tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17289747632780151052024-03-19T12:46:46.560+01:00freemind Sub-Saharan perspective. (ezeeluchieassociates@yahoo.com) twitter: @ezeluchie
www.facebook.com/eze.eluchie Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.comBlogger387125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-43897499471089023922023-12-10T11:08:00.000+01:002023-12-11T18:19:03.510+01:00In Gaza, the World failed, and is failing, in its Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Palestinians<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">by Eze Eluchie</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As bombs
fell on private residences in the Balkans, slicing limbs off and splattering
blood across neighborhoods, and as the Serbs congregated Bosniaks in Srebrenika
for what would ultimately result in a massacre, the real time beaming of the
revolting images into homes across the world spiked palpable revulsion at the
inability of the international community to effectively and timeously intervene
to stem the atrocities being televised. There later was some intervention – but
only after thousands had been slaughtered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Less than a
decade later, the gory spectacle of whole families and villages being rounded
up by machete wielding murderous mobs, who smashed skulls, slit throats and set
fire to entire communities, actions which made many across continents cringe in
horror, proved simply too much for many to comprehend and rationalize why the countries
which bordered Rwanda, or the broader international community, could not simply
move in and come to the assistance of the hapless victims of genocide. The
world watched in consternation as over 800,000 people were killed in an orgy of
ethnic violence within 100 days – a killing spree that when one factors in the
reality that the world watched it evolve and did nothing to stop it, questioned
the commonality of our humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Events which assault our common
humanity<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Reeling from
the seeming helplessness with which the world observed mass atrocities which
were televised live, via international broadcast channels, into homes across
the continents, there was a convergence of opinions that there simply must be a
mechanism through which the international community can intervene in conflicts
wheresoever it was felt that our collective sense of humanity was being violated.
It was also taken as a given that the doctrine of sovereignty of States cannot
serve to prevent other States from intervening to protect victims of egregious
crimes, when the State which has that primary duty is of protection of its
population is incapable of according such and or is the perpetrator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The concern
of humanity regarding sovereignty questions raised against international
interventions where a State is incapable of protecting its residents from
serious crimes, was aptly captured in Year 2000 Millennium Report of former
United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, presented to the UN where he
asserted: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If humanitarian intervention
is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a
Rwanda, to a Srebrenica, to gross and systematic violation of human rights that
offend every precept of our common humanity?”</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In response
to Kofi Annan’s query, diverse ideas were enunciated by diverse think-tanks
across the globe, but the response that quickly gained acceptance across
divides was contained in the report of the International Commission on
Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) set up by the Canadian Government
which postulated that there ought to be a shift in responsibility to the
broader international community in instances where a State fails to protect its
people either due to a lack of willingness or ability. The broader
international community at that stage, assumes a Responsibility to Protect
(R2P) the peoples whose State lacks the ability or is unwilling to protect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">After
fine-tuning the submissions of the Canadian ICISS by various High Level Panels
within the UN system, the R2P was finally adopted by the Heads of States and
Government at the 2005 World Summit, and had three ‘pillars’, to wit:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Every State had a responsibility to
protect all peoples within its borders;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The broader international community
should help States attain their responsibility in (a) above; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The broader international community
has a responsibility to use diplomacy, peaceful means or force to protect
peoples where their State is incapable or unwilling to accord such protection<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The third
‘pillar’, which authorizes foreign interventions in the affairs of a State
which has failed, or is incapable of protecting its own peoples, has proved the
most contentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Recourse to R2R<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The first
and second pillars of R2P has been cited in addressing domestic violence in
diverse African countries, such as Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea
and Kenya. The third pillar, which allows the use of force to protect citizens
where their State is incapable or unwilling to offer such protection was
approved for use in the case of Libya in 2011, following the deployment of very
brutal means by the Muammar Ghadaffi regime to suppress opposition elements.
The surreptitious conversion of the UN Security Council (UNSC) approval for
foreign troops deployment to attain humanitarian outcomes, by NATO member
States to attain a regime-change mandate caused alarm and regrets in some
quarters as to the use of the R2P doctrine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Quite
clearly, the misuse of R2P in the case of Libya, adversely affected the
possibility of unanimity of purpose by the UNSC in subsequent episodes when
such unanimous actions by the UNSC would have served to bolster R2P and perhaps
elevate the principle to the status of international law. Efforts to deploy the
principle to protect the Rohinghya peoples from genocide-grade attacks by the
Myanmar regime, proved to be a primary consequence of the misuse of R2P in
Libya.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The R2P
principle was also unsuccessfully invoked to urge Turkiye to come to the aide
of Kurds in the city of Kobani, Syria, as the people of that city, for weeks,
expected to be overrun by Islamic State terrorists. It had been hoped that
Turkiye troops who were just across basically unmarked borders, would have
stepped in to prevent the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity
by the approaching ISIS terrorists – the Turks, simply, probably on account of
their age-old schisms with the Kurds, simply failed to step in. What followed was
unfortunate decimation of civilian population of Kobani by ruthless terrorists. https://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-justiciable-responsibility-to-prevent.html <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Gaza<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
course of the past 60 days, the world has looked on in horror, as hellish
nightmares become the norm of the Palestinians in Gaza, as the occupying
authority over their territory, the State of Israel, has unleashed brutal,
debilitating and vicious attacks seemingly geared towards obliterating any
semblance of life and development in the Gaza strip. The attacks commenced with
a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off all food, water and electricity from the
strip, actions that in itself, constitute war crimes. Over 40,000 tons of
bombs, over three times the quantity of bomb dropped on Hiroshima, killing,
thus far, over 17,000 residents of Gaza, with over 7,000 children and several
thousand women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As the world
looked on, a classic example of a situation where the R2P ought to be applied
unfolded before everyone. All hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza were
targeted and bombed to ruins; medical personnel and journalists were
specifically targeted with hundreds of them and their families being killed in
the process; forced deportation of Gaza residents was ordered by the
perpetrator, the Netanyahu regime; roads, water pipes and other infrastructure
were targeted and destroyed; buildings dedicated to Educational, Religious,
Science and Art were likewise targeted and destroyed. Gaza was effectively
bombed back into the middle ages, as carts and donkeys soon replaced vehicles,
wood and furniture were used for heating and cooking, life and living was
scuttled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The genocidal
intents of the scorched earth policies the Netanyahu-led regime is implementing
over Gaza is never in doubt and was brazenly audaciously broadcast, inclusive
of biblical references by the Israeli Prime Minister to episodes of genocidal
atrocities in Amalek, a suggestion by a serving Israeli cabinet Minister that a
nuclear bomb could be dropped in Gaza, and sundry acts to reveal intent to
commit crimes against humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Yet, the world
continues to fail in its responsibility to protect Palestinians, resulting in
the commission of heart rendering mass atrocities, and this continuing failure
serves to diminish our shared humanity and questions the fundamentals of global
order. The continuing failure of humanity to abide by our collective
responsibility to protect the victims of an ongoing genocide directly questions
the utility of the United Nations Organization and semblance of global order
that might have existed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Questions
that now agitate minds across the world include: Can a similar episode of mass
atrocities be visited on another group and the world fail to act in protection
of the victim group? Can another powerful country decide to wipe out a less
endowed people knowing that there would be no consequences and world would
remain docile? In failing in its R2P responsibilities to the Palestinians, the
World has failed itself and humanity collectively diminished.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Has time run
out? No. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The
atrocities thus far committed has no doubt widened gaps and gulfs between
peoples and might have foisted and deepened transgenerational hatred in the
Middle East region, and strengthened suspicion that the existing international
order is hypocritical and rooted in bias. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Veto against the Special UNGS Resolution
brought sequel to Article 99 of the UN Charter on Friday, 8<sup>th</sup>
December, 2023, , which sought an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza,
served as a particularly pungent jab at the R2P principle. An immediate humanitarian
ceasefire will prove that indeed there is still hope in humanity and a general
common revulsion of atrocities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Necessary addendum<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Origin of Gaza Genocide<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">This piece will be incomplete in the
view of some if mention is not made of the events which precipitated the
ongoing genocide in Gaza. Can anything justify the bestiality, carnage, destructions
of lives and properties being collectively visited on Palestinians in Gaza? Certainly
not! It is however, important, that the topic of the immediate origins be
addressed. Reference is often made to the horrific terrorist attacks by the
terrorist group Hamas, on Israel on the 10<sup>th</sup> of October, 2023,
during which over 1,200 people, mainly citizens of Israel were killed, in
attacks lasting over two days, with over 100 people abducted and taken into
Gaza, by Hamas. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The dastardly attacks by Hamas on the
7<sup>th</sup> October are condemned in its entirety. Hamas, its officials and
processes should be targeted and made to bear the full consequences of its vile
actions. Under no circumstances, however, should inflicting collective
punishment on all Palestinians (in Gaza and the West Bank) be condoned or
deemed as acceptable – in fact, collective punishment in itself, constitutes
war crimes and a crime against humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It must be realized that the Hamas attacks
of 7/10 was not a stand-alone event. There have been perennial bouts of
violence between the peoples of Palestinians and the State of Israel. Of
crucial importance also is the reality that for over 50 weeks prior to the Hamas
attacks, Israel had been embroiled in weekly protests against efforts by the
Netanyahu regime to force through Judicial sector reforms which will greatly
subject Judges to political interference from the political stakeholders. The protests
were approaching a crescendo, when the Hamas attacks occurred - attacks that easily
breached highly fortified security fortifications and continued for hours
before any meaningful response from the ordinarily highly effective Israeli
Defense Forces. The combination of the fact that the attacks served to ‘unify’
the population of Israel against external threats, the reality that security
forces deployed to protect the border with Gaza were surreptitiously withdrawn
some days prior to the attack itself, and the fact that some stock traders
seemed to have foreknowledge of the attacks of 7/10, raises the likelihood that
perhaps the 7/10 attacks might have been perfectly orchestrated to actualize
long planned atrocities against the peoples of Palestine.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Need to guarantee Israel’s security<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Considering that it is surrounded by
people who seemingly have vested in her ultimate destruction, effective and
verifiable guarantees must be institutionalized which will guarantee Israel’s right
to peaceful and sustainable existence as a prerequisite to any resolutions to
the conflict in that region.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: Aerial view
of parts of destroyed Gaza (@Reuters)<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A-qdytmzzgmn5GT7OVsxmn1xUQsWbOM-JVAj_6vReSIG2iPIdutbCPWvDDvUmPVWWa3Uae3vB8QP8arNKYeMLVLTpj2UQEAdtDWzw-8mrDS2mH3bpHQX0aiC-4A6snAMM6YW5zoGWzZNq9sogqj6Ef4USPwFUoQ_v1-S4pTapnz-TxS_jm3f-lte3dsz/s300/Gazz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A-qdytmzzgmn5GT7OVsxmn1xUQsWbOM-JVAj_6vReSIG2iPIdutbCPWvDDvUmPVWWa3Uae3vB8QP8arNKYeMLVLTpj2UQEAdtDWzw-8mrDS2mH3bpHQX0aiC-4A6snAMM6YW5zoGWzZNq9sogqj6Ef4USPwFUoQ_v1-S4pTapnz-TxS_jm3f-lte3dsz/w400-h224/Gazz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-28168280365913053312023-10-04T10:49:00.003+02:002023-10-04T11:15:29.574+02:00Mediterranean Migrant Shipwrecks: Accident or Mass-Murders<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">By Eze Eluchie,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Exactly 10
years ago today, early in the mornings of October 3<sup>rd</sup> 2013, the
world woke to the gut wrenching news that a ship with over 500 migrants aboard,
which had taken off from the Libyan coast city of Misrata, headed for Italian
port city of Lampedusa, had capsized, with majority of the passengers feared
drowned. As dawn broke and the day got brighter, the magnitude of the disaster became
evident to the ships that had hearkened to the distress calls, and soon enough
the shock waves went global.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The migrant
ship had totally sunk, 155 survivors had been rescued, and hundreds of corpses
who had been ‘passengers’ on the now wrecked migrant ship, littered the Mediterranean
(the Med). As the search and rescue operation gradually became a corpse
recovery operation, it was discovered that hundreds of victims who had been in
the hull of the ship, had gone down with the vessel. The total death count was
officially stated to be ‘over 360’. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Barely eight
days later, on the 11<sup>th</sup> of October 2013, whilst the world was
reeling from the shock of the 3<sup>rd</sup> October 2013 shipwreck, yet
another mass causality shipwreck occurred in the Med, within the territorial
waters of Malta, leading to the death of over 130 migrants. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">More in response
to public concern at the horrific images of mass deaths that the media was
projecting sequel to the twin sinking’s in the Med, the European Union adopted
what can be described as a knee-jerk response, which was focused at preventing
and discouraging migrants from embarking on the journey to Europe. The EU
hurriedly raised budgets with which it supported the Navies and Coast Guards in
the main take-off points of the migrants in their journey to Europe with speed
boats and weapons (Tunisia and Libya) – essentially, facilities to forcefully
stop emigration and or kill the intending migrants. The EU approach also
included advocacy visits to the home countries from whence the migrants
commenced their fatalistic journey’s to Europe, mainly in Sub-Sahara Africa and
parts of the Asian subcontinent. In addition, the EU looked the other way
whilst EU member States bordering the Med enacted vile and despicable laws
which criminalized search and rescue efforts and assisting persons in distress
at sea! Not even amongst animals who, as humans, we consider beneath our
status, have such beastly evil as punishing saving lives been criminalized. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Having equipped
the border security officials in the North African countries of Libya and Tunisia,
who are ordinarily vicious, intolerant and uncouth towards migrants, it was
only expected that with such ‘greenlight’ and cooperation from supposedly democratic
EU countries, an open cheque for mass atrocities had been issued, with an
unspoken guarantee that the normal ‘human rights scrutiny’ expected from the
major organizations who are ordinarily vociferous on matters of infringement on
human rights. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ever since,
virtually no fortnight has passed without reports of the sinking, wreckage or
disappearance of a migrant ship in the Mediterranean. In one dizzying spell of 5 days in the first week of August 2023, there was an astonishing officially
recorded four migrant boat wrecks in the Med, on the Tunisia to Italy route,
with 131 lives lost! Official figures in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 deaths on
the Med per annum are touted only by those who, like the ostrich, opt to bury
their heads in the sands. Estimated figures of fatalities are in the tens of
thousands per annum. The idyllic Mediterranean which for centuries spawned
countless visions of amity, trade and prosperity, has for many migrants and the
families they left behind, turned into a graveyard of dreams for generations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Questions began
to be raised as to what could be responsible for the increase in fatalities
whilst crossing the Med. Some blamed it on the greed of the human traffickers
who were willing to take greater risks for more profits, others attributed it
to more turbulence in the Med due to climate change, yet others suggested that
perhaps there now existed a new ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in the Med which was sucking
in migrant boats. Plausible, but were those the reason? Are the waves in the
Med now more violent than waves elsewhere? Did human traffickers suddenly
become suicidal and no longer interested in raking in profits? Or were the EU
efforts at preventing the arrival of migrants on mainland Europe now becoming
more successful by virtue preventing and discouraging the arrivals of such
migrants on EU soil – even if it meant torpedoing their vessels at sea and
killing migrants in their thousands whilst also feigning to rescue them?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As more dead
bodies of migrants begun to wash up on the shores of Libya, Tunisia and the
southern shorelines of Europe, and reports of delayed or aborted rescue efforts
of passengers aboard sinking vessels became normalized, it was clear that it
would only be a matter of time before hard irrefutable evidence of some of the untoward
practices in the Med would come to light. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Despite its
repeated feeble, unsubstantiated denials, the role the Greek Coast Guard played
in the sinking of the trawler which was transporting several hundred migrants (mostly
of Pakistani extraction), from Libya to Italy proved to be a smoking gun
episode. When the lies and denials by the Greeks couldn’t stand the science,
evidence and testimonies of the survivors, silence enveloped prior efforts at
denial. With just 104 survivors from this 14<sup>th</sup> June 2023 shipwreck and
over 500 migrants missing, the Greek Coast Guards had been caught pants down as
main culprits in a mass atrocity that dwarfed the Lampedusa tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Prosecutor
of the International Criminal Court, the various mechanisms for addressing mass
atrocities in Europe and even the Security Council of the United Nations, have
acted as though the mass murder of 14<sup>th</sup> June 2023 off the coast of
Greece never occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">If any was
in doubt as to State complicity in deaths in the Med, the migrant boat wreck off
the coast of Libya sometime in the last week of September, 2023, cleared any such
doubts. The video released by Sea-Watch International which showed Libyan Coast
Guard vessel in a most brazen manner and despite warnings and being aware that
observers were watching, crash into and torpedoed a migrant boat with several
migrants on board. Soon thereafter, as can be seen on the video, another Libyan
coast guard patrol vehicle, hypocritically, showed up and threw life vests at the
migrants who could swim. Were it not for the heroic and expository video by Sea-Watch
International, this despicable attempt at mass murder (using equipment supplied
and staff trained by the EU), would have been passed off as a ‘heroic rescue of
migrants’ by equipment supplied by the EU. Could this be how the other several
instance of rescues by Navies and Coast Guards have played out?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">How many of
these mass murders have taken place in the past one week, or one month or over
the years? How many migrants were killed when their boats were wrecked by
navies or coast guards who were striving to uphold the EU policy to prevent and
suppress migrants from getting to the coast of Europe, in keeping with EU
policies? One cannot but help if a similar crime was what transpired on the
coast of Lampedusa in 2013, and several other such episodes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Has the
world kept silent in the face of mass atrocities of genocidal proportions?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Are the
crimes of mass murders of identifiable segments of populations not within the
purview of the International Criminal Court to prosecute under the Rome
Statues? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Is the
Prosecutor of the ICC unaware of the crimes against humanity being perpetuated
in the Mediterranean?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Should the
EU not take responsibility for the consequences of some of her actions which
has directly led to the commission of mass atrocities?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Are there
better ways to address the migrant crisis?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">….the
answers to the above questions will be addressed here shortly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Picture: The coffins of victims of the Lampedusa migrant
ship disaster, 2013.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oddXQZlCrLJWbCsZ6kipOseWJ8j4ONvgqHQXea9KzKGe_afS5Kbo7v4jHAl8KBd29kuuVNuSArqyPgtLf2wLm_b6OOQgwDKB85bTqqovVcoEkuzzEQlucbdaUGaetB6zRYq-ti_FYaUaHgoySWN7hGWdivcySafAKHbfRN9DsumfywonP98SUBxcd7_i/s624/Lampedusa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oddXQZlCrLJWbCsZ6kipOseWJ8j4ONvgqHQXea9KzKGe_afS5Kbo7v4jHAl8KBd29kuuVNuSArqyPgtLf2wLm_b6OOQgwDKB85bTqqovVcoEkuzzEQlucbdaUGaetB6zRYq-ti_FYaUaHgoySWN7hGWdivcySafAKHbfRN9DsumfywonP98SUBxcd7_i/w400-h225/Lampedusa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-3363620230579741242023-09-02T20:31:00.005+02:002023-09-02T20:31:47.369+02:00Coup Season II in Africa: Causes and where the next one will occur<p> <span style="font-size: 13pt;">by Eze Eluchie</span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Despite being awash with vast deposits of mineral and natural
resources, countries across Africa, particularly in the West and Central
regions of the continent, have maintained near-permanent positions on the
lowest rankings in global index for all negatives: ranging from the poorest
countries, the highest unemployment levels, lowest life expectancies, highest
infant mortality rates, highest illiteracy levels, widest income gaps, amongst
other global parameters for gauging standard of living, strength of national
economies and quality of lives of populations within any jurisdiction.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Whilst the vast majority of the populations in the various countries in
these region eck out a living at subhuman levels, the individuals opportune to
rule over the mineral rich countries in these regions are globally notorious
for ostentatious lifestyles, junketing in state-of-the-art private jets and
yacht, shopping at the most exquisite and exclusive of designer outlets,
purchasing multi-million dollar mansions and making payment for all these
purchases and lifestyles in raw cash, and generally portraying themselves as
living life to the fullest</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">A vicious looting-cum-ruling class:</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Those at the helm of affairs and their inner circle (which often times
cuts across all sectors of society including identified cronies in the
political, religious, and military settings), in the various countries in the
region often times have no other means of livelihood except for access to the
public till. In direct and real terms, these characters were merely robbing
their countries dry and living large off the loot, whilst viciously
emasculating and pauperizing the populations over whom they rule.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The socioeconomic situations in most countries in sub-Sahara Africa is
simply not sustainable, akin to being perched on a keg of gunpowder – all it
required was the slightest spark to ignite an explosion. As the populations
became more aware of their sorrowful predicament in the hands of their rulers,
the agitation for betterment in life conditions was met with more brutal
suppression of rights and more frenzied approach to stealing of public
resources, by a rulership which had become less attached to their populations,
and more fixated on their ‘friendship’ with foreign powers, who they felt would
always come to their aide, whenever.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Not bothered about the responsibilities of a State to its citizens, the
plight of their citizens or to even treat their nationals like human beings,
regimes across the region focused more on crippling national economies,
undermining their populations and allowing their States to be plundered by
foreign interests under the most dubious of international agreements. To
conform with what they perceived were ‘international norms’, these kleptos who
ruled over much of Africa deployed mechanisms to schedule a date when their
local populations will ostensibly, ‘revalidate their mandate’, under supposedly
‘democratic elections’. The practice of democracy was reduced to the sham of
having a date set aside for ‘elections. Democracy thus became a ruse vile
dictatorial regimes adapted to mask their stench and present their foreign
collaborators with a tool to obscure sordid realities from populations in the
West. The fragrance of domestic and foreign election observers and monitors
served to spice up the façade, providing on the one hand domestic
collaborators, who for access to donor-grants, will validate electoral heists,
and on the other, foreign adjudicators who will using the veiled threat of
ability to rule an election ‘far below acceptable international democratic
standards’, ensure that even where there was a ‘slip’, only outcomes favorable
to Western powers were deemed acceptable.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Unfortunately, the judiciary, which in times past used to exude some
semblance of independence, objectivity and competence, and was generally
thought of as ‘the last hope of the common man’, acquiesced their noble role
and joined in-bed, with the looting class, and repeatedly failed to uphold
basic tenets of justice, constitutionalism and the rule of law in adjudicating
over election disputes and efforts to tweak constitutional provisions to
prolong the sufferings of the people – thus leaving the majority disillusioned,
anxious and worried.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Continuing hemorrhage by former colonial overlords:</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Visible foreign collaborators with the ruling echelon of these African
countries, are the same colonial overlords from whom the African countries had
gained ‘flag’ independence in the 60’s – mainly France and Britain. These two
European countries continue to maintain, with support of an elite looting class
to whom they had ‘relinquished’ political power, lecherous relationships which
serve to impoverish the vast majority of the populations in the African
countries, allowing vain perks to the looting class whilst the colonial
overlords, through deft bilateral agreements retain stifling control over the
assets of the African countries. The French are more brazen in their approach
as they virtually control the economy, serve as Central Bank and maintain
military bases in all their former colonies. The British on the other hand are
suave about their overbearing control, as they impose stooges and operate more
from behind the scene. They both, however, achieve the same insidious goal of
neocolonialism which has dastardlier consequences for the citizens of the
African countries than what transpired during the colonial era.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The real coups in Africa occurs when the looting class who man the
various African countries discard Constitutional provisions guaranteeing
people’s rights and those related to Presidential tenure limits, renege on
State responsibilities towards the citizenry under the Social Contract theory
and institutionalize bad governance, corruption and vendetta as cardinal
principles of the State. The silence of regional, continental and international
multi-State organizations to these aberrations which diminish the citizens of
African countries, convinces Africans that alternate templates for liberation
and development must be adapted.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Fed up with the pretense at democracy without any positive add-ons to
the lives of the people, and denied of any meaningful path towards effecting
necessary changes to the leadership of their countries via the ballot box, the
emasculated populations are primed, ready and prepared to support any and all
change in government!</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Having effectively gauged the socioeconomic environment and the
likelihood of mass support for a putsch, with public show of force in the form
of motorized convoy of military hardware and troops taking over major parts of
the national capital, staccato of bullets rendering the peace of night, and a
terse broadcasts in local media announcing the sacking of the corrupt regimes,
closure of all border entries and the airspace (pretending they have the
capacity to monitor their national airspace), a group of soldiers readily step
in: announcing oft rehashed condemnation of corruption and promising to right
wrongs, better the lot of the citizens, and lead their country to Eldorado. The
severely abused and maligned citizens of the African countries will readily
troop out onto the streets to welcome their new found ‘messiahs’. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Coup Season II</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In the course of the past 3 years, starting from 2020, sub-Sahara
Africa seems to have cruised into a season of coups, with soldiers (renegade or
patriotic, depending from which perspective one views the situation), with a
rapidity that was last witnessed in the continent over 30 years ago, staging a
total of 8 coups and counter coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Niger
and now Gabon. The coups, with the sole exception of the coup in Sudan,
occurred in countries which had continued to reel under the stranglehold and
economic exploitation of France.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Blindsided by the rapidity of the collapse of its stooges in West
Africa, France was left flatfooted with the swiftness with which it lost
control of Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, and the ridicule it was exposed to
when its former victim-States ordered France to pull out the French military
bases off their territories. Faced with the obvious economic collapse its loss
of the freebies it raked in from outlandish exploitation of its colonial
outposts, the French leadership delved into childish tantrums, threatening hell
and brimstone when yet another coup occurred in its former territory, the
Republic of Niger, from which France dubiously appropriated Uranium and Gold
deposits. France realized the existential threat it would suffer if it lost the
vice-like grip it had over a source from which she bolstered the Gold Reserve
which found the French economy and the cheap uranium with which it lit up its
homes and industries in France.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In desperation to ensure that Niger does not remain out of its grip,
France reached out to known stooges, it had long propped up in Senegal and Cote
D’Ivore, and a new lackey on the bloc whose very selection as President of
Nigeria had come after a most dubious electoral heist that had further blighted
Democracy as a reliable system of government in the estimation of Africans. The
Nigerian ruler, in a stark display of his inexperience and novice status in
international relations, acting on the behest of the former colonial overlords
and using the auspices of the regional multinational body, ECOWAS, issued a
one-week ultimatum to the coup leaders in Niger, to reinstate the deposed
French stooge, or face military invasion by some ECOWAS member States.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Tinubu’s naivety & sour antecedents ups the stakes:</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">This unprecedented condescending acts of some sister-West Africa
countries against Niger, backfired as it directly elicited patriotic fervor
from Nigeriens, who thereafter trooped in their millions in support of their
new Government. The position of the colonial overlords and their regional
stooges masquerading under the ECOWAS tag was worsened when the Governments of
Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso vowed support for the Government in Niger and
concretized their support by moving in troops and armaments in support of the
new regime in Niger</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The fact that the Nigerian ruler who was spearheading efforts at
‘restoring democracy’ in Niger was himself a product of electoral heist
tantamount to a coup, and had not been able to stem the rising waves of
banditry and extremist Islamist terror attacks in Nigeria, coupled with the
desperation in former colonial overlords exhibited in their avowal to commit
human and material resources towards the invasion of Niger, exposed a deeper
non-altruistic and selfish coloration to efforts to deny a people who had, via
a coup, eased themselves of the yoke of bad rulers.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Whilst the Niger coup was approaching boiling point with the
declaration by France that it would neither recognize the authority of the new
rulers in Niger and would not withdraw its Ambassador as requested by the new
regime, thus setting the stage for a possible invasion of Niger by France, yet
another group of military officers struck in Gabon, and sacked another dictator
who was seeking to use the ruse of a ‘democratic elections’ to perpetuate his
families’ chokehold on Gabon. A hold that had rendered the population of what
ought to have been one of the richest countries in Africa, to destitution and
backwardness.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">If the Niger coup, set alarm bells ringing, the Gabon coup soon
thereafter, pushed the bells to overdrive across the globe. Sit-tight dictators
across Africa immediately embarked on mass sacks/retirement of senior Generals
in their military’s and replacing same with trusted cronies, laboring under the
illusion that with such cosmetic changes in the military, they will continue
their vice hold over their population. Member States of the European Union
likewise got quite started about the sudden loss of stooges who had served to
assure Europe of extremely cheap sources of gas, crude oil and myriad other
mineral resources. The EU leadership, sequel to the Gabon coup, immediately
summoned a meeting of their Foreign and Defense Ministers to harmonize actions
to confront the desire by African countries to be free.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The usual condemnation for coups in Africa, such as announcement of the
suspension of the ‘erring State’, and measured sanctions were announced by the
Africa Union, and other Heads-of-States Clubs, also known as sub-regional
multinational organizations in Africa, were reeled out after each of the 8 coup
thus far in the course of the past 3 years – all to no effect whatsoever.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Where the next coup will take place:</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The reality which all must acquiesce to is that there is a new wave of
decolonialization sweeping across Africa. The old order had terribly
short-changed Africa, rendering the continent richest in mineral and natural
resources, the poorest and most raped continent. Those who have benefited from
the scam which has held Africa so backward over the past few decades, need only
to realize that human beings with a quest for advancement and betterment of
themselves, their environment and safeguarding their future, also inhabit the
Africa continent. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">As the Coup Season continues, it is likely to, like a tornado, gather
more momentum and intensity as it barrels across the continent. Thus far, the
soldiers who had executed putsches over the past 2 years have remarkably been
non-violent. In some instances, such as the Republics of Niger and Gabon
episodes, allowing the rulers they had deposed access to meetings with
foreigners, meetings that had sustained unwarranted foreign interference and
which could have truncated the putsches. Bets are ow being wagered as to where
the next ouster of despotic regimes masquerading as democracies will occur.
Some countries which, by virtue of the disconnect between the regimes in power
and their populations, level of large scale corruption, viciousness of the
regimes in dealing with their civil populations and other criterion to assess
good governance, can rightly be predicted as eminently qualified for a change
of guards include: Cameroon, Uganda, Senegal and Central African Republic.
Others not too far behind include such territories as Nigeria, Ghana and Cote
D’Ivoire. Nigeria and Senegal have had very dubious election processes which
led to imposition of unfits as rulers over very vibrant populations.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">As the coup season unfolds, if coups were to take place in the
aforelisted countries, the various international multi-State organizations
(such as ECOWAS, AU, UN EU and others), which have not sufficiently urged for
the adoption of good governance principles and the rule of law in the countries
highlighted, will do their already depleted images before Africans a world of
good, by refraining from the usual condemnations of coups and imposition of
economic sanction, when and if the coups eventually occur.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The next few months before the Coup Season lapses would be quite
interesting…..</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"></span></p><p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Picture: Malians celebrate coup leaders
the ouster of President Ibrahim Keita </span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="selectable-text"><span class="selectable-text1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8VeSMVWGN8hJ5e4PwXHfTtW-ZmAuyTRQgydzydMi7ZWVfY1IxqaaepAS_-8H9OBW5OmwDwrWz0WD_37RNTOsmDoQd4cLl2ShXUZaUyDPHaIaGP7_nQUutIPduwg0TkfvQ-oTEEX7ULRsaYmKwp0XXXSoEyiBgoS3ZhNGtmO_5uSz-vTE5eTZBXDtM5w9/s1000/Malli.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8VeSMVWGN8hJ5e4PwXHfTtW-ZmAuyTRQgydzydMi7ZWVfY1IxqaaepAS_-8H9OBW5OmwDwrWz0WD_37RNTOsmDoQd4cLl2ShXUZaUyDPHaIaGP7_nQUutIPduwg0TkfvQ-oTEEX7ULRsaYmKwp0XXXSoEyiBgoS3ZhNGtmO_5uSz-vTE5eTZBXDtM5w9/w400-h266/Malli.jpeg" width="400" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i><p></p><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-26434870806825544012023-08-26T18:54:00.004+02:002023-08-26T18:54:47.742+02:00France must respect Niger Republics sovereignty – an invasion would be against the so-called ‘Rule-based International Order’<p> <i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">by Eze Eluchie,</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is
preposterous that France has rejected orders from the defacto and dejure
Government of the Republic of Niger to withdraw its Ambassador and diplomats by
Sunday 27<sup>th</sup> August 2023. This rejection is an affront to all norms
and texts of international Law and the so-called rule based world order being
championed by Western powers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Such rejection
by France, leaves the leaders of Niger with no other option than to, at the end
of the period to vacate, seek to arrest and deport from Niger, the said French
Ambassador and other French diplomats in Niger. When it is realized that the
French Ambassador will ordinarily have some French soldiers guarding him and
his residence, there is all probability that confrontation may ensue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Emmanuel
Macron regime in France has given the feeble excuse that it does not recognize
the Government in control of Niger, claiming to still recognize the deposed
Bazoum junta. President Macron must realize that, far and above France, the
United Nations has already acknowledged the reality of the Government in Niger
and is already obeying the instructions of the leaders of Niger – thus relegating
France’s present stance as mere agent provocateur for conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Under the
false and deceptive pretext of ‘restoring democratically elected government of
Bazoum’, a phrase used to mask a desperate desire to retain a stranglehold over
the mineral resources of Niger, whilst ensuring that the people of Niger remain
economically retarded and emasculated, the regime of Emmanuel Macron in France appears
to be ready to invade Niger for economic and geopolitical reasons<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If France
under this pretext, send in her soldiers to invade Niger, all moral
pretentiousness and rationale sustaining NATO support for Ukraine against
Russia invasion will evaporate – reducing French and NATO involvement in
Ukraine to a mere opportunistic frolic to undermine an adversary (Russia)
without any regard for the cost of such endeavor on the peoples and territory
of Ukraine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is hoped
that France will refrain from levying an unjust and unproved war against the
Government and people of Niger. Macron’s Government ought to obey the desire of
the Niger Government and withdraw its Ambassador and diplomats from Niger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: President of
Niger, Abdourahamane Tchiani and President of France, Emmanuel Macron<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkOTS8pZoBedngTb9yRVsY2iunLEKNyvh-IWO6STY5dcAs39vwtH_7o5F7B6Q1DyFfMJeBIh5i1ICsOVEeJ4797y_DLjm-sE2MCp4qSjUlZvuhwtiQs-wGvm9x_ji3M4e6GHIHA9tOzTQLetMeNDVAsagcq94_MFU2CvMOd897AWiJZ-hmV-SZNC9vR-N/s599/Niger%20Tchiani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="599" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkOTS8pZoBedngTb9yRVsY2iunLEKNyvh-IWO6STY5dcAs39vwtH_7o5F7B6Q1DyFfMJeBIh5i1ICsOVEeJ4797y_DLjm-sE2MCp4qSjUlZvuhwtiQs-wGvm9x_ji3M4e6GHIHA9tOzTQLetMeNDVAsagcq94_MFU2CvMOd897AWiJZ-hmV-SZNC9vR-N/w339-h122/Niger%20Tchiani.jpg" width="339" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-47216949750245875062023-08-04T15:16:00.000+02:002023-08-04T15:16:13.932+02:00Niger Republic Coup: The West must realize that the world and Africans are watching:- but do they care?<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">by Eze Eluchie<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><i><b>“Political power is not to
be served in a restaurant, it's not served in a la carte, it's what we are
doing, its being determined to do it at all costs: Fight for it, grab it,
snatch it and run with it”</b></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">~Bola Tinubu (Nigeria’s
placeholder President) in London, 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">When soldiers of the
Republic of Niger’s Presidential Guards in the morning of 26th July 2023, the
detained President Mohamed Bazoum in a bloodless coup d’etat, the spontaneity
of jubilations across Niger was quite infectious. Outsiders distant from the
pains and sufferings of the people of Niger would be astounded, but any
familiar with the goings on In this mineral rich country whose population have
been derided for decades as ‘one of the poorest countries on earth’, will
understand the euphoria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Here was a country which
was a major producer of uranium and had very rich Gold reserves, yet the
population barely felt the wealth of their country, whilst conglomerates from
France and other European entities profited immensely from Niger. Niger was on
an edge and the slightest tilt was bound to effect the change witnessed in the
coup. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Coming barely two weeks
after the pronouncement by newly installed Chairman of the regional body, the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Nigeria’s Placeholder
President, Bola Tinubu, that ECOWAS would not tolerate any ‘unconstitutional’
changes in political leadership across the sub-region, the July Coup in Niger
set up an early test-case for the potency of ECOWAS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In a hurriedly convened
meeting of some Heads of Governments of ECOWAS member States in Abuja, chaired
by Mr. Tinubu (who ECOWAS had in view of Nigeria’s enormous financial
contributions towards the sustenance of the West African regional multi-State
organization, made Chairman during his very first attendance at any ECOWAS
meet), ECOWAS rather undiplomatically and contrary to the regional bodies
practices to arrive at decisions via consensus and unanimous agreements,
brashly ordered those who had deposed the government in Republic of Niger to
vacate office within a week, or face military intervention from ECOWAS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noticeably absent at the said ECOWAS Heads of
State meeting, were the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Equitorial
Guinea. That the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS would arrive at such
controversial decision without ensuring all the member States of the
organization were on board was bound to later haunt the sub-regional body.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Being himself, a character
who snatched and ran with political power against the wishes of the population
freely expressed in the 25th February 2023 Presidential elections in Nigeria,
the country’s current, Mr. Tinubu, was clearly in no position whatsoever to
challenge the soldiers who grabbed power in similar vein. It is however
important to note that unlike Tinubu, General Abdourahamane Tchiani and his
compatriots apparently have the support of the overwhelming majority of
Nigeriens and peoples of the West Africa sub-region<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">It must be pointed out at
this stage that in the absence of unanimity amongst ECOWAS countries, any
invasion of Niger (as being planned by some countries with support and prodding
by some Western countries) would be an illegitimate war. Already, Mali, Burkina
Faso and Guinea have already indicated that any attack on Niger Republic would
be taken by those three geographically and linguistically contiguous countries,
as an attack against their peoples. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Those who fail to condemn
persons who attain political power by scuttling the Constitutions of their
respective countries via acts of electoral heist and stealing votes, should
spare us any sanctimonious indignations when non-politicians (in the strict
sense of that phrase) opt to intervene in the political space. Such
condemnations of non-politicians’ interventions in politics gets more
condescending if the intervention is with the approval and support of the
domestic population.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The old saying of
universal validity that ‘those who make peaceful change impossible, make
violent change inevitable’ comes to light once more. When the existing
political process consistently churns out scions and cronies of those who have
held the population backwards, it is only a matter of time, before the bubble
bursts. The population affected have to remain vigilant, lest the ideals of
today become the nightmare of tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The argument that any
‘democratic arrangement’ is better than military regimes is, as has been
experienced by the peoples of West Africa, a fallacy from the pit of hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Are coups okay only when
it is supported and planned by some external powers; and bad when it has
popular support? Is the condemnation and sanctioning being applied by some
Western countries merely for the purposes of exploring and ensuring protection
of external interests, and will such be relaxed once age old parochial
interests, which have left the peoples of the affected country pauperized are
assured?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The West (the United
States, United Kingdom, the European Union et al), should not taint their existing
moral authority as democracies by prodding the mastermind and prime beneficiary
of Nigeria’s 2023 electoral heist to plunge the West Africa region into
needless and wasteful fratricidal conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The implications of the
continuing push by some Western countries, notably France, Britain and the
United States for ECOWAS military intervention in Niger is that arguments being
made by NATO against Russia for its ‘special military operations’ in Ukraine
would be exposed as hypocritical and nonsensical if any countries supporting
Ukraine were to participate in an illegitimate invasion on and against the
peoples of Niger Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Additionally, demands that
former Nigerien President, Bazoum, be ‘released unconditionally’ being touted
by the US, British and French governments is clear unsolicited interference in
the internal affairs of Niger. A call for expedient production of the deposed
President before requisite judicial authorities in Niger for the prosecution of
any charges the new Government in Niamey may have against the deposed ruler,
would have been more realistic and responsible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tinubu’s infamous
declaration to fight, grab, snatch and run with political power<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">https://www.youtube.com/shorts/d4kgJAsHCok<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Those who rig elections are Siamese twins
with coup plotters – the only difference being that riggers are civilians and
coupists are oftentimes soldiers<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: Niger
leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani and Nigeria ruler, Bola Tinubu<o:p></o:p></i></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0KOCXt74P7MYXBjLYmaUMNUnlpBE6uPU4dYdVp1kifgeEW_zADzy2HzKgDTaFJhEpaa9fk9md6ptVDL4FE8hSZItXRb59P9XEmyjMCHOERjN882SiCF_t3PmnjHNcwcg2lWZI8VC2H2f4YY7fMQQn0gOvk9U75xM58NX99753Y8VqYHIL6YW-R2V_wK4/s1227/Niger%20Coup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="1227" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0KOCXt74P7MYXBjLYmaUMNUnlpBE6uPU4dYdVp1kifgeEW_zADzy2HzKgDTaFJhEpaa9fk9md6ptVDL4FE8hSZItXRb59P9XEmyjMCHOERjN882SiCF_t3PmnjHNcwcg2lWZI8VC2H2f4YY7fMQQn0gOvk9U75xM58NX99753Y8VqYHIL6YW-R2V_wK4/w355-h118/Niger%20Coup.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-23717284234708844132023-04-26T00:44:00.006+02:002023-04-26T10:59:48.110+02:00Open Letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on need to address wrongs of the greatest electoral heist in history: Nigeria's 2023 Presidential elections.<p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
(Rtd)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Aso Rock Villa<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Abuja<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Your Excellency<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR EXCELLENCY TO RIGHT WRONGS -<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">RE: 25<sup>TH</sup> FEBRUARY 2023 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS: A CALL FOR YOUR EXPEDIENT INTERVENTION TO ENSURE CONSTITUTIONALISM,
RULE OF LAW AND DUE PROCESS PREVAILS WHILST SAFEGUARDING NIGERIA FROM NEEDLESS
DESCENT INTO PARIAH STATUS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Please accept our
compliments as you approach the end of second and final of your 4-year tenure
as the President of the Federal Republic. A tenure that has placed your
goodself as one of only two Nigerians who have had the unique opportunity of
presiding over the affairs of Nigeria firstly as a Military Dictator, and
thereafter a civilian President. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Your tenure has witnessed
several landmark events such as the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act
(after almost two decades of continuous efforts), passage of the Electoral Act
2020 (after close to a decade of efforts to make our electoral laws more just
and equitable), and some efforts at enshrining the autonomy of the Judiciary
and Legislative arms of government; and also some controversial episodes, such as
the inability of our security forces and agencies to effectively stem continuing
ethnic cleansing being experienced across the country masked in the garb of
Herdsmen – Indigenous Farmers/Settler clashes; increased feelings of
marginalization by diverse component peoples of Nigeria and lopsidedness in the
management of affairs of the country; and downturn in the economy of the
country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In this twilight days of your
administration, providence has offered you a unique opportunity to ensure that
your name is enshrined in the annals of the history of Nigeria, and indeed the
African continent, as one who did his best to uphold the tenets, spirit and
intendments of the Constitution of the Federal Republic (CFR), uphold the
integrity, dignity and elevated position of Nigeria amongst the comity of
nations, in an altruistic manner devoid of partisan or other parochial
considerations. The purpose of this correspondence is to bring to your notice
this unique offer of providence in the effort that you will seize the opening
to right wrongs and be on the right side of history and posterity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Expectations of the 2023 general elections<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In the buildup to the 2023
general elections, your goodself, had severally committed your administration
to organizing the freest and most credible elections to ensure an orderly
transition by the 29<sup>th</sup> of May 2023. Based on the trust Nigerians had
in your pronouncements and the publicly made undertakings by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) authorities to use technological advancements to
ensure real-time online transmission of results of voting at polling units via the Bimodal
Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and real-time online collation of
votes via the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portals, Nigerians in their millions,
who had either previously not registered as voters or had lost faith in the
electoral processes, took up the civic responsibility and registered to vote,
and indeed presented themselves to vote on the election day, 25<sup>th</sup>
February 2023, the date slated for presidential and national assembly
elections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In a most traumatic
betrayal of a peoples trust and denigration of a country’s image, the
leadership and management of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), in a manner aggressively and directly in contradiction with the
Nigerian Constitution and relevant electoral laws and pursuant regulations,
particularly the Electoral Act 2022 and the INEC Regulations 2022, delivered
what has variously been described as an electoral heist of unimaginable
proportions bordering on repudiation of the basis and fundamental precepts of
democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Nigerian electorate,
domestic and foreign election observers, and the international community as a
whole, took adequate notice of the charade INEC conducted under the guise of an
election. The elections conducted by INEC on the 25<sup>th</sup> of February
served to directly impugn Your Excellency’s commitment to free and fair polls.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Constitution directly
accords your office necessary and cogent powers to ensure that the Federal
Government and all its Ministries, agencies, and parastatals, inclusive of
INEC, adhere to the tenets and spirit of the CFRN. In reality, unconstitutional
acts, none compliance with extant laws, and wrongs generally can only be
perpetuated by entities created under our laws to the extent that the President
of the Federal Republic is either not aware of such infractions, or acquiesces
to such infractions. We write believing that Mr. President is not aware of
these unconstitutional acts, none compliance with the laws and wrongs
generally, and would want to leave office knowing he has done his very best for
the Government and peoples of the Federal Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">At this juncture, we must
admit that Mr. President’s patriotic and legitimate actions in response to the
illegalities displayed by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the
recently concluded Adamawa State gubernatorial supplementary elections, gave us
added impetus to pen this correspondence in the hope that Mr. President will
likewise see the dangers in not nipping absurdities in the bud by similarly
calling on the relevant security agencies to exhaustively investigate the
conduct of the INEC Chairman and some of his associates regarding their
announcement of results and declaration of a winner when the processes of the
presidential elections were yet uncompleted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Issues Arising: Unconstitutional Acts, Infractions of
Laws and Moral debasement<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We shall hereunder proceed
to highlight the constitutional aberrations, illegalities and uncouth acts that
INEC indulged in, to arrive at the most unconstitutional and illegitimate
outcomes it rendered as the outcome of the 2023 Presidential elections, in the
believe that your goodself will direct the Attorney General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice and other agencies and instruments of the Federal
Government on the proper steps to take with regards to containing the
enthronement of illegitimacy and what we will choose to refer to as ‘unconstitutionalism’
in our polity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Declaring a
person unqualified to be a candidate as President-elect<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Section 137(1): <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A
person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if</b> -<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(d) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he is under</b> a sentence of death imposed
by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offence involving dishonesty
or fraud (by whatever name called)</b> or for any other offence, imposed on him
by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other
sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal;<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">As Your Excellency may be
aware, considering the fact that the issue has dominated public discourse and
certainly should have elicited interest of the relevant security agencies, sequel
to investigations and judicial processes conducted by the Federal Bureau of
Investigations of the United States, the United States Government sought for
and obtained forfeiture in the sum of US$460,000 in relation to drug
trafficking and money laundering charges which are offences bothering on fraud
and dishonesty, from the person INEC has pronounced as President-elect (and
indeed the said Mr. Tinubu has never denied that he forfeited the said sum –
his defense being that it was a forfeiture outside the jurisdiction of Nigeria
and that the forfeiture were against his accounts, not his person).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">From the provisions of the
CFRN 1999 which we have highlighted above, which are each stand-alone
provisions, default of which renders any person presented as a candidate by a
political party ineligible to contest for the office of President of the
Federal Republic, it is clear that the forfeiture of sums for charges related
to drug trafficking and money laundering, renders Mr. Tinubu ineligible to be a
contestant or candidate in an election for the office of President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not being a candidate at
the said elections in the eye of the CFRN, the purported declaration of the
said Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect sequel to the presidential
elections held on 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023, is gross and an abuse of the
powers delegated to the INEC Chairman under the Electoral Act, thus rendering
the act of the purported declaration, illegitimate and an affront on the CFRN<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If this travesty is not
immediately corrected as the travesty of an INEC REC announcing results and
declaring a winner, as occurred in Adamawa State, there yet will be a time when
an INEC Chairman will, of his own accord, declare a person who is not a duly
nominated candidate of a political party as the President-elect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Declaring a
candidate who did not meet constitutional prerequisites as President-elect <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sec. 134(2) A
candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have
been duly elected where, there being more than two candidates for the election-<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">(a) he has
the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than
one-quarter of the votes cast at the election each of at least two-thirds of all
the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In his purported
declaration of a President-elect on the 1<sup>st</sup> of March, 2023, sequel
to the 25<sup>th</sup> of February presidential elections, INEC Chairman
surreptitiously and deliberately feigned ignorance of the clear and unambiguous
provisions of Section 134(2)A of CFRN. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In the course of the
announcement of the purported collated results from the presidential elections,
the candidate of the Al Progressive Congress (APC), who was declared as
President-elect by the INEC Chairman, scored 20% of the votes cast in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja – a percentage that is clearly below the
minimum threshold required of any candidate to be declared as President-elect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is pertinent to point
out that the various candidates declared as Presidents-elect under the current
constitutional dispensation (Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and your
goodself) had secured more that the mandatorily required 25% of votes cast in
the FCT.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">By virtue of the said
provisions, the person declared as President-elect did not meet explicit and
clear constitutional requirement to be so declared as President-elect. In real<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Declaring a
candidate as elected when the processes prescribed by the Constitution and Law
for that purpose had not been concluded<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In conformity with the
Electoral Act 2020, the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of
Elections 2022, and Manual, the following are the steps that must be taken
between the conclusion of voting and the announcement of election results and
where possible, the declaration of a winner of the presidential polls:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Results are brought in
from the various comprising units (in the case of the Presidential elections,
the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory);<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Issues raised concerning
the elections are definitively addressed by the Returning Officer of the
elections; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Final results are
announced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In the case of the presidential
elections held on the 25<sup>th</sup> of February 2023, what were purported to
be results from the States and Abuja were brought in, to which Political Party
Collating Center Agents (PPCCA) vigorously opposed, and raised objections to
their authenticity, validity and reliability as results coming from the States.
The Returning Officer for the Presidential elections (who also happens to be
the Chairman of INEC), undertook to address and resolve the issues raised by
the said PPCCA’s prior to the final announcement of results. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Without addressing the
issues raised by the PPCCA’s, thus skipping a vital aspect of the collation and
announcement of election results protocols, the RO/INEC Chairman, surreptitiously
in the wee hours of Wednesday, the 1<sup>st</sup> day of March, 2023, announced
what he termed as final results and declared the candidate of the ruling party
as President-elect, and subsequently, within a few hours of the illegitimate
declaration, proceeded to issue what he, the RO/INEC Chairman termed a
‘Certificate of Return as President-elect’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">This audacious
none-adherence to laid down procedures INEC had marshalled out for itself
pursuant to its powers under the Electoral Act 2022, ordinarily renders
whatsoever was announced illegitimate and beyond the powers of the RO/INEC
Chairman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The impunity and total
disregard for laid down procedures by the RO/INEC Chairman, lays a most
dangerous precedent wherein any person opportune to be the RO/INEC Chairman may
delude him/herself into thinking that all it will take to become an elected
public official is pronouncement as such by the electoral umpire, whether that
pronouncement is in sync with the CFRN, the Electoral Act or subsidiary
Guideline and Regulations for elections. This ugly and despicable act of the
RO/INEC Chairman directly served as motivational precedent soon after the
presidential elections of 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023, when the Adamawa State
Resident Electoral Commission, in total disregard of laid down procedures,
announced results of the Adamawa State Supplementary elections and declared a
candidate as winner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is interesting to note
that the INEC leadership at Abuja, who felt blindsided by the audacity and
impunity of its REC in Adamawa State, swiftly annulled the declaration of the
Adamawa State REC, and righted the wrongs committed. The INEC Chairman and the
Commission was disciplining a member of its staff who, in neglecting laid down
Laws and procedures to hurriedly declare illegitimate and ultra-constitutional
results, had acted exactly as the INEC Chairman had done when the said Chairman
had declared the candidate of the ruling APC as the winner of the Presidential
elections and President-elect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is intriguing to note
that whilst Mr. President had swiftly, and rightly so, condemned the actions of
the Adamawa State REC and ordered security agencies to investigate and bring
all the culprits to justice, the President had failed to equally condemn and
invite the security agencies to investigate and prosecute the rascality of the
INEC Chairman who had earlier acted in similar vein.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Unlawful nomination
for two elective offices within the same election circle.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Section 115(1)d of the
Electoral Act clearly makes it a criminal offense for anyone to be nominated
for two political offices within the same election circle. The Vice Presidential
candidate of your political party in the last presidential elections, Kashim
Shettima, is believed to have being a nominee of your political party, the All
Progressives Congress (APC), for the Senatorial elections for Bornu Central
Senatorial district, as at the same time he was nominated as a Vice
Presidential candidate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If indeed this crime is
established, the fact that the Vice Presidential candidate and the Presidential
candidate of any party during the presidential elections have a joint ticket,
with the ineligibility of one affecting the other, it translates to the fact
that the ruling APC did not have any candidate during the February 25<sup>th</sup>
presidential elections. The pronouncement of Mr. Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as
winners of the presidential elections and their declaration as President-elect
and Vice President-elect respectively, becomes a crime in itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We enjoin Your Excellency
to deploy the immense investigatory and law enforcement mechanisms available in
the country towards addressing this issue, investigate and where found culpable,
prosecute all involved in the criminal act of declaring an entity who could be
a non-candidate as President- and Vice President-elects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Rectitude
and National Integrity and Standing amongst the Comity of Nations:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">(a). The so-called
President-elect’s forfeitures for drug trafficking and money laundering</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">:</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> one of the sterling qualities which had given Mr.
President some moral grounds to navigate unscathed in the murky waters of
national and international politics and maintain a tag of a statesman, is the
unequivocal revulsion to the vice of drug trafficking. Mr. President had in his
first stint at presiding over the affairs of Nigeria, albeit exuberantly,
executed three convicted drug traffickers for serving as couriers of illicit
drugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is thus appalling that
a President, who as Military Dictator in 1985 had executed 3 convicted drug
traffickers (whose crimes, by the way, did not attract a death penalty as at
the time when the three convicts committed the crimes), is now presiding over a
most corrupted process which via unconstitutional means and in violation of
electoral laws, seeks to hand over the reins of governance of Nigeria to a man
who forfeited the sum of $460,000.00 to the United States Government for
involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering offences. If indeed the
said Mr. Tinubu had won the presidential elections, then Mr. President would
have no choice than to abide by the choice of the people. In this instance,
however, there are clear indications that the Constitution, Electoral laws and
Guidelines were subverted, violence deployed and other uncouth irregularities
and atrocities committed to foist the said Mr. Tinubu on Nigeria and Nigerians
– this is most unfortunate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is our belief that Mr.
President might not be fully aware of the incongruity of the persona who his
party, with connivance of the INEC Chairman seeks to foist on the Nigerian
State as President, with the need to keep Nigeria as a respected member of the
international community free from the ravages of corrupt practices and the
stigma of being regarded as a narco-State. In the event that Mr. President is
unwilling to……<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">(b). Inviting the specter of a Presidents Manuel
Noriega (Panama) or Juan Hernandez (Honduras) on Nigeria<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Mr. President is very much
aware of the harms the vice of drug trafficking and money laundering has
occasioned the Nigerian State and the fact that the twin vices are looked upon
with derision by the global community. It is our contention that the prospect
of Nigeria being categorized as a narco-state, and thus treated like a pariah
in the comity of nations, on account of having a character with proven track
record of involvement in the twin vices being illegitimately foisted as
President, cannot be the legacy Mr. President will wish to bequeath on Nigeria
and Nigerians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">With Mr. Tinubu’s history
of involvement in international drug trafficking and money laundering, what and
who is there to stop a repeat of the scenario of extra-jurisdictional arrests
visited upon the former President of Panama, Mr. Manuel Noriega – who eventually
died in a United States Federal Prison after being sentenced for drug
trafficking related charges) and immediate past President of Honduras (Juan
Hernandez (who is currently cooling his heels in a US prison on similar
charges. I believe, Mr. President, that you indeed do have a modicum of love
and respect for the Nigerian state and would not wish such calamity upon her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The prospect of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) being ultimately answerable and accountable to an
individual who had in time past forfeited humongous sums for involvement in the
twin vices of drug trafficking and money laundering, is mindboggling and will
be an indelible and destructive stain on the integrity, standing and moral
fabric of the Nigerian state that will no doubt retard efforts by various past
governments to pull Nigeria out of poverty and on the path of development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Perjury in lying about dual citizenship in affidavit
submissions to INEC: </span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not content with
manipulating the electoral processes for own interest, whipping up ethnocentric
sentiments which served to push Lagos, the economic nerve-center of Nigeria to
the edge of inter-ethnic conflagration, and involvement in drug trafficking and
money laundering offences which led to his forfeiture of colossal sums to the
US Government, the same Mr. Tinubu is now, in documents presented to INEC towards
facilitating his candidature for the said presidential elections, revealed to
have lied under oath with regards to whether he has acquired the citizenship of
another country other than Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">As Mr. President may be well
aware, lying under oath is a serious offence under the Laws of Nigeria, moreso
when the person who is suspected to have committed such offence is being
foisted on Nigeria as its next president by virtue of uncouth practices earlier
enumerated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For the sake of consistent
abhorrence of unconstitutional acts and illegalities, s Mr. President had
swiftly, and we must add patriotically and lawfully, acted in the illegalities
occasioned by INEC in the case of the Adamawa State gubernatorial supplementary
elections, Mr. President is hereby called upon to act with urgency, to direct
relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate, and prosecute whosoever is
found culpable in the matters of Perjury, presentation of forged certificates
to INEC and other infractions of the Constitution, Electoral Act and pursuant
Guidelines and Regulations guiding the presidential elections processes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If Mr. Tinubu is allowed
to use the guise of being unconstitutionally declared as President-elect to
avoid responsibility and accountability for his lies under oath in public
affidavits, the Office of the President of the Federal Republic would have been
unfortunately turned into a place of refuge for criminals. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Are issues raised here overtaken by the actions before
the presidential elections Tribunal?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The question may be asked
in some quarters: ‘are the issues being raised here for Mr. President attention
and action not all issues pending before the Presidential Election Tribunals’
and thus subject to the doctrine of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘lis
pendens’</i> (matters already before a court for adjudication), and not worthy
of presidential interventions as the Executive arm of Government may be accused
of interfering in the judicial processes? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The answer to the above query
is an emphatic ‘No’! The fact that civil remedies are being sought in a suit
does not preclude requisite authorities from inquiries, investigations,
prosecutions and taking other steps into the criminal components arising from
facts pending in a civil action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Presidential Elections
Tribunal is focused on civil claims. Perjury, presentation of forged certificates
and violation of electoral laws are criminal law issues which the relevant law
enforcement agencies can take up whensoever they consider appropriate,
irrespective of the civil matters before the elections tribunals. The urgent
need for law enforcement agencies to step in timeously and investigate the myriad
allegations against Mr. Tinubu is buttressed by the fact that if, for any
reason, the said so-called President-elect gets inaugurated into office, our
Constitution accords him immunity from investigations and prosecution.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Mr. Presidents Valedictory Messages<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">As Mr. Presidents exit
date from office draws increasingly near, Your Excellency has taken it upon
himself to reassure Nigerians that you want to leave Nigeria a better, more
peaceful and prosperous place then Your Excellency met it in 2015. Your
Excellency asserted at your last Sallah meeting with high profile residents of
Abuja, that you are desirous to return to your hometown, Daura, in Katsina
State, where you will be retiring to, which is a trackable distance to the
Republic of Niger, and that if Nigerians try to visit and disturb you at the
expiry of your tenure, you will simply cross the border to have some rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that same meeting, you rightly pleaded for
forgiveness from Nigerians for whatsoever wrongs or errors you might have
committed during your stay in office as President.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Regarding how Your
Excellency will leave Nigeria by May 29<sup>th</sup> 2023, when your tenure
expires, it is quite late in the day to begin to wish or hope, as the reality
of the impact of your current administration is quite entrenched and impossible
to re-wish, one way or the other, in the 35 days you have remaining in office.
For instance, the reality that at the inception, Nigeria was the fasted growing
economy in all Africa is not in doubt; another reality is that as your
administration exits, the same Nigeria has not only fallen off the list of 10
fastest growing economies in Africa, the country has attained the status of the
Poverty Capital of the World. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">To err, Sir, is human, to
forgive divine. The people will no doubt be willing to forgive, as you have
desired for past errors and misdeeds. I believe your assertion that since your
hometown is a few kilometers to Republic of Niger, that you could easily walk
away from Nigeria’s problems which you might have helped to foster, was a mere
joke. It is however apt to correct that impression here, by reminding your
goodself, Sir, of the happenings in Sudan, where citizens of Sudan are already flowing
over into </span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">neighboring</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> countries to take refuge. The Republic of Niger may not
provide your Excellency the desired refuge, if you do not seize the present
opportunity to right wrongs in Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Presidential interventions sought</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The interventions hereby sought
from Mr. President regarding the matters contained in this correspondence are germane,
explicit and concise: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt;">order all
relevant law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate the sundry issues
raised in this correspondence, and where deemed appropriate, prosecute the
culprits, including the erring INEC Chairman and his collaborators – as Mr.
President had done in the case of unconstitutional, unlawful and immoral acts committed
by INEC in a wrongful declaration of a winner in the Adamawa State
gubernatorial supplementary elections<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt;">more
specifically, order the NDLEA and the EFCC to investigate the forfeiture by Mr.
Tinubu to the United States Government, to determine the likely consequences of
such forfeitures to the Nigerian State, her peoples, integrity, and standing in
the comity of nations; and <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt;">ensure that
inauguration into the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is
not used as a shield or ruse to avoid accountability and responsibility for
crimes earlier committed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Dear Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.), Your Excellency, we hope you will seize this unique opportunity availed you by providence to right wrongs and assuage the multiple harms that have befallen Nigerians during your now-ending tenure. Quite a sizable number of Nigerians believe that Your Excellency may have vested interests in the unfolding impasse - we, however, write believing that altruistic patriotic considerations will trump whatsoever other considerations that might exist if indeed they do exist. As you exercise the powers conferred on
your office by the Constitution to do what is right for the people of Nigeria,
we wish you a peaceful and quiet retirement within the borders of the country
you have been opportune to rule for a cumulative period of over 9 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Yours respectfully,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Eze Eluchie, Esq.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><i>NB: In view of the fact
that this correspondence will be broaching on legal issues, we have routed this
letter through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, in the believe that the said Minister will accord you
deeper perspectives and insight into the contents thereof and the need to act timeously to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria, its Constitution and its position as a responsible member of the international community governed by the rule of law.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVun5xXG3Bm53qMoF7lO6BbUoyZnIoh1ASzoRbJ9LAK2FLQfDeCpWhhKi9m2rohqLjv98ZeGIAu6ul4RRkNZ8Vp6k9DheuA1XFZhK0HBrFHV2LBeNIENMVIzHZDzEd5NS1K16wlSmLufcwBxtaEGz3YlfT0zH0k-EFvaqeVXNJVTrnvQ59XMf6_m02lQ/s585/bbtt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="585" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVun5xXG3Bm53qMoF7lO6BbUoyZnIoh1ASzoRbJ9LAK2FLQfDeCpWhhKi9m2rohqLjv98ZeGIAu6ul4RRkNZ8Vp6k9DheuA1XFZhK0HBrFHV2LBeNIENMVIzHZDzEd5NS1K16wlSmLufcwBxtaEGz3YlfT0zH0k-EFvaqeVXNJVTrnvQ59XMf6_m02lQ/w347-h122/bbtt.jpg" width="347" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Pix: President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu<br /><o:p><br /></o:p><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-84842773125121921832023-03-11T17:11:00.002+01:002023-03-11T17:11:42.967+01:00Nigeria's 2023 Presidential Elections - Greatest Electoral Heist in Africa: Call for Resignation of INEC Chairman, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu, Fresh Collation of Votes and Announcement of Winner<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Media Briefing by Civil
Society Organizations’: Observations and Recommendations on the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Presidential and National Assembly
Elections held 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Firstly, as
citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and as members of diverse Civil
Society Organizations who opted to devote our individual and institutional
resources towards uplifting and bettering the affairs of Nigeria in diverse
sectors ranging from Public Health, Gender and Youth Empowerment, Culture and
Climate Change, Good Governance, Public Sector Accountability and Grassroots
Engagement in Public Affairs; we have over the years realized the importance of
the democratization process and democracy towards attaining the much desired
advancement of Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The above
realization coupled with the passage of the Electoral Act 2022 and the oft
repeated assurances by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
through its Chairman and other officials, for the use of advanced electoral technology
systems, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines
and Machine readable Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), encouraged the various CSOs
here represented, to undertake extensive grassroots outreach campaigns towards
ensuring that Nigerian in their millions, become involved in the political
process by registering to vote, belonging to political parties and aspiring to
political offices at various strata of governance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Extensive Grassroots mobilization and
Sensitization by CSOs<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The ‘Grassroots
Mobilization On Citizen Participation in the Democratic Process’ programs
undertaken by our various organizations, and quite a few others, gave rise to
an unprecedented increase of over 11 million additional Nigerians who
registered to vote in the 2023 elections, bringing the total number of
registered voters to over 93,000,000. About 40% of the registered voters are youths,
most of whom would be voting for the very first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Undertakings made by INEC<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Buoyed on by
the several and repeated assurances of INEC’s leadership for free, fair and
transparent elections with the promise of real time transmission of votes from
the Polling Units to a national database/repository of votes, the INEC Results
Viewing (IReV) Portal, CSOs across Nigeria swung into action to ensure maximum
grassroots buy-in into the democracy project and space. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of the
really enticing comments from INEC officials which served to encourage CSOs to
take up the challenge of deepening interest in democratic process amongst the
populace include the following: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We have piloted the transmission of
results in 105 constituencies nationwide, including major Governorship
elections. We did it in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States, we also did it in the FCT…so
we are happy with the pilots that we have conducted, and we are reasonably
confident in the strength of the process. The machine on election day does not
rely on the internet to accredit voters. It works offline. Now when it comes to
transmission of results, that’s where you need network. But if there is no
Network in the immediate vicinity, the scanned image of the Polling Unit level
result which is taken using the BVAS will be transmitted as soon as the staff
move from the polling unit to the collation centers”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">INEC
Chair, Mahmood Yakubu – BBC Interview<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“We
cannot, under any circumstances, go back in the use of BVAS for the purpose of
voter accreditation and we can’t also go back on the issue of transmitting
polling unit level results into our INEC result viewing portal. These two
mechanisms and protocols are sacrosanct and the commission is committed to
using them during the 2023 general election.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in; vertical-align: top;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Festus
Okoye @
https://www.thecable.ng/inec-no-going-back-on-use-of-bvas-for-2023-elections<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">INEC Press
Release titled: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Alleged plot to abandon
the transmission of polling Unit results to the IReV Portal”</i> dated Friday,
11<sup>th</sup> February 2021, INEC’s National Commissioner and its Chairman
for its Information and Voter Education Committee, had deceptively and
dubiously asserted as follows in response to allegations that the BVAS was a
mere ruse/drainpipe:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The claim is patently false. The
Commission has repeatedly reassured Nigerians that it will transmit results
directly from polling Units as we witnessed in Ekiti and Osun State
Governorship elections and in 103 more constituencies where off-circle
Governorship/FCT Area Council elections and bye-elections were held since
August 2020…the public is advised to ignore the report. The Bimodal Voter
Accreditation System (BVAS) and IReV have come to stay for voter accreditation
and uploading of Polling Unit results in real time in Nigeria”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Observations:<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When one
juxtaposes the undertakings severally made by INEC officials prior to the
elections of 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023, and the reality that the said
elections were totally devoid of the promised advancements in electronic and
technological processes, it becomes clear that the INEC leadership had
perfected a plot to hoodwink and deceive Nigerians and the International Election
Observer Missions and others interested in the transition and democratization
process in Nigeria, that a foolproof electoral system had been put in place,
whilst in reality, the leadership of INEC had mapped out crude and most
audacious plans for disenfranchisement of millions of Nigerians and a scheme
that would ensure that the votes cast are not only not counted, but totally
disregarded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The long
term effect of the electoral heist perpetuated by the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC
on Nigerians on 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023, if not addressed as a matter of
national emergency, include:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Entrenchment of voter apathy, as many
Nigerians now believe that their votes do not count, and some are already
destroying their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs); <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Diminish youth interest and
participation in the electoral process – and deny the country of its most
productive and virile age-bracket in its political space; and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Entrench perception that crime pays -
disincentive to good governance/good citizenship<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Recommendations:<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the light
of the foregoing, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Democracy
Protection Coalition (DPC)</i> hereby make the following recommendations and
demands arising from the quite despicable and shoddy conduct and organization by
the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC of the Presidential and National Assembly elections
conducted on 25<sup>th</sup> February 2023:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In view of his lack of remorse in the
face of deliberate flagrant nonconformity with the Electoral Act and INEC’s
Regulations for Elections regarding the BVAS machines; Deliberate falsehoods
and lies to Nigerians regarding the sanctity of the electoral process; and
audacious display of impudence against Nigerians and Nigeria; the INEC Chairman,
Mr. Mahmood Yakubu, has lost the confidence of Nigerians and Civil Society
regarding his ability to continue as an impartial umpire in the electoral
process. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Considering that People's confidence,
trust and belief in the electoral system and electoral umpires is an integral
component of elections, and that such confidence, trust and belief in INEC and
its current Chairman, haven been irrevocably eroded, the INEC Chair, Mr.
Yakubu, should immediately, resign his position as Chairman of INEC. To avoid
further tainting the sanctity and integrity of the Gubernatorial and House of
Assembly elections, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu should totally forthwith recuse himself
from participating in any manner whatsoever, in the processes and
administration of the forthcoming Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly
elections. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the events of Mr. Yakubu’s failure
to resign from office of his own accord, efforts should be harnessed by the
INEC Board to, in a manner similar to how the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner
for Sokoto State was suspended, likewise suspend Mr. Yakubu from office until
further notice, by which time the manipulations and untoward actions of the said
Mr. Yakubu would have been addressed and rectified. Alternatively, the people
of Nigeria in whom ultimately power resides, should rise and effectively demand
the exit from office of this INEC Chairman who has displayed gross
incompetence, lack of capacity and a penchant to be deceptive and dubious in
the discharge of the highly sensitive functions of Chairman, INEC. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">INEC should in the light of its
alleged ‘collapse’, compromise and failure of the BVAS machine process and
systems in the course of the 25<sup>th</sup> February elections, collate and
declare the results of the said elections by the summation of Polling Unit
results from each of the polling units across the country. These results are
already within the purview of INEC and the political parties. The mostly
grossly distorted, mutilated and concocted documents belatedly uploaded unto
the INEC IReV, days after the elections were held, should be discountenanced as
manipulation of desperate politicians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In line with its self-correction of errors
it made in other elections, such as with regards to the case of the Doduwa/Tudun
Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State, where INEC reversed its earlier
declaration of the current Leader of the House of Representatives (Mr. Ado
Doguwa) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as winner of the House of Representative
elections, INEC should likewise correct the monumental error of historical
proportions it has committed by its wrongful declaration of a non-winner, Mr.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), as winner of the 2023
presidential elections. INEC may rightly say, as it has already stated in the
Doduwa/Tudunwada Federal Constituency elections, that it had made that
declaration either under duress or under false pretenses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sequel to the admission of the INEC
Chairman that several INEC staff and some politicians colluded to compromise
the electoral process, we call upon the law enforcement and prosecutorial
agencies to, as a matter of urgency, apprehend, investigate and prosecute all
individuals and entities, irrespective of position occupied inclusive of the
INEC Chairman, who/which participated in thwarting the elections held on the 25<sup>th</sup>
of February 2023. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Considering the high number of
security personnel (soldiers, the Police and other security agencies) who
participated in election related crimes, such as snatching and destruction of
election materials including ballot papers, a Judicial Panel of Inquiry shuld be
instituted to inquire into and gauge the involvement of security personnel in
election-related offences with the view of ascertaining if such security
personnel<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>involvement was as a result of
systemic, hierarchical and institutionalized interventions or ad-hoc and
unrelated malfeasance perpetuated by individual security personnel and their
cohorts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whilst applauding the various
domestic, regional and international election observers (inclusive of
International Observer Missions from the Africa Union, ECOWAS, European Union,
Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United States) for rightly stating that the
25<sup>th</sup> February elections fell far, far short of domestic and
international standards, and even the standards INEC had set for itself, we
call on all friends of Nigeria to be on the side of the Nigerian people by
impressing on INEC and State authorities, the importance of allowing the will
of the people freely expressed via the ballot box, to be upheld. The various
Observer Missions should impress it upon their principals that condemnation and
effectively ostracizing characters who seek to attain political power via
stealing votes, nips in the bud the need to condemn violent and
unconstitutional putsches. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The people of Nigeria must come
together, as we all did on the 25<sup>th</sup> of February 2023, devoid of
ethnic, religious and other primordial sentiments, to decisively insist on the
actualization of the mandate given via the ballot during the Presidential
elections. We must all in unison insist that the votes cast during the said
elections are declared as counted at the various Polling Units, and that the
winner of the said elections is rightly declared as the President-elect of the
Federal Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Long Live
the Federal Republic of Nigeria<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eze Eluchie, Esq.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Convener, Democracy Protection Coalition (DPC)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Picture:
Disgraced INEC Chairman and New Face of Electoral Fraud in Africa, Mahmood
Yakubu</span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15UAlim_yqYPYs_2z-CsbgTxMHUuX83qthwEwtnzhCwdIhzADlGzYPAfnpotTsOZU3UOQ6os3STlNWQfPIN4IEuCwggD5ts-PRMFczZ3vLOYzuRGafps2F2FdSJukGCaRRpTmjOrZr6-3KPEwz17xIsrpBmgvJh30YLYKB-Wv6yXQnsX4YQxb3Q6kEA/s750/yak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="750" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15UAlim_yqYPYs_2z-CsbgTxMHUuX83qthwEwtnzhCwdIhzADlGzYPAfnpotTsOZU3UOQ6os3STlNWQfPIN4IEuCwggD5ts-PRMFczZ3vLOYzuRGafps2F2FdSJukGCaRRpTmjOrZr6-3KPEwz17xIsrpBmgvJh30YLYKB-Wv6yXQnsX4YQxb3Q6kEA/w342-h206/yak.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-27481103896999492982022-10-12T15:43:00.002+02:002022-10-12T22:55:05.058+02:00Nigeria: Booby-traps intended to derail the 2023 General Elections<p><i><b> by Eze Eluchie</b></i></p><p><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In view of
the commencement of political party campaigns and electioneering activities
towards the 2023 general elections which is scheduled for February and March
2023, as designated by the Independent National Election (INEC) in consonance
with the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended); <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">And with a
view to ensuring seamless campaign and electioneering processes towards a free
and fair general elections come 2023;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">And as part
of our civic duties as concerned and committed Nigerians averse to occurrences
and or actions which may serve to destabilize the polity to the detriment of
all concerned;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">We wish to
notify all and sundry {the electorate, political parties and their
membership/supporters, the general Nigerian public, domestic and foreign civil
society and intergovernmental bodies involved with election monitoring and
observation, the Government and its various agencies involved in preparations
towards the 2023 elections (including but not restricted to INEC, the various
security and paramilitary agencies), regional multi-State entities such as
ECOWAS and the African Union, and the international community}, regarding
strategically imposed booby-traps and obstacles, towards the path to free and
fair general elections in 2023, which are intended, if not expeditiously
addressed, to scuttle efforts at a peaceful, free and fair election in 2023.
With the likely consequence of the truncation of the transition processes,
orchestration of crisis and likely declaration of a State of Emergency and
descent in chaos. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">We have
identified 5 key booby-traps, each of which has the capacity to solely truncate
the 2023 General elections, and thus when viewed as an amalgam, jointly have
the capacity to create sufficient crisis to destabilize the polity. These are: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Proposed 2023 Census<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Proposal for Federal Inland Waterways Act<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">INEC’s lack of transparency with its Computer systems and IT infrastructures<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Orchestrated violence & armed
militia <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> * </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Financial strangulation of component
units of the federation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">A.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Proposed 2023 Census:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Considering the following factors – (i) the enormous logistics
requirement for a census, (ii) the surreptitious and clandestine nature with
which plans at the 2023 Census are being undertaken (as most persons are concerned
with the General elections); (iii) the believe amongst large segments of
Nigeria’s population that the census is to forcibly integrate foreigners of a
particular ethnic group, trafficked for ulterior motives into Nigeria, into the
Nigerian polity prior to the emergence of a new government in 2023; and (iv)
the clear unsettling of the polity conducting a Census a few weeks before
Presidential elections is bound to cause: the plans to have a Census just
before the 2023 general elections is an ill-thought agenda geared towards
creating disquiet and mayhem in the polity with the intention of frustrating
the conduct of the 2023 general elections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The proposed 2023 Census is a crisis on its own and ought not be
conducted before the 2023 general elections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">B.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Proposed Federal Inland Waterways Act (FIWA)</span></i><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The current regime of Muhammadu Buhari has been at its most devious in
churning out ideas to grab-lands from across Nigeria for the singular interest
of cattle rearing, a vocation portrayed and effectively synonymous with a
single ethnic group in Nigeria. In the course of over 7 years of the existence
of the Buhari regime, several ideas to grab lands have been rolled out, and
vehemently resisted by other peoples of Nigeria. Some of these ideas include:
(i) RUGA; (ii) Grazing Routes; and plans for the National Inland Waterways Bill
(under which the Federal Government will take over ownership of all lands
adjourning rivers in Nigeria). Despite enthusiastic efforts of the regime to
foist their land grab ideas, the rejection was vehement. For the Federal Government
to resurrect the FIWA again, so close to the elections? Clearly someone up
there does not mean well for the Nigerian polity and seems intent on raising
issues that will scuttle the cause of peace and stability in Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The idea of a FIWB will elicit resistance, as usual from diverse
components of Nigeria and has the potential of snowballing into a crisis that
will obviate efforts at conducting elections in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">C.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">INEC’s lack of transparency with its
IT infrastructures<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The discovery of sacks containing thousands of INEC’s ‘Permanent Voters
Cards’ (PVC) dumped in gutters, bushes and waste bins in diverse locations in
southern Nigeria, and the revelation of the inclusion into the INEC Voters List
of thousands of fictitious names and uploading of pictures that were not
captured directly onto INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has
raised the likelihood that the 2023 elections is already massively compromised.
The perception of an already grossly compromised eletion outcomes is further
entrenched when one observes the unholy silence and refusal of INEC leadership to
address these weighty concerns and allegations. The questions agitating the
population include: (i) If millions who tried to register are being delisted or
cannot collect their PVC’s, how come thousands of PVC’s are showing up dumped
as refuse? (ii) If mere passport photographs, pictures scanned from memorial
posters and images/names whose origins are clearly distant from Nigeria’s shores
are showing up on INEC’s Voters List, what is the guarantee that such names,
which surreptitiously found their way unto the Voters List, will not
surreptitiously be accredited and also vote on election day in 2023?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The unwillingness of INEC to subject its Computer systems, Information
Technology infrastructure to pre- and during and post-election audit,
monitoring and evaluations by independent observers and agents of the political
parties is a huge red flag for the conduct of free and fair elections in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">D.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Orchestrated violence and Armed
militia<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As the 2023 elections approach, there has been marked increase in the
proliferation of lethal arms nationwide, with these arms in several instances
being openly displayed in possession of entities inclined towards the ruling
APC. Some of these public display of weapons include the braggadocios displays
by such non-State actors as Asari Dokubo in Rivers State and Bello Turji in
Zamfara States and the recent display of AK-47 wielding vigilantes of Katsina
State. The silence by Federal authorities and federally-controlled security
agencies to these provocative gun-toting activities of elements aligned with,
and vociferous rants by same Federal authorities against efforts at protecting
lives and citizens by State Governments in Benue and Ondo (to name a few), to
the extent of Federal Government proceeding against such innocuous efforts as
the Ekiti State Governments intent to deploy civilian drones to monitor
activities of criminals, clearly shows an intent on the part of the current
regime at the center to strengthen armed non-state actors whilst scuttling
efforts of component states of Nigeria to defend their residents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The attendant apparently well-orchestrated increase in criminality,
banditry and violence across the country foretells of a scenario of voter
intimidation and suppression which will not augur well for the conduct of free
and fair polls in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">E.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Financial strangulation of component
units of the Federation<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Commencing from the unlawful appropriation of the entire crude oil
resources of Nigeria, which had erstwhile been owned by the Federal Government
and the Federating Units of Nigeria, under the Petroleum Industry Act, into being
a mere corporate asset/entity owned by the Federal Government; to the repeated
announcements that the NNPC has not paid a dime, from the sale of crude oil
into the Federation Account; and recent revelations of large-scale horrendous
looting of sale of crude oil proceeds, and theft of crude oil on a scale only
possible with Federal Government express involvement and connivance; it is clear
that deliberate acts are being made to financially strangulate the component
strata’s of the Nigerian federation to the benefit of the ruling party at the
center. Such financial strangulation can be manipulated to lead to popular
resentment and revolts across the country at whatsoever times the central
government feels such will be to its benefit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">This bubble of financial strangulation of the component federating units
of Nigeria has been on for a while, making it possible for the central
government, at will, to cripple any part of the country it so desires, with the
attendant upheavals that will ensue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Each of the
above enumerated factors is capable, of its own accord, of scuttling efforts at
a successful transition via the 2023 general elections. A combination of any
two or more of the factors above can lead to sufficient public disquiet and
instability to occasion the declaration of a State of Emergency across the
country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">With recent
revelations of mindboggling acts of large-scale corruption implicating the
highest echelons of government, involving humongous sums in diverse sectors of
Nigeria’s economy, particularly the petroleum sector, there is increasing worry
that the incumbent President and his cohorts, will go to whatsoever extremes,
to ensure that he is succeeded by a fellow who will be willing to cover his
tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ironically,
despite growing and palpable evidence of surreptitious efforts at creating the
enabling environment to truncate efforts at free and fair polls in 2023, the
President, Muhammadu Buhari and the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, seem to have
adopted the practice of assuring any who cares to listen that the Government is
intent on conducting free and fair elections and ensuring a smooth transition
to the next government come May 29, 2023. Past experiences, particularly the
events of the past few years, has made it mandatory that all and sundry
concerned about the wellbeing of the Nigerian Federation, must be quite
vigilant and watchful of all steps towards ensuring free and fair elections and
a smooth transition. In the face of the realities confronting Nigeria, we
simply cannot rely on the oral pronouncements of government when the
occurrences and realities on ground point at a deliberate well scripted and
coordinated congregation of resources and efforts towards truncating the
democratic process, subverting the will of the people and scuttling the
transition processes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">All are
enjoined to be on the watch out for the above enumerated booby-traps and ensure
that the current experimentation at democratic governance is not thwarted by
the manipulations of anti-people and anti-democratic forces.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: President Muhammadu
Buhari and the man appointed by Buhari as INEC Chairman to superintend over
Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, Mahmood Yakubu,</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVFxKC5jwfPSZf_G_J0fAvrzvOytoUDPHs0-MxpWOvMkh9e55ej8Nl2lHTNivv3b-H_iC3_UTFDkIm2HXT4atX-duKOJKRbqj_1v2GY13b6CGUJVaCiiXvQDi2YoBywdh284vDrZU9N6OxHBHrsY4Y4yG5vy7E_1aYm0dYvYzH2t-YDSVnuMdTGnD2A/s490/Bubyak.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="490" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVFxKC5jwfPSZf_G_J0fAvrzvOytoUDPHs0-MxpWOvMkh9e55ej8Nl2lHTNivv3b-H_iC3_UTFDkIm2HXT4atX-duKOJKRbqj_1v2GY13b6CGUJVaCiiXvQDi2YoBywdh284vDrZU9N6OxHBHrsY4Y4yG5vy7E_1aYm0dYvYzH2t-YDSVnuMdTGnD2A/w371-h142/Bubyak.jpg" width="371" /></a></div><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-71527203365570078432022-09-06T15:27:00.003+02:002022-09-06T22:41:31.603+02:00Open Letter to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Seize this unique opportunity to leave indelible footprints in the sands of time.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">(Jagabanm Borgu)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Bourdillon Road<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Ikoyi, Lagos<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Dear Asiwaju,</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">OPEN LETTER TO ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU: SEIZE THIS
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE INDELIBLE FOOTPRINTS IN THE SANDS OF TIME<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Thus far, your life has
been the stuff fables are made of. You have lived a life that can easily found
the script of a Holywood blockbuster for an inspirational meteoric rise from
grass to grace, from very humble origins to wining and dining with Presidents
and nobility; from a junior staff of a sectoral conglomerate to the de-facto
entity presiding over the affairs of multiple States in the Nigerian
Federation, States whose total economic strength rank them in the top five
bracket of economies in the African continent; from an activist involved in
mobilizing against totalitarian regimes to a behemoth who almost singlehandedly
enabled the emergence of Nigeria’s current ruler: General Muhammadu Buhari. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Indeed, the narrative of
Nigeria’s 3<sup>rd</sup> Republic thus far, will be very deficient if your
incisive and deft inputs were omitted. As a man who has put in so much in
political service, it is essential that conscious efforts are made to court a
positive perception by posterity whilst at the same time laying and building on
foundations for a sustainable, equitable and just society. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It is in the light of the
foregoing that it has become imperative and critical, that appropriate analysis
and assessment of your current aspiration with regards to the 2023 general
elections are made, so that whatsoever decisions your goodself ultimately
arrive at, would have been one arrived at in full consciousness of the
circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Used &
Neglected<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Dear Asiwaju, your role in
repackaging an ethnoreligious extremist and ex-Military dictator, notorious for
extrajudicial atrocities, muzzling the media and total disregard for the rule
of law, as a ‘reformed democrat’, and against all odds, ensuring he attained
the constitutionally required geographical spread of electoral votes which
served as lifeline towards the ascendance into office of the incumbent
President of the Federal Republic, Muhammadu Buhari, is all too self-evident. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Despite your role in the
emergence of the incumbent President, your goodself was ignominiously sidelined
in the governance structure of the APC coalition which you were vital to its
emergence. With the Presidency actively engaged in efforts at whittling down
your authority within your sphere of influence and encouraging your nominees
into the Federal government to disparage your foundational role.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">There is no doubt that
your goodself might have been motivated by altruistic and patriotic desires in
seeking to wrest power from the government of then President Goodluck Jonathan.
The reality, however, is that due to a most extreme clannishness and religious
bigotry unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s history, your goodself and
whatever impacts you might have intended under the regime you were crucial in
installing, were sidelined in a most reprobate manner. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Only for the same regime
to remember your existence as they struggled towards the 2019 general elections
– which you, once again, against expected indices, played yet another vital in
securing for the current regime of Gen. Buhari. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Pyrrhic
victory at primaries<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I verily believe, dear
Asiwaju, that the means via which you emerged as your political party’s candidate
at the APC Presidential primaries in Abuja a few weeks ago would have given you
a clear insight as to the intendments of the characters for whom you had
sacrificed so much to get them into power. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">After several months of
outright denial of a gentleman’s agreement your goodself asserted you had with
the incumbent President and his handlers for power shift, with the government
embarking on all-out schemes to compromise your worth, akin to the antics
deployed during General Buhari’s first term in office. The APC Northern
Governors went public with provocative comments that there had been no such agreement
for a power rotation or shift, and that all Nigerians were welcome to aspire to
be president under the APC platform. The APC Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu,
had progressed on that ill-informed path, daring your tenacity of purpose and
convictions, by endorsing the candidature of the current sitting Senate
President, Ahmad Lawal, as the preferred presidential candidate of the APC for
the 2023 general elections. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Your goodself had to
resort to extreme measures, to wit: your public pronouncement at a political
rally in Abeokuta where you pointedly stated, ’emi lokán’ (Yoruba phrase which
means it’s my turn to rule) and later at same venue, reminding Buhari that he
had come to prostrate before you, pleading for your support before you
intervened to halt his serial electoral loses after three presidential polls. Your
particular words at that event, ‘ose kán, ose k’eji, ose k’eta, olule’, (he
(Buhari) tried once, twice and thrice, and failed flat on his face at each
try), has since become part of political folklore in southwest Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If you recollect, dear
Asuiwaju, the APC Chairman, Adamu, had the temerity to publicly threaten you
with dire consequences for daring to voice out the truth about your role in
foisting Gen. Buhari on Nigeria as President. It was only after it dawned on
these political extremists that you were willing to reveal more sordid details
which would unsettle the Government, that a hasty volte-face was patched up,
and the same Governors, Party leaders who had threatened you a few days
earlier, suddenly reversed themselves and claim to support your candidature,
and thus your eventual emergence as APC Presidential candidate at the Abuja presidential
primaries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Post-primaries
permutations<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The smirking face
exhibited by the President and the APC Chairman as they helped your goodself
hold-up your shaky hands to uphold the APC flag at the end of the presidential
primaries, and the smugness that characterizes their mien whensoever these
associates of yours present you as the APC Presidential candidate, whilst fully
aware of your health and physical frailties, is self-evident and suggestive of
a ploy to use your goodwill for the sole purpose of ascending into office, and
thereafter do their will.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A cursory inquiry into the
180⁰ turn around and pretentious support of your candidature by the government
and leaders of the APC, and their imposing on your goodself as your Vice
Presidential candidate, Alhaji. Kashim Shettima, a suspected sympathizer of
extremist Islamist ideology grossly implicated in the infamous Chibok ‘abductions’,
who has, without the presidential elections even taking place, already arrogated
to himself the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (in clear
violations of the provisions of the Nigerian constitution), is suggestive that
there is intent to take advantage of your advancing age to steer the ship of
state in a direction antithetical to the secular and federal ethos of the
Constitution. Clearly, if your presidential ticket continues as is, Nigeria and
its peoples will be enmeshed in a far deeper quagmire than the current regime
has punished the peoples of Nigeria with.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In keeping with projections made by experts and practitioners versed in the antics of the leadership of your political party who merely allowed your goodself to assume the role of the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, and in line with what transpired during the 2015 presidential elections when high ranking members of the ruling PDP publicly worked against their parties presidential candidate, the same APC Governors and leaders who at the last minute adopted your goodself as their preferred candidate, have begun to declare allegiance to one of the opposing parties, in a move that is intended to expose you to public odium and in payback for your objective stance in revealing the role you played in the enthronement of the current regime. </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I believe you are very
conversant with the facts enumerated above. You might presently be under the misconception
that despite all these, it will still be possible to control the situation in
the unlikely event that the elections proceed. When the reality that those
behind the schemes described above are the same persons who threatened to
overflow the polity with ‘the blood of baboons and monkeys’ in the event of
their electoral loss, and who have confessed to having gone outside the shores
of Nigeria to recruit mercenaries to thwart the electoral process, it becomes
clear that it is in the best interest of all for the vile machinations planned,
to be aborted long before it has any opportunity to manifest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A call to
rise above self <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Dear Asiwaju, it is my
candid advice, and that of those who hold you in esteem, that you use the
opportunity of your nomination as the presidential candidate for the APC in the
2023 election to undertake a path and role that will forever enshrine your
goodself as a man who: when it mattered most, sacrificed personal interest for
national interest; who was willing to let go a ticket that will perpetuate
divides amongst people in favor of an act that will cement bridges; a man who
lived above treachery and ethnic schisms, whilst setting high bars for good
governance and national cohesion. It is that sacrifice and willingness that you
are now being, most respectfully, invited and urged to make.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">When your goodselve
examines the other contenders for the Office of President at forthcoming
presidential elections, you will readily arrive at a conclusion that the Labor
Party presidential and vice presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Datti
Baba-Ahmed respectively, are imbued with those qualities and attributes that is
suitable for the leadership Nigeria requires to overcome decades of bad
governance; represents the requisite equity and balance that will portray
Nigeria as just; and has exhibited the candor and attainments that makes them
ideal to preside over the affairs of Nigeria and ready her for future accomplishments.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I do hereby humbly call on
your goodself, to withdraw forthwith from the presidential race (thus denying
those who seek to rubbish your image for parochial and skewed reasons, an
opportunity to so do), and wholly endorse, support and work towards the success
of the candidature of Mr. Peter Obi and his Vice, Datti Baba-Ahmed, as
presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively of the Labor Party
in the presidential elections slated for February 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If you hearken to the
request above, your goodself would in addition to having elevated the bars of
altruism and patriotism in service of Nigeria to a whole new level, cemented
the proverbial and palpable ‘bridge across the Niger’ (and even beyond the
Benue), announced yourself as a champion of equity and justice, invested in the
prosperity and progress of Nigeria, and above all, carved an indelible pivotal
position for yourself in posterity as a man who damned retrogression and infamy
in favor of progress and glory of his country. Posterity will forever remember
you and your name will join the ranks of the Nkrumah’s, Jomo Kenyatta’s, Azikiwe’s,
MKO’s amongst other great Africans who rose up to be counted when it mattered
most.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Remain blessed, dear
Asiwaju.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Yours<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Eze Eluchie, Esq.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Picture: Bola Ahmed Tinubu
(APC presidential aspirant)</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeHlFVmVaFWRy7DxeSRIO03HY_khAMEqSd0nPlrocdlq40Q3z5qnQcMlOWfCS2cMSvosWtkVqZD4nrVupiPgYyipTfdAxSYDtuUyphTb2ZqiYWsbQpIYvuoZw6hYBFxexhb81ElT3ZrNgvzmR5kjNzW04lkpgLwGAoIrf4MH4gYJN8E2AKBrZ9F_16A/s325/Tinns.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="325" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeHlFVmVaFWRy7DxeSRIO03HY_khAMEqSd0nPlrocdlq40Q3z5qnQcMlOWfCS2cMSvosWtkVqZD4nrVupiPgYyipTfdAxSYDtuUyphTb2ZqiYWsbQpIYvuoZw6hYBFxexhb81ElT3ZrNgvzmR5kjNzW04lkpgLwGAoIrf4MH4gYJN8E2AKBrZ9F_16A/s320/Tinns.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-16408668695854052712022-07-20T03:44:00.001+02:002022-07-20T03:44:28.852+02:00Gov. Hope Uzodinma: Mass Atrocities in the name of tackling insecurity in Southeastern Nigeria?<p>ANALYSIS OF GOV. UZODINMA’S EXCUSES FOR MASS KILLINGS OF YOUTHS IN OTULU AND PROLONGED DETENTION OF YOUNG GIRLS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE IMO STATE COMMAND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE SECURITY (DSS)</p><p><br /></p><p>Two serious, and perhaps damning gaps, exist in Governor Hope Uzodinma’s account of the discovery of the corpse of 14 male youths and the news that one of the ladies detained at the DSS cells for several months have gotten pregnant whilst in DSS custody (as recorded in the attached video interview); these are:</p><p><br /></p><p>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The corpses of those killed at Otulu (Oru West LGA of Imo State) were discovered abandoned at the locations where they were ostensibly killed. The standard practice of government security agencies is to evacuate the corpses of whosoever they kill and take same back to their State or Divisional or Operational Headquarters – never to abandon such corpses at locations where the killings occur. </p><p><br /></p><p>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Military personnel, long after the killers of the boys had departed the scene, had to escort the villagers who evacuated the corpses towards a morgue where the said corpses were deposited. </p><p><br /></p><p>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Million Dollar Question now is: Did the DSS personnel abandon the ‘criminals’ they killed at the place where the killings occurred?</p><p><br /></p><p>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Assuming those killed were criminals as the Governor claims, is the Operational Guidelines of the DSS to kill suspects (even those supposedly found in ‘bandit camps’ as the Governor claims, are suspects until proven guilty in a court of law) without according such suspects an opportunity to prove their innocence or otherwise?</p><p><br /></p><p>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Regarding the matter the Governor described as ‘what is trending the 15 year old impregnated by the DSS officers’, the Governor goes ahead to assert that the girls ‘have been helping the DSS for over 6 months to pick some of the bandits’. The girls have been in custody of the DSS without being brought before a court for over 6 months? In flagrant violation of extant Constitutional provisions?</p><p><br /></p><p>With every supposedly exculpatory or defensive action and utterance of this Governor regarding the several apparent extrajudicial killings, abductions of citizens, arson attacks against communities and sundry acts of insecurity across Imo State, it gets clear that illegalities, wrongs, unconstitutional acts and probably crimes are being audaciously perpetuated under the regime of Hope Uzodinma as Governor of Imo State, under the guise of ‘tackling insecurity’.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is pertinent, at this stage, to call upon the Federal security authorities, the National Human Right Commission and international organizations concerned about mass atrocities, extrajudicial killings and like crimes, to investigate ongoing in Imo State to forestall the commission of more atrocities.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p> Pix: Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YiDZrqllnNdmDirKPXSj_CZ8IgSiTLoMWGlmnujEs6x5B8a8BL5tEA-0FwtRVsxIeMxW_Ej8oDKwG2WofmKiYdpGm_C3CYPrqpQFw6dzd573FduEZwWrxhCKGj-qlKknkaUWBkwZ0zZzwthEFEzVhdtzLyJKzQ-niHe0O7HZcK4x69RehxqCnCYnwQ/s1280/hopp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YiDZrqllnNdmDirKPXSj_CZ8IgSiTLoMWGlmnujEs6x5B8a8BL5tEA-0FwtRVsxIeMxW_Ej8oDKwG2WofmKiYdpGm_C3CYPrqpQFw6dzd573FduEZwWrxhCKGj-qlKknkaUWBkwZ0zZzwthEFEzVhdtzLyJKzQ-niHe0O7HZcK4x69RehxqCnCYnwQ/s320/hopp.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Video links:</p><p>https://fb.watch/em-au5nJ0b/</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.facebook.com/realMaxwellC/videos/1093720231254016/</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-76805578504462153692022-07-11T00:48:00.001+02:002022-07-11T00:54:25.826+02:00Kashim Shettima nomination as APC VP candidate – ultimate plans for handover to Boko Haram?<p> <b><i><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">by Eze Eluchie,</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Is the
nomination of Kashim Shetima, a close buddy and erstwhile colleague in the
Bornu State Cabinet of Boko Haram founder, Muhammed Yusuf, as Vice Presidential
candidate of the APC indicate the culmination of efforts by the current regime
to hand over the realms of power in Nigeria to Boko Haram terrorists? This
question is quite germane considering the advanced age and publicly observable poor
health of the APC Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">We must
recollect the following facts:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It was Kashim Shettima, as Governor of
Bornu State Government who directly overruled the written instructions of the
Federal Government to relocate the students of all schools participating in the
West African School Examinations and NECO Examinations away from the frontlines
of Boko Haram activities. The infamous Chibok abductions took place within exactly
4 weeks of the Federal Government order being disobeyed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Within days of the Chibok ‘abductions’,
whilst rebuffing efforts by the Federal Government to unravel what actually
transpired in Chibok, the Governor Kashim Shettima was crisscrossing the
capital cities of Western capitals deviously politicizing the terror attacks on
Chibok – by the time the Goodluck Jonathan realized what was happening, they
had permanently lost face and relevance before the international community, and
the fall of the said Federal Government was merely a matter of time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Oddly, no government employee (Chibok
school official) was abducted by the terrorists, who allegedly carted away over
300 students in unknown number of trucks to unknown destinations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">On February 28<sup>th</sup>, 2013,
Kashim Shettima had led the infamous *walk of infamy* down major streets of
Maidugri, alongside some opposition elements to show solidarity with Boko Haram
and thus invincibility from attack by the terrorists – on a day several
Nigerian soldiers had been killed in bombing attacks undertaken by Boko Haram
in the Bornu State capital.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In the period when Boko Haram was allegedly
in control of his State, Kashim Shettima kept on collecting all due allocations
for all Local Government Councils of Bornu State (despite the alleged control
of such areas by BH <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Proper
auditing of any connections between this Kashim Shettima fellow and extremist
Islamist terrorist organizations, inclusive of Boko Haram, ought to be
undertaken by requisite security agencies, domestically and internationally, to
ensure a surreptitious handover to terrorists is avoided.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Picture: Kashim Shettima, APC VP
candidate<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ajJv2DtYtqWqtOqeQez7-DskdM0cFXNk8yPWrOILrLLh93jzxZvXjeqtmQnUVUJPTa_keA3IiGhNnt2AANQG7ONZbl9ceFvSF8cjButul80cU4G5p_FjY6fHFUsGG_MejIM1lTF6hxyl2pwoOTOCG--hIwliYW36pNJvLyq6upL59rh8ufiaEuTMbg/s388/kash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="388" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ajJv2DtYtqWqtOqeQez7-DskdM0cFXNk8yPWrOILrLLh93jzxZvXjeqtmQnUVUJPTa_keA3IiGhNnt2AANQG7ONZbl9ceFvSF8cjButul80cU4G5p_FjY6fHFUsGG_MejIM1lTF6hxyl2pwoOTOCG--hIwliYW36pNJvLyq6upL59rh8ufiaEuTMbg/s320/kash.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-39611594611495720132022-01-11T13:11:00.002+01:002022-01-11T14:10:18.243+01:00Closure of Schools for COVID-19 for almost 2 years: The World Failed the Children of Uganda!<p> <span style="font-size: 13pt;">By Eze Eluchie,
Esq.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As the world
rails against the Taliban’s for stopping teenage girls and above from attending
schools, it has just emerged that in Uganda, under the guise of COVID-19
protocols, the government of Museveni had stopped all schools from operating
for almost 2 years!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">How was this
possible?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Millions of
Ugandan children were denied education under bogus efforts to curtail the
spread of COVID-19 and the world kept silent?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Where were
the #UNICEF #UNIFEM #UNDP #UN #AU #ECA #EU #Commonwealth #ICC when this Crime
against a generation, crimes against nature and Crime Against Humanity was being
perpetuated? And what were the NGOs and CSOs in Uganda doing whilst this travesty
lasted? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Why was it
possible for the Ugandan President and his Ministers and anybody from that government
to travel outside Uganda? And to what purpose would such a trip be claimed to
have been made? What were the development partners of Uganda engaging
the government for? #USAID #DFID and so on? Were these agencies aware and
merely looked the other way? Were they complicit in these crimes?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The actions
of Museveni’s regime to deny Ugandan children education for such a long period,
with its attendant consequences of wasted childhood, diminished life
expectations and values and stunted lives qualifies as a Crime Against Humanity
under Articles 7 (1) c, e, f and k of the Rome Statute. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The closure
of Ugandan schools for such a long period when nearly all students in the impoverished East African country do not have
access to online education facilities and the top brass in government who had
the capability to move their children to other countries to continue their
education, can be described as a deliberate vicious attack effected with
knowledge of the dire consequences the attack will have on Ugandan children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The ICC has
convicted persons for crimes against humanity on far lesser charges, this crime
against the children and peoples of Uganda is one that the perpetrators must be
held to account if indeed the raison d’etre of the ICC and the Statute of Rome
has to make any sense.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">This crime
against the children and youths of Uganda, is one that cries ffor and deserves
international justice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: Children in a
school in Uganda and a picture of President Museveni.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh1HHS9DT_dlhOoMrIsLMeIb-uv2jNtiiM7qgKl-1u4EDVLaev_R-Xj-Wa1QpGdtXqqW8OsPeO64E97H4XMz84SE1d7HHSNtG4I7ROw1IQ4JRL8zlBZxgmb8WrKT09aWPJWabs2dBbd6PrtG45RcKWTSrdonI6fxVVtZw_s8BC1Ad3WZ2R-vcjU4MJ6w=s540" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="540" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh1HHS9DT_dlhOoMrIsLMeIb-uv2jNtiiM7qgKl-1u4EDVLaev_R-Xj-Wa1QpGdtXqqW8OsPeO64E97H4XMz84SE1d7HHSNtG4I7ROw1IQ4JRL8zlBZxgmb8WrKT09aWPJWabs2dBbd6PrtG45RcKWTSrdonI6fxVVtZw_s8BC1Ad3WZ2R-vcjU4MJ6w=w349-h120" width="349" /></a></div><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-29606523647059470922021-08-25T15:25:00.003+02:002021-08-25T16:21:35.669+02:00Terrorist attack on Nigeria Defense Academy: A Monumental National Embarrassment <p><b><i>by Eze Eluchie</i></b></p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">PRESS
RELEASE BY THE IGBO NATIONAL MOVEMENT (INM) ON THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON THE
NIGERIA DEFENSE ACADEMY, KADUNA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Igbo
National Movement (INM) views the audacious attack by terrorists on Nigeria’s
premier institution for the training of military and security officers, the
Nigeria Defense Academy, by terrorists, which resulted into the killing of two
officers, the abduction of one officer and the injury of several officers and
soldiers as a monumental source of national embarrassment and concern. The
embarrassment and concern is made more manifest when the international
dimension and status of the NDA, as a center where military officers and
security personnel from across Africa and the Middle East are trained, is
factored in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The INM
frowns at the reference to the vile characters who perpetuated these attack as
‘bandits’. This was the same appellation given to the terrorists who shot down
a Military Jet a few months ago. We all, Nigerians and interested members of
the international community, must be alive to the reality that vicious
international terrorists with capacity to take down military jets and storm
military formations are now in operation in Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In
condemning the terrorists actions at the NDA, INM is also worried by the
lackluster response of the Federal Government to the attack, particularly when
compared with the overly robust and drastic reactions by the same government to
attacks which occurred in the South East region. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Of
particular mention is the response of the Federal Government to a so-called
jailbreak at the Owerri Federal Correctional Center during which over 1,800
prisoners were allegedly released by spurious persons who, the President, the Army Chief and
Inspector General of Police, termed without the slightest investigations or
proofs being presented, as members the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra Eastern
Security Network (IPOB/ESN). The President had whilst convalescing in London
(where he was when the alleged jailbreak occurred), immediately ascribed the
jailbreak to IPOB/ESN and promised to ‘deal with them in a language they will
understand’; the IGP followed up by ordering his men to shoot-at-sight and
crush ruthlessly, any members of IPOB/ESN, and on their part, the Military
deployed hundreds of troops and military air arsenal to Imo State. All these
cumulated in unleashing a period of mass atrocities, killings and rape and
maiming of peoples of Imo State, a devastation which the peoples of the State
are yet to recover from.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In contrast,
absolutely nothing has been heard from the President, his Service Chiefs save
for a terse statement from the NDA media office that the military is in
pursuit of the terrorists. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">INM calls
upon the Federal Government to ensure that the real terrorists who threaten the
peace and stability of the Nigeria State are effectively tackled by the
authorities and the Government should refrain from conduct which fuel suspicion
that the Federal authorities are in any way sympathetic, abetting and or
complicit with unwholesome terrorist activities under any guise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">INM further
calls for more devolution of responsibilities as it regards security to the
State and Local Government areas and even to the extent of involving
Communities as critical stakeholders in ensuring security. In recognition of
the fact that the Federal Government, in whom all armed security authorities is
currently vested in, has severally proved to be incapable of securing and
guaranteeing the security of lives and properties of Nigerians, INM supports
the call by the Governor of Katsina State, that Nigerians be allowed to arm
themselves to safeguard their lives in the face of increased insecurity in the
country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Graduating Cadets at the Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna </i><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVGQiyUDXXOLyzWK7z207It7-YUFdURJ5HxHVoALFNhE9GeLdbA3ZY-PQZ01ph3syMR3KJFNPcbfMy9cGchKMR3VlMOIp2qEvS9hzlse2H2FaTryesxMDNFI-8cdHwwMzfWK4ckvozAeN/s734/NDA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="734" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVGQiyUDXXOLyzWK7z207It7-YUFdURJ5HxHVoALFNhE9GeLdbA3ZY-PQZ01ph3syMR3KJFNPcbfMy9cGchKMR3VlMOIp2qEvS9hzlse2H2FaTryesxMDNFI-8cdHwwMzfWK4ckvozAeN/s320/NDA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-41899002777959643202021-08-25T09:53:00.004+02:002021-08-25T14:27:09.881+02:00Nigeria's Islamist Governments desperate craving to seize lands for Fulani Herdsmen: A catalyst for Nigeria’s demise and disaster <p> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Eze Eluchie, Esq.</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A close scrutiny of the various
land-grab schemes of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration reveals a
very uncanny desire to appropriate lands belonging to other ethnic
nationalities in Nigeria for the interest of Fulani Herdsmen, putting a lie-badge
on Mr. Presidents avowal during his inauguration in 2015 that ‘I am for nobody
and for everybody’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First it was the ‘Grazing Routes’,
which the President and his Minister of Defense claimed, the blockage of which
were the cause of the atrocities being perpetuated by Fulani Herdsmen militia
against indigenous mainly in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria; thereafter came
the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) Settlement Project wherein each State of the
Federation was to carve out a minimum acreage for use of Fulani Herdsmen; then
followed the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), same old wine of
using public resources to forcefully appropriate lands for Fulani Herdsmen; the
highly obnoxious ‘Nigeria Waterways Bill’ which sought to bring all rivers and
their surrounding banks within the control of the Federal Government (also in
direct contrast with the provisions of the Land Use Act; and now this latest
brainwave of a rephrased ‘Grazing Route’ with the President and his handlers
coming up with an imaginary 368 such routes. Like the schemes before, it, this
too must fail. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In response to the statements contained
in the recent announcement from the Office of the President contained in a
Press Release signed by the Press Secretary to the President, Femi Adesina,
regarding President Buhari’s directive that so-called ‘368 grazing routes
across 25 States of Nigeria’ be documented with ‘dispatch’ ‘to determine the
level of encroachment’ amongst other issues, the Igbo National Movement (INM)
wishes to state as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Blatant disregard of Constitutional
provisions:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is with utter dismay that INM
observes the constant acts of brazen disregard, disrespect and utter contempt
with which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Muhammadu
Buhari, has been treating the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, as it relates to the custody and ownership
of lands and the authority duly vested with lands in the country. This impunity
is indicative of either a realization by the President and his handlers that
the Constitution is now defunct and thus can be breached with impunity, or
outright mischief intended to create disaffection and rancor amongst Nigerians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May we remind President Buhari that the
entirety of the powers and attributes of the President of the Federal Republic
is founded in the Constitution, and constant derogation therefrom will only
serve to impugn on the integrity, relevance and utility of the said office and
by extension, all other elected political offices and our efforts at democratic
governance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Vesting of Lands:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Nigerian Constitution,
unequivocally, vests all lands in any State of Nigeria in the State Governors
(for lands in urban areas) and in the Local Government authorities (for lands
in rural areas) {Section 1 of the Land Use Act, which by Section 315(5) of the
Nigerian Constitution, is an integral aspect of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic}<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The same Land Use Act which is made an
integral aspect of the Constitution by Section 315(5) of the Constitution. The
tenor of Section 26 of the Land Use Act, renders null and void all previous
laws regarding control and ownership of lands in Nigeria. This means
explicitly, that whatsoever pre-1970 legislations Mr. President and his handlers
are relying upon as basis for whatsoever ‘grazing routes’, has lapsed, is
extinct and now rendered null and void. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Considering the fact that the Vice
President of the Federal Republic, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the Attorney
General and Minister for Justice of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, are both
senior lawyers, it can be presumed that the explicit provisions of the
Constitution which vests all Lands in the country in the State Governors and
Area Council authorities must have been brought to the knowledge of the
Presidency before the release of the provocative Press Release on the spurious
‘385 grazing routes’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Buhari’s desperation encourages
brazen conducts by Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INM is deeply worried by the fact that
the continuing efforts by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to
appropriate lands belonging to other indigenous ethnic nationalities in Nigeria
for the benefit of Fulani Herdsmen is directly encouraging the said Fulani
Herdsmen to act in audaciously brazen manners across Nigeria, acting in manners
to suggest they are above the laws and basically getting away with the
commission of mass atrocities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INM has observed with consternation the
direct effects of the Federal Governments ill-advised continuing efforts at
land-grab for Fulani Herdsmen in Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau States
amongst others, where Fulani Herdsmen militia now forcefully occupy lands which
they had seized from indigenous owners, in most cases wiping out entire
settlements. In a revelation into the bizarre mindset and reasoning of the
President and his handlers, the same Femi Adesina had publicly admonished indigenous
ethnic nationalities not to challenge Fulani Herdsmen quest to seize their
lands at the risk of being slaughtered, saying: “You can only have ancestral
attachment to land when you are alive. If you are talking about ancestral
attachment, if you are dead, how does that attachment matter”? Oddly enough,
the Federal Government and its various security agencies inclusive of the Military,
have whilst restraining the indigenous owners of these seized lands to
Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps, have acquiesced and tacitly
encouraged the Fulani Herdsmen to ‘enjoy’ their loot/conquest. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. No Grazing Routes in Igboland<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INM categorically asserts that no
grazing routes exist in Igboland and thus urges the Muhammadu Buhari-led
administration to steer clear of extending this desperation to seize lands for
Fulani Herdsmen away from Igboland. In Igboland, open grazing of whatever
domestic livestock is abhorred and in most communities’ sanctions are placed
against owners of livestock found openly grazing or loitering t=in the
community. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INM seizes this opportunity to state
that the Governor of Ebonyi State, being the only Igbo man on the ‘technical
committee’ empaneled by the President which had recommended the so-called
‘grazing routes’, was clearly on a personal frolic in assuming such
unconstitutional duties and his actions and membership thereof and the
recommendations emanating are just in pursuance of extant objectives harbored
by the President, General Buhari. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Conclusion:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INM calls on the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to desist
from its parochial, bigoted and clannish efforts at seizing lands from
indigenous ethnic nationalities with the intent of handing same over to Fulani
Herdsmen under whatsoever guise. Governments continuation on this
unconstitutional and unlawful vocation of attempting to seize lands will be
vehemently challenged and resisted by the people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">General
Muhammadu Buhari,a herdsman and ethnic Fulani, has exhibited extreme bigotry towards
his ethnic group.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKQzKdCR3RE2HBH6zr3qfE4S00RbWZ3hQJPAKihyphenhyphenvrwlnwSnRwvwJ9m3i_Xp0egMKSWetJtX27maPVQU3VDZCiwewRBFqSGLlwB_tzJpQpZPmdjTmCKeQ4MXXyviWPK8Npr5hK5LaF3qW/s275/bbbbuu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKQzKdCR3RE2HBH6zr3qfE4S00RbWZ3hQJPAKihyphenhyphenvrwlnwSnRwvwJ9m3i_Xp0egMKSWetJtX27maPVQU3VDZCiwewRBFqSGLlwB_tzJpQpZPmdjTmCKeQ4MXXyviWPK8Npr5hK5LaF3qW/s0/bbbbuu.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-76321467656038692222021-08-16T16:20:00.006+02:002021-08-16T16:33:34.353+02:00Ongoing Boko Haram, ISIS/ISWAP terrorists 'mass surrender' in Nigeria is an act of deception, be prepared for the next phase<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><i>by Eze Eluchie, Esq.</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As several
thousand Boko Haram, ISIS/ISWAP terrorists ‘surrender’ to Nigerian Government
forces, anyone with a knowledge of Islamic Warfare and ideologies understands
that something very terrible is in the offing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Holy
Prophet, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), once asserted ‘War is
Deceit’! This assertion has received many interpretations by diverse Islamic
clerics. This is however not a post on theology, but rather on realities
presently facing the Nigerian State.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Taliban
victory over the United States and her allies in Afghanistan earlier this week,
gives further impetus on the fact that deceit in war pays off handsomely.
Whilst the Talibans were feigning ‘Peace Talks’ in Qatar with the US and Afghan
government, the Talibans knew all such talks were nonsense. The US, UN and the
international community were deceived even to the extent of holding useless
'Peace Talks' in Qatar, until the minute the Talibans were taking over the
Presidential villa in Kabul.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Those
rejoicing and celebrating the mass surrender by thousands of Boko Haram,
ISIS/ISWAP terrorists in Nigeria are either the undiscerning and gullible or
those who are complicit in the tactic of ‘war being deceit’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
‘surrender’ by terrorists in their thousands is merely an act of deception to
hoodwink the masses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next
phase of attacks against non-adherents of the Islamic faith, particularly in
the Southern parts of Nigeria and the so-called Middle territories, will be
shockingly gruesome and make previous attacks look like Tea parties. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gird your
loins, for the ‘deception’ is about to become full blown<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 13pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Pix: Some of the surrendering terrorists - some have cardboard sheets with messages written in English, a language they not only do not against, but war against (Boko Haram ordinarily means 'No to Western education')</i></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapmhsPhCJYz_o-w_Qp_h1DKmyz7QNeKbfH9ef3egIy2kz8lfdno-M47WLiEMGxgP4GiwH_xQKwE5s9-BiGanNrxqrbwQLuYR5dDlnIPrQopxxe4O_-7bmSK1XY15aivzZbqgPGolLSzLt/s650/bh+surren.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="650" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapmhsPhCJYz_o-w_Qp_h1DKmyz7QNeKbfH9ef3egIy2kz8lfdno-M47WLiEMGxgP4GiwH_xQKwE5s9-BiGanNrxqrbwQLuYR5dDlnIPrQopxxe4O_-7bmSK1XY15aivzZbqgPGolLSzLt/s320/bh+surren.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-48411601473244424102021-08-16T15:11:00.002+02:002021-08-16T15:11:23.809+02:00Press Release by Igbo National Movement on the So-Called Sit-at-Home Calls Announced by some IPOB Members.<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Dear
President of Town Unions/Association</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dear
Chairmen of Village Meetings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ndi Nna na
ndi Nne al’Igbo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyi ekele
kwa onye-öwula. Ndu mmiri, ndu azu; Onye biri, ibeyá biri.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>PRESS
RELEASE BY IGBO NATIONAL MOVEMENT ON THE SO-CALLED SIT-AT-HOME CALLS ANNOUNCED
BY SOME IPOB MEMBERS.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">K’anyi wepu
aka enwe n’ofe tupt ówuó aka mmadu - A stich in time saves nine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Without
doubt, nd’Igbo have legitimate grievances against the outright vindictive and
discriminatory policies and practices visited on us by the structure of and
those who have ruled over the affairs of Nigeria, the country we were enmeshed
in via fiat of British colonial governments. Practices which have served to
push many of our young men and women to extremes in their natural quest for
existence;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Without any
doubt, nd’Igbo have a legitimate and internationally recognized right to
self-determination and to have unhindered control over the management and
administration of our lives and those of our future generations. A right, the
actualization has become imperative due to the continuing aggressive anti-Igbo
posture of and structure of the Nigerian State which has become an existential
threat to nd’Igbo;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Without
doubt also, under the present rulership of Nigeria, more than ever before
except perhaps when the Nigerian State embarked on genocidal war of attrition
against nd’Igbo, the very existence, homeland, lives and sustenance of nd’Igbo
have come under sustained and persistent assault, making continued stay in the
Nigerian territory an existential threat to nd’Igbo. An existential threat
which, as our forebears will advise: like a bee perched on the scrotum has to
be confronted with tact, lest our adversaries have cause to smile over our
travails.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is this
issue of tact to address our common issues that has compelled the Igbo National
Movement (INM) to address this correspondence directly to our customary age-old
institutions for which nd’Igbo are unique amongst the peoples where they reside
(our Community/Town Unions), and our Family units, in the believe that we will
be able to abstain from self-destructive practices that will primarily be
injurious to our people and not serve to attain intended objectives. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Due to
impairments foisted on our customary institutions, the voices of reason amongst
our People have been apparently drowned in an avalanche of vociferous
emotion-driven babble which, feasting on the urgent desire of millions of our
youth for emancipation, have embarked on paths that are fundamentally
detrimental to our peoples and play into the general desires of those who do
not wish nd’Igbo well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Without any
iota of doubt, the commemoration of the sacrifices of past martyrs is a
universal practice and observance, whether it be sanctioned by the State or
not. Nd’Igbo have for long, paid similar respect and reverence to their heroes’
past<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is
however irrational are efforts to cut off one’s nose in order to spite one’s
face – the meaningless call for a so-called ‘sit-at-home’ for specific days
over unspecified durations for doubtful objectives. An old Igbo adage posits
thus: okenye anaghi anu n’obodo ewu amuó n’óbu (an elder will not be around and
allow a goat to deliver in tethers). It thus becomes incumbent for voices of
reason to speak up, lest we are consumed by irrationality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By design,
the rulers of the territory we presently find ourselves within under
international guidelines/recognitions, Nigeria, have adopted policies which
basically confine the vast majority of nd’Igbo to fending for self, via
self-employment, and thus desirous to maximize returns per day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For an
entity claiming to be interested in the welfare and wellbeing of nd’Igbo to
embark on activities geared towards reducing the number of days during which a
self-employed may work, and following up with not just threats of violence for
those who do not agree with such irrational decisions, but following up with
actual destruction of private properties, harms to the individuals and in some
instances, killing fellow nd’Igbo whose sole ‘wrong’ is the desire to provide
for themselves and their families beats the imagination and call for sober
reflection and outright condemnation by those with the overall best interest of
nd’Igbo at heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Already,
resulting from the first forced observance of this ‘sit-at-home’ on Monday 9th
August, the losses suffered by nd’Igbo, in addition to loss of lives,
properties and incomes estimated at several million US Dollars, include the
disruption of academic opportunities for children in secondary schools in the
Igboland who missed out on crucial examinations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What can be
claimed to have been achieved by observing/enforcing the said ‘sit-at-home’?
Absolutely nothing but wastage and loss of lives, properties and incomes by
nd’Igbo!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Must this
path of folly be continued? Certainly NO! Continuing will only lead to more
deaths, harms on nd’Igbo, losses and destructions all within Igboland – with no
impact whatsoever either on other parts of the Nigeria where no sit-at-home is
observed/enforced or on the cause for Igbo self-determination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In keeping
with yet another age-old adage of our people urges that ‘agbakó ñuo mamiri, yáá
gbá ufufu’ (in unison more can be achieved), INM hereby calls on the proponents
of the weekly sit-at-home campaigns to reassess their actions, retrace their
steps, utterances and modus operandi and eventually be part of wider Igbo
efforts at actualizing self-determination. The current ‘Eze-onyeagbalam’ (the all-knowing monarch) posture being displayed by the proponents of the sit-at-homes is
self-injurious, counter-productive and ultimately un-Igbo.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To the
leadership of Community and Town Unions and Associations spread across
Igboland, and our Parents whose wards, children and possessions will bear the
brunt of the continued ill-thought sit-at-home calls, we urge all to reach out
to the proponents of this Call with the purpose of ensuring that commonsense
and better tact prevails.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Igbo
gáádi.Udo<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0SDBGfrM13ZQ9p-qZEgJ7fJeG9zC_w2JN9Um9UeRGe5lv7OdoYil7Ye39vqng6kEouLu7GBJlP02y9OSv30S6TE8cM4L-FnZ_A4ncBzhyXok5mqPvYjKrW6aT30c7t8JoqFcWpbUBdap/s650/Igbo+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="650" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0SDBGfrM13ZQ9p-qZEgJ7fJeG9zC_w2JN9Um9UeRGe5lv7OdoYil7Ye39vqng6kEouLu7GBJlP02y9OSv30S6TE8cM4L-FnZ_A4ncBzhyXok5mqPvYjKrW6aT30c7t8JoqFcWpbUBdap/s320/Igbo+22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-67437634302085332872021-07-20T11:50:00.003+02:002021-07-21T15:32:23.488+02:00Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill: Have the Indigenous Host Communities been shortchanged once more?<p><b><i> by Eze Eluchie</i></b></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The passage
of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by both houses of Nigeria National
Assembly, on the 1<sup>st</sup> of July 2021, after almost two decades of
efforts at crafting a legislation that would rationalize and put into proper
context Nigeria’s otherwise mostly unchartered Petroleum industry environment,
where any and everything goes, was heralded with a sigh of relief by diverse
stakeholders: For International petroleum investors - they now have a one-stop
document where the rules of engagement in the petroleum industry was adequately
enunciated; For operators (downstream and upstream alike), there was now
detailed rules for their operations and for engagement with their host
communities (indigenous owners of the lands where crude oil was sourced from);
and the Host Communities – despite their initial demands to be accorded 10% of
operational costs of the operators, they appeared to be at least, for the very
first time, assured of a definite percentage of operators operational costs as
their entitlements. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It thus
appeared that the perennial elusive search for a peaceful environment for our petroleum
sector to thrive and maximize its potentials has finally come to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Is that
truly the situation? We shall now venture to inquire into the PIB from the
perspective of the Host Communities, to gauge if indeed the indigenous
communities, the ‘geese that lay the golden egg’ of the mainstay of the
Nigerian economy, have been well accommodated and their interests addressed by
the PIB, which is currently awaiting the signature of the President of the Federal
Republic to become law.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The definition of Host Community<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A host
Community is defined under Sec. 318 of the PIB as:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “any community situated in or appurtenant to the area of operation of
a settlor, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and any other community as a
settlor may determine</b> pursuant to Chapter Three of this Act”. </i>The emboldened
later part of the definition of Host Community (HC), which gives latitude to
the Settlor (an Operator in the petroleum industry) to virtually do as it
wishes with regards to deciding which community can be described as a ‘Host
Community’ is quite worrisome and subject to abuse. Under the PIB, at par with communities
where oil prospecting, extraction and refining activities are undertaken,
communities over which petroleum pipeline traverse are now deemed as HC’s, and
likewise ‘any other community as a Settlor may determine’. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In a nutshell,
a Settlor can decide that a community anywhere, no matter how detached it is
from its area of core operations, is a HC!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A situation that
provides for such loose definition of ‘Host Community’, allowing wide discretion
to the Settlor to determine which community so qualifies, is not well thought through
and could give rise to further crisis during the implementation of the PIB.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Host Community Development Trust
Fund (HCDTF)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The
recognition of the need to allocate a specific percentage of total operational
costs to Host Communities is a most welcome development towards attainment of
harmonious working, living conditions and existence in our oil producing areas.
The rationale behind whittling down the funds accruing to the Host Communities
from 10% to its current 3% of operational costs, considering that the
betterment of Host Communities is a fundamental objective of efforts at a
Petroleum Industry Law, remains shrouded in mystery. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{Section 240(2) PIB}.</i> The allocation of a meagre 3% of operational
costs for the needs of the Host Communities appears to be where Host Community
benefits terminate in the PIB. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Under the
PIB, the funds due to any Host Community, the Host Community Development Trust
Fund (HCDTF) are paid into the custody of a Host Community Development Trust
(HCDT), an entity that will be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“set up by
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Settlor</b>, who shall determine its
membership and the criteria for their appointment” {Section 242(1) PIB}. The
Settlor will also determine the membership of the Board of Trustees {Section
242(2)}, (a)the selection process, procedure for meeting, financial regulations
and administrative procedures of the Board of Trustees (b)the remuneration,
discipline, qualification, disqualification, suspension and removal of members
of the Board of Trustees; and (c) other matters other than the above relating
to the operation and activities of the Board of Trustees{Section 242(4)}, and
also appoint the Secretary to the Board{Section 242(5)}.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In other
words, the meagre 3% of the operational costs which is ostensibly meant for the
Host Communities, will not be given/presented to the Host Communities, but
would rather be given to an entity created, staffed and under the purview of
the Settlors. A Settlor is defined in Section 318 of the PIB as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“a holder of an interest in a petroleum
prospecting license or petroleum mining lease whose area of operations is
located in or appurtenant to any community or communities”.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Incredulous
as it may sound, under the PIB and in real terms, the 3% meant for the Host
Communities will be under the full control of the Operators!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Only 75% of the 3% HCDTF will get to
the HCDT<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Despite the
meagre percentage (3% of operating costs of Operators) accorded for development
of the Host Communities, under the PIB as passed by the National Assembly, only
75% of the 3% is assured to the HC’s in any given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Section <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">244(a) of the PIB</i></b> clearly stipulates
that the HCDT will allocate 75% of the sum available to the HCDT to a Capital
Fund from which it will execute projects that have been approved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">244(a) of the PIB</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> oddly enough, has an awkward
proviso: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">provided that any sums not
utilised in a given financial year shall be rolled over and utilized in
subsequent year” – </i>making it expressly clear that not all the 75% of 3% may
be utilized during a current accounting year. There is the likelihood that,
even where the funds are released to the HCDT, factors may occur which will
ordinarily make it impossible to use any portion of the said sum in any given
year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">244(b) of the PIB</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> Provides for 20% of the 3% to be
reserved as ‘Reserve Fund’ for use in years <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“whenever
there is a cessation in the contribution payable by the settlor”. </i>This
means that ordinarily, this sum will not be ordinarily available for HC
developmental needs, save for when there is a ‘cessation’. More worrisome is
the provision of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sec 234(4)[b] of the
PIB, </b>which allows the Settlor to, without any reasons being advanced for
such refusal, refuse to fund this 20% of the 3% ‘Reserve Fund’ at the Settlors
discretion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">244(c) of the PIB</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> Allows for a further deduction of
the sums due to the HC, by allocating the remainder 5% of the 3% for
‘Administrative Costs’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: rgb(204, 193, 153); color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">To further
muddle up matters with regards to the deployment of HCDT Funds, the 75% that
appears guaranteed for the HC is described as ‘Capital Fund’, which in Nigerian
parlance means funds for capital projects. It appears that the funds received
by the HC’s cannot be deployed for human capacity development projects such as
Scholarships and Skills acquisition endeavors. This is however debatable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Host Communities can forfeit their
entitlements <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In what can
be termed a sinister plot to deprive the HC’s of even this meagre 3% of
operating cost allocation, the funds available to the HC’s will be forfeited in
the event of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“an act of vandalism,
sabotage or other civil unrest occurs that causes damage to petroleum and
designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host
community”</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sec 257(2) of the PIB}. </b></i>Innocuous as this provision appears,
when it is realized that the HCDT is comprised by nominees of the Settlor and
that in most instances of spills and damages to pipelines and other facilities
of Operators, the HC’s have always argued that the aged equipment’s of the
operators and the lack of maintenance, it becomes clear that the HC’s will
always bear the brunt of accusations for vandalism, sabotage and damages to
petroleum facilities – and may thus be compelled to forfeit whatsoever was
their entitlements under the PIB.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">If the PIB
becomes Law in its present state, the likelihood of HC’s not receiving a dime
in the course of any one calendar year, is quite high.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Overbearing control by the Settlor<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Under the
PIB, overwhelming control of the funding, funds, management, operations and
structure of the HCDTF is accorded to the Settlor. The Settlor decides how,
when, where and who can attend meetings of the HCDT <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sec 234 of the PIB}; </b></i>the
Settlor also provides the sharing formula of HCDT Funds amongst the various HC’s
within its operational area<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{Sec 245 of the PIB},</i> </b>this could be
despite the fact that the HC’s being oftentimes contiguous communities, might
have traditional means of sharing joint assets; the Settlor shall decide on
what the HC’s need and what can be funded under the HCDTF <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sec 251 (1) and (4) of the PIB};
</b></i>when the foregoing is added to the powers of the Settlor to determine
what constitutes the HC’s entitlements under the PIB; incorporate the HCDT; decide
who is appointed a Trustee of the HCDT; decide who can be appointed as a Member
of the HCDT Board of Trustees; decide who will be appointed as Secretary of the
HCDT and decide who will be appointed Fund Manager to the HCDT; it becomes
clear that the communities themselves have very nominal roles to play in the HCDT
– the powers, the funds, the staffing, the management of the HCDT are all under
the control of the Settlor, and whosoever the Settlor decides to favor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The entity
the PIB, as is, protects, empowers and enriches is not the indigenous
communities where crude oil operations are conducted/executed, rather it is the
Settlor, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“a holder of an interest in a
petroleum prospecting license or petroleum mining lease whose area of
operations is located in or appurtenant to any community or communities”, </i>that
turns out to be the primary and sole beneficiary of the PIB<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Implicit denial of HC’s access to
courts to address/resolve disagreements<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Under the
PIB, HC’s have a maximum of 3<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>months<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “</i></b>after
the accrual of any cause of action in respect of any such act, neglect or
default and provided such act or omission was not done in good faith” to
commence any action arising from the implementation of the PIB<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> {Section
307(2) of the PIB}. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In addition, </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">HC’s or aggrieved entities can only
commence actions under the PIB after the expiry of a 1-month “written notice of
the intention to commence the suit”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> {Section 308(1) of the PIB}.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The combined
import of Sections 307(2) and 308(1) of the PIB, is that from the time an issue
arises between the HC and the Settlor or the NNPC Ltd., the HC has just 2 months
to notify the Settlor of their greviance/disagreements, enter into relevant
correspondences, hold meetings, retain a Counsel and then issue the statutory
1-month notice of intention to commence action! When it is realized that the
Sec 307(2) gives the 3-month period as commencing from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘the accrual of any cause of action’</i>, and not necessary when the HC
becomes aware that they have a cause of action, then it is clear that the
3-month period can actually lapse long before the HC realizes that they have a
cause of action. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The framers
of the PIB could have overreached themselves when they also try to muzzle the
Judicial system by inserting provisions which compels Courts to give the
Settlor or the NNPC Ltd ‘a 3 months’ notice of the intention to commence
execution process’ <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{Section 308(4) of the PIB}.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The provisions
geared towards denying HC’s access to courts to enforce their claims or rights
is mean-spirited, dubious and likely unconstitutional and void.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Vesting on Lands<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Nigerian
Constitution vests all lands in any State of Nigeria in the State Governors
(for lands in urban areas) and in the Local Government authorities (for lands
in rural areas) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{Section 1 of the Land Use Act, which by Section 315(5) of the Nigerian
Constitution, is an integral aspect of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic}<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The PIB
commences with a proclamation in its very first section to the effect that<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>“</b>The
property and ownership of petroleum within Nigeria and its territorial waters,
continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is vested in the Government of
the Federation of Nigeria” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">{Section 1 of the PIB}.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Constitution
of Nigeria provides that any other law in conflict with constitutional
provisions, is deemed void to the extent of such inconsistency. To the extent
that it vests lands in an authority distinct from where the Constitution vests
lands, Sec. 1 of the PIB is deemed void.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In reality,
all Licenses or authorizations to Settlors and Oil companies, issued to such
third parties by the Government of the Federation of Nigeria can actually be
deemed as unconstitutional and void. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Conclusion:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">From the
description of what constitutes a HC, to the meager sum allowable to HC’s, and
further depletion of the said meagre sum to enable HC’s access only 75% of the said
3% in any given financial year, to provisions which empower the Settlor
entities powers to control and manage the HCDTF’s, it is clear that the Host
Communities have been terribly short-changed by the PIB as passed by the
National Assembly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The PIB, if
signed into law, will merely give legal backing to an instrument that is geared
to further destabilize the Host Communities, create friction in the oil
producing region and very likely foster a cantankerous environment that will
not be suitable for meaningful, peaceful petroleum industry operations in
Nigeria’s oil and gas rich territories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The President
of the Federal Republic is humbly urged to veto the PIB, return same to the
National Assembly and urge for more respect and representation from the Host
Communities towards ensuring that their needs are met in line with the global best
practices in the oil and gas sector regarding addressing the interests and
needs of Host Communities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljvQA7Ed-L31-VLn2YL46JEDhrUDiDrMeBBmwGfQmQJCPHDZ2TKRwU3hG3lS8GtDg3o5HDIGVr9-Em4y25wjdCwhMheLPL49ch0Q_f213P112u2t9KliOZRvo5SC4D-iTgJv7YQVX0Mt4/s1280/Oil+producers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljvQA7Ed-L31-VLn2YL46JEDhrUDiDrMeBBmwGfQmQJCPHDZ2TKRwU3hG3lS8GtDg3o5HDIGVr9-Em4y25wjdCwhMheLPL49ch0Q_f213P112u2t9KliOZRvo5SC4D-iTgJv7YQVX0Mt4/s320/Oil+producers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-64313990780211873392020-10-26T11:49:00.005+01:002020-10-26T11:54:56.788+01:00#EndSARS - The #LekkiMassacre: Call for International Commission of Inquiry<p> <b style="font-size: 13pt;"><i>by Eze Eluchie</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">After over
two weeks of continuous street protests by Nigerian youths seeking three key
demands, to wit: 1) proscription of the dreaded Special Anti-Robbery Squad
{SARS} of the Nigeria Police Force which had been implicated in several cases
of extra-judicial murders, extortion and dehumanizing/degrading treatment of
civilians; 2) Action against Corruption which had become endemic in Government;
and 3) Enthronement of Good Governance at all stratas of governance in Nigeria,
the peaceful nature of the protests was brought to a most brutal end by 18.50pm
on Tuesday, 20<sup>th</sup> October 2020, when a continuing staccato of live
ammunition fired into the crown by Military personnel, sent the crowd of young
protesters in a frenzied stampede, with several killed and scores injured.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The brazenness
of the attacks had stupefied the protesting crowd, who least expected Nigerian
soldiers to openly fire at unarmed Nigerians, who were peacefully protesting
for the betterment of the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
ensuing confusion, the scene of the shooting was, in a jiffy, emptied of the
mammoth crowd of protesters, with survivors trying to help one another, and
hospitals in the vicinity overwhelmed with survivors suffering various forms of
injuries. In Television reports following the crackdown, the shooting at the
Lekki Toll-gates continued to reverberate in the background.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As news of
the brutal crackdown went round the city and the country, youths across the
country trooped out in their hundreds of thousands to confront authority,
unleashing the worst scene of national violence since the current
experimentation with democratic governance ensured in 1999. From Lagos, Osogbo,
Port Harcourt, Calabar, Benin City, Onitsha, Enugu and Aba in the South, to
Jos, Jalingo, Yobe, Kano and Kaduna in the Northern region, an orgy of violence
enveloped Nigeria, leaving in its wake looting sprees, mob lynching’s, mass
destruction of government and private properties, particularly the burning and
destruction of several police station. Conservative reports put the total
number of those killed at over 60 persons with properties amounting to several
billions of dollars destroyed or looted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Worrisome order of
events<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In assessing
the events which took place at Lekki tollgate in the evening of the 20<sup>th</sup>
of October 2020, it is important to appreciate and recognize key occurrences of
the day. These are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In the morning of the said 20<sup>th</sup>
October, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Sanwo-olu issued a statement
declaring a night time curfew across Lagos State. This statement clearly sought
to provide a legal basis for the deployment of force to evacuate the #EndSARS
protesters who had been at the Lekki Tollgates and at the Lagos State
Government Secretariat, non-stop, for almost two weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Nigeria’s Federal Government owned
media muzzling agency, the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued an ominous
Press Statement warning media outlets and users of social media to be extremely
careful on how they report the #EndSARS protests, promising dire consequences
for ‘infractions’. A media blackout may have been envisaged via the NBC’s
Statement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Close Circuit Television Camera’s
(CCTVs) at the Lekki Tollgate were ominously dismantled – giving indication
that someone somewhere had a foreknowledge that events that ought not be
recorded were likely going to unfold;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A convoy of soldier arrived at the
Lekki tollgate shortly after 18.00 hrs – after the curfew announced earlier in
the day by the State Governor ought to have commenced;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Power supply to the Lekki tollgate
was suddenly switched off;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The shootings began.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Clearly,
from the foregoing, there was premeditation of the events that was to unfold
and shock not just Nigerians, but the entire international community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Nigeria had
just produced its own version of the Tiananmen Square.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Cover-up?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As expected,
within 24 hours of the beastly attack, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Army,
issued a Press Release denying Army involvement in the shooting and attendant
killings and injuries. A few hours later, the Lagos State Government, announced
plans to set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the incident.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In the midst
of the violence, the Nigerian ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, whose silence over the
attack by security men at the Lekki tollgate had been condemned by well-meaning
Nigerians, made a lackluster National Broadcast during which he did not even
mention the carnage that took place at the Lekki tollgate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In an
incredulous stroke of folly, during a visit of a delegation of politicians led
by the Minister of Works and comprised of several State Governors and
Lawmakers, the Minister of Works claimed to have ‘discovered’ a hidden camera
at the scene of the shooting, which the said Minister claims will be useful to
resolving what actually transpired at the venue of the massacre. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Need for international
panel of inquiry<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">When one
takes into consideration the track record and penchant of the current Nigerian
regime with regards to non-implementation, non-compliance and non-adherence to findings
of Judicial Commission of Inquiry and interference in the administration of
justice as evidenced in the recent unconstitutional removal of the immediate
past Chief Justice of Nigeria and the elevation of ‘compliant’ persons to high
judicial positions, one is immediately wary of the zeal with which the governments
in Nigeria seem willing to set up Judicial Commissions to inquire into matters
in which the government itself, and its military, are deemed complicit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Can a panel instituted
by a Government which itself is suspected of complicity in heinous acts be
trusted to come out with just findings or outcomes? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Will justice
be seen or deemed to have been served by the outcomes of a panel set up by a
party that itself ought to be investigated for its role in the Lekki Tollgate
shootings?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It is in
view of the commonsensical negative answers that the two questions above will
naturally elicit and the fact that the acts alleged constitute crimes within
the scope of the Rome Statute (to which the Nigerian State is signatory), that it is prudent in the circumstances to call
for the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry into the Lekki
Tollgate shootings which took place in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria on the 20<sup>th</sup>
of October 2020. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Such an
International Panel of Inquiry can validly be established under the charter of
the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Security Council, the
African Union - African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and the ECOWAS
Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Picture: #EndSARS sign and emoji<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiCp_83pnKfEJramMXWR_T9VJx3hQrwz30GN9UZjL9xSCmoEkymPL__4Je86pDE7HFMvtp-fIhqIZ1f1BQU-XspbaG9MUnCT57u3v_x_9PlCKN-hOrH8b5WjZI82D4lPPD7Ermti8fJjT/s1200/EndSARS-Emoji.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="1200" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiCp_83pnKfEJramMXWR_T9VJx3hQrwz30GN9UZjL9xSCmoEkymPL__4Je86pDE7HFMvtp-fIhqIZ1f1BQU-XspbaG9MUnCT57u3v_x_9PlCKN-hOrH8b5WjZI82D4lPPD7Ermti8fJjT/w426-h169/EndSARS-Emoji.png" width="426" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i><p></p>Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-66161101911017961272019-12-18T08:39:00.001+01:002022-01-26T14:28:31.580+01:00Crop Substitution: An Unexplored Strategy for Tackling the Scourge of Illicit Drugs in Africa<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">by Eze Eluchie</span></b></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The major internationally recognized illicit
substance of abuse cultivated in Africa, particularly the West African
sub-region, is marijuana. The cultivation, production and trafficking in
marijuana is thus, for most Africans, the gateway into the enterprise of
illicit drug cultivation and trafficking.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nationals of countries in the West African
sub-region, or more appropriately put, persons holding Traveling Documents of
West African countries, constitute a sizable proportion of extremely low-level
suspected couriers (‘moles’ – usually involved in ingesting or otherwise
physically ferrying minuscule quantities of illicit substances) involved with
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is in cognizance of the foregoing that it is
pertinent that global efforts be harnessed to ensure the minimization, and
probable eradication, of practices, enterprises and infrastructure that give
rise to illicit drug cultivation and trafficking in Africa.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In some areas of the West African sub-region,
communities in their entirety have been known to be engaged in the cultivation
of the marijuana plant. Some families are wholly dependent on the proceeds of
their marijuana farms for their daily subsistence. These families see marijuana
cultivation, primarily, as a means of survival. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In some other instances, poor soil potency has
rendered it futile to cultivate age-old food crops (such as yams, cassava,
beans etc). To compound the problem of these farmers, they lack the resources
to 'switch-over' and invest in enhanced species of seedlings of the food crops
they are familiar with. Such small scale farmers/farm communities are easy prey
to 'barons' in the business of illicit drug trafficking, who quickly introduce
the hapless farmers to the marijuana crop, with promises of seemingly
incredulous profit margins. Some of these rural farmers, usually unschooled and
illiterate, are, at the outset, oblivious to the criminal nature of their new
vocation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In Nigeria, for instance, there have been instances
of whole extended families (comprised of fathers, wives, uncles, auntie's and
children, some as young as 7years old) being apprehended and paraded (by our
law enforcement/anti-narcotic agencies) as criminal producers of illicit
substances – particularly marijuana. The irony is usually that such rural farm
families do not make any effort to flee from the arresting officers. These
rural farming-families have nowhere else to run to - they are stuck to their
farms for life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the above described scenario, which is the norm,
well articulated crop substitution programs will obviously achieve more
positive results than merely punishing hapless people who are only interested
in surviving.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When it is realized that over 95% of suspects
detained by federal anti-narcotic agents in Nigeria are persons involved, in
one way or the other, with marijuana cultivation, possession or distribution,
the exigency of instituting a credible and effective crop substitution regime
to tackle the problem of illicit marijuana cultivation becomes more apparent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The African Center for Health Law and Development
(ACHLD) through one of its constituting organizations, People Against Drug
Dependence & Ignorance (PADDI) has been involved in a series of advocacy
initiatives geared towards ensuring that palliative measures consisting of Crop
Substitution, backed by necessary financial (or in-kind) support is extended to
indigent farmers engaged in the cultivation of marijuana. ACHLD-PADDI had an
opportunity to raise the issue of the absence of crop substitution programs for
illicit drug producers in the course of the release of the International Narcotics
Control Board (INCB) Annual Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) in Lagos, Nigeria. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At the occasion, which had in attendance Dr.
Phillip Emafo, a Nigerian and former Chair of the INCB, the Chairman of the
Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the UNODC Country
Representative for Nigeria in attendance, it was worrying to realize that no
plausible reasons were presented for the failure of the international community
to explore and apply crop substitution techniques as a strategy to curtail
illicit production of drugs in Africa.<br /> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The suggested initiatives is predicated on the fact that farmers who engage in
illicit cultivation of marijuana purely as a means of survival, deserve an
opportunity to cultivate alternative crop, prior to the hammer of prosecution
and incarceration being wielded on such indigent farmers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The idea, Crop Substitution, is admittedly not
novel. Crop Substitution is a recognized and successful strategy adopted by the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and a plethora of domestic
authorities/governments to curtail the production of coca (cocaine) and opium
(heroin) in such diverse countries as Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and India.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Most unfortunately, and for as yet inexplicable
reasons, the UNODC and relevant domestic governments have not deemed it fit to
adapt Crop Substitution techniques to the African environment as a strategy to
combat illicit drug production. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Is it that the African farmer does not deserve an
opportunity to substitute an illicit crop with legitimate produce, which has
the potential for offering him/her commensurate, if not higher, pecuniary
gains? Does the African farmer not deserve the same treatment as his colleagues
in Latin America and Asia where the international community invests heavily to
ensure the eradication, or at least minimization, of the acreage under illicit
drug cultivation?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The intention of this piece should not be
misconstrued as an attempt to create the picture of 'an innocent victim' for
all persons involved in the illicit cultivation of marijuana in Africa. Far
from it. There is no doubt that there exists out there, in various remote
corners of the African continent, thousands of greed-induced persons involved
with the illicit cultivation of marijuana. It is our belief and opinion that
the full weight of the law should be brought to bear on such characters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The concern in advocating for adoption of crop
substitution mechanisms as a strategy in tackling illicit drug production in
Africa, is borne out of the realization that 'ignorance' and 'abject poverty',
a lethal combination anywhere, is much in abundance amongst rural farming
communities on the African continent. By moving hastily to penalize illiterate
rural farmers engaged in illicit drug production, without adequate
sensitization, education and alternatives being proffered, a miscarriage of
justice is effected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
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Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-76100124666171639572019-01-02T22:24:00.000+01:002019-01-02T22:39:09.849+01:00The Worst of Nigeria Awards For Year 2018<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by Eze
Eluchie, </span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some have
asked: why the Worst of Nigeria Awards?; Why not just stop at acknowledging the
goods? Why highlight the bad? The answer is quite obvious: as much as it is
important for societal advancement to showcase positives who contributed
towards moving society forward, it is also vital to identify the negatives
whose existence, actions and or inactions has kept our society in the
backwaters we now find ourselves. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ideally, the
Justice sector of a territory will ensure that these negatives are identified
and adequately penalized. Where the Justice sector is compromised as in the
case of Nigeria and unable to play its role, alternate means of highlighting
negatives becomes imperative. Failure of any society to precisely pinpoint
these negatives may result in wrong role models being foisted on society with
the calamitous implications for society.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the case
of Nigeria, a geographic entity abundantly endowed with natural and human
resources, these negatives have cumulatively caused the country to be the poverty
capital of the world, a significant drawback to the attainment of continental
and global benchmarks in human, economic and developmental sectors and a
debilitating burden to its citizens. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
foregoing founds the necessity for the Worst of Nigeria Awards.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Worst Corporate Entity.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There can be
no worse brigandage unleashed on residents/citizens of any particular territory
than unregulated and unstructured capitalism. The people are left at the whims
and caprice of shylocks that are in no way different fro armed hoodlums. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From
Financial Services entities which give loans at double-digit rates that can
only be serviced if the recipient thereof is involved in illicit drugs and human
trafficking businesses or other like high return-on-Investment escapades; loans
which lead to the collapse and penury of any legit entrepreneur who dares
access the baits they dangle in the name of financial facilities; to contrived
conglomerates whose major source of income was, is and will always be
surreptitiously and or illicitly obtained ‘Import Duty Waivers’, Tax Concessions
and monopolies over essential goods – actions which cumulatively serve to
ensure the demise of genuine entrepreneurial spirit amongst the populace. The
Nigerian corporate sector is dominated by entities that in saner climes, would
have long exchanged designer suits for Government Issued jumpers used in
penitentiaries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
organization stood out in Year 2018 for its added efforts to make life miserable
for Nigerians. Having acquired monopolies over an essential service from a most
opaque ‘privatization’ process, these entities proceeded to increase tariffs at
will without any commensurate improvement in services; resorting often times to
the use of publicly-financed armed law enforcement personnel (usually the
Police Force) to recover what is basically private corporate ‘debts’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite a
keen contest with the Dangote Group, the winner of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Year 2018 Worst Corporate Entity Award</b> are the various Electricity Distribution
Companies (DISCOs), which operate under the aegis of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED).</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Worst State Governor/Agency</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Exploring
glaring loopholes in the Nigerian Constitution, virtually all the Governors of
Nigeria’s 36 States have personalized governance in their respective States, making
it imperative to ascribe failures or successes recorded in all agencies of
State Government to the person and abilities of the State Governors. Having
successfully extinguished what ought to be the 3<sup>rd</sup> strata of
governance in Nigeria, the Local Government Councils’, these State Governors
proceeded to collapse all checks and balances and means of control of executive
excesses inbuilt in the Constitution. The State Houses of Assembly, and in some
instances even the Judiciary, became mere appendages of the Governor. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With State
Governors acquiring the status of demi-gods, using the entire finances of the
State as their personal piggy-banks, appointing and sacking whosoever at their
pleasure, the reality of a failed State manifests. The above unwholesome
situation is one of the root causes of why the Nigerian State is in the sorry
state it finds itself whilst the rest of the world keeps on forging ahead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
certainly were many nominees to choose from for this category of Awards. From
the Governor of Kano State, Mr. Abdulahi Ganduje, who was caught on video
pocketing hundreds of thousands of US Dollars in slush funds; to the character
in Akwa Ibom State, Emanuel Udom, who paid his personal Attorneys’ directly from
the State treasury for his personal legal issues; to Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna
State who had the temerity to tell the world that he had paid monies to
foreigners who were killing the citizens of his state to ‘prevent’ a
continuation of such killings – likely contenders were aplenty. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The winner
in this dubious category combines all the negatives imaginable: Fraud, Financial
recklessness and profligacy, criminal conversion of public and private
chattels, disrespect and outright disobedience of the Judiciary and Court
Orders, and adds novel negatives such as: clownishness, and perhaps a tint of mental
instability (in his very own words). A serial winner in this category, having
won it for the past three consecutive years, one can only but imagine the pain
of the peoples who have suffered under the rulership of this character have had
to endure. To spice up the pain, the Worst Governor for 2018 desperately sought
to, and is still expending State resources thereon, to impose his neophyte
son-in-law as his successor. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mr. Rochas
Okorocha</b>, Governor of Imo State in South East Nigeria, retains the odious
title of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Worst Governor for Year 2018.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Worst Federal Minister/Agency.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ranging from
a Science and Technology minister who, s incredibly as it sounds, had upon
assumption of duty in 2015 set for himself and his ministry the dense target of
‘manufacturing Pencils’ (yes, ere pencils, the stuff kids in kindergarten write
with) – a target which he yet failed to attain; to a Minister of Defence who is
presiding over the worst routing of a conventional army by a gang of renegade
terrorists in modern history; to a Minister of Information and Culture who seem
to have obtained an international patent of Lies and Deception; to a Minister of
Power, Works and Housing who has neither provided Power, Works nor Houses for
Nigeria’s teeming population; the current dispensation in Nigeria does not lack
unfit and improper characters to bequeath the Award as the Worst Minister for 2018.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are however
agencies of the Federal Government, who by virtue of the responsibilities
bestowed upon and actions expected of them, and their woeful inability to
deliver have served to ensure Nigeria’s unenviable position as the ‘Poverty
Capital’ of the world and a most investor unfriendly destination. Two of these
agencies stand out: Firstly, the Central Bank of Nigeria with its voodoo style
of Monetary and Fiscal regulations of the financial services sector, a corrupt
system of multiple foreign currency exchange rates (which creates spurious
wealth for cronies of government, ONLY), and continuing failure to rein in
brigands masquerading as Bankers who daily cause the ruination of legitimate
entrepreneurs – directly leading to deepening unemployment and rise in crime
rates. And, secondly, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), gifted to one of the
ring leaders in the BringBackOurGirls gang {a pedestal through which the
current regime came into office}. The NPA in the course of the past one year,
by the vile failure to open up alternate ports to the ones in the Lagos area,
has elevated itself into a gigantean bottleneck in the Nigerian economy,
causing massive and globally unprecedented gridlocks in the life-wire of the
Nigerian State, in the process short changing and impoverishing the State and
its population.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A close
context amongst failures, by reason of its ore direct and devious negative impact
on the State, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Central Bank of
Nigeria</b> is the winner of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2018
Worst Federal Minister/Agency Awards.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Worst Nigerian</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Officially a
Federation of constituent States, Nigeria is in reality a unitary contraption
where the Federal Government is by means of its enormous powers typified by its
absolute control of the Law Enforcement, Revenue Generation, mineral Resources,
Internal and External Security and Rail and Air transportation mechanisms, the
sole authority over all and sundry in Nigeria.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By the
defects in its structure, the posterity, stability and economic viability of
Nigeria swings with the persona of the person occupying the office of President
of the Federal Republic. Where the occupant of this exalted Office has wisdom,
the dependence on the individual nuances is minimized and the semblance of a modern
State is projected. Where however, as in the present instance, the Office is
occupied by an intellectually challenged, constitutionally unqualified, ex-military
dictator who has over the years exhibited traits of ethno-religious bigotry,
the worst can indeed be expected – and the worst has anifested.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Nigerian
President has seized any and every opportunity he has had in his foreign
junkets to de-market Nigeria. From referring to Nigerian youths as ‘Lazy’ – an untruth
that serves as a disincentive to foreign investors; to affirming that Nigerians
are fantastically corrupt – equally an untruth when placed in the global context
and compared with other havens of corruption such as the United Kingdom (where
the unfortunate comments were made), Switzerland, et al; and his recent comments
in Poland where he directly raised the question whether Nigeria was being ruled
by an impostor. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A whooping
failure in his self-enumerated focal areas of security and tackling corruption,
retired general <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Muhammadu Buhari</b>,
the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, retains the award of the
Worst Nigeria for 2018. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: The Worst of
Nigeria Awards Trophy</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OTLQAp9cCpXewaNav1IVR-OAUhAYC5G5vSQrDFt4NDkoX166eFiWTG1hP7ZITzZXTGiO7K4Mvo9paXAYCKSHCKeofMUJBPBYAFB6YAmETFSufc1ter34MYryhNpNvTl3Yl3A1CXnDXTa/s1600/bad12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OTLQAp9cCpXewaNav1IVR-OAUhAYC5G5vSQrDFt4NDkoX166eFiWTG1hP7ZITzZXTGiO7K4Mvo9paXAYCKSHCKeofMUJBPBYAFB6YAmETFSufc1ter34MYryhNpNvTl3Yl3A1CXnDXTa/s400/bad12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-30010183163533091722018-12-14T09:43:00.000+01:002018-12-14T10:00:26.239+01:00Nigeria's Electoral Umpire, INEC's Mahmood Yahaya, Unviels His 2019 Rigging Plans.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">by Eze Eluchie,</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like his
predecessor before him, Atahiru Jega, who had announced a skewed allotment of
‘new Polling Booths', allocating </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">much </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">m</span>ore of such booths to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>areas in Nigeria's North East region where Boko Haram were supposedly in
control of than was allocated to entire regions in the South and had also announced
the discarding of the use of PVC Cards mid-way into the 2015 Presidential election (an
announcement that was deliberately ‘heard and implemented’ by INEC officials
mainly in some sections of the country), Chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Mahmood Yahaya, buoyed by a feeling of
impunity, has announced his ‘Golden Rigging Bullet’ well in advance of the
elections – allowing so-called Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resident in
ca</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">m</span>ps in Chad and Niger Republic to vote during the forthco</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ming </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2019 </span>general elections.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With the
security forces already stretched to their limits guarding and protecting the 120,000+
polling booths across the 36 States and Abuja, pray, who will guard and protect
these imaginary polling booths in IDP Centres in Chad and Niger? The Chadian
and Nigerien Gendarmes? Will agents of opposition political parties be allowed
exit Nigeria (considering the borders are usually closed for the periods of
elections) to monitor the polling centres in Chad and Niger Republics’? Where
these opposition party agents are even allowed to travel out of Nigeria to
those polling centres located in foreign countries, will the authorities of Chad
and Niger allow these opposition party agents to enter these IDP Ca</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">m</span>ps to
observe and monitor the elections for their parties?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wonderful.
Brazen plan to heist spurious votes. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The IDP
population has been a popular tool of embezzlement of public and international
donor funds throughout the course of the Buhari administration. From the infamous
multimillion dollar ‘contracts’ for grass-cutting contracts supervised by former
Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal; to the illegal approval of
billions of Naira by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ostensibly for ‘emergency
interventions’ in IDP Camps; to disappearance of thousands of bags of rice and
other relief materials meant for the IDPs, donated by friendly governments and
international relief organizations. One only wonders what will be the fate of
the millions of ballot papers to be ‘allocated’ to the IDP Camps in Niger and
Chad Republics. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his
folly, the INEC Chairman and his gang failed to realize that these ‘Nigerian’s
in IDP camps in Niger and Chad Republics’ (whose numbers supposedly range anywhere
from 0 – 7 million) also constitute Nigerians in Diaspora. If Nigerians in Chad
and Niger Republics are allowed to vote, then all Nigerians in Diaspora (inclusive of those in Europe, the USA, Asia and so on) MUST be
allowed to vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear INEC
Chairman, Mahmood Yahaya, with this skewed plan to allow IDPs vote, you have
been caught red-handed with your hands in the cookie jar. Coupled with the fact
of your filial relationship with the incumbent occupier of the Office of
President of the Federal Republic, the only honourable option left to you now,
if indeed you had one iota of care for the sanctity of the 2019 general
elections, is to resign your position as INEC Chairman, and allow for an
unbiased truly independent umpire to superintend over the said elections.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: Nigeria’s
President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yahaya</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxflysHibsYW2-y_iIXcCnF0EcPGM2jlL5fMCF17IFQc2nvVTrWoKNrVprunhHLhj15psugIxTfzHv4zggwtPCxwGBu5FxASIEocJ_NAVX2WomjHaMEWevhVyrlgb00feCbxsL_enXU5y/s1600/inec-new-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="412" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxflysHibsYW2-y_iIXcCnF0EcPGM2jlL5fMCF17IFQc2nvVTrWoKNrVprunhHLhj15psugIxTfzHv4zggwtPCxwGBu5FxASIEocJ_NAVX2WomjHaMEWevhVyrlgb00feCbxsL_enXU5y/s400/inec-new-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-34339259502137742162018-11-01T16:02:00.001+01:002018-11-01T16:02:51.467+01:00Nigeria's 2019 General Elections: Testing INEC's Ability to Abide by the Rules.<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Professor Mahmood Yakubu<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Chairman, Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Abuja, FCT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Dear Professor Yakubu,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">NEED FOR CONSISTENCY AND EVEN-HANDEDNESS IN APPLYING
THE PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTORAL ACT AND GUIDELINES RELATING TO POLITICAL PARTY
PRIMARIES AND ENSURING THAT PARTIES THAT DO NOT CONDUCT PRIMARIES TO SELECT
THEIR CANDIDATES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FIELD CANDIDATES SURREPTITIOUSLY (S)ELECTED
FOR INEC ELECTIONS.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><b>RE: PURPORTED (S)ELECTION BY THE IMO STATE CHAPTER OF
THE ALL PROGRESSIVE GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) OF A GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE FOR THE
20</b></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>19 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Having observed the
efforts the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under your Chairmanship
is making towards ensuring a free and fair electoral process which conforms
with tenets of democratic governance; and efforts by INEC at ensuring
compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended); and the various guidelines
towards ensuring that the wishes of the electorate are established<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>particularly as reflected in the extra
measures INEC has adopted after the Ekiti and Osun State gubernatorial
elections respectively; we are sufficiently motivated to draw your attention
the situation in the Imo State chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
(APGA), in the belief that INEC will make appropriate pronouncements and
adequate arrangements to ensure that due process and compliance with relevant
statutes is adhered to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">As would likely be well
known to your gooodself, Section 87 of the Electoral Act explicitly provides
for any candidate for any elections to be organized by INEC to emerge from a Primary
Process to which INEC was duly notified and invited; which INEC monitored; and which
INEC acknowledges as meeting with laid down criteria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Under your watch, and with
a view to ensure transparency, compliance with due processes and minimizing
(and ultimately eliminating) anti-democratic dictatorial tendencies in Nigerian
Political Parties, INEC has repeatedly cautioned political parties to ensure
that they comply with laws and guidelines geared towards institutionalizing and
internalizing democratic culture within the parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Lack of
Primary elections to select gubernatorial candidate:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In furtherance of and
compliance with the provisions of the said Section 87 of the Electoral Act and
the extant INEC Guidelines on Political Party Primaries, following the failure
of the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold its
Governorship Primaries before the end of the period prescribed by INEC for such
purpose, INEC had duly, and rightly I must intone, informed the said Political
Party, APC, that it was precluded from fielding a candidate for the
Governorship elections in Zamfara State for the 2019 gubernatorial elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Similar to what transpired
with the Zamfara State Chapter of the APC, there was no governorship primaries
conducted by the Imo State Chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance
(APGA). To the astonishment, chagrin and protestation of other gubernatorial
aspirants of APGA, the name of one of the gubernatorial aspirants in APGA was
surreptitiously churned out as the ‘(s)elected candidate’. It is therefore
pertinent, in view of the need to maintain consistency and even-handedness in
fulfilling INEC’s role as the regulator of political party activities and
unbiased umpire, for the pronouncement and declarations made by INEC over the absence
of INEC observed and approved primaries for the Zamfara State APC gubernatorial
position, be also made with regards to the absence of INEC observed and
approved primaries for Imo State APGA gubernatorial position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Motivation
for Call<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Deepening the democratic
space by adherence to established laws and due processes, and ensuring equal
and equitable treatment and access for stakeholders in the political and
electioneering remains key motivational factors that influence our Firms intervention
in the political process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Sequel to the appointment of
your immediate predecessor in office, Professor Attahiru Jega, we had in
pursuit of our belief that extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 had been violated by the appointment of an individual
who was not qualified to be INEC Chairman to the office of INEC Chairman,
initiated processes, firstly by communication with the Office of the Senate of
the Federal Republic and subsequently via litigation in suit No:
FHC/L/CS/862/20</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">0 (Ezekwesiri Eluchie Vs. President of the Federal
republic & 2 Others). We were vindicated when Constitutional Amendment,
which expunged the requirement for the INEC Chairman to be a registered member
of a political party, was effected. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The clear double-standards
in INEC’s pronouncements regarding the lack of gubernatorial primaries Zamfara
State Chapter of the APC and a similar lack of gubernatorial primaries Imo
State Chapter of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) provides our Firm
with one more opportunity to use the instrumentality of the law to right
wrongs, ensure Justice and adherence to due process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Call to
disallow Imo State Chapter of APGA to present a candidate for the 2019 Imo
State gubernatorial elections:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Dear Professor Mahmood
Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in
furtherance of our hope that you mean well for the Nigerian electoral system
and aspire to leave a legacy of propriety, uprightness and justice in the
regulation of political parties and management of the electoral process, we
have taken the extra effort to, in addition to presenting the similarities of
the lack of gubernatorial primaries in Zamfara State APC and Imo State APGA
Chapters, also allowed you a glimpse at our basic motivation for this
communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thus call upon your
goodself, and INEC, to do the needful and right thing in the circumstances –
notify the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) that in view of their not having
conducted a Primary election to select their candidate for the gubernatorial
elections within the period set by INEC for such elections, the party (APGA)
will not be allowed to field a candidate for the 2019 Gubernatorial elections
in Imo State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">What we have requested of
your goodself and INEC is squarely within the powers of INEC to make. In the
unfortunate event that you choose not to positively adhere to our call, we
shall be at liberty to explore other means available within the scope of
legalities and Nigerian laws, including recourse to litigation, to ensure that
the spirit and intendments of the Electoral Act are complied with and met. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Please remain assured of
our high regards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Your truly,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">For: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eze Eluchie & Associates<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Eze Eluchie</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Esq.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Solicitor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Pix: INEC Chair</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">man</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">: </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Professor Mahmood Yakubu</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></i></div>
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<br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-88675124917915135212018-10-22T22:31:00.002+02:002018-10-22T22:31:19.836+02:00The Blood of Biafrans Inc.: Using the Blood of Her Martyrs as a Tool to Fleece a People.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 17.3333px;"><b><i>by Eze Eluchie,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 17.3333px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over half a
century after the formal end of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War (the Biafra
Genocide) during which over 2 million people, mostly of the Igbo nation were
killed, the term ‘Biafra’, following from the collective devastation, losses
suffered in human and material developmental terms, retains deep emotional
connotations to the Igbo peoples of South Eastern Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Palpable and
sustained acts of exclusion, deprivation and deliberate physical
underdevelopment of the region by the central government in the Nigerian
federation has served to push the ordinarily resilient and resourceful Igbo
youth to the cozy embrace of smart alecs who are ever willing to, without any
genuine thoughts for the peoples welfare or ‘liberation’ beyond individual
self-aggrandizement, feast on the sense of ‘marginalization’ to reap bountiful
pecuniary and egoistic harvests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smart Alecs:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With tens of
millions of energetic and creative youths, disillusioned with the inequitable
and unjust Nigerian system to feast upon, it did not take too long for
characters that, to all intents and purposes are no different from con-artists,
to cash in for the kill – to seek to enrich themselves, using the emotions and
pains suffered and felt by the peoples of South Eastern Nigeria during the
Biafra Genocide as bait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oddly enough,
when the leadership of these supposedly ‘Biafra actualization’ organizations
are confronted to provide basic specifics of their agitation, such as (i) What
really is the territorial area of the proposed ‘Biafra’?; (ii) Will the
proposed ‘Biafra’ be a secular, religious or ethnic entity?; (iii) What efforts
are being made to ensure genuine grassroots ownership of the agitation
process?; the response is often combative accusations of ‘sabotage’. What the leadership
of these organizations have in abundance is: smart ways to raise easy cash from
the millions who are endeared to the concept of Biafra, the belief in freedoms,
liberty and egalitarian spirit – ideals quite distant from the Nigeria of
today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Movement for the
Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Firstly, an
amorphous organization, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign
State of Biafra (MASSOB) created by a supposedly India-trained Lawyer, Ralph
Uwazuruike, comes on board - without any discernible plan or chart towards
‘actualizing’ its purpose. With unemployment rates in the 80% to 85% range and
the streets of urban and rural communities in the South East region clogged
with illions of youths, “stay-at-home” orders and rallies to ‘actualize the
State of Biafra’ clearly proved a very popular tool for mobilization – MASSOB
wasted no time in honing in on this. Under Uwazuruike’s ‘leadership’, MASSOB
unleashed such scams products as: (1) the sales of Biafra International Travel
Passports; (2) production and sale of Biafra currencies; (3) production and
sale of Republic of Biafra Identity Cards; amongst other paraphernalia. Despite
raking in millions of Dollars from the sale of the above items, the leadership
of Uwazuruike’s ASSSOB failed to tell their hapless followers that they (the MASSOB
leadership) traversed the globe in their Nigeria International Travel
Passports, retained truck loads of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, with which
they acquired massive estates and lived very luxurious lifestyles above the dreams
of millions of their followers; and had valid Nigerian Identity Cards with
which they navigated various bureaucratic hurdles of existence in Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One major
expository fraud of the Uwazuruike MASSOB was when they pranked the now late
war-time leader of the Biafra Republic, Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu, to visit
Washington DC., USA, to ‘open’ the Biafra House’ in the United States. Upon his
arrival in the United States, Ikemba Ojukwu was led to a multi-storey office complex
located at No. 1717 K Street, Suite 600, Washington DC 20036, USA., where a
‘ribbon cutting’ ceremony was lavishly celebrated, with the Rising Sun Biafra
Flag majestically swaying with the winds atop a flag post on the premises. As
lavish and emotional prayers were said at the venue, Ojukwu was palpably close
to tears, believing that he was in the midst of persons who had any iota of
genuineness and integrity. Alas, at the end of the events, as the Ikemba Ojukwu
entourage were still a few blocks away from the ‘Biafra House’, the flag Ojukwu
had heroically saluted, was lowered (and has never been raised till this date)
– the MASSOB folks, whilst fooling the late Biafran leader that they had
acquired a building, had merely paid per the hour on a premises that had
conference and virtual office facilities for hire. Cold as Death. If they could
do this to Ikemba Odiegwu Ojukwu, these characters <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Indigenous Peoples of Biafra
(IPOB)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Piqued at
not being able to access what he deemed a commensurate part of the loot MASSOB
had succeeded in fleecing their membership and believers in the ‘Biafra cause’,
a young, then unemployed loquacious charismatic youth, Nnamdi Kanu, who had manned
MASSOB’s efforts at enlarging their constituents via use of online social media
facilities opted to break out and create a separate outfit – the Indigenous
Peoples of Biafra, with the Radio Biafra London (RBL) as its main thrust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Coasting on
the wings of the immense reach of RBL’s internet-based mediu, the inability of most
of its listenership to discern between empty boasts laced with outright lies
and spiced with abusive vomits on the one hand, and practicality and reality on
the other, IPOB’s popularity amongst Igbo youths exponentially soared. Mazi
Kanu was able to amass a cult-like followership for himself within a period of
less than 2 years. Cashing in on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kanu-mania</i>,
plots to fleece the hapless youths disenchanted with the Nigerian situation
were immediately rolled out. Such fairy tale ideas as (a) the need for arms
purchases for a ‘Biafra guerrilla force; (b) the need to purchase radio transmitting
equipment to rival those of the British BBC; (c) the need to raise and sustain
a Biafra Secret Service and other bureaucratic establishments; amongst others
fables, as spurious as they are and sound, proved to be money-spinning tales for
the IPOB leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Donations
rolled in, in the millions of Dollars from all over the world, as some Igbo’s
who fell for the scam had genuinely thought that a ‘saviour had come’ – some
actually equated Mazi Kanu to the Jewish exodus inspiration and leader, Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Using its
propaganda outlet, the Radio Biafra London, ludicrous stories were bandied
about of support for IPOB and ‘Biafra independence’ from such world leaders as
Donald Trump, Benjamin Natenyahu, Angela Merkel and so on. News was likewise disseminated
that several international organizations such as the United Nations, the Africa
Union, and the West African regional body, ECOWAS, had already reserved space
for the ‘Biafra Flag’ and a delegation from IPOB in their meetings. These lies,
ridiculous and laughable as they were, proved infectious. Repeated and
garnished with rumours, the lies attained a life of their own and further embellished
the invisibility and deity status of the IPOB leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the dates
for the commencement of ‘guerrilla warfare’ and the BBC-like broadcasts passed
and became elusive, the major donors towards the IPOB cause, who were in real terms,
victims of a sophisticated scam, began to demand for refunds. It was at the
stage that the Federal Government effected the arrest of Mazi Kanu. The arrest
of Nnamdi Kanu, inadvertently proved to be the IPOB leaders saving grace from
the clutches of those who he had fleeced of huge sums. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inept State
Interventions.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As with the
case of MASSOBs Uwazuruike, the arrest by State authorities, prolonged
extra-judicial detentions, failure to abide by due process and the rule of law
in prosecuting suspects and palpable partiality in the treatment of persons merely
congregating in pursuit of the universally enshrined and accepted right to
self-actualization on the one hand and extremist Islamist terrorists on the
other (with the former unfortunately harshly maltreated whilst the later are
accorded red carpet-like papering by Nigeria State operators), swiftly and
justifiably, transformed detainees associated with the clamour for Biafra (no matter
how uncoordinated and farfetched such clamour is) to super-hero status in the
perception of most Igbo’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unprofessional
and grotesque response by Nigeria State security and military operatives which
led to more extra-judicial killings, maiming and destruction of properties in
diverse locations in Igbo land, such as in Aba, Owerri, Onitsha and elsewhere,
served to galvanize and strengthen support for what is supposed to be ‘the
Biafra cause’. This inadvertently or indirectly, made characters who
ordinarily, after extracting huge financial benefits to themselves, would have simply
faded with the winds, continue to remain in circulation, albeit with less sway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Post-incarceration
period.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In an odd
twist of faith, after the originators of the twin identified organizations
which were able to commercialize the concept of Biafra for self aggrandizement
have had a prolonged encounter in the custody of the Nigerian government and
its notoriously sleazy approach at addressing issues, the said originators
seemingly capitulate and adopt stance that were hitherto at variance with the
ideals they had previously projected and expressed a willingness to ‘pay the
ultimate price’ for. In the case of Ralph Uwazuruike, soon after his prolonged
‘incarceration’, he came out a “new person”, willing to enter into alliance
with such characters as the Chief security Officer and henchman to Nigeria’s
brutal dictator, General Sani Abacha, Major Al-Mustapha, and profess lines and
positions that were clearly at variance with the views of the an overwhelming
majority of Igbo’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the case
of Mazi Kanu, after an absence of several months from public glare, when all manners
of theories were ventilated on how the Nigerian State might have eliminated the
once loquacious IPOB leader, Kanu, in a most suspect manner deftly reappeared
in public supposedly via a radio broadcast on his RBL. Ironically, in the
broadcast supposedly made by Mazi Kanu’s, listeners were baffled that the IPOB
leader who appeared incapable of making any sentence without raining abuses and
ethno-religious invectives on Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, appeared
quite civil and respectful in his statements, as though very concerned not to
hurt President Buhari. Rather Mazi Kanu opted to, against the widespread
accepted desire of the Igbo peoples to use the democratic opportunities created
by the forthcoming general elections to make their views known on the direction
of Nigeria, urged the members of his IPOB (who are all Igbo’s) to boycott the
209 general elections – a boycott that will strengthen the existing status quo
in Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Going forward:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like MASSOBs
Uwazuruike before him, IPOBs Kanu is clearly, with his continuing opting to
take positions at variance with the generality of the Igbo nation since his
interaction with the Nigerian State, on a path that will consign him to the
side lines as the ever pragmatic Igbo’s continue in their legitimate quest for
self-actualization, self-determination and general wellbeing within a
restructured and renegotiated Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vigilance is
urged, to ensure that going forward, the victims and descendants of victims of
the Biafra Genocide, will not allow opportunists to exploit their grief and
lack of closure for pecuniary gains. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are
countless peoples of the South East region and others interested in the cause
of Justice, Accountability for international cries, Ensuring Closure over past
acts of ass atrocities, Equality, Self-determination and Self-actualization,
who are assiduously working towards the lofty goals itemized above – these peoples,
comprised of ordinary folks, activists, professionals and peoples from all
works of life, are conscious of the fact that there are established diverse
procedures and protocols to attain desired quests, and will continue on these
paths till desired goals are attained. The immediate victims and descendants of
victims of the Biafra genocide should thus be at liberty to engage and interrogate
future agitations to ascertain the genuineness and goodfaith of such quests –
and not merely be used, fleeced and duped, as has thus far been the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The era for
those who feast on the blood of martyrs, trampling on the graves of the victims
of a most atrocious episode in our history, the Biafra Genocide, for pecuniary
gains, must not be allowed to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Picturea: {Pix 1} MASSOB leader, Ralph
Uwazuruike, alongside now deceased war-time leader of the Biafra Republic, Ikemba
Odimegwu Ojukwu at the ‘opening of ‘Biafra House’ in Washington DC; {Pix 2} IPOB
leader, Nnamdi Kanu, receiving obeisance from his members.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUgP-QkO_QNuGhahe1ryVmyQ6eeT47gXiwkPk1LGfxVYcfv-bM1cmjrFGi64i4wvE6sX23JFEvU_Ouznq8V_De1SbOMA09EDUaGd2zPdidhR_ZPYhIsTHGMP9jQVFIsSO1SW_TDvREyDO/s1600/Biafra2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="596" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUgP-QkO_QNuGhahe1ryVmyQ6eeT47gXiwkPk1LGfxVYcfv-bM1cmjrFGi64i4wvE6sX23JFEvU_Ouznq8V_De1SbOMA09EDUaGd2zPdidhR_ZPYhIsTHGMP9jQVFIsSO1SW_TDvREyDO/s400/Biafra2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-51175185099888603232018-09-13T01:20:00.002+02:002018-09-13T11:52:19.898+02:00Chinese Loans to Nigeria: Need to ascertain the validity of loans supposedly advanced to the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Peoples Republic of China.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><b><i>by Eze Eluchie,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Your Excellency, President
Xi Jinping,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The General Secretary of
the Communist Party of China<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">c/o Embassy of China to
Nigeria<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Abuja.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Dear Sir,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">CHINESE LOANS TO NIGERIA: NEED TO ASCERTAIN THE VALIDITY OF LOANS SUPPOSEDLY ADVANCED TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Firstly, kindly accept our
heartfelt congratulations on the firm and masterly manner you have steered the affairs
of your country, leading her to enviable heights amongst nations. Your unique achievements which have now served to position The People’s
Republic as a global leader and lead advocate for Free Trade, International Commerce,
shared prosperity and multilateralism, particularly in the face of increasing
introspective stance of the United States, is most commendable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Likewise, your leadership
role in striving to create alternate structures for global commerce and
international engagement, and increasing financial, military and technical
resources available to diverse entities and countries across the world,
increasingly solidifies China’s position as a rising constant in global
affairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">It is with regards to the item
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, “making financial.....resources available
to diverse entities and countries”, with particular reference to financial
assistance and loans purportedly accorded the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that
we now have cause to engage in this correspondence with your Office. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">There has been a
noticeable spike in the reports and numbers of Loans and financial facilities
advanced from your Government and Chinese financial institutions, ostensibly to
the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The loans and Financial
facilities announced to have been accorded the current Muhammadu Buhari-led government
in the course of the past three years has been unprecedented in the annals of
Nigeria’s history and probably attaining unmanageable proportions, leading to
serious concerns being raised in informed circles in Nigeria regarding the utility, authenticity
and legal status of such loans and facilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">As Your Excellency may
well be aware, or have been informed by the Embassy of China in Nigeria, there
are peculiar Constitutional and administrative prerequisites which serve to
accord validity and legality to and authenticate any agreements (inclusive of agreements
according Nigeria international loans and financial facilities) entered into
(or purported to have been entered into) on behalf of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. When such prerequisites are absent, agreements purported to have been
entered into with the Federal Republic of Nigeria are non-committal and not
worth the paper they are written on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">I will like to bring to
your notice the fact that Section </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">1</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">1</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">999 (as amended), clearly stipulates that for any treaty entered
into by officials of the Nigerian State to be valid and obligate the Nigerian
state, such treaty must be ratified and domesticated by Nigeria’s National Assembly.
Sections 80 – 83 of the same Constitution also outlaws any withdrawal of funds from
Nigeria’s national treasury without prior authorization from the national Assembly
– inclusive of repayments for and servicing of financial facilities earlier
advanced..</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">A combination of the twin
provisions of the Nigerian Constitution highlighted above absolves the Government
and peoples of the Federal Republic of Nigeria fro</span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">m</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> obligations and liabilities
of whatsoever treaties entered into by any individual or entities whatsoever (inclusive
of any present occupant of the Office of President of the Federal Republic), purporting
to act for the Nigerian State. The Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot be held
liable or obligated for Loans and or financial facilities and any other commitments
or covenants purportedly entered into on Nigeria’s behalf which said </span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">agreements</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">/treaties were not
ratified and domesticated by the Nigerian National Assembly.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The caveats being raised
here are particularly germane when the increasing agitation for holistic restructuring
and renegotiation of Nigeria and the skewed and opaque manner with which the
loans and financial facilities sourced from The Peoples Republic are deployed, are factored
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Let it be clearly pointed
out at this juncture that this is not a call to cease all bilateral
relationships and developmental collaborations and exchanges with the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, rather it is a call for increased diligence and adherence
to due processes towards ensuring that in reality when agreements are intended
to be entered into with the Federal Republic, it is indeed the Federal Republic
that is a party in such agreement and not merely some smart alecs (in both
China and Nigeria) who are lining their pockets whilst purporting to enter into
non-existent, non-binding bogus loan agreements and financial dealings. With knowledge of your governments swift and resolute stance against corruption by officials, we have no doubt that issues raised here will be accorded the urgent attention they deserve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Let it also not be mistaken
that this correspondence, in any way, serves to encourage disinterest in or does not welcome Chinese investments in
Nigeria and across Africa in line with the noise orchestrated by some reactionary
forces who have themselves bled Nigeria and the African continent dry for quite
awhile – all investment which profit the domestic population are welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Remain assured of our high
regards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">For: Alert Citizenry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Eze Eluchie, Esq.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: The
Nigerian and Chinese Presidents, Muhammadu Buhari and President Xi Jinping.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxIbr-SneXYY9iGBAF_IdfNzq5FmGFvj1bippt6PK_J49e1nBExNRVosbmO2e6_e0Mkv3_JB8BPLYCuR0gVFWbSt9EBc3Kj-E_6P3lBGq597j1QKkE8MPXwHkr7qoq4CKGTNqOdFLXbw1/s1600/Bbub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="899" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxIbr-SneXYY9iGBAF_IdfNzq5FmGFvj1bippt6PK_J49e1nBExNRVosbmO2e6_e0Mkv3_JB8BPLYCuR0gVFWbSt9EBc3Kj-E_6P3lBGq597j1QKkE8MPXwHkr7qoq4CKGTNqOdFLXbw1/s400/Bbub.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1728974763278015105.post-69336028981115105442018-09-04T00:41:00.001+02:002018-09-04T00:45:42.701+02:00As Another Mass Suicide Staged as ‘a Syrian Government Chemical Attack’ looms.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Eze Eluchie<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the
Syrian military and their Russian backers mass around the city of Idlib for
what promises to be one-hell-of-a-dog-fight to retake the last remaining
stronghold of the rebels in Syria, a battle that will, like others before in Allepo,
Ghouta and Douma, end in favour of the forces of Bashir al-Assad, the rebels
will as usual, try their oft repeated ploy to elicit a congregation of global
revulsion against the Syrian Government by unleashing a suicidal attack against
rebel held territories with the aim of eliciting global condemnation and blame
for the attack on Syrian authorities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When it is
realized that slightly over </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">0,000 thousand Al-Nusra, Al-Qeida and other extremist
Islamist terrorist are embedded with more than 2 million people in Idlib,
terrorists who have shown a propensity for suicidal attacks and repeatedly
exhibited no qualms in self-sacrifice and inflicting harms on self to spite the
‘enemy’, one understands the real possibility of the terrorists doing
whatsoever they imagine would discredit the al-Assad regime – including recourse
to using chemical weapons in rebel-held Idlib.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Threats by
the US administration to strike at Syrian government forces in the event that chemical
weapons are used in efforts at liberating Idlib can only serve to strengthen the
resolve of the terrorists elements in Idlib to commit acts of </span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">m</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">ass suicide of epic
proportions to engender global </span><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">condemnation</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> of President al-Assad and set up a likely confrontation between US and Russian forces, who
have rightly committed towards helping their Syrian allies to ensure territorial
integrity of Syria is maintained.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It will
really be ideal for safe-corridors to be provided for civilians and combatants who
are willing to lay down their arms, trapped in Idlib, to exit the city, to
allow for an expedited end to the now 7-year old Syrian civil war. The human
catastrophe the Syrian civil war should be brought to an end as soon as
possible to allow for the commencement of the rebuilding of this once great and
historic territory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Picture: Children being
fronted in protests against planned Syrian military efforts to liberate the
last remaining rebel-held city of Idlib.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3h8sNtw9q3WYLsRJpoGfgbxM6si_IEx2HXnrk4WMqzaO1RQ1CR2yVNmpvqSo4CBgiF1jP60VkWtS2jsX-GxD7AM1ptyx4GQ1aWAgEi40AboUgcmS9GiMTwt88PwMpri5pQeFOR9F3eOUG/s1600/idlib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="230" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3h8sNtw9q3WYLsRJpoGfgbxM6si_IEx2HXnrk4WMqzaO1RQ1CR2yVNmpvqSo4CBgiF1jP60VkWtS2jsX-GxD7AM1ptyx4GQ1aWAgEi40AboUgcmS9GiMTwt88PwMpri5pQeFOR9F3eOUG/s400/idlib.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Freemindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553412737956890696noreply@blogger.com0