Wike: When A Boozing Bozo Becomes A Bare Bully
By SKC Ogbonnia
April 8, 2024

Enough of Ezenwo Nyesom Wike! Only in Nigeria could such a character continue to occupy the media space!!

Before Bola Tinubu rewarded him as the Minister Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Wike was basically a bozo throughout his tenure as the governor of Rivers State. By the way, a bozo in a catholic sense is more or less a wazzock — someone who exhibits the typical behaviors of a buffoon, damfool, a slowpoke, a goon, a sociopath, a callous nuisance, a pathological liar; a barbaric inebriate or a habitual drunkard—in a simple term.

In short, future historians will remain wonderstruck on how this nothingburger found himself as a state governor, let alone his current position as a minister of the nation’s capital. Yet, the current cream of the Nigerian media has continued to cuddle Mr. Wike with white handkerchief understandably for the entertainment value.

Lest we forget, Wike’s dopey politics began to creep into the national scene when he was brandishing his Igbo roots and threatening to lead the South-South and South-East zones to secede from Nigeria. Yes! That was during his gubernatorial election in 2015. Hear the man then—in his own words:

“I will lead a war against them (Nigeria) like Ojukwu. Am not joking, I know am on air, and I am warning them now. Any attempt to rob us the way they rob our brother (GEJ), the battle will start from Rivers State. We will remain opposition state like Lagos. In fact, we from the South-South and South-East will remain in PDP. We leave the South-West and North to run APC. That is how they tactically shared the country. And we will not allow them use our resources to develop their States…I want all South-South and South-East to remember this, that we’ve two Judas.”

Let me beg your indulgence here. Please read the above quotation one more time!

The fact of the matter is that Ezenwo Nyesom Wike was that hidden money bag who not only spoke the current Biafran crisis into existence but also nurtured its undertow. However, once he became the governor of Rivers State in 2015, Wike was deceived to believe that the presidency was within his reach--if only he could act as a nationalist. He embraced the idea and quickly became a whited sepulcher. He would hobnob with the Biafran vision in the dark, only to present a holier-than-thou image of one Nigeria in the open. Keenly aware that the Nigerian people are gullible, he orchestrated series of gestures to assuage Northern Nigeria, while at the same time distancing himself from the South-East and any Igbo heritage.

His first audition towards the nationalistic image was to evoke the emotions of the Biafran war by using his power as governor to rename the Liberation Stadium, Port-Harcourt in honor of Yakubu Gowon. According to Wike, the gesture was for Gowon’s role in the creation of Rivers State over half a century ago, a war time scheme then designed to decimate Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the very man Wike swore to emulate in his “war against them (Nigeria).”

His next ploy was the deployment of a pipeline of appeasement from Port Harcourt to Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate, chanting “one Nigeria”, with oil largesse to boot. This is how Wike became the turbo engine of the 2019 presidential ambition of the then Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

To deepen the makeover, he visited the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III in 2017: Hear him (Mr. Wike) at the Sultan’s palace: “We cannot run away from this country. The unity of this country is very, very paramount. The unity of this country is non-negotiable…I am from the Niger Delta, Rivers State to be specific, so I cannot see us in a divided country. No way. We stand for the unity of this country.”

Unfortunately, the North bought the bunkum from the boozing bozo.

What followed was a string of visits by the Sultan to Rivers State, with commissioning of state projects as a decoy. Worried that the chicanery was becoming so obvious, and to equally pacify the Yoruba people that he had roundly castigated in 2015, Wike saw a moderating pawn in the influential Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. A perfect camouflage was the hasty hosting of the General Assembly of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria by Wike at Port-Harcourt in January 2018. This was the occasion where the then governor declared that “The Sultan and Ooni are my fathers”, ostensibly to curry favour from the North and the West, as the kings from his native East moped and gaped in utter amazement.

But the apple, they say, does not fall far from its tree. It did not take long before Wike relapsed. He once again began to spew all manners of separatist innuendoes. At one point the bozo declared other religions, besides Christianity, as non grata in his state. He would go on to demolish a mosque in August 2019, which eventually fetched him a resounding rebuke from the Sultan.

Though Ezenwo Nyesom Wike is a bozo, quite alright, but the man was still able to count 1, 2, 3…He recognized that his overbearing transgressions, most of which were targeted at Northern Nigeria at the time, including the demolition of the mosque, might have dug him in. The then governor needed an escape route.

Mr. Wike believed, and understandably so, that that any nuanced opposition to Biafran activism or even mere anti-Igbo antics would earn instant forgiveness from the North. There and then Wike mounted a montage of propaganda, further peeling himself from his Igbo roots of the “South-East” that he had employed to not only threaten secession but also to win elections in Rivers State.

Enter the #EndSARS protest of 2020, a nationwide outcry against police brutality in Nigeria. Wike quickly exploited the protest and started peddling the #EndSARS in Rivers State as a potential beginning of another round of Biafran war. The result was a chilling campaign of extrajudicial killings in Obigbo, a small native Igbo settlement in River State, with the governor claiming to be rooting out the IPOB, the very group the bozo helped to nurture.

With his nationalistic image seemingly restored, Wike wasted no time in hauling the overflowing resources of Rivers State to restructure the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). His sole purpose was to grab the party’s 2023 presidential ticket.

I must not bore readers by repeating how Wike’s presidential ambition crashed. Ditto to his shameless lies, including how a Southern man (himself) who vigorously sought and failed to secure the vice-presidential ticket of his party was suddenly claiming to be fighting for a Southern presidency.

The truth is that Wike thought about life after his tenure as governor when his immunity would have expired. He thought about the eight years of an open-ended looting of Rivers State treasury. It was a no brainer that he could only support any presidential candidate that would best guarantee him blanket cover upon victory at the polls. This is where Wike’s choice of Bola Tinubu of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) mattered most. The then governor did his own bidding by masterminding the most blatant election rigging in his home state during the 2023 fraudulent presidential election in favor of Tinubu.

Alhaji Tinubu did not disappoint. Once the president, he wasted no time to reward Wike by appointing him as the Minister of Federal Capital Territory. But such corrupt requital is typical in the Tinubu modus vivendi.

As a governor, Wike was the type of a village clown that is prone to annoy but hardly taken seriously to warrant an early morning gong. Unfortunately, despite his elevation to the federal level, common sense dictates that the boozing bozo remains on something else—something definitively more dangerous than his self-confessed aged whiskeys. More appalling, he makes no attempt to shade the fact that he is truly on something else. Just look at that man and, of course, how he is getting very thin, feeble, and more unstable!

The apparent problem here is that the boozing bozo has become a bare bully.

Today, as a minister, he assumes a license to target political opponents by demolishing their properties in the Federal Capital, just as he continues to engage in binge drinking in a fruitless effort to shade the shame. Troubled that his behaviour is beginning to wear thin, and aware that Nigerians are gullible, he is once again attempting to seek support from the usual quarters by heightening his anti-Igbo antics. Even worse, he has set Rivers State on fire by attempting to control the state by proxy. He claims he wants to control the political structure of Rivers the way Tinubu used to claim control of Lagos. But his case is a Tinubu without the brain and without a base…

SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

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Where Tinubu Belongs At The Guinness World Records
By SKC Ogbonnia
November 28, 2023

An Igbo adage goes that, "When a mad man walks naked, it is his relatives who feel the shame, not the mad man himself." It is no wonder then that Bola Ahmed Tinubu never fails to foment mess wherever he goes.

Such morbid audacity explains why the Nigerian president is going everywhere, seeking praises for embarrassing failures. Instead of doing the work he swore to do, Tinubu has suddenly wrapped himself in a toga of mundane excuses. Instead of cleaning the mess he created from day one in office, he has resorted back to his familiar mélange of propaganda and profligacy. The former Lagos governor is continuing to squander Nigeria’s scarce resources, shuttling around the globe, portraying himself as a hero, and lobbying why he deserves to be listed in Guinness World Records for reforms—the very reckless reforms that have pushed Nigeria to the brink of total collapse. What a guy!

Imagine the implications of the very statement made by Mr. Tinubu during his latest trip to Germany on November 20, 2023:

“Nigeria voted for me for reforms, and from day one of my inauguration, I started the reforms. To me, if you didn’t mention me in the Guinness Book of Records, I’d thrive to find a way to insert myself because I did it without expectation, my inaugural speech disclosed what I would do.”

A fitting response is simply: There he goes again… Like in the case of Nigerian elections, where he snatched the presidency against the wishes of the majority of Nigerian people, Mr. Tinubu is already boasting how he will “find a way to insert” himself in the Guinness World Books, regardless.

Make no mistake about this: Bola Ahmed Tinubu belongs in Guinness World Books, for sure—but at the shadiest categories:

Shady Ancestry: The book ought to have listed Tinubu as the first president in human history whose entire biodata—from his name, age, parents, family, relatives, to state and country of origin—remains unknown. No Nigerian can state for certain who this man truly is—whether he is truly a Nigerian or whether he is an illegal alien from the Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana; or more likely, Guinea, where he was found to have maintained citizenship.

Dubious Education: If there is a place in the Guinness World Records that Tinubu is most deserving, it is the area of dubious academic records. This is a man whose place of primary or secondary education is unknown. Besides, he has no authentic certificates to show, yet he faked his way into an American university. Moreover, it remains a mystery whether he attended the university as a male or female.

Immorality: The history of World Records will lose credibility without a special place for Tinubu in the area of corruption. Not only is he the shadiest politician ever to be nominated by a major political party, but he will also be remembered for creating a regime where immorality is a badge of honor.

The Book is sadly aware that every high-profile appointment he has endorsed is tainted with a stark stench of shadiness. Consider, for instance, the profiles of Tinubu’s Vice-President, Kashim Shettima; Senate President and Head of Legislature, Godswill Akpabio; George Akume, the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria; and Chairman of the ruling party, Abdullahi Ganduje. Needless to mention Olukayode Ariwoola, being the shameless head of the Nigerian courts that have become a cash-n-carry-puppet of the Executive branch.

Further, Tinubu is the first self-professed multi-billionaire public official without any credible source of income. Worse still, he holds the record as the first civilian ever to gain presidential power, despite having forfeited a huge sum of money for international illicit drug trafficking.

To cap it off, there is no better testimony than the fact that the president’s very own National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), had alerted the world that Mr. Tinubu is “a looter of international dimensions.”

Reckless Economic Reforms: Among the plethora of failures where Alhaji Tinubu has no close second, none is more embarrassing than his attempt at economic reforms. Of course, he is already in the books for having initiated reckless economic reforms, which have done nothing but lead to the highest misery index ever recorded within the first six months of any regime. Within this period, Nigeria has seen the highest inflation rates in decades. The country is also saddled with the highest unemployment and poverty rates in its history. The most telling is the value of the country’s currency to the dollar which plunged by over 100% barely six months into the Tinubu regime.

Clearly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is at it again. He is employing the same deceptive script that he used to wangle himself to power. Clearly clueless about what it takes to govern Nigeria, he has remained busy doing something very close to nothing. He is either seeking to manufacture success where none exists, or he is busy indicting himself by denouncing the very Buhari policies that he (Tinubu) had championed not only as the National Leader of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) but also while he was scheming for power. What a guy!

Frankly, Tinubu’s presidential conduct is beyond the pale. The fact of the matter is that he is taking the patience of the Nigerian masses for granted. But he must resist the temptation to push his luck too far. Patience has limits….

SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC presidential aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

Dear President Biden, Tchiani Is a Lesser Evil Than Tinubu
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX.

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500.

Dear President Biden,

Let me begin by commending your tireless interest in African affairs, which dates to the time immemorial. We remember your enduring track record on civil rights, as well as broad democratic credentials. We remember your passionate speech against the apartheid South Africa at the U.S. Senate floor in 1986. The world still remembers the instance you charged America not to “become part of South Africa’s problem”, but to remain their solution. You implored your people not to impose themselves. You couldn’t have been more eloquent when you stated during the speech that the American “favourites” in South Africa must be “the people that are being repressed by an ugly white regime.”

Mr. President, there is no doubt that your innate knack for democracy prompted you to support President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2002. You would later call this move your worst political decision! One can also assume that similar democratic principle is tempting you to align with Bola Tinubu of Nigeria to invade Niger Republic.

Dear President Biden, let me appeal for a pause here…

Staring at you is an avoidable boobytrap to a political infamy of pyrrhic proportion. The gist is that, if your support of Bush to invade Iraq was a monumental mistake, endorsing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the leadership of Mr. Bola Tinubu to invade Niger Republic begs a mortal sin. To begin with, the apparent embrace of the ECOWAS leader by the West is polar-opposite to everything the United States of America under Joseph R. Biden stands for.

As you ought to know, Tinubu’s path to power is not different from a classic coup d’état. A close parrel in the recent American history is the unfortunate event of January 6, 2021, where President Donald Trump attempted to usurp the power of incumbency to cling to power. The world saw it for what it was, prompting me to publish the piece: “Coup In America: Why Trump Must Be Impeached Again.” Neither you nor the U.S. Congress needed to be told. Not only was Trump impeached for the attempted coup, but the Americans have also continued to prosecute him for the crime.
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, the common optics is that you are caught in a web of double standard in the case of Africa’s Bola Tinubu. This is a man who, as a sitting national leader of a ruling party, grabbed power by colluding with state agencies in a flawed election. The West is also aware that the said exercise was characterized by Tinubu’s pattern of violent extremism, including thuggery, and political assassinations. Needless to drum his well-documented shady background, which includes fake biodata, a corruption profile of “international dimension”, and connections to illicit drug trafficking in the United States of America. These shameless infractions are definitively more immoral and more undemocratic than the shenanigans of Donald J. Trump.

Of course, there was a wave of global campaign to place Tinubu squarely where he belongs. In the piece, “Why The World Must Resist The Tinubu Coup”, published March 3, 2023, I joined to alert the international community that imposing the man against the wishes of a vast majority of the Nigerian people was to smash a Pandora box of an unimaginable crisis. I concluded then that “Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a threat to world peace and must be stopped.”

Sir, today, the new Nigerian “president” has turned his critics into instant prophets. In a blatant attempt to hang onto an office that remains in dispute, Mr. Tinubu is instigating crisis in all fronts. The most hypocritical is the current quagmire in Niger Republic that is indeed threatening the world peace.

The issue at stake, remember, is that General Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic seized power through a palace coup d’état. Suddenly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu—an ageless violent extremist who broke all manners of constitutional order to “snatch” power and who continues to show no regard for the rule of law while in office—wants to lead the world to “restore constitutional order in Republic of Niger.” Clearly, the world is faced with a case of a brigand posing as a forest guard!

Now, consider that leadership is contingent upon the environment. Also consider the objective fact that the antecedents of Tchiani of Niger Republic before gaining power are by far more moral than those of Tinubu of Nigeria. Follow that with the common knowledge why Africans tend to resort to military coups. Combine such implications with a trending reality that, unlike the dictator in Niger Republic, the one grandstanding as a democrat in Nigeria is in a pace for a place in Guinness World Records for assembling the most corrupt regime in the human history. There and then explains some of the factors why Tchiani is popular with his people while Tinubu remains a repugnant pariah, generally seen around Africa as an illegitimate president cum imperial puppet.

Mr. President, the gospel truth is that the stout opposition by the Nigerian people to military intervention in Niger Republic is not because of any preference to military rule. Indeed, my people strongly advocate a democratic system. The apparent problem is that Mr. Bola Tinubu, the primary instigator of the conflict, lacks legitimacy and credibility.

It is also necessary to state without equivocation that the Nigerian people still treasure our long-standing bilateral ties with Western nations, particularly the United States. But it is equally imperative to remind here that Africa has become very sophisticated. Any perception of exploitation or double standard by the West is an instant boost to the growing popularity of Russia in the continent.

The solution is simple. It lies in the genius of your epoch-making speech on the Apartheid South Africa cited at the beginning of this letter. It demands that your “favourites” in Nigeria are the Nigerian people. These Nigerian people are anxious for a democracy in which their president is truly elected by the people. This explains why all their “eyes are on the Nigerian Judiciary”—not the Niger Republic. These your very favourites simply want to ensure that the presidential election tribunal can rule in line with the Constitution and the extant electoral laws. They also want those who subverted the will of the people to be held to account, the way the Americans have held Trump to account. The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, the onus is on you to truly stand with these Nigerian masses.

I extend my best wishes to you and your family!

Sincerely,

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX.

Dear President Biden, Tchiani Is a Lesser Evil Than Tinubu
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX.
August 21, 2023

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500.

Dear President Biden,

Let me begin by commending your tireless interest in African affairs, which dates to the time immemorial. We remember your enduring track record on civil rights, as well as broad democratic credentials. We remember your passionate speech against the apartheid South Africa at the U.S. Senate floor in 1986. The world still remembers the instance you charged America not to “become part of South Africa’s problem”, but to remain their solution. You implored your people not to impose themselves. You couldn’t have been more eloquent when you stated during the speech that the American “favourites” in South Africa must be “the people that are being repressed by an ugly white regime.”

Mr. President, there is no doubt that your innate knack for democracy prompted you to support President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2002. You would later call this move your worst political decision! One can also assume that similar democratic principle is tempting you to align with Bola Tinubu of Nigeria to invade Niger Republic.

Dear President Biden, let me appeal for a pause here…

Staring at you is an avoidable boobytrap to a political infamy of pyrrhic proportion. The gist is that, if your support of Bush to invade Iraq was a monumental mistake, endorsing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the leadership of Mr. Bola Tinubu to invade Niger Republic begs a mortal sin. To begin with, the apparent embrace of the ECOWAS leader by the West is polar-opposite to everything the United States of America under Joseph R. Biden stands for.

As you ought to know, Tinubu’s path to power is not different from a classic coup d’état. A close parrel in the recent American history is the unfortunate event of January 6, 2021, where President Donald Trump attempted to usurp the power of incumbency to cling to power. The world saw it for what it was, prompting me to publish the piece: “Coup In America: Why Trump Must Be Impeached Again.” Neither you nor the U.S. Congress needed to be told. Not only was Trump impeached for the attempted coup, but the Americans have also continued to prosecute him for the crime.
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, the common optics is that you are caught in a web of double standard in the case of Africa’s Bola Tinubu. This is a man who, as a sitting national leader of a ruling party, grabbed power by colluding with state agencies in a flawed election. The West is also aware that the said exercise was characterized by Tinubu’s pattern of violent extremism, including thuggery, and political assassinations. Needless to drum his well-documented shady background, which includes fake biodata, a corruption profile of “international dimension”, and connections to illicit drug trafficking in the United States of America. These shameless infractions are definitively more immoral and more undemocratic than the shenanigans of Donald J. Trump.

Of course, there was a wave of global campaign to place Tinubu squarely where he belongs. In the piece, “Why The World Must Resist The Tinubu Coup”, published March 3, 2023, I joined to alert the international community that imposing the man against the wishes of a vast majority of the Nigerian people was to smash a Pandora box of an unimaginable crisis. I concluded then that “Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a threat to world peace and must be stopped.”

Sir, today, the new Nigerian “president” has turned his critics into instant prophets. In a blatant attempt to hang onto an office that remains in dispute, Mr. Tinubu is instigating crisis in all fronts. The most hypocritical is the current quagmire in Niger Republic that is indeed threatening the world piece.

The issue at stake, remember, is that General Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic seized power through a palace coup d’état. Suddenly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu—an ageless violent extremist who broke all manners of constitutional order to “snatch” power and who continues to show no regard for the rule of law while in office—wants to lead the world to “restore constitutional order in Republic of Niger.” Clearly, the world is faced with a case of a brigand posing as a forest guard!

Now, consider that leadership is contingent upon the environment. Also consider the objective fact that the antecedents of Tchiani of Niger Republic before gaining power are by far more moral than those of Tinubu of Nigeria. Follow that with the common knowledge why Africans tend to resort to military coups. Combine such implications with a trending reality that, unlike the dictator in Niger Republic, the one grandstanding as a democrat in Nigeria is in a pace for a place in Guinness World Records for assembling the most corrupt regime in the human history. There and then explains some of the factors why Tchiani is popular with his people while Tinubu remains a repugnant pariah, generally seen around Africa as an illegitimate president cum imperial puppet.

Mr. President, the gospel truth is that the stout opposition by the Nigerian people to military intervention in Niger Republic is not because of any preference to military rule. Indeed, my people strongly advocate a democratic system. The apparent problem is that Mr. Bola Tinubu, the primary instigator of the conflict, lacks legitimacy and credibility.

It is also necessary to state without equivocation that the Nigerian people still treasure our long-standing bilateral ties with Western nations, particularly the United States. But it is equally imperative to remind here that Africa has become very sophisticated. Any perception of exploitation or double standard by the West is an instant boost to the growing popularity of Russia in the continent.

The solution is simple. It lies in the genius of your epoch-making speech on the Apartheid South Africa cited at the beginning of this letter. It demands that your “favourites” in Nigeria are the Nigerian people. These Nigerian people are anxious for a democracy in which their president is truly elected by the people. This explains why all their “eyes are on the Nigerian Judiciary”—not the Niger Republic. These your very favourites simply want to ensure that the presidential election tribunal can rule in line with the Constitution and the extant electoral laws. They also want those who subverted the will of the people to be held to account, the way the Americans have held Trump to account. The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, the onus is on you to truly stand with these Nigerian masses.

I extend my best wishes to you and your family!

Sincerely,

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX.

As It Becomes Tinubu’s Turn To Suffer

By SKC Ogbonnia

July 26, 2023

Anyone familiar with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows he is profoundly dogged and has consistently shown the courage to endure throughout his ageless quest for power. While critics, including this writer, are wont to equate the doggedness to selfish interest, the dire economic condition in the country finally offers him the opportunity to prove otherwise. Said differently, as it was once Tinubu’s turn to become president, now is ultimately his turn to lead by example and suffer like the ordinary Nigerians.

The perplexing conundrum, however, is that the former Lagos State governor has remained in his typical campaign mode—dogged, desperate, and deceptive. He keeps saying and doing things with reckless abandon.

Such agony informs why he threw the concept of Evidence-Based Policy out of the window and hastily adopted and implemented a far-reaching scheme like the Removal of Fuel Subsidy without any practical plan.

The irony is that real solution is not in sight. Even the very armchair economists who dominated every media space professing the subsidy removal have suddenly disappeared. Sadly, the Asiwaju—a dogged opponent of the subsidy removal during the “clueless” Jonathan era—is suddenly grandstanding as the messiah.

The result, of course, has been a monumental mess. Today, barely two months into the Tinubu regime, the condition in the country has become worse than ever imagined. It is said that President Muhammadu Buhari drove the Nigerian economy to the rock bottom, but his successor has already shattered the very rock of the bottom to crash the country to the deepest low.

The most hypocritical is Tinubu’s response to the crisis. Please hear him: “I understand that our people are suffering yet there can be no childbirth without pain. The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain.”

The relief so far is N500 billion as palliative for the fuel subsidy removal. Of this amount, Mr. Tinubu has the audacity to dole out a whopping N35 billion for judges; and N110 billion to 465 federal lawmakers, of which N40 billion is to purchase exotic foreign vehicles while “12 million” low-income Nigerians are to receive meagre N8,000 monthly per household for six months.

It has become vitally important to reveal here that the former Lagos Governor himself enjoys a total of over N148 billion allocated to the presidency from the 2023 national budget.

Now, let us circle back to his adage on mother and childbearing with regards to suffering. Yes, “there can be no childbirth without pain”, as Tinubu rightly reminded us. But he must not forget the genius of a relative adage which asserts that only a foolish mother feeds fat while her child goes hungry.

Like a caring mother, it has become Tinubu’s turn to suffer like the ordinary Nigerians. Like the caring mother, he needs to lead by example by enduring as he did to grab power.

A staring point is true change, beginning from himself. A stupendously wealthy man, who once revealed that he is richer than entire Osun State, Mr. Tinubu can dig deep into history and trace the style of a 400 BCE Napal Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as Buddha, who endeared himself to his followers by forsaking his wealth and luxury for the common good.

The gist, if it not already manifest, is that Tinubu should rise to the occasion and do away with his ostentatious lifestyle as well as the lavish culture at the presidency. He must not dare continue the habit of holidaying abroad while at the same time appealing to Nigerians at home to suffer. He also needs to understand that these suffering Nigerians remain outraged at his endless hobnobbing with the very corrupt politicians who looted their commonwealth dry.

Of course, the other arms of the government do not need to be told that the era of jumbo salaries must be over. Their remuneration should reflect the realities on the ground. On no account should the total compensation package of a legislator or judge exceed 100 times the minimum wage in the country.

Further, any thought of exotic foreign cars for Nigerian public officials is offensive. Now is the time to emulate the past military regimes which demonstrated austerity, as well as patriotism, by using Peugeot cars, which were then assembled in Nigeria. Today, the country is blessed with the Innoson brands, which are not only made in Nigeria, but also perform far better.

All told, the level of hardship under the Tinubu regime is grossly untold. People are suffering. People are dying. Things cannot continue this way. In short, any failure by the leaders to demonstrate austere lifestyle themselves is to risk a mass response of an uncommon proportion.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Houston, Texas, USA.

Tinubu And Coup D’état In The Eye Of The World
By SKC Ogbonnia
July 19, 2023

Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu never ceases to amaze. He never ceases to exhibit the different shades of the moral decadence that compelled a vast majority of Nigerians who voted in the 2023 presidential elections to roundly reject him. The shade currently trending centers on sheer hypocrisy.

In two different stops at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), Tinubu appealed to the African states to ensure that the menace of terrorism and military coups in the continent are something of the past. He also attempted to promote the rule of law. Coup d’état and terrorism, by the way, are historically the two of the major misadventures that tend to threaten the African corrupt elite.

Seemingly worried that Mr. Tinubu failed to address the key concerns of the ordinary people, the Nigerian Vanguard Newspaper in its editorial page of July 13, 2023, countered as follows:

“Tinubu has already identified terrorism and the resurgence of military coups as some of the problems of the region. Let us also add the mass migrations to Europe and America, particularly the desperate migrations through the Sahara Desert. We also have the problem of armed and violent nomadic herdsmen causing a major security threat in Nigeria.”

But the Vanguard did not stop there.

The paper reminded Tinubu that “The common cause of these problems is bad governance. ECOWAS must, like their European counterparts, adopt a uniform set of governance principles that will help unleash the vast human and natural resources potentials of sister states.”

The Vanguard concluded that “A Nigeria in shambles is another reason that ECOWAS is in shambles. A country in a situation of virtual failure cannot lead a regional economic community to success.”

Nothing can be nearer to the truth.

Besides highlighting that Tinubu ignored the more pressing needs of the ordinary people, the Vanguard editors stated in clear terms that Nigeria, a bastion of bad governance, lacks the moral high grounds to counsel other African states on coups and terrorism. This goes without saying that the Life-Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government lacks the credibility to speak on such violent extremism, let alone the rule of law.

For instance, as the APC Leader, Tinubu never opposed the wanton abuse of the rule of law under the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari. A perfect example is the case of a frontline Nigerian human rights activist and the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, who was detained for over five months in 2019 without bail. Sowore’s crime was the mere mention of revolution against bad governance. Yet, the current occupant of Aso Rock never decried such brazen injustice notwithstanding that he and Buhari had at different times threatened revolution when Goodluck Jonathan was in power.

Even under the current Tinubu rule, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has remained in jail, even though a court of law in the land had declared him innocent. There is also the case of the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who was bundled and thrown in jail without bail. Of course, these are clear abuses of the rule of law.

Let’s then dive into the main gist of this essay: Coup D’état. Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics, especially: the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.” Clearly, beyond the typical overthrow of government as Nigerians know it, the free world knows that any power gained through illegal alteration of state authority or any confluence of violence and other electoral irregularities is a pure coup d’état.

Tinubu’s hypocrisy with terrorism is even more apparent. The same Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” But it is a common knowledge that violent extremism is Tinubu’s stock in trade.

Recall that he never for once condemned the various acts of terrorism promoted and sponsored by his associates against non-indigenes living in the State of Lagos during the 2019 and 2023 general elections. Tinubu continues to maintain stoic silence while Asari Dokubo (a notorious hoodlum who claims him as a father) goes about brandishing guns, terrorizing an entire tribe. Osama Bn Laden did not crash planes into the New York towers by himself; his associates did.

Mr. Tinubu has every reason to be nervous. As the Vanguard Newspaper had counseled, the solution to coup and other social vices is good governance. Let me now add that good governance in Nigeria and Africa in general begins with true war against corruption. But the problem of the moment is that expecting a meaningful war on corruption from the APC National Leader is as futile as attempting to fetch water with an Ugbo basket.

The only solution, therefore, is Tinubu’s outright removal either through the courts or impeachment, so that Nigeria can enthrone an authentic leader capable to provide the desired good governance.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Enugu State.

The Tinubu Reckless Regime
By SKC Ogbonnia
July 12, 2023

Widely viewed as a counterfeit president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ought to know that he must not rub salt into the injury. But, as predicted, expecting true change from Tinubu is akin to demanding one to become left-handed at an old age. The point here is that his new status has even emboldened him to become as reckless as he is shady.

But the dilemma is not unexpected. The cloud of illegitimacy hanging over the Tinubu presidency is thickening day-by-day. The Asiwaju has become more desperate. He does not mind kissing a Tasmanian Devil if such vagary could garner him any measure of credibility. He does not mind embracing a Judas as a Mohammed insofar he gets hailed for a pyrrhic victory. The fact of the matter is that this man no longer cares what he says or does. The problem is that this tendency risks a new wave of crisis worse than the situation under Muhammadu Buhari.

Let us begin to dig the degree of recklessness from an area an ordinary eye can see, and an ordinary person can feel. Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy is a cold-blooded disaster. The outrage, of course, has nothing to do with the policy change itself but the recklessness in the change. In a selfish attempt to gain instant traction in the polity, Tinubu hastily implemented the subsidy removal without putting in place the necessary measures to mitigate the adverse effects of such sudden change on the people. Nothing can be more inhumane!

In effect, the subsidy crisis alone has already placed today’s Nigeria worse than the situation under Buhari. Today, pump prices in the country (where minimum wage is about $40 per month) has become same with the pump prices in America (where the average minimum wage is $1,800 per month). Today, inflation has risen to a near 18-year high of 22.4%, as more Nigerians continue to enter abject poverty with increasing stridency. Today, barely six weeks under the Tinubu regime, the value of naira has continued to crash to record lows.

Even more reckless is the Tinubu bamboozlement in the education sector. To curry favor with the Nigerian youths who generally rejected him at the polls, the former Lagos State governor now says he is introducing a student loan scheme. But he then turns around to announce a plan to defund Nigerian public universities that are already grossly underfunded.

Very mindboggling is that low tuition is one of the very few areas ordinary Nigerians can claim to benefit from their commonwealth. Suddenly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to deny them such rare social security while members of his family continue to enjoy foreign education funded through our commonwealth. His idea to defund Nigerian universities is most misguided, most insane, and most unpatriotic, especially coming from a man who parades a degree from an American public university.

Forget the loan scheme which is already known to be as phony as its promoter! The objective fact is that self-funding by Nigerian public universities will lead to high rise in school fees, which then makes higher institution unaffordable for the ordinary people. The consequences are grave and do not need to be narrated here.

Enter corruption. Clearly, Mr. Tinubu is on pace to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records for a plot to create the most corrupt regime in the human history. For instance, with Godswill Akpabio as Senate President, both the executive and legislative arms of the government are already in firm control of two henchmen of the Nigeria’s corrupt oligarchy. Combine such oddity with the fact that both Tinubu’s Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Staff are also tainted with a stark stench of shadiness. There and then emerges the common sense that, barring any last-minute rebuke, the core of Tinubu’s ministers is bound to be no different.

Already auditioning for roles, as shown in recent Aso-Rock guest list, are James Ibori, Abdullahi Ganduje, Ayo Fayose, Olisa Metuh, Nyesom Wike, Asari-Dokubo, among others. Imagine a Nigeria with a bullish bozo like Dokubo retaining his current position as the country’s de facto Chief Security Officer!

Tinubu’s naked attempt at vendetta politics is even the most pig-headed. It is a common knowledge that Buhrari’s heedless hostility towards the sections of Nigeria that did not vote for him combined to derail his eight-year tenure. Yet, Mr. Tinubu, as promised, has started exactly where Buhari stopped by targeting the Igbo—once again.

The decision by the former Lagos Governor to ensure that Igbo people must not be represented at the upper echelon of his regime is instructive. Like Buhari, Tinubu has discarded an equitable template embraced by Nigerians upon return to civil rule in 1999, whereby principal positions, particularly the offices of the President, Vice-president, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairman of the ruling party, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation were spread across the six geographical zones — regardless of voting patterns.

Yes, the Igbo did not vote for Tinubu and must not vote for him to assume their rightful place in the Nigerian state. After all, it is on the record that, besides the South-East where majority of the Igbo call home, no other section of Nigeria has suffered such level of political persecution because of their free choice since the return to democracy in 1999. Absolutely none!

But there is hope on the horizon. Unlike the situation under Buhari, where Nigerians had to endure eight straight years of acute misrule because the dictator could claim decent mandate in successive elections, the case of the current occupant of Aso Rock is transient. This goes without saying that, unless there is a brazen miscarriage of justice at the ongoing election tribunal, the Tinubu regime will not last.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Enugu State.

As Tinubu Continues To Endorse Immorality
By SKC Ogbonnia
June 19, 2023

Flawed election. Counterfeit president. A benefit of doubt? Yes, Nigeria call, obey! Suddenly Akpabio. A black-market legislature. Asari-Dukobo, too?

So, what could be next?

Of course, already well-known is that Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains the shadiest politician ever to seek the Nigerian presidency. It is also well-known that this apparent lack of moral compass, together with an invalid health status, played a huge role on why a vast majority of the electorate who voted in the country’s controversial presidential election of 2023 roundly rejected him. Yet, the nation’s ageless corrupt oligarchy selected and swore in Tinubu as president.

Now in power, and widely viewed as a counterfeit president, there was a broad appeal for a benefit of the doubt. In short, many had hoped that Tinubu could begin to launder his image by surrounding himself with people of impeachable character. But even his ardent supporters are finding out the hard way: No amount of stately salad can cleanse the filthy yellow teeth of a primitive pariah.

The objective fact is that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is irredeemable. He is merely making good on his promise to sustain the agenda of his predecessor, General Muhammadu Buhari, whose tenure was a fortified safe haven for corrupt politicians.

Enter a black-market legislature. The most frightening yet is that the former Lagos Governor has succeeded by imposing on the country a head of the Legislature whose entire politics also attracts immorality as honey attracts bees.

In other words, like the Executive arm of the Tinubu’s regime, the Legislature (the nation’s highest law-making body) is also headed by a man who is notoriously dishonourable.

This individual is Godswill Akpabio. As governor of the oil-rich Akwa Ibom State, he allegedly stole N108.1 billion of the state’s funds. But the moral turpitude extended beyond his state. The senate probed his activities as a minister in the Niger Delta Affairs ministry and found that he diverted N19.25 billion to his personal accounts. The report also asserted that the same man awarded contracts to the tune of N81.5 billion to his family members and cronies without due process.

It is clear Mr. Akpabio is no novice in the art. He masterfully thwarted the different efforts to nail him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). As late as March this year 2023, the EFCC under Abdulrasheed Bawa appeared determined to finally book Akpabio. But he dodged again, this time claiming he was abroad to treat a life-threatening case of cardiac arrhythmia together with acute pneumonia. Sad!

Expect Akpabio to go scot-free. Not only was Bawa suspended and arrested, but Tinubu has also gone to foist the former Akwa-Ibom governor as senate president.

But Akpabio’s corrupt baggage is nothing compared to his activities as the Minority Leader in the Senate between 2015 to 2018.

The mortal sin is that the former Akwa Ibom governor betrayed Nigeria by abandoning the opposition and defecting to the ruling All-Progressives Congress (APC) once he sensed that the party had become a shield for immoral behaviors. This political treachery by the leader of the opposition was consequential. The result was a weakened opposition and consequently a rubberstamp legislature that aided Buhari to record the worst regime in the Nigerian history.

Despite such dubious background, Mr. Tinubu still chose Akpabio as the leader of the nation’s lawmaking body. Ironically, this is the same Tinubu, who as the APC National Leader, spearheaded the various attempts to remove Bukola Saraki as Senate president in 2015. He stated then, and rightly so, that “We cannot overlook corrupt persons.” But that was then, clearly then.

Today, Mr. Tinubu has made immorality a badge of honor. Every high-profile appointment endorsed thus far by the president is tainted by stark stench of shadiness. Think of his Vice-President, Kashim Shettima; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; George Akume, the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria; and Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Who is next? Femi Fani-Kayode, Abdullahi Ganduje, Chimaroke Nnamani, Nyesom Wike? How about Oyenusi, Anini, Evans…? Why not?

Clearly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is in a shameless pursuit to make the Guinness World Records by creating the most immoral regime in history. But the nonsense must stop. This man must stop shaming Nigeria. This country is a bastion of qualified manpower. Instead of recycling shady politicians, Tinubu should tap from millions of untainted talents within the ruling party or outside of it.

SKC Ogbonnia, A Former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

Why The US Visa Ban Must Include Tinubu: A Letter to President Biden, By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX.
May 20, 2023

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500.

Dear President Biden,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome the decision of your administration to fulfil its promise to impose visa ban on Nigerian politicians whose actions or inactions led to various acts of terrorism, including money laundering, thuggery, assassinations, destruction of property, and street killings during the Nigerian elections of 2023.

Before going further, please permit me to re-introduce myself. I am an Oil & Gas executive resident in the United States of America and currently sit at the board of First Texas Energy Corporation as chairman. I have also taught in many U.S. universities and colleges for over two decades and remain an Adjunct professor at the Houston Community College System. More relatively, I am a member of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Nigeria, through which I explored a presidential race during the country’s 2019 electoral cycle.

This letter is a solemn appeal for you to use your good offices to ensure that the visa ban includes Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC in the controversial 2023 election. The lingering stench of blood flowing from the said election has its origin in his brain. In short, any attempt to exclude him is akin to any discussion of the January 6 U.S Capitol Attack without a mention of Donald Trump.

The conspiracy of violence that marred Nigeria’s 2023 elections was not only plainly premeditated and planned, but it was also well studied, foreseen, and reported to the public and relevant authorities before it hatched.

For example, in a widely circulated essay, titled “Tinubu’s Blind Ambition Provoking a Civil War, By SKC Ogbonnia”, I had exposed the very conspiracy that came to pass. The essay was published June 16, 2022, eight months before the election, and copied to the U.S. intelligence community, including the Department of State. It is a chronological account of Tinubu’s history with violent extremism. An excerpt reads as follows:

“Keenly aware that he is neither physically fit nor morally sound to mount a presidential campaign let alone govern Nigeria, Mr. Tinubu is already attempting to win by hook or crook. Barely less than one week after grabbing the presidential ticket of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), he is already fanning the embers of war. Very glaring is a recent incident in which armed thugs were sent to disrupt the traders of Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos State, who went the extra mile to shut their shops in order to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).”

“A selling point in Tinubu’s march to the APC nomination is the assumption that he dictates who wins and who loses in Nigeria’s most populous state of Lagos. But, as an APC chieftain and the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, noted in a recent speech, Tinubu has been able to lord himself over the good people of the state because of low voter turnout. In Governor el-Rufai’s own words, "Here in Lagos, you have over six million registered voters, only about a million voted (in 2019 general elections); five million did not vote.” [end of el-Rufai quote).

“This low voter turnout is rooted in Tinubu’s lack of popularity among the masses. To that end, he has always deployed all manners of terror to suppress the votes of his opponents. Like the attack on the Igbo traders at Alaba International Market, armed thugs were also used to unleash terror on the voters in many parts of Lagos State with a heavy Igbo population during the 2019 elections.”

Despite massive intimidation and voter suppression, which is his stock in trade, Tinubu still lost his home state of Lagos in the 2023 presidential election. Given that he owes his huge fortune to the Lagos State treasury, it did not come as a surprise that the state’s governorship election that came few weeks later became a do or die.

Mr. President, there is a clear pattern. Bola Ahmed Tinubu represents the core of a corrupt oligarchy that weaponized poverty to transpose Nigeria as the epicenter of modern-day slavery and violent extremism. Unfortunately, the man has remained above the law in Nigeria. And when there is no consequence for bad behavior, the bad behavior usually worsens.

Today, Tinubu’s pattern of terror has permeated the entire Nigerian society. Today, street violence has become the order of the day in the African country. A sad case in point is the recent attack on U.S. Embassy staff in Nigeria, which claimed four innocent lives.

Mr. President, it may also interest you that Tinubu is the same character that forfeited $460,000.00 to the authorities in the United States of America, allegedly for drugs trafficking and money laundering. Yet, he is set to assume the leadership of Africa’s biggest economy.

The truth, if it is already not manifest, is that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a threat to world order. As various intelligence reports attest, though Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency concluded that the degree of his corruption is one of an “international dimension”, his true identity remains unknown. But well-known is the fact that he has been able to avoid prosecution by masterfully deploying his stupendous illegitimate wealth to seize and control Nigeria’s power apparatus.

Therefore, the U.S. ban on corrupt Nigeria politicians only goes to become a shaggy-dog story if Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not the first person on the list. In fairness, someone of his character does not deserve to be allowed into any country of the world. His proper destination ought to be the International Criminal Court at the Hague, where he should be charged with crime against the humanity.

Mr. President, the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, I urge you, I urge you to seize this moment in history. I urge you take a global leadership role on this matter by seeing the world as one. I urge you to make the world a better place by answering the call of the Nigerian masses. Failure to hold Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu accountable is a welcome breeze to intercontinental terrorism, brazen corruption, money laundering, and drug trafficking.

Sincerely,
SKC Ogbonnia, Ph.D.
Houston, TX.
--
CC: U.S. Embassy and Consulate, Abuja, Nigeria
CC: The United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism, United Nations, N.Y., USA.
CC: Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations, N.Y., USA.

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The Billionaires Behind Tinubu Risking A Revolution
By SKC Ogbonnia
March 15, 2023

The meeting of some Nigerian billionaire businessmen, notably, Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, and Femi Otedola with Bola Tinubu, an illegitimate president-elect, is as insensitive as it is provocative. That is impunity gone too far. As if the show of shame lacks in folly, Mr. Elumelu—the poster vainglory of the Nigeria’s shady banking system—had the affrontery to share a video of his family hosting the number one enemy of the Nigerian youths. What an eye-sore!! What a social miasma!!

The same Tony Elumelu is alleged to have weaponized his huge influence at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to morph up the millions of scarce new notes which Tinubu deployed to rig the 2023 presidential election. This brazen sleaze took place at the time the ordinary customers of the bank were sleeping 24 x7 at its premises, begging to withdraw a few naira to feed their families.

The immediate consequence has been a move by some people to boycott the UBA where Mr. Elumelu serves as chairman. A boycott is commendable and ought to be extended to Dangote and Otedola businesses, as well. Yet, such move is not as troubling as what could follow.

The fact of the matter is that the Nigerian masses have not only become wiser, but they also act wiser. The apparent endorsement of a sham election by these billionaire businessmen is not being viewed as business as usual. The ordinary Nigerian people now know their true enemies, and they are very angry.

The masses are angry that their long-awaited opportunity to produce a leader of their choice is being sabotaged by corrupt politicians in cahoots with their cohorts in the private sector. The anger is most merited because even as the country has hit the rock bottom under President Muhammadu Buhari, these double-dealing mercenaries are colluding to foist a successor, who is destined to be worse than his predecessor.

The most provoking is that Dangote, Elumelu, Otedola and co are keenly aware that Tinubu never hesitated to make it known his intention to continue the Buhari policies that rendered the country hopeless. They are very aware that Tinubu is an invalid who no longer exhibits the physical nor the mental capacity to lead a nation like Nigeria. They are also aware that the man is the country’s shadiest politician ever to stand a presidential election, let alone winning one.

Combine the above with a myriad of evidence that points to the gospel truth that the former Lagos State governor did not win the presidential election. Follow that with the fact that the plot to impose a corrupt kingpin cum drug lord on the Nigerian people only goes to further damage the country’s image around the world. The explains the thick cloud of shame that has engulfed the Nigerians living in the Diaspora since the illegal declaration of Tinubu as president-elect.

Despite these existential misgivings which are bound to worsen the condition of the ordinary Nigerians worldwide, the money bags are hellbent on backing Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect. But the reason for the do-or-die support is not far-fetched. It is an open secret. Institutionalized corruption has been the sole raison d'être for the success of the respective business empires of these tycoons. They simply want to stay the status quo of lawlessness that made it possible for them to accumulate huge wealth at the expense of the poor masses. Thus, they are resisting the change that a vast majority of Nigerian people voted for.

But, again, the Nigerian masses have become wiser. They recognize that the attempt to impose Tinubu is an existential threat. They now recognize that there must be consequences for bad behavior. They can now relate to an admonition by the then sitting Minister of Transport, Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi, that Nigerian leaders have continued to misbehave because the followers do not “stone” them. But the most relative and most instructive is the genius of a former American president, John F. Kennedy, who said that “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

The point of this matter is short and simple. Barring the desired change from the status quo, a mass revolution of global consequence is imminent in Nigeria. Commonsense dictates that the masses—home and abroad—are merely waiting for the outcome of the court cases challenging the sham election. And, as recent events have shown, any “violent revolution”, as Kennedy had admonished, will not be a conflict between the tribes or between the Christians and Muslims, as Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu would wish. The common enemy are the ruling elite and their influential sympathizers. Stay tuned…!

SKC Ogbonnia

PRESS STATEMENT
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Why The World Must Resist The Tinubu Coup
By SKC Ogbonnia
March 3, 2023

Fellow Nigerians,

I make the following statement with every sense of patriotism:

Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC) did not win Nigeria’s presidential election held on February 25, 2023. The attempt to impose him on the Nigerian people is a brazen coup d’état in its true sense. The world must denounce and resist such plot.

Both local and international observers strongly agree that the said election was characterized by massive rigging, including massive intimidation, massive voter suppression, massive vote buying, massive vote snatching, massive thuggery, massive falsification of results, clear lack of transparency, and loss of human lives.

These vices explain the wave of anomalies that have continued to trail the election results. For example, despite the sheer irregularities to pave the way for Tinubu’s victory in different parts of the country, he still could not garner more than 35.3% of the votes cast. In other words, a vast majority of the Nigerian people (64.7%) did not vote for the APC candidate. Moreover, even though there was significant increase in voter registration and an overflowing voter turnout, anchored by the youths, the 2023 presidential election produced over 5 million votes less than the 2019 exercise.

These anomalies are perplexing and constitute a recipe for an unimaginable conundrum for a fragile democracy in a crisis-ridden country.
Tinubu’s inordinate ambition is well studied. He would become a multi-billionaire through illegitimate sources. He consequently became not only the poster character for corruption in Africa, but also personifies Nigeria’s shady image in the comity of nations

The very first attempt to trace his wealth resulted to a narcotics case, where he had to forfeit a whopping sum of $460,000 to the authorities in the United States of America. After his tenure as governor of Lagos State, the Nigeria’s anticorruption agency declared at a Senate Hearing that the degree of Tinubu’s corruption is one of an “international dimension.”

To avoid prosecution, he was able to masterfully deploy his stupendous wealth to seize and control Nigeria’s power apparatus. Today, he goes to boast of such influence. He boasts of how he installed the current set of leaders from the President, the Vice-President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives to a slew of governors, judges, electoral umpires, and other powerful office holders, including those in the armed forces. He boasts that installing him president is not a choice but an undeniable payback, an entitlement.

Tinubu’s illicit wealth has placed him above law. But the history is not on his side. Despite Nigeria’s sleazy reputation, none of its leaders in the national experience—whether military or civilian—has ever assumed the governance of the country with the type of shady background well known of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yet, most of those leaders, if not all, ended up becoming more corrupt than they were before gaining power.

The world can then imagine what could become of Nigeria with regards to the global war on corruption and drug trafficking if a Tinubu presidency ever becomes a reality. What becomes of the country with regards to peace and unity under an invalid president who is clearly rejected by an overwhelming majority—from the East, the North, and even his home base of the West?

The objective fact is that any Tinubu presidency portends an experience worse than Mohamed Suharto and Manuel Noriega put together. Further, imposing a crook through a grossly flawed election of 2023 against the wishes of a vast majority of the Nigerian people is worse than the annulment of the country’s free and fair election of 1993 that precipitated a long period of crisis in Africa’s most populous nation. Clearly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a threat to world peace and must be stopped.

I, therefore, call on world leaders come to the rescue of over 220 million Nigerians from a looming doom. I call for global movement to ensure that a corrupt kingpin cum drug lord does not succeed in his long running conspiracy to lead Africa’s largest economy.

I call on the Diaspora Nigerians not to relent on the conscious commitment to take back our country. We must maximize the resources within our various locations towards that objective. I also call on the opposition to unite against the unfolding Tinubu coup.

Finally, let me use this opportunity to appeal to the Nigerian masses, particularly the youths, not resort to violent actions, as serious efforts are underway—home and abroad—to ensure that justice is done. I also commend notable world leaders for the restraints they exercised in their various statements on the Nigerian election. Their approach demonstrates a clear awareness that the illegal declaration of Tinubu as president-elect is a pyrrhic victory.

SKC Ogbonnia is a former APC Presidential Aspirant

PRESS STATEMENT--
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Only An Enemy Of Nigeria Will Vote For Tinubu Or Atiku
By SKC Ogbonnia
February 23, 2023

“Nigeria Elects A Corrupt Kingpin As President”. “Nigeria Elects A Corrupt Kingpin Cum Drug Lord As President.” “Nigeria Elects An Invalid As President” “Nigeria Elects A Religious Bigot As President.”

Fellow compatriots,

Those are the types of newspaper headlines that would greet the world, if either Atiku or Tinubu is to be elected president. TRUE!!! But, I say, and may we say, fellow Nigerians, May God forbid, we pray!

We must pray, as always. But lately many have resorted to questioning whether God has forsaken Nigeria. For example, despite her abundant human resources, the country’s most recent presidential campaign of 2019 quickly became a choice between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Said differently, it was a choice between two evils. It was a situation where voters had to choose between a clueless president in Muhammadu Buhari and grossly flawed former vice-president. Atiku Abubakar. It was a devious dilemma.

But the good God finally came to the rescue, by making the 2023 presidential election an easy choice. Though there are 18 candidates in the contest, some of who are eminently qualified, our God was able to simplify the choice between the top three: Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

More importantly, He made it a choice between clear evil and clear good.

The EVIL here is represented by the diabolic duo of Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP). They represent evil, because most Nigerians are keenly aware that both are multibillionaires with shady sources of income. In fact, Tinubu and Atiku are widely disdained around the globe for being two of the most cancerous poster characters for corruption in Africa.

It is also clear that no Nigerian leader, whether military or civilian, who was generally perceived to be very corrupt, was ever sworn in as Head of State or President. Neither Abacha nor Babangida was viewed as corrupt at the time they seized power. On the democratic side, let’s take the 4th Republic, for instance. Like or hate them, from Olusegun Obasanjo, Umar Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, to Muhammadu Buhari; no one could label any of them corrupt as at the time of swearing in 1999, 2007, 2010/2011, 2015, respectively.

The truth is that Tinubu and Atiku are grossly and shamelessly flawed. Only an enemy of Nigeria will knowingly entrust their vote to people with their characters. More, like President Muhammadu Buhari, who variously admitted that the challenges associated with old age and ill-health hindered his performance, the physical and mental conditions of both Atiku and Tinubu are even worse.


Only an enemy of Nigeria would wish a worse president than the one currently in office.


But the God is good. HE gave us a clear alternative this time. Instead of two evils, we have also have a good. This GOOD is represented by Peter Obi and anchored by the Nigerian youths. Of course, Obi is by no means a saint, but he is far better that Tinubu and Atiku. Even his opponents would vouch for his character, competence, capacity, and sense of equity.

This explains why all major apex socio-cultural and religious groups in the country have endorsed Peter Obi. These groups include the Afenifere (Yoruba); Ohaneze Ndigbo; the Pan Niger Delta Forum, (PANDEF); the Middle Belt Forum (MBLF); the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF); and numerous others.

Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) was not left behind. Though its standing principle forbids outright endorsement of candidates, a statement by its leader, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, the sultan of Sokoto is in tandem with those of the leaders of the other major apex socio-cultural groups in the country. The Sultan told Nigerians to vote for “leaders with reputable character in the 2023 general elections.” He challenged fellow Nigerians “to think and rethink of who they are casting their votes to.” He told us NOT to “consider the religious or ethnic backgrounds of anybody we are voting for but Nigeria first.”

Obi’s character explains why the Nigerians in the Diaspora, whose yearly remittance are more than the national budget, are solidly him. This explains why polls after polls -both local and foreign—have predicted that Obi, anchored by the Nigerian youths, is headed to victory.

God helps those who help themselves! Vote Peter Obi for President!! The posterity beckons!!!!

SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, wrote from Abuja, Nigeria.

PRESS STATEMENT-
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As Tinubu Goes To Election With Bribery Hope
By SKC Ogbonnia
February 22, 2023

In a normal clime, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be doing time in a prison instead of dreaming to become Nigeria’s president. What a country…

The man in question is well known to have no legitimate source for his billions. Yet, he brandishes the latest samples of private jets, launders money in bullion vans, and once boasted to be richer than a whole state. The first serious attempt to trace the source of his wealth resulted to a narcotics case, where he eventually forfeited a whopping sum of $460,000 to the authorities in the United States of America. Nigeria’s anticorruption agency followed by declaring at a Senate hearing that the degree of Tinubu’s corruption is one of an “international dimension.”

Combine the above with the fact that no known Nigerian can vouch for the authenticity of his biographical details, such as name, age, parents, state of birth and origin, schools attended and certificates received.

Also consider that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not only challenged by old age and stark ill-health, but his public outings also do not portray a man who is physically or mentally fit for any serious assignment, let alone the presidency of a country.

Yet, the same character is desperate to lead Nigeria. Even worse, Tinubu refuses to answer simple questions about his past or present. He refuses to take questions from the press. He refuses to participate in debates with other candidates.

The reason for the arrogance is not far-fetched: As in the past, Tinubu is counting on a bribery hope. Having snatched the APC presidential ticket with influence of money bags, he is hoping to do the same at the general elections.

And he makes no apology for his unending sins. Since emerging the APC flagbearer, he has been caught in open daylight along with his family members influencing voters with money. Of course, these practices are illegal, but his financial muscle seems to place him above the law. To that end, he was boasting that he was headed to victory.

But “every day is for the thief, but one day is for the owner.” Nigeria suddenly redesigned its currency along with stringent rules. Part of the target are corrupt politicians who have stockpiled cash to influence the 2023 elections. The implication is that Tinubu’s dream of becoming presidency has taken a harsh hit.

But the situation has also exposed the true Tinubu. It has become clearer that he is not only the most arrogant, most immodest, most dictatorial, most autocratic, and most diabolic presidential hopeful, but also the most narcissistic, the shadiest, and the most shameless politician in the Nigerian history.

This is a man who has stood firmly behind all the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari and ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), which have been adjudged as the most inhuman and atrocious in the nation’s democratic journey. Shamelessly, because the currency policy inadvertently punctured his bribery hope, the same Tinubu and his associates are suddenly criticizing their own government, acting as if somehow they care for the ordinary people. But that is not all.

Tinubu sees the election as do-or-die, regardless of the consequences. To sustain his bribery hope, his agents are alleged to be buying up the new naira notes at higher rate, as seen in viral video clips. This goes to worsen the scarcity of legal tender in the land, which has left the ordinary people helpless.

But the Nigerian masses have become wiser. They now know to pocket the bribery money and still vote their conscience. They know to finally make election bribery a vain hope.

* SKC Ogbonnia, former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

PRESS SRTATEMENT
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As Tinubu Goes To Election With Bribery Hope
By SKC Ogbonnia
February 22, 2023

In a normal clime, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be doing time in a prison instead of dreaming to become Nigeria’s president. What a country…

The man in question is well known to have no legitimate source for his billions. Yet, he brandishes the latest samples of private jets, launders money in bullion vans, and once boasted to be richer than a whole state. The first serious attempt to trace the source of his wealth resulted to a narcotics case, where he eventually forfeited a whopping sum of $460,000 to the authorities in the United States of America. Nigeria’s anticorruption agency followed by declaring at a Senate hearing that the degree of Tinubu’s corruption is one of an “international dimension.”

Combine the above with the fact that no known Nigerian can vouch for the authenticity of his biographical details, such as name, age, parents, state of birth and origin, schools attended and certificates received.

Also consider that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not only challenged by old age and stark ill-health, but his public outings also do not portray a man who is physically or mentally fit for any serious assignment, let alone the presidency of a country.

Yet, the same character is desperate to lead Nigeria. Even worse, Tinubu refuses to answer simple questions about his past or present. He refuses to take questions from the press. He refuses to participate in debates with other candidates.

The reason for the arrogance is not far-fetched: As in the past, Tinubu is counting on a bribery hope. Having snatched the APC presidential ticket with influence of money bags, he is hoping to do the same at the general elections.

And he makes no apology for his unending sins. Since emerging the APC flagbearer, he has been caught in open daylight along with his family members influencing voters with money. Of course, these practices are illegal, but his financial muscle seems to place him above the law. To that end, he was boasting that he was headed to victory.

But “every day is for the thief, but one day is for the owner.” Nigeria suddenly redesigned its currency along with stringent rules. Part of the target are corrupt politicians who have stockpiled cash to influence the 2023 elections. The implication is that Tinubu’s dream of becoming presidency has taken a harsh hit.

But the situation has also exposed the true Tinubu. It has become clearer that he is not only the most arrogant, most immodest, most dictatorial, most autocratic, and most diabolic presidential hopeful, but also the most narcissistic, the shadiest, and the most shameless politician in the Nigerian history.

This is a man who has stood firmly behind all the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari and ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), which have been adjudged as the most inhuman and atrocious in the nation’s democratic journey. Shamelessly, because the currency policy inadvertently punctured his bribery hope, the same Tinubu and his associates are suddenly criticizing their own government, acting as if somehow they care for the ordinary people. But that is not all.

Tinubu sees the election as do-or-die, regardless of the consequences. To sustain his bribery hope, his agents are alleged to be buying up the new naira notes at higher rate, as seen in viral video clips. This goes to worsen the scarcity of legal tender in the land, which has left the ordinary people helpless.

But the Nigerian masses have become wiser. They now know to pocket the bribery money and still vote their conscience. They know to finally make election bribery a vain hope.

* SKC Ogbonnia, former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

How Obi and The Youths Will Win With Structure
By SKC Ogbonnia
February 20, 2023

Obi Kererenke! Obi!! Kererenke….

The candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, will win Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election hands down. This assertion is in line with polls after polls—both local and foreign—which have predicted that the former Anambra State governor will emerge victorious.

Instead of reading the handwriting on the wall and accepting that its time has passed, the Nigeria’s corrupt oligarchy has been restless. Its politicians are restless, looking for any reason to dampen the spirit of Obi’s supporters, popularly known as the Obidients. Since the Labour Party flagbearer has no baggage, his opponents have resorted to a campaign of calumny. If they are not inciting violence, they are peddling fake news to confuse or lower the morale of the Obidients.

The most notable of the falsehood is that Obi would not win because he has no “structure”. To the All-Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), structure represents a nationwide corrupt network through which they had always bought votes with money.

But the gospel truth is that Peter Obi will win because of structure, but this structure is different. It is the unique structure of his supporters.

The Obidient structure is broad. They are people of different Nigerian ethnic groups and religions united for common purpose. They are spread across the country and are determined to come out in en masse to guard their votes.

The Obidient structure is organic and anchored by the youths, who make up a significant chunk of the Nigerian electorate. Most of these youths are new voters who registered because they want change. The Obidient is not only a movement, but it has also become the pop culture of our time. Obi Kererenke! Obi…

More, unlike their opponents, the supporters of the Labour Party flagbearer are proud of their cause. They are very passionate, enthusiastic, and proud of their presidential candidate, Obi, and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed. They are proud because their candidacy hinges on equity, integrity, fairness, character, competence, capacity, and progress.

The Obi supporters are propelled by an enlightened structure. They recognize that this election is a struggle between good and evil. They are angry about how they have been misled over the years by both the APC and the PDP. They view the election as do-or-die for their future and nothing will stop them from voting. They are voting for a good cause and the world is behind them.

Unlike their opponents who are known to pay their supporters for rallies, the Obidient structure is not motivated by money. Unlike their opponents who depend on candidates with looted public funds, the Obidients own and fund their own campaign. Neither new nor old naira will affect their willingness to come out and vote. Nothing will stop the Obidients from coming out to vote in Peter Obi as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, come February 25, 2023.


SKC Ogbonnia, former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

PRESS STATEMENT--
Why Buhari’s Heart Is Neither With Tinubu Nor Atiku
By SKC Ogbonnia
February 13, 2023

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has been in the news lately, peddling all manners of allegations. The most glaring is that some close associates of President Muhammadu Buhari do not want the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu to win. However, while such opinion may appear plausible, the messenger is notoriously suspect.

Anyone who has read the book, “Accidental Public Servant” by el-Rufai could reason that the man is a pestilent personality, pathological liar, ethnic bigot, ego maniac cum rabble-rouser. Any credible psychiatrist who takes a closer look at him could tell that he is a borderline mental case. In short, whatever he lacks in personality, he makes up with foolishness. If he is not threatening to send back foreign election watchers in body bags, he would be swearing that Peter Obi of Labour Party could not draw a crowd of 200 people in Kaduna state. If he is not belittling the entire Nollywood movie industry, he is busy insulting the elders from the entire Northern Nigeria.

What is more? The el-Rufai goes to infer that Bola Tinubu is a crooked election rigger who has sustained power in Lagos by suppressing the state’s votes by terror. Yet, he is pushing the same man for the presidency of the entire Nigeria. Worse still, Nasir el-Rufai continues to dissociate the ruling APC and Tinubu from Buhari’s policies. Yet, he is demanding the total support of the same Buhari for Tinubu.

This unstable character makes people to view every claim by el-Rufai with grain of salt. But the very same psychiatrist would profess that beyond the façade of any recurring madness lies a semblance of sense that still qualifies such individual as a human being. The simple import is that we must not always wish away every rambling outburst from el-Rufai as senseless. This point is that the man probably knew what he was talking about when he stated on national television that Aso Rock elements are working against Tinubu. Also important, the Kaduna governor noted that the decision by the Buhari people to root against Tinubu is informed by the president’s commitment to do what is right.

After watching a clip of el-Rufai’s outburst on TV, I quickly placed a call to a confidant at the Aso Rock villa. The takeaway is that the charge by the Kaduna governor has a ring to it: There is a serious concern with the Tinubu candidacy within the Presidency. “Baba may appear to be supporting him, because they are in the same party, but his heart tells him no.” Here are reasons deduced from the conversation:

1. Anti-Fulani Sentiments: A surprising concern is that Tinubu’s greed was responsible for the anti-Fulani sentiment that contributed to Buhari’s lack of popularity, particularly among the Southerners. There is a prevailing notion within the Villa that Tinubu has continued to play victim in his relationship with Buhari, despite cornering most of the influential portfolios to his loyalists.

This conflict with Tinubu, they claim, is what incited the Southern press against Buhari at early stage of the administration and they never recovered. “Jagaban wanted more or less a co-presidency…As you may observe, he still refers to us as “they”… “He looks at us as people who owe him and do not want to hand him the presidency…Moreover, you ask yourself, why is a character like Fani-Kayode, an unapologetic Fulani basher, the face of the Tinubu campaign?”

2. Tinubu’s Health: Buhari recognizes that the challenges associated with old age or ill-health do not augur well with the demands of the president. He is worried that Tinubu’s public outings do not portray a man who is physically or mentally fit for the presidency.

3. Corruption: President Buhari will forever be remembered with the quote: “If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” However, it has finally dawned him that the history will view him as a hypocrite if he has a hand in making Tinubu president. It would become the first time a man who is generally perceived to be very corrupt is sworn in as president of Nigeria. Take the 4th Republic, for instance. Like or hate them, from Olusegun Obasanjo, Umar Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, to Muhammadu Buhari; no one could label any of them corrupt as at the time of swearing in 1999, 2007, 2010/2011, 2015, respectively.


4. Free and Fair Election: Tinubu was never Buhari’s candidate from the get-go. The president is aware that the former Lagos governor bought the presidential ticket, and he is counting on his financial power to win the general election. “The president is not happy about this, because he wants to be remembered like Jonathan for conducting free and fair election. Now you see some APC governors want Buhari to extend the deadline for the old naira notes. Why do you think they are doing that? Jagaban is behind it all the way.”

Finally, there have been different reports, suggesting that Buhari sympathizes with the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar. But my Aso Rock source quickly dispelled such rumour. Buhari sees Atiku with the same lens he sees Tinubu, especially with corruption, ill-health, and old age. “Baba has relationships with both Jagaban and Atiku, quite alright, but he has conscience. He wants to do the right thing. You may see more surprises before the election.”

SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

Press Statement-

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The Candidate Of The Sultan and The Yoruba Pastor
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, Texas
February 2, 2023

His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is known to wield admirable influence in the country. This explains the different shades of fake news making the rounds about his preferred candidate for the 2023 presidential election. But anyone familiar with the Sokoto Caliphate would know that a Sultan would rather speak in parables about any candidate of his choice than making it open.

Lo and behold, on Thursday January 19, 2023, the Sultan himself rose and finally spoke. He spoke volumes. He spoke about the kind of candidate the citizens should vote for. And he spoke in parables. The Sultan “told Nigerians to vote for leaders with reputable character in the 2023 general elections.” He challenged fellow Nigerians “to think and rethink of who they are casting their votes to. He told us NOT to “consider the religious or ethnic backgrounds of anybody we are voting for but Nigeria first.”

Please read the above statement as many times as can be convenient—and very carefully.
Done?

Now, who, among the three top presidential candidates: Atiku Abubakar (Peoples Democratic Party); Peter Obi (Labour Party); and Bola Tinubu (All-Progressives Congress); do you think the Sultan was referring to? I mean that candidate with “reputable character”?

Could the candidate “with reputable character” be Atiku or Tinubu—both of whom are currently at different courts of law, suing each other for various shameless offences, ranging from drug peddling, massive corruption, kickbacks, vote buying, questionable biodata, including forged birth and education certificates, and shady sources of income?

The answer is simple: Any sincere supporter of Atiku or Tinubu would agree that neither of the two is an option—if reputable character is a criterion for the Nigerian presidency. In a nutshell, it is a well-known fact that no Nigerian--whether military or civilian--has ever assumed the governance of the country with the type of shady cum illegal background well known of Atiku and Tinubu. Never!

Enter Peter Obi and character: No need to say much here! Even Obi’s worst enemy would vow that the man is God-sent anywhere “reputable character” is an attribute. Case Closed!

But let’s keep the discussion open because Sultan’s statement did not stop at the topic of character. Yes, he added that we should NOT vote based on religion or ethnicity.

So, could the Sultan be referring to a former vice-president who has staked his entire campaign on ethnicity? I mean Atiku who will go down in history as the first presidential candidate in history to openly warn his fellow Northerners not to cast their vote for candidates of Southern extraction for the president of the country?

Or, could the Sultan then contradict himself by promoting Tinubu, the very Muslim-Muslim man, who has staked his whole hope of winning on a dangerous belief that the election would be reduced to a warfare between the Muslims and Christians? Could Sultan Abubakar ever consider the same candidate who will be remembered in history for boasting that it is his turn to rule Nigeria, based on an arrogant claim that he “made Buhari president”?

How about Peter Obi on religion and ethnicity?

Let’s call a spade a spade. Voters who have listened to Mr. Obi would think Sultan Abubakar adapted his speech from Obi-Datti Baba-Ahmed campaign manual. The Labour Party candidate has indeed become popular with the slogan that we should not vote based on religion or ethnicity. He never fails to remind us that neither a Christian nor a Muslim can buy food or fuel cheaper because of our religion or ethnicity.

As noted from the beginning, the call by His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, highlighting character and unity was fashioned as a general statement because of standing principles at the Caliphate. Yet, the very statement is in tandem with those of the leaders of the other major apex socio-cultural groups in the country, such as the Afenifere (Yoruba), Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Pan Niger Delta Forum, (PANDEF), the Middle Belt Forum (MBLF), and numerous others—all of which have offered open endorsement to Mr. Peter Obi.

The timing of the call by the eminent Sultan was profound. It was made few days after a consequential sermon by Bishop Samuel Olumakinde Alawode of the Maranatha Lord Cometh Ministries, Ibadan, Oyo State, now popularly known around the globe as “The Yoruba Pastor”. Like the Sultan, the Bishop was able to enlighten fellow citizens on the essence of character in choosing leaders in Nigeria’s 2023 elections. The man of God professes that the character of society is as good as the character its leaders. But that was not all.

In a life-changing sermon, Bishop Samuel Olumakinde Alawode rose and asked his congregants to raise their hands--if they knew who they would vote for. Most of them responded and raised their hands. He told them he wanted to pray for them.

Bishop Alawode then said a simple prayer: “That man you want to vote for, may your children have his character and destiny…That man that you are rooting for, shouting on Facebook and shouting about, may your great grandchildren behave like him.” May that leader “be the picture of your children…the picture of your future.”

Interestingly, most of the congregants became nervous, frightened, terrified, and petrified. They became ashamed. They became ashamed and embarrassed that their motivation was neither for “Nigeria first”, as the Sultan had admonished, nor for the character, as the muslin leader and the Yoruba pastor had prayed.

The very sermon of Bishop Alawode and style of its delivery might have emerged as the most God-fearing and sincere religious oration capable of saving the country. This sermon has become a litmus test for our sincerity of purpose as Christians, Muslims, any other religion. It strikes deep into our conscience as Nigerians.

Final Exercise: Now, in line with the admonitions of the Sultan and Bishop Alawode, please cast aside the influence of ethnicity, religion, bribery money or party affiliation, and answer the following question:

Who among the three top presidential candidates in the Nigerian 2023 elections: Atiku, Obi, or Tinubu, would you want your children and future generation to have as a role model, including his type of background, character, behaviour, and destiny?

Let me lead by example and answer: Though I am a bonafide member of the APC; the candidate—among the three—that I can possibly have as a role model for my children and my future generation is Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

That candidate with “reputable character” is truly PETER OBI: He is truly blessed with the character, competence, capacity and, of course, the vigour and the sense of equity and justice ideal for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

SKC Ogbonnia, Former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

PRESS STATEMENT-
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Drug Case: The Media Must Not Succumb To The Tinubu Bullying
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, Texas
December 22, 2022

The bullying of the Nigerian media by the presidential candidate of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is real. It has heightened in recent weeks as a primitive ploy to cover up the lingering allegations of his drug case in America. But the news media must not succumb to the chicanery.

The pattern of bullying came to limelight when the Boards of Editors of ThisDay Newspaper and The Arise News Channel alerted the nation last week. Of course, the Tinubu Campaign Council did its best to deny the ugly development, but the media organization is not alone. There are many living witnesses, this writer not excluded.

I had actually whispered this storyline earlier in the piece, “Chatham House, Tinubu’s Drug Case, And The Press”, even before the ThisDay exposé.

The observation became obvious given my experiences with the media in recent times. In short, I have been expressing opposing views of every major presidential candidate since the Fourth Republic. Interestingly, as a member of the APC, my critical opinions of the then President Goodluck Jonathan and Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had appeared in virtually all sections of the Nigerian media during the elections of 2015 and 2019 while I was promoting Muhammadu Buhari. All in all, I had always extolled the Nigerian press as free, vibrant, and fearless. But this electoral cycle is dramatically different—with dishonour.

Any remote attempt to hold candidate Tinubu accountable has been met with all manners of threats and theatrics. These shameless threats are not only directed towards me, but also to the innocent editors who dare to publish my views. Even when they do, some of them are cowed to ensure that the serious scandals of the Asiwaju, particularly the alleged narcotics trafficking, do not see the light of the day. The objective fact is that, as the most arrogant, most immodest, most dictatorial, most diabolic, most authoritarian, most shady, and the most narcissistic presidential candidate in the Nigerian history, Tinubu is bent on playing by different rules.

But the media must not allow the dubious broom of the Asiwaju to sweep the drug case under the carpet.

This matter is serious. It is neither fake news nor planted as an election hue by his opponents. An indelible fact is that Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in the past forfeited the sum of $460,000.00 to the authorities in the United States of America. This forfeiture—"a penalty for wrongdoing”—resulted from a case where he was charged for narcotics trafficking and money laundering. At the time of this unfortunate outcome, even though his legal income was a meagre $2,400 per month, the U.S. criminal investigators found over 1 million U.S. dollars in his bank account. The court documents remain unambiguous.

Instead of investigating the case and reporting it as it is, some of the news organizations appear compromised. Any simple scan of such mercenary newspapers will show that their coverages are crafted to favour Tinubu at all costs. It was laughable to read how they embraced the bunkum from the Tinubu Campaign Council that a whopping sum of $460,000.00 their principal forfeited to the U.S. authorities was for TAX deductions. That is, a tax deduction of $460,000.00 from a man who swore under penalty of perjury that he was making only $28,800.00 per year and had no other outside income!?

Fellow Nigerians, what is going on? Who is zooming who?

The simple answer to the above questions is that I can count 1, 2, 3…Clearly, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is attempting to insult his way to the presidency by using pecuniary influence to tame the press.

Granted, the APC leader already enjoys an unseemly sense of esprit de corps within the political press. After all, the Asiwaju of Iragbaji owns a major TV station (TVC), a daily newspaper (The Nations), and other media outfits, whose sole raison d'être is to promote him and undermine his opponents. Further, unlike the other candidates with lean pockets, Tinubu deploys his stupendous wealth to advertise heavily in most of the Nigerian media outlets.

But the consequences of succumbing to the Tinubu overtures are grave.

Let’s play the devil’s advocate for a minute and entertain the optics of Bola Tinubu as president. Even if the Nigerian media are subdued to downplay the drug matter, the United States will not. The American country has a hellish history with individuals who are alleged to have used drug proceeds to gain power in foreign nations. Imagine an attempt for outright prosecution and, of course, the stench of the social media sentiment that is bound to further mar the image of Nigeria. Imagine a potential blackmail and the extent Mr. Tinubu can travel to retain power. In short, having endured all manners of stigma in the comity of nations, the last public pong Nigeria would wish is a president who is globally seen as a corrupt kingpin cum drug lord.

I must not conclude without acknowledging the efforts of notable Nigerian news organizations who have remained tireless in this electoral cycle by upholding an important role of the press, which is to hold politicians accountable. But they are growing very frustrated. Despite Tinubu’s mounting flaws, including the shameless drug case, his abject disdain of the local press, as well malicious threats, his campaign continues to dominate the media space at the expense of his opponents.

But the patriotic men and women of the press should not be deterred. Nigeria has hit the rock bottom. The last resort is a true change, motivated by the masses, and anchored by a free press alert and bold to expose the ills of the candidates standing for elections in 2023.

A way forward is to checkmate Tinubu, particularly with the drug case, by wielding the big stick. It is incumbent upon the press to demonstrate consequences for bad behaviour for a man who undermines the Fourth Estate of the Nigerian democracy. To continue to promote the Asiwaju not only emboldens him but also amounts to aiding and abetting an enemy of the state.

SKC Ogbonnia, Houston, Texas.

PRESS STATEMENT-
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Chatham House, Tinubu’s Drug Case, And The Press
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, TX
December 6, 2022

The much-touted lecture at Chatham House in London, England, where the presidential candidate of the All-Progressives Party (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was expected to finally come clean with the Nigerian people turned out a monumental embarrassment. But the press must not fall for its frenzy. It is nothing but a fragment of a long-running scheme. The apparent logic is that the show of shame would rapidly grow to overshadow the prevailing charges against the Asiwaju, especially a drug case.

But the Nigerian masses are no fools.

Like the audience at the Chatham House, the Nigerian masses will not backdown from probing the APC flagbearer on the serious allegations facing him. These allegations, of course, hover around his biographical details, such as name, age, state of birth and origin, education, career, and the source of his sudden billions. Throw in perjury, bribery, forgery, and so forth… And now the incident at Chatham!

There is also the issue of a failing health. Even blind men could see that the Asiwaju no longer has the physical ability nor the mental stability for any serious leadership position. Further, Nigeria’s misfortune with two ailing presidents—in Umar Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari—is still fresh in our memory. Though both leaders would become largely incapacitated while in office due to ill-health; they never appeared as unhealthy or as impaired as Tinubu before they were elected.

Not to be forgotten is corruption. Running away to a foreign land or dodging the press will not cut it. The masses are keenly aware that despite Nigeria’s sleazy reputation, none of her leaders in history—whether military or civilian—assumed the governance of the country with a background as shady as that of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Of course, most of these charges have been proven beyond reasonable doubt, and ought to be very disqualifying. However, Tinubu’s montage of mess has lingered up to the point of shaming Nigeria at the Chatham House, because of the prevailing socio-political culture at home. The civil society is as wobbling as the country’s economy. The local press, which is typically vibrant, has become understandably overwhelmed or intimidated and thus appears to be treating anything relating to the Asiwaju with kid gloves.

BUT the allegation of drug trafficking is a new low in the Nigerian presidential politics. Tinubu and his handlers recognize its magnitude. They know it is like none of the other accusations and have been perfecting schemes that could overshadow the crisis. One could notice the pattern of the unending shows of shame in his campaign, including the Chatham calamity. The spirited shenanigan is a page from the Donald Trump political book: ‘The best solution to a crisis is another explosive crisis.’ Be that as it may, the Nigerian press must not allow the drug trafficking issue to be swept under the carpet without full investigation, no matter what.

The consequences are grave.

To refresh, the records show that Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu forfeited $460,000.00 to the authorities in the United States of America, allegedly for drugs trafficking and money laundering. The American country is also known to be very unforgiving of individuals who use drug proceeds to gain power in foreign nations. A perfect example is the case of Manuel Antonio Noriega, the former President of Panama.

Like Tinubu, Noriega had amassed a huge personal fortune but had a background tainted with drug allegations. Though the U. S. authorities initially turned a blind eye to the Panama president, allowing him to enter the country as he pleased, they chose the pertinent time to exhume his drug case. They eventually convicted Noriega, removed him from power, jailed him for life, and shamed his country forever.

A similar fate awaits Nigeria if Tinubu is ever to emerge president. Like the incident at Chatham, the world would like to know the Asiwaju. Since the former Lagos State Governor has continued to deny any connection to massive corruption in Nigeria, the logical question becomes: What is the source of this man’s sudden billions?

Any serious attempt to answer the above question must peep into Tinubu’s evasive past. The drug case that once led to his forfeiture of $460,000.00 will automatically take center stage.

Some legal commentators have argued that the narcotics case is barred by the Statute of Limitation and Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution. But they are merely glancing the gist from a foggy lens. The objective fact is that the very nature of this high-profile case still presents prosecutors clear legal avenues to explore the Separate Sovereigns Doctrine to seek Tinubu’s indictment. Yes!

Nigeria has endured all manners of stigma in the comity of nations. The last thing the country would wish is a president who is globally seen as a corrupt kingpin cum drug lord.

Instead of addressing the drug charges, the Tinubu campaign has deployed a cocky cocktail of coercion, intimidation, distractions, and deceptions, heaping insults on the media organizations, and going as far as threatening them with baseless lawsuits. In short, the APC flagbearer has been doing everything humanly possible to avoid being held accountable for his past or present. The man dodges press interviews. He dodges town hall meetings. He dodges presidential debates. He dodges the truth. Thus, the hullabaloo at the Chatham House was not unexpected.

THE PRESS must not succumb to the sheer arrogance and political chicanery. The men and women of the press should live up to their constitutional obligations and thoroughly interrogate the former Lagos State governor on the drug allegations. Please!!

Importantly, there must be consequences for bad behavior in the relationship between the press and politicians. The media organizations must not be seen to be promoting an anti-democratic character—in this case Mr. Bola Tinubu—who continually circumvents an integral role of the press, which is to not only ensure that people in a democracy are free to receive information and ask questions, but also to investigate individuals seeking public office without fear or favor.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Houston, Texas

PRESS STATEMENT
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As Corrupt Henchmen Queue Behind Tinubu
By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, Texas
November 26, 2022

Chimaroke Nnamani: Chima-Who? Yes, Nnamani, the disgraced former governor of Enugu State, and the mudhook of the infamous Ebeano regime, which had reduced the state to a territory of terror, where plunder, political brigandage and banditry were the order of the day! More relatively, he had ruled Enugu as a personal fiefdom and, consequently, amassed huge wealth, including a slew of companies and landed properties worth several billions, which were eventually forfeited to the federal authorities. The date of the court ruling, as well as the forfeiture, is July 8th, 2015. “You can go and VERIFY”

Femi Fani-Kayode: He remains the same unabashed, bombastic bozo, and social media nuisance, who peddles fallacies as facts. The political pander is currently facing a 17-count charge of N4.6 billion money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). (A bozo, by the way, is another name for wazzock — meaning a stupid person, a clown, a buffoon, and nincompoop.)

Abdullahi Ganduje: This highbinder is the sitting governor of Kano State, whose sole raison d'etre of being in politics is to perfect criminal artistry. In short, everything about this man represents everything bad about Nigerian politics. Lest we forget, Ganduje is that social bovine who was seen in a trove of video clips receiving bribes from a state contractor and stuffing the money in wads of dollars into his oversized pocket. A simple Google of Gandollar says more.

Listing the corrupt henchmen who are promoting the blind ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is akin to counting the sands at the ocean shore. But Chimaroke, Fani-Kayode, and Ganduje-- representing the East, North, and West, respectively--are highlighted here, because they have emerged as the most vexing sample of the shameless anchors of the infernal project.

BUT make no mistake about it, the other political parties have their share of corrupt kingpins, but the magnitude of those tied to Tinubu is grossly horrifying. In fact, one will not be faulted to add to his camp the likes of Oyenusi, Anini, Evans and, in short, every notorious criminal activist that has ever existed in the land.

The point, if it is not already manifest, is that Bola Ahmed Tinubu attracts corrupt characters as honey attracts bees. Today, the Nigeria’s corrupt bigwigs and their every shadow are falling on top of each other to identify with one of their own. They are crossing party lines, some are even rising from their graves, opening their hidden vaults. Not to be forgotten is the show of shame where over 30 luxury private and chartered jets were on ground to witness the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council of Tinubu.

Their goal is simple: These political buccaneers are merely queuing behind Tinubu because they view him as the man most likely to protect their corrupt empires. But this predicament begs further analysis.

Now, let us consider that despite Nigeria’s sleazy reputation, none of its leaders in history—whether military or civilian—has ever assumed the governance of the country with the type of shady background well known of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Let us also remember that most of those leaders, if not all, ended up becoming more corrupt than they were before gaining power. We can then imagine what becomes of the country if the presidency is truly the Tinubu turn.

The most vexing yet is that unlike in the past, no one seems to care.

In his book, The Accidental Public Servant, the current governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, revealed how himself and then sitting EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, worked assiduously to ensure that the former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, did not emerge as the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007. They viewed Odili as corrupt. Interestingly, it was the same period when Ribadu at a Senate hearing did not hesitate to state that the degree of Tinubu’s corruption is one of an “international dimension.”

Therefore, if Odili had looted the treasury of the people of Rivers State for 8 years, as alleged, let us compare him to Tinubu, who is alleged to have been looting the treasury of Lagos State for the past 23 years.

This comparison becomes more mindboggling when considered that the Asiwaju does not even attempt to hide his own loot nor ashamed of his shady background. Unlike Odili, Tinubu goes to boast that he has more money than a whole state, thanks to his sudden billions. Unlike Odili, not only does the former Lagos State governor own private jets, but the man also openly launders his money in bullion vans.

Even as a presidential candidate, the Asiwaju does not care. Neither this man nor our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) cares that high-ranking members have confessed that he gained the presidential ticket through blatant bribery.

Tinubu’s open display of corruption cum arrogance beggar belief. Today, instead of constructive engagement with the electorate, he is plotting a different path to power. He refuses to appear in debates with fellow contestants. He refuses to face the press. He refuses to address the montage of criminal allegations hovering around his person. Instead, the man prefers nocturnal meetings, courting the corrupt henchmen, who he believes will buy him the votes.

Fellow Nigerians, we must resist this brazen impunity. We must take back our country. And the corrupt henchmen and their master must understand that this time is not business as usual. As a former American President, John F. Kennedy, once said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” They must understand that any “violent revolution” this time will not be a conflict between the tribes or between the Christians and Muslims, as they would wish. The target are squarely the corrupt ruling elite and their rogue sympathizers.

SKC Ogbonnia, former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

PRESS STATEMENT--The Fierce Urgency To Replace Tinubu
By SKC Ogbonnia
November 19, 2022

The scandals beclouding the presidential candidate of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu are not only disqualifying, but they have also become an endless web. Currently trending and most damaging is a valid court document which clearly shows he had to forfeit a whopping $460,000 allegedly from illegal drug proceeds to the Government of the United States of America. Combine that with an archived report that has surfaced which suggests that Tinubu indeed suffers from an apparent terminal illness, as well as allegations of money laundering, massive corruption, certificate forgery, perjury, to falsification of his age.

We are talking about a man who is possibly the oldest-looking 70-year-old multibillionaire in the human history. The person in question is also well known to have no legitimate source of income but owns private jets and launders money with bullion vans. Yet, the same character is desperate to become president of a country but refuses to answer simple questions about his past or present.

In a normal clime, any individual with a background as shady as Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not be grandstanding as a presidential candidate for a major political party, let alone any chance of winning. But Nigeria is not normal. Anything can go—without qualms. Therefore, having grabbed the party's ticket by every foul means, it must not surprise anyone if Tinubu emerges president by hook or crook.

If such bad omen is to befall Nigeria, but may God forbid; the following three ominous developments are obvious:

CORRUPTION: Mentioning corruption in the same breadth with Tinubu can never be a breaking news. As the then Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu clearly stated, the Asiwaju is “a looter of international dimensions.” This notoriety is more troubling when considered that despite Nigeria's sleazy reputation, none of its leaders, whether military or civilian, has ever assumed the governance of the country with the type of shady background well known of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. None!! Yet, most of them, if not all, ended up becoming more corrupt than they were before gaining power. Imagine then what becomes of Nigeria if the current APC presidential candidate ever has his way.

DRUG SCANDAL: Any scholar of politics who has observed the American modus operandi with respect to high-profile drug cases will profess that Tinubu's alleged drug peddling will be unearthed should he wangle his way to Aso Rock. The U.S. is known to be very unforgiving of individuals who use drug proceeds to gain power in foreign nations.

A perfect example is Manuel Antonio Noriega, the former President of Panama. Like Tinubu, Noriega had amassed a huge personal fortune through shady sources. Though the U. S. authorities ignored the Panama president for a while, allowing him to enter the country as he pleased, they chose the seasonable time to exhume his drug case. Consequently, they convicted Noriega, removed him from power, jailed him for life, and shamed his country.

A similar sad fate awaits Nigeria if Tinubu is to emerge president. Now, consider that the former Lagos State Governor does not hide his stupendous wealth. Follow that with the fact that the man continues to deny any connection to massive corruption in Nigeria. There and then, and where prompted, the U.S. authorities are bound to link his sudden billions to the drug case that once led to his forfeiture of $460,000.00.

Statute of Limitation and Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution notwithstanding, the very nature of this case still presents prosecutors clear legal avenues to explore the Separate Sovereigns Doctrine and seek Tinubu’s indictment.

TERMINAL ILLNESS: A Tinubu presidency will subject Nigeria to another round of absentee leader whose degree of health crisis far belittles those of Umar Yar'Adua, and Muhammadu Buhari put together. For those who are not familiar with the extent of Tinubu's sickness, it makes sense to consider an independent opinion as widely reported at a time he was not seeking office.

One of such innocent viewpoints is a chronicle by the Daily Trust Newspaper on October 29, 2014, which goes as follows: [“All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was flown to London on Friday for medical treatment…An aide said he was flown out in his private jet as his ailing health deteriorated. Our correspondent gathered that Tinubu is suffering from an ailment which affects his posture and balance as well his movement, speech and writing. He is said to have been managing the ailment for almost a decade. “He has been manifesting symptoms of Parkinson disease which include tremor, shaky limbs, hands and fingers, slow movement, impaired posture and balance and loss of automatic movements,” said a close aide.]

Close observers of the Asiwaju will agree intoto with the Daily Trust report. Bola Ahmed Tinubu not only appears far older than he claims, but he also appears physically and mentally challenged. These obvious terminal health challenges along with his shady background explain why he cannot face the Nigerian press or attend presidential debates. Rather, he is attempting to bamboozle the electorate by adopting his familiar mélange of propaganda and profligacy, hiring highly priced spin doctors whose sole raison d'etre is to spew fatal lies. He even goes as far as threatening pressmen with lawsuits, thereby portraying himself as a victim. But such shenanigans will not work.

The latest truth emanating from all these tales is that the Nigerian masses have become wiser. They are determined to firmly resist the political chicanery this time around. And the world is watching. It is incumbent upon the APC, therefore, to see an urgent need to compel Tinubu to withdraw from the race and quickly replace him in line with the electoral laws. Other patriotic Nigerians should join to demand his withdrawal. The change will stave off the inevitable worldwide outrage, as well as the thick cloud of shame that will engulf Nigeria if the country’s president is generally seen as a corrupt kingpin cum drug lord.

Critics will be quick to fire back here. They will resort to the mundane notion that the APC has presented a joint ticket of Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima. In other words, Shettima would step in if Tinubu becomes incapacitated due to his failing health or a likely jail term by the U.S. authorities over his alleged drug trafficking. But such a shameless plot is a gross disservice to the country. The Nigerian electorate deserves the right to critically examine whoever could become their president before the elections.

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

An Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari By Dr. SKC Ogbonnia
September 27, 2022

Dear President Buhari,

Re: Why Buhari Should Also Endorse Peter Obi

I hope this mail finds you in good spirits…

I must not fail to thank you once again for helping to deepen our democracy by leading the change movement that saw an opposition party capture power at the center for the first time in the Nigerian history. We did so at a time when the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had boasted that it would rule for unbroken 60 years whether the people liked it or not. We were able to make such a defining history because of your austere and incorrigible pedigree. We believed the history had placed you in a position to become the greatest African leader—ever.

Unfortunately, fellow Nigerians, including your very self, have found out the hard way: any serious setback from old age or ill-health is not a recipe for effective leadership. Make no mistake: One must not mock old age or ill-health, as these conditions are in most cases beyond human control. Moreover, our basic norms dictate that we show empathy for the adversities of others. Yet, it is a gross disservice to the humankind for politicians who are challenged by either old age or ill-health to knowingly offer themselves for positions where such infirmities can hinder their performance.

The significance of physical fitness on leadership explains why candidates seeking power in advanced democracies undergo vigorous health scrutiny before voters can take them seriously. Mr. President, you are a living witness. You have not hidden the fact that the challenges associated with old age do not augur well with the demands of your office. It is not surprising, therefore, that you have not been able to perform to the best of your abilities.

To make matters worse, the National Leader of our dear party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the master strategist, who was supposed to serve as a stabilizing force, is suffering from a similar sad fate. His predicament is even worse. Within the past seven years, he has domiciled in foreign hospitals more than you have done. Needless to mention that his recent public outings do not portray a man who is physically or mentally fit for any serious party leadership.

The cumulative effect is that things have truly fallen apart in our party, as well as Nigeria in general. Today, the level of corruption, which you had declared would kill Nigeria unless Nigeria kills it, is now unfathomable. Today, our party, with Bola Tinubu as its national leader, has become a safe haven for notorious corrupt kingpins who were indicted while at the PDP. Today, our party does not appear to have any ideological, moral, or ethical difference with the much-discredited PDP.

The most shameless yet is that the APC has nominated the same Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the upcoming 2023 elections. The implication is that corruption has been embraced as a way of life under your very own administration. Common sense dictates that, if Tinubu is to prevail, but may God forbid, you would be handing over to a politician who is not only challenged by the stark frailties of poor health and old age, but also someone who is widely disdained for being one of the most cancerous poster characters for corruption in Africa. Mr. President, if Tinubu prevails, you will go down in history as the most shameless political hypocrite—ever.

It is necessary to remark here that I do not discount the contributions of Bola Tinubu in the Nigerian history. Eulogizing him in a 2017 piece, “I pity Tinubu,” I did not hesitate to write that “if dynamic opposition is the life-wire of democracy, it is very fitting then to name him the saviour of Nigeria’s current democratic journey. Tinubu, more than any other Nigerian, nurtured and sustained the opposition movement that removed the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) from power.”

However, as someone who has professed political leadership for decades in many advanced democracies, I definitely know the difference between the qualities of a political strategist and the qualities of a president of a country.

I must also admit that Bola Tinubu could not have been a candidate you would wish as a successor. You wanted a level playing ground in our party. But the corrupt cabal within the APC took advantage of your condition to outwit you and hand the prize to the highest bidder. Take for example, Tinubu’s Presidential Council, where he hoodwinked you to become its chairman. Look at the kind of re-cycled corrupt characters therein. Mr. President, why are you allowing these characters to further tarnish your image? The saving grace is that the 2023 presidential election presents a golden opportunity to not only redeem your incorrigible legacy, but to also save Nigeria from total collapse.

The three candidates with the potential to succeed you are Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Bola Tinubu.

On one hand, we can both agree that Atiku and Tinubu are the ‘same ten and ten pence’—the two most influential henchmen of Nigeria’s ageless corrupt oligarchy. In short, to elect any of the two is an errant sin. Please do not have a hand in such a shameless fall from grace. If still in doubt, besides their poor health conditions, please consider that neither of them can in good conscience campaign against corruption. Combine that with the fact that no Nigerian leader, whether military or civilian, has ever assumed the governance of the country with the type of corrupt background well known of Atiku and Tinubu. Think back, Mr. President!!

On the other hand, we have Peter Obi of the Labour Party. Like you, he is well known for frugal management of resources and has no record of corruption. Like you, he does not buy votes. Like you, he is determined to kill corruption, as you would wish. Like you in 2015, instead of waiting till the ELECTION DAY to deploy looted funds to rig elections, Peter Obi has demonstrated the physical ability to traverse the entire country to ask for votes. Luckily for you and Nigeria, unlike you, he is younger and in a better state of health to overcome the unfortunate frailties that hindered your performance. Moreover, he has a clear vision and the character to unleash Nigeria’s abundant potential to greatness.

Of course, I can relate to the burden associated with promoting a candidate of the opposition party. But as I had stated while equally endorsing Peter Obi, we must not hide behind the bogus toga of political parties, tribes, and religions to allow a crooked clique to dictate our future. I emulated President Olusegun Obasanjo and other progressives, who chose country over party to endorse you in 2015. I took a page from Colin Powell, an eminent American patriot and lifelong member of the Republican Party, who crossed party lines to endorse Barrack Obama of the Democratic Party in 2008. Powell saw Obama as a transformational figure who could inspire a new generation of Americans.

President Muhammadu “Okechukwu” Buhari, your moment in time is now. A new generation of Nigerians beckons you to stand on the right side of history. The posterity beckons you to recognize that that the 2023 election is a struggle between the nation’s corrupt oligarchy versus progressive Nigerians anchored by Mr. Peter Obi. The posterity beckons you to also demonstrate true patriotism by choosing country over religious, ethnic, and party affiliations. The posterity beckons you to then go forth and endorse Obi, an untainted character, a quintessential patriot, a visionary, and a generational figure, who has come to represent the democratic revolution the Nigerian masses, as well as your very self, have long sought.

Sincerely,

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia

*Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas, United States of America

Why Nigeria’s Rich and Famous Should Support Peter Obi

By SKC Ogbonnia --Former APC Presidential Aspirant

When I was aspiring to become president, a veteran journalist asked me why I decided to cast aside my good life in America and muddle with the murky waters of Nigerian politics. The gentleman appeared perplexed when I answered that the sacrifice was “for me.” I would further explain that a core part of my vision in life is to promote public welfare that can guarantee my individual welfare. I reasoned that I am as good as my immediate environment. I reminded him that like many, including the big men, I am most at home in my hometown; in this case, Ugbo, a serene hilltop habitat in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Like many Nigerian communities, my hometown sparkles with magnificent mansions and celestial places of worship but lacks standard public amenities.

Yes, I can equally afford quality medical care and quality education for my family members overseas, but it smacks stark ignorance to assume that such privilage would guarantee me peace of mind. That is, what happens if I or any close relation encounters serious medical emergency at any given hour of the day or night while in that small town that has no standard health facilities?

The answer to that question prompted my earlier piece: ‘Every Nigerian Blood Is On The Line.’ I was able to enumerate the fate of many prominent politicians who had lost their loved ones or encountered other serious health scares because of the unfortunate condition in their local environment. The list is long, including David Mark, Ike Ekweremadu, Nemadi Sambo, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dame Patience Jonathan, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lamidi Adedibu, Muhammadu Buhari, and Goodluck Jonathan, to name a few.

The exemplar with Jonathan, then a sitting president, best makes my case: His younger brother, Meni Jonathan, suddenly became ill on one fateful day at their hometown of Otuoke and needed urgent medical attention. But any notion of luck ought to have limitations. Hear Mr. Goodluck himself as he narrated the predicament in his own words: Meni “drove himself down to Yenagoa to board the chopper to Abuja. He got to Abuja that Saturday and was admitted in hospital. The following Monday, his breathing changed. I said, let us make arrangement to get him out—to let him get treatment outside. So, an arrangement was being made. Unfortunately, the following day he had cardiac arrest and inflamed heart at the State House Clinic.” Sadly, despite the expedient excellencies, a president’s brother, like an ordinary Nigerian, gave up the ghost in November 2012 at the capital city of Abuja.

The gist of this plea mirrors a famous quotation by an American president, John F. Kennedy: “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

Aliko Dangote needs no introduction. Touted as the richest black man, he is also widely admired for a proclivity to showcase Nigeria at any given chance. It was not surprising therefore that instead of hosting a world class wedding for his beloved daughter in some of the choicest destinations in a foreign land, he brought it home along with a bevy of guests drawn from the who-is-who in both the political and the corporate worlds. It also presented an opportunity for the Nigerian rich and famous to ostend their wealth along with expensive goodies, including the latest samples of private jets and lush cars. Yet, this grandiose show of affluence is common in country that has been established as the poverty capital of the world.

Bill Gate, the famous American billionaire, who deploys billions of his personal wealth to fight poverty in Africa, also graced the wedding of Mr. Dangote’s daughter. Though Mr. Gate appeared to appreciate the African hospitality, which is second to none, he could not reconcile the degree of ostentatious wealth with the degree of poverty in the land. He showed his disgust by leaving the big men with following words: “Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive. If you invest in their health, education, and opportunities- the human capital we are talking about today, then they will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity.”

Of course, Mr. Gate told the gospel truth. But, as the eminent political historian, Bala Yusuf Usman, once noted, many highly placed Nigerians are some of the most ignorant, because they like to forget that politics should be about the common good of the society. Instead, many Nigerian rich and famous people typically collude to loot the funds budgeted for public projects, thereby denying basic opportunities to the ordinary people. But the realities are setting in.

The long years of elite impunity have led to mass poverty and, consequently, a level of insecurity never imagined in the land. The naked truth is that the masses are angry and cannot take it anymore. Today, no Nigerian—whether rich or poor—is safe anymore. These days, the rich and famous can no longer enjoy their wealth in the Nigerian space, as they would please. Even convoys of contingent of army and the police, which usually trail the big men, no longer stoke fear, let alone deterrence.

Further, if things remain any close to the current situation, the children of the rich and famous—who are being groomed overseas—may never come back home to inherit their riches after all. If the mass exploitation continues, as Bill Gate had warned the big men, their beloved businesses will not sustain.

The most proverbial yet is another quote from the same President Kennedy. The American appeared to have a country like Nigeria in mind when he stated that “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” The point is that, barring a radical change from the status quo, mass revolution is imminent in Nigeria. And, as recent events have shown, any “violent revolution” will not be a conflict between the tribes or between the Christians and Muslims, as some politicians would wish, the target are the ruling elite and their influential sympathizers.

The only solution is true change. The Nigerian presidential election of 2023 is a make-or-mar for that elusive change. Of the candidates seeking the presidency, only three have legitimate chances of victory, namely, Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC). So, is it Atiku that represents the change? How, and how can? Is it then Tinubu, the National Leader of the ruling APC, who roundly endorses those actions of the current government, as well as its functionaries that have combined to ruin Nigeria?

With every sense of modesty, unless one is unpatriotic and blinded by a timid clad of ethnic, religious or party sentiments, the choice in 2023 is a no brainer: Mr. Peter Obi stands out as the candidate most likely to bring us any semblance of change at this time in history. Moreover, the former Anambra governor is the choice of the Nigerian restless youths and, of course, the sole answer with the potential to avert an adverse revolution.

The youths have made a good choice. Unlike the presidential candidates of PDP and APC, Peter Obi is not only physically and mentally sound, but he also has the right set of visions, character, competence, and the capacity to rescue Nigeria and reposition her to path of honor. In short, no sane Nigerian would wish another absentee president like Umar Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari, which the candidacies of the ageless Atiku and the ailing Tinubu clearly represent.

These stark realities compelled me to dump the candidate of my party to endorse the candidate of the masses in Peter Obi. It is incumbent upon the Nigeria’s elite, as well as the Nigerians in the Diaspora, to join the Obidient movement. This movement is the nonviolent alternative. It is the long-awaited democratic revolution that can save both the many Nigerians who are poor and the few who are rich.

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, an ex-APC presidential aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas

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Wike and Biafra: The Northern Nigerians Are No Fools
By SKC Ogbonnia
December 3, 2020

"I will lead a war against them (Nigeria) like Ojukwu. Am not joking, I know am on air, and I am warning them now. Any attempt to rob us the way they rob our brother (GEJ), the battle will start from Rivers State. We will remain opposition state like Lagos. In fact, we from the South-South and South-East will remain in PDP. We leave the South-West and North to run APC. That is how they tactically shared the Country. And we will not allow them use our resources to develop their States...I want all South-South and South-East to remember this, that we’ve two Judas.”

The incendiary proclamation above came from no other Nigerian than Nyesom Wike, the current governor of Rivers State. The period was shortly after the 2015 presidential elections.

The objective fact is that Ezenwo Nyesom Wike was a ringleader among the political kingpins who exploited the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 to spew the current Biafran crisis into existence. Even Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) acknowledged at the time that Jonathan’s electoral misfortune fueled the current clamour for secession.

Upon becoming the governor, Wike became a whited sepulcher. He would hobnob with the Biafran vision in the dark, only to present a holier-than-thou image of one Nigeria in the open. Believing that the people are gullible, he orchestrated series of gestures to assuage Northern Nigeria.

The appetizer was to evoke the emotions of the Biafran war by renaming the Liberation Stadium Port-Harcourt after Yakubu Gowon. According to the governor, the gesture was for Gowon’s role in the creation of Rivers state over half a century ago, a wartime scheme then designed to decimate Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the very man Wike swore to emulate in his “war against them (Nigeria).”

Serving as the buffet was the deployment of a pipeline of political appeasement from Port-Harcourt to Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate, chanting one Nigeria, with oil largesse to boot. This is how Wike became the turbo engine of the presidential ambition of Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who, luckily, is a crafty character, sufficiently shrewd to detect a phoney from afar. And the stage has been set.

Hear him (Mr. Wike) at the palace of Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III: “We cannot run away from this country. The unity of this country is very, very paramount. The unity of this country is non-negotiable…I am from the Niger Delta, Rivers State to be specific, so I cannot see us in a divided country. No way. We stand for the unity of this country.”

What followed was a string of visits to Rivers State by the Sultan, performing rounds of ceremonies for laying foundation and commissioning of state projects. Worried that the chicanery was becoming clear, and to equally pacify the South-west that he had roundly castigated in 2015, Wike saw a moderating pawn in the influential Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. The camouflage was the hasty hosting of the General Assembly of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria at Port-Harcourt. This is the occasion Wike declared that “The Sultan and Ooni are my fathers”, ostensibly to curry favor with the North and West, as the kings from his native East moped and gaped in utter amazement.

The oddity is apparent, but no one can fault royal fathers who honor underhand invitations perfectly packaged as entreaties for peace and unity of the country. Sultan Abubakar III was even kind to seize one of the occasions to enjoin the Muslim community in Rivers State to pledge their full support to the labile governor, his pre-election provocations notwithstanding.

But the apple, they say, does not fall far from its tree. It did not take long before Wike relapsed into his militant ways, including all manners of separatist innuendoes. At one point he declared other religions, besides Christianity, as non grata in his state. The governor would go on to demolish a Muslim mosque, which eventually fetched him a resounding rebuke from the Sultan. Something had to give.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike is a bombastic bozo, quite alright, but the man can still remember the parable of the tortoise and hot water. He was able to recognize that his overbearing transgressions, most of which were targeted against Northern Nigeria, might have dug him deeper. The governor needed a broader escape route.

Enter the # EndSars protest, a nationwide movement against police brutality in Nigeria. Though the protest was timely, it unleashed serious economic havoc in the country, with massive looting and destruction of both private and public properties. And many innocent lives were lost. A coterie of highly placed politicians, who were fingered for turning the peaceful protest into a bloodbath, also needed an escape route. They quickly zeroed in on the Igbo, the whipping boy of Nigerian politics, exploiting the IPOB and the teetering bluster of its cavalier leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Governor Wike finally found the scapegoat and wasted no time to attempt an escape. He believed, and understandably so, that that any nuanced opposition to Biafran activism or even mere anti-Igbo antics would firm up forgiveness from the North. There and then Wike mounted a montage of propaganda, peeling himself from his Igbo roots of “South-South and South-East” that he had employed to win elections. He followed by peddling the EndSars protest in Rivers State as a potential beginning of another round of Biafran war. The result was a chilling campaign of extrajudicial killings in Obigbo, a small native Igbo settlement in River State, with the governor claiming to be rooting out the IPOB, the very group he helped to nurture.

But Wike will soon find out the hard way: There is no way for the wazzock. The Northern Nigerians are no fools. And neither the South-west! The day of reckoning is around the corner, come 2023! As the governor would say in time of his need, “I want all South-South and South-East to remember this, that we’ve two Judas.” And the more dangerous judas, for sure, is Ezenwo Nyesom Wike himself. Mgbọ!

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Awgu LGA, Enugu State, Nigeria
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia

2023: South-East Presidency Or Igbo Presidency?
By SKC Ogbonnia
July 18, 2020.

Since zoning of political offices has become the order of the day in Nigeria, an equitable consensus would follow that Southern Nigeria—the Igbo in particular—will produce the next president of the country, come 2023. But such zoning convention has begun to beg the question: Would the candidacy be open to the entire Igbo nation or would such opportunity be limited to the South-East zone of Nigeria?

The answer is a no brainer: The ticket ought to be open to the entire Igbo nation of the Southern extraction. Here is why.

The proponents of rotational presidency argue that the concept would ensure a sense of belonging among Nigeria’s disparate ethnic groups. Of the three Nigerian major tribes, namely, the Igbo, Hausa-Fulani, and the Yoruba; only the Igbo are yet to lead the country under a democratic setting.

The Igbo nation—that is, people sharing similar heritage, including culture, names, language, and religion—is beyond the South-East zone. But many political pundits understandably like to paint a marginal picture, and the gullible society, the Igbo not excluded, never hesitates to buy the gambit. This distortion has perpetuated because of the fleeting nature of memory in the Nigerian state, where true history has been tabooed.

Besides Igbo indigenous communities in other states; the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the umbrella Igbo socio-cultural group, is a seven-state structure, denoting areas with sizeable Igbo population, namely: Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states. The key offices are also distributed and rotated among the member states.

For example, while the current President General of Ohaneze, Barrister John Nwodo, is from Enugu State of South-East zone, the General Secretary (Barrister Uche Okwukwu) and Vice- President General (Dr. Sylvanus O. Ebigwei) hail from the South-South states of Rivers and Delta, respectively. Needless to mention that Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, an indigene of Delta State, was the Ohaneze President-General between 2009 and 2013.

A defining muddle is that, of the seven Ohaneze states, only Delta and Rivers are in the South-South zone. The implication is that the Igbo indigenous communities have found themselves in the minority among the ethnic nationalities that make up the South-South zone. Therefore, if the presidency is to be zoned based on the existing six zone-structure of Nigeria, a South-South Igbo of this generation cannot realistically aspire to lead the country, his or her credentials notwithstanding.

The foregoing hypothesis was tested in 2007 when the South-South zone lobbied for the presidency. The South-South Igbo, remember, were told in unmistakable terms to explore such ambition whenever it is the turn of their kith and kin in the South-East.

It is on such backdrop that Pa Edwin Clark, the Leader of the South-South zone, made the infamous (or rather the rational) statement that Dr. Peter Odili, a former governor of Rivers state, had no moral right to encroach on the turn of the zone. Even though Mr. Odili was arguably the most compelling presidential aspirant of in the 2007 electoral season, he was blackballed mainly because of his Igbo heritage.

The South-South Igbo must not be allowed to suffer a double political whammy. Having been sidelined by their South-South neighbors in 2007, based on ethnic orientation, it behooves the South-East Igbo to accommodate their kith and kin in the race for the 2023 presidency.

Make no mistake about this: The South-East is the only zone in Southern Nigeria that is yet to produce a democratically elected president. Therefore, embarking on the presidential project solely through prism of the South-East can be superficially plain. But the Igbo must be careful not to tempt a pyrrhic victory.

Politics is a game of number. We can take a cue from the political genius of our Hausa-Fulani counterparts. Despite their vastly disparate ethnic origins, the Fulani and the Hausa groups in the three Northern zones have molded into a seemingly homogeneous political block. It is not surprising, therefore, that they show a united front in the different political parties whenever it is the turn of the North to produce the president.

Though the North-West zone has dominated over the years, the people go the extra mile to ensure that the inherent zoning arrangement does not foreclose the aspirations of the Hausa or Fulani-speaking people from the North-East. That is how recent doyens of the North-East politics, such as Adamu Ciroma, Bamanga Tukur, Atiku Abubakar, and Nuhu Ribadu, were able to mount respectable presidential bids.

Broadening the Igbo political map is a win-win. It will offer Nigerians a larger pool of aspirants to choose from. Besides a galaxy of presidential aspirants from the South-East, it would also address the aspirations of the South-South Igbo, particularly those in their prime, for example, Patrick Utomi, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Ifeanyi Okowa, Tony Elumelu, Peter Odili, Mike Okiro, Chibuike Amaechi, and Nyesom Wike, to name a few.

Unity is power. A united Igbo front has a better chance of winning the zoning debate, to begin with. Further, a Nigerian presidential project anchored through the entire Igbo nation has the potential to unite the people towards common purpose. It can halt the defeatist trajectory of postwar politics and de-Igbonization policy of successive national governments, which have combined to fracture the Igbo unity to the point where some never hesitate to deny their Igbo heritage either for post-war survival or in exchange of political porridge. It can equally instill commonsense to those who use mere political affiliations or boundaries to assume superior Igbo heritage over the others.

Igbo bu Igbo! The hint is that the South-East and South-South Igbo share a common destiny in the Nigerian experience. And they ought to share good fortunes, as they did past misfortunes. For instance, the South-East Igbo bore (or have continued to bear) the brunt of the first Nigeria coup, led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, a South-South Igbo. Similarly, the South-South Igbo were not spared by the actions of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a South-East Igbo, who led the Biafran war. The bond between the two Igbo groups is not lost in the fact that they have sustained similar voting patterns in national elections, despite postwar feuds, orchestrated by successive national governments.

A Nigerian president of Igbo extraction will not only heal the wounds of the past, it is also a bold step in harnessing the country’s abundant potential towards the greater good. It is an opportunity for equity and justice. It is an opportunity to assuage the long-standing distrust against Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria. It is a profound opportunity for the Igbo to reverse the downward spiral of distrust created among themselves by artificial post-civil war boundaries.

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, a former presidential aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State.
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia
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The African Knee On The Neck Of African Americans
By SKC Ogbonnia

The gruesome murder of George Floyd, an African American, while handcuffed and pinned to the ground by the knee of Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, has provoked deeper implications for the systemic racial injustice in the United States of America.

One of the powerful voices resonating with the racial crisis is the Reverend Al Sharpton. A prominent African American civil rights activist and former presidential candidate, Sharpton used the occasion of Floyd’s funeral to declare that the blacks have not prospered to their potential, because the whites have knelt on the necks of the African Americans for far too long. The admonition is beyond rebuke, no doubt, but there exists another breakneck knee that must not be ignored: The bulky knee of Africa.

Africa’s image has a lasting effect on African Americans. A symbolic nexus came during the current racial crisis when the US Congressional Democrats knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds at the Capitol in Washington DC clad in African Kente stoles, as a solidarity for George Floyd. According to Rep. Karen Bass, Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, “The significance of the Kente cloth is our African heritage." Yet, beyond the banal image of slavery and beneath the Kente veil is the heritage that a generality of America sees—the very image President Donald Trump bluntly paints as “shithole.”

Trump’s incendiary race-baiting rhetorics have worsened the matter, for sure, but the shithole image had deeply permeated the U.S. systems far before him. The Americans have understandably seen Africans as people who are perpetually thirsty while in midst of water. They see a naturally endowed continent that has remained home to the world’s poorest. They see African leaders who loot their country dry only to stack the money in secret foreign vaults while their citizens at home gnash in penury and despair. These Americans see the poverty of character. They see the poverty of the mind. They assume a lack of mental fortitude. They assume an inferior race. They see little or no regard for human life. They see the African American heritage. They see George Floyd!

The seemingly lack of value for human life by African leaders was evident in the protests that trailed the brutal murder of Floyd. Despite the fact the protests were a global phenomenon, most African heads of government carried on business as usual. But the deafening indifference was not unexpected. The African leaders have a mirror. They recognize that the life of George Floyd is only a pint in the ocean when compared to the lives claimed daily in African cities through police brutality or state terror.

Though the African masses were well involved in the worldwide protests through the media, only few skeletal demonstrations were recorded on the ground. Any serious ground protests would have been crushed by various African dictatorial regimes which, like the American police, have not shown that “black lives matter.”

Yet, the most excruciating part of the African knee remains poverty. This poverty is transposed and exploited to discriminate against the African Americans in the United States—a capitalistic society where every social, economic, and political status is largely influenced by individual or group wealth. Even the U.S. Immigration and Foreign policies overly favour wealthier nations, just as the degree of racism is higher against immigrants from poorer nations. This economic disparity, more than any factor, accounts for why Africa continues to bear the brunt of U.S. immigration policy while the African Americans suffer the worst cases of racial injustice in the United States.

The forgoing view rhymes with a recent UN General Assembly report, which “emphasised that poverty is closely associated with racism and contributes to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices.”

For example, the African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to face racial injustice than their Asian counterparts. The Asian Americans, though a minority group, are commonly extolled as the “model minority”, because of their economic progress both in their native countries and in the United States.

The case of Nigerian Americans is an instructive spectacle. Though the people are the most educated ethnic group in the United States, they have not been accorded the desired social class, plausibly because of their “shithole” image. This nagging African image explains why some native blacks continue to shun the term African Americans. But Africans and blacks worldwide are intertwined for life like Siamese twins.

The solution is a unity of purpose among people of African descent worldwide to demolish the longstanding third class status commonly accorded to the black race. The missing ingredient is socio-economic empowerment. But there are abundant resources, as well as the enabling environment, to accomplish the objective. Africa, on the one hand, has vaulted as the new global economic frontier. The blacks in America and Europe, on the other hand, wield ample political power to hold African leaders accountable through lobbying, especially considering that the only voices African dictators tend to hear are the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.

The people of African descent must also demonstrate that black lives truly matter in the comity of nations. Besides taming Donald Trump, now is the time to root out the abject racism at the United Nations. The African Union should, for a start, issue an ultimatum to the world governing body to end the mind-boggling exclusion of Africa in the permanent membership of the UN Security Council—an arm of the global watchdog where critical issues of life and death take center stage.

The barbaric murder of George Floyd has triggered the most consequential mass protests in the annals of history, quite alright, but the black race must not fail to capitalize. Though the sweeping reforms to mitigate racial injustice in the United States and Europe are encouraging, any attempt at a lasting solution without major socio-economic revolution within the African race is a castle in the air.

SKC Ogbonnia, a former Nigerian Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State
Twitter: @SKCOgbonnia

Ndigbo: Before Restructure, Beyond Biafra
By SKC Ogbonnia

In the piece, “Coronavirus: The Nigerian Dream Cure”, I wrote that the COVID-19, which “compelled people to stay within their nations and localities, illuminates the genius of the ageless adage: charity begins at home.” The lessons from the virus also strike a chord with the famous quotation: the “fierce urgency of now”, where Martin Luther King demanded action in the face of a looming catastrophe.

Nowhere are these maxims more expedient than Igboland. Despite the dearth of development in Eastern Nigeria, which has continued to pose existential threats, the Eastern leaders have made no serious attempt to harness current resources for the greater good. Instead, the Igbo politics has been overly consumed with mundane excuses, heightened with utopian ideas that focus solely on the future, most of which are envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiments of the gullible masses, forgetting that the people must first survive before they can prevail.

An alarming reminder is the deplorable state of healthcare delivery in Igboland. For instance, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no hospital with a laboratory capable of testing for such deadly disease in the entire Eastern Nigeria. The plague also exposed the fact that the East, more than any other region, would have been in grave danger, if the COVI9-19 national lock-down had prolonged.

The common excuse for the lack of development in Igboland in the recent times is the structure of the country. Interestingly, the loudest echo chambers for the current campaign from the East are some of the very politicians who held sway during the 16-year rule under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) but did practically nothing about restructuring. I mean, the very same cabal who are still clad in the same corrupt toga used in colluding with contractors to loot development facilities in the region, especially during the economic boom under Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, “an Igbo adopted son.”

Ironically, some of such looted projects, for example, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, 2nd River Niger Bridge, Zik Mausoleum, and the major Eastern highways and seaports are currently undergoing real work under President Muhammadu Buhari, the perceived grinch. The malfeasance under the PDP becomes more manifest when considered that the East is witnessing measurable infrastructural development under the current regime, despite meagre resources—and, of course, amid Buhari’s misguided vendetta against the region for not voting for him.

Highlighting these missed opportunities must not be misconstrued as an opposition to restructuring. Far from that! Nigeria, as currently structured, is a time-bomb. True federalism has the potential to reposition the country and unleash her abundant resources to greatness, but the process to the change must not hinder progress. It is also true that the ageless marginalization of the Igbo by federal authorities combined to stifle development opportunities in the East. But any innocent analysis equally begs the questions:

To what extent can we blame others for the lack of unity of purpose in Igboland? To what extent can we blame others for the failure to articulate game-changing policies to confront the tap root of the problem, by provoking the Igbo people to invest in their native land that is not even up to 30% developed? Worse still, who (or what structure) is to blame for running aground strategic ventures once jointly owned by the Igbo states, for example, the Presidential Hotel Enugu, Nigercem, Golden Guinea Brewery, Premier Brewery, Cooperative Bank, African Continental Bank, Orient Bank, Progressive Bank, and the Daily Star, to name just a few?

The simple answer is that mere change is not a sole panacea to progress. After all, it was not long ago that different groups within Nigeria, including those in Igbo land, were in wild jubilation for being granted their own states or local government areas. Despite the fact that all federal statutory allocations and constituency projects due to the states and local governments, as well as their internally generated revenues, have been under the control of the native politicians themselves, there are no tangible projects to show for the trillions of naira.

Leadership is action, not excuses. The Igbo politicians should, therefore, not wait till after the restructure of Nigeria before embarking on an economic dry-run in the remote semblance of the preferred structure—at least to stem the existential threat of mass unemployment and the consequential rising tide of crimes in the region. Governors Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo and Sam Onunaka Mbakwe did not hide behind quotidian excuses of the current structure before performing wonders within just 4 years in the Second Republic. Moreover, the Nnewi model has since rubbished the common excuse that the Igbo must have a functional seaport before it can thrive. This goes without saying that many thriving Igbo destinations, for example, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano do not have seaports.

The apparent leadership problem within Igboland is neither lack of people with original visions nor hard work. In fact, there is an abundance of private sector-driven templates, featuring endearing ideas, the latest being the South East Regional Economic Development Company (SEREDEC), led by Barth Nnaji; and the South East Stabilization Fund, championed by the Ohaneze Ndigbo. Sadly, such visions are always derailed by an insecure Igbo political cabal.

That is where and why the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) made the title of this thesis. For sure, the IPOB deserves profound praise for finally recognizing that the real enemies are within. But the group should equally recognize that the real battle belongs at the polling booths. Therefore, instead of banal threats of election boycotts, which only serve to disfranchise the ordinary people, the IPOB should key into a growing democratic revolution to uproot the status quo across Nigeria—to ensure, at base, that good people are elected to positions of power. These political positions, of course, include the 2023 presidency which, by equitable consensus, is the turn of the South-East zone.

Further, development has never been the sole province of elected officials. Thus, instead of fraternizing with the fanatical property acquisitions outside the Biafra land by the Igbo, paraded under the façade of quasi-republican capitalism, the IPOB might as well capitalize on its overflowing influence to mitigate the suffering of its masses, by leading an investment revolution at home—and NOW.

The gist is woven in an Igbo adage which holds that a child who would grow to greatness typically shows some sense of acumen at an early stage. Therefore, before restructure, and beyond Biafra; even as it is vitally important to admit that the Nigerian leadership crisis is not devoid of ethnic schisms, where each group and generation potently share blame, a paradigm shift in perception and approach has become very imperative. The Igbo must recognize the crying need to persevere and rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses can even survive before the promised land.

*SKC Ogbonnia, A Former Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State, Nigeria
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia
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COVID-19: Time For Buhari To Replace His Mercedes With Innoson
By SKC Ogbonnia


The consensus around the world is that the lessons from the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) would provoke commonsense among Nigerian leaders to harness the full potential of their local economy, but this dream may never come close, if President Muhammadu Buhari does not lead by example.

A defining theme of my foray into the 2019 presidential race is that Nigeria’s problem is not as complex as commonly imagined. For the problem is neither the lack of natural resources nor human resources. It certainly has nothing to do with good visions or the enabling policies. The Nigerian endemic problem is squarely the failure to influence the efficient implementation of the policies towards the greater good.

It is not surprising, therefore, that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Buhari demonstrated visionary leadership by declaring that Nigeria will henceforth promote and patronize made-in-Nigeria products over foreign goods. Buhari’s vision is laudable and mirrors the case of Asian countries, particularly China and India, which for several decades banned a good number of foreign products to enable their local industries to thrive. Today, both Asian nations have become economic envy of the world.

Interestingly, not long after the made-in-Nigeria policy went public, instead of patronizing Innoson Motors, the sole indigenous local auto manufacturing outfit, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) hurriedly approved a whopping sum of N683, 613 million for purchase of 19 Made-In-Japan Toyota vehicles for the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).

According to the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, the justification for the abrupt breach of the policy is that the need for the foreign vehicles predated the COVID-19 pandemic. As if her logic lacks in folly, the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, followed that the approval became necessary, because “it’s the first time in four years that NPA was buying any vehicle.”

The simple takeaway from both Ahmed and Amaechi is that Nigerian leaders embrace lunacy as legacy. This goes without saying that the rationale behind the choice of the foreign vehicles over local brands has nothing to do with the common good. Instead, it has everything to do with the manic competition for financial profligacy among the different arms of the Nigerian government.

The decision by the Executive arm of government is merely to outdo the wastefulness synonymous with the Nigerian Legislature. The NPA squander dittoed the Senate, which not long ago rejected Innoson only to launder over N5 billion for Toyota brands. The House of Representatives would also double down to sink another N5 billion into Toyota Camry saloon cars in place of moderately priced Innoson jeeps that are specially designed and tested for the Nigerian roads.

This pattern of lavishness by public officials, particularly under the prevailing COVID-19 crisis, is plain cold-blooded. It is impunity going too far.

But President Muhammadu Buhari must own full blame. Though his call to patronize local products is commendable, he is neither able to influence his appointees to implement the policy nor able to lead by example himself. Rather than demonstrate patriotism, by proudly using the Made-in-Nigeria goods that he preaches, Buhari appears to be emulating the ostentatious style of the regime before him.

Mister Buhari should quickly revert to the tenets of his 2016 “Change Begins With Me” slogan. The core principle demands that he declares Innoson as the official brand for all government agencies, beginning with the Presidency. If a General Buhari, as a military head of state, could endear himself to the Nigerian people over 30 years ago, by embracing jagged foreign Peugeot—then assembled in Nigeria—as a badge of honor, it is only patriotic for him to replicate such gesture for wholly made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

It is worth mentioning, however, that the Innoson Motors is on record to have stated that the company has seen more patronage from the Buhari government than the one before it. That is commendable, at base. But the mediocrity of the previous regime can never be substituted as a gold standard for success.

President Buhari is a man widely known as ascetic and who assumed power on the mantra of revolutionary change. He should, therefore, embolden his change vision, as well as the authenticity of his policy on local goods, so that others can follow. The message, if it is not already explicit, is that the Nigerian president should, without further delay, replace his official car, a German-made Mercedes Benz, with a Nigerian-made Innoson brand.

The COVID-19 pandemic has combined to plunge Nigeria into an economic miasma and true change has become inevitable. The leaders can no longer afford to carry on business as usual. In short, besides leading by example, it has become imperative for President Buhari to remind public officials that the country risks a serious mass revolt, if they continue to swim in ocean of affluence while submerging the masses deeper and deeper into abject poverty and despair.

SKC Ogbonnia, a 2019 APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State.
Twitter: @SKCOgbonnia

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COVID-19: Soludo’s Voodoo Ideas
By SKC Ogbonnia
May 1, 2020

Any objective analysis of a long-winded essay, “COVID-19: Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?”, by Chukwuma Soludo, would wonder if the renowned economist is suddenly cast with a voodoo spell.

Mr. Soludo needs no introduction. A distinguished professor of economics, with advanced degrees—both academic and honoris causa—from the prestigious University of Nigeria, he was a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and currently a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council. It is not surprising, therefore, that his voice roars in some quarters as a bullet-proof solution to the country’s myriad of problems.

However, in a seemingly attempt to employ novel theories to rubbish plausible anti-COVID-19 measures that have produced good results in many developed and developing economies, including Nigeria, Soludo succeeded in doing nothing but use delusive ideas to create more problems than solutions.

In short, the essay depicted the former CBN Governor as a poor imitation of Donald Trump, a nescient narcist who never hesitates to spew nonsense just to be in the news. Though Soludo raised some salient points, quite alright, he was going off on tangents, rambling, clearly ducking the truth about COVID-19 and, in the process, peddled fallacies as facts.

The most disingenuous is that, while discrediting lockdowns by African nations, Soludo claimed that, “China isolated Wuhan, and kept Shanghai, Beijing, and other major economic engines open, and today, China supplies the world with medical equipment, face masks, etc., and is raking-in hundreds of billions of dollars).” That is sheer fallacy.

The fact is that major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, experienced lock downs until the virus plateaued. The following account from a practical observer, as reported in the Washington Post of March 16, 2020, is instructive: “Six weeks earlier, I had watched China shut itself down as the coronavirus epidemic first exploded in Wuhan, and then spilled across the country and beyond…I saw China’s whole economic machinery, from the curbside noodle shops to sprawling tech campuses, clank to a halt as the government pulled out every stop to contain the virus’s spread.”

The import is that, even as the lockdowns in Africa may not have been backed with adequate palliatives, the strategy is widely proven to be effective. The situation could have been worse in Nigeria, if President Buhari had not locked down Lagos and Abuja as at the time he did. After all, as Lagos and Abuja go, so goes the rest of the country.

In the same swoop, Soludo wrote that, “In the Western societies from where we copied the lockdown/border closure, their citizens are literally paid to stay at home… The U.S. Senate just passed a bill for $484 billion “More Small-Business Stimulus”, including a $320 billion “Paycheck Protection Program” to enable small businesses pay their staff salaries for two months.” The example with the United States is misleading and only serves to fuel anger among the Nigerian masses.

Anybody but Professor Chukwuma Soludo! A simple scan of the internet readily reveals the harsh realities of lockdowns and the extent of the so-called stimulus package in the United States. Reports abound about the over 30 million Americans who have lost their jobs the last 45 days and millions more who have no money to pay for food or shelter. The life in America had always been better before Coronavirus and remains better while battling the disease, but the current situation is a far cry from the picture the professor was painting.

This is not the time for inflammatory innuendoes. Unlike in America which has become the COVID-19 global epicenter, lockdowns in China succeeded because the people had a coherent message and the mental discipline to execute the agenda. Therefore, Soludo must not ignore science and security to confuse Nigerians by “copying and pasting” the COVID-19 visions of Donald Trump, whose every medical idea has cost more lives than it has saved lives.

Instead of lampooning lockdowns, without tested alternatives, the former CBN governor should deploy the energy towards increasing the palliatives needed to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus, efficient management of the palliatives, and the life after. Instead of careless conjectures, he should defer to medical opinions and adhere to directives from relevant authorities.

The most blatant is Soludo’s admonition that “African countries should urgently dismantle the border closures.” This was not unexpected, though. The idea stems from a voodoo economic theory that gained currency in the eighties under US President Ronald Reagan but ended up paralyzing the American manufacturing base and turned China into a global powerhouse. It is similar to the open border policy promoted by Nigeria at the time Soludo reigned as CBN Governor that pauperized the country’s productive capacity and, consequently, produced a multitude of overnight billionaires while subjecting millions to abject penury.

On no account should Nigeria relapse to open border economy, as being canvassed by Soludo. This goes without saying that a level of protectionism is vitally essential for true Nigerian independence. Imagine what could have been, if the country still depended on imported rice and chicken during the COVID-19 experience!

The piffle presumptions did not stop at lockdowns and border closures. The economist equally poked insult on the philanthropists, who donated money to the COVID-19 campaign, labeling them “photo charity.” The statement in and of itself is uncharitable, to say the least. The program’s flaws notwithstanding, he ought to have reasoned that, besides the politicians, these donors include innocent Nigerians and even the poor Samaritans. Their efforts, no matter how small, have touched lives from the villages to the larger society.

Finally, to answer Soludo’s central question: “Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?”. YES, Africa has already been able to afford the lockdowns in a significant way or even better. The continent clearly contained COVID-19 more than their counterparts, thanks to the African exceptionalism of good weather, nutrition, and timely interventions, such as the lockdowns, selfless healthcare workers, “photo charity”, family support systems, and a resilient populace. The economic forecast is gloomy, like elsewhere, but Africa will soon re-open, probably faster than many developed economies.

Best of all, the Coronavirus lockdown scheme is a historic equalizer and thus has a silver lining for Africa. Our leaders ought to have learned that the African economy will skyrocket by investing at home and patronizing local products and facilities. Nigerian leaders, for instance, might have learned to lead by example, matching words with action in all facets of the national economy, particularly in the Power, Aviation, Automobile, Steel, Healthcare, and Education sectors.

SKC Ogbonnia, 2019 APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia
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Abba Kyari: A Loyalty At The Nation’s Peril
By SKC Ogbonnia


The death of Abba Kyari, the former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has elicited a great deal of controversy, but the posterity demands that the history of our leaders bears the truth.

Without doubt, the history of Kyari will cite powerful voices that remember him as a very loyal servant. These voices were diverse. They came from different shades of the political spectrum. They came from different parts of the country.

The Minister of External Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Kyari’s friend for over 42 years, delivered a testimonial for the ages. An excerpt reads as follows: “Abba was loyal to a fault. He decided he was going to protect his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari at all costs and would take any number of bullets for him. And he did!”

The most compelling yet came from no other than Femi Fani-Kayode, a frontline critic of the current government, and a former Minister of Aviation, who had equally known Abba Kyari for over 40 years. Kayode put politics aside to tweet that the Mallam was a good and loyal man.

Not to be forgotten is the eulogy from a prominent member of the main opposition party and a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who mourned that “no chief of staff anywhere has shown as much loyalty and commitment as he showed to President Muhammadu Buhari.”

But none has meant more than a special tribute from President Buhari himself. The president, a man not known for many words, could not hide his emotions when he described the departed Chief of Staff as his “dearest friend”. Even his harshest critic would marvel at the point Buhari wrote that Abba Kyari “strove quietly and without any interest in publicity or personal gain to implement my agenda.”

The accolade from the venerable Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, is not only instructive, it also provokes another vital foreground to my thesis. He wrote: Abba Kyari “executed President Buhari’s vision with his own single-mindedness…He was driven by conviction and never shied from an intellectual argument because his intellect was vast.”

The problem, a huge problem, is that the Buhari’s vision, as well as conviction, have been an embarrassing failure. In short, if his presidency were to end today, he would have been remembered as the nation’s worst civilian leader ever. No close second! Where does one begin and where does one end? There is palpable anger in the East, North, South, and West. Even where Buhari recorded some measurable success, such achievements usually fail to engender hope, because of his style of leadership.

Besides Buhari, no one is more associated with this failure than Abba Kyari, the president’s most trusted and influential ally. Said differently, Mallam Kyari was so single-minded to Buhari’s visions and convictions—visions and convictions well proven to be stridently divisive, unjust, inhumane, and unpatriotic.

This view must not be misconstrued as suggesting that leaders should always waver in their visions or convictions. The point is that any worthwhile vision or conviction must not be antagonistic to the greater good. Moreover, political rigidity, which Mr. Kyari roundly endorsed, is another name for dogmatism, which typically leads to destructive power. Hillary Clinton phrased it more mildly: “easy consensus can lead, over time, to poor decisions.”

Therefore, even as Abba Kyari was a hardworking man, a good friend to his close associates, a good father to his children, a good husband to his wife, a loyal servant to the president, and a gentleman in the society; common sense dictates that he was overly naïve. His much-touted loyalty to President Buhari was not only a naked nescience, it was also a clear case of blind following. It was a loyalty at the nation’s peril.

This failure explains why the true history of the late Kyari ought to include a chapter devoted to the fact that more Nigerians rejoiced over his death than the few who mourned him. The history deserves to mention that the degree of glee that trailed his demise had not been witnessed since the death of Sani Abacha, the maximum dictator who ruled the country from 1993 to 1998.

Kyari’s case, a death from Coronavirus, was even more ironic. Despite the excruciating effect of nationwide lockdowns intended to mitigate the pandemic, many were celebrating his misfortune, with some openly praying, wishing that the COVID-19 could become a regular phenomenon, if only it could continue to claim the likes of Abba Kyari.

Some members of the inner caucus of the ruling party were not left behind. The Kano State Commissioner of Works, Mu’azu Magaji, could not hide his excitement when he wrote that the passing of Abba Kyari is a welcome breeze for the Nigerian people. The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, could not imagine anything more befitting than to pray that Allah could forgive Mr. Kyari’s sins.

The truth is that the name, Abba Kyari, by his actions or inactions, is widely seen as a taboo among the Nigerian masses. This notion accounts for why one of his most ardent adherents, the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, did not hesitate to disassociate himself from a story making the rounds that the governor was planning to immortalize the late presidential aide.

A conundrum, however, is that many politicians are falling on top of each other, begging to replace Abba, to become as blindly loyal to the president and even worse.

May the soul of Mallam Abba Kyari rest in perfect peace. I also pray that no Nigerian president is ever blinded with Mr. Kyari’s type of loyalty. May the Almighty grant President Muhammadu Buhari the wisdom to recognize the genius of critical opinions. I pray that he can truly change to become the best president some of us had hoped he could become.

SKC Ogbonnia, 2019 APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia
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Why APC Should Tame Tinubu Before Oshiomhole
By SKC Ogbonnia
March, 2020

It did not come as a surprise that Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole would survive the latest move to sack him as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His opponents have been hitting the tail instead of the head. The gist is that Oshiomhole’s tenure of crisis cannot be divorced from the overbearing ambition of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to rule Nigeria at all costs. Therefore, instead of chasing shadows, it has become imperative to muster the courage and go all out to tame the former Lagos State governor.

Make no mistake: Tinubu, the National Leader of APC, has every right to seek the presidency. More essentially, his role in the Nigerian democracy can never be belittled. This informs why I had to admonish President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in his first tenure for alienating the Asiwaju. I asserted then (and still believe) that, “if dynamic opposition is the life-wire of a democracy, it is very fitting then to name him (Tinubu) the saviour of Nigeria’s current democratic journey.” Regrettably, the manner Tinubu has been pursuing his presidential ambition is not only becoming an existential threat to APC as a party but also to the same democracy he helped to save.

The problem is rooted in Tinubu’s naked godfatherism. The canker began to grow when the Asiwaju was made to believe that he solely influenced the nomination of Buhari. Further, after his failed bid to grab the vice-presidential ticket, Tinubu was allowed to handpick his longtime ally for the position, so that peace could reign. Worst still, the former Lagos State governor would retain the titular title of National Leader, thereby creating an impression of two captains in one ship. As if that was not enough, he attempted to also dictate the leadership of the Legislature but failed. This failure, remember, led to the first major crisis in the party and the mass decampment that followed before the 2019 general elections.

The most mystifying, however, is that, despite the fact that his primary fiefdom, Lagos, is constantly ranked as one of the worst estates on earth, it has not deterred Tinubu from the morbid desperation to rule other Nigerian states by proxy. The more troubling is his do-or-die approach. For instance, the next major crisis after the National Assembly debacle was his plot to hijack the 2016 Ondo State governorship primary election against the rightful winner, the current governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. The outcome was a nasty fallout between the Asiwaju on one side and both the then National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun and President Buhari on the other side. In attempt to restore a sense of normalcy before 2019 elections, Buhari had to go out of his way to appease Tinubu by easing out Oyegun.

Enter Adams Oshiomhole. President Buhari misread him as a simplistic khaki-wearing independent-minded party man who could contain Tinubu. But Oshiomhole was understandably desperate for attention after leaving office as Edo State governor and did not want to end the Oyegun way. The new chairman quickly accepted to function as a mere lackey. Oshiomhole’s main function, therefore, has been to perfect Tinubu’s plot to install his cronies across the country towards a presidential bid.

Not surprisingly, the APC would go on to suffer the most crisis-ridden party primary exercise in the national history. Every APC structure, from the states to the federal, including the Legislature, and President Buhari and his cabinet, had a bitter taste of the crisis. Only Coronavirus could have been as toxic and widespread. The saving grace for the APC in the 2019 electoral cycle was that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party, fielded a deeply flawed presidential candidate in Atiku Abubakar.

Tinubu’s style of godfatherism is a threat to national unity and has worsened since Buhari won a second term. Recall how the Asiwaju shamelessly cornered all the important positions zoned to the South to himself or his cronies from Western Nigeria, as if somehow the APC in the South is a one-man show. Lest we forget, the APC came into being as an amalgamation of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by Buhari; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Tinubu; the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) led by Ogbonnaya Onu; a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Rochas Okorocha, and the new PDP led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje. Needless to mention the powerful roles of Southern Igbo, such as Pat Utomi, Chibuike Amaechi, Osita Okechukwu, Chris Ngige, Annie Okonkwo, Joe Igbokwe, among others.

Yet, today, there is no meaningful office holder within the APC as a party or its government from the entire Eastern Region besides statutory ministerial appointments, thanks to Tinubu’s southern strategy of divide and conquer. In short, at no time in post war Nigeria has a region suffered this type of political blackmail. The height of the hypocrisy is that Bola Ahmed Tinubu—in terms of shrewd godfatherism and shadiness—is even far worse than his targets in the East, Rochas Okorocha not excluded.

Now, consider that Tinubu now believes that he has successfully humbled the East with a montage of opportunistic politics. Combine that notion with the assumption that the North is now under his palm, especially given the fact that the Asiwaju dictated the content and the character of the current government—from the leadership of the ruling party to both the executive and the legislative arms of power. Visualize such political oddity with the reality that the former Lagos governor is now zeroing in on his potential 2023 opponents in the West, as can be gleaned from the current crisis blazing through Edo and already rearing its ugly head into Ondo. There and then emerges the danger inherent in Tinubu’s role within APC and beyond. Even Vladimir Putin of Russia Republic has not shown this type of pestilent appetite for power. O to ge!

This is a perfect time for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to step aside. He no longer has the credibility to grandstand as the face of the APC. His exit as a National Leader will solve two fundamental problems. First, it will effortlessly sweep off Oshiomhole’s tenure of un-ending crisis. Second, it will not only reposition the party leadership with men and women of impeccable character, but also in line with true democratic ideals, particularly a level playing ground for electoral offices, including the presidency.

SKC Ogbonnia, an APC member, writes from Ugbo, Enugu State, Nigeria
Twitter @ SKCOgbonnia
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Coronavirus: The Nigerian Dream Cure
By SKC Ogbonnia
March 25, 2020

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), which has compelled people to stay within their localities, illuminates the genius of the ageless adage: charity begins at home. It has exposed the malignant ignorance within Nigerian leaders who prefer foreign medical treatment while neglecting the amenities at home. The COVID-19 has profoundly exposed the nature and scope of the Nigerian healthcare crisis. Yet, every cloud has a silver lining!

The recent coronavirus controversy in Enugu is a perplexing preface. A 70-year old woman was suspected to be carrying the virus. But there is no laboratory capable of administering the COVID-19 test in the entire Eastern Region. Thus, it took several days before the test result could arrive from faraway Irrua in Edo State. Though the result returned negative, the woman had already died while isolated in a squalor at a grungy ESUT Teaching Hospital complex. The irony is that this incident took place in Enugu—of all places, the Igbo flagship metropolis that has no excuse to lag in development, having served as the capital of Eastern Region, capital of Biafra, capital of East Central State, capital of the old Anambra State; and currently the capital of Enugu State. This predicament only goes to ridicule the faculty of the globally renowned Igbo intelligentsia that parades Enugu as its sanctum.

The most mind-boggling yet is the situation in Northern Nigeria. Though the North is the perennial epicenter of the national healthcare crisis, it never dawned on the politicians to establish standard laboratories for testing a disease like Coronavirus in the entire region, besides an outfit at the nation’s capital, Abuja. To test for the virus. those in Sokoto will have to travel over 650 km while those in Maiduguri must commit 845 kilometers before reaching Abuja. One can only wonder the wisdom of the Northern leaders, widely celebrated for strategic vision in gaining power, but who continually fail to maximize such power towards the common good of their people.

In a 2015 essay, “Every Nigerian Blood Is On The Line”, I drew attention to the ignorance of Nigerian leaders, who tend to forget that good leadership is vitally important to both the led and the leader. I enumerated the embarrassing cases of highly placed politicians from the immediate past administration who lost their close relatives because they failed to provide good amenities in the local communities, such as President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan, Namadi Sambo, David Mark, and Ike Ekweremadu, among others.

Also remember the strong man of Ibadan politics, Lamidi Adedibu, who died on his way to procure traveling documents towards a foreign medical trip. Equally relative is the case of Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Alex Ekwueme. These two prominent men suffered stroke in the same Enugu at different times but had to allow a few weeks to stabilize before embarking on foreign treatment. Before they could reach their British destinations, their situations worsened. Neither Ojukwu nor Ekwueme made it back home alive. Needless to mention sitting Head of State Sani Abacha and President Umar Yar’Adua, who died at the Aso Villa, under questionable health conditions.

The crisis conundrum is that the current leaders still did not seem to get it. Nigeria’s top office holders, including President Buhari, embraced foreign medical treatment as a second nature. But that was then—definitively then!

The point, if it is not already apparent, is that coronavirus has emerged as a quintessential equalizer. It has provoked a national consciousness and common sense, by consequence. The pandemic has made it imperative that people, both rich and poor, must seek prevention or treatment in their immediate environment. The elites may be accorded the usual preferential treatment, quite alright, but any attempt to ignore the masses, as in the past, is a poisoned chalice.

The foregoing thesis becomes more compelling, when considered that the threat of the COVID-19 in Nigeria is real. Though there are only 44 confirmed cases as at the time of this essay, the low number simply signifies lack of adequate testing centers. A forewarning is that out of those 44 cases, 35 were in the Western Region, being the cluster where 4 out of the 5 testing laboratories in the country are located. It is also not a coincidence that both the East and the Far-North are yet to record any case. Their common denominator is plainly the absence of testing centers in those zones. Moreover, testing for the COVID-19, for now, remains an elitist agenda. But the truth remains that every Nigerian life is on the line.

A dream cure, therefore, is a revolutionary approach that can sufficiently address the Nigerian short and long-term healthcare needs. Besides any mitigation measures or cure for the COVID-19, Nigeria must, without any delay, equip and modernize eight existing university teaching hospitals to international standards. While six of such hospitals should be spread in the six political zones, the remaining two would be allocated to Abuja and Lagos. This revolutionary plan is well studied, and the goal is twofold: First, it will significantly improve the national healthcare delivery for the ordinary Nigerian people. Second, it will be able to treat the Nigerian leaders and stem the shameless pattern of medical tourism in foreign lands.

Equipping existing teaching hospitals to international standards—within one year—is not rocket science. The sources for the financial and the human resources are equally well studied. The budget for the hospitals is $8 billion. The most cost-efficient is direct funding through crude oil, its hazy market and politics notwithstanding. A plain source is to plug out $12 billion from the now suspended 2016-2018 External Borrowing of $22.7 billion proposed by President Buhari. While $8 billion goes for the hospitals, the remaining $4 billion will be dedicated to mitigating the coronavirus pandemic. Phase II will target the state capitals and so on…

The dream cure is neither politics nor business as usual. It should be executed by a Healthcare Revolutionary Council (HRC) that can include these notable patriots: Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Omoyele Sowore, Akinwumi Adesina, Adeleke Mamora, Femi Falana, Bartholomew Nnaji, Ngozi Iweala, Oby Ezekwesiri, Ogbonnaya Onu, Kanayo Ubesie, Donald Duke, Pat Utomi, Ben Murray-Bruce, Festus Keyamo, Muhammadu Sanusi II, Nasir el-Rufai, Obadiah Mailafia, Nuhu Ribadu, Aisha Buhari, Shehu Sani, Mathew Kukah, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Hameed Ali, Yakubu Dogara, Aisha Al-Hassan, Audu Ogbe, Iorwuese Hagher, Natasha Akpoti, Yakubu Mohammed, and Abubakar Sani Bello.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Enugu State, Nigeria
Twitter @ SKCOgbonnia
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