Profiting from mayhem

by Eze Eluchie

In an earlier post on this blog (Friday 12th April 2013: “Amnesty for terror”), I had advised against efforts by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in Nigeria to grant ‘amnesty’ to a group that clearly had neither asked for amnesty nor expressed any remorse for their actions.

I had clearly enunciated that the empanelling of an ‘Amnesty Committee’ by Goodluck Jonathan would merely be an additional route to fleece Nigeria and had advised that if the members of any such ‘Amnesty Committee’ had any iota of belief in the rationality of their existence, they should not hide behind huge desks in air-conditioned offices in Nigeria’s capital city (Abuja) but go into action by operating from and or visiting the terror groups in Kano, Maidugri, Damaturu or other cities where the Boko Haram groups are in effective control.

Alas, after 14 days of the empanelling of the ‘Amnesty Committee’, a Committee to which 2 wise and discerning appointees had rightly declined to serve, the millions of dollars appropriated to the ‘Amnesty Committee’ has not only disappeared, but also served, as predicted, to further infuriate the terror group - the 'committee has remained hole-up in the comfort of Abuja whilst thousands of Nigerians are having their lives unfortunately terminated by the Boko Haram group

If Mr. President dies, what happens?

by Eze Eluchie

The Igbo nation of present day south-eastern Nigeria have an ancient adage which states: ‘onwu si, ekwumela uka, aghakwalaya’ which translates to: ‘death says, in any discussions, do not neglect it'. This adage expresses the transient nature of life. Life is but like a lit candle in the wind – it can be snuffed out at the slightest flicker.

The awareness of the ultimate end of life becomes a proof of maturity and helps shape mans relationship with his environment. It imbues a realization of mortality and, for some, a reason to do the best they can whilst they still have the breath in them.

For others, who remain glued to primordial fantasies, death is a taboo subject which is never discussed in the public realm and only mentioned in hushed tones in the wee hours of the night – lest death itself, hearing its name mentioned, will creep into the conversation and consume whosoever mentioned its name. The failure to appreciate the eventuality and finality of death exposes some to gluttonous cravings and irrational mannerisms.

It is to the later group discussed above, that the certainty of death causes the most harm. For the former, whensoever death comes, there is in place a foolproof plan to confront it.

Even as I write this piece, I realize that if I suddenly had a tweak in my heart, and being all alone in the office presently, no one would be able to call for assistance, and the heart attack I may have, may be my way out of the present dispensation.  Such eventuality would certainly be a source of great sorrow to some, whilst to others, particularly the kleptocrats (and their cronies) who are robbing Nigeria blind, it will be a good reason to pop several bottles of exotic wines, bought with looted funds, in celebration thereof.

For the larger society, a death could likewise cause a great deal of sorrow and or celebration, depending on whose time came up.

For well structured societies, the death of a principal character will no doubt cause some dislocation in the polity – which will be immediately contained by societal structures. When for instance, the Pope passed on recently, there was in place a structure to take care of the interregnum. The situation when Hugo Chaves passed on in Venezuela was likewise easily contained with an in-built societal mechanism. The United States, Britain, other European Union countries and most other well structured political entities have sufficiently strengthened back-up plans in the event of the death or permanent incapacity of their respective heads of governments.

When a country is however in transition or plagued by insidious internal dynamics, the death of the principal figure in government could portend far more ominous consequences for all concerned.

When on the 6th day of April 1994, the then Rwandan President, Juvenal Habyarimana, was killed in a plane crash alongside his Burundian counterpart, Cyprian Ntayamira and eight other persons, the mere ‘accidental’ death was to mark the beginning of one of the most vicious orgies of mass killings man-kind has ever witnessed. By the time the Rwanda genocide ended, over 800,000 people or a full one-tenth of the Rwandan population had been annihilated.

Despite similar ethic demographics in Burundi, the people of Burundi were able to contain reactions to the death of their president, and the killings did not spill over across the border from Rwanda.

In Nigeria today, some interest groups and or ethnic blocs have threatened ‘war’, ‘cessation’, ‘bloodshed’ and the commencement of mayhem based on whether the President continues in office beyond his current term or not.

Whilst one continues to wish that the President lives long enough to see his 100th birthday and beyond, with the posturing of various ethno-religious militias in Nigeria in the course of the past few months, the multiple killings taking place in the northern fringes of Nigeria and the threats emanating from all corners of the Nigerian contraption, one cannot but wonder what will befall the country in the event of the death of the President.

Would it make any difference if the death was by reason of a bout of malaria (as is the case with most Nigerians)? or an accidental slip in the bath tub? Choking on food? Or by the Presidential plane falling from the skies (as happened in Rwanda)? Or whatsoever

Can a Rwanda-style event occur in Nigeria or are we prepared to take the Burundi route?

What can be done to prevent this precarious state we find ourselves in today?

Again, let’s restructure and renegotiate our contraption whilst the tide is low!

Picture: A casket

Hedged out of the Hajj!

by Eze Eluchie

The news of the deportation of Nigerians intending to perform the pilgrimage  (Hajj) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is yet one more slide down the steps to infamy.

When will it dawn on these impostors who parade as elected public officials in Nigeria that the world is daily becoming aware of the scam represented in the contraption called Nigeria and will continue to treat the country with disdain and ridicule? 

Is it when the President himself gets deported from a foreign trip?