A Battle Cry to Reverse the Poor State of the Nation.

Jul

2006

By Bode Eluyera

A Battle Cry to Reverse the Poor State of the Nation. (Rejoinder to Nworah’s confessions )

This article has set fort to achieve three objectives. First, as a rejoinder to Uche Nworah's article written in June 2006 titled "Confessions of an Immigrant". In that article, Mr Nworah wrote about his ordeal as an immigrant in foreign countries, and in London in particular. I have decided to supplement Mr Nworah's account by writing about the predicaments of Africans, Nigerians in particular, in Russia.

Second, I have decided to go some steps further by analyzing some of the reasons for mass immigration of Nigerians in search of greener pastures, or to put it in another way, how we got to where we are today with regards to mass immigration.

Third, I rounded up the article with concrete proposals as regards to what needs to be done to normalise the situation.

But foremost, undoubtedly, Mr. Nworah needs to be commended for his courage in writing this article and most especially, for the manner in which he articulated his views/points. His story is really very moving.

I came into the country ( Russia) officially as a Bureau for External Aid (BEA) scholarship student. After living here for sometime, I came to the conclusion that all things being equal, it's better to live at home and contribute to the development of our country; if we really love it. Why do we have to continue developing societies/countries that are much more developed than ours; moreso at the expense of our dignity? I strongly believe that we hold a moral responsibility to our country. If we all live in America or western Europe, then who is going to develop our country for us. As the saying goes: "You can't eat your cake and have it." And "As you lay your bed so you lie on it."

FASCIST COUNTRY ... CITIES OF DEATH

Compared to our situation here in Russia, I do rather say that you're very lucky that you only get discriminated against in terms of jobs in the UK. Things are much worse here. It's extremely dangerous for a dark skinned person to live, work and study in Russia. Africans are hunted down and killed by the Russian skin-heads on a regular basis.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

About 3 months ago, a final year Senegalese student - Lampsar Samba was shot dead at close range in the midst of his Senegalese friends on their way back from a night club in St. Petersburg. Others had to take to their heels to escape death. A couple of months before Samba's cold murder, another student was stabbed to death by the skin head in Voronezh. Within the past 2 years many Africans and dark-skinned people; mostly students, have met their untimely death in the hands of numerous Russian neo-fascists groups. Infact St.Petersburg and Voronezh are notorious for killing foreigners, and both cities are now called 'The cities of death.' Till the time of writing, nobody has been arrested or brought to trial for any of the killings of the Africans.

The Russian court recently acquitted a skin-head accused of stabbing to death a Tajik girl. Tajikistan was part of the former Soviet Union, but it is now an independent country. It based its decision on the fact that there was not enough evidence to classify the killing as racially motivated.

The Russian government’s classification of these obvious racial killings as 'hooliganism' and not 'racially motivated attacks' has only worsened the situation. The position of the Russian government on this issue has not only denied justice to the murdered but has encouraged the skin-heads to continue carrying out their heinous acts. Africans are attacked on a regular basis. And whenever they are lucky to escape death, many are hospitalised for months, forced to pay for their treatments and become invalid for life without any compensation. Many Nigerians that were framed for drug trafficking and denied fair trial have lost their lives in Russian prisons.

The Nigerian embassy in Moscow does not have an official record or figure of Nigerians that have died in Russian prisons through diseases, hard and inhuman prison condition, malnutrition and deliberate killings. Yes, deliberate killings. A number of Nigerians were simply murdered by the prison authorities because of racial hatred or personal clashes, or

by the police to avoid divulging information that might implicate them. There are reported cases of Russian police officers training the skin-heads in the act of street physical combat. There are many occasions too when Russian police officers change into civilian clothes and take part in the beating and killing of Africans.

YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE

In Russia, promotion of a police officer depends not on the number of cases won but on the number of cases sent to court for hearing. Police harassments of Africans are very rampant. It's a normal scene to see an African being stopped for an ID check and later forced to undress to his pants and subjected to humiliating public search; irrespective of

whether the temperature was -30 degrees centigrade! They justify this humiliation by saying that they were searching for narcotics. Even if your ID is in order, and no drugs are found on you, nevertheless, you still need to part with substantial amount to gain your freedom. Otherwise, you might be taken to the station - on the pretext that they want to establish your real identity - and locked up for hours or days with criminals, hooligans in a windowless cell with a very strong odor that can make you vomit or faint.

There were also a number of cases when Russian police broke into apartments of Nigerians, ordered everybody to lie down; and those who had the courage or the guts to query the police action were beaten to unconsciousness and handcuffed. The apartments are afterwards subjected to vigorous search - which could last for hours or take the whole day - while the residents continue lying down handcuffed with face down. And irrespective of whether drugs were found or not, everybody in the house - including those who were just visiting are charged for drug trafficking. In some cases, the innocent ones might have to bribe the police with hundreds or thousands of dollars to avoid prosecution. Those that have no money are tortured until they admitted or confessed to drug

trafficking.

The Russian police very often play different kinds of psychological games with Africans. The most popular is when a police patrol car intentionally slows down besides an African walking on the street and continues following him to wherever he goes. The aim of this game is to provoke the African. With a police car continuously following him: will he take to his heels? confront the police or simply ignore them and go his way? Incase, he chooses confronting the police, then he's easily accused of disrespect to the police which could lead to serious beatings and detention for a couple of hours or days in the police station, or spending a couple of days or months in the hospital. Can you imagine!

A NO GO AREA

We live in fear for our lives every second, either inside our apartments or on the streets. We are attacked by skin-heads on the streets and face police harassments and extortions both on the streets and inside our apartments. Living, working, studying or visiting Russia now is like taking a gamble with your life.

EMBASSY DOES NOT CARE

The nonchalant attitudes of the Nigerian embassy has not only worsened things but given the russian police and the neo-nazist groups a carte-blanch to continue their unjustified harrassments, unlawful detention, arrests and killings of Nigerians. There was a time when the Nigerian embassy told the Russian law enforcement authority that it did not

desire to be informed about any Nigerian arrested for drug trafficking or any other crime, and that the Russian authority was free to take any action it thought fit against Nigerians to teach them some lessons. The Russian police, on many occasions have framed Nigerians with many crimes. The most common atrocity of the Russian police before was planting of drugs on Nigerians.

LAW OF THE JUNGLE

It is practically impossible to get a fair trial in Russian courts. Judges are under the strict control of the government. Holding or showing your green passport is tantamount to an automatic guilty verdict. Practically all those that have been imprisoned or killed in Russian prisons are southerners, and at least about 75% of them are Ibos.

TONY MONTANA

A very popular case was the murder of Tony ' Montana' - a Nigerian/Ibo postgraduate student at the Friendship University in Moscow. Tony was actually involved in drug trafficking, but was doing it under the cover of the police and the Russian state security service. Unfortunately, Tony ran out of luck when he was arrested either by another group of police men or from his own group who wanted to extort more money from him

for their protection service. Tony was eventually murdered in prison through injection to stop him from divulging information about his collaborators in the Russian police and the state security service. Those that saw Tony before his death said that he was hail and healthy. All of a sudden he was transferred to another prison very far from Moscow. Tony suddenly fell sick and died immediately. No independent autopsy was conducted on Tony's corpse. Neither was a single letter written by the Nigerian embassy to protest his death nor was any enquiry made about the circumstances of his death.

NO PROTECTION FROM NORTHERN AMBASSADORS

The embassy turned a blind eye and deaf ears to the plight of Nigerians who were prosecuted or had one problem or the other with the Russian authority because majority of them are southerners. Moreover, almost for the past 15 years, the embassy has been headed by ambassadors from the north. In addition, the embassy officials have so much

compromised themselves by engaging in illegal or immoral activities which makes it very difficult for them to challenge/confront the Russian authority when the need called for it in order to defend Nigerians or ensure that they got a fair trial. Consequently, many Nigerians who were unlawfully arrested for drug trafficking or other crimes in the past had denied their Nigerian citizenship, since the Nigerian embassy was basically not rendering any support in any form whatsoever. Moreover, admitting that one was a Nigerian could even make things very worse.

THE SAD STORY OF JOHN FROM IMO STATE

I met John (not his real name) from Imo state recently, he told me about his gruesome experience in the hands of Russian law enforcement. John admitted to me that actually he was involved in drug trafficking, but when the police broke into his house and searched his house for a whole day and could not find anything to implicate him, nevertheless, they charged him to court for 'the intention to sell'. John further told me that the only thing the embassy did was to provide a letter that he was a Nigerian, and he was told point blank that the embassy was not interested in his case and did not turn up at his trial. John spent '7 good years', the average prison term for drug trafficking in the terrible Russian prison! He served his term in Mordova; a very cold region thousands of kilometers from Moscow, which takes about a week's journey by train from Moscow to reach. The purpose of this is to make it practically impossible for a Nigerian serving his jail term to receive visitors, seek any form of legal assistance/consultation or complaint about the violation of his rights. Afterall, out of sight is out of mind. He told me about

the terrible prison conditions; very bad food, very cold rooms, lack of hot water in very cold winter to take bath, very wicked prison warders who often beat Nigerians to unconsciousness or to death in some cases. As a result many often fell sick and did not make it out alive.

YOU ARE EITHER DEAD, MENTALLY DERAILED OR A LIVING DEAD

The Russian prison system is neither designed to convert an offender into a good and law abiding citizen nor simplify his integration into the civil society after serving his term. Instead, it is designed to destroy the offender either physically or mentally. If you go to Russian prison, in most cases you have two options: either you don't make it alive or you are mentally derailed after your release and can not integrate into the civil society any more as a 'normal citizen.' The prison has inflicted an almost irreversible damage to your brain. Your psyche has been changed. It has undergone almost a permanent 'metamorphosis' from 'normal' to 'abnormal.' or 'very abnormal.' You are like a 'living
dead' after your release from the Russian prison.

DOUBLE TRAGEDY

John was lucky to make it out alive. When John was eventually released last year, he discovered that his mother had died while he was in prison, and the father now is paralysed and suffering from high blood pressure. The family could not tell his father about John's misfortune in Russia to avoid worsening his health. Although, John is just 35 years old now, but he already has grey hair because of the harsh prison condition and the stress he went through in prison. Almost all Nigerians that were jailed have grey hair at the end of their jail terms. John as well told me that at least a third of Nigerians whom he met in the prison were not involved in drug trafficking but were just rounded up like cattles in the streets or in their/friends' apartments. He claimed they were those who either did not have the amount the police demanded for or were used as sacrificial lambs by the police to get promotion. I found it very difficult controlling the tears rolling down my cheeks after John had finished telling me about his and other Nigerians predicaments who went through the russian prisons.

THE NEED FOR AN INVESTIGATION

In my opinion, it is very important that The federal government, especially the foreign ministry investigate the activities of the Nigerian embassy in Moscow within the past 15 years. Their inactiveness, nonchalant attitudes and unprofessionalism have led to the imprisonments and loss of lives of uncountable number of innocent Nigerians in Moscow. The federal government must confront the Russian government, since our embassy is not keeping this record, to provide the correct number of Nigerians that have died in their prisons or are still in prison.

Unfortunately, many parents whose children left Nigeria for Europe or Russia are not aware that their children are either serving long jail terms; some for offences they did not commit, or are long dead. According to the Yoruba proverb: 'Omo mi ku san ju omo mi nu lo.' This means ‘A dead son is better than a lost son.' When you know that your son is dead, though it is very sad news, but at least you know the true situation of things. You have a rest of mind because you don't have to spend money and go through the stress of looking for him all over the world. At least, they deserve a befitting burial from their parents; if they can afford it, and choose to do so.

SOME HOPE

To be fair, the new ambassador - H.E. Ambassador Dan Suleiman is doing his best to help Nigerians and improve the image of the country.

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATION

A United Nations human rights investigator had just completed a week-long visit to Russia to probe a growing wave of racist killings and beatings.

Doudou Diene, UN special rapporteur for contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance met officials and activitist groups in Moscow and St. Petersburg during the trip.

"There has been a very serious rise in the number of racist attacks in the Russian Federation, including murders, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and this will be the main subject of concern," UN human rights spokes man Jose-Luis Diaz told reporters in announcing the visit. Diene also visited "several communities that are reportedly victims of discrimination." Diene, who is from Senegal, will report his findings to the General Assembly in a few months.

DOUDOU DIENE IS SHAKEN AFTER MEETING AFRICANS

A Moscow based English language daily summed up the end of Doudou Diene fact finding mission to Moscow with the following heading: 'Doudou Diene is shaken after meeting Africans "scared to go outside".' Below is the excerpt of the newspaper report.

'With attacks on the rise, the state must do more to combat racism and xenophobia, a United Nations official said Friday.

Doudou Diene, the UN's special rapporteur on racism, said he would urge Russia, in a report to be filled with the UN in the fall, to track the growth of racist attacks, adhere to international standards on protecting minority rights and encourage tolerance.

Diene spoke at a news conference in Moscow after a weeklong trip to Moscow and St.Petersburg.

Today, racism is not an official policy, he said. But there are signs that the problem is serious: Political parties run on racists and xenophobic platforms; skinheads perpetrate violent crimes, with many going unpunished; and some police have been accused of attacking minorities.

Diene said he was especially shaken after meeting with Africans.” I met with people who have lived in Russia for 20, 30 years, and they are completely isolated," he said. "They are alone, frightened, and scared to go outside."

Eighteen people have been murdered and 147 injured in racially motivated attacks since the beginning of the year, said Galina Kozhenikova, deputy director of the sova center, which monitors extremist activity.

Kozhenikova, among the NGO representatives who met with Diene during his trip, said Sova registered at least two or three attacks every week. The actual number of non-fatal attacks is probably three or four times higher than what the center registers, she said, because beatings of illegal migrants often go unreported. Others who met with Diene included Supreme Court Chief Justice Vyacheslav Lebedev, Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev, head of the presidential council for civil society Ella Pamfilova, ombudsman Vladmir Lukin, and Justice and Foreign Ministry officials, among others, a

Foreign Ministry spokesmen said.

AFRICANS NO MORE WANTED IN EUROPE

Europe has undergone and is still undergoing a lot of transformation. After the increase in the membership of EU; their priorities have shifted. The bitter truth is that they want the citizens of their poor EU members to take up the jobs that are done by foreigners, most

especially by Africans. And I'm sorry to say it but the fact that Nigeria is a member of the commonwealth means nothing to the British. Actually, the British have always pursued their selfish political and economic interests at the expense of Nigeria. They are camouflaged racists.

LEADERS OR TRAITORS

Unfortunately, it's with the full collaboration of some of our so called 'leaders' that they are able to continue to exploit us. They have never been our friends. They are very cunning and are hypocritical. The British supported the federal government in the civil war not really because they liked us, but were just defending their economic interests. From their calculation, it would not be in their economic interest if Biafra won the war because they would have to renegotiate the terms of the oil and other contracts with the well read and intelligent Biafrans; who definitely would not agree to similar terms as the illiterate northern leaders in power that negotiated our oil contracts. They prefer to deal with the uncivilised, unpatriotic and educationally retarded north. It's very naive of us to expect that the people that once coloniased us, enslaved us, treated us inhumanly, exploited us will suddenly repent and be our friends.

ALLY, HYPOCRITE OR ENEMY?

We will see the true colours of the British and Americans the very day we announce that we want to renegotiate our oil contracts, (I understand that under the present arrangements they get 40% from the oil revenues) and demand to have payments for our oil partly or wholly in Naira.

FISCAL POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT: DOLLARS OR NAIRA?

We need to understand a basic fact: as long as we continue to receive payments in dollars for our oil, the naira can never be convertible and we will never have a full control of our economy. I hope that very soon our renowned experts in banking, economics, international trade, oil, fiscal policy e.t.c will start the debate on this issue. It can't be avoided. Sooner or later, we will have to tackle it, but the earlier the better. I hope that one day we will have visionary and selfless leaders that will be able to stop the British/westerners continue exploitation of Nigeria. Our oil contracts and other contracts definitely need to be renegotiated; including payments for our oil in naira and not in dollars. For those who are not well versed in fiscal policy, I can tell you with full confidence that paying for our oil in dollars actually increases inflation and weakens our economy. And most importantly, it renders useless all the bank consolidation efforts conducted by Professor Soludo.

America is the most indebted country in the world and they have flooded the whole country with their dollars for their survival. The moment we and other oil producing countries stop receiving payments for our oil in dollars, American economy will be in big trouble.

HALF-BAKED FOREIGN EXPERTS

Many half-baked British and foreign nationals come to Nigeria as international consultants or are hired by the multinationals and automatically get the status of "expatriates". They live in mansions, ride flashy cars and earn salaries 100 times more than our local specialists (some of whom are jobless); who are better qualified to do the same jobs for a much cheaper pay. And most of these so called 'expatriates' go scot free

for doing shoddy jobs or rendering substandard services in Nigeria.

LOCAL EMPOWERMENT

We must demand that all jobs in the oil sector and other sectors of the economy should be held only by Nigerians - unless it can be proved that there's no Nigerian either living inside or outside the country with the necessary academic qualification or professional experience needed for the position.

FREE MARKET ECONOMY? ONLY IN TEXT-BOOKS

It will be very naive of us to think that market economy or free enterprise; where price, demand and supply are regulated by the market forces exist as written in the classic economic/business text-books. I can write a whole book on how the so called western civilised companies; especially American companies, use unethical, immoral methods in order to win or maintain control of large share of the market in Russia. The ones that are most notorious for these acts are Coca-cola, Pepsi-cola and Nestle. When Russian steel companies started exporting very cheap steel of very high quality to the United States, American steel producers raised alarm and accused russian steel producers of dumping. The American government eventually banned Russian steel from The States. The same

thing happened recently with Russian high grade uranium.

BENEVOLENT GEORGE BUSH OR 'THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD?'

It is now a known fact that America is not risking the lives of its soldiers in Iraq because of its love for democracy or the Iraqi people for that matter. George Bush alias 'The thief of Baghdad' used all illicit and deceitful methods possible to justify his military intervention in Iraq. We have more than enough facts now to prove beyond reasonable doubt that George Bush did not go to save The Iraqis from Saddam - whom the US armed to the teeth during the Iraq-Iran war. It is now obvious that the main purpose of the intervention was the black gold; which Iraq has the bad luck of having in abundance. The US pogrom in Iraqi showed the true colour of the imperialists and the extent it could go to protect its economic interests.

TIME TO WAKE UP FROM OUR SLUMBER

It's high time we woke up from our slumber and get the point; which is that we are not wanted in the west any more! If we insist in staying in Britain or in the west, then we must be ready to cope with the insults, humiliations and the danger that come along with it. Our duty now is to be involved in the political process at home and strive to get the

political power and implement the programs we believe are necessary for the development of our country instead of telling these corrupt, good for nothing "professional" politicians, thieves and opportunists what to do. The British or Americans will not develop Nigeria for us; instead they'll take the little we have.

To buttress my point, I'll like to refer you to 2 books; one written by a Nigerian who is a regular columnist on nigeriaworld.com and presently resides in the U.S. - Godson Offoaro. The title of the book is ' America from the sidelines.' The second book titled 'The confession of an economic hit man' was written by an American - John Perkins. Below is a link to the editorial reviews of Perkin’s book on amazon.com website.

ANALYSIS OF THE REASONS FOR MIGRATION

Actually, all these migrants who left in search of greener pastures – (which eventually led to the mass imprisonments and deaths of Nigerians abroad) - was caused in the first place by the north’s misrule of Nigeria; which came to its peak during the reigns of the military juntas of IBB and Abacha.

MISRULE LEADS TO CORRUPTION

A renowned Russian political scientist- Satarov was able to prove that it is bad management that leads to corruption and not vice-versa. I'm of the view that Nigeria will be much better off and develop at a very faster pace without the north.

THE MILITARY AND THE NORTH ARE THE PROBLEMS.

Our country is blessed with enormous mineral and human resources. However, just as we all know, the problem is bad management. The north and the military have destroyed and mismanaged the human and mineral resources from the south. The military is to be blamed for the rot in the nation. Their lack of intellectual power, vision as well as ineffective leadership and institutionalisation of corruption has robbed the nation of the chance to grow. In general, the south is paying too big a price to have the north as part of Nigeria. They're liability to the south; and from my analysis without any emotion, it'll be better to let them go! They're not contributing anything! They are parasites! They can even take Abuja with them; if they're ready to compensate the south for its investments. I'm convinced that as long as the north is part of Nigeria, we can never, never, never realise our full human potentials and or make the best use of our mineral resources.

FAILED PUBLIC COMPANIES AND OTHER TROUBLING QUESTIONS

Only Allah knows how many transactions of similar nature the north with El-Rufai at the head has conducted on our behalf secretly. The question we should pose to ourselves is; why did these public companies - that could had provided jobs for thousands of Nigerians; including Nigerians in the diaspora - go bankrupt in the first place? The answer is very simple. During the reign of the north, most especially, the military junta, these companies were headed mainly by redundant, retired, semi-illiterate military generals or half-baked northern specialists/Alhajis, who had very little or no formal training or practical experience in management or any track record of managing successful investment projects or private companies. Their only credentials and qualification was their being privileged to be northerners.

Many of the rich northerners made their money from inflated government contracts or oil wells awarded to them by their northern brothers. Another case in point was the appointment of Ciroma, a historian by profession to head the Nigerian central bank. What kind of sound fiscal policy or financial decisions do you expect a historian to make as the head of the central bank?

SOLDIERS TURNED MANAGERS

It is far from the truth that state companies are ineffectively managed. Many private companies go bankrupt too. The success of a company depends on many factors, most especially, the professionalism and discipline of the people at the helms. Undoubtedly, their financial, management and investment decisions have a very big impact on the success of the companies they manage.

If you have been taught to shoot and kill all your life, definitely you can not become an effective top manager or CEO of a large company in the middle of the night. There is no magic about it. And as the saying goes: 'Birds of the same feather flock together.' You tend to surround yourself with mediocres or incompetent subordinates like yourself when you are appointed to head a company or a public parastatal. Since you have never attended a management course or worked as a 'professional' manager before, you tend to use force, which you were taught in the military, instead of using negotiation or motivation to get desired results.

NOT HOW BIG BUT HOW WELL

Greatness is not only measured by the geographical size of a country or the abundance of its mineral resources, but also on how well educated, disciplined and hard-working the population are. Japan is a very good example. Sweden the biggest of the Scandinavian countries - with the highest standard of living and life longevity in the world has a population less than 12 million, and commands respect all over the world. There are many tiny European countries in terms of population and territory even by European standards like Austria, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and Monaco but, each with GDP that dwarfs that of Nigeria. With the exception of just 2 countries in the G7 - the seven richest countries in the world - Nigeria is bigger by territory and population than the rest. And the North even have the guts to demand that the presidency should be returned back to them after all the destruction, tears and sufferings that their misrule have brought millions of Southerners! As if it's their father - Othman Dan Fodio's property. What an affront!

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COUNTRY AND A NATION

Nigeria is an artificial country; just a geographical entity and no more. It's far from being called 'A Nation' I want to draw your attention to the big difference between a country and a nation. A country is just a physically existing or geographical entity. In a nation, majority of the people share common goals, values and aspirations and they work very hard together to achieve their goals. In order to achieve their goals, the citizens appoint or choose the best among themselves - irrespective of his origin - to various positions to formulate optimal economic, political and social policies for them, and they on their part give them their full support so that they can all succeed.

A nation tries as much as possible to give its citizens the best. A nation tries as much as possible to provide all the necessary moral, technological, educational and financial support, and the most conducive environment for its citizens to achieve their goals. A nation cares about the welfare of its citizens - including the minority {mospagebreak}

KADUNA REFINERY

Were the northerners thinking of building a nation when they located the refinery in Kaduna, irrespective of the fact that the oil wells are located in the Niger delta in the south, the other end of the country? Even a child without any knowledge in finance, economics or management will tell you that that was a crazy decision. But, were the northerners crazy when they made this decision? No, they were not. So, what was their motive? Their motive was their own selfish interest at a great cost to the country.

COUP PLOTTERS

They were not interested in building a nation. They are only interested in looting the resources in the south and developing the north. It's a known fact to everybody that the north purposely limited the number of southerners that could enroll in the military so that it can maintain its domination of the military, and carry out coups whenever it deems fit or when its economic or political interests are threatened. As Chairman Mao once said: 'Power flows from the barrel of the gun.' Apart from the military where the enrollment of the southerners is deliberately limited, the south-south alone boasts of specialists that surpass the whole of the north in terms of quantity and quality.

IGBO INVENTIONS - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

During the civil war, the Ibos made a lot of technological inventions. It's more than 35 years since the civil war was fought, the federal government headed by the north since the end of the civil war did not invest a single kobo in the development and production of these products that could have earned the country foreign currency, provide jobs for

thousands of Nigerians and boost the image of the country.

Were the northerners thinking of nation building when they ‘voted’ en mass for Shagari in the 1979 presidential elections, despite the obvious fact that Shagari was the least competent among the contestants?

WHAT IS THE NORTH'S CONTRIBUTION TO NIGERIA?

It's high time we started asking ourselves the positive contribution of the north to nation building. According to some reliable sources, both national and international, the contribution of the whole of the north to Nigeria's economy in all aspects is less than 10%. When I told a friend about my finding, he said that if we take into consideration

the political, economical and social damage that they have inflicted on the country through their misrule and looting of our treasury, then their contribution is not less than 10% but negative. I completely agree with him.

LOCATION OF CAPITAL IN ABUJA- A 419 ACT

A friend once told me that it was actually another city in the south-east that was chosen by the Russians as the best location to build the metallurgical plant that is now located in Ajaokuta. But when another decision was taken by the northern government to build it instead at Ajaokuta, the governor of the state in which the town that was chosen initially protested, and was removed for insubordination.

The choice of Abuja as the new capital is another case in point that the north has succeeded in manipulating the country to its own selfish advantage at a great cost to the country. The official reasons given by the north- led federal government for relocating the capital from Lagos were the following:

(1) Security reason - Lagos due to its location is vulnerable to attack from the ocean.

(2) Lagos is too congested.

(3)Because of its location at the other end of the country, it's not very convenient and expensive for other Nigerians to come to Lagos.

(4) Lagos belongs to the Yorubas; one of the major tribes in Nigeria.

Let us examine these reasons one by one together objectively and verify whether they hold water or not.

(1) SECURITY.

IBM-INTER BALLISTIC MISSILES

You don't have to be a military expert to know what is called IBM – Inter-Ballistic Missiles or ICM- Inter-Continental Missiles. That is to say that if Nigeria is at war with another country, the enemy can even from the open water/sea or from land/air - outside Nigeria's territory or air space - fire rockets at Abuja or bomb Abuja. I will like to remind you that when the Iraqi war started, the American soldiers started by shelling and bombing Baghdad from the sea. Later Iraq's capital was subjected to another heavy bombing from the air. It was after the massive bombings that the American soldiers entered Iraq. Therefore, security wise Nigeria's new capital has not become safer due to the movement.

Secondly, another question we need to ask is what was and is the probability then - when the decision to move was taken - and now, of Nigeria going to war? I would rather say that the probability was very low then, and is still low now.

Thirdly, even if the probability was high then, we did not have to move the capital because of that. During the second world war, when Hitler launched attack on the Soviet Union, what the Russians did was to 'shift the capital temporarily.' Europe for centuries had been a battle ground where many wars were fought. But, there were no cases of moving capital because of likely outbreak of war.

(2) CONGESTION.

INFRASRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

How many houses did the federal government build in Lagos compared to the number of inhabitants? How many power plants/stations did the federal government build in Lagos compared to the number of inhabitants? Why didn't the federal government build modern underground rail transportation system in Lagos to facilitate transportation?

More than 10 million people live in Moscow today, and about 2 million commute to Moscow everyday from neighboring towns to work. Nevertheless, I have never heard anybody say that Moscow is congested. Moreover, more and more people; including from the former Soviet republics, foreign companies and foreigners from other countries troop into Moscow everyday, and I've not heard any complaint. why? Because the Russian government even right from the Soviet time had invested and still continues to invest heavily in infrastructure.

MODERN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Moscow boasts of one of the best public transportation network system in the world. Moscow underground rail system; called 'Metro' is one of the best in terms of reliability, safety and efficiency in the world. About 7.3 million people ride the Moscow Metro everyday! And the figure keeps increasing everyday. It works from 5.30 am to 1 am the next morning non-stop! The average waiting time for a train is 3 minutes. And during rush hour, it is about 18 seconds! The Moscow Metro celebrated its 75 years anniversary of successful uninterrupted operations last year! I even bought 2 special albums about the history of Moscow Metro published in commemoration of this historical events.

HOUSING

In terms of housing, the Russian government used to build houses and rent it out at a very reasonable rate to its citizens. Though, after the collapse the government decided to give out the flats to the citizens for free. Moscow has experienced an unprecedented boom in real estate for the past 10 years. Apart from oil, it is the most profitable sector in the country. And the Moscow government with the full backing of the federal government is taking an active part in the construction of residential and commercial buildings. Investors are running over themselves to invest in real estate. And all the major western real estate companies are super active in the real estate market.

POWER SUPPLY

In terms of electricity supply, believe it or not, for the 2 decades that I have lived here, I can't remember when there was no light. The very few occasions when there was no light were due to repair works being carried out, which does not take more than an hour, and normally residents of the affected houses are warned in advance. At the beginning of

June the Russian government voted a whooping $90 billion investment plan to upgrade the electricity sector!

There is always hot and cold water throughout the year except one month when hot water is switched off to carry out maintenance works on hot water pipes. Power generation in Nigeria today has been fluctuating between 1400-3500MW and marring the development of the manufacturing sector in the country. This figure is just a minute fraction of what Moscow alone generates and consumes!

A DELIBERATE ACT

I hope that you have not lost focus, the point I'm trying to make is that while Lagos was the capital, the north- led federal government invested only a drop or a fraction of what was needed in infrastructure and housing. The north- led federal government had not invested a single kobo in electricity generation in Lagos for the past 15 years before Obasanjo took over. This explains the reason why Lagos was congested and always in perpetual darkness. The only way for the federal government to rectify this congestion problem then was through heavy investment in infrastructure, energy, housing e.t.c However, they purposely didn't do it because they had made up their mind to relocate the capital in the north; consequently the money was saved for Abuja.

(3) ACCESSIBILITY TO OTHER NIGERIANS.

Perhaps this may sound a little bit convincing. But taking a closer look, I ask the following questions: should the fact that Lagos is far from the north justify spending billions of dollars that belong to the south to build a new capital from the scratch? I implore everybody reading this article to please get hold of an atlas and have a look at as many countries as possible including the location of their respective capitals . Please take a look at the location of Washington D.C., London, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, Peking and the capitals of other developed/developing countries. How many countries in the world choose their capitals on the basis that it must be in the center because it's the optimal

location? Why didn't the U.S and other countries whose capitals are at the edge of the country and close to the sea or ocean, and move them to the center for security reasons so that they could be closer to its citizens? The reason is simply because:

(a) Building a new capital even for rich countries is an expensive expenditure which is not justified;

(b) Capitals of many countries emerged historically and naturally due to many factors and the role these cities had played in the past.

(c) You don't use mathematics or geometry to calculate or determine the center or equilibrium point where the capital should be located.

(4) LAGOS BELONGS TO THE YORUBAS.

Undoubtedly, this is the main reason why the capital was moved from Lagos, but other excuses were just used as cover up. Otherwise, why was the capital not built somewhere in Edo, Akwa-Ibom or Cross-River state which do not belong to any of the major nationalities?. Why should the new capital be built in the north a region whose contribution to the economy is less than 10%?

PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HOUSE

As I have said before, building a new capital from scratch is a very, very expensive expenditure even for very rich countries. There was virtually no need for Abuja. The country could have still got along with Lagos quiet well. The decision to build Abuja was a wrong economic decision for a developing country like Nigeria that could not boast of stable electricity, water supply, adequate and functioning infrastructures, reliable educational system, medical and adequate pension programs, even up till now. This is what they ought to have tackled first. Then, invest heavily in industries, agriculture and information technology in particular. These would have served as an impulse or locomotive that would had driven the economy to great heights. Abuja shouldn’t have been the priority.

FISCAL POLICY: GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND DEVELOPMENT.

AIM NOT ACHIEVED

There are cases in economic development when large government spending helps to boost the economy. But it was not the case with Abuja and Nigeria. Why? Because virtually all the construction and supply contracts to build Abuja were heavily inflated, the materials were imported and last but not the least, they were carried out by foreign companies. So, instead of the contracts creating jobs for Nigerians and boosting our

economy, it was the negative effect that we got because the money spent on these projects did not circulate in our economy but were received by foreign banks.

ABUJA: RATIONAL CALCULATION AND GREED

The construction of Abuja was a big drain on Nigeria's economy. But that did not bother the north, after all, they were not spending their own money. They got billions of dollars absolutely for free from the south to build a capital for themselves at the expense of the south. Why did they do this? The answer is simple. The north was not satisfied with

the fact that they were ruling the country. They also wanted the capital city to be in the north where they can control events fully. Moreover, in case Nigeria breaks up in the future, they already have a modern capital - which they never spent a single kobo of their money to build - at their disposal to use. Definitely, nation building was not their priority or on their agenda when they took the selfish decision to build Abuja at the expense of the south.

RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM - A TICKING TIME BOMB

It's not just that a northerner - whether civilian or retired military officer - does not have the brains to rule 'successfully' a sophisticated country like Nigeria. What is more serious and dangerous is the fact that they are evil and practice fundamental or aggressive form of Islam which is a ticking time bomb that may explode at any time and eventually destroy Nigeria beyond repair. There are millions of Muslims in the South-west who go about their businesses peacefully and live in complete harmony not only with Christians but with other tribes.

REAL BROTHERS?

The northerners are not our brothers. Their real brothers are in Chad, Niger republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Somali e.t.c. To be sincere, in terms of language, religion, mentality, climatic conditions, history (before 1914) e.t.c. they have more in common with these countries than with us. Even the colours of our skins are different! They belong their and should be there. We should not be shy to tell them. It's time to wake up from our slumber and call a spade a spade. The goal of the north is to set up a sharia state and impose it on the southerners. And if we resist, they will start murdering us. They are contended living a barbaric life. You can take the north out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the north. If they are our brothers, then why are they always murdering us? They are barbaric!

POGROM OF THE IBOS

A case in point to buttress my point about the barbaric behavior of the north is the recent massacre of the Ibos in the north. I'm saddened like many Nigerians because of these tragic, senseless and devilish killings of innocent, harmless and law-abiding Nigerians in the name of Allah by "our brothers" because of some cartoons that was published by a Dutch newspaper; and which they didn't even see with their own eyes! This happened at the beginning of the 21st century; almost 100 years after the amalgamation of the north with the south! The descendants of Othman Dan Fodio have done it again! They have put the name of the country to shame again. And definitely, this is not going to be the last,

unfortunately. Another proof that Nigeria is just an artificial country; and nothing good will ever come out of this unsolicited union as long as these people remain part of us. It's very sad and unfortunate that after 45 years of forcefully leaving together: most especially after the civil war this pogrom or ethnic cleansing took place.

In any civilised society, one of the main responsibilities of the government is to guarantee the safety of lives and properties. It's very sad, disappointing and shocking that the state government failed totally in protecting innocent and harmless Ibos whose main offence was that they happened to belong to another religion and ethnic group. There was not even a condemnation of this evil act on the part of the so called northern leaders. Indeed, silence means consent. My own interpretation of this is that no lesson has been learnt from the civil war and that we can't really co-exist together. It's the bitter truth and we have to face it. May the soul of the dead rest in peace.

SHARIA IN THE MILITARY

I witnessed another barbaric and criminal confession from a retired northern military officer in Moscow. Maj. Gen. Abdullahi Sarki Mukthar (rtd) in his farewell address as the outgoing ambassador to Moscow told us that one of the most difficult decisions he ever made in his life was when he gave an order as the head of ECOMOG in Liberia to execute some Nigerian soldiers from the south that were found guilty of sleeping with the wives of northern military officers. I hope somebody is reading this, most especially our criminal and civil rights lawyers! A Nigerian military officer gave an order 'to execute' Nigerian soldiers for sleeping - not raping - with the wives of northern officers. Can somebody please tell me where it is written in the Nigerian or military constitution that if the wives of military officers have sex 'voluntarily' with Nigerian soldiers, then, they'll have to face the firing squad! This is the kind of barbaric act that the northerners are preparing for Nigeria. As far as I understand, that was 'military sharia' in
action.

I was so much impressed at the beginning of Mukhtar's speech: most especially, when he said that the embassy should be opened to any Nigerian and that Nigerian diplomats should first of all listen or attend to any Nigerian irrespective of what crime he was being accused of or must have committed, not until he spoke about the execution of the Nigerian soldiers. I almost urinated in my trousers when he said this. Mukthar gave

some of us the address of his Kano law chamber and told us that he was going to practice law and was not interested in politics and that we should always feel free to pay him a visit or contact him if we had any problems. I wanted to write him a letter of praise and appreciation, and pay him a surprise visit in Kano, but simply could not bring myself to do that after hearing the execution revelation. I felt even more disgusted when somebody quiet close to him and the embassy told me that he once spent $1000 in order to sleep with an African lady, and that all along his tenure he was just busy doing business and didn't really care about the welfare of Nigerians in Russia.

Now this same man who headed a kangaroo military court with other northern military officers as its members that gave the order to execute Nigerian soldiers has now been promoted by Obasanjo to the position of security adviser. Only God knows what is awaiting Nigerians with this new position! I sincerely hope that the Nigerian public after reading this will react and demand a public and independent investigation of this case.

JUBRIL AMINU - THE EVIL MINISTER OF EDUCATION

What about Jubril Aminu during his visit to Russia in the mid 80's? He told Nigerian scholarship students plain blank that the federal government had no jobs for them and they should not bother coming back to Nigeria after their studies. The memory is still fresh in mind, the enormous damage Aminu inflicted on education in the south in his quest to make the northern cattle rearers turned students overnight catch up with the south. The same Aminu was also made Nigeria's ambassador to the U.S by OBJ. And now he is a respected senator from Adamawa state

PRODUCTS OF QUOTA SYSTEM AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Most of the so called intellectuals or educated northern elites are products of quota system who were admitted to study either in Nigerian universities or abroad with substandard GCE results compared with their southern students.

On getting to Russia, after our interaction with Bureau for External Aids scholarship students from the north, what we realised to our greatest surprise and disappointment was that our northern colleagues had inferior WAEC, GCE results compared to ours. I remembered some of my colleagues who had distinctions but were denied scholarship because equal number of students had to be chosen from each state. There were even

several occasions when northern scholarship students sent to study Medicine in Russia had never studied biology or/and chemistry before! It was then that I understood not only the real meaning, damage and danger of quota system, but I as well realised the injustice in our system and the heavy price the south is paying to accommodate the north. Unfortunately, up till the time of writing, this practice still persists.

This explains why the government still continues to send people on scholarship abroad, but without any accountability. Jubril Aminu and his brothers are less concerned about where and what a federal government graduate is doing or how he is surviving after his studies. They not only neither don't have any plans for us nor intend to use us to develop

Nigeria, but most importantly, they don't want us to return back home so that we won't challenge them or disturb them from looting the treasury. After all, out of sight is out of mind. And when some of us take the courage to return, our burning desire to contribute to the development of our country is frustrated in different ways.

MUHAMMED'S WIVES

What about the Miss World beauty competition? When Agbani Darego made not only Nigeria, but the whole of Africa and the black race proud, when she won the highly coveted Miss World beauty pageant, after a fierce competition. Nigeria as the winner was slated to host the next edition of the competition for the first time ever in its history. Preparation was already in full gear in anticipation of this historical event. Sadly, our northern brothers had a different plan entirely, which of course did not include Nigeria hosting this competition. They did all their best to make sure that the competition did not take place in Nigeria. When guests and participants started arriving for the competition, a

This Day Journalist wrote that 'Prophet Muhammed himself would have loved to have some of the competitors as his wives.' Later, there were killings and demonstrations in the north against the competition being held in Nigeria. The event was eventually shifted to London, and was won by a Turkish lady, from a Muslim country. The irony of it was that Turkey; a 100% Muslim country was very delighted about it and saw it as a big opportunity not only to promote and boost tourism, show case its culture and make money, but it wanted to prove as well that Islam is not about violence. Turkey hosted the competition in a very grandiose way.

Why didn't the descendants of Othman Dan Fodio realise that by hosting the competition Nigeria would not only be able to promote tourism, show case its rich and diverse culture, but will as well be able to improve the economy? The answer is simple. They are illiterates, barbaric, evil and do not have the interest of the country at heart.

NO HATRED

Suffice to say that I do not breed any hatred against the northerners. As a matter of fact, I'm a product of the Federal Government College (F.G.C) or unity schools educational system introduced by the federal government. And one of my best friends that I shared the same sit throughout my studies in the college was a lady from the former Gongola

state. I'm only being pragmatic and objective in the analysis of the social, economic and political problems that we are facing. A sort of systems analysis. Before you fix something that is out of order, you must first of all understand why it's not functioning. And, it's only through an unbiased system analysis approach that you arrive at the answer or solution.

INGRATES

The grudge I have against the north is that they are not satisfied with the fact that they have squandered both the human and mineral resources concentrated in the south and plunged the country into deep economic chaos - which consequently led to mass immigration - but are threatening and demanding that power should be returned to the north, despite the fact that they don't have the brains to manage such a sophisticated country like Nigeria. The only thing they know how to do well is to massacre and destroy. Perhaps, Nigeria is the only country or among the very few countries in the world where the rulers come from the most backward and poorest regions of the country.

BANKRUPTED INDUSTRIES

They have bankrupted almost all our major industries that billions of dollars from the south went into building, and now, they are selling these companies for peanuts either to themselves or to foreigners.

ALSCON - 419 DEAL

A case in point is the sale of ALSCON sold to Russian Aluminum (RUSAL) a couple of months ago. The deal is now accompanied by big scandals and law suits; challenging the deal, and waiting to be heard in the courts. Below are the links of two reports written about the ALSCON deal .

RUSAL, BPE Deal On ALSCON A Swindle by Bassey Udo, and also Nigeria Pays RUSAL To Take ALSCON by John Helmer

FUNCTIONING PUBLIC COMPANIES

It is worth mentioning that many European countries still have state companies that are not only profitable, but as well make The Financial Times 500 list. For example, in the recently released list of Financial Times 500 richest companies in the world, Russia's leading bank - Sberbank or Savings bank - 100% owned by the government - with a market capitalisation of $29,237,5 billion places 232 in FT 500 list and ranks 43 in the list of biggest banks in the world. All the capitalisation of all Nigeria's banks is like a dwarf beside Standard bank - the largest bank in S.A has a capitalisation that dwarfs all Nigerian banks put together and is not only in the F.T. 500 but as well among the list of world biggest banks. RAO-AES - the giant energy/power utility company - also 100% owned by the russian government ranks 234. South Africa boasts of 5 companies in The FT 500 list! Nigeria despite the fact that it is the No.1 oil producer in Africa and places

8th in the world does not have a single company in the FT 500 list! What a shame.

A SURE CASE FOR RIBADU

If Ribadu is honest about fighting economic crimes and he wants to be taken serious by Nigerians and the world community at large, undoubtedly, the sale of ALSCON to RUSAL is a case that he must investigate. I can bet with anything that bribery was most likely given by RUSAL to secure ASCOM. Russians are notorious for corruption, most especially in giving and taking bribes. It ranked very low in the Transparency International list published yearly. The EFCC needs to interrogate the present Nigerian ambassador to Moscow - Dan Suleiman about his role in this deal. In my opinion, most likely, RUSAL got a direct access to the president through Ambassador Dan Suleiman. On the 1st of October 2004, during the celebration of Nigeria's independence, I noticed that ambassador Suleiman had been speaking with some Russians for more than 20 minutes. I enquired out of curiosity and found out that the Russians were from RUSAL.

MANY QUESTIONS-NO ANSWERS

There are lots of questions regarding the RUSAL deal. Why did the government decide to sell a brand new plant of strategic economic and security importance in the first place? According to a newspaper report, it cost the government about $2.8 billion to build. Taking into consideration the fact that the plant was built about 9 years ago, it is

considered to be almost brand-new for an aluminum plant. The plant was valued by the international auditing company PWC at $2.5 billion. Why did the government decide to sell to the lowest bidder? Taking into consideration the strategic importance of an aluminum plant in the development of any country, most especially a developing country, why didn't the government see it fit that security wise, it would have been better to sell it to Jaja - a Nigerian, moreso, his offer was much higher than RUSAL's offer? Why couldn’t the government inject some money, from the oil reserve fund into the aluminum plant instead of selling it? What was the economic benefit of selling the plant?
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WE MUST NEVER ENTRUST OUR DESTINIES, ECONOMY AND LIVES AGAIN TO THE NORTH

We must never, never and never entrust our destinies, lives, politics and economy into the hands of the north to toy with again. Enough of the sorrows, pains, and tears that their reigns have brought the south; which we are yet to recover from up till today.

Just look at the presidential candidates from the north: IBB, Atiku, Buhari e.t.c. They want to complete their evil experiment that will consequently destroy the south totally; and send the whole of the south into perpetual migration. Compare the presidential candidates from the north to the caliber of the list of the potential presidential candidates from the south-south and south east alone being proposed for voting on www.nigeriavillagesquare.com and on some other websites. What if we add another list from the south-west to the list? Can you see the difference? Do you understand what I mean now when I say that for every northerner occupying a federal government post at any level, there are at least 100 southerners that are much qualified but are being denied the opportunity. This assertion applies to all posts; ambassadorial, ministerial, permanent secretarial, advisory, clerical e.t.c

OLD WINE IN OLD BOTTLES

The north has no other people to present to Nigeria except IBB, Atiku, Yerima, Buhari, Mua'zu, Makarfi, Gana, Abdullah, Sonunu Turaki and the likes. Coup plotters, old cargoes, Islamic jihadists, political opportunists, prostitutes and thieves that looted our treasury and destroyed our economy are being recycled all over again for us to consume. Thank you! NO!

NO PRINCIPLE

People without principle and party allegiance are bracing up to rule the country. What can you say about Sonunu Turaki, Governor of Jigawa state, who was voted into power on the platform of ANPP, but in order to achieve his presidential ambition has been recently attending caucus meeting of the PDP at governor level? What about Atiku, who has decided to dump the PDP - that he was among the founders - for another party in order to accomplish his selfish political ambition.

SOUTHERN PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT

The south must insist on producing not only the next president, V.P. and key ministerial posts, but equally demand to rule the country for at least 20 years in order to correct the economic, political and social disasters that the misrule of the north for more than 35 years has brought the country. If they refuse or reject our demand, then we should tell them to go to hell! We should break away! It's for the better. We won't miss them. We are tired of subsidizing them. They are a pain in the neck to the south. I honestly can't understand why a region that is heavily subsidized is insisting on producing the next president? Can somebody please explain to me why a region whose contribution to our economy is virtually nothing lay claim to power, or at any moment in time always produce either the president or the vice president? On what basis?

On a serious note, it's high time we started asking these questions openly. What a bunch of ingrates. Personally, I regret that Ogboru did not succeed in his coup. I'm sure that had Ogboru succeeded in cutting the north away from the south, the north in a couple of weeks would have crawled on their knees and begged the south to take them back. If we

decide to take them back, we would have done so on our terms. They are very lucky to be part of Nigeria and not Chad or Niger republic and live the rest of their miserable lives in abject poverty.

PRESIDENT OF CATTLE REPUBLIC

If the north wants to produce the next president, let them produce a president that will look after their cattles, long non-existing groundnut pyramids and their Talakawas or beggars that are all over the country. We don’t have to be diplomatic about these issues with them anymore! We should tell them right to their faces. 'T'eni ba d'ake tara e a dake.'

ATIKU: A CIVILIAN MARADONA AND 419 MAN

It was announced recently in the news that Atiku while unveiling his presidential program said that 'no sacred cow in the war against corruption will be spared. Atiku was also quoted to have said that he intended to focus on the economy, with emphasis on wealth and job creation through agriculture, and small and medium scale industries; infrastructure development and maintenance. Thank you very much for your kindness

Alhaji Atiku. Civilian maradona in waiting!

First, let Atiku give Nigerians details of his activities at the Nigerian customs: which is considered the second most corrupt government establishment; after the military of course. What are his achievements there? How did he fight corruption there? Second, let Atiku give us details of the sources of his wealth. Where did he get the money to purchase a house in the U.S.? Where are his companies located? What do they produce or deal in? Did any of his companies benefit from federal government contracts at any point in time? How did he get the capital to set them up? Can he publish a detailed financial statements of his companies for public scrutiny?

JOKES APART - THANK YOU! NO!

On a serious note, why do Atiku, Buhari,IBB and his northern brothers think that they have the brains to rule such a sophisticated country like Nigeria when his (Atiku) impact was not felt when he was at the Nigerian customs? Alhaji Atiku, I want to inform you that the south does not need you to create wealth or develop infrastructure for us. We have more than enough people from the south who are much capable than you and can provide for us what you promised us. We don't believe you Alhaji and thank you, we don't need your service. Try another joker. That won't work. Your brothers IBB, Buhari and Abacha had promised Nigerians much more than you, and we still remember how it all ended. We don't want to experience 'such happiness' again.

However, if Alhaji Atiku and Buhari are determined in serving Nigeria, then, let them gather all the northern beggars that are scattered all over the country and create jobs for them in agriculture and cattle rearing. We in the south can take very good care of ourselves without you.

BUHARI- A DREAMER

Buhari while declaring his intention to contest for the president said: 'The issue of the country's corporate indivisible existence has been overcome, despite increasing threats" Undoubtedly this statement showed how myopic the former Military dictator is in his views as regards to the real political situations in the country. . I will like to advise coup plotter Buhari; who was lucky to escape firing squad for staging a coup against an elected and legitimate civilian government to take some courses in world history. I am a living evidence of history. I came to Soviet Union but now live in Russia. I want to remind Buhari that the Soviet Union consisted of 15 independent republics and co-existed as one country for about 70 years. However, it took just 3 people; the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia respectively, and 10 minutes for them to dissolve the Soviet Union!

Mr Buhari needs to take lectures in the Balkan history too especially 'The modern history of Yugoslavia.' There are now more than 6 countries; with Montenegro being the latest, to have emerged from the former Yugoslavia. What about Czechoslovakia? The two republics, Czech and Slovakia decided to part peacefully without firing a single shot. And Buhari let me tell you Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union were much united countries than Nigeria. Nevertheless, they broke up eventually.

MORE GROUNDS TO BREAK UP NOW THAN BEFORE

Who could ever imagine that The Soviet empire could break up without a single bullet being shot. Buhari must either be day dreaming or have lost touch with reality in Nigeria to have made such a useless statement. There are more grounds and reasons for Nigeria to break up now than ever before. If the Ibos are happy with the union there would have being no need for MASSOB and the circulation of Biafran currency at Onitsha market.

After the civil war the Ibos were totally purged from the military and all influential positions, still continued to be marginalised despite the 'No Vanquished No Victor' declaration made by Gowon. In addition, they are fed up of being slaughtered by the north, and playing the role of 'ball boys' or '3rd class citizens' in Nigeria.

MONKEY DEY WORK, BABOON DEY CHOP

Nigeria is a country where monkey dey work baboon dey chop. Of course, the monkey is the south and the baboon is the north. Now the monkey is aware of his situation and wants to put a stop to this exploitation once and for all. The north has for long been stealing the oil revenues from the south, using part of it to develop their territory or destabilising the country.

THE FIRE THIS TIME FOR THE INJUSTICE!

The eyes of the Delta people are opened now, and they are also saying enough is enough. Even Abacha's cold and callous murder of Saro Wiwa has not dissuaded the people, instead they are more than determined now to fight and die for their economic and political rights that the north has for long ignored or denied them. They are tired of living in abject poverty. They are tired of living in darkness; 50 years after the discovery of oil at Oluobiri. They are tired of walking hundreds of kilometers to bore holes just to get drinking water; despite the fact they are virtually surrounded by water. They are tired of not being able to farm or fish because their land and water are polluted. They are saying enough is enough. They are registering their protests in different forms. Taking foreigners hostage is just the least of what could happen later. The Niger Delta militia (MEND) are not only well armed to the teeth, but are also well trained and are now challenging the federal government openly. The whole delta region and country as a whole are tensed up because of injustice. The country is sitting on gun powder of injustice and marginalisation that may explode anytime from now.

Therefore based on this analysis, I think Buhari must be either be deceiving himself or be daft to have said that 'the country's corporate indivisible existence has been overcome, despite increasing threats.' Buhari, please always think before you speak.

GANGRENE

In my opinion, the north is like a gangrene that needs to be cut off by the south. If you have gangrene and you don't cut off your leg to save your life, the gangrene will eventually spread to all parts of your body, paralyses you and eventually kill you. Try to imagine the south as an overweight athlete full of fats or as a bird eager to fly but being held down by a rope. The north is the fats that the overweight athlete needs to get rid of if he wants to be healthier and run faster. The north is the rope that the bird needs to get rid of if it wants to fly higher. I strongly believe that a Nigeria without the north will be much better: better managed, stronger, richer and command respect all over the world.

The British purposely merged them with us as a strategy: to cause chaos and slow down our development and most especially, to have a control over our economy. There's the need to redress the evil act of the British. Afterall, when we were merged there was no referendum and neither was the consent of our leaders sought on this issue. They just put us before the fact.

ANTIDOTE AGAINST THE NORTH-REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

In case we're not able to get rid of the north and are compelled to live with them, then, we must put in place some mechanism that will minimise the damage that may be inflicted on the south, in case either through hook or crook method any lunatic ruler or dictator like IBB or Abacha or an incompetent northern civilian president comes to power.

In my opinion, one of these protective mechanism is the PRONACO recommendations which advocates for a real confederation or regional form of government.

IBB: NO MORE HIDING PLACE

It is our collective responsibility and duty to make sure that people like IBB - alias evil genius and his other Othman Dan Fodio evil brothers like Buhari and Atiku -who is a product of one of the most corrupt institutions (the Nigerian customs) in Nigeria, never, never, never again rule the country or manipulate the political process to their

advantage again. IBB symbolises evil in all its ramifications. It's still unbelievable that this evil man whose reign brought immeasurable sorrow, sufferings, deaths to many Nigerians and caused irreparable harm to the economy is traveling the length and breath of the country playing the role of a kingmaker, statesman and now a potential presidential

candidate! I was embarrassed to read an article on a Nigerian web site titled: 'Why IBB can't be president again.' That is not the issue that we should be discussing now.

At this stage, the question we should be asking ourselves is:' Why is IBB not in prison or hell by now after all the atrocities that he committed while in power?' Each day spent by IBB in freedom and not in prison or hell is not only an insult to Nigerians, but a ridicule to any government in power; most especially the EFCC that is claiming to fight corruption. How long will it take Ribadu and his team to gather enough evidence against IBB? Is Ribadu playing politics with Nigerians? If he wants to be taken serious about fighting crime and he intends to leave a legacy as a genuine economic crime fighter - and not the federal government's puppet or another maradona - then he should understand that

IBB is 'the biggest criminal/fish' he needs to go for and have in his net. Ribadu's credibility depends on arresting IBB and bringing him to trial.

WHERE ARE YOU JUSTICE?

Charles Taylor is presently awaiting trial for crimes committed against humanity. Ironically, IBB whose crimes surpass Taylor's in terms of sufferings and deaths inflicted on Nigerians is not only plying our streets with confidence and presidential escort, but is as well flaunting his wealth and using it to destabilise the political, economical, military and social structures of the country, and dears Nigerians to do their worst!

MATTER OF PRINCIPLE

Arresting IBB and making him accountable fully for his evil deeds should be a matter of principle for Nigerians, no matter how long and difficult it is going to take. In any case, I strongly believe that his days are already numbered. He had deceived some Nigerians some of the time but he can't continue deceiving all Nigerians all the time. The day Ribadu presents IBB to Nigerians handcuffed and in prison uniform, I can bet with anything that on that day Nigerians will troop out with joy and shout 'Ribadu for president!' However, no matter what IBB does, no matter all his maradonic maneuvers, he can't escape arrest and prosecution. There's no hiding place for him any more. According to the Yoruba proverb: 'Ti iro ba s'are fun ogun odun, otito a ba lojo kan.'Which means literally that: 'if deceit runs for 10 years, it will take the truth just a day to catch up with him.' If Ribadu is not bold enough to do it, somebody else will definitely do it when the time comes. In my opinion, arresting IBB will boost Ribadu’s chance of becoming Nigeria's president if he ever intends to.

BETRAYAL

It's very sad to read the news that Bisi Abiola - one of Abiola's wives paid a visit to IBB together with other IBB well-wishers and even declared their support for his presidential ambition come 2007. It just sounds incredible! Taking into consideration the fact that it was the same IBB that annulled the freest and fairest elections ever held in Nigeria's history. Abiola eventually lost his life during the struggle to claim his right and restore democracy. It's 10 years exactly now since the cold murder of Kudirat Abiola by the Abacha (another devil from the north) hit squad during her defense of democracy.

Kudirat Abiola stood firmly and boldly by her husband despite the danger, numerous threats and intimidation. It's very sad and disappointing that Bisi Abiola has not borrowed a leaf from Kudirat Abiola, but has instead decided to sell her conscience for a pot of porridge. She has not only betrayed her late husband but has as well betrayed the Yorubas and the democratic cause.

Undoubtedly, Bisi Abiola is one of the Judases among us that needs to be curtailed in any form before they inflict more harm to our cause. Nemesis will definitely catch up with her too! In Yoruba land, such people are referred to as 'omo-ale.'

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

The need for the south to unite and form a joint political platform is imminent. Undoubtedly, there is strength in unity. United we stand, divided we fall.

There is the need for the Yorubas and Ibos in particular, to forget the past and work together to achieve a common goal. Afterall, Obafemi Awolowo which the Ibos have grudges against is long dead. We need to look forward, and work together, at least for the sake of our children. In addition, it is equally important for the Ibos to reach over to their

immediate neighbours, the south-south, for political reconciliation and address their fears about domination. There is also the need to identify within our midst 'The Judases,' that are willing to sell us or betray our course for a pot of porridge, and neutralise them politically before they inflict serious damage to our course.

PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FROM THE SOUTH

The south must search for credible southern presidential and V.P. candidates that will have the full backing of all the south. For example, an Ibo from the south-south could be a presidential candidate, while his running mate could be from the south-west. I am convinced that if the whole south vote collectively in the upcoming presidential election,

their votes should be enough to win the election; provided that some political opportunists from the south will not allow themselves to be used as spoilers or saboteurs to split our votes. It is obvious that the south is more than the north in population; based on different evidence; including the statistical data about the GSM network coverage of phone users in Nigeria. We have the number on our side to win the election; provided that their cattles or people from neighboring countries bordering the north will not take part in the election. Most likely, this was what Buhari meant when he said that the north has the capability to win the election. I can not see any other capability apart from that. It's also worth mentioning, jokes apart, that Nigeria's border in the north is porous and, there is the need to get it secured. A friend from Chad once told me that Chadians cross into Nigeria and back to Chad without any hindrance.

It will not only be naive but will as well be a very big mistake on our part to expect the west to render us assistance in any form in our problems. They will only sabotage our efforts and manipulate the process to their advantage and maintain the status quo; which is continued economic exploitation and political influence. A case in point to buttress

my point was the interview given by Dele Alake. a confidant of late Chief M.K.O Abiola, to Sun newspaper in commemoration of the June 12 anniversary. Below is an excerpt of part of the interview:

Betrayal

"Of course, he felt betrayed and abandoned by the United States and even the United Kingdom and all the western powers that paid lip service to democracy outside their own shores. Right from the annulment, we had known that the US, UK and western powers were not serious about implanting genuine democracy in this country. We learnt in the June 12 annulment that in international politics, might is usually right. Morals play a minor role in international politics.

After the annulment of June, the US, UK made the necessary noise, gave the necessary rhetoric and went as far as withdrawing their ambassadors and high commissioners from the country only to send them back after a while. There was no concrete finger lifted by them to actualize the June 12 mandate. In fact, even when we were prosecuting the struggle both within and outside the country, very little help came from them. I was in UK with then Senator Tinubu (now Lagos governor). We used to meet in General Akinrinade's office with John Oyegun, Tokunbo Afikuyomi and the late Bobo Nwosisi, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi. These people formed the nucleus of the NADECO abroad.

Very little help was received from the UK government apart from allowing them to be there. There was no material help. The same thing from the US. It was only when pro-democracy cells were established all over the US and agitations increased and then contacts were made with the black congressional caucus in the US Congress that they took up the issue in the US Congress. But the US government itself did not lift any finger in concrete terms. When Abacha took office, they made the same strong statement that they were not going to co-operate with him. But no long after, the UK sold Vikings armoured tanks to Abacha".

POLITICAL PROSTITUTE, GEORGE BUSH AND NORTHERN PUPPET

While proposing for a joint Presidential candidate from the south, I definitely don't mean people like Abia State governor Orji Kalu who dines and wines with IBB and shuttles Washington D.C. for approval by the White House. It is worth noting that when George Bush and other American presidential aspirants were campaigning for The White House, none of them neither came to Africa nor Nigeria for endorsement. And, they did not discuss their political, military, social and economic programs with us. Although, I am not aware of Kalu's performance in Abia, but I remember reading an article once in one of the web sites that his performance at Abia is far below expectation. Actually, that is not the point. Even if his performance at Abia is excellent, nevertheless, that is not enough to be Nigeria's president. We don't want a 'political prostitute' or a 'northern puppet' that hobnobs with IBB and runs to George Bush to get a pat on the back. I have no doubts in my mind that people like Orji will definitely sell our interests at the blink of an eye for a pot of porridge.

LEAVING OUR COMFORT ZONE

Nigerians in diaspora have more than enough professional experience, international exposure and financial prowess to give the north a good fight. Undoubtedly, we all have a big role to play. You can identify, mobilise and encourage some reputable Nigerians; including those in diaspora to either contest for political posts or/and actively be involved in the political process one way or the other. We need to be in the fore-front of the movement. However, in my opinion our efforts will have a meaningful impact only if we are physically present in Nigeria! For those of us who can afford it, I'll rather suggest that they move to Nigeria now and stay till the next presidential election or at least travel

to Nigeria as much as possible; incase they can't afford to be permanently present. Anything short of this will not bring the desired result.

FREEDOM IS NOT GIVEN ON PLATTER OF GOLD: WE MUST FIGHT FOR IT

There's the need for Nigerians in diaspora together with those at home to search for a reputable presidential and V.P candidates that are capable of winning the election. There is the need to hold deliberations and consultations with different groups like the Afenifere, Ohaneze, political parties, business men and traditional rulers - who, unfortunately, are actually sell outs.

Most especially, there's the need for us to reach out to the grass roots. I mean the students, market traders and the common man through articles in Nigerian newspapers, press conferences, TV e.t.c. where different issues will be discussed including the need to vote for the right candidates, the importance of the up-coming presidential election and

danger of selling our votes for a pot of porridge. The south must not only be united but be steadfast. We must present a common front and not allow IBB and his Othman Dan Fodio evil brothers to penetrate our rank. In short, we must strategise. There's a diaspora conference coming up in July in Abuja. I think it'll be great if as many as possible Nigerians in diaspora can attend. Actually, it's a very good forum to reach over to the people and one another, share ideas and mobilise for a just purpose.

I believe that we need to make some sacrifice if we really want to see a strong, and prosperous Nigeria. We need to do it at least for the sake of our children.

IT'S EITHER NOW OR NEVER!!!

Bode Eluyera writes from Moscow. He holds a Master's degree in telecommunications engineering. His PhD thesis is in finance. abm1900@mail.ru

Your Comments

Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.

Robot

# 1 | 13.07.2006 07:48

	This article has set fort to achieve three objectives. First, as a rejoind...Read the full article.

Exxcuzme Exxcuzme is offline

# 2 | 13.07.2006 09:52

	Bode, Well done though your write up is full of many contraditions but at least you did a wonderful analysis. Your castigation about the North, should be about the Northern Elites and their Southern collaborators. I have lived 39yrs in this world and I cannot point to meeting a Northern regular guys to discuss Nigeria issue with, yet the lie is that the population of the North is higher than the south? Most importantly, you should pack up your bags and leave Russsia before the Russian assasins come for you. Unless and I hope, you're using a fake name here. The Ambassador will just hire some Russian crooks to get you. Also with your qualification and experience you should relocate to Nigeria and act what you're preaching. I pray that all should be well with you.

philipikita philipikita is offline

# 3 | 13.07.2006 10:48

	Bode: This is a nice write-up, except that you seem to be a hater of the north and it would be very hard to change this dogmatic hatred. But the issues of the underdevelopment of Nigeria are more complex than your rather simplistic attribution to the north. Exxcuzme: You said: I have lived 39yrs in this world and I cannot point to meeting a Northern regular guys to discuss Nigeria issue with, yet the lie is that the population of the North is higher than the south? Which world are you talking about? If it is outside of Nigeria, then you are very correct, few people from the north are desperate to check out from Nigeria. But again, it is fallacious to use this as a reason that the north is not more populous than the south. Beyond the politics of census and numbers, many demographic variables (fed by a combination of poverty, illitracy and most of all, religion) tend to overwhelm the common demographic theory that migration from arid to coastal areas makes the costal areas more populous. Mine is a hypothesis, based on current demographic trends in Nigeria. I am not a politician fighting for more revenue for the North! In fact, I weep for their future. whether a census like the recent one by the Nigerian government will prove otherwise I donot know, because that census itself was riddled with so many fundamental technical flaws. But avid students of demography would tell you honestly, that current trends indicate that the north is more populous than the south.

denker denker is offline

# 4 | 13.07.2006 12:24

	i can't imagine that any right thinking nigerian/igbo would go that far to vegetate amongst the russians, we all know that the russians are mostly criminals specially here in germany all the cases of human-traffickings, murders, prostitutions etc.. are being carried out by russians... that's the last thing i would do in my life to live among russians, i better go to my village and get serious engage in farming..indeed! It is our collective responsibility and duty to make sure that people like IBB - alias evil genius and his other Othman Dan Fodio evil brothers like Buhari and Atiku -who is a product of one of the most corrupt institutions (the Nigerian customs) in Nigeria, never, never, never again rule the country or manipulate the political process to their advantage again. i agree in toto..!

Tokun

# 5 | 13.07.2006 13:08

	Quote of the day "Perhaps, Nigeria is the only country or among the very few countries in the world where the rulers come from the most backward and poorest regions of the country."

denker denker is offline

# 6 | 13.07.2006 14:45

	However, if Alhaji Atiku and Buhari are determined in serving Nigeria, then, let them gather all the northern beggars that are scattered all over the country and create jobs for them in agriculture and cattle rearing. this's perhaps most intelligent comment i have read on this forum...let them(atiku,buhari,marve, gana etc) use the stolen money and create jobs for the weaks over in the north..!

Basket mouth Basket mouth is online

# 7 | 13.07.2006 15:13

	Bode, First of all, I really appeal to you to please leave russia, they are very dishonest and wicked people. They are more mischievous and evil than any other people I have met. Again I appeal to you, we don't want to loose you to those ignorant people. I tend to agree with 99.999% of all the things you wrote with exception of the northern people. I tend to believe that their elite has exploited them and continues to do so today for their own personal interest. I'm still hopeful that Nigeria (North and South) can co-exist, if it is well managed, or maybe am just an eternal optimist. (I'm still hopeful). I think you are right about the white peoples aversion towards us as a people. They love our resources, but don't particularly care about us. The saddest thing about it is that our "ignorant leaders" have decided to sell their soul to the devil, and leave us to suffer the consequences. I think we have suffered a lot from their irresponsible actions, hence we come to foreign lands to be insulted, abused, and insome cases loose our lives b/c we came to seek greener pasteures on their soil. (I lost a cousin to gun violence in America). I wish your article can be reached by a lot of our so called "leaders", maybe they would sit back at their sober moment, and rethink their strategy for our country. I love Nigeria, may God bless Nigeria! Please Bode leave Russia with immediate effect, and tell the same to other Nigerians.

salstep salstep is offline

# 8 | 13.07.2006 15:43

	Whats with nigerians and long articles? 3 pointless pages.

Auspicious Auspicious is offline

# 9 | 13.07.2006 17:11

	An article that started out appealing to one's sense of compassion. Along the way, I ran into what appeared to be the very thing that the author accused the Russians of: bigotry - that attitude of intolerance and prejudice directed collectively against a people. His words: "...the British have always pursued their selfish political and economic interests at the expense of Nigeria. They prefer to deal with the uncivilised, unpatriotic and educationally retarded north. It's very naive of us to expect that the people that once coloniased us, enslaved us, treated us inhumanly, exploited us will suddenly repent and be our friends." And my interest simply peterred out. Plus I saw the article was too long and windy anyways. It looks like the author got too emotional as he expressed his thoughts. I hope he is safe out there and that he gets the hell out of that place as soon as he can. Still, one cannot ignore acknowledging what conditions at home have driven people to tolerate..

Picasso Picasso is offline

# 10 | 13.07.2006 17:15

	Phew! That was a long one. If indeed these horror stories about Russia are true, then I suggest you leave Russia immediately. Why remain in a country that treats you as sub-human? Why remain in a country that encourages and rewards idle, hateful and alopecic hooligans for taking your life? I say pack your bags and leave now! You can always immigrate to North America if you choose not to return to Nigeria. Meanwhile, I think your seething hatred for the Hausa/Fulanis is fueled by the bad experiences you've had (or heard of) in Russia. Nonetheless, you have highlighted the uncomfortable truth about the need to excise the North from Nigeria if we expect to see tangible, sustainable progress. However, dont make the mistake of thinking that such an excision will happen suddenly without a shot being fired. Majority of these lazy Northerners have become so reliant on resources from the South that you'll have to kill them first become yanking free the umbilicals. The best way to excise the North is to render them politically redundant from now until such a time when the Federal government is decentralized and resource control is implemented across board! Ah! there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in the North on that day.

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