Television Nigerian

By David Onmeje

There is something peculiar about wars globally. Wars comprise an expansive web of actors and losers. There are initiators of wars; supporters of armed conflicts; financiers of wars; beneficiaries of wars; casualties of wars and terminators of wars. Clearly, state forces are sanctified terminators of wars!

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya has patriotically chosen the path of honour to end the reign of Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, armed bandits and other twilled insurgencies across the country. Gen. Faruk’s three months shadows on the theatre of insurgency wars and insurrectional violence have demonstrated another strong avowal to the termination of all insecurities in Nigeria.

Gen. Yahaya’s soldier- persona, his career records, experiences and mastery of the art of war clearly betray his multiple unknown ingenuities, as an outstanding soldier of his generation. When he served as the commander of “Operation Lafiya Dole, the renamed headquarters of the theatre of operation, Maiduguri by March 2021, members of ISWAP terrorists ambushed his convoy.

The unfortunate incident occurred at Garin Kuturu village between Auno and Jakana towns along the Maiduguri—Damaturu highway. But Gen. Faruk Yahaya courageously fought back gallantly and assumed the terrorists merely bruised the lion’s tail. It emboldened him ferociously in the next few days, and the terrorists experienced serial exterminations by Nigerian troops.

The COAS is a soldier of a few words; but his real worth abundantly reflects in sustained actions on any assignment until he achieves rewarding results. He is a brilliant and calculative military combatant, who is never distracted by any force, once his mindset is fixated on anything. He is another rare breed soldier, who leads by example and infinitely humane, but brutal on the battle turf like his recent predecessors.

It is this mien in Gen. Faruk Yahaya that spurred spontaneous jubilations in the Nigerian Army, especially from troops in the theatre of war, when news of his appointment as the COAS and leader of the CTCI operations in the country by President Muhammadu Buhari broke out. For instance, in Maiduguri, the now main base of “Operation Hadin Kai,” soldiers immediately erupted in pulsating jubilations because of Gen. Faruk’s famed reputation of having welfare of troops at heart.

Soldiers generously confessed that Gen. Faruk’s ignores gossips or backbiting on matters of welfare of his troops, and remits all legitimate earnings of any soldier to the beneficiary and demands reciprocity of the gesture by actions in the frontlines.

And three months down the lane, Gen. Faruk Yahaya has delightfully and pleasurably proved his mettle as a soldier and leader worth his onions in the counter-terrorism combats. Nigeria can widely attest to the eternally inordinate ambitions of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to extract and appropriate to their indiscernible caliphate, the territories of Nigeria.

But these terrorists and bandits have met a cul-de-sac in Gen. Faruk Yahaya, who is more determined, sweltering and fiercer on the battlefield. He is noted for his warfare intensity, which analysts say, dwarfs the prime efforts of his predecessors. He is a finer replica of his ex-bosses.

Upon assumption of office, Gen. Faruk Yahaya effected internal reorganization of the Nigerian Army. He repositioned the best hands in strategic positions to make the CTCI operations smoother and much more effective. Thus, another crack soldier, Major General C.G. Musa emerged the new Theatre Commander of “Operation Hadin Kai” to lead coordination of the numerous military units in the counter insurgency operation in the Northeast region.

Gen. Faruk Yahaya expediently conducted familiarization visits of Nigerian Army units and formations round the country. The visits raised platforms where he obtained firsthand information on the challenges and constraints of soldiers in the performance of assigned duties. Thereafter, the leader of CTCI operations proceeded on operational tours.

At every point of his operational tour, the Army Chief’s overriding concern and message to troops centered on ending the prolonged terrorism and banditry wars in the country. He is angered within that the war over prolonged. So, while on operational visit to troops in the frontline from Sector 2, Joint Taskforce under “Operation Hadin Kai,” Damaturu, Yobe State; Gen. Faruk Yahaya reiterated; “We want to conclude this operation in the Northeast; so that we can do other things; and that is the drive now.”

Conspicuously, the COAS is leading from the trenches. He is a roving warmonger like his troops. He knows his physical presence in the warfront is an elixir, tonic and morale booster on troops. Therefore, he has devoted all his time to terminate these multifaceted senseless and incendiary wars on Nigerians in every part of the country. Nigerian troops have been consistently reminded of this inviolable obligation to their fatherland and are supported in all feasible ways to accomplish this task.

Fighting insurgency is a collective agenda of all Nigerians. The Army Chief has defined a role for every Nigerian of godly conscience. So, interestingly, apart from courting the support of military units, formations, battalions, Forward Operational Bases, Gen. Faruk Yahaya has enlisted the cooperation and support of host communities, sister agencies, traditional rulers and various categories of professionals, including the individual on the street to terminate the reign of insurgencies and insurrections.

So, it is not surprising that Nigerians are experiencing the gains being recorded by the Nigerian Army and other sister agencies in CTCI operations lately. Nigerian troops have regained their lost high morale again with Gen. Faruk Yahaya as captain of the ship.

And the exciting results have started manifesting ceaselessly, with the renewed resilience of troops in the frontlines. “We have been recording some modest success in all areas and we intend to sustain that drive,” the Army boss declared to some troops in the Northeast while on operational tour. A factcheck on his leadership of the counter-terrorism operations displays confounding winning streaks against the armed gangs and enemies of Nigeria.

From terrorists, to bandits, armed secessionists, ethnic and religious militias, extremists and militants, Nigeria is cruising on the crucible of total and irrevocable victory under the leadership of Gen. Faruk Yahaya. The songs of victory resonate in the South, and louder in the North.

If its possible to recount episodic chants of victories against the conspiratorial armed gangs, terrorizing Nigeria, these past years, one only hears of neutralization of terrorists and bandits by the Nigerian Military; hundreds surrendering together with their families to the Nigerian Army or we hear of bandits and terrorists camps ransacked by Nigerian troops in different parts of the country.

News such as soldiers freeing Boko Haram hostages previously held captive; Army arrests of amazing number of Boko Haram terrorists; bandits abandoning kidnapped victims scurrying for safety only to meet their waterloo from either ground or air forces or Nigerian troops and troops repelling planned terrorists attacks on villages or towns. In these three months, both national and international media seldomly scream with news headlines of the killings, gores, pains, sorrows and agonies of victims of terrorism and banditry.

By today in August 2021, in confirmation of the pleasant realities in Borno state, the previously hotbed of terrorism in Nigeria, Gov. Babagana Zulum is excited at the drastic reduction in the magnitude of insecurity in the state. The Governor was particularly elated with troops ongoing clearing exercises at the shores of the Lake Chad Basin area and its overwhelming actions around the Sambisa forest general area.

Gov. Zulum noted that the current actions of Nigerian troops have precipitated the massive surrender of hundreds of the insurgents with their families in the last couple of weeks; a greater and increased hold on resettlement of displaced persons to deserted ancestral lands, intensification of farming activities in liberated enclaves in the state, and the restoration of civil authority are an indisputable signposts of palpable peace in more parts of the state.

And publicly, a critical Zulum graciously applauded the military, other security agencies, the Civilian Joint Task Force, (JTF), fighter- hunters and vigilante groups for their combined and sustain efforts in securing the state in the fight against insurgency.

Therefore, when in July 2021, after President Muhammadu Buhari decorated the new COAS with the rank of a Lieutenant General, Gen. Faruk Yahaya assured Nigerians of his unshakable determination as the final terminator of the reign of terror in Nigeria; “…we have started doing (it) already and many of them have been sent to God to go and answer for their crimes.”

Ostensibly, the new Army Chief is living up to his calling, by leading from the front in the trenches. He knows the path to success and he is following the standards set by his predecessors, by proving himself as a dependable officer. Nigeria is winning the war again, after clearing all the distractions created for the troops in the aftermath of the 2019 general elections.

And expectedly, the most sensitive favour Nigerians expect from Gen. Faruk Yahaya is to to sustain the winning tempo until the final whistle is blown. All Nigerians are bound by a patriotic obligation to their country to support the new COAS as he leads the troops to the final victory for Nigeria.

Onmeje wrote this piece from the United Kingdom.

The widely circulated “research paper” by the US secret agent Matthew Page titled “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria” must rank as one of the most deceitful imperialist injections into political discourse in Nigeria in recent times. Page was described in his profile as “U.S. intelligence community’s top Nigeria expert at the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He has also served on the National Intelligence Council, at the Defense Intelligence Agency, and as an international Affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.”

The paper’s preamble stated, “The Carnegie Endowment is grateful to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for research funding that helped make the writing of this paper possible. The views contained herein are those of the author alone.” That the “research” was conducted by a US secret agent and was jointly sponsored by these imperialist agencies easily reveals its intent: to put down Nigeria’s democratisation efforts and try to drag it back under the apron strings of foreign powers.

Matthew Page’s paper claimed that Nigeria’s “kleptocratic, power-hungry but also image-conscious ruling elites” are trying to stymie the country’s “dynamic and expansive civil society” with its “independence, outspokenness and unwavering commitment to democracy, transparency and human rights” by cultivating “a new generation of pro-government non-governmental organisations [NGOs]. Like the fake grassroots groups bankrolled by past military juntas, these surrogate organizations masquerade as authentic civil society groups, singing the praises of top officials and attacking their critics.”

Page said this phenomenon “should set off alarm bells both domestically and internationally.” In other words, unless the NGO space is completely surrendered to foreign-funded groups whose motives, aspirations and activities could and quite often do harm our country’s interests, then democracy is imperiled in Nigeria. He did not think the wholesale burning of supermarkets, looting of shops, destruction of public property and killing of policemen, all inspired and organised by foreign-funded NGO protests, was harmful to Nigeria. It is innocuous statements that praise what they see as a good action of government that threatens the country.

Page wrote that Nigeria is on a “downward democratic trajectory” by virtue of pro-government NGOs. What is the difference in substance between groups that support some government policies and actions and thousands of “political action committees” in the United States, for example, that champion the goals of particular industries and political factions and are funded by them? Page didn’t say America was on a downward democratic trajectory because of these groups, which exploit a loophole in election finance laws that prevent corporations from donating money to political campaigns.

Page wrote that “Nigeria has recently experienced democratic backsliding that threatens its long-term stability and prosperity.” Which democratic backsliding has Nigeria experienced compared to the United States, where President Donald Trump and his supporters actively worked to subvert the results of an election, up to and including storming the Capitol in order to prevent certification of the result? He said “the rise of pro-government NGOs is both a cause and a consequence of this backsliding and must be addressed as part of any effort to arrest and reverse it.” He should first of all go and end political action groups in USA before coming here to truncate some NGOs.

In his long paper, Page described some NGOs as “legitimate” and implied that so-called pro-government NGOs are illegitimate. Is it abusing the government of the day, which was popularly elected, that makes an NGO legitimate? Or is it serving the interests of foreign powers who insist that every society in the world must reflect their Western outlook and share their social and other values?

Page wrote that “Nigeria’s pro-government NGOs are all opaquely funded, likely through off-budget payments or contracts for consulting services.” Fair enough. Between being funded from Nigerian public coffers, however opaquely, and being funded by the CIA, MI 6, their front foundations and “donor agencies” as well as foreign business corporations with vested interests in raping our national economy, which one is more dangerous to Nigeria?

Two decades ago, the late frontline activist Gani Fawehinmi warned his colleagues in the Nigerian civil society community to wean themselves off foreign funding of their activities. Gani said a genuine civil society activist should practice his profession and trade alongside activism, so that he can finance it himself and will exercise independent judgement. Here is this foreign agent Matthew Page saying different, that foreign-funded NGOs are the “legitimate” ones while locally grown ones are illiberal and illegitimate. Turn the page, Matthew Page. Gani’s advice was much more worthwhile (than) your own.

Olajuwon, PhD, is a media/public affairs analyst based in Abuja.

By Philip Agbese

Very often, it’s dispiriting to turn your eyes off certain public slights and denigrations in a jiffy. I prayed fervently that my attention be distracted from Matthew T.Page’s wicked and self-mollifying lies against me, since it surfaced on the internet recently, despite its hyperbolic ease in falsity.

But day in, day out, and in good conscience, I feel there are several angles still untouched by me, in spite of previous replies. And I graciously obliged my conscience.

Let me again recall that in a published research paper, July 28, 2021, Mr. Page, a scholar and researcher at Carnegie Institute for International Peace (CEIP) bizarrely brought me into public searchlight in a scathing and damning manner. The research protruded with a style only suggestive of someone attempting to repress one group in favour of another.

I am not in a position to doubt the factuality of all the contents of Mr. Page’s thesis. But I have the onerous obligation to repeatedly articulate certain maliciously veiled and twisted sacred truths on my person, as propagated by Page, at the point he drew my shadow into the battle ring.

Page, also a fellow at other international research institutes wrote on the subject; “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria.” Therein, he narrowed and inaccurately portraited my personage and activities as young Nigerian scholar, rights activist and intellectual of international repute.

With a distinctive yardstick, Page generously categorised Non-Governmental Organisations, (NGOs) into mainstream and fake or “briefcase” entities. In what appeared like a sworn vow to demolish an enemy in a battle scenario, the researcher descended a destructive force in vile aspersions on the “briefcase” NGOs, he conspicuously repulsed, evidently resplendent even in his branding/ explication of their delineations.

The angst is that the researcher tongue-lashed me and a few others, whom he accused of inordinate distortions in the space of genuine NGOs/ Nigeria’s Civil Society Organisation’s (CSOs) agitations for popular or masses inclined causes. I couldn’t fathom why Page came to the dubious conclusion that any of the identified NGOs by the fresh status and redefinition he conferred on them was better atuned to the mindset of Nigerians than the other.

However, I am concerned at pulling a respected scholar like myself out of my shell, honest struggles, and patriotic deeds to support my fatherland to demeaning lambasts by Page. His resistable branding of me as the patriarch of “briefcase” NGOs, which repress good public cause in favour of government’s obnoxious policies in exchange for what Nigerians call “patronage,” thoroughly misrepresented my good nurtured self and is out rightly misleading.

By such posturing, Page never accurately reflected my existential vassicitudes. I also observed with keen interest, his witty and subtle campaigns to paint a portrait of me as someone who operates a surfeit of fake NGOs under the Buhari Presidency to attract patronage from foreign donors.

Honestly, Page misfired by pinning and aligning me down to such an absurd reasoning. Of course, if President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointees, surrogates and lackeys in government are funding my NGOs as Page thoughtlessly declared, it’s logical that I would not starve of funds to necessarily knock on the gates of either London or Washington DC or anywhere else to fund my operations in Nigeria.

What Page didn’t know about me; is my total repulsion for foreign aids to Africa in whatever guise. I don’t believe, aids/ grants from foreign countries can help Africa to grow or attain its full potentials and will never ask for any as far as I am concerned to support any NGO operating under my inspiration as a practitioner. It has not helped Africa in the past and it will not assist us in anyway today. My perception of aids to Africa is that of exploitative vassels perched on our burdened backs by disguised forces of neocolonialism, who blindfold us with very little, but extract so much from us.

It is therefore clear that the news platform -The NigerianNews, myself and other inspired young Nigerians founded, more as a leisure activity, but with the lofty ideals and philosophy of promoting the beauty of Africa, it’s potentials and her outstanding patriots has become a source of worry to the colonialists and their minions. But the actions of colonialists against Africa inflamed and triggered the passion by their consistent portrayal of this rich fatherland as a dark continent. Through TheNigerian, we have been able to fruitfully tell our story to the world as a continent full of goodies; a land flowing with milk and honey; aside disasters, evils and self-destruction.

And we are not indebted to anyone in terms of apology over our standpoint or perception of the African continent. Anyone can hum all his disillusionment. But I thank the Almighty God, the father of Osiroko, Osilagama and all the prophets because certainly, we have never been alone in the battles against the immolation of Africa by the western world.

Some African patriots, nationalists and leaders have walked this path before today. And many more are still crossing the same path by raising a voice. We want to be the mouthpiece of our gores or fables and other narratives, reflecting all its enriching allures.

So, Libya’s Moummar Ghadaffi vehemently kicked against the relentless portrayal of Africa as a continent peopled by dark hearts and minds. Ghana’s Dr. Kwame Nkrumah raised a voice of consciousness; Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe vigorously campaigned against it to his grave; and Tanzania’s Dr. John Magufuli was never fooled either. Burkina Faso’s Capt. Thomas Sankara renounced it strongly.

Even in contemporary times, Kenya’s anti-West evangelist, Prof. PLO Lumumba is not just sermonizing, but also, angry about it; ditto for South Africa’s forthright parliamentarian, Julius Malema and many others. Another whom I have tremendous respect for, Ousman Touray from the Gambian is out inspiring young Africans not to love their country alone but to love and stand for the continent. We shall continue to sing this song of our enduring heritage and patriotism in diverse ways.

Therefore, Mr. Page captured my philosophy of patriotism and loyalty wrongly. His reflections of my personage is different from my convictions on patriotism. And this, I am honoured to articulate to him now.

The American writer and public speaker, George William Curtis captured my deepest thoughts and application of patriotism, when he echoed that; “A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods; but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.” I am a patriot who stands up for country anytime it is threatened by enemy or anti-democratic forces. I love my country and the compatriots regardless of ancestry.

I am a stickler to justice, equity and fairplay. I have fought several battles against national malaises in the past, even at the risk of my personal life. I am infinitely concerned with the human rights of my compatriots and it’s practice in Nigeria is a function of the knowledge I have acquired formally.

I should be pardoned if I sound braggish. But I was the best student in human rights law module at the Middlesex University, United Kingdom during my undergraduate days. It propelled my passion to do a masters degree in law, also in human rights laws. My dissertation was focused on non-state actors and the war against insurgency in Nigeria. So, I know exactly, the nuances of the causes I support in Nigeria.
Largely, the thinking by Page that I supported the Nigerian Military in the counter-insurgency operations against terrorists and bandits was for the bait of personal monetary inducements is flawed. I didn’t just transfix myself in Abuja or Agila, in Benue State to support the Nigerian military in the war against insurgency for pecuniary gains. I took pains, endured the hardships, committed time and resources to travel to the nooks and crannies of the Northeast epicentre of the counter-insurgency combats operations countless times.

I am not blowing my trumpet, but in my little way, I have also supported the troops in the frontlines and our IDPs in the area of ameliorating the humanitarian crises in the region. Many of the operators of mainstream NGOs/CSOs who sit in cosy enclaves to belittle our military and the efforts of the Buhari presidency over insecurities haven’t crossed Jos, Plateau State, but deliberately distort the realities of these insurgencies and insurrectional war. Let me assert that there is no obstacle strong enough to restrain me from countering the conjured negative narratives by these mercantile arm-chair groups in tacit promotion of terrorists campaigns against national interest on security.

In one of my opinion articles captioned; ” My Stand for Nigeria, My beloved Country!,” published on November 9, 2020, I made my stand on the issue of my patriotism and loyalty to Nigeria with every lucidity.

I solemnly declared to some specific renegades ( details in the article)as reflected in this excerpts; ‘I have sworn never to be a party to anything that will destroy my country. My patriotic spirit won’t allow me the liberty of such generous indulgence…. I can’t enlist in the deviousness of conspiring with outsiders to build enemy camps against Nigeria… I will not bow to their unpatriotic gods within and outside Nigeria. The Almighty God in whom I serve… I put my trust forever for love of country.”

Richard Rorty, an American philosopher wrote in his book,
“Achieving Our Country,” that “National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement.” So, wherever the Nigerian ship hangs after turbulent seawaves, I am there to pair up with others to render my little assurance in order to anchor it on the safe harbour.

More so, the likes of Page and others are still clinging unto the expired notions and in fact, still burdened by the mistaken illusion that everything about the whiteman is white and supreme; whilst everything about the blackman is black and evil. These were notions of yore, as decried by renowned civil rights activists.

Martin Luther King Jr, saliently decried this inclination, but cautioned decades back in this popular quote; “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Therefore, this conscious criminalization of blacks is no longer tenable as conveyed by the message of the global protests induced by George Floyd’s brutal death in the hands of American police. Page must be reminded that the colour of the brain is white and this is irrespective of one’s colour of the skin. Whitemen have also failed where the Blackman failed. It therefore means that anyone can do well and also, fail or fumble. Through my lenses, Matthew Page is indeed a failure as manifest in the published research work.

Notwithstanding, my loyalty at all times and circumstances must remain to my country. Nothing will change it. Not even a million Pages can influence a change of my mindset and preparing myself to face all odds. I am currently researching on my Ph.D in international humanitarian law which is in line with my father’s wish for his son. And I have vowed to see it to the end in order to further expose Page and his sponsors that are still deceiving Africa with grant .

Agbese, a Human rights scholar wrote this piece from Agila, Benue State.