Monday, July 11, 2011
The Nigerian Civil War......
The Nigerian Civil War, Causes, Strategies, And Lessons Learnt By Major Abubakar A. Atofarati: CSC 1992 Student: US Marine Command & Staff College(Academic Year 1991/92) 1. Outline. 2. Introduction. 3. Executive Summary. 4. Background History of Nigeria. 5. History of the Nigerian Army before 1966. 6. The War - Planning Strategies. 7. The Clash of Arms. 8. Lessons Learnt. 9. Conclusion. 10. Bibliography. OUTLINE The Nigerian Civil War was fought to reintegrate and reunify the country. This paper will focus on the causes of the war, strategies employed by the belligerents in the conflict, and the lessons learnt. INTRODUCTION The Federation of Nigeria, as it is known today, has never really been one homogeneous country, for it's widely differing peoples and tribes. This obvious fact notwithstanding, the former colonial master decided to keep the country one in order to effectively control her vital resources for their economic interests. Thus, for administrative convenience the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914. Thereafter the only thing this people had in common was the name of their country since each side had different administrative set - up.This alone was an insufficient basis for true unity. Under normal circumstances the amagalmation ought to have brought the various peoples together and provided a firm basis for the arduous task of establishing closer cultural, social, religious, and linguistic ties vital for true unity among the people. There was division, hatred, unhealthy rivalry, and pronounced disparity in development. The growth of nationalism in the society and the subsequent emergence of political parties were based on ethnic/tribal rather than national interests, and therefore had no unifying effect on the peoples against the colonial master. Rather, it was the people themselves who were the victims of the political struggles which were supposed to be aimed at removing foreign domination. At independence Nigeria became a Federation and remained one country. Soon afterwards the battle to consolidate the legacy of political and military dominance of a section of Nigeria over the rest of the Federation began with increased intensity. It is this struggle that eventually degenerated into coup, counter coup and a bloody civil war. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Nigerian Civil War broke out on 6 July 1967. The war was the culmination of an uneasy peace and stability that had plagued the Nation from independence in 1960. This situation had its genesis in the geography, history, culture and demography of Nigeria. The immediate cause of the civil war itself may be identified as the coup and the counter coup of 1966 which altered the political equation and destroyed the fragile trust existing among the major ethnic groups. As a means of holding the country together in the last result, the country was divided into twelve states from the original four regions in May 1967. The former Eastern Region under Lt. Col. Ojukwu saw the act of the creation of states by decree "without consultation" as the last straw, and declared the Region an independent state of "Biafra". The Federal Government in Lagos saw this as an act of secession and illegal. Several meetings were held to resolve the issue peacefully without success. To avoid disintegration of the country, the central government was left with only one choice of bringing back the Region to the main fold by force. The Federal side expected a quick victory while the Biafrans saw the war as that of survival and were ready to fight to the last man. By August 1967, the war had been extended to the Mid - Western Region by the Biafrans with the aim to relief pressure on the northern front and to threaten the Federal Capital, Lagos. Both sides employed Political, Diplomatic, Psychological and Military strategies to prosecute the war. By the end of April 1969, after almost two years of bloody and destructive war, the envisioned quick victory had eluded the Federal side, the rebel enclave had been drastically reduced in size but the Biafrans were still holding on. More peace conferences were held but none achieved a cease - fire and an end to the war. The Federals embarked on a strategic envelopment of the remaining Biafran enclave. By the Christmas of 1969, it was obvious that the end of the civil war was near. The self - acclaimed Head of State of Biafra, Lt. Col. Ojukwu, realizing the hopelessness of the situation fled the enclave with his immediate family members on the 10th of January 1970. The Commander of the Biafran Army who took over the administration of the remaining enclave surrendered to the Federal Government on 14th January 1970 bringing an end to the war, secessionist attempt and bloodshed. Several lessons were learnt from the war and these have helped in the unification, political, military and economical progress of the country. THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR CAUSES, STRATEGIES AND LESSONS LEARNT The Nigerian civil war, popularly known all over the world as the "Biafran War" was fought from 2 July 1967 to 15 January 1970. The war was between the then Eastern Region of Nigeria and the rest of the country. The Eastern Region declared itself an independent state which was regarded as an act of secession by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria. The war was fought to reunify the country. In order to understand what led to the civil war,
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
It might be too soon to pronounce either a favourable or unfavourable verdict on the overall performance of INEC as the impartial umpire of Nigeria’s most complex elections ever. The true test of the process, as an expression of grassroots political sentiment, is still to come. The elections of members of state Houses of Assembly and state Governors will take place at the end of this week. These should have come before the Federal polls if the process was chronologically scheduled. The National Assembly deliberately reversed the order of elections to suit its members purposes when they amended the Electoral Act. This is an example of how legitimacy can unseat natural justice. There is nothing that the public can do to change it. No political institution has the power to force a public referendum on the issue. In spite of this it cannot be denied that Professor Attahiru Jega has overseen an unprecedentedly transparent and refreshingly credible process. The ongoing development of the methodology of electioneering illustrated by the conduct of both of the exercises that have taken place so far suggests that Prof. Jega’s INEC will end the journey on a high note. The forthcoming polls will arguably be the most challenging in the series. The number of candidates to be elected is far more than that of the previous polls. The issues and sentiments that are deployed in state elections are often volatile because they are locally focused. For these and other reasons INEC will have to exercise increased vigilance over the process and undertake much more collaboration with local participants in the conduct of its duties. This will test the durability and relevance of the process to its limit and it is only when the exercise has been concluded that the full impact of the Jega-led transformation of the electoral process in Nigeria can be adequately judged. Nonetheless the conduct of last week’s Presidential election must be commended for its impeccable adherence to the formal processes of competition. These processes have resulted in an incontrovertible triumph for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Only those who are driven by personal disappointment over the failure of their candidates would argue that the outcome does not represent the true shape of the electoral will of the nation. The challengers themselves must be aware of the veracity of the final result. The refusal of Gen. Buhari to concede defeat as soon as it was clear what the voting trend was does no justice to his claims of integrity and fairness. His search for evidence to justify his claim of endemic irregularities cannot be justified. It is hardly likely that the exercise could have gone off quite as smoothly as it did, in spite of pockets of violence and some reports of attempts to violate the regulations, if widespread rigging had been attempted. Prof. Jega’s use of the NYSC members as the core of the INEC team on the ground was innovative and credible. His deployment of highly respected neutral academics as the bulk of the chairmen of collating teams was commendable. If Prof. Jega’s methods were influenced by any of Dr. Jonathan’s wishes it seems to have been the President’s consistent call for a free and fair contest. In the process of delivering the results Prof. Jega’s assertion that as the returning officer he should be seen to be impartial to a fault caused reporting of the results to become boring. The TV screens were filled with silence as he calculated results in full public view even though they had been reported accurately in the print media several hours earlier. In spite of the tedium when the official result was eventually declared it clearly represented the general expectations of most Nigerians and this has set the bar for future exercises. It is not INEC’s duty to either pronounce guidelines for political alliances or to encourage political consensus. It is its central task however to ensure that the atmosphere exists within which the true political wishes of the majority of the public can be expressed through the ballot. In some areas of Nigeria during these recent contests it has become obvious that the non- partisan impulses of the electorate are on the ascendancy. In certain states while the PDP has been rejected thoroughly at the National Assembly polls the support for the party’s candidate Dr. Jonathan in the presidential election was equally strong. This suggests that when the Jonathan Presidency is eventually consolidated, following state elections and the inauguration of his new term in office, the impulse towards reconciliation of public views will be of paramount importance in setting the tone of the political future. INEC should work diligently to study how its machinery performed in these polls in order to create a process that will overcome and prevent violations of public contest in the future. However, as the aftermath of the Presidential polls is already indicating, the most important factor for survival of the democratic process might not be INEC’s conduct of the elections but rather the conduct of the electorate. The governing authorities need to be ready to anticipate and contain public disenchantment manifested by those who have lost. This is an equally important factor that must be taken into consideration in the management of Nigeria’s democratic space in the future since it is clear that there is a fundamental regional political divide in the nation. It is not INEC’s duty to prevent the devastation that this division in the polity can cau
Thursday, May 26, 2011
GOD Help GEJA
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The adage, uneasy lies the head that
wears the crown, is, undoubtedly, a
truism vindicated by global realities.
Still, in view of the situation of our
incumbent President cum President-
elect, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
against the background of the
peculiarly Nigerian socio-political and
economic adversities, this saying
pales into an understatement.
Someone who loves me should
kindly help tell Mr. President that I
do not, in the least, envy him or his
exalted office, particularly his recent
victory in the April 16 presidential
election.
To secure such a nationwide victory
in a globally acknowledged credible,
free and fair poll, which confers a
pan-Nigerian mandate, is indeed a
sweet achievement that calls for
celebration. To me and to a
multitude of other patriots,
Jonathan’s victory is an awesome
one. In fact, he himself must have
realised that his is a strange victory
with strange elements (in the
Nigerian parlance). The mysteries?
Free! Fair! Transparent! Credible! pan-
Nigerian! These elements constitute
the burdensome load on Dr.
Jonathan’s head, rather than the
various constitutionally spelt-out
responsibilities of the fiercely
contested office. At least, he has just
completed a one-year baptism in
the saddle.
Therefore, I am convinced that Dr.
Jonathan’s recent secret mission to
Obudu was to escape the prying
public eyes in the Villa to a place
where he could, irresistibly and
conveniently, fill a large number of
buckets with his tears of joy. Yes!
Dr. Jonathan, a man from a humble
background in the minority Ijaw
tribe, whose kinsmen had, hitherto,
been popular in the history of
Nigeria, only as victims of political
and economic exploitation and
suppression, cannot but shed tears.
The necessity for his uncontrollable
tears is the seemingly
unprecedented nationwide
endorsement he has just secured
through the ballot, a feat
comparable only to the ill-fated
M.KO. Abiola’s June 12, 1993 record.
Still, Jonathan’s April 16 record is
miles away from June 12, as the
votes of Nigerians in the latest
experiment have really counted, to
set the stage for the ascension of the
people’s choice come May 29, 2011.
A first time national record, by my
own reckoning.
And while the rest of us, with the
exception of our President-elect, can
reel in endless ecstasy and fun,
having regained our long lost
franchise, Dr. Jonathan, in whom
we have invested our most
cherished and potent resources,
does not have that luxury. I bet, he
can only indulge in such at his own
peril.
Come May 29, Dr. Jonathan would
therefore present himself, at the
Eagle Square in Abuja, for the
completion of the process of placing
our gargantuan national problems
on his singular head by the rest of
us. This represents a radical
departure from our past when
imposed leaders with sectional
mandates were usually rigged on us
through charades masqueraded as
elections.
The Yoruba kinsmen of the
immediate past President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, never identified
with him, particularly during his first
term. To them, one of their own
was not their own. He was
President of some other tribes who
made him. Ditto for the preceding
First and Second Republic, during
which ethnicity was the ultimate
decider of who got what.
The effect was tragic, as our best
materials became objects of sacrifice
on the altar of ethnicity and religion.
The best appellation and highest title
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for
instance, ever attained was‘the best
President Nigeria never
had’ (apology to Chief Odumegwu
Ojukwu). Awolowo, a President that
was never was, must, by now, be
blaming, in his grave, the
prevalence of ethno-religious politics
in the Nigeria of his days for his
woes.
Perhaps, it was actually the sectional
nature of the mandates held by all
the previous tenants, at our
Presidential Villa, which saddled
them with very light burden in the
form of sectional allegiance that had
been responsible for the recurrence
of lackadaisical leadership on our
political scene. This is where I see a
radical departure from the past. The
Nigerian presidency from May 29,
2011 to 2015 will, logically, be a
national trust to be exercised on
behalf of all Nigerians across ethno-
religious lines. This is exactly where
the heavy burden lies for the trusted
Dr. Jonathan. He cannot afford to fail
any section of the nation, being his
single constituency. Factually, he
owes no section, ethnic, religious or
whatever, any special favour for his
election. The starting point for him
is, thus, the selection of the best
hands to help him in the discharge
of his burdens.
Although the socio-economic and
political interests of those who
scaled divisive fences to enthrone
him would necessarily clash at all
times, Dr. Jonathan must, at all
times, find his feet as the balancing
force at the centre. However, a
highly delicate dimension to this
balancing duty is that he shall bear
the fate of having to live outside
himself. While every other Nigerian
can afford to think, speak and act as
a Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Yoruba, Itsekiri,
Ogoni, Ijaw, Urhobo, etc., the man
that would steer our ship for the
next four years must not perceive
himself primarily as an Ijaw man.
No matter how strongly he might
feel about the Niger Delta question,
he must not condescend into a tribal
presidency.
The underlying factor, here, is the
burden that the fragile chord that
thinly binds us together poses, a
reality that came to the fore in the
2011 post-election violence in some
parts of the North. While I sincerely
condemn the senseless carnage and
condole the bereaved families and
the nation at large, I crave
indulgence to describe the
unfortunate incidents in Kaduna,
Bauchi, Borno, Zamfara and some
others as blessing in disguise for the
nation, particularly for the incoming
Jonathan presidency. The crisis has
served as an eye-opener for us all. It
has successfully reinforced some
hard facts, which the one-Nigerian
voting pattern of April 16 might
have, possibly, relegated into
oblivion. Consequently, the
President about to be inaugurated
has just had his memory awakened
to the reality that a lot still needs to
be done in the task of making
Nigeria one. It is thus a wake-up call
to duty, to dispense with previously
cherished sentiments, opinions and
personal idiosyncrasies, but to
objectively evaluate the different
alternative solutions to the question
of unity.
This becomes imperative in view of
the dangerous trend represented by
the loud calls for the scrapping of
the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) scheme even by proponents
of national unity, within and outside
government. This is ironic to a fatal
extent. Let every patriot be
reminded that since the NYSC has,
historically, been the only Nigerian
institution manifesting and
sustaining our fragile unity,
suggestions for its cancellation are
the same as prescribing the
termination of the project Nigeria.
What, in my view, Jonathan must
infer, logically, from the post-
election brouhaha is the vanity of
past attempts to selectively reform
the parts of a whole while the
system as a whole suffers from the
resulting disconnect within it. This
approach, which Mr. President has
already inherited and may likely
continue, must be discarded in
favour of a comprehensive socio-
economic and political reform.
Next to unity is the problem of
general infrastructural deficit that has
kept our socio-economic life in a
fifty-year limbo. There is no
gainsaying that erratic power supply
has consistently constituted the
worst headache plaguing all
Nigerians since our independence.
But, with the privatisation step
already taken by the President, all
that is needed is faithful
implementation that will
revolutionize the power sector in a
manner reminiscent of the
telecommunication turnaround.
Success in this regard will go a long
way in rescuing local industries and
businesses from the threshold of
total collapse and extinction. The
political gain of constant national
supply of electricity would be
automatic and voluntary political
goodwill from the populace for the
government that did the seemingly
impossible, thereby solving the age-
long dearth of popular support base
that has typified successive
administrations.
And, on a last bend, certain notes of
warning are hereby imperative. Dr.
Jonathan must avoid a traditional
pitfall that has been the bane of
most of his predecessors in Nigerian
democratic history. Our President
must avoid the temptation to tinker
with the opposition, by allowing the
opposition voice to thrive. He must
learn to accommodate the other
voice from the hallowed chamber of
the National Assembly, opposition
parties, the judiciary, the media,
non-governmental organisations
and others in a manner consistent
with his avowed commitment to
the rule of law. Thus, our first ever
pan-Nigerian President will
automatically secure the required
support from the hands of all
Nigerians, to transform a heavy
burden to a mere paper.
The adage, uneasy lies the head that
wears the crown, is, undoubtedly, a
truism vindicated by global realities.
Still, in view of the situation of our
incumbent President cum President-
elect, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
against the background of the
peculiarly Nigerian socio-political and
economic adversities, this saying
pales into an understatement.
Someone who loves me should
kindly help tell Mr. President that I
do not, in the least, envy him or his
exalted office, particularly his recent
victory in the April 16 presidential
election.
To secure such a nationwide victory
in a globally acknowledged credible,
free and fair poll, which confers a
pan-Nigerian mandate, is indeed a
sweet achievement that calls for
celebration. To me and to a
multitude of other patriots,
Jonathan’s victory is an awesome
one. In fact, he himself must have
realised that his is a strange victory
with strange elements (in the
Nigerian parlance). The mysteries?
Free! Fair! Transparent! Credible! pan-
Nigerian! These elements constitute
the burdensome load on Dr.
Jonathan’s head, rather than the
various constitutionally spelt-out
responsibilities of the fiercely
contested office. At least, he has just
completed a one-year baptism in
the saddle.
Therefore, I am convinced that Dr.
Jonathan’s recent secret mission to
Obudu was to escape the prying
public eyes in the Villa to a place
where he could, irresistibly and
conveniently, fill a large number of
buckets with his tears of joy. Yes!
Dr. Jonathan, a man from a humble
background in the minority Ijaw
tribe, whose kinsmen had, hitherto,
been popular in the history of
Nigeria, only as victims of political
and economic exploitation and
suppression, cannot but shed tears.
The necessity for his uncontrollable
tears is the seemingly
unprecedented nationwide
endorsement he has just secured
through the ballot, a feat
comparable only to the ill-fated
M.KO. Abiola’s June 12, 1993 record.
Still, Jonathan’s April 16 record is
miles away from June 12, as the
votes of Nigerians in the latest
experiment have really counted, to
set the stage for the ascension of the
people’s choice come May 29, 2011.
A first time national record, by my
own reckoning.
And while the rest of us, with the
exception of our President-elect, can
reel in endless ecstasy and fun,
having regained our long lost
franchise, Dr. Jonathan, in whom
we have invested our most
cherished and potent resources,
does not have that luxury. I bet, he
can only indulge in such at his own
peril.
Come May 29, Dr. Jonathan would
therefore present himself, at the
Eagle Square in Abuja, for the
completion of the process of placing
our gargantuan national problems
on his singular head by the rest of
us. This represents a radical
departure from our past when
imposed leaders with sectional
mandates were usually rigged on us
through charades masqueraded as
elections.
The Yoruba kinsmen of the
immediate past President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, never identified
with him, particularly during his first
term. To them, one of their own
was not their own. He was
President of some other tribes who
made him. Ditto for the preceding
First and Second Republic, during
which ethnicity was the ultimate
decider of who got what.
The effect was tragic, as our best
materials became objects of sacrifice
on the altar of ethnicity and religion.
The best appellation and highest title
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for
instance, ever attained was‘the best
President Nigeria never
had’ (apology to Chief Odumegwu
Ojukwu). Awolowo, a President that
was never was, must, by now, be
blaming, in his grave, the
prevalence of ethno-religious politics
in the Nigeria of his days for his
woes.
Perhaps, it was actually the sectional
nature of the mandates held by all
the previous tenants, at our
Presidential Villa, which saddled
them with very light burden in the
form of sectional allegiance that had
been responsible for the recurrence
of lackadaisical leadership on our
political scene. This is where I see a
radical departure from the past. The
Nigerian presidency from May 29,
2011 to 2015 will, logically, be a
national trust to be exercised on
behalf of all Nigerians across ethno-
religious lines. This is exactly where
the heavy burden lies for the trusted
Dr. Jonathan. He cannot afford to fail
any section of the nation, being his
single constituency. Factually, he
owes no section, ethnic, religious or
whatever, any special favour for his
election. The starting point for him
is, thus, the selection of the best
hands to help him in the discharge
of his burdens.
Although the socio-economic and
political interests of those who
scaled divisive fences to enthrone
him would necessarily clash at all
times, Dr. Jonathan must, at all
times, find his feet as the balancing
force at the centre. However, a
highly delicate dimension to this
balancing duty is that he shall bear
the fate of having to live outside
himself. While every other Nigerian
can afford to think, speak and act as
a Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Yoruba, Itsekiri,
Ogoni, Ijaw, Urhobo, etc., the man
that would steer our ship for the
next four years must not perceive
himself primarily as an Ijaw man.
No matter how strongly he might
feel about the Niger Delta question,
he must not condescend into a tribal
presidency.
The underlying factor, here, is the
burden that the fragile chord that
thinly binds us together poses, a
reality that came to the fore in the
2011 post-election violence in some
parts of the North. While I sincerely
condemn the senseless carnage and
condole the bereaved families and
the nation at large, I crave
indulgence to describe the
unfortunate incidents in Kaduna,
Bauchi, Borno, Zamfara and some
others as blessing in disguise for the
nation, particularly for the incoming
Jonathan presidency. The crisis has
served as an eye-opener for us all. It
has successfully reinforced some
hard facts, which the one-Nigerian
voting pattern of April 16 might
have, possibly, relegated into
oblivion. Consequently, the
President about to be inaugurated
has just had his memory awakened
to the reality that a lot still needs to
be done in the task of making
Nigeria one. It is thus a wake-up call
to duty, to dispense with previously
cherished sentiments, opinions and
personal idiosyncrasies, but to
objectively evaluate the different
alternative solutions to the question
of unity.
This becomes imperative in view of
the dangerous trend represented by
the loud calls for the scrapping of
the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) scheme even by proponents
of national unity, within and outside
government. This is ironic to a fatal
extent. Let every patriot be
reminded that since the NYSC has,
historically, been the only Nigerian
institution manifesting and
sustaining our fragile unity,
suggestions for its cancellation are
the same as prescribing the
termination of the project Nigeria.
What, in my view, Jonathan must
infer, logically, from the post-
election brouhaha is the vanity of
past attempts to selectively reform
the parts of a whole while the
system as a whole suffers from the
resulting disconnect within it. This
approach, which Mr. President has
already inherited and may likely
continue, must be discarded in
favour of a comprehensive socio-
economic and political reform.
Next to unity is the problem of
general infrastructural deficit that has
kept our socio-economic life in a
fifty-year limbo. There is no
gainsaying that erratic power supply
has consistently constituted the
worst headache plaguing all
Nigerians since our independence.
But, with the privatisation step
already taken by the President, all
that is needed is faithful
implementation that will
revolutionize the power sector in a
manner reminiscent of the
telecommunication turnaround.
Success in this regard will go a long
way in rescuing local industries and
businesses from the threshold of
total collapse and extinction. The
political gain of constant national
supply of electricity would be
automatic and voluntary political
goodwill from the populace for the
government that did the seemingly
impossible, thereby solving the age-
long dearth of popular support base
that has typified successive
administrations.
And, on a last bend, certain notes of
warning are hereby imperative. Dr.
Jonathan must avoid a traditional
pitfall that has been the bane of
most of his predecessors in Nigerian
democratic history. Our President
must avoid the temptation to tinker
with the opposition, by allowing the
opposition voice to thrive. He must
learn to accommodate the other
voice from the hallowed chamber of
the National Assembly, opposition
parties, the judiciary, the media,
non-governmental organisations
and others in a manner consistent
with his avowed commitment to
the rule of law. Thus, our first ever
pan-Nigerian President will
automatically secure the required
support from the hands of all
Nigerians, to transform a heavy
burden to a mere paper.
GOD Help GEJA
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The adage, uneasy lies the head that
wears the crown, is, undoubtedly, a
truism vindicated by global realities.
Still, in view of the situation of our
incumbent President cum President-
elect, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
against the background of the
peculiarly Nigerian socio-political and
economic adversities, this saying
pales into an understatement.
Someone who loves me should
kindly help tell Mr. President that I
do not, in the least, envy him or his
exalted office, particularly his recent
victory in the April 16 presidential
election.
To secure such a nationwide victory
in a globally acknowledged credible,
free and fair poll, which confers a
pan-Nigerian mandate, is indeed a
sweet achievement that calls for
celebration. To me and to a
multitude of other patriots,
Jonathan’s victory is an awesome
one. In fact, he himself must have
realised that his is a strange victory
with strange elements (in the
Nigerian parlance). The mysteries?
Free! Fair! Transparent! Credible! pan-
Nigerian! These elements constitute
the burdensome load on Dr.
Jonathan’s head, rather than the
various constitutionally spelt-out
responsibilities of the fiercely
contested office. At least, he has just
completed a one-year baptism in
the saddle.
Therefore, I am convinced that Dr.
Jonathan’s recent secret mission to
Obudu was to escape the prying
public eyes in the Villa to a place
where he could, irresistibly and
conveniently, fill a large number of
buckets with his tears of joy. Yes!
Dr. Jonathan, a man from a humble
background in the minority Ijaw
tribe, whose kinsmen had, hitherto,
been popular in the history of
Nigeria, only as victims of political
and economic exploitation and
suppression, cannot but shed tears.
The necessity for his uncontrollable
tears is the seemingly
unprecedented nationwide
endorsement he has just secured
through the ballot, a feat
comparable only to the ill-fated
M.KO. Abiola’s June 12, 1993 record.
Still, Jonathan’s April 16 record is
miles away from June 12, as the
votes of Nigerians in the latest
experiment have really counted, to
set the stage for the ascension of the
people’s choice come May 29, 2011.
A first time national record, by my
own reckoning.
And while the rest of us, with the
exception of our President-elect, can
reel in endless ecstasy and fun,
having regained our long lost
franchise, Dr. Jonathan, in whom
we have invested our most
cherished and potent resources,
does not have that luxury. I bet, he
can only indulge in such at his own
peril.
Come May 29, Dr. Jonathan would
therefore present himself, at the
Eagle Square in Abuja, for the
completion of the process of placing
our gargantuan national problems
on his singular head by the rest of
us. This represents a radical
departure from our past when
imposed leaders with sectional
mandates were usually rigged on us
through charades masqueraded as
elections.
The Yoruba kinsmen of the
immediate past President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, never identified
with him, particularly during his first
term. To them, one of their own
was not their own. He was
President of some other tribes who
made him. Ditto for the preceding
First and Second Republic, during
which ethnicity was the ultimate
decider of who got what.
The effect was tragic, as our best
materials became objects of sacrifice
on the altar of ethnicity and religion.
The best appellation and highest title
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for
instance, ever attained was‘the best
President Nigeria never
had’ (apology to Chief Odumegwu
Ojukwu). Awolowo, a President that
was never was, must, by now, be
blaming, in his grave, the
prevalence of ethno-religious politics
in the Nigeria of his days for his
woes.
Perhaps, it was actually the sectional
nature of the mandates held by all
the previous tenants, at our
Presidential Villa, which saddled
them with very light burden in the
form of sectional allegiance that had
been responsible for the recurrence
of lackadaisical leadership on our
political scene. This is where I see a
radical departure from the past. The
Nigerian presidency from May 29,
2011 to 2015 will, logically, be a
national trust to be exercised on
behalf of all Nigerians across ethno-
religious lines. This is exactly where
the heavy burden lies for the trusted
Dr. Jonathan. He cannot afford to fail
any section of the nation, being his
single constituency. Factually, he
owes no section, ethnic, religious or
whatever, any special favour for his
election. The starting point for him
is, thus, the selection of the best
hands to help him in the discharge
of his burdens.
Although the socio-economic and
political interests of those who
scaled divisive fences to enthrone
him would necessarily clash at all
times, Dr. Jonathan must, at all
times, find his feet as the balancing
force at the centre. However, a
highly delicate dimension to this
balancing duty is that he shall bear
the fate of having to live outside
himself. While every other Nigerian
can afford to think, speak and act as
a Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Yoruba, Itsekiri,
Ogoni, Ijaw, Urhobo, etc., the man
that would steer our ship for the
next four years must not perceive
himself primarily as an Ijaw man.
No matter how strongly he might
feel about the Niger Delta question,
he must not condescend into a tribal
presidency.
The underlying factor, here, is the
burden that the fragile chord that
thinly binds us together poses, a
reality that came to the fore in the
2011 post-election violence in some
parts of the North. While I sincerely
condemn the senseless carnage and
condole the bereaved families and
the nation at large, I crave
indulgence to describe the
unfortunate incidents in Kaduna,
Bauchi, Borno, Zamfara and some
others as blessing in disguise for the
nation, particularly for the incoming
Jonathan presidency. The crisis has
served as an eye-opener for us all. It
has successfully reinforced some
hard facts, which the one-Nigerian
voting pattern of April 16 might
have, possibly, relegated into
oblivion. Consequently, the
President about to be inaugurated
has just had his memory awakened
to the reality that a lot still needs to
be done in the task of making
Nigeria one. It is thus a wake-up call
to duty, to dispense with previously
cherished sentiments, opinions and
personal idiosyncrasies, but to
objectively evaluate the different
alternative solutions to the question
of unity.
This becomes imperative in view of
the dangerous trend represented by
the loud calls for the scrapping of
the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) scheme even by proponents
of national unity, within and outside
government. This is ironic to a fatal
extent. Let every patriot be
reminded that since the NYSC has,
historically, been the only Nigerian
institution manifesting and
sustaining our fragile unity,
suggestions for its cancellation are
the same as prescribing the
termination of the project Nigeria.
What, in my view, Jonathan must
infer, logically, from the post-
election brouhaha is the vanity of
past attempts to selectively reform
the parts of a whole while the
system as a whole suffers from the
resulting disconnect within it. This
approach, which Mr. President has
already inherited and may likely
continue, must be discarded in
favour of a comprehensive socio-
economic and political reform.
Next to unity is the problem of
general infrastructural deficit that has
kept our socio-economic life in a
fifty-year limbo. There is no
gainsaying that erratic power supply
has consistently constituted the
worst headache plaguing all
Nigerians since our independence.
But, with the privatisation step
already taken by the President, all
that is needed is faithful
implementation that will
revolutionize the power sector in a
manner reminiscent of the
telecommunication turnaround.
Success in this regard will go a long
way in rescuing local industries and
businesses from the threshold of
total collapse and extinction. The
political gain of constant national
supply of electricity would be
automatic and voluntary political
goodwill from the populace for the
government that did the seemingly
impossible, thereby solving the age-
long dearth of popular support base
that has typified successive
administrations.
And, on a last bend, certain notes of
warning are hereby imperative. Dr.
Jonathan must avoid a traditional
pitfall that has been the bane of
most of his predecessors in Nigerian
democratic history. Our President
must avoid the temptation to tinker
with the opposition, by allowing the
opposition voice to thrive. He must
learn to accommodate the other
voice from the hallowed chamber of
the National Assembly, opposition
parties, the judiciary, the media,
non-governmental organisations
and others in a manner consistent
with his avowed commitment to
the rule of law. Thus, our first ever
pan-Nigerian President will
automatically secure the required
support from the hands of all
Nigerians, to transform a heavy
burden to a mere paper.
The adage, uneasy lies the head that
wears the crown, is, undoubtedly, a
truism vindicated by global realities.
Still, in view of the situation of our
incumbent President cum President-
elect, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
against the background of the
peculiarly Nigerian socio-political and
economic adversities, this saying
pales into an understatement.
Someone who loves me should
kindly help tell Mr. President that I
do not, in the least, envy him or his
exalted office, particularly his recent
victory in the April 16 presidential
election.
To secure such a nationwide victory
in a globally acknowledged credible,
free and fair poll, which confers a
pan-Nigerian mandate, is indeed a
sweet achievement that calls for
celebration. To me and to a
multitude of other patriots,
Jonathan’s victory is an awesome
one. In fact, he himself must have
realised that his is a strange victory
with strange elements (in the
Nigerian parlance). The mysteries?
Free! Fair! Transparent! Credible! pan-
Nigerian! These elements constitute
the burdensome load on Dr.
Jonathan’s head, rather than the
various constitutionally spelt-out
responsibilities of the fiercely
contested office. At least, he has just
completed a one-year baptism in
the saddle.
Therefore, I am convinced that Dr.
Jonathan’s recent secret mission to
Obudu was to escape the prying
public eyes in the Villa to a place
where he could, irresistibly and
conveniently, fill a large number of
buckets with his tears of joy. Yes!
Dr. Jonathan, a man from a humble
background in the minority Ijaw
tribe, whose kinsmen had, hitherto,
been popular in the history of
Nigeria, only as victims of political
and economic exploitation and
suppression, cannot but shed tears.
The necessity for his uncontrollable
tears is the seemingly
unprecedented nationwide
endorsement he has just secured
through the ballot, a feat
comparable only to the ill-fated
M.KO. Abiola’s June 12, 1993 record.
Still, Jonathan’s April 16 record is
miles away from June 12, as the
votes of Nigerians in the latest
experiment have really counted, to
set the stage for the ascension of the
people’s choice come May 29, 2011.
A first time national record, by my
own reckoning.
And while the rest of us, with the
exception of our President-elect, can
reel in endless ecstasy and fun,
having regained our long lost
franchise, Dr. Jonathan, in whom
we have invested our most
cherished and potent resources,
does not have that luxury. I bet, he
can only indulge in such at his own
peril.
Come May 29, Dr. Jonathan would
therefore present himself, at the
Eagle Square in Abuja, for the
completion of the process of placing
our gargantuan national problems
on his singular head by the rest of
us. This represents a radical
departure from our past when
imposed leaders with sectional
mandates were usually rigged on us
through charades masqueraded as
elections.
The Yoruba kinsmen of the
immediate past President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, never identified
with him, particularly during his first
term. To them, one of their own
was not their own. He was
President of some other tribes who
made him. Ditto for the preceding
First and Second Republic, during
which ethnicity was the ultimate
decider of who got what.
The effect was tragic, as our best
materials became objects of sacrifice
on the altar of ethnicity and religion.
The best appellation and highest title
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for
instance, ever attained was‘the best
President Nigeria never
had’ (apology to Chief Odumegwu
Ojukwu). Awolowo, a President that
was never was, must, by now, be
blaming, in his grave, the
prevalence of ethno-religious politics
in the Nigeria of his days for his
woes.
Perhaps, it was actually the sectional
nature of the mandates held by all
the previous tenants, at our
Presidential Villa, which saddled
them with very light burden in the
form of sectional allegiance that had
been responsible for the recurrence
of lackadaisical leadership on our
political scene. This is where I see a
radical departure from the past. The
Nigerian presidency from May 29,
2011 to 2015 will, logically, be a
national trust to be exercised on
behalf of all Nigerians across ethno-
religious lines. This is exactly where
the heavy burden lies for the trusted
Dr. Jonathan. He cannot afford to fail
any section of the nation, being his
single constituency. Factually, he
owes no section, ethnic, religious or
whatever, any special favour for his
election. The starting point for him
is, thus, the selection of the best
hands to help him in the discharge
of his burdens.
Although the socio-economic and
political interests of those who
scaled divisive fences to enthrone
him would necessarily clash at all
times, Dr. Jonathan must, at all
times, find his feet as the balancing
force at the centre. However, a
highly delicate dimension to this
balancing duty is that he shall bear
the fate of having to live outside
himself. While every other Nigerian
can afford to think, speak and act as
a Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Yoruba, Itsekiri,
Ogoni, Ijaw, Urhobo, etc., the man
that would steer our ship for the
next four years must not perceive
himself primarily as an Ijaw man.
No matter how strongly he might
feel about the Niger Delta question,
he must not condescend into a tribal
presidency.
The underlying factor, here, is the
burden that the fragile chord that
thinly binds us together poses, a
reality that came to the fore in the
2011 post-election violence in some
parts of the North. While I sincerely
condemn the senseless carnage and
condole the bereaved families and
the nation at large, I crave
indulgence to describe the
unfortunate incidents in Kaduna,
Bauchi, Borno, Zamfara and some
others as blessing in disguise for the
nation, particularly for the incoming
Jonathan presidency. The crisis has
served as an eye-opener for us all. It
has successfully reinforced some
hard facts, which the one-Nigerian
voting pattern of April 16 might
have, possibly, relegated into
oblivion. Consequently, the
President about to be inaugurated
has just had his memory awakened
to the reality that a lot still needs to
be done in the task of making
Nigeria one. It is thus a wake-up call
to duty, to dispense with previously
cherished sentiments, opinions and
personal idiosyncrasies, but to
objectively evaluate the different
alternative solutions to the question
of unity.
This becomes imperative in view of
the dangerous trend represented by
the loud calls for the scrapping of
the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) scheme even by proponents
of national unity, within and outside
government. This is ironic to a fatal
extent. Let every patriot be
reminded that since the NYSC has,
historically, been the only Nigerian
institution manifesting and
sustaining our fragile unity,
suggestions for its cancellation are
the same as prescribing the
termination of the project Nigeria.
What, in my view, Jonathan must
infer, logically, from the post-
election brouhaha is the vanity of
past attempts to selectively reform
the parts of a whole while the
system as a whole suffers from the
resulting disconnect within it. This
approach, which Mr. President has
already inherited and may likely
continue, must be discarded in
favour of a comprehensive socio-
economic and political reform.
Next to unity is the problem of
general infrastructural deficit that has
kept our socio-economic life in a
fifty-year limbo. There is no
gainsaying that erratic power supply
has consistently constituted the
worst headache plaguing all
Nigerians since our independence.
But, with the privatisation step
already taken by the President, all
that is needed is faithful
implementation that will
revolutionize the power sector in a
manner reminiscent of the
telecommunication turnaround.
Success in this regard will go a long
way in rescuing local industries and
businesses from the threshold of
total collapse and extinction. The
political gain of constant national
supply of electricity would be
automatic and voluntary political
goodwill from the populace for the
government that did the seemingly
impossible, thereby solving the age-
long dearth of popular support base
that has typified successive
administrations.
And, on a last bend, certain notes of
warning are hereby imperative. Dr.
Jonathan must avoid a traditional
pitfall that has been the bane of
most of his predecessors in Nigerian
democratic history. Our President
must avoid the temptation to tinker
with the opposition, by allowing the
opposition voice to thrive. He must
learn to accommodate the other
voice from the hallowed chamber of
the National Assembly, opposition
parties, the judiciary, the media,
non-governmental organisations
and others in a manner consistent
with his avowed commitment to
the rule of law. Thus, our first ever
pan-Nigerian President will
automatically secure the required
support from the hands of all
Nigerians, to transform a heavy
burden to a mere paper.
The New Nigerian Face
>> Thursday, May 26,2011 <<
The entire north has since failed to
be united by a common ideology
because of the rise of down trodden
and minority empires ,second,
northern ruling elites and the
detractors ,third, misgiving against
the underdevelopment of certain
sections of the zone ,forth,
modernization and secularism and
fifth religious differences.
All these systematically accounted
for the allocation of victory slots by
native itself to ACN, CPC (Congress
for Progressive Change) in the North
and largely to Peoples Democratic
party (PDP) whose awesome
machinery of government in power
was highly deployed to carry
majority votes in the hemisphere in
spite of its non- northern
presidential candidate. To that extent
President Jonathan Victory in the
north is an innovation and tangible
political value in the African political
system and behavior .The
unthinkability of such in the past is
why it is viewed with high
skepticism in certain quarters.
This is , however , an apparently
political development that need to be
sustained in the future, if not then
the victory is not only pyrrhic but
also shrouded with skepticism in
want of evidence. For a nationality
that has been historically
traumatized in the federation their
son’s quest to the presidency of the
same federation or federated entity
that below off their rising stars and
freedom fighters in the bid to
subdue and conquer them ,this
would be an opportunity ad destiny
too costly to lose in the absence of
unalloyed solidarity.
Hence victory for president Jonathan
and PDP in the south- south zone is
both a historical and political
ideology as well as a pro-active
response to be Niger–Delta question
in contemporary Nigerian politics. It
also represents a minority protest in
the body politics which earned the
president victory in the northern
middle belt of Nigeria. The election
results in the south-east displayed
on amorphous character except in
the presidential election where the
zone alliance was drumbeated and
based on president Jonathan having
an Igbo cultural influence.
Unlike the south –west the south
east political behavior is the most
uncertain, incoherent and
inconsistent simply because it lacks
intellectual ,ideological and political
leadership with a vision that unites
the people of the zone. Without the
victory of APGA in the Imo- state
gubernatorial election the essence of
the party would have melted out of
the Nigeria politics and in south east
political consciousness. Yet true to
Igbo republican stance ship is the
emerging political truth: voting along
personality determination and not
along party determination which eat
across the south-east and which
lexically and essentially determined
who won in Imo state gubernatorial
race.
One lesson political observers and
policy makers should hold grip of is
the emerging political pluralization
with its accompanying citizenry
sensitivity to national and economic
issues. This is the highest stage,
although not the last or necessary
stage in Nigeria’s political
emancipation where citizens are
radically becoming less conscious of
separation or which ethnic group
picks the presidential slot.
Every post election experience is
enough to yield deductively
adequate data and information for
an in-depth analysis of global scales.
Good governance and justice is
proactive to stemming out
corruption and hunger, the pillars of
violence in general. Political reforms
that hinges on stamping out
ethicism, religious bigotry and
corruption is the spring board for a
genuine economic reform that
ensures general social and legal
justice in the society where the
primary goods of human dignity
and citizenship are embroidered by
the aesthetics of law, culture and
good governance.
The entire north has since failed to
be united by a common ideology
because of the rise of down trodden
and minority empires ,second,
northern ruling elites and the
detractors ,third, misgiving against
the underdevelopment of certain
sections of the zone ,forth,
modernization and secularism and
fifth religious differences.
All these systematically accounted
for the allocation of victory slots by
native itself to ACN, CPC (Congress
for Progressive Change) in the North
and largely to Peoples Democratic
party (PDP) whose awesome
machinery of government in power
was highly deployed to carry
majority votes in the hemisphere in
spite of its non- northern
presidential candidate. To that extent
President Jonathan Victory in the
north is an innovation and tangible
political value in the African political
system and behavior .The
unthinkability of such in the past is
why it is viewed with high
skepticism in certain quarters.
This is , however , an apparently
political development that need to be
sustained in the future, if not then
the victory is not only pyrrhic but
also shrouded with skepticism in
want of evidence. For a nationality
that has been historically
traumatized in the federation their
son’s quest to the presidency of the
same federation or federated entity
that below off their rising stars and
freedom fighters in the bid to
subdue and conquer them ,this
would be an opportunity ad destiny
too costly to lose in the absence of
unalloyed solidarity.
Hence victory for president Jonathan
and PDP in the south- south zone is
both a historical and political
ideology as well as a pro-active
response to be Niger–Delta question
in contemporary Nigerian politics. It
also represents a minority protest in
the body politics which earned the
president victory in the northern
middle belt of Nigeria. The election
results in the south-east displayed
on amorphous character except in
the presidential election where the
zone alliance was drumbeated and
based on president Jonathan having
an Igbo cultural influence.
Unlike the south –west the south
east political behavior is the most
uncertain, incoherent and
inconsistent simply because it lacks
intellectual ,ideological and political
leadership with a vision that unites
the people of the zone. Without the
victory of APGA in the Imo- state
gubernatorial election the essence of
the party would have melted out of
the Nigeria politics and in south east
political consciousness. Yet true to
Igbo republican stance ship is the
emerging political truth: voting along
personality determination and not
along party determination which eat
across the south-east and which
lexically and essentially determined
who won in Imo state gubernatorial
race.
One lesson political observers and
policy makers should hold grip of is
the emerging political pluralization
with its accompanying citizenry
sensitivity to national and economic
issues. This is the highest stage,
although not the last or necessary
stage in Nigeria’s political
emancipation where citizens are
radically becoming less conscious of
separation or which ethnic group
picks the presidential slot.
Every post election experience is
enough to yield deductively
adequate data and information for
an in-depth analysis of global scales.
Good governance and justice is
proactive to stemming out
corruption and hunger, the pillars of
violence in general. Political reforms
that hinges on stamping out
ethicism, religious bigotry and
corruption is the spring board for a
genuine economic reform that
ensures general social and legal
justice in the society where the
primary goods of human dignity
and citizenship are embroidered by
the aesthetics of law, culture and
good governance.
Friday, March 11, 2011
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