A Dictators ‘Democracy Day’ Broadcast.

by Eze Eluchie,

By his failure, in his maiden ‘democracy day’ address (whatever this is supposed to mean in a country where vestiges of totalitarianism reign supreme), to apologize for the mass murders and other atrocities committed by troops under his overall command against members of the Shiite Islamist sect in Zaria (Northern Nigeria) and in ongoing efforts against the people of the oil producing regions of Nigeria’s delta and his non-mention of any plans of addressing the mass murders and other atrocities committed by the acclaimed 4^th most deadly terror outfit in the world, the Fulani Herdsmen, across virtually all parts of Nigeria; and choosing rather to continue on a path of wailing over what had transpired, focus on spurious gains of a partisan and skewed ‘anti-corruption war’ and celebrate the highly questionable and doubtful  release-cum-arrest-cum-capture of supposedly 2 out of as yet unknown number of students ‘abducted’ from Chibok over 700 days ago, Muhammadu Buhari has merely broadcast to the world that in Nigeria, we are stuck with business as usual, and the following will continue:–

a. The lies will continue with increasing ferocity;

b. Impunity by the military will be condones and covered;

c. Blaming past administration for present failures will continue;

d. The killings by Fulani Herdsmen will continue with increased frenzy;

e. The Chibok ‘abductions’ charade will continue to serve propaganda and political purposes;

f. The lust for cheap petro-dollars, even at the expense of human lives, will continue;

 Inadvertently, the Presidential address revealed that rather than address systemic corruption which had for decades crippled the Nigerian system, efforts were merely being focused on targeting individuals having opposing political views and creating new, ‘more loyal’ beneficiaries for the corrupt system. The announcement that over 43,000 ‘ghost workers’ had been discovered in the Federal workforce, without any person being prosecuted for receiving salaries {on behalf of these ‘ghost workers} amounting to billions of Naira for this workers and cataloguing drain-pipes in the system without mentioning any concrete efforts or plans to plugging such loop-holes only indicates that at the end of the current junta, Nigeria, Nigerians and the international community will likewise be regaled with ‘stories’ of monumental fleecing of the national treasury.

Towards the end of a lacklustre ramble, and desperate to show that something positive has accrued to the Nigerian State as a result of his thus far 1-year stewardship, Buhari ventures to throw thank-you’s to all manners of agencies and countries, including to the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescents which he terms ‘a UN agency’, to “France, the US, UK and China” for contributing to efforts at tackling the Ebola Virus, a feat which was attained long before the emergence of the present junta; finally seemingly spicing up the drab performance with a potpourri of phantom undebated, ill-thought white-elephant ‘promises’ to Nigeria’s poor and vanquished masses, promises which like many sundry promises of the junta will be soon be denied and thrown into the junk-bin of lies severally told to Nigerians.

A monumental mistake of historical proportions was made in Nigeria on 29^th May 2015 when the present junta was (s)elected into office. It will be unhealthy to wait till 29^th May 2019 to reverse the mistake, and I doubt if the country can survive the delay, to correct same. Efforts, within the ambit of legality and our Constitutional framework, should be hastened to salvage our contraption from the unfortunate direction it is headed under the present junta.

Picture: Nigeria’s lackluster and clueless ruler, Muhammadu Buhari.

Accepting 'Blood' Endowments?

by Eze Eluchie,

Something certainly does not add up here - a Billionaire who hails from and principally resides in impoverished, squalid and education-deprived hot-bed of Boko Haram terrorist operations in Nigeria’s north-eastern region, Bornu State, decides to donate the princely sum of US$14 Million to advance the cause of education - and where does he donate this sum? To the richly endowed University of Lynn in Florida, United States!!

The authorities and entire community of University of Lynn, Florida, which is the instant beneficiary of billionaire Mohammed Indimi’s donation, should perhaps wonder if indeed the gift they have received has by depriving the people of Bornu State of basic amenities, in any way, fueled the activities of Boko Haram in Bornu State and its axis.  Would the purpose of humanity not have been better served if the Mr. Indimi had been encouraged to devote his cash to uplifting the youths of Bornu, whose endemic impoverishment provides a ready and endless recruitment base for Boko Haram and other extremist Islamist terrorist groups operating in the north-eastern enclave of Nigeria and across West Africa? Is the University of Lynn wiling to be held responsible for further abductions, killings, be-headings and kidnapping of Nigerians and foreigners alike by the terrorist operating in this area arising from the further impoverishment of this hot-bed of Boko Haram activities by the cash flight which this donation directly represents? 

This is happening at a time when the Nigerian Government is going cap-in-hand to the ‘international community’ seeking for foreign aid to re-build basic educational infrastructure destroyed by Boko Haram terror elements in the same region where the Billionaire hails from.

To garnish the pretense, a lame-duck ‘Safe School Initiative Project’ which promises to be a drain-pipe for some easy cash fleeced out of tax-payer funds from some western seeks to fund educational activities in what is essentially a war-torn zone where even local civil authority structures is yet to be out in place. In essence, no one will be able to verify or confirm if funds granted for the building of a school was actually expended on building a school or merely found its way back into a personal account in the Cayman Islands or the Isles of Man.

The authorities of academic institutions in older democracies should be a bit more circumspect in accepting donations and or endowments that may be tainted or turn out to cause more harm for the areas from whence such donations emanated. At the same time, Tax-payers in the United States, the United Kingdom or other democratic countries whose leaders opt to accord dubious and wasteful ‘foreign aids’ should demand more accountability from their Governments. Assurance of access to some of these dubious ‘foreign aids’ largess’s fuels all manners of violence perpetuated on peoples in so-called emerging societies, inclusive of most of the countries in Sub Sahara Africa.

Picture: Billonaire Indimi, flanked by officials University of Lynn, Florida.

Products of the Wasted Generation!

by Eze Eluchie,

Octogenarian Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, once described his generation of Nigerians as a ‘wasted generation’.

What would be a proper title for the offspring’s, products of this wasted generation?

A generation who cower in the face of infamy;

...who rather than push back when pushed to the wall, will strive to scratch out more space from the wall;

...who rather than stand to challenge their ‘fantastically corrupt’ rulers, will bow in obeisance and worship to criminal elements.

We sure are on track to being the none-generation; a generation which posterity will wish never existed.

And our products?

It is never too late to redefine and refocus – the generation might yet be redeemed.

We might yet have some hope if we restructure and renegotiate the contraption that has held down a generation and people of universally acclaimed individual brilliance and intelligence.

Picture: Wasted!

2016 EUROVISION: Continued Vilification of the Russian Bear.

by Eze Eluchie,

The pettiness of the West in its relationship with Russia is getting quite worrisome, particularly when it is realized that Bears have a tendency to strike back when pushed to the wall.

From the maligning of FIFA over its choice of Moscow as host of the FIFA World Cup (under the guise of probe into corruption in FIFA, a FIFA which has corruption embedded in its ethos and creed since its inception), to aggressive efforts at rubbishing the gains of preventing the ouster of Syrian President Al Assad by extremist Islamist groups and now rewarding a song which makes reference to sordid events in Russia’s history with its Tatar ethnic group with the Eurovision Song contest prize for 2016, there appears to be a deliberate effort to provoke some sort of reaction from the Russian Bear that was near-mortally wounded by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

At a period when the world is facing perennial threats from extremist terrorist groups when unity of purpose amongst global powers is vital to ensure victory against forces who wish to impose retrogression on the world, it is unnecessary, bothering on being foolhardy, to continually seek to provoke an entity that ought to be an ally or in the very least a partner in eliminating extremists terrorists.

It is not unlikely that if the current posture to discredit, embarrass and vilify Russia continues, internal forces therein will opt for a backlash, that may be deemed disproportionate by some, against the several unfriendly acts. Such backlash will certainly not be in sync with efforts at defeating Islamist terrorism and sustaining global peace and harmony.

It is hoped that soon enough commonsense will prevail.

Picture: EUROVISION 2016 logo

Nigeria’s Ruling Oligarchs and Extremist Islamist Jihadists

by Eze Eluchie,

Ibrahim Uwais, son of Justice Muhammadu Uwais, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, who had joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), was killed earlier today in a US airstrike on ISIS in Aleppo, Syria;

Umar Farrouk Abdulmutallab (“the underwear bomber”), son of Umaru Abdul Mutallab, a Nigeria Billionaire banker, is serving multiple life sentences for trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 enroute Detroit, Michigan from Amsterdam, The Netherlands on Christmas say, 2009;

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has severally posited his lifelong ambition and commitment to the implementation of Shari’a (Islamic jurisprudence and lifestyles) throughout Nigeria, and had warned the previous administration of President Jonathan that attacks against Boko Haram were attacks against northern interests;

Muslim Governors of Nigeria’s northern States have just okayed, in line with extremist Islamist philosophies, legislation effectively banning religious (Christian) preaching across northern Nigeria;

When one realizes the feudalistic nature of rulership in Nigeria's northern region and the reality that the scions of some of the rulers mentioned above, and their cohorts, have found themselves into the top echelon of administrative and political offices in Nigeria,, it is only natural to wonder how many of our 'top government' officials are sympathetic, or indeed closet members of extremist Islamist jihadist outfits.  

Routinely, hordes of Islamist extremists are encouraged and sponsored to stage public protests to express sympathy for extremist Islamist issues occurring in the Middle East or other areas far removed from Nigeria and the African continent;

Is the world missing any connections here between international extremist Islamist jihadists and the ruling oligarchs in Nigeria?

Yes! The international community appears to be playing the ostrich and at times unknowingly and surreptitiously supporting a hydra-headed monster that is bound to visit ill-will on all.

Is there anything that can be done to forestall repeating the carnage caused in the Middle East by extremist Islamist ideologies in the African continent generally, and West Africa in particular?

Certainly Yes! Containment and neutralization of oligarchs who feast on the pains and blood of their subjects has never been a problem to a determined international community.

Picture: Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais; and Billionaire banker, Umaru Mutallab.