ETHIOPIA CRISIS: A Wake-up Call For Africa -By Richard Odusanya

THE BIRTH AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF LEADERSHIP RESCUE INITIATIVE (LRI) and AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI).

First and foremost, let me begin by way of introduction and how it all started. It was the burning desire for a genuine change and how to better the lot of Nigerians and Africans as a strong united front, that birthed the idea of LEADERSHIP RESCUE INITIATIVE (LRI), and subsequently AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI), fully blown advocacy groups, which came to fruition. Afterwards, a new journey of national rebirth began to redress the anomalies of the past years. It started with
Leadership Rescue Initiative (LRI), and our first major outing was an event in London, when we co-hosted the first year memorial anniversary of Prof. Chinua Achebe in London where His Lordship, the Bishop of Canterbury, Bishop Justin Welby gave the keynote speech.

Thereafter, Leadership Rescue Initiative LRI submitted a comprehensive RESTRUCTURING plan to the Confab 2014.

On the 25th of September 2015, the then Prime minister of Britain, David Cameron while delivering his address at the United Nations General Assembly, identified political and violent crisis as the root cause of extreme poverty in Africa and subsequently made a submission that attracted immediate reaction which gave birth to Africa Covenant Rescue Initiative (ACRI) on the 25th December, 2015. African Covenant Rescue Initiative (ACRI), a pan African body acting as a vehicle for fostering Africa unity and better society for all through advocacy and programs.

One of the greatest achievement of ACRI was to successfully engaged the 8th National Assembly ‘parliament’ to legislate in favour of June 12 as our Democracy Day celebration as against the junta’s preferred May 29. Thanks to the support and input of the leadership of the 8th National Assembly headed by H.E, Distinguished Sen. Bukola Saraki, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, Sen. Ayim Pius Ayim former Senate President/SGF, H.E Dr. Okwi Nwodo, Malam Garba Shehu, Bashorun Dele Momodu and a host of other patriotic fellow compatriots too numerous to mention. Although, the current political gladiators and the bureaucrats manipulated the event, shut out ACRI, despite submitting a well thought out work-in-progress documents to very senior government officials with the hope of a greater unity. This was not to be.

Issues ranging from human rights abuse, political instability, conflicts and violent crimes has continued to escalate in many nations of the Africa continent: specifically, the following; assaults of democratic norms, human rights abuse, economic downturn, xenophobia, coups and genocide etc. These are worrisome and requires deliberate and strategic attention. The unrest following the coup d’état in Mali that led President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to resigned, after being detained by soldiers calls for serious concern.

Mr Keïta won a second term in elections in 2018, but there has been anger over corruption, mismanagement of the economy and therefore the rise of communal violence in areas of the country which led to his government to be plagued by months of protests over economic stagnation, corruption and a brutal Islamist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives. In the 2012 coup in Mali, they cited insecurity and corruption as the reason behind it and 8years later they are still battling insecurity and corruption in the same Nation.

Senator Shehu Sani said the Coup in Mali is a bad omen for other democracies in the subregion. The distinguished senator’s words via his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 were, “The Coup in Mali is a serious set back to democracy in Africa and a bad omen for democracies in the subregion; but the people of Mali who have been through tragic experience of intractable political crises appears to be fully in support of it. We should respect their wishes.”

A coup isn’t a desirable outcome but the power desperate mindset of many African leaders even under democracy tends to create it. It’s so sad that majority of Mali citizens are happy with the soldiers coup but this is what happens when the citizens loose hope in democratic government. It is so sad that basic rights are luxuries and hardship is the norm in Africa.

Most African nations are engulf in needless political crisis because of selfish and wicked leaders and is in dire need of rescue from the deprivation of the basic needs of life. Although, not directly responsible for post-conflict peace-building work in West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been playing significant role through a number of activities to promote peace building in the region. However, the current unrest in the continent calls for systematic collaboration with civil society and cooperation with other partners in activities aimed at meeting sub-regional security challenges.

Hence, Africa Covenant Rescue Initiative (ACRI) platform as a conflict management outfit given its foundation and conceptual framework is the latest initiative put in place by African leaders to rescue and facilitates efforts in curtailing the lingering conflicts in the continent of Africa: The Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) Ethiopia, Mauritius, Southern Cameroon, Mozambique, Libya, Mali, CAR and Nigeria among others. ACRI is a mechanism concerned with liberating Africa from the yoke of poor leadership, poverty and underdevelopment.

The recent happenings in Mali should serve as a wake up call to our compatriots accross the divides considering Nigeria is faced with same security and corruption issues. We condemn the killings in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and everywhere in the country. We condemn the corruption, insecurities of life, police and SARS daily harassment, lack of jobs and sufferings. We believe in the pan African ideals that’s why we implore our citizens to engage through the platform of ACRI (rescue mission) to avoid what happened in Mali. Today, we have a very serious situation in Ethiopia, that is not good for the continent of Africa and the world in general.

It was in this respect, that we wrote a letter dated 19th November, 2019 to Former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after his appointment as United Nations Special Envoy on PEACE to discuss way forward on minimizing the continent’s ills. ACRI on the premise as a conflict management outfit in ensuring a better society for all proposed a PEACE SUMMIT of Africa leaders, stakeholders, leaders of faith, and friends of Africa to seek lasting solution to the numerous challenges in the our continent. In one of our numerous meetings with Former President Goodluck Jonathan, it was agreed that the platform of ACRI be structured in a manner that will be galvanized and run through a STEERING COMMITTEE of African statesman. It was then agreed that our own Former Head of State Dr Yakubu Gowon GCFR as chairman designate, to be assisted by two vices and others to cut across the continent. With the current situation in Nigeria today and many other African countries in dire need of RESCUE. Particularly, the Ethiopia crisis that is threatening the survival of that country, and by extension, many other African Nations, including our beloved country Nigeria. It has become absolutely important to give life to the proposition.

Nonetheless, to be freed, both the liberator and the enslaved have roles to play. The enslaved must feel contempt for his chain. The liberator must show understanding of the state of the enslaved. The liberator must also have a solid plan and roadmap of what should be achieved after emancipation. The capacity to break free, think clearly, and go beyond the mental slavery of the mind is prerequisite in nation building. Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone. And Influence can come through power, societal status amongst other means. In line with the above, a new book titled “NIGERIA NEEDS A NEW NATIONAL MODEL” has just been published by Lambert academic publishing company Germany; the book is a compendium of our articles, which highlighted the shortcomings and defects in our system.

The average Nigerian mind is so twisted that change is almost incomprehensible! That slothful thinking is mostly perpetuated by religion and crippled academic institutions. As things stand, the greatest positions of influence in our society are religion, politics and music. In that order. Those who currently occupy these positions are SMART, contrary to popular opinion. They know how to tune the mind of our people to stop them from thinking rationally. They know how to pull our strings such that we rely on sentiments rather than rationality when making decisions. Partnering with AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE (ACRI), a fully blown advocacy group will bring about a revolution of values and eliminate conflicting interests militating against our collective progress.

Unfortunately, at three scores and one, 61 years after independence and all one sees viewing events in Nigeria with ordinary eyes are hopelessness, chaos and fear. The nation continues to struggle with her attendant challenges and threats of collapse. This was part of the reasons that birthed the idea of the open letter to President Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola GCFR, the novel letter, served as a reminder and wake-up call to our compatriots across the divides for us to change our mindset and imbibe positive orientation. It, therefore, means that, if I placed national interest above my selfish interest irrespective of my religion, region, tribe and language, and you do the same thing, things will naturally fall into place.

Fix the MIND and you fix the ACTIONS which would ultimately fix most of our challenges and inevitably fix our beloved country Nigeria. We need to earnestly start propagating awareness that promotes selflessness, love, tolerance, cooperation, moral values, discipline and every other positive elements that can induce gradual transformation of the mindset of Nigerians. It is sad that most of our citizens sees Nigeria as an enterprise, a cash cow devour and to make money from and NOT a country to build and serve because there is no feeling of nationhood amongst its people. We have remained dogmatic for too long and my message to my fellow compatriots is to get emancipated from mental slavery of the mind, godfatherism, tribalism, nepotisms, selfishness, deception, electoral fraud, and poverty etc.

As for the agitations here and there for secession and the agenda of the secessionists; without prejudice to the genuineness of the reasons and the restive promoters, I considered such as a quick fix and may not necessarily be the only card on the table. I have written about the futility of such, several times in my articles, i have also made my positions very clear about RESTRUCTURING. Even if we succeeded in restructuring or divide Nation into whatever was projected by the proponents of separation, it may still give us the same results, if not worst. Until we are able to restructure the minds of our citizens, nothing will change. Because, there is a fundamental issues ranging from capitalism, materialism and self-centered mentality, that needs to be holistically addressed.

Lastly, the issues of poor leadership, nepotism, corruption, killings, infrastructural decay, Job loss, 33.5% unemployment, insurgency, kidnapping, banditry and others, did not start with the present set of political actors, successive administrations laid the foundation. I have written about the fundamental flaws in my recent ARTICLES; it all started with mismanagement and plundering of our resources, squandering of riches and the flamboyant styles of leadership. This is part of the reasons, why we need to put a system in place that will effectively checkmate the excesses of public office holders, civil servants and the collaborators in the private sector. How do you explain a nation that earned as much as 400 billion dollars from just one source of revenue in less than a decade and yet nothing to show for it. This is unacceptable and there is no justification for it.

Please permit me to conclude by using part of the recent statement of our elder statesman Chief Ayo Adebanjo, he had said; “I have pondered Chief Awolowo’s words in his 1981 public letter to Alhaji Shagari, and I have found a part to be metaphysically intriguing, even though it has only served to deepen my alarm, such that I believe that I owe it to posterity to place my fears on the record; “the ship of state is fast approaching a huge rock and, unless you, as the chief helmsman, quickly rise to the occasion and courageously steer the ship away from its present course, it shall hit the rock, and the inescapable consequence will be an unspeakable disaster such as is rare in the annals of man”.

Buhari was to be that disastrous rock a few months after the warning. The problem with the rock this time, is that the rock is the helmsman of the ship, and he would appear to be DELIBERATELY AND INTENTIONALLY steering the ship to its END.”-

NIGERIA NEEDS A NEW NATIONAL MODEL…. ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS.

Richard Odunsaya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI