Edwin Clark blasts Obasanjo in open letter as Nigeria's ruling class engage in more verbal spats

(L-R) Jonathan and Obasanjo at the "Altar of Derision"

By Remi DaCosta - Editor-at-Large

It is true what they say, that "when two elephants fight, it is the ground that suffers". Better still, in this current political climate that has seen Nigeria's rudderless leadership and its axis of shameless so-called elder statesmen engage in incendiary chatter-crawl, one can't help but wonder if the despicable stench emanating from the doldrums of the various factions is worthy of the preceding adage.

Recently, Nigeria's former president, Rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo attacked the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him essentially of gross dereliction of duty in his role as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria.

Various verbal tirades have resulted from that now famous letter with the most recent coming from Ijaw leader and former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark.  

Here is the full text of the letter (below) and it is unfortunate that rather than focus on the critical affairs currently facing the country, the Nigerian masses are instead saddled with an unrefined class of leaders who lack the vision, basic decency and leadership comportment needed to move the country forward.

Clark wrote:

"My Dear Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,

LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

This indeed is a season of open letters, the session of which you heralded with a contemptuous one to His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Your eldest daughter and a former Senator. Dr. lyabo Obasanjo, feeling uncomfortable with your antics quickly fired a response to your now infamous letter that has gone viral and continue to generate negative national discourse.

President Goodluck Jonathan GCFR, an amiable gentle man to whom you routed your vicious open letter would not tolerate Presidential aides writing nor commenting on your letter, and so ordered a stay of action. He in his characteristic manner of respect and decorum said he would personally reply. I am quite certain that the President did not want to join issues with a benefactor and former President. He would have wanted the charged atmosphere your open letter orchestrated to ride itself out until normalcy and calm return to the polity, as witnessed in other inciting comments by well placed Individuals in the recent past.

However, as you well intended the echoes of your vicious letter continue to reverberate negatively. The President had no option left but to reply you through the same medium of an open letter. With a deep sense of responsibility the President touched all the damaging allegations you heaped on his administration and today Nigerians are better informed.

In the light of the forgoing, it has become incumbent upon me at this point in our national life to refute some of the issues highlighted in your letter especially about the Ijaws so that Nigerians must know that you are not the saint you claim to be, but a mischief maker, an ego maniac who always wants to play to the gallery. As rightfully put by your daughter lyabo "Nigeria does not belong to Obasanjo". In addition, I want to buttress the assertion that all Nigerians are equal no matter where they come from, that is, no one is a second class citizen of this nation. You have no right to plunge Nigerians into crisis as your past actions and recent open letter to the President connotes. The generality of Nigerians think your letter is treasonable.

Why I write

Ordinarily, I never intended to join in the affray of accusations and counter accusations between a former President and a sitting President and a daughter in between. But, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in your usual characteristic hatred and use of sarcastic remarks about Ijaw, you have again berated and insulted us the Ijaws in your letter to Mr. President. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has never for once acted nor behaved as an Ijaw man since he took office as President, and we hold no grudge against him for that.

Secondly, as a Nigerian and an Ijaw man, I am proud to belong to both entities. Unlike you Obasanjo who is a Yoruba man first before being a Nigerian, I Chief E.K. Clark am the accepted leader of the Ijaws, while unfortunately you, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, are not accepted as leader of the Yorubas despite being Head of State twice, because you lack the virtues and honor deserving of a Yoruba leader. Your devilish and inciting remarks about the Ijaws are unfounded.

My dear former President, I know my letter will not come to you as a surprise because you know I would respond in equal measure, I have written several open letters to you in the past for your mismanagement of Nigeria affairs with Atiku Abubakar between 1999-2007, when you were the President and he your Vice President. I have also criticized and commented on your incessant interference with the government of Late President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and I have commented on your unwarranted interference with his administration because of the confusion you generate. Reproduced here-under is your myopic, rude and irresponsible remarks about Ijaws in your desperate letter to Mr. President:

'For you to allow yourself to be "possessed" so to say, to the exclusion of most of the rest of Nigerians as an Ijaw man' is a mistake that should have never been allowed to happen. Yes, you have to be born in one part of Nigeria to be a Nigerian if not naturalized but the Nigerian President must be above ethnic factionalism.

And those who prop you up as of, and for 'Ijaw nation are not your friends genuinely, not friends of Nigeria nor friend of 'Ijaw nation they tout about. To allow or tacitly encourage people of 'Ijaw nation' to throw insults on other Nigerians from other parts of the country and threaten fire and brimstone to protect your interest as Ijaw man is myopic and your openly quieting them is even more unfortunate. You know that I have expressed my views and feelings to you on this, issue in the past but I have come to realize that many others feel the way I have earlier expressed to you."

I am indeed very sad and disturbed that you can make such a malicious, mischievous statement about an ethnic group which you did pejoratively knowing fully well that it has no single iota of truth nor foundation purposely to instigate and incite the rest of Nigerians against Mr. President and Ijaw come 2015.

Your statement: "For you to allow yourself to be possessed so to say, to the exclusion of most of the rest of Nigeria as an Ijaw man is a mistake that should have never been allowed to happen" One may wish to ask why you think Jonathan is being possessed by Ijaws in the Presidency? The answer is definitely no. A few following instances may suffice;

i) The NSA in-charge of security in the whole country is Fuiani from Sokoto state.
if) The SGF is Ibo from Ebonyi State
iii) The Principal Secretary to the President is Fuiani from Adamawa
iv) The Commander, Brigade of guards is from Cross River
v) The ADC to the President is from Kogi
vi) His Speech writer is from Edo State, while the Senior Special Adviser on Media is Yoruba from Ogun State
vii)Chief of Staff to the President – Edo State
viii) Principal Secretary to President is Fulani
ix} The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Custom Service is Fulani from Katsina
x) The Chief of Air Staff is an Ibo from Delta State;
xi) The Chief of Naval Staff is from Kwara
xii) The Chief of Defence Staff is from North
xiii) The Chief of Army Staff is Ibo from Abia
The Inspector-General of Police is Hausa
xiv) The Director-General of DSS is from Cross River
xv) The Director-General of Immigration Service is from Plateau State
xvi) The Director-General of NSCDC is Yoruba from Ogun
xvii) The Executive Secretary of PTDF is Yoruba from Ekiti
xviii) The Chairman of FERMA is Yoruba from Osun while the MD is Ibo from Delta
-xix) The GMD NNPC is from Kaduna State
xx) The Acting DG NTA is from Edo State
xxi) Director-General of Inland Waterways – from the North
xxii) The MD of NPA is Hausa Fulani
xxiii) The CBN Governor is Hausa/Fulani from Kano
xxiv) The FRSC Chairman is Ibo
xxv) The Director-General of NAFDAC is from Benue.

INEC Chairman is Hausa/Fulani from Kebbi
NDDC Chairman is Ibibio from Akwa Ibom State Director-General National Orientation Agency is from Nasarawa State The Economic Adviser to the President is Ibo. The Chief of Protocol to Mr. President is a Yoruba man.

Even in the field of ambassadorial appointments, there is no Ijaw man or woman holding any senior ambassadorial appointment as underlined below:

The Ambassador of Nigeria to United States is Yoruba. The Nigerian Permanent Representative to United Nations is Ibo. The Nigerian High Commissioner to United Kingdom is Hausa/Fulani. Nigeria Ambassador to Russia Akwa Ibom. Nigeria Ambassador to China is Hausa. Nigeria Ambassador to Argentina, Benue. Nigeria Ambassador to France – Yoruba. Nigeria Ambassador to Spain - Ibo.

Out of the 64 ambassadorial posting to various Nigerian missions abroad, only three are Ijaw. No Ijaw person is Vice-Chancellor of any of the 36 Federal Universities.

The President has 18 Advisers approved by the Senate, only Mr, Oronto Douglas is Ijaw. The number of Ijaws in the Federal Civil Service under Jonathan's Administration has not increased and the number of Permanent Secretaries is only three Ijaws out of about seventy. There are only two Ijaw Ministers out of 42. Only one Ijaw man from Rivers State owns Oil bloc even though most of the oil comes from Ijaw land. 

No Ijaw man is an oil marketer and no Ijaw man lifts oil. You have agreed that the amnesty program has not been implemented properly. The second phase which is infrastructure development is yet to take place. The 45-Man Technical Committee recommendations White Paper under the Chairmanship of Comrade Ledum Mittee is yet to be released. This is one of the few areas Ijaw people could have benefited. Where are the Ijaws who have taken possession of President Jonathan?

I shall soon publish the full details of all those who held important federal positions and beneficiaries in line with ethnic quota in your government between 1999 – 2007. This will enable us determine who was possessed by his people and groups that were marginalized to show the extent President Jonathan is possessed by Ijaws. It may be necessary to state that:

1. Hausa language was the lingua franca at the Presidency while Alhaji Shehu Shagari was the President of Nigeria from 1979-1983.
2. Hausa language continued to be lingua franca in the Presidency when the military was in power between1983-1998.
3. Between 1999-2007, the Yoruba language became the lingua franca during your Presidency.
4. Between 2007-2010 the Hausa language returned to the Villa as lingua franca during late Umaru Musa Yar'dua administration and in fact, he was accused of bringing nearly all members of the State Executive to the Federal government. Is the Ijaw language the lingua franca at the Presidency now? The answer is NO.

My Dear Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, you have become an unrepentant trouble maker, as Nigeria gave you more than you truly deserve. Hence you see yourself as lord of the manor. You have without recourse in the past embarrassed all past Heads of State and Presidents in Nigeria through open letters and unsavory comments. In such letters, you have always alleged maladministration, corruption and incompetence against them.

At this juncture, I may wish to quote a piece from a concerned Nigerian, Senator Uche Chukwumereje: "He has since after his first stint in Aso Villa, consistently played the role of the Praetonia Guard pontificating to every successor and awarding marks like a headmaster to each pupil-President. Every regime from Shagari through Buhari to Babangida and Abacha, has benefited (or suffered) from the corrective tongue lashes of the guard.''

Nigerians are aware that you set the stage for the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan as President of the Federal Republic. But the saying goes that if you present a gift of a goat to a friend you must let go of the tether. You are probably different. Right from the inception of the Jonathan presidency, your body language indicated you wanted to play the role of the piper, that is, dictate how Jonathan runs, the phenomenon you did not tolerate from those who put you in office in 1999.

An incident that played itself out then will suffice. You masterminded the removal of Chief Tony Anenih then PDP Chairman, Board of Trustee, and appointed yourself thinking the position will give you powers to control and manipulate the President. The futility of your actions dawned on you when you realized Jonathan is his own man. And in frustration you resigned as PDP Board of Trustee Chairman. You had thought the President will kneel before you begging that you stay on; but he never did. Every Nigerian therefore, knows that you connived, with PDP renegades and opposition parties to ridicule and undo President Jonathan and the government because he refused to be your puppet.

In the cabinet of General Yakubu Gowon, you always pretended to be the most loyal and honest man. I was in London with General Murtala Muhammed when the coup of 1975 took place. Murtala came back to Nigeria through a KLM flight to Kano, On that fateful day you were at the Kano Airport to receive General Muhammed, and that was how that government was formed and you were part of it. Later, I met you at Dodan Barracks and asked you why you betrayed General Gowon by .going to Kano to receive Muhammed. You explained to me that you were in Kano for sporting activities, which I disagreed with.

You went all out to frustrate and humiliate your Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, when he declared his intention to contest the 2003 and 2007 Presidential elections. You associated him with US Congressman William Jefferson, prompting the FBI to investigate and search his residence in Maryland. The FBI could not find any connection between Atiku and Mr. Jefferson. You were determined to stop your deputy at all cost from contesting the presidential election. A letter from Jefferson to you was handed over to the EFCC to enable it investigate Atiku, to declare him unqualified for the 2007 election. The EFCC report led to the establishment of an administrative Inquiry headed by the Minister of Justice and your boys and girls in the Cabinet. They hastily found Atiku guilty as charged by you. You sent the report to the National Assembly.

You declared Atiku a persona-non-grata, his aides and vehicles were taken from him, and you declared his seat vacant. All these you did as if the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not exist. You can see how petty you are. You did all these just because you felt Atiku worked against your third term presidential ambition.

JONATHAN NOT TRAINING SNIPERS

My dear Obasanjo, your allegation that President Jonathan is training snipers in preparation for 2015, is a diabolical concoction and a figment of your imagination. As you have no shred of evidence to authenticate this bogus lie. The same is applicable to the supposed 1000 political leaders being on the watch list of the President, Time and time again President Jonathan has said his election is not worth shedding a single Nigerian blood for, which is very much unlike you who played "do or die politics". You made up these stories to whip up ethnic sentiments not only against Mr. President, but the Ijaws and the entire South South geopolitical zone.

On the security issues stated in your letter I have already stated that the President should leave this serious allegation for the Security agents to investigate for no one is above the law of this country. As I also mentioned in my letter to you, I stated that the contents of your letter is a revisit to your own activities in your eight years rule between 1999 and 2007. The President in his reply referred to the attack of Bayelsa State Government House and the bombing of his personal house in Otuoke, Yenagoa, all in the attempt to assassinate him and cause chaos in Nigeria. He also mentioned the Petrol tanker incident. You were the sitting President in Nigeria at the time, you did not investigate the matter nor comment on it.

I am fully aware of the incident because our late President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar 'Adua who was very much embarrassed and seriously shaken by it, discussed the matter with me and he appreciated the role I later played in the matter. That was the beginning of Yar'Adua's loss of confidence in you. I am fully aware that the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was ready to stop you from meddling and parading yourself with this holier than thou attitude. You were eternally lucky that the late President did not carry out his intention before he fell ill and later passed on.

Your two eldest children, Senator lyabo and Gbenga have publicly denounced you and have sworn not to ever speak nor have any communication with you again until "thy kingdom come" because of the wrongs you did to them. OBJ what manner of a man are you to deserve this? You cannot carry on like a bull in a China Shop. I advise you take some time off to reflect on some of these things.

On a personal note, both of us are regarded as President Jonathan's father, in fact, according to you after God and his parent you come next before me and others. You and some of your children are always at the Villa for one thing or the other while my children do not know where the Presidency or Villa is. The only position you have not occupied is to rule the Presidency from your Ota farm in Ogun State. In his book "Accidental Public Servant", El-Rufai stated that you informed your kitchen cabinet or economic committee that they should not disband because you would be ruling Aso Rock from Ota and you needed them.

President Jonathan has not identified himself to the nation as an Ijaw man. He hardly attends their social ceremonies. But he attends social gatherings when invited by other Nigerians from all over the country. I can confirm that apart from Yenagoa and Otuoke his village, in Bayelsa State, President Jonathan has not visited any Ijaw village or town for official function or social outing. He is the most detribalized President of Nigeria and in most case keeps away from his own people for fear of accusation by you and your cohorts. We have prominent Ijaw politicians both men and women who participated fully in the 2011 election and today they have not been able to enter the Presidency or received any patronage from the Jonathan's government.

Our people believe this is the sacrifice they have to make. And they are indeed very grateful and appreciative of the roles being played by other Nigerians of all ethnic and religious divides to make their son President.

As the Ijaw leader, I have gone out of my way to remind Mr. President publicly that Nigerians expected much from him hence they voted for him overwhelmingly in 2011 and will vote for him again 2015 if he performs. I have therefore not for once advocated for fire and brimstone or that blood will flow if Jonathan is not elected in 2015. I have gone further to apologize to all Nigerians that if at any time I made a statement that threatened the unity and stability of Nigeria, I should be forgiven. Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State himself commended my statement.

It must be recalled that some of the ex-militant leaders like Asari Dokubo, Ateke Tom Boyloaf, etc. have openly attacked Mr. President to the delight and applause of the President's political opponents. It is therefore very unfair of you to envelope all Ijaws in your attack of President Jonathan and his people. At this juncture, I would like to challenge you to name other Ijaw persons or groups that throw insults on other Nigerians on account of Jonathan. One may therefore wish to ask you to refresh your memory when you recruited Femi Fani Kayode to attack your political opponents including your own ethnic group and you compensated him with a ministerial appointment and kept him until your last breakfast with your other kitchen cabinet members in the Villa. Is it therefore fair to accept Fani Kayode's recalcitrant and irresponsible statements on other Nigerians, as acting on behalf of an ethnic nationality?

It will be madness of anyone to do so as you have done with Ijaws because of Asari Dokubo's statements which did not receive the applause of the generality of Ijaws. My people started voting for other Nigerians even though they had no candidates, since 1951. And they formed alliances with other people or political parties in other parts of Nigeria. For instance, in 1959 both late Dappa Biriye and Chief Melford Okilo stood election on the platform of Niger Delta Congress (NDC). Chief Melford Okilo won his election to the Federal House of Assembly.

The NDC entered into alliance with the Northern Peoples Congress [NPC] which was the largest party in Nigeria but had no national spread in the south of Nigeria. It was therefore the NDC alliance with the NPC that made it a national party. It is therefore very arrogant and insulting of you to berate Ijaws as immature politicians. Today, the 17 states of the south are cooperating with one another and meeting from time to time to discuss the progress and unity of Nigeria. We have successfully met in Uyo, Enugu and Lagos. We shall also meet in Delta State soon. In this association, the Ijaws are playing a leading role under my leadership. You may not also know the South-South relationship with the Middle Belt of Nigeria made up of North Central and North Eastern zones.

Mr. former President, I will also like to use the language of your daughter, lyabo to describe you to Nigerians. You are "a liar, manipulator, two faced hypocrite" and that "you have an egoistic craving for power and live a life where only men of low self esteem thrive".

You know over the years, I have always criticized you about your performance starting with the Ibori's ex-convict case even though he may not have a good case.

Your vindictive and mischievous attitude towards political opponents was unacceptable and very few of us were able to criticize you. You felt former governor Ibori of Delta State and Alameyeseigha, his counterpart in Bayelsa State were being used by the former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, against you and you decided to punish them. But when Ibori gave you money he became your good boy, despite the position held by Delta Elders against him.

In the case of Alamieyesiegha you tried to use his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, against him but he refused. You went on to use the Chairman of the EFCC to intimidate members of the Bayelsa House of Assembly and they carried out a kangaroo impeachment to remove him from office. You then immediately directed the security agencies after the impeachment to handcuff the governor and took him to Abuja for prosecution. I also criticized you when you asked your security men to arrest the candidate who was standing against your daughter in the senatorial election in Ogun State even though there was no case against him in Nigeria.

You may also remember my open letter to you published in the Vanguard Newspaper in which I asked you to leave Yar'adua alone to run his government. That you attempted to rule Yar'adua's government from Ota farm is unacceptable. I quoted the example of France and Great Britain to buttress my case. I continued my attack on you and your cohorts when President Jonathan refused you to run his government from Ota farm. However, everything you asked President Jonathan, he gave to you. The first two important Ministerial appointments, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who are not politicians were given to you for Ogun State.

You had a hand in almost every appointment in the South West hence the party collapsed in the South West.

El-Rufai said in his book "Accidental Public Servant" that you sent him to General Buhari inviting him to be the Presidential candidate of the PDP in 2011 with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Itweala as his running mate. El-Rufai told the story of how together with Dr. Odumegwu, former Chairman of the NPC and two others drove from Lagos to Ota in the night only for you to say that Jonathan should be given another chance. They discovered that your daughter lyabo had won her Senatorial case in a High Court. You can see how petty you are?

You are today one of the richest men in Nigeria if not in Africa. In 1999, it was widely reported in the media that you came out of Gashua Prison very broke. As a matter of fact, it was stated you had N20,000 in your bank account as declared in your Code of Conduct Bureau Form. In just 8 years, as President of Nigeria, you metamorphosed from a struggling ex-head of state, into a life of opulence. You must tell Nigerians the magic behind the sudden affluence. When corruption is mentioned, informed Nigerians know those that foisted the malady on our nation.

The Halliburton bribe scandal and the Siemens case were lightly touched by President Jonathan in his open reply to you. These two high profile corruption cases happened during your tenure as President.

How dare you point accusing fingers at others when you have a cupboard filled with skeletons? You have forgotten the saying that "a man who lives in a glass house should not throw stones".

The anti-corruption apparatus became a coercive instrument in your hands to browbeat perceived political enemies. Your vendetta against political opponents and those you believed were working counter to your third term ambition knew no limits. Chief Obasanjo your former Minister of Defence, General T,Y, Danjuma, was the first to call you a pauper, when he fell out with you. He tagged you "Stone broke", a phrase he used to describe your pathetic financial predicament before you came to power.

My dear former President, what do you really want from President Jonathan? Most of the various issues you raised in your letter are mere re-visitation of the many things you did and failed to do in your 8 years of mis-governance.

In conclusion, I would like to borrow the words of Peter Howard, "the petty plans and plots of small minded men rob every nation of their destiny". This is my new year message and response to your open letter and other subterranean activities designed to destabilize Nigeria because of your personal interest. My best wishes of the season to you and your esteemed family."

EDWIN KIAGBODO CLARK 

Life, liberty and the pursuit of 'appiness'.....

By The Editor-in-Chief

Currently, there are over a million applications in app stores and most of them are cross-platform with primary emphasis on android and iOS platforms. And don't forget the tablets as well!

As app developers increasingly find it difficult to cut through the mass clutter and get their apps noticed and hopefully downloaded, it is important to lay the road-map for potential success in the mobile app development space.

Here is some critical information, courtesy of app-promo.com that should provide viable insights on the inner-workings of the app development space.

• 59% of apps do not generate enough revenue to break-even on development costs
• 80% do not generate enough revenue to support a stand-alone business
• 68% of developers earned $5,000 or less with their most successful app
• 12% earned $50,000 or more in revenue and these were classified as "Top Earners"
• 11% had 500,000 or more downloads
• 63% had downloads of 50,000 or less for their most successful app
• "Top Earners" spend an average of 14% of their time on marketing
• "Top Earners" have nearly $30,000 as an average marketing budget
• 52% had $0 set aside for marketing despite 91% believing that marketing is essential
• 52% spend 5% or less of their time promoting their app

One can see from the "numbers" that the key to launching a successful app is marketing.

While the initial returns may only allow you to break-even initially, that changes eventually as the app becomes more popular, with more people downloading it, as a result of the marketing efforts.

Increased "brand awareness" is always key to ensuring a successful launch of any product or application.

American needs to refocus on education.....

By The Editor-in-Chief

Like most watchers of the current political climate, we have all become accustomed to the usual spin, each political cycle, about how the creation of jobs is central to the growth of the economy.

Who would disagree with such an assertion you might ask, but then when you begin to think the whole thing through, you come to the realization it is not as simple as just creating jobs.

The truth most politicians like to avoid is that there are in fact jobs out there. The problem though is that this country continues to lack the Intellectual Capital needed to meet the growing capacity needs of these mostly technical and medical opportunities.

That a country of the magnitude and influence of the United States has to import medical practitioners (doctors and nurses) and technology professionals, speaks volumes of the apparent dearth in the country's key Intellectual Capital base.

The fact remains that America needs to refocus its attention on education and ensure that children are steered towards professions and occupations, that will allow the US maintain its competitive edge, while retaining its leadership position in the world.

When you have a society where "American Idol" is the top rated program on television, that pretty much sums up where the country's focus is.

That athletes and entertainers remain not just the top earners in the American society, but also shape the cultural and moral tenor of the nation, is quite disturbing.

Most of the revered athletes and entertainers lack the moral compass to shape the direction of their own homes, much less society at large.

It is incumbent upon our political, social and other leaders to help this nation have the right conversations we need to have. America must return back to the basics and stress the importance of education at all levels.

Government does not and will never create jobs. The former can however be a catalyst in helping to create the right environment that would engender a spirit of excellence, through education and innovation.

The journey begins now and our leaders must have the courage to tell the American people the truth.... improve yourself if you want to live a better life!

Megyn Kelly..... "the gift that just keeps on giving....."

CC Video Insight

Okay Megyn, just a little too much information now. Please see for yourselves.

The perils of Lugard's colonial experiment and why Nigeria must remain one regardless of our differences

Nigeria's Founding Fathers (L-R; Awolowo, Bello, Zik, Balewa)

By The Editor-in-Chief

History shows that most of the nations that failed to address their religious and ethnic differences at the core, are either in armed conflict (Congo DR) or have since disintegrated – Yugoslavia, Sudan, Eritrea (from Ethiopia) and even the former Soviet Union (USSR) are prime examples. 

December 31st 2013 – January 1, 2014, may thus represent the last hours of corporate existence for an amalgamated Nigeria, if one is to go by recent events, including unguarded utterances of former leaders such as ex-military dictator, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. 

But long before then was this quote: “Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite…. Nigerian unity is only a British invention” – Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was reported by the TIME MAGAZINE of October 10, 1960 to have opined. He (Tafawa Balewa) believed there was no basis for a united Nigeria, as it was only a wish of the British. 

According to F. D. Lugard, "the British needed the Railway from the North to the Coast in the interest of British business. Amalgamation of the South (not of the people) became of crucial importance to British business interests. Hence, the North and the South needed to be amalgamated". 

The reasons Lugard gave in his dispatches are as follows: "The North is poor and has no resources to run the protectorate of the North. They have no access to the sea; and the South has both human and natural resources". 

Britain did not desire the ultimate union of Northern and Southern Nigeria. Between  between 1914 and 1960 (a period of 46 years), the British only allowed minimum contact between the people of Northern and Southern Nigeria, as it was not in the British interest that "the North be allowed to be polluted by the educated South". 

A leading Nigerian legal luminary, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) recounted not long ago, “I entered Parliament on December 12, 1959. When the North formed a political party, the northern leaders called it Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). They didn’t call it Nigeria Peoples Congress. That was in accordance with the dictum and policies of Lugard. When Aminu Kano formed his own party, it was called Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) not Nigerian Progressive Union. Indeed, these elements have not changed! 50+ years later, we are still being confronted with the same parochial interests from the North and the South, but mostly the North. 

One of the architects of British colonialism in Africa, Nigeria to be precise, the late Harold Smith stated rather bluntly in a recent interview; ”‘Our agenda was to completely exploit Africa. Nigeria was my duty post. When we assessed Nigeria, this was what we found in the South; strength, intelligence, determination to succeed, well established history, complex but focused life style, great hope and aspirations… the East is good in business and technology, the West is good in administration and commerce, law and medicine, but it was a pity we planned our agenda to give power “at all cost” to the northerner. They seemed to be submissive and silly of a kind. Our mission was accomplished by destroying the opposition at all fronts. 

The West (Southwestern Nigeria to be precise - The Yoruba) led in the fight for the independence, and was punished for asking for freedom. They will not rule Nigeria! Harold Smith confessed that the Census results were announced before they were counted. Despite seeing vast land with no human but cattle in the north, we still gave the north 55 million instead of 32 Million. This was to be used to maintain their majority votes and future power bid. He stated that the West without Lagos was the most populous in Nigeria at that time but we ignored that. The North was seriously encouraged to go into the military. According to him, they believe that the South may obtain western education, but future leaders will always come from military background. Their traditional rulers were to be made influential and super human. The northerners were given accelerated promotions both in the military and civil service to justify their superiority over the southerners. Everything was to work against the South. We truncated their good plan for their future. 

"I was very sorry for the Action Group (AG); it was too great a party by African standards. We planned to destroy Awolowo and Azikiwe well, the West and the East and sowed a seed of discord among them”. We tricked Azikiwe into accepting to be president having known that Balewa will be the one with power. Awolowo had to go to jail to cripple his genius plans for a greater Nigeria. ‘’Looking at the northern leaders now , If they have any agenda in Nigeria at all, sadly it is only for the North, and nothing for Nigeria…." 

According to Smith, Nigeria, a great nation, was crippled not because of military juntas or corrupt leaders alone but by the British and American fear of Nigeria's great future. He confessed, “The fear of the place that will be our ‘dumping ground’ really occupied our minds”. 

Some of the things he said were not new to Nigerians or to Africans as a whole, but hearing it from the horse’s mouth was quite revealing and established more reality zones. 

He finally submitted that the colonial masters did cause havoc while they were in Africa, and planted timed bombs when they finally left. What we see since independence, the administration of new internal colonial masters by fellow Nigerians holding sway in power is doing more damage to Nigeria. Instead of detonating the time bombs planted by the British, the North, through the likes of Buhari and Babangida, is planting mines. 

He added that ‘It was my duty to carry out all of the above and I was loyal to my country. 

Nigerians should try to be loyal to their country; leaders and followers alike. Love your country. You have got the potentials to be great again and the whole world knows this’. 

Perhaps, his last statement offers nothing but the much needed incentive for every Nigerian to place the interest of Nigeria above their own personal interests and allow this great nation to finally realize its inherent potential, for the benefit of Africa and the civilized rest of humanity. 

While it is encouraging that President Jonathan recently called for a Sovereign National Conference, albeit limited, one needs to see the president assert himself more with regard to national security, corruption and over-all executive leadership, rather than play into the hands of ethnic and parochial jingoists from both the PDP and the newly formed APC.

If the APC is truly committed to providing "new leadership" with an emphasis on accountability, the party must shed the reputation it is quickly acquiring of being a new haven for disgruntled PDP old guards and former dictators, masquerading as reformists in the current political dispensation.

It is no longer about Arewa, OPC, MASSOB or any regional or ethnic delineations, but more about the need for real leadership that is committed to bringing about comprehensive and much needed change, to the halls of leadership in Nigerian politics.

It is irrelevant what the designs of the British and other Western nations are for Nigeria, as long as Nigerians realize that their destinies as a people are inexorably linked.

As Nigeria goes, so does invariably, the rest of Africa.

Failure is not an option.....

For the "must have a soda addicts" - What happens to your body when you drink a Coke? Watch.....

CC Healthwatch

In a nutshell, If you can’t completely remove "soft drinks" from your diet then make sure you drink it in moderation. And if you’re trying to get your kids off this stuff, have them try this cool experiment.

Former Abacha death squad leader challenges Obasanjo to public debate

Two peas in a pod - Abacha (left) and Al-Mustapha

CC Nigeria News

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, has challenged ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, to a public debate on any issue concerning Nigeria. 

The former leader of the dreaded strike force unit of the late military dictator, was reacting to news reports about portions of a letter written by Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that snipers were being trained in North Korea.

He explained that he was not around when Obasanjo’s letter became public, but read about it in the media.

The former military officer said ex-President Obasanjo knows that he knows Nigeria as much as he (Obasanjo) knows the country. As such, he was ready to face the former President anywhere in the world to discuss Nigeria.

Al-Mustapha said “first of all, he (Obasanjo) did not mention me by name in his letter. Secondly, he knows that “I know Nigeria as much as he does, if he has something to tell me, I want him to come out and tell me straight.

“He should ask me or challenge me, I challenge him to (discuss) anything about Nigeria that he wants to talk about even long before he became Head-of-State (1976-1979), I am ready to meet him in public anywhere in the world”.

Responding to a specific question on allegations that he was privy to the on-going training of snipers, Al-Mustapha swore that there was nothing of the sort.

The former CSO said he is a Muslim and has over the years facilitated the recruitment of northerners into security agencies and has never been involved in anything to betray the north. But we would suppose that going by his antecedents and this uninformed statement, he has no qualms betraying Nigeria as he has shown in the past.

Al-Mustapha also said he has forgiven all those who harmed him during his travails. Interesting statement coming from someone who should actually be hauled before the International Criminal Court.

He observed that people who did not fear God find it difficult to understand how sincere he is when he said he has forgiven all.  

He accused an unnamed individual based in Kaduna, for spreading falsehood about his person and his activities.

According to him, from 1974 till date, there have been so many secrets that encouraged lies to cover the truth. This, he said could be cleared up if Obasanjo takes up the challenge to face him in public.

Jesse Owens' Nazi conquering gold medal sells for record amount at auction

CC Informational

A gold medal won by the legendary American Olympic athlete, Jesse Owens has sold at an auction for a record $1.5 million. 

Owens symbolically won the Gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin much to the chagrin of Adolf Hitler who had hoped to use the games to further promote his Nazi propaganda of Aryan supremacy. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautions on antibacterial soaps.....

CC Healthwatch

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that antibacterial chemicals in soaps and body washes may pose health risks.

It proposed a rule requiring manufacturers to prove such soaps are safe and more effective against infection than plain soap and water.

Recent studies indicate an ingredient in such products could scramble hormone levels and boost drug-proof bacteria. 

The proposal rule does not apply to alcohol-based hand sanitizers and products used in healthcare settings.

Manufacturers have until the end of 2014 to submit the results of clinical trials on their products, the FDA said. The new regulations would be finalized in 2016.

"New data suggest that the risks associated with long-term, daily use of antibacterial soaps may outweigh the benefits," Colleen Rogers, an FDA microbiologist, wrote in a statement.

Certain ingredients in such products - such as triclosan in liquid soaps and triclocarban in bar soaps - may contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the agency added.

Such products may also have "unanticipated hormonal effects that are of concern", according to the statement.

Recent studies of such chemicals on animals have shown they may alter hormones, the FDA said, but such results have not yet been proven in humans.

"Because so many consumers use them, FDA believes that there should be clearly demonstrated benefits to balance any potential risks," the statement added.

If the FDA's proposed rule is finalized, companies would be required to provide data to support their product's health claims.

If they cannot, the products would be reformulated or relabeled in order to remain on the market.

In March of this year, a federal appeals court approved a lawsuit by the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council, aimed at forcing the FDA to review the health impacts of triclosan.

Former WWE publicist fired from IAC after racist Tweet

CC Newsreel 

Former WWE publicist, Justine Sacco has been fired from her job as a publicist with IAC following a racist tweet (see below).



Sacco’s post remained on Twitter most of the day Friday because she was on a flight from London to South Africa. The response on the social media website was swift — the tweet generated the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet, which became a trending topic Friday night. Not only that, but someone purchased the domain JustineSacco.com, which redirects to the Aid for Africa website.

Upon landing, Sacco, who was IAC’s senior director of corporate communications, first deleted the tweet and then her entire Twitter account.

IAC, which owns over 150 Internet brands, released a statement Saturday confirming that Justine Sacco had been fired. The company also removed Sacco’s name from its website.

“The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC. We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question,” the statement read.

“There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally. We hope, however, that time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core.”

Justine Sacco joined IAC in September 2011 after working as a publicist at WWE. Twitter user @Zac_R said he was at the airport when Sacco landed and spoke to her father, who is a wealthy South African businessman. 

Her father said he decided to raise his daughter in the United States because South Africa was too racist.”