Igbo President in Nigeria is a human right especially in a democracy- Uche Okeke.

"Society is a moral phenonmenon, the basis for membership is equity and justice, freedom and equality not unity and continuity. Absence of this undermines peaceful co-existence, nationalism, progress and development and can lead to nations divided into several sub-nations. People tend to run to their various ethnic groups/identity if their safety, economic and political rights are no longer guaranteed in their union, this can be avoided by constitutional settlement"-Uche Okeke. Society is more than just an idea of few individuals, the 'gods and monsters' among us, with the capacity to control or determine the lives of individuals.  According to Emily Durkheim; "Society is a moral phenomenon and defined on the basis of its membership" . The concept of a harmonious society goes beyond the map, propaganda and ideology rather equity and social justice. Within a secularised society where reason is highly valued, Igbo President is a right not a benevolent idea. Ohaneze should focus on how to dismantle the monstrous political structure that makes them begging for the position of the president in their own country. Presidency is a right not a benevolent idea in your own country. Those who share the same territory must have a rational constitution that guarantees the political and economic rights of its components, equality and freedom. The truth is, this is not meant to be just Igbo struggle, rather a collective responsibility by the various component units of the society to dismantle the status-quo and its divide-and-rule strategy that has only made a particular homogeneous group the beneficiary of power politics and opportunities in Nigeria and preventing people from looking into the ways in which institutions and practices may be counterproductive and need changing.  After-all, Politics is about identity and allocation of resources. One sure way this can happen is by reviving the legacy of regional political parties to check the excesses of the centre. A harmonious society does not need a dubious constitution to prosper and flourish rather equity and justice is the over-riding objective not unity and continuity.  Modernity is about new thinking, moving beyond the  nineteenth-century ideas of exploitation and political domination of one group by another,  discrimination and conflict, but  new approaches, new perspectives, shared values and shared interests. The time has come to abolish obsolete ideas and parochial conceptions that are doomed to failure. The new age is about application of reason to all areas of human experience to achieve human liberation and harmony. The world has changed beyond the imaginings of the ruthless 'few' who were not interested in emancipation of humankind. Without a new constitution, social change will be very difficult and human life would continue in its miseries. The restructuring of the monstrous political structure that creates abuse of power and deepens distrust is the only way forward. The APC government promised restructuring since 2015, people are still waiting for it. No doubt, there will always be days of reckoning and political accountability. Constitutional settlement is the revolutionary change that Nigeria needs. One Nigeria as ideological myth threatens peaceful co-existence and undermines progress and development. Inequity and injustice tears up nations into several sub-nations, this can be avoided. Note: The concept of harmonious society is about equity and justice not false unity and continuity regardless of the inequity and injustice current arrangements might involve, that's the ideology of the gods and monsters among us using propaganda to persuade people to adopt. Restructuring requires effective leadership and collective action to put pressure on the political leaders to do the right thing. This requires enlightenment and  action and we are all stakeholders. Reason and rationality must replace toxic ideas and ideologies that affect values, society's harmony, progress and development. Politics should place responsibility on human behaviour to promote peaceful co-existence, equality and freedom not lawlessness, recklessness and ruthlessness. Unity and continuity regardless of inequity and injustice is shorter-lived, unfortunately this is a hard lesson to learn. Political values such as freedom, equality and justice help societies stick together and constitutional settlement is the glue. Igbo President becomes a reality with restructuring, not begging the gods and monsters among us, the very people that created the mess we're in . There must be a commitment to make it happen, now is the time, not the next election. Democracy offers the greatest opportunity to actualise Igbo President as a human right using non-violent tactics and strategies which are fully compatible with the Western ideology of democracy and human rights, democracy is a bind for dictators that they cannot escape.

Uche Okeke is the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London. He has participated in 'Propaganda and Ideology in Everyday Life' ; The University of Nottingham.

We all have a responsibility to question Nigeria's dysfunctional political system

"A country with a lot of resource revenues will need distinctive institutions and a great leader. You get a bad leader and they crash the society to the bottom of humanity. So citizens have to get sufficiently informed that they get on the right side. The crooks, the powerful will be putting out narratives that try to misinform and so its the business of ordinary citizens to get properly informed"- Professor Sir Paul Collier.

How do you feel about the political system in which you live? The political system of a country is very important to its development and growth. It's the cornerstone to build strong institutions that will guarantee growth. A dubious political system undermines effective government by promoting weak institutions and poor leadership that becomes a moral burden on the economy and society . The Political system produces toxic polity and players. Change is the only thing that is constant. We must be willing to change the way things are. There must be a commitment to restructure the monstrous political system that promotes abuse of power, persistence of poverty and stagnation in Nigeria. Nothing happens until something changes, its as simple as that. The choice is very clear. Nigeria needs to choose between a federation and a unitary system of government given the sad experience of nearly six decades after independence. A new constitution is the only guarantee for a socially cohesive society and a better democracy in Nigeria, anything else is distractions. According to the Guardian Nigeria Editorial; "In no federal system are federating units treated like a military command system with the central government taking it upon itself to accumulate powers to the extent that it makes states mere appendages rather than autonomous federating units and partners with the central government"  The time for change is now, not after the next election . The political system is everything.  A faulty constitution undermines effective government  as our experience has shown so far .Neither APC nor PDP is the solution rather the dismantling of the dubious military constitution that created the mess we're in. Ordinary people need to fight for liberty rather than succumbing to 'bribe and bullet', the totalitarian motto.  Change cannot happen unless people do something, take action.  Only when a country does the rational thing will it be truly free, adapt to changing circumstances. This is the great challenge. 19th century ideologies are no longer relevant in the 21st century. A rigid ideology needs pressure to crack it.  A dubious political system undermines the efficacy of public institutions that are vital to growth, including poor election practices and 'political gridlock' . A dubious and dysfunctional political system is an obstacle to human progress, it must be dismantled! Politicians have always used deliberate lies to mislead ordinary people to enable them achieve and hold political power but the reality is different. The time has come to resist propaganda and political ideology of politicians of the by-gone age that has negative impact on our daily lives. According to Professor Michael Freeden, "propaganda persuades us to adopt political beliefs or behaviours that we would not normally embrace" . These politicians have proven that they are "irrational, blind, mad, not worth listening to, and indeed a nuisanse"  and obstacle to our progress. Overhauling the monstrous unitary centralised political system is one sure way to help us build a new society of equality and plenty and a better future. Ordinary people need to put pressure on the politicians to do the right thing, restructure the country. Ordinary people have "nothing to lose but their chains". In the words of Professor Mattew Humphrey, University of Nottingham; "if they have nothing to lose but their chains, then they have nothing but chains" The path to freedom is escape from the conditions of exploitation and domination. The current political system is dysfunctional and simply legitimises historical exploitation and domination and risks expansionism as we are currently witnessing. Federating units need both political and economic freedom to achieve real human emancipation which the current system does not offer. A proper and transparent political system should guarantee the essentials rights that will enable the constituent units to achieve their true potential rather than controlling people and resources. Thinking needs to change. Lastly, the words of the wisest old Machiavelli still rings bell . In his words. "liberty is the product of a population's ability to fight", but this is not happening. Basically, the people will continue to remain in chains unless they do something, take action, demand freedom.
Uche Okeke.
Read More:  http://www.theleadprojectfoundation.com/2019/05/restructuring-is-one-sure-way-to.html

Weapons used in Nigeria's Herder/Farmer Conflict linked to organised criminal networks- Report

"According to the December 2018 report from the rights group, Amnesty International, over 3,600 people have died in clashes between herders and farmers over the past three years in Nigeria. In the meantime the death toll is higher than the number of people who died from terror attacks by Boko-Haram..., The Nigerian authorities failure to investigate communal clashes and bring perpetrators to justice has fuelled a bloody escalation in the conflict between farmers and herders across the country"-DW

 A new report by Conflict Arm Research, UK , says Communities and armed groups engaged in Nigeria's herder-farmer conflicts use weapons derived from national, regional and transcontinental sources. The report identifies weapons diverted from state stockpiles across the sahel, and trafficked into Nigeria through long-range criminal networks. Furthermore, the report says; the herder-farmer conflict also involves weapons that match newly manufactured firearms from Turkey, which International criminal networks have smuggled in bulk to West Africa, making it possible for combatants to access ''relatively new weapons which arrive Nigeria thanks to the efforts of sophisticated transcontinental weapon traffickers". This is the first field based study of small arms and ammunition used by armed groups and communities in Northern Nigeria's herder-farmer conflicts. Click on this link to read the full report :  https://www.conflictarm.com/dispatches/nigerias-herder-farmer-conflict/  The herder-farmer clashes has contibuted to worsening security challenges in the country with the indigeneous population attributing it to ethnic cleansing and land-grabbing and accusing the federal government of inaction. There has been widespread call for the government to sack the current security chiefs due to lack of solutions to the persistence killings and kidnapping which has no correlation to herder-farmer confrontations.  According to Yakasai, an elder statesman and a founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum; "the current Service Chiefs have run out of ideas on how to resolve the current issues of insecurity in the country". He said, the president needs to change tactics and seek fresh hands that would help in bringing an end to issues of insecurity in the country. In his words; "The president's idea about insecurity has proved inadequate to deal with the threat to our lives and property and he should urgently change tactics and personnel in order to win the war against rising threats to the lives of Nigerians" Meanwhile the Senate and House of Representatives have passed a vote of no-confidence on the security agencies and the security architecture in the country which the president seems reluctant to restructure. Indigenous populations have expressed their desire to actively engage in the defence of their homelands and this is supported by a renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who has urged state governments which are not secured under the present political dispensation to set up state security agencies because the National Assembly has made laws for the establishment of other arms bearing institutions in the country. The federal government and the ruling party claims they are tackling insecurity despite the country ranking third on the 2019 Global Terrorism Index.  There is widespread belief that a recent high court ruling in favour of the Benue state government declaring RUGA settlement unlawful and unconstitutional could intensify renewed herders-farmers clashes across the states since the herders are uncompromising in accepting the ban on open grazing nationwide. The court order by Justice Olajuwon restraints the Attorney General of the federation and other agents of the federal government from making any attempt to allocate local and state lands to anyone for RUGA settlement in Benue state without the approval of the state Governor under Land Use Act of 1978. Benue state is one of hardest hit by the Fulani herdsmen opposed to the state's anti-grazing laws.

Uche Okeke

FULL VIDEO : Drama in Senate, As Abaribe Tells Buhari to Resign Over Ris...

To defeat terrorism, the answer lies with ''leadership, accountability and action". To defeat terrorism we need a new plan. In the words of Henry Miller, "what distinguishes the majority of men from the few is their ability to act according to their beliefs. The hero is he who raises himself above the crowd. To run with the herd and die with the herd is the natural animal instinct which men share with other beasts". Defeating the devastating scourge that threatens our collective well-being and future in our own country requires 'speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly'. Freedom requires action not sycophantic praise singing. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe is the people's hero. The development costs of insecurity in Nigeria is that both the population and the economy suffer as we are currently witnessing. The entire system has failed so something must be done about it. What's the point of politics if its not to guarantee citizens security and prosperity. Thinking needs to change.

Uche Okeke is the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation.

Human Rights in Nigeria-Nigerian information minister: 'This government does not violate anybody...

Can Nigeria's human rights record be defended? According to Tim Sebastiab; "Evidence of wrong doing is so compelling" .Lai Mohammed, Nigeria's information minister faces Tim Sebastian.
FULL SHOW!

Nigerians react to transparency Intl's report on corruption index

Better information can lead to better political performance. " Those in power need to think more deeply and in new ways about the challenges they face. Ultimately, a government is judged on its actions, and its results. Anything which takes away from that goal is a misstep"-Eliot Wilson

State of Occupation-FULL VIDEO : South East Senators Protest against Multiple Roadblocks in ...

The Buhari administration since coming to power in 2015 has relentlessly pursued a ruthless policy of Exclusion, Exploitation and Expansionism treating the people of the South-East with distrust, perhaps percieved enemies. Beside running an ethnic and regional government, the South-East Nigeria has been subjected to routine heavy military and security presence despite the country's security challenges that is more prevalent in the Northern Nigeria.  By excluding the people of the South-East from the country's top security architecture, the people of the South-East view this as a bad omen. The level of atrocities and hardships their people encounter on a daily basis in the hands of security personnel manning these numerous check-points is horrendous and worrisome.  In the words of Mr Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere National Publicity Secretary; "It will only take a Nigerian that is naive to see the trend the Buhari's government is going as if the entire South is conquered territories of the President and the Fulani and this is very dangerous for the unity of the country". I think the current government in Nigeria has proven that Nigeria is not a united country and has strenghtened the case for regional autonomy/ethnic federalism. Ethnic/Regional autonomy remains the only solution in a climate of suspicion and even hatred as its the case for Nigeria. According to Gurr, 1993, etal, "exclusion or maltreatment of minorities explains ethnic groups' rebellions around the world". True federalism in Nigeria is long overdue. People should be given more 'leeway' to govern their own affairs and take their own destiny in their own hands. This is the only way to eradicate fears of invasion and colonisation with legalized occupation and its horrendous consequences of 'genocide, economic exploitation and moral decadence'. Lastly in the words of Benny Hinn, American Televangelist, "the notion that Nigeria is a united country has been proven to be false based on past and present realities facing the country. The country is not only divided along ethnic and religious lines but throwing religion into the mix makes the gulf even more wider. The Buhari administration since coming to power in 2015 has done more harm than good to the unity it says is non-negotiable"
Uche Okeke is the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London.