards for winning the tournament. I believe that the ladies would not have been pacified if the government had taken on a jamboree and given each of them 3 million naira while these disputed bonuses remained unsettled. The scars of being welcome and carried around in a rickety truck draped with banners a few years ago after winning the same trophy in South Africa must remain with many of them. This team has been treated very badly over the years and deserve to be heard this time. They hardly is a female league but there somehow get to organize the available teams for a football association cup final game every year.

What did Solomon Dalung really say?

This is what PUNCH newspapers reported:

"Don't forget that nobody even knew..."

I believe the actual words and the interpretation are quite different from what most tabloids reported. 

"Don't forget that nobody indeed knew.." "But we were hopeful that they were going to be victorious" is conspicuously missing 

I think the man has once again been unfairly treated and stereotyped. He seems to try ever so hard to impress and gets to speak even when it is better to keep quiet. The NFF in my opinion has created this mess and should rectify it instead of seeking for bailout from the government; they should have figured out by now that we are not in the days when solid cash gets ferried across oceans and seas to settle bonuses. It is high time they got serious with getting sponsors and running the sport they get  a lot of money for from FIFA.

I don't know why Dalung's statements were rephrased and portions of it debrided. I don't believe any team should approach a tournament with an entitlement mentality The falcons had genuine reasons to be humble and cautious. They were rather fortunate to have retained the title as South Africa and Cameroon looked really good and better prepared with South Africa clearly better coached than Nigeria. I believe the minister pointed out that they remained hopeful of victory and this should not have stopped the NFF from making the mandatory plans for participating in the tournament and sorting out the issues of bonuses and allowances. I absolutely do not believe his statement depicted pessimism about the team's chances like the press will have us believe. Many have already cursed the man and will feel too proud to review their position on this impasse. 

By the way, the team needs a better technical person in charge going forward and Nigerians need to calm down.