05 April, 2011
05 February, 2011
Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War.
An Excerpt from Chapter 3, Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War by Raph Uwechue
In the current Nigerian situation what we have is a stale-mate-no definite agreement to live together but no agreement to separate. In such a case only a compromise solution is reasonable and realistic. We should not separate-since there is no agreement to do so-but we should not suffocate ourselves in too tight an embrace to cling together.
The important thing is that in the light of our past and present experiences, an adjustment should be made such that can allow the best in different communities to come out while keeping the worst in adequate check.
The Nigerian Federal Constitution as it stood at the opening of 1966-that is before the introduction of the current army rule-could be compared in geometrical terms to a rhombus.
Taken in its totality, this particular rectangle has everything that is required to make a square, namely four equal sides and a total angular sum of 360 degrees. Yet it cannot stand squarely on any plane simply because the angles are unevenly distributed.
In Nigeria we have nothing to add or subtract in order to make our country firm and stable. The only treatment required is the mere adjustment of the angles of our constitutional rhombus to make them right angles and so produce a structure that can stand squarely on any given national base.
I do not believe that this task is in any way beyond our capabilities.
In view of the reality and peculiar awkwardness of our situation, the time has come for us to try the same trick as Christopher Columbus did some five centuries ago. He made an egg stand on one of its ends, simply by flattening and thus broadening its base.
We can make Nigeria stand, and all our people secure and happy by broadening the base upon which our union is founded. Until our various peoples have had enough time to learn more about one another and discover and appreciate the hidden beauty and values locked up in the multifarious habits and cultures of our numerous ethnic groups, we have no realistic choice open to us other than that of lengthening-and thus relaxing the cracking tension on it-the cord that holds us together.
Raph Uwechue. (1971). Secession and the problem of minorities. In: Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War. New York: Africana pub. Corp. pg 66 - 67
In the current Nigerian situation what we have is a stale-mate-no definite agreement to live together but no agreement to separate. In such a case only a compromise solution is reasonable and realistic. We should not separate-since there is no agreement to do so-but we should not suffocate ourselves in too tight an embrace to cling together.
The important thing is that in the light of our past and present experiences, an adjustment should be made such that can allow the best in different communities to come out while keeping the worst in adequate check.
The Nigerian Federal Constitution as it stood at the opening of 1966-that is before the introduction of the current army rule-could be compared in geometrical terms to a rhombus.
Taken in its totality, this particular rectangle has everything that is required to make a square, namely four equal sides and a total angular sum of 360 degrees. Yet it cannot stand squarely on any plane simply because the angles are unevenly distributed.
In Nigeria we have nothing to add or subtract in order to make our country firm and stable. The only treatment required is the mere adjustment of the angles of our constitutional rhombus to make them right angles and so produce a structure that can stand squarely on any given national base.
I do not believe that this task is in any way beyond our capabilities.
In view of the reality and peculiar awkwardness of our situation, the time has come for us to try the same trick as Christopher Columbus did some five centuries ago. He made an egg stand on one of its ends, simply by flattening and thus broadening its base.
We can make Nigeria stand, and all our people secure and happy by broadening the base upon which our union is founded. Until our various peoples have had enough time to learn more about one another and discover and appreciate the hidden beauty and values locked up in the multifarious habits and cultures of our numerous ethnic groups, we have no realistic choice open to us other than that of lengthening-and thus relaxing the cracking tension on it-the cord that holds us together.
Raph Uwechue. (1971). Secession and the problem of minorities. In: Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War. New York: Africana pub. Corp. pg 66 - 67
01 February, 2011
21 January, 2011
30 December, 2010
God Abeg o...
The Carnage in Jos, Nigeria.
From time to time, we hear of people dying and we grieve especially if it was someone we knew who had lived a good life.
All over Nigeria, I am yet to see a group of people who do not grieve at the passing of a loved one. People who die are buried amid tears and soon afterwards, there is a feast and merry-making for everybody.
The Jos sectarian crisis has been played out by the International Media organisations to be a fallout between Christian and Muslim groups in the state.
They have no problem referring to Nigeria as the Muslim North and the Christian South. What can be farther from the truth??
People who just got sucked into the fight are as well propagating the lie that the crisis is between the Christians and the Muslims.
While I do not dispute that both groups are attacking and carrying out reprisal attacks on each other, great care should be made to diffuse the current crisis and get to the root of the problem in Jos.
The latest killings are condemnable, abominable and people who carried out the carnage should be made to die in a burning pit.
Some have dubbed the crisis political while a supposed Islamic group has taken responsibilty for the latest wave of killings.
Whatever the reasons adduced by any group, a fact of life remains that HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
The media will not be awash with the most gory pictures understandably and some social sites that published uncensored pictures have taken them down. Pictures of people dying and being buried in a vague manner is what you will see in the local and international media.
What I saw happened in Jos is beyond words. Human beings roasted like Sallah rams with their intestines out in the open well done. God Abeg o...
I am out of words to describe the details of what I saw.
God should not be a pretext to genocide. Religious homogeneity does not in anyway guarantee the peace and stability of a society.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is constitutionally a secular society and any attempts by any social, cultural, political or religious group to advance its interests in any way detrimental to the country should be dealt with appropriately in accordance with the rule of Law.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria as long as we the People decide to live amicably and eschew acts that questions our collective sanity.
From time to time, we hear of people dying and we grieve especially if it was someone we knew who had lived a good life.
All over Nigeria, I am yet to see a group of people who do not grieve at the passing of a loved one. People who die are buried amid tears and soon afterwards, there is a feast and merry-making for everybody.
The Jos sectarian crisis has been played out by the International Media organisations to be a fallout between Christian and Muslim groups in the state.
They have no problem referring to Nigeria as the Muslim North and the Christian South. What can be farther from the truth??
People who just got sucked into the fight are as well propagating the lie that the crisis is between the Christians and the Muslims.
While I do not dispute that both groups are attacking and carrying out reprisal attacks on each other, great care should be made to diffuse the current crisis and get to the root of the problem in Jos.
The latest killings are condemnable, abominable and people who carried out the carnage should be made to die in a burning pit.
Some have dubbed the crisis political while a supposed Islamic group has taken responsibilty for the latest wave of killings.
Whatever the reasons adduced by any group, a fact of life remains that HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
The media will not be awash with the most gory pictures understandably and some social sites that published uncensored pictures have taken them down. Pictures of people dying and being buried in a vague manner is what you will see in the local and international media.
What I saw happened in Jos is beyond words. Human beings roasted like Sallah rams with their intestines out in the open well done. God Abeg o...
I am out of words to describe the details of what I saw.
God should not be a pretext to genocide. Religious homogeneity does not in anyway guarantee the peace and stability of a society.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is constitutionally a secular society and any attempts by any social, cultural, political or religious group to advance its interests in any way detrimental to the country should be dealt with appropriately in accordance with the rule of Law.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria as long as we the People decide to live amicably and eschew acts that questions our collective sanity.
21 December, 2010
Silent Night by Tosin Martins
Xmas is here and this song is banging si mi leti...Ability pass ability...QED
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