A financier-of-terror as Central Bank Governor?

by Eze Eluchie

As more facts emerge on the character who once held sway over the Central Bank of Nigeria gets revealed, one begins to wonder what manner of vetting and security clearances our security agencies particularly the State Security Service (SSS) and the office of the National Security Adviser actually dish out.

The fact that now suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lanido Sanusi studied extremist Islamic ideology at the African International University in Khartoum, Sudan at the same time as al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan has been common knowledge. Questions that have not been clarified include if the two met and whether the former was a financier of the latter activities.

Facts which have recently emerged that Mr. Sanusi was detained for over 2 years at the Federal Prisons, Sokoto, on account of being one of the financiers and instigators of very violent Islamist riots in Kano, during which a Christian, Goideon Akaluka was beheaded and his head paraded in the streets of Kano for allegedly desecrating the Quoran is quite disturbing.

Some of those who had been indicted for instigating, financing and involvement in the said Kano religious riots alongside Mr. Sanusi had been executed for their actions - Sanusi's life had merely been saved on account of the fact that he was a member of the family which rules over the Kano Emirate council (his father, Emir Sanusi had been deposed by the former Premier of Northern Nigeria, the revered Sardauna of Sokoto).

When one considers how this Sanusi character championed extremist Islamist views during his tenure as Central Bank Governor, doled out cash to spurious Islamist organizations, and generally used the office and resources of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to create disquiet in the Nigerian polity and advance extremist policies and activities, one begins to wonder, yes we had an extremist as Central Bank Governor, but did we also have a terrorist as our Chief Banker?

Does shaving off beards and replacing long gowns with corporate suits alter the personality of an extremist?

Are the increasing attacks on civilian targets by terrorists in Nigeria's Northeast zone, inclusive of the kidnap of over 20 female students to serve as sex-slaves and the dastardly murder of over 50 pupils at the Federal Government College, Bunu Yadi, Yobe State, part of a chain reaction to the suspension of Mr. Sanusi?

President Goodluck Jonathan had stated soon after the Independence Day Bombing on 1st October 2010 that the Nigerian government was infested and populated by terrorists elements and sympathizers of terrorists, are there many or any more of such characters in the Government?

Why would a government continue to harbor such characters in its membership?

How in heavens name (or hells for that matter), did the facts emerging on Mr. Sanusi escape the various security vetting through which anyone nominated to hold such a sensitive office? 

The need for an urgent restructuring and renegotiating the Nigerian contraption gets more clearer by the day.

http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-central-unbanker-of-millennium-ii.html

http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2012/12/central-unbanker-of-millennium.html

Picture: Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Tell-tale signal: Depreciation in value for human life and humanity

by Eze Eluchie

For the past few weeks, no day has passed bye without news of the slaughter of defenseless Nigerian villagers in our Northeastern Zone by terrorists. Entire villages have been ravaged, several hundred killed and countless young girls and women carted away to serve as sex-slaves to these terrorists.

Whilst the high number of fatalities and extent of destruction to properties in our Northeast zone has been troubling, the real shocker is the nonchalance with which most Nigerians have reacted to the sad events. For instance, news of the killing of over 70 Nigerians at the hands of terrorists in Bama town in Bornu State was buried deep in obscure sections of the few national dailies which had bothered to report the news; the very loud silence following the kidnapping of over 20 young girls from a boarding school in Konduga (also in Bornu) and the general lack of empathy to the plight of the peoples affected by the violence serves to dehumanize us all.

Quite rightly, most of the victims of the violence described above are of the Kanuri, Shuwa, Hausa, Beriberi, Ngizim, Fulani or other ethnic nationalities indigenous to our northeast zone - but they are first and foremost, human beings, nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers or other relatives to someone/some people?

Is it possible that others not directly affected do not care what happens to co-joiners in the Nigerian contraption or worse still, is there deep rooted unspoken ‘joy’ at the misfortune of others? That would be terribly unfortunate!

We depreciate our humanity when we are unable to empathize with others over deep losses. It could have been anyone of us. No one knows where the terrorists will strike next.

When a society reaches the depth where mass death, maiming on a large scale and other atrocities are taken as casual occurrence, there is need for worry - it is an early warning signal that far worse occurrences will be tolerated and is perhaps being hatched.

Our fundamentals are faulty. Restructuring and renegotiating our contraption will address the disconnect amongst our various peoples.

Picture:  Victims of one of several Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria's Northeastern Zone being taken to a morgue.

Profiting from terror

by Eze Eluchie

For the past 2 years and more particularly in the course of the past 12 months, all semblance of civil governance has collapsed in the three States in Nigeria’s Northeastern Zone, to wit: Bornu, Yobe and Adamawa – yet, in a reality that defies logic, these 3 States have not failed to come forward and claim their own shares of financial allocations from the monthly monetary bazaar known as the Fiscal Allocation.

Pray, what have the Governors of these 3 States (Kashim Shettima {Bornu}, Murtala Nyako {Adamawa} and Ibrahim Geida {Yobe}and their associates) where the activities of Boko Haram has effectively made a greater part of the zone inaccessible to all but security operatives and military forces, been doing with the several Billions they have collected? No infrastructural works, no agricultural engagements, nothing! Yet these guys shamelessly keep on coming to Abuja to collect huge sums on a monthly basis.

It appears that more people than meets the eye have vested interests in the endless continuation of the lawlessness and terror pervading our Northeast zone.With the 'State of Emergency in these area now converted into a ceaseless source of loot, one really fears that the war against terror in our Northeast zone may never end.

Let's restructure and renegotiate the contraption to stem the horrendous thievery in the name of governance.

Picture: Aftermath of one of the several terrorist attacks in our Northeastern zone 

Lawlessness as Law!

by Eze Eluchie

Two isolated oddities, happening contemporaneously in different States of our federation, typify the level of decadence and reign of impunity to which our contraption has fallen in the course of the past few years. These are:
1. The shutting down of a huge Shopping Mall at Iponrin, Lagos State on the orders of the daughter of a former Governor of Lagos State on account of purported disagreements between the aid daughter of an ex-Governor and owners of Shops in the Mall and an incredulous insistence that Shop owners at the Mall must register with a particular political party, and
2. The public shooting to death of an aide to the Abia State Governor - yes, you read right, 'aide to the son of a State Governor, apparently at the instigation of the son of the said State Governor!

I had actually shied away from commenting on these absurd events in the hope that as more details emerged, our worst fears will be disproved. Alas, owners of Shops at the Mall shut by ex-Governor Bola Tinubu's daughter whose loses continue to sky-rocket and the young widow and child whose husband/dad was killed courtesy of Governor Theodore Orji's brat, serve to give life to our sad reality.

More worrisome is the fact that these untoward criminal acts by these apparently not well brought up scions of our political rulers were effected either with the connivance or active collaboration of our Police and security agencies (who are ordinarily supposed to protect the public).

Unfortunately, the system will provide protection for these 'executive' urchins.

And we wonder why we are where we are and the rest of the world are where they are?

Picture: Injustice

Pang of Statelessness

by Eze Eluchie

Failure of Texas (US) authorities to notify Mexican citizen, 46 year old Edgar Tamayo Arias, of his right to assistance from and access to Mexican Embassy officials in the US  at the time of his arrest, served to  dampen relations between the United States and its neighbor when the said Mexican citizen was executed in Texas on 22nd January 2014.

From the United Kingdom to China, India to Spain, and virtually all over the world, citizens of sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Nigerian, languish in various detention centers, with the arresting authorities not bothering to inform the arrested persons of their right to diplomatic assistance – often times, the Embassy of the sub-Saharan African country in those foreign shores only become aware of the incarceration of of their citizens via messages surreptitiously smuggled out prisons or shortly before an execution takes place.

Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, all foreign citizens ought to be informed, at the time of their arrest, of their right to diplomatic/consular assistance by their country’s Embassy.

Countless citizens of sub-Saharan states have suffered and continue to suffer, in foreign climes, as a result of the brazen non-compliance with international laws and an unwillingness and or inability of their countries diplomats to act in defense and protection of their citizens outside our shores.

Rather than address the root causes of the frolic of our youngsters to foreign climes for the proverbial ‘greener pastures’ or inquire into the validity of the legal processes which leaves our citizens incarcerated often times en-mass outside our shores, our Governments, over the years choose to embark on bogus ‘prisoner exchange’ treaties, which usually leaves the already overcrowded and overburdened Prisons and social welfare system across sub-Saharan countries in more pitiable states as they are forced to take in more inmates, inmates whose guilty are very questionable. 

The fate suffered by some sub-Saharan citizens, whose countries suffer from a huge capacity deficit in the quality of diplomatic personnel at their Embassies abroad is truly unfortunate and quite worrisome to anyone concerned about international human rights law

Fully conscious of this lack of capacity of many sub-Saharan states to come to the aide of their citizens who get entangled in foreign criminal justice systems, there appears to be several isolated incidents of brazen trampling on the rights of citizens of sub-Saharan countries in foreign climes.

A restructuring and renegotiation of our contraption will ensure that the need for our youths to waste away in foreign lands will be minimized and responsible officials represent sub-Saharan State, particularly Nigerian, interests abroad.

Picture  behind bars: