I’ll give marriage another shot –Chika Ike

Chika Ike

Star actress, Chika Ike, speaks with JAYNE AUGOYE about her divorce and career

Nollywood actress, Chika Ike, is no stranger to controversy. In the last few months, she managed to keep Nigerians talking about issues surrounding her recent divorce, which she announced on social media, and her frequent holiday trips abroad.

Like most other Nollywood stars who love to keep the gossip mills busy at all times, the leggy actress always appears to be the subject of debates among movie fans.

But, in an interview with our correspondent, Chika denies that she has ever gone out of her way to attract controversy. She says, “I have stopped searching for my name on the Internet. In fact, I don’t bother myself with gossips and negative comments about me any longer. I have a management team that deals with all that.

“When my aides want me to see or read whatever has been written or said about me, they simply draw my attention to it. Celebrities must learn to ignore what people say about them so they can live long and be happy. That is my principle.”

The soft-spoken actress says she owes nobody an apology for sharing some photographs taken during her recent trips to Dubai and France with her fans on Instagram.

“The truth is that I love to travel around the world. If anyone feels hurt by this, that is their business. I love to take pictures during my trips abroad and share them with my fans. I do this so as to educate them. Many of them have never been to these countries. So, whenever I post these images, I have no bad intentions.”

As more celebrities venture into philanthropy and charity related activities, critics have been quick to say that their actions are nothing other than popularity contest. But Chika, who currently runs a non-governmental organisation that caters for the less-privileged, her intentions are genuine.

“I am truly passionate about charity work, but I can’t speak for other people in my shoes. I am the sole financier of my NGO and its activities, though I get some form of assistance from members of my family and my friends. I strongly believe that if you want people to support a particular cause, you have to show and prove that you are able to hold your own any day.”

Although Chika prides herself in being a public figure, she is always careful not to divulge information relating to her personal life. Little wonder, many movie fans hardly knew she was married until they learnt about the breakup with her former husband.

Chika declines to comment on the circumstances that led to the dissolution of her marriage. “I don’t want to talk about the divorce because it is already in the past and I have since moved on. I am still open to marriage and I might give it a second shot because I believe in love. For now, I am most concerned with my own happiness,” she says.

Commenting on the increasing rate of Nigerian celebrity divorces, the actress, who has starred in over 200 Nollywood movies, says, “Celebrities also make mistakes. I don’t think they have a bad time combining their successful careers and managing the home front or their marriages on the side.

“All the talk about some men being afraid to walk up to a female celebrity and ask her out does not make sense to me. Any man that cannot walk up to me and toast me is not manly enough. I don’t have a long list or criteria for my ideal man. All I want is that he must make me happy.”

Ever since she appeared in an epic movie entitled, Mirror of Beauty, which was screened in major cinemas in England, Chika’s career has been on a steady rise.

With the birth of what is now known as the ‘New Nollywood’, the actress who was recently appointed brand ambassador of Bullet Energy Drink, already has her eyes fixed on the big pictures.

She says, “I constantly strive to take part in quality movie productions and I have had cause to turn down some scripts that did not fit in accordingly.

“My greatest desire is to play a living legend in a Nollywood movie, as that will give me so much fulfilment.”

I’ll give marriage another shot –Chika Ike

Chika Ike

Star actress, Chika Ike, speaks with JAYNE AUGOYE about her divorce and career

Nollywood actress, Chika Ike, is no stranger to controversy. In the last few months, she managed to keep Nigerians talking about issues surrounding her recent divorce, which she announced on social media, and her frequent holiday trips abroad.

Like most other Nollywood stars who love to keep the gossip mills busy at all times, the leggy actress always appears to be the subject of debates among movie fans.

But, in an interview with our correspondent, Chika denies that she has ever gone out of her way to attract controversy. She says, “I have stopped searching for my name on the Internet. In fact, I don’t bother myself with gossips and negative comments about me any longer. I have a management team that deals with all that.

“When my aides want me to see or read whatever has been written or said about me, they simply draw my attention to it. Celebrities must learn to ignore what people say about them so they can live long and be happy. That is my principle.”

The soft-spoken actress says she owes nobody an apology for sharing some photographs taken during her recent trips to Dubai and France with her fans on Instagram.

“The truth is that I love to travel around the world. If anyone feels hurt by this, that is their business. I love to take pictures during my trips abroad and share them with my fans. I do this so as to educate them. Many of them have never been to these countries. So, whenever I post these images, I have no bad intentions.”

As more celebrities venture into philanthropy and charity related activities, critics have been quick to say that their actions are nothing other than popularity contest. But Chika, who currently runs a non-governmental organisation that caters for the less-privileged, her intentions are genuine.

“I am truly passionate about charity work, but I can’t speak for other people in my shoes. I am the sole financier of my NGO and its activities, though I get some form of assistance from members of my family and my friends. I strongly believe that if you want people to support a particular cause, you have to show and prove that you are able to hold your own any day.”

Although Chika prides herself in being a public figure, she is always careful not to divulge information relating to her personal life. Little wonder, many movie fans hardly knew she was married until they learnt about the breakup with her former husband.

Chika declines to comment on the circumstances that led to the dissolution of her marriage. “I don’t want to talk about the divorce because it is already in the past and I have since moved on. I am still open to marriage and I might give it a second shot because I believe in love. For now, I am most concerned with my own happiness,” she says.

Commenting on the increasing rate of Nigerian celebrity divorces, the actress, who has starred in over 200 Nollywood movies, says, “Celebrities also make mistakes. I don’t think they have a bad time combining their successful careers and managing the home front or their marriages on the side.

“All the talk about some men being afraid to walk up to a female celebrity and ask her out does not make sense to me. Any man that cannot walk up to me and toast me is not manly enough. I don’t have a long list or criteria for my ideal man. All I want is that he must make me happy.”

Ever since she appeared in an epic movie entitled, Mirror of Beauty, which was screened in major cinemas in England, Chika’s career has been on a steady rise.

With the birth of what is now known as the ‘New Nollywood’, the actress who was recently appointed brand ambassador of Bullet Energy Drink, already has her eyes fixed on the big pictures.

She says, “I constantly strive to take part in quality movie productions and I have had cause to turn down some scripts that did not fit in accordingly.

“My greatest desire is to play a living legend in a Nollywood movie, as that will give me so much fulfilment.”

Falana demands refund of N700m NIS recruitment fees

Falana demands refund of N700m NIS recruitment fees

Mr. Femi Falana

Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has asked the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, to refund the fees collected from applicants in the ill-fated recruitment by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

Falana alleged in a letter dated April 2, 2014 and addressed to the minister, that the money totaling about N700m was “extorted” from the applicants “as there was no plan to employ the majority of them”.

The letter was entitled, ‘Demand for the refund of recruitment fee of N700m’.

The lawyer threatened to sue the minister “for extorting N700m from the job seekers on behalf of the Federal Government” if the demand for the refund of the money was not acceded to.

“It is hoped that you will not compel us to resort to litigation in the circumstance as it will expose the Federal Government to untold embarrassment,” Falana stated in his letter.

The recruitment tests conducted across the country on March 15 left 20 applicants dead and many others injured in the stampede that characterised the exercise.

The Lagos lawyer rejected the minister’s excuse that the Federal Government had not ordered his ministry to refund the money.

The lawyer argued that since there was no bill by the National Assembly authorising the imposition of the fee on the job applicants, the minister’s action amounted to a violation of Section 59 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

He said, “In spite of your official negligence which led to the tragic death of 20 of the applicants, you stated that the Federal Government had not ordered you to refund the said sum of N700m. You have therefore decided not to refund the money or forfeit it to the Federal Government.

“However, since the National Assembly did not pass any money bill authorising the collection of the recruitment fee or levy of one thousand Naira per applicant, your action is a violation of Section 59 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which provides that there shall be a bill ‘for the imposition of or increase in any tax, duty or fee or any reduction, withdrawal or cancellation thereof’.”

Falana reminded the minister of two separate judgments recently delivered by the Federal High Court in Lagos, one of which declared illegal and unconstitutional the collection of tolls by the Lagos State Government on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge.

Falana demands refund of N700m NIS recruitment fees

Falana demands refund of N700m NIS recruitment fees

Mr. Femi Falana

Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has asked the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, to refund the fees collected from applicants in the ill-fated recruitment by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

Falana alleged in a letter dated April 2, 2014 and addressed to the minister, that the money totaling about N700m was “extorted” from the applicants “as there was no plan to employ the majority of them”.

The letter was entitled, ‘Demand for the refund of recruitment fee of N700m’.

The lawyer threatened to sue the minister “for extorting N700m from the job seekers on behalf of the Federal Government” if the demand for the refund of the money was not acceded to.

“It is hoped that you will not compel us to resort to litigation in the circumstance as it will expose the Federal Government to untold embarrassment,” Falana stated in his letter.

The recruitment tests conducted across the country on March 15 left 20 applicants dead and many others injured in the stampede that characterised the exercise.

The Lagos lawyer rejected the minister’s excuse that the Federal Government had not ordered his ministry to refund the money.

The lawyer argued that since there was no bill by the National Assembly authorising the imposition of the fee on the job applicants, the minister’s action amounted to a violation of Section 59 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

He said, “In spite of your official negligence which led to the tragic death of 20 of the applicants, you stated that the Federal Government had not ordered you to refund the said sum of N700m. You have therefore decided not to refund the money or forfeit it to the Federal Government.

“However, since the National Assembly did not pass any money bill authorising the collection of the recruitment fee or levy of one thousand Naira per applicant, your action is a violation of Section 59 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which provides that there shall be a bill ‘for the imposition of or increase in any tax, duty or fee or any reduction, withdrawal or cancellation thereof’.”

Falana reminded the minister of two separate judgments recently delivered by the Federal High Court in Lagos, one of which declared illegal and unconstitutional the collection of tolls by the Lagos State Government on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge.

Fayose’s thug shot APC member —Fayemi campaigner

Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose
| credits: Allwell Okpi

The Director General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, on Thursday alleged that some suspected political thugs, said to be part of the crowd of supporters that followed former Governor Ayo Fayose, when he returned to Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, shot a member  of the All Progressives Congress.

Fayose is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Daramola, who is a member of the House of Representatives, leveled this allegation against Fayose at a press conference in Ado Ekiti.

He said that the victim, Babatunde Ogunleye, was shot  inside a bus in the Adebayo area of the state capital and that he narrowly escaped being killed.

Daramola said the suspected thugs had earlier vandalised a bus parked within the premises of Kayode Fayemi Campaign office.

The Fayemi campaign director said, “Babatunde was returning from Oye Ekiti, where we held  our rally, at about 7 pm when the incident happened. The guy could have been killed. He escaped death by the whiskers simply because someone wants to be governor at all costs.

“I want to believe that a script has been acted out to turn this election into orgy of violence; if not, what did Fayose, who claims to be popular, need such a large number  of SSS and the policemen for?

“And we want to emphasise that if there is any script they are acting, either  in this Ekiti election or 2015, we want to make it abundantly clear that Ekiti people will bungle it.”

However, the spokesperson of Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, denied the allegation.

Adelusi said, “Our supporters, who were being guided by the security men, did not have the time to branch at the APC secretariat.

“Beside that, the supporters had been specifically instructed by Ayo Fayose not to be violent and not to react to provocation by the APC as they move from Ikere to Ado Ekiti and they kept to the instruction.

“Therefore, what the APC is claiming is strange to us. Let them beam their searchlight elsewhere.

Fayose’s thug shot APC member —Fayemi campaigner

Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose
| credits: Allwell Okpi

The Director General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, on Thursday alleged that some suspected political thugs, said to be part of the crowd of supporters that followed former Governor Ayo Fayose, when he returned to Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, shot a member  of the All Progressives Congress.

Fayose is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Daramola, who is a member of the House of Representatives, leveled this allegation against Fayose at a press conference in Ado Ekiti.

He said that the victim, Babatunde Ogunleye, was shot  inside a bus in the Adebayo area of the state capital and that he narrowly escaped being killed.

Daramola said the suspected thugs had earlier vandalised a bus parked within the premises of Kayode Fayemi Campaign office.

The Fayemi campaign director said, “Babatunde was returning from Oye Ekiti, where we held  our rally, at about 7 pm when the incident happened. The guy could have been killed. He escaped death by the whiskers simply because someone wants to be governor at all costs.

“I want to believe that a script has been acted out to turn this election into orgy of violence; if not, what did Fayose, who claims to be popular, need such a large number  of SSS and the policemen for?

“And we want to emphasise that if there is any script they are acting, either  in this Ekiti election or 2015, we want to make it abundantly clear that Ekiti people will bungle it.”

However, the spokesperson of Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, denied the allegation.

Adelusi said, “Our supporters, who were being guided by the security men, did not have the time to branch at the APC secretariat.

“Beside that, the supporters had been specifically instructed by Ayo Fayose not to be violent and not to react to provocation by the APC as they move from Ikere to Ado Ekiti and they kept to the instruction.

“Therefore, what the APC is claiming is strange to us. Let them beam their searchlight elsewhere.

Conference full of sleepy lazy old men –Kalu

Dr. Orji Kalu

A former Abia State governor, Orji Kalu, has described the ongoing National Conference in Abuja as a home to old men who do not have the strength to decide the future of the nation.

Speaking at the Centenary Lecture organised by the Oyo State branch of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kalu, who delivered a lecture titled, ‘Nigeria: A Nation in Quest of Credible Leadership’, said Nigeria would not move forward unless the first generation leaders withdrew gradually from politics.

He said, “The present crop of leaders seems to be failing the nation and the people are becoming increasingly doubtful if indeed we have leaders. To worsen matters, the first generation leaders are still mostly the ones calling the shots. If you go through the National Conference delegates’ list, you will be amazed by the number of men in their 80s still trying to determine the type of future that is suitable for the millennium generation. What fresh ideas can these sleepy old men offer on the way forward? There can be no credible leadership until these men begin to gradually withdraw and allow the younger generation to take charge.”

Kalu also said that for the opposition movement and criticism of government to be effective, the media had a huge role to play.

“It is the media that has the constitutional responsibility to create such robust interface between the opposition and the governing party. The opposition that will guarantee credible leadership cannot be strong and effective if we do not have an equally credible media,” said The Sun Newspaper publisher.

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, Kalu expressed concern over the quality of candidates vying for elective positions, adding that Nigeria must have credible leadership to be a great nation.

He praised the likes of the late Chief Obafemi Awoowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and other nationalists for their contributions to nationhood.

“In the circumstance, we need to start shopping for credible leadership ahead of the 2015 elections. This is the time to start the search as part of our collective civic duty,” said Kalu, who also give credit to President Goodluck Jonathan for his vision for Nigeria.”

Commenting on the reign of impunity and corruption in governance, the former presidential aspirant said he was saddened to see that many lawmakers in the country were people with fraudulent characters who even defended their action in public.

“Those at the National Assembly are fraudulent people who enrich themselves fraudulently. There is corruption in the land so much that thieves are no longer ashamed of their act. People pay journalists in order to discredit innocent Nigerians and some even hire assassin to kill. Our nation must change for it to be classified a great country,” he said.

Meanwhile, a social critic, Olola Kasum, has appealed to President Jonathan to devote more time to governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

In a statement in Ilorin on Thursday, Kasum, who is the President, Afonja Descendants’ Union, appealed to Jonathan and an unnamed major political party in the country to amicably resolve their differences.

He stated that diplomacy rather than litigation  should be employed to resolve differences.   He noted that much resources were being spent on litigations.

Conference full of sleepy lazy old men –Kalu

Dr. Orji Kalu

A former Abia State governor, Orji Kalu, has described the ongoing National Conference in Abuja as a home to old men who do not have the strength to decide the future of the nation.

Speaking at the Centenary Lecture organised by the Oyo State branch of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kalu, who delivered a lecture titled, ‘Nigeria: A Nation in Quest of Credible Leadership’, said Nigeria would not move forward unless the first generation leaders withdrew gradually from politics.

He said, “The present crop of leaders seems to be failing the nation and the people are becoming increasingly doubtful if indeed we have leaders. To worsen matters, the first generation leaders are still mostly the ones calling the shots. If you go through the National Conference delegates’ list, you will be amazed by the number of men in their 80s still trying to determine the type of future that is suitable for the millennium generation. What fresh ideas can these sleepy old men offer on the way forward? There can be no credible leadership until these men begin to gradually withdraw and allow the younger generation to take charge.”

Kalu also said that for the opposition movement and criticism of government to be effective, the media had a huge role to play.

“It is the media that has the constitutional responsibility to create such robust interface between the opposition and the governing party. The opposition that will guarantee credible leadership cannot be strong and effective if we do not have an equally credible media,” said The Sun Newspaper publisher.

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, Kalu expressed concern over the quality of candidates vying for elective positions, adding that Nigeria must have credible leadership to be a great nation.

He praised the likes of the late Chief Obafemi Awoowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and other nationalists for their contributions to nationhood.

“In the circumstance, we need to start shopping for credible leadership ahead of the 2015 elections. This is the time to start the search as part of our collective civic duty,” said Kalu, who also give credit to President Goodluck Jonathan for his vision for Nigeria.”

Commenting on the reign of impunity and corruption in governance, the former presidential aspirant said he was saddened to see that many lawmakers in the country were people with fraudulent characters who even defended their action in public.

“Those at the National Assembly are fraudulent people who enrich themselves fraudulently. There is corruption in the land so much that thieves are no longer ashamed of their act. People pay journalists in order to discredit innocent Nigerians and some even hire assassin to kill. Our nation must change for it to be classified a great country,” he said.

Meanwhile, a social critic, Olola Kasum, has appealed to President Jonathan to devote more time to governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

In a statement in Ilorin on Thursday, Kasum, who is the President, Afonja Descendants’ Union, appealed to Jonathan and an unnamed major political party in the country to amicably resolve their differences.

He stated that diplomacy rather than litigation  should be employed to resolve differences.   He noted that much resources were being spent on litigations.

Nigeria is fully at war

Nigeria is fully at war

Professor Pat Utomi

Nigeria has been at war for some time. Many of the crises it has managed to keep stumbling into have been troubling enough to be the moral equivalence of a war. For a few years now, there has been a low grade shooting war gnawing at us. But now more people are dying from it than from many major civil wars around the world.

Nigeria and similes of war, as well as metaphors of conflict, have been associated, for a while. Many years ago, I was invited to speak at a Spring meeting of the World Bank in Washington. As we waited for my session, we engaged in a light banter with some World Bank staff members. One of them, Peter Mousley, an English gentleman, was responsible for three countries, Nigeria, Sudan and Sierra Leone. I wondered what the three countries had in common. At the time, Sierra Leone and Sudan were struggling with long running civil wars. Mousely laughed and said there are those who wonder at the awkward grouping and there are those who see all three economies as post-conflict economies of sorts. Nigeria was not at war but the metaphor of a conflict economy seemed to suit it.

In the last few years, conflict has moved from metaphor to what we live. Like, the Florida Everglades, a slow moving river, so slow many do not actually realise there is flow, creeping violence has crawled out from the Niger Delta, as criminals and party toughs became militants and went from kidnapping for criminal ransom to armed environmental activists. To the North-Central where Robert Kaplan saw the coming anarchy violence reigns, finding manifestation in the cleavages of religion, ethnicity, and economic injustice; to marauding Fulani herdsmen going into a murderous rage on the matter of indigene rights and nomadic people; and, eventually the Maitatatsine and other religion-based waves of uprisings and pogroms degenerating into a full-blown insurgency in the face of a failing state and a political class choking on the vomit of its voracious appetite for corrupt enrichment.

Nigeria, denial and make-belief notwithstanding, has been in a full-scale war that has not been declared, with an enemy that is anarchic and whose identity is known only by a name: Boko Haram.

Many things are puzzling about this major war we have a way of pretending is a “police action” some nutheads who hate in the name of God whereas it is a situation as bad as Sudan before the outbreak of peace that would soon be betrayed. One of them is how it seems our military do not seem to have recourse to modern technology.

I recall the Falklands War of as far back as 1982. Its end came while I was on the telephone with the late General Joseph Nanven Garba. I was putting finishes touches to my Ph.D. thesis in Bloomington, Indiana and Garba was a Fellow at the Kennedy School at Harvard. As I was running some of my conclusions by him on the phone when he suddenly said, “It’s over”. He had apparently had an eye on a television set as we spoke and saw the breaking news of Argentina’s surrender. “American technology won it for them”, he commented. Indeed, American satellite intelligence helped Britain win that war. That technology is today so advanced you can pick up the name tag on a soldier from outer space. So, how come rocket launcher vehicles can travel through desert-like conditions around Maiduguri and arrive at an Army barracks undetected, when even Google earth can track such movement? Then, there is the case of the biggest victims, the local residents. They are being slaughtered like chicken in these attacks and it seems improbable insurgents can function without locals knowing enough to provide intelligence that can aid proactive actions of deterrence.

Then, there is also the calculus of this descent into anarchy. Man may be an emotional being but many of the conflicts of Africa only barely mask the goals of those who prosecute them. Many times, it is for control of mineral resources so the contending groups can have access to the economic rent. In the Boko Haram case, you see slight traces of the benefits of political actors who may support from the background.

When politicians use the instrument of making the country difficult to govern as part of the politics of power erosion, to shrink the legitimacy of an incumbent, you assume a certain calculus in the end game. It may be desirable to get rid of the current government at the centre but the continuing cost of anarchy, after one is rid of such a regime, just seems too high for reasoning politicians to deploy as a covert tactic. So, why can people with intelligence on sources of covert support for the violence not be properly engaged? Everyone is losing. The economy of the North-East is near collapse, infrastructure and other assets are being devastated. The country’s image is sullied by broadcast signals of primitive and bestial anarchists which its military is at a loss on how to contain and the Leviathan looks a complete failure in its first duty of ensuring the security of all.

The zero sum game has become lose-lose so the real incentive is for reconciliation to stop the rot. A military solution is not optimal but the military needs to up the containment game so a political resolution can be attained.

There are those who think the prolonged conflict is creating a whole class of people, including those in the military-industrial complex, who profit from it. If that be the case, the urgency to end the conflict, is even more, because interested parties could make the culture of death a living and thriving industry.

It is time for a gospel of life to expel this culture of death consuming us. We can start preaching it in the North-East.

Let there be life in the far reaches of our troubled national soul, even on the fringes of Lake Chad that we may all live. Neighbouring countries and even friends with the technology, who are far away should, in human solidarity, help us save us from ourselves.

–Utomi, political economist and Professor of Entrepreneurship, is founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership.

Nigeria is fully at war

Nigeria is fully at war

Professor Pat Utomi

Nigeria has been at war for some time. Many of the crises it has managed to keep stumbling into have been troubling enough to be the moral equivalence of a war. For a few years now, there has been a low grade shooting war gnawing at us. But now more people are dying from it than from many major civil wars around the world.

Nigeria and similes of war, as well as metaphors of conflict, have been associated, for a while. Many years ago, I was invited to speak at a Spring meeting of the World Bank in Washington. As we waited for my session, we engaged in a light banter with some World Bank staff members. One of them, Peter Mousley, an English gentleman, was responsible for three countries, Nigeria, Sudan and Sierra Leone. I wondered what the three countries had in common. At the time, Sierra Leone and Sudan were struggling with long running civil wars. Mousely laughed and said there are those who wonder at the awkward grouping and there are those who see all three economies as post-conflict economies of sorts. Nigeria was not at war but the metaphor of a conflict economy seemed to suit it.

In the last few years, conflict has moved from metaphor to what we live. Like, the Florida Everglades, a slow moving river, so slow many do not actually realise there is flow, creeping violence has crawled out from the Niger Delta, as criminals and party toughs became militants and went from kidnapping for criminal ransom to armed environmental activists. To the North-Central where Robert Kaplan saw the coming anarchy violence reigns, finding manifestation in the cleavages of religion, ethnicity, and economic injustice; to marauding Fulani herdsmen going into a murderous rage on the matter of indigene rights and nomadic people; and, eventually the Maitatatsine and other religion-based waves of uprisings and pogroms degenerating into a full-blown insurgency in the face of a failing state and a political class choking on the vomit of its voracious appetite for corrupt enrichment.

Nigeria, denial and make-belief notwithstanding, has been in a full-scale war that has not been declared, with an enemy that is anarchic and whose identity is known only by a name: Boko Haram.

Many things are puzzling about this major war we have a way of pretending is a “police action” some nutheads who hate in the name of God whereas it is a situation as bad as Sudan before the outbreak of peace that would soon be betrayed. One of them is how it seems our military do not seem to have recourse to modern technology.

I recall the Falklands War of as far back as 1982. Its end came while I was on the telephone with the late General Joseph Nanven Garba. I was putting finishes touches to my Ph.D. thesis in Bloomington, Indiana and Garba was a Fellow at the Kennedy School at Harvard. As I was running some of my conclusions by him on the phone when he suddenly said, “It’s over”. He had apparently had an eye on a television set as we spoke and saw the breaking news of Argentina’s surrender. “American technology won it for them”, he commented. Indeed, American satellite intelligence helped Britain win that war. That technology is today so advanced you can pick up the name tag on a soldier from outer space. So, how come rocket launcher vehicles can travel through desert-like conditions around Maiduguri and arrive at an Army barracks undetected, when even Google earth can track such movement? Then, there is the case of the biggest victims, the local residents. They are being slaughtered like chicken in these attacks and it seems improbable insurgents can function without locals knowing enough to provide intelligence that can aid proactive actions of deterrence.

Then, there is also the calculus of this descent into anarchy. Man may be an emotional being but many of the conflicts of Africa only barely mask the goals of those who prosecute them. Many times, it is for control of mineral resources so the contending groups can have access to the economic rent. In the Boko Haram case, you see slight traces of the benefits of political actors who may support from the background.

When politicians use the instrument of making the country difficult to govern as part of the politics of power erosion, to shrink the legitimacy of an incumbent, you assume a certain calculus in the end game. It may be desirable to get rid of the current government at the centre but the continuing cost of anarchy, after one is rid of such a regime, just seems too high for reasoning politicians to deploy as a covert tactic. So, why can people with intelligence on sources of covert support for the violence not be properly engaged? Everyone is losing. The economy of the North-East is near collapse, infrastructure and other assets are being devastated. The country’s image is sullied by broadcast signals of primitive and bestial anarchists which its military is at a loss on how to contain and the Leviathan looks a complete failure in its first duty of ensuring the security of all.

The zero sum game has become lose-lose so the real incentive is for reconciliation to stop the rot. A military solution is not optimal but the military needs to up the containment game so a political resolution can be attained.

There are those who think the prolonged conflict is creating a whole class of people, including those in the military-industrial complex, who profit from it. If that be the case, the urgency to end the conflict, is even more, because interested parties could make the culture of death a living and thriving industry.

It is time for a gospel of life to expel this culture of death consuming us. We can start preaching it in the North-East.

Let there be life in the far reaches of our troubled national soul, even on the fringes of Lake Chad that we may all live. Neighbouring countries and even friends with the technology, who are far away should, in human solidarity, help us save us from ourselves.

–Utomi, political economist and Professor of Entrepreneurship, is founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership.

comic comic

Dilbert

 

 

Luann

 

B.C.

 

comic comic

Dilbert

 

 

Luann

 

B.C.

 

MBGN 2013, Anna Ebiere Stuns In New Photos

MBGN 2013, Anna Ebiere Stuns In New Photos

More pictures after the cut.

MBGN 2013, Anna Ebiere Stuns In New Photos

MBGN 2013, Anna Ebiere Stuns In New Photos

More pictures after the cut.

Government Declares War On Hoodlums In Oshodi, Arrests 118 At 1:00am Yesterday

Government Declares War On Hoodlums In Oshodi, Arrests 118 At 1:00am Yesterday

106 males and 12 females hoodlums were yesterday arrested around 1:00am in Oshodi by the State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) unit in Oshodi motor parks and its environs. The hoodlums are said to have been terrorizing the popular market and its environs and also robbing commuters of their valuables. The raid was carried out by the state government as part of its efforts to boost security in Lagos state and said it won't stop until Oshodi is in better form