NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

*Nigeria: It’s A Matter Of Upbringing.

By Ikechukwu Enyiagu

“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”- Proverbs 22:6. This passage in the Holy Book, the Bible, is arguably the most recommendable for children’s upbringing – both for Christian and non-Christian parents. It therefore places on the parents the ultimate right and responsibility for raising better children, therefore, making up a healthier society. This advice also ties most, if not all, of the culpability of a child’s undesirable character and choice of direction to its parent(s). While it’s highly commendable for parents to teach their children (wards) the times of life they live in, it’s equally pertinent that these parents train them in the way they should go. Those compelled under One-Nigerian society, more than having been infested with all manner of abominations, still have the opportunity for a better tomorrow; this opportunity is seen by the free gift of God in our children. This is why St. Paul rightly said, ““All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.”- 1 Corinthians 10:23 (ESV) Parents need to teach their children properly and bring them up to meet up with the vast challenges of today’s world; however, the word of wisdom from God should take the center stage in every child’s upbringing. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria showing some major cities, including Enugu and Federal capital (Abuja or FCT)

It’s a matter of upbringing. Talk to a prostitute today, and if she breaks down enough to open up, you are sure to hear of the failure of her parents in her upbringing. Leave this group and move on to the robbers and kidnappers we have everywhere in Nigeria today, if they are drunk enough to open up, you will be shocked to hear that they were ignored by their fathers or parents. Leave these groups of “brought-up” children and go to the militants; you surely will not mistake the culpability of their parents’ silence cushioned by whoever they have resolved to lay the blame on. It should be noted, also, that the highly callous leaders we have in the society today were once children, and at the bottom of their wickedness lays the fault of wrong parenting. Man, in many ways, is like a field for crops - take “proper” care of it and you are sure to stand as the proud owner of “that filed; but, let it grow as it pleases, and you will not mistake the imprint of your neglects on it. Even if you move forward a bit to look at our children in different unlawful and disgraceful activities today, you will not mistake the role of the parents and how they have goaded them on in the wrong paths. And you can be sure today that those in Nigeria bombing and killing innocent people all over the country in the name of religion had some roots of their convictions traced down to their parents.

It’s a matter of upbringing. As a country, Nigeria, though forced on all, has played the role of the first parent to all presently tied to its name. This therefore implies that, with all the responsibilities allocated to parents at their children’s birth, the country’s root has a greater role to play in the upbringing of its children (citizens). Therefore, rightly, a country may be referred to as “the mother of all her citizens;” that tells, in a long way, why a country may be referred to with a feminine gender; she plays the role of a mother to her children. But looking around today and having seen the failures of parenthood in many families in Nigeria, one should not also forget that the burden of parenthood was made heavier and near impossible by the society which the amalgamation of Nigeria compelled on all. In Nigeria, children are raised to follow their fancy- not their dreams. Many who wanted to be medical doctors ended up as petrochemical engineers, some who wanted to become musicians saw themselves as politicians, while some Nigerian musicians today still have holes in their hearts or have not met their innermost desires. Others started out as Imams and holy preachers but ended up with bombs and explosives around their waists. This is the story of failed parenting. The foundation of Nigeria was built under British insatiable desire for wealth, compulsion and extortion. This very spirit which drove them into Nigeria and necessitated their compulsion of ever-diverging nations under one name for their selfish end is the very spirit which has ruled Nigeria since independence. As a result, this very spirit of selfishness, depravity and darkness has now become the very spirit which runs and drives the lives of our children. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Police officer collecting N20.00 note at a roadblock
CLICK FOR ENLARGED PHOTO.

Today, children rival themselves in acts of immorality and crime – doing this in a competitive way because that is what “Mother Nigeria” has not only taught, but compelled on all to do. A little girl who has not been properly schooled on matters of the heart, and on the feelings and implications of likeness and love, is been hailed for growing from the wrong environment. While the country has been taken over by crimes, corruption and terrorism, the children are fast growing to contribute their quota for a diseased society filled with conscientious participators and nonchalant observers. As a result, while the young girls are praised for practicing home prostitution from their elementary age, the young boys dream of having “sugar daddies’.” It’s a matter of upbringing; it’s a matter of the foundation. Nigeria is founded on a faulty ground and should never be expected to produce anything good. While it’s not only manly but decent and right for every man to “beat and enslave his body” to his wills, the children (especially females) of yesterdays who have grown into girls and women of today in Nigeria ought to know that every wrong upbringing has its high price. Every act of indecency, both in dressing and character, has its corresponding repercussions. It surely will not be right in itself, but the consequences will certainly be commensurate with their looseness and faulty upbringing. And for the boys, such lifestyle will become a life-burden. ( Continues below…… )

Photo Above: British Gay Priest Rev. Colin Coward with Nigerian Gay Fiancé Bobby Egbele (Photo 1)

Finally, while each of us came from parents, and while Nigeria has been forced on us for this long as a parent, it behooves us to always remember that the father of all is the God of the universe; He is called the God of justice and recompense. It’s not far-to-seek why Nigeria has been a terrible parent: those whom she claims motherhood over were never her biological children. Every true mother protects her own, but most foster parents cannot truthfully claim to have a thorough mother-child connections with their ward; it’s mostly either that they are plagued by their desires and wish that the child is miraculously, biologically theirs, or they are filled with furry that the child they actually thought was going to replace the one they never had has now grown up to be a full, rounded and beautiful woman, or a handsome, strong young man. Sometimes, especially when mismanaged, foster-parenting can create worse mental diseases for the child that living with the realization of being orphaned could be far better for such a child in the way he/she relates with whoever is fostering. These reasons are why Nigerian parents must come together and revisit the effects of Nigeria on mothering Nigerians. These effects are not hidden in any sense, however, the wrong parenting in question has, somehow, succeeded in hiding the need to ask Nigeria, “Are you truly my mother?” Even when the lying spirit which has held people against their wish in Nigeria will continue to claim parenthood, this question will nevertheless unmask the veil of lies, treachery and deceits which consequences have eaten deep into the very marrow of those still referred to as Nigerians. And, finally, this discovery will reveal the life-threatening danger of living under a continued One-Nigeria. For a healthy society in this part of the African continent, Nigeria must break up into sovereign states. Delaying this will amount to a worst and unthinkable society – worse than what we abhor in the lives of the Americans and the Europeans. As Rev. Chris Oyakhilome may have described the inevitable consequence of such a society: “it may come to a time when a child could be demanding payments from his father to bear his name;” I pray, for the sake of the few good ones, that it does not have to get that far before Nigerians wake up and pull down this abomination called One-Nigeria. For a better and healthier society, Nigeria will have to break down and up since the children she has fostered have grown up to be carnivores. And it surely will. For the desired adults and society of tomorrow, every so-called Nigerian must be allowed to return to his/her true parents for proper upbringing. Whichever way you look at Nigeria’s failure, you won’t mistake that it’s all a matter of upbringing.

Ikechukwu Enyiagu can be reached at ike.enyiagu@gmail.com

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Nigeria: Subsidy - Labour’s Premature Truce With Govt

By Amiru Adamu

The removal of fuel subsidy will go down in the history of Nigeria, as one of the most unpopular policies ever imposed by a government on its people. Nigerians kicked against the policy from day 1of its proposal, to the first of January when it was imposed on unsuspecting Nigerians. The regrettable announcement made by the PPPRA triggered N65 to a whopping N146 per litre overnight. The impact of the subsidy removal was immediately felt, as many Nigerians who had travelled to their hometowns for the Christmas and new-year celebrations were stranded due to lack of enough transport fare or enough fuel money, for their “Tokunbo” cars. (The pro-subsidy officials called them exotic.)

As expected the Nigerian labour organisations, NLC/TUC, challenged the government, accusing it of breaching the agreements reached at their discussions over the removal of the subsidy. They therefore called on the government to revert to the old price or face a mass strike action. The government’s refusal to heed the call by the labour unions prompted the call and declaration of a nationwide strike and mass protests by the labour unions. Though fearful of the labour unions because of their reputation of backing out at the crucial moments, Nigerian youths and civil society groups took a leap of faith and mobilized their members unto the streets of Nigeria. Social networks such as facebook and twitter served as the information outlets of the protest especially when most television stations and newspapers turned pro subsidy and anti masses overnight. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: Fuel Protesters Burn Tyres in Lagos

The protest gathered momentum and the death of protesters in Lagos, Kwara and Kano further fuelled the youths to troop out in-mass to the streets .Though the protests were about subsidy removal, some historic moves were made by the youths with the signing of the Kano covenant, which mandated the Christian youths to protect Muslims while they pray and the Muslims to also protect the Christians while carrying out theirs. The Kano agreement prompted the signing of such types of agreements by the protest groups all over the country. While all these activities were going on, a Nigerian youth, activist writer and poet, named Gimba Kakanda led a group of Muslim youths in Minna to circle a church and use themselves as human shields in a gesture of solidarity and brotherhood.

While the protests were going on with increased number of protesters and additional demands such as accountability and reduction in the cost of governance, the labour unions as the arrows of the protests were sitting with the government. The meetings were continually being deadlocked or so we were told. Anyone who followed the subsidy debate on and offline, will agree that the protesters were highly suspicious of the labour and were afraid of being sold out cheaply by them. But the labour unions kept assuring Nigerians that “it is N65 per litre or nothing”. The fears of betrayal expressed by Nigerians were proved right, when the NLC/TUC suddenly called off street protests after a meeting with the government officials. They later went ahead to accept an offer of N97 per litre from the government, without consulting with the masses whom they claim to represent. To add insult to injury, the trade unions called off the nationwide strike just as Nigerians were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In their defence, NLC/TUC claimed they called off the strike action and protests to save the lives, as according to them the government is willing to use extreme and deadly force to stop the protests. Many Nigerians including myself regard NLC/TUS’s actions as a betrayal of the trust we had in them. Many are of the opinion that had it been the strike and protests have continued, we will have forced the government to revert to the old price of N65 per litre. The labour unions should have known that any government willing to use deadly force in order to achieve its set goals cannot be expected to negotiate without any form of pressure.

Nigerians, especially the youths, are disappointed with the behaviour of the unions. They kept asking why the NLC/TUC pushed and assured them to commit themselves to a struggle that cost the lives of some youths, only to turn around and desert them halfway into the journey to the Promised Land.

Amiru Adamu is the publisher of Northern Wind Magazine.

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Going! Going! Gone! Nigerian Northern Elites and The Auctioning of Buhari

-Masterweb Reports (Submission By Obinna Akukwe)

Auctioning is a process of disposal of tangible goods to the highest bidder at the time the auction cry is over. The highest bidder takes the goods except if a higher bid comes up before the bid is closed. I do remember with nostalgia my early years when after every annual harvest and thanksgiving church service the parishioners gathers for the bazaar sales. The goods offered to The Lord as thanksgiving offerings were usually gathered together for disposal to the highest bidder. The items include tubers of yam, livestock, cattle, clothes, kitchen utensils, bicycles, motorcycles and whatever item the parishioners came to church with. A goat could be sold for twenty times the market value to the cheering of parishioners or in rare cases at the market price especially minutes before the end of the bazaar. The money realized is used to further the work of the Gospel.

The Nigerian Northern Elites have auctioned their greatest chances to reclaim the presidency they lost during the Obasanjo era. Some northern militaricians led by former military president Ibrahim Babangida repackaged Obasanjo for a puppetist agenda in 1998 banking on their knowledge of the former Head of state - fearful, loyal, subservient and they never bargained that Obasanjo would want to be his own man. Years in Maidugeri prison have turned the former Head of State to another personality as he saw himself as the second Mandela of Africa. Since then the north lost grip of power. The greatest chance for the north to regain power back since 2003 was in the personality of former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari.

In 2003 presidential elections the ruling party agreed to allocate Buhari 11 million votes in an election the foreign media had already reported Buhari as leading other aspirants with Ojukwu and Obasanjo trailing . Buhari saw votes coming to him and suddenly the votes disappeared in a twinkle when the ruling PDP rigging wonders appeared. When Nigerians wanted to revolt against the presidential charade called elections, the ANPP governors-elect from the north led by Adamu Aliero of Kebbi state campaigned that the aggrieved should go to court for redress. He was supported by The Nigerian Labour Congress of Oshiomhole ,who contrary to earlier affirmations, refused to bring workers out for protests. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: Former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari

The court process was another judicial exercise as all the Justices saw a most wonderful elections with just a few hitches . His own Katsina kinsman and the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais and his seven man panel blessed the electoral fraud with holy piousness.

In 2007 Buhari came again for the presidency. His greatest enemy was Sanni Yerima , the governor of Zamfara State who introduced Sharia to Nigeria. Governor Yerima with his counterparts in the ANPP so much ganged up against Buhari’s presidential ambition that it took only intelligence reports that the PDP would prefer a Yerima candidacy to that of Buhari for the former governor to step down. Yerima then took a pound of flesh by imposing Edwin Ume-Ezeoke as the running mate against Buhari’s preferred choice of Mike Ahamba. Immediately after the fraudulent 2007 election was over Yerima and Ume-Ezeoke abandoned Buhari and scrambled to submit names to the Yar’adua government for patronage and appointments to the cheering of his northern brothers in the ANPP. Seven man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court handled the case , the three from the north namely Justice Idris Kutigi, Katsina-alu and Dahiru Mustapha and Niki Tobi from the south south saw nothing wrong in the fraud while George Oguntade led other two justices from the south to reject the forgery in a minority judgment. In fact it was the justices from the south that always made futile attempts to salvage the case of the general while their northern colleagues followed the ruling party starting from rtd Justice Nsofor.

In 2011 , a man that rode on Buhari’s back to become governor in kano state, Ibrahim Shekarau, started challenging him. In fact Shekarau drove Buhari out of ANPP and the general had to form his own party , months to the presidential elections. During the presidential campaign eighty percent of funds of the Goodluck –Sambo campaign organization went to the pockets of the northern elites including traditional rulers, opinion leaders and religious leaders. They helped President Goodluck get the mandatory 25% votes in 2/3 states of the federation. It was a charade of securing 25% votes for Goodluck in core northern states. In fact most states of the core north did not display the posters of Goodluck except on the eve of every President campaign and the posters disappeared as quickly as Goodluck leaves the states. There was no radio jingles, nothing to show that another candidate existed but when the results was coming President Goodluck was getting 25% and above in many areas. The northern elites colluded with the ruling party to avoid a run-off election and as such securing the 25% in as many northern states as possible was the major task. Those purchased for the assignment did it without caution and the voter’s suspicion of high level collusion triggered the post election violence.

The funds to used to purchase northern elites were drawn from PPMC, PPPRA, FIRS, Customs, MDAs. Ministers were ordered to mobilize money from their ministries for the purchase. The FCDA released the N7billion naira meant for the vice presidents mansion for this merchandise. When the senators led by Smart Adeyemi recently raised hell about the whereabouts of the money and were told how it vanished, the case died off as a family affair. Northern elites in the past have accused the Igbo politicians of being money conscious but the 2011 presidential elections showed that abundant greed resides in the north more than any part of the country.

Buhari’s attempt to get justice again was truncated by northern justices in the Supreme Court. They initially plotted the removal of uncompromising Salami, from the south west as the President of the Court of Appeal and went on to bury the general in their subsequent judgments which refused to admit audit of electoral materials.

The problem of the north is the north. Had Shekarau availed Buhari of the funds he used to prosecute his presidential campaign, the general would have penetrated the south. General Buhari’s campaign organization suffered severe cash crunch that they couldn’t even pay for party agents to represent them in the polls in some states in the south . where they paid agents, the sum was paltry that the ruling party had a field day inflating votes. Shekarau chased Buhari out of the ANPP and appointed himself a presidential candidate and all his party could get was 917,000 votes while the man he chased away got 12, 214, 000 votes in his new party, CPC. What an irony.

If the northern elites had supported Muhammadu Buhari , the election wouldn’t be that easy for the ruling PDP, but alas they elected to fill their pocket to the brim at the expense of the north. Like Judas Iscariot in the Bible who sold his master Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver and later on returned the money and committed suicide in Matthew chapter 26:vs 14-16 the northern elites have sold their political future for a mess of billions of dollars, pounds, euro and naira and as such have led the north into a state of political hara-kiri .

Obinna Akukwe
Financial/ IT consultant.

Article Source: Masterweb Reports

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Bomb-Filled Cars Roam Kano As Explosions Rock City Again

-Masterweb Reports

Nigeria Security Forces could not stop Boko Haram from bombing Kano again after they unleashed terror on the city last week Friday, resulting in the death of over 180 people. The attacks that day after Friday prayers, targeted mainly police buildings, including the police headquarters. Five of the attackers were suicide bombers and twenty-nine of the victims were police officers, according to Kano State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Idris.

Again on Tuesday, Boko Haram coordinated several attacks in an area housing a mobile police headquarters. Witnesses reported hearing Tuesday morning between 12 to 15 explosions and several gunshots in the vicinity of the mobile police headquarters. The attacks were carried out even with a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the city after Friday's attacks. "I was awoken from sleep by explosions and gunshots coming from the mobile barracks and police station opposite," one resident told reporters.

The picture emerging is one of Boko Haram fighters eluding detection, simultaneously with military precision attacking government targets, including police stations. "Certainly, everybody is surprised at the kind of sophistication they have because even the police couldn't have the weapons that can fight back. People are wondering from where and how they are getting their weapons and the kind of training they are having," Salisu Fage, Leadership Newspaper reporter in Kano said in a statement. Yunus Zakaria Ya'u, a staff at Kano Center for Information Technology and Development said police officers now wear plain clothes (mufti) to avoid detection by Boko Haram, their unseen enemy. "There is less visibility of police on the streets, I guess it is largely strategic. They probably are using plain clothes since the uniform has become the target of the Boko Haram," Ya'u told newsmen. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: A policeman checks a car for explosives in Kano, January 22, 2012.

In another development the same Tuesday morning, security forces killed a man and his pregnant wife in an assault on a residential home in Kano. Witnesses said security forces surrounded the home and gun battle lasting several hours eschewed. The male victim was a retired civil servant from the Federal Ministry of Education, according to his relative, Musa Ibrahim Fate. The walls of the home were punctured with bullet holes, so also were the doors and furnitures. A sedan car in the compound bearing federal government license plates was also riddled with bullet holes. Security forces took away with them the two dead bodies. Evidence linking the victims to the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic terrorist group is yet to be revealed at the time of this report. Kano Police Commissioner acknowledged the attack and said it was part of government's effort in rooting out Boko Haram. The dead man's relative, Fate said the deceased was not a member of the terrorist group. "He didn't belong to any religious group. Is it because of his beard? That means you cannot dress the way you are. Is it good? Is this how government is going to treat us?" Fate said in a statement. Residents of the neighborhood pressed shoulder-to-shoulder inside the victims' home saying the army and police killed the man and his pregnant wife for no reason.

On Monday police discovered six cars and four vans loaded with explosives in Kano. "The police were on a stop-and-search today and in two of the checkpoints, the Boko Haram members on sighting the checkpoints abandoned their vehicles and ran. The vehicles were later checked and the cars were loaded with explosives. Two brand new Hilux open pick-up vans were also found packed with explosives in the Bompai area of Kano," a senior police officer speaking on condition of anonymity told newsmen.

On Sunday in Maiduguri, home base of Boko Haram, a policeman was shot dead by members of the terrorist sect. "The policeman was on patrol along with his colleague in a vehicle when the Boko Haram opened fire and shot him dead. As usual the killers just disappeared into the crowd," Simeon Midena, Maiduguri Commissioner of Police told reporters. The same Sunday, the army killed four Boko Haram gunmen in the city and found explosives in their car. "Four members of Boko Haram sect involved in killings in Maiduguri and environs have been under surveillance of security agencies and have been shot dead in Pomomari area of Maiduguri yesterday (Sunday). Various IED (improvised explosive device) materials prepared for detonation were recovered from their car," Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, an officer in the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), said in a statement. JTF has increased its surveillance and patrols in Maiduguri in a bid to defeat Boko Haram in the city.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement Tuesday calling Boko Haram's recent bombings “an indefensible attack on human life." The rights group said 935 people have been killed since Boko Haram began its terror campaign in July 2009, including over 250 so far in January this year.

Boko Haram whose name in Hausa language means "western education is sinful" is modeled after Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It wants to impose sharia law across Nigeria through terror attacks in drawing attention to their demands. Outside the current attacks in Kano, the group had in the past launched attacks on churches, government buildings, police stations and other targets, including drive-by shootings resulting in casualties. Many have fled the north from these attacks

RELATED ARTICLES:

Many Dead After Coordinated Blasts In Nigeria
Boko Haram Kill Igbos, Christians
Nigeria Vows Defeat of Boko Haram, Rejects Its 3-Day Ultimatum
Boko Haram Orders Christians Out Of Northern Nigeria, Threatens Army
State of Emergency Declared in Parts of Northern Nigeria Following Attacks
UN Staff Dies of Injuries From UN Abuja Building Suicide Attack
Drive-By Attackers Bomb Nigerian Arabic School
Bloody Xmas In Nigeria - Churches Bombed, Many Killed

Article Source: Masterweb Reports

Photo Above: A victim of Kano Boko Haram attacks of Friday, January 20, 2012

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*“Shall I Not Avenge Myself On A Nation Such As This?”

By Ikechukwu Enyiagu

“Just as a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich; they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed. "But I, the LORD, will punish them for these things; I will take revenge on this nation. A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: prophets speak nothing but lies; priests rule as the prophets command, and my people offer no objections. But what will they do when it all comes to an end?" Jeremiah 5:27-31. The leaders of our time, the religious leaders and the political advisers – these have brought God’s anger pinned against what is called Nigeria. The Lord has tabled His grievances and asked if it’s not just and right to take revenge on this accursed land of Nigeria. He is the God of justice, righteousness and enduring mercy and patience; yet He is a consuming fire. He is a saving grace to them who obey, yet a stumbling block to them who will not hearken to the voice of truth and justice. Nigeria, along with all her rulers, leaders, and those priests and prophets who have desecrated divine authority, have been weighed and judged before God, and they have been found wanting. Therefore, just as King Nebuchadnezzar was punished in the presence of the beasts of the forest, even so shall they be punished. The wickedness of the leaders has ruptured the heart of the country and it can no longer hold together – no matter how it is patched and no matter what adhesive, immoral, unjust, corrupt and compelling force is applied to achieve a continuation of this accursed cohesion. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria showing some major cities, including the Federal capital (Abuja or FCT)

A nation filled with men who profess themselves as the shepherds of God’s flock while the flocks are daily starved to death is a nation destined for the dusts. In Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6, it is said: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” If Christ is the head of the church and we are the members of His body of which the shoulder belongs, it means that the church has the power to steer leadership aright and rightly. But what we have in Nigeria are priests who torture the flock with threats of punishment if the offering lambs and gifts are not presented. They demand a dollar and present half a penny. They forget the eternal lamb which has been offered to all. And we have prophets who only tell the leaders what they want to hear and oppose the spirit and God of prophet Jeremiah. As a result, evil multiplies and becomes law. The law becomes failure to those who keep it; but to those who spit on it, “a saving grace.” Those who called themselves “Protestants” and “Pentecostals” have proven to be worse than what they protested against; money has become the souls they are winning for the kingdom, and the pervasion of justice is gained and maintained by their evil prayers and false promises of God’s love and protection over those who have given nothing to Nigerians except hell on earth. The Lord has made it clear to the “leaders” of the churches that what He delights more in is righteousness, justice, and love than in sacrifices; but these people will threaten you with losing out of heaven if you refuse to “pay” your tithe and give your seeds and offerings and “seed offerings;” etc. The reason for the offerings was clearly stated in the Bible and the reason for the tithes is clear. Yet the vision has left from keeping a society ready and making disciples of all nations to displaying whose church has the largest sitting capacity and who has the best and latest cars, clothes and private jets. Ask one of the preachers and he will readily claim: “critics are never successful; so I will rather join the ‘successful and winning’ team.” To such “man of God,” his meaning of critics are those who have chosen to work with the God of Elijah than that of Judas Iscariot; and their perfect definition of success and God’s presence is summed-up in how much one has in his bank accounts. These days, the button many preachers press to know exactly the success of a Sunday service is the “Tithe and offering” button. In other words, the money realized determines the move of the “spirit.” That’s while their priest still sacrifices even when God no longer sends fire of consumption and acceptance; and the prophets still prophesy, but by the spirit of delusion and bribery. As a result, the country has ruptured beyond revival. While the politicians are ripping off the life of the country, the so-called shepherds are ripping off what remains from the already over-burdened people. Islam in Nigeria is not left out: many refer to it as a religion of peace but one no longer knows if the opposite is the case. You see terror staring at your face from the mouth of the Imams and their top religious and political leaders. Tell me: why should God not visit this land with vengeance? ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Late Enenche Akogwu - Channels TV news reporter killed in recent Kano blasts

A sovereign country where all its leaders do is outwit each other in looting and in corrupting justice is dead before God. Governments have come and gone, with each claiming to fight corruption, yet all they have achieved is rekindling the fire of God’s anger upon this abomination called Nigeria. While they are coming, they are humble lambs, but when they are power, they become ravening wolves. One cannot recount the abundance of the abomination of Nigeria and why it will no longer remain the sore sight which it has become before heaven. The government continually tasks the masses while the so called leaders take all free of charge. A country ridden with poverty but pays its senators a monthly salary of what the president of the super-power country will not receive in two years salary-, such a country is an eye sore before heaven and its abomination is no longer bearable. The Governors fight against paying of N18, 000:00 each as minimum wage to honest workers while each of them goes home with over N300, 000,000:00 monthly just for protection – other looting avenues not even mentioned. Such a country as this is the incubator of the Antichrist and the immeasurable anger of God is against her. A nation where politicians fight to outwit each other in corruption and wickedness is no nation; it’s at best a great abomination before the throne of heaven. Those who prosecute and those prosecuted are in the same cult of evil; therefore no justice comes to the common man. Some have even openly boasted that no court in Nigeria is competent enough to try their case; and they have gone free - of cause, after having drunk together from their cup of iniquity and bond. But God is about to bring you to swift justice. Nigeria is a country that daily crucifies Christ; a place where people sent by top politicians and other religious rulers enter the church and burn worshipers alive and the government does nothing. While the vice-president is said to be a close ally to the monster fueling the repeat of the genocide of the 60s against Ndigbo, the man behind the Madalla pogrom is reported to have been released by the police after having received calls from the leaders in Aso Rock, Senate, and House of Assembly; and having drunk in their very cup of iniquity and bond. Yet, all that the so-called government of the so-called sovereign Nigeria can say to the haunted Igbo is that they are panicking and running at their own risk. Just as one evil spirit who calls himself Mr. Kunle Adegoke of the Supreme court of Nigeria threatened that Nigerians would complete their intention of wiping Igbo off the map, the federal government is now backing it up by saying: “Listen, Igbo, we will not protect you or defend your rights, yet we warn you not to run for your lives but to stay and be killed because we actually believe that marginalizing your tribe has not been efficient and effective enough to annihilate your generation.” Since they could not explain publicly why they would be calling for the release of a terrorist and the battle-axe of those perpetuating pogrom and genocide in Nigeria, they have decided to use the already morally corrupt Police, devoid of conscience, duty and the true spirit of patriotism which is justice, to orchestrate his escape just like they did others. Nigeria is an abomination of a country where the power of the president is more pronounced is in looting and, therefore, not being able to bring guilty politicians to justice; and those killed for no reason may as well go to hell for all they care. The name of God no longer means a thing to them; therefore, man has become, to them, only a necessary object to achieve an evil end. They release Boko Haram and Aso Rock is silent on it, while they send Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba soldiers, to beat, torture and kill non-violent and armless MASSOB members daily for no reason. May God punish both the root and the branches of leadership in Nigeria with the plagues of the Egyptians until justice is forced out for the oppressed; and may the families of those who sit on places of authority and responsibilities but kept silent about the killing of Igbo in Nigeria be wiped out by the raging sea of God’s anger and justice. And, as they have rejected Christ’s sacrifice, may the blood of Abel, which speaks vengeance to this day, continually speak against them and their generation. Since they have robbed the poor and helpless of justice, may heaven stand closed against them and their families as it did against Pharaoh? The poor, the innocent and the just are further dehumanized and made more vulnerable to the baits of the Antichrist – that man who has opposed the Spirit of truth from the beginning - while those who have led Nigeria to doom have no excuse to give. Tell me, you who claim to have it all on your palm: why should God not take vengeance of this abomination called Nigeria? And you who have found yourself a comfortable coven to destroy your neighbors and the society all in a bid to match the spirit of corruptions which drives Nigeria: what makes you think that your choice and silence have made you innocent and the politicians, guilty? ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Baby killed by Boko Haram during their 2011 Christmas Day bombing of churches.
- CLICK FOR ENLARGED PHOTO.

A country founded and sustained by ethnic cleansing, marginalization and injustice will be cursed by the ground upon which it’s standing. Tribal differences have even become more pronounced in the “House of God” than elsewhere. By the reason of our indifference against injustices against our neighbors, we have made ourselves guilty before God. We have cursed the ground upon which we stand when we looked the other way while others were, and still are, unjustly punished and diminished. We have made ourselves and our generation inescapable from God’s punishment against the land. There are those who call on God’s name and cry “injustice, injustice!” when their evil flow of money is tampered with, but while other people were and are still being killed, especially in the House of God, they turn the other way. You will find them among so-called Pastors, Imams, traditional rulers, human rights groups, labor unions and politicians. Some of them even call people witches who are not witches just to make a show of pride and superiority but see as unimportant and, therefore, ignore those with the lusting spirit of debauchery. Today, because Nigerians would not tell themselves the truth, they have become disgusting species in the eyes of citizens of other nations. Because we have refused to acknowledge our wickedness and great injustice against others, we have lost our rights to ask for justice from the government. And because we have perverted justice and have accepted corruption and outright callousness as a necessity for survival and living in our society, we have become very weak in the presence of the corruption destroying the already evil amalgamation. The callousness in the land has matured to the level where these evil politicians no longer find fun with only embezzling; they seem not to have tortured the masses enough, now they are implementing different things (as always) to further tighten the noose around the necks of the people. So, those who strive for righteousness in the land are daily choked, and those who keep the law have become guilty before the immoral court of breaking the law. Children are crying – looking at the faces of their mothers and wondering what they have done wrong. Mothers are crying – looking at the faces of their children, and wondering if the fruits of the womb have become one of God’s punishments. While those who diligently seek truth moan and writhe in pain and sorrows, the shepherds and the politicians rival themselves for bullet-proof cars and private jets. It is your sin that is hunting you and will catch you up soon; all the people ask for is justice which is a free gift to mankind. But you have denied them; therefore, mercy will evade you in the day of God’s anger. The prophesied day when mothers eat their children have come in Nigeria; everyone eats the other in the fight to survive. Human blood sacrifices, prostitution, perversion of justice, shattering of hearts, submission to immoral indulgence and complete surrender to and unification with the spirit of the sign have become competitive means for survival. Tell me, Nigerians, what moral rights do you have to believe that God will not avenge this land or that he will hear your prayers for mercy unless justice is done?

We have outdone Sodom and Gomorrah in debauchery, and have rivaled Babylon in blasphemy. Nigerians have outdone Egypt in injustice and burdens of slavery, and we have perverted justice more than the British. There is no ground to ask, seek, request or rightly demand for God’s mercy for Nigeria; mostly everyone has “joined the chorus” and the song is getting deadlier, and the dance, more drunkenly. Soon…very soon, the hammer of justice shall strike, and the sword of punishment shall begin to swing. As it cuts, the king and the slave alike shall be touched; and the young and the old shall feel the pangs of pain. Those who hide in mansions will run to the forest, and those without homes will only cry: “why have I been silent?” For Nigerians, the laws have been turned upside down, and they can no longer see the truth as what it is; lies and falsehood rent the air with the shout of “yes, yes!” and everyone rejoices in complete lawlessness and disobedience. As it is in hell, even the leaders punish the led as satan gloats over his catch. The voice is calling on all Nigerians to rise up and shout for justice. Rise up and be free. When the foundation is destroyed, those who plant against the Lord’s principles do so to their detriment. There must be a Sovereign National Conference or a war…because there must be a break up. While this delays, the majority (the citizens) whose treacherous ignorance has kept dumb will pay the price and will continue to do so until they speak and demand for a break up. Nevertheless, the incurable venom of destruction has entered the root of Nigeria, its leaders and their families…and is fast creeping into every Nigerian who would not speak the truth. Why you feign blindness to injustice all around you, the angel of justice will equally feign blindness to your call of “blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus” in the time of divine justice. The foundation of Nigeria has been cursed, destroyed and is falling; only a dismantling will assure a tomorrow for the remnants. But the house of God shall not be built on a land cursed of God and the people, nor will abomination be ascribed to the temple of the most high.

Ikechukwu Enyiagu can be reached at ike.enyiagu@gmail.com

Photo Above: A victim of recent Kano blasts

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

By Oganiru Ndigbo Ukraine

WHY DIM OJUKWU SHOULD BE IMMORTALIZED IN ALL THE FIVE STATES OF NDIGBO AND WHY IGBOS ALL OVER THE WORLD SHOULD WEAR BLACK ARMBAND ON THE DAY OF HIS BURIAL.

Chief Dim Ojukwu is an icon, he is the symbol of Ndigbo, he is irreplaceable in Igboland the very way Mahatma Gandhi of India, Martin Luther King Jnr. of USA and ( king of pop) Late Michael Jackson is in pop music. Ojukwu is God’s sent and all Ndigbo in unity must give him his due humble respect , as a fearless, humble, truthful, loving and caring great leader of Ndigbo. We Oganiru Ndigbo Ukrainian branch are very proud of Dim Ojukwu and even in his death we will continue to be proud of him forever and ever-Amen. Why shouldn’t Ndi Igbo be proud of him? Is it in educational background? Is it in having vision? Is it in caring, experience, love, wisdom or in action (even at old age he still used his last strength to fight Umaru Diko for the sake of Ndigbo). There is nothing that Ojukwu lacks that will make Ndigbo not to immortalize him.

He stood for Ndigbo till his death, As other tribes always say that “Igboman likes money”, that is not so with Ojukwu, the great Ikemba. He never for one day sold the interest of Ndigbo nor keep quiet over the oppression of his people because of money or contract. He was a fearless leader that regarded the welfare of Ndigbo as his eternal priority in life. In his autobiography “Because I Am Involved”, he wrote: “I HAVE HAD MY BELLY FULL OF WAR. I WILL ALWAYS FIGHT FOR THE WELFARES OF THE IGBOS, THOUGH THIS TIME AROUND ON THE TABLE OF DIALOGUE, AS A PEOPLE WHO LOST WAR,WE THE IGBO ELITE, OWE THE IGBOS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADING THEM OUT OF THEIR DEFEAT TRAUMA, OUT OF THE SIEGE MENTALITY THEY HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS. AT ABURI, I STATED THE IGBO CASE AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO WHEREVER NECESSARY”. Oh God, what a loving and caring words from him! People like him are born once in a century, if not millennium.

His death should not end up like Ironsi’s, which Ndigbo including his own town Umuahia could not give him proper honour. Ojukwu is for the whole Igboland ( OJUKWU BU OJUKWU NDIGBO) and not only for Anambra and Enugu states. All Igbo states, including Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra should immortalize him one by one in a big way in their various states, as the north did for Tafawa Balewa by having Tafawa Balewa square. If we have Ojukwu square is there anything wrong with it? We have Awolowo University, Murtala Muhammed Airport, etc. If they have landmarks with Ojukwu’s name will it cause earthquake in Igboland? Did others so honoured loved and fought for their tribes more than Ojukwu? We should not forget that the problem some people in Nigeria had with Ojukwu was simply because of the true and pure love from deep bottom of his humble heart and soul which he had for us (his people-Ndigbo). Many tribes in Nigeria envy Ndigbo because of him and they keep on saying “how we wish we have somebody like Ojukwu in our tribe, and that is why he is seen as THE AHA EJI AGA MBA of IGBOLAND.

We encourage all good sons and daughters of Ndigbo in all parts of the world, including Nigeria, those who appreciate good things, and well wishers and friends that want God to give Ndigbo someone that will love, care and even do greater things for Ndigbo than Ojukwu, let all together with Ndigbo worldwide put BLACK ARMBANDS on their left hand the day Ojukwu will be buried as sign of honour, thereby surprising other tribes of Nigeria who feel Ndigbo have no regard for their Leader or Eze and to show Nigerians and the world in general that we, the Igbos have regard and respect for our faithful leader and Eze that served us well like CHIEF DIM CHUKWUEMEKA ODIMEGWU OJUKWU, THE EZE IGBO GBURU GBURU 1 OF IGBOLAND. Dim – La na udo. God Bless Igboland.

Signed

Ukadike Chinemere
For Oganiru Ndigbo Ukraine
Email: oganirundigboukraine@yahoo.com

Photo Above: Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Many Dead After Coordinated Blasts In Nigeria

-Masterweb Reports

Coordinated attacks on Friday by Islamic militants in Kano, Nigeria killed over 160 people. The number of casualties are expected to be higher as some of the injured may die during treatment. Mortuaries and hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of casualties. Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group seeking to impose sharia law across Nigeria, claimed responsibility for the attacks which is their bloodiest to date. Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, told reporters they carried out the attacks because the authorities refused to release their members arrested in Kano. The city has been placed under a 24-hour curfew; no arrests have been made at the time of this report. Red Cross teams were reported collecting dead bodies and the injured from the streets and taking them to mortuaries and hospitals.

Boko Haram whose name in Hausa language means "western education is sinful" is modeled after Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It wants to impose sharia law across Nigeria through terror attacks in drawing attention to their demands. Outside the current attacks in Kano, the group had in the past launched attacks on churches, government buildings, police stations and other targets, including drive-by shootings resulting in casualties. Many have fled the north from these attacks. The Kano attacks is the group's most coordinated and deadly assault. Four police stations in the city, State Security Service (SSS) headquarters and passport and immigration offices were hit in the attacks. There was shoot-out between police and 'Boko Haram' gunmen at the headquarters of the state police in Kano's eastern district of Bompai. According to witnesses, a bomber who attacked one of the police stations rode to the station on a motorcycle, dismounted and ran inside the compound holding a bag.

A local resident, Andrew Samuel, reporting what he witnessed, said: "I was on the roadside and I just heard a boom. As I came back, I saw the building of the police headquarters crashing down and I ran for my life." Channels TV in a news report said one of its reporters, Enenche Akogwu, was killed in the attacks. According to the report, Akogwu was "shot by unknown gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect", outside state house.

In a related development, an explosion rocked residents around Tombia bridge in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, Friday night at 11.00 pm. The colonial bridge, close to the popular Tombia roundabout and around the corner from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)’s Gbaraun-Ubie gas pipeline sustained minimal damage. The blast awoke residents of the area that had gone to bed. A section of the concrete used in the construction of the 30 year-old bridge’s tail end broke-off. No life was lost in the blast. According to police, the explosion was from the detonation of dynamite about 40 metres from SPDC gas pipeline, which apparently was the target. Market stalls near the scene of the blast were shattered. At about the time of the blast, a car was set ablaze by unknown group near the roundabout by the Creek Haven Government House.

Speaking to newsmen on the incident, Bayelsa State commissioner of Police, Hilary Opara, said "some mischievous persons last night wanted to embarrass us by creating false impression of insecurity through the detonation of dynamites. We are lucky it did not damage the bridge. You can see that vehicles are still passing. Our bomb disposal unit was here last night to comb this area and they confirmed that it was dynamite. Immediately we finish our investigation, we will brief the media. What we have been doing before now is the adoption of proactive measures against all forms of sabotage." Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, commenting on the incident said "it is worrisome that these things are happening at a time the nation is faced with critical security challenges."

RELATED ARTICLES:

Boko Haram Kill Igbos, Christians
Nigeria Vows Defeat of Boko Haram, Rejects Its 3-Day Ultimatum
Boko Haram Orders Christians Out Of Northern Nigeria, Threatens Army
State of Emergency Declared in Parts of Northern Nigeria Following Attacks
UN Staff Dies of Injuries From UN Abuja Building Suicide Attack
Drive-By Attackers Bomb Nigerian Arabic School
Bloody Xmas In Nigeria - Churches Bombed, Many Killed

Article Source: Masterweb Reports

Photo Above: Late Enenche Akogwu - Channels TV news reporter killed in the Kano blasts

Photo Above: Another victim of the Kano blasts

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Boko Haram Terror: The Chilling Killing Of 510 Igbo Christians

By Intersociety, Nigeria

Ref: Intersoc/Sec/001/01/012/Presd/Villa/ABJ

His Excellency
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
President & Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria
State House
Three-Arms-Zone
FCT, Abuja

Sir,

“Boko-Haram” Terror: The Chilling Killing Of 510 Igbo Christians Out Of The 714 “Boko-Haram” Related Deaths In 12 Months (January 2011-January 2012) Amounts To Systematic Ethnic Cleansing & Crimes Against Humanity

Above subject matter refers.

(Onitsha Nigeria, 18th day of January, 2012)-On Friday 9th day of December 2011, we in the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), Onitsha, Anambra State of Nigeria, sent to Your Excellency two copies of our reports titled: “How Over 54,000 Nigerians Died Outside The Law Since 1999” and “Police Corruption As Human Rights Abuse: How Corrupt Personnel Of The Nigeria Police Force Illegally Enriched The Force With N53.48Billion ($336.5Million) Arising From Roadblock Extortion In Three Years-2009-2011”. The two reports were attached with eleven pictures each and a covering letter. The “proof of delivery” returned to our Secretariat (41, Miss Elems Street, Fegge, Onitsha) indicated that Your Excellency’s office received the reports on Tuesday, 13th day of December 2011, two days after they were launched. We also posted the reports on Your Excellency’s “facebook wall-page”. Unfortunately and sadly too, Your Excellency neither commented on the serious complaints raised in them nor acted on any of their far-reaching recommendations. Innocent Nigerians particularly Igbo Christians have continued to be slaughtered like fowls in their fatherland on daily basis and the 371,000-person (Wikipedia Encyclopedia 2011) Nigeria Police Force that ought to protect them is busy molesting and extorting other living Nigerians on Nigerian roads especially the roads leading into and out of South-east geopolitical zone.

The killing Of 510 Igbo Christians:

Other than the two reports particularly the chilling death of over 54,000 Nigerians outside the law since 1999, our further investigations show that up to 510 Igbo Christians may have been slaughtered by politically and ethnically backed “Boko-Haram” Terror Sect in different parts of the Northern Nigeria, from January 2011 to January 2012. This did not include the Jos killings of 2011, where it is believed that up to 400 Igbo Christian traders alone including 48 of them (killed on 8th day of January 2011 at Dilimi and Bauchi Road Markets in Jos) died, out of over 1000 people killed. According to the Associated Press account, at least, 510 people (most of them Igbo Christians) were killed by Boko-Haram Terror Sect in 2011. In the past three weeks that is to say between 22nd day of December 2011 and 13th day of January 2012, at least 300 innocent Nigerians have been killed. This includes about 60 people including Christmas returnees trapped and slaughtered on Enugu-Abakiliki Road on 31st day of December 2011 as well as 35 Nigerians (rights groups’ account) killed countrywide by over-zealous security forces during the national protests and strikes over “petroleum subsidy removal”. The Inspector General of Police claims that eleven people including two security operatives were killed during the protests.

Strictly speaking Your Excellency, in the past three weeks (22-12-2011-13-01-2012), according to respected local and international media, up to 204 innocent Nigerian Christians including, at least, 150 Igbo Christians have been murdered by “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect. And out of at least 510 people murdered by the violent Islamist Sect in 2011 (Associated Press), at least 350 of them are Igbo Christians. The targeted and systematic killing of Igbo Christians stems from age-long ethnic hatred, disproportionate police protection, and gross insecurity in the Igbo residential and trading areas of the North as well as Igbo pastoralism (migration). Available statistics from the media concerning the 204 “Boko-Haram” Sect’s killings in the past three weeks show that on 22nd day of December 2011, at least six people (Igbo Christians) were slaughtered in Damaturu, Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria; on 23rd day of December 2011, at least 68 people including (many) Igbo Christians, police personnel and soldiers were killed in bomb blasts believed to have been detonated by violent “Boko-Haram” Sect in Damaturu, Yobe State; on 25th day of December 2011, at least 35 parishioners including over 25 Igbo Christians and two passers-by (Muslims) were massacred at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla in Suleja, Niger State, North-central Nigeria. The chilling deaths resulted from bombs detonated by the violent “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect. At least ten more people mainly Igbo Christians were killed in bomb blasts that hit churches in Jos, Plateau State, North-central Nigeria and Gadaka, in Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria.

Furthermore, on Thursday, 5th day of January 2012, at least eight members of the Deeper Life Bible Church many of them Igbo Christians were shot dead by “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect during their church service in Gombe, Gombe State, Northeast Nigeria; on Friday, 6th day of January 2012, at least 20 Igbo Christian traders were massacred by “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect in Mubi, Adamawa State, North-west Nigeria. Eighteen of the slain traders are from Adazi-nnukwu Community in Anaocha LGA, Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria. They had gathered in a meeting to plan for the funerals of their fellow Igbo Christian traders, who were killed by the violent Islamist Sect the previous day, when armed “Boko-Haram” elements emerged again at the scene of the meeting and opened fire killing fifteen of them. In the Madalla massacre of 31st day of December 2011, the Awka-etiti Community in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State lost four families. On the same date (6-01-2012) at least, eight members of the Christian Apostolic Church were killed in Yola, Adamawa State by “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect during their church service. Many of them are Igbo Christians; and on Saturday, 7th day of January 2012, at least, three people were killed in Lamurde area of Adamawa State when “Boko-Haram” related violence broke out.

On Sunday, 8th day of January 2012, “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, killed six civilians. According to police and military sources, three civilians died in Maiduguri during an attack launched by the Sect on a military vehicle and three others were shot dead in Biu LGA of the State. At least, three of them are Igbo Christians. On Monday, 9th day of January 2012, twelve members of the Christ Apostolic Church, many of them Igbo Christians were attacked and killed by the “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect during their church service in Yola, Adamawa State. Eleven of them were killed on the spot, while one of the five of them who were critically injured died later in the Yola Specialist Hospital according to the local media reports.

On Tuesday, 10th day of January 2012, the Associated Press reported that two Igbo Christians were killed in Maiduguri, Borno State. One Col. Victor Ebhalame of the Nigerian Army was quoted as saying that “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect attacked two Christian homes there killing two. One SSS operative was also reported killed same date in Biu LGA, Borno State. On same date, 10th day of January, 2012, the police sources in Yobe State confirmed that eight Igbo Christians were shot dead by “Boko- Haram” Islamist Sect in a popular beer joint located in Doruwa, Potiskum and another Igbo Christian was killed in his shop in Damaturu all in Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria. On Wednesday, 11th day of January 2012, four Igbo Christians including a woman boarding a 14-seater yellow Mitsubishi bus with a registration number Anambra XE241 NSE were shot dead at MRS Filling Station in Texaco area of Potiskum in Yobe State when they stopped to refuel. They were returning to the Southeast Nigeria when suspected “Boko Haram” Islamist elements alighted from two motorbikes and opened fire killing them instantly at about 11:30am. Three people were reported killed in Pyakiman in Tafawa Balewa LGA in Bauchi State on 11th day of January 2012. On Friday 13th day of January 2012, two Igbo Christians were shot dead in a beer parlour in Yola, Adamawa State and on same date, two more people (Igbo Christians) were shot dead in a food joint located in the Gombe metropolis on Friday night. According to the owner of the food joint, Mrs. Evelyn Sunday, the suspected “Boko-Haram” gunmen arrived the joint, stood at the door and opened fire killing two people on the spot.

From the foregoing Your Excellency, 300 innocent Nigerians have been killed in the past three weeks, that is to say between 22nd day of December 2011 and 13th day of January 2012 and out of this chilling figure, 204 people were killed by “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect, out of which over 150 are Igbo Christians. This figure represents the recorded incidents alone. Some Igbo residents in the affected areas told Intersociety that a number of “Boko-Haram” related killings go unreported. The remaining 96 killings arose from the massacre of 60 innocent people including Christmas returnees in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria, which took place on 31st day of December 2011, under the pretext of “ prosecuting Ezza-Ezilo inter-communal conflict”. The said conflict, which also led to the death of some innocent road users, has resulted in the loss of over 300 lives since 2008. The 36 other unlawful killings arose from the one-week countrywide strikes and protests over the removal of the Premium Motor Spirit’s subsidy. The 36 deaths, as documented by some rights groups, were as a result of over-zealousness and high-handedness on the part of the Nigeria’s security forces particularly the Nigeria Police Force. Added to 350 Igbo Christians killed by “Boko-Haram” Sect out of 510 people it killed in 2011, it is correct to say that 570 Igbo Christians have been killed in recent months with “Boko-Haram” violent group responsible for 510 in one year, while the Ebonyi State massacre accounted for the remaining 60.

Chillingly Your Excellency, out of the 300 unlawful killings in the past three weeks, 220 are Igbo Christians. Undoubtedly, the killing of Igbo Christians at no provocation in Nigeria particularly in her northern part has become a norm and re-occurring decimal in the country. It is recalled Your Excellency that out of over 16,000 unlawful deaths arising from sectarian violence in Nigeria since 1999, about 50% or 8,000 of them are Igbo Christians, mostly family breadwinners and active population. Further to this is the fact that out of over 5,000 deaths arising from the Jos killings since 2001, at least, 2,000 are Igbo Christians and out of over 2,000 deaths arising from election violence in the country since 1999, about 1000 of them are Igbo Christians. Also, out of over 17,000 police extra-judicial executions in Nigeria since 1999, 40% of them or 7,000, if not more, are Igbo Nigerians. In the plain languages of the Nigeria’s body of laws including the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended, which Your Excellency swore to protect at all times, as well as various international rights treaties, these unprovoked and unwarranted killings amount to “systematic ethnic cleansing, pogrom and crimes against humanity”. While the Igbo race is innocently and patriotically participating in the “Nigerian Project”, there seems to be consolidated efforts by some of her fellow “partners in the Nigerian Project” to wipe her people off the Nigeria Map. Unfortunately and sadly too, these “wipers” seem to enjoy the tacit backing of the government machinery. The Rwandan history and her 1994 genocide tell us that the worst undoing of any government is failure on its part, to protect citizens against the hatred and attacks from other citizens.

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the killing in a suspicious plane crash, of the then presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was mainly as a result of the failure of the then Rwandan government to quench the systematic ethnic cleansing directed against each other by the Tutsi (14% of the Rwandan population) and the Hutus (84%). For records Your Excellency, the Twa ethnic group makes up the remaining 1% of the Rwandan population. It was the failure of the then Rwandan government to protect her citizens and her lending supports to the Hutu militia against the Tutsi that forced the Tutsi refugees in Uganda, who helped to bring President Yoweri Museveni to power in 1986, to regroup under the Rwandan Patriotic Front, from where it launched attacks at Kigali in December 1989, which snowballed into a genocide and ousting of the then central government in July 1994. In Israel, any failure on the part of the Government of Israel to protect her citizens at all times will lead to the Israelis being wiped off the world map. The recent assassination of a Tehran professor and director at the Iranian nuclear facility is, perhaps, part of the “security of the State of Israel”. The security of the citizens by government, no matter their tribe or religion, is the “first among equal” as per government’s fundamental responsibilities.

Disproportionate Policing Of The Citizens:

The indiscriminate and ceaseless killing of Igbo Christians, fundamentally, is as a result of lopsidedness or disproportionate policing of Nigerian citizens by Nigerian security forces particularly the Nigeria Police Force. It is correct to say that there exists “hausanization” security policy in the Nigeria Security System. While it is entirely correct to say that most residences of people from the northern Nigeria residing in the southern Nigeria particularly Muslims including their mosques are properly policed and protected by Nigerian security forces, the Igbo Christian residences including their churches are grossly left porous and unprotected by the same security forces. The recent massacre of, at least, 20 Igbo Christians in Mubi, Adamawa State, North-west Nigeria, where a meeting called to plan for the funeral of those killed the previous day, led to the massacre of fifteen more people by the same Islamist armed group that struck and killed some of them the previous day, is a case in point. It is clear to every Tom, Dick and Harry that other than planting and detonating bombs, the armed “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect makes use of motorbikes in most, if not all of its homicidal operations, yet various police, military and the host State governments’ authorities sit idly and allow tens of Igbo Christians mowed down or slaughtered like cows in their fatherland on daily basis, owing to age-long hate of the race and gross incompetence.

Corruption & Gross Incompetence Not Under-Policing Is The Bane Of The NPF:

We wish to disagree with Your Excellency over Your Excellency’s recent statement to the effect that part of the inability of the Nigeria security forces particularly the Nigeria Police Force to tame the menace of “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect is because Nigeria has a police ratio of one for 500 Nigerians or that the country is under-policed. Permit us Your Excellency, to say that it is corruption and gross incompetence and not personnel that is the problem of the Nigeria Police Force. Even the United Nations’ basic requirement of one police officer for 400 citizens is becoming out-fashioned owing to the arrival of electronic policing or technological policing and intelligence. Out of over 600,000 legally armed public security personnel in Nigeria, 371,000(Wikipedia Encyclopedia 2011) or about 62.3% of them are from the Nigeria Police Force, yet the Force is disfigured and defaced by corruption and gross incompetence.

As we write Your Excellency, there are varying figures emanating from the offices of the IGP, the Police Affairs Minister and the Chairman, Police Service Commission with respect to the number of police personnel in the Nigeria Police Force. It is recalled that a ministerial audit (Police Affairs) has two years ago (2010) revealed that there existed, and perhaps, still exists about 100,000 ghost police officers in the Force. Perhaps, these discrepancies are deliberate plans by the Force top commanders and its over-sight managements to continue to siphon billions of naira from “personnel and over-heads” of tens of thousands of ghost police officers. Our recent report (Police Corruption As Human Rights Abuse: How Corrupt Personnel Of The Nigeria Police Force Illegally Enriched The Force With N53.48Billion Arising From Roadblock Extortion In Three Years-2009-2011) released on 11th day of December 2011, depicts the chronic corruption in the Force, which hinders its competence and professionalism. Other than corruption, the “old-school” mentality of the Force’s senior commanders, particularly its CPs, AIGs, DIGs and IGP, who are 50 years and above, is a major hindrance that immunes them from embracing modern policing and intelligence. In the Ivory Tower, for instance, many of the professors of 80s and 90s have either become “old age” computer learners/IT students or have hired “new breed” computer wizards so as to cope with “IT revolution” or evolution in education. In some polytechniques, disciplines such as “Secretarial Studies” with “manual typewriting methods” now bear a new name called “Office Technology Management” in recognition of technological evolution. But in the Nigeria Police Force, it is “old-school till thy kingdom come”. Accurate or sound database for its members is totally absent, not to talk of having a computerized central control system and overall electronic policing. As we write, most of its 371,000(Wikipedia Encyclopedia 2011) personnel are on Nigerian roads particularly in the Southeast, molesting, brutalizing and extorting innocent road users at the instance of the Force top commanders. It is rather saddened that the NPF’s 6,651 field formations countrywide are not digitally connected.

Your Excellency’s several promises of “fighting corruption” are seen by most Nigerians and international watchers of Nigerian events as a ruse because of the corruptive activities of Your Excellency’s police personnel on Nigerian roads. Despite several representations made to Your Excellency by concerned corporate and private citizens including Intersociety, it has continued to appear as if Your Excellency approves of the glaringly graft activities of the Force personnel. If it is true that the police personnel in the country are made to buy their service uniforms and boots as well as fueling and maintaining their operational vehicles, which they claimed made them to extort, then what happens to tens of billions of naira budgeted yearly for such statutory over-head expenditures? Why did the IGP not made to offer explanations to his Commander-in-Chief, if it is true? Why did Your Excellency decide to keep quiet over such gross graft practices particularly roadblock extortion? That is not to say that the forgoing excuses are legally excusable to infract the law and morality. Another bane of the Nigeria Police Force that militates against its preemptive, protective, detective and combative security capacities is the geopolitical lopsidedness in its top command structure. Among the Force’s 37 CPs with State command positions about 24 of them are northern Muslims and among over 60 CPs without State command positions, many, if not most of them are northern Muslims. Among its over 20 AIGs, over 70% or 14 are northern Muslims, and among its seven DIGS four out of the five Muslim DIGs are northern Muslims.

This is a clear violation of Section 14(3) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended. From the foregoing, Your Excellency’s recent statement to the effect that “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect’s elements are in the security forces, executive, legislative and the judicial arms of the Nigeria’s Federal Government may not be far from the truth. Similar imbalances may also abound in other security establishments. In a country like Nigeria that is better referred to as “a consociation democratic society”, or a society where ethnic and religious hatred is age-long, the security sector should not be sectionalized. The “hausanization” of the Nigerian Security System has so degenerated to the extent that today, “Hausa Language” is the second official and compulsory language in all the security establishments after English Language, which is Nigeria’s official language.

In all, Your Excellency, it is deeply sad that these Igbo Christian killings have been treated with kid gloves and along sectional lines by both government and organized labour, possibly on the grounds that “ so far it is Igbo Christians that are being slaughtered, so be it”. We know as a fact that if it were to be Yoruba or Hausa people that are slaughtered, the killings would have become a major national issue and the Federal Government would have arrested it long ago. Unfortunately, though, as expected, consistent priority is given to “fuel subsidy removal” more than the daily slaughtering of innocent Nigerians mostly Igbo Christians. We totally agree with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor that the Southern governors particularly the South-east Governors’ Forum failed woefully in their constitutional duties to ensure the safety of their brothers and sisters residing in the northern parts of Nigeria. Their failure as well as the failure of the leaderships of the National Assembly and the South-east Houses of Assembly to rise in strong condemnation of the killings is totally condemned. Individualistic or skeletal condemnations in this respect are immaterial.

Demands:

In view of the pathological hatred, which the Igbo race have continued to receive from other dominant tribes in Nigeria, not minding the robust economic contributions of the race to their economies, the round-the-clock protection of the race that have become endangered species in their fatherland, expressly falls on Your Excellency in accordance with Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended as well as her Chapter Four. It is recalled Your Excellency that it was as a result of sustained fears expressed by the Minorities over their insecurity in the would-be independent Nigeria that led to the enshrinement of the “Fundamental Human Rights Clause” into the Independence Constitution of 1960, with the same Constitution commanding the Government to ensure their security at all times, which remained so till date. Therefore, we demand that Your Excellency should take concrete steps to end further slaughtering of Igbo Christians in any part of Nigeria as well as to pacify the souls of those slaughtered so that they can rest in peace and spare Nigeria of dooms of unquenchable proportions to come if their immortal souls are not made to rest eternally.

We wish to restate that contrary to Your Excellency’s recent statement, it is corruption and gross incompetence and not personnel or weapons that is responsible for the woeful failure of the Nigeria Police Force to live up to the country’s mountainous security challenges. To this effect, Your Excellency should take steps to tackle head-on, the rabid corruption in the Force particularly the roadblock extortion. For instance, in our recent report (Police Corruption As Human Rights Abuse) we recommended for the abolition of indiscriminate roadblocks countrywide and their replacement with fewer strategic security checkpoints to be compiled by the IGP and approved by the Federal Executive Council. A DSP or SP should head each of the would-be special security checkpoints with a mixture of secret operatives. We had also in the report advised against over-reliance on anti-riot police personnel as “operational crime fighters”. The need to make the NPF intelligence driven, etc was also emphasized. In view of the fact that the present command structure of the Nigeria Police Force is grossly lopsided geo-politically, we demand that Your Excellency should take immediate steps to remedy the anomaly in accordance with Section 14(3) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

Also, in other to refocus the Nigeria Police Force and make it responsive to the “scientific policing”, all serving Commissioners of Police, Assistant Inspectors General, Deputy Inspectors General and the IGP, who are 50 years and above should be retired with statutory benefits and among the remaining CPs, DCPs and ACPs, a new IGP with expertise in modern policing should be appointed in accordance with Section 215(1)(a) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended. The defence of “experience” is immaterial in a Nigerian sort of police force where “experience” is nothing short of mastery in crookedness, professional incompetence and analogous managerial leadership. As a matter of fact Your Excellency, some incompetent service chiefs should also be replaced. To effectively combat the menaces of “Boko-Haram” Islamist Sect and other security challenges, effective intelligence gathering and usage, and inter-security services coordination and collaborations are required. Solutions to these security challenges do not lie on the bloated security budget of N921Billion or procurement of Armoured Personnel Carriers, Helicopter Gun-ships and machine guns. Any enemy-armed group that is elusive and scientific requires likewise methods to tame it otherwise any contrary security approaches will end up causing more civilian causalities.

We demand that Your Excellency should urgently call a special meeting involving all the 36 States’ governors, the leadership of the National Assembly, the service chiefs and key members of Your Excellency’s federal cabinet so as to find an effective solution to the unprovoked and unwarranted killing of Nigerians particularly the Igbo Christians, just as Your Excellency did few days ago, which resulted in ending the week-long national strikes and protests over “fuel subsidy removal”. This is because information reaching us as at Tuesday 17th day of January 2012, indicated that house to house search of Igbo residents and killing of Igbo Christians are still going on in Maiduguri, Damaturu, Potiskum and other parts of the north that are worse hit by the systematic ethnic killings. The worst is that those of them who want to return to their communities in the Southeast are trapped. We fear that the killing patterns may have been changed to secret and unreported killings, with security forces suppressing the figures, when rarely reported.

We wish to use this opportunity to call on the Southeast Governors’ Forum and the transporters of Southeast extraction to send vehicles with security back-up to the affected areas so as to evacuate their entrapped brothers and sisters particularly those residing in Jigawa, Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Yobe States pending when the porous security situations in the areas are nipped in the bud. These dire situations are as a result of the incompetence and seeming incapacity of the Federal and the host States’ Governments to guarantee and ensure their safety.

Lastly Your Excellency, as a party to the Statute for International Criminal Court, which Nigeria ratified in 2001, we demand that Your Excellency writes and invites the new Chief Prosecutor for International Criminal Court, Madam Fatou Bensaida and her team to Nigeria to commence investigations into these chilling killings, particularly the slaughtering of Igbo Christians in the North, as well as the Jos killings, so as to truly unmask those involved, whether they are in government, ethnic or religious enclaves. This is in line with the recent public statement issued by Madam Navanethen Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is also in accordance with relevant provisions of the ICC Statute and the Charter of the United Nations.

Signed:

Emeka Umeagbalasi
Chairman, Board of Trustees
For:
International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule Of Law
Mobile Phone Nos: +234(0) 8033601078, +234(0) 8180103912
Email: umeagbalasi@yahoo.com,info@intersociety-ng.org
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org

Photo Above: Baby killed by Boko Haram during their 2011 Christmas Day bombing of churches.
- CLICK FOR ENLARGED PHOTO.

Photo Above: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Intersociety, 41, Miss Elems Street, Fegge, Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria.
- CLICK FOR ENLARGED PHOTO.

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Nigeria: Citizens Hail Obi On Security

-Masterweb Reports

The peaceful yuletide season in Anambra State which has continued into the New Year 2012 has not gone unnoticed by citizens of the State. Many residents are quick to attribute the absence of crime within the period to Governor Peter Obi’s effective strategies on security. A community leader, Chief Anthony Agidigbo Oguejiofor and a publisher, Mr Ethel Uyanna conveyed this mood when he congratulated the Governor on giving the people ‘another peaceful Xmas season.’

In a Press Release on Thursday, Chief Oguejiofor and Uyanna said that the Governor’s extra ordinary attention to security of lives and property in the State had resulted in decreasing crime rate over the years. ‘However, this state of protection is better appreciated in this festive period.’

‘In December every year, the Governor gives two million naira to each of the 177 communities in Anambra State for security arrangements and palliative work on rural roads. By sustaining that arrangement, he has achieved results.’

The opinion leaders observed that this was consolidated with the Governor’s empowerment of unemployed youths. ‘Those who would have been idle and a threat to society have been meaningfully engaged in vocational works. We commend the Governor not just for this sense of security but also for restoring confidence in government.’

‘It is clear to us that businesses are growing in the State. More companies are opening shops and employing people. The number of hotels in Awka alone have tripled in the past two years. These would not be possible in a climate of insecurity.’

They therefore called for increased citizen support for the administration, noting that with the people playing their civic part, Governor Obi would be encouraged to even do more for the people.

Article Source: Masterweb Reports

RELATED ARTICLE => Masterweb Team Scores Governor Obi High

Photo Above: His Excellency Governor Peter Obi

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

*Nigeria - A Country in Crisis

By Folorunso Makinde

When Nigeria got her independence from Britain in 1960, few people if any would have foreseen all or some of the problems facing the country today. A country, which after independence was looked at with great hope and admiration particularly among black people all over the world is now fast becoming something of a nightmare. Recent events in Nigeria may compel many political analysts interested in African politics to wonder what has gone wrong with the self proclaimed `Giant of Africa’, but for those who have been closely following developments in the country since independence, this would not come as a big surprise. If there was any element of surprise at all, it would probably be the speed at which things have been allowed to deteriorate.

Going back in history, Nigeria has had its own share of political upheaval. The first republic did not last for long. Soon after independence, due to lack of tolerance among politicians and their unwillingness to abide by the rule of law and fair play in government, political instability engulfed the country. This led to the fall of the first republic and its government headed by the then Head of State, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, and heralded in the first military regime in Nigeria headed by General Aguiyi Ironsi. The government of Aguiyi Ironsi was soon brought to an abrupt end when a group of Northern army officers carried out a revenge coup resulting in the death of Aguiyi Ironsi and some other notable southern officers. This was followed by the government of Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon and although improper as it was, the long reign of the Gowon’s regime provided the country with a period of political stability but not without initial political upheaval characterised by the bitter civil war that engulfed the nation when Colonel Ojukwu tried to calve out Biafra out of the former eastern region of Nigeria. This long period of political stability together with the oil boom of the 70s might have tempted early economists and political punters to foresee a brighter future for the country - an emerging black power, a country that would grow so great as to rival world powers like America, Britain and France. However, decades after independence, the main theme now dominating discussion about Nigeria, is whether or not the country will survive. How did we get here? ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria showing some major cities, including the Federal capital (Abuja or FCT)

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

When the never ending Gowon’s regime was finally overthrown by Brigadier Murtala Mohammed in 1975 and the new regime promised a quick return to civilian rule, people in this most populated country in Africa might have thought they were witnessing the dawn of a new era and much more so when the Murtala Mohammed government started to implement measures that hitherto had been unheard of in the history of the country. Past and present government officials who had thought they had got away with their loot of public purse were suddenly asked to return them. All of a sudden, the people saw in their new Head of State, a faithful and just leader, someone that could be trusted. However, the honeymoon was short-lived. On the 13th of February 1976, Lt. Colonel Dimka and his co-conspirators soon cut short the life of the young General and his widely popular regime in a bloody coup that also claimed the life of some notable army officers. When Murtala’s second in command, General Olusegun Obasonjo took over the rein of power and immediately promised to continue the programme started by his predecessor, people’s anxiety and expectation were raised once again.

The 2nd Republic

The political razzmatazz and the enthusiasm shown by the people during the process of returning the country to civilian rule revealed that thirteen years of military rule did little to dampen people’s yearning for political freedom. However, the return to civil rule programme, which started on a high note ended on a sorry tale of the 12²¤3 saga. The 1979 General Elections promised so much but delivered very little. There was no doubt that the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) led by Alhaji Shehu Shagari enjoyed more support than any of the other four registered political parties that contested the 1979 elections and had better chance of gaining victory in the presidential election, but the fact that the whole process ended up in court and the highest court in the land stated in its judgement that the outcome of the case should not be used as a precedent showed that there were much to the whole saga than were revealed to the people. Once again, it showed that corruption and malpractices were still very rampant in high places. The whole outcome of the `return to civil rule programme’ showed that the foundation upon which the second republic was founded was very shaky and with this shadow of a shaky start lingering on the second republic, it was no wonder it didn’t last for long before it finally collapsed.

The 1983 General Election was a child of the 1979 election debacle. Having got their training from their predecessor (military regime), the politicians put everything they had learnt during the 1979 General Elections into practice during the 1983 General Elections. If there was any difference at all, it was probably in the extent at which they put what they had learnt into practice. The issue of the 12²¤3 that marred the 1979 General Elections clearly taught the incoming politicians that those in position of power could afford to ignore the constitution and the will of the people. It taught the politicians that it didn’t really matter finding out what the will of the people were but they can impose their own will as long as they have the control and the support of the judiciary and the nation’s armed elements i.e. the police and the soldiers. In the 1983 General Elections, what the politicians did was just to follow the trend of the 1979 elections and in fact took it a step further. The 1983 General Elections was a complete failure. Never has one witnessed such a large scale electoral malpractices right across the whole country with falsification of election results so widespread. During the poll count, the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) charged with conducting and overseeing the elections were coming out with the kind of figures that made one wonder whether the elections were actually held in Nigeria or in a more populated country than Nigeria. As a matter of fact, many of the election results were contested in the courts and the Ondo State Gubernatorial result was actually overturned by the court. This confirmed the scale of corruption that was prevalent during the 1983 General Elections.

What are the consequences of all these election fiascos? One of the consequences was that knowing that they could disregard public opinion and in fact manipulate election results regardless of the will of the people, politicians did not feel the accountability inherent in the democratic process. Governments at all levels particularly the federal government became reckless, governments’ spending became extravagant and embezzlement of public funds was widespread together with the practices of using arson as a way of covering their tracks even at the cost of innocent lives. The extravagant spending of course brought with it economic problems which resulted in the country tilting on the edge of economic collapse before the military as the so called `saviour’ intervened in December 1983 to `save the country’ from the impending political and economic catastrophe.

Second Period of Military Rule

The coup that brought an end to the second republic and ushered in the Buhari regime was widely felt to be overdue even though some people claimed that the coup was timed to prevent another coup by those who might be more hostile to the outgoing regime. Whichever was the truth, the fact was that once again, the military were back where they do not belong but the people felt the need for a change which was not made possible through the ballot box.

The Buhari regime felt and rightly so that there was widespread indiscipline and the need to instil some discipline into the populace, introduced `War Against Indiscipline’ `WAI’ as it was popularly called. Many new laws some of which were draconian were promulgated. The regime however, didn’t last for long. In 1985 Babangida and his men toppled the regime. At first the Babangida regime appeared to be enjoying popular support as it promised to return the country back to civil rule. However, after a period of time, it soon became clear that the Babangida regime was turning out to be one of the most dishonest regimes of all time. There were many broken promises, corruption was becoming widespread and there were extravagant spending on a level never witnessed before not only in Nigeria but also in the world. As a matter of fact, the World Bank, which hitherto had always tended to be quiet about internal politics of nations could not resist the temptation this time and felt the need to speak out when it criticised the Babangida regime for spending two billion British pounds sterling without budgeting.

The Babangida regime must have taken after the way the Obasanjo regime treated the 1979 General Elections and the way the politicians in the second republic engaged in widespread falsification of results in 1983, when in June 1992, the results of an election which was widely judged to be free and fair was suddenly cancelled - a blatant disrespect for public opinion and the widely expressed wishes of the Nigerian people. Babangida’s action plunged the country into serious political upheaval. In fact, by the time General Babangida left the seat of power, Nigeria as a country was already on her knees facing serious economic and political problems. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd.)

Reeling under enormous pressure from almost every corner of the country and even from within the Army establishment, President Babangida as he wished to be called was finally forced to quit power but before he left, he installed in the vacuum of power created by his actions, an interim government which most people knew was a toothless bulldog. It was no surprise that after few months into taking over the running of the country, the interim regime of Ernest Shonekan was facing enormous problems and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the interim government fall and so it did. In 1993, following a court case in which the interim government was declared to be illegal, General Sanni Abacha dismissed the interim government and took over power.

By the time the interim government of Ernest Shonekan was finally sent packing, the country was already crippled by economic and political unrests. There were widespread industrial actions, incessant and frequent closures of schools and colleges, to mention just a few. In fact the entire situation in the country was tense and it was left to the Abacha regime to pick up the pieces.

The Abacha government that came into being following the dismissal of the interim government turned out to be a government most Nigerians would like to forget if they could. Never since the country’s independence in 1960 has anyone witnessed so much corruption and flagrant abuse of power by those in position of authority. Innocent people were disappearing without any trace; false accusations were being trumped up by government as excuse for arrest and trial of opponents with resultant convictions and imprisonment. The judicial arm of government that were supposed to act as a check on executive excesses and protect the public, became more or less a passive bystander. To top it all, General Abacha planned to succeed himself as the next civilian president. During the Abacha regime, Nigerians witnessed atrocities at a level never experienced before in the history of the country. State terrorism was rampant and corruption was blatant. In short Nigeria throughout the Abacha regime went through its darkest era yet.

The role played by successive governments following the Abacha regime were not much to be trumpeted about. Although the Abdulsalam Abubakar government that took power following the sudden death of General Abacha promised to return the country to civilian rule which it did in 1999 but the death in custody of MKO Abiola the person adjudged to have won the June 12 1992 Presidential Election and the allegations of corruption levelled against the regime tainted the Abubakar’s government.

Looking at Nigeria today, to say the country is going through a difficult period sounds like an understatement when one take a critical look at what is actually happening in the country. Politically, Nigeria is in crisis with those in position of authority lacking the know-how on which direction to take the country. Never since the Biafran war has the voice of disunity been heard so loud and so clear and although the authorities in the country realise things are not well with Nigeria, efforts to address the situation have either been lukewarm or in most cases none at all. There is the problem of sectarian and religious killings perpetrated by Boko Haram, there is the problem caused by the sudden removal of oil subsidies to mention but a few.

Boko Haram

The sectarian and religious killings being carried out by Boko Haram in many parts of Northern Nigeria was long in coming and shouldn’t have come to anyone as a surprise. Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf and has as its political goal - to create an Islamic State. The leader set up a complex made up of a mosque and an Islamic school. The organisation sees western style education as a sin and many poor Muslims from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries sends their children to be educated at the school. Now, considering that Nigeria’s education set-up is largely based on the western style education and the country itself is supposed to be a secular state, it was no rocket science that both the Boko Haram and the Nigeria state were on a collision course and it was only a matter of time before they collide which they did. In 2009 Boko Haram carried out series of attacks on police stations and other state buildings in Maiduguri and the government responded by capturing the headquarters of Boko Haram killing members of Boko Haram and its leader Mohammed Yusuf. The two have been at war since. The emergence of Boko Haram could be traced to the trend in the country which has seen the gradual erosion of the secularity status of the Nigeria constitution. During the Shagari government, there was an attempt to take the country into the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). After much protest from many within the country, the idea was shelved. It later emerged that during the regime of Babangida, in 1986, Nigeria quietly became a member of OIC. This trend continued and during the Fourth Republic some northern states notably Zamfara declared Sharia as the governing law of the state. Now what is the link between this trend of Islamization of Nigeria and the emergence of Boko Haram? If one follows the recent re-emergence of nationalist extremism in Western Europe, one would see similarities and hence the link between the gradual erosion of Nigeria secularity status and the emergence of Boko Haram. Nigerians in Diaspora would remember when the issue of immigration becomes a hot topic within Western Europe and politicians across the political divides started to talk about curbing immigration. Soon, anti-immigration views became widespread and extreme nationalist political parties with anti-immigration views started to emerge like the British National Party in the UK, National Front in France, True Finns party in Finland to mention but a few. These parties started to gain popularity and before long racial attacks became widespread. Looking at the Nigeria situation and Boko Haram, when the Babangida regime took the country into the OIC, it sent a signal to proponents of Islamization of the country that it is possible to disregard the secularity status of the country. Then there is the issue of some northern states during the Fourth Republic declaring Sharia law as the governing law of their respective states without the federal government calling them to order. We should not forget the incident where a member of the Nigerian National Assembly took an underage bride from Saudi Arabia contrary to the law of the country and when some people protested he clearly stated that the only law he recognised was Islamic law which permitted such union. There is also the adoption of Islamic banking by the current governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. It is alarming that a civil servant will take such a mammoth decision without any authorisation from elected authority that exists within the country. This is a direct challenge to the elected authority in the country and no one call him to order. This should have been dealt with as an administrative issue because such decision was well beyond the remit of the powers of any civil servant. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Baby killed by Boko Haram during their 2011 Christmas Day bombing of churches.
- CLICK FOR ENLARGED PHOTO.

Imagine a situation where every permanent secretaries in the federal ministries decided to run their departments as they think fit or adopt and carry out any policies as they think fit without the permission of the elected representatives of the people to whom they are responsible. We should ask the question what would become of Nigeria in such a situation? Mallam Lamido Sanusi should have been summarily dismissed by President Goodluck Jonathan but the latter did nothing. Therefore, knowingly or unknowingly these actions of politicians were sending a clear signal to proponents of Islamization of Nigeria that the federal constitution of Nigeria is not supreme and can be undermined and even push aside in favour of Islamic law and policies. Consequently there will be those who will think that total Islamization of the country can be achieved even by violent means. It should be noted that no one will start a cause or a movement if there is no support whatsoever for it and no one will support a cause if he or she knows or realise that nothing can be achieved from it. Politicians and successive governments over the years have contributed either actively or passively towards the current situation prevalent in Nigeria today. From Babangida who secretly took Nigeria into OIC, to President Obasanjo who failed to defend the federal constitution and the country’s secularity status in the face of attack from state governments that declared Sharia law, together with other presidents and politicians who failed to take steps to address sectarian and religious issues when they were in power, they are all responsible for the situation Nigeria finds itself in today.

Removal of Subsidy on Oil Products

On the issue of the removal of subsidies from petroleum products by the Federal Government, whilst this is economically desirable it is politically damaging and will be socially catastrophic on the populace. Nigeria is a country where majority of the population live below the poverty line, removing subsidy on what is more or less an essential item for the majority of the populace will without any doubt make worse an already difficult situation for the people. For the presidency to even contemplate such a policy demonstrates lack of proper guidance. It has been said that the issue enjoys the backing of the Finance Minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Mallam Lamido Sanusi - these are not politicians. They are technocrats and this is what they are paid to do - to give advice to the politicians on what they think would be good for the economy but it is the job of the politicians and in this case the President to balance the economic implication with the political and social implications. Technocrats do not face elections, politicians does and the fact that a policy is economically desirable does not necessarily means it is socially imperative. The government’s argument was that Nigeria spends a third of its expenditure on oil subsidy and this money could be well spent in other areas of the economy like roads, education etc. However, we need to ask ourselves how does the government come to spend a third of its expenditure on oil subsidy or who was responsible for this? In a country where the government failed to make provision for a stable power supply, almost everything depends on oil, ranging from power generators to power individual homes, power generators for businesses including privately owned schools and hospitals. We could go on and on. Therefore, any such move to remove oil subsidy would have a domino effect meaning that every part of the people’s lives will be affected. Transport costs will go up, cost of running businesses will go up, cost of living will go up to mention but a few. The danger of such a situation is that for a people who are very suspicious of the government, such suspicion will grow even further. The government have failed woefully to provide any amenities for the people - education is not free, healthcare has to be paid for by the people, many of the roads are death traps, many communities have to resort to neighbourhood watch to provide security for their neighbourhood. As a matter of fact, Nigeria is a country where it can be categorically stated that the people exists for the government and not that the government exists for the people. Constitution are formulated without consultation with the people and so also are the state creation exercises, and the people have to accept and operate under the constitution. Many and in fact all the constitutions since independence have been the product of military regimes, civilian governments only have to come in and try to amend the provisions within these constitutions if possible. One would wonder what was the thought behind some of the provisions of these constitutions - whether it was people oriented or just for the ruling cabals. Why does the president has to choose a minister from each state of the federation when the administrative set up already make provision for a National Assembly with representatives from each state of the federation. There is no 36 federal ministries and yet each minister appointed has to be paid for together with the advisers and the remunerations that goes with their appointments. Then there is the state creation exercise by successive military governments which have become the Achilles Heel of the country as the country now has too many states which has led to the huge increase in the country’s cost of administration. Nigeria is said to be spending over 80% of its GDP on administrative cost. If one considers that the 1979 Sokoto state is now governed by 3 state governors which means that government departments to administer the previous Sokoto state have thus been trebled. No government have been bold enough to address the issue of the huge increase in administrative costs caused by the creation of too many states, however when the government felt that it needs funding it decides to take away the only benefit (if it can be described as such) in the form of oil subsidy from the people who are already impoverished by corruption and mismanagement of successive governments. ( Continues below….. )

Photo Above: Fuel Protesters Burn Tyres in Lagos

One should not forget the arrangement between the Obasanjo’s government and the family of the late Abacha where it was agreed that the Abacha family would return some of the stolen public money and keep the rest. General Babangida is reported to be richer than many African countries and yet no one has asked him to account for how he came about such huge wealth after all, he was only a civil servant all his working life. There is also the reported payment of 100 million Naira made to the family of the deceased founder of Boko Haram by the Borno state government. This is the founder of an organisation that is responsible for the deaths of many innocent Nigerians. When one considers all these and many more, one can only say that it appears the governments in Nigeria are either detached from the people or are operating on a different planet from the people and doesn’t understand the real situation in the country. In such a situation where there seems to be no social contract between the government and the people and the government decides to take away what seems to be the only thing that they receives from the government, it is a dangerous move by the government, an ill-thought policy. In a country where the people are already sufferings from years of corruption and economic mismanagement from successive governments, the last thing they will countenance is to be squeezed even further.

Nigeria is going through a very critical period in its history and it requires the effort of everyone to address the problems faced by the country. The time to sit back and wish for a Messiah to come and resolve all the problems for us is gone. None but ourselves can emancipate ourselves from years of corruption and misrule. We should not let our situation be like the famous story about four people Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody would not do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

NIGERIANS FOR REFERENDUM (NFR)

We in the NFR believes that each and every effort is useful if we all direct our combined efforts at the appropriate channel. This is why we are advocating for a state organised conference and referendum. There are many ways this could be done - one way is to collect signatures in each state on issues important to the people and hand in the collected signatures to the state authorities and demand for a referendum organised by the state governments. The outcomes will then be used as the basis for negotiations among the constituents/regions that make up the country. We understand that there are 36 states and the federal capital territory but we believe that in the process of demanding for a referendum there will be alignment of views and demands.

Asking the federal government to organise a national conference is a waste of time as this will never happen. The President’s constituency is the whole of Nigeria and as such the President has a balancing job to do. Some people will want one thing, others will not want that thing. However, this is not the case with state governments. We in the NFR believes that each and everyone of us has a vital role to play and every of our effort count if properly channelled. What we must not do is to fold our arms and hope for a better tomorrow when it is within our reach to shape our today and tomorrow not just for the sake of ourselves but also for our children. The current system and set-up in Nigeria is leading us nowhere. We all witnessed the killings of southern youth corpers in the northern part of Nigeria during the last General Elections; there is the continue problems of sectarian and religious killings in the country; none of our politicians have the courage to raise the issue concerning our military where with every change of government many officers are compulsorily retired not because the country no longer require their services but because the government of the day doubt their loyalty. This is a waste as the country have spent so much resources training these officers. The current arrangement in Nigeria is some people’s idea but it has not worked for us as a country. We do not have to accept someone’s idea and in particular when it has not brought our people unity and progress. Demanding for a referendum is our democratic right but a right is only useful if it is exercised. It is important that we realise this now and do something about it.

Nigeria is at a crossroad. Successive governments - both the military and civilian have failed the people of Nigeria. Many of our politicians are rulers and not leaders - they lack the courage to take the necessary step to get us out of our current predicament and take us to the next level but together we can do something. There is a part each and everyone of us can play to make a change in our country and restore our land to the path of glory.

This is why we are urging all progress minded Nigerians to join us in the process of demanding that each state governor organise a state-wide conference and hold a referendum in their individual state to find out what their constituents want in order that we can determine which way forward for our country.

To find out more about NFR, you can contact us using our contact details below.

Folorunso Makinde
President
NFR
Facebook: Nigerians For Referendum
Email: nigeriansforreferendum@mail.com
Tel. + 44 - 07574342640

MASTERWEB HOME - NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS - NIGERIA NEWS HEADLINES - WORLD NEWS HEADLINES