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Tag: fani-kayode

  • Retirement Saga: Fani-Kayode commends Buhari for suspending FRC code

    Retirement Saga: Fani-Kayode commends Buhari for suspending FRC code

    The former Minister of Aviation and staunch member of the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria code, which set a 20-year limit for leaders of all non-profit organizations.

    Fani-Kayode, who is renowned for his constant criticisms of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC),policies said the move was a good one.

    He wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday: “I commend @MBuhari for responding to the outrage of Christians by suspending law that set to limit Church leadership to 20 yrs. Good move.”

    The federal government suspended the law on Monday, after Buhari sacked Jim Obazee as the Executive Secretary of the Council.

    Recall that the law had led Pastor Enoch Adeboye to step down as the Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Nigeria.

     

  • The shame of a nation – Fani-Kayode

    The shame of a nation – Fani-Kayode

    By Femi Fani-Kayode

    I just watched a very sad and disturbing video of our soldiers on the war front begging their President and Commander in Chief to provide them with food and water. They did this through footage which was shot on their cell phone cameras and released as a short video on social media.

    They were desperate, angry and very loud and some of them were shedding tears about their deep frustration and sorry plight.

    We saw the lifeless bodies of at least two of them who had apparantly died, not of bullet wounds, but of exhaustion, starvation and lack of water.

    We saw and heard others as they were slowly dying and we heard their heavy panting and deep groans. We also heard and saw the anger, aggression, loud lamentations and startling complaints from the troops, one of whom had the courage to film the whole thing.

    He and at least three of his colleagues appealed to those of us that were watching the video on social media to let the President know what they are going through. It was very moving and even the most hardened heart would have melted whilst watching that video.

    This was a heart-breaking and pathetic scene. These young soldiers had just won a major battle on the war front and they had just recovered numerous towns and villages from Boko Haram yet they were not even given water to quench their thirst or food to fill their stomachs after what was obviously a hard fight. How could things have got so bad?

    This is the sort of thing that leads to mutiny and rebellion in the military and once that starts no-one is safe and no-one can stop it.

    I urge the Chief of Army Staff and indeed our President to do something about this problem quickly and ease the suffering and pain of our servicemen and women at the warfront and indeed when they come home.

    In a country with a civilised government members of the Armed Forces that are prepared to sacrifice their lives just to keep our borders secure and the rest of us safe are cherished and honored. Their salaries are paid promptly and regularly and they are not starved of water and food whilst on the warfront and whilst fighting a battle. The sorry plight of our gallant warriors in todays Nigeria is indeed the shame of the nation.

    Instead of meeting the needs of our soldiers we are told that the military authorities are sending them to Argentina to learn about cattle-rearing and that they are preparing to set up cattle ranches in every state of the Federation.

    One wonders why? What purpose does this serve? Is there a hidden agenda? Is it an attempt to smuggle in the rejected Grazing Reserve Bill through the back door? What on earth has cattle-rearing and setting up cattle ranches for itinerant and vagrant herdsmen got to do with soldiering? I guess one does not have to dig too deep to find the answers.

    These are indeed interesting times and those that seek to utterly demoralise, destroy, demystify and demean the essence, ethos, confidence and very fabric of our Armed Forces and our military men have gone far.

    Instead of equipping them to fight on the war front and providing them with the necessary provisions on the battle field they are turning them into cattle-rearers, herdsmen and farmers.

    What a tragedy!

    Yet for our country the picture is even more bleak than that. It is not just the military that are going through hell but the people, both high and low, as well.

    That is what drove Mr. Edwin Dico Okugbo to write the following words out of what can only be described as frustration and anger. He wrote,

    “Buhari is not fighting against corruption. He is stealing the nation blind. 2015 and 2016 budgets have already been embezzled and they are already moving to 2017. Everyone around him has been exposed already as crooks. Which corruption is he fighting? He is only fighting his enemies to consoldate political power. He is the worst thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. A big scam!”

    Harsh words indeed yet there can be little doubt that Mr. Okugbo reflects the thinking of many.

    The bitter truth is that there is unprecedented hardship and suffering in the land. There is also injustice, wickedness, persecution, abuse of power, mass murder, corruption, impunity, religious and ethnic marginalisation, sectarian butchery and conflict, state-sponsored genocide, extra-judicial killings and massive and debilitating poverty. Few are feeling the joy and love of Christmas this season. Yet sadly this is precisely what the Nigerian people wanted.

    At the risk of our liberty, lives and reputation some of us warned them about the dangers of voting for the great evil of Buhari and his APC.

    There is nothing that is happening today that I did not accurately predict would happen if Buhari was given power.

    People laughed me to scorn, insulted me, threatened me, made mockery of me and said that I was wrong but I have been proved right.

    You see the problem is that most Nigerians do not know the history of their nation and neither can they possibly comprehend the obsessive, narcissistic and sociopathic nature and disposition of most of their leaders.

    Most of our people are incapable of any form of logical reasoning or analytical deduction that is truly detached from or devoid of emotion and irrational thinking.

    Worse of all they do not understand the prophetic or what is known as “revelation knowledge”.

    Knowledge means nothing to them and, simply put, they worship and rever money and power and nothing else.

    Most Nigerians will do anything, including selling their own heritage, glory and divinely ordained destiny, to have or achieve that money and power or to appease those that possess and wield it.

    Consequently if a rich man, a powerful politician or a key government official defecates in his pants at a party or a public function the average Nigerian will continue to celebrate him there and then and tell him and the entire world that he smells like roses or like the finest and most expensive perfume in the world. That is how depraved some of us are.

    We have a terrible aversion to truth and we are very comfortable with living with suffering, wickedness and injustice.

    In fact the greater the injustice, violence, persecution and wickedness that the state metes out to others the more comfortable and the happier we are.

    We actually enjoy it and secretly rejoice when those around us and our compatriots suffer pain, death, humiliation, shame, hardship, destruction, injustice and persecution. It is a strange and self-destructive disposition and a devious form of sado-masochism.

    For example just to spite President Goodluck Jonathan and his Niger Delta people and get him out of power the Nigerian people brought Buhari upon themselves. Can there be a greater example of an entire people cutting their nose to spite their face?

    This was made all the worse by the fact that Jonathan enjoyed massive support in the south east which has come to be the whipping boy of the Nigerian state. The thinking was that if the Igbo wanted Jonathan then he had to be stopped at all costs.

    Consequently a radical, angry, vengeful, bitter and divisive Buhari who was viewed and often described by his supporters as the nations “mahdi” and “messiah” became their choice.

    They chose him over the gentle, soft-spoken, forgiving, accomodating and humble Jonathan who was maliciously depicted as a clueless, corrupt and incompetent villain.

    This was a grave error. I say that because the former was malignant and the latter was benign. The former was malevolent and the latter was benevolent.

    It was rather like the time that the Jews chose our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ over the armed robber and murderer Barabas for crucifixion.

    It was like choosing night over day. It was like choosing s demon over an angel. It was like choosing evil over good.

    For the mess we are in today and the disaster and impending doom that our nation is facing I blame those in the core north who introduced religion into our politics and who wanted power back at all costs, those in the Middle Belt who supported them in that quest for reasons best known to themselves and those in the south west that have come to be known as the “Jagaban Yorubas” that supported the diabolical and occultic concept of “chanji”.

    I also blame a small but notable and identifiable section of the media who sold their heritage for a mess of pottage and who have opted to remain silent and, in some cases even openly encourage and support, the evil that has been visited upon us as our nation goes to the dogs.

    All these groups and individuals have betrayed the Nigerian people. They have destroyed their destinies, enslaved their children, impoverished their lives, shamed their loved ones, dishonored their forefathers, divided their nation, shattered their dreams and set our country back by at least 50 years.

    The truth is that by the time this is all over we may not even have a country left.

    Those that voted for this mess and put us in it should enjoy their “change” and live with the consequences of their stupid choice.

    Do you know the number of families that cannot even afford to buy turkeys this Christmas? Do you know the number of people that will not get presents or be given Christmas gifts by their parents, siblings, spouses and loved ones this season?

    Do you know the number of children that will silently shed tears this Christmas and that will secretly wish that they had never been born Nigerians? It has never been this bad in our entire history and it really is so sad.

    Those that put us in this terrible mess deserve no mercy and no pity. They certainly do not deserve a second mandate in 2019. As for the Nigerian people they have finally got the leadership that they deserve.

    Our nation needs repentance and prayer. May God forgive and deliver us from His tool of judgement.

    Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following observations.

    I was right when I wrote both in 2008 and 2012 that Barack Obama would divide America and the entire world and that by the time he finished his tenure the American people would reject his legacy.

    I was right when I wrote about what the outcome of the war in Syria would be and how the Americans were making a big mistake by supporting the terrorists, jihadists and islamic fundamentalists and trying to remove Bashar Al Assad.

    I was right when I wrote that the Americans and the Europeans were making a huge mistake by removing and killing Muammar Ghadaffi of Libya.

    I was right when I wrote that Europe was making a mistake by allowing in the Syrian refugees who I described at the time as a Trojan horse.

    I was right when I wrote about the damage that Buhari would do to our land if he was given a mandate to lead the Nigerian people.

    I was right when I wrote about the damage that Ali Modu Sheriff would do the opposition Peoples Democratic Party if he was given the position of National Chairman.

    I was right when I wrote that Donald J. Trump would win the presidential primaries of the American Republican Party to become their presidential candidate and when I wrote that he would go on to win the presidential election against Hilary Clinton.

    I was also right when I wrote that Nana Akufo-Addo would win the presidential election in Ghana.

    All these things came to me by revelation knowledge and by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by logical deduction or any power of my own.

    Now let me share another prophetic word with you today by saying the following. For President Muhmmadu Buhari, like the biblical King Belshassar of Babylon, the writing is on the wall. And Like Belshassar he has been weighed and found wanting.

    Soon he will be gone and the Lord will raise a new leader: a biblical Cyrus with the heart of David, who will heal, unite and prosper our land.

    This new leader will be a blessing to our people. He will remove our shame, restore our peace, return our joy, rebuild our walls, encourage and strengthen our Church and men and women of God, re-establish our sacred alters, resurrect and re-invoke our covenant with the Living God, defend our borders, jealously guard our people and bring glory and honor to our nation.

    Thus sayest the Lord and so it shall be. The vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarry, it shall not prove false. God bless you and merry Christmas.

     

  • The shame of a nation – Fani-Kayode

    I just watched a very sad and disturbing video of our soldiers on the war front begging their President and Commander in Chief to provide them with food and water.

    They did this through footage which was shot on their cell phone cameras and released as a short video on social media.

    They were desperate, angry and very loud and some of them were shedding tears about their deep frustration and sorry plight.

    We saw the lifeless bodies of at least two of them who had apparantly died, not of bullet wounds, but of exhaustion, starvation and lack of water.

    We saw and heard others as they were slowly dying and we heard their heavy panting and deep groans. We also heard and saw the anger, aggression, loud lamentations and startling complaints from the troops, one of whom had the courage to film the whole thing.

    He and at least three of his colleagues appealed to those of us that were watching the video on social media to let the President know what they are going through. It was very moving and even the most hardened heart would have melted whilst watching that video.

    This was a heart-breaking and pathetic scene. These young soldiers had just won a major battle on the war front and they had just recovered numerous towns and villages from Boko Haram yet they were not even given water to quench their thirst or food to fill their stomachs after what was obviously a hard fight. How could things have got so bad?

    This is the sort of thing that leads to mutiny and rebellion in the military and once that starts no-one is safe and no-one can stop it.

    I urge the Chief of Army Staff and indeed our President to do something about this problem quickly and ease the suffering and pain of our servicemen and women at the warfront and indeed when they come home.

    In a country with a civilised government members of the Armed Forces that are prepared to sacrifice their lives just to keep our borders secure and the rest of us safe are cherished and honored. Their salaries are paid promptly and regularly and they are not starved of water and food whilst on the warfront and whilst fighting a battle. The sorry plight of our gallant warriors in todays Nigeria is indeed the shame of the nation.

    Instead of meeting the needs of our soldiers we are told that the military authorities are sending them to Argentina to learn about cattle-rearing and that they are preparing to set up cattle ranches in every state of the Federation.

    One wonders why? What purpose does this serve? Is there a hidden agenda? Is it an attempt to smuggle in the rejected Grazing Reserve Bill through the back door? What on earth has cattle-rearing and setting up cattle ranches for itinerant and vagrant herdsmen got to do with soldiering? I guess one does not have to dig too deep to find the answers.

    These are indeed interesting times and those that seek to utterly demoralise, destroy, demystify and demean the essence, ethos, confidence and very fabric of our Armed Forces and our military men have gone far.

    Instead of equipping them to fight on the war front and providing them with the necessary provisions on the battle field they are turning them into cattle-rearers, herdsmen and farmers.
    What a tragedy!

    Yet for our country the picture is even more bleak than that. It is not just the military that are going through hell but the people, both high and low, as well.

    That is what drove Mr. Edwin Dico Okugbo to write the following words out of what can only be described as frustration and anger. He wrote,

    “Buhari is not fighting against corruption. He is stealing the nation blind. 2015 and 2016 budgets have already been embezzled and they are already moving to 2017. Everyone around him has been exposed already as crooks. Which corruption is he fighting? He is only fighting his enemies to consoldate political power. He is the worst thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. A big scam!”

    Harsh words indeed yet there can be little doubt that Mr. Okugbo reflects the thinking of many.

    The bitter truth is that there is unprecedented hardship and suffering in the land. There is also injustice, wickedness, persecution, abuse of power, mass murder, corruption, impunity, religious and ethnic marginalisation, sectarian butchery and conflict, state-sponsored genocide, extra-judicial killings and massive and debilitating poverty. Few are feeling the joy and love of Christmas this season. Yet sadly this is precisely what the Nigerian people wanted.

    At the risk of our liberty, lives and reputation some of us warned them about the dangers of voting for the great evil of Buhari and his APC.

    There is nothing that is happening today that I did not accurately predict would happen if Buhari was given power.

    People laughed me to scorn, insulted me, threatened me, made mockery of me and said that I was wrong but I have been proved right.

    You see the problem is that most Nigerians do not know the history of their nation and neither can they possibly comprehend the obsessive, narcissistic and sociopathic nature and disposition of most of their leaders.

    Most of our people are incapable of any form of logical reasoning or analytical deduction that is truly detached from or devoid of emotion and irrational thinking.

    Worse of all they do not understand the prophetic or what is known as “revelation knowledge”.

    Knowledge means nothing to them and, simply put, they worship and rever money and power and nothing else.

    Most Nigerians will do anything, including selling their own heritage, glory and divinely ordained destiny, to have or achieve that money and power or to appease those that possess and wield it.

    Consequently if a rich man, a powerful politician or a key government official defecates in his pants at a party or a public function the average Nigerian will continue to celebrate him there and then and tell him and the entire world that he smells like roses or like the finest and most expensive perfume in the world. That is how depraved some of us are.

    We have a terrible aversion to truth and we are very comfortable with living with suffering, wickedness and injustice.

    In fact the greater the injustice, violence, persecution and wickedness that the state metes out to others the more comfortable and the happier we are.

    We actually enjoy it and secretly rejoice when those around us and our compatriots suffer pain, death, humiliation, shame, hardship, destruction, injustice and persecution. It is a strange and self-destructive disposition and a devious form of sado-masochism.

    For example just to spite President Goodluck Jonathan and his Niger Delta people and get him out of power the Nigerian people brought Buhari upon themselves. Can there be a greater example of an entire people cutting their nose to spite their face?

    This was made all the worse by the fact that Jonathan enjoyed massive support in the south east which has come to be the whipping boy of the Nigerian state. The thinking was that if the Igbo wanted Jonathan then he had to be stopped at all costs.

    Consequently a radical, angry, vengeful, bitter and divisive Buhari who was viewed and often described by his supporters as the nations “Mahdi” and “messiah” became their choice.

    They chose him over the gentle, soft-spoken, forgiving, accommodating and humble Jonathan who was maliciously depicted as a clueless, corrupt and incompetent villain.

    This was a grave error. I say that because the former was malignant and the latter was benign. The former was malevolent and the latter was benevolent.

    It was rather like the time that the Jews chose our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ over the armed robber and murderer Barabas for crucifixion.

    It was like choosing night over day. It was like choosing s demon over an angel. It was like choosing evil over good.

    For the mess we are in today and the disaster and impending doom that our nation is facing I blame those in the core north who introduced religion into our politics and who wanted power back at all costs, those in the Middle Belt who supported them in that quest for reasons best known to themselves and those in the south west that have come to be known as the “Jagaban Yorubas” that supported the diabolical and occultic concept of “chanji”.

    I also blame a small but notable and identifiable section of the media who sold their heritage for a mess of pottage and who have opted to remain silent and, in some cases even openly encourage and support, the evil that has been visited upon us as our nation goes to the dogs.

    All these groups and individuals have betrayed the Nigerian people. They have destroyed their destinies, enslaved their children, impoverished their lives, shamed their loved ones, dishonored their forefathers, divided their nation, shattered their dreams and set our country back by at least 50 years.

    The truth is that by the time this is all over we may not even have a country left.

    Those that voted for this mess and put us in it should enjoy their “change” and live with the consequences of their stupid choice.

    Do you know the number of families that cannot even afford to buy turkeys this Christmas? Do you know the number of people that will not get presents or be given Christmas gifts by their parents, siblings, spouses and loved ones this season?

    Do you know the number of children that will silently shed tears this Christmas and that will secretly wish that they had never been born Nigerians? It has never been this bad in our entire history and it really is so sad.

    Those that put us in this terrible mess deserve no mercy and no pity. They certainly do not deserve a second mandate in 2019. As for the Nigerian people they have finally got the leadership that they deserve.

    Our nation needs repentance and prayer. May God forgive and deliver us from His tool of judgement.

    Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following observations.

    I was right when I wrote both in 2008 and 2012 that Barack Obama would divide America and the entire world and that by the time he finished his tenure the American people would reject his legacy.

    I was right when I wrote about what the outcome of the war in Syria would be and how the Americans were making a big mistake by supporting the terrorists, jihadists and Islamic fundamentalists and trying to remove Bashar Al Assad.

    I was right when I wrote that the Americans and the Europeans were making a huge mistake by removing and killing Muammar Ghadaffi of Libya.

    I was right when I wrote that Europe was making a mistake by allowing in the Syrian refugees who I described at the time as a Trojan horse.

    I was right when I wrote about the damage that Buhari would do to our land if he was given a mandate to lead the Nigerian people.

    I was right when I wrote about the damage that Ali Modu Sheriff would do the opposition Peoples Democratic Party if he was given the position of National Chairman.

    I was right when I wrote that Donald J. Trump would win the presidential primaries of the American Republican Party to become their presidential candidate and when I wrote that he would go on to win the presidential election against Hilary Clinton.

    I was also right when I wrote that Nana Akufo-Addo would win the presidential election in Ghana.

    All these things came to me by revelation knowledge and by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by logical deduction or any power of my own.

    Now let me share another prophetic word with you today by saying the following. For President Muhmmadu Buhari, like the biblical King Belshassar of Babylon, the writing is on the wall. And Like Belshassar he has been weighed and found wanting.

    Soon he will be gone and the Lord will raise a new leader: a biblical Cyrus with the heart of David, who will heal, unite and prosper our land.

    This new leader will be a blessing to our people. He will remove our shame, restore our peace, return our joy, rebuild our walls, encourage and strengthen our Church and men and women of God, re-establish our sacred alters, resurrect and re-invoke our covenant with the Living God, defend our borders, jealously guard our people and bring glory and honor to our nation.

    Thus sayest the Lord and so it shall be. The vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarry, it shall not prove false. God bless you and merry Christmas.

  • In-Photos: Fani-Kayode, Obanikoro, Bala, Abati, others in EFCC custody

    The picture which went viral on Saturday had Former FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed;Ex-spokesperson to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati; former Minister of State for Defense, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Spokesperson for the GEJ Presidential Campaign, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and Engineer Bashir Ushaq Bashir together at the Economic and Financial Crimes Detention, EFCC detention in November 2016.

    All had now been granted administrative bail by the Commission. Their trials however continues.

  • Is Nigeria really one nation? By Fani-Kayode

    By Femi Fani-Kayode,

    I love this country with every fiber of my being. For three generations before me my forefathers, including my great grandfather, my grandfather and my father, have made solid and notable contributions to the development of this country in both the private and public sectors.

    My great grandfather, Rev. Emmanuel Adebiyi Kayode, studied theology at the great Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leonne and Durham University in the United Kingdom after which he returned to Nigeria.

    He was ordained as an Anglican priest, was the first Nigerian to take Christianity to our hometown Ile-Ife and was the first to build and pastor the first Anglican Church in that ancient town.

    Throughout his life and ministry he fought for the rights of the poor and oppressed in Ile-Ife, including the people of Modakeke who, at that time, were treated as slaves and serfs.

    He did the same in Ondo province and Ijebu where he was later posted by the Church. My grandfather, Chief Victor Adedapo Kayode, studied law at Cambridge University and was called to the English bar after which he returned to Nigeria.

    He played a key role in the development of education in the country, was deeply involved in the fight against the excesses of our British colonial masters, fought for the rights of the so-called “African natives” and “indigenous population” in the old Lagos Colony and was the third Nigerian to be appointed to the Judiciary after a brilliant and rewarding career as a criminal lawyer.

    My father, Chief Remi Fani-Kayode Q.C. SAN, CON was born in the United Kingdom, studied law at Cambridge University and was called to the English bar after which he returned to Nigeria.

    Like his father, he also excelled as a lawyer and he set up the first and most successful indigenous Nigerian law firm of that time with Chief Rotimi Williams Q.C. SAN, CON and Chief Bode Thomas.

    He went into politics, was deeply involved in the struggle for our independence from colonial rule and he successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in Parliament and went on to become a Minister and Deputy Premier of the old Western region of Nigeria.

    I have fought military rule, been involved in the struggle for democracy and I have participated heavily in partisan politics, political commentary and political discourse in our country for the last 26 years.

    I have had the rare honor and distinct privilege of serving her at the highest level of governance first as a presidential spokesman and then as a Federal Minister in two separate Ministries as far back as 10 years ago.

    I have suffered persecution, self-imposed exile, illegal and unlawful incarceration and the most vicious forms of insults and misrepresentation for Nigeria over the years and I have also invested my time, resources and energy heavily into the political terrain and development in our country.

    Yet despite all these wonderful opportunities, the monumental sacrifices that my illustrious forefathers and I have made and our love for and commitment to Nigeria it is time to ask some hard questions.

    Those questions are as follows. Is Nigeria really one nation or is she many nations forced to remain within an artificial, unworkable and unsustainable entity?

    Are our people really “bound in freedom, peace and unity” as our national anthem proudly proclaims or is that just a deceitful mirage and never-ending illusion?

    Is our marriage and amalglamation borne out of consensus and a genuine desire to remain together or borne out of compulsion?

    Can a nation prosper, excel or achieve its full potentials when its people are perpetually squabbling and struggling over the distribution of its meagre resources and when they have two distinct and irreconcilable world views?

    Can it thrive when one group wishes to live and compete in the new, enlightened and modern free world whilst the other wishes to go back to the bondage of the dark ages?

    It appears that more people are asking these questions today than ever before. Is it not time for us to answer them? Must we wait for an ethnic or religious conflagration to occur or another civil war to take place before we accept the fact that there is something very wrong somewhere and that we may well be a nation of ethnic incompatibles?

    Why is it a crime for anyone to take as much pride in their ethnic nationality and cultural heritage as they do in being a Nigerian? Why is it wrong for anyone to say that ‘I am as proud of being an Igbo or a Yoruba or an Ijaw or a Fulani or any other ethnic nationality as I am of being a Nigerian?’

    What is the ethos, essence, utility, sustainability and legitimacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious plural super-state in which the various ethnic nationalities are expected to subsume their primary identities, de-emphasise the very source and root of their being and literally sacrifice their ancient bloodlines, noble history and rich heritage on the alter of a hybrid and artificial man-made entity called Nigeria?

    Is it really wrong for any of the numerous ethnic nationalities that make up our country to insist on their freedom and demand to be allowed to develop separately and at their own pace? This is especially so where and when they feel as if they have been turned into slaves and second class citizens by others in their own country?

    Is Nigeria a nation or is she a mere geographical expression? Is it true to say that there is as much of a difference between a Fulani and an Igbo as there is between a Turk and a German? Is Nigeria anything more than a British fraud set up to serve the economic interests of our former colonial masters?

    Given the circumstances is it unreasonable of us to ask for our very own Brexit? Some of these fundamental questions were first raised by the first Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo SAN, in 1947 in his book titled ‘Paths To Nigerian Freedom’ but sadly few listened.

    Consequently twenty years later Awolowo’s greatest fears and concerns were confirmed and our three year civil war in which over three million people perished, including women and children, took place.

    This was the only war in world history in which the premeditated starvation of young children and babies, in what was essentially mass murder and genocide, was described as a “legitimate weapon of war” by those who perpetrated such horrendous crimes against humanity.

    Since the end of the civil war neither Nigeria nor any of its ageing leaders, many of whom were military veterans and commanders in that civil war, has expressed any regrets, shown any remorse or brought anyone to justice for what was undoubtedly the greatest mass murder of infants and butchery of the innocents in African history.

    Yet nothing seems to have changed except for the fact that the ethnic identity and religious persuasion of the latest set of victims have become far more widespread and varied.

    In today’s Nigeria, unlike in 1966 and unlike during the civil war, it is not just the proud Igbos and ever-defiant Biafrans that are being slaughtered like flies on a regular basis but also the northern Christians, the Shiite Muslims, the people of the Middle Belt and the Niger Delta and the ever-compromising Yoruba.

    Consequently the same questions are being asked today about the continued feasibility of our national unity and cohesion but this time with far more urgency and anger and by far many more people.

    Yet those that believe that they own Nigeria still refuse to listen and view those that ask such questions with suspicion, derision, contempt and even rage.

    They label them as being unpatriotic and ignorant and they threaten and attempt to intimidate and bully them into silence simply because they do not share their views.

    In Nigeria it is indeed a dangerous thing to be a freedom-yearning and independence-craving dissident or non-conformist and, like in the old Soviet Union before its eventual disintegration, you could end up paying for such views with your liberty or your life.

    Yet one wonders how much longer this can go on before the oppressed and the voiceless get fed up with merely asking questions and instead choose to actually insist on their rights, take their destiny into their own hands, rise up to the occasion and fight for their liberty?

    The quest for self-determination, freedom and liberation is a noble and legitimate cause which has never been successfully resisted or defeated anywhere in the history of the world.

    Every well-educated and widely-read individual can attest to the veracity of that undeniable and incontrivertable fact. The truth is that you cannot compel people to remain together in one nation by the force of arms forever.

    It may work for some time but it cannot last in perpetuity because sooner or later the chickens will come home to roost. The best you can do is to reach out to the disillusioned and marginalised in love and give them a reason to want to stay.

    Yet few in our nation can appreciate the wisdom in adopting such a course or treading such a path. The only language that is clearly understood here is the logic of compulsion and the language of force. Consequently Nigeria is unravelling at the very seams.

    I can literally smell blood on the mountain and I perceive and sense the secret massing of the bloodthirsty demon Magog, the god of war. The quest for the peaceful division of our nation is stronger today than ever before and as each day passes it gets stronger and stronger.

    It is far more compelling and stronger than it was before our civil war broke out in 1967 simply because far many more people are angry and fed up with what they are being subjected to by the powers that be and our forced union.

    Millions from all over the country are quietly murmuring but soon that mumur will become a massive roar and an irresistible and irrepressible demand. It will soon become a tidal wave. And when it gets to that point no matter how many people you lock up and kill it will not stop and neither will they be intimidated, silenced or deterred.

    In fact the more people you murder, subject to bloody pogroms, persecute, marginalise, jail and destroy, all in the name of keeping Nigeria one, the louder, the greater and the more deafening the roar, the agitation and the struggle will get.

    And at that point only God will be able to hold Nigeria together and He will only do so if it is His perfect will. May God grant us the wisdom, prescence of mind and courage not to dismiss these vital and fundamental questions with the usual arrogance and contempt but rather to do some real soul-searching, indulge in a little introspection and humbly answer them as best as we can.

  • Fani-Kayode’s trial to resume January 2017

    Fani-Kayode’s trial to resume January 2017

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, has slated Jan. 16, 17 and 18, 2017 for continuation of trial of a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode standing trial for money laundering.

    Fani-Kayode, who was also a former Director of Media and Publicity, Campaign Committee of Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, is charged alongside a former Minister of Finance, Nenandi Usman, and Danjuma Yusuf.

    Also charged is a company, Joint Trust Dimension Nig. Ltd.

    They were arraigned on a 17 count-charge bordering on unlawful retention, unlawful use and unlawful payment of money in the tune of about N4.9 billion.

    They had each pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted bail.

    The trial of the accused which was earlier billed for Dec. 12 was disrupted because of the public holidays.

    The court has now fixed three days Jan. 16, 17, and 18, 2017 for continuation of trial.

    In the charge, the accused were alleged to have committed the offences between January and March 2015.

    In counts one to seven, they were alleged to have unlawfully retained over N3.8 billion which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of stealing and corruption.

    In counts eight to 14, the accused were alleged to have unlawfully used over N970 million which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of corruption.

    Meanwhile in counts 15 to17 Fani-Kayode and one Olubode Oke who is said to be at large, were alleged to have made cash payments of about N30 million in excess of the amount allowed by law, without going through a financial institution.

    Besides, Fani-Kayode was alleged to have made payments to one Paste Poster Co (PPC) of No 125 Lewis St., Lagos, in excess of amounts allowed by law.

    All offences were said to have contravened the Provisions of Sections 15 (3) (4), 16 (2) (b), and 16 (5) of the Money laundering (prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012.

  • Between Trump, Mattis, Flynn and Ogunlesi – Fani-Kayode

    General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, the famous ex-Marine and the hero of countless conflicts and wars, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as his Secretary of Defence.

    And what an extraordinary man and colorful figure Mattis is. Here are some of the things that he has said over the years.

    1. “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”
    2. “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet. (Time Magazine).
    3. “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.” (In a letter Mattis wrote to his Marines the night before the March 2003 Iraq invasion).
    4. “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.” (San Diego Union Tribune).
    5. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.” (CNN)
    6. “Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.” (Letter to First Marine Division)
    7. “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.” (San Diego Union Tribune).

    Mattis sounds like my type of man: a real warrior with the heart of a Viking. With him as Secretary of Defence I have no doubt that America, and indeed the world, will be a better and safer place.

    Trump has done well by cultivating the courage to nominate him. The President-elect has done equally well by appointing Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as his National Security Advisor.

    This is another interesting and colourful character who appears to understand the monuemental challenge that the world is facing today very well.

    A well-experienced and extreemly tough military intelligence officer who served courageously and meritoriously in Iraq and Afghaniatan he is undoubtedly the quintessential “braveheart”.

    In his 2016 book titled “The Field Of Fight” he characterised U.S. counter-intelligence as “a world war against a messianic mass movement of evil people”.

    In a speech earlier this year, he called Islam “a cancer” and “a political ideology” that “hides behind this notion of being a religion.”

    He went on to say that given what is happening in todays world “the fear of Muslims is rational”.

    Permit me to share his exact words:

    “We are facing another ‘ism,’ just like we faced nazism, fascism, imperialism and communism,” Flynn said. “This is Islamism: it is a vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people on this planet and it has to be excised.”

    For the record let me be clear. I do not believe that Islam itself is a cancer but I do believe that radical islam most certainly is.

    I also disagree with his assertion that Islam is not a religion and I reject the notion that all of the 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today are violent extreemists, jihadists and fundamentalists.

    I believe that Islam is not only a religion but also a respectable and noble one and that most Muslims are decent, hard-working, God-fearing, law-abiding people. I most certainly do not share the view that ALL Muslims are terrorists.

    However this cannot be said of the Islamic fundamentalists, the jihadists, the Islamists and the practitioners of radical Islam. I believe that they are indeed ALL terrorists and that Islamic fundamentalism itself is a dangerous, self-serving, cruel, primitive and vicious cult which is fuelled and sustained by wahabbi and salifist hate and premised on an unrelenting and barbaric political ideology.

    As a matter of fact it is worst than that. It is not just a political ideology but also a deadly and violent tool of and vehicle for genocide, mass murder, tyranny, subjugation, political conquest and oppression.

    It is the greatest evil that humanity has been confronted with since the slave trade, colonialism, fascism, communism, imperialism and neo-colonialism and it must be defeated and utterly crushed lest it consummes us all.

    The truth is that it is worse than cancer. It is a cultural and political nuclear bomb that is preparing to explode and destroy the entire world.

    In spite of his sweeping generalisations and his inability to make a clear distinction between radical Islam and Islam itself, I believe that Flynn will still make an excellent NSA because he understands the nature and mindset of the enemy very well.

    He is also deeply courageous, utterly fearless and thoroughly forthright. By all standards he is a man of immense discipline and unimpeachable integrity: a profoundly good man and a loyal and patriotic American.

    When one couples this with Trump’s appointment of the rugged and highly combatative Mike Pompeio as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency there can be little doubt that Trump is assembling a great team of people that will make American foreign policy far more decisive, dramatic and virile, that will change the face of the world as we know it and that will crush Islamist terrorism and radical Islam in an utterly profound and meaningful way.

    That is what the world needs today and that is why I supported him and believed in him right from the outset.

    At least now the American people can say “merry xmas” again instead of having to say “happy holiday”.

    At least American soldiers will be allowed to sleep with the Holy Bible under their pillows again.

    At least Christmas trees will be proudly displayed in shopping malls all over America again.

    At least the name of the Lord will be glorified again and the good old fashioned Christian values upon which the United States of America was originally founded will be recognised, acknowledged and established again.

    It is indeed “goodbye” to Barack and “hello” to Donald. It is the advent of a new and glorious era for America and indeed the rest of the world.

    It is a golden era in which the misguided and discredited concept of political correctness and the wholesale acceptance of liberal values, humanist philosophies and strange pagan practices, all in an attempt to establish a new world order, is rejected.

    That is the hope that this new dispensation brings: to lift up America and once again make her the shining light on a hill that will provide the direction and decisive leadership that the world so badly needs.

    I am also excited by Trump’s appointment of the African American Dr. Ben Carson, a man who, like the biblical Daniel, is blessed with an excellent spirit, as his Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development.

    Finally it gives me great pleasure to note the fact that my old friend Adebayo Ogunlesi has been appointed as a member of Trump’s economic advisory team.

    Where are those that said Trump hates people of color and that he loathes Nigerians? Congratulations Bayo and keep the flag flying!