TheNewsGuru

Tag: War

  • Fulanis are looking for war, plotting to destabilise South West

    Fulanis are looking for war, plotting to destabilise South West

    The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has said that those who are of the Fulani extraction are looking for war.

    This is following the recent violence which erupted at Shasha market, Ibadan, Oyo State and the recent killings in the South-West by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    The Shasha crisis claimed the lives of many people after a clash triggered by the death of a cobbler by a cart pusher.

    Two men reportedly had a misunderstanding and in the process, the cart pusher, said to be a Hausa man, allegedly killed the cobbler, a Yoruba man.

    The victim was confirmed dead in a hospital the following morning. This led to crisis in the community between the Hausa and the Yoruba.

    Speaking with newsmen on Monday, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the Fulani are looking for war, hence their orchestration of violence in some South-West states.

    He alleged that the Fulani want to cause war in Yorubaland, so they would commit atrocities and take to their heels.

    “Fulanis are looking for war, that’s why there has been unceased and orchestrated violence in Ondo, Oyo states and these are signs that they are looking for war at all cost. Look at the Shasha killings, it’s uncalled for and after they have finished perpetrating the atrocities, they took to their heels, they are running away in droves.

    “Their herdsmen are in the forests, their market men and women are causing violence in the market places and Garba Shehu says if the president talks, he will be seen as a talkative. So it’s clear what they are looking for, they want to throw Yorubaland into some war; we are being careful about this because we know what they want.

    “That was what (Sani) Abacha was planning to do in his days while he was throwing money all over the world and people are saying Abacha did not steal, he was throwing money to fight South-West. They want to perpetrate this agenda and we know what they are planning to do.”

  • Shifting power centres drive Ethiopia into endless wars – Owei Lakemfa

    By Owei Lakemfa.

    ETHIOPIA is today, bleeding. It bled yesterday. The day before, it bled. The challenge is how to stop its bleeding, stabilise, and hopefully, stop her from bleeding tomorrow. In the last four decades, it has been engaged in five quite bloody wars; two with Eritrea, one with Somalia over the Ogaden region and two civil wars. The Eritrean War of independence alone, went on for thirty years; September 1, 1961 to May 24, 1991.

    Historically, culturally and in terms of tradition and religious practices, no African country is greater than Ethiopia. The country is also one of the two sources of the great Nile River, and an origin of human civilisation. It is the only country in Africa that was never a colony, and has hosted the headquarters of the Organisation of African Union/African Union since its birth on May 25, 1963. Ethiopia, known in ancient times as Abyssinia provided refuge to the earliest Muslims when they faced annihilation in the Arab Peninsula. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) told the Muslims: “If you were to go to Abyssinia (it would be better for you), for the king will not tolerate injustice and it is a friendly country, until such time as Allah shall relieve you from your distress.”

    So in 615 AD, the first group of Muslims fled to the Christian Kingdom of Axum (part of modern Ethiopia) and were given shelter by King Ashama ibn Abjar. So Ethiopia was the first country in Africa where Islam took root. This was how Harar, in Eastern Ethiopia came to be regarded as the fourth holy city of Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

    The story of the Ethiopian Queen Makeda of Sheba features in the sacred scripts of Judaism and Christianity in which she was reported as visiting King Solomon. Menelik which means “Son of a Wise Man” who founded the Ethiopian Empire in the 10th Century BC, claimed to be the product of the King Solomon – Queen of Sheba relationship.

    Also, the encounter between Evangelist Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch featured in the Acts of the Apostles (8: 26-39) where the former famously asked: “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian Bible, which is about 800 years older than the King James Version is accepted as the oldest in human history.

    Ethiopia was never colonised mainly because its military, led on the battlefield by Queen Etege Tayitu Bitul, wife of Emperor Menelik II in March, 1896 defeated the 20,000 Italian army led by General Baratieri at the famous Battle of Adwa. Although Italy, under Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia from 1936-1941, it could neither conquer nor colonise the country.

    Despite such a rich and heroic past, Ethiopia easily slides into bloody and avoidable wars partly because those who hold the reins of power at any given time, refuse to run a federal system which is most suitable for a multinational country like Ethiopia with eighty different ethnic groups. Secondly, its attempt to colonise and annex Eritrea led to a long conflict. Thirdly, the country was run as a monarchy for centuries without allowing democratic rights.

    Fourthly, the military regimes that ran the country after Emperor Haile Selassie’s overthrow in 1974 were even more autocratic than the monarchs. Fifth, Meles Zenawi who led the coalition of guerrilla movements that removed the military also had an iron grip on power which his successor, Hailemariam Desalegn could not sustain partly because he was from a minority region and had no control over the quite influential army.

    Essentially, the Ethiopian political crises stems from its old and shifting power structures which has seen each new power centre imposing its will on others. Ironically, the majority Oromo never came to power until April 2, 2018 when incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali assumed office. The Ethiopian structure was such that the majority Oromo were suppressed, the Amhara (Amara) which is about half the Oromo population, was the ruling class which also imposed its language as the lingua franca, the Tigrayans who are some six per-cent of the population were the soldiers, the Eritreans were the colonised while other nationalities tried to find their level.

    Eritrea was in the 19th Century colonised by the Italians. Britain in 1941 during the Second World War seized it from the Italians. On December 2, 1950, the United Nations removed British control and handed Eritrea to Ethiopia as a trusteeship. Two year later, it passed Resolution 390 making Eritrea a self-governing entity within Ethiopia. The latter simply annexed it. That led to the 30-year war of Eritrean Independence. In 1974, a number of rebel Ethiopian groups including the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, TPLF, and the Oromo Liberation Front, OLF, joined the insurgency.

    After sixteen years and 1.4 million dead, the rebels defeated the Ethiopian military. Despite this victory, Eritrea refused to remain as part of Ethiopia, opting for independence. That left the minority TPLF as the strongest power in the country. With that, power in Ethiopia shifted from the Amhara ruling class to tiny Tigray. But this was not sustainable as the majority Oromos insisted on free elections and popular democracy which they were sure would take them to power. The Tigrayan hold on power began to loosen after Meles Zenawi died on August 20, 2012.

    The rise of Abiy led to a power shift to the majority Oromo. However, the TPLF continued to believe it had enough military strength to check the central government. In September 2020 it defiantly held parliamentary elections which the central government had postponed nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For inexplicable reasons, the TPLF in November 2020 attacked a federal military formation in the region. The Abiy government sent in federal troops which on November 28, overran the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle. Symbolically, that was where the Ethiopians defeated the Italian military 124 years ago.

    What happens next in Ethiopia will depend on how the central government wants to handle its victory in Tigray; will it be magnanimous in victory and pursue reconciliation or vengeance? What is clear to me is that every emergent power majority, creates its own power minorities. The best option for Ethiopia is to run a federal system in which all nationalities, no matter how big or small, will have the right to its own culture, history, language and a sense of belonging to a collective federation where all are born free with equal opportunities and rights. One of the best examples in this is the defunct Soviet Union where a person like Josef Stanlin from tiny Georgia had the right to lead that huge federation.

    I wish the leaders of restive countries like Ethiopia and Nigeria will spare time off their very busy schedules to read Stanlin on the National Question.

  • Yorubaland will be in needless war for 100 years if Nigeria is allowed to break – Akande

    Yorubaland will be in needless war for 100 years if Nigeria is allowed to break – Akande

    Former governor of Osun State and pioneer chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, has warned those agitating for the breakup of Nigeria to bury the idea as it may trigger another bloody civil war.

    Akande especially warned agitators from Yorubaland in Nigeria’s west, that the breakup of Nigeria can plunge the region in a renewed war that could last a century.

    Akande spoke in Ibadan at the launch of Bayse One Brick House Hotel to mark the 50th birthday of former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adebayo Adelabu. Adelabu was also the APC candidate in the last governorship election.

    Akande appeared to be responding to the clamour by a Yoruba group led by Professor Banji Akintoye, for an Oduduwa Republic, to be carved out of Nigeria.

    As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, Akande said that allowing Yoruba to break away from Nigeria might lead to bloodshed and avoidable civil war that would further decimate the people.

    “Those agitating for a Yoruba nation should have a rethink. This country must remain united to save it from war.

    “Yoruba will be in war for another 100 years if Nigeria is allowed to break,” he said.

    He said that Nigeria was a product of war, adding that the country came into existence after Yoruba people had gone into 100 years of wars.

    According to the former governor, most African countries and western world envy Nigeria because the country is the heartbeat of Africa.

    Akande alleged that Francophone countries across the world have been praying for Nigeria to break because they weren’t comfortable with the country’s strength.

    “Those tormenting Nigeria are doing so because they are products of failed states. It is a difficult task to stop crimes, particularly in a corrupt society.

    “Now that some Nigerians are talking about breaking because of difficulties, they didn’t know that a man who can not endure will collapse and die. Only enduring country can stay,” he said.

  • THE WAR ON WOMEN

    THE WAR ON WOMEN

    Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

     

    A few days ago, we received the news of the passing of Ms Tolulope Arotile, the first ever female combat flying helicopter pilot in the history of the Nigerian Air Force. She died in a car accident and she was in her early twenties. It is such a dreadful loss and I pray that God Almighty will comfort her family and loved ones. I watched the clips of the ceremony last year when she was decorated with her wings, and you could see the pride on the faces of even her superior officers. As people were mourning this tragedy online, one dimwit made this statement, ‘Instead of being at home with a husband, she’s flying helicopter (sic), this is what you get by the so-called gender equality bs’.

     

    Fortunately, a lot of people responded to this Neanderthal, but I could not help wondering how many more like him we have walking around. Last week, we witnessed an exchange between Senator Godswill Akpabio and Ms Joy Nunieh. Ms Nunieh raised concerns about probity and accountability involving the Minister. When asked to shed light on the allegations against him, Senator Akpabio responded with a reference to Ms Nunieh’s temperament which led to four husbands taking flight. There are a lot of accusations being bandied about in this case, a classic tale of ‘He said’, ‘She said’. It is up to the relevant agencies charged with such responsibilities to look into the allegations, as well as the law courts to provide an opinion on the libelous nature of the exchanges. What is in the public domain from ‘He said’, is enough for some of us to draw a conclusion that there are standards to which women are held that men do not even bother with. A mentor of mine once said that women are only ‘allowed’ into public spaces on sufferance, our lives are meant to be lived mostly in the private sphere, first as daughters and then as wives and mothers. If we choose to venture into the public sphere, we do so at our own risk. While men are socialized into assuming ownership of public spaces and leadership positions, women are taught that they do not have a right to these things unless they work harder than men or have the permission of men. I am sure the late Tolulope had to deal with this during her short life.

     

    Even in death, she is reminded that she should not have been out there flying in literal and metaphorical terms. Whatever the accomplishments of Ms Joy Nunieh, we are now led to believe that they are inconsequential if she was not able to hold on to a man. If slut-shaming women in leadership positions has always been the norm, since all norms, attitudes and beliefs are learnt, we are not born with them, it is time to unlearn. There are many leaders in our midst whose marital history and circumstances are like something out of the Fuji House of Commotion. I watched a new film recently called ‘Your Excellency’. The ‘Excellency’ was a male Presidential candidate who had two wives. The first wife left him after his many unsuccessful tries at becoming President, while the second wife stuck around. When he was declared Presidential candidate of one of the leading parties, the first wife showed up again, wanting to be First Lady. This led to a predictable showdown, from which even the candidate had to flee. I thought to myself, what if it was a female presidential candidate? Would the party members and electorate allow for two ‘husbands’ to show up and fight for the right to be ‘First Gentleman’? Well, thanks to Jada Pinkett Smith, there is now a word for that kind of situation known as ‘Entanglement’. I am safe in assuming that the answer to the question is ‘not in a thousand years’. This reminds me of when President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was running for President in Liberia. To stave off the usual questions about female candidates, she was described in some media reports as a ‘Widow’, which was correct technically, but not chronologically.

     

     

    One of the values we were raised with in most of our communities is respect for people’s privacy, but this actually translates as ‘respect for men’s privacy’. In Yoruba, there is a saying, ‘Nwon o kin ka omo fun olomo’, ‘You do not count how many children someone has’. Every woman knows how many children she has given birth to, so this saying does not apply to them. I have always insisted that this is a convenient way of shielding men from answering uncomfortable questions about the different manifestations of the fruits of their labour. It is interesting that I have not come across anyone who is in support of the crisis of sexual and gender-based violence our country is faced with right now. This sexual violence pandemic did not emerge in a vacuum, it is a symptom of something that has deep roots – the many ways in which male power and privilege are exercised knowingly and unknowingly and sanctioned by a complicit society made up of both male enforcers and female enablers. It is this thinking that gives boys, and later men, a sense of entitlement not only to ownership of private and public space, but to the bodies of girls and women. I have news for those protecting the old order of explicit and implicit sexism. Nigerian women are no longer going to roll over and play dead. It is obvious there is a war going on for control of our bodies and minds. We all need to resist this, women and men alike.

     

     

    Both men and women are entitled to public space. For every girl out there hoping to be the next Tolulope, I pray that you earn those wings so you can fly. I hope you have a father who can cheer you on and a mother who will not insist on you flying into some man’s house first before you fly a plane. For every woman who aspires to greatness, I pray that you achieve your goal, armed with good choices, beyond the reach of those who have no business passing judgement on you, but want to judge anyway. For every woman in search of love and happiness, I pray you find it, everyone deserves someone. If for whatever reason it doesn’t work out, you can still be great and awesome. Let those who want to count keep counting, while you will be counting your blessings. Rest in peace Tolulope. I stand with you Sister Joy.

     

     

    Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She is the First Lady of Ekiti State, and she can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com

     

     

     

  • [VIDEO] Asari Dokubo raises alarm: Influx of Almajiris into Southern Nigeria portends great danger, war

    Ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari has raised the alarm over the recent influx of Almajiris from the north to the south.

    Dokubo in a 5-minute video said the southern leaders should be worried over the indiscriminate migration that has continued unabated in recent times. He said the movement is questionable and advised governors, ministers, lawmakers and other leaders in the region to plan a counter-strategy before it is too late.

    Watch video below:

  • TNG Sunday Interview: There’s business surrounding Covid-19 money- Rep Nkem-Abonta

    TNG Sunday Interview: There’s business surrounding Covid-19 money- Rep Nkem-Abonta

    Hon Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, a lawyer, former lecturer represents Ukwa East Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, in this chat with Thenewsguru .com, (TNG) Emman Ovuakporie spoke on various national issues ranging from post Covid-19, restructuring of Nigeria, post civil war and other knotty issues, excerpts.
    What is the way forward post Covid-19? Bearing in mind that before and even after civil war we seem not to be getting it right.
    Let me start by talking about manufacturing sector of the Biafrans. They had five refineries, and we learnt from history they refined all the crude they needed to prosecute the war. We were told they made a temporary oil plant at Onu which they used throughout, they maintained the aircraft, they had sophisticated military things, so how come we could not move forward on that.
    They launched submarines and so many other things, but by now we cannot even manufacture double barrel guns in Nigeria. What the military is doing in Kaduna is too late for us. We failed to incorporate and tap what we have.
    So I should also think that our science and technology alongside agriculture must be given to serous minded persons not based on political appointment. Our science and technology must be manned by no less than persons who have the scientific required knowledge.
    I make bold to say, the best person apart from Bill Gates is a Nigerian, the best brain in computer not even Bill Gates is a Nigerian. So how come Nigerian sustains Europe, America and all what not in these critical areas yet at home we cannot get them.
    We were told that out of the ten heart surgeons Nigeria ranks there. We were told that in any field you will find them excelling and excelling well.
    So what encouragement are we going to give them to encourage them to come; we must create the enabling environment for them to come home and establish. We must give the incentives, these incentives shouldn’t be on sugar, cement and what have you, it should be on these guys who are coming to do real manufacturing.
    We must look inward, we must not wait until China or America gives us and give us conditions because there is no free lunch, they must attach conditions to it.
    So I think and think seriously, that even the appointment of ministers should be contested. You should tell us, we must see your profile otherwise you take a medical doctor to go and man seaports or otherwise, it is not proper. We must be able to put people in the right perspective.
    Even in the economic world Nigerians are the best. How come NgoziOkinji-Iweala, she has never been out of international job for one day and then she came here and we toyed with her.
    We must go back and wear our thinking cap and set up very strong independent economic advisers to give Nigeria a model that will not be based on party lineage because all the parties I make bold to add has no ideology and operates with no ideology, they operate according to who is at the helm of affairs or who calls the shot. I am scared for Nigeria.
    CODIV-19 could give us an opportunity to rise more than we are if we exploit it properly, if we man it properly. So the industrial sector must grow and what will grow the industrial sector is agriculture and that brings me to our steel project.
    Are we talking about development when we are joking about our steel. Look at the investments put so far in the Ajaokuta steel, I heard that they are going to merge it with Iron river, good idea but we must bring it to conclusion.
    We were told that we need about $600million to complete it even though on information I got we need less than that but we have spent more than that on importing what couldn’t be seen, what we don’t know. So who is setting our priority?
    Until we set our priorities right and as we resume, I urge Mr Speaker to tell us the status of Ajaokuta Steel Mill, when will it be completed. I urge the house to move a motion that the minster should come and brief us what deal did they have with Russia.
    Mr President went to Russia and until today we didn’t know what they discussed. They should tell us so that the house will domesticate the agreement.
    Never again should the executive go out to draw an international agreement without involving us.
    The pandemic matter became an urban issue because the potential carriers had remained in the urban areas. I have been here for a month plus, I may want to rush to my village to see things then the potential carriers will go to the villages and it will spread and there they may not even have the number of NCDC, NCDC may not even be close so you can you imagine what will happen.
    That is why I advised that we should stop fooling ourselves that we are building new hospitals or tents and so on, no, it cannot be.
    What we need do and I advised government they agree is to create more testing centres and they don’t have the facility and we cannot build it now, no magic.
    Therefore get existing laboratories; we have a lot of privately owned laboratories that are better than the government laboratories. Look at them, give them accreditation, tell them to beef up if need be and then use them.
    But because they are doing business, there is a business surrounding the COVID-19 money, they want to put it in what I may call the exclusive list so that others will not go into it; it should be taken to the concurrent list so that these other laboratories can also do test.
    In the same way, get to hospitals don’t wait for them to come and apply, beg them, strike a deal with them to treat and whatever treatment you used to discharge this three hundred if it is true, make it available to the medical personnel so that they can begin to treat and contain it.
    I am from Abia state for example; there are good laboratories in Umuahia and Aba precisely, if they have about three to four of them there and about five hospitals designated for the test and treatment, people won’t mind, they will go and complain, where you can tell the hospital to keep records of those that came for treatment so that we can manage them, so that you can also do tracing and it becomes easier.
    But when you allow people to keep speculating that it is this drug or that drug that is used in the treatment, abuse will now come in but when you make it open that this is what it is but it must be handled by a medical personnel, then the medical personnel will treat them and they will live.
    So why are they centralizing it so that only them will use the donation money and after the houses will burn down, it is not good. They should decentralize the whole thing.
    I came here to sponsor a bill on codification of herbal medicine. President Buhari assented to it, today I am waiting that one department in the health sector had been commissioned to take charge of that codification.
    Every drug is made out of herbs. We were told China used herbs and we are now told that Madagascar somewhere in Africa is importing fluid of some herbal things to us.
    In the past, when we were very small, we will have malaria, my grandmother will say bring my children back and we will come back. They will go and cut all manner of leafs including bark of mango, pawpaw and boil them together and cover you with blanket, they will steam you there so that by the time you come out you will be hot, then they will go and take dried plantain leafs turned it into sponge and use local soap and bath you and after then they give you hot pounded yam and good soup and in the next three hours you are back on your feet playing football, no chloroquine, no nothing, herbs, you drink some and then you wee.
    The Chinese green tea in Nigeria today is in billions. Who verified the tea? So who said we cannot also develop our own herbal tea and so on. If you come to my house you will see lemon grass that is what I take, that is pure green for me, no storage.
    And we were told by the so called scientists that the ten most natural antibiotics are garlic, ginger, turmeric, onion and the rest of it and we grow them here and why must you keep importing them here when we can export them. So you can see that there are a lot of jobs in agriculture.
    Bills like future trading, foreign exchange trading are the things we must look into now.
    If we must succeed there must be a radical leap in the science sector because the minister of science and industry was a governor 30years or more ago, then he was 50years add to his age then and now.
    So we need radical people, we need people who can showcase and I am hoping that the day they will tell us that they are doing technological show, show us what you can do so that people can exhibit their inventions and what they have manufactured, it is great, we have done much.
    And then we the politicians should focus attentions in laws that will make Nigeria move, laws that will look at the local content, laws that will encourage using what we have to get what we want.
    Let me take you back a little to what transpired on the floor of the house on this infectious disease bill; the spokesman told me that this bill has been sent to your emails, that most of you are dependent on your aides that is why you have not been able to study it and of course stalling the persons; what is your take on that?
    Well I wouldn’t want to join issues with my brother because anybody who covered the house on that day knew that nothing was sent to anybody or circulated, it came as an emergency, the urge and I said that speed is inferior to direction.
    You may be going to Kubwa now and because you don’t know the direction, you go on a speed of 140kms and you find yourself in Niger state but me that knows the direction I will go on 40km and just drive into Kubwa and by the time you will make a turn in Suleja or wherever, I will be long there already.
    We have emails, and I want to advocate that we also do e-parliament to save time. In UK, you don’t see all the members of parliament (MP) at the same time, some are in the office watching as soon as there is a topic they are interested in comes up, they come down and while they are there their SA’s are in the office feeding them the points they are reading.
    But here when we come in, they even jam the network, so you cannot communicate with outside. You may have MP, who may not know what they are discussing but because of that he will call to ask his SA, are you in the office, he will quickly check and send it to him right while he is seated at the chamber and he argues but here we will even first of all jam the network so that you won’t do anything.
    The place was designed like a theatre, it was not designed to function like a parliamentary seating, it is like a theatre where you relax and watch a movie, if you look at the setting.
    So we should have a very sound e-library whereby notices can get to you, whereby you can even send to the speaker what you deemed fit, send to your colleagues what you deemed fit, circulate your idea, exchange it and then come back. There is nothing you cannot do with electronics and technology. People do meetings with zoom and the rest of it, so that error has been taken care of.
    The paper is now being circulated properly, we will digest it and come and expunge what we need to, add what we need to add and balance it; we cannot create another thing now that we cannot follow.
    One of your ranking members raised an allegation that there is no platform like WhatsApp group that has the 360 member of the house; how true?
    ANo, I don’t think it is true. There are many platforms; there is one that I think is most encompassing which is joined hands or hands join, or whatever, I think that looks like the official house WhatsApp in fairness. Whether the administrator included the 360 members I don’t know.
    But I know I am there but I don’t contribute to it because I don’t know whether it is house or partisan, so I avoid contribution there I merely read because if it was for house then we will debate or post core national issues before us not party issues. If we join issues and we tear the place, so there are platforms.
    So you also have South-East platform and other caucus platforms. You also have committee’s platform and the one that I belong to that is where they even post committee assignments and all what not.
    But there should be a platform controlled by the clerk not members but by the management whereby only official things will be posted, where stuffs like order papers and things .
    We can even argue our motions online. You put it there, you say this is my thought, people will put in all the amendments so that by the time we come for seating 2hours we are gone.
    One of the things that kill members is that they go sit down for 6hours and some of them are old they don’t do exercise. But if we have e-parliament, there are certain things we do, 2hours you are gone.
    And we don’t have facilities for recreation there like gym. I went for one training in the UK some time ago, the person I was waiting for, came in on a bike and with his briefcase.

     

    To be completed …

  • One nation, many stories! – Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    One nation, many stories! – Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    By Hope Eghagha

    The title of this essay could easily have been ‘One war, many stories’ to faithfully capture the tumultuous days we live in, we strive in and we hope in, even when it invariably amounts to hoping against hope, wishing that things were different, knowing that a mere wish is simply vapour in the wide wild world. In a sense, a nation, our nation inclusive, is the sum of its stories, private and public, good and/or bad. Technically, we are at war. An unending war. A war for the soul of what was Nigeria. In a war situation, all the people do not witness the same spectacle of violence. Not at the same time anyway. Not in the same place. But their stories are often told and re-told. And so, though their stories differ in fact, they are not different in material substance.

    Apart from the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east, the nation is at war with itself. Rapacious elements masquerading as messiahs hold a sword over our tired heads and palpitating hearts. The devil and the deep blue sea are real. Very real. But Abuja promotes a different narrative. The people are in awe. In fear. Confusion. Confusion of epic proportions. There are loud whispers across the land about how we arrived at this impasse, how we were misled, how we have been cowed. Almost, that is. We gave birth to and nurtured a monstrous democracy. Now, those who rode on the back of the tiger are gradually being swallowed by a raging tiger! We did not wish for nor work for a democratic dictatorship. Or did we?

    Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that the nation is at war with leaders or the rulers are at war with the people. Leaders at war with the people? The people who elected them? And the people ask rhetorically: did we elect them? Yes, we elected them. Perhaps by default. But they are rulers of the land. Power is in their hands. Money is in their pockets. Anger in our hearts. There is a high degree of impunity, an imperial and impetuous disregard for the codes of mutual co-existence which the nation had stood on, had negotiated. The dissonance between the rulers and the ruled is gapingly wide. It is dangerous to the continued existence of the ethnic groups which make up Nigeria. Broadly speaking, there are two narratives emanating from the country- the narrative of the dispossessed and the narrative of the dispossessor! However, the dispossessed people have different strands of the same narrative, depending on their geographical and religious disposition. Which is sad!

    Indeed, the ‘one nation’ expression in the title of this essay ought to bear a question mark. Our notion of the nation is in a noisome flux. It oscillates around doubts and pessimism. Is that why there is pussyfooting over permanent issues? We are driven into our regional or ethnic enclaves by acts that make us feel lesser beings on the national stage. Refuge therefore is in the comfort of primordial zones. A nation harmonises, ought to harmonise its dreams. They then become shared dreams. Through acts of cohesion, the divisive or potentially implosive forces and experiences are mediated by the leaders, if leaders they are. Rulers invariably work towards dispersal or alienation by acts of commission or/and omission.

    The stories which we tell are not comforting. The stories we hear too – in the market, club houses, group meetings, the ubiquitous social media – are not meant to be passed on. They are stories that make man seek another home. But we are constricted. Restricted. Yet we live them, live in them, we live with them daily ever so closely. Social media is under threat. Hate speech we are told by our rulers should carry the death penalty. Which is more dangerous? Hate speech or hate policies? I remember George Orwell: two plus two can be four, five or anything the party says. And the Party is always right. Filled with men and women of impeccable character!

    The leaders are gods. They have become gods. Are they leaders if they are gods? No. They are rulers. That is why they are gods. Leaders are not gods. Even if we deify them, they would like Julius Caesar reject the crown. That crown is a Greek gift. It leads to a fall. Men who become gods, whether by their scheming calculations or the peoples’ folly, are often carried away by insane pride and the self-delusion of messiahship. And we do not need a messiah. We need a leader to inspire us to give the best. Chinua Achebe says that when the people of Aninta were no longer satisfied with their god, they did away with him. They created another. Even gods can be replaced. The migrant Jews in the exodus tried to create another god. When they could not see their visible leader on account of being away for too long. But their God was there. They forgot him. He did not forget them. When Moses returned, they ran back to their God.

    But the worshippers of Baal were disappointed by their god. I am sure they discarded him after the contest. A non-performing god enters the ashbin of history. Which is didactically instructive. Both for now and for eternity. The people therefore are the ultimate gods in their land. Abacha learnt the lesson as he slipped into the abyss of human post-existence. IBB leant the arcane lesson too as he shed tears while stepping aside from the reins of power. The people may be extremely patient when a god is dancing naked in the town square. But once they come to the conclusion that the god has taken enough for them to notice, the light which hit Paul on the way to Damascus comes hitting them with blinding anger and ferocity!

    In Sophocles’ play Antigone, a play which interrogates the power of the state and the rights of the citizenry, Antigone tells Creon the king when the latter asks her why she defied his law. She answers: your edict, king, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God’. She ends up in the pit of death but Creon does not survive the day as predicted by the blind Teiresias.

    One nation, many stories! Cultural stories! Religious stories! Political stories! Stories of exploitation, of corruption, and of impunity! There is the story of Jeroboam in the land. There is the story of King Ahab and Naboth in the land – dispossession. There is the narrative of the weeping statue in the land, blood flowing from its eyes and we have nothing to gnash but infant gums! There is the story of a blockade of free speech which the spirit of the land laments against. Let not your good be evil spoken of, the good book says. Prophet Mohammed says: ‘O my Servants, I have prohibited injustice for Myself and have made oppression unlawful for you, so do not oppress one another’.

    Stories which bear the aches of oppression are not to be created or told. If the horse can still alter course, let the rider take note! A river that swells before our eyes does not, should not drown us.

    Eghagha can be reached at 0802 322 0393 or heghagha@yahoo.com

  • Armed forces winning war against Boko Haram, others – CNS

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas, has assured Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja,that they will soon return to their various communities as the armed forces is currently winning the fight against the insurgents.

    Ibas, gave the assurance on Saturday at a Medical Rhapsody at the Kunchingoro IDPs camp in Abuja, to commemorate the Nigerian Navy’s 62nd the Anniversary Celebration.

    The medical Rhapsody and free community services are part of the activities lined up for the event which commenced on May 23.

    Ibas, who was represented by the Executive Officer, Naval Unit, Abuja, Capt.Abdulazeez Zubairu, said the medical outreach signified that the Nigerian Navy is concerned with the plight of the IDPs as they left their various homes as a result of crises.

    ” The reason the Navy is here with you today is to celebrate and share the joy of the 62nd anniversary of her existence.

    ” The event taking place in this IDP Camp today is an integral part of our effort at enhancing healthy civil and military relationship and Navy’s corporate social responsibility.

    ” It also signifies that the Nigerian Navy (NN) is concerned with your plight as you left your various homes as a result of crises.

    “I am to, however, assure you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is currently winning the fight against the insurgents and the environment will soon be conducive enough for you to return to your homes,” he said.

    Ibas noted that it is traditional for the NN to regularly conduct medical rhapsody and free community medical services as a grassroots social service for rural communities during events like the Navy Week.

    ” This year’s naval rhapsody provides avenue for the Nigerian Navy to get closer to some select rural communities and civil populace.

    ” It is my belief that events like this will further stimulate the interest of the young ones in the community to aspire for a career in the NN or any of the other armed services,” he said.

    He said that the Navy was also staging the medical rhapsody in all the states where it has formation.

    The naval chief said that the exercise was to improve civil and military relationship and corporate social responsibility to the community.

    ” It will also enable you to know more about the navy, especially for those of you who are looking for employment for self, children or relation,” he said.

    He implored members of the IDPs to maximize the benefits of the event.

    Ibas also enjoined the IDPs to be security conscious and always alert about unusual happenings in their environment including the presence of strange and suspicious persons in their vicinity.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the services rendered at the event include, blood pressure checks, eye examination and issuance of free eye glasses where necessary.

    Others are de- worming for children and adults, HIV/AIDS, counseling and testing to enable individuals know their status, free medications and drugs for children, blood- forming and drugs for children, the elderly and pregnant women.

    NAN reports that the Navy medical team also gave out souvenirs and treated mosquito nets to pregnant women and nursing mothers for protection against mosquito bites, as well as entertainments and refreshments.

     

  • No imminent war, crisis in Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says there is no imminent war or crisis in Nigeria and the country is in competent hands under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Minister stated this during an interactive session with a cross section of Nigerian community and members of staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Madrid, Spain.

    The Minister is in Madrid for the signing of Agreement between Nigeria and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on the hosting of Conference of UNWTO Commission for Africa.

    The Conference of the African Ministers of Tourism and global tourism players with the theme “Tourism Statistics, a Catalyst for Development” is scheduled for June 4 to June 6 in Abuja.

    Mohammed said that contrary to negative narratives being read in the social media and the internet, there was “absolutely no cause for alarm and the nation is not in any form of imminent war”.

    He said, specifically, that the challenge of herders and farmers clashes in the country was neither ethnic nor religious but as a result of global environmental and economic realities.

    Mohammed stressed that the development was not new to the country and the government was committed to addressing the challenge.

    He said some people were, however, for their personal agenda and gains, trying to bring in religious and ethnic sentiments to what was happening.

    “Do not be surprised that the naysayers have invested billions of Naira to promote instability, ethic wrangling and misunderstanding.

    “But I want you to put your minds at rest that there is no war in Nigeria, there is no imminent war, there is no ethnic battle or religious conflict

    “The Nigeria I left behind is a country where people, irrespective of where they come from, live together in harmony and government is alive to its responsibilities.

    “We are not saying that there are no problems at all in Nigeria, there is no country where there is no problem including Spain here.

    “A couple of month ago, we know that separatism raised its ugly head here in Spain and the whole world watched the development.

    “There is nothing new happening in our country, it is a reflection of our plural values and we will continue to address them,” he said.

    Mohammed said that the Administration was on the right path delivering on its electoral promises especially in revamping the economy, tackling insecurity and fighting corruption.

    He said that in assessing the performance of the Administration people should do so in the context of what it inherited in 2015 and where the country is now.

    “Today our foreign reserves has gone up from 24 billion dollars to 42 billion dollars and this is the highest level in the last four years.

    “Inflation has been brought down in the last months.

    “Before we came, Treasury Single Account (TSA) was not implemenred and people put money in different accounts, we were losing about N108 billion to bank charges

    “Today, I am glad to say that with the implementation of TSA, we save monthly N24 billion from charges and about N120 billion from ghost workers,” he said.

    The Minister said that because of the discipline of the administration, it got the country out of recession and the Nigeria stock market had been adjudged one of the best performing in the world.

    The minister disclosed that as at December last year, the Federal Government has given about N1.9 trillion as bail out to states.

    He said many of the states had been so poorly managed that they could not pay the salaries of their workers which necessitated the intervention of the federal government.

    The Minister told the meeting that the Administration’ agricultural revolution is moving Nigeria close to self-sufficiency in many staples, especially rice.

    He said the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme had created jobs for 61,352 cooks, and it is providing 6.4million school children in 33,981 schools across 20 states with one meal a day.

    Mohammed said the administration inherited power generation of 2690 MW even when over 16 billion dollar had been spent on power reforms.

    He said with the efforts of the government, power generation has increased to 7,000 megawatts and the dministration’s is embarking on a massive infrastructural renewal.

    Mohammed said that Boko Haram had been massively degraded and the suicide attacks by the hitherto emboldened group were act of defeat and cowardice.

    He said the group leader, Abubakar Shekau had to disguise as a woman to escape when the heat was too much for him from the military in Sambisa.

    Fielding questions from the audience, the Minister assured that the government would address issues of Diaspora voting, illegal deportation of Nigerians among others.

    The host of the event and the new Nigeria Ambassador to Spain, Mrs Susan Folarin thanked the Minister and his entourage for the visit and holding the interactive session.

     

  • I don’t want War in Nigeria – Pastor Adeboye

    I don’t want War in Nigeria – Pastor Adeboye

    General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye has urged Nigerians to quit talking about War in the country.

    In a statement through one of his assistant general overseers, Pastor Johnson Adesola, at a Thanksgiving service in Lagos, Adeboye advised Nigerians to focus on praying for the country. He added that the country can only achieve economic growth in a time of peace.

    He further stated that the country should not go back to its ugly past of conflict, pointing out that the 1967 civil war was bad for the country.

    “I do not want war in Nigeria. Please stop talking about war. We should now concentrate on praying that God should restore the glory of Lagos and Nigeria, in general.

    “I believe that if there is no war, Nigeria shall be great again.”.

    Recall that earlier this week, TheNewsGuru.com launched Movement Against War in Nigeria, a campaign to raise a million voices against bloodshed in the country.

    Join those Nigerians to shut the door on any form of violence, talk less of war. Sign the No More War Charter HERE and share with others