See who is complaining
He sat with his godfather Mr. Chris Ubah in the precincts of the Okija Shrine, sipping champagne and reaffirming the secret oath that Ngige swore to be loyal to Ubah. They also edited the post-dated resignation letter that Ngige signed and gave to his godfather, to be used any day he reneged on his personal […]
He sat with his godfather Mr. Chris Ubah in the precincts of the Okija Shrine, sipping champagne and reaffirming the secret oath that Ngige swore to be loyal to Ubah. They also edited the post-dated resignation letter that Ngige signed and gave to his godfather, to be used any day he reneged on his personal oath of allegiance. It was left to Obi to fight through the tribunal and the Court of Appeal for three years while Ngige sat smugly in the Government House, Awka until the courts ordered him out. By then he had illegally chopped three years out of Obi’s tenure.
Today the roles are reversed. APC candidate Ngige is leading two other candidates to protest what they call irregularities perpetrated at the just concluded governorship elections in Anambra State. While Ngige and his PDP and Labour Party soul mates are sweating in the sun and crying wolf, the former victim Mr Peter Obi is drinking champagne at the Government House, Awka with his own anointed godson Willie Obiano, who is set to inherit the estate from him in March next year. APGA’s national chairman Chief Victor Umeh adjusted his tall red cap and declared that their victory was merely delayed by INEC’s declaring the poll as inconclusive. When the poll finally holds in the remaining 260 or so polling units Obiano’s victory would be sealed, Umeh said.
Which means Dr Chris Ngige has ahead of him long days on the court benches. If Nigerian courts are as fast as they were last decade, then it could take three whole years while Obiano rules for Ngige’s case to be dispensed with by the courts. Talk about a reversal of roles.
Looking overhead for drones
I hear that many people in Maiduguri, Damaturu and other towns and villages in the restive North Eastern states now walk as close as possible to drainage channels. Since last week, when the US State Department designated Boko Haram and Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organisations and designated their members as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, the harassed people of the North East have found another danger to look out for.
Nigerian streets have been dangerous for a long time, and it seems that every new year brings with it a new danger. A few years ago, our only worries as we walked on Nigerian streets were armed robbers, speeding motorists and reckless achaba commercial motorcyclists. We had learnt to cope with those when suddenly, Boko Haram brought Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs] to our streets. As we were learning to dodge them, kidnappers appeared on the scene and before we could hide, aeroplanes were falling from the skies.
This prompted a timely mobile phone warning sent around last year. It said, “When crossing a road in Nigeria, look left for speeding cars, look right for achaba riding against the traffic, look down for IEDs, look behind you for kidnappers and look up for falling planes.” Now comes another danger. American drones lurking in Niger Republic are rumoured to be in the skies of the North East searching for terrorists in Sambisa Forest and Gwoza Hills. You cannot trust a drone not to mistake a long beard for a Katyusha rocket, hence the precaution of walking near a sewer. We have had no civil defence trenches in this country since the Civil War ended in 1970. So if you hear any strange noise overhead, dive into the sewer!