The Worst Nigerian Awards for Year 2014

by Eze Eluchie

It is with sorrowful hearts filled with longings as to what might have been if the winners of the awards been bestowed today had, rather than the path they had paced, opted to contribute positively towards societal advancement, that the winners of the 2^nd edition of the Annual The Worst Nigerians Awards are today announced.

Considering that so many others, via their various untoward acts which served to ensure the comatose and retrogressive state of the Nigerian polity, were in contention as recipients of the Awards for 2014, the eventual winners of these Awards (losers in real terms) outshined the rest in negativity.

The Annual Worst Nigerians Awards is geared towards highlighting some of the entities who have caused us to be where we are whilst the rest of the world keeps on forging ahead. It is hoped that those who are bestowed with this Awards will strive to ensure that the purge themselves of the persona which attracted such bestowal and that others who are towing the path of infamy will have sufficient motivation to make a reverse for the betterment of self and State.

As usual, the Awards are in 4 categories, and the winners are:

The Worst Corporate Entity:

For its continuing leadership role in the pollution and destruction of the Nigerian environment, rendering thousands of hectares of virgin coastal and mangrove territories uninhabitable to all living things (man, plants, animals and whatsoever); using its wealth of resources to unscrupulously scuttle whatsoever efforts the populations directly affected by their prospecting and production operations may explore to seek redress for various injustices; institutionalizing the practice of using military and police forces, maintained and paid for by tax payers, against the very tax payers and members of the public such security agencies are meant to protect; Shell Petroleum Development Company (and the  various pseudonyms under which it operates) is hereby bestowed with the Worst Corporate Entity for 2014.

The Worst Governor/State Agency:

One clear reason why the Nigerian polity remains where it is whist others are advancing could be traceable to the fact that the contenders for this Award were quite numerous – the very people who ought to have served to bring governance closer to the people became the albatross of the people. Competition for this particular Award was quite stiff, with the eventual winner outscoring his closest rival, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State merely by his internationalization and broad implications of his misgovernance on not just the residents and citizens of his State, but the entire Nigerian State and beyond.

For serving as the arrowhead of the politicization of extremist Islamist terrorism in Nigeria; presiding over a territory where some of the vilest acts of terror experienced anywhere in the world in year 2014 occurred - the ‘abduction’ of school girls in Chibok, rushing abroad soon after the said abduction to appear before various media outlets to embark on a campaign of calumny against the Nigerian State over terror; announcing to the world that he had knowledge of where the Chibok ‘abductees’ were being held; presenting various ‘students’ (who somehow evade the various military road blocks all over his State to show up at the Government House in the capital city) as escapees from the terrorists; and ultimately profiting handsomely from terror by continually collecting billions of U.S. Dollars from the Nigerian treasury under the guise of his States allocation from the national revenue, when in reality his authority does not extend beyond the State capital city; the character presently occupying the exalted office of Governor of Bornu State in Nigeria’s north-eastern region, Mr. Kashim Shettima is hereby bestowed with the The Worst Governor/State Agency Award for 2014.

The Worst Federal Minister/Federal Agency

The holder of this Award from 2013 has in no way altered his mannerisms. Deliberate acts and omissions of the awardee for 2014 serve to stand him out for extra recognition. From using a sham consultancy outfit to superintend over a recruitment exercise in the Immigration Service, an exercise which unfortunately led to the demise of several young unemployed Nigerians who had been conned into paying to die – homicides for which no responsibility has till date been acknowledged;  to disgraceful mass outbreaks in Prisons all over the country; to a failure to resign from his office in the face of glaring incompetence, a failure which served to portray the Nigerian State as a State where government appointees can get away with whatsoever, including murder; the Minister in charge of the Federal Ministry of Interior of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Abba Moro is hereby bestowed with the Award of The Worst Federal Minister/Federal Agency for Year 2014.

The Worst Nigerian.

In most other climes, those who have been opportune to hold the highest political offices in their countries, often retire to a serene and highly respected lifestyle where they routinely advise their successors on how best to advance the polity. When however a man who has held such highest office, not once, but twice, ruling over his country for an unprecedented 10 years – years of waste and evil, decides upon retirement, to do all he can to create disquiet and division, champion anarchy and bequeath a legacy of lies and deliberate distortion of history and reality with a view to presenting himself as a ‘messiah’, then something really devious is afoot.

Perpetually embroiled in very publicized conflicts with his immediate family, ever exchanging verbal attacks with his peers in uniform and in politics, an uncouth character lacking in morals and intellect and unworthy to serve as a model to any desirous of progress, Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-dictator and ex-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has by almost unanimity of nominations retained the award he won last year and is hereby once more bestowed with the Award of Worst Nigerian for Year 2014.

It is sincerely hoped that these Awards will serve its desired goals of dissuading those who may be inclined to toe the odious path laid by the awardees hereby presented to think twice and change course and ultimately spare the Nigerian polity and the international community at large the pains occasioned by the lives and activities of winners of the Worst Nigerians Awards.

The Worst Nigerian  Award Trophy 

Nigeria: Tackling Terror all alone

by Eze Eluchie

In response to the 9-11 attacks, the United States dealt a massive blow to whatever was associated with terror wheresoever – Americans, and the civilized world, fell behind their Government till the needful was achieved;

In response to the attack on the School in Beslan, Russian authorities dealt a massive blow to whatever was associated with terror wheresoever – Russians, and the civilized world, fell behind their Government till the needful was achieved;

In response to the attack on the Army-run School in Peshawar, the Pakistani Government is striking hard at whatever is associated with terror wheresoever – Pakistanis, and the civilized world, are falling behind their Government till the needful is achieved;

In response to the several dastardly terror attacks in Nigeria, whatsoever efforts at striking hard at terror is met, from within, with ‘spurious and incredulous allegations of infringement of the rights of terrorists/terror suspects’ and commission of ‘war crimes’ - led by the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission and his cohorts; anti-government/anti-country rallies which embolden terrorists to cause more mayhem – led by #bringbackourgirls gang and their cohorts (certainly, if the originators of this group were Pakistanis, they would by now have initiated a #bringbackourstudents gang in response to the Taliban attacks at the Army-run school near Peshawar); and using the instrument of a most archaic and ineffective judicial process to scuttle whatsoever efforts at tackling terror; Resulting in a loss of morale amongst Nigerian troops, directly emboldening the terrorists, and generating a sense of fear in a population and polity now living at the mercy of terror.

From outside our shores, publications in the mold of the New York Times who are now reporting the successful liquidation of some elements of the Taliban militants in Pakistan in the wake of the vicious attack on the Army-run school in Peshawar  would have turned round to also levy all sorts of accusations against the Nigerian Government, its Military and its Peoples for a successful counter attacks against Boko Haram elements. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/world/asia/pakistan-school-militants.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0 ); In addition, strong lobbying syndicates continue to successfully propagate the illusion that Boko Haram is a 'socio-cultural response to years of marginalization of Northern Nigeria', toeing the line of renowned terror-apologists.

At the inter-State level, some countries, such as the United States, have under opaque considerations for 'human rights violations' declined to sell much needed military hardware to the Nigerian military; others, such as South Africa explore every and all means to blight the country as it seeks to acquire such weapons via other channels, and yet other minion players in the international scene, such as Chad, acting out the script of their colonial over-Lords, deliberately create a ruse of brokering 'ceasefire agreements' with terrorists, all aimed at portraying Nigeria in not so good light in terms of the war against terror.

Nigeria, it appears, is fighting terror virtually all alone. Whilst we are supporting our troops and Government in this noble venture and rooting for success; the discerning worldwide, realize that the consequences of the worst case scenario in Nigeria will transcend our borders.

Picture: Nigerian soldiers deploying for duty

Physician, heal thyself: US Senate Intelligence Committee Report on CIA Torture

by Eze Eluchie

As I read through the US Senate Intelligence Committees Report on the CIA’s use of Torture, what the spy agency craftily refers to as Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT), there is a palpable feeling of astonishment, shock and disbelief. 

The increasing global revulsion and condemnation about the use of diverse torture methods by the US in its treatment of its detainees, is, in the light of the very vociferous nature with which the US condemns those it refers to as rogue States who torture and terrorize people, very much expected. One immediately wonders as to what moral authority the US has to cast aspersions at North Korea, China or any other country for that matter.

The reality that the United States Government and some of her agencies spend huge sums on educational programs for law enforcement agencies in other countries, including mine – Nigeria, under the guise of imparting knowledge of human right issues and on the need to avoid torture, at a period when the agencies of the US administration are neck deep in torturing suspects and using unwholesome interrogation techniques, smirks of blatant hypocrisy.

The release of this report on the eve of the United Nations International Human Rights day is quite ironic and devastating.

The United States needs to urgently rediscover and redefine itself.

Picture: Torture (electrocution) technique.

The Jonathan Administration: Entering self-destruct mode?

by Eze Eluchie

With the ease with which terrorist elements brandish military hardware they seize from Nigeria’s military forces, it is natural to expect suppliers of such equipment to express some reservations with regards to providing more sensitive and technologically up-to-date military equipment to an army that cannot guarantee safe custody of such weapons and are prone to losing same to criminal elements or worse still, whose top brass may surreptitiously be ‘handing over’ such weapons to terrorists. Some equipment in Nigeria’s military arsenal, the prior loss of which had not been made known to the Nigerian public, which Boko Haram had displayed with glee in some of its video releases include, Tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers and endless cache of M-16 and AK-47 guns.     

The above scenario clearly founded the reluctance of United States authorities to sell “Cobra attack helicopters” to the Nigerian military – a reluctance which certainly did not augur well with the some at the helm of affairs in Nigeria.

The further escalation of the situation by Nigeria’s cancellation of ongoing Military Training exercises   for our soldiers being conducted by the United States military is an ill-thought, most unfortunate and deplorable descent into very murky waters.

The following issues immediately come into focus:

1.      Who in heavens name in the Jonathan administration suggested the discontinuation of training programs for Officers and men of the Nigerian Army by United States military authorities?

2.      What was the intended outcome of such discontinuation?

3.      Was it merely to ensure the continuations of schism with an entity the administration can least afford a confrontation with? Is there a ‘Plan B’?

4.      Considering that key allies of the US will not step in to fill the void, did those who proffered this discontinuation foresee alternative arrangements with other countries and the logistic and lingual barriers such alternatives may pose?

This discontinuation is akin to the push by some elements in the Nigerian Government, led by the present Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Adebowale Adefuye, to frustrate earlier efforts to designate Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), an effort which portrayed the present administration as bereft of unified approach at tackling terror and unable to pinpoint its enemies/problems.

By all means, you can make new friends, but certainly not in the middle of a war! You stick to the folks you are familiar with and if there are differences, you amicably sort it out. Not cut off relationships!

Mr. President, if you are looking for 5^th columnists in your ranks, look no further than the source of the advice to discontinue and cut off military ties with the US. And if, per chance, God forbid, the advice and decision was initiated by your goodself, then clearly Mr. President, the administration has taken further action which appears to set it in a ‘self-destruct’ mode.

With the abundance of anarchist elements posturing as 'opposition politicians', and a full fledged terrorist onslaught at its northeastern flanks, the Nigerian Government is least equipped to take on a cunning and swift extra-powerful opponent. 

Avoid schisms. Make peace!

Picture: Training session US soldier and Nigerian soldiers

Mr. President, bring back the boys, NOW!

One of the oddities peculiar to the Nigerian State is that we give out what we lack and purchase what we have in abundance - of particular import here is our penchant to contribute to international peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions in foreign lands whilst our homeland is afire and our seeming relentless thirst for imported refined petroleum products with our oil-rich Niger Delta region awash with cheaply available sweet Brent crude..

I was stunned when it was brought to my attention that despite the several embarrassing loss of territory routinely suffered by the Nigerian military to the rag-tag Islamist terror outfit, Nigeria still remains one of the top 5 contributors to United nations Peace Keeping (and enforcement) missions.

For several years, the top hierarchy of the Nigerian military and their collaborators in the relevant Federal Ministries and agencies, have used the platform of ‘international peacekeeping and enforcement missions’, either under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) or Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a ruse to fleece not only the hapless soldiers drafted for such missions (who are shortchanged with regards to their payments and emoluments) but also carve out a sizable slice of our enormous military budget for personal pockets via the award of spurious contracts to supply all manners of articles to ‘deployed troops’.

The involvement of Nigerian troops had been clothed and sold as a dummy to an unsuspecting Nigerian population under a bogus ‘Afrocentric foreign policy’ which sought to portray Nigeria as the ‘giant of Africa’ and thus ever ready to provide troops, personnel or whatsoever required to stabilize our neighboring ‘African brothers-States’.

Well, with the advent of sustained Islamist terror insurgency in our northeastern region, and the apparent inability of our Forces to effectively contain and rout the terrorists, whatsoever arguments that might have founded the continued deployment of Nigerian soldiers,  Policemen and other military or para-military forces outside the shores and territory of Nigeria has been clearly debunked and rendered unreasonable.

Data available at the United Nations Peacekeeping websites is to the effect that as at today, Nigeria has Military and Police personnel stationed at the following Missions: United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MUNUSCO), African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), and only Military Forces at the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Commonsense should dictate that all Nigerian soldiers and policemen currently stationed in these various foreign peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions should be recalled home immediately to contribute their quota towards saving the ‘motherland’. If they continue to stay outside, at going rates, they may not have any country to return to if urgent steps to reverse ongoing trends are not taken.

Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief, it’s time to face realities: bring the boys back home, NOW!

Picture: Some Nigerian troops deployed in one of several United Nations Peacekeeping Mission where they are currently serving.

Mr. President, nip this mess in its bud, NOW!

by Eze Eluchie

The unruly events which played out in the National Assembly yesterday, when some Legislators and hired thugs in a most unbecoming fashion, scaled the gates of the National Assembly compound and forcefully gained entrance into the premises of our National Assembly, if not properly addressed could signal the commencement of a quickened slide down the path of infamy which most observers have long foretold will be Nigeria’s lot since we have failed to effectively restructure and renegotiate our polity.

Under no circumstance should the ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, and whatever number of unruly elements he might be able to assemble, have been allowed to desecrate the hallowed chambers of our National Assembly.

Whilst I congratulate the security officials stationed at the gates of the National Assembly for exercising utmost restraint in the face of attempts at forced entry into the premises of the National assembly earlier this morning, it behooves on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure that the laws are implemented with regards to persons disrespecting lawful orders issued by Police and Security authorities in the dispensation of their duties and people forcefully trying to gain entry into secured premises irrespective of whatsoever positions they may hold in society

I knew we had some dishonorable characters who had infiltrated the membership of our legislative houses; I however never believed in my wildest imaginations that the dishonorable characters were in such huge numbers as was displayed in the shockingly unruly behavior of so many of them as they forcefully entered the premises of the National Assembly today – no wonder we are where we are and the rest of the world are where they are forging to.

To gauge the direction the Nigerian State is drifting to, it is pertinent that the following queries be clarified by the Presidency and the Office of the Inspector General of Police respectfully:
Questions for the Jonathan administration:
1. Did the Presidency actually write a letter to the ex-Speaker to reconvene the House to discuss the extension of the State of Emergency in the northeastern region OR did Mr. Tambuwal decide to storm the National Assembly of his own volition?
2. Considering that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has deposed, in a suit pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja, to the fact that Mr. Aminu Tambuwal’s membership of the House, by virtue of his decamping from the political party via which he was elected into the House of Representatives and in keeping with the provisions of Section 68(1){g} of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic, had expired, who advised the issuance of a letter to the ex-Speaker to reconvene the House? (If indeed a letter was written to Mr. Tambuwal).
The Presidency simply has to get its act together and right. Continued prevarications, docility and unwillingness to proactively and effectively exercise the powers vested in the Presidency by the Nigerian Constitution to ensure stability will boomerang with horrible effects!

Questions for the Police/Security authorities:
3. Why was a contingent of police officers and other security personnel unable to successfully secure the perimeter of the National Assembly from forceful entry by unruly thugs?
4. Was it necessary to have indiscriminately fired Tear Gas canisters within the premises and into the main building of the National Assembly?
5. Why were the characters who scaled the gates of the National Assembly not immediately apprehended and where appropriate charged for relevant offences committed?
6. Has the failure of the Nigeria Police to adequately prosecute other acts of hooliganism by thugs masquerading as members of various Legislative houses across Nigeria contributed in any way to the delusion of immunity being displayed by our supposedly ‘honorable’ Legislators?
Whilst appreciating efforts at enforcement of our laws relating to decamping from political parties [as provided in Section 68(1){g} of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic] being exercised by the current Inspector General of Police, it must be stated that such aggressive law enforcement must be equally implemented across political divides. Having taken the rightful position that a defection during the pendency of an elected public officials tenure amounts to an abdication from Office, the IGP should have likewise visited other defectors, since the Mr. Tambuwal episode, with similar consequences.

And to those who, under the pretext of partisan activism, continue to fan the embers of illegality and desecration of the Constitution by denying the fact that Mr. Tambuwal vacated his membership of the House of Representatives when he defected from the party via which he gained membership of the HOR, bear in mind that when the polity goes up in the flames we are all stoking up, there will be no hiding place for any.

For sanity to prevail, the Police authorities MUST identify the members of the House of Representatives who scaled the gates to forcefully gain entrance, and others who acted in similar manner to gain access into the House and take necessary legal action, including prosecution where deemed appropriate.

There simply must be a limit to the depth we are willing to descend.



Our Courts have repeatedly held that defection tantamount to loss of membership of the Legislative House (http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/court-declares-house-reps-seat-vacant/ ).  Mr. Mark Reckless defection from the British Conservative Party to the UK Independence Party, triggered the recent by-election won by the UKIP (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30140747 ). When the Mayor of Drogheda, Kevin Callan, resigned from his political party, Fine Gael, he honorably relinquished his position as Mayor ( http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/fine-gael-mayor-resigns-from-party-over-water-charges-controversy-30712030.html ). Why should Mr. Tambuwal's be different? Why can we not learn from where systems work?


Video of a past episode of a legislator (Mr. Chidi Lloyd, in white native dress in the video) almost clubing his colleague to death in the Rivers State House of Assembly ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zX388EnB5I )

Picture: Minority Leader of the House of Representatives (Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, in white shirt descending the gate, who unfortunately is enrolled as a member of the Bar inthe United States) and some of his colleagues, scaling the gate of the National Assembly in Abuja (20th November 2014)

How not to tackle terror.

by Eze Eluchie

The continued bickering by two Federal Government agencies with prosecutorial powers, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Security (DSS), over who will conduct the prosecution of the principal suspect in the April 14^th 2014 Nyanya (Abuja) bomb blast, Mr. Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, is simply a mind-boggling national embarrassment!!!

Since his July 15^th extradition to Nigeria, squabbles in open court, in one instance open verbal altercations between counsels representing federal agencies, between the NPF and the DSS over who will prosecute Mr. Ogwuche has caused multiple adjournment of the self-confessed terrorists’ trial.

When one realizes that overall prosecutorial powers of the Federal Government is vested in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the question that readily comes to mind is: Why is the occupant of the Office of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice allowing the continuing international ridicule and mockery of Nigeria to continue over the shameful indecision as to which agency has powers and right to prosecute a terrorism suspect whom the international community, through InterPol, had compelled the Sudanese Government to repatriate to Nigeria?

Who will blame InterPol if they refuse to cooperate with our ‘intelligence’ and Police authorities over future requests for extradition of suspects? Who will point fingers at other countries if they choose not to share intelligence related towards tackling terrorism issues with us?

If the Federal Government is not ready to prosecute Mr. Ogbeche, the young man should be allowed to go home forthwith – perhaps, so he can plot and execute more dastardly terror attacks! Clearly, this is portending to be a repeat of the fiasco generated when at the heat of efforts to classify Boko Haram an Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in the United States, some elements within the Nigerian Government had vociferously opposed such efforts, advocating instead, that BH was merely a domestic civil disturbance.

Lack of central coordination and apparent internal misunderstanding and mudslinging in approaches to contain terror, within agencies of government is certainly one clear manner in which not to tackle terror - it sends all the wrong signals.

Again, where is Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice?

Picture: Terror suspect, . Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, upon arrival in Nigeria from Sudan.

A Fraud questioning the integrity of a State?

by Eze Eluchie

Why should Nigerian authorities allow a fraud-prone quasi-criminal contraption like FIFA (the Federation of International Football Associations) continually threaten Nigeria's interests?

Members of the FIFA cabal, inclusive of FIFA President, Josep Blatter, and Confederation of African Football (CAF) President and FIFA Board Member, Issa Hayatou, under normal circumstances, have severally committed acts that could qualify them for incarceration in various jurisdictions - yet these characters dare to malign and threaten Nigeria?

The effrontery of FIFA to issue contemptuous ultimatums against the Nigerian State discountenancing judicial and constitutional processes and rather seeking to ensure the continuation of criminality in our football administration is mind-blowing,  a feat only surpassed by the willingness of some in our clime to harken to the whims of the FIFA mafia. This same FIFA suddenly develops cold feet and becomes inactive when litigation over football issues are ongoing in other countries.

Call the bluff of these miscreants and let us look inwards and build our potentials.

With the advent of the new Cold War and FIFA's decision to accord Russia hosting rights for the 2018 edition of the World Cup, the United States will certainly have greater cause to move after and expose the criminality inherent in the FIFA cabal - their sun appears to be setting.

Picture: Capones of the FIFA Mafia - FIFA President, Sepp Blatter and FIFA Board Member/CAF President, Issa Hayatou.

Nigeria’s “Safe School Initiative Project”: A poorly conceived lame duck idea!

by Eze Eluchie

As part of its response to the several cases of mass killings and mass abductions of students in educational institutions across Nigeria North East zone, the Nigerian Government has in a move which defies logic and common sense, embarked on a novel plan to relocate students from such war-torn areas to other parts of Nigeria where Boko Haram is not perceived as ‘strong’ to enable the children, who are willing, to continue with their education.

Who in heavens name conceived the so-called ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ Project?  Was it ex-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown or Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala?

You want to provide a ‘safe school’ in a war-torn environment?

Whatever happened to efforts to end hostilities as soon as possible?

The perfidy has been upped by moves to send students in the war-torn areas to schools outside their native environments, where the war has, as at yet, not extended to? Really?

And what happens if Boko Haram activities overrun the various ‘unity schools’ to which these children are transferred? You relocate them to yet other schools in other locations? Certainly, this idea is worthy of not just a Global Prize but also an Inter-Galaxy or Inter-Planetary Prize@#%

Relocating these children without taking into consideration the welfare and upkeep of their parents and other family members exposes a fatal flaw in the thought process of those who conceived the ‘safe school initiative’ project. Is the main idea merely to appear to be supporting ‘formal education’? Even where such efforts are at the detriment of the youngsters’ emotional, psychological and social development?

As this piece was about being published, news of a deadly bomb blast targeted at students who were convening for daily morning assembly at the boys-only Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe state, North Eastern Nigeria surfaced - already, the death toll has surpassed 50 (students) with over 70 injured. Perhaps we have one more group of students to relocate under the ‘safe school initiative’ project.  But for how long will this continue?

Have these guys thought about a SAFE SOCIETY PROJECT?




Picture: Corpses of some of the 59 students killed by Boko Haram terrorists at the Government Secondary School, Bunu Yadi, Yobe State. . 

Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives Vacates Seat.

by Eze Eluchie

By announcing his membership of another political party prior to the expiry of the tenure of the House for which he was elected, in the absence of either a division or factionalization in the party which sponsored his nomination into the House of Representatives, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tumbawal, has vacated his seat in the House of Representatives as a Member representing the people of “Sokoto Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency” of Sokoto State, north-west Nigeria!!

The provisions of Section 68{1}(g) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution is explicit and requires nothing else to ensure its enforcement – the pronouncement, by ex-Speaker Tumbawal, of joining the membership of another political party suffices for law enforcement and other agencies of government charged with the enforcement of the Constitution to ensure that the spirit and letters of the Constitution of the Federal Republic is respected and enforced.

Mr. Tambuwal's continued pretense at occupation of the revered position of Speaker and membership of the House of Representatives, after his public pronouncement of becoming a member of another political party other than the one which sponsored his election into the present House of Representatives must be swiftly corrected and visited with the necessary legal and penal consequences, least of which are for impersonation and fraudulent misrepresentation.

An excuse that this explicit provision of our Constitution had not been previously enforced is a non-starter. We must enforce clear cut provisions of our Constitution to avoid the stigma of being regarded/treated with disdain and nonchalance by other actors in the international community and perceived as a ‘banana-republic’.

If we do not begin to take ourselves and our Constitution serious, we may wake up one day down the road from now, only to discover that the President of the Federal Republic, the President of the Senate, a State Governor or other high ranking elected public official has ditched his Nigerian citizenship in favor of a foreign nationality and we will be ruled over by a non-Nigerian, in violation of our Constitution, and be stuck with the lame excuse that previous violations of constitutional provisions as the qualification for contesting or remaining in elective positions had previously been violated without any consequences to the violator.

For starters, the various security agencies must withdraw the retinue of operatives previously attached to Mr. Tambuwal by virtue of his previous position as Speaker of the House of Representatives; the Clerk of the National Assembly must ensure that all properties attached to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives are recovered and kept in safe custody pending when a new Speaker emerges.

Again, where is the Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation?

Let us begin to take ourselves and our laws serious for once!

Picture: Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tumbawal.

Punishing the Heroes: When Politicians Make Public Health Decisions.

 by Eze Eluchie

The unimaginable scenario of a Farmer making decisions as to when and where to conduct an appendectomy or other medical procedures; or a Medical Doctor having the final say of how many floors to add unto a multi-storey complex, is vividly transformed into a real life horror when persons versed in extracting votes from a hard pressed population take upon themselves the arduous responsibility to, without any recourse to available science or relevant professionals, make decisions which adversely impact public health.

The recent decision of some State Governors in the United States (Governors of New York, New Jersey and Illinois States) ordering a mandatory quarantine of all health workers who traveled to work in countries overburdened by EVD upon their return to the States controlled by these Governors, is a most unfortunate and irrational public health decision taken by those who are apparently solely concerned with pandering to the whims of pedestrian fears and posturing to be ‘protecting’ a population scared by misinformation.

The mandatory quarantining of returning health workers is morally and practically equivalent to applying same quarantine policies to US soldiers and military servicemen returning from military operations overseas.

The reality is that these health workers who traveled to EVD ground-zero countries to assist in tackling the disease at source are heroes who are contributing their quota to ensuring that EVD is contained and does not spread around the globe. Actions, such as the knee-jerk policy being implemented in the 3 States of the US mentioned above, which stigmatize and virtually criminalize these health workers upon their return to the United States will directly serve to dissuade professionals whose expertise is greatly needed to stem the spread of EVD from volunteering to serve in countries where they are most required. The mandatory quarantining will serve to dissuade many professionals who are willing to participate in confronting EVD in the countries where it is attaining near endemic status, thus allowing the disease to further proliferate, eventually and ultimately becoming a greater danger to entire humanity, inclusive of the States taking the unhelpful ‘mandatory quarantine’ decisions.

Oddly enough, the small island State of Cuba, by deploying over 400 health care professionals to EVD ground-zero countries, is taking global leadership in the field of humanitarian and medical assistance, a field where the US once reigned unchallenged.

I do urge a rethink and eventual cancellation of the mandatory quarantine policy presently adopted by some States in the US.

Picture: Quarantine

Ceasefire with Islamist terrorists?

by Eze Eluchie

….And with incredulous haste, the Defense Spokesman, General Chris Olukolade, hurriedly announces an ‘immediate ceasefire’ with Boko Haram terrorists, without letting Nigerians or the world know what fire is being ceased? Perhaps we have some information that may assist the rest of the world also arrive at ‘ceasefire agreements’ with Al Shabaab, Al Qeida, Al Qeida in the Islamic Maghreb {AQIM} and the Islamic State!

Do these guys really know what they are dealing with?

Which of the objectives of Boko Haram as loquaciously announced by its purported ‘leader’, Shekarau, has been attained or conceded to? Creation of a Caliphate? Islamization of our population? Ethnic Cleansing? The continued decapitation of 'non-believers' in the Islamic faith? We need urgent answers!

Is this merely a ruse to allow terrorists to recoup their losses and rearm themselves for a more vicious assault?

What happens to the families whose loved ones have been bombed into early graves by the dastardly attacks of these terrorists?

What about justice for the countless Nigerians beheaded, raped and dismembered by these terrorists? Are their families and loved ones to cease their tears?

To spice up the ‘ceasefire’ deal, we are informed that the as at yet unspecified number of young female Chibok ‘abductees’ who have spent over 6 months with their ‘captors’, and whose very initial 'abduction' smirked of efforts at politicizing terror, will be released – and I guess we are all expected to jump up in shouts of Hurray?

What happens to the soldiers being court-marshaled as a result of actions during the war against terror and those already sentenced to death? Would there be a ‘ceasefire’ of such actions/sentences?

Considering the political developments surrounding the purported ‘ceasefire, particularly the recent declaration of intent to contest for the Presidency by an ex-military dictator who has severally expressed sympathy for BH terrorists (in one instance urging Federal authorities to refrain from killing the terrorists even in battle), one is forced to wonder if this is this merely a new chapter in the politicization of terror.

Are those superintending over our affairs really these naïve?

Ceasefires are always good to aid parties in conflicts work towards the resolution of armed conflicts, but some could in reality tantamount to capitulating to terror or outright defeat!    

Picture: The United Nations Headquarter complex, Abuja, destroyed in a Boko Haram suicide car bomb attack which left several persons, including United Nations staff members, dead.

A justiciable responsibility to prevent mass atrocities?

by Eze Eluchie

Can a responsibility to prevent mass atrocities be inferred from the coming into force of the Rome Statutes?

Can this responsibility be justiciable, such as to make it a crime punishable under International Law for a State not to act to prevent the commission mass atrocities?

For weeks, the world had known that the Syrian-Kurdish city of Kobani was within the sights of the Islamic State  (IS)militants and that when IS finally overruns Kobani, that mass killings and other atrocities tantamount to international crimes would be committed.

Yet, the authorities in Turkey, stood idly by, with its soldiers watching across unmarked borders, as the IS militants inched closer by the day to overrun Kobani. An overrun that is now leading to a massacre of monumental proportions.

What relevance is the much touted Responsibility to Protect (R2P) if there is no accountability for deliberate failure to stop the commission of mass atrocities, crimes against humanity and or genocides?



Picture: Mass exodus of Kurds from Kobani, Syria into Turkey to escape the advancing Islamic State 

The Echezona Project - Reuniting children displaced during Biafran Genocide

by Eze Eluchie

Efforts to trace the thousands of children ‘airlifted’ out of their places of origin in present day South Eastern Nigeria (during the Nigeria – Biafra War, 1967 - 1970) to places as diverse as Ivory Coast and Gabon is ongoing. At the end of the war, some of the ‘airlifted children’ were reunited with their families.

The Echezona Project seeks to identify and reunite children who were not returned to their kith and kin in South Eastern Nigeria.

The Echezona Project has already, via research undertaken in France, Nigeria, Ireland and the United States, sourced the identities and ‘points of departure’ of thousands of these children, collated details of the airlifts and will shortly be progressing to using trace technology to identify the families of the ‘airlifted children’ with the objective, where possible, to reunite these children with their filial relatives.

The Echezona Project Team, which I am a part of, is comprised of experts in diverse fields with myriad of experience, inclusive of persons who are part of ongoing efforts at using trace technology to reunite displaced peoples from the El Salvador Civil Wars and versed in ensuring accountability and closure for episodes of Genocide and Mass Atrocities

The right to an identity is an inalienable fundamental right. Let us strive to ensure Never Again!



Picture: Some of the Biafran children at point of airlift (usually, the only mark of name/origin is the little piece of white paper stuck unto the heads of the children as shown on one of the boys in the picture – this piece of paper would have dropped off by the time of arrival at the reception/refugee center)

Cleansing our rot

by Eze Eluchie

When we neglect to do the needful, we should not get upset if others who have more respect for their populations do what we should have done.

We neglected to serve justice to a notorious felon who stupendously bought his way to high political office, only for the British to go after the crook and slam him behind bars, where he rightly belonged; Today, after years of manipulating the Nigerian (in)justice system, an ex-Governor of one of Nigeria’s 36 States, James Onanefe Ibori is cooling his ass off in a British jail!

There are so many others in the mould of the above mentioned felon who continue to pollute our environment with their presence.

We are now prevaricating over the avoidable death of over 115 people of several nationalities in the collapse of a multi-storey complex which in the first instance ought not to have been erected, we should therefore not raise as much as a whimper when those involved, in any way whatsoever, have international warrants against them executed, and such people brought to justice in foreign jurisdictions.

If ever our system was under the illusion that clearing the site of the collapsed 6-storey building at the premises of the ‘Synagogue Church of All Nations’ in Lagos of its debris will sweep away the crime that was evidently committed at that site, we should have a rethink. Continuing efforts by the owners of the collapsed structure at insulting the intelligence of the discerning public by ludicrous claims of some ‘unidentified flying object’ circulating above the structure prior to its collapse, will only serve to elicit the interest of authorities external to our domestic rulership in the matter and internationalize the desire and ability to dispense justice.

Further harrowing details that officials of the Church which owns the collapsed building physically prevented first responders and official/public rescue services from entering the premises for over 48 hours after the tragedy occurred and that the proprietor of the Synagogue Church offered journalists covering the collapse some incentives to ensure ‘fair report’ of the incident, will only serve to heighten the need for justice.

Our flawed structure, composition and institutions continue to serve to consign us to where we are whilst the rest of the world keep on advancing. Restructuring and renegotiation of the Nigerian state may perhaps yet afford us an opportunity of taking our rightful place in the comity of nations.




Picture: Lagos State Government officials at site of collapsed Synagogue church building.

Qatari Women Basketball Jersey – FIBA got it very wrong!

by Eze Eluchie

Sporting events have, from time immemorial, been one area where humanity, irrespective of our various divides, can congregate in amity, equity and unison. Sporting arenas are a veritable venue where peoples who ordinarily would never have had an opportunity to interact find themselves thrust together within an enclosure in pleasurably healthy competition and friendship. From the Olympics held in ancient Greece to various present-day international sporting events, Sports has continued to serve to bridge divides against peoples, open up new channels of communication and expose to all who care to see, the commonality of our humanity.

It is in the light of the foregoing that the kill-joy efforts of some of the entities who have surreptitiously manipulated their ways to preside over the administering bodies of international sporting associations, should continue to give all interested in restoring the ideals of sports as a unifier of mankind a serious source of concern and worry.

Participation in sporting engagements, particularly international meets, often offers and represents an opportunity at exposure and enlightenment to persons who otherwise may never have such options.

The recent expulsion of the female national basketball team of Qatar from the ongoing 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, by the leadership of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on account of the jersey of the Qatari team is most regrettable and unfortunate. The FIBA Executives had, probably in consonance with what appears to be a growing global phobia and intolerance of the Muslims on account of the vicious crimes committed by criminals in the name of the Islamic faith, incredulously ruled that the jersey of the Qatari women, which had an extension which covered the hair was in default of a FIBA rule which forbade basketball players from adorning “headgear, hair accessories, and jewelry”.

On the one hand, for the young Qatari women basketball players and the millions of their compatriots in Qatar and all over the Muslim world, most of whom are consigned to remain in the background (at home) providing a supportive role to their men-folk; participation in a sporting meet at such international levels has limitless advantages beyond the mere sporting event. It affords an experience of hope, diversity, freedom and self actualization which their unfortunate expulsion by FIBA truncated.

On the other hand, a mere scrutiny of the uniform worn by the Qatari women will reveal the folly in the FIBA reasoning and decision – what the girls are wearing neither constitutes a ‘headgear, accessory nor jewelry’. If the FIBA Executives want to see what a headgear is, they may choose to attend any of the lavish social ceremonies we have virtually every day in Nigeria – then they will know what a headgear is!

Looking at the jerseys of some of the other teams participating in the Basketball event (and some other sports) at the Asian games, and the emerging noticeable trend of near nudity in sporting attires, one begins to wonder if there is any unwritten code to encourage skimpy dressing and that the Qatari women are merely being penalized for not showing enough of their bodies? One certainly hopes this is not the case.

It is clearly late to reverse the regrettable FIBA decision on the Qatari women basketball team, but it is certainly hoped that such ill-advised mistakes do not occur, ever again. There certainly is need to use the instrumentality of sporting events and competitions to reach out and welcome those who represent change from territories where such change and understanding are greatly needed. It is also hoped that other international sporting bodies will refrain from making the error FIBA committed over the Qatari women national basketball team.




Picture: Members of the Qatari women national basketball team (wearing their jersey for which they were expelled by FIBA) at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea

The Synagogue Church building collapse.

by Eze Eluchie

The ground-zero and vicinity of the collapse of the  Synagogue Church Guest House where over 115 people were killed is to all intents and purposes a crime scene that ought to have been protected until investigations had been concluded to ascertain if the crime committed was Murder, Homicide, Willful Damage to Property or whatever other crimes.

The fact that the collapsed building was initially a 2-storey complex which was in the process of being raised to a 6-storey edifice without the requisite building permit consents being obtained, serves to make the proprietor and owner of the said Synagogue Church and collapsed building, Mr. ('prophet') T. B. Joshua, at the very least, a person of interest, if not the prime suspect, in whatsoever crime that was committed at that venue.

The continued visitation of high-ranking political office holders to ‘commiserate’ with the principal person of interest in this crime serves to shake the confidence of the population and interested observers in the international community as to the likelihood of effective investigations and inquiry into this most sordid of preventable calamity.  The non-implementation of a domestic strict liability law in Lagos State (where the building is situate) which calls for the seizure of the premises and apprehension of the owner/builder of a collapsed structure, only serve to heighten the believe that our laws are merely made for some people and totally ineffectual with politically connected persons.

Whilst President, Goodluck Jonathan, was right to have visited the venue of the building collapse during his recent visit to Lagos, there was absolutely no reason for the prime person of interest in whatsoever crime that might have been committed at that scene to have welcomed Mr. President to the premises and proceeded to conduct the President around the said crime scene.

An unfortunate development in the course of handling the Synagogue Church building collapse has been the reliance on information supplied by South African authorities (in South Africa) with regards to the number of causalities and other specifics from the unfortunate event – why for heaven’s sake could our domestic authorities and the so-called Synagogue Church not set up a transparent Crisis center where reliable information and data related to the incident could be assessed by all?

Those in charge of the various composing units of the Nigerian State should begin to realize that with advancement in technology and communication infrastructure, the world is now one community and no one can afford sloppy responses to disasters, particularly events that affect citizens from diverse countries.

Picture: Mr. T. B. Joshua and his collapsed Synagogue Church building in Lagos, Nigeria.

War Criminal Escapes Justice

by Eze Eluchie

Yet another war criminal escapes justice.

The death, by natural causes, of Nigeria’s general Benjamin Adekunle has robbed the world of yet another opportunity to test the reach of international law by bringing perpetrators of mass atrocities to justice.

This war criminals infamous quote: "I want see no Red Cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary, and no United Nations Delegation. I want to prevent even one Igbo from having even one piece to eat before their capitulation. We shoot at everything that moves and when our troops march into the center of Igbo territory, we shoot at everything, even things that don't move", concerning his despicable activities during the Biafra Genocide (1967 – 1970) and the several killings he executed would surely have sufficed to have him spend his last days behind bars.

Some more of his ilk still exist in Nigeria and elsewhere.


The hands of International Justice should move at a much faster pace. Time is fast running out.



Video of some acts carried out by Nigerian soldiers acting under the command of Benjamin Adekunle and his colleagues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIQwpVXLZss

Picture: general Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle (June 26, 1936 - September 13, 2014)

Scottish Independence Referendum: Call for International Observer and Monitoring Team.

by Eze Eluchie

The right to self-determination is one of the cardinal rights which define our humanity. A people’s quality of life is inversely proportional to the quantum of this right they enjoy. The quest to actualize the right to self-determination has led various peoples to countless battles, wars and agitations for self determination. As peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and others who suffered for centuries under the yoke, of first, decimation by slave trade and then subjugation under colonization can readily testify, when a people do not have an effective voice over how their lives are governed, they are at a sub-human level and would give all to regain their humanity.

Often times, efforts at asserting the right to self-determination comes into direct conflict with the desire of others entities entwined in the union from which freedom is sought, who may either be benefiting from the existing union or view those seeking self-determination as possessions over whom a some historical right to subjugate or dominate exists. 

The ability of any people, anywhere, to eventually arrive at a point/situation when they have an opportunity to assert their right to self-determination, and decide for themselves whether to continue with an existing union or become independent, ought rightly thus be a cause for universal celebration, as it strengthens the commonality of our humanity.

It is in the light of the foregoing that the people of Scotland must be congratulated, irrespective of the eventual outcome of their Independence Referendum scheduled for the 18^th of September 2014, for finally arriving at this unique opportunity to choose.  As the Scotts march out in their millions to exercise the inalienable right to self-determination, the rest of the world will rise in unison to applaud this present effort at self-determination by a sovereign people.

Unsavory events in the weeks leading up to the Independence Referendum has however heightened fears that desperate measures might be adopted to scuttle the desires of the Scottish people to freely decide for themselves how they want to be ruled. From explicit threats by the oil majors to frustrate access of an Independent Scotland to the vast mineral resources embedded in the North sea’s; to scaremongering tactics adopted by sundry financial institutions particularly the Bank of England and Royal Bank of Scotland forecasting economic doom for any efforts by the Scottish people to opt for independence; to threats by the subsisting British government to deny an independent Scotland access to membership of the European Union, NATO and other multi-national organizations; the throwing up of poll and survey ‘reports’ showing diametrically conflicting projected results for the referendum; crowned by the last minute visits of the highest ranking members of the British Government, inclusive of Prime Minister Cameron, to influence voting in the referendum, provide sufficient cause for greater international independent observation and monitoring of the Scottish Independence Referendum to ensure that the results of the Referendum are not manipulated to favor any particular sides and that it reflects the true wishes and desires of the Scottish people.

It is in light of the foregoing that the various international organizations which usually participate in monitoring and observing elections across the world, such as United Nations Organization, the African Union and European Union amongst others,  should as a matter of urgency, em-panel high powered teams of eminent personalities and experts to monitor and observe the Scottish Referendum. In the spirit of reciprocity of actions, a cardinal principle of international relations, the various countries in Africa and across the world where the British Government has routinely sent Observation and Monitoring teams to gauge domestic elections should also raise delegations to serve as Monitors and Observers to the Scottish Referendum. It sure will be interesting to know what the findings of Referendum-Observer Missions from Zimbabwe, Syria or China would come up with – I would have added my own country to this list, but the rulers in Nigeria simply lack the courage to do the needful.

May the real desires of the Scottish people manifest and be upheld via the Referendum.

Picture: British and Scottish flags.