President Yar’Adua: Please visit Jos 

That once peaceful Jos, the capital of Plateau state erupted in an orgy of violence last month is no news now. That this violence is been blamed on everything depending on, which side of the divide one sits is equally no news, for this is Nigeria. 

However, what is equally no news but should be news to any right thinking individual is that up until now, the President of Nigeria has not deemed it fit to visit Jos. This is pathetic. The President genetically programmed (by virtue of his Fulani heritage) to traverse and renowned for roaming round the world since he saw himself as the Nigerian helmsman has not deemed it fit to visit his suffering subjects in Jos is deplorable to say the least. More importantly since he has deployed the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police to Jos, is it not proper that as Commander-in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces for President Yar’Adua to relocate to Jos for the time being, to marshal his troops and placate his dispossessed subjects or is he afraid? I think not. Barack Obama during campaigning visited Iraq to commiserate with US troops there. That is what I call a servant-leader. 

The point is that Nigerian leaders do not level with the masses once they get into power. For them, the idea of power is to separate the men from the boys, to enjoy the trappings of office, to steal the government coffers dry, to drain poor Niger Delta of as much oil as is possible before the oil wells run dry, to rub shoulders with the likes of Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and other world leaders, to have as many concubines as possible, to have everything, but to serve their people. This is the reason our so-called servant-leader is leading rather than serving. This is the reason that President Yar’Adua sees visiting Jos as an irritant: it is not value-adding to him, it does not fit into his game plan. He will rather visit Mumbai to commiserate with the victims of last month terrorist attack than visit Jos for Jos is not a sexy city. 

Information from different sources put the number of casualties in Jos from 400 to 2000. The Punch newspaper online edition reported that the number of refugees to be circa 7000 and spread over ten camps and yet our servant-leader is not moved by this plight of internally displaced Nigerians. One then wonders what will move him (and them). 

If the servant-leader is not moved by this carnage in Jos, is it the plight of the Akwa-Ibom orphans that will move him? Is the erosion menace in Anambra state that will move him? Is it the death of the poor children killed by ‘My Pikin’ teething mixture that will shake him? Is it the deplorable situation of Benin – Ore road that will shift him? Is it desert encroachment in Zamfara state that will? None of these or other miserable plight of Nigeria and Nigerians will. However, the only thing that will move our servant-leader is the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement regarding his Professor Iwu engineered ascension to power. For that judgement is capable of switching his status from servant-leader to leader-servant. I will not be surprised if President Yar’Adua jets out of Nigeria to one useless foreign trip any time from now without visiting Jos but he will never step out of Nigeria nearer the time that the Supreme Court judgement will be announced. This shows where his priority lies.   

Another interesting observation is that the first lady (Alhaja, Chief, Dr (Mrs) Turai Yar-Adua) has equally shunned visiting her subjects in Jos now that duty calls. There is no constitutional provision for this office of the first lady but they all abuse the position when duty does not call but once duty calls, it becomes: “To your tents Oh Israel”. Where also is the vice-presidents first lady? Now that the all the second and third ladies of Jos are crying out for help. 

What about the committee of Governors and Deputy Governor’s first ladies? Where are though? The second, third and fourth ladies of Jos and in Jos are crying out for your help. These unfortunate ladies of Jos are languishing in refugee camps with their children (our children) and need the very basics of life this Christmas, some of these second ladies and their children may celebrate Christmas in these refugee camps, some have already celebrated Sallah in the camps. These unfortunate of Jos ladies need mosquito nets, pure water, akara, ogi and second hand cloths for that is what your husbands and by extension yourselves has reduced them to, in their own crude oil saturated country, please help. Where are all the retired first ladies? Miriam Babangida, the unfortunate ladies of Jos now needs a Better Life. 

Should Hilary Clinton or Condoleeza Rice ever visit Nigeria, all these first ladies will be queuing to host and entertain them (yet they will not go to Jos). Most of them will be off to Dubai, in advance, at the expense of their respective second, third and fourth ladies and with unbudgeted funds to shop for Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Some state house of assemblies (like Imo state) will pass supplementary budgets to host Hilary or Condi by their first ladies. Senate President, David Mark will be very quick off his mark and recall the senate from Sallah and Christmas break to approve a supplementary budget denoted in pound sterling, dollars and euro’s for Turai to host Hilary or Condi. Dimeji Bankole will stealthily get his house to approve three billion naira to procure a fleet of limousines for Turai to ferry these August visitors round Aso Rock. Our servant-leader flanked by his executive council and all sartorially looking will be at Nnamdi Azikiwe airport, Abuja to receive them. But for the unfortunate ladies of Jos, they are left to rot in refugee camps and with their children. Who cares? What a country! 

The Holy Bible tells us that “Many days are for the thief and one day is for the owner”. In this our Nigeria, will that one day of the owner ever going to come? 

May ordinary Nigerians learn to live in peace with their ordinary brothers and channel their frustrations where it should be rightly channelled. And may the souls of all that died in this needless carnage in Jos rest in perfect peace, Amen.   

Odenigbo Chidi Anyaeche

London

UK

Robot  # 1 | 10.12.2008 09:23

President Yar’Adua: Please visit Jos That once peaceful Jos, the capital of Plateau state erupted in an orgy of violence last month is no news now. That this violence is been blamed on everything depending on, which side of the divide one sits is equally no news, for this is Nigeria. However, what is equally no news but should be news to any right thinking individual is that up until now, the President of Nigeria has not deemed it fit to visit Jos. This is pathetic. The President genetically programmed (by virtue of his Fulani heritage) to traverse and renowned for roaming round the world since he saw himself as the Nigerian helmsman has not deemed it fit to visit his suffering subjects in Jos is deplorable to say the least. More importantly since he has deployed the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police to Jos, is it not proper that as Commander-in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces for President Yar’A...Read the full article.

allaccess  # 2 | 10.12.2008 10:19

=Robot;298721>President Yar’Adua: Please visit Jos That once peaceful Jos, the capital of Plateau state erupted in an orgy of violence last month is no news now. That this violence is been blamed on everything depending on, which side of the divide one sits is equally no news, for this is Nigeria. However, what is equally no news but should be news to any right thinking individual is that up until now, the President of Nigeria has not deemed it fit to visit Jos. This is pathetic. The President genetically programmed (by virtue of his Fulani heritage) to traverse and renowned for roaming round the world since he saw himself as the Nigerian helmsman has not deemed it fit to visit his suffering subjects in Jos is deplorable to say the least. More importantly since he has deployed the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police to Jos, is it not proper that as Commander-in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces for President Yar’A...Read the full article. YAr Adua has no business there, the only thing I am sure he asked when he was told is did the talakwas kick ass in the name of Mohamed (SAW)? Probable answer: it was a fair fight. UMYA: alahuakbar, there is always next time, we now have a mallam chief of army staff, he might ask his troops to only shoot at Christian fighters in future.

akuluouno  # 3 | 10.12.2008 10:41

Even at the burial of the youth corper in Ibadan, how many thoughtless leaders were in attendance. It shows the international community where our elites priorities are, to our collective shame. Emperor OBJ was at the Ikeja bombing site to address casualties but thank God for the freudian slip he made which convinced one and all that Nigerian leaders are the same, no wonder governments in Nigeria cannot do well in the highly lucrative service industries such as tourism and airlines etc, because our elites love pomp and page and power and class but will never descend from their hubric olympian heights to embrace a little bit of humility and humanism:rant::rant:

Onowu1  # 4 | 10.12.2008 11:09

Right now do Nigeria have a leader, a president and is Nigeria broke? :(:(:( Food for thought: Govnor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested Tuesday December 9, 2008 by FBI agent for what U.S attorney Patrick Fitzgerals called a "staggering" level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illonois's government house. The governor was nailed before he receives a cent, a dollar, zilch. Then think about our fatherland, PDP and Nigerian politicians of all shades and tribes has been giving and receiving bribes audaciously since 1998. How can someone who can not wake up in the morning without out the help of medication know his responsibilites?. Thank you the author for venting out what most fo us Nigerians know.

charles4u  # 5 | 10.12.2008 11:28

Who cares ? Nigerians or government ? My anwser....... NOBODY cares So pls...lets know where we stand and maybe talk on the main issue of solution.(that is if there is going to be a solution)

olubadan  # 6 | 10.12.2008 14:38

Thank you for your write-up you are expressing the feeling of most people... President Yardua and his cohorts... this are hopeless people, back to the question you asked where is the first lady... saw her in the dailys she visiting Enugu or so.. This is the kind of governs they can offer cos it suits there interests If they channel one tenth of all the energy and all the strategy we saw them exhibiting and used to bring Nuru Ribadu down. The issue of Jos will never have raised.. i was moved too tear when i saw the picture of the corpers kill.. That would have been any of us... Sometimes I wonder if our problems are more rooted in this black thing syndrome.

Afeni  # 7 | 10.12.2008 15:18

If elections were free and fair, Umaru would have been in Jos within 24 hours of the initial disturbance. But with the way things work in Nigeria, the only way you can get a Nigerian public official to show-up to a non-state function is if some big-shot God-father is involved. Otherwise expect them to send a deputy minister. Who in turn will send a junior ministry official. :lol: Have you not noticed how every time the president is alleged to have said something, it ends up being through one spokesman or another. It is a little to much to ask that public official speak for themselves. Talkless of showing up in person. However, come 2011, these charlatans will find their way through every nook and cranny of the nation swearing solidarity with the people. Its particular troubling when you consider that Plateau, the State that Jos is in, neighbors Abuja. God forbid Umaru get the strength to get in an official car (heck, his body guards can even carry him) and drive 1 hour or so to see for himself the damage caused.

mathelize  # 8 | 10.12.2008 18:34

When are we going to be honest with ourselves that the solution to these killings, looting etc is to break the useless entity called Nigeria up?

Africaman  # 9 | 10.12.2008 19:08

Fellow Africans, What you see happening in Nigeria is the gradual process of disintegration and from the look of things, it appears like it will not be very peaceful at all. There is every reason to believe in a broken 'nations' out of former 'Nigeria' than to be chained to a criminal gang-up called nigger-area. It will require the honesty of the Yoruba who is willing to abandon ship once he feels that his interest has been looked after and it also requires the elimination of certain people among the Igbo political elite to send a message out that enough is enough. Nigeria is long over due for a great revolution that will not leave any stone unturned in dealing with the decays of the past forty eight years. In all my visits across Nigeria, I have seen misery in all corners of the fragmented country. In Kaduna I saw young kids who suppose to be in school begging and once the sun sets, they resort to sniffing fuel to feel 'high'. In Lagos I saw area boys who have equally been left behind and seeking help and there is no one listening and some among this 'area boys' clearly told me then that Nigeria for them is a time bomb waiting to go off and its impact will be great especially now that we've allowed this multiple problems to fester. I also stopped over at Onitsha and the story was no better than that of Kaduna or Lagos. The entire people of the land are crying out for help and it appears that no one is going to help them until they understand what Self-Help means. Would God that all the lazy hands being employed to kill Southerners in the north learns to use those weapons on the very people that are oppressing them. It really depends on the people of Southern Nigeria on which direction this sinking ship heads. There must be a common ground for all people of the south or the slavery continues and the quoran continues its journey into the River Niger to get dipped there. Nigeria remains a fraud and the earlier it is dealt with, the better for Africa and its people. Can there be anything like unity among all the people of the Southern Nigeria? Africaman

datuouwadaberechi  # 10 | 11.12.2008 12:42

thanks to the author for this very telling article. thanks also to AFENI for your contributions. its hard to give up on nigeria, but i cant deny "bad-news fatigue". it just goes on and on and on and on and on. but its good that ppl like the author and quite a number of other concerned nigerians are keeping up the fight against the evil corrupt leaders.