EM, Aliyi Ekineh is a very confused (I mean mentally enslaved) African. I say this, not because there is no modicum of truth in the petition to Tony Blair. The Sovereign National Congress he/she and many other Nigerians are calling for is probably the only sane course of redress for Nigeria and several other fictitious African nations.
Contrary to Ekineh's claims, no African society (below or above the Sahara) was in the stone age when European looters reached our shores. And there were states, nations, kingdoms, etc, in Africa before any White man ever set foot on our continent. The citizens of those polities knew where their borders stood. If Ekineh imagines that precolonial-era wars were an African preserve he/she obviously hasn't read European or Asian history. Even the idea that modern multi-ethnic states are an African exception is borne of ignorance. For example, India and Pakistan (both of which Ekineh mentions) are multi-ethnic states. More than 200 languages are spoken in India. Actually, if they were classified as arbitrarily as African languages are you'd probably get more than 1,000 tribes (I'm using this meaningless and pejorative appellation just for effect) in India. Many other contemporary nations in Asia, the Americas, Europe, etc are multi-ethnic. Considering the fantastic statements he/she has made, Ekineh is most likely unaware that there are about as many Muslims in India as the total population of Nigeria. Then there are Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, etc. I hate to say it, but with a leadership of the caliber of thought represented in this petition, a future Niger Delta Republic is foredoomed. I'm no authority on the Niger delta, but the last time I checked, that region was multi-ethnic. So, following Ekineh's logic of creating mono-ethnic (or call them culturally/religiously homogenous) states, a Niger Delta Republic shouldn't even be conceivable. Obviously Ekineh hasn't heard of Somalia, a country where people speak one language and are overwhelmingly (as in 99%) Muslim. So, what's my point? A lot more needs to be addressed in a national sovereign congress than the tempting desire to go it alone among Nigeria's constituent parts. The illegitimate and arbitrary exercise of power is the single biggest issue that Nigerians and the citizens of any other contemporary African state that needs to search its soul have to put an end to. Otherwise, the madness that afflicts our modern nation-states will have been merely multiplied into smaller but no less vicious tin-pot dictatorships. Finally, none of the leaders of the Western world, largely responsible for the sorry state of our Planet, has any credible solutions to Africa's problems. They are a part of our problems and running to them to rescue us from a condition they helped create is as sensible as taking more poison to cure poison. That's something that Ekineh may wish to stuff in his pipe to smoke and ponder. vukoni On Wed, 2004-06-09 at 19:04, Edward Mulindwa wrote: > NIGER DELTA REPUBLIC MOVEMENT > P.O.BOX 33535 > London E9 7NS > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel:+44(0)208 9853905. > > > > > To: Africa Commission, announced by the British Prime Minister, Mr. > Tony > Blair. > > > AFRICA'S PROBLEMS ARE ROOTED IN COLONIAL BOUNDARIES. > > We are greatly delighted to hear the announcement made by the British > Prime > Minister on Tuesday 4th May 2004 on the formation of Africa > Commission. " > I have decided with others to form Africa Commission to > take a fresh look at Africa(South of the Arabs) past, present and > future. > It will be a comprehensive assessment of the situation and examine > a)what > has worked b) what has not worked and c) what more can be done.'' In > our > opinion, in the Niger Delta Republic Movement, these seem to cover > comprehensively the matters that need to be looked into, in respect of > problems of Africa through this present age - the 4th > AGE in Africa. > > The 1st AGE was the age of total darkness, backwardness and exclusion > from > the civilised world. It was a sort of pre Stone Age when the map of > the > continent did not show any nation; only features such as mountains, > rivers > and deserts. This was because there were no nations, only human > settlements > that were mostly unknown, even to our fellow Africans. During this > time we > shared the continent with wild beasts, disease carrying insects, > frightening > deserts and hostile rivers that were not easily navigable. All of > these > contributed to keep African communities, south of the Arabs, away from > one > another, and from the active world of civilisation nearly 2000 years > ANNO > Domini. Only legends flourished among us. > > The 2nd AGE was the age of exploration of the continent by brave > Europeans. > It also includes centuries of the notorious slave trade that > contributed to > make Africans the most submissive race of mankind. And it lasted more > than > three centuries. > Then came the 3rd AGE when European adventurers scrambled into Africa > in > pursuit of colonies. They created the modern nations of Africa, south > of > the Arabs, and so, catapulted us to the modern civilised world of the > nineteenth century. Those who look for a date for the commencement of > the > colonial system usually refer to the notorious Berlin Conference of > 1885. > That was a period of the world when no one sermonised on democracy, > freedom, > right and justice, only brutal force everywhere. And each of the > "modern > nations of Africa" was created by brutally merging a collection of > colonial > conquests that comprise disparate tribes, plus warring religions, in > some > cases such as Nigeria. At the Berlin Conference, Cecil Rhodes of > Rhodesia, > now Zimbabwe, was reported to have remarked - "We have been engaged in > creating boundaries and drawing lines upon maps and over places where > no > white man's foot ever trod". And a later author remarked "These > boundaries > owe everything to European interests, and a little to topography; but > nothing whatsoever to the African reality. Yet they determine and > form the > boundaries of the nations of modern Africa. Today, in post colonial > Africa, > their inhabitants are still coming to terms with their contrived > nationhood." > > Hardly did the Europeans know that they were creating nations for > future > generations of Africans. However at about that time in the early 20th > century, Mary Kingsley remarked "Whatever we (Europeans) do in Africa > today, > a thousand years hence, there will be Africans to thrive or suffer for > it". > It is not quite 200 years hence, already, the people of the Niger > Delta, a > wholly Christian communities on the Central Atlantic coast, have been > suffering for it during the past forty years. They were converted to > Christianity by European Christian missionaries towards the end of the > slave > trade. After the slave trade they were forcibly cobbled together with > hundreds of other tribes, including those from Arab orientated Islamic > Africans on the fringes of the Sahara desert, to form a colony that > was > given the name Nigeria in 1914. In Nigeria, as in many parts of > Africa, the > colonial system lasted much less than a hundred years; from Bismarch > to > Hitler. > > The 4th AGE is the present age of Independence that began in the > aftermath > of Hitler's war in the 20th century. In many colonies such as Nigeria > it > came "on a platter of gold." Only a handful of colonies fought hard > for > independence; because the moral issue in Hitler's war softened the > hearts of > the Imperial nations; and they scrambled out of Africa. We Africans > for the > first time got our brand new Free Nations that looked equal to the > civilised > nations of Europe, Asia, America, and the Middle East. Albeit, we, of > the > modern African nations did not realised that, there is one common > factor > that makes each of our nations different from the nations of Europe, > Asia, > America and the Middle East; hereafter called the civilised nations. > > Whereas, each of the countries of the civilised nations comprises > communities of like minded peoples whose way of life and traditions > are > influenced by one common religion, in the modern African nations, > almost > every country comprises multiple disparate ethnic communities of > unlike > minded peoples plus warring religions as in Nigeria. We like to > remind Mr. > Blair's Commission on Africa, that in India, at independence in 1947, > the > great Islamic jurist, Mohammed Jinnah, insisted on the separation of > the > Moslems from India that comprised, in the main, both Hindu and > Moslems. > Pakistan was therefore created as a separate nation for the Moslems. > Then > as the Moslems happily promoted their own cherished Islamic religion, > they > founded a brand new capital, they gloriously give the name - > Islamabad. And > they moved on along a peaceful existence, with confidence. Today, > both > India and Pakistan are among the civilised nations of the world. Each > of > them enjoys internal peace that has enabled their peoples to develop > impressively. We admire their wisdom and the world that supported > them. > > It is very unfortunate for Africa that we have not produced capable > leaders > such as Mohammed Jinnah. The European colonial civil servants and > administrators who ruled the African colonies, did so with motivation > and > with the ambition to promote the interest, prestige and glory of their > imperial nations. All the peoples and tribes they ruled saw them in > the > same way. No one tribe felt that the other tribes could be favoured > by > them. The whole colony or country was like one huge prison compound > in > which the colonial officers were good warders. They had no reason to > be > partial in favour of any particular tribe. So they were seen as > impartial > slave masters. On the other hand, the native rulers who succeeded > them at > independence, as in Nigeria, had no such motivation and impartial > standing. > Instead, in a country like Nigeria with more than 200 disparate > tribes, the > native ruler is one only out of 200 tribes. It is impossible for the > rest > of us to see him as an imperial umpire. So understandably the country > can > never have a good leader. As a result, every election is like a horse > trading market; and politicians bargain and compromise only on tribal > and > ethnic basis. This type of behaviour hastens corruption, nepotism, > and > never ending bloody conflicts aggravated by religion. Consequently, > in > Nigeria, no Nigerian makes a home in any part of the country besides > his > ancestral area. No one gets a government job in any state or local > government, other than in his own ancestral state or local government > area. > Only 'Federal' jobs are available to all; but they are characterised > by > nepotism, corruption and other social evils. Every transaction in > respect > of landed property, however small, in size or duration, whether a home > or a > factory or other kind of premises, requires government written > consent. > This has nothing to do with tax payable on the transaction. Almost > all big > international banks, Insurance companies and manufacturing ones, have > left > the country, Only corruption works perfectly well. A country of 200 > disparate tribal homes cannot be any one's loving nation. > > Since independence more than eight million have lost their lives in > the > never ending bloody conflicts that includes pogrom, umpteen > executions, > military coup, civil war, incessant ethnic and religious rioting > aggravated > by religion, and killings by government troops. Even on the eve of > the New > Millennium, President Mullah Olusegun Obasanjo, having become > President by > the grace of the Northern Military, a few months earlier, sent his > bombers > to the Niger Delta; and they bombed the area all night, killing > thousands of > humans and other God's creatures at a blow. Earlier, his predecessor, > General Sanni Abacha, as military head of state, had wiped out all the > leaders of Ogoni in the same Niger Delta. The reason for the killings > in > the Niger Delta, is to subdue the people, while their lands and their > resources are mercilessly exploited to service the corruption based > economy > of the country. We in the Niger Delta are the most savagely exploited > peoples in the whole of Africa. We do not even enjoy the basic right > of > control over our lands, our rivers, our creeks and our God given > resources. > Democracy is abused to enable the large tribes to cheat and rob the > smaller > tribes of their God given resources. And we see President Mullah > Olusegun > Obasanjo, as the most bloodthirsty leader that has ever been head of > state > in Nigeria. He came to power pretending that he could eradicate > corruption > and other evils. But he has done nothing in this regard; though he > knows > many more corrupt people than the average Nigeria. And despite the > restrictions on land transaction, he owns more landed property than > the > average land dealing Nigerian. Yet he is not known to have inherited > any > land from his ancestors. > > Nigeria, full of problems, is a typical modern African nation. And it > is > the worst of them. A great majority of its peoples do not love it. > Many > fear it. Only a few love it , but in the same way as Lucifer and his > disciples love Hell. These enjoy the shambolic nature of the > country. More > than six million Nigerians have emigrated to become refugees and > asylum > seekers in Europe, America and Southern Africa. Of these, more than > 98 per > cent are Southerners. Every tribe in the South and in the Middle Belt > is > demanding a Sovereign National Conference to discuss separation. Only > the > Islamic North is opposing it; and they are supported by President > Mullah > Olusegun Obasanjo, their agent to rule Nigeria. And they have > unilaterally > converted the country to an Islamic nation, by making it a member of > the > Organisation of Islamic Conference in 1984. This was followed by > rioting > that cost lots of lives. Since Mullah Obasanjo came to be president, > the > Islamic North have further declared full Islamic systems as they > introduce > Sharia, Fatwa and other Islamic systems throughout their area. These > make > it impossible for Southerners to live and do business among them. > Every > engagement between America or Europe and the Arab world is imported to > Nigeria by the Islamic North. And it aggravates the existing > conflicts. > The Niger Delta and many other groups that are wholly Christian like > to > promote our own Christian religion that we cherish. Everyday there > are > press reports of people killed in bloody religious conflicts as well > as > ethnic conflicts, as the country continues to be the fastest > regressing > country in Africa. > > In it's edition of 15th June 1999, the London Economist journal wrote > "The > task before Mr. Obasanjo is nothing less than the reconstruction of > Nigeria. > It cannot be solved by gestures. The name and the football team are > about > the only thing that unite them. Even the footballers, however > brilliant > individual players though they are, do not work as a team. It is the > same > with the country. The hierarchies and structures that hold most > modern > states together, do not exist in Nigeria." > > The foregoing provide a clear picture of Nigeria often described by > foreign > writers as 'the most populated nation in Africa.' Even though everyone > knows > that the Nigerian population count cannot be reliable, because every > tribe > and every state, accuses every of the others of inflating its > population > count in order to cheat on Revenue Allocation, a system whereby the > revenue > from the Niger Delta is distributed among all the states and local > governments. > > How can Tony Blair's commission for Africa find a remedy for a country > such > as Nigeria in order that the people can enjoy peace necessary for > development, without revising the colonial boundaries, so that > communities > of like minded people may live together? Yet this is the one and only > way > in which the peoples of Nigeria, and in deed Africa, can enjoy peace. > Europeans must try and imagine themselves in the situation of > Africans. The > difference between a man from Bayelsa in the Niger Delta, and a man > from > Katsina in the Islamic North,(both Nigerians); is much more greater > than the > difference between a Welsh man in the United Kingdom and a Serbian in > the > former Yugoslavia. No European will accept that Wales and Serbia be > under > the same administration. Yet no foreign writer on Africa's problem > ever > tries to understand that Africa needs similar arrangement in order to > live > in peace. Fragmentation will settle itself when separate, but > adjacent > nations, see the wisdom of merging voluntarily as in America. > > Wherefore; Africa's 5th AGE - The Age of peace introduced by the > revision of > colonial boundaries so that each nation will comprise communities of > like > minded people as in the civilised world. We make this proposition > from the > fact that although Africa is ridden with never ending bloody conflicts > almost in every country, there is no evidence that, such conflicts do > exist > within any one tribe or where the tribes agree to live together. When > a > nation has been settled, it can more easily accept or tolerate new > comers; > even of different traditions and cultures. Even here, many in Europe > are > beginning to realise the difficulties of multiculturalism. You can > imagine > the problem when such multiculturalism is imposed by force, and the > different cultures are separately located within the same country. > Only > peace can stamp out poverty, and backwardness among the nations of > Africa. > And only separation of the tribes, as here discussed, can introduce > peace. > Our people in the Niger Delta appeal to the British government and > people to > give their support for the separation of the Niger Delta from > Nigeria. Our > people claim nothing whatsoever from Nigeria. And we realise that we > are > only fighting a cause; not an enemy. We pray that the Commission on > Africa > initiated by Tony Blair should succeed to bring peace to the Niger > Delta and > the rest of Africa. > > Kindly consider our proposal. > > Thank you. > > Aliyi Ekineh > Niger Delta Republic Movement. > > The Mulindwas Communication Group > "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" > Groupe de communication Mulindwas > "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" > -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
