In the Grandiose Parlor…

The Nigerian Islamic sect leader Mohammed Yusuf held Nigeria to ransom for about a week. He and his Boko Haram zealot followers killed, maimed and destroyed at will, their rampages spread across four northern states, in quick fires. Mohammed Yusuf was a mad man to say the least, and deserved the big stick, but not at the hands of the Nigerian Police Force.

Continue reading…

When the news of Miss Uzoma Okere’s beating in Lagos broke earlier this week, I remembered Fela’s song “Zombie”. Only people out of their minds could unleash that sort of attack I saw in the video: Uzoma was horse-whipped, dragged, and stripped of her blouse for refusing to make room for Admiral Arogundade’s motor convoy.

There is absolutely no need for horsewhip-wielding and club-clutching escorts! Are Nigerian motorists donkeys that must be whipped into obedience?

Even though she got a raw deal as a result of stepping up to abusive use of power, I salute Uzoma Okere’s courage.

Below is the response from the Nigerian naval command, they just don’t get it!:

Speaking when Vanguard contacted him on the issue, Director of Naval Information, Commodore David Nabaida said: “We have set up machinery to fully investigate the matter. A board of inquiry with the naval police involved is looking into the matter.

He gave the navy account of the incident: “What really happened is that there was a traffic problem usually associated with Lagos and the escorts of the Admiral jumped down to go clear the traffic in front. Along the way, a rating used his whip to hit the car, urging the lady to move.

“Instead, she jumped out of her car, switched it off, and forcefully took the whip from him (rating), telling him that we are in a democracy, that he (rating) had no right to hit her car.

A colleague of the rating then followed the lady and collected the whip from her. When the Admiral learnt that there was altercation between a lady and a rating in front, he asked that the lady be brought to him.

“She resisted and in the process of taking her to the Admiral, her shirt got torn. When the Admiral asked her what happened, she owned up to forcefully taking the whip from the rating and apologised for the behaviour, saying she was stressed up, that was why she behaved that way,” he said.

He said the Admiral later got to know that the father of the lady, Colonel Okere (rtd), who is the Sergeant-at-arms in the Senate, was two years his senior at the Nigerian Military School (NMS), and they both spoke during which Okere apologised for the conduct of his daughter.

Commodore Nabaida said: “That does not mean we would let it die like that. In Lagos area where the incident happened, the Flag Officer Commanding is looking into the matter. The fact that we didn’t say anything before now is because we needed to know what happened. It is not that we are covering anybody or that somebody is above the law. We don’t condone our boys beating up anybody or harassing anybody.

“We are very sensitive to how the public perceive us as a service. The general thrust of the armed forces is centred on building public confidence. We cannot be seen to be doing this and go against it. Individuals should be held accountable for their actions.

“It is wrong for anybody to assume that the Navy is lawless or they go about beating people. The impression was wrongly given that Admiral Arogundade was part of the altercation whereas he is a complete gentleman an amiable officer who even sought to resolve the matter as an elder.

“It (incident) should not be used as a basis to run a complete service down. This is a service where officers and men are deployed to very dangerous trouble spots, dying to protect the territorial integrity of the nation.

In fact, if you know the casualty the Navy has suffered this year alone in the Niger Delta, you will appreciate what I am talking about. So, for anybody to say the Navy is lawless or we are wasting tax payers money is way off the mark because we also pay taxes. So, Nigerians should learn not to jump to conclusions without hearing the other side,” he said.

Last year, Nigerians executed a flawed electoral system that was fraught with logistic problems and abusive practices. The election was condemned internationally. However, 14 years earlier, Nigerians worked an electoral system that was nothing like last year’s disaster: It was the freest and fairest election ever.

It was the day the Nigerian nation spoke and exercised their civic responsibilities via the ballot box. The election was unlike any in the history of the nation: It was packed with intrigues that eventually lead to its annulment. The presumptive winner, Abiola, was slammed into detention, where he died under mysterious circumstances, and several activists fled and sought political asylum overseas. Within a twinkle of an eye, Nigeria made a u-turn from a promising future to a pariah state.

As much as June-12 has become a day Nigerians get to mourn the democracy that never was, the day has become characterized by the main actor of the moment: MKO Abiola.

Yes, MKO paid the ultimate price, but would the day be less significant if Tofa, the northerner he contested against, won?

Would June-12 be less meaningful if a less popular candidate was on the ballot, not MKO?

No doubt, the persona of MKO did help breathe some life into the status of June-12 after all. Abiola was undoubtedly the most popular Nigerian personality then – even before he decided to run for office.

However, it may not be that simple as there was another equally important component to June-12 that people hardly talk about. Option A4.

Option A4 was the electoral system that paved the way for Abiola. I’ll revert to Reuben Abati’s description of the electoral system:

Under Option A4, a candidate was required to seek nomination from the ward level to the local to the state and national level, and to win majority votes at all levels or an average of 50 per cent…

There was also the Open Ballot System (OBS) which was used for the local council, national assembly and gubernatorial elections and the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) which was used for the June 12, 1993, Presidential election. This electoral framework eliminated the influence of godfathers and party chieftains who had always imposed candidates on the Nigerian electorate.

Under Option A4, Reuben writes, “there was no point stealing ballot boxes, because everything was done in the open.”

In the OBS, voters queued up behind the candidates of their choice, and the number of voters supporting a candidate was counted in the open and the results collated and announced loudly and publicly at the voting centres across the 111,000 polling centres across the country.

Even though Option A4 was a cumbersome system devised for a two-party system, and untested in a multi-party system, it was a system that led to the freest and fairest election in Nigerian history.

Is June 12 about MKO Abiola or Option A4?

I will pick the latter: Strip June-12 of the intrigues, and the glamorous lifestyle of the main character, MKO Abiola, would it have much significance without Option A4? You tell me.

More on June 12:
Nigeria: June the Twelfth
JUNE 12 1993, Just Like Yesterday!
That we may not forget: June 12
What if Abiola had become president?

I might not be a South African

But I’m black, my skin is the same as yours
My colour is the same as yours
My genes are African, nothing but African
When your leaders were beaten by whites
I was there to shelter them
I was patient with them
I offered them food, shelter,
Most of all, I offered them protection

I might be a South African

I can’t speak Zulu, cause I’m Vhenda
I can’t speak Zulu, cause I’m Shangaan
I don’t know what an elbow is in Zulu
As much as you don’t know it in my language
Since when was Zulu the only South African language?
Yes……………I’m not from Gauteng
I was not born here, but I’m South African
Where should I go if you beat me
I’m not beating your father, mother, brother or sister who works at my
area in the mines
I’m not calling them makwerekwere though they can’t speak my language.

I might be dark in complexion

I might have the foreigners looks
I might have the foreigners body structure
Now I am scared to go to the only place that I call home
I’m scared of working down the street without my ID
Whites wanted me to do that centuries ago
Now you, my black brother is acting white

Why should you Black South Africans do this?

What makes you think that you better than me?
Who told you that I’m responsible for your unemployment?
Who told you that I’m less human
If I need to go back to Vhenda……..let all the Zulus go back to KZN
Let all the Tswana’s go back to Botswana
Let all the Sotho’s go back to Lesotho
Let all the Ndebele’s go back to Kwandebele
Let all the Xhosa’s go back to Eastern Cape
Yes…………let all the Swati’s go back to Swaziland

Is this not ignorance?

Your unemployment is your responsibility
Use your intellect
Get up and work
Let education empower you
Seek humanity

Before 1994 you blamed whites
Now you are blaming me
Who are you going to blame after chasing me away?
Who are you going to blame after killing me?

For what it’s worth…………………..

I’m sorry I was not born here
I’m sorry I can’t speak Zulu
I’m sorry for being too dark for your Joburg
I’m sorry for cleaning the toilets you don’t want to clean
I’m sorry for doing your garden
I’m sorry for repairing your shoes
I’m sorry for protecting your leaders while they were in Exile
Yes…………………what you call Exile………..is my country
And most of all…….I’m sorry for building South African infrastructure.

Source: Deejay
Enjoy:

This following chronology looks back at the problem of xenophobia since South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.

1994
The Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) threatens to take “physical action” if the government fails to respond to the perceived crisis of undocumented migrants in South Africa.

IFP leader and Minister of Home Affairs Mangosutho Buthelezi says in his first speech to parliament: “If we as South Africans are going to compete for scarce resources with millions of aliens who are pouring into South Africa, then we can bid goodbye to our Reconstruction and Development Programme.”

In December gangs of South Africans try to evict perceived “illegals” from Alexandra township, blaming them for increased crime, sexual attacks and unemployment. The campaign, lasting several weeks, is known as “Buyelekhaya” (Go back home).

1995
A report by the Southern African Bishops’ Conference concludes: “There is no doubt that there is a very high level of xenophobia in our country … One of the main problems is that a variety of people have been lumped together under the title of ‘illegal immigrants’, and the whole situation of demonising immigrants is feeding the xenophobia phenomenon.”

1997
Defence Minister Joe Modise links the issue of undocumented migration to increased crime in a newspaper interview.
In a speech to parliament, Home Affairs Minister Buthelezi claims “illegal aliens” cost South African taxpayers “billions of rands” each year.

A study co-authored by the Human Sciences Research Council and the Institute for Security Studies reports that 65 percent of South Africans support forced repatriation of undocumented migrants. White South Africans are found to be most hostile to migrants, with 93 percent expressing negative attitudes.

Local hawkers in central Johannesburg attack their foreign counterparts. The chairperson of the Inner Johannesburg Hawkers Committee is quoted as saying: “We are prepared to push them out of the city, come what may. My group is not prepared to let our government inherit a garbage city because of these leeches.”

A Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) survey of migrants in Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe shows that very few would wish to settle in South Africa. A related study of migrant entrepreneurs in Johannesburg finds that these street traders create an average of three jobs per business.

1998
Three non-South Africans are killed by a mob on a train travelling between Pretoria and Johannesburg in what is described as a xenophobic attack.

In December The Roll Back Xenophobia Campaign is launched by a partnership of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Department of Home Affairs reports that the majority of deportations are of Mozambicans (141,506) followed by Zimbabweans (28,548)

1999
A report by the SAHRC notes that xenophobia underpins police action against foreigners. People are apprehended for being “too dark” or “walking like a black foreigner”. Police also regularly destroy documents of black non-South Africans.

Sudanese refugee James Diop is seriously injured after being thrown from a train in Pretoria by a group of armed men. Kenyan Roy Ndeti and his room mate are shot in their home. Both incidents are described as xenophobic attacks.

In Operation Crackdown, a joint police and army sweep, over 7,000 people are arrested on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. In contrast, only 14 people are arrested for serious crimes.

A SAHRC report on the Lindela deportation centre, a holding facility for undocumented migrants, lists a series of abuses at the facility, including assault and the systematic denial of basic rights. The report notes that 20 percent of detainees claimed South African citizenship or that they were in the country legally.

2001
According to the 2001 census, out of South Africa’s population of 45 million, just under one million foreigners are legally resident in the country. However, the Department of Home Affairs estimates there are more than seven million undocumented migrants.

2004
Protests erupt at Lindela over claims of beatings and inmate deaths, coinciding with hearings into xenophobia by SAHRC and parliament’s portfolio committee on foreign affairs.

2006
Cape Town’s Somali community claim that 40 traders have been the victims of targeted killings between August and September.
Somali-owned businesses in the informal settlement of Diepsloot, outside Johannesburg, are repeatedly torched.

2007
In March UNHCR notes its concern over the increase in the number of xenophobic attacks on Somalis. The Somali community claims 400 people have been killed in the past decade.

In May more than 20 people are arrested after shops belonging to Somalis and other foreign nationals are torched during anti-government protests in Khutsong township, a small mining town about 50km southwest of Johannesburg. According to the International Organisation of Migration, 177,514 Zimbabweans deported from South Africa pass through their reception centre across the border in Beitbridge since its opening in May 2006.

2008
In March human rights organisations condemn a spate of xenophobic attacks around Pretoria that leave at least four people dead and hundreds homeless.

Sources include: IRIN, Human Rights Watch, SAMP, SAHRC, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation

I’m speechless following the appalling attacks on immigrants in Johannesburg.

Media reports carry the details of the xenophobic attacks orchestrated by some angry black south Africans:

On Monday, men wielding clubs and sticks patrolled along the road near one camp — apparently South Africans trying to prevent foreigners from returning, The A.P. said.

This latest outbreak of xenophobia began a week ago in the historic township of Alexandra and has since spread to other areas in and around Johannesburg, including Cleveland, Diepsloot, Hilbrow, Tembisa, Primrose, Ivory Park and Thokoza.

These attacks are an uncommon manifestation of inferiority complex. It has turned lethal, and simply tagged South Africa as a violent and unfriendly nation.

I wonder now if South Africa even deserves to host the world cup championship in 2010.

Photo: A man set on fire by a mob during anti-immigrant clashes in Johannesburg.

This is a continuation of the “crimes of corruption” series, started with James Ibori and Chimaroke Nnamani.

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Nigeria is a nation of clever people, particularly those in positions of authority.

Check out Dr. Peter Odili (photo), the former Rivers state governor. In an attempt to avoid being investigated and prosecuted by the anti-corruption agency, EFCC, Odili has taken the offensive by going to court – asking for restraining order against the EFCC and the Nigerian government. In order words, he’s asking the court to keep the EFCC and Nigerian government away from him.

Restraining orders (R.O) are typically issued to protect the petitioner from “physical pain or threat of pain or injury”. My investigation shows that while it’s been issued generally against a family member (for example, husband, ex-husband, father of your child) or a household member, restraining orders can be issued to almost anyone as long the petitioner can make a good case.

Odili’s modus operandi is the first of its kind in Nigeria. Rather than waiting for the EFCC to file a case against him and prove himself innocent, or even running away from the EFCC, odil has decided to stay put and “build a wall” around himself.

Odili was a public servant, a two-time governor of Rivers state, an oil-rich state and the second richest state in Nigeria.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch issued a report on Rivers state while Odili was the governor, excerpts:

The Rivers State government’s annual income has increased by leaps and bounds in recent years, fueled by dramatic increases in the price of oil. During the first eight months of 2006 the state government’s average monthly federal allocations topped N12.4 billion ($95.5 million), a figure that dwarfs the allocations received by most other Nigerian states. The 2006 state budget projected total government spending in excess of N168 billion ($1.3 billion ), double the amount the state had to spend as recently as 2004 and more than the annual budgets of several West African countries.
Much of this windfall has been lost to the extravagance, waste and corruption that characterize state government spending, a problem that is exemplified by the state’s 2006 budget. Enormous sums have been channeled into the office of Governor Peter Odili, often on terms so vague that it is impossible to determine what they are actually meant to be used for. Such items include:
• Budgets for unspecified “Grants, Contributions and Donations” and “Grants for Women, Youths and Other Organizations” to be handed out by the governor’s office at the rate of more than $91,000 per day or roughly N4.33 billion ($33.2 million) over the course of the year;
• A Security Vote of N5 billion (nearly $38.5 million); and
• N10 billion ($77 million) for unspecified “Special Projects,” an item that did not even exist in the 2005 budget.
Other items in the budget of the governor’s office are more specified but on their face show little apparent regard to legitimate state priorities, including:
• Transport and travel budgets that total more than $65,000 per day;
• Budgets for catering services; “Entertainment and Hospitality”; and “Gifts and Souvenirs for Visitors to Government House” that total N1.3 billion ($10 million)—more than the total annual budget of some local governments;
• N5 billion ($38.4 million) for the purchase of two helicopters and the construction of landing facilities—on top of 1.5 billion Naira that was allocated for the purchase of two jet aircraft in 2005.
• N1.5 billion ($11.5 million) for the purchase of new vehicles for Government House, even though N800 million was budgeted for this same purpose in 2005.
Added together, the above items alone constitute 17 percent of total state government spending in 2006, or more than N30.1 billion ($230 million), an amount that exceeds the total annual allocation given to many Nigerian states in 2005

By taking the offensive against the EFCC and seeking a R.O, isn’t this, by itself, a confirmation that he’s dirty, guilty, and trying so hard to hide his misdeed? I hope his lawyers reminded him that restraining orders only temporary!