Date Published: 02/06/10

Nigeria on Knife edge, The Yar' Adua Foot Soldiers and the rest of us. By Ndiameeh Babrik

Sometimes one is short of words to describe what is happening in present day Nigeria. As at today the 3rd of February 2010, Umar Musa Yar' Adua has never been seen in the public or even on Television 73 days since he was evacuated as a medical emergency supposedly to Saudi Arabia because of Acute Pericarditis. Well as it is now it is more of chronic than acute pericarditis 73 days on.

73 days has actually passed by without Yar' Adua appearing for once even on Television to assure his country men and women that he is recuperating fast and is eager and wiling to resume back at work soon. But some cabal of about 42 men and women are still insisting that Yar' adua shouldn't do the right thing by transferring the so called Executive powers to his deputy.  Are they saying that Yar' Adua is more Nigerian or patriotic than Goodluck Jonathan? These people have somethings they are hiding from us. Sovereign National Conference will simply solve all these hide and seek game the political class are playing with our future. Everybody is claiming being marginalised in this one sided Federalism. Let us all sit down together at a round table all the tribes whether big or small and sort out who is marginalising who.

The genocide that took place in Jos with active collaboration of the Nigerian Army at least as shown on the Saharareporters.com web site is a pointer to the fact that the earlier we sit together at a round table to sort out our differences the better for us all. There is clear indication that any time there is another crisis of that scale again in Jos, the reprisal attacks that will follow across Nigeria is better imagined.

Since all the commentators and writers on Gamji.com seemed to be calling on their kins and kiths to initiate reprisal attacks to avenge the crises in Jos. Despite the fact that those who organised the premeditated attacks were obvious. Bauchi state has now expelled all Plateau state indigenes residents in Bauchi state we do not know which state will follow next. Our elders tell us that that was how the prelude to the civil war started in 1966. This lame duck National Assembly did not find it expedient now to condemn this undemocratic, barbaric and unbecoming action by Bauchi government and its House of Assembly. That some citizens of the "Federal" Republic of Nigeria will be asked to pack and leave another part of the Federation and there is no remorse being shown either by the Bauchi state government or even the Federal Republic. This country is still operating in the 19th century of the Usman Dan Fodio era.

If my memory serves me right, Just when Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab Katsina was arrested with his bomb by the Americans, an Islamic terrorists groups called Kalo Kato held Bauchi town hostage for two days on Christmas and Boxing day last year killing Christians and Nigeria police men. Just same last year in July and August, the boko haram Islamic terrorists group unleashed havoc on Bauchi town for six days killing Christians and police men as usual. In February and April the same last year Islamic fundamentalists cum terrorists unleashed havoc on their usual innocent targets the Christians in the same Bauchi town. If there is any state in Nigeria that should be under emergency rule, it must be Bauchi. Period.

President Obama of American actually hit the nail right on the head when he said in the Ghana parliament, that the problem with Africans is that they breed strong men and have very very weak institutions. Otherwise I cannot see any reason why the Yar' Adua cabal can hold Nigerians of about 150 million people hostage for no just cause but base avarice.

The blame lies squarely at the feet of the National Assembly who has the constitutional power to impeach an absentee president who has been away without any official communication to them for over two months now.

Even in banana republics things are never done this way. A long time ago some of us wrote that there was no never to be deceitful about rulership or leadership as the case may be.

There is no need laying precedent which will not augur well for this comatose country call Nigeria.

From every indication, this present set of persons in the Yar'Adua Federal Executive Council will never invalidate him incapable of leading Nigeria since they are primary beneficiary of his incapacitation. Unfortunately Judges like Dan Abutu are compromised. Honest persons in the National Assembly must rise to this occasion and get Yar' Adua impeached immediately. No civil servant or public servant will be away from his place of work for 73 days without his employers knowing the progress of his state of health.

The ideal thing to do now is to impeach Umar Musa Yar' Adua. Anything otherwise is just confirming that Nigeria is a third world country which breeds strong men and very weak institutions. Barrack Obama the American president is right after all. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere whether on the Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Borno or even Abuja.

The Nigerian question? Well "Sovereign National Conference" is the answer. Shikenan! 

Ndiameeh Babrik

ndiame_2005@yahoo.co.uk.