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It is obvious that the overwhelming majority of the people in the three zones in the South and many in the three zones in the North, who are not Fulani, will not take President Muhammadu Buhari seriously, when during his broadcast on October 1, marking the country’s 60th independence anniversary, he appealed to Nigerians to promote national unity. This is for the reason that he was telling Nigerians to do the opposite of what he has been doing since he came into office five years and five months ago, on Friday, May 29, 2015.
To all intents and purposes the President through his policies and statements has been undermining national unity. In a country of many ethnic groups, the five major ones which are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani and Ijaw, eighty – five per cent of the non – cabinet appointments he made in 2015 were from the North with about seventy per cent of them from his Fulani tribe and Islamic religion. If not that the constitution makes it compulsory for the President to have a Minister from each state in the federation, the same lopsided or largely sectional appointments would have been the case in the constitution of his cabinet.
Of the ten people responsible for the nation’s security, eight including President Buhari are northerners and Muslims. The others are the Minister of Defence, Major – General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd); National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno (rtd); the Director – General of National Intelligence Agency, Mr. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; the Director – General of the Department of State Security Service, Mr. Yusuf Magayi Bichi; the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar and the Inspector – General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu.
The two southerners involved in the country’s security matters are Vice Marshal Ibok – Ete Ibas, the Chief of Naval Staff, a Christian from Akwa Ibom State and General Gabriel Abayomi Olonisakin, the Chief of Defence Staff, a Christian from Ekiti State, who occupies a ceremonial position in which he is only in charge of the administration of the activities of the Service Chiefs.
When a northerner retires or is removed from office President Buhari usually replaces him or her with a northerner. But in some cases he appointed a northerner to take – over from a southerner. With these kinds of appointments made from parochial considerations of tribalism, religion and region, how can President Buhari say that he has been promoting national unity or expect the people of the South – West, South – South and South – East to be happy and interested in promoting national unity? Ditto the non – Fulani and non – Muslims in the North – East, North Central and North – West.
Consequently, before President Buhari can expect those who do not belong to his tribe and religion in any part of the federation to take him seriously on the promotion of national unity and making sacrifices for the country, he must first bring about appointments that reflect the multi – ethnicity and religious persuasions of the people of our fatherland.
To be continued on Wednesday, next week
Time To Force Restructuring Through (2)
Before going into the type of civil disobedience that will be effective, let me state that the sit – at – home industrial action to be undertaken on the changes to be made in the country will be to get President Buhari to organize a referendum to know which type of restructuring the majority of Nigerians want. As stated in last week’s column some people only want the devolution of power in which the Federal Government will be in charge of foreign affairs, census, the currency, armed services and national police affairs. While the state or zonal governments will take charge of education, local government, agriculture and state and local government police which are presently being handled by the Federal Government.
The demand by some is for the devolution of power to go along with the replacement of the 36 states with six or eight zones. While some want the two to be carried out with a change from the American presidential order to the parliamentary one, which is a system in which the country will have a ceremonial President or Head of State and a Prime Minister who will be in charge of running the government. On their part, the states or zones will be headed by ceremonial Governors with elected Premiers taking charge of government administration.
Under the parliamentary system some people are canvassing, legislators in the Senate, House of Representatives and the Houses of Assembly in the states or zones and the councilors at the local government level will not be on salary, but earn only allowances for sitting, hotel accommodation and fueling their vehicles when coming for legislative sessions, during the period of their meetings and when returning to their bases.
For continuation next week
Prepaid Meter Problems (3)
I could not believe it when the two staff of the company that supplied my prepaid meter said they normally install them on block electric poles outside the house or office of a customer who has such. It is when one has wooden pole that they place the meter on the wall of the building of a customer.
I find it difficult to believe that the officers of the supply company do not know that it is dangerous to mount prepaid meters on block electric poles or fences along a street. Yes, it is true that the meters have numbers or are coded and those who steal them or those to whom they sell them cannot use them since the remote control to load the money one had paid for works with a particular meter, not any one.
Nevertheless, it is dangerous to have the meters fixed to electric poles along the street because they could be damaged during riots or removed by people to vent their jealousy motivated anger that the owners had money to purchase them when they could not. In a country where poverty reigns as in Nigeria, illiterates see as well – to – do anyone who has forty thousand naira to buy a single – phase meter, not to talk of anyone who paid eighty – nine thousand, two hundred naira to purchase a 3 – phase meter.
Continues next week
Tinubu & Oshiomhole’s Political Future (2)
As stated last week in the Part 1 of this article, it is a sin if Governor Godwin Obaseki reneged on the promise or agreement he reached with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his aggrieved supporters before they chose him as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2016 election. This is because pledges and accords are sacrosanct right from Biblical times. Most people are not aware of this, but I do because Almighty God had discussed the issue with me and warned me not to dishonour promises or agreements. As a matter of fact, there is evidence in the Christian Holy Book that people are blessed or punished for breaking promises.
From time immemorial, wherever the Israelis are in the world they have always been one of the wealthiest. They have a population of about 9,259,200 to about four hundred and twenty-three million to those of the 22 Arab countries. The size of their territory is 8,522 sq m to five million plus (5,070,420 sq.m)[ sq.km) for the Arabs. Yet in all the wars they had fought since 1948 the Israelis have always won and I believe they will continue to do so, unless they offend God and He decides to punish them.
As He did in 930.B.C during the reign of King Rehoboam (931 – 913) when Israel broke into two: The Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah), following the transgression of his father, King Solomon (970 – 931 B.C), who married foreign wives and worshipped their idols. This was against the Lord’s orders that the Israelites (now Israelis) must not marry foreigners because they would make them serve their deities (1 Kings 11:1 – 13).
To be continued next week
