alfred oludayo
Tunde and his cohorts are actually disappointed that their attempts to sway the
Police and SSS chiefs in Ogun have failed woefully. In spite of series of
propaganda couched in petitions , both men have remained professionals and
impervious to the dark simulations of the Omoilu group.
Tunde's latestconcoction of lies and propaganda has shown that the Omoilu group is desperate
to destroy everything including innocent officials carrying out their functions
in Ogun State. Tunde is completely without honour,gumption.
He is reckless and such men should not be trusted with public office. I pity those currently
sharing confidences with him, like he did to OGD, he will betray you sooner than
later. Just watch out
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
Friday, September 10, 2010
Jonathan's appointees trade in corruption - EFCC
SaharaReporters,
Farida Waziri's recent trip to the US has enabled her to make a case for her lack luster anti-corruption drive, and to pass the buck. And the person upon whom she is heaping the blame for her failures is her current boss: Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Farida told some United States officials during her recent trip that Jonathan and some of his aides have completely crippled her operation by interfering directly in her anti-corruption work.
Mrs. Waziri also told FBI trainers who visited the EFCC in Abuja that her terrible standing internationally is simply because her bosses never allow her to do her job. She gave examples of interference in the arrest and prosecution of economic criminals by the fallen former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaaa.
She lamented that since Jonathan’s coming to power, his powerful aides (who are believed to be his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe and the current Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke) have become stumbling blocks.
Although Mrs. Waziri's personal corruption and incompetence serve as major impediments to any meaningful anti-corruption work, EFCC officials have told Saharareporters that since assuming office, Jonathan has gone out of his way to muzzle the EFCC even more. Last week, the AGF Adoke openly chastised the Commission over its mode of operation, asking the agency to jettison its use of strong-arm tactics to fight corruption.
Mr. Adoke’s statement was not specific to any particular case but sources told Saharareporters that one of his points of interference is Taraba State where the EFCC had planned to act on a series of powerful petitions against the governor, who had embezzled large sums of the monies belonging to the state.
But Mr. Adoke's wife was quickly appointed as the Attorney General in the state, in order to forestall any further investigation of the case.
Also last week, Mr. Adoke reportedly donated N250 million to the Jonathan campaign to forestall his removal after he said that former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida would not be investigated for stealing $12.4 billion Gulf oil windfall.
That statement was said to have rankled the presidency.
Mrs. Waziri’s complaint to the United States complicates Jonathan’s anti-corruption spinelessness. During his visit to the country a few months ago, he swore to the Obama administration and foreign policy specialists that he would move quickly on corruption. That was interpreted partly to mean he would relieve Mrs. Waziri, who is in the bad books of several international anti-corruption agencies, of her job.
Farida Waziri's recent trip to the US has enabled her to make a case for her lack luster anti-corruption drive, and to pass the buck. And the person upon whom she is heaping the blame for her failures is her current boss: Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Farida told some United States officials during her recent trip that Jonathan and some of his aides have completely crippled her operation by interfering directly in her anti-corruption work.
Mrs. Waziri also told FBI trainers who visited the EFCC in Abuja that her terrible standing internationally is simply because her bosses never allow her to do her job. She gave examples of interference in the arrest and prosecution of economic criminals by the fallen former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaaa.
She lamented that since Jonathan’s coming to power, his powerful aides (who are believed to be his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe and the current Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke) have become stumbling blocks.
Although Mrs. Waziri's personal corruption and incompetence serve as major impediments to any meaningful anti-corruption work, EFCC officials have told Saharareporters that since assuming office, Jonathan has gone out of his way to muzzle the EFCC even more. Last week, the AGF Adoke openly chastised the Commission over its mode of operation, asking the agency to jettison its use of strong-arm tactics to fight corruption.
Mr. Adoke’s statement was not specific to any particular case but sources told Saharareporters that one of his points of interference is Taraba State where the EFCC had planned to act on a series of powerful petitions against the governor, who had embezzled large sums of the monies belonging to the state.
But Mr. Adoke's wife was quickly appointed as the Attorney General in the state, in order to forestall any further investigation of the case.
Also last week, Mr. Adoke reportedly donated N250 million to the Jonathan campaign to forestall his removal after he said that former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida would not be investigated for stealing $12.4 billion Gulf oil windfall.
That statement was said to have rankled the presidency.
Mrs. Waziri’s complaint to the United States complicates Jonathan’s anti-corruption spinelessness. During his visit to the country a few months ago, he swore to the Obama administration and foreign policy specialists that he would move quickly on corruption. That was interpreted partly to mean he would relieve Mrs. Waziri, who is in the bad books of several international anti-corruption agencies, of her job.
Dokpesi: Persona Non Grata In The Niger Delta
By Cynthia Whyte
On behalf of the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) comprising of alliance units of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, active combat units of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force and the Martyrs Brigade, we hereby declare Chief Raymond Aliero Dokpesi persona non grata in the Niger Delta.
Raymond Dokpesi is a blackleg in the struggle for the liberation of the Niger Delta region and the South South zone of the Nigerian State.
Any Niger Deltan who will or can trade the destiny of tens of millions of Niger Delta for filthy lucre is not worthy of existence. Should not even live amongst us.
In furtherance thereof, we demand that all Southern and Niger Delta interests should immediately cease every relationship with Raymond Dokpesi and all of his business interests.
Government institutions and parastatals, youth groups and all others are hereby warned from participating in programmes runs by Raymond Dokpesi and his interests such as Raypower radio, AIT Television etc.
Any Niger Delta interest that henceforth participates in AIT programmes such as Kaakaki etc or advertises on AIT will be summarily punished.
In the next few weeks, we will begin our course.
Any advertisement by any Niger Delta based groups or interests on AIT will be cursed, condemned and punished.
However, let us commend all those who have chosen to remain resolute and fight the Jonathan cause even in the face of grim persecution and great financial and social temptations.
We commend the likes of Chief Dumo Lulu Briggs, Professor Kimse Okoko, Chief Edwin Clark and all the governors of the various Bantustan states across the Nigerian State even though we are aware that certain governors in the Niger Delta secretly do not wish Jonathan well. Their time will come.
The Struggle Continues
Cynthia Whyte
Spokesperson, JRC
On behalf of the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) comprising of alliance units of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, active combat units of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force and the Martyrs Brigade, we hereby declare Chief Raymond Aliero Dokpesi persona non grata in the Niger Delta.
Raymond Dokpesi is a blackleg in the struggle for the liberation of the Niger Delta region and the South South zone of the Nigerian State.
Any Niger Deltan who will or can trade the destiny of tens of millions of Niger Delta for filthy lucre is not worthy of existence. Should not even live amongst us.
In furtherance thereof, we demand that all Southern and Niger Delta interests should immediately cease every relationship with Raymond Dokpesi and all of his business interests.
Government institutions and parastatals, youth groups and all others are hereby warned from participating in programmes runs by Raymond Dokpesi and his interests such as Raypower radio, AIT Television etc.
Any Niger Delta interest that henceforth participates in AIT programmes such as Kaakaki etc or advertises on AIT will be summarily punished.
In the next few weeks, we will begin our course.
Any advertisement by any Niger Delta based groups or interests on AIT will be cursed, condemned and punished.
However, let us commend all those who have chosen to remain resolute and fight the Jonathan cause even in the face of grim persecution and great financial and social temptations.
We commend the likes of Chief Dumo Lulu Briggs, Professor Kimse Okoko, Chief Edwin Clark and all the governors of the various Bantustan states across the Nigerian State even though we are aware that certain governors in the Niger Delta secretly do not wish Jonathan well. Their time will come.
The Struggle Continues
Cynthia Whyte
Spokesperson, JRC
Jonathan, contest election, face court action, Atiku group warns president
Wale Akintunde
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to have a rethink on his presidential ambition so as not to undermine the Peoples Democratic Party's principle of zoning.
The warning was given by the Turaki Vanguard, a political organisation propagating the presidential ambition of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The group's National Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who stated this on Thursday while briefing correspondents in Yola, warned that if President Jonathan succumbed to the pressure from mischief makers and undemocratic elements, the Turaki Vanguard would have no option but to seek legal redress.
We expect President Jonathan to exclude himself from the PDP primaries, but if he insists on running for the presidency, then we will take him to court for a breach of trust and violation of the zoning principle that ushered him into office, Eze said.
Eze stated that, as far as we are concerned, President Jonathan is not an aspirant to the country's presidential seat come 2011. We are insisting that he should not contemplate such a thing, considering his office as an incumbent president. It will be a national embarrassment if a serving president goes to the party's primaries and fails to pick the party's ticket.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki Vanguard explained that former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, became a civilian ruler in 1999 based on the grand design to appease the South after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, believed to have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola.
In view of this, Eze said that “the only right and patriotic thing for President Jonathan to do is to forget the 2011 presidency to pave the way for a northerner, adding that by so doing, the North would have been appeased to finish its tenure, following the demise of President Umaru Yarâ' Adua.
The principle of zoning must be respected by President Goodluck Jonathan, because it is the process that brought him to power. The constitution of the PDP is very clear and unambigous in that regard.
So we expect Mr President to follow the path of honour and dignity to jettison the few undemocratic forces trying to lure him into the 2011 presidential race,Eze insisted.
He explained that going by the PDP's constitution, the party's presidential contestant would be sponsored by the party, and argued that since the PDP had remained resolute in its position to ensure that the principle of zoning held sway, it was incumbent on President Jonathan to read the writing on the wall.
Look, for one to be a contestant to the presidency, in particular on the PDP platform, one has to receive the endorsement of the PDP, and as far as the party is concerned, the principle of zoning should be maintained, and we expect the president to abide by that simple principle, the Turaki Vanguard's spokesperson added.
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to have a rethink on his presidential ambition so as not to undermine the Peoples Democratic Party's principle of zoning.
The warning was given by the Turaki Vanguard, a political organisation propagating the presidential ambition of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The group's National Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who stated this on Thursday while briefing correspondents in Yola, warned that if President Jonathan succumbed to the pressure from mischief makers and undemocratic elements, the Turaki Vanguard would have no option but to seek legal redress.
We expect President Jonathan to exclude himself from the PDP primaries, but if he insists on running for the presidency, then we will take him to court for a breach of trust and violation of the zoning principle that ushered him into office, Eze said.
Eze stated that, as far as we are concerned, President Jonathan is not an aspirant to the country's presidential seat come 2011. We are insisting that he should not contemplate such a thing, considering his office as an incumbent president. It will be a national embarrassment if a serving president goes to the party's primaries and fails to pick the party's ticket.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki Vanguard explained that former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, became a civilian ruler in 1999 based on the grand design to appease the South after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, believed to have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola.
In view of this, Eze said that “the only right and patriotic thing for President Jonathan to do is to forget the 2011 presidency to pave the way for a northerner, adding that by so doing, the North would have been appeased to finish its tenure, following the demise of President Umaru Yarâ' Adua.
The principle of zoning must be respected by President Goodluck Jonathan, because it is the process that brought him to power. The constitution of the PDP is very clear and unambigous in that regard.
So we expect Mr President to follow the path of honour and dignity to jettison the few undemocratic forces trying to lure him into the 2011 presidential race,Eze insisted.
He explained that going by the PDP's constitution, the party's presidential contestant would be sponsored by the party, and argued that since the PDP had remained resolute in its position to ensure that the principle of zoning held sway, it was incumbent on President Jonathan to read the writing on the wall.
Look, for one to be a contestant to the presidency, in particular on the PDP platform, one has to receive the endorsement of the PDP, and as far as the party is concerned, the principle of zoning should be maintained, and we expect the president to abide by that simple principle, the Turaki Vanguard's spokesperson added.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
ZIK,AWO,EGBE OMO ODUDUWA AND ROOTS OF DECADES OLD FEUDS
Quoting he who is known as the Sage of Ikenne- Chief Obafeme Awolowo[I am not vouching for the accuracy of any of his statements on Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe or Awo's representation of his own motives.I am not adequately informed to do so]
Formation of Egbe Omo Oduduwa
On leaving the shores of Nigeria in August 1944, I resolved that I would have nothing to do with politics until I had finished my studies and made some money. I also resolved that before I again entered into politics I would see to it that the Yorubas evolved an ethnic solidarity among themselves just as the Ibibios and the Ibos had done, in order to ensure a strong and harmonious federal union among the peoples of Nigeria . In less than a year after I reached the United Kingdom I set to work to translate my ideas into realities. A group of Yorubas, mostly students-Dr Oni Akerele, Chief Abiodun Akerele, barrister-at-Law and Member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Akintola Williams, chartered accountant, Chief Ayotunde
Rosiji, Federal Secretary of the Action Group and Member of the House of Representatives and others-and I founded a Yoruba Organisation in London named the Egbe Omo Odu duwa (meaning 'A Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa.
In view of the hostility and controversy which had marked the birth of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, and of the general mis understanding which has existed ever since about the real intentions of this organisation, I reproduce here in full the aims of the Egbe and its methods of approach as set out in its first constitution which was drafted by me with the collaboration of one of its founders.
The aims of the association are divided into two categories:
( a) Yoruba land
(i) To study fully its political problems, combat the dis integrating forces of tribalism, stamp out discrimination within the group and against minorities, and generally infuse the idea of a single nationality throughout the region;
(ii) To study its economic resources, ascertain its potentials ties, and advise as to the wisest utilisation of its wealth, so as to ensure abundance and prosperity for its people;
(iii) To plan for the improvement of educational facilities both in content and extent, to explore the means of introducing mass education promptly and efficiently and to foster the study of Yoruba language, culture and history;
(iv) To promote the social welfare of Yoruba land combat the canker worm of superstition and ignorance, spread the knowledge of medical relief and stimulate the provision of hospitals, maternity homes and suchlike amenities.
(b) Nigeria
(i) To co-operate in the fullest measure with other regions to see that the aims set out in (a) are applied to the whole country;
(ii) To aid and encourage similar groups in the other regions in every way possible to achieve these ideals.
METHODS OF APPROACH
(a) By studying problems affecting Yoruba land in particular and Nigeria in general through:
(i) Research.
(ii) Lectures:'
(iii) Paper reading, and
(iv) Discussion.
(b) By disseminating the knowledge thus gained and conclusions reached among the people in Yoruba land and Nigeria by the following means:
(i) The propagation of the idea of a modern Yoruba state and a Federal State of Nigeria through the agency of reliable persons who share our ideals.
(ii) The issuing of magazines, booklets, and other publications in English and Yoruba.
(iii) The encouragement of the immediate setting up of Egbe Omo Oduduwa in Yorubaland provided the promoters give an undertaking that the first three years will be devoted to strengthening the organisa tion financially and studying local problems, while refraining from any direct political action.
Before the Egbe was founded in London in 1945, there was already a two-year old branch of the Ibo Federal Union there. Even so the reaction of practically all the students from the Eastern Region and of some from the Western Region to the formation of the Egbe was a hostile one. Being the most prominent among the founders, I was singled out for attack. I was accused of being tribalistic and of having a design to wreck the unity of Nigeria . In the face of the aims and objects of the Egbe which were widely circulated among Nigerian students in the United Kingdom , these accusations did not make any sense to me.
All the same, I seized every opportunity ,that offered itself to explain these aims and objects to my detractors. The Executive Committee of the Egbe also decided to hold a joint meeting with the Executive Committee of the London Branch of the Ibo Federal Union, with a view to making to the latter a full explanation of what the Egbe stood for, and to driving the point home that the Egbe was purely and simply the Yoruba counterpart of the Ibo Federal Union. I made contact with the Chairman of the Ibo Federal Union, Mr Chuba Ikpeazu (a law student) through my friend Mr G. Onyiuke (another law student), and a date for a meeting between the committees was fixed. Somehow, about twenty-four hours before the time of the meeting, Mr Ikpeazu sent a message to say that he and his officers had another important engagement which made it possible for them to attend the proposed meeting. He promised to let us have another date. He was unable to fulfill this promise before we all returned home to Nigeria .
When the Egbe was founded in London , copies of its consti tution were sent to Obas, Chiefs and outstanding Yorubas, with an accompanying letter in which an appeal was made to them to found a similar organisation at home. Apart from His Highness Sir Adesoji Aderomi, the Oni of He and President of the Western House of Chiefs, and three other persons, there was no response from the scores of people to whom we had written, and nothing at all was done at home to start the Egbe or something similar to it.
On my return home, I began in earnest to preach the formation of the Egbe. People listened to me either with concealed indifference or undisguised boredom. Then one day in 1948, I read in the papers that the Egbe Omo Oduduwa had been formed in Lagos by a group of outstanding Yoruba leaders. Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Dr Akinola Maja, Sir Kofo Abayomi, Chief Bode Thomas, Chief H. O. Davies, Dr Akanni Doherty and others too numerous to mention were among the foundation members.
I was jubilant to read this report, and I quickly sent a telegram off elicitations to the Lagos founders of the Egbe. I also took immediate steps to inaugurate a branch in Ibadan . The aims and objects of the newly formed Egbe were identical with those of the one founded in London with but some slight modifications. The new organisation pledged itself
(a) to encourage (especially by means of scholarship awards by the Society) the pursuit of secondary and university education among Yoruba boys and girls,
(b) to recognise and maintain the monarchical and other similar institutions of Yorubaland, to plan for their complete enlightenment and democratization … and
(c) to strive earnestly to cooperate with other ethnical associations in matters of common interest to all Nigerians, so as thereby to attain to unity in federation.
The reaction of Dr Azikiwe and all his supporters to the newly formed Egbe was violent beyond compare. All the leaders of the Egbe were vilified in Dr Azikiwe's newspapers. The high-water-mark of the campaign was reached in the following extract from an editorial article in the Pilot of Sep tember 8, 1948:
But now that the Egbe has made it clear that its battle is not really against Dr Azikiwe personally and even against Ibos as a group, but against the aspirations of the 27 million Nigerians backing up the NCNC, the time has come for real action. . . .
Henceforth the cry must be one of battle against the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, its leaders, at home and abroad, up hill, and down dale, in the streets of Nigeria and in the residence of its advocates. The Egbe Omo Oduduwa is the enemy of Nigeria ; it must be crushed to the
earth. . . . There is no going back, until the Fascist organisation of Sir Adeyemo Alakija has been dismembered.
Apart from newspaper attacks, there were also physical assaults on the persons of the leaders of the Egbe, and damage to the houses and other property of some of them. It was absolutely impossible on nationalist grounds to reconcile Dr Azikiwe's insensate hostility to the Egbe with his presidentship of the Ibo Federal Union and his obvious condonation of the existence of a similar organisation founded in the Northern Region in May 1948 and called Jamiyyar Mutanen Arewa (Northern People's Congress). Besides, in spite of his protesta tions to the contrary, Dr Azikiwe was himself an unabashed Ibo jingoist. And he gave the game completely away when he said inter alia in his presidential address to the Ibo Federal Union in 1949, as follows:
. . . It would appear that the God of Africa has specially created the Ibo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of the ages. . . . The martial prowess of the Ibo nation at all stages of human history has enabled them not only to conquer others but also to adapt themselves to the role of preserver. . . . The Ibo nation cannot shirk its responsibility. . . . Politically, you have seen with your own eyes how you were disfranchised by the British. . . . The Ibo nation has never been represented in the Executive Council. . . .
Economically, the Ibo nation has laboured under onerous taxation measures, without sufficient social amenities to justify same.
We have been taxed without representation, and our contributions in taxes have bet:n used to develop other areas, out of proportion to the incidence of taxation in those areas.
It would seem that the Ibo nation is becoming a victim of econo mic annihilation through a gradual but studied process.
In 1948 another Ibo leader and a member of the Nigerian Legislative Council had declared the domination of Nigeria by the Ibos is a question of time.
It was clear from these statements and from the general political and journalistic maneuvers of Dr Azikiwe over the years that his great objective was to set himself up as a dictator over Nigeria and to make the Ibo nation the master race. It would appear according to his reckoning that the only obstacle in the path of his ambition was the Yoruba intelligentsia, and these must be removed at all cost. A situation in which one ethnic group would dominate the others does not accord with my conception of a united and happy Nigeria . I am implacably opposed to dictatorship as well as the doctrine ofHerrenvolk whether it was Hitler's or Dr Azikiwe's.
Formation of Egbe Omo Oduduwa
On leaving the shores of Nigeria in August 1944, I resolved that I would have nothing to do with politics until I had finished my studies and made some money. I also resolved that before I again entered into politics I would see to it that the Yorubas evolved an ethnic solidarity among themselves just as the Ibibios and the Ibos had done, in order to ensure a strong and harmonious federal union among the peoples of Nigeria . In less than a year after I reached the United Kingdom I set to work to translate my ideas into realities. A group of Yorubas, mostly students-Dr Oni Akerele, Chief Abiodun Akerele, barrister-at-Law and Member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Akintola Williams, chartered accountant, Chief Ayotunde
Rosiji, Federal Secretary of the Action Group and Member of the House of Representatives and others-and I founded a Yoruba Organisation in London named the Egbe Omo Odu duwa (meaning 'A Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa.
In view of the hostility and controversy which had marked the birth of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, and of the general mis understanding which has existed ever since about the real intentions of this organisation, I reproduce here in full the aims of the Egbe and its methods of approach as set out in its first constitution which was drafted by me with the collaboration of one of its founders.
The aims of the association are divided into two categories:
( a) Yoruba land
(i) To study fully its political problems, combat the dis integrating forces of tribalism, stamp out discrimination within the group and against minorities, and generally infuse the idea of a single nationality throughout the region;
(ii) To study its economic resources, ascertain its potentials ties, and advise as to the wisest utilisation of its wealth, so as to ensure abundance and prosperity for its people;
(iii) To plan for the improvement of educational facilities both in content and extent, to explore the means of introducing mass education promptly and efficiently and to foster the study of Yoruba language, culture and history;
(iv) To promote the social welfare of Yoruba land combat the canker worm of superstition and ignorance, spread the knowledge of medical relief and stimulate the provision of hospitals, maternity homes and suchlike amenities.
(b) Nigeria
(i) To co-operate in the fullest measure with other regions to see that the aims set out in (a) are applied to the whole country;
(ii) To aid and encourage similar groups in the other regions in every way possible to achieve these ideals.
METHODS OF APPROACH
(a) By studying problems affecting Yoruba land in particular and Nigeria in general through:
(i) Research.
(ii) Lectures:'
(iii) Paper reading, and
(iv) Discussion.
(b) By disseminating the knowledge thus gained and conclusions reached among the people in Yoruba land and Nigeria by the following means:
(i) The propagation of the idea of a modern Yoruba state and a Federal State of Nigeria through the agency of reliable persons who share our ideals.
(ii) The issuing of magazines, booklets, and other publications in English and Yoruba.
(iii) The encouragement of the immediate setting up of Egbe Omo Oduduwa in Yorubaland provided the promoters give an undertaking that the first three years will be devoted to strengthening the organisa tion financially and studying local problems, while refraining from any direct political action.
Before the Egbe was founded in London in 1945, there was already a two-year old branch of the Ibo Federal Union there. Even so the reaction of practically all the students from the Eastern Region and of some from the Western Region to the formation of the Egbe was a hostile one. Being the most prominent among the founders, I was singled out for attack. I was accused of being tribalistic and of having a design to wreck the unity of Nigeria . In the face of the aims and objects of the Egbe which were widely circulated among Nigerian students in the United Kingdom , these accusations did not make any sense to me.
All the same, I seized every opportunity ,that offered itself to explain these aims and objects to my detractors. The Executive Committee of the Egbe also decided to hold a joint meeting with the Executive Committee of the London Branch of the Ibo Federal Union, with a view to making to the latter a full explanation of what the Egbe stood for, and to driving the point home that the Egbe was purely and simply the Yoruba counterpart of the Ibo Federal Union. I made contact with the Chairman of the Ibo Federal Union, Mr Chuba Ikpeazu (a law student) through my friend Mr G. Onyiuke (another law student), and a date for a meeting between the committees was fixed. Somehow, about twenty-four hours before the time of the meeting, Mr Ikpeazu sent a message to say that he and his officers had another important engagement which made it possible for them to attend the proposed meeting. He promised to let us have another date. He was unable to fulfill this promise before we all returned home to Nigeria .
When the Egbe was founded in London , copies of its consti tution were sent to Obas, Chiefs and outstanding Yorubas, with an accompanying letter in which an appeal was made to them to found a similar organisation at home. Apart from His Highness Sir Adesoji Aderomi, the Oni of He and President of the Western House of Chiefs, and three other persons, there was no response from the scores of people to whom we had written, and nothing at all was done at home to start the Egbe or something similar to it.
On my return home, I began in earnest to preach the formation of the Egbe. People listened to me either with concealed indifference or undisguised boredom. Then one day in 1948, I read in the papers that the Egbe Omo Oduduwa had been formed in Lagos by a group of outstanding Yoruba leaders. Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Dr Akinola Maja, Sir Kofo Abayomi, Chief Bode Thomas, Chief H. O. Davies, Dr Akanni Doherty and others too numerous to mention were among the foundation members.
I was jubilant to read this report, and I quickly sent a telegram off elicitations to the Lagos founders of the Egbe. I also took immediate steps to inaugurate a branch in Ibadan . The aims and objects of the newly formed Egbe were identical with those of the one founded in London with but some slight modifications. The new organisation pledged itself
(a) to encourage (especially by means of scholarship awards by the Society) the pursuit of secondary and university education among Yoruba boys and girls,
(b) to recognise and maintain the monarchical and other similar institutions of Yorubaland, to plan for their complete enlightenment and democratization … and
(c) to strive earnestly to cooperate with other ethnical associations in matters of common interest to all Nigerians, so as thereby to attain to unity in federation.
The reaction of Dr Azikiwe and all his supporters to the newly formed Egbe was violent beyond compare. All the leaders of the Egbe were vilified in Dr Azikiwe's newspapers. The high-water-mark of the campaign was reached in the following extract from an editorial article in the Pilot of Sep tember 8, 1948:
But now that the Egbe has made it clear that its battle is not really against Dr Azikiwe personally and even against Ibos as a group, but against the aspirations of the 27 million Nigerians backing up the NCNC, the time has come for real action. . . .
Henceforth the cry must be one of battle against the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, its leaders, at home and abroad, up hill, and down dale, in the streets of Nigeria and in the residence of its advocates. The Egbe Omo Oduduwa is the enemy of Nigeria ; it must be crushed to the
earth. . . . There is no going back, until the Fascist organisation of Sir Adeyemo Alakija has been dismembered.
Apart from newspaper attacks, there were also physical assaults on the persons of the leaders of the Egbe, and damage to the houses and other property of some of them. It was absolutely impossible on nationalist grounds to reconcile Dr Azikiwe's insensate hostility to the Egbe with his presidentship of the Ibo Federal Union and his obvious condonation of the existence of a similar organisation founded in the Northern Region in May 1948 and called Jamiyyar Mutanen Arewa (Northern People's Congress). Besides, in spite of his protesta tions to the contrary, Dr Azikiwe was himself an unabashed Ibo jingoist. And he gave the game completely away when he said inter alia in his presidential address to the Ibo Federal Union in 1949, as follows:
. . . It would appear that the God of Africa has specially created the Ibo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of the ages. . . . The martial prowess of the Ibo nation at all stages of human history has enabled them not only to conquer others but also to adapt themselves to the role of preserver. . . . The Ibo nation cannot shirk its responsibility. . . . Politically, you have seen with your own eyes how you were disfranchised by the British. . . . The Ibo nation has never been represented in the Executive Council. . . .
Economically, the Ibo nation has laboured under onerous taxation measures, without sufficient social amenities to justify same.
We have been taxed without representation, and our contributions in taxes have bet:n used to develop other areas, out of proportion to the incidence of taxation in those areas.
It would seem that the Ibo nation is becoming a victim of econo mic annihilation through a gradual but studied process.
In 1948 another Ibo leader and a member of the Nigerian Legislative Council had declared the domination of Nigeria by the Ibos is a question of time.
It was clear from these statements and from the general political and journalistic maneuvers of Dr Azikiwe over the years that his great objective was to set himself up as a dictator over Nigeria and to make the Ibo nation the master race. It would appear according to his reckoning that the only obstacle in the path of his ambition was the Yoruba intelligentsia, and these must be removed at all cost. A situation in which one ethnic group would dominate the others does not accord with my conception of a united and happy Nigeria . I am implacably opposed to dictatorship as well as the doctrine ofHerrenvolk whether it was Hitler's or Dr Azikiwe's.
Jonathan's appointees trade in corruption - EFCC
SaharaReporters
Farida Waziri's recent trip to the US has enabled her to make a case for her lack luster anti-corruption drive, and to pass the buck. And the person upon whom she is heaping the blame for her failures is her current boss: Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Farida told some United States officials during her recent trip that Jonathan and some of his aides have completely crippled her operation by interfering directly in her anti-corruption work.
Mrs. Waziri also told FBI trainers who visited the EFCC in Abuja that her terrible standing internationally is simply because her bosses never allow her to do her job. She gave examples of interference in the arrest and prosecution of economic criminals by the fallen former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaaa.
She lamented that since Jonathan’s coming to power, his powerful aides (who are believed to be his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe and the current Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke) have become stumbling blocks.
Although Mrs. Waziri's personal corruption and incompetence serve as major impediments to any meaningful anti-corruption work, EFCC officials have told Saharareporters that since assuming office, Jonathan has gone out of his way to muzzle the EFCC even more. Last week, the AGF Adoke openly chastised the Commission over its mode of operation, asking the agency to jettison its use of strong-arm tactics to fight corruption.
Mr. Adoke’s statement was not specific to any particular case but sources told Saharareporters that one of his points of interference is Taraba State where the EFCC had planned to act on a series of powerful petitions against the governor, who had embezzled large sums of the monies belonging to the state.
But Mr. Adoke's wife was quickly appointed as the Attorney General in the state, in order to forestall any further investigation of the case.
Also last week, Mr. Adoke reportedly donated N250 million to the Jonathan campaign to forestall his removal after he said that former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida would not be investigated for stealing $12.4 billion Gulf oil windfall.
That statement was said to have rankled the presidency.
Mrs. Waziri’s complaint to the United States complicates Jonathan’s anti-corruption spinelessness. During his visit to the country a few months ago, he swore to the Obama administration and foreign policy specialists that he would move quickly on corruption. That was interpreted partly to mean he would relieve Mrs. Waziri, who is in the bad books of several international anti-corruption agencies, of her job.
Farida Waziri's recent trip to the US has enabled her to make a case for her lack luster anti-corruption drive, and to pass the buck. And the person upon whom she is heaping the blame for her failures is her current boss: Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Farida told some United States officials during her recent trip that Jonathan and some of his aides have completely crippled her operation by interfering directly in her anti-corruption work.
Mrs. Waziri also told FBI trainers who visited the EFCC in Abuja that her terrible standing internationally is simply because her bosses never allow her to do her job. She gave examples of interference in the arrest and prosecution of economic criminals by the fallen former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaaa.
She lamented that since Jonathan’s coming to power, his powerful aides (who are believed to be his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe and the current Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke) have become stumbling blocks.
Although Mrs. Waziri's personal corruption and incompetence serve as major impediments to any meaningful anti-corruption work, EFCC officials have told Saharareporters that since assuming office, Jonathan has gone out of his way to muzzle the EFCC even more. Last week, the AGF Adoke openly chastised the Commission over its mode of operation, asking the agency to jettison its use of strong-arm tactics to fight corruption.
Mr. Adoke’s statement was not specific to any particular case but sources told Saharareporters that one of his points of interference is Taraba State where the EFCC had planned to act on a series of powerful petitions against the governor, who had embezzled large sums of the monies belonging to the state.
But Mr. Adoke's wife was quickly appointed as the Attorney General in the state, in order to forestall any further investigation of the case.
Also last week, Mr. Adoke reportedly donated N250 million to the Jonathan campaign to forestall his removal after he said that former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida would not be investigated for stealing $12.4 billion Gulf oil windfall.
That statement was said to have rankled the presidency.
Mrs. Waziri’s complaint to the United States complicates Jonathan’s anti-corruption spinelessness. During his visit to the country a few months ago, he swore to the Obama administration and foreign policy specialists that he would move quickly on corruption. That was interpreted partly to mean he would relieve Mrs. Waziri, who is in the bad books of several international anti-corruption agencies, of her job.
THOSE MISLEADING IGBO NATION FOR 2011 & 2015
Dr. Ifeanyi G. Udibe, PhD.
Ndi - Igbo,
It has been a while since I commented on National issues. I write from the war front, and my comments are as follows:
1. The Biafra/Nigeria war never ended in reality. If it ended, who are the victors, and who are the vanquished? Who have continued to determine who gets what in a federated Nigeria, and why are the Igbo people still feeling like second class citizens in Nigeria with a traumatized psyche, and cowed mentality? Now, how and when would a person of Igbo extraction be a president of Nigeria? When will the cry of marginalization stop? Who is marginalizing who? And How are Igbos being marginalized??
2. Igbo man is now Chairman of PDP, the ruling party. It is a fact that the PDP, with no opposition will produce the next president in 2011. The Hausas have given conditions, and are in the race; the Yorubas are the king makers, and control PDP in reality; the Igbos are playing the Ostrich hiding their heads in the sand. They want the Yorubas and the Hausas to instruct them on where and when to jump, and the so called representatives from the Governors and the Senate continue to dance in shame. Tomorrow, they will shout 'marginalization'.
3. The questions to guide the Igbo Nation:
* Why have the Igbo national leaders given up the Quest for 2011 Presidential Contest without negotiating for 2015?
* Why would an Igbo person or politician offer unconditional support to any person or zone without an unambiguous reciprocal support for an Igbo man to be president in 2015?
* Among the candidates that have declared or would declare for 2011, who among the pack has stated an unequivocal support for an Igbo man to be president in 2015??
* What is the Igbo agenda for 2011, and what agreements have been reached with potential presidential candidates?? What would the Igbo nation want to see happen in Igboland 2011 - 2014?? Who decides for Ndi-Igbo?? Who for now is really our Igbo leader, and who has been profiteering in posturing as Igbo leaders?? Are they leading right, or are they facilitating the destruction of the Igbo nation and identity??
SPECIAL NOTE 1: The Federal powers took the pains to fight a war stopping NDIGBO and the Eastern tribes from pulling out of an uncomfortable federation. Now the Igbo nation want full integration status by becoming president of Nigeria. There is no other way to ensure full integration status for the Igbo Nation without an Igbo man becoming president of Nigeria in 2015, going by any formula or no formula of zoning. That is is Nigerian reality. The Igbo nation cannot produce a president through proxy. Every nation has a right to the presidency without hiding its identity.
SPECIAL NOTE 2: The issue of Nigeria president of Igbo extraction will assume deserved focus to NDI-IGBO, just as "JUNE 12" became the focal point of Yoruba politics. Rightly or wrongly, this is a process that will consume those who take Igbo strategic interest for granted. This process shall define real Igbo leaders and well wishers; and equally shall expose those who have consistently sabotaged Igbo national interests.
SPECIAL NOTE 3: The majority of the Igbo people are crying and shedding tears of blood, for the betrayal of the Igbo people by the Igbo people; and for the stigma of the civil war by an unforgiving victorious people. The Tears from their eyes will unavoidably contaminate the Rivers of Benue and Niger, and the shores and deltas of the Atlantic Ocean.
This is time for stock taking, and realistic actions!!
May God give courage to men of good will who are weak in heart!
MOVEMENT FOR TWO PARTY SYSTEM OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA
Ndi - Igbo,
It has been a while since I commented on National issues. I write from the war front, and my comments are as follows:
1. The Biafra/Nigeria war never ended in reality. If it ended, who are the victors, and who are the vanquished? Who have continued to determine who gets what in a federated Nigeria, and why are the Igbo people still feeling like second class citizens in Nigeria with a traumatized psyche, and cowed mentality? Now, how and when would a person of Igbo extraction be a president of Nigeria? When will the cry of marginalization stop? Who is marginalizing who? And How are Igbos being marginalized??
2. Igbo man is now Chairman of PDP, the ruling party. It is a fact that the PDP, with no opposition will produce the next president in 2011. The Hausas have given conditions, and are in the race; the Yorubas are the king makers, and control PDP in reality; the Igbos are playing the Ostrich hiding their heads in the sand. They want the Yorubas and the Hausas to instruct them on where and when to jump, and the so called representatives from the Governors and the Senate continue to dance in shame. Tomorrow, they will shout 'marginalization'.
3. The questions to guide the Igbo Nation:
* Why have the Igbo national leaders given up the Quest for 2011 Presidential Contest without negotiating for 2015?
* Why would an Igbo person or politician offer unconditional support to any person or zone without an unambiguous reciprocal support for an Igbo man to be president in 2015?
* Among the candidates that have declared or would declare for 2011, who among the pack has stated an unequivocal support for an Igbo man to be president in 2015??
* What is the Igbo agenda for 2011, and what agreements have been reached with potential presidential candidates?? What would the Igbo nation want to see happen in Igboland 2011 - 2014?? Who decides for Ndi-Igbo?? Who for now is really our Igbo leader, and who has been profiteering in posturing as Igbo leaders?? Are they leading right, or are they facilitating the destruction of the Igbo nation and identity??
SPECIAL NOTE 1: The Federal powers took the pains to fight a war stopping NDIGBO and the Eastern tribes from pulling out of an uncomfortable federation. Now the Igbo nation want full integration status by becoming president of Nigeria. There is no other way to ensure full integration status for the Igbo Nation without an Igbo man becoming president of Nigeria in 2015, going by any formula or no formula of zoning. That is is Nigerian reality. The Igbo nation cannot produce a president through proxy. Every nation has a right to the presidency without hiding its identity.
SPECIAL NOTE 2: The issue of Nigeria president of Igbo extraction will assume deserved focus to NDI-IGBO, just as "JUNE 12" became the focal point of Yoruba politics. Rightly or wrongly, this is a process that will consume those who take Igbo strategic interest for granted. This process shall define real Igbo leaders and well wishers; and equally shall expose those who have consistently sabotaged Igbo national interests.
SPECIAL NOTE 3: The majority of the Igbo people are crying and shedding tears of blood, for the betrayal of the Igbo people by the Igbo people; and for the stigma of the civil war by an unforgiving victorious people. The Tears from their eyes will unavoidably contaminate the Rivers of Benue and Niger, and the shores and deltas of the Atlantic Ocean.
This is time for stock taking, and realistic actions!!
May God give courage to men of good will who are weak in heart!
MOVEMENT FOR TWO PARTY SYSTEM OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA
Restructuring . Regionalization . Resource Control . Confederation
Zubbie Ekwueme
Nigeria may be at the cusp of a new and exihilirating paradigm. The dark, brooding cloud that has hovered over Nigeria for over 50 years, may be relenting. It promises to be morning again in Nigeria, folks! The glorious sun could be peeping-out soon, out of this rain-cloud, to smile over a dejected lanscape. and shower us with aboundant blessings. If GEA Jonathan continues the brilliance he has shown lately, we may be getting somewhere.
Consider this: S/East Governors, and politicos have now acknowledged the existence of PDP "zoning" alright, but NOT as stated, between North and South. Hausa/Fulani has spinned "zoning" to be between North and South. They forget to tell Nigeria that there is NO such a thing as North/South.
FinalStool
Well, the ethnicities of the old Eastern Region are now speaking out in one loud voice. They want zoning to be between the 6 geopolitical zones - SE, SS, SW, NW, NE, NC. These geopolitical zones will eventually become, - the Regions - the restructuring that Nigeria needs. This restructing would give the S/East ans S/South a fighting chance, to evolve a democracy.
GEA Jonathan, seems to agree with them too. Lately, he has appointed 6 Governors from each of the zones to manage his re-election campaign. This kind of thinking may be what the doctor ordered. If Jonathan sees the good in developing the S/East as well as S/South with our vast OIL money, then, we would have arrived.
Six geopolitical regions will give each region the fighting chance to fend off any kind of domination, including Islamic type.
Nigeria may be at the cusp of a new and exihilirating paradigm. The dark, brooding cloud that has hovered over Nigeria for over 50 years, may be relenting. It promises to be morning again in Nigeria, folks! The glorious sun could be peeping-out soon, out of this rain-cloud, to smile over a dejected lanscape. and shower us with aboundant blessings. If GEA Jonathan continues the brilliance he has shown lately, we may be getting somewhere.
Consider this: S/East Governors, and politicos have now acknowledged the existence of PDP "zoning" alright, but NOT as stated, between North and South. Hausa/Fulani has spinned "zoning" to be between North and South. They forget to tell Nigeria that there is NO such a thing as North/South.
FinalStool
Well, the ethnicities of the old Eastern Region are now speaking out in one loud voice. They want zoning to be between the 6 geopolitical zones - SE, SS, SW, NW, NE, NC. These geopolitical zones will eventually become, - the Regions - the restructuring that Nigeria needs. This restructing would give the S/East ans S/South a fighting chance, to evolve a democracy.
GEA Jonathan, seems to agree with them too. Lately, he has appointed 6 Governors from each of the zones to manage his re-election campaign. This kind of thinking may be what the doctor ordered. If Jonathan sees the good in developing the S/East as well as S/South with our vast OIL money, then, we would have arrived.
Six geopolitical regions will give each region the fighting chance to fend off any kind of domination, including Islamic type.
A HORROR STORY: AN ACCOUNT OF NORTHERN NIGERIA
The Northen elites have no interest in the economic and political development of the North. Today, a single state in the South has more school enrolments than an entire geo-political zone in the North. Pupils still study under trees. Teachers are ill-trained and poorly paid. A primary school in Kaduna state (Rafin-Pa) has 300 pupils who share two classes. A chalk line on the floor serves as demarcation for the different classes. It has two teachers, including the headmaster. There are more private universities in a state in the South than all federal, state and private universities in a Northern zone.
Goodluck or Jonathan: The North has never had it so bad
'In 1955, Chief Obafemi Awolowo introduced a Free Education policy as Premier of the Western Region. Already, his region was well ahead of the North in terms of western education. Today, the products of that policy dominate education, the civil service, business, financial services, medicine, law and a host of other professions in Nigeria and beyond. Fifty- five years later, few, if any of the North’s 19 states has a free education policy.
Today, a single state in the South has more school enrolments than an entire geo-political zone in the North. Pupils still study under trees. Teachers are ill-trained and poorly paid. A primary school in Kaduna state (Rafin-Pa) has 300 pupils who share two classes. A chalk line on the floor serves as demarcation for the different classes. It has two teachers, including the headmaster. There are more private universities in a state in the South than all federal, state and private universities in a Northern zone.
In schools, working conditions are so poor that our few highly trained university lecturers are opting to teach (even in secondary schools) abroad. There is only one state owned university of science and technology in the entire North. A single university in the South graduates more students than several in the North. Even the famous Ahmadu Bello University is crippled by internal wrangling and power-play.
Education is symbolic of the psychology of Northern elite. Fifty years ago, the region was battling to catch up with the rest of the country. Today, the gap is wider than ever. All economic indicators point to the North as the poorest region in Nigeria. Unemployment is higher than other parts. Industries, even in Kano have become empty, cob-webbed buildings echoing with the silence of inactivity.
Our elite would rather buy factories in Malaysia and other countries.
Agriculture, the region’s great area of comparative advantage and mainstay of its economy remains subsistence and dependent on the vagaries of weather. This is in spite of the many dams and huge tracts of fertile land the region possesses. Healthcare is not any better. Most states in the South have more doctors than any zone in the North.
Recently, a volunteer group called Movement for a Better Future organized a medical caravan to assist a small village with basic medical services, only to be confronted with many patients requiring surgery and other more serious medical attention from surrounding settlements. Government healthcare has never reached majority of people, so they die from preventable, treatable diseases that should have been long eradicated. The few doctors and other medical personnel we train have no hospitals and no equipment to work with. So they transfer their expertise to other countries.
Cholera, dysentery, meningitis, polio and other preventable diseases seem to afflict only the region. We have been accused of single-handedly stalling the elimination of polio from Africa. Bill Gates had to spend $750 million to fight diseases in our backyards. Our elite would rather keep their dollars in Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong and South Africa.
The Sahara desert is inching downwards every year. Entire settlements have been engulfed. Water sources are drying up rapidly; deforestation is exposing millions of people to the elements and making the region vulnerable to drought, flooding and other environmental catastrophes. Overuse has reduced the fertility and productivity of many farmlands. Rapid population expansion further puts pressure on existing resources, while our armies of unemployed youth troop to towns and cities in search of non-existing opportunities. Our elite would rather compete about who lives in a more expensive part of London, the French Riviera or Dubai.
Of course, many Northerners have worked and succeeded in many fields, but most of our so-called elite are people who have served in one public position or another and used their positions to divert public funds for personal use. Corruption is central to the region’s poverty and maladministration. The stolen funds are not used to create jobs or stimulate economic activity, but to buy homes in Europe, America and the Middle-East. The elite compete in sending their children to schools abroad (though they end up with children totally disconnected from reality, unable to adjust to conditions in Nigeria and incapable of defining the essence of life).
This mentality is not limited to the Hausa/ Fulani/ Muslim elite. The elite from other ethnic groups and religions in the North have the same psychology – majority or minority –the thought process is the same: grab as much money as possible; open foreign bank accounts; buy a house in London with a stopover in Dubai; send your children to school abroad and enjoy the loot.
Most of those who would have made a difference in society have been assimilated into the elite class. Remember all those idealistic ‘comrades’ and ‘radicals’ in universities across the North? They have become part of the same system they used to condemn. The dream of many young Northerners is to acquire wealth by whatever means to join the rat race. Idealism is dead. Progressive thinking is anathema. There is no vision, and thus, no prospect for a better future.
Now that Northern elite are divided on whether to retain rotational presidency or support President Jonathan, whose interest are they serving? Only their selfish interests because regardless of who is in power, majority of Northerners (regardless of ethnicity or religion) have nothing to show. The psychology of our leaders is to systematically narrow the economic and political space to the exclusion of the majority.
They have no interest in the economic and political development of the North, preferring to fly with their families to major cities of the world with looted money. In the meantime, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and ethno-religious crises continue to tear the North apart. That is the mindset of the so-called Northern elite.
Goodluck or Jonathan: The North has never had it so bad
'In 1955, Chief Obafemi Awolowo introduced a Free Education policy as Premier of the Western Region. Already, his region was well ahead of the North in terms of western education. Today, the products of that policy dominate education, the civil service, business, financial services, medicine, law and a host of other professions in Nigeria and beyond. Fifty- five years later, few, if any of the North’s 19 states has a free education policy.
Today, a single state in the South has more school enrolments than an entire geo-political zone in the North. Pupils still study under trees. Teachers are ill-trained and poorly paid. A primary school in Kaduna state (Rafin-Pa) has 300 pupils who share two classes. A chalk line on the floor serves as demarcation for the different classes. It has two teachers, including the headmaster. There are more private universities in a state in the South than all federal, state and private universities in a Northern zone.
In schools, working conditions are so poor that our few highly trained university lecturers are opting to teach (even in secondary schools) abroad. There is only one state owned university of science and technology in the entire North. A single university in the South graduates more students than several in the North. Even the famous Ahmadu Bello University is crippled by internal wrangling and power-play.
Education is symbolic of the psychology of Northern elite. Fifty years ago, the region was battling to catch up with the rest of the country. Today, the gap is wider than ever. All economic indicators point to the North as the poorest region in Nigeria. Unemployment is higher than other parts. Industries, even in Kano have become empty, cob-webbed buildings echoing with the silence of inactivity.
Our elite would rather buy factories in Malaysia and other countries.
Agriculture, the region’s great area of comparative advantage and mainstay of its economy remains subsistence and dependent on the vagaries of weather. This is in spite of the many dams and huge tracts of fertile land the region possesses. Healthcare is not any better. Most states in the South have more doctors than any zone in the North.
Recently, a volunteer group called Movement for a Better Future organized a medical caravan to assist a small village with basic medical services, only to be confronted with many patients requiring surgery and other more serious medical attention from surrounding settlements. Government healthcare has never reached majority of people, so they die from preventable, treatable diseases that should have been long eradicated. The few doctors and other medical personnel we train have no hospitals and no equipment to work with. So they transfer their expertise to other countries.
Cholera, dysentery, meningitis, polio and other preventable diseases seem to afflict only the region. We have been accused of single-handedly stalling the elimination of polio from Africa. Bill Gates had to spend $750 million to fight diseases in our backyards. Our elite would rather keep their dollars in Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong and South Africa.
The Sahara desert is inching downwards every year. Entire settlements have been engulfed. Water sources are drying up rapidly; deforestation is exposing millions of people to the elements and making the region vulnerable to drought, flooding and other environmental catastrophes. Overuse has reduced the fertility and productivity of many farmlands. Rapid population expansion further puts pressure on existing resources, while our armies of unemployed youth troop to towns and cities in search of non-existing opportunities. Our elite would rather compete about who lives in a more expensive part of London, the French Riviera or Dubai.
Of course, many Northerners have worked and succeeded in many fields, but most of our so-called elite are people who have served in one public position or another and used their positions to divert public funds for personal use. Corruption is central to the region’s poverty and maladministration. The stolen funds are not used to create jobs or stimulate economic activity, but to buy homes in Europe, America and the Middle-East. The elite compete in sending their children to schools abroad (though they end up with children totally disconnected from reality, unable to adjust to conditions in Nigeria and incapable of defining the essence of life).
This mentality is not limited to the Hausa/ Fulani/ Muslim elite. The elite from other ethnic groups and religions in the North have the same psychology – majority or minority –the thought process is the same: grab as much money as possible; open foreign bank accounts; buy a house in London with a stopover in Dubai; send your children to school abroad and enjoy the loot.
Most of those who would have made a difference in society have been assimilated into the elite class. Remember all those idealistic ‘comrades’ and ‘radicals’ in universities across the North? They have become part of the same system they used to condemn. The dream of many young Northerners is to acquire wealth by whatever means to join the rat race. Idealism is dead. Progressive thinking is anathema. There is no vision, and thus, no prospect for a better future.
Now that Northern elite are divided on whether to retain rotational presidency or support President Jonathan, whose interest are they serving? Only their selfish interests because regardless of who is in power, majority of Northerners (regardless of ethnicity or religion) have nothing to show. The psychology of our leaders is to systematically narrow the economic and political space to the exclusion of the majority.
They have no interest in the economic and political development of the North, preferring to fly with their families to major cities of the world with looted money. In the meantime, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and ethno-religious crises continue to tear the North apart. That is the mindset of the so-called Northern elite.
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