This is the News Analysis segment of the Voice of Biafra International Broadcast.  

for August 17 2002

You have heard the news; now, the analysis… 

The House is going to impeach General Obasanjo—what kept you so long, House? Curiously, members of the Nigerian legislative branch and the rest of the politicians have in the past made noises to the effect that either Nigeria is a democracy or that Nigeria is enjoying or will enjoy the “dividends of democracy.” Get real, House members and politicians! 

And, perhaps, you are finally getting real and understanding that Nigeria is not a democracy. In the more recent beginning, that is, 1999, under the guise of democracy, General Obasanjo was selected (not elected) by the arrogant Northern power brokers, over the popular Ekwueme. That was not democracy. General Obasanjo’s votes were all bought and paid for by wealthy Northerners. Is that how democracy works? (Guess where the wealth came from? Of course, from unmitigated and arrogant looting of the Nigerian treasury. Where did the money come from? From revenues from oil wells in the Southeast and Southsouth) 

General Obasanjo is the most arrogant person to occupy the seat of government of the hapless entity known as Nigeria . He, too, likes to act like Nigeria is a democracy. He conveniently forgot how he came into his assumed democratic power.  But most of all, he believes that democracy applies to only the rest of the country, but not really to him. So he proceeds as a one-man show, controlling the purse of Nigeria as if was his personal bank account, controlling the judiciary, the political party, the National legislative branch, the State legislature, and the Local Governments. He controls everything—in person. If he does not like a legislative bill, he changes it unilaterally to his liking, signs it, and pushes it on the peoples of Nigeria . He controls how the Judiciary rules on cases; and if he does not like the ruling, he acts otherwise to countermand the judges. He appoints and demotes the Speaker of the Senate according to his own whims. 

Yet, this General preaches to the peoples of Nigeria about democracy! Is there a worse anti-democratic leader in the entire world today? Here is a person who is so vindictive that he has no qualms about using the power and resources of the Government to settle personal scores—and he makes no secret of it. Here is a General who will not listen to popular recommendations, nor to legislative decisions. Yet he believes that he is practicing democracy. Once a General, indeed, always a General. 

And, this General is vying for leadership of the African Union? God help us all! He is (as usual) buying his way into it, by handing out money that Nigeria does not have to other African countries, including Ghana, when States in Nigeria are unable to maintain their constitutional obligations to their wards because they are in dire financial straights, all because the General has decided in his own fiscal wisdom how much—really how little—of the money from Oil revenues he will dole out to the States. 

What took you so long, House legislators? This man should have been thrown out of public office a long time ago. 

Anyway, these events are like chips and chunks beginning to shake out of the crumbling structure called Nigeria . 2002 elections failed to materialize—just like we had predicted. 2003 planned elections are a mere mirage in the fantasy of those who insist on pretending that they are blind and cannot sense what is really happening in and to Nigeria. There will be no elections in 2003. 

In the next several weeks to months, the legislators will be doing battle on this impeachment issue with General Obasanjo who as usual will try to buy or bully his way through, setting one member against another. While this is going on, the floundering ship of state called Nigeria will sink further. Too bad, (for him, not for the rest of the peoples of Nigeria ) the General will not be able to call on his military friends. The General, luckily for us, miscalculated: in closing the door to military coups—he just sent his Army Chief of Staff to Ghana for a visible joint declaration of “No Coups”—he cannot bring in the military on his side when this battle matures. The military will sit this one out. 

If General Obasanjo does the unthinkable—resign rather than face impeachment, which will actually be doing the peoples of Nigeria a great favor—to whom does power then devolve? Mr. Atiku? Does that not mean another Northern coup? Will the rest of the peoples in Nigeria sit still and watch the power go back to a Northerner, after these many years of misrule by Northerners, starting with the totally inept Gowon? Especially considering that Atiku came out in full support of Sharia even at a time when General Obasanjo still believed that Sharia was bad for a country known as Nigeria (that was before the General did an about face and started claiming credit and glory for instituting Sharia). 

Suppose the General stays put and is then impeached. What now? What next? Elections? Oh, for goodness sakes, get serious! The given is that there will be no elections—get it? 

You see, the claws of fate are working their certain grip of death on Nigeria . The fangs of destiny are already sunk in the jugular of the entity known as Nigeria ; her demise is imminent, with no chance of reversal. 

Who else understands this? The United States of America does. By issuing a travel advisory to US citizens not in favor of travels to Nigeria , the US has made a significant statement on the political health of Nigeria . Recall that Obasanjo was beginning to assume that he is one of the Bush’s, judging from the number of times he has been to the White House—that is, until his last uninvited trip to the US when he was correctly snubbed by the US. 

We can only hope that the US will play a noble role here not by bolstering the Nigerian Military, nor by trying to avert the inevitable crumbling of this evil behemoth known as Nigeria, but by getting the so-called leaders of Nigeria to see the light and reason, to see that the only hope for the salvage of the peoples living in Nigeria is by quickly abandoning the unworkable idea of one Nigeria, calling for and convening a Sovereign National conference of independent nations wherein a formula will be worked out to retire Nigeria’s obligation, and the nations can pursue their own independent national destinies. 

Better still, the US can convince the British Government of the above. If the British resist, please remind them that Afghanistan , Sudan , Pakistan / India , are all countries who, like Nigeria , are continuing to suffer from the original British mistakes in setting expedient maps of these countries. Do remind them that it is also the continued insistence of the British government today on maintaining and sustaining this initial mistake that has resulted in more misery—not for Britain, but— for the hapless, innocent persons unlucky enough to reside in these countries. Enough is enough. For the sake of these human beings, Britain must retract her tentacles and completely divest her interest from her current plans in Nigeria  which serve only to hurt and kill the commoners—the peoples of Nigeria.  

Nevertheless, the primary responsibility of getting out of Nigeria lies principally with the peoples of Nigeria . Otherwise, the so-called “long-suffering” peoples of Nigeria are about to continue their suffering—longer and more. The peoples do not have a basis to trust the politicians to do the right thing. All of them, starting from the General, through the House, down to the last Local Government Authority—these politicians do not care about the peoples, their main interest lies in how to make more money and how to stay in power to continue to make more money at the expense of the peoples. These politicians cannot be trusted to do the right thing by the peoples or for the peoples. 

When the General and the politicians start this fight, you can be sure that it is the “little peoples” that will be the victim. The worst part is that nobody will care about these victims; nobody will even acknowledge their suffering and death—yes, many ordinary peoples will die—a lonely, unjustified and forgotten death. A needless but cruel death. Folks, it does not have to be this way. 

We are hereby calling on the peoples living in Nigeria to read the handwriting on the wall, to understand that the countdown to more doom is on. We are telling the peoples living in Nigeria that while Nigeria shall surely die as an entity—a well-deserved death, by the way—the peoples need not die with it. We are telling the people that the structure, which generates the system of one Nigeria , is what the problem really is. We are telling the peoples living in Nigeria that it is Nigeria that brings out the worst in you; otherwise, you are really decent peoples. We have to liberate ourselves from the sinking and stinking Nigeria . 

Thus we appeal to the peoples living in Nigeria : demand a Sovereign National Conference now! Do not wait for the chaos to deepen—you are unlikely to survive it intact or even, not at all. Do not wait for the politicians to initiate this on their own—that might never happen. The Sovereign National Conference is a peaceful way to extricate ourselves from a sinking rotting structure called Nigeria , without sinking with her. Demand a Sovereign National Conference today! 

Biafra Actualization fully supports the Sovereign National Conference of the independent and sovereign nations living in Nigeria . We are working towards it. 

In the meantime, the BIAFRA ACTUALIZATION PROCESS CONTINUES UNABATED. The survival and ultimate individual and collective fulfillment of the Nation of Biafra is predicated on the actualization of Biafra in this timeframe. This shall be done, because it is so-ordained. Luckily, this will also liberate the other nations living in Nigeria . 

We must take out time to acknowledge the pain, suffering and efforts of members of MASSOB, BLM and all the other organizations working day and night to see Biafra formalized. Your work shall not be in vain. 

Biafra lives! 

That’s the news analysis for the week  

God bless and keep Biafra and you, until next week. VOBI broadcast continues. (Audio version part of weekly VOBI broadcast posted on Biafraland website, http://www.biafraland.com : follow Voice of Biafra link.)