Evangelist Isaac IvbazeMonday, February 3, 2014
Atlanta, Georgia, USA




igerians are extremely intelligent, articulate, innovative, well educated, and hardworking but cowards. The dictionary definition of a coward is a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; a timid or easily intimidated person. I would like to make a clear distinction here between the display of individual boldness or tenacity and a collective effort driven by a compelling circumstance to achieve a common goal. Individually Nigerians are tough, courageous, militant, and tactically skillful and can defend themselves on any ground and at any point without any fear of intimidation anywhere in the world. On the other hand they are very fearful when it comes to the issue of collective responsibility to fight against despotism, oppression, and dehumanization. For any nation or people to succeed, such people must be united, in their effort with unabated spirit to fight for a course which is no other than social justice and equality.

Everyone will agree with me that Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world. The nation is blessed with abundant and numerous kind of natural resources. It is very difficult to quantify the volume of deposits of resources as petroleum, gold, tin, iron, ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc in Nigeria, because more and more are discovered on a regular basis in different parts of the country. There is no technology in the world that can survive without the use of the above listed natural resources. It is absolutely impossible. What about agriculture? Nigeria is rich in cash crops like cocoa, rubber, groundnuts, grains, and palm cannels and of course these were the resources the colonial masters used for the development and transformation of the nation before the independence. If all the above resources were effectively managed and utilized, by now, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Nigeria would have ranked among the ten richest nations in the world.

It is very important to take a special look and interest in the state of the nation. Why has Nigerian government continue to shy away from their responsibility? Why have they abandoned the people? Is it that they are oblivious of the sufferings of their people? "We do not need to be shoemakers to know if our shoes fit, and just as little have we any need to be professionals to acquire knowledge of matters of universal interest" Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Unfortunately the Nigerian government has failed to respond to the basic need of its people. It is proven that the standard of living in Nigeria is rated one of the poorest in the world. There is practical evidence to that effect. The level of poverty in the Nation is unimaginable; un-employment is rising in an astronomical rate, infrastructures have broken down, education is rendered useless. Sometimes last year, I read on the news, the statement made by the coordinator, Kano State NYSC Mr. Sanusi Abdulrasheed. He stated that 89% of the newly graduated Nigeria youth corpers cannot correctly make use of English language and that many of them had resulted to using broken English. This is as a result of poor incentives geared towards education. Nigerian government fail to understand that education is the bedrock of economic, social, science, and technology advancement of any nation.

Nigerian women are abandoning their husbands and traveling to Europe for prostitution in order to provide for their families. In my last commentary, I did mention that Nigerians have resulted to mass immigration to different parts of the world. Any Nigerian that had traveled to African countries would be able to relate a terrible experience in the hands of Africans who inherently had subjected them to humiliation, insults, discrimination, and shame. In the face of these, the news of billions of dollars stolen by Nigerian leaders continues to flood the headlines. Though there has never been any government in Nigeria so entrenched in corruption such as this, yet I cannot ascribe all the blame to this administration alone. It is quite understandable that the problem in Nigeria since independence has been corruption, and lack of effective leaderships. In 1985, it became abundantly clear that Nigeria was heading to doom when Ibrahim Babanjida overthrew the government of General Mohammadu Buhari. Before Buhari came into government the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari and Alex Ekwueme were riddled by massive corruption, assassinations, human degradation, unemployment, hunger, and total negligence. Shagari and his stooges had plunged the nation into perpetual debt.

While they did that, all Nigerians sat idling by and watched. They watched without a match against economic oppression, and injustice. In a civilized society, what happened in Shagari/Ekwueme administration would have resulted to mass revolution but Nigerians were too scared to fight or die but along the way, many would have to die involuntarily as a result of economic hardship. According to Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, a German poet, and novelist he said "A great revolution is never the fault of the people, but of the government". However the excessive mismanagement and reckless use of public funds characterized by Shagari/Ekwueme government prompted the Military to come in. Buhari/Idiagbon had to take over the government by force and many corrupt politicians were tried and jailed. The arrival of Buhari/Idiagbon at the time was a blessing as they had already started a well reformed economic policy to ameliorate the condition of Nigerians. But just before they could gather momentums, Babanjida with his leadership ineptitude possessed with exaggerated illusions hustled himself into taking over by overthrowing Idiagbon/Buhari. Babanjida's government was epic in the history of Nigeria. He was an evil genius who played on the psyche of Nigerians and brought the nation to it's kneel.

Babanjida's government lasted for eight years and within that period; the nation was transformed into a criminal zone. Criminals were invited all over the world to engage in economic sabotage against the nation. During Buhari/Idiagbon, any indiscriminate or illegal acquisition of petroleum products was termed "economic sabotage" and was punishable by death. But when Babanjida came in, the decree was scraped and he became the chairman of illegal proliferation of the nation's oil in international market with handful of criminals. Revenues from petroleum products were carted away in billions. Local currency was devalued and SAP was introduced, which means Nigerians would have to adjust to inevitable economic hardship imposed on them. All the corrupt politicians jailed by Buhari/Idiagbon were freed and more and more criminals were let loosed.

Freedom of speech was banned and human right abuses became the order of the day. Anyone that summoned the courage to speak up was silenced with letter bomb. Babanjida's presence as a head of state was a complete darkness upon the nation of Nigeria. When it was obvious that he had done a monumental damage to the nation's economic blood flow, he cannily organized an election to relinquish his power. However he would come back to nullify the same election and imposed an interim government on Nigerians. The interim government would usher in a conglomerate of military juntas including Sanni Abacha and Abdusalami who would later seize the same opportunity to embezzle billions of dollars and at the end left the nation in a state of economic desolation. Abacha's appetite for blood, looting, killings and maiming was a mental state of a man with compulsive sociopath. Again Nigerians had to sit and watched without a fight against oppression and for their right and economic equality. This time, Nigerian leaders had already concluded that Nigerians are cowards. To them, Nigerians are only good for ranting and noise making and so no matter the level of economic and political victimization, they would always succumb. According to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel "The valor that struggles is better than the weakness that endures." Nigerians had continued to endure torture, hardship in the mixt of abundance, because of fear of losing lives but yet many had lost their lives as a result of economic hardship and political oppression.

In 1999, Nigeria would once again return to democratic rule. This time it is "let's kill and go" grab as much as you can, after all, everyone's perceptions or parlance, is that the country does not belong to anyone. For the past 15 years of democratic rule, the cost of living has become the highest since independence. The level of wickedness and corruption cannot be over-emphasized. Lives have been reduced to mere shadow without any significant value. The social-economic life of the people is at a standstill. All former Nigerian 419 in various sectors of the economy have enlisted themselves in politics. They have laid ambush on the resources of the nation in their respective positions. Nigeria is plunged into a state of political imbroglio between political rivalries resulting to harassment, intimidations, and assassination for reasons that are not in the interest of the nation. Everyone is cross- politicking. Those politicians who had already embezzled public funds on the platform of their original party and now feel that their party has lost popularity are crossing into more viable ones with dangerous intentions. They are all desperately fighting to belong to one party or the other so as to continue in their crusade to wreck the nation. The society's proletariat has become the most victim of economic injustice yet they are used by politicians in Nigeria to achieve their political aggrandizement. These are the common salary earners and laborers who had taken their time and effort to vote them into power. Their salaries and pensions had been deferred for months and years there by subjecting them to perpetual hunger and mental depression.

Many politicians are training criminals getting them ready for the upcoming elections. Is either they must contest or there is no more Nigeria. Threat of lives and properties are displayed through various media on a daily basis. Assassinations had already begun. The nation's petroleum product is now in the hands of few individuals who at their own will decide the amount that would be released into the nation's account. There is absolutely no accountability. Actually, NNPC does not exist anymore. Party criminals have bought vessels through the monies they had already embezzled from the state and national treasury. Now with a deadly mission, they have embarked on illegal bunkering of petroleum products. There is no workable lay down economic policy in the country. Every year billions of dollars are budgeted on various projects and yet these monies disappear without a trace leaving the projects un-executed or un-finished.

Nigerian leaders have forgotten that the true meaning of live is not how much millions or billions one is able to accumulate but how much respect and honor is given to God through obedience and a compassionate service to humanity. For every penny that is stolen from the public treasury, the life of someone in the society is made hopeless.

Every major sectors of the economy is struggling to survive. The embezzlement of public funds is taken to a different level. Fraud and embezzlement are no longer restricted to millions, now it is billions. The perpetrators are not scared, they move around with pride and their voices are heard and loud in the Medias daring anyone to come after them. Sometimes these same thieves and robbers are invited for advice on issues bothering on the failure of the Nigeria state. In their gathering they ponder questions among themselves about what is wrong with Nigeria. They fail to realize that their negative, selfish, and wicked contributions have led to the nation's economic quagmire. With the judiciary on their side, they have declared war on Nigerians. The society has become lawless. Petty thieves are sentenced to death and long years of imprisonment while those who stole billions are released without repercussion. There is total breakdown of law and order in the nation. Nigeria is now divided into various criminal groups and they are all connected to public officials and these are kidnappings, armed robbery, Oil bunkering, Ritual killing and Sectarian violence. Nigeria as a nation is bleeding to death. Everyone is pretending as if nothing is happening but tension is building, the cost of living is skyrocketing, and life is becoming unbearable.

The none-violent demonstration in 2012 was a mockery because it did not accomplish anything. According to John F Kennedy, former American president, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable". Will Nigerians be able to stand up for their right this time? Have they suffered enough? "The dead have been awakened -- shall I sleep? The world's at war with tyrants -- shall I crouch? the harvest's ripe -- and shall I pause to reap? I slumber not; the thorn is in my couch; Each day a trumpet soundeth in mine ear, its echo in my heart. Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet. This is the time that all Nigerians need to rise up against these hypocrites, sycophants and an army of political opportunist that had subjected the people to economic quandary for decades. There is no doubt that politicians are at war with Nigerians.

There is no country in the world where universities and higher institutions would be shut down for as long as six months. While other third world countries are forging ahead and making serious progress, Nigerian leaders are making history in corruption, siphoning and embezzling of public funds. Ask any civilized person anywhere in the world about the most corrupt nationality and the answer would not be far- fetched. They would simply answer "NIGERIANS". Past and present leaders have placed Nigeria reputation on international black book. Nigerians are specifically selected by other nations and subjected to humiliation at point of entering in their borders. Because of Nigeria's failure as a nation, her citizens are ridiculed everywhere in the world. "There is no force like success, and that is why the individual makes all effort to surround himself throughout life with the evidence of it; as of the individual, so should it be of the nation" Marcus Garvey. Nigerian leaders have plunged their poeple into a life of hunger and desperation. Crime is growing in an unimaginable dimension. Every part of the nation is flooded with Kidnappings, ritual killings, fraud, and armed robbery "Hungry men have no respect for law, authority or human life". Marcus Garvey. Nigerians should not wait any longer. This is the time.

These public enemies should be removed from the affairs of the nation. "A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."? Mao Tse-tung. I believe many will agree with me that revolution has long been overdue in Nigeria. The social injustice, the broken down of law and order, the insanity of the Nigerian public officials towards reckless use of public funds, unemployment, dilapidated infrastructures, careless and absolute negligence towards national development, total failure in the judicial system, the plundering and squandering of the nation's resources resulting in mental and psychological torment of Nigerians, conspiracy to annihilate Christians by Islamic insurgence, and extra judicial killings have made Nigeria a place where revolution has become inevitable. This is not the time for division but a time to unite in order to savage the nation from these public enemies. Because of the widows, orphans and the downtrodden and in the interest of justice and equality, all Nigerians including Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria [PFN], Christian Association of Nigeria, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nigeria Labor Congress, Nigeria Union of Teachers, National Road Transport Workers, Nigeria Medical Association, Traders Association, Market women Association, Nigeria Student Union Association, men and women must rise up in public protest against these native black imperialist whose act of wickedness has rendered them completely hopeless.

They should continue a non-stop public protest and demonstration until these leaders are made to pay for their sins against the nation. They should be made to face trial and all Judges who fail to adjure justice would have to face the wrath of the law. There has to be a revolution that will serve as a deterrent to future leaders. All past and present leaders, military and politicians, who had contributed to the nation's social-economic demise, should be made to pay for it according to the law. "Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences" Marcus Garvey. Unless that is done, every successive government would continue to intensify their effort to compound the horrors that had been caused by the previous leaders and the future of Nigeria would continue to be in a state of detour." Fear is a state of nervousness fit for children and not men. When man fears a creature like himself he offends God, in whose image and likeness he is created. Man being created equal fears not man but God. To fear is to lose control of ones nerves, ones will, to flutter, like a dying fowl, losing consciousness, yet, alive." Marcus Garvey.

The following links are the videos I made in April 2012 in response to the conviction of the former governor of Delta State, Mr. IBORI. And the other video is about the "CAUSE OF AFRICAN PROBLEM" Please take your time to watch:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnxFy3XZ93w

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itTcej9lba0