Boko Haram...What will Buhari do?

Photo Source: The Nation Online

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has been called every unprintable name that you can imagine. After the general elections last year, it seemed like there was nothing happening in government circles that was reminiscent of the "auto-drift" era of the last Yaradua days. The audacity of the Boko Haram to move from bombing banks and police posts to the UN building gave the group more worldwide coverage. Since then, "Boko Haram" has bombed churches, schools, police posts, media offices, etc. and up till now, it seems like the group has waxed stronger instead of being weakened. With the indictment of the PDP on Boko Haram by the National Security Adviser recently and not forgetting that the bombs are still going off, I asked myself a question: What will Buhari do about Boko Haram if he was President of Nigeria?

When Dame P. Jonathan came to town

Last week, the Nigerian media was awash with the discomfort experienced by Lagosians when Dam Jonathan, the first Lady came to town.
One problem with Nigerians, especially those with computers or smartphones that can connect to the internet is that we don't always get our facts right before commenting on issues.

Not taking anything away from the inconvenience that the visit caused a lot of people but blaming Jonathan's wife is like taking it too far.

Is Dame responsible for coordinating her own security or determining her own security protocols?
Can she even ask her security details for the security plans that have been put in place for her visit to Lagos? The answer is NO!

Let us blame the Nigerian Police Force in Lagos. The IG of Police recently directed that all road blocks in Nigeria be dismantled except if the President and his wife are exempt from that directive.
let us forget about the state government traffic agencies for now who claim they were not informed beforehand of the visit.
Also, let us not forget to blame the SSS and other federal agencies who are directly or indirectly responsible for the security of the First Lady.
Forget about Dame, she just happens to be the first lady.
It could be Bimbo Fashola tomorrow who will be the First Lady. What happens if we dont point fingers in the wrong direction now? We blame her and wait for the next in line to also grind another day to a halt...

God bless Nigeria!!!

Kofi in Syria

Photograph: AP
Kofi Annan is in Syria as a special envoy of the UN and the Arab league. What is worrisome is the attitude of the loose coalition of the friends of Syria and other high ranking officials of the U.S. and Western Europe.

It seems like they are just waiting for Kofi Annan to fail and have a "legitimate" (sic) reason to finish Bashar Al-Assad once and for all.

I really hope Kofi succeeds in brokering a peace deal in Syria and bring an end to the massacre of the Syrian people from government and opposition forces alike.

However, as a commentator on CNN pointed out 2 days ago, "Kofi Annan is the wrongest man for the wrongest job at the wrongest time."

Kofi is no doubt a fine diplomat with impressive credentials and a very good outing as the UN Secretary General. He is on record to have declared the US-led invasion of Iraq as illegal. However, as the head of the UN, he was not able to prevent a coalition of some countries not to invade Iraq.

Kofi also failed to resolve to a logical conclusion the Cyprus problem that has been going on for decades. Even though, he is credited with the last major plan that the South Cypriots rejected and was overwhelmingly voted for by Northern Cypriots, the Cyprus problem still persists and all there is to show for all his effort is the "Kofi Annan plan".

As I mentioned earlier, Kofi is a very fine diplomat and I really hope he can bring his influence to bear on the Syrian government and opposition forces to cease fire and rebuild their country.

Who do I think would do a better job in Syria? The ex-Nigerian President Obasanjo.

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Arthur Unegbe & Victor Banjo...Heroes or Villains?

It has been a while since I posted something of note on this blog. Recent happenings in the Nigerian polity have woken me from my slumber and got me thinking.

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (Rtd?) has recently been in the news and has ruffled not a few feathers in just a couple of days.
What could he possibly know that has kickstarted a smear campaign against him by people who were hitherto regarded as saints, untouchables and untaintables?

One thing is for sure, a man who has been locked up for 13 years has got nothing much to lose. Going by the number of weeks/months that recent VERY High profile cases in the country were dispensed with or paused indefinitely, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha has served and over-served the number of years He would have been sentenced taking into consideration that He might have been allowed to plea-bargain as in the norm these days.

Before Major Hamza Al-Mustapha is branded a Hero by teeming Nigerian cyber-activists, lets take a trip back memory lane and take a look at the role that two characters played that has earned them a place in Nigerian History. Were they Heroes or Villians?
The two characters are Lt. Col Arthur Unegbe and Lt. Col Victor Banjo.
So much has been written about them by so many people and I will not pretend to have a new insight on who they were or what they stood for. I'll just surmise what I know.

Lt. Col Arthur Unegbe
Lt. Col. Unegbe is remembered correctly or incorrectly as the Igboman that clogged the wheels of the first Nigerian coup, January 15, 1966.
Lt. Col. Unegbe was the Quartermaster-General of the Nigerian Army at Army Headquarters in Lagos and supposedly had the key to the armory which the coupists were keen to get into to secure weapon and ammunition. He was killed for resisting. Most historians have painted him a man that was averse to the coup and his killing during the coup has undermined the propaganda that the coup was by IGBO men in the Nigerian Millitary to entrench the interest of IGBOs in the Nigerian polity.
Max Siollun on dawodu.com has a different take on why Unegbe was killed. Please read http://www.dawodu.com/siollun1.htm

Lt. Col Victor Banjo
A few years ago at the Covenant University Library, I read "Breaking the silence" by Victor Banjo's elder sister who i believe did her best to portray her brother as an unfortunate victim of circumstances.
Lt. Col Victor Banjo was the first Nigerian Director of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps of the Nigerian Army. In those days, young educated men who enlisted in the Nigerian army quickly rose up the ranks and were in control of vital positions before they clocked 30.
Victor Banjo was killed on the orders of the Biafran authorities together with Lt. Col. Ifeajuna on September 22 1967, the man who conceptualised the Jan. 15, 1966 coup.
That is an irony for students of history to explore. How could Ifeajuna who planned an IGBO coup be executed by the Supreme Millitary Council of Biafra?
For more on Victor Banjo, please Read this piece by Reuben Abati http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/victor-banjos-gift-to-the-nation-18.html

As someone said, someone's hero is another's villain.

What is your take on Arthur Unegbe and Victor Banjo? Heroes or Villains?

Tillaman - Trying