Amanpour: Journalist or an Enforcer of Western Dogmas?

 

 

 

 

Christiane Amanpour, CNN Chief International Reporter

I had a dream. In my dream, I was a journalist covering events at the United Nations, during one of those generic meetings of world leaders. At the entrance, journalists formed hedges on the left and on the right. Directly facing me was Christiane Amanpour, the world-famous CNN journalist. Suddenly, I sighted the Zimbabwean late President, Robert Mugabe approaching. So, I said to her, “here comes your friend.” 

 

“Who?” Amanpour asked, curiosity masking her face. 

 

 “Mugabe,” I replied.

 

My response was greeted by a cacophony of laughter from the other journalists.

Dreams are among many things that puzzle people. But, most times, they are a grit of events or sights the eyes had seen so many times. The sight of Mrs Amanpour hosting Mugabe or other African leaders to discuss issues that characterized Africa, not just Zimbabwe, is very common. Most times, the discussion centres on the handling of Western ideals across the continent.  

 

The core of Western ideals is summed up in the ideology of democracy. As far as we don’t challenge the culture of democracy in Africa, there is nothing wrong with the West insisting that we live up to a refined model of it. A highly refined model of democracy, however, is wrought by the way we do things. It is not designed by what the West wants. When democracy or any of its appendages defies this rule, it stands in isolation. Anyone who knowingly insists that everyone must embrace it is seen to have a hidden motive. 

 

Amanpour glaringly qualifies as an agent of the West on the issue of same-sex marriage, to which she has engaged Mugabe and other African leaders. Nigeria, for instance, is a country with predominantly Muslim and Christian populations. The rests are traditionalists or animists.Christians and Muslims both agree that “in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve.” Whether Christian, Muslim or Animist, the general understanding is that a man marries a woman. With this, they can procreate to sustain the human population and life on the planet. 

 

If Amanpour hosts President Mohammadu Buhari and poses the question, “why can’t you make a law that legalizes same-sex marriage in Nigeria?” Expectedly, his answer would be, “the people haven’t asked for it.” This is because most times when a president sponsors a bill, it has to do with clearing the way so government policies can walk through. If there are such bills that are social, among other bills, they come from the national assembly mostly. This is because MPs are directly in contact with the population across the country.  

 

The West taught us democracy. In the lesson, we were taught that democracy is a style that embraces the yearnings of the majority. It amounts to a huge surprise when the teacher goes against the rules he has taught. It has to come from the approval of the people. Anything else amounts to bullying.  

 

Many across Africa were shocked when former British Primes Minister, David Cameron, declared that, “if African countries refuse to legislate in favour of same-sex marriage, the West will withdraw grants to the continent. It was scandalous not just because of the scale of western anxiety on the matter, the scorn and insult in it, but in the display of ignorance from Cameron. Africans thought that Cameron ought to have known that nothing changes when aid is given, at least in the eyes of common people. 

 

African leaders have often argued that Africans should feel it when the shoe pinches and another person shouldn’t take aspirin for their headaches. What happened after Cameron’s babble only vindicated the African leaders. Rather than becoming benign to gay people, Cameron’s statement ended up as a backlash. Same-sex people exist across the continent and no one cares. In as much as they live life without persecution, people have a right to their opinions on the matter. In northern Nigeria, for instance, they are known as yan daudu. They live their lives and no one cares. Following Cameron’s hot warning, though, MPs in northern states rushed to cut their supplies of oxygen. In the months that followed, there was a flood of arrests. It was as if, they had forgotten to do it and someone just tipped them.

 

If one must take action on an issue, he should see the logic behind the decision. It should make meaning to him. As I write this, I am struggling to see how same-sex bond measures well on the moral meter of Christians, Muslims, the free-minded and the animists. The best Africa has done on this matter is to pretend they don’t exist. Perhaps, there is something our hazy eyes can’t see on this issue. Perhaps, a day will come when it will clear up. This is why Amanpour must take it easy. 

Other Stolen Resources Aside Oil

 

While the authorities embark on austerity measures, however, our resources are getting stolen on daily basis. We talk about the oil that gets stolen everyday but we are unaware of solid mineral deposits stolen every day, as well.

The Nigerian President, Mohammadu Buhari, since becoming president, has been working to find new ways of generating revenue by casting his net wide to find other sources. The nation’s economy hangs dangerously on oil revenues, something that is treacherous, given the capricious nature of oil prices.

As part of the efforts to find other sources, the presidency has had to resort to taxing a lot of services and withdrawing subsidies on a number of other services the government had previously subsidized.  As we move on, Aso Rock has been cheered to withdraw, totally, the subsidies on premium motor spirit, something that will push the suffering of Nigerians to the brink. Already diesel has risen to an all-time high and everyone is feeling the pinch.  

While the authorities embark on austerity measures, however, our resources are getting stolen on daily basis. We talk about the oil that gets stolen everyday but we are unaware of solid mineral deposits stolen every day, as well. It makes no meaning as it can be compared to filling a drum with water when actually there is a leak at the bottom of the drum.

As far as natural resources are concerned, Nigeria has tons of them. Aside from petroleum, nearly every states boasts of one or more mineral deposit(s). This should be a backup for the nation, since oil will not last till eternity. Worse of all, oil spews greenhouse gases that trigger and sustain global warming. Thus, a lot of nations are working towards clean energy sources. As a matter of fact, most developed nations have sets dates beyond which they will resort to electric cars. This is all in a bit to save the environment. What this means is that our oil will cease to have validity.  Hence, non-oil reserves remain the nation’s major lifeline.

The sad reality is that these reserves are not lying and waiting. One day, when oil becomes a petty mineral or is exhausted, we will turn to the others to find that they are gone. They are getting removed on a daily basis. Getting removed isn’t the problem, but the manner in which they are removed. They are getting removed it in a way that the nation doesn’t benefits.

We are acting like we don’t know the worth of our non-oil reserves. If minerals are getting removed from Nigeria at the scale that we see and yet the country remains poor, then an evil day awaits us. The companies want the minerals but do not want to pay for it. They essentially want to just pick them like something you bumped into while walking the street. What the Nigerian agent earns, in the context of what the foreigners are making, is just ridiculous.  But as individuals they are content with it.

China’s economic plan is design to extort the gullible. They bring in cheap products that you buy today and tomorrow or the same day the product fails so that you have to go back to the market the next day. It is a grand scheme to milk you without stopping and it is working for them. The products are flashy electronic devices that span computer and phone accessories, torchlights, mp3 players, short wave radio receivers, etc.

The case of China is worst than the case of the Western world. When the West rips you, you see something in return. You will have to think below the surface to see the deceit. Western companies who explore and exploited minerals in Nigeria, notably the Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria, employed people, built housing quarters and paid wages that ensured people were happy. But the Chinese just pays you a paltry sum that is spent on that day, if they pay at all.

State governors are mandated to talk about the mineral wealth of the states they govern, but they don’t benefit from the exploitation of the minerals when eventually the “companies” come. We don’t often hear about derivation funds for solid-mineral-producing state and the states struggle to pay basic things like salaries, despite knowing their resources are taken away on a daily basis. While this is happening, the resources are getting depleted. This is in addition to the environmental damages that mining causes. 

It is shocking that a government that intends to be futuristic is unable to see this and work towards ending it. If we must be futuristic, we must first understand that the non-oil resources are our greatest option, something to fall back on when oil ceases to have any relevance. Right now though, as oil reserves are diminishing, so also is the stash of our non-oil mineral reserves. And even the oil revenues, the Chinese take it by way of selling products that don’t last.

 

Why Plateau State Never Gets a Muslim Deputy Governor

The Nigerian Presidential Primaries of 2023 stirred anger across the country when the ruling All Progress Congress, APC, ended up with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. That simply means that, while the Presidential candidate is a Muslim, his running mate is also a Muslim. Northern Christians felt insulted by it. The party has zoned the position of the VP to the north.

New Government House, Rayfield, Jos

 

This plan stirred a conversation that refused to abate to the point that a Senator from Kogi West, Smart Adeyemi, decided he was sponsoring a bill to ban same-faith tickets. That means that if the bill is passed, it will make it impossible for any presidential candidate to come up with a running mate from the same religion as his. So, if you are a Christian, you must have a Muslim running mate and vice versa.

A lot of political pundits feel there is nothing smart about the bill; it will just stir a huge conflagration across the country. The fear is that, should that bill get passed, there is a strong possibility some states would start asking for it, as well.  In so many states across northern Nigeria with predominantly Muslim populations, it has always been a Muslim-Muslim tag team. The Christian minorities in many of such states have come to accept it and it is normal to them. In Kaduna, the southern half is predominantly Christian. They have always produced the deputy governor until Nasir El Rufai decided he wasn't going that way during his second tenure as governor.  I have heard someone from Nassarawa State saying that the state will never have a Christian governor. If Plateau State will never get a Muslim governor, why should they, in Nassarawa State, have a Christian governor?

Plateau State, which is predominantly a Christian state, has always had a Christian-Christian ticket. It isn't because someone has anything against Muslims. Rather, it is the political dynamics that make it so.

Plateau State has an ethnic population of more than forty tribes. Of these, there are five major ones, which include the Berom, Mwaghavul, Ngas, Taroh and Gomai. Though the Muslim community in the state is huge, it can never be compared with the population of any of these tribes. So, if an Ngas man becomes a gubernatorial candidate, he will want to run with a Berom man. This is because the Berom, spreading across four out of the seventeen local government areas, has a huge population. If it turns out that a Berom man is also contesting for the same seat, he would turn to any of Ngas, Taroh or Gomai for a running mate.  They wouldn't want to risk going for a Muslim, since the Muslims, though huge in number, can't be compared with the population of any of these tribes.

Someone may ask: if in Kaduna State, Christians have produced deputy governors, why is it not happening in Plateau. In Plateau State, if you decide you are going with a minority tribe and your opponent decides he is going with a major tribe, you risk the chance of losing.

A further reason why a Muslim hasn't become a sidekick to any governor in the more than two decades of democratic rule is because of the timidity of the Hausa population, particularly in Jos-North. They don't seem interested in Plateau politics as a whole. Rather, they are only interested in the politics of Jos-North. It is something that is within their grasp, enabling a Hausa or a Fulani man to become Chairman of the council.

 Since we are practising democracy, it will be unwise to have a bill that aims to stifle the freedom that democracy represents. Nigeria is a secular state, after all. That means that, though Nigerians are free to practice any religion of their liking, the government wouldn't allow religion to influence the decision it makes. It wouldn't use its resources to support the growth and development of any religions.

Famous Nigerian Footballers

The Extraordinary Festival of Zerechi

The biggest hero of Zerechi is not one who wins in the fight for the body of a killed animal, but the Nne Ruwu and the Nne Rigbe. The two men are chosen from the house of Nu’uwhye, one of the dozen houses that make up Irigwe land. In Irigwe folklore, you wake up to find the rigbe beside you, if the gods agree that you are most qualified to be the Nne Rigbe.

The prehistoric Irigwe man understood the year had come full cycle from stones he kept. There must have been about 365 of them. Every day, he took out one. By the time he sees five remaining from his starting heap, for instance, he knew there were five days left before Zerechi. It was declared, and the public would join the countdown.

In the few weeks before Zerechi, the elders at Nu’uwhye “speak with the gods.” There is an epiphany of the Nne Ruwu and Nne Rigbe. On Zerechi Day, the Nne Rigbe begins his journey with his rigbe (the horn.) He walks from Kwall, the ancestral home, descending the steep rocky slopes of the valley that separates Kwall in the south and Miango in the north. He crosses the river and climbs out of the valley, entering Miango. From time to time, he stops and blows his horn. The sound reverberates across the whole of Irigwe land. He is telling people that the year has come full cycle and it is Zerechi, the Christmas of Irigwe people. He continues his walk until he comes to a place called, Iyi-Shoko. At that point, the Nne Ruwu (the man of rites) takes over. Once the Nne Ruwu takes over, the walk ends, the marathon begins. There are crowds running after him in this marathon to Rotsu.
 
“You don’t dare pass the Nne Ruwu, you’ll die,” goes the belief. “You don’t cross the path on which he runs. If you do, you’ll die.” “You don’t dare cross the River Ruhwyevo, before he does: you don’t want to die young.” His bearing is the north, where Rotsu is located. There are villages to the left and right of the path on which he runs. Other villages are miles away from his path. The men from all these villages gather together at the River Ruhwyevo, waiting for the hero. The men, young and old, short and tall, big and frail, just sit at the bank of river, waiting and admiring his heroism. There is a cacophony from the jokes, the teasing and laughter. There is tension. It comes from the anticipation of his arrival. It comes from wondering whether one will make it in the fight to get close to the hero –the crowd is huge.
 
The year I witnessed Zerechi for the first time, we came from Renwhienku to the east of Rostu. We turned up at the river bank, tired from the long walk. Then we sat. There was a fairly long wait. Then, suddenly, there was a faint chant of a war song that made it through the distance. At our own end, everybody instinctively sprang up. “A rebe” (he is coming) chorused the voices. Then, the distant chant got closer and closer, until the Nne Ruwu came to view. Then the elders started warning the youths against the temptation of crossing the river before the hero does.

When he finally turned up, I was able to catch a glimpse of him. He was a dark young man of average height and built, and exuded heroism even in the way he ran. The waiting crowd barely let him cross the river. There were, perhaps, countless spots from where water splashed, as men jumped into the river behind the hero. It was as if millions of stones had been thrown from heaven with all falling within a span of two seconds.

The shrine at Rotsu is a place in a wild forest.  On a normal day, an ignorant passer-by would just walk through it, not observing something out of the ordinary. There is, however, a belief that though the shrine is like any other place is a forest, someone walking through will feel, in his head, that something is knocking him out of balance. It is a hint that the place isn’t ordinary.

At this shrine the ritual is performed, throwing grains, spilling the blood of an animal and praying for the rains to come and nourish the farms for good harvest as the farming season beckons. Then the crowd disperses. The hunting continues. In the hunting other heroes would be made.