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Pendulum: How Buhari Can Avert This Looming War

Published

7 years ago

July 20, 2019

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, I know some fanatical supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari and his ruling party APC will likely dismiss this intervention as coming from an alarmist or Prophet of doom, but so be it. History has taught me a lot of lessons and so has Literature done as well. Anyone familiar with Literary appreciation would have encountered what is often referred to as “tragic heroes”, an oxymoron of sorts. Many leaders usually end up as tragic figures because of their proclivities for obstinacy and obduracy. They are haters of criticism and truth who see enemies in every critic.

When President Buhari won the election against an incumbent President in 2015, it was a miraculous achievement. The mandate handed to him was overwhelmingly national and there was palpable joy in the land that something new and remarkably progressive was going to happen. Change was the Mantra and Change was what everyone including some of those who did not vote for him believed would happen. Nevertheless, no one expected the President and his team to perform an instant magic. Things had gone from bad to worse under the various PDP administrations that we had somehow chosen to afflict us. It was obvious that the years of decay could not be susceptible to any quick fix. Many of us were already frustrated with the rascality and profligacy of PDP. That was why they were voted out. Despite not expecting immediate solutions from the Buhari government, we expected Buhari to stabilise the polity and the nation, not to make them overheated or worse, but alas.

Four years have passed since that landmark victory and the fifth one is already climbing on top of it. I will not bore you with the events of recent times gone past. The future has arrived and at least, for now, or till the Supreme Court decides, for or against, we are stuck with Buhari, a leader who has turned lethargy, laggardness and sluggishness into a veritable art form. Anyway.

I’m always willing to give everyone another chance because no one is perfect. At President Buhari’s age (he is nearer 80 than 70), no one expects him to change his stoic habits much. Indeed, some of those habits can be for the good of the nation if properly harnessed and channelled. If as they say, old habits die hard, we can at least help the President to hear and see what Nigerians and the rest of the world think of him and why he must have pity on millions of hapless Nigerians by doing the right things.

Walahi, I don’t believe Nigerians are difficult to govern. We are a breed of people who demand precious little from the leaders. Accordingly, the simple things make us happy and satisfied. Most governments have understood this aspect of the Nigerian psyche and exploited it. Labour union strikes have petered and fizzled out, in some cases, even being moribund at inception simply because the government has offered carrots and palliatives to weaken the resolve of the people and bring them to a situation where they are only puppets on a string. The people hardly demand innovation or creativity. In any event, those qualities are seemingly lacking in our present leaders.

It is the lack of creativity, and a bit of flexibility, that is destroying the ruling party APC and by implication the nation. APC was born in anger, deprivation and hostility. The Party is a product of division and strife. Little wonder that it appears to be plunging us towards the abyss that is called war. If APC is not careful the Party will leave a legacy of having been birthed in conflict and having lived forever in warmongering. That’s the biggest tragedy afflicting a party that once held out so much promise and opportunity but frittered it away. Of all the possible political afflictions in the world, the worst is the lack of security, particularly under the reign of a retired Army General, whose biggest qualification for his present job is the rank and status he attained in his previous military existence. It is interesting to observe that on that occasion the country was involved in a war of attrition from which it has not recovered to date. The suspicion, mistrust and distrust that the civil war engendered will take generations to heal. However, we must make great effort to heal those wounds and ensure that the kind of debilitating soul-destroying war that the country fought never repeats itself.

Today, as if we never learnt our lessons, Nigeria is in the throes of the beginning of another monumental conflict that will make the civil war pale into insignificance. Many of the people I know have resigned themselves to fate. They are expecting the worst to happen, any time from now. But I pray against all evil machinations against our dear beloved country. No calamity shall befall us.

Yes, the drums of war are beating loudly. The ill-assortment of hopeless drummers appear rugged and determined to achieve the worst. The rest of us seem helpless, hopeless and hapless. The hawks are flying in their legions, the doves have crumbled and crumpled and have retreated into their nests. Only one man can stop the imminent explosion and that is the father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari. No father ever watches his children perish in fire without making every effort to rescue them. President Buhari must wake up from his petulance and act like a true father of all. He must not be peeved or angered by the insults and abuses that have been hurled at him. When he chose to once more be the helmsman of this foundering ship, he committed himself to become a rallying point, a unifying role model. He did not sign up to be the person who would not only superintend and supervise the break-up of the country but be the undertaker for the numerous millions of bloodied bodies that such a ruinous venture will unearth. President Buhari knows more about the recriminations, repercussions and heavy price of war as a veteran combatant himself. Nigeria cannot afford another bloodletting.

I’m surprised that our government can’t feel the pulse of the nation and see how close we are to the precipice. This could have been easily avoided if President Buhari was willing and ready to listen to the voices of reason and wisdom. It is not too late. We are merely at the brink. We have not yet slipped over. We are close to being engulfed in the cauldron of irreversible war. We can halt this push by those who do not mean well for our country, but the President must lead. He must be the example that others will have no choice but to follow. There is no benefit, advantage or profit in fighting wars of egotism, nepotism and jingoism. There are plenty of gains and increases in unity, peace and stability. And this is no rocket science to achieve.

How can this be done? The President should make that conscious effort to see every single Nigerian citizen as his own kinsman. He should stop the seeming discrimination against certain parts of the country. He should stop the preferential treatment of some people above the others. He should not only say that he ‘belongs to no one but belongs to everyone’, he should show that he not only believes in it but that he acts and demonstrates it in everything that he does. This will go a long way to healing the wounds and divisions that presently ravages the land. Indeed, this is the crux of the matter. Too many Nigerians today feel extremely frustrated. They feel, misused, disused and abused. Apart from mass unemployment, they feel like slaves in their own country. They feel unwanted. They feel unloved. And they are undoubtedly unprotected. President Buhari must show them that Nigerians and the nation are safe and secure under his charge, that the warmongers and warlords will never have their way and that he is in charge and not just a mere ceremonial figurehead with bark but no teeth.

Furthermore, President Buhari must restore a sense of pride and belonging to every Nigerian. The narrative and discourse that we are all a bunch of useless, lazy, fraudulent, frivolous and inept people must now stop. Continued persistent use of such diatribe and tirade can only belittle and impugn the Buhari administration itself. Any government that has been in power for four years must have gone to great lengths to fix this perception of its citizens, by both nationals and foreigners alike. That is not the case in Nigeria of today and it is one of the reasons that there seems to be a gulf between our diverse peoples.

It is just unfortunate that we have to find ourselves at this unnecessary juncture. Nigeria has seriously retrogressed in every sense and indices since this government came to power. Before the coming of this government, Nigeria prided itself as the number one and the fastest growing economy in Africa. That is no longer the case today. There were pockets of terrorist attacks by Boko Haram restricted to the North East of Nigeria. There were militant attacks in the Niger Delta but these were being contained by various programmes aimed at quelling the restiveness that had given rise to such militancy. At first, it seems these became degraded when Buhari came to power, but no one can say with any degree of confidence that the war against insurgency or militancy has been won. As a matter of fact, the terrorists have continued to launch ferocious attacks. The militants that appear to have gone underground are beginning to resurface with a vengeance. More worrisome is the new trend of separationist movements who appear to get more emboldened by the day as a result of the rapidly unravelling denouement that is playing out before our very eyes. However, what is worse is another dimension to the imbroglio added by some bandits and brigands labelled Fulani herdsman from God knows where. They are now the bane of our collective existence and unity as a nation. This group crept upon us like thieves in the night. At first their existence was like a silent whisper that children would mouth in the recesses of the dark for fear of being discovered. Soon the rumours took upon a life of their own and now their existence is no longer a rumour but cold fact. Indeed, a legend is building around the destruction that they are leaving in their wake. Nigerians have suddenly woken from their slumber to discover that marauders are taking over their land in the name of grazing cattle and the palpable fear is lending voice and fillip to irridentists and divisionists. It is true that politicians want to take advantage of this sorry state of affairs, but this is only because President Buhari’s preferred solution of molly-cuddling the bad eggs is untenable and cannot work. It can only encourage those who have nothing to do but play politics with serious issues to continue at a game at which they are past masters. If one could not blame Buhari directly for Boko Haram, it is tempting to throw heaps of blame at him for his tacit support and pampering of the herdsmen who are undoubtedly members of his clan.

No one should blame us for this allegation. It is all too obvious that had Buhari treated these miscreants the way he descended heavily on Nnamdi Kanu and others accused of treasonable offences, this herdsman nuisance would have been curbed in its infancy. Sadly, till this day, it has been treated with kid’s gloves. If the government is sincere in its classification of the rampaging herdsmen as rogue elements, then it should do the natural thing and crush them. We have had cattle rearers criss-crossing the length and breadth of this nation literally from time immemorial without any issue or hassle. Those who want to give the innocent cattle breeders a bad name should be promptly identified and dealt with in summary fashion. No amount of pandering to the wishes and demands of devilish and deadly evildoers will ever assuage their bloodthirstiness. Rather it will merely make them more demanding and fearsome.

The interest and unity of our nation is not negotiable and is certainly not subject to the whims and caprices of a small group of hoodlums masquerading in whatever guise. The Government needs to act decisively now, instead of pussy-footing around them. They are a cankerworm, a cancer, that must be excised with military precision and alacrity. President Buhari has no choice in this matter. History will be very unkind to him if he chooses clan over nation. It is not a hard choice to make, but the choice is his and his alone.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.