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Being text of speech delivered on 1st October 2010 to the Nigerian Community at the Liverpool Lighthouse, Liverpool UK
Prologue
I had the good fortune of attending Government College Ibadan - and I am proud to say we produced the greats like Cyprian Ekwensi, TM Aluko, Akinola Aguda, ‘Wole Soyinka et cetera - And also the University of Ibadan, the premier. One of my teachers told us that the Nigerian history books as written by the colonialist British authorities told us a whole load of cock and bull stories. For instance, by teaching us that the British expeditionist Mungo Park discovered the River Niger! Of course, he didn’t. Mungo Park was shown the way to the Niger by the indigenous people who he met in the area situated within the territory of the present day Nigeria. Some of them where actually living by the banks of the Niger when he set his eyes on the great river.
Another example is how they told us the story of how King Docemo (Oba Dosunmu) ceded the Territory of Lagos to the British Crown by virtue of the 1861 Lagos Treaty of Cession. The truth of the matter is that Oba Dosunmu never ceded possession of his land willingly. He was bullied, forced, arm-twisted and terrorised by the British colonial forces who had moored a gun-boat at the Lagos harbour pointing in the direction of Lagos Island and the palace. They overthrew an indigenous sovereign and claimed his land for the British monarch. The colonialists would call it gun-boat diplomacy. I dare say that if you do not write your stories, outsiders will shove down an embellished history down your throat. I progress to the matter of the day.
A brief insight into the naming of Nigeria
The entity now known as Nigeria had been known variously as the Niger-Coast Protectorate, The British Protectorate on the Niger River and the official title of Royal Niger Company Territories under the British colonial rule. ‘On January 1, 1900, the Royal Niger Company transferred its territories to the British Government for the sum of £865,000. The ceded territory together with the small Niger Coast Protectorate, already under imperial control, was formed into the two protectorates of northern and southern Nigeria.’
Nigeria was named by Dame Flora Louisa Shaw. Born in 1852 to an English Major-General George Shaw and a French mother Marie Desfontaines. She was a journalist with the Manchester Guardian and The Times newspapers. Shaw suggested the name Nigeria as a shorter name for the Niger-Coast Protectorate on 8th January 1897 in an article she wrote in The Times for the attention of the British Protectorate. It was an amalgamation of Niger area derived from the River Niger - In 1902 she married Sir Fredrick Lugard Governor General of Nigeria from 1914-1919 - Nigeria was thus a crude amalgamation by the colonial British forces to serve their selfish interests. And in 1958 Chief Obafemi Awolowo remarked at the Constitutional Conference that ‘Nigeria is just a mere geographic expression…’
The Flag was designed by Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi who was an Agric Engineering student here in the UK in 1958 He was awarded a prize of £100 for the winning entry out of 2870 contestants. The colour green stands for the abundant forests and green scenery of the country. The white stands for peace. To the best of my knowledge, up till six years ago, Akinkunmi lived close to the popular Queens cinema in Ekotedo, Ibadan. His mental health had gradually degenerated. The only pointer to his deed as the designer of the national flag is that his Ekotedo residence was painted in the colours of the Nigerian flag by the Oyo State Government a few years ago. Akinkunmi could often be seen wandering in tattered clothes and shoes on the streets of Ekotedo.
The first National anthem ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’ was written by two British women and was replaced by ‘Arise O Compatriots’. The lyrics were formed from the lines of the best five entries sent in by five Nigerian citizens John A Ilechukwu, Eme Elum Akpan, BA Ogunnaike, Sota Omuigi and PO Aderibigbe. The music was composed by the Nigerian Police led by Ben Odiase.
The Dawn of a New Era 1960 – 1966
Nigeria ought to have been granted independence earlier in 1957; the North told the British colonial powers that we were not yet ready. Nigeria lost that pride of place to Ghana.
The ruling Northern Nigerian elite were suspicious of Nigerian unification and believed that the Northern Region would lag behind the better educated and dynamic south. This can be seen in this excerpt from Balewa’s speech
“The southern tribes who are now pouring into the north in ever increasing numbers…do not mix with the northern people in social matters and we…look upon them as invaders. Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs, and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite. So what it comes to is that Nigerian unity is only a British intention in the country.”
Even Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern region said
"We do not want to go to [Lake] Chad and meet strangers catching our fish in the water, and taking them away to leave us with nothing. We do not want to go to Sokoto and find a carpenter who is a stranger nailing our houses .I do not want to go to the Sabon-Gari in Kano and find strangers making the body of a lorry, or to go to the market and see butchers who are not Northerners."
Balewa went to America in 1955 on a fact-finding mission. He seemed to have subsequently recanted his views on Project Nigeria
"In less than 200 years, this great country [America] was welded together by people of so many different backgrounds. They built a mighty nation and had forgotten where they came from and who their ancestors were. They had pride in only one thing -their American citizenship... I am a changed man from today. Until now I never really believed Nigeria could be one united country. But if the Americans could do it, so can we."
Balewa also proposed an amendment to Nigeria's constitution to give due recognition to the nation building role played by then Governor-General Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
“Nnamdi Azikiwe shall be deemed to be elected President of the Republic on the date of the commencement of this Constitution”
Azikiwe is referred to by name in Nigeria's 1963 constitution, and he is the only living individual constitutionally enshrined by name in his democratic country's constitution.
1966 The year of the two coup d’états
Permit me to read excerpts of the first coup broadcast in Nigeria to you.
‘In the name of the Supreme Council of the Revolution of the Nigerian Armed Forces, I declare martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. The Constitution is suspended and the regional government and elected assemblies are hereby dissolved.
Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds.
Like good soldiers we are not promising anything miraculous or spectacular. But what we do promise every law abiding citizen is freedom from fear and all forms of oppression, freedom from general inefficiency and freedom to live and strive in every field of human endeavour, both nationally and internationally. We promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are a Nigerian.
I leave you with a message of good wishes and ask for your support at all times, so that our land, watered by the Niger and Benue, between the sandy wastes and gulf of guinea, washed in salt by the mighty Atlantic, shall not detract Nigeria from gaining sway in any great aspect of international endeavour. My dear countrymen, this is the end of this speech. I wish you all good luck and I hope you will cooperate to the fullest in this job which we have set for ourselves of establishing a prosperous nation and achieving solidarity.’
Let me remind you that Nzeogwu’s speech is forty-four years old. I leave you to judge whether his observations are out of place in today’s Nigeria or not.
Of course there was another coup in July 1966 which ushered in a gentleman known as Yakubu Gowon. It led to the deaths of numerous Army Officers especially those of Igbo extraction. It was known as ‘Operation Araba’ which meant ‘to separate’ or secession in the Hausa language. Since then things had literally fallen apart and the centre has not been able to hold. Not long after that Colonel Ojukwu proclaimed the South-eastern corner of Nigeria as the independent republic of Biafra. Civil war between Biafran secessionists and the Federal government broke out July 6. The war, which resulted in more than a million deaths, continued until January 1970 when Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo leading a marine division captured Biafran Radio. Ojukwu fled to the Ivory Coast.
"No victor no vanquished" - 1970
General Gowon generously offered reconciliation to the crushed Biafrans:
‘I solemnly repeat our guarantees of a general amnesty for those misled into rebellion. We guarantee the personal safety of everyone who submits to federal authority.’
There was no war crimes tribunal or witch-hunt of rival forces. Some were even reabsorbed into the Nigerian Armed Forces. We now co-exist, work together, inter-marry et cetera. When you compare this to the Rwandan genocide or the Liberian/Sierra Leonean crisis we are indeed lucky and kudos must be given to Gowon. Yours sincerely was in Rwanda in 2001 seven years after the war and visited several genocide sites in various towns and cities all over the country. You can still see fear on people’s faces and smell death in the air. The Rwandan prisons are full of genocidaires. We visited one of the prisons in the company of the then Rwandese Justice Minister and were also an observer at one of the trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania. (And for your information, Nigeria did send troops to Rwanda as part of the UN contingent.)
(This part is the Chronology but it was delivered ex tempore. I have attached it as an appendix)
1975 till date - The musical chair years
Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Sheu Shagari, Buhari/Idiagbon (The kidnap of Dikko & Co. WAI) IBB, Shonekan, Abacha and Abiola (And their mysterious deaths), Abdulsalami, the second coming of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Turai, Goodluck and Patience.
Abdulsalam organised elections and installed Obasanjo who in turn installed a sickly Yar’Adua he died as a rather tragic and lonely figure hijacked by wife and a few selfish individuals who cordoned him off and formed a cabal in Aso Rock.
CONCLUSION
Nigeria has suffered largely from world-wide bad press coverage, religious riots, and an aftermath of Islamic radicalisation due to the adoption of Sharia Law. The US enlistment of Nigeria on its Terror Watch list is an aftermath of the radicalisation of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab. This is a direct consequence of the lack of response and direction from the highest quarters in Nigeria.
Nothing as changed in our country. Recently, President Goodluck Jonathan was reported to have ordered for three presidential jets at the cost of N23bn and last week he attended the UN General Assembly in New York with an entourage of 120 personnel. 23 of these were staff of his wife. Even as we celebrate our Golden Jubilee in Abuja today, we were celebrating in the midst of bombs going off and people being evacuated by the emergency services. Here is what MEND The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, (MEND) said in its issued statement alerting participants of its intention to bomb the event:
‘With due respect to all invited guests, dignitaries and attendees of the 50th independence anniversary of Nigeria being held today, Friday, October 1, 2010 at the Eagle Square Abuja, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is asking everyone to begin immediate evacuation of the entire area within the next 30 minutes. This warning expires after 10.30Hrs
Several explosive devices have been successfully planted in and around the venue by our operatives working inside the government security services.
In evacuating the area, keep a safe distance from vehicles and trash bins.
There is nothing worth celebrating after 50 years of failure. For 50 years, the people of the Niger Delta have had their land and resources stolen from them. The constitution before independence which offered resource control was mutilated by illegal military governments and this injustice is yet to be addressed.’
Jomo Gbomo
The Great Nation Nigeria
We are the 6th largest producer of oil in the world. In fact Nigeria has been said to be a large natural gas reserve with oil found accidentally inside. Our natural gas reserve as at 1998 is estimated to last another 225 years. Yet we lack petrol for our cars, we lack energy to power our industries. I worked for a small joint-venture oil prospecting company in the Niger-Delta for two years. And I am proud to say that I ate, lived and worked with my Niger-Delta brothers and sisters in this period.
From Benin, Patani, Sagbama, Kaiama, Odi, Asamabiri, Oleh, Kalama, Biseni, Aboh, Iyedame, Mbiama, Joinkrama, Emesu, Ahoada, Yenagoa, Gbarain, Igbogene to the River Nun and we indeed sailed daily on the great River Niger. I journeyed through six hundred square kilometers of people living in anguish and bitterness. Poverty is rife; the indigenous peoples are angry and rightly so! There is nothing to show for the billions of litres of oil that has been siphoned from beneath their land. All we gave them in return is barren land, oil spillage, polluted water, daily gas flaring and acid rain and a heavy-handed suppression of voices that dared to challenge the status quo. The genie is out of the bottle now, the Niger-Delta problem cannot be wished away. We must resolve this issue amicably before this raging fire razes down the whole house.
We have the largest black population in the world (about 150 million). A military capacity of one million eligible men if it goes to war. One out of every 5 Africans is a Nigerian. (During the June 12 crisis the greatest fear was the humanitarian disaster that might occur if for instance 35 million inhabitants of the West of Nigeria were to flee into the West African sub-region. Ghana has a population of 20m, Sierra Leone 5.5m, Togo, Benin Republic, and Gambia about 1m each. The West African sub-region simply would not be able to cope with the humanitarian crisis)
In sports, Nigeria had played its part by winning laurels to Africa’s glory both at the Football Junior World Cup and Olympics.
Apart from ‘Operation Ghana Must Go’ which repatriated Ghanaian illegal immigrants to Ghana in the early 80s, Nigeria has been kind to its neighbours. The former Somali leader Siad Barre sought asylum in Nigeria. Indeed he is buried in Lagos. Hugh Masekela lived in Lagos in the 80s with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Nigeria actively fought oppressive minority white regimes in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. She was declared a frontline State by the African Peoples Congress ANC and South West African Peoples Organisation SWAPO. We intervened in Liberia and spent $1m USD daily at the height of the operations. Yormi Johnson lived in Lagos on asylum. Charles Taylor was persuaded to evacuate to Calabar by the Nigerian authorities even as the US feared to enter into the theatre of conflict. Instead it stationed its armed forces on naval ships on Liberian high seas. Even the Bakassi Peninsular issue was handled with maturity between Cameroun and Nigeria without both nations going to war.
The father of the internet Philip Emeagwali is Nigerian, Wole Soyinka won the first intellectual Nobel Prize by an African in 1986, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is widely read as a standard African literature text in most African countries, and Chinamanda Ngozi Adieche is one of the new rising stars. Its artistes like Fela, Seal, Sade, Slash, Dr. Alban, Asa, Nneka, Tunde Baiyewu of the Lighthouse Family fame, Tuface of the African Queen fame all excel round the globe. The Nigerian media and press is one of the most robust in Africa. In 1957 the first TV station in Africa was established in Ibadan, Nigeria. Nollywood is the second largest film industry in the world.
Today as we celebrate 50 years we need to ask ourselves again, these pertinent questions ‘Where did it all go wrong? And where do we go from here?’ At midnight, just as my country turned fifty, I wished her Happy 50th Anniversary and I said a solemn prayer for her ‘may God deliver your soul from destiny changers’. Join me to say a big ‘Amen’. Thank you very much.
CHRONOLOGY (Delivered Ex tempore earlier in the speech)
Independence - October 1, 1960 Nigeria formally achieved independence as a Federation although it didn't become a full republic until 1963 when Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe took office as the Republic's first President.
Coup d’état - January 15, 1966 Junior officers calling for radical reforms attempt a coup, killing Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and two regional leaders, including the powerful leader of the North, Ahmadu Bello. The coup fails but what was left of the federal cabinet surrenders power to General John Aguiyi-Ironsi thus starting years of military rule.
"Operation Araba" - July 1966 Northern Army officers led by Major Murtala Mohammed plot secession. Southern officers are murdered. Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon the highest-ranking Northern officer becomes head of state and leader of the Supreme Military Council. By September, mob violence in the North results in the deaths of thousands of easterners residing there. Hundreds of thousands more begin streaming back home, urged on by the military governor of the east, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Oxford-educated son of a millionaire.
Biafra - May 1967 Colonel Ojukwu proclaims that the South-eastern corner of Nigeria is now the independent republic of Biafra. He is its president. Civil war between Biafran secessionists and the Federal government breaks out July 6. The war, which results in more than a million deaths, continues until January 1970 when Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo leading a marine division captures Biafran Radio. Ojukwu flees to Ivory Coast.
"No victor no vanquished" - 1970
Murtala takes over - July 29, 1975 While attending a summit meeting of the Organization of African Unity General Gowon is overthrown in a bloodless coup by Brigadier General Murtala Muhammad. He promises a return to civilian and constitutional rule. Seven more states are created to give minority groups more say in national politics. He begins an aggressive program of reform, targeting the civil service in particular, but less than six months later is assassinated while stuck in a Lagos "go slow" or traffic jam.
Obasanjo takes the stage - Late February 1976 For the first time there is public outrage. Student protestors take to the streets. Reluctantly, Murtala Muhammed's deputy, General Olusegun Obasanjo, takes the reins of government and promptly executes over thirty of the coup plotters. Over the next three years a new constitution is drafted with separation of powers provisions and establishing a U.S. style presidency. Local governments are given greater autonomy.
A U.S. President goes to Africa - March 1978 President Jimmy Carter comes to Lagos, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to visit sub-Saharan Africa. Speaking in Lagos, Carter says he is committed to the independence of Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Civilian rule again – 1979 Elections result in a civilian government and Obasanjo becomes the first modern African military ruler to voluntarily hand over power to an elected government. Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a northerner, becomes president. But there are questions. Although Shagari won a clear majority with 34 per cent of the vote, he failed to meet the constitutional requirement that a candidate get at least 25 percent of the vote for each of Nigeria's 19 states. Public disenchantment sets in quickly as politicians help themselves to the spoils of office. Politics and the winning of contracts become inextricably entwined. Elections in 1983 were considered by many to be rigged.
Military rule again - December 31, 1983 Shagari is overthrown in a popular coup led by General Mohammed Buhari who promises to crackdown on corruption. General Ibrahim Babangida becomes his chief of staff. The regime introduces a heavy-handed War Against Indiscipline (WAI) and repression in an effort to reorient the society.
Babangida takes over - August 27, 1985 In another bloodless coup, Babangida ousts Buhari and is acclaimed by the public as "the Redeemer." Journalists and human rights activists were set free. Babangida pledges to do away with "old breed" politicians. In addition to his position as military head of state, Babangida assumes the titles of "executive president" and minister of defence. He promises to quit office by October 1990. Rioting throughout the country over religious, economic, and political issues led to a repressive crackdown followed by the banning of all political parties and Babangida pushes the date for civilian rule back to October 1992. We didn’t get much change under Babangida either. The regime became a by-line for corruption. Though he banned Decree No. 4 used by the duo of Buhari/Idiagbon, Babangida substituted it with Decree No. 2 which fell under the office Chief of General Staff’s (CGS). The regime has been accused of the murder of the late Newswatch journalist Dele Giwa. His counsel, late Gani Fawehinmi SAN was severally detained by IBB as he sought to expose the regime. (Even up to the Oputa Panel set up by the Obasanjo administration to redress all Human Rights Violation that occurred in Nigeria in the last four decades of Nigeria’s existence, IBB evaded scrutiny).
Coup attempt - April 22, 1990 Middle-ranking army officers attempt to overthrow Babangida. General Sani Abacha, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Army Staff, reaffirms the military's loyalty to Babangida and to continuing an effort to make a transition to a democratic, multi-party civilian-ruled state. The coup leader, a major, and 200 lower-ranking soldiers are arrested. By July, the major and forty-two of the soldiers are executed. Eventually more than 800 people are put on trial because of the coup attempt. In September, twenty-seven more of the arrested soldiers are executed.
Presidential elections - June 12, 1993 Only two political parties - both sponsored by the military - were allowed to contest. Moshood Kashimawo "MKO" Abiola, a Muslim Yoruba, gets the okay to campaign representing one of them, and declares that he has won. Observers and the vast majority of Nigerians agree and say it is the fairest election Nigeria has ever held. Abiola asks the international community to stand with him against the military. Babangida decides there should be a new vote and that Abiola will be banned from participating. Protestors bring Lagos to a halt, blocking streets and calling for the immediate installation of Abiola who flees Nigeria after getting death threats. Security forces begin rounding up democracy activists and leaders. Ogoni writer and environmental activist and founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Ken Saro-Wiwa is arrested and imprisoned.
Babangida steps down - August 26, 1993 Babangida hands over power to a non-elected military-civilian Interim National Government(ING). The ING is rejected by most of Nigeria's unions who launch a national strike. In September Abiola returns to Nigeria and in November the High Court rules that the ING is unconstitutional and illegal. Sani Abacha steps in.
Abacha - November 18, 1993 Abacha dismisses almost every political appointment and government structure created under Babangida. He calls on the unions to return to work immediately. He promises to establish a constitutional conference. By the end of the month the unions have called off the general strike, the 1979 constitution has been reinstated and several prominent backers of Abiola are included in his cabinet.
1. of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Barrister & Solicitor.
2. Wikipedia accessed 1st October 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Niger_Company
3. Wikipedia accessed 1st October 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Niger_Company
4. Nigeria’s Forgotten Heroes Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa by Max Siollun http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/nigerias-forgotten-heroes-alhaji-sir-abubakar-tafawa-balewa/ accessed 1 October 2010
5. House of Chiefs Debates, 19 March 1965, p. 55 (mimeo).Quoted in Isaac O. Albert, "The Socio-Cultural Politics of Ethnic and Religious Conflicts," in Ernest E. Uwazie, Isaac O. Albert and Godfrey N. Uzoigwe, eds., Inter-Ethnic and Religious Conflict Resolution in Nigeria (New York: Lexington Books, 1999), pp. 73. See generally Human Rights Watch ‘They do not own this place’ 25 April 2006 http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11354/section/5 accessed 1st October 2010
6. Max Siollun op citato
7. S.157 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria titled Nnamdi Azikiwe To Be President
8. Nigeria’s Forgotten Heroes: Nnamdi Azikiwe - “Father of the Nation” (Part 2) by Max Siollun http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/4183/1/Nigerias-Forgotten-Heroes-Nnamdi-Azikiwe--Father-of-the-Nation-Part-2/Page1.html accessed 1 October 2010
9. Excerpts of the radio broadcast by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu – announcing Nigeria’s first military coup on Radio Nigeria, Kaduna on January 15, 1966
10. About 75,000 were still awaiting trial seven years after the genocide. The Rwandese authorities have also resorted to village court trials known as Gacaca Courts to expedite trials. These are trials consisting of ordinary citizens without necessarily having any formal legal training.
11. See generally TURAI YAR’ADUA: Beware of her ‘kunu-seller’ looks! By Kola Alapinni published 8th May 2010 http://felalives.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/turai-yaradua-beware-of-her-%E2%80%98kunu-seller%E2%80%99-looks/
12. See also The Terror Watch List By Kola Alapinni: Nigeria’s Response http://felalives.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/the-terror-watch-list-nigerias-response/
13. 23 Accompany Jonathan’s wife By Musikiliu Mojeed 27 September 2010 Next 234 News http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5623766-147/23_accompany_jonathans_wife__.csp Accessed 30th September 2010
14. CIA country file on Nigeria 2001
15. Nigeria surpasses Hollywood as world’s second largest film producer UN News Centre 5th May 2009 http://www.un.org/apps//news/story.asp?NewsID=30707&Cr=nigeria&Cr1= accessed 1st October 2010 See also Franco Sacchi tours Nigeria’s booming Nollywood video filmed June 2007 http://www.ted.com/talks/franco_sacchi_on_nollywood.html Accessed 1st October 2010
16. http://allafrica.com/stories/200008240352.html Written 24th August 2000 accessed on 1st October 2010
17. Now the present US President Barack Obama would not even set foot in Nigeria. He went to Ghana instead.
18. Indeed when I was the Law Editor of NewAge Newspaper in Lagos 2003, I was the first journalist to break the news that the Oputa Panel Report would never be released as IBB had gone to court through his lawyer late Clement Akpamgbo the former AG Federation. This information was obtained during an interview with the then incumbent AG Federation Chief Akin Olujimi SAN in his law office in Ibadan days shortly after he was appointed to office.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
I wish to inform you that death comes in the morning
I worked briefly as a law journalist exactly seven years ago for a newspaper in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the highlights of my sojourn into the world of legal reporting was the coverage of the sensational murder case of the former Attorney-General of the Federation Bola Ige. The former deputy governor of Osun State Senator Iyiola Omisore was the principal accused person, his cousin and personal assistant Alani Omisore, Olugbenga ‘Damola Adebayo alias ‘Fryo’ and the former security details of the slain politician. All the eleven men were the face of the political and court room drama that the Ige trial became notorious for.
Those were the days when journalists had to try to get to the comatose Nigerian telecommunications behemoth NITEL or to the Governor’s Press Secretary’s Office at Agodi secretariat before they could use fax machines. Not many journalists were adept at filing stories via e-mail, indeed perhaps only one or two could afford to buy laptops neither were digital cameras readily available. As a matter of fact, there were no digital recorders that could record up to five hours at a stretch like you now have. We had to make do with the old analogue tape recorders. This all meant that real time reporting was lost. Only if you were covering what was considered to be a hot story would the news editor be literally on your neck, tracking you down with the newly acquired mobile phone technology. All these things we take for granted now, but just a decade ago we were literally in the Stone Age.
After having attended court proceedings during the week in Ibadan, my strategy would be to leave for Lagos by Friday evening and stay in the news room all weekend collating the stories for the law pages, editing, proof-reading with the sub-editors, ensuring the type-setters keyed the final articles into the servers for printing. In the late night news room atmosphere, many friendships were forged including that with Messer’s. Ikechukwu and Umoh. Many cerebral analyses on the state of the nation were held at a particular pepper-soup/beer parlour a few minutes walk from the ever-busy Nigerian Railway Quarters-Costain-NBL Iganmu-National Theatre axis. As we armed our stomachs for the long night of work that lay ahead, we also sharpened our intellect with the debates we held. These were the skeletal framework of the political commentaries we wrote about. Umoh was the Labour correspondent, Ikechukwu was the Features editor and we never lacked issues to analyse. It varied from the Adams Oshiomole led labour strikes over the increase in petroleum pump prices, how Nigeria was importing refined petroleum products from countries it had exported crude oil to due to the fact that our refineries have all been ran aground to Ikechukwu’s narrow escape from being arrested as a spy by the Cameroonian authorities and gendarmes on his investigative reportage trip to the disputed territory of Bakassi Peninsular shortly after The Hague Ruling in favour of Cameroon.
And of course, I obliged them the insider story of the twist and turns of the Ige case like when the Oyo State Police Commissioner, Felix Ogbaudu revealed in court that US Federal Bureau of Intelligence FBI had helped conduct a lie-detector test on Omisore with regards to his complicity in Ige’s murder. But he claimed that he could not produce the polygraph test in court as the case file was not in his custody to buttress the evidence he gave that Omisore passed the said test. The prosecution team claimed that they had severally asked for a copy of the test to no avail. Neither was it included in the prosecution file passed to them from the police.
Another instance was when the then Attorney General of Oyo State ‘Lekan Latinwo closed the case for the prosecution without the consent of the learned SAN the late ‘Debo Akande who arrived in court minutes after the judge arose. The drama that played out in the court’s car park is a locus classicus for on the spot gaffe reporting. I will attempt to paraphrase this ex tempore as best as I can. This happened seven years ago and my notes are not with me as I write this.
Akande arriving in the court car park asked the AG: ‘Se e ti se tan ni?’ (Has the court risen?)
AG: Beni Sir, a ti setan. (Yes Sir, we have finished) I have closed the case.
Akande: What? Who told you to close my case? You do not have my consent to close my case. Keyamo has told me what happened.
AG: Ha, Baba! E ma binu, mo ro pe eti se tan ni? Oh! I am so sorry Sir, I thought you had finished.
This drama was played out right before the horde of journalists scribbling away every word uttered and the rolling television cameras. The young AG was almost prostrating for the older SAN before the whole world. A conflict between indigenous Yoruba culture and political authority ensued. Of course the AG can close the case as a matter of law. As a matter of fact, the AG can discontinue the whole proceeding as only he wields the power of the nolle prosequi which literally means ‘to be unwilling to pursue’. But the charged mood of the nation and the sensitivity of the case were such that every twitch of the finger or a twist of the eyebrow could be misinterpreted.
Omisore was elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria when he had questions to answer with regards to Ige’s murder. He was subsequently elected as the Chairman of one of the Senate Committees as a result of the controversial bail that he was granted. Fryo had retracted the statement given through his erstwhile lawyer Festus Keyamo implicating Senator Iyiola Omisore as the sponsor of the assassination plot. Ige’s wife, the late Justice Atinuke Ige was so traumatised in court that she went into shock. Such was the extent that she passed away in hospital a few hours later. Not to mention that one Mr. Justice Moshood Abass of the Oyo State High Court withdrew from the case citing ‘pressure from high quarters’.
I left active journalism for another career in the Niger-Delta and from time to time we caught up via phones and online. He had asked me twice to come and write for the new paper where he was the assistant editor. The second offer was just a few weeks ago and he wanted me to have a back-page column. I agreed and I was awaiting feedback on a few other issues that needed clarification from the editorial board chairman. And then came the news that Umoh passed away. More poignant is his last facebook status update on Wednesday 14th July 2010 ‘Thank u Jesus….dear friends, twice in two weeks God has spared my life in miraculous ways…iam a living testimony’ (sic)
I know the Holy Book says that joy comes in the morning. But I wish to inform you that death comes in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening as well. It came for a friend just as he was reaching the pinnacle of his career. In the space of the seven years that I knew him, he had lost his dad, then got married a little over two years ago and then lost his mum a few months back. He had gone to his home town to prepare for her burial when he passed away too.
My condolences to his wife, Helen. From now on as a tribute to Ubong Umoh I will live the rest of my life in a most unabashed manner. When the bell tolls for me, you won’t catch me napping ‘O ye eternal leveller of men and fate’. I would have achieved what I wanted, when I want and how I want it. And that which I can’t lay my hands on, I would take a good look at; and wave goodbye. I will move on to enjoy and savour the next objective. I shall try very hard not to live regretfully again. I will live this one life in my possession to its fullest according to the grace and health that my creator gives me.
Rest in peace my dear friend; to me you were a good fella.
© Kola Alapinni
UK
20th July 2010
Those were the days when journalists had to try to get to the comatose Nigerian telecommunications behemoth NITEL or to the Governor’s Press Secretary’s Office at Agodi secretariat before they could use fax machines. Not many journalists were adept at filing stories via e-mail, indeed perhaps only one or two could afford to buy laptops neither were digital cameras readily available. As a matter of fact, there were no digital recorders that could record up to five hours at a stretch like you now have. We had to make do with the old analogue tape recorders. This all meant that real time reporting was lost. Only if you were covering what was considered to be a hot story would the news editor be literally on your neck, tracking you down with the newly acquired mobile phone technology. All these things we take for granted now, but just a decade ago we were literally in the Stone Age.
After having attended court proceedings during the week in Ibadan, my strategy would be to leave for Lagos by Friday evening and stay in the news room all weekend collating the stories for the law pages, editing, proof-reading with the sub-editors, ensuring the type-setters keyed the final articles into the servers for printing. In the late night news room atmosphere, many friendships were forged including that with Messer’s. Ikechukwu and Umoh. Many cerebral analyses on the state of the nation were held at a particular pepper-soup/beer parlour a few minutes walk from the ever-busy Nigerian Railway Quarters-Costain-NBL Iganmu-National Theatre axis. As we armed our stomachs for the long night of work that lay ahead, we also sharpened our intellect with the debates we held. These were the skeletal framework of the political commentaries we wrote about. Umoh was the Labour correspondent, Ikechukwu was the Features editor and we never lacked issues to analyse. It varied from the Adams Oshiomole led labour strikes over the increase in petroleum pump prices, how Nigeria was importing refined petroleum products from countries it had exported crude oil to due to the fact that our refineries have all been ran aground to Ikechukwu’s narrow escape from being arrested as a spy by the Cameroonian authorities and gendarmes on his investigative reportage trip to the disputed territory of Bakassi Peninsular shortly after The Hague Ruling in favour of Cameroon.
And of course, I obliged them the insider story of the twist and turns of the Ige case like when the Oyo State Police Commissioner, Felix Ogbaudu revealed in court that US Federal Bureau of Intelligence FBI had helped conduct a lie-detector test on Omisore with regards to his complicity in Ige’s murder. But he claimed that he could not produce the polygraph test in court as the case file was not in his custody to buttress the evidence he gave that Omisore passed the said test. The prosecution team claimed that they had severally asked for a copy of the test to no avail. Neither was it included in the prosecution file passed to them from the police.
Another instance was when the then Attorney General of Oyo State ‘Lekan Latinwo closed the case for the prosecution without the consent of the learned SAN the late ‘Debo Akande who arrived in court minutes after the judge arose. The drama that played out in the court’s car park is a locus classicus for on the spot gaffe reporting. I will attempt to paraphrase this ex tempore as best as I can. This happened seven years ago and my notes are not with me as I write this.
Akande arriving in the court car park asked the AG: ‘Se e ti se tan ni?’ (Has the court risen?)
AG: Beni Sir, a ti setan. (Yes Sir, we have finished) I have closed the case.
Akande: What? Who told you to close my case? You do not have my consent to close my case. Keyamo has told me what happened.
AG: Ha, Baba! E ma binu, mo ro pe eti se tan ni? Oh! I am so sorry Sir, I thought you had finished.
This drama was played out right before the horde of journalists scribbling away every word uttered and the rolling television cameras. The young AG was almost prostrating for the older SAN before the whole world. A conflict between indigenous Yoruba culture and political authority ensued. Of course the AG can close the case as a matter of law. As a matter of fact, the AG can discontinue the whole proceeding as only he wields the power of the nolle prosequi which literally means ‘to be unwilling to pursue’. But the charged mood of the nation and the sensitivity of the case were such that every twitch of the finger or a twist of the eyebrow could be misinterpreted.
Omisore was elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria when he had questions to answer with regards to Ige’s murder. He was subsequently elected as the Chairman of one of the Senate Committees as a result of the controversial bail that he was granted. Fryo had retracted the statement given through his erstwhile lawyer Festus Keyamo implicating Senator Iyiola Omisore as the sponsor of the assassination plot. Ige’s wife, the late Justice Atinuke Ige was so traumatised in court that she went into shock. Such was the extent that she passed away in hospital a few hours later. Not to mention that one Mr. Justice Moshood Abass of the Oyo State High Court withdrew from the case citing ‘pressure from high quarters’.
I left active journalism for another career in the Niger-Delta and from time to time we caught up via phones and online. He had asked me twice to come and write for the new paper where he was the assistant editor. The second offer was just a few weeks ago and he wanted me to have a back-page column. I agreed and I was awaiting feedback on a few other issues that needed clarification from the editorial board chairman. And then came the news that Umoh passed away. More poignant is his last facebook status update on Wednesday 14th July 2010 ‘Thank u Jesus….dear friends, twice in two weeks God has spared my life in miraculous ways…iam a living testimony’ (sic)
I know the Holy Book says that joy comes in the morning. But I wish to inform you that death comes in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening as well. It came for a friend just as he was reaching the pinnacle of his career. In the space of the seven years that I knew him, he had lost his dad, then got married a little over two years ago and then lost his mum a few months back. He had gone to his home town to prepare for her burial when he passed away too.
My condolences to his wife, Helen. From now on as a tribute to Ubong Umoh I will live the rest of my life in a most unabashed manner. When the bell tolls for me, you won’t catch me napping ‘O ye eternal leveller of men and fate’. I would have achieved what I wanted, when I want and how I want it. And that which I can’t lay my hands on, I would take a good look at; and wave goodbye. I will move on to enjoy and savour the next objective. I shall try very hard not to live regretfully again. I will live this one life in my possession to its fullest according to the grace and health that my creator gives me.
Rest in peace my dear friend; to me you were a good fella.
© Kola Alapinni
UK
20th July 2010
Sunday, 9 May 2010
TURAI YAR'ADUA: Beware of her ‘kunu-seller’ looks!
'Power tends to corrupt; absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely'. That was what eminent Professor of Jurisprudence Isaac Oluwole Agbede taught us some years back in Ibadan. His position is a slight alteration but a sharp deviation from the popular saying that 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Agbede's example of an exception to the rule is the great man Nelson Mandela. I need not go into further details on our man Nelson. The fact speaks for itself.
How great a lesson one has learnt in the events of the last six months or so in our very interesting country, Nigeria? The facts were very straight forward. Our late President was sick. Nothing is new in that. In fact it wasn't the first time he was sick. He had been perennially ill from when he was the Governor of Katsina State and he preferred to seek medical treatment abroad. His last sojourn however took a different twist; he stayed outside for longer than expected. One spoilt brat tried to blow up a plane in the US and then all hell broke loose. Schemes and plots and cabals emerged. Various agenda both hidden and blatant were tabled, discussed and conjured. Alas! The great man himself was oblivious of happenings around him. There was nobody to sign neither the budget nor anyone to put the US in their place as we were being bashed all over the international media. All sorts of rubbish got flung at Nigeria. Then when it became obvious that Nigeria's listing ship might not survive the brouhaha, and painfully we had to appoint a new helmsman to steer us to safety, his wife packaged the poor old man and flew him in like a DHL parcel in the dead of the night. She did this with the help of the security chiefs right under the nose of the 'new Commander-In-Chief' and he never knew!
Under different circumstances, could there have been a few traits in this woman that might have been a virtue? I leave you to conclude. Did she want her husband to be in power for the good of our country? No. She wanted him in power but it was for her own sake. A friend's sister said Nigeria underestimated her because of her 'kunu-seller' looks. Quiet, seemingly harmless, seen but not heard. She once again confirms what they say about the quiet ones. Still waters run deep. There must be some hunger for power in a woman that allows two of her daughters to be subsequent wives to serving Governors. It seems as if she was trying to build an alternative political dynasty to that which the late Sheu Yar'Adua had laid down in Katsina. And why was she trying to undermine the office and powers of the Acting President and Commander-In-Chief? If I were to have had access to Mrs. Yar'Adua, I would have advised her differently. As soon as things were going upside down in Saudi Arabia and the whole country was going restive in Nigeria she ought to have brought her husband back home and gone to the Vice-President. All she had to say was 'Oga, your brother no well o! I don't know if he will survive this sickness.' What do we do? He can't sign the letter to transmit power to you, because he is not conscious. He cannot recognise anybody.’ I am sure the 'brotherly Nigerian spirit' in Goodluck Jonathan would have awakened and he would have known how to resolve the situation better.
For one, our late President could have had the best medical care in our country. The University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan is unrivalled in medical expertise and excellence. An intensive care unit could have been equipped to the highest standard in the world for Yar'Adua over there. Even the National Hospital Abuja would have benefitted if the late gentleman had been hospitalised there. There would have been no stalemate in the polity with all manner of legal interpretation coming out from all persons of various shades and hue. But can we blame them? The Attorney-General of the Federation had compromised his position has the foremost legal brain of the executive. His every utterance seemed desired to frustrate the voice of reason and to thwart the natural progression of due process which would have allowed the erstwhile Vice-President to step in and breathe life into a Nigeria that was dying slowly.
Secondly, she would not have been the object of so much ridicule, hatred and division in the extended Yar'Adua family and the nation as a whole. If what we read in the papers is true, tell me, what kind of a wife keeps her husband’s mother away from seeing her son until a few days before 'he died'? What was Mrs. Yar'Adua's aim when she summoned some Alfas and Reverends to the Presidential Lodge yet the Acting President nor the Senate President could see him? What was this woman playing at? You can imagine how the country looked before the international community when Goodluck Jonathan had to disclose to Christiane Amanpour of the CNN that neither he nor senior government officials had been able to see the poor man. I think after that US trip, Turai herself must have weighed her options and finally realised that the game was up. It was time to put off the life support machine. The implication of soldiering on would be that either she liked it or not, as the country prepared for the forthcoming elections of 2011 she would have had a serious time-bomb ready to blow off right on her laps. She would have had to surrender the man to the nation and to the political party as hale and hearty for them to secure another term in Aso Rock. She couldn't have expected Goodluck Jonathan to have continued to be running mate nor campaign nationwide for a man he had not seen. In fact there can be no campaign because the man as we heard had become mentally and physically incapacitated. Or she would have had to vacate the Presidential quarters with the problem of how to care for the man on her hands. Where would she hide him that would be as comfortable or secure as the Villa? Certainly not in Funtua! And how long would she be able to defy the Yar'Adua family from seeing their son or his other political associates when she is no longer able to use the Brigade of Guards to cordon everyone off?
Therein lays the irony in the folly of the so called 'power of a woman'. The power can only be exercised with joy and peace of mind when it is used to nurture and bear good fruits. The power that builds bridges and consolidates relationships is the one that is desirable. Not the power that destroys the home or the nation. Of what use is the power of this woman, when death the ultimate leveller of all fate and destiny rendered her powerless. Not because she was the one who died, but that the very man whom she 'abused' in her position as his spouse was granted eternal rest by his creator. Turai subjected our late President to torture and degrading treatment. It was a perfect example of man's (in this case woman’s) inhumanity to his fellow man. Of what use is the power of a woman when she will not allow the poor man to die with dignity? Of what use is the power of a woman when all she tried to do was knock heads together, destabilise the security of the nation and she was still out-witted? Nigerians through our representatives decided that it was a 'necessity' for us to have a leader who was active, energetic and alert. The power of a woman eventually bowed down to the 'doctrine of necessity'. Shikena!
Electoral/Political Reforms
On a slightly different note, I read with dismay last Wednesday in the Guardian newspaper that the National Assembly have refused to endorse Option A4 and a biometric/electronic system of voting. This is why we make a laughing stock of ourselves as a nation everywhere we go in the world. We shy away from addressing change fundamentally. What have the Representatives, Senators; Governors et cetera got to lose if the issue of making electoral votes count is addressed? Yes, the majority of them tend to lose their seat because rigging of votes will become a thing of the past. And if an elected person does not perform creditably in one dispensation, he can truly be booted out by the voters the next elections. It is a shame and irony to see Nigerian professionals set wonderful precedents in politics, law, and medicine, peacekeeping and other fields abroad but at home we are in shambles.
Rest in Peace Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. You have done your bit and left us to it. Sleep well brother, you deserve to rest.
(c) Kola Alapinni
9th May 2010
How great a lesson one has learnt in the events of the last six months or so in our very interesting country, Nigeria? The facts were very straight forward. Our late President was sick. Nothing is new in that. In fact it wasn't the first time he was sick. He had been perennially ill from when he was the Governor of Katsina State and he preferred to seek medical treatment abroad. His last sojourn however took a different twist; he stayed outside for longer than expected. One spoilt brat tried to blow up a plane in the US and then all hell broke loose. Schemes and plots and cabals emerged. Various agenda both hidden and blatant were tabled, discussed and conjured. Alas! The great man himself was oblivious of happenings around him. There was nobody to sign neither the budget nor anyone to put the US in their place as we were being bashed all over the international media. All sorts of rubbish got flung at Nigeria. Then when it became obvious that Nigeria's listing ship might not survive the brouhaha, and painfully we had to appoint a new helmsman to steer us to safety, his wife packaged the poor old man and flew him in like a DHL parcel in the dead of the night. She did this with the help of the security chiefs right under the nose of the 'new Commander-In-Chief' and he never knew!
Under different circumstances, could there have been a few traits in this woman that might have been a virtue? I leave you to conclude. Did she want her husband to be in power for the good of our country? No. She wanted him in power but it was for her own sake. A friend's sister said Nigeria underestimated her because of her 'kunu-seller' looks. Quiet, seemingly harmless, seen but not heard. She once again confirms what they say about the quiet ones. Still waters run deep. There must be some hunger for power in a woman that allows two of her daughters to be subsequent wives to serving Governors. It seems as if she was trying to build an alternative political dynasty to that which the late Sheu Yar'Adua had laid down in Katsina. And why was she trying to undermine the office and powers of the Acting President and Commander-In-Chief? If I were to have had access to Mrs. Yar'Adua, I would have advised her differently. As soon as things were going upside down in Saudi Arabia and the whole country was going restive in Nigeria she ought to have brought her husband back home and gone to the Vice-President. All she had to say was 'Oga, your brother no well o! I don't know if he will survive this sickness.' What do we do? He can't sign the letter to transmit power to you, because he is not conscious. He cannot recognise anybody.’ I am sure the 'brotherly Nigerian spirit' in Goodluck Jonathan would have awakened and he would have known how to resolve the situation better.
For one, our late President could have had the best medical care in our country. The University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan is unrivalled in medical expertise and excellence. An intensive care unit could have been equipped to the highest standard in the world for Yar'Adua over there. Even the National Hospital Abuja would have benefitted if the late gentleman had been hospitalised there. There would have been no stalemate in the polity with all manner of legal interpretation coming out from all persons of various shades and hue. But can we blame them? The Attorney-General of the Federation had compromised his position has the foremost legal brain of the executive. His every utterance seemed desired to frustrate the voice of reason and to thwart the natural progression of due process which would have allowed the erstwhile Vice-President to step in and breathe life into a Nigeria that was dying slowly.
Secondly, she would not have been the object of so much ridicule, hatred and division in the extended Yar'Adua family and the nation as a whole. If what we read in the papers is true, tell me, what kind of a wife keeps her husband’s mother away from seeing her son until a few days before 'he died'? What was Mrs. Yar'Adua's aim when she summoned some Alfas and Reverends to the Presidential Lodge yet the Acting President nor the Senate President could see him? What was this woman playing at? You can imagine how the country looked before the international community when Goodluck Jonathan had to disclose to Christiane Amanpour of the CNN that neither he nor senior government officials had been able to see the poor man. I think after that US trip, Turai herself must have weighed her options and finally realised that the game was up. It was time to put off the life support machine. The implication of soldiering on would be that either she liked it or not, as the country prepared for the forthcoming elections of 2011 she would have had a serious time-bomb ready to blow off right on her laps. She would have had to surrender the man to the nation and to the political party as hale and hearty for them to secure another term in Aso Rock. She couldn't have expected Goodluck Jonathan to have continued to be running mate nor campaign nationwide for a man he had not seen. In fact there can be no campaign because the man as we heard had become mentally and physically incapacitated. Or she would have had to vacate the Presidential quarters with the problem of how to care for the man on her hands. Where would she hide him that would be as comfortable or secure as the Villa? Certainly not in Funtua! And how long would she be able to defy the Yar'Adua family from seeing their son or his other political associates when she is no longer able to use the Brigade of Guards to cordon everyone off?
Therein lays the irony in the folly of the so called 'power of a woman'. The power can only be exercised with joy and peace of mind when it is used to nurture and bear good fruits. The power that builds bridges and consolidates relationships is the one that is desirable. Not the power that destroys the home or the nation. Of what use is the power of this woman, when death the ultimate leveller of all fate and destiny rendered her powerless. Not because she was the one who died, but that the very man whom she 'abused' in her position as his spouse was granted eternal rest by his creator. Turai subjected our late President to torture and degrading treatment. It was a perfect example of man's (in this case woman’s) inhumanity to his fellow man. Of what use is the power of a woman when she will not allow the poor man to die with dignity? Of what use is the power of a woman when all she tried to do was knock heads together, destabilise the security of the nation and she was still out-witted? Nigerians through our representatives decided that it was a 'necessity' for us to have a leader who was active, energetic and alert. The power of a woman eventually bowed down to the 'doctrine of necessity'. Shikena!
Electoral/Political Reforms
On a slightly different note, I read with dismay last Wednesday in the Guardian newspaper that the National Assembly have refused to endorse Option A4 and a biometric/electronic system of voting. This is why we make a laughing stock of ourselves as a nation everywhere we go in the world. We shy away from addressing change fundamentally. What have the Representatives, Senators; Governors et cetera got to lose if the issue of making electoral votes count is addressed? Yes, the majority of them tend to lose their seat because rigging of votes will become a thing of the past. And if an elected person does not perform creditably in one dispensation, he can truly be booted out by the voters the next elections. It is a shame and irony to see Nigerian professionals set wonderful precedents in politics, law, and medicine, peacekeeping and other fields abroad but at home we are in shambles.
Rest in Peace Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. You have done your bit and left us to it. Sleep well brother, you deserve to rest.
(c) Kola Alapinni
9th May 2010
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Mr. Acting President Jonathan: It is time to be the Commander-In-Chief
Dear Mr. Acting President,
I remember meeting you on a courtesy call in your office in Yenagoa a couple of years ago. I was a young lawyer in the company of my bosses and we had wanted to meet your erstwhile boss DSP Alamesiegha who was unavailable. We were prospecting in your territory (Kaiama-Mbiama-Yenagoa axis) as part of our operations in the Niger-Delta. In the little time that I spent in your company you came across as friendly, unassuming and loyal to your boss. These are still character traits that you have displayed particularly in the last 100 days. A 100 days of rubbish that has been displayed to the whole world and has greatly undermined the whole black race. We have been portrayed as a collection of people who do not know their left from the right.
Enough is enough and it is time to end this nonsense. I do not know if in the last few days you have been following the news? I know that when people are in such positions as fate has thrust you into, they are cut away from the reality of the real world. A close knit of people form a tight cordon round you. The result is that you lose touch with the reality of life as being experienced by the normal citizen on the street. In my capacity as a bona fide citizen of our dear country Nigeria, I pose to you a few questions:
(1) Is it true that you as the Acting President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was unaware that your 'brother', President Umaru Yaradua was being discharged from the hospital in Saudi Arabia? Therefore you could not make adequate preparations to meet him and usher him back home even as we hear that he was brought into the country on a stretcher?
(2) Is it true that troops whom you command with powers vested in you as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our nation were deployed to the Abuja International Airport without your knowledge? If this is true, what have you done about this?
(3)Have you summoned the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Commanding Officer of the Brigade of Guards to explain their action? Are you aware that this action of theirs borders on treasonable felony and it is perceived as such by the wider peoples of Nigeria in whom you derive your powers as invested on you by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?
(4)Are you aware, that the person who instructed those troops to the airport without your knowledge can also instruct the troops to cordon you off in your Akinola Aguda residence and quarantine you from the nation? Are you aware that the implication is that foreign troops can land in Nigeria (right under your nose in Abuja) and take over the airport of the country which you preside over and you will not have a clue and proceed up to the Presidential Lodge without your knowledge? You mean nobody (right from the air traffic controller, the watch-tower where the aircraft got clearance to land, the aviation chiefs et cetera) could let the cat out of the bag to you?
(5) Is it true that Mrs. Turai Yaradua (the wife of President Yaradua) has kept you (the President and Commander-In-Chief) from physically seeing your sick friend, colleague, brother, boss et cetera? Are you telling us that one particular woman place a restricting order on you within the Federal Territory of Nigeria? I don't think so.
Commander-In-Chief Sir, you are playing with fire! If all these allegations are true, now you need to use your Sword of Office before it is used to behead you, so to speak. I would suggest you do the following:
(a) Redeploy all the security that are cordoning off your friend and our President. He is the President of Nigeria and he cannot be held hostage by his wife and cohorts. There must be a change of guards now! Replace them with troops loyal to you. When you do that you will be able to see the true state of health of your friend and brother. Remember that you campaigned for the Presidency together, worked together, dined and wined together. Now that he is ill, you are honour-bound to take care of him. Do as you will be done by. Anybody can take ill, even you and I at any point in time.
(b) When you see him and you are able to ascertain the true state of his health (because all you and I have been hearing is hear-say which is not admissible evidence in law) you must provide the best medical brains available in our country for him. Oh yes! Nigeria has brilliant professors and medical experts who still reside within Nigeria even though previous governments have tried to kill off all our infrastructures. If you spend what has been spent on the trip to Saudi Arabia in the last 100 days on the National Hospital in Abuja or the premier teaching hospital in Nigeria, the University College Hospital Ibadan (UCH) you will be amazed on its transformation. He can be hospitalized there. Do not transform Aso Rock and the Presidential Suites into an ad-hoc infirmary. The Presidency should project vitality, robustness, vibrancy and not this dark cloud of uncertainty, or the gloomy mood of a sick nation or that of a sick President hovering over it. It has a dangerous psychological effect on government and governance and the way we are perceived by foreign dignitaries that come to the Presidential Lodge. We love our President, but he is ill. Sick people go the hospital!
(c) Stop this 'Office of the first lady' sham. Start that by redeploying all staff to other quarters where they can be productive to the country. Instruct Mrs. Yaradua to continue looking after her husband as a wife, (emphasis mine) whilst the medical experts continue their job. We did not vote for a first lady. It is unconstitutional, a waste of money and a charade. In our part of the world, it is a virus that must be exterminated immediately by abolishing that office. Mrs. Turai Yaradua can support her husband as he recovers. She can also support him in all other ways. A good wife is a praying wife, not one struggling for presidential power with you by virtue of her association with the holder of the office ie. her husband. The same goes for State Governors wives. The position is illegal, unconstitutional and potentially damaging to the entity of our country as we have all seen now.
Mrs. Yaradua and your wife as well can take a cue from Mrs. Michelle Obama of the US and Mrs. Sarah Brown of the UK. They are all supportive of their husband without being disruptive. Please end this idiotic parade. The President and Governors wives can be useful without being brash, corrupt and wasting tax payers money. You start that change by leading by example. Curtail your own wife and others will follow. However, if they are interested in power and governance it is their right as enshrined in the constitution of our country . All they have to do is to go through the ballot box. The famous Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Angela Merkel, (the present German Chancellor) and other women have done so and ruled their countries. Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson is next door in Liberia, she can offer them expert opinion in how to run for the presidency in West Africa and win. Therefore capable women will be given a chance, but you must follow the due process and the rule of law.
(d) After your meeting with your service chiefs and the Commander of the Brigade of Guards, you will have known the truth as regards who tried to undermine your authority. You must now address the nation in a very brief speech not more than 10 minutes and brief us of the state of health of the President. You must also dismiss or retire (depending on how grave the treachery was) the responsible persons for that atrocious deployment of troops. You must do this live on television and name their replacements immediately. You must also make sure that there are no unusual movement of troops within the territory of Nigeria whether for training purposes or otherwise until you have consolidated your hold and the polity cools down.
Remember that you did not lobby for this post, therefore you owe less people political favours. Shuffle the cabinet, if you need to. Surround yourself with capable hands. There is no reason why you can't call back Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi to come and reorganise our foreign policy. It is in shambles! Prof. Wole Soyinka should be speaking on behalf of Nigeria either at the UN or as your Presidential Special Envoy to the whole world. Bring back Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El-Rufai and stop the witch-hunting. These are the kind of people that the wider world will listen to. But they will only come and serve you if you assure them of your seriousness and they know that you are truly serious. Time to get busy and send that signal to the whole world.
Fate and circumstance has thrust power on your shoulders. Now prove to us that you are man enough to lead the most populous, potentially prosperous and brilliant black nation in the world. This is the first time in a very long while that the majority of our country will rally round one man. You must remember that Nigerians are very impatient people. Move fast, swift, and decisively. Reform the electoral commission now by use of a digital biometric register to prevent fraud. Use Option A4 to ensure that people are electable by their own communities before they say they want to lead. Restructure our nation and return it to its rightful place internationally. You have been made the Commander-In-Chief for over two weeks. The only person person who can stop you is yourself. I hasten to remind you that in this instance, only 'goodluck' will not suffice. Now talk like a Commander, walk like a Commander, be a Commander. The whole world is watching. Or do you still need us to wish you 'good luck'?
I remember meeting you on a courtesy call in your office in Yenagoa a couple of years ago. I was a young lawyer in the company of my bosses and we had wanted to meet your erstwhile boss DSP Alamesiegha who was unavailable. We were prospecting in your territory (Kaiama-Mbiama-Yenagoa axis) as part of our operations in the Niger-Delta. In the little time that I spent in your company you came across as friendly, unassuming and loyal to your boss. These are still character traits that you have displayed particularly in the last 100 days. A 100 days of rubbish that has been displayed to the whole world and has greatly undermined the whole black race. We have been portrayed as a collection of people who do not know their left from the right.
Enough is enough and it is time to end this nonsense. I do not know if in the last few days you have been following the news? I know that when people are in such positions as fate has thrust you into, they are cut away from the reality of the real world. A close knit of people form a tight cordon round you. The result is that you lose touch with the reality of life as being experienced by the normal citizen on the street. In my capacity as a bona fide citizen of our dear country Nigeria, I pose to you a few questions:
(1) Is it true that you as the Acting President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was unaware that your 'brother', President Umaru Yaradua was being discharged from the hospital in Saudi Arabia? Therefore you could not make adequate preparations to meet him and usher him back home even as we hear that he was brought into the country on a stretcher?
(2) Is it true that troops whom you command with powers vested in you as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our nation were deployed to the Abuja International Airport without your knowledge? If this is true, what have you done about this?
(3)Have you summoned the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Commanding Officer of the Brigade of Guards to explain their action? Are you aware that this action of theirs borders on treasonable felony and it is perceived as such by the wider peoples of Nigeria in whom you derive your powers as invested on you by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?
(4)Are you aware, that the person who instructed those troops to the airport without your knowledge can also instruct the troops to cordon you off in your Akinola Aguda residence and quarantine you from the nation? Are you aware that the implication is that foreign troops can land in Nigeria (right under your nose in Abuja) and take over the airport of the country which you preside over and you will not have a clue and proceed up to the Presidential Lodge without your knowledge? You mean nobody (right from the air traffic controller, the watch-tower where the aircraft got clearance to land, the aviation chiefs et cetera) could let the cat out of the bag to you?
(5) Is it true that Mrs. Turai Yaradua (the wife of President Yaradua) has kept you (the President and Commander-In-Chief) from physically seeing your sick friend, colleague, brother, boss et cetera? Are you telling us that one particular woman place a restricting order on you within the Federal Territory of Nigeria? I don't think so.
Commander-In-Chief Sir, you are playing with fire! If all these allegations are true, now you need to use your Sword of Office before it is used to behead you, so to speak. I would suggest you do the following:
(a) Redeploy all the security that are cordoning off your friend and our President. He is the President of Nigeria and he cannot be held hostage by his wife and cohorts. There must be a change of guards now! Replace them with troops loyal to you. When you do that you will be able to see the true state of health of your friend and brother. Remember that you campaigned for the Presidency together, worked together, dined and wined together. Now that he is ill, you are honour-bound to take care of him. Do as you will be done by. Anybody can take ill, even you and I at any point in time.
(b) When you see him and you are able to ascertain the true state of his health (because all you and I have been hearing is hear-say which is not admissible evidence in law) you must provide the best medical brains available in our country for him. Oh yes! Nigeria has brilliant professors and medical experts who still reside within Nigeria even though previous governments have tried to kill off all our infrastructures. If you spend what has been spent on the trip to Saudi Arabia in the last 100 days on the National Hospital in Abuja or the premier teaching hospital in Nigeria, the University College Hospital Ibadan (UCH) you will be amazed on its transformation. He can be hospitalized there. Do not transform Aso Rock and the Presidential Suites into an ad-hoc infirmary. The Presidency should project vitality, robustness, vibrancy and not this dark cloud of uncertainty, or the gloomy mood of a sick nation or that of a sick President hovering over it. It has a dangerous psychological effect on government and governance and the way we are perceived by foreign dignitaries that come to the Presidential Lodge. We love our President, but he is ill. Sick people go the hospital!
(c) Stop this 'Office of the first lady' sham. Start that by redeploying all staff to other quarters where they can be productive to the country. Instruct Mrs. Yaradua to continue looking after her husband as a wife, (emphasis mine) whilst the medical experts continue their job. We did not vote for a first lady. It is unconstitutional, a waste of money and a charade. In our part of the world, it is a virus that must be exterminated immediately by abolishing that office. Mrs. Turai Yaradua can support her husband as he recovers. She can also support him in all other ways. A good wife is a praying wife, not one struggling for presidential power with you by virtue of her association with the holder of the office ie. her husband. The same goes for State Governors wives. The position is illegal, unconstitutional and potentially damaging to the entity of our country as we have all seen now.
Mrs. Yaradua and your wife as well can take a cue from Mrs. Michelle Obama of the US and Mrs. Sarah Brown of the UK. They are all supportive of their husband without being disruptive. Please end this idiotic parade. The President and Governors wives can be useful without being brash, corrupt and wasting tax payers money. You start that change by leading by example. Curtail your own wife and others will follow. However, if they are interested in power and governance it is their right as enshrined in the constitution of our country . All they have to do is to go through the ballot box. The famous Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Angela Merkel, (the present German Chancellor) and other women have done so and ruled their countries. Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson is next door in Liberia, she can offer them expert opinion in how to run for the presidency in West Africa and win. Therefore capable women will be given a chance, but you must follow the due process and the rule of law.
(d) After your meeting with your service chiefs and the Commander of the Brigade of Guards, you will have known the truth as regards who tried to undermine your authority. You must now address the nation in a very brief speech not more than 10 minutes and brief us of the state of health of the President. You must also dismiss or retire (depending on how grave the treachery was) the responsible persons for that atrocious deployment of troops. You must do this live on television and name their replacements immediately. You must also make sure that there are no unusual movement of troops within the territory of Nigeria whether for training purposes or otherwise until you have consolidated your hold and the polity cools down.
Remember that you did not lobby for this post, therefore you owe less people political favours. Shuffle the cabinet, if you need to. Surround yourself with capable hands. There is no reason why you can't call back Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi to come and reorganise our foreign policy. It is in shambles! Prof. Wole Soyinka should be speaking on behalf of Nigeria either at the UN or as your Presidential Special Envoy to the whole world. Bring back Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El-Rufai and stop the witch-hunting. These are the kind of people that the wider world will listen to. But they will only come and serve you if you assure them of your seriousness and they know that you are truly serious. Time to get busy and send that signal to the whole world.
Fate and circumstance has thrust power on your shoulders. Now prove to us that you are man enough to lead the most populous, potentially prosperous and brilliant black nation in the world. This is the first time in a very long while that the majority of our country will rally round one man. You must remember that Nigerians are very impatient people. Move fast, swift, and decisively. Reform the electoral commission now by use of a digital biometric register to prevent fraud. Use Option A4 to ensure that people are electable by their own communities before they say they want to lead. Restructure our nation and return it to its rightful place internationally. You have been made the Commander-In-Chief for over two weeks. The only person person who can stop you is yourself. I hasten to remind you that in this instance, only 'goodluck' will not suffice. Now talk like a Commander, walk like a Commander, be a Commander. The whole world is watching. Or do you still need us to wish you 'good luck'?
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Option A4, Electoral Reform and a Biometric Voters Register: The Survival Manual for President Goodluck Jonathan
Initially this article would have been published two weeks ago titled 'Wishing You Goodluck President Jonathan' save for two ocurrences. Firstly, events have overtaken that and secondly I lost the initial five or so paragrahs written when my computer lost power. I am trying to incorporate the elements of the lost work into this and we'll see how it turns out.
The Ignominious Role of Aondoaaka
Well, the first shuffle of cards in the Presidency was dealt the former Attorney-General Michael Aondoakaa. It was hardly a joker or a masterpiece move, it was just a purely Machiavellian strategy. It had to be done and he had to be kept within the palace, right under the ruler's nose. That explains why he was unceremoniously relieved of the most powerful political law job any lawyer can aspire to and put into the strait-jacket of the Special Duties Ministry. It seems the new ruler knew how much mischief Aondoaaka will cause if let to run loose outside the palace hence why he still has to report weekly for the Federal Executive Council meetings every week. At least, you give him the false impression of being a cabinet member when what you have done technically, is to place him under surveillance. The AG's office is one of the most cherished legal jobs any citizen can aspire to hold for his country. The AG is the Chief Legal Officer of the nation, the legal mind and brains of the administration. His word is law and woe betide any government or official that disregards it. The Iraq War Inquiry by the British government amongst other things has revealed that the Tony Blair administration and its American allies had to practically bully the former British AG Lord Goldsmith into overuling the earlier advice given to them that the invasion of Iraq would be illegal without a UN Security Council Resolution empowering it to do so. If Lord Goldsmith had maintained his position that the war would have been manifestly and undisputably illegal. The whole course of history might have been changed because it would have legitimised the British people's position for Tony Blair not to go to war. Neither would the British have formed a coalition with American forces. Probably, Tony Blair's legacy would have been different to what he has now as a leader who led his country into an unjustifiable war based on faulty intelligence reports . The rest is history as they say. We are where we are now.
Anyway, Aondoaaka forgot that the enormous powers wielded by the AG is subject to approval in the court of public opinion. Once an AG becomes as unpopular as he or Clement Akpamgbo was under the Ibrahim Babangida regime he is a sitting-duck (ironically the late Akpamgbo called me to the Nigerian Bar in his position then as the Chairman Body of Benchers). It is only a matter of time before one in the volley of shots hit you. The AG's attempt to engage the Information Minister Prof. Dora Akunyili in a market woman style shout-at-me and I will also shout-at-you politics spectacularly back-fired. An AG must not engage in oyingbo market' style of politics. It will not work! Especially, not with a woman like Dora emerged to be seemingly more polically astute than the AG, not because she is more knowledgable in state matters. No, far from it. Otherwise she would not have written a memo. History and contemporary politics teaches us that great political schemes, machinations, reconstructions et cetera are more of an unwritten nature than written. Power is brokered and consolidated in various ways and forms ranging from persuasion, blackmail, pleas, bribery, inducement, adoption, marriage and sometimes even death. The Abacha Indian girls and apple and the Abiola tea episode in Aso Rock is a pointer to the evil twists and turns in the corridors of power (I hasten to add that I am not advocating any of this). But Dora, was simply in touch with the mood of the nation that has become tired of the 'amala and gbegiri' politics that ultimately played out before our eyes particularly when we got enlisted as a terror nation. We could not fire a salvo back because there was no one at the head of affairs who had constitutional powers vested in him as the head boy. In Washington, the Americans had no one to talk to because Ojo Maduekwe had fired the Ambassador there. The replacement was refused because his son had been implicated in a criminal matter - Rape is viewed very seriously here in the West - and in Nigeria the senior prefect had simply vanished from the boarding house. Why won't they kick some sense into our heads? Are we in the position to use our oil has a weapon of international diplomacy and politics? No, we are not. Years of rubbishing the Niger-Deltans has turned them against the unbalanced union called Nigeria. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) and other splinter groups has ensured an economic sabotage against the polity as symbolised by the government in Abuja.
(A) We do not export the requisite amount of crude oil to warrant that the non-exportation of the product to America would result in an economic blockade. And crucially, we do need the money, since we are not producing enough. Everyday, Nigeria loses money on refining abroad or rather buying back refined petrol from the crude oil we have exported abroad.
(B) Our refineries do not work, therefore we depend on other countries to refine our petrol, kerosine, diesel et cetera which equals to: Nigeria is not independent and therefore cannot afford to call the shots. To say that we are in a prostrate position is not far from the truth since everyone now stamps on us. They only pander to our ego when they need something badly from us. As soon as they get what they want, we are cast away like orange pips.
To conclude, Dora simply knows like the majority of Nigerians that Yaradua is unlikely to return back to the Presidency and even if he does, the office has been dealt a serious blow so much that many people would not want a sick president to lead the nation. It thus confirms the rumours that this man had been ill all along when suspicions arose at the beginning of his tenure. His response on the BBC was to challenge anyone who said he is ill to a game of squash to prove his fitness. If I were in the court, I would hereby say: My Lord, I rest my case.
Electoral Reform and A Digital Biometric Voters Register
There is a saying which says that 'A fish starts rottening from the head'. The Niger-Delta crisis, lack of petrol, lack of security, power, lack of good roads and amenities all boils down to leadership or the lack of it. Nigeria since perhaps the late Murtala Mohammed or say to a lesser extent the Buhari/Idiagbon regime has lacked a credible leader, a proper statesman who would lead us and restore our dignity as a people and a nation. Fifty years after independence, more times than not we still fill the mould of what Obafemi Awolowo termed Nigeria: 'a mere geographic expression'. How can we have our fellow countrymen and women performing and achieving outside Nigeria and the country is rubbish? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Managing Director at the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili is VP for Africa at the same institution, Bayo Ogunlesi heads Global Infrastructure Partners, they just bought London Gatwick Airport a few months ago. And many others too numerous to mention are exceling in various fields in the developed world. Yet, Nigeria doesn't have light, water and security. But we can send troops abroad to bring peace to other countries and serve with distinction. When apartheid fell in Namibia and Sam Nujoma became the President, the Nigerian Police Force re-trained the Namibian Police from scratch they also won accolades. That would have been the first time Namibians would have first seen black policemen en masse. That was how bad the racial discrimination was. These same Nigerian Police men of the N20 fame training another country's police and security infrastructure with distinction. Yet we are under siege from armed robbers and hired assasins at home.
Let us presume that our absentee President is not going to be fit for purpose after this Saudi trip and I dont think he will because the handwriting is on the wall. The game is over. Therefore, it logically follows that the Acting President would be foolish not to secure and consolidate his position. Secondly, even if he is not going to run for the Presidency next year- I doubt he wouldn't anyway - he needs to swiftly put a structure in place that would ensure his relevance forever in the polity called Nigeria. So which way out? There has only been one election in Nigeria that could be said to be the free, fair and widely accepted one before Babangida, the ultimate student of Machiavellian manipulations scuttled it. That was the 12 June 1993 elections and the system that produced it was the Option A4 system. The only reason which the ruling class have refused to use it again was the irrefutable power of choice it gave to the masses. The Godfathers of Nigerian politics and the tiny cabal of greedy, twisted-minds that feed fat on the endless supply of ill gotten wealth flowing from the fountain of government in Nigeria would never want an independent electorate. The lure of the easy, cheap no-questions-asked, no-anwers-given supply of money in the political structure and government of Nigeria is our bane. If Jonathan can solve this, he would be catapulted to a statesman as great as Nelson Mandela. Reforming the electoral process goes to the very root of how we will elect a credible leader. A leader who we choose of our own volition knows he is accountable to us and not to a Godfather who has facilitated trailer loads of rice, salt, cooking oil and N1,000 notes on the eve of the elections to induce votes for his candidate the next day. Are we now surprised when the political Godfather wants to be the one appointing the Commissioner for Finance in the state, appoint the AG, appoint the Commissioner for Works and Housing, appoint the Secretary to the State Government and even appoint the Deputy Governor? He is only trying to recoup his investment.
As a matter of urgency, the Acting President must quickly ensure that the Electoral Commission not only goes digital, it must also go biometric. It does not cost much in finance, it only needs will power and sincerity. How will this work? A mechanism would be put in place ensuring that all voters are registered simultaneously and electronically nationwide. During this registration process, the voters would be registered electronically and biometrically through battery powered devices (where there is no electricity). This will all be linked to a central supercomputer. No person can register under the same identity twice, nor can anyone once register under two identities because there would be a clash of identities. Shikena! Problem solved. This is how the British authorities have resolved the issue of persons using bogus identities to apply for visas. The result for Nigeria would be that there would be no ghost voters, no stealing of ballot boxes and no need for endless printing of voting papers which would also translate into environmental friendliness. One man would equal one vote. One vote equals credible voter power. Voter power equals credible change and accountability to the electorate. This signals bye-bye to Godfatherism, vote rigging and other manipulations at the voting booth. No need for even party agents anymore. Then it logically follows that we are able to vote for the right man and he would know that he is not indispensable or invincible. He will simply not be re-elected. Then the voted also knows that when the voter threatens not to vote for him at the next election because he has underperformed, he takes this seriously and he can sit up. The elected will know that he cannot subvert the public will by buying his way. Only then can we start having credible change from the neglected in the Niger-Delta to the unemployed /'agbero'/ in the various motor parks. From the disgruntled and disillusioned civil servant to the angry university youth who has lost faith in his country. From the armed forces to the Fulani cattle rearer, credible and merited change would cool the polity. If the President needs help in this regards, all he needs do is ask. This particular help is available without much fuss. To the contrary, if there is no hope of clearing this mess once and for all even goodluck is not enough for President Jonathan, he simply will not survive the evil machinations of those who continue to suck our blood dry. A word is enough for the wise.
Kola Alapinni is an International Human Rights Lawyer and writes from Birmingham UK
Tuesday 23rd February 2010
The Ignominious Role of Aondoaaka
Well, the first shuffle of cards in the Presidency was dealt the former Attorney-General Michael Aondoakaa. It was hardly a joker or a masterpiece move, it was just a purely Machiavellian strategy. It had to be done and he had to be kept within the palace, right under the ruler's nose. That explains why he was unceremoniously relieved of the most powerful political law job any lawyer can aspire to and put into the strait-jacket of the Special Duties Ministry. It seems the new ruler knew how much mischief Aondoaaka will cause if let to run loose outside the palace hence why he still has to report weekly for the Federal Executive Council meetings every week. At least, you give him the false impression of being a cabinet member when what you have done technically, is to place him under surveillance. The AG's office is one of the most cherished legal jobs any citizen can aspire to hold for his country. The AG is the Chief Legal Officer of the nation, the legal mind and brains of the administration. His word is law and woe betide any government or official that disregards it. The Iraq War Inquiry by the British government amongst other things has revealed that the Tony Blair administration and its American allies had to practically bully the former British AG Lord Goldsmith into overuling the earlier advice given to them that the invasion of Iraq would be illegal without a UN Security Council Resolution empowering it to do so. If Lord Goldsmith had maintained his position that the war would have been manifestly and undisputably illegal. The whole course of history might have been changed because it would have legitimised the British people's position for Tony Blair not to go to war. Neither would the British have formed a coalition with American forces. Probably, Tony Blair's legacy would have been different to what he has now as a leader who led his country into an unjustifiable war based on faulty intelligence reports . The rest is history as they say. We are where we are now.
Anyway, Aondoaaka forgot that the enormous powers wielded by the AG is subject to approval in the court of public opinion. Once an AG becomes as unpopular as he or Clement Akpamgbo was under the Ibrahim Babangida regime he is a sitting-duck (ironically the late Akpamgbo called me to the Nigerian Bar in his position then as the Chairman Body of Benchers). It is only a matter of time before one in the volley of shots hit you. The AG's attempt to engage the Information Minister Prof. Dora Akunyili in a market woman style shout-at-me and I will also shout-at-you politics spectacularly back-fired. An AG must not engage in oyingbo market' style of politics. It will not work! Especially, not with a woman like Dora emerged to be seemingly more polically astute than the AG, not because she is more knowledgable in state matters. No, far from it. Otherwise she would not have written a memo. History and contemporary politics teaches us that great political schemes, machinations, reconstructions et cetera are more of an unwritten nature than written. Power is brokered and consolidated in various ways and forms ranging from persuasion, blackmail, pleas, bribery, inducement, adoption, marriage and sometimes even death. The Abacha Indian girls and apple and the Abiola tea episode in Aso Rock is a pointer to the evil twists and turns in the corridors of power (I hasten to add that I am not advocating any of this). But Dora, was simply in touch with the mood of the nation that has become tired of the 'amala and gbegiri' politics that ultimately played out before our eyes particularly when we got enlisted as a terror nation. We could not fire a salvo back because there was no one at the head of affairs who had constitutional powers vested in him as the head boy. In Washington, the Americans had no one to talk to because Ojo Maduekwe had fired the Ambassador there. The replacement was refused because his son had been implicated in a criminal matter - Rape is viewed very seriously here in the West - and in Nigeria the senior prefect had simply vanished from the boarding house. Why won't they kick some sense into our heads? Are we in the position to use our oil has a weapon of international diplomacy and politics? No, we are not. Years of rubbishing the Niger-Deltans has turned them against the unbalanced union called Nigeria. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) and other splinter groups has ensured an economic sabotage against the polity as symbolised by the government in Abuja.
(A) We do not export the requisite amount of crude oil to warrant that the non-exportation of the product to America would result in an economic blockade. And crucially, we do need the money, since we are not producing enough. Everyday, Nigeria loses money on refining abroad or rather buying back refined petrol from the crude oil we have exported abroad.
(B) Our refineries do not work, therefore we depend on other countries to refine our petrol, kerosine, diesel et cetera which equals to: Nigeria is not independent and therefore cannot afford to call the shots. To say that we are in a prostrate position is not far from the truth since everyone now stamps on us. They only pander to our ego when they need something badly from us. As soon as they get what they want, we are cast away like orange pips.
To conclude, Dora simply knows like the majority of Nigerians that Yaradua is unlikely to return back to the Presidency and even if he does, the office has been dealt a serious blow so much that many people would not want a sick president to lead the nation. It thus confirms the rumours that this man had been ill all along when suspicions arose at the beginning of his tenure. His response on the BBC was to challenge anyone who said he is ill to a game of squash to prove his fitness. If I were in the court, I would hereby say: My Lord, I rest my case.
Electoral Reform and A Digital Biometric Voters Register
There is a saying which says that 'A fish starts rottening from the head'. The Niger-Delta crisis, lack of petrol, lack of security, power, lack of good roads and amenities all boils down to leadership or the lack of it. Nigeria since perhaps the late Murtala Mohammed or say to a lesser extent the Buhari/Idiagbon regime has lacked a credible leader, a proper statesman who would lead us and restore our dignity as a people and a nation. Fifty years after independence, more times than not we still fill the mould of what Obafemi Awolowo termed Nigeria: 'a mere geographic expression'. How can we have our fellow countrymen and women performing and achieving outside Nigeria and the country is rubbish? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Managing Director at the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili is VP for Africa at the same institution, Bayo Ogunlesi heads Global Infrastructure Partners, they just bought London Gatwick Airport a few months ago. And many others too numerous to mention are exceling in various fields in the developed world. Yet, Nigeria doesn't have light, water and security. But we can send troops abroad to bring peace to other countries and serve with distinction. When apartheid fell in Namibia and Sam Nujoma became the President, the Nigerian Police Force re-trained the Namibian Police from scratch they also won accolades. That would have been the first time Namibians would have first seen black policemen en masse. That was how bad the racial discrimination was. These same Nigerian Police men of the N20 fame training another country's police and security infrastructure with distinction. Yet we are under siege from armed robbers and hired assasins at home.
Let us presume that our absentee President is not going to be fit for purpose after this Saudi trip and I dont think he will because the handwriting is on the wall. The game is over. Therefore, it logically follows that the Acting President would be foolish not to secure and consolidate his position. Secondly, even if he is not going to run for the Presidency next year- I doubt he wouldn't anyway - he needs to swiftly put a structure in place that would ensure his relevance forever in the polity called Nigeria. So which way out? There has only been one election in Nigeria that could be said to be the free, fair and widely accepted one before Babangida, the ultimate student of Machiavellian manipulations scuttled it. That was the 12 June 1993 elections and the system that produced it was the Option A4 system. The only reason which the ruling class have refused to use it again was the irrefutable power of choice it gave to the masses. The Godfathers of Nigerian politics and the tiny cabal of greedy, twisted-minds that feed fat on the endless supply of ill gotten wealth flowing from the fountain of government in Nigeria would never want an independent electorate. The lure of the easy, cheap no-questions-asked, no-anwers-given supply of money in the political structure and government of Nigeria is our bane. If Jonathan can solve this, he would be catapulted to a statesman as great as Nelson Mandela. Reforming the electoral process goes to the very root of how we will elect a credible leader. A leader who we choose of our own volition knows he is accountable to us and not to a Godfather who has facilitated trailer loads of rice, salt, cooking oil and N1,000 notes on the eve of the elections to induce votes for his candidate the next day. Are we now surprised when the political Godfather wants to be the one appointing the Commissioner for Finance in the state, appoint the AG, appoint the Commissioner for Works and Housing, appoint the Secretary to the State Government and even appoint the Deputy Governor? He is only trying to recoup his investment.
As a matter of urgency, the Acting President must quickly ensure that the Electoral Commission not only goes digital, it must also go biometric. It does not cost much in finance, it only needs will power and sincerity. How will this work? A mechanism would be put in place ensuring that all voters are registered simultaneously and electronically nationwide. During this registration process, the voters would be registered electronically and biometrically through battery powered devices (where there is no electricity). This will all be linked to a central supercomputer. No person can register under the same identity twice, nor can anyone once register under two identities because there would be a clash of identities. Shikena! Problem solved. This is how the British authorities have resolved the issue of persons using bogus identities to apply for visas. The result for Nigeria would be that there would be no ghost voters, no stealing of ballot boxes and no need for endless printing of voting papers which would also translate into environmental friendliness. One man would equal one vote. One vote equals credible voter power. Voter power equals credible change and accountability to the electorate. This signals bye-bye to Godfatherism, vote rigging and other manipulations at the voting booth. No need for even party agents anymore. Then it logically follows that we are able to vote for the right man and he would know that he is not indispensable or invincible. He will simply not be re-elected. Then the voted also knows that when the voter threatens not to vote for him at the next election because he has underperformed, he takes this seriously and he can sit up. The elected will know that he cannot subvert the public will by buying his way. Only then can we start having credible change from the neglected in the Niger-Delta to the unemployed /'agbero'/ in the various motor parks. From the disgruntled and disillusioned civil servant to the angry university youth who has lost faith in his country. From the armed forces to the Fulani cattle rearer, credible and merited change would cool the polity. If the President needs help in this regards, all he needs do is ask. This particular help is available without much fuss. To the contrary, if there is no hope of clearing this mess once and for all even goodluck is not enough for President Jonathan, he simply will not survive the evil machinations of those who continue to suck our blood dry. A word is enough for the wise.
Kola Alapinni is an International Human Rights Lawyer and writes from Birmingham UK
Tuesday 23rd February 2010
Monday, 1 February 2010
IGP Vs Chief Gani Fawehinmi & Mallam Nuhu Ribadu By Kola Alapinni
It is with the utmost shame and sense of bewilderment that I read the headlines attributed to the current Nigerian Inspector General of Police Mr Ogbonnaya Onovo. I mean, did this man really think before speaking? How could the number one police officer of the most populous black nation in the world be on the record as saying that a man of high visibility and profile as the former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu did not visit Nigeria. He further said that if he did, who ever has the proof should provide it. To say the least, the Nigerian media went hay-wire providing documentary and real evidence in form of photographs both in still and motion form.
A few issues are worrisome here. Firstly, has Mallam Ribadu been found to be a criminal? If so what crime did he commit and to which court of law has he been found guilty? Secondly, did Ribadu jump bail in Nigeria so much so that his return to offer his condolences to the family of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi triggered a discussion bordering on arresting this man (a Nigerian citizen) if he sets foot on the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (his home country)?
I would proceed to draw a few inferences before concluding my analogy. It is safe to infer that if indeed Nuhu Ribadu is either officially or unofficially a marked man by the Nigerian security forces, he outsmarted them by having a safe ingress and egress out of Nigeria. It would be safe to further infer that either he enjoys so much goodwill within the country that his former colleagues in the security agencies in Nigeria would not arrest him or oust him or he has decided to utilise the Handbook of - Afenifere, NADECO, JACON, CD, CDHR et cetera, et cetera, - on evasion of State Security Agencies and he employed the expertise of no other than the great Femi Falana (a master of the famous NADECO route himself) who was at his side at all times during the video recording of his visit to Gani’s house.
As I write this piece, I cannot but share with you a little of what happened at the Oyo State High Court, Ring-Road Ibadan a few years ago during the notorious case of State vs Iyiola Omisore & Others. I covered the case as the Law Editor of New Age Newspapers in company of Sola Balogun the Oyo State Correspondent. The facts of the case were that the serving Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Chief Bola Ige was murdered at is Bodija residence at about 9-10pm. Amongst the the many twists in the drama that surrounded the case, when the late ‘Debo Akande (SAN) was cross-examining, it was revealed that the SSS guys who were detailed to protect their principal had locked up their guns in the house for’safe-keeping’ and had gone to look for bread and akara down the road. The assailants came in, met an unprotected Ige and shot him in the presence of his family. The pertinent question that Akande asked was that even if they had returned about the same time the assailants arrived or they had met the assailants inside the premises, what would they defend themselves with, not to talk of their principal?
I think I can conclude my analogy by saying the mentality of the men of our security agencies from top to bottom as encapsulated by the Inspector General of Police’s recent statements has once again brought to the fore the deep rottening mess and pile of rubbish that we have sank neck-deep into in Nigeria. And even in death, a visit to see Gani’s body still managed to make the security agencies who had for decades beaten,tear-gassed, harrassed and molested Gani and countless others look like they have lost the plot. I can bet Gani has been grinning at Beko, Aka-Bashorun, Pa Ajasin, Pa Adesanya and others saying that even in death he still made the top cop look like a flop.
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham UK
23rd September 2009
A few issues are worrisome here. Firstly, has Mallam Ribadu been found to be a criminal? If so what crime did he commit and to which court of law has he been found guilty? Secondly, did Ribadu jump bail in Nigeria so much so that his return to offer his condolences to the family of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi triggered a discussion bordering on arresting this man (a Nigerian citizen) if he sets foot on the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (his home country)?
I would proceed to draw a few inferences before concluding my analogy. It is safe to infer that if indeed Nuhu Ribadu is either officially or unofficially a marked man by the Nigerian security forces, he outsmarted them by having a safe ingress and egress out of Nigeria. It would be safe to further infer that either he enjoys so much goodwill within the country that his former colleagues in the security agencies in Nigeria would not arrest him or oust him or he has decided to utilise the Handbook of - Afenifere, NADECO, JACON, CD, CDHR et cetera, et cetera, - on evasion of State Security Agencies and he employed the expertise of no other than the great Femi Falana (a master of the famous NADECO route himself) who was at his side at all times during the video recording of his visit to Gani’s house.
As I write this piece, I cannot but share with you a little of what happened at the Oyo State High Court, Ring-Road Ibadan a few years ago during the notorious case of State vs Iyiola Omisore & Others. I covered the case as the Law Editor of New Age Newspapers in company of Sola Balogun the Oyo State Correspondent. The facts of the case were that the serving Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Chief Bola Ige was murdered at is Bodija residence at about 9-10pm. Amongst the the many twists in the drama that surrounded the case, when the late ‘Debo Akande (SAN) was cross-examining, it was revealed that the SSS guys who were detailed to protect their principal had locked up their guns in the house for’safe-keeping’ and had gone to look for bread and akara down the road. The assailants came in, met an unprotected Ige and shot him in the presence of his family. The pertinent question that Akande asked was that even if they had returned about the same time the assailants arrived or they had met the assailants inside the premises, what would they defend themselves with, not to talk of their principal?
I think I can conclude my analogy by saying the mentality of the men of our security agencies from top to bottom as encapsulated by the Inspector General of Police’s recent statements has once again brought to the fore the deep rottening mess and pile of rubbish that we have sank neck-deep into in Nigeria. And even in death, a visit to see Gani’s body still managed to make the security agencies who had for decades beaten,tear-gassed, harrassed and molested Gani and countless others look like they have lost the plot. I can bet Gani has been grinning at Beko, Aka-Bashorun, Pa Ajasin, Pa Adesanya and others saying that even in death he still made the top cop look like a flop.
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham UK
23rd September 2009
An Ode To Gani By Kola Alapinni
Sometimes in 1997, I was a research assistant as a Part IV Law student in UI to one of my lecturers. She asked me to pop into the Chief’s office to set up a meeting since I was in Lagos gathering some research material for her. The Owolabi Afuye Memorial Lectures of the Ibadan NBA were coming up and my teacher was in charge of organizing the ceremony for the NBA. She wanted the Chief to play a part.
I remember being ushered into his office by his then Deputy Head of Chambers Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, himself an alumnae of the Ibadan Law Faculty. The rain had beat me silly on the ‘okada’ from Anthony Village Junction to his Law Office had had me drenched and shivering from head to toe. But as soon as I laid my eyes on this great man, I was well! I was simply awestruck by the simplicity exuded by this great man. He offered me a handshake but I didn’t even notice! I had been consumed and lost in ‘Ganiphilia’. The pictures on the wall, various memorabilia, the books and books and books all around and scores of people all waiting in the lobby downstairs.
I did set up the meeting and I drove Mrs. E.S. Olarinde there the following week in the company of Mr. Akanbi, now Justice Akanbi of the Oyo State High Court. Unfortunately as typical of the military years, the operatives of the State Security Service SSS were hovering round his office premises. He called the office from his car to inform us of his inability to meet with us and he offered his apologies. I remember the other members of the entourage were absolutely gutted on not being able to meet him on that occasion. Such was the magnet of the man called Gani.
The second was shortly before a trip to South Africa in January 2001, I had just won a scholarship to study for an ill-fated LLM at the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, the whole world was at my feet or so it seemed. The LLM programme coordinator Norman Taku, now the Deputy Director of the Centre had requested via a phone call if I could get him one of Gani’s books; Murder of Dele Giwa: The Rights of a Private Prosecutor. There was only one place to go again, Gani’s Chambers.
I met him once again and he congratulated me on my scholarship. I stated my mission and he asked one of his men to get the book from a portakabin downstairs. As a good measure, he also gave me his Human Rights in Africa Law Reports when he found out my area of study was in Human Rights Law and a few other books. And he autographed them as well. Norman was well pleased I should say. These books were all donated to the Centre for Human Rights Law Library in Pretoria. And I am happy to say that I facilitated them. Such is the kind gesture of this great man.
Amongst all the numerous stories and anecdotes that abound of Gani, let it be remembered that this great human rights activist also sowed into the study of human rights law in a land where human wrongs and man’s oppression and segregation of his fellow man based on the colour of his skin had been Africa’s greatest festering sore.
Rest in Peace Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham, UK
10th September 2009
I remember being ushered into his office by his then Deputy Head of Chambers Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, himself an alumnae of the Ibadan Law Faculty. The rain had beat me silly on the ‘okada’ from Anthony Village Junction to his Law Office had had me drenched and shivering from head to toe. But as soon as I laid my eyes on this great man, I was well! I was simply awestruck by the simplicity exuded by this great man. He offered me a handshake but I didn’t even notice! I had been consumed and lost in ‘Ganiphilia’. The pictures on the wall, various memorabilia, the books and books and books all around and scores of people all waiting in the lobby downstairs.
I did set up the meeting and I drove Mrs. E.S. Olarinde there the following week in the company of Mr. Akanbi, now Justice Akanbi of the Oyo State High Court. Unfortunately as typical of the military years, the operatives of the State Security Service SSS were hovering round his office premises. He called the office from his car to inform us of his inability to meet with us and he offered his apologies. I remember the other members of the entourage were absolutely gutted on not being able to meet him on that occasion. Such was the magnet of the man called Gani.
The second was shortly before a trip to South Africa in January 2001, I had just won a scholarship to study for an ill-fated LLM at the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, the whole world was at my feet or so it seemed. The LLM programme coordinator Norman Taku, now the Deputy Director of the Centre had requested via a phone call if I could get him one of Gani’s books; Murder of Dele Giwa: The Rights of a Private Prosecutor. There was only one place to go again, Gani’s Chambers.
I met him once again and he congratulated me on my scholarship. I stated my mission and he asked one of his men to get the book from a portakabin downstairs. As a good measure, he also gave me his Human Rights in Africa Law Reports when he found out my area of study was in Human Rights Law and a few other books. And he autographed them as well. Norman was well pleased I should say. These books were all donated to the Centre for Human Rights Law Library in Pretoria. And I am happy to say that I facilitated them. Such is the kind gesture of this great man.
Amongst all the numerous stories and anecdotes that abound of Gani, let it be remembered that this great human rights activist also sowed into the study of human rights law in a land where human wrongs and man’s oppression and segregation of his fellow man based on the colour of his skin had been Africa’s greatest festering sore.
Rest in Peace Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham, UK
10th September 2009
Saturday, 30 January 2010
CAF's Togo Ban: Issa Hayatou, you got it wrong!
On the 8th of January 2010 the Togolese national team - The Hawks - set out for Cabinda, Angola from the Congo to commence their campaign in the African Cup of Nations. A brief domestic risk assesment of this strategy would show that it is fraught with danger. And it has proved to be a serious error of judgment.
The Cabinda region is almost totally engulfed by the two Congos on its northern, eastern and southern borders. It has the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Congo had been particularly strife-ridden since the twilight days of the late Mobutu Sese-Seko. By the time Laurent Desire Kabila (Kabila Snr) was head of state, six separate armed conflict was on-going in the Congo. Congolese rebels were challenging Kabila Snr (they are still challenging his son Kabila Jnr); Rwanda had pushed the Interhamwe rebels deep into DRC territory and fighting was reported frequently; Uganda was fighting her rebels in the Congo; Sudan was doing the same; Burundian authorities and FFD rebels, Congo-Brazzaville and forces loyal to their deposed former President Lissouba; and between the Angolan government and UNITA rebels. This conflict became known as Africa's Seven-Nation War. At some point in time even Namibia and Zimbabwe as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had troops stationed in the Congo. The Cabinda region has been - to put it lightly - unstable for three decades. The area could be likened to the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria. It is oil-rich but poverty stricken. Reportedly more than half of Angola's oil reserves are situated in the Cabinda region and disgruntled separatist movements believe that the central government in Angola takes too much of it's revenue. In the last decade hostilities have heightened in the Cabinda region with the emergence of the Renewed Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC-RENOVADA) One of its modus operandi is to target foreigners to try to gain international attention and news coverage for its movement to gain independence from Angola. Though there appeared to have been some sort of peace pact between Angola and FLEC, it appears not all within the separatist group has been carried along. It was this splinter group that 'machine-gunned the team like dogs' according to Togolese striker Thomas Dossevi.
I have set this background so that we can get a brief glimpse into the international power play and geo-politics that existed and still exists to certain degrees in that theatre of conflict. This ban by CAF headed by the Cameroun's Issa Hayatou has now brought up a series of serious wide ranging issues that goes beyond slapping Togo on the wrist or the face, depending on which side of the fence you are.
To begin with the Togolese authorities need to ask the following questions:
1. Who was responsible for the bus trip?
The Vice President of the Togolese Football Federation Gabriel Ameyi told the Associated Press (AP) 'They should not have travelled by road. They did not tell CAF that they were travelling by road. They should have flown to Angola.' It does seem to me that there was a breakdown in the chain of command when the No. 2 man of a nation's football body does not know the itinerary of his boys.
2. Why were the Togolese authorities not informed of the bus trip?
3. Why were the Angolan authorities and CAF not informed when a change of plans became imminent?
4. What measures were taken to ensure that an adequate security plan was in place before the team ventured into enemy territory?
There was a reason for the team to fly into Angola and not drive. The reason simply is that the team would have bypassed ground risk which caused this kind of fatalities. Also Angola had been locked in a deadly civil war since the late 70s that only lulled when the rebel leader Jonas Savimbi was ambushed and killed. One of the legacies of that war is that Angola remains one of the most landmined country in the world! Some experts say between 500, 000 and one million remains buried under Angolan soil. Others say it may be up to six million. Everyday there are dozens of landmine victims in Angola many are women and children. There is a proverb of the Yoruba people of Western Africa and it literally translates: 'The visitor has eyes, but he cannot see.' There is no way the Togolese delegation or any foreigner could have known Angola more than the Angolan government. Local knowledge of the area is invaluable. I remember vividly a field trip to Rwanda in 2001, we were guests of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Kigali. We travelled the lenght and breadth of Rwanda viz; Kigali, Butare, Gitarama, Murambi (I can't remember the other cities now) under UN escorts to visit the UN facilities, the Gacaca Commission, Gacaca Courts, the prisons, various genocide sites et cetera. Everyday we were briefed on the risk assessment indicator and I think a trip to Gisenyi a border town to the DRC had to be cancelled. One of the drivers told me on one occassion that the DRC was just about 60km away. That is what risk assessment is about and you must remember this was even seven years after the 1994 Genocide. Sometimes when the foreign clubs which pay the huge salaries of these players are scared to release them, the risk assessment plays a part. The clubs have a vested interest in protecting the huge investments they made on their players. God forbid, imagine if it was Emmanuel Adebayour that was hit? I think Manchester City's lawyers would have gone for the jugular of all parties involved namely the Togolese and Angolan authorities and most especially CAF. I think Issa Hayatou would have been battling with a negligence law suit right now. Not in his personal capacity of course, but as the corporate face of CAF.
Granted the Angolan authority might have wanted some of the games to be played in Cabinda. It is a political decision. It was meant to appease the disgruntled region and to make them feel a sense of belonging to the Republic of Angola. The Angolan government also realises the power of sports. Football is like opium, it gives you a high. It transports you away from reality especially if your team is doing well. When the freest and fairest elections widely believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola was cancelled by the Nigerian military in 1993, the anniversary of this shameful act coincided with the World Cup campaign in the US in 1994 Nigerians conveniently forgot that their mandate had been stolen; forgot the fuel scarcity and the long queues at the petrol pumps due to oil workers strike; forgot the skyrocketing food prices; forgot that the universities were shut down due to lecturers strike action forgot; that Abiola had declared himself as President and gone into hiding. As soon as Roberto Baggio literarily kicked us out of the World Cup, The country woke up from its slumber and Nigeria burned. But every time Nigeria burnt and we won trophies like the Tunis Cup of Nations in 1994, the Olympics Soccer Gold in 1996 it was a soothing balm on the festering sore of the nation's political wounds and the international sanctions levelled at the military junta of General Sanni Abacha. Ironically, Nigeria did well in the sporting world under him and he used this as a trump card in international politics.
Thus when CAF say politics should be kept away from football the reality cannot be more far from this. The power of sports in international politics cannot be underated. The hosting rights given to South Africa for 2010 is political. Germany robbed her of that glory in 2006 when Franz Beckenbauer of Germany ran a very effective lobbying campaing to persuade the Oceania delegate Charles Dempsey, who had initially backed England. He had been instructed to support South Africa following England's elimination. He abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote. Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12-12 tie and Sepp Blatter who favoured South Africa would have casted the decidng vote. I rememember even the goodwill of President Mandela didn't get the hosting rights for South Africa that year and he gave them a very strong worded piece of his mind. I can't remember FIFA slapping a ban on SA because of that. Recently, the US President Barrack Obama had to appear in Copenhagen to lobby for his city of Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. Brazil asked Pele to lead Rio De Janeiro's campaign. I leave it to you to conclude whether we can separate power play and political intervention from sports? However, Hayatou should have told the Angolan authorities that Cabinda was not going to get the nod giving the political and security assessment of the region. I am sure the Angolans would have accepted that than to lose the hosting rights of the tournament. And that leads me to the more serious error of CAF's policy making judgment.
Here is a team that was subjected to a 20 minute unprovoked machine gun fire resulting in the death of three people.The goalkeeper was seriously injured and had to be flown to South Africa for emergency surgery. We could all see the shocking pictures on television and the players were traumatized. There was indeed conflicting information coming out of the Togolese camp. That information could have been properly managed. At some point they wanted to play, some did not want to. Eventually the Togolese government came out with a position -Come home! That decision would not have been taken lightly. Some of your citizens are dead, one severely with a career threatening injury, the rest are traumatized, your nation is mourning, some parents will never see their children again, some children their fathers, some families their breadwinners. That incident almost automatically undermined the hosting of the World Cup in South Africa. The international community panicked and rightly so! South Africa had to bring out its PR machine to contain the situation. The sensible thing for CAF would have been to just kept quiet and pray that the incident blows away quietly or they could have come out with a more compassionate and humane disposition to Togo.
It seems to me that Hayatou wants to score a political point with the Togolese authorities here. It sends a message of: 'I am in charge! How dare you try to scuttle my tournament. I will send you away for the next two tournaments, you will also pay me $50, 000 for daring to pull such a stunt'. 'Nonsense, nonsense upon stilts' apologies to Jeremy Bentham. I was taught Jurisprudence and Legal Theory at the premier University of Ibadan by the revered Professor Agbede and he posits that the notion 'Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely' is wrong. Agbede submitted that 'Power tends to corrupt,and absolutely power tends to corrupt absolutely'. He cited the great Nelson Mandela as the example of his theory and an exception to the rule. Mandela was wrongly jailed for 27 years, became the most powerful man his country, never took revenge on the white minority government and relinquished power after four years. Hayatou became President of CAF in 1988 and it is a shame that after being the helmsman of CAF for about 22 years the best he can come up with to deal with this situation is to apply the letters of the law without examining the spirit of the laws. The draftsman did not have it in mind that when a country is the object of a terrorist attack; the nation's morale low; families in tatters; and it says come home my children let us cut our losses and bury your fallen comrades you must ban them and slap them with fines. What the legal draftsman had in mind is that governments should not use it's power in hiring and firing Football Association officials or to use government machinery to rig and impose officials. The law is to ensure stability and independence but for the greater development of the sport! Hayatou has done the exact oposite in this case. Once again Africa brings under scrutiny the mentality of our leaders. This decision has made us the laughing stock of the world. What is wrong with Africa? Why must we always put ourselves in a position of mockery? The consequence of this ruling is that it will not stand on appeal, and the court of public opinion has condemned Hayatou. I think the honourable thing for him to do is to stand down as CAF President and allow room for fresh blood, fresh ideas for a more humane and compassionate CAF. Hayatou's ridiculous decision is an indicator of why we are where we are in Africa today.
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham, UK
The Cabinda region is almost totally engulfed by the two Congos on its northern, eastern and southern borders. It has the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Congo had been particularly strife-ridden since the twilight days of the late Mobutu Sese-Seko. By the time Laurent Desire Kabila (Kabila Snr) was head of state, six separate armed conflict was on-going in the Congo. Congolese rebels were challenging Kabila Snr (they are still challenging his son Kabila Jnr); Rwanda had pushed the Interhamwe rebels deep into DRC territory and fighting was reported frequently; Uganda was fighting her rebels in the Congo; Sudan was doing the same; Burundian authorities and FFD rebels, Congo-Brazzaville and forces loyal to their deposed former President Lissouba; and between the Angolan government and UNITA rebels. This conflict became known as Africa's Seven-Nation War. At some point in time even Namibia and Zimbabwe as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had troops stationed in the Congo. The Cabinda region has been - to put it lightly - unstable for three decades. The area could be likened to the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria. It is oil-rich but poverty stricken. Reportedly more than half of Angola's oil reserves are situated in the Cabinda region and disgruntled separatist movements believe that the central government in Angola takes too much of it's revenue. In the last decade hostilities have heightened in the Cabinda region with the emergence of the Renewed Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC-RENOVADA) One of its modus operandi is to target foreigners to try to gain international attention and news coverage for its movement to gain independence from Angola. Though there appeared to have been some sort of peace pact between Angola and FLEC, it appears not all within the separatist group has been carried along. It was this splinter group that 'machine-gunned the team like dogs' according to Togolese striker Thomas Dossevi.
I have set this background so that we can get a brief glimpse into the international power play and geo-politics that existed and still exists to certain degrees in that theatre of conflict. This ban by CAF headed by the Cameroun's Issa Hayatou has now brought up a series of serious wide ranging issues that goes beyond slapping Togo on the wrist or the face, depending on which side of the fence you are.
To begin with the Togolese authorities need to ask the following questions:
1. Who was responsible for the bus trip?
The Vice President of the Togolese Football Federation Gabriel Ameyi told the Associated Press (AP) 'They should not have travelled by road. They did not tell CAF that they were travelling by road. They should have flown to Angola.' It does seem to me that there was a breakdown in the chain of command when the No. 2 man of a nation's football body does not know the itinerary of his boys.
2. Why were the Togolese authorities not informed of the bus trip?
3. Why were the Angolan authorities and CAF not informed when a change of plans became imminent?
4. What measures were taken to ensure that an adequate security plan was in place before the team ventured into enemy territory?
There was a reason for the team to fly into Angola and not drive. The reason simply is that the team would have bypassed ground risk which caused this kind of fatalities. Also Angola had been locked in a deadly civil war since the late 70s that only lulled when the rebel leader Jonas Savimbi was ambushed and killed. One of the legacies of that war is that Angola remains one of the most landmined country in the world! Some experts say between 500, 000 and one million remains buried under Angolan soil. Others say it may be up to six million. Everyday there are dozens of landmine victims in Angola many are women and children. There is a proverb of the Yoruba people of Western Africa and it literally translates: 'The visitor has eyes, but he cannot see.' There is no way the Togolese delegation or any foreigner could have known Angola more than the Angolan government. Local knowledge of the area is invaluable. I remember vividly a field trip to Rwanda in 2001, we were guests of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Kigali. We travelled the lenght and breadth of Rwanda viz; Kigali, Butare, Gitarama, Murambi (I can't remember the other cities now) under UN escorts to visit the UN facilities, the Gacaca Commission, Gacaca Courts, the prisons, various genocide sites et cetera. Everyday we were briefed on the risk assessment indicator and I think a trip to Gisenyi a border town to the DRC had to be cancelled. One of the drivers told me on one occassion that the DRC was just about 60km away. That is what risk assessment is about and you must remember this was even seven years after the 1994 Genocide. Sometimes when the foreign clubs which pay the huge salaries of these players are scared to release them, the risk assessment plays a part. The clubs have a vested interest in protecting the huge investments they made on their players. God forbid, imagine if it was Emmanuel Adebayour that was hit? I think Manchester City's lawyers would have gone for the jugular of all parties involved namely the Togolese and Angolan authorities and most especially CAF. I think Issa Hayatou would have been battling with a negligence law suit right now. Not in his personal capacity of course, but as the corporate face of CAF.
Granted the Angolan authority might have wanted some of the games to be played in Cabinda. It is a political decision. It was meant to appease the disgruntled region and to make them feel a sense of belonging to the Republic of Angola. The Angolan government also realises the power of sports. Football is like opium, it gives you a high. It transports you away from reality especially if your team is doing well. When the freest and fairest elections widely believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola was cancelled by the Nigerian military in 1993, the anniversary of this shameful act coincided with the World Cup campaign in the US in 1994 Nigerians conveniently forgot that their mandate had been stolen; forgot the fuel scarcity and the long queues at the petrol pumps due to oil workers strike; forgot the skyrocketing food prices; forgot that the universities were shut down due to lecturers strike action forgot; that Abiola had declared himself as President and gone into hiding. As soon as Roberto Baggio literarily kicked us out of the World Cup, The country woke up from its slumber and Nigeria burned. But every time Nigeria burnt and we won trophies like the Tunis Cup of Nations in 1994, the Olympics Soccer Gold in 1996 it was a soothing balm on the festering sore of the nation's political wounds and the international sanctions levelled at the military junta of General Sanni Abacha. Ironically, Nigeria did well in the sporting world under him and he used this as a trump card in international politics.
Thus when CAF say politics should be kept away from football the reality cannot be more far from this. The power of sports in international politics cannot be underated. The hosting rights given to South Africa for 2010 is political. Germany robbed her of that glory in 2006 when Franz Beckenbauer of Germany ran a very effective lobbying campaing to persuade the Oceania delegate Charles Dempsey, who had initially backed England. He had been instructed to support South Africa following England's elimination. He abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote. Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12-12 tie and Sepp Blatter who favoured South Africa would have casted the decidng vote. I rememember even the goodwill of President Mandela didn't get the hosting rights for South Africa that year and he gave them a very strong worded piece of his mind. I can't remember FIFA slapping a ban on SA because of that. Recently, the US President Barrack Obama had to appear in Copenhagen to lobby for his city of Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. Brazil asked Pele to lead Rio De Janeiro's campaign. I leave it to you to conclude whether we can separate power play and political intervention from sports? However, Hayatou should have told the Angolan authorities that Cabinda was not going to get the nod giving the political and security assessment of the region. I am sure the Angolans would have accepted that than to lose the hosting rights of the tournament. And that leads me to the more serious error of CAF's policy making judgment.
Here is a team that was subjected to a 20 minute unprovoked machine gun fire resulting in the death of three people.The goalkeeper was seriously injured and had to be flown to South Africa for emergency surgery. We could all see the shocking pictures on television and the players were traumatized. There was indeed conflicting information coming out of the Togolese camp. That information could have been properly managed. At some point they wanted to play, some did not want to. Eventually the Togolese government came out with a position -Come home! That decision would not have been taken lightly. Some of your citizens are dead, one severely with a career threatening injury, the rest are traumatized, your nation is mourning, some parents will never see their children again, some children their fathers, some families their breadwinners. That incident almost automatically undermined the hosting of the World Cup in South Africa. The international community panicked and rightly so! South Africa had to bring out its PR machine to contain the situation. The sensible thing for CAF would have been to just kept quiet and pray that the incident blows away quietly or they could have come out with a more compassionate and humane disposition to Togo.
It seems to me that Hayatou wants to score a political point with the Togolese authorities here. It sends a message of: 'I am in charge! How dare you try to scuttle my tournament. I will send you away for the next two tournaments, you will also pay me $50, 000 for daring to pull such a stunt'. 'Nonsense, nonsense upon stilts' apologies to Jeremy Bentham. I was taught Jurisprudence and Legal Theory at the premier University of Ibadan by the revered Professor Agbede and he posits that the notion 'Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely' is wrong. Agbede submitted that 'Power tends to corrupt,and absolutely power tends to corrupt absolutely'. He cited the great Nelson Mandela as the example of his theory and an exception to the rule. Mandela was wrongly jailed for 27 years, became the most powerful man his country, never took revenge on the white minority government and relinquished power after four years. Hayatou became President of CAF in 1988 and it is a shame that after being the helmsman of CAF for about 22 years the best he can come up with to deal with this situation is to apply the letters of the law without examining the spirit of the laws. The draftsman did not have it in mind that when a country is the object of a terrorist attack; the nation's morale low; families in tatters; and it says come home my children let us cut our losses and bury your fallen comrades you must ban them and slap them with fines. What the legal draftsman had in mind is that governments should not use it's power in hiring and firing Football Association officials or to use government machinery to rig and impose officials. The law is to ensure stability and independence but for the greater development of the sport! Hayatou has done the exact oposite in this case. Once again Africa brings under scrutiny the mentality of our leaders. This decision has made us the laughing stock of the world. What is wrong with Africa? Why must we always put ourselves in a position of mockery? The consequence of this ruling is that it will not stand on appeal, and the court of public opinion has condemned Hayatou. I think the honourable thing for him to do is to stand down as CAF President and allow room for fresh blood, fresh ideas for a more humane and compassionate CAF. Hayatou's ridiculous decision is an indicator of why we are where we are in Africa today.
Kola Alapinni
Birmingham, UK
Sunday, 24 January 2010
The Terror Watch List: Nigeria's Response by Kola Alapinni
In the last few days, Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ojo Maduekwe had addressed the world through two poignant fora. One was the BBC Hardtalk programme and the second a news conference in New York. The two provided a critical view of what might be going on in the Nigerian seat of power.
The facts were that a young man of 24 estranged from his parents after a lonely and long sojourn in British educational institutions abroad (whether he should have been allowed to leave home at such a young age for boarding school abroad is another matter entirely) was poached, schooled and nurtured by elements now identified as the Al Qaeda group. He attempted to blow up an aeroplane over Detroit and he thankfully failed. It emerged that his father had warned the US authorities of his strange behaviour and rising religious fundamentalism. Yet, the US authorities never cancelled his visa and this allowed him to board a US bound plane. Airport security has never remained the same again. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s battered image took more than its fair share of the hit. It is American security and its embassy officials that failed, not Nigeria! And it is not the first time that the gargantuan American security apparatus has failed her nation. It even recently failed to secure the White House properly and allowed unauthorised persons to gatecrash a State Banquet being held for the visiting Indian Prime Minister.
In 1998 the American Embassies were subject to terror attacks in Kenya and Tanzania. Out of the 224 people killed in Nairobi, 12 were Americans, 201 Kenyans and 11 other Africans. Testifying in a New York court, a former Al-Qaeda operative, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl revealed that the US authorities were informed of the impending attack. The US security agents admitted that they were warned and the former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright ‘criticised the State Department for not doing more to safeguard US missions’ (Aide 'warned US of bombings', 2001) . Up till now Kenya and Tanzania are not on the terror watch list. Neither did Kenya make any watch list whatsoever when rival political groups struck inflicted terror on innocent people and political opponents during the last Kenyan Presidential elections. Could the present US authorities be turning a blind eye towards Kenya because President Obama’s father is from there?
Saudi Arabia was not demonised when Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi national was fingered in the 9/11 attacks on America, more importantly about half of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Britain was not and is not on the US watch list after the ‘British shoe bomber’ failed in his attempt to blow up a transatlantic plane heading to the US. The same offence the young Nigerian boy is accused of. If this is not discrimination there must be another definition for the word. But of course when America and the West fail to get it acts together, it is a systemic failure. When a man reports his son to the US security to be on the lookout for him and the US fails to act appropriately, his country is named a terrorist nation. May we remind the American government that Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma bomber), Theodore John Kaczynski (the Unabomber) and of course the fundamentalist religious leader David Koresh of the infamous Waco Siege incident were all US citizens who perpetrated terror against the society as a whole. America has not become less of a terror threat to herself or other nations since these three men neither has it become terror proof since they apprehended Umar Farouk.
It is imperative to note this doctrine of cynicism as practised by the last two American governments and particularly the Obama administration against the Nigerian peoples and government vis-à-vis how they have responded to one or two other nations involved in the same situation as Nigeria, if not worse. Nigeria has to start calling a spade a spade. It must engage on a more robust foreign policy that protects Nigeria’s interests and more importantly her citizens both home and abroad. In my own view there is a way out of this quagmire we are fast allowing our Nigeria to wallow in. It is of the utmost importance for Nigeria to start asserting herself more robustly like we did under the Military government of the no nonsense duo Generals Buhari-Idiagbon Regime. One cannot but remember with a sense of patriotism what has come to be known as the ‘golden era of Nigeria’s foreign policy’ the periods when the Foreign Ministry was led by Ibrahim Agboola Gambari and later by Bolaji Akinyemi.
An incident occurred on 5th July 1984 when a Nigerian Airways plane was impounded on British soil the by the British authorities for being implicated in the botched forceful removal of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) politicians that fled Nigeria in the wake of the coup d’état that brought in the army on New Years Eve in 1983 The Nigerian authorities responded immediately by ordering back a British Caledonian plane forty-five minutes after it took off in Lagos due to ‘security reasons’ it said. There was a diplomatic standoff and eventually the British authorities were forced to release the Nigerian plane in Stansted airport and we released theirs. It took just a few days for the British authorities to see that the new regime would tolerate no nonsense from its former colonial lord. As a matter of fact the then British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe ‘emphasised that Nigeria was 'a friendly Commonwealth country' with 'a very substantial trading relationship' with Britain. UK sales to Nigeria were worth nearly Pounds 800m last year, and there were about 12,000 Britons living in the country’ (Strong protest over kidnapping : BRITISH JET HELD IN LAGOS by K. Brown & A. Gowers, 1984) ; See also (The Kidnap of Umaru Dikko by Max Siollun, 2008) .
The lesson here is poignant, it is not just enough to accuse a larger nation of bullying you. It is important for you to strike back appropriately where it hurts the most, coupled with the element of surprise. Bullies are always and most certainly felled in an embarrassing manner. The retaliatory response by the bullied nation is always certainly a morale booster to her citizens. This is exactly what has created an excruciating defeat for most Nigerians worldwide right now. Our government fails us without firing a proper salvo in the direction of Washington to let President Obama know that he is not actually in the position to deride Nigeria. It is as if the persons in authority have personal interests to protect abroad. If these were not the case, there is no reason for these atrocious trampling on Nigeria with so much disdain by the US authorities and if I may add by almost every country these days.
This is the major crux that is apparent in Ojo Maduekwes two press outings. On BBC Hardtalk he failed to robustly project a serious Nigeria on the platter of gold offered by the BBC. His performance was dour compared to say a Tom Ikimi under Gen. Sanni Abacha. As the nations MFA even if the President was lying ill in China, are all the members of the Federal Executive Council, The Council of State and The National Assembly also ill? Even if the Vice-President has not been declared as the Acting President yet, the structure is there for us to have put a more appropriate response back to the US. The rambling question/statement put to the MFA in New York by Omoyele Sowore sounded more like the usual student union activist approach to demands from university authorities in Nigeria. He ought to have decided if he wanted to be an objective journalist or a passionate activist. That was the flaw of his exchange with Ojo Maduekwe. Which other mandate or directive does the MFA require to project our country’s position? He is not seeking an election, is he? He has already been sworn into the job. Maduekwe thus fell into the trap of allowing petty chat to overshadow the thrust of the direction Nigeria wants to be seen as taking.
Herein lays the bane of our problems, the inability to arise above pettiness and keep our eyes on the ball. What we could have done, was to highlight all the flaws of the American security system. America suffers from a perennial Achilles heel, it’s security organs and the ability to respond appropriately is in shambles! The Obama administration prefers referring to it as ‘systemic failures’. The logic is that if America is suffering from systemic failures, then Nigeria is not safe from attacks from American nationals simply because American intelligence cannot be relied upon. It is time to hold the bulls by the horn. As a matter of urgency, Nigeria ought to have responded immediately by putting America on it’s own terror watch list, subject all passengers coming from America to full body searches. And deploy the usage of body scanners when it concerns citizens from these countries with particular emphasis on flights from the US. Nigeria ought to have gone on a huge propagandist mission to major news networks with a combined strategy of interviews, press conferences and sponsored advertorial. If Nigeria does not do this, I am afraid it has dug a hole for herself to be buried in.
By Kola Alapinni
Birmingham UK
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Works Cited
Aide 'warned US of bombings'. 2001. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1159722.stm. [Online] February 8, 2001. [Cited: January 24, 2010.]
Strong protest over kidnapping : BRITISH JET HELD IN LAGOS by K. Brown & A. Gowers. 1984. [Online] July 7, 1984. Financial Times
The Kidnap of Umaru Dikko by Max Siollun. 2008. Nigerians in America. http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/2400/2/Israel-And-Nigeria-The-Kidnap-Of-Umaru-Dikko-Conclusion/Page2.html. [Online] February 4, 2008. [Cited: January 24, 2010.]
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