Beyond the Muslim/Muslim Ticket

The Pendulum By Dele Momodu, Email: Dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Fellow Nigerians, our country witnessed something unprecedented some 21 odd years ago. It was the audacious move by Chief Moshood Abiola who chose to appoint a fellow Muslim, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, as his Presidential running-mate for the June 12 1993 election. It appeared sacrilegious in a country that has always been sharply divided along ethnic and religious lines. The decision caused so much commotion in the ranks of the Social Democratic Party at that time. Indeed, Papa Adekunle Ajasin, elder statesman and former Governor of Ondo State, was so infuriated that he put a call through to Abiola and scolded him in strong words. A no-nonsense man, he was quoted as telling Abiola “…with this your unacceptable decision, you’ve murdered Christ a second time!” Abiola, a master at dousing tension with powerful wise-cracks was said to have replied “Baba, mi o si ni Calvary sir…” (I was not in Calvary sir). Papa Ajasin and other enraged leaders allowed Abiola to carry on with his gamble but I doubt if it was as simple as we tried to play it.

Even for us Abiola’s foot-soldiers at the time, what he did was a dangerous taboo. The news was broken to us by Dr Doyin Abiola, our boss at Concord newspapers, who invited Dele Alake, Segun Babatope, Tunji Bello and I to her office where she dropped the bombshell. According to her, “Daddy called from Abuja and asked me to tell you guys that he has changed his mind about picking a Northern Christian as his Vice Presidential candidate.” We all sank into our seats, in total shock and utter disbelief. The sad part was that we had earlier gone to town telling our media friends that Abiola was going to run with a Christian. We wondered the wisdom behind this damaging volte face. How were we to confront our colleagues with this apparent monstrosity?

Dr Abiola lectured us a bit on what her husband had taught her over time: “Daddy believes that if you must convince anyone about anything, the first person to convince is yourself… He has already convinced himself that the Muslim/Muslim ticket was doable. It is now up to you guys to convince yourselves.” It was more of an instruction than an argument or persuasion. By the time we picked ourselves up to brace up to the atrocious challenges we were sure to face, we received another salvo from Dr Abiola: “Daddy is set to flag off his campaign in Kaduna without announcing his running-mate” This was getting interesting.

Not only was Chief Abiola under intense pressure to pick a Northern Muslim he was also being inundated and suffocated with names of potential candidates by lobbyists and godfathers. It was such a big mess. But I think the SDP Governors won the day when they got Abiola to announce their choice of Kingibe. The rest is history. The didactic message from my preamble is that some seeds of discord were already planted in SDP from that moment on. I seriously suspect that many of those who lost the argument and the bid on that occasion only went away to nurse their injuries quietly but never forgave Abiola in the real sense. When the major conundrum erupted, it was like payback time.

History has a way of repeating itself. There are serious rumblings within the major opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC). The cause is the believable rumour that some powerful forces may have decided to try a Muslim/Muslim ticket again in the next Presidential election of 2015. A Nigerian journalist asked me on a flight to New York last week if I thought it was possible. Of course, Nigeria is a nation of possibilities. This epistle you are reading sums up my analysis during our long flight.

It is easier for a Muslim/Muslim ticket to work than that of a Christian/Christian. The heavily populated geo-political zones in Nigeria namely North West, South West and North East each have a large Muslim presence. Also the North Central is thickly populated by Muslims. The South East belongs almost totally to Christians just like the South South minus Edo State where we have pockets of Muslims. What is my verdict? A Muslim/Muslim ticket can win an election in Nigeria over and over again. The way Nigeria is currently configured makes it very practical and realisable. You and I can protest to high heavens and till kingdom comes, but the stark reality is that democracy is a game of numbers.

What I just postulated is not mere theory.  We have seen the actualisation of it in the annulled mandate of June 12.  There is a caveat however.  Muslims or Christians are not likely to vote automatically for candidates on the basis of religion. Christians are as sharply divided as Muslim sects, though Muslims are likely to be more cohesive. I have lost count of how many Christian denominations there are. The Pentecostal churches seem to be more liberal than the Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witness, Methodists, and other old generation sects.

Religion is actually not the number one agenda on the list of politicians. It is money, raw cash. Money unites enemies on a regular day. On awkward days, its force is even more potent because the dark forces only have to deploy a greater amount of money and they are surely liable to have their way. 

The second item on the political agenda is power. The in power holds the aces. He deploys the perks and largesse of power as he feels. The greatest of the greats eat from his palm. Some juicy appointments can instantly transform a certified pauper into a certificated billionaire. No one can compete with PDP on that level. The third is ethnicity or where you come from. The Nigerian commonwealth is a giant cake being rotated amongst the majorities. Jonathan’s emergence which catapulted a lumpenproletariat from a minority zone into a position of absolute authority was either a deliberate accident or a complete miscalculation on the part of our Mafia dons. Now that he has grabbed power for a region that perceived itself as downtrodden, it has become difficult to dislodge him.

Other minorities in the country see him as a rallying or focal point.  It is now no longer easy to discountenance the minorities or relegate them to the background. Power-play in the Republic has changed and there is a new Sherriff with his full complement of dogged and loyal Deputies in town.  The President thus holds three of the four aces for becoming maximum ruler in our terrain. These are money, power and the area you come from.  The fourth is religion. The President certainly has enough resources to gather as many Muslims as Christians if he plays his cards right. He therefore has the unparalleled privilege of having the capacity to hold all the aces!

While the opposition seems to have the numbers on paper, mainly because the generality of the people who appear to be fed up with the ruling party, the choice of very controversial candidates may capsize their boat. Politics is like a game of football. You need both strikers and defenders to win. Only a foolish team would play the Brazilian style in a game against Brazil. APC has a guaranteed 60 to 70 percent of angry army of unemployed and very bitter youths just waiting to connect with the better candidates they know only APC can unleash. It cannot afford to try and match PDP cash for cash or insensitivity for insensitivity.  It must dare to be different even at great sacrifice to personal ambitions. 

The game would be sweeter for APC, with a combination of experience and youthfulness, so as to tap into the abundance of restless youths plaguing our political landscape looking for salvation in the form of a leader whose ideals and vision are rooted in the 21st century.  Therefore, as a rule, one of the candidates for President or Vice President should currently be in service. Neither must have been out of touch for too long. That would be like recalling Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu or Stephen Keshi to come and play for Nigeria in the 2015 World Cup. Our coaches must be more creative and imaginative than that.

The opposition must be sensitive to the deep religious sentiments in Nigeria today. A government that preaches change must never be seen to seek to trample on rights and freedom of the people. Even if a Muslim/Muslim ticket can win in the long run, we must not run the risk of stoking the embers of religious conflagration. We already have enough problems in our hands, we should not add to it. To assume that Christians won’t mind a Muslim/Muslim ticket is a subtle way of turning them into inferior minorities. This type of insensitivity led to the collapse of law and order in the South/South where the militants had to take the law into their hands. The money that should be used for developing Nigeria in general is now being squandered on some nebulous amnesty program. We would have saved ourselves from this outlandish hocus-pocus if we had distributed our resources with simple common-sense.

This leads me to the next thesis. This is the first time the region that produces our golden eggs would be allowed to manage the poultry. The opposition seeks to sack their Farm Manager for several reasons all bothering on lack of effective leadership. The people of the South/South are insisting their son must serve the eight years of two terms permissible under our Constitution. Would it not be reckless to remove him and not give the zone at least the number two slot which may even be taken to be only a token gesture by those concerned? It is almost certain that Nigeria would know no peace if and when it happens that the South/South has lost out to other regions, so soon after the miracle that catapulted Jonathan to power, without the opportunity to at least play second fiddle.  This perfidy will be compounded by ignoring the religious background of the region and its strong Christian affiliations.  It will be like adding insult to injury. This is the crux of the matter.

The whole hullabaloo of angling for power in Nigeria is about gaining access to the oil wealth. How fair would it be to kick Jonathan out without having one of their own on the new ticket? I’m convinced APC has found itself in a volatile quagmire. How it wriggles out would depend on its willingness and readiness to think beyond politics of self and embrace politics of equity, justice and fair-play. There are many stars from every part of Nigeria who have the requisite brilliance to lead us out of the present mess. I would not say that Jonathan must remain in power by force, whether he performs or not, but we must also discourage any attempt to side-line the region that has suffered most despite its huge contributions to Nigeria’s development. It would have been easier to suppress this sentiment if our country was very normal but we are very far from it.

As a matter of fact, APC has a lot of convincing work to do in the Niger Delta in particular. It is not going to be an easy task persuading them to abandon the number one position for even number two. To suggest a worse position than number two would be tantamount to rubbing raw pepper to a fresh wound, and an affront of the worst order. Nigeria is already in its most delicate state and hanging so precariously right now. There is no guarantee that even the north would not see the intrusion of the South West into the current permutation as a surreptitious way to return to power so soon after President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years in office.

Those who genuinely love APC must speak up now. Many people are not speaking out for fear of ex-communication but we know the views mostly expressed in private. APC will fail if the people cannot see any serious difference between its operatives and the people they wish to replace.  In this regard, the alarm raised by Femi Fani-Kayode should not be dismissed offhandedly. Forget the messenger and let us deal with the message.  It does not matter to me if Femi has other personal motives. He has voiced out loud and crisp what many people are discussing in hushed whispers. His missive is strident and clear, in the dramatic fashion only patented for him.

The change we want can only be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean by APC. Many have decided to try them out under an uncommon article of faith. But it is doubtful if APC itself appreciates the magnitude of the burden it is expected to shoulder. They have done extremely well to have come this far. Their fall would be too cataclysmic and we may not recover from it for several decades. 
Sadly for Nigeria, we would have been sentenced to many more years of retrogression.
That would be democracy despoiled and another hope aborted. 

Big shame! 

ThisDay

Edo APC ward congress: Inside story of how Oshiomhole’s consensus gospel failed in Edo South on April 12, 2014 / in Politics 12:37 am / Comments

Tension in Bini land as Odubu, Ize-Iyamu loyalists battle for the soul of APC
Cancelled ward congress holds today

By SIMON EBEGBULEM,  BENIN CITY

The much awaited ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state held last Tuesday in Edo state but the echoes of the congress is still giving the party members a great concern ahead the 2015 general elections in the state.

The congress was postponed last Saturday to Tuesday April 8, 2014, due to what the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Godwin Erhahon explained as the late arrival of materials and officials of the Congress committee from Abuja to the State. Besides, he said that “the leadership of the party also agreed that leaders should harmonize the list of their executives before Tuesday so as to avoid a rancorous primaries”.

The top hierarchy of the party were jittery over the congresses because it is coming at a time that is very close to 2015 general elections. There won’t be governorship election in Edo state until 2016 but those eyeing the position are preparing grounds to make their ambitions a reality.

Having considered the situation and what a crack in the party will mean for the PDP, Governor Adams Oshiomhole went around the three senatorial districts prior to the congresses, appealing to party leaders to make the exercise a family affair. He succeeded in his native Edo North senatorial district and Edo Central but met a brick wall in Edo South senatorial district known as the Benin area.

In order to show leadership in the harmonization process, the governor who already was locked in a political battle with a leader of the party in his Etsako West Local Government, Alhaji Usman Shagadi conceded positions to Shagadi. They both hugged themselves and laid down their arms. The same thing happened in other local governments in the North and Central districts. The consensus in these areas made the Tuesday congress a mere formality.

But in Edo South, Oshiomhole’s gospel of consensus was shot down by the former South South Vice Chairman of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who preferred that the candidates emerge through a pure congress. But the governor disagreed, sensing the bloodshed that may be experienced if they are allowed to go for a full blown congress.

Ize-Iyamu, the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Pius Odubu are both from Orhionmwon Local Government Council and it is no longer a secret that their governorship ambitions have factionalized the party not only in Edo South but in the entire state. The situation would have been worst if Oshiomhole has not been using different groups such as the Edo in Safe Hands led by his Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie and the Edo Solidarity Movement (ESM) led by his Political Adviser, Charles Idahosa to check their excesses.

Oshiomhole held series of meetings prior to the Tuesday primaries to reconcile the two groups but as usual, his Deputy Odubu will always listen to his boss but Ize-Iyamu saw it differently and disagreed with the issue of consensus, insisting it will be better for people to test their popularity at the grass root rather than embarking on consensus which he believes is undemocratic.

Having failed in his effort to ensure that they concur with the consensus, Oshiomhole had no choice than to allow them go for full blown congress in the South, but with a proviso, “there must be no violence”. The governor vowed that if anybody is killed in the process, he was going to treat whoever was involved like a murderer. The two groups signed undertakings of no violence and went to work.

On the said day of the congress, there was a large turnout of party members in Edo South, including Orhionmwon where the duo came from. It was actually like a carnival as party members danced and drank, awaiting to be counted. There was presence of soldiers, mobile policemen and armed vigilante groups in Orhiomnwon monitoring the exercise.

Unfortunately, the exercise was marred with paucity of materials and lack of presence of officials from the National Secretariat and result sheets. A leader of the party told Saturday Vanguard that “there was actually no result sheet, what we were told was to conduct the exercise and write down the results in a sheet of paper with the supervision of the INEC representative and party officials from the state.

However, at Urhonigbe North where the deputy governor of Edo state, Pius Odubu voted, there was wild jubilation by his supporters just as he described the exercise as very democratic”. Asked why they refused to harmonize like his boss pleaded, Odubu said that “everybody tried to harmonize but it was difficult. Certain persons didn’t want that so we have to come to the field.

Congresses will come, it is one ingredient of democracy. People must be allowed to choose whoever they want in whatever capacity. We are aware that one person must be the preferred one and as a party that thrives in democracy, we encourage those who participated to rally round the victor. Win, lose or draw, we remain party faithfuls. I want to commend governor, Adams Oshiomhole for providing a level playing field for those that participated in the congresses.

The ward congress was peaceful, no violence of any kind was recorded and the people came out in their numbers in no mistakable terms to express their preferences for their candidates. I want to commend the governor for making the people come out to choose their preferred candidates. He should be commended for making adequate arrangement for security. We have come to the field now and the result is so loud and clear.

You can see the crowd celebrating and do you know why? Because from the results, we have won in the entire 11 wards. This is not the noise they make in Benin, this is practical politics in play”.
Reacting in his ward 5 ,Ugboko Niro said they voted and a chairman and other executive members emerged in his ward but there was no result sheet to record the scores.

He said,“the only unfortunate thing was that when the other people saw the massive crowd, they decided to announce the result that they have won. But we have the INEC woman, the police and the representative of the party. So, we asked them to count and they have the records. This same thing happened in all the wards and the other side said they have won and for me, it is funny. But I hope the party will address the abnormality. If we are talking democracy in the party, we must show that we can do that internally,” he stated.

At Ikpoba Okhai, the exercise was also peaceful. A party leader in the area attributed the delay in the arrival of materials to the harmonization of positions across the wards in the state. “I can rightly tell you that most ward executives of the party have been harmonized by the party.This was achieved after series of meetings involving the party chieftains and the Governor of the state.This issue of harmonization became necessary to avoid rancour or crisis in the party”.

Following what was regarded as victory for the Odubu group in Edo South, loyalists of Ize-Iyamu stormed the NUJ Press conference to call for the cancellation of the exercise. The protesters led by the Eson of Benin Kingdom, Chief Amos Osunbor warned that they may seek an alternative party if the exercise was not cancelled.

But the party in a swift response, through its Publicity Secretary, Godwin Erhahon,declared that the party is ready to entertain genuine complaints but it would not succumb to blackmail when the aggrieved members are threatening to pull out from the party.

However, the protesters including Nosa Adams, Mrs Evelyn Igbafe and three members of the state House of Assembly, called for the dissolution of the committee sent from Abuja to handle the congress, asserting that “the committee members became invisible, no committee members  were seen even when we were asked to send names. And due the absence of the congress committee members, no material was on ground to record the results.

“As if the whole exercise was designed to fail, they sponsored violence, armed thugs beat up and unleashed mayhem on fellow party members. So, we called for the immediate cancellation of the purported congress and dissolution of the committee incharge of the exercise” Chief Osunbor declared.

Erhahon asserted that, “it is too early for any member of the party to begin to threaten. Congresses were held yesterday, if there are complaints, such could only be received today. So, it is too early for people to threaten. So if anybody is threatening that he is pulling out, you will know that even before the congress he or she has made up his mind to pull out because it is too early. On our part, the party is following due process in receiving and considering appeals and where there are good cases, it will be addressed and reviewed but we shall not succumb to blackmail”.

Worried by the protest, Oshiomhole summoned a meeting of all the leaders of the Edo South Wednesday night and it lasted till about 1am. After reviewing the situation, he faulted the process and reiterated the need to adhere strictly to democratic tenets in order to avoid crisis in the party. He therefore ordered that a fresh congress should holds today Saturday 12th April.

Vanguard

Reps uncover fresh plot against Tambuwal

Speaker House of REPS Hon. Tambuwal

by: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

A fresh plot to unseat Speaker Aminu Tanmuwal of the House of Representatives has been exposed.

The plot came to light on Wednesday at a close-door meeting of the Representatives.

The day was, however, only saved by the maturity of the Speaker and his loyalists who are in the majority, sources said yesterday.

So charged was the session that anti-Tanmbuwal Reps created a scene with a female member of the House, said to be loyal to a minister from the South-South, mounting a table to shout at the Speaker. A crisis almost erupted in the process.

A principal officer of the House(who is interested in becoming Speaker) and two loyalists of the serving minister are the arrowheads of the plot,it was gathered.

Some governors are also alleged to be part of the plot.

Their specific roles were not clear at press time.

What is clear is that the three plotters, alongside some pro-Presidency Representatives, had on Wednesday asked the Speaker to account for every Kobo budgeted for the House.

They sought details on how the House votes had been spent.

They also demanded an increase in their quarterly allowances and running costs as preconditions for passing the 2014 Budget.

But majority of the members saw through their demands and put up a resistance ,leaving the arrowheads to rue what might have been.

One source said: ” At a point, a female Representative from the South-South climbed a table and started shouting and banging the table to provoke the Speaker and his supporters.

“With the support of some members, she asked the Speaker to render an account of how the House budget had been spent. The agitators also said the 2014 Budget would not be passed if the allowances payable to members were not increased by the leadership.”

A member from the South-East said: “They even said there was need to increase the allowances because the election year is almost here and members would have to spend more.

“Some of us, however, suspected foul play when a hitherto reserved and eloquent female member rose up to cause a scene over nothing.

“Initially since her point was on money, there was sympathy, but when members discovered that the agitators were after the Speaker, they lost our sympathy.”

A Representative from the North-West said: “The truth is that these forces are after the Speaker and they have mapped out a four-point plot.

“The plot entails creating disorder in the House to slight the Speaker; awaiting court judgment on 37 Representatives who defected to APC to create rumpus in the House; planning to use the tyranny of PDP majority to hold the House leadership to ransom; and removal of Speaker Tambuwal.

“But they have forgotten that they cannot force a Speaker on the House even if PDP is in the majority. What is the likelihood that the PDP candidate will be acceptable to members who are mostly independent.

“I hope they will not stoke the fire of North-South war in the House. Tambuwal’s leadership transcends party lines.”

Another Representative said: “Most members did not buy into it. So, the plot fell flat on its face. They wanted to use the agitation for enhanced allowances as baits to cause crisis in the House, but members resisted them. They are the same forces who had wanted to lead the House but were rejected.

“It was shocking that those who claimed to be loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan did not want the House to pass the 2014 Budget unless more allowances were paid to them by the leadership.

“This contradiction made many of us to suspect that there was a bigger picture behind the sudden agitation by the affected members.

“These forces have not been happy that the Speaker refused to declare the seats of some Representatives who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) vacant.

“They decided to latch on any issue to cause commotion in the House and embarrass Tambuwal.”

A Principal Officer said: “The Speaker gave a satisfactory response which was acceptable to members. He said the budget of the National Assembly had remained at N150billion and he could not exceed appropriation limit.

“Tambuwal reminded members that the same scenario of more allowances forced the House under ex-Speaker Dimeji Bankole to take N10billion loan from a bank.

“He said at the end of the day, Bankole was sacrificed by members as he was made to face an avoidable trial.

“At the end of it all, Tambuwal was firm when he declared: ‘I won’t take loan to pay more allowances to members. I won’t go beyond House budget.’ ”

TheNation

Nigeria is sliding towards imperial presidency under Jonathan, Tinubu warns

Tinubu

 Yusuf Alli and Sanni Onogu, Abuja 

A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has raised the alarm that the nation is sliding towards imperial presidency under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

He urged the media to save the nation from drifting from democracy.

He also asked the Nigerian press to avoid partisanship as the countdown to the 2015 elections approaches.

He said the hijacking and distortion of news reports by powerful interests have turned the media into a commodity with a price tag.

He said the media, as a monument or symbol of Nigerian democracy, is at risk because of a weakening foundation at this critical period in the nation’s life.

Tinubu bared his mind on the state of the nation in some remarks presented during the N850millon fund-raising dinner for Editors’ Plaza at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Thursday.

The remarks were presented by the Chief of Staff to the former Governor, Mr.Sunday Dare.

He said: “The character flaws and the political footworks of our present leaders are similar to the jackbooted-back steps past leaders took when we suffered dictatorial leadership.

“The approaching sounds of the drum of ethnic tension are now heard, religion has become a tool of hate-thy-neighbour politics.

“An imperial yet parochial presidency arrogates to itself the powers of national assembly and the courts. Meanwhile, it withholds funds from state and local governments in order to bring them under heel and to quash political dissent and opposition.

“As long as it persists in this effort to use the enormous resources and powers of the federal government to intimidate or impoverish those who are not in their camp, the federal government has wedded to the path of arbitrary rule and an over-concentration of power. These bear the marks of dictatorship and they imperil the sanctity of the Nigerian national project.

“The people need to understand that a great change is underway, but not the change they want. Instead, of wobbling slowly forward, the government is taking  us steadily backward.

“We move not towards the future, but towards the past. The people are being feted on a false feast of true lies.”

He urged the Guild of Editors to save the nation by being in the vanguard of building a new Nigeria.

He added: “To save Nigeria, we need a whistle blower or a courageous town crier to alert and wake us. In this vein, the media remains the one vital institution upon which we depend to play the role of watchdog.

“You, as an institution, must hold the political system under your gaze and hold those who operate it accountable to the people. The Guild of Editors should be in the vanguard to build a new Nigeria.

“As an organization for journalists who have achieved the exalted position of Editor at their various publications or media organizations, the Guild possesses the calibre of people that can lead other journalists in the right direction towards crisp investigative and reporting and political analysis.

“If you maintain your integrity and that of your publication, if you show the way by example, if you remain objective, open and uncompromising, you will show the path for the media, the political class and others to follow.”

Tinubu questioned the purported non-partisan role of the Federal Government.

He said: “ However, recent events bring into question the purported non-partisan stance of the organization when one considers how many editors have turned their publications over to select interest groups.

“Servicing interests at variance with the sacred oath made to the public to disseminate factual and comprehensive news and information is not the way of professionalism. The hijacking and distortion of news reports by powerful interests have turned the media into a commodity with a price tag. It has made a mockery of the very notion of non- partisanship to which the media subscribes.

“Editors and newspapers that willingly turn over their pages or wittingly publish misleading and false stories that serve narrow interests or spike the more accurate reports dealing with an alternative viewpoint have lost their way.

“They may be making money, but they choke democracy just to curry favour and gain a few pieces of silver. The only partisanship allowed of the media is neutral partisanship that stands on the side of truth”.

The APC leader set agenda for the media on 2015 elections by asking them to be objective and balanced.

He said: “Today, that monument is at risk because of a weakening foundation. We approach a sober moment in the nation’s history.  Next year, elections will be held and they will pit the incumbent conservative elite against a band of reformers.

“If things go as they are, many of you will meekly report what the government suggests. Or you will report at the superficial level regarding the various personalities and interest groups that comprise both camps.

“However, a few of you will get to the core issue: That the two sides have vastly different visions for the nation. We are engaged in a ideological battle for the soul and future of the nation. Yet, you report as if such a struggle does not exist.

“Those of you who say this battle does not exist are simply being disingenuous, lazy or cynical. The contrast is there, but you must have the intellectual courage to report it. That is your job.

“Once you have done so, the people will be amply informed and they will make the choice according to their collective wisdom.  Let us try to rescue this democracy by giving the people a chance to exercise that collective wisdom by giving them your best journalistic product at this time.

“If you do less than this, you fail your national mission. If Nigeria fails, if democracy falters, your profession is again endangered. Why risk a return to a time when being principled journalists made you an enemy of the state and placed your life and limb at risk?

“As editors, you hold the key to change our society. The media has a role in upholding the rule of law, justice and fairness for all. Let us build this democracy together. Then, the edifice you launch today will stand the test of time.

“The storm of change is blowing. There is change in the air.  I urge you to be part of that change.”

TheNation

World Bank’s cat and mouse game with Nigeria

There is this cat and mouse game between two erstwhile “paddy paddies” – the World Bank and Nigeria. It is a strange but not disturbing development. Also, it is not clear what specific events led to outbreak of hostility, which, for the moment, no matter the disguise, is some mutual unfriendly embarrassment.

One, especially the World Bank, used to prop up the other, Nigeria. And calling a spade a spade, World Bank is the (economic) voice of America. In the past decade, national elections organised by lackey administrations in Nigeria were always marked by large-scale irregularities, a euphemism for rigging. As in other parts of the world, such malpractices would always generate public protests. But instead of allowing protesters to make their point, Nigerians are always insulted with unsolicited sermon that the rigged elections were better than the previous ones.

To worsen matters, a decoy is always sent out that election riggers must endeavour to investigate “…inordinately high election results.” How can a thief investigate himself? Then, why were people’s protests against election manipulation in Egypt and Ukraine endorsed by the same foreign do-gooders ever opposing Nigerians from determining their destiny?

That is the pursuit of foreign strategic interests in Nigeria. The world woke not long ago to be confronted with a World Bank assessment, ranking Nigeria as one of the extremely poor countries in the world in the same class with China (?), India and of all countries, Bangladesh. It is not as if the report on the level of poverty in Nigeria is false. But the fact that such an assessment came from the World Bank was mind-boggling. Critical Nigerians could only be delighted and disgusted. The delight was that at long last, widespread anger among Nigerians on the frightening poverty in the land was confirmed by the World Bank.

In the past, economic neo-colonialists, garbed as foreign investors in pursuit of their countries’ exploitative interests, were always in Nigeria, flattering the country’s potentials. Accommodated in very posh areas of Abuja and Lagos, and always conveyed in bullet-proof state of the art vehicles, the dubious investors turned blind eyes at poverty in Nigeria. The World Bank report, acknowledging extreme poverty in Nigeria is, therefore, a major break from the past.

Equally, the World Bank on extreme poverty in Nigeria is disgusting not the least, owing to its hypocrisy at the expense of Nigerians. Does the report portray a love or concern for the poor in Nigeria? Instead, the report is partly aimed at having a foot in both camps, struggling for political control in next year’s presidential elections in Nigeria.

If the World Bank (or more pointedly, the United States) ever thought Nigerian government would take the blow, lying low, that miscalculation is better forgotten. Abuja virtually instantly fought back with the sudden “rebasing” of factors to astronomically increase the country’s GDP to N82 trillion. And that was a devastating response to neutralise whatever negative impact the World Bank report on the level of poverty was expected to have. In fact, rather unkindly to the Nigerian poor, all debates are now and for a long time to come, on the self-assessed GDP.

Of course, Nigerians are best judges in the cat and mouse game between the World Bank and Nigeria. We did not need the World Bank or even the United States to validate the level of poverty in the country. Nigerians see poverty, live poverty, smell poverty and condemn poverty everyday, even in festive seasons. And that is at whatever city or slum, Abuja, Lagos, Yanyan or Ajegunle.

Could the World Bank report on Nigeria’s level of poverty have been a routine official development? Such doubt should be weighed with another assessment of Nigeria by Ms. Bisa Willias, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. What is notable is not just the assessment but also the timing, along with the World Bank report on Nigeria’s poverty.

According to Ms Willias, “If you asked me, I would say that corruption is extremely high (like poverty?) in this country (Nigeria); there is no other polite way to say this. It is extremely unfortunate because Nigeria, as a country, has tremendous intelligent people, who do not have to be corrupt; because they have all it takes to be successful. Nigerians are so resourceful and they are living in abundance of wealth and to acknowledge the fact that there is corruption is disheartening. Corruption is something Nigerians ought to want to handle in order to restore the image of the country. They ought to be proud of their country and it is not acceptable for the citizens to say “that is how life is in Nigeria.”

On the surface, that view seems to be blunt from a friendly country. In the United States, such a corrupt situation under any government (Republican or Democrat) will be easily addressed by voting out the government in an election to the White House or the Congress. On the other hand, it is virtually impossible to attain such a feat, at least, so far. The irritating weapon ironically encouraged by biased sections of the press is a nebulous incumbency factor, making it day-dreaming to expect the defeat of a bad government at presidential or state level.

Nigerians are enlightened enough to vote for a change of government at federal or state level but the situations is such only a ruling party at the federal level can employ state force to dislodge a state government, even if popularly embraced by voters. But the so-called in incumbency factor means only one party will force itself on Nigeria for life. What choice do people have in that situation except to protest against such forced occupation? And when people protest against such provocation, foreign governments are always there and, in fact, are always counted on to frustrate the people’s legitimate resistance by acknowledging bogus election results.

In effect, the unpopular administration responsible for corruption in the country is kept in power by foreign intruders. How then will corruption be tackled by a government sustained in power by foreigners against the people’s wishes? In the local parlance, “United States, which one you dey?”

On its part, Nigerian government will be self-deluding with its whited sepulcher gracefully labelled “rebased” GDP. Whether GDP is rebased or not, where is electricity supply in Nigeria? Or which GDP anywhere in the world has any value in the dark? Where in the world is GDP not related to living standard of the people, especially in employment prospects? Is the rebased GDP meant for decoration on the state of Nigeria’s economy?

This time, Finance/Economic Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is completely born-again. Reacting to World Bank report on the state of poverty in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala said India’s poverty level is higher than Nigeria’s. That was after the same Ngozi claimed the government had created two million jobs in agricultural sector. The minister was the same born-again when she pledged that the government would create 10 million jobs this year. She either meant every claim or pledge and has not denied any aspect.

Ten million new jobs in Nigeria this year? Even in the next five years? How many of such jobs had been created in the last five years? How many of such jobs has the world’s biggest economy, United States, created in the last five years? Nigerians are more concerned about extreme poverty in Nigeria and cannot bother about the situation in India. Neither is the higher level of poverty in India (even if true) an excuse for the prevailing extreme poverty in Nigeria. British Chancellor of Exchequer might as well justify poverty level in Britain by citing higher level of poverty in the United States on account of the American higher population.

The sudden coding of ties between Nigeria and the World Bank might not be completely separated from the row on the election of a new World Bank President some two years. Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala announced her candidacy. Instantly and more in a “how dare you?” eye down, America’s Barrack Obama addressed the press on the lawns of White House in Washington where he announced his country’s candidate, a hitherto invisible Korean American, Jim Yong Kim.

As expected, the American won hands down. Okonjo-Iweala had to lick her wound.

There should, therefore, be no surprise at the World Bank assessment of Nigeria’s poverty level, as extremely poor. That is not to say the report is false. In the past, the World Bank would not have released such negative picture.

TheSun

‘Women with few children are prone to breast cancer’

by: Osagie Otabor

A Professor of Surgery, Breast and Endocrine Division, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Professor Moses Momoh, Thursday stated that women who gave birth to between two or three children are more prone to develop breast cancer.
Prof. Momoh said women who gave birth to many children have lower risk of having breast cancer, than women who give birth to less children.
This, he said, was because women with many children would have their breast sucked more often and allow the women examined the breast.
He spoke while delivering a lecture at the 3rd edition of UBTH public lecture series, with the theme: ‘’ Reducing the Burden of Breast Cancer.”
Prof Momoh who is a former Commissioner for Health said there are increasing breast cancer patients in the low and middle income countries, like Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
He listed early signs and symptoms of breast cancer to include nipple retraction or distortion, breast skin changes, thickening like the orange peeling, painless lump in the breast, sores or ulcer in the breast that does not heal, swellings and nodes/seeds in the arm-pit, waist and bone pains with or without broken bones, enlarged liver and distended abdomen filled with fluid/water, paralysis from waist down when it spreads to the spine among many other signs.
Prof. Momoh outlined the causes to include family history, female gender, smoking, menarche and menopause, age at first delivery, regular abortion, obesity, hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills and many other causes.
The former Commissioner recommended free clinical breast examination, preventive mastectomy, free compulsory universal basic education, eradication of illiteracy and poverty, breast self-examination, awareness campaigns on a sustained basis of the disease and strengthening primary health care in all the 10,000 wards in Nigeria as a way for curbing breast cancer.
TheNation

Death Everywhere: The Consequences Of State Corruption

• Late Col. Kabiru Salisu: Killed in April, defending Nigeria against Boko Haram

Everywhere we look in Nigeria today and see death; it is not an accident. It is the price the people pay for the corruption of the government. Everything in life has its consequences. The consequence of intractable government corruption is death.

Death in Zamfara, taraba, Nasarawa, Borno, Jigawa, Yobe

When helicopters are not bought for the police force: the consequence is death. 250 people like you and I died in Zamfara state. There was no helicopter to pursue the killers. There has been no police helicopter to pursue this same set of killers after each killing they ‘enjoyed’ for the past three years. The police do not have choppers as they would in every decent society because the government has stolen the money for the helicopters and saved it in accounts for their children who they assume will be hopeless in the future—unlike us who happily work for ours—and will need this money to live.
The government steals billions of dollars that should have bought thousands of choppers for police in all states or hundreds of thousands of drones. CBN gave the police money for choppers, the police tried to deny it. This means they stole the money. The government steals money that should be used to equip our great military properly to bring an end to unscrupulous terrorists, without soldiers having to lose their lives.
We the people pay the price for the government corruption. It is also a consequence; the consequence we pay for allowing the government steal limitlessly, and having not yet revolted. This is why now we revolt.
When the government steals money; to steal money they have to bribe many unworthy people in the process. They have to placate and please many co-conspirators, many fellow thieves. The consequence of this is that the society feels the presence of money in the hands of the unworthy. Money flows from one thief to another crooked friend and then to terrorists hands. Guns are bought. Thugs are hired by the politicians and their friends. Sometimes terrorists are paid with this stolen money. Terrorists terrorize the masses. The consequence is death. We the people pay the consequence of the stealing of public money as a consequence of our silence, of our delay to revolt. This is why now we revolt.
When money is stolen, the police are not paid salaries commensurate of their task. Police are not paid regularly and underpaid. The police spend their time hustling for tips instead of in training and in pursuit of criminals. The police never investigate cases, they never track criminals; and when they do arrest suspects, they release them for some money. The consequence of the money that could improve the security services being stolen is poverty of the police force and deaths of the people from cheap criminals who would not last a day on American streets. We the people die as a consequence of our tolerating a thieving government. The consequence of our inaction is death.
When the government steals money, they pack our unemployed youth into stadia without proper consideration. They humiliate and kill our youth. There is no consequence for their actions because thieves are friends and protectors of thieves. The consequence of their stealing is the martyrdom of our most precious and most vulnerable. The consequence of our failure to revolt is our death and pain.

Cancer, malnutrition: Bayelsa is most polluted land on Earth

Today Bayelsa state is the most polluted piece of land on this planet. Vanguard of April 2nd reports that there are 40 oil spills in Bayelsa every single month! This is poisoning and killing our people. Our poorest people, the defenseless, those not like us who can at least tweet reactions about their suffering. Have you seen the type of mud and thatch houses being burned in the north? Did you know Nigerians still live in those? These people have gained nothing from the Nigerian equation, but are dying as a consequence of looting of wealth they do not even know about. Death is the consequence of government looting. And government looting is the consequence of our delay to revolt.
Are you seeing all the kidnapping, ritual behavior, the massacres, the return of Nigeria to barbaric ages? This is the consequence of chronic stealing and government promoted vain glorious culture of killing to steal and stealing to kill. This is the consequence of our waiting for change instead of going for change. 168 million of us tied down by a few and being turned into sick psychos our very selves.
The government cannot transform the dead. Transformation does not touch the graves. Who will transform the killed and maimed? How will the government transform the pain of the grieving mothers? The pain of the orphaned? The pain of the mutilated? The pain of the crippled? How will the government transform the cancer of the poisoned in the creeks? There is no transformation here. These things cannot be transformed; this must be stopped. This cabal government must be stopped.

Niger Deltans protest for Oil Minister, Oil Godess Diezani, and Moro to be sacked

The consequence of our delay to revolt is continued stealing by the government. The consequence of stealing by the government is death of the people.
Do you want to die? Do you think you cannot be the next one to die as many of us have died in villages across Nigeria? God forbid.
The consequence of chronic government looting is the revolt of the people.
Join the revolution: http://NigerianMassesRevolution.com This is the least, most simple and most powerful thing we are obligated to do. This simple thing will change everything.
A few hundred greedy Cabal can no longer hold down and kill millions of us. Mark your independence from the Cabal. Nigeria’s 2nd Independence: October 1st, 2014, by God’s mighty grace.
Nigeria Will Be Free!
Dr. Peregrino Brimah

NewsRescue