Adventures of a Nation

Had Arik not rescheduled its 9.45am flight to Kaduna on Sunday, June 17 to 10.30am, and then delayed till 11.30am, I would have flown into the city just as bombs were exploding in churches in Kaduna and Zaria and violent reprisals were launched. The delay meant that I learnt about the situation in Kaduna while on the bus from the terminal to the aircraft. Consequently, we had to wait for several hours at Kaduna Airport for things to calm down before proceeding into town. But the respite was temporary as violence resurged again on Monday/Tuesday and, even though I was done with my activities by noon Tuesday, it was impossible to leave Kaduna. The twenty-four hour curfew, which was imposed and lifted after peace returned momentarily, had to be re-instated as fresh killings and maiming resumed on Tuesday. I have read virtually all accounts of Nigerian history, especially the events of 1966 and the ensuing civil war, and I must say I caught a fleeting image of desperate Igbos seeking to leave Northern cities as the pogrom intensified in that era. That image convinced me this country is once again playing with fire and I considered myself lucky to have been able to leave Kaduna by road the next day for Abuja under armed escort, before catching a flight to Lagos. I was fortunate, but hundreds were not – they were killed and maimed needlessly, and the country moved one notch nearer the precipice as Kaduna Christians responded for the first time since Boko Haram terror commenced. Earlier the country was consumed by the bribery scandal that enveloped influential four-term House of Representatives member Farouk (now nicknamed “Farcrook”) Lawan! It turned out, courtesy of video recordings which some prominent Nigerians appear to have seen, that Lawan visited rich oil trader Femi Otedola on two separate occasions, collecting $250,000 each time. During one trip reportedly conducted before dawn, Farouk is said to have stuffed foreign currency into all available pockets in his large “Babariga” and ended up putting the excess into his long cap! The clerk of Lawan’s controversial ad hoc committee on fuel subsidies is also said to have collected an additional $120,000 from the same oil businessman. Not surprisingly, the House seemed less embarrassed by the shameful conduct of their leading member and angrier that the executive may have collaborated with Otedola in exposing their greedy colleague. Based on the tantrums thrown by House members at its special meeting, this was not really about corruption, but about losing one soldier in their self-declared “war” with the executive! As death and destruction raged in Kaduna, the president had flown to Brazil for the Rio+20 conference and had come under attack from the opposition for seeming insensitivity in leaving the nation as a major city in his country was consumed by terror and insecurity. The already angry House of Representatives issued an unprecedented (and unwise) summons to the president. It was clear something had to give upon the president’s return. And it did! I had written just a few weeks back in relation to the comments of now fired National Security Adviser, Andrew Owoye Azazi, at the South-South “BRACED” Summit: that Azazi’s outburst probably signified “evidence of exasperation by the NSA that his views about how to deal with BH has so far not been acted upon by his boss, President Jonathan.” I projected that it could “suggest Azazi’s imminent exit from government as the presidency chooses an alternative route, perhaps the ‘poverty and appeasement option’ propounded by some local and international lobbies.” That is exactly what has now happened! The appointment of Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel and a Prince of the Sokoto Caliphate, as new National Security Adviser may be considered either appeasement or pragmatism, considering that threats to national security are currently from the Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri axis of Northern Nigeria. President Jonathan and his international advisers may have concluded that the only realistic solution may be to find a credible Hausa-Fulani military figure able to resolve the security logjam. It also accedes to a longstanding Northern demand for the NSA position, which they have come to view as a preserve. The appointment by President Jonathan may turn out to be either prescient or foolhardy depending on how events unfold, but certainly his action carries risks and has implications for the nation’s power structure. I will wait for the replacement of the Minister of Defence, Haliru Bello Muhammed, before making final conclusions. My final comments will be on the president’s Democracy Day broadcast. It is unfortunate that the only aspect of that speech that has received any attention was the re-naming (actually purported re-naming) of the University of Lagos after MKO Abiola. I thought the presidential seal of recognition on Abiola’s martyrdom and role in securing our democracy was a positive step by the president, but support the need for consultation and proper legal measures since we now live in a constitutional democracy. Nevertheless, I was sad to observe Nigerians, particularly of the South-West, rejecting and splitting hairs over honour done MKO, which we have incessantly demanded for. As a policy analyst, I have also been quite alarmed that no space was given to the president’s policy pronouncements, especially on agriculture, power, ports and customs reforms and critical infrastructure.