From Battleground to Common Ground -Reno Omokri

In the season that we are in, I think it is very important for political parties to x-ray their operations and honestly examine their motives to see if they are contributing to peace or to tension.  This is because people are more likely to advocate  their passions through politics than through violence, if political parties have internal democracy whereby it is possible for one to have upward mobility without being connected to the right people.

It is also important for the maintenance of a stable society for the public to see political parties as coalitions of people with the same ideology instead of a coalition of people with the same hegemonic ambitions.

Political parties shouldn't just exist as a vehicle for people with a desire to secure political power. They ought to be a place of common ground for people who share the same broad ideas for the advancement of human civilisation within the sphere of influence of the city/state or nation whose citizenship or residency they hold. And a political party can only bring about positive change when it offers people common ground.

Where a political party does not offer a common ground, it will inevitably become a battle ground. And sometimes, there is the danger that the battle ground continues to widen  and may eventually result in collateral damage to the people that are meant to be served.

Let me go deeper.

In my experience, whenever politicians come together to form a union, they unite in one of three types of relationships.  They either unite as friends, constituents or comrades and I have listed these relationships in the descending order of their attachments to each other.

A friend is somebody that is for you. He is not for what you are for or what you are against, he is just for you. You can count on the support of a friend irrespective of whether or not you have common interests or common enemies.

A political party can hardly be built on this foundation but a political movement within a political party can be built on this premise.  This is the premise upon which the original Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) founded by the late sage, General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, was built on.  This is the reason why PDM functionaries like Chief Anthony Anenih continue to wield political influence irrespective of the political order of the day.

A constituent however,  is someone who is for what you are for. In other words, you share common interests. You can count on the loyalty of a constituent as long as you share the same interests.  A party built on this foundation is stable and cohesive only if the interests are stable and cohesive.  If for instance the interests in question are economic, then the party can not be stable because economic interests are not stable.  If on the other hand such interests are stable, such as a national interest, then the party will be stable.

The African National Congress (ANC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are both built on the foundation of national interests which is why one is the oldest existing party in Africa while the other is the oldest existing party in Nigeria.  Finally, a comrade is not for what you are for, neither does he share the same interests as you. A comrade is simply one who is against what you are against.  In other words, you are bound by a common enemy.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is a party founded on this premise.  Those who are enemies of president and the PDP gathered together to form a party whose foundation is their common enemy.  They share no ideological connection, neither are they friends. In actual fact, they may even hate each other, only that they hate the president and the PDP more and are wiling to temporarily suppress their hatred for each other in order to gang up against their common enemy.

In my experience, it is better to have a party built on common interests than to have one built on a common enemy. This is because as even a political novice will tell you, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies only permanent interests.  Now, if the above is true, what would happen to a party that is built on a common enemy?  Parties built on this foundation last only as long as the enemy is in power. Once their enemy is no longer in power the party disintegrates.

Can Nigeria ever be safe in the hands of those who see politics from the prism of enmity rather than the prism of friendship or even interests?  Where a political party founded on friendship or interest will see a challenger as a rival, a party grounded in enmity sees a challenger as an opponent.  Where an interest or friendship-based party sees politics as love by other means, an enmity-based party sees it as war by other means.

This is why they will spare no ill or foul language in describing a gentleman like President Goodluck Jonathan who has repeatedly said that "I have no enemies to fight".  With all that has been said about the president and his party, the PDP, if you focus on the facts and not the propaganda, you will realise that the president's peaceful mien has permeated his party and that the PDP has been a reflection of peace and friendship.

Where is all the political violence in Nigeria taking place?

When was the last time you heard of politically motivated violence in PDP states?  PDP states look up to the president for inspiration and having seen his peaceful mien, they have followed suit.  The PDP is not peopled by those who spend all their time and invest considerable intellectual capacity on imagining negative things to tweet, BB and Facebook because it is a party built on a foundation of friendship with a president who believes in accommodation.

So, while many are keen to change the narrative and focus the minds of Nigerians on the negative,  I urge Nigerians today to soberly reflect and ask themselves who but President Jonathan would have shown the restraint and maturity in the face of such undeserved hostility?  This is a man with nothing to hide. He signed the Freedom of Information Act into law so that Nigerians could see that he is an open book.  How many of the so called progressive states have domesticated this Act?  As I write to you, there is not a single political prisoner in Nigeria and we are one of the few countries in Africa where you have freedom of speech and freedom after the speech.

This analysis is necessary to show  that a gathering of friends will achieve much more than a gathering of enemies and it is high time that we moved our politics away from the battle ground to the common ground.

Oby: Activist By Day, Politician By Night- By Uwa Eghomeka

By Uwa Eghomeka

There appears to be a growing trend in this country. As I reflect on the last few weeks in our nation’s history, something about it seems hauntingly familiar, and it’s not merely the apparent unity of the Nigerian people in the face of the heinous kidnapping of our Chibok girls, or the involvement of the international community in the search for the girls.
During the days of the Occupy Nigeria protests against the removal of fuel subsidy in 2012, many social media critics and activists were born. While that in itself is laudable, because Nigerians are learning to speak out using every means available to them, what I find disturbing is that ex-government officials did not merely join the bandwagon, they virtually began to ‘own’ it.
I am reminded of how Mallam Nasir El Rufai, with his eloquent and often poignant messages on twitter and facebook, posed as a man of the people and the face of opposition throughout the Occupy Nigeria protest in 2012. This, of course, was before the release of his controversial book. One would safely assume that the mallam bargained on riding on his new found fame at the time to lend some measure of authenticity and honesty to his printed pack of unsubstantiated claims. But he would not have his way. El Rufai has been exposed for the man he is; he can no longer beguile people with his penchant for peddling lies as the truth.
In the wake of Nasir El Rufai’s crash landing and subsequent transition from Occupy Nigeria hero to power-starved narcissist, like a phoenix rising from Nasir’s inglorious ashes, another ex-government official, social media critic cum activist has emerged. Fondly referred to by El Rufai as his friend and sister, Oby Ezekwesili has taken to using social media to advance her agenda, gaining popularity especially after her popular keynote address delivered at the APC conventionheld in Abuja.
Oby Ezekwesili has clearly decided that using El Rufai’s modus operandi; posting as many tweets as possible, using every medium available to make Nigerians believe you actually care; that you are one of them, while making derisive defamatory remarks about government administrations you were not a part of, would earn her the popularity she so desperately seeks.

This trend of ex-government officials frequently taking swipes at successive administrations for the very same offences their administrations were guilty of is becoming quite alarming. Do they perhaps believe that by belittling these people they somehow raise people’s perception of their administration as over and above all others in terms of not merely accomplishments, but standards as well?
Mrs Ezekwesili would do well to remember the saying, “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. This is not attempt at digging up dirt on her, though there is dirt enough. But let’s leave things as they are, after all why should we show more than a passing interest in her connection with a certain ‘wonder bank’, or how and why “dear Nasir” lavished her with loads of money and choice property in Abuja when he was the FCT Minister;the same man who rendered many Nigerians homeless, might I add.
It would have been so much easier to believe that Oby is who she claims to be, but some of her associations, actions and even statements have rendered her claims null and void. At this point one even wonders, with all her claims to goodness and public displays of passion for the people, why World Bank did not leave her in their employ rather than terminate her contract. Could it possibly be an indication of a less than stellar performance? And if it is, then it would justify her desperation to gain the recognition that eluded her while at World Bank by attempting to portray herself as a ‘man of the people’.
Oby has claimed so many times that she is nonpartisan, but we will not be carried away by people’s claims any longer. After all, her bosom buddy and long standing friend, Nasir El Rufai, the accidental public servant, also claimed piety while in government, yet we all know that his claims were baseless lies and his term as minister was an accident indeed. Then again, she’s not some innocent wading in the murky waters of politics for the first time; and as she uses the unfortunate incident of the Chibok kidnappings to gain traction, it becomes clear that Oby is ready to play in the big leagues. With her non-partisan claims making waves, we may very well soon find ourselves burdened with an ‘accidental politician’ as well.

E-COPY OF TSUNTSU OUR HAUSA NEWSPAPER ( MAY PUBLICATION)

THE

DANDALIN DARIYA

Daga Abubakar Yusuf Mada

              Ba Mu Daga Cikin Matattu

A wani kauye ne wasu yara guda biyu suka saci mangoro a cikin buhu. Sai suka tsaya shawarar

inda za su tafi su raba ba tare da kowa ya gansu ba. Sai daya ya bayar da shawarar a tafi

makabarta.

Bayan sun isa makabarta dauke da mangoron nan, a kofar shiga sai mangoro biyu ya fado daga

cikin buhun, amma saboda suna sauri kada agansu sai suka bar su nan suka wuce cikin makabartar da sauran mangoron.

Su na shiga sai suka zube mangoron a kasa suka fara rabawa, babban ne ya ke rabo, sai ya dauki

mangoro daya ya aza a gabanshi ya ce, “Ni daya”sai kuma ya dauki daya ya aza a gaban karamin ya ce, “Kai daya.”Haka suka ci gaba da rabonsu. Can sai ga wani mashayi ya fito daga cikin daji wajen shaye shayensa, yana zuwa dai dai kofar makabarta sai

ya ji wata yar karamar murya kamar ta yara ana cewa, “Kai daya, ni daya,” kuma anci gaba da

maimaitawa. Sai kawai ya garzaya da sauri sai gidan limamin kauyen.

Yana zuwa ya same shi kofar gida yana shirin yin alwalar magariba. Ya ce, Allah gafarta malam,

yau wani bakon al’amari ke faruwa a makabartar can. Na ji ana rabon matattu. Sai liman ya ce muje in gani.Su na zuwa, sai suka labe a bakin kofar makabartar, sai suka ji ana cewa, “Kai daya, ni daya, kai daya, ni daya…” Can sai suka ji ance,“To kai ga yawan naka nan, ni ga yawan nawa nan.” Can kuma sai suka ji an kara cewa, “To wadan can biyun na bakin kofar shigowa fa?” sai suka ji daya ya ce, “To mu je a dauko su mana.”

Haba! Ai liman da mashayin nan na jin haka, sai suka ari takalmin kare, su na fadin ai mu ba mu

mutu ba, ba mu daga cikin matattu, tsammani suke yi da su ake, ba su san cewa yaran nan mangoron su biyu da suka fadi bakin kofa suke nufi ba.

                        Fatalwa

Wani saurayi ne da gidansu ke kusa da makabarta, kullum idan ya hawo mota ko babur baya biya, ana zuwa daidai makabartar nan sai ya ce a sauke shi, ana sauke shi sai ya nuna ai shima mataccene, fatalwa ya yi ya fito yawon shakatawa, kawai sai ya shige makabartar.Ana cikin haka ne wata rana ya hawo babur din wani dan achaba me shegen naci, bayan sun zo daidai makabartar sai saurayin nan yace, “Tsaya na sauka anan” yana sauka sai yai kokarin shiga

makabarta kamar yadda ya saba, amma sai Dan achaba ya rike shi ya ce ya ba shi kudinsa, to

anan ne saurayin nan ya ce da shi shi fa fatalwa ne ba me rai bane kuma gida ya kawoshi (wato

makabarta).Nan take Dan achaba ya ce to su shiga ya ba shi kudinsa. Haka kuwa aka yi, suna shiga abokin namu ya je kan wani kabari yace, “Danlami bani

naira tamanin (#80) na ba wa wannan Dan achaban kudinsa”, ai kafin ya gama rufe baki

kawai sai suka ga wani hannu ya bullo da naira dari (#100) yace, “Karbi wannan ka ba shi, ya ba mu chanji, ni ma ragowar kudina ke nan.”

Ai da Saurayin nan da Dan achaba sai kowa ya cika rigarsa da iska yayi takansa. Ashe wani

Mahaukaci ne yazo ya kwanta a ciki, banza ta kori wofi ke nan.

A ganinku, tsakanin saurayin da Dan achaba wa zai fi wani gudu?

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                       Barawon Takobi

Daga  Bashiru Saleh

Wani barawo ne ya shiga wani gida sata.Dayake dare ne yana cikin lalube sai yaji ya tabo wani sharbeben takobi a rataye.Da har zai dauka sai canja shawara yace ba sai na gama sace kayan gida sannan sai in zo in dauke wannan takobin,don daga ji zayyi tsada sosai.

Bayan ya gama sace kaya ne sai ya dawo domin daukar wannan takobi,ga mamakin sa da ya shafo wajen sai yaji ba takobin sai dai gidan takobin.

Mai ya kamata barawon yayi ?

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