I will make this brief. Scapegoatism is the merchandise of selective outrage. At moments of uncertainty and chaos, ‘’pallbearers’’ are pencilled down to bear whatever guilt or blame for any presumed offence or crime. The 2023 governorship elections have been one of the most turbulent in Nigeria. The days leading to the elections, in particular, were tempestuous. Incendiary comments and threats by political knockabouts simmered into the elections. In the build-up to the Lagos governorship election, some itinerants from the mob crawling all over the ungoverned social media space threatened to upturn the political order in Lagos. Some made reckless…
Author: Fredrick Nwabufo
Anger is a barren human emotion, vacant of logic, rhyme, and reason. It is the stuff of that uncritical, unthinking, and irrational section of the human interior. Anger does not follow thought, and thought does not follow anger. Anger is the mitochondrion of the ‘’mobs’’. Sadly, this anger is misplaced, misdirected and mis-catalysed. The animus seems inspired by primordial schmaltz and not anything altruistic. Anger of which chief aim is to exact vengeance cannot change society but bring doom upon it. I have been overwhelmed by concern over the heightened tension foisted on the nation partly by the declarations, imprudence, and miscues of…
The place of leadership in forging bonds of communality is the place of purpose and deliberateness. The leadership must be very deliberate in managing diversity and in fostering kinship among variegated people. Nation building cannot be left to chance or to the whim of anyone. There must be purposive plans and actions towards uniting the people. We cannot play possum about unity – most especially now. It has remained a reverie, and an elusive expedition for Nigeria. We yearn for it, or rather quibble about it, but we have not really applied ourselves to dismantling the iron curtains of ethnicity…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo used to be a chimera. His influence was mythical yet sweeping. In the past, Nigeria was too small to contain his stature — as he dominated the horizons across Africa and beyond. He lived up to his legend of being a human Orisa. He is, perhaps, still one of the most respected leaders out of Africa. But Obasanjo’s influence within Nigeria appears to have ebbed over the years. His words seem to have lost lustre and his presence vacant of command. Perhaps, when a masquerade comes out to perform all the time, and sometimes without an…
When ignorance secures matrimony with hate, indoctrination, propaganda, and lies the result is the blood revelries in the south-east. The killings have persisted. Young, promising Igbo citizens, dissenters, and the well-off have become primary targets. It is like the zone is purging itself of everything good. It is emptying itself of all righteous values and desecrating sacerdotal traditions. How did we get here? Igbo youths have never been so disconnected from their elders. They are unruly, unbending to counsel and authority; angry and violent. The resident leadership failed. The elders failed. A generational disconnection spawned by egregiously deficient and rapacious…
In the beginning was a man who professed to be the unifier of Nigeria; he pledged to unite a sundered Nigeria; his campaign motif was ‘’One Nigeria’’, but under a blizzard of political uncertainty, he is retreating into a tribal silo. Why? Nigeria needs a leadership that can hold it together; consolidate on the existing welding efforts, and inspire hope, patriotism, oneness, and fellowship. It is true that over the years, various administrations have struggled with the challenge of harmonising disparate interests and managing dissensions. Every administration is faced with this challenge. But what really matters is the will and…
It must be their way or the highway to hell. These are intellectual indigents who have secured residence on different social media platforms. They maul and bludgeon anyone who differs from the herd. According to them, death is the penalty for differing. But this insidious mob can have their say; they cannot have their way. While Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has steadied his campaign on critical issues – economy, security, education, healthcare and the like – some other presidential candidates have been dutiful in advancing hate and fake news. It is dispiriting that…
What is in it for us? When it comes down to brass tacks, this is the question tugging at the heart of zonal political interests in Nigeria. The national integrants think in favour of group interest and protection. How will this government preserve our interest? Will this government be fair to us? Will this government secure our rights and freedoms? Are we going to have an equitable share of the ‘’national cake’’. It is only natural that humans seek self-preservation. Recently, the Arewa Joint Committee held a summit in Kaduna state where it invited the leading presidential candidates to unveil…
Peter Obi did not plan to run for president. If he did plan to run for president, he would not be freewheeling through endless tunnels of gaffes and inchoate ideas. But really, he did not plan to run for president. An accident happened. Peter Obi’s presidential bid is a freak of politics; an idea contrived for performance and political quota. His bid is perhaps only relevant for regional affirmation and for intimation of anger by a section of the youth. In 2019, Peter Obi lobbied to be the running mate of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party…
Nigeria is a country that has been dependent on oil for much of its 62 years as an independent nation. However, it is by and large an agricultural nation. In fact, there are many who would say that oil has taken much focus away from agriculture. There have been many landmark policies and programs in agriculture over the years. In 1963, the blueprint was all about surplus extraction and export orientation. The year 1972 brought the National Accelerated Food Production Programme, a pillar of the then Gowon administration. There followed Operation Feed the Nation in 1976 by the Obasanjo administration,…
Atiku Abubakar’s campaign motif is vacant of imagination. His ‘One Nigeria campaign’ theme is also destitute of originality and sincerity. Personally, I feel insulted and trolled. And I feel plagiarised. I would explain why. In 2020, under the discordance of the secessionist agitation in the south-east, I began the ‘’One Nigeria’’ campaign, and adopted the sobriquet, ‘’Mr OneNigeria’’. This was born out of the necessity of the times. I wrote essays and did some publicity calling for peace, dialogue, and unity. I believe Nigeria faced its greatest threat yet at the time when the country was becoming ungovernable. I felt…
We, the Igbo, the Hausa, the Yoruba, the Fulani, the Ijaw, the Esan, the Urhobo – and all other ethnic nationalities — must cede our ethnic identities to the Nigerian identity. This does not imply abandoning our roots, culture and traditions but embracing an expansive identity for the survival of our country. Giving up the tribe means putting the interest of the nation first; it means acting on the philosophy of the monolithic whole as against group agenda; it means eschewing divisive utterances and actions; it means accenting our strengthens and areas of convergence rather than promoting discord and points…
Could this be the eclipsing of a coruscating star? Could this be the sectioning of a gadfly? Could this be the end of a political odyssey? Could this be the domestication of the fabled Lion of Ubima? Could this be Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s nadir? Amaechi’s political tapestry has been the craftwork of a benevolent fate. At 27, he was the secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre local government area of Rivers state between 1992 and 1994. He was speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly from 1999 to 2007, and governor from 2007 to 2015. Amaechi is,…
Who wants a mob rule? It is off-putting when a miscellany of threadbare youths taken up in hate and seduced by ignorance unpack threats of violence and curses on people who differ with them on their political choice. Nobody wants a mob to hover around them with a scythe over who they choose to support or who they prefer. Nobody fancies a mob rule except the mob. There is tyranny evidently effusive in the conduct of Peter Obi’s political soldiers. Tyranny of choice. If anyone supports any other candidate outside Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), then…
Could Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), be that unifier a sundered Nigeria needs? What are his antecedents as regards respect for diversity and sensitivity to inclusion? Well, as governor of Lagos, Tinubu had a diverse cabinet; in fact, he is reputed to be one of the few governors who appointed non-natives into state cabinets at the time – when it was unsexy to do so. Tinubu showed his expansiveness as governor of Lagos. And over the years, he has shown an aspect of himself as a Nigerian flag-waver. Tinubu cannot be put on trial for…
The convulsive tenor of the campaign season is bringing out the worst in us. Daggers are drawn, tempers are inflamed; relationships are tested, and our differences are hyperboled. The 2023 presidential election is shaping up to be a tribal contest. Political fandom seems to be built around ethnic allegiance, and not necessarily on leadership stuff. Statesmen have become tribesmen, and nationalists have become tribalists. We will be tested on all sides. It is in this capricious season that our belief in and commitment to Nigeria will be tested. It is at this time, we will look at ourselves in the…
Is ‘’Agbado’’ on trial? A non-native to Nigerian political constructs may think ‘’Agbado’’ is some serial killer on the loose. ‘’Agbado’’ has become one of the most noised words this election season. If ‘’Agbado’’ is not sprinkled into any political conversation like a smorgasbord of veggies; it is chopped up and spiced into snooty memes. What is it about ‘’Agbado’’ that is taking over the faddism? When Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Nigerians would not have to import food because ‘’Agbado’’, cassava, ‘’Ewa’’, and ‘’Garri’’ are produced locally, I believe he did not expect…
Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, could be the kryptonite of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Wike has remained implacable and untrammelled. And he seems determined to take his pound of flesh after his humiliation by Atiku. Wike will not relent until he draws blood. There is a method to Wike’s madness. Wike cannot be dismissed or ignored. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blundered when it discarded a sacerdotal principle – the zoning precept. Since 1999 zoning has governed the PDP’s power distribution. It was by dint of this that Umaru Musa Yar’Adua became the…
Like the breaking of every phantasmagoria, the futility of chasing a will-o-the-wisp soon becomes clear. It may take a while, but even the fog of illusion gives way for common sense when the blistering light of reality hits. The Peter Obi presidential bid is a dream of which time has not come. Is it good to dream? Yes. But while dreaming, it is important for the dreamer to maintain consciousness and not lose himself in the vortex of his own fantasy. Peter Obi’s presidential bid is an attempt at future possibilities. This is, perhaps, one of the merits of the…
Is ‘’Nigeria’’ a pejorative? Is it a byword for the abominable? The name of our country has assumed grotesque meanings lately. It has been contorted by a phylum of distraught and overbearing citizens to mean misfortune, pain and suffering. Sadly, ‘’Nigeria’’ is becoming the governing synonym for turpitude and misery among some Nigerians. ‘’May Nigeria happen to you’’. This has been said to me many times on account of my views which some inveterate cynics and misanthropists find perturbing. But my belief and faith in Nigeria remain untrammelled. Nigeria is not barren of challenges. In fact, currently, we are beset…
The Igbo are loyal, giving and unwavering. They have a predilection for going to the grave with a corpse if need be. They are a dependable ally. If you have the Igbo as a consociate, you have an unrelenting sentinel. But the Igbo’s devotion to a cause, friend or comrade is their curse. They just do not know when to abandon the corpse and seek the preservation of self. They do not seem to realise when the endgame is already gamed. They do not understand that there is still more to be lived for, many expeditions to undertake, many battles…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo used to be a chimera. His influence was mythical, yet sweeping. In the past, Nigeria was too small to contain his stature — as he dominated the horizons across Africa and beyond. He lived up to his legend of being a human Orisa. He is, perhaps, still one of the most respected leaders out of Africa. But Obasanjo’s influence within Nigeria appears to have ebbed over the years. His words seem to have lost lustre and his presence vacant of command. Perhaps, when a masquerade comes out to perform all the time, and sometimes without an…
We cannot play possum about it. Unity has remained a reverie, and an elusive expedition for Nigeria. We long for it, but we cannot reach it because we are not willing to work at it. We are not ready to tear down the iron curtains of ethnicity and religion. We are not ready. It is a sheer pursuit of a will-o-the-wisp to assume or suggest that any single leader can unite Nigeria without commensurate efforts of citizens to the cause. To unite Nigeria, there is a place for leadership, and there is a place for followership. Uniting Nigeria will involve…
On the cusp of every political evolution in Nigeria, there is often a trafficking of recriminations — ‘’The north is scheming to dominate the south, and the south is angling to outwit the north’’. Syrupy conjectures and time-tested misconceptions. Crisis merchandisers are at their best stoking the tension as conspiracy theories of Islamisation surge in the public grid. We will always have conspiracy theories and crisis merchandisers – for as long as unity and mutual trust remain elusive. Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, has set off a tinderbox of reactions by his choice of running mate — Kashim Shettima, former…
The first casualty of capricious election seasons in Nigeria is security. Governance is abandoned, and all efforts and expense are dissipated on party politics. Nigeria’s security insalubrity is deteriorating steeply as the 2023 elections close in. It is all reminiscent of the build-up to the 2015 elections when ubiquitous violence seized the country and the elections had to be postponed. Will it be again as it was before? Will it be plus ca change? Religious leaders – both Christians and Muslims – have become the latest spectacle of these gangs of death-dealers from the netherworld. On July 3, Udo Peter…
Nigeria is caught in a maelstrom. Ravagers roam across the land unchallenged, extracting tolls in tears and blood from citizens. They expropriate land and govern according to their lust for violence. There is hopelessness in the streets as the country sinks deeper and deeper into a bloodfest. Insecurity will be the toughest trial of the next administration. Insurgency, banditry and kidnapping have become a quotidian aspect of the Nigerian life. Killings and kidnappings have persisted with each incident surpassing the previous in gruesomeness, audacity and ruthlessness. Over 5,067 citizens were reported killed in 2021 – according to TheCable Index. 14…
The unravelings of the past seven years should jolt us to sombre reality, if for any reason we are still in the thrall of propagandised political chicanery. Any candidate who makes his election campaign about fighting corruption without antecedented commitment to this end and without a clear plan and strategy is thoroughly lying. Fighting corruption takes grueling years of institutional and attitudinal reforms – beginning from the very top to the bottom. And it takes gravitas and the tearing down of the current system. President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on a broom flight to clean up the much-noised miasma…
Restructuring. This has been the governing subject since 2015. It became very tendentious with the secessionist agitations and the killings by gangs of criminals across the country. The APC government was accused of coming to power on the pinions of lofty ideals and precepts, including restructuring, but abandoned them as soon as it got the prize. But will restructuring be or not be – under a new administration in 2023? There are variants of restructuring – according to whoever is arguing. But the nucleus of the argument on restructuring is devolution of more power to states. The south-west where Bola…
It has been seven years of attrition, hate-bartering and exhausting recriminations. A new epoch is on the horizon, but the psychological mutilations from these years of anger may shape up to be the frustrations of the next administration. Nigeria needs healing. The country needs a healer to mend the sectional cleaving and to nurse it back to health. It needs a carpenter to rebuild the ruptured foundations and to restore hope and confidence in government. It needs a unifier both in deed and manner. Providence has come for Bola Tinubu – with a basketful of beautiful promises. Against vigorous high-level…
Foxy old Buhari. Artful. Deliberate. Unassuming but redoubtable. Principled but unaffected. He guards his mystery. He hardly betrays emotion. He keeps his real intentions secreted in layers and layers of very few inscrutable words – and most times in obfuscating silence. Take his ‘’obliviousness’’ for a lack of presence of mind at your own devastating befuddlement. Buhari knows what he is doing. His seeming standoffishness is all part of the plot. He knows. In an interview on Channels Television in January 2022, the president said he does not care about who succeeds him. Buhari in his own words: “2023 is…