YAShuaib

Category: Features

  • Arab World: Between Democracy and Monarchy

    Arab Leaders

    The crises ravaging some Arab countries due to the political crises instigated by a young Tunisian graduate who burnt himself have been in the front burner. The unprecedented protests and demonstrations following Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in protest against police corruption and ill-treatment in Tunisia have continued to vibrate in the Muslim World of the North Africa and the Middle-East.

    Surprisingly most of the countries that are hard-hit by the nationwide protests had sit-tight leaders who have outlived their usefulness in political systems that they claimed were democratic. The protests are largely about the need for democratisation rather than on high rate of unemployment or poverty level, except in Tunisia, where poor economic environment was a major factor for the revolution.

    Democracy is recognised as a system of government in which the people, through consensus or representations exercise equal control over issues affecting them as the citizens. Equality and freedom have been identified as important characteristics of democracy. The Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia on December 18, 2010 marked the beginning of what is now tagged the ‘Revolution’ or ‘Days of Rage’ in the Arab World. The incidence was followed by nationwide protest forcing the ousting of President Ben Ali and the resignation of Prime Minister Ghannouchi while political prisoners were released. The nationwide demonstration in Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign with a set of army officers leading the new cabinet.

    Similar incidences occurred in Algeria with major protests and road-blockings forcing the government to lift about two decade state-of-emergency imposed on that country. While President Saleh of Yemen promised not to seek re-election in the next election coming up in 2013, President Assad of Syria was quick to announce major reforms for political participation of the citizenry in government. Libya’s situation is dicey as the country continues to witness armed revolt and rebels’ occupations of major cities, turning the agitations into bloody and deadly confrontations between rebels and pro-Ghadafi after the resignation of top officials of government. While those leaders claim to be democrats, their Executive Powers are constitutionally linked to a single political movement in their respective countries which influence their dictatorial tendencies.

    Meanwhile in the same Arab World are countries that practice constitutional monarchy and yet their people enjoy the best of amenities and have high-standard of living. Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme authority is vested in a single individual and usually hereditary figure whose powers can be absolute or acts as ordinary figurehead. Though there are strict hereditary successions in some system, elective monarchies are found in some countries where an assembly of king-makers elects a new monarch out of a pool of eligible candidates. The Vatican is a clear example of this where the Pope, sovereignty of the Vatican City, as the head of State and the head of the Catholic Church, is elected by the College of Cardinals.

    A concept of constitutional monarchy is ascribed to modern kingdoms including that of United Kingdom. Absolute monarchy like in the Vatican is retained in Arab world and is practiced in Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab emirates. The monarch or the Head of Government in this regard personally exercises power in concert with other institutions.

    But looking at Arab countries that have constitutional monarchies, sometimes with absolute power bestowed on the rulers, they still have better systems with exciting welfare packages and favorable working environment where foreign investors and immigrants are proud to call second homes. We can associate those stable monarchies with their peaceful and tourist cities like Mecca, Dubai, Amman, Kuwait, Jiddah, Doha, Rabat among others that witness large influx of foreign investors and immigrants who eke out living from the conducive environments. The economies of those countries are more stable and better than most countries in Africa and Asia that practice democracy.

    Some monarchs, due to the current agitations in their regions, have conceded to provide more economic incentives and political reforms to further improve the well-being of their people. King Abdullah of Jordan was smarter as he sacked his Prime Minister after a minor demonstration and promised to undertake more reforms. The Sultan Qaboos of Oman announced major economic concession. King Abdullahi of Saudi Arabia on return to his country from medical treatment approved huge financial packages to stimulate the economy and provide more welfare to the people. While King Mohammed VI of Morocco provides Political concessions, King Hamad of Bahrain agrees to more economic concessions and improvement of welfare of the people.

    Some of those Arab countries, apart from their professed religion of Islam have huge oil reserves. They are among most-developed economies in their respective continents. Their exchange rates are stable and have high per capita income and gross domestic products (GDP). Apart from having relatively high Human Development Index, they are classified as high-income developing economies. Their investments at home and abroad are shining examples of how a government should serve the interest of its people and environments with stable power supply, flow of potable water, superb health facilities, standard educational system, cultural and political stability, good transportation, enviable housing schemes, buoyant economy and financial prudence that are attested to by global financial institutions.

    For an average African or Asian or even from particular European nations who lives in poverty-ridden and corrupt-infested society, any form of government could be welcomed if it could provide the basic necessity of life and good standard of living with resources to meet basic human needs.

    This article by Yushau A. Shuaib was originally published in March 2011 in some media including The Punch, Thisday, Daily Trust, People’s Daily, Leadership, National Mirror, Sunday Tribune, New Nigerian, Daily Independent and Daily Champion

  • In Defence of Abdulmutallab of Nigeria

    Abdul Mutallab of NigeriaAbdulMutallab of Nigeria

    In Defence of Abdul Mutallab of Nigeria – A Response to MEND – By Yushau A, Shuaib

    I extremely envy and admire the American and British governments and people for uniquely defending their citizens around the world, even when accused of criminality. They maintain the innocence of their citizens to ensure justice is done until decided otherwise by the court of law.

    Recently there was a case of Meredith Kercher, a British girl schooling in Rome who was killed by Amanda Knox, her American roommate over drug-induced sex game. The case was decided in Italy where the crime was committed. The American and British press actively engaged one another in campaigns to support their respective citizens in the case. At the end the American lady Amanda Knox who is 22, was sentenced to 26 years in an Italian prison for killing Meredith. The debate still goes on.

    The latest incident that gives us food for thought is that of Akmal Shaikh, a 53 years old British citizen, though of Asian origin who was executed by Chinese government for drug trafficking. Not only did the ordinary Britons and their press campaign for leniency in favour of the suspect, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown personally mounted a campaign that persuaded the European Union to strongly condemn the execution of British citizen who was put to death by lethal injection for trafficking four kilograms of heroin. Gordon Brown, as the leader spoke, wrote and pleaded with his counterpart in China before the execution, claiming that the convict suffered from bipolar disorder and was lured into carrying the drugs by the promise of a pop music career in China. The latest was a statement by EU deeply regretting that China did not heed repeated calls by Britain and the EU for clemency.

    The essence for the above scenarios is to point out that there is pride in defending the integrity of a country and its citizens, even as suspects pending the determination of cases against them in competent Courts of jurisdiction.

    The embarrassing attempted suicide bombing of a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam on Christmas Day by a young Nigerian; Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, caught the global community in unbelievable frenzy, because, Nigerians’ notoriety has never reached a level of suicide bombing. It is worthy to note that the father of the suspect is a respected banker and retired top public functionary in Nigeria who had alerted the relevant security agencies of his son’s untoward behaviour before the incident. This is an exemplary conducts which demonstrate that Nigerians and other Abdulmutallabs are not fanatical and insane to encourage or undertake unnecessary suicidal expedition.

    It is very unfortunate that immediately the news was broken that the bomb suspect was a Muslim from Northern Nigeria, many self-pride bloggers and commentators with hidden agenda use the incidence to attack a section of the country and adherents of Islamic faith. So painful was their insinuation that they poured out balderdash to call for secession of the country and rained insults on the family of young Abdulmutallab. In law, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a competent court, yet some Nigerians continued to sensationalise the incident with sectional and religious sentiments which exemplified our backwardness in public discourse. To one’s bewilderment, foreign media and analysts exhibit more constraint in associating the conduct of the child to the character of Nigeria just as President Barak Obama of USA, pointed out that the boy was trained and armed in a foreign land, Yemen.

    One of the organisations that shamelessly coloured the incident with sectional and religious undertone was the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), whose official statement on the suspect was to urge governments around the world to pay more attention to northern Nigeria, claiming that the region is a threat to world peace and “fertile ground” for international terrorism. They also provoke ember of hatred by insinuating that “for decades, Christians have been murdered and raped in northern Nigeria with impunity.” In essence, they are appealing to foreign forces to invade the North as if there are no Christians in Northern Nigeria.

    Won’t it sound unbecoming to associate social vices peculiar to some sections of the country to its people, because of the action of few who engage in international prostitution, drug trafficking, Sea Piracy, 419 fraudsters, armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom and the recruitment of young girls as baby-manufacturers in addition to ritual killings?

    The cowardly Niger Delta militants who have similar attributes of Somalian Sea pirates who are notorious in kidnapping the rich for ransom, oil bunkering, piracy, gun running, killing and destruction of the environment, their victims are foreigners and local people alike.

    The international community should realise that the MEND and their collaborators are the only criminally-inspired armed group in West Africa today that have attacked the interests of American, British and other nations exploring oil in Nigeria by kidnapping and killing their workers and destroying their investment such as infrastructures of Shell and Chevron among other oil companies operating in Nigeria.

    Since 2006 when they started their armed struggle claiming to be fighting for a greater share of oil wealth for local communities, but unfortunately their members pocket ransom money and live ostentatious lives to the amazement of their kinsmen. They are so cowardly that they go with pseudo names while destroying their environment and damaging the reputation of peace-loving people of Niger Delta, a region that is now most scary and risky district for investment and tourism. Yet their states receive the highest allocations in the country, only for them to blackmail their leadership to share such resources with them or risk kidnapping and killing of innocent citizens.

    The antic of MEND and their likes to create confusion in Nigeria make it compelling to explore likely conspiracy theories on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s unfortunate attempt. Covert operations with hidden agenda may not be discountenance as local and external undesirable elements might have manipulated the incidence to put Nigeria in spotlight for clandestine assault. We may recall the 1954 ‘Lavon Affairs’ known as operation Susannah in which Israeli military intelligence planted bombs in Egyptian, American and British-owned targets in Egypt in the summer of 1954 in the hopes that Egyptians and Muslim Brotherhood would be blamed for the attack before the plot was exposed. We should also recall the lies of former President Bush and Tony Blair on Smoking Gun that Iraq possessed Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) to sway the international community to endorse an invasion of the Arab country so that the two countries can control vast oil resources and facilitate increased heavy military spending in the Middle East after creating confusion.

    While we must all condemn the insane and unfathomable attempted suicidal mission that would have resulted in the death of 250 passengers from the action of the young bomber whose visage looks innocent and with humble mien, we need to critically examine and study tendencies and likely influence that could have manipulated the Nigerian child for the action. The unfolding revelations about the suspected suicide bomber from foreign media, his schoolmates, teachers and friends indicate a sorry state of his loneliness, introvert and detachment from his family. They all disclose his worthy lifestyle in schools as teetotaller, pious, religious, humble and a fan of Arsenal and Liverpool football clubs. He would rather donate his pocket money to the orphanage than buy souvenirs for himself. Likewise, he does not brag about his family’s wealth as he rejects flamboyant lifestyle. Some children from similar background could have gone into drug addiction, trafficking, armed robbery among other social vices.

    We also need to explore the possibility of excessive depression and some element of insanity as a result of loneliness which the un-die bomber claimed in some of his postings in social media. Such investigations become necessary, based on reports that his aggressive and violent tendency emerged abruptly after his graduation from Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University College London. He had all his adulthood outside the shores of Nigeria.

    What I have attempted to do as a Nigerian with this piece is to point out that as Nigerians condemn in unequivocal terms the action of the young bomber, an isolated case indeed, the international community should unearth those who manipulated this innocent and lonely youngman to become vulnerable for exploitation. We are aware that innocent souls are easily misled and drugged to take actions unconsciously.

    It is gratifying to note that the Father of the suspects, Abdulmutallab, a true and patriotic Nigerian had forewarned security agencies of his child emerging radicalisation which unfortunately was not heeded. The exemplary conducts of the father is a further demonstration that not all Nigerians are crook who will overlook or endorse negative tendencies of their ward like Niger delta militants who have been led astray.

    The lesson to be learnt from the predicaments of Abdul Mutallab family is that parents should closely monitor and relate affectionately with their children to check control likely tendencies that may lead them to devilish paths.

    This article was first published in the Economic Confidential January, Leadership Jan 4, African Hearld Express Jan 5, New Nigerian Jan 6, Peoples Daily Jan 7, Nigerian Tribune Jan 10, Thisday Jan 12, vanguard Jan 18, Daily Sun Jan 26, Daily Trust Jan 27-28 and Daily Independent Jan 28, 2010

  • A Corpers’s Letter to his Parents in the North

    A Corpers’s Letter to his Parents in the North

    Yushau A. Shuaib with Asagba of Asaba, Professor Chike Edozien in Asagba's Palace on Sallah Day in 1993
    Yushau A. Shuaib with Asagba of Asaba, Professor Chike Edozien in Asagba’s Palace on Sallah Day in 1993

    I know, daddy, how worried you would have been by now for not receiving my letter since the time I departed Kano for Delta State to answer the call to serve my nation through the National Youth Service Corps scheme. Don’t ever think those terrible, nightmarish, unwholesome stories we were fed by unscrupulous elements about this part of the country befell me. I am indeed hale and hearty and even overheard my colleagues saying that I’m adding more weight. Well daddy, it has never been bad living among these humble people of Delta. I can remember vividly your emotion the day you were seeing me off at the motor-park, as if I was a newly recruited soldier about to be sent to the battlefield. I remember Hajia’s (mummy) eyes filled with tears that I was deserting her to a place she was told the people only eat dogs and pork, a place where Northerners and Southerners don’t coexist, a place where there is no single mosque for Muslims, a place where you must perform some rituals to some kind of deities before the people receive you.

    Oh! Daddy how I wish you were here with Hajia to see that all those gory stories about this part of the country we were made to believe, were fabricated tales conceived by enemies of unity and progress. The people and life here are a direct opposite of what they were portrayed to us. How I wish Nigerians would be visiting states other than theirs to correct the erroneous impressions they might have about other tribes or people. I had heard and been told that Ibos do not assist people other than their kit and kin. But to my utter bewilderment, in the luxury bus where they were many, apart from being impressed with my graduating at a tender age and coming to serve in their community, they bought me drinks and food. The reception I received in the bus among those amiable Ibos was just as if I was a typical explorer who was being welcomed back home after an exploration. At the end of the journey, they directed me to where I would get a vehicle to the orientation camp in Asaba. I could not thank those passengers enough for what they had done for me. I asked God to reward them abundantly.

    Asaba is the capital of the newly created Delta State and it is developing rapidly with the cooperation of the indigenes and visitors. Schools, hotels, banks, factories and multinational organizations are located in major towns of the state.

    Daddy, I would have starved and probably become skinny like a kwashiorkor victim because of the poor quality food we were first served. Fortunately enough, with the intervention of the State Governor, Felix Ibru, who increased our feeding allowance, there was great improvement in the quality of the meal. I hope other State Executives would emulate this philanthropic governor.

    As corruption and indiscipline are rife in the country, so were in the camp. For instance, there were those beautiful damsels who caught the fancy of some officials. I didn’t know the game they were playing until most of them got posted to oil companies and finance houses. I learnt that the managements of such organizations give corpers good living accommodation with fat monthly allowance. There was this Yoruba girl who studied Theatre Arts and was posted to an oil company, another Hausa girl who read Hausa language was posted to a Merchant Bank and one Ibo girl who studied Bible Knowledge was posted to a flourishing factory. On the other hand, some corps members who had “short legs” but are graduates of Accountancy, Banking and Finance, Medicine and Engineering, whose professions qualified them to serve in the urban areas, were posted to rural areas to farm and teach. I wonder why this is common in most of the NYSC secretariats. The sooner they rectify this, the better for the disenchanted youth corps members.

    As you know daddy, transportation is a national problem. Its fangs welcome most youth corpers whose places of primary assignment are far away from their residences. Most of the time, someone has to ride on a motorcycle which fare is between two Naira (N2) and Five Naira (N5). The same goes for the taxis. How I wish the state governments would subsidise transportation fares for youth corpers in their respective states by half, at least in the mass transit systems. It will be another demonstration of service to the nation on the part of the governments. And it will surely ease the pressure on corpers meagre allowances.

    Daddy, here is the good news. The hardship I experienced in buying food from restaurants every day has enabled me to learn how to cook. Thanks to my colleague who has been teaching me the secrets of preparing a delicious meal.

    I did enjoy my Xmas and New Year break. Most of my neighbours invited me to feast with them, some to parties. Everywhere, it was celebration galore in this Igboland in the Niger Delta.

    Daddy there is something else which bothers me. I’m in love with one charming young lady from this place. Remember that Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, the Head of State, set a good example when he tied the nuptial knot with Maryam, who comes from this state. It won’t be bad if I end up having another Delta lady as my first lady for life! Please, do not view this negatively. Daddy, mummy, I love you all. Please, give my regards to all and tell them that my place of service is also a place of love, peace and harmony.

    This article was first published New Nigerian January 18, and Sunray January 20, 1993* among others

    * Please see a response here: A Rejoinder to Open Letter by Yushau A. Shuaib by NYSC Officer