Nigeria: Ribadu and kids get bundled out of NIPSS graduation

The law of the Slave Coast

If there is any need for proof that Nigeria is operating in the realms of the law of Slave Coast one should look no further than this event.

Whilst I am of the opinion that Sahara Reporters [1] can be too sensational for my liking, they seem to be getting scoops about events in Nigeria that make you think again about whether there really is a democracy in that country.

The news is that the erstwhile chairman of the EFCC – Nuhu Ribadu – who was unceremoniously removed to embark on a course, demoted to a position which would have made his attendance of the course incompatible two-thirds through the course has now been barred from graduating [2] from the course on completion.

Barred is a polite expression, in fact, he was bundled [3] out the auditorium of the graduation ceremony whilst the miscreants of the state apparatus manhandled his wife, his six children and the guests who came to celebrate his graduation.

Do-or-die MO

Only two days before, he was cleared for graduation after numerous clandestine efforts by security agencies working under the auspices of persons in power to bar him from the NIPSS.

In fact, after the litany of harassments the man had been subjected to, one paper had already concluded that he had won the battle [4] only not to have anticipated that if the authorities cannot use legal means, cajole officials, threaten persons or suspend personnel, they would send in their brutes.

The authorities have a do-or-die modus operandi to get their way regardless of the means and ways to the contempt of any due process just because they have the power to act even if their acts are illegal. The fight to protect and enforce his rights [5] continues.

The fight against corruption

This man’s offence is to have doggedly pursued demigods in Nigeria who had abused their offices, looted the treasury but had beelines to the highest authorities in the country.

Ridding Nigeria of the malignant cancer of corruption is a dangerous task, lip-service is paid to the activity by the government as small fry become the banners of the exercise whilst the most corrupt seek to manipulate and frustrate the process.

This episode leaves one rather saddened by the developments on the Slave Coast [6], the country is receding into a state of lawlessness spearheaded by the Attorney-General – a whole series of stories appears on Sahara Reporters about how the fight against graft and corruption is being compromised.

Sahara Reporters – A worthy cause

In the West, a web site like Sahara Reporters [1] would have little credibility, but I am beginning to see the need for this kind of organisation in Nigeria.

The most populous democracy in Africa does not have the underpinning foundations necessary for a thriving democracy; our elections are hardly free and fair, the press is hardly free, the judiciary is under siege from vexatious legal manoeuvres seeking to undermine fairness and justice, the freedom of information act languishes in our legislative chambers.

There has to be an outlet for issues, events, episodes and stories that are inimical to the process and development of Nigeria, we cannot have situations where we all hope things would turn out right and then find that our leaders are in the middle of the mess that makes Nigeria worse than it should be.

If there were transparency in the matters of government and business, the need for Sahara Reporters would be moot, but in the absence of the freedom, boldness and courage of mainstream Nigerian media to report on controversial issues that expose people in power as unrepentantly corrupt but masquerading as respectable; a bit of guerrilla reporting as championed by Sahara Reporters is welcome and should be encouraged until things begin to improve in Nigeria.

The more those in power realise that the world of secrecy concerning their activities can only be perfected in the Great Beyond and that every little deal risks exposure if found to be slightly suspect, the greater the hope we can have of Nigeria coming back from the law of the Slave Coast.

Here’s to Sahara Reporters [1] – reluctantly but necessarily.

Sources

[1] Sahara Reporters : News, Interviews, Articles, Reports, Photos, Events and Happenings in Nigeria

[2] [UPDATED: Nuhu Ribadu Dragged Out Of NIPSS Graduation Hall: Sahara Reporters News

[3] The Punch: Security operatives whisk away Ribadu

[4] The Punch: Bitter memories as Ribadu graduates from NIPSS

[5] allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Court Grants Ribadu Leave to Enforce Rights

[6] Nigeria: Living on the Slave Coast [akin.blog-city.com]

Nigeria: Living on the Slave Coast

The need for civilisation

I have been unable to allude any of the historic events about the election of the first African-American to the highest office in America to any parallel or pending event in Africa.

Many have written about scenarios where an Obama might rise up amongst the people especially in Nigeria and I have come to the conclusion that we are too far off the mark for that kind of expectation.

Some are clamouring for a civil rights kind of movement, but we are yet to attain the level of civilisation that allows for the core of society to be persuaded of the higher ideals of the protection of rights and the enforcement of rights.

We live in the Slave Coast

In fact, the country might be Nigeria but it has yet to have a state of affairs apart from its original name – Slave Coast [1].

The Slave Coast is where people in power so reminiscent of slave owners can own the citizenry like slaves, deny them their rights, hold the whip hand and herd them as cattle whilst committing heinous crimes with impunity.

Fairness is alien, justice is an aberration, legal recourse is out of reach and none of the other slaves can raise their hands in protest without being whipped down, shot down and probably lynched by a cabal of other slave owners and their dogs.

At independence we had our emancipation proclamation [2] that attempted to reveal and assert our claims to responsible government but it is still like the wild West, a jungle where life and property has little value and the slave owner class are oblivious of how they lay waste human life and humanity for pleasure as they hold sway in power and abuse of privilege.

Slave owners rights of impunity

In Nigeria we assume that all men are created equal [3], but some are more equal than others, in fact, some portend to own the rest and seek to dominate the citizenry with the retribution of hard labour, poverty, sickness, corruption, nepotism, graft and every single activity that takes humanity into a dark rabid animal kingdom of dog-eat-dog, dog-eat-vomit and worse, because it is the Slave Coast.

This does not begin to depict the realities of the Slave Coast today, but the cry is going out loud and soon and very soon, maybe a Moses shall rise out of the slave owner class to deliver the slaves from this outrageous bondage.

Make way for the slave owner

The regression of Nigeria back to the Slave Coast is depicted in a most disturbing story that has been in the news for about a week.

A Rear Admiral in a convoy with a Bantustan-mentality complex tried to evade traffic by escort for whatever business he had to conduct when inadvertently a driver seemed to block their way [4].

The navy ratings in the convoy got out and accosted the driver who happened to be a lady, she was beaten with horsewhips, gun-butted, stripped naked and left for dead as the convoy went on their way – See the iReport recording [5] and weep.

I think I have made my case for the fact that a country where that can happen is far off from civilisation to even consider civil rights.

Inequalities and impunity

Now, I do not know what business the very important slave owner Rear Admiral was going to conduct that required that traffic be cleared off the road for him – if we had a decent transport policy, there would be no need to these big-man convoys which are a clear abuse of privilege.

We all urgently need to conduct our business; but it makes one wonder why because a person is a senior military officer, that person automatically has a greater right of way than other Nigerians except of course if we live in the Slave Coast.

The story says one of the navy ratings came out with a horsewhip – this was not a race course full of horses but a main road in the Slave Coast – I am amazed that military personnel are so readily primed for unnecessary aggression in service of their masters.

Apparently, the lady made a grab for the horsewhip and in the process, 6 men of the Slave Coast naval service beat her to a pulp, left her for dead, in the middle of the road and went on their way.

Between the law and lawlessness

In Nigeria, one would expect if someone obstructed an officer in their lawful access and duty, that person would be arrested, charged and arraigned before a court with a jury of peers to determine the case, but this is the Slave Coast where jungle justice is rife and barbarians in uniform run riot in seemingly civil society.

Meanwhile, where an officer and a gentleman who holds the exalted position of Rear Admiral would have prevented his underlings from indiscipline in a civilised society, this slave owner enjoyed the spectacle of meting out punishment to a helpless slave and could not have a care in the world for who she might be or if she survives the episode with her life intact.

Slaves do not have a right to life, if they live, they do not have a right to dignity, if they protest, the slave owner overrules and sets his dogs after the slave to be mauled to bits – it is the way of the Slave Coast – that is life.

The colour bar

The “colour bar” signs that segregate the slaves from the slave owners abound around the country – Officers Only, No right of way, Oil Money for the leaders, Free Speech at your peril, Hospitals closed to the poor, Power never available, Merit counts for nothing etc. etc.

We need a civilised country for us to get a Martin Luther King to lead civil rights marches before we can have a Barack Obama that inspires the people of one nation rather than discord of tribal savages to the greater goal of nation building.

Sadly, the Slave Coast is more than a haunting ghost in Nigeria; we are lead by uncivilised, uncultured and uncouth brigands whose slave owner mentality leaves Nigeria deeper in the Dark Continent than we thought we were.

Sources

[1] Slave Coast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[2] Emancipation Proclamation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[3] All men are created equal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[4] The Punch: A Rear Admiral and his boys’ shameless conduct

[5] Is this Democracy??? - iReport.com

Who are the Yoruba?

Dinner with new friends

I have questions, many questions and wonder where this would lead to. On the day of our arrival, there was a couple on the table beside ours who appeared very friendly that we had a few pleasant exchanges.

Then, the second night at dinner we were invited to a themed evening featuring Brazilian cuisine and we all obliged at which point I asked if we could share a table and they found that quite agreeable.

We met up just at the appointed time after I had a slight bathroom mishap which had just under 1 centimetre squared of skin scraped off my scalp in the process of balding my head.

Blood but no guts, a bit of alcohol and I was close to cresting a banshee octave, well, not really, but it was quite a burning sensation and then it clotted and I was fine.

Dancing with anthropology

So, both professors, one in anthropology and the other with a speciality in dance and interpretation covering classical, contemporary and Spanish dance. However, the most important part of this was the Cuban heritage which had obvious affiliation to the great dance diva Alicia Alonso.

The incredible linkage between dance and anthropology comes down to a more intriguing history of the Cubans and the dominance of Yoruba types and traditions which apparently are more advanced in Cuba than in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. However, a good deal of Yoruba culture is expressed in dance and music, but there is a whole area of academic study of crucial importance we native Yorubas need to explore.

These two men were quite versed in Yoruba history and mythology and more so exposed certain aspects of my ignorance of the culture of my forebears because of the way re-education and Western religious diktat have subsumed what essentially is our identity.

The dominance of the Yoruba

It would appear whilst lots of slaves were taken from the Slave Coast which was once the name of Southern Nigeria, that was not the only place where slaves were acquired, but when they arrived in the lands of bondage, the Yoruba culture and norms became the dominant expression for most slaves where in Cuba it was the least adulterated as opposed to the amalgam in Salvador de Bahia because of the suppression of cultures and traditions of the slaves in Brazil and the American South.

The Yoruba dialect spoken in Cuba is known as Lukumi which derives of Oluku mi, which finds equivalent meaning from the Ijebu dialect of Yoruba meaning “My friend” – See Church of the Lukumi.

The Yoruba identity

Now, there is no way we can talk of the Greek civilisation without strong allusions to their mythology, similarly, it would appear the whole essence of the Yoruba beyond just the language is expressed in our mythologies which feature more strongly in the Yoruba Diaspora which descends from the slaves than in the indigenous tribes back home, this is commonly known as Santeria (Cuba), Oyotunji (USA) or Candomblé (Brazil).

The Yoruba are essentially a very religious if not very spiritual people but the unrelenting encroachment of a brand of Christianity and modernism that subsumes our core identity into a non-descript amalgam of Judeo-Western interpretations which leaves us with just the language but no representative tradition and compellingly vibrant history is worrisome.

All probably is not lost because simplistically we do use Olorun (Ruler of heaven) or Olodumare in synonymy with the Supreme God, but we need to relate more of our understanding of our culture to our adopted religions, we cannot become a listless people or all that defines us would be lost.

Giving up ours for others?

Now, I am not saying Christianity is to blame for this, but if our culture by certain Christian or other religious teachings is supposedly inherently evil because the underpinning mythologies relate to gods called orishas what have we left of our customs after we leave the church, the mosque or some religious place of worship?

I am no expert in these matters, but I worry about these generalisations - the American brand of Christianity that promotes materialism, the African brand that expands on this materialism with an enemy round every corner and the European brand which is too liberal for the comfort of many.

It is time to go back to the things that make us a people who have a history that predates when slave traders came to take our ancestors away to lands so far away but after hundreds of years, that self-same ideal of what is Yoruba has survived the onslaught of slavery, racism, modernisation and religion.

I think the core of what is Yoruba is worth fighting for regardless of any other foreign religious beliefs we might have acquired.