Cat Race, By Emmanuel Yawe
I do not like cats. This started with my experience as a young lad way back in 1966.
In that year Nigeria was in a huge political upheaval. A coup took place to upturn the first democratic government that came to power after independence in 1960. There was a feeling in the northern part of Nigeria that the coup was ethnically motivated and that the slanted pattern of killings did not reflect our federal character.
The Ibos became game in northern Nigeria – hunted and killed everywhere. I was at the time with my maternal grandfather, Rev J E I Sai who brought me up. A muscular and fearless Christian, he was the first ever Tiv man to be ordained a Priest. As the killings spread so did his anger. He delivered several sermons condemning the mass murder of Ibos, arguing that as children of God, they like every human being were entitled to the life freely given by God.
He did not only preach, he acted. His episcopal home at Harga – a village located halfway between Katsina Ala and Takum – became a rehabilitation camp for internally displaced Ibos. Working with his collaborators – The Revs Ralph Baker and Eugene Rubing – both American Missionaries, they transported many Ibos at night to Takum where they crossed over to Cameroon and then found their way to Eastern Nigeria.
News about his humanitarian efforts soon spread and the number of Ibos at our home grew. But it was also risky. Soon he started receiving threats from the roving murderous mobs that since he loved the Ibos so much, our family would soon be wiped out with the Ibos.
As little children it was our duty to take food to the Ibos who were hidden away from public glare. We soon fell in love with Gabriel an Ibo photographer. He was an artist of sorts who mesmerized us with some funny sketches. He it was who taught us how to sing the melancholic hit song “Take a message to Mary”. We loved him. Three times, our old man took him over to Cameroon and three times he found his way back with some cock and bull story. I remember the last time he came back; the threats by the mobs to attack us were not silent whispers again but loud,scary andmenacing.
We followed Gabriel and our old man as he walked him to the little bush near our house and repeatedly asked him why he still came back at this time when the situation on ground all over the north was bad for the Ibos. He replied that he had left the north so suddenly that he forgot to carry along his pussy cat. “Pussy Cat”? our old man thundered in disbelief. Gabriel was told to go and look for his pussy cat elsewhere since he did not bring it to our house. We were very sad to see him walk into the bush at night to an uncertain fate.
After the war in 1970, many of the Ibos our old man saved and who survived the war came back to Harga to say thank you to him. “Where is Gabriel, where is Gabriel?” we the children chorused.
Gabriel was born in the north. His father, also a photographer, introduced him into the business but never took him to his ancestral home in the east. He spoke the Tiv language fluently, more fluently than his native Ibo. At the outbreak of the crisis in 1966, his father was already late and it became very difficult for him to trace his village. He fell victim to some criminal Ibo gangs in the east who beat him up, robbed and taunted him calling him all sorts of derogatory names. That explained why every time our old man helped him back to the east, he found his way back. The story of a pussy cat was a clumsy explanation of his predicament. We were told by the Ibo survivals that when he was walked out of our house, he could no longer make it to the east again. A cruel mob lynched him to death.
The mention of the word cat or the sight of it draws sad memories in me since then. I hold cats responsible for the death of the handsome and creative Gabriel.
I don’t know who gave the army the idea that its current exercises in the States that make up the Benue Valleyshould be code named, AyemAkpatema, which translates from Tiv to English as Cat Race. Apart from my ingrained hatred of cats, I had other doubts about the success of this exercise.
My knowledge of the military and their operations is limited to the introductory course I was taught in Civil/Military Relations in the 70’s at the University of Ibadan by one of the best brains in that field – Professor BayoAdekson. For the military to have a successful operation in a given environment, it needs to cultivate the friendship of the civilians living there, he argued.
Unfortunately, since the new year opened with mass killings in Benue, the affected people have been treated to a babel of unfriendly voices from the military high command. The IG of Police Ibrahim Idris told the world that it was an ordinary communal clash. When the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom led a powerful delegation of his people to see President Buhari in search of succor, the Commander in Chief instead of sympathizing with the bereaved peopledemonstrated a high level of insensitivity by telling them to go back and be more accommodating of their compatriots. Meanwhile the DSS said the new year massacre was carried out by foreign invaders. To the Minister of Defense, Mansur DanAlli, the massacre was justified because the grazing routes of the herdsmen were blocked.
These statements from the people who are in control of our security machinery have left the Benue people who were worsted by the invaders to keep asking whether this is the kind of protection they should get from a government they elected.
Equally frightening is the contribution to the debate on the violence by one Professor Labdoand AngoAbdullahi, the former VC of ABU. Labdo argued in a newspaper interview that the killings on new year day were justified because Benue belongs to the Fulani by conquest. AngoAbdullahi similarly sees nothing wrong in the mass murder of women and children who were asleep at home.
Despite initial misgivings about the outcome of the Cat Race, this itinerant reporter wasat its Operational Base, the LGEA Primary School, MbabeghaGuma local government area of Benue State for its official flagging off. At the event,Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TukurBurataiassured that the exercise that started on February15 lasting till March 31would address the security challenges facing parts of Benue and neighbouring states.
On his part, Governor Ortom urged the people of the state to extend support to the military personnel in order to ensure the success of the military exercise.
Also speaking, his Kogi state counterpart, Yahaya Bello in whose state the operation would be extended promised that his state would extend support to the operation to ensure its success.In his speech, Governor TankoAl’Makura, represented by his Deputy, Silas Agara lauded President Buhari for granting the exercises which would be extended to his state stressing that it came timely as the farming season was fast approaching. Senator George Akume, Chairman Senate Committee on Army was also there to give legislative support to the exercise.
I also dropped my historical hatred for cats and cast my support for this cat race. The alternative to its success will be a return to the horrors of 1966. [myad]
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has directed all intending Muslim pilgrims in Nigeria to pay their hajj fare by 
3rd Force: Stories Of Ramaphosa, Abiola And Dangote, By Yushau A. Shuaib
A sudden political change occurred recently when an international businessman, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa emerged the new South African President. He has impacted positively on the life of his people through Shanduka Group, a company he founded with investments in the energy sector, real estate, banking, insurance, and telecoms (SEACOM). He is also chairman of Bidvest Group and MTN among others. He is one of South Africa’s richest men with an estimated wealth of over $550 million.
I am a believer in individuals who have invested and deployed their skills in wealth creations than wealth sharing. Public office can also be run as a serious business for stability and profitability in serving the interest of the stakeholders and the public. Nigeria has distinguished citizens like Ramaphosa of South Africa, who have deployed their businesses for wealth and job creation; promote and unite the citizens, and improve the economy without being in politics or in government.
Current Nigeria’s political atmosphere is undoubtedly charged after a bombshell letter from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari asking the latter not to recontest election in 2019. Obasanjo recommended a Coalition for Nigeria to rescue the country from its present political and economic brouhaha. The Third-Force, according to Obasanjo should be “a movement to break new ground in building a united country, a socially cohesive and moderately prosperous society with equity, equality of opportunity, justice and a dynamic and progressive economy that is self-reliant and takes an active part in the global division of labour and international decision-making.”
The tension-soaked letter has elicited diverse debates with series of meetings being held, alliances formed, apart from several alignments and realignments which have even caused President Buhari to hurriedly constitute a Presidential Reconciliatory Committee for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), headed by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As I write, there is a head-on collision between Tinubu and his party chairman Odigie Oyegun.
In this intense period, some are mooting the idea of encouraging non-partisan, business savvy individuals who have demonstrated leadership qualities and touched the lives of many Nigerians from their private ventures to vie for top electoral offices.
In Nigeria, we had the like of Late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, a successful businessman who was elected the country’s President in 1993 but the election was annulled by the military junta. Meanwhile in a contemporary Nigerian history, the likely name synonymous with that of Chief Abiola in terms of stupendous wealth, philanthropy, international networks, Political connections and iconic brand is Aliko Dangote. While Abiola was considered the richest Nigerian of his time before he died in custody in 1998, Aliko Dangote is currently not only the richest African but one of the richest in the world.
MKO Abiola was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State on August 24, 1937. He acquired entrepreneurial talents at a tender age when he sold firewood every morning before attending classes in primary school. As a teenager and talented music player, he performed at private parties in exchange for food and earned some monies in sponsoring himself to secondary school. At Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta where he was the Editor of the school magazine, young Olusegun Obasanjo was his Deputy Editor.
Aliko Dangote was born on 10 April 1957 into a wealthy family. He is the great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, the richest African at the time of his death in 1955. When he was in Primary School, Dangote collected cartons of sweets [candy] on loan and sold them just to make money. Dangote was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa and Capital High School, Kano.
After a stint with a financial institution in Nigeria, MKO Abiola attended Glasgow University and obtained a First-Class degree in Accountancy. He joined some institutions in the public and private sectors before he became Vice-President, ITT Corporation, a giant telecommunication firm. He had personal investments in farming, Bookshops, Radio Communications, Bakeries, Publishing, Airlines Business, Oil Exploration, Banking, sports amongst others.
On his side, Dangote obtained a bachelor’s degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. After his graduation, he worked for his uncle, Abdulkadir Sanusi Dantata, from whom he borrowed money to start commodities trading, cement and building materials import business in Kano in 1977. Gradually, he expanded the business and relocated to Lagos, where he began importing cars and cement needed for Nigeria’s economic expansion. He has diversified into various economic sectors producing food, building materials, household items among others with factories scattered mostly in southern parts of the country than the North where he comes from.
Abiola’s immeasurable generosity had earned him numerous titles and awards for philanthropic activities that were felt in schools, worship centres, Cultural events, community developments and supports for the less privileged in the society. His philanthropism cut across the diverse ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, apart from receiving one of the highest awards of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Dangote has bagged several local and international awards for philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Through the Dangote Foundation, he contributes millions of dollars annually to medical advancements, educational endowments, Humanitarian gestures among others across all geopolitical zones in the country.
On the political front, Abiola’s attempts to vie for political office were thwarted in the late 70s and early 80s when he was betrayed by associates. He was reported to have withdrawn into his shell and faced his business after a powerful Shagari minister, Umaru Dikko told him point-blank that the Presidential ticket of the then ruling party was not for sale.
In the same vein and probably for the fear of betrayal at last hour, Dangote has ruled out the possibility of joining partisan politics. In an interview with Bloomberg, he declared that he is not cut out for politics but values his freedom and business. He said: “I’m not interested in active politics… The little freedom I have, politics would take away. I am not ready to give that up. There are businessmen who are interested in politics. I’m not one of them.”
Meanwhile, after shunning partisan politics for about a decade, Abiola was cajoled to contest for the Presidency in 1992 in an election organised by the administration of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB). After accepting the nomination, MKO Abiola was eventually elected President of Nigeria on June 12, 1993. His election was influenced by his brilliant “Hope 93 Farewell to Poverty” Campaigns, and his record of service to humanity across the ethnic, tribal and religious divide and through his huge investment in the economy. He even defeated his opponent, Bashir Tofa in his home state, Kano. The annulment of that election by IBB was one of the genesis of subsequent political and economic crises in Nigeria.
Since Dangote has denied any interest in electoral office at a period when most political parties and politicians have outlived their usefulness, what should be the way out? Can we commence a search for an illustrious Nigerian, untiring philanthropist, quintessential business mogul, conscientious and detribalised personality to salvage the country in 2019 through a Third-Force? Is there any alternative in sight among those that haven’t served in the political offices?
Shuaib, a Blogger on www.YAShuaib.com, yashuaib@yahoo.com writes from Abuja