TheNewsGuru

Author: Hope Eghagha

  • Ethnic profiling in an Imperiled Republic – By Hope Eghagha

    Ethnic profiling in an Imperiled Republic – By Hope Eghagha

    Nigeria is currently plagued by a myriad of debilitating problems – insecurity, hunger and poverty, rights of minorities, economic mismanagement and exploitation, corruption, myopic leadership, and a weak governance structure. Some of these directly threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria. There are too many unsettled issues about the conditions for mutual coexistence of the different ethnic groups in the country. There is a perception that the basis for national unity has not been negotiated and accepted. A master-servant relationship between a parasitic majority and the minorities is troubling the new generation of Nigerians.

    So, the nation is in a flux. And some people love to have it so. This may be the reason parts of the federation suffer insurgent attacks. Religious supremacy has also been dangerously thrown into the mix. The fear is that a further attack on basic national values will lead to a collapse of the nation. The states do not have confidence in the federal government. Federal institutions have been hijacked by a cabal which claims to represent northern interests. But as we know, they represent their ilk and are indeed interested in the depth of their pockets! We have pushed our luck too far as a nation, especially through acts of brazen injustice. We may not be lucky if another civil war breaks out!

    Ethnic profiling and its consequences threaten the existence of our republic. It is a game of deafness, deliberate deafness of one to the concerns and anxieties of the other. Difference has become a survival problem. The narrative says that one person is unwelcome because their ethnic origins are different. It doesn’t matter that some of these persons are multiethnic. Once profiling takes place, reason takes flight. Often the mob, that group so despised by Shakespeare, drives the infantile madness. They have nothing to cling to. They are poor. Despised. Neglected by the centre. They are not empowered. They misdirect their venom on other persons in their class. Often, they are the direct casualties when violence erupts. Their lives are lost in the sea of statistics. Yet, they carry the physical weapons of physical destruction.

    The irony is that ignorance is at the core of our current experience of ethnic profiling. Persons who had hitherto lived in harmony suddenly become enemies and their very existence threatened. The economic denominator which unites all such persons in poverty is ignored. It is true that political gladiators help to promote difference when it pays off. They stand in the background. The enlightened ones often pretend and mouth politically correct statements in public.  A few misguided extremists supposedly in the rulership class let out tirades that goad their supporters into extreme reactions and behaviour. In any state where the rule of law takes preeminence such unruly behaviour ought to be punished. What we have experienced however is that some of these vermin are above the law. How else must we understand the arrogant message which an ethnic group has published on the latest killings in Benue State?

    The ethnic profiling in Lagos is dangerous. In 2015, a traditional ruler made pejorative and inflammatory remarks about Igbo in Lagos. In the last elections, non-Yoruba citizens were physically prevented from voting in some parts of Lagos. I have not read any statements from prominent or leading politicians in the southwest condemn the brigandage that took place during the governorship elections. The subtext is that they gave tacit approval to voter suppression in the State. Which is unfortunate. I expect political leaders to work with groups in the state that have huge voting capacity. Not to threaten them. The incendiary write ups on social media are a threat to national unity. There must be a voice of caution from credible opinion leaders.

    Ethnicism like racism is superficial. Yet historically it has led to wars and mass hysterical destructions. It does not matter that the ethnic groups sometimes have a common ancestry, traced back to less than a generation. It doesn’t matter that they sometimes share contiguous geographical space. Once that emotion of difference seizes their minds, the madness of foolishness takes over. The hysteria over Igbo voting in Lagos is a tragedy. In other jurisdictions, groups like the Igbo and Hausa in Lagos would be courted. They would be seen as representing special interests and ensure that their votes are won. The t=intimidation tactics of APC thugs in Lagos has further fractured the supposed interethnic harmony in the country.

    If the nation succumbs to an interethnic conflagration, the rulers and their associates are likely to seek refuge in the big cities of the world, far away from the mess which they have created. We must not allow things to get to that stage. The President-elect lacks legitimacy on account of the acts of brigandage that took place in the name of elections. He does not seem to care about the opinions of those he is supposed to lead. He has been incommunicado since after the elections. In the tradition started and established by the incumbent president, BAT has simply left the country. It is only in Africa that such impudence can be displayed and tolerated.

    There is need for atonement in Lagos State. There is need for healing. The governorship election was like a war and because Lagos is the proverbial city on a hill, activities cannot be hidden. Crimes committed atop a hill cannot escape the eyes of the world. The government’s reaction to ENDSARS and the Lekki toll gate incident is highly instructive. CNN broadcast the footage of the fatal encounter between innocent protesters and the nation’s security forces and the government had to eat its dirty words. The federal government must stop the carnage in Benue State. At some point, self help will become the order of the day. Once this starts, there will be no end to it. Ethnic profiling destroys the essence of competence and personal drive. Those at the benefiting end of ethnicism are privileged. So, they are comfortable. But the overall effect on the nation is retrogressive.

    There should be deliberate steps to downplay ethnicism. The first national anthem, which captured the beauty of diversity points the way. ‘Though tribe and tongue may differ/In brotherhood we stand’, and ‘Help us to build a nation where no man is oppressed’ were deliberate exhortations on national unity. Where did we get it wrong?

  • A savage outing in the name of electioneering – By Hope Eghagha

    A savage outing in the name of electioneering – By Hope Eghagha

    It is in the nature of man, supposedly enlightened and exposed, to occasionally reveal the savage aspects of the homo sapiens. There is a beast in every man as evident in Lord of the Flies by William Golding where children trapped on an island reveal savagery unbecoming of apparently innocent kids. French novelist Emile Zola in la Bete humaine wrote about how ‘individuals are derailed by atavistic forces beyond their control’. Similarly, whole communities sometimes expose the savagery in their hearts in time of tension. When it is interethnic, interracial, or interreligious, that is, when it concerns group behaviour, it could have devastating consequences on society just as the xenophobia directed against Nigerians in South Africa led to deaths of innocent immigrants. This is the only way I can describe the last mob mentality and the ethnic hatred that seized Lagos last week Saturday before, during and after the governorship and House of Assembly elections. Sadly, this ugly spectacle occurred in some other parts of the federation, especially Kano and Rivers State. The Igbo are being profiled, vilified, and made a target of mass hysteria!

    Whoever thought that we still harboured such a degree of ethnic hatred in our hearts some sixty-three odd years after independence? And the silence of the elite while savagery reigned was mindboggling. Was this orchestrated from the highest level of society? Did they, as the world did during the Rwandan massacres, look the other way? Is there ever going to be integration or cultural acceptance of the ‘other’ in our disparate polity? Add to these the deployment of a supposedly cultural rite of purity, the Oro festival, to drive fear into the hearts of potential voters on the night before voting commenced! It seems we are not ready, not molded, not fashioned for democracy. Hoodlums went round voting points and prevented anyone who did not look Yoruba or who had non-Yoruba names from voting.

    Democracy manages diversity. It does not emphasize difference. Lagos and Kano exposed our dirty underbelly both to us and the rest of the world. In some states, governors, their surrogates, and political gladiators, seized the instruments of state to intimidate their opponents. Political exclusion is antithetical to the practice of democracy. By engaging persons of all backgrounds before elections, they court voters. To set hoodlums on innocent citizens because they have a different view is dangerous to the survival of the Republic. The experience last week calls for a reconsideration of the creation of State Police. State governors will unleash them on opponents without let or hindrance. If non-state actors could unleash terror on voters, it is left for us to imagine what uniformed officials could do in the name of the law.

    It is instructive that while hoodlums attacked and harassed voters last Saturday, policemen and other security agents looked the other way. In some states, policemen openly snatched ballot boxes. Such acts make citizens lose faith in the state. It is a recipe for civil disobedience. If a state actor, elected by the people in any part of the federation decides to lead a sustained protest against the federal government, we would have a deadly situation in our hands. And that is how breakdown of law and order starts.

    Persons of Igbo ethnic group who reside in Lagos must also refrain from making provocative statements which could generate hatred and rejection. To claim that Lagos is no-man’s land is provocative in our current circumstances. Lagos has been a good home to all, both good and bad. It has offered an opportunity for citizens who came to Lagos with a nylon bag exit as landlords and rich businessmen. All those who have found accommodation and a source of income in Lagos must respect the codes of social engagement. But state officials should not react to misguided statements from troublemakers in the land.

    The people of Lagos and the State government must wake up to the realities of 21st century Lagos. No government has the power to exclude potential voters because they may support candidates that are not favoured by the establishment. And they must carry the mob of area boys and ethnic jingoists along in re-understanding their environment. In a truly democratic setting, governments initiate policies that could win them votes from certain demographic sections of society. In a multiracial society, the dominant class engages minorities with favourable policies as shown in the American experience.

    What happened during the election was a form of coup against the people in a clinically arranged exercise by the state. Bullets and missiles were fired by non-military savages. Threats and intimidation restricted access to the ballot box. Some citizens who had access to the ballot box had their votes nullified. The so-called game changer BVAS was made a laughingstock. The young people watching the elections exercise are being encouraged to adopt dishonest means to achieve their goals in life. Yet, the victors have been pronounced. Cheating pays in this environment. It should be possible and indeed mandatory to order new elections to be carried out in any part of the federation where snatched ballot boxes prevented a conclusion to the exercise. This will reduce the criminal practice. The perpetrators must be brought to book. There is no report that those scoundrels who attacked innocent citizens last week have been arrested.

    There must be a restitution. There must be punishment. There must be consequences for brigandage and violence. By allowing such rigged elections results to stand, we are digging the gave of democracy. Any politician who rigs his way into office lacks legitimacy. The people are angry. The people are waiting for the opportunity to have their pound of flesh. BVAS may have been compromised now. In future we will have an INEC chairman who will firmly ensure that election processes and results are sacrosanct. This will be in an era where the INEC chairman is appointed and fired by the people through the National Assembly. There will be an INEC chair who is not partisan, who will be prepared to do right by the Nigerian people. Until we have a truly independent electoral commission, thugs and their masters will continue to rule over us.

    Out there Nigerians are angry. Bitter. Disappointed. Almost in despair. They believe the INEC Chairman misled them into believing that the elections would be free and fair. That INEC in connivance with the federal authorities deliberately sabotaged the dreams of the people. We are not sure whether that perception can ever be erased. Whatever it is, INEC and the current political class have taken us back to the Stone Age! Which is sad! Discontent has been driven underground. And until there is a purgation, only God (not the many false prophets around) can tell us how this macabre drama will end.

  • Stomping for Sheriff Oborevwori – By Hope Eghagha

    Stomping for Sheriff Oborevwori – By Hope Eghagha

    The political, social, cultural and perhaps spiritual forces which have produced Hon Sheriff Oborevwori as 2023 governorship candidate for the PDP are a watershed in the political history of Delta State. For as a humble, friendly, and perhaps unlikely candidate different from past candidates, his emergence took some in the party by surprise and indeed shock. It has brought joy to the Okpe people, the largest of the Urhobo clans who have rightly argued that the governorship of the state ought to come to their zone.

    To be sure, it has led to a falling out, a disagreement am2ong erstwhile comrades sworn to the preservation of PDP hegemony in the state. But the party machinery which was controlled by incumbent governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa was able to pull through his candidacy even though he was pitched against some other candidates who had powerful forces behind them and who also paraded academic certificates that could intimidate the fainthearted. And so Oborevwori’s paper qualifications, his antecedent as a ‘street boy’, and his association with the incumbent governor have become campaign issues meant to denigrate the authenticity of his candidacy! But the courts, even the highest courts in the land, have validated his paper qualifications. David, the shepherd boy has emerged as the anointed of the Lord; so be it! It is also important to state that a man who was a street boy, gained admission into a university, took a first degree and a subsequently a second degree must be given credit. How many ex-street boys have lifted themselves to the level which Oborevwori has done?

    A close interaction with Sheriff Oborevwori would reveal the deep stuff that has made it ensured his successful tenure as Speaker of the State’s House of Assembly for seven odd years. He is calm, patient, a great listener and a team player. Those who cry foul about his antecedents should also give him credit for staying a steady course as Speaker. He may not be Harvard educated but he definitely has matured on the job. Interacting with him shows how much he has learnt in the last seven years. It is sad that he is being castigated for the loans which the House passed after requests from the executive arm of government. The truth is that hardly any House of Assembly refuses requests from the state governors. This applies to the National Assembly and the President of the Federal Republic. When accounts are rendered, it should be for the Executive arm to account for how the funds were expended.

    Sheriff has assured all those who have listened during interactions that he will shock the state in two years when he implements the infrastructure development programme which has been conceived and put into a blueprint. Sapele, Warri, Ughelli, Patani, Obiaruku, Orerokpe, Aboh, Ozoro, Ogwashi Uku will receive profound attention in terms of urban renewal. The youths will receive attention in terms of employment and empowerment. Our own Silicon Valley will help to redirect the minds of our youths to the positive aspects of the internet. There should be an end to Yahoo yahoo because they would focus on development of different apps. Delta will be transformed to a construction site. That is a powerful thing to say. The team of highly-educated political gurus and technocrats around Sheriff will drive the development agenda. It is not going to be business as usual in development strides. The people must see the worth of their money. As a man who is widely in consultation with the grassroots, his agenda will be people=friendly, driven by inputs from the user’s end. In other words, he is not going to sit in Asaba and dictate what the people of Isoko need in the budget.

    Those who criticize Sheriff’s association with the incumbent administration should remember that it is the executive arms that drives development programmes. Policy initiatives come from the governor. No matter the brilliant ideas which a legislator has, they won’t come to fruition without the blessing of the governor. As governor, Sheriff will introduce programmes that are close to his heart. To be sure, he has seen the weaknesses in all the administrations in the state and will plug loopholes to ensure service delivery. As a beneficiary of the incumbent governor’s benevolence, he will not turn against him. But areas that need better attention will be dealt with. For example, payment of pensions and gratuities will be vigorously pursued. Ditto for DESOPADEC. That organization will be better positioned to deliver on its mandate especially for oil producing communities. The goose which lays the golden egg must benefit from the wealth of the egg. Indeed, the MORE slogan of the Sheriff campaign means that he plans to do more and build deeply on the achievements of the outgoing administration.

    The performance of LP in the February 25th presidential election showed a strong outing for Peter Obi, closely followed by PDP. This is comforting to the PDP. This is a clear sign that things are not as they used to be. Once Sheriff wins the ballot, he must ensure that development-focus is people-oriented. The mass disenchantment with the two establishment parties – PDP and APC- will need to be addressed radically through policy initiatives and implementation. Those who erroneously believe that APC will be different in Delta State should look at the abysmal performance of the party at the national level and forget the idea of an APC government in Delta State. Sheriff is a man on the ground who will not disappoint the people of Delt State.

    Sheriff Oborevwori has matured with time and exposure. He served as Chair Conference of Speakers of Nigeria and the presence of some of these speakers at his campaign outings show his ability to build and sustain bridges. He has the good health, composure, and humility to widely consult stakeholders in order to keep the state together after victory come March 18. He also will keep intellectuals very close to the corridors of government. In other words, his government will not suffer intellectual deficit. He has the capacity to listen to profound ideas and distil same into policy framework.

    Finally, we should allow the ballot box speak for the people in the governorship elections and with the spirit of God’s favour with him, in counter disposition to mammy water spirit, Sheriff Oborevwori should be the next governor of Delta State. Grace speaks, principalities take a bow!

  • Congratulating Senator Bola Tinubu – Hope Eghagha

    It is perhaps as easy to congratulate Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our suavely combative if controversial President-elect, as it is to disparage his victory in the presidential election and other life-long accomplishments. But as our elders say, the heroic ideal is in the victor not in the man who slumped in the midst of the battle while valiantly combating the enemy. Our elders also query the first born who said that he didn’t know that his father had died and praise the second born who said he had harvested 200 tubers of yam for the funeral. Victory is important. And in politics, especially in our clime, deployment of the fair and the foul in the Macbethian tradition as epitomized by the witches in Shakespeare’s eponymous drama is very much in vogue! Senator Tinubu has won the election! Long live the President!

    Tinubu has returned home with garlands and medals of honour after the fierce dog fights and landmines strewn in his way by supposed friends and acknowledged foes. The APC as a ruling party, performed abysmally in the eyes of ordinary Nigerians and it is against al odds that its candidate could carry the day. Perhaps, voters made a distinction between President Buhari and Candidate Tinubu, that the latter had no hand in running the affairs of state with President Buhari imperially lording it over baffled nation from Abuja. We have not mentioned the internal wranglings within the party and an attempt by some among his ethnic kin to distant themselves from the Tinubu project. For example, the currency swap was apparently targeted at his deep pocket rumoured to be filled with ill-gotten wads of mammon of unrighteousness. Yet, none of this has been established in any court of law, except the obtuse reference to a deal with the American law enforcement establishment on drugs. The news headlines from other climes after he won the elections were uncomplimentary, and we wait till the appointed time when he as Head of State, would visit such countries. Would they receive the ‘billionaire drug lord’ as their newspapers have described him?

    He was attacked and vilified for seeking the presidency despite his ill health, occasionally resulting in speech defects and unsteady gait. The lyrical composition of Pyrates Confraternity lustily danced to by some of its members seized the national imagination as becoming of a people who at first instance don’t wish their rulers well and would dwell on their health challenges as deeply as possible. As I said to close people while the campaign raged, Tinubu at his worst state of being and intellectual capacities would fare better than the incumbent President whose absentmindedness and poor mental coordination was a source of alarm to compatriots at the commencement of his administration. I shall return to this subject presently in the course of this intervention. At issue also was his age and ancestry which have been the subject intense if bitter debates and vituperations. In all of this, the man remained calm, at least externally, though his well-heeled and efficient ‘attack dogs’ have not slept a wink.

    Suffice it to say that those viciously-conceived videos filled with bile and opprobrium were enough for the fainthearted to ask: is this nonsense hate-filled reaction worth my reputation and the rest of my life? But the over-riding drive was for Tinubu to achieve the dream of becoming a popularly elected President of Nigeria. This he has achieved. And we must say kudos to his tenacity, his capacity to build bridges in time of war and to call them up during hostilities. And somebody in the upper echelon of society recently exultingly referred to him a viral video as ‘the last man standing!
    The ‘last man standing! This is a befitting description of the attritive battle which the nation has just concluded. To be sure, the war rages, this time in the law courts, where Tinubu and his legal team must defend the results of the February election conducted by INEC. INEC is on trial in the public court. Lack of faith in our public officials and institutions is at the root of most of the hue and cry.

    Whatever it is, Tinubu’s victory carries a moral and national baggage which he must deal with as soon as possible. It may not be possible to wash off the image of dirty or unexplained wealth. But he certainly can make a difference in policy formation and implementation. This is where the capacity to appoint persons other than those he knows will come to play. A good leader does not throw himself into the roles of subordinates. He appoints persons who will be able to drive his passion, if passion he has. This Tinubu did successfully in his days as governor of Lagos State. Tinubu will and should excel in this. He will be a modern leader, a politician who knows how to make deals with the different stakeholders in the country. He will not connive with the CBN ambush Nigerians by redesigning the national currency overnight. He will not allow Yoruba traders to muscle out other traders from Lagos state or allow them to terrorise the other ethnic groups. He will govern by consensus. He will employ men of ideas and let the ideas run the land. He will lead the charge in creating State Police. He will devolve power to the constituent parts of the federation. He will focus on developing the economy and steer the nation from a mono-economy product to a broad base economy. He will remove local governments from the exclusive list and allow states to create the number of LGs that they need and can maintain. He will ensure that ASUU does not go on strike anymore. One of his first steps will be to pay academic staff their arrears from the last strike.

    But some say he will be shuttling between London and Lagos to look after his health as his predecessor did; that he is likely to make personal business out of state business, blowing his nose while blowing the national horn as he did in Lagos and create a national Alpha Beta. Some also say that there will be no pretense to fighting corruption because it will be a way of life under his administration. That he will make sure his cronies make hay while the sun shines. We are no prophets to tell whether these will come to pass.

    The truth is that we need someone to turn the nation into a production factory. This may have accounted for the surge in Peter Obi’s popularity in the country. We need someone to rally the youths and make them see Nigeria as home, that Nigeria can work. Tinubu’s antecedents do not suggest that he will be a sectarian leader. He has the intellect to engage people from all backgrounds. He has formed alliances across the country the way Chief MKO Abiola did, what the great Chief Obafemi Awolowo could not do in spite of brilliant ideas on governance.

    Senator Tinubu is our President-elect, whether by fair or foul means, whether by fair and foul means. Until proven otherwise, I congratulate him as the declared winner of the contest. There is hardly any election that has been devoid of magomago in Nigeria. When the Supreme Court pronounced a school teacher winner of the 1979 presidential elections, the cerebral Chief Awolowo appealed to God and let the matter rest. We must avoid anarchy. Let the courts decide the winner before May 29th. If INEC has played a dubious role by ensuring or stage managing our President-elect’s victory, history will not be kind to them. And we must forge ahead in nation-building.

    So, congratulations Sir. You have an opportunity to make a difference in the nation’s faltering history. This is a nation waiting, looking for a real leader to lead her to the proverbial Promised Land. For the first time, we have a man who worked for, prepared for, cried for, maneuvered for, danced for, struck alliances for, outplayed for, spent money to achieve his life-long ambition- to be the President of Nigeria. It is just possible that a Daneil has come to judgment! Time shall tell! Congratulations Mr. President Sir!

  • Migration and thanksgiving – By Hope Eghagha

    In the last five years, and this has increased since 2020 astronomically, youths and middle-aged professionals migrating from (read ‘fleeing’) Nigeria, just to any other place in the world, never to return to ‘that country’, has become fashionable, celebratory, and encouraged. Different organisations have sprung up with the singular objective of facilitating the migration of youths and professionals from Nigeria. Securing the benefits of higher education, rendering professional service have been adduced as reasons for moving. Their choice destinations are the UK, America, Canada, and South Africa.

    Lately, the concept of ‘ja pa’ has taken on more urgency with the terrorism which the ineptitude of the current administration has unleashed on citizens. The young people of the country have taken exception to members of the old guard lording it over them and depriving them of their future. The outpour of popular support for Peter Obi by young people is an expression of that disenchantment. There are reports that some of the young ones abroad flew into Nigeria just to cast their ballot. It is yet to be seen what their anger will translate to in the elections that were done last weekend.

    Getting the Canadian and US visas is a tough exercise, costing applicants both plenty of cash and psychological stress. I have been at the US Embassy a couple of times and have seen how well behaved and righteous my fellow citizens are once they enter the precincts of the ‘holy’ Embassy, while answering questions, and while waiting for any hint of success or failure! It’s like being denied access to heaven, and the Visa officials feel and know their power and abuse it sometimes! Which is humiliating!

    So, less attractive countries like Italy, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, and a few others have been thrown into the ring of destinations. China! China is now favoured by those who do business, good and shady. You will be amazed by the number of Nigerians learning Mandarin! Also, there are too many unscrupulous Chinese men who are willing to do bad business with our equally unscrupulous business men. I love my Nigerian brothers and sisters. They are indeed like MTN – everywhere you go, just like the Igbo in Nigeria who are found anywhere business can be done! Nigerians are found in almost all nations of the earth that can give them a chance to prove their mettle. If there is a business opportunity in the Arctic, you will find a Nigerian. I am almost certain there are Nigerians in Afghanistan and Syria. And perhaps North Korea!

    Often, getting a visa is followed by thanksgiving and celebration in church. I don’t know whether the Mosque welcomes such celebrations. I need to ask. The thanksgiving is invariably followed by prayers for those who have not succeeded in getting the almighty visa, and who must do everything it takes to just leave. Well, it seems a little odd to flee the country of one’s birth, where God has placed a man on account of economic hardship and give God thanks for making the escape possible. Is this not a contradiction? But of course, we live in a world of contradictions, caused by the nature of rulers and political office holders.

    Medical doctors, other health personnel, IT specialists, and now teachers have continued to seek greener pastures in countries that are relatively stable. This reminds me of the mass migration of medical doctors and consultants who emigrated from Nigeria in the 1980s at the peak of the biting effects of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Saudi Arabia was an excellent destination for medical consultants from UCH and other big hospitals. They paid mouthwatering salaries!

    That country! This is pejorative, isn’t it? I am often amused when diaspora Nigerians refer to our homeland as ‘that country! It shows an attempt to detach themselves from the land of their birth, the place they have escaped from with the help of God. It encapsulates the feeling of despair, of lack of faith in the managers of the homeland. Their adopted home becomes the real home and before long they begin to create a pathway for family members to evacuate before the house finally crumbles, before the house caves in.

    Citizens reserve the right to move to wherever they believe that offers them a better opportunity to the good life. We have only one life. Once nature or the socialization process offers one an opportunity to relocate, there is usually no hesitation. But the cause of the disdain which people have for the country is failure of leadership. Not only have the rulers failed to establish a credible and enduring state with institutions and structures, that have not created the right atmosphere that will engender hope and optimism. The atmosphere is polluted with the spirit of exploitation, state roguery, leadership apathy, despair and insincerity. Not even religion has escaped the polluting hands of state power. There is this feeling that the state as currently constituted will not last long. Decay and decadence usually precede the collapse of kingdoms, empires, and states. Nigeria, it is believed, has degenerated into that cesspit.

    Yet all is not lost. IBB openly admitted in the 1980s that he was surprised that the nation had not collapsed. It means that there is something resilient in the Nigerian spirit that will triumph ultimately over the vicissitude of the current season and that the dreams of the founding fathers of the nation will be fulfilled by a new generation of Nigerians who are poised for action. There is cause therefore for hope, for a celebration of the spirit that is Nigeria. When the results of the 25th February election are released, the future path of Nigeria will be sure. And so, the real thanksgiving would be for electing a government that will place the people first before their personal and sectional interests. A government whose policy trajectory would be that of doing things differently! That way, mass migration would be a thing of the past!

  • The battle for the soul of Delta State – By Hope Eghagha

    The battle for the soul of Delta State – By Hope Eghagha

    The stakes are very high in Delta State as we count down to D Day, that is, Saturday February 25th, 2023. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is twice on the ballot, first as Vice Presidential candidate of PDP nationally and secondly as benefactor and point man to the PDP governorship candidate of PDP, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, in the second weekend of the 2023 elections. An outright win is what PDP hopes to achieve in the general elections, what PDP faithful have called 5/5. Governor Okowa is leaving no stone unturned to fully deliver Delta to the PDP if he must be a force to be reckoned with at the national level. He must win convincingly to demonstrate to his principal that he has what it takes to be Vice President of Nigeria in terms of numbers. The party relies heavily on its political heavyweights who have been on the ground in the state since 1999. And because their careers in politics are intertwined with the success of PDP, they are likely to give their all in ensuring victory for their principal. The politics of personal survival is real!

    It is expected that Delta North will back their son with a massive turnout to catapult him to the national powerhouse that is Abuja. Okowa has therefore done his homework to ensure victory. The popular candidates for the different legislative seats will serve multifarious purposes. To be sure, they will attract votes to PDP and to themselves. They would be expected to muster and galvanize their supporters to troop out on Saturday this week and ensure a PDP victory. But PDP must contend with the Peter Obi factor in Delta State as we go the polls for national politics on Saturday. It is true that across the country, Obi has stolen the hearts of many young people. However, for the people of Delta north, the principle of ‘ours is ours but mine is mine’ will carry the day. For the presidential elections, there is no doubt that Peter Obi will eat into Atiku-Okowa votes in the state, but not enough to upset the proverbial applecart.

    PDP governorship candidate, Sheriff Oborevwori is from Delta Central, a candidate with strong Urhobo credentials and political capital. Specifically, he is Okpe, the biggest clan of all twenty-four Urhobo kingdoms, a people who had always clamoured for the coveted seat. Thus, the Okpe have vowed to deliver their votes 100% to PDP and give their son a powerful backing to Government House Asaba. It is an opportunity that may never return to Okpe in this generation. Indeed, the slogan is that any Okpe man/woman who doesn’t vote Sheriff is practising ‘orha’, that is, witchcraft! It is that serious!

    Okowa allayed the fears of Delta Central when he marshalled the PDP machinery to stand solidly behind Sheriff, the humble and smart grassroots Speaker of Delta House of Assembly. Oborevwori connects very well with party stalwarts. He is easily accessible and carries no airs. He knows and understands politics judging from his relationship with members of the party. He also respects the intellectual power of academics and show them great respect having gone through the four walls of a university. Those who run him down on account of his association with street politics or education forget or deliberately ignore how mature and savvy he has become after piloting the affairs of the State House of Assembly for nearly seven years. Indeed, he is the longest serving Speaker in the history of Delta State. No dimwit could have achieved this feat. The courts, including the Supreme Court, have lain to rest the certificate saga, by declaring that Sheriff submitted valid documents for the primaries; so, and all hands are now on deck to deliver the votes in March 2023.

    It is true that some party men and women mainly from Delta Central and South recently defected to the opposition party, the APC. This appears to be a fallout from the choice of the party’s flagbearer which has not gone down well with the Strongman of Delta politics domiciled in the serenity of Oghara. His candidate, the highly cerebral Chief David Edevbie came second in the party primaries, and while some of his erstwhile supporters have morphed into mainstream PDP politics, some others have crossed over to the APC. But defections on the eve of elections are not new in the State. Not new in the country. They are not a guarantee to election victory or defeat. We must consider the other variables that compel victory in a multi-ethnic state as Delta.

    Chief Ibori’s successor as governor Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has openly rooted and stomped for Sheriff Oborevwori, forming a formidable arrowhead for PDP in Delta South. Recently, Senator James Manager, a strong contestant in the PDP primaries came out strongly in favour of Sheriff. So, despite defections, PDP will carry Delta Central even if these will lead to a split in the votes between Ovie Omo-Agege and the PDP candidate. All PDP leaders are compelled by survival politics and party loyalty to deliver the party’s candidate. A win by the opposition would mean a vicious retirement for the next eight years. No PDP leader can afford to toy with the future of the party and its officials in the state.

    Omo-Agege seems to have won the hearts of these defectors and together they hope to wrest power from PDP. This will be tough. APC has made a mess of the nation at the federal level. Even within Delta Central, there are many who view his penchant for concentrating all federal projects which he attracted to the state in and around his hometown of Orogun. The fear is that other parts of the state would have a terrible deal if we were to use this approach as a portent in an Agege victory. Furthermore, it must be noted that the split votes in Delta Central will be made up for by massive support from the north and south. So, defectors who believe that their actions would derail PDP’s chances of victory have not done their computations effectively. No one senatorial zone can on its own deliver the governorship candidate. ‘Hand must wash hand for this matter’, as our elders say!

    As the campaign comes to an end, the PDP machinery must tackle all negative perceptions, misinterpretations and distortions which are circulated on social media. The level of borrowing must be articulated and justified to the public because out there, the thinking is that the state has over-borrowed, and Sheriff would further plunge the state into debts. However, Sheriff has promised to do MORE and lift the state to the next level owing to his deep involvement in all the projects of the Okowa administration. It beggars belief that some of the gladiators argue that they know Sheriff will win the governorship and that they are ready to use the courts to upturn his victory. This weak strategy cannot stand. PDP in the state will be ready for the court battle after victory at the polls as it had always done in the past.

    Finally, all stakeholders have done their best. It is nearly time for the people to speak through the ballot box. It is the duty of all leaders to ensure a violence-free exercise so that the people of Delta State may continue to live in peace and harmony.

  • Fuel scarcity, cash scarcity and jaga jaga governance – By Hope Eghagha

    Fuel scarcity, cash scarcity and jaga jaga governance – By Hope Eghagha

    Last week, amidst the biting, humiliating, and infuriating cash and fuel scarcity and the attendant confusion all over the land, I couldn’t help but recall Eedris Abdulkareem’s perspicacious song titled ‘Nigeria Jaga Jaga’ which was released in 2004. Across the country, millions of Nigerians of every ethnic group -Christians, Muslims, animists- could not access cash to carry out simple mundane but obligatory tasks, like buying food, getting medication, and moving from one location to another. It was clear that chaos caused by government incosmpetence and corruption, spares no one on account of their religion or ethnicity. Yet, fools most of us remain, voting along ethnic or religious lines!

    The ordinary food stuff seller along the road, the market man, and woman whose total cash possession was usually under twenty thousand naira went to bed hungry, angry, and frightened about the jagajaga state of things. Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) could not dispense cash. Banks which initially gave out little sums to their customers had nothing to give, while, it was alleged, hoarding billions of cash. The CBN insisted enough new currency notes had been disbursed to the banks. Their word against theirs!

    There were reports too that some men of ways and means had seized millions of the cash which the banks were given; better still, the banks had sold millions of fresh notes to the big politicians, the very reason the new policy was introduced. Point-of-Sale operators became the most sought-after merchants of cash. Nigerians bought naira notes with cash, with some observing that the rate of exchange between old and new currency or access to the new currency was stronger than that of the American dollar. There was tension in banking halls where some customers, men, and women, railed and cursed in the nude. In a video shot in front of GTB in Aba, some customers brought a camp cooking gas and prepared the popular pasta meal ‘Indomie’ and the boisterous men ate the stuff directly from the pot while the meal was on fire! It was funfair! Suffering and smiling’ if I may reference the inimitable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti!

    The end of January deadline for the currency swap was extended by ten days and everyone thought there would be some respite. But we were hoping against hope. The President asked for seven days to reconsider its decision on the new currency. At a meeting with members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Godwin Emefiele changed policy and said that the old notes would be accepted after February 10, that is, after the legislators pointed out the relevant provision of the law in the CBN Act.

    In the early days after the currency change was announced, the nation’s Finance Minister stated publicly before legislators that she was not aware of the new policy. It showed clearly that this policy initiative was not arrived at after broad consultations in the finance sector. Emefiele boasted that he had the approval of the President, and a presidential spokesman authenticated the governor’s claim! But more chaos was in the making!  Which modern state changes its currency without the input of the Ministry of Finance?

    Early in the month of February, a meeting of some state governors with the president to ease the cash crunch did not achieve the desired result. Three state governments- Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara- finally took the federal government to the Supreme Court which granted an interim order that the old currency should remain legal tender beyond the 10th of February. No one knows what the next week will bring! Some have said the Supreme Court’s decision is not enforceable. To increase the confusion, there was talk about the possibility of postponing the general elections scheduled to start on 25th of February. The Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the land jumped into the fray of official confusion by giving victory to two appellants to the court; ironically, these men did not contest the party primaries of the APC! The spirit of jagajaga has moved squarely and perfectly into the country.  Apparently, there is nothing we can do. The spirit of Buharian democracy seems to go with the maxim: ignore the masses!

    In the song under reference which I have appropriated to title this essay, the young man poignantly lamented: ‘Nigeria jaga jaga/Everything scatter scatter/ Poor man dey suffer suffer/Gbosa gbosa gun shoot inna the air’. I recall that then President Olusegun Obasanjo chided Eedris for those ‘negative words’ in the lyrics and there was a threat to ban the music from the airwaves in Nigeria.

    In the light of the infinite madness of last week, what can we say about Nigeria jagajaga and the state of governance in our beloved country? Also, during this period, Ras Kimono’s Under Pressure musical album in which the reggae artist crooned that ‘some are crying/ some are dying/some are weeping, some are weling/everywhere/ let me go/under pressure under pressure’ which was released in 1989 started circulating freely on social media.

    Certainly, this is not how to govern a people or a country. The stone Age tactics which the military employed in their hypocritical years in power are antithetical to modern and scientific processes. A nation must take planning seriously. Planning requires the inclusion of all stakeholders both in the conception and implementation stages. Had there been broader consultations, the currency change would have taken place late last year or at a more appropriate time. The idea of taking people by surprise is old hat. Shocks are not good for the modern economy. There is too much anger and hunger in the land. In Turkey and Syria, the people are battling with the jagajaga caused by nature’s wrath. In Nigeria, the people are crying, suffering, and dying because of a disaster brought about by state officials’ foolishness and pusillanimous doddering. It is baffling that a party which seeking re-election in two weeks’ time could afford to unleash such sorrow, tears, and death on citizens. It is a recipe for a rejection at the polls.

    Governance is too serious a contractual arrangement to be left in the hands of asphyxiated minds and emotions. The federal government should put together a group of experts to advise it on the way forward. The CBN has been severely and fatally compromised and cannot be trusted to take sound economic decisions. If the spirit of jagajaga continues to reign over the people, there is no guarantee that civil strife will not be the last resort of the people. Mr. President, just release cash to the people of this country, especially the poor and lowly!  They are not the ones who will hoard money for elections!

  • My thoughts on Prince Harry’s autobiographical Spare – By Hope Eghagha

    My thoughts on Prince Harry’s autobiographical Spare – By Hope Eghagha

    Spare, Prince Harry’s explosive tell-it-all narrative about his royal life and the reasons why he quit monarchical bondage hit the streets weeks ago and became an instant bestseller, earning him enemies, earning him some loyalists, and testing the patience and maturity of his king-father. To be sure, the peccadilloes of royal life will make great news any day, especially on social media and the tabloids. There had been intense speculations about how hard the book was going to be on the monarchy and how that arcane institution would take a vitriolic attack on it.

    The media sensationalized everything about Prince Harry and made a monster of Meghan, painting her as the devil woman who was pulling the charming White Prince with her well, black charm, from the luxury, pomp, and pageantry of royal life. Both as a Black woman and as an American who does not understand the niceties and courtesies of royal life, Meghan was a fitting demon and enchantress to blame for Harry’s rebellion against his kith and kin! Lynching will remain with us for a long time!  And the foul-mouthed Piers Morgan is a lynch master per excellence who has not forgiven Meghan for choosing Harry over him! The insane Jeremy Clarkson published an essay in the Sun tabloid ‘imagining Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stripped naked and publicly humiliated before jeering crowds! Are we still surprised that Harry had to flee racist Britain?

    Autobiographies are often designed to polish, to present a viewpoint and to record aspects of history which the reading audience may not have been privy to. When royals tell personal stories, if they elect to do so, they tend to be reticent, leaving out stories that could discredit that arcane institution. The late Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s only sister authorized a biography which detailed her escapades but not in the way Harry’s recently released autobiography Spare has enthralled the world and rattled the British monarchy!

    Spare! What a title! Though titled Spare, the raging prince did not spare some characters in the narrative. Somewhat ominous, loaded with innuendoes as spare as the word is for the title of a prince’s autobiography, the narrative did not spare the prince himself in documenting his somewhat wayward behaviour. By the way, the book is a good read. The ghost writer did an excellent job with the narrative both in terms of style and use of language. Spare is easy to read and comprehend. Its subject matter is intriguing. What are these royals made of? This accounts for its mass appeal. Harry spared nobody that deserved some bashing in this tell-it-all book. Camilla? The husband snatcher who now sits as Queen Consort whose disruptive presence in the Prince Charles and Lady Diana marriage caused the split in the royal marriage ultimately leading to her death, is one of the targets of Spare’s ballistic missile!

    I am more interested in what has made Harry what he is. A rebellious, deeply traumatized prince who is willing to throw everything overboard no matter whose proverbial ox is gored! He has fled America well ensconced in the arms of his American sweetheart whom doomsayers have predicted would ultimately drop him and move on. I don’t have any reason to believe this. Which is not to say that a divorce cannot come into the picture someday. In the Western world, people marry and divorce at will. They add no taboo to it as we do here in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. So, if at some point, the marriage is no longer worth keeping, the lovers are going to part ways and move on.

    But Harry is a wounded soul. Almost broken. He seems to be arrested in time psychologically from when the reality of the brutal circumstances of his beloved mother’s death dawned on him. He is angry with the media for hounding his mother to death. Angry with the media for coming after his wife. Angry with the racists in the monarchy who saw and see nothing good in his choice of a spouse. Angry with Camilla. Angry with his brother William. Angry with everyone. What is the root of this stream of bitterness that has blighted his soul? How did the ‘spares’ before him manage their lives without quitting royal duties in the time? Will Harry ever heal? Has he made eternal enemies that could also hound him into a tunnel of sorts in the hears ahead?

    Parents must pay attention to their wards and kids. Some kids are vulnerable to uncomplimentary words and actions. Some may say Harry overreacted. If a child has been cast as a worthless person, it could result in such crisis. Some adults are damaged kids arising from the actions of their parents. Too many damaged adults walk the streets these days. Kids who were abused sexually or verbally. In her days, Princess Margaret did not hide from the media. She defied the press men who wrote lurid reports about her. We are told that ‘the carefree royal dismissed press reports and was defiant about her extravagant lifestyle’.

    Now, I don’t know whether Harry will ever attain happiness traveling this route. There is sweetness in vendetta. But only for a while. Trust, brotherhood, and friendship are forever broken. If Harry returns to England for his father’s coronation, he will be kept as an outsider. No serious conversations can take place wherever he is present. Initiating dialogue with him could also be difficult. His next book or interview could explode in the face of the initiator. But the child in Harry needs a succour, needs a father, needs a mother. Who will be that father? Who will be that mother? So, in my view, any reconciliation must include the love of Harry’s life, the supposed Pretty Black Enchantress and Mother from the rebel colony of America, a nation which rejected the monarchy and dictatorial ways of Great Britain in 1776. Any attempt to persecute Meghan would only bring back haunting memories of his mother’s tragic ‘disappearance!

    In my short foray into mental health counselling, I have encountered many broken adults who are not able to deal with contemporary issues because of psychological baggage from their childhood. Some are wife beaters and abusers of children. Broken mothers do not have enough compassion in them to bring up rounded children. These kids may not be royalty or spares; but the psychological reaction of some of them are like Harry’s. True healing for Harry must come from King Charles 111, by opening his heart through back channels and embracing his son from the depth of his heart, and save the monarchy from further embarrassment!

  • Where are the new notes? – By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    Where are the new notes? – By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    It was with mixed feelings that Nigerians first received the news in October last year that the federal government was redesigning certain denominations of the nation’s currency. From December 15, 2022, the new notes would be in circulation, the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele promised. It was also announced that by January 31, 2023, the current N1000, N500, and N200 notes would no longer be legal tender. Government explained that some unscrupulous politicians had accumulated billions of naira in private vaults and would deploy the illegal funds to compromising the general elections scheduled to start on February 25th. What has become of those billions?

    Owing to the level of distrust between the government and the people, conspiracy theories surfaced with ‘stupendous alacrity! The Minister of Finance did not help matters when she openly disassociated herself from the new policy announcement. She asserted that her ministry ‘was not consulted before the policy was announced and she believes the policy is wrongly timed”. CBN Governor countered by saying that he did not need clearance from the Minister to initiate new policies, adding that he was accountable to the President.

    This aspect of the controversy was only laid to rest when President Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu issued a statement that ‘the president said the CBN’s decision had his support and he is convinced that Nigeria will gain a lot by doing so! The government explained that the policy would compel persons who had stolen monies and had hidden same in vaults, septic tanks, and warehouses to deposit same in the banks before January 31. Limits as to how much could be deposited per day by individuals and corporate bodies were specified. The National Assembly had tried on different occasions to make the CBN extend the deadline. They have not succeeded so far. What exactly is going on?

    Suddenly, Emefiele became a target of arrest for possible prosecution by EFCC. A narrative that he was a financier of terrorism was pushed into the national space. He was accused of massive corruption. Push backs came from counter forces. Emefiele was being persecuted because he had hit the big money bags in society with a harsh policy. It was reported that Emefiele was on the run like a common criminal. A court refused to grant an order to EFCC for the arrest of Emefiele. The general question on the lips of everyone was: what exactly is going on? While this charade was ongoing, news came that the CBN governor had secretly returned to Nigeria. Men of the DSS raided the governor’s office but did not arrest him.  Another report came out that the Chief of Defence Staff had deployed soldiers to guard the embattled governor. Two arms of security fighting a battle of arrest and protection? Who gave orders to the Army? Who gave orders to DSS? Is the president aware of the madness at large? Who wants the head of Emefiele and why?

    The uncertainty and controversy around the CBN governor are unsalutary. In other climes, the economy would take a nosedive. Perhaps because the economy is already sick, there is nowhere to fall into. He that is down, like the Nigerian economy, needs fear no fall! But there is great confusion in the land that foreign investors no doubt would be watching out for what would happen next. Emefiele himself had got himself into many controversial actions, one being his attempt to contest for the office of the president while heading the Bank of bankers. It seems that because he in the good books of the powers-that-be, no harm can befall him.

    It’s a few days to the deadline. There are still many questions. The most important question right now is: where are the new notes? As a corollary to this question, why are the banks reluctant to dispense the new notes? Is it true that some Point of Sale (POS) operators have the new currency while banks claim they do not have the same currency? How much has entered the banking system since the October announcement? How can the banks be monitored for compliance? What are hard hit politicians planning to do next?

    APC presidential candidate Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently cried out that the currency and fuel scarcity was met to sabotage the February elections. Buhari has asserted that he wants to leave a legacy of free and fair elections, not tainted with money. He has somewhat withdrawn himself from the political fray and directed that money should not be allowed to determine the winner. Some irony here. Our president now wishes to distant himself from the system which gave him the presidency and sustained his rule for some eight odd years. How the politicians will react is not clear yet. But it is possible to become a statesman after experiencing the rot of the system at close range.

    For the common man, the main question is: where are the new currency notes? I am yet to set eyes on the N200 notes. I didn’t have access to the N1000 note until two weeks ago. This has exacerbated the level of desperation in the land. Suddenly changing the currency has its advantages especially if the security of the nation is threatened. One of the first groups to ask for extension of time was Miyetti Allah. They claimed that because they keep a lot of cash, they would need more time. Fittingly the government has stuck to its guns. No compromise. Kidnappers and bandits who keep huge sums collected as ransoms from their victims must be caught in the web.

    The Central Bank of any country is insulated, should be insulated from politics and politicking. It ought to be the last economic institution standing tall even when all others collapse. But the CBN under Emefiele has been hijacked by powerful interests who do not have the common good at heart. Emefiele symbolizes that takeover. History will judge him harshly. But for now, Mr. CBN Governor, let hapless and hungry Nigerians have access to the new currency. If the CBN is unable to enforce its directives to the banks, it will be because the bankers see that institution as a weakened and weak one that can only bark without the capacity to bite. Let us end the uncertainty now!

  • Letter from Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu – By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    Letter from Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu – By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    If you had any doubts about the authenticity of this letter, let me assure you that I am still involved, very involved in all that you do, and experience in our beleaguered country, especially with the stupid wanton killings in the southeast, by unknown gunmen, the ubiquitous Fulani herdsmen, Eastern Security Network and the Buhari-government-outlawed-IPOB. And we are deeply upset hereabouts. Not even in the period preceding the 1967 conflagration did the nation witness so much brutality, hopelessness, uncertainty, and poverty. It is unbecoming of a nation so blessed with natural and human resources!

    How are you all? We know things are not rosy. The entire world is currently in a turmoil. Poverty and hunger are real. Indeed, Nigerians are coping better with the economic hardship than Europeans who have lived a life of luxury. Else, how do you account for a worker on a 30k monthly salary still paying school fees for three kids and feeding once a day and still smiling to church or the Mosque? It is not a happy thing. No, not a happy situation.

    I’m involved not simply with my beautiful, delectable-First Lady-slapping Bianca whom I parted with when I joined the ancestors! I’m involved in the Nigeria project; an arcane project which was cobbled together by the colonial old-fashioned rapacious British, battered by politicians, and militarized by adventurists in the Nigeria Army and thrown into confusion by the extremists occupying Aso Rock and some State government Houses, north and south currently. I’m still at a loss why and how the people of Imo State allow Hope Uzodinma to happen. We know the role of the Supreme Court in the whole matter, and we are waiting for those renegades to join us and face interrogation from their ancestors! Injustice fuels rebellion. Guerilla rebellion creates permanent instability, thereby making progress difficult or impossible. In a sense, Nigeria is the very definition of injustice. I will dwell on this at some length in future.

    It is true that I led the movement to dismember Nigeria into different sovereign nations. Looking back now, I do not regret the breakaway effort. It is also true that if that quest for Biafra had succeeded the nation would have been better for it. Nigeria can only fully develop its potential in a truly federal state; not the unitary system that was foisted by the military and now sustained by civilians. Isn’t that why different movements for ethnic and regional autonomy have sprung up? This is not the purpose of my letter which I am writing on behalf of the Assembly of Past Stakeholders in the Celestial realm! Sorry for going into my personal thoughts.

    I’m involved at a higher, indeed the highest level, that of an ancestral statesman, sitting in conference with such veterans as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Anthony Enahoro, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, JS Tarka, KO Mbadiwe, Abubakar Rimi, Aminu Kano, Efe Jereton-Mariere, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh (Omimi Ejoh), Sir Aderemi Adesoji, Chief Akintola, Umaru Dikko, Shehu Shagari, and the many others. We asked the soldiers to stand aside because we haven’t forgiven them for plunging the nation into years of administrative misadventure. Murtala Mohammed has been in the forefront of apologia, stating that their intervention was in the national interest. Who determines the national interest?

    The last letter from Chief Awolowo to your earthling conveyed our worries. I was advised to write this time because of the uncertain situation in the southeastern part of the country. It is the belief of Conference that the armed boys in the southeast are killing that region. What sense does it make to order all peoples in Igbo land to sit at home every Monday, the first day f business? Who does it help? Who does it hurt? Where did such foolishness, unknown among the Igbo spring from? I am at a loss.

    So, this is an appeal from me, erstwhile main fighter for Igbo liberation to my people. I know that you are yet to reap the state benefit of reintegration after the civil war. But my advice is that you should reconsider your strategy. Conference of Elders here has decided not to endorse any candidate. Out of respect for plurality and the need to remain united up here, we have decided that every Nigerian should vote according to their conscience. The presidential contest is a four-way track. They all have their strengths. I have my candidate and have since sent my personal endorsement to the leaders in Awka, Enugu, Owerri, Aba, and Abakaliki. Some of them were arguing with me about mainstream politics, but I ignored them. They argued that Ifeanyi is also our son. No problem with that. He has my support too. Let the kite perch. Let the eagle perch. One of them will eat the lion share and the reward will come to Ndigbo. This is my personal response to them though as a conference we have not endorsed any candidate.

    Am I talking from both sides of the mouth? You should be discerning enough to know that the wind could blow in any direction. We are not clairvoyant yet, though we have joined the occupants of the multiple-storey building. So, we are not too certain. By the way, what has become of Nigeria Air? There was so much noise about flying the Nigerian Flag through the skies. Too bad. A national carrier will give the nation great mileage apart from ferrying millions of Nigerians across the world daily!

    It is foolishness to continue to impot fuel. It is another level of foolishness to hinge the stoppage of fuel importation on one man, I mean, Dangote. This is the time to diversify things. What has happened to the country with cement monopoly should not be replicated in the oil sector. The danger is that if anything goes wrong, we will return to Square One. Let a thousand flowers bloom in the fuel refining business. It is our considered view that a southern businessman or a group of southern businessmen should float a refinery too. Such a project should be in the Niger Delta. Equity demands this.

    Finally, we wish you well as you move nearer the month of February when elections will be held. We are not likely to write another letter till after the elections. Just remember that there is life after elections.