From The Guardian
There are Nigerians who are upset that former army general, former Minister of Communications ministers and former Military Governor, has become President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Not me. I am overjoyed.
I am thrilled that this man, who proudly told the world when he was a minister that telephones were not for the poor, and who made news last year when he doggedly anchored Olusegun Obasanjo’s bid for an unconstitutional third term in office, has been pushed into the leadership of the Senate. Pushed by his own greed and ruthlessness, by his sponsor or sponsors, but most of all, by those remarkable fraternal twins the Bible cautions us all about: Time and Chance.
In other words, Mr. Mark is a child of history, and I welcome him to the title of Senate President. By taking the oath of office, Mr. Mark was confirming his readiness for the events that will now define him.
Mark’s enthronement by the People’s Democratic Party follows the departure of Ken Nnamani, who, for a few bright months, led the Senate in some of its more respectable work. Mr. Nnamani will be remembered for his strong leadership of the Upper House during Obasanjo’s third term crusade and the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) investigation. Although his performance was ambiguous in the closing stages of the work of the Senate on the PTDF, Mr. Nnamani generally exhibited a firm sense of his responsibilities. He often spoke about the debt of Senators to the constitution and the people, and their obligations to History.
Listening to all that must have made Mr. Mark wish he could bring a gun into the Upper House. He thinks the world—all of it—of his military training, and is highly prejudiced against civilians, as is usually the case with people whose minds have gone unfertilized by the manure of a thorough education. So impressed is this man with the worth of his own professional specie he told The Punch that nobody who lacks military training ought to rule Nigeria.
It is understandable then, why all that talk about History and the law and the constitution—as opposed to military discipline and tactics—must have unnerved Mr. Mark. It is understandable why he would stand loudly and lead the third term chorus of President Obasanjo: he has learned how to massage the oversized egos of his bosses – especially one in military fatigues, even if he is discreetly wearing them under the robes of a civilian – and reap the benefits.
The point, therefore, is not that David Mark is unqualified to be President of the Senate. It is that he must come out of hiding, where surreptitious weapons, rumors and underhanded tactics hold sway, into daylight where character matters. He must now be strip-searched by his own track record.
I embrace the moment, therefore, because David Mark must now answer questions about David Mark. He has spoken about the discipline of his military background. He must now speak about his vast fortune worldwide, and why his mythical military discipline seems to have failed him each time he stood in front of the public till. He must speak about the apparent dissonance between his beliefs and the public interest that he must now serve. It would be fascinating to hear him reconcile his record as a serial divorcee with his posturing about military discipline.
Some of Mr. Mark’s supporters have started the usual allegations of political witchcraft, trying to obscure the widening loopholes in his credibility by pointing at a “conspiracy” against him. This is the same sickening ruse that generations of corrupt public officials have employed. It will not work. These are the days of facts and figures, lawyers and courtrooms, witnesses and evidence. All Mr. Mark has to do is present the correct information to the public. He cannot be inferior to the facts, but must now understand he cannot be superior to them, either. Basically, reports show he is unfit to be President of the Senate because of his alleged corruption in public office, and that he has no respect for the law or the people. Certainly, he can repudiate these charges?
Published accounts say he has enjoyed a splashy, lavish lifestyle of private jets, golf courses, and multi-million-pound homes, allegedly paid for from monies looted from public office, and that he has huge accounts in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jersey, Cayman Islands and the Caribbean are of tremendous interest in Nigeria. Can he repudiate these charges?
I hope so, because until he does, David Mark is not the Senate President yet, but an impostor. The real Senate President is a man of integrity and character, one who would put his good name ahead of title or position. He would be a man who, as head of the legislature, believes in the rule of law. He would be a man who, having given his children a vast fortune, now recognizes the opportunity to give them the most special gift of all: an explanation as to how he earned it. The family name and the future are at stake, and he knows his Senate Presidency may be more abbreviated than the Anambra State governorship of one Andy Uba.
This is why I am not protesting David Mark at all. His Senate Presidency lures him into the open. Here, as Liberia’s Charles Taylor proved, nobody can run, and nobody can hide. Somebody, give Soldier Boy the microphone. He is about to defend himself.
OBI’S SUPREME TRIUMPH
Last Thursday’s Supreme Court verdict restoring the governorship of Anambra State to Peter Obi to complete his tenure is a shot of adrenaline to our political system. It is an important reminder that our nation can work, and ought to be allowed to work, on the basis of the law. I celebrate Mr. Obi’s victory with him and the voters of Anambra. Mr. Obi originally won the election in 2003, but the results were rigged out of his hands and the victory given to someone else, Chris Ngige. This fact was confessed publicly by Chris Uba, Ngige’s political sponsor, but ignored by the devious PDP machinery. After all that Anambra and Governor Obi have gone through, it is remarkable that justice is singing so loudly. As it would turn out, the principal loser is Andy Uba, an unpopular two-week governor who should never even have been a gubernatorial candidate in the first place. Hopefully, this is the beginning of sunrise for the people of Anambra.
MURDERED IN SPAIN
First, they beat him. See, they “had to” subdue him, so they must have employed considerable force to reduce him to a whimpering rag doll.
They then bound him hands and feet.
Then, perhaps astonished he still had any strength left to cry, call for help, or curse his tormentors, they gagged him.
Still, the hatred in his vibrant, angry eyes must have spoken more eloquently than a dirge, because they then threw a sack over him so nobody on the flight could see their inhuman work.
His name was Osamuyia Aikpitanhi, and the location was civilized Spain, on June 9, 2007. His tormentors were local officials who set out to deport him, but then took the law into their own hands to make sure he never traveled again, or lived to talk about his experience. Mr. Aikpitanhi was a Nigerian. His brutal torture and murder is the dehumanization and insult of all Nigerians.
This action is a challenge to the new Government of Nigeria, which must deploy every diplomatic means to obtain a full report and apology, as well as adequate compensation for the family of poor Mr. Aikpitanhi. Incidents of Nigerians being treated like animals abroad must be brought to an end.
To this end, Nigerians with an Internet presence should go to Nigeriavillagesquare.com and sign the protest letter, or call the Nigerian Ambassador in Madrid at: 
+34 915630911. You would be saving a people.
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