The Educated Ones Hold Nigeria to Ransom

The people the politicians use to carry out their nefarious political activities, beginning from electoral mobilisation to fraudulent acts, are mostly the uneducated and societally segregated ones. They are mentally helpless and economically hopeless. They don't dream of a country that will compete with China or others in the world. They just want to live, eat and die one day. They are religiously caged too. No religiously neutral person can win in their enclave. After the political victory, the politicians would turn to the educated hyenas on the prowl to permanently stamp the governance infamy. 

In the course of this hocus-pocus and shenanigans, the glimmer of hope ought to reside in the intellectual capabilities of the genuinely educated and enlightened minority. The crucial rescue mission usually rests on their shoulders. They are the ones who can galvanise the uneducated ones towards a mission of liberation. However, the Nigerian situation is almost seemingly completely irremediable and irredeemable because the educated ones are either in cahoots with the oppressors, support one form of oppression against another or wait patiently for their time to be the oppressors. 

Those with conscience are either running out of the country or simply doing their best to survive within the contraption because they have been mentally weakened with no enthusiastic vigour left in them. The last group simply stick to social media to keep talking and talking with no visible solutions or progress. Everybody has been beaten to the game. The country has been organised into a massive garrison where people simply wait for orders and dramatic activities from their so-called leaders. The failure of Nigeria in the 21st century is the EDUCATED ONES. They are the ones who understand how the world works, the development in other places and on the global scene but they are either in support of the oppressive system, waiting for their turn to oppress or they are just weakened to do anything tangible. 

Let us prepare as our lifeless brain creates the foundation for the re-colonisation; beginning from Macron's cultural diplomacy at the African Shrine to Theresa May's economic penetration and the combination of both cultural diplomacy and economic servitude by Angela Merkel. Don't forget after Merkel, we went to China to sign off the remaining piece. Slavery is surely interesting!

A Must Read: Philosophy For Independent Nigeria by Obafemi Awolowo

PHILOSOPHY FOR INDEPENDENT NIGERIA: A LECTURE DELIVERED BY CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO (ACTION GROUP (AG) LEADER AND LEADER OF OPPOSITION IN THE NIGERIAN FEDERAL PARLIAMENT) TO NIGERIAN STUDENTS AT CONWAY HALL, LONDON. ON 3RD SEPTEMBER, 1961 (REVISITED)

Politically, the independence of a country can be viewed from two angles: the corporate and the individual angle. A country is said to be free only when it has unqualified control over its internal affairs. On the other hand, a citizen of an independent country enjoys individual freedom when he is free to say and do what he likes, subject only to laws enacted by the freely elected parliament or the popular legislative assembly of the land.

The dependency of a country and the subjection of its citizens to alien rule are conterminous. But the independence of a country does not necessarily mean the freedom of its individual citizens. It all depends on the form of government. If, for instance, the form of government is oligarchical, authoritarian, or totalitarian, individual freedom will almost invariably be denied to the masses of the people. The point must be made, however, that in times of national crisis or emergency, it is legitimate for the Government to call upon the citizens to surrender, for the duration, some measure of their individual freedom, in order that the freedom of the country and its citizens may be preserved from violation.

In a democracy, therefore, and in normal circumstances, the freedom of a country connotes the freedom of its individual citizens.

Furthermore, when the freedom of a country is looked at in its complete functional embodiment, it exhibits two conspicuous and inseparable facets. They are the political and economic facets. A country can only be said to be truly free and independent which has these two functional facets co-existing and cohering in their inseparable absoluteness.

I have emphasised the inseparable nature of these two facets in order to focus attention to the point that, for a subject people, political freedom is not the end of the journey or struggle: it is nothing more than a most potent means to the acquisition and consolidation of the economic and other facets of the country's freedom.

It is, I believe, generally agreed that political freedom is meaningless unless it goes hand-in-hand with economic freedom. Anyone who cares to read his history aright will readily concur that the prime and sole motivation for imperialist predations, conquests, and rule is economic in character. If the imperialist powers can accomplish their economic exploitation of the weaker nations without political control they will much prefer to do it that way. As a matter of historical fact, colonial expansion began with the division of the territories of the weaker peoples into economic spheres of influence. It was when it became clear to the imperialists that economic control would become precarious unless there was political control as well, that the latter was imposed. In other words, it is erroneous and dangerous to assume that the subjection of a country is at an end, simply because it is politically free.

In these modern times, the economic subjugation of a country does take several, but not easily perceptible, forms, with the result that many free nations are only ostensibly so. The economic shackles they wear are heavy and extremely depressing, but are visible only to the discerning eye.

The influence which a nation exerts, the respect which it enjoys, and the prestige accorded to it on the world scene, depend on two important factors: the size of its wealth and the calibre of its leadership. Granting an incorruptible, courageous, public-spirited, enlightened and dynamic leadership, the wealth of a nation is the fountain of its strength. The bigger the wealth, and the more equitable its distribution among the factors and agencies which have helped to produce it, the greater the out-flow of the nation's influence and power.

There are two intangible essentials for the attainment as well as the preservation of freedom (whether national or individual) which must be mentioned. They are the will on the part of a people to be and remain free, and a recognition that the subjection or suppression of other peoples is a standing peril to freedom wherever it may exist.

Again, in these modern days the functions of a Government are multifarious. But the primal ones can conveniently be classified under two headings:

i) its duty to the State to preserve its corporate existence against internal disorder and external aggression, and

ii) its duty to the citizens to cater for their welfare and promote their happiness.

The general well-being of the citizen depends on objective and subjective factors. He needs a healthy body which can be reared only on good food, adequate shelter, decent clothing, a reasonable measure of comfort and luxury, and a whole-some environment. He needs a sound and cultivated mind which is free to know and meditate upon the things of its choice. He has natural, conventional, and legal rights which must be protected and upheld, with impartiality and inflexible justice, mainly by the appropriate organs of Government, and partly by the society in which he lives. But, of course, the citizen owes enormous duties to the State and to his fellow-citizens, which are regulated and enjoined by customary usages and the laws of the land.

No Government, however, can hope to discharge its duties to the State and to the citizens satisfactorily or effectively, unless it is, or at the very least strives continually to be, on good terms with its immediate neighbours and the rest of the world. At the same time, it must ensure at home as near a state of equilibrium as possible among all the citizens, in their legitimate demand for equitable shares of the national products.

In other words, the internal affairs of a State must be ordered by the Government in such a manner as to guarantee social justice and personal security to all, and the external affairs conducted in such a manner as to promote world peace, and undiscriminating respects for human dignity in all parts of the world.

I have made these fundamental and, I dare say, self-evident propositions, because I consider them essential (1) to a proper understanding of the doings and happenings in Nigeria since October 1, 1960, and (2) to a critical assessment of any proposals which I may make in the course of this lecture.

A good many things have happened in Nigeria since October 1, 1960. The first major act of the Government took place on the very day of our independence. It is an act which in my considered judgement detracts very seriously from the sovereignty which was that day conferred upon us. On October 1, 1960, the British High Commissioner in Nigeria (Viscount Head) and the Prime Minister (Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa) exchanged correspondence, by means of which an agreement was concluded on that day between Britain and Nigeria. Under this agreement, Nigeria assumes and undertakes all the rights and obligations of Britain under any valid international instruments in so far as they were applicable to Nigeria before the latter's attainment of independence.

These rights and obligations were not spelt out in the correspondence; and in spite of repeated demands by my colleagues and myself, the Federal Government has refused to inform the country of these rights and obligations of Britain which our country assumed and undertook on the day of her independence. Viscount Head, who by the way is generally regarded as the ruler of Nigeria, did once volunteer a public explanation of the agreement in reply to my criticism of it. He said that the agreement was harmless, and that some of the rights and obligations assumed and undertaken by Nigeria under it were those under The Geneva Convention. My own view is that if we would be party to the Geneva Convention, we must do so in our own right as a sovereign state, not as Britain's underling or foster child.

I have consistently held the view that this agreement is much more dangerous than the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact. Under the Pact (with which I will be dealing briefly later), we know exactly what rights and obligations we have assumed and undertaken. Besides, Nigeria as a nation is directly a party to it. Under the agreement, the obligations which we have undertaken are omnibus and undefined, and what is more, they are all, without exception, Britain's obligations under any valid international instruments, in so far as they were applicable to us in the days of our subjection.

Now, who is there in the Federal Government, or among Nigerian politicians and intelligentsia as a whole, to tell us with candour and unimpeachable accuracy the number and contents of valid international instruments -both open and secret - to which, in the days before October 1, 1960, Britain had, on behalf of herself and of her territories overseas,committed herself?

The Monrovia Conference has been given a good deal of boosting by the Western Press, and Sir Abubakar has been specially patted on the back for the part he played in it. This is only to be expected. This Conference is known to have been inspired and completely financed by the more important countries of the Western Bloc. Undoubtedly, the Monrovia Conference had been brought into being as a counter-poise to the Casablanca Powers which do not appear to find favour with the Western Powers and their Press.

But whatever attitude the Western Powers and their Press hold, there are outstanding attributes which the Casablanca Powers possess, but which the Monrovia Powers are still to demonstrate.

First, the freedom of each of the countries which constitute the Casablanca Powers is not only legally in existence, but also is being made to be seen in all the country's doings at home and abroad.

Second, the resolutions passed at the Casablanca Conference are positively constructive, and bear the radical stamp of contemporary African nationalism at its best. In order to clinch this second point, I would like to refresh your memories by giving you a summary of some of the resolutions of each of the two groups of Powers. The resolutions of the Casablanca Powers include:

1. The setting up of an African High Command.

2. The liquidation of colonial regimes through the liberation of territories still colonised.

3. The elimination of all forms of racial segregation in African States.

4. The consolidation and defence of the sovereignty of New African States.

5. The acceptance of the objective of a political union of Africa, and the taking of such steps as will lead to the early attainment of this objective.

6. The reaffirmation of Africa's non-alignment to any of the two East and West Blocs.

7. The evacuation of all occupation troops from Africa.

8. The barring of Africa to all nuclear experiments.

Those of the Monrovia Powers include:

1. The recognition of absolute equality of sovereignty of all African States irrespective of size and population.

2. Each African state has the right to exist and no African state should try to annex another for any reason.

3. Should any African State desire freely and voluntarily to join with another State no other African State should stand in its way.

4. All States should respect the principle of non-interference in the internal and domestic affairs of any African state.

5. Each State should respect the territorial integrity of another State and should not harbour, within its boundaries, any dissident elements from another State who might wish to use that State as a base for carrying out subversive activities against their own State.


6. Any conception of unity entailing the surrender of sovereignty of any African State to another is totally unrealistic.

It will be seen that, apart from the fact that the Monrovia Powers lack the attributes of the Casablanca Powers, the Monrovia resolution are actuated by fear, and place much, too much, emphasis on the minor differences between some African nations.

Before independence, our economy was dominated by Britain and her fellow-members of the N.A.T.O. Since independence, we have made no effort to relax this imperialist stranglehold on our economy.

On the contrary, we now throw the doors of our country wide open to indiscriminate foreign exploitation. Every conceivable inducement is being given to foreign investors of the Western Bloc to come to Nigeria to exploit our natural resources in whatever way they choose. The type of venture, its financial structure, and its location, are left entirely in the hands of intending foreign investors. The assumption appears to be that foreign businessmen are so altruistic and philanthropic that their main concern would be to help the masses of Nigerian people, and not to enrich themselves at our expense. In seeking foreign aid for our development, our Government has allowed itself to be led into a blind alley by its Western masters and mentors.


`Money has no earmark,' so says an old adage which is as true as ever. But our present Government has so imbibed the prejudices of Britain that it appears to see the very Devil himself in any foreign currency other than British or American.

It is now eleven months after independence, and yet our Government has not succeeded in producing a bold development programme for the prosperity and happiness of our people, with the result that, economically, we just drift, and become more and more dependent on foreign aid of a kind that is not likely to be in the long-term interest of Nigeria.

I understand - or more precisely the country has been promised by the Government - that a five-year development programme is in preparation. The architects of this programme are a Mr. Prasad from the International Bank Mission and an American from the Ford Foundation. The United States has promised substantial aid towards the execution of the programme, but 90 per cent of such aid, I understand, will be in the form of American goods.

As a matter of interest, it may be mentioned in passing that while Nigeria's proposed five-year programme is already being studied in Britain and America, for the past five months or so, even an outline of its contents has not yet been made known to the Nigerian people or their parliament. In other words, Sir Abubakar wants to clear the programme with Britain and America first, before his Government can ever have the courage to lay it before his fellow-citizens whose lives and fortunes are going to be affected for good or for evil by the proposed programme.

The Government has also slavishly committed itself to British economic and political ideals and prejudices. Words like nationalisation, public ownership of the means of production, or socialism, are to the Government what the rag is to a bull. The advocacy of the Opposition for nationalisation

(a) of the Plateau Tin Mines where foreign companies declare as much as 150 per cent yearly dividend

(b) of the entire mercantile marine operating in Nigeria, and

(c) of insurance businesses, as an interim step, has been roundly condemned by the Government as heretical and mad. Instead, the Federal Government has declared that industries shall not be nationalised in Nigeria beyond the extent to which public utilities are already public-owned.

Before independence the Government of the Federation was not so scared by the demand for nationalisation as it is at present. Indeed in a Government publication, first issued in 1956 and reissued in 1958, it was made clear that in the event of any industry being nationalised, fair compensation would be paid. It would appear, therefore, that on the issue of nationalisation, which conflicts with the basic economic ideal of the Western Powers, our present Government has shown less courage in freedom than its predecessor had done in bondage.

In emulating British political ideals, the Government has even gone much farther than the Tories of the deepest dye would approve here in Britain. Up till today, Communist literature is banned from entering Nigeria. Even though the public has been told, after pressure from the Opposition, that permission has been given for the opening of a Russian Embassy in Nigeria, every obstacle is actually being placed in the way of the Embassy being opened. The representative of the Russian Government, who has been in Nigeria for some months now, stays in the Federal Palace Hotel. Every effort of the Soviet Government to secure accommodation for its Embassy is being secretly foiled by some countries of the Western Bloc with Embassies in Nigeria. I know a Nigerian businessman who has been threatened with reprisals by a Federal Minister for daring to offer suitable premises to the Russian Government.

In keeping with the fashion obtaining among newly emergent Asian and African nations, our Government has put the label of `Neutrality' on its foreign policy. But our brand of `neutrality' is, to all intents and purposes, sui generis. In our `neutrality', we are already militarily aligned to Britain, and hence indirectly to N.A.T.O. In our `neutrality, we do everything to prevent the opening of a Russian Embassy in Nigeria and we do nothing to open one in Moscow ourselves. We proclaim `neutrality', and yet Chief Okotie-Eboh, Federal Minister of Finance, on his way to Soviet Russia as the head of our Economic Mission, went to very great pains to assure an audience of British businessmen and politicians here in London that though he was going behind the Iron Curtain, they could rest assured that he was going to return from there with his natural colour intact and untarnished.

We proclaim `neutrality' and yet the Sardauna of Sokoto, with the express consent of Balewa, is moving heaven and earth to drag Nigeria into a Commonwealth of Moslem States. He has done more. As if the Northern Region is not just an integral part of the Federation of Nigeria, and as if he is entitled under the Constitution to pursue a separate foreign policy for the North, he has, with the open acquiescence of Sir Abubakar, committed the Northern Region to the Arab side in the Arab-Israeli dispute. We proclaim`neutrality', and yet we refrain from participating in the Belgrade Conference of `non-aligned nations'. Our Government's `neutrality' in foreign affairs must, in the light of events, be said to have been conceived in deceit and born in hypocrisy.

Before I pass on to deal with matters of purely domestic character, I would like to make one or two observations. The emergence of Nigeria as an independent nation was hailed as an event of exceedingly favourable portent for Africa. In size, population, and natural resources, Nigeria is indisputably a giant in Africa. Those African nationalists who, since our independence, have come to Nigeria for succor and added inspiration, have gone back to their homes disillusioned and frustrated. The high hopes which were cherished in Nigeria as an unassailable bastion in the last phase of Africa's struggle against colonialism and neo-colonialism of whatever nature and guise, are fast receding. Among true African nationalists, Nigeria, as at present led by our Government, is thoroughly suspect, and does not enjoy the respect and confidence to which she is entitled by virtue of her natural potentialities.

At home, our pressing problems not only remain unsolved, but are also not even being tackled with vision and vigour, nor with the correct ideological orientation.

Education is still in its inchoate stages. The masses hunger after education but are not being satisfied. In regard to primary education, the position in the South is good. All children of school-going age are now in school in the South. But it is very far from being so in the North. A little over 250,000 children are now receiving primary education in the North, as against 1.3 million in the East and 1.2 million in the West. Secondary education ought to be free, but only the well-to-do can afford to send their children to any post-primary schools. The award of scholarships tenable in Institutions of Higher Learning, and for technical and vocational studies, now lags very much behind the present needs of the country, with the result that many a lustrous talent is wasting and rotting away either in a soul-depressing job or in an asylum.

The finances of the Federation are being very badly managed. We are now right on the brink of a balance of payments crisis. Yet, according to the latest pronouncement by the Federal Minister of Finance, our imports of consumer goods have increased appreciably; but as far as is known no visible effort is being made for a big export drive. I have told the Federal Government, on a number of occasions, that unless the present adverse trends which have continued for four years are checked, Nigeria will, figuratively speaking, one day find herself in a debtor's prison!

Bribery and corruption, especially in high places, are alarmingly on the increase. A large percentage of monies which are voted for expenditure on public projects find their way into the pockets of certain individuals.

There is unemployment everywhere. The standard of living in the country as a whole is very low, and in most parts of the country the peasantry and the working class wallow in abject poverty and misery. The cost of living is more or less the same throughout the country. The fact reflects itself in identical salaries, in different parts of the Federation, for Ministries and Parliamentarians; for Government, Mercantile and other employees in the so called upper brackets and the established grades. But this is unfortunately not the case with the daily-paid workers and the peasantry who are in the vast majority. The territorial disparity in their income is extremely and senselessly wide, constitutes a social injustice of the worst kind, and is an eloquent evidence of a complete absence of national approach to the country's problems.

Nigerianisation of the different sectors of our public service moves at an unpatriotically slow pace. But as if this is not damning enough, the situation is aggravated by the Federal Government when, as it often does, it applies criteria which have no regard at all for merit, in the advancement of some Nigerians. The present dispensation is that, provided your Region of origin is in the privileged category, and your connections in Government circles are strong, mediocrity and want of requisite qualifications are no bar to any high post, even though a number of other Nigerians who are infinitely better qualified in all respects may be unjustly superseded.

Our federal structure remains unbalanced. The Northern Region bestrides the rest of the country like a Colossus. As long as this Region remains a unit, the party in power there, even in a free and fair election, will always have an electoral advantage over other political parties. But elections in the North are neither free nor fair. Various iniquitous devices were used at the 1959 Federal Elections as well as in this year's Northern Region Elections to ensure victory for the N.P.C.

To this end, murders, arsons and other forms of violence to the person and damage to property were committed, and ballot papers were illegally distributed to N.P.C. party faithfuls. I have three books of such ballot papers here with me as exhibits. On the eve of any elections, opposition parties are precluded from holding public meetings; mass arrests and imprisonment, with or without trial, of their members are made; and leaders of such parties are harassed and sometimes dragged to court on trumped-up charges. I believe you have all heard of what happened to Messrs Tarka and Olawoyin, and that you are aware that the Action Group Leader of the Opposition in the Northern House of Assembly has not, because of open threat of violence to his person, and the utter destruction of his house and property, been to his home in Maiduguri since August last year.

Today the N.P.C. rules both the North and the Federation; and yet its leaders refuse to change the name of the organisation to permit the admission of Southerners into its membership. But of course the Sardauna has declared, in his characteristically pompous manner, that `N.P.C. is Nigeria and Nigeria is N.P.C.' Besides, he has never made any bones about the fact that the Federation is being run by his loyal lieutenants who must look to him, from time to time, for direction on major issues. In actual fact, therefore, the centre of gravity of the Federation is Kaduna not Lagos; and this degrading state of affairs will continue so long as the present unbalanced and unusual structure of our Federation persists.

Many irresistible conclusions flow from what I have so far said. Only some of them need be mentioned. In the first place, de jure Nigeria is now free from alien rule, yet through the activities of our Government she is de facto utterly subservient to British control, direction and undue influence. Secondly, though fundamental human rights are enshrined in our Constitution, yet the rights of the commonality count for nought in the Northern Region. Thirdly, democratic practices and processes are being rapidly discredited in the Northern Region of Nigeria, simply because the leaders of the N.P.C. who also rule Nigeria have never believed in a democratic form of Government.

Fourthly, because of the error of omission of our Government, Nigeria is already beginning to slide in Africa. African nationalists now look upon our Government as a tool and a stooge of Western Imperial-ism. Fifthly, the actions of our Government do not measure up to some of its pronouncements, and its conduct is far from being guided or influenced by the ideals which today animate and rule the hearts of the people of Nigeria. Sixthly, our Government appears to find itself helplessly and hopelessly on an uncharted sea, in the face of the country's problems.

These questions are now relevant. What do we do to accelerate our progress on the road to modern development, to arrest the deteriorating situation with which we are beset, and to retrieve the integrity, honour and self-respect which true national sovereignty ought to confer on our country? And, knowing what and what to do, how do we go about accomplishing them?

There must be many and varied answers to these questions. A good many have occurred to me, and I now want to pass on to you the more important ones among them. I do so in tabular form.

1. The Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact, and the October 1 Agreement under which we assume and undertake all the rights and obligations of Britain under valid International instruments, should both be abrogated
forthwith.

2. Every vestige and every channel of the undue influence of Britain and her allies in and on Nigeria should be totally eradicated. This, in my view, can be done in three significant ways. First, by the widening of the circle of our international friendship, and in particular by the immediate establishment of diplomatic, cultural, trade and other mutually beneficial relations with Soviet Russia, China, and Eastern Germany; second, by the progressive but accelerated termination of our undue economic dependence on British and other Western Agencies and Business concerns; and third, by the translation or transformation of Nigeria into a Republic, and by the initiation, at an early date, of steps to this end.

3. The Federal Government should right now set before the nation well-defined economic objectives and development programmes which will be embodied in a successive series of five-year plans. The objectives and the programme should be sufficiently bold and expansive to fire the imagination and stimulate afresh the hopes of Nigerians and their fellow-Africans. To this end three important considerations must be borne in mind. One, our economic objectives and development programme must be rooted in and strictly guided by the socialist ideals of

(a) equal opportunity for all,

(b) equitable distribution of the national products,

(c) the liberty, dignity, and well being of the individual, and

(d) brotherhood among all mankind.

Two, the admission of foreign investment into the country should be carefully regulated, and channelled in the overall national interests. In the words of the Report of the Conference on Administrative Organisation for Economic Development - "To allow all foreign firms to enter indiscriminately may stifle nascent local enterprise and jeopardise the balance of economic expansion. It may also rob the country of valuable sources of income.. ." In this connection, a comprehensive list of categories of industries, specifying those that are in the present and in the near future reserved for the public sector, as well as those that are, in the short term, reserved for the private sector, should be prepared. Three the development of agriculture (its modernisation in every sense of the word) must go hand-in-hand with industrialisation. If agriculture stagnates, industries will either not grow, or become a bane to the people.

4. In order that our planned economy may be in the best interest of our people, a high-powered Economic Planning Commission should be set up forthwith. This Commission would consist only of qualified Nigerian economists and public men, and its membership should be full-time. The Commission, may, from time to time, avail itself of such expatriate expert advisers as appear to them to be sufficiently well-meaning, and detached from local business interests. It will be the duty of the Commission to produce a five-year plan for the Federal Government. It will assess and appraise the various surveys of our natural and man-power re-sources, establish priorities, determine the type and the location of industries, work out and supervise details of the development programme and the manner of its execution, and make a periodic review and any necessary modification of the programme.

5. In order to correct the imbalance in our federal structure, more States or Regions should first and foremost be carved out of the existing Northern Region. To ensure viability, the North should, as a first step, be broken into three States - the Middle Belt, the Bornu and the Northern States. The Mid-West and the C.O.R. States should also be created as already pro- posed.

6. To ensure the advent and growth of democracy and democratic practices in the North, the following re-forms should he introduced without delay:

a) Emirs, District heads, Village Heads and Ward Heads, and other Native Authority functionaries should, from now on, have nothing at all to do with the maintenance of law and order during election and on polling day, and should be present at polling stations and in the polling booths only to cast their votes.

b) During elections (Federal, Regional or Local) there should be no restraint whatsoever on public meetings. Political parties should be free to hold public meetings where and when they choose, unless in the interest of law and order the prescribed authority is of the opinion that meetings of rival political parties should be regulated by the issue of permits, or by agreement among local party leaders. For this purpose, the Nigerian Police Force should be the pre-scribed Authority, and should also be responsible for maintaining law and order during elections in the Northern Region as well as in the other parts of the Federation.

c) Where suitable buildings are not available, polling booths with permanent materials should be erected by the Federal Government. On no account should private dwelling houses, palaces, or official residences be used as polling booths or stations.

d) Symbols should be painted on all sides of the Ballot Box, and where this is not possible, they should be pasted on all sides of the Box by means of a transfer system. All ballot boxes should be made of steel.

e) All Native Authorities shoud be democratised as has for long been the case in the East and West. Those who operate the present feudal system in the North and are, from head to toe, steeped in un-abashed autocracy can never take kindly to the need for, and the practices of democracy and of a free and fair election.

7. The foreign policy of Nigeria should be independent, and should be guided by the following principles:

A. in respect to the world in general:

1. The promotion of economic relations with all nations of the world.

2. Co-operation with all nations of the world in so far as they respect the ideals for which we stand.

3. Respect for the sovereignty of nations and non-interference in their domestic affairs.

4. The settlement of international disputes by peaceful negotiations directly or through the agency of the U.N.O.

5. Attraction of foreign assistance (capital, technical skills and training opportunities for Nigerians) on the most advantageous terms.

6. Lasting world peace through non-involvement in military pacts, discontinuance of the armament race, and an end to the establishment of military bases on foreign soil.

7. Respect for the United Nations Charter.

B. In respect to Africa in particular:

1. The immediate and complete freedom and sovereignty of all those African States which are at present only nominally independent (a) by the abrogation of any military or defence pact or ties as well as of all rights and privileges appurtenant to such pact or ties and (b) by the elimination of undue economic or technical dependence on any single alien country.

2. The setting of a target date or dates in the very near future for the complete liberation of all colonial territories wherever they may be on the Continent of Africa.

3. The immediate termination of the existence of any military base in any part of Africa and the evacuation of all occupation troops on the Continent whether they are attached to specific military bases or not.

4. The mobilisation of all the forces at our command to assist in the immediate extermination of apartheid in South Africa and the restoration to the African in South Africa of his natural birth rights.

5. The outlawry of any form of discrimination or segregation against the black peoples in particular and Africans in general and in other parts of the world.

6. The maintenance and defence of the dignity of the African (particularly black African), and of the sovereignty of any independent African State against derogation or violation from any quarter whatsoever.

7. The promotion and establishment of a community of interests among all the peoples of Africa, and to this end to work assiduously for the realisation of the ideal of a political union or a confederacy (whichever is
practicable in the prevailing circumstances) among all African States.

8. As a first practical step towards the emergence of an All-Africa political union, the immediate division of the Continent into Zones.

9. The initiation of steps for the immediate introduction in Zones of a Customs and monetary union as well as economic, technical, cultural and other forms of essential co-operation, and the fostering of an early
emergence of a political union among the independent countries situate within each zone.

10. Non-involvement of all African countries in the present East-West power politics and struggles as well as non-partisanship in the Arab-Israeli dispute and conflict.

It is my considered view that our foreign policy should be bi-partisan, and should be taken out of the arena of party politics. I have repeatedly made suggestions to this effect both on the floor of the House of Representatives and privately to Sir Abubakar, but in vain.

There is only one answer to the second question. In the national interest, all the progressive elements in the country must come together now, and get themselves ready to take over the Government of the Federation at the earliest possible time. We do not have long to wait. Our chance will come in 1964 or earlier. The life of the present Parliament comes to an end by effluxion of time in 1964. But Balewa might choose to go to the country much earlier. And the likelihood cannot be completely ruled out that the present coalition, which is an enforced association of incompatibles, might break and collapse under the mounting pressure of public discontent and indignation.

Whatever happens, 1964 does not appear to me to be too far ahead. In the meantime, it is our duty to mobilise public opinion, and bring it to bear on the Government, to the end that it shall accept a philosophy of action which springs from and is broadly based on all the principles, objectives, and proposals which, within the compass of this lecture, I have sufficiently elaborated.

There are many who are beginning to despair about the future of our great country. May I reaffirm, in all humility and unshaken faith, that there is no cause for despair. For, it is to the progressive and radical elements in Nigeria, whose numbers are rapidly increasing, that the morrow of our illustrious country belongs

Thinking: The American-Nigerian Presidents and Their Styles

It bemused me when African leaders openly proclaim their incapacity and incapability by beckoning on foreign bodies to help them and the continent as if Africa can and will never stand on its own. Criticising every government's policy should not always be a leit motif because at times, one would repeatedly sound trite but then one cannot be quiet. Nigerian Presidents over the years especially since the emergence of democracy in 1999 can at best be termed American-Nigerian Presidents.

This is because the leaders seem to be responsive to the White House than to Nigerians. During the heated debate of the third term agenda of President Obasanjo, he was extremely relatively quiet when the whole internal politics was so hot and the hullabaloo overshadowed the entire polity, the President never said anything. Despite the noises at home for him to declare his intention, he never did, only for Nigerians to hear as an aside when their President visited Washington that he discussed his third term agenda there, which George W. Bush vehemently opposed.

That bolstered the Nigerian Senate in a way and the structure was successfully dismantled. As if that was not enough, President Umar Yar'Adua came into office amid ill-feelings and bad reactions among Nigerians on the election that brought him into office which Nigerians described as being massively rigged and flawed. Nigerians called the elections 'daylight robbery' yet the President said nothing about it. Rather, he was more concerned with the relative snub President Obama gave his regime by going to Ghana.

The Yar'Adua administration handled the issue as if without Obama coming to Nigeria, Nigeria would collapse and refused to be a country again. Later, Hilary Clinton visited and to the utmost surprise of Nigerians, their President confessed to the erstwhile American Secretary of States that the elections that brought him into office were widely flawed. This was another slap.

One unique thing to note is that this present dispensation combined all the situations described above. Can anyone remember that President Goodluck Jonathan declared his intention to run for office in 2010 after he had an encounter with President Obama at the Nuclear Energy Summit? That was when and where his inspiration came from. He came back renewed and reinvigorated.

Quite recently, President Obama refused to visit Nigeria and rather than learn from the past the Jonathan-led administration took it so centrally as if without the visit, Nigeria would seize to function efficiently. Anyway, he acted like an 'independent' sovereign much to the chagrin of Washington by allowing Omar al Bashar of Sudan who is wanted by the ICC into Nigeria for the special AU summit. Next, he went to China.

Nigerians have been worried about the whole political jamboree, brouhaha and pandemonium as regards the President's intention to contest in 2015. So much tension and at best uncertainty has been generated in the land. Words from the horse's mouth are the best. The President has remained calm and refused to say anything only to attend the 68th UN summit in New York and Nigerians wake to hear that their President has diplomatically declared his intention to run for the election in 2015.

Then one is poised to ask, are they Nigerian Presidents or Nigerian-American Presidents? They find it hard to discuss and talk to their own people but always so easy and convenient for them to visit or see White House officials first before owing up to the responsibilities they owe Nigerians not Americans. In order words, it means Nigerians are not unique to them since they are not the ones who will get them into office. Once Washington has endorsed it, they can come back home with zeal and perfect the rigging.

GOD bless the People of Nigeria
GOD bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria
GOD bless Africa

APC and the Kindergarten President: A Valid Description of Nigeria and its Leaders

The All Progressives Congress has just given Nigeria a valid description of the land. A notable figure of the party, Chief Bisi Akande called the President of about 160 million people a kindergarten president and has so far been defended by the members of his party. This automatically means 160 million people are kindergarten pupils; at least, a people deserve their leader.

APC is simply telling us that we are not mature in Nigeria yet. The youths who are always joyous just because the presumed party of 'messiahs' has come, hence, support every single statement coming out of APC are those I shake my head for. What is the party's plan for your future? How best has it deployed its machinery using the media, social media and other avenues to commence discussions on the kind of future it wants to give you and Nigerians? What do we have so far? Insults! Abuses!! Aspersions!!!

If APC continues to devalue the office of the President as being 'worthless' then it is not 'worthy' to occupy same. The party that did not even thank those campaigning, making noises that it must be registered but expressly visited IBB by all standards cannot be trusted too. Akande's men in and from Osun and ACN members also voted for our dearly beloved 'Kindergarten President' anyway. Reverence is extremely taken seriously in Africa or has Akande and APC suddenly forgotten that?

Some of us who wanted PDP out as at then before the birth of APC and clamoured for an alternative wanted a party that will give PDP a good show for its dollars. APC has refused to start addressing issues on the myriads of problems facing Nigeria and lying Mohammed thinks he can continue to slap our intelligence by bamboozling us with grammars. Abati's response was by far better, full of courtesy and reverence than Akande's attack.

If you have written two letters to the President with no reply, why not make them public letters, let people decipher the ineptitude of the President and decide on him? Why groaning, moaning and writhing in pains like a political jobber that you are? I see a monster replacing a devil anyway. Hian Nigeria!!!

House of Representatives Member (APC) Escapes Attack in Lagos

Tragedy was averted on Wednesday in Lagos when a member of the House of Representatives, Chief Michael Ogunnusi, narrowly escaped being attacked by some aggrieved members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in Ifako-Ijaye Local Government, Lagos, during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress in the council.

Trouble started when the lawmaker, who represents the council in the National Assembly while making a speech at the event announced a donation of N200,000 to augment efforts of the members and leaders across the ward levels in the council...

The lawmaker’s gesture angered many of the APC members, who rejected the money and disrupted the ceremony for what they termed “insult on them by the Reps member as if we are beggars.’’ The atmosphere was tense as Ogunnusi’s security aides made frantic efforts to whisk him away from the venue to save him from being attacked.

As they guarded him out of the vicinity, he was pelted with sachets of pure water by the rampaging youths. In the melee, chairs were broken and some party members and passers-by fled the area in different directions. One of the aggrieved APC members, who spoke with our correspondent(punch) shortly after normalcy returned to the venue, said it was not the amount of the money that angered the members but the manner it was offered.

He said, ‘‘Since election ended in 2011, Ogunnusi has refused to attend meetings in the local government, claiming he was busy with state matters in Abuja. He was avoiding us like a plague and now he came to woo us with N200,000 when election is approaching. He thinks we are beggars.’’

Another member, who gave her name as Kafayat, said, ‘‘What happened today is a proof that the electorate will no longer tolerate any member of the political class, who uses them during election and abandons them when he or she gets to position.”

Soji Akodu Asiwaju

Record in the United States: 80% of Americans have Lost Faith in Congress

Record-breaking numbers of Americans have lost support for Congress, according to a survey. Eighty-three per cent of respondents said they disapprove of the job its doing, while 57 per cent said they would replace every member of Congress if they could.

The poll (link to poll), conducted jointly by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, has illustrated new heights of vehement public distaste for the actions of the US government.

“There is a palpable unhappiness with Washington,” Republican pollster Peter D. Hart said upon learning the poll’s results. His Democratic counterpart concurred that “now is the summer of our discontent.”

At the same time, President Barack Obama has seen his approval rating slump to 45 per cent – down from 48 per cent last month. This marks his lowest rating since August 2011, when nearly every US politician suffered a blow on account of the debt-ceiling crisis, when Obama became embroiled in a heated debate with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans in Congress.

The reasons cited for the lack of support for Congress included the government ignoring the middle-class, gridlock, the inability for lawmakers to produce any tangible results, and President Obama’s policies and leadership in general.

However, these reasons invariably fall into different camps, with Republicans and Democrats citing different primary reasons. Democrats and independents are irritated with congressional gridlock and governmental inactivity, while Republicans are anti-Obama.

The poll used a cross section of 1,000 adults – including 300 cell phone only respondents – and was conducted between July 17-21.

Similar polls surrounding Obama’s popularity, conducted in recent weeks, seem to corroborate the results. A Gallup report released Monday revealed that Obama averaged a 47.9 per cent approval rating over the course of the past three months. A McClatchy-Marist national survey placed Obama's overall approval rating closer to 41 per cent.

RT

We will Help Bury PDP if the Leadership Wants to Kill It ~Murtala Nyako

Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state revealed that if the desire of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is to kill the party, with injustice and unfair practices, state governors as dutiful members, would remain to help bury  the party.

Former military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) speaking in Minna, Niger state, yesterday after a closed-door meeting with the governors that was also attended by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) described the governors of Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, Jigawa and Kano as patriots working to save the nation’s democracy.

The governors had earlier on Sunday visited former president Olusegun Obasanjo at his house in Abeokuta, Ogun state for 'consultations on how to save Nigeria.' Nyako said in Yola yesterday that five of the northern governors were in Abeokuta and Minna for consultations with the two former presidents on very important matters, saying, “We visited the most accomplished Nigerians ever and would remain so for a very long time and to consult with them on very important matters.”

Nyako further said that the visits were part of the consultations the five concerned governors were making and to also inform the two former presidents about their discomfort in the PDP and their plans ahead of the 2015 elections. He, however, expressed regret that the PDP was facing serious internal problems that are threatening its existence as a formidable political party.

Nyako said he had no plan to leave PDP in spite of the present challenges facing the party. He said that as an elder in the party, he would not abandon it even if his loyalists did, debunking the news making rounds in Adamawa state that he is planning to leave the party for the All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP) which is also part of the yet-to-be-registered APC formation.

The governor explained that it was in the quest to find solutions to the problems that made him and four other concerned governors to visit Obasanjo and other stakeholders that have the interest of the party. He said: “As a beneficiary of PDP, I am committed like others to stay with the party and give necessary pieces of advice that would move the party forward. But if the party’s national leadership is bent on killing the party, with injustice and unfair practices, as dutiful members of the party, we would remain to help bury it.”

The governor said hopefully, the ongoing consultations would yield positive result to save the PDP at the end. According to him, “If the advises being provided by the concerned members are heeded, good. But if the advises are ignored, then like others, we would have no option than, being good children of the PDP, to remain in the party up to the time it would collapse or die finally so that we could go and bury it.”

On Snowden: United States has no Functioning Democracy ~Jimmy Carter

Former US President Jimmy Carter lambasted the whitewashed US intelligence methods as undemocratic and described Edward Snowden’s NSA leak as “beneficial” for the country. Jimmy Carter was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

After leaving office, he founded the Carter Centre, an NGO advocating human rights. The ex-president’s human rights credentials won him Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The Carter Centre or Foundation was very instrumental and active in assisting South Sudan when still under the grip and oppression of Sudan.

Carter lashed out at the US political system when the issue of the previously top-secret NSA surveillance program was touched upon at the Atlantic Bridge meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia. "America has no functioning democracy at this moment," Carter said, according to Der Spiegel. Carter has also criticised America's use of drones heavily labelling it a notorious violation of rights.

He believes the spying-scandal is undermining democracy around the world, as people become increasingly suspicious of US internet platforms, such as Google and Facebook. While such mediums have normally been associated with freedom of speech and have recently become a major driving force behind emerging democratic movements, fallout from the NSA spying scandal has dented their credibility.

It’s not the first time Carter has criticized US intelligence policies. In a previous interview with CNN, he said the NSA leaks signified that “the invasion of human rights and American privacy has gone too far." He added that although Snowden violated US law, he may have ultimately done good for the country.  

"I think that the secrecy that has been surrounding this invasion of privacy has been excessive, so I think that the bringing of it to the public notice has probably been, in the long term, beneficial." Jimmy Carter also opined upon the election of Barack Obama that America's democratic standard is somehow intolerant. He said "the basic problem among whites in this country is that they can't just figure out why a black man should be President".

ACN Rivers Slaps Lai Mohammed, ACN National on Amaechi

Below is the text of the statement signed by Rivers ACN Secretary Amonibia Akoko:

“It has come to the notice of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Rivers state Chapter that Mr. Lai Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary of the party, has been issuing statements on the unfortunate events unfolding in Rivers state. We the ACN in Rivers Chapter know the true picture of events that are unfolding in Rivers State.

“And we know that in this incidence the main culprit is Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who during the last electioneering campaign and election, sealed up the Campaign Secretariat of Dr. Abiye Precious Sekibo, used the Nigerian security agencies to arrest and intimidate our members. When all this was going on, Mr. Lai Mohammed did not send us word of encouragement or support, as a party in Rivers state.

“Political parties have structures; starting from the Ward level to the National Headquarters. It is against the party’s constitution for the National Publicity Secretary to usurp the functions of the party at the State, Local and Ward levels.

We as members of the ACN in Rivers state, have never met and passed a resolution or informed the National Headquarters of the ACN that we want President Goodluck Jonathan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to be impeached. Mr. Lai Mohammed should respect the high office he holds as Publicity Secretary of our great party.

“Consequently, we the Executive and members of the Rivers State Chapter of the ACN totally disown the call for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. We unanimously condemn the hasty action and resolution passed by one arm of the National Assembly – the House of Representatives, to take over the business of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“We however commend the Nigerian Senate for the unbiased and balanced position it has taken to send a fact-finding mission to Rivers State, and find out the true position of things. We also call on the Inspector General of Police not to heed the one-sided call for the deployment of Mr. Joseph Mbu the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, as Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi had used the police to hunt down, harassed and intimidated members of the ACN party of Nigeria and other opposition parties in Rivers State.

“We ask that the status-quo in Rivers State should be maintained until the fact-finding mission dispatched by the Senate, arrives to ascertain the true picture of events. We urge Rivers State people to be law-abiding, as whatever we do shall affect our people and not the likes of Mr. Lai Mohammed, the uninformed members of the House of Representatives and their acolytes, whose inciting statements would only ignite more fire for us to burn.

Egyptian prosecutors launch criminal investigation against Morsi

Egypt’s public prosecutor’s office has started investigating allegations and complaints against ousted president Mohammed Morsi accused of spying, inciting the killings of protesters, and damaging the economy. The country’s first freely elected leader has been held at an undisclosed location since the military, yielding to popular uprising and in a bid to 'save' the country, removed him from power on July 3. No charges have been pressed against him.

In the Egyptian legal system, complaints are to be investigated for days or months before formal charges are brought. Such complaints can be triggered by any member of the public or police. The announcement is an unusual step, as prosecutors typically wait until charges are filed before making any public statements. Eight other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are being investigated alongside Morsi not excluding the Supreme Guide; Mohamed Badie.

The accused are expected to be questioned in the coming days, according to the public prosecutor’s office. Details of those who made complaints were not revealed. It was announced earlier this week that Badie and several other Brotherhood officials already face charges of inciting violence, though most of them have avoided arrest.

Pressure to release Morsi from the international scene is increasing, with the US joining Germany’s call to “end to all restrictive measures” against the ousted president. The Muslim Brotherhood believes the military’s actions amounted to an undemocratic coup while the army claims that it carried out the will of millions of the people when it ousted Morsi . Morsi’s supporters say they will not stop calling for protests until the former leader is restored to power.

On Friday, tens of thousands of people turned out for what the Muslim Brotherhood called a "day of marching on,” which ended peacefully before dawn on Saturday. High-ranked Brotherhood figure Essam El-Erian, who is among those facing arrest, has called for more protests on Monday. "Egypt decides through the ballot box, through protests, mass marches and peaceful sit-ins," he wrote on his Facebook page.

The interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi is expected to swear in a new cabinet next week to enforce a military-backed “road map” to restoring civilian rule in Egypt. “The final composition of the new government will, possibly, be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday,” el-Beblawi said, as quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency. The interim PM said that he will have two advisers, with the future government consisting of 30 ministries.

Leopard and Its Spots: Harassment and Intimidation all Over Again in Zimbabwe

Amnesty International revealed Zimbabwean police raided the offices of civil society organisations and detained human rights workers in the run-up to elections scheduled to be held on July 31.

“The clampdown on the work of human rights defenders is a worrying indicator that government agencies remain actively hostile to civil society,” Noel Kututwa, Amnesty’s deputy programme director for Africa, said in an e-mailed statement. Even, the Carter Centre, created by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, said it was refused permission to monitor Zimbabwe's elections.

Amnesty in its report titled “Walk the Talk.” said 'civil society organisations carrying out election-related activities including voters' education, domestic election observation and those perceived to be critical of government policies have had their offices raided by police and equipment, including computers, seized whilst human rights defenders have been unlawfully detained.'

Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, did not answer calls to his mobile phone before the report was released according to amnesty. Zimbabweans will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31, to end a power-sharing government led by President Robert Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The coalition was formed four years ago following a disputed election that was marred by voter irregularities and violence, according to international observers.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, failed in a bid to postpone the election. The Southern African Development Community, which brokered the power-sharing agreement four years ago also pushed for the ballot to be delayed to allow more time for voters to be registered and ensure certain reforms are carried out for free and fair elections but all efforts proved abortive.

Amnesty said it is 'concerned that partisanship by some members of the country’s security services, who have openly expressed their preferred outcome in the next election, is directly undermining Zimbabwe’s ability to realise its obligation to respect and protect internationally guaranteed civil and political rights.' Robert Mugabe, 89 has dubbed the election to be a 'do or die affair' showing the level of desperation which of course must definitely come with harassment.

The Model Continues: Tunisia frees former regime members from jail

The Arab Spring has known today began in Tunisia after the hero of the Spring, Mohammed Bouazizi's self-immolation. He was a cigarette seller who out of frustration of unemployment, despite being a graduate took to selling cigarette to keep body and soul together.

The Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides.

The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. The success of the Tunisian protests inspired protests in several other Arab countries, plus several non-Arab countries.

Soon, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt fell. Yemeni President, Abdullah Saleh fell too and Maummar Gaddafi was killed. Syria is still battling its own and Bahrain is yet to have a bearing.

Egypt among others that followed Tunisia is still inconclusive. Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi was recently ousted through popular uprising concluded by the military to save the country. Since then, the situation has deteriorated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the party backing President Morsi defiant on any negotiation and vow to continue mass protests.

Though the former Prime Minister of Tunisia, Hamadi Jebali resigned too but it has largely avoided the resultant effects noticeable elsewhere in Egypt, Yemen, Libya and in Syria, probably because it was the origin of the spring and a model others must watch out for.

The authorities on Thursday released from jail,  two former figures from the toppled regime who were arrested following the 2011 uprising for abuse of power, according to the justice ministry. Mohammed Ghariani, ex secretary-general of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy party and former interior minister of now ousted dictator Zine El Adidine Addallah Kallel were freed by a Tunisian Appeals Court.

In 2012 a military court sentenced Kallel to two years in jail for the arrest and torture of army officers who were accused in 1991 of trying to topple Ben Ali, while Ghariani was arrested in April 2011 for abuse of power and embezzlement.

Tunisia is quietly charting its future, at least in a peaceful fashion though fighting al Qaeda-linked militants in the mountainous region. It is recording successes which if compared to others who took the spring can be regarded as giant strides towards a dynamic future if all things remain the same and go on with the present panache.

2015, APC and PDP: Likely Continuation of Sectional Headache than National Cure

The stage is gradually being set for 2015 amid tribal fire and sectional storm among players that mattered most. The illumination of politics and politricks combined; all to cajole and coax some stakeholders including the voting public to either board the train of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) or come on board the ship of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The drumbeat towards the election year has been that of 'mild war' than politics.

There is no gainsaying the fact that PDP has led Nigeria over the years, spanning a period of 14 good and solid years, yet as at now the nation is more divided and still like a stagnant water with dissatisfaction from the citizens. Many seek the demise of the party because of the stagnancy in the polity or to put it better, forward retardation; because we are moving forward in years but going back in national aspirations, dreams and realities.

Well-meaning Nigerians are ready to support any opposition party that can oust the PDP on the proviso that it will forge the sense of oneness and positive advancement which is currently under disguised murdering mission. Despite the visibly naked quagmire, the opposition is somewhat or somehow trying to commit a faux pas in semblance with the moribund politics of the PDP.

The opposition has known today takes delight in condemning, castigating and insulting the snail-like President rather than cause national debates on our morass which had begun since 1960, roll out programmes and manifestoes for untoward discussion among the populace and start reaching out to disenchanted and disillusioned ones who are hell-bent on chaos and divisive missions.

Prominent figures of the opposition rather than stretch forth the hand of unity have assumed a notoriously precarious position, fanning the ember of tribalism and religious bigotry, almost at par with the regime that is becoming extremely directionless because of 2015. Muhammadu Buhari is almost a leading figure or maybe the most pronounced figure in the opposition with his 'untainted image' as his power base yet he remains the most nauseously controversial.

He is even not ready to learn that the nation is too divided and needs someone who can cause it to start thinking as one gradually than make it inebriated more on tribal-inclined speeches enclosed in religious dungeon. Muhammadu Buhari himself has also been associated with corrupt practices which are yet to be denied.

Whenever tweets are seen from El Rufai, they are mostly antagonising President Jonathan than discuss issues of national importance. One begins to wonder what Nigerians will be voting for in 2015? Antagonists of a personality? OR a political party who by now ought to have read the handwriting on the wall that we need radical discussions on unity. One expects them to start using the power of the media and social media positively to foster unity than sectionalism.

No matter how credible the candidate from APC is, it is most probable that Niger-Delta militants will not let it rest if he or she wins because of the ghost of Boko Haram. Nigeria needs those who will understand that the menace has gone beyond unemployment and breakdown of social facilities, the northern reactions to the Jonathan-led administration are creating a domino effect.

Nigeria needs no sectional statements and tribal-inclined speeches. The system is hot enough. Issues of national security is the business of all; either an opposition or in appurtenance with the regime. It is sacred; you do not politicise it. How can Buhari castigate the regime so much after the state of emergency which was long overdue was declared? Northern Elders Forum said he declared war on them. That is way too far.

If anyone has been to the northern part, he or she would have known how powerful these speeches are to those who are ready to do the violence. The almajiris and host of others. They respect the views of the elders and clerics and take them as certificate to act. The south-south elders too are not exempted. The 'our son' syndrome has blindfolded them on reality.

They find it hard to condemn Jonathan, even when his actions are despicable. I stand to be corrected, during Obasanjo's era, the people from the south, mostly the south-westerners were foremost in criticising him. The renowned lawyers and human rights activists, Femi Falana (SAN) and Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAM, SAN) were always at alert. Adams Oshiomole was not exempted. Olu Falae was there too.

How about Pastor Tunde Bakare? The fiery and fearless Man of God did wonderfully well. Tunde Bakare and his Save Nigeria Group were pertinently instrumental for the emergence of President Jonathan as President during the Yar'Adua debacle. Upon winning the election, the President suddenly forgot as a real ingrate would just the way he forgot Nigerians risked all to get him into office including the lives of corps members and gave subsidy removal as the new year's gift in 2012.

For a better Nigeria, the opposition will do well to start massive discussions on how to be a united entity first. We need to start seeing each other first as Nigerians. The youths are really disunited. They are the potential stakeholders who could make the cycle of sectional division continuous. Some Igbo youths stated that if Jonathan does not contest and get a second term in 2015, Nigeria is gone. This statement was the same as that of Dokubo.

The origin of this was the tripartite statements of Atiku Abubakar who said 'He who makes peaceful change impossible, makes violent change inevitable' all because of PDP zoning. Modu Sherrif also vowed that the regime of Jonathan will know no peace all because a northerner did not win. Buhari said 'If the election was not free and fair, monkeys and baboons will bath in blood'.

Though that of Buhari was and is understandable because you cannot continue to rig election and still stand to tell the people that you will rule for 50 years when it is glaring you are stealing their mandates, but the mere fact that he never accepted the election as free and fair spontaneously geared those who are always ready to do the violence to swiftly respond by displaying their cannibalistic acts.

Nigeria's problems are from 1960. Boko Haram is not an isolated event or occurrence; it had begun far back as the first crisis in 1956 which emanated after Enahoro and his colleagues sought independence and was opposed by Ahmadu Bello and his people. In other words, Boko Haram is the transfer of tribal and religious wars as always witnessed in Nigeria and which are always enshrouded in political agitations.

For as long as there are politicians who see their tribes as superiors and clerics who are always preaching hatred and are averse to peace, Boko Haram insurgency might not be decisively stamped out. Nigeria needs people who will bring the unity gradually not those who will advertise the already known downward spiral of the PDP and leave real, genuine and valid issues unattended to. No more beating around the bush.

Nigeria is a wonderful project worth salvaging. The break-up of Nigeria should not be anyone's interest. Nigeria is needed in Africa. It remains a veritable hope for the black race. 2015 is the year that could make or... Nigeria.

South Africa: Nightfall or Morning Rise in Soweto?

South Africa is witnessing the dawn of a new era with the formation of a new political party. The party surfaces at a time when Nelson Mandela is battling lung infection in hospital. Some analysts have postulated that South Africa after Nelson Mandela will not be same again. Are we already seeing the handwriting on the wall?

The penultimate party to be formed in South Africa before this new one was in 2008 when former ANC members launched the Congress of the People (COPE).

A leading apartheid-era activist launched South Africa's first new political party in five years, saying the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was destroying the continent's biggest economy. Although, despite widening schisms in the ANC and allegations of graft and poor leadership, it remains a formidable political machine, commanding a nearly two-thirds majority in parliament.

'Agang', Sesotho for "let us build", which is the new political 'baby' will contest 2014 elections, party leader Mamphela Ramphele said. An anti-apartheid campaigner and partner of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, Ramphele said millions were still living like forgotten citizens and that the country had not come far enough, fast enough.

She referred to the optimism that prevailed at South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994, "We remember the outpouring of hope and joy at the release of Nelson Mandela, fist raised in defiance." Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu - a strong anti-apartheid voice and champion of the "Free Mandela" campaign globally - has backed Ramphele, 65, saying she is a principled leader ready to take costly stands for social justice.

"Nearly 20 years into our democracy the graciousness and magnanimity that characterised our political firmament have to a great extent been surrendered at the altar of power and wealth," Tutu said in a letter in support of Ramphele released. Archbishop Desmond Tutu had earlier stated categorically that he will never cast his ballot in support or favour of ANC again.

Ramphele is a medical doctor and was a former World Bank managing director. She was also placed under house arrest for seven years by the apartheid government because of her political work. She has regularly challenged authority and the ANC on its failings.

"Our country has reached a crossroads and I for one do not want to think about where we will be in five years time unless we change course," she said in her launch speech in Pretoria. 

Others are also looking to revive the dream of the "Rainbow Nation" 19 years after the end of white-minority rule. Even Julius Malema, the erstwhile youth leader, kicked out of ANC, is looking to build a future in politics by starting his own political party. This definitely could be a messy fragmentation for the African economic giant.

'West fighting al Qaeda in Mali and Supporting same in Syria. Syria needs Reforms’ ~Putin

Speaking about the conflict in Syria, President Vladimir Putin said it was possible to avoid the civilian war by conducting reforms in due time.

“Syria as a country was rife for some kind of change. And the government of Syria should have felt that in due time and should have undertaken some reform,” Putin said. “Had they done that, what we’re seeing in Syria today would have never happened.”

However, he added, one should take into account that the entire Middle East is currently finding itself in a state of uncertainty and conflict – and it’s wrong to try and interfere from outside.

"From the outside some people think that if you bring the entire region in compliance with someone’s specific idea of democracy, things will settle down, and everything will be all right in that region. But that’s not true. Considering that region’s background history, culture, religion – you cannot interfere with it from the outside.”

Putin pointed out that the West is supporting some certain organizations that are fighting Assad in Syria, and they are countering "those very same groups" in Mali.


“Where is the logic in that?” he said. “Our Western counterparts often tell us that the Al-Nusra is one of the key organizations in the Syrian military opposition. But it has been dubbed terrorist by the US Department of State, and it doesn’t even hide its links to Al-Qaeda. So will you let this organization join the future government of Syria? Our Western counterparts say no. Are you going to just make them go away once you have victory in Syria? They don’t know. It’s totally unclear.”

Putin reminded that the quality of life in Libya was one of the highest in the region before the regime change.

“What do you have there now? There is a war of everybody against everybody among various tribes, there is war for resources, and, I’m afraid, if we go the same way in Syria, there will be same havoc in Syria that we’re now witnessing in Libya,” he concluded. “Isn’t that enough from what we’re seeing in Pakistan and Afghanistan right now, where there’re terrorists that are not controlled by anyone, except for terrorists?”

Speaking about mass demonstrations, the president stressed that the government should control protesters, “put them put them in the legislative field,” if they “violate the law.”

“This is what happening both in the US and in Russia,” Putin said.

“Russia doesn’t try to influence Occupy activists, yet foreign agents try to do this in Russia,” he said, referring to the Occupy movement that initially started from protests in New York and then spread worldwide.