Abba Anwar

In the author's words, some people might see it as 'a call for violence, secession or whatever. 'In my humble understanding of issues the piece is nothing more than a documentation of failures, hatred, misconception of the issues involved, outright misleading representation of facts and ignorance. When I say ignorance, I mean ignorance of all the issues he raised. Mr. Miles is million miles away from forwarding convincing and informed arguments.  I do not, in whatever respect, see you as a secessionist or a caller for violence. I can conveniently and confidently describe you as somebody who lacks the intellectual capability to bring into limelight what has been bedeviling your uninformed mind. To make it succinctly clear, the writer has a perennial intellectual prowess that could prepare a ground for him to advance arguments to the fora of intellectual discourse.

In trying to buttress his point about true media organizations to the readers, the writer gives an example of the CNN and Times Magazine. His point of argument is they 'constantly play and report tapes and messages from Osama Bin Laden's call for violence. 'He continues that, 'some of their reports oftentimes cause frustrations to the American government-----It is the same with the British news media. ' I tend to disagree with you that, featuring Osama Bin Laden is enough a reason for a media organization to be an avenue of a true flow of information.

I thought the writer would touch some other aspects of the flow of information before reaching to any form of logical conclusion. But your conclusion that the CNN, Times Magazine and British media are the examples of true media is very illogical and highly inconclusive. Good and proper information management goes beyond surfacial approach.  I would want the author to please refer back to the role played by these so-called true media organizations before and after the dethronement of Saddam Hussein from the throne. Their cases are still fresh in our memories. I am therefore calling the attention of Mr Miles to always try as much as he can to make his piece informed and up-to-date. He should have touched on issues of the true freedom of information. Let you understand that, media not only contributes to the promotion of social progress, economic development and international understanding, but it can also fuel hostility, fan national strife and incite territorial disputes(Vidyarthi 1988, 7).

Please kindly assess the position of the so-called true media, as you postulate in your piece, with the following statement that, ". . . . . . true freedom of information requires three conditions;the opportunity to read and watch anything available;a diversity of sources from which to choose;and media systems that provide access for those who wish to reach their fellow citizens (Bagdikian 1989, 812).

I laughed at your piece to a point of coma when I read the third papragraph of your piece, which reads and I quote,  "On May 27 and in an Austrian City of Graz, thousands of former Eastern Nigeria origin and their friends gathered from various cities and neigbhouring countries and marched along side by side Austrian Police calling UN and the Western world for the actualization of Biafra. The same took place in France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Ireland, India, South Africa, Ghana to mention a few. The reasons are obvious. " I laughed because, I know for sure that what informed that decision was nothing more than the internal frustrations and dislocations they are facing back home, Nigeria. Their political future in the national scheme of things is still full of hopelessness and remains elusive. Instead of them to face the reality on the ground and fight for a political relevance back home, in the Nigerian project, they remain in diaspora wasting their time, resources and energy asking for unrealistic political gains(? ).

Kindly accept my vehement dismissal of your argument that, ". . . . . . . Today, no tribe sincerely want to stay with Nigeria. "It is as equal as saying no tribe believes Nigeria exits. Let me reject your baseless and uninformed disposition by saying that what prompted the Nkemba of Nnewi, Chief Odumegwu Ojuku to came and contest for the Presidency in the last general (s)election of April 19th, 2003?  Popularly called 4 19, 2003 election. It was because he believes in the Nigerian state. The same thing applies to the late Dr Chuba Okadigbo, the Oyi of Oyi. Who teamed up with General Muhammadu Buhari, as his running mate for the same election. So are you telling me that these gentltemen are not the true sons of one of the Nigerian tribes? I mean you must be joking.

And presently the governor of Abia state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu has already indicated his interest to run for the presidency. I think if he does not believe in the Nigerian nation state and the corporate existence of the country he would not have done that in the first place. I advice Miles to always understand what is in his mind before coming to the public. Mark you, you are not facing people with shallow brain and understanding. Neither do they have cagy minds.

Dismissed, your wild dream and imagination that, ". . . . . . Nigeria is a British dream. "I could have shared a similar view with you if you propose that this part of the country,  when it comes to name giving or creation, was a British dream. But the fact that Nigeria was one of the sovereign nations of the world, though the name was given by the colonial people, is no longer a dream. As a matter of plain truth Nigeria had been in existence long before British went to bed, talkless of having a nightmare or a dream as you put it. To cap it all Nigeria WAS a British dream. Not the way you put it that Nigeria IS a British dream.

When you said, ". . . . . . . the South-south and the Yorubas lack the courage to secede. . . . . . ", what does that courage mean? What sort of courage are talking about?  Is it military courage, economic courage or political courage? What courage? I think you are fundamentally suffering from a brain distortion. That is why you have a distorted history about Nigeria. Another thing that makes me to be firm on my analysis is when you said in the fifth paragraph of your misleading and cowardly displayed piece that, ". . . . . . . . . the Hausa/Fulani are only waiting to find the slightest oil well in their region before declaring their islamic Republic. " This clearly shows that you are a blind ignorant of the Nigerian history. Please go and ask any student of the Nigerian history that before Shehu Uthman Bin Fodio waged a Holy War (Jihad) that culminated into the establishment of the Islamic Republic of the Sokoto Caliphate, was there any discovery of an oil well in those places? The Caliphate cuts across the borders of modern day Nigeria. And of course it went to some parts of the modern day Southern Nigeria. Some parts of old Oyo and Auchi town are typical examples.

And I see naked ignorance and hopelessness all over your body when you said, "Those who prefer to wait, thinking Nigeria could work, must work, would regret it later when it could be too late and very costly and no one will be left to take care of our graves. " I reason with some of the predicaments you said Igbo race is facing in the national scheme of things. But I ask whose fault? When the last general election of 2003 was conducted, it was widely publicized that in almost all the Igbo states elections were not conducted. Was there any uprising from the Igbo states? The political maltreatment that took place in the Igbo states was far more than that of the whole of Northern Nigeria, South-south and the Yoruba dominated states. In the case of these places, elections were conducted but rigged. But in the case of Igbo states there were no elections but fake results. Will somebody come and fight for the Igbos? Unfortunately Igbos are not interested in politics but rather business. Only a handful few.

It is not sad that the North decides who rules Nigeria and who gets what as you postulate in your garbage-looking piece. If North decides who gets what and who rules, it automatically means the North is politically vibrant and dynamic. Why can't the Igbo race follow suit? Are they cowards when it comes to real political power play? Then who is to blame?  It really potrays the magnitude of your hatred against Islam when you mentioned that, '. . . . . the north seem to be content with their Arabic and Islamic Studies that cannot help today's everyday life or manage advanced economy and complexity. . . . . . . 'Let me say you are absolutely suffering from Islamaphobia. It is proper to, at this juncture borrow from Hassan Elhag Ali, who analytically analyses that, "The Islamic world provides an appropriate analytical framework for studying the relationship between the powerful North (developed nations) and the less disadvantaged South in a changing world, for it embraces a wide spectrum of geopolitical, ethnic and socio-economic entities which render it more representative of the Third World than any other region. Moreover the region's religious and cultural attachments are different from those of the North. This contrast becomes important when we realize that some parts of the Third World, such as Latin America, share the same religion with the North and to a large extent, the basic tenets of a common culture. " Mr Miles if you have an update of the happenings in the world today, you can put it succinctly clear that one of the fundamental obstacles of the world economy is corruption. That is why there are many Conventions all over the world against corruption. To tell you that Islam is the best manager of an advanced economy, let me give you not the farthest example of how the Islamic scholars addressed the issue long before the modern way of fighting the cankerworm comes on board.

In the 18th Century a Bornuan Scholar, Muhammad Ibn Abdulrahman al-Barnawi, who died in 1755, in one of his poems known as SHURB AL-ZULAL, made a ringing denunciation of corruption. And of course marks a milestone in the Nigerian cultural and political history. He warns that,  And everything which is taken by the judge in return for his judgement, leave it, even if the judgement is lawful, do not eat it.

And the like of this is the gift of the governors,  for all of it is unlawful, profit from error.

God will not accept the prayer of one who has anything illegal in his belly.

Thus also one who has prayed in clothes which have been paid for by a single illegal dirham.

Beware of going on pilgrimage with (money)obtained illegally.

The completion of worship does not make its acceptance obligatory, for the condition of this is piety;therefore know.

This poem alone kicks against many forms of corruption, e. g. corruption in the admininstration of justice, corruption in governance, spiritual corruption and lots more. The institutionalization of corruption has been crippled by this poem.

So for your information Islamic studies has never been an obstacle in the management of an advanced economy. The author of 'Islam In African History' Chinedu N Ubah observes that,  the Jihad of Shehu Uthman Bin Fodio,  ". . . . . . . . created conditions under which craft, industry and commerce flourished. It facilitated the growth of trade between West Africa and North Africa on the one hand and within West Africa on the other hand. " We are talking of International Trade my friend. Do you know that?  Go and ask from a student of economics.

And to tackle your issue of complexity Chinedu Ubah has this to say, ". . . . . . Is a great effort at the integration of various peoples under a single political framework. The Caliphate was an extensive in size as it was diverse in its ethnic composition, but there was only one central government, that of the Caliph at Sokoto. " So Mr Miles I advice you should go and read widely. Broaden your scope.

I now begin to wonder the level of your illiteracy about the Nigerian history when you said in your patchy and trashy write-up that,  "Its wrong to claim how educated and intelligent you are whereas your intellectualism does not make you bold enough to oppose bad ideas and wrong leadership", which of course you are referring to the Northern part of the country.

It was the high level of condemnation of the bad ideas and wrong leadership that led Shehu Uthman Bin Fodio to wage a Jihad against the then tyrannical leadership of our great society. Which ultimately culminated into the establishment of a new set of leadership, under the famous Sokoto Caliphate. A global reference point per excellence.

The late Mallam Aminu Kano led one of the revolutionary political parties in Africa, the Northen Element Progressive Union (NEPU), all in an attempt to dismantle wrong leadership. So what are you talking about? You must be a damn ignorant! Ask any resourceful student of Nigerian politics about the works and life of Mallam Aminu Kano.

Of recent the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na-Abba, was so consistent in condemning all bad policies of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's administration. There were 11 different attempts to unseat him (Na-Abba) from the hot-seat. But all efforts were in vain. I think that you know Honourable Ghali Na-Abba is from North.

The kano people were bold enough to oppose bad ideas and wrong leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under Olusegun Obasanjo, that was why the All Nigeria Peoples Party's presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari got more votes than Obasanjo in the last general election of 2003. It also caused the then PDP governor of the state, Alhaji Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso his seat to ANPP's Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau. So I have no doubt in my mind that kano state is bolder than your state in terms of kicking against bad leadership.

Can you please give us the figures of 'the billions of dollars spent from oil revenue for oil explorations in the north that yielded nothing'? You should always support your arguments with facts and figures.

Agreed that billions of dollars were stolen from oil revenue by the northern leaders over the years. May be it was because they ruled the country more than any other person since independence. But mark you the same north produced 2 leaders that are seen as the most transparent in the country. They are no more than the leadership of Generals Murtala Ramat Muhammad and Muhammadu Buhari.

What I am saying in essence is,  the issue of embezzling the public purse has no relationship whatsoever with where the leader comes from. And as far as I am concerned there are good people as well as bad ones in all the tribes of Nigeria.

I rest my case.

Abba Anwar

Kano State,  Nigeria

abbanwar@yahoo. com