By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Nigeria is a sick country, very sick. What is worse, Nigerians have increasingly become unhinged. Many of the things happening in the country right now are bizarre and it takes only an unhinged population to condone the maladies.

You are wrong if you think I am talking about the importation of adulterated fuel which has grounded, almost, the entire country and destroyed many vehicles. In any other country other than Nigeria where there are consequences for actions of state officials, heads would have rolled by now.

The petrol supply chain was disrupted last week when the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), otherwise known as The Authority, announced that it discovered methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specifications in imported petroleum products.-

Even as the queues get longer at the petrol stations, the noise has lessened and we have all gone back to our pastime – grumbling.

Nothing will happen because the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC), the regulator and sole importer of petrol in Nigeria, which is busy pointing fingers of blame at four marketers, including its own Duke Oil, is the major culprit.

And guess what? The NNPC still remains a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and President Muhammadu Buhari is the de facto petroleum minister, a position he has occupied since May 29, 2015.

So, if anyone should be held liable for the rot in the petroleum industry, that person should be the minister. But in the midst of all the crisis, the Minister of Petroleum Resources jetted out on Tuesday to “join European and other African leaders as well as heads of multilateral organisations at the 6th European Union-African Union Summit in Brussels, Belgium.”

A shame. I wonder what other world leaders will be thinking of him. A petroleum minister that superintends over the importation of adulterated fuel into his own country is an unmitigated disaster. But who cares? In reality, nothing shocks an unhinged mind.- Advertisement –

Sick country, unhinged population!

As I write, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on a one-month warning strike and Nigerian students that lost a full academic year in 2020 are back home.

In any sane country, the Minister of Education would have tendered his letter of resignation by now. I can say without equivocation that none of those European leaders with Buhari in Belgium would dare step out of his country if the entire university system is grounded to a halt as ours is right now.

But who cares? What does it matter if the students are kept at home for another one year?

It can only happen in a sick country with an unhinged population.

When I talk about our society being sick, I don’t have in mind the debacle of the Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, a man who only yesterday was celebrated as Nigeria’s super cop and had rapid promotion to show for the acclaim from fawning publics.

We now know the truth. Abba Kyari, Nigeria’s super cop is a super fraud, a vermin in police uniform.

I am not talking about Ibrahim Magu, former acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who was removed from his high perch by the presidency based on allegations of corruption levelled against him by no less a person than the all-mighty Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Magu, who served as acting chairman of the EFCC from 2015 to 2020, was rejected twice by the Senate. Yet, Buhari had no replacement for him.

Then, just like in Kyari’s case, one day in July 2020, drama ensued in Abuja. He was arrested, detained and finally hauled before a judicial panel of inquiry led by a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, which converted Aso Rock into an emergency courtroom.

The former EFCC boss was probed for over three months and eventually suspended for allegedly mismanaging EFCC funds.

Till date, no Nigerian, except those in the hallowed chambers of Aso Rock, knows what the issues in the macabre dance that was the Magu drama were. The panel made several recommendations but the report was never made public.

Instead, Buhari in February 2021 named Abdulrasheed Bawa as the new EFCC chairman. On Tuesday, September 14, 2021, the Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed that Magu, was still on the Federal Government’s payroll as a police officer despite his suspension by Buhari, the anti-corruption czar.

So, what was the drama all about? Nobody knows and nobody cares to know.

Sick country, unhinged citizenry!

I am not talking about the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, who was caught on camera assaulting Mr. Clement Sargwak, a security guard at the popular Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja, following a squabble that ensued between them over a parking space on March 29, 2021.

In the five-minute video footage that went viral, the tribunal chairman was seen slapping and kicking the 22-year-old security guard, an employee of Jul Reliable Guards Services Limited.

What was Sargwak’s crime? Nothing other than having the effrontery to direct the almighty CCT chairman where to park his car on the premises of the mall.

Till date, nothing has happened. No justice for the man who was assaulted because Danladi Umar filed a suit in court to stop the Senate from conducting an investigative hearing on the case.

Sick country!

I am not talking about the case of the Taraba kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, who was arrested by the police in Taraba on August 6, 2019. Just like Kyari, who was aiding and abetting hardened criminals, soldiers of the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Takum, Taraba State, waylaid the policemen bringing Wadume back to Jalingo, killing three of them and one civilian in cold blood.

The then Police spokesman, CP Frank Mba, in a statement on August 7, 2019, narrated what happened thus: “The policemen came under sudden attack and serious shooting by soldiers of the Nigerian Army, along Ibi – Jalingo Road, Taraba State.

“Three policemen (comprising one Inspector and two Sergeants) and one civilian died as a result of gunshot injuries sustained in the attack while others sustained serious gunshot wounds. The soldiers thereafter released the handcuffed suspect, Alhaji Hamisu, who is now on the run.”

When Wadume was rearrested in Kano and brought to the Police Headquarters in Abuja, he indicted the Nigerian Army.

“I am Hamisu Bala aka Wadume, police came to Ibi and arrested me,” Wadume said in a confessional video. “On our way, soldiers followed us and opened fire on them. As a result some policemen were killed. Soldiers took me to their headquarters and removed the cuffs. I escaped and was in hiding until they rearrested me.”

Who still remembers the Wadume saga? Where is he now? Still on trial? Convicted? Or set free for lack of evidence since those that arrested him were summarily executed? What happened to Captain Tijjani Balarabe, the officer who led the soldiers attached to 93 battalion to free Wadume on August 6, 2019?

Again, Malami took over the case from the police but the soldiers were not brought to the court for trial. The Attorney-General of the Federation has his fingers in all the duplicitous pies in the land.

On July 1, 2020, Malami denied allegations that Captain Balarabe and his partners-in-crime were being shielded by the powers-that-be.

His justification? The soldiers had not been taken to a civil court because they were still being court-martialled in line with the rules of the military.

He knows Nigerians will forget. And we have forgotten. For all anyone cares, Captain Tijjani Balarabe may well be the commander of the barracks near you waiting for the next victim.

Sick country!

I am not even talking about Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old pupil who was kidnapped and gruesomely murdered by her school proprietor in Kano, Abdulmalik Tanko.

Nor am I talking about the 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Sylvester Oromoni, who was allegedly bullied and then tortured to death by his fellow students because he refused to join them in their cult activities.

Lest I forget. The Lagos State Police Command had since returned a no guilty verdict on the accused. Case closed.

In a sick country, justice for the weak is a mirage, in fact an anathema. When the citizens become unhinged, they begin to see the violation of their persons as normal. Normalization of the absurd becomes the norm. In an insane society, inciting hostility and murderous instincts are ways of life.

Little wonder that the fastest growing industry in the country today is ritual killing. Human parts are two for a Kobo. Fresh human head sells for as little as N20,000. And all manner of people are in the business – teenagers, housewives, name them.

But what convinced me beyond any reasonable doubt that our country, Nigeria, is sick and the citizens unhinged is the latest case in town.

I am talking about the case of a 19-month-old pre-Nursery pupil of Arise and Shine Nursery and Primary School, Asaba, Delta State, Obinna Udeze, who was tied up and flogged to death, literally, by his 24-year-old teacher, Emeka Nwogbo.

When we were growing up in the village, some 19-month old babies still suckle on their mothers’ breasts. Obinna was a baby. What crime will a year and seven-month old baby commit to earn such bestiality?

Obinna’s mother, Gift Ohanezeze, said her son was flogged to death like a goat. Three adults – the school proprietress, her son and another teacher – tied Obinna’s hands and legs with white handkerchief and gave him 31 strokes of the cane just three weeks after he was registered in the school because he committed a grievous offence. Who does that?

I still can’t wrap my head around it. This can only happen in a sick country with unhinged citizenry. This society needs help. Unfortunately, I don’t know where the help will come from.

By Azuka Onwuka

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Last week’s verbal attack on the Igbo by a Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. James Anelu, from Edo State, brought the issue of Igbophobia to the fore once more in Nigeria. As if on cue, the next day, a deputy commissioner of police, Mr Ibrahim Babazango, from Adamawa State, was reported to have threatened the life of one Igbo man, Mr. Vincent Umeh, for buying the property next to his residence in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.

For Rev. Fr. Anelu, the Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Enu-Owa, Ikorodu, Lagos State, the trigger was that the choir was singing “too many” Igbo choruses. It was reported that he stopped the choir midway and outlawed the singing of Igbo songs in the church. That was not all. He went into the usual ethnic tirade of how Igbo people liked to dominate everywhere, citing the example of an Igbo person being the bishop of his home diocese (Benin Diocese), and other stereotypical statements.

From his speech, captured on camera, it was obvious the singing of Igbo songs was not his main problem. The Igbo were his problem. Even though that parish was highly populated by Igbo people, for the sake of integration and inclusiveness, songs sung at such a church should reflect the ethnic diversity of Nigeria. A Roman Catholic head of a parish wields enormous power. He can sack the entire choir. If Anelu’s concern was truly the need for inclusiveness, he could have invited the leaders of the choir to a private meeting and explained to them the need to sing more songs from other ethnic groups and English. After that, if the problem persisted, he could apply punitive measures to the leadership of the choir or the lead vocalists with the sole aim of correcting the problem.

He could also take other practical measures to change the situation like encouraging more non-Igbo people to join the choir. He could also encourage non-Igbo to teach the choir more non-Igbo songs to deepen their repertoire. But the words of Fr. Anelu showed that his primary concern was not to promote inclusiveness but to express his views about the Igbo. The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos quickly intervened by suspending him.

In the case of Babazango, Sahara Reporters had reported that he was caught in an audio warning Umeh to reverse the land purchase deal or face some consequences, including no guarantee of his personal safety.

“We’re a homogeneous community, I don’t want you; you can’t be my next-door neighbour, I swear. What sort of insult is this? Can any northerner move now to the South-East, say Onitsha, and just bump into any neighbourhood to buy a property just like that?” the senior police officer had allegedly said to Umeh. Sahara Reporters reported that when it contacted Babazango, he maintained his stand on the issue.

A follow-up news story by Sahara Reporters noted that the Nigeria Police Force described the accusation as false, stating that Umeh never reported such a case to them as he claimed. However, Sahara Reporters confirmed that Umeh reported the matter to Zone 3 Police Command, Yola and also the office of the Department of State Services in December 2021.

These cases only became points of interest because of the status of those involved and because they were brought to the media space. But they are not unusual. They are only part of a bigger and deeper problem. In the recent past, some prominent Nigerians like the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, etc, have been caught on camera displaying Igbophobia. However, most non-Igbo, who don’t experience Igbophobia, would easily dismiss any claim that Igbophobia is systemic in Nigeria. But that should not be surprising because they are not involved. It is said that whoever feels it knows it.

There are two types of Igbophobia in Nigeria: the brazen and the subtle. The brazenness is what usually attracts national attention. Subtle Igbophobia usually goes unnoticed. It is so deep in the system that it is taken as normal. In fact, those who engage in it do not realise that they have such a problem. It manifests in different ways like giving the Igbo a different standard or condition that is not given to other ethnicities or always believing that there is “something” wrong with the Igbo.

Many nice, urbane, educated, supposedly detribalised, open-minded Nigerians don’t even know that they have Igbophobic tendencies. They will swear with conviction that they are not Igbophobes. But once you hear someone say: “Igbos are great people but…;” “I have many Igbo friends. I have nothing against Igbos but…;” “The problem with Igbos is…,” you see a subtle Igbophobe.

Whichever way the Igbo act, such people find something wrong with it. For example, if the Igbo vote for their kinsman, the accusation is: “You people are clannish.” If people from the North or South-West or South-South do the same, the music changes to: “They are politically strategic.” If the Igbo vote for non-Igbo people, the same people say: “Igbo people don’t speak with one voice. They don’t love one another.” If people from the North or South-West or South-South do the same, the narrative changes to: “They are politically sophisticated.” Then, if the Igbo vote massively for one candidate, the accusation becomes: “Igbo put their eggs in one basket.” If the Igbo spread their votes between two candidates, the accusation changes to: “Igbo scatter their votes unwisely. They are not politically sophisticated.”  Head or tail, there is something wrong with the Igbo people.

Without knowing it, these nice people who harbour unconscious Igbophobic feelings regularly set different standards for the Igbo, standards they don’t set for their own folks or other ethnic groups: “You guys must come together and present one presidential candidate with integrity.” If you ask them which ethnic group has ever done that, they bring up another blackmailing line about “you people ‘’ not liking to hear the truth and then jump to another topic.

The biggest challenge facing the Igbo is their large numbers in other parts of Nigeria. They are usually the second largest population after the indigenous people. They usually control the retail business wherever they are. Therefore, if the indigenous people want to buy a malaria drug, it is an Igbo person they go to. If they need a spare part for their motorcycle or motor vehicle, it is an Igbo person that sells it to them. If they need a shirt, an electric bulb, a tin of milk, a loaf of bread, a bowl of rice or a mobile phone, it is an Igbo person that sells it to them. Consequently, the Igbo unconsciously assume the image of an army of occupation, which attracts resentment towards them. This is compounded by the aggressiveness with which the Igbo buy parcels of land and erect houses wherever they are. It creates a convincing narrative that the Igbo have a long-term agenda of taking over the communities where they reside, which worsens the resentment towards them. Being a loud and proud people does not help the case of the Igbo. Therefore, if the economy tanks and prices of goods go up, the Igbo get the blame for that because they sell most of the goods the indigenous people use. If there is a riot, their goods and investments become easy targets.

The Igbo are not saints or angels. They have weaknesses and strengths like any other ethnic group. But the problem lies in always concentrating on their weaknesses or using the bad acts of individuals to judge the entire ethnic group or setting an impossible standard for them. Nigerians have an Igbo problem, which they do not realise, but which they need to solve, if the claim of national cohesion and unity has any sincerity in it.

Twitter: @BrandAzuka

Kassim Afegbua

A chieftain of the Proples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Kassim Afegbua has said that zoning of political offices is a constitutional requirement in the country same as federal character expressly stated in the Nigeria Constitution.

In a statement on Sunday, the former Edo state Information Commissionner, stated that only selfish politicians would say otherwise – that there was no zoning in the constitution.

“For selfish and egocentric reasons, I have read some aspirants talking about the absence of zoning in the Nigeria Constitution.

“In order to serve their selfish end and contest the 2023 presidential election against the run of play, they have resorted to making references to the 1999 constitution to support their weak argument against zoning of political offices.

“It must be stated unequivocally that zoning means the same thing as Federal Character, which is expressly captured in the 1999 constitution. The federal character talks about political balancing of positions and appointments, which is the same thing as zoning.

“Zoning means ‘divide into or assign to zones’, positions and appointments whether by way of election or appointment,” Prince Afegbua noted.

He maintained that those who were declaring that there wss no zoning in the constitution were playing dumb, especially when there were layers of zoning in the nation’s political system.

He queried: “Why has it been the practice that each time a candidate emerges from the North, his Vice Presidential candidate comes from the South, and vice-versa?”

He continued: “The Senate President is also zoned to another geopolitical zone, ditto for the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, and even the Secretary of Government of the Federation. If there is no zone, these positions could have been concentrated in one geopolitical zone, but for that Federal Character provision in the constitution, which is similar to zoning, we have made it a point of duty to observe zoning. In a plural society like Nigeria, given our diversities, one cannot do without zoning and power sharing.

“No matter how nepotistic the Buhari presidency is, it has observed the principle of zoning positions to create some level of balance. I am aware that President Buhari’s style has been skewed in favour of his Northern zone.”

He tasked the media to see it as a duty to educate Nigerians on the therapeutic effect of zoning and applying the doctrine of federal character which has been in place since the independence of Nigeria.

According to him, “it is an attraction the country cannot run away from given its peculiarities and sensibilities.

“As a party, if you choose not to zone by way of balancing the algorithms, take all your candidates from a section of the country and let us watch how your political fortunes pan out. Those who are reading the constitution upside down or trying as it were, to twist the logic of zoning to suit their bulbous ego, are only trying to be clever by half.

“The facts of the matter do not support their illogic. For our diversities and heterogenous configurations, with several nation-states within the nation, the zoning principle has to be deliberately applied to create the required political stability. Anything short of the application of this doctrine will be unconstitutional, and a clear abuse of the principle of Federal Character, which is enshrined in the 1999 constitution.

“The principle of Amalgamation which was consummated in 1914 is very clear and unambiguous in rotating the leadership of the country between the North and South. Rather than continue to dwell on the impropriety of turning logic on its head by the political ambition of our brothers from the North, it will make for good judgment for them to bury their ambition and support the Southern zone to produce credible candidates for the 2023 General election. Trying to ignore this inalienable right of the South to produce the next president of Nigeria will spell political doom for the country.”

“It is only a greedy, selfish, egocentric, and desperate politician from the North that would still insist on going ahead to contest despite the obvious imbalance.

“The Governors of the Southern zones must speak with one voice in ensuring that the South gets what truly belongs to them,” he added.

 I was reflecting at the weekend on how to expand my view that we should not push buttons on balkanisation of our great country because of the many troubles with our president, Muhammadu Buhari when the federal government announced indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in this our country of anything-is-possible.

It will be recalled that, ‘Let’s Not Break Up Nigeria Because of Buhari’ is a subtitle in my article titled, ‘Let’s keep Nigeria together for Mandela (2)’ here last week. I still believe in the substance of the argument that we should not champion a cause to break up this beautiful country because of poor leadership we are experiencing at the moment. I believe that under a good leader, the country has the dynamic capability to be the authentic leader of the black race and become part of the First World.
Part of what I wrote last week:

‘…But let’s organise to isolate all these dealers who masquerade as leaders especially since 1966. We the younger ones who have tolerated them thus far should not allow the destruction they have callously unleashed on this beautiful country to provoke us into break-up warfare. Yes, they don’t care if Nigeria comes to harm. We elected them to improve the economy. Our leaders, sorry our dealers looted the treasury and then cried foul and set up anti-graft agencies to search and try mainly petty thieves. They have ignored what a foreign policy expert and journalist, Sarah Chayes, calls “thieves of states”. We elected them to improve education standard but they destroyed the schools and set up their own schools and universities with their loot that anti-corruption agencies can’t detect. We elected them to provide good roads. They have looted road infrastructure funds to buy private jets to fly over our bad roads. Nigeria’s wicked power elite know that Nigeria can work, but not under them. The world powers too know that Nigeria can be great and become a big player on the world stage. The seven big men in suits (G-7 powers) know enough to know that Nigeria has inestimable brainpower that can be harnessed to be one of the greatest powers on earth. They all know from White House though Kremlin to Whitehall that Nigeria is Africa’s Power House. They have not forgotten that it was Nigeria that (spoke for Africa) in January, 1976 looked them in the face and told them point blank, ‘Africa has come of age…’

Yes, they know more than Mandela that Nigeria is the face of Africa and indeed the black race. That is why they can sell even deadly weapons to insurgents that can fast track Nigeria’s failure….’

The power elite would like to cause distractions from our discussion points on nation building every week: One week, one trouble, one distraction. I think most of us should continue to stay on the narrative that Buhari our leader should be encouraged to complete his term peacefully so that we can enter a new phase of national development plans in this country. We should concentrate on and work against the shenanigans and peccadillos of those who packaged him for us in 2015. Instead of lamenting on the incompetence and mediocrity that have characterised the last six years, we should encourage enough-is -enough Movements against all the enemies of the people who are masquerading as leaders now. I mean instead of agonising a great deal about the consequences of indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, we should be resourceful in organising and encouraging those who would like to run the country after the Buhari’s historic but didactic administration.

Here is the thing, we have read the beautiful reportage of global outrage over the federal government’s suspension of Twitter operations. United Kingdom, the U.S, Canada, Swedden, among other world powers have expectedly warned against rights violation. NBA, SERAP and other civil society organisations have cried foul and threatened court actions. These are positive responses to yet another tragic errors in this government. Even what Hurricane Donald Trump could not do to Twitter when it suspended his account, Nigeria’s government has done. Oh Power. Raw power! Where is thy powerlessness?

Where can I get a copy of a review of Dr. Fidelis Amatokwu’s book in those days by Prince Tony Momoh, the reviewer titled, ‘The Ignorant Tyrant’? The book by the then mass communication lecturer at the University of Lagos was torn to pieces through a quite objective review when the reviewer called the author an ‘ignorant tyrant’ as a result of too many errors of parallax and avoidable slips including ‘Nigerian Union of Journalists’ instead of ‘Nigeria Union of Journalists’. May we not be taught and led by ignorant tyrants in this perilous time!

Now that what we have feared most – attack on free press – has come upon us, we need to continue to reflect on President Barack Obama’s observation that ‘elections have consequences’. We need to note that we are still facing the dire consequences of our choice in 2015, which has become an eye opener, a testimony of some sort, after all as I noted here the other day.

We need to have some introspection on the fact that if no one from the kitchen to the legal cabinet could tap the leader of this country on Friday June 4, 2021 that indefinite suspension of Twitter, a micro-blogging platform where the old and the young meet to express themselves and even conduct their businesses, where the federal government even announced the ban was going to set Nigeria back, we should note that there is no need to sing any redemption songs for this administration.

How can the leader of Africa and the black race take that kind of rash decision in 21st century?
We, the people indeed need some introspection on the way they once were in South Africa where an iconic author Alan Paton wrote a classic, ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’ from which we need to borrow some brilliance.

Throughout the novel, (‘Cry, the Beloved Country’) one of the major themes is the contrast between hope and fear, light and darkness. The author, Paton juxtaposes these contrasting ideas by using literary devices, such as vivid imagery and rich dialogue. Personification, similes, repetition, diction, symbolism, antitheses, dramatic irony, and allusions also supply the varying moods of the novel and distinguish the “light” of hope from the “darkness” of fear. This story, set in South Africa, is about how two fathers, Jarvis and Kumalo, and how their lives intertwine. It is also about how fear and hope are inseparable parts of life. Kumalo is a black minister in a small, poor town. Jarvis is a richer, white man who lives on the hill. This novel also has many allusions to the Bible. These allusions signify both fear and hope. One allusion that signifies both fear and hope is on page 62, when Kumalo prays: “Oh God, my God, do not Thou forsake me. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, if Thou art with me.” This quote is both desperate and fearful, but it is also hopeful at the end when it says: “I shall fear no evil, if Thou art with me.”

Dialogue is a compelling device used to contrast hope and fear or desperation, as on page 108: “Sorrow is better than fear. Fear is a journey, a terrible journey, but sorrow is at least an arriving.” (Father Vincent) And where have I arrived?” (Kumalo) “When the storm threatens, a man is afraid for his house. But when the house is destroyed, there is something to do. About a storm he can do nothing, but he can rebuild a house.” (Father Vincent)…

That is where we should be: about the storm that is blowing now we can do nothing but we can rebuild our fallen houses and broken walls. Let us encourage our young and old civil liberty organisers and young politicians and even young journalists not to fear evil. They should brace up to say enough-is-enough. There is nothing we can do about the present darkness in the land. We all conspired with the corrupt political class to enthrone this governing party in 2015. Even the Letter-Writer-General of the Federation and the Nobel laureate in Abeokuta failed to see through the façade in the 2015 candidates. They too were naïve and we all followed them. We need to know that the evil geniuses who artfully designed the present darkness in which no one is safe at the moment are re-organising again. They have warehoused the Project 2023 war chest, though they are men without chests. They are strategising to confuse us again with their artistry and stratagem. Let us not be carried away by some naivety that Ministers Lai Mohammed and Abubakar Malami, for instance are the problem. They are not the real problem. They are part of a system that doesn’t work. Let’s look at the larger picture of the systemic failure that has heightened insecurity and food crisis at the moment. The leadership that appointed these people should be the focal point of discussion. The way the president, the governors and even the national and state assembly leaders emerged should be discussion and planning points. The role of money in our electoral process should be discussed now. How can the country recruit its leaders without moneybags and unpatriotic godfathers? We need to get those who will like to run the country to come out now to tell the nation how they intend to confront the present darkness and rebuild the broken country. Doubtless, this requires national re-awakening, lest we will regret again and wait for Godot that won’t come, after all. Let’s create our Godot today.

Meanwhile, the Buhari administration should not celebrate the arbitrary suspension of Twitter operations, which has been interpreted to mean war on the media and the youth. It is Pyrrhic victory, (which takes a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement or damages long term progress). The administration’s reputation managers should advise the presidency not to allow the world to address Nigerians and their leaders as the illiterates of the 21st century who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

I have quoted Alvin Toffler, an American writer, futurist and former associate editor of ‘Fortune’ (magazine) several times here and this administration needs his brilliance now. To him (Toffler), ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. I am afraid, in this digital switch over (DSO) age, in this century that information and social technologies disrupt daily, a leader who authorises suspension of a popular micro-blogging platform and social networking service provider, Twitter will be regarded simply as ‘an illiterate of the 21st century’. Our leader should, therefore, swallow this pride and vanity and allow Twitter continue in Nigeria today. The journalism genre they practise isn’t a crime. It nourishes participatory democracy and has made journalism to be an enjoyable conversation. It is a significant part of progress and digital revolution Nigeria shouldn’t disrupt.

Oloja is an editor in The Guardian