Condensed Summary of Igbo Agitation Features in Nigeria State

Introduction

In view of the latest outpourings of political distress in Nigeria, the subterranean Igbo Question has risen to the surface once again of course as a continuum rather than a new thrust. Sadly this question is competing for attention in a state noxiously bedevilled with regression, inter-generational poverty of leadership and distinct evisceration of history. It is the view of this piece to focus attention on the features that concentrated post Nigeria-Biafra War. It includes features with economic, sociological, political and geopolitical imports.

Geography

Ndigbo originate and concentrate in Southern Nigeria. There is no other origin outside the territory of Nigeria. Within the territory of Nigeria the nearest proximity to international boundary is over 100km and there is no other competing Igbo concentration found in Cameroun. The geopolitical implication is that Nigeria is spared the grief of irredentism which usually emerges with the support of the neighbouring state in the form of military logistics, communication controls, and economic sabotage as part of destabilisation of internal affairs. There is no evidence that Ndigbo in the post Nigeria-Biafra War have seriously exploited the possibility of seeking the support of Cameroun towards a larger political footprint in Nigeria.

Population-wise Ndigbo have been secure within their borders and have refrained from engaging in conflicts with neighbours and apparatus of the State in pursuit of their grievances. The nucleus of Igbo nation remains a bastion of ‘stability’ despite the congruency of economic, social and political deficit of nearly 50 years at both state and federal levels. Of course the absence of conflict doesn’t imply peace, nevertheless organised deployment of violence is lacking in Ndigbo agitations post Nigeria-Biafra War. This is significant those ignored by Nigeria State!

Non-Homogeneity

It is important to stress that media distorted attention on the issue focusing on opinion of elites who naturally are non-Nigerians a la Shugaba (i.e. they were born outside or in pre-independent Nigeria) is erroneous. The current crop of political elite including their Igbo interlocking section are morally reprehensible, lack merit and are dishonestly to discuss or categorise events in Nigeria. This sociological gap exists in Igboland where a dichotomy is apparent between elite and non-elites, pre-Nigerians and post-Nigerians.

Most of Ndigbo consist of post Nigeria-Biafra War young men and young women who never observed, received and confirmed any positive feature or benefit from state i.e. Nigeria. This group have read, analysed, contested and contrasted their observations with expectations only to find Nigeria wanting. Though true Nigerians, they have never felt truly Nigerians since they haven’t received a kobo of Nigeria excess endowment and profits.

The result is the emergence of new leadership class and underclass citizens from among the commons who are in touch with the people. These leaders despite their flaws do not have rented crowds and among the crowds are significant numbers of young women. These men and women have watched their lives reduced in value, observed humiliation of their parents who invested everything to raise them with minimal support of the state. These young people are not harking back to the past rather are fed by the fusion of evident past neglect and humiliations into the present while the elite in their superlative ignorant continue to rant on the indivisibility of Nigeria.

Most if not all of the young Igbo people never received free medical care, never attended education with state support, never observed or used viable public infrastructure and cannot testify to invitation to benefit from state policy. All their lives have been struggle, their parents’ salaries remain unpaid or payments delayed which matured into unpaid/delayed pensions. The pre-Nigerian leaders lack legitimacy, are devoid of trust and are apparently foreign to Ndigbo. The generation gap is unquestionable!

Absence of Nuance

One of the main problems with both elite and the new Igbo leaders is the absence of nuance in poor arguments. The elite concentrate in limited and restricted language of colonial mentality and tired cold war recycled mantra focused on state uniqueness as if a state can exist without a people. Their focus is divinisation of an irresponsible and unaccountable state. They decline responsibility and apparent hate the word responsibility. For them the victim is the cause of his/her victimhood. Blame a stolen item for being stolen!

Their limited diatribes and cheap talks have no room for debate and contextual analyses; they are almost anti-history and allergic to sociology. Surprisingly they are disconnected from emerging languages of positive change and are deft in their refusal to create, invent and discover to sustain their status. The elites are locked insecurely in their own contradictions and in the past. They are allergic to the future, a future where their privileges are challenged and if need be lost.

On the contrary the new emerging leadership in the face of rich resources for agitation seem ‘lite’ on details and almost irrelevant to population segmentation even in the age of network communication. Yes, there is a case for marginalisation; yes, there is a case for injustice; yes, there is a case for discrimination. Firewood and oxygen remain in abundance but there is poverty of clear articulation of purpose, absence of thought-out context and lack of strategic initiative. However and credit to them, the new leadership have burst the bubble of contradiction imposed by the elite and have appropriated it in the present towards a future that empowers and benefits the underclass.

To cap it all there is no respect or appreciation for the written word, no publications, no documents and no references.  On cannot seek the dividend of history and its implication without the written word especially when everyone has mobile phones. There is no evidence that IPOB and MASSOB among others have insightful content and publications on their portals. How do they enlighten their members and attract new members to their cause? How will members be sustained intellectually towards strategic renewal of underpinning ideas? You cannot fight a war of ideas without the written word.

This state of affairs allows the elite and their media to appropriate the argument and mislabel agitation as regressive, miscreants, low-life, misguided, anti-state and counter-productive. They use language that dismiss, diminish, dehumanise and disembody protesters/agitators in the attempt to rob them of their existence, their dignity and their message. This is taking place where the state (with evidence) drags its feet in arraigning suspected elites for allegedly stealing billions of Naira.

Organisational Disarray

It is quite bizarre for Ndigbo to focus their minds on making political headway in their case without solid organisation. While it is historically factual that so far Ndigbo’s political evolution never reached the level of consolidation toward an empire or strong political collective, it is not beyond the current initiative to rethink. There is a dominant intellectual error that refuses to dig deeper for centralisation, that refused to see convergence between tendency towards individualism and centralisation. Contemporary Ndigbo celebrate fragmentation!

No people can reach the level of political seriousness without unity backed by centralisation. No state even Switzerland with her pastiche of cantons can be powerful without centralisation. States among comity of nations in the world with voice beyond their horizon are united, centralised, viable, strategically inclined and resourceful regardless of size, population, location and endowed resources. Review empires from Egypt through United States; their strengths come from among other points centralised political organisation. Edo Empire reached her zenith including geopolitical exploits with Portuguese Empire in the 15^th century. Yoruba Empire, Ghana, Mali and Songhai Empire flourished with centralised political structures.

The Igbo political history since Nigeria-Biafra War is dominated by this existential struggle against the benefits of centralisation. Ndigbo cannot get their due in Nigeria without internal cohesion, without viable single-voiced political structure and without a formidable and respectable organisation speaking with one voice.

The strain of disorganisation and fragmentation rather than de-centralisation is preponderant from the village level. Many Igbo villages/towns lack viable political leadership rather may contain competing platforms. Many so-called family meetings abroad or in Diasporas suffer from the same malaise. There is lack of vision, lack of patience, lack of knowledge and lack of strategic depth and at the core there is a lack of identity. Since the erosion of military rule and four-yearly selection of satraps, Igbo State governors continue to lack viable forum for serious engagement on internal issues but will be the first to appropriate ‘marginalisation’ despite their deliberate regressive leaderships.

No matter how smart, intellectual, economic and industrious a person or people are; without translating these qualities as a collective into formidable political capital through a viable organisation all is waste. This is the plain truth with Ndigbo who for the most part refuse to acknowledge it to their peril. No serious political contender is without a viable, strategic and long-term machine sustained by committed men and women. No political position and concession is gained or extracted without a struggle and the vehicle is formidable, cohesive and unity political platform.

No amount of greed, short-term vision, stolen resources, cunning and intellectual prowess can succeed without clear cohesion of ideas and minds, united to the cause and run professionally over time for a strategic objective. On this point Ndigbo have continuously displayed stupidity and regressive blindness and the impact is apparent at all levels. Politics maybe war by other means, those who want to fight it successfully must start with accepting that a viable, sustainable and strategic political organisation is inevitable.

Lack of Diplomatic Touch

Following from the previous point some of the larger viable Igbo groups having overcome the cohesion, organisation and structural issue still lack viable purpose. This is very apparent in the Diasporas although one must admit that culturally most members of these groups and some of the leadership have no grounded foundation. They have limited social, intellectual, administrative and strategic worldviews. There is strong inability to channel their potentials to exploit political opportunities of host countries for strategic geopolitical benefits. There is poverty of geopolitics and international relations.

As a result of this development among others, most of these ethnic pressure groups remain disconnected from the political currents of their host countries despite holding their passports/citizenship. There is no evidence that US based World Igbo Congress (WIC) has any serious lobby or presence in Washington DC. There is no evidence of its efforts to influence US policy or strategy implementation on Nigeria. Despite the superlative qualities of individual members, many of them have no and do not seek viable relationship with senior members of US regime at least for advance of Igbo cause in Nigeria.

These groups have no serious political and geopolitical capital; hence they are lightweight and irrelevant. The same counts for similar groups in London, Brussels, Moscow and Beijing. A multi-pronged approach requires formidable internal offensive complemented with foreign operations focused on the main global geopolitical contenders in their capitals as listed above. Non-state and extra-state diplomacy is a feature of geopolitics and international political reality. This is the reason no serious analyst or observer will consider the purported search for independence by sections of Ndigbo as credible. The time new countries emerge from the body of existing ones have gone. Current and emerging geopolitical realities are unfavourable as South Sudan is exemplified.

Summary

The few notes above crystallise fundamental sign posts in the existent struggle for agitators and also for the Nigeria State. The issue is a battle of ideas of which both parties seem to be poorly trained or are deliberately misguided in pursuit of what they deem just. The battle of ideas cannot be won on decapitation of reason, or freezing of idealistic/ideological outflow or even regressing to the past. The present calls for revaluation and re-contextualisation and reframing of the issue including articulating new framework and inventing new accessible language disseminated in the written word. 

Toxic Mix of Geopolitics, Media & Full-Spectrum Dominance of the World Summarised

The world is quite old, its essence and resources always coveted by a few who understood it, its benefits violently ascribed by nefarious designs and its power grabbed by a few in the name of many under any guise or excuse. With basic tools like the Media minds and conscience are skewed, perforated, dismembered, overwhelmed with lies and finally subdued. Yes, the power elite will unleash geopolitical designs through crude geostrategic policies to attain their goals and later fail for new hands to repeat their errors down the generations.

Attention to history will prevent each generation from falling into making stupidity a new invention. Even stupidity is ancient in form and demeanour.

Yawning Gaps in Nigeria’s Harsh Response to Secessionists’ Protests – Pointers

Introduction

The latest development in Nigeria is a new addition to a list of pressure groups seeking to redefine the internal contours of the country’s configuration and operations. In summary they are part of the silent majority who have been short-changed by failed leadership since deformed independence in 1960. They have come in various shades and forms, some violent others non-violent; nevertheless Federal Government response is expected and usual. Below exhibit a number of gaps in Nigeria’s statecraft kit towards her questionable responses.

Missing in the Toolkit

Allergy to History – whether it is the privileged few condemning protests or government officials shouting of threats to unity, what is clearly evident is palpable hatred of history. The bold efforts to challenge power and speak to power by the commons are unexpected due to the fact in the eyes of government elite nothing has changed. Several administrations and maladministration since 1960, the function of time seem alien to Abuja in recognising huge gaps in performance for nearly 2 generations. For a state her citizens always look to the heaven for terrestrial solutions, power elite refuse to address historical grievances as if history is irrelevant. Those who refuse to learn from history only repeat its mistakes and this is what the current administration is facing.

Anathema of Geopolitics – One of the main features of the administration is the preponderance of colonial mentality and cold war mindset. Most of the worldview and curiosity is laced in US-led thinking which incorrigibly refused to countenance reconfigured global power equilibrium. Other players despite limited military capabilities have nevertheless spearheaded multi-polar dimension towards international issues. This absence of nuanced view of global geopolitics and international relations forced Abuja into unjustified errors. You only need to think of South Sudan and ask how possible is it for new countries to emerge today without unanimous consent of Washington DC, Moscow and Beijing. Syria is the hotspot, not Nigeria!

Lack of Strategic Depth – Instability and insecurity prevents clear thinking and determined implementation of concrete policies. Despite all the huge funding and various administrations it is evident that Abuja has no sustainable structures/understanding to various issues in different parts of the country. With massive waste of human resources, idling of specialists and misused of time; unsurprisingly knee-jerk reaction become the main tool of governance. Thus threat to national unity becomes political football of questionable characters.

Abuse of Bureaucracy – The recent issue highlight shameful case of a besieged country. There is a geopolitical insertion called Boko Haram which to all intents and purposes remains a feature holding territory, it is very rich for Abuja to shout threat to national unity on non-violent pressure groups. Disappearance of full weight of law on alleged corrupt politicians contrasting with rushing of innocent plebes to the same compromised judiciary to protect One Nigeria is laughable.  Department of State Security that should have been deployed at the first instance to investigate veracity and composition of group is currently misused as bodyguards posted on social media.

Damn Public Opinion – Even China pays close attention to citizens’ attention and concerns. Hatred of history, lack of institutional capacity and lack of strategic depth including taking citizens for granted allow for errors in governance. These protests do not emerge out of the blue and actually take time to set out. Even though each group take calculated risk, they are all united in their certainty that Abuja will respond with ferocity. In the age of mass media and highly network interaction, young protesters are made heroes not by government harsh response rather by their clear-headed out-classing and out-maneuvering of government. Government is embarrassed and unfortunately forced to play catch up.

Summary

Running a country or state is not eating cake but those who fight to rule need to show class and mettle in the face of adversity. Even modest leaders are known to surround themselves with class acts and tested performers to enable clear policies, monitored implementation and display real results. Unfortunately Nigerians are no longer in the mood to wait for excuses, delays and go-slows. They want positive action now!

Nigeria’s Global-Facing Domestic Policy Blunders

Introduction

It is no longer a testimony that Nigeria’s post-election Cabinet selection takes as long as 6 months. Abuja has moved into a deliberate and questionable handling of decisions despite resounding goodwill of voters. With little concrete initiatives and or nuanced policies, Abuja is compelled only to talk devoid of accompanying walk. This atmosphere of stationary leadership is generating sustainable uncertainty, confusion drawn from inexperience and blunders with serious domestic and international consequences. Two of these decisions are discussed.

Policy Desert

The first 6 months of President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived and is going for good with serious gaps on all levels. The most evident part of these gaps is the dearth of fresh policies to back up rhetoric. For a very weak country with long record of poor administration and lack of continuity, there is expectation of immediate assault on problems and issues through initiation of new realistic policies to address specific targets.

Unfortunately a government devoid of working Cabinet failed the test and this is unhealthy development. More so the impression is glowing negatively mistakenly pointing hands on hapless civil servants. The administration is displaying poor grasp of the situation, lack of attention to scope of problems and disconnection with time. Above all there is general apathy towards policy to the point of allergic reaction with 3 years and 6 month left for the administration.

Wastes Opportunities

There is a conclusion that strong states infrequently attack their citizens while focusing most attention on other states. For weak states resources are mostly invested in attacking their own citizens, hence their foreign policy is a masked regressive domestic policy. In the case of Nigeria 2 recent decisions by Abuja suggest a gloomy state of affairs with negative implications. It is very clear that an unstable and uncertain state cannot run a credible foreign policy, this is the case for Nigeria. Opportunities are waste while confusions are made out of inconsequential subjects.

In such situation where points of decision-making are blurred and responsibility is nearly absent, lines of decision communication are fed to hapless law-enforcement agents to execute without proper consideration, discussion and reviews. Issues that deserve to be cascaded for Cabinet Meeting deliberation are demoted to a single individual probably without experience, exposure and qualification.

The above description fit well considering the recent impounding of an artistic bus commemorating the 20^th anniversary of Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa execution. The reason for impounding the bus and hijacking the 20^th anniversary by Nigeria State remain nebulous and suspect. If proper decision-making structures were in place at the Federal Level and the issue was raised under national security flag, public diplomacy and foreign policy implications could have been raised. Questions on cost-benefit to Nigeria foreign image would have been reviewed with input from foreign ministry and independent experts.

In view of the fact that the execution of Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa brought weighty attention to Abuja from abroad with various global stakeholders especially in the West continuing to raise the issue as a black mark on the country, a nuanced decision would have been taken. Ignorance of public opinion is dangerous.

The main questions would follow related lines; how will the anniversary be exploited by foreign partners and domestic interests? What is the implication for domestic instability? What are the medium and long term impacts? Mind you all things being equal there are feeds from both foreign and domestic arms of national intelligence agencies, and if necessary Nigerian missions abroad. The security agencies should be able to provide comprehensive risk report with associated geographical disaggregation of potential hotspots and temporal variables.

In the absence of these processes, a decision by an individual or a cabal was rushed out with a single result of public relations disaster further diminishing an already discredited barometer. Nigeria is made to reconfirm the status-quo of being weak, unstable, uncertain and regressive in the comity of nations. Such situation was avoidable and unnecessary.

The next blunder is the arrest of a Nigerian, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, for being behind illegal radio broadcasts advocating an alternative geopolitical entity. What is interesting with the issue is the currency of Boko Haram continuing offensive against positions, holding territories and killing Nigeria with weak albeit limited counter-attack from Abuja. Another background is the hyped corruption narrative with all the suspects around and continuing to engage with their trade unmolested, unquestioned and not arrested. From ethnic and class dimensions, the earlier argument on weak states is reinforced.

This young man has no standing army, did not launch any violent campaign, has no evidence of embezzling public resources/funds and probably never served or held any public/political position. All he has is his ideas, words, sentences and medium for wider dissemination. For Abuja to fall into the school-boy trap of expressing being threatened & acting on it is complacent and worrying. Similar description could be made for Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa's 20th anniversary bus. Those who allegedly threaten Nigeria daily concentrate within the President's vicinity.

This blunder reflects similar display of ignorance, celebration of incompetence and inexperience. Bearing in mind the recent past election outcomes, the long running ethnic dimension of politics, the touchy relationship between Nigerian State and the Igbo Nation; a nuanced approach would have been deployed in the handling of such a sensitive issue.

In a sophisticated and capable administration, proactive ‘soft’ solutions would have been used to counter then broadcasting output. The first item on the list would have been to make an emergency working visit to the Igbo Nation for at least a week from where important national decisions are signed off. In view of the economic situation and corruption, announcement of fresh policy input on employment and job creation including tangible short-term benefits would have stolen the thunder from the opposite. Imposing sanctions on seating governors to respond immediately & professionally with realistic implementations of viable actions is not beyond Abuja.

Arresting the young man only confirmed his view that Abuja is irrational, weak, disorganised and inefficient. His continued detention elevated his status within and beyond the country giving his case a wider platform than he could have imagined. Even the UK government was embarrassed and compelled to deny any alleged contribution and support. Quite a diplomatic feat for the arrested fella! Other western capitals and their chancelleries in Nigeria must have taken note of this serious development.

Young people of Igbo Nation and from other nations in Nigeria are watching with interest for potential replay if suitable. There is no doubt that the arrested young man posed no security risk to the Nigerian State. He even offered an important platform for State governors of the Igbo Nation to rise up to the challenge and respond with evidence of Nigeria’s viability through provision of sustainable employment, accessible & quality public service and efficient public infrastructure. Another avoidable waste!

Conclusion

In the final analysis the current administration is punching above its weight and has displayed deep and worrying trend. These 2 examples highlight incompetence, lack of focus, incoherence understanding of political power and weak view of due process. As time progresses with these kinds of decisions from Abuja, most of the population will simply switch off and coast along for the next election in 2019.

Reference Time in Geopolitical & Geostrategic Planning

Introduction

The 3^rd dimension is a critical factor in the development and implementation of geopolitical and geostrategic plans which among other things allow for performance measurement on various metrics including but not limited to As-Is/To-Be differential and Expected/Observed quotient. Time is even more critical in geopolitical scenario planning due to its complexity that requires both quantitative and qualitative variables. The issue that calls to mind is the basis on which reference time is selected. Various states have reports and plans for 2020, 2030 and 2040. What do they mean and what is the reference time or benchmark for the chosen dates? As part of our expanding Geospirituality discourse, reference time from Christo-biblical dimension will be explored including the currency of unfolding events in select global hotspots.

Post-Reformation & Positivist Imposition

500 years ago reformation in Europe, the geopolitical centre of the western world at the time, opened up a new vista which impacted significantly on substance, method and delivery of knowledge. The most serious of outcomes is decoupling temporal and spiritual issues, the Catholic Church from the State/Empire and empirical conclusion from revelation/infused science. The decoupling was initiated by anti-Christian forces. For knowledge, its creation and dissemination; the implication and impact remains to the present. The reason for the decoupling remains at best puerile, weak, regressive and unsubstantiated nevertheless weakens average mind.

Geopolitical and geostrategic traditions share the same fate in structure, content and methodology. There is hardly any plan or report open to considering deployment of Christo-biblical data in its conclusion despite the fact that Europe is a primary beneficiary of Christian spiritual advancement. It is the view of this paper that geopolitical and geostrategic plans or conclusion devoid of Christo-biblical data are sparse, bare and incomplete. Nevertheless these plans are strategic platforms for protecting the integrity of populations, assets and governments within defined borders including spaces subjected or subordinated to power projections. 

The implication of reference time becomes obvious in highly configured global geopolitical space where few of these plans carry significant weight in terms of their independence. What is evident is that many geopolitical plans and their reference times are dependent and nested with few dominant geopolitical powers and or coupled with interlocking network of sub-continental political and security plans. For examples NATO countries cannot possess plans misaligned economically, militarily and politically with United States strategic plans. Similar conclusions are applicable in countries within Russia’s sphere of influence and those interlocked with emerging Beijing Consensus.

Christo-Biblical Reference Time

The currency of global affairs in view of statecraft, geopolitics and geostrategy including power projection is very fluid, unstable and highly charged. A consistent negative pattern emerged in the West since the demise of USSR in 1991. These patterns include declining economy, increase in triggering extra-territorial conflicts around the world, deployment of collective fear from terrorism as statecraft tool, narrowing of gaps between state and media, and decline of effective strategic leadership. 

Above all the post-WW2 governance style of democracy (of various persuasions) is already in sharp decline in the Europe and North America. Destabilisation, insecurity and uncertainty in and of states are common geopolitical staples which are not taking place in a vacuum/isolation. Rather these geopolitical and geoeconomic outcomes form part of an emerging trend of a meta-strategic temporal consistency running for thousands of years based on Christo-biblical source. 

Importantly the meta-strategic temporal structure is always interjected at various times in the life of the world either with understanding or ignorance of political and economic leaders of leading states/countries. Its consistency and dependability is unparalleled and undisputable. However the current decade is set for a climax one more time as the downward trend in politics, economy and security are moving in tandem with serious geopolitical and geostrategic consequences. Of course man-made and natural disasters of gigantic proportions have taken important positions in global affairs in the last few decades.

2017

The year 2017 carries serious geopolitical and geostrategic imports. It is a reference time per excellence based on the meta-strategic temporal structure drawn from Christo-biblical source. 2017 will be a convergence of many serious anniversaries that cannot be ignored or that have been deliberately ignored especially in the Western hemisphere. Each of these events has biblical reference(s) and possess room for extrapolation in the view that occurrence of biblical events are not devoid of latitudes. It is equally safe to state that current chaotic state of global affairs runs in tandem with predicted models mapped out in Matthew 24: 2 – 14, Revelation 6: 2 - 8.

2017 will be the 500^th anniversary of Martin Luther’s rejection of Catholic Church authority with the posting of his views in front of church doors in 1517. This act of defiance set off a chain of events that reconfigured the geopolitical power structure of Europe at the time and set a template that currently defines the world today. The act added another scar on the bruised body of the Church (post-1054 schism) defined as Protestantism. Some biblical scholars link this decision of 1517 to Revelation 8: 11. It is interesting that the theology of Protestantism (Sola Scriptura) is currently facing serious internal contradictions/struggle that new geopolitical reconfigurations are emerging with implications for many states.

2017 will also be 100 years since Bolshevik communist Revolution made landfall in Russia with all the destructive and regressive outcomes. The devastation wrought by this ugly monster set another stage for annihilation of millions and another gobbling up of nations by violence around the world. Communist revolutionaries’ vehement hatred and vicious attack on Christianity is a principal pillar of their motivation. Wherever communist revolution is successful Christians are annihilated and rivers of blood flow endlessly. Biblical scholars have mapped Communism emergence & its anti-Christian persecutions to Revelation 12: 3 - 4.

What is instructive is that this revolution didn’t come out of the blue but is rather a deliberate geopolitical calculation and geostrategy of death invested by Germany, UK and United States. This narrative is contrary to dominant accounts imposed upon the commons. Lenin received his millions from Germany in advance. The brunt of that revolution is currently felt around the world as a transformation in ignorance. Its main tenet of atheistic materialism has become global mainstream economic and social policies with negative impacts on human life, family, relationships, accumulation, economy & consumerism.

2017 will also be the 100^th anniversary of the apparition of Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima Portugal. Biblical scholars map the even on Revelation 12: 1. This is an impressive event in the life of the world because among other things this august prophet of God predicted 1917 Russia Bolshevik communist revolution before it took place. It was only a matter of months before Imperial Russia gave way to the blood-thirsty revolutionaries who devoured a 3^rd of the world for more than 70 years. 

This same apparition predicted with accuracy the end of WW1 and start of WW2 on the condition that the world stop anti-God and anti-human activities. She predicted that defiance of heaven by man will usher in a new deadlier conflict and confirmed in advance with a sign in northern hemisphere skies which took place on 25/01/1938. Interestingly in the same 1938 Germany moved on Sudetenland, former Czechoslovakia and on Poland in 1939 while Spain and Portugal were spared the deadly conflagration. Why was Spain and Portugal spared?

Lastly 2017 will be the 70^th anniversary of the initiation of proceedings by the United Nations towards the creation of Israel in Palestine. This is highly significant in geopolitical and geostrategic terms. On this point hangs the veracity of previous examples and anniversaries because of its uniqueness. Its Christo-biblical footprint is indisputable because it was predicted at least over 2000 years in advance as scholars mapped it on Daniel 9: 25, Matthew 24: 32 – 34.

It is the first time a nation with clear territorial layout that lost her independence thousands of years hence was restored compared the generalist comparisons of a world always in conflict and in flux. The emergence of Israel following her 1947 pre-independence notice at the world stage in the grand schemes of geopolitics calls for serious attention and focus. More so the decade is already shaping up for important eschatological events. 

Russia’s formal military entrance into the Arab world, an erstwhile US ‘backyard’ is significant and non-trivial considering Russia’s longevity and relationship with Arab states. It is a first and an evidence of US decline and formal eclipse of Arab world. Furthermore latest Russia’s accurate and successful deployment of cruise missiles on Syrian targets from medium sized vessel in Caspian Sea has serious geopolitical and geostrategic implications at least for United States and for development of blue water navy in general.

Therefore 2017 is shaping up for bigger things and Christo-biblical data backs it up because of its dependability, reliability and consistency. 

Conclusion

As this decade continues to display touches of flux and uncertainty, geopolitical and geostrategic planning of countries will follow similar patterns. Stockpile of negative and regressive outcomes indicate among other things dearth of ideas or refusal to confront new realities constructively. In terms of reference time of current and new plans, avoidance or deliberate refusal to consider Christo-biblical data and sources may prove to be unwise and counter-productive especially for geopolitical experts, geostrategists and geopolitical scenario planners of so-called advanced countries. 

NB: All biblical references are sourced from Douai Rheims Version.

Positive Catharsis Towards Refloating Imo State

Introduction

A new nuance is required and a new reality is descending regarding Imo State political discourse. This reality is born out of a consensus that regression has taken hold and known secular mechanisms of transformation have failed Imo State. As a result the purpose of this piece is to move further beyond platitudes and commence tentative steps in developing the concept of Geospirituality (geopolitics reflecting spirituality of variables/events/processes) as a panacea to leadership problem of Imo State. No doubt a spectre is haunting Imo State, the solution is known and deliberately ignored. This solution is now offered in full.

Crucible of Disaster

History has confirmed that after the civilian administration of Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, Imo State has continued on a regressive and downward trend. Even erstwhile political opponents of Chief Mbakwe have reversed their conclusion to acknowledge that the territorial integrity and dignity of the peoples contained is abused. On almost every indicator or comparative index imaginable in the last 3 decades, Imo State continues to lag behind global standards. The most disturbing issue is the acceptance and melding of the negative practices and experiences as the norm. Thus Imo State becomes an exclusive space of abnormality. A recent article in one of the dailies summarised this abnormality turned into norm.

Spatial Pattern of Political Experience

The confusion projected by failed expectation has the tendency of either increasing the scope alternative positive outcome or impose a depressed outlook for the majority where a laboured point of a single positive initiative turns into object of melodrama by failed leadership. For bruised and battered citizens though almost hopeless care less about the state, its operatives and its existence as a reliable vehicle of positive transformation. Such lethargy extends its grip in the usual conclusion that experience is not unique rather a dominant variable in the geopolitical neighbourhood. 

Intellectually, this is akin to the First Law of Geography which states that "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things”. This implies without context that if excellence and ugly variables at a give time take root in a part of the neighbourhood then the rest are condemned to be infected. Of course evidence that this is not always the case exist, exceptions emerge. Variables are also disaggregated and differential to give room for wider interpretation and performance. In the case of Imo State, the question will be if ugliness of leadership is the neighbourhood norm, how ugly is Imo State ugliness?

Let us take two variables. Based on various sources, it is established that pensions and salaries respectively have not been paid in full to recipient for more than 3 months. It could be longer but not less. This is not an unusual trend and this in no way suggest acceptance rather express an observation that has dominated over time. In a sense Imo State is now known as a space for non-payment of pensions and salaries. A great shame! If pensions and salaries cannot be paid, then which process can be designed and executed with efficiency?

Pan-African Regression

One of the most ignored dimensions of the sadness emerging from poor leadership is the erroneous assumption that awareness of malfeasance in this part of Africa is restricted to it geography. This is untrue, rather is given vent and ammunition to the long conclusion by global stakeholders that Africans cannot get their acts together. This example also testifies the difficulty of convincing anyone in Diaspora, Africa, Europe, Asia and South America that something positive with wider geographical footprint is emerging from Africa & Africans within. This is public relations disaster sustained!

While all Africans or all Nigerians cannot be tarnished by Imo State experience of the current regime form of governance, the citizens and stakeholders carry a huge burden individually and collectively. This unenviable task is no less painful as much of the anticipated decision on the next move and how to execute it becomes problematic. It is also difficult to even suggest which other option remains on the table in the confirmed event of a failed state. 

The pain is equally inflamed by glorious histories of past achievements including recent past heroic contributions by Ndigbo of this part towards Nigerian independence, actions in the short-lived Republic of Biafra and during the resulting war with Nigeria. It seemed like these events never happened, that these sacrifices are nought and a people no longer exist since they can no longer achieve. Rather a stupid narrative is taking hold lauding progressive individuals at the expense of a devastated collective on a backward match under a culture that is increasing accepting regression as ideal and positive transformation as anathema. 

Failed Solutions

There is no secular solution to the leadership problem in Imo State. Democracy as a secular god will not deliver Imo State, therefore more or less of it will make no visible change. This is not only a given, it is an established fact. The problem is quite deep and entrenched that soft processes are eviscerated while majority are misled to pay attention to physical maldevelopment.  While spatial distribution of various variables of physical maldevelopment has increased; efficiency, reliability, accountability and values remains sub-standard, qualitatively abhorrent and simply insulting to our collective dignity.

Confronting Forces of Power

One of the main issues confronting post-independent Africa is preponderance of ignorance especially intellectuals on the nature of temporal power i.e. political power. For the majority brought up on malevolent diet of ‘technical education’ laced in cultural amnesia & western democracy potion, they have a romantic and utopian view of power where all boxes are ticked and the power machine swings into action with expected results. They always looking North attesting to the ‘beauties’ of democracy in the United States blindly avoiding its genocidal stamp and to European dalliance while absolving its centuries of industrial killings of the innocent. These unfortunate testaments of minds born in suppress contradictions and uncontested impositions compound basic awareness of unique history, unique environments and the special role of time. 

Power of any form is contested by vested interests and vested interests commit fully to the pursuit of power through formidable vehicles of which opposition is only tolerated as the environment permits. The vested interests are interlocking networks of individuals mostly men who maximise their position, knowledge, awareness and above popular ignorance over time to converge around instruments of power through the economic, political, military and cultural dimensions of a state. For them power is a zero-sum game, there is no opposition, there is no dissent and there is no compromise. 

There is no romance in the pursuit of power regardless of its ideology or disposition or configuration of the political system. Power is not about systems, it is about domination of the majority with any means necessary including investment in dark/satanic forces of this world. No person or group of persons shares or gives up power without defiant struggle at times to the death. The question now is why is power the object for struggle and fatal consequences? This is a question Imo State citizens refuse to confront? Furthermore this is a question for majority of Imo State citizen who proclaim Christianity as faith. 

Subterfuge of Separation of Church & State

Either a person is Christian or not. One is by virtue of baptism and/or turned blind or ignorant through failure to accept the positive implications of baptism. The last 500 years opened a rupture in the erstwhile dominance of power in the western world and former powers linked to the Church was overthrown violently imposing a new order which at its core is the elimination of Jesus Christ (not just any God) in the affairs of man.  You read of Rights of Man, what of Rights of God? 

Organised programme of usurpation completed the rounds with Bolshevik Revolution which overthrew Russian Empire under Tsar Nicholas in 1917.  Pay attention to the fact that no viable Catholic monarch exists in Europe! This disposition was codified in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. This is the point which is lost to many Christians. Who doesn’t want Jesus Christ in the affairs of the State and will not be or represent his opposite? Who is the opposite of Christ who is not satanic?

Many claim ‘separation of Church & State’ as US patrimony but who wrote her constitution and why did the writers who claimed to profess Christianity eliminated God from it? If there is only one Faith/Religion of Christ at the time, who/what was the competing religion/god warranting Christ’s elimination or equalisation with another? What secret spiritual association did writers of US constitution belong to? Whose interest were they serving by banishing God from their constitution if they were so much of Christians? If they were Christians i.e. US a Christian State, why build a statue to Liberty in New York rather than to Christ? Ignorance kills generations! Hosea (4:6) was and is on the money!

There are many Christians in Imo State who among them probably possess highest accolade in learning from prestigious universities around the world including leaders. Their full expression of Christian spirituality is arid or morbid in their expressions and they fall hook, line and sinker to deceptions in the name of intellectual progress. Unfortunately they fail miserably to notice a raging spiritual war which is waged for the total dominance of temporal/political power which determines the direction of economy, education, culture, family, environment and practically everything is shaped. This spiritual war continues to haemorrhage Imo State citizens of dignity, honour and integrity while they blindly pontificate woefully on their bondage.

In Imo State like in many other parts of the world, vested interests with their interlocking network of powerful individuals mostly men with determined and formidable anti-Christian credentials have come to dominate political power. They have also sent the so-called Christians into submission, fear and panic to the point that no productive initiative in employed to counter the offensive based on the promise of their master, Jesus Christ. What may seem easy like taking over the public space at a given period for expression of the same faith is avoided. What is clear is that Christians in Imo State for the most part are ignorant, disorganised and dislocated. Many so-called Christians waste time tearing themselves on minor differences rather than converge on their common raison d’être, body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. 

As a result of this strategic disorganisation, Imo State leadership will be dominated by the opposition. By opposition is implied those who see God of Jesus Christ, His Church and His Laws as obstacle to their enterprise. The inaction of Christian leadership to deliberate, plan, decide and deploy effectively the spiritual weapon systems to counter regressive leadership in Owerri simply puts Imo State on the reverse for many years to come.  

It is important to ask Christians in Imo State, “How did Emperor Constantine take power in Rome in 312 AD? How did 313 AD Edict of Milan come about which legitimised for the first time the Faith and Church in Roman Empire after almost 300 years of persecution?”

Rise and Shine

Imo State belongs to Christ. Public confirmation and consolidation process must start in Owerri. The state which belongs to her citizens who claim to belong to Christ therefore belongs to the same Christ and doesn’t need any act of law for citizens to justify the ownership or to reclaim it if they have faith. Does the Imo Christian what he/she has in Jesus Christ?

The only hope for real progress and genuine transformation in Imo State will emerge from effective, active & collective leadership of the Church including Catholic & non-Catholic. Clear understanding of a problem allows room for seeking for solution and effectively deployment of the solutions. The Church doesn’t lack weapons of Love, Hope and Faith but spiritual blindness, laziness and attention to material things have become cancers against real evangelisation and conversion. The Church is the true vehicle of signs of wonders which continue to the present day. If Christ is the same yesterday and today, the perceived absence of miracle flows from a lack of faith and in a case confirm a shameful contradiction.

Therefore there is need for new mobilisation by the highest leadership of the Church in Imo State to contain & reverse the current phase of spiritual war taking place before their noses. No amount of PhD will diminish this fact, no amount of intellectual reflection will eliminate it and the crisis will be sustained in part by defiance or repression of the Holy Spirit within the Church. It is sad that the Church today especially in worship seem light years away from post-resurrection, biblical and ante-Nicene Church worship where signs, wonders and miracles were the norm.  Most Christians in Imo State may not have observed signs, wonder & miracles in the Church, and may even accept their impossibility. A sad state of spiritual affairs! 

Imo State will not move forward until the Church unleashes her weapons effectively to win the latest round of a devastating spiritual war. This is the truth, no ifs and no buts! Ignore it to your peril!

The Spectre of Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Contradictions

Introduction

There is a new wind in the air. It is a hopeful air. This type of air is refreshing and has always being around but mostly underground and trampled upon for nearly 2 generations until recently. Whether this air will take-off, consolidate and sustain in the medium term is open to debate since the contours of its execution is unclear. Nevertheless there is an incentive to chase this air, the anti-corruption air, towards greater appreciations of the contradictions rather an unwarranted criticism.

The Signpost

Nigeria has been in existence for over a century mostly in a truncated form for the majority. This truncation continues to expand in complexity despite all political engineering and social reconfigurations. For most citizens in the last generation, one thing is very clear; Nigeria is not working. Why? One word, corruption! It is the elephant in the room, so mighty and untouchable, difficult to define and easy to identify. Unlike other colourless gases, its smell is essentially high -scent cutting across every nested geography, every space, every discussion and every process hence contaminating everything in its sway. Corruption became comfortable, relaxed and consolidated that any reference to its cancerous nature is dismissed in distasteful reversal of value. The word ‘probe’ is anathema!

Political Elite vs. Commons

The commons consists all citizens of Nigeria across all ethnic nations, states and local governments in the land including all religious persuasions and none. This special majority has been on the receiving end of corruption emanating from machination eviscerating national resources, public services and infrastructure. These are the innocent people and their families who are repeatedly raped of resources, their rights, their privileges and their expectations. Every justification is projected as excuse, while they are noxiously fed with subterfuge under ethnic politics, religious misadventure, geographical mash-up and comprehensive dehumanisation. Their afflictions, denials and abuse are innumerable and incalculable. They hopefully settle in the no-man’s land of ‘suffering and smiling’.

The political elite and their acolytes in their absolute minority have innovatively hoodwinked time to blindness and assured inaction of the commons and or alternative forces with potential to upset and challenge their divine right of valorisation. Like all masters of wealth accumulation, there is an unabashed display of regressive processes and association of immorality within and beyond the shores. 

They have even disavowed their own codes of conduct, have lost track of their accumulation and continue to defy law of history that things will remain quiet ad infinitum. They are careless and do not care less! These are men and women who elevated into privilege, arrogant politicians/non-politicians, with good formal education, international (western) exposure, brainwashed sense of history and confidence that they are the state.

One can safely map the constellation of National Peace Committee select members that recently paid an ill-fated visit to the President as political elite per excellence.

Real vs. Imagined

Since there is near-absence of investigation and successful prosecution of alleged corruption agents in Nigeria bar 1983 – 1985, the current air of anti-corruption seem surreal. This is driven in the commons by simple facts which have not produced any difference from the erstwhile face of anti-corruption. The template goes thus; softening up the commons with media noise, then selective arrests by anti-corruption agencies, media-blazed detention/interrogation and finally glorious bailout and non-prosecution.

The new administration has commenced similar pattern with a combination of dismissals, loading the media with numbers, minimum arrests and suggestion of bigger things to come. What they are doing no one knows, but there is a clear emergence of the Presidency as the pivot of reversals. The legislature and judiciary seem not be in tandem and this is foreboding. A current search for uncontaminated members of the judiciary towards prosecution of allegation is poignant. Even judges are in the act!

Will it happen? Only time will tell, the commons will continue to watch the scene from a safe contextual distance. Anti-corruption is a huge project and the commons hope the benefits of governance will final reach them while the dividends of anti-corruption especially successful prosecution become reality.

Implosion of Party Political

Given the style of the current administration and what constitutes selective ambiguity, a soft landing may be speculated. It is also clear that the presidency is moving towards a powerful isolated institution far higher in pedigree. This development doesn’t hide emerging bulge of contradictions in both praxis and delivery. The implication is obvious if the speculated anti-corruption transforms into a potent corrective force. Such powerful corrective force will surely target alleged corrupt regardless of party affiliation.

Such development is foreboding for senior members of APC. While they are currently on the sunny side of electoral success, the cameo of being the ruling party will evaporate when an equipped anti-corruption engine comes home. As the stalwarts (not all of them) are gradually indicted, prosecuted and jailed, the political landscape for party realpolitik is bound to change even though the degree is unclear.  There is no point making references to PDP since it is currently depleted by self-victimhood and persecution complex.

Godfathers, godmothers and political irokos across the board may move steps ahead by changing the rule of the game through machination by proxy like underground operation of mafia. This will be successful to the extent that the rule of law on political party activities is abused rather than observed. The interesting part of the narrative is that based on natural decrease and over-reach, most of the current political heavyweights of PDP & APC are on their way out.

Finally..More than Mere Voter

It will be disingenuous to assume that the commons are getting carried away in so far as suggestion of anti-corruption is sufficient. Such is position is similar to the ongoing purchase by generation-long corrupters. In any case the commons are far more nuanced to understand the complexity of any serious undertaking and its success as a correlate of time including the glaring contradictions of the presidency. 

One will conclude that the presidency is aware of the common’s prying eyes on her every move, shake, compromise, subterfuge and retreat while awaiting the hammer of successful prosecution. If the presidency fails to live up to the commons billing, the head will surely face the boiling vitriol borne with inter-generational pain. How the vitriol will be delivered is beyond the knowledge and comprehension of this writing.