By BASHIR ADEFAKA
From personal observations, some Nigerian people, and I will not generalise to say ‘Africans’, characteristically have tendency for encouraging evil and crisis only to scream over consequences of same. Only such people I have seen, who love to make fire but hate to be enveloped in smoke. Unpardonable hypocrisy, it is called. In short, that exactly is the attitude they have exported to the Ukrainian situation because, it is their attitude at home, where their category of citizenship always wants to break the law but would not want to be arrested or questioned for doing so.
It is the reason – like the United States and the West they choose to take sides with in the Ukrainian conflict – they too have chosen to be blind to the inherent excesses of America before the war and West’s popularly acknowledged hypocrisies that continue to happen even during the war now ongoing. This category of Nigerians is causing embarrassment to the rest of us. But because they do not represent a large proportion of our population, they must not be allowed to overpower those of us who are not as stomach-and-self-centered as they are.
They must be shut down immediately and now. Yes! Before the larger world (I am not talking about a fraction of world popular that parades itself as the ‘whole world’) will use their character as yardstick for measuring who we are as Nigerians in the eyes of the world. No, we have many great people in Nigeria who think straight and who are just, fair, balanced and sincere in their judgments of situations and who will naturally not be part of trouble makers, who stoke war anywhere or disturb the peace of peaceful nations in parts of the world. They see and treat government of their country as a collective project. In time of terrorist attack, they rally the President, the affected state governor and victims in condemning the terror. In time of achievement of state, they celebrate and pray for their leaders asking Allah to strengthen to do more. They do not raise human rights issues while their armed forces and other security and intelligence agencies act against terrorists. This category of Nigerians we have: They are from Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani extractions. They love their country and their country loves and blesses them. They are the ones, who will have comfort of the heart to lay claim to rights from the country and the country has seen their duty being played out.
West is not the ‘whole world’ and cannot determine how the rest live their lives. Impossible! Population of America and all NATO member countries put together is not up to one billion. And world population is over four billion. So, there is more to ‘The World’ than ‘The West’ and this unwarranted interference that is causing conflicts all over the world has gotten to the point that it now has to stop. Sadly, some of these flocks promoting this Western monopolistic hegemony in and to the detriment of Nigeria would at a point in the past (maybe they still do) claim that Muslim countries are countries of terrorists reason there is crisis there all the times. Sadly, Bishop Matthew Kukah said it, when he described the Nigerian Muslims’ Islamic religion as one with pool of violence in his effort to justice why, according to him, President Muhammadu Buhari was using Boko Haram to kill Christians exactly the same thing the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had been telling United States of America controversial Donald Trump.
It is another show of hypocrisy because they know that the same “God’s own country” is the one that is actually responsible for the so called pool of violence they are attributing to the Muslim World. Yes, they know that the United States, whose econo-political hegemony (for the reason of dollar-based materialism) they re-enslave themselves to, is the one but they turn their eyes away from the subject matter and begin to pursue the shadow of an innocent object that is best described as victim. That is reason for The New World Order. So, to them, who want to crash the internet because of this reality that they or their ‘lord and saviour’, America, has no control over, this is the cause of Ukrainian war in case they do not know or they know but pretend like they do not know. That in itself is called hypocrisy.
This is where I was forced to #StandWithPutin and #BeOnTheSideOfRussianPeople because, I was attracted to these people of former Soviet Union (and whose reassertion of reconstituted Soviet Union is no longer disputable) due to the fact that 30 countries led by America called NATO, the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation, are in conspiracy against only one country and I now begin to believe the more, that they are in Ukraine together fighting troops of Russia – all the 30 of them – and still use the media that take sides with them to predict how Russia will be the loser at the end of the day, tell the controvertible number of women and children that are killed by Russian troops whereas, Russia has insisted that its troops targeted neither women nor children but that Ukrainian (I now call them Americo-Ukrainian) troops actually destroyed their own people they used as shield in the theatre of war in order to whip international sentiment, raising human rights questions against Moscow.
I have grown from this situation to believe Russia and, while not totally going to throw America away as a baby with the bath water, the reason is not farfetched. United States has not managed its success as most blessed in the world in terms of super power by its use of falsehood, double standard and clear hypocrisy to project its cause.
My father, a former banker and cocoa board officer in Nigeria, used to tell me that, “You cannot be carrying elephant on your shoulder and still be concerning yourself with seeking to pick an ant.” If I can lift a huge object on my shoulder without stress, what business do I have with fighting war over the need to pick an ant? This is where people, who get drunk with power, sink easily. That is what United States is not realizing. Goliath was also a super-power wielding individual during his time and what became the fate of his arrogance in power? Doom. I do not wonder so much about this because, it only underscores the fact that “Only God is great in all ramifications and there is no power like His.” For people to want to crash the internet space of Nigeria because they (for selfish reasons) are saying that dream of The New World Order, which is already fulfilled, must not see the light of the day, they should go and sit down in a tight corner with gospel truth and reality that only the power of Allah is permanent. None of the ones wielded by any created human or nation or any king or leader is. America’s power is not the first, second, third and will not be the unending power onn earth. To want the whole world to believe it is either America or no one, then it is to make America God and what destroyed the likes of Golliat, Pharaoh and Kharuna if not exactly this?
Before I really start with my criticism of Nigerians, who take sides with the West for no justifiable or fair reason other than reason of their individual pockets and stomach infrastructure – ability to amass dollars and play the big boy in the Nigeria’s villages – I will like to revisit Papa Jacob Zuma’s recent intervention in the Ukraine’s war situation and how he decided to identify the lesser evil (if any) in Russia and stand by it. The statement was issued by Jacob G Zuma Foundation on behalf of the immediate past President of BRICS country South Africa, titled, “Jacob G Zuma Foundation Statement on Russia and Ukraine impasse”. In the statement Zuma spoke about the West particularly United States of America and whoever was seeing only what they say or want the larger world to see or believe, in the following quotes I will bring forth:
“If forces, globally known to be hostile to the United States of America (USA), were known to be establishing presence of any sort in any of the adjacent territories within the USA; the USA would certainly act in a manner that it believes would neutralize such a perceived threat. In reality the USA has not only acted to the counties around its borders, but it has moved around the whole world, to deal with what it has considered as threats to its national security. There are clear examples of such invasions by NATO forces in the Middle East as well as in Africa. With the above in mind, it looks justifiable that Russia felt provoked. It is however quite fortunate that His Excellency President Vladimir Putin, unlike other small countries, has the capacity (in Russia) to respond to security threats in line with the prescripts that are applicable to his country. His actions, whereas justifiable, are still a far cry as compared with what other big powers have done when faced with such a situation.
Zuma continued: “Some western powers, who are today playing holier than thou; have invaded a number of small countries in the world e.g. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya to name but a few. These glaring examples of interference have left those countries in ruins. The western countries’, and their acolytes’ support of Ukraine (under the guise of defending the sovereignty and democracy in Ukraine) is a selfish act to further their own interests at the expense of innocent lives and property in Ukraine.
“Recently, there was a disguised attack on some member countries of BRICS.
“In Brazil, a progressive government, under Her Excellency Former President Dilma Rousself, was brought down under nefarious accusations of corruption. Her comrade His Excellency Former President Lula da Silva was accused of corruption. He was arrested and convicted. Later he was released after it was discovered that the charges were all concocted. In whose interest was this done?
“In South Africa, His Excellency President Zuma was removed from office, before he finished his term, by the western forces using their forces that they are in control of within some structures of our government; and some that they control in the ruling party. He was subsequently unlawfully arrested (as confirmed by no less than two constitutional court justices) on 07 July 2021; incarcerated without a trial by the constitutional court; denied a right to appeal both the judgment and the sentence. To date there is currently no case number/docket and thus the rights of His Excellency President Zuma were grossly violated. In whose interest was this done?
“In India, the Indian National Congress Party, which has widespread roots in the country, “lost” elections.
“China was attacked by the credit rating agencies but fortunately, China’s economic power is too big and successful, that the rating agencies failed to dent the Chinese economy and its standing globally – China continues to be a force to be reckoned with.
“Russia, a BRICS member country is now in the cross hairs of the bullies. Ukraine is being used basically as a front, so that Russia can be brought to its knees through unjustifiable sanctions.
“These facts as articulated above are important to be taken into consideration when the current impasse between Russia and Ukraine is being discussed and analysed. It is clear that without the insistence of western powers behind Ukraine, the impasse between Russia and Ukraine could be resolved quickly and amicably. We all need peace in this world; therefore, we would like to urge those involved to bring peace as swiftly as possible so that lives can be saved. We call on President Zelensky to put the interests of the Ukrainians first, instead of pandering to his western allies at the expense of innocent lives,” these were Former President Jacob Zuma’s intervention.
BRICS is an acronym for “Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa” that are emerging economic powers outside of the Western hegemony and it will therefore be understandable why the West’s eyes have glued to South Africa that, not too long after the victory over apartheid Jacob Zuma is a former leader, who chose his own style of life to live and never pretend about it but the west brought him down under some precarious excuse that, up till today, cannot be defended. Remember, it was and is fellow Africans these America-led Western conspiracies use to destroy their own government system the Black Race. It calls for concern, like Professor Charles Lumumbar would say.
Reality of war is about killing and destruction
Those that are using what happens in terms of destruction and deaths at war front in Ukraine as reason they now hate Putin, what is on their mind? Do they realise that at battle front people don’t share akara and bread plus tea on top? Deaths, destructions, deprivations, collapse of laws and human rights, etc are things that happen. It is recognized by nature, reason Messengers of Allah from particularly Musa (Moses), may Allah be pleased with him, to Prophet Muhammad, peace of Allah be upon him, would explain characteristics of war and peace and always encouraged people, especially the power-drunk empires mainly Persia then, to choose the part that is peace. They would only go to war if those offered peace refused but decided to war-war and not jaw-jaw. It is natural and so, all of these sentiments of “Putin is a butcher”, “Putin is a killer” should stop because there is no President of America that does, so far, has not gotten blood of innocent on his hands. These are things that are associated with war. Why is this difficult or so complicated for any educated person to understand?
The time people should speak up and condemn Joe Biden’s deployment of missiles to Russia’s borders with Ukraine, they kept quiet, seeing and pretending like they did not see. Are they saying that Putin’s people do not have the same right to life like Biden’s people have? Okay, those who are blaming Putin (and I have confidence in the capacity and resilience of the retired General), are they saying that what he should have done was to fold his arms and watch America bring his country to its kneel so that, finally, there will be nobody in the world who will check US excesses causing conflicts, fueling them and deciding when to give peanuts to few members of the destroyed states to stage protests against any leader that makes attempt to stop its foreign interference against America setting his country back all the times? Is that what those who blame Putin are saying about Kremlin while pampering White House?
Sadly, when it now happens they suddenly become men and women of God, saying “the spilling of blood is too much”. That is hypocrisy of highest order. I detest it with passion. Even in your own Nigeria, go ask a soldier that, “When a bullet pulls out of your gun, what is it expected to do?” He will reply you: “To kill”. He will say further, “I am not expecting to see goat, sheep or fruits dropping but human being.” That is why he is a soldier because a soldier fights war. Any one that stands in front of him at the battle front is his enemy and so, what does any reasonable and educated Nigerian expect?
When soldiers are now fighting a war that America deliberately prepared and caused in Ukraine, why are people raising human rights issues? Why are they talking about destructions of property? Is this a kind of senselessness or something? When America and NATO were using the media that believe their lies to scream about the number of women and children that were killed, I knew it was to find a safe landing and every right thinker globally knows it. Why of all these times at war, it is only children and women that Ukraine has lost, not even any single man talk less of a troop? But my people of Nigeria, who have been accepting that evil distraction to sway their education, knowledge and intelligence, are the ones helping America spread this hypocrisy of “I don’t support America but I hate Putin for his killing human beings”. Who should Putin kill in war? Mosquitoes?
An appeal
My appeal to Nigerians is that, if we have to intervene in war situations, we should probe to know things that are involved, to be able to analyse objectively in a way that people, who have capacity or should take responsibility, will know how and from where to intervene. You cannot because of religious sentiment – of your taking America as “God’s own country” (the lie they tell always) or sentiment of the dollar you are eyeing (only in Nigeria dollar means not only huge money but determinant between life and death) or citizenship or residency you are seeking – lose your own soul by supporting evils while blaming the victims of those evils.
*Bashir Adefaka is a Prince of Isolo, Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State and Lagos-based Journalist. Reach him via his email: omope72@gmail.com
