Jan
04

THE NORTHERN NIGERIA AND PEACE – THE QUESTION OF SECESSION

THE NORTHERN NIGERIA AND PEACE – THE QUESTION OF SECESSION

According to an independent research by CRISIS GROUP, an international body working to prevent conflict worldwide Africa Report N°168 – 20 December 2010; conflict in Nigeria has been predominantly a Northern Nigeria affairs (the very far North). There is a need for every Nigeria to take a look down history in this publication so as to bring about a lasting peace through wholesome conflict resolution.

Another pointer to this spate of Nigeria challenge is found in the historic Orkar’s coup of early 1990s. This meaning a very uncomfortable development from this part of the country that has not been address.

Important links

  1. NORTHERN NIGERIA: BACKGROUND TO CONFLICT – Africa Report N°168 – 20 December 2010 (or Google search for: 880F82BDF4CF7582C12577FF0050EB69-Full_report.pdf)
  2. www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-354162.0.html (GIDEON ORKAR BROADCAST MESSAGE – UNEDITED)

The Nigerian nation should no longer live on assumption of what they wanted of Nigeria seeing that every other part of Nigeria is comfortable living with one another relatively peaceful with good understanding of neighbourliness and brotherhood; but this group of people. Why would a group seek justice through the blood of their brother? There is a question that need to be asked?

What do they want? Let the rest of Nigeria be bold to call their leaders and the people if they want fairness, equity and equal consideration without infringing on the rights of another group we need to see to a redress. But if what they seek is the head of Medussa… an impossible demand, then let them go to their tent. For instance if they asked to be a Nigerian president at a cost of a South-South president wherein a South-South Nigerian has never been one, then there is a problem somewhere. If the hinter North cannot abide by the common good of all, let them go create their own state; they need not be forced to belong to the bigger nation at the expense of the lives of peace loving sections and tribes. Why should we keep one Nigeria at the expense of innocent lives being wantonly killed and destroyed it is an unfair dictum (one Nigeria at all cost).

I think the time to make a serious decision in this line is now. And Nigeria’s peace and future depends on the decision made about this section of the country – the hinter Northern Nigeria. We should no longer live on the assumption that the North really want to belong to the bigger Nigeria; else how come that their elders and leaders cannot check the excesses of bestial destructions attributed to the common man of the described north.

It is time we know what they really want… and have it given to them and no longer coexist at the detriment of others.

Peace requires the right decision, this is the submission from our headquarters as a contribution to chart a new course of peace and prosperity for Nigeria: if the people and leaders would consider the inherent wisdom in this; then we would have a brighter future. But outside this, we would yet experience more horrid bestial hostilities and conflict from this hinter North

Jan
03

WE HAVE GREAT CAPACITY TO BUILD A GREAT NATION

“Men are equal,” says a writer, “virtue makes the difference”.

Overtime I have always has the cause to interact and inform the people around me in Nigeria that there are no superior people in any part of the world. Nobody has monopoly of knowledge and no group of people is better endowed or more advantageous.

This issue is especially important to help the younger generation get out of the mould of inferiority complexes our ancestors placed us into which made some certain races of the world look much superior and next to God. And many of our national leaders had not been patriotic enough to help us out of this inferiority syndrome.

This same syndrome is what made for great exodus of young brilliant and budding youths to go looking for greener pasture in the supposed greener nations under great duress. This same inferiority complexes is leading to the borrowing of strange culture even at the dearth of good societal values. It is time we present the true worth of the people of this nation, it is time we believe in ourselves and our nation. Let us raise our shoulders high with the knowing that we are not less or more than anyone else on the surface of the earth because we have within each breathing soul in Nigeria great potentials that are capable to revolutionize and reposition our nation as equal to any nation anywhere in the world.

On this note, it is worth pointing out that it is not the land that makes a people but it is the people that make the land. Ordinarily, Nigeria has great natural resources than countries like Japan or Switzerland. I will not go forward to tell you why we are far behind but I will tell you of the thinking process of the inferior mind. The inferior minds and inferior leaders will create and give excuses of why we cannot be equal to other great nations of the world – and this is the problem; intellectual blocks.

I will like to summarise issues here by letting us know that researches has not proved that the brains of certain races has shown greater capability; instead what we have abundantly as proof is some good African blacks who have worked themselves out of the rut of plaguing complexes to sit as number one in the world politics such as Obama and Kofi Annah. We also have leaders in the World Bank like Iweala and Obi Ezekwesili; great technologists and scientists like Gabriel Oyibo and Philips Emeagwali, great T.V. personalities like Winifred Oprah of America who are all dark skinned Negroes like you and me. I cannot exhaust them all, you know them yourself.

You and I, we are equal to any man anywhere in the world; if only we would make up our mind then we shall be the change.

Jan
03

LOOKING TO OURSELVES

God made man so powerful and unstoppable when he chooses to access himself from within but weakest when he attends to life from without. The strong, rich, powerful and achievers of all time are men who have learnt to use what they have to get what they need by accessing their lives from inside out.

Some years back in Nigeria during military rule, many believe that America and other advance nations is the key to Nigeria’s freedom, later the shift is that the Government holds the solution. Today we should have it at the back of our minds that the people have the answer to their own advancement.

This is the means and ends to freedom. If a people have a cheap heart, the government and the nations of the world will treat them cheap, but if the people will have a great heart, the government and the world will treat them so. The people are the government… they are the world: As a people so the government. Passively or actively, the people decide what government they choose to have.

Since we decide our fortune, then it is time we stop passing the blame and get serious about changing ourselves. Excuse is the totem of the weak. The world will always make way for the man that knows what he wants. The society, the government and the nations will give you what you want when you really want it.

Jan
03

THE HIGHER LIFE

Many people fail in life to create necessary changes not because they are incapable but because they are using the wrong weapons. The weapon of the world for change is force. It is an erroneous belief that when you use force you get what you want – possibly the easy way they thought. But history is filled with records of wars and battles fought won and lost: to every of such struggles are quantifiable and non-quantifiable losses of lives, properties, affections, etc. And many of such losses are irreplaceable. No matter the perfection of forceful strategy, it will always leave a trail of pains.

And it has been noted that many of the world struggles would not have been, if men had learnt to communicate better with mutual understanding.

After the war there is always the round-table discussion for mutuality: this then means that if man will take the pain to understand one another mutually, they could avoid the pains of violence. By implication, man if chooses will achieve much more dividend through nonviolence approach.

The higher life demands that we hold the olive branch where so ever we go creating peace in our world with all the power we possess within – and with all resolve – it is possible. We should make peaceful coexistence a possibility in Nigeria nullifying the crafty manipulation of certain few political, religious or ethnic leaders. Peaceful living and coexistence is possible – which I believe should be the belief of every advance person especially the leaders of politics, religious and ethnics. Peace, truth, love and equity are possibility.

We need to bear further in our minds that the creators of a better world do not force things to happen because violence negates the constitution of the creative world as it negates the law of God who admonishes peace in every worthwhile institution of man.

The higher man do not force people to follow his course, instead he inspires others to change by helping the people to see the benefit of the course of his presentation.

I am not saying that creating peaceful change or upholding peace is an easy cruise per se; taking into consideration that average man is afraid to make changes and the benefactors of the status quo – of people that thrives well in a chaotic situation.

To the average man, spell out the benefits truthfully and convincingly – of your peaceful change proposition. When a man finds out that a change presents him a better choice of life he is likely going to yield to change if he is inspired enough – and convinced enough why he should take action. Let him know that the change proposition is beneficial, to his good and that it is possible, and he will follow you through. Your role is to be the anchor of possibility and he will follow you indeed.

To the detractors of peace, ignore them and waste no energy on them. You are the champion of truth; the detractors and evil genius will fade away and lose meaning in the new world of peaceful and nonviolent change.

Jan
03

BUILDING THE BRIDGES

As I picked my pen to write on this subject, the name of Rochas Okorocha came to mind, I have never met him – not once, more so he is an Igbo while I am a seed that grew from Kogi State. Rochas Okorocha’s foundation brought smiles to the indigent children of widows nationwide, by building tuition-free secondary school in the North and South of the nation; made available for every tribe located in this great nation. This is what I call building the bridges.

Some may trivialize such gesture as political, if that is what you call it , then let us have more people, churches and corporate organizations take such stride – not as a money-making endeavour but in the spirit of true sacrifice.

Building the bridges is supposed to be a national project whereby we have a common awareness that we are brothers and sisters irrespective of which part of the nation we came from – and this should be demonstrated and not as a lip-service ritual. The time has come when we go beyond group interest as we learn to create a larger life for ourselves. We should be able to transcend our myopic small interest and seek to reach out to much more people – we can change the bigger world if we can see beyond the clouded horizon of sectionalism.

Beyond the clouded horizon of sectionalism we will have greater capacity to do good without religious or regional biases. What difference will it make to you if very large number of people of diverse background shall come to your memorial to say that you affected them for good; or shall you be thrilled to here that you trample on many to lift but a few?

Whatever your position, remember that we have a God that has a large arms that embraces all – he knows no difference if we only come to him; let us imitate him… open our arms wide enough to embrace all… let us stop the tears, killings and pains that comes as a result of sectionalism; as we make ourselves one indivisible people in our great country – we are good people and we are great as a nation: if chose the noble course.

We can, together change the nation, wipe the tears and bring smiles. We can chose to live in unity, yes we can.

Jan
03

RAISING THE RIGHTLY INFORMED PEOPLE

People around the nations of the world are neither good nor bad in themselves; they are products of the information handed down to them. People are informed to the extent the family, school, religion and the government help them to be. They do things not because they are right or wrong but because that is what is taught or approved in the society. In a nutshell, men see as clearly as the information passed unto them by various institutions in the community.

A man who found murder and assault as a means to settle differences learnt it somewhere: and a society where corruption is endemic has firstly corruption at the foundation of its institutions i.e. those representing especially here religion and government institutions approved actively or passively corruption as a means to livelihood. Let the various leaders of our various institutions frown at corruption. And they shall become the guiding coalition to a corrupt-free thinking. The new information from such guiding coalition shall be: “corruption not wanted her”.

When a society stinks, it is not just the government that stinks; we cannot exclude the moral values upheld by the custodians of our religion ethics nor the contribution of the family and the educational system. Other strong institutions that decide on the quality of society value are: the media, labour (workers) and the political institution.

To build a vibrant society where people learn to do the right things; the first thing is the representative of the various institutions must accept the blames of the present state of the nation without shifting any blame. The next step is to begin to act in a new way what is in harmony with right living as individual stakeholder. You cannot pretend to be living right because people will find out. Sooner or later people will begin to model after you. Go further and share your ideas with other institution that may likely embrace your thought and passion; from just that simple choice you would have grown that seed of change into many institutions who will embrace the change for a new choice of right living: whether against corruption, prostitution, poverty, or for a new policy formulation, it works the same way.

The bottom line is that people don’t know that is why they live the bad life – we should not assume they should know because they are mentally capable to learn. No, think of the larger society as being brainwashed to think in a certain way by their exposure to wrong ways of life in their formative years; but all they need is the laser beam of truth to wipe away all the wrong codes that make them do the wrong things. Also, do not assume that they are incapable of doing or assessing good. Indeed, the truth and goodly life is scarce but know for sure that the deepest part of man is always in search of the truth. Hold the torch of truth today and men shall rally around you. You and I can become the change Nigeria needs.

Jan
03

THE BEAUTY OF EQUITY

Equality and fairness is the foundation on which great nations are built upon. Equity breeds strength and strength sustains the good. You know as we are evolving into a greater nation there are salient thought that should begin to come into our mind. One of those thought should be the redefinition for equity in the context of nationhood.

We will not go very far as a nation when certain section or group cannot get certain benefit because of differences in political ideology, political group, religion, tribe, and ethnicity or due to some other obtrusive reasons.

Nigeria shall arrive on a threshold of greatness when her citizens shall be given unbounded freedom to develop and attain the possible height without infringement due to an outclassed citizen from another section: this is true equality in the context of nationalism.

It is a destructive unity when a section or group is muffled and downtrodden while another side believes the common right is their exclusive rights. In the upcoming generation, let us throw the balls down and let everybody begin to pick base on merit.

Here is the beauty of equity: when the strong is rewarded, the weak is inspired to work hard. But when the condition for reward is based on sentiment it of necessity breeds mediocrity.

You and I know the truth, it is the hard fact – the hard way but the only way to a great nation: is building true platform for equity, else we may find ourselves in the water of mediocrity for centuries to come; if we have not disintegrate then. Once again let me say for emphasis sake: The beauty of equity of citizenship is to develop and attain without bounded restriction and this leads to excellence in all sectors like the education, political, finance, corporate, governance, etc.

If we will not take our lessons well to build on true equity, then let us keep the following information for future reference: nature has by law always found the way to destroy the weak for the strong. A society that line up weak people as its leaders shall inevitably be weak; and a weak nation shall be slave of nations that parades strong men. We are part in a global game – therefore let us present our best players and let us support them to win.

You and I can make the change: support a strong candidacy irrespective of the difference – this is the path of strength for individuals and the society. The final question to all: what use is a disgraceful history for non-performance as a section or people – and what a disgrace to have a town man who is inept to deliver his leadership mandate? Let us examine and give our support to only those who can deliver.

Jan
03

THE TROUBLE WITH A MOBILZED SOCIETY

I have the inclination to have a discussion with you in this direction in view of the present democratic era; especially at the heal of many elections coming up soon. Democracy is a government centered on the people but it should not and cannot be a government of the mob. The word mob is the root word from where comes mobilization. On this note, a mobilized society is a non-democratic society while a well sensitized people produces democracy.

For our understanding, a mob is a large group of people acting in consonance to achieve an aim without a clear understanding of why such action is necessary. It is important to know that even if a mob represents millions; such a large group is soulless and indistinctive robots controlled by certain crafty elements. The call today is that we should cease acting in the spirit of a mob, let us learn to shift through thoughts and know why we are acting for a cause – and not because someone somewhere is saddling it.

The problem of acting as a mob is this: a mobilized people are a nobody having no thought of their own being manipulated by a few chauvinists to the detriment of the mob themselves. So it has been in Nigeria especially in the political terrain where the ignorant fellows have always been involved in one mobilization effort or the other. This is what we have in a cult-like center of many groups, party and tribal pursuit.

I have always been amused about certain game plan of many politicians, warlords, tribal leaders etc; they cry of marginalization and sectional sentiments to arouse the mob spirit – this is the much reason for many needless bloodshed, fights and rancour in the nation. This evil genius knows they are lying – I have found out that ninety-five percent of sentimental cry of marginalization is a selfish one; when the “national cake” is beyond the reach of this evil genius they begin to shout and cry for recognition with the song of marginalization; and the thoughtless mob will always follow into this trap every now and then.

At the end of the game plan – the evil genius benefit as he gains new offices and recognition without a second thought for his mobilized mobs: this is the game plan.

Let the Talakawas of the Hausa, the OPC of the Yoruba and the militants of the Niger Delta know this: if they must pursue any course, let it be orchestrated through understanding – understanding of the game, the means and the benefit of their pursuit for their locality, the nation and the world – for we are all brothers.

Do not be used by some villainous soul for a reward of a pot of porridge.

As another election is at the corner, do not sell your voting right for a bike, let the chiefs also not sell their conscience for new cars – as they learn to act as honourable people they are. Let the people be sensitized to have their own heart and to learn the truth – we all have the capacity to know the truth. Then we should act in the course of the truth whether we are many or few: we can make the change.

Jan
03

REDIRECTING THE VICIOUS ENERGY FOR NATIONAL GROWTH

Today’s topic is inspired by my encounter with cyber rats; in our local parlance I mean yahoo yahoo boys. Seeing their vast energy and potentials, always move me to tears. They are not lazy when it comes to hard work, spending twelve hours and above daily on the Internet is not a joke; their problem is that their energy is wrongly directed – even as many of them end up with more rags, their search for Internet yahoo yahoo riches is elusive and sublime.

Could it be their fault entirely? No, they are product of a society that applause get-rich-quick fixes. At least they have seen instant business millionaires, politicians who came into great riches in days and Nigerians Who travelled abroad washing corpse coming home with great riches. All Americans must have died if washing corpses has become such lucrative business over there. Many of these yahoo yahoo boys fell into the cock and bull deceptive stories of some notorious people who made cover-up for their source of riches.

Many of these young Nigerians are tired, fatigued and frustrated starring at the face of their computer; because the computers failed to pour out anticipated money. If only they know what to do, half of the time they spent trying to steal money online would have been channelled into useful endeavours for money-making and by now they should be doing better.

A leader of thought does not just tell you to stop the course of an action; he must give you another option – and a better one. You cannot tell a cyber rat – Yahoo Yahoo boy to stop his dealings, you cannot tell an armed robber to go drop his gun with a hungry stomach. Teach him a constructive lifestyle of self-esteem, dignity of labour and evident principle that has helped you to achieve a wholesome untainted success and he will want to be like you – we all prefer good model. Who would not prefer an Obama to a notorious drug trafficker?

You cannot change the Yahoo Yahoo boys, reduce kidnapping and robbery activities when you are committing a higher offence, feeding in percentage on the public funds meant to take care of the interest of those supposed villains – somehow the corrupt leader causes the high influx of criminals in the society – and they are worse of a kind. See, what goes around comes around, the “public” marauders will also not let you rest if you are feeding on their public funds – it is a matter of time to pay up.

Man is born active, like the river you cannot stop it, you can only redirect its course; and to want to stagnate a river is to ask for a destructive flood in the city. To stagnate the youth and their bubbling energy is to seek flood of dissipation, vices and havoc – a nightmare we should not pray for.

The way out: let us make the youths useful part of our institutions; family, religion, politics, governance, etc; not as tools but useful part of the society, we should begin to give them all the support for growth and attainment of noble aspiration. We should not fight them over their vices but show them good examples and they will change – as the adage says that a good example is better than a thousand words. Let us treat them as the future leaders and not in the habit of stealing or manipulating their future by the old breed who should have retired and raise successors. Leadership without a successor is an outright failure.

If we are true to the youths, they will be true to us, many of them are confused of today and the future – let us show them that the future is bright, and they will drop their arms, struggles, and destructive vices: and together we will build Nigeria.

Jan
03

CREATING THE MAGNIFICENT PICTURE

I will take the lesson of today’s discussion from our corporate world. Businesses all over the world have learnt that no meaningful progress can be made without a meaningful vision and mission statement; this statement encapsulate the grand picture of what the corporation represent, activities, and where she will be in years to come and such that the generality of the employees and the employers embrace. The statement offers them the compass to chart the direction of the organization from day-to-day.

If businesses and corporations believes in owning a corporate vision; how much more a nation. And if such corporation knows that they can only move ahead as far as the clarity of their vision; why will a nation think otherwise. A vision is not just a slogan; it is not a cache, or another weak rebranded thought which is delivered only on the lip and paper. A vision is a working principle for the existence of a person, people, corporation or nation. The vision is the base for the existence as the Scriptures says: Where there is no vision the people perish. And perishing is another word spelled as retrogression. And retrogression is a harvest of lack of vision.

A vision should be seen and made to be seen, unambiguous and not falsify; it should not be thought to be, it should be there: and the average person out there should know that the vision is there to be embraced by all and for all.

So far, asking the average Nigeria we do know that it is hard to find any that could tell the common vision of our nationhood. There seem to be no evident vision for the coexistence of the people, although certain individuals and leaders has in time past introduced certain thought of national rebranding but it never get beyond the ground floor before such thought died because of lack of persistence and continuity of such ideology of change. So far, there is no common vision for our nation, and if there is no common vision how can we make progress.

The problem in this regard is due primarily to the depth of knowledge and experience of those paraded to lead the different sector of our society. It takes skill to make projection and chart a new course of destiny, hope and better life. A person without personal vision canot create vision for a people as it takes visionary leader to chart a corporate vision. It is never a difficult task at that it can simply be done.

The best way to a magnificent society is to go identify people who had created great visions of accomplishment at micro levels in different fields like medicine, business, agriculture, etc and get them prepared and supported to saddle the affairs of the nation.

We cannot create great national vision without installing men of vision into the mainstream of national leadership.

We all have a responsibility to creating a great vision and a great nation, through the quality of leaders we admit. Since leadership takes our consent passively or actively, we should be active in determining who leads us. The big magnificent national vision starts with everyone’s participation, and this decision will now translate to credible leadership which gives birth to visionary society.

Older posts «