"NIGERIA LACKS CREDIBLE POPULATION FIGURES IN 2014"

The true national population figure must never be politicized by any serious minded nation that desires to experience an effective national planning, tangible progress and visible development in the world of today that is primarily data-oriented and data-driven. Nigeria as a developing nation has never successfully conducted any national population census that is 100% credible, genuinely reliable and truly reflected her true population figures to date. This issue of population in Nigeria since her independence from Britain has remained a big national subject of controversies as well as one of the most divisive national matters in Nigeria to date for two main reasons.

The two reasons are the following:(i). A regionally manipulated or fabricated population figure will automatically makes that geopolitical region of Nigeria to be bigger than the other regions. This can also make the majority religious group and the ethnic group in that particular region with the manipulated population to appear bigger than the other religions and their ethnic nationalities when combined together. This artificially inflated population figures will naturally become the primary and the political instrument for the domineering, marginalization, national politics and winning elections by the cheating region against the other regions.

(ii). The more population a region or a state in Nigeria has, the more money that state or region gets on monthly basis from the federal government of Nigeria. The current national revenue allocation formula in Nigeria is based on these questionable and past census figures that reflect the population size of each state or region of Nigeria. I do not care personally if a dog or a cat is nominated to head the National Population Commission (NPC) of Nigeria by President Jonathan Goodluck provided this population agency will truly conduct a very credible national population census for Nigeria for the first since 1914.

"THE TWO TYPES OF CRYING NIGERIANS IN 2014"

The first type of Nigerians are self-interest motivated. They cry foul and then point their accusing fingers at the highly corrupt, inept and mediocre Nigerian public officials because they have been left out from the daily sharing of the Nigeria's national cake and her juicy political offices. Their price-tag is simple, cheap and affordable for the Nigerian public officials to meet and to keep them quiet forever. These Nigerians will easily and completely backdown, change their true colors, break the ranks and chicken out in the face of those lucrative political appointments, the official nomination for the national awards, the allocation of the import duty waivers, import licenses, the oil blocs and the sharing of the Ghana-must-go bags. 
The second type of Nigerians are motivated by their genuine patriotism and true nationalism to see a better Nigerian nation that truly works fairly for all Nigerians in their own lifetime. Their price-tag is beyond what the present and highly corrupt Nigerian public officials can afford to pay for in all reality. The price-tag that will keep these second type of Nigerians quiet forever is a good government that is coupled with accountable leadership.

"THE TWO ISSUES THAT NIGERIAN LEADERS SHOULD HAVE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS OVER"

The first one is the oil. The entire Nigerian national economy and her yearly national budget are both oil-dependent and built solidly on the oil export since the late 1960s to date. The oil experts estimated that the Nigeria's oil reserves of about 1 billion barrels of untapped oil will be fully depleted by 2050 at the present daily rate of about 2.5 million barrels of oil that are tapped and exported. Another important issue with the oil is the fact that the world is now shifting into green technology and renewable energy resources instead of the oil. Nigeria is about to be left behind by the rest of the developed and emerging economies in the world of energy.

The second most important issue in Nigeria today is her rapidly growing population that is unsustainable into the future. The natural resources that are needed to support this huge population are not expanding. The arable land that is needed for food production is fixed and the waters from her rivers, lakes and underground supply are also fixed. Nigeria has one of the highest population growth rate in the world at 2.8% per annum or 5.6 new babies a year. Nigeria also has one of the world's highest fertility rate of 5.5 babies per woman in her lifetime. In conclusion as the population grows, the natural resources that are needed to support this growing population remain the same or depleting rapidly. Is the Aso Rock occupant watching this inevitable events of the future in Nigeria or is he putting the politics and the 2015 president election as his main priorities for now? Time will soon tell.

"NIGERIA IS A CLOWN NATION IN THIS 21ST CENTURY HUMAN UNIVERSE"

Our national priorities in Nigeria as a nation are not relevant for any country that truly plans to become an emerging economy in this 21st century. I say it again, publicly and loudly that Nigeria has no bright future ahead of her in her present status quo and business as usual until the official corruption, resource mismanagement, oil theft, tax evasion, import duty waivers, money laundering and smuggling are publicly stamped out at all levels of the Nigerian government and the culprits that are all involved from individuals to businesses and to corporations are also severely punished with the weight of the law.

No democratic country in the whole world including Nigeria can practically meet the fundamental needs of its own citizens in all ramifications if her elected and appointed public officials go into the public life with the primary purpose of gaming the system to their own advantage through constitutional immunity, huge salaries and wages and personally enriching themselves illegally from the state resources that they were elected or appointed to manage on behalf of all Nigerians in the name of public service, democracy and patriotism.

Nigeria has no future if her best brains and minds in 2014 that are well equipped and prepared with the 21st century knowledge in the many areas of the human endeavors, deep insights and leadership skills and global perspectives of the issues of our day are pushed to the background in the act of the governance of Nigeria and then replaced by quota system, federal character, zoning policy, nonentities, mediocre, crooks, forgers, impersonators, men and women of shady characters and easy virtue.

The Nigerian secular and religious leaders will become more accountable to their own fellow Nigerians when the ordinary Nigerians can sum up the needed courage to begin to ask these leaders those important, necessary and tough questions about their stewardship in power and then demand for openness and public accountability from these leaders.

Nigeria is one of the few countries that I know today in this 21st century human universe where the mere words of their secular and religious leaders are treated as infallible by the ordinary Nigerians. These political leaders see themselves as indispensable and the religious leaders see themselves as gods and the mediators between their fanatical followers and God.

"ARE THE 170 MILLION NIGERIANS TRULY BLIND, STUPID AND DUMB?

 I can declare boldly, loudly and clearly that the majority of the 17,500 public elected and appointed officials who are now in charge of Nigeria in 2014 were once paupers and penniless fellows before they went into the public service of Nigeria. It is only in Nigeria that the public office becomes the easiest avenue to accumulate the ill-gotten wealth in the name of democracy, public service and patriotism. These money-hungry public officials of Nigeria that are only 0.001% of the entire population of Nigeria are busy gulping and milking the nation's wealth dry in the name of politics, while 80% of Nigerians are walloping in abject poverty of $1 a day living expenses. Are the 170 million Nigerians truly blind, dumb and stupid for allowing these enormous wealth gap, income inequality and poverty in Nigeria to be the order of the day in all reality?

"THE SECRETS BEHIND THE SUDDEN RISE OF THE SAHARA REPORTERS"

The Nigeria's successive governments since independence from Britain in 1960 have all practiced the tradition of aggressively clamping down or closing down private and independent media houses, arresting and prosecuting investigative journalists, silencing dissenting voices and opposition groups, suppressing any form of press freedom and free speech as well as monopolizing the press. The Sahara Reporters that was started by Omoyele Sowore, a former Nigerian anti-establishment student union leader in his days at the Lagos State University was born to from an ordinary desktop computer in New York city that has the free and the unresisted access to the whole world through the internet technology.

This online news organization has operated autonomously, independently and freely from its onset to date .This internet-based news organization is free from the direct interference of the Nigerian government and her security agencies that hate investigative journalism, free speech and press freedom. This online media is protected by the Amendment One of the United States constitution that supports the freedom of religion, speech, press and peaceful assembly for all Americans. The Sahara Reporters is very unique when it is compared with most of the Nigerian-based media organizations that operate inside and outside Nigeria in its operational styles and journalistic goals. 

The Sahara Reporters rely mainly on the ordinary Nigerians (citizen reporters) for his news collection and not primarily on the professional practicing journalists for the news reporting about the menaces of the official corruption in the Nigerian government, the mismanagement of the Nigerian state resources by her officials, the reign of lawlessness, abuse of power, abuse of human rights and the rule of brutality that are happening in Nigeria of today. The Sahara Reporters has the the official policy of protecting the true identities of its informants from the public. The Sahara Reporters has given the much needed international voice to the ordinary Nigerians, the opposition groups and to the dissecting opinions in and outside Nigeria. 

The Sahara Reporters has also received financial help, free money or grant money from the two highly reputable international non-governmental organizations to date that has allowed it to expand and to modernize its entire operations to the 21st century international standards. The Ford Foundation gave $175,000 to the Sahara Reporters and another $450,000 grant came from The Omidyar Foundation. The Sahara Reporters is recognized today by the major international news media, such as, the CNN, New York Times, Daily Beast, Aljazeera, BBC and many others for its reliability, credibility, fairness, boldness, balanced and objective news coverage and reporting. The Sahara Reporters also has more than 600,000 likes on its official Facebook page.

The Sahara Reporters is known globally for its powerful and dynamic investigative news reporting. The media was the first to reveal the true nature of the illness and the final death of the former Nigerian leader Musa Yar'Adua. The Sahara Reporters was also the first new media to publish the photo of the Nigerian man, Farouk Adulmutallab (the underwear bomber) that attempted to bomb an airline over the United States few years ago. This nedia was also the first to expose the current certificate scandal and the official fraud that surround Stella Oduah, the current Nigerian aviation minister as well as many other high-class cases of massive official corruption against the Nigerian public officials. The Sahara Reporters has provided Nigerians with many of these important information that are normally censored by the government of Nigeria or are kept away from the millions of the ordinary Nigerians by the state.

The Sahara Reporters is now a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria by all ramifications. This media organization is today loved by ordinary Nigerians, known as a threat to the Aso Rock villa and feared by the public officials of the Nigerian government. The birth of the Sahara Reporters is similar to the birth of the NADECO, Radio Kudirat and the many other pro-democracy groups that were all born in the days of the military dictatorship of the late General Sanni Abacha of Nigeria. The future of this media organization in New York city remains very bright for now as long as the reign of bad government continues unabated in Nigeria . A government in Nigeria that is primarily symbolized by the official corruption, scandals, official secrecies, massive resources mismanagement, prevention of the freedom of the information act, lawlessness, injustice, mediocrity, nepotism, tribalism, insecurity, violations of human rights, suppression of press freedom and free speech as well as electoral frauds.  

"THE 3 MAIN REASONS BEHIND THE NEW ANTI-GAY LAW IN NIGERIA"

The supreme law of Nigeria under this ongoing democratic dispensation is the Nigerian 1999 constitution. An objective perusal of this legal document shows clearly that Nigeria is a secular nation with the separation of the governance of the state from all her religions faiths and cultural beliefs. That constitution also guarantees the legal right of all Nigerians to the freedom of choice, speech, association and privacy. Nigeria is not a Christian nation, a Muslim nation or the traditional religious faiths country constitutionally and in all reality.

Why did Nigeria enact this anti-gay law in the first instance? Why did it take President Jonathan Goodluck more than 6 months before he decided to suddenly sign this enacted bill by the Nigerian National Assembly into law in secrecy and without much national publicity or press coverage? What is the law designed to achieve in Nigeria in all reality? Who are the primary beneficiaries from this new anti-gay law of Nigeria in all truth, honesty and reality?

The new anti-gay law in Nigeria serves three primary purposes:Firstly, the anti-gay law is needed by President Jonathan Goodluck for the immediate political recovery as a result of his bad and inept leadership that has heavily marred his government with massive official corruption, mammoth resource mismanagement, oil theft, scandals, unabated Boko Haram terrorism, failed campaign promises and the collapsing PDP's political structure under his watch as well as his unpopular presidency. President Jonathan Goodluck needs this anti-gay law for his own political survival as the 2015 uncertain presidential election draws closer.

Secondly, the anti-gay law in Nigeria directly meets the aspirations and expectations of the Nigerian religious bodies and citizens who hate homosexuals to death on the religious grounds. Lastly, the anti-gay law fulfills the heart desires of the Nigerian cultural zealots, bigots and fanatics who blindly consider homosexuality to be totally non-African in nature or origin, but a western civilization and sexual lifestyles that the west is bent on exporting to Nigeria in particular and Africa in general in the age of globalization, Internet, democracy and in the name of human rights advocacy.

"THE THREE HUMAN FORCES THAT KEPT NIGERIA TOGETHER FOR A CENTURY"

Nigeria was founded as a country on January 1, 1914 when the then Governor General Lord Lugard of the British Northern protectorate was directed from the colonial office in London to amalgamate the Northern and Southern protectorates together. This amalgamation officially forced more than 386 ethnic nationalities with diverse religious faiths, varied cultural identities and unique histories that ran separately for centuries as autonomous caliphates, kingdoms and empires to begin to live together under one nation without any political inputs from these ethnic groups.

How did Nigeria as a nation survive her first century despite all her enormous domestic crises for decades including a brutal civil war that claimed the life of over one million Nigerians? Many Nigerians believe religiously that Nigeria's continuos survival as a nation was totally divine in nature and this is beyond any human comprehension, knowledge and understanding. But the truth about the continuous existence of the Nigerian nation can be directly linked to the three unique human forces and strategies at the different times in the life of that nation for the last 100 years. These three human forces are the British colonial masters, the Nigerian military and her politicians.

The British colonial masters founded Nigeria as a nation primarily for their own economic benefits and kept it intact or together from 1914 to 1960 by using the diabolically political strategy of divide and rule. The Northern protectorate before the amalgamation of 1914 was no longer economically viable with its yearly budget deficits that continued at the onset of the 19th century until its amalgamation with the Southern protectorate in 1914. On the other hand, the Southern protectorate continued to enjoy budget surplus at the same period of time. For economic reason, the British colonial masters amalgamated the two protectorates together so that the excess money from the South can take care of the lack in the North. The divide and rule did not allow Nigerians to be united with one voice easily, but were divided as a country along deeply visible ethnic, religious and geopolitical lines under the British rule of the pre-independent Nigeria.

The Nigerian military is the second human force that played a major role in the keeping of the Nigerian nation intact in her first 100 years of existence. The military came into the governance of Nigeria in 1966 via a coup that overthrew the civilian government. They finally left the official governance of Nigeria in 1999 after ruling the independent Nigerian nation for about 29 years out of her 54 years of existence as a sovereign nation. The military kept Nigeria intact as one nation through the governance that was based on dictatorship, brutal force, press censorship, extra-judiciary justice, draconian rule and military decrees. The military also successfully caged and suppressed every political uprising, voices of oppositions and even survived a brutal Biafran civil war that claimed the life of the over one million plus Nigerians in the annals of the nation's troubled history
The last human force that has kept and it is still keeping Nigeria together is the Nigerian politicians that have governed Nigeria for a total of about 25 years to date. These politicians hold unto power by using electoral frauds, politics of corruption, ethnicity, religion, geopolitical zone and godfathers to govern Nigeria, to keep it intact and to share her national cake amongst themselves. In conclusion, Nigeria will likely survive into the future as long as her oil wells do not run dry too soon and thereby leaving these inept, corrupt, mediocre, visionless and inept politicians in charge of that country. 

AND IF I TOLD YOU I AM GAY? - SUNDAY AFOLAYAN

... and If I told you I am gay?

What will you do next?

Ask my wife who fathered my kids?

Prompt her to divorce me?

.. and you, De-friend me?

Pray for me?

Stone me?

Ask my pastor to de-church me?

Ask my father to de-Son me?

Remind me of Sodom and Gomorrah?

etc etc etc?

Didn't Jesus tell we Christians what to do in John 8:4-9?

……4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" 6They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."…

So you support the Law because you are a Christian and they - Gays, Lesbians and Transgenders will go to Hell eh? Can you still counting on your fingers, the pastors who have impregnated their parishioners and you kept mute? or those who continue to bathe the barren ones in lonely streams and you turn a blind eye? Are they coasting to heaven? 

And did the American Soldiers not report a large trove of Pornographic materials when they hit Osama bin Ladin in that his Pakistani hideout? Where is Governor-turned Senator Yerima's Sharia law? It is a no-brainer that the Sharia states in Nigeria still rank high in Robbery and prostitution. Now, as the icing on the cake, they are stoning alleged Gays to death, without a decent trial, if indeed it is a crime.

Very soon, the Nigerian Police will start arresting and extorting money from two or more gentlemen riding in the same car, because they must be gay. At least our politicians have now found some more food for the boys.

As Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim, our Hypocrisy and double standards stinks, and it is the real reason for the abundance of sin and under-development separating us from the earthy and of course, the Heavenly paradise, not the Gays and Lesbians.

The Politicians have just given all you religious bigots a reason to hate your fellow Nigerians who are in the Minority, while they coast into another victory, riding on the religious and moral intolerance in all of you. As for me, I will not be fooled. This is where I stand - Hating them will not take you to Heaven.

Good luck to you if you don't know where you stand or you choose to stand where your Represent-a-thief or Sin-ator says! - From http://www.sundayfolayan.name.ng/

"NIGERIA'S OFFICIALS HAVE STOLEN $400 BILLION IN 54 YEARS OF SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS"

Citing the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes and House of Representatives reports, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said that “an estimated $400 billion has been stolen from Nigeria by public officials.” This huge revelation above from SERAP that many be shocking, new andunknown to tens of millions of ordinary Nigerians is the many reason today why Nigeria's roads are in the worst shape and a leading death trap. This is the main reason why Nigerians have not enjoyed regular electricity in their homes, offices and businesses for decade.

This is the main reason why our universities and other post-secondary institutions are all under funded. This is the main reason why our entire educational system as a nation in 2014 is outdated, failing and collapsing. This is the main reason why Nigerians in 2014 do not enjoy their basic social services, such as pipe-borne water supply and trash-removal services. This is the main reason why our nation's health care system is not working for most Nigerians today. This is the main reason why our national infrastructures are all old, overwhelmed and outdated. This is the main reason why millions of the hardworking Nigerian workers are earning poverty wages that will never allow them to enjoy their basic necessities of life now or the decent retirement in the future.

This is the main reason why millions of our youths are jobless and are facing a double-digit unemployment rate of about 30%. This is the main reason why Nigeria is a debtor and a borrower nation in the midst of her enormous oil wealth. This is the main reason why the security of life and properties of all Nigerians cannot be guaranteed by the Nigerian police force and other state security agencies. This is the main reason why the Nigerian highly trained professionals, our nation's best brains and minds are holed up in the western nations and in the Middle East countries seeking for professional opportunities and better employment benefits. This is the main reason why our elections are always rigged in Nigeria by our politicians and most of our elected or appointed public officials are men and women of shady characters in all reality.

This is the main reason why thousands of the Nigerians youths are in prisons around the world for various criminal activities. This is the main reason why thousands of the Nigerian young ladies are practicing prostitutes around the world. This is the main reason behind the so called Yahoo Yahoo boys who practice 419 or the Internet scams as a way of life. This is the main reason why Nigeria has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. This is the main reason why 80% of Nigerians or 120 million ordinary Nigerians live in abject poverty of $1 a day living budget in 2014. This is the main reason why pregnant-mother mortality rate in Nigeria is one of the highest in the whole world. This is the main reason why Nigeria as a nation is not yet an emerging global economy like Brazil, India, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Mexico.This is the main reason why tens of millions of helpless, hopeless, frustrated, vulnerable and ignorant Nigerians with bleak future become criminals, terrorists, hired killers, ritualistic, religious bigots and fanatics. This is the main reason why Nigeria is constantly listed by the Transparency International as one of the most corrupt nations in the world as well as a leading transit zone for money laundering and drug trafficking.

Lastly, these unabated decades of massive official corruption as well as the mammoth resource mismanagement by the Nigeria's public officials from one government into another government are jointly responsible for the present state of things in Nigeria today as a typical failing nation in all ramifications. In conclusion, Nigeria as a nation will continue to remain backward, stagnant, underdeveloped and failing until her most important issues of the official corruption, resource mismanagement, lawlessness, rule of brutality and injustice are made the main priorities of governance and by addressing them adequately.

"THE NEW ECONOMIC WAR OF THE 21ST CENTURY HUMAN UNIVERSE"

The biggest threat in this 21st century to the western capitalism, emerging economies and developing nations is the ever-increasing wealth gap and income inequality that exists between the handful of the richest people in the world and the mass majority of the poorest people in the same world. The next major global war is all about income disparities in a world in which the richest 1% is worth $110 trillion compared to the $1.7 trillion in the hands of the bottom 50% of the humanity. The 10% of the world's richest have the same wealth as the half of the world's population or 3.5 billion people. These massive wealth gap, income inequality and chronic global poverty are not practically sustainable under the sun.

"THE EFCC IS THE BIGGEST ANTI-CRIME JOKER IN NIGERIA TODAY"

The EFCC in Nigeria is the biggest joker in its war against corruption. This agency that is one of our governing and democratic institutions is so busy and pre-occupied with hunting down the small fishes in the deep river of corruption in Nigeria while leaving behind our biggest thieves who loot the government coffers dry, collapse our banking institutions, steal our oil by illegal oil bunkering and shipping, launder stolen money into those safe havens around the world through our porous banks, evade taxes through the import waivers and smugglings and the mismanagement of our state resources by turning our treasury into their personal piggy banks. Nigeria in my own judgement has no bright future ahead of her as long as the massive official corruption, the mammoth mismanagement of state resources and the rule of lawlessness as well as brutality are the order of the day and the business as usual in Nigeria in 2014.

"BILL GATES PREDICTS THAT NO POOR COUNTRIES BY 2035"

As snowy Davos becomes engulfed in the hustle and bustle of another World Economic Forum, Microsoft founder Bill Gates took the opportunity to deliver an upbeat message in his annual newsletter.

The 25-page report, written by Gates and his wife Melinda, who are co-chairs of theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, argued that the world is a better place than it has even been before.

Gates predicted that by 2035, there would be almost no poor countries left in the world, using today's World Bank classification of low-income countries — even after adjusting for inflation.

"Poor countries are not doomed to stay poor. Some of the so-called developing nations have already developed," he said in a his annual note, published on Tuesday.

"I am optimistic enough about this that I am willing to make a prediction. By 2035, there will be almost no poor countries left in the world."

Read More: In Davos, stern challenge for the rich

Gates — who remains a part-time chairman of Microsoft — added that by this point in time, almost all countries will be "lower-middle income" or richer.

Countries will learn from their most productive neighbors and benefit from innovations like new vaccines, better seeds, and the digital revolution, he said.

"By almost any measure, the world is better than it has ever been. People are living longer, healthier lives. Extreme poverty rates have been cut in half in the past 25 years. Child mortality is plunging. Many nations that were aid recipients are now self-sufficient," he said.

Three big mythsBack for another year at Davos, Gates will take the stage on Friday to address myths about global development, and will challenge its most vocal critics.

Read More: The rich and famous visit Davos

The three biggest myths, according to Gates, are that poor countries are doomed to stay poor, that foreign aid is a big waste and that saving lives leads to overpopulation.

Using data from academics, the World Bank and the United Nations, he makes the opposite case — arguing that the world is getting better.

"I understand why people might hold these negative views. This is what they see in the news. Bad news happens in dramatic events that are easy for reporters to cover," he said.

"Countries are getting richer, but it's hard to capture that on video. Health is improving, but there's no press conference for children who did not die of malaria."

Read More: Don't trust the government? You're not alone

Declining poverty ratesAccording to the World Bank's preliminary estimates, the extreme poverty rate was halved between 1990 and 2010. This meant that 21 percent of people in the developing world lived on or below $1.25 a day, down from 43 percent in 1990 and 52 percent in 1981.

The World Bank last year set a goal of decreasing the global extreme poverty rate to no more than 3 percent by 2030.

Bill Gates is no stranger to the World Economic Forum. At last year's event, he outlined his concerns that austerity measures could hit public funding for deadly diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

"The money that helps out the poorest overwhelmingly comes from government aid budgets", Gates told CNBC at last year's Davos, adding that it was unclear what kind of priority aid will have in future budgets - From CNBC,

"THE TWO GOP'S BRIGHTEST POLITICAL LIGHTS FOR 2016 ARE NOW KINDLED"

Chris Christie, the Northeast politician and the Republican governor of the state of New Jersey is facing two political scandals, the closure of the George Washington Bridge and the denial of the federal financial assistance for the Hurricane Sandy for the city of Hoboken. These two huge political scandals that are based of political vendetta against his Democrat perceived opponents have finally derailed the presidential ambition of this politician for the White House in 2016 which was built primarily of his ability to work politically with the Democrats and his determination to rebuild the state of New Jersey due to the Hurricane Sandy devastation.

Bob Mcdonnell, the former governor of the state of the commonwealth state of Virginia is a Christian conservative religious star of the GOP that was once considered by Mitt Romney in 2012 as a possible vice-presidential running mate. Bob McDonnell is believed to be strongly nursing a political ambition to run for the White House in 2016. But today, Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of personally accepting about $140,000 in loans and gifts from a businessman in exchange for business favor. The 14-count indictment included charges of bribery and fraud relating to the McDonnells’ relationship with the businessman, Jonnie Williams Sr who is the CEO of the Star Scientific that makes dietary supplements. If McDonnell is found guilty, he may be looking at 20 years behind the federal bar and a fine of $250,000.

The sudden collapse of the presidential ambitions of Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell for the White House in the GOP for 2016 shows clearly that the Republican Party of America can never rely on the powerful New York City media market and the influential Beltway GOP establishment to pick the presidential hopefuls for this political party in all reality.

"NIGERIA'S THREE PROBLEMS:CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT AND LAWLESSNESS"

The three greatest problems that Nigeria as a nation has today is official corruption, resource mismanagement and lawlessness. As a Nigerian that has personally traveled and lived in a number of countries, both in the developed and in the developing world can publicly and boldly declare that the future of the Nigerian nation remains very bleak and uncertain as long as the reign of the official corruption, the mismanagement of her state funds and lawlessness or the rule of brutality continue daily and unabated.

The money that should be primary used to modernize her national infrastructures, to improve our health care services, to provide Nigerians with their basis social services, to pay truly living wages to hardworking Nigerians and to provide the Nigerian children and youths with the 21st century education go directly and corruptly into the hands of the handful of public elected and appointed officials. No country in all reality will succeed in meeting her own basic needs and that of its own citizens if the money that is officially budgeted for all these things listed above are stolen, wasted and mismanaged by its own public officials.

Finally, no country can stop the regime of the official corruption from its public service and the mismanagement of its own resources by its own state officials if these officials have constitutional immunity and are all above the rule of law or the supreme law of that country. These are the main reasons why Nigeria since her independence from Britain in 1960 has not witnessed any significant national development to date.

"EDITORIAL POSITION:THE NEW ANTI-GAY LAW OF NIGERIA"

Nigeria is a highly religious and cultural nation that is predominantly dominated by Christians and Muslims plus traditional religious followers. The practice of atheism and free-thinking are not pronounced, popular and acceptable across Nigeria. From the Christian, Islamic and traditional viewpoints in Nigeria, the practice of homosexuality is not an acceptable human sexual practice, just like adultery, fornication, masturbation, bestiality and prostitution that are not acceptable to Christianity, Islam and traditional religions of Nigeria.The Christian religion also does not support the practice of polygamy. But Nigeria is a secular nation and constitutional democracy that is not run, governed or administered by the teachings of the Bible, Koran or the traditional/cultural beliefs in Nigeria.

The new anti-gay law in Nigeria is not the biblical, koranic and the cultural solution to homosexuality in all reality. This law is selective, harsh, wicked and unjust for single out only the homosexuals and for criminalizing homosexuals with those lengthy jail terms. This law violates the human rights, the freedom of association and the right to privacy of all Nigerian homosexuals based on the Nigerian 1999 constitution as well as on the international treatise that Nigeria had entered into with the African Union and the United Nations to protect the human rights, the freedom of association and the right to privacy for all Nigerians. This law has now created a second-class Nigerian citizens who are now stigmatized, vulnerable, endangered and unprotected any longer by the Nigerian constitution, This new group of segregated Nigerian homosexuals do not enjoy the equal Nigerian citizenship again with the rest of Nigerians who are not homosexuals in all reality.

Can this political, religious and cultural law of Nigeria help President Jonathan Goodluck to win a reelection back to the Aso Rock villa in 2015 and to recover politically from the impacts of his inept, corrupt, mediocre, visionless and scandal-rooted  government as well as the rapidly collapsing PDP that are all happening under his watch and presidency? Will this law survive in Nigeria in this 21st century in the face of globalization, democracy, internet and international diplomatic pressures? Remember that 15 out of 54 African countries in 2014 have laws in their own books that allow consensual same-sex relationships without criminalization in those 15 countries of Africa. Historically speaking, homosexuality has existed in Africa long before the coming of the European colonial powers and the western civilization. The only thing about homosexuality today in 2014 that is new, strange and unAfrican is the public acceptance of this practice in the open, the public advocating for homosexual rights by gay groups and the new same-sex marriages that are now legal in some western nations.

"THE WORLD'S ELITE RIGGED THE SYSTEM AND CREATED A WORLD OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY" - OXFAM

The world's elite have rigged laws in their own favor, undermining democracy and creating a chasm of inequality across the globe, international organization Oxfam said in advance of the annual get-together of the world's most powerful at Davos, Switzerland.

Inequality has run so out of control, that the 85 richest people on the planet own "almost half of the world's wealth," Oxfam said in a new report on widening disparities between the rich and poor.

The report exposes the "pernicious impact" of growing inequality that helps "the richest undermine democratic processes and drive policies that promote their interests at the expense of everyone else," the statement said.

Inequality has emerged as a major concern in countries around the world, with President Barack Obama prioritizing a push to narrow the wealth gap in his second term.

But the wealth gap in America is still growing. And the problem seems likely to worsen as the International Labor Organization, the U.N. labor agency, reported (PDF) Monday that 201.8 million people around the world were unemployed in 2013 — an increase of 4.9 million from the previous year.

In China, the new government there has cracked down on perks and privileges of the elite, and Germany seems set to adopt a new minimum wage.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), which organizes the Davos conference, warned last week that the growing gulf between the rich and the poor represents the biggest global risk in 2014.

"The chronic gap between the incomes of the richest and poorest citizens is seen as the risk that is most likely to cause serious damage globally in the coming decade," the WEF said.

But many of the corporate giants and world leaders set to confer at Davos, a posh ski resort tucked on the eastern reaches of Switzerland near Liechtenstein, are implicitly pointed at by Oxfam.

Among the report's many shocking statistics about wealth and inequality: the world’s wealthiest 1 percent have $110 trillion in assets, 65 times the wealth of the poorest 50 percent of the world's population. The richest 85 people in the world have as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent, according to the report.

Oxfam goes on to blame specific practices that lead to a "rigging (of) the system," where money is funneled almost exclusively to the already-wealthy.

"Policies successfully imposed by the rich in recent decades include financial deregulation, tax havens and secrecy, anti-competitive business practice, lower tax rates on high incomes and investments and cuts or underinvestment in public services for the majority," Oxfam said.

Still, the speakers at Davos this year will train their brains on this thorny issue.

In the forefront will be Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Sydney has just taken on the G20 presidency, and in a speech on Thursday Abbot is expected to tackle the rich and poor gap issue, with the fight against tax havens and evasion firmly on target.

In the report, Oxfam said that "since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 of the 30 countries for which data are available, meaning that in many places the rich not only get more money but also pay less tax on it."

"THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2016:CHRIS CHRISTIE GOING, GOING AND GONE"

As a political observer, analyst and public commentator on the American politics. I can now boldly declare tonight that the presidential ambition of Chris Christie, the Republican governor of the state of New Jersey is now officially DEAD as a result of the two political scandals from the closure of the George Washington Bridge and the withdrawal of the Hurricane Sandy fund from the city of Hoboken that are both tied directly to the act of political vendetta against his perceived Democratic opponents. The whole presidential ambition of this Northeast politician is built on his publicly claimed ability to work effectively across the political line of division with the Democrats and the Hurricane Sandy.

"SOME OF THE WAYS THE NIGERIA'S BIGGEST PASTORS USE THEIR INFLUENCES"

(i). Pastor Enoch Adeboye was reported to have used his own personal influence and the relationship he has with the former Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo to get an import waiver that cost the Nigerian tax payers about $120 dollar in lost federal revenue. This man was also recently mentioned by Lamido Sanusi Lamido, the head of the Central Bank of Nigeria to have used the same political influence and connections to get one of the Nigeria's most corrupt banker, Erasmus Akingbola, the former Chief Executive Officer of InterContinental Bank PLC and a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God who personally siphoned more than N200 billion ($1.25 billion) of customers' money in his bank from the legal prosecution by the competent court of law in Nigeria.

(ii). Pastor Ayo Oritsajafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) enjoyed unresisted access to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and now to President Jonathan Goodluck. But this man has used his personal connections for himself, to heat up the body polity of Nigeria in a highly divisive manner, to openly defend one of the most corrupt governments in the history of Nigeria and to publicly support an unjust anti-gay law in Nigeria the Jesus Christ will never had supported.

(iii). Bishop David Oyedepo used his own personal influence to pay a nocturnal visit to the Aso Rock villa for prayers for the then ailing President Musa Yar'Adua when the nation of Nigeria was kept in the complete darkness and in the state of political uncertainty about the true state of the health of the then President as well as the future of Nigeria as a nation. This man has also used his influence to evade taxes meant for the Ogun State government and to physically slapped a young girl, attacked and assaulted Ogun State tax officials on duty without any legal consequences against him to date in Nigeria.

These Nigerian Pastors above can learn from another influential Pastor by the name of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr who preached the gospel of Christ and then used his own influence to challenge the status quo, to speak truth to power and to eventually change American nation for better and forever where a black man by the name of Barack Obama is now the President of the only superpowernation and the richest country in the world today.

"THE TRUTH THAT MOST NIGERIANS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR OWN COUNTRY IN 2014"

The priority of the Nigerian government of today is not preparing that country for the challenges of the 21st century human universe in all reality. Today, Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Nigeria is a leading global transit for money laundering. Nigeria is one of the lowest countries in terms of the fundamental human development indicators according to the UN. Nigeria's poverty rate is 80%, thereby making over 120 million Nigerians to live on $1 a day budget. The poverty (minimum) wage of $100 a month is one of the lowest worldwide. The unemployment amongst the youths is 30%. The infant mortality rate is amongst the world's highest. The UNESCO said more than 10 million children are not in school at the moment.

Our nation lacks adequate social services, modern health care facilities, 21st century educational system and up to date national infrastructures. Our public elected officials are the highest paid in the world in the midst of massive poverty. Our foreign debt profile is growing rapidly and unabated. The nation is saddled with decades of unabated massive official corruption, mammoth mismanagement of state resources and parastatals, lawlessness, the rule of brutality, insecurity to life and properties, terrorism of Boko Haram, huge brain drain of Nigeria's highly educated professional abroad, one of the highest HIV/AIDS infections in the world as well as pregnancy mortality rate. Thousands of young Nigerians are in prisons all over the world for criminal activities alongside with young Nigerian women who are also prostitutes. 

But we are busy as a nation celebrating a harsh and an unjust law against homosexuals and their sympathizers. The Church in Nigeria is backing up lengthy jail terms for gays instead of the love and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nigeria in my own judgement has no promising future for now. Nigeria is a nation that imports everything including what she has. Nigeria does not care about her oil that is projected to be fully drilled by 2038 and her uncontrollable population growth that are both explosive to her future. She is truly a nation of clowns, jesters, jokers and carnival barkers. The rest of the world is moving ahead and Nigeria is rejoicing in the Stone Age Era and the Pre-Scientific Age in the year 2014.

"NIGERIAN LEADERS ARE DIRECTLY VIOLATING THE SECULAR STATUS OF THE NATION'S CONSTITUTION"

Nigeria was never a theocracy for one second through her various constitutions from its formation by Britain in 1914 to date. Since independence from Britain in 1960, the successive governments that have governed Nigerian nation to date including the current government are all guilty of using the instrument of governance or the power of the state which includes her state funds and tax payers' money to support the propagation of the religions of their own choice in a nation with a secular constitution to date.

The history of these violations speak volumes. Nigeria's governments have spent significant amount of her state resources for decades in sponsoring selected Nigerian Christians and Muslims to Israel and Saudi Arabia on their yearly religious pilgrimages in direct violation on the secular nature of that country in all reality. The successive Nigerian governments have also provided, lands, money and state resources to back up the Christian and Muslim pilgrimage boards across Nigeria to date.

When the Nigerian seat of government finally moved to Abuja from Lagos, the military government of Nigeria at that time provided huge amount of money for the building of a national Mosque and a Christian worship center both in Abuja. In every state function in Nigeria, the opening prayer and the closing prayer are normally shared between a Christian clergy and a Muslim cleric in direct violation of the secular national constitution of Nigeria.

Under this democratic dispensation that began in 1999, Nigeria's public elected officials have directly supported religious causes with state resources or the Nigerian tax payers' money all in direct violation of the constitution. The government of the then Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have given an import duty waiver to the Redeemed Christian Church of God that is headed by Pastor Enoch Adeboye that cost the Nigerian government more than $120 million in the lost tax revenue. Governor Aliyu of Niger State spent over N5.1 billion or $32 million in six years to subsidize the pilgrimage expenses of Muslims and Christians in his state to Saudi Arabia and Israel respectively.

President Jonathan Goodluck in 2013 embarked on a religious pilgrimage to Israel with hundreds of state officials and private Nigerians on that trip all on the backs on the Nigerian tax payers. Governor Obi of Anambra State donated N100 million or $650,000 to the Catholic Church of Nnewi. The government of Kastina State awarded N359 million or $2.4 million for the building of 34 mosques in all the 34 local government areas of the state. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State recently spent N51 million or $300,000 to acquire the land needed to build a Church.

In 2012, the National Hajj Commission received N765 million or $4.5 million from the federal government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission also received N576 million or $3.4 million from the same federal government in the same year. The financial expenses of the federal government of Nigerian on both pilgrimages was put at N1.34 billion or $8 million that year alone. For the year 2013, a budgetary allocation of N1.8 billion or $1.1 billion was made available to the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission. The same government also financed the traveling expenses of more than 70% of the 78,000 Nigerian Muslims who visited Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage in 2013. It is estimated that it costs about N800,000 or $4,800 to sponsor a Muslim to Saudi Arabia for one month and N450,000 or $2,800 to sponsor a Christian to Israel for two weeks.

Are all these developments enumerated above the practical dividends of the so called democracy in Nigeria today? Nigeria is truly a nation of religious fanatics and bigots indeed. Can any true national development ever come to Nigeria with these types of public elected officials in charge of Nigeria and these types of religious leaders and organizations who will take money that does not legally or constitutionally belong to the Churches, Mosques and those religious organizations to use?

DO WE REALLY HAVE THOSE GENUINE ENTREPRENEURS IN NIGERIA TODAY?

The true entrepreneurship in all reality does not exist anywhere in Nigeria today. The genuine entrepreneurs worldwide that have successfully created those giant businesses with global spread, such as, Microsoft, Google, Dell, Twitter, Instagram, McDonald, Walmart and many others did not start their own businesses by patronizing the political office holders, the top government officials, the ruling political parties, the government in power or government of the day for special treatments, favors, huge contracts, import license waivers, selective import licenses and the secret sharing of those oil blocs like the way the Nigerians so called entrepreneurs of our time were mostly made or created in all reality. Most of the today's so called entrepreneurs in Nigeria will go down with time when their Pharoahs of Egypt that they know are no longer in the government of the day or in power. The real entrepreneurs always start their own businesses from the scratch, source for the needed financial and material resources and then be prepared to take both the risks as well as the rewards that are both associated to startups.

"NIGERIA:A COUNTRY THAT IS DESIGNED FOR THE FEW NIGERIANS"

Nigeria exists today as a nation in my own personal judgement and in all reality primarily to serve the political, economic, religious, cultural and social interests of the few Nigerians who are all directly and indirectly united together across those ethnic lines, religious faiths, cultural identities and geopolitical zones. These handful of Nigerians have benefited and are still benefiting from the present underdevelopment of Nigeria where they have succeeded in creating the wealth, political power and immunity as well as economic opportunities for themselves only.

The various vested interest groups that are holding down the future of the Nigerian nation and at the same time profiting heavily from her backwardness and underdevelopment are so united in their own minute realm of life or the little world for the same goal and for the propagation of their own kingdom in Nigeria. These post-colonial slave masters of Nigeria are happy that the ordinary Nigerians are not united as one entity and against them. They know what can easily divide the common Nigerians apart. They throw them the red meat of tribalism, religious bigotry, nepotism and geopolitical politics as food. They know that an average Nigerian will easily sell his or her destiny or birthright for a bag of rice, sugar or flour. These parasites of Nigeria know very well that most of the Nigerian masses will break ranks, sell out cheaply and chicken out in the face of money, inflated government contracts, political appointments, national awards, oil bloc allocation, distribution of import licenses and import waivers.

"EVERY ASPECT OF THE NIGERIAN NATION TODAY MARGINALIZES THE ORDINARY NIGERIANS"

Almost every secular, governing and the religious institutions that exist in Nigeria today have no single interest of the ordinary Nigerians at their hearts. The oil wealth is shared amongst the few Nigerians. The dividends of the democracy is shared by the 17,500 elected and appointed public officials as well as their family members and cronies. Many Churches and other religious organizations are set up to primarily enrich those jet-setting preachers and religious leaders in charge of those organizations. The political parties are for the political ambitions of their leaders in all reality. Nigeria as a nation has used those massive and the highly inflated government contracts, selective distribution of those import licenses to the handful of Nigerians that are needed to bring in all the goods and services that all Nigerians need, the giving of those oil blocs to those anointed Nigerians, the approval of private universities to few Nigerians or organizations as well as the so called privatization policy of selling state assets or her failed state corporations due to the official corruption and the resource mismanagement to those special Nigerians at the giveaway prices.

"SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI:A NIGERIAN THAT IS READY TO TAKE THE BULL BY ITS TWO HORNS"

I do not personally agree with the decision of this man who is the head of the Nigeria's central bank when he decided to donate public money for the religious causes in a secular Nigeria. Notwithstanding, I still hold this man in the high esteem for his visible patriotism and practical nationalism on the Nigeria's most important issues of our day. Lamido Sanusi is a man who is always ready to belt the cat in Nigeria when the need arises. Lamido Sanusi is a man who is never afraid to step on toes. Lamido Sanusi is a man who will publicly call a spade its real name which is a spade. Lamido Sanusi is a man who speaks the truth to the powers that be in Nigeria. Lamido Sanusi is a man who is not afraid to point out the roots of our national problems in Nigeria as a nation. Lamido Sanusi is a man who is always ready to do things and to say things that make him a controversial figure, put his life and career on the line, or becomes a divisive personality. Lamido Sanusi is an international reputable banker with the deep global perspective and the working knowledge of our 21st century global economic system. As a Nigerian, I am ready and prepared to use my time, energy and personal resources to support this colorful figure of Nigeria if he desires to be the next occupant of the Aso Rock villa in Abuja -Nigeria in 2015.

"PASTOR AYO ORITSEJAFOR OF NIGERIA AND HIS PSYCHO-TALK"

Homosexuality is a sin. President Goodluck Jonathan is being used by the Holy Spirit to stop the devil from taking over Nigeria." - Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. This guy in my own judgement is a totally confused prosperity gospel preacher who does not even understand the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit at all based on the teachings of the Bible he claims to be preaching for decades in all reality. I have a number of simple questions that I want this man to answer for me:(i). Is Holy Spirit's job in Nigeria now the chief jailer in charge of that country? (ii). Is Holy Spirit's main purpose in Nigeria is to use President Jonathan Goodluck to make the law for the jailing of the homosexuals, the same-marriage partners of Nigeria and never to win the lost souls for the kingdom of God? (iii). Why does the same Holy Spirit refused to use the same Jonathan Goodluck to make the most needed and important tough laws in Nigeria against the massive official corruption, money laundering, smuggling, oil theft, electoral frauds, terrorism and tax evasion that are all the daily symbol, the reality and the hallmark of the inept, myopic, visionless, mediocre and heavily corrupt presidency of Jonathan Goodluck since 2011 to date? (iv). Is Ayo Oritsejafor now telling the whole world that this same-sex marriage law in Nigeria has finally made that country a Satan-Free Zone?It is time for this money-teacher and one of the biggest religious charlatans of Nigeria to shut up. 

"THE HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY IN THE GOVERNANCE OF NIGERIA TODAY"

Is polygamy, fornication, prostitution and adultery that are all heavily practiced openly and in the secret across the length and the breadth of Nigeria today by many Christians, Muslim and traditionalists 100% acceptable to God than homosexuality and the same-sex marriage? Are the perpetrators of polygamy, fornication, prostitution and adultery holy and sinless Nigerians before God and are also free from the control of Satan? Why can't Nigeria make the same strict law against all sexual practices outside the traditional marriage of one man and one woman till death do us apart that primarily prompted the National Assembly of Nigeria to make this new law and the President Jonathan Goodluck to sign this bill into the new law that now criminalizes homosexuality and the same-sex marriage in Nigeria? 

"THE NIGERIA'S RICH, POPULAR AND INFLUENTIAL PASTORS HAVE ALL FAILED THEIR COUNTRY"

These Nigerian millionaire preachers, namely, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and Prophet T.B. Joshua who move and rollout publicly with the political powers that be in Nigeria today do not truly care about that country and the welfare of her suffering citizens in all truth, honesty and reality. Have these guys totally forgotten that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was a good example of a man that was called by God to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and who also had the free access to the White House and the political leaders of the American nation of his own time in the 1960s? This pastor decided to use his own personal influence for the good of his nation by boldly speaking the truth to the powers that be in America, fought openly against established racism, segregation and economic injustice in America that eventually changed America for better and for forever.

"THE REASONS WHY CHRIS CHRISTIE MAY BE DISQUALIFIED FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2016"

If it is true at the end of the day that Chris Christie, the GOP governor of the state of New Jersey intentionally closed down the George Washington Bridge which is the world's most traffic bridge for the political vendetta against his Democratic opponent. Then, Chris Christie is automatically disqualified in America from ever holding any higher office, such as the presidency of the United States of America. This huge political scandal will make it totally impossible for Americans to trust the FBI, CIA, IRS, Nuclear Regulatory Agencies, the United States Armed Forces, NASA, Homeland Security, EPA, Secret Service, State Department, United State Citizenship and Immigration Services as well as all the major federal government agencies under his watch, care, directive, authority, control and presidency in the White House.

"NIGERIA AT CENTENARY:A NATION UNDER BONDAGE" - PASTOR TUNDE BAKARE

Protocols: It was Frank Rooney who said, “Immortality is the genius to move others long after you yourself have stopped moving”.  We gather here today in honour of a man who, though dead, yet still speaks to the conscience of our nation; though his frame has returned to the earth, his name stands tall above the perversity of his generation and though his soul rests on the other side of eternity, his ideals continue to move humanity in the quest for a just and equitable society.
Abdul Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, Senior Advocate of the Masses, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the dread of dictators, a thorn in the flesh of oppressors, defender of the poor, the people’s lawyer, known by all simply as "Gani", truly lives on. Gani is remembered today not for the houses he built though he built a few edifices, not for the cars he rode, though he was wealthy enough to afford them, not for his professional attainment though he won quite a few awards including the Bruno Kreisky Price for internationally recognized human rights advocates, the International Bar Association’s Bennard Simon’s Award and, eventually, the highest honour in the Nigerian legal profession - Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) after having been politically denied his due for many years - no, Gani is remembered today, not for any of these, for indeed, many others have attained these heights and won these recognitions; rather, Gani is remembered today for the lives he uniquely touched. 
I had the privilege of working directly with him beginning from my days as a law student. Not only did he give me access to law books and reports, he availed me the use of his library in preparation for my examinations. I studied and slept in his library. He sponsored my trip to the United Kingdom for further editing and proof reading of the Nigeria Constitutional Law Reports Vol. 1 in 1981. As a lawyer in his firm, I learnt from his diligence and work ethic, the kind that would tolerate no laziness and for which less driven souls erroneously labeled him a slave driver.  Gani fought like a bulldog; once he was persuaded that a case was worth handling, he would deploy the power of concentration and pursue it to a logical conclusion and he never abandoned his cases. Gani’s passion for justice was legendary and it overrode his need for profit, yet God blessed him with a business acumen that sustained his humanitarian life purpose. He would not refuse cases simply on the basis of the inability of the prospective client to afford legal representation; rather, once he was convinced that justice for the poor was at stake, he would handle such cases pro bono. The rule of law, fundamental human rights, democracy and social justice summed up the profit for which he laboured with boundless energy.
As a human rights activist, Gani was in a class of his own, ready to go solo for what he believed in, many times to the consternation of his colleagues in the struggle.  Gani was in the struggle to spend and be spent for justice. Detained 32 times in 12 jails and various detention centres across the country and brutalized many of those times, he mustered a stoic Boy Scout-like preparedness for the worst case scenario.  With suitcase packed in readiness for the next arrest and fearing not that he could lose his life, he astounded military and civil dictators and truly gained his life when he said,
“History is a totality of events, when you fight on principles … fight to the end. This is my guiding principle. When you fight on the side of the people put everything into it. I fight on principles and would continue to fight on the side of the people. I will die for the people of this country”
As it were, he died for the people of this country when the cumulative effect of years of brutal treatment in jail cells finally told on him as he succumbed to lung cancer. Yet, heroically, even on his death bed, he remained a fighter, not just in his instructing his chambers to pursue to logical conclusion his pending case against the Federal Government but also because he took the failure of our country’s medical system to diagnose his ailment early enough as evidence of the country’s social decay and, as such, expressed a desire that such facilities be made available for the Nigerian people. Therefore, in life and in death, Gani’s mission was the liberation of the people from social, economic and political bondage. This was what he lived for and it was to this cause that he deployed the legal profession in his primary place of assignment - Nigeria, a nation whose frameworks were laid a century ago in an atmosphere of social, economic and political subjugation.  Today, five years after the departure of Chief Gani Fawehinmi and a hundred years after the framework of this country was laid, we are gathered here asking if, despite the labours of Gani Fawehinmi and his contemporaries as well as those of our heroes past that came before, especially those who fought for Nigeria’s independence, this country still remains under bondage - Nigeria at centenary, a nation under bondage?
In addressing the above question, we will first of all examine the concept of nationhood and the making of nations; we will then take a look at the notion of a nation in bondage and dissect the nature of national bondage; thereafter, we will critically examine the evolution of nationhood in the Nigerian context traveling back in time to the events leading to the amalgamation of 1914; applying our analysis to the Nigerian situation, we will seek to answer the question posed by the theme of this lecture - Nigeria at centenary, a nation under bondage? Where such a critical evaluation presents Nigeria at her centenary as an independent nation under bondage, however oxymoronic that may sound, we will seek a practical path to freedom.
The Making of Nations
Without recourse to complex theories of political science, we can deduce the purpose of nations from simple social interactions. Man’s quest for provision, protection, power, promotion, peace and progress is an acknowledgement of his need for something transcendental, something beyond his current grasp, a higher ideal that he cannot pursue alone. “It is not good for man to be alone” is how the Book puts it. As one, there is only so much he can attain and so the institution of family is created. The exponential law in his pursuit of progress is that one can chase a thousand but two can chase ten thousand. As ideals become higher and goals become greater, social interactions naturally become more complex from the family to the community and eventually to the nation, which is a group of complex communities bound together by the common pursuit of progress. The shared ideal to which this group aspires becomes embodied in the culture of the group. That ideal may find expression in such concepts as “liberté, egalité, fraternité” as in the French case or "Democracy and Separation of Powers" as in the American case. The need for an orderly pursuit of progress necessitates the organization of the group into units such that a structure evolves. The common ideal for which the group strives is manifest in the provision of public goods that are served through institutions; but the working of these institutions must be guided by predictable norms in order to guarantee stability, hence the existence of laws that reflect that ideal to which they strive at which point that ideal takes the form of a constitution, whether written or unwritten. For the culture to be preserved, for the structure to be accurately delineated, for institutions to function properly and for the constitution to be enforced against possible deviant behaviour, government is necessary, hence the group finds able persons from among themselves upon whom they confer authority and power to act on their behalf as provided for by the constitution. This framework is known as the State.
The State is defined as a legal entity possessing sovereignty and comprised of a well-defined territory, a population, a government that has effective control over the given territory, and the capacity to enter into relations with other States. It is the vehicle in which the nation embarks on the pursuit of a higher ideal. Hence, like the human trinity, a nation is a corporate spiritual entity which has a soul defined by the ideal to which the nation aspires while the State is the bodily framework in which the nation exists.
Hence, nations are formed and their geographical boundaries determined within States to the end that men may seek higher aspirations until they find the utmost aspiration of humanity and by so doing, maximize their individual and corporate potential in fulfillment of purpose.
Between Homogeneity and Heterogeneity in the Making of Nations
By the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, the word “nation” originates from the Middle English word nacioun, which was derived from the Anglo-French word naciun,which, itself, originated from the Latin word natio, meaning “birth” and whose root word isnasci which means “to be born” or “that which has been born”. This suggests that descent is critical in the traditional understanding of the concept of nationhood. Hence, a nation is traditionally defined as a group of people who share a common descent, history, language and culture. This definition, which centres on ethnic commonality, raises a critical question, is homogeneity a precondition for nationhood?
A nation, in the traditional sense, is a tightly knit group which shares a common culture without necessarily existing as a sovereign entity. Consequently, one may refer to the Yoruba nation, the Igbo nation, the Hausa nation, the Tiv nation, the Urhobo nation, the Ijaw nation and so on – these are peoples predominant in certain geographical areas sharing a common descent, history language and culture, but sometimes lacking the structural, institutional, constitutional and governmental frameworks of a State.
However, when a nation in the traditional sense, exists as a self-governing polity within a defined territory, that is, when a homogenous group of people with common descent, history, language and culture exists as a sovereign State, it is referred to as a nation-state. Examples include Japan, Germany, France, Egypt, Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, and South Korea, among others. These are homogenous countries where the majority of the population (over 99%) is derived from a common ethnicity and in some cases has a common creed or religion.
The idea that homogeneity is the criteria for nationhood would seem logical. Two cannot work together except they agree, how much more when a nation comprising much more than two is in question.  In essence, unity is a factor for nationhood; like the story of the old man who made his bellicose sons attempt to break a bundle of broom unsuccessfully, the creed is “united we stand, divided we fall” and like the Book puts it, a house divided against itself cannot stand. In this line of reasoning, events in history would suggest that homogeneity could foster the needed unity and, consequently, facilitate the forging of a common spirit whether for revolutionary or for developmental purposes. Revolutionary cases in point are the Israeli exodus from Egypt, the French Revolution, Germany in the two World Wars and the creation of the modern Jewish State in 1948 despite severe Arabian opposition. In the Nigerian civil war, the Biafran insurrection was sustained for three years despite their comparative military disadvantage perhaps owing to the power of unity fuelled by ethnic nationalism. While some of these actual or attempted revolutions were fuelled or sustained by a sense of ethnic nationalism, the mere absence of strong ethnic or religious divisions may have forestalled a precipitated truncation of the movement in others. In the Israeli exodus from Egypt, it is noteworthy that the presence of mixed multitudes at some point constituted an obstacle to the movement.
In terms of development, the economies of Israel, Japan, China, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore may well have been propped by the fact that in each of these countries, developmental strategies were fuelled by a certain pervading and unifying philosophy which had much to do with the homogeneous culture of the respective people.
Nevertheless, the reality is, whereas homogeneity could create a sense of nationalism, it does not necessarily translate into enduring unity, else, how can one account for civil conflicts among homogenous States? Egypt, though an example of an ethnically homogenous State, has been in turbulence since the Arab spring.
Therefore, beyond ethnic, cultural, religious and other primordial manifestations of homogeneity, unity can be found in a people’s pursuit of a higher ideal. Many modern States are heterogeneous, comprising ethnically and sometimes religiously diverse populations. Some countries have been able to build stable polities despite their heterogeneity. These States are often unified by a common ideal that transcends ethnic nationalism. Switzerland, which is one of the most politically stable and economically developed countries in the world, though heterogeneous in language, has a unifying national identity.
This is particularly true of the United States of America. In more than two hundred years, the United States has made significant progress at harnessing the strength of its heterogeneous population towards the making of a great nation. The United States is described as a “nation-state”, an appellation traditionally reserved for States with single ethnic nationalities. This is due to the pervading ideal described as the American culture or the American Dream. This Dream is expressed in the potency of the American federal system of government. It is reflected in the preeminence of the principle of “state of residence” over “state of origin” in identity determination as seen, for instance, in the simultaneous election of the Rockefeller brothers as the respective governors of New York and Arkansas in 1967 and that of the Bush brothers in Texas and Florida in 1998. Perhaps, its greatest expression so far has been the election of President Barrack Obama, an American of Kenyan descent as President of the United States of America. That the United States is arguably the most powerful country in the word today indicates that nations that are bound together by common ideals are stronger than nations that are knit together by mere ethnic nationalism or religion. It becomes more potent if this ideal is based on the God-ordained destiny of the given nation.
Therefore, a nation in the context in which we aspire to use it may be described as a group or groups of people knit together by a common ideal and propelled by a common sense of destiny, inhabiting a well defined territory organized as a legal entity known as the State, and possessing sovereignty which they confer in trust on the government of their choice.
The Nature of National Bondage
Literally, the word bondage is the state of being a slave. It is the state of subjection to a force, power or influence. Figuratively, it is a state of being constrained by circumstances or obligations. Having established that a nation is a group of people in a common progressive journey towards a common destiny, it becomes clear that when a nation as a collective entity is constrained by forces of whatever kind, internal or external, from the attainment of the ideal to which it aspires, that nation is in some form of bondage. In such a state of existence, unable to attain its ideal, it loses its identity; in relation to other nations it loses its power and, in relation to its constituent groups it loses cohesion until things fall apart and the centre cannot hold.
Therefore, national bondage may be external, when a nation is subjugated by another, as in colonization when the nation lacks the framework of State in the legal sense, or occupation when a nation or territory is invaded, conquered and controlled by another. In colonization, the colony lacks sovereignty or self-government as well as the ability to enter into relations with other territories. Such a nation is denied external self-determination. Its resources are appropriated by the colonialist and revenue suffers capital flight. Investment in the colony is only to the extent that such investments serve the interests of the colonialist.
National bondage could be internal, when the cultural, structural, institutional, constitutional and governmental frameworks of State begin to hinder, rather than serve the fulfillment of the national, subnational or individual potential. At that point, the frameworks of State become oppressive and counter-productive much like an auto-immune disease. For a heterogeneous nation, the presence of a national ideal suggests that the various groups have found their respective interests in the conglomeration of their individual aspirations and that these aspirations are better served by a union. This coming together of sub-nationalities should enhance, facilitate and catalyze, not limit or hinder the realization of the constituent destinies. Therefore, there is element of bondage when individuals or sub-national groups within the State are constrained from their potential by the national entity.
The concept of nationhood suggests that the citizens have surrendered their individual sovereignty to the State through a social contract that guarantees the provision of public goods. The individual citizen finds in the State an avenue to meet his/her need for provision, protection, peace, power, promotion and progress within acceptable norms that will ensure that the rights of other individuals are not trampled upon. These are manifest in the social, economic and political functions of the State, the basic of these being the provision of social amenities. When the institution of State lacks the capacity or the political will to provide these public goods then the nation housed in that framework of State is in bondage.
The Cycle of Bondage
In 1943, an American industrialist, H.W. Prentis identified a sequence comprised of ten stages that nations pass through in what he referred to as the historical cycle of nations. These are bondage, spiritual faith, great courage, liberty, abundance, selfishness, complacency, apathy, dependence and bondage. In this cycle, nations are said to move:

• From bondage to spiritual faith
• From spiritual faith to great courage
• From courage to liberty
• From liberty to abundance
• From abundance to selfishness
• From selfishness to complacency
• From complacency to apathy
• From apathy to dependence
• From dependence back into bondage

To understand this cycle of national bondage, the biblical story of Israel is the locus classicus. Israel, a nation covenanted to a higher ideal, was held captive in Egypt for four hundred years. They suffered cruel bondage manifest in their social, economic and political existence. Family life was attacked as their oppressors sought to decimate the population; economically, labour conditions were made unbearable even though they could not access the fruit of their excruciating labour; politically, they had no self-government. After 400 years, a deliverer arose in the person of Moses who initially sought to attain the freedom of his people through violence. The wrath of the Egyptian king made him a fugitive until he had an encounter that awakened him to the destiny of his nation. That encounter stirred in him spiritual faith and, consequently, great courage which he transferred to his people as he spearheaded the liberation of his nation. In that condition of liberty, he laid the cultural, structural, institutional, constitutional and governmental blueprint for the prosperity and abundance of the nation in line with the national ideal into which Israel had been covenanted. However, with passage of time, the nation slipped into selfishness as every man did what he liked. Selfishness gave rise to complacency as the nation ceased to pursue its full potential, and from complacency to apathy as the people became indifferent to the national ideal. At that point, the nation would lose its identity and turn to other nations for meaning. Then a deliverer would arise to liberate the people and lead them to prosperity until the nation went full cycle back to bondage.
Having laid this conceptual background, we will seek to answer the question, Nigeria at centenary, a nation under bondage? However, let us take a look at the making of nationhood in the Nigerian context as we search for a Nigerian nation.
The Amalgamation of 1914
Prior to the coming of the British, the territories that inhabited the geographical area around the River Niger existed as separate, self-governing geopolitical entities with unique cultures, administrative structures, institutions, laws and government. At the point of colonization, there was the Sokoto Caliphate with its federation of Emirates including Hausa city-states and the Middle-Belt territories down to Ilorin all subjugated by jihad and conquest; the Bornu Empire with its vassal states also subjugated by conquest; the warring Yoruba kingdoms of Ife, Owu, Ibadan, Ijaye, Egba, Ijebu, and Remo; the Benin Kingdom; the delta settlements such as Itshekiri, Opobo, Bonny and Brass; numerous Igbo towns and villages and many other small territories. At the Berlin conference in 1885, the Europeans sat down to apportion among themselves territories in which they had demonstrated interests and presence. The Nigerian territories were apportioned to the British. Through intrigues, the threat of force and the actual use of force, the British annexed these territories and set out to amalgamate them for organizational efficiency.
The amalgamation was a progressive political unification of these colonial territories to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. It began in 1883 when the Oil Rivers Protectorate was united with surrounding territories to form the Niger Coast Protectorate. Then, in 1897, after the Benin massacre, the Benin Kingdom was merged with the Niger Coast Protectorate to form the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. In 1906, the Colony of Lagos was combined with the Southern Protectorate to form the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria.
While the southern territories were being merged, the United African Company (UAC) - which became the National African Company (NAC) and later, the Royal Niger Company through the granting of a royal charter - had already established northern Nigeria as a sphere of British influence. After the Berlin Conference, the British Crown took over these territories from the Royal Niger Company reportedly at the cost of 865,000 pounds. When Lord Frederick Lugard hoisted the Union Jack in Lokoja in 1900, the people of northern Nigeria did not understand that Britain had, by that act, claimed sovereignty over the area. The British, through Lugard, then set out to enforce this claim by military offensive until 1905 when the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria was firmly under British control. Eventually, on the first of January 1914, a hundred years ago, the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated to form the framework of a united Nigeria.
It is very important to note that what the British amalgamated back then was the administration of the North and the South and that it was solely for the economic benefits of the British government because it was not the policy of the colonialists to use their own tax payers' money to run the protectorates.
Besides this point, Major Lugard as he then was, who arrived Nigeria about 1894, was not originally employed by the British government. He was employed by companies, first by East Indian Company, thereafter by the Royal East African Company and finally by the Royal Niger Company. It was from the Royal Niger Company that he got transferred to the British government. Since then and till now, the interest of the Europeans in Africa and that of the British especially in Nigeria had and has remained mainly economic.
It may also interest every learned colleague here present that inspite of all the "centenary celebration" touting by the government, the January 1, 1914 date relates only to the Amalgamation of the Administrations of the North and the South. The amalgamation of the judiciary did not take place until 1916 when the Supreme, Provincial and Native Courts Ordinances of Northern Nigeria were amended and made applicable to the whole country, while the legislative amalgamation of Nigeria came only in 1947.
The Nature of Colonial Rule
To the British, the area around the Niger was a business enterprise and the people a labour force to be deployed in this enterprise. This is why some historians have argued that the abolition of slave trade was merely for economic reasons as it was considered more efficient to exploit Africans in their own territories. This commercial premise for the concept of an amalgamated Nigerian geopolitical entity determined the priorities of the colonial government. Consequently, although the British government established local government administration, overseas trade and some level of industrialization, its concept of Nigeria as an instrument of British imperial interests determined its priorities such that its policies were aimed at serving the British economy as against developing the budding nation. From its political system of indirect rule to its economic projects including the establishment of communication infrastructure, shipping and railway, the credit facilities and the agricultural policy, which emphasized the production of cash crops as against food crops, most of its policies were targeted at strengthening the British economy. More devastating was the educational policy which focused on raising administrators and clerical officers for the colonial government rather than on training technical experts for national development. Even more devastating was the deliberate de-emphasis on Western education in the North by the Frederick Lugard-led colonial administration in order to maintain British control and maximize economic gains for Britain. These were clear manifestations of bondage.
Nevertheless, it is needful to debunk arguments that the pre-colonial entities would have been better off without the amalgamation. The shortsightedness of that argument lies in its failure to realize that many of Nigeria’s pre-colonial peoples were in some form of bondage as at the time they were colonized. In many cases, the people lived in feudal systems that subjected them to aristocratic domination. Many territories were vassal states subject to and paying tribute to larger territories. For instance, the Sokoto Caliphate was the result of the subjugation of the Hausa city-states and the northern and middle-belt minorities. Territories that were not under the Caliphate dominion were subject to the Borno Empire. The Benin kingdom held sway over vassal territories in the mid-west and delta area. With the fall of the Old Oyo Empire, Ibadan came close to dominating the entire Yoruba land which was enmeshed in civil wars. Only in Igbo land did many of the territories exist as small republican entities. In the absence of the amalgamation, annexation and occupation was inevitable. In such a political and economic environment, many pre-colonial territories were actually in bondage and could not have fulfilled their group aspirations.
Furthermore, with the trend of globalization which began to peak in the 20th century, the social, economic and political states of the pre-colonial Nigerian territories could not match up with the demands of civilization. For these territories to transit into an inevitable globalizing world, they needed to team up around a common ideal in line with their God-ordained destiny.  Colonization served to facilitate that coming together even though the instruments of facilitation – the British - misconceived the divine purpose.
From Bondage to Liberty
Like the case of Moses in messianic mission, early opposition to colonial rule came in the form of armed resistance. These were however quashed by the British. Violent resistance continued especially in Igboland even after the last town, Nsukka was conquered in 1910. These spontaneous reactions to oppression could not produce freedom. However, the seed of liberty was sown 1920 with the rise of the nationalist fervour as some educated Africans encountered the Nigerian ideal and began to find an identity for themselves not along their ethnic origins but as Nigerians. It is important that we take note of this because it marked the beginning of the conception of a true Nigerian nation. In a sense, their encounter with this concept of “Nigerian-ness” produced in the hearts of founding fathers some level of spiritual faith as they progressively began to see Nigeria no longer as a mere geographical expression but as a potentially great nation destined to spearhead the total liberation of Africa, which was itself destined to become the greatest civilization in the world. These emerging patriots, in remarkable demonstration of faith, called those things that were not as though they already were.
Spiritual faith produced in them great courage as they organized movements on which platforms they audaciously challenged the oppressive policies of the British. They challenged the oppressors in print and through sit-ins; they challenged them in strikes and in boycotts; they challenged them on the streets and in the legislative councils. It was with great courage that the patriots moved the motion for independence; it was with great courage that they meandered through ethnic and sectional potholes as they sat on the negotiation table; it was with great courage that they kept on the fight until an acceptable constitutional framework for democratic governance was produced. Eventually, great courage produced liberty when independence was attained on October 1 1960 to the admiration of the world. “Though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand… to build a nation where no one is oppressed” was the ideal to which the new nation aspired.
From Liberty Back to Bondage
The framework of the democratic Nigerian State at independence was hinged on true federalism in acknowledgement of the fact that ours is a nation comprised of many national sub-entities.  The new Nigerian state was structured along regional federating units that allowed each region to pursue its ideals and developmental aspirations at its own pace within a Nigerian national ideal. Each region had its own constitution; each region had its own coat of arms; each region possessed residual constitutional powers such that matters that were not within the national jurisdiction fell within regional legislative powers. Unlike the 1999 constitution which has 68 items on the exclusive list, the independence constitution had 44 items exclusive to the federal government meaning that compared to the federal government, the federating units had sufficient space within the framework of the Nigerian State to pursue their individual destinies. They had internal self-determination which produced regional competitive development.  From the groundnut pyramids in the north to the cocoa and rubber plantations in the west and the oil palm plantations in the east, liberty had produced abundance.
However, within a short while, abundance translated to selfishness as politicians became consumed with occupying the neocolonial space in class distinction; but to sustain the class differences they resorted to corrupt and ostentatious living while living conditions became increasingly difficult for the people. Politicians fanned the embers of ethnic and regional divisions to consolidate their power bases and by so doing gave up the pursuit of a Nigerian ideal thereby halting the evolution of a true Nigerian nation. Development was no longer the motivation for public service. Complacency had set in.  Election rigging and politically motivated violence held sway in the west as the best and brightest were crowded out of the system. In the east, elections were boycotted as apathy set in. In the pretext of maintaining law and order, the federal government trampled on the liberty of the Western Region by making a precipitate declaration of state of emergency and bringing the military into the system. To quell election violence in parts of the country, soldiers were deployed to monitor elections. By these actions, the politicians had shown themselves unable to govern and had demonstrated dependence on the military. Apathy had produced dependence. Eventually, convinced that the politicians had failed the nation, on January 15 1966, exactly 48 years ago, the military struck and the nation was back in bondage. Subsequently, on May 24 1966, the framework of the Nigerian State was destroyed when General Aguiyi Ironsi through Decree No. 34 abolished the regions. That day saw the death of the budding Nigerian nation. It was not long after that that the different nations which had been held together by the evolving Nigerian nation began to demand secession, beginning with the north when the Murtala Mohammed led counter-coup plotters advocated a northern break-away which would have been but for the persuasion of the likes of Yakubu Gowon.  Eventually, with the east insisting on secession, the Nigerian Civil War was the inevitable result. Whereas, historians say that it takes 200 years for nations to go full cycle in the sequence of national bondage, it took Nigeria just six years. 
That cycle of bondage continued in rapid frequency from regime to regime. As Nigerians suffered excruciating bondage, a supposed messianic set of coup plotters, with faith in their capacity to change the system would demonstrate great courage by overthrowing the existing government and promising liberty. In most cases, the citizens would rejoice at the so called dawn of liberty. The administration would make few changes, execute few projects which would produce some semblance of abundance and thereafter slip into selfishness looting the polity in most cases. With officials engrossed in corrupt enrichment, government's focus would shift from developmental or transitional programmes and complacency would set in. The Nigerian people would then become apathetic resigning themselves to the situation waiting for the next set of messiahs – demonstrating their inability to take their destinies in their hands - a despicable state of dependence.  This state of internal oppression also returned Nigeria to extreme dependence on her erstwhile colonial masters and their allies in the form of the structural adjustment programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that came with excruciating conditions which eroded Nigeria’s social infrastructure. At the same time, Nigeria’s debt to the Paris club of international creditors mounted exponentially while her wealth was brazenly looted and kept in foreign accounts in some of these countries by their internal collaborators in an oppressive international order. In essence, Nigeria was back in bondage, not only to internal forces but also to external forces.
It is noteworthy, however, that as this cycle of bondage unfolded, liberators like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi rose up to challenge the military and press for return to democratic governance. These liberators, having encountered the Nigerian ideal could not stand injustice no matter what part of the country the victim was from. Therefore, where politicians and the military had failed, Nigeria’s civil rights activists became her new set of nationalists reviving the Nigerian ideal of liberty and brotherhood. They had faith that a new nation was possible. This faith produced great courage. With great courage, they fought against military oppression; with great courage they defended democracy when free and fair elections were annulled and heroes of democracy were thrown into jail; with great courage, they demanded a return to democratic governance. Eventually, the liberation struggle succeeded and returned the nation to civil rule. Although MKO Abiola, the hero of democracy had died in custody, it seemed that liberty had been achieved when Olusegun Obasanjo was brought out of prison to become president. The land rejoiced despite the foreboding signs; despite the awkward framework of State bequeathed to the fourth republic by the military including a fake federal structure, moribund state institutions, a militarily engineered constitution laying false claims to the appellation, “We the People” and a government that was poised to serve self and to take corruption to new heights, the people embraced the mere semblance of liberty.
As usual in the cycle, the dawn of a new era as it were came with the promise of abundance. And, truly, aided by the improved international image as well as the inclusion of internationally reputed technocrats in the administration in addition to soaring international oil prices, Nigeria’s return to civil rule brought some macro-economic gains such as the increase in foreign reserves and the buy-back of Nigeria’s debt to the Paris club. Liberty, manifest in civil rule, had produced some sort of abundance. This atmosphere of abundance provided the breeding ground for personal aggrandizement as politicians, from the presidency to the state and local governments, helped themselves to the nation's resources and became the targets of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Then, complacency set in as General Obasanjo, satisfied with his supposed achievements, which however did not reflect significantly in the living condition of the average Nigerian, sought to perpetuate himself in power and so unleashed the machinery of state against perceived enemies among the political class. Media was censured, outspoken critics were targeted and juridical decisions were subjected to executive interpretations. Meanwhile, Obasanjo himself raised the mountain of corruption to an unimaginable peak. As apathy set in among the electorate, General Obasanjo, indignant that he could not foist a third-term agenda on Nigeria, imposed a sick president on the nation through a fraudulent election, I beg your pardon, selection, overseen by Professor Maurice Iwu.
Apathy gave rise once again to bondage as power hijackers took advantage of President Yaradua’s ailment to seize the institution of state. For a space of two months the nation was without a president and Nigerians were taken for a ride by a bunch of opportunists in and around the presidency. Budgets were signed, monies were disbursed in flagrant violation of the constitution and the law was used to shield criminals; cries by the Nigerian people for sanity were rebuffed by the hijackers. This phase of bondage overlapped with complacency as civil rights activist had for too long sheathed their swords and beat their spears into pruning hooks since the return to civil rule. It was at this time that Save Nigeria Group was born out of spiritual faith as a convergence of civil rights groups and leaders. It took faith to make the decision to march on Abuja. Faith turned to great courage as civil rights leaders and Nigerians from the six geopolitical zones placed a demand on the National Assembly to act in accordance with the constitution. Eventually, the voice of the people prevailed in the so-called doctrine of necessity.
That was four years ago. The question on your minds at this time would be, “what stage of the cycle are we now at?” The fact, however, is that, looking back at 2010 to examine what stage we are in at this point would be a shortsighted retrospection. Though the people prevailed in 2010, full liberty was not attained. Genuine liberty was not attained in 1999 either, not with a culture of corruption, impunity and sectional interest that pervades every sector and every level of the social cadre; not with a pseudo-federal structure that constrains the birth and development of true nationhood and the capacity of the constituents to develop at their respective paces; not with institutions that serve the interest of a privileged few who have cornered the resources of our country; not with a constitution that was forced on the people by the military and which gives fundamental human rights with one hand and takes them away with the other; not with a judiciary that will set free perpetrators of multibillion naira theft and send pepper and onion thieves to jail; not with legislatures that consume the greater percentage of the country’s  recurrent expenditure, making laws that have no bearing on the welfare of the people and defending positions like child marriage that perpetuate socio-economic bondage; not with executive governments that have continued the culture of plunder, looting the treasury through various schemes from the security votes of state governors to fuel subsidy by the federal government and perpetuating themselves in power through fraudulent electoral procedures by which they have perfected the act of undetectable rigging. No! It is not yetuhuru!
Time will fail me to tell of the decay to which citizens are subjected across sectors; how that Nigeria has constantly fallen in educational standards in the Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance since 2006 or that Nigeria ranks 183rd out of 215 countries by literacy rate, or that 10.5 million Nigerian children are not enrolled in school; or that no Nigerian university is ranked among the top 50 in Africa or that Nigerian students spend 5-8 years studying for four year courses because strikes and school closures are factored in.
There is not enough time to talk about the economy, how that, despite the GDP growth rate of over 7% and a reported influx of foreign investments, 62% of Nigerians still live in poverty, 100 million Nigerians are destitute as the gap between the rich and the poor widens with 1% of the country’s population controlling 80% of the country’s oil wealth.
If I had sufficient time, I would tell you how the failing health sector has worsened the standard of living of the average Nigerian with majority of our hospitals in deplorable conditions and our health workers on strike every now and then while our leaders contribute to our country's reported loss of 80 billion naira annually to foreign medical trips.
If time were sufficient to talk about security, I would talk about how that since 2010 over 400 bombs have exploded in Nigeria with lives and limbs lost, property destroyed and families devastated. Yes, little gains have been made but this framework of State cannot keep pace with the aspirations of the Nigerian in us. The jacket just does not fit. This is not the nation our founding fathers envisioned; this is not the nation that liberators like Gani suffered and died for; this is not the nation of our dreams; this is not the embodiment of our aspirations, the ideal for which we strive as a people.
The Way Forward
To move forward from this national quagmire, we must go back in order to go forward and we must approach the task on all fronts.
First, we must return to the cesspool in which the young Nigerian nation was dumped with the bath water on the 24th of May 1966. We must reach out for her, retrieve what is left of her, wash her clean and nurture her back to life. This we must do by returning to the dialogue table to restructure. Like I have said on previous occasions, we must get set to rebuild and restore; we must retrieve what is remaining of the pillars of our founding fathers and we must restructure and reconstruct; we must rebuild from wall to wall, from gate to gate; from community to community; from city to city; and from region to region until the whole nation is restored to its former and even greater glory. That is why we welcome the idea of a constitutional conference and insist that the modalities be genuinely people-driven.
Like our founding fathers when they embarked on constitutional dialogues on the road to independence, on the dialogue table, we must have the courage to confront our fears, doubts and concerns about the Nigeria question, sweeping nothing under the carpet, yet we must be ready to make intelligent compromises. As we do so, we must not forget that sovereignty lies with the people, not with politicians many of whom did not even win elections. Therefore, we must find creative mechanisms to bring all the sub-nationalities together to negotiate the destiny of our nation in such a manner that smoothly and peacefully transports us from the current system to a true people’s constitution that has genuine claims to the phrase, “We The People”. Such a constitution must guarantee social and economic rights as well as civil and political rights without derogating these rights through backdoor provisions. We must embark on people-driven restructuring, cautiously guided by the realization that a system that makes peaceful change impossible makes violent change inevitable and that a constitution that will not bend will break.
Secondly, while stakeholders and genuine representatives of the people gear up for the dialogue table, there must be a movement of  fellow Nigerians, young and old, male and female, at home and abroad, with patriotic zeal burning in their hearts, committed to finding a true Nigerian ideal and ensuring that the dialogue is conducted as prescribed by the people and that its outcome represents the genuine aspirations of the people. These Nigerians must take advantage of every medium, from social media to community gatherings and from conventional media to town hall meetings, to discuss the issues intelligently and to mount pressure on the government to respect the aspirations of the people. As Dr. Martin Luther King (Jr.) said when he stood before the American nation at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln, “this is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy”. Therefore, we must not put the cart before the horse by placing emphasis on 2015. If we do not do the needful in 2014, there may be no 2015, but if we dedicate ourselves to restructuring our nation at this opportune time, the outcome will be the emergence of credible leadership that will ensure a Nigeria that works. Therefore as we mark the centenary, genuine patriots must take up this challenge of national rebirth and become statesmen whose shoulders the younger generation of Nigerians can mount to catch a glimpse of the Nigerian dream.
It is instructive that the term, “nation” is derived from the Latin word natio, meaning,  “birth”.  True nationhood is conceived with divine input and delivered through human instruments. Such human stakeholders must begin to accept the promptings of destiny and not ignore the paradoxical birth pangs that come with it, for those birth pangs indicate that the gestation period has climaxed and that now is the time to take our destiny in our hands.
People often ask, “now that Gani is no longer here, who will step into his shoes?” My response to that has always been that eagles do not flock. You only see one at a time. Therefore Gani’s shoes will forever remain his; nobody can step into them because they are uniquely his.  Yet, every Nigerian, at home and abroad must become a stakeholder, throwing off the cloak of complacency and apathy, and contributing in his or her unique way to the making of a nation where, though tribes and tongues differ, the people will rise in brotherhood to build a great nation where no one is oppressed and whose banner is without stain.
It is possible!
It is doable!
We can do it!
We should do it!
We must do it!
Thank you, God bless you and God bless our nation Nigeria. And may Gani's legacy live forever.

Pastor Tunde Bakare,
Serving Overseer,
The Latter Rain Assembly,
Lagos, Nigeria
            &
The Convener,
Save Nigeria Group.
Being Text Of Speech Delivered By Pastor Tunde Bakare At The 10th Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi's Annual Lecture
By The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch
On The 15th Of January 2014
At The Airport Hotel, Ikeja.