29032020 - El Rufai tests positive as experts insist on Total lockdown

North h<strong>as</strong> already
destroyed itself (2)
OTE 1: Ordinarily, this
Npage would not carry
tables or charts. Those belong
on the Business/Economic
pages. But part 2 can best be
understood by summarising
the message in a table. If “a
picture is worth a thousand
words”, then a table is worth
ten thousand words. It tells the
story more effectively.
NOTE 2: If you only buy the
SUNDAY paper, let me urge
you to buy the Monday paper
in the next few weeks <strong>as</strong> we
rush headlong into a
recession. There are messages
for you, your family and your
business – which incompetent
and dishonest Abuja
officialdom will not deliver
for your own benefit. I am not
trying to sell more paper. As
an economist, this is my social
service to you during the tough
times ahead. And it costs you
only the cover price of the
paper bought on Monday.
Read on.
“Is life so dear or peace so
sweet that it must be
purch<strong>as</strong>ed at the price of
chains and slavery? Forbid it
Almighty God! I know not
what course others may take;
but, <strong>as</strong> for me, give me liberty
or give me death” - Patrick
Henry, 1775, VANGUARD
BOOK OF QUOTATIONS,
VBQ, p 128.
Thank God for COVID-19,
all the southern states were on
the way to being sold into
slavery by the par<strong>as</strong>itic North
represented by Buhari – ably
supported by elected senators
from the South. The
instrument, this time, w<strong>as</strong> the
$22.7 billion loan approved
by the Lawan-led Senate.
Many people had previously
urged senators to <strong>as</strong>k for
details before giving
approval. But the senators had
gone ahead to grant the
request for the loan. No other
legislature, comprising of
elected officials who deeply
care for their people, would
do that.
The cl<strong>as</strong>sic definition of
democracy, <strong>as</strong> provided by US
President Abraham Lincoln,
1809-1865, tells us that
democracy is a government
of the people by the people
and for the people. Lincoln
obviously felt that he did not
need to add the word ALL
before people. My readings on
the late US President, who
incidentally freed slaves,
would suggest that he
abhorred a system of
government, however
contrived, in which one
segment of the people
constitutes par<strong>as</strong>ites on
another segment <strong>as</strong> the North
h<strong>as</strong> become on the South in
Nigeria. The ‘monkey-workbaboon-chop’
revenue
allocation formula,
introduced by Gowon
(General Ironsi actually left
the 50% derivation principle
intact) and Pa Awolowo, w<strong>as</strong>
the beginning of southern
fiscal serfdom. Descendants of
Baba Awolowo are bearing
the yoke of subjugation today.
“Better a declared enemy
than a doubtful ally”, said
Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-
1815 (VBQ p 48) – who must
have experienced treachery
from people he le<strong>as</strong>t expected
for selfish interest (2023
virus). The entire southern
region of Nigeria is one huge
slave-camp – with a few
House Slaves (free-minded
Americans call them Uncle
Toms) elected, selected and/or
appointed to hold the rest of
us in check. While none of the
COVID-19: No respite yet, and
African leaders hoard information
For the Coronavirus
infection, there is no
a b a t i n g .
Unfortunately, weeks and
running into months after its
outbreak it is still the main
focus of the entire world. From
the American continent, E<strong>as</strong>t
Asia to Africa the virus is
causing unthinkable
destruction to lives and
properties. The death toll is
rising by the day <strong>as</strong> businesses
and financial institutions are
on the brink of collapse.
The scale at which the
deadly virus is spreading is
alarming. The concerning
part of it is that it h<strong>as</strong> crept
into the African continent
where health facilities are
luxury for the citizens. The
advanced economies are
overwhelmed by the
pandemic, and they are
struggling to keep the death
toll down. They are trying, but
the battle is far from won yet.
The city of New York, in the
United States of America, h<strong>as</strong>
become the epicentre of this
virus that commenced its
journey in Wuhan. The plight
of the residents of New York is
reflected in the sombre and
disturbed look of their
governor, Andrew Cuomo, at
the daily press briefing. There
is a need to worry <strong>as</strong> the
number of infections in the
city h<strong>as</strong> surp<strong>as</strong>sed those in
Italy and China.
Trying to comply with the
directive of the World Health
Organisation (WHO) to “test,
test, test” is the key challenge
for governments all over the
world. There is a shortage of
test kits to achieve this. Many
individuals are going about
without knowing if they are
infected with the virus or not.
Keeping those who have tested
<strong>positive</strong> to the virus alive
remains a gigantic struggle <strong>as</strong>
well. The much-needed
respirators are in short supply.
In the United Kingdom, the
US, or elsewhere, respirators
are inadequate to sustain
those who are infected. In the
meantime, the numbers of
infected individuals are rising
daily, and the intensive-care
units (ICU) are overcrowded.
Just <strong>as</strong> in wartime,
makeshift hospitals are
becoming features of cities.
Stadia, events centres and
hotels are being converted to
accommodate more people
who need care. The health
workers and frontline staff are
overwhelmed by what they
cope with daily. They are
warning the general public
how dreadful the situation is
in the hospitals (makeshifts or
proper).
two major parties had
considered redressing the
injustice, Buhari’s APC is the
one presently moving to
ensure the South lives in
bondage perpetually. The
President is not alone in this
quest. He is ably supported by
southern leaders of the party.
Remember we are referring to
elected, selected and
appointed leaders of the party.
You can c<strong>as</strong>t your imagination
wide to draw the list of the
traitors of the South. Be
honest; don’t leave out the
name of your brother or
benefactor. Start from the top
– Chairman, etc. You will be
amazed at the names that will
stare you in the face. Those are
the real enemies of the South
parading themselves <strong>as</strong> our
leaders and great political
strategists.
You do not need any other
evidence that the entire South
is being sold into slavery by
politicians re-enacting the
historic slave trade, which
covered nearly two hundred
years and during which
traditional rulers (so-called
fathers of the people) sold
human beings in shiploads to
white men for pittance.
“History is just the portrayal
of crimes and misfortunes” -
Voltaire, VBQ, p 93.
But just in c<strong>as</strong>e you are a true
southerner self-deluded <strong>as</strong> to
think that the African slave
trade ended with the abolition
in the 19th century, then take
a look at the table below and
despair.
PROPOSED ALLOCATION
OF $22.7BN LOAN
ZONE AMOUNT
%
N.C $6.5bn
36
N.E $300m
2
N.W N6.3bn
35
S U B - T O T A L
$13.1bn 73
S.E - -
S.S (- Edo) $4.7bn
26
S.W $200m
1
SUB-TOTAL 4.9bn
27
GRAND TOTAL
18.0bn 100
It is incomprehensible
what could be going on
in the minds of the
leaders or their
handlers. They hoard
information, in the
same way; they
selfishly misappropriate
the resources of the
country
The world is in lockdown
currently. Everything is at a
pause <strong>as</strong> governments and
agencies try to stall the
continued spread of the virus.
The efforts of the key workers
cannot be "over-praised", <strong>as</strong>
they place themselves at risk
to save what is left of the
world. The risk is m<strong>as</strong>sive, <strong>as</strong>
some of them do not have the
test kits to certify that they are
negative of the virus they are
trying to stop.
Despite WHO's declaration
that it h<strong>as</strong> shipped almost two
million individual items of
personal protective
equipment (PPE) to 74
countries, there is still a
shortage. This trend is not
limited to third world
countries; it is the same all
over the world. The WHO
chief, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus said in Geneva
on Friday that "the chronic
global shortage of personal
protective equipment is now
one of the most urgent threats
to our collective ability to save
lives."
It is remarkable that where
governments are lacking,
private businesses and
You do not need any
other evidence that
the entire South is
being sold into
slavery by politicians
re-enacting the
historic slave trade
Lawyers often claim that
“facts speak for themselves”.
That is only partly true. Some
facts need to be explained or
interpreted before a lot of
people can fully gr<strong>as</strong>p their
implications. One example is
the table above. There is only
one word to describe its
authors in the Federal
Government – conscienceless.
And there are only two words
to describe their southern
collaborators in the APC –
shameless conspirators. Let
us now analyse what would
have been done with the $22.7
billion loan taken on behalf
of Nigerians – if COVID-19
and the foreign lenders have
not slammed the door in their
faces.
“There are only two families
in the world, my old
grandmother used to say, the
haves and the have-nots” -
Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-
1616, VBQ, p 87.
The great author of Don
Quixote died over 400 years
ago. But he might <strong>as</strong> well have
been talking about the
proposed allocation of the
$22.7bn loan <strong>as</strong> revealed by
the table above. As usual, the
Igbo were supposed to receive
nothing. Nothing new about
that except that it again
underlines the fact that the
Igbo have remained a
conquered people – never
mind the nonsense ‘no victor;
no vanquished’ slogan. At
every available opportunity,
the rest of Nigeria is telling
the Igbo that they are not
wanted. The FG, under
Buhari, is the worst. But, don’t
tell the Igbo selfish Ministers,
Amb<strong>as</strong>sadors, collaborative
businessmen and appointed
Uncle Toms that truth. They
are too busy eating what drops
individuals are rising to the
occ<strong>as</strong>ion. Many companies
are coming up with
prototypes of respirators that
can be useful in the fight
against the virus. The UK's
health secretary, Matt
Hancock had l<strong>as</strong>t week
Sunday called on all
manufacturers to "turn their
engineering minds and
production lines to making
them … We need to produce
more.”
The US President, Donald
Trump, made a dr<strong>as</strong>tic
decision by invoking the
Defense Production Act to
force the automaker General
Motors to produce ventilators
for patients and hospitals.
This move had been
condemned <strong>as</strong> political
witch-hunting, but Trump
thinks otherwise. He said:
"Our negotiations with GM
regarding its ability to supply
ventilators have been
productive, but our fight
against the virus is too urgent
to allow the give-and-take of
the contracting process to
continue to run its normal
course. GM w<strong>as</strong> w<strong>as</strong>ting time.
Today's action will help ensure
the quick production of
ventilators that will save
American lives."
Governments are
employing various tactics to
keep the virus away. L<strong>as</strong>t week,
India, with a population of
over a billion announced a 21-
day lockdown. There have
been some comical video
clips coming out of the
country. We could see some
"dissident” citizens flogged
openly for flouting the stay at
home order.
A few of such scenes were
also recorded in Nigeria - the
v<strong>as</strong>test black populated
country in the world. The
government had imposed the
social distancing me<strong>as</strong>ure.
However, unlike responsible
societies, some Nigerian
churches, mosques and other
SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 29, 2020, PAGE 17
on the floor from the m<strong>as</strong>ters’
tables inside the Rock. The
people can go to hell.
“Traitors in one’s midst,
always highly trusted, always
splendid fellows, always the
l<strong>as</strong>t people to be suspected” -
Agatha Christie, VBQ, p 251.
Agatha Christie, lady of
crime thrillers in our younger
days in secondary school,
always warned us to suspect
those above suspicion. The
ridiculous argument can be
made that the South-E<strong>as</strong>t got
what it deserved. The zone did
not vote for Buhari. That point
of view already <strong>as</strong>sumes that
the Igbo are not included
among the people of Nigeria.
Like it or not, they are the salt
of Nigeria. At le<strong>as</strong>t they
contribute more than the
North to our commonwealth.
When the newly-born
political party, the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
w<strong>as</strong> brought out of the
‘Labour Room’ in 2013, the
Action Congress, AC, w<strong>as</strong> the
largest group and had more
elected officials – Governors,
legislators etc – than any other.
Congress for Progressive
Change, CPC, w<strong>as</strong> the
smallest. It had only one
Governor in one of the poorest
states in Nigeria. Defectors
from the PDP and other ragtag
<strong>as</strong>sociations joined later.
The SW provided the lion’s
share of campaign expenses.
Yoruba people who pointed
to the antecedents of the CPC
leader were <strong>as</strong>sured that the
brilliant political strategists
of the AC had perfected plans
to guarantee that the SW did
not end up holding the short
end of the stick. We actually
believed them. But “men
make history, but not just <strong>as</strong>
they ple<strong>as</strong>e” - (Karl Marx,
1818-1883, VBQ, p 93).
History will later record that
the mouse swallowed
juggernaut. Today, the leaders
of the former CPC hold the
knife and the yam. They
would have shared it in the
godless manner indicated
above – North-West 35% and
South-West 1% -- but, for the
intervention of COVID-19.
Odua w<strong>as</strong> not <strong>as</strong>leep. Like
innocent cattle, fed with gr<strong>as</strong>s
at intervals while being led to
the abattoir, the Yoruba were
delivered to their slaughterers
places of worship were open
"for business". As it is usual in
the country, a few small-time
organisations were picked out
<strong>as</strong> scapegoats. The security
agencies made a show of
closures of such business
premises while the big-time
operators that had thousands
more than allowed were left
without any rebuke.
Today, in the United
Kingdom the clock goes
forward to the British
Summer Time (BST). The
change, which takes place the
l<strong>as</strong>t Sunday of March, heralds
the start of summertime and
the coming out of the sun. It is
customarily a time of relief for
the Brits who would have
"wintered" for four/five winter
months. The barbecue wares
are dusted and kept at arm's
length for use immediately
there is a reflection of the sun.
The neighbourhood parks
flourish <strong>as</strong> the daffodils
invitingly welcome residents.
The spirit of the nation is
elevated.
The clock change today,
however, is different. The
COVID-19 lockdown h<strong>as</strong>
dampened what could have
meant a celebration of better
days ahead. No one is coming
out. The park will stay shut
while picnics are suspended
until the virus is sent packing.
The announcements on
Friday that the Prime
Minister, Boris Johnson and
Hancock had tested <strong>positive</strong>
to Coronavirus is not good
news. They are two of the
11,658 confirmed c<strong>as</strong>es in the
country. Earlier in the week,
the news that the heir to the
British throne, Prince Charles
tested to the virus w<strong>as</strong> on the
air. The 71-year old h<strong>as</strong> gone
into self-isolation while he
hopes to pull through after 14
days.
Johnson's announcement
w<strong>as</strong> a surprise. He w<strong>as</strong> on the
steps of 10 Downing Street a
by political adventurers in
their midst. And, they are not
done with us yet. They have
set up clandestine political
machines to actualise ‘2023
virus’ – <strong>as</strong> one of their sages
aptly put it. They will have
their way if we allow them. We
must never forget what would
have occurred if foreigners did
not show our officials the gate.
“You can’t argue on your
knees” -Anonymous.
We cannot leave the table
without pointing to three
more anomalies. First, the
South-South allocations
exclude any funds for Edo
State. The atrocious sharing
w<strong>as</strong> done before the
Chairman of the party found
himself on his hands and knees
at the Rock to save his job. It is
difficult to see how a man on
all fours in front of his saviour
can summon the effrontery to
query his benefactor about
inequitable loan allocations.
Edo people can go to blazes.
Second, all the 17 states of
the South put together would
have received less than either
the North-Central or North-
E<strong>as</strong>t alone. They would have
got only 78% of each of the
two. Only God knows how
the North-E<strong>as</strong>t lost out on the
bonanza for the North. But
that need not delay us here. At
any rate, there is still over $4
billion unallocated. Certainly,
the NE will not be left behind.
Nothing demonstrates
official malevolence better
than the fact that while the
North would have swallowed
about 75 per cent of the loan,
the South would be required
to provide close to 80 per cent
of the funds to repay. The
audacity of planned robbery
is only matched by the
cowardice of the southern
political leaders who would
not have questioned the
sharing formula. No leader of
the APC at the federal level
would have uttered a word of
protest.
This generation of
southerners and our
descendants will continue to
carry the North <strong>as</strong> a burden
for <strong>as</strong> long <strong>as</strong> we continue to
present ourselves <strong>as</strong> be<strong>as</strong>ts of
burden on which all the
consequences of corrupt
northern leaders can be
placed.
night before to lead tributes
to the brave National Health
Service (NHS) staff and other
key workers in the UK. On the
night, at exactly 8 pm, the
British came out in solidarity
to express their appreciation
for the works of the
emergency agencies. It w<strong>as</strong>
emotional scenes, <strong>as</strong> claps
rang out from streets in the
country. The heroic works of
the frontline workers were
celebrated.
To the British, testing
<strong>positive</strong> to Coronavirus is not
a shame or something to
shield away from the public.
Infection of the virus is not a
death knell on the individuals,
and never seen <strong>as</strong> something
that should be treated <strong>as</strong> a
state secret. As Johnson is the
number one civil servant in the
country, the citizens have to
be updated on the PM's state
of health. More so, adequate
communication and sharing
of information give room to
no suspicion or conspiracy
theories.
This is the difference in
approaches with what is
obtained in the African
continent where information
is suppressed and kept away
from the public. This lack of
openness engenders
suspicions and rumourmongering
among the
populace. Why African
political leaders are always
economical with the truth is
still baffling. There is no
country where lack of
information is <strong>as</strong> damaging
<strong>as</strong> Nigeria. The m<strong>as</strong>ses resort
to rumour-mongering when
the leaders do not come open
with the real situation of
happenings.
It is incomprehensible
what could be going on in the
minds of the leaders or their
handlers. They hoard
information, in the same way;
they selfishly misappropriate
the resources of the country.