UWA

So many issues shattered the peace of this weekend in Nigeria, but I doubt any other news (including the rape of a girl by several men, and a teenage girl shot by trigger happy policeman) had the traction that the rape and death of Vera Uwaila Omozuwa

 had on and over Nigerians. I feel like rewriting what I just wrote now, because there's no peace to be shattered in Nigeria, not over a weekend, and definitely not over a working week. Even Covid-19 didn't have the power to protect Nigerians from unfortunate events, that will make any ear that hears it tinge. We don't know how to cry again in Nigeria, the voice of the people have been stifled by a regime that considers protests illegal, so you won't see, or you will see only a few brave people on the streets, so we turn only to social media to vent, and hope not to be found and incarcerated, as has been the case with missing Dadiyata for months on end, while politicians and those in positions of authority hardly add their voices to these things, that bug us on the streets, like they were of no consequence to issues of governance, and therefore have nothing to do with them.


During my university days on campus, after libraries were closed (I was even locked up in one, after I slept off), and classes were too far to walk to, buildings of churches and mosques were the next available and popular spots to go read. Tutorials also happened there, organized by Catholic, Pentecostal fellowships and Muslim groups, when it seemed like there was a competition to see which of the groups produced the better students. Another reason why they were choice spots was because there was always "light" in those places for some reason or the other, and unlike other reading spots, they were the safest, especially as regards the possibility of rape for female students, and mugging for both male and female students. Going to read in religious places is a tradition that preceded my time in school, and I was sure will succeed me. It stands to reason also that students who are not within campuses may also want to continue the tradition outside campuses. On these streets, we celebrated children reading under streetlights of busy roads while selling wares with their mothers, or on their own. A bank recently decided to sponsor a girl's education, after she was found using the light from their ATM to read. 

If we begin to list the reasons why Uwa decided to go and read at the church that fateful night, we might not be able to exhaust them all fully. However, what happened to her later that night would've been the last thing she expected, and especially at that location. Sadly, our police and policing haven't developed to the point where forensics could have been able to tell us whether the motive was murder, or attempted murder following rape, or attempted rape, and until a culprit that's not coerced to tell the truth, is found what we have as information regarding Uwa's death, remains just speculations by those who saw her after the dastardly acts have been committed, leaving her in a coma, from which she eventually passed on.

Even though the police mentioned something about finger prints on the fire extinguisher cylinder, I doubt Edo State police command has the wherewithal to pursue that, and if they do, which database have they to tally their findings with. An autopsy will definitely reveal the horrors she passed through, and cause of her death, but will not reveal who her perpetrators are. Sadly, the record of the Nigerian police as regards rape is abysmally poor and nothing to write home about. Before human rights activists, and bodies committed to fighting sexual violence in all its forms came to be, victims of rape had no one to turn to, as the police was known to further compound their predicament, even in cases where the rapists were caught during the act. On several occasions, the police that should protect victims, and bring perpetrators to book, championed so called "peace moves" and "settlement proposals" from the rapists' people to the victim's family.


It is the lack of justice for victims over the years, that have continued to enable rapists, the results of which is evident in the metro section of our newspapers daily. Even religious leaders are not left out as perpetrators, and babies even as young as a few months are not left out as victims, talk more of teenagers, young adults like Uwa, and women. When everybody was looking at India as the rape capital of the world, the news about rape in Nigeria was there, a constant, just like in South Africa, only that the world didn't seem to have our time. The Nigerian society looks like a society that enables sexual violence against females, and the reports are there, have been there, and once a while there's the noise either in sex for marks scandal in universities, or the occasional story on twitter that will trend for a few days, and then disappear, without any recourse to legal aid, but someone's life would've been scarred and/or ruined, sometimes for life, even when the seem to be enjoying family life, in seemingly blissful marriages.


I hope that the death of Uwa will not go the way of others. This is not the first time that a Governor, a Commissioner of Police, even the Inspector General of Police will be on a matter, yet justice will remain a fleeting illusion. Nothing remains newsworthy in Nigeria beyond a week, and that's even when it's most dastardly, and usually it is overtaken by something worse making one wonder if the country isn't one big movie set for a horror movie. It is painful not to imagine how things can be done differently, seeing as the rhetoric is the same as has always been, when things like this happen. It is the helplessness Nigerians feel with the police and the criminal justice system, when crimes are committed, that leaves the Nigerian society with no option than to resort to self help, especially when the culprit is caught red handed. I want to be optimistic, but there's not even a straw to hold on to now. I pray the Almighty gives Uwa's family the fortitude to bear this great loss.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- https://m.guardian.ng
- https://www.pulse.ng

ÀMÒTÉKÙN

The law of unintended consequences, that is the only thing that comes to my mind when I think about Àmòtékùn, the security outfit set up by governors in Nigeria's southwest. It is difficult not to see how it's formation doesn't have basis in the way Nigeria's security apparatus appears skewed in favour of the North, leaving other parts of Nigeria wandering whether they still matter in the "security" scheme of things; more so, when those parts of Nigeria are experiencing security challenges, with accusing fingers pointed at marauders suspected to be from the section of the country from where the hierarchy of the security agencies hail from, leaving them suspect as to whether there exists a reluctance to bring perpetrators to justice. This is coupled with the fact that in many, if not all of the cases, justice isn't seen to be done, in the midst of the impunity with which the acts of killings and brigandage are carried out.

The speed with which the attorney general rushed to condemn the outfit, calling it illegal, when there are groups setup with similar objectives in the North (especially in areas ravaged by insurgency, and banditry, besides Kano's hisbah, which is "religious police", so enabled that recently a member of the police landed in their net during a raid at a hotel), further confirmed the fears of many that the federal government, not only appearing to be treating the security of lives and properties of Nigerians with levity, show no intent to allow Nigerians defend themselves. Indeed, it won't be the first time, as before now Nigerians had been urged to submit arms and ammunitions in their possession, whether legally or illegally obtained, without extending same to herdsmen who brandish theirs in broad daylight for all to see, under the guise that they come in handy when they are attacked by humans (raiders) or wild animals, when they traverse the forests especially at night.


All it took for the attorney general, Abubakar Malami to sing a new tune, was the statement by APC's national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu which tried to soothe nerves at both ends of the divide. A meeting of the governors, with the attorney general, and the vice president followed later, and from the look of things a place of accommodation was found, and just like that Àmòtékùn wasn't illegal anymore, or a loophole was found via which their operations could be legalised. Now, every region in Nigeria seem to be keen to setting up a security outfit of the likes Àmòtékùn,

like "Shege Ka Fasa"

 setup by a coalition of northern groups. Interestingly, while Àmòtékùn's sigil is the leopard, the lion is that of Shege Ka Fasa, leaving me to wonder what animal the southeast (whose dying regional party, APGA's symbol, is the cock) will use as symbol, when their regional security outfit comes online.


Interestingly, military operations in recent times have also had animals depicted expressing emotions, such as "crocodile smile, python dance", etc especially at a period snakes and monkeys have been accused of stealing and embezzlement, by Nigerians who at one time or the other had public funds placed under their care, yet many Nigerians took exception when Nigeria was referred to as a zoo by one seeking a referendum to determine whether a part of Nigeria, should remain in Lord Lugard's contraption or out of it. The fact that soldiers were deployed to police any or every part of Nigeria shows an aberration in the first place, worse still to have the populace lose confidence in them too, like the police before them, enough to have to be accused of colluding with bandits (evidenced not long after with the now cold "Wadume" case, interestingly in the same Taraba State, as that of General T.Y. Danjuma who made the allegations) and marauders by an ex-military general, who thereafter asked his people to defend themselves, shows how badly things have gone security-wise with Nigeria. Even the American government based its visa restrictions to Nigeria on security, in what can be described as the lowest Nigeria has ever been since it gained independence.


It therefore didn't come as a surprise to me when Àmòtékùn moved from conjecture to the real deal, because the clamour for regional police has been on for sometime, achieving a deafening crescendo under Buhari's administration, which is perceived as thinking that members of security agencies from other parts of Nigeria, including civilian and political officers charged with key security responsibilities, weren't competent enough to address security matters and challenges, when over time not much improvement has been recorded with the present crop of officers in command and politicians/civilians in charge. Interestingly, the military chiefs overdue for retirement, yet still retained have been a source of concern for close watchers of security events in Nigeria, who surmise that this may affect the morale of officers who have found themselves stagnated in service, or even forced to retire, as there's been a ceiling to their enhancement because the top has yet to give way. As for the men, prosecuting the war on terror, it is no surprise that morale is low, as there seem to be no change in tactics, and if recent amateur videos from the war front are anything to go by, they are also battling with lack of equipments, and most importantly, simple basic amenities needed to maintain life, and sustain the onslaught against insurgents in the northeast.


What couldn't be achieved by democratic means, via a referendum for instance, or by an act of legislation, in terms of decentralising the police force, as you'd expect from a federation (Nigeria's federation is a lie) appears to now being fondled with, with the formation of Àmòtékùn and the likes that may evolve from the other parts of Nigeria. Sadly, lives have been lost, properties destroyed in the face of a helpless and "disinterested" security architecture. These regional security outfits, should they become a thing, and thrive, may become the precursor for state policing, that many who seek the restructuring of Nigeria have been asking for. The present knee jerk rhetoric by the federal government to midwife "Community Policing", that will include just about every other regular person, on a voluntary basis, I consider dead on arrival, because it still doesn't take security issues serious, as it mirrors what was behind the formation of the civil defence corp, whose duty today in the scheme of things cannot be distinctly explained, one of them recently shot dead the politician he was attached as aide to, while shooting "into the air", in celebratory mood at a victory party organised by the latters' colleague.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- www.dailypost.ng

ON CHECKPOINTS IN NIGERIA'S SOUTHEAST

A few days ago I left for Umuahia to attend, on behalf of my family, the burial and funeral ceremony of an in-laws late mother. The details of the burial, including how she was interred within the grounds of the floor of what used to be her bedroom, will form the text of my ongoing treatise on Igbo burials. For now, I'll focus on what I observed making the journey by road, especially as regards checkpoints, which has become quite topical considering the volume of traffic to the east during this festive period. 

The matter of checkpoints in the Eastern part of Nigeria isn't one that is new to the Igbo of the region, and indeed it would seem as if we've become accustomed to it. However, the fact that it appears to have outlived its usefulness, in terms of curbing security breaches, which continue to take place in spite of the siege, coupled with the fact that they now serve as extortion spots, especially of commercial vehicles, and private ones, which the security agents on the beat consider to have run foul of traffic laws, or vehicle licence and registration codes, of which the amount to be extorted is at the discretion of the armed men, and the ability of the victim to negotiate, should be a source of concern to well meaning Nigerians.

I had listened to Senator Uche Ekwunife from Anambra State, on the floor of the National Assembly just days before my journey to Umuahia, complaining about 

the inconvenience and nuisance the security checkpoints in the southeastern part of Nigeria have come to represent in recent times, and I decided to pay attention to the situation during my journey, not because I wasn't aware of the menace, or hadn't noticed them on past journeys (in fact, I remember blogging about it, as part of another story), but I hadn't considered to particularly not each of the checkpoints, as I encountered them in the East, till now. So, from Onitsha I began taking notes, and found there to be twelve checkpoints between Onitsha and my destination in Umuahia. Below is listed, the checkpoints, the arm of the security agency/agencies manning them, and their locations 👇🏿


1. FRSC + CUSTOMS + POLICE, at Oba in Anambra State.
2. POLICE, just before Ekwusigo LGA, at Ozubulu in Anambra State.
3. POLICE FEDERAL HIGHWAY PATROL, about 100m from number 2.
4. POLICE FEDERAL HIGHWAY PATROL, Okija, also in Anambra State.
5. FRSC + SOLDIERS, few metres from Total Filling Station, a popular landmark in Ihiala, Anambra State.
6. RAPID RESPONSE SQUAD, Umunoha, Imo State.
7. NIGERIA POLICE FORCE, Avu/Obosima Way, Owerri, Imo State.
8. MOBILE POLICE FORCE, Emekuku, Owerri North, Imo State.
9. MILITARY CHECKPOINT, AzaraOwalla, Owerri, Imo State.
10. POLICE, one of them with his pistol in its holster, in Aboh Mbaise, Imo State.
11. MILITARY CHECKPOINT, Umuekwule Umuopara, Umuahia, Abia State.
12. MILITARY CHECKPOINT, on Ojike Street, Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State.

Except for one of the checkpoints manned by men of the Nigerian Police Force, that our Sienna driver seemed to know the policeman that accosted him personally, the driver had to part with some money at all of the other eleven checkpoints. The men at these checkpoints seemed interested only in the money, from the drivers of commercial vehicles, and the big ones from private car drivers, with tinted glasses with or without the requisite permits, to haulage vehicles. Indeed, we came across a man who was making frantic calls to someone I guess was higher up to impress upon the men at the checkpoint to not make a fuss about his vehicle with tinted glasses.


I witnessed first hand, how much time is wasted at these checkpoints, precious time that could've been useful to run an errand within a reasonable timeframe, and wondered if those who thought of these considered the unusual scenarios that emergencies created in the first place. A fellow passenger lamented that though the civil war ended in 1970, eastern Nigeria is still under siege, and it is that, beyond any other consideration, is why there is this much security and military grandstanding in the Southeast, despite the fact that it is one of the most peaceful regions in Nigeria. Unfortunately, now that the men at the checkpoints have turned the roads to their ATM (like that of a returnee from Canada, whose story trended on Twitter a few days back, who was fleeced of six hundred thousand Naira, by men of the Nigerian Police on his way to the East), it appears unlikely that a change in the direction of reducing the checkpoints is imminent, rather the opposite is expected in view of the nature of the festive season, and the lie that heightened security and checkpoints will be needed to ensure the safety of lives and properties of travelers, to and from the East.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- httpshttps://www.hrw.org/news

WITH A MONTH TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

With a month to Nigeria's Presidential Elections (between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party, and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives' Congress, APC),

to say the atmosphere is charged will be an understatement. Indeed, the days when one could easily predict that the results will go one way or the other is past. Maybe the way to put it is that the days of landslide victories are over, and even though there may be a frontrunner presently, it's possible that an event, or series of events very close to the elections may tilt the majority of votes from one candidate to the other. So, if you asked me now, I'd tell you that it is yet too close to call, a far cry from me four years ago when I was more confident to make a prediction, that fell totally flat to the eventual result, and led to the historic loss of a presidential election by the incumbent to the opposition.



I understand why many think that I may be wrong in thinking that it is too close to call at this time, and already gifting the incumbent with victory, and the truth is that I won't and can't totally disagree with them. This administration isn't anything like the one they ousted, and while you might be thinking about things like anti-corruption stance, integrity and other propaganda language they've regaled Nigerians with, it is with other things, and areas that make me think it different. For one, unlike President Goodluck Jonathan, who was squeamish about any Nigerian losing his/her blood by reason of his ambition, his successor is noted to have maintained an eerie silence when bloodshed followed his loss at the polls in the penultimate election before the one that brought him to power. Meaning that, he's the type that may not be unwilling to leave anything off the table, as options to ensuring he wins re-election into office for a second term.


Two, unlike his predecessor who treated the opposition with kids' gloves, President Muhammadu Buhari brooks no dissent, and does not stay his hand in pulling them down, either by roping them with corruption charges (guilty or not), or exhumation of old and cold cases, including that of murder (acquitted or not), illegal possession of arms 
or linking them with armed robberies just because the perpetrators are known to the politicians involved, as thugs and political enforcers (and it doesn't matter if the same tactics are employed by those on his side). This administration has shown it can be relentless in clamping down on perceived enemies, or those it thinks may be unyielding in towing it's desired path, should push come to shove, following a tightly contested race, which is the only way one can describe the ordeal of the present Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.


Three, President Buhari has never conceded defeat in the elections he'd lost before the last one, in which he emerged victorious. He never congratulated those he lost to, and as president, never congratulated candidates of the opposition who won governorship positions over his partys', like with Bayelsa and Anambra States. What a free and fair election must mean to him, would be such where he's victorious. Hence, when he says he will ensure that the next elections will be free and fair, one could easily conjecture what that implies, and fear that he may not relinquish power, even if he loses the coming presidential election.


Four, this President has no qualms filling sensitive positions with close family, friends, allies mostly of his ethnic group,

or from the north. From having no urge to have a close relative of his at the echelon of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC redeployed, even based on his much touted integrity; to his unwillingness to retire the Inspector General of Police who'd reached the mandatory age of retirement, maybe by reason of how that kind of change, so close to the General Elections can impact on things (even though going by his nature, a replacement will be a northerner, of which he seems to be comfortable), yet not feeling such when it felt trite to bring down a CJN (whom he dragged his feet to announce, until he fell ill and had to travel abroad for treatment, and the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, did the needful) for not fully disclosing his assets before the Code Of Conduct Tribunal, which if all goes according to plans, may also be replaced by a pliable northerner.


I could go on and on, but the above alone shows how difficult a task it is for former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to win the next elections. These are even beyond the politics, and the rigging, accompanied by federal might that usually accompanies such in Nigeria. Atiku's financial war chest which definitely isn't infinite cannot save him now, as the gale of high-profile defections from his camp to that of the ruling party have continued to show, and would take more than the release of embarrassing tapes, audio and video by self-exiled Reno Omokri to turn this tide around in his favour. This is because President Buhari doesn't have a following in the true sense of it, rather something in the likes of worshippers, who though they may not claim he's a god, relate to him as one. Mostly in the core north, and to a lesser extent fanatically by supporters elsewhere in Nigeria, while in the southwest it is more a political decision as they (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu particularly) eye the presidency in 2023, without a care as to whether there'll still be a Nigeria to govern by then, should Buhari get a second chance at running Nigeria the way he'd so far done.


'kovich 



PICTURE CREDIT:
- www.dailytrust.com.ng

OSHIOMHOLE'S CROSS

No one could've predicted that the All Progressives' Congress, APC would fall this deep into chaos after former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole

took over the reins of power from the much maligned (in hindsight, apparently for no just cause) former National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie Oyegun, who was removed by the intrigues of a very powerful cabal in the APC under the guise of his perceived inability to quell discontent amongst the rank and file of party members, and as part of the sacrifice President Buhari had to make to retain the support of such powerful persons. Indeed, it would appear that the only job Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu succeeded in doing, when he was saddled with the responsibility of reconciling disgruntled members of the APC, was having the former chairman removed, and once the movement to actualize that was set in motion, he appeared to have wrapped up the committee and moved on to other things. As it stands, the only glue holding the party together is President Muhammadu Buhari, such that it would appear that even though members could work against their party in their respective states in next year's elections, they seem to remain genuinely favourable to ensuring the president gets his second term with their hard work, at least for now.

When Adams Oshiomhole became the chairman, the smouldering flame of discontent within the APC had taken on a new life, and though he initially appeared to genuinely want to resolve and put out the flames, he ended up finding that he couldn't manage disappointments from those he thought he could sway. Naturally, those who were on the side of the deposed former chairman weren't supposed to easily take to him without frictions, but it appears he remembered them and visited them with the political tool he has at his disposal, when the time came to dispense favours. The first indication of troubled times for his administration came, when some renegade members of APC formed a breakaway faction they called, Reformed-APC (R-APC) with not so many notable figures, but signifying that they indeed had the backing of such people who would be pulling out of the APC in no longer time. Oshiomhole countered by meeting with the notable personalities suspected to be harbouring plans of decamping especially to the opposition People's Democratic Party, PDP, where many of them used to be before the 2015 General Elections that saw to the defeat of the PDP. Interestingly, it would appear that, save for very few occasions, once he spoke to a disgruntled party, it didn't take long for the person to announce his decision to leave the APC to the PDP, that left many wondering what exactly about him, made it so difficult for such notable personalities to concede to him. He also added insult upon injury, when in response to the snubbing he suffered, opted to denigrate the decampees in the media, telling of how they weren't of any electoral value, amongst other insinuations he feels to hurl at those who disagreed with him.

When those he was still negotiating with, saw the way he dispensed of, and insulted those he couldn't convince to remain in the party, they must've theorized that he wasn't genuinely interested in their remaining in the party beyond the interest that is of the cabal that waltzed him into power. Initially, it looked like the wave of decampings will be short-lived and curtailed, but it wasn't, owing to the fact that those who initiated it weren't small frys, but personalities with huge followings, with political machinery deep into the party at national and state level. For instance, the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki didn't just leave with his state's party machinery, he moved with his position to the opposition People's Democratic Party, PDP. The spokesman of the APC at the time, also threw in his towel in solidarity with his now decamped boss.


The plan by Oshiomhole to cause him to resign his position since he had decamped to the opposition also failed. Sadly, his plan to have Saraki impeached got only as far as mere threats could go,

as the latter prolonged the break the senators had embarked upon to include the period of primary elections for the various parties, which saw many of the senators Oshiomhole was counting on to bring his will to bear at the National Assembly failing to get tickets to re-contest for their seats. This unfortunate turn of events for Oshiomhole was due to political considerations from their respective states, mostly involving the governors, some of whom having exhausted the two-term limits of their tenure in office, wanted a go at the seats occupied by some of the senators, or in the otherwise case, wanted their own lackies there, in cases where such governors had fallen out with the incumbent senators. Oshiomhole was unable to get the commitment of the dominant forces in the various state chapters to reward incumbent members of the National House of Assembly with tickets to run in next year's election, which should have served as motivation to move against Senate President Saraki. Hence, at the time plenary resumed, not only was there no longer the cojones amongst those senators (some of whom had decamped from APC after losing out) to institute impeachment proceedings against Saraki. Also, within that interregnum, the Speaker, House of Representatives, also decamped to the PDP further compounding the woes of the APC chairman, who by his actions and inactions had inadvertently caused his party the leadership of both legislative chambers.

Oshiomhole wasn't going to take the slight he endured with the primaries lying low. The list to be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC would've to pass through him, and that was where he cut some of the governors to size. Some of them like Kaduna's Governor El-Rufai managed to get the President's ears concerning Senator Shehu Sani, who after several back and forths, lost his ticket to another in the good books of the governor. Other governors like Imo's Rochas Okorocha's (who will definitely not be erecting a statue in honour of Oshiomhole

now, or in the future, as his custom is) bid to install his son-in-law as governorship candidate, his wife and other members of his family in one position or the other, while he swims to the Senate; or Ogun's Governor Ibikunle Amosun's bid not only to name his successor but to force it down the throats of disgruntled members of the party; or in Zamfara (where because of the shenanigans of primaries due to the interplay of forces within the state and from the National in Abuja, led to a situation in which the party may not now fields candidates for any of the elections next year, after failing to meet the deadline by INEC in which they should've concluded their primaries); or Adamawa (as regards the brother of the first lady who after procuring the guber expression of interest forms found his name not on the list of contestants for the position) States, all failed in having their ways, and that's apart from several other politically wounded members of the party, for which reason the National Headquarters of the party in Abuja, have become a Mecca of some sorts, for protesting members (including the threat of naked women from Ogun State, who failed to fulfil their threat at the last minute) of the party who felt their rights (especially that of their benefactors) had been trampled upon.



Not a few of them were particular miffed at the fact that, while emasculating them at their strongholds, Oshiomhole all but allowed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu put paid to the second term ambition of his godson and incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, of Lagos State, and if the accusation by Ogun State's Governor Amosun is anything to go by, also influenced the decision to submit a name different from the one the latter submitted as the consensus gubernatorial candidate for his state. It is therefore no surprise that the APC chairman is facing stiff opposition not only just by these powerful members of the party, but even by some members of the party, who felt that the high-handedness of Oshiomhole has caused the party to bleed in terms of members. As if all that wasn't enough, yesterday "The Cable" broke the news that Oshiomhole was quizzed by officials of Department of State Security, DSS for about nine hours last weekend over accusations of collecting bribes (levelled against him by powerful members of his party) during the primaries of the APC. Most queer is the part where the newspaper alleged that Oshiomhole was even asked to resign but declined. What has got many concerned is why it had to be the DSS that had to be involved in what can be considered an internal party affair, and scarily points to a prelude of what to expect next year especially with opposition parties, if it appears that the DSS is being partisan. For now Oshiomhole isn't having the best of days, his story so far is akin to one who was received with joy and fanfare to Jerusalem, a while back with palm-wielding crowds chanting "Hossanah", only to find the same crowds chanting "Crucify" him today.


'kovich

ATIKU'S CAMPAIGN AFTER OCTOBER 7

Once former Vice President Abubakar Atiku last week named former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi 

as his running mate in next year's General Elections the political space erupted. Interestingly, I'd have thought events preceding that would've caused more earthquakes, unfortunately those didn't read as much on the Richter Scale as the nomination of Obi. Like me, many weren't surprised with the outcome of the Presidential Primaries of the People's Democratic Party, PDP which threw up Atiku

 on the morning of Sunday the 7th of October this year. The only reason I was able to watch the coronation, nay affirmation of President Muhammadu Buhari as the Presidential candidate of his party, All Progressives' (which is more in word than in deed) Congress, APC which climaxed with a speech by President Buhari in the wee hours of October 7th, was because in between the voting process going on at the Port Harcourt venue of the PDP primaries which started 6th October, I'd switch to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA which has become so partisan, enough not to bother to cover live events of the major opposition party, and have over time become so debased (with analog looking presentation, that sometimes I often think my TV dirty on the very few occasions I watch) that it is now only watched by the majority of Nigerians only when the president intends to make a speech, or on other occasions of national importance, where the National Broadcaster arrogates to itself the sole broadcasting rights.

The thought that the perception of Atiku as corrupt would shake his emergence failed to elicit the anticipated odium, rather people just seemed to have gotten tired of the tag on him, accepting it probably his human frailty, especially as there's been not so much improvement in the life of the average Nigerian being led by the supposed incorruptible (despite the fact that he was supported into power by perceived corrupt individuals, of which Atiku was one in 2015, and surrounded by corrupt individuals in power, some of whom have ought to answer but continue to be shielded) man of integrity. Clinging on the fact that Atiku couldn't visit the United States of America also managed to capture the news for a while, but that also failed to cause a ripple, after it became obvious that that impediment was sure to become a non-issue should he manage to clinch the presidency, because of several instances from Nelson Mandela to Narendra Modi, with people even saying they'd prefer a President that couldn't travel outside of the country than the globetrotter the incumbent had become in the past three years. To nail the coffin, the American Consulate in Nigeria opined that PDP's Presidential candidate has no corruption case against him in the States.



Then Atiku visited Obasanjo, accompanied by two Bishops, David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church

and Matthew Kukah (of the Archdiocese of Sokoto), and a very vocal Islamic Cleric in Sheik Abubakar Gumi,

to mediate in the lingering impasse between the former VP and his erstwhile boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The success of that intervention, with the outcome that included forgiveness handed Atiku by Obasanjo,

to the point of even pledging to assist him in actualizing his dream to become Nigeria's next president, must have irked members of the ruling party so much that they had to dust up Obasanjo's impression of his deputy in his latest book, as if he had no right to change his mind or view over any subject, as he so wishes. As people remained obstinate and unconvinced, the next target was Obasanjo who they now touted as being of no electoral value, even though they'd approached him pre-2015 for support, when due to a letter he wrote former President Goodluck Jonathan berating him for misgoverning Nigeria, he's support was instrumental in getting Buhari elected to replace Jonathan. When that also failed, even President Buhari joined the fray by castigating the religious leaders that were present in the Otta residence of the former President and witnessed the epoch making event, deriding them for mixing religion with politics, even though he'd been visited by a Pastor Kumuyi

of Deeper Life Bible Church, just days back and was endorsed pre-2015 Presidential elections by Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka,

a Catholic Priest and Pastor Tunde Bakare

of Latter Rain Assembly.



All of the brick-bats that followed these events since Atiku was declared PDP's Presidential flagbearer from the ruling party and it's supporters, so far hardly dented the body of the work and progress the campaign was making as the days drew by, until a running mate was named from Southeastern Nigeria. Cyberspace waited with baited breath as to how the APC machinery will react. Interestingly, the response came from the unlikeliest of quarters. A group of so called Igbo leaders

of which the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi spoke for, after rising from a meeting in Enugu State, stating that they weren't consulted by Atiku before the latter decided to choose former Anambra State governor as his running mate. In fact, I read about this, after a friend had called me from Abuja to inquire about what I knew about the development, from the Twitter handle of the APC who had twisted the tale to mean that Southeasterners had opposed the choice of Obi as running mate to Atiku. Like the southeastern leaders, I wasn't happy with the choice of Obi as running mate, but unlike them, it wasn't because I wasn't consulted nor was it because I wanted former Central Bank governor, Professor Charles Soludo for the position, rather I'd thought that in conceding the running mate slot to the southwest (seeing as the Niger Delta and Southeast would cast the majority of their votes in favour of Atiku regardless, having been at the receiving end of Buhari's stick), it would help him make an inroad into the Southwest, but what do I know? Also, in Nigeria, as with other executive presidencies worldwide, the Vice Presidency is redundant, and I thought a stronger position like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF or Chief of Staff, or Senate President because of Federal Character (that the incumbent regime has effectively damaged to satisfy pecuniary, primordial and nepotistic reasons), would've been more suitable for the Igbo.


Interestingly, those who burst into celebrations after hearing the part of the declaration by the Southeast leaders, they wished to hear, failed to add that they also mentioned the fact that Atiku will soon visit them to commune with them on the way forward, so that everyone will be on the same page regarding not just about his running mate, but his policies without excluding the issue of RESTRUCTURING upon which he's so far based his campaign. They've probably moved on to waiting for another opening or crevice in the Atiku campaign activities to latch on. The APC machinery is currently celebrating the travel ban placed on some Nigerians, expected to be notably of the opposition, by the execution of the Executive Order 6, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Some of them gloat over this, while totalling ignoring the drama currently playing out in Kano involving Governor Ganduje literally pocketing wads of dollars into the recesses of his flowing "Babanriga" gown, and many have wondered why he decided to so expose himself by going for the kill personally, when he could've sent aides, the sort for which the First Lady's driver is still in the custody of the Secret Service for allegedly diverting about $2.5M meant for his madam.


Presently, the APC camp is in disarray, and have yet to come up with an articulated response to the Tsunami that the election of Atiku by the PDP as it's presidential candidate has birthed. Some have begun calculations, where they've even ceeded the rest of Nigeria without the Northwest and Southwest to Atiku, and because of the huge voting numbers alloted to the latter two regions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, brag that those numbers are enough for the incumbent to get re-elected, while grabbing every available straw they can lay their hands on, including the hope that emerging smaller parties can garner more votes to help dilute that by the PDP especially in the South, thinking the north will come through with block votes as it did in 2015, but with politics only time will tell.


'kovich



PICTURE CREDIT:
- www.sunnewsonline.com
- www.guardian.ng
- www.pulse.ng
- Nigerian Twitteratti

SENATOR ADELEKE'S GUBER CHANCES

Whoever advised Senator Ademola Adeleke

to be a no-show at last night's Debates organized by Channels Television for a few of the contestants for the Osun State Gubernatorial Elections due for next Saturday 22nd September, 2018, must have done him a huge disservice. If he made the decision singlehandedly, then it is unfortunate. Not necessarily because debates matter in Nigeria, or that they've really decided the outcomes of elections here. To the contrary, current President Muhammadu Buhari won in 2015 without attending any debate, same as Governor- Elect Kayode Fayemi for Ekiti just last month. So he does have precedence to point to in deciding not to attend the debate session, however his perception by a section of the electorate will be that of someone who gives no hoot about the electorate, is arrogant, camera shy (which considering that he's never shy to show his twerking skills

even when the opportunity isn't there) or lacks eloquence or speaking skills (even though that's not a requisite for delivering on good governance and/or dividends of democracy).


Present for last night's debate for the African Democratic Congress, ADC was Alhaji Fatai Akinade, the All Progressives Congress, APC's Adegboyega Oyetola, Action Democratic Party, ADP's Moshood Adeoti and Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic Party, SDP,

and they gave a fair account of themselves. As usual, Oyetola defended the incumbent government's line, while the others had differing opinions, as expected. Another minus for the PDP candidate was the issue of the news that went viral online to the effect that the bank accounts of members of the Adeleke Family had been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which he didn't debunk (with the popular singer, Davido, nephew to the senator who had been organising shows alongside his uncle to promote his candidacy, retweeting the fake news when it broke) till it was found to be a false and the EFCC vindicated.


If Senator Adeleke's supporters overlook this as well, there's still that Sword of Damocles, in the name of his WAEC certificate dangling over his head, such that even if he wins the elections, he might still get booted out of office should the courts fail to rule in his favour concerning the secondary school leaving certificate he presented, adjudged by his detractors to be fake. Sadly, in presenting that certificate, he overreached himself and was too clever by half, seeing as all he needed to do, as required by law, was prove that he attempted the school leaving certificate examinations, regardless of the grade.


Something that may work in his favour, may be the anger of Osun State people, over the comments APC's national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu made before the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun in Osogbo, to the effect that Osun State

hadn't the kind of money he's looking for, that in sending his son, their own Oyetola from Lagos, he was doing them a favour. They may just see this election cycle as an opportunity to rid themselves of Tinubu's influence from Lagos over their life in Osun. Senator Adeleke will then become the popular choice, especially if the sore from the injury dealt the Osun people, as regards the assassination of former attorney general, Chief Bola Ige continues to fester, with the link to SDP's Senator Iyiola Omisore, despite court rulings in his favour, refusing to disappear.


Senator Adeleke's meteoric rise politically, in such a short time, following the demise of his elder brother, whose seat he took over in the Senate, was earned not really because he deserved it, rather because the people voted for him in memory of his late brother, against the imposition of an unpopular candidate by the governor, which led to the shifting of support from the ruling party to the PDP which he decamped to. The fact that the same scenario has played out again in the APC (with order coming from above in Lagos) with those that lost out finding shelter in other parties, further boosts Adeleke's chances, especially if he can match the financial muscle of those backing Adetola, if the fight eventually comes to who can outspend the other in the new game of vote buying, should the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the security agencies entrusted with the responsibility to discourage that, look the other way.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- https://www.nan.ng
- https://www.pulse.ng

APC, DEFECTIONS, TRADER MONI & ELECTIONS

When the All Progressives Congress, APC came to power in 2015, the People's Democratic Party, PDP was demonized. It didn't matter that some of its members once belonged to the party they claimed ruined Nigeria for sixteen years before power was conceded them by the majority of the Nigerian voting public. In the run-up to the 2019 General Elections, the APC seems to now be courting some of the PDP members they once accused of corruption (and even going as far as calling unprintable names), just to see if they can make inroads into some parts of Nigeria, like the southeast and Niger Delta considered No-Go areas before this time.


In making advances to these PDP members, some of whom in the recent past have been visited by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the APC appears to have officially jettisoned it's so called anti- corruption mantra (which since coming to power, its proponent in President Muhammadu Buhari has been executing rather partially, against members of the opposition PDP, dissenting voices within his party, perceived enemies rightly or wrongly), in accommodating those they once described as "thieves" and responsible for Nigeria's underdevelopment.


Not only that the decampees become "saints" after joining the ruling party, they also either have corruption charges against them withdrawn or "disappeared", or have their cases stalled in court, they then go ahead to repeat the refrain of the APC to the effect that the PDP, to which they were members until a few days, underdeveloped and robbed their states of the collective patrimony. Senator Godswill Akpabio, the biggest catch so far for the APC from PDP after the gale of high profile defections that hit the APC involving two Governors and Federal House of Assembly members, even posited that he decided to join the APC to help President Buhari fight corruption.


The APC reminds me of ANIMAL FARM where the so called liberators ended up becoming like those they replaced, only that there truly was never any difference between the APC and PDP, just that the APC managed to make some Nigerians believe so before coming to power in 2015, that's why the change they promised ended up becoming more of the same, and even worse considering that things have worsened for Nigerians, on almost all indices since they wrested power at the centre from the PDP; but of course they are quick to lay the blame of their failures, at the feet of the so called sixteen years of "misgovernance" by the PDP. This is why just weeks to the next General Elections, there appears to be few to no tangibles the party can point to, that in desperation efforts at sharing pittance to the public under different guises like "Trader Moni" (a non- collateralized, no- interest

YOU'D THINK THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE "TRADER MONI" SOFT LOAN WILL BE HAPPIER THAN THE PURVEYORS OF THE SCHEME BEHIND THEM. 

loan of N10,000 for about two million beneficiaries, recently launched in Osun State days before a Gubernatorial Election is scheduled to take place there), for instance have become intensified to "buy" the hearts and minds of Nigerians.


The brazen nature of what the APC is willing to do to hang on to power, is why many people fear that next year's elections will be free and fair. Assurances made by President Buhari last week during his visit to China, that because he isn't afraid of a free and fair election, seeing as he came to be President today via one, and so will ensure same, instils little to no confidence to the discerning considering that he'd never accepted he lost any election in Nigeria, never congratulated all those he contested against and lost, and didn't condemn the violence perpetrated by his supporters after the elections in 2011, after he lost for the third time. It begins to look like an election he'd consider free and fair will be such where he emerges the victor, without room to accommodate a contrary outcome to mean the same.



'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- https://www.ynaija.com

NGIGE, EKITI, APC & BUHARI

As if the troubles bedeviling the All Progressives Congress, APC wasn't enough, yesterday a chieftain from the party from Anambra State, where he's been roundly defeated severally by the ruling party in that state, a Dr. Chris Ngige, whose political fortunes have long since nosedived, in his speech at the grand campaign rally for the Ekiti States' APC gubernatorial candidate and former governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, mistakenly asked Ekiti residents present at the venue, as well as Nigerians watching proceedings live on TV to vote for outgoing Governor Ayodele Fayose, who he stated had been a good wife to Ekiti people, cooking good food, amongst other attributes of, and to women that feminists may find offensive. By the time he realised his mistake, the damage had been resoundingly done, and tweets by APC followers to reduce it, only further stoked and spread the fire.

If Fayose's deputy, and People's Democratic Party, PDP candidate for next Saturday's poll wins the governorship seat, it may signal the beginning (or an intensification, if things go the other way) of the grand plot and design to have President Muhammadu Buhari lose his bid for a second term. The recent formation of the Reformed-APC, a splinter group from the APC, in what is reminiscent of what happened with the PDP, when the N-PDP was formed, and eventually contributed to a large extent to the failure of the party in the presidential elections of 2015, along with it's collaboration afterwards with other parties, with the sole aim of denying President Buhari his second term ambition signals a possible tectonic shift that will appear to cast him as the tribal leader he's always been, with the ability to win elections only in his neck of the woods, and never good for the diversity that Nigeria represents, a notion he's done absolutely nothing to dispel, first from his appointment of service chiefs mainly from his region, to pursuing policies that only suit the north only, like when he encouraged the World Bank Chief to focus on the Northeast, to reenergizing efforts at crude oil discovery in the north, to attempting to strip control of water resources from states to the federal government, when much of Nigeria's water resources lies in the south, to attempts to make the federal government responsible for the creation of ranches, across Nigeria for herdsmen, which should ordinarily be a private endeavour.

Even though Nigerians looked over his tendency to and for favouritisms, not in the least including in his so called anti-corruption fight, that seem to be targeting only those opposed to his rule and policies, they couldn't get over his quiet and silence, even the deflecting of blame from Fulani herdsmen, which he continues to champion over the killings that have become commonplace especially in Nigeria's middle-belt region, and other states like Taraba and Adamawa, where herders from his Fulani tribe have been severally implicated. The closest he'd come to accepting the responsibility of the group (tagged the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world) in the carnage, coming only when he refers to the asymmetric warfare meted out on indigenes (including women and children while they slept) of the affected places, was to deem the attacks a farmers-herders clash, when evidence hardly supports such.

Unfortunately, because of his below par response, and scant if any, attempt at ensuring justice for victims and survivors by bringing perpetrators of the killings to book despite repeated assurances to do same, the recent reprisal attacks by mostly militia groups of affected tribes and peoples (of Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa in recent times), who have resorted to self help, is the offshoot. Security agents like members of the police and army, deployed most times only as a reactionary force, that may have even stood by when the initial incidence of mayhem and massacres that took place, because they hadn't received orders "from above", have led many of the indigenes, including a retired army General to allege that the military and security forces besides taking sides, have even gone ahead to collude with marauding Fulani herdsmen. When the President recently claimed that it was unfair to say he hadn't wielded the big stick against the herdsmen because he was also Fulani, he failed to mention  things he'd done that should make Nigerians observe otherwise.

Sadly, many of the states, save for Taraba, suffering from the high insecurity situation in Nigeria, are those from which President Buhari gained huge electoral figures that helped propelled him to power. That includes Zamfara, where armed men, this time not suspected to be Fulani, have so menaced the state that the governor recently conceded his largely ceremonial title of Chief Security Officer of the state he superintends over as governor, seeing as he couldn't control how troops are to be deployed, nor have the power to chastise erring officers. On more than one occasion, the President, and members of his party have done what they accused the party they replaced in coming to power of doing, which is dancing on the graves of Nigerians, by organising and holding party rallies during and after deadly attacks on Nigerians, only for the government to release much rehashed statements (the only difference been in dates and places), expressing shock and outrage at the killings, sympathising with the government and people of the affected state, and vowing to bring perpetrators to book, before the Vice President, 'Yemi Osinbajo, now sadly declared "Minister of Condolence and Tragedy" by the unimpressed mass of Nigerian Twitterati, is then sent to the State, to assess the situation.

As if things weren't bad enough, Femi Adeshina, government's spokesman (who  has taken sycophancy to new heights) went on to add salt to injury of Nigerians by insensitively stating that deaths under the immediate past government, was more than it is under the current regime, like the loss of Nigerian lives have become a competition of, and for under whom were more lives lost, as if a life should be lost at all. The irony wasn't at all lost on discerning Nigerians, when Buhari just hours ago, rejoiced with, and thanked Thai authorities for successfully rescuing some teenage footballers and their coach from a maze of caves, after they got trapped there days ago. The shouts of a few, who had aforehand read the handwriting on the wall, concerning the president's lack of capacity to steer the ship of state have now, before and after the 2015 elections, continued to be boosted by the addition of voices connected to eyes from which scales have fallen, leaving the government no choice, seemingly than to explore coercive means to turn things in its favour politically, starting with Ekiti State in but a few days time.

'kovich

OF SEXUAL PREDATOR LECTURERS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

The first time I heard about sexual harassment of female students by male lecturers in the university was while in my first year at the University Of Lagos about two decades back. We as medical students had just one year to do on the main campus at Akoka, and there was no reseat option for us; it was either a pass, on to the medical school at Idi Araba or a fail, and repeat the year at the main campus. The albatross for many of us medical students then turned out to be a physics lecturer.

To stand a fighting chance at passing at all, we had to buy a textbook, he coauthored with another physics professor, the head of department at the time, if memory serves me right. By the time the results were about to be released, the studentry was awash with news of impending disaster concerning the yet to be released results. Those who were not sure about passing started paying visits to those they thought could do and undo at the Physics Department, to see what could be done to salvage their situation before the results would be eventually released.

Soon enough, the rumour mill was awash  with names and faces of girls who were said have to given in to the sexual demands of the physics lecturer, to have their marks upgraded to the 40% pass rate. Sadly, the physics lecturer these girls were alleged to have slept with, so they can proceed to medical school, had these maculopapular rashes allover his face, and most likely other parts of his body, and even as I write this, I visualize his face. Luckily I'd no dealings with him (as it was also rumoured that guys parted with money for his favours) besides seeing him lecture in class from the back where I usually sit, without understanding anything he was teaching, confident only in my ability to understand the same lecture at extramural classes a certain TOA (from a set ahead of mine, but in the science department), organized in the evenings, not only for science students, but also engineering students, in maths and physics, that made that lecturers' classes a walkover, save for the fact that one needed a certain number for attendance, to be eligible to write the exams.

In medical school though, not much of that did we hear, though the randy anatomy lecturer was said to have scored a number of girls in my class, but it remained unclear, if it was for marks, as one of the girls failed the exam and reseat, and had to repeat the year. Anyway, my reason for writing this is because of the recently released tape of the voice of a lecturer, Professor Richard Akindele of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU in Ile-Ife, demanding to have sex five times with one of his female students as a prerequisite to upgrading her marks from 33 to the pass rate of 40. Everyone I've come across concerning the authenticity of the tape, from former OAU students belonging to my secondary schools' alumni WhatsApp group, to friends who attended the school, especially as MBA postgraduate students, confirmed that the voice on tape is distinctly his, and I wasn't surprised that the university has now suspended him, while investigations continue. A very unusual occurrence considering that its difficult to prove such cases as this, especially without video evidence, going to show how peculiar the man's voice is that everyone who hears it, instantly agrees that it is of the man (who is also a high ranking member of clergy in his church) in question.

It is significant that the two incidents I've so far mentioned, happened in federal tertiary institutions, noted for their strictness, and for some level of credibility, concerning their certificates, when compared with state and privately owned universities, where news of this sort have long been the norm rather than the exception. A friend of mine once told me how she was able to pass a course she'd failed, while schooling at a state government owned polytechnic in southwestern Nigeria, by sending her friend and classmate, who was dating the lecturer to help appeal on her behalf, to which the lecturer agreed but only if she agreed to pay a certain amount of money. Eventually, she didn't pay, but still passed because she asked her then boyfriend, who belonged to a powerful cult in school to threaten the lecturer who went on to drop his demands.

Another student at OAU made the mistake of telling the lecturer of a course she'd been carrying from her first year, and had serially failed that she had a deadline to complete her studies, including her project, so she could relocate to the United States. Once the lecturer found that she was boxed into a corner, he made her an offer she couldn't reject. The Saturday she was to be "sacrificed" she washed herself, dressed up, and left sorrowfully to the "abattoir" to be slaughtered. When she returned to her room, after the lecturer had had her way with her twice, she was inconsolable that whole day.

When the case of the OAU lecturer came up recently, many of the females who stormed social media outlets, to air their views, stated that in some instances, the lecturers would ask female students to pay for hotel rooms where they intend to carry out their nefarious activities, including for food and drinks, and several attempts to have these lecturers face the full wrath of justice have met with stiff resistance by lecturers and school authorities, with blames going to the females students for not been studious enough, or for wearing provocative dressings, for which many of the schools in Nigeria have come up with dress codes, targeting females especially, in response.

I had earlier stated my surprise at the fact that this case involving Professor Richard Akindele of the OAU received this much attention from the authorities, when you consider that another case involving an Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma lecturer, who managed to turn the case around in his favour, despite overwhelming video evidence, by claiming he was set up by students who waylaid him, and forced him into a room with a female he hadn't known from Adam, before compelling him to sign a cheque in a bid to blackmail him, abounds amongst several of such cases with yet more compelling evidence, where the offending lecturers still get to walk free.

Many of these lecturers are able to go free of accusations of sexual misconduct because they are usually presented before their peers, who aren't exactly without their own indiscretions with female students, and would only crucify one of theirs when and only if they'd exhausted all loopholes that can be exploited to give their own a soft landing, while crippling the academic career of the female students, who may have gone to extraordinary lengths to gather the guts to bring their predators to book, besides the trauma they may have to silently bear the rest of their lives, because of their ordeal. This angle of exponentially growing cases of
sexual predation by lecturers on female students, remain one of the reasons Nigeria's education system is on a slide, and until it is recognized by stakeholders in the sector as an existential threat, and efforts to curb it systematically highlighted and executed to the latter, our educational system will not be rid of the darkness currently enveloping it. Hmmmmmmn!

'kovich


Read Also: https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/04/22/2-aau-female-graduates-who-accused-lecturer-of-sex-for-grade-jailed/

AS PRESIDENT BUHARI DISSES NIGERIAN YOUTHS

Was it not the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who in his masterpiece, "BEAST OF NO NATION", described then Head Of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, as using words such as,
      "my people are useless,
       my people are senseless,
       my people are undisciplined",
on Nigerians, in his first stint as Head of State in the 1980s, after coming to power via a military coup, which many who were of age at the time could quite relate to, as one who was quick to apportion blame to others, and hardly ever taking responsibility for a bad turn of events, which dogged his regime back then, just as awful as it is doing today, on all facets of governance?

Sadly enough, when fortune smiled on him once again, and he was gifted the rulership of Nigeria again (on a platform aimed solely at removing former President Goodluck Jonathan, than it is for any thing he'd rightfully done in and out of power, besides an anticorruption posture, that was vindictive at his first coming, and an act of vendetta against those who denied him power all these years in this second coming), he doubled down on his shameful rhetoric, of demonizing every Nigerian but himself, so much so that by demarketing Nigeria in the early days of his presidency, he caused the country to go into recession, as the people and country he presided over couldn't be trusted by foreign investors, whose funds just before the 2015 elections helped make Nigeria's economy, the fastest growing in Africa. 

At the slightest opportunity,  he would remorselessly take Nigerians to the guillotine, as "cleaners" would be charitable regarding his penchant to talking down on Nigerians, without considering the consequences, especially before a world that's gotten used to not seeing or hearing anything good about his country, sometimes but not many times deservedly so, so much so that he didn't vehemently reject the assertion by former British Prime Minister, David Cameron (a tax defaulter by reason of storing his wealth in tax havens) before his Queen, that Nigeria is "fantastically corrupt", rather seeing such an odious slight on his people as vindication of what he'd always said.

Unfortunately, this same man has in the past few years since coming to power, harbored very corrupt individuals in his kitchen cabinet (the case of the grasscutter, easily comes to mind here), as well as in his main cabinet. Wined and dined with corrupt Nigerians, including those on whose shoulder he rose to power. Enabling them and doing their bidding, against the wishes of Nigerians, and the letters of the constitution. Known fraudulent characters have also found refuge under and within his government. 

But the recent cause of anger amongst Nigerians, especially youths is his recent description of that critical mass of the Nigerian public (which he claimed, at a summit in London, forms sixty percent of the population), as "LAZY", inferring that they have an entitlement mentality, because they say they are from an oil producing country, and therefore should get everything free, and that from a man who'd lived virtually almost all of his life off Nigerians and her oil wealth, who in the same breath as he was casting aspersions on Nigerian youths in London, couldn't hold up his excitement in declaring that "Shell", that serial violator of the rights of oil producing communities in Nigeria, as well as Nigeria's greatest environmental polluter, had intimated him of their intention to invest a huge sum in the oil sector, he swore to wean Nigeria from in an attempt to diversify the economy, only to turn around to stick with oil alone, not just by making himself the substantive petroleum minister, but going ahead to plunge scarce resources into the elusive search for oil in the North, doing exactly what he just accused Nigerian youths of. 

Interestingly, he made this speech at a time his deputy was in Lagos, visiting tech startups, founded by youths, already recognized by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates during their visits respectively to Nigeria. Sadly, only President Buhari failed to see, and hail these landmark achievements by youths, who have gotten so far without any form of assistance from government over the years. Much more unfortunate is the fact that he rose on the backs of many of these youths on social media to power, only to miss a most significant opportunity to laud their works before the international community. Electing to continue in his characteristics bashing of anything and anyone Nigerian, as his custom is, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of discerning Nigerians, who he continues to disappoint and embarrass routinely. 

I wonder, if statements like the one he made in London, is the sort he dishes out when unscripted amongst his sycophantic aides, and which they find so funny as to tag him a "funny man" if only we knew him the way they do. If it is so, then it is quite unfortunate, and indicate of the extent people can carry sycophancy to, enough to laugh sheepishly to expensive jokes made in bad taste, sometimes and probably insulting the sensibilities of those present at such occasions. 

It's unsurprising as well, to find his deluded supporters online and offline, doing their best to justify the latest London misyarn, only to find themselves muddling further already muddled waters, when it would have been better if they just kept quiet in the hope that even this gaffe, like the myriad before it will speedily pass, or be superseded by the next nightmarish news of killings and death across Nigeria (the numbers of which wartorn countries like Syria and Yemen can only attempt to equal on their worst days of battle), that's now become the hallmark of this administration, with the government having no answers or response, aimed at curbing if not bringing an end to the senseless killings either by murderous and marauding herdsmen or the now ever present menace and reality of Boko Haram in Nigeria's northeast, despite several lies by government of their defeat or impending defeat, as the government sadly fails Nigerians in fulfilling its primary responsibility to Nigerians per diem.

President Muhammadu "THE BLAME" Buhari has never shown one of the most distinguishing attributes of a leader, and indeed has never exhibited it, as he can't and couldn't be caught taking responsibility for anything wrong, while at the same time willingly lapping up praises to his exhibition of piety, ascetism and holier-than-thou attitude, built largely on false premise, that's done very little to impact the Nigerian people as he basks in his aloofness in power, like none before him, and maybe and hopefully after him. Unfortunately, many Nigerians fear that the 2019 elections may not signify an end to the  constant verbal abuse at the mouth of their president, as the institutions that ensured his ascension have been intentionally and systematically compromised, in order to make it difficult for him to democratically lose power.

'kovich 

T. Y. DANJUMA'S CALL FOR SELF DEFENCE

What a respectable military should do, is investigate the accusations by former Chief of Army Staff, and also one time Defence Minister,  General T. Y.  Danjuma,  that some members of its organization collude with armed bandits like Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, to massacre Nigerians, rather than merely responding along the lines of such accusations been unfortunate, and capable of causing anarchy. This isn't the first time such accusations have been made, unfortunately on none of such occasions have any investigation been carried out, by the Defence Headquarters or the Nigerian Government for that matter.

GENERAL T. Y. DANJUMA AT THE MAIDEN CONVICATION CEREMONY OF TARABA STATE UNIVERSITY. 

If the security agencies have been alive to their responsibilities, statements like that by the former General at the maiden convocation ceremony of Taraba State University last weekend, would've been considered seditious by the majority of Nigerians. Unfortunately, the army is now treating the call that's now gone viral on social media, like it was directed against it, when in fact all he called for, was that the people should defend themselves against armed bandits, who now kill Nigerians with impunity, because of alleged bias and "collussion" from the military and security forces, as if they were part of the armed bandits he was referring to.

Unfortunately, we don't have a proactive President in Muhammadu Buhari, who in the face of the security challenges Nigeria is currently facing, should have as a matter of factly, sacked and rejigged the security henchmen and apparati. To bring in officers hungry not just for success but to also write their names on the green side of Nigeria's history. The way these ones have handled the security situation is less than admirable, and has made Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations, making the discerning Nigerian wonder what motivation could probably be behind their lackluster performance besides protecting the interest of a few individuals and groups from a section of the country, over that of the generality of Nigerians.

If this government, and those who support it continues to see criticisms as politically motivated, then it means they are immature and unfit to be where they are, and Nigerians shouldn't hesitate to put them where they ought to be come 2019.

'kovich