Nigeria's silent, but sure, ethnic cleansing

by Eze Eluchie

The continued silence of the Nigerian State and the civil populace to the continued acts of ethnic cleansing going on in our Middle-Belt region is most unfortunate and regrettable. On a daily basis, scores of our fellow countrymen are killed, hundreds of houses destroyed and thousands are forced to flee their lands and assume the status of ‘internally displaced persons’, and other co-travelers in the Nigerian contraption act with seeming nonchalance, care-free disposition, as if to  confirm the widely held believe that our contraption is comprised of strange bed-fellows.

But for goodness sake, the peoples being killed are also human. Today it is the Birom’s, the Kataf’s, the Afizere’s, the Banda’s, the Chama’s and other relatively numerically smaller tribes which are being attacked. Tomorrow, who will it be? Your tribe or mine?

Nowadays, no day passes without reports of gun-men invading, sacking and killing at will across villages in the Middle-Belt region. Across the region, entire ethnic nationalities have had to abandon their traditional homesteads and relocate to refugee camps in so-called protected territories.

These attacks have become systematic and are clearly targeted at ensuring that the peoples of these regions, who are comprised of ethnic groups which have relatively small numerical strengths, are forcefully removed from their lands.

The culpability of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, currently headed  by Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar, a man who has been adjudged a religious extremist and bigot by a Judicial Panel headed by a respected Supreme Court Justice, in these heinous crimes is further underscored by the unwillingness and refusal of the leadership of the Police Force to take preventive steps to curb or arrest the situation.

The Police authorities rarely make arrests. And in the few instances where the communities attacked are able to identify and arrest their attackers, the authorities’ surreptitiously admit such suspects to administrative bail without prosecution. From bail, the suspects simply disappear into thin air, only to resurface in yet another attack on yet another community.

Increasingly, as happened in the Alakyo massacre of security personnel (see this blog entry of May 22nd 2013: http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2013/05/most-unfortunate-murder-of-security.html ), the peoples of these tribes are realizing that the only way they may be able to protect their own lives and preserve the continued existence of their peoples in the face of abandonment by police authorities, may be to resort to self defense.

Rather than seek to address the endless bloodletting and bloodbath bleeding the very life out of the peoples of the contraption, there has been a shameful clamor by often recycled expired politicians to make a grab for the control of the treasury of the State.

Let us talk. Let us restructure and renegotiate our contraption now.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26618&Itemid=114

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125776:gunmen-invade-plateau-kill-34-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Picture: Mass burial of 66 victims of a recent episode of ethnic cleansing near Jos, Nigeria. Unfortunately, a sitting Senator of the Feedral Republic of Nigeria (Sen Gwang Dantong) and several others were killed during the mass burial pictured here.

Nigerian State Governor, Adams Oshiomole (of Edo State), commits murder!

by Eze Eluchie

For authorizing the killing of four prisoners (Chima Ejiofor, Daniel Nsofor, Osarenmwinda Aiguokhan and Richard Igagu) whose appeal against a death sentence were still pending before a Court of law, the following persons have, technically and practically, clearly committed murder and ought to be prosecuted:
1. Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole, who signed the Death Warrants.
2. Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Henry Idahagbon, who, as a lawyer, ought to know far better than he is portraying.

Also ought to be prosecuted, albeit for a lesser offense, on account of the fact that they were merely 'obeying orders that they might have believed to the legitimate, are 'The Hangman' who executed the dastardly act and others who participated in the process.

The only other time in Nigeria's checkered history when accused persons were killed during the pendency of legal processes to establish guilt was when the Sani Abacha regime hanged renowned writer and environmental rights activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.

This is really a most heinous crime as it portends grave consequences for the polity and it is really unfortunate that Nigeria's Constitution accords immunity from investigation and prosecution for a State Governor who acts in clear and gross violation of the Constitution.

If this unfortunate precedence is allowed to go without visiting due punishments on the 'high profile' culprits, the question becomes: 'will other political office holders ensure the 'execution' (or more appropriately murder) of opponents, at their sole discretion, irrespective of 'Stay of Executions' ordered by our Courts'?

When one factors into account the level of abuse to which our judicial system can be subjected to and the ease with which a fictional charge can be made to stick against indigent accused persons, the fact that our judicial system found sufficient reason to order a Stay of Execution in this matter, makes it more glaring that in deed a sinister act against good conscience and justice had been committed in Nigeria's Edo State with the murder of these four prisoners.

The matter is made far worse by the fact that these same political office holders are, in the course of their administration of State funds, engaged in more sinister criminal acts than whatever acts the now murdered prisoners could ever have perpetuated.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, must as a matter of urgency, commence immediate steps to bring the culprits to justice. Whereas the sitting Governor of Edo State can claim immunity from investigation and prosecution, the State Attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Henry Idahagbon and others who collaborated in this sad episode, have no such immunity. Adams Oshiomole can be prosecuted whenever he steps out of office.

As you read, kindly observe a minute of silence in memory of these four unfortunate victims of State murder.

Our contraption now appears to be in free fall.


http://www.punchng.com/news/edo-executes-four-convicts-by-hanging/


Picture: Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole

Can one really miss Sani Abacha?

by Eze Eluchie

I never thought the day will come when I will miss the rulership of former dictator, Sani Abacha.

But how I wish Sani Abacha was at the helm off affairs today, as British authorities decide to impose, from November 2013, a most discriminatory 'cash-bond charge' of over 750,000 Naira {3,000.00 British Pounds} on every intending Nigerian visitor to Britain.

Sani Abacha had come unto the Nigerian scene at a very volatile period in the nation’s history. Upon 'stepping aside' from office, Ibrahim Babangida, the dictator who had annulled the June 12 1993 elections had deliberately allowed a raw military officer, who had little formal education but had under Nigeria's flawed quota-driven process, found himself to the rank of a 3-Star General in the Nigerian Army.

Being poor in formal education, it was quite easy for smart alecs who surrounded Sani Abacha to manipulate him to their own personal pecuniary ends.

Two principal set of characters that seized the opportunity of Abacha's low IQ to clean up themselves were Abacha’s security team headed by former Chief security Officer {CSO} (Major Al-Mustapher) and those who had access to public funds and the bidding processes for Nigerian 'Oil Blocks'. 

Sani Abacha rarely traveled outside the borders of Nigeria during his tenure and for a very lengthy period during his tenure as Head of State was virtually imprisoned within the walls of Aso Rock by his security advisers who coined ceaseless tales of attempts by all manner of imaginary folks to kill Abacha. It was later revealed that the CSO himself had been instrumental to some of the terrorist attacks and bomb-blasts targeting military barracks in Nigeria during the Abacha era. These attacks had then been blamed on pro-June 12 actors. Having cornered his boss (Abacha), Major al-Mustapher was thus able to secure access to unrestricted and inexhaustible funds under the guise of 'tackling the opposition' and 'securing the head of State'.

Abacha was so intimidated and frightened of his own shadow that he was even made to adorn very dark sunglasses even whilst in his office.

Abacha's children and persons who were close to him, all cashed in, with frightful frenzy, on the intellectually challenged late Head of State’s inability to see through the woods. Within a period of 3 years, well over U.S.$8 Billion was stolen out of Nigerian reserves by relatives and friends of the Abacha clan, as the reclusive ruler hid behind his sunglasses. A certain childhood acquaintance of Abacha, Mai Deribe, overnight acquired the single most lucrative oil block in Nigeria and pronto, became one of the 'richest men in the world'.

Even in death, most who accuse Abacha of graft, have not stopped to wonder why a man who hardly left the confines of the Presidential villa, had no plans of vacating office and was not a great fan of travel, except to Mecca for Hajj, would be stashing away billions of dollars in Swiss Banks. The fact is that the billions stolen during Abacha’s tenure were stolen, not by the goon, but in his name!

In all his 'dumbness', one area where Sani Abacha excelled heads above his peers was in a stubborn insistence on reciprocity in intergovernmental relations.

When for instance the British authorities in an effort to muscle our then Nigeria Airways from flying into the lucrative Lagos - London route (which till date remains the most lucrative route operated by British Airways worldwide), by claiming that aircraft's used by Nigeria Airways on the said route were not 'airworthy', Abacha did not waste time in promptly banning British Airways flights from coming into Nigeria.

The impact on the fortunes of British Airways and the British economy was instant. Overnight, the British authorities announced a review and then a reversal of their policy against Nigeria Airways. Delegation upon delegation were dispatched from London to Abacha to plead for a reversal of the ban Nigeria had imposed on the British carrier. Abacha staunchly refused and British Airways flights did not land in Nigeria till the end of the Abacha-era.

Yet another instance occurred when the Nigerian national soccer team (the Eagles) was due to play a friendly match in Johannesburg with their South African counterparts in celebration of a Nelson Mandela victory. Nigerians, our Eagles (who had already arrived Johannesburg for the match), and the international football community, were shocked when the South Africans turned the Nigerian national team back on account of the most unfortunate murder (by hanging after a jaundiced trial) of famed writer and environmental rights activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.

Not to be out done, Sani Abacha waited for the commencement of the African Cup of Nations, which was to be hosted later that year by South Africa and which had Nigeria’s Eagles as defending champions to exert his pound of flesh. Abacha aborted Nigeria's participation at the South African event, reminding all of the insult South African authorities had meted out to Nigerians and the Nigerian soccer team. Everybody ranted, but Abacha, on point of reciprocity and mutual respect amongst sovereign States, stood his ground - and rightly so, I must state.

In the face of the recent announcement by British authorities of the imposition of a most discriminatory 'cash-bond charge' of over 750,000 Naira on every intending Nigerian visitor to Britain, I have no doubt whatsoever that if Abacha was in charge, the British would not have contemplated such move and if in their folly they did try it, the consequences would have been instant and drastic.

At his end, the very same factors who felt they had had enough of crisis following the botched June 12 1993 elections in Nigeria craftfully eliminated the two principal actors in the imbroglio - Sani Abacha and MKO Abiola, and our contraption continued. After killing Abacha, a childish dummy of 'apples and Indian prostitutes' was sold to our gullible population.

Over the Saro Wiwa hanging, Abacha can continue to rot in hell!

Over the planned 'cash-bond charge' required from Nigerians planning to visit Britain, may the spirit of Abacha come back to life!!

Picture: Former military dictator, Sani Abacha