Atiku Abubakar’s campaign motif is vacant of imagination. His ‘One Nigeria campaign’ theme is also destitute of originality and sincerity. Personally, I feel insulted and trolled. And I feel plagiarised. I would explain why. In 2020, under the discordance of the secessionist agitation in the south-east, I began the ‘’One Nigeria’’ campaign, and adopted the sobriquet, ‘’Mr OneNigeria’’. This was born out of the necessity of the times. I wrote essays and did some publicity calling for peace, dialogue, and unity. I believe Nigeria faced its greatest threat yet at the time when the country was becoming ungovernable. I felt…
Author: Fredrick Nwabufo
We, the Igbo, the Hausa, the Yoruba, the Fulani, the Ijaw, the Esan, the Urhobo – and all other ethnic nationalities — must cede our ethnic identities to the Nigerian identity. This does not imply abandoning our roots, culture and traditions but embracing an expansive identity for the survival of our country. Giving up the tribe means putting the interest of the nation first; it means acting on the philosophy of the monolithic whole as against group agenda; it means eschewing divisive utterances and actions; it means accenting our strengthens and areas of convergence rather than promoting discord and points…
Could this be the eclipsing of a coruscating star? Could this be the sectioning of a gadfly? Could this be the end of a political odyssey? Could this be the domestication of the fabled Lion of Ubima? Could this be Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s nadir? Amaechi’s political tapestry has been the craftwork of a benevolent fate. At 27, he was the secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre local government area of Rivers state between 1992 and 1994. He was speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly from 1999 to 2007, and governor from 2007 to 2015. Amaechi is,…
Who wants a mob rule? It is off-putting when a miscellany of threadbare youths taken up in hate and seduced by ignorance unpack threats of violence and curses on people who differ with them on their political choice. Nobody wants a mob to hover around them with a scythe over who they choose to support or who they prefer. Nobody fancies a mob rule except the mob. There is tyranny evidently effusive in the conduct of Peter Obi’s political soldiers. Tyranny of choice. If anyone supports any other candidate outside Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), then…
Could Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), be that unifier a sundered Nigeria needs? What are his antecedents as regards respect for diversity and sensitivity to inclusion? Well, as governor of Lagos, Tinubu had a diverse cabinet; in fact, he is reputed to be one of the few governors who appointed non-natives into state cabinets at the time – when it was unsexy to do so. Tinubu showed his expansiveness as governor of Lagos. And over the years, he has shown an aspect of himself as a Nigerian flag-waver. Tinubu cannot be put on trial for…
The convulsive tenor of the campaign season is bringing out the worst in us. Daggers are drawn, tempers are inflamed; relationships are tested, and our differences are hyperboled. The 2023 presidential election is shaping up to be a tribal contest. Political fandom seems to be built around ethnic allegiance, and not necessarily on leadership stuff. Statesmen have become tribesmen, and nationalists have become tribalists. We will be tested on all sides. It is in this capricious season that our belief in and commitment to Nigeria will be tested. It is at this time, we will look at ourselves in the…
Is ‘’Agbado’’ on trial? A non-native to Nigerian political constructs may think ‘’Agbado’’ is some serial killer on the loose. ‘’Agbado’’ has become one of the most noised words this election season. If ‘’Agbado’’ is not sprinkled into any political conversation like a smorgasbord of veggies; it is chopped up and spiced into snooty memes. What is it about ‘’Agbado’’ that is taking over the faddism? When Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Nigerians would not have to import food because ‘’Agbado’’, cassava, ‘’Ewa’’, and ‘’Garri’’ are produced locally, I believe he did not expect…
Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, could be the kryptonite of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Wike has remained implacable and untrammelled. And he seems determined to take his pound of flesh after his humiliation by Atiku. Wike will not relent until he draws blood. There is a method to Wike’s madness. Wike cannot be dismissed or ignored. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blundered when it discarded a sacerdotal principle – the zoning precept. Since 1999 zoning has governed the PDP’s power distribution. It was by dint of this that Umaru Musa Yar’Adua became the…
Like the breaking of every phantasmagoria, the futility of chasing a will-o-the-wisp soon becomes clear. It may take a while, but even the fog of illusion gives way for common sense when the blistering light of reality hits. The Peter Obi presidential bid is a dream of which time has not come. Is it good to dream? Yes. But while dreaming, it is important for the dreamer to maintain consciousness and not lose himself in the vortex of his own fantasy. Peter Obi’s presidential bid is an attempt at future possibilities. This is, perhaps, one of the merits of the…
Is ‘’Nigeria’’ a pejorative? Is it a byword for the abominable? The name of our country has assumed grotesque meanings lately. It has been contorted by a phylum of distraught and overbearing citizens to mean misfortune, pain and suffering. Sadly, ‘’Nigeria’’ is becoming the governing synonym for turpitude and misery among some Nigerians. ‘’May Nigeria happen to you’’. This has been said to me many times on account of my views which some inveterate cynics and misanthropists find perturbing. But my belief and faith in Nigeria remain untrammelled. Nigeria is not barren of challenges. In fact, currently, we are beset…
The Igbo are loyal, giving and unwavering. They have a predilection for going to the grave with a corpse if need be. They are a dependable ally. If you have the Igbo as a consociate, you have an unrelenting sentinel. But the Igbo’s devotion to a cause, friend or comrade is their curse. They just do not know when to abandon the corpse and seek the preservation of self. They do not seem to realise when the endgame is already gamed. They do not understand that there is still more to be lived for, many expeditions to undertake, many battles…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo used to be a chimera. His influence was mythical, yet sweeping. In the past, Nigeria was too small to contain his stature — as he dominated the horizons across Africa and beyond. He lived up to his legend of being a human Orisa. He is, perhaps, still one of the most respected leaders out of Africa. But Obasanjo’s influence within Nigeria appears to have ebbed over the years. His words seem to have lost lustre and his presence vacant of command. Perhaps, when a masquerade comes out to perform all the time, and sometimes without an…
We cannot play possum about it. Unity has remained a reverie, and an elusive expedition for Nigeria. We long for it, but we cannot reach it because we are not willing to work at it. We are not ready to tear down the iron curtains of ethnicity and religion. We are not ready. It is a sheer pursuit of a will-o-the-wisp to assume or suggest that any single leader can unite Nigeria without commensurate efforts of citizens to the cause. To unite Nigeria, there is a place for leadership, and there is a place for followership. Uniting Nigeria will involve…
On the cusp of every political evolution in Nigeria, there is often a trafficking of recriminations — ‘’The north is scheming to dominate the south, and the south is angling to outwit the north’’. Syrupy conjectures and time-tested misconceptions. Crisis merchandisers are at their best stoking the tension as conspiracy theories of Islamisation surge in the public grid. We will always have conspiracy theories and crisis merchandisers – for as long as unity and mutual trust remain elusive. Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, has set off a tinderbox of reactions by his choice of running mate — Kashim Shettima, former…
The first casualty of capricious election seasons in Nigeria is security. Governance is abandoned, and all efforts and expense are dissipated on party politics. Nigeria’s security insalubrity is deteriorating steeply as the 2023 elections close in. It is all reminiscent of the build-up to the 2015 elections when ubiquitous violence seized the country and the elections had to be postponed. Will it be again as it was before? Will it be plus ca change? Religious leaders – both Christians and Muslims – have become the latest spectacle of these gangs of death-dealers from the netherworld. On July 3, Udo Peter…
Nigeria is caught in a maelstrom. Ravagers roam across the land unchallenged, extracting tolls in tears and blood from citizens. They expropriate land and govern according to their lust for violence. There is hopelessness in the streets as the country sinks deeper and deeper into a bloodfest. Insecurity will be the toughest trial of the next administration. Insurgency, banditry and kidnapping have become a quotidian aspect of the Nigerian life. Killings and kidnappings have persisted with each incident surpassing the previous in gruesomeness, audacity and ruthlessness. Over 5,067 citizens were reported killed in 2021 – according to TheCable Index. 14…
The unravelings of the past seven years should jolt us to sombre reality, if for any reason we are still in the thrall of propagandised political chicanery. Any candidate who makes his election campaign about fighting corruption without antecedented commitment to this end and without a clear plan and strategy is thoroughly lying. Fighting corruption takes grueling years of institutional and attitudinal reforms – beginning from the very top to the bottom. And it takes gravitas and the tearing down of the current system. President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on a broom flight to clean up the much-noised miasma…
Restructuring. This has been the governing subject since 2015. It became very tendentious with the secessionist agitations and the killings by gangs of criminals across the country. The APC government was accused of coming to power on the pinions of lofty ideals and precepts, including restructuring, but abandoned them as soon as it got the prize. But will restructuring be or not be – under a new administration in 2023? There are variants of restructuring – according to whoever is arguing. But the nucleus of the argument on restructuring is devolution of more power to states. The south-west where Bola…
It has been seven years of attrition, hate-bartering and exhausting recriminations. A new epoch is on the horizon, but the psychological mutilations from these years of anger may shape up to be the frustrations of the next administration. Nigeria needs healing. The country needs a healer to mend the sectional cleaving and to nurse it back to health. It needs a carpenter to rebuild the ruptured foundations and to restore hope and confidence in government. It needs a unifier both in deed and manner. Providence has come for Bola Tinubu – with a basketful of beautiful promises. Against vigorous high-level…
Foxy old Buhari. Artful. Deliberate. Unassuming but redoubtable. Principled but unaffected. He guards his mystery. He hardly betrays emotion. He keeps his real intentions secreted in layers and layers of very few inscrutable words – and most times in obfuscating silence. Take his ‘’obliviousness’’ for a lack of presence of mind at your own devastating befuddlement. Buhari knows what he is doing. His seeming standoffishness is all part of the plot. He knows. In an interview on Channels Television in January 2022, the president said he does not care about who succeeds him. Buhari in his own words: “2023 is…
The political trajectory of Nigeria in the next four years will be initialised this Saturday – as the two leading political parties (the APC and the PDP) select candidates for the 2023 presidential election. The fate our nation rests in the whimsical repository of a few deciders. We can divine the future possibilities and challenges of our country from the outcome of these presidential primaries. It is a make-or-mar fixture. Nigeria is at a precarious time in its evolution. As I wrote in a previous column, Nigeria’s next president will be coming at a time the country is agonisingly sundered along…
Expectations are high. Rightly so. 2023 has been roundly described as a make-or-mar year for Nigeria. Citizens seek change. Things have to change. The current socio-economic tailspin must be arrested. But we have to be pragmatic with our expectations. Good things do not come easy. No single individual can magic Nigeria into an El dorado in four years. Nigeria’s problems, which are functionally in situ, are age-long. But one ‘’Alexander the Great’’ can actuate the process to cutting the systemic Gordian knots. According to legend, Gordius, king of Gordium, tied an intricate knot and prophesied that whoever untied it would…
Ndi Igbo. We know how to jinx a good thing. Perhaps, it is our seeming indomitability, boisterousness and Thanos-will that seduce us to think everyone must believe in what we believe in and must act and think in consonance with our disposition. Anyone who does not support us or share in our sentiments is an enemy deserving the guillotine. How did we evolve illiberally? We were not always this philistine, intolerant, angry, minatory and hateful. Our fathers were peaceful people who lived through a brutal war, yet held out a hand of brotherhood to other Nigerians. Some have lived and…
It is a kaleidoscope – the pattern keeps mutating. Nigeria’s politics should be among the most unpredictable, intriguing and exhilarating. There are more smokescreens than actual smoke; more pawns than real players; more masquerades than true pipers and more jokers than aces. But Bola Tinubu, former Lagos governor and APC presidential hopeful, is no joker. As he said during his declaration, it has been his ‘’lifelong ambition’’ to become president. A younger and healthier Tinubu will make a good president. As I wrote in a previous column, Tinubu as Lagos governor showed his mettle. He worked out a roadmap for…
A plus ca change. Leadership fails, followership fails; society atrophies and nothing changes. Why? We keep reinventing purgatory because we are either too complacent or too self-absorbed to interrogate the real issues of leadership, divorcing provincial proclivities. We want change and good governance but have refused to levitate above the insular mentation that has kept us bound in the abyss of retrogression. Why are concerns over ethnicity, region and religion the nominators of conversation on the 2023 elections? Why are these societal retardants the leading matters of debate on the elections? In every election cycle, these misnomers have become the…
Fredrick Nwabufo: Parties should zone presidential ticket to axis of competence NOT ethnicity Fredrick Nwabufo, columnist and journalist, has asked political parties to zone their presidential tickets based on the “geography of competence and character”, rather than ethnicity and religion. Nwabufo spoke on Wednesday during a television programme titled, “Village Square Africa” on News Central TV. Ahead of the 2023 elections, there have been calls for the next president of the country to come from the southern part of the country — with particular reference to the south-east. Speaking on the issue of zoning, the columnist, who is popularly known…
‘’It’s not my problem.’’ – This was President Muhammadu Buhari’s immutable response to a question on his thoughts on the 2023 elections. Buhari has been coerced and blandished to assert himself like former President Olusegun Obasanjo who assumed the de facto office of godfather and technically installing the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as president in 2007. But the president has remained stolid to these sweet temptations. Buhari has unremittingly warned members of his party – the All Progressives Congress – who are running for political office to desist from merchandising his name in their campaigns. At a meeting with party…
A joker in poker is a wild card. It can be flipped; it can substitute and be substituted. And it can just be that jester. Nigeria’s political caravan is saturated with jokers. While some jokers are well aware of their status as factotums of other interests in the political circus, some are just aboriginal jesters taken up in their own vanity and delusion of importance. There are presidential hopefuls and there are presidential jokers. Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is a presidential joker. I believe Obi knows that he cannot…
Where do we go from here? Do we go to Pharaoh Sesostris III of Egypt to become ‘’prime minister’’ or do we go to Xerxes of Persia to earn a place in the council? Whichever way, there has to be a ‘’go’’. The south-east may be hamstrung by burdensome choices as regards the 2023 presidential election, but it must determine its own future now by getting dividend out of wild gambles. The APC and the PDP are the only two operable vehicles for the actualisation of south-east’s goals – within the wider Nigerian interest. But the south-east’s dalliance with the…
Nigeria’s political party dominance has often revolved around a two-pod and a tripod. Since the 1960s it has been so. In the First Republic, under a parliamentary system, there were Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC); Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG) and Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) as the leading political groupings. There were a few other viable political entities like Aminu Kano’s Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), but none had the puissance of the big three. In the Second Republic (1979), under a presidential system, there were the National Party of Nigeria (NPN); the…
