By SKC Ogbonnia
\nAugust 22, 2019<\/p>\n
The naked beating of Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Germany evokes painful
\nlessons, particularly with Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and, of
\ncourse, the continued detention of the frontline anti-corruption
\nadvocate and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress,
\nOmoyele Sowore.<\/p>\n
First, the sympathy generated from the Ekweremadu beating has to do with
\nthe fact that the specious victim is a prominent member of the Nigerian
\npolitical elite. Such type of public flogging is usually reserved for
\nthe ordinary Nigerians, especially if they dare go close to their
\nleaders. The German incident also marked the first time a major suspect
\nin looting of Nigerian treasury is manhandled like a petty thief. That
\nexplains why the powerful politicians are mourning while millions of the
\nmasses are celebrating.<\/p>\n
Second, the unfortunate incident is a dog whistle that the foreign land
\nis no longer a safe haven for Nigerian corrupt leaders and their
\nfamilies. Hopefully, the protest may turn out a blessing in disguise.
\nNigeria will be better served the day her political class shows trust in
\nthe country\u2019s social amenities, especially the schools; hospitals; and
\ntourism, including new yam festival.<\/p>\n
Third, and very significant, the nature of the beating on Ekweremadu
\nshows that the Nigerian masses, particularly the Igbo youths, are
\ngradually recognizing their true problems and true enemies. In short,
\nthe IPOB might have finally shattered Ekweremadu\u2019s balloon of fake
\npopularity, sustained by a cocktail of ceaseless montage of paid
\npropaganda, cascade of mass deceit, and a vicious army of highly
\neducated and well-paid toadies. The IPOB might as well grasp the reality
\nthat the Biafran problem is Biafran made. The objective fact is that our
\npeople who have held power in Nigeria\u2019s 4th Republic in the Biafran
\narea\u2014from local government, the states, federal to President Goodluck
\nJonathan\u2014were not the Hausa-Fulani. The world is also learning that
\nEkweremadu\u2019s Enugu West Senatorial district has been home to the worst
\nset of road networks in Nigeria throughout his fifth tenure in the
\nsenate. These include the most-deadly trio of Enugu\/Onitsha, Enugu\/PH,
\nand Awgu\/Oji-River highways, which has only served as money-spinners for
\nthe area politicians through series of funded but abandoned contracts.<\/p>\n
Fifth, the angst expressed in Germany by IPOB is nothing but a page from
\nthe anticorruption vision of the revolution that brought President
\nMuhammadu Buhari to democratic power. Therefore, besides the lack of
\ndevelopment in the East and Ekweremadu\u2019s apparent duplicity in the
\nproscription of IPOB, it is an open secret that my senator is crudely
\ncorrupt. This is a man who mas a mere charge-n-bail lawyer before
\nentering politics in 1999 but would shamelessly admit an overnight
\nownership of over 31 choice properties around the world without real
\njob. Yet, since disgraced out of his ambition to remain a lifetime
\nDeputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has been globetrotting,
\ncelebrating failure with fake yam festivals while millions of fellow
\nIgbo youths are subjected to abject poverty and despair, home and
\nabroad. Enough!<\/p>\n
As I noted in the piece, \u201cBuhari And Nnamdi Kanu Fighting The Wrong
\nEnemies\u201d, the whole IPOB saga is misconstrued. What must no longer
\nescape the minds of patriotic Nigerians is that an original aim of Radio
\nBiafra, before its vision was sabotaged by Igbo politicians, was to
\nuproot \u201call looters, embezzlers, kidnappers, sponsors of terrorism,
\nchild traffickers, corrupt judges, crooked university lecturers,
\nmurderous Nigerian security forces and all thieving individuals
\nmasquerading as public officials who steal public funds thereby
\npreventing developmental projects from impacting positively on the lives
\nof the ordinary people.\u201d\u00a0 That sounded more like Muhammadu Buhari
\nspeaking before he gained power in 2015. Therefore, though physical
\nassault must be strongly discouraged, the grievances against Ekweremadu
\nare profoundly justified. You cannot beat a child and expect him not to
\ncry at the same time. Moreover, my readers will by next week learn hard
\nfacts on how the senator actually owes IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu, not the
\nother way around.<\/p>\n
Fourth, and very instructively, the Ekweremadu experience is a wake-up
\ncall that the continued detention of Omoleye Sowore is a time bomb. Of
\ncourse, the senator representing me is not the only corrupt politician
\nflaunting his wealth and influence at the expense of the masses.
\nConsider, for instance, the latest quagmire where Godswill Akpabio, a
\nformer governor of Akwa Ibom, who is a facing trial for stealing N108
\nbillion from state treasury, is suddenly made the boss of Festus Keyamo,
\na celebrated human rights lawyer, who was the prosecutor in the same
\ncase. Combine the irony with the situation where Timipre Sylva, a former
\ngovernor of Bayelsa state, who was found guilty under the President
\nJonathan for corrupt acquisition of 48 choice properties, now holds sway
\nat the Ministry of Petroleum, the mainstay of the nation\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
This pattern under President Buhari is unimaginable and definitively
\nunbearable. This is precisely why Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB refers to Nigeria
\nas a zoo. The daring degree of impunity is why a foremost patriot and
\nFirst Lady, Aisha Buhari, once wondered, \u201cwhere are the men of
\nNigeria? Where are the Nigerian men? What are you doing? Instead of them
\nto come together and fight them, they kept visiting them one after the
\nother, licking their shoes.\u201d\u00a0 The growing impunity accounts for why
\nNigerian men descended on Ekweremadu, a permanent fixture in the gross
\nmisrule of Nigeria in the 4th Republic. Of course, the jarring injustice
\nin Nigeria is the sole raison d’\u00eatre for the peaceful nationwide
\nprotest being led by Sowore, a field marshal in the 2015 revolution that
\ntoppled Jonathan and brought General Buhari to power. That is perfectly
\nwhy #RevolutionNow enjoys support from broad sections of Nigeria, home
\nand abroad.<\/p>\n
As patriot and, of course, one of the most rabid supporters of Buhari
\nfrom 1984, I truly want him to be the best president. But he must do the
\nneedful. The time has come for dialogue instead of seeing every critic
\nor protest as coup d\u2019etat. And charity begins at home. The president
\nmight as well embrace the vision of his United Nations address in 2017,
\nwhere he preached dialogue over war in the case of North Korea. In
\nBuhari\u2019s words, \u201cIn all these crises, the primary victims are the
\npeople, the most vulnerable being women and children.\u201d\u00a0 Thusly, his
\nstyle of beckoning trouble from all fronts is a recipe for disaster. The
\nlatest attempt to label Nnamdi Kanu and Sowore as coup plotters is not
\nonly a maddening malfeasance, the continued detention of Sowore is
\nequally a brazen nonfeasance.<\/p>\n
President Buhari must rise beyond sheer dogmatism and admit that the
\nstate is truly falling apart. He ought to be able to discern that,
\nunlike the case of IPOB where the Igbo leaders, including Ekweremadu,
\nhave been dreadfully deceitful; the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of the Yoruba
\nintelligentsia is boldly behind Omoyele Sowore. Only a poon ignores the
\npotential of the heavily funded but regional IPOB, with a worldwide
\nmembership, fusing with a broad-based national outfit like
\n#RevolutionNow. It will not be surprising, however, if this appeal is
\nignored; after all, \u201cthe primary victims are the people, the most
\nvulnerable being women and children.\u201d<\/p>\n
SKC Ogbonnia, a 2019 APC presidential aspirant, is the author of the
\nEffective Leadership Formula.
\n*<\/p>\n
By SKC Ogbonnia August 22, 2019 The naked beating of Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Germany evokes painful lessons, particularly with Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and, of course, the continued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n