Politics of Amnesty

Also published in Daily Trust 

                               President Jonathan and Sultan of Sokoto

 

The recent controversy generated by the Sultan’s call on President Jonathan to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members, and Mr. President’s subsequent refusal has further highlighted the absence of a common ground to work towards find a lasting solution to this increasingly overwhelming security crisis. Unfortunately also, most of the arguments and counter arguments given by most of the commentators on this issue are devoid of objectivity hence the obvious reflection of their ethno-religious and regional inclinations on their respective commentaries.

Don’t merge to submerge

Also published in Daily Trust 

The growing expectation in the emerging merger of some major opposition parties to transform into one robust opposition party strong enough to dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Aso Rock villa in 2015 presidential election reminds me of the euphoria and the high public expectation that greeted the formation of the PDP itself in 1998, and its predictable win in the subsequent presidential election in 1999. This is because there are some similarities between the socio-economic and political circumstances prevailing towards the end of the protracted military rule especially towards the sudden death of the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and the potentially tense political atmosphere currently building up in the country due to the growing desperation for power among the country’s political elite.

At the Mercy of Drones and Turbans

Also published in Daily Trust

The rate at which the security situation is deteriorating across the Sahel and West African sub regions is quite frightening, as it also steadily but continuously attracts more state and non-state actors from the region and beyond, with conflicting interests, who pursue their interests and also seek to settle their scores at all cost.

For instance, the recent establishment of the deadly drones base in the neighboring Republic of Niger by the United States of America, to supposedly track down and kill terrorists operating in the region, the growing emergence of more armed gangs out there, some of which are equally deadly or even deadlier than Boko Haram and also the proliferation of other similarly organized armed groups that take advantage of the notoriety of Boko Haram to kill and cause mayhem in the name of Boko Haram, represent an alarming escalation of the level of involvement of foreign intelligence agencies and other state and non-state actors, who increasingly engage in covert activities in the region to exploit the crisis in their struggle against one another. Needless to say, they further aggravate the security situation in Nigeria and turn its terrain into proxy war battle ground where illegal arms trade flourishes also.

Of Gift and Graft

Also published in Daily Trust

Certainly the very few Nigerian public and civil servants who have restrained themselves and resisted temptation and pressure to plunder the country’s resources as most of their colleagues do deserve all respect and recognition. This is because under the current circumstances of impunity and the virtual absence of appropriate punitive measures to punish corrupt officials on one hand, and the absence of appropriate reward for honesty and integrity on the other, it is obvious that nothing motivates such honest civil and public servants to stick to their principles except their sincere belief that no matter how long they evade punishment in this world they shall one day give their full accounts of how they spend every single penny entrusted to them and of course be appropriately judged accordingly.

From Tents to Towers

Also published in Daily Trust

 

“And that you will behold the barefooted, barely-clothed and poverty-stricken shepherds rivaling one another in constructing high-rise buildings.” I am sure many readers would remember this excerpt from a very commonly known Prophetic Hadith narrated by Imam Muslim on the authority of Umar Ibn Khattab. I am also sure many readers would nostalgically remember those largely informal evening Islamiyya classes, where they were tutored by whip-wielding Yasayyadis i.e. tutors. Incidentally, the excerpt addresses some of the minor signs of the approach of the Last Day as given by the apostle of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him.