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BREAKING: Soyinka fights back! Declares Obidients the worst *Challenges Datti-Ahmed to open debate

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Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, finally removed his gloves on Friday in fight of hard knuckles with supporters of Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), followind days of lashing on the social media by the group, which goes by the name Obidients.

The renowned playwright in a statement on Friday, also threw shades at Obi himself, by referring to the audio tape that surfaced recently in which the former Governor of Anambra State, was depicted as calling the February 25 presidential election, a religious war, while allegedly speaking on phone with the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known as Winners Chapel.

The full text of his statement, read: “It would appear that a record discharge of toxic sludge from our notorious smut factory is currently clogging the streets and sewers of the Republic of Liars.  It goes to prove the point that provoked the avalanche EXACTLY!

“The seeds of incipient fascism in the political arena have evidently matured. A climate of fear is being generated. The refusal to entertain corrective criticism, even differing perspectives of the same position has become a badge of honour and certificate of commitment. What is at stake, ultimately is – Truth, and at a most elementary level of social regulation: when you are party to a conflict, you do not attempt to intimidate the arbiter, attempt to dictate the outcome, or impugn, without credible cause, his or her neutrality even before hearing has commenced. That is a ground rule of just proceeding. Short of this, Truth remains permanently elusive.

The ensuing cacophony has been truly bewildering. It strikes me as a possible ploy to smother recent provocations by other, far more trenchant issues, such as revelations of declarations of a religious war. If so, let it be known that I have long declared war against religious fundamentalism, the nature of which justifies the butchery, kidnapping and enslavement of students in the name of religion. That aspirant’s alleged gaffe cuts no ice with me.

“Far more alarming was the grotesque fantasy of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court disguised as a wheelchair, zooming off in space to a secret meeting with other parties of the conflict. On its own, that is sufficiently scary. Swiftly followed thereafter by a television tirade of intimidation, it strikes one as more than the mere antics by the mentally deranged. The tactics are familiar:  ridicule, incriminate, then intimidate. Objective: undermine the structure of justice. Just as a reminder: this writer was not being rhetorical when he declared, on exiting prison detention: Justice is the first condition of humanity.

“The instigating contest – Nigerian Democracy 2023 –  has witnessed much that is innovative – largely in the retrogressive vein. Violence and ethnic profiling. “Spiritual” warfare in the shape of sacrificial rams to keep “disloyal” communities under restraint – in short, intimidation yet again!  Easily overlooked however are those missives of violence directed against dissenting voices, real or suspect. Such, for instance, were the virulent attacks and threats to the musician Seun Kuti, his family and iconic music Shrine. His crime consisted of nothing more than declaring the name “Obidient” derogatory to his sense of civic dignity and activist history.

“Such beginnings – and instances are numerous – have culminated in the open intimidation of the Court of Last Resort, even before proceedings have begun. By the way, I do agree with Seun Kuti; ‘Obidients’ is one of the most repulsive, off-putting concoctions I ever encountered in any political arena. Some love it, however, and this is what freedom is about. Choice. Taste. Free emotions. By contrast, I have no quarrel with “Yes Daddy”. Roman Catholics are used to saying “Yes, Father”. Secularists say “Enh, Baba”. The context and content are what matters, and lies – where established – raise bothersome issues such as Integrity Deficiency.

“Let us remind ourselves of the following: in any adjudication, society finds it unacceptable that a party to the dispute resort to influencing tactics by extra-judicial means – such as bribery.  Intimidation and threats are merely the obverse complements of material inducement. Those who fail to appreciate this are entirely free to their existence in an illusory world.

“We shall add the following pointer for this particular electoral tussle – the news may be unpleasant, but here it comes. Quite a few pundits have set out in some impressive – not necessarily persuasive – detail the possibility that the complainants in this presidential election are not as strongly planted on the victory podium as they presume – see, for instance – Ambassador Haastrup’s fascinating analysis in Newspeak etc. April 6.  Right or wrong?  That is not the issue.

“What the nation needs to know right now is if you are planning to send assassins after such negative analysts. Coming to terms with an unpalatable projected eventuality – sorry – possible eventuality, counsels deep reflection, not demonization of the bearer of sour news. For the seriously committed, it requires pulling back the horns a little in order to regroup, rethink and resurge. Democracy is sometimes a long haul. Some of us have been at it for quite a while

“I am well aware that the foregoing is further invitation for more nauseous bilge from the besotted. Please, be my guest. It is, after all, one of those special seasons of convergence of two seasons of self-flagellation. Fasting makes bearers of constricted minds even more light-headed. Delusions fill the vacuum.

“Oh yes, could these rabid parochial minds of easy excitation also kindly stop flattering themselves that one’s energies are consecrated solely to the nation space known as `Nigeria? The whines of “silence” are relative to the reading scope and world knowledge of idle complainants as well as their grasp of the chain of continuity.

“I choose my methods of intervention without the permission of social media border patrols, so where you find a gap, just pick up the baton where last deposited and stop whining and belly-aching – “he stopped talking all this while, why now?”  etc etc ad nauseum. Flat, easy disposable lies that gain traction by repetition. However, even more importantly, they remain irrelevant to the rights and wrongs of ongoing material issue. Sadly, these virtue vigilantes succeed with the ignorant and susceptible – especially among the younger, confused generation.

“The consequence is that the nation is plagued by fake CVs compiled by all kinds of amateur commentators, still wet behind the ears, who have too few truths to build on before they are corralled into positions of No-Retreat. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the effrontery of attempts to place the present contention on the same podium as the twenty-year-old anti-Abacha struggle! This gross abuse of historic licence actually provides smug satisfaction for rookie activists.  I advise them to seek out the school of survivors where pertinent lessons still exist for those with sufficient humility to LEARN before MOUTHING! Otherwise their world of false mythologies will collapse under their feet, and leave them dangling in the void.

“May I seize this opportunity, by the way, to condemn the sanctions imposed on CHANNELS Television which anchored the performance of the LP candidate. As stated, I watched the programme keenly – saw the valiant efforts of the interviewer to ensure fair hearing. I fail to understand just where the station could be faulted, except from a disposition for injustice.

“To sustain that penalty is to give joy to others who turn Internet into a soakaway for their rancid emissions, yet feel that others should be silenced. If CHANNELS feels up to it, I offer myself willing to engage Mr. Datti – or any nominee of his – on its platform on this very bone of contention – one-on-one – without the malodorous intervention of media trolls, and with the same interviewer as mediator. That should be taken as a serious offer.

“Project NIGERIA, I must confess, has become near terminally soul-searing. Do I still believe in it? I am no longer certain but – first, we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of the ignorant and the opportunism of time servers. In any case, there is not much else to engage one on a foundation of ownership stakes.  There is of course, always the possibility of a Revolution, with a clarity of purpose and acceptance of all attendant risks, including costly errors.

“Revolutions are not however based on the impetus of speculative power entitlement. No matter, until that moment, the structures that ensure just and equitable cohabitation must be protected from partisan appropriation – be it from material inducement, fake news, or verbal terrorism – the last being the contribution of one who is positioned to assume co-leadership of the nation, no less.  Revolution is not about lining up behind the nearest available symbol. When a symbol does emerge however, we are still obliged to examine every aspect of what is fortuitously on offer, and continue to guard our freedoms every inch of the way.

“Before I take myself off for – well, next port of call – the final word goes to a favourite maverick, propagated even as he matched his words by action. I suspect that in this instance we find ourselves on opposite sides of the strategic fence – that is democracy. This now coopted watchword of his formulation remains apt, applicable to all who strive for authentic social transformation: Your mumu don do! Ramadan Kareem. Happy Easter!”

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Again Nigeria, has missed out in the list of African countries given the official nod to visit Canada without visa, as two other countries for the continent has been added to the list of 13 different countries across Asia, Africa, Central and South America, announced by the country’s authorities.

The Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, said visa-free travel is extended to Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts-Nevis, Panama, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Morocco, Seychelles, st. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand and the Philippines.

While north Africa’s Morocco and East Africa’s Seychelles joined the list, Nigeria the most populous African nation didn’t make the cut, with Fraser, saying: “An expansion of the electronic travel authorization better known as the eTA programs makes it easier for ‘known travellers’ from those countries to come here for fun and business.’

Stating that the expansion not only enhanced convenience for travellers, it would also increase travel, tourism and economic benefits, as well as strengthen global bonds with these 13 countries, he said: “The known travellers from these countries can save a lot of money as a result of the visa exemptions.”

A visitor visa currently costs $100 per person and $500 for a family of five or more, but an eTA only costs seven dollars per person and is valid for as long as five years.

According to the government, introducing visa-free air travel will make it faster, easier, and more affordable for thousands of travellers to visit Canada for up to six months for either business or leisure.

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Police save man, lady accused of ritual murder from lynch-mob in Anambra *Say victims innocent

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It has turned out that the two people, a man and a lady, seen in a viral video, being assaulted by an angry mob who were about to set them on fire for allegedly killing two men in Anambra community for ritual purposes, are not guilty of the offence.

Anambra State Police Command, who confirmed on Thursday that the two had been rescued by their operatives, from the hands of the angry mob in Ihiala, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, who attempted to set them on fire, claimed that they were being wrongly accused.

Spokesman of the command Tochukwu Ikenga, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and spokesman of the command, who made the disclosure in a statement, said that its operatives rescued two victims and a suspect who was about to be lynched by an angry mob at the Total Junction in Ihiala.

Stating that the incident was not a case of ritual killing but a pure incident of murder, he said: “Preliminary information reveals that the two victims, a man and a woman, who were humiliated and paraded as shown in social media video by the angry mob, were erroneously accused by the mob. The victims were seen at the scene where the murder took place and were not the perpetrators.”

Ikenga, who informed that both the suspect and the victims were currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital while the deceased has been deposited in a morgue, appealed to the public never to take laws into their hands irrespective of assumed offence.

Disclosing that the Commissioner of Police (CP), Echeng Echeng, was already on top of the situation and had since sued for calm, he added that the police boss had also ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), for a comprehensive investigation, while assuring that further developments would be communicated to the public and that all residents to go about their lawful duties.

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Panic! Gunmen storm Anambra Assembly, attempt to bundle away lawmaker

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Panic-stricken members of the Anambra State House of Assembly, watched in utter horror on Thursday as one of their colleagues was bundled into a waiting vehicle, by four gun-wielding men, preparatory to being whisked away, before mother-luck came calling.

It took the quick reflexes of security guards at the entrance who locked the gate, to prevent the armed men, who later turned out to be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) from completing the operation.

The target of the operatives was Onyekachukwu Ike, the House of Assembly-elect member for the Nnewi North constituency, who had joined in the valedictory session for outgoing members, though it is not known why the members of the agency were after him.

Eyewitness account, said the operatives arrived the Assembly complex in three vehicles in a commando version, grabbed the member-elect as he emerged from the venue validectory thanksgiving mass for the seventh Assembly and forced him into their waiting vehicle.

However, it took the eagle-eyed members of the security team of the assembly to truncate the attempt to drive the lawmaker away, because they quickly locked the exit gate, thus halting the operation, as it gave people the opportunity to intervene.

Reacting to the incident, Acting Clerk of the Assembly, Esther Aneto, who bemoaned the manner the operatives carried out the operation, said neither the authorities of the assembly, nor the police was informed about it.

It took the intervention of the Speaker, Uche Okafor, and the Deputy Governor, Onyeka Ibezim, who came to represent the Governor at the Valedictory session before the member-elect was released from the vice grips of the DSS operatives, who however, explained that they had a court order to arrest him.

 

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