Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Digest for usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com - 13 updates in 7 topics

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Ogbuagu Anikwe

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Sep 14, 2016, 10:05:51 AM9/14/16
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Dear brother Salimonu Kadiri,
 
Let me begin with a small matter; you might want to render my name correctly the next time, I beg of you.


Now to the substantive issue. In my humble opinion, your intervention tended to throw in every conjecture you could possibly think of to support your pet theory that Azikiwe was a politician with inordinate ambition. I admire your tenacity. There is however something you need to know. I did not set out to defend Zik (or to attack Awo) on the issue of ambitions. Every politician is ambitious. What is in dispute is whether the post-election activities of the two actors who led their parties into electoral battles in the Western Region (1954-1959) qualify one of them (Zik) to be accused of inordinate ambition. I have not looked into any other period beyond this timeline. In interrogating the facts and conjectures that were being deployed to disprove or confirm the accusation, it occurred to me that this dispute is turning out to be not about Zik’s level of ambition per se as it is of Awo’s because if Zik were to be found not guilty, the searchlight would beam in Awo’s direction. In other words, I am beginning to suspect that some of those that are dissipating intellectual energy on the accusation are merely trying to position one of the two political champions over the other, as they seek to properly accommodate them in Nigeria’s Pantheon of Greatness. What is fantastic to behold is that some appear to be willing to not allow facts, conventions, or commonsense stand in the way.


You have done a yeoman’s job of defending your position. I particularly took a keen interest in the following quotes which provide the foundation of your support for the accusation:


“Balewa who on his part was conscious of the parliamentary situation, indicated his desire to form a national government comprising of the three major political parties. It was there, that Awolowo declared that he could serve in a national government led by Nnamdi Azikiwe but not in the one led by a feudalist. Since he who would become the Prime Minister depended on the majority of members of Parliament and not on the party that had the highest number of seats in the Parliament, you must be wrong to assert that Azikiwe, in particular, had no basis to contemplate being the Prime Minister, with the approval of Awolowo's AG when their total number of seats together were 164 against NPC's 148. It is important to note that the national government so formed by Azikiwe could not have excluded the NPC from taking ministerial appointments except the position of the head of government, the Prime Minister. If Awolowo had called for a coalition government between the NCNC and AG to the exclusion of NPC, you might be right to call that political step a gang-up against NPC but to the politically matured, that step would have been seen as strictly following the simple rule of Parliamentary democracy. Your insinuation that 'only a politician with inordinate ambition would have agreed to do this (gang-up) and Zik proved that he was not' would appear illogical, since the same Zik ganged-up with Balewa against Awolowo.”


I invite you to consider the following in relation to your position:

  • Under a parliamentary system of government (the Westminster type that we practiced), and on the strength of its electoral performance, NPC could have been invited to form a government with or without an absolute majority and without entering into a coalition with another party. The resulting contraption is what is known as a “minority government.” That is the rule and neither the NCNC nor the AG could have enjoyed this privilege. I’m still searching for a case where two minority parties teamed up to dethrone a major party that had a plurality of seats in parliament and formed a government, even when the party with the majority seats did not indicate that it was not willing to do so. Thus, I honestly did not know whether to be shocked or to laugh at your suggestion that an NCNC-AG alliance – under these circumstances – would have been considered “politically matured” and in accord with “the simple rule of parliamentary democracy.” However, I am willing to suspend judgement on the matter in order to be further educated by you on why you think a party with majority of seats in parliament does not have the right of first refusal to form a government, and why you think that by-passing this rule is not a clear invitation to chaos in the polity.

  • I am also willing to be educated on why you consider that, under our inherited and persistent challenges of political accommodation and spirit of sportsmanship, an AG-NCNC alliance would not have been a gang-up designed to make the majority a minority. And why you think that a coalition comprising (a) NPC-AG alliance, (b) NPC-NCNC, or (c) a broad-based NPC-NCNC-AG (with NPC as lead) would not have been a more pragmatic solution to our peculiar challenges.

Best regards.


Ogbuagu Anikwe



strategic communication . media brokerage . events services
p.o. box 5644 garki .
abuja fct 900001
+234 803 622-0298
Reply to: anikwe@oanikwe.com

On Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 5:57 PM, <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com>: Sep 13 12:37PM +0100

Superb essay below.....to be heeded....
 
 
 
DAILY TRUST
 
 
*The party is over, better pay your bills*
 
 
For those who have been sending sarcastic video clip and lifted negative
write-ups on Buhari’s Government in the last three or so month, I wish
them, along with the more discerning others, a Very Happy Sallah.
Especially to the recently embolden PDP orphans who have gotten some voice
back, even though they are yet to find their souls and their senses. Life
is now much tougher for the average Nigerians.
 
We have been predicting this for years, and we were shouted down by those
milking the commonwealth assisted by their hired propagandists. We were
following an economic dead-end but because most were benefiting from the
looting and the lies, we deliberately ignored all the warning signs.
 
Let me refer the doomsday prophets to some piece I wrote on this page just
some 8 month ago, as my way of answering the “Bring Back GoodLuck Group”.
It was a reaction to Charles Soludo’s attempt to extricate himself from the
mess, and paint himsef as a Messiah. (Abridged for space.)
 
The Professor met a model, a game really, and he did not change it. The CBN
was swapping our dollars, from the sales of oil and gas, and giving us
Naira to spend. It was selling the dollars to everyone who can afford it to
purchase whatever they damn wished. We wasted the foreign exchange
importing even things we could have produced at home: sugar, rice, wheat,
fish, cooking oil, turkey wings and even industrial inputs and chemicals we
were quite capable of sourcing locally. It did not require a
rocket-scientist to understand that this was a non-sustainable model, which
could only last with high oil and gas prices, or volumes. Once sales
decline or prices collapse the CBN would find itself unable to meet our
voracious appetite for imports, and the dollars to finance this.
 
Which is the reality we are now faced with.
 
Over and above its shameful legacy of 16 years of corruption, criminal
disregard for crumbling power and other infrastructure, and playing
politics with Boko Haram insurgency, this single ineptitude of not
preparing ourselves for the inevitable, ranks way up in PDP’s terrible
record. Soludo, and Okonjo-Iweala (busy gallivanting all over the world
patting herself on the back), should have advised Obasanjo and Jonathan to
do thing differently so as to prepare the nation for the inevitable, since
we all know the volatility of crude oil prices. There was a huge reserve of
foreign currency and ample time to start reducing our imports of food, raw
materials, machinery and spare-parts.
 
Our universities and hospitals could have been developed to reduce the vast
amount of dollars we were wasting to go abroad for education or medical
attention. On top of everything, without an iota of shame or respect for
energy security and survival, we even started importing refined petroleum
products. No, we had no wish to plan, and even opted to cripple the
National Planning Commission. We were selling forex to every one Tom, Dick
and Harry to import anything they wished, totally oblivious of our
industrial, food and even social security, or the need to provide
employment for our citizens.
 
Now that oil prices have collapsed, and forex supply is dwindling, we
expect quick miracles from President Muhammadu Buhari. The unsavoury truth
is simple; the party is over. The model was not sustainable. And the
hangover will take time to clear.
 
Evidence shows that between April and June 2015 we imported over N140
billion Motor Spirit (petrol), N61 billion worth of wheat, spent N25.4
billion importing rice, N25.1 billion on raw sugar, N24 billion on frozen
fish (cod and mackerel), N26.4 billion on motorcycles (including CKDs),
N11.2 billion on crude palm oil, N11 billion importing powdered milk, all
of which we could have produced or sourced locally. These are quite apart
from the industrial chemicals, simple machines, implements and parts that
we should have been producing locally to save foreign exchange and even
export.More scandalous was our neglect of health and education. As a direct
consequence we are now spending trillions abroad, creating jobs for others.
Worse still, what we budget for our on public universities is much less
than what the National Assembly spends on its members’ creature comfort.
 
While still on the service sector, it is worth noting that our commercial
airlines, charter operators and the owners of the hundreds of privately
owned jets around spend about N250 billion abroad annually on aircraft
maintenance and simulator training of pilots. Many of them are government
owned and yet we have given up on our own national venture, smugly stating
that Nigerians cannot be trusted to run public enterprises while the
private sector has been unable to seize the open opportunities. The
maritime industry is even worse.
 
The demand for the US Dollar, the Euro, Pound Sterling and other hard
currencies would keep increasing as long as we fail to take measures to
restructure and diversify our economy. We must produce what we need locally
whenever possible, and export more to the rest of the world to earn hard
currencies. We need to develop our agriculture, solid minerals, machines
and parts to feed our own industries and reduce import dependence. There
seems no other way. Old economics, they say. But wait a second; who has
ever done it differently?
 
The issues go beyond CBN fiddling with the exchange rate or allocating
forex differently. Agriculture, Trade and Investment, Iron and Steel, Solid
Minerals, Ministry of Finance all must put head together and work out an
active, appropriate and workable industrial policy for us to increase forex
earning, reduce excessive demand for imported goods and services, and move
forward. Buhari did not create the problem, and real solutions will take
time. The only requirement is that we move in the right direction.
 
Hopefully oil will remain cheap for the foreseeable future as more of
Iran’s production get to the market. We would then realise that depending
on government to provide forex is a joke that has gone too far. We may then
begin to see the hides and skins, ginger, sesame seed, cotton, cocoa,
rubber, gum Arabic, solid minerals, as well as other cash-crops and
exportable products and services all around us. We may also begin to
appreciate the need to build better schools and hospitals, as well as
airlines and shipping lines. Education, training and research will hold the
key while electricity, transport and ICT will provide the backbone. We
squandered the reserves we should have used to restructure our economy, and
missed a chance to be different. To get a strong currency we have to work
harder, import less, produce locally and export more. By all means let them
offer concrete solutions. But blaming PMB is just cheap shot. Nor can we go
back to the bad ways of the last couple of decades.
 
In economics, very little happens by accident. Nothing is static and no
policy succeeds “with immediate effect”. There are always time lags. We
shall come back to these next week, God willing. But now, we must thank,
and wish Happy Sallah to those who have contributed to making this Sallah
peaceful, especially Buhari, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Buratai, Sadiq, Monguno,
Magu, Shettima, and our two umpires - Jega and Mahmoud, and all those
keeping hopes and faith alive.
 
And to my friends always complaining I have been out of touch this year.
 
Kuyi Hakuri.
 
The party is over, better pay your bills
 
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/columns/the-party-is-over-better-pay-your-bills/162252.html
‎
 
_____________________________________________________________
 
 
 
Nkolika Ebele <nkol...@yahoo.com>: Sep 13 05:04PM

Cannot be better written. I agree with the analysis made by the author of this beautiful write up. Indeed the party is over. Time to look inwards.Nkolika
 
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com>
To: USAAfrica Dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: "africanworldforum@googlegroups.com" <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>; Yan Arewa <YanA...@yahoogroups.com>; OmoOdua <omo...@yahoogroups.com>; NigerianWorldForum <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>; NaijaPolitics e-Group <NaijaP...@yahoogroups.com>; "niger...@yahoogroups.com" <niger...@yahoogroups.com>; ekiti ekitigroups <ekiti...@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 12:37 PM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The party is over, better pay your bills {Re: STATE OF THE NATION

 
Superb essay below.....to be heeded....
 
 
DAILY TRUST
 
The party is over, better pay your bills
 
For those who have been sending sarcastic video clip and lifted negative write-ups on Buhari’s Government in the last three or so month, I wish them, along with the more discerning others, a Very Happy Sallah. Especially to the recently embolden PDP orphans who have gotten some voice back, even though they are yet to find their souls and their senses. Life is now much tougher for the average Nigerians. 
We have been predicting this for years, and we were shouted down by those milking the commonwealth assisted by their hired propagandists. We were following an economic  dead-end but because most were benefiting from the looting and the lies, we deliberately ignored all the warning signs.
Let me refer the doomsday prophets to some piece I wrote on this page just some 8 month ago, as my way of answering the “Bring Back GoodLuck Group”. It was a reaction to Charles Soludo’s attempt to extricate himself from the mess, and paint himsef as a Messiah. (Abridged for space.)
The Professor met a model, a game really, and he did not change it. The CBN was swapping our dollars, from the sales of oil and gas, and giving us Naira to spend. It was selling the dollars to everyone who can afford it to purchase whatever they damn wished. We wasted the foreign exchange importing even things we could have produced at home: sugar, rice, wheat, fish, cooking oil, turkey wings and even industrial inputs and chemicals we were quite capable of sourcing locally. It did not require a rocket-scientist to understand that this was a non-sustainable model, which could only last with high oil and gas prices, or volumes. Once sales decline or prices collapse the CBN would find itself unable to meet our voracious appetite for imports, and the dollars to finance this. 
Which is the reality we are now faced with.
Over and above its shameful legacy of 16 years of corruption, criminal disregard for crumbling power and other infrastructure, and playing politics with Boko Haram insurgency, this single ineptitude of not preparing ourselves for the inevitable, ranks way up in PDP’s terrible record. Soludo, and Okonjo-Iweala (busy gallivanting all over the world patting herself on the back), should have advised Obasanjo and Jonathan to do thing differently so as to prepare the nation for the inevitable, since we all know the volatility of crude oil prices. There was a huge reserve of foreign currency and ample time to start reducing our imports of food, raw materials, machinery and spare-parts.
Our universities and hospitals could have been developed to reduce the vast amount of dollars we were wasting to go abroad for education or medical attention. On top of everything, without an iota of shame or respect for energy security and survival, we even started importing refined petroleum products. No, we had no wish to plan, and even opted to cripple the National Planning Commission. We were selling forex to every one Tom, Dick and Harry to import anything they wished, totally oblivious of our industrial, food and even social security, or the need to provide employment for our citizens.
Now that oil prices have collapsed, and forex supply is dwindling, we expect quick miracles from President Muhammadu Buhari. The unsavoury truth is simple; the party is over. The model was not sustainable. And the hangover will take time to clear.  
Evidence shows that between April and June 2015 we imported over N140 billion Motor Spirit (petrol), N61 billion worth of wheat, spent N25.4 billion importing rice, N25.1 billion on raw sugar, N24 billion on frozen fish (cod and mackerel), N26.4 billion on motorcycles (including CKDs), N11.2 billion on crude palm oil, N11 billion importing powdered milk, all of which we could have produced or sourced locally. These are quite apart from the industrial chemicals, simple machines, implements and parts that we should have been producing locally to save foreign exchange and even export.More scandalous was our neglect of health and education. As a direct consequence we are now spending trillions abroad, creating jobs for others. Worse still, what we budget for our on public universities is much less than what the National Assembly spends on its members’ creature comfort.
While still on the service sector, it is worth noting that our commercial airlines, charter operators and the owners of the hundreds of privately owned jets around spend about N250 billion abroad annually on aircraft maintenance and simulator training of pilots. Many of them are government owned and yet we have given up on our own national venture, smugly stating that Nigerians cannot be trusted to run public enterprises while the private sector has been unable to seize the open opportunities. The maritime industry is even worse.
The demand for the US Dollar, the Euro, Pound Sterling and other hard currencies would keep increasing as long as we fail to take measures to restructure and diversify our economy. We must produce what we need locally whenever possible, and export more to the rest of the world to earn hard currencies. We need to develop our agriculture, solid minerals, machines and parts to feed our own industries and reduce import dependence. There seems no other way. Old economics, they say. But wait a second; who has ever done it differently?
The issues go beyond CBN fiddling with the exchange rate or allocating forex differently. Agriculture, Trade and Investment, Iron and Steel, Solid Minerals, Ministry of Finance all must put head together and work out an active, appropriate and workable industrial policy for us to increase forex earning, reduce excessive demand for imported goods and services, and move forward. Buhari did not create the problem, and real solutions will take time. The only requirement is that we move in the right direction.
Hopefully oil will remain cheap for the foreseeable future as more of Iran’s production get to the market. We would then realise that depending on government to provide forex is a joke that has gone too far. We may then begin to see the hides and skins, ginger, sesame seed, cotton, cocoa, rubber, gum Arabic, solid minerals, as well as other cash-crops and exportable products and services all around us. We may also begin to appreciate the need to build better schools and hospitals, as well as airlines and shipping lines. Education, training and research will hold the key while electricity, transport and ICT will provide the backbone. We squandered the reserves we should have used to restructure our economy, and missed a chance to be different. To get a strong currency we have to work harder, import less, produce locally and export more. By all means let them offer concrete solutions. But blaming PMB is just cheap shot. Nor can we go back to the bad ways of the last couple of decades.
In economics, very little happens by accident. Nothing is static and no policy succeeds “with immediate effect”. There are always time lags. We shall come back to these next week, God willing. But now, we must thank, and wish Happy Sallah to those who have contributed to making this Sallah peaceful, especially Buhari, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Buratai, Sadiq, Monguno, Magu, Shettima, and our two umpires - Jega and Mahmoud, and all those keeping hopes and faith alive. 
And to my friends always complaining I have been out of touch this year. 
Kuyi Hakuri.
The party is over, better pay your bills
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/columns/the-party-is-over-better-pay-your-bills/162252.html‎
_____________________________________________________________
 
 
On Mon, Sep 5, 2016 at 9:30 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com> wrote:
 
 
Imperial:
May your tribe increase for what you wrote below!  
Corruption has EATEN SO DEEP into the Nigerian economic system that the 2-5% who have taken - both legally and illegally - the 95% of the Nation's commonwealth have devised a way of SPREADING  that INEQUITY among the raped in Nigeria, so much so the cry of "Bring Back Corruption" is like the cry of the Jews to "Return us to Egypt o, Moses....if it is only manna your God will be supplying us in the desert!"
They never did return to Egypt - and may Nigeria NEVER return to Egypt. (Amen).
I feel the pain myself, when, upon my arrival in Nigeria in 2011, the Naira exchanged for N155-165 to $1, only for it now in 2016 to be hovering in the N350-400 axis, with possibility of it going higher. With many personal responsibilities still in dollars, I feel the pain.  I feel the pain when during that period, people were always begging for money or for employment - ceaselessly.   
But my personal forex issue is an elite concern - because most Nigerians don't even see NAIRA for eye not to talk of DOLLARS.  It is NOT an elite concern for industries that depend on raw materials and/or equipment from abroad, or for investors who earn money in Naifra and want to repatriate it in dollars/ However the new situation calls for a new paradigm shift in our Nation's economy, and there is no better time than now.
Do I blame Buhari for all of these happenings?  Absolutely not, because it is an ACCUMULATION of past national leadership unwillingness, inability or incapability to face the fact that as a nation, we could not FOR EVER be a monocultural oil-and-gas economy, and at the same time have a mono-energy-oil-and-gas-source technology dependence, and not have strategic disaster in our hands sooner or later.   How can we all of these years have oil and gas contributing 90% of foreign earnings, 80% of total national earnings, 83% of electricity production source - and yet have only 4000 MW of public electricity production kwashiokor all of these years, despite years of pouring in money to increase electricity production, which is the sine-qua-non of technological productivity.  
That "sooner or later" is NOW - and we must face up to it once and for all - and fortunately or unfortunately, it falls on Buhari and his government's laps.  Whether it will succeed, the jury is out.
In a few back-and-forth SMS with a friend just yesterday, I wrote that hateful cynicism has never built a nation.  Those who want corruption to return because the rapacious ancien regime  lost out will continue to wail, even mock and sabotage every opportunity to make corrections.  Things would have been "worser" if that ancien regime had returned to power at the center, because the rape of the nation would have continued, and it would have been hiding the true situation while continuing the "direct stealing" - and then spreading the gravy around.  Yes, maybe the Avengers would not have been avenging - there would have been no political incentive - and so our drop in oil production would not have compounded our current financial situation - but no nation worth its salt should give in to politics-induced militant criminality. 
It is clear that in many previous administrations - not just the last one -  Nigerian governance was essentially a pyramidal criminal enterprise comprising legislators, bankers, judges, lawyers, government bureaucrats and many Executive administrators (at the federal, state and local government levels) - and even some in the Press  - with crumbs being given to "grateful" family members, political associates, business acolytes and other hangers-on.  Those people did not just go away on May 29, 2015.  Being unable to eat at the trough in a brazen a manner as before, many of them and their acolytes are using the present hard conditions to hit at those trying to make fundamental corrections to those mistakes - like TSA, BVN, ZBB,  a re-balanced budget (old habits reared its ugly head with "padding" disclosures), a functional and well-funded security apparatus. economy diversification (which does not happen overnight), etc. etc.
Even the corrections are not deep enough, essentially because with the little money being earned from our monoculture of oil - low production, low purchase,  low price -  even LEGAL official expenditures are difficult to carry out by government.
What one simply hopes and prays for is that the Buhari administration will not be panicked by all the loud noises of distress and cacophony of advice around it.  It should sift the wheat of good advice from the chaff of sullen disappointments.   It must do NOTHING to indicate to the people that the Administration is continuing the criminal enterprise that they have come to correct - like re-looting loot. The Administration also needs young, steady, suave and regular spokespersons communicating government policies, not sound-biters and political propagandists that may have been more appropriate for election purposes.  At 73, the civilian Buhari (transformed from the military dictator Buhari) has indeed lost a step or two - and hates to be typecast as a "dictator" of any hue - but Nigeria needs some firmness of leadership, particular as leader of a political party, and head of a government. Aloofness is NOT an option.  Finally, a number of his top officials and ministers are misfits, and are not serving him well, in my opinion; after one year plus,  he should look to re-shuffle his cabinet.
And there you have it.
 
Bolaji Aluko
 
 
On Mon, Sep 5, 2016 at 7:45 AM, Maigoro A Jos <maigo...@gmail.com> wrote:
 
Obviously, this is the real picture of our state of the nation but
mind you, only those with moral thought can acquaintance with you.
 
The beneficiaries of corruption and unapologetic PDP crooks are making
the atmosphere so noisy that PMB's policies not friendly.
 
 
 
Maigoro
 
On 04/09/2016, Imperial imperi...@yahoo.com [YanArewa]
> removing one will kill the other. Maybe we should tolerate and learn to live
> with corruption so that Nigeria can survive?
 
> Sent from my iPhone
 
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Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Sep 13 11:02AM -0700

Given : Taxation's fine. Monitoring the possibilities of treasonable bribes
to avoid paying official taxes. Should also be fine. ( stop the leakages
and channel them back into their rightful place : into the national
coffers.
 
What's being responded has probably not been fully digested and that why
Simple Simon is asking in naked wonder and bewilderment :The great question
 
To whom then does the actual oil money
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&q=Nigeria+:+oil+money>
 
the great hunk and hub
 
linchpin and lifeblood
 
of the nation's economy
 
the national cake
 
apart for some special - and equitable - revenue concessions such as
derivation allocations
 
to whom does Nigerian oil belong, who owns it?
 
 
On Tuesday, 13 September 2016 13:54:35 UTC+2, Bolaji Aluko wrote:
Okechukwu Ukaga <ukag...@umn.edu>: Sep 13 02:11PM -0500

Before taxing the general public, the government should first collect as
much of the stolen funds as possible and plug the ongoing leakages. For
instance, the $9 billion in the hands of just 50 crooks (according to John
Kerry) will go a long way if recovered by the Nigerian government. And
there are a lot more out there.
OU
 
On Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 1:02 PM, Cornelius Hamelberg <
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Adjunct Professor, Geography Department, University of Minnesota - Duluth
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Website: www.rsdp.umn.edu Phone: 218-341-6029
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John Mbaku <jmb...@weber.edu>: Sep 13 01:56PM -0600

OU:
 
I have received calls from many colleagues in Abuja and Lagos expressing
the same sentiments--that the government should secure the stollen funds
and then put into place mechanisms to make sure that this does not happen
again. The problem is, how can one expect a dysfunctional system to
voluntarily cure itself? Should we not be asking ourselves the question:
Why was it possible for these people to siphon so much money from the
public treasury? In other words, what determines the pervasiveness of
venality in the country's public sector?
 
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Brookings InstitutionAttorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)Brady
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & John S. Hinckley
Fellow Department of EconomicsWeber State University1337 Edvalson Street,
Dept. 3807Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA(801) 626-7442 Phone(801) 626-7423 Fax*
 
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Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>: Sep 13 08:44PM

Dear Obuagwu Anikwe,
 
May I remind you that the 1959 Federal election was referenced because of the much often repeated mythical anecdote and story of how Britain rigged the 1959 federal elections in favour of the NPC to ensure handing over power to Northerners. As you have correctly stated under item 4 of your submission below, none of the political parties had enough parliamentary seats to form the government, in 1959, even though the NPC had 148 seats compared to the NCNC and AG that had 89 and 75 seats respectively. If Britain had rigged the election in favour of the North, the NPC would have had absolute majority over the NCNC and AG put together to form the government. The Governor, Sir James Robertson, only followed the parliamentary procedure when he called on the leader of the party that had the highest number of seats in the parliament, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to form the government. Balewa who on his part was conscious of the parliamentary situation, indicated his desire to form a national government comprising of the three major political parties. It was there, that Awolowo declared that he could serve in a national government led by Nnamdi Azikiwe but not in the one led by a feudalist. Since he who would become the Prime Minister depended on the majority of members of Parliament and not on the party that had the highest number of seats in the Parliament, you must be wrong to assert that Azikiwe, in particular, had no basis to contemplate being the Prime Minister, with the approval of Awolowo's AG when their total number of seats together were 164 against NPC's 148. It is important to note that the national government so formed by Azikiwe could not have excluded the NPC from taking ministerial appointments except the position of the head of government, the Prime Minister. If Awolowo had called for a coalition government between the NCNC and AG to the exclusion of NPC, you might be right to call that political step a gang-up against NPC but to the politically matured, that step would have been seen as strictly following the simple rule of Parliamentary democracy. Your insinuation that 'only a politician with inordinate ambition would have agreed to do this (gang-up) and Zik proved that he was not' would appear illogical, since the same Zik ganged-up with Balewa against Awolowo.
 
 
Azikiwe himself had publicly branded the NPC as containing feudal autocrats and illiterate dummies, therefore his decision to form a federal coalition government with the party, was premised on his belief that his ethnic group would dominate the government because of their superior education to the Northerners which would have been impossible if he were to lead a national government consisting of AG. Awolowo decided to be the opposition leader in Parliament and as the Colonial Officials were leaving Nigeria after independence Igbo filled their positions. Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the deputy leader of Action Group and Premier of the Western Region, drew the attention of Awolowo to the discrimination against the Yoruba by the Federal government in appointments in the Civil Service and statutory corporations which he blamed on the refusal of Awolowo to participate in the Federal government. Awolowo averred that if incompetent persons were appointed because of their ethnic origins, it would only accelerate the ruins of the government and enhance the AG to win the next Federal election. The NPC/NCNC gang-up against the AG controlled Western Region began in 1961 when the parliamentary majority of the Federal government passed a resolution to carve out Mid-West from the Western Region while leaving the North and the East intact. In February 1962, the dispute between Akintola and Awolowo over the alienation of Yoruba in federal appointments blew open at the Jos Congress of Action Group when Akintola and Ayo Rosiji the Secretary of the AG walked out. The NPC/NCNC controlled Federal government seized the opportunity of the conflict between Awolowo and Akintola to overthrow the AG controlled Western Region government by declaring a State of Emergency and appointing an administrator to rule the region for six months from May 29, 1962 to 31 December 1962. All the 13 Acts of the State of Emergency rule were signed into law by the Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe. By the time Emergency rule had ended Awolowo had been incarcerated with his key supporters and charged to court by the Federal Government for treasonable felony. At the same time, Akintola had formed a new political party called United People's Party (UPP) and with the support of the NCNC and some AG members of Western House of Assembly, the NCNC/NPC controlled Federal government returned him as the Premier of Western Region. Before the end of 1963 Awolowo had been jailed ten years and many of his key supporters received sentences ranging between two and seven years. With Awolowo in prison and AG decimated, the NCNC had thought that Western Region would be delivered to them on a platter of gold.
 
 
Then, in February 1964, the Federal Government released the result of the 1963 recounted census figures whereby the North was enumerated with 29.7, East 12.3, Midwest 2.5 millions each and Lagos 675,000. The Premier of the North accepted the census figures while the Premiers of NCNC controlled Eastern and Midwest Region rejected the figures since it would give the North 167 seats out of 312 in the Parliament at the next federal election as against 70 to the East, 57 to the West, 14 to the Midwest and 4 to Lagos. The NCNC premiers of the East and Midwest,Okpara and Osadebay, had hoped that the UPP/NCNC coalition government of the Western Region would also reject the census figures but instead all the NCNC members of the Western House of Assembly, except five, had connived with all the UPP members to resurrect and float the first political party in Nigeria, NNDP, which Azikiwe inherited from Herbert Macaulay in 1946 and liquidated in 1951. Not only that, the new NNDP controlled government of the West published a white paper alleging that the federal government was dominated by what was termed "IBOCRACY" - a network which secured for the Ibo a disproportionate share of jobs, commercial opportunities, federal scholarships etc., at the expense of other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Tables of names listed the favoured Igbo and one spectacular example was that of a medical doctor, Dr. Okwechukwu Ikejiani, who was made Chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, in place of qualified Yoruba mechanical engineers numbering about three. Akintola jokingly referred to what he termed Igbo chauvinism in Yoruba as IKINNI ANI, IKEJI ANI, IKETA ANI IKERIN ANI IKARUN ANI, IKEFA ANI, IKEJE ANI, IKEJO ANI, IKESAN ANI, IKEWA ANI , SUGBON AWA ONI NI NKANKAN. Meaning the first Igbo shall have, the second shall have, ..... the tenth shall have, but we shall have nothing. The census figures destroyed the relationship between the NPC and NCNC beyond repairs as the December 1964 was fast approaching. In spite of his incarceration Awolowo was still very popular in the West and there were constant protests against Akintola's government.
 
 
In August 1964, the NPC, in alliance with the NNDP, the Midwest Democratic Front (MDF), and the Niger Delta Congress of Eastern Nigeria, inaugurated the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) under which they were to contest the December 1964 , federal elections. In accordance with the terms of the alliance, Balewa invited two NNDP members to join the federal cabinet without first terminating the coalition agreement with the NCNC from December 1959 and despite the fact that the tenure of the government was to expire in five months time. The breach by the NPC of the coalition agreement with NCNC ought to have resulted into withdrawal or resignations of NCNC members of the cabinet and the resignation of Nnamdi Azikiwe whose position, first as Governor General and later as the President, was due to the agreement between the two parties. Conscious of the AG popularity in the West and despite the imprisonment of Awolowo, the NCNC sought alliance with it together with NEPU and UMBC to contest the December '64 federal elections under the umbrella of United Progressive Grand Alliance. In fierce attack, the NNDP projected UPGA as Igbo-dominated organisation created only to serve Igbo interests at the expense of other ethnic groups. Election campaigns in the North and West were marred by violence and on December 10, 1964 President Azikiwe warned in a national broadcast that the violence could lead to dis-integration of Nigeria. When nominations closed on 20 December 1964, 68 NPC candidates had been returned unopposed and Azikiwe urged Balewa, the Prime Minister, to postpone the election for six months and to request the assistance of the United Nations to conduct it. Balewa ignored the President's suggestions and the election was held on 30 December 1964 while UPGA announced boycott which was total in the East even though 19 candidates were also returned unopposed there before the election date, and all the 14 seats in the Midwest were declared won by the NCNC. In the West, 36 NNDP were declared elected as against 13 AG and 5 NCNC which means election boycotts took place only in 3 constituencies. In Lagos Federal Territory, T.O.S. Benson who contested as an Independent candidate, because the NCNC did not trust that he was not an NNDP, was elected by 5 votes and his election was later validated by the courts. That means the election was totally boycotted in 3 constituencies, in Lagos. In the North the NPC won 162 out of 167 seats which implied that NNA alliance won 198 out of 312 seats in the federal parliament. Azikiwe refused to recognise the elections and tried to ask the Army to enforce the cancellation of the elections and holding new ones in the future. Instead Azikiwe found himself surrounded in a house arrest by the Army on the order of Prime Minister Balewa who according to the constitution had the right to executive command of the armed forces despite the title of Azikiwe as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. After six days, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, instead of resigning as he had announced on New Year's Day, threw in the towel and invited Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to form a new government, declaring, "I have his (Balewa's) permission to say that he intends to form a broad-based national government." Abubakar submitted immediately a list of 17 cabinet members of which all were NPC from the North to Azikiwe for appointments pending the time elections were conducted in the boycotted constituencies. After elections were conducted in the boycotted constituencies in March 1965, the NCNC abandoned its allies AG, NEPU, and UMBC, in UPGA, to accept ministerial appointments under (NPC/NNDP) the NNA led government. That was politics without principle or moral. Thereafter, Azikiwe left the country for what was termed medical treatment abroad and he did not return to Nigeria until February 1966 after the coup.
 
 
My points are these : If Zik did not have inordinate ambition in 1959, he would have remained in opposition together with Awolowo and allowed Balewa to form a minority government; If he did not have inordinate ambition, Azikiwe would not have ignored the protest of his ally, NEPU, in the North against forming a coalition government with NPC; If Azikiwe did not have inordinate ambition, he would not have signed into law all the 13 emergency Acts that overthrew the Action Group controlled Western Region Government in 1962; If Azikiwe did not have inordinate ambition, he would have resigned as the President of the Republic when Balewa breached the coalition agreement he had with the NCNC by inviting NNDP to join the federal cabinet in August 1964; and if Azikiwe did not have inordinate ambition, he would have resigned after the December 1964 federal elections were rigged instead of inviting Abubakar to form a broad-base government. When Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1979, the separation of power between the Executive and the legislature did not permit coalition. Although the President was Shehu Shagari, his party NPN had only 169 members in the House of Reps and 36 members in the Senate out of 440 and 95 respectively. However, the NPP led by Azikiwe with 78 and 16 members respectively in the House of Reps and the Senate entered into coalition agreement with the NPN to turn the National Assembly into rubber stamp law-makers for the NPN. We knew the results. In view of the aforementioned, Zik was without doubt a politician with inordinate ambition.
 
S.Kadiri
 
 
 
 
 
 
________________________________
Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Ogbuagu Anikwe <oan...@gmail.com>
Skickat: den 12 september 2016 03:19
Till: Rex Marinus
Kopia: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Azikiwe and the Perception of Political Dominance in 1954
 
Greetings my dear brother and thank you for the correction; I agree with you that the AG began alliance talks with the NCNC only after the 1959 elections. I apologise to the Group for the mix up in dates.
 
I however wish to state that my submission about the significance of the 1954 watershed elections still holds true, considering that it was the result of this (1954) election that was used to arrive at the decision not only about who should be appointed prime minister but also about the need to form a broadbased government on August 27, 1957.
 
I want to disagree that KO Mbadiwe should have been invited to form the government in 1957; that is not what the constitution stipulated and it is also inconceivable that a party with less number of representation in the parliament could have been invited to form a government on its own regardless of the number of seats it was entitled to in the cabinet.
 
I need to state/restate the following:
 
1. In 1957 there was no election; only a broadbased government (which included two AG cabinet members) was formed. The issue of political alliances did not therefore arise.
 
2. After the 1959 elections, there was no basis for either Awolowo or Azikiwe to contemplate being Prime Minister - in a system where a different party from theirs had a (simple) parliamentary majority. They could team up to do this of course - as Awolowo wanted - but this would have amounted to a political gang-up designed to install chaos in the land. Only a politician with inordinate ambition would have agreed to do this and Zik proved that he was not.
 
3. You and I are agreed that Zik acted in the larger national interest by aligning with the NPC rather than with AG. This alliance continued to ensure even representation of the regions at the cabinet level since the NCNC had continued to nominate ministers from the Western Region where it was keenly competing with the AG. If NPC had aligned with the AG, the East would have been thrown into the political wilderness (as is the case today), the same way that the North would have felt sidelined in the event of an NCNC-AG alliance.
 
4. The 1959 federal elections final tally was NPC 148, NCNC 89 and AG 75. This result put the parties in the exact same position they were in 1954. It would still have amounted to a gang-up against the party with a simple majority, and with dire consequences for the young nation, if NCNC and AG had teamed up to form a government under the circumstance.
 
5. By 1959, it has to be stated that both NPC and the AG had completely shed their ethnic/regional toga; they campaigned nationwide and struck fruitful alliances across regions. In the elections, NPC through its allies secured 6 seats in the Western and one (1) seat in the Eastern Regions while AG with its allies secured 25 seats in the Northern and 14 in the Eastern Regions. NCNC was the only party that had hitherto maintained a pan-regional character (across East and West); its Northern alliances
Michael Afolayan <mafo...@yahoo.com>: Sep 13 12:25PM

Wow, let's hear the government apologists and cultural elites dare to defend this; and, PLEASE, we don't want to hear trash words like "godfatherism," "patermalism," "big-brotherism," "neocolonialism," or phrases like "awon naa nko?" (they too are corrupt), "Falana gbo tie" (mind your own business), and all the unsavory intellectual jingos we have always used in our shameless efforts to protect corruption and corrupt operatives in our nation's public squares. The gentleman Kerry spoke the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. It's simple Sociology 101 that would take an Oyinbo thousands of miles across the great ocean and from the other side of the great divide to come and teach my people . . . So sad!MOA
 
 
 

 
On Sunday, September 11, 2016 7:46 AM, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:

 
WatchToyin FalolaDepartment of HistoryThe University of Texas at Austin104 Inner Campus DriveAustin, TX 78712-0220USA512 475 7224512 475 7222 (fax)http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/http://www.toyinfalola.com http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa  http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue   --
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Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Sep 13 12:55PM -0700

From way back :
 
"Letter to the Human Race" Marsilio Ficino Year-1474
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O4zOiV_uig>
 
 
On Sunday, 11 September 2016 15:53:45 UTC+2, Ayandiji wrote:
Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com>: Sep 13 05:26PM +0100

Afis Odidere and my People:
 
Much of what I read in "Malaria Taxes and Basket Water" is indeed populist
- and more wailing.
 
We should be ENCOURAGING activities - both public, both ESPECIALLY private
- that will lead government to INCREASE total revenue from TAXATION, and
not to oppose taxation. Yes, the citizens should hold government to
account, but it is MORE ETHICAL to hold government to account for what you
contribute DIRECTLY to government, because simply being an unproductive
citizen REDUCES the accountability government owes to that citizen.
 
For example in Nigeria, taxes contribute no more than 15% - 29% of total
revenue: I have repeated this flow diagram several times on these forums:
 
 
FIGURE 1: Annotated Budget Flow Diagram of Nigeria
 
[image: Inline image 1]
 
 
By placing so much emphasis on our revenue on the sale of oil, calculated
as:
 
TOTAL REVENUE FROM OIL (D) = amount of oil sold in barrels (A) x cost
of oil per barrel in US$ (B) x Conversion rate of US $ to Naira (C)
or D = A * B * C
 
 
we become captive to three UNCERTAIN factors A, B and C, which AMPLIFY
the problems that the product D experiences. That is what we are
SERIOUSLY experiencing now, where ALL of A, B and C are DOWN all at the
same time. In fact, the product of A*B has a negative feedback on C,
making D go into its present paroxysm.
 
It is as if our government is an OIL TRADING COMPANY, not a modern
structure of governance, with the President as the General Managing
Director, and the citizens as passive and/or grumbling shareholders.
 
So we must SMASH this revenue model once and for all - without compromising
D - and ensure that whatever is earned from oil is NOT of government
concern as such, but we see its effect COMPLETELY through all kinds of
taxation - corporate, income, excise, etc. That is, the dichotomy between
oil and non-oil should be COMPLETELY smashed, and we see all Government
revenue in terms of taxation.
 
Take, for example, the United States of America: Its budget has been
increasing over time, until the 2016 figure of about $4.4 trillion.
 
 
 
USA - Federal Budget Over Time.
 
[image: Inline image 3]
 
 
In this 2016, as in previous years, the total percentage of taxes in the
total revenue of the USA is virtually 100%:
 
 
 
Figure 3: USA Budget 2016 Revenue as percentages
 
[image: Inline image 4]
 
 
In absolute figures, this table is relevant
 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_federal_budget
 
TABLE 1: 2016 USA Budget: Receipts by source: *(in billions of dollars)*
SourceRequested[32]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_federal_budget#cite_note-2016ReceiptsRequest-32>
Individual income tax
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States> $1,645.6
Corporate income tax
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_tax_in_the_United_States> $473.3
Social Security
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States)> and
other payroll
tax <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payroll_tax> $1,111.9
Excise tax <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excise_tax_in_the_United_States>
$112.1
Estate <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance_tax> and gift taxes
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_tax> $21.3
Customs <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs> duties
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_(economics)> $38.4
Other miscellaneous receipts $122.5
*Total* *$3,525.2*
:
 
As well as this historical diagram:
 
Figure 4: USA Budget Revenue Over Time as Amounts
 
[image: Inline image 5]
 
 
But the way to ensure responsible expenditure is NOT to discourage
taxation, but to TIE UP spending in legislature in such a way that THE
PEOPLE derive maximum benefit. For example, in the 2016 USA budget, $2.44
trillion is in MANDATORY expenditure, while only $1.1 trillion is in
DISCRETIONARY expenditure:
 
 
Figure 5: Discretionary vs. Mandatory Expenditure in USA 2016 Budget:
 
 
[image: Inline image 6]
 
 
That is the other model that must be SMASHED: that as governments change,
their appetite to spend our money should not be FICKLE. Legislation must
TIE up as much money as possible for the PEOPLE, so that WHENEVER there is
shortage, it should be the GOVERNMENT - not the PEOPLE - that should make
the sacrifice - BY LAW. It is ONLY after they have made the sacrifice, and
we still cannot balance the budget, should they then be able to go the
People for relief.
 
As to the employment of citizens by GOVERNMENT, Nigeria has a population of
180 million, but ALL levels of government - national, state and local
government - do not employ tops no more than 2 million, with the Federal
Government employing about half that amount. I believe that includes even
the Military.
 
That may look like a lot, but the USA with a population of 300 million
people employs about 2.7 million civilians at the federal level (does not
include over 1.5 million in the uniformed Defence forces), and a total of
21.8 million nationwide:
 
QUOTE
 
http://federal-budget.insidegov.com/stories/13693/government-agencies-most-employees
 
The Government Agencies that Employ the Most People
 
By Alex Greer <https://author-profiles.graphiq.com/l/6/Alex-Greer> on May
20, 2016
 
Who’s the largest employer in the U.S.?
 
When people hear that question, they tend to think of giant companies, like
Wal-Mart, General Electric and McDonald’s. But the runaway leader isn’t a
giant company. In fact, it’s not even a company.
 
With approximately 2.7 million
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/>
civilian
employees, the U.S. government is the largest employer in the country. For
reference, Wal-Mart has 2.2 million
<http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-locations>employees worldwide.
While this number reveals the enormity of the federal government, it
doesn’t tell the full story of where these 2.7 million people work. After
all, the U.S. government consists <https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/a> of
dozens of departments and agencies, each with distinct goals and purposes.
 
That’s why the team at InsideGov <http://www.insidegov.com/> decided to
take a deeper look at employment in the U.S. government. Using data from
the Office of Personnel Management
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/employment-trends-data/2013/september/table-2/>,
we found the 25 government departments and agencies that had the most
employees in September 2013. Non-civilians, like uniformed military
personnel, are not included in these figures.
 
It’s also important to note that these numbers only include federal
personnel. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates
<http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab1.htm> that with state and local
government positions, the total number of government employees in the U.S.
jumps to over 21.8 million.
 
 
UNQUOTE
 
 
From the information above, I put together this Table on the USA:
 
 
 
 
TABLE 2: USA – Top 25 USA Federal Agencies with Largest Civilian Employees
(As of September 2013)
 
 
 
S/N
 
Agency
 
No. of Civilian Employees
 
Worldwide
 
Comment
 
 
 
1
 
U.S. Postal Service
 
 
 
584,027
 
 
 
 
 
2
Department of Veterans Affairs
 
 
 
323,208
 
General Electric had 307,000 employees
<http://www.ge.com/about-us/fact-sheet> worldwide as of Dec. 2013.
 
 
 
3
Department of the Army
 
 
 
264,906
 
This does not include more than
<http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/652687/department-of-defense-dod-releases-fiscal-year-2017-presidents-budget-proposal>a
million soldiers in the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army
Reserve
 
 
 
4
Department of the Navy
 
 
 
194,923
 
 
 
 
 
5
Department of Homeland Security
 
 
 
192,073
 
 
 
 
 
6
Department of the Air Force
 
 
 
169,440
 
This does not include approximately twice as many active duty personnel.
 
 
 
7
Department of Justice
 
 
 
115,616
 
 
 
 
 
8
Department of the Treasury
 
 
 
112,461
 
 
 
 
 
9
Department of Agriculture
 
 
 
95,223
 
President Abraham Lincoln created
<http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=USDA150>the Department
of Agriculture in 1862 and later referred to the agency as “The People’s
Department.” The USDA heads initiatives on food, agriculture and natural
resource conservation.
 
 
 
10
Other Defense Activities (Excluding Defense Logistics Agency)
 
 
 
75,223
 
The Department of Defense consists ofmultiple levels
<http://odam.defense.gov/Portals/43/Documents/Functions/Organizational%20Portfolios/Organizations%20and%20Functions%20Guidebook/DoD_Organization_March_2012.pdf>of
departments and agencies. Some of the defense agencies included in this
category include the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Intelligence
Agency.
 
 
 
11
Department of Health and Human Services
 
 
 
72,703
 
 
 
 
 
12
Department of the Interior
 
 
 
71,543
 
Employees of the Department of the Interior are distributed across a
variety of different bureaus <https://www.doi.gov/bureaus>and offices,
including the National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
 
 
 
13
Social Security Administration
 
 
 
62,549
 
SSA employs roughly 5,000 more people than Google
<http://www.businessinsider.com/google-has-57000-employees-2015-7>does
worldwide.
 
 
 
14
Department of Transportation
 
 
 
55,288
 
As the government repairs its aging highway infrastructure and builds more
efficient transit systems, spending
<http://federal-budget.insidegov.com/stories/13371/government-agencies-most-money#17-Department-of-Transportation>on
the Department of Transportation is expected to rise sharply over the next
few years.
 
 
 
15
Department of Commerce
 
 
 
45,035
 
The Department of Commerce <https://www.commerce.gov/>was created in 1903
with the goal of creating jobs and promoting economic growth. In 2012,
President Obamaannounced
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/r-i-p-department-of-commerce-president-obama-seeks-to-consolidate-government-agencies/>his
intention to eliminate the department, but Congress has not approved the
changes.
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/r-i-p-department-of-commerce-president-obama-seeks-to-consolidate-government-agencies/>
 
 
 
 
16
Department of State
 
 
 
41,768
 
 
 
 
 
17
U.S. Courts
 
 
 
33,271
 
This number does not include employees of the Supreme Court.
 
 
 
18
Defense Logistics Agency
 
 
 
24,331
 
As its name suggests, the Defense Logistics Agency
<http://www.dla.mil/AboutDLA.aspx>provides logistics support for the U.S.
military. This entails a wide variety ofservices
<http://www.dla.mil/WhatDLAOffers.aspx>, ranging from the provision of
necessary materials to sustainability programs.
<http://www.dla.mil/WhatDLAOffers.aspx>
 
 
 
19
Corps of Engineers
 
 
 
23,230
 
The Corps of Engineers has undertaken some of the most ambitious public
works projects in U.S. history, ranging from the construction of the Panama
Canal
<http://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/HistoricalVignettes/CivilEngineering/107PanamaCanal.aspx>to
thedamming
<http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/ColumbiaRiver/Bonneville.aspx>of
the Columbia River.
<http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/ColumbiaRiver/Bonneville.aspx>
 
 
 
20
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
 
 
 
18,001
 
With its goals of space exploration and uncovering the unknown aspects of
the universe, NASA employs some of the most brilliant minds in the nation.
The agency hopes to send humans to Mars
<http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars>in the 2030s.
 
 
 
21
Department of Labor
 
 
 
17,187
 
 
 
 
 
22
Environmental Protection Agency
 
 
 
17,002
 
One of the newest agencies on this list, theEPA
<https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa>was created in 1970 byPresident Richard Nixon
<http://us-presidents.insidegov.com/l/7/Richard-Nixon>with the goal of
protecting human health and the environment.
<http://us-presidents.insidegov.com/l/7/Richard-Nixon>
 
 
 
23
Congress
 
 
 
16,432
 
This includes personnel in the House of Representatives and the Senate
 
 
 
24
Department of Energy
 
 
 
15,213
 
With the rising threat of global climate change, the Department of Energy
has increased its efforts to develop
<http://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy>renewable
energy resources and promote energy efficiency throughout the country.
 
 
 
25
Tennessee Valley Authority
 
 
 
12,612
 
Unlike most of the agencies on this list, theTennessee Valley Authority
<https://www.tva.gov/About-TVA>is a federally owned corporation that
receives no taxpayer funding. It provides electricity to the southeastern
U.S.
 
 
 
 
 
TOTAL
 
2,653,265
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This most interesting thing is that over decades, this number of civilian
workers in the USA Federal civil service has not changed much. In fact,
the TOTAL federal work force has declined::
 
 
 
TABLE 3:
 
*Data, Analysis & Documentation*
 
 
*USA FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT REPORTS*
Historical Federal Workforce Tables*Total Government Employment Since 19621
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note1>
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note1>*
 
(numbers in thousands)
 
*Year*
 
*Executive branch civilians (thousands)*
 
*Uniformed military personnel (thousands)*
 
*Legislative and judicial branch personnel (thousands)*
 
*Total Federal personnel (thousands)*
 
*1962*
 
2,485
 
2,840
 
30
 
5,354
 
*19632
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note2>
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note2>*
 
2,498
 
2,732
 
30
 
5,260
 
*19642
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note2>
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note2>*
 
2,470
 
2,719
 
31
 
5,220
 
*1965*
 
2,496
 
2,687
 
32
 
5,215
 
*1966*
 
2,726
 
3,129
 
33
 
5,888
 
*1967*
 
2,968
 
3,413
 
34
 
6,416
 
*1968*
 
3,020
 
3,584
 
35
 
6,639
 
*19693
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note3>
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note3>*
 
3,040
 
3,499
 
36
 
6,575
 
*19704
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note4>
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note4>*
 
2,944
 
3,104
 
38
 
6,085
 
*19714
<https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/historical-tables/total-government-employment-since-1962/#note4>
Chika Onyeani <afrs...@aol.com>: Sep 13 09:06AM -0400

Recent Articles

STATE DEPARTMENT TO MEET WITH NIGERIANS IN THE NEW YORK IN A TOWNHALL MEETING ON MONDAY SEPT. 19
 
 
RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES SOUTH SUDAN LEADERS OF WAR PROFTEERING
 
 
MUSLIM WOMAN SET ON FIRE ON NEW YORK CITY
Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Sep 13 07:42AM -0700

A full assortment ( of an infinite variety) of Nigerians will be there,
ranging from the former Good Luck Jonathan Appreciation Day sycophants (
sour grapes) understandably, even more disgruntled with Buhari today than
they were with him before he came to power -
 
also possibly and not unexpectedly, representatives of various Nigerian
terrorist organisations, affected populations or their surrogates,
specially there to represent and reflect their various interests ( and
their share of the national )
 
sure to be there too, quite relaxed, Buhari die-hards like me,
 
will be lining up in their afolabi
 
agbadas
 
in the Chidi spirit :
 
Bloated egos, bellyful,
 
flaunting, adjusting and flourishing their agbadas
 
Bristling with pomposity
 
wearing the flag on their heads : all kinds
 
of green and white headgear : naija nation on their brains
 
some to meet others to greet
 
him
<https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj335Df0rHNAhUE3SwKHZ9MDooQPAgD#hl=en&q=MUhammadu+buhari>.
 
 
What ( burning ) issues are most likely to be discussed?
 
Nice song <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4tT7SCmaY>
 
 
On Tuesday, 13 September 2016 15:08:20 UTC+2, Chika Onyeani wrote:
Oyinlola Longe <honey....@gmail.com>: Sep 13 12:57PM +0100

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "torture2@inter-disciplinary.net" <torture2@inter-disciplinary.net>
Date: Sep 13, 2016 10:47 AM
Subject: CFP: Torture - 2nd Global Conference, April 2017, Lisbon, Portugal
To: <honey....@gmail.com>
Cc:
 
Torture
 
2nd Global Conference
 
Call for Participation 2017
 
Saturday 1st April - Monday 3rd April 2017
 
Lisbon, Portugal
 
As terrorism has seen a new rise in the past decades, organizations such as
ISIS, Boko Haram and similar others are thriving on the fear that is
increasingly gripping the world. Their way of spreading horror and gaining
the obedience of controlled population is largely based on mass torture and
killing. However, they are far from alone in this in this practice.
Throughout history, torture has been used for a great variety of reasons,
ranging from the twisted satisfaction of psychopathic criminals, to state
and/or Church sanctioned means of punishing evil doers or extracting
confessions; from violently resolving domestic disputes to means of
protecting national security.
 
Depending on context, point of view and ideology, torture has been seen
either as a barbaric, sub-human practice which needs to be prevented at all
costs or as a necessary evil which helps maintain peace, law and order in
society. Regardless of the different views on this violent set of
practices, one thing remains clear: for the person on the receiving end,
torture is deeply scarring on a physical and mental level, it has long
lasting psychological effects and it usually takes a long time to recover
from.
 
The Torture research stream offers a platform for inter-, cross- and
multi-disciplinary dialogue involving participants from across the
disciplinary spectrum. The event provides valuable opportunities for
knowledge exchange between individuals with an interest and expertise in
the topic, including policy and legal experts, representatives from NGOs
and philanthropic organisations, activists, medical and clinical
professionals, social workers and caregivers, educators, artists, business
people, journalists, survivors and perpetrators of torture, historians, and
researchers. It is intended that the deep inter-disciplinary engagement
facilitated by the event will foster greater understanding of torture,
awareness of its effects on survivors and society and action in the areas
of prevention and care-giving.
 
While papers dealing with state torture are very welcome, we would also
particularly encourage papers dealing with non-state torture. This may
include, but is not limited to, torture - contemporary or historical - by
religious institutions, communities, or armed groups, as well as non-state
actors involved in state torture. Papers touching on parallels,
differences, or connections between state and non-state torture are highly
welcome as well.
 
Proposals are invited for presentations, workshops, panels, interactive
round tables, performances, readings, screenings, or installations
concerning the effects of torture on its survivors throughout history and
in contemporary societies, from liberal democracies to totalitarian
states.. Submissions may deal with aspects of torture, including but not
limited to:
 
Defining Torture
 
Definitions, such as that contained in the UN Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, and the
debate around the usefulness and accuracy of definitions as a basis for
formulating treaties and improving practice. Issues around torture and:
 
• Sex
 
• Race
 
• Sexual orientation
 
• Asylum seekers
 
• Children
 
• Persons with disabilities
 
• Animals
 
• War
 
• Genocide/ethnic cleansing
 
The Torture Survivor
 
Socio-demographic profiles of torture survivors; accounts, experiences and
emotions of torture survivors; effects and efficiency of various methods of
torture on survivors; long term health effects of torture on survivors;
PTSD and the impact of having been tortured on one's social and family
life; psychological torture vs. physical torture; domestic abuse as a form
of torture; rape, forced nudity and harassment as forms of sexual torture;
torture in prisons, mental health facilities, military bases and other
total institutions; the limits of state torture; torture against minors and
its consequences; public torture as a form of punishment; the psychology
and sociology of torture; the social stigma associated with having been
tortured; Stockholm syndrome and cases of the tortured becoming torturers
and of brainwashing through torture in dictatorial regimes (e.g. communist
Romania's Pitesti Phenomenon); ways to care for and heal the survivors of
torture; torture prevention policies and actions; policies, state and civil
measures for supporting the survivors of torture;Creative practice as means
of coping with effects of torture; the documentation of effects such as by
The Istanbul Protocol in 1999; work by organisations such as Amnesty
International, The Red Cross and very many human rights organisations;
discussion and documentation of psychological consequences such as the loss
and regaining of trust, the hard task of forgiveness.
 
Causation
 
Norms and expectations within police, prison and army personnel;
international relations, manifestations of political power within national
states and ideological groups struggling to achieve statehood.
 
Issues of Practice
 
Interrogation and its legitimacy, setting boundaries in state practice,
exposure of the way that torturers are psychologically prepared and
trained, the sites of torture such as prisoner of war camps, state-run
detention centres, prisons, within civilian communities against persecuted
minorities and in areas of the world where genocide is being systematically
practiced.
 
History of Ideas
 
Influence of the Enlightenment, humanitarian ideals, varying political
ideologies, the rule of law; torture and cultural relativism, histories of
torture's use and effects.
 
Torture and the State
 
Powerful institutions within states; institutions such as the CIA and their
reach, values and power within a society; debates over extraordinary
rendition, accountability across borders, information sharing between
bodies within states.
 
Prevention, Reduction and Accountability
 
Treaties such as OPCAT and problems with implementation and accountability;
aspects of implementation of appropriate legal frameworks across borders;
information sharing; the usefulness of independent inspection regimes in
places of detention; installing penalties in places of detention and/or
instilling cultures of prevention through training and support; linking
progress to overseas aid; domestic and international criminal prosecutions
and civil suits seeking remedies against torturers and/or governments; work
by NGOs, charities and philanthropic organisations.
 
Perpetrators
 
Medical, social and psychological effects of torture on perpetrators
 
Societies that condone or tolerate torture
 
Punishment, retribution and rehabilitation of perpetrators
 
Torture and Medicine
 
Medical experimentation and torture
 
Ethical applications of knowledge gained through torture
 
Participation by medical professionals in acts of torture (e.g. capital
punishment)
 
Torture and mental health: psychological profiles on victims and
perpetrators
 
Torture and Religion
 
Torture narratives in religious/spiritual traditions
 
Torture carried out in the name of religion
 
Religion and spirituality as path to rehabilitation
 
The Business of Torture
 
Technologies and producers that support torture
 
Companies that do business with perpetrators of torture
 
Companies that engage in torture
 
Technologies and producers that assist in preventing torture
 
Designing and administering spaces of torture
 
Boycotts and ethical responses to corporate support for torture
 
Torture and Tourism
 
Dark tourism and the commodification of torture sites
 
Pilgrimages to sites of torture
 
The appeal of torture museums and sites associated with torture
 
Torture and the Arts
 
The literature and memoirs of survivors, both historical and
contemporaneous
 
Creative practice as means of coping with effects of torture
 
Depictions of/engagements with torture in art, music, television, film,
literature, drama, poetry, video games, graphic novels, etc.
 
Torture and Pedagogy
 
Strategies for teaching age-appropriate lessons
 
Challenges and strategies for researchers
 
Using the right language to talk about the issues
 
Further details and information can be found at the conference website:
 
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/
hostility-and-violence/torture/call-for-participation/
 
Details about our reviewing policy can be found here:
 
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/
hostility-and-violence/torture/call-for-participation/details-and-
information/
 
What to Send
 
300 word abstracts, proposals and other forms of contribution should be
submitted by Friday 28th October 2016.
 
All submissions be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind)
conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and
the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the
time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple
reviewed.
 
You will be notified of the panel's decision by Friday 11th November 2016.
 
If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your
contribution should be submitted by Friday 3rd March 2017.
 
Abstracts may be in Word, RTF or Notepad formats with the following
information and in this order:
 
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in programme,
c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10
keywords.
 
E-mails should be entitled: Torture Abstract Submission
 
Where to Send
 
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to both Organising Chairs:
 
Organising Chairs:
 
Diana Medlicott: di...@interdisciplinary.net
<mailto:diana@interdisciplinary.net>
 
Rob Fisher: tort...@interdisciplinary.net
<mailto:torture2@interdisciplinary.net>
 
Conference Outcomes and Outputs
 
The conferences we organise form a continual stream of conversations,
activities and projects which grow and evolve in different directions. The
outcomes and ‘outputs' which can productively flow from these is a
dynamic response to the gatherings themselves. And as our meetings are
attended by people from different backgrounds, professions and vocations,
the range of desirable outcomes are potentially diverse, fluid and
appropriate to what took place.
 
For detailed information on possible outcomes and outputs, please click
here
<http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/?page_id=36117&
preview=true>
. (This will open a new window).
 
All accepted papers presented at the conference are eligible to be selected
for publication in a hard copy paperback volume (the structure of which is
to be determined post conference and subject to certain criteria). The
selection and review process is outlined in the conference materials. Other
publishing options may also become available. Potential editors will be
chosen from interested conference delegates.
 
Additional possible outputs include: paperback volumes; journals; open
volume on-line annuals; social media outputs (Facebook pages, blogs, wikis,
Twitter and so on); collaboration platforms; reviews; reports; policy
statements; position papers; declarations of principles; proposals for
future meetings, workshops, courses and schools; proposals for personal and
professional development opportunities (cultural cruises, summer schools,
personal enrichment programmes, faculty development, mentoring programmes,
consultancies); and other options you would like us to consider.
 
Ethos
 
Inter-Disciplinary.Net believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and
professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend
for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this
commitment, please do not submit an abstract for presentation.
 
Please note: Inter-Disciplinary.Net is a not-for-profit network and we are
not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or
subsistence.
 
 
 
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===============
Dr Rob Fisher
Network Founder and Leader
inter-disciplinary.net
 
Inter-Disciplinary.Net is accredited by the British Accreditation Council
for Independent Further and Higher Education as a Short Course Provider
 
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Harvestway House, 28 High Street
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Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>: Sep 13 12:26AM

Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theater was founded in 1988 as Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater. After it concluded its twenty-second edition in 2010 it was suspended/adjourned in 2011 until 2015. Then again, here it is this year with a new term added to its title. "Contemporary" has been introduced to the title with the hope that it would open up the scope for a wider range of participation and varied production-styles for a broader audience. Moreover, the festival returns without one of its former guidelines: thecontest, competition or awards, rather, it returns as a theatrical panorama aiming to encompass contemporary and unique international experiments. It returns with the understanding that it is collaboration, exchange, conversations-not awards-that should be the aim of all major international festivals and assemblies.
 
This year a large number of Arab and International theater companies are participating in addition to a long list Egyptian productions. The festival includes six workshops led by major international artists from Chile, USA, Pakistan and India. Additionally, there will be four major panels focusing on Arab Theater and the west scheduled on the fringe.
 
The festival is pleased to honour six major international Theater artists::
Gameel Rateb: Prominent actor and director: Gameel Rateb! He studied Theater in France, and since has appeared in over forty stage productions in both France and Egypt, as well as tens of films and television series
Mumbi Kaigwa Artistic Director at The Arts Canvas where she creates campaigns that use art at address social themes such as violence, torture, human rights, peace and conflict.
Lu Ang Professor and Dean of Department of Directing at Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Vice Chairman of Shanghai Theatre Association. Mr Lu Anghas directed over 70 theater productions at home in China and abroad.
His Excellency Muhammad Sayf al-Afkham President of International Theater Institute. Director General of al-FujairahMunicipality?? He is the president of the International Monodrama Forum and Director of The Fujairah Culture and Media Authority
Torange Yehiazerian Founding Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, the first American theater company devoted to the Middle East, where she launched ReOrientFestival and Forum, Middle East America, Islam 101, New Threads and the Fairytale Players.
Femi Osofican Prominent dramatist and professor: He obtained his PhD at University of Ibadan, France, and is currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts at Kwara State University
 
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
104 Inner Campus Drive
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/
http://www.toyinfalola.com
http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
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Ogbuagu Anikwe

unread,
Sep 15, 2016, 7:54:01 AM9/15/16
to ogunl...@hotmail.com, Obi Nwakanma, usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Ogbuagu Anikwe

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Ogbuagu Anikwe" <oan...@gmail.com>
Date: 14 Sep 2016 14:51
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Digest for usaafric...@googlegroups.com - 13 updates in 7 topics
To: <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Cc:

Dear brother Salimonu Kadiri,
 
Let me begin with a small matter; you might want to render my name correctly the next time, I beg of you.


Now to the substantive issue. In my humble opinion, your intervention tended to throw in every conjecture you could possibly think of to support your pet theory that Azikiwe was a politician with inordinate ambition. I admire your tenacity. There is however something you need to know. I did not set out to defend Zik (or to attack Awo) on the issue of ambitions. Every politician is ambitious. What is in dispute is whether the post-election activities of the two actors who led their parties into electoral battles in the Western Region (1954-1959) qualify one of them (Zik) to be accused of inordinate ambition. I have not looked into any other period beyond this timeline. In interrogating the facts and conjectures that were being deployed to disprove or confirm the accusation, it occurred to me that this dispute is turning out to be not about Zik’s level of ambition per se as it is of Awo’s because if Zik were to be found not guilty, the searchlight would beam in Awo’s direction. In other words, I am beginning to suspect that some of those that are dissipating intellectual energy on the accusation are merely trying to position one of the two political champions over the other, as they seek to properly accommodate them in Nigeria’s Pantheon of Greatness. What is fantastic to behold is that some appear to be willing to not allow facts, conventions, or commonsense stand in the way.


You have done a yeoman’s job of defending your position. I particularly took a keen interest in the following quotes which provide the foundation of your support for the accusation:


“Balewa who on his part was conscious of the parliamentary situation, indicated his desire to form a national government comprising of the three major political parties. It was there, that Awolowo declared that he could serve in a national government led by Nnamdi Azikiwe but not in the one led by a feudalist. Since he who would become the Prime Minister depended on the majority of members of Parliament and not on the party that had the highest number of seats in the Parliament, you must be wrong to assert that Azikiwe, in particular, had no basis to contemplate being the Prime Minister, with the approval of Awolowo's AG when their total number of seats together were 164 against NPC's 148. It is important to note that the national government so formed by Azikiwe could not have excluded the NPC from taking ministerial appointments except the position of the head of government, the Prime Minister. If Awolowo had called for a coalition government between the NCNC and AG to the exclusion of NPC, you might be right to call that political step a gang-up against NPC but to the politically matured, that step would have been seen as strictly following the simple rule of Parliamentary democracy. Your insinuation that 'only a politician with inordinate ambition would have agreed to do this (gang-up) and Zik proved that he was not' would appear illogical, since the same Zik ganged-up with Balewa against Awolowo.”


I invite you to consider the following in relation to your position:

  • Under a parliamentary system of government (the Westminster type that we practiced), and on the strength of its electoral performance, NPC could have been invited to form a government with or without an absolute majority and without entering into a coalition with another party. The resulting contraption is what is known as a “minority government.” That is the rule and neither the NCNC nor the AG could have enjoyed this privilege. I’m still searching for a case where two minority parties teamed up to dethrone a major party that had a plurality of seats in parliament and formed a government, even when the party with the majority seats did not indicate that it was not willing to do so. Thus, I honestly did not know whether to be shocked or to laugh at your suggestion that an NCNC-AG alliance – under these circumstances – would have been considered “politically matured” and in accord with “the simple rule of parliamentary democracy.” However, I am willing to suspend judgement on the matter in order to be further educated by you on why you think a party with majority of seats in parliament does not have the right of first refusal to form a government, and why you think that by-passing this rule is not a clear invitation to chaos in the polity.

  • I am also willing to be educated on why you consider that, under our inherited and persistent challenges of political accommodation and spirit of sportsmanship, an AG-NCNC alliance would not have been a gang-up designed to make the majority a minority. And why you think that a coalition comprising (a) NPC-AG alliance, (b) NPC-NCNC, or (c) a broad-based NPC-NCNC-AG (with NPC as lead) would not have been a more pragmatic solution to our peculiar challenges.

Best regards.


Ogbuagu Anikwe



strategic communication . media brokerage . events services
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