Tribal Warrior And A Civil Rights Advocate At Once?

Tribal Warrior And A Civil Rights Advocate At Once?


By Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@msn.com
New York, United States
August 27, 2007


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Mazi Ani’s acerbic, bellicose and belligerent article is amazingly unrestrained! He is brutally honest about his flaming bias, bigotry, prejudice and passions or desires to checkmate what he giddily called the “hegemony” of the Yoruba! But excuse me! I did not know that the dispute over the elections results and the alleged irregularities or frauds are only being made to stifle the “hegemony” of the Yoruba? The brutally honest truth is filtering out, courtesy of Mazi Ani? I thought our debates of the issues were about Nigeria and our national interests? Oh my goodness!
Mazi Ani also gloatingly added that the general elections claims by the opposition is about the future of the three ethnic blocs in Nigeria, notably the Igbo, Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba! So, anyone who is not a member of these groups in Nigeria should take a hike? So if I am a Tiv or an Itsekiri , an Idoma, Ijaw or Ishan or Igala, I do not qualify to comment? Or I should not be concerned as the big three sort themselves out? The Kalabari, so this is not about the Nigerian from Ogoja, Degema, Uromi or Gboko? The Nigerian issues are the preserves of the big three? Never mind the minorities, the Middle-Belters and others? What will Professor ABC Nwosu and Minister Ojo Madueke say about this generalizations against Ndigbo by Mazi Ani? Are the Igbos in the Obasanjo administration sufficiently Igbos for Mazi Ani’s purpose? Chineke!

Mazi Ani left me in no doubt about where he stands on Nigerian issues! His presentation made it abundantly clear, that claims about election fraud or irregularities is about ethnic or tribal supremacy! The schism about the elections is not about factual wrongdoing? But about a supposed unconcealed hegemony or domination by the Yoruba? He could not conceal his bias, bigotry and ethnic prejudices! He repeatedly used ethnic slurs and tribal flavored expletives and profanities without a semblance or self-restraint!

Shall Nigerians now hold Mazi Ani responsible and accountable for the infractions of Ojukwu or Okadigbo or Nzeribe as Mazi Ani conveniently hold Obasanjo responsible for the demonstration of Mancho-man or a lack thereof by Brigadier Ogundipe? Just because Ogundipe is of the Yoruba stock? Shall we also ask Barrister Tafa Balogun the Inspector General of Police not to enforce Nigerian laws because he is a Nigerian of the Yoruba extraction? Did Ojukwu not scamper away to Ivory Coast as Ogundipe scampered to England? Did the late Awolowo not tell us that “only fools argue with gunmen?”

Could it not be legitimately argued that Ojukwu like Ogundipe acted in emergency life and death situations (facing the barrel?)

I must seek forgiveness from Mazi Ani and others like him, who are tribal and ethnic champions, who only see, refer and write about Nigeria as a single entity in the past tense! I was until now, blissfully unaware that our national debate, our national issues and contests are limited to the interest these fames three blocs or these three majors of Nigeria

Mazi Ani’s crude article that exulted some ethnic groups in Nigeria over others, actually made me to start thinking fondly of late head of state Mr. Sani Abacha! It Abacha’s actions that led to the sprouting, blooming and mushrooming of the now active and vibrant Civil Rights and Human Rights Movements in Nigeria, some of these movements did laudable work and some are still so engaged, but of course, there are Judas among them, there are bad eggs and bad apples in the midst!

How else does anyone explain Mazi Ani as a Civil Rights worker? When it is clear as he did in his article, that he is an ethnic champion par excellence? How does one explain that this bigot and tribal warrior simultaneously passes off himself as a Civil Rights advocated? Tufia! This is an incredible insult to those in Nigeria who are truly engaged in the very arduous tasks, the life and death efforts and the thankless job that Civil Right Advocacy entails everywhere in the world, but particularly in a young democracy!

I will not entrust the civil rights of my dog and cat to Mazi Ani! I love my pets! Mazi Ani obviously enjoys cat fights! Having Mazi Ani and persons like him president over any part or segment of Civil Rights Movement in Nigeria, is akin to putting a fox in-charge of Chickens or putting a Hyena in-charge a herd of cattle! How can this vile and bigoted person claim civil rights credentials?

I have written in past that Nigerians should have some respect, if not restraint in their public utterances regarding our nation and particularly at times like these, when there is tension, friction and factions! Additionally, I have often remarked that a Nigerian president is not an individual or ceases to be an individual, he becomes our symbol just like our flag, therefore, we should not be too quick to denigrate, disparage and demean whoever the current president at any given time may be, it could be you or me or whomever!

Some Nigerians should cultivate the etiquette of self-restraint and measured appropriateness in dealing with national issues in public domains, especially in reference to the presidency, I am saying this not vacuously, see how not long ago, a Canadian referred to President Bush as a morn, and that was the end of the Canadian career road!

I have publicly and repeatedly disagreed and criticized President Bush/American policies, but I have forcefully restrained myself from calling him stupid, infantile, clown, contemptible, vulgar, having mad logic, uncouth, vile, lacking basic intelligence, shabby, Fuhrer-as-in- Hitler, ignorant, despicable, fanatic, perverse lunatic and a bandit and so on, as Mazi Ani labeled our president in Mazi’s endless vitriolic and vituperations that he visited repeatedly on his four paged article!

If as stated by Mazi Ani, the political disagreements in Nigeria is his over-simplistic and bigoted issues of the Yoruba versus Ndigo and Ndi-Arewa, Mazi Ani needs to explain this to Vice President Atiku and all the odi iche iche non-Yoruba-Nigerians who currently serve and support the President Obasanjo led administration! Does Minister Chikwe know of Mazi Ani’s thinking? Does Chief Iwuanyawu know about this so-called Yoruba hegemony and domination over Ndigbo and by extension, Igbo patriots like the Minister and the Chief? Or is this extraordinary knowledge limited to the exclusive preserve of Mazi Tribal Warrior Ani? I believe in the supremacy of Nigeria over Arewa, Ohaneze, Afenifere, Oodua or any other cultural, political or religious group, who can only subsist in Nigeria, when there is law and order, peace and progress, there certainly would be no Arewa, Ohaneze or Oodua if Mazi Ani’s anarchy, chaos, violence and lawlessness are allowed to reign! These are the subtext of mass action or whatever parlance and double-speak violence and lawlessness in now conveyed by the disgruntled friends of Mazi Ani, the anarchists, the violent advocates of ungovernable Nigeria that the President and the Inspector General of Police are trying to nip in the bud and stem before it ruins all of us! Is it not the orgies of chaos Mazi and others have been promising to foist on Nigeria that the Inspector General and the President advised the opponents against? Should these charlatans be given national awards for demanding treason?

Should the incitements by the opposition be left to continue unabated?

Obasanjo is not a coward, he challenged Mr. Abacha and others! What should Obasanjo and Balogun have done in the face of unrelenting threats of anarchy, riots and violence by Buhari/Ojukwu/Okadigbo and other Mazi Ani’s friends? What should a responsible government do? What would Mazi Ani do if he was in the President and Inspector General’s literal shoes? Obasanjo did not threaten the opposition because they went to the Elections Tribunals, but because they have been threatening fire and brimstone and this is public knowledge! Where has Mazi Ani been? Under a rock? Mazi Ani is too consumed with ethnic and tribal schism to notice and become aware of what else is happening around him! Nigeria’s disintegration as threatened by Ani and others, will only happen over their dead bodies! Nigeria will overcome all these ranting and braggadocio and Nigeria will triumph in greatness.

Anyone who believes Tribal Warrior Ani, must of necessity also believe that the non-Yoruba Nigerians in the PDP led government of Mr. Obasanjo of Igbo-Nigerian origin, Hausa/Fulani-Nigerian origin are not as “smart” as Ani himself? Or Mazi Ani is just talking tribal warrior trash and nonsense? Ohaneze Ndigbo and I have just disowned and disavowed Dim Ojukwu and any rumor or attempts to declare any parallel presidency in Nigeria, before, during or after May 29, 2003 inaugurations in Nigeria! So has General Ike Nwachukwu and Sarah Jubril! Enough shenanigans!

The Patriots calls for government of national unity or interim government and Mazi Ani advocate violence and tribal wars, I am just left yawning by all of these!

Please put some ice in my Vodka! Or give me a chilled Star or Gulder or Heineken Beer! Its I-N-A-U-R-A-T-I-O-N DAY IN NIGERIA!!!!! Come May 29, 2003! Give me Nigerian FLAG!!!!!!!!

Congratulations NIGERIA!!!!!!!!!!!