Something happened on the way to heaven

Today is October 1st so I guess its time to take stock of Nigeria’s 51 years and see where we are. The title is taken from a Phil Collins song and came to mind as I attended a book launch under the auspices of the Royal Africa Society at UCL for a book entitled ‘It happened on the way to war’ by ex US Marine Officer Rye Barcott, but more on that later. I guess we all know Nigeria is not working. I guess we all know things seem to be taking a strange turn to the worse. What none of us seem to know are the whys and the wherefores. In this post I’m going to try and put across what I think are the reasons for Nigeria’s current state, its current violent travails and the most Nigeria is essentially a gangster state with a gangster economy. It is run by gangsters for gangsters. This is true from its foundation in 1914 by Lord Lugard to its current existence under President Goodluck Jonathon. The only difference I can see is that a more organised and professional gangsters were supplanted by a more amateurish and rapacious bunch. The gangsters of pre 1960 had a clear unambiguous objective of producing and extracting wealth for themselves and the mother country, in order to do that they needed a basis of administration and arbitration, they needed a transport infrastructure, they needed a police and military presence to enforce the system of administration and arbitration. They needed a small educated workforce to operate the lower echelons of the administration. All of these they set out efficiently and with this unified common purpose in mind. In order for the pre 1960 set of gangsters to justify their existence they ensured these rudiments of order worked and that the system was seen to work. This made sense in that they could not fulfil their objectives without co-opting the native populace, both in mind and in deed. It is instructive that the Royal West African Frontier Force that campaigned so ably as part of the British 14th Army consisted in the main of 2 Nigerian dominated divisions and that every single African was a volunteer fighting for a ‘King Joji’ they had never seen, had no comprehension of and who was barely aware of their existence. Yet the same government of King Joji extracted tin from Jos using save labour and taxed the colonies in extremis to fund its war effort. Now I mention these as an illustration of how an entity formed and maintained solely for the purpose of extracting its wealth can run and function efficiently with the captive constituents not just working for the entity but voluntarily putting themselves in harms way to protect that entities interests even when the outcomes are in no way beneficial or even relevant to them. Post independence another set of gangsters took over. As the years progressed the gangsters threw off all pretence of governance for the wholesale extraction and looting of wealth until we got to nadir of Abacha, where kleptocracy coupled with out and out brutality sunk the nation to the lowest levels of gangster rapacity. So what has all of this led to? Its taken us to our current ‘democratic’ disposition with the highest paid lawmakers in the world with the least legislative activity, no oversight activities, a supine opposition and one party states all passing supplications up the chain. In a situation where winner literally takes all, the systems and structures of power and more importantly power seeking have become so warped that the inevitable has happened and the crocodile has begun to eat its own tail. In the Delta what evolved to become MEND through the various cultist groups were a direct off shoot of the gangs formed for rigging by the south south gangster governors like Odili, Alameishia etc. These gangs after having been cut loose turned on their former masters and eventually led to the MEND phenomenon, which led to kidnapping for political reasons which has spread now to kidnapping for pecuniary reasons. In the North the chickens of the vast culture and climate of patronage and poverty built up by gangsters of the North have finally come home to roost. By destroying their own power and finance base of agriculture, either by omission or commission the Northern gangsters created a new phenomenon of al Majiris or uneducated, unskilled men, sent to ‘learn the Koran’ with uneducated unskilled and unregulated teachers. All these boys ever seemed to do was beg for food and money and would reach their teenage years with no discernible skill, however they were useful for rigging elections or periodic pogroms as and when needed. The organisation colloquially known as Boko Haram again is a manifestation of a group that was set up for political purposes, to promote the candidacy of certain people who in true Nigerian gangster politician fashion promptly abandoned them upon gaining power. Boko Haram was attacked and crushed in a campaign of completely disproportionate force with mass extra judicial executions, most of which were televised, again a manifestation of a government or system of government that not only doesn’t govern, no longer even pretends to govern. It is instructive that there is no discernible pattern or consistency to the attacks in Northern Nigeria, some have been overt political assassinations or attacks on symbols of the state others have been terror attacks against churches and beer parlours. To my mind there is a clear distinction between the actions of Boko Haram and what I would call the actions of opportunistic elements seeking to hide under that cloak to create conditions whereby they will take back what they consider to be rightfully theirs, i.e. political control of the entity called Nigeria. In essence the phenomenon of urban terror is a civil war within the gangster cabal. Not even North vs South or Christian vs Muslim but faction vs faction. With innocent church goers, villagers, herdsmen, office workers, bar men and women and ordinary citizens as the expendable cannon fodder. There seems to be no logical political end to any of the insecurities and criminalities that exist in Nigeria but there are commercial ends. Just as refineries are run down so as to favour oil importers, fuel subsidies benefit fuel lifters, congested ports benefit corrupt port officials, Niger Delta insurgency benefits oil bunkerers, power outages favour generator importers and importers of basic goods that used to be manufactured in Nigeria, a purported Islamic insurrection favours those who will go whispering to western diplomats (an alarming trend illustrated by Wikileaks) that they are the only ones who can control ‘the boys’, those who seek to make the country ungovernable, those who wish to precipitate revenge attacks so as to perpetuate their us and them narrative. What is even more incredulous is that the various gangster elements who have provided nothing for their alleged constituents except destroying their industrial and agricultural base should claim to be speaking for them and fighting for them. With the experience of the last election in mind where these elites were attacked by mobs they seek as ever to divert attention and turn the contest into a them and us contest, we the faithful against them the infidel, the productive against the parasites. The book launch mentioned earlier involved the life experiences of a young US Marine officer who prior to getting commissioned visited Kibera slum in Kenya and ended up setting up an NGO called Caroline for Kibera, he eventually deployed as. On his way to war he attempted to bring peace to the various tribal groups occupying a slum the size of Hyde Park. He ended up in Military Intelligence serving in Fallujah. Of the several key things that he mentioned one was the need for participatory solutions to the developing world’s problems and how early intervention tended to be require less resources than post conflict interventions. These are common sense truisms but in the case of Nigeria they are in fact our only keys to survival. It is impossible for a system by gangsters for gangsters to survive intact much longer. Something somewhere will have to give and the unfortunate thing is that the ‘give’ will be along the path of least resistance, i.e. tribal or sectarian lines. It will be bloody, brutal and inconclusive. No one can say what Nigeria will look like at 52, it has been said the GEJ is an intellectual who actually wishes to hear contrary arguments and analyse the situation, as good as that is, analysis without decision and action is a navel gazing luxury we can ill afford Nigeria needs its entire people to have an insight into the problem and the solution, and the solution is an early intervention to attend to the root causes of our problems, which essentially begin and end with corruption. None of the problems in Nigeria from power to petroleum to industry are difficult or particularly expensive but as long as there are people profiting from the misery they will be impossible. We the people must start to use the tools of democracy contacting our Representatives and Senators to ask the relevant questions, to query and show our disapproval using social media and the traditional media. For those in the diaspora to share information about corrupt officials and politicians and lobby foreign governments and their agencies. These interventions are no cost and pre emptive and do not bear the alternative. This is to the benefit of the gangsters as well as their victims, the lessons of Gbagbo, Assad and Ghaddafi should not be lost on them, but more importantly the lessons of Pablo Escobar. Pablo Escobar tried to avoid justice in Colombia by a campaign of urban terrorism and assassination. He ended up dead in the Medellin jungle. 51 years ago Nigeria was ahead of its peers now we lag behind Ghana and Gambia. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so possibly all the bad intentions that litter Nigeria’s history from conception to present portend something.

419 Reasons to Like Nigeria

For too long, Nigeria and Nigerians have been readily associated with the online scams, financial crime and impersonation - termed ‘419’. However, beyond the unfortunate stereotyping, there are several positive characteristics and cogent intriguing traits of the country, Nigeria and its people, some of which are highlighted below as part of the ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ campaign which enlisted 100 volunteers and bloggers to share reasons why they like Nigeria. These reasons echo the voices of Nigerians, with resonating similar themes. The campaign is being facilitated in partnership with ‘The 419Positive Project’.
The full list of ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ is available here (www.419Positive.org)
The list of contributors to ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ is available here
If you would like to say something positive about Nigerians and Nigeria, please do so here.

NIGERIA - THE LAND OF POTENTIAL AND OPPORTUNITY
 I like Nigeria because it is a land of endless opportunities and possibilities. Nigeria is one country I believe the world is yet to experience it true potentials. I believe Nigerians are sharp, brilliant and accommodating people. Giving the right enabling environment the world will marvel at what Nigeria will become.
 Nigeria is the most populous black nation - and a buying one at that. From a capitalist point of view, this makes for a great investment opportunities.
 The fact that Nigeria currently lags behind so much - in infrastructure and developmental terms - hints at the size of the potential for innovation and transformation, and at the huge number of vacancies that exist for 'transformers'. What I think this means is that the world will be hearing a lot about Nigeria and high-achieving Nigerians (in the public and private sectors) in the near future.

NIGERIA - THE COUNTRY
 The Nigerian Green and White flag is a notable national symbol. The green color symbolises agriculture, seeing that the country is endowed with masses of arable land, while the white colour signifies unity and peace. Other national symbols include the Nigerian Coat of Arms, which depicts an eagle on a black shield, tri-sected by two wavy silver bands, and supported on either side by two chargers. The national motto underlies the coat-of -arms: "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress." Her national symbols convey great meaning to its people.
 The Nigerian accent is currently ranked by CNN Global Experiences as the 5th sexiest accent in the world.
 Nigeria is home to Nollywood, one of the world's biggest film industries.

NIGERIA - THE CULTURE, THE FOOD, THE WAY OF LIFE
 Something great to like about Nigeria is our cultural diversity. A strong affinity exists, despite our differences. Learning about other ethnic cultures in my country really helped me personally relate to other cultures when abroad.
 I think the food is tastier in Nigeria than that I have found in other countries.
 Nigerians live a communal life style. The extended family is part of the immediate family in a Nigerian home.

NIGERIA - THE MUSIC, THE MOVIES, THE DANCE, THE ART
 Nigeria has produced many world class musicians. A notable mention in this regard is Fela Anikulapo Kuti. A Broadway show titled ‘FELA!’ was produced in 2009 depicting the life and times of the Afrobeat musician.
 Nigeria’s movie industry, Nollywood, is reputedly the 3rd largest film industry after Hollywood and Bollywood, and has grown gradually into a $250 million industry in more than 10 years.
 Nigerian indigenous musical instruments are unique, soulful and rhythmic. They comprise the popular Talking Drum, producing proverbial and storytelling sounds, the Shaker (shekere), the Udu drum, the Lute, the leg and arm Rattle, the Omele, the Ogene (Gong originating in Eastern Nigeria), the Ekwe drum and the Kakaki (A 4m metal trumpet popular in Northern Nigeria). Many of these instruments have been incorporated in South American music over the years

NIGERIA - GEOGRAPHY and NATURAL RESOURCES
 Nigeria is a nation blessed with rich human and natural resources. As the 8th largest exporter of Oil in the world, with the 10th largest proven reserves, our blessings cannot be overemphasised. No earthquakes, no tsunamis, no droughts, an evergreen land. The rest of the world should live here.
 The beauty of the Nigerian state cannot but leave one in awe. Blessed with captivating physical features and abundant wild life. From the rolling hills to the vast plains in the North Central Nigeria and the forests in the South, the beautiful scenery of the country is more than breathtaking and with the wildlife spread all over the country; Nigeria is surely a beauty to behold and a tourist's delight all year round.
 Nigeria is blessed with tremendous agricultural resources. Cotton in the North, Cocoa & Oil palm in the south amongst many others. The flag is green for a reason

NIGERIA - WEST AFRICA, AFRICA and THE WORLD
 Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa. Approximately 1 out of every 2 West Africans, 1 out of every 4 Africans, and 1 out of every 5 persons of African origin is a Nigerian.
 Nigeria is the largest contributor of troops to the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and by extension, is the largest force for peace and stability in West Africa.
 A Nigerian will stand out anywhere you find him/her, from Libya to London, Tokyo to Timbuktu. Well known examples include Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets, USA), Olumide Oyedeji (Seattle Sonics), Tunde Baiyewu (Lighthouse Family), Sunday Adelaja (Ukraine), Chris Aire (US), etc.

NIGERIA - INDUSTRIOUS, INNOVATIVE and ENTERPRISING, with ACHIEVEMENTS
 Nigerians are intelligent, brilliant minds who have proven their mettle in various fields - Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the much coveted Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. Chinua Achebe’s classic novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ was ranked as number 14 in a list of top 100 books in the world by Newsdesk in 2009. Others include Cyprian Ekwensi, Mabel Segun, Chimamanda Adichie and Helon Habila whose literary works have won both international and local awards at various times.
 We have budding fashion designers. Yes! It's a line every Bunmi, Amaka and Amina has decided to tow but to disregard the effort and originality of our Fashion Designers would be disrespectful. Tiffany Amber, Lanre Da Silva and Deola Sagoe are building world renowned brands, not to mention the legacy developed by the likes of Abba Folawiyo, Maureen Onigbanjo, Remi Lagos and Zizzi Cardow.
 Nigerians have excelled in the fields of economics and finance, managing well established global bodies. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the current Minister of Finance, was until recently a Managing Director at The World Bank. Obiageli Ezekwisili is currently the Vice President for Africa at The World Bank. Mr Adebayo Ogunlesi is a first class graduate of Oxford, and Managing Partner of Global infrastructure Partner (GIP), a concessionaire of London’s Gatwick International Airport.
 We take technology and expand it in ways those who created it could not have imagined. For instance, take the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) which allows you to send broadcast messages to all addresses on your contacts list; Nigerians recently found a unique way of advertising the different businesses they do. Someone started a message highlighting the fact that many people in Nigeria are entrepreneurs or provide a service and included his BB PIN in the message and sent to all his contacts with the charge that they state the service they provide, include their PIN and send on to all their contacts too. This seemingly small campaign has gone “viral” with whole lists of entrepreneurs and their BB PINs being passed from phone to phone. This is a clear sign of the ingenuity of Nigerians!

NIGERIA – GREAT PEOPLE
 Nigeria is the 7th most populous nation in the world (over 160 million) and most populous in Africa - a gold mine of energetic, determined and talented people in each and every field. From Lagos to Aba to Kano, the Nigerian business spirit and desire to succeed is visible. It requires just proper harnessing of these human resources before Nigeria becomes the super power she was meant to be.
 Nigerians are passionate, friendly, welcoming, hospitable, and well cultured people. The average Nigerian reflects a combination of vivacity, intelligence, energy, talent, and resolution.
 We are a nation of people that can hardly hide their excitement at seeing family and friends. Some misconstrue this thinking we are loud but let's just say we are EXPRESSIVE! If you see us on the streets of New York making a big ruckus and hugging? No sweat. We are just happy to see each other.

NIGERIA – THE RESILIENT SPIRIT
 The Giant of Africa: Not ignoring the current challenges, eventually, when we get our acts right, we will reign supreme on the global scene. We have the potential and as is much touted by the Warri people - "Naija no dey carry last"
 The 'survivor-mentality' hard-wired into the DNA of Nigeria's people. The fact that against all the odds (and there are many of them), Nigerians continue to live, hustle and seek to triumph. It is not by mistake that Nigeria is regarded as one of the "happiest" countries in the world, despite its challenging economic and social conditions.
 We are hardy. The average Nigerian does business under circumstances that are unimaginable to people from other parts. In a place where there is no power, no credit, and scant regulation, people do business and do very well for themselves too. If you can make it in Nigeria, you can make it anywhere in the world.

NIGERIA – TOURISM and SPORTS
 Nigeria is an amazing tourist haven and is home to the Obudu Cattle Ranch, located in Calabar. It is only 45 miles from the Cameroon border. The Obudu Plateau is spread over 40 sq. miles and is 5,200 feet above sea level. The Obudu resort features a Gorilla Camp where tourists may observe gorillas in their natural habitat.
 Nigeria has two UNESCO world heritage sites, the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa. UNESCO world heritage sites are places designated as being of cultural significance.
 Nigeria has produced great footballers like Teslim “Thunder” Balogun (the first Nigerian to play for an English Club – QPR), Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal, Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini (who scored Nigeria’s first ever goal at the World Cup), Nwankwo Kanu, Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha, John Mikel Obi, Osaze Odemwingie, to mention but a few.
 Nigeria has excelled in athletics over the years, still holding continental records in the 100m men and women, 4x100m men and women, 400m men and women, among others. Over 100 skilled Nigerian professional footballers played in First Division leagues in different countries all over Europe in the 2010/2011 season, 9 in England; 8 each in Finland, Norway; 10 in Ukraine and 7 in Sweden.



NIGERIA – UNITY in DIVERSITY
 Nigerians, despite our diversity are a united people who always strive to help one another. With 774 local government areas, multi religious and ethnic affiliations, 36 States, and population of over 160 million, we still stand undeterred to move forward together.
 Even outside the country, Nigerians remain united. This gives a quiet assurance somewhat that you can get on a plane and go to any country of the world and find a Nigerian there who will not only make you feel welcome but will go out of their way to be of really good help. I have experienced this several times on my travels and each time it amazes me how all I need to be is a Nigerian, not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa and once I run into another Nigerian, I will immediately feel at home.
 Our greatest strength lies in our diversity.



The 419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ Campaign is in partnership with ‘The 419Positive Proj ect. http://http://www.419positive.org/419-reasons-to-like-nigeria-complete-list/

Think Africa-Documentary

African Peoples Advocacy (APA) is seeking business people and philanthropists willing to participate in a documentary, which is filming APA staff’s attempts to convince business people and philanthropists to back their Think Africa project.
Think Africa is a project to transform APA into a think tank promoting ideas developed by African individuals, and ideas that have worked on the ground in Africa.
The number of participants is limited. So do get in touch as soon as possible if you would like to:

 Participate in the “Dragon’s Den” with an African twist
 Benefit from extensive media coverage all over the world
 Be granted exclusive access to VIP guests and investors

To express your interest and obtain more information, contact Ms Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell on (+44) (0) 1634 5736 19 or (+44) (0) 7717 0517 42; e-mail sbradwell@apadvocacy.org ; postal address 54 Belmont Road, Gillingham Kent, ME7 5JF, UK.
About African Peoples Advocacy (APA): APA was created in the UK in 2008 to provide a platform for the engagement and education of African communities worldwide. Charity registration no: 1131139. More information: www.apadvocacy.org

The Niger Delta Amnesty: Sense and succesibilities

Another day another Nigerian functionary at Chatham House, in the past 3 months we have had Sanusi Lamido, Bukola Saraki, Buhari/ Bakare/ El Rufai and on 14th July it was the turn of Hon. Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Amnesty Committee. The event was oversubscribed according to Chatham House however there were sufficient empty seats for your reporter to sneak in despite having been initially turned away.
The event chaired by Bronwen Manby of the Open Society Foundation started a little bit late (or on time by Nigerian standards) due to a previous meeting Mr Kuku held with the press and oil and gas industry executives. Notwithstanding this delay he demonstrated an refreshing candour and strong grasp of the issues and statistics. Many interesting facts about the amnesty programme were mentioned which had troubled a lay man such as myself, namely that 22,192 militants respondents to the amnesty proclamation of whom 20,192 (including 882 women) registered and are currently going through the rehabilitation and reintegration program. According to Hon Kuku, 2009 weapons, 295, 000 rounds of ammunition and 18 gunboats were handed in and publicly destroyed on 25th May 2011 in Enugu.
Hon Kuku then elaborated on the benefits the amnesty had brought to Nigeria such as an increase in oil production, with production currently the highest on average since December 2007.
Of the ex militants he stated that 969 were in training in the USA, South Africa, Poland, Russia, Ghana, Malaysia to name a few places and that the oil and gas industry had volunteered to train 3000 ex militants with numbers from the second phase looking to rise to 26,358 persons.
He then expanded on the challenges that the programme faced, such as the lack of sustainability, and the need for funds from development and industry partners to set up training centres of excellence in the Niger Delta. He made the rather curious claim that the DDR programme in the Niger Delta was the most successful in the world as it had successfully completed all the stages from disarmament, demobilisation to rehabilitation and eventually reintegration. It remains to be seen.
He completed his presentation by decrying the United Kingdom’s failure to provide visas to the ex militants to attend training in the UK. He observed that the UK is a key ally and as the ex colonial power had a special place in the Nigerian psyche and it would be easier to administer the ex militants here than in the other far flung places mentioned.
After this presentation which significantly over ran its allotted time frame we came to the question and answer session. The first tranche of questions touched on Boko Haram and comparisons t o the Niger Delta issue. His response to this question was quite long but basically boiled down to the assertion that the two were fundamentally different and that an amnesty was not the answer to the Boko Haram issue and that comparisons were flawed as the Niger Delta activists have been agitating since pre independence having gone from dialogue to protest to violence.
Your reporter then asked how the programme could be considered sustainable if it only dealt with those who had taken up arms leaving the over 2 million peaceful youths uncatered for. The response was again quite frank in that he was limited by law to only deal with those who registered for the amnesty thus it was the responsibility of the Local and State Governments to do their jobs properly and address the underlying issues of under development and poor government. He made the curious statement that ‘The country is now lawful’ thus he could not go beyond his remit. The concept of a lawful Nigeria now or at any other time drew a lot of derisive guffaws from the audience.
Another member of the audience questioned the destruction of Ayakoromo, which he agreed was unnecessary, however he said the blame was to be shared between the Army and John Togo (whose claims of death he seemed to consider to be gross exaggerations!) had accepted amnesty and then gone back to the creeks to fight again. He stated that Jonathon had been angry (the phrase used was ‘Got Presidential’) and insisted the reconstruction of Ayakoromo would be by the Army from Army funds. Other questions touched on gas flaring (it was the Governments responsibility to enforce the laws), why the training seemed focussed on oil and gas (apparently this wasn’t the case, there was a contingent training in Israel who would return to take up a Rivers State government scheme) and whether processes and structures were in place to ensure the amnesty continues if he is removed.
The presentation was impressive in terms of Mr Kuku’s grasp of the fundamentals of the issues, knowledge of facts but more importantly his candour in stating the problems of the Niger Delta. Although the obligatory statements about the oil and gas industry were present most of the blame and venom was reserved for the lack of development that had been perpetrated by governments state and local in the Niger Delta.
While Mr kuku seems to be a straight shooter who has the confidence of the people one must question how much one straight shooter can do in a system as corrupt and rotten as Nigeria’s. The problems of the Niger Delta are not particularly complex, they boil down to greed, environmental degradation, corruption and under development. None of these problems are hard to fix but all require the political will to do so and the political interest to defeat the corrupt vested interests. When the President surrounds himself with such people as Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who along with the Odili’s, Ibori’s and co are the root cause of the militancy and the Anenihs and co who are directly responsible for the under development one wonders how exactly the political will or capital can be generated. In the same vein Mr Kuku lauds the appointment of Diezani Alison-Madueke as Minister of Petroleum and states the 7th NASS is capable of doing a good job, however neither the NASS or the Honourable Minister of Petroleum have shown any level of competence or capability at their jobs.
Throughout the presentation there were outbursts of clapping from the audience which had the slightly disconcerting effect of turning the event into a political rally which was reinforced by Mr Kuku constantly talking about the Presidents support, determination and electoral mandate etc. As has been said it is difficult to see how the President can bring a sustained peace to the Niger Delta when the primary architects of insecurity are his closest advisors and the key elements of legislation that should help resolve certain issues such as the PIB are in the hands of people of questionable integrity and competence such as Diezani Alison-Madueke.
While Mr Kuku appears to be a well liked man doing his best in his post, this presentation was interesting in what was said but also for what it implied. The 26,358 persons who managed to hold the country to ransom have been ‘rewarded’ with trips abroad and stipends, functionaries and ministers grow fat, bow and go in the senate, traverse the worlds and wax lyrical about the novel successes of the amnesty.
So if you are a young man or woman sitting in the scorched light of the gas flare next to your polluted creek, in your powerless, roadless, clinicless, schools, jobless state it doesn’t exactly take the brains of a Petroleum Minister to figure out what you need to do to get your slice of the pie.

NIGERIA EXPECTS

NIGERIA EXPECTS

Save Nigeria Group UK wishes to commend all Nigerians in particular the National Youth Service Corpers who did their duties and went and voted, counted, reported incidents, monitored and delivered one of Nigeria’s most credible elections of recent years. Whilst we recognise that the outcome of the Presidential election broadly reflects the wishes of the Nigerian people the irregular voting patterns in certain states where over 90% of the vote went to one candidate, as well as the prevalence of underage voters for a certain candidate in other states indicates that there are lessons to be learnt and appropriate actions taken to prevent this from happening again and make all future exercises a vast improvement upon this one.

We cannot however reflect upon this election without mentioning the completely unwarranted and heinous attacks upon innocent Nigerians merely on the basis of party affiliation, region, tribe or religion. This is a tragedy that stains our nation’s honour and endeavours. It is a pity that political leaders who hastened to condemn the conduct of the elections did not show the same level of haste to condemn the resultant violence. We are grateful it did not lead to a tit for tat vendetta in other parts of the country.

However it is the duty of the government to safeguard the citizens of this country and too often it has failed in this duty at the local, state and national level. The continuous nature of these ethnic crisis are due to the lack of vision, lack of probity and lack of justice exhibited by Nigerian leaders at all levels.
Not a single enquiry report from previous outrages has been published and acted upon, not a single ringleader or sponsor arrested or prosecuted.
It is thus ironic that these easily manipulated mobs have begun targeting the very elites that have ignored and misused them, maybe this time justice will be evident where before it was lacking.

It is imperative that all Nigerians stay focussed on the taking back our country from the criminals and looters of all parties, tribes and religions who have led us into this quagmire. When you got to the polls on Tuesday vote for individuals of good conscience and track records. Currently in the UK James Ibori a former governor will stand trial in London a mere 2 days after the people of his state vote for a governor on charges of stealing over £37 million whilst from Wikileaks we know he admitted to having over $3.4 billion.
Let our brothers in the North not forget Alhaji Yerima who other than introducing Sharia law had no impact on the daily life of the citizens of Zamfara state yet apparently has $100,000 to pay the dowry of a 14 year old foreign girl to be his wife.
Let our friends in Niger Delta not forget that the same Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who has metamorphed as the Presidents campaign advisor left them lingering in polluted, blighted lands while he stole from them to buy mansions at home and abroad
The point of these examples is to ask you to please vote with your conscience, take whatever bribe they offer you but vote for someone who will work hard for your benefit.

Look at the incumbents and see what they have done for you? Is it an International airport when there are no roads? Is it a stadium when there are no houses? Is it a conference centre or hotel when there are no hospitals?

We of SNG UK call upon the government of the President Good luck Jonathon to have the courage to break with the past and undertake the following
• Release the results of all previous boards of enquiry into ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria and act immediately on their recommendations
• Prosecute publicly and with immediate effect all those arrested for these crimes
• Identify and prosecute all the sponsors of these crimes
• Arrest and prosecute the Nigerian military and police officers responsible for extra judicial killings in Bauchi, the Niger Delta, Jos and other places with immediate effect
• Cooperate fully with all election petitions including those relating to campaign funding

And finally we enjoin all Nigerians to Analyse, Select and then Vote, do not let the labours of these fallen heroes to have been in vain.

Nigeria expects every person to do their duty

We give thanks for the lives of all the Youth Corpers who died for their country and pray their souls rest in perfect peace.