Resear

chWor
ks

Mbaka:
Vil
l
aandi
tsv
ult
ure,
ByLasi
siOl
agunj
u

May3,
2021Edi
tor
ial

•
Rev
.Fr
.Ej
i
keMbaka

Vult
uremeansI gúni nYoruba.Att hev er ybeginningoftime,hewast hepriestoftheeart
h.The
pri
estwasal soear th’sdoctor.Ithappenedt hatOlófi
n,thekinginIle-If
ethattime,hadhisli
fein
tot
aldisar
ray–al if
ebr okenl i
kecal abashandr entli
kecloth(ayéer èfóbíigbá/ófàya
gbaragadabíaso) .Thet ownwasdr y;thehungr ywer ehungrier;
thesad, sadder.Bir
dswer eno
l
ongerchirpingl ikebi r
ds;ratslosttheirv ocalcords.Thetownboi l
ed; t
heking’sworldwasi n
tur
moi l
.Not hingwor kedforthepal ace–andf orthepeople.Then, thekingremember edtheold
pri
estandhur ri
edt ot hehouseofVul ture.Hebeggedt hepr i
esttobepr esentinIl
e-If
e.There,
theking’
sbr okenl if
ewasmended; ther enttownwassut ured.Olófi
nwashappy ;hispeople
dancedtot hebeat sofheal i
ngandv i
ctory.Theywer eallwhol eagain.

Butthepri
estwasnotaone- stationman, hehadt omove.Vultur
et r
av el
l
edt othehouseof
Olodumareandov erstayedther e.Sixyear sint hehouseofGod, hecamebackt oI l
e-If
e.He
arri
vedhungryandtired.Heknockedatt hef irstdoor,whathegotwasabi gknockonhi shead.
Shocked.Heknockedatt heseconddoor ,hegott hesametreatmentonhi sachi nghead.Coul d
i
tbebecausei twasduskt hathi sbeneficiariescouldnotrecognizehim?Hef l
ewi ntothenight
waiti
ngforthebreakofanewday .MorningcameandVul t
urewentst rai
ghtt ot hepal ace.I
fthe
peopleweredumb, thekingwon’ tbecr azy .Butthekingsawhi m andshout edathi sguardsto
pushhim outandlockt hegat e.Theki ngf orgott hedaysoffearandt ears.Her ef usedt o
recogni
zehisbenefactor.

Whywoul dthekingrefusetorecogni seandhonourhi sbenef actor?Mypeopl ehav etheanswer:

TheysayOor epé,asiwèrègbàgbé( favourislongdone,thei nsanef or
gets).Palaceguardsdid
mor ethantheirl
ordcommandedt hem; theygaveVulturehar dknocksr epeatedlyonthehead,
thenpushedhi m out.Theassaultedst oodshockedf orsixday sout si
de,i
nr ainandinsunshine,
waiti
ngandwai l
i
ng.Thesev enthdaybr okeandthepr i
est,brokenandsad, wentbackhome,
baldheaded.Hear ri
v edinhi
sroom andmur muredtohimsel f
:Olófinlóunòt únmoI gún
mó…Oor epé,asi
wèr ègbàgbé(Theki ngsay shenol ongerr ecognizesVulture!So,iti
struethat
favourlongdoneget sforgot
tenbymadmen) .

Butdi ditendt here?Olófi

nsooncont ractedat er
minal di
seaseandal laroundhim hadneit
her
cur enorsuccour .Onlyonemedi cinestoodbet weenhi m andthegrave–andt hepat entwas
heldbyt heol d,powerfulIgún.Thekinglearntthi
sandsummonedVul t
uretothepalace.Vul
ture,
thepr i
est,heardt hepalacemessenger ,touchedhisbaldheadandsi l
entlyt
hankedhiscreator
(eleda)forthegr aceofwi sdom.Hi sheadt ol
dhim: Youdonotsaynot ot heki
ngbuty oumay
alsonotsayy es.Vulturesentwordst hathewoul dsoonbebyt heking’
sbedside.Henev erwent
backt oIle-
Ifetosav etheonewhomustdi e.Oorepé/ Asi
wèr ègbàgbé.
Theabov ei snotjustaboutFatherMbaka, t
heCat hol
icpri
estwi t
hami ll
iont ongues.I fVult
ure
haddoneanyv iol
ati
ontot r
uth,asMbakadi dser i
all
yforpoli
ti
cians, hewoul dn’thav ehada
chancef orhi spoundoff l
esh.Butthereisnothi
ngt heBuhariregimehassai dordonet oMbaka
thatithasnotsai dordonet othehundr edswhower emaimed, kil
ledanddi splacedi nKatsina,
Zamf ar a,NigerandKaduna, andwhoal lvot
edtomaket he“perpetuallyunel ectabl
e”manour
presi
denti n2015.Hehasdonei tt
othehundr edswhower eabduct edacr osst heMi ddl
eBel t
andt ot hemur der
edint hesouth.Ordidy ounotheartheslam- shutsoundofpr esidential
gates
whenandwher eempat hywasneeded?Youhear dgovernmentf umi ngthatki ll
ingswer ebeing
reportedasi fmurderhadnev erhappenedbef ore.Theysaidmassmur derhadbeeni nexi
stence
sincef oreverandt hei
rgodwassi mplythetargetofweepingv icti
msandt heirwailing
sympat hi
ser s.

Leadershipi snotapl easur ecruise;iti

sar escuemi ssion.Whenal eaderaskst heaffl
ictedto
shutup, thatl eaderislost .Whil
eourpr esidentandhi spr esi
dencymaj orinmi northings, ki
ssi
ng
FatherMbakaandt elli
ngt hewor ldwi t
houtshame, ther ealenemyi soutt heret aki
ngdownt he
country.Ar et heyawar et hatthecount rynol ongerhasar oofov erit
shead?Andi tisrainingaci
d!
Agr eatmi sfor t
unei tiswhenabesi egedt owni sheadl ess.Itispour i
ng.Ar ecentst ati
stics
rel
easedbyt heKat sinaSt ateEmer gencyManagementAgency( SEMA) ,reveal edthatov er
33,000peopl ear ei
nt ernallydi
splacedi nthest ate.Thesear eper sonsf orcedoutoft heirhomes
byf r
ee-reigningbandi t
s.Theyar edi splacedandt akingshel teracrossmaj ort ownsandci ti
esin
thestate.Outoft hisnumber ,20,868ar echi l
dren; 8,886ar eadultfemal es; ther emaini
ng3, 376
areadultmal es.Thepr esidentisfrom Kat sinaStat e.Whathashedonet ohel pandr escue
thesepeopl e, hisownki n,whocar riedhisdest inyont heirheadsandf or gott heirownatt he
polli
ngboot hsi n2015and2019?

Thedictionarymeaningofi ngrat
itudeis“adi scr
edi
tablel
ackofgr ati
tude. ”Di sgr
acefuli
sthe
dir
ectmeani ngofdiscreditabl
e.Ifyoudonotknowhowt oappr eci
atesmal landbigfavours,you
l
ackchar acterandgrace.Youcannotpr eenincassocksofpi etyandint egrity–y oulackboth.
Thereisnocul tur
einAf r
ica,eveninthesi nksofFoutaJalon,thatcel
ebr at
esany onewhot akes
favour
sasr i
ghtsandviewsev er
yoneashi sdebtor
.Thatiswhyt heFul ani orderthei
rbirdsto
“si
ngthepr aiseofwheret heyspendt heirhotseasons.”TheAr abi
ant aleofKi ngJafarofRoum
i
sanot herstrongstor
yofaki ngwhot hankedhi shelperwit
himpr i
sonment .Heendedbadl y.

PresidentBuhari
’speoplei nDaurahav eav erybeautif
ul st
oryont heimperativ
eofkeepi ng
promi sesandshowi nggr at
it
ude.Lesst hanamont hafterBuharibecamepr esidentin2015,the
Emi rofDaur apr
onouncedhi m asBay ajiddaII.Hegotagol dplatedswor dandahor seas
totemsoft hatoffi
ce.Butwhatdi dt hatmean?Thet i
tl
eisr oot
edi nthelegendofBay aj
idda,t
he
founderoft heHausast ates.Ahistoriant el
lsthestorythisstr
aightway: Bayaj
iddaslayeda
snaket hatl
ivedinawel linKusugu, apl aceinmoder n-dayDaur a.Thesnakehadt er
ror
izedthe
peopleanddepr i
v edthem ofwat er
.I tonl yall
owedwat ertobedr awnf r
om thewel lonFr i
day
s.
Inspiteofthewar ni
ngs, Bayaji
ddawentt ofetchwateratthewel lonaThur sday.Whent he
snakeat tackedhi m, hecutof fit
sheadwi thhisswor d.Asar ewardforkil
li
ngt hesnake, the
QueenofDaur a, Daur ama, promisedhim hal
fofherki ngdom.ButBay aji
ddacl everl
yrefused
andi nsteadaskedf orherhandi nmar ri
age.Thiswasunhear dof,si
nceallpr evi
ousqueens
therehadpr actisedcel ibacy.Howev er
,Dauramaf eltindebt
edt ohim andagr eed.Thislegendis
reenactedev eryy earinDaur aasar emindertothecommuni t
y’sancestr
alfideli
tytogratit
ude.
So, whyi sBayajji
daI I,MuhammaduBuhar i
,nothelpinghispeopletokillt
heKusugubandi t
s
afterhewaski ttedwi ththelong-soughtswordofNi geria?Whyhashi sgov ernmentsur render
ed
i
tsmonopol yofv iolencet obanditsandkidnappers?TheAl aafinofOy oaskedt hesame
quest i
onatt heweekend.Ni ger
iaiswaiti
ngfortheanswer .

So,Mbaka’ smisfortuneisjustamet aphorforallwhohavelostthei

rinvestment stotheBuhari-
must-be-in-
Abujaproject.TheOlóf
in/Vulturestor
yabov ei
saconsol at
iont oallvi
cti
msof
i
ngrati
tude.Thest oryisalsoforal
l Nigeri
ans,homeandabr oad,whoset oilandsweatst i
l
lfeed
thi
sgov ernmentoft oothpicker
s.Itisawar ni
ngt oototheregi
met hathast hrownall,i
ncl
uding
thosewhohadnohandi ntheaff
li
ction,outofcomf or
tandsafety.Mor eimpor t
antl
y,thestor
yis
anassur ancethatredressisaredcar dinthehandsofGod–ev enati njur
yt i
me.Enough.

Shar
ethi
s:

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emi
um Ti
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ia

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herMbaka’
sSi
n,ByReubenAbat
i

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sisr
eal
l
yadi
ff
erentki
ndofpr
iest
.

Pr
emi
um Ti
mesBy
Premi
um Ti
mes May4,
2021

Mbakar epr
esent
sanemer gingfaceoft heChurch,ali
vingembodi mentoftheri
seofuti
li
tar
ian
capi
tali
sm i
ntheChurchofChr i
st,andtheconflat
ionofpriesthoodwit
hhedonism.Cathol
ic
pri
estswereknownordinar
il
yasper sonswhohadt akentheOat handdedicat
edthei
renti
relif
e
toservi
ceandprayer
s.Theydisconnectf r
om eart
hlypleasures.
FatherEj ikeMbaka, Spiri
tual Dir ectoroft heAdor at i
onMi nistry,Enugu, attractscont rov ersyt he
wayf li
esar eat tr
actedt odung.Hei scompl etelyunf azedabouti t.Hecomesacr ossasapr i
est
whodoesnotmi ndwhatPopeFr anci soncer ef erredt oas“ thesinofscandal ”.Lastweek, Fr.
Mbakast i
rredt hehor net’snestagai nwhenheannouncedt ohi scongr egat i
ont hathehad
changedhi smi ndaboutPr esidentMuhammaduBuhar i
,orper hapshehadr ecei v edanot her
messagef rom Godt ot heef f
ectt hati fNi geri
a’sPr esi dentBuhar idoesnotr esi gnf orf ail
ingt o
fi
ndasol ut iont oNi geria’spr obl ems, heshoul dbei mpeached.Thi scameasar udeshockt o
many .Fr .Mbakawasast aunchsuppor terofPr esidentBuhar iandt her uli
ngAl lPr ogr essi ves
Congr ess( APC)i nthe2015and2019gener al elections.Heusedhi spul pittocampai gnf orthe
APC.I n2015, heopenl yopposedt heni ncumbentpr esi dent ,Dr.Goodl uckJonat hanandhi swife,
PatienceJonat han.Hewoul dl at ercl aimt hatanat temptwasmadeonhi sli
fe.Mbakawi elds
enormousi nf l
uencei ntheEast er nRegi onofNi geria.Her unsaper sonal ministry ,mor eofa
personal busi ness, whichhecal l
sAdor ationMi nistryandt hatdepl oysacombi nat i
onoft he
scri
ptures, combi nedwi t
hf aithheal i
ng, theatrical,spel l
-bindingt acti
cs, met aphy sical
hall
ucinat ionsandabi tofshamani sm t ohy pnot iseanat tent i
veaudi ence.I nacount rywher e
povertyiswi despr eadandt hepeopl ear el ookingf orsal vat i
ononear thandi nt heher eafter ,
anyonewhoi sablet oof feracombi nationoft heseel ement si sboundt obeacel ebr i
ty.And
Mbakai s.Hei sacel ebr i
ty.Somet hi ngofar ockst ar !Butwher eandwhendi dheandhi sAPC
fr
iendspar tway s?Hedi dnotr eal lysayany t
hingear th-shaki ngoror igi
nal ,butcomi ngf rom hi m,
aBuhar ideenandanAPCapol ogi st,thewei ghtofhi snewr evelati
onat tractedt her ightmeasur e
ofat t
ent i
on.

Inthepastf ewday s,wehav ebeent reatedtoat it

-for-
tatbetweent hePr esidencyandt heir
Enugu-basedst ar-gazer.President i
alspokesper son,GarbaShehu, didnotal l
owt hesal ivain
Mbaka’smout ht odryupbef oreissuingast atementt ost atethatMbaka, theCat holicpr i
est,i
s
notwhathepr ojectshimsel ftobe.Shehugav eanaccountofhowMbakaoncev i
sitedAsoVi ll
a
toseet hepr esidentwi ththreecont ractorsi
nt ow.Hewant edcont ract
sf r
om t heFeder al
Gov er
nmentofNi ger i
a.Butt hepresidentdirectedt hatduepr ocessmustbef ollowed.Gar ba
Shehu,anexper i
encedspi n-doctor ,
thususedMbakat oscor ethreequickpoi nts: (
1)t hatMbaka
i
sabusi nessmani npr i
estlygar mentandani nfl
uencepeddl er;(2)thathisso- call
edpr ophesies
areatbestper sonal opini
ons, dependi ngonhi scalculationsofl i
kelybenefitsand; (3)Mbaka
shouldbegr at efulthatwhenhev isi
tedt heVil
la,thePr esidencywaski ndenoughnott oex pose
him bypubl i
shi nghi sphotogr aphs.

GarbaShehuwasnotal one.YekiniNabena,t
heDeput yNationalSecret
aryoftheAPCal so
founditnecessarytoadv iseMbakat odesistfr
om maki ngstatementsthatcoulddestabi
li
sethe
countr
y,andi fhefai
lstodoso, hewouldber eportedt otheVat i
can.Nabenaevenquot edthe
Bibl
etor emindtheCat holicpr
iestofhispri
estl
yobl igati
onsandt heExampleofChr i
st.Beyond
theVil
l
aandt heAPC, otherNigerianswadedin,includingRenoOmokr i
,theself
-conf
essed
“BuhariTorment or”,whoaccusedMbakaofhy pocri
syandfurthersent“AnOpenLet t
ertoPope
Francis”t
odr awhi sattent
iontothedel
inquencyofoneofhi spr i
estsi
nNi ger
ia.The
Depar t
mentofSt ateServi
ceshasalsosinceremindedreli
giousandpoliti
call
eaderstoeschew
divisi
vepoli
ti
cs, becausetheNigeri
anstatewillnothesi
tat
et odefendthecount r
yagainstal
l
forcesofdest abil
isati
on.

Clear l
y ,theNigeriangov ernmenti sembat tl
edandi tisnotr eadyt otolerateadditi
onal pressures
from anyquar ter.Ev entheWor ldPr essFr eedom Dayst at ementt hatwasi ssuedbyt he
Presi dencyy esterday ,May3, whi leexpressi ngcommi t
mentt ofreespeechandt hef reedom of
i
nf ormat i
on,condemnedl i
centiousf r
eedom, andgav easmal ll
ect ur
eonr esponsibl
ej ournali
sm.
Andi tdoesnotmat terwhet hery ouwer eonceaf r
iendlikeFr .Mbaka, thepr i
estorEedr is
Abdul kareem,thear tist
.Theot herweek, Eedr i
sAbdulkar eem daredt ocr i
ti
cisetheMi nisterof
Stat ef orLabourandEmpl oy ment ,FestusKey amo( SAN)i nanewal bum.Key amopr ompt l
y
releasedt extmessagesbet weenhi m andEedr i
sinwhicht hemusi cianbeggedt heMi nist
erfor
moneyt opayhot elandhospi talbi l
ls,i
nexchangef orhissuppor tf ortheBuhar iadmi nistr
ati
on.
Thi smaybeanewt actic.Nobodyshoul dbesur pr
isedifoneoft heseday sst at
eof f
icials
releasei magesofsomev ocalcriticseatingj oll
ofri
ceandf ishboneasNi codemusguest satthe
Presi dent i
alVil
la.

Thisisreal
l
yadif
ferentkindofpriest
.Iti
snotbeyondhi
mt orai
ndowncursesl i
keconfet
tiata
wedding!Ifi
ndhi
sresponsenaï v
eandcont r
adict
ory,
andstr
ange,gi
vent
hef actthatt
he
Catholi
cChurcht
radit
ionall
yprovi
desitspri
est
sthebenefi
tofasoundeducationandcler
ical
tr
aini
ng.

ButFr .Mbakai stakingitall

,astheysay , onhi schest .Hei spr acti
call
ymakingamocker yoft he
reacti
onst ohi sstatement s.Hesai ditisst upi d“ tobeat t
acki ngamessengerofGod”andt hat
yes,het ookt hreewhi temenwhoar econt r actors, whoaskedf orhisassist
ance, t
ot heVi l
l
a; so
what?Theywer easki ngforsecuritycont ract sfort hemsel ves,notforhim,andt heydidn’tget
thecont racts;sowhat ?Heaccusest heBuhar igov er
nmentofnothav i
ng“arewardmechani sm” :
“Allt
hepeopl etheyhav ebeengivingcont r acts, aretheybet terthanme?Am Ibeggi ngt hem, do
theyknowhowmanypeopl eIfeed?For tunat ely, theyr eportedt hattheydeniedmeoft he
contract–whi chcont ract?…Theyhav eshownt hattheydon’ thav ewhatwecal lreward
mechani sm.I fShehui sahuman. .
Idon’ tev enknowwhot heShehui s.Heshouldbeapol ogising
thattheyhav enotcomedownt osayNagodeAl lahforsur v i
vingwhatt heyarepassingt hrough.
Thelastper sonthisadmi nist
rati
onshoul df i
ghti sFat herMbakat al
kingherebecausei fthey
speakagai nstme, theangerofHeav enwi llbeupont hem andt hei
rendwi l
lshockev erybody …”
Thi sisr eallyadi ffer entki ndofpr iest.Itisnotbey ondhi mt or aindowncur sesl i
keconf ett
i ata
weddi ng!If indhi sr esponsenaï veandcont radictory,andst range, givent hef actt hatthe
Cat holicChur cht radi ti
onal lypr ov i
desi tspr ieststhebenef itofasoundeducat i
onandcl eri
cal
training.Hei snott hef ir
stCat holicpr iestt obecont rov ersial orout spokeni nr ecenttimes.
Recent l
y ,
Bi shopMat thewHassanKukahoft heSokot oCat hol icDi ocesepoi nt edlyaccusedt he
Buhar igov ernmentofnepot ism.Thegov ernmentandi t
sagent shemmedandhawed.Ther e
wer et hreat st hatKukahwoul dbeexpel ledf rom Sokot o.Buti nt heend, not hinghappened.
Kukahhassi ncet hendel i
v eredmor est inginghomi l
iesandpubl i
cl ect uresont hestateoft he
nat i
on.Theyhav el ear nttol eav ehi m alone.Nobodyaccusedhi m ofbr i
ngi ngcont ractorstot he
Pr esidential Vi ll
a.Fat herGeor geEhusani isanot herpr omi nentCat hol i
cpr iest .Hesucceeded
KukahasSecr etaryGener al oft heCat holicSecr etari
at.Hei snotaf raidtoexpr esshi smi nd.He
i
sconsi st
entandbl unt .Hesi ngs.Hepr eaches.Her unsapubl ic-spi r
itedNGOonl eader shi
p.
Nobodyhasdi sturbedhi m becausehedoesnotphonepol i
ticiansorgov ernmentof fi
cialstoask
forf avour s.InEwu, EdoSt ate, t
her eisFat herAnsel m Adodo, theBenedi ct i
neMonkwhoi s
pushi ngt hef ront i
er sofAl ternat iveMedi cineandEpi demi ologyatt hePaxHer bal Cli
nicand
Resear chLabor ator ies.Fr .Ansel mi ssobusywi thresear ch, hepr obabl ydoesnotknowwher e
theGov er
nmentHousei nEdoSt ateis.Togohi gherwi t
hint hehi erar chy, JohnCar di
nal
Onai yekanhasbeeni nt hebusi nessofspeaki ngtrutht opowerbef or eMbakagai nedadmi ssion
i
nt ot hesemi nar y.Nobodyhasev eraccusedhi m ofdr i
nkingt eawi thacupbel ongingt othe
Ni geriangov er nment .

Thereisal soI gnat i

usAy uaKai gama, for
merAr chbi shopofJos, whoi snowt heAr chbishopof
Abuja.Nocont ract or,
whi teorbl ack,woul dev erdar easkhi mt owearhi scassockt ogoand
l
obbyf orcont ract s.ButMbakai strul
ydi ff
er ent .Hei sthepriestof“ r
ewar dmechani sm” .His
publi
cper sonai st hathei saCat holicpriestofel ectionseasons.Hei saone- manEl ectoral
Commi ssiont hatcanpr edi ctelecti
onr esultsoranoi ntgubernatorialcandidat es.I n2015, he
report
edl yreject edmoneyt hatwasdonat edt ot heAdor ati
onMi nistrybyt heJonat han
administ r
ation.Oneofhi spr oclaimedachi ev ement si sthathecor rectl
ypr edict edt hatSenat or
HopeUzodi nmawoul dbecomegov ernorofI moSt atethrought heSupr emeCour t.Butnow,
Uzodinmanol ongerpi ckshi scal l
s.Hewasal soonceaf r
iendtof ormerGov er norChi maroke
Nnamani .Itdidn’ ttakelongbef oretheyquar r el
ledandt heOracleofAdor ati
onbegant osee
newv isions.I nDecember2018, formergov er norofAnambr aSt ate,PeterObi appar entl
ydi dnot
understandt hemeani ngof“ rewar dmechani sm”whenheat t
endedanannual harvestand
bazaarcel ebr ati
onatt heAdor ati
onMi ni
stry .Hewasaccusedofbei ng“stingy .”Mbakaat tends
roadcommi ssioni ngcer emoni es.Onl ytheGodhewor shipsknowshowmanycont r actorshe
hastakenr oundt heSout h-Eastinsear chofcont racts.

TheDioceseofEnugu,t
owhichFr.Mbakabelongs,hasof
tendiscl
aimedhi
sremarksashi
s
per
sonalopini
on.TheCathol
i
cBishopsConferencehasal
soalwayswarnedagai
nstthe
promot ionofpar tisanpol it
icsint hecont extofMass.ButMbakaappear sunt ouchabl e.Reno
Omokr i,whoi shi msel fapr eacheroft hewor d,hasr epor t
edMbakat oPopeFr ancis.ButMbaka
i
st horoughl yamused.Het ellshiscr iti
cs: “IfRomehear st hatFat herMbakai schal l
engi ngevil
governance, Romewi llclapf orme, soqui cklygot oRome…”Hei spr obabl yamusedbecausehe
knowst hatthoser ushi ngt ot heVat icanmaynotknowhowt heCat holicchur chsy stem wor ks.
ThePopedoesnotgetdi rectlyinv ol
v edi nt hedisciplini
ngofpr iests.Undert heCodeofCanon
Law, i
tist her esponsi bi l
i
tyoft heCongr egat i
onoft heDoct r
ineofFai ththatdeal swi thcr i
mesof
aneccl esiast i
cal nat urecommi tt
edbypr iests.Butt heRul esst i
pul atet hatt hel ocal chur chmust
takethef irststepi ndi scipliningadel inquentpr iest, andout comesofi nv est i
gat i
onsand
conclusionscant henbef orwar dedt oRome.Omokr i’
spet it
ionwi l
l ber efer r
edt ot hel ocal
churchi nNi geria.Wi llthel ocal churchact ?DoesMbaka’ sBi shopseeany thingwr ongi nwhathe
does?I shi sAdor ationMi nistrysor i
chandsosuppor ti
veoft heChur chthatnotev ent he
CatholicBi shopsConf erencecanappl yt heessent ial norms?Thepr oblem i spr obablynot
Mbaka, buttheCat hol i
cChur chofNi ger iaandi tsleader ship.Mbaka’ ssty l
ei sal sopr obably
envir
onment all
ydet ermi ned.Hehasr ecei vedwor dsofencour agementf rom Nnamdi Kanuof
theIndigenousPeopl esofBi afra( I
POB) .Ohanaez eNdi gbohasal sopubl iclysuppor tedhi m.
Nnamdi Kanuev ensai dMbakaal sohast her i
ghttochangehi smi ndl i
keShei khI saPant ami!I
n
Nigeri
a, reli
gionandet hni ci
typr ovider eadycov er-upsf orany t
hing.

Thisnewt endencyofpri
est
swhodonotwantt osuf
fer
,whowoul dratherchooset
he
hedonisti
cli
fe,expl
ainst
henewcharacteroft
heChurch.Pri
est
snol ongergetenoughfinanci
al
support.Pri
estsnowwanttoownestates.Theydri
veexoti
ccarsift
heycan.Theywantt otravel
Fi
rstClasstoo.Theyarguethatev
enSt.Paulhadabusinessonthesidethatgavehim extr
a
i
ncome.

Mbakar epresentsanemer gingf aceoft heChurch, alivingembodi mentoft her iseofut il

i
tarian
capitali
sm intheChur chofChr i
st ,andt heconflati
onofpr iest hoodwi thhedoni sm.Cat holic
pri
est swer eknownor di naril
yasper sonswhohadt akent heOat handdedi catedt hei rentirelif
e
toser vi
ceandpr ayers.Theydi sconnectf r
om earthlypleasur es.Richesdonotmeanany t
hingt o
them.Theyar ehappyt ocommi ttot het askofsalvation.I ti sthereforemostshocki ngt hata
pri
estl i
keRev erendMbaka, asf arbackas2016, wasdescr ibedinoner eportast heownerofa
MinistrywithintheCat holicChur ch,theAdor ati
onMi nistry ,whi chher unsasaper sonal
“business”.Whenhewasaskedt omov ef rom ChristtheKi ngPar ish,Enugut oOurLadyoft he
Rosar yParish,Emene, hismai nconcer nswer etheasset soft heAdor ationMi nistryandt hef act
thathewoul d“suf f
er.”Thi snewt endencyofpr iestswhodonotwantt osuf fer,whowoul d
ratherchooset hehedoni sti
cl i
fe, explai
nst henewchar act eroft heChur ch.Pr iestsnol ongerget
enoughf i
nancialsuppor t.Priestsnowwantt oownest ates.Theydr iveexot i
ccar sift heycan.
Theywantt otrav elFirstClasst oo.Theyar guethatev enSt .Paul hadabusi nessont hesi de
thatgav ehim ext raincome.HenceMbakacant ellthePr esi dency: “
…dot heyknowhowmany
peopleIfeed? ”Wear eintheageofbi l
li
onair
epriest
swhor unbusi nessempir
es.Wit
hthe
off
ertorynol ongergenerous,si
ncemember softhecongregati
onar emostlypoor
,andinneed,
someent erprisi
ngpriestscannol ongerrel
yontheirmeagrestipends.Theyarecr
eati
ng
businessesandoppor t
uniti
esinthenameofGodt oliv
ewel l
,andtosupportother
sand
whenev ertheycan,takecareoftheBi shopstoo.Theyhaveforgottenthatt
heLordJesuswas
borninar entedmanger .Hewasbur i
edinabor r
owedt omb.

Wher eistheChur ch?I nNov ember2014, PopeFr ancisgav eani nt

eresti
nghomi l
yont hi
ssame
subjectattheSai ntMar t
haGuest houseattheVat i
can.Hi sf ocuswast heGospel ofLuke.He
saidthat“ther earet wothingsthatt hepeopleofGodcannotf orgi
ve:apr i
estattachedt omoney
andapr iestwhomi str
eatspeopl e.Thistheycannotf orgive!Itisscandalous…”Quot ingthe
Gospel ofLuke, t
hePoper ecall
edhowJesust urnedt ablesanddr oveawaypeopl ewhower e
sell
inginsidet hechur ch:asacredpl aceofprayerwhi chhadbeent urnedintoabusi nessplace.
Headded: “Ithinkofhowourat titudecanscandal i
sepeopl ewi t
hunpr i
estlyhabitsint heTemple:
thescandal ofdoingbusi ness,thescandal ofworldl
iness…I tisscandal ouswhent heTempl e,
thehouseofGodbecomesapl aceofbusi ness…”TheBi shopofRomehascer tainlynoty et
heardoft heNi ger i
anphenomenon.Ev er
yonewhohashadcauset ocommentont heFeder al
Gov er
nmentandFr .Mbaka’ssaga, incl
udingYekini(
!)
, hasbeenquot ingtheBi bl
e.Letmeadd
thi
spassagef rom theGospel ofSt .Mark,Chapter11: 15-17:

“ThenJesuswentt otheTempleandbegant odri

veoutthosewhoboughtandsol dint
he
temple,andovert
urnedthetabl
esofthemoneychangersandtheseatoft hosewhosolddoves.
AndHewoul dnotall
owanyonetocarrywaresthr
oughthetemple.ThenHet aught
,sayi
ngto
them:Isitnotwri
tt
en, myhouseshall
becall
edaHouseofpr ayerforal
lnati
ons?Butyouhave
madei tadenofthieves.
”ThisisthewordofGodt ous.MaytheLor dbl
essHi sWord…

ReubenAbat
i,af
ormerpr
esi
dent
ial
spokesper
son,
wri
tesf
rom Lagos.

TEXEM

"
3"

Home-THI
SDAYLI
VEl
ogo

ByOni
kepoBr
ait
hwai
te
Emai
l
:oni
kepo.
brai
thwai
te@t
hisday
li
ve.
com Twi
tt
er:
@TheAdv
ocat
esTD

11'

I
nsecur
it
y,Bl
ameGameandEmer
gencyRul
e

edi
tor
May4,
202112:
28Am

GLOWi
thPr
ide!

Ideci dedt ost artmypi ecet odayonaposi tivenot e,sincethi sadmi ni

str
ati
onbel i
evest hatmany
ofus, especi allyt hemedi a,thriveonhar pi
ngonl yont henegat ivesinNigeri
a.Lastweek, I
ment i
onedt hef actt hatmanyf oreignersexceptt heChi nese, aredivesti
ngandl eavingNigeria.
Thisi st rue, but,If ai
ledt ot akecogni sanceofthef actthatther earestil
lNigeri
answhohav e
i
nv est edj ustasmuchast hef oreignersinourdearcount ry
, andhav edonewel l inshowcasi ng
thef actt hatwedohav esuccessf ulindust
riesandcongl omer atesinNiger
ia.Theyar edoing
theirbi ttohar nesst her esour cesoft henation,creat eempl oy mentandpr omot enat i
onal
prosper i
ty .Telecomsgi ant, Globacom Li mitedakaGLO, foundedi n2003byDrMi keAdenuga
GCON, isoneoft hem.GLOi sabr andAmbassadorf orNigeria,asithasspr eadi t
soper ati
onsto
otherAf ricancount r
ieslikeGhana, RepublicofBeni nandI voryCoast .I
nacount rythatis
grappl ingwi thanal armingr ateofunempl oyment ,GLOempl oy sthousandsacr ossNi geriaand
theAf ri
cansub- region.

IurgeGovernmenttofacil
it
ateanevenmoreenabli
ngenv i
ronmentforNiger
ianst
of l
ouri
sh, so
thatl
ikeGLO, wecancontri
buteourownquotatotheattai
nmentofady namicandself-
reliant
economy ,asSecti
on16(1)(
a)ofthe1999Const
itut
ionoftheFederalRepubl
icofNigeri
a( as
amendedi n2018)(t
heConstit
uti
on)mandat
esGov ernmenttodo.And,onekeyelementt hatis
essenti
altotheatt
ainmentofaburgeoni
ngbusi
nesscl i
mate,i
ssecurit
y,whichGovernment
mustpr ov
ide(Secti
on14(2)(
b)oftheConst
it
uti
on).

Al
haj
iLai
MohammedvLat
eGener
alMur
tal
aRamatMuhammed

Lastweek, soci
almediawasawashwi thf or
war dsquest i
oningthement alcapacityofthe
Minist
erofI nf
ormati
on&Cul t
ure,Alhaj
i LaiMohammed, whenher i
dicul
ouslyandout l
andi
shl
y
attemptedtolaytheblamef ortheunpr ecedentedlevel ofinsecuri
tywhichNi ger
iais
experi
encingtodayont hemili
taryregimeofl at
eGener al Murtal
aMuhammed, whom heclai
med
fai
ledtocont i
nueGeneralYakubuGowon’ sr egi
me’spol icyofcompul soryfr
eeeducat i
onfor
thosebornaf t
erJanuary1970!Pr aytel
l,hast hi
sadmi nistrati
oncontinuedtheeducat i
onpoli
cy,
whenweknowt hatcurr
ently,Ni
geri
ahasoneoft hehi ghestout-of
-schoolchil
drennumber sin
thewor l
d?WhenPr esi
dentObasanjosteppeddownf rom of f
icein2007, wehadabout6. 5
mill
i
onout -
of-
schoolchil
dren;whenPresidentBuhar
i camei ntooffi
cei n2015,t
heyhad
i
ncreasedtoabout10.5mi ll
i
on;today,
UNI CEFputsthenumberatov er13.5mil
lion.Surel
y,i
f
thi
sadmi ni
str
ati
onisimplement i
ngsuchagoodeducat ionpolicy,
shoul dt
henumber snothave
decreased?

Howcanonesi nkt hi
sl ow, i
nor dert opasst hebuckandescaper esponsibil
ityandl i
abili
ty,
maki ngfal
seandder ogat oryremar ksaboutt hedead, whoev ent houghhedoesn’ tneedt o
defendhimselfont his, i
snother ewi thust odoso?Al hajiMohammedbei ngaLawy er,mustbe
awar eofSecti
on36( 1)oft heConst i
tut
ion–t her ighttof ai
rhear i
ng–‘ Audialteram par t
em’.
Howcanhebl amesomeonewhowasi nof f
icef orlesst hansev enmont hsal most50y earsago,
forthesecurit
ypredicamentt hatNi geri
ai sfacingt oday ?Aswesayi nHausa, “I
naruwanungul u
dakitso?”(what’
st hebusi nessoft hevultur
ewi t hplai
tingofhai r?)–wear eal lawaret hatthe
vult
ur ei
sbald,andconsequent ly,hasnohai rtopl ai
t–i nshor t
,whatdoest hepr esent
unprecedentedlevelofi nsecuri
tyt hatNi ger
iaisexper iencing(whi chthi
sadmi nist
rati
ont hat
AlhajiMohammedi st hemout hpieceof ,hasfailedtoquel l
)havet odowi t
hl ateGener al
Muhammed?Not hing!Gener alMuhammedwasnotev eni noffi
cef oruptooneacademi cyear
.
AlhajiMohammed’ sal legati
onisbey ondf arci
cal ,i
tisthoughtlessandwi tl
ess.

Acoupl eofweeksago, Idi dsayt hatthisblamegame/ buckpassi ng,this‘yawo’ (

wander i
ng)
woul dnotendunt i
l wereacht heamal gamat i
onofNor thernandSout hernNi geriain1914, or
possiblypre-colonialti
mes.Ibegt ocor r
ectmy self–itmaygett ot hecr ucifi
xionofJesusChr ist
orthetimeofAdam andEv e!ItmaybebecauseCai nkil
ledAbel ,thatNiger i
ai sexperiencing
i
nsecur i
tytoday !Ionlywi shAl hajiMohammedhadt ri
edt olayt hebl ameont heli
v i
ngGener al
OlusegunObasanj oakaPr esidentObasanj o,whot ookov erasHeadofSt at
ewhenGener al
Muhammedwasassassi nat edonFebr uary13, 1976,andwasi nof fi
cef orthreey ears.Itwould
certai
nlyhav ebeenext remel yi nter
esti
ngandent ertai
ning.Pr esidentObasanj ohasbecome
famousf orhi spenchantf orletterwri
tingtot hi
sadmi nistrat
ion, thecont ent sofwhi chthel att
er
doesnotpar t i
cularl
ycar ef or
; andIcani magi nethatwemayhav ebeenr egaledwi t
hanot her
l
ettercontainingLai Mohammed’ sli
fehistory–t hegood, thebadandt heugl y,i
fAlhaji
Mohammedhadat temptedt ol aythisonGener alObasanj o(ashet henwas) !

St
ateofEmer
gencyonSecur
it
y

Ni
ger
iansar
eexcel
l
entatcoi
ningbuzzwor
dsandphr
ases,
andt
heybecomesocat
chyv
ery
quickly;forexampl
e,‘change’and‘nextlevel,
‘bandi
ts’and‘bandi
tr
y’(
areplacementforthe
sti
gmat i
sati
onsaga),andmostr ecentl
y ,peoplecal
li
ngf oradecl
arat
ionofa‘stat
eof
emer gencyonsecurityoront hesecuritysector’
.Adecl ar
ati
onofastateofemergencyont he
securitysector,
ismeaningless.Ordot heymeananat ionalemer
gencyonsecur i
ty?Because,
i
t’
sei therthatorastateofemer gencysimpl i
cit
er.

TheCol l
insDicti
onarydefinesast ateofemer gencyas“ acondi ti
ondecl aredbyagov ernment,
i
nwhi chmar ti
allawappl i
es,usuallybecauseofcivil unr
estornat ur aldisaster”
.Ast ateof
emergencycanbel i
mitedorr estr
ictedt oaparti
cularlocal
it
yorar ea, notnecessaril
yawhol e
country
.Accor di
ngtoBl ack’
sLawDi ctionary
,anationalemer gencyi s“ast ateofnationalcr
isi
s;
asit
uationdemandi ngimmedi at
eandext ra-
ordi
narynat i
onal orf
eder alaction”
;inthisscenari
o,
curr
ently,t
heconditi
onofNi geri
a’ssecur i
tyi
sanat ionalcri
sis,whi chdemandsi mmedi at
eand
ext
raordinarynati
onal,
andev eninternati
onalacti
on.

Section305oft heConst it
utionwhi chpr ov i
desf orstateofemer gency, doesnotpr ov i
def ora
stateofemer gencyonsecur it
y.Itprovidesf orast ateofemer gencyi nt heFeder ation(Sect i
on
305( 1));
orinaSt ateorl ocality,whereaGov er
norcanr equestt hePr esi denttomakea
proclamat i
onf orast ateofemer gencyt herein(Section305( 4));orthePr esidentmaydosoi na
StateorlocalitywithinaSt ate,iftheGov ernorfailstor equestf oronewheni ti
srequi r
ed
(Section305( 5)oftheConst i
tution).Thecondi ti
onswhi chempowert hePr esidenttopr oclai
ma
stateofemer gencyar ement ionedi nSect i
on305( 3)
(a-f)oftheConst itution–i nterali
a, when
theFeder ati
oni satwar , orwear einimmi nentdangerofi nvasionorawar ;orift
her eexistsa
breakdownofpubl icorderandpubl icsafetyorcl earandpr esentdangerofi t,
andext raordinary
measur esar erequiredt or estorepeaceandsecur ity
, eit
hertot henat ionort otheSt ateor
l
ocal i
tywher etherei strouble; orifthere’sanat uraldisasterwi thinaSt at eorthewhol ecount r
y.

Tobecandi d,today,mostofthecondi ti
onshighl i
ghtedabov e(asidef rom t
hatofnatur al
disaster),
whi chempowert hePresidentorGov er norstodeclareorpr oclai
m ast at
eof
emer gency ,
ar everymuchinexistenceinsev eral par
tsoft hecount ry
,ifnotthewhole, butt
he
j
ur yi
sst il
lverymuchoutast owhet heranat i
onwi destateofemer gencywoul dbewel come.In
ourso- cal
leddemocr at
icdi
spensation,thepeopl earealreadydisgrunt l
edthatsomeofour
fundament alr i
ghtsguarant
eedbyt heConst it
utionar ebeingtrampl eduponbyGov ernment,and
i
twoul dbeaki ntoaddingfuelt
othef i
retodeclar eastateofemer gency,sincesucha
declarati
onmayhav etheeff
ectofsuspendi ngt heConst i
tuti
onandi mposingmar ti
allaw–
manyNi geri
ansdonotwantt hi
s.
HasI
nsecur
it
yNotAl
readySuspendedPr
ovi
sionsoft
heConst
it
uti
on?

Whati srequi
red,isf
orGov ernmenttotakedeci
siv
eactiontotackl
eanddefeatt
hisi
nsecur
it
y
onceandf orall,
beari
ngi nmindthatwehav emult
i-
facetedsecur
it
ychal
l
engesbasedon
di
f f
erentcausati
vefactors,r
equir
ingdi
ffer
entmethodsofsoluti
on.Woul
dthedeclar
ati
onofa
stateofemer gencyachievethi
spurpose?

Twoper ti
nentquest i
onst oaskatt hisjuncture(may bet heymayev enber hetoricalquest ions),
i
nr esponset othosewhoar enotfav ourablydisposedt oadecl arationofast ateofemer gency
becauseoft hef earofthei mpositionofmar ti
allawt oreplacet heConst i
tuti
on,arewhet her
Gov ernment,const ant
lyobser vi
ngt hepr ovi
sionsoft heConst i
tuti
onintheirbreachwi t
hl i
t t
leor
nor egardforther uleoflaw, doesnotal readyamountt oaut horit
ari
anism andt herefore,the
denial ofsomeofourr i
ghts?And, secondl y,whet hersomeofourr i
ghtsar enotalreadyin
abey ance,asaresul tofinsecurit
y?!Infact ,
Section45( 2)uphol dsourr i
ghts,mandat ingt hat
theycanonl ybei nterf
eredwi thinast ateofemer gency,ifitisreasonablyjusti
fi
ablet odoso.

Int hecaseofAl haj iMujahi dDokubo- Asar ivFeder alRepubl icofNi geria2007LPELR- 958( SC)
perI brahim TankoMuhammadJSC( nowChi efJust iceofNi ger i
a):“Oncet hesecur ityoft his
nat i
oni si njeopar dyandi tsur vivesinpi ecesr athert hani npeace, thei ndividual’
sl i
bertyorr ight
maynotev enexi st”.Thisisspoton.Pr esent l
y,ev ent houghnost ateofemer gencyhasbeen
procl ai
med, t
hisnat ion’ssecur i
tyisinser iousj eopar dy ,
andsomeofourf undament al r
ights
alreadyseem al mostnon- exi stent.Forone, ourr ightt of reedom ofmov ementaspr ovidedi n
Sect i
on41( 1)oft heConst it
ut i
onhasbeengr eat l
ycur tail
ed, becauseofi nsecurity.Manycanno
l
ongergot ot heirf armsf orf earofbei ngat tacked, raped, mur deredorki dnapped, and
consequent ly,hav enomeansofl i
vel
ihoodcont rar ytoSect ion17( 3)(a)oft heConst it
ut i
on.As
mostNi gerianscannotaf fordt heluxur yofai rtrav el,andt her oadsar eunsaf e,peopl ear e
const rainedt ost ayputi nonepl ace–hopef ull
y ,rai lt
rav el willassisti nthisr egard.Ther i
ghtt o
freedom oft hemedi aandt hatofexpr essi onpr ov idedi nSect i
ons22&39( 1)oft heConst it
ution
respect ively,hav ebeenbr oughtundert hr eatwi thGov ernmentandt heNat i
onal Assembl ytrying
tousecont rapt ionsl iketheNat i
onalBr oadcast ingCommi ssionandt heHat eSpeechBi l
l
amongstot her s, togagus.Ourr ighttol i
f eguar ant eedbySect ion33( 1)oft heConst i
tuti
on, i
s
alsobei ngt hreat enedonadai lybasis, asNi geriansar ebei ngki ll
edi nt heirnumber s.Manyhav e
beendepr ivedoft hei rri
ghtt ol i
bertybyr easonofki dnap, contrar ytoSect i
on35( 1)oft he
Const i
tution.Thesear ejustaf ewexampl esofourconst i
tutional l
yguar anteedr i
ght s,thathav e
beenadv erselyaf fectedbyi nsecur i
tyandt hepr ev aili
ngst ateoft henat i
on.Al soseet hecaseof
At t
orney -Gener al PlateauSt at e&3Or svHon.Chi efAnt honyGoy ol&15Or s2007LPELR- 12875
(CA) .
Concl
usi
onorQuest
ions?

Mydearcol l
eagues, whatar ey ourthought sont hedecl ar
ationofast ateofemer gency,eveni fi
t
i
sr estri
ctedtoonl yaf ewSt ates?Isitrequi red?Ori sitmor ei mpor tantf orust oseesome
tr
act i
onandact ion,i
nsteadofdwel l
ingonconst it
utionalprocesses?Tomov efrom this
stagnationorr egressi
on, andbr i
ngi ninnov ationandwhat ev erelsei srequiredt oempowerour
ArmedFor cest osecureournat i
on?Yes, Isayr egressionbecauset hePr esidential
spokespeopl eshout edthemsel veshoar sewi thpr i
de( r
ightfull
yso)ont hefactt hatwhent his
admi ni
strati
onassumedof ficein2015, therewer eBokoHar am flagsf l
y i
nghi ghi npart
soft he
Nor t
hEast ,andt hey‘t
echni cal
ly’defeatedt hei nsurgents,chasedt hem outandt ookdownt heir
fl
ags.Today ,
weheart hatnotonl yar etheBokoHar am f l
agsbackupi ntheNor thEast,t
he
NigerStateGov ernorconfir
medt hattheyhav ebeenhoi stedwi thinhisSt at
einKaur eVil
lage,
Shiroro(NorthCent ral
).

SenatorAl iNdumebel iev esthatalargeamountoff undsmustbei nject

edi ntotheAr med
Forcesf ort
hwi t
h, t
oachi evebetterresul
ts.Isital
l aboutthe‘Benjamins’(f
unds)al one?And,
mustt hisinjecti
onoffundsnotbeaccompani edbyt ransparencyandaccount abi
li
ty?With
all
egationsofmi sappr
opr iat
ionoffundsal l
ocatedf orthepur chaseofweaponr yetcduri
ngthe
ti
meoft hefor merservicechi ef
sandt heirpredecessorsflyi
ngar ound,natural
ly,Nigeri
anshav
e
tr
ustissues, andwantt obesur ethatthisisnoty etanotherscam t orel
ieveusofourext r
emel
y
scarcer esources.

Letmel eaveyoutodaywi ththi

spar ti
ngshot–Iwat chedav i
deocl
ipofHon.Kazaur eGudaj i,
memberoft heHouseofRepr esentativ
esf r
om JigawaState,inwhichhest atedthatonet i
me,
al
lowancesf ort
hesol dier
swerebei ngtransport
edtothem byanAr myconv oy.Theconv oywas
i
nterceptedandattackedbyBokoHar am, all
themoney( aboutN100mi l
li
oncashhesai d)was
stol
en.Hon.Kazaur e’
sconclusion(alogicalonetoo)wast hatther
ear eBokoHar am member s,
sympathiser
sorinformant swithi
nther anksoftheArmyandAi rForce(ArmedFor ces).He
askedhowt heyknewt heconvoywascomi ng,andtherouteitwouldtake?

Isourfail
uretodef
eattheinsur
gents,onlyduetoal ackofcapacit
yborneoutofapauci
tyof
fundsandt ool
stofi
ghtthewar,oristhereanelementofl ackofwil
loccasi
onedbya
countermineonthepartofsomesabot eurswit
hintheFor cesandGovernment,
ora
combinationofbot
h?Thisiscertai
nlyfoodforthought.Themor eyoulook,
thelessy
ousee!
NEXTARTI
CLE

"
4"

Wednesday
,10Febr
uar
y202104:
18

[
OPI
NION]Shei
khGumi
andhi
sbandi
ts-Lasi
siOl
agunj
u

f
ontsi
ze Pr
intEmai
lComment
s:0Comment
s

[
OPI
NION]Shei
khGumi
andhi
sbandi
ts-Lasi
siOl
agunj
u

Respect edI slamiccl eri

c,SheikhAhmadAbubakarGumi ,haslatelybeenmount i
ngcampai gns
foramnest yf ormur derousbandi ts.Hehasal sobeenmeet ingwi t
hthem intheirforested
hideout s.Thi spastweekend, theShei khwentbeyondthebandi t
s; hel
ookedsout handl abel
ed
Yor ubaandI gboy out hsdemandi ngsecur i
ty,
equit
y,r
estructuri
ngandt ruefederali
sm as
secessi onist swhoar enobet terthanBokoHar am.Theclericgroupedt hosesouther nactivi
sts
witht heBokoHar am whi l
ebandi ts,tohim,were"i
nsurgents"with"genuineconcer nsand
grievances. "Gumi toldBBCpi dginthatsouthernpeopleprotest
ingmar ginal
izati
onar e
mi screant swho" areal lt
hesamegr oupofpeoplewithBokoHar am."Hesubmi t
tedt hat"Yoruba
l
eader sandI gboleader sshoul dtakecar eofthei
rmiscreantsaswear ehandlingher dsmenand
BokoHar am whi char emiscreantsi nthenorth.
"

Thecredenti
alsofthemanwhosai dtheabov einterestsme.Thi sSheikhGumi i
snoty ourrun-of
-t
he-mil
lNort
hernNi ger
iapreacher.Heisawel l
-preparedmanbui l
tonsol i
deducati
on.Hewas
attheAhmaduBel l
oUni ver
sit
y( ABU),Zar
ia,tor eadmedi cine.Hewasatt heNi
geri
aDef ence
Academy( NDA),Kaduna;heleftthearmyasaCapt ain.Hewasatt heUmm al -
QuraUniversit
y,
SaudiArabi
awher ehestudiedIslamicJurisprudence.Hi srecordssayhei sanethni
cHausa.I
havefoll
owedhislatesti
nterventi
onsinthei nsecuritywrackingthenor t
hwest.Theofferi
ngshe
i
sgi v
ingthenati
onwor ri
esme-consi deringt hestatureofhi scredent
ials.

Heist aski
ngNiger
ians-t
hevi
cti
ms-to"embr
acepeace"andal
l
owt hebandi
ts"t
ohaveashar
e
ofthenat i
onal
cake."Mur
der
ousbandi
tsar
ethef
ocusoftheSheikh.Ihavenothear
dhiswor
d
forthev i
cti
ms.

I
ntheclosingmonthsof2018,mypr i
maryschoolt
eacherl
osthispol
ice-of
fi
cersonina
Zamfaraforest
.Theoffi
cerf
rom OsunStat
ewasdr af
tedtothenort
h-westernst
ateaspar
tofa
pol
icesquadronbatt
li
ngbandit
ryther
e.Iwaswithmyteacheri
nJanuar y2019.I
twassupposed
tobeahappyr euni onoft eacherandpupi lbutitwasacondol encev i
sit
."Thebandi t
sof
Zamf arashothimi nthehead, "hetoldme, pointi
ngatt herightsideoft hehead." Webur iedhim
i
nhi snewhouseov erther e.Hedidn'tsl
eepadayi nthathouse."Pol i
ceaut hor i
ti
esgav ethe
parentsahundr edt housandnai r
a,theoldcoupl esaidtheyaddedahundr edt housandmor eto
bri
ngt hecorpseoft hei
rsonhomef orburi
al.Myt eacherspokeasi fhewant edt osaymor ebut
thesor r
owofaf atherchokedt hewor dsfr
om comi ngout.Ichangedt het opic.Theol dmandi d
notsur vi
vethetrauma; wel osthim afewmont hslater
.AsIl ookedatt hebandi t
sturningoutin
ful
lregali
a,meet ingShei khGumi l
astweek, mymi nd'sey esscannedt hef acesi nsearchoft he
mur derer
sofmyt eacher'sson.Myt eachersweat edandst r
uggledtoeducat eandt rai
nhi sson
toar esponsibl
e,usef uladul tbutt
hatsonwasshotbychi l
drenofthosewhodi dnotseeany
needt oeducatet heirown.

TheChi nesear ev erywi sepeopl e.Thei rancest orst aughtt hem howt odomi natet hewor l
d
usingt hev aluesofcor n,treesandknowl edgei npr ov er bi
al terms.Whenpl anningf oray ear,
theywer et ol
dt opl antcor n;whenpl anningf oradecade, theywer et aughtt opl antt rees; when
planningf orl i
fe, educat et hepeopl ewast hecounsel .Ther ei snosoci etythatfollowedt he
aboveadv i
cet hathasf ai
ledt oconquert hewor l
dar oundi t.Agai n, everypeopl einhi storywho
chose' cor n'andscor nededucat ionhasendedupasacur set oi t
ser a.Nor thernNi ger i
ai sa
superspr eaderofsor rowandt ear sacr osst hecount ry .Ihav ej ustt oldy ouofmyol dt eacher'
s
shareofwhatt henor thdoesdai ly.Ther earemi l
lionsofot her sgr ievingsi l
entlyint hei rhomesi n
thenor th, i
nt hesout h.Iremember edmyt eacherandhi sslai nsonwhenIsawt hebandi tsof
Zamf arai nt heirf ul
l r
egal i
aofdeat hast heymetShei khGumi .Ify oudi dn'
tnot i
cewhatIsaw, go
l
ookatt hephot ographsagai n; l
ookatt heirdr ess,t hei rblood- st ainedpal msandt eet h, thei
r
gunsandt heirRPGbul lets.Whoev erchoset hev enueoft hatmeet ingwaspoet icinr ebel li
ous
sarcasm.TheShei khmetwi t
ht hem i nadecapi t
at edcl assr oom -i thasnor oof-theskyi sthe
roof;t
her ei sadoor waywi ththef ramessav agelyt or nof f
;thewal lshav eequallysuf fered
viol
encef rom ei thert heel ement sorf rom t hebandi tst hemsel ves.Butf ortheinscr iption
"ZSUBEB/ UBEC2ndquar terpr oj
ect ,2006, "ont hewal l,thest r
uct ur ewoul dhav epassedf orany
ofthesav agebui ldingsi nwar -dest royedSy ria.

Gumi washear daski ngust ostartcalli

ngthem 'i
nsurgent
s'andnot' bandi t
s.'Ifoundt hatquit
e
funnyandi nsulti
ng.Thesear ecommonf el
onswi t
houtanymi ssionoutsi demoney ,andno
visi
onbey ondt hei
rcows.Whyshoul dwest opcall
ingthem bandits?Abandi tisanout law
operati
ngwi thhislikesinalawlessar ea.Aninsurgentisapersonf i
ghtingagai nsta
government ,amemberofani nvadingforce.Thatiswhatthedictionarysay s.So, whichoft hose
wordsapt l
ycapt uresthemur derersandki dnappersofthenorthwest ?Whendi dtheycl ai
mt o
befighti
ngt hegov ernment?Atl east,weknowt hepoorpeopl etheykillorkidnapf orransom
havenor elati
onshipwi t
hgov ernment .Gumi mustnotbeal l
owedt oclot hethem wi tht he
patri
oti
c,nationali
stfervoroftheMauMauofKeny a.Gumi sai
dt heyhad" l
egiti
mat econcer ns
andgr iev ances."Whatconcer norgr i
evancedr ivespeopl ewhoki dnapf orr ansom?Our
respect edcl eri
calsocompar edt hem wi thNi gerDel taagitator s,
peopl ewhopr otestedagai nst
theexpl oi t
ationoft heiroil
-bearingcommuni t
iesbyt heNi ger ianstate.Hearhi m: "Sincethe
NigerDel tami l
it
antswer eintegratedbyt heFeder al Gov ernmentandar eev eni nthebusi nessof
pipel
inespr otecti
on, theFeder al Gov ernmentshoul di mmedi atel
yl ookint ohowsomet hingl i
ke
thatwill bedonet ot heFulani topr ovidet hem wi thr easonabl emeansofl i
veli
hoodi ncluding
j
obs, wor ki
ngcapi tals,entr
epr eneur shipt r
aining, buildingcl i
nicandschool i
ng."Sadsubmi ssion.
Whyi sj ust i
ceaf r
aidofgoi ngf ort heFul ani bandi ts?Di dNi gerDel tamili
t antsturntheirguns
againstt heirownpeopl e?TheOkahsofMEND, accusedofbombi ngAbuj aonOct ober1, 2010,
weret heynotpr ompt l
yar r
estedandt akent oj ustice?Whywoul dawel l-schooledsomebodyl ike
SheikhGumi chooset hatdubi ousl ine,singingj oyi nf r
ontofdeat h?

Whatdoar medr obber sdot hatt hebandi tsoft henor thwestdon' tdo?TheBr itishBr oadcast ing
Corpor ation( BBC)di dani nsight f
ulrepor tont hesebandi tsinJul ylasty ear.Irecommendi tt o
SheikhGumi andal l l
ikehi m whoseet hebandi tsofKat si
na, Zamf ar a, Sokot oandKadunaas
fr
eedom f ighters.Ther epor twasonwhatt heBBCdescr i
bedas" Mot or cycle-r
idingar med
bandi tsoper atingoutofabandonedf orestr eserves"who" areransacki ngcommuni tiesin
Niger ia'snor th-west ."Whi l
esay i
ngt hatthegr oupswer ethel atestt oj oin" Nigeria'slucrati
ve
ki
dnap- for -
ransom i ndust ry,
"t heBBCnot edt hatthebandi ts"arequi tebr azeni nt heir
oper ations, "cit
ingt wosepar ateoccasi onswhent heyt argetedv il
lager swhohadr eceivedf ood
handout sf rom t hegov ernmentdur i
ngt hecor onav i
rusl ockdown." Theywer eabout200on
mot or bikes, eachbi ker idercar ri
edapassengerandt heyal l
carriedAK- 47guns, "Bashi rKadi sau,
aney ewi tness, toldt heBBC.Hesai dhecl i
mbedt othet opofat reewhenhesawt hel arge
numberofmot or cycler i
derscomi ngint oKadi sauv il
lage, andsawt heat t
ackersl ootshops,
steal cat tl
eandgr ain, andshootpeopl ewhower efl
eei ng.Theher der sar emost lynomadi cand
canbef oundonmaj orhi ghway sandst reetsacr osst hecount r
yher di ngt heircat tl
e..
.Ther epor t
i
dent ifiedt hebandi tsasar medgr oupswi t
hinFul ani communi ti
es.Si gni fi
cantlyt heBBCquot ed
asecur ityanal ystassay ingt hat" t
heher der snowseeki dnappi ngandpi ll
agingasmor e
l
ucr ativet hant heher ding.Thebi ggestcowwoul dgof or200,000nai rabutoneki dnappi ng
woul df et chmi lli
ons.Thi sr epor tshouldbeenoughl i
ghtont hemi ssionoft hef elons.Now, let
measkt heShei khifhei sst il
lsay i
ngt hebandi tshemetwi thint hatf or esthav e" genui ne
concer nsandgr ievances" ?

Itisamisf or
tunet osharesamespacewi thst
rangepeopl
ewhoseent ir
eli
vesarebui
lton
strangeideas.Ialsohear dShei
khGumi decl
ari
ngthatwhatthebandit
sneededwaseducat i
on.
Butisitnott oolateforthesewil
dmenal r
eady?Howdoy out r
ainpeopl
ewhogr ewupsipping
bloodtobewel landresponsibl
eagain?Theti
met omouldpeoplewhochosetobebandi t
sand
whopr ofitfr
om bandi t
ryispast
.Thoseoneswesawwi t
hGumi wr
appedupintali
bantur
bans
withunimagi nableweaponsofdeathar et
oofargone.Theycannotbesaved.Whatweneedt o
workonishowtobesaf
efr
om t
hem andf
rom t
hev
iol
encet
hatwi
l
lcomet
omor
rowf
rom t
hei
r
descendant
s.

Thesol uti
onf ortodayi saf i
rm, responsiblegov er nmentt hati swi l
lingt ogi vethem whatt hey
deser vewhi chisj ustice.Thesol ut i
onf ortomor rowi seducat ionint her ightmeasur ef orthe
kidsoft henor th.Wewer etaughtv eryearlyinl i
fet hatwor ki stheant idot etopov ert
y( Isel’
ogun
i
se) .Wewer eal sot oldt hateducat ionistheonl yst airwayt ogr eatness( ekoni isonii d'oga)
.J. F.
Odunj o,i
nt heol dAl awi yeser i
es, warnsthechi l
dr enofYor ubal andt or unawayf r
om t hose
mocki ngeducat ion.Het ell
sust hateducat i
onmakesonet heboss.Headdsst ronglyt hatwe
mustacqui reitv erywel l.Hegoeson: Biosi riopoeni yan( Andi fyouseeamul ti
tudeofpeopl e);
Ti wonnf iekos’ erinr i
n( whoar emocki ngeducat i
onwi thlaught er);dakunmaf ’arawewon
(pleasedonotkeept hei rcompany );I
yan’bof ’omot ikogbon( sufferi
ngwi llsooncomef orthe
unwi sechild);Ekunn’ bef '
omot onsaki ir
i (
wai l
ingsandt ear sar eforthet ruantchi l
d);Ma
f’
owur oser eor emi (donotpl aywi thyourear l
yy ears,myf riend);Mur asi ise,oj
onl o( wor khard,
ti
mewai tsfornoone) ."Thatwast hephilosophi cal f
oundat iont hatf r
amedev eryYor ubachi l
dof
mygener ation.Wewentt oschool butournei ghbour sfarnor thmocked( andstillmock)
educat i
on.Now, becauseoft hem, ourschool i
ngandal lweacqui redar eal mostusel ess.Wor se
i
s, wecannol ongersl eep.Andt hei rl
eaderssaywear enotal l
owedt ocal lt
hem cr i
mi nals.

"
5"

HOMEBUSI
NESSPOLI
TICSNI
GERI
A EDUCATI
ON EDI
TORI
ALBACKPAGE

Home-THI
SDAYLI
VEl
ogo

So,
Whowi
l
lSpeakupf
orNi
ger
ia?

edi
tor
May12,
20213:
04Am

THEHORI
ZONBYKAYODEKOMOLAFE,kay
ode.
komol
afe@t
hisday
li
ve.
com

ByKAYODEKOMOLAFE

Si
ncei
ndependencet
heuni
tyofNi
ger
iahashar
dlyev
erbeent
akenf
orgr
ant
ed.

Thistopi
cisbeingrevi
sit
edher
ebecauseitisevendanger
oust
ohavefalseassumpti
onstoday
aboutaunitedNigeri
aundert
hewat chofPr
esidentMuhammaduBuhar
i.Thebasisofuni
tyin
thecountr
yisbeingcall
edtoquest
ioninvi
rt
uall
yev er
ypar
toft
hecount
ry.
Ther
efore,i
t’
sti
methosewhogenui
nel
ybel
i
evei
ntheuni
tyofNi
ger
iaspokeupf
ort
he
bel
eagueredcount
ry.

Uni
tyhasal
way
sbeenapr
omi
nenti
tem ont
henat
ional
agendai
npeacet
imeanddur
ingcr
isi
s.

Thetragi
ccivi
lwarwasf oughtt
ouni
tethecount
ryfol
lowi
ngthedecl
arat
ionoft
heRepublicof
Bi
afrawithGener
alChukwuemekaOdumegwu- OjukwuastheHeadofState.Mi
ll
ionsofli
ves
werelosti
nthecri
sis.Duri
ngthewart
hebattl
ecryofthef
ederal
governmentwasthis:
“Tokeep
Niger
iaoneisataskthatmustbedone.”

Morethan50yearsaf
tert
hewar,
iti
sunt
hinkablethatt
het
ypeofforce,
whicht
hegovernment
ofGeneral
YakubuGowonemployedt
okeepNi ger
iaasonenat
ion,coul
dbeappl
icabl
eanymore.

Inst
ead,
whatisrequir
edatthi
sconj
unct
urei
spl
ayi
ngt
hepol
i
ticsofnat
ional
uni
tywi
tht
hedue
senseofhi
stor
icalr
esponsi
bil
i
ty.

I
nparti
cular
,Buharishouldconsciousl
ygiv
epr esi
denti
alleader
shi
ptopromot
enati
onaluni
ty.
Hist
enuremayul t
imatelybedefinedbywhathedoesorf ail
stodotopr
omotenat
ionaluni
ty.At
l
east,
hecouldsowt hepol i
ti
calandsocialseedsthatcouldger
minat
eandgrowtobecome
t
reesinthefor
estofnationalunit
y.

Forinstance,
hecoul dbegintheprocessofrestr
uctur
ingbyi
mplementi
ngthereportofthe2014
nati
onal conf
erence.Hehasmor ethan700dayst odoso.Af
teral
l
,itt
ookPresidentFrankl
i
nD.
Roosev el
tonly100dayst olaythefoundat
ionoftheNewDeal f
orwhichheisremember edin
hi
story.Admittedl
y,Roosevelthadaclearvi
sionofAmer i
cat
hathepursuedwithpoli
ciesand
programmes.

Att
heendoft
heNi
ger
ianci
vi
lwar
,thenat
ionwasr
euni
ted.

However,i
thassubsequent
lywi
tnessedal
otofbl
oodl
ett
ingi
nthecour
seofcr
isesi
nwhi
ch
nat
ional
integr
ati
onhasbeenafactor.

Allt
heconst i
tut
ionswri
ttenforNiger
iahavealwayshav ehadprovi
sionstostr
engthennati
onal
cohesion.Pol
ici
esandpr ogrammeshav ebeendesignedandexecut edtopromotenati
onal
i
ntegrati
on.Somepr ovi
sionsintheChapterI
Iofthe1999const i
tut
ionaremeanttobolster
onenessinthecountryasoneoft he“FundamentalObject
ivesandDi r
ect
ivePri
nci
plesofStat
e
Poli
cy.”

Nati
onalbroadcastsbyelect
edpr esidentsandmi l
itar
yheadsofst atehavebeenladenwi t
h
exhor
tati
onsaboutt heimperat
iveofnat ionaluni
ty.Fori
nstance,onOctober1,1980,Presi
dent
ShehuShagari,l
i
stedmai nt
aini
ngnat ionalunit
yasoft heachievementsofhisgovernment.Thi
s
wasjustadecadeaf tert
hecivi
lwar .Shagar i
’
sNationalPartyofNigeri
a(NPN)foughtthe1979
electi
onsont heplatf
orm ofnat i
onaluni
ty.Member sandsuppor ter
sofNPNwer eproudofthe
proclaimedachievement .Theoppositi
onparti
es,ofcourse,wouldlikeShagar itopointtomore
“concreteachievements.”Theparty’
ssloganwas“ OneNat i
on, OneDest iny
.”Thequest i
onof
unitywasalsocent r
altot hepoli
ti
csofthesecondmostpopul arparty.Thepar tyansweredthe
quest i
onwithitsname, UnityPart
yofNigeri
a(UPN) .Thepresidenti
al candidateofUPN, Chi
ef
Obaf emiAwolowo, campai gnedonanuni mpeachablesocialdemocr ati
cplatform.

Hesol dthei
deasoff r
eeeducati
on,freehealthcare,f
ull
empl oymentandintegratedrural
development.Hist
raducerscoul
dnotef fecti
velyf
aulthim onwhathecal l
edt he“car
dinal
programmes.”Awolowo’sopponents,howev er,st
eadil
yputhi m ont
hedef ensiveonthe
questionofnati
onaluni
ty.Theyaccusedhi m ofbeinganethnicchauvi
nistwhocoul dnotbe
mor ethanaYorubaleader.“
Awoi sat r
ibal
ist(si
c)”wasthecommoncampai gnagainsttheUPN
l
eader .

Todayv i
rt
ual
lyever
ybodyisabelieveri
n“tr
uefeder
ali
sm.”It
’snowlitt
ler
ememberedt hat
Awolowowasoncecr uci
fi
edforhisposi
ti
onasanunwav eri
ngfederal
ist
.Hetheor
isedabout
federal
i
sm andworkedhar dt
oputi nt
opracti
cewhenhehadt hejobofthechi
efexecuti
ve
offi
ceaspremieroftheoldwesternregi
on(thepr
esentsout
hwestandEdoandDel ta)
.

Thepointatissueherei sthatadvocatesoff eder

ali
sm wereonceaccusedofnotbei ngful
ly
commi t
tedtonat i
onal uni
ty.Themili
taryregimeswor senedthematt
erwi t
ht hei
rimpoli
ti
cand
mechanicaldrivefor“unif
icat
ion.
”Today ,
“truefederal
ism”hasbeenelevatedtolevelofa
panaceatoNi geri
a’sproblems.

Hi
stori
call
y,howev
er,
somepar
ti
sansofnat
ional
int
egr
ati
onusedt
obei
mpat
ientev
enwi
tht
he
f
ederal
isti
dea.

Thef oregoi
ngistodemonstrat
et hattheunit
yofNigeri
awasonceconsider
edtobewor t
hyof
defence.Ont hecont
rary
,todefendtheunityofNiger
iaisnomoref
ashionabl
etodaybecauseof
thefissipar
ousfermentonthenationalhor
izon.

Somest r
anget endenci
esint
hecri
sisofnati
onhoodareoft
enignoredbypundits.Oneofsuch
tendenci
esisforthosewhohavethepri
vil
egedofholdi
nghighnati
onalposit
ionsof
responsi
bil
i
tyandsensiti
vi
tytor
egressi
ntobeingethni
cchampionsinret
irement.

Herewear et
alki
ngofthosewhohist
oryhadonceputi nvant
agepositi
onstoseethe
complexi
tyofNiger
iabecauseoft
heresponsi
bil
i
tiesassi
gnedthem andinf
ormati
onavai
l
abl
e
tot
hem.

Thistendencyisi
mmor alandindefensi
ble.Inthesi
tuat
ion,aNigeri
anwhohascommandedt he
Nigeri
anarmyorwhowasoncet heinspector-
gener
alofthepoliceort
heheadofasecur
ity
agencydoesn’tseeanythi
ngawkwar dinspewi nget
hnicprejudi
ceagai
nstothergr
oupsi
n
defenceofitsownethnicorregi
onal gr
oup.
Si
mi l
arly,
somethingiswr ongwithanat ioninwhichthosewhohav eheadedthenati
onal
parl
iamentmaki ngl
awsf ort
hef ederat
iontransmuteint
oregional
championsandet hni
c
i
rredenti
sts.Nobodythinksanythingisstrangeforaone–t i
memi nist
erofthefederalr
epubl
ic
whowasi nchargeofthef or
mulat i
onandexecut i
onofpoli
cieswithgr
eatimpacts(negati
veor
positi
ve)onthepoli
ti
cal economyandt hesociet
ynowsuppor ti
ngsecessi
on.

I
nf act,i
tshouldbeconsider
edapoli
tical
abominati
onf oranyfor
mercommander -i
n- chiefoft
he
Nigeri
anar medforcestoeverbel
ongtoanethnicorregional
organi
sati
on.I
tismor ally
untenable.Whenyoulistent
osomef ormernat
ionaloff
iceholder
sonissuesborderingon
nati
onal uni
tyyouwonderhowt heymanagedtoformulateorimplementnat
ionalpoliciesin
goodf ai
thwiththi
smi ndset
.

Thesamepri
nci
pleal
soappli
estothosewhohavehadt
hehonourofr
epr
esent
ingNi
ger
ia
out
sideassy
mbolsofthenat
ion’
ssoverei
gnt
y.

Howcanyoubui
ldanati
onwhenthosewhooncemanagedt
heaf
fai
rsoft
henat
ionar
enot
wi
ll
i
ngtowavethenat
ion’
sfl
aganymore?

Theotherdayt her
ewasar eferendum ontheseparationofScotlandf
rom t
heUnitedKingdom.
Signi
fi
cantl
y,twoformerBrit
ishpr i
memi ni
stersofScotti
shorigi
n,TonyBl
airandGordonBrown,
campaignedv i
gorousl
yinsuppor tofScotl
andremaininginBrit
ainwit
hagreaterdevol
uti
onof
powersandot herpoli
ti
calr
eforms.Asi nt
angibleasthispoi
ntmayappear,iti
sfir
mlyattheroot
ofthepresentgrandassaul
tont heideaofnationali
ntegrat
ion.

Aft
eral
l,
everynat
ioni
sbui
l
tbyi
tspeopl
ewi
thsomeper
sonst
hrownupbyhi
stor
ytopl
ay
deci
si
verol
es.

Tot heseparati
sts,i
tisnaïvei fnotoutdatedtospeaki nfavouroftheunityofNi ger
ia.Themost
disastrousnai
vety,howev er
, i
st oignor
ethegr avedangerofanar chythatmaydescendon
Nigeriaintheeventofdisintegrati
on.What everdef
icit
sthispresentdispensati
onmayhav e
recordedsince1999, i
tisstill
bet t
erthanmobocr acy(thati
st hedemocr acyofthemobs)and
thereignofethnicwarlords.Wi ththeheav i
lypoi
sonedpubl i
cspher eandfreeflowofar msiti
s
sheerf ant
asytoimagineaneatandbl oodlessseparati
onofanypar tofNiger
ia.

Worsesti
l
l,separ
ati
stagit
ati
onsthatusedtobeonthemargi
nofthepol
i
tical
landscapear
e
cr
eepingt
ot hecent
restagewit
hpublicint
ell
ect
ual
sbusyr
ati
onal
i
singmobact i
ons.

Specif
icall
y,t
hosewhohav eprocl
aimedt herepubli
csofOduduwaandBiafr
awithf
lags,
passportsandcurrenciesi
nthecyberspaceshouldponderapointmadeaboutt
hefateof
Nigeri
abyaf ell
owcol umni
stonthispage,OlusegunAdeniy
i,whenhespokeonMayDayatthe
Plat
form, aprogr
ammeoft heCovenantChri
stianCent
reinLagos.

Adeni
yiconcludedhi
shighlyper
cept
ivepr
esentat
ionli
kethi
s:“
Ther
eisenor
mousstrengthi
n
ourdi
versi
ty.Ifwegetouractst
oget
herNiger
iawill
cert
ainl
ybemorethant
hesum ofit
sparts.
”
Unf
ort
unat
ely
,Buhar
ihasgr
ossl
ymi
smanagedt
henat
ion’
sdi
ver
sit
y.

Theagitator
sofOduduwaandBi afr
arepubli
csshould,
howev er
,bepersuadedtoacceptt
he
proposit
ionthatNiger
ianeedseverypartt
obeagr eatcountr
yjustaseverypar
tneedsNiger
ia
i
nt hecontextofthenati
on’shi
story
.BishopMathewKukahi squit
erightwhenhesay st
hati
tis
“cheaperforNigeri
atoremainunit
ed”thantodi
sintegr
ate.

Thosewhowantt hetwomajorethni
cgroupsinthesoutht obecarv
edintodif
fer
entrepubl
i
cs
seem notconsi
derj
udici
ousl
ythefateofthedozensofmi nor
it
ygroupsinthesouth,
notto
speakofthenort
hernonesintheeventofnat
ionaldi
sint
egrati
on.

Inamostpr ovocativemanner ,somei ntriguingmapsoft hepr oclaimedOduduwaRepubl ic

i
ncludet hegeo-pol i
ti
calspaceofet hni cgr oupsi nEdoandDel tastatesasi ftheyar eethnicall
y
Yoruba.Simi l
arl
y, t
helandareasofet hni cgr oupsinthesout h- southar eincludedi nsome
nostalgi
cmapsofBi afr
a.TheYor ubaandt heIgboareet hnicgr oupsoft ensofmi ll
ionsof
people.Therear eotherethnicgroupsi nt hesout hthatar eonl yi nhundr edsoft housands; some
areeveni ntensoft housands.Andpoi gnant ly
,someoft heseet hnicgr oupsar elocatedint he
oil
-pr
oduci ngareasoft heNigerDel t
awher etheenv i
ronmenti sdegr adedandexpl oit
edandt he
peopleliveinpov ert
yafterdecadesofext r
actionofpet roleum f rom t hei
rbacky ardtosustai n
theNigerianeconomy .Nowi tisproject edt hatfossilfuel wil
l substant i
allylosev alueinamat ter
ofadecade.Essent ial
ly
,thepropositionoft heYorubaandI gbosepar ati
st sisthatt heethnic
groupsoft heNigerDel tabecomemi cror epubl i
csofpov ert
y .Thati sasel f
ishpr opositi
on.
Theseot hergroupsar easdi ff
erentfr om oneanot herast heI gboandYor ubaar ediff
erentfrom
eachot her.I
nsuchascenar io,doesany oneexpectaneatemer genceofapl ethoraofr epublics?

WhiletheNigeri
anstat
eshouldbetol
dthatunit
ycannotbeforcedordecreedintoexi
stence,i
t
i
sal sover
yimpor t
antt
omaket heseparat
istst
oseethefuti
l
ityofusi
ngv i
olencetopursuethei
r
dreams.Neithert
headvocat
esofunitynorthesepar
ati
stswouldbenefi
tfrom thel
oomi ng
anarchy.

Inchampi
oningthecauseoft hei
rrespecti
veethni
cgr oups,OhanezeNdigboandAf eni
fer
ehav
e
wisel
yart
icul
atedthecaseforrest
ructuri
ng.Thetwoor ganisati
onswhosemember shi
ps
i
ncludest
atemenhav erej
ectedsecession.Theseethnicorganisat
ionshavesust
ainedthe
clamourf
orrestr
uctur
ingi
nt hemostci vi
li
sedcult
ureofdebat e.

Awayf r
om ethnicsol
utions,t
hedebatehasev enbeendeepenedandenr ichedfrom apopul
ar-
democrati
cperspecti
ve.Fori nst
ance,r
emar kablyfrom t
heLeft,
Comr adeEdwi nMadunagu,a
Marxist
,hasbeenwr i
tingonrestruct
uri
ngint helast35years.Heengagedt helateChi
ef
AnthonyEnahorowhoal somadei mpor
tantcont r
ibuti
onstothedebat
ei ncludi
nggivi
ngthe
shapeofarestructur
edNi ger
ia.

Madunagu,whoi nci
dent
allywil
lturn75onSat
ur day,onceencapsulat
edhi sproposi
ti
onsin
manyessaysasf oll
ows:“Niger
iawill
remai
naf ederalrepubl
ic;
thecurrentpri
ncipl
esof
ci
ti
zenshi
p,fundamentalhumanr ight
sandpri
nciplesofstatepoli
cywillbeenhanced;the
feder
al gover
nmentwil
lgiveupasubstanti
alf
racti
onofit
scurrentappropri
ati
ontothestates
andlocal gov
ernment
s.Thest at
es,
int
urn,wil
lfi
nancethezonesandt helocalgover
nment swil
l
fi
nancet hecommunit
ies.Final
ly
—andthisi
sthe“magic”ofpopulardemocracy—the“costof
governance”,bot
hinr
elati
veandabsol
uteterms,wil
lbemuchl essthanwhatitisatpresent.
”

Theelit
esoftheYorubaandIgboet hni
cgroupsshouldbewaryofthedangeroft
hebudding
fasci
stsint
heirmi
dstwav i
ngthef l
agsofethni
cliber
ati
on.Therei
sthisast
oni
shi
ngtendencyof
member softheel
it
econcedingleadershi
pt ot
hemoboutoff rust
rat
ionwit
hthestat
eofthings
i
nNi geri
a.I
t’
sadestruct
ivepat
ht otakeintheci
rcumstance.

Allt
old,t
hecoll
apseofgover
nanceatall
level
sisamajorfact
ori
nthecri
sisplagui
ngtheland.
Burgeoni
ngpover t
ydemonst
rat
esthefai
lur
eofy ear
sofexper
iment
ati
onwi t
hneo-li
ber
alsocio-
economicpoli
cies.

Doubtl
ess,masspov
ert
yisf
uel
l
ingt
hesoar
ingwav
eofi
nsecur
it
ywhi
chi
ntur
nexacer
bat
est
he
t
hreattonati
onal
uni
ty.

TheNiger
iancondi
ti
ontodayisabi
tterproofthatuni
tycanonl
ybesustai
nedont
hebasi
sof
soci
alj
usti
ceandequit
yusingthei
nstrumentali
tyofi
nclusi
vepol
i
cies.

Buhari
’spr
ofessedagendacompri
sesSecur
it
y,EconomyandAnti
-cor
rupti
on(SEA).The
Presi
dentshoul
dbesuggesti
bleenought
oaddNat i
onalUni
tyt
oit
spolicyplat
eforthenext24
months.Aft
erall
,SEANUdoesn’tl
ookali
keabadacr ony
m!

QUOTE

“
Buhar
ishoul
dconsci
ousl
ygi
vepr
esi
dent
ial
leader
shi
ptopr
omot
enat
ional
uni
ty”

NEXTARTI
CLE

"
6"

Al
lRi
ght
sReser
ved
TheCabl
e

Ty
pey
oursear
chquer
yandhi
tent
er:

Ty
peHer
e

HOMEPAGETOPSTORI
ES

ONTHEGOTOPSTORI
ESVI
EWPOI
NT

Ni
ger
ianpol
i
tici
ansandt
hei
rgunmen

Ni
ger
ianpol
i
tici
ansandt
hei
rgunmen

AUTHOR:

Si
monKol
awol
e

MARCH6,
202111:
37PM

Sadly,t
hisst or
ymakesmel augh.Ahumanr i
ght
sact i
vistshar edwi thmeanexper i
enceshehad
duri
ngagov ernorshi
pelect
ioninoneoft hesout
h-westst atesmanyy earsago.Shesaidshe
wasi nthest at
ecapital
onel ecti
onevewhenshel earntthatar enownedpol it
icalt
hug(whois
nowbei ngbr andedbysectionsofthemedi aasamessi ah)wasi nthegov er
nmenthouse
prepari
ngt ounleashmay hem thenextday.Theactiv
istpani ckedandr equestedtoseethe
l
eaderoft hepol i
ceteam detail
edfr
om Abujatoov er
seesecur ityfortheelect
ion.Shesaidshe
tol
dt hepolicechief“
thi
sguyi ngovernmenthousehaski ll
edpeopl e”dur i
ngelecti
onsandthat
hemustbecagedbyal lmeans.

Adv
ert
isement

“Youknowhowt hepoli
cechi efrepli
edme? ”sheaskedme, rhetori
cally
.“Hesi mpl ysaid:‘
God
willcatchhi m oneday!’
Iwasr at
tled.Itoldhim: ‘
It
’sli
key oudidn’thearmewel l
, sir
.Isaidthis
guyhaski ll
edov erahundredpeopl ei nrecentelecti
ons!Hei sheret okill
!’
Thepol i
cechief
repl
ied: ‘Iheardyouverywell.Yout hinktheguyi singov ernmenthousewi thoutago- aheadf r
om
Abuj a?Yout hi
nkthosewhosentmeher edidn’tknowhei sal
soher e?Yout hi
nkt heydon’tknow
thathei sher eforthi
selecti
onaswel l
?Pleasedon’ tputmei ntrouble.Godwi llcatchhi m one
day.’ Mybr other
,itwasunbelievable.
”If el
tsodej ectedaftertheconv ersati
on,ev enthoughI
wasl aughingont hesurf
ace.
Inmyar ti
cle,‘ANationSur roundedbyGunmen’ (Febr
uary28,2021) ,
Ilamentedt hatthepol
it
ical
authori
ti
esar emaki ngi tdiff
icultforthesecur i
tyagenci
estotackleinsecurit
ybecauseoft heir
codedmessages.Af terreadingt hearti
cle,aretir
edpoli
cecommi ssionergavemeacal l
.He
emphasisedj ustonet hi
ngf rom myar t
icl
e:“Nobodywant stobesacked. ”Byt hetimeweended
ourlongconv er
sati
on, Iwast ot
allydowncast .Ialr
eadyhadani deaofmostofwhathewas
tel
l
ingme, butt hedet ail
sf r
om hi spersonal experi
encefur
therweakenedme.Thel ongand
shortofourdi scussioni sthatNi geri
anpoliti
ciansneedtocomecl eanonmuchoft heanar
chy
rui
ningthel and.

Letmesummar isewhathesai dinj

ustonepar agraph:“Thereisalotalr
eadybeingsaidabout
thecorrupti
oni nthesecurit
yagenci es,thelackofequi pment ,
thepoorwel f
are,
thehuman
ri
ghtsabusesandot herissues.Theonebi gthingthathasnotcaughtt heat t
ent
ionofy ou
j
ournali
stsist heroleofpoli
ticiansi
nf uell
ingtheinsecur i
ty.Mostofthesepeoplewecal lNi
ger
Delt
ami li
tants,bandits,
terr
oristsandar medr obberstodaywer eproducedbypol i
ti
cians.When
theyhadbeenusedf orel
ecti
onsanddumpedt hereaft
er,theytooktofull
-t
imecrime,deploy
ing
thearmst hatwer egiventothem byt hepol i
ti
cians.Thatispar t
lywhywear ehere.Andwear e
i
nser i
oust r
oubl e.
”

Adv
ert
isement

Her emi ndedmehowmi li

tancystart
edint heNigerDelta:howagov er norwhowant edtobe
presidentst art
edarmingthugst oterr
ori
sehi spoli
tical
opponents;howhef el
loutwi t
hthefir
st
groupoft hugsafterhi
sre-electi
onandr aisedanot hergrouptocount erthem; howt hetwo
groupsst ar t
edengagingingunbat tl
es;howoneoft hegr oupswasbackedbyt hefederal
gover nmentandt hel
eaderoft heothergr oupwaschar gedt ocourt
; andhowdi ff
erentgroups
start
edcomi ngupasthet hugsreali
sedt heki ndofpowert heycoul
dwi eldandhowmuchof
crudeoi ltheycouldsteal
;andhowt heyfinallyrebr
andedascampai gner sforeconomi cand
social j
usticeintheoilr
egion.

“Simon, ”hesaid.“Icantakey out hrought heli

stoft hecri
minal
sgivingpolicethet oughestt i
me
acrosst hecount r
y–f rom t henorthtot hesout h.Mostofthem areproductsofpol it
icianseither
j
ost l
i
ngf orpowerort r
yingt oretainit
.Ther eisnost atei
nNigeri
awher epol i
ti
ciansdon’ thav e
thugswhom t heyarm atel ecti
ont i
mes.Theonl yplacetodaywherewedon’ thaveest ablished
poli
tical t
hugsandt hugl eadersisAbuj a.Andi tisveryeasytounderst
andwhy :thereisno
gover norormay orinAbuj a.TheFCTmi nist
erisappoi nt
edbythepresident.Ifweest ablisha
may or al
tyinAbujatoday ,poli
ti
ciansjost l
i
ngf orthepositi
onwillst
artbreedingthugs.Abuj awill
notknowpeaceagai n.
”
Het ol
dmet heor i
ginsofthe“ECOMOGboy s”inBornostate,manyofwhom obv iousl
yendedup
i
nBokoHar am af t
erthe2003gener alel
ecti
on.Het ol
dmeaboutt he“Yandababoy s”inKano
stat
ewhower ereadil
ydeployedaspol i
ti
calt
hugsduringelecti
ons.Hecamet othesouth-west
andgav emeacompr ehensiveli
stofthe“uni
onleaders”whohav ebeenper petuati
ngcriminal
it
y,
suchaskidnappi ngandmur der
,withoutanyconsequences–becauseoft he“big”poli
ti
cians
theyarewor kingfor.Someoft hem aredeadnow.Ther ewasal sotheexampl eofthelate
TerwaseAkwaza( “Gana”)inBenuest at
ewhol edthekil
li
nggangsf orpoli
tici
ansandbecame
uncontrol
l
abl e.

Adv
ert
isement

Aftert
hecall
,Ibegant ochewont hediscussion.Iconcludedthattherei
sdefinit
elyal i
nk
betweenourbrandofpol it
icsandt heri
seinguncr i
mesi nNigeri
a.Idonotsuggesti nanyway
thatal
lcr
imesar eli
nkedt opolit
icsandpoliti
cians.True,ri
ghtfr
om thetimeNi geri
ast ar
ted
managingit
sdemocr acyaftercoloni
alrul
e,electi
onshav ealwayswi t
nessedonef orm of
viol
enceortheother.Butthatdoesnott ell
thewhol est or
yofguncr imeinNigeria;af
terall
,
armedrobberystart
edf l
our i
shi
ngundermi li
taryruleandt her
ewer ecasesofassassi nati
ons
hereandthereaswel l.I
twillt
herefor
ebedi si
ngenuoust oli
mitvi
olentcri
mest ocivil
r ul
e.Ther
e
i
snosuchev i
dence.

Also,asIpoi ntedoutinapr evi

ousar ti
cle,wehav ewat chedNi geriamov efr
om onel evelof
i
nsecur it
yt oanothersi
ncewegai nedindependencei n1960, bothundercivilr
uleandmi li
tar
y
regimes.Nev er
thel
ess,politici
anshav eplayedasubst ant i
alroleinfuell
i
ngt hedegeneration
since1999.Wecannotdi scusst heinsecurit
yandi gnor ethisfact.Thenurseryofthugsi s
alway sthere,sothepoliti
cianst apintoitandtakeitast ephigherbyar mingthem towi nor
retai
npower .Theyhavel i
ttl
eneedf orthem afterel
ectionsandt hethugsnowhav etofendf or
themsel ves.Thearmst heycar r
yandt hepol i
ti
calprotect i
ontheyenj oymakei teasyforthem.
Polit
iciansarekeyenabl ers.

Ihavealwaysar guedthatpol i
ti
ciansar eunder miningthesecurityagenci es.Gi
vepolicet hebest
personnel
,equipmentandf undingi fyoulike,butwewi llst
il
lbeatt hemer cyofakill
-or-
be-kil
l
ed
poli
ti
calcult
uret hatproduces“ youthleaders”and“ uni
onexcos” .Itisfr
om amongt hesey out
h
l
eaders,motorpar kchai rmen,roadt r
anspor tassociat
ionsandst reeturchinst
hatpoliti
cians
empowergunment ointimidateandel iminatetheiropponents.Ki ll
erweaponst oequi pthe
thugsarebroughti nt
ot hecount ryeit
herbyl andorseaandof ficialsatthebordersorpor tsare
usuall
yinducedt olookt heotherway .Thegunsbecomemul ti
-pur posewhenel ecti
ondust s
set
tl
e.

Therearequest ionsIalway sli

ketoaskforwhi chIam yettogetanswer s.TheNigeri
an
CustomsSer vice( NCS)announcesal l
theti
met hati
tsoffi
cialshaveseizedil
l
egall
yimported
“pumpact ionr ifl
es”–butwhydowenothearaboutpr osecutionafter
wards?Howmanypeopl e
havebeenchar gedtocour tforil
l
egali
mportationofarms?Thecar goeswereshippedwith
document ation, ri
ght?Isitthatdi
ffi
cul
ttotr
ackt heimporters?Letmeguess: theimport
ershave
connecti
onst opol it
ici
ans.Whenawel l-
publi
cisedcrimeinNi geri
aendsupi nnothi
ng,besure
somepeopl ehav epressedbut t
onssomewher eandwewi ll
nothearaboutt hematteragai
n.
ThisisNigeria.

Adv
ert
isement

Ther etir
edpol i
cecommi ssionerrecountedinstancesofwhenpol it
icalthugswoul dber ounded
upont heev eofanelecti
onandhi ssuper i
orswoul dcomeunderi ntensepr essuretorelease
them.“ OnedayIl ookedatmybossandIal mostshedt ears.Thepressur eonhi m wasjusttoo
much.Theywoul dbesaying:So,itistr
uey ouwantourpar tytolose?Soi tistruethatyouhav e
coll
ectedmoneyf rom ouropponent s?Iti
sat oughjob,”hesaid.Thepr essuredoesnotst op
ther
e, certai
nly.I
tcomeswi thname- droppi
ngofhi gherpoli
tical
authoriti
esandt hreatsofsack
for“betrayal”and“compromi se”
.Onl ythefi
ttestofthefi
tt
estcanr emai nfi
rm undersuch
cir
cumst ances.

Whi l
ewecont i
nuet odiscussthei nsecuri
tyinNi geri
aal ongtheli
nesofweaksecur i
ty
archit
ecture,porousbor ders,
pov ertyl
evelsandunempl oymentrates,wemustnotl osesightof
theignobleroleofourpol it
ici
ans.I narecentv i
ral v
ideo, amandescr i
bedasa“ repentant
bandit”saiditwas“ government ”thatgavethem guns.Iunder st
oodt hatt omeanagov ernor
’s
agentssuppl i
edt heseedgunswi thwhicht heyst art
edt hei
rbanditryenterpr
ise.Irecall
how
someoft heOf f
ar obbers,whoki l
led33peopl eincluding12pol i
ceof fi
cer si
n2018, report
edly
confessedt hattheywer epoli
ticalthugsdur i
ngt heday .Evenstategov ernmentv ehi
cleswere
all
egedlyfoundwi t
hthem.

Howcanweov ercomet hi
s?IwishIhadt heanswer .Maybei f,
orwhen, wehav estat
epol i
ce,it
wouldli
mittheil
legalarmsli
nkedtoelecti
oneering.Governorswoul dbef ul
l
yinchargeoft he
pol
iceinthei
rstates.Theywould,t
hus,notneedt oarmt hugst ointimi
dateandeliminat
et hei
r
opponentsasitcurrent
lyobt
ains.However,t
hismaynotst opt hei
ropponentsfrom havingtheir
ownthugs.Whilegov er
norsmaybeabl eto“legall
y”usef orcetofrustr
ateandcontaintheir
opponents–inwhi chcasethearmsincircul
ationwi l
lbe“ l
egal”–t hei
ropponentsmayr aisethe
barandi
ncreaset
hecal
i
breofweaponsf
ort
hei
rownt
hugs.Ihonest
lydonotknowhowt
hings
wil
lpanout
.

Butwhat ev erwearedoi ngt oaddresst hei nsecurit

yinthel and, wemustnotl osesightofthe
fact
oriest hatproducegunmen.Per hapsweneedci rcui
tbreaker s–orout li
ers.Weneedj udges,
poli
cechi efs,governorsandpr esidentswhoar er eadytobuckt hetrend,whoar ereadytodo
whatisrightnomat terthecost ,
whoseul timatedesi rei
stot akeNi geriatothepathofpeace
andprogr ess.Thati swhyIt hi
nkourpol it
iciansalsoneedt ohav eanhonestconv ersati
onwi t
h
thei
rconsci encesont her olet
heyar eplayingindest abi
li
singt hissociety
.Theyneed
i
ntrospect i
on.Ifourpoliti
ciansdon’tchanget heirway s,
somet hi
ngswi l
lneverchangeinNi ger
ia.
Wer eapwhatt heysow.

Adv
ert
isement

ANDFOUROTHERTHI
NGS…

VACCI
NEVI
RTUE

Yesterday ,PresidentMuhammaduBuhar iandVi ce-

Presi
dentYemi Osinbaj
opubl i
clyt ookt
he
COVI D-19v accine.That, t
ome, i
sav eryimportant“doasIdo”messaget otheNi gerianpubli
c.I
l
iketheopt i
cs.Iam al soimpr essedbyt hehugenumberofNi gerianswhohav eregi steredto
takethej abast hewor l
dur gentl
ytriest oreducei nf
ecti
ons,overcomet hepandemi candgo
backt onor mal .Iknowt hatthereligiousfanaticsandconspi r
acyt heori
sts–or“ dramaqueens”
l
ikeGov ernorYahay aBel l
oofKogi state–wi llconti
nuetoresistthev acci
ne,butatl eastpeople
nowhav eachoi ce.Wehav elosttoomanyl ovedonest oCOVI Df orusnott obotherabout
fi
ndingasol uti
on.Pr ogress.

BLOCKADEBAGGAGE

Foodst uffsell
ersandcat tl
edealersf r
om nor t
hernNi geriarecentl
yplaceda“ blockade”onthe
sout htoprotestoftheki l
li
ngoft heircoll
eagues.Expect edly,pr
icesofcer t
ainfoodstuff
swent
throught heskies.Thisopenedt heey esofmanysout hernerstohowdependentt heyareon
foodsuppl iesfrom t
henor th.Theuni ntendedeffectist hatfoodpricesalsocrashed
dramat ical
lyinthenorthasar esultofov ersuppl
y .Perishableit
emsal sostartedwast i
ngaway.
Bot hsidessuf f
eredlossesindifferentway s.Thesimpl emessagei sthatweneedeachot her
,at
l
eastf ornow.Butt hebi ggerwarning, i
nmyv i
ew, i
sthev ul
nerabil
it
yofthesout ht oafoodcri
sis
i
fthenor
thembar
ksonabl
ockage.Lessons.

Par
t1
©2017-
2020Abat
iMedi
a

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