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Between Democracy and Incitement - My response to MDD/MRD Challenge Dear Sir, It is shocking that leaders who have served this country before now in privileged positions but have just recently suffered a logical set-back in their opportunistic careers can play with such dangerous words as 'coup' and 'frame-up.' These are political apostates who, like the Boubon Kings, have learnt nothing from history. The truth is that these new democrats believe in nothing except their deep pockets and opulent life-styles sustained by long years of experience in kleptocracy, rent-seeking and unbridled patronage dressed up with the garments of predatory ethnicity. They would soon start crawling back to the PDP because they lack the capacity, mental and physical, to provide the alternative platform to the ruling party. I lose no sleep over the arrival of these yesterday's men of our darker past masquerading as the new opposition. They can't fly. Too much excess baggage. Can't you, the media spare us their show of impotence? Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Editor’s note:
Who are these MDD/MRD men? If you want to volunteer a list
of their names, we’ll be more than happy to publish it on this
page.
Falsehoods about northerners August 2, 2005 Dear Sir, I am worried about the stereotype concerning Northerners, for the simple reason that it is the most widespread; it has remained ingrained, so to speak, in the consciousness of Southerners generally, such that even a primary six pupil at that tender age pictures the Northerner as lazy. The young and the old, educated and illiterate, the elites and peasants, rural and urban dwellers, rich and poor, male and female all generally, perceive the average northerner in that mould. How was it that rather than dissolve gradually as our other perceptions of some other tribes, that of the Northerner has seemed to wax stronger even unto this 21st century? It is because the media, that powerful and influential medium that fashions images, has itself been bandying over the years this singsong of the Northerner being a “lazy dullard…” That is the image of the average Northerner that the press hangs up for us. And because Southerners are relatively more educated, richer and have greater access to the media (most of which are based and controlled by the south), they swallow this oft-repeated stereotype of Northerners hook, line and sinker. And so it stuck and still sticks. In truth the press creates perception. But perception is different from reality. During the military era, military administrators who made the most noise in the press were considered to be the most hardworking performers, which was not necessarily so. Foreigners’ perception of Nigerians as ‘419ners’ and the like is gleaned from what they read in the media, including the Internet. But it is not a true characterization of Nigerians. It is different from the reality on the ground, the reality being that there are far many more Nigerians who are decent and earn their living through honest hardwork. I am persuaded that the image of the Northerner as a “lazy dullard…” which is mirrored to the rest of society is false .It is not a true picture or reflection of Northerners generally. I had my tertiary education in the North, precisely the University of Maiduguri. For about five years (including preliminary studies), I mingled with many Northerners in the classroom. I returned to the North in late 2003 to work as a Special Assistant in Nasarawa State. I can tell you that they are generally intelligent. They won departmental and faculty prizes as did their Southern colleagues. And I remember that in the early 1980s, the Nigerian Television showed a young Northerner who did scientific, mathematical calculations off the cuff, in a jiffy. The audience would give him complex mathematical calculations and he gave the answer instantly (like today’s computers) while the studio audience and presenter struggled with their calculators for minutes to confirm the answer. The point is that all human beings on earth are bestowed with intellect. They have all also been given abilities by the Creator as a gift. But these abilities have to be developed or unfolded, otherwise they remain dormant. Opportunities or circumstances for developing them could differ. That is where there could be differences. Because Southerners came into contact with Western education earlier, they took off at the starting blocks faster than their Northern counterparts. Specifically, the old Western Region was the first to make this contact, so they were educationally advanced than the two other regions. The Eastern region then followed suit and sooner than later they caught up with the west. Since 1999, under the new democratic dispensation, a new breed of leaders has emerged in most Northern States. They are educated, highly intelligent governors. They are expanding the educational space and opportunities for their citizens, creating favourable circumstances for educational advancement of their people by establishing primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, including Universities. Foremost among them is Dr. Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa State, a teacher, engineer, lawyer, astute politician and humanist. Should this momentum be sustained by future administrations, it will be only a matter of time before the North levels up with the South educationally. The next level of the educational revolution will be the girl-child education; the proportion of girl students to the total student population in the region is on the average, about 30 percent. The support for that is being given by their wives. In Nasarawa State for example, the governor’s wife who is also founder and executive director of the Child Rights Foundation, Barrister Khadija Abdullahi-Adamu has in recent months embarked on zonal sensitization campaign visits on girl-child education. Let us now look at the characterization of the average Northerner as “lazy…” This also is untrue. Consider that agriculture is the main preoccupation of majority of Northerners. Agricultural work, tilling of the land involves real hardwork. There is no job that is as physically exacting as farming. The bulk of the food produced and consumed in our country comes from the North, from peasant farmers in the North. Certainly people engaged in this kind of arduous work, who feed the nation from their sweat, are anything but lazy. As for the notion that Northerners covet power, one can only state that like the social scientists aver, man is a political animal who courts power. Every Nigerian aspires to wield power; it is not a peculiarity of any group. When Northerners occupied the nation’s number one political seat, it was generally thought that they were the cause of the nation’s woes. Now that power has shifted, Nigerians are still crying. All sections including Mr. President’s own zone are complaining of being marginalized. The fact of the matter is that Nigerians generally, are compulsive critics, they hardly see anything good in their leaders. This of course is wrong. Victoria Ngozi Ikeano
Debt Cancellation and the Nigerian Factor August 1, 2005 Dear Sir: Weeks after the cancellation of some of the nations' debt to the tune of $18 billion by the Paris club, we're still being greeted by paid advertisements in the dailies by government praise-singers who never seem to allow any opportunity to avail themselves pass them by. And till date, every section of Nigerians from pan-ethnic groups, association of professionals to students' bodies still have one thing or the other to say about how the money should be expended. Funny, how the cancellation of the nations' debt to the tune of the
said amount will automatically translate to an improved standard of living
for a nation that has little or nothing to show for the tens of billions
it has accrued from managing its oil resources. Are not the people of
the Niger Delta and indeed the whole of the nation laden with tales and
sights of depleted infrastructure, underdevelopment and poverty. Another dimension to the issue by way of the Nigerian factor is that we never fail to catch up on the latest development to the detriment of burning national issues. Is it any wonder then that matters such as the agitation for resource control and increased derivation funds by the people of the South-South have been swept under the carpet or better still, made to receive the backseat attention while we yet bask in the euphoria of debt cancellation? These remain a tool readily used by this government in perverting our supposedly shortlived memory as a nation when they drown deafening agitation and issues of national concerns using blinded and exaggerated achievements or latest issues. Welcoming as the development of debt cancellation is, it remains in our national interest to move on from it to issues confronting our daily lives which the average and grassroots can directly relate with. Why expend so much energy in celebrating monetary achievements when the very elements to ensure its proper usage are themselves lacking. The government though realises this when it echoes that there is indeed poverty of values in the land. Which is somewhat ironic coming from the same government that just finished expending millions of tax-payers' money in hosting a dramatic conference where dearth of values were themselves displayed by arrogant chosen ignoramus cum representatives who failed to see beyond their noses in arguing against well deserved agitation for a minimum of a 25 per cent derivation for the long oppressed people of the South-South. Adebayo Adegbembo,
Dikko, Resource Control And South-South July 31, 2005 Dear sir, After my attention was drawn by some South-South sympathisers to Umaru Dikko's diatribe published in The Punch of Sunday 17th I have had to read that interview several times in order to decipher the thrust or import of the old man's windy and winding excursion. After a harrowing time, I came to the conclusion that Dikko's diatribe centred on three issues. The first effusion was a calculated and provocative insult on the leadership of the South-South delegation to the botched National Confab. This great statesman of northern extraction branded all the South-South leaders cowards for kowtowing to the demands and pressures of the youth in the oppressed region. His second point was that the initial capital that was used to extract or explore oil in the Niger Delta came from the groundnut purse of the North after the South West and South East had refused to part with their funds. The final point he made is that the North has always been and is a senior partner in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It may be apposite to state some fundamentals from the outset. The presence of Dr. Umaru Dikko at the Confab was a form of rehabilitation for this great politician. After many years in the wilderness of politics, his coming was a revival of sorts. He had to make himself relevant by appearing to speak for the North. An examination of his utterances would reveal the plight of a man who is yet to regain his breath after the long soporific moments in the crate of time. Else, how can we explain his reference to the leaders of a region as cowards when right thinking people realise how tense the nation was and is at this time? For those who care to know, the suffering in the Niger Delta is palpable. The level of radicalisation is also high. Any leader who wishes to dine with the big men in Abuja to the detriment of his people back at home would have himself to blame ultimately. Indeed, except something serious is done in the region, the Asari Dokubo threat would be child's play. My one-year stay at home from June last year to June this year was very instructive to me. If the leaders do not lead right, the boys in the Niger Delta will revolt. The youth have become militant because they look ahead of them and believe that there is not future for them. We must beware of a man who believes he has nothing to lose. So, it is not a question of being afraid of the youth. The truth is that unlike Dikko's terra firma, South-South leaders do give account of their stewardship, directly or indirectly. The followership is vibrant, knowledgeable and educated. They know when their leaders are gerrymandering. They also know when their leaders insult them. When, for example, Mr Gamaliel Onosode suggested 18% as a compromise position at the National Conference, you should have heard the comments from the young men and women of the region. Onosode knows this. Dikko has to learn this. The firm position of the delegation has turned them into heroes. Niger Deltans know the governors and leaders who have stood behind the clamour for the goose that lays the egg to have its due. Does it surprise Dikko that for the first time retired Generals from the region have openly challenged their former C-in-C? Does this send a message? There is a general feeling of betrayal in the Niger Delta. The feeling is that for too long have the people of the region have been exploited, cheated and marginalized. For those who have travelled the region, it is offensive to one's sense of justice to see so much squalor in a land that produces so much wealth for the nation. Perhaps, all members of the National Assembly should travel the length and breadth of the region before taking the final vote when (or if) the report of the Confab ever comes up for debate. Dikko argues that the initial investment on oil came from the North.
If we accept this product of Dikko's imagination as truth, may we know
how much profit Dikko's investment has yielded sine 1960? May we know
how much of Delta oil money has been committed to exploring oil in the
Chad Basin? For the records, it was the Federal Government and Shell
that provided seed money that was used for initial exploration. Before
the Nigerian Civil War, the derivation formula was not 13% for the monkey's
work. The change was meant to be temporary, to prosecute the war. After
tasting the cheap money from the Delta, everybody went to sleep. Indeed
while states were being created the Niger Delta was denied more states
for a long time. When finally Delta State was created, it had the voice
of Jacob and the body of Esau. The other states that were created by
the powers that be have now turned out to be unviable. These are the
states that were created and sustained by oil money. Now that the States
which generate the funds are asking for their due, somebody cries that
these same states will starve if the Niger Delta takes 25% of the oil
revenue. This magnificent politician was rescued by British intelligence. In a decent society such a fellow would never be allowed to represent any organisation, state or body till the end of his days. But in Nigeria, everything and anything is possible. Tchicaya U Tamsi the poet says that 'he has used the excuse of his rotten teeth to keep his mouth shut decently'. But for the great respect which I have for a man of Umaru Dikko's age, stature and experience, I would have said Liyong's poem should guide this great man. All I can say is that Dikko is yet to recover from the sedation which the Buhari junta infused him. The resource control matter will never die. The conference ended without any real effort to mollify the South-South. We remember how the Udo Udoma's Constitutional conference almost collapsed because of Sharia. We remember how much effort the then Head of State put into the process to restore dialogue. We notice the absence of such rigour now. But we like the black man in Langston Hughes' poem, 'I too am America', will stay in the kitchen, eat well, work hard and later, no one can order us to remain in the background. In the words of Achebe, the thief has taken enough for the owner to notice. The future of the Nigerian federation will be determined by how we handle the resource control demand. Time will tell. Hope Eghagha
Obasanjo's tied hands July 20, 2005 Dear Sir, Were it not for those "temptresses" and their contaminated apples General Sani Abacha might still be with us today debating within himself and his sycophantic loyalists whether or not to run for the office of president in 2007. The Abacha billions exhumed from Switzerland and a host of other European countries would have remained where they were kept, yielding interests and possible funding for an Abacha comeback. Oh death how wicked thou art, laying bare those secrets which were meant to be between us and our fat and greedy bankers! There cannot be justice to the dead when it comes to apportioning blames for our collective misdemeanours. Comparatively lesser mortals like the Tafa Baloguns and Osujis of this world are meant to be the scapegoats and sacrificial lambs in our theatrical fight against corruption. At least we have succeeded at impressing the gullible world that something great is happening in our shores, and got a substantial portion of our debt written off. So General Ibrahim Babangida did not pocket any public money during his dictatorship from 1985 to 1993! So we have all been lousy 'coffee shop' gossipers, including General Olusegun Obasanjo himself who once accused the Babangida dictatorship of corruption and 'setting' political opponents! So all the glittering luxuries surrounding Babangida today were his inheritance which we have all along fail to acknowledge! The soothsayers that surrounded Abacha were all fake. If they had correctly foreseen the future for him he would not have jailed Obasanjo. If he were alive and contributed generously to Obasanjo's second coming, his billions would have remained intact. Unlike that arrogant Muhammadu Buhari, saying things Obasanjo would want to hear, as well as supporting that important presidential library project, would by now have propelled him to status of the yet-to-be-unveiled heir to the throne, what a pity. Let us be serious and stop fooling ourselves, the knowledgeable British politicians who asked after General Ibrahim Babangida knew he was alive (The Guardian July 8, 2005). In their diplomatic inquisitiveness, all they sought to know was why President Obasanjo had not probed the most corrupt one in the history of the nation. Babangida's billions may be hidden from us, but not to those intelligent British eyes and custodians of our loots. Obasanjo's hands, I believe, are simply tied! Anthony Akinola
Abacha, come back please: All is forgotten July 18, 2005 Dear Sir, ANOTHER June 12 has come and gone. With it, the country was treated to a parody of remembrance, a betrayal of a trust and a violation of a sacrifice. The first signal was sent by a so-called June 12 coalition (which very few had heard about. Having killed NADECO, they have the urge to keep creating new organisations whose agenda have nothing to do with the struggle). It ran an advertised list of Special Guests of Honour to grace a special symposium in remembrance of June 12. The names included Chief Dim (what a title) Odumegwu Ojukwu (the same Ojukwu whom Abacha sent round the world to rubbish NADECO), Dr. Kalu Idi Kalu (the same Kalu who served in Abacha's cabinet), Chief John Nwodo and Alhaji Balarabe Musa (the same Musa who refused to join NADECO). Worse was to come. The keynote address, as advertised was to be given by none other than General Muhammadu Buhari (Yes, the same Buhari who managed the Petroleum Tax Fund under General Abacha). Omitted from the list of invitees were the original prominent members of the June 12 struggle. Mallam Shehu Sanni (who was imprisoned), Dr. Amos Akingba (who was detained and later driven into exile), Dr. Peter Obadan (former Edo Deputy Governor who ran the London NADECO office), Chief Ralph Obioha (who ran the Canadian office), Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Ayo Opadokun, Joe Igbokwe, Colonel Abubakar Umar, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Chief Arthur Nwankwo, and Wale Oshun who took over from Ayo Opadokun, just to mention a few. When the event was eventually held, most of the heroes of democracy like Gen. Alani Akinrinade and Chief Oyegun stayed away from a politically leprous event. It is true that politicians would throw or forfeit principles on the altar of expediency. But even then, it must have been desperation that drove a Chief Falae into not only sharing the same political platform with General Buhari but proclaiming a readiness to form a regrouping of progressives that would include the likes of Buhari. Obviously, Nigerian salvation cannot be found within the ranks of such people driven by sheer crass ambition. I am ready to concede that NADECO was an umbrella under which several tendencies, some with contradictory agenda, found shelter. All were united by the common desire to get the military out of Nigerian politics. But I doubt how many of them subscribed to the core values of NADECO which were validation of June 12, restructuring of Nigeria and a return to true federalism. Some, I refrain from saying many, just wanted to climb on the backs of NADECO to inherit the structure and system put in place by the military and their civilian collaborators. Ike Okonta, in an incisive article, sometime ago, had made some allusions to the activities of some of the so-called NADECO exiles who spent more time on their business activities while abroad while pretending to be NADECO activists only to return home to become prominent office holders. One of them even has complaints filed with the British police for collecting money from Nigerians by pretending that he can get them British resident permits based on a non-existent NADECO resident permit quota. Of course, the so-called June 12 coalition is not the only one on the game. President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was one of the most brutalised victims of the Abacha regime, and who was translated from prison to State House, has found it expedient to surround himself with supporters of his torturers, whether within the cabinet, the corps of Special Advisers, or the corps of Special Assistants. No defence can be raised. It is simple sordid politics without redemption. One must readily admit that there are times when exigencies of state
dictate that past misdeeds should be overlooked. After the World War
II, President Charles de Gaulle decided to overlook the crimes of French
Nazi collaborators because he calculated that French communists posed
a greater threat to French national interests. No one could have accused
de Gaulle of adopting this policy for shabby personal and parochial reasons.
Similarly, after the World War II, the United States went in for mass
recruitment of German rocket scientists who became critical contributors
to the United States defence and space programmes. Even though this policy
could not be defended on moral grounds, no one could fault it on national
interest grounds. And that is not all. When the leading lights of thought lose their bearing, the nation suffers. What, one might ask, is the relevance, in this day and age, of raising a flag of "progressives" in Nigerian political life? Are our thinkers still stuck in the 1960s? Were the developmental programmes of the AD/AFENIFERE governors more "progressive" than those of their PDP or ANPP contemporaries? The development of Bayelsa, Cross River, Nasarawa, Jigawa, just to mention a few would put to shame what was on ground in Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun States, under progressive AD governors. Maybe it is the paucity of thought by aged men that is leading to a granite coalition of strange bedfellows, but it bodes ill for the nation. It desecrates the memory and the struggle and the sacrifice of our heroes past. Not that all is lost. Perhaps the more this political chicanery takes place, the more space will be created for genuine principled people to emerge and occupy the lofty moral grounds. It is only a hope. What else is left to hang on to? Dr. Adu Han
Babangida’s Flight of Fancy July 15, 2005 The only thing it takes for Mrs Maryam Babangida to muster the temerity,
boldness and audacity to insult the collective intelligence of Nigerians
once again that they will return to Aso Rock in 2007 was a statement
credited to President Olusegun Obasanjo in London that allegations of
corrupt enrichment and other criminal activities being levelled against
IBB were unsubstantiated coffee shop rumours. Nigeria has moved beyond a banana republic to take up a leadership position
in Africa, courtesy of President Obasanjo and God forbid that Nigeria
will fall into the hands of those who made her a laughing stock in the
comity of nations. Those who created yesterday's problems must never
control our tomorrow's potentials. President Obasanjo and his team have been breaking their backs for six
years now to clear the Augean stable a combination of Buhari, IBB, Abacha
and Abubakar left behind. Obasanjo and his team are virtually rebuilding
the burnt shop called Nigeria they left behind. They ruined NITEL, NEPA,
Nigeria Airways, NPA, NNPC, NAFCON, NNSC, banks, etc. They used sharp
axe and mowed down the things that held us together as a nation. They
set the major ethnic groups against one another, minorities against minorities,
brothers against brothers, friends against President Obasanjo, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Finance Minister, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili and many others went through excruciating experience to get 18 billion dollar debt these self-appointed leaders foisted on us off our shoulders. The president and his team have been going around the world pleading with the foreign investors they drove away to return to Nigeria. Political watchers and analysts are looking beyond 2007. The questions on everybody's lips now are; Who will succeed OBJ in 2007? Will such a person continue the reforms? Will the monumental progress he has recorded in almost every sector of the economy be sustained? Will such a person command the respect of the international community? Will such a person have the courage and the sagacity of OBJ? Will such a president be blunt as he is? Whoever is coming in 2007 must be an improvement on OBJ. And judging from the benchmarks on the ground some people like IBB are already disqualified. The shoes OBJ is leaving behind is damned too big for little-minded elements like IBB. IBB came to power in 1985 and was disgraced out in 1993 after eight years. Since he left power 14 years ago, he did not go back to school, he has not travelled outside to learn new things, he has been in self-imposed exile in Minna spending our money. Sometimes he sneaks out in the night to attend few functions. Now, how can a man who has not done anything to improve himself or add values to himself and others come back after 14 years to rule a nation that is still saddled with problems he created in the first place. I am told that there are two people that matters most in the history of any nation. First is the one who turned forest into a nation. The other is the one who turned a nation into a forest. IBB turned Nigeria into a forest. It takes sophisticated people to bring about sophisticated progress. It takes good leaders to bring about good governance. Only the deepcalls to the deep. People with 3'x2' mind cannot handle a 20-'x30' idea. Nigeria is no longer a huge laboratory where inept, weak, wicked and fraudulent leaders come to perform all kinds of experiment that bring no good to anybody except tears, agony, pains and death. We are in search of leaders not dealers. We need engaging leaders not clowns. I think Mrs Maryam Babangida should be contented with the running of her schools, the Al-Amin Schools and forget about Aso Rock. It will never be possible again, all things considered. If she is emboldened by the president's joke in London, I think she needs to do a study on the man, Obasanjo. Joe Igbokwe
Anti-Corruption crusade: “We want Quantity,
not Quality!” Dear Mr President, I wish to make a request for a pass to Aso Rock to come and pay my respects and to congratulate you for your recent assault on corruption. But it’s not going to be all praises as I intend to seize the opportunity to give you a piece of my mind on the selective nature of your assault and your narrow definition of corruption. Corruption is not only about stealing public fund or receiving gratifications. It is corruption and a crime to deny those who won elections their victory, and to award victory to those who lost. It is corruption to misuse the apparatus of government, particularly the security agents, to rig elections as widely done in the general and presidential elections of April 2003. It is corruption to claim the results of such elections as mandates from the people! Corruption includes the deceit of trusting Nigerians whom you promise
one thing, and do something else. Corruption includes creating situations
of uncertainty and stress, for the entire populace to gain selfish advantage.
Corruption includes playing one religion against the other and one ethnic
group against another for whatever gains. However, the definition of corruption does not include the role I played in bringing you to power, something for which I am still doing penance. Chief Monday Arewaniyi A.k.a Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum
(ACF)
President’s aides sock it to Awoniyi April 10, 2005 Dear Chief, Your comments are full of foul innuendoes and false assertions clearly aimed at impugning the integrity of President Obasanjo and his close aides without justification. It is most unfortunate that at a time when other patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians are commending the President for his latest onslaught against corruption, your perception of current realities has become so beclouded by your unwarranted ill-feelings against the President that you cannot bring yourself to acknowledge, as other Nigerians do, the President’s unprecedented efforts to slay the monster of corruption in our society. Obasanjo will not be distracted from his efforts to build a better Nigeria by you and your ilk. The President has always challenged anyone who has verifiable evidence of corruption against any person within or outside his administration to come forward with such evidence and see if no action will be taken against the accused. This challenge is still there for you and your fellow travellers to take up. If you think the role you played in bringing the President to power is worth investigating, then come up with your facts instead of continuing your campaign of calumny against the Obasanjo administration through lies and thoughtless generalisations. Mrs Remi Oyo, Editor’s note: Is it because of something the powerful individuals expect to come their way that doesn’t come; or something that comes their way they do not expect? What do you think? If you have a comment, you can either please send your “foul innuendoes and false assertions clearly aimed at impugning the integrity of President Obasanjo and his close aides without justification” to the editor. Or, your “baseless vituperation
against the government of the day, borne out of personal frustration
over unfulfilled ambitions “ to:
monday-arewaniyi@veryhotmail.com
Anyaoku and Gambari: Poor homeless patriots April 3, 2005 Dear Sir, May I through this medium congratulate the ‘life’ president of the federal republic on the allocation of choice government properties in Lagos, built during colonial times with government money to Anyaoku and Gambari, who are homeless patriots. These men served as diplomats for Nigeria, and are therefore experts at politely getting what they want at little cost. They were trained at great cost by the nation, and have throughout their life been engaged in the patriotic art of lying for Nigeria. In other words, they have been able to convince us through the current executive, that the ‘getting’ of houses by them was their actually ‘giving’ something back to Nigeria. Anyaoku is from Obosi, close to Onitsha, he has never been unemployed and has earned a good part of his remuneration in pounds sterling, crowning his career as a senior staff of the British Commonwealth. Anyaoku can build a house for himself. He does not live in Lagos, but comes from Anambra state, his house was not torched during the recent mayhem at Awka. Infact, he stands to lose a lot, because some of the properties burnt down could have been sold to his offspring during future allocations by the state government, which refuses to explain his deafening silence on the Anambra imbroglio. (Let that crazy Achebe stay out there and weather the vicissitudes of winter in old age.) Gambari is a scion of the ruling house of Ilorin. He does not come from Lagos. He earns a fat sum in foreign currency as a United Nations official. He has never been unemployed in his life. Needless to say, he too could purchase a house for himself, and was living somewhere before his recent posting to New York. His allocation is actually for strategic reasons as a fall back on the likely future torching of houses in Ilorin, by the Odua Peoples Congress. The cases of Anyaoku and Gambari, are just examples of involuntary conversion of state property, and it is legal and based on international law. The ‘right of return’ is a fundamental liberty right proclaimed by the United Nations and applicable to the likes of Anyaoku and Gambari. It is trite to mention that the Nigerian state being a law abiding entity, ‘shall’ do all in its power to obey treaties voluntarily entered on behalf of Nigeria by the aforementioned two. Enemies of democracy should stop questioning the powers of the executive to cut underhand deals with their cronies, in an environment where it is not wise to be honest, when nobody is looking. I have a word for the detractors of this government who are nursing the following queries: Firstly, where does Aremu the great, the embodiment of the state, have the right to allocate houses to the aforementioned two, so that they could ‘return’ to the country? Secondly, can’t they build their own houses, buy one, or partake in the bidding process like normal decent people? Finally, what did we expect from men with elastic consciences, anywhere? The answer lies when we find out how old these men are, and what they needed these houses for, apart from greed and their insufferable belief that Nigeria owes them. Allocation of houses to them was actually unfortunate for them, because they happen to come from a country where the great are small and the small are great, in other words they lacked a place in their villages, through no fault of theirs, where they can live and scratch any part of their body that itches, which is the bane of the poor of this country. It is the will of God. I have no comment on the remaining 205 allocations made to people who never have to speak about their actions because their actions speak for it. They at least, were the normal and honest Nigerians who believe in the federal common wealth. Sincerely, Tatabonko Orok Edem
Prince Tony Momoh puts a messenger in his place February 12, 2005 My Dear Abdul, I WAS worried when I saw your name listed among those who have gone to court to question the President’s right to call Nigerians together to discuss problems they believe can make for a better country which should create the environment for discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism. After I had become tired trying to reach you on your mobile line, I had to send you a text message to which you sent a reply. I asked whether you were opposed to the invoking of a constitutional conference, and I can assure you that I was relieved when you said you were not. I was relieved because I was afraid that you might not have known that your people in Edo North Senatorial District had decided through the Tactical Committee meeting of the Afenmai Peoples Assembly that they would not boycott the conference and that they would push for restructuring the federation. They said they would relate to other senatorial districts in Edo State, and express their views at the South-South Peoples Assembly. You can then see how easily your association with the group opposing the conference can be interpreted back home as undermining the decision those who voted for you had taken. You may have had other reasons, therefore, to join 56 of your colleagues in the House of Representatives to move the court to stop the President from asking Nigerians to meet and discuss their problems. From the volume of water that has passed under the bridge, it would seem that you and your colleagues at the National Assembly are opposed to what the President is doing for reasons that are not personal. You are saying that Mr. President is usurping the power of the National Assembly and that he has no right so to do. I will not hesitate to accept your case if you recognize who is the arbiter in matters of this nature. The arbiter is not you and your colleagues, nor any interpretation you or your colleagues may want to give in asserting the powers you have to make law. Your claim must be backed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which created the position you occupy today. You are one of 360 in the House because the Constitution says so. And the Senate of the National Assembly has a membership of 109 because the Constitution says so. The President is there today because the Constitution says so, and other office-holders in other organs of government at the centre, the states or local government areas are there because the Constitution so provides. So, the powers you and your colleagues claim to have and which the President is being accused of usurping must be right there in the Constitution. I have searched for them without success, and that is why I am writing this letter to you to withdraw your name from the list of those who have gone to court. I would like to ask you to come along with me for the search. But let us accept what the courts themselves have held as trite, and that is that every part of the Constitution counts for the purpose of establishing what its provisions are. You were elected from Owan in Edo North, my own part of Edo State. I have a stake in your reputation because you are from Ivbiaro where I was a teacher; you made a name in journalism, a profession I am proud to be part of; and you were outstanding in boldly questioning the excesses of the military as a member of the civil society family. The demand of the Constitution was and remains that as an elected member of the House, you cannot take office until you have met the requirements of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The schedule is in two parts, both of them being oaths you must take. You know what it means to breach an oath or be seen to be doing so. The first oath is the Oath of Allegiance in which you swear to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Nigeria. You swore that you would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. And you asked God to help you fulfill this serious undertaking. Then you took the other oath, the oath of office, in which you promised to perform your functions as law-maker honestly, to the best of your ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law. Whatever you do in office, you swore, would always be in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There was another area of this oath which many of your colleagues
seem to have forgotten. It is the area that spells out fully what
all organs of government must be doing. It is chapter two of the
Constitution which deals with what our dreams are in the social,
political, economic, educational, environmental, technological,
cultural and foreign policy areas. Abdul, you swore to strive to
preserve these fundamental objectives and directive principles
of state policy. You swore to preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution. Only one of the 12 sections in chapter two deals with the fundamental obligation of the government. The section says that it shall, not may, be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government and all authorities and persons exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of the chapter. This is why you swore to do this before you took office. The second part defines clearly the relationship between the government
and the people. The type of Nigeria endorsed is that which is based
on the principles of democracy and social justice. A declaration
was then made that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria.
It is from the people that government, through the Constitution,
derives all its powers and authority. This means that anyone who
says he has power to do anything must point to the section of the
Constitution that grants that power. There is, therefore, nothing
inherent in the position of anyone who claims to exercise power
in our polity. The fourth part imposes on the mass media the obligation to monitor governance on behalf of the people and hold the government accountable to the people. They are therefore the voice of the people which the government must listen to, if it wants peace. The final part of the chapter tells the citizens, from the President to the market woman, to abide by the Constitution, respect its ideals and institutions and legitimate authorities, help to enhance the power, prestige and good name of Nigeria, respect the dignity of other citizens, and live in unity and harmony, and in the spirit of common brotherhood. Abdul, the Constitution makes it clear that the power to make law for the country resides in you at the House and your colleagues at the Senate. Your power to make law is defined. It is for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part of it. But you are restricted. You cannot make law on everything under the sun. You have power to make law, to the exclusion of any state house of assembly, in the areas listed in the Exclusive List. They are in Part 1 to the Second Schedule to the Constitution and they number 68, including two omnibus sections. You also have overriding power over the second list in which both you and state assemblies can make law. But you have no power to make law to destabilize the country. In another way of saying it, you would be acting in self-interest, and this you swore never to do, if you moved to prevent what would undermine the motto of the Federal Republic which section 15 of the Constitution you swore to defend tells you is Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress. Let us move to that part of the Constitution which people run
to in defence of their rights even when they refuse to perform
their duties. The rights are not negotiable because they are the
gifts of God to man which have been universally recognized and
are documented so that no one would be in doubt about their place
in the affairs of men. You and I have, like any other Nigerian,
a right to life; a right to our dignity as human beings; a right
to personal liberty; a right to fair hearing; a right to private
and family life; a right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; a right to freedom of expression and freedom to own,
establish and operate a medium to impart information, ideas and
opinions to those who are willing to receive them; a right to peaceful
assembly and association; a right to freedom of movement; a right
to freedom from discrimination. There are other rights in chapter
four of the Constitution but the extent of their exercise is defined,
and you cannot, therefore, under any guise, deny any Nigerian or
group of Nigerians their right to come together and discuss their
problems, their right to be heard about those many things which
over time have been seen to work against the unity, peace and progress
of this country. Abdul, you say the President has no power to do what he did. Many have other reasons for not supporting the President. They think he has an agenda to put people he believes will create room for him to stay for another five years. But your grouse is that he is usurping your power to make law. I disagree because what the President is doing has nothing to do with law-making. At best it will lead to gathering material that would be packaged into a law that would enable Nigeria to move on. But how can he do that and how has he done that? Since he cannot act outside the Constitution, he may have been advised to do what section 153 of the Constitution empowers him to do. That section provides for establishing certain bodies for the Federation, bodies like the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Council of State, the Federal Character Commission, the National Defence Council, the National Economic Council, the Nigeria Police Council and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission. The body that he had to go to on matters of the nature under consideration is the Council of State. The Council of State is the second of such bodies, and its composition
and functions are settled under Part 1 to the Third Schedule of
the Constitution. Members of the Council are the President who
chairs it, the Vice President who is the deputy chairman, all former
heads of state of Nigeria, all former chief justices of the federation,
the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
all governors of the Federation and the attorney-general of the
Federation. The President can table before them what problems he
has and seek advise "on the maintenance of public order within
the Federation or any part thereof and on such other matters as
the President may direct." If you and your colleagues refuse to approve funding for the conference
because the conference must first be backed by law, did you ask
that the poverty alleviation programme be first backed by law before
you approved funds for its operations? You think the President
does not know that he can spend money proportionate to what he
expects where you have not passed the appropriation bill as at
the beginning of the year? Abdul, let me assure you that you really have no cause for alarm. That the quality of people emerging to attend the conference dwarfs your status is only illusory. They are not going there to make law. They are going there to discuss how we, numbering more than 130 million, grouped into more than 250 nationalities, should, can and must live together in one country where we can cooperate rather than compete. They think we are spending more than we can afford on meeting your bills which you are entitled to because the Constitution accommodates them. But they want you to be part-time law makers; they want those who represent the people to be there to attend to their needs in open assembly where questions can be put and answered. They are tired seeing their chief executives draining their treasuries and getting away with it because they are protected from arrest and prosecution by a Constitution that thought that people in such high offices would conduct themselves with decorum and the fear of God in their hearts. Abdul, I started by saying that I saw your name listed among those who have gone to court to question the President’s right to call Nigerians together to discuss problems they believe can make for a better country which should create the environment for discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism. I did not coin the words intalicised. They are right there in section 23 of the Constitution, side-noted National Ethics. I plead with you to go home to find out what our people, the people who gave you the mandate to represent them, say they want. And when you return, go to your colleagues and tell them boldly that you are withdrawing your name from the list of protesters because the action is ill-advised, anti-people, extremely self-serving, and a direct attempt to deny Nigerians their right to assemble, express themselves, and decide how they can live in a country that is refurbished and refocused, and in which the federating units are strong enough to call the shots in all areas except the cementing few that would be left to the centre which would then programme for a Nigeria that does not just have a future, but a mission. My very warm regards to Hon. Tunde Akogun and Abubakar Momoh, the other two of your colleagues from Afenmailand, and to Chief Victor Oyofo, the distinguished senator from our senatorial district in Edo North. Yours sincerely Prince Tony Momoh,
December 6, 2004 His Excellency, The President, Commander-In-Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja RE: ANAMBRA AND RELATED MATTERS About a month ago, the nation woke up to the shocking news of a devastating attack on Anambra State resulting in the burning down of radio and television stations, hotels, vehicles, assembly quarters, the residence of the state Chief Judge and finally, Government House, Awka. Dynamite was even applied in the exercise and all or nearly most of these in the full glare of our own police force as shown on NTA for the world to see. The operation lasted three days. That week, in all churches and mosques, we, our party, and you as Head of Government and Leader of this Nation came under the most scathing and blithering attacks. We were singly and severally accused of connivance in action and so forth. Public anger reached its peak. Recommendation You set up a reconciliation committee headed by Ebonyi State Governor, Dr. Sam Egwu, and we all thought this would help calm nerves and perhaps bring about some respite. But quite clearly things are nowhere near getting better. While the reconciliation team attempted to inspect damaged sites in Anambra, they were scared away by gun fire, further heightening public anger and disdain for us. Bomb explosion in government house, Awka On Tuesday, the 30th day of November, 2004, another shocking development – a reported bomb explosion in Government House Awka. Since then, the media, public discourse within and even outside of our borders, have been dominated by the most heinous and hateful of expletives against our party and your person and government. It would appear that the perpetrators of these acts are determined to stop at nothing since there has not been any visible sign of reproach from law enforcement agencies. I am now convinced that the rumours and speculations making the rounds that they are determined to kill Dr. Chris Ngige may not be unfounded. The question now is, what would be the consequences of such a development? How do we exonerate ourselves from culpability, and worse still, how do we even hope to survive it? Mr. President, I was part of the second republic and we fell. Memories of that fall are a miserable litany of woes we suffered, escaping death only by God’s supreme mercy. Then we were suspected to have stolen all of Nigeria’s wealth. After several months in prison, some of us were freed to come back to life penniless and wretched. Many have gone to their early graves un-mourned because the public saw us all as renegades. I am afraid we are drifting in the same direction again. In life, perception is reality and today, we are perceived in the worst light by an angry, scornful Nigerian Public for reasons which are absolutely unnecessary. Mr. President, if I write in this vein, it is because I am deeply troubled and I can tell you that an overwhelming percentage of our party members feel the same way though many may never be able to say this to you for a variety of reasons. But the buck stops at your table and in my position, not only as Chairman but also as an old friend and loyal defender of your development programmes which I have never stopped defending, I dare to think that we can, either by omission or commission allow ourselves to crash and bring to early grief, this beautiful edifice called democracy. On behalf of the peoples Democratic Party, I call on you to act now and bring any, and all criminal, even treasonable, activity to a halt. You and you alone, have the means. Do not hesitate. We do not have too much time to waste. A.I. Ogbeh, OFR National Chairman cc: Vice President
President Obasanjo lambastes Ogbeh My dear Audu, I am amused and not surprised by your letter of December 6, 2004 because after playing hide and seek games over a period of time, you have finally, at least in writing, decided to unmask and show your true colour. Having made this introductory point, let us go over systematically and, in some detail, through the whole episode of the Anambra saga. I must add that I have expressed sadness and condemned the wanton destruction of properties that took place in Anambra recently. When it turned out that, Governor Mbadinuju was an unmitigated failure in Anambra, as PDP governor in our first term, I made it clear to you that I would not go to Anambra to campaign if Governor Mbadinuju was being sponsored as PDP gubernatorial candidate in spite of his calamitous failure. You did not tell me that you were sending a discrete investigation team to Anambra to find out the situation on the ground. You never said yes or no but I determined that, in good conscience,
I could not go to Anambra to campaign for support and seek endorsement
for Governor Mbadinuju. For me, what we knew about Mbadinuju in terms of failure to pay salaries in some cases for over 7 months which led to school children not being able to take the WASCE did not need any discrete investigation. However, your discrete investigation convinced you that I was right and you brought Mbadinuju to me, for you and I to tell him that he could not be a gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Anambra. You rightly, I believe, requested that I should work with you to give him a soft landing and we agreed to make him an ambassador after the election and we even agreed on which mission abroad, subject to our success in the elections. Mbadinuju asked for a letter from me and I refused because I said that my word was my bond but that you were free to write him one. A few weeks after that meeting, Mbadinuju decamped from our party to the AD and sought election as governor of Anambra on the platform of the AD. When the members of our party started jostling for nomination, as normal with me, I refused to endorse a candidate; it is only after the primaries that the party's candidate becomes my own candidate. And in the case of Anambra, if I had wanted to support anybody at all, it would have been Jerry Ugokwe because he was one man I knew but, of course, I was consistent on my policy. And when Ngige emerged as the candidate of the PDP from the primaries, he was brought to be introduced to me and, of course, he became not only the party's candidate but also mine. After enquiries about the situation in Anambra and about Ngige
himself, I made a point to him that he should go and reconcile
himself with his father with whom he was not on talking terms as
I believed it was an abomination for an African son to be in a
state of enmity with his father to the point of absolute non-communication.
I advised Ngige to reconcile with his father and the rest of his
family and he reported to me that he did. For them to maintain their independence, I said that any transportation
or administrative funds that they might require would be provided
from the presidency rather than the state. When on one occasion, Chris Uba came to report that things appeared to be going wrong between him and the governor in the presence of Chief Amechi, I asked the latter to go and sort it out for them in his capacity as an elder of the state and veteran politician. I requested Chief Amechi to report back to me. The truth is that as far as Anambra was concerned, I considered it my duty to work with all stakeholders in the area of avoiding conflict and on that ground I promised to act on any report or advice from Chief Mbasulike Amechi. I never had warning that things were going sour in the state any
more until I was in Maputo, Mozambique on July 9, 2003 when I received
report that the governor had resigned. I did what normally I do
not do except in an emergency by using government facility for
strictly non-governmental purpose. I instructed that an airplane
from the presidential fleet be made available to a team to rush
to Anambra to investigate what was happening. That team went on
Friday morning while I was still in Mozambique and returned on
Friday evening. You will recall that the team reported to you and
I that what was happening in Anambra required urgent party action
to resolve it as a family affair. Unfortunately, as in many other instances, you failed to do what
you should have done as the chief executive of the party and rather
prefer to insult me not only as the President of the nation but
also as the leader of the party which you seem never to recognize
or acknowledge. From that point on, I only did my job as a President
by investigating. I, in fact, asked both Ngige and Chris Uba never to come to my office or to my residence and you know this. As far as I could remember, a childhood friend of yours came with you to discuss the issue of Anambra between you and I on one occasion. Soon after, I briefed the party caucus in detail on my role, on what I saw and did and the party caucus endorsed every action that had been taken by the executive arm of government in respect with Anambra. A few months later, two members of your Working Committee -Olisa Metu (an Ex-Officio member) and Farouk (the youth leader) -came to appeal to me to specially intervene in reconciling Ngige and Chris Uba, I refused initially because I believed it was really the responsibility of the party. But since you had shirked your responsibility as party chairman, I conceded and asked the two members of the NWC to bring Ngige and Chris Uba to me. That was the only time, after several months, that I allowed them to enter my residence. I was shocked that a man in the position of aspirant or one elected as governor could actually resign on three different occasions in writing and on one occasion, the resignation was on videotape. I, also, was of the opinion that for Ngige to have allowed that to happen, there must have been some extra-legal motivation. There has been accusation and counter-accusation as reasons for such ungainly behaviour. When the two of them came to see me, the two young men who had brokered the opportunity for Ngige and Chris Uba to see me wanted to leave. I refused and insisted that they had to be at the meeting because I wanted them as witnesses. After almost two hours of talk, we dismissed hoping that fences would be mended and reconciliation wou1d be fully established. They left and waited on the corridors for a while. Olisa Metu came back and requested that I should meet with Ngige and Chris Uba alone without witnesses for them to feel free to unwind. Again, I did and that was when I got the real shock of my life
when Chris Uba looked Ngige straight in the face and said, "You
know you did not win the election" and Ngige answered, "Yes,
I know I did not win.” Chris Uba went further to say to Ngige, "You
don't know in detail how it was done." I was horrified and
told both of them to leave my residence. That notwithstanding, immediately after the Court of Appeal overturned Justice Nnaji's order, the Police promptly obeyed. That is what rule of law is all about. Furthermore, based on all that I had heard, I told Chris Uba and Ngige that their case was like the case of two armed robbers that conspired to loot a house and after bringing out the loot, one decided to do the other in and the issue of fair play even among robbers became a factor. The two robbers must be condemned for robbery in the first instance and the greedy one must be specially pointed out for condemnation to do justice among the robbers. To me, the determination of the greedy one is also a problem, maybe they are both equally greedy. Justice, fairness and equity are always the basis of peace and harmony in any human organisation or relationship. Anambra issue is essentially a human organizational and human relationship issue. I was on a tour of five countries in five days going from the UK through Finland and Sweden with a stop-over in Libya to Tanzania last November when the recent issue of violence broke out. The Inspector General of Police who claimed that the crowd was overwhelming for the police strength was instructed to double the number of mobile police unit by bringing additional men and women from the adjoining states. He did so and he reported that 19 looters and destroyers were arrested and charged to court with some vehicles seized. NTA coverage of that unfortunate incidents is not the issue, wars are watched like theatrical plays in the contemporary world. The issue is whether or not the police performed or did not perform their duties. Mr. Chairman, obviously you do not expect me to do less than I have done. I even went out to do more because since you failed to either resolve the political issues that are intra-party matters and they have been spread to engulf the entire state or decisively punish any offender, I decided in consultation with Governor Ngige, to set up a fact-finding and reconciliation committee under the Governor of Ebonyi State to put an end to the violence, create a conducive atmosphere for the Governor to return to his station and to ensure permanent peace, security through reconciliation of the known warring party members - Chris Ngige and Chris Uba - and their supporters. And this was after I had a meeting with both the PDP state chairman and the governor. Since the Governor of Ebonyi, whom I have asked to keep you fully posted on his findings and progress of his committee has not yet reported to me, and since I have taken every necessary step to ensure a resolution of the political problem in Anambra which you have failed to confront, I consider your letter opportunistic, and only a smokescreen and I believe I should answer it in some reasonable detail as I have done. I also took every reasonable step to beef up security to deal with the situation. On Tuesday, December 7, 2004, after the party meeting on the crisis in Kogi State, you told me that you had written me a letter on threat to Ngige's life and you indicated to me, which you did not do in the letter, that one Honourable Chuma Nzeribe was the culprit. As I will not dilly-dally on an issue of security, even before I received your letter, I directed the Director-General of the State Security Service to look into the matter. It may interest you that almost on daily basis letters are received in my office of people alleging that other people want to assassinate them. All such allegations are forwarded to security people for investigation. None has been substantiated yet. But we will not take any issue of security lightly no matter who claims to be in danger. And contrary to your belief and insinuation, just today, December 9, the governor of Anambra came to me to seek my opinion and advice on whether or not to constitute a commission of enquiry into what happened in the state. I did not hesitate to advise and encourage him to do so in order that all the facts would be exposed and verifiable truth established rather than trading in rumours. Let me end on this note: whatever may be your reason for the ambivalent disposition and handling of the party problem in Anambra like you have done in other places and the ulterior motive for your letter, if and when in my capacity as President of Nigeria duty calls on me to act, I will not shirk my responsibility and we will at the end of the day be at the bar of the public both at the party level and national level. Let me also say that it is, indeed, unfortunate that you make so many unnecessary and unwarranted insinuations in your letter about our great country. I have taken judicial note of the ominous comparisons you made between a government in which you participated that was overthrown in a coup d'etat and this present administration. I wonder if that is your wish since you may not now go out penniless. But whatever agenda you may be working at God is always in charge and in control. Warped perception must be differentiated from reality. Perception created and manipulated for a sinister purpose cannot be reality. The greatest danger to any country is putting truth out of favour; extolling evils of lies, deceit, treachery, disloyalty, unpatriotism, corruption and unconstitutionally. That is my greatest fear for Nigeria and it should be yours and that of any right-thinking Nigerian. Not too long ago, I challenged you to think beyond the ordinary, the expected and the self, I still put that challenge on the table. Let it be on record that I do believe that I have invested the totality of my life in what I may call "Enterprise Nigeria" and if it means that in the process of repositioning our dear country for sustainable greatness, what is dearest to me would have to be sacrificed, I will in good conscience, not hesitate to do so. And if that will enhance Nigeria's development, it is a sacrifice that I will be glad to make. I have reached a stage in life that I have passed the state of being intimidated or being flattered. I can stand before God and man and in clear conscience to defend every measure that I have taken everywhere in Nigeria since I became the President and will continue to act without fear or favour or inducement. And it does not matter to me what is sponsored in the Nigerian media, in particular, the print media. I believe that our vindication will come through the truth, which is the only thing that can uplift a nation and make an honest man and a sincere believer in God free. May I crave your indulgence to copy this letter to all those to whom your letter to me was copied. In addition, I am copying the President of the Senate, the number three man in the present hierarchy of this government and a party leader in his own right, whom you deliberately left out of the distribution list of your letter for reason best known to you. One thing I will never stop doing is praying for Nigeria in general and Anambra in particular. May God continue to bless and prosper Nigeria. In spite of the malevolence of some Nigerians, Nigeria is moving to the cruising level and cruising speed. That is the work of God and what all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria should do is to join hands in hastening the work of God in Nigeria at this juncture. May God help us to help ourselves. I wish you well. President Olusegun Obasanjo
Another grave matter… Herbert
Macaulay writes another letter Another letter from Herbert Macaulay Dear Compatriots, Up here, I must confess, hope is gradually giving way to despair. Awo has furiously been writing letters to Master of Life for special permission to return and set a few things right. He and Bola Ige who was brutally despatched to us have had lengthy sessions on the quagmire in the South West. Their secretary Onabanjo keeps moaning over the loss of Ogun State to NPN. As for Azikiwe, the old man wept for one week after the Governor Ngige was kidnapped. When hoodlums sacked Government House Awka, he made furious efforts to reach Aso Rock. On getting through, the man at the other end listened to him for two seconds, took over the homily and gave the great Zik a lecture. I have it on good authority that the man has refused to eat since the ugly incident! He keeps complaining about the 'nincompoops, neophytes, vagabonds, riff raff and 'political inconsequentials' that have seized Anambra State by the balls'. That set Mbadiwe reeling with laughter! Zeeeek of Africa! He hailed after the bombastic release of explosive words. The Sardauna spends his time meditating on how to persuade his cohorts downstairs to allow the Igbo a chance at the Presidency. He was particularly disturbed by the stay-at-home order given by MASSOB on August 26. Zik has been able to convince him that if the presidency must come to the South East, Ojukwu should be left out of the matter. Why? Balewa asked, "The man reminds the country of war'. There was a long silence after that. The spectre of a war froze everybody. It was K.O. Mbadiwe who eased the tension. 'As long as the timber and caterpillar, the obeche and Iroko have accord Concordia in the geographical contraption called Nigeria, the weapons of war shall be vanquished'. There was general laughter. As for me, my saddest moment came when President Obasanjo publicly admitted his ignorance about the litre price of kerosene and that of petrol. My tongue was tied to the roof of my mouth. Why must we enter our house through another man's gate? That day I ordered that the flag be flown at half-mast. I then reasoned that the man might not really know how bad things are in the country. Perhaps he should step into his ordinary self for one week, leave the reins in the hands of his deputy, and feel the real heat. I mean he should divest himself of the trappings of office, depend on his pension and see whether at the end of the week he would still sing the reform songs being composed by the IMF, recorded by the World Bank, anchored by Okonjo-Iweala and broadcast by the Ministry of Finance. The number of unresolved cases of assassinations also saddens me. Harry Marshall. Bola Ige. Dikibo. And now, Jerry Agbeyegbe! Who is next? Oshiomole! Any time that name is called here we stand up in respect. The fellow has virtually taken over the heart of the country by striking a chord with the Nigerian people. The hardship across the land has united peoples of different religions, ethnic group and clime. I do know that when leaders take tough decisions they become unpopular. Yet leaders should carry the people along. There is intense hunger in the land. There is anger in the land. As I write I look down at the creases on the faces of so many young people. I see premature grey hairs. I see able-bodied young men and women loitering the streets. I see university graduates joining ethnic militias. This is a dangerous army. Something has to be done. I am planning a private letter to Aso Rock. I don't intend to disclose the contents of the letter to you. But I know I will tell Aso Rock that the ship of state is running aground and the captain has to change course. The word 'corruption' has lost its meaning in Nigeria. Up here, we have isolated all the fellows who were found guilty of corruption. Some of them have atoned and have been accepted back. It is a serious matter. The Chairman of the Anti Corruption Tribunal is Murtala Muhammed. In appreciation of his excellent work, we have made him an honorary high court judge with robes and all. The man takes no nonsense. He goes out in search of skeletons in people's cupboards. And are the skeletons mighty! He sits permanently at the gate with a long sheet of paper. On arrival, one is compelled to declare his/her assets and liabilities. It's been very revealing. Some ex-leaders who died suddenly have lost millions of pounds in Swiss accounts because they did not let their family know about the secret accounts. Also, everybody here, particularly Abacha has recognised the senselessness in accumulating millions of Naira, pound sterling and dollars while the rest of the people suffer. There was a particularly crude thief who wept all the way to join us. His pain? He did not convert his Naira loot to dollars before the summons! After three hot slaps from the General-at-the-Door, he refocused his attention! Hero Saro Wiwa has not given up pipe smoking. As I indicated in my last letter, Abacha has continued to beg him for forgiveness. His letter requesting that Wiwa be given a posthumous national award will reach Aso Rock soon. Abiola has forgiven Abacha. In fact, they had supper together last night. Kaltho simply ignores Abacha. There is a permanent look of remorse on the latter's face. I feel sorry for him each time I see his God-forsaken-face! His best friends are Idi Amin Dada and Mobutu Sese Seko. He keeps repeating his threat to summarily 'deal with' those who gave him Indian apples when they come up (or down) here! Our second national conference started in August. There are eight alternate Chairmen. All the zones and professions in the nation are represented. The way I see things, the conference might go on for three years. We are paying attention to all the details that would ensure mutual co-existence. The agenda does not include dismemberment. In fact, dismembering the country has been ruled out. The touchiest point is that of resource control. Wiwa has been eloquent on the issue. He argues that eighty five percent of resources be given to the region that generates it. The Sardauna agrees. He has remained unhappy with northern governors for doing nothing about the natural resources in their region. Laziness, he says, is not the hallmark of good leadership. Three weeks ago, he sent a letter to Kaduna requesting a return to the era of groundnut pyramids. Has the letter arrived? Generally the atmosphere here is sad. When will you people get it right? When will Uhuru come? There was a big party here the day Chinua Achebe rejected the national award. What kind of country reels out awards to its citizens when the nation is tottering? But the celebration did not last because there has been no mass action. I urge Nigerians to rise up to the challenge of democracy. Change can only come when the people desire it and act. In 2007, the people should utilize their ultimate power - voting out looters and incompetent bunglers. They should ensure that INEC does not remain a rubber stamp. Any mango that is rotten should not be left in the nation's basket. As the Delta State people say, 'No basket for rotten mango'. And to Oshiomole I say, 'Don't become a rotten mango; just keep the flag flying'. Yours very gravely, Signed Herbert Macaulay Submitted by Hope Eghagha, Guardian, Lagos 28/11/04
Another grave matter. Abacha writes another letterDear Editor, My attention has been drawn to an open letter to Obasanjo which I was supposed to have written to you while turning in my grave. You know it's not true. I didn't write it from down under in Kano . I wrote it from up here, where I have been upgraded for over five years. I have also seen all the blasphemous pieces you and your goons have been writing about me. Not your fault. Where were you when I was Head of State? Dan buruba ! International Coward!! If you yourself didn't run away on the so called self-exile, I would have ordered you thrown into a cement mixer for the making of the foundation of the Abuja abattoir. Let me tell you, I was not a thief. The billions of dollars that have been traced to Swiss banks by the present two-faced government of Nigeria belong to me legally. Although I was the Head of State, I was also a trader. I made my money from trading in oil and selling Naira at the black market. What is wrong with that? Are you not a trader too? Are you not trading in rumours on this website? Is the current president of Nigeria not trading in vengeance and other commodities? Tell me, which civil servant, or army officer, or teacher, or legislator, or governor or student is not a trade? Why do you Nigerians single me out for unfair mention? If I had known that things would turn out like this, walahi I would have dispatched Obasanjo and the others immediately after I had ordered my tribunal to find them guilty. Now he is abusing me. Does he know when and how he, too, will expire? Look here, you bloody civilian, just thank Almighty Allah that I was not able to catch up with your type. Your corpse would not have had the privilege of a grave. Nonsense! Let me warn you, in fact let me warn Obasanjo and all those who are spoiling my name, I am waiting for all of you here. I have put together another Strike Force here. Your names are with my new CSO. If you compare Al Mustapha my former CSO with the present one that I have, Al Mustapha will look like Malaika Jubrilla (a.k.a Angel Gabriel). My CSO and I are waiting for you here, and I don't care how long we have to wait. The problem with Nigeria is that there are only very few good people. Like my wife Maryam. Like my son Mohammed. Like Wada Nas. Like Nzeribe. Like Justice Bassey Ikpeme who is here with me. Like Mustapha and Rogers. Obasanjo is a pretender. The only good thing he has done in his life is to tell Nigerians what I had known for several decades - that they are all idiots! Now he is taking the credit for that branding, but I am the one who researched into the matter. There is no shame in being an idiot. I have more things to say, but it is getting near dawn now. You know I work only at night. One of these nights, I will find time to write the part 2 of this letter. It is so much work writing a letter. Harder than signing cheques to transfer money to Switzerland . Harder than being head of state or GOC. I wonder how some of you idiots make a living by writing - day in day out. Walahi, it is sheer torture. Oh, before I stop, let me tell you that contrary to the lies being spread by Nigerian journalists, I have stopped eating apples and definitely no Viagra. Also, I have lately put a sign in front of my place here which reads: "No Indian Girls". If anyone associates my name with apples and Indian girls from now on, I will sue ... no, that is not practicable... I will put the person's name in the black list with my CSO and, insha Allah , we shall wait for him. I am not a man of many words. I stop. Yours very gravely, General Sani Abacha (late) , CON, GCFR, Fss, AWC, FRCN, NTA, R.I.P
How the West selects its friends The US is not a member of the Commonwealth but through the fraudulent coalitions of interests in the all-embracing ineptly named war on terror, it is convenient for Bush and Blair to be selective in their choice of allies including military despots while condemning less dangerous and even elected administrations like President Mugabe's. It is of course all about protection of national interests and
anyone who challenges the status quo is automatically considered
an obstacle. Ikhenemho Okomilo March 2004
Another grave look at Obasanjo's government Our father who hath in Heaven, It was a grave mistake and indeed a curse that history saddled
this beleaguered country with an Obasanjo at a time we are in need
of redemption. It is like being led by a foreigner knowing neither
where to go nor from where he is coming. The tragedy is that Obasanjo
would not even admit that he has lost his way and Nigerians must
pay for his mediocrity. Our President is a bad dream. A tragic one indeed, just like the thought that these serial, unresolved murders, are the handiwork of people in our midst; people that we see everyday but too helpless to apprehend; and now, the Government is asking us to simply live with it! John Oseze-Langley
A letter from
Herbert Macaulay It is not often that I get to write to you. I venture out only when we on this side of the great divide feel seriously aggrieved about a subject or a topical issue. It might take a full week for this letter to get to you. I don't mind the length of time at all. The distance between where we are and your land is great, far greater than you can imagine. My suggestions are timeless, not bound by time and circumstance which is the fate of mere mortals like you. By the way, I send you greetings from Chief Awolowo and Dr. Azikiwe. They have been restless since the last elections. Awo has been at pains to understand why Afenifere fell for the grand deception of the PDP. He has been trying to reach Adesanya with little luck. Somehow, the chemistry never synchronizes. Awo is not happy about the attempt to kill the Ekiti State governor. Since December 2001, he has been pointing a touch light at the brigand who plotted the execution of his former confidante, Bola Ige. He prays day and night for justice. When Iyiola Omisore was sent back into custody, there was jubilation here. Tafawa Balewa is always cheerful here, giving a knowing smile about politicians and their antics. Always a gentleman, he never fails to remind us about how the bloody military truncated his rule in 1966. When Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna arrived here there was a tempest of epic proportions. It took the combined strengths of Kiliwe Nwachukwu and Giant Alakuku to stop the upheaval. Often we ask him to make speeches and we just enjoy his golden voice without paying attention to the contents of the speech. By the way, we do not practise religion here. We simply venerate God. So you fellows down there must behave properly. What shall it profit a man if he professes religion and suffers the loss of the true knowledge of God Almighty! As for the Great Zik, he has given up on his successors. The day a governor was kidnapped and forced to sign a resignation letter, the old man could not sleep. That day he begged God to return and right things. Somebody, I can't remember who it was, quietly asked him to hold his peace. He made reference to Okadigbo's insulting remarks about the ranting ant and concluded that those ambitious fellows in Igboland would not respect him at all if he ventured back. He still worries about the clash between his sons and the woman who kept him company before he left the earth. He wonders what Ojukwu is up to calling for an interim government. Does he want to rule through the back door If he wants the Nigerian people to take him seriously, he should shave his beard and speak like a Nigerian. The sight of a Fidel Castro beard frightens the Americans. Who wants a Marxist-looking fellow in charge of the most populous black African nation Zik keeps screaming "Education for the youths" into the microphone, hoping that someone downstairs would hear him. You see, he is worried that all the Igbo boys are going into buying and selling without a sound academic background. The Sardauna greets you too. He does not understand the fuss about sharia. When the world campaigned against stoning Safiya to death, he felt greatly pained. He wondered why the senior citizens in the north did not stop the politicization of a strictly religious matter in Zamfara. I felt sorry for this great man that day. He kept praying and stayed away from us for a long period of time. At a point, he threatened to carry out a jihad against politicians who were 'monkeying' around sharia. He is a bit calm now that the fever has subsided. I am sure that his letter calling on the Zamfara state governor to soft-pedal will soon reach you. All the nationalists here have mandated me as the foremost statesman up here to do the letter. It will come in series. That is to say, for the next three or four weeks, I shall be speaking on issues on which we have reached a consensus hereabouts. The last general strike embarked on by the NLC was spectacular. In a way, Oshiomole reminded me of veteran Pa Imoudu, the man who fought the wily, cunning and strait-laced British to a standstill in our time. Those were the golden years. By the way, they come from the same part of the country. Is this a coincidence or are there some natural elements that make people from that area, strong union men It might just make sense for all labour leaders to study how men of the Edo stock manage to be so strong these days when settlement has become a norm. We were very sad about the strike. Sad, because the whole fiasco could have been averted. For a moment I thought you fellows were up against a foreign ruler, not an elected leader. In the current dispensation, organised labour is the hope of the common man, against oppressive and hopeless policies. Labour therefore must be strong. I like what they have been doing to companies that keep workers on starvation wages. You see, colonisation by our own people is worse than colonisation by a foreigner. Some of the companies have actually brought messengers and cleaners from their home country. As you know there are very many able-bodied men and women loitering around the country. In our time, we would have fought such companies to a standstill. The Chinese and Lebanese companies are most despicable in this regard. It's a great irony that now that the communist state of China has embraced capitalism, the citizens have become worse than the progenitors of vampires! Tell Oshiomole to keep up the good job. He must gird his loins against the future. He has seriously bruised the large ego of somebody at Aso Rock. And if I know that man well, he has the memory of an elephant. He never forgets. But the strength of Oshiomole is in the support of the people. As long as he takes up popular issues, he would always have the backing of the majority. I will write on the issue of Warri next week. Oged, as you all know, is no more around to keep the flag flying. So I say to you all 'Keep the flag flying', in spite of hunger, inflation, and an insensitive government. Hope Eghagha
A grave look at Obasanjo's government: WE ARE in the season of open letters to Obasanjo. Every Tom
Dick and Harry -from retired generals to elder statesmen and
ex-dictators - has written one since Col Abubakar Umar's scathing
letter received an unusually courageous, polite, thoughtful and
mature response from the President's trusted spokesman, Femi
Fani-Kayode. Abacha gives Obasanjo a taste of his own medicine Dear President Obasanjo, You may find the following observations totally unnecessary, since leaders like yourself who believe they know it all may have at some point in their past made the same observations to others, I think I owe it to my conscience to make it to you, notwithstanding. At any rate, I know of no better time than now to get my knife out, when all the knives are out there for you. And of course my knife will not be strange to you, since it is the same one you threw at me years ago. From the quiet of my grave, I can see all the deficiencies in your administration, particularly in your management of the economy. There's a lot of "financial and fiscal rascality" going on. Deficit budgeting, deficit financing, deficit trading but more important, we have an administration that is deficit in credibility. It is deficit in honesty, deficit in honour, deficit in the truth. The only thing your administration is surplus in is saying one thing and doing something else, undermining the structure and fabrics that hold the nation together. All these have increased cynicism and scepticism about government and governance in Nigeria and until something is done to remove or reverse this, all other things will be difficult. It has now got to a stage that when your government says good morning, the people will look out four times to ascertain the time before they reply. This is a bad situation in any society for any human institution. Any administration that comes up must learn one lesson. That lesson is that though Nigerians may be quiet, silent and their absorbing capacity being quite elastic and all that, I believe that it is important that government levels up to the people; dealing honestly with the people as I failed to do for five good years. You will be making a grave mistake to follow in my footsteps. General Sanni Abacha (late), * The Late general wrote the letter, while turning in his
grave in Kano, last night. We are not sure whether or not the
letter is a rehash of an old one Obasanjo sent to him 10 years
ago.
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