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Wednesday, 14 February 2018

ShortStory I Bloody Encounter

 

BLOODY ENCOUNTER

      “Hello!” Buchi exclaimed, standing at a bus stop situated in one of the notorious localities in Lagos State, Oshodi to be precise. The dark skin-coloured young man was clad in blue jeans, green T-shirt, and a pair of black shoes.  

      “Who am I seeing?” Ikem shouted at the top of his voice on sighting Buchi as he was about entering a commercial bus that was headed for Festac town.

        The fair-skinned dude was putting on black three-quarter jeans, multiple coloured polo, and brown leather slippers coupled with a brownish face cap.

         He then ignored the bus. “Buchi na you be this?” He further exclaimed in vernacular, walked closer to him.

        They hugged each other passionately.

         The two were old time friends who attended the same secondary school in Enugu State many years back, and happened to hail from same state. Both buddies were in their early thirties.

       “So you are in this state?” Buchi inquired.

       “Yes,” quoth Ikem. “Since I finished my degree course.”

          Both of them lost contact after their secondary education days due to lack of mobile communication system as at then.

        “Are you serious?” Buchi amazingly exclaimed. “So, which university did you attend?” He added hesitantly.

        “UNN,” Ikem replied, meaning University of Nigeria Nsukka. “But I did my youth service in Niger state.”

        “Interesting.” Buchi said, nodding.

        “And you?”

        “Well, I studied in Uniport.”

         “University of Port-Harcourt?” Ikem verified.

         “Yes,” Buchi answered. “But I served in Ekiti State”

         “So, how long have you been in Lagos?” Ikem hurriedly asked.

          “About three years now.”

          “Wow..!” Ikem exclaimed, amazed. “Same here.”

           “You mean, you have been here for three years too?” Buchi asked, surprised.

         “Of course.’

         “Where do you stay?” Buchi enquired.

          “Festac town,” Ikem responded. “With one of my uncles who works in a bank.”

         “Wow, what a coincidence” Buchi said excitedly. “I reside at Maza-Maza”

          Maza-Maza is situated in the same district with Festac.

        “That makes it more interesting.” Ikem said, smiling.

        “Yes ooh!” concurred Buchi. “You can say that again.”   

        “Are you alone?”

        “No.” replied Buchi. “I am with my married sister.”

        “Any job yet?” Ikem anxiously enquired.

        “For where..?” Buchi replied in vernacular. “Where did you see job in Nigeria?”

         “Na wow oh!” Ikem exclaimed disappointedly. “Only God would save us in this Naija.” He added.

         “So which bank does your uncle work with?” Buchi hesitantly tendered.

         “Platonic.”

         “That’s a nice bank.” Buchi applauded. “So you haven’t gotten a job too?”

         “Hmm,” Ikem sighed. “My brother, leave matter for Matthias.”

         “So what’s your plan now?” Buchi curiously inquired.

         “Well, there’s a friend of mine who asked me to see him tomorrow at Ikeja.” Ikem replied. “He’s into business.”

         “What kind of business?”

         “I don’t know yet, but he often travels abroad.” Ikem said. “And he is densely loaded.”

         “Okay.” Buchi dished out in a low tone, paused “Please, I would like to go with you oh. Man don suffer.” He requested submissively.

         “No wahala,” Ikem agreed. “What are friends for?”

         “Thanks a lot buddy.”

           After some minutes, they boarded a bus that was headed for their respective destinations. They exchanged contacts while in the vehicle.

 

                * * * * * *

         Buchi and Ikem agreed on a meeting point on phone. The following day, they met at the stipulated venue and took off from there to their anticipated destination.

        Ikem had already informed his proposed host via phone that he would be coming with his friend, and the man in question approved the request.

        When they got to the place, surprisingly the man who invited them seemed to be an armed robber. The guests needed not a prophet to interpret the scene to them because all various kinds of weapon and ammunition were displayed right before the gangsters.

          The chief host who was seated amidst his partners in crime didn’t hesitate to disclose the nitty-gritty of the show to them. After the necessary introduction, Ikem and Buchi whom were gripped by fathomless panic were left with no other choice than to join the deadly chorus.

         The gang had earlier planned to rob a bank the following day being 24th February 1999, and the affected firm was Moonlight Bank; one of the most respected banks in the country. The new intakes were meant to be part of the adventurous outing. 

         On the D-day, they successfully arrived at the bank and were about to commence operation as usual until something tragic transpired. Unfortunately Ikem’s uncle, Mr. Cyprian Okoro – the one he lived with – happened to be present at the said bank. He was scheduled to meet with the Bank Manager on that fateful day for a proposed business transaction.

         Ikem sighted his uncle the moment he walked into the Manager’s office as he was instructed.

        Mr. Okoro stood up immediately on catching the sight of his nephew, profoundly shocked. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “Could this be my own Ikem?” He thought, stood still.

         Both relatives were steadily and astonishing looking at each other, which led the Bank Manager into a more confused state.

         Ikem who was well armed, quickly and nervously gushed out tears as he was left with no options than to pull his virgin trigger on a man he had always seen as not just a father but source of his inspirations. It was indeed a horrific and bloody encounter for the first-time robber. He felt like the world had finally come to an end as he thought over the poignant state of dilemma.

         Immediately, Mr. Cyprian Okoro was shot dead alongside his senior colleague by Ikem.

        The tiled floor was instantly covered with pool of blood.

         It was no doubt the most dreaded experience in the life of Ikem who instantly flew with his accomplices without beholding their prime target, which ten billion naira, let alone making away with it.

        The rest is history, please.

 

FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
___________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador 

 

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Opinion I On EFCC's Immunity To Probe States


ON EFCC’s IMMUNITY TO PROBE STATES

         
I ran into an old time friend, Musa recently during a professional conference that held in Jos, Plateau State. Amid our numerous conversations pertaining to politics and governance, he said he had learnt that at the moment various states’ legislators in Nigeria were merely aides to their respective governors.

       
Consequently, the fellow who resides abroad opined that the various law enforcement agencies in the country needn’t wait till a whistle is blown by such set of politicians before scrutinizing a sitting governor’s activities. In my candid response, I told him that my only fear and worry remained the fact that even the said enforcement agents could be pocketed by the states’ number one citizens, especially in situations where their statutory services are mostly needed.

       
It seems as if we foresaw what would be ruled soonest by a judicial council domiciled in the country. It’s not anymore news that penultimate week, precisely on Tuesday 30th January 2018, a Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State declared that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could not probe states’ finances without a report of indictment from states’ Houses of Assembly.

       
The ruling was informed by a suit filed by the Ekiti State Government via its Attorney General against the EFCC, Inspector General of Police, the state’s Assembly Speaker and Clerk, Chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board, as well as its Auditor General and Accountant General. Various financial institutions in the state were equally among the defendants.

        
The aforesaid suit was filed in reaction to invitation letters sent by the anti-graft commission to a few government officials in the state, seeking details of some of the state’s financial transactions. It’s also of note that the EFCC reportedly extended the gesture to the affected banks, requesting financial books of the state in their custody. It’s noteworthy that the government in question had earlier written the banks, urging them not to oblige the commission with the requested information.

       
The court presided over by Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo added that the banks weren’t entitled to adhere to such instruction. It further held that the EFCC lacked the immunity to usurp the oversight functions vested in states’ legislatures under Sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to initiate a probe or criminal proceedings against a state official when need be. It thus stated that only states’ Assembly was immune with oversight and investigation roles over state finances, appropriation and implementation.

         
Justice Taiwo’s order was a clear way of telling Nigerians that the EFCC, among other similar law enforcement agencies, lack jurisdiction at the state level. It suffices to say that, by his declaration, the commission had been told to restrict its activities to only within the federal ambit, which signifies that only institutions or parastatals owned and managed by the Federal Government (FG) could be probed by the anti-graft body.

         
If such a declaration holds water or anything to go by, I’m afraid, it’s high time we scrapped the EFCC and its likes. Of course, I see no reason the existence of the commission ought to continue if it cannot extend its tentacles to the various states and local councils across the federation as the ongoing anti-corruption war progresses, because graft is undoubtedly ubiquitous.

        
It’s then needless to reiterate that by the judgement of the court, the judge had not just ridiculed the jurisdiction of the ‘almighty’ EFCC but had as well questioned the legality behind its establishment let alone day-to-day activity.

       
A curious person may then ask or would want to know if the Acts binding the commission are in conflict with the country’s constitution, because everyone is arguably not unaware that the body was primarily instituted to tackle financial crimes across the nooks and crannies of the federation irrespective of where the culpable individual is coming from. The cases of late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and James Ibori, former governors of Bayelsa and Delta states respectively, were obvious proof to this affirmation.

       
Waiting until a nod is received from, or whistle blown by, the state lawmakers simply implies that the revered EFCC is no longer a watchdog over public servants in the country as regards corruption. Similarly, opining that the legislators’ oversight function is enough to probe the state’s accounts was a colossal error and an overstatement. I wonder what else is expected of members of a legislature, in a state where the governor has abruptly become an emperor, than to continually act as instructed by the number one citizen.

          
However, I wouldn’t stop pondering over the reason the EFCC and other related agencies would think it wise to focus only on a few states whereas the country is currently made up of thirty six distinct states. Does it imply that graft, or corruption in general, is peculiar to a certain set of Nigerians or localities? For the sake of way forward, such a question doesn’t deserve to be ignored.

        
So, as the EFCC is headed for the Appeal Court to counter the judgement of the lower one having understood that the ruling was bizarre, unfounded and laughable, it must acknowledge that corruption is an ubiquitous societal cankerworm, hence the need to extend its proboscis to other territories that are more evil than its current preys. Think about it!    

 

Comrade FDN Nwaozor
 Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri
__________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador            

 

 

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Opinion I Reviewing OBJ's Epistle To PMB

REVIEWING OBJ’S EPISTLE TO PMB

        
I grew up to learn from my darling mum that the best way and manner to express your feelings towards someone was to write him or her. The amazon would invariably back-up the theory by saying, ‘if you intend to make your words seem stronger, present the letter in a hand-written form’. It appears, nowadays, open letters have inadvertently replaced the hand-written mode.

        
I woke up in the early morning of Wednesday, 24th January 2018 to see an open epistle to President Muhammadu Buhari painstakingly written by erstwhile president, Olusegun obasanjo. It’s noteworthy that such an attitude has ostensibly become synonymous with the latter who perhaps comprehends that writing a sitting president is more powerful than engaging him on a one-on-one meeting.

        
I didn’t waste time to digest the 23-paragraph letter, which bore a matter of deep concern. The epistle was in summary mainly targeted to advise Mr. President not to seek re-election come 2019, having in a lengthy statement expressed that the Buhari-led administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had failed Nigerians.

        
The second paragraph of the epistle captioned that ‘lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality are very much with us today’. I could explicitly agree that there’s an element of fact in this clause even though it appears a bit contradictory.

        
Of course, proscribing the existence of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) but harbouring the activities of the so-called herdsmen across the lengths and breadth of the federation is arguably enough reason for anyone to assert that this administration is an advocate of inequality; read my lips.

        
What could better be described as an inequality than a situation where some people were being massacred on a daily basis by their fellow citizens, yet the Presidency never considered it consequential to address the state of the nation; than a situation whereby the North-East rehabilitation is ongoing whilst that of Ogoni land, or Nimbo of Enugu, is yet to know its fate?

      
The fourth paragraph wholly stated that ‘our situation in the last decade or so had shown that we are not good enough at home’. This is equally true. Over the years, particularly in recent times, Nigeria has proven to the global community that she is always good in playing a leading role toward settling any socio-political crisis occurring in the Diaspora. But pathetically, she seems usually weak when it calls for handling issues happening within her territory. This is unequivocally an aberration.

       
The sixth paragraph of the letter opined that ‘the situation that made Nigerians to vote massively to get my brother Jonathan off the horse is playing itself out again’. I partly disagree with this perception. To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was whisked out as the president of Nigeria mainly owing to his seeming weak approach towards tackling some prevailing societal issues like terrorism and corruption that were then the order of the day in the country.

       
I thus beg to disabuse Chief Obasanjo of the notion that terrorism and corruption had not been fought headlong since President Buhari assumed duty. The aforementioned cankerworms may have not been completely defeated by the present administration, it’s worth noting that a lot has really been achieved thus far.

       
For instance, initiation cum sustenance of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Bank Verification Number (BVN), to check excesses among public servants as well as the lingered impunity of money lauders and fraudsters, respectively, are good reasons to fete cap for Buhari in the area of fighting corruption.

      
The open epistle also accused President Buhari of patronizing nepotism. I wholeheartedly concur. Mr. President’s appointments so far were clear indications of his excess love for a certain set of individuals or groups in the country, which is contrary to what is expected of a man meant to be a true nationalist.

       
Chief Obasanjo rounded off by appealing to the president to consider ‘a deserved rest at this point in time and at this age’ having reminded him of his current health status. Without mincing words, it is only a sycophant or selfish-minded individual that would encourage Buhari to seek for re-election. He needn’t be reminded that he truly deserves a holistic rest after May 29, 2019 to enable him function aptly as a statesman and patriotic Nigerian.

       
However, Nigerians – I in particular – expected the writer to commence such an epistle with an apology over his failure to tactically address the country’s economy while he was riding the horse. It’s only an insane person that would believe that power inability, substandard education and poor health services aren’t Nigeria’s major economic plight, yet the Obasanjo-led government never solved any of these despite the whooping funds expended on the menace. Isn’t it then ideal to tell Chief Obasanjo that the porous foundation he laid remains the prime reason the structure has refused to be solid?

       
Funnily enough, the Federal Government (FG) has reacted to the letter via the Information Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed, saying the former president may not have noticed the ‘numerous achievements’ of the current administration as a result of his tight schedule. One may wonder what kind of busy time would make a rational being not realize when his country is progressing socio-economically. Think about it!

 

Comrade FDN Nwaozor
 Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
__________________________________

Twitter: @mediambassador            

 

           

 

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