Debating Obasanjo and the Islamization Theory

"They have both incubated and developed beyond what Nigeria can handle alone. They are now combined and internationalized with ISIS in control. It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now West African Fulanization, African Islamization and global organized crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining, and regime change." That was former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a speech titled, "Mobilizing Nigeria's Human and Natural Resources for National Development and Stability." It was at the Second Session of the Synod of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul Anglican Church at Oleh in Isoko Local Govt Council of Delta State. 

In spite of everything, I do not subscribe to the Islamization or Fulanization theory as propounded above by former President Olusegun Obasanjo a few days ago. That Obasanjo is mischievous and insensitive, as the spokesperson of the Presidency asserted in reaction to the Obasanjo's speech is, to say the least, slippery in reasonable judgment and it is tantamount to giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The President Men, the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and the heads of our Security networks are the embodiment of mischiefs and insensitivity, based on their actions and inactions in response to the reign of terror unleashed on defenseless Nigerians by armed Fulani Herdsmen in the past four years. They are terrorizing the entire Nigerian landscape, killing and kidnapping for ransom unhinged. They have destroyed farmlands and rendered numerous communities uninhabitable. And what's most stupefying is that the loyalty of the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces, as well as the much reverend culture of esprit de corps of any regular armed forces,  are now in the air in Nigeria. Thanks, no doubt, to the wanton Fulanization of the Nigerian Security networks. 

March 17, 2016, according to verified newspapers and television report, 'Armed men in Military uniform invaded the Ugwuneshi community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State and arrested 76 of their youths on elders on the allegation that they were planning a counterattack against Fulani Herdsmen who kidnapped two of their women. According to the villagers, some Fulani herdsmen who settled in the community without permission had over the years, engaged in indiscriminate destruction of their farmlands, destroying their cash crops and making it generally unsafe for the villagers to go to their own farm due to incessant attacks and harassment of their women. On this particular day, following the reported abduction of two of their women, the villagers met with the elders to map out plans to rescue the victims. As the meeting was unfolding, they were confronted by men in military uniform who came with Military trucks. When it was all over, about 76 of them were arrested and taken away in the Military trucks to Umuhia Prison. They were detained for two weeks.'

As at the time of this essay, that is about four years later, no one could give an account of the sincerity of the military invasion, and whether or not they were a contingent of the Nigerian Armed Forces, or on whose command they acted. In spite of the fact that they came in Military trucks and fully dressed in military fatigue, the Military did not claim responsibility. And that's mischievous per se.

April 25, 2016, armed Herdsmen, about 500 of them, descended on Nimbo Village in Enugu State before dawn, and at about 7 a.m, they went about killing every human-being on sight. Prior to the attack, the Governor was alerted. In turn, he alerted the Commissioner of Police. And Abuja was alerted. But no counter-attack came from the Police or from any of the nearby Military units. They entered the village. They killed. And they went away. Untouched. Later in the day, the Governor was seen on TV weeping profusely over the sight of butchered cadavers.

It was the same story at Aguta village in Benue State and all over the Middle-Belt, South-West, South-East, Mid-West, and South-South too numerous to recount.

What am I driving at; it is not Obasanjo who is insensitive or mischievous over the barbarism and militarization of the Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria. The Federal Government and the leadership of the Buhari Armed Forces are the ones who are grossly mischievous.

ANALYSIS

This administration openly enlisted captured members of the Boko Haram sect into the Nigerian Army. And at the same time, is strategizing on how to conquer the sect and eliminate the scourge of insurgency. How reasonable is that and on whose interest? 

An attack was planned and executed, and the perpetrators evaporated into the air, unseen. On the other hand, village folks came together to strategize on rescuing their women abducted by herdsmen, and from nowhere came members of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Military trucks. They arrested the elders and the youths on sight and took them away. So, who is mischievous here?

It is no news, the President and all the Governor El'Rufais of the Nigerian leadership would rather Nigerian finest (members of the armed forces) are slaughtered, than one cattle-herder or a member of the Boko Haram sect is shot and killed.

Obasanjo is not alone in the Islamization or Fulanization theory. His opinion resonates with those of the majority of Nigerian Middle-Beltans and the entire population of the geographical South. The earlier reasonable men like former Gover Sule Lamido of Jigawa State assimilate and digest that reality, the better for the country and safety of everyone. Condemning Obasanjo is not the solution.

That the sect and the Fulani Herdsmen are barbaric is not debatable. Heartless, yes. That they are on a conquering mission is unequivocal, yes. But for what underlying agenda? I believe it is about cattle - land acquisition and grazing rights. Therefore, I do not subscribe to the theory that the Boko Haram sect wants to impose their religion on the rest of us. That is a futile endeavor in totality. And that's where the former President and I do not reach or share the same conclusion.

On the capitulation theory or near helplessness of the Federal Government in surmounting the scourge of insurgency, there is ground for concerns. That helplessness and ample proofs of the unwillingness of the Armed Forces to forcefully engage militarily with the armed Fulani Herdsmen and the Boko Haram sect, focused intently on total annihilation, makes the eventuality of self-help a necessary evil. There is no debating the fact that the sincerity of Burutai (President Buhari's top Army Chief) and his Military subordinates in their war against insurgency are skewed to be indecisive, prolonged, and unwinnable. That the Herders are above the law has become a part of our reality.

THE EVIL OF SELF-HELP

In the event of self-defense, that is, in the event, the local communities resolve to take up arms to defend themselves and their farmlands their own ways, the Nigerian Armed Forces that is openly pro-Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram sect, would be massively handicapped in logistics terms in surmounting the self-help mission. Deploying military trucks and personnel to every corner of the country as they did in Ugwuneshi community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State to forestall nation-wide coordinated revenge against the herders would kaput the Armed Forces.

The Nigerian Armed Forces, though dominated at the Officers level by the Hausa/Fulani folks is not a homogeneous or tribal military establishment. It is a concomitant Nigeria. Invading numerous villages at the same time to strengthen the onslaughts of the Boko Haram sect and the land appropriation mission of the herdsmen would be the fastest way to escalating a mutiny in the Nigerian Army. After all, it is the Nigerian Armed Forces, and not the Hausa/Fulani Armed Forces.

From all indications, it is the mischievous appetite and religious zealotry of the untouchables few who are heading the present administration that would hasten the culmination of True Federalism and Restructuring, if not a total dismantling of this country. Reading the jejune and ridiculous excuses tabled by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory following his supervised destruction of Nightclubs in the City about a month ago, shows the level of his insensitivity and the general intolerance of other culture by some of The President Men. It manifests grave discount from reality - our reality, our diversity - which is the major ill of this administration. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and a multi-cultural nation-state. Abuja is seemingly blind to that reality in light of the unreasonableness of some of the developments mentioned in this essay. Therefore, there is a credible foundation, no doubt, for Obasanjo's fear. And though we may differ on the objectives of the killing campaign, the capitulation of the Presidency in the face of clear and present danger posed by the Boko Haram sect and Fulani Herdsmen is worse than Islamization and Fulanization theories.

VANGUARDNGR.COM

Obasanjo’s Boko Haram comment insensitive, mischievous - FG - Vanguard News

Nigeria’s Federal Government has asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to tender a public apology over his comments imputing ethno-religious motive to Boko Haram and ISWAP.

The Sorry Side of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway

Lagos/Badagry Expressway is a Federal Highway. The Minister of Works is in charge of all Federal Roads. Mr. Fashola (SAN) is the Minister of Works, Housing, and Energy. And he is a Lagosian. He was the Governor of Lagos State for eight years. Following the completion of his two terms in office as a Governor,  President Buhari appointed him as his Minister in charge of the three Ministries listed above. And he has been in that capacity in the last four years. As a Governor, Mr. Fashola, under a proper arrangement, could have taken over the maintenance or ownership of this Highway from the Federal Government. He never did. As a Federal Minister of Works in the past four years, he was expected to mobilize all the federal resources at his control to expedite the process of the dualization of the Highway, not because it is in Lagos State, but for the simple reason that it is the gateway linking Nigeria with the countries in the West African Sub-region. He failed as a Governor and he failed as a Federal Minister of Works to give the Lagos/Badagry Expressway the attention it deserves. Today, the Highway remains dilapidated and more appalling a condition than it was about twelve years ago when he became a Governor. It is the same story with Mile2/Orile/Apapa Wharf Expressway. Please, see the third picture below. In a few days, his stewardship as the Minister of Works, Housing, and Energy will come to an end. And it is very likely that another position is waiting for him when this one is over. In Nigeria, it is called trust, connection, or recruiting from within, irrespective of the abysmal records of the past performance of these highly favored individuals.

If you can survive the suffering from IYANOBA to BADAGRY every morning and evening. Then you can survive when you find yourself in any part of the world..Jocash Ozik Onyecashe is with Babatunde Hunpe.

Below is Mile2/Orile/Apapa Wharf Highway

Asiwaju Tinubu: A Warrior Without a Troop - (May 13, 2019)

Introduction

Presidential aspiration is not a Drug War. It is better to build a team than go about annihilating imaginary enemies and potential adversarial forces from your neck of the wood. That Chief Tinubu is a master tactician is not debatable. But he is not Mr. Fixed It. He is crafty, but not brilliant. Intellectualism is not his trade. And he is ideologically barren. He is an egocentric regional leader, without a national appeal. That he incubated the coalition that saw the defeat of President Jonathan does not elevate him to a status where the Cabal and the emerging Kaduna Mafia headed by Mallam El'Rufai will play second fiddle in his political world. Today, within the coalition that he incubated, he is like King Saul of the Old Testament, abysmally deficient in objective moral benchmarks, lacking grace and authority. This essay was a long time in coming. But time and time again, I put it on hold for not so apparent a reason. When Governor El'Rufai, the self-imposed golden voice of the Northern Chapter of the APC came to town a few days ago, lecturing Lagosians on how to overthrow their god-father, I said to myself, the time is now.

The Sins of Fighting a Natural Ally.

Chief Asiwaju Tinubu engineered the overthrown of Chief Tom Ikimi as the Chairman of his political party to consolidate his supremacy above all else. Tom Ikimi is a typical character - boisterous, garrulous, intimidating, and relatively clean. And Tinubu abhors the presence of another leader of Tom Kimi's style and repute from the South to share power with him at the national stage. While Tom was overseas, Tinubu plotted a coup. When it was all over, Tom was history - out of the Chairmanship and out of the Party.

In Tom's place, he brought in Chief Odigie Oyegun, the man he didn't really know. Oyegun is certainly not overtly boisterous or an enigmatic character reputed of Tom Ikimi. But craftiness, unlike Tom Ikimi, is his game. So, when the Cabal came to town, pushing Asiwaju under the truck (apology to Senator Oluremi Tinubu), Oyegun simply played blind and dump and looked the other side.

It is worth reminding viewers that Chief Odigie Oyegun is a retired Federal Permanent Secretary. And I do not know where Chief Tinubu was or how old he was or what he was doing professionally or business-wise when Chief Odigie Oyegun, as a PS, orchestrated the resignation of a High Court Judge (Justice Jinadu) from the Bench. Chief Oyegun does not espouse subserviency. Asiwaju, goofed big time, sacrificing Tom Ikimi the way he did for a man he has the faintest knowledge about.

In no time, Asiwaju became a nobody in the APC hierarchy. No one to dare the invisible cabal. Except, of course, the First Lady. Who, herself, was helpless. At this point in time, a Tom Ikimi, alongside Asiwaju and Oyegun, as a team, would have been able to ensure the checks and balances that were missing within the Executive arm (the Presidency) that the Cabal exploited handsomely to their own advantage till this very moment.

With the first term coming to an end, and with no noticeable impacts in the affairs of the state or administration, the Cabal, bent on winning the Yoruba votes, compensated Asiwaju with a spurious portfolio: Councilor of Reconciliation.

In addition to that, Chief Odigie Oyegun was not only made to surrender his Chairmanship position, but he was also booted out in ignominy like Tom Ikimi - all to assuage the god of Oduduwa Republic.

As things stand today, he is primus inter pares within the Southern block of the APC leadership. But at what cost or strategic importance? And El'Rufai is watching.

The filthy rich. morbidly infantile, and loquacious Senator Akpabio of South-South is not coming back to the Senate. He was denied the Federal might at the disposal of Comrade Adam Oshiomole, the chief architect and master manipulator of vote counts.

And thanks to Governor Wike, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Aviation and former Governor of River State is now a "bloody lightweight." Governor Okorocha, on his part, is between the devil and the blue sea - contending dangerously with INEC on the one hand, and the invisible hands of the Man Asiwaju anointed, Comrade Adam Oshiomhole on the other. And tension is escalating.

In sum, now that Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Oyegun, Senator Akpabio, Governor Amosun, and Governor Okorocha are out of the way, who else can stop HRH Asiwaju Tinubu from inheriting the Crown when President Buhari is out? No one in particular from the South. Once again, Mallam El'Rufai is watching, not amused.

Asiwaju did not deliver more than 65% of the Lagos votes for President Buhari. Therefore, in the opinion of the self-ordained voice of the Northern Chapter of APC, Asiwaju is not electable or Presidential enough to earn the 2023 APC Presidential ticket. The Mallam didn't stop there, he took the disqualification narrative to Asiwaju's bedroom - Lagos - lecturing Lagosians on how to overthrow a godfather. And that is, to say the least, daring.

Chief Asiwaju Tinubu succeeded in his quest to drone into political oblivion all the APC "Big Shots" and potential Presidential hopefuls from the South. Consequently, he displaced and rendered redundant all the Mamman Dauras and El'Rufais of the South within the APC. In other words, within the Southern APC, there is no voice similar to that of El'Rufai. And no political heavyweight in the style and influence of Mamman Daura or Abba Kyari? Asiwaju wasted all of them. He is not alone; that's the trademark of the present political leaders in the South - frustrating and undermining the intellectual prowess of natural allies due to sheer insecurity.

While President Buhari was busy consolidating his power-base, Tinubu wasted no time destroying his. Today, President Buhari and the Caba call the shot. 

Conclusion:

You can have all the money in the world, but without a James Carville of President Clinton's World, you are embarking on a futile journey.

In Nigeria of today, and speaking from my own experience, guys who are naturally endowed or gifted to play the tough-guy image, intellectually and creditably like Mr. James Carville, are branded untrustworthy. Untrustworthy, not necessarily because they will betray the master or did betray him in the past, but because the master is worried, thinking disdainfully of the exposure and potential opportunities opened to them.

And that's Asiwaju's World for you. Where is Fashola today? And what about Ambode? You must be a stooge; otherwise, you are not trust-worthy.

As events unfold, no reputable political voice is speaking or holding brief for Asiwaju. And no one, in particular, is calling the Mallam from Kaduna to atone for his sacrilege. Except, of course, Mr. Sam Omatseye, whose acerbic rebuttal a few days ago was not unexpected. But he is a journalist and not a politician. And that is the dilemma of the Asiwaju 2023 Presidential journey - a Commander without an Infantry Brigade. With Chief Odigie Oyegun, Akpabio, and Chief Tom Ikimi on his side, who is Mallam El'Rufai to question the reasonableness of Asiwaju aspiring to rule Nigeria in 2023? And who is the Cabal to push him under the truck at the inception of the Buhari Dispensation? It is about the team, the men of "Timber and Iroko" standing by you. Sadly, you don't have them - you killed them. In spite of everything, like him or hate him, without Asiwaju, there would not have been a President Buhari or a Governor El'Rufai. And that's by the way.

Chief Justice John Roberts and the Re-branding of the US Supreme Court: A Lesson in Judicial Activism for the Chairman of the Nigerian Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Bulkachuwa, and Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, the Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court.

"You go the 9th Circuit and it's a disgrace," "And I'm going to put in a major complaint because you cannot win — if you're us — a case in the 9th Circuit and I think it's a disgrace. This was an Obama judge. And I'll tell you what, it's not going to happen like this anymore." President Donald Trump, a Republican.

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,” “The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.” - Chief Justice John Roberts, USA Supreme Court., nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Judge Bush, a Republican.

That was Chief Justice John Roberts, in an unprecedented no-hold-barred declaration, taking upbraid at President Donald Trump for casting a Judge "an Obama Judge," because the Judge reaches a decision that was inconsistent with President Trump's immigration agenda. For the purpose of records, Chief Justice John Robert was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George Bush, a Republican like President Donald Trump.

In terms of modern American jurisprudence, Chief John Robert is an enigma. He is unpredictable, to say the least. And when the conservative minority expected him to exude his conservative legal bearing and kill Obamacare, he demurred. He upstaged conventional judicial wisdom and gave life to the new law.

What you may find interesting, and of course, the reason I write this essay is that when Chief Justice John Robert was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George Bush, Mr. Obama, as a Senator from Illinois at the time, voted against Robert's confirmation. And thanks to the Republican majority in the US Senate, Justice John Robert was confirmed, not just as an Associate Justice, but the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.

A few years later, Senator Obama ran and was elected US President, succeeding President Bush. And you would expect a pound of flesh from Chief John Roberts; forget it.

After bailing out the US Economy from the brink of recession, President Obama decided to grab the bull by the horns and go for the kill - pushing for the passage into law of the Affordable Healthcare Act, otherwise known as the Obamacare.

In spite of the intransigence and crude filibuster of Republican members of Congress, the Bill was passed into law by a narrow margin. And it was not yet a Uhuru.

Before the ink could dry up from the face of the paper that the Bill was signed on into law, Republicans in droves, went to courts at both State and Federal levels, propounding an unintelligible narrative for a judicial killing. Unintelligible because the philosophy underlying the Bill was first propounded by a Republican Governor in Massachusetts. In spite of everything, I was worried. And Americans were worried.

Given the harshness of Senator Obama's vocabulary during Justice Robert's confirmation hearing, it was overwhelmingly expected that payback time has come for Chief Justice John Roberts. However, when the decision time came, he voted with the majority, affirming Obamacare as the law of the land. Republican conservative pundits cried foal - President George Bush sold us a dummy!

Not done, the antagonists of Obamacare, went to court again. And when the case came up before the US Supreme Court the second time, Republicans in unison expected a reprieve from the Chief Justice, to wit, he is going to atone for his sin of the past and vote along the partisan or ideological line this time around and kill the Law. They were wrong. The Chief Justice did not only vote to keep the Obamacare, but he also did, to the chagrin of Americans, author the majority opinion.

And just last year, he made the declaration quoted above.

Today, Americans and, specifically, legal scholars and pundits are finding it difficult to predict the outcome of the few cases that come before the Supreme Court as the culture was prior to the ascension of the throne by Justice John Roberts as the Chief Justice.
Conclusion.

It is no longer a secret, the Nigerian Bench has taken a severe beating in recent years, and it is still not free. As the ongoing hearing in the petition filed against the APC and INEC by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the PDP reaches a critical stage at the Presidential Election Tribunal, borrowing a page from Justice Roberts's judicial integrity is not so herculean a task to execute by the major actors at the Nigerian Bench. Without missing words, the concerns most often expressed by Mr. Atiku Abubakar regarding the compromised position of the Chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Tribuna are not unfounded. The husband of the Chairman is a Senator under the flagship of APC. I do not think that the demand for her to recuse herself from hearing the petition made by the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar is without foundation or merit. In addition, the sudden removal of Justice Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court a few weeks to the Presidential election by the President was not done in good faith. Nevertheless, it is my hope and prayer that the Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, as well as the Chairman of the Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Bulkachuwa do the right thing and help to bring integrity, honor, and respect to the Nigerian Bench similar to what Justice John Roberts is doing in the United States of America.

AA

VANGUARDNGR.COM

Tight security at A-Court, as Atiku seeks private meeting with tribunal panel - Vanguard News

There is heavy security presence at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, begins pre-hearing session

The Unfinished Business

It was about the third week of February 2019, and I remember standing by the roadside when I sighted a huge Black Cow with white patches on its side, giving birth to a Calf (a new baby cow).  The calf was huge, looking healthy. In excitement, I shouted, "look at this Cow giving birth in broad daylight across the street." There were other Cows beside the one giving birth, but they were not as big. As the head, the fore-legs (front legs), and down to the waistline came out, but before the hind-limbs could come out, something unusual happened. I saw two men wearing what appears like a brown robe, walked on to the huge Cow that was giving birth. and climbed onto the horns of the Cow, one on each side of the head. In spite of the weights on the head of the Cow, it didn't collapse to the ground or succumb to the pressure from the two men.

Seeing the ugly scene evolving, I shouted, saying, "hey, look at these two men climbing and sitting on top of the horns of a Cow that is giving birth to a new calf." Instantaneously, I dashed across the road to attack or chase away the intruders, with a view to rescuing the Cow and the Calf. As I ran across the street, towards the Cow and the attackers, I opened my eyes; it was just a dream.

I stood up shaking, perplexed, not knowing what to do. I knew it was not a healthy sign. I then proceeded to do the usual: I prayed and commit the process into God's hand to take control. Not knowing what to make of it, I went to Google for possible explanation or interpretation, but nothing useful manifest in my search.

I know childbirth ought to represent a new dawn. And I can also conclude to a certain degree that impeding the process of childbirth could represent frustration of a purpose. Nevertheless, deciphering the dream was made more complicated because I was not expecting a new contract, job, or business opportunity. Much as I tried, I couldn't tie the knots. Though I was disturbed, I wasn't disillusioned, given the fact that the Cow did not collapse to the ground and the Calf did not suffer any harm. 

Above all, the fact that someone intervenes to chase away the intruders and about to rescue the Cow and the Calf elicited a sense of optimism in me. In other words, the attack occurs when the process was insurmountable. Forcing the calf back into the Mother's womb is like inducing a cattle to sail through the eyes of a needle.  A little bit relieved, I went about doing what I know how to do in the face of uncertainty: fasting and praying for God's intervention.

As I said earlier, I couldn't attach the dream to anything or any aspect of my life, whether businesswise or family related that I was anticipating a breakthrough. But today, about three months later, and after a series of quiet introspection, prayer and fasting, I have gained some new insights into the revelation. It isn't about me or about a personal business prospect. It was something bigger. 

Analysis

Medically, as well as in real life, when a woman is about to put to bed, and the legs of the baby came out first, that by itself is a disaster waiting to happen. On the other hand, when the head and the hands are out first, there is a cause for joy. Because at that stage in the delivery process, even a novice can help to pull the baby out of the Mom's cavity. Worst case scenario, only a little push is required, and the baby is out.

Also, if the attack was during pregnancy and labor, it would be a different matter entirely. Here, the birth was about 99.9% completed - the Baby was almost out of its Mom's womb, healthy and bigger than usual. The frustration of purpose or the attack, jejune as it was, came too late. That it was not allowed to eject completely is an exercise in futility.   

If the attack was in the dark or in a secluded area or in secret, then, the attackers could mount a vigorous defense that indeed there was no attack (we didn't orchestrate frustration). In the instant case, the birth (victory) was in the open and the attack (frustration of purpose) was in the open - witnessed by the general public. You can't dispute the obvious. And when you had a rescuer on board, poised to inflict maximum damage to rescue the Mama and the Baby, you could rest assured that the newborn will kiss the earth. Also, the fact that the Cow didn't collapse to the ground under pressure, creates rooms for optimism, to wit, the process may be delayed, but cannot be completely vacated. It may only take some times. In spite of everything, I am optimistic, that what will be will be. For it is stated, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth. Amen.