Michael Botu's Blog

THE KAIAMA DECLARATION ALMOST 16 YEARS AFTER ~ WHERE DID WE MISS IT  - Part 1 One of the best pieces of Declaration and one that changed the way the Ijaws were viewed by the Nigerian State is The Kaiama declaration. 11 th December, 2014 will make it 16 years since that Historical document authored by some of the best minds in the Ijaw Nation was made. The declaration had 10 Observations and 10 Resolutions. Where do we stand today viz a viz these Observations and Resolutions I have reproduced here the Historic Document and my Personal deductions in red. THE OBSERVATIONS a. That it was through British colonization that the IJAW NATION was forcibly put under the Nigerian State b. That but for the economic interests of the imperialists, the Ijaw ethnic nationality would have evolved as a distinct and separate sovereign nation, enjoying undiluted political, economic, social, and cultural AUTONOMY. c. That the division of the Southern Protectorate into East and ...

PURPOSEFUL LEADERSHIP – THE MISSING LINK “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” ~ Warren Bennis Africa and Nigeria in Particular is Blessed with Abundant Natural and Human Resources. What is missing as everyone agrees is Leadership, not just leadership as we have that in their millions in the continent but Purposeful Leadership. What is Purposeful Leadership? We need to separate the two words to get a better understanding. What is Purposeful or Purpose? “Purpose is why we do something or why something exists” “It is the reason for which something is done or created………..” “A person’s sense of resolve or determination is Purpose” we shall discuss purpose as it relates to our Destiny in a broader discuss in another paper. What is purposeful? It’s “Having or manifesting Purpose; Determination, Resolve, Resolute, Firm, Steadfast, Single-minded, Having a useful Purpose” Leadership on the other hand is “The action of leading a group of people...

PDP BURUTU LEADERSHIP IMPASSE – NEED FOR URGENT RESOLUTION I must have read the Press Statement released by the PDP National Publicity Secretary Chief Oliseh Metuh a thousand times and can’t help but imagine if we have Two People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria? Chief Metuh said “credit must be given to President Jonathan for his insistence on free, fair and credible election at all levels …………..” Charity they say begins at Home, 10 th March, 2012, members of The Peoples Democratic Party in Burutu Local Government Area had a very Peaceful, free and fair congress with Segbegha Korokorosei emerging as Chairman of the Exco at the Council Area. However, as it has been in recent times and as far as interest groups go, some members of the Party who are highly placed in and outside Government and would have preferred another candidate for reasons best known to them, decided to have candidates who did not even took part in the Congress and went ahead to Swear in Kenneth Og...

IS THE PRESS DOING ENOUGH TO STOP THE CULTURE OF IMPUNITY? “….a Culture of Impunity Leads to Political Instability” ~ Femi Falana (san) May 29 th Nigeria celebrated what we call Democracy Day. That day marks fifteen unbroken years of our current Democratic experiment since 1999. Am of the view that Corruption and Impunity are evils that we need to tackle urgently for our thriving democracy to be sustained. It seems Femi Falana (San) shares that view too, but in his opinion it’s even the Culture of Impunity that gives elected officers the impetus to be corrupt. http://deltapdp.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-post.html#more With the recent revelations that members of the Fourth Estate of the realm collected huge sums of Money from the Governor of River State His Excellency Rotimi Amaechi to champion his hazy cause, am forced to ask “is the Press doing enough to curb the Culture of Impunity in the Polity”? http://deltapdp.blogspot.com/2014/05/peoples-democratic-par...

PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) BURUTU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA EXECUTIVE – “THE TIME IS ALWAYS RIGHT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT ~ Martin Luther King Jr The Power of ONE …….. One Tree can start a Forest; One Smile can begin a Friendship; One Hand can lift a Soul; One Word can frame a Goal; One Candle can wipe out darkness; One laugh can conquer gloom; One hope can raise your spirit; One Touch can show you care; One Life can make a difference. Be that One Today. Whose interest is been served by this disobedience to an unambiguous Court Order?  It’s been almost Three (3) Months since the Court Directed that Sagbegha Korokorosei be sworn in immediately as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Burutu Local Government Area.  Who in the Peoples Democratic Party is that One that will stand to make a Difference by doing the Right thing?  Will you be that ONE? Sagbegha Korokorosei and all lovers of the Rule of Law and indeed pos...