The Oduduwa Controversy.

 By Naiwu Osahon

A lot of dust was raised in the press in 2004 over the Oduduwa issue. The
controversies on Oduduwa are finally put to rest in this write-up. All students
of history must carefully preserve this historical record as a reference point.
Oduduwa is Prince Ekaladerhan of Edo and he entered Yoruba life about 900
years ago and that is categorical and final. The Yoruba/Edo collaborative
evidence follow. The first most telling revelation about Oduduwa’s ancestry is
from Oduduwa himself. He, in his lifetime, reserved a special seat in his Ife
palace for his ancestors. The seat remains reserved until this day for the Edo
monarch only. No one else, not even the reigning Ooni, or Oronmiyan (Alaafin)
in Oyo, or any of the Obalades of Yorubaland can sit on the seat. So, if Edo
is not the wellspring of Ife, why is it that no member of the Alaafin, or Ife
Ooni dynasties (or siblings), can use the seat?

Besides, the most sacred name for Ife is ‘Uhe’ a (non-Yoruba), deep and strong
Edo word, meaning virgin or vagina depending on how it is pronounced, and is
interpreted in myth as ‘innocence,’ ‘the birth canal,’ or ‘the source of life.’
Also, no major Ifa ritual or ceremony in Ife even now is considered authentic,
blessed by or acceptable to the gods and ancestors, without the presence and
involvement of relevant Edo traditional faith custodians. The dress culture of
Ife chiefs and priests is from Edo court.

Professor Ade Ajayi’s comment that the Edo are trying to re-write history and
that the motivation for this is political is ridiculous to say the least,
unless professors are not supposed to have some responsibility for truth and
scholarship. Ajayi’s comment influenced less-informed commentators who accused
the Oba of Edo of possible political bias at the age of 80, in an interview
published in The News of 28 June 2004. The age of the Edo monarch bellies the
silly accusation. No Edo historian, including Omo N’oba Erediauwa has said
that a rebel king migrated from Benin to father Oduduwa in Ile-Ife. The Yoruba
historians peddling this falsehood should take time off to read this specially
packaged report on Oduduwa because it puts the Oduduwa controversy to rest once
and for all.

Perhaps the most childish comment on the Oduduwa issue so far was the one in an
article published in the Sunday Sun of June 27, 2004. The writer is upset over
the antics of Edo prostitutes in Italy but ignores the Yoruba credit card
schemers, painting the USA and Europe red with their notoriety? He says and I
quote: “The Edo position on Oduduwa is motivated by imperial politics, a dose
of envy and irrepressible ego. It is part of an agenda to hijack the enviable
fame of Yoruba dynasty and superimpose it on the subdued ego of the Edo people
who have lost the glory of their once powerful Edo Empire to the greater might
of the British colonial masters.”

I was expecting the writer to say ‘Yoruba masters’ instead of ‘British masters’
in his erroneous statement. As far as I know, there is no record of the Yoruba
ever once conquering or colonizing even an inch of Edoland. Rather, the Edo
colonized, dominated and enslaved large tracks of Yorubaland and people until
British colonialism liberated the Yoruba, so who should be envying who?
Besides, the Yoruba were colonized along side the Edo and we all gained our
‘flag’ independence from the British on the same day, which was the 1st of
October 1960. Black collective plight as the most wretched people in the world
has not changed since ‘flag’ independence, so what is there in the Yoruba to
make the Edo or anyone jealous? The writer is proud that there are Yoruba
enclaves in Brazil and so on. But they got there as slaves and they are still
slaves, (second-class citizens), in the Diaspora right now. The Edo were never
enslaved, (the Edo kept hordes of Yoruba and other slaves from their conquests
and shielded them from the slave trade), so you would not find slave colonies
of the native Edo extraction anywhere in the Diaspora. What greater honour
could anyone have than that?

No Yoruba commentator or expert so far has provided concrete evidence or
credible story on Oduduwa. Some that have attempted to do so, have quoted
spurious speculations from racist, paternalistic and condescending British
historians like Basil Davidson, because that was what they passed their exams
on. Prof. Siyan Oyeweso of the LASU History Department, goes further to swear
by some 1950s – 60s researchers, such as Philip Igbafe, R. E. Bradbury, Alan
Ryder and G.A. Akinola, who quoted profusely from each other, and largely
relied on the ‘white god’ Davidson’s story for authenticity. What right do we
have to expect these ‘experts’ to transcend the infantile bias of their day
that Oduduwa was God incarnate, who as the Yoruba progenitor, descended with a
rope from the sky? Could the historians have said Oduduwa was not God at a time
of Yoruba political dominance in the region? Could they have set off on a limb
and expect their books to be recommended reading by the West African
Examination Council (WAEC)?

The overwhelming counter argument by the Yoruba so far, weighs heavily on why
the Edo have only just come out now with their Oduduwa story? It is wrong for
anyone to claim that the Edo origin of Oduduwa story is a recent creation. Prof
Siyan Oyeweso even tried to put a 1971 date on when Edo people invented the
Oduduwa story. He provides no evidence of his assertion other than that we
should take his words for it because he is a professor. And if he were allowed
to get away with his blatant distortion of history, it would become the history
that students pass their exams on. That is how the Davidsons and Bradburys
became the authorities on African history.

I have discovered serious laxity on the part of some of our supposed African
professors. They accept any rubbish put out by the dishonest, ill-informed
Basil Davidsons of the white world as the gospel truth requiring no further
investigation. No black intellectual outside Africa today relies on racist
whites as sources of knowledge about themselves because such whites lie about
the African contributions. They claim that we were nothing until slavery. That
we were worse than wild animals before they intervened in our lives and that we
are still less than animals now.

Racists whites do not want us challenging their lies and upsetting the
applecart. But the greatest thing about truth is that until it triumphs, it
allows lie no peace. It does not matter when the truth comes out? If a
researcher comes out with the true identity of God today (as I have now done in
this book), billions of years into the creation story, does that make the truth
less true? The world continues to stumble on new ‘truths’ everyday because
original researchers did not have the accumulated knowledge and tools now
available to modern research work.

Ovbia Oba Edun Agharese Akenzua, in his book: Ekaladerhan, tells us that while
the Oba of Benin was visiting Ife on November 11, 1982, the Ooni said in
part……”As we have mentioned briefly during our historic visit to your domain
not too long ago, we said that we were there to pat you on the back for a job
well done. Your present visit we regard as a short homecoming, where you will
have an opportunity to commune with those deities you left behind. Now my son
and brother, long may you reign.” “The address suggested that the people of
Benin, or at least, the Royal Family, owe their origin to Ile-Ife. In the
prelude of his response to the Ooni’s welcome address, the Oba of Benin tacitly
rebutted the submission.” “The Oba said: If the Ooni of Ife calls the Oba of
Benin his son and the Oba of Benin calls the Ooni of Ife his son, they are both
right.” “The Oba did not elaborate, but in the womb of that innocuous assertion
is the fetus of a story, which had never been told in full. In both Benin and
Uhe, the story is told with varying details.”

Six years ago, I sent the Edo story on Oduduwa to Adeniji, the Arts Editor of
ThisDay newspaper at the time. I phoned and he said I should send it but he
never used the story. I understand that the Daily Independent of Friday May 14,
2004, published a version of the article in my name with my original title. I
have not read it but I suspect it is the same article I sent to ThisDay two
years earlier that the Daily Independent newspaper published when the controversy
was raging. Whatever it is, am I to blame for the story not being used earlier?
I don’t own a newspaper or magazine. I can only try and reach out through
facilitators, hoping that they and everyone else would be interested in the
unraveling of truth.

Edo historians have written volumes on the Oduduwa story. My parents told me
the story in my early teens. They too were told the story in their teens as are
every Edo child regardless of what they are taught at school for WAEC exams. I
wrote about it in the Sunday Guardian and the Post Express some twelve to
fifteen years ago. Five years back, I put the story all over the Internet, and
a few years earlier I produced a book on Oduduwa in my Obobo book series for
children. Four years ago, I did a four-part series on Edo history in my Daily
Sun’s weekly column, which was lost on the public until the Oba of Edo’s book
reviews woke up our pseudo authorities on Oduduwa. The Yoruba professors who
put a workshop together on Oduduwa history at the EKO FM Multi-purpose Hall in
Lagos on Thursday October 7, 2004, were not aware that my write-up preceded the
Edo monarch’s book reviews, and yet they pretend to be knowledgeable on what is
written and when about Oduduwa. So, there is a time, place and opportunity for
everything.

Prof Isola Olomola of the OAU’s History Dept. claims that Oduduwa could not
have been a Benin man. Olomola would not accept such history anyway and his
reason is very simple indeed, Olomola is a professor and a Yoruba. He puts no
argument forward to buttress his position; instead, he allows his tribal pride
to becloud his better judgment. That is not scholarship but an attempt to write
history by ‘ugboju’ or terror tactics. Prof. Siyan Oyeweso beats his chest that
Oduduwa is not Ekaladerhan and that Oduduwa dropped from the sky. The works of
such professors litter library shelves around our country, distorting our
history and keeping us ill informed. To move forward on the Oduduwa issue,
Yoruba historians must let go on their two fallacious preoccupations: (a) that
Oduduwa dropped from the sky at the beginning of time, and (b) that Oduduwa was
the Yoruba progenitor. The Edo do not claim to be the Yoruba progenitors and
as Prof. Isola Olomola suggested at the October 7, 2004, workshop on Oduduwa,
skeletal remains of a stone-age man has been found at Iwo Eleru, near Isarun in
Ondo state, with similar sites also discovered in Ife, Owo, and Asejire. Dating
of the sites may need more vigorous investigation and coupled with the
facilities of an open mind, we could begin to move forward on the Oduduwa
issue. This is what this article on Oduduwa tries to do by asking questions and
providing available knowledge in a systematic, comprehensive, and simplified
way, to solve the controversy and carry even non-scholars along. My most potent
weapon in this regard, is the unraveling of the date of the Oduduwa experience.

When did Oduduwa reign in Ife?

If we can establish the date and time of Oduduwa’s interregnum in Ife, most of
the mysteries about who he was would be laid to rest. I have solved the problem
of date in this article to finally put the Oduduwa controversy to rest. The
Yoruba do not know the time of his reign in Ife beyond the speculation that his
name was synonymous with Ifa, and that the Ifa divinity was there from the
beginning of time. In other words that Oduduwa is as old as time itself. The
idea that he was here at the beginning of time is too vague for serious minded
people to consider.

The Universe is some 10 to 20 billion years old and the Earth 4.6 billion
years. Humans are the late comers on Earth and have evolved over a period of 13
million years albeit as members of the chimpanzee family. We only started
looking as we do now (i.e. Homo sapiens) 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. 15,000
years ago to be specific, the human race was still very primitive. The stirring
of civilization started in earnest from Black Egypt less than 10,000 years ago.
All races of the world originated from the African (Black), and moved to occupy
the rest of the earth from Africa. Even when original African settlers all over
the world had begun to change in skin colour due to climatic differences and
had forgotten their African origins, new waves of Africans continued to invade
their old colonies to assert their authority and teach new knowledge. From the
Osirian reign in Egypt in 4100 BCE, Africans began to teach the rest of mankind
farming, industrialization, commerce, and how to organize cities and nation
states, while the African religion, the Mystery System, (which is the mother of
all the religions of the world), began its uninterrupted supremacy until about
2000 years ago.

Africans from Egypt colonized Mesopotamia and Elam in 4000 BCE to teach the
rudiments of civilization and introduce African religion (spirituality), which
with emphasis on Nimrod, carved from the image of Ausar (Osiris), went through
several phases to become Zoroastrianism. The African religion also gave birth
to the Islamic religion in Persia, 1000 years before the birth of Muhammad. The
Dravidians from Ethiopia took Hinduism to India in 3200 BCE. In 1640 BCE, 70
Hebrews entered Egypt but some 3,154,000 African-Hebrews left Egypt in 1230
BCE, under the leadership of the African prince called Moses. Moses trained in
the Mystery System as a prince for 40 years and adapted its laws for his
followers. Arabs are a hybrid of Africans and Caucasians. Muhammad was born in
570 CE and he adopted the Babylonian (African) religion that was already 1000
years old from Persia during his time.

The reverse dispassion of blacks from the Nile Valley began seriously as a
result of the over population of the Valley, then as a consequence of social
upheavals, and finally due to Persian 525 BCE, Greek 332 BCE, and Roman 55 BCE
invasions of the black race Egypt. The civilizations that emerged from the
Egyptian disturbances in the West African sub-region, not in any special order,
where Ghana, Chad, Mali, Benin and Songhai, with some dating back to 1500 BCE,
at least.

The Edo so far trace their history to perhaps hundreds or thousands of years
before 40 BCE when they where called Idu and to 40 BCE specifically, when the
Ogiso dynasty began. Thirty-one Ogisos ruled Idu (called Igodomigodo), between
40 BCE and about 1200 CE. The first Ogiso (king) was called Ogiso Igodo and his
capital was at Ugbekun. Ogiso Igodo’s successor, Ogiso Ere, transferred the
capital from Ugbekun to Uhudumwunirin. The last of the Ogiso kings was called
Owodo. He reigned in the early 11th century CE and had only one child, a son,
despite having many wives. That child, Ekaladerhan, is Oduduwa. All Oduduwa’s
telltale links with Edo are still there open to investigation. The non-mortal
aura of Edo God-son kings since 40 BCE. The sacrosanct first son succeeding
father traditional law. The, around 1200 CE, Ogiso succession problems because
heir apparent, Ekhaladerha, escaped to Yorubaland. The emergence of Ogieamie
chiefdom to sell Edo land at every coronation to Edo Oba elect since 1200 CE.
By the above account, Edo historians are saying that Oduduwa’s reign in Ife
ended around 1200 CE. Yoruba historians confirm that Oduduwa’s first child and
son was Oronmiyan and that Oronmiyan was the first Alaafin of Oyo. Yoruba
historians deliberately avoid discussing the date Oronmiyan ascended the
Alaafin throne obviously because that would destroy their myth about when
Oduduwa intervened in their lives.

The Edo say the Alaafin’s dynasty in Oyo began around 1200 CE. Oronmiyan was
in Igodomigodo in 1170 CE, and it was after his sojourn in Igodomigodo that he
set up his Oyo dynasty. This date is not difficult for Yoruba historians to
verify and if it is true, Oduduwa was alive during his son’s sojourn in
Igodomigodo and also when the Oyo dynasty came into being. Therefore, the Ife
stool could not have become vacant until about 1200 CE. This is not really
debatable because Yoruba historians confirm that 37 Oonis reigned in Ife before
Akinmoyero in (1770-1800), and that 13 more have reigned since. This enables us
to prove the 1200 CE date mathematically. If from 1800 CE to 2004 CE (i.e. a
period of 204 years), produced 13 Oonis on the average, how many Oonis could
have reigned from 1200 CE to 1800 CE (i.e. a period of 600 years)? The answer
is 38 Oonis.

The Ife history of

the Ooni dynasty confirms 38 Oonis, including Akinmoyero (1770 – 1800). Here
are their names in the ascending order of the period of their reign: Ogun,
Osangangan, Obamakin, Ogbogbodirin, Obalufon, Oronmiyan, Ayetise, Lajamisan,
Lajodogun, Lafogido, Odidimode Regbesin, Aworokolokun, Ekun, Ajimuda, Gboo-Nijio,
Okinlajosin, Adegbalu, Osinkola, Ogbooru, Giesi, Luwoo (female), Lumobi,
Agbedegbede, Ojee-Lokunbirin, Lagunja, Larunka, Ademilu, Omogbogbo,
Ajila-Oorun, Adejinle, Olojo, Okiti, Lugbade, Aribiwoso, Osinlade, Adagba,
Ojigidiri (Lumbua), Akinmoyero (1770 – 1800), Gbanlare (1800 –1823), Gbegbaaja
(1823 –1835), Wunmonije (1835 –1839), Adegunle Abewelo (1839 –1849),
Degbinsokun (1849 – 1878), Oranyigba (1878 – 1880), Derin Ologbenla (1880
–1894), Adelekan Olubuse I (1894 –1910), Adekola (1910), Ademiluyi Ajagun (1910
–1930), Adesoji Aderemi (1930 – 1970), and the current Ooni Okunade Sijuwade
Olubuse II, whose reign dates from 1980. Obviously, Oronmiyan, the first child
and son of Oduduwa, did not inherit his father’s throne, which is the genesis
of the quarrel between the true Oduduwa’s heirs and the Ooni’s dynasty.

Oduduwa’s eight children (as claimed by Yoruba historians), are known as the
Obalades or crowned chiefs of Yorubaland. The argument is that not all Yoruba
Obas have genuine crowns; only the Obalades are the exception and consist of
the Alaafin of Oyo, the Oregun of Ile Ila, the Alake of Egbaland, the Owaoboku
of Ijeshaland, the Alaketu of Ketu, the Owa of Ilesa and two Obas in the
Republic of Benin as follows: the Onipopo of Popo and the Onisabe of Sabe. What
this means in effect is that Yoruba civilization did not start in earnest until
the reign of Oduduwa and his sons. All leading Yoruba historians agree on this.

In fact, we know that it was from early twelfth century that Ife grew into a
large city surrounded by walls, inhabited mostly by farmers and some skilled
craftsmen who created great works of arts respected around the world today. The
famous Ife bronze, terracotta works, statues in baked clay, some representing
the Ooni dressed in full regalia, are among the world’s greatest works of art.
Some of the terracotta were so large and complex, it is impossible to bake them
today even with modern technology. All these date back to the eleventh century
CE.

Because Ogun, the first Ooni after the demise of Oduduwa, was not Oduduwa’s
child, he was not considered an Obalade by Yoruba tradition and elite. Ogun was
a chief with spiritual responsibilities. He usurped the Ife throne because the
true heirs to the throne were busy else where at the time of their father’s
death. Ogun out maneuvered the children of Oduduwa over the Ife throne with his
superior knowledge of the inner working of the Ooni’s palace, and his spiritual
prowess as the head of the Ogun shrine. Oduduwa’s true heirs have been smarting
over this ever since.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in the
early sixties, strengthened the hands of the Oonis, and facilitated their
prominence in Yorubaland by appointing Oba Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife at
the time, as the first Governor of the now defunct Western Region of Nigeria.
Oba Adesoji Aderemi’s ascendance was consolidated with his Chairmanship of the
Western Region’s Council of Obas that at the time entrapped the Edo Oba. With
such immense political power of his own, and the political influence and
authority of Awolowo as the leader of the Yoruba, no one could raise a finger
against the supposed illegitimacy of the Ooni’s dynasty in Yorubaland. The
Edo, of course, were worst hit as a voiceless minority in Awolowo’s Western
Region’s politics of tribal exclusion and domination.

The Oduduwa lineage tried to fight back by identifying with the NPN in
opposition to the UPN. Awolowo accentuated the schism by promoting the
emergence of Bode Thomas, a young and dynamic lawyer from Oyo. Bode, with
Awolowo’s clout, wielded considerable political power in Oyo to the point of
being rude to the Alaafin, who was alleged to have put a curse on him. Bode
became mad to the chagrin of Awolowo, who promptly banished the Alaafin from
his Oyo throne. Just as the Oduduwa’s legitimate heirs and the Yoruba elite
generally, have always known and concealed the quarrel over the Ife throne, the
Edo have always known their history and borne the pains of not being able to
act on it because Chief Awolowo was unassailable and had turned the Ooni
dynasty into a colossus to cow all opposition.

Another way of confirming Oduduwa’s 1200 CE demise date in Ife, is to look into
the famous account of valour during Oduduwa’s reign when an external invasion
by the Igbos from the East took place. The record can easily be traced and
Moremi’s courage came to the fore at the time for sacrificing her life for the
safety of her people. From 1200 CE to 2004 CE is only 804 years, so the Yoruba
should stop deceiving themselves that Oduduwa dropped from the skies at the
beginning of time or that Ife is the ‘source’ of the universe. Ife is ‘Uhe,’
meaning Oduduwa’s re-birth, or successful re-location from Edo land of his
ancestors.

Where did Oduduwa come from in Yoruba myth?

The Yoruba story about Oduduwa is extremely thin on substance. What we have is
wrapped largely in myths, parables, and folktales. In fact, the most generous
way to describe the story is that the Yoruba do not know anything about their
highly revered progenitor. Oduduwa himself left a tell tale evidence of his
ancestry in his lifetime. He reserved a special seat in his palace for his
ancestors, which only the Edo monarch can sit on even now. No other human,
whether Arab, Eskimo, Alaafin, Ooni, or Yoruba, (bleached or not), can sit on
the seat. Despite this vivid evidence that has survived through the centuries,
some Yoruba historians still claim that he was from somewhere in Arabia.

Any place from Egypt to Lebanon to Iraq to Saudi Arabia has been mentioned, and
the Yoruba professors’ strongest proof of Oduduwa’s Arabian ancestry so far is
that he was light in complexion. This may have influenced some heirs of
Oduduwa, who have been accused of serious attempt at bleaching. The ‘light’ in
complexion argument could place Oduduwa’s origin any where in the world from
Edo, to China, to Britain, to Mexico, but who dares fault our professors who
passed their exams on European history? The Saudi Arabian origin theory is not
popular with the Ijebus who erroneously claim Wadai as their roots. Those
linking Oduduwa with Iraq claim that he descended from Lamurudu (the Nimrod of
Babylon’s myth). Nimrod was not an historical figure but a myth constructed
from the life image of Ausar, the god of the Chaldeans, who invaded and
colonized Persia from 4000 BCE. In any case, is it not dishonest to try to link
6000-year-old ancestry with 900-year-old personalities, without authentic and
verifiable historical documents or DNA test? You can deceive the illiterate
with myths but Nigerians are becoming more and more educated now.

There is another school of thought among some Yoruba historians claiming that
Oduduwa came from the East. Some Yoruba historians are more specific and claim
that Oduduwa first settled on a hill East of the valley over-looking the native
Yoruba settlements. If he settled first in the Eastern side of the hamlet,
isn’t there a good chance that he may have come from that side too? Edo would
appear to be more East of Yorubaland than any Arabian country. The argument
that the native Yoruba people probably did not know their East from their North
is not tenable because the same people told us that the Igbos attacked them
from the East in Moremi’s story, and both the Edo and the Igbos are East of
Yorubaland.

Who was Oduduwa in Yoruba myth?

There is a measure of agreement between the Yoruba and Edo historians about
who Oduduwa was. The Edo say he was their prince. All Yoruba historians agree
that Oduduwa was a noble and some say he is a god. Many settle for a prince
with impeccable royal blood and immense spiritual powers. The Yoruba historians
tell us that Oduduwa was the first ruler of the Yoruba people.

There is no mention in any Arabian historical records of a prince of such
illustrious ancestry who abandoned his privileged ranks at home and moved
several hundreds of miles through bush paths to live in the West African
jungle. Such incidents do not happen casually or without clear excuse such as a
jihad or war of conquest, and when it did, all tribes along their routes felt
their impact one way or the other. In the case of Oduduwa, mum is the word from
the Northern flanks of Yorubaland all the way through the jungle to the other
side of the Mediterranean Sea.

Please Continue this article here: The Oduduwa Controversy Resolved (Part 2)

• 

  Otedo News Update

  EDO STOP ADDING YORUBA TO YOUR HISTORY! DOESN'T MAKE SENSE AND SHOWS ILL RESEARCH PRESENTATION!
  WHY YORUBA NEVER HAD AN EMPIRE BUT CIVILIZED BY BENIN.
  1.Their story of kingship began with Edo prince and the Benin recorded History.
  2.Ayayi crawder said, little were know about yoruba existence, meaning they were not part of Nigeria of today boarder or were in small settlement close to dahomy. yoruba are half muslims and those with African traditions copied or got them from Benin civilization. I doubt if they not immigrants from dahomy mix with Benins or other fulani-hausa from Niger . Go figure,
  3.They have dublicity of kingship with the process highly politized to being traditional
  4.Most of their Religion are Benin Origin, Olokun, Ogun, Iha oguega(ifa), oronmila, Esago(shango), Ayelala etc. Many Benin traditions and spirituality are stillfully documented by yorubas in high places as YORUBA? (Never mind the Edo man's christian mindset quickly dening Edo have niothing to do with African traditional religion, agreeing they are foriegn to Edoland...LIE)
  5.Benin Ruled Yoruba
  6.Benin founded lagos and ruled lagos
  7.Benin first to meet Europeans
  8."Oba" adopted from Benin not the other way round as many made to believe
  9.They never conquered no territory but rather struggle with their neighbours before and after the first encounter with Europeans
  10."Edo" have no relative with the word Yoruba.
  11.Note history is subject to scientific diagnosis and many historic writtings in the past about Benin yoruba have been proved by archaeologies and scientist as erroneous and false.
  12.Many Yoruba being those in the forfront of Nigeria history writters,used in Nigeria institutions had the benefit of making their yoruba look leading culture and history for nigerians
  13. Yorubas all along paddling lies in Nigeria, US and British universities. deceivng Africans with grammar and academic titles. They confuse other external scholars about the true realities of African history.. buy their lies into African America book, which Benin in the Palace have no ideal. thank God the world is now a small village.
  14. Yoruba had and did the highest slave rading in their togo-oyo region stretched to lagos during slave trade.
  (15) Yoruba never colonise Benin but Benin colonize Yoruba
  (16) Yoruba is not in anyway related to Igbo ancestral history
  (17) Yoruba not in anyway related to itsekiri history. Their could be later migrant during the European expliotation and commerce but not related to the itsekiri ancestral lineage. Never mind all the title of "Olu" in the region, its all inventions
  (18) Thank God for Obafemi Awolowo, Yoruba is known today as an ethnic group in NIgeria
  (19) How can an Empire be inside an Empire? Many so called yoruba territories of today never existed in the past but invented and stillfully documented into their borrowed history
  (20) Yoruba copied Benin-Edo history, twisted them and publish as Yoruba History. Most of their books and publications are mere opinions of the writers inside their rooms without no singgle scientific research or a visit to Ancient Benin for true archaeological discovery. Covered up with self hate, jealousy and envy of the Great Benin, bias and leftish in many of their so called Nigerian history.
  (21) if cameroon was inside Nigeria today , Yoruba would have as well say they are their ancestors..
  (22)Many yorubas dominating Lagos today came as migrant workers for British companies and construction project. that why you have alot of their fotos with whites. Britain also use them as colonial officers.
  Before Britain or before the punitive expedition of 1897, Yoruba have no were to be found as recognized major ethnic group in lagos but Edos.
  (23)lastly, where is yoruba ancient flag or before 1897?
  Nigerians wise up! Yoruba have been writting and teaching us Gabage for so long.....
  DETTAILS LATER...¨^view bellow map carefully and never mind other maps spread accross the internet designed by photoshop *
  Sep 19, 2014

Khobe - The Brave

Asante, Ben
 Ben Asante who knew Gen. Maxwell Khobe personally writes about the exploits of the Nigerian general and chief of defence staff of Sierra Leone who died of a heart attack on 18 April.
  Sometime around Christmas 1998, Brigadier General Maxwell Mitikishe Khobe invited us – a group of visiting journalists – to lunch with him at his official residence in Freetown.
It was a Sunday. He arrived late, and when his military convoy sped through the gate, he briskly jumped down from the jeep. With a quick apology, using words like, “he has been busy doing nothing and wasting other people’s time”, he proceeded to say the grace. It was unusual for even an ofFicer known to be deeply religious. For several minutes, Khobe prayed that President Kabbah be protected and allowed to complete his mandate against attempts by rebels to overthrow him.
Little did we know at the time that what was uppermost on Khobe’s mind was rebel activities slowly threatening the government and the people of Freetown. Barely a year before, he had liberated the capital in a swift action against the AFRC military junta headed by Major Johnny Paul Koroma. Khobe was among a small core of Ecomog officers who saw action in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. I first met him in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1992.
Few soldiers trust civilians, and least journalists, especially during operations, but Khobe invited us to film battle action involving his tanks.
We were not disappointed For one moment by the experience and in seeing what impact our work was having on the morale of Ecomog troops. Several times soldiers came on our camera to send messages to their relatives. One 25-year-old gunner shouted a message on camera to his father. “Papa, I am a man now for I have fought in a war as a soldier!”
Khobe hardly entered a tank at the front but preferred to walk armed with nothing but a radio. In typical fashion, he and several officers and troops marched on foot to take town after town in Liberia until they captured Buchanan City in 1992.
Because of the utter confusion generated by Ecomog’s role in fighting to protect itself and the civil population in its areas of control, people began accusing the force of becoming a party to the conflict. The level of misgivings about Ecomog was such that a CNN reporter asked the then Ecomog chief of staff Brig-Gen Victor Malu, why his troops who were supposed to be neutral were fighting alongside other factions opposed to Charles Taylor’s NPFL and allowing them to operate freely in Monrovia.
We visited Khobe regularly at his Caldwell base in Monrovia where he kept an open door. He was an avid poultry farmer, a habit he brought to Monrovia.
After his tour of duty in Liberia, he went back home where in very quick succession, he held appointments first as head of a special unit formed to protect Lagos against armed robbers, then to Abuja, and to the Armour Brigade headquarters at Yola, not Ear from his hometown, Numan.
In 1985, he turned down a political posting from the military head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. After serving in Ecomog in Liberia, another posting was to follow not long after. The May 1997 overthrow of President Kabbah by the AFRC junta in Sierra Leone offered Khobe another opportunity to work abroad. He was appointed the commander of the Ecomog Task Force in Sierra Leone.
In a lighting action, Ecomog troops marched into the capital and seized the centre of Freetown including the State House with Koroma’s junta in flight. In recognition of his efforts, President Kabbah asked the Nigerian government to second him as chief of defence staff of the Sierra Leone army.
Khobe had been promoted a full Brigadier-General but he hardly had enough time to re-build the Sierra Leone army before the rebels invaded Freetown again on 6 January 1999. In spite of repeated intelligence warnings, no-one would listen.
Weeks before the attack, Khobe went out one early morning and removed the rebel leader, Foday Sankoh from the Pademba Maximum Security Prison where he was on death row. Had he not removed Sankoh, the fate of Sierra Leone and the outcome of the 1999 invasion would have been different.
The rebels broke into the prison on G January and freed all the inmates, but they missed Sankoh who remained in the hands of the government and ended up negotiating for a ceasefire.
Khobe was a joy to watch at the front. He kept encouraging the troops to move forward. Several times we went to the front at first light only to discover that the men had withdrawn from the positions we left them the evening before. Many factors caused the pull back. Ammunitions were not delivered after they ran out or no food supplies came through. Other times rumours circulated that the rebels were coming with anti-aircraft guns, and lacking effective cover the men just pulled back. Wherever Khobe went, the troops seeing him surged forward and just kept going.
Late last year, Khobe came to London to undergo an operation to remove a shrapnel lodged in his back which he sustained on duty in Freetown. He came only after the rebels had signed a peace agreement. His back hurt him most times and he walked with a limp but he rather put up with the pain than abandon his post. The first operation was successful.
In December he had another operation which unfortunately had to be reopened after an abscess was discovered at the airport just as he was about to return to Freetown.
  He returned to his post in January this year. His wife, Martina, who was in London throughout his treatment, went along to Freetown to nurse him.
In March, Khobe went to Harare, Zimbabwe, to address an NGO conference on the plight of civilians in a conflict situation. He passed through London on his way back From Harare, and told me that his British doctors had given him a clean bill of health. He planned to come back to London for further check up in April.
But while in Harare, someone had given him a photocopy of New African’s report (NA February) on how Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first premier, had been killed in a Western-backed plot in 1961 while UN peacekeepers looked on. He wanted the original copy badly because UN troops had recently been sent to Freetown to keep the peace in Sierra Leone.
I sent copies of the Lumumba report to him later, but according to Capt. Hassan who was with him in London, Khobe had been unwell since he returned to Freetown on 23 March. Until then, I knew nothing about his sudden poor health.
He died of cardiac arrest in his hospital bed at 10.30 am on 18 April, aged 50. He was buried in his hometown of Numan in Adamawa State, Nigeria, on 29 April. NA


Copyright International Communications
Jun 2000

LET THE ACTION BEGIN, PRESIDENT BUHARI

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Your Excellency, please permit me to start by congratulating you on your swearing-in as Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Sir, it has been a very long and arduous journey back to the State House; such an epic battle, to say the least. Yours is an eloquent confirmation of the dictum that it is never over until it is over. There is a lesson for all to learn in your uncommon determination, extraordinary tenacity, great perseverance and tremendous patience and equanimity. According to William Shakespeare “all is well that ends well.”
Now that you’re back in power, it is time to settle down quickly to govern a particularly delicate country as well as a very sensitive people. It is not that Nigerians are too difficult to govern but the fact is that our expectations are rather huge after suffering for far too long in the midst of plenty. An average Nigerian voted for you in the hope that you have the magic wand to turn mass poverty into abundant prosperity. As a matter of fact, they expect you to turn water into vintage wine and if possible raise Lazarus from the dead. That is why the cry for change was overwhelming and reached a crescendo which culminated in former President Jonathan and the PDP being swept away by that proverbial broom of change! Such is the enormity of the burden you must carry today that nobody should envy you for attaining this exalted position once again. Moreover, time is not even on your side. You must therefore hit the ground running right away.
Nigerians, and indeed the world, would be watching and analysing your actions as well as your body language from now on. Your biggest headache would be how to manage the unruly politicians who litter our political landscape. They are going to make your job more complex and complicated than it should be ordinarily because most of them don’t actually believe in your principles and ideology. Their agenda is possibly at cross-purposes with yours. As far as they are concerned, you will have your say while they would always meander their way through the labyrinth of policies that you will have to make in order to give effect to your vision of a corruption free Nation. The Nigeria you’re inheriting today is steeped in filth and all manner of odoriferous mess but you have a chance of redirecting us all.
My candid advice is that you should stick to who you are and what made it possible for you to record this landmark victory. You are not a politician per se but a social crusader. Politics is always the means but never an end. The end is leadership and, ultimately, performance. If you deliver on your promises, no evil shall befall you and you will be celebrated by all and sundry. But if you fail, the same politicians who swarmed all over you singing your praises would jettison you and move on pronto to new suitors.
I do not expect you to fail and many Nigerians, including myself, are praying that you succeed. In case the unexpected happens, and our hopes are dashed again, let the last man remember to switch off the last globe as we plunge into eternal darkness. The candle of hope you hold out to Nigerians at home and abroad is incredible and I am not jealous of you. The last time Nigerians united behind a Presidential candidate was in 1993 when Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola raised the flag of hope and promised to banish poverty from our land. Sadly, many things went wrong and our hopes were dashed and Nigeria was abandoned in a quagmire. The rest is history.
It has taken 22 agonising years to arrive at this juncture and we can’t afford another misadventure. The burden of expectations on you and your highly cerebral Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, is stupendously heavy. As I wrote in this column on March 14, 2015:
“The People’s General, as I love to call him, is a victim of his own popularity. What ordinarily should have been an asset has almost become a liability, or put another way, a blessing turning to a curse. From all empirical data as well as mathematical calculations, General Buhari looks set to create a major upset on March 28, or whenever it pleases the gods of Abuja to hold the elections…
“To whom much is given, much is expected. General Buhari is thus expected to be the Lamb of God who must be prepared to carry the sins of the world. He must possess the power of optical illusion in order to perform instant magic, in a nation on its bent knees…”
Your first test is how and when you pick your highly anticipated and eagerly awaited “change” team. It is certain you must announce some key appointments immediately. Some States have already taken the lead and this shows a sign of preparedness. I’m impressed with the tone and tempo coming out of Governor Nasir El Rufai’s Kaduna State and Governor Ambode’s Lagos State. The Federal Government must borrow a leaf from such decisiveness. You must never be seen to prevaricate on urgent decisions as if your hands are tied behind your back. Sir, you are now in charge and must do everything necessary to select some of the brightest men and women it has pleased God to bless Nigeria with.  I must confess that I am somewhat agitated on your behalf that no appointment of note has been announced, not even those of your personal and household aides.  If you have already made these appointments please announce them as a matter of urgency.  Modern day governance is a transparent government and not one to be shrouded in secrecy.  That was one of the failings of the previous administration.  You must not make the same mistake, Mr President.
What you’re expected to do is tantamount to a football coach selecting a national team to take to the World Cup. Please, note that every Nigerian sees himself as a competent coach. The first set of appointments can make or mar this government especially if it is overloaded with hard-core politicians and nominees of interest groups. Realistically, it is impossible to ignore the Party that provided the platform that laid the golden egg. But how you maintain the precarious balance would clearly indicate if it is going to be business as usual in Nigeria or otherwise.
Mr President, let me alert Your Excellency right away that you have the media as well as the army of unemployed youths to contend with. The media is no longer comprised of the traditional journalists but the self-appointed publishers and bloggers on social media most of who belong to an angry generation and are very impatient and temperamental. They won’t listen to lame and dodgy excuses. Your media team must be rock-solid from Day One. If your media people do not know their onions or lack the influence within the media fraternity, all the goodwill of the moment may evaporate before our very eyes.  It must be clear to you by now that there must be a distinction between your speechwriters and those that propagate the image of your administration.  Whilst the former may be close to you and are your friends, the latter do not have to be.  What is needed for the latter are those who can connect not only to their network but also to the citizens of this great country.
PDP is not going to be a simple opposition to contain after controlling power for 16 years. The man in the street is hungry and almost disillusioned. Your government would need the services of efficient communicators and not those propagandists who may think telling lies is how to win the hearts and souls of the people. Nigerians have become more sophisticated than in the past when they had government apologists insult their intelligence with impunity. You have built your stock on your integrity.  You therefore cannot afford to have spokespersons that lack credibility because they will tarnish the good image and reputation that you have painstakingly built for yourself over the years.
Your cabinet should be carefully assembled. This is not going to be too difficult once you stick to your avowed yardstick and not to allow anyone drop any deadwoods on you. Nigerians collectively heaved a sigh of relief when you declared that you belong to everybody and yet you belong to nobody! You have a nation of over 170 million people to seek and pick just a few candidates to help your government achieve monumental greatness. There are so many other jobs to be handed over to political jobbers but the soul of government is your cabinet. The Ministers are the Ambassadors of your government. They must be tested and trusted people who can command the respect of all and inspire Nigerians out of the present state of despair and disillusionment. They must not be imposed or foisted on you.  They must be people that align with the tenets of your administration, your visions and your goals.  Your cabinet must comprise men and women that you personally feel comfortable to work with.
There are key areas of priority. What connects every family in any country is education. It is the foundation for success or failure. If we can rescue our education speedily, Nigeria would save millions of dollars being spent on sending our kids to school abroad. In the past, most of us attended schools in Nigeria and only travelled out after A–Levels or first degrees. An investment on education at home can never be a wasted one. It would generate employment and recreate a better society. Illiteracy is the mother of all backwardness. No nation can ever be considered developed if the citizens live in abject ignorance.
Sir, our economy is obviously in tatters. The need for diversification has never been in doubt and is even more pertinent now than ever. Our over-dependence on oil proceeds is stupidity at its worst. We can no longer afford to pay lip service to other vast potentials that bring us wealth and succour. Agriculture is one and thank God you’ve been actively engaged in farming in your personal capacity.  In my childhood days, the richest people around were cocoa and ground nut farmers. But they’ve been sacked and banished to antiquity by the oil barons some of who feasted with reckless abandon on our black gold without making any significant contribution to our economic well-being. A country that oozes crude oil from its pores is unable to fuel the yearnings of its people both literally and figuratively.  That is a big shame.  Once upon a time, we boasted about our groundnut pyramids. The people of Malaysia came to us for our palm seedlings. We had tonnes and loads of Ofada rice. Our yam tubers looked more like the legs of Japanese Sumo wrestlers. Our people fed and were content. We must return to those good old days soonest.
Entertainment is now big business globally. The time has come to properly manage the industry in a manner that will bring high yields to our gifted ones. Millions can be gainfully employed as singers, producers, engineers, event managers, make-up artists, caterers, ushers, models, designers, tailors, deejays, comedians, choreographers, composers, songwriters, instrumentalists, decorators, stylists, and so on, if properly managed and directed in the right direction by your government. It is the same with Sports. Nigerians are very talented in most sports but we have not been able to turn this into the goldmine that it is.
Every Nigerian, rich or poor, is totally frustrated about incessant power outages. Nothing is more pressing than finding a lasting solution to this national embarrassment. It is a jinx that must be broken. If you succeed in doing this, Nigerians will be forever grateful.   As with the oil and gas industry there are very simple ways of fixing the problem.  The first is that you must do away with cartels and engender competitiveness.  There must be transparency in allocation and distribution of these national assets and resources.  In this regard Your Excellency should note that subsidy is not the problem in the oil industry.  It is a mere red herring meant to deceive and hide even more monumental frauds.  In any event the issue of subsidy will not arise if things are done properly.  Our refineries must be made to work and we must price appropriately.
The last major issue that your Government must tackle immediately is the insecurity in our country.  The Boko Haram menace must be curbed.  Your commendable resolve in this respect has already been demonstrated by your directive to the Nigerian military command as their Commander – in Chief to move their base to the heart of the insurgency in Borno State. Also, the increasing spate of kidnappings, political killings and armed robberies must be addressed.
In the next couple of weeks, I will contribute my humble quota as to solutions to our seemingly intractable problems. Every Nigerian must support you by rising above partisanship.
Once again, I rejoice with you, Mr President and pray for your resounding success as you bring about hope and change in our dear beloved country! God bless Nigeria.

A New Nigeria Beckons As Buhari Takes Over

•     To relocate defence headquarters to Maiduguri as Boko Haram is taken head on
Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Senator Iroegbu, Jaiyeola Andrews and Chineme Okafor in Abuja
Amidst great expectations, Muhammadu Buhari was on Friday sworn in as the fifth civilian President of Nigeria, with a promise that his administration would firmly tackle the Boko Haram terrorists head on.

 In this regard, he said the Defence Headquarters would be relocated to Maiduguri from Abuja.

 The new President also pledged to tackle corruption, insecurity, epileptic electricity and a number of other challenges.

 Prof. Yemi Osinbajo earlier took his own oath as Vice President at very colourful ceremony held at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

 It was a historic moment as both the incoming president and outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan shook and embraced each other to the admiration of all who were gathered at the Eagles Square.

 For Buhari, it was a dream come true having tried three times to return to the office he left 30 years ago without success.

 Clad in flowing white Agbada kaftan dress, Buhari walked confidently to the podium at about 10.45 am to take the oath administered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed.

 Buhari swore with the Quran. After the swearing-in, the Eagle square went into a joyful shout.

 Buhari, also like Osinbajo signed the register of the oath of office.
 Thereafter, Jonathan handed over the national flag to him and a copy of the constitution. The two are the instruments of office.

 In a symbolic manner, the old National flag and the defence flag were lowered symbolising the end of Jonathan's era as President and Commander-in-Chief.

 The flags were later folded by the military officers and handed over to the Regimented Sergeant Major (RSM) and later handed to the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Barde who in turn handed it to Jonathan.

 Later, a box containing two new flags were given to Buhari by Jonathan who also handed the flags over to Barde.

 Barde in return gave the flags to RSM to be hoisted, which signified the beginning of a new era of Buhari's administration. At this stage, Jonathan stepped out with his vice-president, Namadi Sambo and were driven out of the square.

 Jonathan left for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for onward journey to Otuoke via Port Harcourt. Namadi Sambo left straight for Kaduna.

 At 11.09 am, Buhari released pigeons signifying peace and later the 21 gun salute heralding his administration followed. The President in mounted open jeep waved and acknowledged cheers from the crowd.
 Buhari also inspected a Brigade of Guard parade.

 All former living Nigerian Presidents and military Heads of State were in attendance at the Eagle Square.

 General Yakubu Gowon and his wife, Victoria were the first to arrive.
 Others that arrived later were General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and wife and former President Shehu Shagari.
 
 Inaugural speech…
Buhari in his inaugural speech said he was immensely grateful to God who made the day a reality.

 He said Nigerians had shown their commitment to democracy and were determined to entrench its culture.

 The President said: "Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a truly democratically elected government in place.

 "I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in the land, we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for our nation.

 "Together, we co-operated to surprise the world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of political conduct in the country.

 "Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians."

 He added that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody.

 The President urged every Nigerian not to exercise fears about his administration: “A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.”

Buhari promised to tackle all challenges. He said: “At home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.

 "In recent times, Nigerian leaders appear to have misread our mission. Our founding fathers, Mr Herbert Macauley, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Malam Aminu Kano, Chief J.S. Tarka, Mr Eyo Ita, Chief Denis Osadebe, Chief Ladoke Akintola and their colleagues worked to establish certain standards of governance.

“They might have differed in their methods or tactics or details, but they were united in establishing a viable and progressive country. Some of their successors behaved like spoilt children breaking everything and bringing disorder to the house.

 "Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind ourselves that we are heirs to great civilizations: Shehu Othman Dan fodio’s caliphate, the Kanem Borno Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin Empire and King Jaja’s formidable domain. The blood of those great ancestors flows in our veins. What is now required is to build on these legacies, to modernise and uplift Nigeria.

 "The Federal Executive under my watch will not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of the Legislative and Judicial arms of government. The law enforcing authorities will be charged to operate within the Constitution.”

He said the legislative arm of government must keep to their brief of making laws, carrying out over-sight functions and doing so expeditiously.

 He also said the judicial system needs reform to cleanse itself from its immediate past: “The country now expects the judiciary to act with dispatch on all cases especially on corruption, serious financial crimes or abuse of office. It is only when the three arms act constitutionally that government will be enabled to serve the country optimally and avoid the confusion all too often bedeviling governance today.

 The President also pledged to curb corruption at all levels of government. He said: “Elsewhere, relations between Abuja and the states have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally, there are limits to powers of each of the three tiers of government but that should not mean the federal government should fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments.

“Not least, the operations of the Local Government Joint Account. While the Federal Government cannot interfere in the details of its operations, it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me, I will try to ensure that there is responsible/accountable governance at all levels of government in the country. For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch."

 The President described the Nigerian press as the most vibrant in Africa and appealed to the media – including the social media – to exercise its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism.

 He stressed that his appeal for unity among Nigerians was predicated on the seriousness of the legacy Nigerians are getting into.

 Buhari noted that with depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts, the Nigerian economy was in deep trouble and would require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting it.

 He listed the challenges as Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people.
 For the longer term according to the president, "we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.”

On Boko Haram, he pledged to bring the menace to an end: "The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.

 "This government will do all it can to rescue them alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police. Since then through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion, Boko Haram became a terrifying force taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.

 "Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of. At the end of the hostilities when the group is subdued, the government intends to commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connections to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil. For now, the Armed Forces will be fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko Haram. We shall overhaul the rules of engagement to avoid human rights violations in operations. We shall improve operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human right violations by the Armed Forces.

 Buhari said Boko Haram was not only the security issue bedeviling the country. He included the spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings, which he said helped to add to the general air of insecurity in the country: “We are going to erect and maintain an efficient, disciplined people – friendly and well – compensated security forces within an over – all security architecture,” said the President.

 On the amnesty programme in the Niger- Delta which is due to end in December, he said his government intends to invest heavily in the projects, and programmes currently in place.

 Buhari said: “I call on the leadership and people in these areas to cooperate with the state and federal government in the rehabilitation programmes which will be streamlined and made more effective. As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring peace and build prosperity for our people.”

On the power crisis, the new president promised Nigerians a new dawn: “No single cause can be identified to explain Nigerian’s poor economic performance over the years than the power situation. It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. Continuous tinkering with the structures of power supply and distribution and close on $20b expanded since 1999 have only brought darkness, frustration, misery, and resignation among Nigerians.

“We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians."

 He concluded: "Your Excellencies, My fellow Nigerians I cannot recall when Nigeria enjoyed so much goodwill abroad as now. The messages I received from East and West, from powerful and small countries are indicative of international expectations on us. At home, the newly elected government is basking in a reservoir of goodwill and high expectations. Nigeria therefore has a window of opportunity to fulfill our long-standing potential of pulling ourselves together and realising our mission as a great nation.

Tinubu: Nigerians Are Heroes of Democracy.

By Jaiyeola Andrews in Abuja
Following the presidential election that ushered in a new government, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, last night said Nigerians who voted out the incumbent government were the heroes of true democracy.
Tinubu spoke during the Presidendial Inauguration Gala Night at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the electorate shunned all monetary inducement aimed at buying their votes and conscience during the election.   
"Despite heavy inducement to move otherwise, the people were not induced or intimidated. The people voted for their better destiny at last election. The average Nigerian, decent, hardworking, unseen and anonymous, they voted.
"They are the heroes of this glorious moment. Without their faith in democracy and belief in a better future, this election would not have been had and we will not be celebrating the inauguration of a new president tonight.
"Congratulations to millions of Nigerians at home and abroad. Congratulations to Africa, Nigeria is ready to lead. Today we celebrate; tomorrow we will turn our energy ... and our polity to the task at hand, giving better life for the people and our beloved country.
"A new era is upon us; all here are blessed by the hand of great providence to witness the awakening of our nation. This noble moment will endure for long after we have expired. A new president has been inaugurated, a new government established and a commitment to build a new Nigeria has been consecrated and ... of our people.
"We celebrate the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari. In him, we have a leader who is principled, bold, determined, passionate and determined to lead. He is like those leaders who have led their nations to greatness in time past. We celebrate because his election was a testament to the path of human decency and sovereignty of the people ... of power."
"We celebrate Nigeria's friends from Africa and around the world joining us today. Your presence is an expression of goodwill that shall never be forgotten.
"Your presence underscores for us the importance that Nigeria holds in the community of nations. That we have accomplished a peaceful transition of administration from one different political party, that is an historical landmark" the APC national leader added
He urged Nigerians to pray for the success of President Muhammadu buhari and his government.
"They come into power at a difficult moment and we grapple with multiple of challenges. we will be there for you and with you, Mr. President.  May his administration take the first mighty step in reconstructing a new and better Nigeria for all our people. May he begin to lay the foundation for a better house for all of us. Faith now ushers in a period of light and revival that will guide us to the upper road and a higher purpose. We thank God for this chance, for it was not guaranteed by our labour or by our effort. But it comes from the power of God Almighty.
"General Muhammadu Buhari and other African head of state here. From one programme to the other, the African renaissance must start with him. The challenge is yours. We that are looking up to you will continue to do so with great commitment and perseverance and all sense of value that Africans must build Africa to show that Africans can compete, Nigeria must lead. We dare not squander this good thing given to us," Tinubu asserted.
Buhari, at the occasion, thanked African and world leaders that came to Nigeria to witness the inauguration of the new government.
He also urged for more prayers from Nigerians in order to succeed in office.
According to him, one of the quickest ways to boost the Nigerian economy is through agriculture and mining.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Chairman of APC, John Oyegun and former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, also gave glory to God for the new dawn

Inaugural Speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, following his swearing -in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29th May, 2015.

I am immensely grateful to God Who Has preserved us to witness this day and this occasion. Today marks a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion to celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. Nigerians have shown their commitment to democracy and are determined to entrench its culture. Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a truly democratically elected government in place.
I would like to thank President Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are. With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process, he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the perceived tension in the land we can be a united people capable of doing what is right for our nation. Together we co-operated to surprise the world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of political conduct in the country.
I would like to thank the millions of our supporters who believed in us even when the cause seemed hopeless. I salute their resolve in waiting long hours in rain and hot sunshine to register and cast their votes and stay all night if necessary to protect and ensure their votes count and were counted. I thank those who tirelessly carried the campaign on the social media. At the same time, I thank our other countrymen and women who did not vote for us but contributed to make our democratic culture truly competitive, strong and definitive.
I thank all of you.
Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians.
I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.
A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue.
Our neighbours in the Sub-region and our African brethenen should rest assured that Nigeria under our administration will be ready to play any leadership role that Africa expects of it. Here I would like to thank the governments and people of Cameroon, Chad and Niger for committing their armed forces to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria.
I also wish to assure the wider international community of our readiness to cooperate and help to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees and boat people, financial crime, cyber crime, climate change, the spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.
At home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.
In recent times Nigerian leaders appear to have misread our mission. Our founding fathers, Mr Herbert Macauley, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Malam Aminu Kano, Chief J.S. Tarka, Mr Eyo Ita, Chief Denis Osadeby, Chief Ladoke Akintola and their colleagues worked to establish certain standards of governance. They might have differed in their methods or tactics or details, but they were united in establishing a viable and progressive country. Some of their successors behaved like spoilt children breaking everything and bringing disorder to the house.
Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind ourselves that we are heirs to great civilizations: Shehu Othman Dan fodio’s caliphate, the Kanem Borno Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin Empire and King Jaja’s formidable domain. The blood of those great ancestors flow in our veins. What is now required is to build on these legacies, to modernize and uplift Nigeria.
Daunting as the task may be it is by no means insurmountable. There is now a national consensus that our chosen route to national development is democracy. To achieve our objectives we must consciously work the democratic system. The Federal Executive under my watch will not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of the Legislative and Judicial arms of government. The law enforcing authorities will be charged to operate within the Constitution. We shall rebuild and reform the public service to become more effective and more serviceable. We shall charge them to apply themselves with integrity to stabilize the system.
For their part the legislative arm must keep to their brief of making laws, carrying out over-sight functions and doing so expeditiously. The judicial system needs reform to cleanse itself from its immediate past. The country now expects the judiciary to act with dispatch on all cases especially on corruption, serious financial crimes or abuse of office. It is only when the three arms act constitutionally that government will be enabled to serve the country optimally and avoid the confusion all too often bedeviling governance today.
Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the States have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally there are limits to powers of each of the three tiers of government but that should not mean the Federal Government should fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments. Not least the operations of the Local Government Joint Account. While the Federal Government can not interfere in the details of its operations it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me I will try to ensure that there is responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country. For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch.
However, no matter how well organized the governments of the federation are they can not succeed without the support, understanding and cooperation of labour unions, organized private sector, the press and civil society organizations. I appeal to employers and workers alike to unite in raising productivity so that everybody will have the opportunity to share in increased prosperity. The Nigerian press is the most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media today – and this includes the social media – is to exercise its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism.
My appeal for unity is predicated on the seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people. For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.
The most immediate is Boko Haram’s insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces but victory can not be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we can not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.
This government will do all it can to rescue them alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial murder at the hands of the police. Since then through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying force taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.
Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away from Islam as one can think of. At the end of the hostilities when the group is subdued the Government intends to commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connexions to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a reccurrence of this evil. For now the Armed Forces will be fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko haram. We shall overhaul the rules of engagement to avoid human rights violations in operations. We shall improve operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human right violations by the Armed Forces.
Boko Haram is not only the security issue bedeviling our country. The spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in our land. We are going to erect and maintain an efficient, disciplined people – friendly and well – compensated security forces within an over – all security architecture.
The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is due to end in December, but the Government intends to invest heavily in the projects, and programmes currently in place. I call on the leadership and people in these areas to cooperate with the State and Federal Government in the rehabilitation programmes which will be streamlined and made more effective. As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring peace and build prosperity for our people.
No single cause can be identified to explain Nigerian’s poor economic performance over the years than the power situation. It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. Continuous tinkering with the structures of power supply and distribution and close on $20b expanded since 1999 have only brought darkness, frustration, misery, and resignation among Nigerians. We will not allow this to go on. Careful studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest, safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to Nigerians.
Unemployment, notably youth un-employment features strongly in our Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the problem frontally through revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining as well as credits to small and medium size businesses to kick – start these enterprises. We shall quickly examine the best way to revive major industries and accelerate the revival and development of our railways, roads and general infrastructure.
Your Excellencies, My fellow Nigerians I can not recall when Nigeria enjoyed so much goodwill abroad as now. The messages I received from East and West, from powerful and small countries are indicative of international expectations on us. At home the newly elected government is basking in a reservoir of goodwill and high expectations. Nigeria therefore has a window of opportunity to fulfill our long – standing potential of pulling ourselves together and realizing our mission as a great nation.


Our situation somehow reminds one of a passage in Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar
There is a tide in the affairs of men which,
taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life,
Is bound in shallows and miseries.


We have an opportunity. Let us take it.
Thank you
Muhammadu Buhari
President Federal Republic of NIGERIA
and
Commander in-Chief of Armed Force.

A Word For Muhammadu Buhari.

 

 

The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi; olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

As the Coaster bus tried to meander through the surging crowd and the sea of human heads, chanting “Sai Baba”, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari tapped his running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, by the shoulder, pointed in the direction of the vehicle’s window and asked: “Look at that man; what can you see from his face?”

Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who was then apparently just adjusting to life as a politician, replied: “I can see real excitement on his face. Like many others here, the man is obviously very happy to see us.”

Evidently not satisfied with the response he got, Buhari asked Osinbajo to look at the man again. When the former Attorney General of Lagos State returned the same answer, Buhari decided to lecture him: “That man you are looking at believes that if we win this coming election, all his problems will be solved within 24 hours after we take over.”

The import of that scene and the ensuing dialogue in Gusau, Zamfara State on January 21 this year, as captured by Osinbajo at the first Abuja edition of ‘The Platform’ on May Day, is that Buhari is well aware of the burden of expectations that he carries as he becomes president of Nigeria tomorrow. Yet he has no magic wand with which to revalue a Naira of our national currency to approximate to an American Dollar “with immediate effect”. He cannot snap his fingers to conjure electricity to power our homes. Fuel queues will not disappear from our petrol stations because Buhari has just been swept into office with the promise of ‘change’. And Abubakar Shekau’s army of Boko Haram killers are not likely to surrender to the authorities after Buhari assumes office tomorrow.

In his article on democratic transitions, Dankwart Rustow draws a distinction between theories that seek to explain the genesis of democracy and theories that address democratic stability and our situation today approximates more to the latter. Yet, according to Rustow, the ability to build consensus by finding common grounds in the wake of a regime change depends on the capacity of the leader who must have a long-range vision of what he wants to achieve. That, I imagine, is where the expectations from Buhari derive because he comes to the number one job more prepared than any of his civilian predecessors in office.

Buhari is the first Nigerian civilian to personally seek to be president and pursued his dream (even after three defeats) until he realised it. All his civilian predecessors became president or prime minister either by accident or through the benevolence of some other do-gooders. This is an issue I have written about before but on a day such as this, it is important to remind us of what Buhari’s victory truly represents.

At Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Sir Ahmadu Bello should have been the Prime Minister as leader of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) which won majority of the seats at the parliamentary elections. But for personal reasons, the late Sardauna of Sokoto ceded the office to Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who became Prime Minister instead.

During the Second Republic in 1979, Alhaji Shehu Shagari was seeking to go to the Senate on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) which had heavyweights like Maitama Sule, Adamu Ciroma, Shettima Ali Monguno and the late Abubakar Olusola Saraki jostling for the presidential ticket. At the end, Shagari became our president. In August 1993, Chief Ernest Shonekan was appointed by General Ibrahim Babangida to head his contraption called Interim National Government after the June 12 presidential election annulment fiasco.

In 1998, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was in prison praying for God to deliver him from the clutches of General Sani Abacha when fate played a fast one on his jailer. With Abacha dead, Obasanjo was released from prison and offered the presidency of Nigeria to which he famously retorted, ‘how many presidents do you want to make of me?’ As it would happen, after spending two-terms in office, Obasanjo began to play Oliver Twist, by asking for more years. But by the time his third-term ambition collapsed in 2006 with no room left to manoeuvre, not only did Obasanjo handpick the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as successor, his wish eventually became Nigeria’s command. And finally, through the misfortunes of others, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s legendary good luck catapulted him from deputy governor to governor to vice president until he became the Commander-in-Chief.

What the foregoing says most eloquently is that in Buhari, Nigeria will have its first civilian leader who consciously sought the presidency which presupposes that he must have an idea of what he would do in office. Buhari also defeated the incumbent president, the first of such to happen in Nigeria.Notwithstanding all these, what is perhaps Buhari’s biggest selling point today is that he comes to office with what is usually described as “Referent Power”. He is generally trusted as a man who would not fiddle with the treasury in a society where integrity in the public arena is very much in short supply. But leading by example does not make Buhari a perfect man, and that is what worries me about the way some of his supporters are going on as if we have just elected a prophet.

Buhari will do this. Buhari will do that. Those are the tales we have been hearing from some time-servers who may not even know the man but are already positioning themselves through the media in the bid to hijack him and our collective destiny. Yet, the reality of our national condition today is that Buhari can do practically nothing without seeking the patience and understanding of Nigerians. And for that to happen, Buhari must be seen to be human. That means having the courage to admit to mistakes and failings (where they occur) along the way and being bold enough to make course corrections.

For sure, there are many weeks, months and hopefully years ahead to write about Buhari who will, from tomorrow, be on the “line of fire” for whatever fate befalls our country. But as I wish him well, I want to end my piece with a simple story about the true essence of leadership by example which requires enormous sacrifices. It is a lesson that will serve Buhari who should be wise enough to dispense with the cult of personality being built around him if he does not want to fail.

Concerned that her son was addicted to eating a lot of sugar, a mother sought appointment to see the legendary Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi. When she finally did, with her son in tow, she said: “The whole nation listens to you, please tell my son to stop eating sugar, as it is not good for his health”. Ghandi replied, “I cannot tell him that. But you may bring him back in a few weeks and then I will talk to him.”

Upset and disappointed, the mother took the boy home.Two weeks later, she came back. This time Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said “Son, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.” The boy nodded his head and made a solemn commitment to heed the admonition. Puzzled, the boy’s mother asked Ghandi, “Why did you send us away two weeks ago when you could have simply told the boy what you just did?”

Gandhi smiled and said: “Two weeks ago, I was eating a lot of sugar myself.”

May God grant Buhari success as he assumes the mantle of leadership tomorrow as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank You, President Jonathan
In a piece titled “Goodluck to the President”, published on this page on 31^st May 2012 at a period Dr. Jonathan was marking his first year in office as elected president, I reminded him of what I told his handlers in May 2010. My thesis was that courting public adulation, as they were doing at the time, could ultimately prove to be counter-productive. To drive home my point, I used a fictional account of the events which followed the death in 1997 of Princess Diana as depicted in ‘The Queen’, a multiple award winning 2006 British film starring Helen Mirren.

While Queen Elizabeth IIsaw Diana’s death as a private family affair, then newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair exploited the situation by reflecting the public wish for an official expression of grief. This instantly earned Blair public acclamation while the Queen became so unpopular that many were even calling for the abrogation of the monarchy. The instructive dialogue from the encounter (as depicted in the film) which may also serve Buhari who assumes office tomorrow as President of Nigeria goes thus:

Queen Elizabeth II: You don't think that the affection people once had for me, for this institution, has been diminished?

Tony Blair: No, not at all. You are more respected now than ever.

Queen Elizabeth II: I gather some of your closest advisers were less fulsome in their support.

Tony Blair: One or two but as a leader, I could never have added my voice to that chorus.

Queen Elizabeth II: Because you saw all those headlines and you thought: 'One day this might happen to me'...

Tony Blair: Oh... er...

Queen Elizabeth II (cuts in): ...and it will, Mr. Blair; quite suddenly and without warning...

Today, to put it mildly, Blair is not a very popular man in Britain. Similarly, I am sure President Jonathan cannot claim to be happy with the way he is being perceived today, 24 hours before he leaves office, against the background that when he took over power in May 2010, he could do no wrong. Incidentally, many of his fair-weather supporters who were hailing him yesterday have moved on as he himself admitted two weeks ago.

Notwithstanding, I believe President Jonathan has in the last five years tried his best for our country, and considering the manner in which he conceded defeat after the election, he can leave office with some pride. Not only did he save the nation from what could have been a serious crisis, he demonstrated the power of personal example that helped set the tone for several other defeated candidates at the elections. And with that, he has left a democratic legacy for which he will forever be remembered.

It is therefore my hope that the incoming Buhari administration will accord President Jonathan nothing but respect after office. He deserves it.


Still on the Subsidy Book
Perhaps because it came at a time the nation was groaning under the yoke of acute fuel scarcity that has affected all the critical sectors, the manuscript of my book, ‘The Inside Story of the Fuel Subsidy Scam’, released online http://bit.ly/1EY9s80 last Thursday has been generating considerable interest. And I hope that the next administration will pay attention to the details therein so that they don’t continue to make the same mistakes that have culminated in the crisis we are going through today as a nation.

However, following my intervention on the subsidy issue, I have in the last one week had to respond to several mails, all pointing in one direction: that I am now only advocating for the removal of fuel subsidy because a new government is coming and that I did not support President Jonathan’s efforts in that direction. Nothing can be farther from the truth.

I have for long understood the danger the subsidy regime portends to our economy and for that reason, been an advocate against it as demonstrated in my piece of last week - House Report and Buhari’s First Major Call. But even before then, when it became evident that President Jonathan was finally resolved to put an end to the rent element of the downstream sector or the petroleum sector, I came out clearly to endorse removal of subsidy, even though it was not a popular position to take at the time.

Because the piece, titled, “Lend Me One From Tomorrow’s”, and published on this page on 13^th October, 2011, still speaks to the current situation, I am reproducing it so that readers can better appreciate how the subsidy regime remains antithetical to our economic well-being as a nation:
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If the morning, as they say, shows the day, then we should brace up for trouble in the coming weeks. Following the public release of the 2012-2015 Medium Term Fiscal Framework and Medium Term Expenditure Framework, there is already a groundswell of opposition from labour and other stakeholders. And in the last few days, I have received several mails from readers who plead with me to throw my lot with ‘the people’ by opposing the complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum sector otherwise called removal of fuel subsidy.

I want to preface my intervention with a story I told sometimes in 1999 or thereabout which is still very relevant today. And like I did back then, I seek the indulgence of readers because the story is about a supposedly loving couple having problems which bordered on sex. The husband happened to be a man with healthy appetite hence he would not allow his wife any breathing space. After putting up with his antics for some years, she took the matter to her in-law as the 'court of first instance'. After narrating her story, her mother-in-law asked whether her son was maltreating the wife in other ways; she said no. Was he providing for her as he should? She answered in the affirmative. The parents of the husband declared that the wife had no case because their son was only claiming his rightful entitlements. Case dismissed!

Defeated, the poor woman accepted her fate for a while before reporting to her own parents. Let us call this the 'court of appeal'. Here, they equally asked the same set of questions her in-laws asked. Her mother however added: "Is your husband dating another woman?" She said no. In the ruling that followed, they scolded their daughter for attempting to shirk her marital responsibility. The appeal therefore failed and the man continued to claim his entitlements. Ultimately, the wife took the matter to their local pastor as the final arbiter, if you like the ‘Supreme Court’. Having listened to the tale, the pastor sent for the husband so he could hear both sides. When the husband came, the pastor asked the wife to retell her tale which she did. "Is it true?" He replied: "It is true Sir but the problem is that I don't want to have affairs outside."

This to the pastor was a serious problem but after a discussion that involved bargaining and trade-offs, it was agreed that a maximum of three times a day was enough for any couple. Thus a ceiling was effectively placed on how many times the man could 'harass' his poor wife a day. It was a Friday evening and back home, the man, quite naturally, claimed his 'quota' for that day. Then came Saturday: To cut the story short, by mid day, the husband had performed his matrimonial obligation three times and the wife thought she would be left alone. When he therefore started behaving funny again, she exploded: "What is the problem? Have I not met my responsibility for today?"

Looking crestfallen, the husband replied: “Yes, I know, but please lend me one from tomorrow's".

The friend who told me this story said it was a real life situation. He may be right or it may just be a ‘fabu’ but what is not in doubt is that the tale is a metaphor for the Nigerian condition and our proclivity to borrow from the future. Like the irresponsible husband in the story whose marriage was definitely bound to crash at some point, we have been borrowing so much from the future that it is only a matter of time before we reach rock bottom. But I understand what the current agitation is all about.

Like most commentators, I can make a thousand arguments on why it is callous to overburden the poor of our people by removing the current subsidies on fuel. I can canvass brilliant ideas to justify why, if it is only cheap petrol that the people enjoy, so let it be. I can present moving stories of the social consequences of the removal of subsidy: The pain, the anguish and the tears to come. Yet given the situation on ground, there is no way we can continue with the corrupt, inefficient and unsustainable subsidy regime. To do so will amount to entrenching a culture of continually borrowing from tomorrow.

I have followed the drama in the Senate concerning a proposed motion by Senator Bukola Saraki where he noted that in the 2011 Appropriation Act, the sum of N240 billion was allocated for subsidy yet by August ending, N931 billion had been spent with a projection that by the end of the year, “we will have a fuel subsidy bill of over N1.2 trillion as against the N240 billion budgeted in the Appropriation Act.”

Making allusion to the (mis)management of the federation account and the subsidy abracadabra by NNPC, Saraki drew the attention of the lawmakers to the fact that the 2011 Appropriation Act was based on “a Capital budget of N1.1 trillion for the entire country yet a single agency of government can incur the same amount without due approval of the National Assembly.” As former Governors’ Forum Chairman, I understand where Saraki is coming from but he is also aware the problem did not start with the 2011 Appropriation Act as fuel subsidy accounts mostly for the distortions we have had in budget planning and execution in the last decade just as it feeds the monumental corruption in our oil and gas sector.

Fortunately, President Goodluck Jonathan has finally come to terms with the reality that you cannot rule a country by Facebook! Given my understanding of Nigeria, our president, especially in these difficult times, must be like the man leading the orchestra: he has to back the crowd. Now President Jonathan knows. And he deserves our support. We must understand that he didn’t create the situation under which we find ourselves today. All the leaders before him, with our collective connivance as a nation, had been borrowing from tomorrow. Now that he has mustered the courage to say, “thus far and no more," the least our lawmakers and other critical stakeholders can do is to offer their understanding and support.

There is a way in which the series started three weeks ago on this page (on a fiscal regime that will freeze oil money away from recurrent expenditure) ties in with this issue. But my support for the economic direction of the Jonathan administration is a qualified one. I want to see concrete plans as to where the ‘savings’ from fuel subsidy will be targeted because it makes no sense to me to impose heavy burden on the people and then be funding dubious projects like the N30 billion National ID scheme. I also want to see greater commitment to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (original version).

While the argument for withdrawing fuel subsidy is compelling, there is an urgent need to carry along critical stakeholders in the media, civil society and labour because, to borrow an adage, it is much more productive to erect a fence at the top of the cliff than to build a hospital below. The days ahead are definitely bound to be very difficult and the month of December will be particularly critical. But I believe there is an extent to which we can continue to borrow from tomorrow...