By Eze Martins-hassan Esomchi
2015: ???? AS GEJ ?Giwalises? the media
Walahil, I find myself in the same page with John . F. Kennedy who posited that ?a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people? Truelly, if we are to return to those good old days when books worth more than diamond and gold, my Father?s legacy for me will make me dwarf the financial muscles of Alhagi Aliko Dangote. Since my over 15 years friendships with the Nigerian media I have not gone to the newspaper stand and met the reality i encountered recently. For me and the youth of my generation, the messy development orchestrated by GEJ and his Cohort was a ?nouveau Venue?. I only read about the intimidation of journalist and confiscation of newspaper by Khaki boys from thy father?s basket fell of Newswatch Magazines. This impunity was the order of the day when the Juntas were the Lords Dodan Barrack especially under the despotic regimes of late General Sami Abacha and Rtd General Ibrahim Badamasi Babagida. In fact, the sword of damocle is still hanging on the neck of IBB over the death of Dele Giwa, the revered and famous Editor of the News watch Magazine on October 19, 1986.
Before now, political gladiators like Governor Rotimi Amaechi of River state had argued that Nigeria is under dictatorship when Mr Joseph Mbu the partisan former river state police commissioner, who is an Abacha reincarnated, with the support of the ?undamic dame? and goddess of Aso rock, kept the state in a political cul de sac. At first, I thought that Gov. Amaechi, typical of Nigerian politicians was crying wolf when there is none but recent happenings in the polity is a pointer that Nigeria is under sage by the powers that be. Believe me you that not even Ibrahim Adesanya could have believed a soothsayer if he was told that 15 years after the juntas returned to the barrack some ?despoticians?? in civilian ?bubanriga?? will be undermining the freedom of movement, association and information which he fought and died for
Truly, democracy is sweeter than milk and honey, but just like I have always argued, Nigeria is under civilian rule, but not a democracy state because there is no way executive rascality, impunity abuse of law and human right championed by a rapacious minority will exist in a democracy which has the will of the majority as its strongest pillar. As far as Nigeria concerned, despite the 15 year of civilian rule democracy is Timbuktu.
A good student of history or a portent political doctor will not agree less with me that the judiciary which is the last hope of the common man and the media which happen to be the eye and voice of the people are very important ingredient in any healthy democracy. The bid by the FG under the Dept leadership f GEJ and his cronies at the corridor of power to square and squash the media is such a serious matter that nobody fiddle while Rome burns??. This descent to the bottomless and dirty pity of impunity by GEJ ??administration?? is an evil Nigerian must join hand to exorcise.
The inglorious desire by the FG to silence the opposition and flog the media into comprise is no longer a hidden fact. It is grossly unconstitutional for anybody to hide under the banner of fighting terrorism to unleash terror on law abiding citizens and newspapers perceived to be hostile to the GEJ corruption infested government. Pitiably, Pr Reuben Abuti and Doyin Okupe have refused to change their names to ??liar?-nus?? despite the fact they insist on covering the moon with their palms.
Funnily, these two ??presidential attack dogs?? after burying head of salt in the sand, have still not realized that one don?t hide death from the grave digger. It is also a slap on Nigeria and Nigerians, a disregard to decorum and absence of integrity for them, to be defending the despotic action carried by solders under the command of their pay master.
Haba Mana, is the FG now infallible like the supreme pontiff? Or do GEJ wish to bring back the bloody draconian when the ClC assumed the rule of a judge, jury, persecutor and executioner?? Does he want to tell Nigerians that his whims and caprice are now dogmas? will he for a pot political mess continue to infringe on the fundamental right of Nigerians and send to the dustbin the right to hold contrary view which is supposed to be sacrosanct?
using Mallam Nasir El-rufai lexicon, ?Jonathians? who don?t want to be criticized should go and kiss a viper or better still, ?Jump into the lagoon? as Mallam adviced because independent and progressive media is the vanguard and hallmark in any democracy, let the GEY led FG and this caravan of cr?mes and collage of ethnic bigots hear the must of Nigeria through Thomas Jefferson ?If I had to chose between govern mart with it new paper?s without government, I wouldn?t hesitate to chose the latter?.
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2.IN ALLAH?S NAME:HOW NOT TO INVOLVE RELIGION
Truly it is easier to choose the path of Thomas when some of our revered religious leaders say that the killing going on in the North have no religious undertone. Sometime last year, at a symposium organized to mark the centenary celebration of Catholicism in Owerri ecclesiastical province at the Maria Assumption cathedral, a woman got angry with John Cardinal Onaiyekan after his presentation. His only sin was that he refused to call for an eye to eye approach in confronting the killing of Catholics and the burning of churches in Northern Nigeria. This woman forgot that his Eminence was only propagating the tenets of his faith as obtainable in the sacred scripture and not his school of thought. For her, the best thing the cardinal should have done was to order catholic youth in Abuja to burn down the National Mosque after the sad bombing of saint Thesis?s Catholic Church in suleja. it was at this point that I realized that Christianity is not a pot of honey. It is not easy to smile with a fellow who desires your girlfriend not to talk of loving and praying for someone dishing out the menu of death and destruction in the name of Allah. If Christianity is a religion of followers of Christ, who is the prince of peace and Islam a religion of peace, then, the ?Kasala? in Northern Nigeria should be caused by any other thing but not religion. Here, I find myself in the same page with the cardinal who maintained that most evils in Nigeria are created by the political class.
I grow up in the North- central town of Lafia. As a? child, i interacted with Muslim children. Most of my mother business partners where Muslims and during Sallah celebration, I jumped from one Muslim family to the next enjoying ?Suya nama? We also extended the largess of Christmas and other Christian celebration to our family friends who are Muslims. In fact, i first watched the canonization of blessed Cyprian? Tansi in the house of a muslim friend. Mustapha? Al-Hassan. In Lafia, Christians and Muslim co-habited peacefully, I still recall that the Emir of Lafia Alhaji Isa Mustpha Agwa(HRH) visited the Saint Williams Catholic Cathedral to Sympathies with Bishop Ishaya Audu when pope John Paul II died. Even the former state Governor and now a serving Senator Alhaji Adbulahi Adamu and the later chief Iman of Lafia central Mosque attended the requim mass for the late Pope. In? my parish in Tudun Kauri area of Lafia, Muslims in the neighborhood use to fetch water from the parish borehole. In fact my parish administration Fr Mathew Ofoku was once invited by a Muslim family to bless their new home and car. Inter-faith marriage is also a common thing. A secondary school classmate father is a catholic and his mother a Muslim while his sibling practiced whatever religious that pleased them. My Alter mater though a catholic mission school had a mosque for the Muslim student and having a Muslim friends was a plus because it translates to having double ration of breakfast and lunch during the Ramadan fast.
However with incomprehensive atrocities commuted in the name of Allah one may be tempted like the Hausas to ask ? Inda ba wata Micci gawai? ( where there is no fire what consumed the ,charcoal) since man is a religion social and political animal, I don?t advocate for the total separation of religion from politics. If religion is a moral ethical and disciplinary instrument, then political in Nigeria need an overdose of religion. However, regrettably, the pathetic situation in Nigeria is how not to mix religion with political.
It is a pity that rapacious and dept political capitalize on the ignorance of many people to use religion to protected or enhance their political interest. It is outrageous and condemnable to use the pulpit or mosque to whip up religion sentiment so as to gain political advantage over others. A competent, transparent and accountable leader does not need to use religions as a political instrument during election. The late President Leopold Seder Senghor though a catholic was the president of Senegal a largely Muslim country. The south ?west have a huge Christian and Muslim population yet no religion killing or violence have been witnessed among the descendents of Oduduwa. The former Governor of Lagos state Bola Tinubu and the current governor Babe tunde Fashola have Christian waive. Why cant the story be the same in the far north?
We are witness to the fact that Northern political elites hide behind religion to squander their state resources and introduce sharia law to hypotise the masses against demanding for accountability and transparency. It is these group of people to think that politics and good governance is all about marrying teenagers, building and rehabilitating mosque, paying imon to preach and spread extremism and? breeding monsters in form of Almagiri why will a politician encourage Shaira law is a Samlar state and encourage the killing of innocent and law abiding citizen because they consume alcohol? but by month end, the shamelessly fly to Abuja to collect the revenue generated by taxes paid by Breweries these are grouped of leptocrat ?that Bishop Hasan Kukah Sokoto described as ??_ Unproductive and selfish cabal who have deployed religion to hide their greed??.
Islam and Christianity as religion have nothing wrong with their tenets when it rear it only head but the current happening in the car were a once peaceful country is divided along religious line due to political manipulation speak volume about the fate they may befall northern Nigeria if we don?t begin to look for the black goat before it is dark.
Christian and Muslims in northern Nigeria can join force to forget a common fort in education poverty alleviation, social justice and respect for in fundamental human right. Already, John cardinal Onaiykan of Abuja Bishop Mathew kukah of Sokoto and the sultan of Sokoto?? have been doing much in this regard, however, faithful of these two religions must be actively engaged as stakeholders in promoting the culture of peace and inter faith dialogue. It is only ?when the adherents of these two religions are sensitized ?that religion call play a good role in the north. True peace, prosperity and progress will return in the north when shameless kleptomaniac, squardermaniac northern politicians will no longer find indoctrinated Almajiris and jobless youths to do their dirty jobs on the name of Allah.
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3.ASO VILLA 2015: NO JEW, NO GENTILE
As a writer with socio-political interest, I have not failed to confront our ruinous and ravenous political lions right inside their den. In the recent past, the writer in me went into his cave and guess what, many a pundit believed that I have settled.It is salient i state here that lovers of my pen know that I am not a saint but I am immune against ?abatism??: an inglorious virus that made Dr Reuben? Abati return to his vomit. Not that I am not ?settleable?? as canvassed in some quarters. why will it not be settled in FG settled corruption, insecurity, unemployment, abuse of law, crippled power,? death traps called federal roads, and malnourished education system? Yes, I? may not make it to the Vatican?s hall of ?santus homes? but when it comes to ? reclaiming Nigeria?, I prefer to pace with suicide than go against my principle and conscience. My pen cannot go to bed while Nigeria and Nigerian are under inept, clueless, confused and corrupt government
Nigeria will regain her rightful place in the comity of nations the day we begin to think and act as Nigerian. If corruption is walking with both leg with a tolotolo?s pride, if the blood of Nigeria is surging like the Gurara water fall, if hatred have continued to spread like the wild hamatan bush fire, fall, it is because Nigeria is a nation without nationalities. We have remained Igbo?s,? Hausa?s, Yoruba?s and Urhobo?s instead of Nigerians. This was a fault line that our ?Grand trios? Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awloow and Alhaji Amadu Bello failed to address at infancy and which have become a political gold mine for contemporary crooked ?Mis rulling? class
It is a pity that Nationalism a patriotisms has been sacrificed on the altar of ethnic religionist regionalism and tribalism. It beggars my imagination how we continue to worship our fault line with a fanatical zeal yet the sting of corruption and bad leadership spares no Tribe, Religion and Region. when our political wolves and major share holder gather in their conspiratorial enterprise against Nigeria and Nigerian gather to loot the treasury, do they do it along religious, tribal or ethnic lines? if Emeka, Mohammed and Abiola can gather to loot the treasury and oil the wheel of poverty and penury in Nigeria, why cannot Aisha, Ifeoma and Tosin unite to fight mal-administration in the state and federal level. Aristole, had posited centuries ago that ?in democracy the poor have more power them rich because there are more of them and the will of the majority is supreme?. Pitiably, the case in Nigeria is that select few and their cronies continue to plunder and squander the resource with reflex abandon while the majority fight themselves along tribal religion and ethnic line. If the majority hold the power in a democracy what have done as Nigerians? Why do we build tents on the accident of life: religion and other colonial made nonsense? Why can?t we be Nigerian citizens with one God, one people and one nation perspective and orientation?? After all, selection (15) 2 of our constitution clearly pontificated that ?national integration shall be actively encourage while discrimination on the ground of place of origin or religion linguistic association shall be prohibited?.
As we prepare to enthrone another Land lord in Aso Villa in 2015, will we stand before the ballot box as Nigerians or Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, or Christians and Muslims? Will we allow reason and patriotism overcome tribal, ethnic and religion affiliation? Will we go far a Nigeria with ?character competence, commitment and compassion? as Prof Pat Utomi advised? As far as I am a Nigerian, as far as 2015 election is concerned, on no Jew no Gentile I stand. ?Et vous?
4.Before we forget: GEJ, NIS Maro and March 16.
This piece should have gone to the square but for the faith I still have in Nigeria which is smaller than the biblical mustard seed Jesus said could move mountain. I believed that the FG will steal the opportunity that March 16 created and cook soup with goat meat instead of mush room. I was wrong. Even at the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I think the ?busy body? American intelligent guru that predicted the end of Nigeria in 2015 erred. For me, the curtain descended on Nigeria the very day later Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard amalgamated the northern and southern protectorate in 1914. Truly, since then, Nigeria has been a moving corpse.
As if to validate the issues canvassed by this writer, the Nigeria immigration service in conjunction with their allies in the presidency forced jobless Nigerian youth to path away with their precious penny. Maybe this crime was not enough; these shameless criminals wasted more than twenty lives after the conduct of a shambolic interview. Now with the happening in the recent past and contemporary present under the watchful eye of GEJ, will it not? have sounded more reasonable for the ?Yenke?s? to say that Nigeria is dead ever since but the funeral will be held in 2015. It is only in a failed and dead state like Nigeria that a dozen youth will lose their life under avoidable circumstances in a single day and yet the Minister and other Minions involved will still remain in office three month after the shameful saga.
Walahi I see nothing presidential neither have I heard anything? sensible from president since GEJ was imposed no Nigeria by OBJ ?and he is still making mundane efforts to succeed himself in 2015. It is a pity that all a President could do was to reserve slot for the families of the deceased. If dead a man derives? no comfort from the fact his murderer was in sack cloth and ashes, GEJ NIS and Maro will never appease the souls of the dead Nigeriaan youths with a million job slot. If Nigeria is in economic quagmire and political quandary it is because of the Lilliputians and minion in and around GEJ. GEJ and his cronies whose culture is thievery and constitution impunity is the cog in the wheel of prosperous and peaceful Nigeria. Is it not scandalous that Nigeria despite her abundant human and natural resources has one of the highest unemployment rate in the world? For me, Mr Aminu Tambuwal captured the reality on ground when he opinionated that the President is aiding and abetting corruption through his body language. With the Minister of interior Abba Maro the DG of NIS still sitting in the comfort of their offices despite the charge of extortion and manslaughter against them, why won?t another ?Oga at the Top? organize a similar sham and dance of shame?
Nigerian youths should not forget to act in memory of their compatriot that lost the lives in the blamable saga, if we don?t our ?Chi? will rub us with ash and destroy us at the time life is sweetest to us like the proverbial? elder who maintained sealed lips when he perceived an abomination. For disciples of ?sidon look? and apostles of ?I don?t care? Ben Franklin has this for you ? Justice will never be served until those who are unaffected are outraged as those who are? Nigerian youths must forge a common front against? mal- administration by the FG, for like Waldo Emerson, posited ?all lives are bring caught up in an incapacity network of mutuality and tied up in a single garment of one destiny. Whatever affect one directly affect all indirectly?.
