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PAGE 28 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 Change begins with me: Have people heard? The invitation by P r e s i d e n t Muhammadu Buhari to every Nigerian to introspect and engage in value re-orientation cannot be dismissed as many critics have attempted to do. This is because whatever pains the nation is going through today cannot be distanced from the contributory negligence of the people. As it was at the dawn independence, so it still is now that Nigerians are making no effort to reject our convoluted democracy. We cannot continue to blame our leaders who in the first instance could not have gotten into political offices if we had all showed interest in electing our very the best. For more than half a century, our electoral process has not changed. Less than one third of voters actually vote at elections making it easy for politicians to continue to manipulate the system. Again, every election records a large number of invalid votes because our people still do not know how to vote. If so, how can we identify visionary men and women who can formulate and execute policies that can improve our living conditions? Thus, the call by the President that we should all change our ways makes a lot of sense. My only problem with the reorientation campaign is that, as usual, it is cosmetic. First, the launch took place at the Presidential villa to which only a handful of people have access. Yet, it is a message for all Nigerians but which may never get to some people even at the end of the tenure of the present government. Here, I recall a recording by one of my reporters in 1986. He was sent to feel the pulse of the people a few days to the visit of then President Babangida to Benin City. The reporter met a group of people playing table tennis and decided to interview them. Shocked that none of them knew of the impending visit he decided to ask them the name of the visiting President to which almost everyone answered “it is Shagari” who was not even the immediate past head of our nation at the time. In earnest, there has always been a wide gap between government and the people because It is important for government to realize that as catchy as its “change begins with me” sounds, it is no more than a New Year resolution which many are never able to implement because old habits die hard government programmes are always elitist and urban biased. Even at that, how many town dwellers usually get to hear about the programmes? Public power supply has remained defective making it hard for the few that have radio and television to hear or watch the programmes including this new ‘change begins with me’. In which case, the message may never get into the neglected rural areas. Accordingly, people cannot embrace a policy they neither heard nor understood. If the trend in the last few months in which the Information Minister organizes town halls in some selected state capitals is again followed, government is still not talking to the masses. Instead, she is engaged in the communication of the deaf with city cynics. It is not entirely bad to reach the few people which our Information Minister appears to specialize in, what is exceedingly bad is to believe that through it, all Nigerians have been reached without developing a feedback mechanism for assessment. Public enlightenment is not a “touch and go” affair. It has to be extensive and domesticated. What is the target audience? How many people were reached? Did they understand the message? Considering the variations in human endowments, it is naive to imagine that all the people in a hall can understand a message at the same time and in the same way. The truth from experience is that in such a hall many persons who had not eaten for days came in to see if some food will be shared; they don’t even attempt to hear the speaker. To develop a programme like “change begins with me” without a well thought-out scheme on its spread and sustenance is to in essence take effective communication for granted. Unfortunately, the institutional framework for it in Nigeria, which is the National Orientation Agency, (NOA) has become unviable as all it gets these days is subvention for staff salaries. Its founding fathers had thought its grassroots nature would be ably utilized by government but the latter has continuously misunderstood its strength. Against this backdrop, we doubt if any message by government gets to the people. Besides, even for those that get to hear anything, there is the need to monitor the pulse of the people from time to time. It is important for government to realize that as catchy as its “change begins with me” sounds, it is no more than a New Year resolution which many are never able to implement because old habits die hard. Every year in the last 5 years, for example, my famous Uncle Ajay tells me of his firm resolve to stop cigarette smoking. Somehow, he ends up consuming more sticks than that of the previous year. Many factors around us, too numerous to mention in this piece, seem to account for his inability to keep his words. Will many of our people on account of certain environmental issues not be like him with respect to our “change begins with me” slogan? The slogan is catchy and could be useful if we all embrace it, but we must not forget that there are always deviants in all societies. This seems to explain why we have law enforcement agencies. What this implies is that the programme would not just be about people as it would require certain institutions to coordinate what individuals do for the benefit of society. In other words the “me” component in the change programme would refer to individuals, groups, and government especially that of the present ruling party which has a greater stake because it came to power on account of its promise to bring change. Accordingly, like Caesar’s wife, the Buhari government must be above aboard in every sphere of life- appointments, contracts, admission in schools, and allocation of projects etc. Otherwise, the change programme would be dysfunctional if the government gets involved in any of the indulgences of its predecessors. Someone needs to say this to our government as it mobilizes people for attitudinal change. The futility and irrationality of revenge (5) Apparently, Ironsi’s explanation was ineffectual: either the emirs and key members of the northern ruling elite doubted his sincerity or the Hausa- Fulani animosity against Ndigbo living in the north had reached the omega point or point of no return. But the mayhem that ensued went far beyond what can be rationalised as justified reaction to the unification decree and tactless negative triumphalism by some Igbo in the north following the emergence of Ironsi as head of state. Five days after Ironsi announced the decree, riots broke out in many parts of northern Nigeria against easterners, especially the Igbo. It has been estimated that over three thousand Ndigbo were killed, more than twice that number wounded while valuable property worth millions of pounds were destroyed. As usual, some elements in the north blamed Ironsi unfairly for unilaterally promulgating the unification decree, forgetting that it was the outcome of several meetings by the SMC comprising nine members among whom were Gowon and Katsina who, even if they had any reservation about the decree, did not express it during the meetings. Chief G.C.M. Onyiuke, attorneygeneral of the federation at that time who was present when Ironsi, Gowon, and PhD,Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758 opuruiche2000@yahoo.com others brainstormed on the decree, testifies that it was the unanimous decision of the Supreme Military Council. In my opinion, the assertion that the decree triggered the riots is a red herring because the extent of the mayhem indicates that a lot of planning over several weeks or even months must have preceded its actual execution that began on May 29, 1966, less than a week after the decree was promulgated. Now, on closer inspection, the decree did not change the status quo substantially: it merely formalised the type of government that had existed since the army took over in January 1966 and ruled through the SMC based on the central command system common in military regimes globally. To identify the real causes of the May riots, therefore, one needs to go deeper than the facile resort to Decree 34, which was not as stifling and unitarist as the ones promulgated by Gowon when he became head of state after the gruesome murder of his supreme commander, Major- General Aguiyi-Ironsi. To begin with, many northerners were convinced after several months of overt and covert brainwashing by some elite and elders in the north, such as Aminu Kano, Inua Wada, Adamu Ciroma, Suleiman Takuma and Umaru Dikko, that the uppity Igbo were really working to use their considerable educational advantage and dominance in the commercial sector to dominate the rest of Nigeria. Thus, it was not surprising that some key members of the northern establishment, including those in the military, felt that something drastic must be done to nip the incipient Igbo ascendancy in the bud. James Barnard, the American Consul to Nigeria, captures the conflict of interests that has bedevilled Nigeria since independence thus: “in the race for the material benefits of life, starting from the same point and on the basis of equal opportunity, the easterners are going to win by a mile. This is intolerable to the north. The only way to prevent it from happening is to impose artificial shackles to progress in the east. This is intolerable to the easterners.” Similarly, Patrick Wilmot, a radical political theorist, posits that the northern faction of the ruling class that has dominated the Nigerian political scene since independence lacked an established tradition for managing social change rationally. The only answer to dissent or rebellion is largescale violence directed against non-indigenes. Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, in his illuminating work, The Biafra War: Nigeria and the Aftermath, refers to the leading role the Igbo played in the politics of Nigeria’s decolonisation from British rule and independence, which was largely opposed by the north, the more nationallyoriented political mindset of prominent Igbo politicians, and the unsurpassed achievements of Ndigbo in northern Nigeria as factors that propelled the riots of May 1966: they also constitute essential background for understanding the ferocity and complete irrationality of the revenge coup of July 29, 1966. Concerning that very coup, there is no doubt that it was a premeditated attempt by military officers from the Any normal human being who reads the chilling accounts of how Balewa and others were murdered by Nzeogwu and his trigger-happy conspirators would be saddened by the irrationality of it all north to avenge what they mischievously misinterpreted as the Igbo coup six months earlier, led by Major Nzeogwu. Another reason was that the emergence of Ironsi as the first military head of state angered some prominent northerners, who felt that adding political leadership to the educational advantages and professional and commercial successes of Ndigbo would be a radioactive combination against northern interests. Meanwhile, after the departure of British colonial administrators, Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, working in concert with Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and defence ministers from the north, implemented a discriminatory recruitment programme in the military, which lowered the academic qualifications such that more northerners could be brought into the officer corps of the army, given the wide educational gap between northern and southern Nigeria in favour of the latter. Still, Ironsi continued to follow Balewa’s footsteps in an effort to placate the north inspite of scepticism there concerning his overtures. But although before the revenge coup Igbo officers outnumbered their northern counterparts both in seniority and experience, with their overwhelming numerical presence in the infantry the foundation of eventual northern domination of the military were laid even before Ironsi took over power. The revenge coup of July 1966 was led by Lt. Col. Murtala Mohammed, ably assisted by Majors Theophilus Danjuma and Martin Adamu, Joe Garba, Muhammadu Buhari, Paul Tarfa, William Walbe, John Longboem, Nuhu Nathan, Malami Nassarawa, Musa Usman and Shittu Alao, who were stationed in Lagos. Arrowhead of the coup in Enugu was Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, whereas Pam Mwadkon and I.S. Umar took charge in Abeokuta. Jeremiah Useni, Ibrahim Bako, Abdullahi Shelleng and Garba Dada were stationed at the troublesome 4th battalion in Ibadan. According to Max Siollun, in his enthralling book, Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Vulture (1966-1976), personal connections between deposed northern politicians who held important official positions in the First Republic and northern military officers also encouraged the lust for revenge by Murtala Mohammed and his cohorts. It is instructive to note that Ironsi’s bodyguards were mostly northerners, a deliberate decision by him to practically demonstrate his firm belief in the idea of “One Nigeria” and remove the insinuation that he was surrounding himself with people from his ethnic group as part of a grand design for Igbo domination. In his entourage to Ibadan, capital of defunct western region where he was murdered, were Major Danjuma and Lieutenant William Walbe, who betrayed their supreme commander. Siollun wryly remarks that “by surrounding himself with northern soldiers, Aguiyi-Ironsi sealed his own fate.” Any normal human being who reads the chilling accounts of how Balewa and others were murdered by Nzeogwu and his triggerhappy conspirators would be saddened by the irrationality of it all. In the case of the lunatic killing of Ironsi and over two dozen Igbo military officers in the revenge coup, the feeling of utter disgust is worsened not only by the spread and cold-blooded nature of the murders but also by the genocidal character of the event. When I perused different narratives of how Major-General J.T.U. Aguiyi- Ironsi and his host and governor of western region, Lieutenant-Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, were tortured and murdered, tears dropped from my eyes and I wondered whether Nigeria was worth all that wickedness, whether the amalgamation of 1914 was not a huge historical mistake. I have made a compelling case that that the first military coup in January 15, 1966 was not an Igbo coup. Yet, even if it was, does that justify the murderous ethnic cleansing of Igbo military officers by their northern counterparts in the revenge coup of July 29 of the same year? If not because of sheer wickedness and pure hatred of Ndigbo by some prominent northern politicians and soldiers, why would Murtala Mohammed, Paul Dickson, Martin Adamu, William Walbe and others carry out mass slaughter of Igbo officers? To be continued.
Has President Buhari Changed? “Change starts with me”, President Buhari, September 8, 2016. “When a government begins to fear the mob, it is as much as to say it fears itself.” John Fowles in THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN. Oddly enough, there “ are two answers to that question: yes and no. There is abundance evidence to prove that the President who launched another campaign to officially change Nigerian attitudes and values, and his accomplice in that regard, the Minister of Information and Culture, might not be the right people to be preaching to us – their Fellow Countrymen. To begin with, not all changes are beneficial to society. The change from a nation which had a diversified export base, up till the late 1960s to one which became enslaved to one product, crude oil, was largely brought about by long years of military rule – starting from 1966. Buhari was one of those who forced that change on us – without our consent. Now, the chicken has come home to roost. One of the major beneficiaries of government by armed robbers of peoples’ sovereignty is now faced with cleaning up the sh*t which he and his colleagues started. Nigerians are best advised to read the scripts prepared by the Ministry of Information and Culture with a great deal of caution. At the moment, the sincerity of its authors is seriously in doubt – on account of their individual and collective antecedents. A few examples, well documented, will illustrate the point being made here. Let’s start with some recent occurrences. Back in 2014, when it was politically advantageous to the All Progressives Congress, APC, then out of power, to support the activities of the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, group, President Jonathan’s administration regarded them as, at best, a public nuisance, and at worst, a security risk. Each time their marches were disrupted by the Nigerian Police, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, speaking on behalf of the party and its presidential candidate, fired off public announcements condemning the GEJ government for violation of the fundamental human rights of the BBOG. Anyone reading those passionate defences of one of the basic rights of free people in a democracy would have been led to believe that Buhari and Mohammed In 1984/85, Buhari’s appointments to high office totally disregarded the principle of Federal Character and the religious diversity of Nigeria. Out of the first twenty-five appointments he made during that period, only seven were Southerners or Christians actually believed in those principles. Today, the BBOG, and others who believed in their right to free association, and who voted for APC on account of that, had been swindled. Officially now, and under APC, BBOG has been labeled a “security risk”. Has Buhari changed? Certainly; but, it is a change for the worse for a democracy and it does very little credit to a President trying to preach a change of attitude when he has been caught in a socially disruptive change of principles. A greater leader than he would ever turn out to be, Ghandi had advised about the things that would destroy any society. One of them is “Politics without principles”. Even if one wants to overlook that one, difficult as it is, how can one, given the economic recession ravaging the country, that the same Buhari blasted Jonathan for maintaining a large presidential fleet of aircrafts – which made Presidential Airlines the second largest in Nigeria and bigger that four private airlines put together. One would have expected that among the first Executive Orders given in May 2015 was the reduction in fleet size. On the day, Buhari and Mohammed were going through the song and dance about value-change, it was obvious that their values have taken another change for the worse. The cost of maintenance of the fleet, previously astronomical, had become killing because everything in the crafts must be imported at N425/US$1. The Buhari who campaigned in 2014/2015 has clearly changed right in front of our eyes and he is behaving more and more like Jonathan. Unfortunately, for us, the man has not changed totally. Had he continued to adopt the wasteful habits of GEJ and ignoring calls to rescue the Chibok girls, we could have shrugged our shoulders and resigned ourselves to four years like the locust years under PDP. But, the Buhari of 2016 is in many respects like the Buhari of 1984/85 – who SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016, PAGE 29 was summarily removed by his colleagues in a bloodless coup. It was bloodless because nobody was willing to lift a finger to save him. Why? Start with nepotism and bigotry, personal defects which we mistakenly thought he had discarded once he opted for politics under democratic rule. In 1984/85, Buhari’s appointments to high office totally disregarded the principle of Federal Character and the religious diversity of Nigeria. Out of the first twenty-five appointments he made during that period, only seven were Southerners or Christians. Apart from the fact that he was a Northern Muslim, his Deputy, Tunde Idiagbon was also a Northern Muslim. The Governor of the Central Bank, Alhaji Ahmed, graduate of History, was a Muslim, so was his Deputy Alhaji Otiti. All the service Chiefs, except one, were Northerners and Muslims; so were the heads of security agencies except the Inspector General of Police. Bigotry could not have been better defined. His removal was widely hailed in the South because the General Babangida regime which followed his own was more equitable. May 2015 presented Buhari an opportunity to demonstrate that he had shed both nepotism and bigotry. Recently, Dr Junaid Mohammed introduced some of the top appointees made since then. Any change? Certainly not. Of the first ten or so, the two southern names appearing were Femi Adesina and Ita Enang. These two were followed by another dozen or so from the North. Lately, after distributing the plum jobs unfairly, he had started to “compensate” the South by sweeping crumbs from the “Masters’ tables”. The job of Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, was given to someone who some still regard as reflective of nepotism. That is still his sense of fairness. That is the sort of change he and Mohammed want us to adopt in this hypocritical crusade. Was the budget padded or not? Buhari was the first to announce abroad that it was and vowed to punish the culprits. Now Honourable Jibrin had taken up the refrain, shouting at the top of his lungs that the budget was indeed padded. Suddenly, it is Buhari’s presidency which is now denying that the budget was padded. What sort of value-change can occur when the presidency cannot tell the people the truth and stick to it? Permit me to end where I started. No parent in Nigeria, who loves his kids, can fail to share the agony of the parents of the Chibok girls. We cannot all join the marches in Abuja; but we can offer them moral support and encouragement. As the father of six girls, I probably would have gone mad if one of them is a captive of Boko Haram. No government which regards the agitators as security risk can ever preach any sermon to which I will listen. Poverty is a poor adviser “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” -Fyodor Dostoyevsky It is often said that what goes around, comes around and how true this has become as the cows come home to roost. If there are any lessons to be learnt, now, is the time for our grab and run politicians, civilians and many others who went on a long gravy train and thought the looting will never end. A reminder that the time for free lunch is over. Well, the tables have turned and it is time to collect. All we hear when collared are protestations, denials, whoppers and cries of how they came by their ill-gotten loot. Some have denied knowing that there was money in their account but they do not deny spending it; others claimed that the money was distributed, others buy prime properties home and abroad. So these are desperate times, they take to burying the money once the whiff and the long arm of EFCC will come knocking and they too, will take a ride to the clinger. There is no shame for these looters in fine clothing, in fact, they take it in their stride as they style it out when arrested, hiding their handcuffs in fine clothing. And their supporters are ever present, so vocal and they cheer their innocence in spite of hard evidence. With money like this, one can afford to retain a very good lawyer while they spin some more lies and they insult the people's intelligence. This is the year of the lawyers, there are many who would need their services and that they will pay top dollar (they have got millions of dollars). They least expect PMB to pursue the wrong -doers. No wonder they fought tooth and nail to stay on. This trend remain the stuff of fantasy, that these audacious people can steal Commonwealth and cart it out of the country, such humongous sums that should last several lifetimes but it will never be enough so they go on and on until they are stopped. In a country, many are without health care, shelter, clothing, education, training and employment, in the face abject poverty, insurgency and displacement. This shame comes to bear on the whole country and its people as to why this falsehood went on for so long, now that the robust commonwealth has dwindled to a trickle. The political elites are a reflection of the society and it is important to admit that things would not change unless there is a collective responsibility and most importantly, politicians have to be held to account. Time for a blank cheque, wanton wholesale corruption, padding and privileges are over, this is not one person's mess, and this is everybody's mess. As the new mantra says, the change begins with me, time to stop expecting other people to make the change, if everybody made some changes, the difference will have a ripple effect. Seriously, how could many Nigerians claim to be religious while they see and watch others are starving and dying? The reality is; too many people are in financial dire straits and the truth has been distorted for far too long. For so long, a select few have been living the life of O'Reilly and it is no secret, many aspire to be them. So, the fragrant lady, Patience Jonathan choose to protest that her account has been frozen and had addressed a letter to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the $31.4 million linked to the financial fraud against Mr. Waripamo Dudafa by EFCC, was for the payment of the medical bills she incurred in London in 2013. Wow, what a whopper! In the letter, Patience Jonathan did come clean that she is indeed, the sole signatory to the four accounts. In her letter, it reminded the reader that the lady is "a law abiding citizen" So if she is, should she not follow the due process and let the law handle this so that she can be vindicated and reunited with her millions of dollars. Seriously, what exactly is she saying? That she bailed without paying her medical expenses; this amount is far way beyond any medical bill ever seen or to be believed. Or is the money sitting in the bank to accrue interest, perhaps, the lady was paid for her work as the These are desperate times, they take to burying the money once the whiff and the long arm of EFCC come knocking and they too, will take a ride to the clinger permanent secretary and first lady post combined. This is some serious amount and she is claiming that the account belongs to her and she wants it back. The account that was claimed by Mrs Jonathan has been placed on a No Debit Order, in order to investigate the activities of Mr. Waripamo Dudafa,a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to GEJ. So why is the lady in the company of the alleged fraudster? You would have thought a lady of her standing should have no problem opening accounts, so why, did she need a middle man and how much was he paid to open the account in her name. How is this possible that Mama Peace is not aware that her money was frozen until, she tried to use her card that must have been humiliating, especially when there are millions in the account? And a man like Dudafa, should know that this is unlawful. EFCC has accused Dudafa and his affiliates of conspiring to conceal the monies and it is hoped that someone, somewhere will sing like a canary and point fingers at the guilty and the greedy. The lady has requested that the EFCC lift the ban so that she can pay her medical bills. This the medical bill of 2013, when she was flown out of the country to receive treatment for a mystery illness. On recovering prolonged illness, she claimed to have died and woken up after seven days:" It was not an easy experience for me. I actually died; I passed out for more than a week. My intestine and tummy were opened. I am not Lazarus but my experience was similar to his. My doctors said all hope was lost. “A black doctor in London who is with us in this service was flown in when the situation became critical. It was God himself in His infinite mercy that said I will return to Nigeria. The day I came back, I said God I have nothing to say, I offer myself to you. I will be doing things that will touch the lives of the less privileged. God gave me a second chance" So, perhaps the $31.4 Million is for making the lives of the underprivileged children better. I can assure her that the millions of dollars will go a long way. If ever there was a legacy for Patience. This could be it. “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” ? Friedrich Nietzsche Big Up Nigerian Paralympic Team Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear.” ? Socrates From the opening ceremony, the Nigerian Paralympic team came out in the national colours, you had a feeling that they will do well and that is exactly what they have been doing in Rio. With an impressive clutch of several gold medals, the athletes have inspired many and have shown the nation that there is disability does not limit one's ability to excel. The team Captain Lucy Ejike broke the Paralympic and world record in the women’s -61kg powerlifting event, so did Paul Kehinde, in the 65kg men’s category as well as Roland Ezuruike, the silver medallists; Latifat Tijani and Esther Onyema have done so well to lift the spirit of the nation and we look to the Ministry of Sports, to ensure that renewed support is given to the athletes on their return and to commit investment to disability sports so that more winners emerge from Nigeria. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools” ? Martin Luther King Jr.
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