Nigeria: NaijaLeaks that did not make the headlines

Lost influence despite historical ties

Back to the bottom of the pot scrapes of WikiLeaks on Nigeria, the NaijaLeaks; the ones that did not make the headlines.

In February 2009, a cable was dispatched with concerns about Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) lack of clear policy with regards to Nigeria; this was specified by “citing Nigeria’s significant financial links to the UK, large Diaspora community, and energy potential.” Cable Referenced.

Apparently, with the turmoil in the Niger Delta and issues of corruption it was suggested that the HMG’s capacity for political analysis was both “weak and shallow”.

Now, considering the historical ties between Britain and Nigeria, it is interesting that the Americans appear to have more of an insight into happenings in Nigeria and have a better intelligence gathering network embedded in the country.

Terrorist threats in Nigeria

There have been quite a number of religious sectarian attacks and violence in Nigeria, in June 2009, one cable suggests plans for a massive terrorist attack as the text below shows.

¶26. (S//NF) Nigeria - Extremists believed to be planning a massive terrorist attack: (S//REL TO USA, FVEY) Tearline states, "Unspecified extremist groups, suspected to be operating in concert with Nigerian Shi'ites, Salafiya, or Muhammad Yusuf's Nigerian Taliban are reportedly planning to launch a massive surprise attack on some piece of critical infrastructure or against high-profile targets within Nigeria.

Probable targets of this attack include top Nigerian Government officials or security agents. Members of the general public, who might be opposed to the attackers' doctrines, were also believed to be possible targets. This planned attack is reportedly aimed at sparking sectarian clashes across Nigeria."

¶27. (S//NF) DS/TIA/ITA cannot immediately corroborate the current threat with additional intelligence. While no connection can be made between this threat and previous reports, DS/TIA/ITA is concerned about recent activity surrounding extremists associated with the Nigerian Taliban. Cable Referenced.

It goes on to suggest that a Chadian terrorist might be involved and a number of speculative and circumstantial opinions are proffered which is exposed that the time could have had dire consequences for volatile regions under sectarian tensions as well as created diplomatic concerns with Nigerian-Chadian relations.

The Shi’ite connection also links up with the concern about Iranian influence in Nigeria, most especially with news about arms imports from Iran. [1]

Jobs for life for Nigerians

However, it makes such interesting reading that for all the hard and sweaty jobs some Nigerian people rise up for in the early mornings in Europe and America others are living large in Arabian opulence where the external façade of Wahhabist restraint and fundamentalism gives way to a secret debauched and wild partying crowd of sheiks up to unspeakable conduct.

One cable says, It is common practice for Saudi princes to grow up with hired bodyguards from Nigeria or other African nations who are of similar age and who remain with the prince well into adulthood. They are called “khawi,” derived from the Arabic word “akh,” meaning “brother.” The lifetime spent together creates an intense bond of loyalty. Cable Referenced

A lifetime together almost makes one wonder about the supposed closeness and that terrifyingly nasty case of servant abuse that was in the courts in the UK where a Saudi prince murdered his aide [2] who was believed to be a sexual slave.

The darker tanned Bandar Abdulaziz was probably of African origin and though he did not look like bodyguard material, history of Arab being involved in African slave trade and the contemporary situation of hiring them as sexual pleasure units, bodyguards or servants seems to be corroborated by the cable.

I have had offers to work in the Arabian peninsula and really, I have never been fully persuaded especially if the job for life was terminated with a homicide.

Sources

[1] BBC News - Iranian man charged in Nigeria over arms shipment

[2] Saudi prince guilty of servant's murder | UK news | The Guardian

Nigeria: The "success" of the Jeddah delegation

The search party

The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) risks a state of myopic closed-mindedness having first spearheaded the consideration that the President be declared missing on medical grounds and search party be instituted to ascertain his whereabouts.

The Federal House of Representatives instituted a “search party” of sorts to seek out the President comprised of members of the House rather than some special composition prescribed by HURIWA.

All but one of the selected members were able to make the journey to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the one being an unmarried lady would have been disqualified for visa requirements to Saudi Arabia even if she had presented her diplomatic passport rather than her Nigerian passport, but that was beside the point.

The host of delegates and President

The team arrived in Jeddah and would have by reasons of protocol been guests of the most senior Nigerian official in Saudi Arabia, that being the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The Ambassador would also have been the recognised host of the Nigerian President by our standards of protocol just as the President would have been a guest of the Saudi Arabian government by reason of his visiting the country in his capacity as the Nigerian President with the purported aim of opening a university in Saudi Arabia when he made his journey in November 2009.

As representatives of the Nigerian legislature visiting Saudi Arabia, the Ambassador would have known the main purpose of that entourage, to have at most an audience with the President of Nigeria or at least an observation of the President.

Inability to facilitate

For the first three days of that visit, the Ambassador who politically, legally and technically was host to the Nigerian President and the delegation from the House of Representatives could not facilitate an audience, an observation, a conversation or contact by all seemingly possible means with the Nigerian President.

As the reports go, the Ambassador tried to distract the delegation from their tasks by offering better accommodation, religious perks and tourist attractions which the delegation ably declined so as not be to distracted from their purpose and be compromised on their mission – that might call for some commendation.

Juliet not Jezebel

In any case, they eventually met with the First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua who from all indications was forlorn but hopeful, distressed but prayerful and so very aware of the condition of her husband.

The condition we can safely say could not be observed by persons who were not close family, by deduction one might surmise and aver that the President was in no condition to be seen for an audience or basic observation and probably in intensive care of some sort.

It is even possible that the President might not even be in the condition to see his wife, recognise her and consequently converse coherently with her – the picture painted of the situation reveals a lady who is a Juliet rather than a Jezebel – this is no woman scheming to retain the trappings of power and influence, I would suggest this lady just wants her Romeo back, alive, strong, able and responsive.

Those opportunists

The unfortunate thing is the faceless mandarins pulling the levers of power were already aware of her preoccupation with the health of her husband but conveniently co-opted her name and supposed influence to mask their conspiratorial Machiavellian activities.

It cannot be safely said those people were rooting for President Yar’Adua by any stretch of the imagination, but as long as they could keep us all in limbo about the state of the President they could pretend to have the eyes, ears and blessing of the President and his wife to run roughshod over the Nigerian Constitution and the Nigerian people.

A useful visit

That delegation by not being able to see the President through lawfully constituted provisions of assignment, protocol and purpose proved that the President not being available to meet under every possible circumstance was probably too incapacitated for himself, talk less of the office he had so far held.

For that reason, I do not believe that meeting was a wasteful and fruitless journey as HURIWA clamours. Regardless of the developments that have since ensued, the deduction HURIWA should have made should have been closer to recognising these circumstances rather than raising an unnecessary ruse which in my view leaves them open to myopic closed-mindedness as I said in my introduction.

God bless Nigeria

Until President Yar’Adua can be presented for observation, conversation and audience in contemporary settings as I suggested in my blog of January the twelfth Nigeria: Put Yar’Adua on screen today! – he is just incapable of appearing in public, he is also incapable of his public and his inability to be a public figure for what other unstated reasons means he is currently unable to be President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

We still genuinely wish him a speedy and full recovery, but the ship of state cannot be permanently moored in foreign docks, there are stormy seas to traverse with essential cargo for the purpose of building the motherland – Nigeria needs to move on.

God save the President, but more so, God bless Nigeria with capable leaders.

General Sources

(1) SaharaReporters – HURIWA asks Speaker Dimeji Bankole to refund Saudi trip’s expenses

(2) SaharaReporters – House delegation returns empty-handed: Yar'Adua very sick, isolated and abandoned in Jeddah

(3) 234Next – Lawmakers to account for failed mission

(4) Akin.blog-city.com - Nigeria: Put Yar’Adua on screen today!

Nigeria: A very welcome reprieve

Ambassadors at work

I am pleased to write this blog today as news reaches me that 29 condemned Nigerians [1] in Thailand and Afghanistan have been reprieved.

In this vein, I must congratulate the Nigerian official representations in those countries for the laudable activity in compassionate diplomacy that is beginning to give value, concern and dignity to the lives of Nigerians with a burden of criminality.

This development is heartening because it begins to show the world that we would not allow Nigerians to be sacrificed as severe punishment fodder and consequently the scapegoats for deterrence to other nationalities.

Every Nigerian must have a right to life regardless of where they are and what offence they might have committed - every attempt must be made to ensure that Nigerian rights are protected, defended and respected in both a judicial sense and to some extent in a show of humanitarian compassion where legal process has been exhausted.

Commuted to serve at home

Just over a month ago, 2 Nigerians were executed for trafficking heroin and it appeared not enough had been done to ensure that they were not poster advertisements to commemorate [2] the UN anti-Drugs Day 2008.

In having had these sentences commuted, they would all be deported to Nigeria where they are supposed to serve out their sentences.

I cannot say that the conditions in Nigerian prisons would be better than those of the countries in which they committed their crimes, but being alive and not under the sentence of a possibly gruesome death is probably the beginning of rehabilitation.

There is however much more to do in this matter, countries like Indonesia [3], Singapore [4] and Saudi Arabia [5] butcher our countrymen like cattle within their at times questionable judicial systems, there must be an end to this.

The dangers of irregular migration

I am quite interested in the root cause analysis that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in embarking on which is to highlight the dangers of irregular migration [6] which leads to avoidable deaths [7] in the treacherous waters that separate Africa from Europe.

Obviously, people who embark on such escapades have the compelling impression that there is a better life and a world of opportunities in the lands they seek to reach.

The causes of irregular migration

This means that the work of the government, business leaders and political representation must be geared to make Nigeria a viable place to keep its human resources and talent such that those dreamy faraway places where money appears to fall off trees becomes less attractive to adventurous sojourns.

The other issue is the hedonistic tendency to the ostentatious display of wealth as a confirmation of status in society; there is no doubt that this practice is primitive and uncouth – it sets the worst examples of aspiration amongst the youth in conditions and communities that desperately eke out an existence in dire situations.

Curtailing the inducements

Whilst one cannot legislate against hedonism, we need to work towards ensuring that anyone who intends to put up a show of wealth must also have clearly audited and legal sources of the same; failing which, all that wealth should be confiscated and put to use within the communities they intend to show off to.

In any case, the reprieve is the greater news of this blog, but the fact is, if we are to persuade more countries not to shoot up more Nigerians for whatever crimes; taking capital punishment off our law books would be a good start for negotiations.

Sources

[1] The Punch: 29 condemned Nigerians in Thailand, Afghanistan get reprieve

[2] BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Nigerians executed in Indonesia

[3] allAfrica.com: Sourced from Daily Champion - Nigeria: 70 Citizens Await Execution in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia

[4] BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Singapore executes drug smugglers

[5] Five Pakistanis, Nigerian executed in Saudi - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[6] allAfrica.com: Sourced from ThisDayOnline.com - Nigeria: 29 Condemned in Thailand, Afghanistan Get Reprieve

[7] theage.com.au: Illegal immigrants targeting Italy - Breaking News - World - Breaking News

Don't name the teddy bear

Emotional religious agitation

This is sometimes a minefield in which a minesweeper would be blown to smithereens. The standards and rules that govern the interpretation of religious norms or in this case whims.

So suddenly in the last few years the sensibilities of certain old Middle-Eastern religions have been so easily bruised that our modern and civilised world is dragged back to the middle-ages of hysteria and histrionics fuelled by unscrupulous leaders of thought who test their influence by inflaming the mob.

This was evidenced in the cartoon riots of last year where I wrote a series of blogs starting with one which seeks a humorous God, a God that can laugh and sometimes laughs at the delusions of puny human-beings.

Flags in wrong places?

One nation belies a readiness for controversy and contempt by having symbols of God on its flag; they condone the trampling and burning of other nation’s flags and it would be unthinkable the outrage that would be mustered if the same action is meted out on their flag.

The mob was then gathered to protest the presence of the Saudi Arabian flag amongst all other world flags painted on footballs donated to Afghan kids. One would think the anger should have been directed at the Saudis for creating a situation where the symbols of faith might be denigrated in unintended and benign circumstances.

Naming a teddy

However, nowhere has this religiosity taken on a more bizarre twist than when a teddy bear named after a child in a class which by happenstance is the name of the prophet – the teacher of that class is now in danger of a fine, corporal punishment and jail.

The charge sheet reads like we have a terrorist on the loose; insulting religion – in the 21^st Century? Showing contempt for religious beliefs – one wonders what is more contemptible the reaction or the lack of a global authority on the core elements of Islam apart from reading the biorhythms of the local imam who feels to excite his people to insurrection rather than exhort them to peaceful co-existence in a global village?

Obviously, we can ignore the sentiment that the said teacher had left the enlightenment of the West to help children in a war-torn region realise a place in our global village – but that is of no significance – enlightenment in an educational setting takes second-place to religious temperament which is never subject to logic, common-sense or reason – it is the supreme fount of discord.

Taking apologies for God

Whilst international condemnation has been made of this absurd tendency to be offended in general without being essentially committed to the real tenets of the faith, the idea that an apology can be made to assuage tension is interesting.

Someone somewhere seems to be able to take apologies for God or the prophet – it reminds me of one story in the Bible where the people took so much offence at the breaking down of the altar to their symbol of worship; reason seeped into the reckoning and the people were persuaded that if that god was so angered, the god might as well visit wrath on the offender - thereby people can still be at peace with each other and that very powerful god can show strength that would bring enemies to their knees in worship and obeisance.

It might be so easy to say that these mobs are technically taking on themselves personification of God or the prophet for the self-aggrandisement – it does nothing to promote their religion; rather it heaps opprobrium from possible adherents on their faith, beliefs, convictions, integrity and allows all to question their sanity.

The NOT dogma

What we have is a simplistic dogma codified in – see not, touch not, feel not, hear not, read not, think not, write not, draw not and speak not – obviously, this means no one gets offended and surely no progress in humanity and we recede to the stone age from whence we came – it does not augur well at all.

Are we on the path to true religion when we pander to such dark-age inquisitions masquerading as holy anger that simply is public insurrection by those too idle to do worthwhile things in their communities and for humanity at large?

Addendum

That Bible story (Judges 6:28-32) The Message version.

28 Early in the morning, the people in town were shocked to find Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it chopped down, and the prime bull burning away on the altar that had been built.

29 They kept asking, "Who did this?"

Questions and more questions, and then the answer: "Gideon son of Joash did it."

30 The men of the town demanded of Joash: "Bring out your son! He must die! Why, he tore down the Baal altar and chopped down the Asherah tree!"

31 But Joash stood up to the crowd pressing in on him, "Are you going to fight Baal's battles for him? Are you going to save him? Anyone who takes Baal's side will be dead by morning. If Baal is a god in fact, let him fight his own battles and defend his own altar."

32 They nicknamed Gideon that day Jerub-Baal because after he had torn down the Baal altar, he had said, "Let Baal fight his own battles."

My reading of this is simple, someone caused great religious offence that the adherents were ready to go out and kill the offender - reason intervened – let that religious entity fight its own battles if it feels so offended.

Sometimes, we need to let God, Mohammed, Jesus or whoever else we dare to worship fight their own battles rather than allow ourselves to become instruments of riot, death and discord.

All before noon and not after

Bolton Bolts

The least celebrated and most controversial appointment in George W. Bush’s tenure has handed in his resignation having not been able to persuade the UN Security Council of the need impose sanctions on Iran.

As it transpired, Iran already has its nuclear weapons and in what might seems like a sick joke; Iran not having a Bikini Atoll or some remote Nevada desert has been conducting nuclear tests underground resulting in the increased seismic activity of earth movement and collateral damage.

It begins to make sense why Americans have been allowed to participate in relief efforts that might reveal a lot more than the suffering of the people.

Osama lives in Omaha

Another development sees Osama bin Laden who has acquired both a new identity and is under Interpol witness protection about to blow his cover.

This is because whilst we have been informed that he is a frail man needing dialysis in the mountains of Tora Bora, he is in fact hale and hearty in America enjoying the pleasures of the good life of a multi-millionaire, well especially if you have shares in Beckshire Hathaway.

This is because he was instrumental in creating a presidency of seriously big government from a conservative party which has through the events of September the eleventh been able to pre-occupy us with a war on terror and abrogate every liberty, freedom and right we fought for over the Twentieth Century subsuming it to the need for national security and enforcing it through patriotism.

The new powwow

It would have been impossible to imagine that a president of George W. Bush’s calibre in 2000 would have been able to pull off a feat of untrammelled executive power without the concerted liaison with Osama bin Laden.

It is no wonder now, that more people than lost their lives or got injured in the twin towers have been recorded in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Blowing his cover now would completely upset the balance of power, history and the New World Order. However, who would not acquiesce to this temptation just as Iraq seeks a new leader in Osama bin Laden, whilst the Washington Post and Fox TV have linked up with two Deep Throats with evidence to make the markets go up in a frenzy of agitated abandon.

Euro Bureau rejects cheap dollar

This is not helped by the fact that the great budget deficit is beginning to impact on the balance of trade such that Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iran and Venezuela has decided to trade their oil in Euros, abandoning the dollar in such a way that China now has to devalue the Yuan to maintain global competitiveness.

The Congress is apoplectic with rage but powerless to act as a few senior senators and representatives were caught on camera protecting the Southern border from invading Mexicans by shooting them in the river as they crossed.

After noon, it is all over

Well, if we really did have a new world order, it would be over by noon.

However, beyond noon, in another life, I would have been a godfather and my goddaughter would be four today.

Happy Birthday dear and to others – It is only April Fool’s day.