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The Year of the Scorched Yams: VERITATEM WITH OBADIAH MAILAFIA
By Obadiah Mailafia
When some of us were young, our country had the promise of greatness. We entertained the vision of a New Jerusalem. Today, it has become a dream deferred. There is a creeping, odious, despondency in the atmosphere. The collective zeitgeist is one of hopelessness. The flame has died. The signs everywhere foretell a coming age of thunder, fire, iron and blood.
The influential London-based Financial Times recently warned that our country is becoming a failed state. Nigeria has become a vast killing field – a graveyard of shattered dreams. Last year, a Diaspora couple from the United States were returning home for the first time in two decades. On the Lokoja road, they were abducted by kidnappers and spent a week wandering barefoot in the primeval savannah bush. Their sixteen-year daughter, who had never been to Africa before, was serially raped in the presence of the parents. They were subjected to beatings and humiliations; stripped of every dollar they had on them, including their American passports. They were lucky to escape with their lives. They have brushed the dust from their feet and have vowed never to set foot on this country ever again.
In November, a father and son driving from Ado Ekiti to Ondo were waylaid by herdsmen kidnappers. They spent a week in the impenetrable forest without food or water. They were forced to drink their own urine while their kidnappers were feasting like kings. The father made some mild complaints. For his effrontery, they took him aside and had him executed by firing squad. The boy was released after payment of a rather hefty ransom. The young man remains traumatised beyond words.
Before Christmas, 344 pupils from Government Science Secondary School Kankara were kidnapped in General Muhammadu Buhari’s home state of Katsina. They were later released after desperate negotiations. Although government denied it, some of the pupils confessed that the sum of N1 million was the ransom on each of the pupils.
Christians churches throughout the Holy Season have been on their guards as a result of rumours of bombings by all sorts of shadowy reptiles. On Christmas Day, the old missionary town of Garkida in Borno State was sacked by the insurgents. Most of the inhabitants have taken refuge in the surrounding hills and caves. Nerves have been on edge throughout the Middle Belt. The far North has become a scorched earth of hopelessness, poverty and despair. In Biafra land, they are sharpening their swords and waiting. The denizens of Oduduwa are not taking any chances either.
Our collective trauma must be incalculable. I came across the work of Harvard social psychiatrist and writer Robert H. Coles who achieved intellectual fame for his book, The Children of Crisis. He wrote about the impact of racism and structural violence on the collective psyche of Black children in the southern states of America. I am sure if the likes of Cole where to examine mass society in our country today they would come up with nightmare conclusions.
There is existential evil in Nigeria. We are the land where children are sacrificed and virgins buried alive by wicked elites seeking money and power. I happen to be a Patron of the Boys’ Brigade. There have numerous instances of truck drivers driving straight into some of our boys, killing dozens at a time. It happened in Barkin Ladi in Plateau State. It happened in Gombe. And it happened more recently in Nasarawa State. In the latter case, the truck merely knocked off a bus full of the boys who were going on a camping expedition. Several of such trucks have crashed into crowded streets in Lagos and elsewhere; laden with fuel and bursting into flames. The carnage is often horrific. There are accidents, of course. But I refuse to believe that some of these destructive occurrences are mere accidents. There are people out there who want to kill innocent children for cultic, religious or other reasons. Using trucks provides a perfect legal cover. This is how evil our Nigeria has become today.
Thanks to the novel coronavirus and the generalized economic lockdown it has provoked, our economy is forecast to undergo the worst recession since the eighties. The World Bank predicts a contraction of 4 percent by year’s end 2020 before gradually rebounding by a modest 1.1 percent in 2020. When you realise that our population grows by an annual average of 2.6 percent, then one grasps the full implications of what this contraction means in terms of livelihoods and collective welfare.
The key fundamentals have deteriorated sharply in recent times. The naira is exchanging at $1/N500 in the black market. Headline inflation has risen to 14.23 percent according to the official NBS. But the American economist Stephen Hanke disputes these figures. He believes inflation in our country hovers around the 33.5 percent mark and that the naira is under heavy pressure.
There is also a looming debt crisis. Our total national debt is projected to reach N32.51 trillion by December 31, 2020. In principle, there is nothing wrong with borrowing. What is wrong is borrowing for consumption and borrowing to build railways and refineries in a foreign country. It is dangerous to fritter away foreign loans without fastidious expenditure controls in place. What is also problematic is the growing budget deficit, which stood at N2.8 trillion during Budget 2020. As economic theory would suggest, the budget deficit also impacts negatively on the current account balance, which has been in deficit of $3.2 billion as of June 2020.
Nigeria recently overtook India as the world capital of poverty. According to recent estimates, some 98 million Nigerians live under extreme poverty, amounting to 45 percent of the population. The unemployment figures are just as bad. Youth unemployment in Nigeria averages 24 – 60 percent, depending on the region.
On top of this, inequality is reaching unacceptable proportions. The elites live in an embarrassment of affluence while the poor wallow in destitution. The rich send their children abroad. When they graduate, posh jobs are waiting for them while children of the poor with first class honours degrees are wandering in the street.
It is no surprise that a Tsunami of youth protests recently swept through our country recently. The youth of our country have shown extraordinary patience and fortitude in the face of a society that has cruelly mortgaged their future and destroyed their hopes.
Let me conclude with an extract from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart:
The year that Okonkwo took eight hundred seed yams from Nwakibie was the worst year in living memory. Nothing happened at its proper time; it was either too early or too late. It seemed as if the world had gone mad. The first rains were late and when they came, lasted only a brief moment …
The drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed. The year had gone mad. When the rains finally returned, they fell as it had never fallen before. Trees were uprooted and deep gorges appeared everywhere.
That year, the harvest was sad, like a funeral and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself.
Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It always surprised him when he thought about it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. He knew he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion.
“Since I survived that year,” he always said, “I shall survive anything.”
Anno Domini 2020 is a year we all gladly want to put behind us. It has been a year of the locusts, canker-worm and caterpillar — an annus horribilis. Let me boldly say that since you, my gentle reader, survived it, nothing will stop you from flourishing in 2021. Happy NewYear to you all!
TEXT OF THE BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES, DECLARING STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE ON TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025
Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.
With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state. The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
“a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
The Plateau state government has expressed concern over violence in Shimankar (Menkaat), Shendam Local Government Area, of the State which unfortunately caused unnecessary tension within the community.
In a statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon Joyce Lohya Ramnap, made available to journalists in Jos, it condemned in strongest terms and warned such violence would not be tolerated any longer.
The statement called for dialogue to differences and disagreement before it snowballed into violence, adding that government will not allow anyone to undermine peace and unity of the State.
Part of the statement read: “I want to reiterate the Plateau State Government’s unwavering commitment to upholding peace and security for all citizens, especially during such tense moments.”
Acknowledging the swift response of law enforcement agencies and the traditional institutions in containing the situation, we are calling for even greater collaboration between community leaders, security agencies, and the public to prevent further escalation,thus the need to maintain peace, calm and restraint from all parties.
“We urge the people of the community to pursue peaceful resolutions to any disagreements instead of resorting to violence.”
In line with the administration’s “Time is Now” vision under the leadership of Governor Mutfwang, I want to emphasise that the state is focused on ensuring lasting peace and harmony, irrespective of religious or tribal differences.
Government is also assuring the public that security agencies have been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of the skirmishes and to ensure that those responsible for any breach of public peace are held accountable.
Towards this end, Plateau citizens are to remain vigilant yet peaceful and to actively support all efforts to de-escalate the situation as the State Government is committed to fostering a peaceful coexistence for all citizens, the statement further reads.
As protest rocks Benue State against the Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpembese for relocating the Benue Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal from Makurdi to Abuja, Governor Hyacinth Alia has distanced himself from the protest.
Protesters in their hundreds from Benue State took to the streets of Abuja on Monday, for a peaceful protest from the National Assembly to the Supreme Court to express their outrage over the Benue CJ’s decision.
Prior to Monday’s massive protest Justice Ikpembese raised security concerns and moved the Tribunal to Abuja, a development that triggered protest as they are saying the Tribunal would have remained in Makurdi for them to monitor proceedings.
The tribunal is currently handling disputes arising from the Benue State Local Government elections conducted on October 5, 2024.
Reports indicate that 93 petitioners, including aggrieved candidates from both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, have filed cases at the tribunal since October 17, 2024.
The Benue State Government, through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Mr. Fidelis Mnyim, had questioned the CJ’s unilateral decision, noting that neither the governor nor his office had been formally notified.
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