National

By Hammed Adam

Dividing Nigeria into Oduduwa Republic, Biafra Republic, Arewa Republic, and possibly the Niger Delta Republic has been done already with the current level of hatred and mistrust between the citizens. It is just that it has yet to be officially announced.

They’re not yet officially recognised as sovereign states because there might be a physical war before any country break out from another, which is yet to be witnessed. Moreover, everyone knows it’s constitutionally treasonous and felonious to rebel against any government.

Another reason is that most of the Yorubas and Igbos who want secession aren’t fully ready (militarily wise) to weigh a war against Nigeria, a recognised country, knowing they will be resisted firmly using the might of the Nigerian armed forces.

Igbos, in particular, delay their move to go into war against Nigeria because they have first-hand experience. They also know that with the unity between Hausa and Yorubas, they won’t succeed, and the result can be disastrous, just as it was back in 1967-1970.

Now that Yorubas are fed-up, they have risen against Nigeria to actualise the Oduduwa Republic. They do so by provoking the Northerners into war by evicting Hausa-Fulanis from their regions. The Igbos will back the Yorubas to become allies as they both pursue the same interests.

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is on air with his compatriots, trying to see how they can galvanise the Yorubas, the Christians in the Middlebelt, and other Christians of the minority tribes in the North. These include the Atyabs of Kaduna, Jukuns and Mumuye of Taraba and Benue State, Berom of Jos Plateau, Tivs of Benue State, Bachamas of Adamawa State and others. He wants them to pay allegiance to Biafra and rise against the Hausa-Fulani-Muslims in the North.

The more Yorubas and the aforementioned ethnic groups heed the calls of Nnamdi Kanu, that would be the beginning of the fight between Nigerian soldiers of Northern extractions vs Nigerian soldiers of Southern extractions mixed up with Christians vs Muslims. That could be the end of one Nigeria unless those defending the unity of Nigeria becomes victorious.

If Yorubas still prefer Nigeria over Oduduwa and Biafra, the Igbos agitating for secession are like barking dogs in chains. Half of the Igbos and most people from the South are already against the creation of Biafra. But with Yorubas by their side and the disjointed Northerners, be it on the battleground or polling units, none in Nigeria can be successful against them and is nothing but toothless.

Who knows Nnamdi Kanu his first arrest in 2015/2016? But he cunningly crawled into the limelight with his verbosity. Today, with the help of the Nigerian Govt, he’s not only controlling Igbos but mightily influencing Ijaws, Igalas, Kallabaris, Tivs and the almighty Yorubas here and abroad. They all listen to him better than they do, even to their Churche’s Pastors, Monarch, Alfas, State Governors, etc. He’s much more as an Emperor than a just leader, which is perilous as he’s becoming more powerful by the day.

This is only possible when a country is ruled by someone like today Muhammadu Buhari, or a country ruled by cabals as the amiable wife of Buhari hinted as early as 2016. Still, even some patriotic Nigerians failed to listen to her and resort to calling her petty names and politicising it in defence of APC and Buhari.

For God sake, if not because of craziness and stubbornness, what makes any Nigerian think they can love or care for Buhari better than how his only wife, Āisha, can do?

If I tell you I’m not scared of the disasters the demarcation of Nigeria into four or at least two parts would bring upon innocent people, I’m lying to you. But, still, God knows, if Nigeria can be divided into many parts without bloodshed, I have no problem with that. So, likewise, if the creation of Biafra and Oduduwa would be resisted without wasting the lives of innocent people, I have no problem too.

May God, in His infinite mercy, look into this matter and choose for us which is the best. Āmin Thumma Āmin.

Hammed Adam sent this article via hammedadam2@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Lagos State University (LASU) has urged Bella Shmurda to return to school and earn his degree. This was disclosed on the University official Twitter handle known as @LASUOfficial.

The University said this while wishing the famous singer a happy birthday on Twitter on Friday, January 28, 2022.

On his birthday, the singer, whose real name is Akinbiyi Abiola, said he did not regret his decision to leave the school and face his passion.

The University tweeted:

“@fineboybella. Glad you have come this far pursuing your dream. Also glad @LASUOfficial played a part in your beautiful story because Univ. don’t make people rich, only incubate them to find and achieve purpose. BTW, please come back to class and earn your degree♥️.”

The singer also replied in a tweet, “I now worth half a billion streams(550millions streams to be precise ) I for still Dey lasu wine and dine with carry overs and stranded with nothing, forever glad I did my thing…🌹”

By Ishaka Mohammed

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has fixed the first batch of NEXIT training for February 2022.

In a statement through its verified Twitter account late Saturday, the ministry asked exited N-Power beneficiaries to check their eligibility and confirm their availability within a week. 

“Kindly dial *45665# on or before Friday 4th February to check your eligibility and indicate your availability to take part in the programme,” the statement reads in part.

The NEXIT empowerment programme is designed for exited N-Power beneficiaries and will provide skills and funding to start up a business or support existing businesses.

Recall that 390,000 applicants were shortlisted for the programme in September 2021. 

By Aliyu Nuhu

It is indeed a horrible time for the Nigerian donkeys. Each day about 5000 donkeys leave the Maigatari market in Jigawa State to the East, where they are consumed as meat by many households.

That is just one statistics from Jigawa State alone. Some 15000 donkeys also passed from North East and the Niger Republic to the South East, mostly Agbor, Anambra, Onitsha, Enugu and Abakalaki, to meet a similar fate.

Now it seems the donkeys are in for bigger trouble as the Chinese have also developed an appetite, particularly for their meat and skin. As a result, demand for donkeys has tripled over a short period. Meanwhile, the donkey is not bred in Nigeria on an industrial scale, and it is an animal that does not multiply with its very slow birth rate.

It is terrible enough to consume the gentle beast locally but worse to see it exported to China. Then who will save the donkey?

States in the North should legislate against the trading of donkeys for export to other parts of the federation. Already the price of a donkey that used to be between 8000-10000 naira has hit 35000 naira, making it well above the means of the local farmers who use it as rural means of transport.

The Federal Government must urgently place a ban on the exportation of donkeys and their by-products to the outside world, for now, China.

Aliyu Nuhu is a popular social commentator. He lives in Abuja, Nigeria.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Police in Imo State have arrested a 35-year-old man identified as Onyekachi and his wife, Oluchi, for allegedly kidnapping, murdering and burning the corpse of a 71-year-old man, Chief Precious Okorie.

Onyekachi was reported to have killed the man for allegedly sleeping with his wife, Oluchi.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hussain Rabiu, made the disclosure while parading the suspect, adding that the deceased was kidnapped on November 12, 2021.

According to the police commissioner, he ordered the commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Oladimeji Oyeyiyewa, and his operatives to swing into action after a report from the family about the case.

However, he added that this has led to the gang leader’s arrest, Agubata Maxwell Chimezie, known as “The Boss”, on December 10th, 2021, while Oluchi was arrested on December 20, and her husband was picked up on January 10th, 2022 in Owerri.

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

Forty-six days of Haneefah’s kidnapping ended in sorrow after she was today, Thursday, January 20, 2022, found dead with severe injuries in her body.

Haneefah Abubakar, a five-year-old girl, was abducted on November 4, 2021, on her way back from an Islamic school at Dakata quarters, Kano State.

The decry by some social media users during her kidnap was rampant as fliers were created to show support for the family in finding out about her whereabouts.

According to Haneefah’s uncle, Suraj Sulaiman: “The kidnapper took Haneefa to his wife, but she refused to hide her. He later decided to take her to Tudunwada where he operates a private school. First, he poisoned her tea with pesticide. Then, after she died, he buried her there.”

The kidnappers were apprehended yesterday, Wednesday, January 19, 2022, in Zaria, at their point to collect the second round of ransom after the initial 6million naira.

The news of Haneefa’s death has stirred a lot of reactions from people online and offline. People have been posting about it, sending condolences to Haneefah’s family and praying for immediate action against her killers.

Haneefah has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

May her gentle soul rest in peace.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A renowned political analyst, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fagge, the lead presenter in the Nigerian Guild of Editors Meeting held in Kano, has said that media play a vital role in consolidating democracy in Nigeria.

Citing historical examples, Prof. Fagge said that after Nigeria’s independence, media was at the forefront in any attempt to democratise the country.

Fagge spoke at the Tawn Hall Meeting of Guild Editors held at Tahir Guest Palace Hotel, Kano, on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

The event, supported by the US Embassy, was themed: Agenda Setting For Sustainable Democratic Culture.

Owing to the press role of holding the government accountable, Prof. Kamilu stated that media serves to deter corruption. If the media is silent about corrupt officials, many issues will have been swept under the carpet. However, “If you don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill you!”

In his remark, The Emir of Kano, Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero has urged editors and journalists to avoid spreading fake news, which hampers democracy and threatens the unity of Nigeria.

Also commenting, Prof. Auwalu Nadudu emphasised that “media has been the tool and mechanism of sustaining and protecting democracy.”

Reporters and editors of various media organisations, including students of mass communication from Bayero University and Kano State Polytechnic, were among the event participants.

Ahmadu Shehu, PhD.

As the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu begins in Abuja today, the southeast region has been locked down for three days by the secessionists loyal to him. The infamous terrorist, whose platform for hate, terrorism and wanton killings of Nigerians in the southeast is IPOB, was re-arrested on June 27, 2021, thanks to the sheer wit, bravery and incisiveness of the Nigerian intelligence community and their global counterparts. Recall that the Nigerian government had obtained a court order which proscribed IPOB as a terrorist organisation, effectively making Kanu a terrorist leader.

For most people who had listened to the dullard’s hateful sermons, watched his videos or had any information about his activities, Kanu’s offences against the Nigerian state and humanity are not in doubt. Accordingly, his actions qualify as terrorism and treason in any lawful state in the world.

Thus, the Nigerian government shouldn’t have any problem prosecuting an obvious criminal whose activities do not need to be proven, for they are self-evident. Mazi should not be spared an inch for all discerning minds – including the responsible, law-abiding, patriotic Igbos who are actually the majority. That is for the best of our nation. Whatever Shekau deserved, Mazi deserves. They are both leaders of terrorist organisations. Nigeria should make this statement as loudly as thunder that no one can disunite this country at will. We are a nation of nations, not a tribal entity.   

But, the implications of Kanu’s monstrous crimes have gone beyond him and his terrorist organisation. It has become a matter of the Igbo people and the southeast. The fact is that the solidarity seen from the southeast raises serious questions on the allegiance and commitment of the Igbo leadership to the Nigerian state.

For instance, at his first trial, Kanu’s surety was a whole senator of the federal republic, Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia south district. After that, Kanu brazenly abused all his bail conditions, deliberately jumped bail and cowardly disappeared into thin air.

Given his unguarded utterances and declaration of war against the Nigerian state, the military tested its microphone, hoping that Kanu was the man he says he was. Not long after the beginning of operation python dance, the coward jumped the fence, crossed all rivers and jungles barefooted and found himself in the deep pit of his shit across the ocean, leaving his comrades at the mercy of their own evil.

Still, after the heroic re-arrest of this enemy of the state, some so-called Igbo leaders were quick to let the hell loose, antagonising everyone, calling this national glory all sort of names. They call it an abuse of human rights, unlawful arrest, marginalisation, blah blah. Not long after Kanu’s whereabouts were made public by the government, prominent Igbo socio-political leaders identified with him, making overtures for the release of the dreadful criminal.

The calls for the release of Kanu has become a daily breakfast in the Nigerian media. Igbo socio-cultural groups take to the streets and the media to demand the release of their “son”, who in their view committed no crime in all his atrocities against Nigerians and Nigeria. Indeed, there has never been a single voice against this rascal from the leadership of the southeast.

Then came one of the most shocking but solid backing and endorsement for IPOB’s terrorism when “highly respected Igbo greats” led by Chief Mbazulike Ameachi met President Muhammadu Buhari to demand the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu!

Forget the fact that there is nothing “great” in demanding the release of a terrorists’ leader; this singular event means that Igbo elders and leaders are unapologetically sympathetic to Kanu and his cause.

While sociocultural groups and individuals may be excused for this disastrous disposition, the governors and political appointees of the southeast are set to meet the President for the same purpose. For clarity, these are individuals in the highest political and administrative positions, who swore to obey and protect the constitution of the federal republic, who are paid, protected and maintained by the taxpayers’ money. However, they are now coming forward to blatantly stand for a proscribed individual who proclaims secession and calls for the destruction of the very country these officials swore to serve, respect and protect.

It is clear then that the social, cultural, religious, economic and political leadership of the southeast are solidly behind the release of Mr Kanu without trial. This translates to being sympathetic to the man and his cause, for no Nigerian in their right senses would wish the perpetrators of these criminal activities to go unpunished. In essence, all the sections of the Igbo society are either overtly or covertly sympathetic or even in support of Kanu and his terrorist organisation.

Standing behind Kanu and IPOB, and yet proclaiming patriotism and even serving under the Nigerian constitution is the highest level of hypocrisy. The rest of Nigeria should tell the southeast that they can’t eat their cake and have it. The idea that the southeast is yearning for an Igbo presidency when they fight the cause of a secessionist is dumb and highly unintelligent.

The southeast needs to maintain a stand and keep to a clearly defined lane. But, before anything else, let the rest of Nigeria know where they stand. And this is the right moment and the best opportunity to restate their commitment to a united Nigeria by allowing the law to take its course against the secessionists. Failure to do this tells Nigerians that Kanu is not too far from the rest of them. In that case, a Hausa adage ba a baiwa kura ajiyar nama [you don’t trust a hyena with your meat] comes in handy.

Dr. Ahmadu Shehu writes from Kaduna and can be reached on ahmadsheehu@gmail.com   

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Leadership and Governance 2022 event hosted in Kano state government house earlier today was themed “Reviving the Northern Traditional Institutions: Imperative for Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria”. 

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation organized the event in collaboration with the Kano state government on January 18, 2022. 

During the occasion, Vice president Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) commended Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna, adding that “[He] was a man of peace and courage, as well as a nurturer of traditional institutions, who demonstrated fairness and justice.”

Concerning insecurity bedevilling the North, the Vice President said that the federal government would employ technology in surveillance to fight the increased terrorism and insurgency in the country effectively.

He said: “We will also continue to ensure collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Justice, state counterparts and law enforcement agencies – to ensure that those apprehended for terrorism and violent crimes are effectively and speedily prosecuted.”

“This is a fight for this nation, and we are determined to win by the grace of God. All these evil forces will be eliminated.”

By A.F. Sesay

When we talk of politicians, we speak about them like aliens or spirits from the evil forest. People came with their own beliefs, attitudes, approaches to life, and different perspectives on divine justice and the torture in Hell. We talk of them like we do of cold, callous people whose race is bent on inflicting the greatest damage possible on the human race. But wait…who are these politicians?

Let’s keep the answer in the brain and move on to something urgent: the design of governance experience. Do we see this as something we all could do better? Should leaders and followers look at governance from the lens of user experience design? I think they should!

If every product, starting from the Constitution to the Curriculum, was designed with the people they will affect in mind. I am sure the outcomes would be different. Hardly anybody is going to look at the current Constitution and Curriculum and say: Yes, these were designed with empathy, love and responsiveness to the needs of the citizens.

If the guy who presses the button at the Electricity House has the empathy to think that somebody is going out of business with every touch of the red button, a baby is dying in the hospital, an investor is packing his bag to leave Nigeria for good, a boy is missing vital lessons because he can no longer cope with doing his assignment in the dark, a family is exposing their lives to carbon monoxide generated by generators and so on.  If he had ever approached his work like a user experience designer, many problems could have been solved by now.

If the northerner or southerner stealing from the public treasury realizes that with every kobo stolen, a citizen dies and that this corruption-induced death is agnostic of region, religion or tribe, we wouldn’t need an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Likewise, if every contractor realized that every badly-designed road is a graveyard for his fellow citizens, then potholes will become history.

If every Nigerian who had the opportunity to lead ten people or more or even less realized that these micro leadership tasks are a microcosm of the overall leadership output of the nation, then the nation’s leaders will be as upright as we want them. Suppose every employer knew that every right violated is the beginning of bad governance. In that case, the next commander-in-chief will make it a personal duty to provide the enabling ground for every citizen to thrive.

When every day becomes a reminder of the responsibility we all have as leaders in our various capacities, we will witness the birth of the ‘beautyful ones’ (apologies to Armah). There will be thoughtful and resourceful leaders in every cranny on the road to building a great nation.  

If every young person on Twitter and Facebook knew that every tweet or post could potentially destroy a life, fake news would be reduced to the barest minimum, even if it looks like a “catching cruise”. If every journalist knew that every fake report opens bigger wounds and increases the pain point of his readers, then nobody would invest millions in fact-checking. As a result, we all would have had less cause to verify the news and have fewer regrets for sharing harmful and divisive content.

We will be mentally ready to ask the right questions when we start seeing this all as a design problem and not just some issues caused by aliens or foreign species. And let’s know that INEC cannot give us what culture has deprived us of.

While scratching the surface for the past 60 years has given some temporary relief, the question of how far have we come and how many more years can we afford this mediocrity in governance here and across the continent?

We have ousted leaders we hate too much. We have brought in our tribesmen and “starmen” to power and opened doors to stupendous wealth for kinsmen. But in truth, the problems have compounded. So, it’s not an election problem; it’s culture, design and system that we have to work on.

Talking alone won’t win us good leaders. In the same vein, we can’t insult the elected into good governance. They have to want to. And the only way that happens is vision and a culture that makes it difficult for people to be bad at the top.

At the mention of Nigeria, everybody becomes an expert. But most of these experts only hit the surface, compounding the problem with false claims, unverified and alternative truths, faulty assumptions, stereotypes, bigotry, and received “wisdom”.

We have got to wake up and smell the coffee. There is a design problem out here. Until we are heavy on researching root causes and being genuinely interested in knowing all the whys of the problem, until we see ourselves beyond the just-a-citizen mindsets to the mindset of restless inventors, these problems are only growing bigger and more complex regardless of who is at the top.

We have to build a research culture and replace that with false assumptions and stereotypes. Until we see the governance products of today as collective input of everybody who played a role, no matter how little, until the people in power (from Local Government to Federal Government)  create a mechanism to capture feedback and continual improvement regularly, we will still have to come to these basics many years later.

Go to the archives and read headlines of the 70s and 80s and compare them to today’s headlines. You will observe a pattern that will shock you. In short, the design process is faulty, but we are finding it difficult to rethink the process because thinking itself will require an effort that we are not yet ready for.

A.F. Sesay sent this article via amarasesay.amir@gmail.com.