Politicians Crying Wolf?

Yes….it’s that season again. Not of the football premierships. I am talking about the “political campaign premiership” in Nigeria. But then given the nature and quality of it I am not sure “premiership” is a suitable word.

I got the email below in my inbox…and by the way as Editor I get all sorts of messages:

“Crack agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are expected to swoop down in Ilorin, Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto, Gombe and Dutse today to arrest top Finance and Local Government Ministry officials in a crackdown secretly ordered by the Presidency”.

…”five Northern governors who have been spared from the crackdown are expected to quickly capitulate and support Jonathan’s ambition, or else the EFCC will crack down on them too. They are Niger State governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Adamawa’s Admiral Murtala Nyako, Katsina State’s Barrister Ibrahim Shema, Zamfara’s Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi and Kano’s governor Ibrahim Shekarau.”

I looked at it suspiciously and thought...here we go again! Everyone trying to spin and manoeuvre their way to power and money or hang on to it at all cost!

Politicians cry “wolf” because “wolf” it what they have turned the EFCC to since it came to existence some few years back. Today nobody flicks an eyebrow when alleged and offending corrupt public officers say the EFCC witch-hunts opponents.

But the big question is: does the EFCC do so?

Well, the anti-corruption body always shouts to high heavens, “no, no, no, we don’t do that.”

The new twist to the “EFCC-witch hunt” saga in today’s story adds a new dimension to the tale.

Could it a pre-emptive strike from those who smell the rat from the flooding corners of their States?

Politics in Nigeria is colourful, dramatic, sometimes to the sad and tragic proportions they often reach today. But politicians say we should not despair; that democracy is still at its “infant” stage and things will be better.

As the country prepares to go to the polls early next year…I pray with millions of my compatriots.

Crisis looms in drought-stricken Niger

The video by Al-Jazeera above is from their archives dated November 2008. But the situation in Niger today appears to be heading to a situation that may be worse than even the 2005 food shortage.

With poor rainfall, crop failure and exhausted food reserves across Niger and four months to go until the next harvest, there are mounting fears of a food crisis similar to the one of 2005 that affected thousands of children.

Africa's Sahel region is lurching towards a food crisis which the world has only weeks left to avert. Worsening conditions in the semi-arid belt which stretches across the southern Sahara - have seen malnutrition rates soar as families struggle to find enough food to eat.

It is now the start of the "lean season", the annual battle to survive from the end of one year's food stocks to the start of a new harvest. Baraka has brought her 13-month-old son, Abdul, to the health centre in Guidimouni. At 5.5 kg, he is acutely malnourished. He is also suffering from malaria. Abdul is one of the many children expected to need treatment for malnutrition in the coming months.

Even if more aid is pledged right now, the obstacles in getting succour to the most vulnerable and remote communities on the planet mean hundreds of thousands of children in Niger and Chad are already facing life-threatening hunger.

Aid workers say that any response now is already late because it takes some three months to get food to those that need it - by which time it will already be too later for some. But they say there is still time to reverse the situation before it becomes a more widespread disaster.

The presence of medical volunteers on the ground in Niger and a new government following the overthrow of a president who exacerbated the last crisis has meant that the local response has been far more pro-active than in 2005. But Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and outside resources are required to help it feed its starving.

Despite the fact that the United Nations and others now estimate a total 10 million people are at risk, the response from donors -- many of whom have already dug deep into their pockets this year for the Haiti earthquake - has been slow.

The UN already expects to treat 859,000 under-fives in the Sahel this season for severe malnutrition, the point at which a child faces an increased risk of disease or death.

(Source: BBC, UNICEF)

The President is Dead: Lessons to be Learnt

The President is dead! After a long and turbulent journey of ill health, Nigeria’s President Malam Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010. Until his death, Malam Umaru had not been seen in public since 23rd November 2009. That last day was when he flew to Saudi Arabia, where at that point, he was meant to perform the lesser Hajj as well as see his doctors.

However a few days after his arrival to Saudi, story leaked that Malam Umaru had been checked into a hospital. That was the beginning of Nigeria’s bewildering political expedition. The events that followed 23rd November were the most bizarre, confusing, shocking, disrespectful and pitiful in the contemporary history of Nigeria’s democracy.

Section 144 of the 1998 constitution stipulates that the President makes a written submission to the National Assembly informing them of his absence from duty. Before Malam Umaru left for Saudi no such letter was sent. That was the basis upon which all the intrigues and evil drama were scripted and played out. A constitutional crisis broke out.

Some called for Umaru to be impeached, others resisted. Some called for the Vice President to be automatically sworn in as substantive President, other kicked against it. The plot thickened with clandestine meetings held in the most unexpected places and destinations within and outside the country. The rumour mills frantically churned out unsubstantiated stories.

No one however is under any illusion that Nigeria is a complex country to rule. Neither is the notion of the non-shortage of talents disputed. So Nigeria does sometimes get to have visionary leaders.

Apparently Umaru was one of them. Some say his presidency held great potentials for the transformation of Nigeria but the success of his programmes and policies never came to fruition as he was continually hindered by ill health. Nonetheless Yaradua did make some measured gains. The main one being the Amnesty Programme of the Niger Delta which brought relative calm to the region that produces Nigeria’s cash.

In my interview with Nigeria’s new President Goodluck Jonathan (he was Acting President then) some 2 weeks ago in Washington DC, he admitted that the months that followed Umaru’s sick leave were the most challenging of his political career.

Goodluck Jonathan was not the only senior politician who owned up to the difficult and turbulent times Nigeria faced. The country’s then foreign minister Ojo Maduekwe told the BBC that Nigeria they might not have followed the right ways of tackling some of the issues that confronted the country. He too admitted that things were not going well for Nigeria.

Nigeria escaped being torn into shreds following a 1 minute BBC interview with ailing Umaru Yaradua. That interview effectively became the much needed “Section 144” of Nigeria’s constitution. Goodluck Jonathan became the Acting President. The action relatively doused political tension.

Journalism and journalists faced the greatest challenge in the country's recent history as information was outrightly denied, dubiously fabricated, maliciously manipulated and un-ingeniously managed. Special Media Advisers and PR Guru's misled Nigerians. The worst of the culprits were said to be those charged with the responsibility of managing President Umaru ‘Yaradua’s publicity.

All publicity surrounding President Umaru backfired as they were most unprofessionally handled. In the end the whole issue turned into a PR disaster, indeed a catastrophe. The victim was of course the bed-ridden, helpless man – the President.

But on Wednesday 5th May, He whom in whose hands Umaru’s life was, brought to a final end the suffering of the helpless President. Immediately after it happened, text messages flew across the world: The President is dead!

Veteran politician, former Lagos governor, AKA Baba Kekere, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, is quoted as having said that “the death of Yar’Adua is sad and I hope it will teach all of us a good lesson. He is a good man but unfortunately his political associates used his illness to play on the intelligence of Nigerians”.

Umaru’s remains was laid to rest in his own town, Kastina. The last 6 months must not be swept under the carpet. Some people should not only hold down their heads in absolute shame, but they must be disgusted with themselves for their outrages and unforgiving immature behavior.

I personally see everything surrounding late President Umaru’s illness and death as a personal tragedy. Personal tragedy for him in the sense that a “good, quiet, humble, unassuming” fellow had been turned into a political pawn by some mean, selfish individuals. At one point Umaru had even become a “hate-figure”.

Clearly, any decent human being will be engaged in deep reflection over all the unfortunate incidents that happened from 23rd November 2009 to 6th May 2010. Lessons must be learnt.

PDP: Dog Eat Dog Politics

Tragedy appears to be set to befall Nigeria’s ruling party, PDP. Vanguard, a local newspaper describes what is happening to PDP as “the story of a party perpetually steeped in crises and how the presidential aspiration of not a few is fuelling the present shambolism in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP”.

It goes on to make rather unsettling predictions on the party: the unfolding scenario in the polity especially in the family of this self acclaimed largest party in Africa is turning out to be a case of dog eat dog. The PDP Umbrella is once again threatened by the possibility of being shredded.

Last week, crisis in the party deepened following the suspension from the PDP of members of a splinter group, the Peoples Democratic Party Reform Forum, spearheaded by former Senate Presidents, Ken Nnamani, Adolphus Wabara, ex-Speaker Aminu Bello Masari, former Rivers State governor, Peter Odili.

The PDP Reform Forum says it aims to return the party to its founding ideals; re-engineer the party to make it more people-oriented (Peoples Democracy); be more creative in the generation of party funds; streamlining existing parallel structures in PDP states. But the million dollar question is, if these objectives will rid the party of internal monopoly and bullying why should ears of the Reform members be pulled?

Well, the answer is not that simple. The issue goes back to that same “case of dog eat dog”. If you are Nigerian you may understand it… But simply put it is a dirty power tussle characterized by shocking intrigues with no public interest at the heart of the jostlers.

As 2011 polls near, the questionable biggest party in Africa is heading for the rocks. Voters will decide if enough is enough and tear to shreds the alleged wet blanket the PDP has thrown over Nigeria since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1998.

Much A Do About Nothing?

Nigeria's Senate today approved 38 nominees for Acting President Goodluck Jonathan's new cabinet. The list does not include portfolios. That means re-appointed ministers may not necessarily return to their old jobs.

The Nigerian cabinet has more than 40 members, including ministers, ministers of state (junior ministers) and ministers in the presidency. A further list is expected to be sent for Senate approval to complete Jonathan's new team.

Jonathan dissolved the 42-member Cabinet on March 17, about a month after the National Assembly empowered him to become acting president in Yar'Adua's absence. It was seen as an effort to purge top officials loyal to Yar'Adua, though some were included in the new cabinet.

Unlike some thought, the Senate did not drop even a "fly" from the list that was sent to them. Initially there were rumours that some ministers would be dropped given the roles they played in the Yaradua/Goodluck push-and-shove political saga that had engulfed Nigeria since November last year.

Fiery ex-information minister Dora Akunyili was one of the couple that was said to face axing by the senior law makers. One Senator from North West Nigeria argued that she was “certainly not returning as minister.”

Another was ex-planning minister and an ex-Senator Sanusi Daggash, but whom his distinguished colleagues felt he had betrayed and disrespected them by slashing their budget when he was minister. The story was that they would teach him a lesson for what he did.

All the 38 FEC Club members were given the green! The approval did not come to some as a surprise though. After a loud hiss, one Abuja based "siddon-looker" told me, "rubbish, who told you they were going to drop any one on the list?" I asked him why. He replied, "Jamilah, I am shocked. You should know Nigeria better than that!"

I didn't exactly understand what he was insinuating, but what came across very strongly was the lack of excitement and disappointment over the whole ministerial appointment issue. From the look of things, it is an anti-climax to this man.

I hope it won't be for Nigerians.

Nigeria Will Shine

“Despite frantic moves by the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, to beat Acting President Goodluck Jonathan into political line over the composition of the new Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF, the party appears to be losing out…

…Investigations reveal that the last visit by PDP National Chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, to Aso Rock…was to discuss with Jonathan on the need for the new EXCOF to have PDP outlook, a position which the governors are also canvassing. Jonathan’s men were, however, said to have rejected the idea…”

Above is how Vanguard a Nigerian daily reports the political horse-trading and wrangling that surrounds the appointment of a cabinet in Nigeria.

Being a minister in Nigeria is a highly profitable job – it opens doors to many things. Interests run deep and getting one's name on a potential ministerial list can be a do or die affair! Appointment to ministerial position in Nigeria is hardly about performance. It appears to be hardly about competence too.

Some may disagree, but before you do just that, let’s look at a dictionary definition of the word “competence”.

Competence is described as the acquisition of knowledge skills and abilities at a level of expertise sufficient to be able to perform in an appropriate work setting. So if for an example one was to be appointed to the position of a minister, the appointee must possess the required level of skills and expertise to perform the designated duties as effectively and efficiently as possible. Such an appointment will yield desired results. People's live will be touched.

At the moment one of the questions flying about as Mr Goodluck puts together a team that will run the affairs of Nigeria before the general elections early next year is: will the new team comprise of competent people who will bring about some significant improvement in the lives of Nigerians within such a limited period?

We scratch our heads. The reason being that the names that have so far made it to the list appear to be wives, cousins, nephews, friends, loyalists, ex-this, ex-that, etc. These people, argue pundits, will effectively constitute the “traditional square-pegs-in-round holes” sing-along FEC-attendees. The only glimmer of hope say some critics is one Goldman Sachs of London guy!

But don’t despair as Ayi Kwei Armah said in his book “The Beautiful Ones are Not Yet Born” it is from the depth of the manure that life springs forth. Much as I am pessimistic about the future of my country, I still believe that “one day go be one day”

....and Nigeria will shine.

Fret No More - President Wilson Was Ill Too!

"The patient is progressing most satisfactorily, so far, and I have good reasons to hope for a most beneficial result. It has been a big undertaking. . . . “

Sorry, this is not a line from Nigeria’s minister of information or indeed that of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s doctor. The line above was written by President Woodrow Wilson’s doctor way back when the President inner caucus tried pulling the wool over the eyes of Americans over their leader’s health.

It was almost certain that President Yar’Adua’s supporters would use the argument that Nigeria was not the first in the world to experience a very ill President; one who had been away from his duties for a prolonged period. They may have a point.

The health of a one-time US president was also under wraps and it was only recently that newly revealed documents show how Wilson's inner circle, including physician Grayson, right, tried to conceal his poor health, which preceded a major stroke in 1919. The 28th president was debilitated for the rest of his term, says Washington Post.

But that was way away in 1919 - the beginning of the last century. When there was no BBC sick-chambers-emanated interview with Mr Wilson.

Today in the cutting-edge age of technology, with the internet and mobile phones invading people’s privacy and providing second-by-second account of global events, taking a cue from the inner circle of ex-President Wilson may perhaps not be such a brilliant thing to do.

There’s fretting, there’s tossing and there turning. Yes, restlessness means the political juggernauts of Nigeria are having sleepless nights. Text messages won’t stop flying about from across the continents asking the question, “Have you seen who has seen him?”

Guest what people, the answer is, well, mmm, take a wild guess. There was a secrecy vow at the Villa which forbids aids to yap away “State secret”. So you may probably be fighting a lost battle.

But what about the beeb? Weren’t they there when the black box was lost in the middle of the Red Se until they found it in February 2010...and then boom! Section 144!

So, fret no more, I am sure the beeb will find this one again!

My Blog on BBC's Superpower Season

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/superpower/

The Politics of Yar'Adua's Illness

BBC reports that Nigeria’s Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili says she is fed up with the “lies” told by some presidential aides about the health of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. She also says the president’s return last week has “actually exaggerated uncertainty, confusion, anxiety, fear and concern, not just by Nigerians but by the international community”.

Unlike what some journalists in Nigeria claim is a “bombshell” I actually don’t see her latest utterances as such. This is not the first time Professor Akunyili has poked her index finger at some “few” individuals whom she claims are holding Nigeria to ransom over the Presidents health. On February 5th she attempted to present a memo to the Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF, with the hope of forcing a change in the official position on the President’s health which was that “he was still in a position to lead Nigeria”.

Since then the whole world witnessed the political wrangling and debacle which led to the emergence of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President.

From this latest pronouncement, and for some reason I suspect, Dora is not all spewing brimstone and fire. The Info boss uses some nice words to describe the President: “he is peace loving” and the rule of law he preaches” is from his heart”.

The culprits says the ex-drug buster were some “people around him that are gaining from the confusion; people around him that are doing to him today what 100 million political enemies cannot do to him”, she said, adding: “He has done a lot for this country and suddenly, a few people are rubbishing it. They stole him into this country in the night”.

On that note though, not many Nigerians’ view would differ from Dora’s. Some sympathetic to Akunyili say she’s vomiting all this grammar because of apparent “frustration at her inaccessibility to information on the President’s health status, she said: “You manage information if you have information. We did not have information that our President was travelling to Saudi Arabia until we read it in the news, and when he was in Saudi Arabia we hardly got information. “We never had a comprehensive channel of getting information that we are sure of and most of the information sometimes, they don’t add up and it gets very disturbing. When they don’t add up, you feel very awkward reporting such information".

Understandable perhaps given that her job really is to "sell the government to the people". If there really is no commodity to sell, well, what then does she do?

Hmmm...tough nut to crack!

But her detractors are suspicious. They say “no, no, no, this is all a pan“dora”s box”, and somewhere underneath lurks something that would emerge for Dora when all is said and done with the health drama.

We are as contributors and analysts, privy to Nigeria's colourful democracy. This is all to do with “the politics of Yar’Adua’s illness” as the Professor herself admits. The questions here though are: at whose expense are politicians playing politics with the President’s health; where should it all end?; who will decide when it should end?; who will pay the ultimate price of playing politics with the President’s health?

President, Acting President, Vice President or No President?

“Nigeria's deputy leader Goodluck Jonathan is still the country's acting president while Umaru Yar'Adua is sick, the information minister has said”. The BBC Online News headline is one of such headlines accessed via mobile phone to check the latest twist in Nigeria’s leadership saga.

Information minister Dora Akunyili was speaking following confusion over who was really in charge after President Yar'Adua unexpectedly returned home at 0200 local time on 23rd February. President Yar’Adua had been out of Nigeria for more than 90 days. He was away in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment after his health had taken a turn for the worse since his last hospitalisation in Germany some three years ago. Yar’Adua has a history of kidney problem but this time around it had reached the level of heart complication. It’s called pericarditis.

Yar’Adua left Nigeria on 23rd November without having fulfilled the expectation of a section of the country’s constitution, thus:

Section 145: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

Political wranglings, manoeuvrings, intrigues and counter-intrigues somehow led to the emergence of Vice President Jonathan Goodluck as Acting President. If some thought the resolution-backed decision by the National Assembly which was seen as illegal by some – including members of the legal profession – was going to douse the tension, they were wrong. But anyhow temporary stability was restored, but only just!

Less than three weeks since his becoming Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, his supporters and some who refer to themselves as defenders of Nigeria’s democracy were back in the "shugabanci" wilderness. Hours after his "middle of the night" return, a statement from the office of President Yar’Adua referred to Mr Jonathan as “Vice President”. A couple of hours later a statement from the Mr Jonathan referred to him as “Acting President”!

“That’s it”, concluded pundits. The showdown had begun. Nigeria is back to square one...in the torrential downpour of political schism. Who is what?

President, Acting President, Vice President or No President?

Progressively Nigeria is heading toward – excuse me, I never said "failed State" but only – an http address: confused.com!

The good thing is, armed with an internet-enabled mobile phone I can access all the twists, turns and twirls. Indeed I have found myself constantly checking the latest development of this extraordinary "inspector Poirot" style drama since it began more than 3 months ago. Thanks to the mobile world wide wide, I can twitter, blog, facebook, podcast, bbchausa.com around the clock!

Oh, lest I forget:
Don’t miss the BBC’s major season exploring the extraordinary power of the internet from 8th – 21st March 2010

For more information visit: http://bbcsuperpower.com/

Niger: A Bad Omen for West Africa

Reports say there might have been a coup attempt in Niger this afternoon. BBC reporters say machine gun and heavy weapons fire erupted in Niger's capital, Niamey today and smoke was seen rising from the presidential palace. Witnesses say the dramatic scenes might be an attempted coup. There was no indication of who was involved. Political tensions have risen in the uranium exporting nation in recent months over President Mamadou Tandja's extension of his rule. Reuters says an intelligence officer, who asked not to be named, also said the violence was a coup attempt that the presidential guard was trying to put down.

A member of Tandja's entourage in the palace said that "for now everything is alright." BBC reporters say the shooting started around 1200 GMT and could be heard from a distance of about two miles. There were indications that soldiers were blocking the road near the Prime Minister's office.

The shooting and alleged coup attempt may not come as a surprise to many given the political debacle Niger has been embroiled in. Tandja drew widespread criticism and international sanctions after dissolving parliament and orchestrating a constitutional reform that gave him added powers and extended his term beyond his second five-year mandate, which expired in December.

The military’s apparent near-adventure in Niger today is an indication that Africa is still grappling with the issues of democracy. Respect for the rule of law and a nation’s constitution, consensus and respect for public peace are indeed at the heart of any decent democracy.

But as Africa saunters along the rickety roads of what many within and outside the continent refer to as faulty political and democratic processes mixed with sheer disregard for the very elements that democracy is built on…the consequences shall remain grave.

We watch Niger closely.

Mobile Technology: the 21st Century Intrusion

Mobile phone is ruling my children's world! Hold on a moment, it is ruling my world too..oh, it's ruling the African rural communities and indeed the world as well!

When it all really began to be taken seriously some two decades ago, nobody thought the extent, the scope, of communication, accessibility, convenience, nuisance and many other verbs you can ascribe to mobile technology would reach the level it has reached today. Aided by the internet, the mobile phone is many people's soul-mate, work-mate or nightmare - depending on your usage and postulation.

For us journalists and editors we have to deal with the changing trend in the world of media and journalism. As the "citizen" slowly gets ahead of the "reporter", and user generated content (UGC)forms exciting basis for strong reports in local and international media, and other market forces continue to shape the journalistic landscape, the wisest amongst us is not they who turn their back and pretend "o, it's just a silly hype". Because it is not.

Local communities are talking to those in power and the superpowers! A text message or video clip for instance on an alleged extra-judicial killing can rock the world!

That’s perhaps why I am taking this whole mobile thing seriously (I hope not too much so though). Thus our launch of "Labarinku A Takinfu", an initiative aimed at empowering village communities in Nigeria by giving them mobile phones. The BBC Hausa initiative is symbolic of an embryonic partnership...I am hopeful lots of benefits will be reaped both on our part and on the part of the communities too. After all we share a common objective: the will to change life for the better!

Teardrops of a Clown

Like many other things in life, the sun sets for some. The sun though, sets for us humans, on many occasions when we least expect it to happen, because we feel we have not quite finished or concluded the business at hand...the business of the day.

We always tend to think we are in control especially because of the little power that may be at our disposal. But the reality is being in the driver’s seat, being in control of the route, the course, does not necessarily mean control of the journey. The driver may commence at their time, but even the time of commencement may not necessarily have been in their control. The driver may also not and is often never in control of when or how the journey will be. Least of all they are not at all in control of how the journey will end. The process of "being" cannot unfortunately or fortunately be manipulated by the control freak...the control junkie.

So when finally the sun sets, one stops. And if one is of those blessed with the remarkable gift of reflection, one then takes a step back, thinks, ponders and deciphers. We make deductions and inferences and draw sensible conclusions. These then serve as a lesson to one and us, thus:

So just when I thought I was in charge, I was in control, I was after all not! Who then am I?

I am just a Nobody, a nonentity. I cannot behave like God, because absolute power resides in Him alone! I then seek redress from my arrogance, from my nonchalance, from my ingratitude to He, who has given me a pinch of power but who has now claimed it back!

Like many other things in life, the sun sets for some today. I hear from a distance today, the teardrops of a clown.

A Big Interview

As Editor I get to be asked a lot of questions...by members of my team, students of journalism and journalists in the field....I was asked recently what we call a big interview. Here's a brief answer:

A big interview should aim to provide insightful conversation with a person who is in the centre of news…hot issue! This may be due to some crisis, conflict, (positive or negative) political, economic, social, policy, (etc) changes. A big interview is one that has big impact and has the potential to set the news agenda, not just nationally but internationally.

Main features of a big interviewee:
*the person will be highly sought after by the media (e.g. the YarAdua interview after 50 days outside Nigeria)
*may be difficult to get probably because of their position or their very busy schedule (e.g.Sunusi Lamido Sunusi when he was appointed CBN Governor)
*he/she may be in the headlines may be highly contentious or controversial (e.g. Obasanjo following his ‘Yar Adua outburst)
*may be at the centre of the controversy, conflict or change (e.g. Jonah Jang following the Plateau crisis)
*may be “key” to the issue to in the headlines (e.g. David Kelly and the UK’s weapon of mass destruction)
*may be able to offer insights on an issue which other contributors may not do. (e.g. interview with ‘Yar Adua’s CSO Tilde on his account of the president’s Saudi sojourn)

Of course, the list can go on....

OBJ and a Cracking Story!

A Nigerian daily reports: "Obasanjo supervised the conduct of the general elections that ushered in the second civilian administration in the nation’s political history in 1979. That feat instantly catapulted him to the status of a world figure and prominent global player there after. In addition, he remains the only Nigerian that has ruled the country as a soldier and in civilian dispensation".

Reactions to OBJ's (as he is popularly known in Nigeria)call on President 'Yar Adua to resign on the grounds of ill-health continue pour like the august tropical rains!

Obasanjo is not at all new to controvercy, public outbursts and colourful behaviour which leave the public open-mouthed! So what's new here? Perhaps the timing of his remarks? Perhaps the invocaton of punishment from God? Perhaps the decision to make public 'Yar Adua's past medical records at a point that no one is in the dark as to the health condition of Nigeria's President.

Drama upon drama as we the people of the pen and airwaves continue to cover tirelessly a cracking story that is every editor's challenge.

'Yar Adua: To Be Or Not To Be

Nigeria's daily Vanguard reports that "the Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Andoakaa (SAN) Federal has hailed the high court judgment, sitting in Abuja yesterday. The judgment ordered the Executive Council of the Federation (ECoF) to pass a resolution, within 14 days, on whether or not the continued absence of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from his duty post since November 23, 2009 on account of grave ill-health does not amount to permanent incapacity to perform the functions of his office".

Never in the history of Nigeria has the issue of the President's health been so ferociously debated to the point that it prevents reasonable, impassionate and rational postulations. All this stems from the divergent interests of various politicians and groups which fly at each other's throat.

Arguably if Nigeria overcomes this crucial challenge, it's democracy may emerge stronger and consequently more difficult to bring down. Not many are optimistic though.

Between Obasanjo and 'Yar Adua

OBJ is back in the news....good or bad. He was at a media dialogue in Abuja 21/01/2010:

When in the year 2006 the idea came up as to succession, I was convinced in my mind that a Southerner succeeding me will not augur well for Nigeria. You may not agree with that, you may not agree. I was convinced in my mind that.

Now, I was looking for somebody who will succeed me; who has three important qualities. One, he has enough intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Two, he has sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Three, he is sufficiently broad minded in knowledge, politically, religiously, socially, whatever to manage the affairs of Nigeria.

These three were important and very paramount in my mind (What about health? A participant at the dialogue shouted from his seat followed by a brief rowdiness). Wait, wait, wait, you may hear what you have never heard...Then Umaru Yar’adua who is now the President, I know he had kidney problem and was under dialysis. Some time earlier, he had gone abroad when he was governor of Katsina. When the idea was for him to contest, I asked him and he gave me a medical report and the medical report showed that he had come off dialysis.

I asked experts who then told me that if you were under dialysis or you are on dialysis and you are no longer on dialysis, it means you have had a successful kidney transplant and that you can live for as long as God may wish you to live.

Now, who am I and who are you not to accept that? (Applause). Wait, wait, wait; that was the situation and I...now that you want to hear...He went campaign and we campaigning together. And you will remember that at one stage of the campaign, he was run down. Chairman of our party then, Ahmadu Ali was also run down. Ahmadu Ali didn’t go abroad but he went abroad for check up. And then there was rumour that he was dead and I called him and put the telephone on speaker. And I said Umaru, are you dead or not (applause). And you heard his voice live and kicking; he came back and continued the campaign. That was the true situation, and to the best of my knowledge he wasn’t on dialysis after that. When the issue of dialysis came, he was well into his first term, which must mean one thing; that the kidney transplant is failing if it hasn’t failed. That you cannot blame on anybody. You cannot even blame it on him (Yar’adua).

So for people to say that I Olusegun Obasanjo deliberately picked somebody who is an invalid, I think it is the height of insult. How can I put so much into this country both in peace and in war and then think of giving this country to somebody who will run it down (Applause). How can I? Even if you don’t have the fear of God you will not think that way...and you said there is constitutional crisis, I will not comment on that. What I needed to say on that, I had said it as the chairman of my Board of Trustees last week and I won’t say anything more. The one that I need to say is the fact that nobody picked Yar’adua so bad he will not perform. If I did that God will punish me. Yes because I love this country so much that there is no reason why I should do that.

But wait, if you take up an appointment, a job, elected, appointed, whatever it is and then your health starts saying, I will not be able to deliver, to satisfy yourself and the people that you are supposed to serve, then there is the path of honour and the path of morality. And if you don’t know that, then you don’t know anything.

Nigeria's foreign minister Ojo Madueke on President 'Yar Adua's absence

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's cabinet will decide
within 14 days whether President Umaru Yar'Adua is fit enough to
govern Africa's most populous nation after a two-month absence
for medical treatment, the Attorney General said on Friday.
The 58-year-old leader has not been seen publicly since
leaving on Nov. 23 to receive treatment for a heart ailment in
Saudi Arabia. He has not transferred power to his deputy,
triggering debate over the legality of government decisions.
Judge Dan Abutu ordered the cabinet to pass a resolution on
Yar'Adua's fitness within two weeks after a former lawmaker
brought a legal case against the government, saying his failure
to transfer power was in breach of the constitution.
"We will abide by the judgement of the court. The Executive
Council of the Federation will within 14 days, as directed,
consider a resolution on the state of the president's health,"
Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa said.
The Senate, which was briefed on Thursday on Yar'Adua's
health in a closed-door session, is due to meet next Tuesday for
an update and may also take a position on whether the president
should remain in office.
The cabinet unanimously agreed in early December, less than
10 days after Yar'Adua left for Saudi Arabia, that there were no
grounds to seek his resignation, rejecting calls for him to step
down or prove his fitness to govern.
Some political analysts say ministers are reluctant to come
out against Yar'Adua because they fear they would lose their
jobs if Vice President Goodluck Jonathan were to take over.
But pressure for a resolution has mounted since December.
Nigeria has had to cope with clashes between Christian and
Muslim gangs which killed hundreds of people in the central city
of Jos this week as well as the risk of resurgent violence in
the Niger Delta, the heartland of its mainstay oil industry.
More than 3,000 people marched to the state government
headquarters in the commercial capital Lagos on Thursday, a rare
public demonstration of political anger, demanding Yar'Adua give
up his executive powers or return to Nigeria immediately.
It was the second major street protest following a similar
demonstration in the capital Abuja.

"PATH OF MORALITY"
Nigeria's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Aminchi, said
a week ago Yar'Adua was expected to be discharged from hospital
very soon after showing significant recovery but there has been
no word on when he might return.
Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe declined to give a clear
answer when questioned in a BBC interview broadcast on Thursday.
"I am sure if the president is able to return yesterday, he
would come back by yesterday ... This president will do nothing
that jeopardises the national interest," he said.
"I do not rule out (a transfer of power to Jonathan) but he
should not be stampeded into doing that."
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Yar'Adua's direct
predecessor and his main sponsor to the presidency, defended
himself against accusations he had imposed an "invalid" on the
nation, but was less than equivocal in his support for Yar'Adua.
"If you take up a job, elected, appointed or whatever, and
then your health starts to fail you and you will not be able to
deliver ... to satisfy the people you are supposed to serve,
then there is a path of honour and path of morality," he said.
"If you don't know that, you don't know anything. I will
stop on that note," he told a briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Obasanjo remains an influential figure within the ruling
party and his closeness to Jonathan means his influence over
government could grow should the vice president take over.
Abutu's ruling was in response to a case brought against the
government by a former lawmaker and an Abuja-based lawyer in the
hope that it would force Yar'Adua to hand over power.
Two similar suits by the Nigerian Bar Association and a
leading human rights lawyer are still awaiting judgement.
Abutu last week ruled Jonathan could exercise executive
powers but could not be "acting president", sparking confusion
over how far his authority extends while Yar'Adua is absent.
Jonathan on Thursday ordered the army to take over security
in and around Jos after days of clashes.
The opposition has questioned whether he is legally able to
deploy troops, saying the constitution gives only the president
that authority as commander-in-chief.
(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the
top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ )
(Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Randy Fabi)

Ten things every journalist should know in 2009

Ten things every journalist should know in 2009

Posted using ShareThis

This is a music video that i have found myself watching occasionally these days.

A friend of mine came to my house one weekend and she used my laptop. She sat at the kitchen table while i prepared lunch. I heard the video come playing from behind me and my friend humming.I listened from about meter a away and i thought...mmm, that's nice. "Who's she?" I asked.
"Fati Niger, I am sure you've heard of her before." I shook my head.
My friend replied, "you should."

Since then I have watched the video a number of times...there's something nostalgic to it...somehow i keep going back to it.

NIGERIA'S AILING PRESIDENT BREAKS SILENCE

Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua has spoken publicly for the first time since going into hospital in Saudi Arabia in November for heart treatment.

In his first interview since then, he told the BBC by telephone that he was recovering and hoped with "tremendous progress" to resume his duties. His long absence and speculation over his health have led to calls for him to hand over power to his vice-president. A protest in the capital, Abuja, has urged an end to the political limbo.

The silence over the president's health has fuelled rumours that he was critically ill - or even dead - and unable to return to power.

The fact that he did not designate his vice president to take over in his absence has led to fears of a power vacuum and a potential constitutional crisis. Doctors said in December that President Yar'Adua, 58, was suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart. He is also known to have kidney problems.

'We want a telecast'
The interview with President Yar'Adua was recorded late on Monday and first broadcast at 0530 GMT on Tuesday. It has been widely rebroadcast by Nigerian TV and radio stations.

Many Nigerians will be relieved to hear the president's voice, says our correspondent, but the calls to hand over power to the vice-president will continue.

The National Bar Association and two other groups have launched court cases calling for power to be transferred to Mr Jonathan.

Hundreds of protesters have marched through the streets of Abuja to the national assembly, which was to discuss the president's health on its first day back in session after the Christmas and New Year break.

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka addressed the rally, saying the president's continued absence - and the lack of an appointed replacement - was allowing corruption to flourish unchecked.

"There is a small cabal which profits by the hiatus in control, in government, in supervision," he said.

"Heaven knows what millions are going down the sink on the lack of supervision."

YAR'ADUA ILLNESS TIMELINE
23 November 2009: Goes to hospital in Saudi Arabia
26 November 2009: Presidential doctors say he has pericarditis - inflammation of the heart lining
23 December 2009: First court case filed called him to step down
30 December 2009: Chief justice sworn in. Lawyers say this is illegal in president's absence
5 January 2010: Two more court cases filed and a human rights group wants president declared "missing"
12 January 2010: President gives first interview since going to Saudi Arabia

BBC, Jan.2010

Ministry of Saboteurs

The Ministry is in the heart of town There is no missing it. It stands high and mighty Concrete walls made even stronger with iron rods and steel Hard labour creating a monster in size, intimidating young and old

This is the Ministry, the centre of all affairs Lives are made, livelihoods are earned. Initially through co-ordinated, organised means Means as stated in the almighty book of the land

Ministry of infrastructure, where water flows, Planes fly our skies and land safely and sound, Where I converse, communications lines powerful and sleek Lights across the streets in homes, hospitals working Catering for the ill, the weak, the damaged and the frail Or those expecting, ready to bring forth into the world a new Life

The Ministry which is in the heart of town Began to drawl and droop like an ailing monster Gradually it began to degenerate, tears rolling down Wetting the tiled floors that once shone like a mirror Now lying smudged with sputum spat by the passer-by

Ministry of infrastructure now breeding ground of saboteurs They, everywhere buzzing like flies, humming like bees From top to bottom: Messenger, Clerk, Security Officer, Administrator, Deputy Director, Super Director and Director General All working hard to achieve set goals not for the Ministry but for self

This is the Ministry, the centre of all crimes, known and unknown Lives are now destroyed, livelihoods now denied Through highly co-ordinated and organised means
Not stated in the mighty book, where no water flows The centre where nothing works: planes that fly our skies, Communications, queue-prone petrol pumps, hospitals, streets, Electricity, schools, banks, farmlands and oil of the Niger Delta

Ministry of Saboteurs, high and mighty, morally bankrupt Ruthlessly milking the cows of the land Contemptuously plundering with big-shouldered with impunity

The Ministry formally the heart of the land Now turned into Ministry of Saboteurs breaking souls Entrenching principles of unfair game, making sure all fail But they and their offsprings paying with their lives and their future,
Known and unknown to mankind and the land

The Yar'Adua BBC Interview Debate

The debate on whether the voice heard on the on 12th January was indeed that of President 'Yaradua of Nigeria is still raging. BBC Hausa got a telephone interview in English and Hausa with President Yar'Adua earlier this week. It generated a huge reaction in Nigeria and around the world. Here is some background from me, Editor of BBC Hausa.

---

Nigeria has been a whirlwind of rumour and speculation over the last week. The speculation was driven by uncertainty over the whereabouts and state of health of President Yar'Adua. He has been out of the country for more than 50 days.

The Hausa Service has an audience of 23 million people and they were contacting us, they were e-mailing us, they were texting us, they were blogging about us, and they were challenging us - "Please tell us what is happening with our President."

They were saying things like, "We rely on you to provide us with the truth - and we want the BBC to tell us the truth about Yar'Adua."

Senior government officials, who said he was receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, maintained he was on his way to a full recovery following heart problem.

Four weeks after his departure, rumours were rife that President Yar'Adua was in a coma, others said he was brain-damaged. One report even claimed that he had died on the 10 January.

Rumours are not new to Nigeria; but then neither is speculation that Yar'Adua had died. During his presidential campaign in 2007 the would-be President Yar'Adua collapsed and was subsequently hospitalised in Germany.

In a dramatic response to speculation that he was dead, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo made a nationally televised phone call to Germany to convince Nigerians that Yar'Adua was indeed alive.

That was three years ago and Presisdent Obasanjo's intervention happened only hours after Yar'Adua had arrived in Germany. Last night, one of my thoughts was: if Nigerians needed to be convinced that Yar'Adua was alive after so short a time from falling ill in 2007, then such assurances were long overdue after 50 days of silence and absence.

The interview today aired across Nigeria and the World and put to rest the wilder stories. It has not put to rest complaints from the opposition about the extended absence and uncertainties it raises. And on the internet some new questions have been flying such as "Was it really Yar'Adua on the BBC?"


By way of an answer let me say that I and the interviewer thoroughly researched the interview before it was done. We dealt with people we know who are close to the President to set it up.

Before recording, Mansur Liman, who did the interview, had an informal chat to convince himself who we were talking to. In short days of checking on the president's whereabouts and condition culminated in the interview taking place.

One of my key concerns in broadcasting to a country as complex and sensitive as Nigeria, is making sure the BBC gets it right and our editorial checks have to be rigorous. With over 20 million Nigerians listening to the BBC on a regular basis, I feel pretty motivated to get the checks right.

One final thought: this is not the first time BBC Hausa has had cause to get to the heart of the story surrounding President Yar'Adua. In 2007 BBC Hausa service was the first to get an interview with Yar'Adua while he was receiving medical attention in Germany - again dispelling the rumours.

----------

Eighteen months, one year and half, since the cold winds blew away my leaves
My green cover, adorning my fleshy bark, brown though not chocolate brown
Light brown, but when baked in Kano’s sun, a shade or two darker but still bright
My green, I stroke my leaves, the curtain that covers my soul and gives it warmth
Suddenly came the ruthless winds from the East unruly, untamed and underestimated
By she who is confident in the sweet molten sweat of love, spoilt rotten by whispers day and night

Eighteen months, one year and half, since the cold winds blew away my leaves
One by one flew my cover, exposing naked a soul reminiscent of an abandoned city
That once was the centre of a universe that brought the young, old, he who has and he who doesn’t
Up went my curtain, jumping up and down to pull it down again to cover my brown bark from shame
But not much shame as pain, cooking from the inner pits of a hurting soul, baked with boiling blood
Resulting all from she who thinks ‘tis enough to love for its reward spoils one rotten day and night

Eighteen months, one year and half, since the cold winds blew away my leaves
But today, this very day I begin to see from a distance twilight, peaking slowly, its needle pointing
In the direction where the cold winds blew ruthlessly my green leaves, the cover of my soul.
But that soul was never broken, for it in eighteen months, one year and half, hand-picked each leaf
Arranging painfully, slowly forming a wreath meant to honour a heart that never failed to love
Eighteen months, one year and half, today cold winds are gone and my green, my love is reborn