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.

Required: Zero-Tolerance For Hate Speech

by Eze Eluchie

There ought to be zero-tolerance for 'hate speech' and literature promoting hatred of identifiable peoples.

Episodes of mass atrocities are first conceptualized in devious minds, broadcast either in writing or verbally via hate-speech, before the actual vile acts manifest.

From the negatively enchanting oratorical skills of Adolf Hitler leading to the Holocaust, to the broadcasts of the Rwanda’s Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLMC) leading to the Rwandan genocide, the power of hate-filled spoken words or written texts to stoke up tension amongst peoples and extract the vilest of actions from mankind has never been in doubt.

Of recent, mere hints on the need for African immigrants residing in South Africa to be made to go back to their respective home countries, from the Zulu King in South Africa, Goodwill Zwelithini, as contained in an address calling for ‘all foreigners to carry their bags and go to where they come from’, was sufficient to unleash an orgy of xenophobic violence which led to several deaths, forever scaring the Rainbow Country, creating divides amongst lifelong friends and destroying assets built over decades.

The rise in xenophobic utterances against the Igbo people of South Eastern Nigeria (the ethnic nationality who had suffered tremendous losses during the Biafran genocide 1967 - 1970) in the course of the past few months is quite worrisome.

From a Dallas, Texas, USA based medical doctor, Dr Adeniran Abraham Ariyo, who called on his Facebook page for the mass slaughter of Igbo's, to the monarch in Lagos (Mr. Rilwan Akiolu) who called for death for Igbo's by drowning if they failed to vote for his preferred candidate in a domestic election (https://youtu.be/TYkS3C4Y1cY), there appears to be a rise in hate speech against the Igbo’s.

When one recollects that similar trends in Nigeria, rise in hate speech, had been instrumental to a vicious pogrom and the accompanying Biafran genocide of the late 1960’s, the need to ensure zero-tolerance for hate speeches or whatever communication that has the potential to breed genocidal dispositions becomes paramount.

As the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari assumes political power by May 29th 2015, considering the paucity of votes the General’s party garnered from the South East region, all eyes will be on the regime to gauge reaction to incitements to commit mass atrocities and whether it deploys a rapid response mechanisms to frontally confront and nip hate speech in the bud. Or, God forbids, condones and encourages same.

The world will be watching. We simply must ensure Never Again, Anywhere!

Picture: Dallas, Texas-based Dr. Abraham Ariyo and his offensive hate-posts against the Igbo race on his Facebook page.