Akeredolu and Miyetti Allah Empire

By Casmir Igbokwe

The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, appears to have made a grievous mistake. When he asked unregistered herdsmen to leave Ondo State’s forest reserves within seven days, he forgot that the President is Fulani. He failed to realise that, no matter how well-intentioned a policy is, if it does not satisfy the ethnic inclination of some powers, that policy may suffer stillbirth. 

To the governor, the activities of the herders had for long threatened the security of his state. But to the national president of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, the Fulani herdsmen are not the ones threatening the security of any state. In an interview with Saturday Sun of January 23, 2021, Bodejo said Fulani owned all lands in Nigeria and no power could remove them from the forests. Hubris!

Ironically, the chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Ondo, Alhaji Bello Garba, said his group had no problem with Akeredolu. According to him, the governor, in his meeting with them, did not tell them to leave Ondo or the forests but that they should cooperate with the government to flush out the bad eggs among them. Is Bodejo aware of this?

Nevertheless, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) described the notice to quit to the unregistered herders as provocative and unhelpful. The group said the governor had no power to take such an action.

To an extent, the Presidency agrees with Bodejo and the NEF. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said there was need to delink terrorism and crimes from ethnicity, geographical origins and religion. 

Shehu added, “The President, who swore to defend the Constitution, has spoken against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in asking citizens of northern origin to leave, he did not spare the group based in Sokoto, ‘Muslim Solidarity Forum’, which asked the Bishop of Sokoto to leave and is prepared to do all that the law permits to protect citizens all over the country in their choice of where they wished to reside and are treated as equal citizens.”

Shehu missed the point here. He failed to realise that there is a clear difference between the IPOB or Muslim Solidarity Forum quit notices and the one on the unregistered herdsmen in Ondo. In the first place, no amorphous non-governmental group has any constitutional powers to ask anybody to quit where they live. 

Besides, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah merely exercised his right to the freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution. He had, in his Christmas message last year, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism and bad governance. The best option for whoever feels aggrieved is to approach the court.

On the other hand, Akeredolu, as the elected governor of Ondo State, is the chief security officer of that state. The land and security of his state are entrusted in his care. Thus, he has every right to take any lawful action that will guarantee peace and security of his state. The directive that unregistered herdsmen should leave Ondo forest reserves was one of such actions. Note that the quit notice was not for all herdsmen, but only for unregistered, criminal ones. Even if the governor is a general without troops, he should be respected. 

This herdsmen’s menace has persisted because President Buhari indulges them. His administration’s emotional attachment to Fulani herdsmen, as Akeredolu rightly said, was inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria. As the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, also noted, the Presidency’s reaction was “in line with non-pretence by this regime that it represents only Fulani interests against those of Yoruba, Igbo, Jukun, Ijaw and other tribes in Nigeria.”

No doubt, Nigeria’s liberation day will come the moment we divorce ethnic and religious sentiments from our actions and utterances. Herdsmen, and indeed all law-abiding Nigerians, have the right to live and do their business in any part of the country. But, in all sincerity, can the Federal Government or the NEF say that some of these herdsmen have conducted their business lawfully? 

There have been series of reports about the atrocities they commit in different parts of the country. Oftentimes, they abduct travellers and subject them to harrowing experiences. Some pay huge ransoms to secure their release. Those who are not too lucky pay with their lives. Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Afenifere chieftain, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was a typical example. She was killed in July 2019 on Benin-Ore Expressway. 

Sometimes, the herdsmen invade farmlands with their cows and destroy economic crops. A former Minister of Finance, Olu Falae, has been a victim on a number of occasions. In September 2015, herdsmen kidnapped him from his farm in Ilado village. They took him into the bush and released him after receiving N5 million as ransom. The police later arrested and prosecuted the suspects. Seven of them were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.

Last November, Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, complained that herders invaded his farm again in Akure and either destroyed or harvested crops worth millions of naira. Members of the Ondo State Agricultural Commodities’ Association (OSACA) lamented that farmers in Ondo State had lost over 2,000 hectares of rice and over 3,000 hectares of cassava, among others, to herdsmen’s activities across the state.

In Benue State, there is no love lost between farmers and herdsmen. Last July, attacks and killings by herders forced the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, to call on President Buhari to declare them terrorists. He said declaring them terrorists would end their wave of impunity.

The worrying aspect of this impunity is the reported involvement of soldiers in the herders’ attacks. Last week, some monarchs in Ketu communities of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State accused some officers of the Nigerian Army of conniving with the herdsmen during attacks on villages in the state. Thus, the traditional rulers filed a petition to the Brigade Commander, 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, on the issue. They alleged that the soldiers mercilessly beat up one Mr. Seye Mulero, who merely called the attention of the soldiers to the challenges inherent in allowing herdsmen to openly graze in their communities based on their past sad experiences. The soldiers had, in a meeting with the villagers, informed them that the Fulani herders would be coming into their communities to graze cows.

Surely, nothing lasts forever. History records that there was once an Oyo Empire, Benin Empire, Roman Empire and many others. The Miyetti Allah Empire will fizzle out sooner than expected.

All that the sane society requires of them is to do their business with decorum. Ranching is the modern way of rearing cattle. Open grazing is out of fashion. Roaming from one bush to the other, raping and kidnapping innocent people can never be tolerated by any sane society. Not by Akeredolu, not by Ortom and definitely not by any reasonable being.

The Federal Government should stop being partisan. It gives people like Bodejo the audacity to vomit nonsense in the name of defending Fulani interests. It quickens the drumbeats of disintegration staring us in the face. IPOB made some noises a few years ago. Government proscribed it and hounded its members. Some herdsmen move with sophisticated weapons and attack communities with impunity. The government makes excuses for them. Do we have separate laws for different groups in Nigeria?

Nigerians desire peace and unity. But it doesn’t have to be obtained by force and with tears. Rearing of cattle is not different from other business. Hence, for individuals or groups to make use of any land for business, they have to abide by the state’s laws, knowing that every piece of land belongs to the state. The earlier we understand this fact, the better for us all. 

Re: COVID-19: Do wise men still come from the East?

Dear Casmir, at the community level, societal myths, superstitions, rumours and scepticism becloud people’s sense of reality. Such is what obtains in the society’s perception of COVID-19. It is a very hazardous trend. The unfortunate school of thought ranges from that of the belief that it is the malaria/typhoid that we know through outright belief in nonexistence of the virus and as a disease of the affluent to a ploy by the Western world to instate the scriptural Antichrist through vaccination. It behoves on the government and the stakeholders to intensify awareness campaign and where possible display more videos of scenarios of COVID-19 patients for public view.    

– Idongesit Inyang,  Uyo, 2348084318845.

Casmir, people are not convinced that such disease actually is in existence. These doubts can be likened to the level of distrust of the citizens about the government of the day. In an environment where lies have been institutionalized, citizens can hardly believe any serious information intended for their own safety.

To ensure that the citizens comply with the non-pharmaceutical measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government should embark on aggressive campaign that will involve the traditional leaders, churches and news media.

– Pharm. Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922

Dear Casy, the low observance to COVID-19 protocols arises from two belief factors, to wit: (1)the geo-difference in our hot climate and that of Western nations with temperate climate contributes to our low record of fatalities in comparative terms; (2) our faith in God as the ultimate protector and healer. Again, the cynicism is a silent protest against our endemic corrupt system in managing public affairs wherein it is believed that while the hype about COVID-19 lasts, government officials make windfalls out of it. SOLUTION: (1) Noticeable transparency in managing the pandemic; (2) continuous education of the masses; (3) decent enforcement devoid of commando style.

– Steve Okoye, Awka, 08036630731

Dear Casy, the pauperised and traumatised populace didn’t believe the government because the rulers used lies, propaganda and deceit against the people. There is one case in Enugu State where a high court judge died of hepatitis and government claimed that he died of COVID-19 until the late judge’s son told the people the truth. Do you blame the people? May God save us from this Wuhan coro and evil and wicked government. Wise men still come from the East.

– Eze Chima C. Lagos, +2347036225495     

Dear Casmir, the problem COVID vaccine is facing may have come from the fact that lab results were withheld from the people at the wake of the pandemic. I had earlier written against politicisation of public health. NCDC should correct this error.

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +2349095385215

As learned as you are, Casmir Igbokwe, what a priest said on the pulpit is what you are using to compare all the eastern side of the country? As a journalist, what did governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello say about this pandemic? Ok have you taken the vaccine? Have you seen the drug made for th African continent, which warned that it should not be sold to EU, USA and Asia, only for Africa? I need reply. Thanks.

– Anonymous, +2348058581713

Thanks Mr. Igbokwe. I am back to Jos. Could you believe I felt like an orphan seeing only me wearing facemask in our Anglican Church in Anambra?

– Anonymous, +2348034505095

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, January 25, 2021

COVID-19: Do wise men still come from the East?

Casmir Igbokwe

When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, the wise men who came to pay him homage were from the East. The South-East people of Nigeria are also considered wise. But considering the way they have handled the COVID-19 pandemic, one wonders what is happening to that wisdom God endowed them with.

I was in the South-East of Nigeria to pay my own homage in commemoration of the birth of Christ. The good side of my visit was that I enjoyed a more conducive atmosphere. The air was fresh, devoid of the pollution associated with city life. I had no single bite of mosquito. The food and fruits looked fresh and more natural.

I also enjoyed the communal life and philanthropy of the Igbo people. There were family and village meetings with the attendant conviviality. House warming, wedding ceremonies, football competitions and chieftaincy title taking were not left out. Wealthy individuals gave palliatives to indigent citizens. They rehabilitated and tarred roads. The only snag was that some of the roads did not have good drainage systems. Once rainy season sets in, some of them will go bad again.

Even solemn events like funerals presented people with an opportunity to throw banter and share food and drinks together. The burial ceremony of Mrs. Monica Anyaeche, the mother of Anambra business mogul, Chief Ernest Anyaeche (Ochendo),was a typical example. Chief Anyaeche, who hails from Aguluzigbo in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, is the CEO of Sumec Firman Generators in Nigeria. His mother died at the ripe age of 113. I was there to witness the elaborate celebration of the life of this noble woman.

However, I felt a bit disturbed by the way crowds of people mingled at funerals of this nature and other festive events in Anambra. At Nanka, Isuofia, Ekwulobia and many other towns in the state, masqueraders and humans jollied in mutual obeisance to the gods of entertainment. There were no conscious efforts to maintain social distance. Nor did most people bother about wearing facemasks.

The worst is that cynicism and doubts about the existence of COVID-19 persist. In one of the Masses I attended, a Catholic priest told his congregation that coronavirus was nothing but an attempt by the Western powers to depopulate Africa. He prayed that it would not work for them. And the congregation chorused amen. He also pooh-poohed the COVID-19 vaccine already being used in many parts of the world. According to him, the vaccine was nothing but another attempt to poison and kill Africans. To cap it all, he said nobody should bring the vaccine to Biafraland. Knowing how our people defer to priests and religion, it is obvious that we are in for more trouble as far as COVID-19 is concerned.

Similar cynicism and myths seriously affected and delayed the efforts to combat polio in Nigeria. It was insinuated that the polio vaccine was to depopulate Nigeria, especially the North. Some accused Bill Gates, who was championing the war against polio, of sinister motives.

The level of misinformation about COVID-19 will be more devastating. Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State had no option but to address his people and warned about the dangers posed to the state by the disease. He further postponed school resumption by two weeks from the original date of January 18.

It is imperative to note that COVID-19 is real. People are dying daily because of it. Worldwide, it has affected nearly 100 million people with over two million deaths. In the United States alone, there are over 24 million cases and over 400,000 deaths. In Nigeria, there are over 100,000 cases and over 1,400 deaths. We need to be extra vigilant this time.

If there is any sinister motive behind the vaccine, the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, would not have taken it. The Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, and emeritus Pope Benedict would not have taken it. Many other prominent global citizens would not have taken it. So far, about 25 per cent of Israel’s nine million people have been inoculated in just one month. Italy has given about one million people the vaccine. In Britain, at least more than three million people have been given a first dose of a vaccine. In the United States, Biden plans a big vaccination push. India also plans to reach 1.3 billion people with the vaccine.

I have a feeling that the Federal Government of Nigeria is confused about how to tackle this pandemic. Schools were shut down and asked to resume January 18, 2021. Different universities have announced resumption dates for their academic activities. But has anything changed between when the schools were shut and when they are to reopen? Does it mean that, from January 18, COVID-19 will disappear from our schools? What efforts are we making to ensure that our children are protected from the disease? What about markets and worship centres? Are they immune from coronavirus?

Were COVID-19 to kill Africans the way it is killing in Europe and America, we would be in big trouble. The festive period may have helped to spread it faster in the East because a greater percentage of Igbo people travelled to their villages this period. Imposing lockdown may not work this time. The onus is for us to continue to observe the safety protocols: regular washing of hands, use of hand sanitizers, wearing of facemasks and face shields. etc. Let us try to emulate the virtues of the biblical wise men, if we must survive this pandemic.

Re: Leave Bishop Kukah alone

Your piece, “Leave Bishop Kukah alone,” was classical. It had superlative ingredients of creative mastery and artistry. The northern political elite are holding Nigeria and Nigerians by the jugular. Taking the cleric to the cleaners by managers of this failed state for reharshing known facts is most uncharitable. Buhari has abdicated his constitutional responsibilities. He has run this country aground, like the famous crashed Titanic. Poverty is all over the land, with the highest record of insecurity in our chequered history.

– Chief Obinwa Akanwa, +2348134909795

Mine is, let everyone go their separate ways. Nigeria was never created by God. What Lugard and his girlfriend, Shaw, did was evil (bringing discordant entities together). Yet, some political raptors do everything to keep it together. Woe betide them! Nigeria was founded on fornication! That’s why it can’t work! I don’t believe in restructuring. The North has been kicking against it from time immemorial not until recently.

– Henry Uche, mercy4henryuc@gmail.com

Casmir, more than 60 years after independence, Nigeria is still in a sorry state. This is because of ethnic and religious politics. There’s no national ideological belief as to how to move the country forward. Greater number of years has been controlled by northern Muslims. The best option is restructuring, where we can remain as a country but allow each entity to move at its own pace.

– Pharm. Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922

Dear Casmir, the North is indisputably the section of the country with the greatest clamour for the unity and oneness of the country with shouts of One Nigeria becoming their mantra. Yet, they are notorious for acts of disunity. Portraying Bishop Kukah’s lamentation in bad light is at best clannish and nepotistic. This shows that their purported criticism and condemnation of the security situation in the country in general and the North in particular is pretentious and farcical.

– Idongesit Inyang, Uyo,  +2348084318845.

What did Bishop Kukah say that has not been said before? The wailers should leave Kukah alone. The best friend of democracy is opposition and protest; if you don’t like the opposition then rule well. If you can’t rule well, get out of power.

-Emma, Wuse 2, +2348035585109

Dear Casy, governance has scorecards but the trappings of office, in addition to sycophants and cronies around the power-wielder, often blind him from taking note of this important feature. Again, governance, just like accounting, has debit and credit sides, representing bad and good governance, respectively; wherein the performance scorecard of Nigeria’s government at the centre today bears the following: (1) Insecurity-Debit (2) Unemployment-Debit. (3) Corruption–Debit (4) Nepotism-Debit (5) Economy-Debit. With this kind of scorecard, the likes of Lai Mohammed can only tell a blind man that there is no oil in a plate of soup but they can’t definitely tell the blind man that there is no salt or pepper in the same soup.

– Steve Okoye, Awka, 08036630731 

Dear Casmir, the issue at stake is not just with the North but Nigeria as a whole. The West never supported Obasanjo in 1999 because then he appeared as a national leader. By 2003 when he pretended to take sides with his people, they voted for him en masse but ended up regretting it. When will Nigeria unite?

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +2349095385215

Dear Casy, in this present rot where truth is no longer coming from the pulpit, Bishop Kukah is a real man of God. If Obasanjo’s government had implemented the report of the Oputa panel packaged by Justice Oputa and Bishop Kukah, Nigeria wouldn’t have degenerated to this level. Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Sultan Abubakar and other leaders in the North should dismantle their hegemonic system of leadership in the North where the political and religious elites have destroyed the masses.

– Chima C. Eze, Lagos, +2347036225495

The outrage occasioned by the unimpeachable truths of Kukah’s homily is not unconnected with the messenger’s religious affiliation, just as Charly Boy and Sowore’s protests were linked to their emerging from the ‘wrong’ zones of the country. Whereas some emirs and Islamic adherents were unsparing and more caustic in their choice of words in criticizing the obvious state of insecurity and undisguised nepotistic inclination of Buhari, it is Kukah’s play on words concerning the same issues that is ‘newsworthy’. It is beyond doubt that Kukah’s attackers have deliberately burnt his very serious message on the altar of ethnicity and religion in order to achieve their intended mission.

– Edet Essien Esq. Cal. South, +2348037952470    

With the message of Bishop Kukah over the state of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari and his men should wake up for good governance because more criticisms are coming from Nigerians.

– Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, January 18, 2021

Leave Bishop Kukah alone

By Casmir Igbokwe

Nigeria is a nation populated by many pretenders. Such pretences manifest fully whenever religion or ethnicity is involved. That was the case with the recent Christmas message of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah.

Kukah, in his Christmas homily, spoke truth to power and roused our ethnic and religious chieftains to action. The kernel of his speech is that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government thrives on nepotism and poor leadership.

Kukah said: “Ours has become a nation wrapped in desolation. The prospects of a failed state stare us in the face: endless bloodletting, a collapsing economy, social anomie, domestic and communal violence, kidnappings, armed robberies, etc. Ours has become a house of horror with fear stalking our homes, highways, cities, hamlets and entire communities.” He added that a non-northern Muslim could not have done a fraction of what Buhari had done by his nepotism and not risked a military coup or war.

This is what his critics have latched on to attack him. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Kukah called for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected government. He also accused him of casting Islam as a violent religion.

Typically, the director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, berated the bishop, saying he stigmatised Islam as a violent religion and asked him to resign from the National Peace Committee.

The surprising comment came from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF). Though NEF agrees with Kukah that “there are many grounds to question the competence and sensitivity of Buhari’s administration,” it believes “it is irresponsible to search for solutions to President Buhari’s poor governance outside the democratic process.” This is the same group that fired some salvos at Buhari recently over the spate of insecurity in the country. The NEF had noted that life had lost its value under Buhari and even asked the President to resign. Some emirs and imams have similarly lamented the state of affairs in the country. Even the Senate recently told the President that he had failed in his primary duty of securing life and property of citizens. The difference between what Kukah said and what others had said is that the wrong person said the right thing this time.

Last week, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) joined the anti-Kukah fray. According to the body, headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, Kukah’s homily was a poisoned arrow fired at the heart of Islam and Muslims in Nigeria.

Recall that the Sultan himself had recently condemned the spate of insecurity in the North. According to him, people think that the North is safe, but it is the worst place to be in Nigeria. He said “bandits go round in the villages, households and markets with AK47 and nobody is challenging them.”

As expected, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) rose in defence of their own. CAN said Kukah never made any expression suggesting an affront to Islam or a call for a coup. It accused Kukah’s critics of twisting the bishop’s message and said it was injurious to the development of the country.

I have some questions for those who have twisted Kukah’s message for their selfish interests. One, is it not true that the country is witnessing the worst form in insecurity in recent history? Is it not true that Buhari has adopted nepotism as a state policy? How many security chiefs, for instance, are southerners? Has the President not favoured the North in most of his appointments? Which paragraph contains Kukah’s alleged call for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected government?

As I always say, the problem with Nigeria is that truth is on sale. You will have more enemies if you always stand on truth. By saying it the way it is, you would have stepped on the toes of some powerful interests and they will go all out to undermine you.

Most of our actions are dependent on class, ethnic or religious interests. Or how do you explain that some northerners saw the EndSARS protests that rocked the country late last year as an attempt to overthrow President Buhari? Multiple evidence abound of the atrocities committed by the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police. But when the youths rose up against the security outfit, some northerners came to their defence. They didn’t see it as a northern problem. There were pockets of protests in the North against insecurity then. But when the dummy was sold that it was a southern plot to overthrow Buhari, the protest ceased.

When, in August 2017, popular musician Charles Oputa, a.k.a. Charly Boy, led a protest march in Abuja against the long absence of the President from the country then, some apparently hired youths attacked him and his group at Wuse Market for daring to come to Abuja to protest against Buhari. The same thing happened to the Revolution Now Protest convened by Sahara Reporters’ publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

Meanwhile, the North suffers the abnormalities of Nigeria the more. When you talk of insecurity, it is worse in the North. When you talk about poverty, the North takes the gold medal. The worst educationally disadvantaged states are in the North. Northern youths are supposed to be in the forefront of any action to right the wrongs in our society. But because ‘their man’ is the President, they pretend that all is well and attack those who take actions that will be in their favour. Who did this to us?

We are a people with different languages and cultures. Britain brought us together as one country. But there is no unity of purpose in most of our actions. This is partly why some concerned citizens have called for the restructuring of the country so that each region or geopolitical zone will move at its own pace. There is the urgent need to devolve powers such that the centre will not have concentration of powers to the detriment of the constituent states or zones.

With restructuring, those who want SARS can have it while those who don’t need it can have their own security arrangements. The centre will be there mainly to ward off external aggression and major internal insurrection. The earlier we do this, the better for all of us.

As for those attacking Kukah, let them know that kicking the leg instead of the ball is foul play. They should concentrate on the message and leave the messenger alone. He merely said the inconvenient truth. Nothing more, nothing less!

Soludo: A prophet has honour in his town

Dear Casmir, thanks for presenting a rising sun for governorship. An educated person who read a business course fits the economic climate of Anambra state. However, I advise Soludo to consider either APGA or PDP or work out an alliance between the two.

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu,+2349095385215

Dear Casy, honouring ‘Prophet’ Soludo in Isuofia, to me, is not enough. Honouring Soludo in the entire Anambra State with our votes is the utmost leveller and clincher. Anambra State under Obiano speaks volumes in transformation because it is superintended by a Chartered Accountant, a sound Technocrat with interest of Ndi Anambra at heart, not a politician. After Obiano, can power brokers allow us to be lucky to have another technocrat, in the person of Soludo, on board? Already, news from the camp of mudslingers is that Soludo is arrogant and would be disrespectful bla….bla…bla. My advice: Dear Soludo, for the sake of Ndi Anambra who desire Obiano’s transformation to continue, and even much better, please try not to fall into the trap of hirelings for image-tarnishing. A word is enough for the wise.

– Steve Okoye, Awka, 08036630731 

Our people say good market sells itself. Chief Professor Charles Soludo is what Anambra people need at this point in time because of his vast experience in economic transformation. This man will turn Anambra state to heaven on earth, if elected to rule the state. Anambra state electorate should queue behind Professor Soludo and elect him so he can make Anambra state a better place for all. He has intimidating CV than other aspirants.

– Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535

Dear Casy the guber election in Anambra state this year is expected to be the fight of the giants. My take on this important election is that Anambra people must vote wisely and the best since Peter Obi left office about eight years ago. The high level of development put in place by Obi administration wasn’t sustained by Obiano govt. The latest terror at Bridge Head Onitsha is akin to Boko Haram in the North. Obiano boys at Osha have reinvented the criminal activities that predated Obi administration which his govt crushed. Obiano has failed to improve the level of development he met. Igbo are expecting good result in Anambra guber election because Anambra state remains strategic in Igbo land. Most Igbo copy from that state. I commend Isuofia town for promoting and appreciating their own.

– Eze Chima Cletus, Lagos, +2347036225495

Casmir, congratulations on your 20th wedding anniversary. May the good Lord continue to beautify you all. The race to Agu Awka 2021 is heating up. All sorts of stuff are springing up in the  name of governors-to-be. But we know the ingredients the stuff are made of. Anambra State is lucky to have a calibre in form of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. The election is going to be between two candidates – Soludo and others. In an environment where qualification is honoured, l will expect other contestants to surrender and join hands with him. In my own community, Nawfia in Njikoka local government area of Anambra State, Soludo Support group has been launched. This is ably supported by Arc. E.C.K. Okafor, Okenwa na Nawfia na Umunri. We have Hon Chinedu Nwoye, Glamour. My humble self also is in the front burner for a futuristic governor that will put our darling state in paradise.

– Pharm. Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922

• Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, January 11, 2021

Soludo: A prophet has honour in his town

By Casmir Igbokwe

January 1, 2021 was unique in so many ways. One, it was a New Year. Two, it was 20 years anniversary of my wedding. Three and most importantly, it was a day a prophet, perhaps, for the first time in recent history, gained honour in his home town. That prophet is Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

The man Soludo does not need further introduction. He is a household name in Nigeria. A professor of Economics, he was, unarguably, one of the most successful Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He has travelled far and wide and has consulted for many renowned global institutions. Currently, he is a member of the Economic Advisory Council, a national think-thank set up by the Federal Government to advise it on economic matters.

On this unique New Year, distinguished personalities from the six villages in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, gathered to join the call on Soludo, their illustrious son, to join the race for the governorship of Anambra State. The election will hold later this year. From Umueze to Ozalla, Isiaku, Ezioka, Okpoko and Akulu, Soludo’s countrymen came with high expectations. The convener/host is Mr. Emeka Madonna Okafor, a Lagos based business mogul. The facilitators include my humble self, Professor Okey Ikeanyibe, Mr Andrew Okafor, Barrister Leo Chiegboka, Ichie Uchenna Muobike, Engineer Chidi Chukwuneme, Mr Obinna Ofojeama and the lead facilitator/strategist, Joe Anatune (Onwa Awa). The theme of the occasion was “Maximum Mobilisation for Soludo!”

Isuofia monarch, Igwe (Col.) Aloysius Muoghalu (retd) was there to witness the occasion and give his support. The President General of Isuofia Peoples Assembly, Mr Jude Okeke, was also at the event. Some other distinguished personalities from the town who graced the occasion include a former commissioner in Anambra State, Chief Evarist Uba, Professor Virgy Onyene, Chief Aloy Okoye, Chief Okey Agu, Chief Sunday Ezechukwu, Chief Uche Obiakor, Chief Murphy Okafor and others too numerous to mention.

Some distinguished personalities also visited from different towns in Anambra State. They are too numerous to mention here. But one unique thing that happened that day was the celebration of the kola nut that has seven lobes by the delegation from Igbo-Ukwu. That kola nut was discovered at the inauguration of the Soludo Promoters Forum (SPF) chapter in Igbo-Ukwu last November. It is a known fact that Igbo people celebrate kola nut. Usually, a kola nut has four lobes. Some have three lobes. But when it is seven lobes, it is seen as unique and a sign of a big thing to happen. That is why it is kept aside for an elaborate celebration later. Could this be a sign of a big thing coming the way of Soludo? We keep our fingers crossed. 

Nevertheless, many local government areas and towns have inaugurated the Soludo Promoters Forum. The Forum is one of the many pressure groups set up to encourage and support this renowned economist. Soludo’s local government, Aguata, started the inauguration at Nkpologwu town in August last year.  It was convened by Prof. Romanus Ezeokonkwo. Since then, it has been launched in Idemmili, Njikoka, Dunukofia, Anaocha, Orumba, Awka North and South, Igbo-Ukwu to mention a few. Many others are on queue to launch the Forum. Thousands of stakeholders in the 21 local government areas of Anambra State are joining on a daily basis.

SPF came into existence to reawaken the political consciousness of the hitherto lukewarm elite. The major reason for urging Soludo to be the next governor of Anambra State after Willie Obiano is not because he is from Isuofia or Aguata. It is not because he is from Anambra South. It is because he has what it takes to take Anambra State to the next level. None of those jostling for this position is a match to him in intellectual prowess, competence, capacity and sound knowledge of the economy.

No doubt, Anambra will experience uncommon transformation if he moves to Agu-Awka. There may not be any need to go to Dubai for holiday by the time he is through with Anambra.

The SPF is urging Anambra people to get their voter cards ready. Those of them residing outside Anambra are urged to try and change their polling centres to Anambra.

Anambra politics has gone beyond staying aloof. All Anambrarians must get involved because they risk being ruled by incompetent people if they stay on the fence. That is even the main reason for the formation of SPF. Most times, the elite among us relax in their homes while election is going on. They hardly come out to vote, nor do they bother to campaign for the candidate of their choice. But they complain more when misfits finally get to power and begin to misrule. We must change that narrative henceforth. 

Let us not be deceived. It is going to be tough. Anambra has many moneybags who are ready to bankroll some political misfits for the sole purpose of milking the state resources. But we should not allow that to happen.

So, we must gird our loins and sensitize our people on the dangers of selling their birthright because of money. For what does it profit a man to collect N5,000 or N10,000 and lose good roads, employment of his children, sound education and health facilities etc.

Soludo Promoters Forum is not a political party affair. Some stakeholders in the Forum belong to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Some are members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Some are non-partisan. But one thing unites them all: Soludo Solution.

That solution is to decorate Anambra State with designer clothes such that if you are an Anambrarian, you can’t but be lured to bring your investment home. I am already thinking home. What about you?

Happy New Year!

Re: Our governors and Buhari’s petition to God

Dear Casy, it’s most disheartening and hopeless that the president and Commander-in-Chief of the nation’s armed forces could spiritualize a purely physical and political affair as if anyone has ever seen God in a supervisory role before. Incidentally the president is not alone in resigning to fate. A top functionary of this government some time ago asserted that it is only concerted prayers that can take us out of the woods. Recently, the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity said that Nigerians must be patient even though they are being killed. It is paradoxical that the largely irreligious countries are excelling while our nation is approaching a failed state status despite the purported piousness of its citizenry. The sum total of it all is that the present government has demonstrated more than enough that it cannot guarantee the security of the people and it behoves on the citizenry to act on time if the country must be saved. 

–      Idongesit Inyang, Uyo. +2348084318845.

It is now beyond the realm of argument that President Muhammedu Buhari has not only been weighed down but has also been unbelievably overwhelmed by the fabled perplexities of the Nigerian syndrome. Almost by acclamation, Buhari our long awaited saviour and sanitizer as he then was, wrested the presidential diadem from the so-called ‘shoeless’ and ‘clueless’ Jonathan via a landmark and historic feat of all times. Had he not assumed the hot seat at his last attempt, Buhari would have been proudly ushered into the Honourable League of ‘’the best president(s) that Nigeria never had’’.   

Edet Essien Esq-Cal.South, +2348037952470

Dear Casmir, there should be legislation banning politicians from going to seek anointing from the clergy for the purpose of winning elections. Public Administration is purely scientific and God prefers our integrity to prayer life.

– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +2349095385215

Dear Casy, here is a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.  1. Petition to God on the security of our borders, especially that of Niger Republic, represents failure,  self-deceit and dereliction of duty from the President down the line of duty to the least person. 2. In 2021, the President should be decisive. 3. No more kidgloving and rhetoric that have trailed Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram’s murderous acts. 4. The President should read Riot Acts to the Service Chiefs who, in turn, should pass same to subordinates. 5. The Riot Acts should be religiously applied and be seen to have been so applied. 6. State Governors should equally rise up, equip their local vigilantes to complement efforts of the Statutory Security Agencies. 7.Corruption should be addressed non-selectively. Have a prosperous new year.

–      Steve Okoye, Awka, 08036630731.   

Casmir, the problems in Nigeria are mainly due to poor leadership. The lust for power has brought in people of dubious characters as those who determine our future. A person who does not have a master plan of what should be done cannot do much. He will always give excuses. A person who smuggled himself to power through the backdoor using criminals cannot control them when they go back to their normal criminality. That has been the case with Nigeria. When the head is rotten, do you blame the tail for poor performance? Restructuring of this country is the only solution. Until then, we will continue to be spiritual. Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

–      Pharm. Okwuchukwu Njike, +234 803 885 4922

Historically, our President might be akin to Emperor Nero who fiddled while his city burnt. By shifting his duties to God, the President might have technically thrown in the towel, without knowing it. People hardly believed the speculation that he failed, or refused, to replace his Service Chiefs, if the powerful military men had threatened that he would go with them. As you consider the political conundrum, think of Fela’s allegorical double wahala for dead body at Ojuelegba Roundabout, Lagos.

–      Dr. Chuka Nwosu, Port Harcourt, 08085914645.

Nothing is wrong seeking God’s face for intervention when necessary but we must do what we can and leave the rest to God for rescue. God said he would bless us with the work of our hands. We must not fold our hands waiting for God to do everything for us. After all, we have resources to make Nigeria great, if our leaders know their onions in governance.

–      Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535

Dear Casmir, your write-up tagged “Our governors and Buhari’s petition to God” is well understood and commendable. Governors have no option but to rely heavily on God. They are incapacitated.

–      Anonymous, +2348037379028

Our country valorise illiteracy and put premium on men of low degree when value and standard count for nothing. Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1807~1882, the father of modern Italy said they had created Italy. Now they have to create Italians. The British created Nigeria. We have to create Nigerians.

–      Emma, Wuse 2 Abuja, +2348035585109

• First published in the Daily Sun of Monday, January 4, 2021.