Vanguard, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012 — 21
, Dog and baboon democrat
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ENERAL Muhammadu Buhari, long after he is gone, will be remembered by two profound statements he made while alive. The first is this: “The present and future generation of Nigerians have no other country than Nigeria. We must stay here and salvage it together ”. He made this statement in 1984 when he was a military head of state who overthrew a democratic regime. His austere regime occasioned a massive brain drain when many Nigerians started trooping abroad for greener pasture. The second was made when a group of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, loyalists from Niger State paid him a visit in his Kaduna residence recently. He was quoted in the media as saying: “God willing by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way. If what (happened) in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood”.
Coming exactly a year after the 2011 general elections when his supporters killed many innocent Nigerians in the North, including some members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, mainly Christians from Southern Nigeria, this statement must rank as the most irresponsible ever made by a political leader in this country. Unfortunately, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has cleared Buhari of wrongdoing, saying it was merely a warning that the next elections should be free and fair. Surely, there are many more responsible and effective ways of passing the message? How do Buhari and his supporters in the ACN, CPC and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, expect the parents of the slain NYSC members to feel after reading a statement that effectively says Buhari has no regrets for what his supporters did? After nearly 10 years of active partisan politics, it is increasingly clearer that Buhari is not psychologically prepared to carry out the necessary adjustments that will make him
When Buhari’s al Majiri army hits the streets in 2015, we hope it will no longer be the children of the downtrodden who will kill and die for him
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a successful democrat. He is very experienced, and many people believe he has the capacity to bring about change needed in the system. The question is: How does he get into the presidency, since he has shown he cannot win elections and is not prepared to do so? It is a job you cannot get through appointment or coup. You need votes to get there. How does Buhari get the votes? And why is he not doing the things he needs to do in order to get the votes? And what are the things he is not doing?
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umber one: He is not up to the off-season politicking that will earn him relevance. Immediately after the polls and his usual legal pursuits he goes home and is not heard of again until the next election. And yet, many opportunities exist during the off-season period for him to show Nigerians he is the leader they should have in the State House. How many times has he expressed an opinion on the economy? Power generation? Ways out of fuel imports? Ways of bringing the Boko Haram
insurgency to an end? Why did he not attend the Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu burial with a large delegation of his party chieftains and make a nice speech to show his personal reconciliation with a man he battled on the war front 45 years ago? Does he think that the role which President Jonathan played in the state burial of the hero of the Igbo nation will be forgotten in 2015? Does he think his continued exclusion of the South East, South-South and North Central from his political calculations is something for which he will be rewarded with votes from these areas in 2015? Number two: When was the last time Buhari wore an Igbo, South South or Yoruba attire to public function? Why is he always making his most profound political statements in Hausa? Why are there no interactions between him and prominent politicians, businessmen and leaders from
anywhere else apart from the North East and North West? During the previous elections he hardly campaigned outside the North. On the other hand, his opponents, Obasanjo, Yar’ Adua and Jonathan swept the entire landscape over and again campaigning. We have heard Buhari’s threat about bloody dogs and baboons. It will be a foolish parent who will allow his child to do his/her NYSC in Arewa North in 2015. Those who are forewarned are fore-armed. When Buhari’s al Majiri army hits the streets in 2015, we hope Buhari, his children and relations will be at the forefront. We hope it will no longer be the children of the downtrodden who will kill and die for him. The earlier that Buhari realises that he, not external forces, is responsible for his series of electoral defeats, the better for him and the would-be victims of his dogs and baboons democracy.
JOK’s mum for burial Saturday
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Y young friend, John Okiyi Kalu, Business System Development Manager of Globacom and foremost blogger, will bury his illustrious mother, Madam Grace Uduma, this Saturday, May 26, 2012 at his Graceland Iyiofia residence in Amogudu, Abiriba. She was a prominent leader of the Assemblies of God Church in Aba as well as a top executive of her market association at Etche Road. Her highly active lifestyle reflects well on her son, John (JOK) who is singularly instrumental for bringing Globacom to play a leading role in the promotion of the rich cultural heritage of Abiriba as exemplified in their sponsorship of the Enachioken, Eze KK Ogbu’s Itu Eye during the Iri Ama (old yam festival) in Abiriba in 2011, an event that has already been scheduled again for this year. It also featured one of Glo’s famous gigs featuring some of Nigeria’s topmost musicians, showbiz and Nollywood celebs. Family and friends will gather at Cameron Road by Mosque for a brief ceremony before the body is conveyed home this Friday for the final obsequies at Abiriba. May her soul rest in the Lord.
Election by elimination O matter how much a man tries to cross his mind, there comes a time when he must cry out at some ugly situations around him. If it is a coincidence, it must be a great one. This is an election year. People are dying. Many of the deaths pass unnoticed while a few get celebrated. We hear that within two weeks, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Igbanke West Ward in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, lost the Chairman and his Deputy. Both corpses are still receiving refrigeration at a nearby morgue. The more public ones started on Saturday, April 28, 2012. That was the day a tipper ran into the convoy of the Comrade Governor. There have been lots of dirty politics, mudslinging and smear tactics around the unfortunate incident. And we wonder why. In orthodoxy, a simple security check could have easily revealed that there was danger ahead. Or, in the African way, where the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is heavily entrenched, “African insurance” could also have shown that there was danger ahead. In either case, where there was already a premonition of an impending danger, anyone who would refuse to take a step that would avert such danger would be a moral idiot. So, the Comrade Governor drove himself in an unsuspecting car. Even assuming the worst case scenario and granting that the man was not licensed to drive, if staying alive meant driving without a license, why not? To some, that has become the political hub. In the accident involving the Governor’s convoy, the Governor did not die. Neither was he scratched. But three journalists and a driver died and sever-
al others were injured. From the sequence of events that followed, the ACN could have easily pointed accusing fingers at the PDP, particularly considering the speed with which the latter reacted to the incident. It was observed that while people were yet at the scene of the accident, trying to rescue the wounded, condolence messages from the PDP were already flying on radio and television, giving vent to the suspicion that the recording of the messages predated the accident. The ACN could not hide its feeling. The PDP was accused. Up till now, we have no concrete record of where the PDP expressly denied or accepted the accusation. Rather, the State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Dan Obih, proceeded in all haste to demand why the Comrade Governor drove himself and whether he possessed a valid driver’s license at the time. The only serious interpretation to this is that some people must have been disappointed that the Governor did not stay where he had been targeted. In more civilized climes, this would be a good take-off point for criminologists and crime busters. The same night, four intruders allegedly moved to the residence of the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Louis Odion. Incidentally, he did not sleep at home that night. So, he cheated death. We are still expecting the PDP to demand why he did not sleep at home. Barely one week later, four merchants of death moved to the residence of the Principal Private Secretary to the Governor, Comrade Olaitan Aremu Oyerinde and gruesomely murdered him in the presence of his wife and children. You don’t beat a child and ask him not to cry. Two times within one week, the
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Sadly, this is one country where all our arms and ammunition are used to defend and protect the corrupt and the wicked; anyone who speaks out is killed
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Governor wept profusely. ACN wept. Edo State wept. While we were yet weeping, the much-awaited official position of the PDP on these sordid events came. They spoke through the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Chief Olisa Metuh (Vanguard, Thursday, 10 May 2012, p. 12). Every word that proceeded from the mouth of this man was fetid.
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erhaps in a desperate attempt to ex onerate his party, he pushed the party further down the dark alley. Hear him: “The PDP could never be involved in murder. Our pedigree as a performing party places us in good stead to succeed in any electoral contest in Nigeria. We do not need to kill to succeed”. He soon forgot that he was not talking to people from outer space but to Nigerians, a bulk of whom are not as naïve as
himself; people who know that as a party, PDP is dead on arrival. His submission was therefore an insult on the collective sensibilities of Nigerians. If nonperformance is the basis for murder, PDP should wear the bold tag, “MURDEROUS MURDERERS”. His mind carried him further into the deepest mess: “It is only the ACN that stands to gain massive sympathy from the murder”. What a way to commiserate with the bereaved! This is the very height of political absurdity. So mean is the PDP that they think Nigerians are so naïve to believe that ACN in Edo State would embark on the murder of its members to attract sympathy for an election. As things stand, if electoral outcomes are to be based on sympathy, the PDP should begin to think of how to exterminate at least 50 percent of its members so as to attract some semblance of sympathy, to avert losing its deposit in the forthcoming gubernatorial contest in Edo State. Sadly, this is one country where we are not dealing with the corrupt in society. Rather, they are dealing with us. All our arms and ammunition are used to defend and protect the corrupt and the wicked. Anyone who speaks out is killed – perhaps oblivious of the obvious fact that the same death awaits everyone. The only difference is in the timing! In Edo State, the time has come for the law givers and the law enforcers to wake up. We certainly cannot continue this way into injury time.