Friday 30 April 2021

Why Appeal Court Barred VIO From Demanding Private Vehicles’ Roadworthiness Certificate — Lawyer

A former Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Kunle Edun, tells TOBI AWORINDE how he defeated the Vehicle Inspection Office up to the Court of Appeal in a suit challenging the agency’s demand for roadworthiness from private vehicle owners.

You recently secured a court judgment against the Vehicle Inspection Office in respect of roadworthiness certificate. Can you tell us about it?

Sometime in 2014, I had cause to be driving along a major road in Ughelli (Delta State), where I wanted to inspect a piece of land, which a client of mine wanted to purchase. Along the road, I came across some kind of obstructions put on the road by some persons purporting to be Vehicle Inspection Officers. They stopped me and I identified myself. They demanded my vehicle’s roadworthiness certificate, and I told them, ‘Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by that. As a matter of fact, I don’t have it, so should you clear the way for me to pass?’

They were stopping other vehicles for the same purpose, but I insisted that since what they were doing was wrong, I would not assist them to persevere in that error they were committing. So, I told them, ‘Sorry, I will not give you any of my documents; you don’t have any right to be on the road, asking for such documents from me.’ On that basis, they refused to allow me to pass through and that caused a scene. By then traffic had started to build and when they saw that the situation was becoming more chaotic, they had no other option but to allow me to pass through.

Was there any attempt by the officers to impound your vehicle?

When I insisted that ‘you guys don’t have the right to stop me on the road or ask me for my particulars,’ they delayed me for about eight to 10 minutes. But interestingly, when I started lecturing them about their duty under the law, some seemingly educated commuters were telling me, ‘Oga barrister, show them your documents nao. Find something for them nao.’ And I felt disappointed but I was not discouraged. I insisted that the right thing must be done. I know that whenever the VIOs demand such documents from private vehicle owners, they have a way of settling the matter. I wouldn’t know if money exchanges hands, but they have a way of settling it and that has emboldened them (VIOs) to continue in the act. So, that day, I said, ‘No, enough is enough’. This country belongs to all of us. While we all shout that the government is failing, we too, as individuals, are failing society. So, I stood my ground and when they realised I wouldn’t budge, they allowed me to pass. But then I told them, ‘For daring to stop me and detain me for 10 minutes, I will take it up’. I considered what they did a harassment and I didn’t like it.

The fact is that they have no right to even be on a public road purporting to be asking for roadworthiness certificates. As of the time of the renewal of my vehicle particulars, if they want to check whether the vehicle is actually roadworthy, that is where they should do that, rather than get on the roads to be harassing commuters, asking for documents.

How did they react to your threat to sue?

They thought I was joking. They said, ‘You can’t do anything.’ I discovered that it was a rampant practice by the VIOs in Delta State and nobody had bothered to take the matter up. At the time, I was the Vice Chairman of the NBA in Warri, and I was also the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the NBA in Warri. So, I had a duty to ensure that the right thing was done. That was what compelled my filing this action at the High Court, Ughelli. The Governor of Delta State was the first defendant; the second defendant was the Attorney General of the state; and the third defendant was the Vehicle Inspection Office under the Ughelli inspectorate.

They came to court and challenged the action. At the end of the day, the court delivered judgment in my favour and declared that VIOs – or whatever name they are called – have no business even being on the road, first and foremost. They have no business stopping vehicles to ask for any documents. The judge was particular that their work and duty should be done at their offices, not on the road. The judge said, ‘You don’t inspect vehicles on the road; you inspect vehicles at your workshop or office, and the best time to do that is during annual vehicle licence renewal.’ The judge also said that they had no authority to even stop any private vehicle, demanding any document whatsoever.

The law, on which they base their actions – the Road Traffic Law of Delta State, and the revisions made thereon – did not even give them that power. The power that the road traffic law of Delta State gave them was that they could ask for roadworthiness certificates in respect of commercial vehicles alone, that is, vehicles that carry goods. They can ask for hackney permits and other related documents. But private vehicles don’t carry goods; they don’t do commercial business. So, they (VIOs) don’t have any right to be asking them (private car owners) for documents like that, and they don’t have any right to stop them.

So, with regard to commercial and private vehicles, the court said they don’t have any right to stop any vehicle on the road. Now, with regard to possession of the roadworthiness certificate, the court said they don’t have any right to ask any private vehicle (user) for such a document.

The judge went further to make an order of injunction restraining them from being on the road, stopping vehicles on the road and causing obstructions. Of course, the court also awarded some damages against them.

Was the judgment appealed?

Yes, they filed an appeal and also filed a motion for stay of execution. Their appeal was pending at the Court of Appeal, Benin (Edo State). When the Court of Appeal in Asaba (Delta) was created, it was then transferred there. Sometime early this year, we were served an early notice to come and argue the appeal. I was there personally, because I took up the matter as public-interest litigation. It wasn’t about Kunle Edun; it is for the benefit of all Nigerians because we need to let these authorities know that the officers are there to serve us, and not the other way round, and they don’t have the right to abuse the power that the law has conferred on them. So, I took up the matter on behalf of members of the public. As a lawyer, I can drive. I have my licence and every other thing; I know they can’t stop me because I can handle myself. But how many Nigerians can actually stand up to fight for their rights? So, that was why I took up the matter. Good enough, the Court of Appeal recently affirmed the judgment of the High Court, Ughelli. It was a unanimous decision by the Court of Appeal and they dismissed the appeal filed by the Delta State Government.

Were you able to get the name tags of the officers before going to court?

I didn’t bother about getting their name tags. Initially, I wrote a pre-action notice, which, as usual, they didn’t respond to. I still had to go to court. But they came to court to give evidence and they revealed their identities. Essentially, the identities of those guys were revealed, so I didn’t really bother much about the name tags. I wasn’t really particular about the individual; I was particular about the Vehicle Inspection Unit of the Ministry of Transportation because it was a rampant thing being done in Warri, Ughelli, and Asaba. It was like a business. Even on Monday, a senior lawyer called me and referred somebody to me that the person’s vehicle was harassed and detained by VIOs. The person did not have a driving licence. I then asked, ‘Why didn’t you have a driving licence?’ But then I said, ‘That is not even the issue. VIOs have no business asking for a driving licence. They have no business stopping any private vehicle.’ The Court of Appeal had already settled that. I then told the person we would take the matter up and we will continue to ensure that the judgment of the Court of Appeal is obeyed and respected.

They imposed a fine of N35,000 and I said, “Even if it will take me personally paying that fine, I will do it, to make a further statement to them because all of us need to come together. It’s a collective responsibility.”

Like you highlighted, many Nigerians don’t have the means to pursue legal action like you did. What is your advice to those who find themselves in a situation like this?

We have about 125 branches of the Nigerian Bar Association. Each branch has a Human Rights Committee, and I know some branches also have Public Interest Litigation Committees. Reports can be made to each of the branches, particularly for Nigerians who do not really know their rights and are indigent. Those that are well-to-do can brief any lawyer to take up the case for them. If we have a better society, it will also help us in entrenching the rule of law. When the rule of law is upheld, I bet you, everybody will be happy that we are living in a sane society. So, the NBA is there; human rights activists are there to also help out.

Are you satisfied with the N200,000 compensation you got from the Court of Appeal?

I’m not particular about the compensation, really, because I just wanted to use the judicial process to make a statement that government institutions should adhere to the laws setting them up and try not to abuse the powers conferred on them. The high court awarded N100,000 and the Court of Appeal awarded N200,000. I’m not particular about it because even if the Delta State Government is going to pay me the money, is it not part of my tax? If they pay me, I would rather donate it to one charitable organisation to further help their cause. My wish is, let them do the right thing.

By Tobi Aworinde

Source: THE PUNCH

Copyright: © 25 April 2021

OPEN HELL OR OPEN HEAVEN: ONE MUST HAPPEN

Our parents (elders/governments) destroyed our lives. We are now only trying to put the pieces together. 

The sorry state of Nigeria's youths, struggling for themselves to make ends meet today is a direct result of what the persons in the category above did to us. They have made life hard for us. When they were supposed to be preparing us for a future, they were subjecting us to intellectual abuse at the dictates of colonizing forces.

Why have I said this? 

We are now in the Technological age and Nigerian youths are not a competition in that field. 

Why do you think that is so?

It is simple. Ask 100 Nigerian youths who went to different primary and secondary schools what they remember about their Intro-Tech teacher. 95 will say he knows how to Flog. Yes, that was something Intro-Tech teachers seem to know how to do best in our schools. Intro-Tech is supposed to be Introductory Technology or Introduction to Technology.

There was nothing about both our Intro-Tech and Physics teachers that suggested that they knew anything about training us to become competitive in the reality of today as far as the field of technology is concerned. They too were as myopic back then as the government that employed them. They just needed the job to pay bills. 


Nothing has changed today. 

The same useless curriculum that was used in the 80s to produce the clueless teachers that taught us in the 90s is still the same curriculum that is being used in this twentieth century. 

We turned out useless in the technological world and our children and teenagers are also presently being taught the same things. As usual, the teachers are there clueless about what the future holds, they are simply working to have their bills paid and the parents are bursting their asses to pay the children's school fees to go and learn useless knowledge that won't make them globally competitive in this present age not to talk of the coming one. 

Yet, nothing will be done. The Minister for education is simply there to collect salaries, carry files and say yes sir - in the hope that other "juicy" appointment might come in the future. Same as the Commissioner for education.

When Nigerian youths now graduate, the government will draft them into ₦30,000/month empowerment programs that will last for two years.

Can we blame the children and teenagers who are being sent to school? No, we can't. They don't know any better but those who ought to figure out what is happening in the present and chart a cause for the future don't see beyond their noses. Those who claim to know beyond their noses don't know what to do.

This post is a reality check.

The country is a destiny death trap. It is not designed to produce creators but consumers.

But the reason is not farfetched. 

It can be traced back to the Berlin Conference which took place in Berlin, Germany in 1884-1885. 

Some European countries under the watchful eyes of America met in Germany to decide the method of colonization of Africa. Colonization is another name for harnessing the resources of Africa for the colonizers good. They took over the lands and create the kind of people that they want to create from the population there. 

There was a need: The European industries needed raw materials and also needed market to sell their products. 

Africa is rich in resources (which they seem not to be able to use optimally), Europe wanted the resources (the raw materials). They met with few chiefs and land owners. Gave them Gins, Yards of clothes, mirrors and some money within the range of 150 - 250 pounds and they made the chiefs mark X on some documents. Unknown to the illiterate chiefs, they were signing off ownership of their lands to the Whiteman whom they considered generous. 

Also, part of the decision at the Berlin Conference was the sort of education that should be provided for the colony. 

The education was such that was meant to produce industry workers who can listen and comprehend instructions in English language, who could understand basic arithmetic, accounts and bookkeeping. 

It was not meant to educate the colonial population on how to be self-sufficient nor to help them harness the resources of their lands. 

The education that the Missionaries (the Jesus boys) brought was meant to keep Africa in a state of perpetual dependence on European for the produce from the industries owned by the Whiteman and not to create a system that can equip the Blackman to own their own industries. 

The Berlin Conference, otherwise tagged "Mission to Civilize" was strictly for the economic benefit of the participating countries. The "Mission to Civilize" tag was just given to it to gain public acceptance. The purpose is to exploit the land. 

And part of the strategy was to not teach the African how he can be self-sufficient.

Look at it from this angle. 

If we are taught how to produce mobile phones and cars, then they would have created a competition for themselves in the market.

After they had engaged in slave trade for years, taking our best brains and hands to build their countries in forced labour and using our ancestral knowledge bank to gain speed over us, they came back to re-educate those of us that were not carried away in physical chains to become perpetually dependent on them. Slavery by chains was abolished and slavery by miseducation started.

As soon as we finished school, we got jobs that paid us salaries and we got comfortable, working to climb up the ladder for a period of 35 years. If you can steal, you steal but if you can't, you follow that process until you are old and retired. You will discover however that as you were going up the ladder and your salary figure was increasing, the value of the currency was decreasing. Why? Because you have no industries which is where you could have powered your economy and your government has to rely on loans from the countries that exploit your resources. 

When your government borrows the loans at interest rates it cannot pay back, one of the ways to cover for that debt in order that they would be eligible for more loans is to devalue your currency and sell more natural resources to the foreigners cheaply.

African youths, let me hear from you what you consider appropriate to do to these countries that participated in the Berlin Conference.

Countries that participated in the Berlin Conference:

1. Austria- Hungary

2. Belgium

3. Denmark

4. France

5. Germany

6. Italy

7. Netherlands

8. Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

9. Portugal

10. Russia

11. Spain

12. Sweden-Norway

13. United Kingdom

14. United States

By Ayobami Ogedengbe 

Copyright: © 2021

WHEN YOU CUT YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE, DON'T BLAME ANYONE WHEN FLIES COME FEASTING

Members of IPOB, ESN & UGM amassing strength & resources to lay Igboland to waste are sons & daughters of Igboland.

Their leader, Kanu is an Igbo man.

Those at home & abroad paying monthly dues to IPOB, donating millions of naira & dollars to them, smuggling arms into the country for them to lay waste Igboland are Igbo sons & daughters.

The leaders, politicians, elders, church leaders & clergy giving their blessings every Sunday & on every miracle crusade ground to the activities of IPOB, ESN & UGM are Igbo sons & daughters.

Those that bail the leaders of IPOB in government custody & help them flee Nigeria to continue from abroad their destruction of Igbo land are sons of Igboland with some presently serving in the federal government of Nigeria.

Those defending IPOB, ESN & UGM & cheering on social media with outsiders like Fayose, Femi Fani Kayode who are suppprting Kanu & his outlawed armed group to waste Igboland are Igbo sons & daughters all over the world on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp & Instagram.

But Buhari is our problem & the cause of insecurity in South East!

We leave the nyash wey mess, go dey knock the head.

Unto what naaah!

You woke up one morning, decided to give yourself a victim status, label yourself a slave in a country where you control commerce in the entire 36 states, in a country arguably you have collectively prospered more than any other tribe, in a country that your sons & daughters controlled over 80% of key appointments in 16 uninterrupted years your party was in power out of 22 since democracy returned in 1999.

You contrived non existent reasons to feel cheated, decided to end it all & set your homeland ablaze just to feed your contrived idiotic hate for a 78 year old man, who in 5 years has done a 100 times more to develop Igboland than your party ever did in 16 years, then turn back to blame the old man for the calamity you wilfully are orchestrating on yourself & on your homeland.

God has a way of disgracing the lofty & proud.

A tragic shame indeed how a people that pride themselves in wisdom, knowledge & self-made success are setting themselves up for self destruction led by a scammer living abroad with his family.

Odiegwu Really!! 

By Elton Onwu 

Copyright: © 2021

INDEPENDENCE WITHOUT DIFFICULTIES IS A DREAM OF UTOPIA

For one month, delighted Londoners watched the 80 ceremonially dressed Nigerians—some with necklaces of animal teeth, others with feathered straw hats, at least one with a jeweled crown—parade into Lancaster House for their historic conference.

Everything possible had been done to make them feel at home.

For the Colonial Office's big reception at the Tate Gallery, all nude statues were carefully screened so as not to offend Moslems. The Lord Mayor served up a banquet of stewed peanuts, and one paramount Chief—His Highness James Okosi II of the Onitsha —fulfilled a lifelong ambition: to ride the escalator at the Charing Cross underground station.[?]

In the end, the Nigerians got what they had come for: on Oct. 1, 1960, the largest (373,250 sq. mi.) of Britain's remaining colonial territories would get its independence (TIME. Nov. 3). But behind the scenes the conference had revealed ominous signs of trouble to come.

From the start there was a clash between the personalities of the Premiers of the three regions —each obviously more important than the scholarly Federal Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

In Western eyes, Obafemi Awolowo of the Western Region seemed the most statesmanlike: as the conference began, the London Times carried a full-page ad proclaiming his declaration for freedom under the title "This I Believe," prepared with the help of an American public relations man.

ln contrast, U.S.-educated Premier Nnamdi ("Zik") Azikiwe of the Eastern Region seemed to have learned more in the U.S. about Tammany tactics than Thomas Jefferson, and was somewhat under a cloud as a result of a British tribunal's 1956 investigation into corruption in his administration.

The North's Premier, the Sardauna of Sokoto, a haughty Moslem of noble birth, could barely conceal his contempt for his less aristocratic colleagues.

Insults & Accusations. Under the great chandeliers of the Lancaster House music room, where Chopin once played for Queen Victoria, the Premiers bickered, shot insults back and forth like poisoned darts.

When the conference took up the ticklish problem of how to protect the rights of minorities among Nigeria's 250 tribes, Awolowo suggested creating three new states. The North's Sardauna, not wishing to relinquish any of his own territory, vetoed the idea. Nor did he like the plan for a centralized police force under the federal government: he much preferred to use his own force, which, answerable only to him, can pop a man in jail with no questions asked.

At one point, the Sardauna accused Awolowo of sending his supporters to Israel to be trained as saboteurs in the North —a charge fabricated out of the fact that Western Nigeria has imported agricultural experts from Israel to advise its farmers. Awolowo countercharged that the Sardauna flogs his prisoners.*

At receptions the delegates sipped their orange juice, icily aloof from one another. In elevators conversation would suddenly stop if a delegate from another region got on.

Compromises & Contests. But as the weeks passed, the Sardauna grudgingly consented to let the constitution carry a bill of rights, though he was so thoroughly opposed to giving the vote to women that the conference decided that this was, after all, not necessarily a "fundamental" right.

The delegates then agreed on a centralized police force, but one that would be administered by a council of representatives from each region. Finally, with their own independence from Britain assured (as well as that of the adjacent British Cameroons, should they choose to become a part of Nigeria), the delegates started for home.

Until Nigeria's federal election takes place next year, the three Premiers will continue jockeying for power, and the fate of Nigeria could well hinge on who comes out on top. Last week, even as the National Planning Committee of Independence opened its contest for the design of a national flag (first prize: $300), many Nigerians had grave reservations about what lay ahead.

For all its jubilation, Nigeria's West African Pilot felt obliged to warn: "Independence without difficulties is a dream of Utopia."

Editorial on Nigeria.

Source: Time Magazine - Monday, Nov. 10, 1958

BABA IJESHA: LAGOS STATE GOVT SPEAKS

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (LSDSVRT) has waded into the sexual assault allegation against Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, popularly known as Baba Ijesha.

Baba Ijesha who is currently in police custody is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

In a statement released on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, the LSDSVRT revealed the possible charges Baba Ijesha could face if legal action is taken against him.

The statement read: “This is to inform members of the public that the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Team is actively following up on the Baba ljesha’s case, we are also in direct contact with the complainant with a view to providing the necessary support.

“We confirm that the duplicate case file has been forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice. For the avoidance of doubt, the following allegations are being considered:

(1) “Sexual Assault by Penetration- S 261 of the Criminal law of Lagos State, 2015 punishable by Life imprisonment.

(2) “Attempted Sexual Assault by Penetration-S262 of the Criminal law, punishable by 14 years imprisonment.

(3) “Sexual Assault-S263 of the Criminal Law, punishable by 3 years imprisonment.

(4) Indecent treatment of a child- S135 of the Criminal Law punishable by 7 years imprisonment.

“We have absolute confidence in the criminal justice system, as well as social support structures in Lagos State in ensuring justice is served in this matter and most importantly, the survivor receives the relevant support on her journey towards healing.

“We, therefore, use this medium to reiterate Lagos State Government’s position of zero tolerance to all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and our firm commitment to ensuring justice for survivors.”

Watch the confession video here:



DEAR PARENTS THIS INFORMATION IS USEFUL PLEASE READ

If you must get your children Android Portable Devices, you need to follow the below steps to be safe:

1. Register a gmail account for them with the correct age and with your email as the parent.

2. Install Google Family Link on your own phone.

3. Add their registered e-mail to your Google Family Link.

4. Factory Reset their android device if they already have one then login the device with their own gmail account that is linked to your Google Family Link.

5. If it is new device, make sure it is their gmail you use to activate the device.

6. Immediately you carry out step 4 & 5 above, your phone will get a notification to allow them activate the device, this is the beginning of you taking control from anywhere.

7. All adult content of any form will never load in their phone.

8. They cannot install anything without your approval remotely from the Family Link.

9. You can lock their device from anywhere.

10. You can set a start and stop time for their device usage, the phone will lock when it gets to that time even if you forget.

11. YouTube will not allow them see adult content too.

12. There is also YKids, which is YouTube for Kids, I recommend you remove the normal YouTube and give them YKids.

13. From your Google Family Link, you can see how long they stayed on each app or page to warn them where necessary.

14. You will see as much as major details of the app.

Dear Parents, let's protect the morality of our Children.

ÌṢẸ̀ṢE (IFÁ-ORISA INSTITUTIONS) AS THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF A YORUBA NATION

Orí òrùlé kò ṣeé rìn gbaragada gbàràgàdà 

a dífá fún ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ tí ń ṣe baba ìlékè, 

ǹjẹ́ tí ìpilẹ̀ṣẹ̀ bá bàjẹ́, èmi la fẹ́ fi ìlékè ṣe? 

- Ofun-Ose:

Translation:

The roof (of the house) can't walked upon majestically,

Ifá was cast for the foundation which is the father (bearer) of the roof,

Behold if the foundation is destroyed, what is the use of the roof?

- Ofun-Ose:

For hundreds of years, the cultural oppression of the Christian and Islamic adherents had destroyed and tarnished the image of the true essence of the Yoruba Traditional practice thereby putting a knife to that which binds us together as a people.

If you are a Christian, you might be scared that you might not be given a free hand to practice what you believe in the Yoruba nation (if there will be one), but rightfully so. If part of your practice is the demonizing of the indegenous Yoruba culture, which our forefathers accepted for reasons best known to them, you will not be having the freedom to do that in the Yoruba nation. 

You will not have the right to use Èṣù as your Satan nor refer to Ògún, Sango, Ọ̀ṣun, Ifá and others as "demons".

Your Christian theology will be completely reviewed and the government institution of the Yoruba nation will do all that is in its power to check the spread of those European and Arabian mythologies - as was the case in China and Japan.

Presently in our primary and secondary schools, Yoruba children are made to sing different songs linking themselves with "Father Abraham has many sons...", this is child abuse, a blatant lie that will not be allowed to take root. Why? Because we know the origins of the religion, its dangers on our soil and its limitation in raising true Ọmọlúwàbís. 

The terms "holy" "righteous" and "saints" are not defined in the same way the Yoruba define "Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́", "Ọmọlúwàbí" and"Awo" which are the core of the Yoruba Traditional Spiritual practice are defined. If therefore our children lose Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́ and Ọmọlúwàbí tenets in the interest of the advancement of foreign religions, do you consider it safe for us to fold our hands and watch our Cultural values continue to be eroded as it has obviously been? No! We need Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́ and Ọmọlúwàbí and that's what the Ifá-Orisa institutions teach. It is therefore a fatherly responsibility to educate our children in the Ifá-Orisa institutions which the Christian and Islamic community stands VEHEMENTLY against. If leaving Nigeria for the Christians and Muslims is what will make it possible for me to educate my own children in the way they should go, it's a cause worth pursuing with all vigor.

If you consider the energy of the ÌṢẸ̀ṢE evangelists as threatening to colonial religious freedom, then you are an oppressor, a lover of filth and a champion of wickedness who has no regard for Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́ and Ọmọlúwàbí tenets. These are the major concepts that will form the foundation of a Yoruba nation and nothing else.

The Yoruba Ìṣẹ̀ṣe practice MUST be entrenched because of the superiority of its worldview compared to the Abrahamic religious dogmas. There was never a religious motivated war in Yoruba land before the advent of these two foreign religions. We have observed the philosophical basis of both and found them completely inferior to Yoruba philosophical worldview. If this factual statement constitutes arrogance to you in your assessment of the Ìṣẹ̀ṣe evangelists, then we are unapologetic about it.

We will be fierce in establishing our Cultural values and we will not be so timidly kind like our forefathers for their kindness is what has brought us here, where we now see the need to aggressively protect our culture - it's called self-preservation.

As for the notion that Christianity and Islam are in the majority, you speak what you feel. How did you come about that conclusion? Did you factor in the many Christians and Muslims who visit Babaláwos and who have also been initiated into Ifá in your statistic? 

Identification with Christianity and Islam are just needed as political power bases in Nigeria and for economic gains in the world (talk of the mark of the beast), as we move into the Era of cultural justice, the age of Sango in the Astrological order, water will find its level and these two religions will naturally lose their appeal (as it is already happening).

We will not be forcing Yoruba Ìṣẹ̀ṣe practice on the people, the people who are so called Adúláwọ̀ will willingly come to embrace their Ifá Orísun because the foreign religions have only built outwardly pious people who can't find spiritual fulfillment internally; this is why we have churches and mosques growing in Nigeria, JPs and Alhajis in Political spaces, yet the country continues on its path to a free fall.

Bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá kàn yín, ẹ̀ẹ́ tọ Ifá wá, but until then, the truth about ourselves and our origin will be shared to counter the negative psychological effect of centuries of cultural sabotage by the Abrahamists.

It is nothing personal, it is self-preservation. Not all of us will and can fold our hands.

Talking of religious freedom? 

If your religion says that my religion is evil, then we either reform your religion or I make killing you also a part of my religion. If my religion says I should kill those who are not of my religion, would you advocate for religious freedom? This in essence is proof that the idea of religious freedom must be defined. 

Yoruba has a well defined spiritual order, if Yoruba nation will be achieved, it will stand on Yoruba spiritual order. If you don't like the sound of that, maybe you should consider choosing to remain in Nigeria. The problem of Nigeria presently is majorly championed by these two foreign religions, if I am going into a Yoruba nation, you must know that Ogun, Sango and Ayelala will play important roles in the swearing in of political office holders not Bible and Quran as we currently know.

He who has an ear, let him hear!

PS: At this time, I'm for political restructuring to allow states their autonomy for the much needed economic development.

By Ayobami Ogedengbe 

Copyright: © 2021

Watch the video here:



Thursday 29 April 2021

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Honey Can You Wake Me Up If I Die? This was the question my husband asked me like a joke on our first date, after I had said "yes" to him. I quickly dismissed it with a proclamation "God forbid it!!" and he quickly covered it up with other sweet words as he had noticed a slight change in my countenance. We forgot about it.

George is the kind of man that every woman would dream to marry because with him, there is no dull moment. He is very jovial and friendly, tall, handsome, caring, kind, not so wealthy but comfortably well to do and above all a serious prayerful Christian.

God had shown him to me in my 200level and I was waiting for him till 5years later when he had finished his Nysc and was working with a firm.

George and I used to go for ministrations together almost every weekends as he would always have invitations to preach in different programs. It was not a matter to me because I knew he is an Evangelist when God started telling me things about my husband back then in school.

I was ready for the work though I thought it would be a full-time work. My George was amongst those that would rather give honorarium after preaching, than taking honorarium from those who invited him to preach (Paul the Apostle of Jesus has been his role model).

In the 7th year of our marriage, all of a sudden he lost his job as a result of economical challenges in his firm. This resulted to them letting go of some of their staff of which he was among those that were affected.

I was just a fashion designer so we were all relying on my income, but of course it was a difficult time for my husband, especially as he was still applying for vacancies in other organisations.

After 7months, he got another job, but unlike the former, he had little or no space again for his personal study and ministry.

I tried advising him to quit the job but he promised to do that as soon as the one he is expecting clicks; so we all hoped that it was just a "passing time job" as he calls it.

The job was so demanding that my husband even works on Saturdays which he doesn't joke with before, because it used to be when he spends almost 80% of the day seeking the face of God.

It got me worried but when i talked with him about it, he says it a passing time job. Truth be told, gradually I began to notice that "My G" as I fondly call him had started growing cold spiritually and then I knew I had a serious war to fight, so I began to pray and fast as much as my strength could carry me.

As time went by, my husband seemed to be withdrawing from home to the point that even the kids noticed it. I started crying to the Lord, as even the Saturday that was half day was now the day he comes back as late as 10:30pm.

Even on our matrimonial bed, we sleep as though we are merely room mates, then I knew my home was on fire but I never stopped praying.

One day, he came back so early and by the time I came back, he was in a pool of tears. When he noticed my presence, he quickly reached to me and held my legs with his face down and pleaded for Mercy.

Tears dropped down my eyes but I never knew why he was crying so I helped him up and we sat on the couch as he started releasing the atomic bombs.

George had broken our marital vow. It all started at a staff meeting and then grew to dating which his boss claimed to be casual friendship and mere dates.

On one particular Saturday morning, she came to the office and pleaded with him to help her fix up something in her apartment as she wanted to collect some thing she forgot. 

She claimed she didn't want to bother him after work or spend money on such a little task and so they went together. She was his boss by the way right? Hmmmm!

After fixing the appliance of course it was done in few minutes,and then from compliment of the house to the compliment of the hair and body and then the unimaginable happened. They went to bed together!

It was a horror story to me as I shouted, screamed, cried and I opened my eyes to look at him again and be sure it was not my imagination, I saw a spiritual giant that has been crashed.

A man of God that was lifelessly dead in the Spirit. 

Just then, the great 10 year old question was called back to my memory "honey, can you wake me up if i die?"

With an understanding that came to me, I muttered "yes" as a reply. We cried together for hours and we continued later in the mid night because we had to cover up things for the kids.

By the help of God, we started building again and God began to heal us together till I was able to wake him up from the dead.

Marriage is a very sweet relationship when you are married to your friend or the right person meant for you.

But there is a question couples need to ask themselves. That is, "Honey, can you wake me up if I die?"

You may meet me very successful in Business, but a day may come and the business is dead, can you wake me up?

I maybe on fire as a sister now, but after having 3 children with so many responsibilities l may be growing cold spiritually, can you wake me up?

It may not be as a result of infidelity, it may be an unguarded hour, it may be family matters, whichever it is that left me dead, can you wake me up? Think about it!!

We are meant for each other, so let's fight the battle  together..

As the Lord helps us, we can arise together again!

By Akinyele Balogun

Copyright: © 2021

Ifa is a simple (yet complex) energy manipulation practice that modern science cannot explain

Pic: (L - R) Abayomi Ogedengbe, Oluwo Akomolafe Wande, Awo Olusegun Daramola

Thinking that it is inferior or invalid because modern science has not been able to find explanation for it is a manifestation of grade A folly.

What Eku, Ẹja, Ẹyẹ, Ẹran, Ẹ̀kọ and Àkàrà do (in the universal system) as contained/prescribed in Ifá cannot yet be explained by modern science, might never be explainable, but those who want to try can try.

I'm a Microbiologist by academic qualification, also a rational and logical thinker, but when I came across Ifá, I doffed my cap for the wisdom of Yoruba ancestors. Ifá is cosmology in Yoruba poems. An encyclopedia of mythology, history, philosophy and medicine told as folktale poems and music. It is highly rich in Proverbs and metaphysical incantations. All stored in a 256 pulse information retrieval system called Odus. Babaláwos should be graded with B. Sc, H. ND, M. Sc, Ph. D and other academic equivalence EVEN if they don't know how to read or write the English Language. It is totally appropriate. Ifá is an Institution where you matriculate as an Awo and graduate as a Babaláwo and continue to learn until you become Àràbà - The Highest position in Ifá institutional hierarchy.

The validity of Ifá for me is not because it makes common sense, if it does, the custodians of it will not be regarded as Awo which means mystery or secret. The validity of Ifá is that what Ifá says IS.

You can take Ifa's word to the bank, it will BE what it says. 

By Abayomi Ogedengbe

Copyright: © 2021

ILE-IFE, BENIN, OYO & THE GREATNESS OF ODUDUWA ROYAL DYNASTY

Oranmiyan The Great, a Prince:

After several years on the throne, Alaafin Oranmiyan abdicated the throne(succeeded by Ajaka his son) and returned home(Ile-Ife), ousted the then Ooni Alayemore and mounted the sacred throne of Oduduwa as the Ooni of Ife.

Ooni Alayemore who had earlier succeeded his father Ooni Obalufon Ogbogbodirin later went to establish his new kingdoms; Efon Alaaye, Ido Osun & several others across Oodua land where his descendants are the monarchs till date.

Omooba Ginuwa, a Benin prince left the palace of his father Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo to establish the throne of Olu of Warri where he ruled over the Iwere(Warri) people of Itsekiri who had earlier migrated from Ile-Ife the ancestral home for all descendants of Oduduwa worldwide and some other parts of what is today known as Yorubaland dwelling as riverine communities but without a kingship system.

Glory be to the Almighty Olodumare, the Yorubaness of the Itsekiri nation has been reaffirmed by the predestined emergence of the young, dynamic, handsome, highly civilized, well educated and royaly brought up Omooba Tsola Emiko as the new Olu of Warri publicly presented to the joyous Iwere(Itsekiri) people recently at the Ode Itsekiri palace on the Island of Warri fatherly witnessed by The Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife represented by the Oore of Otun-Ekiti, HRM, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo & Olubosin of Ifetedo, HRM, Oba Akinola Akinrera.

Special thanks to one of our finest patriots and super ideologue as far as Oduduwa movement is concerned Comrade Wale Adeoye who interfaced tactically to ensure the timely representation of the Arole Oduduwa Ooni'risa on behalf of the Yoruba race, even when it seemed impossible. He called me at about 4pm on that day "Comrade! Comrade! Comrade! Baba(Ooni) must honour the request of our Itsekiri kinsmen by sending a powerful delegation to Warri 10am tomorrow morning ooooo". "Aaaaaah! Egbon! and you are just telling me this? Warri is far oooo!". I responded with exclamation. "No no no, a letter had much earlier been sent to Baba's Email, I guess he didn't see it. Ooni is the overall natural father of our race, Ile-Ife is our source, Itsekiri is from our race and Baba must do it in the larger interest of our race". The dogged Wale Adeoye insisted. I swiftly got in touch with the Arole Oodua himself, our father who would never handle Yoruba's interest with levity. Baba swung into actions, several phone calls were made, the two great patriotic Yoruba monarchs landed in Warri and the rest is history.

IMPOSSIBILITY IS NOT IN MY DICTIONARY - Ooni Ogunwusi says.

Prince YEMI EMIKO, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Mr Amaju Pinnick(NFF & FIFA) & the Veteran Broadcaster, Mr Patrick Doyle for speaking up bluntly & objectively on the Yorubaness of Itsekiri nation.

The kingmaker, princes, princesses and the entire Itsekiri people worldwide commendably stood for Justice solidly behind Omooba Tsola Emiko.

President of Itsekiri Youth National Youth Council(INYC), Comrade Weyinmi Agbateyinwo did great mobilizations.

OMO OODUA DIDE...

BO SI IPO ETO RE...

IWO NIIIII...

IMOLE...

GBOGBO ADULAWO!!!

Yera Moses Olafare,

Lowa Ada Compound,

Okerewe,

Ile-Ife.

OONI CANVASES FOR LOCALLY MADE PRODUCTS AS TITAN FARMS OPENS RICE FACTORY IN IBADAN

The Arole Oduduwa & Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II has urged Nigerians to patronize locally made products, stating that such gesture is required to grow the country's economy.

Ooni Ogunwusi made the call on Thursday at his Ile Oodua Palace Ile-Ife, while playing host to management of Titan Multi-business investment L.t.d.; producers of Titan Rice who were on a courtesy visit to the African foremost monarch to formally invite him as the Special Guest of Honour at the commissioning of the Titan Farms Corporate HEADQUARTERS and rice factory located in Ibadan slated to hold in two months time.

The Ooni who is the Co-chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, commended Titan management for their patriotism and originality, while rendering qualitative services to Nigerians.

"We should commend the management of this great company and other few ones across the country for standing up to the challenges in the competitive market, it is obviously not easy. What I want to encourage our people to do is to patronize this brand and I assure Nigerians that they'll be proud." The Ooni said.

Earlier in his address, Founder and the Chief Trader of Titan Multi-business investment, Mr. Gbenga Eyiolawi, thanked the Ooni for the kind words, affirming his organization's readiness to uphold its efficient service delivery mechanism.

"Baba, let me use this chance to explain that Titan is an agro-commodity processing and trading outfit, buying farm produce directly from Nigerian farms and process them with our partner-mills and processing facilities using their High-Tech equipments in the Northern part of the country.

"These processed goods are packaged in our brand and sold directly to distributors across South West Nigeria.

"Pioneer of such goods is our rice brand known as Titan Rice which is produced and packaged in the North and then sold in the south. We started recently and presently have presence in Oyo,Osun,Ogun and Kwara states.

"We do not compete with existing brands as we offer something more unique than others giving priority to our distributors and end users. Titan Rice comes in 50kg,25kg,10kg and 5kg and we pride ourself in the fact that our rice stone free, clean,polished and sweet with less starch content.

"We are able to achieve this through diligent and extensive research and development as we have food processing specialists in our team. We are confident to say that Titan Rice is the most affordable "Grade A" Nigerian Rice.

"We also have Titan Vegetable Oil which is launching into the markets this November. It is going to be of high quality as we only produce and sell premium affordable products." He stated.

Accepting the invitation, Ooni Ogunwusi pledged his readiness to grace the commissioning ceremony as invited.

Signed;

Comrade Moses Olafare,

Director, Media & Public Affairs,

Ooni's Palace.

COMMON MISTAKES OF THE MODERN DAY FATHERS

During the Mothers’ Day celebration in a prison, a Christian ministry visited the inmates with greeting cards they could send to their mothers. The ministry offered to pay for the postage of the cards to their mothers.

All inmates came out of their cells to send the greeting cards to their mothers to the extent that more had to be provided because there weren’t enough for the inmates.

They all wrote emotional messages to their mothers, appreciating them for their love, care, attention and support.

These are some of the words they penned for their mothers:

“Sweet Mother, you are the best”

“Mum I disappointed you, I am sorry.

“I love you mum”

“Super Mum”

“Mum, this is your Mum of the Century award”.

“I don’t deserve you mum, you are too much”

“You sold all to pay for my lawyer’s fees. I don’t know how to thank you”

“All abandoned me, but you are just there. You are more than a million”

Encouraged with the responses of the inmates, the prison ministry purchased a large number of cards for Father’s Day celebration with the thought that inmates would need to send lovely wishes to their fathers.

They were wrong. Unfortunately, only ten inmates out of thousands came out to pick cards. Three of them wrote negative things on their cards. Curious, the ministry involved decided to interview some of the inmates about their relationship with their fathers. What they said should be food for thought for all fathers. Some of them said:

“My father is the reason I am here. He is a bad example.”

“He was never in my life. I don’t know him.”

“I don’t have a father. He is late, but he is living in Ohio now.”

“He made me wild.”

“I hate him.”

“He beats my mum regularly.”

“He is an idiot.”

“I don’t like him.”

“He made me gay.”mm

“I met him for the first time when I was 12.”

“He said he was not my father.”

“He divorced my mother when I was 3. I met him twice after.”

“He is a pastor of a church, but a devil at home.”

‘’We are three boys, raised by an idiotic and alcoholic father and we are all in prison.’’

“Please don’t mention his name.”

“He introduced me to porn. I became a sex addict and rapist, here I am.”

“That idiot slept with my sister”

The following summarizes what mothers are doing and the mistakes some fathers are making. Every father who is reading this should take heed and avoid the common mistakes of modern fathers.

ABSENTEE FATHERHOOD

Lots of fathers are absent from the lives of their children. Millions of children are being raised by single mothers worldwide. It’s a mistake on the part of any man to abandon his children for their mother only.

MIDNIGHT FATHERHOOD

Some fathers are home mostly at night while their children are fast asleep.

DELEGATING PARENTING

Some fathers delegate almost everything about parenting to their wives. They believe their only duty at home is to pay house rent, school fees and other bills. This is very wrong. School fees cannot raise a child. An excellent father is much involved in rearing, nurturing, caring, training and parenting his children. He is ready to attend parents-teachers meetings and he is available on important days in the lives of his children.

ORDER, JUDGEMENT SYSTEM

Some fathers run the order-judgement system. They give order to their children in the morning and come out to judge them in the night for any wrongdoing. No love, no interaction, no intimacy and no effective communication.

EXECUTIVE FATHERHOOD

Lots of fathers are executive in nature. They behave like managers at home. Their rooms are their offices. They issue orders which everybody must obey. They have a formal relationship with their wives and children.

CELEBRITY FATHERHOOD

Some fathers who are famous or in a position of leadership and authority are fond of having a celebrity mindset at home. They behave like a tin-god and separate themselves from their children. Some pastors are fond of this too. They fail to know the difference between spiritual and biological fatherhood. They are so far from their children and still busy even when at home. They find it difficult to have a personal relationship with their children.

IRRESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

Can you imagine this home? The father gets a fat salary but he hardly drops a dime at home for his wife and children. This is an act of irresponsible fatherhood.

CHILD ABUSE

Some fathers, especially in Africa, believe that the best way to raise a child is to beat them and inflict injury. They use everything to harm their children in the name of discipline. Some even use blades to harm their children.

A father made his 16-year-old daughter stand clad on the street to shame her for committing fornication. This is simply Child abuse, not discipline. The Bible supports child discipline, not child abuse. See this:

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the ROD OF CORRECTION shall drive it far from him.” Proverbs 22:15 KJV.

Note that it is the rod of correction the Bible calls it, not the rod of affliction. Child abuse is wrong, don’t do it.

NON INVOLVEMENT

Some fathers are at home but they are never involved in the lives of their children. They pay the bills and provide all things, but they will never raise a finger. They believe that their wives only are responsible for raising children. This is wrong. A father must be involved in all the 6 phases of parenting namely:

Childbearing

Child rearing

Child nurturing

Child discipline

Childcare

Child training

This is what excellent parenting is all about.

WIFE BATTERING

Modern men are still committing the crime of beating their wives, the mothers of their children with impunity. This is a grave mistake that a father must not commit.

CHILD BRIBERY

Trying to bribe a child to behave in a certain way by promising a reward only teaches a child that they get a prize if they act inappropriately first, and then change their behaviour. If you want them to act appropriately for the first time, a good child discipline alternative is to remind them how good it feels to make the right choices or to simply give the predetermined positive consequence for positive behaviour. 

By Bisi Adewale 

Culled from the book Excellent Fatherhood

Wednesday 28 April 2021

Ẹbọ Rírú || Sacrifice || Cosmic Ecosystem

Ẹbọ is a real process of gathering and channeling our life energy in a way that it opens new channels to our Òrì. A sacred cosmical give and take. Ẹbọ Riru a core aspect of Ifá. Different materials are used as sacrifice for different energies as an exchange for one thing or the other. Every material have it's esoteric meanings.

It is in a way like digging new channels where energy can flow.

In the beginning of Ẹbọ Rírú, the revelation of the odù's is usually very gentle, we feel tingling sensations of energy in our Orí & body then hands, we start to sense different energies and our intuition would develop.

Through the practice of ẹbọ rírú we start to gather our life energy that is usually dispersed unconsciously in our daily distracted state of mind.

Rírú eboni gbe ni, airu ebo ni ki gbeniyan, making of sacrifice favors one; refusal to sacrifice benefits ...

In more advanced ẹbọ rírú, we can start tapping into states of inner Orí, emptiness, no-self states, we feel a profound silence that is all-pervading and also experience different states of universality. As our ẹbọ rírú becomes more mature and ripe, our capacity to sense and perceive our odù grows and becomes more rich and elaborate. This gives us access to a rich land of endless resources within our very own interior.

Ìbá Awọn Alaseku.

Copyright: © CustodianofYorubaTraditionandCulture

SELF-AWARENESS IN IFÁ

There is no one who knows you more than you know yourself. The real self awareness is not read in a book, you experience it as you journey through life. 

In Yoruba cosmology and spiritual life, Ìtẹfá is an initiation into the self-awareness experience.

Ìtẹfá reveals the information that formed you before time based on the purpose for which you were formed thereby arming you with the information that reveals to you the reasons for your character traits and the management of same for optimum performance during your time in Ìkọ̀lé Ayé - material universe.

Odù Ifá Èjì Ogbè, the first and the king of the 256 Ifá chapters makes us understand that it is not appropriate to wake up each day without knowing one's Odù Ifá.

Jíjí ni mo jí ni mo ko ire, 

Ọ̀nà ni mo rìn ni mo ko ìfà,

A kìí jí ni kùtùkùtù òwúrọ̀ ká má mọ Ifá tó bíni;

A dífá fún Olúìpó Ẹ̀là-elú

Èyí tí ó fi ìlànà bàbá rẹ̀ sílẹ̀

Tí ó lọ ń tọ ìlànà bàbá òní bàbá.....

Translation:

I wake up (in the morning) and encounter goodness, 

Walking on my path and I come across freebie,

It's an aberration to wakeup in the morning and not know one's spiritual path;

These were Ifa's declarations for Olúìpó Ẹ̀là-elú who abandoned his ancestral path to thread on another's ancestral path.

Ifá is saying to us in this verse that one's path is originally laced with goodness as Olódùmarè intended for each one of us, but the neglect of our own ancestral path is bound to result into hardships. 

This is the wisdom that the full story in this Ifá is teaching us.

Self-awareness therefore starts from knowing your own Odù Ifá which is your ancestral path; it tells your story from before you were born into the material universe; its corpus - scripture - contains the essence of your creation, the trajectory of your life, your challenges, strengths, weaknesses which together makes a divine combination that activate your inherent authority/Àṣẹ. This you'll be helped to attain through the mentorship of your Oluwo (Baba)...

In summary, it is impossible to fulfill your own essence without a deliberate navigation through life. A deliberate navigation through life is impossible without a knowledge of your authentic essence. This is what is continued in your Odù Ifá.

Any Questions?

By Ayobami Ogedengbe 

Copyright: © 2021

Tuesday 27 April 2021

SITUATION REPORT WITHIN NIGERIA

Yesterday, Nigeria experienced one of the saddest days in recent memory. All in one day, from Anambra State to Kaduna, Yobe, Niger, and Lagos States, critical insecurity issues were recorded and reported. Hour after hour; breaking news after breaking news, we saw numerous unacceptable reports of violence, kidnapping, terrorism, and the systematic breakdown of law and order in many parts of the nation. This should not be so.

We read reports of Boko Haram hoisting up its flag in Niger State, in Shiroro LGA that houses one of Nigeria’s largest power stations — and is just about 200 kilometres from our federal capital. We also read the statement of the Niger State governor, where he expressed how helpless the government has become, and how thousands of people have been displaced in his state. He also lamented how the efforts of the federal government have not yielded concrete results.

We also received sad and disturbing reports that Mainok, a town on the Damaturu-Maiduguri highway was invaded on Sunday by the insurgents who unabashedly went on a killing spree — targeting our brave soldiers and innocent civilians alike. Nine people were said to have been killed by hoodlums that invaded Ukpomachi Village, Awkuzu in Oyi LGA of Anambra State.

In Kaduna State, two more innocent students that were kidnapped from Greenfield University were killed by their abductors. While, an unspecified number of students have now been abducted from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Benue State. All in one day. All within a 24-hour news cycle. This cannot continue. This cannot become Nigeria’s new normal.

Before giving my comment, I want to state that as we reel from the multiple tragedies, my family and I will continue to pray for all the affected families and communities. We will lend them our full support as we all bind together to get past this difficult time. May God grant them the fortitude and the strength that they need to withstand this difficult and sad period.

However, it is obvious that President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) government need help. They have been overwhelmed by the situation and they sure need assistance from all. Thus, I urge Mr. President to seek help wherever it can be given. This matter has gone beyond what the government can handle alone. The President should know that calling for help in our present situation is not a sign of weakness.

Just as I stated in my press statement on the same issue on January 24, 2021, I want to reiterate that the President needs to bring together all former Presidents and heads of state, serving and former chief justices, serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly, serving and former heads of security agencies, traditional rulers with relevant experience, leaders of the private sector, development partners, friends of Nigeria in the international community and all others who can help in finding solutions to the problem at hand.

The meeting must hold expeditiously and must be followed by immediate actions. I know there are many people who believe that the fact that this suggestion is coming from a source outside government is a good reason for the President to ignore it. I think the attitude this time around must be different. This is definitely not a time for partisanship or for people to play politics with the lives of the citizenry and the future of the country.

Security of lives and properties is the first and most important duty of government and it must be taken seriously. My suggestion here is an appeal made out of genuine concern with what is going on in our dear country.

More importantly, in the democracy that we practice, the institution charged with holding the executive accountable is the legislature. In this regard, I strongly call on my colleagues in the National Assembly to be more assertive in finding solutions to this issue of insecurity. l need to make it clear that they will not be helping the administration if they do not become more insistent and decisive in their approach to getting this security crisis tackled immediately. Doing this cannot be logically interpreted as antagonising the executive. Just as treating the issue in a mild manner does not amount to co-operation. They must stand up and put Nigeria first before any other consideration. It is by doing this that they can genuinely help both the government and their constituents.

The leaders of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) also have a vital role to play. They must do all that is necessary to help the administration to get solutions to this national crisis. This is a time for them to be part of the search for the solution and getting the government to act swiftly in implementing good ideas that will return the country to normalcy and the path of genuine development.

Even those of us in the opposition party recognise the fact we can only exist if we continue to have a country. Thus, we are willing to cooperate with the government in finding solutions to this problem. Our former leaders, I am sure, are ready, willing, and able to assist the government with their wealth of experience. With their active role in combating the COVID-19 crisis, even the private sector has shown that if called upon, at any time and on any issue, it is ready to help solve this crisis. Our friends in the international community, have also demonstrated their willingness to help us out.

However, all these actors will not jump into the arena without the government facilitating their intervention. The government needs to call on them before this problem consumes all of us.

At this point, words and press statements are not enough. We need to see action. I appeal to Mr. President to take the bull by the horn. He should act to stem the tide of this violence threatening to tear the country apart.

Signed:

Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki 

Immediate-past President of the Senate

GOV WIKE IMPOSES NIGHT CURFEW AT ALL RIVERS' LAND BOARDERS

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has imposed night curfew at all entry and exit points with Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Imo States.

Governor Wike in State broadcast on Tuesday said the curfew which takes effect from Wednesday night, is necessitated by the recent security breaches and deadly attacks on security personnel by yet to be identified gunmen.

“The Government of Rivers State has decided to restrict night movements into and out of the State from the land borders of the State.

“Consequently, a night curfew is hereby imposed and no person or vehicle is allowed into and out of Rivers State from 8.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. from tomorrow (Wednesday) 28 April 2021 until further notice.

“We wish to advise that those who have any legitimate need or reason to come into or go out of the State must do so before 8.00 p.m. when the curfew shall come into force daily.”

The governor stated that security agencies have been posted to monitor and enforce strict compliance with the curfew at all borders and or entry and exit points with Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Imo States.

He explained that on Saturday some innocent officers of the Customs, Police and Civil Defence services on their duty posts along the Port Harcourt - Owerri Expressway were ambushed and gruesomely murdered in cold blood by armed attackers.

And similarly, on Sunday, the State witnessed another deadly attack and killing of officers and men of the Nigerian Army right in their duty post at Abua town in Abua Odual Local Government Area of the State.

The governor said although the security agencies are investigating these attacks with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice, nobody yet knows where and when the next attack would take place.

“Neither do we also know the motives of the deranged characters or group behind these senseless assault on our State and the lives of security operatives working to keep us safe and secure.

“However, what is obvious is that the attackers and their sponsors are people who came from outside Rivers State, and as a Government, we are determined to do everything within our powers to prevent the re-occurrence of such senseless and murderous acts aimed at creating an atmosphere of gross insecurity and panic among the citizens.

“In view of what is going on therefore and its implications to the security of the State and citizens, and in discharge of our constitutional responsibility in that regard, the Government of Rivers State has decided to restrict night movements into and out of the State from the land borders of the State.”

The governor urged all citizens of the State to be vigilant and report every useful intelligence or suspicious movements to the security agencies for immediate action.

He advised the people to understand that these are strange times and nothing can be more paramount than their collective safety and security.

Kelvin Ebiri

Special Assistant (Media) Rivers State Governor

Two Kinds of Religion

Very interesting polemics on the philosophy of faith & spirituality.  Enjoy:

I didn't write the following but it resonates with me, without diminishing my faith and belief in God. YS

Whether Christianity or Islam, all religion is understood based on the time & culture people live in. That is why the ‘word of God’ is often the thoughts of man about the word of God.

So when the jihadis & missionaries brought Islam to the North & Christianity to the south of Nigeria, they brought the version that fitted their mission: to colonize us.

And it has stuck.

Look at this example: two famous American preachers, one black, one white. 

Both speaking on the same subject: about protests.

While Billy Graham complained that protests were becoming too much, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr advocated the opposite: when people are not heard, they will shout louder, or protest.

While Billy Graham preached a gospel of conversion and repentance, with an emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus, so that we could go to heaven, MLK’s understanding of what it meant to follow Jesus was understood through the pain and anguish of Black Americans who were suffocating under the boot of oppression.

So, on March 10, 1968, in a speech titled “The Other America”, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said, “…I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the [Black] poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.” 

But a year earlier, in his 1967 sermon titled “Rioting or Righteousness”, the Reverend Billy Graham equates “rioting” with “looting” and “anarchy”, and admonishes that America needs “tough new laws” in order to combat “subversive elements that are seeking the overthrow of the American government”.

Tough new laws could easily mean these killer police that have been murdering America’s black population, non stop, one day at a time.

Same gospel,  2 men of God, 2 different realities. Graham was a rich old white man with no needs his country did not meet. He was satisfied on earth and couldn’t wait to go to heaven. But MLK was the son of enslaved Africans, oppressed on earth, by Graham’s kind.

Religion, of any kind, tends to advance the dominant cultural ideas, and hardly disrupts anything those in power do not want to let go of. 

Even Jesus was killed for standing in the way of Jewish religion & Roman politics.

Imagine if the missionaries had brought us MLKs kind of Christianity instead of Grahams?

But the missionaries who advanced colonization were white, and all people everywhere tend to interpret any and every religion through their culture and present circumstance.

That is why white Christianity supported slavery & colonization, emphasized that slaves should obey their masters and overlooked any part of the Bible that contradicted their exploitative & dehumanizing mission.

We inherited that white gospel, that tells us to overlook earthly problems, and assures us that our reward is in heaven.

The white type of Christianity coaxes us to accept suffering as Gods way of making us holy, and struggle as part of carrying the cross.

But MLK’s Christian doctrine urged us to resist earthly tyranny and begin to build righteousness on earth. MLKs Christianity clearly said that slavery & colonization were wrong, and fought to remove these injustices.

MLKs Christianity did not wait for God. It wasn’t passive about suffering. It wanted heaven now, here, not till kingdom come.

Notice that white people can change their docile doctrine when it suits them. 

When Americans faced oppression by their British overlords, they called it tyranny then, and invoked the Bible to declare their independence from Great Britain.

But when they captured Africans and converted us to slaves, they ignored  the doctrine of God given independence but espoused tolerance & forgiveness.

Till today, we Africans are still following their moribund view of God that does not free us, and makes us look up to our colonizers as moral or political examples. That’s why our economies are in shambles.

Our self view and worldviews have been polluted by our ideology & philosophy, and the biggest ideology is religion and our religion is white and arabic, given to us by the oppressors of our race who enslaved  and  colonized us.

We must decolonize religion, deconstruct Christianity & Islam, and explore what faith means in each human language, without going through mental intermediary cultures of  Europeans or Arabs.

As Nigerians, what would God consciousness look like, without the intervention of colonial and manipultive views of religion? How would we grow, and govern, if we took more control, and resisted earthly injustice, and fixed broken systems, rather than wait and pray for things to change for the better, in Nigeria?

This was what MLK did. 

This is what we should do too in Nigeria.

Deconstruct, & Decolonize Nigeria. Good luck to you all!!! 

By Danladi Dele Agbeyo

Copyright: © 2021

Sunday 25 April 2021

THE BRICK!!!

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, in his new Jaguar. Suddenly, a brick smashed into the Jaguar's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown - and saw a kid standing.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and shouted at him. ”What was that all about?  That's a new car and that brick you threw has caused damage that is going to cost a lot of money to repair. Why did you do it?'' 

The young boy was apologetic. ”Please, mister... please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,'' He pleaded. ‘'I threw the brick because no one else    would stop".... With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. '’It's my brother,'  he said, 'He rolled off he curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.'

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, 'Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?  He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.' Moved beyond words, the man swallowed the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.

He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

‘Thank you and may God bless you,'  the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

'’Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!'

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.  It’s our choice to listen or not. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us so we can STOP and LISTEN.

Thought for the day:

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Read this line very 

slowly and let it sink 

in.......

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.  

The Naija (Nigerian) Mindset

I recall when I came to London in 2009. My dad was at Heathrow Airport to welcome me. He bought an Oyster card for me. The card is your ticket to ride on all London buses and trains. You can buy a weekly, monthly, daily or ‘Pay As You Go’ pass.

The Oyster card opens the barriers before you board the train or exit the train station. So, as my dad used his ticket, the barriers opened, he went through and just before it would close, I quickly followed him behind and passed through.

I don’t know why I did that. But my first guess would be, it was the Naija sharp guy thinking that made me pass quickly without paying. My dad was terribly upset and asked me to return and pay.

A few months later, I got on a bus and with the same mindset of a ‘sharp guy’, I didn’t pay. Normally, there are no ticket inspectors on the bus or trains. They come occasionally, but you cannot tell when. So, on this fateful day, they came, checked, and noticed I did not use my card.  Instantly I was fined £20 on a journey that would have cost me only £1.30 had I used my Oyster card. A big lesson I learnt.  Since then, I have never entered the public transport without paying the appropriate fare.

Later when I settled and got my apartment, I went with my dad to buy a second-hand television at a charity shop. We bought it for £25. Within one week, I got a letter from TV Licensing that I was to pay £145 each year for watching a TV.  My Naija Mindset kicked in again. I said to myself, “TV that I bought for £25 I will now spend £145 to watch?” “for What? As in Why?” I continued to murmur. Then I heard stories about people who often refuse to open their doors to the TV licensing officials who come to check if you own a TV (again, they don’t tell you they are coming, they just appear).

Since I refused to pay the money. I also made up my mind not to be opening my door to strangers. One Saturday morning, I heard a knock on the door. I peeped and couldn’t tell who the person was, so I didn’t open the door. The person left a letter for me through the letterbox. I opened it and saw that it was from the TV Licensing. These were the exact words in the letter, “IT IS NOT IF WE CATCH YOU, IT IS WHEN WE CATCH YOU” and the letter ended with, “YOU WILL BE FINED UP TO A MAXIMUM OF £1,000.”

I paid the £145 immediately. I paid because I was tired of playing hide-and-seek. I paid because I couldn’t afford a £1,000 fine. Since then, I have paid my TV Licensing fee every year for 12 years now and the charge is now £159/year.

In 2014, while on my way to church, I parked at a bus stop. A week later, a penalty notice was sent to my address with a photo of my car on the bus lane. They also included a link for me to watch the video evidence. I was fined £140. I challenged their decision and explained that the back door of the car was not shut so I stopped to check. That I did not want to endanger other road users. I asked them to watch the clip again to see how I stopped, came down, and checked the back door before driving off. After their investigations, they accepted my explanation and cancelled the fine.

You see how an effective system has helped to change my mindset?

Let me share other examples of effective systems in the UK:

(1)   The police can use your car’s plate number to retrieve the name of the owner, the registered address and can check whether the car is road worthy or insured.

(2)   Financial institutions can use your name, date of birth and address to check whether you are credit worthy. They have a database for people’s credit history.

(3)   Education (state-funded) is free from nursery up to secondary school for every child in the UK whether they are citizens or not. Healthcare is also free.

(4)   When you reach 40 years, your doctor sends you a letter that you are due for a FREE full medical check-up.

(5)   Nobody is above the law. Politicians pay parking fines. The police too get parking tickets.

(6)   A lecturer marks your script and gives you feedback on what you did wrong and what you ought to have done. If you are unhappy with your grade, your work is given to another lecturer to mark and this second marker’s score will be used to decide your score.

These and many more, are examples of how systems help governments and organisations to function effectively.

Sadly, the Naija Mindset we have is that of cutting corners, refusing to be accountable, breaking the law, rewarding criminals, showing off, it’s our turn now, it’s my person, and who we know, etc. No wonder when two Nigerians get into an argument, you hear them say, “Do You Know Who I Am?” and “I Will Deal with You”.

We are all agitating for the restructuring of Nigeria. But while we are at it, let us restructure our mindsets too.

By Danladi Dele Agbeyo

Copyright: © 2021

HAPPY WORLD HUSBANDS DAY

Today is World happy husband Day. Let us maintain 2 minutes silence and appreciate

some real life experiences quotes of some great personalities:

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin, they just can’t face each other, but still they stay together. – Al Gore

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher. – Socrates

Wife inspires us to great things and prevent us from achieving them. – Mike Tyson

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me. – Bill Clinton

There’s a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It’s called marriage. – Michael Jordan

A good wife always forgives her husband when she’s wrong. – Barack Obama

When you are in love,

wonders happen.

But once you get married, you wonder, what happened. - Steve Jobs

And the best one is…

Marriage is a beautiful forest where Brave Lions are killed by Beautiful Deers. -Brad Pitt

'Marriage is the only battle in the world where the combatants share a bed'. -Andrew Kutto

Marriage is a choice we make which we sometimes regret or satisfied. - Anonymous

Happy World Husbands Day Guys!

A polite middle finger to every school I’ve ever been

So, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) has invented a thing called an “African” degree. 

If you have this unheard of continental schooling, it makes you’re only half as good as a Dutch person less educated than you. 

Everybody who’s read this has asked the same question: what evaluation or peer-reviewed analysis gave rise to this generalisation over how the 52 countries on the African continent have Bachelor's degrees that are generally “the equivalent of 2 years of academic education” in the Netherlands? 

One of the first things you’ll learn about racism is that it makes assumptions. 

Assumptions are why Chauvin murdered Floyd. That his life was less worthy, and therefore his death wouldn’t matter. The University of Amsterdam isn’t killing anybody yet, but they have and will surely kill careers, aspirations & livelihoods. 

Still as deadly, just less blood.

Maybe UvA’s sweeping assumption explains why it has taken me 5 years of 500 applications & interviews, to be rejected over & over again by Dutch recruiters. 

These diversity interviews are for show, and the job often goes to a wide-eyed intern who just left school, who is white.

When curious peers back in Nigeria ask me about Dutch society, I always reply that I’ve never met one single Dutch person who impressed me intellectually. 

I’ve been in private companies, government ministries, large  hospitals, even served on a board, and I never once saw a Dutch person demonstrate an intelligence or education that made me question mine.

Few Dutch people aspire to university education. 

It is not needed for most jobs. On the contrary in Nigeria, without at least a masters degree, your employment is limited. 

As a group, Nigerians in the US & UK have more university degrees than the local population, because university education is a cultural rite of passage back home. 

This does not mean that every Nigerian has a university degree, but for those who do, it’s very competitive.

Education as culture is why Nigerians like WTO president Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka or multi doctorally awarded novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, all graduated with first degrees from different Nigerian universities.

Of these universities, there are 170 in Nigeria, not counting in the other 51 countries in Africa. The Netherlands has 13 universities.

I’ve always said that the root of racism is a lack of education. 

Whiteness, as a toxic ideology, thrives on the idea that it is superior. That misinformation starts from school systems, and is reinforced by media and culture.

By the time a Dutch child is 5 years old, they’ve imbibed a cultural paradigm of a rich white man who owns a big white horse, surrounded by black servants walking happily on the ground. 

Because the Dutch are polite racists, they call these Zwarte Petes not servants, but helpers: insinuating that the black mind has such limited emotional range that it responds to life, whether good or bad, with a big, thick red-lipped smile.

The 5 year old children who are mentally abused by this yearly street-based carnival will grow up to become CEOs and cabinet members, who reinforce what they’ve been taught. 

Some of them will become university staff, who publish stupid notices like the one from UvA.

You’d think the backlash would humble the UvA, but under the mind-bending & magical aura of racism, white people generally tend to lack both insight & conscience. 

So I imagine the University of Amsterdam will explain this offense away as part of their standard operating procedure, in a because-I-said-so kind of way.

Not much teachability or education there, or is there?

By Dr. Ayo Adene

Reference: 

https://abs.uva.nl/content/masters/business-administration/application-and-admission/students-with-international-prior-education/african-students.html?cb

Saturday 24 April 2021

My vision for Nigerian Theatre

People have asked why we are doing a free show in Uyo and in my discussions with "Orman Esin" the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism I state very clearly that Akwa Ibom has all we need to build a very robust structure for Theatre that would create jobs, wealth and support infrastructural development amongst others.

In the last 3 years, over 30,000 Nigerians have seen our productions in Lagos, Abeokuta and Benin. Another 2,400 will see Ibiom in Uyo.

Our vision is beyond the drama but takes us to the huge socio economic possibilities that comes with it.

So for us, the Play is just a vehicle to build investor confidence,  secure govt support and push very aggressively into the market as we strive to build the biggest production franchise with valuable real assets in Africa.

Our partners *Orangeline* have keyed into this vision. Working with them, we have reached an advanced stage in securing a very strategic and historical portion of Land in Ikoyi where we would be building a world class arena specifically for Theatre.

500 Nigerians will hold shares in the holding company and we will push for a stock Exchange listing within two years of our existence.

The structure will house be luxury accommodations, museums, galleries, food courts and the like and hold valuable assets that would ensure veritable return on investment for its shareholders.

Our next port of call will be Uyo. Uyo remains very attractive for its lush vegetation, rich culture, high digital penetration, low cost of production and the deep sea port which would Bring in the tourist and business people.

The plan for the Uyo Theatre would be to house a turn of the century village complete with the mud houses and a fattening room for tourist to come and see how we lived in historic times.

So when we do a free show, it is to show the people that it's beyond the play, it's the market.

We are already assembling some of the most brilliant professionals like Prof Yerima, Yemi Shodimu, Makinde Adeniran,  William Benson, Dr Itoro,  Sunday Umana,  Segun Adefila,  Ifeanyi and much more who will handle the technical Theatre aspect while we face the business of securing the legacy.

So as you seat down to watch any of our productions be it "Ibiom" or the coming "Awo" or the powerful "Aremu" or the tear inducing "Emotan" please do not get carried away by the magic unfolding on stage, remember that you are now part of a revolution.

Welcome to Ibiom, welcome to crazy possibilities.

 By Joseoh Edgar

 Duke of Shomolu

Copyright: © 2021

FRESH UPDATE: On How Baba Ijesha Raped The Daughter Of His Benefactors For Seven Years

The suspected rapist Olanrewaju James Omiyinka

Town Crier News Nigeria reports that fresh revelation has emerged on the embattled Yoruba Actor travails, Baba Ijesha.

This publication reported that he was arrested for defiling a minor of 14 year old which he has been doing since she was 7.

More details have also revealed that the little girl is the daughter of his benefactors, those who took him as a family friend and helped him whenever necessary.

According to the mother, the daughter’s teacher raised an alarm that the girl is behaving somehow and it looks like she has a boyfriend.

In a way to be sure, the woman installed CCTV camera in her house and connected it to her phone, and the rest is history.

It was gathered that the Nollywood Actor /Rapist Olarewaju James Omiyinka, who had been having a canal knowledge of his benefactor, might likely been remanded in the Correctional Center for his Offense.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pamela Udoka's Revelation Concerning the Issue

This piece of information is quiet shocking seeing the girl and her celebrity Mum just left my psychology clinic a few hours prior to this news breaking on social media on Thursday.

Let me just clarify some issues for the sake of the minor involved.

He first sexually molested her on 2 occasions when she was 7. It was when she started being questioned because of some changes in her behavior, that she let out about what this "Uncle " had done to her. (She was not serially raped from 7 years till she was 14. This young girl will read this news someday. Her Mum has already seen it and is traumatized)

Fast forward to last week, when she is now 14, her Mum invited said "Uncle" with the aim of confronting him with the said allegations. Mum had the presence of mind to have a professional company install a CCTV before his arrival. Everyone stepped out of the living room for one reason or the other  leaving  the minor and the "Uncle". He wasted no time. He  started engaging in very explicit sexual expressions including body contacts despite  obvious lack of interest from, and rejection by the minor. When it became obvious that he had very ulterior sexual motives, the other adults stepped back into the room. (All these captured on camera). He initially denied his actions both past and present. But when he was shown evidence, he confessed.

The rest they say is history. 

Uncle is in police custody....and it was the police PRO that shared the news of his arrest. 

Parents be vigilant. Pedophiles abound with us. 

My name is Pamela...Pamela Udoka. I am a Certified and Licenced Clinical Psychologist and Sex Therapist.

#CustodianofYorubaTraditionandCulture

Friday 23 April 2021

THE ARMY FIZZLES AS TERROR RULES

Former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke just gave voice to the most discussed secret in the Nigerian security establishment. Weaponry used by Boko Haram, Ansaru and The Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) terrorist groups are sourced mainly from the Nigerian Government through the security forces.

Scandal? No, that’s not the real scare. The real scandal is the brazen and open channels by which these supplies get to the terror groups. All Intelligence Agencies know these channels and also know the principal sources and players in the supplies. The Nigerian Government is the stock owner of the guns and the bombs with which the terror groups kill Nigerian soldiers and citizens. 

The shock for Governments and intelligence Agencies across the world is the personalities involved in the transactions and the fact that no arm of the Nigerian Government does anything to apprehend or stop them.

How the terror groups gain access to the armories of the Nigerian armed forces is no secret to the Military high command and the Nigerian Government. There are officers and men who are in charge of ordnance at every military base in the country. Records of the movement of arms and ammunition are the most meticulously guarded documents in every military organization. How then do these weapons leave the ordnance depots to end up in the hands of the enemy? 

The motivation, as many people may not believe, is not strictly for cash. The major motivation for depleting the Nigerian military ordnance depots across the country to supply the terror groups is empathy for and solidarity with the jihadists.

Many officers and men of the Nigerian military believe in and are fighting for the causes of Boko Haram and other splinter terror groups. Officers in the Military High Command and top levels of Government are implicated in the well structured and supported supply chain to the terror groups because they share similar belief with the jihadi.

Many officers and men identify and accept the doctrine espoused by the terror groups and see radical Islam as good and proper to purify the North and impose Islamic beliefs on the rest of the country. To these men in military  uniform therefore, fighting the cause of Islam and identifying with the jihad of the terror groups is an obligation in faith Superior to the show of patriotism to the Nigerian nation.

The military high command has known this fact since the beginning of the Boko Haram conflict, because many of them, politicians and other highly placed officers in the civil establishment, are implicated in the conspiracy to support the terror groups as a means of advancing Islam and building an Islamic State in Nigeria. Boko Haram has never been an idea and organization without support in the highest echelons of the Nigerian establishment. Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged that before his presidency when he called them “our people”.

To these officers and men, Boko Haram is not the pariah group that the world perceives it to be but a positive force for the Islamic purification of the North and the advancement of the Muslim agenda to the rest of Nigeria. Many in the civil North also believe that Boko Haram and other terror groups are committed to the “noble” cause of Islam and the jihad.

An important reason for the prolongation of the war against terror in the North-east of Nigeria is the unending betrayal by these jihadi officers and men in the military. They see a threat to the cause of Islam from the Nigerian Government and its deployment of military force against the Jihadi and continually work to stop the defeat of the terror groups. They justify the supply of both arms and information to the terror groups by pleading the cause of the Muslim “umma”. 

Fundamentalist Islam has always been an attractive platform to win political relevance in Northern Nigeria and has always been exploited by all comers to win the acceptance, adoration and followership of the mass populations.

In this sense, fundamentalist Islam has always been weaponized to win dominance and control of the political institutions and civil structures of the North since Usman Dan Fodio. The war against terrorism is therefore seen by many, including intellectuals, as a war against Muslims and Islam and by extrapolation, a war against the north.

The presence of Christian and Southern soldiers further inflames the perceived conspiracy against Islam and the North. The war against terror in Northern Nigeria has therefore become a Hydra headed monster, convoluted and without a clear knowledge of who is fighting on which side. 

Many battles have been encumbered by betrayals as battle plans are leaked, dud weapons supplied, troops are ambushed or Commanders shot from the rear.

These acts of betrayal by known officers and men identifying with the cause of jihad is no longer clandestine but have become mainstream with the ascension of Muhammadu Buhari to the presidency.

Soldiers at the various fronts will tell you that the terror groups are better armed than the  troops and that they have real time intelligence on the movement of troops.

In fact International Intelligence organizations have always known the fact that there is no intelligence or plan by the Nigerian Military High Command that will not be leaked to the terror groups in Nigeria. The terror groups have more reliable intelligence on the Nigerian Military than the Military have on them.

Intelligence Agencies also know that the terror groups have access to and influence at the highest decision making bodies of Government. They have cuts in padded security budgets. There are ardent believers in the jihad and committed members of the terror groups in those high level bodies.

Foreign Governments and organizations who at the beginning showed interest in joining the Government of Nigeria to defeat the terror groups have all retreated and withdrawn support. Their contributions in the forms of finance and logistics have fizzled.

International News Organizations covering the war have also withdrawn their correspondents on the orders of the Nigerian Government for reporting the war crimes and theft of food and other humanitarian supplies. Right now, only the AFP is reporting the war against terror in the North-east of Nigeria from across the borders in  Northern Cameroun.

The result has been that the war against terror in the Northeast of Nigeria has become shrouded in so much secrecy that conspiracies and misinformation has imposed a dark Dominion and brutish existence over the entire region.

The soldiers, particularly of the Christian and Southern extraction no longer have the motivation to fight and are now all holed up in their various locations. They are dreadful of venturing out to confront the enemy in a war that because of too many battlefield betrayals, have clearly opened the ethnic and religious divisions in their country. 

Trust, comradeship and the much needed adrenalin for fighting and survival among soldiers in the battlefield, has been drained through unceasing betrayals by bigoted soldiers and Government officials who have taken sides with the enemy. The tragedy is not in the loss of a war but in the loss of a country which it portends. 

By Basil Okoh

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