A KING DETHRONED BY AREA BOYS

Ha! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the city of ashkeloth, except on the blog of Alofun Oluwatayo, otherwise the daughters of philistine might rejoice. How are the mighty fallen their weapon of war seized by mere hoodlums. It is with great disappointment and heart full regret that I stand here today to tell you about how our King was dethroned, not by the kingmakers with the use of empty calabash as it used to be in the days of old but with area boys. O ma se o !

Hmm!!!, wonders shall never end! can you imagine? The paramount ruler of Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, his royal highness Effiong Mbukpa, was on Wednesday beaten and chased out of his palace by thugs allegedly sponsored by the factional kingmakers (Muris) contesting the throne.

Intelligent report has it that the factional group of the kingmakers invaded the palace with suspected area boys when Mbukpa and the Palace Secretary, Godwin Bassey, who is also the Secretary of Efut Combined Assembly, were having a meeting. The group allegedly broke into the palace, destroyed the monarch’s royal stool removed his cap, his cell phones, broke his portrait and carted away documents from the office of the palace secretary.

Well, the spokesman for the group, Maurice Eyo, however denied that they entered the palace with thugs, claiming that their position was that Mbukpa, who he described as an imposter, should not parade himself as the paramount ruler. He said, “The people that entered here first were the army, and the Department of Public Transportation, they entered here first. Nobody can say that we entered here with thugs. We should have not invited the army if we wanted to enter here with thugs.“We would not have invited the police, and the navy. We invited them because we wanted peace and sanity that is why they entered first.”

Efforts of the state Security Adviser, who told the Muris to go with him to the office of the State Commissioner of Police were rebuffed as they told him that it was a traditional matter and that government should not have any business with it.

Good point, that is the part of the story that I like, if the matter was really traditional, they should have simply employ the method of empty calabash to send the king to the celestial abode or better still, employ the gods to remove him and replace him with the right man.

Narrating his ordeal, the monarch said the thugs he alleged were sponsored by one of the claimants to the throne, Prof. Ita Hogan, came with the cover of security agents to beat him up and destroyed his property.”

Mbukpa alleged that the factional group took the action because Chairman of the state Traditional Council had advised the group to use force to take over the palace, adding that the police witnessed what happened.

Waoh! What is happening, I remember thatIn those days, the kings are feared, their word is authority, in fact, they are called the second in command to the gods, if a king is not dead another will never rise, however, the entrance of civilization has changed so many things, in fact if I’m not also comfortable with the reign of my king today… I know what to do. KABIYESI O

The arrest of 13 Journalists, a professional assault

Ehn!… wait o, let me guess, it must be a joke right? Of course we can’t be serious. Not one, not two, not ten, in fact, not even a dozen, 13 able bodied men, sorry, not just mere men, 13 members of the fourth estate of the realm (journalists) were publicly insulted, assaulted and eventually arrested at the Ikeja magistrate court, Kai, heaven wept!

Top profile journalists like Wale Busari, a judiciary correspondent with Silverbird Television, was grabbed by the clothes and dragged away. Ha! Everyone must hear this.

That is not all, as if that wasn’t enough, his resistance from arrest led other judiciary workers in the area to clamp down on other journalists, which included Francis Iwuchukwu of Peoples Daily, Henry Ojeluh of PM News/The News, Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare of the Nigerian Tribune, Solomon Asowata of the News Agency of Nigeria and Akinwale Akintunde of Thisday. Others were Yetunde Ayobami-Ojo of The Guardian, Nurudeen Oyewole of Daily Trust, Shola Shoyele, Channels Television; Gbenga Shoyele, Nigerian Compass; Ranti Thomas,  Moment Newspapers; Bisi Onanuga, The Nation; and Yemi Adebanjo,  News Star newspapers.

To add insult to the most painful part of the injury, the camera of the Channels Television camera man, who was recording the incident got was seized.

What really happened? how did it get to that point, that my brothers, protectors of democracy and public interested were publicly treated like criminals without any regard for the dignity of their profession of all things at least. From the report, a female prosecutor, identified as Rose had raised her voice and asked journalists who were along the court corridor to vacate the place. An argument subsequently ensued between the prosecutor and the journalists as the latter urged the prosecutor to be civil in her approach. Simple ethical request! But Magistrate A.A Oshoniyi, whose attention was drawn by the argument, made the simple request into a simply complex one by ordering the immediate arrest of the journalists.

Although, following the intervention of the Court Registrar, Mr. Ganiu Safari, and officials of the Nigeria Bar Association, Ikeja branch, Police Area Commander, Mr. Noah Adesoyin, later released them, there are a couple of dangling questions waiting impatiently for answers.

What on earth could be so bad that journalists who are supposed to be the fourth arm of the government were treated like mere everyday criminals, whatever is the situation, a simple caution and peaceful resolution will do, not an arrest?

Again, another question is, will the release of these journalists be the end of the public show of shame that the journalism was subjected to? One key thing that the journalist Unions and Associations must understand is this; that insult is not against the 13 journalists in their individual capacities, it is an institutional insult on the profession, it is a signal of total disregard for the media, it is a mess of everything we mean as custodians of truth, it is a professional assault and must be treated as such.

ORITSEJAFOR'S POLICY UPGRADE ON RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

By Pastor Ladi Thompson

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) – the umbrella body of all Christians in Nigeria – has since its inception embraced dialogue as the primary form of resolution to disruptions in general and religious crisis in particular. Historical records will show that CAN has taken its stand at the forefront of the platforms of religious dialogue to promote peaceful conflict resolution from the inception of our nation. This position was stoically maintained at great costs to the Christian community as we chose to bear the burden of being the victimized rather than stoke the fires of disaffection in Nigeria.

Our consistent policy of religious dialogue was based upon the fundamentals of our faith which exhorts us to “Follow peace with all men” and also, we unequivocally subscribe to Article 18 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights which states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Over the decades the Christian Association of Nigeria had observed a definite pattern to the disruptions. Perhaps undetectable at close quarters our internal study reports spanning the existence of Nigeria clearly revealed a gradual escalation of intelligent, premeditated propagation of sustained violence against the sovereignty of Nigeria with the total annihilation of the Christian Church as one of its primary targets. What had been misdiagnosed for years as religious conflicts could then be clearly seen as an ancient strain of Islamism (not conventional Islam) that had flourished undetected for centuries. The unchanged goal of the ancient scourge being the total eradication of religious liberty, a suppression of women's rights and the imposition of a totalitarian ideology across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

As a former British prime minister said while receiving the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2003, “The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defence and our first line of attack. And just as the terrorist seeks to divide humanity in hate, so we have to unify it around an idea. And that idea is liberty. We must find the strength to fight for this idea and the compassion to make it universal. Abraham Lincoln said: ‘Those that deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.’ And it is this sense of justice that makes moral the love of liberty. In some cases where our security is under direct threat, we will have recourse to arms. In others, it will be by force of reason.”

Research studies commissioned by the CAN presidency of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor also noted the increase in the sophistication and logistics of the attacks. Crude spears and machetes had given way to high velocity machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and high tech incendiaries replete with remote detonation devices are now in use. Suggestive immigration patterns were unearthed with evidence of foreign infiltration and financial backing. When these were factored with evidence of complicity in state organs designed to protect citizens rights and clear patterns of obfuscation of justice even in instances where the government backed panels and commissions of inquiry published called for the prosecution of known offenders. (the importation of bombs by unknown person under the umbrella of the Nigerian Police Force and a few other cases may be cited) The CAN presidency of Ayo Oritsejafor was left with no option but to arrive at a reasonable conclusion that Nigeria had become the target of a coalition of international terror organizations merged with the local vestiges of an ancient strain of Islamism. His fears were soon confirmed by open admission of certain Islamist groups operating within Nigerian borders. Successive governments spanning the years of military rule to the present democratic structures had been in denial for years but the spate of merciless bombings and terror mongering that has been witnessed elicited an admission from the government of Nigeria.

 Again quoting former Prime Minister Blair, “The terrorists and the states that support them don't have large armies or precision weapons; they don't need them. Their weapon is chaos.”

This is precisely the situation in Nigeria – the terrorists and their allies are getting more successful at creating chaos – religious, political, economic and social – in several parts of Nigeria. If we keep it in focus that the eradication of religious plurality is one of their primary targets we would all understand the gravity of the Christian concern in Nigeria. The current president of CAN was forced to raise an alarm when the situation worsened and it became obvious that the Nigerian government was not swift to present any acceptable or creditable plan to protect the Christians and Muslim moderates that were being targeted by the Islamist coalitions. From the systematic and sustained attacks on non-Muslims the casualty figures  would approach genocidal proportions if nothing concrete is done. There are many lessons that can be gleaned from the experience of Southern Sudan where the displacement sequence claimed three million lives before the international community paid adequate attention. The evidence of "intelligent" Islamist moles in the rank and file of our institutions was further confirmed by the insidious campaign of calumny that followed the announcements made by the CAN president that non-Muslims were permitted to defend their lives if and when threatened by terrorists. The massive and well-funded Islamist propaganda campaign tried to smear his reputation to no avail.

The threat to national security and religious freedom is great and there is the need to redefine our strategy, if we are to survive. We have observed that the religious dialogue platforms have been severely compromised and foreign funding was being employed to stage "religious pantomimes" that served to propagate the myths of religious disturbances instead of admitting the reality of Islamist terror in Nigeria. An African proverb says that the dance steps must change when the drum pattern is changed! We dare say that the Islamist vanguard in Nigeria have become ardent supporters of the "religious dialogue policy" because it helps to perfume and cover their tracks. Strategic consultations have also revealed Islamist doctrines of deception and other devices that deny a level playing field.

It is for this reason that the CAN president has consistently demanded an upgrade of the "religious dialogue" platforms to "progressive religious dialogue" where the overall effects of the exercises are monitored both locally and internationally with the inclusion of seasoned arbitrators if need be. This shift is again in concordance with biblical injunctions that is the truth that makes free and principles upheld by the United Nations.

After the September 9, 2011, attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and also the July 7th and 21st 2005 bombings in London, the world woke up to the reality of a new kind of threat and the necessity of a new kind of response. It became clear that there had to be proactive and decisive action if Western civilization would continue unhindered. An unprecedented kind of evil had arrived on the scene and an alliance had to be built around a consensus on the necessity of containing and eliminating it. The progress the world has made since then is a result of this decisiveness on the part of Western leaders to keep the world safe for all peoples. Africa is also asking that the same yardstick needs to be applied to the same threat on our continent.

Taking a cue from recent history and also from accounts of threats to the existence of people groups all over the world, the church in Nigeria seeks to build an alliance around a similar consensus – the need to identify and isolate the individuals, groups and countries who form the Islamist coalition that threaten the continued wellbeing of Christians in Nigeria.  This is all that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is asking for on behalf of the tens of millions of Nigerian Christians under his care. The specter of an Islamist Nigeria is not something that this world can afford and we are prepared to work with anyone that will assist in ensuring that uniform justice is applied across the board. Compensation must be paid to those who have suffered needlessly whether they be Christians or Muslim moderates. The Nigerian government must work to prevent an Islamist hijack of its mandate. The senseless massacres must cease and religious freedom must be preserved. This is what "progressive religious dialogue" is all about and CAN will cooperate with all religious bodies, international concerns and governments that will work to find a lasting and peaceful solution to the real and present danger. We desire strategic partnerships that will work to identify, isolate and prosecute those behind the Islamist programs and are prepared to imbibe appropriate methodologies of international arbitration and diplomacy required to protect the lives and rights of our citizenry.