About two months ago, some people in Port Harcourt dressed themselves as Muslims and Northerners and attempted to set a Church on fire. The ultimate purpose was to blame Muslims and possibly deal with them in that area. Luck, however run against them when they were apprehended by the police and later discovered that they were not even Northerners let alone Muslims. But had they succeeded, everybody would have believed that the Church was indeed set ablaze by Muslims. Allah is always with the righteous. Details

In our forty years of independence, out of the eleven men that have ruled us, four of them are Fulanis: Ahmadu Bello (de facto), Murtala Mohammed, Shehu Shagari and Mohammadu Buhari. Four from a single ethno-racial group, a minority one at that, in a country with more than 250 different ethno-national groups! Yet they are said to feel marginalized. Of the 8 inspectors-general of the Nigerian police since independence, three, Mohammed Dikko Yussuf, Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta and Ibrahim Commassie, are Fulanis. Details

Fellow Nigerians do not listen to people like Adisa, that the military cannot go on strike. Do not forget that in the same military, ‘generals’ are not supposed to kneel down and beg ‘majors’ Do not forget that Aremu the great served under his junior. From our previous experience, the military does not go on strike it mutinies, with guns in their hands; and when they are not overcome, it becomes a successful coup. Details

The north and the riverine areas have less primary schools, less primary school teachers than the Yoruba  and the Igbo areas. To charge them and to pay teachers in other areas is the greatest undermining of  the struggles for even educational development in the country. The first is the licensing of six private Universities, none in the north and none in the riverine areas.  Details

They are diplomats, and are supposed to live a glamorous  life. But that's where the glamorous comparison between other diplomats and their Nigerian counter-parts ends, as well as the workers working in the Missions, the Consulates, and the Embassies.  The fact is that Nigerian diplomats in the United States and their workers have not been paid for months. Details

“ I would say (that we have achieved) a lot. I have given hope to Nigeria.” Hope? Try telling that to the villagers at Zaki-Biam, Odi, victims of OPC, Bakassi, Yandaba or the January 27 explosions. Details

When is soft Israeli arrogance towards the Arabs paternalistic?  As an Israeli originally from Aden put it:“We know that the Arab is an obedient good creature as long as he is not incited and no one puts ideas into his head. Details

The police apparatchiks of the civilian regime in Nigeria are now truly acting like the military regime of Abacha, intimidating those whose names or faces they do not like for some reason or the other.  Their latest victim is Festus Keyamo, whose arrest yesterday is now really turning the Ige murder investigation into an unbelievably macabre circus. Details

Obasanjo:  Of course.  I was the first, when I was Head of State, who put Sharia Law, Court of Appeal in the  Constitution of Nigeria. It is part of our Constitution,  Sharia is part of the  life and soul of a Muslim. In 1978 we had a Constituent Assembly which reached an impasse on Sharia at Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Appeal or no Sharia Court of Appeal. Because at the State level every state that feel that they have enough Muslims in the population, they have Sharia law. Details 

My people, I would enact a law that allows retaliatory killings of citizens and visitors. That is, if the Habe of Kano kills an Eboe man. The Eboes of Aba would be justified to kill an equivalent number of Habes or anybody that looks like them, in Aba. Ditto, if the Yarribas of Idi Araba kills any Habe in Lagos, the Habes would be entitled to an equivalent number of Yarriba heads anywhere in the north. Females and children would not be included. Men would be substituted in their places.  Details

This urgency has taken on bewildering proportions since the latest OPC inspired Lagos Idi – Araba Genocide Saturday February 2^nd to Tuesday February 5^th. This is the second time in less than a year, that Yorubas in Lagos, led by the OPC militia, and inspired by Afenifere irredentism, massacred northerners in genocidal proportion in Lagos alone. It is becoming increasingly obvious to most northerners, that perhaps their blood is so cheap that it can be spilt with carelessness. Details

It may interest you to know that some two years back, our president promised us that there would be no more  NEPA antics as from 1 January this year. True to form, NEPA has been supplying bright light for twenty four hours interrupted daily keeping a lot of some places in the dark for several days and in some others for six or more hours without failure. Indeed, to show the level of its performance since January this year, no day ever passed without the Authority ensuring to take off light for at least six or more hours. Details

Presently, the Hausa-Fulani are considered as one political group in the country. Some people, including my friend in Kano, detest this. They feel that the two tribes must be regarded as separate to maximize political gains. I disagree. It is impossible to separate the Hausa from the Fulani, and vice versa. The entire political interest of the two became merged since the conquest of Alkalawa 200 years ago. Details

For a state that prides itself as “center of commerce”, it appears the government appreciates the significance of electric energy. No area can industrialize or engage in any viable commerce without electricity supply. This is one area of growing consensus, as exemplified by the Media Tour Awards, which Kwankwaso has done well on. Details

The Nigerian civil war started in the north. That was the location where over 200,000 Igbo Nationals suffered the worst massacre of that time. Not long after that, the real ethnic cleansing or purification started. That ethnic motivated killing lasted for about 30 months. Details

I am sure that you would both have been dismayed and embarrassed by the abysmal display by the Super Eagles at the recently concluded African Cup of Nations in Mali. Save for a few players who we all know and need not mention, there was a lack of passion, commitment and zeal by the team in all their matches. Details

The fact remains that every single Nigerian is a tribalist, accept it or not we all owe 100 times more allegiance to our ethnic groups than to the nation.  We see everything and everybody first as Yoruba or these days "Christian Yorubas" or "Biafran Ibos" or "Hausa-Fulanis", it reflects in everything we say or do. Why do we want to continue to let you deceive yourselves that Nigeria could be kept as one. Details

(GAMJI)

Gana threatened to declare Koinage persona-non-grata and to deport him. Bravo, Professor Minister! Do we still call this a democracy or what, a country of law and not of men with fragile egos? You can kill the messenger, but not the message. Not even pre-Gorbachev USSR was this brutal, crude, rude, and mean. Details

The aim is to point out that the short history the Qur’an has been perfectly clear up to now and the chapters and verses have been constantly uttered by the Muslims and handed down. We also know that the Qur’an which is in our hands, is exactly the Qur’an which was sent down to the Prophet fourteen centuries ago. Details

And those people carrying their brief cases in their heads and holding their electric fans as they fled from Idi-Araba, bringing back the haunting images of the Tutsi and Hutus as they fled from the troubled Rwanda.   How could CNN have looked away and not show for all to see those half naked good Samaritans foraging for bloated bodies of mainly women and children in the murky waters of the macabre Oke Afa drainage canal? Details

When Yoruba leaders like the late Chief Bola Ige who was born and bred in the North argues that the “Hausa-Fulanis” are the Tutsis of Nigeria for no worse crime than the fact that Northerners have enough commonsense to know that you cannot get power through gaining the trust of others by constantly abusing and ridiculing them, and when another Yoruba leader like the late Pa Solanke Onasanya believes Northerners have no right to make a living in Yoruba land, should it surprise anyone that January 27 happened and can happen again? Details

On the whole, we have not moved reasonably away from the past. In fact in some areas such as poverty, insecurity, the economy, we are worse off. The truth remains that Nigerians were better off yesterday than they are today in several aspects of their national life. We could only talk of freedom of speech, but it is the constitution that has guaranteed it and not the acts of administration. Details

Buhari has more exemplary qualities than any of the politicians in this paper. He was a highly disciplined and determined military ruler. He was also relatively honest. While he was ruling the country many people thought Nigeria was back on track. PTF the organization he led after leaving office was perhaps the most successful government agency in Nigeria's history. This was largely because of his honesty and discipline. He also had no intellectual pretensions unlike Obasanjo who performed well as dictator but has so far failed as a democrat because of "Mr. Know all" mentality. Details

Why don’t other principals – governors, local government chairmen -- emulate president Obasanjo, who has delegated so much to his deputy (chair of the National Council on Privatization, the National Economic Council, sometimes even the Federal Executive Council). If they do, perhaps the deputies would be just like Atiku to his boss: ultra loyal and obedient. Details

An unknown number of Africans were killed at the World Trade Center, in New York on September 11, 2001 -- Senegalese hawkers, Nigerian investors, Ethiopian or Eritrean drivers or professionals, Ghanaian students, Egyptian and South African tourists and others. Who knows for certain? September 11, 2001, has had other consequences for Africa. The Security Forces of Africa have opened their doors to the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (the CIA). Africa has fewer secrets from the Americans than ever, if Africa ever had any. Details

If anyone continues to think that the series of sporadic events that have engulfed our country, Nigeria, in the past few months are a coincidence, such a person may have to do some rethinking . The death of Uncle Bola Ige, the talk of allege introduction of Sharia in Oyo state, the war-front like explosion  in Lagos State, and the shameless killing of innocent people in Lagos, tagged  Yoruba /Hausa war, can only be executed under suspicious circumstances. Details

One of the five pillars of Islam is five prayers said at specific times during the waking hours. The hours of the prayers stipulated in the Koran are so arranged that a human being who really prays aright will be in a state of humility and inner purity throughout his or her waking period. He or she would be incapable of thinking evil, much less deliberately harming others. Details

Milk is the most frequently used cattle product, however, many families cannot get enough milk for daily nourishment. Although traditional dairying in Nigeria starts centuries ago, industrial dairying is recent. In 1945, the last colonial Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Mr. H.H. Wells, reported to the Home Office in London that Her Majesty's Empire in Nigeria had developed much interest in dairying and was supplying cheese and butter to Allied Forces in Morocco. Details

According to Nzeogwu himself, Hassan's first knowledge of the coup was early after daybreak on Saturday when Nzeogwu, having already killed or directed the killing of the Sardauna, the Brigade Commander and the 2/IC at the NMTC, went to Hassan's house with a sterling Sub Machine Gun in his hand and asked:   "What side are you on? Are you with me or with them?"   Hassan's response was "Don't bother, I am on your side." However, what subsequently happened was that Major Hassan (along with Major Alexander Madiebo (of Artillery in Kaduna) and Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Ojukwu in Kano with whom he was in touch by phone and signals) began playing a very cunning game of isolating Nzeogwu, while appearing to cooperate by assisting in sending out some signals and making troops available for odds and ends.  Details

The ambassadorial effect of football was negated when we heard of the violence unleashed on defenceless Nigerians in Mali because of the result of the Nigeria - Mali qualifier. I daresay that our authorities ought to have investigated this report. If it was true I opine that the Super Eagles ought to have been flown back and all our nationals should have been recalled. Details

Talking about national security, one really wonders the motive of the military high command, including the Commander-In-Chief, for releasing a clearly false information that Muslims have concluded plans to attach military and police formations as well Christian dominated states. Was it a deliberate plan to cause division within the military and between Muslims and Christian? If so for what purpose? Details

It seems to me that Shettima Bulama believes in management by objective which Peter Drucker and others founded. He also appears to bring this perception to bear on Bank of the North, from the opinion samplings I conducted on customers and staff of the Bank, Bulama appears to be  the single leading motivator for the successes of the Bank. Details

When people have conflicts, and have no trusted judicial avenues to turn to, they vent their spleens through violence.  When police numbers are not sufficient, nor are they properly equipped to prevent, detect or prosecute crime, it is indiscriminate violence that we get. Details

It is a platitude that in a democracy everyone is entitled to hold his opinion but that does not mean taking other people for a ride.  The Nigerian Labour Congress have been calling the attention of the government to the untold hardship and suffering ravaging the poor of this country but the government and its agents (like El-Rufa’i) have chosen to give a deaf ear.  The BPE Director General even has the effrontery of denying the existence of the common man; because he is not one. Details

Like other state in the North, the august visitor would ache at the sight of school age children aimlessly roaming the streets in search of nothing in particular as they grow in to manhood to join the widely growing jobless market poised to create problems for our great country in future. Details

Nigeria in the eyes of some might not be a viable or tenable unity, but for now we are one, please let us try to act as one, let us for the time that we are together, learn to embrace our sameness, love of life (I used to think), love of food and good company; love of football and winning, love of children and love of peace (I think everyone desires this) and let us stop harping on our differences. Details

The current President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was the first President (then Head of State) to take a loan from the World Bank and IMF (check the records). During IBB’s tenure, he was advised by selfish cronies to take the same line of action as Obasanjo. One of his most respected advisers, Chief Olu Falae was the principal architect of ‘STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM’ as the panacea for a sound economy for Nigeria. Why the southwest-dominated media spared him from criticism is a good example of their practice of selective criticism or ‘he’s our own son’ syndrome. Details

Ever since Major Íféájùnà, and later, Lt. Colonel Gòwõñ decided to use Dodan Barracks for the effective co-ordination of coup d’état operations, subsequent generations of equally patriotic soldiers of the Nigerian Army have also had their own equally brilliant ideas on where to pick as their assembly point for the conceptual and detailed tactical design, logistics co-ordination, and D-Day-H-hour operations and manoeuvres in coups d’état: real, imagined, phantom, denied, confessed or otherwise.  Details

Tanko Yakasai and Wada Nas reminded the whole world that the Commander – in – Chief, Minister of Internal Affairs, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Army Staff, and Director SSS are from the same geo – political zone – southwest. These are what give ammunition to those in the north that is vehement that this is a southwest power elite regime. Details

We might now ask: why did Ige join Obasanjo’s cabinet?  The easy answer is that it was to spite his Afenifere colleagues who had rejected him at D’Rovans.  However, the more complex  and likely reason was a pact with Obasanjo, with an assurance from Obasanjo that he had agreed to a one-term presidency, and that Ige might be able to complete the second four-year term (ostensibly allotted to the Yoruba) if he could join the PDP government and re-assure his detractors of his “good behavior.”  Details

This is the Police Report on the official investigation into the events of 15 January 1966, entitled:  "Military rebellion of 15th January 1966".  It was prepared by Police Special Branch Interrogators based on interviews with soldiers, other ranks and some officers who had been arrested after the January 15, 1966 mutiny....This draft was released to a highly restricted circulation of certain persons in government and outside the country in very early August 1966 - and then leaked...The remainder of the report which allegedly implicated certain other persons has apparently never been released widely to this day. Details

Now, Obasanjo has exposed the racket: that it was he, apparently using our distinguished Senators, who removed Dr Okadigbo as Senate President. Truth, they say, is a living phenomenon, which can be suppressed but cannot be killed. All alone, our elected representatives were telling us untruth that they were never collaborators in the removal of Okadigbo, while in truth they knew the fact of the matter.  Details

Really, President Olusegun Obasanjo should not lead Nigeria at this technology age. He is, in the opinion of this writer, the president the nation should not have had. He could be a good military General, but he does not have a good manner of approach and the skill to lead a civil society. And he lacks the appropriate national objectives and strategies to solve the problems facing the academic sector and the nation at large.  Details

The disappointment is reflected in the failure of the governments at various levels to deliver on electoral promises. Worse still every elected and nominated political office holder now is more concerned in retaining the office than serving peoples' interest. Details

During the pre-colonial period the Sokoto Caliphate was the most prosperous state in tropical Africa. This was because the jihad leaders established an economy that was appropriate to the polity (Illife 1995: 171). Even in Kano the most prosperous province of the Caliphate the merchants integrated commerce and manufacturing. Details

He was hardly the most commanding personality that one ever encountered.  Squat, ill-spoken and rather unbecharming, he inspired neither fear nor deep affection as a person.  For much of his time in office he was out of sight, ensconced imperviously at the innermost recesses of Aso Rock, seat of the Nigerian government in Abuja.  Yet, with seeming ease, General Sani Abacha almost completely dominated a nation of 110 million people during his reign. Details

Lets face it, this government cannot provide security. Junior police officers are threatening to go on strike and the Inspector General departs on leave., and it takes the intervention of the House of Representatives for the presidency not to travel out of the country when the souls of over one thousand of his citizens are asking why? Details

The government we have at our disposal is anything but honorable. It is a government that refuses to honor an agreement it freely enters into with Unions. Also, the administration lacks moral wits to allow an impartial arbiter adjudicate an issue it swore to see through. This is a government that worships IMF and World Bank, and like little kids, fears monsters. Put bluntly, the Obasanjo government is fearful of IMF and World Bank. Details

Let the ACF call for the video and audio tapes of the 1999 Visitation Panel to A.BU. and watch and hear the evidences given.  What went on here in A.B.U. was inhuman.  All the royal fathers, Emirs, Chiefs, Obas and Attahs who hold positions of fathers to all their subjects should please call the zealots to order.  The North cannot be one only during elections and wars when everyone is expected to join hands to fight the "enemy". Details

Another dimension to this is the fact that there are no real lessons taken during the holidays but the assumed classes are a means of making extra money for the teachers while using the students as hostages. Realistically speaking, summer schools provide an alternative means of childcare for parents who do not have child minders. They are therefore a welcome relief for such parents. Details

We should expect that natural disasters will continue to increase for many more years. However, natural disasters need not take heavy human toll. Every country and, indeed, every city ought to have carefully thought out plans of action to be executed before and shortly after a disaster, natural or man-made. Details

At the time they were saying this, President Obasanjo was, on the other hand, preaching his own sermons against late Gen. Sani Abacha, (may his soul rest in peace) by saying that the late Nigerian leader wanted him dead. By making such statement, where he did, Gen. Obasanjo was sure enough evoking the same kind of hatred for which members of the Abacha family have been painfully suffering under his administration. Details

The most heinous aspect of this unfortunate development, and which affects the Fula naturalis most, is how religion, in confederation with ethnicity, is stripped naked of its innocence and conscripted to serve in the battalion of ethnic cleansing that is different only in proportion, but not in intent, from those perpetrated by Serbians in former Yugoslavia and the Hutu in Rwanda. Details

"Shut up! I took the opportunity of being here to see what could be done. I don’t need to be here."  Who could have imagined that the above dismissive statement was made right at the scene of a colossal national calamity which the recent Ikeja armory inferno has become for countless Nigerians, and not an inebriated outburst at an Owanbe gathering? Details

Love him or loathe him, Obasanjo has made unrivalled contribution to the development of democracy in Nigeria.  He did this first as the head of a military regime and second in his first term as president in the post-military era.  Obasanjo’s contribution to the development of democracy in Nigeria is therefore the appropriate starting point for discussion of politics in contemporary Nigeria. Details

The grave insecurity of life and property and the general malaise throughout the country call for reflection on the part of all Nigerians and soul-searching by our political leaders. Armed robbers and assassins have had full and free rein in many cities and towns for at least 15 years. As we now know, some of the insecurity was the handiwork of military governments with their assassination and bomb-throwing squads. Details

I became highly impressed to hear the bold effort made by the Nigeria police Force to embark on a strike. It has been long over due. They have been unnecessarily patient and tolerant. Their strike is a sign of good things to come in Nigeria. The much-needed awareness is slowly creeping into the closed society called the Nigeria Police Force. Details

It is said that a nation is know by the character of its leader(s) if this single statement is anything to go by, then Nigeria may have been cursed with reckless, uncultured and unrefined leaders. Nigeria as a nation has been very unfortunate to have people that lack decency and quality of character as its leaders or rulers. Details

The powerful Northern / military interests behind the cry of marginalisation and that are determined to remove Obasanjo, saw Ige as a stumbling block to weakening support for Obasanjo’s re-election bid in the West. Details

Given the chance, I am convinced that Nigerians abroad will not choose to remain silent, helpless witnesses to the deadly fury unleashed on unsuspecting Lagosians. Surely, this is the time to redouble our efforts to help alleviate the horrors of the situation. Details

The recent ammo dump fire in Nigeria creates an opportunity to spotlight the world's most serious accidental explosions of munitions.  If the present rate of retrieval of bodies from the Ikeja mishap is sustained, it will exceed the Pakistan ammo blast of 1988 and the Mont Blanc calamity of 1917, threatening to become the worst recorded ammo dump disaster in the last 100 years - from the perspective of collateral damage. Details

The pathological lure of Nigerian  rulers towards self-immortalisation, including their complete disregard for accountability and their aversion for transparency while in office, are both amazing and amusing at the same time. For over 85 years now, the dynamics of interaction between the rulers and the ruled in Nigeria has been precarious at times, tenuous in others, and “cats-and-dogs”ish, most of the times. Details

"It is time for the Guardian to listen to the Zamfara state government...It is time to ask those who feel there are legal problems to go to a court of competent jurisdiction. Alhaji Ahmed Sani has repeatedly said his priority is good government, education, poverty alleviation and moral rebirth. He has assured non –Muslims of the full protection of their rights. He has never declared Zamfara an Islamic state. Details

Our public officials are the biggest queue jumpers. Have you noticed by now how some parts of Abuja always have running water while others never see a trickle? Do you think it is by accident that our public officials happen to live in those water-endowed sections? Details

President Obasanjo should take the high road -- talk and walk. He needs to put another fine feather on his cap and retire to his farm. He has done his best. If he wants to save his party and patria, he must NOT run again; he should pass on the touch to the original G-34: Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, etc. Details

In an article in the DAILY TRUST, on Monday, January 28, 2002, titled "Parade of memories on January 15th" the comment was made that "Initially, though, the Armed Forces Remembrance Day was, prior to the adoption of January 15th, known as "eleven eleven" meaning the eleventh day of the eleventh month (November) which is the precise date that marked the end of the 2nd World War, (11th November 1945). " That statement is inaccurate. Details

As I often observe, many politicians as well as some opinion writers in the country like to rest their arguments on principle. But, I always have the suspicion that somehow a principle is being used as an expedient to get to the politically convenient conclusion. In my mind, it is no good coming up with grand statements of principles if they appear platitudinous or irrelevant as is the case with their statements. Details

If Ohanaeze can be blamed for any thing it is the absence of any concrete plan to actualise its well-articulated and impeccable Igbo Agenda in Nigeria. But Ohanaeze is not in government in Igboland. Therefore, in the final analysis, the Igbo political leadership and not the Ohanaeze should take responsibility for failure to take steps to implement the Igbo Agenda. Details

Today there is hardly any family in the GRAs of Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri or Yola that one cannot find 2 to 3 very big and overgrown daughters still in the family house not ever married since birth and the parent are comfortably sitting there waiting for the proverbial "Mr right", who might have been rejected at the correct time earlier or just refused to come because of obvious reasons like the type of family in question e.g. Details

Recently, the Federal Government ordered a planned meeting between governors of Oil Producing states and British and American Officials be stopped.  While this is a wise decision, it is necessary to point out that it because we have allowed these foreigners, particularly the Americans, free reign in Nigeria that they could initiate such a meeting without the knowledge of federal authorities. Details

Consider, if you will, some of the factors working against the President.  His record in office isn’t exactly a catalogue of endearing conquests.  Sure, there are some notable achievements counting in his favour: GSM; privatisation; NEPA; road works; external debt management; rebuilding of Nigeria’s image abroad.  But these can hardly be considered to be revolutionary. Details

Well, you can add me to the list of those who disagree with you. To put it more bluntly, I am sick and tired of the utter balderdash you've been peddling on this issue. To begin with, I have no idea what makes you think Professor Aluko should not comment on the so-called debate without supporting your views. Details

The question is; how far do we take this disposition of TREACHERY, which the Yorubas have successfully imbued in their intra-Yoruba politics and which they from time to time thrust into the Nigerian partisan politics? As a matter of fact how authentic is the profile, or are other non-Yorubas only making unreasonable inferences as to what is, even as it has become a pattern? Details

Safiya got a champion in the person of Lamido to depend her in order to resist Islamic Shari’ah judgment passed on her from an established Court of Justice acting on all necessary legal proceedings just because Lamido has grown up and is aware of something called DNA!. Next he would say all cases of Zina in shari’a courts should be given attention only when they are video taped with a close circuit camera so that there would be no need for the stipulated four witnesses. Details

Isn’t it absurd for a gentleman to allow himself to be pushed into exercising his right to mediocrity by partaking in a childish and ridiculous debate? I have been following the on-going debate on the new leadership at the VOA Hausa service, but find Bolaji Aluko’s points both unconvincing and far away from the issues raised by the concerned listeners (see “Sunday Dare and the VOA Hausa Service: Joining the Debate”). Details

Fellow country men and women, I bring you good tidings. I am sure you are all amazed and delighted about my candidature for the presidency. And, if you are not…I believe by the time you finish reading this, you will come to the conclusion that the end is nigh. O Yes…I have contacted the Lord and he has given me the nod ahead of the incumbent. If you don’t believe me, get down on your knees and ask the Lord yourself.  Details

To link late Chief Bola Ige to the death of Hon. Ayo Olagbaju, Fryo when asked about the Ooni of Ife’s warning about Chief Bola Ige, he said "Yes. He said that Bola Ige can do and undo. That he should be very, very careful in any step he is taking". Details

A recent study by an American academic, Professor Marc Herold of New Hampshire University, has shown that the number of civilians killed by US bombs in Afghanistan has now surpassed the death toll of the 11 September attacks. The report places the death toll from US attack on Afghanistan at 3,767. Details

Fryo in ThisDay  Sat Jan 19^th 2002, described himself as a ‘small fly’ who is being offered as a scape goat. He appears not to see himself as responsible for his actions. Nowhere did he suggest that he was coerced or pressured , he was a willing and paid hack, masquerading as a student of Obafemi Awolowo Universtity. He said he ‘mobilised ‘ his fellow students for these activities on behalf of Omisore. Obviously his confederates were paid too. Details

This is the second article on Fulani and their problems in Nigeria. We have sufficiently focussed on language in the previous article last week. Today, we will look at an attribute with which the Fulani are distinguished. It is a feature that is eroding in Nigeria, on one hand as fast as life is becoming difficult for its citizens, and on the other, as gradual as the ruler becomes encapsulated by the norms and adulterations of sedentary life. Details

But the question is how possible was it for civilian to disarm 16 well-trained soldiers. Sure the civilians made this possible by the possession of superior firepower. Reports have it that sophisticated weapons, including launchers, are being used in the crisis. How did they come by these weapons? It would appear that military authorities do not take proper custody of weapons from retiring military personnel. This call for vigilance in future. Details

Recently, Professor Jerry Gana was quoted as accusing the VOA Hausa Service of not only undermining the Obasanjo government but for trying to destabilize the nation. This, after the Service interviewed Abubakar Rimi, in his capacity as a presidential candidate. Since then, I was reliably told that the new Hausa Chief has banned any more interviews with Rimi, or any politician who is challenging Obasanjo in the next elections. How about that Professor? Details

The Nigerian psyche is being very subtly brutalised, and subordinated to the chauvinistic wet dreams of some amorphous, devious and self-deceiving indigenous colonial mafia. Those symbols of Nigeria’s national identity contain concepts that are diametrically opposite to our hopes and aspirations as a Federation.  Details

On 5 September, at a place called Strong Point 49, the Nigerian unit was ambushed, resulting in the deaths of 9 soldiers. Pvt. Umar Shantali was taken prisoner. According to news reports at the time he would probably have been killed were it not for the fact that he began reciting verses from the Holy Book to the hearing of his Sunni Moslem Somali captors. Details

The most important single responsibility of our elected public office holders today, therefore, is to overcome their obsession with self-succession and to commit themselves to ensure a democratic and credible civilian-to-civilian succession in 2003. They should learn the lessons of our history and reject the sycophants urging them to succeed themselves by subverting the Constitution and the public institutions we are building to sustain it. Details

Once more in  an  unjustified manner, Igbos are being told that the Yorubas are now the new overlords of Nigeria. I thought arrogance of power was a grouse the south west had against the Hausa/Fulani. Today it appears the shift of power to the  south west had witnessed some other shifts less obvious to many. It is beginning  to appear as if the war against  injustice was fought to substitute one form of oppression  for the insular prejudice of people who do not see any thing good in others except  their own. Details

Finally, you made mention of an “emerging revolt of the formerly introverted subalterns of the Middle Belt against the Hausa/Fulani-dominated political establishment of the North”. If you were familiar with that part of the country, you would realize that the concept of a Middle Belt independent of the North and Hausa/Fulani only exists in the pages of southwestern newspapers. Ilorin was a part of the Sokoto caliphate and its traditional ruling house is Fulani (in fact Emir Sulu Gambari was the first Chairman of ACF’s working committee and remains a prominent member). Details

The middlebelt is a political force that has coalesced around the issues of fairness and equity in the politics of northern Nigeria. The people of the middlebelt feel that their association with the rest of northern Nigeria has not paid off in terms of their access to political and economic opportunities. They believe that they have been hard done by in the distribution of the opportunities of citizenship in a country whose constitution assures equal opportunity for all. Details

Shall we continue to heed to the advice(s) of the IMF and World Bank to the detriment of the progress and well-being of the Nigerian Masses?  Which comes first, the existence and survival of Nigeria for Nigerians or Nigeria for IMF? Details

Sunday Dare and the VOA Hausa Service: Joining the Debate. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

(GAMJI WRITER)

Thirdly, suppose Sunday Dare had been from POLAND.  Or was Afghani or Russian,  from Ethiopia or South Africa.  Or a Christian from Mali where Hausa is also spoken.    Would all these complaints have been pouring out?  I bet you "No!".  But now that a NIGERIAN has been given a good job at VOA, rather than see him as a NIGERIAN, you read some belly-aching about a YORUBA CHRISTIAN being given a job in a HAUSA service - as if the job description was to have only a NIGERIAN HAUSA MUSLIM as the holder!  Details

Unfortunately Mr. Awoniyi is continuing the work began by late Mr. Bola Ige who targeted the Fulani for a Rwanda like genocide. The propagandists used the mass media to prepare the minds of the Hutus in Rwanda for genocide against the Tutsis (Kupperman 2000) that was the strategy Bola Ige and the Yoruba tribalist controlled media employed to target the Fulani in Nigeria. However some decent Yoruba intellectuals such as Professor Kole Omotoso wrote against that campaign. Details

Finally, I will invite every writer in Nigeria to please join me in this little prayer. Dear God (Allah), the keeper of wisdom and power, teach us to know what is called a good fight and give us the courage to fight a good fight when one is known. Give us wisdom never to underrate our enemies and a heart of gold that will rather love the enemies instead of fighting them. Details

(GAMJI)

The National House of First Nations would be a forum where ethnic differences would be sorted out. Issues such as ethnic favouritism in public offices and ethnic clashes would be discussed openly and taken to their logical conclusion. This forum for instance could have resolved last year’s bloody Tiv/Jukun riots.  Details

Anybody who knows Albashir and Mohammed would testify that there is no way they could be associated with anthrax or such dangerous scheming, not even against their enemies, if they have any, let alone against a person they don’t know. Why would the UPS staff wish to harm Zadok, who also they don’t know? Nor could we understand why only Zadok’s package, out of 5000, contained anthrax, granted the anthrax was actually from the package as originally packed by UPS Kaduna? Why Zadok, out of 5000 others who received similar pamphlets? Details

Grand Conspiracy. By Dr. Baba Jibrin Adamu

[TORONTO, CANADA]

(GAMJI)

No doubt this is a period of profound northern grief. On one hand there are the recently increased social/religious upheavals, increased despair and hopelessness amongst youth in various parts of the north, and on the other hand the supposedly grand plan to systematically obliterate northern influence in the political and economical arena and the turmoil of frustration over what has become of the region’s political leaders – The northern extractions? Details

Kudos to Kema. By M. O. Ené.

[NEW JERSEY, USA]

(GAMJI) 

I have been to Zaria. The place is cool -- thermally terrible Harmattan weather and all. I still remember Shagalinku eatery with nostalgia. I have watched the small training planes hover around town. I have also closely watched military pilots train in Enugu. I am sure that some sound and solid arguments could be made for the school's relocation from Zaria to Enugu. But it doesn't have to move … just like that, not after so many years of service to Nigeria.  Details

Friday Discourse: Fula and their Problems in Nigeria (1). By  Dr. Aliyu Tilde

(GAMJI) 

In recent ethno-religious crisis that started with the debut of this administration, they [Fulani] have become easy targets in the middle and Southwestern part of the country. In many parts of the Northwest and the Northeast, where they would have easily found succor, they have been fighting with farmers over grazing areas for decades now. To crown their catalogue of problems, they have been stigmatised as feudalists and colonialists, fit, according to some, for elimination through a nationwide genocide. They are the most endangered human 'genus' in Nigeria.

Details

Caging Bullies in a Democracy. By Abubakar Jika

(GAMJI WRITER)

Obasanjo is first a Yoruba. If he is impeach the Yorubas may return to political guerrilla trenches to make noises in the newspapers. He is a Christian. CAN and other Christian bodies would be up in arms hollering religious exhortations. Finally, IMF and World Bank whose agenda on fuel, fertilizer subsidies and universities are well known would not be happy. Details

The Imperial President. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER) 

We perhaps need to remind some of our senators that they were not elected by Obasanjo but by us and also that the desire for self succession was never the reason for our electing them. A few senators have been betraying Nigerian people over time, in a manner so disappointing of the high esteem we hold them. I have not heard of one member of the House of Representative in support of the injection of that foreign clause in to the electoral act. Details

SARDAUNA: In Remembrance of a Legend . By Magaji Galadima

(GAMJI COORDINATOR)

To those who were very close to him, who earned his trust and confidence  he was a simple man of warmth and affection, open , giving , generous and fair, compassionate and loyal. His vices were as large as his virtues were enormous. Quick to affront, he was not less quick to repent. Proud of his ancestry, he was no less humble for his failings, which only too clearly he fully discerned. He hated public functions, unless they brought him into contact with common people. Details

Loving to Forgive January 15th. By Ahmed Tafida Jalingo

(GAMJI)

Every 15th January I recall not only the dead soldiers of our avoidable civil war, the slain heroes/heroines of our land since the coming of Shehu Usman Bn Fodio (of blessed memory) who founded the empire, defined on justice under the Sharia and ever expanding and of high human and material wealth, most bountiful in scholarship with men of wisdom, which was only lacking in the modern devilish antics. Details

STAR SPEECH: Soyinka's Funeral Oration for Ige. Forwarded by Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

THE murderers are among us. Let no one be in any doubt -they sit among us, right within this sombre gathering that honours the passage of a hero. There are the unwitting collaborators whose blind politics brought this moment to be, whose primitive notions of contestation offered up this land of sacrificial platter. Perhaps they are contrite. Details

School of Aviation Technology Zaria to Move to Enugu? By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER) 

Since the inception of the administration, however, the apparent reading has been that 1999 was the waterloo of the North in the hands of President Obasanjo. If we may recall, the first set of 8 permanent secretaries he sacked were mostly Northerners. If my memory is right, five of them are sons of the region. Almost 70% of the 2400 NEPA staffers he also sacked were said to be Northerners. While he is punishing northern sons today, for alleged offence they committed during Abacha, he is freeing Oduduwa sons who killed thousand of Northerners in their midst. Details

FIFA: Africa's 2010 World Cup Championship. By Sylvester I. Okoro

Africa is yet to host or lead the association since the modern Olympic games began in Athens, Greece in 1896. Why?  Both FIFA and IOC have in numerous occasions given excuses such as lack of infrastructures or facilities, political instability, security concerns; just to mention a few.  These pretexts are coming even when these African countries, despite their internal developmental challenges have been contributing their annual financial dues to these bodies. Details

Solving the Nasarawa/ Taraba/ Benue states crises Tiv-Jukun-Alago crises in Nasarawa and Taraba States: Text of Benue State government's submission on the Nasarawa/ Taraba/Benue States crises. Forwarded by Zaiyol Karl

In 1918, all the ethnic minorities south of the Benue River including Bassa, Idoma, Igala, Tiv, Jukun, Kuteb, Chamba, Alago, Koro, Gwandara, Kamberi and others were all united to form Munshi province. Munshi being a term widely recognised as a nickname for the Tiv. The Province covered all the areas now under Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, parts of Plateau and Kogi States. Details

"Obasanjo, Secession and the Secessionists": A Response to Reuben Abati's Igbophobia. By Josh Arinze

(GAMJI)

Many of your fellow Oduduwa and Arewa hack writers have been peddling animosity against the Igbo for decades.  Quite a number of them made lucrative their careers out of it, and ran their course even before you were born.  Trying to destroy the Igbo with words and weapons is nothing new in Nigeria.  So much energy has been wasted on that effort, it's no wonder Nigeria remains what many of us hate to admit it is: a backward country, a giant embarrassment to the black race. Details

Toro: A Gangster! By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER) 

Back to the insults heaped on Toro. While the Nigerian Bar Association found a lot of fault with Mustapha’s verbal assaults on the trial judge, to a measure for some good reason, the association didn't see anything wrong in describing a SAN  as a gangster. Toro perhaps might have committed some judicial misdeanamor here and there but certainly this wasn’t enough reason to call him a gangster, which amounts to saying that he is a rogue. Details

National Security and Intelligence in Nigeria Under Democracy: The Way Forward. By Max Gbanite 

[NEW JERSEY, U.S.A.]

(GAMJI)

To control crime and reduce rates effectively to a minimal level, corruption, ethnic fighting, pipeline vandalism, and the sabotage of petrol distribution, financial fraud (419), drug trafficking, armed robberies, and the threat of a military coup, the government must empower the National Security Agency (NSA) and all other security agencies with the authority and funding to be proactive in the fight against all types of insurgency capable of destabilizing the country. Details

Nigeria: Voodoo Security (Part II). By Clement Ikpatt

(GAMJI)

As a result of in-built flaws allowed by set-up design, there is no way the NPF can prevent “inside” dysfunction because she is set-up dysfunctional. The NPF will have to stop herself from operating in order to stop corruption or lack of accountability. This is so because she, by default, is set-up to be corrupt and unaccountable. That is why no single internal reform of the Police works satisfactorily. Details

Fulanis, Yorubas, Islam and Political Power in Nigeria : Re: The Role of "Resource Control" and Restructuring in the Political Economy of Nigeria By Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa . By Femi Awoniyi

[GERMANY] 

(GAMJI)

It is always difficult to inhabit the same plane of logic with a Fulani hence you can hardly argue with him. On the one hand Ado-Kurawa disparages ethnic politics and on the other, he repeatedly mentions what the ”North” must do to keep together! He would attack Afenifere and Ohaneze and describe the South-South or Niger Delta nationalism as misled, but he would swear that Northern unity is unbreakable! Details

The Trend Towards Rwandisation of Nigeria Must be Halted. By Dr.  Sani Aminu

(GAMJI)

In the mid to late 90s highway armed robbery and communal killings became rampant in the North and indeed the whole country. The advent of democratic governance instead of making Nigerians sober, infact made some to take advantage of the new “found freedom” to push towards Rwandisation of our great country. Details

Friday Discourse (109): Ige and Nemesis. By Dr. Aliyu Tilde

(GAMJI)

I now feel free, as many writers from this part [northern] of the country started doing last week, to bend down for picking the bits and pieces of bitter lessons he [Bola Ige] left behind for the living... A person like Ige, who made a 'deliberate choice' to become a tribal hero, would only feel insulted if he learns, while in his grave, that he was accorded the position of a nationalist. Details

Ethnocentrism: A gateway to Extremism. By Abdulsalam Olatubosun Ajetunmobi

(GAMJI)

With the current manifestations of emotionally charged feelings and deep beliefs of the people towards the gruesome murder of Chief Bola Ige, I think that it is time we grappled with the real issues and forged a better understanding of the situation we are in at the moment. It appears as if the traits of ethnicity that set us aside as Nigerian citizens are being emphasised much more than the social harmony and individual rights we ought to be pursuing. Details

From The Barrel of a Gun: The Benue Genocide and Nigeria's Concept of Peacekeeping. By William Etim-Bassey

(GAMJI)

One thing I picked out in the Benue reprisal killings was that the Nigerian Armed Forces for once before the initial murder of the 7 peacekeepers toyed with the concept of ROE- Rules of Engagement. Apparently they got their fingers burnt thus the reprisal in killing. My take is, If in ordinary interaction, there’s always a projection of “muscularity” by way of imposition of will. How will the average Nigerian soldier react in a changeling situation such as that in Benue before the reprisal killings? We all know most Nigerian soldier have an above the law attitude. Details

Western Media and Dangerous Stereotypes. By Wole Akande

(GAMJI)

Surely, there can be no doubt that pictures are worth a thousand words! In what is bound to be a controversial report, the VSO (Voluntary Service Organization - a UK based Development Agency) suggests that the images of wretchedness in the developing world projected by the electronic media and Western Aid charities is both dangerous and misleading. Details

Ethnic Cleansing Hausa/Fulani in Delimma. By Ahmed Tafida Jalingo

[KADUNA]

I am convinced that as much as there are communal and religious crises in the federation in this political dispensation, right from the OPC onslaught on Hausa traders in Ketu and on and on except the carnage in Ile Ife and Ogoniland all the others are targeted at the Hausa/Fulani. Either in Zango, Kaduna, Ilorin, Tafawa Balewa, and Kaltungo or in Mambila, the victim is always the Hausa/Fulani, irrespective of the colouring the press and government might give the incident and situation. Details

Injustice in Hausa Service of the Voice of Ameria: An Open Letter to VOA Director-General. From Malam Isuhu Ado

[KANO, NIGERIA]

VOA is not established to work for ethnic and religious bigots rather to promote understanding among peoples and nations, to extend and export American spirit of freedom and democracy. Sunday Dare is at the VOA to destroy it. The earlier you investigate the matter the better. Details

The Courage to Think and Talk about Death. By  Stephen Lampe

Death is actively on the prowl in Nigeria. And the country has become a fertile ground for it, on account of recurrent incidents of violence between ethnic and religious groups and even among political party members and business associates. In our environment of low morality, grossly inadequate policing, and unsophisticated security services, death has been reaping huge harvests, claiming lots of victims. Details

Letter to Mr. President. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER) 

Sir, if OPC/Afenifere want to add Kwara State to the planned Oduduwa Republic, which Dr Adegbite gladly warned against, do kindly ask them to also add to the forthcoming republic those portions of our neighbours where the sons of Oduduwa reside. Then they should hands off the Ijaw portion of Ondo State and surrender same to the Niger Delta. Details

The Gunslinger from Adamawa. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo

[KADUNA]

Zadok, we all thought was destined for greater things from his University days when he took on the University authorities on behalf of students.  Thereafter, his posturings at the national and state level marked him out for leadership roles – he feigned (now we know) to be detribalised and possesses a tremendous capacity for religious tolerance.  We thought we will never see day he will join the ranks of those that make tribalism, ethnicity, religiosity and other such crudity as their trademark.  Alas, Zadok proved us wrong.

Details

Mr. President, Dishonourable Speaker . By  Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo

Obasanjo is a liar. He is a wily old man. He should just respect his age and tell the Nigerian people the truth about what happened. He should not try to rope me in because anyone who has had contact with me knows that I am not a wily character. Obj knows that the Nigerian people are tired of his antics and like a drowning man he is seeking someone to drown with him.  - Ghali Umar Na'Abba. Details

RE: Fulani Oligarchy and the Death of Bola Ige. By D. S. Dauda, M.D.

[UKRAINE]

(GAMJI)

Try as I may, I have nothing good to say on Chief Ige. Fortunately, within his lifetime the man has written and said more than enough to let us know exactly where he stood. Dr. Abubakar Siddique Mohammed of the Centre for Democratic Development Research and Training (CEDDERT), Zaria in his article titled "Chief Bola Ige and the Destabilisation of Nigeria", the contents of which are  available  on Ceddert's Details

An Open New Year Message to Nigerians: A Reflection on Sovereign Conferences. By Sam Abbd Israel

(GAMJI)

In essence, this writer will like to suggest that Nigerians should declare Year 2002 as the National Year of Sovereign Conferences. But rather than start with a National Sovereign Conference, let each member of the polity start with personal research as to the true meaning of sovereign and sovereignty. Details

Mohammed Wailare Misrepresented the facts. By James B. Kantiok, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

I understand with you that Abubakar Rimi is your hero, so was he my hero at one time until he became fanatical.  I would refer you to the 1978 debate in the Constituent Assembly to which Rimi was the secretary.  When the Muslim minority walked out in protest against the Christian majority's attempt to strike out the Shari a clause from the draft constitution, Rimi described what remained of the Constituent Assembly in contemptuous term as a "rump." Details

Ige and National Security. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER)

The former Attorney General and Minister for Justice did not deserve to die in the hands of any Yorubaman and for that matter among his people. He was Yoruba personified. Long before we knew those who are today claiming to be the champions of the Yoruba interest, Chief Ige had been doing that for several years...His preachment of Yoruba supremacy, his dedication to their cause, his promotion of their values, his unflinching dedication to their interest and his commitment to what they stand for made him a shining star among his Yoruba peers. Details

Petroleum Subsidy In Nigeria: Myth or Reality? By Hussaini Usman Malami

[USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO, NIGERIA]

(GAMJI)

If what the government is doing, is what is called “improving the economy and the economic condition of the common man”, the Nigerian mass is now boldly telling the government that he is no longer interested in its attempt to “improve the economy and his living standard”. But rather, he prefers the government to “worsen the economy and his living   condition”, so that he will taste both the two sides of the opposing issues and see for himself which is better and make a choice, if at all he has the right to do so. Details

Ethnic Identity and National Politics .  By Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

Many commentators on Chief Bola Ige’s intense engagement in national politics have either reviled or praised him on his unabashed identification with and support for his Yoruba ethnic group. To clarify the issues involved, one may ask: Should one renounce, or at least play down one’s ethnic identity in order to be considered qualified for national leadership? Details

Restructuring the Ill-fated Political Structure of Nigeria: A n Open Letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo. From Sam Abbd Israel

(GAMJI)

The present structure of FGN should not be allowed to continue beyond the tenure of your presidency. There is no other reason for your return to the presidency of Nigeria other than to set into motion the processes of dismantling the illegal structure called FGN. This is the divine purpose why Heaven has given you a second chance to redeem Nigeria and point it in the direction of justice. Details

Nigeria: Voodoo Security (PART 1). By Clement Ikpatt

(GAMJI)

The Nigeria Police Force is lawless. I am not only indicating the habitual penchant for extortion, simple offences and misdemeanors. I mean a routine and worsening habit of blatant human rights abuses, murders and other incredible felonies. In a recent treatment, Dr. Aluko eloquently indicated some. That treatment is available at gamji.com website. Details

The Nigerian Fuel Rise, Economic Stagnation and Unpopular Policies. By Rev. Fr. Anthony Agbali

(GAMJI)

In a Nigeria where governments finds it difficult to pay even the minimum wage and salaries promptly Obasanjo thinks that to stimulate the economy is to increase gas pump prices. I think it is a faulty way of thinking. What is happening to tax payment in Nigeria? Oil should not be the only means of generating state revenue. Details

MID-WEEK ESSAY: Before We Applaud Over Electoral Law Reversal…..By    Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.   

[MARYLAND USA]

(GAMJI WRITER) 

It is now clear that the federal government leadership, starting from President Obasanjo, followed by Senate President Anyim, House Speaker Na’Abba and a coterie of others are steadily eating their words over the recently enacted Electoral Law 2001. Details

Lest We Forget, There is a Logic to the Order of Election: Do Not Abandon or Reverse it. By   Professor Omo Omoruyi  

(GAMJI)

There seems to be a consensus on the need to restore the rights of Nigerians to freely associate and form political parties of their choice.   If the National Assembly could make do its plan to roll back the fraud inflicted on the Nigerian people by Professor Osunbor in collusion with the Presidency, the battle to ensure a level playing field for participants should not end there.  Details

[PICTURE SOURCE: VOA WEBSITE]

(GAMJI)

One of the foreign channels broadcasting in Hausa is about shooting itself in the foot. It is the Hausa Service of the Voice of America. If care is not taken it will lose it second largest overseas audience in the world. A combination of ethnic, religious and political forces from this country have recently influenced the station in the aftermath of the shift of power to the South.  These forces have found support from the Christian establishment after the recent ethno-religious crisis in Jos and the September 11 attacks on America Details

With the various exaggerated accusations against the past regimes especially that of late General Sani Abacha there's fall - short of an achievable fact; when compared with the silence of conspiracy of the press in favour of the Obasanjo's government.  Those of us who genuinely present the euphemism of the situation were treated with a highly evanescent escutcheon of a sensible epigrammatism.  Details

The   leader of the terrorist group, the OPC, Mr. Ganiyu Adams stated in an exclusive interview with Sunday Tribune of 30th December, 2001 at Badagry, Lagos that about 44 prominent Nigerians of Yoruba origin have been slated for execution and called on the federal government to act fast to prevent more bloodshed. If what the OPC leader said is to be taken seriously then it means that the orgy of political killings is yet to start in Nigeria. Details

The actual situation right now in Nigeria is that the police numbers are not adequate; those that are there are inadequately trained (e.g. for patrol and in legal matters); inadequately sensitized to local matters (as in community policing); inadequately/irregularly paid; inadequately kitted (by way of uniforms, transportation and telecommunication) and hence inadequately motivated.  The outcome is where we find ourselves today, where the Chief Law Officer of the land is killed in his own bedroom, despite all the early warning signs about the danger that he was in... Details

Now let me briefly respond to what one Abdulrazak Bello-Barkindo said in his article in which he called the VOA as Voice of Arewa. I would prefer to call it Voice of Afenefere. I can understand him for defending his close friend, Sunday Dare.  I will not debate the humility or otherwise of Mr. Dare, because I didn’t know him. And I will not comment on his qualification to get the job. Details

Fulanis hated Bola Ige for he understood the mechanism of their dominance in Nigeria. He’s therefore held responsible by the Fulani power elite for what they perceive as the “anti-North” policies of the government. Of course, the President makes no policies against the North, but the interest of the Fulani Oligarchy is deceitfully called the “interest of the North” by Fulanis. Details

The handwriting on the wall should have been obvious to Baba by now.   The situation in 2003 would be worse than the previous election because of the enormity of the lingering political crises, which would be exacerbated by the manner in which the Election would be rigged from the Pre-Election Activities. Details

Unfortunately most of the questions raised by Christian evangelist when debating on Islam do hardly exceed the boundaries of such sophistry. This beside the blunders and their wrong assertions in both the Islamic and Christian theology as it relates to Islam and its scholarship. There is none in history to date, any orientalist that has proven his wits in comprehending Islam from its proper perspective. Details

I have the feeling of dejuvure, the way I felt when Abacha got his five parties to adopt him as sole candidate. Obasanjo does not want to be compared to Abacha. But I am afraid more and more Nigerians, from media reports see Obasanjo as a counterfeit copy of Abacha. Abacha appeared to many as having more finesse and tact. He did not outlawed parties. He registered five parties. Details

We the Northerners will be treated unfairly to be said to have been relieved with the death of the Cicero of Asa oke for one thing, we enjoyed his political treatise, junkie columns in the newspapers the confusion of purpose and the vast knowledge of application of priorities in the national politics,... Details

Now, just as the Nigerian Government hypocritically questions what went wrong with Mr. Ige's security detail, so are the Odi and Benue villagers questioning, what has become of the Nigerian army, that, instead of defending them as citizens of Nigeria, they are routinely deployed by the Government to kill them. What then is Mr. Obasanjo's definition of security? Details

This liar called Kantiok went ahead in his effort of rewriting history and shameless distortion of facts to state that Moslems are not the majority in the Nigerian population. I personally believe that it actually doesn't  matter who has the majority, Christians or Moslems, what really matters is the peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths in our society, but facts are sacred and I would like to refer Mr. Kantiok to the CIA- world factbook. Details

Tribalism as a Fortress. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER)

Nothing was not said about ethnic cleansing because Abacha allegedly hated a particular tribe. The relevance of the decree in recovering customers’ deposits and restoring confidence in the banking system, was roundly ignored in favour of “tribal shadow.” Ethnic fortress was employed to protect those who clearly committed fraud. And the accusers were the greater beneficiaries of the so-called ethnic cleansing of the banks’. You begin to wonder whether Nigerians could be sensible.

Details

2003: We Are Vindicated. By Abubakar Jika

(GAMJI WRITER)

This electoral bill is in my view the final expose of Yoruba political loud mouth: they fear competition. They fear free and fair contest. This may turn out to be the political graveyards of many. It is an avoidable tragedy and a great political miscalculation. Some of us consistently argued that the Obasanjo regime has failed. That the PDP has squandered its political good will. Details

The Flip-Side of Uncle Ige's Killing. By Tokunbo Awoshakin

[Washington D.C.]

(GAMJI)

"Who is safe in Nigeria? " Given the fact that we may have to wait for a long time to get an answer to that question, Nigerians here are dwelling on other implications of the killing of Bola Ige. People are concerned not only about the implication for security of live but also for the survival of the nascent democracy which is all of a sudden being trailed by violence and bloodshed, even, inside the building where laws are supposed to be made. Details

Sunday Dare And The Voice of Arewa. By Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo

By denying us access to variety in our society, Gwangwazo and Hannatu are saying that we are free to exist only so long as we agree with them. Criticising Sunday Dare on ethnic grounds is like denying those who do not read the English newspapers and magazines the view from across the Niger. It is important for our people to know that the Gwangwazos and Hannatus among us portend more danger to our society than any single Yorubaman at the VOA would or ever could be.  Details

The West's So-called Civilisation. By Umar Bello

(GAMJI)

The Western World is indeed far from even the fringes of sane civilisation.  The technology, which they pride themselves on having acquired, has strayed off from the course of human progress to that of human destruction.  Their materialistic world has thrown off the garb of human essence, and has laid man bare to his unoreinted self, an animal. Details

Arise, O Rude Compatriots! By M. O. Ené

(GAMJI)

To this day, Benjamin Adekunle still salutes Odumegwu-Ojukwu and calls him "my oga," even though he won't stop reminding you that Odumegwu-Ojukwu failed him in practical warfare exam or something, but he beat the man's army in Port Harcourt a few years later. Fair enough, a man can always beat his chest -- superior firepower or not, mercenary or none. Details

Eighteen Answers for Seventeen Questions: Response to N.H. Ibanga. By Abdul Basit Mukhtar

(GAMJI)

It seemed to me that you are genuinely not searching for the truth, but merely intent on spreading falsehood. For it is patently clear from your unnumbered question, which you chose to answer yourself and from your conclusion, that you, in order to be read, have employed the ‘reader trap’ technique as Joseph Conrad did in his Heart of Darkness. Thus to substitute light for darkness, I provide the following seventeen answers. Details

PDP USA Mourns Bola Ige. By Tai Balofin

(GAMJI)

All of us need to be steadfast in the way chief Bola Ige has been. One of the virtues for which we shall always remember him in this respect is the clarity with which he saw the Nigerian situation. He was exceedingly conscious of the nature of the legacy that was handed over to us by our leader and which we should all strive to hand down untainted to another generation. Details

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

For over two months now since reading my political tea-leaves anew, I have had this omen, this premonition of a unique kind of coup in Nigeria. God knows that I have told a number of people about it: a desperate  “coup” to cleanse the land of impunity,   in which the military will not take over, but rather a SIMULTANEOUS set of killings all over Nigeria  would occur that would stand constitutional order on its head. Details

Ms. Mohammed are you not also contradicting yourself again when you say there is no single Hausa Christian broadcaster in Radio Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna.  The fact that there is no single Hausa Christian broadcaster in a federal establishment simply confirms Mr. Madugu's claim that Hausa Muslims are "contemptuous of…Hausa Christians."   Other wise why are you bragging about the absence of Hausa Christians in FRCN Kaduna?  Details

This domestication of homegrown terrorism has manifested itself in many forms since the coming of the present regime. While we do not put the entire blame at the foot step of President Obasanjo, since the militarization of our psyche since 1983 have helped to bring that about, we must note that the unfortunate folding of hands standing akimbo when human lives were decimated in OPC, Sharia related and other ethnic killing did not help to grant Nigerians any form of security. Details

Ige Reaped What He Sow. By Maria Dogo

(GAMJI)

It is of essence and timely to comment that, God Almighty in his own way of ensuring fair play has ridden the country of one Obasanjo Government Official that the Nigerian President could not let go, despite his repeated offences brought to the light by members of his own party and government.  We have to understand and come to terms with reality in Nigerian Politics.  Olusegun Obasanjo, The Nigerian President, has got his wings clipped by members of his own ethnic group, in their blind hatred for anything not Yoruba. Details

His Master’s Voice. By N. H. Ibanga

(GAMJI)

One would have thought that given the universal acceptance of the primary reason for the existence of this service, the arguments would quickly have veered off to the more important consideration. That is, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SET UP THE VOICE OF NIGERIA (BRITISH OR AMERICAN) SERVICE to put forward Nigeria’s position to their target foreign audiences? This service would advance Nigeria’s interests which may or may not coincide with American or British interests. Details

Bola Ige et. al. By Nnamdi Ezeruo

(GAMJI)

Permit me to make brief comments about the above three articles appearing on your widely read newsprints. A city that is divided among it shall fall. Fellow Nigerians, we definitely need anger management training and counseling. Any action taken out of anger breeds regrets. Details

Questions for an Islamic Scholar. By N. H. Ibanga

(GAMJI)

Mohammed did not write the Quran. Someone else consolidated his sayings from numerous sources after his death. Are we to simply take your word for it that it has not been corrupted? How can you prove that the person who consolidated the sayings in one book did not discard a version of a saying that he did not particularly care for? Details

Danjuma Madugu's Real Target is not Hausas in VOA Hausa Service. By  Hannatu Mohammed

(GAMJI)

But again, I will tell Madugu that Hausa is a language of the Hausas, and whether he likes it or not a Yoruba or Birom or Jukum or Tiv can never claim superiority to a Hausa man in Hausa language. I should also remind Madugu that just because you can speak a language as a secondary language that does not mean that you can speak it better the natives. Details

Nigerians Abroad: Lost Resources or Untapped Potential? By Wole Akande

(GAMJI)

Policymakers of all Nigerian Governments should also consider non-fiscal incentives that take advantage of the desire of Nigerians abroad to be seen supporting their homeland. These might include high-profile awards that publicize the contributions and investments that have been made by Nigerians resident overseas. One award might recognize investment dollars, for example; another, jobs created. For many successful Nigerians residing outside the country, honours of this kind can be a prime motivator. Details

"2003 Wild Goose Chase". By Odindu Odunze Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

[USA]

Whenever Ojukwu opens his mouth he does so with some vim of absolutism that would make you believe that all Igbo leadership organizations, vis-à-vis Ohaneze, Odenigbo, Igboezue, Obigbo and Pan Igbo Forum are all under his command. Yet I have not read about any of these organizations capitulating to Ojukwu's supreme command. Details

Immigration to Canada-Hopes May Get Dashed. By Johnson Babalola

(GAMJI)

Canada’s immigration law and regulations will undergo some changes from June 2002. While some of the proposed changes are welcome by immigration applicants and practitioners, other aspects of the proposed rules may get some applicants (that would have made it under the old rules) disqualified. This is because the Canadian immigration department plans to apply the new rules retroactively. Details

Christmas Message 2001: Welcoming Christ's Gift of Peace.  By John Onaiyekan

[Archbishop of Abuja]

(GAMJI)

But at this Christmas 2001, what we see around us seems to indicate otherwise. Since the horrible events of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington, the world has witnessed one form of terrorism after the other. Our planet has become so much less safe today than it was a year ago. How is Christmas in Afganistan this year?  In Palestine, Israel, the land of Jesus himself, it is the rumble of bombs and guns that fills the air in the fields of Judea, instead of the sweet song of the angels. Details

The Star of Bethlehem Was A Comet. By Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

Professor Humphreys theorizes that the Magi recounted to Herod not only the appearance of the comet but also described the significance of the planetary massing in 6 BC and the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in May, October and December of 7 BC. Herod, leaving nothing to chance, decided to kill all boys born since the first stage of the triple conjunction in May 7 BC, i.e. two years previously.

Details

Saving VOA Hausa Service from Jihadist Tendencies. By Danjuma Madugu

(GAMJI)

Gwangwazo must also be living in a fool's paradise to have said that Dare could not speak or read Hausa. Here is a man who was born and raised in the North. He understands and speaks Hausa at a very comfortable level. Of course for Dare's role, what comes first is not language qualification alone, but professionalism and editorial competence. What the VOA now has in Dare is a manager with the proven skills of a professional and who at once also understands intensely the language, culture and politics of the north of Nigeria, just as  he does understands the entire country. Details

The Refutation of "Rushdie -fication":  Annotating Safiya's Diary. By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

(GAMJI WRITER)

I feel a little sorry for some of the contributors to this debate. They seem  afraid that somehow Islam or Muslims will suffer from a robust debate on the  implementation of Shariah. Islam is not a creaking, time-barnacled barque  that will crack at the first signs of rough weather. To quote Tolstoy yet  again, "Nothing true and good can be destroyed by the realisation of truth,  but will only be freed from the alloy of falsehood!" Details

For Yorubas Only. By Benjamin U Nwosu, MD  

(GAMJI)

The question we want to ask is this: Are the Yorubas happy? The answer depends on whom you ask. Obasanjo’s politics has divided the Yoruba nation into three major factions: Ardent supporters of his politics, ardent antagonists of his politics, and those who don’t care. Details

The Metaphysical Worthiness of a Name. By Henry A. Nwokolo

(GAMJI)

Let us all awaken to our names. Let us all take a reflective journey and understand the greatness of our names and to question the shortcomings that it may contain. Let Olusegun act his name and be the anointed that seeks no approval but works in honesty to achieve the "truth." Let us understand the sacrifices of our dear Moshood who sprung above the name Kashimawo (let us wait and see) and he really gave us something to "see." Details

Of Cant and Fairy Tales: Ernest Shonekan Sings. By Ibiyinka Solarin

(GAMJI)

According to Shonekan, it was not Ibrahim Babangida who appointed him the chairman of the Transitional Council, ‘I must say that when I was chosen as the chairman of  the Transitional Council, it was a unanimous vote by my other members. I didn’t campaign for it at all, they just decided that there must something in me. I was almost the youngest of the lot. So,when people say that Babangida was the one who appointed me, ‘I say no it was not Babangida but a unanimous vote of all the members who decided that I should be the one to lead them’. Details

Livestock Transportation and Marketing in Nigeria. By Ismail Iro, Ph.D.

(FOUNDER, GAMJI.COM)

[USA]

The Fulani have often been described as people without the need for automotive transportation. That claim is correct when applied to the slow and treacherous movement of animals from one grazing location to another. The claim is, however, incorrect when applied to the extensive use of trains and lorries to convey animals to the market. Details

A Christmas Gift for Mr. President. By  Paul Mamza

(GAMJI)

Mr. president, you aware  that many people had tagged you a born-Again Christian and because of that I prefer to take you up along the religious plane in offering the advice to you. You are also aware that many people believed that no single Nigerian had your experiences, and credentials as of the time of your second coming as the President of this our great country, even though I  differ with such people right from  the onset because my wisdom tells me that your arrest and detention by the Late General  Sani Abacha will make you vindictive with an instrument of power in your hands. Details

1993, 1998 and 2001: Continuity in the Betrayal of Democratic Rights of Nigerians Thrice Within 10 Years. By Omonhiomwan Omoruyi

(GAMJI)

From the foregoing, President Obasanjo should allow the Nigerian people to express themselves as often as possible through the staggered election. President Obasanjo should not use the fake security reports of heaven would fall, if there were elections in over 700 locations in Nigeria in 2002.   And so what? Is this not the work of government to prevent civil unrest?   Maybe a local election would resolve many issues. Details

The Electoral Act and Nigerian Democracy. By  Barrister Gani T.O.

(GAMJI)

The sudden, unconstitutional, carpet-crossings rather than registering new political parties reflect the plan that INEC, as a weapon, is not going to allow popular participation in the forthcoming elections. Or is this in furtherance of 'privatization'? Details

MONDAY QUARTER-BACKING: On the Electoral Law 2001, Election Re-Ordering and LG Tenure. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

In this essay, I recommend inter-alia that the State Assemblies should positively legislate immediately that effective 2003 all local government elections – which are to be organized, undertaken and supervised by SIECs - will  be for four-year tenure of officials.  However, legislation should include language that such elections  should be held at a date no later than two weeks before Federal and State elections that are “organized, undertaken and supervised” by INEC. Details

Osuolale Richarch Akinjide: The Education of a Public Man. By Ibiyinka Solarin

(GAMJI) 

Chief Akinjide also made another statement in which he said the lot of the Yoruba would have been different if he had been in the same party as Chief Awolowo. He also said he apologized in advance for making this statement. I was tempted to dismiss this as misplaced hubris. On reflection, I thought not, but I cannot say I am able to explain it. Details

The Shredding of Nigeria: The Abuse of Minorities, their Humanity and the Future of Nigeria. By Rev. Fr. Anthony Agbali

(GAMJI) 

Finally, the problem of Nigeria is the problem of the integration of its diverse polity, the resolution of the Nigerian minority question holds the key to the continuous survival of Nigeria. That is why, reading the news that the Americans in their shopping for a President for Nigeria are making three mistakes. Details

Muzzling the Media and Other Matters. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER)

In its edition of December 4, 2001, Daily Trust, in a front page lead reports that, ‘The Executive Director of FRCN Kaduna, has been queried over a radio phone-in-programme, Hannu Da Yawa, which featured PDP presidential aspirant Dr. Mohammadu Abubakar Rimi.” The report adds that “Rimi had paid FRCN over N10 million to be featured in the…programme over a one year period.” But that “… only one programme was aired before (it) was stopped by FRCN Director General Mr. Eddie Iroh.” Consequent upon this, says the report, ‘the files of all top management staff in Kaduna” had been requested for, “…preparatory to some impending disciplinary action.” Details

The History of Igala Kingdom (As told by oral historians). Compiled by Atayi Ezekiel Babs-Opaluwah

[UNIVERSITY OF JOS]

(GAMJI)

Also interesting to note is the fact that, that singular victory of the Igalas over the Jukuns is responsible for the fear and awe that the Jukuns hold the Igalas today. The fear is so much that there is no single Jukun man/woman living in any part of Igala land to this day Details

Obasanjo's Different Personas. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo

[KADUNA]

(GAMJI) 

Since the second coming of Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria’s leader after a spell in the gaol for coup plotting (anyway just for being an accessory after the fact) he is becoming so fascinated with other people that he is beginning to act and sound like them.  Our same Obasanjo that once wanted to know from General Gowon what he forgot in State House to warrant his contesting to lead Nigeria again, is now fighting dirty to win the forthcoming election of 2003. Details

Professor Bade Onimode on Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria. By Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI) 

A phase in the existence of the human spirit who bore the name Bade Onimode came to an end on Wednesday, November 28, 2001 at the National Hospital in Abuja. Bade Onimode was a Professor of Political Economy and a onetime Deputy Vice Chancellor with responsibility for academic affairs at the University of Ibadan. Details

Consensus Building in the North.  By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER)

In some families, we have brothers and sisters of the same parents who belong to either of the two religions. Dan Suleiman, inspite of himself is a typical example, being the only Christian in his family. A former Governor of  Katsina State Col. Yahaya Madaki, is yet another as both parents and all brothers are Muslims. He not only sponsored his parents to Mecca, but built a Mosque in his village. Such is the religious composition of the people in the region. Details

FRIDAY ESSAY:   Electoral Act Maneuvers Most Unconstitutional. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D. Burtonsville, MD, USA

(GAMJI WRITER)

The Electoral Law 2001 is unconstitutional, and the procedure for arriving at it was unconstitutional, period. It should be reconsidered by the National Assembly at its earliest convenience. Let us pray that cool heads prevail. Details

The Undemocratic Electoral Act Must be Resisted with All Our Might. By Lanre Banjo

(GAMJI)

My fellow countrymen and women, you have suffered enough.  The children of those who are supposed to be serving you are abroad and the ones in Nigeria are living in opulence.  Obasanjo and his company created the situation where you are being supplied with adulterated kerosene. This is in addition to the death trapped roads all over the nation that are taking the lives of your children Details

Dear General President: Please Talk and Walk. By M. O. Ené

[NJ, USA]

(GAMJI)

General President, it is so sad that we all jump up whenever Biafra is mentioned. Biafra lives in all the nationalist movements from Niger Delta through Gani Adams’ OPC to Tivland. The state of Sharia suggests de jure secession; the same Sharia you thought would fizzle out -- it hasn’t. Your Yoruba kinsmen have planted Oduduwa constitution and a flag to match. We should sometimes stop and ask a simple question: Why? The answer, sir, is so simple it is incredible: the problems that led to Biafra are still with us. The only place to resolve them is at a conference of the various nationalities that are seeking separation either by refusing to share the bed or by simply edging the other out of the family fortune. Details

Christian Fundamentalist Media Terrorism Against VOA Hausa Staff. By Kabiru Muhammad Gwangwazo

(GAMJI)

Barry had asked me whether I would file a report on the unlikely event of prostitutes demonstrating in front of the emir's palace in Kano demanding for their rights or whatever. And (un-expectedly (?) for an MA Journalism Graduate of a British University) I had expressed my reservations about passing such a report, taking cover behind cultural and religious sensibilities. Barry had gleefully advised me that that was the kind of report that would make him happy. Details

Obasanjo's Use of Army for Political Survival: A Recipe for Disaster. By Professor Omo Omoruyi

(GAMJI)  

Let me leave President Obasanjo with one message.   Increasing participation of the army in domestic crisis would make the army an integral part of the political process and erode the power of civilian institutions.   The army as an actor in the political process would only lead to undue dependence of the President on the army and less on the civilian political actors.   This is the situation Nigeria is increasingly finding itself today. Details

Revisiting Cause and Effect Relations in Dr. Umez's Article "The ultimate casualty in Nigeria". By Ify Maduka

[MOSCOW RUSSIA]

(GAMJI

In my own opinion, the first step to take is to widen the audience of the current discussion in the Diaspora. The aim is to fight ignorance and create awareness. The better-informed people are, the more difficult it will be for these entrenched interests to have their ways. The first challenge is to involve as much Nigerians as possible in that discussion. The second thing is to reverse the politics in Nigeria that creates wealth for certain entrenched northern interests at the expense of other Nigerians. Details

A.B.U.’s New S.B.R.S.: Re-inventing Education in the North. By Paul Mamza

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI WRITER)

The late Sardauna never minced any word when he categorically stated in his inaugural speech on the occasion of his installation as Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University on the 23^rd of November 1963 that it is a Northern University for Northerners. His evinced zeal and analytical prowess to translate the quest forms the cardinal principle upon which the University was founded as captured in his remark that "our character must reflect the needs, the traditions, the social and intellectual heritage of the land in which we live". Details

SUNDAY MUSINGS: The National Assembly, the President and the Electoral Law. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

Nigeria is a dangerous country to come from: if you decide to make yourself aware of what is going on there, you can have coronary thrombosis if you are not careful. One has to be careful. If it is not one thing, it is another. I have for example spent the last three weeks preparing to release four "arithmetical" policy articles

Details

Crying for Nigeria. By Ikenna E. Anokute  

[NEW YORK, NEW YORK]

(GAMJI)

Our country is an oil-rich Cinderella state that never quite made it to the ball. Our history is littered with horrible moments. The fate of a failed state, where the state had withered away completely and  only the system of corruption and nepotism now, hangs over Nigeria. As Nigerians, we ought to feel ashamed that our country is today the most corrupt nation on earth . Very rich in vast oil reserves, yet mercifully poor.

Details

Olusegun Obasanjo: Conduct Unbecoming of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. By Ibiyinka Solarin

(GAMJI)

Obasanjo is an ordinary man called upon to do an extra-ordinary thing, a rough hewn former soldier called upon to operate in a democratic setting, give hope to a people who have been ill-served by a succession of rogue elements and help us lay the foundation of a democratic society. Details

Critiquing the Nigerian Say! By Abdul Karim Obaje

(GAMJI)

I could not help been baffled when I read a report that the Nigerian Economic Summit group held sometime this year had no kind words for the Obasanjo’s government, a position which of course, as expected drew the ire of the second in command, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. Details

The Oputa Panel v. Abubakar: A Forum for Vendetta, Witchhunt and

Character-Assassination. By  Chika Onyeani

(GAMJI)

Major Hamza al-Mustapha, we must remember, was the Chief of Security for the late Gen. Sani Abacha. He was the same person who told us that he would have become Head of State if he so wanted, that he could have shot Gen. Abubakar, if he so wanted, for sitting on Gen. Sani Abacha's chair, that other Generals were begging him to take over the reigns of government and become Head of State. Details

Where Modernism has Failed and Traditionalism has Thrived: A Look at Commercial Ranching and Fulani Herding System. By Ismail Iro, Ph.D.

[USA]

(FOUNDER GAMJI.COM)

First, contrary to expectations, the Fulani did not embrace ranching as the alternative to traditional pastoralism. Second, ranching did not raise the output of milk and meat. In fact, traditional pastoralism continued to record higher output per unit of land than commercial ranching. Third, the anticipated economic benefits of ranching did not materialize; rather, the prices of milk and meat from the ranch grew beyond the means of the ordinary citizens. Fourth, there was no evidence that ranching had facilitated the resettlement of the Fulani. Thus, the reality of pastoral formation in Nigeria, as in much of Africa, was that almost universally, a ranching scheme was a financial catastrophe. Details

Tale of Two Countries. By  Samuel Bayo Arowolaju

(GAMJI)

One of the greatest dangers in the unfolding developments in the north is the progressive ‘Talibanization’ of Nigeria. Now that the original Talibans of Afghnistan have been ‘unturbanned’ and disgraced out of the terrorist enclave, I have my fears that they might be given solace and regroup in the northern Nigeria. Details

Political Consequences of the New Electoral Law in Nigeria:One Party Dominance, Not Democracy.  By Professor Omo Omoruyi 

[BOSTON UNIVERSITY]  

(GAMJI)

The President's call to Nigerians dissatisfied with the new Bill to go to the Supreme Court betrays his political insensitivity to an essential political issue, which he refused when the issue of Sharia was first raised with him even though he reneged on that rule when it came to issue of resource control.   The President is indirectly asking Nigerians to take the impossible route of the Supreme Court to pursue their legitimate political demands. Details

MONDAY QUARTER-BACKING:  Advising Caesar:  President Obasanjo and His  2002 “Budget of Hard Times Ahead”. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[PROFESSOR OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, HOWARD UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI WRITER)

I know that President Obasanjo has been angry lately,  and that I tread on dangerous grounds, but here I give unto Caesar – in this case, President Obasanjo – what I can: some critique and some pieces of  advice. In the event that President Obasanjo is a candidate for re-election, the performance of his 2002 Budget will be crucial in his re-election bid. In the event that he is no longer President after mid-2003, the present Year 2002 budget of Obasanjo is the last FULL-YEAR national budget that he will ever preside over. Details

"Every Savage Loves His Native Shore". By Odindu Odunze Ph.D.

[UTAH USA]

(GAMJI)

Please note that not every Igboman is expected to join the bandwagon for a new Biafra. Some Igbo leaders and intellectuals may oppose the idea and in the process purposely jeopardize their continued existence in Igboland because when African leaders disagree and want to kill, they often kill their best. Details

SATURDAY ESSAY:  The Senate and the Universal Basic Education Bill. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[MARYLAND USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

On the whole, the national expenditure on Education in our annual budgets should be significantly increased for ALL the states and monitored closely even before these designations of "disadvantageousness" are made, otherwise actions taken will be ineffective. One hopes that the House of Representatives and the President (who launched the UBE scheme itself in Sokoto back in September 1999) will consider this alternative policy proposition before it becomes law. Details

How Capitalism and Individualism Promote Humanitarianism. By  Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

Mr. Lindsey states that the citizens of the United States are the most generous donors to charitable causes because of their ethos of individualism. He argues that people who have imbibed the culture of individualism are, paradoxically, more generous than those who are communalistic; that capitalistic individuals are bigger givers than communists or socialists. Mr. Lindsey’s article was obviously intended to serve a public relations purpose. Details

Governor Osoba Should Stop Deceiving the Unwary on Creation of Ijebu State and Local Government in Ogun State. By Ogbeni Lanre Banjo

(GAMJI)

On behalf of the people of Ogun state and the NCP, I call on Governor Olusegun Osoba to be concerned more about the real problems of water, health, roads, housing, food, education, etc. afflicting our people rather than being pre-occupied with how to deceive the people with vote-catching empty and illusory promises. Details

Re-enacting Shariah in Nigeria. By Siraj Islam Mufti, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

About the Author: Siraj Islam Mufti, Ph.D. is a freelance writer on websites. He is retired from active service in the United States. The longest period of his service (22 years) has been at the University of Arizona as a professor in cancer research. His career includes 4 years (1963-1967) of service in Northern Nigeria; three of these as a manager of Ahmad and Ahmad Farm in Bakura (near Talata Mafara), owned by the late Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello and his son-in-law the late Ahmadu Danbaba Marafan Sokoto. Details

The Criminalization of Shari'a: A Wake-up Call to our Ulaamah and the Muslim Ummah.  By Muhammad Ali-Baba. Forwarded by Fela Ogunmodede

[ABUJA]

(GAMJI) 

I have watched, with pain and increasing anxiety, the never-ending controversies and contrived crises engendered by the introduction of the criminal legal aspects of Shari’a in some states of the Federation. It baffles me, to no end, how those Governments’ actions/inaction and utterances seem to, unwittingly, lend credence to Shari’a opponents who posit that the Shari’a was, after all, a political gimmick. Details

Afenifere: Game Over? By Dotun Oni

(GAMJI) 

Afenifere should have been Awolowo’s ideology personified rather it has become a battle ground for political adversary and conflicts enactment. The chieftains of Afenifere that should have re-engineered Yoruba politics have turned gerontocracy and senile to a metaphor for describing Yoruba Politics. Details

Muslims and New Realities in America. By Tokunbo Awoshakin

[WASHINGTON, D.C.]

(GAMJI) 

Recently, President George Bush, who continued the bombardment of Afghanistan, an Islamic nation even during the month of Ramadan as part of the "war against terrorism", played host to representatives of 53 mostly Muslim nations. Nigeria's Prof. Jubril Aminu attended this special Ramadan feast at the White House. Details

PDP, The Nation and Ndigbo. ByKelechi Eme

(GAMJI)

These are strange times for Nigeria and Nigerians. The Peoples Democratic Party has finally laid itself bare  to discerning Nigerians as a conglomerate of individuals and groups whose only agenda is to complete the pillaging of the nation's resources. Never in the history of mankind has an amalgamation of people sacrificed their consciences and principles because of Personal agrandisement. Details

Some Causes of Kano Riots and Solutions Based on Stimulating Economic Growth. By Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa

(GAMJI) 

Since May 1953 there have been many riots in Kano. The ferocity of these uprisings and the human and material cost has always increased. The nature of state and elite responses has also been consistent. The state always sets up a commission of inquiry with a promise that it will never allow such a thing to occur again. Details

Aluko and Obasanjo: Credibility and the Burden of Proof. By Prof. Mike Ikhariale

(GAMJI) 

How does the chief economic intelligence officer explain the huge quantity of hard currencies retrieved from the domestic estate of General Abacha? Even if he was in doubt at the beginning, with the series of glaring disclosures emanating from Switzerland, the UK and other places, is he still in doubt? Prof. Aluko, more than anyone else, has the best resources available to authoritatively confirm some of these revelations. Details

Middle Belt: The Awolowo connection. By  Ahmed Tafida Jalingo

[KADUNA]

(GAMJI) 

Chief Awolowo tried the might of the North in the First Republic, got frustrated and tried a coup plot which earned him the prison term he served. He used the period spent in gaol to work out a well-articulated plan for his captors, whom he reasoned gained their strength in numbers, numbers by virtue of the population of their domain. He gathered enough data on the region out of which he understood that, this population the Northern region is capitalising upon consists of a coalition of various minorities being led by the Hausa Fulani who in the real sense are more in the minority in the region itself. Details

Thank God Nigeria is in the the Group of Death! By BU Nwosu

(GAMJI) 

When I saw the match fix-up for the World cup next year, I thanked my stars that the Nigerian team ended up in that dreaded group. Imagine the line up: Sweden, Argentina, England, Nigeria. An array of soccer juggernauts. It is like a human wrestler being invited to the spirit world to wrestle against seven-headed giants. Details

The 2003 Phenomenon. By Paul Mamza

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI WRITER)

One cannot opt but to denounce the unpalatable comments of the likes of Waziri Adio against an elderstateman and an economist of high repute in person of Professor Sam Aluko for stating his state of mind about Abachanomics and its positive effects on the economic fortunes in Nigeria. Details

Remembering the Late Dr. Tai Solarin. By  Tokunbo Ojo

(GAMJI)

Uncle Tai's service to humanity through education will forever be remembered. Many dying Igbo children were grateful to Uncle Tai for saving them during the Civil War. He went into the battle field and "picked" many of these young folks. He enrolled them at Mayflower College, free of charge. Ironically, he spent 48 hours in detention because he condemned the state wedding of Col. Yakubu Gowon, then Nigeria's head of state, during the Civil War. Details

ABU Crisis: Sack Siddique Mohammed! By Femi Awoniyi

[SPEYER, GERMANY]

(GAMJI)

The opposition of the organisation, which was obviously mobilised by Siddique Mohammed, a Fulani, shows that it is representing the interests of Fulanis, thereby making a  mockery of  its self-professed commitment to protecting the interests of ALL Northerners. Details

The Talibans of Nigeria. By Tunde Adenodi

[NEW JERSEY, U.S.A.]

(GAMJI)

From Kano to Zamfara, and from Bauchi to Katsina, Arewa's talibans unleashed mayhem on their countrymen. Why? Because the Federal Government of Nigeria under Obasanjo supported the US action in Afghanistan. And who was the most qualified target of their anger? Their Ibo and Yoruba compatriots and all others who claim equal stake at the entity called Nigeria. Details

Grazing Reserve Development: A Panacea to the Intractable Strife Between Farmers and Herders. By Ismail Iro, Ph.D.

[Founder, gamji.com]

[USA]

(GAMJI)

There can be no solution to the intractable strife between pastoralists and agriculturalists so long as the problems of rangeland use are not addressed. The role of the government in this onerous task is to attempt at striking a delicate balance among competing land users, without destroying the precarious equilibrium in nomadic pastoral enterprise. The key is enforcing land reform and protecting the demarcated grazing reserves for the intended users. Details

"You See, I Told You So". By Odindu Odunze Ph.D.

[UTAH, U.S.A.]

(GAMJI)

I do not believe that Mr. President Obasanjo and some Yorubas desire to usurp the larger share of what Nigeria has for the benefit of the Yorubas only. If they do, then they fall into the category of men who have been regimented to undermine the general aspirations of the native peoples of Nigeria, and they would be no better than the highway robbers. This is applicably true with any group that might get into power. Details

Building the Foundation for National Unity. By  Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

When a child has finished drinking his bottle of Coke, we may tell him that the bottle is empty. He will agree, and this is true for his age. But we may tell an older child that the bottle is not really empty, that nature does not permit a vacuum. The bottle is full of air. And again, this is true. And yet we can go on to tell an even more mature person, that the empty bottle contains more than one item; that it contains a mixture of many gases including nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Details

HIV/AIDS in Africa: Lessons Learned. By  Ronald Dellums, Jack Kemp, Chinua Akukwe, and Melvin Foote

(GAMJI)

For a disease that infects almost 600 people every hour worldwide and kills more than 60 children during the same time period, time indeed is of the essence.  It is even more urgent in Africa where more than 28 million people live with HIV/AIDS. In Africa, we must channel our creative energies into action to save lives and secure future generations. Details

Ascendancy of Irredentism. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo [KADUNA]

(GAMJI)

The Tivs have been having a running battle with the Jukuns and the Fulanis for over five years around Wukari and its environs, yet nobody bothered to talk about it until the Jukuns, who have warrior traditions, decided to take the fight to the Tivs.  That is the only time that the Suswans of this world came out smoking fire. Details

In the Eye of the Storm: Critiquing the Critics of The Adulteress' Diary. By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

[LAGOS, NIGERIA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

The only way to understand the Diary is to take it, primarily and singularly, for what it is. The Diary is a work of satire....It was not a pornographic work, in spite of its graphic language. It was also not a work of jurisprudence, even if it marshalled arguments of law. It was a satire on northern society and particularly its hypocrisies and pretences. It criticised in particular the northern Muslim male and how he views and treats women, all the time justifying this treatment using the symbols and authority of religion. Details

Still on that “Adulteress’ Diary”.  By  Bashir Aliyu Umar

[ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MADINA]

(GAMJI)

...there are a number of themes that recur consistently in several of Lamido’s articles on issues pertaining to Islam. The first is what I observed to be a very negative attitude towards the early Ulama, the Imams of Ijtihad, especially when they take judicial positions contrary to what he feels are the right ones...The second theme that consistently recurs in Lamido’s writings is what I see as an attempt to obscure the fact that there is an absolute and transcendental truth in Islam. The western world view which out of its fanatical and fundamentalist belief in relativity extends it to all spheres of universal phenomena, both physical and non-physical, do not see anything as absolute, and regards everything as relative. Details

Osu Caste System is an Cultural Albatross for Ndiigbo. By Okenwa R. Nwosu

[MARYLAND, U.S.A.]

(GAMJI)

Osu caste system is a sociocultural phenomenon rooted in pre-colonial religious practices of the Igbo people. Ndiigbo have a huge task ahead of them before they can rid their society of an unjust practice that has lingered beyond the sociocultural construct on which it was founded.

Details

Jerry Okaha, Leave Voice of America Hausa Service Alone, By

Hannatu Mohammed  

(GAMJI)

So for Mr. Okaha and Mr. Last to portray VOA Hausa as anti- America, or bias  or anti-Christians is nothing but a misrepresentation of facts, and inimical to the interests of the U.S. in Nigeria. The problem we have in Nigeria is that we have people like Jerry Okaha, who hate people for their ethnic or religious affiliations. He, Mr. Okaha, is the problem not VOA Hausa, and he must change his mind, and embrace Jesus for salvation. Details

Obasanjo Versus The Academia. By Prof. Mike Ikhariale

[MASSACHUSETTS]

(GAMJI)

Speaking in Calabar recently, the President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo tersely berated the Nigerian academia as represented by ASUU, in a language that was, for all intents and purposes, wholly unpresidential. In his own words, “Teachers are not performing in any reasonable degree. They are only interested in their pocket ...things have collapsed. We have to rehabilitate them”. Not done yet, he went on to throw the big verbal bomb to the effect that "lecturers are the bane of academic excellence in Nigeria. Details

Can Nigeria Survive? By Ikenna  E.  Anokute

[ NEW YORK]

(GAMJI)

Properly counted, Nigerians number 200 million on the face of the earth. That is our greatest asset . One in eight African is, by statistics a Nigerian. If there is one thing that can be said about Nigerians that has caused a lot of pain, and yet is historically true, it is that politically we are one of the most naïve people. The distrust among ourselves has marginalized our existence. Nigeria has the most talented black people on earth, yet we are the most  selfish. Details

The Epoch Maker.  By Umaru Isyaku 

[KANO] 

(GAMJI)

So now that we have assumed the impossibility of September 11, how can we now protect skyscrapers? If it were possible to change, I would have recommended still building vertically, but downwards below ground level this time round. That way the buildings will be safely out of harms way, and the new-age Kamikazes will have to think of something else as their options narrow down. Details

Reason: The Ultimate Casualty in Nigeria. By Bedford Nwabueze Umez, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

Why is mortality rate in Nigeria so high and alarming? Why is unemployment rate in Nigeria at an all time high, so distressing and very frightening? Why is Nigeria, a country ranked No. 6 in crude oil production reduced to a land of joblessness and seekers of handouts? Details

Barbarity Versus Brutality. By Paul Mamza

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI)

The Benue hyper-vibrant crisis had also demonstrated the tantrum of a remnant dissident army against a former truce of an expired constitutional authority. The destruction of the house of the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff Rtd. Lt. General Victor Malu is one pinch in the cacophony of the several rebellious acts being witnessed in a suppressed military institutions since the advent of democracy in 1999. Details

The Voice of America (VOA) is for American Interest Not for Your Tribal Interest: A Reply to Mr. Joshua B. Bwala Write-up on Voice of America Hausa Service (VOA). By Jerry Okaha

(GAMJI)

VOA is not for tribal and religious zealots. It is not a property and medium for ethnic and tribal mongers in Nigeria. It is an American property...You can go ahead and tune to RADIO IRAN, RADIO LIBYA, RADIO TALIBAN OR OTHERS like you suggested, but still it is for these countries interest and agenda not Nigeria interest or your tribal interest. Details

Save Voice of America (VOA) Hausa Service: Sunday Dare Must Go. By Joshua B. Bwala

[ABUJA]

(GAMJI)

I have known Sunday Dare for over ten years. I have a number of his write-ups condemning people who share a different view from his own view that is guided by ethnic and religious sentiments. He has since demonstrated this bigotry and unprofessional attitudes in a number of cases. Had it been VOA did a very good research about Mr. Dare’s profile, he would not even be amongst those short-listed for interview even if he is a citizen of the U.S. (which he is not!) Details

Freeing Nigerian Politics From Religion. By  Alhaji Muhammed Ighile, JP

[BOSTON]

(GAMJI)

As a Nigerian who grew up in a family made up of adherents of different religions, I cannot sufficiently express my anguish over the endless spate of religious conflicts which have unfortunately claimed the lives of thousands of people as well as the mindless destruction of valuable properties, including holy places of worship. To imagine that the individuals perpetrating these mayhems profess one of these conflicting faiths further raises the question as to whether indeed these are truly believers or agents of Satan. Details

Can President Obasanjo Organize a "Succession Election' in 2003? Plea for Internationalization of Process. By Professor Omo Omoruyi

(GAMJI)

My view is that our people cannot be made to make the mistake of 1999 when the original founders of the PDP were made to accept the huge sum of money from General OBASANJO and military jacked the party and ran away with it.   The Nigerian people were made to vote for him without knowing what he stood for with the respect to all the fundamental issues afflicting the Nigerian people since the creation of Nigeria in 1914. Details

Nigeria’s Rush to Unleaded Gasoline. By Baba El-Yakubu Jibril

[SAUDI ARABIA]

(GAMJI)

Do we need more or cleaner gasoline? Are the consumers ready to shoulder the necessary additional cost of the unleaded fuel? Wouldn’t the new fuel escalate the cross boarder drift of the fuel? In my opinion, these important questions need to be addressed before policy makers rush to implementing plans for changing the fuel. Details

‘Come Let Us All Reason Together’.  By Samuel Bayo Arowolaju

(GAMJI)

Let the West and the Yoruba go back and put its house in order. A Yoruba is any body with the smallest drop of Oduduwa’s blood in him/her, whether you are from Oyo or Ilorin or Warri. It is only a bastard that calls himself Olusola or Babatunde or Adebayo and says he is Fulani in the name of political spoils. If for whatever reasons in the past Ilorin had sold itself to the Fulani, this is the time of Jubilee. Details

Safiya: Can Bafarawa Do What Sir Abubakar III Wouldn't? By  Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo

(GAMJI)

Using this background, Safiya should not be allowed to die for the ignorance of others. Since she was arrested and charged for the offence before May 25th when Shari'a was promulgated in the state, I doubt if any competent jury when constituted will tow the line of the court. Besides there were even indications, at one point, that the Alkali had contemplated throwing out the suit but he took the easier option of transfering the onus to someone else. Details

Biafra On My Mind. By Okenwa R. Nwosu, M.D.

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI)

The overwhelming majority of Igbo political elite envision the future of Ndiigbo within the context of a united Nigeria for obvious reasons. Within the pro One-Nigeria Igbo political alignment, there are various shades of opinion as regards the extent of autonomy that shall best protect interests of Ndiigbo within the federation. For the average Igbo, the choices are not easy hence the ongoing propaganda battle to mobilize popular support for diverse entrenched positions. Details

An Interview with Dan Wailare. By Mohammed Wailare

[RPF UNIVERSITY MOSCOW]

(GAMJI)

General Abacha defied the west, he never took a loan from them and he paid almost all the debts we owe that his Government inherited, our foreign reserve was pretty fat during his time, Nigeria had a vision for self development and in return they started calling him names, dictator, brutal butcher etc. echoed by the south western press. Details

Convention Rips A Nation Apart.  By Abdulrazaque  Bello-Barkindo  

[SWEDEN]

(GAMJI)

As things stand today, that would have been fair enough. Because, with all the disparaging adjectives that he has attacked Abacha, Obasanjo is fast proving that he is no better than the guy who tamed him. And for those of us who once thought that things could change for the better with Obasanjo, it is difficult not to be offended. Details

African Union (AU): In Perspective. By Ugwuegbulam Sebastian A.

[GHANA]

(GAMJI)

Africanism does not portray enmity with the western world rather it cushions on the need  to model our own perception of democracy. It hinges on the need for Africans to consult one another in terms of need and always be our brothers keeper. Our ideological differences should be settled among us. We should not betray each other for a piece of favor emanating from the western world. Details

Archbishop Carrey, Lady Rose and Religious Tolerance in Northern Nigeria. By Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa

[KANO, GARIN DABO]

(GAMJI)

In Northern Nigeria it seems the Christian elites may not have been reporting the warmth Muslim leaders extend to them. If not it is doubtful if Lord Carrey will have included Nigeria in his comment just a day after a leading Igbo Christian was well received in the Palace of His Highness the Emir of Kano. Details

“FG to Probe Tiv-Jukun Crisis"- A Rejoinder. By Terna Agor

[LAGOS]

(GAMJI)

The so-called “judicial commission” that the federal government is contemplating “will focus on establishing the fact of the crisis but it would not have the power to recommend punitive measures against anybody.” So what kind of toothless probe is that?  Are we about to be treated to part 2 of the Oputa Panel “Home Video show”? Details

Power Blocs: Nigeria's Achilles Heel. By Ogaranya Uju Nkwocha Afulezi, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

Of all the booby traps the British set to hamstrung the future Nigerian nation, none has proved as harmful, yet appearing deceptively innocuous, as the power blocs named "regions." The concept of regions or regional blocs is antithetic to "one nation, indivisible." Once a country is demarcated along regional interests, religious interests, ethnic interests, then wrangling, hustling, jostling, maneuvering for power, greed for lion's share, and ultimately, disenfranchisement of the underdog will reign perpetual. Details

Parties and Politics in Nigeria. By Professor Omo Omoruyi

[BOSTON UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI)

Does Nigeria since 1999 have a viable party system?   Does Nigeria since 1999 have a viable democratic order?   Is there any prospect of having a viable party system?   Is there any prospect of a democratic order?   What are the factors militating against a viable party system?   One could also ask what are the factors impeding the full realization of democratic order in Nigeria?   These are some of the questions that we would have to examine in this paper.  

Details

The Adulteress' Diary: To Those Who May Have Problems With It. By Toyin Kinoshi

(GAMJI)

Granted, the lady was pregnant and she was not married. A fair justice system seeking a conviction of fornication against her must prove that her pregnancy was as a result of consensual sex with another man. Doesn't Sharia legal system embrace the doctrine of according doubts to the accused? Details

HIV/AIDS As a Security Issue. By Dr. Chinua Akukwe

(GAMJI)

High rates of AIDS deaths are also likely to fracture the fragile democratic foundations of many African nations as the incidence grows in the powerful armies of African nations. Estimates from the World Bank, UNAIDS and the Economic Commission of Africa put HIV prevalence rates in the Military of African nations from 10 to 50 percent. In many African nations, according to the International Crisis Group, the rate of infection among the Military is as much as five times that of the civilian population. Details

Safiya Husseini, Sanusi and the Others. By Abdulrahman Muhammad Dan-Asabe

[P. R. CHINA]

(GAMJI)

I have read the various write-ups of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on the Gamji.com and I salute his determination to hit where it hurts and damn the consequences through his well researched, factual, educative and thought provoking analysis.  However, halfway into The Adulteress' Diary, I knew that this time around the Prince would be in trouble.  Not that he has done anything wrong, NO.  You see, unlike his other articles, The Adulteress' Diary has hit we northern Muslim men where it hurts. Details

Response to dividends of Obasanjo's Foreign trips. By 

Intimidation+Gangsterism=PDP Democracy. By Max Gbanite

[NEW JERSEY, USA]

(GAMJI)

There are many people who have fallen victims of what appears to be an oppressive regime of Peter Odili, going by the account of different news publications. Why Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has allowed such carnage -- as seen in Edo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Delta, Bayelsa, and even of recent in Benue State (where General Malu's house was burnt and some members of his family killed) -- to sweep the nation without addressing them properly keeps democratic-minded people like me astounded and bereft of hope and confidence in returning his party, PDP, back to power in 2003. Details

The Usher's Notes. By Dr. Banu Zubair, M. K.

(GAMJI)

You might say that the adulteress' mouthpiece did not claim to be a Shari'ah expert but, what else could he be? The diary not only questioned the Shari'ah as a coherent legal tradition, but Sanusi Lamido Sanusi also mocked Allah, his Prophet, the Prophet's companions and respected Muslim jurists since the beginning of Islam. Details

MONDAY QUARTERBACKING:  Justice, Jihad and the Just War. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

For Islam means Peace, why are so many adherents involved in war?  And if Christians are expected to turn the other cheek and forgive their enemies, under what conditions, under the Christian faith, must these pacifist stance be violated? Details

Industrial Buildings in Residential Neighborhoods in Nigeria-Any Health Risks? By  Alfred Obiora Uzokwe

(GAMJI)

There are areas in our dearly beloved Lagos today, where residential buildings are so crowded together that having windows is a mere formality!  This is because nearby buildings block cross ventilation.  Suffice it to say that the health implications of such living arrangements cannot be overemphasized, especially where heaps of trash are strewn all over the place exuding putrid smells characteristic of compost sites. Details

Sharia: Death Knell of a Ruling Class. By Tunde Adenodi

 [NEW JERSEY, USA]

(GAMJI)

The morbid fear of the Yorubas for Sharia, the Islamic jurisprudence, is evident in this common saying: "ma a da seria fun e", meaning - I will do justice to you, Sharia style. Whoever this statement is made to must be ready for a full dose of retribution for whatever offence may have been committed, real or imagined. Details

Orizu, Ironsi and 1966 - A Rejoinder to Siollun's Rejoinder. By Arthur Unegbe

(GAMJI)

In the article "The Northern Counter-Coup of 1966 - A Rejoinder to a Rejoinder",  Mr. "Max Siollun" describes himself  'as a person who does not want to leave Nigerians with misconceptions about Nigeria's history' yet he is at risk of doing just that by not bothering to confirm the veracity of the contents of some of his sources, misunderstanding the contents of others, and selectively quoting from some while ignoring other references.  Details

Politics is not Catechism. By Paul Mamza

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]  

(GAMJI WRITER)

President Ibrahim Babangida may be defending the decision of AFRC, the highest decision making body then when he announced the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections but earned an indelible stigma from the South-West and deem him not fit to appear on the political scene again as revealed by IBB in an interview with Newswatch July, 2000 when the A.D. shut its door against him, Late Sani Abacha may be leading a genuine cause in his policy formulation against the Western world in order to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the nation, but was regarded as one of the few enemies of the Western world and was isolated. Details

SATURDAY ESSAYS:  Clarifying Some Issues on Voting/Dual Citizenship. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[Burtonsville, MD, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

I laid out objections to certain incapacitations of non-resident and dual citizens with respect to the Electoral Bill currently in conference in the Nigerian National Assembly.  In that essay, I argued simply that a citizen is a citizen, whether residing abroad or dual, and hence any provision that abridges his right to vote is illegal and unconstitutional.  Details

NKEMJIKA and 'Order of Precedence': Fallacies, Ignorance and Mischiefs. By Prof. Mike Ikhariale

(GAMJI)

It is therefore wrong to think that because the National Assembly is of ‘national jurisdiction’; any of its members is thus constitutionally higher than the office of the Chief Justice of the Federation and also state governors! I admit that every country has its own idea of who comes first in the national arena and this is always in conformity of the peculiarity of the constitutional stipulations. I must however confess that, in my little study of constitutionalism, this must be the first time I am coming across such morally debased and intellectually hollow contention. Details

I know Why the Caged Bird Sings

By. Ikenna E. Anokute 

[NEW YORK]

(GAMJI)

Under the greedy leadership of the present politicians, the old clannishness has revived. The per capital income of Nigerians, the 33rd highest in the world just two decades ago, has plummeted to 13^th lowest, below even Haiti’s (the world’s poorest country). In order to survive, honest hardworking citizens have been forced to resort to corruption. This is a problem of potential civil and economic consequence. Details

The Ruling of Death on Safiya Tungar-Tudu. By Abdulsalam Ajetunmobi
[LONDON]

(GAMJI)

In the light of the above, the judgement passed by the Islamic Court in Gwadabawa, Sokoto State on Ms Safiya Tungar-Tudu, to me, is harmful to the healthy state of the Islamic religion in the country. And to repeat again, flogging rather than stoning to death, according to the verse cited above, is contemplated by the Qur’an (see also Holy Qur’an chapter 4: 24). Details

Odinani: Igbo Religion--A Rejoinder to M.O. Ene's Rejoinder. By Ogaranya Uju Nkwocha Afulezi, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

But, there is a problem. After reading the article and convinced that he might be right, I began to call some of our Igbo anthropology and sociology professors I know. I asked them what was the name of Igbo traditional religion. None knew. I asked them what "Odinani" was, one of them said that it was the same as Omenala, another said that it had nothing to do with religion exclusively, and two others said that Igbo traditional religion had no name and did not require a name. Details

Dear Daa Kema. By M.O. Ene

[NEW JERSEY]

(GAMJI)

In 1999, many visitors to Nigeria flatly refused to fly domestic airlines; “flying coffins,” they called the crafts. I don’t know what statistics fueled such a despicable depiction of our domestic fleet, but we know that there were many substandard situations of technical nature surrounding the aviation industry. Details

Should We All Grow Beard? A Rejoinder to Olusegun Adeniyi of ThisDay Newspaper. By Abdullahi S. Abubakar

[ABUJA]

(GAMJI)

It is apt to state from the outset that the events of Saturday the 13^th in Kano is condemnable just it is necessary to highlight that it has nothing to do with the peaceful protest of Friday the 12^th of October which was peacefully concluded with a prayer for the people of Afghanistan.  It is also a fact that the peaceful protest of Friday the 12^th October has "thoroughly embarrassed" the likes of Mr. Adeniyi and the Nigerian Government, whose President was done “the honour” of being the only African leader informed before hand, the American invasion of Afghanistan. Details

Why Theocracies Fail. By Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

The underlying philosophy of theocracy is that the real and only ruler should be the all-knowing God, the Creator. As the Creator of the universes and of human beings, God knows best how people should conduct themselves on earth so that they may achieve the purpose of their existence. Therefore, God’s Will should govern the affairs of individual human beings and of societies as a whole. Details

The Adulteress' Diary. By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

(GAMJI WRITER)

[LONDON]

"You see, my name is Safiya Husseini, recently convicted for the crime of having been born a woman by a Shariah court in Sokoto. I know you have been told that my crime was adultery, not womanhood. I also know, being a mere woman, that you think I am most probably talking rubbish. When you finish reading this record of my own thoughts, possibly after my death, you will make up your mind." Details

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's "Adulteress' Diary". By Yusuf M. Musa

[KADUNA]

(GAMJI)

May I urge you to re-study your reading audience, to have a proper understanding of your immediate environment (Nigeria), to appreciate the position of Islam in this environment and to soften a little, mellow down a bit while you increase your strides and peddling in the enlightenment of Muslims and non-muslims put together.  Finally, may I humbly request you to discuss your article with a Sunna Mallam, such as Prof. Shehu Galadanci, Sheikh Ahmad Lemu or Dr. Jibril Oyekan so that you listen to a learned view  of where you erred - and seek forgiveness of Allah, Azza Wa Jalla. Details

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Has Murdered Democracy. By Max Gbanite

[NEW JERSEY, USA]

(GAMJI)

In essence the Nigerian media have failed to point out the anomalies of this government objectively. Instead they are busy castigating General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd.) as the root cause of all that is wrong in this government. From the way they project the retired General, one would think that he is still the President and/or that he alone invented corruption as practiced today in Nigeria. Details

The Adulteress Diary: A Response to Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. By Nura Yusuf

(GAMJI)

I have for a long time been following up Prince Lamido’s commentaries but none has been so out of character like the Adulteress Diary where our Prince almost became a typical Nigerian Human Right Activist defending modernity and western civilisation against the Shari’a as practised by the Holy Prophet and the four guide caliphs. Details

Sunset in a Benighted Behemoth. By Paul Mamza 

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI WRITER)

In Nigeria, man had fallen a prey to humanity through acts of dehumanization by savages.  Like, it may be a better fate to be devoured by wild animals in the desert than to be a victim of the activities of the OPC militiamen which had unleashed terror and mayhem in Lagos and its environs.  A soldier’s fate may be a better deal to be totally destroyed by a nuclear weapon than to be slaughtered by blood-thirsty Tiv militiamen. Details

Adamawa: Decadence of Democracy. By Ibrahim Modibbo

(GAMJI)

For the people of northern Adamawa, along the Song, Mubi, and Madagali axis, the only dividends of democracy they could link up to the present administration is the influx of more tax collectors who made life very unbearable for the teeming populace. They have been marginalized in all department of human endeavour that some of them are openly expressing regrets why they did not join their kith and kin in the Cameroons during the plebiscites. Details

Safiya Hussaini: An Open Letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo. Forwarded By Tinuade Awe

(GAMJI)

It has come to our attention that an Islamic Court in Gwadabawa, Sokoto State, Nigeria recently pronounced a sentence of death by stoning, on a Ms. Safiya Hussaini.  This sentence was reportedly imposed after a trial in which the court found Ms. Hussaini guilty of the “crime” of adultery.  We, the undersigned Nigerian citizens, write to convey our deep unease about this sentence. We urge you to use your good offices to ensure that this sentence is not carried out. Details

Kalu: A Disaster Foretold? By Kelechi Eme

[LAGOS]

(GAMJI)

As far as the young generation Igbos are concerned, we have Governor Orji Uzor Kalu as our leader. With him and Governor Chimaroke Nnamani the sky is the limit for the young generation of Igbos. ''Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth'', Kalu you should never waiver or  renege on your covenant with the people of Abia State because of detractors, they are only balloons who will burst open by the slightest contact with any external object. Details

Does Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Prevaricate? By Engr. Tukur M. Lawal

(GAMJI)

Having read the various write-ups of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi both on the Gamji.com Internet web site and the Weekly Trust Newspapers, I was left with no option than to write and advise this beloved Brother. He should please fear Allah (SWT) and reconsider his views on some issues, I think he made some preposterous interpretations of the teachings of our Noble Holy Prophet (PBUH) in his recent articles. Details

MONDAY QUARTER-BACKING:  The Electoral Bill and Dual/Non- Resident Nigerian  Citizens. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

[Burtonsville, MD, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

I am sure that some reading this piece, including many Nigerians abroad, would   dismiss it as elitist gripe, in the midst of the many debilitating problems in Nigeria.  However, we can walk and chew at the same time:  no Nigerian should be above the law, or beneath it, elite or non-elite. So when does the law suit begin?  Will you be ready to throw in some money into the kitty? Details

Odinani: Igbo Religion. By M. O. Ené

[NEW JERSEY, USA]

(GAMJI)

In Igboland, religion is not organized and or centralized; it is the tradition. Like Islam, it is a way of life. The Igbo religion proper is anchored on one of the greatest and most benevolent deities under the Supreme Being: “Ani” (the Earth deity). Igbo belief in the sanctity of Earth deity is very deep. We thrive on its physical manifestation, “ala” (land), and we derive life itself from its benevolence. Details

SUNDAY MUSINGS:  An Odor of Soccer Corruption - A Call to Investigate. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D. 

[MARYLAND, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

The story is told of an American visitor to Islamabad a few years ago striking up a conversation with a Pakistani taxi driver about that country's Transparency International rating as the most corrupt country in the world.  The taxi driver retorted that in fact Pakistan was the second most corrupt country that year, but it had bribed Nigeria to switch positions with it since it was tired of playing second fiddle on the corruption scale for so long to Nigeria. Details

US Attacks: The Chickens Coming Home to Roost. By Lawai Samaila Hilin-bugu. Forwarded By Muktar Abubakar

[KATSINA, NIGERIA]

(GAMJI)

He held the prince tight and the whip could not make him to follow the usual way. At the dyeing pits and seeing the inferno the prince tried to struggle free but Bakin Wake maintained his grip and held him tight. The whip could not save the prince as Bakin Wake jumped straight into the pit. The two of them died within minutes and the people heaved a sigh of relief. Details

Legislative Terrorism. By Prof. Mike Ikhariale

[MASSACHUSETTS, USA]

(GAMJI)

To deny a Nigerian his constitutional rights to contest election just because he holds the citizenship of another country is a proposition fit only for the marines! Pointedly, this is denying Nigerians their rights of citizenship, the highest punishment known to law. Details

Tiv-Jukun Conflict/Expansionist Tendencies. By G. Bako

(GAMJI)

Honestly speaking, The Tiv people are known with violence among themselves and even to their neighbours. Perhaps, there are need for the prominent Tiv sons both Professors and highly placed once to answered the question why are they at war among themselves , neighbours and even Idoma people who happen to live with them in the same land be asked why the called a Tiv man (Animals). Details

The Northern Counter-Coup of 1966 – A Rejoinder to a Rejoinder. By Max Siollun

(GAMJI)

It was Ironsi that rallied loyal troops around the country to stop the January coup.  Why would he, at great risk to himself, stop a coup that he was part and parcel of?  The words of Major Nzeogwu in the week following the coup are also instructive.  Nzeogwu said of the coup plot: “We got some but not all. GENERAL IRONSI WAS TO HAVE BEEN SHOT. But we were not ruthless enough. Details

"Northern Nigeria Leadership: A Wasted Opportunity, A betrayed Trust." A Reply to Dr. Mbahi. By Oguchi Nkwocha. ByOguchi Nkwocha

(GAMJI)

Opposition to a Sovereign National Conference is succumbing to fear. You cannot allay such fears by insisting on an unworkable union. Instead, you only guarantee more bloodshed, more misery, more marginalization. Nigeria is not of a natural order. It was put together by the British. It has not, and does not work. We all need to have the courage to face that, and then, take care of the issues in a lasting manner. Details

Issues in the Dredging of the Niger and Benue Rivers. By  Peter Ekeh [Buffalo, USA]

(GAMJI)

There is a widespread view in the Niger Delta that President Olusegun Obasanjo despises Niger Deltans and that he does not care about their welfare. This is the President's opportunity to prove his detractors wrong. Let him go to the Niger Delta to talk to the people directly. After all, if he has been so persuasive in making a deal between White and Black Zimbabweans, can he not talk to his own countrymen and women about a subject that affects their livelihood and cultures? Details

Sleeping Muranya Fights At A dangerous Joint: In the Lighter Mood. By Uju Afulezi 

[HUMOR]

(GAMJI) 

"Uju, let me confess that I doff my hat for you guys who write on the internet. It has enabled many of us to learn a little bit more about what is happening in the world. But why are you all so hung up with politics? Why can't some of you loosen up a bit and write some humor? It would help to brighten up our day. What is all this seriousness, as if you all will solve all the world's problems?" Details

Sanusi Lamido’s Anti Heroes Heroism. By Magaji Galadima Abdullahi

(GAMJI WRITER)

[ALSO THE GAMJI COORDINATOR IN NIGERIA]

Lamido is probably the most controversial Nigerian writer in Cyberia today, and with good reason. He's not only tireless; he's an unusually gifted writer, and a scholar per excellence, a real chip off the old block, and he devotes most of his talent to uncovering apparent transgressions thereof. He never misses an opportunity to throw missiles at the so-called sharia governors for using the Islamic legal code as a political weapon as well as using religion to cover their irresponsibility. Details

Obasanjo Exposes Self and Senators. By Wada Nas

(WEEKLY TRUST) 

What crimes have the Tivs committed worse than the OPC who almost on a daily basis have been engaging in killing and the destruction of police stations? In the face of the devastation that happened, all the president could offer was to warn citizens against provoking the military. Details

Deconstructing the Nemesis of the Free World: Bin Laden. By David Asonye Ihenacho, Ph.D.

[NEW  YORK]  

(GAMJI)

Bin Laden’s recent railing against America, the United Nations and the rest of the civilized world, which was broadcast by al-Jazeera and published on the website of the BBC provides us the reason to reiterate even much more emphatically that the decision to block off some of his previous comments in the America media was a monumental mistake by the executives of the big media organizations. Details

Rejoinder to Femi Awoniyi. By Arthur Unegbe

(GAMJI)

the late Lt. Col Fajuyi was indeed a great man...However, in violation of his oath as an officer, he was certainly not apolitical as his involvement in 'operation wetie' betrayed.  I know it may be difficult for many out there who were either too young at the time or who have not been told the whole truth to accept certain facts.  I speak from the standpoint of one who was closely involved with the events of that era.  It is a fact that the late Colonel helped supply fuel to western region rioters and mentored some of the officers who carried out the January coup. Details

The Critics of Our Time. By Mohammed Wailare

[RPF UNIVERSITY MOSCOW]

(GAMJI)

Some of those critics attack their targets for a tribal reason, some for religious, while others attack for a personal reason to settle grudges or gain the favour of some section of the country. Save Alhaji Wada Nas (The northern voice), Paul Mamza (The Sardauna of A.B.U.), Alhaji Sani Kontagora ( The Magajin Rafi) and some few others who always support their Criticisms with facts that obviously no one can deny, the rest are just a bunch of confused individuals who have grudges for one reason or the other against some selected targets. Details

The Federal Government, ASUU and University Education in Nigeria. By Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa

[KANON DABO]

(GAMJI)

If ASUU continues to strike the federal government will portray it as an ungrateful union and many parents will tilt towards the government because for several years the university Calendar has always been disrupted by strikes. Students are also not in support of strikes because of the high level of poverty in Nigeria. So what are the options available to ASUU? Details

Watch Out: Global Village Headmaster Is Out To Get You. By Ogaranya Uju Nkwocha Afulezi, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

Question: Why do Igbo people speak English to each other during their conversations?

Answer: It is as result of years of miseducation. You know, when we were students - I attended Holy Ghost College, Owerri, we were punished for speaking "vernacular", meaning, Igbo. As well, Igbo people thought that speaking English was a way of showing off education, so they got into competition of speaking English, so much so that they hailed those they considered "speak English better than the English people" as the real educated ones. Details

Self-Succession Versus Legacy: A Dummy's View on Kano State Politics. By Murtala S. Sagagi

[BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO]

(GAMJI)

It is therefore my humble opinion that most political leaders in Kano State (being the state I am familiar with) are not so keen with making a real difference in the socio -economic well being of the ordinary citizens. But rather ‘to be there’ and make themselves popular heroes. At the moment, politicians have found electronic media and roaming about as effective means of fooling the poor electorate. Details

The Youth and the Nigeria Nation. By Yusuf M. Musa

[KADUNA]

(GAMJI)

The most disturbing problem however is the rate of social, religious and political upheavals ravaging the country and the cacophony of statement by our leader that the crisis are a sign that the country is going to leave in peace tantalize a diabolical  diagnosis of the problems facing this nation. Details

Violence Against Igbos in 1966 is Unjustifiable: Charge Rimi, Datti Ahmad to Court for the Kano Mayhem! By Femi Awoniyi

[SPEYER, GERMANY]

(GAMJI)

That the latest clashes in Kano are the handiwork of Fulani politicians has been shown by the support for the killings publicly expressed by Abubakar Rimi and Dr Datti Ahmad, the leader of the so-called Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria. It may be recalled that, in September, Ahmad openly threatened ”retaliation against Yorubas” over the death of some Hausas during the Agege riots of last year. Details

Igbo 101: Facts Little Told. By Ogaranya Uju Nkwocha Afulezi, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

Question: Why do the Igbo wear Yoruba Agbada and Hausa babban riga but the Yoruba and the Hausa do not ever wear Igbo national dress?

Answer: The Igbo take up foreign cultures more readily than other Nigerians, and they seem not to care that nobody reciprocates their carefree attitude to life. Most ethnics promote their cultures and show off what makes them unique. Actually, it is still the same so-called educated Igbo class who behave in such disgraceful and the devil-may-care attitude. Details

WTO and the Limits of Trade Liberalization. By  Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

Furthermore, one of the Laws that express the Will of God is the Law of Balance between giving and taking. This Law is fundamental in the relationships among individuals, groups, and countries. The Law implies that there must be exchange. Therefore, it is necessary for nations to exchange goods, services, ideas, etc. Details

War On Terrorism:  How Far, How Well? By David Asonye Ihenacho, Ph.D.

(GAMJI)

Nobody has so far demonstrated to us that the poor people of Afghanistan are one with Bin Laden and Al Quaeda.  If anything, Afghanis are themselves victims of a national hijack by the Taleban, Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. Details

Fact about Tiv-Fulani Conflicts- A Rejoinder. By Dr. Iorhemen Kyeleve. Forwarded by Yakubu Tor-Agbidye, Ph.D. 

(GAMJI)

The current crisis in Taraba state between the Tiv/Fulani and Jukun The recent crisis in Taraba state all started on the 13th of May 2001, when Fulani Cattle grazers entered the farm of one Mr. Iyortim Umande who is now late.  On the said date, Mr Umande approached the Fulanis requesting them to command their cattle out of his farm. Instead, the Fulanis abused the late Umande and later assaulted him by stabbing him to death.  The result of the killing of Umande was a commotion which led to the fleeing of the Fulanis and their cattle in the area. Details

Facts About Tiv-Fulani Conflict: A Response to Dr. Mku Ityokumbul and Dr. Yakubu Tor-Agbidye. By Abubakar Adamu

(GAMJI)

So, I wish Tivs or Tivs apologists will stop writing nonsense by false alibi on behalf of Tivs. They must face the facts that many communities have moved on but the Tivs seem to live in time capsule, where they think they can lash out when they are angry as in the past. Details

Rejoinder to Max Siollun - July 1966 coup. By Arthur Unegbe

(GAMJI)

Tafawa Balewa surrounded himself with Igbo officers. He appointed Ironsi against the objections of those (including the British) who wanted the Sandhurst trained Maimalari as the first Nigerian GOC.  He appointed Okafor his Guards Company commander.  He paid the price later.  His dead body was abandoned near Otta with a kolanut shoved into his mouth. Details

Dele Giwa: The Silent Fact. By A. U. Max Gbanite

(GAMJI)

The killers of this wonderful and very talented writer are still out there, but I am very doubtful if they are Akilu, and Tapgun under the leadership of General Babangida. He, General Babangida, had nothing to gain by having Dele Giwa killed. As a matter of records, the only people killed during his leadership were convicted coup plotters. Details

As the Sun Rises: On The Dr. Tilde’s Mallam B. By Ibraheem A. Waziri   

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI)

Yes! Education alone isn’t the solution, remember in spite of the much south-westerners have in their repose, yet they had to come thirty and eight years before they could take away leadership from the underdog North. They are still not the most productive in the country and of course not the most morally upright. Corruption is laudable everywhere in their land as their elites are busy riding on the feelings and emotions of their gullible laypeople. Details

America's Terror Campaign. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo 

[KADUNA, NIGERIA]

(GAMJI)

In the Middle East, the situation is even worse with a people denied their own country.  The Palestinians were forcefully uprooted to make room for European Jews – persecuted and terrorised by Europeans.  Any Palestinian born after 1948 has never known peace till date.  The US is the biggest sponsor and backer of the Zionist segregationist governments and people of Israel. Details

Urhobo and the Nigerian Federation: Whither Nigeria? By Peter P. Ekeh 

[The State University of New York at Buffalo]

(GAMJI)

The status quo is unacceptable. Under the current constitutional impasse, Abuja will bury the Niger Delta in hell fires, uncontrollable floods, and poisoned environments. We must summon all our resources and leadership attributes to prevent such fate. We must organize to realize a constitutional form of government that will protect the Niger Delta and our futures and children's futures. Details

Rejoinder on "Facts about Tiv - Fulani Conflict". By Professor Mku Ityokumbul Ph.D. and Yakubu Tor-Agbidye P.h.D., MBA 

(GAMJI)

First, let it be made clear to all Nigerians that, the Tiv had no conflict with the the Fulani. The Jukun, whose long standing feud against the Tiv people, stage-managed this conflict so as to make it appear as though it was a conflict between the Tiv and the Fulani. Thus, the correct title of the article should have been "Facts about Tiv - Jukun Conflicts." ...The Jukun have employed another cowardice tactics of dressing in Nigerian Military uniform so they can intimidate and attack the unsuspecting Tiv people. They are also known for using Nigerian Military vehicles to carry arms to the conflict zones.  Details

Malu's Travails and the Nigerian Reality. By Prof. Mike Ikharial 

[MASSACHUSETTS, USA]

(GAMJI)

General Victor Malu (retired) was until a few months ago the Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria. And by virtue of that office, was then the bona fide custodian of the nation’s flag and armory. More than that, he was equally the alter ego of the Nigerian Army, the undisputed repository of its doctrine and its general orientation. But just only a few days ago, the same General Victor Malu had to pour out his lamentation through the African Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation over his misfortune in the hands of the same army he has just relinquished command. Where else could such a drama happen, except in Nigeria and, in what army would such an abomination take place other than the Nigerian army? Details

The Omo Oduduwa at it Again: A Response to Professor Mobolaji Aluko. By Musa Ibrahim

(GAMJI)

[MINNA, NIGERIA]

The article makes an interesting reading, however the author has raised some fundamentals issues which requires immediate response and explanation with the view to set the record straight especially as its concerns the attitude of the people from the Northern part of the country towards the governance of this part of the world called Nigeria Details

Al-Bishak, ACF and Arewa-Centric...: A Rejoinder. By Paul Mamza

(GAMJI WRITER)

If it is true that the faction of the Middle Belt led by Chief Olusola Saraki dissolved into ACF as mentioned by him, then it is also true that the other faction led by Lt. General J. T. Useni  also did because General Useni is a member of the central working committee of ACF. From his thesis, Al-Bishak's preference for Arewa People Congress (APC) led by the Youthful Mohammed Sagir (Kano) and Asaph Zadok (Adamawa) as against ACF underscored the very basis for the establishment of ACF. Details

Fact About Tiv-Fulani Conflicts – A Rejoinder. By Zaiyol Karl

(GAMJI)

While there has been but only one Tiv riot which targeted only Tiv people in 1964, there have been thousands of Fulani riots dating back to 1804. Unlike the Tiv riot, these Fulani riots are routinely orchestrated for the purpose of killing people of other tribes to foster Fulani expansionist agenda and tighten their grip on control of the Federal Government. - the government which they do not contribute to its purse. Details

Shariacracy in Nigeria: The Intellectual Roots of Islamist Discourses. By  Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

(GAMJI WRITER)

With this background the reader can appreciate why Zakzaky and his group were very critical of shariacracy, arguing that you can not have an Islamic Law in an unIslamic system. The very prospect of marrying Islam and democracy is to this group inconceivable. Islam is Islam and Democracy is Democracy. Details

Fact About Tiv-Fulani Conflicts. By  Jibrin Amfani and Joel Agya

Forwarded by Dr. Sada Bello

(GAMJI)

We would like to remind the nation that the Tivs have haboured the agenda of destabilising any democratic government. We are living witnesses to the event of the 1964 in Tiv land which precipitated the 1966 military coup, that ruined the First Republic. The mess created by this coup is still with us today. Only recently at the Oputa panel, Col. Ben Gbulie, one of the Igbo Majors that master-minded the coup confirmed that the immediate cause of the 1966 coup was the Tiv riot. Details

An Open Letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo: "This Blood-Letting Must Stop!" By Professor Mobolaji E. Aluko [Burtonsville, MD, USA]

(GAMJI WRITER)

Let us make it very clear: we do not condone the killing of security agents whether in Odi or Gbeji or anywhere else in Nigeria. However, two wrongs do not make a right, and under NO circumstances should official government agents carry out ANY search-and-destroy missions on Nigerian citizens, to punish without guilt established. Details

Review policy on importation of used cars! By  Femi Awoniyi

(GAMJI)

On what basis did the government arrive at 5 years as the threshold? one would ask. Was the cost implication for car users and taxi operators taken into consideration? How much does government in Nigeria and private companies give to their workers as car loan? Details

My Country.  By Fa’iz Muhammad 

(GAMJI)

The best thing the President can do for this country to give this civilian rule some legitimacy is if he does not run in 2003. Let him leave now with some of his integrity still intact and become a statesman and go back to being a critic, which is something he seems to be better at than governance. But will he? Details

Injustices Galore at Nigeria. By Paul Mamza

[AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY]

(GAMJI WRITER)

With the scrapping of the PTF, the infrastructural base of the nation has been degenerated to an unprecedented proportion in all the facets of governance. Infact, a present state of the poverty stricken Nigerians is the worst form of human right abuse by its leadership since independence, this is because all avenues were created at the advent of the democratic experiment for improvements but was dashed. Details

Kano Riots: Lopsided CNN Report. By Umaru Isyaku

(GAMJI)

The question I beg to ask is, what is the connection between Zamfara, which is at peace, and Ground Zero in Kano? When did Shari'ah become the reason for the riot? You also did not show us that Zamfara, the capital of Shari'ah in Nigeria, was anything other than at peace. You did not come to Kano then, to see the actual truth, otherwise you would not say so, or so I thought. Details

Down with the Rhetoric of Tribalism: So-called Corrupt Leaders Must not Incite the Youngsters. By Franklyn Ogbidi

(GAMJI)

So my appeal is that to all peace loving Nigerians, most especially the younger generation is that they should create forums of understanding and learn from the Kassel experience. For  such forums to succeed however we must be prepared to sacrifice our sentiments. Details

9-11 and Death of Contemporary Assumptions. By David Asonye Ihenacho, Ph.D
[NEW YORK]

Whatever one chooses to say about the motivation, cowardice or valor of Bin Laden and his terrorist organization, the fact remains that their accomplishment on that fateful 9-11 has completely reshaped the landscape of modern civilization,... Details

TUESDAY MUSINGS: Trouble in the Nigerian House of Othman Dan Bello. By Mobolaji E. Aluko, Ph.D.

(GAMJI WRITER)

Why would so many Nigerians - as many as 200 by some accounts, more than those reported killed in Afghanistan itself - be killed by other Nigerians in a three-day riot in Kano? Over a US-Afghanistan war thousands of miles away? Why are there so many dead in normally quiescent Jos due to fighting between Christians and Muslims, and among the Tivs and the Jukuns? Does any of this have to do with the Sharia-ization of many states in Northern Nigeria? Details

America, Britain vs Afghanistan.  By Bashir Abdu Muzakkari

(GAMJI)

Everyday we are told how bad the Taliban regime is, how badly they treat women, how little they care for the ordinary Afghan people. But how is the bombing of Afghanistan going to solve the problem? Rather than stabilizing the situation the war is just going to destablise it. As millions are displaced and thousands die under the bombs of the civilized west, organizations such as Bin Laden's Al-Qaida will find plenty of willing recruits who are prepared to carry out future attacks in the west. Details

The New Electoral Bill and the Democratic Process. By Prof. (Chief) Oje Aisiku, J.P.

The real problem that I foresee, and to which creative solutions could be found, is that of logistics. This is because it has never been easy for us to conduct elections spread out into several convenient days. How much difficulty it would pose to hold all the elections in one day?  That is a very serious question, which ought to be answered as quickly as possible.  Details

That Ban on Tokumbo Vehicles. By Wada Nas

(GAMJI WRITER)

Long before the Federal Government announced the ban on the importation of used cars popularly called Tokumbo, or second hand vehicles, most observers knew that it was going to come as part of the privatisation drive of the administration. As government has concluded plans to sell its shares in the various automobile plants in the country, there has been alleged pressure on the administration by interested buyers to ban the importation of second hand vehicles so as to make the local assembly plants viable. Details

The Northern Counter-Coup of 1966: The Full Story. By Max Siollun

(GAMJI)

Despite these attempts by Ironsi to placate them, northern soldiers were not happy and many openly voiced their intention to gain revenge for the killings of their northern brothers-in-arms in January. Even the newly promoted Lt-Col Murtala Mohammed was not happy. In an unguarded outburst in the presence of Igbo officers, the volatile and newly appointed Inspector of Signals referred to Ironsi as a "fool" Details

Who Deployed these Soldiers and for What Purpose? By Ralph J Karl

(GAMJI)

According to the Vanguard of October 16, 2001, the Army had just sought and received approval from the Presidency, on October 15, 2001, to handle the raging violence; if this is true, then who deployed those soldiers that were killed on October 10, 2001? Details

Wada  Nas, Igbos  and doomsday  anxieties !!! By Jonas Okwara   

[WASHINGTON, D.C.]

(GAMJI)

Has Alhaji Nas easily  forgotten  what Igbos achieved  during the war ?  I  urge him to visit the war museum in Umuahia and  see what  the Igbos manufactured at war time. Does he  think they would have slowed down if Biafra  had survived ?  Biafra was a nation  with a goal. Nigeria is not  and it will keep wandering  in circles as  serious nations  advance to their destinies. Details

Jerry Gana's Media Tour, Boni, and Nyame. By Babayola Muhammadu Toungo

(GAMJI)

If there is any man I envy is the Executive Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Boni Haruna.  Boni was the only governor to ascend to the office by default so we assumed he would use the opportunity to establish his bona fides as a serious player and aspire to a higher office on his own records. But alas, he is the only one who is yet to execute a project for the benefit of the people, yet was lauded by our Bible thumbing Minister of Information and his retinue of biased journalists–for–hire during his media tour. Details

Furiously Unreligious. By Orok Edem

(NIGER-DELTA CONGRESS)

Let me make it abundantly clear, and if this costs me my place in heaven or aljana, so be it. There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a religious conviction. Could anybody reading this explain to me why is it that with all the abundant land in northern Nigeria, [which is going to be deployed in the resource control fight] Muslems find it necessary to block highways when they are praying? Why is it that Christians find it necessary to block the Ibadan – Lagos expressway when they go for revival meeting? Roadside religion. Details

The United Nations Initiatives on HIV/AIDS Epidemic. By Prof. Ibrahim A. Gambari Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa

(GAMJI)

AIDS would have a particularly terrible effect on the work force over the next two decades, not only reducing its size but causing an increase in child labourers, moonlighting parents, job absenteeism from sickness associated with AIDS and added difficulties in recruiting. The report also projects that by 2015, the population of some 29 African countries is expected to reach 698 million or 61 million less than the total would have been without the spread of AIDS. Details

Solving the Nightmare of Fuel Shortage in Nigeria. By C.  Ethel Anyanwu. Forwarded by
David Asonye Ihenacho, Ph.D

(GAMJI)

In the final analysis, if the Federal Government gets out of the way so that business will flourish, it must also tell NNPC which is a government corporation not to embark on the business of retailing fuel through the ownership of filling stations.  NNPC has no history of efficiency.  Its attempt to dabble into retailing fuel is suspect.  Details

Nigeria: Beware of The Lessons of old. By Nathaniel Aboki

(GAMJI)

Listening to General Zamani Lekwot recently explaining the  issues that surrounded the Zangon-kataf riots, I must say was rather unfortunate. You have two tribes who shared everything for a century and enjoyed peaceful co-existence, then suddenly allow themselves to be torn apart by war. Their case was even more senseless considering 65% of the Zangon people had married into the Kataf ethnic group. Details

Tragedies, Karma, and Compassion. By  Stephen Lampe

(GAMJI)

Obviously, we should all rally round people who are suffering on account of missions of genuine love, i.e. on account of mission karma. We would thus be contributing to a good cause; we would be helping to plant seeds of love. Even persons who wrongly imagine that those reaping what they sowed should not be helped, should be reminded that we cannot always tell whether or not mission karma is the explanation for particular cases of suffering and for particular victims of specific tragedies. Details

The Ethnic Politics of Aborishade and Babalola Against the Rule of Law and the Progress of Ahmadu Bello University. By Abdulkarim Al-Bashir 

The Federal Minister of Education, Professor A.B. Aborishade and the Special Adviser on Education to the President, Chief S.K. Babalola, are, right now, conducting a campaign of ethnic politics against the rule of law and the progress of Ahmadu Bello University. The objective of this campaign is to generate ethnic tensions and acrimony over the rationalisation of the staff of Ahmadu Bello University carried out since 1996, in order to make it appear that what is called the "Core North", is an oppressor against the people of the rest of Nigeria, even in federal institutions like the Ahmadu Bello University.

Details

Political and Administrative Contexts of Human Rights Violation in Nigeria. Presented By Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman

(CEDDERT)

The discourse on human rights in Nigeria is conducted with a number of perspectives, whose limitations has to be brought out clearly, if we are to move forward and come to recognise the nature of the contexts in which these rights are upheld, or, violated, and be able to formulate policies, strategies and programmes to prevent, or, at least to minimise, future violations. The most widely held perspective is the Oga Kwata-Kwata Perspective which sees human rights being exercised, or, violated, depending on the characters of the individual, civilian, or, military rulers in power. This view is that when the rulers are good and God-fearing, human rights are generally upheld and when they are bad and evil, human rights are violated. Details

Federal Government of Nigeria Declared Kano as a Terrorist State using Sule Lamido’s  sigari  maizobe Salesmanship Diplomacy. By Ibrahim Ahmad

(GAMJI)

Since the statement of Sule Lamido that Nigerians are vulnerable to terror attack people no longer feel safe. It is therefore pertinent to request Mr. Sule Lamido to please clarify further since only himself and his Government know details about the terrorists. I only hope the information Mr. Sule Lamido has is not the type, which the American Government claimed to have against Osama bin Ladin. Whatever the case it is the right of Nigerians to request Mr. Sule Lamido to provide answers to the following questions: Details

Personal Reflections on Terrorism, State, Globalization and Impact on Nigeria. By Rev. Fr. Anthony Attah Agbali

(GAMJI)