'The dismal state of politics in a divided nation'

"An uncomfortable truth can in time, become a great potential asset. But first we have to be brave enough to acknowledge it, and then bold enough to deal with it"-Simon Wolley

Hurray, His excellency, Chief Bola Tinubu finally lends his voice to the restructuring debate. No doubt, this is very unsettling to his party leadership and sends very clear message to his party's indecision to address this very important national issue that helped them to win the 2015 elections.
We all know that IPOB is a threat to both the under-performance/under achievement of the South-East Political leaders, especially the Governors and the endless vulnerability and marginalisation of Ndigbo in the Nigeria project. It is also a threat to a sudden emerging coalition that now sees the South-East and the South-South as the next strategic ally come 2019. The body language of the Political leaders can reveal this new struggle to build a new historic coalition with the promise of re-election, what they call automatic second term in office. The threat is very easy to predict; anyone that does not co-operate will be humiliated, probed, dethroned and possibbly end up in jail.
The propaganda and intimidation of IPOB has worked. IPOB is a terrorist organisation that wants to plunge the nation into another civil war. The statistics of what the people stand to lose is well presented instead of  what autonomy or independence will offer. IPOB is now going through the courts to fight for survival. Their leader has simply made a tactical retreat which is very important in this crude game of politics. According to Ian Birrell, This is like "looking backwards to find answers in a fast changing world that threatens to leave the country behind". Till date the South-East remains the most vulnerable and marginalised in the country since 1970. This very administration has demonstrated the use of conquering technique in handling the affairs of the region with its retrogressive development impact in the region, deepening the dependency culture. The thinking that this sudden coalition for the purpose of re-election is the solution to our vulnerability and marginalisation is false, pseudo-intellectualism and mocking good sense. It simply shows how greedy, heartless and brutal our political leaders are to the people that elected them to office. The Governors should be cautious of this sudden Greek-offer and follow the footsteps of their counterparts in other parts of the country especially the South-West who will always remain the beautiful bride in the nation's politics. Instead of finding a constructive way to work with IPOB and other indigenous groups fighting for a common cause, the Governors have simply chosen to 'flirt with crude nationalism with ideas so inimical to modernity'; what Simon Wolley, describes as 'protecting the advantages of an already favoured group'. Such marriage is always doomed. He warned: "the path to power for minorities is strewn with rocks and hurdles". We must learn to fight for our rights even if the odds seem hoplessly stacked against us. The political party that guarantees us restructuring and better future should earn our votes instead of embracing a pseudo coalition that threatens to tear us apart, while tightening their grip on power to continue business as usual. One of my good friends says they are on the ground. People are now deployed to challenge those labelled as against 'national interests', even with smear campaign. National interests is when the government want to determine what citizens see and hear, so they deploy people to peddle the party line in various threads as if we are at war. I enjoy President Trump's rhetorics a lot; he said "the rocket man is on a suicide mission, you won't be around long". Naturally you won't expect the 'rocket man' to keep calm. He says; "we are waiting for the right time to have a final battle with the US". Please let them take it easy....
Poloitics is the battle of ideas. Speaking up to change policy or behaviour is a right of every citizen especially in a democracy. This is my personal view.

Uche Okeke.

The LEAD Project Foundation: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The LEAD Project Foundation: Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward...

Make Nigeria Free for all; a lesson on free speech

Today it's very easy to predict our government, especially now that elections 2019 is round the corner. The political system is becoming less democratic as the government now struggles for word power. I have just read a recent media directive in this regard seeking surveillance and media control including social media, even threatning the citizens with death for hanging for free speech. There have been several attempts to seek legislation in this regard. One now wonders if this is democray or something else especially in a secularised society like Nigeria. Guidance of public opinion should be least headache of a transparent government especially in a democracy.  The era of government telling people what they may or may not publish or broadcast in one country is over. Today's liberation technology has made it difficult for government to determine what the citizens see and hear. The UN declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that :"Everyone has a right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and import information and ideas through any media, and regardless of frontiers". The free communication of ideas and opinions is a fundamental human right which must be respected by governments.  The International community has declined to assist the local government to surppress the activities of IPOB,  and other minority and civil society organisations in Nigeria. This is a strong signal to caution the government of unnecessary abuse of its own citizens rights. The government should direct our lean resources to  more meaningful infrastructure development and social services and restructuring of the country to create more opportunities for the citizens instead of unnecessary intimidation to hold on to power. It is worst when it's obvious that it's discriminatory, only what the government want to hear. The free communinication of ideas and opinions is every citizens right . This very government is a good beneficiary of this man's most precious right as they were once in opposition, so deploying control for political gains is barbaric, undemocratic, and 'full-blown totalitarian regimentation'. Free speech enables us to seek and find the truth and hold the government to account.  "Rather than having politicians who can't handle the truth, we seem to have politicians who have no idea what the truth is"-The Economist. We are waiting to see how the government will deliver on their promise of restructuring the country. We are earnestly waiting for the report of the advisory committee of the ruling party on restructuring. The beauty of democracy is that every four years they will be looking to secure new mandate from the people, sadly ordinary people's votes do not count. This is one good reason why 'the politicians have no idea what the truth is'. Read More about Freespeech debate http://freespeechdebate.com/en/  A country that wants its citizens to prosper and flourish should advance the ideals of democracy and human right not supressing civil-liberties. Participation in a democracy should not be confined to voting only. Free speech facilitates citizen engagement which enables ordinary people to deman greater accountability and better services from the representatives they elected to represent them. Freespech is very essential for democracy, the government we elected should enable it rather than seeking to suppress it. Freespeech helps us to know the truth and to hold the government to account, Nigeria is a sad story where wealth in natural resources has become a curse rather than blessing. Elite capture, violence and coercion. Anyone who disagrees is an enemy.
Uche Okeke is a Social Entrepreneur, he lives in London.

The LEAD Project Foundation: Voices of 'decency and liberty that reveal and enl...

"The internet does afford new possibilities for individuals to broadcast, connect and organise. Most of us can now become authors, joutnalists and publishers. At relatively small expense we can broadcast ourselves in words, images or sounds that are theoretically accessible to billions of other human beings"-Timothy Carton Ash.

The LEAD Project Foundation: Voices of 'decency and liberty that reveal and enl...: "History is full of despots who never put their country before themselves with their ambitions laid with the blood of the young and ...

The LEAD Project Foundation: Be Well-Informed as we hold the Government to acco...

The LEAD Project Foundation: Be Well-Informed as we hold the Government to acco...: "Everyday people can take action for a better future, helping to rebalance our view of the world and helping to spread the message ...

There is always hope when people listen to both sides

In several African countries, more than half the population is illiterate. Many don't have access to good education, regular, affordable access to the internet. The politicians exploit this statistics to promote 'totalitarian lies with chronic media manipulations'. Even in liberal democracy some governments are experts in 'falsehood' to continue business as usual. The few educated elites become sycophants and agents to power-holders.


 In a world where everyday stories is war, famine, disasters, human cruelty , human inequality and injustice without hope or proposed solutions, it's very natural we get scared and compelled to lend our voices to change our world. 


There are good stories about people taking individual and collective action to change laws, save lives and change the course of history, change the society. The truth is that anyone can make a difference in the world, anyone can change the world. You don't need to be a politician to change the world.


According to Bernadette Russell, ''You can start right now. You don't need money, or  an organisation, or be in a position of power to begin. You just need to start  writing your own story. What those other stories have in common is each started with someone making a decision to do something, and making a start by doing just one small thing"(The Little Book of Kindness- Bernadette Russell).


 Lending our voices to the debate about the future is of great significance, and must start now.  You don't need a permission to start."Even in authoritarian countries, the power-holders do sometimes respond to the voice of their people"-Timothy Carton Ash.(Free Speech; Ten Principles for a Connected World).


 Quite often we hear stories of how to resist the diaspora and how the diaspora is creating problems for their local societies. I have read about some of these stories on facebook.  This narrative is un-intellectual, obsolete and retrogressive, mocking our convictions of civility.
Diaspora is good force for development as they bring new attitude, new ideas, education and skills including funds to drive development.


The essence of being a citizen of a democracy is that you can work to effect change in the society, and you can work from anywhere especially in this era of liberation technology. Let us learn to work together for change and say no to 'herd mentality' of listening to just what we want to hear; the narratives of the few.


"There is always hope when people are forced to listen to both sides, it is when they attend only to one that errors harden into prejudices"-John Stuart.


 Listening to both sides, listening to competing arguments and weighing competing reasons for actions is one way we can drive change.


Uche Okeke

'How to restructure the United Nations should be our priority number one says Nigeria's President Buhari

"To restructure or not to restructure is no longer the question- the United Nations must be restructured for it to remain relevant in years to come... Several ideas are out there, all that we need is to get them together and agree on what works for the majority of the people of the world"-President Buhari. Photo: Google.

 This headline is one of my best pick from President Buhari's speech at the recent UN meeting in New York. Guess what ?. My best response is this: Take your message home and take action. Change begins at home. Restructuring Nigeria should be our priority number one to guarantee inclusiveness, and greater economic opportunities for ordinary people. This is one way to bring confidence and hope so that people will have the chance to live happily. Let change start with the President !.

 The President compliments the leadership of the United Nations for steady leadership and the body's dedication to search for a 'peaceful and equitable' world through the charter of the United Nations, but regret that little is achieved. In his words; "we have our talks and end up not implementing anything to the disappointment of millions and millions of people around the world who look up to this body to provide leadership in a world that is constantly oscillating between advancement and doom..., as we say in Nigeria , he who does not look ahead remains behind" 

Restructure Nigeria first before advising the United Nations. The truth is that the politicians are simply peddling falsehood  and fear to continue business as usual. Anyone that disagrees is against national interest. If there is fairness, equity and justice in the system, there may not be agitation by minority groups. This is a big challenge to the political leaders as the status-quo will always be challenged even in the nearest future.

 Let me to conclude by reminding the President his own words to the United Nations, "as we say in Nigeria, he who does not look ahead remains behind. How to restructure the United Nations should be our priority number one. Several ideas are out there. All that we need is to get them together and agree on what works for the majority of the people of the world. It is a fair thing to do, one that will benefit the world by giving it a chance for a more balanced outlook to matters of importance to us all. As we have learned in Nigeria, sometimes you need to change in order not to remain the same. It is the first principle of renewal" 

Restructuring Nigeria is to ensure that we bequeath to the upcoming generations a country that is healthy, wealthy and grounded in rule of law, equity and social justice. We need to do more to bring about a more equitable world where some members of our society do not feel "suppressed, undervalued and alienated" 

Lastly, restructuring Nigeria is one sure way to advance the much cherished human progress, peace and decent life for all and accomplish a sustainable future. Let the president lead the restructuring not playing political football with it. History will always remember us. Staying together, sticking together, remaining intact and avoid dividing into several sub-nations needs equity and justice not unity and continuity regardless of inequity and injustice, charity begins at home.

 

Today people have become sensitive and and aware of ideas of freedom and autonomy especially in changing times so social change is inevitable, it may not be business as usual for those who want to determine how other people will live their lives or a particular way of life for others in the society we share.

Uche Okeke is the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London

Click on this link to read the President's full speech at the UNGA72 : http://zurumnews247.chayns.net/tapp/index/91958?M=63412254