I am aware that Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not obtain his Ph D in English language, but, I can testify to his mastery of the language. I have had the opportunity of hearing him both at close and long ranges, spoke English and, have since concluded that he is, indeed, in the grasp of all the intricacies of Queen English.
And, when therefore, the INEC which he heads, gave directive to all the Nigerian politicians a couple of months ago, not to start political campaign until the whistle is blown, it was understood that he understood the meaning and letters of political campaign. It also means that any person doing something contrary to the meaning and letters of that directive is either daring Jega and his INEC or Jega and his INEC are looking the other way.
The first important lesson a student in elementary English or political science would be taught is that a rally is a group of people shearing ideas on certain issues, usually in an informal gathering, whereas campaign is all about exposing product or idea for sale, either at a rally, in secluded place or by way of media advertisement.
In other words, you cannot hold rally without campaigning but you can campaign without holding rally.
I am surprised that Jega, with all the “turenchi” (grammar) his INEC has been blowing, decided to keep mum and watch as political campaigns are being held around Nigeria by the nation’s politicians who cleverly assigned another name to it: unity rally.
It is not clear whether or not Jega’s INEC decided to pretend not to know that it’s no-campaign directive is being messed up by some politicians chief among them, of course, Is the President of Nigeria and commander in chief of the armed forces, as well as the chief security officer of the country, Dr. Chief Goodluck Jonathan, leading his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) along?
In recent times, the President has been cross-crossing parts of the country with PDP top functionaries: national chairman, Board of Trustees chairman, some governors, et al, to receive the returnees to PDP from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), and have, at each occasion, usually in open space, seized the opportunity to sell the goodness of and campaign for PDP. He was in, among other places, Sokoto to receive former governor Attahiru Bafarawa and, only last week, he was in Kaduna to receive some none descript returnees. And as if the President was begging Nigerians to understand him or begging the issue, he would first drum it before he began his advertisement of PDP’s quality that what he was doing was not political campaign but unity rally. It is as if by merely saying that it automatically changes the reality that it is campaign, pure and simple.
In fact, at each rally, President Jonathan would mount the podium, shout PDP slogan and launch vitriolic attack on and lampoon the people in other political parties, in deed, the APC. He would white-wash and clean-up PDP and received ovation from the supporters and potential supporters for good and courageous talk. And, in doing so, can anyone please interpret the action of the President to me? Was it campaign rally or rally to campaign or simply confusion or evasion of electoral law or Presidential authority?
It beats my imagination as to when the President comes to campaign, how he would do it differently from how he has been doing it at the unity rallies so far.

The closure of five Federal Government Colleges in the North-Eastern part of the country is exactly what Boko Haram wants. It’s absolutely the wrong way to go and I am really shocked and surprised that government came up with this decision. Is this then not a victory by Boko Haram, who have targeted schools with their attack in order to prevent the spread of “Boko” (Western education)? Who then is the winner here?
The nasty incident that occurred on February 24 in Buni Yadi, Yobe State–and many others before it–in which tens of pupils were slaughtered or burnt to death was profoundly shocking and abhorrent. At the spur of emotions, any decision taken to ensure safety of the rest of the children will be right. But governments are not run that way. At a time when men lose their heads, leaders are those who keep theirs.
As a result of this decision, an estimated 10,000 students have been asked to leave Federal Government Girls’ College, Munguno, College of Science and Technology, Lassa both in Borno State; Federal Government Girls’ College, Potiskum and the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi both in Yobe State and the College of Science and Technology in Michika, Adamawa State. Reports quoted the Special Assistant on Media to the Supervising Minister of Education, Simeon Mwakandu announcing the directive of the Minister that the students who are not writing examinations be relocated to unity colleges in Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, Gombe and Borno States. As a consequence, the Daily Trust on Monday, reported thousands of these students have been left in the lurch with their parents, who are plunged into a sea of worries, opposing their transfer. The parents have been told to pay for the relocation of their children and wards. Many of them say their children are not going anywhere. I don’t think it is right to push this financial burden to parents. Government has also given conflicting directives on the status of students due to start writing their final examinations in a month’s time. In one breath, government says, as earlier indicated here that those with exams to write should remain in the schools ordered shut. It says, in another, that those students should sit for their examinations elsewhere.
As many parents have continued to argue, the solution to the problems does not lie in the closure of schools. The North-East Zonal branch of the National Parent-Teacher Association which met in Bauchi at the weekend captured those concerns and put the point succinctly when they announced that the federal government was merely shirking its responsibility of providing security by shutting down the colleges. They demanded that the decision be rescinded and security be provided at the colleges.
Reports also quoted unity colleges’ teachers and staff objecting to the school closure saying this would merely confirm assumptions, widely-held, that government is unable to provide security.
The schools closure only smacks of government’s off-handed handling of the situation in the North-East. It is difficult to understand why government has stuck to violence as the only solution to the crisis. When they speak about the issue as the President usually does when he attends Church these days, he mouthes a commitment to dialogue and a peaceful resolution but it is hard to see them making any effort in that direction. Violence on both sides continues to damage the image of Nigeria as a whole. While government has set up at least three committees to explore the possibilities of peaceful settlement of the violence, to wit, the Galtimari Committee; the Maitama Sule-led, Northern Elders Committee, and the latest which was headed by a Minister of the government, Mr. Kabiru Turaki (SAN) which submitted its report amid fanfare and high-hopes, nothing by way of final decision or whitepaper has ensued from the administration. Yet, the whole world continues to tell this country that violence alone won’t solve these problems. In our own experience, we tried the soldiers and the airforce jets against the rising militancy in the Niger Delta back a few years ago. In the end, it was dialogue that brought the violence to a cessation. The excuses often tendered by government apologists is that with the Boko Haram, there are no negotiating partners: it is rubbish. If Pakistan is talking to Taliban and Israel is talking to Palestinians albeit through third parties, there is nothing wrong in holding the thread to BoKo Haram, which Governors in the region say they have found. Rarely has a democratic government anywhere so consciously avoided dialogue. Even so, patriotic citizens must not be deterred from advocating for dialogue and demanding comprehensive and competent security cover for schools, places of worship, markets and just everywhere to protect life.
The only plausible interpretation of the action by the government in closing down schools is that it has failed to provide them with security. Boko Haram must be having a good laugh. This is what they wish to see. But watch out. Government may be laying another veritable minefield.

About a month ago, I traveled to the Al-Haram (the Holy Ka’aba Mosque in Makkah) for the Friday prayers together with a longtime friend in the UK, who had just relocated to Saudi Arabia. It was a great opportunity to meet again.
Shortly after we arrived in the mosque, a call to prayer was made, after which the Imam mounted the pulpit. A powerful voice echoed through the microphone with Islamic greeting thus: ‘Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,’ the greeting which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught the Muslim faithful.
The Imam’s voice was that of Shaykh Abdurrahman Sudais, the Chief Imam of the mosque. It is a household name in the Islamic world regarding the recitation of the Holy Qur’an.
I have listened to several sermons of Shaykh Abdurrahman Sudais, but in my humble estimation, that was one of the best sermons the Imam had delivered. It was about parents. As many readers might be aware, the Shaykh lost his father few weeks ago, which might have contributed in the selection of this important topic.
The lesson of the sermon is universal; it issa useful for all times, valuing and respecting the most important people in our lives, our parents.
After listening to the Khutbah (sermon), my thought went back home. I thought of the youths in our society who consider their parents as a treasury to be milked. The teenager who lies to his parents in order to make money out of them. The boys and girls who think it’s the duty of the mother alone to cook, clean the house, look after the guests, respond to the needs of every member of the household when everyone else is busy watching television or playing games.
Indeed, my thought crossed over to the modern day youth, whose life has consumed everything his parents have saved to see him get educated; yet on landing the best job, his or her parents become secondary. It is time to enjoy life, buy the best car in town, purchase the most expensive clothes so that he or she looks smart. Yet the very parents, who sacrificed their comfort to see you grow, to get you the best education, and even work hard to ensure that you get the right job are now placed in a secondary position among your top priorities.
There is no better way to explain the position of parents than the Qur’anic which says: “And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.”[Quran 17: 23].
Of course, it is halal (permissible) for you to enjoy your life from the little you earn, but as Islam teaches us, life is not about you alone. It is about others as well, and toping the chart are your noble parents.
Therefore, God in his infinite mercy, ordained that after worshipping Him, the next noble deed is called Ihsan to the parents. What does that mean? It basically means kindness, compassion, respect, love and everything that extends care and support to your parents. It means being selfless, sacrificing your comfort for them, working to alleviate their suffering, extending respect to those they care for. You should be so mindful of their feelings that you must avoid anything that creates discomfort in them, even if it’s a one letter word.
Unfortunately, some youths in this age thought because their parents are rich, or in position of authority, they do not need this respect. Rather, their resources should be milked, and do not even care to work hard and make a living for themselves. It doesn’t matter, whether your parents are rich, or they are poor, looking after them is a responsibility you must fulfil.
This is what we have been taught by the noble Qur’an “And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination.” [Quran 31:14].
Few years back, a friend told me a story about the reaction of his parents when he became a Muslim. They thought they have lost him. Yet after reading these verses, and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace), about the position of parents, he increased his phone calls to them, his visits increased, his support for their needs multiplied. Not only did they accept his decision, indeed, they turned out to be proud of his new way of life.

The media, as scholars have argued over time, represent the nearest approximation of public opinion because they, as interactive members of the society, affect the communities in which they are found, in the same way they are affected by them.
This lesson was brought clearly home following the big mistake made by the government, of using the commemorative events of the country’s 100 years of existence as a huge self-justification exercise. They looked as if they were more interested in defending themselves against criticism than in defending the lives of citizens we continue to lose. This mayhem was accentuated by the slaying of 40 innocent pupils as they slept in their dormitory at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State.
I don’t think there was any conspiracy by the media to largely ignore the government’s centenary events and concentrate their coverage on what, in their view, matters most to the readership. It was clear to all that throughout that period, the media seemed only interested in talking about the insurgency and the sack of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Governor of the Central Bank.
The issue of the killing of the 40 children had attracted enough befitting flak in the country and abroad so the government did not do themselves a favour by giving it a short shrift. It was instructive from their coverage of the incidents, therefore, that the media were determined to give the country leadership on the matter.
In doing this, the media appear to be speaking to the new political mantra of Nigeria as we head towards an important election in 2015, that craves for a corruption-free government and a better, more competent campaign against the raging insurgency.
It is difficult to say, from my disadvantaged standpoint, if and whether the President had weighed the political cost of their knee-jerk reaction to criticism of the festivities. If they did, they may somehow have minimized the political damage they inflicted upon themselves by their demonstrable aloofness and ignorance of ground realities.
In search of a hollow political gain, a Senior Adviser to the President on the new media, even saw a political opportunity in the slaying of the innocent pupils and sought to use the incident to black-paint the suspended Governor of the Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi. As it turned out, the new technological platforms we have found cheaply accessible and useful have a way exposing our hidden secrets. The official was unmasked as the hidden internet hand fabricating falsehood against the perceived enemies of government.
It was equally distressing for a grieving nation that the motivated minister of the government, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was staged to pat her government in the back at the banquet meant for the centenary award. She made a big deal of highway construction and the soon-to-be assembled made-in-Nigeria car. The reformist minister was fairly impressive on the platform even where eulogies and accolades as per development indicators of the world seemed way out of what the public was thinking. She looked much like someone trying to breathe life into a rotten corpse. This was the same evening when the U.S. government issued that damning report classifying Nigeria as a corrupt country.
What Dr. Okonjo-Iweala missed throughout was that the thing that weighed the most on the minds of Nigerians was why and how killings have continued unabated in the North-East. They are getting confused about who gets what value from the slaughtering of children. Why is Africa’s best army at a crossroads over the menace by a rag-tag, barefooted army? Are these Boko Haram? Or are they Obasanjo’s death squads? There is also a feeling that all those poverty alleviation programs she talked about have not added a reasonable succor to the lives of the targeted people. There is very little skill enhancement acquired by the people, many of whom are just getting cash which in the long run is detrimental to them and to the economy.
As media coverages continue to show, the thing on the public’s mind, the saliences of the news wasn’t about how successful the organizers were in bringing this huge presence of foreign leaders. In normal times, putting that together would have passed for a definitive masterstroke. For the citizens and their critical mass media however, this auto-eroticism was a non-event. The nation wanted to talk about the increasing massacres in the North and the steps they want to see taken by their government to bring them to a close. A government that ignores all these only shows its thick skin. Foreign leaders who assembled too have a moral question to answer. Their presence was no less than an implicit endorsement of the lackadaisical government’s attitude to the insurgency. Even though they have restrictions imposed upon them by principles of non-interference in domestic affairs, they should have assumed responsibilities, even tangentially, to prop up our government to do more than it seems ready to do. Life shouldn’t be that expendable as we have come to accept in this country.
This country’s parliament under Senator David Mark too has some waking up to do. They seem to be toying with and shielding the government as many have come to see, and wondering if Ken Nnamani’s Senate would have sat akimbo as this country is going to the gutters.
The press, as a reflective mirror, has the duty of showing the thing that is on the public’s mind. In this case, it is Boko Haram and corruption. That is what they expect their government to deal with. Changing the subject as they have tried and failed to do, with the centenary celebration, won’t just work.