Saturday, June 29, 2013

HOW JONATHANs CRITICS WILL KEEP HIM IN ASO ROCK BEYOND 2015-PART 3
The opposition thinks they can get POWER by reading the 48 laws of power. They forget that is a western book and may not apply to sentimental Africans. They follow the advice of the book - that to create a cult-like following, you must create an enemy. The book advices that if you castigate and demonize your enemy to high heavens, soon a bandwagon will follow you. They're not told by the books author, Robert Greene however, that this only works if the criticized responds to his critics venom for venom.

If the criticized however maintains a stoic silence and takes the entire criticisms in its stride even though it hurts, the basic sentimentalism of Africans will kick in at a point and a critical mass of sympathizers will identify with the unjustly maligned.

Great political figures understand this. Apostle Paul understood this hence he said ... When reviled we bless, being persecuted we suffer it, being defamed we intreat: we are made as the offscouring of this world, and are the offscouring of all things till today.

I fear that the self acclaimed revolutionaries and radicals do not understand this but Jonathan Ebele Goodluck Azikiwe does. And that is how his greatest critics will usher him into Aso Rock beyond 2015... The man will ride on the wings of criticisms into the annals of legends.

Believe it or not. It is written.

Iroko Obasi ND

Friday, June 28, 2013

 SAY NO TO SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN NIGERIA
The rejection of SNC in Nigeria is borne out of a sense of History and not out of partisanship, out of great concern for our nation and not out of rent seeking from either the establishment or the opposition. No statesman in Nigeria who has these historical facts will ever convoke an SNC.

The constituent Assembly of India for instance was called in 1947 and was the nations first parliament for 3 years. It was empowered within that period to draft the constitution. Of course Pakistan had voted to be a separate nation from India before Independence and not after. The task of the Constituent Assembly of India was to free India through a new constitution, to feed the starving people and to clothe the naked masses, to give every Indian a full opportunity to develop himself according to his capacity. The fact that southern Nigeria decided to wait for Nothern Nigeria from 1957-1960, rather than elect to be a separate independent nation was a missed opportunity that should be forgotten. We were given that option by the British but we chose “One Nigeria”… to quote Nnamdi Azikiwe. The fact that we didn’t convoke an SNC immediately after October 1st 1960 snowballed into the distrust and hatred amongst various ethnic groups a rivalry that eventually culminated in the civil war. Chinua Achebe wrote a classical piece ‘There Was A Country’ to address his personal and emotional reaction to these missed opportunities.

What Nigerians seek is food for the starving people, clothes for the naked, jobs for the unemployed and a full opportunity to develop ourselves according to our individual and regional capacities. We don’t need an SNC to achieve any of these.

My argument is that Nigerians should forget about SNC. Any leader who emerges in our nation and convokes SNC hates Nigeria. These should have been done immediately after independence. The argument that we are not yet a nation doesn’t hold water for nation building is a process and not an event. SNC is an event that though may span a few years will not guarantee nation building 50 years after independence.

The Constituent Assembly of Italy was convoked after the Kingdom of Italy suffered defeat following World War 2. It was held between 1946-1948 to usher in the birth of a new Italian Republic.
The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was formed on the eve of their independence of December 1946. It served as its first parliament and had its first sitting on August 11 1947.
So what is the common sense in convoking an SNC 50 years after independence and 100 years after the Northern and Southern protectorates, two potentially different nations were cobbled together in an arranged marriage. Mind you not all arranged marriages fail even though all arranged marriages have compatibility issues. Some eventually overcome their issues. Why cant we resolve to overcome ours for the following reasons:

An SNC will polarize the nation further
As a nation, we are already mortally wounded by division. We cannot endure another round of polarization. We are already split along the middle into Christian and Muslim almost 50:50, into over 300 tribes. If this clamor for SNC continues it will further bisect us into pro SNC and anti SNC. The outcome of the Constituent Assembly will never be accepted by anti SNC elements. This rift will continue forever and the gulf will be filled with more reckless violence than we have ever seen.

Recall that the supporters and enemies of the French Constituent Assembly fought politically and bitterly in those dark years of the French Revolution. Foreign Nations took sides. There were nations who favoured the sweeping reforms occasioned by the Constituent Assembly and there were those vehemently against it. Both sides were armed to the teeth equally by their foreign sympathizers. Even within the pro Constituent Assembly minority there were earth rending schisms. The wars snowballed into over 200 years of recurrent battles.

The SNC will generate over 300 militias
We have BH, MASSOB, OPC and MEND right? These represents hypothetically the 4 major ethnic groups in the Nation by population. The GREAT FEAR of the SNC is that the SPIRIT OF POPULAR SOVEREINGTY fuelled the constituent assembly will generate over 300 militias representing all ethnic groups insisting on their right to self determination. A right that even the United Nations cant deny. These militia will of course be sponsored by foreigners. For instance Zionists will sponsor MASSOB (that’s a fact), Al Qaeda will sponsor BH (that’s another fact), I don’t know who will support OPC or MEND but supporters will come. The SNC will replace the legislative arm of government as it happened in France. The National Assembly will never exist alongside a Constituent Assembly. Infact Jonathan will be forced to swear an oath to abide by the decisions of the SNC.
When King Louis of France wouldn’t swear to surrender his powers to the CA, he was summarily executed!

Our Economic Situation will worsen
Check the History of Constituent Assemblies. The rural militancy that it will encourage will be so unparalleled that farmlands belonging to opposing groups will be razed. Think what the Fulani cattlemen are doing is bad? Wait till SNC starts. You’ll see worse. Famine of whole communities will be rife. Starvation of whole tribes will ensue and the story told by Chinua Achebe in There Was a Country will be child’s play. Poverty will engulf entire regions. Protest marches will be spontaneous. Even women will pick Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other light explosives.

This was exactly how it played out in France during their own CA.

The Power and Wealth of the Church will be stripped
All positions canvassed at the SNC will be voted upon and an example of anti Christian suggestions by atheists, free thinkers, illuminati sympathizers and other religions will include:
The church will be stopped from collecting tithes
The church will surrender all property to the state
The church will pay stupendous taxes
The church will report transactions to EFCC
The church leaders will be banned from owning private jets
The church will take permission from the IGP for any mass movement

In short the church will seek to be classified as a charity organization. Lets face it. Im a Christian but I know that the Church owns lands and property more than any institution in the nation and you know how unbelievably rich some of our pastors are. What you probably don’t know is that other religions resent and hate us for this. At the slightest opportunity they would gladly put us under check… since of course we cant check our own excesses. The SNC will give them just the chance they’ve been looking for. Couple this with the promiscuity and lasciviousness of most Christian leaders. The onslaught against predominantly Christian tribal groups will be unbearable. The igbo tribe of Nigeria for instance will be butchered and hacked down socially, economically and otherwise.

Think about this. You who so glibly parrot SNC… SNC. There will be a schism between pro SNC pastors and anti SNC pastors. They will openly challenge, verbally abuse and brazenly attack each other. This is exactly what the devil wants to achieve through this ill timed SNC that should have come 50 years ago. There will be intense efforts at de-christianizing Nigeria. Social Carnivals will replace Christmas, Easter and other Christian festivals.

In case you think im being too dramatic. Read up the Constituent assembly of France. This was exactly what happened.

Organized labour will be suppressed

In all nations that have had an SNC, motions to abolish all trade unions will be moved by constituents. All workers organizations will be banned from going on strike as strike action will be illegal. Every sort of anti worker sentiment will be generated and anti worker positions canvassed. A great majority will sail through.


Think of these things critically. Do you still think a Sovereing National Conference is desirable?


I’ve submitted severally that the opposition in this country only wants POWER. The government only exists for government interests.

Iroko Obasi ND

Monday, June 24, 2013

How Jonathans Critics Will Keep Him In Aso Rock Beyond 2015 Part II

The January 1st saga was well scripted. The fuel subsidy probe that followed was a part of this script. Nothing major was ever going to come out of that probe. It was all politics. The perception that the rot in the petroleum sector was being cleaned up had to be created. The opposition however got caught up in the frenzy and the human attention span being very short, we all soon forgot. By that probe however, the administration threw open a whole can of worms and we were all disgusted at the elaborate scam that subsidy had become. I dont know about you but the sleaze nauseated me. Then as predicted by his strategists, Nigerians themcelves started clamouring for total subsidy removal. Check the pulse of Nigerians. Ask 10 people, about 6 want full subsidy removal. Brilliant politics you would say. LOL. Jonathan doesnt ever foreclose the conversation. He throws it open and guides it towards his desired aim. Eventually people will clamour for Him to do what he had always wanted to do.

Take the Boko Haram issue for instance. Jonathan had always wanted to declare a state of emergency whether it was the best option or not. He only threw open the conversation. Oposition elements rejected the state of emergency. They rejected Military option. They insisted on dialogue. I was even convinced at a point that dialogue was best. Jonathan agreed with them. No state of emergency. No military option. He opted for dialogue and the conversation began. Before long, killings sky rocketed, the Emir of Kano was targeted, the Shehu of Bornu also. Then the same Nigerians who called for Dialogue asked for State of Emergency! LOL. Jonathan must have a good laugh with his strategists when they consider these things.

A good politician as Jonathan seems to be, (maybe he's not such a good leader), always goes into the mind of the opposition. He knows what the opposition wants. What does the opposition really want? POWER. Make no mistake about it. They dont want your prosperity. They want power. Check Edo State for instance. Gov. Oshiomhole has done well for the Edo people hasn't he? LOL. Of course he has. By constructing roads and schools then through the back door banning commercial bikes? The opposition think they can get power by reading 48 laws of power. LOL. They are blindly applying the rules of that book fortgeting that it is a western book. The book says that to create a cult like following, you must create an enemy. If you castigate and demonize your enemy long enough and hard enough, a band wagon of people will soon follow suit. Very funny. This only works if your enemy fights back.

To Be Continued


Thursday, June 20, 2013

How Jonathans critics will return Him To Aso Rock in 2015

Jonathans continued stay in Aso Rock beyond 2015 will be achieved by his critics and not by his strong leadership credentials, by the sentimental attitude of Nigerians not by his politics, by the opposition and not by PDP. That is my argument and you're welcome. Lets think through this together.

I have been accused of always seeing something good to say about the current Nigerian Leadership under Jonathan. i have been called a sychophant and I really am. What a way to launch my weblog you may say. You may consider that if I continue posting such content, I will lose visitors. In tandem with that you may even see me as a paid agent of the administration.You're right on all counts.

I know that bashing the president has become a habit of sorts. It is my considered opinion that to join the bandwagon of self acclaimed social critic would only mean playing to the gallery. It would only make me one of those crusaders for social justice. Interestingly as this blog evolves, you will find quite the opposite. That day will come.

In his last election, Jonathan used the power of social media to his advantage. He launched his facebook page, his friends on Facebook journal in which he published comments on his facebook page including the uncomplimentary ones. Infact that was where the tag of him being the worlds most criticized sitting president stuck. Honestly He isnt. Have you seen the negative things said about Barrack Obama. I nearlyconvulsed when I read some of them. Jacob Zuma of South Africa, former Nicola Sarkozy of France have all been harshly criticized. What Jonathan has done however that is interesting to this blogger is that he has played with our perceptions and has created an illusion of a massive Anti-Jonathan sentiment. There is really no massive Anti- Jonathan sentiment like the man would have us believe.Its just that since you cannot control what people think you only try to influence what they believe. Jonathan has influenced all of us to believe that people just take pleasure in insulting him.

He has also influenced us to see him as a grassroots mobilizer. Remember his neighbour to neighbour cmpaign the last time. Volunteers actually went door to door. I almost became a volunteer. Lol. Thats how much his ability to influence perceptions has hit home.He has started again this time with his Become A GEJite campaign. Again I was tempted to join. Thank God I didnt join the last time and I wont join this time. But very soon you will see T-shirts, stickers, Mugsall bearing I AM A GEJite.It is subliminal advertising. The more you read such messages you will begin to think YOU ARE A GEJite. LOL

Consider for instance, his "I had no shoes" speech. Even though his critics say he is a poor speechmaster, that speech goes down in history as one of the most memorable in Nigerian History only trumped in my own estimation by Ojukwu's Ahiara Declaration. That speech single handedly gave him that election. Again he played with our minds. LOL. You actually believe he had no shoes? LOL. Then you'd believe anything. Face it this man is good at playing with peoples minds and perceptions. Making us see water where none exists. That "I had no shoes" speech approximates Martin Luther's "I Have A Dream". Brilliant Politician isnt it.

We havent even gotten to where Jonathan Excels. He throws open the conversation and we mistake this for timidity. You actually think this man is timid?LOL. Its all politics. Its just the image he chose. Politicians choose images. Halle Selaise chose the image of a lion. Senator McCain chose the image of a Maverick... His own failed though. Obama chose the image of Change... Ask Republicans. He hasnt brought much change. Its good politics my dear to make people clamour for what you always wanted to do. While we were clamouring for a strong leader, a strong leader claiming that this president is weak. He hit us BOOM... Fuel Subsidy Removal. LOL. Did you still think he was a weak leader then? Of course I thought he was a dictator. But to cement his image of "weakling". He gave the "I Am Not a Goliath" speech. The man had always wanted to remove subsidy totally right from his "I Had No Shoes" days and by the way He will. The whole Jan 1st saga was well scripted.

To be Continued

Iroko Obasi ND