RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tragic Consequence of Religiosity and Politics - by Ojo M. Maduekwe {Fwd: Uke Massacre: Obi buys up Thisday copies, Copy costs as much as N2,000

“Power belongs to the people who must protect that right to vote and be voted”

on

 

I am divided between two selves as I think about the above proclamation. In one self I am thinking that it might be correct. In another self, I am not sure that it is. Who is to say who power belongs to?  I am not sure that there are proprietary rights to power.   It seems to me that power ( I am assuming political power) does belong to anyone or group who has it at any point in time. If one believes that power is a fiduciary asset, the hope must be that it will be exercised in society by whoever has it, in the best interest of the people most of the time.

Power it seems to me, need not belong to a people who have no informed value of its importance. What is the utility of an electoral process if electors are mostly  ignorant, so ignorant in fact that they do not know that they elect the wrong candidates and therefore vote against their interest? Is too much value not credited to universal suffrage when voters are mostly ignorant, and are taken advantage of, as willing victims of misrepresentations and deceit by fraudulent political candidates and leaders? is not such an electoral system and process a malevolent fraud? Might it not be preferable therefore to have a benevolent leadership have power and exercise it mostly I dare to add, in the interest of the people?

Should good government be more about process or about outcomes as it pertains to the people? I would say both if the choices are not independent. Some politicians see them as independent.

Democracy as it is sometimes acclaimed and sold, seems to me to be more about process than about its enduring not ephemeral benefits to the people. The world has always known about unelected dictatorships. It is increasingly  getting to know about elected dictatorships. Power after all resources the powerful to realize their will over others hence abuse and misuse of it. It seems to me, that a  good life is for the most part, a contented, happy, and peaceful life. Do ordinary people really care who has power so long as they the people, have a good life? Should it matter under what political system this happens?  I am not sure anymore.

 

oa   

 

From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Rex Marinus
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2013 7:24 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; igboworldforum@yahoogroups.com; igboevents@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tragic Consequence of Religiosity and Politics - by Ojo M. Maduekwe {Fwd: Uke Massacre: Obi buys up Thisday copies, Copy costs as much as N2,000

 

"Power comes from God, yes"
-Diran
 
Power does not come from God. The above is a lie that monarchists and olicharchs and their supporters/minions have used to justify their authority and their theory of "divine rights." Power derives from two conditions: from popular vote, or from "the barrel of the gun." In a democracy, power comes from the people who use their rights of suffrage to make a choice. I have not heard it said for instance, that God is a registered voter in Nigeria. Anyone who says that God uses people to vote is probably out for a scam, like the pastors and the imams, and all the "traditional rulers" who vote for or speak on behalf of God. Alienated and disempowered citizens become victims of power when they live in garrison conditions: garrisoned cities and counties; contained and quarantined behind the iron gates of religion and ethnicity; or behind the barricades of their neighborhood ghettoes, with government-funded patrollers  (police, army, sponsored kidnappers, political thugs, etc.) keeping them from exercising their rights of free choice which is the basis of all our struggles through history: the right to the single or individual vote; the right to vote an individual of your choice or even put yourself up to be voted for. As an Igbo, I do not believe, and my ancestors did not believe nor did they say that political power comes from God, because the Igbo God is generally "absent" - to use the term that the inimitable D.I. Nwoga used to describe that divine: a term that basically suggests that this benign and amused force generally leaves us humans with the Four Elemental Forces - Earth (Ala) Anyanwu (Fire) Ime Muru Ochie/Imo-Mmmiri (water) and Agwu (Wind) - and their various subliminal emanations in nature - well alone to deal with ordinary or quotidian contracts with life. The idea that "power comes from God" was smashed finally by European enlightenment philosophers from Kant onwards, who replaced it with the governing axiom which every enlightened person ought to know and promote, that "power belongs to the people." This is the secular imperative of the social contract. The Oba of Benin or the Alafin of Oyo or the Obi of Onitsha or the Sultan of Sokoto, and such characters, may recruit people who may ventriloquize and circulate the lie that "power comes from God," but every democrat must resist that notion. God does not vote. S/he in fact is indifferent. We have a choice to affirm either the value of the monarchy or the value of the Republic. I choose the idea of the Republic: Power belongs to the people who must protect that right to vote and be voted.
Obi Nwakanma

 

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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Tragic Consequence of Religiosity and Politics - by Ojo M. Maduekwe {Fwd: Uke Massacre: Obi buys up Thisday copies, Copy costs as much as N2,000
From: diran_bepo@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2013 09:20:17 +0000
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

Anambra state is said to be the centre of commerce in South East, so If astute business-people take advantage of the artificial scarcity of ThisDay edition of 5th November to make brisk business, the state is only living up to its billing.

 

But why should a governor buy up copies of a newspaper edition that is available on the Internet? What is he trying to hide from the reading public? Immediately after the incident, he made a broadcast to the people, revealing that he is going to set up a commission of inquiry into the incident. Who's fooling who?

 

It is high time we divorced religion and especially the church from politics and governance in the country. Are we back to the days of Israel before they demanded for a king from the last Judge and Priest, Samuel? If we must try out Theocracy, let the Okunrounmu Committee take note. The other day, it was Okija shrine and now it is Adoration Ministry. Who knows where next? Power comes from God, yes. But human beings are just too gullible, they can be taken for a ride any day, any time. If APGA had performed creditably in the out-going tenure, it's scorecard should speak for the party at the coming election, not a night vigil. 

 

Name calling and buck passing will not solve the problem. Let the people respect the dead and shift focus to the election. And let EFCC beam it's searchlight on Obi and his alleged action over ThisDay edition of Tuesday. 

 

Like the title of a new film in the cinemas in Nigeria currently, 'Confusion Na Was'

Sent from my iPad

On Nov 5, 2013, at 23:05, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:

 

 

My People:

 

If the allegation is true of buying up This Day copies to prevent mass reading of the article below, then in this day and age of the Internet, it would be foolish.  The result would be that astute "emergency" business-people would just make even more money out of photo-copied copies - or even This Day would just repeat the article the following day, and the day after etcheram ad naseum  - to bankrupt the alleged mass purchaser.

 

And there you have it.

 

 

Bolaji Aluko

 

 

 

http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20131105180111zg/nigeria-watch/tragic-consequence-of-religiosity-and-politics-by-ojo-m-maduekwe/

 

THIS DAY

 

 

Tragic Consequence of Religiosity and Politics

05 Nov 2013

 

Executive Briefing

The deaths caused by a stampede during a visit by the All Progressives Grand Alliance to the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry in Anambra State resulted from the unfortunate mix of religiosity and politics, writes Ojo M. Maduekwe

In a corruption ridden country like Nigeria, two institutions stand poles apart, at least to some people. While most of the politicians in Nigeria, if not all, are considered corrupt, the religious leaders on the other hand still remain largely regarded as incorruptible by a vast majority of their adherents. A summary of the comparison is that of black versus white.

This contrast of both institutions is why some people are quick to voice their opinion regarding any form of mingling between clerics and politicians. What does God have to do with politics many had sometimes asked? Perhaps, with no biblical passage to argue both for and against, it may rather be a difficult question. But the question of what politicians have to do with God is not.

Politics, people say is a game of numbers and in a religiously addictive country like Nigeria, the influential clerics who enjoy a cult following have the numbers in multitudes and to their advantage. The average politician being who he is gets easily drawn towards the clerics with the greatest number of worshippers and with an overbearing influence on their congregation. This is not limited to a class of officer seekers.

With the clerics on their side, politicians have the congregation; and with the congregation, an increase in votes when counted. The sad incidence that occurred at the weekend in Uke, Idemili North Council Area of Anambra State, were over 25 people were reportedly stampeded to death and scores of others injured, has once again made the question of the relationship between politics and religion a relevant topic for discussion.

Media reports had it that the state governor, Peter Obi, in the company of 10 others including the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh and the APGA governorship candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, had arrived the church premises for a night vigil. The APGA team was said to have left the church premises at 3:30am before the close of the crusade at about 5:08am before the stampede happened. There are conflicting accounts as to what actually caused the stampede.
            
According to a THISDAY report, “Eyewitnesses said trouble started shortly after the event when the congregation was leaving as a group of people started shouting ‘Fire, Fire, Fire’, which immediately sent people scampering for safety. Some, however, believed the commotion was deliberately organised by some people who felt Governor Obi was still at the crusade, even though he had already left the venue quietly.”

In another account, a source had told THISDAY that the crowd outside the church had started shouting ‘Onwa’, a word meaning ‘Light’ and used to refer to Senator Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In reaction, it was said that the security men on the ground approached the direction the shout was coming from. In the course of doing so, a gunshot was allegedly fired into the air which caused the people to run in different direction.

Also, the large turnout of people to the church is part of what’s been said to have led to the large number of deaths recorded. “The number of crusaders, according to sources, got to around 100,000 because the day was the All Saints’ Day and the first day of the month which so many people usually take advantage of to pray for the new month,” THISDAY earlier reported.

Normally it is said that the church auditorium has a capacity to take 5,000 people. There were those who said that the large turnout of people, which was both a mix of worshippers and party supporters, was because Governor Peter Obi decided to seize the opportunity to campaign for Obiano. This, it is expected, the governor might later debunk as untrue.

The news of the stampede was quick to travel round the country, thanks to the quick reporting of the online news and blogs. Soon, several reactions from indigenes of the state, Nigerians outside and politicians in the state would later trail the incidence. One of the first politicians to react was Governor Obi who pledged to set up a panel of enquiry “to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the incident.”

According to a THISDAY report, following the devastating development, Obi immediately cancelled all his engagements, including a campaign kick-off at Nsugbe, live radio programme at Silverbird, kick-off of road projects, inspection of the on-going shopping mall at Onitsha and the on-going stadium at Awka, the state capital.

“The governor was the first person to visit the Adoration Ground with security agents immediately he got wind of the stampede,” the report said. Also to visit the scene of the accident were two Deputy Inspectors-General of Police visiting the state, P. I Leha and Kachi Udeogu, accompanied by the state’s Commissioner of Police, Bala Nassarawa.

At the venue of the incident, Obi, while speaking with journalists said he had attended the vigil on the invitation of the Reverend Father in charge, Reverend Obimma. He went ahead to give a first-hand account of what transpired at the venue before the stampede occurred.

“I noticed something unusual; when I wanted to speak, a group of people started shouting somebody's name. I had to curtail them and said we are here to worship. I was here with a team of about ten people. I have my immediate senior sister who is a reverend sister. At the time I left everything was normal, there was no incident,” Obi said.

Asked whether if he thought it was started by fire, he responded saying, “I don't think there was fire. I have always said that people should try and live a decent life, do things properly. I have been to other crusade before. I stay up to five hours. That was how long I stayed at this one before I left. If people have started shouting fire, where is the fire? People had done similar thing before (at Adoration Ground in Enugu) and people lost their lives. We can't continue like this. It's unfair.”

However, the claim by Governor Obi that he left the church premises hours before the stampede happened have been faulted by some people who would rather attribute the cause of the stampede to his entourage. They disagreed, saying there was no way he and his entourage would have left without the crowd noticing. They wondered how come the crowd would remain hours after he had left.

Some stakeholders in the state argued that the above statement where Obi said he heard some group of people shouting someone’s name, if placed in contrast with the second account of what possibly could have caused the stampede, may give an insight to the truthfulness of either of the story. The second account had attributed the stampede to the shout of ‘Onwa’ by some people which led to an alleged gunshot from a security agent.

Also some stakeholders wondered why there were no crowd control measures for such a mammoth gathering. Others went to the extent of questioning why the governor would take his campaign to a church auditorium that could barely accommodate 5,000 people and not to an open field.

In a bid to absolve the police of any blame, Udeogu said, “There was no security measure that was neglected. From what I heard, the incident took place when people were going away. Normally if you want to secure a place, you secure the perimeters of the worship centre but you can't police the road. Initially, I thought it was a cathedral with limited access to exit if there was an emergency, but you can see from here that if there was an emergency, people would melt away; there is no restraint here.”

Many others on the opposing side of the argument said it was not the size of the venue that was the problem but that the security agencies failed to handle and control the teeming crowd of worshippers and supporters. Citing the testimony of the police, they said the venue was not limited in entrance to prevent easy flow of people in the cause of a commotion.

Also reacting, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 Anambra gubernatorial election, Comrade Tony Nwoye, called on other political party aspirants not to politicise the stampede. In an interview with THISDAY, he said the incidence called for a sober reflection, mourning and condolence with the victim’s family.

“I send my condolence to the victim’s families. This is really very distressing news for me and, for the state, a sad incidence because the loss of a life is bad. Now we are talking of over 25 lives which I must say is both saddening and disheartening. I urge other political players in the state to respect those who died and not play politics with what has happened.

“As a state we should go into a reflective mood on what is important in government and seek for ways to always better the lot of the ordinary people whom have called us to serve. Anyone who seeks to politicise this stampede for the purpose of making cheap political points; any votes gotten on this premise would be blood vote,” Nwoye said.

A large number of state stakeholders were in agreement that it is time both religious leaders and politicians realise how their mingling affects their congregation and supporters and opined that election campaigns be taken outside the church premises into a secular place like an open field so as to prevent what happened from repeating itself.

 

 

On Tue, Nov 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM, E. Obi <bizon586@yahoo.com> wrote:

Daniel,


Will appreciate it if you could make available a copy of the article .

Thanks

 

 

Mazi Emma U .Obi
Keeping it real
http://nigeriakeepingitreal.blogspot.com

 

On Tuesday, November 5, 2013 3:19 PM, Elombah Elsdan <elombahperspective@gmail.com> wrote:

Uke Massacre: Obi buys up Thisday copies, Copy costs as much as N2,000

By Bruno Mbanaso

Governor Peter Obi and his aides have rallied round to mop up all copies of Nigerian National Daily Newspaper –Thisday of today November 05, 2013.  And trust Anambra State and the whiff of business opportunities vendors are creating scarcity out and harvesting good money out of the paper which has gone very scarce in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, major urban

Read more...

http://elombah.com/index.php/reports/18659-uke-massacre-obi-buys-up-thisday-copies-copy-costs-as-much-as-n2-000

 

--

 

Every Nigerian that has something important to say, says it on www.elombah.com

 

Follow us on twitter @Elombah

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