The Bigotry, Hatred and Censorship of Yahoogroups' Naija Politics Moderator(s): Martin Akindana and his Colleagues

Illustration: John Dyson

"NaijaPolitics's Group Description: NaijaPolitics ‘Mat’ is a Political Crossfire of Nigerian politics. A group dedicated to Gavel-to-Gavel discussion of political developments in Nigeria -Africa's largest democracy. A place where Political Pundits, Political Analysts, Policy Analysts, Political ‘Think Thank’, Political & Policy 'Wonks', Policy Makers, Political Aspirants, Political Activists, Political Strategists, Political Lobbyists, Current Office holders, the Politically inclined and others that 'swim', 'dream', 'dine', and 'talk' politics hit heads together. It is a place for Nigerian political heavyweights, where Men and Women of ‘timber and caliber’ talk about everything politics and nothing but politics. At NaijaPolitics mat, issues are not treated with kid gloves. It is a forum for serious-minded political ‘junkies’, where vital Nigerian national issues and interests are tackled head on. If you have what it ‘takes’, then get in the ‘RING’. The NaijaPolitics ‘Mat’ is a ’Political Crossfire’ forum. It is not for the weak-hearted. Only the fittest will survive. It is a political ‘Ring’ for ‘no holds bar’ discussion of all aspects of Nigerian political landscape and Nigeria Geopolitics... Welcome Aboard! Let’s ‘Play’

Regards,
Martin 'matto' Akindana
Moderator, NaijaPolitics forum"

Nonsense!!

First of all, I did not ask or requested to be subscribed to Naija Politics' Yahoogroups Forum, the discussion group its made up thousands of subscribers seek relevance by way of voicing out their "opinion" on how to fix a shambled Nigeria national state even when the tyrant and "moderator" Martin Akindana watches many of the made-up handles with the eye of a microscope either approving their messages or ignoring the ones he found disturbing and could destroy the "clean Image" it represents. And neither did my colleagues at Biafrianigeriaworld Message Board and its sister-related websites asked or requested to be subscribed either as Igbonet or Biafranigeriaworld, or as individuals at this said censored forum moderated by a gang of Igbo haters who simply couldn't live up to the creed of what they founded, owned and stood for.

I will not be naming names for now, but I do know one thing, for sure, that the mad professor, Mobolaji Aluko's telltales to his gang in what supposedly should have been a free for all forum where "typical Nigerians" could address appropriately what concerns them and how the affairs of state is being run in their country, has indeed destroyed the intent for a profound public discourse on any issue that may arise at any given time regarding the nations social ills and a brutal, inept, corrupt regime. Aluko is one I have encountered dating back to 2000 at the Igbo-bashing, censored, Nigeriaworld run by Chuck Odili who had problems identifying his Igbonness.

It was a bitter struggle at Chucks Nigeriaworld, though healthy for any sound democratic fabric until the anti-Igbo sentiments erupted during the Sharia debacle which brought about a heated debate in which I for one called for an equivalent given in retaliation, that the Igbo would no longer sit idly and watch her kith and kin slaughtered in the the most brutal of circumstances. The obvious hatred and all that followed gave birth to Biafranigeriaworld, meaning it could be done uncut, uncensored and free. Today, BNW is still intact and viable, and keeping up with a very strong press which has been its top priority and had remained that way ever since.

But as it happened sometime in 2005 when Akindana started his Naija Politis Forum noticing the becoming conduct of a strong press, one that solidly stood for the ideals of free speech when he submitted unsolicited request to the management of Biafranigeriaworld to "please come join Naija Politics" as part of enhancing a fabricated, fledgling democracy, a concoction - Fourth Republic - put together by the military juntas which has been on life support ever since it was established more than a decade ago. My colleagues and I talked over it, and studying carefully the implications of dining and wining with a set that had been known for its bigotry and hatred on Nd'Igbo, we arrived to the conclusion that "I go ahead" and represent BNW by honoring Naija Politics moderators' request. I gave a deep thought to it based on my encounters at Nigeriaworld where Odili and his anti_igbo cohorts had assumed Igbos were Nigeria's problem, and that the only way Nigeria could be credible and productive was to wipe the Igbo nation off the map of the country. But beyond this basic truth, there is much that isn't known - why did Odili decided to eliminate all Igbo handles on the counsel of Aluko and his Igbo-bashing colleagues even though the impeachment of Senate President Chuba Okadigbo and the removal of his own brother, Gbenga, from the senate floor, and who had been loyal to Okadigbo coupled with then on-going debates on Sharia, Sovereign National Conference he championed and came to sell to the youngish intellectuals at Nigeriaworld who declined to buy his idea of a national conference; and other complicated issues which posed no threat to the dissolution of Nigeriaworld; and why should Aluko to have made it patently clear that Igbo handles in the fora was not relevant in a national conference?

As it turned out, my colleagues and I at the freaky controlled website - Nigeriaworld - did not back down; we had a choice, moving on which eventually gave birth to Biafranigeriaworld and its related sister websites that is still out there for all to use with no tribal or ethnic lines.

And one had thought this whole mess of anti-Igbo sentiments had climaxed, which would pave way for a new beginning of "reconciliation" in building a profound democratic fabric as in all civil and organized societies. The result was sour. The Yoruba hatred of Igbo people continued apace, and Akindana who thought he had been fair inviting my colleagues and I to join his casts at Naija Politics, ate up his own words and did not hide his bigotry toward a people that had been minding their own business.

My first post at Naija Politics in October of 2005 was news-related items with a joint Biafran and Nigerian flag which symbolized the website, Biafranigeriaworld, founded on anti-Igbo sentiments, and of bigotry and hatred.

But these bigots were watching me like a hawk with Akindana hiding behind closed doors, pushing his cohorts to effectively red tape all my postings. Henceforth all my postings were restricted because I had an Igbo last name and happened to be a founding member of Biafranigeriaworld. The one that caught the hawk's eye was a Nigeria news report from one of the dailies titled "EFCC Raids Adamawa SSG's Home" sent from BNW News and intercepted by Augustina Iyare, one of Akindana's handles writing to inform me it was impossible to approve my message even from a reliable hunch that "Tina" wasn't a skirt. "She" writes:

"Dear Ambrose,

I approved your message yesterday after much struggle. This is Nigeria politics, sir! I cannot participate in anything that will divide my country. You can send it elsewhere and see if they will support your Biafra flag. I see it as promoting your Biafra country. I might be wrong in my decision but that is per my love for my country. My duties here is to promote the growth of Nigeria and not Biafra.

Long Live Nigeria.

Thanks,

Tina."

Yes, she approved one of my messages "after much struggle." And she told me about the fora being Nigeria politics, thus, according to her, she loves her country. The question here is, didn't the bigots including "Ms. Iyare" knew beforehand that I was pro-Biafranigeriaworld as claimed when they subscribed my name without my consent? Didn't they visit the Biafranigeriaworld website before reaching a decision to have my name subscribed following my write-ups in the past? So in a free world where a strong press amounts to a concretely established democracy, the word Biafranigeriaworld is or should be banned? That being said without hiding the fact that Igbo-bashing is still alive and well, I left the freaky controlled group with immediate effect. It wasn't even a few months from the time I left that the bigots and tyrants sent me another unsolicited request to join and see how the forum had improved perhaps on the realism anti-Igbo sentiments was no longer in place. It had been request upon request I had declined over the years until October 2009 when the first message surfaced in my mailbox from the group owner, Akindana, "graciously" welcoming me to Naija politics.

I agreed to the "owner's" statement of adult content and checked-in after over four years of my deliberately staying out of touch. Nothing much changed. The forum still lacked substance and had no relevance in a typical political discussion group.

Enter my first post. It had disappeared without explanation. And series of other posts followed with a tiny fraction escaping interception. But as in Congress making no laws abridging the freedom of speech, and as in Akindana's preamble that Naija Politics is "where vital Nigerian national issues and interests are tackled head on," which suggests in his own word "interests," does it mean Igbo-related issues is of no Nigerian national interests? I simply don't get it, and one wonders why a fabricated Nigeria is still way far from a sound democracy.

Again, not surprisingly, the bigotry and hatred of Igbo had been taken to my blogs, websites and elsewhere by unknown handles making inflammatory remarks about Igbo people deserving whatever they get in a tribalized and murderous Islamic Jihadic Nigeria as the country copes not only with one - The Case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Nigeria and Terrorism - but with uncountable existential threats as we have seen unfold over the years, and most recently the Jos Riots in which hundreds of lives were lost. Faced with this horrific prospect, bigots like Akindana keeps a tight lip as the murderous Islamic Jihadists go on the rampage slaughtering innocent civilians. Even at my blog - The Pogrom, War & Starvation - where I had posted "Benjamin Adekunle Shooting at Everything," his comments of bigotry and hatred energized the bigots and had the bloodthirsty cannibals never stop talking. Never mind the idea of the pogrom and civil war, Adekunle, however, did not hide the fact he was anti-Igbo, and never have I seen anything like that. Adekunle wrote:

"I want to see no Red Cross, no caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no Missionary and no United Nations delegation. I want to prevent even one Igbo from having even one piece to eat before their capitulation. We shoot at everything that moves and when our troops march into the center of Igbo territory, we shoot at everything even at things that don't move."

And my reaction to that comment was, "If the above comment is not bigotry and hatred, what else is?"

But the bigots came to applaud Adekunle and justify the pogrom and war, for example, one anonymous, and of course, Akindana's cohorts: "It is called a job you looser. What do you think people in the army do? Dance around like a ballerina? No. They are meant to kill so shut up." And another anonymous: "Do you seriously believe that the Nigerians were supposed to provide food to the rebels? Aid meant for civilians would have been hijacked by Ojukwu's thugs, so stop this crap!..." And Adebisi, an unknown bigot from Akindana's camp. The "skirt" writes:

"Why do people want to pedal the myth of a Biafra genocide industry? We are setting ourselves up for round two, meanwhile, the myth peddlers are filling their coffers and building up hate for their own personal reasons. Do you know any of the people whose pictures you parade about your websites? I see no analysis of what happened. Why and who actually did what? Lots of personal abuse and the pornography of death - using pictures of dead and dying children to refight a lost war..."

These and uncountable hate mails that keeps popping up in my mailbox even taken lightly as an empty threat, I tried as much as I could to reason with the bigots on the concept that "Nigeria" belongs to all of us, and that without Igbo agenda Nigeria political discourse is senseless, and despite all the efforts in what I should have taken seriously by countering Akindana and his colleagues' rhetoric, I took it that well-grounded opposition is the key to healthy democracy and kept submitting my thought-provoking articles which reveals the simple truth of a failed state; Akindana stayed busy restricting my posting privileges while al-Qaeda keeps developing series of terrorist cells in the Islamic Jihadic Northern Nigeria.