A BREATH OF FRESH AIR OR AN ACRID ODOUR?

The latest instalment of the “breath of fresh air” from Goodluck Jonathan in fulfilment of his campaign promises will be unveiled to Nigerians in the new year in the form of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.  That is for those who still believe there is any subsidy on the products.  These days the only topic of discussion among Nigerians wherever you find them is the government’s plan to hike the price of petroleum products and further pauperise Nigerians no matter the level of cacophony generated by the ordinary citizens who will ultimately bear the brunt of this latest callousness by a government that promised them a “breath of fresh air”.  Though to be fair to Goodluck, he did not mention how fresh the air will be.  To me, this can only be written down as the wages of electing a clueless leader.

The planned hike in the prices of petroleum products is an old song inherited from Obasanjo who did so about six times in a spate of eight years.  The first time we heard of “oil subsidy” was during Babangida’s government in 1988.  When the regime wanted to increase the price of petroleum products, Jerry Gana assaulted our ears with the benefits of doing so.  A certain Labaran Maku, then President of the Students Union Government of the University of Jos, was on record as calling the act “criminality and inhumanity” that should be fought by every Nigerian.  Two decades on, the same Maku is playing the role that Jerry Gana did for Babangida.  It was also a song remixed by Okonjo-Iweala, the World Bank employee with a double barrelled portfolio of Co-ordinating Economic Minister and Minster of Finance, a first for any country, civilised or otherwise.  This woman left her office as Managing Director of the World Bank (a middle cadre office which the Nigerian media made it sound as if she is the Chief Executive officer of the Bank) to assume office as a minister in Nigeria just as the French Finance minister, Christine Legarde, was fighting tooth and nail to be appointed the Managing Director of the IMF, the junior twin of the Bretton Woods Instittutions.  During her first incarnation as Finance minister under the Obasanjo government, Okonjo-Iweala, caused Nigeria to part with $18billion as repayment to Paris Club of creditors, though it was universally agreed that the loans are dubious.  That was how she was rewarded with a promotion as one of three Managing Directors of the World Bank  after she was frustrated out of office by the same Obasanjo.

Though this blackmail of the poor by successive governments have been on since 1998,  General Abacha’s “removal” in 1995 that gave birth to the PTF was supposed to be last one.  Obasanjo thereafter “removed” the subsidy about six times.  Increment in the prices of petroleum  products has always been the easiest means of robbing the poor to pay for the profligacy of the ruling class.  The government have been bandying around figures that makes no sense to anyone apart from its apologists.  The Nigerian ruling class, be it military or civilian, is the same when it comes to the welfare of its ‘subjects’.  For all they care we can all collectively go and jump in the Lagos lagoon so long as we can pay for their lifestyles.  Already Nigerians are living under the most dehumanising and degrading conditions imaginable among all the citizens of oil producing countries the world over, but this is no concern to our ‘rulers’.

Petrol prices have the most impact on our lives compared to any other commodity though I believe those that live fat on our blood may not even be aware of this from the Olympian heights they live.  Though they bamboozle us with the macro aspect of petrol prices, I would like to crave their indulgence by begging them to look down for once and see the road their folly may take us to.  Take for instance the achaba operator who may have to buy a litre of petrol at N150.  His passenger may have to pay him N200 for a drop because he will have to also visit the roadside mama put to eat, who in turn have to go to the market to buy the foodstuff for her roadside canteen business from the man who sale grains in the market, who in turn has to go to the village market to buy the grains, which must be transported to his shop in the market by a commercial vehicle driver, who in turn has to go to the fuel station to buy petrol.  Now I know this my sound too complicated to our macro economists like Okonjo-Iweala, so let me put it this way.  Bottomline is – they are all dependent on one petrol powered machine or the other, even the farmer has to hire a tractor which uses diesel to till his farm to be able to sow and reap before taking his harvest to the village market.  Now, if I am not asking too much, I will like their excellences to put in perspective how this vicious circle may end up financially and practically strangulating the end user – the poor, unemployed wretches scattered all over the streets of this blighted nation.  The only logical outcome I can see from this gloomy scenario is the inability of Nigerians to take care of their most basic bills.

A cabal of the president’s friends under what they called “organised private sector” have been making noise how the poor won’t feel the pinch when they hike the price of petrol because most of them uses buses and not cars and buses use diesel not petrol.  This is not only patronising but insulting.  So the poor don’t cars – is it their fault?  Anyway, the poor doesn’t even have the luxury of using buses these days – they use achaba – those two-wheeled devils that decimate their population on a daily basis.  Our casualty wards in our hospitals tells their own story, though such places are not places where Goodluck and his friends visit.

Already we have seen how the children of majority of Nigerians are loitering our streets because their parents cannot afford to send them to school; how people are turning to alternative medicine because it is cheaper, accessible and affordable to the poor; how businesses are closing down because of lack of patronage from a populace already overburdened by poverty and deprivation.  If the government is to be believed that it expended the sum of N900billion on oil subsidy, why on earth couldn’t they have used the money to reactivate our comatose refineries or even build new ones?  How much will it cost to build new refineries?  And by the way, what happens to the 445,000 barrels per day allocated to NNPC for local refining?

It will be good, though I know it should be asking far too much, if the government will tell us why we have to import, who imports, what is the cost of the importation, who benefits from the subsidy and how is this subsidy calculated and based on what indices.  In Ghaddafi’s Libya, electricity, water, education and healthcare are all free.  No Libyan lives in a rented property and a litre of petrol cost about N22.  Yet the Libyans lynched him.  But our government is lynching us economically in a painful, slow death.  A man whose campaign platform consists of only telling Nigerians that he was not born rish as if all others were born rish promised us a “breath of fresh air”.  That he went to school without shoes.  Don’t we all?  Well, we now live in an atmosphere polluted with acrid smell, less than one year into his four.  We ask for it.

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INSECURITY IN THE NORTH EAST - IMPUNITY OF POWER?

INSECURITY IN THE NORTH EAST – IMPUNITY OF POWER?

Much has been said and written on the security situation in the north eastern part of the country, particularly this year with the increase in the frequency of attacks by God knows who.  A situation that has been presented as defying all efforts to bring to end the wanton destruction of lives and property; a situation that began as a local fire fight that has taken a national dimension and is now used by those in the business of conjuring conspiracy theories where non exist, as a direct challenge to Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency by a section of the country.  Sadly, most of our politicians know where the problems lie and the solution staring them right in the face.  They are either unwilling to take any action to stop the carnage or are comfortable with the state of affairs.  In my opinion the later is the case and I will shortly give reasons for my conclusions.

One thing I disagree with is the attribution of every atrocity and criminal act to the Boko Haram sect, willy nilly, wherever it took place in the country.  Well before the extra-judicial murders of Mohammed Yusuf and Buji Foi, leaders of the Boko Haram sect, the north east zone has been experiencing murderous sprees from killer squads like the Kalare and the ECOMOG  created and nurtured by former governors Danjuma Goje and Ali Madu Sheriff of Gombe and Borno states respectively.  The activities of these killers were well known to the authorities but nobody deem it fit to check their activities, therefore not a single murderer was brought to book.  In the cracked days of Obasanjo, one couldn’t be sure that the gang of killers wasn’t part of a larger scheme to perpetuate the planned PDP rulership of the country ad infinitum.  What with the existence of murderous gangs all over the country running roughshod over innocent citizens with the security agencies standing aside as spectators – OPC in the south west, MEND and a motley of brigands in the Niger Delta, MASSOB in the east and the Kalare and ECOMOG group in the north.

In the north east, any voices of dissent to the two ex-governors – Goje and Madu Sheriff – were brutally silenced by the Kalare and ECOMOG groups with finality.  The zone was in this state of dread when the police decided to use its guns as funeral dirge on a funeral procession of Mohammed Yusuf’s followers on their way to bury one of their own in Maiduguri in 2009.  The rest as they say, is history.  Mohammed Yusuf and Buji Foi, a Commissioner in Madu Sherriff’s cabinet, were arrested by the military and handed over to the police, who in turn took the duo to the governor and thereafter killed them without giving them the benefit of stating their case or the country the benefit of hearing what were their gripes.  Much as the people tried to find out who gave the order for this barbarous action, the police and the authorities played dumb until bodies of police officers began littering our ever dirty streets culminating in the bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja.  That was when we learnt that some police officers were taken to court for the murder of Yusuf and Foi.  All this is beside the point.

Critically this state of affairs provided a perfect background for public officials with skeletons in their closets.  Coincidentally the frequency of the killings picked up astronomically, purportedly carried out by the Boko Haram to avenge their slained leaders.  We swallowed this line of thinking hook, line and sinker.  Nobody bothered to dig deeper and bring these “Boko Haram” killers to book.  In Borno state, people were killed in broad daylight while no single arrest was made – we only get the standard “Boko Haram are the perpetrators, and we will soon deal with them”.  It appears the killers are ghosts and will never be apprehended.  That is until recently.  Suddenly some arrests were made in Borno state and those arrested started singing like canaries.  Nigerians for the first time learnt of the involvement of others apart from the Boko Haram in the killings.  The success in apprehending the few and the intelligence gathered from their statements were attributed to a certain Major General Mungono, the erstwhile Chief of Defence Intelligence.  Incidentally, the General is from Borno State, the centre of the theatre of war and ‘home state’ of Boko Haram.  But Mungon’s successes made some people jittery – powerful, ruthless people – whose secrets will be laid bare for all to see.  People who value their allegiance to dark forces more than their fealty to the nation.  People who are of the view that they can do as they please and play god with people’s lives.  Suddenly stories started flying around that Mungonu will be dealt with; he will be removed from his position as Chief of Defence Intelligence; and that his career will be truncated for daring to expose these purveyors of death – wolf in sheep skin.

Today we all know that Mungonu is removed from the office of the CDI, what remains to be seen is whether he will be sacked from the army.  This gentleman’s offence is no other than his love for his country and the preservation of human life.  But the government he is working for doesn’t care about sanctity of human life or the reputation of a hardworking officer – or so it seems.  The continued freedom of vermin amongst us is more important to the government than our lives and safety.  Are we therefore to infer that the likes of Madu Sheriff can control the affairs of the killer ECOMOG group and control the Nigerian Army as well?  Because we don’t know what to believe anymore.

General Mungonu’s travails began with the release of a one Ali Tishaku.  This was a man who was released by whichever security that detained him on a court’s order but the story carried in the media was that he was released by Mungonu and nobody bothered to check the details before going to press.  Is this then a classical case of giving a dog a bad name in order that it is hanged?  The man was supposed to be a mole planted on Mohammed Yususf by one of the security agencies and when he turned in from the cold and members of Madu Sheriff’s ECOMOG began to be dragged in based on information provided by him, General Mungonu found himself staring at the barrel end of a gun.  The threats of sacking him began flying around and the first part of theses threats was made good by his removal from the office of CDI.  I thought the man deserves commendation not condemnation.  The government’s action regarding the general more than anything indicates to Nigerians that the insecurity in the land is contrived and may not be over soon.

The Desert Herald of October 4^th, had the issue of Munguno and Madu Sheriff as its cover story.  Two weeks after the story appeared, not a single word is heard from the government, Madu Sheriff or any other person refuting the plethora of allegations contained in the story.  Are we therefore to infer that story is true in all its ramifications and every material sense?

Nigeria: Beginning of the End?

NIGERIA: BEGINNING OF THE END?

The riots that rocked London, Birmingham, Manchester and other English cities laid bare the fallacy that Muslims are to be found at the centre of every uprising worldwide.  This new found “theory” had gained currency since the advent of the so-called ‘New World Order’ as enunciated by George Bush Sr. at the beginning of Gulf War I in 1990.  It also coincided with the demise of the USSR and communism the world over.  Muslims everywhere are labelled terrorists for demanding social justice from their various governments.  The phenomenon has recently gained acceptability with the Nigerian government and media.  Am happy to note that the British media attributed the London riots to social problems and was not given any religious toga, the presence of Islamic Bank of England notwithstanding.  The Deputy Prime Minister of England, standing in for the Prime Minister who had gone for holidays, also blamed social problems for the uprising.

Though the wind of protests is sweeping many countries, particularly in the Middle East and the Maghreb countries of Africa, the Nigerian media chose to give them different names and labels depending on where the troubles are taking place.  In Bahrain, Yemen and Nigeria, it is Islamic fundamentalist while in countries like Libya and Syria, the troublemakers are freedom fighters to be glorified, egged on.  Even in Nigeria, Niger Delta brigands are called ‘militants’ fighting for “resource control” while those killed, maimed or kidnapped are just collateral damage; those in the North Eastern geo-political zone in particular and the north in general are Boko Haram ‘Islamic fundamentalist’.  Even where elections were rigged and people protested, it was a premeditated attack by goat herders and Boko Haram elements and not a protest by voters who felt short-changed by godfathers to armed robbers.   This profiling that slowly crept into our body politic is a very dangerous development but our pressmen seem to derive pleasure from.

The main difference between the riots in England and those in Nigeria, in my opinion, is the fact that despite the ferocious nature of the riots in almost all the major cities of England, the authorities diagnosed the causes as a socio-economic problem relating to poverty, unemployment and general dissatisfaction with the conditions of living.  In Nigeria, religious leaders were at the forefront of labelling protests against social injustice as an ethnic and religious uprising.  The media took up from where the clergy men stopped by making dumb analysis like – the north is protesting because a northerner was defeated; the Muslims are protesting because a Muslim did not win the election - very pedestrian, uninformed and myopic deductions by people claiming to be enlightened.  The fact that the people were protesting the unprecedented rigging and denial of their choice by a government bent on retaining power no matter how many people are killed was not an issue to those waiting for every opportunity to hang ‘northerners’ to dry.  When a man drove a car beneath a plane at the Calabar Airport last year, invoking the wrath of Christ on those considered anti-Christ by him, he was promptly labelled a loony; when some oil thieves exploded bombs in Abuja on October 1^st, 2010 and claimed responsibility, no less than the president came out to defend those who claimed responsibility.  The president went further to claim to know who did the dastardly act but certainly not from the Niger Delta because, according to him, he grew up there and therefore knew the people.  When Charles Orkar, their armourer was arrested, he was taken to Jos prison.

When Mohammed Yusuf was arrested, the authorities summarily and extrajudicially executed him and no so-called human rights activist shed a drop of tear.  While Orkar is a militant fighting in the cause of his people, Mohammed Yusuf was a terrorist fighting for no cause and therefore deserved to be shot like a mad dog.  And you wonder why Nigeria is not developed?  How can we develop like other civilised countries if after fifty years of independence we still cannot recognise truth wherever we see it; how can we ever hope of competing with such countries like Ghana, Botswana or even Malawi when our attitude is always ‘us against them”?  Today, Nigeria is divided into “ethnic nationalities”, “races” and “religions”.  This is what we continue to pretend doesn’t exist.  The recent general elections in the country lay bare what we refuse to see and accept.  Everything is alright now, according to our sectional media since the hated, parasitic north has “lost out” completely both politically and economically.

Much as I try not to apportion blames for my predicament, I have to admit that I have always held Babangida responsible for taking the north to where we are today.  In trying to expurgate his “sin” against the country, or a section of it as the press chose to see it, Babangida mortgaged the collective destiny of over 80 million northerners by going the extra mile to ensure an ex-jailbird became the president of Nigeria at the onset of civilian rule in 1999.  The annulment of the June 12^th, 1993 elections was done with Babangida’s interest only and the elevation of a psychopath to the exalted office of the president of this country was also done with his interest at heart only; so if there is fairness, why should I continue to pay for something that I wasn’t part of?  The ascension to the presidency of Obasanjo was the beginning of the disintegration of Nigeria, as we know it.  Suddenly ethnic assertiveness became the fad.  But if we really want to be truthful, the seeds of what we are witnessing today was sown during the wasted years of Babangida.  Most of the political actors today sprouted during his presidency and they are now at the forefront of insulting him.

All these got tacit support from our so-called opinion leaders who thought that since they are not at the receiving end of our hardships, Obasanjo and his successors can roast all of us in hell.  With very few exceptions, the northern leadership – political, traditional and religious – have failed the region woefully.  Those of my generation are the worst hit and our current crops of governors are the worst culprits.  Our own docility and timidity cannot not be excused no matter how you look at it.  The campaign of hate against the region which began over fifty years ago will not come to an end until the day we decide to go our separate ways and go we must.  What I don’t know is if it is going to be the Czechoslovakia way or the Sudan way.  If our leaders are comfortable at being called parasites, I am not.

A couple of years ago, a US based Think-Tank made a prediction that Nigeria was unlikely to remain the same nation with the same borders and characteristics that we all know by 2015.  This analysis drew a lot of condemnation across the length and breadth of the country.  Giving recent developments in our polity it will be foolhardy to continue to think that this is not a possibility.  As for me, I can clearly see the writing on the wall.  Don’t you?

Nigeria: Beginning of the End?

CONSENSUS, NONSENSUS, DISENSUS? HOW ABOUT EQUITY?

CONSENSUS, NONSENSUS, DISENSUS? HOW ABOUT EQUITY

Mallam Adamu Ciroma was once, not long ago, hailed as a nationalist par excellence by the same politicians, journalists and public affairs commentators who are falling over each other in castigating him as an ethnic bigot and an irredentist today.  He was the toast of our commentators when he directed the re-election campaign of Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.  At that time Mallam Adamu was hailed as a politician with foresight for insisting that the likes of the late Abubakar Rimi and Barnabas Gemade were not allowed to contest because of an existing agreement signed in 2002 for power rotation between the north and the south.  That each region should be allowed to lead the country (whether we like it or not) for eight continuous years.  Today Mallam Adamu is vilified for insisting on the implementation of the same agreement, freely signed by all present – the difference this time is that the shoe is on the other foot and those who believe Nigeria belongs to them are of the opinion that others shouldn’t be allowed to come near political power in the next hundred years.

I have had numerous arguments with friends and colleagues on the propriety or otherwise of the zoning principle enshrined in the constitution of the PDP as a mechanism for ensuring that all sections of the country at one time or the other attained the presidency of the country and as an instrument for satisfying the diverse ethnic and religious groups of the country.  I have never being comfortable with the arrangement, though if this be the best instrument that is devised for those who believe Nigeria must remain one, no matter what, I said so be it.  Besides, being not a member of the PDP, I feel I do not have the moral justification to question how the party choose to govern its internal affairs, though in the long run, it will affect me one way or the other.  And then ‘Yar Adu’a died.  Zoning took on an entirely different meaning because the advocates of the policy believe they can hoodwink the rest of us into believing their own interpretation of zoning, contrary to all known English or legal language.  Some even went to the ridiculous level of saying though the north is supposed to “enjoy” the arrangement for eight uninterrupted years, with the demise of ‘Yar Adu’a, Jonathan is now in pole position to complete the north’s turn.  The zoning antagonists polarised the country by their actions and utterances – blackmail, harassment by security officials, bribe, insults, etc.

While the brick-a-brats were going on, the Adamu Ciroma Committee emerged with a view to pruning the number of northern aspirants seeking to contest for the presidency on the platform of the PDP.  This was the first quiver fired from the arrow of the zoning protagonists that sent shock waves down the spine of Goodluck’s patrons and cronies.  Goodluck’s handlers targeted Babangida, one of the quartets under consideration by the Ciroma Committee, thinking he will be the one to be selected as the consensus candidate of the northern branch (?) of the PDP.  The attacks were so reckless that his campaign director general was hauled-in on charges bordering on treason and wilful murder in the aftermath of the Abuja bombings.  Skeletons were rattled in Babandida’s closet and dead issues were exhumed.  Already some gullible voters were beginning to believe that Babangida was the worst thing to happen to the country - a twentieth century reincarnation of Dracula.  Suddenly the issues of Dele Giwa murder, the Ejigbo airforce plane disaster and other unsavoury policies of Babangida became topical issues.  The whole Goodluck train passengers’ minds were conditioned to the fact that Babangida will be selected by the Ciroma Committee.  When the Committee’s selection was announced, they were all dumbfounded as their reactions revealed.  It means going back to the drawing board for them.

The reactions that trailed the announcement are my concern and not the announcement itself.  Two groups continue to baffle me – the Goodluck and the Babangida groups.  While Babangida overtly congratulated Atiku for emerging as the consensus candidate, his coterie of “die-hards” keep lampooning Mallam Adamu Ciroma and his Committee members.  Many will now tell you with a straight face that the Committee was populated with Atiku supporters that why why he emerged as the Committee’s consensus candidate.  Some even said the Committee was bribed by Atiku.  I have never liked Atiku or Babangida’s politics, but I feel it will be wrong for Babangida’s supporters to start such a campaign only after their candidate failed to make the grade.  The right thing to do was to have pointed out the lopsided nature of the Committee’s composition well before the announcement and not after.  And if truly the quartet were trying to worst Goodluck politically for flouting his party’s written agreement (which he was a signatory) then the most honourable thing for Babangida to do is to keep mum because they will also be guilty of what they are accusing Goodluck of – flouting a written agreement.  The Committee had the presence of mind to make all the aspirants sign an agreement to abide by the outcome of the Committee’s work.

The reactions from the Goodluck group are, to say the least, nauseating.  A representative of their reaction is where someone called the Committee’s work “...nothing but a display of primordial sentiments”.  I cannot fathom what the man means because I thought the whole thing began from Goodluck’s corner when tribal organisations, herded by ethnic potentates, endorsed him as their candidate in 2011 in flagrant disobedience of Section 7.2(c) of the PDP’s constitution.  The south west governors endorsed him, South-South Peoples Assembly and their governors “anointed” him, Oha Naeze and the south east governors crowned him.  There is nothing primordial in all these.  But if some northern PDP members decide that the right thing must be done, it is “sectional” and retrogressive.  For daring to insist that the authors of the agreement respect their work of fiction, the Ciroma Committee members are labelled “primordial sentimentalist”, while the authors of the agreement. who are the primary beneficiaries of the contraption, are “pan Nigerians”.  For Obasanjo, Clarke and Ralph Uwechue to “anoint and endorse” Goodluck in flagrant disregard of a subsisting agreement, they are forward looking, not minding the dangerous precedent they will be setting, even if the corporate existence of the country is threatened.

It is perfectly alright for this group to dredge up the murder of Dele Giwa (which was taken to the Supreme Court) and the Ejigbo air disaster and try obliquely to hang these on Babangida’s neck and sweep under the rug the recent brutal and unsolved murders of Marshal Harry, Bola Ige and all those killed during Obasanjo’s tenure including complete obliteration of Zaki Biyam and Odi.  What sort of a country are we trying to build?  The Ciroma Committee was among other things accused by this group as essentially set-up to subvert Goodluck because he is a southerner yet they conveniently forgot to tell Nigerians that subverting a subsisting agreement put in place in the first instance to allow all components of the country a sense of belonging is not just subverting the political interest of the north, but the corporate existence of the country. 

To me, Babangida, Atiku and Goodluck are all the same and none will get my vote.  I do not have an iota of political sympathy for the trio and never will.  My sincere advice to Babangida’s supporters who feel robbed by the outcome of the Ciroma Committee’s work and strongly believed a northerner must be voted as the president of Nigeria come 2011, they have a choice from among the plethora of candidates in the other parties.  For Babangida to question the selection of Atiku by the Committee is tantamount to coming to equity with not only soiled hands, but soiled underpants.

NIGERIA HAS REALLY COME OF AGE - BOMBS IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL

NIGERIA HAS REALLY COME OF AGE – BOMBS IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL

Nigeria has really come of age – what with the spate of kidnappings including primary school children four days to the N7billion carnival, in the run up to the 50^th independence anniversary celebration that culminated in the senseless killing of innocent revellers through the detonation of a bomb in Abuja.  Yes, Nigeria has really come of age and did celebrate in style by spilling blood in Abuja, far away from the theatre of war in the Niger Delta, where perceived grievances are settled through the use of brutal force against the innocent.  The south-south is really in charge of the affairs of the country as attested to by the ease of access the bombers have into the capital city despite the heavy presence of security men all along the road from the Niger Delta to Abuja.  Though this is not the first time the militants “invaded” the seat of government because earlier this year they were given “safe passage” by the powers that be to come and terrorise people on the Airport road when traffic was brought to standstill for more than three hours.  If anyone entertains doubts about the assertion that Niger Delta militants are in charge of the country, the defense put up by Goodluck on behalf of MEND should leave no one in doubt though MEND chose to disclaim him.

The double standards of the government in handling security situations in Nigeria can be attributed to this brazen show of bravado by these vagabonds, who believe they hold the country by its jugular.  This state of affairs began with Obasanjo’s cuddling of killers and rewarding them with government patronage and appointments.  OPC killers like Gani Adams who was once purportedly declared wanted by the Police surfaced at his own sweet time only to be appointed into a so-called Leaders of Thought Committe by the same government that declared him culpable for the mass killings that then swept the south western part of the country.  Rather than being taken to court like those accused for attempted murder Gani Adams was treated as a conquering hero returning from a war of attrition.  Then in 2009 after the army overran the compound of one of the warlords, a certain Tompolo, the government halted military operations and granted amnesty to murderers who never gave any amnesty to their victims.  The military will have routed these oil thieves by now and Nigerians will be the better off for it.  But what do we have now?  Since the release of their armourer – Henry Okah – and the fortuitous ascension of Goodluck to the number one seat, we have seen heightening of activities by these crooks.  Two weeks ago I had cause to comment on Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration speech.  In enumerating his achievements since ascending the ‘throne’, the president mentioned the provision of security for life and property as one area he has excelled.  We have now seen the level of the security we have attained under Goodluck.

With the surfeit of security men on our highways and airports, I think Nigerians deserve explanation on the way and manner the bombs were smuggled into Abuja.  No one will convince me that there is no official connivance in all these.  While discussing with a friend during the earlier ‘invasion’ of Abuja by the militants, most of whom came in Bayelsa State Transport Company buses, I told him that I was of the opinion that some highly placed people must have brought them to Abuja to make a diabolical point.  It was my very strong believe that were they to be some bearded, gown wearing mallams in just one bus, they will have been promptly arrested at the first road block they encountered on their way to Abuja and labelled Boko Haram terrorists. 

What have we actually celebrated?  Is it the resurgence of ethnic assertiveness which has taken a dangerous turn as exemplified by the increase in kidnappings and bombings by criminal elements masquerading as freedom fighters?  This can be seen in the emergence of the Boko Haram group, a group of people disgruntled with the way and manner the country is being run and the way social justice is dispensed to different parts of the country under the same set of circumstances.  While oil thieves and illegal bunkerers, who turned to kidnappings and murder, are treated with kid gloves, glamorised as heroes by the media and given red carpet reception by the government.  Boko Haram, the group that nearly resembled the Niger Delta militants in terms of brutality in the north, on the hand, were hunted and killed like rabid dogs.  We all remember the footage aired by Aljazeera sometimes back where policemen were seen killing helpless people with glee.  We have seen how Mohammed Yusuf and Baba Fagu after their arrest while Tompolo, Boyloaf and their likes were treated like royalty.Is it this enclave mentality that we just celebrated or the inherent lack of justice that turn otherwise sensible people to beast?  Or is it the lies fed to Nigerians by its callous leadership that was worth celebrating?

Goodluck Jonathan’s government is blaming the South African government for the blasts – but what has the government of Nigeria done with the information they claimed was passed to them by the British government which in turn they said was passed to the South Africans?  Did they passed the information to the South Africans and then went ahead with their preparations for their jamboree leaving others to do their work for them?  What did our government do after learning from its media friends about the press statement sent media houses by MEND in which the bandits claimed to have planted explosives in cars and trash cans in and around the Eagle Square, venue of the celebration?  Why are we looking for scapegoats and spoiling for a fight with another country because of our ineptitude and irresponsibility?  Why did we allow Okah to leave the country in the first place knowing his antecedents?  Truth be told, I don’t trust our leaders or what they say.  Our president is on record as a man who signed an agreement when it suits his then purpose only for him to turn round and disclaim what carried his signature.  If his signature is not worth a dime to him, why would his word mean anything to me?

I would have joined Goodluck in celebrating if what we were to celebrate includes the geometrical growth of corruption, the phenomenal rise in banditry, kidnappings, darkness, unsolved murders, dilapidated infrastructures, vote rigging and such other vices nurtured by the government.  We would have been honest with ourselves by celebrating our achievement of joining such nations like Mexico and Colombia as a haven for kidnappers; or Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq as countries whose breakfast consists of the occasional explosions and human entrails on the street as part of the scenery.  Let’s not kid ourselves – we just blew up in firecrackers.  We certainly don’t have anything to celebrate.