Writing from London, The Economist’s editors suffer the peculiar psychosis of editorial obsession with the imperialist agenda of their colonialist forefathers, long after the sun set on their empire. “The crime scene at the heart of Africa” was the escapist subject of jaundiced journalism from the haven of international financial crimes and refuge for fugitive political rogues from all corners of the world, as they targeted Nigeria.
The hypocrisy and absurdity of turning blind eyes and deaf ears to the historical horrors and contemporary contradictions that define the British nation today and instead to pose as a moral authority to rail and rant at others underscore the holier-than-thou mindset of The Economist editors.
But in The Economist of London’s delusive self-righteousness, “the crime scene” is in Africa!
The imperialist propaganda magazine’s attempt to discredit the Nigerian Army failed woefully as a consequence of the underlying satanic motives of its pseudo-journalistic escapades. If truth be told, there can be no British immunity or abdication of responsibility for any of the litany of Nigerian post-colonial crises enumerated in its diatribe, whether it is coups, ethnic pogroms or indeed the civil war which, after all, was gallantly and decisively executed by the Nigerian military against the misguided Biafran secession.
It is very much a result of the consistent professional efficiency and patriotic commitment of the Nigerian Army and security agencies against these and other largely imposed security challenges that The Economist had to admit, against its professed expectations, that “despite this inauspicious start, Nigeria is now a powerhouse. It is the continent’s most boisterous democracy. Its economy, the largest, generates a quarter of Africa’s GDP.”
The logical trajectory of such a positive and promising account of Nigeria’s steady development in spite of inevitable challenges should have appreciated the critical role of the armed forces in securing the territorial integrity and internal stability of the country but that would be an unthinkable departure from the neo-colonialist retrogressive agenda of its editors. So, they instead harped on “the jihadist threat in the north-east” and how “Boko Haram is being supplanted by an affiliate of Islamic State that is equally brutal but more competent, and so a bigger danger to Nigeria”. It also refers to the south-east demagogues stirring up ethnic grievances and widespread collapse in security.
This premeditated highlight of “Nigeria’s increasing instability” is the bogus basis for launching an unjustifiable attack on the Nigerian Army as being “mighty on paper”, having ghosts on its payroll and even the unfounded allegation that “much of its equipment is stolen and sold to insurgents”. Preposterous! The Economist politicians cannot stand the fact that Nigeria had achieved and sustained a tremendous turnaround on all fronts, taking the battle to the forest hideouts of the bandits and insurgents thereby forcing them to flee and surrender in droves. And it must be bad news to the imperialist paymasters of the ethically-challenged editors of The Economist that the ethnic secessionists had also been contained, especially after the sensational capture of London-based Nnamdi Kalu and the caging of Sunday Igboho.
These decisive developments sufficiently debunk the malicious misrepresentation of the proven professionalism and impeccable integrity of the Nigerian Army by The Economist, which again saw nothing wrong with Britain playing host and granting protection to Nnamdi Kalu even as he brazenly launched the so-called Biafran secessionist terrorism against Nigerian security forces and infrastructure, breaking prisons and gunning down innocent people.
Indeed, the history of tacit and open collusion with Boko Haram is known to have facilitated its “being supplanted by an affiliate of Islamic State that is equally brutal but more competent, and so a bigger danger to Nigeria.” This provided additional evidence of the duplicitous involvement of the neo-colonialist masquerades dictating editorial commentaries of The Economist in the prolongation of the insurgency and escalation of security challenges with banditry, secessionist agitation and sporadic CSO-led violent street protests. By the grace of God, the robust unwavering commitment of our military and security forces, and the rising awareness and patriotism of the majority of citizens, Nigeria will survive and outlive them!
Dr. Benedict Uzor, a retired lecturer, lives in Port Harcourt.
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