Politicizing and Criminalizing FIFA

by Eze Eluchie

That footballs international governing body, Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has been a hotbed of corruption has never been in doubt – that is why I felt one of the worst moments for Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathans administration was capitulating to threats from FIFA over domestic football issues in Nigeria.

It is important to highlight that virtually every other major sporting franchise, inclusive of the Olympic Games, the Basketball, Baseball and Cricket franchises, are not devoid of scandals and allegations of improper financial dealings

What is however intriguing is the current United States interest in probing FIFA.

Hosting rights of all FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup in the USA, South Africa and Brazil, are won after intensive under the table ‘lobbying’, which often times includes exchange of ‘gifts’.

One really wonders if FIFA’s decision to accord Russia and Qatar hosting rights over the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments respectively, played any role in the ‘indictments’?

Is this whole affair an extension of the ongoing spat between the US and Russia?

Is politics overly been foisted on Sports?

Picture: FIFA logo

2nd Phase: The Best and Worst of President Goodluck Jonathan (10th May 2010 - 28th May 2015).

by Eze Eluchie

SMARTEST INFRASTRUCTURAL THRUST

Globally, for any country with leaders’ desirous for real development of their territories, peoples and economies, the rail transport system is the preferred mode of mass transportation. The wicked neglect visited to the rail sector, which has left the sector comatose for several decades in Nigeria, merely reflects the true vicious intents of characters who had ruled over the Nigerian polity.

The spirited efforts the Goodluck Jonathan administration infused into developing the rail sector, which resulted in the reactivation of train routes which had been moribund for decades and the commencement of scheduled train journeys across the country is truly remarkable.

Other forays of the Jonathan administration in the areas of infrastructural development, such as the power sector, road networks and air transportation pale in comparison to what was achieved in the rail sector.

Considering the nature of the Train Coaches been deployed, could we have had a better deal? Certainly! But at least the tracks are coming back to life and the next administration can build up from where the present one stopped.


WORST INFRASTRUCTURAL FAILURE

In this era when Chinese companies are building 57-storey buildings in 19 days, one really wonders how long it would have taken the Goodluck Jonathan administration to have built a deep sea port in Nigeria to serve as alternates and decongest the overstretched sea ports in Lagos? 2-weeks? 6 months? One year? Yet nothing was done in this regards.

Alternate sea ports cited in other coastal states of Nigeria, particularly in states comprised in the South-South geopolitical zones would have served to ease the strain on the two functional sea ports in Nigeria (Apapa and Tin Can), both located in Lagos. The location of the two ports in Lagos creates human, vehicular, shipping and whatsoever gridlock imaginable, all serving to dampen whatever efforts at development of the maritime and commercial sectors (amongst several other sectors) in Nigeria.

The failure of the Goodluck administration to build alternative seaports, will serve to perpetually haunt the regime and those who served under it..



BOLDEST POLITICAL MOVE - CONVOKING THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

The fundamental problem with the Nigerian state which serves to found the various vices which pins down the Nigerian contraption and its peoples is the warped, unjust and unworkable structure and constitution.

Efforts at restructuring and renegotiating the Nigerian State via the National Conference convoked by the Goodluck Jonathan administration remains, by a wide margin, the boldest political move of the administration.

The outcome of the Conference was not perfect and did not meet with the aspirations of many constituent elements of the Nigerian contraption - but it was all the same a starting point on the need of restructuring and renegotiating the State.

The failure of the administration to act on the said outcomes is another matter entirely...



WEAKEST POLITICAL MOVE - NOT SACKING 'THE SAINT', JEGA

By a wide margin, the dumbest political move of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency was its failure to relieve the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a man I have dubbed ‘the saint’ for his pious mien despite a very determined and stealthy persona, Attahiru Jega.

The saints sins and actions which should have necessitated his sack were numerous – amongst these were: Awarding the contract for the supply of vital election materials to known chieftains of one of the political parties (this ensured delayed delivery and delivery of defective card readers to zones on partisan basis); very biased and partisan allocation of ‘extra polling booths’ which saw the Northern region gain an incredulous 21,000 extra booths to 7,000 booths allocated to the south; and displaying a hatchet man’s determination to hold Presidential elections on the 14th of February when all evidence clearly indicated that INEC was not prepared to undertake any such venture as at the date in question.

One thought President Jonathan had forgotten he had the power to sack appointees of his government until he began his belated sacks after conceding defeat. ‘The saint’ was not sacked when he should have been sacked, and as the saying goes, the rest is history….




THE WORST PHOTO OPPORTUNITY - US-AFRICA LEADERS SUMMIT

As the countdown to the exit of the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan commences in earnest, this page, in the remaining 10 days left for the regime will highlight the best and the worst of the regime.

Goodluck Jonathan, with his weak understanding of the human nature, surrounded himself with 5th columnists and the few around him who had an inkling as to the booby traps being laid, choose to line their pockets with lucre and wallow in the trappings of their transient offices.

The Worst Photo Opportunity of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency was when he attended the so-called ‘US – Africa Leaders Summit’, hosted by US President Barrack Obama. Placed at the most obscure position at extreme left end of the rear line, President Jonathan would have been better off feigning an urgent need to visit the loo than to stay and pose for this inglorious picture.

This photo-line up should have given President Jonathan and his team an idea of what the Barrack Obama administration thought about our President!

They did not learn!
They have paid dearly for their lack of knowledge!



Picture: President Goodluck Jonathan (10th May 2010 - 28th May 2015).

1st Phase: The Best and Worst of President Goodluck Jonathan (10th May 2010 - 28th May 2015)

by Eze Eluchie

BEST PATRIOTIC ACT

Ironically, the culmination of the actions determined as 'His Weakest Political Move' - not sacking the Chairman of Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commission, 'saint Jega', also gives rise to his best act as a patriot.

Without doubt, going by amongst other factors: the desperate manner of their election campaigns, the violent attacks on President Jonathan's and his political party's campaigns in the extreme northern fringes of Nigeria; the increasing tenor of attacks by Boko Haram, efforts at ridiculing the Nigerian State, its military and Presidency domestically and before the international community; and increasing brazen display and resort to high calibre weapons by political thugs; if the outcome of the 2015 Presidential Elections had been contested by any of the two main contenders, an orgy of violence, perhaps unprecedented in the annals of our history, would have been unleashed on the Nigerian polity.

Whether he acted in bondage and under pressure, or acted of own volition, the early concession of defeat by President Goodluck Jonathan, despite the glaring evidence of electoral fraud, manipulation and compromise by INEC officials which could have all served to provide sufficient reason to, midway, obviate the outcomes of the said elections, saved Nigeria from a seemingly inevitable crisis.

Globally applauded for the feat (though much derided by those who had supported him locally), in defeat, President Goodluck Jonathan became a winner.


WORST ‘UNPATRIOTIC ACT

President Goodluck Jonathan’s failure to exhaust all possible legal remedies to challenge the shamefully horrendous ceding of an integral part of Nigeria, the Bakassi Peninsular to Cameroun, will forever haunt him as the worst unpatriotic act of his Presidency.

Rightly, efforts to cede the people and land of Bakassi had been virtually concluded under the despotic regime dubbed Nigeria’s ‘Reign of Evil’ under the rulership of ex-dictator, Olusegun Obasanjo, President Jonathan’s failure to explore all legal options available under international law (obviously under the advice of his worst political appointee, Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke) was not only unpatriotic, but in all senses of the word, treasonable.



BEST POLITICAL APPOINTMENT

Loyalty to the State and the Presidency; Positive impact on the polity; and strict adherence to the Constitution and the Rule of Law; these are the core qualities that will aide in ascertaining who amongst the political appointees of President Goodluck Jonathan deserves the accolade of being the best among his peers.

Clearly, arising from set goals of making Nigeria ungovernable for the Jonathan administration, any appointee who tried to attain appreciable success in his/her portfolio would be frustrated out of office by the lethal cabal which had attained a strangle hold on the Nigerian State. In that line of thinking, the ex-Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji stood out as an appointee who had to be snuffed out of office.

However, in keeping with the criteria above stated, the best political appointee of the Jonathan Presidency, who was loyal to the State and the Presidency, had a positive impact on the polity in the sphere of influence covered by his office and who sought to enforce the dictates of the Constitution and the rule of law to the letter despite spirited opposition from myriad quarters intent on destabilizing the State was none other than the former Inspector General of the Nigeria Police, Mr Suleiman Abba.

Ex-IGP Abba’s role in seeking to enforce the Constitutional provision which requires that elected political office holders vacate their office upon defection from the political platform through which they were elected, stood him out, among his peers as one who understood where the pendulum was swinging, which required drastic actions to instill discipline in the polity and avoid an impending catastrophe. Alas, ex-IGP Abba’s efforts were not understood for what they stood for, and as the saying goes, the rest is now history.

With the capitulation of the President even before the presidential election results were announced, loyalty had to understandably shift. Ironically, the Jonathan Presidency’s penchant to not recognize good qualities in its appointees led to a hasty and unfortunate removal of the Best Political Appointee of the regime, Mr. Abba, from office, soon after the 2015 general elections.


WORST POLITICAL APPOINTMENT

The President of the Federal Republic is just one person on whose shoulders rests the desires and aspirations of the country. His ability to govern effectively is thus to a great extent defined by the quality of persons he appoints as advisers, Ministers and to several sensitive political offices.

Without doubt, President Jonathan, going by his antecedents and work history, had not developed sufficient knowledge of the human nature as to enable him select loyal and effective political lieutenants - this led to Goodluck Jonathan surrounding himself with characters that were minuses.

By a wide margin, the most ineffective of these political appointees, whose 'wise counsel' could have served to avoid the bulk of the pitfalls which served to truncate the administration, whose lack of proactive counsel served to create the impression of a rudderless contraption and whose ignorance in the field of knowledge he was touted as expert served to mislead the government is non other than the character holding the office of Attorney general and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic, Mr. Mohammad Adoke.

Mr. Mohammad Adoke, who I have severally mentioned in Blogposts as being a 'public officer missing in action', whose office oversees the agencies charged with tackling corruption and crime prevention (areas where the administration failed woefully), failed to speak up on several topical issues, in my estimation wins the dubious distinction as the worst of the political appointees of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.



Picture: President Goodluck Jonathan (10th May 2010 - 28th May 2015)

Goodluck Jonathan: Far Better Than His Peers.

by Eze Eluchie

In assessing all past and serving heads of the Nigerian State with a view to determining who is the best among the lot, it is clear to state from the onset that only Heads of Government who emerged from democratic processes will be considered – those who emerged from coup plots will not be considered as they are actually treasonable felons and ought to be prosecuted at anytime when we begin to get our efforts at self-governance aright.

The contenders to the position of Best Nigerian Ruler are thus restricted to Tafawa Balewa, Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umar Yar’Adua and the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan.

Qualities to consider in arriving at an objective decision will include:
1.      Development of National Infrastructure
2.      State of National Security
3.      Expansion of the democratic space and adherence to rule of law
4.      Efforts at ensuring human capacity development
5.      Level of fundamental freedoms enjoyed by the general population
6.      Engendering conducive environment for investment

A scrutiny of the factors enumerated, the state of national affairs at the inception of the administrations of the four Presidents stated above and at the time when the said Presidents departed office will reveal that by a wide margin, the incumbent, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan stands heads and shoulders above his peers.

President Jonathan’s regime, unlike non other before him, was dogged from its inception by spirited efforts at scuttling the administration including the unleashing of a most vicious political insurgency masqueraded as Islamist terrorists; vested interests invested heavily in sabotaging State infrastructure and agencies, infiltrating the regime with stooges whose actions and comments brought ridicule and odium to not only the State and its peoples but also the Presidency; Yet, appreciable progress was attained in diverse fields of national development and innovations in governance served to bring some succor to significant proportions of the population long sidelined by the oddities of the Nigerian state.

In the area of expansion of the political space and freedoms enjoyed by Nigerians, the Jonathan presidency raised the bar to new and far higher levels that will make populations in established democracies cringe in envy. The incumbent Nigerian President was once dubbed the ‘most insulted President in the world’, yet the previously notorious State security agencies were not unleashed on anyone.

The fact that a coalition of foreign powers had massed to ensure his departure from office coupled with palpable threats to unleash unparalleled violence on the polity in the event of an electoral impasse and his often expressed mantra that his political aspirations was not worth shedding the blood of any Nigerian, served to engender an unprecedented concession of defeat even before the final results of the Presidential elections had been released – despite undisputed widespread acts of systemic electoral malpractice and evidence of compromise amongst officials of the National Electoral Commission. Nigerians will forever remain grateful for this singular act of statesmanship.

Ineffectiveness in addressing large-scale high profile corruption which was wiping the very soul of the Nigerian contraption and hesitancy in frontally confronting terror and some other faults of the regime only underline the fact that all positive attributes can never be found in the same person individual.

Being human, perfection was certainly not possible; however his pluses far outweighed his minuses. The array of choices Nigeria has had in it’s over 50 years of flag-independence from the United Kingdom explains to a great deal why we are where we are whilst the rest of the world keeps on forging ahead.

As he departs office later today, President Jonathan will go in peace resting in the assurance that within his capabilities he had tried his best and that his countrymen genuinely appreciate that amongst his peers, he has been the best thus far. Fare thee well.

Tomorrow, a new chapter begins with the Muhammadu Buhari presidency.



Picture: President Goodluck Jonathan

China - US Relationship: Daring The Dragon

by Eze Eluchie

Growing up as a lad in the suburbs of a city that was to later metamorphose into the most populous city in sub-Sahara Africa (depending on whose population figures you opt to believe), one quickly learnt that the most important lessons in life were not taught in schools or classrooms but informally on the streets.

One of such lessons learned was the fundamental need to take turns at play or whatsoever – a lesson learnt whilst playing with peers. Another, and perhaps more critical lesson, was the practice of, with a view to avoiding repayment obligations, putting up a quarrel with ones creditors, and using the guise of the ensuing acrimonious relationship as fodder to refuse to pay back due debts.

A childhood acquaintance of mine had become so adept at this second lesson described above that some of us had to practically flee from him whensoever he tried to make trouble with us – he had formed the uncanny habit of picking up quarrels with whomsoever amongst his friends when he either had some treats on him or was in high anticipation of getting some goodies from some of his older siblings or relatives. In one particular instance, seeing that his efforts to catch up with us to pick a quarrel had failed, our rascal friend crawled back to his mum in a fit of hysterical tears, crying that he would now be forced to share the sweets in his pocket because none of us was ready to quarrel with him.

No doubt, the relationship between States often times imitates what transpires in inter-personal relationships. When however pranks by youngsters gets replicated in inter-States relationships, with a potential to adversely impact global peace and commerce, then there is sufficient course for concern for all interested in the well-being of the human race. The worry takes on added impetus when the countries involved are global powers with stockpiles of nuclear warheads sufficient to annihilate planet Earth.

It is with the forgoing in perspective that one considers the increasing foray by elements of the United States military, under the guise of operating in international waters, into the volatile waters of the South China seas, an area that has gained notoriety as a constant source of friction between China and several of its neighbors amongst which include Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.

The past few months has witnessed noticeably increased numbers of close contacts between US and Chinese military personnel and equipment in the waters of the South China seas. One can only speculate that it not an issue of if, but when, one of these close contacts will result in the firing of anti-aircraft missiles and or torpedoes, and or the death of a few service men and worse escalations between these two global super powers.  aerial and naval interceptions b

The excuse given by US authorities as justification for their forays into the South China Seas sounds as hallow as it is porous – loyalty to allies/obligations under bilateral military protection treaties and protection of international trading routs, indeed. If these were truly the case, one would wonder why there is no similar efforts at protecting international bilateral military protection agreements and efforts at protecting international trading routes, one would wonder why similar proactive measures were not deemed worthy around the territories of Russia, Yemen, Iran and Syria.

Could the interest in provoking conflict with China be with a view to frustrating the redemption of the over U.S.$1.22 Trillion owed to the land of the ancient Dragons by the US? Certainly in the event of an  outbreak of conflict between the US and China, the Chinese may as well kiss goodbye to the trillion dollar debt owed them by the US, unless of course in the very unlikely scenario that both countries emerge from such conflict with the Chinese being a position to enforce collection of such debts.

Perhaps, like we did as kids growing up in the suburbs of Lagos, it is in the best interest of the Chinese to keep on running away from provocative acts. Unfortunately, knowing the psyche of the Chinese, running away from conflict cannot be a permanent vocation – they are bound, sooner than later, to stand up and seek to defend their integrity. 

The ensuing conflagration will be severe. 

Picture: Flags of US and China 

If African, Would Greece’s Alexis Tsipras Be Alive By Now?

by Eze Eluchie

From the night of the 25th of January 2015 when the leftist Syriza Party, for the time in its history, won the Parliamentary elections in Greece in a landslide victory, garnering 149 out of the 300 seats in the parliament, it was clear to close watchers of European politics and Euro-skeptics alike, that the terrain would not be as stable as touted and that the boat was about to be rocked.

And rock the boat the Syriza leadership sure did. 

Faced with the debilitating effects of ruinous ‘debt relief’ conditions set by the Troika of the  International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and other Breton Woods institutions, the Greeks, were in the buildup to the 2015 parliamentary elections desirous to support whosoever promised them an alternative. Juicy alternatives which Syriza offered: promising amongst other goodies, an end to ‘the vicious circle of austerity’, a renegotiation of the entire bailout package, increased public expenditure on social services.

To up the stakes in its ‘confrontation’ with the Troika and its appendages, soon after it assumed office, the Syriza party under the leadership of new Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, raised the specter of repayment of over 279 Billion Euro in reparation for damages occasioned to Greece by the power house of Europe, Germany, resulting from losses and damages suffered during World War II. The tell-tale look and reaction Prime Minister Tsipras got from the 'powers that be' over these demands was quite suggestive of impending consequences. 

In a nutshell, Syriza was promising direct frontal confrontation with the almighty Trioka - a significant component of what I will hereafter refer to as 'The Establishment'.

The prospect of Greece defaulting on its debts to the ‘international community’ and a likely domino effect of such default on other equally heavily indebted states in Europe and beyond, and the probability of a Greek exit (dubbed ‘grexit’) from the Euro, sent palpable shivers down the spineof the establishment.

Similar threats of this nature, from other climes, had been met with very drastic repercussions, attracting international ‘economic and socio-cultural’ sanctions, Security Council and or International Criminal Court investigations into ‘human right abuses’, sundry spurious allegations of all manners of crimes, and ultimately regime change – this ultimate solution could either be in the form of a coup d’etat or outright assassinations of identified heads of the Government which had dared to challenge the ‘world order’.

Being alarmist or a conspiracy theorist? Certainly not!

Greece’s Alexis Tsipras has not been the first populist leader to insist on ditching debt repayment agreements and threaten to damn the consequences of such action. Across Africa, history is littered with  the carcasses of Heads of Governments, who in realization of the dire consequences of a vicious circle of indebtedness to the Establishment on their populations, and dared insinuate, suggest or hint at non-compliance with the crippling debt repayment conditions which served to pauperize domestic populations, destroy societal norms and fabrics and leave an entire people stripped of their humanity under the guise of ‘open markets’ and ‘privatization’ scams.

The quintessential example of an African heads of Government-victim of the audacity to dare the Establishment was Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara. When this young revolutionary military officer who headed the Government  of Burkina Faso had, in an address to the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 1987, had advised that a clear way to rid African States of the burden of foreign debts was to simply refuse to pay those debts and become self reliant, living on what each country was able to produce and enhance trade relationships amongst African States. In Col. Sankara’s words, "Either we resist collectively and refuse categorically to repay the debt, or we are not able to do this, one by one, isolated, we will suffer death". Most discerning observers had known that Sankara's bold speech had all the making of a valedictory address. Three months after Thomas Sankara’s famous address at the OAU meet in Ethiopia, he was killed in a military insurrection spare-headed by his erstwhile deputy, Blaise Campore , who expectedly announced in his inaugural address that Burkina Faso would abide by all its foreign debt obligations.

Others examples abound. Those who dared demand debt cancellation and or those who dared ask for reparations: I will leave readers to add their victims to this list.

The question that readily comes to the fore is: If Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras had been the head of government of an African country, and he dared state the positions he has repeatedly held with regards to debt repayment and reparations, would he still be in office by now? Would there have been a coup by some renegade soldiers by now, during which the Prime Minister would have been liquidated? Would a successful assassination have been executed by now? My intuition tells me that the answers to the questions raised above are all in the affirmative!

If Prime Minister Tsipras continues in the line he is towing, the options of silence may yet be explored by the 'powers that be'.

Picture: late Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso) and Alexis Tsipras (Greece)

Are the Saudis ready for the cost of the killings In Yemen?

by Eze Eluchie

For the past few weeks now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been involved in waging an atrocious war against the Houthis in Yemen. The basically one-sided war has involved punitive airstrikes against targets in Yemen, particularly in and around the capital city of Sana'a. In the first week of the airstrikes, virtually all the air defense systems in the control of the Houthis were destroyed by the Saudi-led attacks, allowing free and unchallenged reign of the superior air power of the Saudi over Yemen.

What ordinarily began and ought to have been a domestic conflict between Yemenis, is now being transformed into a regional affair. What does Saudi Arabia think it can achieve by killing so many in Yemen via airstrikes?

From its airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proving, beyond reasonable doubts, that it has learnt nothing from the fiasco of the aerial bombardments deployed by the United States forces against the Government and peoples of Iraq in efforts to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime – after the bombardment, the real war and agony starts! Winning the aerial bombardment has little or no bearing on how the crisis will eventually end - if indeed it will end.

Will the Kingdom be willing and able to sustain what it has started?

Considering the history and culture in the sub-region of keeping and sustaining grudges beyond generational limits, each Saudi missile that causes death and destruction in Yemen might have merely succeeded in stoking up a fire of bloody reprisals and revenge attacks that will not be bound or regulated by any known international instruments.

The situation is made more precarious for the Saudis in view of its being the location of two of the holiest shrines of the Islamic faith. In a very short while, it will be time for the annual pilgrimage to cities of Mecca and Medina for the Hajj. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and King of Saudi Arabia, is duty bound to open up the holy cities to brethren from all countries, and these will include Houthi brethren and others from Yemen. Will it be possible for the Kingdom to prevent Houthis who may have suffered losses of family members during these airstrikes, and thus bear an unquenchable desire for revenge, from coming in as pilgrims?

Why start what you can neither finish nor know what the end portends?



Picture: Aftermath of a Saudi bombardment in Yemen

Are the Saudis ready for the cost of the killings In Yemen?

by Eze Eluchie

For the past few weeks now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been involved in waging an atrocious war against the Houthis in Yemen. The basically one-sided war has involved punitive airstrikes against targets in Yemen, particularly in and around the capital city of Sana'a. In the first week of the airstrikes, virtually all the air defense systems in the control of the Houthis were destroyed by the Saudi-led attacks, allowing free and unchallenged reign of the superior air power of the Saudi over Yemen.

What ordinarily began and ought to have been a domestic conflict between Yemenis, is now being transformed into a regional affair. What does Saudi Arabia think it can achieve by killing so many in Yemen via airstrikes?

From its airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proving, beyond reasonable doubts, that it has learnt nothing from the fiasco of the aerial bombardments deployed by the United States forces against the Government and peoples of Iraq in efforts to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime – after the bombardment, the real war and agony starts! Winning the aerial bombardment has little or no bearing on how the crisis will eventually end - if indeed it will end.

Will the Kingdom be willing and able to sustain what it has started?

Considering the history and culture in the sub-region of keeping and sustaining grudges beyond generational limits, each Saudi missile that causes death and destruction in Yemen might have merely succeeded in stoking up a fire of bloody reprisals and revenge attacks that will not be bound or regulated by any known international instruments.

The situation is made more precarious for the Saudis in view of its being the location of two of the holiest shrines of the Islamic faith. In a very short while, it will be time for the annual pilgrimage to cities of Mecca and Medina for the Hajj. The Custodian of the is duty bound to open up the holy cities to brethren from all countries, and these will include Houthi brethren and others from Yemen. Will it be possible for the Kingdom to prevent Houthis who may have suffered losses of family members during these airstrikes, and thus bear an unquenchable desire for revenge, from coming in as pilgrims?

Why start what you can neither finish nor know what the end portends?



Picture: Aftermath of a Saudi bombardment in Yemen

Needed: Election Observers and Monitors for UK Polls.

by Eze Eluchie

In the buildup to the Nigeria’s just concluded 2015 general elections held on the 28th of March and 11th of April 2015, all manners of organizations and individuals from diverse corners of the globe applied for and were accredited to serve as ‘election observers’ to ‘observe’ the elections in Nigeria.

Some of these ‘international election observers’ came from such diverse countries as Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States and a total of 11 foreign Embassies in Nigeria. International organizations accredited as ‘observers’ to our elections included Africa Students Association of Ireland; Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, USA; International Foundation for Electoral Systems; Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya; UN Women; International Republican Institute; National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; UNDP/DGD Project; Centre for Conflict Management and the Commonwealth Observers Mission.

All manners of excuses were given as reason for the ‘foreign interest’ in Nigeria’s elections. Most identified the ‘crucial and volatile nature’ and ‘risk of violence’ as factors which motivated their quest to ‘observe’ the elections. They were all welcome.

Considering the volatile nature the forthcoming general elections in the United Kingdom is attaining, as it represents a critical step to determining so many critical issues (Immigration, European Integration and the Euro, Disintegration of the United Kingdom)  affecting not only the peoples of the UK, but also its international relationship with other countries, international election observers ought to be allowed to monitor the elections to ensure it meets with international standards and that the aspirations of minority communities in the United Kingdom are not obviated.

Incidents of widespread electoral fraud are not alien to British elections. One remembers vividly the gigantean leaps in number of registered voters in the London borough of Tower Hamlets within a space of one month and the use to which ‘postal votes’ has been put across much of the country as a ruse to perpetuate electoral fraud during elections held in 2010.

Why are the African Union (AU), the Economic community of West African States (ECOWAS), International CSO’s and other interested parties not being accredited in large numbers as International Observers to Observe and Monitor the forthcoming elections in the United Kingdom? It would have been quite interesting to hear what Election Observer Missions from other climes, such as Zimbabwe, Russia and China, would have to say about the British polls.

It would have also been nice to have the Foreign Ministers of some African countries jointly warn the British Electoral Commission not to tamper with the results of the elections (as the votes are been counted) – just as some Foreign Ministers had warned the Nigerian Government as election results were being collated.

Let’s have Election Observers all over. Or do we need to respect the sovereignty of other States?

Picture: UK Polls.