taking a cue from a HAPPENSTANCE and a RUMOUR, is it that persons in NIGERIA placed in POSITIONS TO TAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS ON NIGERIA’S BEHALF do NOT SEE the VALUE in HAVING A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH CANADA or WHAT ?

one time back in the day
.. if my memory serves correctly ..
the CANADA President? i.e the President? of Canada
offered to come to Nigeria
and address the Nigeria Senate or so.

NIGERIA refused.
the Nigeria SENATE refused.

NIGERIA and the Nigeria SENATE opted instead that
Bill Clinton, President of USA
should come to Nigeria
and address the Nigeria SENATE.

this was around the time that
President Olusegun Obasanjo had just become
Civilian President of Nigeria
after coming out of prison
where he had been jailed by
General Sanni  Abacha on allegations of
being involved in a coup-plot effort or so.

[ some reference links :
(1) https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/237929
(2) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/aug/26/chrismcgreal
(3) https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/27/world/clinton-in-nigeria-to-show-support-for-civilian-rule.html ]

if my memory serves correctly,
CANADA was upset.
and moved the CANADA HIGH COMMISSION away
from NIGERIA
to GHANA.

after some years,
probably considering the severe difficulties that
ordinary Nigerians were going through
getting relevant stuff done with
CANADA and the
CANADA HIGH COMMISSION,

CANADA mellowed down
and
returned the HIGH COMMISSION to NIGERIA.
( … if my memory serves correctly … )

perhaps, also,
the Nigerians who had studied e.g at University in Canada
in places like
Ottawa,
Saskatchewan,
Ontario,
etc,
pleaded on behalf of NIGERIA.

however, let’s look at this together.

what type of international relations did Nigeria display there ?
what type of international relations is Nigeria displaying there ?

what type of international diplomacy did Nigeria display there ?
what type of international diplomacy is Nigeria displaying there ?

what type of signal did Nigeria send to the world community there ?
what type of signal is Nigeria sending to the world community there ?

a whole ruler ..
a whole leader ..
a whole president ..
of one of the G-7 group of countries
says he wants to address your SENATE
and your country refuses ???

a whole ruler ..
a whole leader ..
a whole president ..
of one of the leading countries in the world
says he wants to address your SENATE
and your country refuses ???

and you don’t even have
the courtesy
the good manners
the politeness
the simple display of respect and honour to whom honour is due
to
(re-?)schedule things so that
maybe after
President Clinton of USA addresses the NIGERIA SENATE,
maybe one month later or
maybe 2 weeks later,
the CANADA PRESIDENT will also address the NIGERIA SENATE

you just refuse point-blank.
you just refuse and say that you don’t want him to address you.

what type of thing is that ?
what type of behaviour is that one ?

and then one also remembers that rumour
that went about in 1979 ( or was it 1978? ) rumouring that
CANADA had
of their own free-will
and
on their own volition
given Nigeria an offer
that

● CANADA would supply lots of trains, engines and passenger coaches to Nigeria FREE

● CANADA would build NEW RAIL LINES to cities in Nigeria not yet linked to the Nigeria Railway Grid FREE

● CANADA would convert all existing rail lines in Nigeria
from the existing OBSOLETE NARROW GAUGE TRACK
into the WORLD-CLASS STANDARD GAUGE TRACK

and Nigeria had
… in Nigeria’s sometimes very difficult to understand thinking, if any, …  
not accepted the offer
and
opted INSTEAD
to
pay
.. yes, pay { ← yes, spend/use Nigeria money to pay  instead of getting good stuff free }
RITES of INDIA
( … you read that right – chose? INDIA over CANADA … )
for a 2? year period
from 1979? to 1981?
to oversee and manage the Nigeria Railways
under some sort of
management contract / management consultancy contract / management arrangement.

NIGERIA should really display pragmatism
and
NIGERIA should also display acumen, really,
when dealing with i.e when interacting with the
International Community.

there is something called relationship building.

countries around the world
are struggling
to develop a good relationship with a leading country
like CANADA

and then the same CANADA seeks to address your SENATE
and you refuse

the same CANADA offers you TRAINS FREE ( according to rumours )
and you refuse

it is either
you simply cannot see
the benefits
in having, maintaining and continously building a good relationship
with CANADA

or
something is .. or must be .. ( seriously? very? ) wrong with you

or
something is up somewhere that is not known in the public space

either way,
NIGERIA needs to practice RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
in its
interactions with important persons from other nations

and therefore also in
its
● international relations
● diplomacy

and therefore also,
by simple logical extension,
in it’s

● international diplomacy

by the way,
that statement way-up there, viz :

“ … around the time that
President Olusegun Obasanjo had just become
Civilian President of Nigeria
after coming out of prison …. ”

probably comes across as
opaque and rather dim
to persons who are not familiar with Nigeria’s history
especially the more modern / more recent history of Nigeria
of the immediate past 70 years / 71 years
from say
around about 1950 till date 2021.
( 2021 – 1950 = 71 years )

for the purposes of providing such persons with some idea
of the general collateral context of that sentence

what it is is in some sort of a nutshell is that :

[●◙1] Nigeria has a history which is hall marked with
many instances of

violence, blood-shed, death and sorrow

particularly from the 1960 period
when Nigeria was granted self-rule i.e independence
by it’s colonial ruler / colonial master
Britain i.e the United Kingdom ( U.K )
till date 2021 i.e (2021 – 1960 ) = 61 years on


[●◙2] the British had seen to it that Nigeria had a democracy in place
by October 1, 1960
when Britain formally handed over rule of Nigeria to Nigeria citizens.

[●◙3] this democratic civilian government run by Nigeria citizens
as at circa October 1, 1960
was modeled on the British system of government
( sometimes called the British Parliament-ary System )
and
was essentially composed of
elected civilians holding positions in the Nigeria Parliament
and also
at various other levels / tiers of administrative leadership.


[●◙4] within 6 years of this self-rule by the Nigeria political class,
i.e by 1966,
the Nigeria military struck TWICE i.e TWO TIMES

FIRST at the
elected civilians ruling / governing Nigeria

and

LATER at the ultimately resultant emergent Nigeria leadership of
Major General Johnson T. Aguiyi-Ironsi
ultimately emergent from the previous ( aborted ) coup
spearheaded by
(1) Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu – Ibo / Igbo tribe
(2) Major Emmanuel Ifeajuana – Ibo / Igbo tribe
… Commonwealth Gold Medalist in High Jump in Vancouver, Canada
( circa 1954? )
(3) Major Adewale Ademoyega – Yoruba tribe
(4) Major Timothy Onwuategu – Ibo / Igbo tribe
(5) Major Chris Anuforo – Ibo / Igbo tribe
(6) Major? Don Okafor – Ibo / Igbo tribe
(7) Major? Humphhrey Chukwuka – Ibo / Igbo tribe


[●◙5] these 2 military coups were bloody and recorded the deaths of persons.  


[●◙6] the FIRST COUP ( staged in January 1966 ) is rumoured
sometimes
to have been based
on idealistic motives
and
on nationalistic motives,

however, it is noticeable that :

(a) this coup recorded the deaths
of some well known public figures from tribes other than
the Igbo / Ibo tribe
and
did not record the deaths of well known public figures of
the Igbo / Ibo tribe
of equivalent or similliar standing in the Nigeria socio-political space
e.g
► Premier of Igbo / Ibo tribe origin
► Federal Minister of Igbo / Ibo tribe origin
► President? ( as somewhat simillar to Prime Minister? )
of Igbo / Ibo tribe origin

(b) this coup had a leadership caucus made up of
◙ essentially Southern Nigeria Army Majors,
◙ 7 Southern Nigeria Army Majors

the majority of whom were of the Igbo/ Ibo tribe
i.e out of which 7 members, 6 were of the Igbo / Ibo tribe
the sole/only non-Igbo / non-Ibo among them
being
Major Adewale Ademoyega of the Yoruba tribe
who would later on in life write a book titled
WHY WE STRUCK.

[●◙7] recorded deaths from this first coup include, among others :

Alhaji ( Sir ) Abubakar Tafewa Balewa
… Fulani Tribe
… Prime Minister of Nigeria

Alhaji ( Sir ) Ahmadu Bello
… Fulani Tribe
… Premier of Northern Nigeria
( Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello is rumoured to have been
the political god-father and mentor of
Alhaji Abubakar Tafewa Balewa )

Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola
… Yoruba Tribe
… Premier of Western Nigeria

Chief Festsus Okotie-Eboh
… Itshekiri Tribe
… Federal Minister of Finance  


[●◙8] the SECOND COUP ( staged in July 1966 ) is rumoured
sometimes
to have been
a reaction by Northern Nigeria origin Nigeria Army officers
to

the killing of Alhaji Abubakar Tafewa Balewa 
and
the killing of Alhaji Ahmadu Bello

and thus in effect to

the collateral removal of Fulani Tribe persons
and by extension also
the collateral removal of Northern Nigeria tribe persons

from the ruler-ship of Nigeria
i.e from the top echelons of the leader-ship of Nigeria

and is also rumoured
sometimes
to have been

a strike against
an emergent and emerging Igbo / Ibo tribe dominance
of affairs in Nigeria

rumoured to be exemplified in

the emergence of
the Igbo / Ibo tribe Nigeria Army Major General J.T. Aguiyi-Ironsi
as Supreme Military Commander of Nigeria
and therefore as
Ruler of Nigeria
( a circumstance ( i.e Ruler of Nigeria ) more or less previously held by
the Fulani tribe Alhaji Abubakar Tafewa Balewa as
Prime Minister of Nigeria )

after the failure i.e the aborting of the First Coup spearheaded by
Major Kaduna Chukwuma Nzeogwu .. Igbo / Ibo tribe

and also
rumoured to be exemplified
in

the emerging and emergent dominance of Igbo / Ibo tribe persons
in administrative, trading and commercial affairs
in Northern Nigeria
essentially more of less from the period Britain began to rule Nigeria
as it is rumoured that
before Britain began to rule Nigeria
Igbo / Ibo tribe persons
did not historically venture into
the Northern Nigeria areas in large numbers


[●◙9] recorded deaths from this second coup include, among others :

Major General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi
… Igbo Tribe
… Head of the Nigeria Army
… Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria
… Supreme Military Commander of Nigeria

Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi
… Yoruba Tribe
… Military Governor, Western Nigeria

and
the deaths of hundreds of thousands ( some rumours say millions ) of
Igbo/Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons in
Northern Nigeria

in what has at different times been referred to as

► genocide killings
► xenophobia killings
► ethnic cleansing killings
► holocaust killings
► pogrom killings

of Igbo/Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons in
Northern Nigeria


[●◙10] these killings
of Igbo/Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons in
Northern Nigeria
spread to other parts of Nigeria
e.g Western Nigeria including for example Lagos, Nigeria.

some rumours say that
for some time
before
the killings
of Igbo/Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons in
Northern Nigeria
spread down to Western Nigeria

there had been concerns and worries
in some quarters in Western Nigeria
regarding
an emerging and emergent dominance of
Igbo / Ibo tribe persons and other Eastern Nigeria origin persons
in administrative, trading and commercial affairs
in Western Nigeria

which sort of dominance is sometimes rumoured to be exemplified in
the rumour that at a point
the Vice-Chancellors of two leading Universities in Western Nigeria
viz :
the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Western Nigeria
and
the University of Lagos, Lagos, Western Nigeria
were
simultaenously i.e in the same period
persons of the Igbo / Ibo tribe
( ??? was it Kenneth Dike in Ibadan and Eni Njoku in Lagos then ??? )

a scenario which is rumoured to
more or less have begun from around about 1950?
as before this period
e.g in the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s,
the Yoruba tribe held a clear lead over
the Igbo / Ibo tribe and the rest of the entire Nigeria
in administrative, trading and commercial affairs
in ALL Nigeria
probably due to the
massive early investment in education and training
more or less essentially
by
the early British and European and American ( U.S.A ) Church Missionaries
and
increasingly later the British Colonial Administration of Nigeria
in the Western Nigeria area
relatively far ahead of the rest of Nigeria
e.g

►[1] Baptist Academy , Obanikoro, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1855
[ for boys ]
founded by the
American Baptist Church
Church Missionaries
from United States of America ( U.S.A )
from North america, The Americas

►[2] C.M.S Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1859
[ for boys ]
founded by the
Church Missionary Society ( C.M.S ) / Anglican Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[3] Methodist Boys High School, Lagos Island, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1878
[ for boys ]
founded by the
Methodist Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[4] Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1879
[ for girls ]
founded by the
Methodist Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[5] Kings College, Lagos Island, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1909
[ for boys ]
founded by the
British Colonial Administration
in Nigeria

►[6] Holy Child College, Lagos Island, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1925
[ for girls ]
founded by the
Catholic Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[7] Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1927
[ for girls ]
founded by the
British Colonial Administration
in Nigeria

►[8] St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos Island, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1928
[ for boys ]
founded by the
Catholic Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[9] Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1932
[ for boys ]
founded by the
Anglican Church i.e C.M.S / Church Missionary Society
and
Methodist Church
Church Missionaries
from England, United Kingdom i.e Britain
from Western Europe, Europe

►[10] Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls Secondary School, Yaba, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1941
[ for girls ]
founded by the
American? Baptist Church
Church Missionaries
from ?United States of America ( U.S.A )
from ?North america, The Americas


►►[10] Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded in 1947
founded by the
British Colonial Administration
in Nigeria

( Yaba College of Technology is the FIRST tertiary level educational institution in Nigeria )


►►[11] University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Yoruba-land,
Western Nigeria
— founded 1948
founded by the
British Colonial Administration
in Nigeria

( University of Ibadan is
the FIRST University Degree awarding institution in Nigeria,
the FIRST University in Nigeria
and
the SECOND tertiary level educational institution in Nigeria
after Yaba College of Technology )

as a matter of fact,
the truth is that
uptil today 2021,

there are tribes
among the over 250 identified tribes in Nigeria

that do not have a University or Polytechnic
anywhere in their native territorial land areas

or

even a secondary school of the timbre and calibre of

C.M.S Grammar School { for boys }
Methodist Boys High School { for boys }
St. Gregory’s College { for boys }
Kings College { for boys }

or

Methodist Girls High School { for girls }
Holy Child College { for girls }
Reagan Memorial Bapist Girls Secondary School { for girls }
Queens College { for girls }

anywhere in their native territorial land areas )


[●◙11] these killings and deaths of hundreds of thousands
( some rumours say millions )
of
Igbo/Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons
in
all areas of Nigeria outside of the Eastern Region

i.e that is
in Northern Nigeria
in Western Nigeria
in Mid-Western Nigeria

lead to the
Igbo / Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons
pulling out of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

and

proclaiming themselves to be
the Republic of Biafra.


[●◙12] the remainder of Nigeria
i.e Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria, Mid-Western Nigeria
rejected this pulling out of
Igbo / Ibo tribe and Eastern Nigeria origin persons
from the Federal Republic of Nigeria

and

also rejected their proclaiming themselves to be
the independent and self-governing Republic of Biafra.


[●◙13] it has been rumoured that
the major reason
for this rejection of their pulling out of Nigeria
after and while killing them in hundreds of thousands
in Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria and Mid-Western Nigeria

i.e after and while killing them in all of Nigeria outside of Eastern Nigeria

was that

Oil and Gas had been found in huge quantities
in Oloibiri in Eastern Nigeria by Shell? Petroleum? in 1959
( today 2021 A.D Oloibiri is part of the Rivers State area of Nigeria )

and

as Oil and Gas had become
a major revenue earner
and
was also forecast by economic analysts
to become
a very huge revenue earner in the emerging future

far superceding
incomes / revenues from agriculture
which used to be
the major revenue / income earner for Nigeria

the remainder of Nigeria
i.e Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria, Mid-Western Nigeria
did not want to miss out on
the huge revenues and
the huge potentially accruable revenues
derivable from the sales of Oil and Gas

and so they refused to let the Republic of Biafra exist.


[●◙14] this is perhaps why
a fair number of  pundits rumour that
the resulting
Biafra War i.e the Nigeria Civil War ( 1967– 1970 )
was
in very many ways essentially also
an Oil War.  

[●◙15] Nigeria won that war which ended in 1970

[●◙16] the Military Head of State of Nigeria
General Jack Yakubu Gowon  
… Birom Tribe
was ousted in a Military Coup in 1975.

( the Birom Tribe are located in Plateau State
in North Central Nigeria
in Northern Nigeria
in today’s Nigeria circa 2021 A.D.

there are rumours that increasingly
as at circa 2020 A.D / circa 2021 A.D
some of those parts of Nigeria define themselves as
belonging to
Middle Belt Nigeria )


[●◙17] the new Military Head of State of Nigeria
General Murtala Ramat Mohammed
… Fulani Tribe ( Genawa Clan )
… from Northern Nigeria
was killed in a military coup in 1976


[●◙18] General Olusegun Obasanjo
… Yoruba Tribe
… from South-West(ern) Nigeria
became Military Head of State of Nigeria form 1976 to 1979.

this is the same President Olusegun Obasanjo that we are talking about.

General Obasanjo hails from Owu, Abeokuta, Yoruba-land, Nigeria.
in today’s Nigeria circa 2021 A.D, Owu, Abeokuta is located in
the Ogun State area of South-West(ern) Nigeria


[●◙19] General Obasanjo handed over power to
a Civilian democratically elected government
in 1979.

this Civilian Government had

Alhaji Shehu Shagari
… Fulani Tribe …
as President of Nigeria

Architect (Dr.) Alex Ekwueme
… Igbo / Ibo tribe …
as Vice-President of Nigeria  


[●◙20] this Civilian democratically elected Government of
President ( Alhaji ) Shehu Shagari
was ousted in a military coup in 1984.


[●◙21] General Muhammadu Buhari
… Fulani Tribe …
became the Military Head of State of Nigeria.
he ruled Nigeria from 1984 to 1985.

this is the same President Muhammadu Buhari who is today 2021
the Civilian democratically elected President of Nigeria,
a post i.e an office he has held since 2015.

[●◙22] the Military Government of General Muhammadu Buhari
was ousted in a military coup in 1985.

[●◙23] General Ibrahim Babangida became the Military President of Nigeria

General Babangida hails from Niger State
in North Central Nigeria
in Northern Nigeria

( there are rumours that increasingly
as at circa 2020 A.D / circa 2021 A.D
some of those parts of Nigeria define themselves as
belonging to
Middle Belt Nigeria )

[●◙24] General Ibrahim Babangida
… Gwari Tribe …

popularly called IBB
made strong efforts
to return Nigeria to Civilian Democratically elected Governance.

in fact, his Military Regime actually had a DI-ARCHY sort of STRUCTURE
with
a Military President of Nigeria
and
Military Governors of the States of Nigeria

AND ADDITIONALLY

a fully functional civilian democratically elected SENATE
and
a fully functional civilian democratically elected HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

[●◙25] in 1993 General Babangida’s government organized elections
for the post of civilian democratically elected President of Nigeria.

his administration introduced the OPTION A-4 method
of
transparent voting
and
transparent release of election results.

[●◙26] there are many rumours
as to what happened and what did not happen
pertaining to this 1993 elections
for the post of civilian democratically elected President of Nigeria.

the JUNE 12 developments arose from this election

and

AS-AT-TODAY 2021
Nigeria holds a DEMOCRACY DAY on JUNE 12 every year i.e annually

[●◙27] some issues arose and
an INTERIM NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
headed by
Ernest Shonekan
… Yoruba tribe …

as Head of Government of Nigeria
held sway for some time.

[●◙28] eventually, later that same 1993
General Sanni Abacha became Military Head of State of Nigeria.
he ruled Nigeria from 1993 until 1998
when he died in office as Head of State of Nigeria

it was in this period ( 1995 ? ) that
General Olusegun Obasanjo found himself in prison.

so i guess it is self-evident that
anyone not conversant with Nigeria
and/or
especially the more modern history of Nigeria
of the immediate past 70 years / 71 years
from say
1950 and thereabouts till date 2021

may invariably find that statement
way-up there, viz :

“ … around the time that
President Olusegun Obasanjo had just become
Civilian President of Nigeria
after coming out of prison …. ”

to be somewhat opaque and rather dim

[●◙29] after the death of General Abacha in June 8 1998,
General Abdulsalami Abubakar
… Nupe? tribe or Gwari? Tribe …

became Military Head of state of Nigeria.

General Abubakar hails from Minna, Niger State
in North Central Nigeria
in Northern Nigeria.

( there are rumours that increasingly
as at circa 2020 A.D / circa 2021 A.D
some of those parts of Nigeria define themselves as
belonging to
Middle Belt Nigeria ).

in January 1999
his Military Government organized elections
for the post of civilian democratically elected President of Nigeria

and

on May 29, 1999
his Military Government handed over the governance of Nigeria to
the emergent winner of those elections

being the person of
Chief ( General, Retired ) Olusegun Obasanjo

who had been released from prison on June 15?, 1998?

and

had contested in the elections
on the platform of the PDP ( Peoples Democratic Party ).

interestingly, and also by the way,
some pundits have pointed out
that

Chief M.K.O Abiola
who is sometimes rumoured to have won the 1993 Presidential elections
and
who died while in prison
is/was of the Yoruba tribe
and
hailed from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Yoruba-land, Nigeria

and that

Chief Ernest Shonekan
who became Head of the Interim National Government of Nigeria
for a while
sometime after? the 1993 Presidential elections were held
is also of the Yoruba tribe
and
also hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Yoruba-land, Nigeria

and that  

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
who eventually became Civilian Democratically elected President of Nigeria
in 1999
is also of the same Yoruba tribe
and
also hails from same Abeokuta, Ogun State, Yoruba-land, Nigeria

however our objective here does not channel
in the direction of looking at
such parallels
whether perceived, imaginary or real

and
it is best that we stick to our identified central theme

and so i guess
again
that it is self-evident that
anyone not conversant with Nigeria
and/or
especially the more modern history of Nigeria
of the immediate past 70 years / 71 years
from say
1950 and thereabouts till date 2021

may invariably find that statement
way-up there, viz :

“ … around the time that
President Olusegun Obasanjo had just become
Civilian President of Nigeria
after coming out of prison …. ”

to be somewhat opaque and rather dim