God bless the soul of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. In 1980, the legendary Nigerian musician released one of his hit songs, “Authority Stealing”. The lyrics of the song go like this: “You be thief (I no be thief); You be rogue (I no be rogue); You dey steal (I no dey steal); You be robber (I no be robber); You be armed robber (No be armed robber)…”

There is no better way to describe the dogfight between the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. These two old men want us to vote for them in the presidential election coming up on February 25, 2023. But from the way they have disgraced each other, one wonders what they are still doing in the race.

Like Fela, they have been shouting, “Catch am, catch am! Thief, thief, thief…!” Tinubu fired the first salvo. In a press conference on January 16, 2023, his campaign spokesperson, Mr Festus Keyamo, said Atiku was involved in money laundering, criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, conspiracy and breach of code of conduct for public officers. He petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to arrest Atiku for these corruption allegations within 72 hours.

Keyamo noted, “Nigerians have been in shock over the public revelations of a whistleblower, Mr Michael Achimugu, who has provided the nation with evidence of letters of appointment by Atiku Abubakar, e-mails, documents, audio clips, sworn affidavit and his direct oral evidence as to how Atiku, who happens to be the presidential candidate of the PDP, during his tenure as Vice-President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, colluded with his then boss, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, to fleece the country and steal public funds using what he termed as ‘Special Purpose Vehicles’.” The SPVs, Keyamo alleged, were companies which Atiku registered upon assumption of office as the VP. The purpose, he added, was to divert government contracts to those companies as ‘consultants’ and through the companies, siphon money which they would use to fund the PDP, their private businesses and family activities.

Keyamo, who is Minister of State for Labour and Employment, vowed to go to court if the anti-graft agencies failed to act on his petition. True to his threat, he went to the Federal High Court in Abuja a few days ago. He prayed to the court, among others, for an order to compel the EFCC, ICPC and CCB to arrest, investigate and prosecute Atiku if found wanting. He also prayed the court to compel Atiku to submit himself to the EFCC, ICPC and CCB for a thorough investigation in connection with information available to him in respect of a certain bank account belonging to a company called Marine Float and other accounts of two undisclosed companies.

Atiku did not waste time responding. His campaign spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, made sundry counter-allegations against Tinubu and the APC. He made reference to the formation of a uniformed squad, Jagaban Army, by the APC and asserted that it was a treasonable act and that Tinubu should be arrested and questioned. The Jagaban Army, which he called ‘Jagabandits’, was allegedly set up to disrupt the 2023 general elections and raid polling units for votes on behalf of Tinubu. According to him, it is a direct affront to the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies, as well as an assault on the sovereignty of Nigeria.

He added that Tinubu had a litany of confirmed legal impediments on very grave issues such as trafficking in narcotics and taking proceeds of narcotics. “In the recent case revealed in the United States of America, it is on record that the APC presidential candidate forfeited the sum of $460,000, which was confirmed and found to be proceeds of trafficking in narcotics, an international crime for which Nigeria, being a signatory to the international convention on trafficking in narcotics, is obliged to enforce. The effect of the conviction and forfeiture of the sum of $460,000 by Asiwaju Tinubu confirms that he is ineligible and not qualified to contest for the office of the president of Nigeria, as required by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he averred.

Later in another press conference on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) vowed to furnish Nigerians with the compendium of Tinubu’s alleged corrupt activities. Ologbondiyan, who addressed the conference, said, it’s now in the public domain how Alpha Beta, which had for over 20 years allegedly held the exclusive rights to collect taxes in Lagos State in return for a commission under very shady arrangements, reportedly siphoned billions of naira belonging to Lagos State.

So far, the only major allegation against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, is that he is stingy. Obi has continued to move around the country telling Nigerians how he intends to rescue the country from the myriad of problems besetting it. Recently, he was at Chatham House in London.  It was a brilliant outing where he answered all questions thrown at him, reeling out statistics to back up his claims. He did not pass the questions to his aides to answer for him as Tinubu did when he earlier appeared at the same Chatham House. He said it was the acute poverty in the country as well as the cumulative effects of leadership failure over the years that were fuelling agitations in Nigeria. As he put it, “When people start seeing justice, fairness, an inclusive government and doing the right thing, all those things will start reversing and that is what Datti and I are discussing.” At the end of his presentation, many Nigerians, who were at the place to listen to him, started chanting, “All we are saying, give us Obi!”

In sane countries, Atiku and Tinubu should have been forced to step down from the presidential race. Can you ever imagine what will be the fate of these candidates if they were to be campaigning in the United States of America? The US system would have ended their ambition one way or the other.

Here in Nigeria, anything goes. Our own brand of politics is transactional and all for selfish interests. That is why many Nigerians today will gladly join Keyamo and Ologbondiyan to say, “Catch am, catch am! Thief, thief, thief…!” Atiku and Tinubu’s dogfight is divine, as there is no better way to dispense with them and rescue Nigeria from an acute leadership deficit. A new Nigeria is still possible.

By Casmir Igbokwe

Disclaimer: 

The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.

WHO will rescue Nigeria from the clutch of ethnic venom that is gradually but steadily being secreted by ethnic nationalists through their actions and behavioural disposition? I have opted to refrain from specific examples in this write-up to water down envisaged reactions from those who may feel offended, but I have also left sufficient allusion for easy mental judgement. 

There is no singular factor today in Nigeria that threatens the corporate existence of Nigeria more than ethnicism. It breeds all forms of vices in the Nigerian space. Distrust, animosity, corruption, nepotism, deception, and prejudices, among others, are offshoots of ethnicism. Ethnicism evokes rivalry, unhealthy competition, acrimony, and even envy among ethnic groups. Indeed, it has become a Frankenstein monster in Nigeria, and if those at the helm of national affairs do not begin a re-orientation process aimed at changing the demeanour of the average Nigerian, the country may sooner than later be destroyed by the raging impact of ethnicism. 

There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, and of these, the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo are the three major tribes, which I will call the Big Three. The size and share numbers of these groups account for their dominance and control of politics, bureaucracy and economy in Nigeria, leaving the remaining smaller groups with weak numerical strength to play at the periphery level. 

Even where these ethnic minorities are positioned to play at the national level, they are at the mercy and whims of these three major tribes who, oftentimes, exert domineering influence, leaving the minorities with little or no window for independent considerations.

Therefore, to a larger extent, what the Big Three do with their style of political, bureaucratic and economic pursuit, has a way of shaping and influencing the values and administrative process of the country. Today, it is seemingly difficult to conduct free and credible elections and censuses in Nigeria are a reflection of the desperation of the three major ethnic groups to dominate the political process and allocation of the country’s resources. 

Implicitly, the quest for control of political, bureaucratic and economic power by these three major groups is the origin and primary reason for ethnicism in Nigeria. In other words, ethnicism, as it has come to be known, is the creation of the Big Three in their efforts to control the country’s political power and resources. 

Perhaps, the only time the Big Three work in unison is when their common interest, namely the oil resource, is threatened. This played out during the National Political Reform Conference, NPRC, instituted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2005 where they opposed the demand for an increase in the derivation principle from 13 to 25 percent. 

This was roundly resisted, obviously for selfish reasons not unconnected with fears of likely reduction in oil proceeds to be shared. This also accounts for why there has been consistent opposition to agitation for resource control by the Niger Delta people. 

The oil wealth will continue to be at the centre of ethnic supremacy contests among the three ethnic groups, which is further worsened by the absence of viable natural mineral resources in their domains. Groundnuts, cocoa and palm oil have diminished in value, unable to attract basic foreign exchange, making oil the only viable source of foreign exchange in Nigeria; thus, their aggressive disposition for control of oil resources. 

The formation of ethnic associations like Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Ohanaeze and Afenifere is part of their agenda for control of political power and the soul of Nigeria. Political leaders in these regions use these ethnic associations to drive their ethnic agenda under the guise of cultural associations. In practical terms, these groups have no agenda for the promotion of their ethnic cultures. 

Unwittingly, the seed they planted in their struggle for control of power at the national public space has now sprouted and spread to private and local levels, leading to disequilibrium in allegiance to national and ethnic matters. 

People now identify with their ethnic groupings first before Nigeria. In other words, there is open allegiance and display of affinity to ethnic grouping than national patriotism. Exacerbated by the low political culture in Nigeria, the country no longer inspires hope due to the fierce ethnic rivalry among the three major ethnic groups. 

Once a President from an ethnic bloc is in power, members of his ethnic group see it as their turn to dominate the political and economic spaces as well as determination of the allocation of resources. Government policies and appointments are screwed to further the interest of the President’s tribe. 

National interest is subordinated to ethnic interest. This is reflected in key national appointments and the majority of members of the kitchen cabinet are drawn from the President’s ethnic base, a reflection of the premium of trust he places on his ethnic nationalities. 

As part of ethnic dominion, these major ethnic groups encourage their indigenes to openly speak their indigenous language in public places like offices, notwithstanding the presence of persons from outside their ethnic domain who do not understand their language. This is done brazenly in government offices, but this has also been extended to the private sector and even the multinational companies where they have a significant presence.

Speaking of indigenous language in public places is one of the centrifugal forces working against Nigeria, as it shows clearly that we are not one as a country. If you must speak your local dialect, do so in private and when you are with your co-ethnic nationals. But to speak it in the presence of other Nigerians who do not understand the language is an indication of arrogance and disdain for mutual respect. 

This is also gradually being imbibed by some of the minority ethnic groups, portending grave danger. Interestingly, this attitude has also now been extended to places of worship and business frontiers. Some worship centres are perceived to belong to some ethnic groups as well as businesses, including banks, due to ownership/management composition, leadership posture and style of administration. 

No wonder some time ago, ethnic colouration was added to what was supposed to be a purely business transaction between an individual and a bank, with some members of the individual ethnic group canvassing and encouraging others from the same ethnic group to close their accounts with the bank. Everything is now seen from the perspective of ethnicism. 

Music and newspapers are not spared, as there is apparent discrimination in patronage. Some people have to look at the bottom of a newspaper masthead to know the promoters before patronage. Once the names are dominated by a particular ethnic group, the paper is branded a regional paper, no matter the quality of its content. 

Even music that is considered a universal language is also suffering from quarantine engendered by ethnicism in Nigeria. No matter how nice the lyrical and rhythmic melodies of indigenous music are, patronage is overwhelmed by ethnic preference. Ironically, we can dance to Swahili and Zulu music in faraway South Africa without the knowledge of the language. 

Nigeria is haemorrhaging from the prick of ethnicism. The intervention schemes established to promote national integration and unity in the country, namely, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Unity schools (federal government colleges) and representative bureaucracy (federal character policy) have not been able to achieve their objectives due to ethnicism.

The seeming indifference to ethnic nationalism in Nigeria by successive administrations is in fact a roadmap for how Nigeria will be destroyed. Until government initiates a process that will change the perception of the people towards national patriotism as against the current ethnic nationalism, the country’s hope of achieving nationhood will be a mirage. 

In one of my books, entitled, Nigeria on the Precipice: Issues, Options and Solutions, I have argued that rather than foster unity, the NYSC has become an albatross, creating awareness of the deep animosity, hushed segregation and incompatible cultural differences existing in the country. Indeed, it is becoming an agent of disunity in the country. 

As a way out, the government should begin by outlawing the speaking of ethnic languages in public places and abolishing ethnic associations in the country. This should also be followed by discontinuing the practice of reflecting on the state of origin and local government areas in public documents. This way, the government would have proved that it is more serious about achieving one united nation than the multiple ethnic nations in Nigeria. 

The seeming indifference to ethnic nationalism in Nigeria by successive administrations is in fact a roadmap for how Nigeria will be destroyed. Until government initiates a process that will change the perception of the people towards national patriotism as against the current ethnic nationalism, the country’s hope of achieving nationhood will be a mirage. 

By Michael Owhoko 

Disclaimer: 

The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.

It is very disturbing to observe the ease with which Nigerian elites, particularly the Christians, are dribbled and sent on wild goose chases on very sensitive national issues. There is the need therefore to re-state the core issues that are causing problems in Nigeria and what constitutes the solution. At this rate, those who have constituted themselves into enemies of Nigeria are having cheap victory.

Today, the following unpalatable evils define Nigeria as a country: corruption and sleaze at all levels, insecurity (bloodshed, sudden death, kidnapping, raping, etc), economic recession, broken down infrastructure, dysfunctional political system, fractured social relationships, ethnic suspicion and rivalry, one could go on and on. Two questions come to our mind:

1.      What is the cause of the problem?

2.      Who is managing the public discourse?

Let it be made clear for all that the problem of Nigeria is NOT one of the following:

a.      It is not Christians versus Muslims or Muslims versus Christians.

b.      It is not South versus North or North versus South

c.       It is not PDP versus APC or APC versus PDP

d.      It is not Military versus Civilians or Civilians versus Military

e.      It is not rich versus poor or masses versus the rich

f.      It is not poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, or desert encroachment 

Someone may quip, “So there is no threat of Islamization, after all?” There is an Islamization agenda and it is a serious threat. What needs to be understood is what constitutes the threat and this is discernible in the difference between a Muslim and an Islamist. A Muslim practices Islam as a religion while an Islamist manipulates Islam as a political ideology. This is the reason Islamism is referred to as “political Islam.” Islamism is a conscious attempt to manipulate religion as a tool for political and cultural domination. While Islam is a religion, Islamism, otherwise called “political Islam”, “is a set of ideologies that holds that Islam is not only a religion but a political system”. As a political system, Islamists insist that Islam is meant to dominate the environment in which it is practised. In a sharply divergent society like Nigeria, any attempt to implement the principles of Islamism portends great danger to the nation. It is this Islamist political ideology that is driving the crisis in Nigeria.

The problem of Nigeria is IDEOLOGICAL. It is simply DEMOCRACY versus SHARIA. This is the problem Nigerians need to solve. Nigeria is a Democratic country under the invasion of Sharia ideology. This is the core problem that must be solved and every crisis will evaporate.

Every country in the world derives its identity and system of Governance from its National Ideology. Countries with Sharia ideology have a system of Governance and way of life different from countries with Communist ideology which is also different from countries with Democratic ideology and so on. No country has two conflicting ideologies except, of course, Nigeria.

The 1999 Constitution is a compendium of dual conflicting ideologies pulling the country in two opposing directions. Unless this conflict is resolved, Nigeria will remain in turmoil because Democracy and Sharia ideologies are antithetical to each other. The entire crisis in the country, summed up as corruption, mediocrity, insecurity and ethnicity are consequences of the dual conflicting ideologies plaguing Nigeria.

The crisis commenced before Independence and was solidified under the Military regime when most of the Military Heads of State were Muslims from the North. During the various Conferences leading to Independence, the impression was created that ALL Nigerians wanted Democracy. Unknowingly to the other sections of the country, some Northern Muslims preferred a system of governance of which Islamic Law is a major ingredient. Relentlessly, they pursued this goal until they were able to smuggle Nigeria into OIC in 1986 and brought Islamic Law and Jurisprudence into the 1999 Constitution. Invariable, a country under Common Law became a country under Common Law and Sharia. In the ensuing conflict, one of the two has to give way because both cannot co-exist. That is the crisis going on now.

In recent times, skilful spin-masters have been manipulating public discourse with the intention of distracting attention from the real issues. While Nigerians keep pursuing shadows, they dig into their preferred ideology. Let us recap some of those distractions. A very observant person listed the following:

1.      From grazing route to grazing reserve

2.      From grazing reserve to grazing colony

3.      From grazing colony to ranching

4.      From ranching to importation of grass from Brazil for cattle

5.      From the importation of grass to Fulani Radio

6.      From Fulani Radio to N100 billion paid to Miyetti Allah

7.      From N100 billion to RUGA

8.      From RUGA to e-registration

9.      From e-registration to Military ranching

10.  From Military ranching to, … what next?

The attention of Nigerians is constantly kept focused on symptoms while the real disease is eating away at the body. And what is the real disease? It is a Conflict of ideologies. If you notice, few people are talking about that.

Since the inception of the National Christian Elders Forum, the NCEF has been telling Nigerians that the problem of the country is the Conflict of Ideologies. On 17th March 2016, NCEF addressed a Press Conference with a paper titled “CONFLICT OF IDEOLOGIES AS THE GREATEST OBSTACLES TO PEACE, UNITY, AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.” Other papers have been presented by the NCEF on this issue but it would appear that Christian elites are difficult to persuade with the truth.

While attention is focused on ranching and RUGA, consider what has been done to Nigeria, a supposedly a Common Law country:

1.      Islamists (Sharia sponsors) have taken over the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, and Security

2.      The Common Law position of Nigeria has given way to Sharia Law with the CJN as Sharia Lawyer,

3.      Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the country is Sharia Lawyer,

4.      Head of Law School is Sharia Lawyer,

5.      The 9th Assembly has Legislators already mooting suggestions of amending the Constitution to provide for life Presidency. (This is Sharia, not Democracy.)

6.      The Federal Character Principle, one of the pillars of justice, equity and fairness in the Constitution has been subverted. This is Sharia.

7.      The 2019 Election is a classical example of Sharia in action. It was not a Democratic contest.

The Islamists have made great strides in their goal to transmute Nigeria into an Islamic Sultanate since all the major structures of Governance are under their control. They have been greatly helped by the “Islamist collaborators”, the compromising leaders in the Church and the traitors amongst ethnic leaders, mostly politicians and traditional rulers. These treacherous collaborators hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.

In an earlier paper on this subject, it was stated, “Nigerian’s political history is conflict-ridden due to untiring efforts to supplant the tested and acceptable liberal democratic ideals with the Sharia, which the British Colonial powers had rejected because of its restrictive, sectional, discriminatory and subjective theocratic bias; and the fact that it could not pass the “REPUGNANCY TEST”. Our national development has been hampered by the institutionalization of conflict through the unilateral infusion of the Sharia into the 1999 Constitution under the Islamic-biased military dictatorship, as against the restrictive “Islamic personal law”, which had been adopted and applied by consensus since independence and national development.”

One is mystified by the outcry against RUGA in recent times as if RUGA is the problem. There is no difference between RUGA and Grazing Reserve, the difference is only in nomenclature. If Christians had devoted half the energy expended on combating RUGA on the real solutions, more progress would have been made for the country. Now that RUGA has been replaced with E-Registration which has also been followed by a proposal for the Military to establish ranches all over the country, what would those fixated on RUGA do now?

There is a need to focus attention on the real issues and avoid distractions. Whoever wants to provide a solution to the crisis in Nigeria should address the conflict between DEMOCRACY and SHARIA. Nigeria is a Democratic country under Common Law and it should remain so.

What are the solutions?

1.      Every Nigerian with understanding should begin to agitate for a new Constitution that is based wholly on Liberal Democracy and the Parliamentary System of Government. This is the ideology agreed upon by the founding fathers of Nigeria and the only ideology that could accommodate all the divergent groups in the country. Nigeria needs NEW Constitution.

2.      Implementation of the Report of the 2014 National Conference as a precursor to restructuring the country.

3.      Establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as the basis for healing, forgiveness and reconciliation of all the divergent groups in the country.

The Willink’s Commission Report of 1958, states as follows:

“The whole structure of the proceedings leading to independence is based on the belief that Nigeria meant to follow the road of liberal democracy and parliamentary government and to base part of the structure on the opposite assumption is to invite the government to do their worst. But if the road is followed (liberal democracy and parliamentary government), votes will count and in the last resort it is voted that will win fair treatment for minorities”

Every energy, advocacy, and intervention should be directed toward these solutions. These are the solutions. 

It is time to stop chasing the wild goose.

Disclaimer: 

The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.

Listen to INEC educating people on how to be captured on election day through facial or biometrics and on how the BVAS machine will work on election day. Listen to INEC educating people on how to be captured on election day through facial or biometrics and on how the BVAS machine will work on election day.

PLEASE KINDLY PAY ATTENTION, TO UNDERSTANDING HOW YOU OUGHT ACCREDITED TO VOTE DURING THE NIGERIA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, COMING UP ON THE 25TH OF FEBRUARY, 2023.

Disclaimer: 

The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.