₦airaland Forum

IGBOS BY PROF TEKENA TAMUNO

I always insist that the greatest merit for Igbos in recent times is *not simply the advent of the internet on the surface!* _It is the social media aspect of the internet_ which now allows independent thinkers to *challenge the lies of history.* In Nigeria, our little corner of the world, *through social media presentations,* scholars are now debunking the false stories perpetuated by the Yoruba press *(with the help of the north who has always been paranoid about Igbos).* The Yorubas took advantage of their civil war take-over of the press *to rewrite the history of Nigeria as it favors them...,* and if you believe them, *"every post independence success in Nigeria was Awolowo influenced"* and every problem in Nigeria was *"instigated by Azikiwe, Ojukwu and the Igbos!"*"The truth is reluctantly coming out"* and _Igbos are gradually being vindicated!!!_ Read this masterpiece below by *Professor Tekena Tamuno, a great historian and former Vice - Chancellor University of Ibadan.* By the way, he's not an Igbo man!��
===============

"IGBO ARE THE MAKERS OF MODERN NIGERIA" -- PROF TEKENA TAMUNO

The problem with writing skewered history is that it equally misinforms its target: Kayode Esho was a great jurist, but Akunne Oputa was the "Socrates" of the Supreme court. Enahoro was a young editor, but Azikiwe made him that young editor with Osita Agwuna as his assistant, at his paper, the Southern Nigerian Defender in Ibadan, where my own father incidentally started as a rookie before shortly abandoning journalism for the stable berth of the civil service. The myth of Awolowo as building the first this and that does not match the documented economic history of the period.

Between 1954 and 1964, Eastern Nigeria was described as "the fastest growing economy in the world," by the Harvard Review; faster than China, faster than Singapore, and all the so-called "Asian Tigers." Awolowo is often credited with "free education".

But no one yet has pointed out any surviving school buildings of the period built by Awo. But all over the East there were quality schools built by the various communities using the Town Development Unions from 1954, and acessing the matching grants of the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation. And this was the East with the poorest revenue resources of any of the regions. The Mbaise secondary school exists, the National High School Okigwe exists, the Ngwa High school exists, the Enyiogugu Grammar School exists, etc. These were solid schools built all over the East with matching goverment grants. But where are the buildings of the Modern schools in Western Nigeria? They do not exist. They were makeshift.

The Catholic church forced the Azikiwe government from its scholarship program, but it is also on record, that the Eastern government was the only government in the world that invested 45% of its revenues in education. The East had the highest number of schools; the highest school enrollment; the broadest penetration of medical services; and the best modern road network in west Africa.

Indeed if we look carefully, the only public hospitals and most of the schools still standing in the East today, at various stages of run down are the schools and hospitals built by Azikiwe/Okpara. Every division of the East had a Joint Hospital as part of the Eastern Medical services. So it is often claimed Awo built the first television station; the first sky scraper, and the first Sports stadium, the liberty stadium in Ibadan. Well, these are prestige or white elephant investments.

First, the Eastern Outlook, the government paper of Eastern Nigeria was the first newspaper established by any government in Nigeria, and it was of such quality and impact that the literacy level of Easterners, and the depth of public information retailed by Outlook was without compare. This is besides the fact that Western Nigerian Broadcast Services, WNBS-TV founded in 1958 only preceded the ENBC-TV founded in 1959, by only seven months. But Outlook preceded Sketch by about 15 years.

Now Azikiwe built the Onitsha Modern market, the first modern mall or trade emporium in West Africa. Onitsha was effectively Dubai before Dubai. People traveled all over Africa, from as far as the Congo and Sudan and Egypt, to come and buy and trade in Onitsha. The economic impact of this was humonguos. So, give me the vast Onitsha modern market over Cocoa House in Ibadan. Azikiwe built the first Nigerian University at Nsukka with the first School of Law, the first School of Engineering, the first Business School; the first school of journalism, and the first school of music and performance, etc. By the time its first graduates took the Nigerian civil service exams in 1963, everybody began to raise the cry of "Igbo domination" starting with Akintola and Ayo Rosiji. Give me UNN over Liberty stadium.

Azikiwe began the first modern library system in West Africa. The East had a system of city libraries starting with the very modern Ziks Library in Enugu. I Literally grew up in the Umuahia Divisional Library. These libraries were built all over the East. Schools in the East were built with libraries. Moreover the Eastern Nigerian Library Board had a sysem of rural amd mobile libraries. There was nothing like it anywhere else in Nigeria: kids having library cards and able to borrow or order books from the public library. Give me the the first library over the first TV. I do not by this mean that Awolowo did not make his contributions, but the regular skewering of the facts, and angling of contemporary national narratives often makes it seem these days like the greatest contributor to the founding of Nigeria and its development is Awolowo and the Yoruba, when the actual facts speak differently.

The great Ibadan historian, Tekena Tamuno, was unambiguous in stating once at NIPPS, Jos, that "the Igbos are the makers of moderm Nigeria. When they abandoned their project, Nigeria collapsed." We must remind Nigerians, particularly Igbo children, daily of these fact, to achieve what Achebe called " a balance of stories." And that also means we must read beyond the surface of things. Babarinsa's Guardian essay is angled carefully to maintain a revisionist narrative. And that is to be always challenged, however innocent it might seem.

Even today, most Yoruba think that Awolowo founded the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos. No one has reminded them that it took Azikiwe's pressures for a university for Nigeria, in his meeting with Arthur Richards in 1946, that led to the cobstitution of the Eliot commision and subsequently the founding of the University College, Ibadan. This fact is even clearly conveyed in Michael Crowder's eponymous book, The Story of Nigeria. Nsukka was Azikiwe's critique of what he felt to be the conceptual limitations of Ibadan. The University of Lagos was the result of NCNC's ideological contributions to the federal policy during the ill fated coalition government with the NPC. UNILAG was an NCNC project, shepherded by Aja Wachukwu as minister for education. Even the great UNILAG in her 50th anniversary failed to mention Prof Eni Njoku as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the university, a man that layed the solid foundation of what made Unilag is today.

These facts must be made known and put as forcefully accross as possible. Again, until the lion tells his own story, the story of the hunt will belong to the hunter.

IGBOS BY PROF TEKENA TAMUNO

Starting soon

The interior man

Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo (22 November 1937 – 9 March 2009) was a Nigerian historian known for the history and historiography of Africa, more particularly Igbo history and the history of Southeastern Nigeria. Themes emphasised include pre-colonial and colonial history, inter-group relations, the Aro and the slave trade, the art and science of history in Africa, and nation-building.

Afigbo was born at Ihube, Okigwe, in present-day Imo State. His formal education began in 1944 at Methodist Central School, Ihube where he came under the influence of remarkably dedicated teachers, the most outstanding of whom was Mr. Oji Iheukumere, the head teacher, a native of Uzuakoli, in today's Abia State who was a noted church musician and disciplinarian. At Ihube Central School Afigbo's brilliance manifested early which made his teachers encourage him to go to secondary school in spite of the opposition of his parents who were intimidated by the cost of post-primary education. He succeeded in his bid and went to St. Augustine's (CMS) Grammar School, Nkwerre Orlu in Imo State.[citation needed] with an Okigwe Native Administration scholarship won in a competitive examination. There again he came across a crop of teachers who left a definite imprint on him. Foremost among those were Mazi F,C. Ogbalu, a teacher of Igbo language and culture and the founder of the Society for The Promotion of Igbo Language and Culture, C.G.I. Eneli a history graduate of the University College, Ibadan and E. C. Ezekwesili, the principal of the college and a history graduate of the University of Southampton, UK. These three helped to determine his future academic career. From St. Augustine's Grammar School Afigbo gained admission to study history at University College, Ibadan (then affiliated with University of London), with a scholarship from the government of Eastern Nigeria. There again, he met scholars noted for their brilliance and beneficent influence – J.D. Omer-Cooper, J.C. Anene, J.F. Ade Ajayi and Kenneth Onwuka Dike. There were also his colleagues – Obaro Ikime and Philip Igbafe who not only read history with him, but with him went on to pioneer the "made in Nigeria PhD" at the infant University of Ibadan with the help of post-graduate scholarships awarded by the university to the best graduating students.[citation needed] Adiele Afigbo had not only graduated top of his class, but also was the first among his colleagues to complete his PhD With this, he became the first person ever to receive a doctoral degree from a Nigerian university

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiele_Afigbo

Is Buhari

Hmmm

My son said one is Buhari
My neighbors' son said one is Buhari and the other is Aki( Nollywood)

MILITARY DEPLOYS 2000 TROOPS TO CONFRONT KATSINA BANDITS

AUGUST 6, 2020 PUBLISHED

In a fresh bid to crush banditry and kidnapping in Katsina State, the Nigerian military high command has deployed over 2000 soldiers to the state.

Governor Aminu Masari disclosed this on Wednesday shortly after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

https://1stnewsonline.com/?p=7437

Gov Masari ask for more financial support from World Bank

Governor Aminu Bello Masari has again emphasized the need for world bank to finance three additional programmes in Katsina State.

Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari made this request when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed in her office in Abuja.

The Governor explained that Katsina state needed the world bank to finance the agric climate resilience programme for enhanced productivity in the state.



He also requested for funding by the world bank on livestock production, adding that Katsina state government had greater interest in revamping the sector.

The Governor told the Minister that Katsina state government had interest in improvement of water supply from Malumfashi to Kankara or alternatively constructing a new dam in Kankara.

These three projects, he contended are critical to the state and wants finances from the world bank.



He said all the monies will come to katsina state not as a loan but as a grant.
He also spoke on adolescent girl education, which he said communication had been sent to the federal ministry of finance.

Responding, the Minister of Finance Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed said she is fully aware of the first two projects mentioned by Governor Masari, adding that the ministry will intervene and makes sure that the grants reaches Katsina State.

Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed also said the Malumfashi water supply expansion, which is being handled by the federal ministry of water resources will also receive the blessings of her ministry.

Katsina Gazette/ Fitilar Katsina
Ministry of information
Katsina State

See our Interior Minister standing like a national flag.
When you have Babalawos in sensitive positions of Government,
intelligence gathering becomes a matter of abracadabra!

Jackson Ude
@jacksonpbn
https://twitter.com/jacksonpbn/status/1291168407719759877/photo/1

France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines

African summit ends with no deal on Mali crisis
Issued on: 24/07/2020 - 00:12


By:
James CREEDON
Follow
|
Maya YATAGHENE
It's another attempt by leaders in West Africa to resolve the political crisis in Mali. Five Presidents all met in Bamako amid ongoing calls for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.


France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines

Welcome, Oòduà Nation! By Rèmí Oyèyemí
It is meaningless to assume that bigness is everything. Statistics and facts available does not support that bigness is always a good thing. When Muammar Gaddafi visited Nigeria in 1982. His first statement at the Murtala Mohammed Airport was “Some nations are big for nothing,” as a way to express his disappointment in Nigeria.

BY RÈMÍ OYÈYEMÍJUL 22, 2020

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860)



We have decided to carve out our own NATION STATE out of Nigeria. THE OODUA NATION. We have reached the limit of our endurance with Nigeria. We are tired of being slaves in our own land. Our people do not deserve to be poor. They don't deserve to live in poverty. Their choice is never to live squalor. We did not at any time sign any contract with any group of persons, Nations or countries that we are giving up our rights to self determination. Our promise to ourselves and our people is "Life abundant" as eloquently articulated by Obafemi Awolowo in his philosophy of social contract with the people, called AWOISM.

We are resolved to have a date with our DESTINY. We are resolved to be free. We are resolved to be the captains of our own souls. We hope to have this done by peaceful means. But if we have to fight, so be it. There is no making the omelette without breaking the egg. Any fight in the protection of our heritage is worth it. Any fight in the protection of our land is worth it. Any fight in the protection of our women is worth it. Any fight in the protection of our children is worth it. Any fight to remove the shackles from our ankles is worth it. Any fight to gain our dignity is worth it. Any fight to set us and the generation unborn free is worth it.

As Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you a slave without your consent.” Our membership of Nigeria has worked out as slavery and robbed us of the orderly political and social environment in which to employ our God-given capabilities to pursue our development and progress. Our decision, arrived at in utmost humility to the opinions of mankind and with hope in the approval and support of the Creator and Ruler of all nations, is that it is time for us to have a separate, independent and sovereign country of our own in the world. We have resolved to have our OÒDUÀ NATION.


Remi Oyeyemi
Yes, we are very confident that this will happen. We have no scintilla of doubt that this must happen. We are confident of the support of the heavenly armies that this will happen. We are sure of the the orígun mérìndínllógún ilè Oòduà have lined up for this. All the spirits of our heroes past in Oòduà Land are in support of this. All the spirits of the martyrs of Oòduà Land are line up for this. It is our Àyànmó tí kò gb'óògùn. Yes, it is our manifest DESTINY - OÒDUÀ NATION.

We have no idea of the timeline because it depends on a lot of factors. The Yoruba are very deliberative and circumspective and they never rush to take decisions. They will do whatever they need to do at the appropriate time. But, we want to assure you that it is going to be unstoppable when this occurs. Presently, a lot of things are being put in place. All ramifications are being considered and prepared for. All possible impediments, internally and externally are being considered and prepared for. Majority of Yoruba people are tired of Nigeria. We think we can do better on our own. We believe it is our destiny to be free from Nigeria and nothing will be able to impede the realization of that destiny. Nothing will impede the imminence of OÒDUÀ NATION.

This coming OÒDUÀ NATION is inevitable to say the obvious. No army could stop it. No Airforce could impede its march. No Navy could swim against its tide. No amount of bullion vans could buy it off. No internal enemies would survive it. Yes, internal enemies in their usual perfidious l ways would try, but as usual, they would fail. No amount of external collaborators would succeed again it. OÒDUÀ NATION is an idea which time has come. "Ideas do not create crisis, it is crisis that creates idea," so postulated Fidel Castro. OÒDUÀ NATION IS HERE.

As to our viability, the new Oodua Nation will in terms of land size (inland and coast water area as recognized by the United Nations) be bigger in land area than Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom. Oodua Nation would be about 9 times bigger than Denmark, almost 13 times bigger than Belgium, over 4 times bigger than Portugal, over 10 times bigger than Switzerland, one of the places where the politicians of Nigeria like to hide their stolen money and over 17 times bigger than the State of Israel!

In population, it will be bigger than Canada, bigger than Great Britain about 2 times, bigger than Portugal about 4 times, Norway about 9 times, Belgium about 4 times, Sweden about 4 times, Denmark about 8 times, Switzerland about 5 times, Israel about 5 times and bigger than Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales put together

In terms of economic resources, the most important thing is the human resources. We need not the oil, even though we have some. We have a lot of arable land. We will revive our agriculture as a base for industrialization with application of technology. We will create an economy that would be the envy of others and once again set pace for the rest of Africa. But our focus would be on a lot of other things some of which we would rather not talk about right now, for strategic reasons. We would posit that development economists tell us that the reason why a nation tends to make faster progress technologically, economically and politically after it becomes an independent Nation, is to be found in cultural homogeneity.

Japan is just a string of Islands without any oil. It has the world’s three best selling cars in world history without having any steel or able to grow any rubber plantation to make tyres. It has economically conquered the world. Look at the State if Israel, what does it have and how big is it that all the Arabs are powerless at its feet. The age of Metuselah is nothing compared to the Wisdom of Solomon. The bigness of a country is not directly proportional to its prosperity, power and prestige. Check out Norway and other Scandinavian countries to appreciate this fact.

It is meaningless to assume that bigness is everything. Statistics and facts available does not support that bigness is always a good thing. When Muammar Gaddafi visited Nigeria in 1982. His first statement at the Murtala Mohammed Airport was “Some nations are big for nothing,” as a way to express his disappointment in Nigeria.

Our detractors often try to suggest that the Yoruba are disunited. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Yoruba are very united. Do not buy the bogus propaganda that we are divided. We are ONE because we are children of the same father. We will rally together. We will build a country that will be the envy of the others. We will demonstrate that the Blackman is not cursed. We will through sheer hard work and determination which are our hallmarks build a country that its peoples will be very proud and the world will have no choice but to respect. We will revitalize our culture. We will re-engage with our values. We will restructure and modernize our language just as the Jews did to Hebrew after the creation of the Israeli nation in 1948.

We have done it before. We will do it again. We know what we have to do to take our seat in the comity of Nations. We just want to appeal to our brothers and sisters, all sons and daughters of Oodua that in this quest for Oodua Nation, we can not afford the luxury of illusions of impractical ideas, we can not afford the comfort of inaction, we can not afford to cower in fear, we can not afford the delusions of greatness as a member of a failed state where our heritage is being disparaged on daily basis, where the future of our children have been foreclosed, where we can never reach the height of our potentials. Like Benjamin Franklin once posited, those who gave up their liberty for their safety deserves neither their liberty nor safety.

Oodua Nation will be born. It is the destiny of the Yoruba people to be free and to give a lasting legacy to their children, posterity and the world.

Welcome to OÒDUÀ NATION!

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it."
-John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1960

© Rèmí Oyèyemí

http://saharareporters.com/2020/07/22/welcome-o%C3%B2du%C3%A0-nation-r%C3%A8m%C3%AD-oy%C3%A8yem%C3%AD

Ok

Fake degrees, almajiri and Nigeria’s
underdevelopment By Engr. Abubakar A. Fari | Jul 15, 2020 2:46 AM

The issue of almajiri is very much with us. The issue of fake degrees originating from southern Nigeria, like COVID-19 is also very much with us. The issue of underdevelopment of Nigeria as a top member of the third world with noise makers, and with the highest number of the Black race but with nothing to show in human development index, is frightening. COVID-19: 24% of Nigerians don’t have hand washing soap — NBS Hadejia communities sensitised on agribusiness investment scheme The issue of our Muslim brothers that western education has implanted inferiority complex in also needs to be understood. The fact remains that it is through Islamic religion and education, its light and ladder that Europe was transformed and brought out of darkness to light but it is being suppressed by the imperialists. Whether anyone likes it or not, modern or western education has its roots and foundations from Islamic universities, Muslim scholars, scientists and thinkers beginning over 1400 years ago. Since November 2019 and fired by Gambo Dori’s article, I have followed the trend where the atmosphere is been bombarded from columnists of Daily Trust to include Jamila and co, DT editorials in the daily and Sunday including news items carried on the paper. I have made photocopies of them. I should like this sensitive issue to be left open for public debate and that the blame game should expose also the southerner’s weakness and incompetence that have made Nigeria underdeveloped despite the bogus degrees and exposure in Europe, US etc. The profiling of the almajiri by the “I too know”, was orchestrated from especially the enclaves of the republics of “Biafra” and “Oduduwa” most claiming largely bogus degrees since 1960. Many other Nigerian Muslims, Christians and animists with Oyibo slave mentality are part of the bandwagon. Instead of development, the only agenda on the table is stealing directly and indirectly from the public treasury in frauds entrenched by bogus degree holders profiling almajiri and northerners with Hijab even if a professor. Since October 1960, despite being blessed with the resources, Nigerians have lived with the endemic or is it “pandemic” lack of water, electricity and basic infrastructure. We need real “HARD TALK” as in the BBC rather than the blame game. My wife and humble self have been to India but she twice more and she wonders that, though there is huge population and dirt in India and ghettos, yet Mumbai is a sh_t hole like Ajegunle. They have water and electricity. In India, the number of destitute, worse than almajiri, exceeds the Nigerian population. But if any blackout, it is rare in Mumbai as opposed to the case in Nigeria where even in Ikoyi, VI, Asokoro and the “flashy” areas of Ikeja, residents scandalously live on gens because of fake degrees mentality. The scandalous schemes to sustain the sale of generators and fake spare parts and endless dependence on sales of imported petrol by cabals have come to stay. These parasites are worse than the almajiri. The multibillion dollar refinery projects will never work and remain white elephant projects. When a Nigerian is sick with blood sugar or water in the heart he will suffer in the hands of Nigerian consultant/professors who will never identify the cause but will keep him on all sorts of drugs till he dies or is lucky enough to travel to India or elsewhere. If opportune to go to India within 48 hours the problem is identified and you see the hopeless case smiling. The almajiri is on his own and invariably does not control the ATMs of fake degree holders. In 1985 my wife could fill the tank of her Beetle with only N7 but now it will be N7,000 or 1000 times more. In 1988 we bought a gas filled cylinder at just N6 in Ikoyi, Lagos. Today, Nigerians pay about N4,800 per cylinder. Imagine 800 times at present value! Yet the brains of the fake degree holders, would rather profile the almajir[/b]i. One is not saying almajiri is an acceptable condition. However, India if it were to be wailing and crying and pointing at the destitute how [b]could it have solved its “mother India” problems. India, with twice or thrice the population of almajiri including the abandoned child witches in the south and the osu of Igbo caste system, is a nuclear power. India produces all the basic and high tech needs like drugs, hospital equipment, cars, trucks, earth moving equipment etc. India is an emerging economy next to China and a net exporter to Nigeria. The existence of almajiri does not stop the Igbo or Yoruba or any other Nigerian to have invented Twitter or WhatsApp. Why are the Nigerian fake degree holders only eating crumbs? The first Oyibo school was built in 1843 in Badagry, Lagos. Yet after 177 years, what is there to show to the world that such early start by the Yoruba in “western education” has been beneficial in the world development index. The Lagos-Ogun axis industries are nothing other than the screwdriver industries that lack 20% local content capacity. They are in the main conduit pipes to drain scarce FX. The catalogue of incompetences are endless. Other Nigerians will welcome the fake degree holders to create enterprises and world class global companies like Ford, Du Pont, Bill Gates, Benz, Daimler, Toyota, Honda and Chinese upstarts? Despite the profiling, it is from Kano, the centre of almajiri that we have the richest black man in the person of Dangote. Nigerians have more scammers as stated by former US JCS Colin Powell and that majority are Nigerians not almajiri; almost all the scammers are from the fake degrees southern states. The bane of our underdevelopment arises most from the fake degree holders with no competencies in creating a healthy economy and a vibrant civil service to propel Nigeria to greater heights. Rather it is “na from my office I go chop” since the days of Lugard. The “na from my office I go chop” syndrome destroyed the public institutions like the railway, airways, ECN to NEPA to PHCN, NNOC to NNPC, Post office, Ports Authority, CBN, Ajaokuta a big conduit pipe to siphon wealth by fake degree holders. It was not the almajiri. Let us sit and address those responsible for the underdevelopment of Nigeria from the list of the technocrats involved in the bureaucracy at the federal service. The southwest gained technical aids from the embassies in Lagos up to and before the capital moved out of Lagos. More than 80% beneficiaries were from and remain from the O states. How many almajiri benefitted other than the Yoruba and mid-west in the last 40 years after Nigerian independence. In the privatisation and commercialisation of 1972 with Awo as finance minister under Gowon, 80% beneficiaries were and remain Yoruba. The decisions and key benefits from job employments, contractors, skill acquisition from all the oil companies with headquarters in Lagos and the secretaries of the CEOs and all key management staff are Yoruba and ended up with Yoruba domination. In 1968, at Government College Keffi an Indian teacher was transferred from Ibadan. The practice was that WAEC papers were accompanied to the examination hall with a police guard and the sealed papers were opened in front of all. When he saw that, he said but that was not the practice in Ibadan. These facts were proven when the NYSC scheme was established. In all the southern states, our NYSC members saw the widespread fraud and were even threatened to teach the students answers to questions ab initio. So, what is the profiling of almajiri about when the fake degrees is public knowledge with the southerners. If you point these facts to them, their answer is without shame have you “caught me”. mofari@hotmail.com

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fake-degrees-almajiri-and-nigerias-underdevelopment.html

''By the way, $1 billion dollars was borrowed and injected twice to fight BH and we know who owns all the properties and estates in Abuja, Lagos and abroad while lip service is paid to the fight year in year out''

We call your attention to the wickedness of Nigeria against the people



It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar in the west of the Bight of Biafra, and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east

Governor Ayade wants Nigeria to review ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon By Eyo Charles, Calabar | May 31, 2020 11:00 AM : The displaced Bakassi people. Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has reminded President Muhammadu Buhari to make good his promise when he visited the state to review the ceding of Bakassi to the Republic of Cameroon. He made the appeal when he spoke in Bakassi to mark his five years as governor of the state. The governor also unveiled new housing estate for the Bakassi displaced people during the occasion. He said that the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon did not follow any known law in the country and amounts to an illegality. . It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar in the west of the Bight of Biafra, and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Nigeria as a result of a judgment by the International Court of Justice. On 22 November 2007, the Nigerian Senate rejected the transfer, since the Greentree Agreement ceding the area to Cameroon was contrary to Section 12(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Regardless, the territory was transferred to Cameroon on 14 August 2008. : Why we want Bakassi issue revisited – Rep Nkoyo Toyo But Ayade stressed that the action amounts to wickedness of Nigeria against the people of the territory. “We call your attention to the wickedness of Nigeria against the people and also want you to recognise the pain of the people of Bakassi as injustice to one is injustice to all. “We also want to draw the consciousness of the president to the people of Bakassi because the country has unfinished business here and also ask that the president visits Bakassi to see the people and the condition they are living in”, Ayade said. Making his remarks, the Paramount Ruler of Bakassi and Chairman, Cross River State Council of Chiefs, Dr Etim Okon Edet, said: “We have become a moving caravan, moving from one area to the other, to the other, and I plead with you to acquire an empty land, map it out, survey it, and give us the title so that the Bakassi people can be resettled properly.” Ayade inaugurates housing estate Meanwhile, Ayade has inaugurated a housing estate to resettle some of the Bakassi displaced people as part of activities marking his first term in office. Speaking at the ceremony held in Ifianyong community in the new Bakassi, Professor Ayade said it was the first social housing in Africa where the ownership is in perpetuity. The governor said he felt proud to have put a smile on the faces of the displaced people. “Today, I am happy God has given me the opportunity to put a smile on the face of people of the area”, he said. He urged them not to despair but hope in God whom he said will one day reverse the injustice done to them.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/governor-ayade-urges-nigeria-to-review-ceding-of-bakassi-to-cameroon.html

Kaduna State Government has disclosed that, Almajiris repatriated from Kano are among the new COVID-19 cases in the state.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed-Baloni on Monday afternoon confirmed the new cases earlier announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Sunday night.

She said “the new cases include almajirai who were recently repatriated from Kano.”



Dr. Baloni said in the statement that there are now nine active cases in Kaduna state.

The commissioner however maintained that contacts of the new cases were being traced so that they can be monitored and tested if they meet the case definition.

She said the new patients have been moved to the Infectious Diseases Control Centre (IDCC), the state’s premier isolation centre.


She also disclosed that, testing capacity of the state has been improved, as the state now has two testing centres accredited by NCDC to conduct Covid-19 tests.



According to her, “Testing capacity has improved in the state. Two labs, one each in Kaduna and Zaria, have been accredited by NCDC to conduct Covid-19 tests.

“The Ministry of Health wishes to remind the general public of the importance of hand-washing, personal hygiene, social distancing and the avoidance of large gatherings in helping protect us all from Covid-19. It is important to stay home, stay safe and save lives,” She said.


https://thenationonlineng.net/almajiris-repatriated-from-kano-among-five-new-covid-19-cases-in-kaduna/

My letter to IMF, World Bank & Africa Dev. Bank (ADB)

Dear Sirs

Foreign Lenders Must Stop Lending To Nigeria

Just before the COVID Pandemic struck, Nigeria was on the verge of taking a loan of almost $23 Billion from a complex mix of foreign lenders led by China. It was not complex by accident but by design and deception. Nigeria’s rogue rulers wanted the loan to be more acceptable to gullible Nigerians by tagging along respected international financial institutions like IMF and AfDB to a humongous Chinese loan that carried all the usual elements of corruption and usury that have many wise nations wary of Chinese loans.

It’s noteworthy that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was on the frontline of rallying a groundswell of opposition to the loan, especially because of its proposed expenditure plan that excluded the Southeast part of Nigeria - in flagrant breach of Nigeria’s Constitution. We were concerned that any foreign loan obtained in breach of the organic law of Nigeria would provoke a political/legal backlash that will complicate its repayment. And with the COVID pandemic contemporaneously diverting the attention of the world (including China), the loan seems to be on hold for now. That is well and good.

But so soon after, Nigeria is at it again. This time, there are credible reports that it wants to take another loan from the IMF & AfDB. This is after the $2.2B it borrowed from the World Bank in February this year, which Nigeria falsely claimed was for ‘immunization and job creation’, when in fact the money was shared out to the regime's cronies in the Muslim North of Nigeria, including those that promote and enable Islamic terrorism against Christians, stretching from the Maghreb to the Gulf of Guinea.

So, now the ruling Fulani cabal wants to borrow another $3.4B from IMF, $2.5Billion from World Bank and $1Billion from African Development Bank, should it be allowed to do so when we know very well that previous loans were grossly looted and otherwise spent in a manner that breached the Nigerian constitutional provisions on revenue allocation between the Central and State governments on the one hand, and the geopolitical regions of Nigeria, on the other. True to character, the treasonous Cabal ruling Nigeria in Buhari’s name has engaged in another brazen act of deception by falsely claiming that the new loans will be used to “fight COVID-19, and to assist the poor and small businesses”.

Who takes loans to fight COVID? You don’t need loans to fight a pandemic, you instead need aid and global goodwill, and that’s what all countries in need have relied on throughout history. The pandemic is not permanent to the point of requiring loans. And for the vaunted ‘assistance to the poor and small businesses’, Nigerians are well aware that this never happens. The shady loot & burn Fulani Cabal has zero record of assisting small businesses and the poor. Its embarrassing and laughable distribution of raw cash in the market square, even with VP Osibanjo as the poster boy, was anything but helpful to small businesses. If you are still in doubt, just consider how the Nigerian poor has been totally abandoned to untold hardships since the Covid Lockdown began.

So, for a Nigerian State that is verging on a vegetative state with all the uncertainties surrounding its presidency and its viability as a nation, foreign lenders will be taking quantum risks with any new loans to Nigeria. This is exacerbated by the rising prospects of breach brought by the significant drop in the price of oil, which in and of itself has made Nigeria’s shady leaders to look for new monies to loot.

Loans are meant to be repaid. The lenders may mean well but Nigeria’s leaders don’t. They won’t pay back these loans and you can take that to the bank.

Yours truly

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
IPOB Leader

European Union
StateDept
AfricaUnion
Internationalmonetaryfundimf
WorldBank

JUBRIL AL-SUDANI SMUGGLED INTO SOUTH AFRICA IN THE COMPANY OF CUBAN DOCTORS ON HIS WAY BACK TO ABUJA TO ADDRESS NIGERIANS

Biafra intelligence services (M-Branch) has been tracking every flight out of Cuba from the day late Abba Kyari took his pet Jubril Al-Sudani and ran to the Caribbean island in search of treatment for his Coronavirus infection that eventually took his life. Our men are dilligently monitoring every flight out of Havana because we know plans are afoot by Boss Mustapha to bring the impostor back to do a live broadcast from inside Aso Rock. They are becoming very desperate.

We tracked a chattered flight out of Havana with Cuban doctors onboard heading to South Africa to help them fight the pandemic. This is the first flight out of Cuba to Africa since the global lockdown took effect. There is every indication Jubril was part of this flight.

As a precaution we have circulated the pictures of the impostor to South African law enforcement agencies with a request to apprehend him. We know he is travelling with one of his numerous diplomatic passports under an alias. Should Aso Rock announce plans for a live address from Aso Rock then know he slipped through the security net in South Africa.

We need it now

We need it now

The sleeping lion

SLEEPING AMOTEKUN

Is Amotekun also under lockdown? We were told, not so long ago, that the outfit would end the security challenges in the south-west, but with hoodlums threatening the peace and safety of residents in recent times, we are yet to see the security outfit and its supernatural powers at work. At least, the bills have been passed into law, equipment bought, recruitment done and commanders appointed. If there is a time Amotekun is needed, it is now. Or is it all about form without substance? It reminds me of when Osun State was changed to State of Osun. It was supposed to usher in prosperity. Instead, salaries went unpaid for months as debts piled up. Politics.

Simon Kolawole

The way to go

By the time Buhari will finish with Omoyele Sowore

He will change from this to that

El zakzaky case will be a child's play

By the time Buhari will finish with Omoyele Sowore

He will change from this to that

El zakzaky case will be child's play

Hmmmn

CONGRATULATION NDI ANAMBRA STATE AND NDI IGBO IN GENERAL

Anambra state government, lunches a cow rearing business known as Efi-Igbo in its best Ranching computer Regulated Atmosphere.

I SAID IT BEFORE THAT BUHARI HAD SUCCESSFULLY PUSHED Ndi Igbo INTO CATTLE BUSINESS.
THE ORIGINAL EHI IGBO IS THE BEST SPECIES IN THE CATTLE FAMILY.

Very soon Innoson Cattle is coming onboard, Obijackson of Okija had secured more than 900 Hectares of land for his latest cattle ranching business.
Capital Oil Chairman is on top of negotiation with Israel agricultural innovation to kick start the Ubah Ultra Modern Cattle Ranching ever in the history of Cattle Business.
From what is on the way, South Eastern Nigeria will beat New Zealand , Mexico , Australia , Italy in cattle and Diary product by 2025.
Congratulations Umu Igbo. Actions speaks louder than words.

#We Stand shoulder to Shoulder

WORLD IGBO CONGRESS REJECTS ISLAMIZATION OF THE IGBO IN ANY FORM


World Igbo Congress calls on all Diaspora Igbo to respond to this message with an email to wic@worldigbocongress.com

World Igbo Congress rejects, in its entirety, the idea thrown up by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, to set up a vigilante group in the Southeast. Indeed, World Igbo Congress considers this idea as a brazen effrontery and extremely provocative.


World Igbo Congress calls on all Diaspora Igbo as well as all Diaspora organizations, who must, by now, be feeling stung by this declaration of war on the Christian people of the Southeastern Nigeria and their neighbors. Organizations such as IPOB, LNC, ADF Ekwenche and numerous others who have attempted to go it alone in the past must see the urgent need to band together in a synergistic manner in order to stave off the looming disaster


. Notable Nigerians, past and present, such as President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Wole Shoyinka, Gen T.Y. Danjuma etc. have raised alarm over the fast-tracked degeneration of Nigeria with the devilish schemes of Nigeria’s President Muhamadu Buhari who is transforming his fellow Fulani nomads into a deadly jihadist force in the name of Boko Haram and the gun-toting “Fulani Herdsmen”. There is documentation of mayhem, anarchy and brigandage in Nigeria in the wake of the federal government-sponsored dastardly acts of these so-called cattle breeders.

The Igbo have been at the receiving end of the killings by the Fulani Oligarchs since 1945, a situation that has persisted with cycles of killing of these 50 million Christians of the southeast. Make no mistake about it, Rwanda and Southern Sudan, of recent memory, will pale in the face of the ominous genocide coming the way of the Igbo. World Igbo Congress calls on the Christian World and all believers in democracy, rule of law and self—determination to not sit idly by while Buhari and his fellow Fulani unleash mayhem on the Christian Igbo, the proportion of which has never been known in history
Over recent years, the Governors of the Southeast (With the exception of the recently elected Governor of Imo State) have taken it upon themselves to act suggestively as agents of the Fulani and the marauding “killer “Fulani Herdsmen”. Currently, they are fiddling while “Rome burns”. Their velvety reaction to the provocation by Miyetti Allah suggests that the Igbo are on their own. At the worst, it suggests that they are in cahoots with the rampaging Fulani.

World Igbo Congress calls on these governors to be aware that as the supposed Chief Security Officers of their states, their number one allegiance should be to the people they are supposed to be protecting. They must rise and unequivocally drive these marauders from our land. They must revoke any lease they have already given to these killers and jihadists forthwith. By their actions, they have shirked that responsibility in a manner that is tantamount to betrayal leading to loss of confidence.


As Ohanaeze has said, Ndi Igbo must now know that these governors are not their friends. All Igbo must rise to “defend our heaths or we shall perish”. The terrorist Fulani Herdsmen and Miyatti Allah ought to be proscribed forthwith by the Federal Government and prevented from operating in the southeast… but no, they must be shielded and IPOB that hurts no one is being vilified, hounded and proscribed. The Igbo has had enough. The Igbo must now take their own fate in their hands. We know we fought the civil war for the same reasons that we now have the sword of Damocles over our heads.


The Igbo are a peace-loving people who wish no harm on even its adversaries. The vigilante of the towns of Igbo land protect every one as there has never been any report of any threat to any none Igbo in the region. Which is why we believe that the request by Miyatti Allah is a veiled attempt deploy Fulani army to slaughter Igbo Christians because they have all along rejected Islam.
Diaspora Igbo, danger lurks and we must rise with all the resources within their control. We must tackle this scourge ones and for all. World Igbo Congress calls on all Diaspora Igbo to respond to this message with an email to wic@worldigbocongress.com to be directed on how to be part of the movement for the preservation of the Igbo and Igbo land.

You may also send contributions to Igbo Preservation Fund (IPF) at Wells Fargo Bank SWIFT CODE: WFBIUS6S, ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3328361823, ROUTING NUMBER: 061000227. You may also click on this link to be connected to the IPF.


We must provide resources for our groups that are already making headway in the fight. We must provide the critical mass needed to leverage our efforts with international organizations and friends.


Professor Anthony Ejiofor
Chairman


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8jNd7qGzPo

Foreign Policy is an American news publication, founded in 1970, with focus on global affairs.


Twenty years after its return to democratic rule, Nigeria is on the verge of re-electing a dictator.

Nigerians gear up to choose their president on Feb. 16, there is good reason to fear a return to military-style dictatorship. Following incumbent Muhammadu Buhari’s extraconstitutional suspension in January of Nigeria’s chief judge, who heads the Supreme Court that has final say in election disputes, the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, requested U.S. and EU intervention for the “survival of Nigeria’s democracy.”

This is more than idle rhetoric. Buhari, an ex-general who led a short-lived military junta in the 1980s, was elected president in 2015 by Nigerians who (like this writer) accepted his claims to be a “reformed democrat.” However, his four years in office have highlighted the difference between accepting the principle of elective government and being a true democrat. In Nigeria, like elsewhere in today’s world, the biggest threat to democracy comes not from generals instigating coups but from authoritarians-at-heart winning elections, only to use their democratic mandate to rule anti-democratically.

Half of Nigeria’s 59-year post-colonial history has been spent under various military dictatorships, but this year marks the 20th anniversary of the return to democratic rule. While the country has seen its fair share of ups and downs during this period, some tangible progress has been made in the spheres of freedom of expression, judicial independence, rule of law, and general civil liberties—and certainly in comparison with the military era.

In the past four years, however, Buhari’s government has serially ignored court orders, harassed and arrested journalists and activists, deployed security services to intimidate political opponents, and unforgivably sanctioned the killings of hundreds of unarmed civilians on multiple occasions with the impunity of a power-drunk dictatorship. Yes, security services have been known to overreact even in advanced democracies, and civilians sometimes get hurt in the process. But what distinguishes governments committed to upholding fundamental human rights—such as the right to not be killed while demonstrating peacefully—are the post-incident actions they undertake to ensure such tragedies never repeat themselves. No such luck with the Buhari government.

Following the recent army killing of unarmed protesters in October 2018, rather than express remorse, Nigeria’s army brass falsely claimed that demonstrators had attacked soldiers who simply did what President Donald Trump told U.S. soldiers to do in the same situation: start shooting. Such callous impunity can only thrive in an army confident that its commander in chief will indulge such excesses. Buhari is, by any reasonable standard, personally responsible for the killings of unarmed civilians going unpunished under his watch.

In addition to all this, opposition figures such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo are warning that Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party is readying to rig the Feb. 16 elections, an allegation lent credence by the irregularities and violence involved in a recent gubernatorial poll that the APC was determined to win at all costs. In perhaps the Freudian slip of the year, commenting on the gubernatorial election, ruling party chairman Adams Oshiomhole said: “I think that for democracy to flourish, only people who can accept the pain of rigging—sorry, defeat—should participate in an election.”

The international community is thus right to raise concerns about whether the upcoming election will be free and fair. On Feb. 16, Nigerians will be choosing not only their president but also their national assembly. Taking into consideration Buhari’s dismissive behavior towards the judiciary, a potentially rigged clean sweep of the executive and legislative arms of government by himself and his party could usher in an era of dangerously centralized power imperiling Nigeria’s modest democratic gains since the end of military rule in 1999. As of today, there are no credible polls indicating who might win the presidential election, and it is probably a toss-up.

The fact that Buhari still retains significant support among Nigerians despite his anti-democratic behavior requires explanation. One major reason is that Nigeria’s top political actors are all so morally compromised that an appeal by any of them to higher principles can always be persuasively dismissed by their opponents as hypocritical nonsense.

For instance, Atiku, Buhari’s main rival who accuses him of weakening democracy, has faced numerous allegations of corruption since serving as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007. Additionally, the government that Atiku was a prominent member of itself oversaw massive election rigging and deployed widespread violence to stay in power. Meanwhile, Obasanjo, who is now accusing Buhari of wanting to rig the February election, was president at the time and once exhorted his party members to treat an upcoming election as a “do-or-die affair.”

Walter Onnoghen, the chief judge whom Buhari suspended, is claiming unconvincingly that it was due to “forgetfulness” that he did not disclose several sizable foreign currency accounts in his asset declaration. Moreover, prior to his suspension, he used his position to obstruct investigations into the matter. Corruption runs deep in the highest echelons of Nigeria’s judiciary. Many regular citizens thus feel scant sympathy for judges being muscled by the executive. They’re seen as part and parcel of the country’s corrupt elite, certainly no friends of the ordinary man.


As Nigerians gear up to choose their president on Feb. 16, there is good reason to fear a return to military-style dictatorship. Following incumbent Muhammadu Buhari’s extraconstitutional suspension in January of Nigeria’s chief judge, who heads the Supreme Court that has final say in election disputes, the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, requested U.S. and EU intervention for the “survival of Nigeria’s democracy.”

This is more than idle rhetoric. Buhari, an ex-general who led a short-lived military junta in the 1980s, was elected president in 2015 by Nigerians who (like this writer) accepted his claims to be a “reformed democrat.” However, his four years in office have highlighted the difference between accepting the principle of elective government and being a true democrat. In Nigeria, like elsewhere in today’s world, the biggest threat to democracy comes not from generals instigating coups but from authoritarians-at-heart winning elections, only to use their democratic mandate to rule anti-democratically.

Half of Nigeria’s 59-year post-colonial history has been spent under various military dictatorships, but this year marks the 20th anniversary of the return to democratic rule. While the country has seen its fair share of ups and downs during this period, some tangible progress has been made in the spheres of freedom of expression, judicial independence, rule of law, and general civil liberties—and certainly in comparison with the military era.

In the past four years, however, Buhari’s government has serially ignored court orders, harassed and arrested journalists and activists, deployed security services to intimidate political opponents, and unforgivably sanctioned the killings of hundreds of unarmed civilians on multiple occasions with the impunity of a power-drunk dictatorship. Yes, security services have been known to overreact even in advanced democracies, and civilians sometimes get hurt in the process. But what distinguishes governments committed to upholding fundamental human rights—such as the right to not be killed while demonstrating peacefully—are the post-incident actions they undertake to ensure such tragedies never repeat themselves. No such luck with the Buhari government.

Following the recent army killing of unarmed protesters in October 2018, rather than express remorse, Nigeria’s army brass falsely claimed that demonstrators had attacked soldiers who simply did what President Donald Trump told U.S. soldiers to do in the same situation: start shooting. Such callous impunity can only thrive in an army confident that its commander in chief will indulge such excesses. Buhari is, by any reasonable standard, personally responsible for the killings of unarmed civilians going unpunished under his watch.

In addition to all this, opposition figures such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo are warning that Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party is readying to rig the Feb. 16 elections, an allegation lent credence by the irregularities and violence involved in a recent gubernatorial poll that the APC was determined to win at all costs. In perhaps the Freudian slip of the year, commenting on the gubernatorial election, ruling party chairman Adams Oshiomhole said: “I think that for democracy to flourish, only people who can accept the pain of rigging—sorry, defeat—should participate in an election.”

The international community is thus right to raise concerns about whether the upcoming election will be free and fair. On Feb. 16, Nigerians will be choosing not only their president but also their national assembly. Taking into consideration Buhari’s dismissive behavior towards the judiciary, a potentially rigged clean sweep of the executive and legislative arms of government by himself and his party could usher in an era of dangerously centralized power imperiling Nigeria’s modest democratic gains since the end of military rule in 1999. As of today, there are no credible polls indicating who might win the presidential election, and it is probably a toss-up.

The fact that Buhari still retains significant support among Nigerians despite his anti-democratic behavior requires explanation. One major reason is that Nigeria’s top political actors are all so morally compromised that an appeal by any of them to higher principles can always be persuasively dismissed by their opponents as hypocritical nonsense.

For instance, Atiku, Buhari’s main rival who accuses him of weakening democracy, has faced numerous allegations of corruption since serving as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007. Additionally, the government that Atiku was a prominent member of itself oversaw massive election rigging and deployed widespread violence to stay in power. Meanwhile, Obasanjo, who is now accusing Buhari of wanting to rig the February election, was president at the time and once exhorted his party members to treat an upcoming election as a “do-or-die affair.”

Walter Onnoghen, the chief judge whom Buhari suspended, is claiming unconvincingly that it was due to “forgetfulness” that he did not disclose several sizable foreign currency accounts in his asset declaration. Moreover, prior to his suspension, he used his position to obstruct investigations into the matter. Corruption runs deep in the highest echelons of Nigeria’s judiciary. Many regular citizens thus feel scant sympathy for judges being muscled by the executive. They’re seen as part and parcel of the country’s corrupt elite, certainly no friends of the ordinary man.

Nigerian politics suffers from a moral vacancy, an acute shortage of credible political actors who could plausibly champion democratic values and set standards that others feel compelled to live up to. Ignoble actors evoking noble values they rarely uphold do not make for effective democratic role models. Hence many Buhari supporters remain unmoved by opposition claims that he is a danger to Nigeria’s democracy. To them, his rivals are hardly better democrats. Moreover, many Nigerians still see Buhari as, if not incorruptible, definitely far less corrupt than rivals like Atiku.

It also needs to be said that some Nigerian voters support Buhari precisely because of his strong-arm tactics. In a society where the corrupt always seem to have the upper hand and always seem able to defy institutional attempts to bring them to book, it is understandable that the instinct for some basic societal justice can easily translate into an impatience with institutions that appear stacked with people unable or unwilling to deliver basic justice.

This creates the opportunity for populist authoritarianism to hold significant appeal. Buhari’s justification of his suspension of the chief judge appealed directly to this societal hunger for justice. Pointing to Onnoghen’s attempts to frustrate investigations into his false asset declaration, he argued: “If justice cannot be done and clearly seen to be done, society itself is at risk of the most unimaginable chaos.” Nigeria’s political reality is stubbornly defiant of any simple good versus evil narrative.

In the final analysis, however, Buhari’s authoritarian actions cannot be described as anything other than detrimental to Nigeria’s democracy. The judiciary, as flawed as it is, has played a stabilizing role in post-election disputes, which in a country as volatile as Nigeria always have the potential to descend into violent confrontation. In a society as ethnically and religiously divided as Nigeria’s, democracy is as fragile as an egg; if not handled carefully, it could drop and shatter into a thousand pieces impossible to glue back together. That’s why it’s critical for the country’s judiciary to get reformed and strengthened by rooting out corruption within its ranks rather than suffering diminishment by Buhari. In practical terms, this would require corrupt judges to be weeded out by their peers, rather than by the politicians they are meant to hold accountable.

Irrespective of who wins the Feb. 16 election, the next few years must be spent ensuring that cornerstone values—such as rule of law, equality before the law, accountable government, free and fair elections, the right to nonviolent protest, and a free press—become sacred nonnegotiables in Nigerian public life, the democratic equivalent of the Ten Commandments. These are the dogmas of democracy, and only those who uphold them are truly worthy of calling themselves democrats.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/04/nigerias-president-isnt-a-democrat-hes-a-liar/

Build Homes, Obtain Resident Permits
Run Daily Businesses in Nigeria, Return to Niger at Night


Many Nigerians residing in Katsina State have fled to neighbouring Niger Republic to escape persistent attacks by kidnappers and bandits, Daily Trust on Sunday has learnt.


In addition to evacuating their family members, the Nigerians are also acquiring plots and building houses in Niger Republic’s towns of Maradi and Dan Issa.

This is even as some of them have obtained residence permit, allowing them to stay in the West African country.




Activities of kidnappers heightened recently in Katsina State, with many residents falling victims or being forced to pay large sums of money to secure the release of loved ones.

In December 2018, the state Governor, Aminu Masari, raised alarm that the state was under the siege of kidnappers.

Katsina’s neighbour, Zamfara State, has seen a spike in kidnapping and banditry over the years, with hundreds of lives lost in 2018 alone.

Most of the residents fleeing Katsina State are from Jibia Local Government Area, a community sitting on the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

A visit to Jibia and Magama, border towns, by our correspondent showed that most of those who moved to Niger spent the day running businesses in Katsina and only returned to Maradi or Dan Issa to pass the night. All their businesses and social life are based in Nigeria, but their new homes are in Niger.

Some of those interviewed attributed their reasons to the relative safety in the neighbouring country.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that more than 25 Nigerian millionaires have moved to Niger. Some live in rented houses while others have built their own houses. Some of the rich men received threats before deciding to relocate.

It was also gathered that individuals in Jibia frequently changed phone numbers as a result of constant harassment from suspected criminals threatening their lives.



Although people were scared to discuss insecurity issues in the towns “for fear of informants” exposing them, the few that agreed to talk to Daily Trust on Sunday on condition of anonymity said more people would relocate to Niger for safety if the security situation did not improve.

A wealthy individual who also sought anonymity said, “I can tell you about 25 of us are presently living in Niger Republic.

“I, for example, have been there since a botched attack on my resident. This is my fifth year in Niger; I’m there with my 11 children.

“I was renting a house for three million CFA for three years, and decided it will not be wise to continue that way, so I decided to buy my own house, which I’m presently residing in.

“Now I have gotten a resident permit, a national identity card, and all entitlements of my landed property, and my children attend school in Niger,” he said.

He showed Daily Trust on Sunday a scar on his head which he said was from a cutlass wound he got from an attack on his home in Jibia.

“Every day I come to Jibia and attend to friends and businesses at my friend’s stall. I can only return home when things normalise. Even yesterday, we coughed out N500,000 to secure the release of one of our sons. He had been in captivity for 30 days,” he said.

He added that they relocated to Niger out of necessity because “we only have one life to live.”

Most of the villagers of Fafara, Shinfida, Tsambe and Gurbi, all of Jibia Local Government Area, sleep in neighbouring Nigerien villages of Bimma and Gabi, even though the villages on the other side of the border are not better off in terms of development, but for their peace, Daily Trust on Sunday was told.

A resident of Fafara village in Jibia said bandits had constituted themselves into the law in the area.

“They determine what happens and when it happens,” he said.

“Over 30 men from our village pass the night in villages of border towns (in Niger Republic), they only appear in the morning to go to their farms and the (our) village,” he said.

Another resident who simply gave his name as Ya’u, said in Decmber, 2018, in Tsambe village, 11 people were kidnapped, adding that “at present, the village is trying to raise N2.5m to appease the bandits not to raid the village again.

“Our members are running away to towns in Jibia and Niger Republic,” he said

Daily Trust on Sunday was given the names of six wealthy individuals in Jibia who relocated to Maradi and Dan Issa in Niger Republic. (We are not mentioning the names here for their safety.)

The men fled Katsina after receiving threats to their lives.

“Some have moved with their families and rented accommodation and others have acquired their own houses,” a resident said.

“These men are either living at Zarya I, II or III or Ali Dan Tsoho areas of Maradi town. These areas are mostly inhabited and owned by Nigerians and other foreigners,” he added.

Those who cannot afford to live in the big towns in Maradi and Dan Issa are putting up in villages across the border. Other villages hosting Nigerians are Gabi, Yan Kingasau, Dubura and Bimma.

Confirming the relocation of Jibia residents to Niger Republic, the District Head of Jibia and Sarkin Arewa of Katsina, Alhaji Rabe Rabi’u, said the activities of bandits and kidnappers had paralysed economic activities in the area.

Alhaji Rabi’u said people were no longer free to operate for fear of the criminals, adding that “the once blossoming economy of the town is now under threat.”

However, he said all hope was not lost going by the effort of government towards addressing the situation.

He, therefore, advised residents to support and cooperate with the authorities towards finding lasting solutions to the problem.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, allayed fears of the residents, saying the police and other security agencies had renewed and reinvigorated their operations to address the activities of the miscreants.

“We are collaborating with the army and civil defence and there is also another reinforcement of troops for the Sharan Daji operation. We are very much committed to addressing the issues of kidnapping and banditry.

“Very soon we are going to deal with all those criminal elements, there should be no panic on the part of the citizenry,” he assured.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/kidnapping-katsina-residents-relocate-to-niger-republic.html