The Art of Good Communication

 By Yourfaith Setyoufree

It's a sad fact that while most of us spend a sizeable part of our lives communicating with others — in face-to-face conversations, over the phone, in committee meetings, via e-mail and social networks — we seem more separate and disconnected than ever.
Genuine understanding seems to be the exception rather than the norm in everyday communication. We speak at each other, or past each other. We speak different conceptual languages, hold different values, embody different ways of seeing the world.

Much of the time, we're not even listening to each other at all. The dialogue is a monologue. We fire salvos of information across the Internet, or shoot each other text messages, or blog or Twitter about ourselves. But is anyone paying attention? And if they are, do they catch our drift?

The trouble with much of what passes for communication today is that it's all crosstalk. It's a din, not a dialogue.

The noisy chatter reflects the fact that we don't really know how to engage one another in authentic conversations. We simply haven't learned the skills of listening closely to each other, of engaging in meaningful exchanges, and of finding shared sources of meaning. We lack the know-how and the tools.

As we move into times of accelerating change and deepening uncertainty, we need to get smart about how to talk to one another. We need to be able to overcome differences, find common ground, build meaning and purpose, and set directions together. We need to be able to think together as groups, as teams, as committees, as communities, and as citizens.

The way to do that is through dialogue. The word dialogue is often contrasted with monologue, as if it were a two-way, rather than than a one-way, process. But that's misleading. Dialogue is a contraction from the Greek words for through and words. It suggests an activity aimed at eliciting meaning.

The Greeks may not have invented dialogue, but they introduced the idea that individuals are not intelligent on their own, that it's only by reasoning together that they are able to uncover the truth for themselves. The Greeks understood that if two or more people are unsure about a question, they can accomplish something together they can't do on their own. By questioning and probing each other, carefully dissecting and analyzing ideas, finding the inconsistencies, never attacking or insulting but always searching for what they can accept between them, they can gradually attain deeper understanding and insight.

That's what dialogue is: a form of discussion aimed at fostering mutual insight and common purpose. The process involves listening with empathy, searching for common ground, exploring new ideas and perspectives, and bringing unexamined assumptions into the open.

When done well, the benefits can be extraordinary. Long-standing stereotypes can be dissolved, mistrust overcome, and visions shaped and grounded in a shared sense of purpose. People previously at odds with one another can come into alignment on objectives and strategies. New perspectives and insights can be gained, new levels of creativity stimulated, and bonds of community strengthened.

While dialogue is often confused with other forms of discourse, it belongs in a distinctive category of its own. Unlike debate, it doesn't involve arguing for a point of view, defending a set of assumptions, or critiquing the positions of others. Unlike negotiation or consensus-building, it's not a method of reaching agreement or arriving at decisions. And unlike discussion, it can only emerge when participants trust and respect each other, suspend their judgments, and listen deeply to all points of view.

The process is also distinct from deliberation which is not so much a mode of communication as a form of thought and reflection that can take place in any kind of conversation. Such dialogue is aimed at finding the best course of action. Deliberative questions take the form "What should we do?" The purpose is not so much to solve a problem or resolve an issue as to explore the most promising avenues for action.

The process of dialogue is more important than ever today for a number of reasons. For one thing, the confrontation between different cultural traditions and worldviews requires some process by which people can communicate across differences. For another, the fragmentation of society into a myriad of subcultures based on profession, status, race, ethnicity, political loyalty, etc., make it necessary that people find a pathway to common ground. A third reason is that traditional authority structures are falling away.

Dialogue is the most effective response to these developments because, on the one hand, it allows people to span their differences and forge shared frames of reference and, on the other, it gives those formerly excluded from decision-making an opportunity to participate in the process of finding common ground and establishing priorities for action.

But dialogue is not always easy or straightforward. It can run aground in a thousand subtle ways. Effective dialogue requires that all the participants have equal standing, that they listen with respect and empathy, and that ideas and assumptions explored openly and without judgment.

Effective dialogue typically follows some basic ground rules:

*The focus is on common interests, not divisive ones
*The dialogue and decision-making processes are separated
*Assumptions that can lead to distortions of certain points of view are clarified and brought into the open
*People are encouraged to reveal their own insights and assumptions before speculating on those of others
*Concrete examples are used to raise general issues
*The process focuses on conflicts between value systems, not people
*When appropriate, participants are encouraged to express emotions accompanying strongly held values
*Participants err on the side of including people who disagree
*They encourage relationships in order to humanize transactions
*They minimize the level of mistrust before pursuing practical objectives.

The late physicist David Bohm developed what is widely regarded as the most useful model of dialogue. He saw it as a method for developing what he called a "higher social intelligence." Nothing is more important, in my view. In the past, it may have been enough to get by on personal intelligence alone. But it's no longer enough to be brilliant on our own (if such a thing is even possible). Our pressing problems today require that we be smart together, that we harness our best collective thinking and put it to work in the world.

WHEN WILL THIS MADNESS STOP IN NIGERIA

It started with the igbos MOSSOB now a faction of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) led by former President of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), Goodluck Diigbo yesterday declared self-government for the people of Ogoni, in Rivers State.

In a statement made available to leadership in Port Harcourt, Diigbo said that the self-government within Nigeria would secure indigenous rights for the people of ogoni and enable them to meet their needs and interests as well as bring an end to colonialism.

In a swift reaction, the spokesman of the Nigeria police, CSP frank MBA, said that the police were not aware of the development. “I’m not aware of it. The Nigerian nation still remains intact to the best of my knowledge,” he said.

Diigbo’s statement read in parts; “by this declaration of political autonomy, we, the Ogoni people are determined to enforce the United Nations declaration on rights of indigenous peoples, without fear or retreat.

“Concerned that in the absence of a responsive government that the indigenous people of Ogoni will continue to suffer from historic injustices, in order to make indigenous rights practicable in Ogoni, we have through a very transparent electoral college process:

“Beginning with community by community elections, set up 272 village councils, while the village councils in turn elected representatives for 33 district councils and the district representatives went on to elect representatives to serve at the centre as custodians of customs and traditions, otherwise called lawmakers.

Meanwhile, effort to get the reaction of the Rivers State government on the declaration of self government by a faction of MOSOP proved abortive as both the Commissioner of Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Seminatari and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. David Iyofor neither picked their phone calls nor replied the sms sent to them by LEADERSHIP.

Also, when contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulem could not react to the development as he told our reporter on phone that he was driving as at the time of the call and would call back later.

Between President Jonathan And Pastor Bakare

By Garba Kwandi

 Let’s go back to very recent history. Whether as a pastor, politician, Pentecostal leader, man of God, lawyer or civil rights activist – all of which he is – Pastor Tunde Bakare has always been forthright and no-nonsense. As a lawyer, he worked in the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. In 1999, when almost everyone was excited about Olusegun Obasanjo’s candidacy, Bakare was almost a loner declaring that Obasanjo was far from being the messiah. He declared that Obasanjo would, in fact, be a major part of Nigeria’s problem. He has since been proved right beyond words. And, not only that, Obasanjo became Nigeria’s albatross; he became the harbinger of every bad leadership that followed him including this one.

 When President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua got incapacitated by illness and became brain-dead and a self-serving cabal was trying to take advantage of the illness and prevent the then vice president, Goodluck Jonathan, from taking over, Pastor Bakare led his Save Nigeria Group (SNG) to force the politicians to do the right thing. President

 Jonathan is now too close to his new friends to remember the efforts of Pastor Bakare in those dark days. By the way, all of us, including Tunde Bakare, who insisted that section 144 of the constitution should be invoked and that Vice President Jonathan should take over as president straightaway and not even acting president, did so only because that was the right thing to do. I was even particularly against the funny “doctrine of necessity” used by the Senate to declare the vice president an acting president when section 144 is sufficiently clear and unambiguous about what the nation should be doing under those circumstances.

 Pastor Bakare speaks hard truth to power the way the Old Testament men of God did. The pastor is not only fearless, he also has the brain power to match his intrepidity.

 A few days ago, the pastor was invited by the SSS over his utterances. It’s doubtful if the SSS could have invited Bakare without the president’s prompting. That was an assault on free speech and it has no place in any democracy in the world. These are the kind of things that happen in Nigeria from time to time to remind the world that Nigeria is not the democracy that it claims to be. Pastor Bakare was invited because he said President Jonathan’s destiny was to bankrupt Nigeria and that, with the rate and level of corruption in Jonathan’s Nigeria, it might be futile to be talking about 2015. That’s what Bakare said. Nobody has told me yet that they found guns or bombs in his house or church with which he was contemplating to violently overthrow Jonathan’s government or that there were evidences that he was linked to the terrorism that has taken over Jonathan’s Nigeria.

 But what is wrong with what Pastor Bakare, the CPC’s vice presidential candidate in the 2011 election, said? If he said President Jonathan’s destiny was to bankrupt Nigeria, what is wrong with that? Is it not true that this is exactly what Jonathan is doing? If Jonathan “spent” N2.6 trillion in one year on fake fuel subsidy payments where other presidents before him spent less than N300 billion, how would anyone fault what Pastor Bakare has said? Or, does the president want to slap Nigerians in the face and at the same time stop them from complaining or even crying? The truth, however, is that if Jonathan squandered N2.6 trillion in an election year on an appropriation that was supposed to be N245 billion on fuel subsidy, it would simply not be enough for anyone to declare that Jonathan’s destiny was to bankrupt Nigeria. On that score, Pastor Bakare has been far more lenient to Jonathan than he should be. The situation is far worse than that. If this so-called contraption called democracy had been working, Jonathan would be impeached and removed from office on account of this singular frightening act of expending N2.6 trillion illegally.

 The pastor also insinuated that with the level that corruption has been taken to in Jonathan’s Nigeria, it will be useless to be talking about 2015. Pastor Bakare has said exactly what everyone else is saying. He only did President Jonathan a favour by telling him what virtually everyone – including those who claim to be his associates – are saying behind him. And I would really be surprised if no one had told Jonathan this to his face. The trillions of naira that get stolen on President Jonathan’s watch will certainly crash this country if it is not stopped at once.

 The fuel subsidy heist, the pension fund multiple robberies, the theft of crude oil which got to unprecedented levels of nearly 400,000 barrels daily, the Block 245 sleight of hand and so on and so on and so on and so on. Yes, Nigeria has had a reputation for corruption but not the kind of madness we have witnessed in Jonathan’s Nigeria. It is precisely for that reason that nothing is working in Nigeria. When President Jonathan promised transformation, we didn’t know that was the kind of transformation he was talking about. Even the N300 billion the late President Yar’Adua released for the transformation of the Niger Delta shortly before he got incapacitated – no one knows what has happened to that money. The total amount that the PTF used to make all that difference was about half that amount.

 And then to add insult to injury, President Jonathan instructed poor Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State to appoint his wife a permanent secretary. That was after he had scandalously awarded his spiritual leader, Tompolo, the contract for maritime security. One day, time will come when Nigerians will publicly be told the real relationship between Jonathan, the commander-in-chief of Nigeria’s armed forces, with a militant (whether former or current) whose operations had killed several members of the armed forces. Nigerians and indeed several discerning foreigners I relate with lately are so, so confused about this. Yes, it is so confusing.

 And it is important that President Jonathan should know that free speech is one of the appurtenances of democracy. Just like free press and freedom of association, such right cannot be abridged in a democracy. Assault on free speech is fast becoming a habit of the Jonathan government. The president wants to be able to do just whatever he likes and even misbehave and no one should talk about it? He wants to expend N2.6 trillion on fake fuel subsidy payments in an election year after the National Assembly had appropriated N245 billion and Pastor Bakare has no right to say President Jonathan’s destiny is to bankrupt Nigeria? Last year, Nasir el-Rufai, another opposition politician, was detained at the airport because of his critical writings against the president, and, in 2011, before the elections, Bola Tinubu was invited by the SSS because he said, referring to Jonathan, that Nigerians should not pay attention to the words of a drunken fisherman in the creeks. That was in direct response to Jonathan calling ACN a bunch of “rascals,” when he said the “south-west was too important to be left to rascals”. Of course, the south-west people responded accordingly by completely voting out Jonathan and Obasanjo’s party out of their domain.

 It is very difficult for anyone who loves Nigeria to simply keep quiet about the way the country is currently being run. Pastor Bakare has only helped the president to know exactly how Nigerians feel about him. The pastor has also said that a major revolt is imminent in Nigeria because of the way the country is run, especially the wanton manner in which the nation’s wealth is being plundered.

 The president has insinuated by his body language that he really doesn’t give a damn. President Jonathan should know that he is writing his own history by the way he is running Nigeria. And that is why he must change his direction forthwith and start giving a damn

THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN THE ONGOING NIGERIA'S DEMOCRATIC EFFORTS

BY

 Prof. Clement Olusegun Olaniran Kolawole

 Dean, Faculty of Education

 University of Ibadan

 Ibadan

 Being a keynote address delivered at the 2012 Annual Distinguished Personality Lecture of the Association of Graduate Students of Political Science, Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan.

Introduction

 Nigeria returned to the path of democratic governance in 1999 after being under military rule for close to seventeen years. Between that time and now, Nigeria has been trying to improve on its elections and the general practice of democracy. The effort that is being made in the country to improve democratic governance involves every stakeholder including the youth that constitute the largest number of voters in the geographical entity that is called Nigeria. Thus the topic of today's lecture is therefore topical and very relevant because it affords us the opportunity to take a critical look at the role of a critical segment of the society in sustaining democracy. Before attempts are made to discuss the role of youth in the development of any nation, it is imperative for us to take a look at what we mean by youth and democracy.

 Youth is a stage that marks out a toddler from an adult. It is a that everybody sees as being critical for impact making in any country. That is why it is commonly said that any country that fails to develop its youth is planning to undermine its future. By age distribution in Nigeria and it most other countries, youth constitute a significant percentage of people that are available to be mobilised to national development. Information has it that 70% of the population are youths. Similarly, Ashima remarked that 41.05% of the population in China are youth. Youth which has been described as the future of any country, has been classified to be a stage where people are more daring, adventurous, aggressive, impetuous and full of passion for anything they believe in or whatever they have come to identify with. In the word of Hackney (2011), youth is the largest age group in Fiji within the population of the country. The implication of this importance of youth in any country therefore is that they are very central to the achievement of any developmental agenda a country can set for itself.

 From what we have observed in all the areas of interest in the world, it is clear that youths are the driving for behind them. Thus, we need to make concerted efforts to ensure that our youth are helped to acquire knowledge, adequate skills and competences, experience and democratic principles that will enable them to play the critical role expected of them. The situation in Nigeria is so critical that we cannot, in all honesty, fail to take advantage of the potentials of our youth in our democratic journey.

 Youth and Democracy

 If the popular definition of democracy being the government of the people, by the people and for the people is to make sense, it is important to emphasize that youth have to be fully involved in the process. Can it be rightly said that we can afford to ignore 70% of our population in a movement that is largely driven by number? This is why today, all the political, parties have youth wings and are making frantic effort to enlist the army of youth, most of who are hungry, poorly educated, grossly underemployed, as members. This is understandably so because it is easy for youth to help political parties in their campaigns and general mobilisation and electioneering activities. The experiment in Nigeria since we returned to democracy has shown that our colleagues have not been the best that we expect them to be. We all remember the four million man march in support of Abacha's plan to become a civilian President during his despotic rule in the country. Though he did not succeed, he had the support of most youth who had been recruited into his army. Of course, we easily remember the role of the garrison commander in Ibadan in the recent past. He succeeded largely because most youth easily yielded themselves to be used as thugs by him and many politicians like him. It is a fact that we cannot easily controvert that take the youth out of political violence, there will be nobody to carry out all the schemings of bad politicians in our country. From the foregoing therefore, it is important for us to look at the role youth can better play in the ongoing democratic effort in Nigeria.

 What roles for youth in the current democratic effort in Nigeria?

 There is no gainsaying the fact that youth in Nigeria have several enviable roles they can play in the promotion of sustainable democracy in the country. But before we proceed to highlight some of the roles, it is important for us to stress that youth have to realize that no government can take them seriously or plan meaningfully for them as long as they, youth, are at the beck and calls of politicians when it comes to doing evil, committing crimes and being used to subvert the electoral system. For youth to be on the vanguard of democracy, they have to believe in democracy, have to be well educated and informed and be willing to defend democracy. If our youth are not educated and willing to defend democracy, it will be easy for politicians to continue to use them for their selfish ends.

 The following are therefore some of the roles that youth can play in the ongoing democratization efforts in Nigeria.

 - They are defenders of democracy. This is because we all know that democracy is the best system of government anywhere in the world because it affords us the opportunity to freely express ourselves. We therefore have to be on the vanguard to make sure it is not bastardized by selfish people. Youth are always on the receiving end each time democracy suffers.

 - Youth have to be actively involved in the workings of democracy by being active participants. They have to belong to political parties, make their voice heard in policy formulation and implementation. There is a popular Yoruba adage which goes thus, 'aisi nine, ni nko ba won da si'. Literally meaning that it is because I was not there that I have not made any contribution to what was being discussed. Youth have suffered greatly in this country that they have to be more actively involved now. Currently, there is the Ministry of Youth and Development and it has to really belong to the youth.

 - Youth have to drive the wheel of democracy by insisting on democracy working in Nigeria the way it has worked or is working in other countries such as UK, USA, France, Ghana, Egypt and South Africa and many others. We have to educate ourselves through a programme like this, help ourselves to prevent a situation where we surrender ourselves to be used to frustrate democracy and democratic governance in Nigeria.

 - We must be ready to prevent a distortion of the electoral process at all levels in Nigeria. We are aware of the fact that most youth have been used to rig elections, snatch ballot boxes, falsify figures and perform other criminal activities for the sake of money. We must be quick to remind ourselves that we fall easy prey each time the tide changes and those who some of us work for get to power.

 - We have to use our social network to wage war against all the enemies of democracy because it is democracy that can guarantee equitable distribution of resources, political patronage and development in a pluralistic Nigeria of today. It is when we fully deploy our numerical advantage in a democracy that we will begin to benefit maximally in the ongoing democratic efforts.

 - It is important to be reminded that when we find ourselves in political offices either as elected representatives of our people or we occupy an office, we should remember that we are holding such offices in trust for the teaming mass of youth in our land. We therefore have to ensure that the confidence reposed in us is not misplaced. There is evidence to support the claim that the youth in Nigeria have never had it so good. But I just hope that we will not betray the trust our people have in us through avarice and corruption.

 - Youth can stand for elective positions, campaign very hard and win elections. That can then give them ample opportunity to make the situation of things better. There is nothing that can be better than a situation where we are directly involved in governance.

 Conclusion

 There is no doubt that the role that youth can play in the ongoing democratization efforts in Nigeria is enormous. It is also a fact that several Nigerian youth are playing major roles in the drive, one can wish that they will not allow themselves to be misled by their youthful exuberance to make them abuse the privilege they are currently enjoying.

 Thanks for your attention.

Nigerian government authorities involved in the $6bn fuel subsidy fraud

by Philip Odoemena — April 24, 2012

Nigeria’s parliament is to discuss a report said to reveal that $6bn (£4m) has been defrauded from the fuel subsidy fund in the past two years.

 “A member of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Subsidy Management, Dr. Ali Ahmad,  has alleged that companies owned by  past and serving governors, ministers and top politicians were involved in the fuel subsidy scam.

The  Farouk Lawan House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the Management of Fuel Subsidy had in its report alleged monumental fraud in fuel  subsidy payments”. Punch

The debate will be televised live – and make official findings that have been widely leaked in recent days.

The fuel sector probe was set up in the wake of angry nationwide protests in January after the government tried to remove a fuel subsidy.

Nigeria is a major oil producer but has to import most of its fuel.

The 205-page parliamentary report uncovers a long list of alleged wrongdoings involving oil retailers, Nigeria’s Oil Management Company and the state Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.

According to the leaks, a total of 15 fuel importers collected more than $300m two years ago without importing any fuel, while more than 100 oil marketers collected the same amount of money on several occasions.

The leaked report also says that officials in the government of President Goodluck Jonathan were among those who benefited from the subsidy fund.

Many of the people named in the document have denied any involvement in fraud, with some taking out full-page adverts proclaiming their innocence in local newspapers.

Many Nigerians were livid when they were told by their government that the fuel subsidy was economically unsustainable – only to now find out the scale of fraud in the operation of the fund, our correspondent says.

Despite being a major oil producer, Nigeria has not invested in the infrastructure needed to produce refined fuel, so has to import much of its petrol.

The annual $8bn subsidy means prices are lower than in neighboring countries – and correspondents say many Nigerians see cheap fuel as the only benefit they get from their country’s oil wealth, much of which is pocketed by corrupt officials.

After a week of street protests and a general strike, the government agreed to restore some of the subsidy – and reduce the pump price of petrol to 97 naira (about $0.60) per liter after it had doubled to 140 naira when the subsidy was removed without warning on 1 January.

But President Jonathan defended the subsidy cut, saying Nigeria must either “deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy regime that will continue to undermine our economy.”

Sources: BBCNews, Punch

ASSASSINATIONS IN NIGERIA:

By Philip Odoemena, Publisher/Editor, Aroundtownusa.com

THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN YET

Political assassinations in Nigeria! What a price to pay for politics. With all the political killings currently going on in Nigeria, isn’t apparent that voter apathy may become all time high and voter turn out may become all time low? Conventional wisdom could assume that voters may decide not to vote on election days. at least for fear of one’s life. With all these in mind, several questions may come to mind. Does politics matter any more? Is political killing a threat to democracy? The answer to the first question is in the affirmative.

Yes, politics matters, more than ever in Nigeria, nothing could be farther from the truth, politics does matter. And the second question is even mind wrecking. Have we not been thought that killing a human being is a sin against God? Why is it then that political killings, disappearances, and torture are the order of the day in Nigeria? Isn’t true that politics for murder is unlawful, and is capable of causing devastating damage to the Nigerian society. Isn’t true that political killing is felonious and is an anatomy of genocide at its highest point?

Only three and half years into democracy, Nigeria is becoming the world’s least democratic democracy. Big money or money politics is showing that our politicians have short-term special interests rather than long-term national interest. These assassinations are only the beginning of the first hurdles in an obstacle course built by the “do or die” disconnected, selfish and purposeless desperate politicians. What a society. Every political assassination has many stories. A nation where the “young” democracy is at best a hopeless fiction, and most politicians are collaborators by necessity. What is Nigeria portraying to the rest of the world: a dark atmospheric portrait of a nation?

The question everyone is asking now is; who could be murdering these politicians? If you are looking for factual or serious investigative accounts of these killings, I suggest that you don’t hold your breath. More likely than not, all you can get might be some meandering and disjointed accounts, full of incomprehensible references, and sometimes, with an overwhelming tone of arrogance, everyone accusing everyone else. Has the few years of democracy made it possible for Nigerian politicians to become that cruel to each other? Would this become the Nigerian way of life every four years?

Having gone through civil war, military regimes, social crises, religious problems and ethnic conflicts, how could one be insane enough to be killing human beings for purely political reasons? A nation with a severely corrupt political and legal system, in addition to, a desperately poor populace has more serious problems to contend with than killing innocent politicians. After all, most of these assassinated politicians had contributed one way or another to the good of the society. Termination of their lives for political reasons is rather highly unfortunate. Nigeria does not need political candidates for murder. It does not need political warfare academy either. What it needs are politicians who can move the nation forward.

Nigeria already has a history of been a blood-drenched nation. Why killing more people in the name of politics. A country cannot continue endless catalogue of bloodbaths and genocides and still hope for progress. Political murder is a terrible crime against God and humanity. It is also explosive and shattering tragedy that has the potential to become a vicious circle. People may think that these killings are signs of human psyche gone temporarily berserk. It does not look like it. People who think that these assassinations are perpetrated by nutty people need to think deeper. The question is, among the politicians, who are safe and who is dangerous? In times like this, none of the politicians are one hundred percent protected from the flashes of irrational political violence that can erupt from the killers among themselves at any given time.

Irrespective of the political tragedies and democratic injustice that are present in the current polity, politics does matter. There are viable choices at the polls and countless crucial reasons to vote. The fact that political assassinations have the propensity to strangle new political voices, new ideas, and new leadership, and may even force voters off the ballot boxes and out of the public mainstream is excellent reason to make one’s vote count. The current trend of events is by no means the right way to give a much-needed new political direction to our country. For the few proud Nigerians, dot not dismay, take a political stand at this crucial stage. Be proud because you have faith in God. Be proud because you have the choice to vote for the candidate with which your soul deeply agrees. And that is all you can do.

Religious hatred, poverty behind Nigeria violence

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved


JOS, Nigeria—Christians and Muslims once shared their lives together in Nigeria's fertile central belt, buying each other's goods in mixed neighborhoods and cultivating each other's farms across a sun-baked plateau.
But growing religious hatred, political and ethnic rivalries, and increasing poverty have led to two outbursts of savage violence already this year. Men, women, children and even babies were butchered, and that harmony seems lost forever.
Now, many people carry weapons and man impromptu road blocks, fearful of the military, the police and each other.
Sunday's bloodshed was mostly about revenge: Christian villages near the city of Jos were attacked before dawn, less than two months after Muslims were targeted and a mosque torched. Hundreds had been killed in January, their corpses stuffed into wells and sewage pits.
Survivors of the weekend attack say simple, one-room houses were set ablaze, the flames illuminating villages that have no electricity. Residents, mostly of the minority Berom ethnic group, ran from their burning homes. Assailants with machetes were waiting. Many of those who were cut down were children. At least 200 people died.
One 20-year-old man arrested for allegedly taking part in Sunday's attacks said his family members died at the hands of rioters in January. Of those who were attacked on Sunday, he said: "There are some people that kill all our parents. We went to avenge what they did to us."
Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Sunni Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. The recent bloodshed has been happening in central Nigeria, where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of the nation's fertile "middle belt."
"Jos is a mini-Nigeria. All segments of Nigeria are here," said state police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba.
After the January violence, human rights groups said text messages had been sent with the addresses of mosques and churches. Texts also offered instructions on how to dispose of bodies. One read: "Kill them before they kill you."
Survivors said the weekend attackers asked people "Who are you?" in Fulani, a language used mostly by Muslims, and killed those who did not answer back in Fulani.
Aduba, though, said some attackers had been paid by organizers to commit the killings Sunday, but he declined to give any specifics.
National leaders appear to have little control over this region in Africa's most populous nation. The police and army failed to prevent these horrific massacres. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan promised security forces will bring the city and outlying areas where 1 million people live under control, but many of Jos' Protestant Christians fear the Muslim-dominated police force and military.
Local youths armed with kitchen knives and machetes have formed self-protection gangs in neighborhoods and scrutinize each passing vehicle
Sixty kilometers (38 miles) from Jos, in the village of Ku-Got, men armed with machetes, homemade swords, slingshots, and bows and arrows stand guard amid arid cornfields. Barricades made of boulders and cacti manned by frightened locals block many roads. Nigerian security forces rarely, if ever, patrol these areas. They're usually beyond cell phone range and there's no electricity.
"It's clear these people are unprotected here. If you have to carry a bow and arrows in your own town, you are unprotected," said Mark Lipdo, who leads a Christian foundation in Jos.
Despite once working on farms belonging to the Muslim Fulani ethnic group, the Berom people of Ku-Got now look out over the silhouetted mountains and worry that armed Fulani herders will be coming down the ridge. Villagers say they buried two old women killed by Fulani raiders Sunday. The attackers razed their homes, broke a glass pulpit at the Christian church and destroyed the community's only satellite television receiver.
"They want to inherit the land," said the Rev. Joshua T. Dafom, who preaches at the church. "They want to wipe us out to inherit the land to graze their animals."
Fulani community leader Sale Bayari denied that Fulanis took part in Sunday's killings.
He says groups of armed Fulanis now guard their herds of cattle rather than watching over their animals alone and unarmed as they once did. The men fear another "guerrilla war" against the ethnic group that left many of them dead during the January rioting.
Bayari says they are prepared: "My people have an instinct for survival," he said.
Bayari is being sought by police for allegedly inciting the Sunday attacks. He spoke to The Associated Press by mobile telephone from a neighboring state.
Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital, has long been known as "The Home of Peace and Tourism." It has unspoiled savannas, wild animals like leopards and hippos, waterfalls and curious rock outcroppings. But the monicker is now a sad irony.
Jos was also once a hub for tin mining, but its economic fortunes have waned in the last decades. Muslims are locked out of stable government jobs because the state views them as settlers, not Christian "indigenes." Christians have a strained relationship with the Hausa-speaking Muslims who run businesses and live in the region.
All these tensions boiled over in September 2001 in rioting that killed more than 1,000 people. Mobs of Christian young men roved the streets of Jos, asking people if they were Christian or Muslim. When a person answered Muslim, the mob would attack with knives, machetes and sticks.
Another convulsion of violence hit in 2004, in which 700 people were killed. More than 300 residents died during a similar upheaval in 2008.
Now, instead of talk of peace, there is talk of more revenge and of pre-emptive attacks.
"Plateau state has become a jungle," Bayari said.

Nigerian Terrorism

So what exactly is terrorism? There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. It is terrorism if you are on the receiving end, but something else if it benefits you! According to one definition, it is the systematic use of terror to coerce or force people or an individual to do something. Terror, is Fear. So terrorism is the use of fear to achieve an aim  Nigerians calls MEND and Boko Haram, two terrorist organizations, terror groups but to the majority of Niger Delta and some Northerners sympathizers, they are the only way they can fight what they see as Federal Governments insensitivity to their plight and the Northern Government neglect of its people. So who is a terrorist? When does a person become a terrorist? The sad thing about the world we live in is that the same individual or group, could be labelled as a terrorist or a freedom fighter, by the same source, at different times, under different circumstances the lines are blurred when it comes to defining anything and with terrorism, one man's definition of terrorism, is another man's definition of a freedom fighter or patriot. Which brings me to the article i stumbled upon in the Vanguard Newspaper

Nigeria: Terrorism Trial - Intrigues as Ndume Names VP Namadi Sambo

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, 25 March 2012

The ongoing trial of the sitting lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Mohammed Ali Ndume, over his alleged romance with the Jamaatu Ahlil Sunna Lidawati wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram terrorist sect, may have assumed a dangerous dimension, considering that the accused person has sworn before a Federal High Court in Abuja that the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, was fully aware of his relationship with the sect.

While challenging the legal competence of the 4-count criminal charge that was entered against him by the Federal Government, Ndume, through a 24-paragraph affidavit he attached in support of his motion seeking to quash the charge, admitted having telephone exchanges with members of the Jammatul Sunnah Walid Jihad though denied furnishing them with classified information that has aided their terrorist operations in the country.

The embattled lawmaker who said the first telephone exchange between him and the sect was on October 4, 2011, insisted that the reason the sect approached him was as a result of his being a member of the Presidential Committee that was inaugurated on August 2, 2011, with a view to addressing the security challenges in the North Eastern part of the nation.

It would be recalled that Ndume was arrested by the States Security Services, SSS, on November 21, after a self-confessed spokesman of the sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, fingered him as one of the major sponsors of the sect.

He was docked before the high court on December 12, 2011, and subsequently released on bail after he had spent 26-days in detention.

He was specifically accused of violating sections 7(1) (b) and 3(b) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011, by not only disclosing classified information to the terrorist group, but also furnishing them with phone numbers of top government officials, including that of the Attorney General of the Federation.

Though the embattled lawmaker pleaded not guilty to the allegation, the federal government alleged that he had "on or about the 4th day of October, 2011 somewhere between Maiduguri and Abuja, being in possession of the mobile phone number of Ali Sanda Umar Konduga (alias Usman AI- Zawahiri), a terrorist spokesman of the Boko Haram sect which you know to be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of the said Ali Umar Konduga, did fail to disclose same information to a law officer as soon as reasonably practicable and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 7(1)(b) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 7( 1) of the same Act."

Government further alleged that though the sect notified the accused person of their intention to attack judges of the Borno State Election Petition Tribunal and the National Assembly, he failed to disclose the information to security agencies, adding that he used an MTN GSM line, 08035998045, to send telephone numbers of certain public officers including the AGF, to the Boko Haram spokesman for the purpose of sending terrorist text messages to them.

Investigations by Department 'C' had revealed that among those billed to testify against him included the said self-confessed spokesman of the sect, Konduga, who was earlier sentenced to three years imprisonment by an Abuja Chief Magistrate court which also ordered that he should be remanded in the custody of the SSS pending the conclusion of investigation into the alleged conviviality between the sect and the lawmaker.

Meanwhile, in his bid to exculpate himself from the charge, Ndume, in the affidavit which was deposed on his behalf by one Hauwa Abubakar, a legal practitioner in the chambers of his lead counsel, Messrs Rickey Tarfa, SAN, read in part:

"The said Presidential Committee was mandated amongst other terms of reference, to consider any other initiatives that will serve to engender enduring peace and security in the area.

The committee swung into action with a mandate inter alia to dialogue with, negotiate with and arrive at an amicable settlement with the said "Boko Haram" sect.

"He was contacted via phone by people who claimed to be members of the Jammatul Sunnah Walid Jihad (otherwise known as 'Boko Haram') as a result of being a member of the Presidential Committee to find amicable settlement to the issue of security confronting the nation.

"His first contact with the said Jammatul Sunnah Walid Jihad (otherwise known as 'Boko Haram') was in the course of his national assignment on the security challenges in the North East of the country. "He has never been a member of the Boko Haram and never provided logistics such as telephone numbers to the said terrorist sect or any member(s) of the said sect or any Ali Sanda Umar Konduga.

"He never received any information from Ali Umar Konduga on planned attacks on judges of the Borno State Election Tribunal. The first time he was contacted by one Ali was on 4th of October, 2011 after his inauguration as a member of the said Presidential Committee and in the course of his assignment on the security challenges in North East.

"He promptly informed one Usman, who represented the State Security Service before the Presidential Committee of his contact with the said Jammatul Sunnah Walid Jihad (otherwise known as 'Boko Haram' sect) and also other members of the committee.

"He also informed the Director of State Security Service of his interaction with the said "Boko Haram" sect and forwarded a copy of the DVD he obtained from the sect to the Director of SSS for review.

"The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Namadi Sambo, is also aware that he was in contact with the Jammatul Sunnah Walid Jihad (otherwise known as 'Boko Haram').

"All actions taken by him with respect to the "Boko Haram" were for and on behalf of the said Presidential Committee as he was mandated by the said Committee. Before his appointment as a member of the Committee, he never had any contact with the said sect or any member or in possession of the telephone numbers of any member of the sect.

"I know of a fact that the charge as constituted is an abuse of court process. There is no offence disclosed against the Accused /Applicant in the proof of evidence.

"The proof of evidence does not disclose any prima facie case against the Accused/ Applicant. There is nothing to link the accused with the alleged offences committed as stated on the charge.

"The Complainant/Respondent will not be prejudiced by the grant of the reliefs sought in this application. It is in the interest of justice to grant this application", he added.

Having raised allegations against the Vice President, Sambo, and the Director of the SSS, Nigerians are watching to see how the Attorney General of the Federation is going to handle the matter since no one is presumed to be above the law.

If indeed Ndume is facing trial over his alleged non disclosure of information to security agencies pertaining to planned attacks by the terrorist sect, what then should be the fate of any one found to have acted as an accessory to the alleged crime?

Will the AGF summon the VP to appear before the trial court to exonerate himself over the allegation meted against him by the accused person? How far can the Federal Government really go on this one? Is this trial another wild-goose chase?

These are pressing questions that should be answered in due course.

I CONCLUDE

The truth is, at the end of the day, one man's terrorist is another man's patriot or freedom fighter! So the altimate question is is Senator Ndume a patriot or a terrorist,  We will watch and see what he will become

GOD BLESS NIGERIA,

The Kidnap Of Umaru Dikko: The Full Story

Written by Max Siollun

Over the next few weeks, I will be revisiting the controversial attempt to kidnap Umaru Dikko in 1984. Dikko was one of the most powerful and notorious figures in the government of President Shagari between 1979 and 1983. This is the first of a three part series which recounts the circumstances, timing and details of the kidnap. 

Umaru Dikko
Alhaji Umaru Abdurrahaman Dikko was born on December 31, 1936 in the small villageof Wamba, close to Zariain Kaduna State. As a young man Dikko worked for the BBC’s Hausa service. He has been at the vanguard of northern Nigerian politics since the 1960s when, then as a promising young politician he was instrumental in (i) mobilizing northern public opinion against Nigeria’s first military government headed by Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, and (ii) he was also secretary of the committee of northern politicians that toured the north to build support for the creation of states across the federation in 1966.  By the time civilian democratic rule was restored in 1979, Dikko had matured into a wily and experienced politician.
Background: Corruption in the 1980s
The early 1980s were marked by spectacular government corruption. It is not that corruption did not exist before, but that it was amplified due to greater availability of funds.  Since there was more money around, the asking price for kickbacks rose correspondingly and the corruption became unashamedly brazen. It was claimed that over $16 billion in oil revenues were lost between 1979 and 1983 during the reign of President Shagari. Government ministry buildings would mysteriously burst into flames just before audits, making it impossible to discover written evidence of corruption. President Shagari later claimed that he pleaded with his ministers to stop embezzling state funds but was simply ignored. The exasperated Shagari said he simply gave up and prayed over the matter. No politician symbolized the graft and avarice under Shagari’s government more than the combative Transport Minister Umaru Dikko. Stories regarding Dikko’s corruption are legion. One such instance arises in the biography of an American contractor that had a contract with the Nigerian government. When the government was not performing its obligations under the contract, the contractor took his complaint directly to Dikko. After listening to the contractor’s complaints, Dikko went into an adjacent room and emerged moments later with a suitcase full of money which the contractor estimated at approximately half a million US dollars. Dikko then said words to the effect that if the deal could be done a little “differently” life would be easier for both of them. Realizing that he would be in Dikko’s pocket forever if he accepted, the contractor wisely refused the offer (Life Is an Excellent Adventure: An Irreverent Personal Odyssey, by Jerry Funk).
Apart from being the Transport Minister, Dikko also headed a notorious presidential task force charged with alleviating food shortages by distributing imported rice.  The task force was accused of hoarding rice to artificially exacerbate existing food shortages in order to drive prices up further, and of issuing import licenses to businessmen with connections to the ruling NPN party. Dikko’s name became synonymous with corruption. In many ways Dikko became the 1980s answer to first republic Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh who was similarly disliked by army officers (leading to his assassination during a military coup in 1966). The comparison was not fanciful. Dikko was the ultimate personification and symbol of 1980s corruption and shady deals in Nigeria. He perhaps thought himself untouchable because he was President Shagari’s brother-in-law and had the President’s ear. Stories have been told of how Dikko would follow Shagari around after major policy decisions so as to ensure that Shagari would not change his mind, and to ensure that each day, his was the last opinion that Shagari heard.
Dikko also had a way of rubbing people the wrong way. At a time of soaring inflation, scarce commodities and falling oil prices, Dikko’s contribution to a debate about poverty in Nigeria was to remark that things were not so bad, since after all Nigerians were not yet eating out of dustbins. He managed to antagonize even his colleagues in the ruling NPN. The NPN had an elaborate zoning system for the distribution of government portfolios - including the presidency. Since the presidency had been zoned to President Shagari (from the north), the multi-billionaire businessman, Moshood Abiola hoped he would benefit from the NPN’s zoning system. Abiola assumed that when President Shagari’s term of office expired, the NPN would “zone” the presidency to the south, and he would be allowed to run for President. He was wrong. When Abiola articulated his presidential ambition, he was rebuffed by Dikko who told him that “the presidency is not for sale to the highest bidder”. Abiola “retired” from politics soon after – totally exasperated with the NPN. Abiola was however to remerge from the shadows to play a key role in Nigeria’s political history.

Dikko and the Military
Dikko also made himself unpopular not just with the public, colleagues and the press, but also with military officers. Given his high profile in the government and scandalous corruption, Dikko knew that if a military coup occurred, he would be a marked man. He kept tabs on senior military officers by ordering covert surveillance on them. Dikko was playing a dangerous game given that the senior echelons of the armed forces officer corps were highly politicised and loaded with officers with significant coup plotting or military regime experience. Among such officers included the Director of Staff Duties and Plans Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, the GOC of the 3 armoured Division in Jos Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, and brigade commander Brigadier Ibrahim Bako. There was political experience among the service chiefs too. Chief of Defence Staff Lt-General Gibson Jalo was a former SMC member, Chief of Army Staff Lt-General Mohammed Wushishi was the former Minister of Trade and Industries and Chief of Naval Staff Akin Aduwo was a former Military Governor. Babangida, Buhari, Jalo, Wushishi and Aduwo all served together under the military regime of General Obasanjo. Buhari complained to President Shagari that Dikko had ordered his movements to be monitored. Dikko had woken a sleeping tiger.
In October 1983 President Shagari was re-elected for his second and final term of office in an election that was marred by accusations of electoral malpractice.  His campaign was managed by his brother-in-law Dikko. The stage was set for another military rescue operation.
The Military Returns 
Around 2:30 a.m. on New Year's Day 1984, armed troops moved to strategic locations, set up roadblocks and took over the radio and television stations in Lagos. Communication lines were cut and airports, border crossings and ports were closed. In Abuja more troops moved to seal off the President's residence. At 7:00 a.m. normal programming was interrupted by martial music interspersed with the following broadcast by a hitherto unknown army officer:
“Fellow countrymen and women. I, Brigadier Sani Abacha, of the Nigerian army address you this morning on behalf of the Nigerian armed forces. 
You are all living witnesses to the great economic predicament and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. I am referring to the harsh, intolerable conditions under which we are now living. Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. We have become a debtor and beggar nation. There is inadequacy of food at reasonable prices for our people who are now fed up with endless announcements of importation of foodstuffs. Health services are in shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting clinics without drugs, water and equipment. Our educational system is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Unemployment figures including the undergraduates have reached embarrassing and unacceptable proportions. In some states, workers are being owed salary arrears of eight to twelve months and in others there are threats of salary cuts. Yet our leaders revel in squandermania, corruption and indiscipline, and continue to proliferate public appointments in complete disregard of our stark economic realities. 

 

After due consultations over these deplorable conditions, I and my colleagues in the armed forces have in the discharge of our national role as promoters and protectors of our national interest decided to effect a change in the leadership of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and form a Federal Military Government. This task has just been completed. The Federal Military Government hereby decrees the suspension of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979 relating to all elective and appointive offices and representative institutions including the office of the President, state governors, federal and state executive councils, special advisers, special assistants, the establishment of the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly including the formation of political parties. 

 

Accordingly, Alhaji Shehu Usman Shagari ceases forthwith to be the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. All the incumbents of the above named offices shall, if they have not already done so, vacate their formal official residences, surrender all government property in their possession and report to the nearest police station in their constituencies within seven days. The clerk of the National Assembly, the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, within two weeks, render account of all the properties of the National Assembly. All the political parties are banned; the bank account of FEDECO and all the political parties are frozen with immediate effect. All foreigners living in any part of the country are assured of their safety and will be adequately protected. Henceforth, workers not on essential duties are advised to keep off the streets. All categories of workers on essential duties will, however, report at their places of work immediately. 

 

With effect from today, a dusk to dawn curfew will be imposed between 7pm and 6am each day until further notice. All airways flights have been suspended forthwith and all airports, seaports, and border posts closed. External communications have been cut. The Customs and Excise, Immigration and the Police will maintain vigilance and ensure watertight security at the borders. The area administrators or commanders will have themselves to blame if any of the wanted people escape. Fellow countrymen and women, the change in government has been a bloodless and painstaking operation and we do not want anyone to lose his or her life. People are warned in their own interest to be law abiding and to give the Federal Military Government maximum cooperation. Anyone caught disturbing public order will be summarily dealt with. 

 

For avoidance of doubt, you are forewarned that we shall not hesitate to declare martial law in any area or state of the federation in which disturbances occur. Fellow countrymen and women and comrades at arms, I will like to assure you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is ready to lay its life for our dear nation but not for the present irresponsible leadership of the past civilian administration. You are to await further announcements. Good morning.”
It was the monotone voice of Brigadier Sani Abacha, the commander of the 9th mechanised brigade in Ikeja. Nigerians had heard such messages from uniformed men before. On the last day of 1983, President Shehu Shagari was overthrown in an almost bloodless military coup as the army abandoned the barracks once again in order to “save this nation from imminent collapse”. The only casualty of the coup was Brigadier Ibrahim Bako who was shot while trying to arrest President Shagari in Abuja. The coup was financed by an extremely wealthy southern businessman that Dikko had upset earlier. The new military Head of State was the officer that Dikko had so antagonised earlier: Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. Dikko’s problems were just beginning.
Mossad boss Nahum Admoni felt that London was the most likely hideaway for Dikko. London was a favourite haunt of Nigerian fugitives from justice. They were typically Anglophile and had residences in the most affluent areas of London. Some Mossad agents set up base in London along with Nigerian Major (retired) Mohammed Ahmadu Jarfa Yusufu. Yusufu was a 40 year old former army officer. After the military coup that overthrew Shagari he was transferred to the Nigerian Ministry of External Affairs and posted to Nigeria’s High Commission in the UK on May 1984. Although Yusufu entered the UK on a diplomatic passport, the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office was not notified that he was a member of the Nigerian diplomatic mission. Clearly, he had been planted for the specific purpose of taking part in the Dikko operation.
Two separate groups of undercover agents worked underground among London’s Nigerian community. The search was narrowed to west London where many Nigerian officials had opulent residences purchased with embezzled Nigerian state funds. The Dikko trail seemed to be running cold until a chance encounter during the summer of 1984. On June 30, 1984 a Mossad agent spotted a man fitting Dikko’s description in London’s wealthy Bayswater neighbourhood. The agent surreptitiously followed Dikko on foot to a house at number 49 Porchester Terrace. For several days the house was continuously watched by the agents, and Dikko’s routine and movements were noted.
Logistics
The plans for Dikko’s capture were assembled by a small team. It involved making arrangements to capture, anaesthetise, and then transport Dikko out of the UK to Nigeria to face trial. Dr Levi-Arie Shapiro was a 43 year old Israeli national, a consultant and director of the intensive care unit at Hasharon hospital in Tel Aviv. “Lou” Shapiro was also a reserve Major in the Israeli army. Shapiro was recruited into the plot by a 27 year old Mossad field officer named Alexander Barak who gave him money to purchase anaesthetics which would be used to stupefy Dikko. Barak was from the Israeli coastal town of Netanya and came from a family of diamond dealers. Another Mossad field officer named Felix Abithol (31 years old) arrived in London on July 2, 1984 and checked into the Russell Square hotel. Meanwhile Major Yusufu hired a van which would be used to convey Dikko once he had been captured. Strangely, Yusufu’s men opted to hire a bright conspicuous canary yellow van.
On July 4, 1984 a Nigerian Airways Boeing 707 cargo plane flew in with no cargo from Lagos and landed at Stansted airport. The UK authorities were informed that the plane had come in to collect diplomatic baggage from the Nigerian High Commission in London. Several Nigerian security officers were onboard the plane and had orders not to leave the airport.
July 5, 1984
The next day Major Yusufu drove the van he had rented from Notting Hill Gate in west London and parked outside Dikko’s house on Porchester Terrace. With Yusufu in the van were Dr Shapiro, Barak and Abithol. Meanwhile, back at Stansted airport the Captain of the Nigerian Airways plan that landed the day before filed a departure time of 3pm and claimed that on its way back to Nigeria, the plane would be carrying “documentation” for the Nigerian Ministry of External Affairs. Diplomatic immunity was claimed for the “documentation”.
Porchester Terrace - Midday
Just before lunchtime Dikko emerged from the house in Porchester Terrace for a midday interview with a Ghanaian journalist named Elizabeth Akua Ohene. Ohene was then the editor of Talking Drum magazine but later became a Minister of State in Ghana’s Ministry of Education. As Dikko walked, two men burst out from the yellow van parked outside his house, grabbed him and forced him into the back of the van. Within seconds the van doors had closed and the van sped away at break-neck speed. Quick, surgical and precise, it was a typical Mossad operation. Inside the van Dikko was dumped on his back and handcuffed. After traversing through London’s busy streets the van eventually came to a halt. Dikko was initially relieved and thought his kidnappers had been stopped by the police. He was wrong. They had simply stopped to refuel. Dikko was told to keep quiet as his captors refuelled. At a predetermined rendezvous point near Regent’s Park, Dikko was transferred to a waiting lorry. Dr Shapiro went to work and injected Dikko in the arm and buttock with a powerful anaesthetic. Dikko lost consciousness.
However there was a hitch. Through a window Dikko’s secretary Elizabeth Hayes witnessed Dikko being bundled into the van. The astonished secretary managed to compose herself enough to quickly dial 999 (the UK’s emergency services number) and alerted the authorities of the incredible incident she just witnessed. Given Dikko’s profile as a former Nigerian government minister, the call was quickly escalated and within minutes police had arrived at the scene, closely followed by officers from Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist squad. The Foreign Office and the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were also alerted. All customs officials at airports, ports and border crossings were told to be extra vigilant with regard to Nigeria bound vessels.
There was a second hitch. When subsequently interviewed by Israel’s biggest selling newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Alexander Barak said "In retrospect, I found out that the main culprit had been Group Captain Banfa, formerly head of the Nigerian air force and now CEO of Air Nigeria. This guy was supposed, according to the plan, to meet at 9:00 A.M. with Yusufu and Dr. Shapiro at the apartment in London and give them the right documents and join us, to supervise the loading of the diplomatic crates at Stanstead Airport. But at the last minute Banfa got cold feet." The absence of the correct diplomatic documents would come back to haunt the kidnappers.
Back to Stansted Airport
By mid-afternoon on July 5, 1984 Dikko had been anaesthetised into unconsciousness by Dr Shapiro, locked into a crate and taken to Stansted airport. However at Stansted there was no visible sign of Dikko, Shapiro, Abithol or Barak. Instead a lorry ferried two crates to the airport. The lorry was escorted by two black Mercedes Benz cars bearing Nigerian diplomatic licence plates. Shortly before 3pm two crates labelled "diplomatic baggage" and addressed to the Nigerian Ministry of External Affairs in Lagos were being loaded onto the Nigerian Airways plane. The crates were 1.2 meters in height, 1.2 meters in depth and 1.5 meters in width. They were accompanied by Major Yusufu and a member of the Nigerian High Commission in London named Okon Edet. Having been warned by the security forces to be wary, customs officers were unusually inquisitive and vigilant.
A customs officer named Charles Morrow noticed an unusual medical smell (probably the powerful medical anaesthetic sodium pentathol) and a noise emanating from one of the crates. Although the 707 was minutes away from take off, this gave Morrow an excuse to use red tape to get a closer look at the crates. On the pretext that the crates did not have the correct official seal, Morrow insisted on having a closer look at them. Major Yusufu protested furiously that the crates were protected by diplomatic immunity and could not be searched. His vehement protests were dismissed and the customs officers opened the crates with a crowbar.
What they found inside was shocking. In the first case was a bound and unconscious Dikko with his torso bare. Dikko’s captors had shoved an endo-tracheal tube in his throat to prevent him from choking on his own vomit when he was out cold, but he was still alive. They wanted him brought to Nigeria alive rather than dead. Beside him was Dr Shapiro brandishing syringes and a supply of additional anaesthetics with which to administer replenishments to Dikko. Dr Shapiro asked the customs officers “Well gentlemen, what do we do now?”. Abithol and Barak were found in the second crate. Dikko was rushed to Hertfordshire and Essex Hospital in Bishops Stortford. He regained consciousness at midday the following day having been unconscious for 36 hours. He awoke totally oblivious to the ensuing drama and his dramatic rescue, and received treatment at the hospital under heavy police guard. Barak later blamed Nigerian air force officer Bernard Banfa for the plan’s failure.
Official Reaction
Britain was angry at the kidnap attempt on its soil. Nigeria’s sending of security agents to commit a crime within the borders of a friendly country was a hostile act of the highest magnitude. The Nigerian government played a straight bat and denied any involvement in the affair. Nigeria’s High Commissioner in London, Major-General Haladu Anthony Hannaniya claimed the incident was the work of ''some patriotic friends of Nigeria''. Hannaniya was formerly Nigeria’s military attaché at the Nigerian High Commission in London, but was promoted to High Commissioner when the military returned to power.
A Diplomatic Standoff
It was the turn of the British security forces to go to work. The Nigerian Airways 707 was detained by the police and was not permitted to take off. 17 people were also arrested on suspicion of complicity in Dikko’s kidnap. The 17 suspects included the 707 crew, Abithol, Barak and Yusufu. Nigeria retaliated swiftly. Forty-five minutes after a British Caledonian Boeing 747 flight took off from Lagos it was ordered back ''for security reasons''. The plane's 222 passengers were allowed to disembark and leave the airport, but the plane was held. This led to a days long standoff between Britain and Nigeria until Britain released the Nigerian 707 plane, and Nigeria eventually released the British Caledonian plane. However the damage had already been done and diplomatic relations between the two countries became badly strained. It was the worst diplomatic crisis between them since Nigeria expelled the British High Commissioner in Nigeria Sir Martin Le Quesne in the aftermath of the February 1976 coup, and Britain’s refusal to extradite General Gowon to Nigeria in connection with it.
Originally, the Dikko kidnap attempt was suspected to be the work of mercenaries. Foreign intelligence involvement became apparent only when the sophistication and daring of the plan was revealed. With the presence of Nigerian diplomatic passports and cars, the British police expanded the scope of their investigation and asked Nigeria to waive diplomatic immunity for its High Commission staff so they could be interrogated. Two members of Nigeria’s High Commission staff Peter Oyedele and Okon Edet were also arrested, and there was talk of calling in High Commissioner Hannaniya for questioning. Outraged at the treatment of its officials, the Nigerian government recalled Hannaniya to Lagos for consultations. The British government was pleased with the development, and as far as it was concerned, Hannaniya could stay there. It announced that Hannaniya would not be welcome back. The British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe went a step further and ordered the expulsion of Oyedele and Edet (the two Nigerian High Commission staff that were arrested as part of the investigation).
Trial and Punishment
Of the original 17 suspects, 4 were tried (Barak, Shapiro, Abithol and Yusufu). The legendary defence barrister George Carman QC represented the defendants. Sticking to the traditional Mossad response of denying involvement, the defendants argued that they were mercenaries acting on behalf of Nigerian businessmen. The judge did not believe them and was convinced that Mossad was involved. The judge told the jury that “The finger of involvement almost certainly points to Mossad”. Even Carman’s famed legal skills could not prevent the defendants’ conviction. The convicts were sentenced to the following prison sentences:
§ Alexander Barak - 14 years
§ Mohammed Yusufu – 12 years
§ Levi-Arie Shapiro - 10 years
§ Felix Abithol – 10 years
Postscript
All the other convicts have subsequently been freed. Barak was freed after serving 8 and half years of his 14 year sentence. Yusufu was freed in 1991 after serving 7 years of his 12 year sentence. Abithol and Shapiro were freed after serving 6 years of their 10 year sentence. Abithol, Barak and Shapiro were quietly deported to Israel after their release. The dramatis personae have since refused to comment on the matter. Barak later told the Israeli magazine Haaretz that "All those involved in this old story have embarked on new lives or have returned to their Maker, and I do not see any point in recycling the affair."
The fall out from the crisis led to a two year suspension of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Britain. The controversy also weakened Nigeria’s war on corruption by hardening British attitudes, and creating a pretext for Britain to refuse cooperation in Nigerian attempts to extradite and prosecute corrupt officials. After the kidnap, Nigeria submitted a formal request to Britain for Dikko’s extradition. The request was refused and Britain also refused to extradite other Nigerian fugitive politicians in the UK who Nigeria sought to prosecute for massive corruption (such as Richard Akinjide and Adisa Akinloye). It also complicated Nigeria’s economic relations at a time of falling oil prices and worsening economic conditions. The British government led by Margaret Thatcher responded to Nigerian government requests for debt rescheduling by threatening to publish the names of prominent Nigerians with bank accounts in the UK whose account balances were sufficient to pay off Nigeria’s national debt. This would probably have compromised the legitimacy of past and present highly placed officials. Full diplomatic relations between the countries were not restored until February 1986 when the government of Major-General Ibrahim Babangida came to power.
The role of Mossad, the Nigerian government and the NSO was never admitted by either of the Nigerian and Israeli governments. Dikko remained bitter and in 2001 took his case to the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa chaired Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission. Dikko accused the following of complicity in his abduction: air force officer Bernard Banfa (ex Nigeria Airways), Alhaji Lawal Rafindadi (former Director-General of Nigeria’s National Security Organization), Nigeria’s former High Commissioner in London Major-General Haladu Anthony Hannaniya and Lt-General T.Y. Danjuma. All the accused except Danjuma refused to appear before the Commission. Danjuma denied involvement in Dikko’s kidnap and he and Dikko reconciled during the Commission’s proceedings.
After recovering, Dikko remained in London for another 12 years. He was confined at home under police guard for a year. In exile he fulfilled a childhood ambition by qualifying as a barrister. Dikko was eventually invited back to Nigeria in 1995 by the military regime of General Sani Abacha (who was a member of the government which tried to kidnap and forcefully repatriate him in 1984). On his return he formed a political party called the United Democratic Party (UDP). Cynical Nigerians dubbed the party the “Umaru Dikko Party”. Dikko is still alive. He was a founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum and remains a prominent spokesman and non-governmental political figure.