GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

REFERENDUM ON BIAFRA, A VALID PROPOSITION - MALCOLM FABIYI

I have always been a firm believer that Nigeria should remain one united, indissoluble nation. It is an ideal that stems from a deep awareness of the unique possibilities that Nigeria offers, and an appreciation for the promise that it holds. There is no question that a strong and compelling case can be made for Nigerian unity, and there are many who would agree that there are sound historical, economic, and geo-political reasons why a united Nigeria makes sense both in an emotional and rational sense. The reality however is that from the very beginnings our union is one that has been plagued by doubts and clouded in uncertainty and distrust. In spite of those challenges, Nigeria has soldiered on. Through struggles, and even a brutal civil war, the Nigerian people have managed to take the union of convenience that Lugard consummated in 1914 and turn it into a partnership that is truly and uniquely theirs. 

Few people gave Nigeria any serious chance of survival. The death knell on Nigeria’s existence and corporate unity has been sounded very many times. Yet somehow, someway, a century later, Nigeria is still here, and Nigerians have managed to show the world that a nation split down the middle between Christians and Muslims can be united. 250 ethnic nationalities, each with its own unique and proud history, have found a way to call this land home. 

Yet, despite these victories, the path to Nigerian unity has come at a great price. Nigerian unity is a complicated matter. It is a marriage, and because of the multi-religious and multi-ethnic dimension to its reality, it is a polygamous one. If monogamous marriages are complicated, then polygamous ones are even more so. History and our unique culture teaches us that even such unions, imperfect as they might be can survive and even thrive.-

I have come to realize now, that to love Nigeria, is to be open to discussing the reality that it is not a perfect union – and that what we must all strive for is to make it such. To love Nigeria is to recognize that questions about marginalization that are raised by any ethnic groups are not necessarily coming from a place of malice or discontent. We must consider and accept the possibility that these yearnings are borne from a deep seated desire by these ethnic nationalities to chart a path for progress for themselves. 

None of us was there to negotiate the terms of this polygamous national union in 1914.  The reality is that questions about the terms of our union are now new, and they are certainly not without merit. There is a reason why there have been ten (10) different constitutions (1914, 1922, 1946, 1951, 1954, 1960, 1963, 1979, 1993 and 1999), in the life of a nation that is only a century old. Each one of these constitutions came about as a direct result of the never ending enterprise of seeking to enhance the Nigerian union – a step further in the quest for a more perfect union. There has also been at least one far ranging commission that looked into the question of minority marginalization (Willink Minorities Commission 1957) and a number of constitutional conferences whose recommendations were not adopted (e.g., the Abacha conference of 1994, and the Jonathan constitutional conference of 2014). 

In all the national dialogues about Nigerian unity held till date, any questioning of the foundational principle of national unity has essentially been a no-go area. It might be time to make an exception to this doctrinal principle that Nigerian unity is sacrosanct and cannot be challenged. I believe the Biafran secession debate is an area that is deserving of this exception. 

There are two reasons why a referendum on the Biafran secession case makes sense. 

Nigeria must understand how deep the sentiments for separation truly run: Supporters of Nigerian unity (and here we must concern ourselves only with those that are Igbo), contend that IPOB, MASSOB and other entities that are vociferously agitating for secession from Nigeria do not represent the silent Igbo majority.  However, no one has ever taken a poll of the Igbo nation to understand how deep the sentiment for separation from Nigeria truly runs. It is in the interest of the Igbo nation and all Nigerians to put this matter to rest once and for all. Are the majority of the Igbo people like other ethnic groups, believers in a united Nigeria, with an enduring interest in forging a more enduring union by seeking more equity in the structure of the Nigerian state, and in its relationship with its composite parts? Or is the idea of a united Nigeria with the Igbo as an integral part of that union a figment of the imagination of Nigerian patriots? 

The Igbo nation has earned a right to a referendum: Nigeria must face up to the realities that the civil war did not buy us peace and unity. Peace can never be bought at any price. The only currency that guarantees peace is that of justice and equity. In prosecuting the Civil War, our forebears merely bought themselves time to make the case for, and develop a more perfect union. If in the 45 years since the guns fell silent, Nigeria has failed to make a convincing case for the Igbo nation to feel, know and believe that Nigeria is as much theirs as the Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, Nupe, Tiv, Igala, Yoruba, Kanuri, Fulani and others believe it to be, then it is in the interest of all patriots to know that, sooner rather than later. Much as many Nigerian patriots would prefer that the questions of separation be shelved forever, and that Nigerian unity should remain a sacrosanct matter, such willful ignorance can do the nation no good in the long run. No marriage lasts if one party remains fundamentally opposed to the union. If a family is to build for the future, and make plans for the future, all the parties to the union must believe that their partnership is an eternal one. The Nigerian family will falter and remain locked in dysfunction if this nagging and persistent question of national unity is not answered, once and for all. Only a referendum can provide a resolution to this question, and the Igbo nation has earned a right to a peaceful plebiscite. 

Why the Agitation for Biafra differs from other Marginalization struggles. 

There are those who would say that the Biafra matter was settled once and for all with the Nigerian civil war, and that the Igbo nation should accept that their secession bid was unsuccessful and get on with being Nigerians. However, majority of Nigerians today, who are from the post-independence or post war generation, did not witness the war, or were too young to appreciate the issues that led to it.  What most Nigerians know of that conflict is from the history books and from the stories that our fathers and uncles, our mothers and aunts have told us. 

The enduring quotation that Nigerians of this emergent generation hold onto from that internecine conflict was the declaration by General Gowon, the head of state that prosecuted the war for unity, that there was “No victor, No vanquished.” 

If there was indeed “No Victor, No Vanquished” then Nigeria must be prepared to give voice to those who claim that their future lies outside the Nigerian nation. To fail to do so will be to tacitly imply that the “Vanquished” have no say in the terms of a post war settlement. This is not a path Nigeria should tow, as it will only keep us bogged down in this seemingly endless cycle of progress and retrogression. How would this referendum work? 

Such a referendum would take place in two stages. The first stage would be a simple “Yes or No” question as to whether or not a substantive referendum should hold to determine if the south eastern Igbo states should secede from Nigeria. It should hold only in the south eastern region, and only Igbo Nigerians should be eligible to participate. If the “No” vote prevails by a simple majority, then the matter of the enduring place of the Igbo within the Nigerian nation will be resolved. Should this initial referendum process have a simple majority “Yes” vote, then it would trigger the commencement of a process to set a date and prepare for a substantive referendum on the question of full Biafran secession. 

The second stage will need some preparation - from the authorities, from the proponents of National unity and from the advocates of separation and secession. The intervening period between the two referendums will provide some opportunity for the real world implications of separation to be debated.  Questions of citizenship, immigration, visa policies and terms of access of Igbo Nigerians to the other five regions post separation will need to be clearly outlined because those would be crucial to the debates that will ensue on the merits or demerits of separation. Guarantees for property rights and economic transfers in the event of political separation will also need to be discussed and addressed as well. Nigeria’s political leaders must be prepared to accept whatever outcomes emerge from this second referendum and it must necessarily be preceded by the passage of appropriate and binding legislative laws. 

Postscript 

No one can make the case for Nigerian unity to the Igbo nation, better and more effectively than Igbo sons and daughters, who believe in the vision and the promise of a united Nigeria. We must trust in their ability to do this. And if peradventure, Nigeria has failed the Igbo nation so irreparably, that there will be no voices that can sway the case in the favor of Nigerian unity, then we must be ready to accept that separation might be a necessary outcome, painful as it might be. 

We have been here before. In 1961, Northern and Southern Cameroon were offered a plebiscite to determine if they wanted to remain in Nigeria or enter into union with Cameroon. Northern Cameroon with its large Fula and Kanuri populations and extensive historical, religious and socio-political ties to Northern Nigeria, opted for union with Nigeria, while the Southern Cameroons opted to join Cameroon. The example offered by the recent agitations for Scottish independence, provides a template for how such a referendum might be handled by people on both sides of the divide. 

Every nation must determine its priorities and deal with them accordingly.  There are those who would argue that the Biafran question is a secondary issue and that Nigeria has more pressing concerns with security, and with reversing the damage perpetrated by a corrupt political class that has decimated the nation’s resources in decades of misrule. I would argue that the Biafran question is an existential one, and therefore demands to be treated with a fierce urgency. The Igbo nation is a crucial and essential part of Nigeria. Nigerian progress will be accelerated if we can determine once and for all, who the parties to our forward movement as a nation are. I am confident that the Nigerian family of the future, will include names like Okoro, Nnamdi, Kanu and Ngozi. 
God bless Nigeria. 
Malcolm Fabiyi

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