FACTS I have uncovered from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that Labour Party’s Peter Obi may become Nigeria’s president next year by default because Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, have violated the Electoral Act 2022, which may cause them to be disqualified if Obi sues them.
The Electoral Act 2022 requires political parties to notify INEC of their intent to conduct primary elections at least 21 days before the date of their convention. It also requires parties to submit their membership registers to it at least 30 days before their primary election. The APC didn’t meet the first requirement and the PDP failed the second requirement. The Labour Party met both.
Documents an INEC insider shared with me (which you can find on my blog at www.farooqkperogi.com) show that the APC didn’t notify INEC of its intent to conduct its primary election 21 days before its convention. Section 82 of the Electoral Acts says the penalty for this infraction is outright disqualification of the candidates of political parties.
Section 82 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022 says, “Every political party shall give the Commission at least 21 days’ notice of any convention, congress, conference, or meeting which is convened for the purpose of ‘merger’ and electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any of the positions specified under this Act.”
Subsection (5) then says, “Failure of a political party to notify the Commission as stated in subsection (1) shall render the convention, congress, conference, or meeting invalid.” An invalid convention can’t produce a valid candidate.
Now, let’s look at how the APC, the PDP, and the Labour Party fared in their observance of this requirement of the Electoral Act.
Records at INEC show that the APC notified INEC of its intent to hold its convention on May 23, 2022 (before INEC granted it an unfair extension, which other parties also benefited from) and held its convention on June 8. That’s just 17 days’ notice, which falls short of the 21 days’ notice the Electoral Act 2022 requires.
Based on its May 23 letter to INEC of its schedule of primaries, the APC’s June 8 primary election is invalid in the eye of the Electoral Act 2022, and Bola Tinubu may be disqualified if he’s sued.
Unlike the APC, however, the PDP did give INEC more than 21 days’ notice prior to the conduct of its presidential primaries. It notified INEC of its intention to conduct its primary election on May 4 and conducted its primary election on May 28. That’s about 25 days’ notice, which puts it in the clear on this provision.
The Labour Party, like the PDP, complied with the requirements of Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022. It notified INEC of its intent to conduct its primaries on March 9, 2022, and held its convention on May 30. That’s more than 80 days’ notice.
Then Section 77 (2) of the Electoral Act 2022 mandates political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 30 days before the conduct of their primary elections.
It says, “Every political party shall maintain a register of its members in both hard and soft copy.” Subsection 3 also says, “Each political party shall make such register available to the Commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses or convention.”
The penalty for failure to abide by this provision of the Electoral Act is exclusion from participation in elections of the candidates of the political parties that infract the provision. Section 84 (13) Electoral Act 2022 says, “Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for that election shall not be included in that election for the particular position in issue.”
Now, let’s see how the APC, the PDP, and the Labour Party fared in this provision of the Electoral Act.
The APC submitted its membership register to INEC on 25 April and conducted its primary election on June 8. That’s clearly more than 30 days. So, it’s in the clear here.
But the PDP fell afoul of Section (3) of the Electoral Act 2022. Although an INEC document titled “Table of Submission by 18 Political Parties” shows that the PDP submitted its membership register to INEC on April 29, which would make it exactly 30 days since it conducted its convention on May 28, the PDP’s series of correspondence with INEC that an insider shared with me indicates that the party submitted its register in four installments, with the earliest being May 3. May 3 to May 28 is less than 30 days.
The last correspondence the PDP had with INEC over its membership register is dated May 18. So, technically, the PDP didn’t turn in its complete membership register to INEC until May 18. The Electoral Act makes no provision for a bit-by-bit submission of membership register.
The Labour Party abided by this provision of the Electoral Act. It submitted its membership register to INEC on April 25, which is more than 30 days before its convention, which was held on May 30.
Unfortunately, INEC erred in not notifying the APC and the PDP that their primary elections—and their candidates for election— were invalid because they flouted the Electoral Act. INEC erred even further by going ahead to publish the names of people who emerged from invalid primaries even when the Electoral Act mandates it to not include the names of candidates who run afoul of the Electoral Act.
Section 29 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022 says, “Every political party shall, not later than 180 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed Forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party.”
Subsection 3 says, “The Commission shall, within seven days of receipt of the personal particulars of the candidates, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election.”
As I have shown, the candidates for both the APC and the PDP did not emerge “from valid primaries” because they contravened significant provisions of the Electoral Act that rendered their elections void. Yet INEC went ahead to publish the particulars of candidates for president and the National Assembly on June 24.
In other words, even INEC is in violation of the Electoral Act 2022, and this isn’t the first time it is. In its entanglements with the Ahmed Lawan and Godswill Akpabio senatorial nomination fraud, INEC also refused to exercise its power of rejection.
Section 84 subsection 13 of the Electoral Act 2022 empowers INEC to write to political parties and alert them to the fact that the names they sent to it were inconsistent with the reports of the primary elections monitored by its staff. Had INEC done this, it would have obviated the need for litigation by candidates who have been shortchanged by their parties.
In response to an explosive and credible July 8 Sahara Reporters story (with which I was familiar days before Sahara Reporters published it) titled “Nigerian Electoral Body, INEC Succumbs to Pressure from Ruling APC to recognize Senate President Lawan as Yobe Senatorial Candidate, Moves to Destroy Electoral Commissioner’s Report,” INEC’s Festus Okoye issued a statement where he, among other things, claimed that INEC stood by the reports of its state monitors.
That was obviously not exactly true. One, if INEC did, it would have rejected names sent to it that were at variance with the names their staff recorded and certified. Second, the INEC headquarters in Abuja would not have denied Resident Electoral Commissioners the power to issue Certified True Copies (CTC) of primary elections. CTCs are centralized to Abuja creating needless bottlenecks in the process because, an INEC insider told me, it’s a conduit for corruption.
Anyway, section 285 of the constitution (4th alteration, no. 21) empowers any “aspirant who complains that any of the provisions of the Electoral Act” has been violated to seek redress in a court of law. Subsection b specifically confers the right on aspirants to sue if INEC violates the Electoral Act, which it serially has, “in respect of the selection or nomination of candidates and participation in an election.”
Subsection C extends that right to political parties. The Electoral Act itself gives candidates and political parties the right to sue to seek redress if the law has been violated.
So, if either the APC’s Bola Tinubu or the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar wins the 2023 election, their victory would be invalidated by the courts, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi may be declared president by default since he is likely to be in the top three performers in the presidential contest.
Of course, either Peter Obi or the Labour Party has to sue first for this to happen. And, although the invalidation of Tinubu’s and Atiku’s candidature by the court is a slam dunk, neither INEC, which should supply the evidence, nor the judiciary, which will give the judgement, is reliable. But the evidence is reliably strong. I have all the documents.
Soun, Olubadan and Alaafin: The Fall of Iroko Trees
( Busy Brain Writes from Offa, Kwara State )
On Friday, 22nd of April, 2022, the whole of Southwest was thrown into a somber and forlorn mood over the demise of a great king of Oyo kingdom, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi lll, the 46th Alaafin Oyo, Iku baba yeye. His death was made known to the public through social media early Saturday, at the initial stage, his death was assumed to be a rumor as a result of the controversial nature of social media and the persistent carriers of fake news. In the twinkle of an eye, the rumored death turned into reality, it was confirmed that Alaafin had gone to roost at Baara, an abode of his ancestors. It was shocking and unbelievable. An iroko tree fell till the day of resurrection.
Alaafin’s death at 83 still looks shocking like one at a tender age. After storming on a clip where he was doing boxing exercise, his agile looks and stamina were a replica of baba at 40. He punched the bag with vim and vigor, with a mixture of road walk exercise. His fitness corroborated his eulogy as omo iku tii iku o le pa ( son of death that can not be killed by death ) omo aarun ti run o le se (son of ailment that can never be captured by diseases). Amidst other eulogies, these two remain an emblem of strength, virility and agility.
History will never forget a king who turns his subject into a gold mine, Alaafin engraved his name on the pages of history where those who made change possible can never be forgotten. He accommodated all and sundry, the medievals and geriatrics, men and women and will never rush to make jabberwocky headlines in the media. His relentless efforts for peaceful coexistence among Yorubas, South west, and Nigeria were conspicuous, very visible to the blind, and audible to the deaf. He came, he saw, he conquered as long-serving Alaafin…the iku baba yeye of Oyo kingdom.
Oba Adeyemi’s vacuum in Yoruba land will not only be missed but be tedious to be refilled. As a top-notch and respected monarch, he knew the value of peace, harmony and handled controversial issues with the touch of diplomacy and pragmatism. He strived to unite the Yoruba race and settled discord capable of tearing Yorubas apart.
Throughout his reign, Oba Adeyemi never fan the ember of discord and disunity. He watched his public utterances on matters of national interest not as a coward but as a custodian of peace. He knew where to talk tough and where to administer calmness. He condescended by leaving his resplendent throne to attend events of other monarchs in their towns. The first time and last time I saw him was during Asiwaju of Offa installation at Olofa’s palace. He led by example. He loved his people, his subject, and the Yoruba race under his watch.
Southwest and particularly, Oyo State in less than six months had witnessed the unpalatable death of royal fathers of notable ancient towns. It is as if the monarchs in Yoruba land had a meeting to bid their subjects farewell intermittently. Very swift and the rhythm of death is unfriendly. It gong sounds painful and not sonorous to the ears. It is a pity.
In December 2021, the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade lll joined his ancestors at age of 95 years after reigning for 48 years and 22 days after which was January 2022, Oba Olubadan followed suit, and now, Alaafin joined. The rampage of death of top-notch monarchs in the southwest, Oyo State will create a great vacuum, their gourd of deep-rooted knowledge, wisdom, understanding of rich history, culture, the landmass of Yoruba kingdoms will be dearly missed.
Olubadan, Soun, and Alaafin have tried their best and left the rest for others; nevertheless, they should inform Awolowo, Akintola, and others that their children are still at loggerheads for the Presidential ticket… Their offsprings who once acted as father and son have been denying themselves on the verge of actualizing their interests. Tell Baba Awoo that Yorubas are still in caucus; not in unity.
May your souls continue to rest in peace…The iroko trees of Yoruba kingdoms. Adieu!
Busy Brain’s works had featured on Vreporters, Nigerian Tribune, The Nation, Vanguard, Newsexpress, Daily Trust, Osun Defender among others
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The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme is yet another master piece and one of the most alluring programmes of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and of course one of the major achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The Programme covers 35 states in Nigeria and the FCT with Bayelsa state getting onboard soon and approximately 9.8 million students in 53,000 public primary schools nationwide, benefitting from the programme annually.
Since 2019 after the establishment of the ministry, the programme outshined every other School feeding programme in Africa by becoming the largest on the continent. The programme has earned accolades for the country and ofcourse the President Muhammadu Buhari administration being the first school feeding programme initiative of the country since 1999. Who would have thought that there will be a day in Nigeria when Federal government will be feeding pupils in public schools? Let me not forget that the meals served to the students is nutritious and programmed to fight malnutrition.
I met a lot of parents back then in 2010 and cautioned them on the negative effects and disadvantages of not enrolling their children in schools. However, my advocacy failed, especially as it applies to girl child education mostly. Their excuse was always not having the resources to enroll their children in schools. They will rather marry off the girls at a very young age and send the boys out on streets to hawk satchet water.
However in 2019, i was assigned on another advocacy to the same locations I went to in 2010 and to my surprise, the school enrollment of each increased by 90%, I thought I was the one that was not doing enough until I met an elderly woman who had five grandchildren all above the ages of 10.
I asked her if their whereabouts and she held my hands and said to me “my son, we have always believed in education but we never had the means of enrolling our children, God has answered our prayers. The government is now feeding our children and it is also saving us money”.
I then realized that the problem had never been educating them because Nigeria has for long, been on free education but the problem rather was strategy used to lure them to benefit from the free education.
The National Home Grown School Feeding programme has not only increased child enrollment in schools. It has made studying easier and fun, fought hunger and malnutrition and also addressed the issue of unemployment by providing more than 107,000 people who serve as cooks with sustainable jobs. When unemployment is addressed, the rate of poverty is also being addressed. In Kano State alone, the number of school enrollment increased from 1.2 million to 2.1 million after the introduction of the programme by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in the State.
In 2010, the rate of School enrollment in Nigeria was 41.83% but in 2021, the gross enrollment rate in elementary schools in Nigeria stood at 68.3%. It made me say that our advocacy failed but Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development won the hearts of our children with an initiative from a generous woman like Sadiya Umar Farouq- a hot nutritious meal every school day.
The protection of human rights for all and the rule of law is essential to all and sundry, recognizing that the effective counter terrorism measures and the promotion of human rights are not conflicting goals, but complementary and mutually reinforcing.
However, the human cost of terrorism has been felt in virtually every corner of the world. Terrorism distinctly has a very obvious and direct impact on the human rights, with devastating consequences for the enjoyment of the right to life, liberty, and physical integrity of victims. In Addition to these individuals costs, terrorism can disintegrate Governments, undermine civil society, jeopardize peace and security, and even threaten social and economic development. All of these also have a sincere Impact on the enjoyment and freedom of the human rights.
Security of the individual is a basic human right and the protection of individual is, accordingly, a fundamental obligation of Government.
States as well therefore have an obligation to make sure that the human rights of their nations and others are safeguarded and protected by taking positive measures to protect them against the threat of terrorist acts and bringing the perpetrators of such acts to book.
I have been in the world over a decade ago, and in recent years, the measures adopted by states to combat terrorism have evidently posed serious challenges to human rights and the rule of law. Some states have engaged in torture and other Ill treatment to counter terrorism, while the legal and practical safeguards available to prevent torture like regular and independent monitoring of detention centres, have often been disregarded.
Other states have returned persons suspected of engaging in terrorism to countries where they face the Wrath of their life-threatening acts. Thereby, violating the international legal obligation. Moreover, the independence of the judiciary has been undermined in some places , while the use of exceptional courts to try civilians has had an impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of regular court systems.
Repressive measures have been used to stifle the voices of human rights, defenders, journalists, minorities, indigenous groups and civil society. Resources normally allocated to social programs and development assistance have been diverted to the security sector, affecting the economic, social and cultural rights of many.
These practices, particularly when taken together, have a corrosive effect on the rule of law, good governance and human rights. They are also counter productive to national and international efforts to fight against terrorism.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law must be the bedrock of the global fight against terrorism. This requires the development of national counter terrorism strategies that seek to prevent acts of terrorism, prosecute those responsible for such criminal acts and foster, promote and protect human rights and the rule of law.
It implies measures to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, including the lack of rule of law and violations of human rights, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, and Socio economic marginalization as the case may be—to encourage the active participation and leadership of civil society; to criticize human rights violations, prohibit them in national law, promptly investigate and prosecute them, and prevent them; and to give due attention to the rights of victims of human rights violations, for instance through restitution and compensation.
What is terrorism?
To my comprehension as a university student,terrorism is commonly understood to the acts of violence that targets civilians in the pursuit of political and ideological aims. In legal terms, although the international community has yet to adopt a universal definition of terrorism, existing declarations, resolutions and universal sectoral treaties relating to specific aspects of it define certain acts and core elements.
According to the United Nation’s Organization, In 1994, the General Assembly Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, set out in its resolution 49/60,stated that terrorism includes criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons as the case may be for political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them.
However, ten years later, the Security Council, in its resolution 1566(2994), referred to criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or persons, intimidate a population or force the Government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing the act.
However, In India as a sovereign entity , the laws related to terrorism has immensely affected India. The motive for terrorism in India as a country may be vastly from religious cause and other circumstances like poverty, unemployment and not being developed might also be a major factor as the case may be.
Even in Nigeria, its very unfortunate that terrorism is a common problem affecting the country, despite the effort of the government to stem the tide of terrorism in the country.
Nigeria is among the committee of states in the world bedeviling with terrorism. It has a deadly ideological group called Boko Haram who flagrantly attack their fellow colleagues, be it in the Place of worship, schools, workplace and other strategic locations.
The country needs a rescue mission, and how can that be done? It can only be done through change of power and governance. We need charismatic and altruistic leaders that will see to our cause, and pilot our affairs in a sophisticated and judicious manner.
However, i think what we need now in the country is for youths to take over the mantle of leadership . Subsequently, things might go the way it suppose to go.
Ishowo is a 200L Student of University of llorin, Kwara State.
In Nigeria, politics is one of the most chancy professions. To attain political power, it is a survival of the fittest, politics is evil and money is the root. The routes to political offices are laden with sharp thorns, like the general maxim, one who wants to eat the yoke in the rock would not mind the edge of the axe.
The mantra of no permanent friend; no permanent enemy in politics is no more a convolution. Best friends today become worse enemies tomorrow. Best cliques and caucuses are now subjects of tantrums and ridicule. In politics, eniti ko niya Kii bawon de Igbo, meaning that ‘he who doesn’t have a mother would not follow others to the forest.’ The political forest in Nigeria is thick with conglomerations of malignant apparatus.
The superiority war between Tinubu, Oyeyola, and Aregbesola is not the first of its kind in Nigeria. We have had the case of Akpabio and Udom Emmanuel in Akwa Ibom, we have had the case of Adams Oshiomole and Obaseki in Edo State, we have had of Tinubu and Ambode in Lagos state among many others. These crop of leaders were allies. They wined and dined and took part in the decision-making of their respective states. Unfortunately, their relationship turns sour
One thing that usually stirs the fights between political warriors in Nigeria is superiority war. To political gladiators, the place of the godfather is sacred and should not be tampered with. Once that sacred position is tampered, the war is imminent. For sure, Aregbesola does not want his legacies to be tampered with in Osun State. He wants his one-time chief of staff to continue with all his legacies forgetting that, some policies cannot stand the thirst of time. Now that Oyetola is the number one citizen in the state of Osun, Oyetola as Chief of Staff will be different from Oyetola as Governor. Oyetola has his plans, goals, and agenda to achieve and to achieve them, he has to act like a governor and not as one time Chief of Staff. He did nothing wrong.
In my opinion titled: ‘What Wrong Did Oyetola Do” as published in Nigerian Tribune, I opined that Aregbe should embrace Oyetola’s policies as his idea. The reality remains that Tomorrow’s loyalty is not guaranteed.
The open tantrums and derogatory remarks against Tinubu’s personality by Aregbe was because of Tinubu’s support for Oyetola. Aregbe expects Tinubu to call his cousin to order when he changed some of his legacies. Tinubu’s refusal to caution Oyetola from reviewing some policies spurred the public denigration. Of course, Ogbeni can not deny Tinubu’s impact on his political career but his loyalty to Tinubu stumbled on the way. Aregbe decided to put his strength to test, he sponsored a candidate against Oyetola in primary election and the results were eyesore. Aregbe fought a lost battle as his revered sacred temple is being tampered. Better still, the time is still fresh to retrace his steps. The room for disagreement is allowed. What transpired is one of those things in politics. It is the irony of life.
I am not sure anybody knows what the outcome of these unnecessary conflicts will be. The solution I see is: first, a de-escalation of the conflict, a ceasefire by all sides, including in Eastern Ukraine, and a negotiated settlement… A resuscitation of the Minsk Agreements is a good place to begin. The United Nations (UN) should concentrate on these, rather than hold endless meetings seeking to blame one side or the other.
The eight-year war in Ukraine took a dramatic turn yesterday when Russian troops officially rolled into the country on the side of the separatist rebels in Eastern Ukraine. It was also to insist on its position that Ukraine’s decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) threatens Russia’s security.
Ukraine, which since 2014 had declared itself at war with Russia, had on November 25, 2018 sent two gunboats, the Nikopol and the Berdyansk, and a tug boat, the Yani Kapu, into the Kerch Strait in the Crimea to confront the Russian Navy units. However, none of the previous confrontations compares with this week’s military conflicts, which Russia claims is a limited military operation to “demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine” but which the latter says is an outright invasion.
Months of claims by NATO of an impending Russian invasion had been capped this month by the United States deciding to send troops to Romania and Poland. However, events took a dramatic turn on Monday, February 21, when Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called an exraordinary meeting of the country’s security council.
Three things struck me about this meeting. The first was that its deliberations were public. Second, a conclusion that Russia had been pushed to the wall with the infliction of renewed Western sanctions and non-respect of Russian position on the Eastward expansion of NATO.
The third was a complaint about the non-implementation of previous agreements, including the Minsk I &II Protocols designed to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting, therefore, decided to recognise the two breakaway Ukrainian Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The next day, the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted to give Putin permission to use military force outside the country. On Wednesday, Donetsk and Luhansk formally requested that Russian troops be sent into their separatist republics.
The next morning, Russian troops began pouring, not just into the East, but also other parts of Ukraine. Putin’s announced intention is the protection of the civilian populations in the Eastern Region and regime change, while the Ukrainian government said it is an attempt to occupy the country.
American President Joe Biden claimed the Russian attack is “unprovoked”. What is his deploying American troops to the region for, especially Poland, if not provocation? The United States would not have allowed Chinese troops pouring into Mexico or Russia setting up missiles in Cuba; so how does it expect Russia to lie back as it is being surrounded by hostile NATO troops?
A major casualty in the war would be the truth, as all sides rev up their propaganda. Within hours of the attacks, the Ukrainian government announced it had destroyed five Russian war planes and an helicopter. On the other hand, the Russians, who denied the Ukranian claims, announced they had neutralised the Ukranian defence system. Eventually, the truth would lie in the rubbles of the war.
There are various declarations, such as the European Union’s, threatening to impose the “harshest sanctions ever” on Russia. But it is easier for those countries to issue threats from the safety of their countries, while the Ukrainians do the dying and witness their country and economy being destroyed by avoidable wars.
A major casualty in the war would be the truth, as all sides rev up their propaganda. Within hours of the attacks, the Ukrainian government announced it had destroyed five Russian war planes and an helicopter. On the other hand, the Russians, who denied the Ukranian claims, announced they had neutralised the Ukranian defence system. Eventually, the truth would lie in the rubbles of the war.
The wars in Ukraine have their origins in a country polarised between a war-mongering EU/NATO and an edgy Russian bear. The immediate trigger was the 2014 coup against elected President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian politician from Eastern Ukraine who, back in 2004, had been denied the presidency after winning a runoff.
This time, he was overthrown in a violent coup because his government preferred to sign a trade agreement with Russia, rather than with the EU. For the East Ukrainians who had put their fate in free and fair elections, this second coup against a political leader from their side seemed too much a price to pay and they made a battle cry: ‘To your tents Oh Israel!’
It is that civil war that has now festered into a full scale international war, with the Russians backing the rebels and NATO propping up the government in Kiev.
In my November 30, 2018 analysis of the Ukrainian War titled “Ukraine’s Farcical Drama,” I had written that: “The disputes in Ukraine are likely to go on for a long time, but I think the country shot itself in the foot by using the populace of one part of the country to overthrow the legitimately elected government led by politicians from another part of the country.”
I had argued that the military option adopted by Kiev would not lead to peace and that if Ukraine were to witness peace and reunite, “it may need to consider the restoration of the Yanukovych administration as part of national reconciliation; if this seems far-fetched, so does the reunification of the country.”
But the war on ground would neither be lost nor won on propaganda but by reworking the failed diplomacy that has led to today’s events. It might be fashionable or profitable to blame Russia, but what do you do with the so-called international community that has pretended for eight years that those dying in Eastern Ukraine never existed?
Fortunately, in May 2019, Ukraine was able to replace the infantile, warmongering President Petro Poroshenko with a more sensible President Volodymyr Zelensky who, in the April 21 rerun election, trounced the incumbent by taking 73.22 per cent of the votes, with Poroshenko clinching only 24.45 per cent.
Although a comedian by profession, Zelensky was dead serious about bringing peace. But apparently, the warmongers have had the upper hand and war has not only continued, but escalated. There are lots of propaganda around the conflicts in Ukraine.
But the war on ground would neither be lost nor won on propaganda but by reworking the failed diplomacy that has led to today’s events. It might be fashionable or profitable to blame Russia, but what do you do with the so-called international community that has pretended for eight years that those dying in Eastern Ukraine never existed?
I am not sure anybody knows what the outcome of these unnecessary conflicts will be. The solution I see is: first, a de-escalation of the conflict, a ceasefire by all sides, including in Eastern Ukraine, and a negotiated settlement.
A resuscitation of the Minsk Agreements is a good place to begin. The United Nations (UN) should concentrate on these, rather than hold endless meetings seeking to blame one side or the other. The UN Security Council should be put to better use, rather than turned into a debating club where accusations and counter-accusations fly.
The contending forces in Europe and America are far too gone in their politics of self-justification and blame to be useful in the process. Germany that had hitherto played a more reconciliatory role has now been sucked into the fray.
Perhaps other parts of the world, especially the underdeveloped world, might be more useful. Fortunately, Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, is in Moscow; can he begin to lay the foundations for a peaceful resolution? At this time, we miss a leader like Nelson Mandela.
Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.
I had vowed not to write about your presidential ambition yet. I was waiting for the time your protegee, Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor in the lush pasture of politics, would confirm his rife presidential ambition.
Honestly, I had patiently waited and hoped to show why both the lion and the lamb are misfits for the presidential villa located on the granite rock named Aso, derived from Asokoro, the name of the Abuja community.
C’mon, the heartless, hardness and stony imagery of the Aso Rock granite as a corollary to Nigeria’s political barrenness since 1991 when the nation’s capital was moved to Abuja never struck me until this very minute!
Seriously, I’ve never seen it this way before. I mean, I’ve never connected Nigeria’s leadership impotence to the rockiness of the Abuja seat of power. In light of the rocky consequences of Aso Rock, I ask two questions: Is it not a foolish nation that expects its fruitless leaders to germinate inside Aso Rock granitic edifice and produce bountiful harvests? Did the Son of God, Jesus Christ, not specifically warn against the futility of planting on rock?
I earnestly plead that the nation’s presidency should come down from the Asokoro Rock of barrenness and meet the masses on the plains of democratic deliverables, breaking away from the fruitless relocation of the seat of power by the bloody General Ibrahim Babangida, who ran up, tail between legs, to the rock 30 years ago.
Jagaban Borgu, National Leader, Kingmaker and Governor Emeritus, I greet you warmly once again, sir. As soon as 2023 politicking is airborne, I hope to remove the ideological caps worn by two contending Yoruba heads; shave the greyey head with a razor of words and paint the shiny skull with black tar.
However, there’s a matter of urgent national importance needing your quick attention at the moment, the great but waning Lion of Bourdillon, sir. It’s the issue of the Frankenstein monster which people say you bred as a self-preservation strategy. The monster is your son, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo, who has become terror by day and pestilence by night in the Oshodi community especially, and the whole of Lagos, in general.
Asiwaju, sir, I’ve seen many pictures of MC Oluomo hobnobbing with your esteemed self in a father-son relationship since your days as Lagos governor and governor of governors. So, I feel duty-bound to, as a patriotic duty, explain to Nigerians why the killings and violence perpetrated by the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Lagos make you a misfit for Nigeria’s presidency.
The god of Lagos, sir, you must have seen countless viral videos wherein MC Oluomo and his mob of roughnecks worship your holey name, showing off their closeness to the feet of the master, where crumbs fall, and vicious dogs wag their tails.
The closeness of the barbarian MC Oluomo mob to the Throne of Lagos located at 26 Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, probably explains why the state government failed to prosecute NURTW hoodlums who opened gunfire when the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, kicked off his governorship campaign on January 8, 2019, at the Skypower field in Ikeja GRA.
Three journalists, Group Political Editor, The Nation newspapers, Emmanuel Oladesu; New Telegraph correspondent, Temitope Ogunbanke, and Ibile Television cameraman, Abiodun Yusuf, were hit by stray bullets fired by warring NURTW thugs at the campaign.
Three persons died during the gunfire which occurred in the presence of the Lagos APC leadership that included incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, his wife, Bolanle; Sanwo-Olu, APC deputy governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat; Lagos State APC Chairman, Tunde Balogun, among other party bigwigs. Stabbed a couple of times in the fracas, the fearless MC Oluomo fled like the Yoruba comedian, Papalolo, his heels touching the back of his head as he escaped death by the skin of his teeth.
Exactly one year after the gunfight at the APC rally, MC Oluomo celebrated his survival in a literary effusion that was clearly not his, saying: “Looking back at that fateful day and the subsequent happenings that followed, I cannot but appreciate a man of many parts that has genuinely taken me as a son. I am referring to no other person than His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. My appreciation also goes to the entire members of Lagos State House of Assembly, APC Lagos State Executives and entire party members.”
Oh, how I breathed a sigh of relief along with your teeming supporters when the authorities of your alma mater, Chicago State University, finally confirmed a few days ago that you truly graduated from their citadel of knowledge with flying colours.
An MC Oluomo, who urged journalists to launch an ‘infestation’ instead of ‘investigation’ into a matter, cannot be the candidate Your Excellency would back for the post of Oba of Oshodi. Sir, if you, as it appears, back MC Oluomo for the post of Oshodi monarch, it means your purported antecedent to headhunt competent hands is a ruse, after all. And this action would confirm the allegation of your legendary penchant to pick and use people for selfish personal interests, and not for public good. After infecting the monarchy in Osun with two misfits, but prominent kings, should the APC, this time in Lagos, inflict royalty with a man of violence? Like the generality of the Nigerian populace, Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu and the APC know that violence and bloodletting are second nature to the NURTW. Just a few days ago, two persons were reportedly killed during a gunfight between two Lagos Island factions of the union headed by Adekunle Lawal aka Kunle Poly and Mustapha Adekunle aka Sagoe. Businesses hurriedly shut down as workers fled to safety in order not to be caught in the crossfire at Idumota and its environs. The actual number of deaths, injuries, economic loss and damage suffered during the bloody crisis has yet to be determined. Sadly, no NURTW member belonging to the killer factions has ever been brought to book over the ceaseless bloodletting wrought across the state.
If violence breaks out in Oshodi with an MC Oluomo as king, who do the blood-thirsty factions report to? To a king who is the head of a ruthless state-backed mafia called transport union?
The enormity of the calamity the Tinubu-led APC has inflicted upon Lagos State through NURTW lawlessness was brought home in March 2018 when a confessed serial killer and member of NURTW, Adeola Williams aka Ade Lawyer, confessed to killing over 100 persons.
Ade Lawyer confessed he was hired by a former Chairman, Lagos NURTW, Akanni Olohunwa, to kill Kunle Poly for a bounty of N1.5m. The assassin said Olohunwa paid him N500,000 as the initial payment for Kunle Poly’s life. Olohunwa, who denied the allegation, said he paid Ade Lawyer N500,000 out of fear when he threatened to wipe him and the members of his household out.
Olohunwa revealed that one day, Ade Lawyer opened fire and killed nine passengers in a bus in Lekki.
Ade Lawyer, who the police shamelessly lied was on their wanted list for five years, confessed he operated openly as a unit head of the NURTW in the Ajah axis of Lagos Island around 2001 and 2003 (when Tinubu was governor of Lagos State). He, however, later recanted the allegation of being sponsored by Olohunwa to kill Kunle Poly.
It’s the brazen manner of Ade Lawyer’s operations that showed Lagos State’s hand in NURTW’s lawlessness in the state.
While speaking with journalists, Ade Lawyer mentioned the names of MC Oluomo, Sagoe and the immediate past NURTW Chairman in Lagos, Tajudeen Agbede, as NURTW chieftains he had worked with. To be concluded…
Although it is painful, it is time for the suspended super cop Abba Kyari to say to the Inspector General of Police and Attorney General of the Federation, “I am ready to turn myself in to the American government. I no longer want to be a part of the back-and-forth internal probes and reports as well as remain the face of scorn and ridicule regarding this international concern circling around me.”
Furthermore, he should say the following: “Over and over, you investigated this difficult international wire fraud case, possibly trying to lay it to rest, but there was no way out, so I am turning myself in to the FBI.”
Kyari should tell his backers or supporters that he found out from this article about the case of one Leonard Rayne Moses, who had been on the run from the FBI for almost 50 years after escaping police. He was arrested on November 12, 2020, while attending his grandmother’s funeral. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, America’s global-based intelligence and security service, does not give up easily.
As a forensic and clinical psychologist who has worked with criminal suspects for decades, I realise that dealing with the psychological impacts of an arrest and prosecution is an emotionally consuming experience. There is no doubt that you are likely feeling anxiety from the prospect of going to an American jail while being tried and then prison if found guilty by an American court.
From the moment you wake up until you go to sleep at night, if you are fortunate enough to get a full night’s sleep, you are filled with thoughts about your case. As a police officer, or a super cop, as you are known in Nigeria and America, I know you are familiar with police ethics, which includes values such as duty and honesty. Basically, ethics is doing the right thing.
This is eating you up emotionally, especially when the FBI and the American judge will remind you of the moral part of you as a police officer. After all, you are Nigeria’s ‘super cop’, although now a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police.
There have been more Nigeria Police Force feted promotions recently, and I am sure your forced absence may have cost you a possible promotion and new posting. Emotionally, this could be hitting you hard. Oh, I once glanced at a book titled, “Strides Of Destiny: A Biography Of The Super Cop ABBA KYARI” by Edentu Oroso, published in 2019. The central theme of the text is the story of a man, meaning you, whose entire existence oozes out integrity and honour. Remember to tell your American judge about the book, as it may earn you some brownie mitigating or good points for your good deeds.
I understand that fear of the unknown is possibly your greatest worry, especially when this case is in America, far away from Nigeria, where it is not uncommon to hear a Nigerian judge negotiating a bribe to skew justice. Sorry, to use a local parlance, no amount of magomago, or bribe, can help you, not in the USA. It is all about fair play.
Kyari, I recall that a warrant was issued by Otis Wright, a judge in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, following the grand jury’s decision to approve charges against you and others.
You need to know this. The United States government has spent lots of time, energy, and money getting ready for your case. Nothing will stop your case other than letting the legal process take place. Here is a tip, write the judge directly, tell him you are worried about going to prison, but you are going to come before him.
For your information, he is a black judge. He might already have a cultural understanding that you are a black male with susceptibilities to social pressure. What I am saying is stop wasting time playing the game of ‘hide-and-seek’.
American judges detest misuse of their time. Sir, O’ boy, no more delay, quickly act now.
Within the Nigerian context, I see you involved in what is called a “hide-and-seek” game. As you likely know, the game of hide-and-seek promotes secretive play.
In this game, the FBI possibly doesn’t know where you are and what you are doing, but one thing is certain; they know you are a criminal fugitive who is hiding. The American courts and FBI will continue to seek you out, as they know you will never hide forever. Your hope for now is that the FBI agent from whom you are hiding doesn’t seek out your hiding place. But there are some who may know all the current hidden things surrounding you as you, for the moment, invade the American court and FBI. These may include authorities from the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission, and the office of the Attorney-General, or even supportive NGOs. We both know something about African culture, in terms of relationships between emotions, ethnicity, religion, and justice. That is why we have heard biased, favourable, and even protective words towards you. We all saw emotional words from the likes of Austin Braimoh of the Police Service Commission. “It sounds strange to me that a US court could order the arrest of a noncitizen, a Nigerian citizen resident in Nigeria…” We even saw a response from Police Affairs Minister, Muhammad Dingyadi of what Nigeria calls the Ministry of Police Affairs, stating that, “And we have also reported that the committee has submitted the report to the IGP, and we have submitted this report and recommendations to the AGF for legal opinion. Thereafter, we will take it to Mr. President for final consideration. So, you can see that this matter is a local matter here; it also has some international connotations.”
Then there was an application filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Northern Peace Foundation asking the Federal High Court to restrain the Nigeria Police and the Attorney General of the Federation from arresting and extraditing you, but it was rejected by a sensible judge.
We also noticed conflicting reports that the PSC will carry out a separate investigation apart from the one ordered by the Nigeria Police. Just some hours ago, there was a directive from the Attorney-General informing the Police Service Commission to inform the Inspector-General of Police to deepen investigations between you and Hushpuppi, who is due to be sentenced on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2022.
As you can see, all this game of hide and seek are all attempts to ‘help’ you one way or the other, but in the end, these Nigerian officials know that you cannot legally hide when a US court has issued an arrest warrant for you, in your status as a fugitive criminal. In this case, I plead with you to understand one thing; in the eyes of the American legal system, you have become a chronic runaway, which will not be a positive point when you finally face the judge in California. Kyari, you would enjoy California, known as the Mecca of celebrity culture in the USA. After all, you love celebrations!
Again, thank the Nigerian law enforcement authorities for all they have done to keep you in the country since July 2021, when you were declared wanted for fraud in the US. Just say to them, no more Nigeria type investigative probes and reports, ‘I am turning myself in to the FBI’. This stressful situation could be overwhelming you with shame, especially as a man of pride. It is not enough to fill your mind with suicide thoughts or self-destructive acts. Just believe the future is still positive. I wish you a happy journey and success in your case.
Prof Egbeazien Oshodi, an American-based forensic/clinical psychologist, via info@teuopen.university
