Let me speak one more time in the name of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Obafemi Awolowo, Tai Solarin, and Ambrose Alli, good men traumatized in "General" Buhari's Gulag. We are being dishonest and I will not shy away from what must be said. I return to the ethnicity factor. It is particularly telling that Yoruba intellectuals have praised to high heavens, the Buhari pretend-candidacy and have stayed silent about Tinubu. Those that have rightly criticized Buhari as unfit for leadership have no record either of publicly taking Tinubu to task. My theory is that to the extent that he is doing their job, they will be silent about his misdeed and criminal acts. Tinubu is a convicted felon, parades around with forged academic credentials and is probably one of the top ten most corrupt leaders Nigeria has ever been cursed to know. You will not hear any of this from a Yoruba thinker, certainly not publicly. Those that complain of ehnic baiting have been loudly silent about the crass ethnic baiting and manipulation that the Buhari pretend-candidacy is all about. Having failed to install himself as vice-president, Tinubu installed a lackey to that position. That lackey is Yoruba. Tinubu wants a Yoruba presidency next, after pretending to give it to the Hausa/Fulani. I honestly don't have a problem with that - as long as it is not Tinubu or his lackey.
Why are the Yoruba tolerating and celebrating Muhammadu Buhari, an ethnic and religious bigot? I come to the conclusion that they are doing it for parochial and self-serving reasons, it is macchiavellian. Otherwise, they would shudder at the thought of installing Buhari, a man that treated Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Tai Solarin and Obafemi Awolowo, great icons of Nigeria like wretched criminals in a gulag. This is what Awolowo said of Buhari: "During the period of my house arrest ordered by Major General Buhari when he ousted Shagari's administration, I had a restriction within my room for 24 hours a day, and for somebody who has tried to give others liberty all their adult life, that was absolutely intolerable." I can imagine Awolowo and Solarin weeping in their graves at the perfidy of these new "leaders."
This is all academic of course; my sense is that the PDP will remain in Aso Rock. I find that incredibly distressing. Goodluck Jonathan is not fit for the office of the presidency. But Tinubu er Buhari in Aso Rock would be even worse. The graft would continue unabated, with no serious attempt at making structural changes. It is tragic that we have come to this point where we have to choose between two evils, we should own a huge responsibility in the mess. What is our purpose? Are mere words enough? Obviously not. We have been complicit in the rot. For 15 years we have sat around either as part of the corruption or as silent, lazy witnesses to a looming conflagration. And the intellectual dishonesty is galling. One Jaye Gaskiya is on this list, a "comrade" who writes and says all the right things, but guess what, he was one of the many intellectuals that joined criminals lile Alaiyemeiseigha and Ibori at the recently concluded CONfab a glorified town hall meeting that gulped millions and millions of dollars. When I ask for a little bit of introspection, folks get all defensive and abusive. The truth hurts I imagine.
We are being lazy and cowardly, we don't have it in us to fight our enemies. It is therefore my sincere hope that the PDP retains power. They will take us faster than the APC to that point where our backs will be against the wall and we will have to fight our traducers. Right now, Tinubu is playing the ethnic card, baiting us callously by dangling before us an ethnic and religious bigot with a history of rank hatred for those not from his side of the world - as change agent. Awolowo would have had something to say about that. I knew Awolowo, Tinubu is no Awolowo.
PS. I am not Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, I am a minority within the Edo minority group. a double minority. I just want the best for Nigeria. I was born in Lagos and lived in places like Moor Plantation and Ibadan, there really is no incentive for me to engage in ethnic-baiting, whatever that means. It is just that I have no hesitation in having certain conversations. Buhari is bad for Nigeria. The good news is that we will have no opportunity to suffer his nonsense. Tinubu is bad for Nigeria. This is a man who forfeited almost $500,000 for his complicity in drug trafficking in the US, come on... You don't hear our public intellectuals talking about it. What is wrong with us?
The APC has more than an image problem. The APC is the problem.
The APC has more than an image problem. The APC is the problem.
- Ikhide
Stalk my blog at www.xokigbo.com
Follow me on Twitter: @ikhide
Join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com>
To: USAAfricaDialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo
From: Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com>
To: USAAfricaDialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo
Ayo, fair enough. We can acknowledge and applaud Tinubu's role in helping to build a credible, competitive opposition and his role in fighting Abacha's tyranny while also holding him accountable. The two narratives can co-exist. Unfortunately, too many of our compatriots want us to overlook Tinubu's past, present, and ongoing sins and simply advance him as the savior of our democracy or as a selfless, heroic political figure. I don't deny that, like all humans, he has some redeeming qualities to him, which should go to the credit column of the ledger, but the debit column of the same ledger should also be populated with his many sins.
--
-- The bottom line, as my friend, Pius Adesanmi always reminds us, is that in Nigeria it is not a choice between good and bad (PDP bad and APC good), but between bad and less bad.
On that score, unless one wants to sit out the election in disgust because of two bad choices, a decision that I can respect, I think that the reasonable thing to do is to take a chance on change, given our dire circumstances.
The truth is that Jonathan has been largely a disaster, and it's not just his handling or non-handling of the insurgency. On a whole slew of issues, the man has shown time and again that he simply has no game plan. The economy is on the verge of recession and the Naira is in free fall. This is not entirely Jonathan's fault, as much of it flows from the vagaries of oil prices and the fluctuations of international commodities markets. Even so, a responsible government would have kept the Excess Crude Account (ECA) rainy day savings intact and not spent most of it--even under the prodding of rapacious governors, as Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala claims. For all his villainy, OBJ was smart enough to leave a $40 billion ECA fund for his successors. Yar'adua recklessly spend it down and Jonathan has almost depleted it. As of a few days ago, the balance in that rainy day account was $3.1 billion. Alas, the rainy days are here and oil prices continue to tumble, but our rainy day funds are gone and we have no where to turn to. Electricity supply and distribution remain anaemic in spite of the much touted privatization and deregulation (sorry, my good friend and brother Dr. Sam Amadi, but the testimony on power supply on the ground ain't pretty). Major road projects have either been neglected or abandoned. Healthcare has not improved under GEJ's watch. Quite frankly, there is little to say in favor of Jonathan.
Which is why, as I said on my Facebook wall a few days ago, even though I am deeply troubled by Buhari's captivity to characters like Tinubu, Amaechi, and others who funded and engineered his way to the nomination, and gave him a running mate beholden to them to boot, if I had the vote, which I, like all diasporans don't have, I would vote for Buhari. I would do this in the hope that, like Obasanjo who managed to extricate himself from the grip of Babangida, TY Danjuma, and others who funded and orchestrated his ascendance, and become his own man, Buhari, the rough retired soldier that he is, will do likewise with his godfather/funders like Tinubu and Amaechi. To use a boxing analogy, I would hit and hope--hit the change button and hope that Buhari finds the spine to be his own man outside the overbearing influence of the odious characters around him.
Moreover, for me, personal integrity, which is Buhari's strong suit, and which Goodluck "stealing is not corruption" Jonathan lacks, counts a great deal. Especially in a country as ravaged by corruption as Nigeria. Like most African peoples, we are oriented towards authority and tend to take moral and ethical cues from our leaders, so even though having leaders who set the right tone at the top may not cure our corruption ailment it will trickle down and scare some of those inclined towards corruption straight.
People talk about Buhari's military dictatorship history and his regime's human rights violations, but most Nigerians didn't seem to have held that against Obasanjo when he ran for president, so it should not be a deal breaker for Buhari either.
People also accuse Buhari of being a religious bigot and a Sharia fanatic. But as I stated in a recent write-up, Buhari is not, in my opinion, an Islamic extremist. He passionately supports sharia as a moral system recommended for Muslims, but, like most non-politicians, he has been inarticulate and inadvertently controversial in expressing this commitment, leading to both innocent and mischievous misrepresentations of his views outside his Northern Muslim constituency. A man who spent many years in a multiethnic and multi religious army and in different governments would have had a hard time being a religious bigot. Buhari's main problem in this regard, as one prominent Northern commentator told me, is that 1) the man lacks exposure to a broader world and to other worldviews; 2) the main frame of reference in his speeches is his northern Islamic community and identity and he has a hard time transcending this; and 3) he is surrounded by yes men who have not counseled him on the need to "nationalize" his persona, outlook, and utterances: 4) as a former soldier, he is too blunt and does not do political speak. All of these mean that when he speaks, he often imagines a parochial, homogeneous Northern Muslim Hausa-Fulani audience, instead of a national, multiethnic and multi religious one. He tells them what they expect an upright, devout Muslim to say on such topics. He is then shocked when his in-house utterances find their way to other constituencies, acquire new, more sinister meanings and are then used mischievously to portray him as a bigot.
His handlers in several election cycles were content to market him as a northern grassroots champion, alienating other parts of the country and stunting his appeal as a national candidate. All of this has changed with the latest campaign. I have it on good authority that a brand new cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic and multi-religious team is handling his current campaign and has shoved aside the TBO (The Buhari Organization) folks who for years limited Buhari's appeal and made the candidate feel comfortable to pander to a narrow regional, religious constituency. In fact I am told that his current campaign and all materials and messaging associated with it are being handled in Lagos, not in Kaduna and Abuja as used to be the case.
Once Buhari's "past sins" and the bigotry issue are off the table, what is left is a candidate that, quite frankly would be a vast improvement over the one we have today if he is able to be his own man. Integrity alone is a huge separation between the two candidates. But all of this hinges on whether and to what extent a president Buhari can be an independent actor.
And that is my main concern concerning Buhari--his ability to govern independently of the sharks that are propelling him to power. We already have one president who is beholden to special interests, we don't need another of the same hue.
The other concern I have is that as the APC rides a wave of popular discontent with the direction of the country and a growing desire for change, they seem to simply want to ride this wave to power, not realizing that they have to make the case that they will be better and different, that their proposed change has substantive content and is not just a slogan or change for its own sake. They seem to simply want to win by default. That's not gonna happen. They will have to win it, earn it. Yes, Jonathan is vulnerable, but he is the incumbent, is determined to retain his position, and most Nigerian elections are not decided by policy and issues anyway.
Here, below, is what I wrote yesterday in response to a Facebook post of a friend who stated that the elections should be about concrete issues--the economy, security, infrastructure, etc.
Yes, Kanayo. This ought to be the "sole issue for determination" but it aint, and you know it. As in the US and other democracies where folks vote on a whim and for emotional and primordial reasons, sometimes against their own economic interests, many Nigerians (the election will turn on how many) will not vote on the premise you outlined. Moreover, in fairness to those who will not vote on this rational premise, elections are not simply a referendum on the status quo--on the incumbency. They're also a referendum on the alternative. As bad as Jonathan and his government are, APC cannot simply win by default, by presenting itself as a mere alternative, or by riding the wave of discontent among Nigerians. Nigerians would want to see how the opposition purposes to do things differently, move the country in a radically different direction. If they don't see this or the APC is unable to articulate and disseminate this, I'm afraid that enough Nigerians may choose to keep the status quo (the devil you know....) than take a chance on a vague promise of change.
On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 1:57 PM, Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com> wrote:
Actually the facebook post put up by Ikhide went out of its way to criticize the Yoruba (except for the ones in Ekiti and Ondo - presumably because they voted for Ayo Fayose and because Segun Mimiko joined the ruling party) for political choices they have made and political choices they are yet to make. Having opened his post with a diatribe against Tinubu, Ikhide ended his remarks by saying that the post (complaining about the Yoruba) had made some points and that "truth hurts". That is indeed ethnic bigotry, and of the highest order.As it happens, my law partner is a leading member of Afenifere which has remained in resolute opposition to the series of parties with which Tinubu has been involved, while the immediate response of my 84 year old mother to the "It's Jonathan v Buhari" headline was "I can't vote for Buhari." Both are Yoruba. In fact, as I write, of those closest to me who are also Yoruba, I am struggling to think of one who is definitely going to vote for the presidential candidate of the party of which Tinubu is a leader. At best you have several who like me, are wondering whether the past sins and outdated ideas of Buhari can or should outweigh the callous incompetence of the Jonathan administration over the insurgency in the NE.As for Tinubu, I am not interested in deflecting accusations of corruption against him. Why should I be? Since I am not seised of the facts (unlike those who are so sure that Tinubu would put out a statement of the kind under discussion without ever having been offered the running mate position!) I do not need to be "coy" about anything. He himself said that he has developed a thick skin (but not a thick brain). The ones who posture about libel actions are the same ones who will talk of judges being intimidated by Senior Advocates of Nigeria lol. Of course, I forget how obsessed some Nigerians (home and abroad) are about paper qualifications, but if somebody wants to go to town on an FBI report that one Tinubo (or some similar such misspelling) did not attend Chicago University, that is their privilege.But I wonder what relevance that has to Nigeria in its present situation. Personally, I respect and even admire Tinubu for the work he has put in to build up a credible opposition party. Since I do not belong to the school of thought that insists that everybody must vote for the winning or ruling party, I believe that Nigerian democracy will be the better for it.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama--IA,Do you need reminding that truth is vindication for libel? No character is being assassinated here. Tinubu knows what to do to correct including end the enduring reports on his alleged rape of public treasuries- challenge his accusers in court. Why has he not?I am not able to see why to criticize Tinubu for some people is to criticize his ethnic group. Tinubu is one member of his ethnic group. He is not the archetypically representative of the group. The man is a politician. His actions impacts on people's lives. He is fair game for public comment. He chose to dance in the public square. People watching expect quality entertainment. He had better be a good dancer. He does not seem to have been to many attentive spectators.oaFrom: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ibigbolade Aderibigbe
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 9:28 AM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, OsinbajoIt is quite strange that discussions have been limited primarily to assassination of characters and ethnic bigotry by Ikhide and Anunoby Ogugua. Nothing so far has been issues based!! Sensationalism and emotionally charged hatred for persons and an ethnic group offer no solutions to the "sorry State" of the Nigerian State. if this direction of of discourse is the only means of expression by those who would like to be regarded as intellectuals- then no wonder Nigeria is trapped in its present predicaments and I doubt if it will ever overcome them.. WHAT A SHAME!!!On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 9:14 AM, 'Ikhide' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:"There came a time during the course of the events when our Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, offered me the Vice Presidential slot. Being a normal human being, I was deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions."
I happen to know that this did not happen. Buhari did not offer Bola Ahmed Tinubu the job. I happen to know that this is a lie. I dare the APC to contradict me. For ione thing Buhari was not that attentive; the poor old man just wants to be a president, he is hostage to a number of malevolent forces, Tinubu being one. He was given Tinubu's lackey as proxy for Tinubu's filthy paws into Nigeria's future - and fortunes and he had to "approve" this message as compromise.And then this howler:"I have concluded that the interest of the party, our campaign and that of the nation are better served if I retain my position as the National leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge builder across all divides."The problem here with both statements though is that they effectively eliminate the APC's attempt at a compelling message - stamping out graft. Imagine for instance an Obama promising to stamp out graft by making a mafia don the chairman of the Democratic Party. It calls to serious question the judgment of the APC. It has put paid to the myth that the APC is a force for positive, meaningful change. If they had any credibility in the first place, it is all gone. In any case, Tinubu's disgusting ambitions have effectively turned Nigeria into a one-party state. I honestly believe like many reasonable people that Mr. Goodluck Jonathan is unfit for another four years in Aso Rock. Like them however, I believe Buhari's somnolent tenure in the company of thieves and bad people will only take us to hell. I refuse to move from the current hell to another. Tinubu helps make my case compelling.You will note how commenters here and on social media carefully avoid the question on the table, the big elephant in the room: What is someone as odious as Tinubu doing in our midst trying to convince us he is the change we need? Our public intellectuals are the problem.- IkhideStalk my blog at www.xokigbo.comFollow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhideFrom: "Anunoby, Ogugua" <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com (USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com)" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2014 12:25 AM
Subject: FW: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, Osinbajo"He (Tinubu) and the APC have virtually all public intellectuals looking the other way. And somehow he has conned many Yoruba into false expectations about leading Nigeria. Which leads to provocative Facebook posts like this from Nwachukwu Ugochukwu:"IkhideIkhide railed against Tinubu as a politician he believes is grossly unfit for political leadership and therefore undeserving of a seat at the high table of public discourse and service. Many attentive Nigerians would agree. Tinubu in his reported statement on Buhari's choice of a running mate, acknowledged that he has integrity and accreditation challenges and many political and other enemies.The concern for Tinubu's critics must be that Tinubu secured the next best deal possible. He shuffled a protégé with "significant" marriage connections into the APC vice president slot as he was expected to do. Tinubu was not let into the room by the front door, he slipped into the room by the back door. The APC must hope that the protégé's connections by marriage, will win her a majority of votes in South-Western Nigeria.Time will tell whether Tinubu's imprint on the APC presidential ticket will deliver this promise and not be another case of "here comes the conman with his con-plans" as Bob Marley famously said.oaFrom: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 4:03 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tinubu loses Vice Presidential slot, pledges to support Buhari, OsinbajoI, too, would like to register my surprise and indignation that Ikhide would endorse and repost such blatant ethnic baiting. The writer makes valid points about the hypocrisy of the "Lagos-Ibadan," "progressive" journalistic and intellectual axis and the way its members have given a pass to Tinubu and other tainted people in the opposition, a disposition which contradicts their vocal and justified denunciation of similar vices on the part of Jonathan and members of the PDP incumbency. However, he ruined these points by accusing a phantom "Yoruba" mindset and by ethnicizing the sins of a multiethnic opposition.The self-proclaimed "progressive" wing of the Nigerian intellectual and journalistic classes, which includes, for lack of a better term, the human rights conglomerate or community, is hardly synonymous with Yoruba. It is a cast that includes many members from other ethnic groups. Moreover, while most of its members are Southerners and its ideological epicenters are in the South, it counts many northerners among its members. It is true that this broad constituency is largely in the camp of the national opposition, however much they deny it, and that a variety of reasons may account for this, including primordial considerations. It is also true that the Southern Nigerian press has traditionally been sympathetic to the opposition parties (AD, ACN, APC while their northern Nigerian counterparts have been sympathetic to the ANPP, CPC, and now APC). However, there are cogent explanations for this reality, ranging from patterns of media ownership to the need to maintain the illusion of distance from the government, to the accident of location. Moreover, the picture that emerges from all this is not one that indicts any single ethnic group. Rather it is one in which many people covering the ethnic and regional breadths of Nigeria are implicated in the hypocrisy and selective outrage that the writer (and Ikhide) points to.By the way, Tinubu's drug trafficking history was the subject of several explosive reports done by Saharareporters several years ago. A quick search on that site should produce links to the stories. Those stories relied mostly on judicial records of drug proceeds forfeiture proceedings in the US. The records are there. Where did he get money to almost singlehandedly fund NADECO, NALICON, and other pro-democracy groups during the Abacha days, a contribution for which he was given the AD governorship ticket ahead of Funsho Williams who won the primary election? PDP have their Buruji Kashamu, another drug baron, and APC have their Bola Tinubu.And, of course, all of Tinubu's known certificates, including his School Cert. are forged. Several publications published exposes on his fake secondary school, Chicago State, and NYC certificates when he was governor, and the late Gani Fawehinmi went to court to try and have him convicted of perjury only to be intimidated and frustrated by Tinubu's thugs and compromised judges. Moreover, just a few days ago, Saharareporters published a letter supplied by an FBI personnel confirming that Tinubu did not attend Chicago State.So, Ayo, unless you have proof that Tinubu is who/what he says he is, it is disingenuous to dismiss as unsubstantiated allegations for which documentary proofs have existed in the public domain for a while.On Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 2:39 PM, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News' tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berate racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.Apologies for the multiple posting. I'm writing and editing on my iPhone whilst getting my 14 days old daughter ready for bed!On 17 December 2014 at 21:36, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berate racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.On 17 December 2014 at 21:36, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News' tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know about until now! Those of us who constantly berates racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.On 17 December 2014 at 21:24, Shola Adenekan <sholaadenekan@gmail.com> wrote:Ayo, many thanks for this. It seems to me Oga Ikhide is using Fox News tactics here - implicitly condemning a whole ethnic just because of the sin of one man. This is a side of Oga Ikhide I didn't know exist until now! Those of us who constantly berates racist folks cannot in any way promote ethnic baiting. Bigotry is bigotry whether directed at African Americans or Yoruba people.Beside, as you rightly point out, it is the same Yoruba people who overwhelmingly voted for President Jonathan four years ago. I guess we should not let the facts stand in the way of (subtle) bigotry.
On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com> wrote:Ikhide, I am disappointed in your response, and that you are finding "some points" in the Facebook response to the statement by Bola Tinubu which I thought quite patriotic and statesmanlike. Now, I don't expect you to approve it or even to find it inspiring and commendable (as I do), but the relentless sneering and repetition of allegations for which there doesn't seem to be any foundation (I am hearing the 'drug baron' one for the first time though) does little or nothing to change the level of political discourse.There is no doubt that many expected the APC to break up over the choice of a presidential candidate, a running mate and so on, and now that that has not happened, they are having to reach into the bottom of the barrel of ethnic stereotypes and insults to mask their disappointment, though it's not clear whether those insults are supposed to encourage the Yoruba to vote for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket, or just to persuade them not to vote for the Buhari/Osinbajo one, if at all they are all supposed to vote only one way. Is it not ridiculous to stereotype a whole people just because of political choices that they make or do not make? The people of Ekiti who are exempted from the vituperations against the Yoruba, how many of them voted for Kayode Fayemi? Are they also exempted or does the saintlihood depend on how only the majority voted? What were the Yoruba when they voted for Jonathan in 2011?The Facebook writer goes completely and offensively overboard in his determination to express his hatred for Tinubu and the Yoruba. Yes that hurts, but not for the reason Ikhide thinks, and certainly not because it is "the truth", I mean how many newspapers are there in the South West that they are all in Tinubu's pocket? Is Vanguard one of them? The Sun? Tribune? I don't know whether the writer lives in Lagos or even Nigeria, but for his and Ikhide's information Tinubu stopped being Governor of Lagos State more than seven years ago and is not running for any office. In case you hadn't noticed, godfathers have a history of being cast aside in Nigerian politics. If they endure, it might just be because they have something else to offer. So why not get all bent out of shape about something else please.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama
On Dec 17, 2014, at 5:35 PM, 'Ikhide' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:Here is Bola Ahmed Tinubu conceding the loss of the APC's vice presidential slot to someone else, whose name fails me, never heard of him before!"There came a time during the course of the events when our Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, offered me the Vice Presidential slot. Being a normal human being, I was deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions."I have concluded that the interest of the party, our campaign and that of the nation are better served if I retain my position as the National leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge builder across all divides."I sincerely commit myself to the rescue agenda of General Buhari and Professor Osinbajo."I declare to you, I will work and dedicate myself so that our ticket succeeds and wins the 2015 election — not for his good, not for my good, not even for the party's good but for the good of our nation."Hahahahahahahahahaha!So our REFORMER offered TINUBU the vice presidential slot? So Buhari really, really, realy thought offering a goat custody of the yam barn was the best way to reform the barn? I hear!Do you now understand why our country is in deep trouble?
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the National leader of the APC - the change agent. Reflect upon that. And after you are through laughing, start weeping. We are not serious!Tinubu really thought himself qualified to be vice president of, not a jail yard, but of a real country? Really? Seriously?We are not a serious people. I have to say that Tinubu is a very lucky man. He has all the newspapers in the South West in his pocket. He and the APC have virtually all public intellectuals looking the other way. And somehow he has conned many Yoruba into false expectations about leading Nigeria. Which leads to provocative Facebook posts like this from Nwachukwu Ugochukwu:"The Yoruba always want to turn logic on its head. If Buhari was coming out from PDP and GEJ from APC, honestly, we would have been bombarded with how evil Buhari was and how he was a dictator, jailing, killing innocent people.We would have heard about how he was poor but uses bulletproof cars, poor but uses a private jet. We would have heard about how 2 billion dollars disappeared and appeared in his London account....If Tinubu, a man with a fake name, a known drug baron whose case is still in the USA, was the leader of another tribe, Nigerians would have been bombarded with how evil such a tribe is and how they worship money.If Tinubu, a man without an ordinary O level WAEC results was the political leader of another tribe in Nigeria, be it Hausa, Igbo etc and belongs to a different political party than our "saintly" tribe, we would have been bombarded with how such people are religious and ethnic bigots.If GEJ was in APC, Yoruba professors would have come out enmasse to teach Nigerians that truly stealing is not the same as corruption as you cannot use the words interchangeably. While some form of stealing can be corruption, one can comfortably say "all Nigerians are corrupt" but one cannot say "all Nigerians are thieves".The Yoruba (not all of them as I have faith in the majority like Ekiti, Ondo, etc) have always sought to deceive those Nigerians who will listen to their ever changing values.They started the infamous cross-carpeting that introduced tribalism in Nigerian politics.Deceive who you can but not me. The whole "corruption" thing was created in the media immediately the formed APC to deceive their brothers into believing GEJ is corrupt. How can a man like Tinubu talk about corruption?"He has made many compelling points. The truth hurts.Anyway, read the rest of the article:- IkhideStalk my blog at www.xokigbo.comFollow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide--
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--Regards,Shola Adenekan, PhD.Postdoctoral Researcher in African LiteratureBIGSASBayreuth International Graduate School of African StudiesUniversity of BayreuthD-95440 BayreuthPhone: ++49-921-55 5108Fax: ++49-921-55 5102Web: http://www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.dee-mail: olorunshola.adenekan@uni-bayreuth.deEditor/Publisher:
The New Black Magazine - http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com--Regards,Shola Adenekan, PhD.Postdoctoral Researcher in African LiteratureBIGSASBayreuth International Graduate School of African StudiesUniversity of BayreuthD-95440 BayreuthPhone: ++49-921-55 5108Fax: ++49-921-55 5102Web: http://www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.dee-mail: olorunshola.adenekan@uni-bayreuth.deEditor/Publisher:
The New Black Magazine - http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com--Regards,Shola Adenekan, PhD.Postdoctoral Researcher in African LiteratureBIGSASBayreuth International Graduate School of African StudiesUniversity of BayreuthD-95440 BayreuthPhone: ++49-921-55 5108Fax: ++49-921-55 5102Web: http://www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.dee-mail: olorunshola.adenekan@uni-bayreuth.deEditor/Publisher:
The New Black Magazine - http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com--Regards,Shola Adenekan, PhD.Postdoctoral Researcher in African LiteratureBIGSASBayreuth International Graduate School of African StudiesUniversity of BayreuthD-95440 BayreuthPhone: ++49-921-55 5108Fax: ++49-921-55 5102Web: http://www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.dee-mail: olorunshola.adenekan@uni-bayreuth.deEditor/Publisher:
The New Black Magazine - http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com--
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For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.--There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi--
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There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
---Mohandas Gandhi
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