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Corruption Jibe: Et Tu Obasanjo?
ISAIAH TEJUMOLA Opinion
Those who know former President Olusegun Obasanjo very well should not be surprised, reading a recent statement credited to him to the effect that "The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and that of the late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua have failed in their efforts to fight corruption." The statement was made by Obasanjo during the 100th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva and published in many Nigerian newspapers. According to him, the present government lacks the will to fight corruption because "those involved in it are strongly entrenched."
As a former President of this country, Obasanjo's statements are usually taken seriously, both nationally and internationally, moreso, as he is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Also, Obasanjo's administration between 1999 – 2007 professed commitment to the war against corruption for which he established the nation's leading anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The questions to ask are: Did Obasanjo truly fight corruption during his administration? Was he sincere in his avowed commitment to the war against corruption? How successful was he? Does Obasanjo have the moral right to haul stones at his successors on the issue of corruption?
While Obasanjo paid lip-service to the war against corruption, what he did, in practice, was to entrench corruption, making his administration the most corrupt regime in Nigeria's political history.
The facts of Obasanjo's corruption are difficult to hide. Indeed, the list is endless as the former President looted the nation's treasury with impunity, violated the Constitution without respect for the rule of law and due process. The following are a few instances:
Massive fraud involving over N3.5tr in the oil and gas sector, sale of Abuja houses, fraud in the communication and the power sector of the economy.
Obasanjo was alleged to have illegally withdrawn as much as N231.4 billion from the Federation Account without due process or authorisation from the National Assembly (Daily Sun of Thursday, February 5, 2009).
The ad-hoc committee set up by the House of Representatives to probe the activities of the NNPC between 1999 and 2008, indicted Obasanjo and former MD of the corporation, Mr. Funso Kupolokun, for violating the guidelines for the respective bid rounds, thereby finding them guilty of "preferential treatment of winners at the conclusion of the bid rounds."
Obasanjo illegally approved the withdrawal of $68.8 million from the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) Fund into which a total sum of $86 million was paid.
A Senate joint committee, headed by Senator Abubakar Sodangi revealed that the plot of land originally belonging to the defunct National Primary Education Commission (allocated in December, 2005 to Inter-Projects Association Limited which immediately commenced development), was illegally allocated to Obasanjo Farms Limited, on May 28, 2007, a day before Obasanjo handed over power to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
Two Abuja lawyers sued Obasanjo and the Code of Conduct Bureau for mismanaging over N1.2 billion belonging to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
Both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) revealed that they recovered about N600 billion allegedly stolen by some individual during Obasanjo's period.
The huge proceeds from Obasanjo's massive corruption were allegedly invested in the prosecution of his third term bid during which legislators were each given a bribe of up to N50 million.
These are just a few samples of Obasanjo's criminal plunder of the Nigerian State during the eight years he was in power. And for these violations, millions of decent Nigerians, including the media and Civil Society Organisations (see Daily Trust of November 17, 2008) demanded the probe of Obasanjo in all areas in which the former President was alleged to have committed economic crimes against the nation.
The ugly fact is that Nigeria lost more money to corruption and other dubious deals under the Obasanjo's administration than at any other period in our political history. The most abhorrent aspect of his acts of corruption was his insistence on shuting out of the electoral process those he labeled as "enemies". He personalised the selection of political process in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, including the unprecedented deregistration of party members whom he believed were not loyal to him. Also appalling was his concoction of adverse security reports on such people who were then subjected to the most traumatising personal humiliation by Nuhu Ribadu's EFCC to ensure that only candidates approved by Obasanjo – from councilors to governors – participated in the 2007 elections.
It is pertinent to add that the history of corruption dates back to the era of military incursion into our political life. In other words, the military brought corruption into government in Nigeria and Obasanjo played a prominent role in that beginning. So, whether under military dictatorship or civilian governance, Obasanjo cannot escape culpability for the state of corruption in Nigeria.
Political manipulations may be pardonable but fraud and criminality must be punishable without fear or favour. The scale on which Obasanjo defrauded Nigeria is unimaginable, which raises the question as to whether this man should, indeed, be free to walk the streets of Nigeria after such monumental acts of corruption. Certainly, Obasanjo has no right to brand any other leader as corrupt, particularly without any clear evidence.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, the platform on which President Jonathan was elected must re-examine itself. The unfortunate statement by Obasanjo, who is the chairman of the party's BOT, is evident loss of faith in the leadership of the party and its moral legitimacy to continue to rule. It is an embarrassment to the party. Obasanjo has no choice but to resign.
Tejumola is a legal practitioner based in Lagos.
Source: Leadership, 3rd July 2011.
Nigeria Did Not See Beyond Oil – Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria's head of state for the first time in February 1976 following the assassination of late General Murtala Muhammed. Keeping the chain of command established by Muhammed in place, Obasanjo pledged to continue the programme for the restoration of civilian government and to carry forward the reform programme to improve the quality of public service. In October 1977, a Constituent Assembly was convened in order to draw a new Carta Magna, which was later approved in September 1978. This led to the abolition of the military government, the end of the state of siege which had come about with the arrival of the military regime in 1966, and the legalisation of political parties. Obasanjo served until October 1, 1979, when he handed power to former President Shehu Shagari, making him the first leader in Nigerian history to surrender power willingly. In late 1983, however, the military seized power again. Obasanjo, being in retirement, did not participate in that coup, nor did he support it.
But during the dictatorship of late General Sani Abacha (1993–1998), Obasanjo spoke against the human rights abuses of the regime, and was imprisoned with the claim of planning a coup. He was released only after Abacha's sudden death on June 8, 1998. In the 1999 elections – the first democratic elections in 16 years – Obasanjo was drafted into the race for the presidency as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Obasanjo won the elections and was later re-elected in 2003 for another four-year term of office. While leading a public campaign against corruption and implementing economic reforms in Nigeria, Obasanjo was widely seen abroad as an African statesman championing debt relief and democratic institutions. The former Nigerian president vacated office after the April 2007 elections won by late President Umaru Yar' Adua. The former Nigerian president has recently been appointed Special Envoy by United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Obasanjo at a panel of discussants moderated by Mme Ritula Shah, a journalist from BBC radio, to address the need for a new era of social justice and sustainable societies in the wake of the global financial and jobs crisis at the 100th International Labour Conference (ILC) held in Geneva, Switzerland, called on world leaders to give African countries new sets of definitions of how to measure and assess their economic indicators in our growth and development. Obasanjo, a member of The Club de Madrid, an independent non-profit organisation that is composed of 80 democratic former presidents and prime ministers from different countries, in response to a growing demand for reinvigorated action on countering the lingering effects of the global crises, growing demand for support among leaders in democratic leadership and governance, insisted that the call for World Financial Organisation (WFO) to regulate the trillions of dollars that move around the world in one day, almost absolutely unregulated must be enforced. Senior Correspondent, Sylvester Enoghase, was there. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to job creation through Tripartism in the world?
Nobody will be against Tripartism because it does work and it must be intact, be continued to be made to work and I believe that Tripartism is the position of the Director General, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Juan Samova, that we should have a sustained development with, of course, social justice as the outcome. And social justice in this case as has been pointed out so far today by ILO. It is ILO that has the unique or that is in the unique position of bringing and ensuring that a comprehensive development that would lead to social justice and decent work are brought together by the government, the private sector and the unions of the workers.
And that's really what I believe that creating jobs is about. That must be made to happen, otherwise, nothing will happen about creating jobs for the unemployed youths.
How can traditional vision through state building be able to go into the development of Africa?
I think state-building is intimately connected with politics and without executive decisiveness and legislative action, state-building cannot proceed.
And so, in Africa, considerable burden of governance rests on the shoulders of the political leaders, who need to rise to the challenge of overcoming a history of fractiousness, patronage, and indecision for Africa to develop.
And to achieve development in the continent, governments and many highly respected and effective organisations, both within and outside of governments must work to strengthen democracies and democratic institutions.
What is your reaction on the criticism of Nigeria in the question of high corruption in the public sector and the unfair distribution of wealth by its leaders?
Thank you. Let me first correct my brother from Mozambique on why we in Nigeria did not try to fight liberation war. We had to fight the civil war, which was in fact, not devastating than the liberation war and I think that it is only Ghana that has so far avoided fighting whether it is liberation war or a civil war. Now that they have got oil, they may have a civil war to fight (laughs…).
You are absolutely right at that accusation of corruption as a cankerworm that has dilapidated Nigeria's development. Or that has not allowed Nigeria to develop as fast as to get to where we should get to; when and how we should get there. But I will come to that.
But the point that was made earlier, by both President John Kufuor of Ghana and myself, that at independence, we had inadequacy of both human and financial capital.
But is that the case in Nigeria now?
It is no longer the case right now, but then, it was something that was a problem at the beginning. Now, when we were trying to get out of the problem, we ran into the civil war. We came out of the civil war and then, the oil became a doom, rather than a boom for us because, nobody wanted to do anything than stay in oil business. And we were now torn in every other thing like agriculture, industry and oil. Nobody wanted to do anything except oil. We were thinking oil, we were sleeping on oil and we were almost drinking oil. And that was as bad as it was. And then, we developed this oil mentality which was not in the best interest of Nigeria.
In a nutshell, while Ghana was torn between industry and agriculture, in the case of Nigeria, we were turn between industry, agriculture; and oil and it is even much worse for us than that of Ghana.
Do you mean, Nigeria did not see beyond oil?
Yes. We did not see beyond oil. That was one of the misfortunes of Nigeria, or regrets of Nigeria.
But more importantly, corruption came in. And corruption that came in, came in initially with politics at independence when our politicians gave out a contract, 10 per cent was taken, as a way to develop their parties as party fund. Then, of course, it went beyond 10 per cent to 20 per cent, 25 per cent and at times, it grew so large that in fact, when you were given a job, you did not care to do it, rather, you shared the money.
Now, that is very bad. And when I became the president of Nigeria, the first thing that I did, even after my election, was to establish an independent body to fight corruption. Now that body was so effective, in fact, two bodies, one a commission against financial crimes. And they were both so effective that ministers of government and a head of the police, the head of parastatals were put in jail.
Now, if you are going to fight corruption, it is not a one- night, or a one-day wonder. You have to be consistent and persistent with it.
Do you feel that there is a will for Nigeria to be persistent?
Well, I haven't seen that will of persistency and consistency in Nigeria because the people that are involved in corruption are strongly entrenched and unless you are ready to confront them at the point of even sacrificing your life for it, then you will give in and when you give in, that is the end of it.
Is Nigeria ready for that economic growth and social dimension on building the concept of development?
Yes, I believe that economic growth cannot be ignored because you have to grow and it is only when you grow that you have something to share. If you are going to talk of social justice, if you are going to talk of shared society, you must have something to share.
The world leaders need to redefine new ways to defining and measuring the economies in African continent, to achieving desirable economic growth, and development to address the need for a new era of social justice and sustainable economic growth in African societies in the wake of the global financial and jobs crisis.
I think it is only when the leaders of developed world offer Africa a new basis of judging economic growth and sustainable development that countries in Africa can expand their domestic demands to achieving real economic growth and development as well as social justice.
In fact, African countries should have new sets of definitions of how to measure and access their economic indicators in our growth and development, outside the yardstick for the developed nations of the world for us to achieve sustainable economic growth and development
This is because economic growth in itself is not enough to measure development since as long as economic growth or indicator has been used to describe development or how much progress a particular nation is making, now you can have growth without having even development, you can have growth without having social justice.
We in Nigeria for instance, because they say we are an oil economy, you will hear that we have the GDP of seven per cent and you say well, where is it reflected? And they would say yes, oil is 14 per cent, Information Technology or ICT is 15 per cent, but what about agriculture, what about manufacturing, what about these services that people feel that they want to enjoy? I believe that we need to have a new definition or a new set of indicators to show what progress a particular country is making and it should be inclusive of economic growth as social indicators.
For instance in Nigeria, if you say we are growing, how much has this translated into job opportunities, how much employment has been created? If you say we are growing, how much has this affected infant mortality, if you say we are growing, how much has it affected maternal mortality, if you say we are growing, how many more children have gone into school? How many people have access to medical care?
It is only when you bring these together... But to me, I will say yes, a country is growing, growing in economic terms and in terms of social justice.
To what extent has the aftermath of the global financial crisis affected Nigerian economy?
I believe this is why some people are now talking about World Financial Organisation (WFO) as opposed to World Bank and International Monetary Fund to regulate the trillions of dollars that moves around the world in one day, almost absolutely unregulated.
I believe that there is need for regulations of financial transactions globally.
Let me just add one point and come back to corruption.
Whatever we do in our countries must be backed up by rules, by those countries with corrupt citizens. This is because corruption is a two-ways affair - the giver and the taker.
And most of the givers are in developed countries and they are protected. And so, in most cases, there are countries in Europe that give tax relief for corruption that has been given in Africa countries and in Latin American countries.
Then, how can we, no matter what we do, achieve success in fighting corruption. We imprison our people found to be corrupt, but when we say to them, these are your people that have given our people bribe, they do not do what America has done.
And I believe that the United Nations (UN) anti-corruption Convention should be signed by all countries in the world so that the laws should bring all involved in corrupt practices to book without exemption.
Will that change the attitude of the leaders?
Well, yes. I remember what President Kufuor has said because I think it is a matter of leadership. And that is why we called on all peoples, leaders and organisations in the world to use their spheres of influence to work together to promote and ensure social inclusion and cohesion.
Now, a leader who is only thinking about the next election, there is limit to what the citizens can expect of him. Our leaders must leave beyond the next election. This is why we call on them to recognise that achieving social cohesion and creating a world saved from difference is essential for the well-being of individuals, states and the world as a whole.
Our leaders must think beyond the next generation, in fact, the next generation after that. That is the only way Africa can get good leaders.
Do you have any leader as an example that can think beyond the next election and next generation now?
(E-e-e-e) I have met quite a number of leaders in the world and in my short period of life, and I believe that they are few. We have about two in Africa, without any reason to embarrass anybody, I will say two or three in America. In Europe, maybe I see one or two and in Asia, maybe I see two or three. But I will not name anyone so that I will not cause diplomatic row.
Source: Daily Independent, 25th June 2011.
Obasanjo declares... Jonathan can't fight corruption
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said the current regime in Nigeria lacks the will and consistency to fight corruption because corrupt people are deeply entrenched in the system. Obasanjo, who was speaking yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, did not mention President Goodluck Jonathan by name but said he has not seen the will and consistency required in the present government to tackle graft.
He spoke during a debate organised by the Club de Madrid on 'Meeting Sustainable Societies and Social Justice' in the on going 100th Session of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland.
Club de Madrid is an independent, non-profit organization composed of 80 former democratic presidents and prime ministers from 56 countries.
Obasanjo was asked by debate moderator Ritula Shah of the BBC if there was political will to fight corruption in Nigeria.
In answer to that, he said, "I haven't seen that will of persistency and consistency in Nigeria because the people that are involved in corruption, they are strongly entrenched and unless you are ready to confront them at the point of even giving your life for it, then you will give in and when you give in, that is the end of it."
Obasanjo went down memory lane, blaming over dependence on oil for the corruption that bedevils Nigeria today.
"We didn't see beyond the oil. That was one of the misfortunes of Nigeria or regrets of Nigeria but more importantly, corruption came in. Corruption that came in came in initially with politics at independence when our politicians when they give a contract to you, 10 per cent, they thought that is the way to make money for their party.
"Ten per cent of that contract is taken to develop the party, for the party fund and all that and then of course it went beyond 10 per cent to 20, to 25 and at times, it grew so large that in fact, when you are given a job, you will just don't care to do it, you will share the money or whatever they called it.
"That was very bad. So when I became president of Nigeria the first thing I did after my election was to establish an independent body to fight corruption. Now, that body was so effective, in fact two bodies, one was a commission against financial crimes and they were both so effective that ministers of government, the head of the police and the heads of parastatals were put in jail.
"If you are going to fight corruption, it is not a one night or one day war; you have to be consistent and persistent with it," he said.
Other panellists in yesterday's debate were former president of Ecuador Mr. Osvaldo Hurtado, former Ghanaian president John Kufuor, former Yemeni prime minister Mr. Abdul Karim Al Eryani and former prime minister of Netherlands Mr. Wim Kok.
In his contribution, Kufour said the world must produce leaders who must look beyond self interest and are ready to use rule of law and good governance to tackle the issues of social justice.
He added that such leaders must be able to multi-task in the areas of fighting corruption as they simultaneously create jobs and provide social security to their people.
All the panellists agreed on the need for government, employers and workers to sit together and fine-tune the existing processes that lead to the creation of decent jobs.
Source: Daily Trust, 16th June 2011.
Polls: 'Buhari's Loss, Lesson for the North'
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State Wednesday declared that the outcome of the presidential election was a
lesson for the North, adding that the North has no choice than to negotiate back into the mainstream.
Said he: "as Northern states, we have to negotiate ourselves back to the mainstream; that is what we have to do if we must reclaim our position in this nation. We must ensure that anybody who wants to discriminate on religion or sow the seed of discord fails".
The Niger state governor said Nigerians and the people of Niger State in particular have thousand and one reasons to thank God that the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), did not win the April presidential election, saying his state would have been a goner if Buhari had won.
He said "we thank God that Buhari did not win the presidential election in the country; we would have been a goner by now. People like that will not win election because God judges people by their intentions. It is always good to have good intention".
Aliyu was at a retreat organized for State Houses of Assembly members-elect held in Jos, Plateau State on Wednesday, where he stressed again and again that "if the CPC had won the presidential election coupled with the victory they recorded in Niger state, PDP would have been a goner in Niger state".
Meanwhile, a petition has been brought against the Director General of the Major General Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organization, Alhaji Sule Hamma, at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the former proterm National Financial Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Bayo Abdulwahab for allegedly diverting presidential campaign donations to his company's account.
The petitioner also asked the EFCC to investigate the former National Treasurer of the party, Hon. Hadi Sirika over his role in the botched N22.5m contract for a biometric membership registration exercise of the party.
The petition, which was dated May 27th and addressed to the Chairman of the EFCC, alleged that Hamma had diverted the party's presidential campaign donations recieved from party supporters to his private company, SHY Nigeria Limited through its accounts in UBA and Zenith banks domiciled at Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
He said "The hurricane of CPC was feasible in Niger State after the presidential election, the party won 20 of the 25 local governments in the state, it was like a write-off for us, people came to me saying PDP will still win the gubernatorial election, but I told them you don't know politics".
On the victory of CPC in Nasarawa State, Aliyu said technically PDP has not lost the state because it has 20 of the 24 members of the state House of Assembly.
He charged the North-Central chairman of the party, Mr. Yusuf Ayitogo to work hard towards ensuring that the Governor, Alhaji Tanko Almakura, who defected from PDP to CPC returns to the party.
In his address, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau Stat said the three arms of Government must work in close collaboration to promote good governance to the people irrespective of party affiliations, adding that the situation where each arm holds to itself tenaciously creates conflicts, and are partly responsible for the executive versus legislative rifts in many states.
Source: This Day, 2nd June 2011.
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If Buhari had won we would have been in trouble – Gov. Aliyu
Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday said had the Congress for Progressive Party (CPC) presidential candidate, retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari won the April presidential polls, most states, especially Niger, would have been in trouble According to Gov. Aliyu, it was God that saved the country from the CPC leadership, saying the way the hurricane of politics came it would have been devastating to some extent, especially in some states like Niger. Aliyu was speaking at a retreat held at the Leadership Institute in Jos for PDP lawmakers from the North Central Zone where he served as the chairman of the closing ceremony.
He added that the CPC as a party had caused a lot of problems for the North and something urgent need to be done to correct the errors, stressing that it won the majority of the federal law makers in Niger.
"If Buhari has won the presidential election, we in Niger would have all gone, how can a party come under just nine months without manifesto and cause confusion everywhere. In Northern states today we have to go back to the drawing board to re-organize ourselves, there is a problem of leadership", he said.
Speaking on the victory of Governor Jonah Jang in the state, Gov. Aliyu added that despite all the problems Jang was facing as a result of the lingering crises in the state he was also able to win the election and returned his seat, "God shows us that he is the only one that can give leadership to whoever he wants."
Gov. Aliyu also said God has shown Nigerians a big lesson on the demise of the former President Umaru Musa Yar'adua, saying it was God's making that the leadership of the nation has to return to the South against the interest of some people in the country. "Some people wanted the then Vice President to just go away without regard to what the constitution of Nigeria is saying, but we thank God that it happened the way it is now".
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Governor Jonah Jang advised the legislators to always work hand in hand with the three arms of government in order to achieve meaningful development for their constituencies.
Source: This Day, 2nd June 2011.
Buhari's CPC: No Retreat, No Surrender!
* Writes UN, EU, monitors over 'flawed polls'
By Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor and Ben Agande, Abuja
Reminiscent of a classical no retreat, no surrender scenario, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has formally written to the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) through their respective election monitoring groups, condemning the conduct and outcome of the just concluded 2011 general elections in the country.
In addition, the CPC, which fielded Major-General Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election but which President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won, is considering sending a delegation to the UN Headquarters to press its case.
The party is also considering dispatching a delegation to meet with the United States President Barack Obama.
What CPC plans to do, Sunday Vanguard has been able to discover, is to further prove its point that the elections of April were not free, fair nor credible.
To this end, the Conference of Nigeria's Political Parties, CNPP, is being co-opted into the effort.
And barring any last-minute change of plan, the CPC and the CNPP have both agreed to address a world press conference on the same day as the handover day of May 29, thereby creating a distraction which, the CPC claims, is legitimate to push its case.
World Press Conference
Sunday Vanguard reliably gathered that at a meeting on Monday, May 16, 2011, between 3 p.m. and 4:17 p.m., held at the national secretariat of the party – and which had the leadership of the CNPP in attendance – some revelations emerged.
The meeting was attended by four national chairmen of political associations (parties), one administrative secretary, three national secretaries, one publicity secretary and a national leader of a political party.
The National Secretary of the CPC, Alhaji Buba Galadinma, told the gathering that "the CNPP should address a world press conference, to intimate the general public with all the rigging methods and strategies devised by the PDP. He noted that, right now, the fight is being spearheaded by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) at the national level, while also canvassing that they should embark on a semblance of what the CNPP carried out against former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.
"He maintained that the just concluded general elections were the worst when compared to those previously conducted in 2003 and 2007. He told the participants that against this backdrop, the CPC has formally forwarded a letter to the United Nations Elections Observation Mission (UNEOM), as well as to the European Union (EU) delegation on election to Nigeria.
"He stated that in the letter, the CPC pointed out that it is considering sending a delegation to the UN and to President Barack Obama of the United States of America (USA) to inform them not to give any form of legitimacy to Mr. President, as, according to him, the 2011 presidential election was far from being free, fair or credible".
One of the participants at the meeting added his voice to Galadima's proposition but made it clear that Nigerians needed to take their destiny in their own hands.
"The international communities cannot do much in this regard", the speaker reportedly said, "if Nigerians themselves cannot on their own come out to openly condemn the election". He consequently suggested that they should mobilize their youths to carry out peaceful nation-wide protests rejecting the 2011 presidential election.
May 29 plan
And whereas the CNPP was not too keen on the issue of nationwide protest which the CPC favoured, the CPC suggested that they "can equally address a world press conference on 29th May, 2011, while the celebration of the inauguration event would be going on so that media practitioners would have something to report on".
However, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand that there may have been contact between the CPC and some youth groups in the North.
It was disclosed that "some CPC members have allegedly been contacted by some northern youths for sponsorship to carry out anti-government protests in parts of the North and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)". The CPC reportedly informed the youths that "the party has no such money, but that the youths can nonetheless go ahead with the intended action, promising to assist them (the youths) with anything it can afford". A source close to the meeting said the party believes that the Federal Government is looking for one way or the other to 'hang' its members, and that "because of this, the party has told the youths that it does not want any link whatsoever with them".
As part of the planned world press conference, civil society organizations are being shopped for with a view to carrying them along.
Meanwhile, a group under the name, Arewa Youths Awareness Forum (AYAF), has alleged fresh mobilisation by some aggrieved politicians to organise protests in some states of the federation and has called on security agents to deal with the situation immediately.
In a statement in Abuja, the group warned that if government fails to stop political elements whose sole aim is to precipitate crisis that would overshadow the May 29 inauguration ceremony in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some northern states, a repeat of the post-election violence might be repeated.
"The political elements have little support base and even though they want to project themselves as an opposition force, they are not involving parties like the Action Congress of Nigeria in their unholy plans for the North and Nigeria. They met on May 16 to finalize arrangements and one of their leaders from Kaduna went as far as describing a northern youth leader who was governorship aspirant as a threat," it stated.
Source: Vanguard, 15th May 2011.
Buhari's Petition: CPC Shops for Forensic Experts
By Yusuf Alli
Time constraint may hamper forensic analysis of ballot papers Condemns denial of entry visa for ex-US Ambassador
Fresh facts emerged yesterday that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is shopping for forensic experts from abroad to prove that its candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, won the just-concluded presidential election.
The CPC and Buhari are however likely to face fresh hurdles on forensic analysis bordering on the discretion of the tribunal, the logistics of moving the ballot papers to the tribunal and time constraint.
The party also yesterday condemned the denial of entry visa for ex-US Ambassador to Nigeria , John Campbell.
But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday filed its response to CPC's petition and insisted that the presidential election was free and fair.
Investigation by The Nation showed that the CPC is still searching for forensic experts who may be "tactically unveiled" when its petition gets to a crucial stage.
A top party source said: "We are determined to employ forensic analysis to prove our point that President Goodluck Jonathan got a "stolen mandate."
"We are shopping for forensic experts from some countries and at the critical moment, we will bring them into the country to justify our petition.
"For tactical reasons, we will not unveil our forensic experts until the last minute. If a former US Ambassador to Nigeria can be denied visa, this government is desperate and it could make our forensic experts to suffer a similar fat
Speaking on the hurdles the CPC has to face, a top source added: "The CPC is going about its case as if forensic analysis of the ballot papers is automatic. The party has forgotten that it is at the discretion of the court.
"The legal teams of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have drawn the battle line and may oppose the application for forensic analysis. So, the CPC will need to convince the court beyond reasonable doubt why the analysis is necessary."
A top source in INEC also added: "A major challenge the CPC may face is time constraint. The tribunal has only 180 days within which to hear the petition of the party. Can it analyze all the presidential ballot papers in 20 or 22 states within 180 days?
"Yet, this is a party that is still coming up with a motion for the leave of the court on certain issues on Monday. Yet, we have not got to pre-hearing stage which will be regulated at the end of pleadings by all parties. So, time is not on the side of the CPC for forensic analysis. But we will see how it will go."
Responding to a question, the source said: "INEC has filed its papers in the tribunal on Friday with a legal team led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN).
"We are set for legal fireworks to prove that the presidential election was indeed free and fair. That is our position."
The source cited Sections 134 and 151 of the Electoral Act to buttress his arguments.
Section 134(2 and 3) says: "An election tribunal shall deliver its judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition.
"An appeal from a decision of an election tribunal or court shall be heard and disposed of within 90 days from the date of delivery of judgement of the tribunal."
Section 151(1and 2) says: "An order for an inspection of a polling document or an inspection of a document or any other packet in the custody of the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or any other officer of the commission may be made by the election tribunal or the court if it is satisfied that the inspection is required for the purpose of instituting, maintaining or defending an election petition.
"A document other than a document referred to in subsection (1) of this section relating to an election and which is retained by the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or any other officer of the Commission in accordance with this section shall be open for inspection on an order made by the Election Tribunal or a court in exercise of its powers to compel the production of documents in legal proceedings but shall not otherwise be open for inspection."
Meanwhile, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin, the CPC queried why Campbell is being persecuted.
The statement said: "The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has noted with much interest the recent refusal of the former Ambassador of United States of America to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, entry visa to Nigeria with the 'not meeting-the-visa-requirements' ostensible reason.
"As a party, we are convinced that the real reason for this show of unreasonableness is not unconnected with Mr. John Campbell's critical commentaries in recent times on the shenanigans of this PDP-led Federal Government.
"For the records, Mr. John Campbell, who served as US ambassador to Nigeria from May20, 2004, to Nov.1, 2007, wrote, inter-alia, on the spurious polling project by Thisday newspapers on March 09, 2011, with the following words: 'The poll was conducted by Thisday, a newspaper that is sympathetic to the Jonathan administration, and Ipsos, an international polling organization under contract to the paper.I am skeptical that this poll accurately measures Jonathan's support. Indeed, an approval rating of one hundred percent anywhere stretches credulity.'
"In his inimitable brutally audacious style, Mr. Campbell had also written about the flawed 2007 elections and pre-election Polling project thus: 'Shortly before the 2007 elections, a government cabinet minister came to see me with polling results that ostensibly showed overwhelming support for the governing People's Democratic Party. In hindsight, the Obasanjo government's sharing of poll results with the diplomatic community looks like it was part of an orchestrated campaign to try and give credibility to the electoral outcomes despite the massive PDP rigging of the elections.'
"Undoubtedly, Mr. Campbell is unjustifiably being persecuted for his candid opinion about the country, more so that Nigeria 's Ambassador to US, Professor Ibidapo Adebowale Adefuye had threatened that his visa would not be reviewed when expired.
"As stakeholders in the Nigerian enterprise, we are appalled by this descent to infantile and thuggish diplomacy because the Nigerian nation is projected in bad light, among the comity of nations, by this latest action of the Federal Government.
"It is our considered opinion that if the Nigerian government has strong aversion to Mr. Campbell's recent communication on Nigeria , there are available diplomatic channels to ventilate such grievance.
"We insist that this Government's action is faux pas and has, inexorably, enhanced Mr. Campbell's diplomatic status rather than vitiating it.
"We believe the Federal Government of Nigeria can bring about a quick resolution of this infernal impasse by offering an unreserved apology to Mr. John Campbell and doing the desired review of his visa.
Source: The Nation, 15th May 2011.
Back
2011 Elections and Enemies of Nigeria
Written by Abiodun Awolaja, Monday, 23 May 2011
Yinka Odumakin, the spokesman of General Muhammadu Buhari, the ex-soldier who ran for president on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has been very busy since the conclusion of the April election. When he is not castigating the CAN president, he is busy denigrating Dr Jonathan. However, one is not interested in Odumakin because he is, really, like some human rights activists, parasites who should have been jailed in saner climes, a nobody. He is like Femi Falana, the alleged successor of forthright Gani who has, (like ASUU members, the castrated columnists of the Lagos newspapers, etc) found it convenient to keep quiet when revelations of Ayo Salami's heinous crimes started emanating from the NJC probe panel. Those who feel no sense of shame should probably not be called upon to search their conscience.
Buhari, the political almajiri who asked his supporters to kill whoever rigged their votes, is enjoying a quiet time in Daura, but parents of the slain NYSC members are having the most sorrowful moment of their lifetime. Despite the magnitude of the tragedy instigated by Buhari and members of his party, he has not addressed a press conference. Instead, he sends jejune Odumakin on what the Yoruba call the errand of the toilet. And Odumakin obeys, loyal acolyte of a demon. In ''Deconstructing Buhari and his apologists," I warned that Buhari's utterances would signal doom in Nigeria. They did. May Buhari reap the fruits of his doings.
Since the conclusion of the April elections, certain persons have been making strenuous attempts to impugn the integrity of the process. First was Chief Bisi Akande, national chair of the ACN who said the National Assembly elections were not free and fair, thus indirectly castigating the victory of his own party. Somehow, these 'progressives' always do things badly. Then, there was constitutional lawyer, Prof Itse Sagay, who delivered this verdict: "Jega should stop deceiving himself and the international observers should also stop deceiving themselves. The 2011 elections were a failure, far from any international standard and comparable to the 2007 elections when Iwu allocated figures." This kind of comedy—I dey laugh o—from a respected professor of law! Were the international observers also "deceiving themselves" in 2003 and 2007 when they criticised the elections? Lest we forget, this was the same SAN who, evidently without reading the judgement of the Appeal Court, said Segun Oni should be jailed for rigging election in Ekiti.
But hear Abubakar Malami (the name sounds like Salami), explaining the post-election violence in the North: " Our national history has taught us that the determination to win elections by incumbents by any means (sic) has always given birth to spontaneous reactions in the form of breakdown(sic) of law and order."
To Malami, the murder of 10 corps members and burning of houses were a "spontaneous reaction," but to me, they were not. They were carefully orchestrated by the CPC bigwigs, and their principal, Buhari, had no kind words for the parents of the corps members who were killed, and for those patriotic northerners who suffered loss of lives and property, including the Emir of Kano, His Eminence, Alhaji Ado Bayero, whose palace was torched by the murderous lunatics in the CPC.
And then listen to Buhari, speaking through Odumakin as usual: "It is galling that a president who has not shaken off the allegation (sic) that he distributed dollars within Nigeria will value a slain corp member who would have been a breadwinner for life for his family at a token of N5 million."
This is hypocrisy, Buhari's stock-in-trade when he is not shedding crocodile tears. One, it wasn't the president who asked lunatics to take the law into their own hands. Two, the president never said that the N5 million represented the value of the dead, nor did he even call the money a form of compensation. Three, while the president was saying "Don't rig for me; my ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian," Buhari was saying "Ku gama da shi." Four, it wasn't the president's party men but the CPC who unleashed violence—indeed, PDP men were prime targets in the mayhem unleashed by Buhari's supporters. Five, what compensation is Buhari prepared to pay the families of these corps members, even if it is only a kind word?
And then the issue of dollars. Is Buhari angry because he did not get his own share of the dollars which he said the president distributed? Does Buhari want to pretend that he didn't spend 'dollars' during the election? Were his newspaper advertisements placed on credit? Were his campaigns funded by the N200 a certain citizen donated? Were his posters printed with sand? Why does this fellow always pretend to be the most honest Nigerian? Was he not the same human being who said Sani Abacha didn't steal Nigerian money? Was PTDF totally run without corruption? Buhari should be careful how he rides his moral horse. But he will not be careful because the dog that will get lost never heeds the hunter's whistle.
Buhari and his gang may continue to denigrate the person of the president and crucify Jega, but Nigerians and the international community know the truth. Indeed, as Bolanle Babawole has said: "No more will this country be taken as anyone's fiefdom and no more will anyone be allowed to ride roughshod over the popular will of the people. Nigerians have spoken—and they did so without any ambiguity."
Awolaja is on the Politics Desk of the Nigerian Tribune.
The CPC Presidential Election Petition
BY LUQMAN JAIYEOLA
THE first sign of the misfortune that is most likely to befall the petition filed by Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), over the election of President Goodluck Jonathan, is the controversy emanating from his legal representation.
First, Buhari's lawyers filed an ex-parte (preliminary) application, seeking to prevail on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to preserve vital election materials, the validity of which he wants to challenge. A copy of the application credited Mr. Rickey Tafa (SAN), as being the head of the legal team that filed the process.
Barely 24 hours after the report of filing, Tafa said he knew nothing about it. The head of his Abuja Office, Olusegun Jolaawo, said Tafa was "not part of the CPC legal team," and that he clearly dissociates himself from it."
According to Jolaawo, "he (Tafa) was approached to join the legal team for CPC's presidential election petition, but he declined. He said in plain language that he is not interested. He is, therefore, embarrassed to learn that his name is associated with the preliminary application relating to the petition."
In the said preliminary application, the CPC is praying the tribunal to compel INEC to avail it with certain polling materials, with which it seeks to prosecute its petition. The CPC and Buhari named as defendants in the petition INEC; the Chief National Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Attahiru Jega; President Jonathan; his running mate, Vice President Namadi Sambo; the PDP and the Resident Electoral Commissioners for the 36 States, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In the application, brought pursuant to Sections 77(1) and 151 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and Order 26, Rule 8 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, the CPC seeks an order of the court directing INEC and its officers to seal all the Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines, ballot papers and ballot boxes used in the presidential election held on April 16, 2011 "so as to produce same for forensic test" in the course of the petition.
Tafa's denial of any link with the CPC's application is obviously a thump to Buhari and the party, as the manner of denial, some say, is suggestive of the minimal worth of the party's complaint. Senior lawyers are not generally keen to associate with frivolous cases meant to embarrass, rather than to pursue justice. Lawyers are reminded that where a case is patently lacking in merit, it is an abuse of court process to present it before the court and consequently waste their lordships' precious time.
The whole world is eagerly awaiting the legal proceedings to be kicked off by the party, in which it is asking the tribunal to nullify the presidential election in 20 States of the federation where Jonathan won. Buhari lost to President Jonathan in the election countrywide.
Without prejudice to the argument the CPC legal team intends to canvass, the Buhari petition is but a lame attempt to call black, white; or to change the course of political history endorsed by the generality of Nigerians.
Now, what are the grounds of complaint by the CPC? It alleges substantial variation in the register used by the INEC for the conduct of the presidential and governorship elections, and to that extent, INEC and its chairman, Attahiru Jega, unlawfully manipulated the register to the advantage of the PDP flagbearers. There was illegal diversion of ballot papers used for certain polling units as well as ballot stuffing, it further claims.
The party wants results cancelled in 24 of the 36 States of the federation, including those states it beat the rival PDP. This is laughable. In contention are all the 17 States in the South, as well as Adamawa, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kwara, Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa in the North and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
THE April 16, 2011 presidential election was the best the country had since the June 12, 1993 presidential election. The United Nations, United States, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and hundreds of non-governmental, human rights and pro-democracy organizations endorsed the poll that saw to Jonathan's emergence.
Jonathan swept more than 25 per cent of the votes cast in 31 States and the FCT. He scored a majority of the votes in 20 States, and polled a total of 22,495,187 votes to establish a clear victory over Buhari's 12,214,853 votes. The situation is not such as to provide any serious ground for complaint, save from a man who, before the election, had set his mind for nothing but victory, albeit unrealistically and against the tide of popularity.
It would appear that the CPC's decision to challenge Jonathan's victory is an after-thought, following its failure to galvanize insurrection. In this regard, no one is impressed by the CPC's action in complaining to INEC, even as the election results were trickling in. That action seemed to be preparing the minds of Nigerians that if any violence broke out, the party was not to blame, as it had done the right thing by complaining to INEC.
At a press conference addressed by CPC's National Legal Adviser, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on May 9, 2011 following the filing of Buhari's petition, the party justified the arson and murders following the presidential election. Malami also presented his argument why he thought the presidential election did not reflect the wishes of voters.
However, Malami's illustration of President Jonathan's polling unit in Bayelsa State, as a measure of alleged irregularities of the election, is curious, if not laughable. His words: "Osazi playground polling unit has a total number of 908 registered voters. On the 16th of April election, only 424 voters turned out to cast their votes, with 413 voting for the President while 11 ballots were invalidated. This represented total of 47 per cent voter turnout in that unit.
"However, for the rest of Bayelsa State, the total voter turnout as recorded by INEC was 87 per cent with a total of 96 per cent voting the President. One would have expected that if there was going to be massive voter turnout, no other place would have surpassed the President's own unit... This is electoral fraud personified!"
Malami as a lawyer and a Senior Advocate (SAN) is obviously learned in law. But his arithmetic and logic is suspect. The rationale for his concluding that the result of Osazi playground polling unit is correct and others false is lopsided and has no logical base. It is at best speculative. He hammered that the turnout outside that polling unit was high.
Why would anyone blame Jonathan for that if for any reason the people in his homestead didn't come out en-masse for him? Why should anyone even assume in any case that most people in that centre preferred Jonathan to anyone else? Have we not seen cases in which an eventual winner was defeated in his/her polling unit?
What is more important is that more than 90 per cent of those that voted in that unit voted for Jonathan; and that is agreeable with the results in other parts of Bayelsa State. Curiously, Malami did his comparison selectively and avoided this conclusion. If his thinking will inform the making of Buhari's case at the tribunal, that case is warped and ill-fated from the start. His argument not only underrates the people's capacity to vote for a candidate of their choice, it fails to draw analogy from the result in Kaduna State where Vice President Sambo lost for the PDP. Why didn't the PDP rig in that place?
THE election of April 16, 2011 is incomparable to the ruse called elections in 2003 and 2007. The international and local observers said it. Even the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who benefited from the 2007 results, confirmed it and promised to make amend. Death precluded him from completing that amendment, which lot consequently fell on Jonathan. The wide commendation we are witnessing is a testimony that President Jonathan has tried so far, and the CPC should admit this, instead of finding fault where none existed.
Clearly, Buhari's petition is doomed from the start for being, on the face of it, predicated on fiction. At their well-attended, and widely reported press conference in Lagos on May 14, state chairmen of the CPC in the Southeast and South-South said with devastating impact:
"We are honest enough to discard partisan interest, and instead admit that our party, the Congress for Progressive Change, had neither firm root nor solid branches in the three geopolitical zones in the country, and accordingly, the party did not mount any serious campaign in the three zones of the South during the recent elections.
"That, we are of the strong view that any recourse to the Election Petitions Tribunal is not only an unconscionable waste of resources, which the party ought to expend in building new structures and growing its root, but also an exercise in futility, and one that will waste the otherwise valuable time of the judiciary."
In a way, Buhari's challenge of Jonathan's victory is a camouflage. After visibly showing a lack of interest in the wasted lives of innocent citizens, including youth corps members, he belatedly offered to pay sympathy visits to the states where the mayhem occurred. The police, sure that his visit would be unpopular and likely to spark off an orgy of protest, promptly banned him from visiting the states including Bauchi, Niger and Kaduna.
The police were obviously careful that to do something more drastic than banning him would be politicized at a time the country was on edge. Otherwise, if they could warn him not to go to those states, for his constituting security risk, they could as well have taken him into custody pending investigation.
The Northern Coalition indicated a whiff of what could have happened if Buhari had been taken into custody in the CPC's protest over the call by Democracy and Justice, an NGO, for the arrest of the party's presidential candidate. Rotimi Fashakin, the CPC's National Publicity Secretary, said the call was an attempt to frustrate the investigation of the alleged electoral fraud in the presidential election. Obviously, the party would have orchestrated a campaign that its candidate was being persecuted for defending an imaginary mandate!
Malami insists that the CPC has enough prima facie evidence to unseat President Jonathan. The party will have to prove this first. He who alleges has the duty of proof. Apparently unsure of its case, and to give the party a window of opportunity to escape from shame, the CPC says Buhari will congratulate Jonathan if the party cannot prove its claim. By the time the party loses, however, Buhari's message of congratulation will again be belated.
One thing Buhari has going for him is his ability to cope with successive failure in election litigation. He lost in 2003 and 2007, and from all indications, 2011 offers little difference.
How the party wants to use the forensic and biometric system to authenticate fingerprints of the disputed ballot papers will be interesting. The party is either unmindful of the legal timeframe to prosecute election cases, or has chosen to disregard it when it reckoned that it would need 50-65 days to be able to authenticate the entire voters' register, examine disputed ballots, assess any other electoral document and compile its findings to be submitted to the court. That means starting the proceedings after almost three months, and ending it indefinitely.
Jaiyeola, a legal and public affairs analyst, lives in Lagos.
Back
Again, Buhari Dares Jonathan
Arrest me if you can
From AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja
Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has for the second time in one week challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest him if he could.
Buhari's daring statement came even as leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, called for his arrest and prosecution over the riots that claimed lives and property in the North.
Dokubo said: "People like Buhari should not be allowed to be moving freely after that carnage. They should be brought to book to show they are not above the law. The President must assert his power and arrest the man. Nothing will happen. I repeat, nothing will happen."
The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, made a similar call fror Buhari's arrest last Sunday.
Speaking through his spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Buhari said after all the killings and bombings the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for, it took the intervention of a Nobel Laureate to negotiate for them before the President of Nigeria.
"Now, a man for which no crime has been established against, they want him arrested. So, for the last time again, we dare them. Let them go and arrest him," Odumakin said. He further said that Dokubo-Asari's call was not surprising as it confirmed the plan for secession of the Ijaw nation."When there was bomb blast in Abuja on October 1, 2010, MEND claimed responsibility, but the Commander-in-Chief absolved MEND and said he knows those who carried out the bombing. Till date he has not told the nation who those bombers are. Now a man who has condemned violence, who has condemned the killings and went on air to condemn the unfortunate incidents, they are calling for his arrest.
"Nigeria should be aware that there is a small group in this country today that is bent on breaking up this country and they want to use the office of the President of Nigeria, which they have captured by hook or crook, and their antics should be noticed by the Nigerian people." Responding to the violence that trailed the presidential election, former Deputy Senate President in the botched Third Republic, Albert Legogie, said Nigerian leaders should be held responsible instead of individuals.
According to Legogie, those involved in the violence were mainly street urchins, adding that the violence was unnecessary since it was the best thing that happened to Nigeria since the June 12 presidential election."I am of the opinion that the violence that followed the presidential election was unnecessary and uncalled for in the sense that the election was reasonably credible, transparent, free and fair. I think it is probably the best we have had in the country since the presidential election of 1992. So, when people started fighting and killing themselves over it, I felt very disappointed.
"I think Nigerians should learn to accommodate themselves; accommodate other people's religion, other people's differences and we should learn to live together as members of one big family.
"If you go back again, you find that we still have to hold our leaders responsible for the violence, in the sense that most of these people who sped into the streets and started maiming and killing people are urchins. People that have no homes, people that have no jobs."They are street urchins. If we had created jobs for these people, if we had created welfare facility for these people, if we had accommodated them in our system, they would not have gone the way they went.
"I listened to a friend who told me that most of them would say oh, look at this one, he is very well-fed, he must look like a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) man. Anybody that was well-fed was a PDP man and they descended on the person.
"So, one of the challenges the President should face right now is to create massive job opportunity for the large number of youths roaming the streets of this country. We can no longer defend it and unless we do it now, we are heading for a major disaster. The killings were just a warning," the Edo State-born Legogie said.
Source: The Sun, 1st May 2011.
If Buhari is arrested, nothing will happen —Asari Dokubo
By WOLE BALOGUN
Saturday, April 30, 2011Leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujadhadi Asari Dokubo, has said that presidential candidate of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, should be arrested and prosecuted over the riots that claimed lives and properties in the North.
Speaking with Saturday Sun, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Dokubo said that the violence in the North could have been caused by what Buhari said when he voted on April 16. He also spoke on other issues.
What is your feeling about President Jonathan's victory in the presidential poll?
It is a very great achievement and I think he deserves it. He won fair and square. He won overwhelmingly in four zones of the six zones and made significant inroads in the two other zones, winning Taraba and Adamawa, in the North East zone and this election is better than Abiola's. It showed the overwhelming support of the people of the South for the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. When Abiola contested, Akwa Ibom, Rivers Anambra and Imo states did not vote for him. They voted for Tofa. But in this election, the people of the South overwhelmingly voted for Goodluck Jonathan. The people of the North Central of Kwara, Kogi, Benue, and Nasarawa also voted for him. This shows the preponderance of these zones. Over 90 per cent of the ethnic nationalities that were forcefully conscripted into Nigeria supported Jonathan and this is a good omen for all of us. It shows that those who refuse and who have always considered themselves born to rule, going by what Orkar said during his coup, do not want to be part of us.
Which people are you saying in particular?
I mean those rioting.
What is your reaction to the carnage that trailed the elections?
I think it is unfortunate; but they acted true to type. The bloodletting and senseless killing were premeditated. All signs of pre-plan war were there. Why is it that youth corps members were singled out for attack in Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna, Gombe and Kano? Why were they going to the youth corps members' lodge if there was no communication among them? Statements made by Buhari did not help matters. I watched Buhari on the day of elections, on Ajazeera, where he said that the polls had been rigged but that he was not going to court. He said that if his party wants to go to court, it should. They thought that they could intimidate Jonathan and INEC. They thought that INEC would not continue to announce the results. Why didn't Buhari say that 2003 and 2007 elections were rigged? The 2007 elections were adjudged the worst. His kinsman, Yar'Adua, was declared winner. Why didn't he decry rigging then? Why didn't the North riot? Why didn't he reject the National Assembly elections? It is obvious that this carnage was planned and Buhari should be help responsible. In fact, the CPC, his party, is culpable.
What agenda would you set for President Jonathan after May 29?
The most fundamental agenda that should be before Jonathan is the convocation of a sovereign national conference. We must sit down and address even the aftermath of the elections and the events after the elections. The post-election violence has clearly shown that we cannot be together and there is an urgent and compelling need for us to sit down and discuss, in a conference, how we are going to live together or pull apart, as it has happened in Sudan. Also, in the short time, Jonathan must have zero-tolerance for corruption. There should be good governance, following the rule of law strictly. He must also cut down wasteful expenditures. Why should there be so many cars in the villa? It should be reduced. Why should his aides live in hotels? He should cut down on foreign trips. He should look at the contract papers and cancel padded contracts and, therefore, give the wealth back to the people. He should ensure his energy programme works and should enhance transportation by constructing and rehabilitating roads. He should open up the country. All these should be in the front burner and he must be just to all.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called for Buhari's arrest. What is your reaction?
I think that Buhari's arrest is overdue. There must be somebody held responsible for the painful loss of the lives of young ones and innocent peoples, especially the youth corps members because their parents sent them to school and they have gone to serve their country. They conducted elections that have been adjudged free and fair, but a man decided to send his mob out to kill people. Somebody should be punished for the atrocities credited to the CPC. If you look at it critically, Jonathan won overwhelmingly in the North Central, South West and South South, South East. The respect some of us have for Buhari has been lost.
After the elections, I saw him on the screen saying that ballot papers were being flown and thumbprinted. Who was he telling that rubbish? Did they need to thumbprint ballot papers and fly it when, in unit per unit, you can easily thumbprint ballot papers? So, how can somebody just manufacture a lie like that, a lie that even my smallest daughters cannot believe? I have been involved in elections. Ballot papers are thumb-printed at the units. They can go and hide in some places, close to the units and snatch the ones in the units, to replace them. So, such lie by Buhari is ingenious.
They planned the reaction, and the carnage to test us. Unfortunately, we did not react. It is not that we cannot react. They know that we are capable of reacting and if we react, they would look foolish. Buhari never campaigned, from the start. Jega, the INEC and the North prepared to rig elections and that was why the North was given more registered voters than the South. The tentative INEC voters' register had 60 million voters, but instead of the figure coming down, after the verification, which saw the removal of double registrations etc, the North's registered voters surprisingly went up and we now have 73 million. Extra votes were added in the North because they thought that Buhari never needed our votes. He was only banking on a run-off, which would be after the first ballot, where he requires a single majority to win. So, he never needed the votes of the other tribes: the Efik, Igbo, Yoruba or Ijaw.
He thought that there was a monolithic North that would give him victory in a run-off.
As far as we are concerned, somebody must be responsible for the carnage and be prosecuted. We cannot continue to indulge this barbarous, murderous mob in the North. Each time they carry out the carnage, we sweep it under the carpet; that cannot continue. If we also had to vent our anger in the same manner, they would lose more than us, because there are more of their people in our midst. But we cannot do it, because being a Muslim I find it very difficult to take the life of a fellow Muslim. We found ourselves in a quagmire. My family and my children and many of my people are Muslims. The Imam in my house is from Maiduguri. So, am I going to kill him? The man teaching my children, in my school, is from Maiduguri and I cannot kill him. My people see me as a leader; so the northerners and Muslims among us see me as their brother and a leader.
It is really unfortunate. People like Buhari should not be allowed to be moving freely after that carnage. They should be brought to book, to show that they are not above the law. The president must assert his power and arrest the man; nothing will happen. I repeat, nothing will happen. The worst they have done is the killing of innocent people and they cannot do that any more. If they do more, they know that others would not fold their hands and watch.
The Igbo hope to take over from Jonathan in 2015, which explains why they voted for him. Is this possible?
I don't believe that the majority of the Igbo voted for Jonathan because power should be given to them in 2015. There is no where the Igbo sat down with him to discuss that. But I believe that naturally, for equity and justice, power should go to the Igbo in 2015. If we want to run a country that is balanced and equitable, where justice reigns supreme, then we must look at the number of years ruled by each of the zones. The most disadvantageous zone now is the South East. They have held executive powers for less down one year. And naturally everybody should concur and give them political power. And I am totally in support of that. I would be in the forefront to fight for that, even as we should continue to go into convocation of a sovereign national conference. In the interim, I believe that every one of us, in all the zones, should work together in the same way they worked together to elect Jonathan, to give power to the South East, even by the so called zoning. The North Central has ruled, with Yakubu Gowon. Murtala Muhammed, Sani Abacha, Shehu Shagari came from North East. We had Tafawa Bafewa and Yar'Adua from North West. After the South South, the South East is the most disadvantaged.
What in your opinion will cause Nigeria to break up?
It is the continuous act of impunity, on the part of the people from the North West, the Hausa Fulani and those who have been collaborating with them. The act of impunity has continued. They cancelled an election that was widely believed to have been won by a South western, MKO Abiola, in 1993, murdered him and we accepted it. They committed pogrom with the Igbo, in the civil war and there is a continued act of genocide every time. But we cannot continue to condone this, because they are signs that they cannot continue to be with us. This was what Gideon Orkar said in his attempted coup. We cannot continue to condone people who think that they would continue to rule us. They think that they have better right to lead us and this has nothing to do with religion.
I don't know how many northerners are better Muslims than my children and I. The only way to stay together is to see us as equals. So, there are people who talk about Zaria and others, but in a federal nations, where there are many nations, in a heterogeneous nation, like ours, every one would be allowed to practise his beliefs. And where the Muslims are in the majority they have a right to sharia. No law can be imposed on theirs. So, it is mutual respect that is lacking with these people in the North West and the North East.
What would make you and the Niger Delta Volunteer Force to go back to the creeks?
I don't think that we are contemplating that. Jonathan is president; we supported him and we worked for him. We would continue to stand with him, not because he is good luck but because we believe in him. He represents our interests and we are going to protect that interest. We will continue to demand and advocate the convocation of a sovereign national conference, which was our primary objective and fundamental demand before Goodluck Jonathan came to power. We will continue to press for this, but in a very peaceful way. There will be no need for us to go to the creeks' no need whatsoever.
Members of your group used to say that they had one more river to cross. What is that river and have you crossed it? No, we are at the shores, and I think the activities, the acts of impunity taking place and engineered by the Hausa-Fulani of the North would provide the boat for us to cross to our destination of reclaiming our stolen sovereignty.
What do you mean by stolen sovereignty?
Yes, the British people came and signed protectorate treaties with our forebears, which gave birth to various independent nations, even among the Ijaws. I am from an independent state called the Kalabas, the kingdom of Kalabari. We signed treaties with them. Other nations, include the Ishekiris and all these nations, signed protectorate treaties with the British, but those treaties were jettisoned when the British imposed colonialism on us. In 1914, they said that they had amalgamated us with people we don't even know, without even seeking our consent. So that is the stolen sovereignty that we are fighting for. And we would fight until we get it back.
Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, once recommended division of Nigeria along North and South line. What is your reaction to that suggestion?
The respected comrade brother, might not have the full information. Those of us who have been in the progressive front and who have had to meet with him on several occasions have educated him on this. It is not possible to divide Muslim-Christian South/North. We have said that there must be a sovereign national conference. He is right in his demands, because we are not the same. I don't see any affinity between me and an Hausa or Fulani man. Even with religion, as Muslims, he does not consider me as his brother; so why should I consider somebody who does not consider me as his brother? A people must unanimously decide to live together; we have not done that and until we do that, through a conference, we may continue to have problem. What Gaddafi said does not arise.
If a military coup sacks Jonathan, how would you want the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria, in general to react?
I don't even want to hear about it. It would never happen and if it happens, we are going to retaliate in one million fold. They should never attempt it. Obasanjo stayed and completed his tenure and left. Yar'Adua stayed and completed his tenure. God took him. So, Jonathan will also stay and continue his tenure. It is only God and the people who voted him by the constitution that can remove him. The consequence of using extraneous means to remove him cannot be imagined.
What if he dies in office?
That is in the hands of God. But we are praying that he should be alive because we believe he is going to be the best person to rule this country. He is the most acceptable person. He is the one that the people of this country have given their mandate freely and fairly and we pray to God to preserve his life for us. But any attempt to truncate his regime and tamper with his life will be met with the greatest resistance ever imagined.
What is your appraisal of the amnesty programme?
I am not a militant and I am not competent to answer that question, but if there is such a programme, it is okay. After all, the government has been doing this to one section. They have nomadic and almajiri education. But the amnesty has no legal backing, because none of the people being given amnesty has been found by the law to have committed any crime. And people should not be criminalised for standing up for their rights, for standing up against the fraudulent confiscation of our land and embezzlement of our national resources.
Source: Sun, 30th April 2011.
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…He must apologise to Christians -PFN
By Our reporter
For allegedly insulting Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, national chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and refusing to show remorse over the role of northern fundamentalists in the killing of Christians, especially members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has demanded an unreserved apology from General Buhari.
National president of the youth wing of PFN, Dr. Abel Damina, told journalists in an interview yesterday that Buhari's actions, comments and body language showed he was not interested in the continued unity of the country.
Justifying the call by the CAN president for the arrest of Buhari over the recent killings and destructions in some parts of the North, Damina said it behoved on President Jonathan to be courageous and order the arrest and prosecution of the former military ruler if he wanted the persistent crises in the North to end. According to him, it was not enough to threaten perpetrators of violence in the country and sometimes arrest those he described as miscreants when their sponsors and promoters were still going about freely.
In fact, he said it would amount to cowardice and a show of insensitivity to the plight of Christians and other victims of the recent crisis in the North if Buhari was not arrested, more so as the candidate of the CPC has since dared the government to arrest him. Damina said: "The Federal Government must rise up and do something decisive. All these temporary measures are not enough. Look at what they did to the youth corps members. Can you imagine a father who raised a child, paid his fees and the child graduates and was posted by the Federal Government to serve the nation and now they are bringing the dead body of the child to the father? It is not something to imagine and we are not talking about one or two families.
"It is really touching and sad. That is why I believe Muhammadu Buhari should and must be arrested by the Federal Government. I agree with the National Chairman of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, that Buhari must be arrested.
"If the people behind this unrest are not brought to book, the crisis and killings will continue. If you have observed, the people were arrested were young boys, and that is how they had always done. Where are their sponsors? Why can't they be arrested?
Young people will not just jump into the streets without somebody sending them out.
"In Akwa Ibom State, when a similar thing took place, the police went after those at the helm of affairs in that political party. I am in full support of the call for Buhari's arrest by Papa Ayo. Even during the burning of the churches and the killings, those involved in the violence were chanting 'changi, sai Buhari' and they will intimidate people and tell them if you don't say it, they would kill or harm you.
This means they were actually doing all that because of Buhari.
"Wole Soyinka said something in the papers that really interested me. He said the crisis was pre-planned and carried out, and this is the more reason why the Federal Government should arrest and question Buhari over the killings."
Source: The Sun, 1st May 2011.
Buhari will fail in court –Fasehun
By WILLY EYA
With the general elections over, many are wont to take stock of the exercise. But without doubt, the consensus among majority of Nigerians is that the elections were a major improvement on the 2007 polls. One of those who have joined his voices in appraising the situation is founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun. In this interview, he speaks on a wide range of issues, including what he called the cultural democracy of the South West geo-political zone. Excerpts…
The elections are over. What is your assessment of the just ended polls?
The elections so far have been conducted in a relatively free and fair manner. I am not saying that it is free of rigging. There is no way you can conduct an election in a country as big as Nigeria that you will not have an element of rigging in one way or the other. But by and large, the election was credible because a credible Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, conducted it. He has a very good pedigree and his personal integrity is unassailable.
Though the post-election incidents were not too palatable, but that is not the fault of INEC. The commission has done its job and Nigerians even the international community hailed the election as credible. What came after that is not the concern of INEC and should not even surprise Nigerians. When Gen Muhammadu Buhari was allowed to enter national life, he stood election against Olusegun Obasanjo, lost and went to court. Second time, he contested election against the late Musa Yar'Adua and he lost again and also went to court. And again he stood election against President Goodluck Jonathan and lost for the third time. It is as if failure has become his middle name.
If I were in his shoes I would just accept the result as it is and go to my village to sulk, not raising any alarm. He should not also go to court because he would also lose, judging by the picture of the elections Nigerians have. And when you realize that he scored high marks in the North during the presidential contest and scored virtually nil in the governorship election, he would know that his disciples voted for him as a person, but disagreed with his political party and its manifesto. So, that is outright rejection and he should withdraw from Nigeria's national life and go tend a big farm in Daura.
Your assessment of the election is positive. So, what does this portend for the nation's democracy?
We are getting closer and closer to democracy, but to be honest, this country is not practicing democracy yet. Those of us who were brought up in democratic environment know what democracy is. We view democracy at the end of a dark tunnel and we are beginning to enter that tunnel to make our way towards the end of the tunnel where democracy is. We hope and pray that we will begin to demonstrate our true wish for democracy. Over 60 political platforms in a country of over 140 million people, there is no way you would have ideological democracy.
In politics, there are only three ideological camps including the right, the so-called Conservatives, the left, the so-called Progressives and the Centre, who are the liberals. Now with 60 or more political platforms in the country, what ideological stand do they manifest? So, the Nigerian society is not politically mature to demonstrate or manifest democracy, but we were agitating for democracy because we know the gains of it. We want to bring democracy into our country, but unfortunately, those we vote into such positions do not know what democracy is all about.
They mouth democracy and think democracy is tantamount to accumulation of wealth and they go in there to loot the treasury. They steal from our commonwealth and that is not democracy. The interest of the common man, the rule of law, social justice, due process, these are all attributes of democracy and these are all absent in our society. So, we hope and pray that with Jonathan now at the helm of affairs, he will introduce a seemingly true democracy through convening of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) for Nigerians to get together and sit round a table to discuss their problems and proffer solutions. If he achieves this, he would have gone a long way to leaving his name on the sands of history as a father of democracy in Nigeria. Nobody has attempted it.
The military era was very notorious for dictatorship. Chief Obasanjo, who came in from the military camp, there is no way he would have practised democracy. He does not have the culture of democracy. The only person that could have introduced some measure of democracy was the late Yar'Adua, but unfortunately, he did not live long enough to persuade Nigerians to be democratic. So, his lieutenant, Jonathan, has been challenged by Nigerians to bring in democracy. We voted for him fast because we believe he does not have military background by which he would go on treading on the rights of Nigerians. He is a young man and knows that Nigerians are yawning for youths to come into leadership positions after having been disappointed by the old ones who have been running the affairs of the nation for decades, and for which the nation has nothing to show except failure.
So, we have been recycling these failures for decades, but now is the time for youths to come in and take the challenge to move this nation forward, and Jonathan is a young man. Jonathan is the first intellectual that would be on the saddle in our national life. These attributes all go to show that we may expect democracy in no distant time. When you also realize that Nigeria became a country in 1914 and in three years time, the nation would be 100 years, if we do not get things right, we may never get it right again. So, it is a challenge for every Nigerian to ensure that democracy takes root in Nigeria. If Nigeria fails to institutionalize democracy at the age of 100 years, I do not think democracy will ever take root here. They say a fool at 40 is a fool forever. A failed state at 100 will be a failed state forever and I do not think Nigeria should be a failed state.
Looking at the orgy of violence trailing the elections, are you not worried about the ethnic colouration the exercise seems to have taken?
I am worried, and this was why I called a meeting of the leaders of ethnic nationalities about a week ago to say they should not fan the embers of violence. We know why that violence came up, and if the ethnic nationality groups decide to retaliate, Nigeria will be set aflame. We met here in this hotel about a week ago. We had Asari Dokubo, a senior player in the affairs of this nation. We had Bright Ezeocha of the Igbo National Congress; he is also a long-standing player in the affairs of this nation. We had Alhaji Shettima Yerima, President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, and myself, among other various groups. We took a decision that there would be no retaliation or reprisal. But we also took a stand that if the carnage in the North failed to stop we may not be able to hold back our people.
Fortunately, good sense prevailed and the force behind the violence must have spoken to his disciples to hold fire because a big holocaust was in the offing. But my worry stems from the fact that some people are beginning to feel they are above the law of the land. The security operatives are not helping matters, too. They should have exposed the individuals behind the violence in the North. And such individual or individuals would have been made to face the law of the land. If there is any individual or community that feels they are greater than the law of the land, that community is not stable. If you want democracy, everybody must be subjected to the law of the land.
Youths lost their lives in an attempt to usher in democracy to their nation. That is indecent and immoral and that calls to question the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC). I personally said about 10 years ago that it would not help this nation because since they started youth corps members, especially from the South, always had to face some dangers and it is now more apparent that these youths that serve their nation outside their areas face very grave danger. We should not continue to sacrifice these youths on the altar of ethnicity, religion, language, and so on every year. We have been saying it should be stopped. Let the youths serve their nation in their geographical zones and we are still saying that. If we are not careful, the NYSC as is now being exercised would cause crisis in this nation. If this last episode were not properly managed, it would have caused a lot of problems for this nation.
So, let Jonathan get there and review the scheme. Let people serve in their areas of domain and ethnicity. Abuja is there to unify us. The NYSC is not unifying Nigeria. If anything, it is dividing us. So, enough is enough. We have sacrificed too many of our youths. If we believe the future of any nation is the function of its youths and the youths are now being depleted, where is now the future of the nation? I do not think the programme should be scrapped, but it should be modified. Do not send me out of my area of acceptance and the earlier the whole thing is reviewed, the better. Now, state governments have had to recall their youth corps members.
Where is the unity in that? Good a thing we have governors who have the interest of their people at heart and they quickly intervened and withdrew the corps members. But, must we be doing that every year? If we are doing that every year, where is the unifying factor in the NYSC? The scheme will not unite this nation. We are only deluding ourselves and getting cheap labour and we are losing many youths. If we are not able to modify it, then scrap it.
In the South West, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) won virtually every seat in the just concluded elections. What is your take, especially against the backdrop that the zone has again left the mainstream of politics in the country by that feat?
South westerners have cultural democracy. This is why it seems they are always in the opposition. But come to think of it, of all the geo-political zones, it is the most developed. So, if you are in the opposition and not in the mainstream, as they say, and you are better socio-economically, educationally, politically, even health-wise, then there is no reason to abandon their style of politics. In the zone, there is no open hunger, abject poverty and all that, so we should be in the opposition. Those who are in the mainstream of national politics are not fairing as good as the westerners. So, their political belief is what they should sustain.
Now, when they made a mistake to join the mainstream, see what happened. You can only give kudos to Ogun State under Gbenga Daniel and Lagos State under the indomitable Raji Fashola. Where else? So, because they deflected and went into the bush they suffered for it. I think the only thing they have to do is to come back to the path they had been treading. They also realized that their mandate was stolen before and they have gone back to reclaim their mandate. If their cultural democracy had been helping them, their children, women, elders, promoting agriculture, education and development of infrastructure, I think they are better with ACN than any other group or party. I congratulate them for finding their feet again. I am not in partisan politics, but I would say it as it is because I like to be remembered as a Nigerian who wished the nation well.
But many attribute the success of ACN to the ingenuity of the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. Do you agree with those who insist he has perfectly filled the void in the leadership of the South West?
I do not think there is any individual alive now or in the future that can stand in the leadership position of the South West. When Papa Awolowo was able to hold the reins of leadership of the South West, it was made possible for him because the entire South West then was one region. And the powers that be must have realized that and they now split the region into states. It becomes an internecine struggle for the states to want to be in the leadership of the Yoruba people. It became impossible. Papa Ajasin succeeded Pa Awolowo.
He could hold the South West then as its leader because the region then had a common complaint, which was the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by M.K.O Abiola, that was annulled and the consequent death of Abiola. That was a rallying point. It was a clarion call for the Yoruba people to speak with one voice, otherwise they would continue to suffer marginalisation. Then came Senator Abraham Adesanya. He tried to be a rallying point, but you would not say his success could be compared to that of Pa Awolowo and Pa Ajasin. What I think the Yoruba people could do is to formulate a leadership collegiate where the South West states may have representatives. It could be two or even five from each state. They could be meeting even three or five times in a quarter to formulate positions for the Yoruba people and give it to a spokesman who would act as the leader.
That spokesman would be in office for just two years and his position would rotate to another state. There will no longer be internecine squabble among the Yoruba. If an Ondo person is aspiring for the leadership of the Yoruba people, the Ogun people would say we also have people who can lead us. If you grant the Ogun people, the Ekiti people would say the same thing. But if you create a collegiate, the Yoruba people may listen to this collegiate and the spokesman who would be regarded as the leader for just two years and the Yoruba people will allow peace to reign, because they know each of them would have a chance. To me, that is the only way out, and no one person can lead the Yoruba now, no matter how powerful, rich, educated or politically astute.
From your vantage position as an elder statesman, what do you think is the future of the nation?
Nigeria has a great future, if Nigerians can change their characteristics. Nobody loves Nigeria. The nation is a congregation of the most unpatriotic people in the world. Even from our common attitudes to life, you see it. An American, when he wakes up in the morning, while stretching his muscles in the morning, he would say God bless America. But for the Nigerian, if he is stretching his muscles in the morning, he would say this goddamn nation. Where is the patriotism in that? Nigeria has probably the highest population of churches and mosques, but God is very far from our religiousness. We are very religious, but very ungodly. People are deceptive.
Nigerians do not believe that service to their nation is an honour. They think it is a chance to grow, become rich and make money at all cost. It is what I call primitive accumulation of sinful wealth because of their characteristics. Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world, but with also one of the poorest people in the world. There are nations whose oil production does not match that of Nigeria. Some of their people do not even pay tax because they derive a lot of money from their oil resources. They use their oil to develop their land. We found oil in Nigeria since the 1950's. That is 61 years ago. Look at our roads, hospitals, educational institutions, security and everything. Where is water? Where is electricity? What has Nigerians been enjoying from their natural endowments?
Nothing. Instead you find people who after looting our treasury go to Dubai to buy blocks of flats and when they die, and surely they will, such wealth which belongs to Nigeria is left behind in America, Dubai, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, Britain and so on. Where is their patriotism? Where is their wish for the development of their fatherland? And mark you; it is the only country they can call their own. In all other countries they are bloody niggers! So, Jonathan has a lot of work to do. He has to re-orientate our people towards positive patriotism. See what we do to ourselves. We started with armed robbery and we graduated to kidnapping.
We now kidnap old grandmothers and young ladies. We started with simple murder and now it is graduating to genocide. Our politics was initially bedeviled with assassination of petty politicians. Now our politics is bedeviled with assassinations of prominent politicians. The country has not been able to do a thing. Although we have laws and statute books, but nobody has been able to remind Nigerians that these laws exist. Or don't we have laws again against violence, assassination, kidnapping and so on? We do not need new laws. All we need is decent crop of security operatives, and a God-blessed judiciary. That's all we need, but see what we have. When people are killed in Bauchi, people in Enugu will say, well, it is Bauchi violence. What goes round comes round.
That is why we are hungry and angry and that is why we are seemingly apolitical. Nobody is thinking of the nation. The Gani Fawehinmis are gone. The Alao Aka Bashoruns are gone. The Beko Ransome-Kutis are gone. Chief Anthony Enahoro has gone. Wole Soyinka is 76 and he will go also. So, what becomes of the country when these calibre of beautiful people pass unto glory? Where is the conscience of the nation? The conscience of the nation is being depleted when there is no replacement. That is why it is essential that Nigeria should convene a Sovereign National Conference to re-order the nation and write a good constitution for the nation. How can Twenty-six military men wrote the constitution we operate today during the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime and tossed this thing at us. They said you want democracy, then have democracy. Military men do not have the culture of democracy.
How could they have written a democratic constitution that has no place for the youths? Go and read the Nigerian Constitution. There is no place for the youths or the elderly there. Or are we saying that Nigerian citizens shall not grow old? Nothing for the youths and the elderly, what kind of constitution is that? So, we need that Sovereign National Conference and we have been agitating for it since the 80's, but those who think they have a lot to lose would not listen. The prophets of old are being celebrated all over our churches and mosques, but the modern prophets of Nigeria are not listened to and they are one by one passing into glory.
So, the future of the country is great provided we have leaders who know what to do with leadership positions. I mean leaders who have their necks well-screwed on their necks and would not be bothered about having hotels in Dubai, banks in South Africa, airlines that cruise all over the world. It is then and only then we can say that the future of our country is great, but as at now, nobody can beat his chest and say Nigeria is great unless he wants to deceive himself. Factories are closing down, doctors are on strike, technicians go on strike, there is no electricity and yet governments want security.
A nation you precipitate into darkness will not be secure because all bad things go on in the dark. So, when government says it wants to provide security of lives and property, I say how? When the nation is in darkness, how can you have security of lives and property? So, we have to re-order our priorities. President Jonathan should not listen to the same members of the same various kitchen cabinets. He should select brand new Nigerians who are known for their interest in the good and development of this nation.
I can assure you that these people are not there to earn fantastic salaries. They are not people you pay in "Ghana-must-go bags". They will be there as pictures to remind us of what to do in order to become a great nation. Nigeria has been created by God to be a great nation. Our various differences should not divide us. If differences did not divide the United States, why should they divide us here? If differences did not divide our colonial masters, why us? The beauty of Nigeria is the variegated nature of our people, beliefs, culture and all those differences. We should exploit our differences to attain greatness. It can be done.
Source: The Sun, 1st May 2011.
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