Together For Nigeria

Barka de Sallah to all my muslim friends as they celebrate Eid-el-Kabir. The lesson inherent in the celebration is that without the enabling values of love, self-denial, faith and sacrifice the world will be lethargic and unprogressive. God showed Prophet Ibrahim (may the peace of Allah be upon him) the way forward, from which the rest of mankind has taken a cue. Sacrifice however goes beyond merely killing a ram and feasting on it, it entails the need to be our brother's keepers, to offer a helping hand to our fellow beings, and in particular to assist the poor and the needy. Since the cause of poverty has been traced to corruption and inept leadership, the Eid-el-Kabir provides another opportunity for the country's leaders to have a rethink, and embrace a result-oriented, and people-focused approach that will be beneficial to the masses of Nigerians. The occasion demands that Muslims share love and food with their neighbours. And many would enthusiastically do so. But the s...

For over 40 years, the Nigerian state has refused to address the key question of nationhood, and transform itself properly into a nation-state with a shared consensus on its identity and future. An invidious kind of conspiracy has sustained Nigeria as a country of many nations, surrounded by the explosives of political, economic and social differences. Successive civilian governments of Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo and now Musa Yar’adua rather than address the defects in the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions, inherited from the military, have feathered the conspiracy and imbalance in the structure of the Nigerian federation which has been, and is still inimical to its development. The Obasanjo government had tried to re-invent the Petroleum Decree of 1969, abrogated by the Babangida administration, by re-introducing the onshore-offshore dichotomy in determining the allocation of oil and gas revenue. Before then, Governors of the South-South geo-political zone had fought bitterly to get ...

Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro of blessed memory was a celebrated Niger Delta nationalist and Nigerian civil war hero. He was one of the pioneers of minority rights activism in Nigeria. He led an armed protest against the exploitation of oil and gas resources in the Niger Delta areas which benefited mainly the federal government of Nigeria and a remote Eastern Nigeria regional government. He believed that the people of the area deserved a fairer share of proceeds of the oil wealth. He formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, an armed militia with members constituting mainly of his fellow Ijaw ethnic group. They declared the Niger Delta Republic in February 23, 1966 and gallantly battled the Federal forces for twelve days but were finally routed by the far superior Federal firepower. Later Niger Delta activists like the late Ken Saro-Wiwa substituted Isaac Boro’s gun for a pen and peaceful international campaign and protests. These are the genuine activists of the people of the Niger Del...

African nations especially Nigeria has through its adherence to the UN charter and participation in its activities expressed unflinching commitment to the purposes and objectives of the United Nations. For us and indeed other Africans the UN was seen as an embodiment of the collective hopes and aspirations of men and women and everywhere for a world free of war, free of want and free of injustice. I commend efforts by the helpless and powerless secretary generals like Kofi Annan to give the world body a new lease of life because there was critical issues, such as global poverty, international peace-keeping, regional economic integration, the environment and climate change challenges, migration and refugees as well as global health problems for which there could be no lasting solution without intensification of international co-operation. In order to preserve and sustain the relevance of the UN to Africa and the developing world, the world economic powers and powers that be in the UN se...

The debt of third world countries is both unpayable and uncollectible. To continually insist on repayments with suffocating interests is to continually impoverish these nations. What is needed is debt forgiveness with a commitment to good governance, fiscal responsibility and transparency on the part of these countries.

The average Nigerian student is ignorant of the nature and purpose of the university, ignorant of his own status and roles in the university community, confused and misguided as to his duties and obligations to the society.

The removal of some 20million people from any race is not a mere quantitative horror;it is an act which completely empties out a living space of history. Africans and its leaders both home and in diaspora must begin to build a new society by transcending the apocalptic experiences of slavery and colonization.

I strongly disagree with the proponents of disintegration of Nigeria at any time. The problem is not Nigeria itself but the bane of leadership crisis. There are more that binds us together than divide us. In the emerging global power calculation and realignment within regional powers, it is not in our collective interest to disintegrate as this will be more catastrophic. What is required is a country based on true federalism and a people’s constitution with inputs and consensus from all peoples of Nigeria without no-go-areas. My prediction is the emergence of the United States of Nigeria in the 21st century. This is the way forward for the current geographical expression called Nigeria. Stronger devolution within a stronger union – 21st century devolution for a 21st century union delivering interdependence rather than independence.

I agree with former president of Ghana, Mr. John Kufuor, that ‘’immunity clause in any constitution is militarist and protective of dictatorship and corruption’’.This clause is still being kept in Nigeria to continuously perpetrate dictatorship, disregard the rule of law, loot the treasury and protect the powers that be.

I have read and listened to the call by many Nigerians and most recently by Alhaji Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and close associate of the party’s presidential candidate in the 2003 and 2007 elections, Major-Gen. Muahmmadu Buhari (rtd), that Nigeria needed the “Jerry Rawlings Formula” to move forward. I will not condemn him but salute his bravery at saying the obvious having been part of the establishment for a long time. This is an accident waiting to happen and my understanding of this statement and other calls is a reflection of the thoughts of the voiceless and despondent Nigerians. There is change in the air, the time for change is now and the moment has come for Nigeria. But no one can predict the form and shape it will take. I urge all those leaders and people in positions of authority in Nigeria to remember the immortal words of Edmund Burke that ‘’ those who make peaceful change impossible, makes violent change inevitable’’