Peter Obi and the Demographics of Nigerian Politics

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the dysfunctional Labour Party (LP) and his "Obidients" are currently the most popular Nigerians on the internet and many of the "Obidients" have become cyber bullies on Twitter, Facebook and Nairaland attacking and insulting the presidential candidates of the other political parties in some of the worst derogatory terms of vitriol, including libellous defamation of the character of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the national ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

Majority of the "Obidients" are ignorant of the nuances of intellectual discourse and ignorant of the intricacies of ethnicity in the demographics of Nigerian politics since the Independence of Nigeria on October 1, 1960 from the colonial rule of the British Empire and the consequences which caused the first Nigerian civil war between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the secessionists Republic of Biafra in the south eastern region of the Igbo tribe from 1967-1970. Majority of the "Obidients" were born after the gruesome war.

The majority of the Igbo youths have become passionate about the restoration of Biafra as an independent sovereignty and joined the vanguard of the secessionist groups of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and IndigenousPeople of Biafra (IPOB), because they believe the Igbo tribe will be better and greater as an independent nation. Since the civil war, nobody of the Igbo tribe has become the Head of State of Nigeria either in the military regimes or civilian administrations. They have accused the political leadership of the country by the Hausas, Fulanis and Yorubas of deliberately disallowing the Igbos from the leadership of the executive arm of the government of Nigeria.  Both the past national ruling party, People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the present national ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) have only chosen Yoruba and Hausa Fulani presidential candidates who became elected Presidents of Nigeria, except only Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who succeeded the late President Umaru Yar'Adua as acting President from  February 9, 2010 –  May 5, 2010 and duly elected President in the 2011 presidential election, the first person from the south-south region to become the President and Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until he was defeated in the 2015 presidential election by retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC.

Majority of the Igbo voters voted for Jonathan, because of their ethnic relationship with his own ethnic group of the Ijaw tribe.

To majority of the Igbos, Peter Obi can become attractive to majority of the voters of Ijaw tribe and the rest of the ethnic groups in the south-south region. But they have Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyichukwu Arthur Okowa who is Ika Igbo as the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP who they will prefer to see as the Vice President of Nigeria if they win the 2023 presidential election. 

The fact is majority of non-Igbos will not vote for Peter Obi to be elected as the President of Nigeria, because due to ingrained ethnic malice and prejudice, they don't like the Igbos who actually maltreated them during the civil war and are their political rivals in the leadership of Nigeria. 

There are over 370 ethnic groups and over 500 languages in the country. The major ethnic groups are: Hausa (25%) Yoruba (21%) Ijaw (1.8%) Igbo (18%) Ibibio (3.5%) Tiv (2.4%) Fulani (6%) Kanuri (3%) Others (19.3%).

Without the support of the majority of the non-Igbo tribes and ethnic groups, Peter Obi cannot win the presidential election in 2023.

The Drama of the #EndSARS Protests

The Drama of the #EndSARS Protests

The enactments of the melodramatic scenarios of the #ENDSARS protests from Lagos to Abuja and ending up in Delta State are going to be featured in a live performance on stage with the action choreography by one of the best action choreographers in the Nigerian film industry.

My "Sleepless Night" of 2002 dramatised the June 12 protests of 1993 featuring the outstanding actor, Funso Alabi of blessed memory and dramatic choreography by Segun Adefila and the Crown Troupe of Africa.

It was cosponsored by the French Cultural Centre in Lagos, Otunba Dele Momodu and my United Artists For Human Development (UAHD).

This new stage drama will be full of histrionics.

I am the writer, producer and director. And I have completed casting for the historic roles of heroic protesters, Aisha Yesufu and DJ Switch. 

The following is an excerpt from the drama written in verse.

We are marching with our bare feet.

As we stomp on the street.

The echoes of our screams rent the skies 

In A Decade of Tongues.

Bekederemo! 

What are you going to tell Achebe and Okara?

What are you going to tell Saro-Wiwa?

Tell them the truth, the bitter truth

We have eaten the sour grapes of wrath.

Sour grapes of the wrath the earth.

We have bitten our tongues as we gnash our teeth.

 Even The Masquerade of Ngbilebiri has stopped dancing. 

As our mothers' singing has turned to mourning.

Who can dance to the Song of a Goat? 

In the hysteria of Nigeria.

Bekederemo!

Bekederemo!!

Bekederemo!!!

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

©All rights reserved. No copying, duplicating, lifting, paraphrasing and quoting of any part of the text without the authorisation and permission of the author.

I have no time for wacky songs – Shine of Rainbow FM

There is no dull moment with the black, bold and beautiful Shine of Rainbow FM in Nigeria. She is cheerful and sweet; pleasant; delightful; gracious and polite, but she knows her onions.

Please, meet the sweetest Nigerian MC in her own words.

My full names are Anino Judy Shine Begho, but a lot of people prefer to call me Shine because it’s easy to remember and it’s unique.

I hail from Warri, Delta State in the south-south region of Nigeria. I majored in mass communication in the university. I have contested in beauty pageants and modeled since I turned 18 and I have also been a professional dancer, but now I do it for fun and also as a form of exercise to keep fit.

I love music and since I graduated from the university in 2007, I’ve been in the media/entertainment industry. I started as a TV presenter and then moved to radio as a presenter too but alongside I host and mc events and parties. I also do voice over recordings for radio and TV jingles/promos. But in the mist of all these I try as much as possible to rest , have fun with family and friends, travel and do all the fun things I dreamt of as a kid.

I don’t like and I don’t play wacky songs on my radio show on Rainbow FM. That is why I don’t ask or collect any cash or gifts from artistes to play their songs or interview them. If your music is good enough then I will broadcast it gratis. I believe in merit.

You can listen to my new single on http://9jabreed.com/home/2011/05/12/shine-kolobi/

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Uduaghan is ahead of Ogboru in rerun election

Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan is ahead of his arch rival Chief Great Ogboru of Democratic Peoples Party, (DPP) in the Re-run election for the governorship seat in Delta State.

Disturbances have been reported at some polling centres where militants attempted to disrupt the election by attacking officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Chief Great Ogboru


Click here to see the latest updates from the Vanguard of Nigeria.

On Uduaghan : The Appellate Court Uses Poor Judgment and a disorienting strategy

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan

On Uduaghan : The Appellate Court Uses Poor Judgment and a disorienting strategy

No one knows how the hurriedly imposed January election would turnout in a society that faces grave challenges in election infrastructure. Nor should any one blame the Petitioner for rightly exercising his legal rights to fight a case in court.

The cause of any alarm now or in the coming months, at least till April of this year is the judiciary that showed lack of strategic judgment on this case as it relates the understanding of time management, separation of power, the value of a lower court and the importance of clear-cut, and sound judicial pronouncement on societal matters like the current legal development.

What was clear in this matter was that there was no sign of constitutional or regional crisis that warranted the Court to put a major burden on the Delta people, by issuing an impulsive like order for an election within three months. Ms. Monica Mensah and members of her panel could have remanded the case back to the Election Tribunal which on the October 9th, 2010 had heard the same case.

The Appeal Court in its mode of “too quick” judgment could have asked the Delta State Election Board or a national watch dog to set the stage for the expected gubernatorial April election, at a time when the Delta People would generally be more energized and in the mood to come out and vote in a more somewhat secure atmosphere.

It appears that Court of Appeal was not only acting as if it is the Nation’s Supreme Court, a Court of last say on interpretative matters in the nation. Justice Mensah and her regiment acted as a State election body, a Police force and even in a legislative kind of role.

The Appeal Court should be reminded that the present Constitution of Nigeria is Democratic-Presidential in whole, rather than that which functions as a document of authoritarianism, barbarianism and oligarchy. Here is a puzzling note.

What if Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan captures the hurriedly imposed election coming up in a few hours, would the Appeal court then physically use its hands and legs to show its power?

The Appeal Court would have shown more constrain in its judicial temperament, conduct and behavior by keeping its self-way from any act or image of judicial activism or political impulsiveness, as this is clearly the case when it imposed an election timeline, called for a hasty election for a governorship that not only end in a few months but open to a general election in a few weeks.

While the Appeal court should not be judged for using the same reported evidence to dismiss the case of irregularities previously brought on by an A.C.N gubernatorial candidate, this particular Court needs to the tell scholars and students of judicial or psycho-legal studies why it should not be accused of error in judgment, in the area of separation of power specially?

~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D , DABPS, FACFE, is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu

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