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Yar'Adua Arrives
From Paul Ibe and George Oji in Abuja
Exactly three months after he left Nigeria for medical treatment in Saudi
Arabia, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, in a most dramatic twist, returned to the country in the early hours of today.
THISDAY learnt that the President, whose prolonged absence had generated considerable heat in the polity, left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 8.22pm Nigerian time last night and arrived at 1.46am today.
About 30 minutes to his arrival, the source of power supply to the airport was switched from public to generator.
After the first, small aircraft arrived, another one, a bigger aircraft, landed a few minutes later. Both were unusually parked on the runway - virtually in the bush - instead of the parking area, for a very long time. It was not clear which of the two aircraft carried the President as the entire area was covered in darkness.
An ambulance was seen moving towards the two aircraft shortly after the arrival of the second one. A bus also moved in a few minutes later.
At the airport to receive Yar'Adua were Governors Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Namadi Sambo (Kaduna). They had earlier met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Dimeji Bankole, at his residence in Abuja.Soldiers were deployed on the route from the airport to the Presidential Villa. They all took strategic positions, fully armed. The trucks that conveyed them bore the sign of Brigade of Guards.
THISDAY learnt that all the soldiers, who came in two companies, were asked to drop their phones, thereby rendering them incommunicado.
Airport staff were also ordered out of the presidential wing as soldiers took over the place. The only thing that could be gleaned from the aircraft was the flashing beacons.
At 2.56 am, the ambulance left while a convoy of about eight cars drove towards the aircraft. After 3am, the cars left the airport. They drove at moderate speed on the way to Aso Rock. There were about 16 cars in the convoy that headed for town.
The presidential jet eventually moved to park at its usual place at 3.20am while the unmarked smaller aircraft, presumed to be an air ambulance, also parked at 3.25am.
Yar'Adua returned to the country in company with his wife, Turai; his Chief Security Officer, Yusufu Tilde; and Aide-de-Camp, Col. Mustapha Onoedieva.
The President's return came as a complete surprise as the public had no prior notice or indication to that effect. The six-man ministerial team set up by the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) to pay him a visit only left for Saudi Arabia Monday night.
A source said yesterday that the ministers flew directly to Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, and met with a representative of the King, Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, to "express deep appreciation for the excellent and generous attention the government and people of Saudi have given to the President".
However, before the team could move to Jeddah – about one and a half hours by flight from Riyadh – the President had begun his journey back to Nigeria.
There were unconfirmed reports, however, that Yar'Adua flew in an air ambulance provided by the King of Saudi Arabia.
The presidential jet that flew him out of the country on November 23, 2009, was still at the Jeddah International Airport after he left, but it was believed to have taken off shortly after.
The air ambulance had been on standby for the past five days to bring the President back, THISDAY learnt, and airport authorities in Nigeria had been put on alert in the last two days to prepare for his return.
Members of the ministerial team, namely the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin; Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN); Agriculture Minister, Dr. Abba Ruma; and Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, are expected to return to Nigeria this morning straight from Riyadh.
Nigeria's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Abdullah Garba Aminchi, had said on Monday that doctors were preventing visitors from having access to Yar'Adua.
Aminchi said he himself had visited Yar'Adua on Saturday and that the condition of the president was improving after treatment for a heart ailment.
"I saw him the day before yesterday... He's really feeling better now," Aminchi had told AFP.
Source: This Day, 24 Feb 2010.
Yar'Adua Returns
By Chiawo Nwankwo and Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja
President Umaru Yar'Adua finally returned to Nigeria on Wednesday morning, exactly 93 days after he
left for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
There was palpable anxiety across the country late on Tuesday as speculation heightened that Yar'Adua, 58, was being flown back to Abuja, after receiving treatment for acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart that can restrict normal beating.
According to Reuters, the President, whose state of health was not disclosed, reportedly left Jeddah International Airport "at 10:22 pm (1922 GMT) alone in a plane and another plane carried Nigerian government envoys."
His aircraft, an air ambulance, landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 1.47am and taxied to about half a kilometre from the presidential wing of the airport. Apparently alarmed at the presence of journalists at the presidential wing, a convoy of vehicles at the airport to receive the President drove to the aircraft.
Among the vehicles was a new Ford E-250 intensive care ambulance, which is believed to have conveyed him to the Presidential Villa. The second aircraft, a presidential jet, landed at 1.56am and taxied to the same spot as the first one.
Top government officials, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Adamu Aliero, were at the airport to receive him. The secretive manner of his return fuelled speculations that he may be too ill to resume duties in the next few days.
Before his arrival, about 200 soldiers and armed policemen had been deployed in the airport's presidential wing. One of our correspondents reported that soldiers were deployed in some streets in the FCT before the aircraft landed.
Aviation workers on shift duty at the presidential lounge were asked to leave the area.
A military truck was sighted around 11.30pm dropping soldiers at various spots, including Bolingo Hotel junction along Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Area 10.
Attempts by journalists to get to the presidential lounge were rebuffed by the soldiers. They ordered the newsmen to leave the area.
The lights went off around 1.14am, as authorities of the airport switched from public power supply to generator. This was to avoid any embarrassment from an unexpected power outage.
Soldiers cordoned off the route from the airport to the city as the presidential convoy made its way into the FCT. Those who drove through the route before the President arrived were forced to vacate the route hurriedly.
A six-man delegation mandated by FEC to visit the ailing President reportedly failed to accomplish its objective before he left Jeddah.
The delegation comprising the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe; Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Sayyadi Abba-Ruma; Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin; and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, had paid a visit to the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, in Riyadh and delivered a letter from Jonathan.
When the delegation met with Nigeria's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Garba Aminchi, they were told that it was no longer possible to see the President, as he was already "airborne," on his way back home.
The delegation's trip had met with some controversy, as Maduekwe told newsmen on Monday before it departed that the mission was merely to express the nation's gratitude to the Saudi monarch for his care for Yar'Adua.
Before the FEC delegation, other teams that had travelled at different times to Saudi Arabia failed to meet with the President. They included a delegation of governors; a high-ranking team led by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor; and some members of the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, there are already indications that Yar'Adua's arrival might cause a stir at today's Federal Executive Council meeting. It is expected that his loyalists might attempt to bounce back to reckoning.
This was reinforced by news that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was only informed about Yar'Adua's imminent return to Nigeria a few hours before the President left Jeddah.
On February 3, an attempt by the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, to present a memo asking FEC to prevail on the President to hand over to Jonathan was strongly rebuffed by pro-Yar'Adua members of the council.
She promised to present the memo a second time at the next FEC meeting on February 10. But, this was not possible because the National Assembly had a day earlier passed a resolution asking Jonathan to assume power as the Acting President.
Apparently bowing to public pressure to resolve the power vacuum in the country, the National Assembly had based its action on the interview purportedly granted to the British Broadcasting Corporation by Yar'Adua on January 21, in which he said his doctors would determine his date of discharge.
The Senate explained that the interview, which was published in various newspapers, could stand in place of the transmission of a written declaration from the President that he was proceeding on a medical vacation.
At the February 10 FEC meeting, Jonathan announced the redeployment of Mr. Michael Aondoakaa from the Federal Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Special Duties. He was replaced by the then Labour and Productivity Minister, Adetokunbo Kayode, while Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure moved from Special Duties to Labour and Productivity.
At last week's meeting, FEC failed to declare Yar'Adua incapacitated, against the expectations in some quarters. Instead, it mandated a six-man delegation to visit the President in Jeddah.
A curious twist to the meeting was the death threat allegedly received by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mrs. Dieziani Alison-Madueke, as she stepped out of the council chambers. SUNDAY PUNCH edition of February 21 reported that she received the death threat via a text message sent to her phone.
Yar'Adua's prolonged absence from the country had generated much misgiving in several quarters, with some calling for his removal from office. Among those who championed the call were the Save Nigeria Group, some senators and members of the House of Representatives and media stakeholders.
The SNG organised rallies in Lagos and Abuja, calling on Yar'Adua to quit. Members of the group, which includes Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Monday gave FEC up till March 3 to declare the President incapacitated or risk civil disobedience.
Source: Punch, 24th Feb 2010.
Yar'Adua Returns...
President Umaru Yar'Adua arrived Abuja early this morning after three months in Saudi Arabia, where he has been undergoing treatment for a heart condition.
According to a Reuters report , the President left Jeddah International Airport "at 10:22 pm (1922 GMT) alone in a plane and another plane carried Nigerian government envoys."
The air ambulance carrying the president landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 1.47am. There was huge presence of journalists at the airport and some vehicles at the airport that had dignitaries who were there to receive the President drove to the aircraft.
Among the vehicles was a new Ford E-250 intensive care ambulance, which is believed to have conveyed him to the Presidential Villa. The second aircraft, a presidential jet, landed at 1.56am and taxied to the same spot as the first one.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Adamu Aliero, and other top government functioneries were at the airport to receive him. There was a sort of secrecy to his return and condition of health, fuelling fears that he may not be in sound health to resume immediately.
Before his arrival, about 200 soldiers and armed policemen had been deployed in the airport's presidential wing. The soldiers were deployed in some streets in the FCT before the aircraft landed.
Aviation workers on shift duty at the presidential lounge were asked to leave the area.
A military truck was sighted around 11.30pm dropping soldiers at various spots, including Bolingo Hotel junction along Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Area 10.
Attempts by journalists to get to the presidential lounge were rebuffed by the soldiers. They ordered the newsmen to leave the area.
The lights went off around 1.14am, as authorities of the airport switched from public power supply to generator. This was to avoid any embarrassment from an unexpected power outage.
Soldiers cordoned off the route from the airport to the city as the presidential convoy made its way into the FCT. Those who drove through the route before the President arrived were forced to vacate the route hurriedly.
Source: Vanguard, 24 Feb 2010.
Violent Extremism Fuels Religious Crises
in Nigeria – US
By AGENCY REPORTER
The United States Government said on Monday that religious crises in Nigeria were being fuelled by "violent extremism."
It said this development was one of the greatest worries of the President Barrack Obama-administration in trying to build a new relationship with the Islamic world, a US-based Nigerian news agency, Empowered Newswire, has reported.
US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, said this in Doha on Sunday in her remarks at the US-Islamic World Forum held in the Qatari capital city.
This is another indication that Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria is of core concern to the US.
Clinton, married to a former US president, Bill Clinton, highlighted five important themes that were vital to the US in her diplomatic moves.
The themes are:
- Comprehensive Middle East peace;
- Iran's particular pursuit of nuclear weapons;
- Violent extremism in the Islamic world, including places like Nigeria;
- Opportunities for young people to be part of positive change in the nations with Muslim majorities; and
- Fundamental human rights of people to choose their religion, to have a say in government and equality between men and women, among others.
However, Clinton particularly mentioned Nigeria in her speech on violent extremism in the Islamic world just as the meeting drew diplomatic representation from several countries with majority or substantial Moslem population.
She said, "The third issue where our policies and principles converge is of great concern to all of us: violent extremism. Many of the nations represented here today and many more worldwide have already experienced firsthand the devastating effects of violent extremism.
"Extremists have recently attacked pilgrims in Iraq with the intent of destabilising the government and reigniting a civil war.
"In Nigeria, extremists are exacerbating Muslim-Christian tensions. In Somalia, they are working to bring down the government. And in Yemen, al-Qaeda seeks to exploit internal and regional divisions to create a new base for global terrorism."
Although Nigeria was not represented at the forum, observers said the inclusion of the country in Clinton's speech underscored a personal commitment to keep Nigeria in view. It also represents President Obama's resolve to keep Africa within the main loop of US foreign policy.
Clinton said had met with Islamic leaders in several countries, including Nigeria, since she became US Secretary of State over a year ago.
She said, "Since I became Secretary of State a little over a year ago, I have had the privilege of travelling to 46 countries around the world, including many that have a Muslim majority.
"And while much of my time on these trips was devoted to working with governments and high officials, I also made it a point to meet with citizens, as well...I have met with Islamic leaders in Nigeria."
Stating her gratitude for the chance to meet with so many people, and to hear what is important to them, Clinton added, "I hope that these trips help to underscore the importance that the United States places on engaging effectively and energetically, not only with governments in Muslim-majority countries, but with Muslim communities everywhere."
She said that though many religious leaders and citizens from Muslim communities had voiced their outrage at those who claimed to kill in the name of God, "we all have a stake in this fight, and the United States is committed to working in partnership with Muslim-majority countries as we face this threat together, because Islam is-and must be-an important part of the solution in confronting violent extremism."
She cited the current military onslaught in Afghanistan and said "dozens of countries are doing their part in Afghanistan to fight Al-Qaeda and its allies, to protect the democratic government and to improve economic and educational opportunities. Among our partners, there are Turkey, which has sent more than 1,500 troops; Jordan, which runs medical facilities that have treated thousands; the United Arab Emirates, which is supporting humanitarian operations; and Saudi Arabia, which has pledged financial support."
Apart from the US itself, countries represented at the forum, which started on Saturday, February 13 were drawn from Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The participants were drawn from governments, religious organisations and civil society groups.
From Africa were nations like Egypt, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Somalia.
From Europe were the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Majority of the participants came from the Middle East and Asia.
They included Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Palestine territories.
Source: Punch, 16th Feb. 2010.
U.S. worries over extremism in Nigeria
From Laolu Akande, New York
NIGERIA'S religious crisis is being escalated by violent extremism associated with Islamic fundamentalists, and this is among the worries of the President Barack Obama-led U.S. government as it tries to build a new kind of relationship with the Islamic world, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
She spoke at the weekend at the U.S.-Islamic World forum held on Sunday in Doha, the Qatari capital city. But Nigeria was not represented at the forum which had most of the nations of the world with large Moslem populations in attendance, either by government or private representations.
The statement is another indication that Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in Nigeria is a core concern of the U.S. and an evidence that Nigeria is now actively in the minds of the American government, especially now under the Obama presidency, and particularly the American diplomatic leadership of Hillary Clinton, who has kept the nation in view in several public statements and speeches in recent times.
Clinton, wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, highlighted some five important themes she described as vital to the U.S. in her speech at the forum. They are:
Comprehensive Middle East peace;
Iran's particular pursuit of nuclear weapons;
Violent extremism in the Islamic world, including places like Nigeria;
Opportunities for young people to be part of positive changes in the nations with Moslem majorities; and
Fundamental human rights of people to choose their religion and equality between men and women.
Nigeria featured constantly, by mention, in Clinton's speech when she touched on violent extremism in the Islamic world.
The U.S. Secretary of State said: "The third issue where our policies and principles converge is of great concern to all of us: Violent extremism. Many of the nations represented here today and many more world-wide have already experienced firsthand the devastating effects of violent extremism.
"Extremists have recently attacked pilgrims in Iraq with the intent of destabilising the government and re-igniting civil war. In Nigeria, extremists are exacerbating Muslim-Christian tensions. In Somalia, they are working to take down the government. And in Yemen, al-Qaeda seeks to exploit internal and regional divisions to create a new base for global terrorism."
Although Nigeria was not represented at the forum, observers say the inclusion of Nigeria in Clinton's speech underscored a personal commitment to keep Nigeria in view, and also represents President Obama's resolve to keep Africa within the main loop of U.S. foreign policy outlook.
Again, Clinton stated that she has met already with Islamic leaders in several countries, including Nigeria since she became U.S. Secretary of State over a year ago.
"Since I became Secretary of State a little more than a year ago, I have had the privilege of travelling to 46 countries around the world, including many that have Muslim majority. And while much of my time on these trips was devoted to working with governments and high officials, I also met with citizens, as well. I have met with Islamic leaders in Nigeria," she said.
"I hope that these trips help to underscore the importance that the U.S. places on engaging effectively and energetically, not only with governments in Muslim-majority countries, but with Muslim communities everywhere," she added.
The U.S. diplomatic chief stated that though many faith leaders and citizens from Muslim communities have voiced their outrage at those who claim to kill in the name of God, "we all have a stake in this fight, and the United States is committed to working in partnership with Muslim-majority countries as we face this threat together. Because Islam is-and must be-an important part of the solution in confronting violent extremism."
She cited the current military onslaught in Afghanistan to say "dozens of countries are doing their part in Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda and its allies, to protect the democratic government, and to improve economic and educational opportunities. Among our partners there are Turkey, which has sent more than 1,500 troops; Jordan, which runs medical facilities that have treated thousands; the United Arab Emirates, which is supporting humanitarian operations; and Saudi Arabia, which has pledged financial support."
Besides the U.S. itself, countries represented at the forum which started on Saturday were drawn from Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. They included participants drawn from governments, religious organisations and civil society. From Africa were nations like Egypt, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Somalia.
From Europe, were United Kingdom and Sweden, while majority of the participants came from the Middle East and Asia. They included Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Palestine.
Source: The Guardian, 16th Feb. 2010.
Jos Crisis: Nigeria Cannot Develop Without Peace
Pope Benedict
Written by From Golu Timothy,Rome
Apparently disturbed by the frequent religious crisis among Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, the Vatican leader, Pope Benedict XVI has called for peace among the two main religious faiths in the country, saying without peace and unity, the nation will not move forward.
He said while other nations had gone far because they cherished the virtues of peace and harmony, others are still lagging behind because they have no peace and unity. He therefore, charged Nigerian political and spiritual leaders to work towards achieving a lasting peace to the nation.
Pope Benedict, in company of his cardinals, also said as a country blessed by God, the people of Nigeria need to love one another so that they can collectively develop the country and their people from a third world into a first world society where other countries can also visit and share from the nation's blessings.
The spiritual father, who is the head of the Catholic Church worldwide, was addressing pilgrims from about 10 countries, including Nigeria who were at the 10,000 capacity conference hall at the St Peter's Basilica as part of the 2010 pilgrimage to the Vatican city.
Addressing all the various nationals in their different languages, Pope Benedict said gone were the days when nationals of the same country fought each other over little issues, but that everybody should be concerned about the issues that promote unity instead of those that seek to tear them apart.
According to the father, " I want to thank Nigerians who are here as part of the pilgrimage exercise in Rome. This is a lovely city that you will find exciting. Nigeria is a fast growing city and I pray that God blesses the people and the nation abundantly. The people must love one another and work together to develop the country. Without peace, there cannot be development and unity. The country is blessed, and therefore, there should be unity and peace. Christians and Muslims in Nigeria must live together in peace and unity, must do things together for the country to grow. Please take my message to your people at home and tell them I love them all and pray for them all."
At the end of the about three-hour session with the pilgrims, the Pope shook hands with the leaders of the Nigerian delegation which include the chairman of the Nigerian Christian pilgrims Commission (NCPC) Arc Bishop Nicholas Akoh, the secretary, Mr John Kenedy Okpara and the Rev. Father Chukwuma of the Enugu Diocese.
Officials of the Vatican city, together with the local guides took the pilgrims round the massive and concrete St Peter's Church located within the Basilica where they were shown the grave sides of the late Pope John Paul II and those of his predecessors, the places where St Peter and St Paul were buried and many other historical and spiritual sites.
Also worried by the ceaseless crises in the country, the last batch of Nigerian Christian pilgrims to the 2009 pilgrimage in Israel and Rome, shortly before the trip to the Vatican, had gathered to pray for the restoration of permanent peace in the state and that of the health of President Umaru Musa YarÁdua, calling on God to intervene to bring lasting solution to the country.
The pilgrims also asked God to intervene in a special way so as to expose all those who are behind the carnage which has so far led to the loss of lives of more than 10,000 people since it broke out in 1994.
In a joint Sunday service conducted by both Israeli and Nigerian clergies, the over 200 pilgrims gathered in a village church of Eilagbun, north of the holy state, together with some Arab Israelites located between the Galilean mountains and Nazareth to take their petitions to God. They prayed for the immediate return of peace and unity to Plateau State.
According to them, "'There has never been any crisis that was engineered by God almighty. Whatever does not encourage the promotion of peace is from the devil, so we must collectively rise up and say no to any such occurrence. We need peace in Plateau just like we need it here in Israel. God is a God of peace and therefore, we must seek to promote peace in the world.
Nigerian pilgrims arrived the Vatican city in Rome yesterday for a three-day sojourn of the area as part of pilot scheme for the 2009 pilgrimage exercise. Led by the chairman of the NCPC and the secretary, Arc Bishop Nicholas Akoh and John Kenedy Okpara respectively, the pilgrims visited Pope Benedict the xvi at the holy place and the St Peter's Basilica where the spiritual father and the head of the Roman Catholic Church and his officials reside.
According to Okpara, the visit is the first of Nigerian pilgrims in many years after the previous pilgrimages to Rome, which he added would continue from next year.
About 400 of the 2009 pilgrims had earlier arrived Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel-A-Aviv on Saturday afternoon from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja after a 9 -hour flight in an Israeli national carrier, the TAT(Travel Aviation and Tourism)and proceeded to other spiritual sites within the holy city of Israel.
Both Akoh and Okpara, in company of other commissioners of the NCPC, commended the peaceful conduct of the pilgrims and said the 2009 pilgrimage had been the best in the history of Christian pilgrimage in Nigeria, promising to make that of 2010 better.
They commended all those who participated in the exercise, urging them to use their knowledge and experiences gathered while in the holy land for the development of themselves and the Nigerian nation.
The Nigerian pilgrims who went to Rome returned yesterday to join their counterparts in Israel for the continuation of the pilgrimage which ends on Tuesday next week before the last airlifting back to Nigeria same day.
Source: Leadership, 6th Feb 2010.
Aftermath Of The Jos Crisis
By Kunle Sayanolu
GRADUALLY, normalcy racebbs into Jos and its suburbs, after the killings and destruction perpetrated in the name of God. Coming less than two years after a similar crisis with religious undertone in the same town formerly reputed to be one of the most peaceful in the country, the last Jos crisis has left in its aftermath serious injuries to the mind. And the injury is unlikely to go away very soon, for many reasons. One, thousands of Nigerian who fled Jos in the wake of the killing are unlikely to return, at least not in the number with which they left. Two, even some of those who would like to return and continue life there have no homes to return to, as those have been destroyed. For some Nigerians, who are non-indigent of Jos or Plateau State, nothing can alleviate the anguish they go through daily, maccount of seeing their family members, friends and neighbour hacked to death; or seeing their homes destroyed in the only place they can identify themselves and their past with. Some corps members on national service, having managed to escape with their lives, are not contemplating a return. Those who decide to see through their service year are on the edge far from being relaxed. They sleep moveably, with one eye close.
Expectedly, everybody that matter has condemned the carnage. The Executive Council of the Federation led by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan in the absence of the President, condemned it; so have the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the Christian Association of Nigeria the leadership and members of the National Assembly, State Government, corporate bodies and presumably all well-meaning Nigerians.
The question then is: so what happen next? The condemnation is expected, as it attended every similar crisis before Jos. For me, the fear of normalcy is much greater than the fear when the city was boiling. Then, at least everybody was alert, things that is not a criterium for avoiding the casualty. Under that female condition, it is a do or die, and one is entitled within reasonable circumstances, to defend himself or seek escape. But when things are normal, all guards are down, and since attacks are sudden, they tend to catch more people unprepared; unable to defend themselves. Naturally then, causalities are high. I cannot help wondering when the next riot will happen. We all sit down in witness of past carnages, knowing there will be a next round, which may be more catastrophic. Yet, no one is unable, or willing, to prevent it. And so it happens again. Is it realistic or even reasonable to hope that the January crisis in Jos will be the last at least having regard to the huge concern it had geared locally and abroad?
If by divine intervention, it doesn't happen again in Jos, will it or will it not happen elsewhere in the country? The fact is that frankly, there is no assurance to answering these question in the negative. That is the crux of the matter. It is bad enough that Nigerian brothers and sisters, so-called by virtue of our same nationality, bottled up so much hatred and anger against themselves, such that they explode at the flimsiest of excuse is word to know that sooner or later, the explosion will be repeated.
If this is not the Nigeria of the dream of our nationalist. It is not the Nigeria any of us wants to bequeath to our children.
We need to fully appreciate the effects of the Jos riot on the mentality of the average Nigerian now, so that we can correctly read the future, if any of the entity we call Nigeria. Ordinarily, the Jos Crisis can only deepen the distrust existing between christian and moslem in that region, particularly since the 2008 crisis. The crisis is as much as who started it, as it is about the kind of reaction. Each time it happens, the elite and leader call for restraint. That it keeps happening means the restraint call has been falling in deaf ears. One thing is however clear: There will be no reaction without an action, just as every action naturally spurs a reaction. There seem to be no agreement or confirmation as to who fired the first salo in Jos. Probably, there is no straight first salo, as the issue might not be so simple. But the action, however meek or harsh, precipitated the reaction.
There was once a massive of Nigerian from a part of the country, in another part. Then there was reprisal from the part where the slain Nigerian came from. And then there was some quiet, as if the actors cooled by the reaction, or by an apparent realisation that the oppressed could well becomes the oppressors. It is not reasonable or to propose this as solution to religious crisis. Yet, the authorities are inadvently encouraging tit for tat, since their action has always been limited to lamenting the crisis and making promises that even they know will not be fulfilled. In the aftermaths of the 2008 disturbances, the state government as well as the federal government set up separate commission of inquiry, each headed by permanent and highly respected Nigerians.
But the reports of the inquiries were not made public. This is akin to subordination of justice to other interest. Besides, there was no manifest prosecution of the perpetrators and masterminds of the disturbances. That suggest that there are sacred cows, who the law could not touch. In both instances, the stage is set for re-enactment of the disturbance. This is happening in Jos, as it is happening in other town in the country reported to be flashpoint over religious differences. In the present case of Jos, there were reports of hundreds of people arrested being taken to the federal capital, Abuja. For what? No one knows precisely. But we do know that the law requires culprit to be tried in the area or jurisdiction of their offence. Soon, some Nigerians will begin to feel that the transferring of suspects to Abuja is meant to provide them with an escape route. Is this true? Note that apart from the regular lamentation, no one is talking about prosecuting those arrested. Naturally, the international criminal court of justice is suspecting a state cover up for perpetration of Jos killing. Can you blame them for crying foul, or fingering genocide?
It is a question of time for Nigerian to run out of patience with this geographical entity we call our country. We have the constitution that guarantees freedom of worship. And we have the criminals and penal codes that abhor murder, arson and assault. But we refuse to be guides by this, purely for selfish interest or borne out of lack of political courage. Yet we preach rule of law and peaceful co-existence.
There are never going to happen without justice. Whether this crisis is borne out of religious difference or ethnic divide (as some people have suggested), the fact remains that people wee killed and maimed, churches and mosques were burnt. There are enough facts to anchor full prosecution, even if to foul the contention that religious crisis recurs because culprits of previous ones were not sanctioned. The fear that the Jos and similar crises can determine the so-called Nigerian unity is not far from being concretised. I really don't think the country can survive another religious strife in Jos because when and if it happens, the attack and destruction will cut across religious and ethnic divides, to even family circles. An inkling to this is the report first that fake soldiers identifies by their improper dressing,in which they wear military uniforms or slippers are involved in the attacks. then it was reported that real soldiers deliberately dressed improperly, pretending to be fake, in order to attack hapless citizens. The reports have forced the army authorities into defending themselves and denying the allegations. Since soldiers consist of both christian and moslems, one can imagine the possible repercussions of this allegations if they turn out to be true. Yet there is no smoke without fire.
There is need for an urgent review of everything relating to the Jos crisis, and that goes for the law too. There are law in the codes against murder, arson, conspiracy assault etc. It has been argued that in occasion of riot and mob action, it is difficult to assemble witnesses to testify in proof of these offences. Everyone is on the run to preserve his life. The killers usually tend to leave no tell-tale witnesses; and survivors are too scared or too thankful either to recognize culprit or to come out and testify. There may be need to enact fresh law to address these issues, if indeed we are interested in permanently solving the problem of religious disturbances. For too long also, we have blamed failure of intelligence slow response of law enforcers and inadequate response of officials. Henceforth, top security officials should be sanctioned to the knowledge of the public, for their failure in preventing or curtailing these disturbances. Religious disturbances and the attendant crisis have brought the precipice very close to the country, as reflected in the apprehension of Nigerians. Parents are now justifiably reluctant to encourage their sons and daughters work or perform national service in some parts of the country. State governments and town unions who sent buses to evacuate their citizen and members from crisis torn cities are declaring their belief that the country is neither united nor accommodating to everybody at the same time. What then is the worth of the Nigerian constitution?
Source: The Guardian, 7th Feb. 2010.
Jos Became a War Zone
How Taliban-trained Fighters Killed Christians in Jos, by PFN
* Oyo evacuates 650 indigenes
From Isa Abdulsalami (Jos), Oghogho Obayuwana, Emeka Anuforo (Abuja), Iyabo Lawal (ibadan) and Alex Olise (Lagos)
RELIGIOUS fundamentalists allegedly trained in Taliban were yesterday named as the executioners of the recent mayhem in Jos, Plateau State.
Prior to the violence, the state chapter of the Advisory Board of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), claimed that security agencies were inundated with reports that some Islamic sect had trained their members in Sudan to carrying out a Jihad and ethnic cleansing in Jos.
The group claimed that over 600 armless Christians were killed by the fanatics in the January 17 crisis. But the state police command had earlier put the death toll at 323.
At a press conference yesterday, the Plateau State Chairman of PFN, Dr. Sam Alaha, who made the allegations, added that over 1,000 Christians were displaced in the crisis.
According to Alaha, four Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) buildings in Rikkos, destroyed in the 2008 crisis but rebuilt were again destroyed in the latest crisis. He listed the affected churches as ECWA Jos Jarawa; ECWA Mai Adiko; Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bukuru; two Assemblies of God Church Bukuru; Church of God Mission, Bukuru and many others.
He said this was apart from business premises, homes, schools and others, which were also damaged, adding that the pastor's house of ECWA Church in Mai Adiko was burnt.
Alaha said: "A similar invasion took place at the ECWA Church Nassarawa (Gwong) by military personnel. The pastor's office, house and bedroom were forcefully entered, file cabinet were ransacked and soft drinks bought for guests who were attending a leadership seminar in the church were consumed by the invading military operatives and other things looted.
"Churches, houses and cars belonging to about 10 PFN pastors in Bukuru were burnt and damaged. Many reports of carnage, atrocities and destructions are still coming in. We sympathise with all those who have lost their loved ones and valuable property. May God give you all the grace to bear these irreplaceable losses."
Alaha stated that the Jos crisis was a well- planned, long-timed and systemised approached Jihad. He said in 2009 during the Boko Haram crisis in Borno State, the Chief Imam of Bauchi Sheikh Mohammed Bala Ahmed, disclosed to the press that the Boko Haram fighters were a group of 3,800 Nigerians, trained as fighters in Sudan, with a mission to invade Jos.
The cleric said since the Jos fight had waned, the Talibans went under to train others in the bush in Bauchi and other places.
"They therefore turned this violent spirit on the city during the last Bauchi Boko Haram crisis. These trained fighters are the reason why the Jos crisis cannot end. These Taliban-trained fighters brought into our dear city of peace insist on trying out their acquired killing skills. Until this root is traced and totally excised, we see our city still smoking in their hands even without provocation. There is no denying the fact that some innocent Muslims were also affected by the Talibans' modus operandi but this could have been avoided if the Sunday morning attack did not happen."
He claimed that a systematic programme of ethnic cleansing was being undertaken by the Hausa/Fulani in Jos, adding that the present happenings proved to them that there was a motive to ethnically cleanse Jos by the Hausa/Fulani.
Alaha said that since the 2001 crisis, when Angwan Rogo was initially cleansed of all Christians, it had been followed by the same cleansing of all ethnic groups that are not Hausa/Fulani and the acquisition of cheap abandoned property in their dominated areas, adding that Muslims from other tribes other than the Hausa/Fulani extraction were also targets.
As a way forward, he suggested that government should implement findings and recommendations of previous panels and commissions while the state government should form an anti-religious riot vigilance group to work as a first response body to any uprising before the police arrive.
He stated that the issue of security agents taking sides with people of their faith should be checked, asking, "can anyone imagine what happens to Nigeria if all security agents sent to quell religious riots decide to pitch tent with people of their own faith? This issue must be carefully looked into and measures taken to forestall a recurrence."
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff Lt- Gen. Abdurahman Dambazau, has denied that soldiers were partisan in quelling the Jos crisis.
In a reaction yesterday in Lagos, the Army boss, described the claim by some section of Jos community, that soldiers assisted Muslims to wreck havoc on Christian residents as unture.
"Now, the Chief of Staff (Operation) in Jos is a Christian by religion and a Yoruba by tribe, the Garrison Commander, who is responsible for deploying troops during violence is also a Christian and Yoruba by tribe. How do you think such persons will direct his men to kill his Christian brothers and sisters," he said.
At the Oyo State Governor's Office, Ibadan, it was a pathetic site yesterday as victims of Jos crisis, including indigenes, youth corps members and some non-indigenes relieved their experiences during the violence.
The returnees, who were among the 650 persons so far evacuated by the state government in the wake of the bloody clash, fought back tears as they narrated their experiences to reporters with many vowing not to return to the troubled city again.
Apart from Oyo State indigenes, victims from neighbouring states of Edo, Ogun and Ondo were also among those evacuated by the state government and were received by Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.
Chairman of the Yoruba Community in Jos, Alhaji Asimiyu Ajani, who was the Director of Blessing Tailor in Jos, recalled how he lost his multi million naira fashion centre and one of his apprentices to the crisis.
Ajani, who said he spent about 39 years in Jos, expressed regrets that what started as a mild misunderstanding between a native and a settler, could degenerate into a major crisis resulting in the loss of innocent lives and wanton destruction of property, especially of non-indigenes.
He said: "The crisis started Tuesday last week and the next day, we were woken from sleep and forced to abandon our property for the safety and since then, we had been taking shelter in different places like the police barracks, churches and mosques and left with only the clothes we have on."
Sixty-nine-year-old Moses Adegboyega said what he laboured for in the last 29 years were lost to the crisis.
Some of the corps members who took turns to speak with The Guardian said they might not return to the troubled state again.
One of the corps members, who identified herself as Mutiat Akintunde, said she never knew she would come out alive of Jos.
Alao-Akala assured the victims of government's readiness to assist them, saying arrangements had been put in place to ensure that they learn a vocation after which the government would give them start -up funds.
Addressing a press conference in Jos, Mr. Joseph Sangosanya, who was supported by a human right activist, Dr. Tor Lorapuu, said that the coalition supported the ban of commercial motorcycles in the Bukuru/Jos Metropolis and suggested that there should be a joint task force and not just the military alone.
Sangosanya advised government to make available fuel as it has banned the open sale of petrol in Jerry cans.
He advised the Inspector-General of Police and the Federal Government to transfer the culprits that were apprehended during the November 2008 and January 2010 crisis back to Jos for prosecution.
An international donor agency, Oxfam GB said yesterday that the number of sufferers of the effects of Jos crisis had increased.
In its statement yesterday, Lesley Agams, the group's country director, said Oxfam "wishes to draw attention to the food and social security of the poor and vulnerable, and amongst them women and children, with whom we work to overcome poverty and suffering in Nigeria.
Oxfam further said: "The reports from our partners and staff say the situation in Jos and environs have impacted severely on the poor and vulnerable as many have lost their small holdings and are now incapacitated by their poverty in being able to recover quickly and sufficiently from the drastic disruption of their normal daily routine and livelihoods systems."
Source: The Guardian, 28th January 2010.
8,000 Jos Residents Take Refuge in Bauchi
From Ali Garba, Bauchi
FOLLOWING the recent crisis in Jos, Plateau State, over 8,000 displaced residents of the state are currently taking refuge in four different camps in Bauchi State.
The camps are in Magama Gumau, Toro, Tilden Fulani in Toro Local Council and Boto in Tafawa/Balewa Local Council.
Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, who visited the camps yesterday, assured that the government would provide the enabling environment for the victims to settle down and take responsibility for children who lost their parents in the mayhem.
He also assured that the Federal Government would do everything possible to punish the masterminds of the crisis.
In a related development, the Osun State Government plans to assist indigenes of the state who are victims of the Jos crisis.
This is sequel to a meeting Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola held on Monday in Jos with indigenes of the state resident in Plateau, according to a statement by his Executive Assistant on Press Matter, Kayode Oladeji.
Oyinlola, who described the crisis as "very sad" said the state government would work out ways of cushioning its effect on Osun indigenes based on a report the latter forwarded to his office.
His words: "It is a very sad development. But we as a government shall assist our indigenes who were affected in the crisis. Something will be done, I can assure you."
Yuguda urged the victims to consider the situation as destined and prayed for Allah's mercy on those who lost their lives in the crisis.
In separate remarks, Protem Chairman, Toro Council, Hamisu Muhammad and his counterpart at Tafawa Balewa Council, Saidu Aliyu Gital, promised to continue to provide necessary assistance to the victims to ease their suffering.
Speaking on behalf of the displaced persons, Ibrahim Hammed commended the authorities for their effort to alleviate the displaced persons' sufferings and appealed to the state government to provide land for them to resettle in.
Insisting that the unity of the country should not be compromised under whatever guise, Oyinlola asked Nigerians to live peaceably in the country.
He equally said that those involved in the wanton killing and destruction of lives and property should be brought to book so as to serve as deterrent to others.
Oyinlola said: "Honestly, we must stop these senseless killings and this is why anybody caught should not be left unpunished."
He assured that his administration would always ensure the protection and safety of Osun indigenes everywhere, and urged them to be good ambassadors of the state.
Source: The Guardian, 28th January 2010.
North, a Problem to Nigeria – ACF
By Segun Olatunji, Kaduna
The Arewa Consultative Forum on Wednesday in Kaduna said that the region had become the problem of Nigeria due to the frequent outbreak of violence in the area.
The ACF observed that the future of the region would remain bleak unless its leaders took immediate steps to reverse the situation and save the region from the current embarrassment.
The Vice-Chairman of the group's Board of Trustees, Senator Ladan Shuni, who read an opening address at a meeting of the forum, said that the various problems confronting the North now were never envisaged and that the leaders of the region must take responsibility for these.
The ACF chieftain warned that if the present situation in the region was allowed to continue, it would not only endanger the peace of the area but also make the future of the North more bleak.
Shuni stressed that all the stakeholders in the region must join hands to address the socio-economic problems of the North.
He stated that it had become imperative for the leaders in the region to tackle the massive poverty and the widespread practice of begging amongst the people of the region.
He said, "We have to really save the future of our children because as it is now, our future is bleak. We have to actually rise and see how we can bring back this our noble culture and orientation. In the past, we were only hearing cases of kidnapping in other places. Armed robbery was not part of us, but now we have similar things here, too.
"We have a lot of unemployment cases in the North. The unemployed are roaming the streets and in some cases, they become area boys. Before, it was usually difficult to find Northern armed robbery gangs but today they are so common.
"There are a lot of crises in the North; there have been the Boko Haram, Kala Kato and the present Jos crisis. The North is becoming the problem of the country and it is the North that should come together and solve the problem.
"Apart from the issue of begging, there are other problems that were hitherto not known or associated with the North, but kidnapping is even here in the North. Our education has not only gone down but has also deteriorated. There is unemployment everywhere and no sign of improvement.
"From the foregoing, it is now the duty of the leaders, both past and present and many who are here present, to save the North in particular and the country in general, because as it is, the future is bleak."
Our correspondent gathered that the meeting of the ACF BOT was convened to discuss the various socio-economic problems facing the region with a view to finding solution to them.
Source: Punch, 28th January 2010.
Arewa Meets, Laments North's Problems
From Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna
MEMBERS of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) are worried that the North is gradually becoming Nigeria's major problem. They therefore urged leaders of the region both past and present to meet on how to reverse the situation.
The group's leaders met in Kaduna yesterday to review matters affecting the country and suggesting possible solution
Its Vice Chairman, Senator Ladan Shuni, said there have been several problems bedevilling the North these days that are hitherto unknown in the region, saying that the leaders must take responsibility for whatever is happening and try to redress it.
Ih his opening speech at the ACF Board of trustees meeting in Kaduna, Ladan said one of the problems being encountered by the forum is the lack of enabling environment for the implementation of policies and programmes, pointing out that it was the duty of all present and former northern leaders, to tackle the problem head on.
Ladan argued that there was the need for urgent solution to the issues that are cropping up in the region as a way of moving the North forward, noting that if the present negative situation was allowed to continue it would not only jeopardise the peace in the region, but that the future of the area would be bleak.
He said: "There are a lot of crises in the North; there have been Boko Haram, Kala Kato, and the present Jos crisis. The North is becoming the problem of the country and it is the North that should come together and solve the problem.
"Apart from the issue of begging, there are other problems that are hitherto not known or associated with the North, but kidnapping is even here in the North. Our education has not only gone down but has also deteriorated, there is unemployment everywhere and no sign of improvement. From the foregoing it is now the duty of the leaders, both past and present and many who are here to save the North in particular and the country in general, because as it is, the future is bleak."
Source: The Guardian, 28th January 2010.
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So What Happened in Jos?
Tony Ita Etim, 29 January 2010
column
Port Harcourt — What really happened in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Sunday, January 17 and the days that followed? Was it a religious crisis? Was it an ethnic crisis? Was it a communal crisis? Was it a political crisis? Was it an economic crisis? What really happened? I must confess I can't really say what happened. Was it one of those Nollywood acts or those killings and destruction were there real or make belief?
If it was a religious crisis, why should one attempt to force another to accept or practice a religion in a country whose constitution guarantees freedom of worship? Some persons are asking me whether Nigeria and Nigerians follow their constitution, forgive me, I am not well versed on constitutional matters; you may wish to ask the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Why would anyone kill in the name of a god? God is a spirit and man is physical. Spiritual wars should be left to the spirits to fight while physical wars should be left to man to fight and the best physical war is to strive to love and be your brother's keeper.
Religion is a spiritual matter and spiritual things are more of a personal adventure than a mass movement or what one does out of coercion. When a man kills on behalf of his god, it is either the god is a blood sucking demon or it is a dead or deaf and dumb god that cannot fight his cause and needs human beings to fight for him. Defending one faith does not mean taking arms against one another or fighting and killing people who do not share your belief.
Was it an ethnic issue that caused the crisis? We are told that in the beginning god created one man and one woman and from them all the families on the earth that we have today came from. This means originally we all came from the same source or stock. We are children from the same womb, then why do we fight and kill one another because in the course of time we have multiplied and replenished the earth and in the process our physical appearance, skin colour, language, habit and character have changed. Why don't we celebrate these changes and difference rather than our common ancestry?
If the last Jos crisis was politically motivated who are the politicians behind the violence? What are they struggling for: the control of Jos or Plateau state? Was the crisis a product of difference in party affiliation? Is it an attempt by one party to rubbish another in the build up to 2011? Since civilian administration resumed in 1999 how much has party politics and politicians impact positively on the lives of the ordinary Nigerians? Which political party or political interest is worth the lives and property wasted as a result of the recent violence in Jos? One may ask, why do people seek political offices, is it not to serve the people? Why must you kill the same people you are supposed to serve in a bid to serve them? Why must politician kill if his dream and desire is to meet the need of the people?
So what happened in Jos? Was it poverty of the pockets or poverty of the mind? Whatever, poverty is poverty! The Bible says that as long as the earth remains the poor would not cease, that means poverty cannot by eradicate. Poverty will always be there and there is nothing man can do about it. But blaming every societal problem on poverty is not good. Some are saying that poverty is responsible for the Jos crisis as some poor persons were hired or manipulated to carry out the killings and destruction in the land. One may ask were the bank chiefs who are today being hunted by EFCC poor by Nigerian standard to warrant the economic crimes the allegedly committed. Is violence now a means of empowering the poor or poverty alleviation? Agreed that a hungry man is an angry man but it has not been proven that a hungry man is a violent man. Agreed also that a poor man, at times, may do desperate things but some may not risk their lives to embark on such violence that we saw in Jos. a real poor man values his life and hopes that one day luck may smile on him.
My problem with Nigeria is that we are a bunch of hypocrites, pretenders and insincere people. Why should people be killing other on a yearly basis and destroying their property and means of survival under whatever guise and nothing is done as nobody has ever been punished or reprimanded. Why must violence be recurring in a particular section of the country and the cycle of violence continues and is now a quarterly ritual.
We must stop pretending and sit down at a conference table (call the conference any name you choose) where all the ethnic groups would be represented and discuss the basis of our continued co-habitation as Nigerians. Even at this, have they not been conferences on similar issues in the past. There is no need beating about the bush, you can call it what you like but if we are actually one nation why should people from certain section of the country take delight in terrorizing other people, especially those who do not share the same faith and ethnic affinity with them. There is no need pretending about unity and cohesion in this country they do not exist and we must be sincere about it. Immediately you meet a Nigerian he would ask you which state you come from, if he is from your state he would want to know you local government, clan, village and family. It is a pity we relate with people base on where the come from and not who you are as individual. Every human being is unique though persons from certain tribes may have similar traits or character. But we are used to faulty generalization and labelling people who come from certain part of the country.
My people have a saying that a person that sees another in the bush does not know that he comes from somewhere. Should every Nigerian return to his village so that peace may prevail in the country? Would this bring peace? Won't there be family squabbles, inter and inter village crisis that may spread to other communities and society that are not directly involve in the issues in contention? Man can not operate in isolation we need one another to survive so we must learn to tolerate and accept the other person. We must teach our younger ones how to welcome and accept strangers in our midst. We should stop blaming non indigenes or stranger element for all the woes in our communities. It is unfair for citizens who pay tax in states where they reside but they are non indigenes not to be protected by their host states. Any nation-state that cannot protect the lives and property of a stranger within its borders has no moral right to demand taxes from such residents. These days Nigerians provide their own water and energy needs, would federal government also allow Nigerians that right to protect and preserve their lives and property wherever the find themselves in the country and by any means they are able to do so, if and when their lives and property are under threat. If government can not protect Nigerians from attacks and harassment from other Nigerians the people should be allow to protect themselves anyhow from attacks. To avoid reprisal attacks from families of those who are killed during these senseless crises government have adopted a system of mass burial. Mass graves and burials do not swallow the memories, pains, scars, tears and sorrows of the violence.
A family may not actually tell where their loved ones were buried but the have in it mind that their loved ones died during one crisis in Jos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Uyo or anywhere and at the slightest opportunity may avenge for such killings. Some of those who died during violence may be an only child, a sole family bread winner and the relations may not forget them in a hurry. Government, at the state and federal levels, must put a stop to all forms of needless and senseless crisis to lead to the shedding of blood and destruction of property in the country.
If government cannot protect lives and property it should be bold enough to tell Nigerians so that they can make alternative arrangement for their safety. Governor Jang seems to know the sponsors and masterminds of the crisis, he should name them. Also those found guilty of the 2008 crisis in Jos and other crises across the country should be punished. As long as government fails to implement reports of the various panels, and judicial commissions there would continue to be violence, after all violence begets violence and no man or group has monopoly over violence. This is our Golden Jubilee year and it should be a year of sober reflection- should we continue as one country? We should be honest and stop pretending we are one country. As our tongues and tribes differ so is our interests, are we living like brothers that we claim to be?
Source: Daily Champion, 29th January 2010.
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US Put Nigeria on Terror Watch List –
Everybody Starts to Cry
This is Only a Wake Up Call for Nigeria
It is a matter to remember that Nigeria will soon be on World Watch List should it be that Nigeria President is dead and Nigerian Government Officials are lying to the whole world and even to some extent that some Government Officials are forging signatures, signing documents, making crank calls to everyone including Reuters, BBC, etc., just to prove that the president is still alive. This will be the biggest embarrassment to all Nigerians especially those abroad and to the whole country if these are found to be deceitful.
Therefore, President Yar'Adua's case is causing a great concern day by day and may bring about, more humiliation to Nigerians than the one already brought on us by a Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted blowing up American bound Northwest Airline plane on the 25th of December 2009. Thus, US authorities made decision to list Nigeria among the countries on terror watch list. And as a consequence, what this means would be that travellers flying into the US from Nigeria will face painstaking screening such as body scans, interrogations, pat-downs and a whole others.
Even though there has been antagonism and frustration that American authorities put us on the Watch List but imagine what would happened if what Ministers are telling us about our president, Umar Yar'Adua are false, what would the whole world say about Nigeria? Therefore, everyone, ministers especially, the information you give out should be accurate and do not lie just to protect the government or others in the government because the information you give now may come back to hunt you later. If you don't have any information to give – say nothing until you have information to give. Once again, ministers and government officials, you must ensure correctness of all information you dish out.
Terrorism and the Dwindling Influence of a Giant
By Casmir Igbokwe
ALHAJA Folake, 70, just returned from Dubai, where she went for a medical check-up. The Saturday Sun of Jan. 9, 2010 quoted her as saying that a white lady stripped her while conducting a search on her at the airport in Dubai. She knelt down on her arrival in Lagos and thanked God for seeing her through the ordeal.
Elsewhere in the world, Nigerians go through hell in the hands of immigration officers. The same Saturday Sun reported that Canadian officials turned back some Nigerians, who live in that country and who had returned after celebrating the Yuletide in their home country.
The major cause of this latest insult on Nigerians is the failed attempt by a Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmutallab, to blow up a United States-bound Northwest Airline plane on Dec. 25, 2009. Last Friday, the suspect pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge brought against him before a US court.
US authorities had earlier listed Nigeria among the "countries of interest" group. This means that travellers flying into the US from Nigeria will face thorough screening such as body scans and pat-downs. Other countries that belong to this group include Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan and Somalia. The other category known as "state sponsors of terrorism" has such countries as Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria on the list.
As expected, many Nigerians have condemned the US action. The Senate has threatened fire and brimstone. The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, described the move as discriminatory. Nigerians, she said, were peace-loving and happiest people on earth.
The action of the US government appears to be too severe. A few Nigerians may have put us on the map of advance fee fraudsters, but we are not known to be suicide bombers. Mutallab's is an isolated case, just as that of the British citizen, Richard Reid, otherwise known as the shoe bomber; or the case of the American, Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and executed for the Oklahoma bombings in the US. Britain and the US were not branded terrorist nations on account of the actions of a few of their misguided citizens.
However, we miss the point when we base our argument on this premise alone. The fact is that presently, Nigeria is like a widow buffeted by selfish and troublesome in-laws. It has no central figure, no rallying point, or if you like, no husband to give some form of direction and protection.
For 48 days now, our President, Umaru Yar'Adua, has been in a Saudi hospital without handing over to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan. Some government functionaries keep telling us he is in charge. Some say he will return very soon. How soon, nobody knows. The other day, Senate President, David Mark; Speaker House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; and Jonathan expressed immense delight that Yar'Adua spoke with them on the phone.
We are not serious. We lack leadership. We lack direction. We keep making noise about our large population; about our roles in peace-keeping operations around the world and such other mundane things. The truth is that the world is leaving us behind.
Former American ambassador to Nigeria, Princeton Lyman, put it succinctly when he noted recently that Nigeria was not making a major impact either on the region or on the continent as it was making before. As he put it, "The point is that Nigeria can become less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it. When President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria, he was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria."
Currently, Nigeria does not have a substantive ambassador to the US. Ambassador Oluwole Rotimi was recalled after an altercation with the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe. The US rejected his replacement, Tunde Adeniran, on the allegation that his son gang-raped three women in Baltimore, US. We have not also been participating fully at the highest level in many international engagements. Late last year, our President preferred to attend the opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia to a United Nations function in New York.
In any case, suicide bombing is not the only form of terrorism. We have religious killings, electoral violence, ethnic cleansing and so on. The dust is yet to fully settle over the Boko Haram religious killings in the North when Kala Kato uprising erupted in Bauchi. Thousands of innocent people perished in those disturbances. So far, nobody has been adequately punished for these crimes.
While we cry over our fate in the hands of US and other foreign immigration officials, we need to also look into our tendency to discriminate against one another. An Itsekiri man does not see eye-to-eye with an Ijaw man; a Hausa man has little or no trust in a Yoruba man; the Igbo man believes he is marginalised and places his hopes in the illusory Federal Republic of Biafra.
Rather than threaten and poke our little fingers at the US, we should strive to put our house in order first. It's good the House of Representatives will be debating the absence of the President for over a month now on Tuesday. I only hope the debate will be devoid of unnecessary sentiments and focus more on how to rescue Nigeria from the problems at hand.
There is no need playing the ostrich like the Nigeria's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Aminchi, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, have been doing. Sometime in December last year, Aminchi told us that Yar'Adua would soon return to the country. Forty-eight days later, he is still telling us that Yar'Adua is sound and fit and would soon return.
The majority of Nigerians are no longer interested in this he-will-return-soon template. Since the President could sign the budget from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia, he should not find it difficult signing a letter mandating his deputy to act as the President pending his return to the country.
What the country needs now is dynamic leadership. Things should be done properly to regain the confidence of the international community; and to save Citizen Folake the embarrassment of being stripped at any airport in the world.
Source: Punch, 10th January 2010.
The Nigerian State and U.S. strategic interests
By Princeton N. Lyman,
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humor in the face of challenges, etc. And I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. I have a feeling that we –– both Nigerians and Americans –– may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favor by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.
I know all the arguments: it is a major oil producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peacekeeping, and, of course, negatively, if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc.
But I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability. Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have, many of which we have talked about: disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful. Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been. We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people, but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.
What does it mean that one in five Africans is a Nigerian? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used? And the answer is "Not really."
And oil, yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer; but Brazil is now launching a 10-year program that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world. And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil. And Angola is rivalling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy. So, if you look ahead 10 years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of another of the many oil producers, while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?
And what about its influence, its contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history. Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or after many many promises making any contributions to Somalia? The answer is no. Nigeria is today NOT making a major impact, on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa that it was making before.
What about its economic influence? Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialization going on in Nigeria. A lack of infrastructure, a lack of power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing, more and more people are becoming unemployed, and Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.
Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important? Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s and I remember in one meeting a minister from a country not very friendly to the United States came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in things in Africa and was going on and on.
Finally, the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said: "You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant." The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it. When President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria, he was sending a message that Ghana symbolized more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.
And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, "what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy, would it be a model for good governance, would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?" No he would not, so he did not go. And when Secretary Clinton did go, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a bi-national commission in Angola? So, the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary. Because what it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed. And that is a sad conclusion.
It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great. And that takes an enormous amount of commitment. And you don't need saints, you don't need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.
I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless, but it was becoming to turn around, later to become, to every person's amazement then, the 11th largest economy in the world. And I remember the economist in my mission saying, you know it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15-20 percent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one, and that was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korean economy and turn its economy around. It has not happened in Nigeria today.
You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, "You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it." Thank you.
Lyman, a former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa, delivered this speech at the Achebe Colloquium at Brown University on December 11, 2009.
Source: Punch, 8th January 2010.
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