Connect with us

News

Let’s Beg Buhari for a One Party State by Dele Momodu

Published

5 years ago

on

Fellow Nigerians, let me confess right away that I’m a realist. If you like, call me chicken-hearted or lily-livered. No worries. All I know is that I was taught many lessons by the wisdom of the ancients. Let me share a few of them with you. One. If we cannot move forward, we must know when to turn backwards. Two. If you have not yet grabbed the sword, you cannot risk asking what manner of death killed your Dad. Three. Even the Bible teaches us how to be meek and humble. “If your right cheek is slapped, turn the left cheek…” It may sound stupid to a lot of people but it might just save you a lot of headache.
The purpose of my sermon in this epistle to you today should be obvious by now. I wish to admit and publicly acknowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari has finally achieved what no democratically elected Nigerian President ever attempted to do. All tiers and arms of government have been virtually grabbed and cowed. Even the Fourth Estate of the Realm is about to be guillotined via a retrogressive and preposterous law stipulating death sentences for any rascally writing… The public have been shown to be timorous, timid and cowardly upon hell being let loose! No resistance from them either!
Let me summarise my thoughts thus. The ruling APC government makes no pretence to being a party of nice or decorous people. A few of their members may fall into this category, but they are the exception, an aberration. It is your business, if you think otherwise but that is the hard-nosed truth. If the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government succumbed to pressure and lost power in the name of decency and decorum, the Buhari-led administration is not ashamed or afraid to being labelled haughty, brutal, brutish and reckless. Indeed, they revel in and relish the appellation. They like the idea that they take no prisoners and accept surrender only if you join their ranks. The recent gale of resignations that swept Bayelsa State in the wake of the contrived victory of the Lion-tamer, David Lyon Perewonrimi epitomised this new cult of no surrender, no matter how abject and plaintive, and no prisoners! Once a State or Local Government is targeted, no Jupiter can stop its blistering annihilation.
Since 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari miraculously returned to power, things have not been at ease for his opponents or the opposition. Those who warned us Buhari will never practice true Democracy were rebuffed by us. We sold him at a premium to Nigerians and the world as a “born again Democrat…” We called him “the people’s General…” We romanticised about a leader who was coming to turn Nigeria into an Eldorado with his magic wand because we earnestly and sincerely believed in him. It would have been sad if we did not give Buhari a second chance. Pls forgive my blasphemy, Buhari’s second coming was almost tantamount to a parousia, like the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to add to his perceived saintliness, he had chosen a revered and respected man of God, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as his Deputy. Needless to say, we thank God that he came, he saw and he is currently conquering. While it may be too early to judge his performance or non-performance, the signs are ominously visible. But that’s not the purpose of this missive.
My worry stems from the new electoral template being enforced by APC, an extremely dangerous and volatile one at that. Except to the willing and grateful beneficiaries, what we’ve been witnessing is a monumental charade, a farce and a travesty which is an unfortunate trend indeed. While I will never say with any degree of certainty that PDP candidates would have defeated their opponents in all those elections, I would still have expected the ruling party to conduct the elections in a more transparent and honest manner and not in the kangarooistic banana republic fashion we’ve witnessed in recent times with our arms akimbo and mouths agape and ajar.
With the armed forces, the police, the other security agencies, the judiciary, the thugs and other nebulous, unseen or unknown characters in the kitty, it is almost impossible to defeat APC in any election in the near future, unless the people resist and say no, and this I don’t see happening on account of money, ethnicity and religion. I have no apologies for my pessimism. And I believe the game is just starting. These ones aren’t kidding. Only God can remove them ultimately from power. The tell-tale signs are too pungent to ignore. Very soon, writers like me would only be writing about trips to Afghanistan, a sad reminder of the 1984-85 era, when the Sonala Olumhenses had to write about far flung places in order to avoid the wrath of Sango Olukoso, the god of thunder! What then is the solution?  My answer, no easy way out. As a matter of fact, I see a long walk to Freedom, with apologies to Nelson Mandela. When a Lion has tasted blood, it would be difficult to appease it with corn meal.
All would-be troublemakers should be warned before it is too late that Nigeria does not need, and can’t afford, another civil war. My suggestion is simple and straightforward, what Nigeria desperately needs today is a one party State. It will save us at least three major things. The first is the acrimonious clashes between the mainstream parties. The battles would be limited to intraparty squabbles. The second is money. Too much resources are currently being expended on campaigns and elections proper. It is unimaginable how much is being wasted by the gladiators. Let’s even say that’s their own cup of tea, what of the billions being wasted on INEC that has failed to deliver on its high falutin and grandiloquent rigmaroles. The third is the most serious and absolutely important, safety of lives and property. Our elections have become the most dangerous in the whole world. You cannot guarantee that you will return home alive after casting your votes, or indeed that days after the election you won’t become a victim of a malevolent maelstrom of anarchical and mindless violence, arson and destruction. Are we Barbarians or what manner of human beings are we?
These are the real reasons I wish to appeal, most passionately, to the powers that be in Abuja, that we have agreed that Buhari is our Messiah, that he can do no wrong and we are willing to support him warts and all. Serving one’s fatherland should never be a matter of life and death or an invitation to suicide and perdition.
For once, we should be prepared to let Buhari and his sagacious band of chorus singers think for us. There is no point allowing some fellow Nigerians to turn us into defenceless chickens or rams to be slaughtered on the altar of an orgiastic bloodfest. When it is God’s time to liberate us, we won’t have to lift a finger or fire a single shot. Examples abound all over the world and most of us are witnesses to God’s mysterious ways.
For now, since Buhari came to save us from ourselves, we must allow him do his job unhindered. We must dance to the ‘kpalongo’ beat and wait for the madness which it heralds to manifest, take root and consume its originators.
May God’s will be done!
Tribute To Dr Ore Falomo (September 1940 – November 9 2019)
My path and that of Dr Oluwatamilore Akinlade Falomo crossed nearly three decades ago. As a personal physician to my adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola, it was impossible not to meet and know him reasonably well.
The first thing that fascinated me about Dr Falomo was his dress sense. He was always impeccably turned out, clean and debonair. He was a successful medical practitioner who was well known beyond his industry.
What fascinated me the more about him was his love for Chief Abiola. Theirs was not a Doctor/Patient relationship. They were like brothers. Abiola was born in August 1937 and Dr Falomo was born in September 1940, but they interacted like brothers separated by only months in age, not 3 years. They lived like they were children from the same family. Interestingly, three of Chief Abiola’s children, Kolawole, Ayodeji and Agboola lived on the same road with Dr Falomo, just a stone throw away in Anthony Village.
The most unforgettable things about Dr Falomo were his uncommon courage and powers of elocution and elucidation. He was such a brave and powerful speaker and he remained one of the few Nigerians that had the audacity to rant and rail endlessly against the dreaded General Sani Abacha regime. Perhaps if there were more of him now, our nation would be a better place. I often wondered how Dr Falomo escaped Abacha’s snipers or detention. He spoke passionately and vociferously against the detention of Chief Abiola. As Abiola’s Medical Doctor, he regularly told the Dictators, Abacha and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, of that insane period, who detained Abiola about his patient’s worsening health conditions and warned that he might be damaged beyond redemption if his wrongful incarceration continued. And his prophecy came to pass within a few years. Whether Chief Abiola died of natural causes or not, the great African businessman and philanthropist died in detention on July 7, 1998.
I later met with Dr Falomo a couple of times
at the functions of Capitalfield Group Limited of which he was the indefatigable and tireless Chairman. His integrity was remarkable as attested to by many who knew him and interacted with him, hence it wasn’t difficult for his colleagues to make him Chairman of this pre-eminent financial conglomerate.
We spoke a few times about writing an authoritative book on the Abiola and June 12 saga. I was willing and ready and in his own way, so was he, but our hectic schedules meant we were unable to find a convenient time for both of us.  Not too long ago, I decided to take the bull by the horns and sent the head of Ovation Books and Publishing, Mr Sola Ojewusi, to book appointments with Dr Falomo in order to kickstart the laudable and necessary project by getting background information. However our attempts bore no fruit for a variety of reasons.
As I received the news of Dr Falomo’s demise, the first thing I said was “my God, we have lost a goldmine of contemporary history…” It is always painful to me when we lose such great men and women. Documenting history is extremely important and necessary.
Like all extraordinary and sentient icons,  Falomo seems to have had a premonition of his death. He went on a 2 week holiday to the UK and America with his young friend and Group Managing Director of Capitalfield Group, Raphael Lewu, and shared several stories with him. One of these was the fact that having marked his 79th birthday, the month before in September 2019, he was prepared to join his Maker because he had done at least one year better than his late father.
Dr Ore Falomo came to this world to serve humanity. It reflected in his everyday life as he was larger than life. His physical frame belied his great stature in all facets of his social, economic and political life, not to mention his medical career where he simply excelled. Dr Falomo gave hope and succour to the rich and the poor. He touched the lives of almost all those he came into contact with for the better. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Good night to an eminent, noble and revered personality…
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Food for Living: Appreciate Your Challenges

Published

7 hours ago

on

November 30, 2024

By

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Human beings are bound to face challenges whether they like it or not. The challenges of life are inevitable no matter how one tries to avoid them. According to Bill Cosby, “the only way to avoid criticisms is to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing”. This is impossible because they will surely talk about you whether you talk or not. This is simply how the challenges of life work. You can’t shy away from problems. In fact, the only time we stop facing challenges is when we are dead.

Just to let you know how one can’t shy away from problems in life; imagine one driving a car, and he is extremely careful, no matter how careful he might be, he can’t control the steering of another car behind or in front of him. The best he can do is to manage his car to minimize potential danger.

In the same way, problems and challenges will surely locate anyone no matter how careful they are on issues of life.

Challenges come in different forms; some of them are financial challenges, academic challenges, emotional challenges, health challenges, marital challenges, professional challenges, spiritual challenges and personal challenges. The challenges of life are unlimited, and managing these challenges is what makes us rational and informed beings. The way these challenges are managed can either mar or make the individual.

Overcoming these challenges are not as easy as one may think. This is where trusted friends, advisors, and mentors, who can assist in navigating through these challenges come to play. These people must be people who have our interest at heart, but more importantly, they should be people who are knowledgeable and experienced in such cases or subject matter. This is because a wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from other people’s mistakes.

In relating with trusted people, it’s advisable for one to be vulnerable. This can be challenging, but then it’s the risk one must take to get assistance. Vulnerability helps one to connect with people especially when one is relating with a matured mind with emotional intelligence.

Regardless of how one’s challenges are, challenges are not bad per se, there are certain good things that come with challenges. As a matter of fact, challenges help to sharpen one very well, it gives one a new perspective to life, help learn new lessons, creates opportunity, strengthens and makes one stronger.

As human beings, we experience adversaries of some kind which can lead to downfall. These falls can be devastating, and can make one feel traumatized. However, we should view these falls with gratitude rather than dismay. This is because of the inherent lessons contained in them. Isn’t it true that our disappointment sometimes can lead to our appointments, just like our trials can lead to our triumphs and our pains can metamorphose to our gains? If only we can maximize the inherent messages and lessons they contain.

To show you how you can benefit from your challenges and pains, sometimes, things will go bad for things to happen just like gold and oil will have to be refined and processed to be resourceful. In the same vein, milk goes bad to become cheese, wheat and corn go bad to become whiskey, gracie juice ferments to become wine, garbage goes rotten and becomes compost.

So, in the grand scheme of things, sometimes in life, things did not go wrong so you could get anxious, depressed, or suicidal. They went bad because it is part of the process of progress. Sometimes, the best comes after the worst. You will get better if you don’t get bitter. In some cases, things can go bad due to the mistakes and choices one made, and as you may know, actions have corresponding consequences.

In conclusion, I don’t know what may have gone wrong in your life; I don’t know the mistakes you may have made, neither do I know the challenges you may have experienced, but the good news I have for you is to stay strong, appreciate the challenges and the associated lessons it brought your way, while believing in God to help you to overcome. This is because sometimes in life, the creator of heaven and earth brings these challenges to us for reasons best known to Him. So when you can’t change it, kindly appreciate it with love because at the end of the day you will smile cheerfully.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

Continue Reading

News

Obasanjo Commends Nigerian Initiatives at Ecobank Design & Build Expo 2024

Published

3 days ago

on

November 28, 2024

By

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has reiterated Nigeria’s vast potential and resources, emphasizing the country’s ability to become a global leader. Speaking at the ongoing Ecobank Design and Build Expo at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) in Lagos, Obasanjo praised Ecobank for organizing the event, which highlights the architecture, building,  construction and design sectors, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.

During his visit, Chief Obasanjo toured the various pavilions showcasing cutting-edge trends, innovations, and sustainable practices in architecture, construction, building materials, household appliances, engineering, and interior design. He expressed admiration for the high quality of work displayed by the exhibitors.

The former president called on leaders at all levels to leverage Nigeria’s resources and drive the nation’s economy to new heights.
The five-day event, themed “Building Nigeria Together,” kicked off on November 27 and will run until December 1, 2024. Sessions begin daily at 10:00 am, with over 60 exhibitors set to showcase their latest products and innovations.

Among the prominent global brands exhibiting are SABA Steel, Nigeria’s largest steel manufacturer; Coleman Wire & Cables, West Africa’s leading cable producer; Donna Spectre, a key player in indigenous oil and gas logistics; Dulux Paints, a top paint brand in Nigeria; HTL Africa, a forward-thinking architectural firm; ITB Nigeria Limited, a leading construction company in Nigeria and West Africa; and Mota Engil Nigeria, a civil construction giant, among others.

Continue Reading

News

Fake News: Police Debunk Reports of Supporting Chieftainy Crisis in Osun Community

Published

7 days ago

on

November 23, 2024

By

The Nigerian Police Force has denied allegation of instigating Chieftainy Crisis in Osun community.

The Force made the rebuttal via a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), ASP Mayegun Aminat, on behalf of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police incharge of the unit, AIG Ogundele Ayodeji, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).

The statement noted that it was imperative to make the clarification, stressing that both the Online report and the petitioners were false in their narratives.

The FCID maintained at no point did Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun involved himself or the police in the chieftaincy tussle of the community, adding the IGP has no knowledge of what was going.

The statement reads in full:

Clarification on False Report Regarding Chieftaincy and Police Involvement in Kingship Selection.

The Nigeria Police Force has become aware of a false and misleading report published by Sahara, which claims that the “Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, passed down an order from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to arrest the intending Chief and threatened other kingmakers who insisted that due process must be followed.”

We wish to categorically clarify that this report is inaccurate and does not reflect the facts. The Nigeria Police Force is not involved in the selection of traditional leaders, and at no point did the IGP order the arrest of any individual in connection with the kingship selection process.

The arrest mentioned in the report was carried out following a formal petition submitted by members of the community. The petition alleged that certain kingmakers were engaging in acts of extortion, bribery, conduct likely and threat to life and demanding money from individuals seeking to assume the position of the Olojudo. This form of conduct is not only unethical but violates traditional practices and undermines the integrity of the selection process.

Upon receipt of the petition, detectives from the Special Enquiry Bureau at the FCID Annex in Lagos launched a thorough investigation. The investigation led to the questioning of one individual who admitted to receiving money, as detailed in the petition. Furthermore, this individual acknowledged that others were also involved in this illegal practice and confirmed that payments were made to secure positions.

The investigation is ongoing, and additional individuals suspected of being involved in extortion and bribery will be invited for questioning. Once the investigation is complete, legal charges will be filed against those found culpable.

AIG Ogundele Ayodeji, psc+, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the FCID Annex Lagos, has urged the public to come forward with any relevant information that could assist in the investigation and ensure that justice is served. He also issued a stern warning to anyone attempting to involve the leadership of the IGP or the Nigeria Police Force in corrupt practices. AIG Ogundele Ayodeji emphasized that anyone found guilty of such behavior will face the full force of the law. As Nigeria police force is not part of kingship selection process and wont parake in such act as the Nigeria Police Force remains committed to maintaining professionalism, integrity, and transparency in all its operations. We reiterate the IGP’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption and affirm that the Force will continue to work diligently to ensure that justice is upheld in all matters.

Continue Reading