| Tuesday, May 02, 2017 | 8:44 PM CET
"Nigeria" The reality of a failed nation and the rise of a true nation "Biafra"
By Russell Bluejack
I have noticed that the media, both online and print, is replete with works about Workers’ Day. I have decided to toe a different path as usual, since I don’t believe there is anything good to write on in relation to workers in Nigeria. Nigeria is indeed overdue for demolition, bearing in mind that even workers have not been treated fairly.
The civil service in Nigeria is the most disregarded in the world. The various governments in Nigeria – state and federal – have taken their turns to dehumanize the worker to the gamut that pensioners are owed 14 years ARREARS, and some states owe their civil servants for more than a year. Those that understand what it takes to have a civil government know pretty well that without civil service no government is government in the actual sense of the word.
Whether the workers in Nigeria should be in jubilant mood or in a sober one over today’s celebration is beyond debate, since they have clearly been on the receiving end of anti-human policies of the governments. I have noticed to my chagrin that the civil servants in Nigeria are the least paid in the world while their counterparts in the various legislature government appointments are the most highly paid.
Do you see the contradiction? Our governments are comfy to owe civil servants, meanwhile no government has been able to owe government appointees and lawmakers without the risk of facing the dire consequences. It does appear our civil servants, the bulls that sustain government, are treated with disdain and levity for reasons best known to government officials. How civil servants have come to be seen as an insignificant part of government bewilders some of us.
Perhaps it is because they do not kill or bear arms during election. Perchance they are not ready to militarize the states and nation preparatory to the conduct of elections. I have taken ample time to note that governments in Nigeria evince apathy to the plight of the ordinary, lawful citizen. I am very excited that the debased celebration of Workers’ Day at Eagle Square, Abuja, has been disrupted by workers who want the government to pay attention to the clamour for new Minimum Wage. This is good news indeed.
The travail of civil servants, which has gone unnoticed thus far, gives one a stronger reason to critically examine the chasm between agitation for self-determinism and what we call Nigeria. Nigeria is a country which foundation is questionable. Nigeria is just the name, not the real enclave.
It is my submission that any nation that is conceived to the exclusion of those it is about will always be corrupt and illegitimate. Legitimacy comes from the people and must come from them freely. It is absolutely wrong to start off wrong-footed hoping to correct same much later.
The Lugardian and northernized enclave called Nigeria has turned out to be more and more acrid to be swallowed by the people. Nigerians, as the years went by, have become more and more conscious of the venal nature of that which they call country. Nigerians have come to terms with the need to be part of the formation of any nation they shall call their own.
Gone are the days when the agitation for Biafra Republic was seen as a ploy by the East to spread their tentacles and absorb other regions. The handlers of Nigeria, having perceived the imminent demolition of this mud house, are working hard to scuttle the effort of two sister regions – South-South and South-East.
Our Nigerians, seeing that the proposed Biafra Republic has what it takes to be called a functional nation, are restless. The release of Nnamdi Kanu from the gallows is one irremovable dent on the North and their co-travelers. How that courageous young man dared them and escaped unhurt, with serious damage on this British toy, befuddles them all. How dare he! Kanu is the name they will live to fear and respect, for he did what the entire lawyers in Nigeria put together could not conceive.
Kanu started the war, submitted himself to his enemies – and by extension the enemies of Nigeria – and was able to lampoon both our compromised judiciary and horrible Executive and got away with it. He punctured Nigeria in stages: first as the anchor-man in Radio Biafra, Britain and, second, as a prisoner of conscience they could neither incriminate nor exterminate. Nnamdi Kanu, the first citizen of Biafra that set the IPOB agitators in motion, has proven that Biafrans are indestructible. He has proven that all the driver(s) of a revolution needs is the WILL.
Kanu has shown that Nigeria does not have what it takes to stop someone that has a good dream. Where the dreamer has many advocates, such as the IPOB agitators some of whom were killed, the dream must be actualized. Biafra is starting very well, my dear friends. She has started as a shared dream.
The crusader of the dream has been tested for his tenacity and forthrightness. Biafra is just the needed escape route from Nigeria. We are sure that civil servants, if they must escape from this maltreatment, must key into the agitation.
To those that still entertain doubt, I say the worst Biafra will be better than the best Nigeria. A nation worse than Nigeria is inconceivable, since I think Nigeria typifies the worst state of any nation. The university dons, freedom fighters in the South-South, social clubs and associations in South-South and South-East must collaborate and hatch Biafra.
I know it is wrong to talk about the name and map without first consulting others, but I think the haste with which the name and map were prepared is justified by the need to have something on ground. Nothing stops the regions from discussing these things in town hall meetings and seminars.
I believe the name can fly, but the map should form a very serious issue for determination when these sister regions sit and discuss.
I am working with a lot of like minds to see how we can extend the effort of Kanu further. It is time to get academic about this struggle. It is the academic works that we shall do that will reorient our brothers in South-South and other regions targeted by the IPOB. There is need to release magazines, newsletters, seminars etc. to, first, disorient our people, and then reorient them.
At a time when the governments in Nigeria are working hard to remove issues concerning the Minimum Wage from Exclusive List and put same in Concurrent List, the need to demolish Nigeria is imperative. What the state governors are saying is that the welfare of civil servants should be left in their hands, so that they can owe workers for years with gay abandon. It is clear that Nigeria is not for Nigerians. This is not a nation, FOR NATIONS HAVE NATIONALS THAT ARE BOUND BY NATIONHOOD. Biafra promises to be a true nation.
We must work hard to materialize this dream. Kanu has started it. It is time to take it up from there. It is time to pull down all the barricades that stand between us and Biafra. Let us cast our fears aside and work together. What we all should fear most is living together amidst disparaging values, religion, culture, and worldviews. The conflict of opposites – Christianity vs. Islam – is sufficient reason why Biafra must be birthed. The time is now, brothers and sisters. I will always choose Biafra over any other nation.
I have watched them die in pursuit of this dream. I have watched their hero, Kanu, suffer for what he believes. The travails of Biafrans in Nigeria – the 20 pounds, seized properties, and political disintegration – make the Igbo the best friends any true Nigerian can have. In all of this, the Igbo people still wish to be with others in this new nation they have been dying to achieve. Would you rather be with the North? God forbids that I be with ravages, the uncircumcised, beasts, and barbarians. I will continue to promote the unity of the South-south and the South-East.
Russell Bluejack is a thinker, writer, tutor, socio-economic and political analyst, and member of Rivers State PDP Social Media Team that writes from Port Harcourt.
– The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer/author, and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Headline News Nigeria.
(This article first appeared on News Nigeria)
"Nigeria" The reality of a failed nation and the rise of a true nation "Biafra"
 |
| Nigerians queue up for kerosene , frustrated over fuel scarcity |
By Russell Bluejack
I have noticed that the media, both online and print, is replete with works about Workers’ Day. I have decided to toe a different path as usual, since I don’t believe there is anything good to write on in relation to workers in Nigeria. Nigeria is indeed overdue for demolition, bearing in mind that even workers have not been treated fairly.
The civil service in Nigeria is the most disregarded in the world. The various governments in Nigeria – state and federal – have taken their turns to dehumanize the worker to the gamut that pensioners are owed 14 years ARREARS, and some states owe their civil servants for more than a year. Those that understand what it takes to have a civil government know pretty well that without civil service no government is government in the actual sense of the word.
Whether the workers in Nigeria should be in jubilant mood or in a sober one over today’s celebration is beyond debate, since they have clearly been on the receiving end of anti-human policies of the governments. I have noticed to my chagrin that the civil servants in Nigeria are the least paid in the world while their counterparts in the various legislature government appointments are the most highly paid.
Do you see the contradiction? Our governments are comfy to owe civil servants, meanwhile no government has been able to owe government appointees and lawmakers without the risk of facing the dire consequences. It does appear our civil servants, the bulls that sustain government, are treated with disdain and levity for reasons best known to government officials. How civil servants have come to be seen as an insignificant part of government bewilders some of us.
Perhaps it is because they do not kill or bear arms during election. Perchance they are not ready to militarize the states and nation preparatory to the conduct of elections. I have taken ample time to note that governments in Nigeria evince apathy to the plight of the ordinary, lawful citizen. I am very excited that the debased celebration of Workers’ Day at Eagle Square, Abuja, has been disrupted by workers who want the government to pay attention to the clamour for new Minimum Wage. This is good news indeed.
The travail of civil servants, which has gone unnoticed thus far, gives one a stronger reason to critically examine the chasm between agitation for self-determinism and what we call Nigeria. Nigeria is a country which foundation is questionable. Nigeria is just the name, not the real enclave.
It is my submission that any nation that is conceived to the exclusion of those it is about will always be corrupt and illegitimate. Legitimacy comes from the people and must come from them freely. It is absolutely wrong to start off wrong-footed hoping to correct same much later.
The Lugardian and northernized enclave called Nigeria has turned out to be more and more acrid to be swallowed by the people. Nigerians, as the years went by, have become more and more conscious of the venal nature of that which they call country. Nigerians have come to terms with the need to be part of the formation of any nation they shall call their own.
Gone are the days when the agitation for Biafra Republic was seen as a ploy by the East to spread their tentacles and absorb other regions. The handlers of Nigeria, having perceived the imminent demolition of this mud house, are working hard to scuttle the effort of two sister regions – South-South and South-East.
Our Nigerians, seeing that the proposed Biafra Republic has what it takes to be called a functional nation, are restless. The release of Nnamdi Kanu from the gallows is one irremovable dent on the North and their co-travelers. How that courageous young man dared them and escaped unhurt, with serious damage on this British toy, befuddles them all. How dare he! Kanu is the name they will live to fear and respect, for he did what the entire lawyers in Nigeria put together could not conceive.
Kanu started the war, submitted himself to his enemies – and by extension the enemies of Nigeria – and was able to lampoon both our compromised judiciary and horrible Executive and got away with it. He punctured Nigeria in stages: first as the anchor-man in Radio Biafra, Britain and, second, as a prisoner of conscience they could neither incriminate nor exterminate. Nnamdi Kanu, the first citizen of Biafra that set the IPOB agitators in motion, has proven that Biafrans are indestructible. He has proven that all the driver(s) of a revolution needs is the WILL.
Kanu has shown that Nigeria does not have what it takes to stop someone that has a good dream. Where the dreamer has many advocates, such as the IPOB agitators some of whom were killed, the dream must be actualized. Biafra is starting very well, my dear friends. She has started as a shared dream.
The crusader of the dream has been tested for his tenacity and forthrightness. Biafra is just the needed escape route from Nigeria. We are sure that civil servants, if they must escape from this maltreatment, must key into the agitation.
To those that still entertain doubt, I say the worst Biafra will be better than the best Nigeria. A nation worse than Nigeria is inconceivable, since I think Nigeria typifies the worst state of any nation. The university dons, freedom fighters in the South-South, social clubs and associations in South-South and South-East must collaborate and hatch Biafra.
I know it is wrong to talk about the name and map without first consulting others, but I think the haste with which the name and map were prepared is justified by the need to have something on ground. Nothing stops the regions from discussing these things in town hall meetings and seminars.
I believe the name can fly, but the map should form a very serious issue for determination when these sister regions sit and discuss.
I am working with a lot of like minds to see how we can extend the effort of Kanu further. It is time to get academic about this struggle. It is the academic works that we shall do that will reorient our brothers in South-South and other regions targeted by the IPOB. There is need to release magazines, newsletters, seminars etc. to, first, disorient our people, and then reorient them.
At a time when the governments in Nigeria are working hard to remove issues concerning the Minimum Wage from Exclusive List and put same in Concurrent List, the need to demolish Nigeria is imperative. What the state governors are saying is that the welfare of civil servants should be left in their hands, so that they can owe workers for years with gay abandon. It is clear that Nigeria is not for Nigerians. This is not a nation, FOR NATIONS HAVE NATIONALS THAT ARE BOUND BY NATIONHOOD. Biafra promises to be a true nation.
We must work hard to materialize this dream. Kanu has started it. It is time to take it up from there. It is time to pull down all the barricades that stand between us and Biafra. Let us cast our fears aside and work together. What we all should fear most is living together amidst disparaging values, religion, culture, and worldviews. The conflict of opposites – Christianity vs. Islam – is sufficient reason why Biafra must be birthed. The time is now, brothers and sisters. I will always choose Biafra over any other nation.
I have watched them die in pursuit of this dream. I have watched their hero, Kanu, suffer for what he believes. The travails of Biafrans in Nigeria – the 20 pounds, seized properties, and political disintegration – make the Igbo the best friends any true Nigerian can have. In all of this, the Igbo people still wish to be with others in this new nation they have been dying to achieve. Would you rather be with the North? God forbids that I be with ravages, the uncircumcised, beasts, and barbarians. I will continue to promote the unity of the South-south and the South-East.
Russell Bluejack is a thinker, writer, tutor, socio-economic and political analyst, and member of Rivers State PDP Social Media Team that writes from Port Harcourt.
– The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer/author, and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Headline News Nigeria.
(This article first appeared on News Nigeria)
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