Odua-Nation, Is the Greater Destroyer of Nigeria-State Let me start by stating my humble apologies to a great Nigerian, Professor Wole Soyinka, irrespective of my reservations over his nocturnal-activities in the 60s tertiary institutions that contributed in destroying and reducing her to a glorified primary schools today; my apologies to Major General Baba Tunde Idiagbon of great memory, although who declared he is Fulani not Yoruba; Fajuyi of blessed memory and my other close-friends of Odua extraction. Please bear with me for disappointing you with this write up. Your rejoinder is appreciated. I strongly believe irrespective of the foregoing respectable personalities, and my friends of Yoruba extraction, that ninety-Nine [99%] percent of Odua-State, has contributed more than any other nations-states inside Nigeria-State in the destruction that Nigeria suffers today. I would like to back it up with the following track records: By 1934 through 1944, Awo and his followers left Nnamdi Azikiwe, a self-acclaimed nationalist in the cold, crossed carpeted against him, by not allowing him become a Premier representing the Western region of Nigeria that he grow up. During this time, one Mrs. Ekpo and Ita Eyo, both, from the Ibibio extraction in Eastern Nigeria, both represented Aba-Ngwa at the Parliament and Eastern Regional Administrator respectively; By 1966 Nigeria Army, young Igbo officers destabilized the nation through coup alleging corruption and ill-governance. A coup, which was simultaneously quashed by another two Igbo officers in position of authority: General T.Y.U. Aguiy-Ironsi, Head of State, and General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu [Rtd] Military Governor Kano-State. According to military reports and other documents in our possession, it is observed, believed that the most senior military officer take over the helms of political-and leadership position [or affairs] of the nation, in situation prompted by either act of resignation, death or coup, incapacitated a seating leadership, in case of one or by all of the aforementioned situations. Conversely, when J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi got missing or murdered in a counter-coup led by Northern elements of the military, observers and records informed us that Brigadier Ogundipe was next in command. Brigadier Ogundipe tucked tail and disappeared in thin air based on a flimsy excuse that a junior officer of Northern extraction, refused to take orders from him. Before we knew what was going on, Jack, Gowon jumped into power, albeit, there were senior military officers ahead him; thusly creating and setting of the military conflict of 1967-70. This is act of irresponsibility, misplaced-power, and power vacuum; Ogundipe should take responsibility. Remember how power operates: the highest military commander takes over. I guess my question is why a coward like Ogundipe would, join the military if he lacked the nerve which, the military training demand from its corps-de-spirit, is mind boggling to this writer? Millicent Fenwick [1983] ones said: “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blow, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” By the end of these actions and other military conflicts that followed many lives have been lost, condescended, and destroyed to the abyss of no return. From 1976, 77, 78, 79 of partly Muritala Mohammad regime, Gowon ran to England. This was after the Gowon attempted to renege on his promise to handover power to civilian government in 1975/76. Dimka’s coup killed Muritala disrupting the 3Rs project: reconstruction, rehabilitation, and re-development of post-war era of the nation. By 1978-79 General Olusegun Obasanjo, shacking and tearfully took over leadership. As if a mistake, Obasanjo, criminally and fraudulently took nine [9] billion dollars from IMF/World Bank for a purported Ajeokuta-Steel Industrial Complex project; awarded contracts to himself, although under brief Muritala regime, there was a decree: that no serving military officer should engage in contracts while retaining a Cabinet Membership or Position. Obasanjo secretly ignored the decree and took contracts, anyways. This project sunk in billions of naira but today we cannot produce a single rod. By 1979, Obasanjo, after building his Ottah Farm, out of pressure from the North, handed over government to Shehu Shagari, via rigged elections which, all Nigerians knew Chief Obafemi Awo, won. By 1983, with a straight face, Buhari/Idiagbon regime drove the civilian administration away to oblivion, based on corruption and mismanagement charges. Are we watching the trend here? Frederick Douglas remarked, “We must have government, but we must watch them like a hawk.” But Nigerians have failed to do this watch-stuff, these events and today’s suffering of Nigerians, Nigerians are partly to be blamed. They are suffering from their, lukewarm, passivistic-sydrome. What a pity! In 1985 in a coup sponsored by M.K.O. Abiola, brought in Babangida and company the people jubilated to their own foolishness. Ha ha!! These men in uniform and their cronies began a rundown of contracts. Abiola over-night became a million; the same can be said of Babangida and others. For over 30 years, Abiola and his cronies sponsored coups in this country out of selfishness and greed. Abiola was an opportunist, period. Due to coup after coup, the nation experienced massive destruction of its infrastructures due to these cabals, their colossal inept and corruption-syndrome, and thieves were made. By 1993, Abiola was the purported winner of the June 12 elections after 30 years of funding coups; but our masses and Nigeria workers languished in precipice. Yet someone said we should move forward and remember the past no more since they are past. I agree, as long as we are ready to learn and run with our pasts. History has always condemned Nigeria. During the June 12 crisis, Western Nigeria went ballistics. We had riots everyday; out of pressure however, Babangida stepped-aside and handed over leadership to Shonekan who happily too Abiola’s mandate for keep. Odua-Nation, asked Abacha to takeover from Shonekan, even late Beko Kuti of Campaign for Democracy [CD] though that military will hand over government to CD. This in part, led to the divisions, and finally breakup of CD. Late Chima Ubani and those of his ideological camp believed that military tyranny pampered, must be driven away left CD, and formed Democratic Alternative [DA] and others. On several closed doors consultations with the Odua-Obas and Abacha/Babangida lighted the summit at Aso-Rock, Abuja, condemned Diya, Obasanjo and Abiola for planning coup, and subsequently asked Abacha surprisingly, to kill them. In their own words: “kill them, kill they all, they are trouble makers”. Remember, till date Obasanjo, never one day remarked on the relevance of June 12 elections. From 1970- 1976 reconstruction [3Rs] failed Awo gave 20 pounds each to Easterners, and the financial industry witnessed quack staffs. Today, Odua-nation has about 100% in the banking & the financial districts today, over 80% of them have no banking or accounting background and we are talking about building and bettering the economy. Big joke! Nigeria may have to wait another 46 years if not another century. No wonder Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, resigned unceremoniously because of quacks, pillages, politics, in the Finance Ministry, and high corruption indexes. I understand she is back in Washington D.C., with her former partners in development and Poverty Reduction Project [PRP] at IMF/World Bank’s affiliated institutions, for developing countries. In Nigeria contracts: there is no contract bidding. Most of these contracts go to Odua-Nation, with their sugar mummies lining-up at the ministries day-in, day-out. When they get the contracts they never executed but money in the pocket. God bless Nigeria! Nigeria civil society is as corrupt and tribal as other institutions. Its operators are attention and publicity seekers via media houses. For example Gani Fawhinmi, Femi Falana and others don’t see anything out its tribal-ridden-- narcissist’s tendencies. When I, as NANS Chief Mobilization Officer [CMO] and NANS Zone B, Mobilization officers 1994/95, visited them in Lagos, running for our lives at heat of June 12 crisis, declared wanted with Anthony Enahoro, John Odigie Oyegun, etc, from Great UNIBEN, the question was not if we are okay, housed and protected from SSS killing squads, and other Nigeria Security Agencies. The question was: “Are they our boys”. Thanks to Dele who confronted Falana from such criminal and cold commentaries, to react to comrades in difficulties like that. God bless you Dele wherever you are today. It is always about individual pockets/peace not general collective and, collective peace. Today Obasanjo has run aground Nigeria-state, this past eight [8] years and you hardly hear anything from the Western Nigeria in terms of strongly challenging and condemning this criminal administration led by Obasanjo; all that we hear today is after thought remarks. For example when Bakassi, was given away to Cameroon we did not hear from comrades. It was belatedly after that Gani Fawhinmi, said that the government rushed the handover project based on International Court of Justice [ICJ]. There are so many ICJ orders on US, Britain and other countries, these nations-states ignored ICJ and nothing happened till today. Then one wondered why it took civil society that long to respond to any ICJ orders. How many protests have you witnessed recently in the West, unlike under Hausa military regimes? Pretty much regionally motivated, right! Individual peace is no peace. If they are wrong in the West they should be seen as wrong in the East and North today, even with the same vigor and enthusiasm. Franz Fannon in his “wretched of the Earth” remarked: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” One commentator was commenting on one of these forums that Gani has been in the struggle for 37 years and arrested 56 times. As long as we do not dispute these arrestment catalogs/achievements the question therefore is for whose benefits? Has anybody wondered why he is a loner all these years, never partner with other lawyer groups, NBA or partner with other civil rights movement? It is because of his ego, North-America and European foreign donor funds that he pockets alone. I wish Chima Ubani, is alive today. I stand to be corrected. Obasanjo’s administration this past eight [8] years have accounted for more destruction of Nigeria than any other administration, in recent past irrespective of EFCC. This administration under a Western Nigeria extraction, have destroyed almost all the infrastructures yet there no noise from the Odua-Nations. Does that tell you something about hypocrisy, tribalism and lip-service? All the Lagos-based campaign for democracy and their purported civil right groups have all kept mute on national burning issues and when they manage to make remarks at all, it is usually belated. I used for example, the handling over of Bakassi with thirty-seven [37] communities—but, where is the civil society, Lawyers Associations, Labor Unions student leaderships [NANS], etc? In all, none of these groups responded against this administration’s aggression against our brothers and sisters in Bakassi. Had it been maybe, just maybe, Ekiti or Badagri were handed over like that, what would have been your reactions? This moribund administration unconstitutionally gave away our land in cold-blood. I am deeply disturbed by these events and worry about the uncertainties we face today at home or abroad. From 1999 to 2006, Obasanjo have pretended to be enthroning democracy in Nigeria. But the truth is that he had been enthroning his sugar mummies, enriching himself and his cronies while the people facing precipice everyday. Atiku’s corrupt and culpable as any other no doubt about that. However, the man and his PR representatives or spokespersons have unleashed Obasanjo and his cronies with cheque bombs recently: N3 to N10 billion withdrawn from TIB, which, belongs to Otunba Reuben Fasawe. According to report, Fasawe is a mutual friend of Obasanjo. The saga at PTDF is staggering to say the least, implicating both Obasanjo and Atiku, and their cronies. Reports by Yusuf Alli, Semiu Okanlawon, Jude Owumanam and Everest Amaefule Published: Thursday, 14, September 2006 speaks volumes. From this reporters: “there are cheques worth over N100m issued to IBAD Nigeria Limited, a construction company solely owned by Obasanjo, from Fasawe’s MOFAS TIB accounts. There are also payments which, Fasawe directly made to the Obasanjo Africa Leadership Forum and to Obasanjo Campaign Organization; evidence also reveal that President bought a brand new Peugeot 607 for a woman friend, Ms. Lamide Adegbanro, bought a Prado Jeep for Mrs. Ajoke Mohammed, wife of the late Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed; from the MOFAS account; Vehicles supplied by R.T. Briscoe in December 2001; also Briscoe supplied two coaster buses for Obasanjo’s Bells Comprehensive High School in Ota at about the same time, etc.” Do you really want more of these lists? Besides, 99% of Odua-Nation and faith remains in question. Today they are Christian and tomorrow they become Muslims in a blink of an eye, they are atheists. Religious prostitution is one the spiritual crimes; meshed with opportunism. There is this opportunistic tendency that drives their politics, civil society, publicity, religion and everyday in life, etc. The list of this instability is endless. This has spread across Nigeria today. In Igbo land, it is pretty much the same or even worse and I cried when I got home. Our values, character and good names have been handed down to local thieves and discredited individuals in these places for the sake of moneys all facilitated by the survive-syndrome-mentality. It is very difficult to trust them because of their cowardly, treacherous, and opportunistic tendencies. Post-civil war era, witnessed all the oil headquarters and depots [re] located in Lagos, Shagamu to be precise. While the two Seaports in the East: Calabar and Port-Harcourt, serving eastern imports/exports businesses, have been shot down for no specific reasons all to disparage Easterners. There is not a single oil depot in say Benin, Asaba, Warri, Enugu, Aba, Imo, etc, although some of these areas produce large quantity of crude Oil. Permit me to humbly rest my case, until I hear from some of you who would like to wrestle these perspectives. Something is exceptionally wrong in this place and as long as I blame other ethnic groups in Nigeria, I place blames in greater proportion of on Odua-Nation for their hypocrisy and chameleonisms; when it doesn’t benefit them they abandon the project instantly and you will be shocked to witness that, too. Please check before delivery. I stand to be corrected on these historical findings/chorographical analytical indexes. My submission is that Odua-Nation must begin to do critical self-examination of if-self today, more than any other group or any other nations-states inside Nigeria. To be fair, if this self-examination if properly carried out, we will reproduce a total sum of same self-examination from all regions, states and local governments, which, would harness sustainability in totality for the nation-state—called, Nigeria. It is altruistic that, if we start today to engage in self-evaluations from ethnic-lines for self-emancipation of our peoples from the doldrums of mediocrity and cronyism, we would have by so doing truly established a responsible leadership amongst the people for an improved enduring democratic self-governance for our Nigeria-state, and, its peoples. United States of America use to conduct opinion polls across the country whenever there is a public clamor or debate on any national issue. Some of these polls usual reflect on the performance of political leadership of both parties—especially when the government of the day looks like its abandoning its prorgrammes for the people. Poll outcomes, also impact the ruling party and opposition challengers on how to behavior and her to conduct themselves in public domain—talking about civility and professionalism. Have you every wondered what the opinion poll in Nigeria would look like especially poll on Obasanjo, Atiku and PDP party score-board at this time of the year, in Nigeria? I wish Odua-Nation would overcome their tribalism, cronyism, pretensions and opportunistic tendencies for a better Nigeria. Other Nigeria-nations must join too in this self-examination, including, oil-multinationals, government agencies like PTDF not just empty apologies. Carlisle U.O. Umunnah Is New York Based Freelance Writer
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