Our Natural Disasters

by Eze Eluchie

Hurricanes, we don’t have;

Tsunamis we likewise don’t see;

Monsoons are alien to our clime;

Earthquakes never come our way;

Heat waves occur in other continent;

Mudslides we only hear of in distant shores;

Snow storms, to us, are the stuff fables are made of;

Yet our lands suffer more devastation than other continents from our unique natural disasters – a kleptocratic rulership and an imbecilic followership!

A rulership whose kleptocratic disposition serves to strip their populations of their humanity, enslave minds, retard thought processes, destroy the environment and natural endowments whilst at the same time managing to make themselves laughing stock in the international arena; and a followership whose will to resist oppression has seemingly been whittled down by years of malnutrition and deft manipulations by external elements intent on retaining a strangle hold over the riches of the continent.  

This has been, and remains, the bane of Sub-Sahara Africa – overcoming this dual calamity is our hope for meaningful existence and positive contribution to humanity.

It is possible to overcome. We simply have to desire and work for the change. 

The cost will be dire, but the gains of such resolve and actions far surpasses the death we are living. 

Picture: Some African Natural Disasters and the real Natural Disasters

The Chibok ‘Abductions’ Fraud Continues……

by Eze Eluchie

"We have an idea where the girls are. Our main problem is... what we promised to constituencies where these girls were abducted, was that we wanted to rescue them alive”
-       General Muhammadu Buhari (President, Federal Republic of Nigeria speaking on Aljazeera’s UPFRONT with Mehdi Hasan. 16th October 2015)

With the above comments, Muhammadu Buhari threw himself headlong into the fraud the ‘Chibok abductions’ have always been and represents.

The President of Nigeria has ‘an idea’ where over 200 (no one has yet come up with an authentic figure) female students of the Chibok Secondary School, purportedly ‘abducted’ by Boko Haram terrorists over 500 days ago, are, and yet refrains from doing the needful on the flimsy excuse that he promised to ‘rescue them alive’. Hmmmmm!

What kind of life does President Buhari believe these girls have been living or enduring in the past 500+ days held against their will, by vicious terrorists who have no iota of regard for either human life or the girl-child. And this President wants us to believe that he is unaware of the Chibok ‘abduction’ charade?   

Nigerians are quite mindful of the fact that the ring-leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls gang which internationalized the ‘abductions’ of the students from Chibok Secondary School in Bornu State, Northeastern Nigeria, portraying the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan as a weakling without the slightest clues as to tackling the Boko Haram menace and paved the way for the (s)election of the Muhammadu Buhari, have since been appointed to plum political offices under the new  dispensation in Nigeria.

It is high time the International Criminal Court was invited to investigate and hopefully prosecute the vile characters who wasted so many young girls for mere political gains!

President Buhari on Aljazeera’s UpFront with Mehdi Hasan:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2015/10/buhari-defeat-boko-haram-151016160004647.html

Picture: The conflicting rallies for Chibok in Nigeria

Dubious Claims Against The Nigerian Military By Amnesty International.

by Eze Eluchie

I hope the Amnesty International gang that had the temerity to come to Nigeria and address a media briefing where they accused the Nigeria military of committing imagined and spurious ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ against Boko Haram terrorist elements, and their local collaborators in Nigeria inclusive of the current Chair of our Human Rights Commission, will enjoy this video (url link attached) of the terrorists beheading a Nigerian soldier – a vocation these terrorists are adept at.

Perhaps next time our troops capture Boko Haram terrorists, they should call upon Amnesty International and deliver such scum-bags of the earth directly to the location of the headquarters of this so-called ‘human right organization’ for ‘safe keeping and dignified treatment’.

To our heroic soldiers, defending the contraption against hellish terrorists, remain assured that though the system and polity you are fighting for is flawed, you are held in highest esteem and reverence by the vast majority of the people of the Federal Republic.

Your sacrifices will not be in vain. Rest in Peace!

http://bit.ly/1PqPM66

http://on.fb.me/1Mw2Ypr

Picture: Nigerian soldier executed, by beheading, by BH terrorists in Bornu State, Northeastern Nigeria.

President Buhari's Ministerial Nominees: Petition Against Inequitable and Unconstitutional Acts. 1

The President of the Senate of the Federal Republic

Through The Distinguished Chairman

Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions

Senate of the Federal Republic

Three Arms Zone, Abuja.

Dear Senator Samuel Anyanwu,

RE: NOMINATION OF SENATOR HADI SIRIKA (AN INDIGENE OF KATSINA STATE).

PETITION AGAINST THE NOMINATION OF A SECOND MINISTER FROM KATSINA STATE INTO THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AT A TIME WHEN OVER 10 STATES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC ARE YET TO HAVE A SINGLE NOMINEE IN THE SAID FEC.

I write in my capacity as a Citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria concerned about the need to uphold the sanctity and supremacy of the subsisting Constitution of the Federal Republic, as amended, and overriding need to sustain and maintain a semblance and reality of justice, equity and good governance amongst the various constituent States and peoples of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Background of Petition:

Following the resolution on the floor of the Senate of the Federal Republic that persons concerned about any aspects of the process or nominees for Ministerial positions by the President of the Federal Republic should submit petitions to your office, I do hereby humbly petition your office with regards to the nomination of Senator Hadi Sirika, from Katsina State.

In the course of his visit to France, President Muhammadu Buhari, announced, at a widely publicized media event, that he intends to preside over the Ministry of Petroleum affairs as the substantive Minister. President Buhari had in the course of that media event given his reason for retaining the office of Minister of Petroleum affairs as the need to maintain sanity and integrity and a corruption-free Ministry.

Knowing the perception of Nigerians, particularly, and the international community, at large, of President Buhari as a man ‘who comes with a reputation of integrity’, and considering Mr. President’s Constitutional powers to assign Ministerial portfolios at his sole discretion, it can be considered that Mr. President was neither lying nor bluffing but means to serve as the Minister of Petroleum of the Federal Republic in his Cabinet.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in his Letter to the Senate, via the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic, nominated Senator Hadi Sirika, who hails from the same Katsina State as President Buhari, as a person to be screened for purposes of being appointed a Minister of the Federal Republic.  The said nomination of Senator Hadi Sirika is being made at a time when only 21 other persons representing 21 States of the Federal Republic had been nominated as Ministers of the Federal Republic.

The nomination of Senator Hadi Sirika at a time when President Buhari has announced himself as a Minster of the Federal Republic, will give Katsina State the undue advantage of having 2 representatives in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at a time when several other States are not represented on the said FEC.

The Constitution:

Section 147 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic explicitly provides as follows:

Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:- provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.

Section 14(3) further provides as follows:

The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.

It is thus quite trite, following from the above provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic that before any State of the Federal Republic can have two representatives or two nominees on the FEC, all 36 States of the Federal Republic and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, must have had one nominee each or substantive confirmed and serving Ministerial appointees on the Federal Executive Council.

The nomination of Senator Hadi Sirika, if positively considered by the Senate, will directly infringe the provisions, intendments and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic as it will accord Katsina State the unfair distinction of having 2 of its indigenes, to wit: President Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Hadi Sirika, in the Federal Executive Council, at a time when several States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have not gotten a single nominee or representative on the Federal Executive Council. This would be in express violation of explicit provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic.

Prolonged inequity and unconstitutionality:

Considering the length of time it has taken President Buhari to submit his nominees for Ministerial appointments to the Senate and his several avowals and expressed commitment to reduce the size of the Federal Executive Council and Ministries, there is a high likelihood that if the Senate proceeds to consider and or approve the nomination of Senator Hadi and accord Katsina State an unfair and unconstitutional advantage in the Federal Executive Council, such inequity and unconstitutionality may last for quite a prolonged and uncertain period.

It is my contention, a contention based on and supported by explicit provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic, that no State can have more than one nominee or representative on the FEC at a time when all 36 States of the Federation and the hFederal Capital Territory, Abuja, have not likewise had an opportunity of having one nominee or representative on the said FEC.

Prayer:

In view of the foregoing, I do hereby call upon the Senate of the Federal Republic to reject the nomination of Senator Hadi Sirika on grounds that it will lead to a violation Section 147 subsection 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic and to also, likewise reject any further nomination for Ministerial appointments of persons from States which are either already represented in the Federal Executive Council or have a prior nominee already, until such a time as when all 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, would have in compliance with Constitutional provisions, have had a substantive Ministerial representative on the Federal Executive Council.

In respectful and earnest anticipation of your positive consideration of this Petition.

Remain assured of my highest regards

Picture: Image of the Constitution and Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

Nigeria, Truly 1-Year Polio-Free?

by Eze Eluchie,

On 24^th July 2015, health authorities in Nigeria practically rolled out the drums to celebrate what could be a public health feat of local and international implications, going 365 days without any report of a child falling to the Poliomyelitis virus. For several years, Nigeria had, maintained the dubious distinction of being the major source via which the Poliomyelitis virus continued to plague the African continent, and the only African state of a troika of territories where the wild polio virus continues to remain endemic – the others being Pakistan and Afghanistan.

With the feat purportedly achieved in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan remained the only 2 territories where the crippling and lethal Polio virus still held sway.

From a lavishly broadcast ‘immunization campaign’ personally launched and performed by the President in his home State, Katsina, to a visit by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban ki-Moon,  whose visit was timed to coincide with the ‘achievement’, who lavished encomiums on Nigerian authorities for the attainment, the newly inaugurated government headed by Muhammadu Buhari wanted all to believe that in a very short period of their existence, a monumental feat in the area of public health had been attained – ridding Nigeria of the Polio virus.

If indeed Nigeria was truly Polio-Free, it would truly be a remarkable development and giant leap towards eliminating a totally avoidable scourge that serves to diminish potential of its victims, rendering so many of them paralyzed . If only, Nigeria was indeed Polio-free.

The veracity of the claim by Nigerian authorities was directly put into question by the seemingly unrelated announcements from Nigeria’s military commanders engaged in efforts to dislodge Boko Haram terror elements from territories controlled by the terror group in Nigeria’s Northeastern zone, to the effect that Nigerian troops had retaken possession of the largest commercial town in Nigeria’s northeastern flank – Bama, and its environs. Since the announcement made by the Nigeria military, several other towns previously under Boko Haram control have been pronounced ‘liberated’ from control by the terrorists. In all of these ‘reclaimed’ towns and villages, thousands of women, children and babies, who had been cut-off from contact and purview of Nigerian government authorities for several months, were also liberated.

When it is realized that this same Northeast zone of Nigeria where thousands of children, some of whom have not received any of the routine prescribed immunization shots, inclusive of the Polio vaccinations, is the core polio-endemic area in Nigeria, the area that has served as the black sheep, black spots, with institutionalized suspicion and rejection of Immunization Campaigns, it becomes clear that the celebration of ‘1-year Polio-free’ by Nigeria might have been a bit too hasty. The declaration of 1-year Polio-free’ by Nigerian authorities needs to be taken with extreme caution and preparedness to continue with a renewed vengeance on the Polo virus when its resurgence in our Northeast zone is finally reconfirmed.

A Polio-Free Nigeria would surely be a wonderful and monumental development for global health security; but the hasty removal of Nigeria from the list of Polio-endemic countries by the World Health Organization (WHO), when definitive nationwide coverage across all parts of the country, particularly in our Northeast zone where Nigerian troops are in continued efforts to regain territory and liberate citizens from the control of terrorists, has not been attained, could eventually prove to be counterproductive.

Picture: Some victims of Poliomyelitis in Northeastern Nigeria.

What Really Are The Objectives Of The US-NATO Coalition In Syria?

by Eze Eluchie

The successes being recorded by Russia over ISIS, over a relatively short period, puts a solid question mark over the intentions and activities of the US-NATO coalition in the war against ISIS.

With Russian Air Force jet strikes taking down ISIS Command and Communication Centers, obliterating ISIS weapon storage centers and generally diminishing the ability of ISIS and other terror groups operating in Syria, the question of what targets have attracted U.S-NATO coalition forces in Syria becomes a subject of interest to anyone interested in understanding and or unraveling the seemingly unending Syrian debacle.

ISIS has clearly been pummeled into continuously defensive maneuvers in the past two weeks, compared to when they could still boldly seek to seize and retain territories in the face of clearly ineffective U.S-NATO coalition aerial ‘bombardments’ which seemed to focus on wasting multi-million dollar missiles to target insignificant contingent of ISIS terrorists on SUV’s.

Some of the actions of members of the U.S-NATO Coalition, particularly Turkey has been indicative of, if not tacit support for ISIS, at the very least compromised position in efforts at confronting ISIS. Turkey's decision to attack Kurdish Peshmerga forces when they were on course to routing ISIS troops gives further credence to the believe that perhaps there might have been ulterior aims in previous efforts against ISIS.

The US-NATO Coalition in Syria seems to have different objectives than the destruction of ISIS.

It is hoped that the U.S-NATO Coalition will rethink there so far ineffective approach to confronting ISIS and consider the more direct, practical and effective approach been deployed by Russia in addressing the ISIS carnage. The international community is clearly in support of efforts by Russia to destroy ISIS.

It is apparent that a new definition of the term ‘international community’ may be in the offing!



Picture: A Russian Air Force Su-34 Bomber in operation over Syrian airspeace at  Aleppo

As the Nigeria Project Turns 55

by Eze Eluchie 

‘Each bag you handle lifts Kenya higher’

-     Inscription on the luggage handling area at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya.

Message: Everyone counts. No one is insignificant.

Clearly, in Nigeria, we missed the road a long time ago. The task for Nigerians as we commemorate the 55^th anniversary of our ‘Flag independence’ (describing what we have as ‘independence from colonial overlords is grammatically and factually incorrect), is to retrace our steps and evolve a polity where every citizen counts and no one group thinks they have a monopoly of any virtue or vice.

We not only do not deserve to be where we are, we are in addition also adversely affecting development across the African continent by our continuing inability to get our acts right. 

Let October 1^st 2015 be a day we reflect on the best means of a holistic restructuring and renegotiation of the Nigerian State.

Picture: National Flag of Nigeria