Making Senses of the Rejection of RUGA and Cattle Colony.

Indeed, there is no disputing the fact that the Sabon Gari community in Kano State is populated by Ndigbo and non-Hausa/Fulani merchants and non-state settlers. What is also not disputed is that since the history of the birth of the Sabon Gari business district in Kano, there has never been a story of the beheading of the natives, raping of their daughters and wives, kidnapping for ransom, or destruction of their private properties and places of businesses by the Ndigbo or the Yoruba. On the other hand, we have seen numerous pictures and videos of Native Police engaging in wanton and indiscriminate destruction of alcohol, worth millions of Naira, that belongs mostly to Ndigbo. And most often, they are never compensated for the destruction. 

Today, Nigerians cannot distinguish between a Nigerian-Fulani from a Malian-Fulani or Senegalese-Fulani or Niger Republic Fulani. If it is true as President Buhari has stated in the past and corroborated by Governor El'Rufai that the killer herders are non-Nigerians; and knowing that the foreign killer herders do NOT have problems entering and leaving Nigeria or settling comfortably in any Hausa/Fulani Quarters anywhere in Nigeria; therefore, it is taken as proof beyond a reasonable doubt and conclusive to boot that when RUGA and Cattle Colony are established, Miyetti Allah will have no problem populating the camps with the same foreign hired killers who are doing their dirty jobs today throughout Nigeria. (Maybe you want to reread that long sentence again.) That is the major reason that RUGA or Cattle Colony is unadvisable and rejected. You cannot confine the settlers to a bounded area. That would be inhuman. But as long as they practice intolerance of other cultures, harbour extreme religious views, and are openly disdainful of the ways of life of the natives, the idea of the Cattle Colony is an environmental time bomb that will blow Nigeria into pieces. That explains the rejection. 

Finally, what is unfolding within the Republican Party in America today is an echo of the situation that has plagued Nigeria for years in the hands of the Hausa/Fulani tribe. It is the story of a negligible number in a party or in a tribe, turning the party or the tribe against the popular view and the interest of the whole country. I have met with a few Hausa/Fulani in high places who have helped me, even when they don't know my name, and where I come from or expect anything from me in return. And the same story is true of most Republicans in the US - benevolent and compassionate. However, the rejection or condemnation of the whole lies not in the views they hold or propagate about others or the nation at large, but because of the unrepentant and hard-hearted intolerant few who dominate and call the shots within the party or the tribe. The right to self-defence is inalienable. As long as the dominant few remain unhinged and unchecked, there will always be wars and conflicts. The rejection and condemnation of the greater majority within the party or the tribe will continue to gain currency and always be acceptable. Therefore, the healing process that will culminate, if at all, in national acceptance must start from within. To be continued. 

 

Retired Captain Aliyu Umar and the Leadership we Are Missing.

While I was on an extended visit to Nigeria between 2015 and 2016, I wrote his name down as one of the few forthright Nigerians deserving of an important public office and one I will not hesitate to offer an appointment, specifically, Minister of Interior, should a miracle happen and I am the President of Nigeria, even if it is for one day. On the same list, I jotted down the names of Samson Itodo, Tilewa Adebayo, Dr. Emeka Ekenga, and Ismail Igaka. It took me a year and six months of continuous observations of their works and pronouncements in public places to identify with them emotionally.

I picked the five Nigerians, not because they are educated, but because they are deep, forthright, honest, intelligent, and emotionally connected to the issues they talk about and care about.

My main goal in social media is policy statements, writing what the leadership can read and easily adapt to and work with. My focus is not exclusively on writing public policy statements, but also on identifying with people of noble virtues, and knowing who is who among Nigerian politicians, technocrats, as well as my friends and family members on social media. I want to know is fit for public offices and the appropriate office. It was in that context that I fell in love with the five Nigerians on the list, while I was in Nigeria.

Most often, I write and take a stand on some daunting national issues happening in Nigeria at any given time. I do so, especially when I am not on the ground to take action or in a position to deal directly with the people who are in a position to take action. And that's why I write. On the other hand, if I am home in Nigeria, it is imprudent on my part to engage in writing about the same people whom I should be talking to directly. So, my approach has always been to seek out the leadership where they are and participate in what they do.

And that was how I became a conference and seminar jockey at Abuja, beginning in 2008. Invited or not, I will get in, or gate-crash. "Oga, your name is not among the invited guests or registered participants." I know. "Okay, take this guest pass." Thank you. And I will work in. You can't look at me standing before you at the front of your desk and turn me away.

I wanted to know what the political leaders and leaders of business and industries are discussing or talking about on how to grow our GDP or move Nigeria forward economically. I figure it is easier and faster for me to penetrate them via conferences and seminars than opinionating. And most often, my opinion or question normally turns out to be the highlight of the conference.

A good example was the "2016 IGP Annual Police Lawyers Conference / Inauguration of the NBA Police Lawyers Forum and Award Night." The Chief Justice of the Abuja High Court was around as well as the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association at the time, Barrister Augustine Alegeh. The Chief Justice rehearsed my comment during the Q&A, focusing on how to eliminate the animosity between the members of the Police Force and the civil society. Surprisingly, the comment was the highlight of the event and the summary of the news carried by the NTA about the conference the following evening.

And that was how I became emotionally and intellectually connected with the five names on the list. And that is why I gate-crash conferences and seminars. I am not on the run, and I am not in exile. My involvement or opinionating is more than making my voice heard. It is about having my imprint on the ground on how to move Nigeria forward. And I have done that successfully on most national issues.

For instance, I went back to school to study for the LLM programs in Energy and Environmental Law and Policy because of what I observed at two of the conferences that I attended in Nigeria in 2008 and 2009.

One of the conferences was organised by the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Oil Producing Areas. The second was organised by the Nigerian Energy Commission (NEC) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

I wasn't comfortable with the poor representation of the Niger Delta and the hostile environment at the first conference. In a similar vein, I wasn't comfortable with the poor quality of papers and presentations from the speakers who came from NERC. In addition, there was disagreement between the gentleman from NEC and some of the delegates from NERC over the disbursement and spending of public funds. It was disgusting.

So, I went back to the US to do dual graduate degree programs in law: LLM in Energy and LLM in the Laws of Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy (oil and gas, and mining). Please, don't ask me why I didn't get a job or work at NERC or NEC since my graduation in 2011. That's a story for another day.

Anyway, when I got back to the States, news came that all the top guys who represented NERC at that conference were sent to prison without trial on the order of the late President Yar'Adua on the allegation of squandering public funds. I saw it coming. Observing them at the conference throughout that day, I knew they were not up to the task. So, I was not surprised at all that they were bundled into prison.

In a nutshell, I am not one of those living overseas that Nigerian-home-based commentators and political leaders are wont to categorise as hiding in the comfort of their own home in America and using social media and the internet to foment trouble at home. Not me, I am not a social or political activist. I am a public policy wonk, interested in making Nigeria a great nation and a happy place to live in by using my brainpower. I am not writing because I know how to use the English Language. I write because I know the issue, the problem, and the answer to the problem better than those who are in the position to address the issue and the problem and proffer a solution.

I am more interested in an idea-based revolution than one with guns. Some people strive to make a change through protests and placards. While others do it via writing, strategic engagements, and deliberation. So, you can have Booker T Washington and you can also have Marcus Garvey at the same time. Also, you can have Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr simultaneously. As long as the struggle is defined for the helpless individuals in our midst, it is okay. The mechanics for meeting the ends are irrelevant. It's about knowing who you are and building your niche to do the public good.

Finally, it takes enlightenment to know the enlightened leadership traits to discern quality leadership in others. Watching the video playing below, you will agree with me that my views of Aliyu Umar in 2016, even though I have not met him, were not in error. He is forthright, articulate, brilliant, and thought-provoking. And God willing, I am confident that the two of us will partner or pair up to work for Nigeria one day.

By the way, Tilewa Adebayo is a lady (advanced in age) and I would not have had any problem appointing her as my Foreign Affairs Minister. She exudes a powerful presence, aura, and dignity. I love her. Anyway, Nigeria is never short of great minds; all that is required is for someone in a leadership position to find them and recommend them for leadership positions.

Saying Goodbye to Cicely Tyson:

She was unmistakably Classy, Gorgeous, Resplendent, and Fabulous. She was simply a one-of-a-kind Diva - self-assured, with a glowing beauty, in and out. Indeed, she was a Lady and a "Real Sister."

"The Autobiography of Jane Pittman" was the first movie that I saw in Nigeria, courtesy of Bendel Television in Benin City. And that was more than thirty years ago. In that movie, there is a scene, which I consider memorable, where she is seen walking a considerable distance to go and drink water from a water tap with a sign written: White Only. I didn't really know much about racism or the history of slavery in America at the time, or how explosive it was. 

Anyway, as a movie addict at the time, and as young as I was, a time came when I started having trouble with the way Black Characters die in most movies. No matter how handsome, masculine, tough, and intelligent African American characters are in most movies, they are always the first to die or be killed stupidly. Also, they are always the ones who like food and eat voraciously. And most often I asked myself, does it mean "Oyinbo no dey hungry or them no like food?" Worst of all, I hardly see African American couples in a loving or romantic scene. And whenever it happens, it comes across as gross and crude. I couldn't explain why. 

However, when I arrived in the US, I also found out that most African American comedians do talk about them and joke about them in derision on their shows as well. That's when I realised that it was a "Hollywood thing." Be that as it may, Cicely Tyson refused to be stereotyped by Hollywood or pigeonhole into playing a character that manifests the "dark" assessment of people of colour from the "prejudiced" lenses of white scriptwriters and movie directors. But that audacity and sense of pride came at a huge cost. (Please, see an excerpt from President Obama's tribute, coming shortly on this piece.)

Thank God, Hollywood has undergone an incredible change in scripting and directing. So, eating foolishly and dying stupidly by black characters in movies are now things of the past. 

(By the way, if you are wondering why elderly African American women are into Nigerian movies, wonder no more. Nigerian ladies and actresses are bringing to the whole world the essence of black beauty, wealth, love, romance, compassion, style, just name it, which Hollywood didn't allow the world to see about African American ladies for many years.

So, I would like to end this tribute by copying a whole paragraph from President Barack Obama's tribute to the departing Sister of Amazon, a Sister. It sums up the true story of Cicely Tyson and adds flesh to the theme of my treatise. 

In the words of President Obama: "At a time when parts for actors who looked like her weren’t easy to come by, she refused to take on roles that reduced Black women to their gender or their race. Sometimes, that meant she would go years without work. But she took pride in knowing that whenever her face was on camera, she would be playing a character who was a human being, flawed but resilient; perfect not despite but because of their imperfections. Across all of her performances, in legendary productions ranging from “Sounder” to “The Trip to Bountiful” to “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” she helped us see the dignity within all who made up our miraculous — and, yes, messy — American family."

May her soul rest in peace.