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OPINION: Nigeria: The Death Of Empathy |The Source

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By Matthew Hassan Kukah

“When Governments face legitimate crisis, they fall back on serving the sour broth of propaganda, half truths and outright lies… Without truth, the throne of power often turns into a cage, and the occupant is turned into a prisoner”

If a religious leader is afraid to say what is right, what else can his silence mean but that he has taken flight? Hiding behind a wall of silence is like taking flight at the approach of the wolf.

Pope St. Gregory the Great (540–604 AD)

1: Easter Sunday is here again. But first, let us step back to Friday. Good Friday was a Kairos moment for the beleaguered followers of Jesus, a defining moment that separated truth from falsehood and light from darkness. At Golgotha, Jesus remained silent when the first thief taunted Him, and when bystanders scornfully asked him to demonstrate His divine powers by coming down from the cross.

Everything about Christ–the prophecies of His birth, His life on earth, the miracles He performed, the sermons He preached, His torture and subsequent death–now hung languidly on a wooden cross on the hill of Golgotha.

There were two types of persons at Golgotha: observers and waiters. The observers had two characteristics, derision and curiosity. The waiters were characterised by hope, fear, and anxiety. Both sides watched and waited with bated breath.

After His ignominious death, everything now depended on the third day. After all, He had said He would rise after three days (Mk. 9:31).

2: Let us pause and look back at the earlier events in the life of Jesus.  Let us look briefly at the drama of the three temptations of Jesus by the devil as recorded by St. Matthew.

First, the devil has a sense of perfect timing when he approached Jesus. He knows that Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights without food and was hungry (Mt. 4:2). Prove that you are the Son of God: turn these stones into bread, he said (Mt. 4:3). In response, Jesus says: Man will not live on bread alone (Mt. 4:4).

Here, Jesus insists that there are higher goals for us to live or die for. The devil had hoped that like the dictators of today, Jesus could seduce the people with the bread of temporal power to gain cheap followership. No, Jesus says, you must set a higher moral goal.

Second, the devil asks Jesus to throw himself down the cliff. After all, he tells Jesus, the Angels of God will hold you (Mt. 4:6).

Here, Jesus is called to take a shortcut to fame. Why travel the hard road of suffering, sacrifice, exclusion, and powerlessness? Succumb to the seduction of the dreamer, the charmer, climb the actor’s shoulder. And then what next?

Jesus rejects this temptation. Why? Because God demands more than theatrical performances from us.

Third, the devil says he will give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (money, power, territory) only if He bows and acknowledges him (Mt. 4:8). Wow! No better evidence that the devil is a liar. He knows he has no kingdom and what he has is his kingdom of darkness and lies. It was in this same manner that the devil deceived Eve at the Garden of Eden by mixing a concoction of lies.

At the base of this temptation is the seduction of pride and power. God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God (Gen. 3:5). Think of the many who have sold their souls for ephemeral power, those who have denied Jesus by action so as to ascend the throne of power. By His resistance to the devil, Jesus shows that following His path will require tremendous sacrifice.

3: It’s now Saturday night. The clock is ticking. Will He or will He not rise as He said? No one knows what to expect. Will Jesus be exposed as a fraud? The Apostles are retired, desolate, forlorn, woebegone, and despondent. Has it all come to nothing? Have they lost everything? Has it all just been an illusion? Was Peter right when he asked what their reward would be, having forgone everything to follow Him? (Mt. 19:27) Has this been one wild goose chase? Where would they turn to now?

The sun gradually sets on Saturday. The night has in its womb, a combination of the derision and curiosity binding the observers and waiters. A cloud of trepidation envelopes everywhere. The Roman authorities have built a concrete wall of military security around the grave. They sealed the stone and placed heavy military guard just in case, as they feared, His followers come and steal the body and pretend that He had risen (Mt. 27: 64).

4: Sunday morning would seal the fate of everyone on both sides. As it turns out, the world forgot that: He who guards Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4). Before daybreak, a woman, Mary Magdalene, visits the grave to perform a simple ritual. To her shock, she finds an empty tomb! (Jn. 20:1). Slowly, painfully, unbelievably, the words go out: They have taken the body of the Lord away and we do not know where they have put Him (Jn. 20:2). They will soon realise that, indeed, His resurrection is only a fulfilment of what He had promised during His lifetime. The devil has been defeated, and the Lord has the final word. Truth has drowned falsehood. Light has overcome darkness. Good has triumphed over evil. Life has defeated death.

5: The Roman soldiers who stood guard over the grave were like dead men (Mt. 28:3). However, rather than face punishment, the Roman authorities offered to bribe them and asked them to lie that the Lord’s body had been stolen while they were sleeping! (Mt. 28:13). It is too late: The Lord is risen indeed! World history succumbs to the power of the Creator of heaven and earth. Time and space have merged. History’s calendar is split into two. Henceforth, everything will be marked by whether it happened before or after the resurrection of Jesus Christ! This is what Christians celebrate today. But what is the implication of all this for us in Nigeria today?

6: Nigeria’s current predicament reminds me of Israel’s situation that led to the death of Eli, the great High Priest of Israel. Israel’s defeat in the hands of the Philistines led to the death of 30,000 soldiers. The two sons of the 98-year-old priest – Hophni and Phinehas – died in the battle. Eli’s two sons had foolishly carried the Ark of the Lord into the battlefield for protection, only for it to become a trophy for the victorious Philistines. The high priest, Eli, collapsed and died after hearing this horrible news.

Elsewhere, on hearing about the death of her husband, her father- in-law, and the loss of the Ark, Eli’s daughter-in-law went into premature labour. She was delivered of a baby boy–a call for great celebration in Israel! Strangely, she responded by naming her newborn son “Ichabod,” meaning, The glory has departed!

7: Taunted by Boko Haram, ravaged by bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, and other merchants of death across the nation, there is collective fear as to whether Nigeria’s glory is about to depart! Retired military and intelligence officers lament over what has become of their glorious profession as they watch the humiliation of our military personnel.

Traumatised citizens are tortured daily by bandits. The nation has since become a massive killing field, as both government and the governed look on helplessly. A thick and suffocating cloud of desperation, despondency, desolation, gloom, and misery hangs in the hot air. We have no message and have no idea how long this will last. Our people seek solace and protection, but  frustration and darkness threaten  to drown them. Is their government on AWOL?

8: Two weeks ago, I came across a video in which a very frustrated Muslim cleric, addressing a Muslim audience, lamented: If you killed 200 chickens in the farm of any of the big farmers, you will be dealt with. But today, we are being killed. It is your fault. On the day of elections, you say, it is Jihad! Christians will take over Nigeria! Ok, the Christians did not take Nigeria. It has been left in the hands of those who sit and see us being killed. If we are killed, the head says, God forbid! He was not elected to say God forbid.

This imaginary jihad won the elections now where are the jihadists?

The lesson here is that politicians will use religion to mobilise for elections, but they cannot use it to govern.

9: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria weighed in with a strong statement on February 23, 2021, titled, We Must Pull Back from the Brink of Collapse. Part of the statement read: ‘The very survival of the nation is at stake. The nation is pulling apart. Widespread serious insecurity for long unaddressed has left the sad and dangerous impressions that those who have assumed the duty and authority to secure the nation are either unable, or worse, unwilling to take up the responsibilities to their office. Patience is running out.’ Sadly, all of these warnings are still falling on deaf ears.

10: It may sound strange, but for us Christians, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ is the greatest assurance that all these will pass away. This is not a call for us to simply sit on our hands or believe we can pray our crises away. As pointed out above, the sufferings of Jesus and His Cross provide us with the perfect mirror of our hope.

St. Paul reminds us: We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Cor. 4:9). These are the hallmarks of our faith. We must remain steadfast.

11: I appeal to Christians to continue in the spirit of the Gospel, the teachings of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Paul says: ‘Though He was God, he humbled himself, became man and remained obedient up till death’ (Phil. 2:6ff).

Following in His steps, we Christians have lived through the life of martyrdom. Jesus taught us how to pray for our enemies (Mt. 5:44). Although His teachings are hard (Jn. 6:60), it was not the guns of a powerful army that brought down the walls of Jericho. The prayers of the priests did (Jos. 6:20).

Jesus defied the temptations of coming down from the Cross. He knew there was a higher truth deferred. It was fulfilled on Easter day. No matter the provocation, we must arm ourselves with the weapons of truth, the Word, the Spirit, and love. At the heart of Christianity is the Truth and Love.

12: Today, many of us erroneously speak about the trial of Jesus by Pilate on Good Friday. In reality, it was Pilate who stood trial, not Jesus. Pilate sat on a throne to judge what he himself was ignorant of–the truth. Chained by ignorance, the powerful often grope around a twilight zone between truth and lies. At the mention of the word “Truth” by Jesus, Pilate was jolted from his chair. In trepidation and apprehension, the mighty man says, Truth, what is that? (Jn. 18:38). Pilate was looking for the Truth but did not recognise it when it stood right before him. In every age, the seduction of raw power tends to blind the Pilates of this world to the truth.

13: When governments face legitimacy crises, they fall back on serving the sour broth of propaganda, half-truths, and outright lies. They manufacture consent by creating imaginary enemies, setting citizens against one another by deploying religion, ethnicity, region, and other platforms while appealing to the base emotions of patriotism. We forget the reality that without truth, the throne of power often turns into a cage, and the occupant is turned into a prisoner.

In reality, the truth needs neither a judge nor a witness. The truth is its own judge and witness. Without the truth, as the old song says, all else is sinking sand!

14: Recently, according to the World Happiness Report, we are one of the unhappiest nations in the world. This is unacceptable but understandable. Our clay-footed fight against corruption has not moved the needle of transparency forward. Of course, being the poverty capital of the world comes with its rewards such as banditry, violence, death, sorrow, blood, poverty, misery, and tears. Our cup of sorrow is permanently full; hence the exponential rise in the frustration curve across the country.

15: Sadly, human life is hemorrhaging so badly in Nigeria, but the greatest tragedy is the death of empathy from those in power. Mysteriously, the government is investing billions of naira in rehabilitating so-called Boko Haram repentant members and their other partners in crime in the belief that they want to turn a new leaf. These criminals have waged war against their country, murdered thousands of citizens, destroyed infrastructure and rendered entire families permanently displaced and dislocated.

Why should rehabilitating the perpetrator be more important than bringing succour to the victims?

16: When kidnapped or killed, victims and their families are left to their wits. They cry alone, bury their loved ones alone. And our government expects us to be patriotic?  The victims  of violence need empathy, which the dictionary defines as the ability to understand and share the feelings of the other. A critical deficit of empathy on the side of the government makes healing almost impossible for the victims.

We have not heard anything about a rehabilitation programme for the thousands of school children who have been victims of abduction. We seem to assume that their return to their schools is sufficient. Left unaddressed, the traumatic effect of their horrors will haunt them for a long time.

Tomorrow’s parents, military generals, top security men and women, governors, senators, and ministers will come from today’s pool of traumatised children. The security quandary is the greatest indictment of this government.

17: There is a time for everything under the sun (Eccl. 3:1). Perhaps, we can paraphrase this by saying there is a time for war and a time for peace. There is a time for poverty and a time for wealth. There is a time for stealing and a time for returning what has been stolen. There is a time for politics and a time for governance. There is a time for tethering to the brink of chaos and a time for recovering the soul of a nation. There is a time for the collapse of morality and a time for moral recovery. There is a time for leadership and a time for statesmanship. There is a time for losing greatness and a time for achieving greatness.

Nigeria must now ask itself: What is left of our glory? Where are the values that held us together?

18: On our National Coat of Arms, we profess our motto to be: Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress. But let us ask ourselves: Is Nigeria united today? Do citizens still have faith in the country? Where are the signs of peace or progress? Today, before our very eyes, these words have been emptied of their flavour and have lost their resonance and capacity to summon our citizens to patriotism. St Augustine once said: Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale? He further said that: A gang is a group of men (and women) under the command of a leader, bound by a compact of association, in which the plunder is divided according to an agreed convention.

This is the fate of our nation today. Day by day, Nigeria drifts irreversibly into a dark tunnel. Things are falling apart with unnerving rapidity because those who govern have only a pact to protect their interests. Politics is merely its conveyor belt of ambition.

Nigeria has a date with destiny. If we do not turn around, the axe is already laid to the roots of the tree (Mt. 3:10).

19: With some chance, we might pull through this, but it is getting tougher each passing day. Does anyone remember where we started and how we got here?

On May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, at his swearing-in as President of Nigeria, said: Boko Haram is a typical case of small fires causing large fires. Now, before his watch, the fires are consuming the nation, and in many instances, they indeed start small. The rumblings over the wearing of a hijab in Kwara State suggest that we have not seen the end of individuals sacrificing national cohesion to feed their personal ambitions by starting small fires.

Most politicians hardly think through the long-term effects of these pyrrhic victories of using religion. What started as a small fire with the adoption of Sharia in Zamfara in 1999, spread across the Northern states.  Ordinary people broke into ecstatic joy. Today, what has become of the north? What are the lessons?

20: In all, Nigeria’s troubles are growing by the day, but our hands must remain stretched out in supplication. Prophet Isaiah’s words should give us hope and consolation. He said: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze (Isaiah 43:2). We shall lift our eyes to the mountain because we know that our help shall come from the Lord (Ps. 121:1).

As Christians, we do not trust in God because we cannot revenge. We do not revenge because we trust in God. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still (Ex. 14:14). Just as the chains of death could not hold Jesus in the grave, so shall we triumph. Break into shouts of joy together, O ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has consoled his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem (Isaiah 52:9).

Have hope and be cheerful (Rom. 12:12).

A very happy and peaceful Easter to everyone.

Kukah, PhD, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, delivered this address on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021

Ebonyi Killings: Hold South East Governors Responsible – SERG Tells The Igbo |The Source

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Chief Willy Ezugwu

A pan-Igbo sociopolitical pressure group, the South East Revival Group (SERG) has accused South East governors of playing politics with the lives and property of Ndigbo for not taking decisive actions to prevent the take over of Igbo forests by criminal elements.

While reacting to the recent killings in Ebonyi State and other parts of the eastern region, the group in a statement signed by its President and National Coordinator, Chief Willy Ezugwu said “Igbos should hold the South East governors responsible for the ongoing loss of lives and property in the region due to security challenges.

“We recall that at the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the South East Revival Group had severally urged the South East governors to launch of a central body to coordinate both relief efforts and security amid the pandemic when it became obvious that the the federal government was not providing the needed palliatives and security to curb influx of strange persons into our forests.

“We advocated for tougher security measures in the South East, particularly when we saw the obvious invasion of the region by some suspected killer herders coming. Our call was after reports came that some unknown persons were strategically taking over South East forests.

“As usual, the South East governors never adhered to the advice but only mouthed a phantom plan to set up a security network for the zone.

“In fact, the then Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State had announced that by April 2020, the governors were to announce a the establishment of a security outfit for the region.

“That has already been sacrificed on the alters of political convenience at the expense of the lives and property of law abiding Igbos.
“While other regions were busy working to ensure the security of lives and property of their people, the South East governors were more interested strategic plots to outsmart each on who would be favoured for presidential or vice presidential slot in 2023.

“Shamefully, the primary responsibility of government, which is the security of lives and property, became the victim of political positioning that have seen one of the governor jump party ahead of the next general elections.

“The SERG hereby reiterates its call on South East governors to immediately set up a special zonal vigilante group to flush out hoodlums from all forests in Igbo land as the constitutionally guaranteed Chief Security Officers of their respective states.

“We call on all Igbo sons and daughters, at home and in the Diaspora, to hold the governors of the South East accountable for all loss of lives and property of our people”, the SERG insisted.

There have been a lot of killings in the South-east in the past few weeks. The most recent and most brazen is the massacre in Ebonyi State, allegedly carried out by rogue herdsmen. it has sparked outrage in the zone, forcing the State Governor to impose a dusk to dawn curfew.

Most South-easterners are disappointed that the Governors in the Zone have been unable to set-up a Security Outfit, just like their South-West counterparts who set up Amotekun.

The Nnamdi Kanu-led IPOP set up a Security outfit, Eastern Security Network, ESN. But the ESN suffers an a legal crisis for two reasons.

First, with the backing of South-east Governors,  the Federal Government proscribed IPOB. The second is that the South-east Governors do not have a good relationship with Kanu, so cannot back the ESN.

OPINION: The President Is A Sick Man: Buharis’ Secret Surgeries Inside Oneida Yacht |The Source

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By Festus Adedayo

“There must be a genetic dysfunction in African presidents which necessitated them not disclosing their health status. Worse still, they try to hold on to power like an adhesive, in spite of, and despite their failing health. Let leaders, especially African leaders, who have the tendency to be unduly secretive, disclose the facts of what ail them to their citizens. These citizens will in turn pray for their leaders’ recoveries. On the claim that the opposition would capitalize on the disclosure to torpedo them, let who is immune from sickness and death throw the first stone.”

The President Is A Sick Man is the title of a book written by Philadelphia-born award-winning American journalist, Matthew Algeo. It is a chronology of the medical travails of President Grover Cleveland, lawyer, statesman and one of the most famous public speakers of his time.

Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States of America, from 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897. The book chronicles how inexorably linked the health of a president and the health of the nation are.

Cleveland had assumed the American presidency on March 4, 1885 as the second bachelor president in her history, after James Buchanan. Critics called Cleveland debauched, due to his penchant for “bringing his harlots to the vicinity of the White House.”

However, on July 1, the summer of 1893, Cleveland suddenly disappeared from the radar and couldn’t be found anywhere in the White House. Or anywhere in America. It was a challenging time when America was embroiled in what newspapermen labeled, in oblique vernacular, “The money question.” America was teetering on the brinks of financial and social chaos.

The economy was threatening to kiss the canvass; unemployment figures were competing with the firmament in height; banks and factories were shutting their gates with reckless abandon and stock prices were in a free fall.

On May 5, 1893, two weeks shy of his 56th birthday, the second day of his swearing in at the Capitol for a second term, Cleveland noticed a rough spot on the roof of his mouth which, by the prodding of his wife, Frances, prompted the invitation of the president’s friend, New York surgeon and Cleveland family physician, Dr. Joseph Decatur Bryant, to look it up. Bryant diagnosed oral tumour, malignant in nature, “an ulcerated surface with an oval outline about the size of a quarter of a dollar.”

He called it a “bad looking tenant” that should be evicted post-haste.

Right from the 5 BC, cancer had garnered the notoriety of the most dreaded disease in human history. America of the 19th century was no exception, nor President Cleveland himself. He was thoroughly afraid.

The dread was such that, even Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, Hippocrates, also known as Hippocrates of Kos or Hippocrates II, who was renowned to be one of the most outstanding personalities in medical history, was quoted to have urged that “It is better not to apply treatment in the cases of occult (internal) cancer; for if treated, the patients die quickly; but if not treated, they hold on for a long time.”

The fear was that, if the cancer afflicting Cleveland had gone into metastasis, the lower part of his left eye socket would be removed during surgery and thus permanently impairing his vision.

On July 1, 1893, President Cleveland got lost inside the Oneida, his friend, Commodore Elias Benedict’s yacht. For five good days, he was declared missing. William Williams Keen, America’s most famous and celebrated surgeon of the time and a team of other surgeons, performed the surgery to remove the cancerous tumor that had grown dangerously and embarrassingly on the president’s upper jaw and palate. The most shocking aspect of it was that, one very enterprising newspaper reporter, E. J. Edwards, later got the information and reported the secret surgery.

Cleveland’s Garba Shehus descended on the journalist with the highest acerbity ever. They even labeled him “a disgrace to journalism.” It was not until decades later that one of Cleveland’s surgeons exposed the startling disappearance.

I told this long story so as to be able to bring the Nigerian and African experience of the Cleveland disease – not the disappearance per se but the stunt of keeping ailments out of the people’s klieg by elected presidents, in focus.

While some may argue that the Cleveland covert surgery legitimizes many similar equations in Africa, the fact that this happened in America, in the “dark age” of the 18th century, delegitimizes such argument.

Drawing shawls on the health status of African leaders today while they suddenly disappear to undertake their own surgeries inside Cleveland’s type Oneida yacht has a history behind it. It is the mentality of continuation of the great empires and monarchies of Africa where kings were perceived to be infallible, super-human and incapable of falling prey to the afflictions of plebeians and common people. African leaders, seeing themselves in same mould of kings and emperors, believe that they must not be heard having failing health, nor their health status made public. In what other way can it be said to them that, no matter one’s status in life, no one is immune to death and health failings?

This trend that I call the Kabiyesi mentality, has bred a pandemic of leaders of Africa who, almost like 19th century Cleveland, “abdicate their thrones” covertly to seek remedies abroad, without the knowledge of their people.

In October, 2016, that was how President Peter Mutharika of Malawi disappeared from the radar, at which time he was 76 years old, suddenly undertaking his own surgery inside Cleveland’s type Oneida yacht. He had gone to attend the United Nations General Assembly mid-September and didn’t come back until October 16.

This provoked speculations in Malawi that he had died, with his cagey aides failing to divulge his whereabouts. There were later disclosures through the grapevine that he had vamoosed to some parts of Europe to attend to his health. Same was the story of Gabonese President, Ali Bongo, son of Omar Bongo. At a time in November, 2018, Ali was said to have been “seriously ill,” with speculations rife in the air that he had died after suffering from stroke. He was just 59 yearrs then. Findings however later revealed that he had not died but that was holed up in a Saudi Arabia hospice.

Oil-rich Angola’s Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979, also eloped to Spain to have his own surgery – inside-Cleveland-type Oneida yacht. He had sought medical remedy to an undisclosed ailment in May, 2017. It was after about three weeks of his noticeable absence from the public that his foreign minister, after pressure from the opposition, confirmed his unceremonious absence. Again, until his death at age 95, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was always dashing in and out of Singapore hospitals. In the same vein, Benin Republic’s Patrice Talon was perhaps one of the rarest breeds of that African leadership caste to make public disclosure on what ailed him.

After the 59-year old president, who took over from Thomas Yayi-Boni, disappeared from the radar for about three weeks, his minders, on June 19, 2017, released the information that he had undergone two successful surgical operations in Paris. He said doctors had found a lesion in his prostate.This further necessitated another surgery in his digestive system.

Last week, Nigeria took her own ample shares of African presidents’ unwitting communication of their superhuman status to the public. President

Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria had jetted out to the United Kingdom to undertake his own surgery- inside-Cleveland-type Oneida yacht, “for routine medical checkup.” In March 2017, the then 74-year-old president had suddenly appeared on the radar, after unceremoniously disappearing for seven weeks, from January 19.

He had jetted to the UK to treat an ailment which till today is undisclosed, flakes from which stoked the general perception that his failing health had grossly been responsible for the ungoverned space that Nigeria had become for the period of his presidency. It was so bad that some cynics wickedly alleged that the character that was flown back to Nigeria after the weeks of treatment in a UK hospice was a Buhari look-alike from Sudan and that the original had passed on. Buhari too didn’t help matters. Anytime his minders fail to put on the latch and he speaks ex-tempore, the president gives them public relations migraine, veering off course into irrelevances like a wandering spirit.

This is why they only release him for photo-ops, taking care that he does not get any media engagement. For how long is this window-dressing going to last?

The only known communication of Buhari’s ailment by the presidency was the claim that he had an ear infection, an ailment that took him to the same UK in 2016. On May 7 of same year, Buhari went back to the UK for “further medical checks,” necessitating his before-now voluble wife, Aisha visiting him.

His Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, acted as President during this interregnum and Nigerians, who had witnessed a previous Katsina kinsman of Buhari, Umaru Yar’Adua, dying in office, were wary of this continuous absence.

Whether he personally learnt his lessons from “the mistake” of temporarily dispensing power to his ngbati ngbati VP or that the Villa cabal felt threatened by Osinbajo’s superlative three months performance in office, it was obvious that they both dreaded such equation ever happening again.

So, this time around when Buhari hopped into the presidential jet to his UK infirmary, his minders, seemingly emerging from sleepless nights of studying the constitution, obstinately announced that he would not vacate power to anybody, as the constitution allows him to spend his two weeks projected stay with medics in the UK.

There must be a genetic dysfunction in African presidents which necessitated them not disclosing their health status. Worse still, they try to hold on to power like an adhesive, in spite of and despite their failing health. Let leaders, especially African leaders, who have the tendency to be unduly secretive, disclose the facts of what ail them to their citizens. These citizens will in turn pray for their leaders’ recoveries.

On the claim that the opposition would capitalize on the disclosure to torpedo them, let who is immune from sickness and death throw the first stone.

If the health failings of the presidents are such that they cannot function in office effectively, since presidency is not a birthright, let them step aside and their deputies step in. Of course, those who profit from the power stagnation arising from the incapability of ailing leaders would fight tooth and nail to continue to pad them up. Don’t they know that there is a metaphysical and indeed, physical link between the health of the president and the health of a nation? No one needs any peep into the Ouija-board to know that since Buhari came back from the infirmary in 2017, he had literally and figuratively ceased to be capable of administering Nigeria.

The most germane question to ask is, why hasn’t Buhari constructed a world-class hospice similar to the one he visits periodically and shamelessly in the UK, in his six years of being president? Is it naivety, inability or sheer incompetence? The billions of dollars voted to resuscitate an abiku Port Harcourt refinery will no doubt build twice of such and stuff it with world class medics.

Those who argue strongly in defence of Nigerian sovereignty should well know that that same sovereignty is seriously bayoneted by the Nigerian president being a captive patient in a foreign hospital, subjected to the medical suzerainty of UK nationals, on their own soil. There is no doubting the fact that all information about Nigeria and what ails her president would by now be in the hands of the United Kingdom government. So what sovereignty are we talking about?

Administering Nigeria has since been done by proxies. This is why Nigeria has been very sick, from all ramifications.

Consequently, all manner of afflictions, ranging from security, social to economic, have been attempting to down the Nigerian ship of state. Now imagine how many Nigerians have died, literally and metaphorically, due to the absence of firm, knowledgeable and perspective Nigerian leadership and presidential power since Buhari took ill. This is why many members of the cabal who forcefully make Nigeria’s presidential corpse to walk are spending blood money and occupying blood-encrusted offices. The blood of those who die or get incapacitated due to lack of grits of presidential power, in that un-Godly process, is crying for vengeance.

BRT: Massive Sack Looms, Operators Lament Ageing Buses

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Bayo Bernard
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Lagos BRT Bus

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Fola Tinubu, the managing director of Primero Transport Services Limited, operators of the Lagos Bus Rapid Transport has disclosed that the service could be hampered by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN failure to make available forex to import essential parts for their buses. The operators are faced with the hard option of sacking hundreds of workers if something is not done quickly, the businessman said.

He said the price of vehicle parts imported within the last eight months by the firm had increased with about N400 million now because the naira then was exchanging for N360 to the dollar.

Figures from the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority,  LAMATA indicate that 20 million trips are made daily in the city by BRT buses.

According to him, the challenge has made it impossible to provide essential service for commuters as operators could no longer refurbish old and faulty buses.

Tinubu, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN warning that the services also faces a challenge from the state government which tries to control fares commuters pay for BRT services. He noted that inflation is eaten up into operators’ revenue who are struggling to remain in business.

Citing other challenges confronting the operators Tinubu said the high cost of diesels is having a crippling effect on the operators’ determination to provide seamless, fast transport services to millions of Lagosians.

“ We were buying a litre of diesel late last year at about N181.90, it is between N255 and N258 a litre now.This means our cost is going up, government cannot cap our revenue generating ability (by fixing fares) and leaves our cost to keep galloping. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Frederic Oladeinde
Frederic Oladeinde: Lagos Transport Commissioner.

“Also, we want to import vehicle parts into the country so we can fix our faulty buses. But, the CBN told us that they don’t have foreign exchange for parts. The reality is that if the cost keeps going up and every time naira loses its value, our cost will shoot up because we do not manufacture anything in this country. With this situation, it will be hard to provide a transport system of a world-class economy.”

He also warned that should the situation persists, the companies will have no other option than to sack over 2000 direct and indirect staff working for the transport services, adding that the Lagos State government should allow the operators to determine fares as it is done in  other countries.

“Transport is the backbone of the economy, people have to move from point A to point B. If government wants to make people’s lives easier and does not want us to charge more than the current fares, it must be ready to subsidise our cost of operations, the sad fact is, if we want a world- class service, it has to be paid for.

We can either stay with our `danfo’ and `okada’ mode of transportation, or we go the way other countries are doing it. Other countries are doing it well and it is not about rocket science,” he said

The chief executive of the firm  paints a gloomy future for the service if the current situation is allowed to persist.

He said “God forbids, if anything happens to Primero, the commercial bus drivers are going to be charging as high as N1,000 as transport fare per passenger from Ikorodu to TBS and people will have no choice than to pay.

“I fully understand the plights of the masses because all over the world people spend between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of their income on transportation. But in Nigeria, it is between 50 per cent and 75 per cent.

“For somebody who has spent between 50 per cent and 75 per cent of his or her income on transportation, if you want to increase fare by N50, he will oppose it; but the question is how do we make it work?’

“If we want a world-class service, it has to be paid for. The employees have to be paid, the diesel suppliers have to be paid and the parts’ suppliers too have to be paid. All of these things have to be paid for,’’ he stated.

Afenifere Mourns Its Spokesman, Says He Was Fortnight And Steadfast |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Yinka Odumakin
Yinka Odumakin

By Ayodele Oni

Afenifere, Yoruba socio political organization on Saturday officially announced the demise of its spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin.

General secretary of the organization, Chief Sola Ebiseni, in a statement in Akure, Ondo state capital, said that late Odumakin served the body for 17 out of the 70 years of its existence.

Afenifere in its statement states “it is with extreme sadness and sorrow that the Afẹ́nifẹ́re regret to announce the passing away of our Publicity Secretary Mr Yinka Odumakin which occurred on the 3rd day of April, 2021.

“The sad event happened this morning (Saturday, 3/4/2021) at the intensive care unit of LASUTH where he was being managed for respiratory issues due to complications from COVID-19 which he had recovered from about a week ago.

“Our organisation which is 70 years old this very month has had the services of our Dear Publicity Secretary for 17 years, uninterrupted, Unbroken.

“He served The Afẹ́nifẹ́re with all his might, power, intellect and soul. Steadfast, Forthright unalloyed! Mr Yinka Odumakin was a heart of loyalty personified. We will miss him.

“The Yorùbá that the Afẹ́nifẹ́re serve will miss him. The nation, Nigeria, will miss his invaluable services at these most difficult times of our debilitating challenges.

“On behalf our our Leader and Leader of The Yorùbá, the Afẹ́nifẹ́re extend our condolences to his immediate family. We admit, endurance is an Elusive virtue at these difficult times, but we councel the family to embrace Fortitude at these trying times.”

Sanwo-Olu Mourns Odumakin, Describes Him As A Great Nationalist; |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

…As Group Says He Has Left A Vacuum

By Akinwale Kasali

The Lagos State Governor,  Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has mourned the passage of the National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere,  Yinka Odumakin. He  passed away in the early hours of Saturday aof COVID-19 complications.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued and signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, described the late human rights and pro-democracy activist, as a great nationalist, passionate leader and champion of a true Nigeria that would work for every citizen.

He said the Afenifere spokesman lived a selfless life, adding that Yinka Odumakin will not be forgotten in a hurry.

“It is with deep sense of sorrow but with a heart full of gratitude to God for a good life spent by the late Yinka Odumakin that I write to commiserate with the family, friends and associates of the late Yinka Odumakin.

“Odumakin was undoubtedly a great nationalist, passionate leader and champion of a true Nigeria that would work for every citizen.

“Odumakin as civil rights activist was selfless. He spent the greater part of his life in the service of humanity, particularly the emancipation of the Yoruba people, the development of the South West region in particular and the nation in general.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu also stated that Odumakin “stood firmly behind the attainment of constitutional democracy and fiscal federalism as the basis for sustainable development and lifting the masses out of poverty.”

“As spokesman for the Afenifere, Odumakin made his mark and became a reference point as major voice for the development of the Yoruba race. He will surely be missed.

“I personally followed the late Odumakin and found his principled position and capacity to speak truth to power as crucial for Nigeria’s political and economic development.”

The Governor also condoled with the wife of the deceased, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Afenifere and the entire Yoruba race over the death of the civil rights activist.

“On behalf of my family and the good people of Lagos State, I hereby express my heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, particularly his wife, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, the Afenifere and the entire Yoruba race over the loss of Yinka Odumakin.

“May God grant his departed soul eternal rest and grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Governor Sanwo-Olu prayed”.

In the same vein, a Group, Centre for Truth and Liberty, CTL, mourns the death of Comrade Odumakin, the Publicity Secretary of the apex Yoruba Socio-Cultural and Political Organisation; AFENIFERE.

In a Statement signed by Olusesan Samaiye and Francis Abayomi, the  Executive Director and the Communication Director of the Group, it said Odumakin was resolute, dogged and committed to the cause of the masses till the last day. He was a rallying point; a dependable bridge between the young and the old. Comrade Odumakin was a committed ally of ethnic nationality leaders across Nigeria.

“It is to the eternal credit of Comrade Odumakin that while he was committed to the cause of a united Nigeria on the basis of justice, equity and fairness, he never succumbed to juvenile blackmail and in the process abandoned or betrayed the interest of his Yoruba nationality group within the context of Nigerian project.

“As Afenifere media anchor, Comrade Odumakin took the punches and endured misrepresentations with equanimity. He was committed to the ideals of making Nigeria a great country as much as he pursued justice, fairness and equity for the Yoruba nation without prejudice to the interest of other ethnic nationality groups.

“We at CTL regret the departure of our dear brother, comrade and humanist at this inauspicious time. Our thoughts are with his wife; the tireless Comrade (Dr) Joe Okei-Odumakin and the immediate family. Comrade Odumakin has left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill.

“We celebrate his modest contributions to the liberation struggle of the Nigerian people. We regret his departure at a time Afenifere, Yoruba nation and the good people of Nigeria crave for cadre-ship with dedication, steadfastness and presence of mind in the mould of Comrade Yinka Odunakin.

“We pray that GOD Almighty rest his soul!”

Odumakin who died Saturday, March 3, was the Spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari when he ran for President in 2011 under the CPC.

Yinka Odumakin: Jonathan Says A Strong Voice Is Gone; Mourns |The Source

By
The Source
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Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has expressed sadness over the passing on of Afenifere spokesman Mr. Yinka Odumakin.He described his death as shocking.

Dr. Jonathan who stated this in a condolence message to the family of late Odumakin noted that he was a courageous patriot and rights crusader who contributed so much to the development of the nation.

In a message titled ‘A Great Voice for Equity is Gone’, the former President also described Odumakin as a man with rich democratic credentials who “played active roles in the years of activism that birthed and stabilised civil rule in our country.”

Below is the full text of the condolence message:

A STRONG VOICE FOR EQUITY IS GONE

“I received with sadness the news of the shocking death of Mr. Yinka Odumakin.  He was a courageous patriot and rights crusader who gave his all to the struggle for a better Nigeria.

“He was a great asset for just causes whose considerable contributions to the growth  of civil society is not in doubt. He also acquitted himself as a seasoned journalist and columnist who promoted egalitarianism and social well-being, in his regular essays.

“Mr. Odumakin exits this world with rich democratic credentials, having played active roles in the years of activism that birthed and stabilised civil rule in our country.

“As a cultural enthusiast, Mr. Odumakin lived his short life as a force to be reckoned with in propagating and protecting the interest of the Yoruba in the larger Nigeria social space.

“This is not a time to lose such a strong promoter of the ideals that would progress our nation in the desired direction of a united, just  and equitable society.

“My heart goes out to his wife, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, other members of his family, the Afenifere social cultural association and the entire civil society.

“ I pray God to grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and bless Dr. Okei-Odumakin with the strength of spirit to bear the loss and sustain the crusade for a just society.”

Devastated, Yinka Odumakin’s Wife Laments: ‘A Part Of Me Is Gone’ |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Yinka Odumakin and His Wife

By Akinwale Kasali

In her first reaction to the death of her husband, Yinka Odumakin, his activist wife and Comrade- in- arms, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin said a part of her is gone with her husband.

“A part of me is gone. He was my husband and friend. Pray for me that I survive this”, she lamented.

Odumakin died early Saturday morning of complications associated with COVID-19.

Odumakin, it was learnt, died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital isolation centre.

Okei-Odumakin added: “He fought hard at the intensive care unit. Pray for me to survive this. My love is gone.

“He was OK before. Even on March 10 he was still attending meetings. He was recovering yesterday but he died this morning. I am at the intensive care unit. A part of me is gone.”

Keyamo Mourns

Commiserating with the family on the demise of the Afenifere Spokesman, the Minister of State, Youth, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo said:

“Yinka’s death is a personal loss to me. Himself & the wife, Joe, have been my long-time friends & allies. I knew them separately before they met & got married. I just called the wife’s line & they’re still at the hospital. My deepest condolences to Josephine & the Odumakin family”.

Dele Momodu Too

Similarly, Publisher, Ovation Magazine and Veteran Journalist, Dele Momodu wrote on his Twitter page:

“I slept about 5.30am this morning and had to switch off my phones, something I rarely  do… Unknown to me TOKUNBO AFIKUYOMI, a mutual friend of YINKA ODUMAKIN and I was trying frantically to reach me…

“Then I woke up, and my first phone froze bec of endless messages….So Sad”.

Odumakin died at the age of 56.

ACF Mourns Odumakin’s Demise |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed shock over the death of Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere Spokesman.

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Yawe, stated that “while he was alive, Yinka held on to his views very strongly. We often disagreed with him on many issues.

“Our disagreements were, however, on principle and not personal.

“The fundamental difference is that the AFENIFERE group admits only descendants of Oduduwa as members, while we in the ACF admit even descendants of Oduduwa who are northerners.

“The nature of our membership, accomodating hundreds of ethnic groups has made it very difficult to always agree with a group whose membership is limited to one ethnic group.

“We continue to hope that the AFENIFERE will one day turn a new leaf and see issues not from the narrow and limited perspective of one ethnic group but from the broad perspective of a multi ethnic federal republic.

“We had hoped that Odumakin will live long enough to work for and see the new day.

His death today has robbed us of that opportunity.

“We, however, pray for the CONDOLENCE of his family and his colleagues in AFENIFERE. We shall certainly miss him.”

Odumakin, A Great Loss To Yoruba Race – Gov Akeredolu |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Government has described as a great loss the death of the spokesman of Afenifere socio cultural group, Mr Yinka Odumakin.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, stated that the Yoruba Race has lost an enigma in pursuit of a just society.

The Commissioner’s statement reads: “It saddens us as Government and people of Ondo State to be faced with the reality of the demise of Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin.

“It is heart-aching; it’s one death with many losses to our people.

“He was a true Nationalist who placed Yoruba Race on a pedestal of honour and high regards and quite fearlessly, gave all in his passion-filled struggle for a virile and peaceful Nigeria with fairness, justice, equity and freedom as his beacons.

“His roles in the enthronement of popular democracy as well as his fiery advocacy for the Rule of Law remain undoubtedly legendary.

“We recall his fiery beginning in the struggle as the Publicity Secretary of Obafemi Awolowo University Student Union where he discharged his duties creditably.

“He represented a memorable era having participated actively in the passion and action for a better Nigeria in his lifetime.

“Those left behind will find great inspiration in Yinka’s legacies to continue with the struggle.

“To his immediate family, Yinka created an irreplaceable vacuum; he indeed left an open wound of scary spots for his colleagues with whom shared moments were always with eyes on a United Nigeria of Justice for all.

“Even those who had reasons to disagree with Yinka on issues will feel the absence of intellectual engagements. Countless losses, indeed.

“Along the trajectory of the path to service, Yinka defied his age, incurably in quest for knowledge and more wisdom from older generations to enrich and equip himself. The entire Yoruba race has lost an enigma in pursuit of a just society.

“The Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN on behalf of his family, Government and the good people of Ondo State, expresses his deep and heartfelt condolences to Yinka’s wife, Joe, family, friends, associates and acquaintances over this untimely death. This is a personal loss.

“Our collective strength remains the unshakable faith in God to Whom we are all indebted. He giveth and taketh; His actions, inactions only confirm and give credence to His infallibility. He is the Unquestionable.

“Thus, notwithstanding the pains, ours is to pray that

our departed brother, colleague and associate finds comfort in the bosom of his creator until the resurrection day.”

Odumakin died Saturday morning at the Lagos State University  Hospital, LASUTH of complications associated with COVID-19.

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