BARBARA BUSH: DEAD AT 92.

ICHEOKU says the matriarch of the Bush political dynasty, wife to a former CIA director, wife to a former Vice President, wife to a former president and also a mother of a former president and two former governors; a woman who was truly an embodiment of the "say it as you see it" New York spirit, a personification of grace who somewhat borders on royalty; and who was also a mother of six children in all, grandmother to 17 and great grandmother to 7; former American First Lady Barbara Bush is dead. 

The platinum haired gregarious lady, who commanded presence wherever she stepped in and who was more than qualified to have been crowned Queen had America a monarchy, died of old age related infirmities and natural causes. She suffered from a breathing difficulties disorder, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (C.O.P.D) and also congestive heart failure towards the very end of her well fulfilled and heavily accomplished life. Barbara Bush was 92 years old. 

Barbara Bush alongside former President Quincy Adams' wife, Abigail Adams, were the only two American women in history to share the singular honor of married to a president and also gave birth to a child who later became president; thus made them wife and mother of presidents. She also had the honor of being the longest married wife of an American president and was with former President George H. Bush Sr for 72 long meritorious years. Commenting on her life last year, Barbara said: "I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.” ICHEOKU says simply beautiful and how many women could happily and proudly say that of their marital life experience; to be married that so long and still remained happy that so long. Simply incredible, wonderful. 

Her one other memorable quote which ICHEOKU likes a lot because it told everything anyone needed to know about Barbara's depth, is: "I’m not going to turn into a glamorous princess. I’m not going to worry about it. I have plenty of self-confidence, not in how I look but in how I feel and I feel good about my husband, my children, and my life.” What a woman who indeed truly loved and took immense pride in her family. Speaking about her, former White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, said:- “She is more than a matriarch. She was a greater conscience to her husband, to her sons, to her daughter and to those who had the benefit of being in her proximity. She was an unvarnished purveyor of the truth and motivated us all to be better people. And she was also contagious with love."  ICHEOKU says what a testimonial, a solid one indeed and which will easily suffice as her epitaph. Adieu Barb. 

AMERICA AND RUSSIA ENTENTE: WHO IS AGAINST IT?

ICHEOKU says what a beautiful world this would be, the day America and Russia will finally bury the hatchet and become friends, real true friends, that is. Imagine all the common problems confronting the world which such armistice could help resolve, problems solved. From hunger to science to wars to terrorism to all sorts of things which solution has eluded the world for so long suddenly becoming solved. And instead of spending billions of dollars building up weapons against each other, they could re-direct their investment priorities to things that could help make the world a better place. 

But unfortunately, the military/industrial complex which only benefits and thrives in a world of chaos and confusion, will have none of that. They have weapons to sell to remain in business and a lot of them too; and so to do this, there has to be threats of imminent danger and turmoil from an identifiable enemy. For the West, Russia is always the bogeyman; and for the East, America is always the Great Satan which must be guarded against. So until such a time that reason eventually prevails, the world will always periodically be pushed to the brinks, near the edge, by greedy arms dealers, merchants and contractors whose voracious appetite for more money must constantly be fed. Yes, indeed, the beast has to be fed; hence the never ending and often near cataclysmic nightmarish scenarios which always jolts the world every now and then; engendered by these folks instigating conflict between the two countries. May wisdom someday prevail.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: DOES HE LIKE TO SEE BABIES GASSED TO DEATH?

ICHEOKU says it is very doubtful if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin truly wants world peace in this world? First he invaded Georgia's Ossetia and Abkhazia; then he forcibly seized Crimea from Ukraine and is currently waging a proxy war against the same Ukraine in Eastern Ukraine, using terrorists who do not want to give peace a chance. Next he courted Iran and Syria and is also watching as the Syrian despot Bashir Assad continuously use noxious gas to asphyxiate his people and fellow citizens of Syria. No other country is known to be this intrusive in other countries territories and you wonder what actually does Vladimir Putin want? 

How is it that a supposedly civilized European or rather Russian could in this 21st century, be a friend to a mass murderer who is gassing his own people, while he stands idly by and pretend and proclaim that it is not happening. Is it that he cannot control Bashir Assad and stop him from doing what he is doing or that he could care less if the children of Syria are the ones dying and being sent to an agonizing slow death by choking, and their body twitching in the most violent manner before yielding up their ghosts. Instead of joining forces with other civilized nations and countries of the world to secure world peace, this guy in Kremlin is rather busy causing trouble and stirring crisis after crisis and you wonder what exactly makes him tick. 

Vladimir Putin had in 2013 made an undertaking that Syria will transfer all its noxious weapons to the world body; yet in 2017 the same Syria gassed more Syrian citizens to their painful deaths. Some missiles were fired into Syria in retaliation, and thereafter common sense dictated that will mean an end to the horrific death by choking on fumes. But in 2018 the same Assad used more gas to kill more people of Syria. The West responded by firing missiles into Syria and all Vladimir Putin could do or say is threaten the world that should any future missile be fired into Syria that there will be an International chaos. ICHEOKU says really? Is this the only way this guy knows how to respond and instead of being pertinent that a despot who he had undertaken will be of good behavior, but is still flagrantly killing his people with gas, Vladimir Putin is rather threatening the world and you ask yourself does Assad do what he does with the blessing and tacit support of Vladimir Putin? 

Why must noxious fumes be his preferred choice of killing the people he is in office to protect? Recall that nobody is asking Assad to end the madness going on in Syria, just that he should not be using a banned chemical weapon as his weapon of choice. But instead of calling Assad to order, Vladimir Putin is by his own words and actions encouraging the dastardly killings and you wonder what value is Russia and their Vladimir Putin really to humanity if all the world gets from them is an inhumane confused policy misdirection. But nothing lasts forever as ICHEOKU strongly believes that his antics cannot be allowed to go on forever. It is about time Russia is given a choice, to either become a good citizen of the world and assume its rightful place among comity of civilized nations or be expelled from all world organizations including the United Nations Organization. 

How any leader with a soul would support the gassing of human beings after the horrors of Holocaust is simply beyond imagination and because of this, Vladimir Putin should be condemned by every right thinking person. ICHEOKU hereby therefore condemns Vladimir Putin for his actions in supporting Assad Bashir in his penchant for using noxious chemicals to asphyxiate his people. Enough of this ongoing madness and enough of Vladimir Putin threatening the world with chaos. If he wants a third World War, may be it is about time his wish is granted; let the war be fought once and for all, instead of this his never ending nerviness and disparate tunes which festoons avoidable anxiety on the entire world. Syria's Assad can remain in power, terrorists can also be killed since they deserve to die; but the continuous use of prohibited chemical weapons on innocent Syrians should be loudly condemned as a no brainier, no option. Vladimir Putin. help the world stop Bashir Assad from killing his people with gas. 

PUTIN THREATENS WORLD PEACE: TO UNLEASH INTERNATIONAL CHAOS.

ICHEOKU says Vladimir Putinya is once again making threats and threatening world peace. Instead of reining in his friend and fellow despot Bashir Assad from using chemical weapons on Syrian citizens, he is busy with issuing threats. Query: does it mean that Vladimir Putin enjoys having those little innocent children of Syria gassed or likes watching them twitch as they trail off to their agonizing painful deaths. Whatever it is, it is not good and it does not look good not after the horrific experience that was the holocaust. 

His latest threat, that there will be “International chaos” should another missile strikes be launched on Syria is not only inflammatory but somewhat encouraging the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian despot Bashir Assad. Why wait to unleash international chaos when he could have preempted it by asking Syria to stop using chemical weapons on her citizens. The missile strikes are predicated on Syria using chemical weapons and so is a  problem with a solution. Prevention is always better than cure, so if Vladimir Putin does not want to see Syria bombed again, he should tell his friend Bashir Assad not to gas those little innocent children of Syria again, problem solved. Except of course, Putin has other scores he wants to settle and is just looking for an excuse to unleash mayhem on the world. It is such an easy problem to solve; but he seems not to get it or rather just does not want to resolve it but to remain a pain in the butt of the West, while making alliances with thuggish rogue leaders. 

What a peaceful place the world would otherwise be if only Russia's Putin would agree to become a player for global good and play by the rule. But no, he is always at the opposite end and sometimes for no germane reason other than just for the heck of it. Anyway, when next Putin allows Bashir Assad to gas his people, the West, as promised, will again respond with missile strikes on Syria and thereafter he can unleash his promised international chaos and let us see how it will end. This is an avoidable problem that has a simple solution, restrain Bashir Assad from his barbaric use of banned chemical weapons on his people; but unfortunately, Putin does not appear or seem interested in peacefully resolving the issue. Rather, he is threatening world peace, forgetting that Russia is also part of the world and will not be immune from whatever he decides to unleash on the world. But hopefully, the world will not have to see whatever he has planned; believing that common sense will eventually prevail over him and Kremlin will do its job of reining in Bashir Assad. What a world fast approaching a destructive confrontation which is otherwise avoidable. 

SYRIA WARNED TO DESIST OR BE BOMBED AGAIN.

"If the Syria regime uses this poisonous gas again on its people, it will be bombed again. The United States of America is locked and loaded. When our president draws a redline, our president enforces the redline." - Nikki Haley, United States of America Ambassador to the United Nations.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: WHENEVER HE IS READY!

ICHEOKU says Russia has one good opportunity to finally move back into a comity of civilized nations and stop his despotic mentality that always see him flocking amidst his fellow dictators. But if he choses to remain in the cold and remain in Kremlin where he has been holed in since 1999, too bad. His too much stay in power is only damaging Russia and turning it into a third world country where only one man dictates what goes on in the country. Putin, change your ways. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP ORDERS MISSILE STRIKES IN SYRIA: THE FULL SPEECH.

"My fellow Americans, a short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway. We thank them both. 

Tonight, I want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. One year ago, Assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. The United States responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20 percent of the Syrian Air Force. Last Saturday, the Assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians — this time, in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus. This massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime. The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children, thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man; they are crimes of a monster instead. 

Following the horrors of World War I a century ago, civilized nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. Chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous not only because they inflict gruesome suffering, but because even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation. 

The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons. Establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the United States. The combined American, British, and French response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power — military, economic, and diplomatic. We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. 

I also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime. To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children? The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators. 

In 2013, President Putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons. Assad’s recent attack — and today’s response — are the direct result of Russia’s failure to keep that promise. Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path, or if it will join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace. Hopefully, someday we’ll get along with Russia, and maybe even Iran — but maybe not. 

I will say this: The United States has a lot to offer, with the greatest and most powerful economy in the history of the world. In Syria, the United States — with but a small force being used to eliminate what is left of ISIS — is doing what is necessary to protect the American people. Over the last year, nearly 100 percent of the territory once controlled by the so-called ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq has been liberated and eliminated. 

The United States has also rebuilt our friendships across the Middle East. We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment, and all of the anti-ISIS effort. Increased engagement from our friends, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others can ensure that Iran does not profit from the eradication of ISIS. 

America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria under no circumstances. As other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home. And great warriors they are. Looking around our very troubled world, Americans have no illusions. We cannot purge the world of evil, or act everywhere there is tyranny. No amount of American blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the Middle East. It’s a troubled place. We will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place. The United States will be a partner and a friend, but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people. 

In the last century, we looked straight into the darkest places of the human soul. We saw the anguish that can be unleashed and the evil that can take hold. By the end of the World War I, more than one million people had been killed or injured by chemical weapons. We never want to see that ghastly specter return. 

So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshaled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality. Tonight, I ask all Americans to say a prayer for our noble warriors and our allies as they carry out their missions. We pray that God will bring comfort to those suffering in Syria. We pray that God will guide the whole region toward a future of dignity and of peace. And we pray that God will continue to watch over and bless the United States of America.

Thank you, and goodnight. Thank you."

JAMES COMY'S HIGHER LOYALTY: A BOOK OF COMEDY OF ERRORS.

ICHEOKU says once again the Never Trumpers and anti President Donald John Trump Washington establishment and their whoring media are waving their flag of psychological victory; celebrating yet another hatchet jobber, the former disgraced disgruntled FBI director James Comey, on his book chronicling his peculiar assessment of the president. But unfortunately, the book damaged James Comey more than it did the president; as it tells a story of a former director who is gossipy, leaky and who cannot keep secrets, begging the question what else did James Comey tell on and to who or is this it. 

Regardless of how many copies he sells or how wealthy he becomes from receiving proceeds of sale from the book, it does not matter. What would have mattered and commanded the respect and admiration of the American reading public is that a former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation maintained his dignity and kept his mouth shut about things that came to his knowledge while heading the Bureau. But he did not; instead he squealed like a trapped animal; spilling the beans on what he allegedly perceived about the president during the last election and continuing till he was fired by the president. As expected any fired former employee is usually very disgruntled and is never expected to paint his former employer in positive lights or tell a tale of the glorious moments shared together. So nobody should be surprised if Higher Loyalty contains sleazy tales from the moonlight as told through the eyes of an unhappy camper.

ICHEOKU does not really care whatever the heck of a bombshell or lack thereof that may be contained in the book. It shouldn't matter and it does not matter and it will not otherwise make any dent howsoever small or minute on the person of President Donald John Trump or his presidency. Others have tried and continue to try till date to no avail; using all manners of deceitful ploys including washed up whores to try and disparage the president but have failed. They wither away soon following their outing and enjoyment of their fifteen minutes of fame or rather notoriety because American people, including millions of deplorables, have seen through the veil of contrivance and they intoned never again will they fall for the bait. They are fully vested in the peoples presidency which President Donald John Trump's presidency represents and they will, together, fight to defend him and protect their common holding, his presidency. 

The latest trashy book Higher Loyalty by James Comey is yet another attempt at get the president at all cost lunacy which has become very pervasive within the American minority leftist liberal nut jobs. They are loud, angry, oftentimes violent and fully incensed with desire for vengeance; but unfortunately they will not be allowed or permitted to succeed. The silent majority have woken up from their deep slumber of little or no interest and care about what has been going on and the silent majority will no longer allow the distractions of throwing the dog a bone to affect their collective vigilance on America going forward. This things awry is the madness which President Donald John Trump was elected to cure and he has been working tirelessly to fix them since the last election and he is succeeding in doing it. 

While these lunatic leftist anarchists are still dreaming of the president being removed and their Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton installed, the president is soldiering on and mission accomplishing his many objectives as espoused during his campaign for the office. He does not allow the many heels nippers affect his daily work with their diatribes and sometimes flat accusations of crime. This powering on despite all their attacks is equally exacerbating the insanity of these people and it shows daily, every hour, every minute and every second. As they continue to chase around every shadow and turning every rock looking for the evidence of whodunnit Russian Collusion, the president has carried himself well as he zeroed into solving problems for the American people and the world in general ask tip the missiles strikes which he ordered carried out in Syria today.  

The book Higher Loyalty will also burn out like others before it, We have seen it happen and his will not be an exception. After a few weeks of slouching around and telling his story of sleaze to his buddies in the corrupt media circus, his moment in the sun, he and his book will also be retired into an aside and soon to be forgotten tawdry tale. 

ICHEOKU says will neither buy nor borrow nor read the bunkum contained therein Higher Loyalty and encourages everyone not to enrich the snitching Comey with their hard earned money. Also there is nothing new he disclosed in the fantasy fairy book of distortions. James Comey lost the respect of every rational and sensible American the day he made a case establishing incontrovertible evidence of crime against Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton and then obfuscated and declared that "No reasonable prosecutor would indict on the charges." That was the day justice died in America.  That was also the day the whole world of lawyers and judicial officers as well as every person with the slightest knowledge of the law knew that something foundationally convulsing happened to shake their believe in equal justice for everyone under the law as they asked themselves in awe why the special treatment of Queen Crooked Hilary Clinton. 

Anyway, ICHEOKU is glad that James Comey was sent packing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and hopefully that he did not do a lasting damage the Bureau, one that is simply too much before he was thrown out. What a manner of person would be this complicit with manipulating an investigation, albeit the law; as well as the entire justice system just to achieve an objective. Pitiful Comey and his pitiful book of lies, fabrications and innuendos, not worth the time or money to be spent on it. Simply too trashy. Please do not read Higher Power by James Comey and ICHEOKU will not either. 

JOY BEHAR WAS AGAIN, WRONG !

ICHEOKU says this old hag should first change her name because there is no joy in her and there is nothing joyful about her. She is just another crazed out, wild eyed feminist nut job who craves and stokes controversies. If it is not Christians that she is disparaging as mentally challenged, it is the president of the United States of America, Donald John Trump, that she is disparaging and comparing with Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putinya. 

Luckily enough, she lives in the United States where the president works tirelessly to protect her way of life, ensure that she is safe and free to pursue her diatribes including those pointed-arrow ones which she severally directed at the president. Were she living in Russia, could she be this disrespectful to Putin? Most likely, she would have since been sent a flower delivering assassin to permanently seal her lips as Anna Politkovskaya unfortunately found out, albeit post humorously. Were Joy Behar living in North Korea, could she have so badmouthed Leader Kim; otherwise the same starving wild dogs which feasted on Kim Jong Un’s uncle, could have had her for lunch as well, possibly eaten alive during their next feeding. These are the same monsters she is comparing President Donald John Trump with. But she still enjoys the freedom to open her dirty big loud mouth to say nonsensical and suffers no consequence as a result; yet President Donald John Trump is worse than Km Jong Un and Vladimir Putinya combined. Really? 

Anyway, lets hope that she will sooner than later come back to her senses, eat her vomit and apologize to the president as she was once forced to do to Vice President Mike Pence and later, to millions of other Americans who profess and confess Jesus Christ as their savior and Christianity as their religion. UnJoy Behar definitely lives a life of lie and so shamelessly too. She sounds angry and comes off as someone who has a serious ax to grind with men and possibly actually hates men. May be a bad childhood where she was probably molested, raped and exposed to some other cruelties in the hands of loveless uncaring men. What a pitiful lesbian.

PAUL RYAN FORCED OUT: MITCH MCCONNEL NEXT?

ICHEOKU says one down, one more to go; so when will the tortoise-neck, froggy Senate Leader Senator Mitch McConnell follow suit and scream ME-TOO, am out, gone!. This will help the president begin with a new Congressional leadership he can trust to help him mission accomplish his Make America Great Again agenda. ICHEOKU hereby calls on Senator Mitch McConnell to emulate Paul Ryan and also throw in the towel and retire from the Senate; to make room for and enable President Donald John Trump to have his Congressional leadership. So, Paul Ryan is a good riddance. 

His exit significantly marks the beginning of the end of the Washington Swamp establishment; draining of which, was one of the issues the president campaigned on and for which the American people elected him president. Drain the Swamp effort having finally netted one of its biggest swamp creature, with the soon to be former Speaker Paul Ryan being forced out of the Congress, has now finally regained steam. Paul Ryan  announced that he Is resigning from Congress and will not run again for reelection in November 2018. His departure will help suck out the lifeblood of those other creepy swamp creatures, who are only doing the job for which lobbyist pay them, while neglecting the primary business of the American people, the reason they were sent to Washington in the first place. Therefore ICHEOKU and millions of other American deplorables are glad that at last the active draining of the swamp has indeed finally begun with the resignation of Speaker Paul Ryan.

Paul Ryan never supported the president and was never a fan of the president either; and this position has not changed much till date. He was lukewarm from the inception of the president's race to the White House and has not sufficiently warmed up to the president or his agenda till date. A situation many interpreted to be exhibition of petty jealousy that what he as vice presidential candidate to and with Mr Penguin Mitt Romney could not achieve, Donald Trump accomplished on a first try. During the last 2016 election campaign, he displayed open hostility towards the then candidate Trump, urging Congressional Republican candidates running for reelection to go about their own election and not worry about the presidential candidate or allow themselves to be distracted by the then candidate Trump's tsunami of women troubles. 

Paul Ryan actually showed openly that the president stood no chance of ever winning the election. When the Access Hollywood tape leaked, instead of supporting the party's nominee, he distanced himself from him and even cancelled a previously scheduled joint campaign appearance with then candidate Trump, appearing alone in the campaign event in his native Wisconsin where he denounce Trump, without having the decency to even mention him by name. Paul Ryan also castigated and condemned Trump, to the extent of calling him a racist, when the Charlottesville South Carolina incident happened. 

So in Paul Ryan, President Donald John Trump never had a man-Friday or somebody you will gladly go to war expecting that he will unconditionally get your back. But the president won and he put a face of reluctant cooperation. ICHEOKU says such pretentious fair weather friends are worse than the worst enemy anyone can have. They cannot be trusted nor expected to change into any better supportive friend; but are usually only accommodating a circumstance which they cannot do anything about while secretly wishing differently. Yes, ICHEOKU is emphatic that Speaker Paul Ryan was not a fan nor friend of the president and never helped with the president's election campaign nor ever wanted him to win the election and also did not want him to succeed. His resignation is in fact a welcome relief so that the president can rejig and continue doing what he is doing best, working for the American people.

ICHEOKU says what took him so long as he should have resigned a long time ago, the day Trump won the election without his help and without waiting this long to be forced out or resign. President Donald John Trump won the presidency without his help or support or effort; and as chairman of the Republican Convention 2016, reluctantly showed up to preside but left his heart somewhere else. Even the day he conducted the president on a familiarization tour through the Congress, his face told it all that he was still in shock that the president won. But how he burrowed in this long, pretending to be a loyal team player when he is not, while allowing himself to be daily eaten alive from the inside out, and opposing the president's MAGA policies, including the tariffs on China, is simply mind blowing. 

Anyway, better late than never is always good; admitted never late is always better. Paul Ryan reminds ICHEOKU of Cassius in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and such men are dangerous. ICHEOKU also wishes the soon to be former speaker and member of Congress Paul Ryan all the best in whatever future endeavor he settles on including working as a lobbyist, but is definitely glad that the president will now have the opportunity to have a Speaker of his choice, who will help him accomplish on the many election goodies which he promised the American people. A MAGA speaker who will proudly work with the president and together help the President's Make America Great Again agenda succeed. So long Ryan.

BUHARI CALLS OBASANJO'S BLUFF: SEEKS RE-ELECTION 2019.

ICHEOKU says exactly what giving someone the middle finger really looks like. Unfortunately, some Nigerians and Aremu Matthew Kikelemo Olusegun Obasanjo miscalculated in their thinking that a retired, ruthless army general will just tremblingly scurry away from Aso Rock simply because the Ota Deity aired an opinion. As they are now terribly beginning to find out, albeit rudely, the Dracula of Daura is not a man of brittle courage; nor is he easily intimidated or shies away from confrontation and he does not allow mere mortals to meddle in his affairs or come in-between him and his dreams. 

A presidency which he spent nearly all his adult life time seeking and contested for on three previous occasions but failed; before finally winning on the fourth try and somebody named Olusegun Obasanjo said what to make him jump off the cliff. ICHEOKU says but not in this life and not in the life of Olusegun Obasanjo and all the Nigerians who are wishfully thinking that Buhari would just walk away from and say so long to Aso Rock. But who the heck is Olusegun Obasanjo that he would dictate to a sitting president not to seek a reelection, a right which the president is both entitled and qualified to exercise. The same president who Obasanjo once told Nigerians was qualified enough to be president despite having no certificate. The resultant failure not withstanding, but the Ota Deity has no right nor moral authority to mouth off, complaining about the failures of President Muhammadu Buhari. Olusegun Obasanjo is not the custodian or guardian or controller in chief of Nigeria and no one appointed him Aso Rock's official guardsman or policeman, hence he has no right to dictate to anyone as to who has the right to aspire for its occupation. 

A matter made worse because the Ota farmer had no decency to even apologize to Nigerians for misleading them into electing Buhari president when they did. But here he is running around and running his mouth about a Buhari's failed presidency as if he or anyone had expected otherwise or any better; but he went ahead anyway to make it happen due to his hatred for Jonathan. ICHEOKU says if President Muhammadu Buhari is a failure or is running a failed presidency, how about the person who helped establish such a failure and a failed presidency? Any civilized decent person, similarly complicit as Olusegun Obasanjo was in the Buhari's election, should have first apologized to Nigerians for his role in bringing about the Buhari's presidency. Such a person would have also taken some responsibility for the failure to launch which the Muhammadu Buhari's presidency turned out to be. But not Olusegun Obasanjo, not the egotistic, self serving Ota Deity, who sees nothing good in anyone else but himself; a narcissistic fellow, who cannot and has refused to accept that he is the grinch who stole Nigerians' Christmas with the Buhari's presidency. He is also a guilty party in the tragedy that is a Nigeria stalled since 1966. 

But the good news is that Buhari is not Jonathan. Unlike the coward of Otuoke who nearly suffered complete nervous breakdown when Obasanjo fired his missile of "do not seek a reelection" at him, and with great trepidation staggered through his reelection campaign and never fully recovered from the shock and ended up losing the reelection bid, President Buhari is not fazed. He will most likely win his own reelection bid much easier than anyone expected, no matter what is thrown at him in form of curve balls. He is a soldier and once a soldier always a soldier; soldiers do soldier on and so will Buhari. Soldiers also crush everything and anything on their way and so will Buhari. Soldiers have courage and such is not in short supply in Buhari's heart either. Buhari is dogged and Buhari has tenacity, two qualities necessary for electioneering campaign successes and Buhari will succeed in his campaign for reelection, regardless of the hateful Olusegun Obasanjo wishes. 

ICHEOKU says so, despite all the noise in the social media and whether thousands of Olusegun Obasanjo like it or not, President Muhammdu Buhari will win his reelection bid in 2019.  The president has the courage, audacity and resolve to so do and the president will in fact actualize it. This is the reason and after examining all the odds, that he went forth to announce that he is running for reelection in next year's Nigeria's presidential election. ICHEOKU is not particularly a fan of his, but strongly believes that with a very weak opposition and no courageous strong candidate to field against him, Buhari will emerge victorious come election night on February 15, 2019. At the end of the day, it will boil down to certain factors, especially now that Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, is spearheading the anti Buhari second term, with calls for him to quit. 

It will become a narrative that Christians are ganging up against Muslim Muhammadu Buhari. It will come down to the wire of the North against the South, the "we and them" factor. But when all is said and done, the North will galvanize together into one voting bloc, because the Sultan of Sokoto Caliphate will direct them to, and fall solidly behind their favorite son, President Muhammad Buhari and vote en bloc to reelect him. At 19 Northern States against 17 Southern States, the balance is already tilted in the North's favor; and regardless of who the opposition decides to field as their own presidential candidate, the North will hold that person with contemptuous suspicion. If the person is a fellow Muslim Northerner, the North will brand him a saboteur and stooge of the Christian South, who will not protect their Northern interest and will ostracize him forever and will not vote for him either. 

The North has a peculiar mindset which is one directional, one objective tinged; and  which is geared solely towards the protection of the North's interest. In President Muhammadu Buhari, the North trusts; and they could not have had a better, sectional, religious and tribal champion than him. So, no matter who the opposition raises from the North to contest the presidency against President Muhammad Buhari in 2019, that person cannot have a better Northern bona fides than President Muhammad Buhari. A certified Fulani Northern president of Nigeria, who has in words, actions and deeds, manifested his abiding loyalty and commitment to the cause of Northern domination of Nigeria beyond any question. So on the issue of who is truly more Northern, President Muhammadu Buhari wins whoever the opposition candidate is handily. 

Further, the power of incumbency is another controlling factor in winning Nigerian elections. First, with the issue of fund raising, no businessman or woman or even bank directors will publicly make a hefty donation to the opposition party or candidate, afraid of the consequences for being shut out by the government from the economic pipeline, with denied licenses and increased EFCC closer scrutiny. It will translate to zero business and zero government patronage of any sort to such a donor and no Nigerian likes to be left in the cold of the power corridors. So Buhari's reelection campaign will out raise the opposition in campaign funding and more money means more leverage. Remember too what Murphy's law said that he who controls the gold, makes the rules; and in Nigeria, the executive president is still the it and access still translates to everything as well. 

Also, all the security agencies of the government from the army to the Navy to the Airforce to the police to the State Security to National Intelligence to Customs as well as Immigration and of course the arbiter of the election INEC, are all at the beck and command of the incumbent president. He appointed their heads who stand a better chance at retaining their plum positions with a reelected President Muhammadu Buhari than taking chances with an incoming new president whose first order of business might be to fire them. These honchos will see themselves as equally having a stake in the outcome of the election, hence the business of electing the president will become their business as well; and they will do whatever it takes to ensure his victory. In Nigeria, all it takes is a few canisters of gas and it is to your tents Oh Israel and every body will Ben Johnson away to lick their wounds. 

Lastly, President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of uncanny courage who has shown the will to survive and is not circumspect about visiting pain and suffering on any disfavored person. He is a fighter and for fighters, winning is everything. Before he declared his intention to seek a reelection, he and his inner advisers must have weighted their options and came to the conclusion that the coast is clear, hence he stepped forward despite the antagonisms including from Olusegun Obasanjo. Now he has to deliver and deliver he will. With 19 States safely tucked in as assured winnable, all he has to do is to win at least 3 out of the 6 Southwestern States; possibly 1 from the Southeast and may be another 1 from the Southsouth States and the deal is done, signed and delivered. All things considered and every indicators working as they should, ICHEOKU emphatically says that President Muhammad Buhari will win a reelection in 2019 and for four more years through 2023, will continuously visit his iniquities on Nigerians who run afoul of his favor. 

ICHEOKU agrees that the sentiments expressed by two artisans, Remi Adeyemi and Abdullahi Ali, somewhat captured the mood of Buhari's voters. According to Remi, "We want him to come back so that he can finish the good work he has started" and Ali added "I like Baba very well. My people will vote for him again because he is not a thief." For most part, the masses still vote most in elections and the masses will vote their hero in 2019; and that is the key to President Muhammad Buhari's reelection victory. So, despite all the noise and distractions, it is more likely than not that the reelection of President Muhammad Buhari is a fait accompli. Yes, some Nigerians may not like him; yes, some may loathe him even to the point bothering on hatred; but Buhari still have some supporters, including those who do not necessarily like him but would vote for him anyways due to some other self preserving reasons, regardless. 

Further, the floundering opposition will provide the president some wind underneath his sail as no serious opposition translates to a much easier win. According to one Anthony Godwin, "With the PDP weak and still discredited, incumbency is still a powerful factor. It would be a huge surprise if Buhari was not the APC's candidate and the candidate to beat in 2019." ICHEOKU completely agrees that the odds of winning a reelection favors the president a great deal and without mincing words, adds that President Muhammadu Buhari will win his reelection in 2019. Although things might not be as rosy as many had expected during his now concluding first term, but there is still some hope that his second time around, without the much distractions of protracted health scares which marked his first term, that he will be in a much better state of mind and of health to try and figure out the way forward for Nigeria in boondoggles. God speed Mr President and to all the other gladiators, who are yet to be unveiled, readying themselves to duel with him for the presidential trophy. But whatever happens, Nigeria 2019 is heavily laden and hopefully will be safely delivered. 

SOUTH KOREAN'S FORMER PRESIDENT PARK SENT TO PRISON.

ICHEOKU says in what appears to be a season of holding former leaders and presidents accountable for crimes committed during their time in office, the people of South Korea has sent their former President Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison for bribery and other charges. The former president was also ordered to pay $17 million in fines. 

Recall that the now disgraced former president was impeached and ousted from office by South Korean lawmakers in December 2016, following months of massive street protests by the people of South Korea demanding her removal from office for corruption. Thereafter a criminal investigation followed, culminating in a trial which began on May 2017 which was found her guilty on all 16 corruption-related counts, including bribery, coercion and abuse of power, as charged. The former president has now been convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison, in addition to a $17 million fine. 

It is also on record that Brazil similarly convicted and sent their former President Lula Da Silva to 12 years in prison for official corruption. South Africa also formally indicted their former President Jacob Zuma for corruption as well. ICHEOKU says but when will Nigeria learn to emulate these countries by similarly taking on their also equally corrupt former leaders and presidents, including former President Jonathan Goodluck, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar and the infamous Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida for their publicly visible evidence of wanton corruption while in office as well as specifically identifiable abuses of office then, which in some form is still continuing till this day. 

It is also worthy of note that none of these countries moved against their former leaders until persuaded by the people of those countries, who moved en-mass and demanded for such criminal examination of their past leaders, using public protests as a weapon of choice. Some of the peoples' mass action forced their leaders out of office, including in South Korea where the parliament had to act to impeach and remove the now imprisoned former President Park from office following an unending street protests. Former Jacob Zuma of South Africa was also similarly forced out of office following unending South African peoples push and demand that he resign his office, which he resisted as long as he could until the ANC waded in and forced him out. Today, he has been indicted for official criminal corruption while in office. 

But in Nigeria and as with Nigerians, they lack both the moral authority and necessary courage needed to mount such a forceful recall effort and/or demand the prosecution of their decrepitude former leaders, whether while in or out of office. That these former leaders, despite overwhelming evidence of their colossal corruption, are walking freely in the country and using their corruptly amassed fortune to destabilize the polity, is indeed mind numbing. But a very strange people who obviously seem impervious to doing right and who corruption seems an acceptable way of life, can only wish to imbibe the spirit of those South Koreans, Brazilians and of late South Africans. 

So until then, all the noise about fighting corruption in Nigeria will remain what it is - a mere hogwash; a wishful whitewash used to witch-hunt any oppositions and people that fall out of favor of the man in Aso Rock. Unfortunately, a Nigerian people who see no deterrent coming from the punishment of previous corrupt leaders, will always continue to engage in corruption, fully aware that enough money, regardless of how it was acquired, purchases power and influence; and with it comes absolute immunity from justice. Pitifully SAD.

MARTIN LUTHER KING'S DREAM: STILL MUCH OF A DREAM HALF A CENTURY LATER.

ICHEOKU says fifty years later and still counting, the dream echoed by Martin Luther King, practically for every intent and purpose, still remains a mere dream, the intent of having a seamless color blind American society considered. Were Martin Luther King alive today, he would still be in his dreamy sleep, wishfully hoping that American color divides would have melt away into just a people, members of the human race living in America. From what has been going on, the dreamer would have needed to wake up to see if there were other ways of actualizing his dream instead of just dreaming about it. ICHEOKU says long after that famous "I have been to the Mountain Top Speech", which became his calling card since the assassins bullets felled him in Memphis Tennessee, black people are still for most part, still being judged by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. 

Little American children are still not holding hands in the same neighborhoods or going to the same schools and singing kumbaya. White American people are still enjoying much more privileges than their black American counterparts simply because their skin color is different. Employment is still skewed and so is the overall economic purchasing power of the American people vary depending on their skin color. Above all black American men are being indiscriminately gunned down by the police and are for most part, often presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence. The prison population is greatly disproportionately black, evidence of a justice system that is heavily slanted against them. Americans still for most part live in their different zip codes and neighborhoods depending on the color of their skin. 

That is the fact of real life in America despite the cosmetic attempt to always white wash the real situation of things in America. Although some progress have been registered and continues to be registered including having elected the first black American President Barack Obama; and a few successful black people who have made it virtually by self help through sports, music and business as well as academia, America still have a very long way to go. 

ICHEOKU's panacea to achieving the America which Martin Luther King dreamt of is to first dissolve the segregated identification of Americans into color codes. The day Americans start seeing themselves and being properly identified as just Americans, instead of White Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, Nigerian Americans and other such Americans, will be the day when true healing will indeed begin and necessary real steps taken towards achieving the Martin Luther King's dream's objective. Also, Americans should start discussing their fears and misgivings towards one another openly and without fear; that way people will begin to understand themselves better towards having a better relationships instead of the always calculated tolerance and morbid fear of each other, which often lead to ugly riots, distrust, incessant protests, and people always pitched against "we and them" and "them and us" and against people who do not look like them. 

Although taking such resolute lasting problem-solving step is a wishful thinking; but at least like Martin Luther King, ICHEOKU reserves the right to also dream. ICHEOKU had a dream that the only way to achieve Martin Luther King's dream is by doing right for one another in America and seeing every American as a human being. It is about time Americans of all shades and colors decide to determinedly wake up from their inertia to help Martin Luther King realize his dream, albeit post humorously, by seriously working to integrate Americans fully and wholly. Martin Luther King was a great man and he dreamt big dreams and for his effort and sacrifice, ICHEOKU owes him a debt of gratitude. He stood up when so many others cowered down and he said restore dignity to my people. Like Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King was killed for speaking truth to power; but in their both deaths, they became immortals and now live in the hearts of billions of people. They killed him and took his dream away but his memory lives on and will forever. Thanks Martin Luther King. 

I HAVE A DREAM: THE SPEECH MLK GAVE.

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. 

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of ***** slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. 

But one hundred years later, the ***** still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the ***** is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the ***** lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the ***** is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. 

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the ***** people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. 

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the *****'s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the ***** needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the ***** is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. 

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. 

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the ***** community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. 

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the ***** is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We can never be satisfied as long as a ***** in Mississippi cannot vote and a ***** in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. 

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. 

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. 

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. 

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. 

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. 

I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. 

I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. 

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. 

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." 

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! 

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! 

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! 

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! 

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! 

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. 

And when this happens, When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old ***** spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

WINNIE MADIKIZEL MANDELA: AN AMAZING AMAZONIAN BOWS OUT.

ICHEOKU says as with every mortal, a necessary end always comes when it will come; and so has it ended for the woman who gave African women and women world wide an unquenchable pride of place in the society. A champion of the political struggle that ended apartheid South Africa. A woman who actually gave the "stand by your man" saying its rightful verve. The African lioness, the indomitable and imitable Winnie Madikizela Mandela is dead. She  was 81 years old and died, relatively of good old age, of infirmities of the aged. 

But as mark Anthony would say of Julius Caesar, ICHEOKU is not here to dwell on or drool about the inevitable end of a very accomplished human being. ICHEOKU is here to celebrate a legend for a life well lived and in the real sense of it; selflessly and in the service of humanity, particularly the people of South Africa. She was a towering figure; a giant without whose contributions, South Africa would probably still be under the repressive white minority apartheid regime. She was fearless; she was indomitable; she was charismatic; she was charming, beautiful and vivacious; she was elegant; she had a commanding presence; she had a disarming smile; she had poise and she had panache; she was courageous; she was resolute; she was unwavering; she was defiant and she never cowered.  She was a strong woman and she never flinched. Simply put, she was a quintessential woman, a pride of womanhood. 

Fortunately for her and unlike so many other freedom fighters the world over, she won her struggle and lived and died in a freed South Africa controlled by majority black people. She was armed with her abiding conviction that apartheid was wrong and must be fought to a crushing defeat and threw her hat into the gauntlet and she won. She stood steadfast right through to the very end; first conquering apartheid and then conquering our hearts, especially millions of Africans who affectionately called her Mama Africa in jaw dropping awe and admiration. Needless to add that without her support, Nelson Mandel possibly would not have successfully completed his prison term, without knowing that an assured hand was holding forte at the home front and keeping the cause of the struggle in the front burner. They also tried to break her will severally, using the law and justice system, including an over one year in detention, majority of which were in solitary confinement; but her will to see good trump over evil prevailed and they failed in their mission to crush her resolve. 

For the over two decades plus Nelson Mandela was incarcerated, she remained committed to him and despite that she could have so easily married off, refused; and instead, became married to the struggle and waited for her man to come back home and she succeeded. She was a giant. She stood tall in the pantheon of her fellow giants, alongside who, she walked the talk of freedom for South Africa. She refused to be intimidated; she refused to be crest fallen and she refused to denounce her cause, no matter what they threw at her.  She had a core; she had character and above all she had conviction. Her cause was good, just and righteous; and her cause was for her South African people to be freed from the repressive, mean spirited, albeit wicked bondage of a white minority apartheid regime.  A most vile; most racist; most evil; most horrendous; most heartless; most inhumane; and most everything ugly and venomous apartheid government the entire world ever known; second only to Nazi Germany, if not worse. 

ICHEOKU says Mama Africa Winnie Madikileza Mandela is a truism that behind a successful man called Nelson Mandela was in fact a woman called Winnie Madikileza Mandela. They do not make her kind anymore and not so easily. In fact she was an epitome of everything good about womanhood and she was the best of her kind that came through South Africa during the trying times of white minority apartheid government of South Africa. Mama Africa, ICHEOKU says you fought the good fight. You came, you saw and you conquered; the white minority apartheid government, that is. You also won millions of doting hearts. Go in peace and know that millions of women worldwide were inspired by you and that millions of South Africans owe to you a debt of their immeasurable gratitude for the selfless sacrifices which you made on their behalf and which eventually helped purchase the liberty and freedom which they enjoy today, from those very ugly, mean and heartless apartheid oppressors of then white minority controlled South Africa. Say hello to Nelson. Adieu African Queen Mother.