WHO IS AFRAID OF AN ORON GOVERNOR?

TONY ITA ETIM

 

 

WHO IS AFRAID OF AN ORON GOVERNOR?

 

“The good people of Oron have the strongest case for a gubernatorial shot. In the 26 years of existence of our state no one from Oron has ever ruled Akwa Ibom State, yet it is through our wealth that our state derives money as an oil bearing state. We, therefore, support any opportunity to present our case before the court of public opinion, and town hall meetings espoused by Governor Akpabio would provide us with just that opportunity. Those who are against town hall meetings have injustice as their article in trade, but we applaud the Governor for  desiring the truth to be told on politics of inclusion that zoning and state character entail. We can shout it from the rooftops and from the hilltops, we can say it anywhere and everywhere that justice demands that we produce the next governor of Akwa Ibom State.

 

“Should we now be reminded that as the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria provides for adherence to the State Character, so does the Peoples Democratic Party constitution provides for zoning and rotation. Transition should, therefore, follow the known character of the state and not unrestrained and selfish ambition... predicated on the dubious concept of ‘best’ candidacy.” The preceding quotation is a reaction rising opposition to the emergence of an Oron governnor. The statement was issued by an Oron socio-cultural organisation known as Esu Nlap Oro and signed by Ulap (Chief) Okon Asukwo Enweme and Ulap Joe Bassey okon, President and Secretary of the group respectively.

 

Akwa Ibom State comprises of three major dialectical groups namely Ibibio, Annang, and Oron while there are minor group like Obolo, Ekid and Ibeno. Out of the 31 local government areas in the State the Ibibio has 14, Annang eight and Oron five while Ekid have two, Obolo one and Ibeno one. There are three senatorial districts in Akwa Ibom State: the Ibibios are found in all the three. The Ibibios are the only group that are spread across the three district as well as have whole district exclusively for themselves and that is Uyo Senatorial District. Uyo is 100 per cent Ibibio. Annangs are found in eight local government areas while there are two Ibibio local government areas in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district; There are four Ibibio local government areas in Eket senatorial disctrict, five Oron local government areas, Ekid have  two local government areas, while Ibeno and Obolo have one each.

 

Since the inception of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, Uyo senatorial district (nay Ibibios) produced Obong Victor Attah (!999 to 2007). Ikot Ekpene senatorial disctrict (Annang) is currently having its turn at the Government House Uyo through Obong Godswill Akpabio (2007 to 2015). Eket senatorial district is supposed to produce Akpabio’s successor. Before now it was assumed that based on zoning or rotational principle the next governor of the state would come from Oro nation, being the third largest dialectical group in the state after Ibibio and Annang. But recent political activities, utterances, scheming and posturing may made the dream of Oron a pipe dream. Politicians in the four Ibibio local government areas in Eket are currently among the forerunners for the 2015 gubernatorial seat.

 

Suddenly some political groups have emerged in Akwa Ibom State mouthing words like “only the best candidate is good for the Government House.”  Some are arguing that when Attah, an Ibibio, constested, aspirants and candidates from all parts of the state vied with him at the PDP primaries as well as during the 1999 and 2003 elections, therefore, they also have the right to contest despite the fact that the seat has been zoned to Eket senatorial district.  Some of them are arguing that given the performance of Akpabio, a competent person, no matter his dialectical group must succeed him so as to continue the good works. Stiff opposition have arose against rotating the governorship to any group or zoning for that matter, despite the fact that Attah publicly declared in 2007 that it was the turn of Annang to produce a governor. The Oron people are expecting that as it was done to the Annang, same preference should be given to them now that it would be the turn of Eket Senatorial district to produce a governor come 2015.

 

 The opponents of zoning or rotational governorship are talking about “open political space”, “only those qualified and interested to contest the governoship of our state in 2015 to continue their aspiration”, “the people would choose from among the best,” “every person from all over the state could contest without hindrance” among other phrases that underlined their agitation that the 2015 gubernatorial election in Akwa Ibom State would be a free for all affair and not restricted to any particular group. The irony is that while the governorship election for 2015 has been declared free for all, zoning or rotational principle are being observe in other elective positions like Senate, House of Respresentatives, House of Assembly, Local Government Council Chairmanship and even councillorship.  

 

Though Akpabio has publicly declared at various fora that his successor must come from Eket Senatorial District, he has not given any indication that he would want an Oron man to succeed him. But the Oron people are expecting the governor to follow the steps of Attah and said it openly that it is the turn  of Oron to produce the next governor. One can not say exactly why the governor is unwilling to make this declaration and put to rest the fears of Oron people that there are plans to deny them an opportunity to lead that state. Some analysts in the state are of the opinion that the governor does not want to offend the already aggrieved Ibibio people by publicly supporting an Oron man for 2015. Others are of the opinion that the governor has ‘an anointed’ candidate, from Eket senatorial district, who is of Ibibio extraction. 

 

The question is who are afraid of an Oron governor and why are they afraid? Those who are afraid of  an Oron governor cut across all dialectical groups in the state, including the Oron people. A pseudo group known as ‘Oron Solidarity Movement’ have been at the forefront of the agitation that the 2015 gubernatorial election should be a “free for all” contest. Their position might not be unconnected with what they expect to gain from the next governor of the state of Ibibio extraction, hence their reistance to an Oron governor.

 

The major source of opposition to zoning comes from the Ibibios in Uyo senatorial district, who have had their turn. They are banking on their numerical strength to win the 2015. According to a Campaign Manager to one of the Ibibio governorship candidates in 2007 and 2011 elections the Ibibios cannot afford to remain in political wilderness for 16 years if an Oron man succeeds Akpabio. The politician, who pleaded, for anonimity lamented that the Akpabio administration have humiliated and marginalised the Ibibios and expressed fears that an Oron governor may do worse as the minorities in the state have a tendency to mock and ridicule the Ibibios any time they have access to political power. He recalled that Attah ran an open adminstration which embraced every part of the state but Akpabio has elevated tribalism and ethnicity to an instrument of state policy. He continued that if an Oron man takes over from Akpabio there may be a connivance between the Annang and Oron to emasculate the Ibibio and that the Ibibios may not have the economic muscles to contest further elections as they would have been reduce to crumb eaters in the state. The Ibibios as the majority or dominant dialectical group would be reduce to an ineffective majority or may be liken to a basketful of dry leaves that has no weight

 

 

 

Asukwo Etuk, from Etinan, stated that the Akpabio administration has taught the Ibibios a great lesson and the Ibibios would not like to have a repeat of what Akpabio is doing. Etuk, an unemployed graduate pointed out that a look at appointment into headship of boards and parastatal shows that Annang are majority in these organisation especially where the agency has to do with awarding contract or employment. He continued that recent recruitment exercises in the state showed that Annang, especially those from Ikot Ekpene and Essien Udim, are always in the majority while promotion in the state civil service are in favour of Annang. He lamented that several attempts to get a job in the state civil service has failed because of naked display of tribalism and wonder how a minority can oppress the majority. Etuk expressed fear that if an Oron man is the governor, the situation would be worse as the Oron people are known to be united and love to help one another.

 

 

During Attah’s administration: Uyo produced the governor. Ikot Ekpene, Deputy Governor and Eket, Speaker of the State House of Assembly. In the current admistration,  the Governor is from Ikot Ekpene, his deputy from Eket while the speaker is from Uyo.  The Ibibios are afraid that if  Oron produce governor, Annang will produce speaker and Uyo senatorial district (nay Ibibios) may be reduce to mere bystanders as deputy governors And with  the past experiences of how Attah and Akpabio change their deputies, then Ibibios may produce, at least, eight deputies in eight years. The Ibibios are not sure that they would produce the Head of the state Civil Service, they recalled that an Ibibio son Dr. Val Attah, was bypassed by Akpabio, who appointed an Oron lady, Late Mrs. Grace Awana, instead of Attah, who was the dean of Permanent Secretaries in the state.

 

There is a fear of a possible collaboration or connivance between Oron,Annang and other minorities against the Ibibios.  Some Ibibios are quick to reclled how late Senator Victor Akan and  Senator Donald Etiebet worked against the re-election of Clement Isong an Ibibio man during the NPN days in the old Cross River State. According to those expressing fears about an Oron governor, the trio of Senator Victor Akan, late Professor Sunday Essang (then Minister of Works) and Edet Etienam, working with other ethnic groups in the old Cross River State, frustrated the re-nomination of an Ibibio son, Dr Clement Isong for a second term in office; and on assuption of office Etiebet sacked Ibibio permanent secretaries.

 

There is also a fear among the Ibibios that development may shift to Oron nation as Akpabio did to Annang. Attah, the recalled spread developmental project across all parts of the state and even neglect his home.While Ibesikpo Asutan, where Attah hails from  cannot boast of anything in the eight years of their son in power, Akpabio has transformed Annang land into modern cities. An Oron governor may use the eight years, after Akpabio administration, to reverse all the years of perceived neglect, marginalisation and underdevelopment.That after 16 years out of the driver’s seat of the state administration an irreversible harm might be inflicted on the psyche, political, cultural and economic life of the Ibibios

 

 

 

 

If political speculations in the state are anything to go by, then Akpabio is also afraid of an Oron governor. Despite his public pronoucements, Governor Godswill Akpabio is alleged to have ‘anointed’ his current Secretary to the State Government, Mr Emmanuel Udom as his successor. Is Udom the answer to Akpabio earlier call to Akwa Ibom people to seek the face of God for divine choice of who takes over from him? Udom hails from Awa Iman in Onna Local Government Area, Eket Federal Constituency. The governor is said to have set  machinery in motion to sell Udom to the political elite as a credible candidate for 2015. Though Udom is an Ibibio, he is from Eket Senatorial Distrct, where Akpabio’s successor is expected to come from.

 

According to sources, Udom would be deputise by Barrister Emmanuel Enoidem, Akpabio’s right hand man  and currently the state current Commissioner for Special Duties, who hails from Etim Ekpo, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial Distrcit. Enoidem is reported to have nursed a senatorial ambition which Akpabio is now interested in. The post of a deputy governor may be an attempt to pacify  him and the Abak Five, that is, Abak Federal constituency which comprises five local government areas,  who now insist that it is their turn to produce a senator since Ikot Ekpene and Ikono Federal constituencies have taken their turns of eight years each at the senate. The choice of Enoidem as deputy to Udom is also to protect Akpabio’s interest as Enoidem is a key player in Akpabio’s kitchen cabinet and a strong personality who would put a check on Udom, in case he tries to take actions inimical to the interests of Akpabio and the Annang.

 

But the Oron people not ignorants of their political enemies schemings to rob them of this opportunity to lead the state. They are poised to resist any attempt to deny them an opportunity to produce the next governor of the state. The Oro are holding  meetings to counter any subversive activity that is inimical to its 2015 political goal. In fact, any Oron person that would attempt to sell any candidate that is not of Oro extraction to her people would be declared an enemy of the people, sanctioned and ostracised from Oro nation.

 

Comrade Okon Osung, of the Oron Think Tank responded to the fears of those who are opposed to an Oron governor. In what the group titled ‘Conceptual definition of Oro Governor,’ Osung explained that “The expectations of the entire Akwa Ibom State is that 2015 should usher in an inclusive, just and responsible government.

Historically, Oro ethnic community has been at the cross-road of ethnic migration and inter-group relations. This reality has rendered Oro sensitive and responsive to the yearnings of other people without prejudice to any form of differences, we can therefore boldly declare that Oro will run a very inclusive administration, fair and just to all components of the state.

 

In a book titled ‘Why Oro,’ the group pointed out that “The govenor of Akwa Ibom State of an Oro extraction, will build on the sterling pioneering effort of Governor Victor Attah, and the uncommon transformation of Governor Godswill Akpabio, by fast-tracking the development of all sections and segments of the state, such that at the end of this decade, Akwa Ibom State will be able to compete equitably with such emerging economic tigers as united arab Emirates (UAE) singapore, Malaysia, etc.”

 

Osung declared “And for the avoidance of doubt, let it be clearly stated here that Oro does not seek power for any selfish motive. It is true that it may take sometime before power rotates to other ethnic nationalities in the state, Oro thus seek power to carry along their yearnings for access to power by offering them clearly defined roles of relevance in the forthcoming dispensation. We offer them our hands of fellowship in the spirit of mutual cooperation and progress.”

 

There seems to exist a mutual hatred and suspicion between Oro and Ibibios. There is a common saying among the Oro people that never give fire to an Ibibio person because when he is warm, he will kill someone. Is this saying a joke or a reflection of a deeper and pathological hatred the Oron people have for their Ibibio brothers? Is this why the Ibibios are not comfortable with the idea of an Oron governor in 2015?

Can the Oro nation be trusted? Would the Ibibios take the promise of Oro Think Tank as a bond?  Will Akpabio follow the steps of Attah and give his support to Oron people to produce his successor?

HOW AN EBONYI PRINCESS WAS MURDERED BY HER PEOPLE

HOW EBONYI PRINCESS WAS MURDERED BY HER PEOPLE

There is a saying in Akwa Ibom that when a man urinates into a stream, if his father’s people do not drink from it, his mother people will. The Igbos also have a saying that when a man throws a stone into a market place it may likely land on his relation. These sayings came came to passed on Saturday January 19, 2012 when the people of Ndiagu Amagu community in Ebonyi State allegedly attacked their neighbours in Adadama community in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State over boundary issues.

An Ebonyi Princess, Mrs. Marvis Egbe was attending the funeral ceremonies of her husband aunt, late Mrs. Helen Enang, aged 71, when the attackers from Ndiagu Amagu invaded Adadama that morning. Her in laws in trying to save her life from the invaders arranged for a motorcyclist to take her to the nearest community, Itigidi, where her husband, a lecturer in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Calabar, Mr Edmund Egbe has gone to. But Marvis did not make it to safety as she was killing on the way by men dressed in military and Mobile policemen uniforms.

The sight of the Hilux vans with “policemen” might have given a relief to Marvis and the cyclist that help has come to Adadama community which was under siege. But the “soldiers and policemen” instead of being angels of rescue turned into angels of death. They opened fire at Marvis and the cyclist; and not convinced that they were death, they inflicted machetes cut on their victims to be sure that they were actually dead. And even attempted to cut off their heads when some indigenes of Itigidi Community, who were going to Adadama stumbled on the scene and raised alarm.

But what the attackers did not know that the lady, who was pleading with them in Igbo, to spare her life was actually one of their own, their own blood as Nigerians are wont to say. Marvis hailed from the same community with the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the Ebonyi State Boundary Committee. The late Marvis was the daughter of the late Eze  of Uburu Etiti community in Ohaozara local government of Ebonyi State, His Royal Highness, Eze Agwu Akpa. Her corpse is lying at the morgue of the Eja Memorial Hospital, Itigidi, where she was fleeing for safety. Itigidi is the headquarters of Abi local government area as well as the seat of the Divisional Police Office in Abi.

Aged 38 and a mother of two children ages six and one and a half years, Marvis was among the 12 or so persons alleged to have been killed by Ndiagu attackers. Until her demise, Marvis was a Desk Officer in charge of Hostel accommodation in the Student Affairs Department of the University of Calabar, Cross River State.  Before now, she was a teacher with the Cross River State Cross River State Post Primary School Board before joining the services of the university. Described as bold and courageous, by her colleagues, Marvis was teaching in Ebom Community in Abi local government area at the height of the Ebom-Ebijakara inter communal crisis in Abi, when even indigenes of these two communities were scared to visit their homes she was always at her duty post, commuting daily from Adadama to Ebom until she was transferred to Government Secondary School, Akim, IBB Way Calabar from where she joined the services of the UNICAL.

Killed alongside with her was a cyclist, who was taking her to safety in Itigidi. Identified as Christian Edu Ideaba, an indigene of Ikamine clan in Itigidi community. Christian, aged 35, was a teacher recently transferred from Akamkpa local government area of Cross River state to Adadamma, was fleeing from Adadama , where he was posted to, when Marvis’s  in-law pleaded with  him to help convey their ‘wife’ to safety in Itigidi,  when the invaders arrived Adadama. The first son of his parents, Christian did not make it home as he was killed on the way.

Saturday, January 19, the Adadamma community was in a mournful mood as they were preparing for the burial. Indigenes of Adadama have no premonition that their neighbours would carry out a surprise attack on them. Their confidence was based on the fact that after a series of skirmishes between the two communities in the early days of January 2013; there was a cease fire mutually agreed between the two communities that they would not attack each other rather they have agreed to meet on Monday, January 21, to carry out a joint assessment of the piece of land in contention and the meeting would have involved the Chairman of Abi and Ikwo Local Government Councils and The Divisional Police Officers as well as other government officials from Ebonyi and Cross Rivers and leaders from the two communities.. Family sources told our correspondent that it was based on this ceasefire and peace agreement that the burial was fixed for that weekend and Marvis and her husband decided to attend the funeral.

According to sources from Adadama, the attackers invaded the community at about 9 am while some came through water another   group of heavily armed men some dressed in Mobile Police uniforms numbering 20 and driven in two brand new Hilux van without licence plates came in from itigidi through Ugep-Abakaliki road at Agbo central into Adadama, blocked the entrance and started killing any human that came their way. It is believed that it is this group that murdered the fleeing Marvis and the cyclist.

Member representing Abi in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. John Lebo, who is also the House ad hoc committee Chairman on Boundary Matters, alleged that the Ebonyi state government lured the Cross River team to the negotiation table and then turned around to attack their people without any sense of apology. According to Lebo, “the coordinated nature of the attack and the use of sophisticated Assault Rifles, Hilux pickups and brand new buses to invade Cross River is a pointer to the fact that this attack was planned and funded.” He noted that the reaction and response of the Ebonyi State Government has heightened suspicion that the attack was sponsored. More than 2000 persons from Adadama has been displaced as a result of this incident and they are currently taking refuge in the neighboring communities of Itigidi, Ahong Bahumono, Ediba and Ekori and Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State.

The boundary dispute between Adadama and their Ndiagu Amagu neigbours has lasted for more than a hundred years and 2012 was the centenary anniversary of a boundary point known as Ugoli which Amagu people claimed was mutually agreed between their ancestors and those of the Adamama people. But a source in Abi faulted this claim and alleged that the desire of Ikwo people is to chase every Cross River community living on the Western side of the Cross River to the other side. According to this traditional ruler, the Ebonyi people are insisting that the Cross River should serve as the natural boundary between the two states and any Cross River village on across the Itigidi Bridge is an intruder and would be chase away. He recalled that a community called Igbo Imagbana was once on the Western side of the river where Adadama and Itigidi are currently are but due to boundary disputes they relocated to their present location. The source lamented that the boundary disputes between Ebonyi and Abi communicities can be trace to the boasting of Ebonyi people that they will chase all Abi communities to the Ediba side of the Cross River.

Who are the aggressors and who are the victims? This is a question that few men the warring community or the two states can honestly answer, everyone is claiming to be the victim and his neighbor the aggressor. At  press briefing tagged  “Ending The Ebonyi-Cross River States, Boundary Dispute,” Ebonyi State Deputy Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, blamed the crises and the human loss on the Cross River State Government and the National Boundary Commission  because of their failure  to live up to their statutory responsibilities. A text of the press briefing which was published as advertorial in some national newspapers did not make mention of the Saturday, January attack on Adadama people and the allegation that the organization and weapons used by the attackers were beyond the capacity of Ndiagu Amagu Community. According to Umahi, “the genesis of the recent hostilities could be traced to November 23, 2011 when some irate youths from Adadama attacked a team of consultants working on a World Bank Assisted erosion management project at Ndiagu Amegu Ikwo.”

 Umahi recalled the various attacks and counter attacks between the two communities and submitted “It is regrettable however that in spite of the numerous letters I have written to the Deputy Governor of Cross River State for the two states to meet and discuss the issues affecting their border communities, there has been no response from them. It would seem that the NBC have abandoned its earlier attempt to do ethnographic study of the area following threats from Cross River indigenes to the commission not to step feet into the disputed area.”

Presenting the Cross River State side of the story, the State Security Adviser Mr. Rekpene Bassey in a press statement issued in Calabar said “We received a number of tested security reports about the abduction of persons from Adadama Community in Abi Local Government Area on 13 and 14 January 2013. According to some of the reports, armed militia from Amagu Community in Ikwo Local Government Council of Ebonyi State assailed upon Adadama people on the said date, and abducted four persons including one Mma Ekama Edu Ekpala on Monday 14 January 2013. A day before, to wit, 13 January 2013, Amagu people had abducted one Chief Vincent Ekpa Egbe while on his way to Okpuitomo village in Ikwo Local Government Area for a meeting. Chief Egbe was later found with several matchet cuts on the head and other parts of his body, and was therefore rushed on the

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same day to the Eja Memorial Hospital in Itigidi for medical attention.

“On the same Monday, 14 January 2013, Amagu militia shot to death one Anthony Enang Isang whose remains were deposited at the Eja Memorial Hospital in Itigidi while one Edu Sylvester was also fatally shot at, but survived the gun wounds. Assailants from Amagu vandalized a border police post constructed by the Cross River State Government same day.

“Untested sources had claimed that persons of Adadama extraction also abducted one or two Ikwo persons which veracity is yet to be ascertained. The aforesaid are the immediate causes of the recent hostilities between the Adadama and Ikwo Communities which have had long standing disagreements over a parcel of land in the area.”

Bassey continued that “security operatives were deployed to intervene while peace meetings spearheaded by the Chairmen of Abi and Ikwo Local Government Areas and 10 delegates from Amagu/Adadama respectively and the Divisional Police Officers and field chiefs of the Department of State Services in both Local Government Areas was convened. It was resolved among other things at the meetings that parties in the conflict should embrace peace, eschew violence and hold back on hostilities. It was also agreed that the parties withdraw from the boundary lines of the land under dispute to be taken over by the security authorities. The parties further agreed to embark on a joint assessment visit to the affected communities on Monday, 21 January 2013.”

According to Bassey, “At that point it was believed that both communities had agreed to give peace a chance pending the amicable resolution of issues in the dispute. But while the Abi team kept faith and waited for the agreed joint assessment tour, several persons armed to the teeth with service weapons including AK 47 and Lar riffles (as evidenced by hundreds of empty ammo shells recovered from the scene of the attacks) invaded Adadama town and its precincts on Saturday, 19 January 2013.

“The gruesome attacks of Saturday, 19 January 2013 were carried out from three flanks on land and water and were well coordinated and expertly executed between 0900–1000 hrs, bringing to the fore speculations of either official complicity or culpable negligence as reflected in its execution. Such speculation becomes all the more disturbing. What is even more worrisome is the fact of the use of high caliber lethal service weapons and ammunition to assail upon civilians in the Community during which innocent persons including children and women were brutally murdered and beheaded in a rather grotesque and barbaric manner. Hundreds of others have since been displaced.”

“How and where the perpetrators of the Saturday, 19 January 2013 mayhem accessed such sophisticated weapons. The other pertinent query is who the perpetrators are and where official security operatives deployed by the authorities to maintain peace in the area were when the spontaneous attacks from the flanks occurred,” queried Bassey.

Cross River State Acting Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Efiok Cobham, and Chairman of the State Boundary Committe, when he visited Adadama, on Sunday, January, said government has put machinery in motion in ensuring that normalcy returns to the area and urged them to cooperate with the law enforcement personnel drafted to the area and avoid self- help as it will only worsen the situation since two wrongs cannot make a right.

Cobham said, “I am here to commiserate with you over the unfortunate incident that happened yesterday, we share with you in your sorrow and we are committed to stand by you to ensure that we get to the root causes of the crises, because no responsible government will fold its arms and watch its citizens been mal-treated not to talk of killing of its citizenry, we will not allow the perpetrators go scot free, all of them will be brought to justice”

He condemned the attack despite a cease fire meeting to broker peace between the communities and warned Adadama community against reprisal attack, and added that this will only lead to more casualties.

To restore peace in the warring communities, Umahi, who insisted that Ebonyi State, is not at war with Cross River “Call on the National Boundary Commission to urgently call a meeting of the two states so that the issues can be discussed.” The Deputy Governor called on the people of Amagu Ikwo to remain calm while the State Government makes the necessary efforts resolve the problem.

Bassey, on the part of Cross River State “call upon the Federal Government to immediately intervene to prevent a reoccurrence and/or an escalation of the hostilities between both communities and the area generally. Having said that, we implore our people to maintain peace, the Federal authorities to intervene and find answers to these questions, and urgently too, to do all that is possible to forestall further hostilities in the area. Meanwhile, the National Boundary Commission would also do well to intervene with appropriate necessary action without further delay.”

Declining Fortune of Education in Rivers State

Declining Fortune of Education in Rivers State

By TONY ITA ETIM, PORT HARCOURT

In 2010 Rivers State was honoured as one of the best states in Nigeria for its implementation of the Universal Basic Education Policy. In fact the state won an award as the best State Universal Basic Education Board in the South South geo-political zone. The state got about N400 million for this feat. With this achievement the educational sector of the state is expected to go from glory to glory but today the reverse seems to be the case. The leadership of the state appears to have been carried away by this achievement and might have assumed that all is well with the educational sector of the state. Since 2010 there is a steady decline in sectoral allocation to the education in the state whereas capital expenditure in the state budgets since then has been on the increase.

A review of the state budget since 2011 shows that in the year 2011 the budget was N415.1billion.  In 2012 the budget appropriation was raised to N438 billion while in 2013 the state budgetary estimates, according to Amaechi ‘‘we are proposing an aggregate Budget of N490.32 billion for the year 2013. The proposed budget is N52.32 billion higher than N438 billion Appropriation of the out-going fiscal year. This translates to a 11.95% increase in the budget volume for 2013.‘‘ This review shows a steady increase in budgetary estimates in the state.

A sectoral analysis shows that in 2011 N100.93 was appropriated to the social sector but only N29.65 billion was actually spent on this sector. In 2012, the Social Sector was allocated N100.10 billion but actually gotN48.50 billion. And in 2013, the budget estimates for the sector dropped to N64.50, one wonders how much would actually be spent on this sector this year when taking into consideration actual amount that were released for this sector in the previous years.

The education subsector will be the focus of this analysis because of the much talked about achievements of the Amaechi’s administration in this sector and the fact that the state is classified as one of the educationally disadvantaged states in Nigeria. Also taking into consideration UNESCO recommendation that, at least 26 per cent of budget appropriation should be given into the educational subsector if any government is committed to improve the standard and quality of education to its citizenry. Rivers State is the largest producer of oil and gas in Nigeria and this translates into the state being the highest receiver of allocation from the Nigerian Government Federation Account. This analysis is to measure the administration’s commitment to education as well as assessing the adequacy of the budgets to international conventions. Moreover, the poorest of the poor (in the state) are most affected by budget cuts, having no other alternative to public services like Education.

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Executive Governor of Rivers State, in 2011, has boasted to the State House of Assembly “As you are aware, Rivers State was adjudged the best in UBE implementation in the country. This could not have been possible without our investment in school infrastructure. We plan to deepen our gains in education. We are raising the level of education in our state to make our children have access to the best standards and to make them competitive globally. Our effort in this regard is well known. As you know, primary and secondary education is free in the state. We shall continue to provide for undergraduates and postgraduate scholarships to Canada and other parts of Europe including the United Kingdom. Government will continue to sponsor our children to Singapore and India for ICT training. We have a Bursary and Scholarship programme for our sons and daughters in higher institutions in the country.

Agreed that budgetary estimates or allocation is one thing the most important issue is what is actually release at the end of the day. Amaechi, himself, confirmed this fear while reviewing the 2012 budget, according to the governor “the bulk of our provision in 2011 were in the areas of Education. N67.93 billion was provided out of which Nll.20 billion was spent as at September 2011 translating to 21.98% Budget performance. Regrettably, construction work at most of the primary school sites did not meet the pace envisaged and therefore, not much releases were done in this respect as payments were based on milestones achieved. In spite of this, our effort in rebuilding our education system attracted a reward and recognition from the Federal Government. Rivers State was  adjudged the best in UBE implementation in the Country. We got a monetary reward of N400milion for this achievement.”

In 2012, the budgetary estimates for education dropped from N67.9 billion to N64 billion. Presenting the 2013 budget estimates to the State House of Assembly, Amaechi admitted this  “In the year under review, this sub sector received N18.25billion out of N64 billion budgeted. We made significant progress at rebuilding our Schools infrastructure. Education remains free at the primary and secondary levels.”

Despite, the shortfall in allocation to the education sector, Amaechi enumerated his administration plans for this sector, “We continued with the construction of 24 model secondary schools.  Nne Krukrubo Model Secondary School at Eleme is concluding its admission process and normal academic activities is commencing in January 2013. We are vigorously pursuing the construction of the remaining Model Primary Schools earmarked for completion. We sustained our yearly overseas and local scholarship awards. We have also improved facilities at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology despite challenging situations in the institutions.”

In the 2013 budget, allocation to the educational sector dropped from N64 billion to N47 billion. Despite the shortfall or declining budgetary allocation to education, Amaechi insists, “We will continue to sustain and improve on our Free Education Programme (Primary and Secondary levels). Full academic activities in some of our Model Secondary Schools will commence in 2013. Management of these Model Schools is already outsourced to an Indian Firm. The Ambassador Nne Krurubo Model Secondary School at Eleme will be operational in January, 2013 as admission processes will soon be concluded.

“We have concluded the construction of our Vocational Training Institute to address skill gaps amongst our youth. The institute would be managed by a German team.  An agreement with the team to manage the centre for 6 years will soon be signed. Our Technical Colleges will be receiving financial and technical assistance from the World Bank supported SEEFOR project to improve learning outcomes and skills acquired. These efforts are aimed at increasing opportunities for employment for our youth.

 “The new RSUST  Campus project is on course. We will continue to improve infrastructure and learning conditions at RSUST, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and other tertiary institutions in the State. More of the model primary schools will be completed in the coming year. We are implementing Free Primary and Secondary Education. Our yearly overseas and local scholarship awards will be sustained in 2013. The sum of N47.81 billion is allocated to this sub sector.”

Budget estimates or allocation shows where government priorities lies and this cannot be far from the truth when the Rivers State 2012 budget estimates and implementation are examined.  The state administration which has made a lot of hype about its investment or transformation in the educational sector ‘has not put her money where her mouth is.’ The state government releases only N18 billion out of the N64 billion that was estimated for the education sector in 2012. Rather under Road and Transport sector, the government “provided N60 billion with an actual appropriation of N46.32 billion as at the end November,” 2012. This shows where government priority lies in a state that is tagged “Educationally disadvantaged” by the Federal Ministry of Education. While budgetary allocation to education continues to dwindle yearly, pupil enrolment in Public Primary School and Junior Secondary School increased yearly. According to Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr. Richard Ofuru ( addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt last year) “the gross enrolment rate for the primary schools between 2000 and 2011 was 88.9 per cent which translates to 244,268 children and that the rate increased to 90.01 per cent between 2011 and 2012, translating to 258, 785 children. And “the rate for the Junior Secondary School during the same period was 79.3 per cent and 84.02 per cent for the Senior Secondary School, adding that the transition rate from Junior Secondary School to Senior Secondary School stood at 96.03 per cent.”

Allwell Onyeso, former Commissioner of Sport during the administration of Dr. Peter Odili, and currently, Chairman, Rivers State Post Primary School Board, lamented the lack of classrooms and teachers in the state school system. Addressing principals of secondary schools in the state on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in Port Harcourt, Onyeso lamented that the absence of teachers in secondary schools have placed the state education in the hands of members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC. According to him, secondary schools in the urban areas are over staffed while those in the rural areas area understaffed and announced that there would be massive transfer of transfer to areas where there are shortages. This absence of teachers might have influenced the state government plan to recruit about 13,000 teachers this year to improve the staffing of public schools in the state; and according to the governor, provision has been made for this under Recurrent Expenditure in the 2013 budget. A recruitment examination for teachers was conducted in September last year but the result has not been made public hence no employment and the pupils are in their second term.

Besides, shortage of teachers, the state secondary school system is also suffering from lack of classrooms, according to Onyeso, out of 245 secondary schools in the state there only functional 100 classrooms while there are about 4400 classroom in the system that are not fit for effective learning and teaching. He explained that the state government plan to renovate public schools include expansion of the number of classroom, ICT, laboratories, library and instructional materials.

Amaechi administration inherited 1077 primary schools and some of these schools were merged and the number came to 868. The governor had promised to build new 750 new primary schools in the state before the end of his first term in office which ended May 29, 2011. As at today most of these model primary schools are yet to be completed.

ब्लड फॉर OIL

BLOOD FOR OIL

Member of House of Representatives, Ibn NaAllah, has advocated an easy way out of the Niger Delta problem. Simply NaAllah suggested that the more than 20 million people of the Niger Deltans should be sacrifice for the rest of Nigerians to live. I think it is a novel and wonderful idea to put an end to the Niger Delta and its headache. NaAllah deserve a national honour and award for this recommendation. Did not the Bible says that if your hand or any part of your body would hinder you from going to heaven it is better to cut off that hand and enjoy eternal bliss as a one-handed person instead of going to hell with two hands or all parts of your body intact?

A barrel of oil is worth more than the lives of all Niger Delta people put together. I would suggest that the federal government should go all out and hunt for the Niger Delta people everywhere in the world and wherever they are found they should be killed as they pose a threat to world economy and peace. Niger Deltans are dangerous species and should not be allowed to live. You know any violence in the Delta affects oil price therefore the people are security risk not only to Nigeria but the entire world. To show how worthless the lives of the Niger Delta people are, the federal government, despite Nigeria’s ranking in terms of global warming and the negative impact on human and the ecosystem has been shifting the deadline for an end to gas flaring. Federal government has not clamped down on the oil companies to force them to stop gas flaring. The federal government may be doing this with a hope that the Delta people may contract a kind of flu from inhaling this flared gas and may all died off someday and leave Nigeria in peace.

NaAllah suggestion may be considered as a legislative joke or an unserious comment but there is more to that remark than Nigerians may realize. For the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. NaAllah has voiced out the feelings of Northerners on how to resolve the Niger Delta crisis once and for all. Nyamiri shege! NaAllah advocacy is the position of the Northern oligarchy and establishment, wipe out the infidels from the Delta and peace and prosperity would return to Nigeria. The issue is that NaAllah cannot keep secret so he unintentionally leaked out the plan that the Northern Army should wipe out the Niger Delta people. Come to think of it, 90 per cent of the Mobile Policemen and soldiers currently in the Niger Delta are of Northern extraction and they cannot claim to be Nigerian Army as there is no federal character or quota system in their postings to the Delta to carry out the ethnic cleansing that is currently going on now. Remember the army ceased to be the Nigerian Army after the January 1966 coup. They are simply an army of occupation whose interest is more of sectional and economic than national interest, whatever is the meaning of the term “national interest.”

The current war in the Delta is a continuation of the civil war; remember the Niger Delta was part of Biafra. The civil war was an oil war and the current military operation in the area is another phase of the war. The foundation of “One Nigeria”, the war slogan, is oil: if oil were to be found in another part of Nigeria maybe we would have gone our different ways. The war in the Delta is a deliberate action to cow and suppress the people in order to have unlimited access to exploit oil and gas resources. Take for example the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, we were told that Abuja is a no man’s land and that the native dwellers were relocated and compensated for their lands but today we have people claiming to be indigenes of Abuja and demanding for certain rights. The Niger Delta people were never relocated or compensated for their land, oil and gas resources that had and still are sustaining Nigeria and when they demanded for their rights soldiers are send to go and wipe them out.

The current war in the Delta is not an accident or a response to recent activities of militants from the area. Rather it is a planned and deliberate attempt to wipe out the people. The current edition of The News Magazine carried a secret memo to the Military High Command on how to tame the Niger Delta people. And according to security reports the governors of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan aid and abet militancy and violence in the Delta. The report said that the governors and Vice President visited Camp 5 but did not tell us what they discuss. The security report did not tell us whether these sons of Niger Delta went to Camp 5 to declare support or pledge loyalty to the militants or asked them to lay down arms and embrace peace. The report is a deliberate attempt to indict and blackmail Niger Delta leaders and to accuse them of working in concert with criminals.

There are media reports that aid workers have not been given free access into the creeks to get to refugees that are stranded in the wake of the military raids in Ijaw settlements in the Delta. If civilians were not targets, as claimed by the Joint Task Force, JTF, Operation Restore Hope, why should the movement of aid workers, especially National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) a federal government agency be restricted from going into the creeks. If it was really an army of liberation or redemption, the soldiers should escort the aid workers to meet the refugees instead of asking them to go into the creeks with dug out canoes. How far and how fast can dug out canoes go and what quantity of relief materials can they carry? Hunger and starvation can also be used in the war against the Niger Delta people. Those who escaped bullets and the numerous air raids may die from hunger. Hunger and starvation are tested war weapons of the Nigerian Government and Armed Forces; it has been used before and is still being used in the current military expedition

There are militants every where in Nigeria: we have the Islamic militants in the North who have killed more people than the so-called Niger Delta militants. The Islamic militants have burnt churches, looted properties and destroyed lives of thousands if not millions of Nigerians and yet no punitive operation has been carried out against them. No mosque or emir palace which serve as their camps have been attacked by the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Islamic militants have done more harm to national unity, cohesion, security and stability than the Niger Delta militants yet the various probe panels have not produced any white paper or punishment for them. Is because oil is involved that is why the Niger Delta militants are of national interest. Almost every family in Nigeria has a story or knows someone who has a story to tell about the Islamic militants in Northern Nigeria. We have economic militants: the cement war is it in national interest? The current fuel scarcity is an act of economic militancy and not in national interest, yet nothing has been done to call these militants to order. What about the political militants? Our elections have always been war fares, yet no one has been jailed for electoral violence or malpractice.

The militants have raised allegations that operatives of the JTF and other powerful Nigerians are deeply involved in the illegal bunkering trade in the Delta region. This may be dismiss are mere blackmail but I had an encounter with a mobile policeman who confessed to me that he was about resigning from the Police Force when he was posted to the Niger Delta and his life and family have changed for good because he never believed he can make so much money serving in the police. This better life is not a product of salary increase or better welfare for the Police Force, so one can see that the Delta is a rewarding ground for security operatives and they are not in a hurry to see an end to the crisis in the area, abi na peace dem go chop?

I am not supporting criminal elements masquerading as militants in the Delta. My grievance is the plight of innocent civilians killed, maimed and displaced in the course of the current military expedition in the area. The military, based on intelligence reports, should know that militant camps are not located alongside civilian settlements and during their attacks should have avoided civilian casualties. Those who are supporting the current genocide in the Delta should remember what happened at Zaki Ibiam after General Malu presided over the destruction of Odi. One innocent civilian killed in error during the current military operation has cancelled whatever justification the federal government has to attack the region. The military should have done its homework well before confronting the militants. God is the judge of all and will judge every act and intention whether good or bad and every man will get his due reward. We have given our oil and gas for the sustenance of Nigeria and now they have come for our blood. Oh God of Vengeance, to whom vengeance belong, avenge for us, for we are of little strength.

ब्लड फॉर OIL

BLOOD FOR OIL

Member of House of Representatives, Ibn NaAllah, has advocated an easy way out of the Niger Delta problem. Simply NaAllah suggested that the more than 20 million people of the Niger Deltans should be sacrifice for the rest of Nigerians to live. I think it is a novel and wonderful idea to put an end to the Niger Delta and its headache. NaAllah deserve a national honour and award for this recommendation. Did not the Bible says that if your hand or any part of your body would hinder you from going to heaven it is better to cut off that hand and enjoy eternal bliss as a one-handed person instead of going to hell with two hands or all parts of your body intact?

A barrel of oil is worth more than the lives of all Niger Delta people put together. I would suggest that the federal government should go all out and hunt for the Niger Delta people everywhere in the world and wherever they are found they should be killed as they pose a threat to world economy and peace. Niger Deltans are dangerous species and should not be allowed to live. You know any violence in the Delta affects oil price therefore the people are security risk not only to Nigeria but the entire world. To show how worthless the lives of the Niger Delta people are, the federal government, despite Nigeria’s ranking in terms of global warming and the negative impact on human and the ecosystem has been shifting the deadline for an end to gas flaring. Federal government has not clamped down on the oil companies to force them to stop gas flaring. The federal government may be doing this with a hope that the Delta people may contract a kind of flu from inhaling this flared gas and may all died off someday and leave Nigeria in peace.

NaAllah suggestion may be considered as a legislative joke or an unserious comment but there is more to that remark than Nigerians may realize. For the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. NaAllah has voiced out the feelings of Northerners on how to resolve the Niger Delta crisis once and for all. Nyamiri shege! NaAllah advocacy is the position of the Northern oligarchy and establishment, wipe out the infidels from the Delta and peace and prosperity would return to Nigeria. The issue is that NaAllah cannot keep secret so he unintentionally leaked out the plan that the Northern Army should wipe out the Niger Delta people. Come to think of it, 90 per cent of the Mobile Policemen and soldiers currently in the Niger Delta are of Northern extraction and they cannot claim to be Nigerian Army as there is no federal character or quota system in their postings to the Delta to carry out the ethnic cleansing that is currently going on now. Remember the army ceased to be the Nigerian Army after the January 1966 coup. They are simply an army of occupation whose interest is more of sectional and economic than national interest, whatever is the meaning of the term “national interest.”

The current war in the Delta is a continuation of the civil war; remember the Niger Delta was part of Biafra. The civil war was an oil war and the current military operation in the area is another phase of the war. The foundation of “One Nigeria”, the war slogan, is oil: if oil were to be found in another part of Nigeria maybe we would have gone our different ways. The war in the Delta is a deliberate action to cow and suppress the people in order to have unlimited access to exploit oil and gas resources. Take for example the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, we were told that Abuja is a no man’s land and that the native dwellers were relocated and compensated for their lands but today we have people claiming to be indigenes of Abuja and demanding for certain rights. The Niger Delta people were never relocated or compensated for their land, oil and gas resources that had and still are sustaining Nigeria and when they demanded for their rights soldiers are send to go and wipe them out.

The current war in the Delta is not an accident or a response to recent activities of militants from the area. Rather it is a planned and deliberate attempt to wipe out the people. The current edition of The News Magazine carried a secret memo to the Military High Command on how to tame the Niger Delta people. And according to security reports the governors of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan aid and abet militancy and violence in the Delta. The report said that the governors and Vice President visited Camp 5 but did not tell us what they discuss. The security report did not tell us whether these sons of Niger Delta went to Camp 5 to declare support or pledge loyalty to the militants or asked them to lay down arms and embrace peace. The report is a deliberate attempt to indict and blackmail Niger Delta leaders and to accuse them of working in concert with criminals.

There are media reports that aid workers have not been given free access into the creeks to get to refugees that are stranded in the wake of the military raids in Ijaw settlements in the Delta. If civilians were not targets, as claimed by the Joint Task Force, JTF, Operation Restore Hope, why should the movement of aid workers, especially National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) a federal government agency be restricted from going into the creeks. If it was really an army of liberation or redemption, the soldiers should escort the aid workers to meet the refugees instead of asking them to go into the creeks with dug out canoes. How far and how fast can dug out canoes go and what quantity of relief materials can they carry? Hunger and starvation can also be used in the war against the Niger Delta people. Those who escaped bullets and the numerous air raids may die from hunger. Hunger and starvation are tested war weapons of the Nigerian Government and Armed Forces; it has been used before and is still being used in the current military expedition

There are militants every where in Nigeria: we have the Islamic militants in the North who have killed more people than the so-called Niger Delta militants. The Islamic militants have burnt churches, looted properties and destroyed lives of thousands if not millions of Nigerians and yet no punitive operation has been carried out against them. No mosque or emir palace which serve as their camps have been attacked by the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Islamic militants have done more harm to national unity, cohesion, security and stability than the Niger Delta militants yet the various probe panels have not produced any white paper or punishment for them. Is because oil is involved that is why the Niger Delta militants are of national interest. Almost every family in Nigeria has a story or knows someone who has a story to tell about the Islamic militants in Northern Nigeria. We have economic militants: the cement war is it in national interest? The current fuel scarcity is an act of economic militancy and not in national interest, yet nothing has been done to call these militants to order. What about the political militants? Our elections have always been war fares, yet no one has been jailed for electoral violence or malpractice.

The militants have raised allegations that operatives of the JTF and other powerful Nigerians are deeply involved in the illegal bunkering trade in the Delta region. This may be dismiss are mere blackmail but I had an encounter with a mobile policeman who confessed to me that he was about resigning from the Police Force when he was posted to the Niger Delta and his life and family have changed for good because he never believed he can make so much money serving in the police. This better life is not a product of salary increase or better welfare for the Police Force, so one can see that the Delta is a rewarding ground for security operatives and they are not in a hurry to see an end to the crisis in the area, abi na peace dem go chop?

I am not supporting criminal elements masquerading as militants in the Delta. My grievance is the plight of innocent civilians killed, maimed and displaced in the course of the current military expedition in the area. The military, based on intelligence reports, should know that militant camps are not located alongside civilian settlements and during their attacks should have avoided civilian casualties. Those who are supporting the current genocide in the Delta should remember what happened at Zaki Ibiam after General Malu presided over the destruction of Odi. One innocent civilian killed in error during the current military operation has cancelled whatever justification the federal government has to attack the region. The military should have done its homework well before confronting the militants. God is the judge of all and will judge every act and intention whether good or bad and every man will get his due reward. We have given our oil and gas for the sustenance of Nigeria and now they have come for our blood. Oh God of Vengeance, to whom vengeance belong, avenge for us, for we are of little strength.

ओबासांजो अस OUR SAVIOUR

OBASANJO: A SAVIOUR FOR NIGERIA

A wise man once said that when a purpose for a thing is not defined there is likely to be an abuse. This statement appears to be true in regards to elective and political office holders in Nigeria. Many get into office just for the glamour and pecks that come with such office. They failed to ask themselves why am I in this office and what is expected of a person occupying this position? So when an office holder does not know the purpose (duties and responsibilities) of his office or position he is bound to do what he knows or like. Recently former President Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have told the media that he was not elected president to provide roads, water, electricity and other facilities and infrastructures to Nigerians. According to reports, Obasanjo claimed that he was made president so that he can restore peace and stability to Nigeria. By Obasanjo’s statement the president is not responsible for steady power supply, potable water or basic facilities and infrastructures that in other climes are taken for granted

From the reports, it seemed that during his eight years in office, Baba was not implementing the manifestoes, policies and programmes that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on which platform he came to office, had used to campaign while seeking for votes from Nigerians. Stop asking me whether my vote or that of millions of Nigerians count, are you saying that PDP does not need our votes to win elections? Do you realize that you are libeling the greatest, largest and strongest party in Africa, the great PDP! Baba in his infinite wisdom, can you compete with his wise ways, of doing what he considered the best for national interest and stability. If you think you are smart tell me between Baba national interest and PDP manifesto which is superior? After all the president is the party leader and as the leader he is the wisest of them all.

Some persons are complaining that our current President Umaru Musa Yar’dua has not implemented any of his seven point agenda. Umaru may be following the footsteps of Baba, that is, implementing his own personal agenda instead of that of the PDP. And maybe after eight years in office, he would tell us what he was doing in Aso Rock. You mean Yar’dua daughters have all been married within two years of his presidency? Nonsense, this is an achievement whether you like it or not, bad belle. Was it not during his second coming that Baba’s children started marrying and were given out for marriage. Don’t ask me whether some of the marriages are still on? These marriages were and are in the nation’s interest and to further strengthen national stability and integration.

Talking about manifesto, what do you know about party manifesto? Who determines what a party manifesto is and how it should be implemented? According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: a manifesto is “a written statement in which a group of people, especially a political party, explain their beliefs and say what they will do if the win election….” Don’t mind my dictionary and its definition of manifesto, it is only a learner’s dictionary and its definition cannot be compare to that of a wise man like Obasanjo. My dictionary definition is for political learners and not for masters of the game like Baba. What do the compilers of dictionary know about politics, PDP or manifesto? It is Obasanjo presidency we are talking about and not PDP or Manifesto presidency, so whoever is the president knows what is best for Nigeria, no party, constitution or manifesto can tell or guide him on what to do. So in Nigeria, a party manifesto is only a document to fulfill all righteousness and it does not translate to a promise or covenant of what a party would do if elected into office. After an election, the manifesto is kept in an archive until next elections ( or when an electoral body asked for it) and the elected officer is free to do whatever he likes while in office.

My people have a saying that you don’t argue with a blind man over his dreams because he eyes are always closed so you may not know when he is asleep or dreaming, in short, he can sleep and dream at any time. So who are we Nigerians to challenge Obasanjo’s claim that he was the one who saved Nigeria form disintegration and disappearance from the face of the earth.

Nigerians are ungrateful idiots, a bunch of ingrates who will not appreciate the messianic role of Baba god of Owu kingdom. These Nigerians, especially the bloody Biafrans, would not accepted that it was Baba that risk his life to keep Nigeria one, a task that he did. Don’t mind Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle who attempted to claim victory in a war he did not fight. In short, Obasanjo was and is still the Conqueror of the Biafra Empire. And when Nigeria, that beloved country of Obasanjo, was at the verge of extinction, Baba came out of a well deserved retirement to salvage the country. Forget those who claimed that Baba came out of Prison to the Presidency. The truth is that Baba went to prison in the interest of Nigeria and because of his love for Nigeria. Baba is always ready to die for Nigeria but death has always refused to accept his soul. May he live forever, gods don’t die.

To appreciate the contributions of Obasanjo to national unity and stability, we shall recall some of the milestones of his eight years as a civilian president. Before Baba second coming in 1999, there was no Niger Delta crisis. Except for those irritants from Ogoni land, little or nothing was heard from or known about the Niger Delta region. But when Baba came into office his administration brought Niger Delta to international recognition. Remember the Odi incident in Bayelsa State. And it was Baba that liberated Bayelsa and the entire Niger Delta from the Biafran forces; can you see how much we are indebted to him? As I am writing this piece there is an undeclared war going in Delta state and it is one of the fruits of Obasanjo’s eight years in office. Even the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) thrived well during Obasanjo messianic administration. Baba forgives his enemies easily for they know not what he knew. Forget all those religious crises, tribal wars across the country, they were all in furtherance of national unity, integration and stability, except you have you own meaning of national unity.

We must learn to appreciate creative ideas of leaders like Obasanjo. We should not wait until he is dead before we declared a day as a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of this great democrat, soldier, administrator, peace maker and patriotic Nigerian to the peace and stability of Nigeria. Or what do you think? It is not the business of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide jobs, water, goods schools, roads, hospitals, security of lives and property among other social amenities to Nigerians. Our president has more serious national issues to think about than the welfare and comfort of Nigerians. If you are waiting for the presidency to improve the welfare and standard of living of Nigerians, you are wasting you time and do not understand the responsibilities of the President of the most populous black country in the universe.