Dialogue With Nigeria by Akin Osuntokun.

While expressing a routine disappointment with his naked display of Northern/Muslim parochialism the other day, I was quickly cautioned by a supposed beneficiary of this identity category that Buhari has rendered those of them outside the Kano/Katsina/Kazaure loop the latest victims of his penchant for parochial discrimination. This was about two years ago. If we are not there yet and given his record, there is the distinct possibility that he is ultimately headed towards converting Nigeria into a Daura dominion writ large.

As it is well known, I have a chronic allergy to Buhari’s brand of toxic politics-predicated on tribalism, hypocrisy and primitive demagoguery. I have a fundamental and longstanding opposition to his assumption of the Nigerian Presidency. My opposition is rooted in the conviction that any political leader who rose to prominence on the wings of dividing the people of this country should never be rewarded with the Presidency of Nigeria. It is a contradiction in terms to propose that a politician sworn to pseudo jihadist vision of Nigeria should be entrusted with the role of fostering an enduring Pan-Nigeria consensus and unity. He is as undeserving and incapable of rising to the occasion as Donald Trump is incapable of uniting America. The dangerously divided state of Nigeria under Buhari’s watch is a reflection of the caution that you cannot give what you do not have. Unity and national harmony are not in Buhari’s DNA and his natural instincts tend towards fractional conquest and political subjugation.

Buhari, Nigeria's current president.

To the regret of many critical stakeholders who supported him to win the 2015 presidential election, the reasoned counsel that you cannot know Buhari more than what the man has shown of himself was discountenanced. They were blinkered by the non-strategic focus on the disappointment with the Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency. But, again, as the saying goes, to every disappointment, there is a blessing-and that there could be a hidden utility in the costly miscalculation, after all. Were he to be denied the presidency and remain untested Buhari would have gone down in the history of Nigeria as a martyr of messianic proportions and handily break the record of the contemplative status of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the best President Nigeria never had.

Yet if only the unwary had exercised greater caution and listen more carefully to the rhythm blowing in the air they would have detected the premonition of his romance with the dollarized rogue governor from the North, in the blind exoneration that ‘Abacha did not steal any money’. They would have made the inference of misplacement of belief in his capacity to secure Nigeria from the antecedence of being swept away like a forlorn obdurate child by the Ibrahim Babangida coup of 1985. The speculation that he was not in charge of the mandate entrusted to him by the Nigerian electorate was ultimately confirmed by his wife. This is also an echo from his past incumbency as military head of state where it was common knowledge that it was his deputy, Babatunde Idiagbon, who was the indispensable power behind the throne. It certainly was no coincidence that his removal from office was timed to coincide with the absence of Idiagbon in the country. 

Nigeria's founding fathers: from left, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

There is no doubt the chemistry of a godfather/godson relationship has bonded Buhari and El Rufai. Shortly after the Kaduna State governor drove a bulldozer to demolish the residence of a political foe in Kaduna he paid a visit to Buhari in Aso Rock Presidential Villa. Upon sighting him, the choleric president broke into a wide smile and approvingly hailed his protégé ‘the bulldozer governor’ or something to that effect. It is not exactly clear how the characteristic low scale intensity of the interminable violence that has bedeviled Kaduna escalated into genocidal proportions but the degeneration coincided with the assumption of office by both men in Abuja and Kaduna in 2015.

The fact that el-Rufai saw nothing wrong and was in fact spitefully gloating over the joint Muslim/Muslim governorship ticket in a state that is defined by religious dichotomy and conflict is an indication of a mental indisposition to seek a meaningful amelioration and healing of the fraught religious divisiveness that has predisposed the state to perennial violent upheaval. What is more chilling is the precise information provided on the guardian angel role of President Buhari in deliberately aiding and abetting the institutionalization of a formula he knows will encourage rather than discourage the deepening of the divisive volatility in the state. Is a winner takes all formula the best instrument of fostering the spirit of consensus, cooperation and harmony among contending pluralistic groups? Would the governor and president have similarly found nothing wrong in the orchestration of a joint Christian/Christian ticket? How does this decision promote confidence building among the warring communities? Take note that this was a decision taken in the thick of the rampaging genocidal bloodletting in the Middle Belt provoked by a similar fractious and callous identity politics.

And then as if intent on reminding Nigerians and the international community of a Nigerian potential to relapse into the international pariah status fostered by the Sani Abacha military dictatorship era, el-Rufai launched a seemingly mindless attack on the international community. The million naira question is what does he know that we don’t? Was this what President Olusegun Obasanjo was warning us about? Are these people preparing for a free and credible elections or large scale brigandage? Was the siege on the National Assembly a while ago an isolated incident and a sole lunatic overreach of a rogue security chief? Is there no sequential logic tying this development to the orchestrated subversion of the judiciary via the subterfuge of scapegoating a light fingered Chief Justice? Why all this desperation and impotent rage? Haven’t Obasanjo and Jonathan proven that there is life after power?

And just when you think it cannot get any worse, Buhari springs a new trick on you. Given to stretching and breaching the delicate thread that ties Nigeria together he is always to be found in the laboratory experimenting with fissiparous tendencies. He was neither the Sultan nor the Grand Khadi yet it was him who became the chief missioner for renewed Sharia agitation once he spotted the negative potential to rally the Muslim North against the Obasanjo government and the rest of Nigeria- “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country”. As we were made to believe, he was neither the founder nor leader of Boko Haram, yet he was the one nominated as the group’s representative in an abortive mediation proposal. The backdrop to the recognition was his divisive and inciting demonization of his predecessor’s military engagement with the terrorist group ‘as tantamount to injustice against the North’.

Now our president has become the first Nigerian leader to invite leaders of another country for political mobilization against his fellow nationals. “Tomorrow, it will be officials from Togo or Benin or even Equatorial Guinea dictating to us. Indeed, international intelligence agencies recently confirmed heightened influx of tons of persons into Nigeria from Niger. Everyday thousands are entering Kano, Katsina and Jigawa axis. What is going on?” laments a concerned Nigerian.

What a way to reciprocate the statesmanship of his predecessor who rose to the occasion in 2015 in a rare African display of enlightenment and adult comportment. Were the potential winner of the election not a personality who shares the same ethno-regional identity with the incumbent only God knows the extent to which Buhari would have exploited the attendant cleavages to drive Nigeria to the precipice.

How Nigeria Treats it Heroes.

(Above is the picture of the effects of the terrorist attack) 

100 soldiers

100 husbands

100 Brothers to many members of their families

100 Fathers to children (nuclear and extended)

100 friends to many people

100 Nigerians

100 Heroes

No flag at half mast

No word from their Commander-in- Chief

No word from the Army

No list of our fallen Heroes

Nothing from any quarter to show the importance of these heroes that die that we may live.

Their lives meant nothing to their Government.

Government Attacks those that mourn or publish this gruesome killing of our soldiers.

The beginning of Muhammadu Buhari’s #NextLevel

 

By Malik Shabbaz Abdulmalik. 

(Above is the picture of the Boko Haram terrorists leader)

Chibok Girls: Freed From Terrorists, They Smile Through Pain to Give Thanks.

Giggling and chatting among themselves, it's hard to imagine that just one week ago, these girls were at the mercy of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations.  

As the Chibok girls waited patiently Wednesday to meet the man who signed off on their release -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari -- it was remarkable to see the physical transformation from emaciated and haggard looking former hostages to seemingly carefree and happy young women.  

The faded and torn clothes they arrived in have since been replaced with tailored and brightly colored fabrics that concealed their still painfully-thin frames.  

In their first interactions with any media organization, CNN's Isha Sesay met most of the 21 girls at the meeting held at the presidential villa. 

They posed for photos and politely but shyly answered questions about their well-being. Although in their early 20s, the Chibok girls appear trapped in their schoolgirl personas, their development seemingly arrested by two and a half years in captivity. 

One, Rebecca Mallum, was chosen to thank the President and address the crowd. As she rose, Mallum burst into song and the other girls stood to join her.

Afterward, the young woman said: "We are happy to see this wonderful day because we didn't know we would come back to be members of Nigeria. Let us thank God for his love. Let us pray for the rest in the Sambisa now. Let God help us to be together."

But underneath the quiet and withdrawn smiles of the Chibok girls lie the unimaginable horrors of their time in captivity.  

Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls and women, ages 16 to 18, in the middle of the night at a boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria, in April 2014, drawing global outrage. Scores of the girls remain missing. 

CNN has spoken to a parent who said their daughter has revealed some of the ordeal that she and her classmates went through.  

Chibok girl who escaped in May gives message of hope

The parent, who asked not to be named because of safety concerns, told CNN that during their time with Boko Haram, the girls were forced to build their own basic shelter, using plastic bags for roofing.

According to the parent, one of the Chibok schoolgirls had refused to marry a Boko Haram fighters and was told she would be killed. In the end, she was given 100 lashes, the daughter said.

On the day of release last week, the parent was told by their daughter that Boko Haram lined up the girls early in the morning and read out their names one by one, they were then told they would be set free.

Now the Chibok girls face the long road to recovery. Some have expressed a desire to return to school but for now, they remain in a medical facility in the capital Abuja where they are undergoing intense psychological evaluations.

The Nigerian government says its now time for them to experience the best of what life has to offer.

Buhari promised to take over responsibility for their welfare and personal and professional goals.

He said: "These dear daughters of ours have seen the worst that the world has to offer. It is now time for them to experience the best that the world can do for them."

Courtesy: CNN



Islam and the Rest of us.

While the ISIS and the Boko Haram lunatics, along with their supporters, are jubilating across the world, the Al-Qaida terrorist group has claimed responsibility for last week's deadly assault on a French satirical newspaper to "revenge for their prophet." The attack came on the heels of the deadly attack launched by the Boko Haram on Baga, a Nigerian town where innocent people, including women and children were practically mutilated and incinerated in cold blood.

For how long will the international community continue to fold fold its arms while these animals continue to murder innocent people in the name of their prophet and religion? For God’s sake, there are other religions in the world! In fact, here is a list of some other notable religions and the populations of their believers:

Hinduism: 900 million.

Chinese traditional religion: 394 million.

Buddhism: 376 million.

Primal-indigenous: 300 million.

African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million.

Judaism: 14 million.

Sikhism: 23 million.

Juche: 19 million.

Spiritism: 15 million.

Ironically, most Christians and Muslems consider these other religions as something akin to evil. But do we ever hear of some terrorist groups springing up from their midst to slaughter fellow humans like fowls or sheep? In fact, to a Bhuddist, Hiduist or an African indigenous faith believer, the shedding of blood is absolutely considered as a heinous sin against God. Yet, here is the whole world being harassed every now and then by various Islamic terrorist groups. Apart from their deafening silence, it’s sad to see or hear many Moslems go on the defensive by claiming that the terrorists among them do not represent their religion. But ask them how that sounds in the ears of the relations of terrorists’ victims? And ask them the last time they consider it necessary to publicly criticize or condemn the senseless murder of people in cold blood all over the world, and they will slip further into silence. This is a shame on humanity!

The Damned Human Race by Ebun Olawole.

In Mark Twain’s literary work, “The Damned Human Race” (1905), he conducted an experiment that compared man to other animals. He concluded that man should be called the lower animals while the so-called lower animals should be regarded as the higher animals. He found Darwin’s theory wrong.

In terms of brutality, lower animals are better than man. He gave humorous examples of how brutal man can be. He continued that man has a flaw. And with the flaw, he is unable to reason because he descended from lower animals.



I agree with Twain (p. 8), that man is greedy, compared to the so-called inferior animals. In line with Twain’s opinion, it is man that will keep accumulating excessive things, especially riches, far beyond his actual needs because he is never satisfied. Man always wants more. For example, a well-fed, satisfied lion won’t kill another animal merely for the fun of it.

With man’s brain and intelligence, he is supposed to be able to differentiate between good and evil. However, it is not so in reality. As Twain noted (p.10) man is the only animal that agonizes over insults and waits patiently for a sign of weakness, then retaliates. A dog has no brain that is so sensitive as to realize that it has been offended and has to retaliate.



Twain recognized the many bad traits of the human race. Man is the only religious animal, yet the same man fights each other because of religion. There is a good example where, in the name of religion, a Moslem sect in Nigeria is currently holding about 150 abducted high school students hostage.

I also agree with Twain that man is the only animal that engages in war. Examples are the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel-Gaza war and many more. While the human race is known to possess the best brain, man will often act before he thinks.

 

 

 

How Long Will This Evil be Allowed?

FOR HOW LONG WILL THIS EVIL PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE WITH ALL THESE COLD-BLOODED MURDERS IN THE NAME OF A RELIGION? AND IT'S SHAMEFUL HOW WE ALL MERELY LOOK AT SAD IMAGES SUCH AS THIS ONE AND THOSE BEING PERPETRATED BY THE ANIMALS CALLED BOKO HARAM IN NIGERIA. BUT WHAT DO WE DO? WE SHAKE OUR HEADS QUIETLY AND MOVE ON TO SOME OTHER STUFF...BECAUSE THE VICTIMS ARE NOT RELATED TO US.

The Nigerian Tragic President

By the time the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan completes his term in office, he would have become an horrendous genius in the payment of condolences and shedding of tears over disasters. For someone bearing Jonathan as a last name, the tragic DNA of his Biblical namesake must have proved far too superior to whatever positive comes with the first name "Goodluck".

That man has brought so much bad luck to our nation that his successor must definitely find a way to remove every trace of the spirit of the name "Jonathan" from the Aso Rock Villa. Here is a president whose tenure has witnessed and played host to so much carnage of the worst kind as to last Nigeria a lifetime. And if there was a Nobel Prize for a "reign of disaster", Goodluck Jonathan would have won it a dozen times for his calamity-inventive-genius.

Within this year alone, there have been several terrorist attacks by the religious group called Boko Haram. Yet, in reaction to each bomb blast by the terrorists, the clueless president never bothers to promise an end to the carnage except to pay condolences to the victims' families. It has gotten to a point that the president's spokesperson does not really have to prepare a new sad speech but simply recycle the previous one since national disasters are a regular feature of the government.

And talking of Boko Haram, those evil people hiding behind their religion would by now be cursing out the Dana airline for upstaging news of their bomb attack on the same day the plane crashed. On that same Sunday June 3, 2012, a bomb blast, for which Boko Haram claimed credits, destroyed Harvest Field and Living Faith Church in Yelwa in Anwan Ngas, Bauchi State with about 20 innocent people dead. As usual, a recycled condolence message with a prototyped signature of the president have been sent to media houses for onward broadcast to the families of the deceased victims.

In the Dana plane crash alone, a man lost his entire family! Yet, there were some other families who lost a minimum of two or three members in that same flight. They will never forget the tenure of Goodluck Jonathan. Why is that so? Because it's only under the watch of a useless president and his corrupt government that a plane known to be faulty and indeed obsolete such as the ill-fated Dana flight would be "cleared" for operation by some civil servants who cared more about their pockets than public safety.

Just last week, my daughter flew in that same plane and she observed that it was "behaving funny" in the air. Now, since the sad incident of last Sunday, I keep wondering...what if? And the worst part? Definitely, once the declared 3-day official mourning is over, the situation in the seat of power will be, "let's wait and see where the next disaster will take place". To them, it will be business as usual until the fire next time. Then the vicious cycle of a president on a perpetually crying mission without change will begin all over. What a president!