Bomb Kills 25 at INEC Office In Suleija - Where Do We Go From Here?

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Article first published as Bomb Kills 25 at INEC Office in Suleija – Where Do We Go from Here? on Technorati.

The office of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Suleija Niger state was said to have been rocked by a bomb Friday evening, with just few hours to the National Assemblies’ elections.

According to Saturday Tribune, no fewer than 25 persons were killed with about 30 injured in the blast. 17 members of the National Youth Service Corps were said to have been killed in the incidence.

President Goodluck Jonathan has already condemned this heinous act and has also called on the country’s security apparatus to beef up security to enable people come out massively to exercise their franchise.

It is not understandable why any sane person should focus his/her anger towards poor youth corpers who are serving their fatherland and terminate their lives, making their parents not to enjoy the fruit of their labours.

There are always civilized ways of expressing one’s grievances; but the use of anger or terrorism is not one of them. Killing innocent souls who have got much to contribute to the future growth of the nation does not in any way make sense.

Nigeria’s democratic process is still emerging and requires everyone’s understanding and co-operation to make it get to the desired destination. Everyone should contribute his/her quota positively to make the nation an enviable one

Politicians must desist from the act of trying to secure a public position at all cost. Everybody must learn to be a good loser; you cannot kill people in order to get into an office. Anyone who kills in order to succeed should remember that death would be waiting at the door of his success.

Though it is not wise to make any definite statement while investigations are ongoing; it is wise to say that anyone linked to this barbaric act should learn to adopt the modern approach to conflict resolution and stop taking this country ages backward.

Every Nigerian has the right to move about freely without fear of victimization or intimidation. It has come to the point in our national history when we must understand that Nigeria is our collective responsibility which must be protected and respected.

People must learn to put the nation first before individuals’ personal selfish interests. It is only when we have come to realize we have no other country than Nigeria that everyone would treat his neighbour with love and seek to protect his/her interest before self.

Nevertheless, those in power should understand the need to have in place a workable mechanism for resolving conflicts within the country and never to treat important issues with levity. Security apparatuses in the country must wake up to their responsibility and provide adequate protection for the citizenry who cannot afford to hire private security to take care of them.

The average Nigerian must be security conscious and report any suspicious movement around their neghbourhood to ensure their lives and properties are not unduly exposed to danger. When security threats are reported, there should be prompt response by the security agencies to avert these kinds of national embarrassments.

Laurent Gbagbo Surrenders – Victory for African Masses

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Article first published as Laurent Gbagbo Surrenders – Victory for African Masses on Technorati.

The embattled Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo has finally surrendered power to the acclaimed winner of last year’s presidential elections Mr Alasane Ouattara.

According to Radio New Zealand, the erstwhile president is already trying to negotiate with the UN to guarantee his protection.

Forces loyal to Alasane Ouattara have already taken over the key positions in the national capital Abidjan, including the president’s residence. The incumbent is now negotiating for a deal because his defense has now been overwhelmed.

The UN, AU and ECOWAS have all been calling on Gbagbo to cede power since it was clear he lost the election but all pleas fell on deaf ears. He is now considering that option when a lot of innocent souls have been sent to their early graves.

This still brings to question the kind of leadership Africans have had to grapple with for centuries. No one wants to accept defeat and no one wants to peacefully vacate his position. Some even see the seat of governance as their birthright and so would do anything humanly possible to cling to the reins of power.

Surprisingly, all through this period of political upheaval in Cote D’ivoire, ECOWAS and The African Union watched helplessly and failed to do anything tangible to curb the rate of violence and bloodshed that erupted after the elections. They kept buying to negotiate Gbagbo’s exit.

Even when at a time it seemed that Laurent Gbagbo’s loyalists would override the opposition, the ECOMOG troop stationed in the country waited endlessly to receive order from the powers that be in order to use military force to flush out the incumbent who refused to be a good loser.

It however took the intervention of the French troops to box Gbagbo into surrender. When would these regional powers learn to handle situations or intervene at the nick of time to avert the killing of unarmed innocent civilians?

The triumph of Outtara’s men over Lauraent Gbagbo and his loyalists is victory for the masses in Africa and indeed victory for democracy. It should send a warning signal to other leaders that there would always be people who are ready to defend democracy with the last drop of their blood.

Gbagbo has now understood that those who live in a glass house should not be the first to cast a stone. He started by carrying arms: he should understand that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword”. Now that he has wasted so many innocent lives, he should not be thinking of how to preserve his. Those lives he wasted were as important as his.

The Islamic Revolution – How to Ensure Peace

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The Islamic Revolution - How to Ensure Peace on Technorati.

The revolution that started in Tunisia and has been spreading to other Islamic states is threatening the peace of Islam as well as that of neighbouring states. Something urgent and constructive has to be done to bring about immediate peace in North Africa and the Middle East.

What started as a Tunisian uprising has now spread like wildfire to Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, etc. The fact that all countries involved are Islamic countries shows that there is a problem with the kind of leadership provided by these Islamic Heads of State.

Recently Saudi Arabia sent hundreds of armoured vehicles and personnel to help suppress the protesters in Bahrain, a move which has since attracted international condemnation. As the center of Islamic worship it was expected that they should think of a way of solving the problem rather than oppressing the people with the power of the guns.

However, there are several ways to handle the current revolution and prevent future occurrences. Some of the options that could be exploited include:

 Dialogue: This remains the best option to stop the current crises. The people must sit together and discuss the causes of the problem and how to solve them. The use of force should be avoided.

 Avoid taking sides: Saudi Arabia must as a matter of urgency withdraw their soldiers from Bahrain and seek peaceful resolution of the crises.

 Change of leadership styles: All the countries involved must change their leadership style to carry the people along in the scheme of things and make them have a sense of belonging.

 Constitutional reformation: The constitutions of the countries involved must be amended to make leaders accountable to the electorate. Besides, the tenure of each elected or appointed leader must be spelt out and respected.

 Avoid deceit: The leaders must also avoid the temptation to deceive the led. The people have the right to know how their incomes are generated, saved or spent.

 Regional responsibility: There should be regional co-operation between the various presidents of the states that make up the regions. The leaders should ensure no elected president or head of State stays beyond his/her tenure. They should also have a mechanism for forcing out a leader who deliberately decides to plunge the regions into crisis.

 Religious influence:. Since these states are purely controlled by the application of Islamic laws, the Arab league must be able to influence the leaders to live according to the expectation of Allah and work within the confines of the Qur’an.

 World Influence: The United Nations must not exist in principle alone; it must be able to step into major crises to avert blood shed and genocide. Sanctions imposed on erring nations must be able to achieve the purpose for imposing them.

Implementing these options would help bring some relative peace to the Arab/Islamic nations and also ensure regional calm.

Muammar gaddafi Counts Losses - His Son Dies in Air Strikes

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Muammar Gaddafi Counts Losses - His Son Dies in Air Strikes on Technorati.

The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has started to count his losses following the intervention of the United Nation’s Allied Forces to save Libyans from his hands. Epakistannews reported Sunday evening that Khamis Gaddafi who was in charge of the notorious Khamis Brigade was killed in an air strike.

The Website also reported that the administrative building in Gaddafi’s Tripoli house was hit by a bomb same day. The supporters of the embattled leader have lost several armoured vehicles and machine guns to the superior air strikes of the French and American soldiers who are doing everything possible to make the stubborn leader abide by the United Nation’s resolution.

Gaddafi’s army was advancing towards Benghazi after collecting some of the cities controlled by the rebels before the Allied forces began to implement the No-fly-zone in the country.

The Libyan leader may be forced out of power in no distant time since his military machine is already being crippled by the allied forces. The recent bombardment of the country by the United Nation’s forces is already being condemned by countries like Russia, Iran and even the Arab League.

The world had watched quietly to see what the Arab League would do to alleviate the plight of the Libyan people or at least to get Muammar Gaddafi to stop his mad massacre of the innocent civilians. But they remained helpless and only kept condemning the plan by the western world to intervene in the crisis before it would assume the dimension of genocide.

The Arab League and some countries seemed to be more concerned about the Libyan oil than the citizens of the country as they kept insinuating that the reason the Western world was intervening was to steal the Libyan oil. In as much as no one would want a repeat of the protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to be repeated in Libya, the world expected these so called countries and the Arab League to at least prevail on Gaddafi to stop the blood shed.

It is important that the United Nations should do something positive to show to the world that tyranny and corrupt leadership is no longer fashionable. The intervention of the forces should send a warning signal to other sit-tight leaders that the world is watching. This is also a way of giving hope to the citizens of those countries where their leaders have been ruling with iron fists.

The wisest thing for Muammar Gaddafi to do right now is to humbly vacate his position and save his country from utter destruction, though it is late for him to step down now because he would have to face the International Criminal Court. Nevertheless, he should be manly enough to preserve the lives of the people he has ruled for 42 years and toss selfishness to the dust bin for the sake of posterity.