Category: Columnists

by Azu Ishiekwene

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual, is no stranger to adversity and sabotage. Among his notable battles is the cement war with his kinsman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, founder of BUA Group. Despite attempts to reconcile the two, tensions remain high. Dangote’s dispute with the Kogi State Government over rights and royalties from his Obajana Cement plant was minor compared to his struggle with Rabiu.

Dangote has learned that wealth and comfort are often mutually exclusive in the pursuit of success. This lesson was particularly evident in his efforts to own a refinery. During the last days of President Obasanjo’s administration, the government sold two refineries to Blue Star, a Dangote-led consortium, for $670 million. However, the subsequent administration under President Yar’Adua refunded Dangote under pressure from labor unions, claiming the refineries were national assets that should not be sold.

Bruised but determined, Dangote announced plans in 2013 to build a private refinery, eventually setting its capacity at 650,000 barrels per day, surpassing the combined capacity of Nigeria’s four refineries. This single-train refinery, initially estimated at $12 billion but ultimately costing around $20 billion, has become a focal point of controversy.

Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accused the Dangote Refinery of producing products with unsafe sulfur levels and attempting to monopolize the industry. However, Ahmed failed to specify acceptable sulfur levels or provide evidence of monopolistic practices. He mentioned other operational refineries, contradicting his monopoly claims.

Ahmed’s accusations are problematic given that neither NMDPRA nor NNPC has the laboratory capacity to verify sulfur levels, relying instead on third-party labs. Despite this, Ahmed publicly discredited Dangote’s products, which have been purchased by companies like TotalEnergies and BP.

NNPC claimed to conduct rigorous testing of its products, but the regulator has not provided verified data. Meanwhile, NNPC has spent billions on maintenance of moribund refineries without producing significant results. Consumers continue to face long queues and contaminated products.

If the Dangote Refinery is breaching regulations, the regulator should work collaboratively with the refinery to address issues. The current conflict, highlighted by a press conference, raises questions about the motivations behind Ahmed’s accusations. The meeting ordered by President Tinubu may temporarily calm tensions, but the underlying issues remain unresolved.

The Dangote Refinery is only 45 percent complete, yet it was commissioned by former President Buhari last year. Ahmed, with his experience as the former chief executive of PPMC, is struggling in his regulatory role, risking public trust by spreading unverified claims.

Dr Uche Diala

The Port Harcourt-Aba rail line has reportedly re-commenced operations after years of neglect by successive administrations pre-2015.

This must surely be very welcome news to the thousands of Nigerians who commute to and from the oil city of Port Harcourt and the Enyimba city of Aba daily.

The original railway in Aba was established in 1915 to connect the commercial city of Aba in today’s Abia state with Port Harcourt city in today’s Rivers state.

The 62.0km Port Harcourt – Aba rail line is a critical part of the longer 2044.1km Port Harcourt – Maiduguri narrow guage rail line project which will connect Rivers, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno states by rail.

In March 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari launched the $3.2 billion rehabilitation and reconstruction of Port Harcourt – Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway project, Bonny Deep Sea Port and the Railway Industrial Park, Port Harcourt to be executed with federal government’s 15% counterpart funding and 85% loan. Construction work eventually began in March 2022 from the Port Harcourt end.

On December 29th 2023, CCECC announced that it had completed the track laying from Port Harcourt to Aba.

On April 30, 2024, the Minister for Transportation, Senator Said Alkali heralded the commencement of commercial services on the Port Harcourt to Aba corridor.

As I proudly celebrate this historic and positive milestone, I cannot help but remember the intensity of attacks and abuses that their excellencies, Rotimi Amaechi and former President Muhammadu Buhari received because of this Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail line.

I equally remember the many articles I wrote explaining narrow and standard quage lines and why that project should be accepted, supported and appreciated, to a largely sceptical and hostile audience

As all doubts have now been laid to rest and many mouths that spoke bad are now silent or speaking differently, I cannot in good conscience fail to sincerely commend and appreciate HE Muhammadu Buhari, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and HE Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Former Minister for Transportation for their foresight, clarity of idea and political will to confront this long neglected project as well many other issues and projects; completed or ongoing.

I equally sincerely and respectfully appreciate HE President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and pray that he will continue to build on these and the many other achievements of and foundations laid by President Buhari.

These are monumental and legacy achievements of the APC in Nigeria for Nigerians.

Any attempt to denigrate the person of former President Muhammadu Buhari or to deny those verified achievements of the Buhari Administration would be naive, futile and counterproductive to the Tinubu administration, and the APC as a political party.

It would be immoral, dishonorable, irresponsible and self defeatist politics.

I sincerely hope and pray that all appointees of our current APC administration under the Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban Borgu as well as all well meaning APC members, progressives and supporters of the President understand these and be properly guided.

We shall continue to support the Tinubu administration as it continues work on the Calabar-Enugu-Abuja rail line; Ibadan to Abuja and Abuja-Kano which are part of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge rail line as well as the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi rail line among others, all of which were initiated by the last administration and at various stages of progress as well as in his other programs, policies and projects.

God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By Dr Austin Maho

Stories were abound all through last week how the spin doctors of Yahaya Bello allegedly moved tons of cash around some media houses to influence good conscience. It shouldnt surprise anyone therefore the amount of space devoted by some media organization to the Yahaya Bello and EFCC story.

The substantive story of high level corruption was buried by spin doctors who took over the airwave and newspaper pages propagating deceptive and misleading messages that presented Yahaya Bello as the victim of political witch hunt by a broken EFCC!

The spinmeisters were at the top of their game, their machinery was well oiled by free flowing money from Kogi

EFCC was put on trial and taken to the cleaners for dearing to violate a court order from a high court of Kogi state. Ironically the same Kogi state court in 2023 jailed then EFCC Chairman, Rashid Bawa for contempt and is now holding EFCC chairman, Olukoyede for contempt. Is thunder going to strike twice?

Justice Josiah Majebi is the Chief Judge of Kogi state, who in a recent article by respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Anslem Chidi Odinkalu describes as existing “almost entirely in the pocket of the state governor” .

Should anyone be surprise that the order stopping the EFCC from carrying out the arrest Yahaya Bello emanated from a Kogi court, and that all processes leading to the issuance of the court order happened in one day. Rather than be alarmed by this travesty many media houses and commentators were happy to take the EFCC to the cleaners for disobeying “a court order” emanating from Kogi!

If you have ever had any illusion that media corruption exists, how the media have reported the case between the EFCC and Yahaya Bello should help clear your doubt. A casual content analysis of media report of the events of last week would reveal that it was slanted in favor of Yahaya Bello. There was inherent bias observable in the way some media houses reported the press briefing by the chairman of the EFCC, He was castigated for putting his case in the public domain. He was vilified and called immature and emotional for saying he would resign if he does not bring Yahaya Bello to justice.

When we talk about drawing the lines between journalism and public relations, which is lost to many journalists the Yahaya Bello case presents the perfect example, the locus classicus of media corruption.

It is a case study of why journalism is distinct from public relations and why public relations practioners should stay away from journalism.

Journalism is about DISCLOSURE, to lay open, to make bare, to shine the light of truth on the inner recesses of governance. To hold government accountable to the people. Public Relations is about CLOSURE and DEFLECTION, to make you look the other way, to gaslight, to obsficate,to tell alternative truth. If in a 100 percent , the subject does 99 percent wrong the job of the Public Relations practitioner is to focus on the single one done right. Repeat it over and over again to make you forget the 99 percent that are wrong!

But journalism works differently. If in a 100 percent it happens that 99 percent have been done right, the job of the journalist is to focus on the one percent that has gone awry and ask why. Hence journalist are the conscience of the nation, the watch dog of society. It is for this reason that journalism is the only profession mentioned in the constitution and enjoys the privilege to monitor government onbehalf of the governed.

Hence we should be worried when this distinct line between journalism and Public Relations is becoming blurred! Journalism is not Public Relations.

As a people we have become permissive of corruption, we are culprits!

How are some high profile cases of corruption even possible in the first place? How is it possible that a governor would remove over 80 billion from state coffers without anyone raising the alarm. How is it possible that a political office holder would remove such humongous amount of money from state coffers with no early warning signal in place to alert the public of the pillage of government resources for personal benefit.

A single person can make a difference.
Evil triumph when good men sit and do nothing. We have to decide on the kind of society we want to build.
” If Nigeria do not kill corruption, corruption will kill nigeria”.

The fight against corruption is not about the EFCC or any anti graft agency. It is about Nigeria, it is about Nigerians it is about all of us. It is about our future. It is about what we want to build, the legacy that we want to bequit to upcoming generations.

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!. The grace of God has abided long enough with Nigeria, its citizens must rise up, take the bull by the horn and chart the future of this country.

Watching the EFCC chairman, outing during his last media engagement, one could easily see the heavy burden he carries on his shoulders, the pain in his eyes. The labor to do the right thing and play by the book dealing with hardened criminals who obeys no law and adhere to no moral code. Who for them all is fair. Who have constituted themselves as untouchables and bigger than the law and the state.

Are we so blind that we cannot see that what happened at Benghazi street Wuse Zone 4, Abuja was an affront to the Nigerian state. A panacea for Anarchy a demistification of the state? The state was defanged, the supreme power of coascion which the state and only the state should possess was made mockery of!

Can’t we see that what a sitting governor Ododo did was aiding a fugitive to escape justice and raises question on why we should continue to retain immunity clause in our constitution, when immunity has become a cover for crime. Evil has seeped into the heart of our nation. If we allow this cancer to metastasized Nigeria dies.

This is the reason why the state, only the state should command the instrument of coarsion, allowing individuals to ride roughshut over state institutions would only encourage more criminals to confront the state. Strong men don’t build a nation, strong institution does. We must resist strongmen with piles of stolen cash to become parallel powers to institutions of state.

An invitation was extended by the EFCC to Yahaya Bello to come and vacate allegations of corruption against his person, he deployed subterfuge and thereafter asked that EFCC operatives should come to his country home, his village for the interrogation.
It is not just insullence but a mockery of the anti-graft agency

When criminals can nolonger be surmoned to answer for crimes against the state or allowed to chose the place and time for their interrogation, we move in the direction of state failure we walk in the precipise.

When lawyers who are suppose to uphold the law, guide society take to the street, join hired crowd for a morsel of bread to protest inanities, we should worry about our the state of our moral fabric.

When journalists who a suppose to be the conscience of the nation, the watch dog become lap dogs of their pay masters barking for the wrong reason there is a reason for all of us to worry.

A pioneer EFCC chairman now National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu was once quoted to have said that if a criminal is driving on one way traffic, he as a law enforcement officer is equally entitled to drive on one way to arrest him.

Criminals don’t play by the book, they would deploy all sorts of subterfuge to evade justice. Where necessary Anti corruption agencies should do all they can to bring corrupt individuals to justice even if they have to drive against traffic to achieve their aim, it would be recorded that it was for a good course.

“The worst part of a society manipulated by politics is to see the poor defending the rich who are responsible for their poverty” (Paulo Coelho). It is even worst when those who are the conscience of the nation those who aught to hold government accountable to the people will bend double to do the will of corrupt politicians.

Journalism is measured by the service it offers the soviety. It should not only give information, but must place the information in context.

How did Yahaya Bello obtained the court order he is brandishing around? Why is the media hammering on this and has made it a major media agenda?
What is the the end game of Yahaya Bello, is it ultimately to evade prosecution by the EFCC? This is the context Public Relations would avoid but journalism would present. Journalism educates the public and give them the facts they need to be active participants in the task of nation building

Journalism is skeptical and critical. It is weary of corrupt politicians who have brought this nation to its kneels. It sides with the people who have had to bear the brunt of bad and corrupt governance since independence, it conscientises and kick the people from their state of inertia.

Dr Austin Maho is a media scholar and publisher of Daybreak Nigeria

By Peter N. Peters

It’s no longer news that there’s been ongoing talks between political parties to form partnerships and alliances for purposes of gaining more national appeal especially with the smaller political parties, as the 2023 general elections approaches.

Of greater interest is the arrangement for alignment of forces between Peter Obi’s Labour Party (LP) and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). It’s of major interest because, there’s been a clamour for another strong political movement that should position as the ‘Third Force’ to challenge the two existing behemoths of Political Parties called All Progressive Congress (APC) aka the governing party and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the Opposition Party. This age-long clamour for a Third Force never saw the light of day until a Peter Obi, who was one of the then Presidential Aspirants under PDP read the ugly hand writing on the walls of the PDP and promptly resigned from the party and pitched his tent with a hitherto relatively small and largely unknown Labour Party.

Peter Obi’s message of ‘take back your country’ and his promise to drive the economy of the nation from consumption to that of production appealed to a lot of those who are hoping for a breather from the ugly and perennial cake-sharing, corruption ridden, transactional politics of the APC and PDP.

Peter Obi’s track records of accomplishments as one time governor of Anambra State; his track record of prudent management of state resources that enabled him to accomplish much for the state, were sweet music in the ears of a large section of hitherto despondent voting public, especially the youths.

Boom! There was suddenly an upsurge in the number of people seeking to either register, renew or transfer their registration so as to be armed with the PVC in readiness for the 2023 general elections. Peter Obi’s Labour Party (LP) suddenly assumed the colour of the much anticipated ‘Third Force.’ Latest report from INEC reveals that more than 10 million new registrants have been added to it’s registration portal by reason of the new upsurge. About 70% of this figure are youths who form the bulk of Peter Obi’s movement.

It is for this reason that every right thinking, fair minded and patriotic citizen of Nigeria that means well for this country must be worried at what is playing out in the ongoing partnership talks between the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). We hear the Presidential Candidate of NNPP, Senator Kwankwaso is insisting he must be the arrow head of the proposed partnership between this two parties or there will be no deal. We also hear he claims to be the senior partner in the partnership, and one just wonders how. If it’s by age, then it’s laughable, because even he is not qualified. We should begin a fresh new search for the oldest living man in Nigeria to lead us.

If it’s by qualification, track records and experience, it’s also doubtful whether a Kwankwaso can, in all honesty, match a Peter Obi’s track records of accomplishments as one time governors of their two states. One wonders also whether a Kwankwaso can really match the knowledge, expertise and intelligence of a Peter Obi on issues of managing a battered and depressed economy as that of Nigeria of today.

We really have not had the privilege of listening to Senator Kwankwaso give insight into his political ideology; what new thing he’s bringing to the table to checkmate the transactional mindsets of the politicians he left both in APC and PDP. So why should we trust him to do anything differently from the rest of them if given the chance to manage our national resources, never mind that he’s held other political offices like Minister and Senator of the Federal Republic?

Besides, if political offices held and paper qualifications alone are the measures to determine who leads and who follows, then Shehu Shagari whose only qualification and political office held were a Teacher’s Grade II certificate and Junior Minister under Tafawa Balewa administration respectively, shouldn’t have had any business being the President, while Dr. Alex Ekwueme, with his intimidating CV became his Vice during the regime of Shehu Shagari.

Truth be told, the political revolution that is brewing with the sudden and unprecedented massive surge of the youths to register and acquire the PVC preparatory for the 2023 elections, has nothing to do with Kwankwaso’s NNPP. It has everything to do with the message of hope for a New Nigeria and the brand new politics of fresh air of Mr. Peter Obi, which resonates largely with the youths

Peter Obi’s movement is not just for political campaign serving merely as a delivery van to bring people into political offices. It’s a mass movement of people seeking liberation from an evil gang of greedy political merchants perennially trading with the destiny of Nigeria and her citizens. It is a mass movement of people wanting a clean break from transactional politics of ethnicity and religious bigotry. It’s a mass movement of people, especially the younger folks desiring a reversal of the ugly trend of a nation of very poor citizens in the midst of plenty; a mass movement of people determined to drive the ship of state away from a consuming nation to a producing nation. It’s a mass movement of true Nigerians that do not know Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani, Ijaw, Tiv, Igala, etc., but one Nigeria with a common destiny.

How then can a Kwankwaso expect that a Peter Obi, being the arrow head of this historic mass movement still loading, to suddenly quit the stage for him? Has he bothered to ask what will be the reaction of these fully charged youth segment of the voting public, rearing to use their PVC to make a loud statement in Nigeria’s political landscape come 2023 general elections if that happens?

Besides, granted that Peter Obi is not running on the ticket of the loud clamour for a President of Igbo extraction, does the Kwankwasos of this world not recognize that a Peter Obi presidency stands the best chance to also assuage the feelings of maginalisation of Ndi-Igbo and also help to calm the frayed nerves of those of them with separatist agenda? Or is he also suggesting that he’s part of the arrangement to continue to maginalise and isolate the Igbos in the Nigeria’s political equation?

This proposed marriage comes across to every discerning mind as one between two strange bed fellows. One of the parties representing the old order whose transactional brand of politics have contributed largely in bringing down Nigeria to this unenviable state of the poverty capital of the world. While the other is the face of a much desired New Nigeria of law and order, of productivity and prosperity.

Therefore Senator Kwankwaso is grossly unfit to lead this movement for a New Nigeria. It would only set the people right back to where they are struggling to leave behind. A marriage that would put a Kwankwaso at the drivers seat and relegate Peter Obi to the background is a no no. It’s completely unacceptable to the wider spectrum of the people, especially the youth segment who are suddenly rising up to be counted. And this, in all seriousness, should not be allowed.

* Peter N. Peters is a Media Practitioner based in the FCT, and Executive Secretary of CoEViN (Concern for Ethics & Values in Nigeria)

Lost in transmission. . .

Heritage they say is inheritance, implying that it is a legacy transmissible from one generation to another. Similarly, culture is a combination of both tangible and intangible variables which are passed on from one generation to another. It is simply referred to as a way of life of the people. . . This way of life encompasses in totality the people’s practices, beliefs, customs, social behaviour. . . In clear terms, we can refer to culture as the people’s civilization because it includes their philosophy, ideas, values and a host of other items that define who they truly are.

Different societies have overtime evolved differently and the theme of culture as most often the true identity of the people is systematically giving way to complete cultural modernisation. According to the great philosophers, change is constant as far as existence and human coexistence remain. Over the years, the world has evolved from conservation to radicalisation just as our culture has undergone and is still undergoing such evolutions in the heated face of cultural diffusion and westernization. . .

In reality, culture evolves, which is why it is referred to as a variable. Change is good no doubt but when change, especially in terms of cultural values, becomes a total modification, it mostly leads to loss of values. Ours is in the process of becoming such a story. Our forebears built strong moral standards which translated into the values in the culture they later transmitted to us as a heritage. . . In our time, we have betrayed this heritage so much that our values are compromised and our culture is fast losing it’s tenacity and strength. It is so bad that even our languages, I mean our local dialects being our mother tongues are lost in transmission because most of us have chosen another’s mother tongue over our own. These days, some or most of us can barely hold or have conversations with our children in our various local dialects because some of us long arrived at the personal conclusion that learning or teaching our children our mother tongue is no more important, especially as it is probably an inferior thing to do based on others’ perception or because we will be viewed by others as being local beings, right? The truth is that language is one very essential part of our identity. It is obviously one of those cultural variables which make us unique individuals.

Change is good but sometimes, we really do not need change to keep our relevance in the face of others’ opinions. Upholding our culture isn’t and can never be a bad thing you know?, especially the good themes and values which others themselves may be lacking. We may never be the same people or have the same values once we make the choice of living others’ way of life. Applying the Western culture on some of our sociological issues sometimes makes me feel we are not dealing right anymore. For instance, the escalating cases of juvenile delinquencies, mindless killings, robberies, abductions, rapes, sexual abuses of all kinds and in fact, a whole range of evils prevalent in our society today, were once upon a time a taboo in our space as a people of high moral standing. Our culture grossly frowned at certain ways and penalties were commonly agreed on for dealing with such issues. Such penalties could range from ostracisation to outright banishment of individuals or any group of individuals deviant to the community’s acceptable ways of living. People feared the repercussion that any unacceptable actions or practices may attract and these kept our habitations safe. Consequently, insecurity was not an investment as is the case today where we are battling with all kinds of uncertainties, societal failures and unrest because we have allowed the modern ways to dictate to us how to pilot our lives, thereby giving room to the new alarming levels of indiscipline never before associated with who we once were.

Our heritage is broken… and the deeply sad question is, “if these times are like this, what will become of the generation unborn?” The good news is that it is never too late to retract and retrace our heritage. As long as the custodians of this same culture live among us, going back to our roots is possible. We can start today, by teaching our children and wards what we ought to have taught them from the beginning. Let’s reorient ourselves to the beautiful people we once were, to the richness of culture we once held so strong, to the strength of great morals once practiced and to the unflinching belief that contentment, honesty, love and sincerity can make the world a better place for all.

By Adaora Onyechere

As the common wealth conference holds in Kigali, Rwanda, member countries made up
of 54 leaders are coming to terms that we re living in a time more than ever where there is an emergent need to deal with violent extremism or it will excommunicate and break down the very fabric of humanity.

Nigeria is a member state of the commonwealth countries and have participated in contributing to key outcomes that should enable the social space, peace, equality, Economic growth and recovery amongst others within the member states.
However there is peharps the presence of a hard luck banshee hovering on the sub saharan curve that Nigeria belongs to because it’s obvious by the living conditions of many Nigerians that it’s leadership is affirmed to the suffering of millions of citizens inflicted by ineffective leadership, or maybe we re cursed, or both as a result of the latter.

Nigeria likes to lead the dance with sister countries, reiterating its omnipotence as africa’s largest country, this resonates ,on October 5th 2021 President Muhammadu Buhari that faithful Tuesday said Nigeria will contribute to the development of the Republic of South Sudan and he said and i quote “Take us into confidence and ask us what we can do,” end of quote.
Mr Buhari was quoted to have said this during a bilateral meeting with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan.
Mr Buhari further said “African leaders must support efforts geared towards the return of democracy in the Guinea and Mali,” where the military seized power.

Then beg’s the question, does our charity really begin from home? since declaring its independence in 1960, Nigeria’s development trajectory has been retrogressive. Core democratic values such as rule of law, justice, liberty, and equality among people have been whittled down because of the country’s Machiavellian leadership process, its mafia bureaucracy, and its splintered civil society, all of which are hastening the country’s journey to failed state status.

Nigeria’s North-South divide remains a torturous reminder of its colonial past. Beyond the divide, recurring allegations against Nigeria are that the country is a potentials-suffocating machine, as evident in its widespread lack of access to electricity, poor educational system, corruption, kidnappings and killings; its media gagging and assault on the youth, as seen recently during the 2020 #EndSARS protests. These issues continue to drive social unrest and resentment both internally and across the diaspora. Nonetheless, Nigeria marches on, presumably to the gallows, a march that could either end in reconciliation with its nationhood, or in arriving at the feet of the beheader.

The Deadliest yet recent reminder is that of the mass murder of citizens in Owo in Ondo state.
What happened in Owo and other states like imo state, benue, Kaduna and many more annihilation of lives in Nigeria again adds to my position that our country is spiraling down a bottomless pit and has lost its sense of self.

War is costly, South Sudan, the young country, still wallows in misery and stark underdevelopment. In Nigeria’s case, after Biafra’s surrender, Gowon’s re-integration policy failed to promote a sense of belonging in the East—a root cause for the re-emergence of secessionist sentiments in the East today.
Nigerians today must realize that we risk another outburst of secessionist calls or even future civil wars if we do not develop a more inclusive political landscape and economy. This is now the case in South Sudan where, following their independence, several rival factions have developed, resulting into ethnic conflicts spreading into Darfur.

Wanting war is likened to timidity, who then can stand the view of mountains of dead bodies dotting streets and rivers? That the French Revolution of 1789, among the earliest of such revolutions, witnessed swarms of corpses before the French summoned the courage to build a viable nation tells of the great dilemma that lies before deep thinkers and freedom fighters from the Sọrọ Sókè generation and older generations.

Ongoing disputes and the lack of power-sharing agreements between many of South Sudan’s rival factions in the civil war that ended in 2018 has cast doubt on whether the government will be able to prevent violence in the lead-up to national elections, which are set to occur in 2022. An armed insurgency being led in the south of the country by Thomas Cirillo, who leads the group known as the National Salvation Front (NSF), poses a severe threat to civilians and further threatens the peace process.

This is also the unfortunate tide of turns Nigeria will face in the 2023 elections if there’s introspection. The nepotistic and ethnic bigotry that assaults the distribution of power between the north and south has never been as heightened as it is now. The tensions have created a hunger for the citizens to see the exit of the ruling class and the cabal that has left Nigeria in this state of hopeless stupor come
2023 hence the massive drive to register for their pvcs.

Indeed the youth and women have a critical role to play. The revolution generation must play an active role in organized ‘struggle’ campaigns. Though, they should keep in mind that the Nigerian army’s intervention in the #EndSARS peaceful protest foreshadows future government response to any strong citizen-led movement.

Wanting war is likened to timidity, who then can stand the view of mountains of dead bodies dotting streets and rivers? That the French Revolution of 1789, among the earliest of such revolutions, witnessed swarms of corpses before the French summoned the courage to build a viable nation tells of the great dilemma that lies before deep thinkers and freedom fighters from the Sọrọ Sókè generation and older generations. As evident in Sudan’s case, it is urgent that Nigeria attains clarity whereby its dialectics are not left to nature or providence but are deliberately engaged to be resolved. As Nigeria marches to the gallows, the country must shift focus to its people’s urgent demand for peace, equity, fairness and justice . Doing so quickly enough will give Nigeria a better chance at saving itself from this long tragic
road to sudan.

The tool called religion…

It’s so sad how religion has become a serious tool of division in our world today, especially in our great fatherland, Nigeria. I feel so disheartened that we allow ourselves to be used against each other in the name of religion. More shocking also, is how fast we react or protest regarding religious matters amidst several burning issues which have lingered for so many years unattended. We are grappling with bad and oppressive leadership plaguing the general whole for so many years running, while also struggling with the issues of serving government officials embezzling our funds with impunity. We are neck deep in foreign loans that even the fourth generation unborn will still be paying debts that they were not party to. Our educational system is at the verge of total comatose with the incessant strike actions and half-baked graduates who can barely construct a good simple sentence all over the place. Human traffickers, in the name of helping individuals acquire a better life devour a huge population of our able youths on whose shoulders we should be hanging our future. Ritualists and abductors are everywhere as though it’s a legitimate trade or business. Convulsing power issues are running companies down and out of business, while social media is ravaging our mental spaces breaking homes, corrupting our moral values, destroying our cultural heritage, contaminating our norms and raising for us an army of evil geniuses… Poverty is spreading like wildfire, driving sane people mad and stealing their essence even as unemployment frustrates our youths turning many into cultists, armed robbers, fraudsters and drug addicts. Armed banditry brazenly terrorises the land and wastes human lives as though they are animals, so is the infiltration of the different foreign subversive groups being imported into our land daily in order to perpetually keep the entire citizenry under control through the use of fear. The rising cost of food and high cost of living among many other issues … so, is it now normal to be killed by bad governance and all these other trending issues than to tolerate each other in the name of religious red lines? Wow!

It’s difficult to believe that we are so blind to see what we are allowing to happen to us in this 21st century! Our activities and engagements do not resemble, suggest or project the progress we literally seem to be needing in order to move our nation forward as it should be by any means. The question now is, when are we ever going to get it right? When are we going to drop this act of barbarism in the name of religion? Life is such that even the law does not permit anyone to take their own life how much more will God almighty in which ever name we prefer to call Him be pleased that the life of another very sacred and precious human being He created in His own image and likeness is taken or expired?

It’s true that conflict has been established as a bedrock upon which growth or change is achieved. Life they say is not static but dynamic but what kind of growth are we to achieve with the killing of our fellow citizens or our fellow brothers or sisters? Why do we keep treating the symptoms and not the root cause of our problems? Why do we insist on being so unpatriotic? Why do we put our individual and sectional needs over the needs of our fatherland? If by our actions or inactions we eventually succeed in destroying this great land we call home, is there a spare somewhere we are hoping to go inhabit? Is colonialism and imperialism not enough slavery to have endured or to still be enduring in many obvious practical terms that we want to add more to the already existing sufferings?

Hmmmmm…. Nigeria my fatherland! You who used to be the centre of peace to your warring siblings, the delight of other nations with so many admirers all over the globe. You whose overwhelming human and material resources have kept uneasy the pride of foreign powers… How did you allow yourself to be used as a weapon against your very own existence? How gullible can you be? I used to think we are too intelligent to be manipulated. Apparently, greed has infected our blood and robbed us of our striking intelligence. I used to think information is power as they said and that the more intelligent people are, the easier it is to resolve contending issues, but the reverse is the case in our dear country because of ethno-religious indoctrination which has never served the benefit of our growth and well-being!

DEATH!. . .

The freedom of the spirit is right in the arms of death where no filth or dirt can dim its light.Though tears and mourning may be its trail but the heavens rejoice at the death of the righteous. While earth loses, it remains heaven’s gain.
Death will always be that phenomenon no one can ever understand or overcome.
We see it as the end of life.
We obviously perceive it as the stop of one’s clock but it goes far beyond breath and change of address.

The memories of the last moments of the passing of a loved one will always linger all through the days of our lives. They initially surface with tears. . . Helplessly, we drench and drown in a sea of boundless sorrows. The thought of what we could or couldn’t do to prevent the inevitable keeps pounding hard as accepting and making peace with the reality becomes so difficult and totally unreasonable.

Strangely, this is the way of life and of man. . . Each day comes with a loss of a soul and a gain of another..
Life and death are life sworn partners each celebrated in their different rites… Food, drinks and music the heart of their celebration. While birth remains the arrival like in the case of a travel passenger in air travel scenario because it signifies a welcome, death clearly connotes the departure because it is a state where the individual returns to the place of origin.

Those leaving in most cases go happily while their loved ones cry in pain of their loss … Ironically, at birth, the child cries while the people make merry and rejoice on their arrival.
The constant lesson here remains that it is an inevitable end for every human person and all creation in simple terms.

Quite often, we wish there is a way man can live forever, wishing there are things we could do to remain immortal but that’s far beyond the grasp of man… However, one thing happens to mimic immortality which is why the dead are always remembered either in a good way or bad way and that thing is called character! The good or bad character we exhibit or exude while alive does not end in death rather it precedes our name whenever it is said or mentioned. The memory of who we are does not end in death, that’s why someone can be dead and still be looked on by another as their role model. . .

That’s also why someone can be laid in state and still be an inspiration or influencer.
Wake keeps and service of songs are mostly a reflection for those who are deep, philosophical and wise. It’s a time to take stock and assess how well one has truly lived this life picturing in mind what the report about you will be when that inevitable day eventually comes.

Death for me will always be a reminder that there is time called return and a door called exit where everyone who came into this world by birth will use on their time of exit just the same way they were let into this world through a passage called womb. My question now is, how prepared are you when that time comes? Do you even think about it at any point at all? When you attend wake keeps and burials, what goes on in your mind? Does your life right now qualify to be an inspiration to others? Can you still be someone’s role model when the inevitable beckons? How do you like to be remembered when you are gone? Will history immortalise you because of your good works or bad deeds? Will you dearly be missed for being the real human?
We recently buried our mother and I must tell you that i was not only in awe but challenged at her funeral even as her daughter because men, women and even children not only made themselves available to pay their last respect but also clamoured over each other just to have the chance to give their wonderful testimonies of her selflessness and commitment to humanity and a better world. I came back asking myself questions like, am I even doing enough compared to what I heard people testify at my mum’s funeral?

What life are you living right now? Do you think your tale will motivate any soul as my mum’s did? It’s truly not late to start writing our story and how we want history to immortalise us. All we need to do is be good, value lives, reach out and heal the world!