Clay Richie

In the middle of the 2nd World War in 1941, the Johannesburg Star published an editorial which accused Hendrik Verwoerd of “falsifying war news in Germany’s favour.” Verwoerd was the editor of Die Transvaler, the mouthpiece of the Broederbond. Born originally in Amsterdam to Dutch parents in 1901, Verwoerd migrated with his parents to South Africa in 1902, receiving his first degree in Philosophy from the University of Stellenbosch in 1922, a Ph.D. in 1924 and becoming a Professor at just 26 in 1927. In 1937, he would become the editor of Die Transvaler, from where he would advance rabidly anti-Semitic, anti-black, pro-Aryan worldview.

Nigerians wanted a messiah. They got one, or so they thought. His coronation was loud and boisterous. In faraway countries, people danced in joyous rhythm and celebratory backslapping. It was supposed to be a new dawn premised on change. The emotion was infectious, as people lost in momentary covetousness suspended their reasoning. Some trekked long distances in celebration of Muhammadu Buhari’s victory. Where are the trekkers now? Many even called him god. It was as much a celebration of the people’s power to change a leader they were fed up with and an occasion befitting the hopes and expectations that heralded the new dawn. He had adopted an amenable persona of a reformed democrat that lured many to believe he had truly come to save the people, but a darker side not discernable to many was shielded with an odious incorrigibility mien.

The Nigerian Navy says it arrested 57 sailors –all-male sailors, including a Ukrainian, a Mexican and 55 Nigerians – and impounded their vessels between Aug. 11 and Aug. 25, 2019 for allegedly smuggling crude oil and illegally refining diesel.

Kenyan authorities last week came up with a policy to tackle the growing incidence of teenage pregnancy in the East African country. Under the new guideline, pregnant pupils must reveal the identities of those responsible for their pregnancies to their head teachers. It doesn’t matter whether sexual activity is consensual or through rape. If the boyfriend is a teenager, the school enrols him for counselling and pays for the service. But if the perpetrator is an adult, the school administration must inform the police and the Children's Department for legal action.

On Sunday this week, I boarded the Air Peace airline to Owerri, the Imo state capital for a singular reason of personally witnessing the beginning of the remaking of history in the Eastern heartland which has only recently come out of a whooping eight years of desolation and crass bad governance by the immediate past governor – Mr. Rochas Okorocha.

When President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, submitted his list of Ministers to the Senate on July 23, the nominee on the list most discussed was Major General (retired) Bashir Salibi Magashi (69). His critics were forced to ask, WHY BRING MAGASHI? while his admirers equally asked WHY NOT MAGASHI?

On the 14th of April, 2014, on His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s watch, two bombs exploded at a crowded bus station in Nyanya, Nasarawa, killing at least 88 people and injuring at least 200. The bus station is 8km southwest of central Federal Capital Territory. What a very poignant day in the history of our beloved country!

In 2003 or thereabouts, while still living in Lagos, I was invited to the Bournvita Award for Teachers ceremony to read the awardees citation along with Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenikwe of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) fame. Veteran actor, Mr Olu Jacob, was also there, as he said, to give moral support to his wife, the effervescent Joke Silva, who compered the event. In the course of our conversation about the loss of value in our society, Jacob remarked that in Nigeria today, when a neighbour with no visible means of livelihood suddenly becomes a billionaire, questions are never asked about the source of his wealth. “The next thing you hear is someone saying, ‘see that man who was living in a Face-Me-I-Face-You house two years ago, see how God has blessed him”. Jacob then looked to the sky with his hands raised to dramatise his next line: “Oh God! Where is your face?”

In the last forty eight hours, Akinwunmi Adesina’s name on Nigeria’s twitter space has become the buzzword . His name was on ‘fire’ or trending as the case may be for doing a great work as President of African Development Bank, especially with his presence and networking ability in the ongoing G-7 meeting. In fact yesterday, many facebook users joined the bandwagon  by referring to Akinwunmi Adesina as a best candidate for the Nigeria number one job. Many were actually encouraging him to run. I pray he was not following the trend nor allowing the so-called temporary fame to go into his head.This may be the greatest mistake of his life.  I do know he is well – informed and smarter than that.

Love in Tokyo is the title of a 1966 film that became a hit at the box office. Since then, when men and women, boys and girls show affection to one another publicly, you often hear “love in Tokyo.”

I recall in 2011 or 2012, l was on one of the breakfast TV shows, l answered a question by stating that in my opinion one of the problems of Nigeria is the impression that one religion is superior to another.  After the program l received a call from one of our Niger Delta leader who disagreed with me. Today seven years later Nigeria is on the way to her end because of religion.

If Nigeria is working, we will know! Those were the exact words of late Prof Chinua Achebe, Africa’s foremost novelist and distinguished intellectual. In other words, the citizens do not need any bogus claims by government’s megaphones to realise that there is an improvement in their country’s economy because it will automatically translate to an enhancement in their lives.

The recent protest in Germany in which former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was harassed, chased around, subdued, and beaten like a palace pickpocket brought big shame to Nigeria, and the senator must own full blame. Even a novice could have discerned that the popularity of the #RevolutionNow, led by Omoyele Sowore, shows that the Nigerian masses are not fools and will not endure abject injustice forever.

APC is a party that claims to be anti-corruption.  However, the evidence is now overwhelming that this claim is one big scam.  An anti-corruption party cannot, at the same time, be a party that provides refuge for those accused of corruption.  How is this for an anti-corruption slogan: APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole says: “Once you have joined APC all your sins are forgiven.”

This is not the best of times to be identified as a Nigerian, especially if you are a Nigerian in diaspora. It is indeed the worst of times to be Nigerian because of the kind of daredevilry that our compatriots have demonstrated in recent times, in criminal pursuits of such scale, texture, volume, and depth, not at intervals but at an alarming pace and regularity, not just in one country or continent, but from continent to continent, country to country, giving such impression that perhaps apart from the traditional Cosa Nostra, the Italian Mafia, or the Russian Mafia, or the Colombian Mafia, Nigerians probably run some of the most notorious underground crime networks in the world today.

The last 10 days have been very damaging for Nigeria’s already-battered international image. The spark was Obinwanne Okeke, once remembered for his listing by Forbes among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans 2018 but now an emblem of dirty wealth, following his arrest by the FBI over an $11 million advanced internet scam traced to him. This was followed by the belated revelation of Jumia, Africa’s largest e-commerce operator, about fraudulent orders placed by its network of commissioned agents in Nigeria, costing the company $17.5million between the last quarter of 2018 and the first two quarters of 2019.

The recent spate of the killings in Igboland, the latest being in my own constituency of Enugu East senatorial district where Rev. Fr. Paul Offu and pregnant Regina Mbah were gruesomely murdered by hoodlums alleged to be Fulani herdsmen is barbarous and horrendous. I condemn in totality the odious and dastardly acts and extend my heartfelt commiseration to the families of the victims.

Nigeria is entangled in a not so fantastic reputation management situation. Mentioning Nigeria in some quarters now holds the possibility of driving shivers of threat. The repugnant state of affairs has pushed trust beyond reach in the minds of individuals and corporate entities desirous of deepening business interests in our terrain. These thoughts follow recent tales of inglorious acts orchestrated by some citizens widely reported by foreign and local media. The tales are the same from Lagos to London: some Nigerians have allegedly made money through questionable means. This should worry each one of us.

Four centuries ago, the first 20 documented African slaves arrived on the shores of Virginia. In the years that followed, millions more were shipped in dehumanizing conditions across the ocean and enslaved. Slavery had, of course, existed before. But this indicated the beginning of a mechanized trade that saw human beings reduced to property on an unprecedented scale.

Fellow Nigerians, I have decided to write on this topic today because of the dangerous giddiness I observe in many of our young ones today, especially on social media. I have no doubt that many of them love our country so passionately but are disappointed in how messy things have been. Many have struggled to go to school hoping to find something meaningful to do thereafter but no such luck.

In February 1998, Gen Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s military head of state, sent troops to Sierra Leone to restore democracy. Major General Johnny Paul Koroma had sacked the democratically elected president, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who fled to exile in Guinea. Thankfully, the military junta was displaced by the ECOWAS troops, led by Nigeria, and Kabbah was restored to office a year later. I still remember a sarcastic line from The Economist of London on the intervention: “Democracy in West Africa now depends on the Nigerian military.” To think that the same Nigerian military had annulled the country’s own presidential election and clamped the winner, Chief MKO Abiola, into detention!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced, last Thursday, that it busted a ring of email scammers in the US. A total of 14 arrests were made in this raid. These 14 people arrested were named in a 252-count federal grand jury indictment which alleges that 80 defendants (mostly Nigerians) used internet fraud schemes to defraud victims of sums up to about $46 million. The FBI believes the remaining individuals named in this grand jury indictment are abroad and could be in Nigeria. These arrests are coming after a celebrated young entrepreneur Obinwanne Okeke was arrested by the FBI for conspiracy to commit fraud amounting to $12 million.

After President Muhammadu Buhari released his ministerial list a couple of months ago, pundits went to town with speculations on who might be assigned to each of the 43 ministries.

Have you watched the video of the killing of three policemen and a civilian by soldiers of the Nigerian Army? If you haven’t, please go and watch it. Have you read the statement issued after the fact by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa in response to the first police statement notifying the public of what had happened? If you haven’t, please search for it and read it. Also read the second statement by the police that picked apart the army’s explanation of what transpired. You will immediately know who is lying.

Honourable Ministers-Designate, you will be responsible for the development and implementation of policies, programmes and projects in your various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in line with Government priorities. You must also ensure that Agencies under your Ministries are effective, efficient and accountable in the discharge of their responsibilities.”

The road any leader chooses to walk in his pursuit of redress, with respect to what could be a clear unsatisfactory handling of issues he is involved in, especially as it concerns the desire to democratically serve the country within the best of his capabilities, must reflect the inner character of the fellow.

Even before the unfortunate and regrettable incident of the cold blooded killing of three policemen along the Ibi-Wukari who had arrested a suspected kidnapper Hamisu Bala Wadume made national news, Taraba had been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Never in the history of our country have we witnessed the current situation where not only the contents of classified documents are splashed in the media but the bromides of such correspondences as well. In some cases, even before they reach the officials to whom they were directed.

The unprovoked attack on former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in Germany, over the last weekend, by some disgruntled elements, operating under the toga of IPOB, can only be described as an infantile display of crass ignorance and lack of sound parental upbringing.

My constant assertion that Cross River state governor, Senator Ben Ayade is a threat to free speech and a free press in Cross River state has been challenged by some of his aides who also want me to prove my allegation with facts. The thing about this administration is that, in the same manner they make and forget promises so quickly, they also forget very quickly how often the Ayade government has attempted to stifle free speech and free press since he assumed office.

A poor reading of the verdict by the London court slapping a historic penalty of $9b on Nigeria last Friday is viewing it as an affirmation of the law of contract. No, it is not. Rather, it is the orchestration of international politics and neo-colonial power-play at their vilest.

For too long concerned Nigerians have been expressing loss of faith in the security architecture of our country. The complainants justify their gripe with the fact that there has not been any time in the history of Nigeria, apart from the period preceding and during the civil war,  that more human lives were lost owing to religious insurgence or violent herdsmen banditry currently being perpetrated across the country.

Today, the Presidential Retreat opens in Abuja for the 43 ministers-designates of the second cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari in this democratic dispensation. Coming just on the trail of the recently concluded two-day Maiden Presidential Policy Roundtable Retreat at the Aso Rock in Abuja, this is one official brain storming session, too frequent and high sounding in Nigeria’s high places.

Nigeria is one place that is both fascinating and intriguing. Nigeria my Country is fascinating because of the large number of human beings inhabiting the geographical space that at given time are some of the best people to govern anywhere in the World. Nigerians are mostly worshippers in organised religious groups whereby they are indoctrinated with the ideological belief that they should be law abiding and should pray for their leaders. The saying by the great Karl Marx that “Religion is the Opium of the people”, is true in every sense when discussing the weltanschuung (Worldview) of the average Nigerian.

The report that a commercial court in the UK has ruled that Nigeria must pay a UK firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P & ID) a sum of $9.6 billion or have its assets in the UK to the tune of that amount forfeited has generated more than a little interest. For a country with a foreign reserve of $45 billion and sovereign debt profile of over $80 billion that judgment debt is quite a lot, potentially capable of rendering Nigeria even more technically insolvent.

The office of the Chief of Staff to the President as we all know, was not created by the constitution. Today, after twenty years, the office is one of the most envied in the land. The office plays two roles, Bureaucratic as well as Political. It is the abuse of the political role that has brought the attraction.

In all the years that President Buhari sought to be president, he was engaged in one form of protest or the other. As a matter of fact, his running mate in the 2003 elections, Senator Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, allegedly lost his life after one of the rallies organised by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) where they were said to have been tear gassed by the Nigerian Police. The party went to court and it was held that Nigerians have the right to protest and that police permission is not required. In 2014, Buhari alongside other prominent members of the All Progressive Congress, protested against the security situation in the country. Nobody harassed or arrested them.

Yakubu Dan-Yumma Gowon, 84, is Nigeria’s former Head of State. He served in the Nigerian Army between 1954 and 1975. Nine of those years were dedicated to Nigeria as her ruler. Within that period, he also led war efforts to keep Nigeria as one indivisible entity. Wikipedia describes Gowon as Nigeria’s military leader who “took power after one military coup d’etat and was overthrown in another.”

The assault of Nigeria’s former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Germany is unsurprising, but shocking. Unsurprising because it’s certain Nigerians would revolt against their leaders misrule someday. It is shocking because many never envisaged such could happen now, and in this manner. The popular support, but low turnout at Omoyele Sowore’s Revolution Now protest, and the fading outcry for his release is a pointer that Nigerians want a revolution, but are reluctant to revolt.

There is pain. There is anger. And there is collective rage in the land. Nigerians are empty of options and are seeking avenues for a purge; for catharsis. The season of retribution may be upon us sooner than we imagine.

One of Nigeria’s arguably most impactful rulers, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, was 78 years old yesterday. Combatant Officer of the Nigerian Army who joined the force in 1962, IBB, the acronym he became known by while he was Nigerian military Head of State, will go down in history as about Nigeria’s most audacious user of governmental power. Lethal to those who stood in his way, one of the qualities he possessed at the highest cusp of his rule which even his adversaries acknowledged, was his ambivalent disposition. He had the ability to stand at both ends of the hill and emit fire from his nostrils like a dragon. His off-the-cuff execution of his childhood friend, Mamman Vatsa, in spite of global awe and supplications to him, mirrors this.

You are forgiven if you think an English high court just awarded a $9 billion fine against Nigeria in a case of breach of contract with Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), a little-known Irish engineering and project management company. Actually, the award was made as far back as July 2015 by an arbitration panel sitting in London. What happened in London on Friday was a failed legal move by Nigeria to stop the enforcement of that judgment. If it is implemented, Nigeria’s bank accounts in the UK, where parts of our foreign reserves are warehoused, would be at risk and that would be a catastrophe for our international trade, to put it in a less scary language.

Every election cycle in Nigeria has three seasons. The campaign season belongs to the parties, the politicians and their godfathers. This is followed by the voting season, during which the security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) hold sway. Thereafter, matters shift to the courts for the dispute resolution season, which belongs to the lawyers (mostly Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs) and judges.

Fellow Nigerians, permit me to borrow one of those wisecracks popularized by Chief Moshood Abiola, “no one can hide behind one finger.” He should have been here today to see how our leaders are struggling to hide behind one finger. His initial complete confusion would have been replaced by subsequent total amazement!

I will have nothing to do with the British. They are full of prejudices and they have not learnt from history, and having nothing to teach anybody, I refused to talk to the British High Commissioner. The other day he sent a message he wanted to come and see me and I told him there was no chance as we have no common interests. As for the Americans, we know where they sink their dollars, their interests lie. They have no principles in their activities’-Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Mr. President stylishly threw a ballistic missile from Daura to the roof of Audu Ogbe — wherever he was a day ago — when he said that he would appoint a minister who is knowledgeable and will know how to promote interest and investment in the sector. Buhari did not say he would appoint a knowledgeable minister like Ogbe! He only said he would appoint a knowledgeable minister. I conjecture Ogbe was one of those people that baba did not know, but ended up serving with him during his first term in office. I presume Audu was forced on baba by the APC!

Before he was given the heave-ho, Okoi Obono-Obla, ex-chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the recovery of Public Property (SPIP), bagged notoriety as a ”serial power abuser” and a ”carefree violator” of due process.

“This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half”- George Orwell (Animal Farm).

There is only one rational conclusion to draw after watching the shocking video of how three senior police officers of an elite anti-kidnapping squad were brutally executed last week in Taraba State: The soldiers involved in the killing could only have been acting in promotion of some sinister agenda rather than in defence of the national interest. The clear give-away in the video was the question, ‘Where is their service pistol?’ asked by one of the shooters, an indication that they knew their victims were officers of the law. That a most wanted criminal suspect was set free in the process further confirms the motive of the callous act that points to a clear link between officialdom and organised crime in our country.

I had the great misfortune of being one of thousands trapped on the Abuja-Kaduna highway last week Friday, 9th August for many, many hours. Our family’s version of the ordeal lasted for thirteen hours, from 2pm when we left Abuja until 3am when we crawled into Kaduna. Many others who had left either Kaduna or Abuja earlier were worse off because they lasted longer in the frustrations and chaos many said they had never seen the type of. Many vehicles broke down on possibly the worst highway to break down in Nigeria. For many, getting to Kaduna or Abuja was only one leg of a journey they were undertaking. They were on their to celebrate Eid, many with rams, chicken and traditional expectations of festive days ahead in towns and villages beyond these cities. They still had a long   way to go beyond these cities, so they had to make difficult decisions on whether to sleep in vehicles in Kaduna or Abuja, or proceed on perilous journeys to ultimate destinations.