Seneca Village: Speaking Still

What lies beneath your feet as you walk the length and width of Central Park New York is #SenecaVillage. Buried but still breathing, silenced but speaking still. Let children know that before Africans were labelled slaves, we were kings and queens, princes and princesses #JUSTICE

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Seneca Village was a vibrant community in 19th-century New York City, located in what is now Central Park. Founded in 1825 by free Black Americans, the village thrived as a self-sufficient neighbourhood with schools, churches, and cemeteries.

Here's what we know about Seneca Village

Location: The village spanned from 82nd to 89th Streets between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, covering about five acres of land.

Residents: Seneca Village was home to around 225 residents, primarily African Americans, with some Irish and German immigrants. Many residents owned their homes, which was rare for African Americans at the time.

Community Institutions:

All Angels' Church: A central institution and Episcopal church serving the villagers.

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church: Provided spiritual guidance and support to African American residents.

Coloured School No. 3: Educated children and offered opportunities for a better future.

Significance:

Seneca Village represented African American property ownership, community, and resilience in pre-Civil War New York.

It was a symbol of black self-sufficiency and a haven from the slums of downtown Manhattan.

Destruction: The village was forcibly removed in 1857 to make way for Central Park, with the city using eminent domain to acquire the land.

Residents were displaced, and many received little or no compensation for their lost properties.

Legacy: Efforts have been made to commemorate Seneca Village, including archaeological excavations, educational programmes, and commemorative plaques. The village's story serves as a reminder of the complexities of history and the importance of preserving the stories of marginalised communities.

I urge you, never let silence win.

Agony of Widowed Father Who Plays Mother's Role by Shakiru Fashina

A Nigerian journalist who lost his wife during stillbirth a week before her 35th birthday left with a three-year-old son. Given his very terrible and bitter experience of the demise of both mother and child at labour, I fainted instantly; I can't hold the shock; it was devastating; I lost everything because my life is meaningless without my better half. She is everything a man will wish for in a woman. I can't question God though, but it's extremely painful and an unfortunate experience for me.

Attribute her death to unprofessionalism by the nurse on duty and carelessness of My mother-in-law, who was receiving calls in front of my late wife, reiterating the lost child to people. I think that's what really made her BP rise uncontrollably before giving up the ghost. The responsibility of a two-turns one silently goes about the responsibilities—the unsung hero of his child's lives. Single fathers like this deserve a special salute despite being fraught with challenges. Onaolapo Olalekan Oduola shares this with Fly Cable News reports.  

Hear from the horse's mouth the agony of a single father.

The demise of my late wife exposes me to the other side of life. Humans are unpredictable beings. We have the tendency to change at any given time, and that has a phenomenon that we cannot comprehend because only God knows and only He alone can be perfect. But my experience as a single father has a ripple effect on the decisions I have been taking lately.

 

Since the demise, I've witnessed and experienced torture from my mother-in-law and my late wife's siblings. They have not been cooperating at all. At the funeral, they had access to my room; they carted away all that belongs to her (her phones, wearables, documents, and credit cards), unknowing to me. I was in shock because it was the least I expected from those I see as family. I never knew what was coming until a few weeks after I was called by cemetery attendance to come seal off the grave. While that was going on, her junior sister called and said that she needed to have the last phone that I bought with my own money for my late wife. I was shocked, drained, perplexed, and flabbergasted; I couldn't imagine what she was thinking or what's happening.

 

How could she? I just lost her sister, my lovely wedded wife. It was unbelievable; I can't even imagine, so I let that slide, but I had to reach someone older to relate with for the family to know what's going on, to my dismay; the responses I received afterwards had not been palatable.

 

After that day, it was November that the Lagos state government marked distressed buildings in my area, and mine was involved. I went to the hospital because I was placed on medical examination since I lost my wife. That afternoon I received a call that my house was about to be demolished by the officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency under the directive of Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. 

 

I dashed from the hospital straight home, but on my way I called my late wife's family since they have other valuables that belong to her. She came with a Volkswagen transport vehicle to cart all that was left of her and left with my belongings. I called a few friends that were around to help.

It wasn't a nice experience; the pain intensified because my late wife and I already planned that she wouldn't give birth here in Nigeria, but God knows best. She had her first degree at the University of Lagos University; we are planning for another degree in the UK, and that encouraged me to pay for her international course, which she couldn't attempt before she died.

 

I made the move to secure another apartment, but I was outsmarted by a fraudulent caretaker who absconded with $1.350 million paid for a mini-flat at a little too far from my previous residence. The day I was to move in, I met another occupant with a full load in there. I reached out to the caretaker but to know avail. When I eventually reached him, he told me my money was gone. How do I cope? I lost my wife; I lost my home; now it's another rootless experience from a man of God. 

 

Well, as a law-abiding citizen, I went straight to lodge a complaint at Denton Police Station before proceeding to Panti Police Station (Anti-Robbery Unit) Adekunle. While that was on, I tried as much as possible to make some move because I cannot afford to be homeless; I have a child to care for. He's staying with his grandma (my late wife's mother) long and short of it. I took another step that led to his arrest; I recovered the sum of $1.150 million with an undertaking that he'll refund in due time.

 

Be that as it may, I secured another apartment (a 2-bedroom flat) at Ilasa Mushin. I thought it was over; that was actually the beginning of my ordeal. My mother-in-law became something I can't express; she tortured me, she threatened me, and she reminded me of my late wife every day because, not for her demise, my son would have remained with me. I am a busy man; I work 24/7 to make sure my family receives the best treatment as a caring father and loving husband. She kept threatening me with my life and that of my son.

 

I am a responsible man, so I know what it takes to be there for my boy. I never let him feel the vacuum of my late wife. My family, however, has been supportive too, but because the demise of my wife left me and my mother-in-law with an open wound, I obliged that my son stay with her, not knowing that was my greatest mistake. I took her as my own mother.

 

At first she disenfranchised me full access to my son; she extorted me almost every two weeks; she tormented me to the point she went to Alakara police station to report that I wasn't father enough; I wasn't living up to responsibility as a father just because I want my boy to spend the weekend with me. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law laid ambush on me, tore my clothes, and disgraced me in the presence of my son before I was invited, and to their dismay, I didn't appear as described, and that drew the officers attention to know more about me, my occupation, and my late wife. They saw it as a family issue and advised we settle it amicably for my late wife's soul to be at peace.

 

She requested I pay her the sum of $20,000 as upkeep for a 3-year-old boy. Where is it done? Section 25 of the Child Rights Law stipulated that "I, the father, in case of the demise of my wife, SHOULD HAVE 100% CUSTODY OF MY SON'S FUTURE; more in case I don't pray for now that I am no more, my father should be in possession of my son." Well, it's nothing of my son, but I have spent; I was duped and in grievous pain. I thought she'd understand, but no, she doesn't. I, out of pity for my son, gave her 15,000 naira. To my surprise, I was called two weeks after that, and the money has been exhausted. For crying out loud My son is just 3; he can not even finish a 300-naira meal. At Christmas, I requested to take my son out because when my late wife was alive, that was how we spent our holiday. They reluctantly released him to me.

 

I wasn't even pulling any strings because these people don't understand how valuable they are to me. I cherished them even more than I do to my own immediate family. It's just so pathetic. That went on; during this period, I never made an attempt to report or take any legal action whatsoever. They kept visiting. How can you not take care of your grandson? What if I don't have a job? What if I left the country unannounced? What if I don't care?

 

One faithful day, my mother-in-law sneaked to my residence; she met my landlady on her way in; unfortunately, my landlady couldn't recognise her; she had to reintroduce herself. She (my landlady) accommodated her and listened to all she had to say before she took her leave. When she left, she went straight to Alakara Police Station again to lodge a complaint about what I know nothing about.

 

Luckily this time, my landlady escorted me and represented my mother. After long deliberation, the IPO in charge pacified both parties and advised that they let me have access anytime or any day I want to see my son. As if that was not enough, my next attempt was worse. I nearly lost my life for requesting to see my son. These experiences are gradually eroding the feeling to marry another woman because who knows what experience I'll go through from her family too?

 

Not withstanding, during this period of torment and torture, they took my son to parties, and God knows where. Sometimes, they never return till around 11 p.m. or the next day. Imagine a boy experiencing this at a very tender age. What on earth will a boy of 3 years be doing in a party till 11 p.m.? I believe in building a strong foundation as an elite for my boy. I've done everything in my capacity to make sure he lacks nothing, not even the absence of his mother.

 

To my greatest surprise, when I called that my boy would be with me during this festive period, my mother-in-law told me emphatically that she kept my son somewhere for reasons best known to her. I can't imagine this statement with how it made me feel I have to report back to Alakara Police Station, where they knew all that has been happening. On getting there, she was mandated to first reveal the whereabouts before a stipulated time and that she should provide my son on or before Thursday. But because of who she is, she refused to adhere. On Thursday, I was summoned in the morning, hoping my son was already in their custody. After all efforts, the case was transferred to Gender Unity in Ikeja, where SP Bimbola took over.

 

When my accomplice Inspector Phillips from Alakara and I got to Ikeja, I received a call that she (my mother-in-law) had been arrested with my son. She was transferred down to Ikeja, where the law took place. She was briefed adequately on the rights of a father and her stand. To God be the glory, my son is now with me, and we are living fine.

 

So if you ask me, it has not been a beautiful experience that my lovely wife is no more.May her gentle soul continue to rest in peace. Were there things that give you joy about them, and how do you spend your pastimes with them? Absolutely yes! The joy of fatherhood is written all over me now that my child is in my custody. I can at least know how he feels, I can get him what he wants at the right time, we talk always, and I am not playing my role as his father adequately and as prescribed by our norms, tradition, and the law.

 

Our pass time is well spent. My son enjoys playing video games, singing nursery rhymes, going on tours, and of course visiting the rest of my family. My late wife missed me so much. May God forgive my shortcomings and grant her internal rest. May God bless me and my son too.

Surviving Times of Crisis...

Crisis of any kind, including death of a loved one, can throw you off balance and leave you grappling for air like someone drowning.

Noting tips, building resilence and friendship can make the difference between dying and living, suffering and surviving.

In times of crisis, the following are essential tips to help you get by:

1. Faith or Spirituality: Your belief system will go a long way to determine your state of hopefulness and hopelessness. Connect to God or something greater than you; higher power, for comfort, solace, strength and guidance. Faith practices like praying and praising God would help turn our minds away from the crisis to Christ. Putting spiritual connection first can provide a strong foundation for navigating challenging times.

2. Connect to social contacts: Supportive relationships helps us survive crisis so connect with loved ones, family, friends, and community to provide support and practical help. Connect with those who can be present, listen, and encourage you to process your feelings.  Social contact provides us with opportunities to share our thoughts and our way of doing things. Try to think about the potentially good outcomes of a crisis – do not focus only on worst case scenarios.

3. Basic Needs: Access to food, water, shelter, and healthcare. Have an emergency stockpile of essential items, such as medications, prescriptions, pain relievers, and antacids. Also paper goods like toilet paper, paper towels, and disposable utensils. Non-perishable food items like rice, pasta, peanut butter, and canned goods. Other essentials like batteries, flashlights, and candles may come in handy.

4. Emotional Resilience: Coping skills and stress management are things that you should already have under your belt. If not, learn them and put them into action. For instance don't drink or dream and drive. Quit any behaviour like smoking, alcohol use that can affect your cognitive ability. Choose to be happy and manage your feelings.

5. Communication: Staying connected with others and access vital information. The root of the crisis will guide how to resolve it. If you are out of cash, you need information on how to resolve that. If you want to travel, speak with those who have travelled.

6. Hope and positivity: Finding meaning, purpose, and a sense of control. Think and believe that things can only get better and express in your words that you will survive and thrive.

7. Self Care: Make sure you get enough rest or sleep, eat well and healthy, and engage in exercises that bring you joy. You can try relaxing activities like swimming or meditation, practice gratitude, and take breaks. Keep in mind that taking care of your physical and emotional needs is crucial.

8. Seek Professional Help: Counselling, therapy, or coaching is accessible when needed. The living ask for help and there is always help around you when you let God lead you. Be sure to reach out to someone who can help you without shaming you.

9. Financial Stability: Do you have savings, insurance or financial assistance; time of crisis is when to draw from that resource. Ask yourself more can you do to be financially stable. Is there something you can sell, can you downsize, can you diversify, can you create art, can you translate trash to treasure.

10. Flexibility and Adaptability: Develop the ability to adjust to changing circumstances. Try to understand normal reactions to tragedy and avoid negative thoughts and behaviours. You can try to bring humour into your day or make out time to watch comedy.

Remember to lean on your loved ones, friends, and community for emotional support, and nurture your spiritual practice to find peace and guidance. The time of peace is when to find your 5... 5 people you can call on in times of crisis.

And please do not hesitate to reach out for professional help when needed.

You got this! And remember, you are not alone. Anne cares and she is here for you

Chaplain Anne

aka Rev. Dr. Omolola Omoteso

Justice for Widows Press Conference 2024

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the press, attorneys, leaders andstakeholder from all works of life, fellow advocates and activists for justice

We gather today to shine a light on a critical issue that affects countless women and families worldwide: the marginalisation, disinheritance and disenfranchisement of vulnerable widows.

Widows are often deemed to be invisible though we have them in every family and every community. They are intentionally ignored and often excluded from decision-making processes that affect their lives. They face discrimination, stigma, and poverty, simply because they have lost their husbands.

But today, we say: enough is enough!

A woman should never lose her man and lose her mind, money or mansion.

I stand with all the widows joining us to demand justice for widows. We demand equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal access to resources and support from institutions creates for the betterment of the society - the police, the judiciary, the media, the legislature, the executives and the fourth estate of the government the media.

In 2020 when the Holy Spirit gave me August 18 as day to bring widows and others together, all I could think of then was that the date marked 2 months following my husband's death. But in July this year it dawned on me that this is an important date in the history of the emancipation of women. On August 18 1920 the United States of America signed the 19th Amendment which accorded women the right to vote as electorate. A right repressed for years. The Women's Air Derby of 1929, a historic air race held in the United States beginning August 18 was the first official women's air race in the United States and marked a significant milestone in aviation history. Twenty women pilots participated in the race, including famous aviators like Amelia Earhart, Ruth Elder and Louise Thaden, who won. The Women's Air Derby of 1929 demonstrated women's capabilities in aviation, paving the way for future generations of female pilots and inspiring countless women to pursue careers in aviation. This groundbreaking event showcased women's determination, skill, and passion for flight, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of aviation.

Today women continue to make strides in all professions.

We call on governments, civil society and international organisations to:

- Recognise the rights of widows and protect them from discrimination

- Provide economic empowerment and support to help widows rebuild their lives

- Ensure access to education, healthcare, and social services for widows and their families

- Reform probate laws and strengthen marriage certificate as sufficient documentation to carry on in the event if spousal death and

- Criminalise the abuse, enforcement of wicked rites and rituals, disinheritence, dehumanisation of widows

Advocacy will continue until widows are treated with dignity and respect. Yeara ago the plan was to do a protest and picket courts but as a woman of prayer and great faith, the Holy Spirit warned me not to add to the stress of widows by taking them into the sun to protest. Rather I was led to celebrate widows. Hence annually with the support of family and friends we celebrate widows and give welfare packages during three seasons - Easter, International Widows Day and Christmas.


Today, we ask each of us present, what have you done, what can you do and what will you do to bring us closer to the day when the President, Governors and Senators will pass policies, bills and laws that will mend widow abuse in our nation.

Will you be the voice within your class, corporation, community, clan, church, mosque and association that says no to widow abuse. Will you fulfil the mandate in Proverbs 31:8-9 that we should speak up for the voiceless and vulnerable and serve justice to widows and orphans.

Widows have a part to play in achieving peace in our nation. Rather than steal inheritance from them, the loss of husband they have experienced can be turned to national gain as those in the corridors of power create a home for orphans and street children through partnership with widows. This will mitigate hooliganism and terrorism. The time is due for Widows Agency as existing channels like the National Human Rights Commission have failed to serve justice to widows.

Until widows have a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives we at Walk With Widows Initiative relentlessly call for justice in hope that response in time will mitigate the need to protest publicly.

Join us in this advocacy for justice. Together, we can make a difference.

I welcome you and trust that we will have a fruitful delebration.

Thank you.

Democracy Day in Nigeria is Actually Deception Day by Babafemi Badejo, Ph.D

On June 11, 2024, at about 5pm., I was at my friend, Prof. Femi Onabajo’s office to listen to Al Jazeera as well as charge my phone before returning to my apartment in Abeokuta for the usual dark nights and of late, no water. There was no water, not because the Ogun state government or the local government authority responsible for my place of abode had a temporary delivery problem. The two levels of governance eagerly collect taxes, share federal allocations meant to care for all of us, but never provide one of the reasons that people pay taxes and are sharing revenues for in other climes. 

As a kid, I joined my parents in dancing all over the streets when the self-government authorities provided pipe borne water and electricity to Ijebu-Ode, where I was growing up. But all that has become history, at least in Lagos, Abeokuta and Ijebu-Ode, places I am familiar with. State and local government authorities, do not provide water anymore. Hence cholera outbreak with many deaths in a Nigerian state claiming to be the 7th richest political space when compared with countries in Africa.

Very fortunate to have a very good friend, retired Justice S. Abidoye Olugbemi, who insisted that I must have light in Abeokuta. I decided I would not bring my stand-by generator from Lagos or buy another one. He went ahead to lend me his stand-by generator. I had concluded against setting up another personal mini-local government in Abeokuta as I run in Lagos. In Lagos, I supply my water since no-one in most areas of Lagos receive water supply from a central arrangement as once was the case. With an inverter and generator fueled by impossibly expensive diesel fuel in comparison with Nigerian earnings, I meet my energy needs, in Lagos. In Abeokuta, the borrowed petrol fueled generator has never been easy for me to manipulate, so I hardly use it. On rare occasions, I call on my friend to come over and help crank the generator to save my food stuffs. 

Professor Onabajo and I have come a long way. We did not just meet at Chrisland University where he serves as the Head of the Mass Communication Department as I do the same for Political Science. We both were two of the many Nigerians who were dribbled by our own fake Maradona, a.k.a Evil Genius, who asked Nigerians if they wanted IMF loan with its conditionalities or not. With me serving as a Consultant to the Nigerian Television Authority, Channel 7 at Tejuosho, Femi Onabajo, and other staff members of the media house criss-crossed the heights, valleys, rivers and swamps that made up the entire Lagos state. We sought the views of the people of Lagos State as others did in other states and local governments to give the accurate expression of the will of Nigerians.

The people overwhelmingly rejected the IMF loan and its conditionalities. I compiled the report of our consultations that was in line with responses from all over Nigeria. However, Maradona, like our so-called traditional rulers of yore, under indirect rule knew he could not go against the IMF as his people wanted. He knew he came to power by supplanting Buhari-Idiagbon in a coup that received the support of MKO Abiola, then arguably the richest African as well as external support. It was in their interests to execute the will of the IMF that had insisted on the devaluation of one naira to be equal to one dollar which Generals Buhari-Idiagbon had resisted and instead chose trade by barter having been blacklisted by the West. So, supported by Chief Olu Falae and others, Maradona deceived us that we were going to have our own home-grown answers to our economic problems. He devalued the naira even more than the initial demands of the IMF without the soft loans. We all acquiesced, for want of a better word. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, his will held sway. Many of our people, especially from the academia joined the gravy train that he laid out. Those of us who countered him either got, driven into exile or rendered irrelevant as Nigeria continued its ignominious decline. 

As I was glued to the television on the latest situation in Gaza and whatever else, Ms. Taiwo Gbadegesin, Prof. Onabajo’s assistant, came in at the end of the work day at Chrisland University, Abeokuta, and wished us a great holiday on the following day. We were shocked asking which holiday again since the Eid holidays would be on the following week. She quipped it would be June 12th. Oh, we responded in unison. I pondered on the fact that it would be another day in the list of Nigeria’s governance deceptions.

Another deception is that of celebrating independence day as we pretend to be independent in a world of Western indirect rule and control over much if not all of Africa through the Bretton Woods institutions. How can a country be sovereign in a world in which you cannot feed your people? Of course, we collect visa fees at border posts but our value declined radically over time as the external environment dictated. Recently and precisely a year ago, it was announced by a President who in 2012 had boldly written clearly against the economic policy plans of the then President Goodluck Jonathan who was forced to abort the so-called fuel subsidy removal (another thieving design), as well as allowing the naira to “find its level” under the grand deception of market forces that we have been brainwashed into believing is a natural law of human existence. 

In Nigeria, Democracy Day formerly designated as May 29, and now June 12 has been officially set aside to remember and celebrate the return to civilian rule. However, the level of commitment to true democratic principles in the last 25 years raises a lot of doubts. This is why many, including myself have continued to maintain that, saying Nigeria is democratic on the grounds of elections, normally, characterised by shambolic periodic voting is a major deception. As such, any day set aside to celebrate this deception of grandeur, is nothing but a "Deception Day".

I have taken this position aware of the usual widespread soft-spots that make some Nigerians quip that Nigeria’s democracy is a work in progress in spite of the disillusionment with the political system and the persistent challenges undermining the possibility of democratic governance in Nigeria.

More importantly, it is wrong to continue to celebrate the mediocrity of a system from a very limited conception of democracy that runs only with the minimalist election component with respect to “government by the people”, ignoring the two other components of “government of the people” and “for the people”. In this respect, I align with Prof. Bolaji Akinyẹmi, as reported in a very recent piece in the Leadership newspaper, to the effect that what we have is civil rule and not truly a democracy. He showed the failure of our system to deliver so much to ensure better life for Nigerians. He paid dues in the struggles against General Abacha like I also did in a smaller way but outside the formal structures they used.

Even if we try to overlook much and pretend to have a “government of the people”, in which those who govern are from among us, by refusing to see the controllers of our “agbero” leaders who are really in the service of the real drivers but able to pilfer a reasonable portion of national patrimony and store in Panama, Paradise, Pandora, etc., papers, there is no way in which we can usefully define democracy without a focus on what the concept was/is to achieve, i.e., the "for the people" aspect.

The most crucial strive for democracy is towards what I refer to as utmost freedom, an ambitious but a pursuable process, with the right approach to governance, including leadership, reduction of corruption and improvements on the rule of law. Utmost Freedom in itself is the summation of the rights from and the rights to, which are inherent in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We cannot be democratic if freedom from asphyxiation from failed environmental policies, freedom from thirst and hunger, at the minimalist options are not guaranteed. Along this priority line is also the right to life as the State would normally be expected to guarantee freedom from unlawful killings, whether by kidnappers, bandits and/or terrorists. These four which deal directly with existential realities have superiority over other necessary ones like freedoms of association, thoughts, speech, voting, and religion.

How do we continue in the deceptive celebration of a journey characterised by 2 steps forward and 4 steps backward? Do Nigerians truly have hope and aspirations for a government that respects their rights, promotes transparency, and ensures equitable development? It is very unfortunate that we keep telling younger Nigerians of how better it once was for us as a country. Japa syndrome became important because many of our youths, especially from the southern portions of Nigeria, could no longer see any hope or inspiration for a better Nigeria and are voting with their feet. 

Based on recent official household survey data from Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics, 30.9 percent of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day (2017 PPP) in 2018/19; just before the COVID-19 crisis. The situation today can only be worse when we factor the impact of the devaluation in the last one year on costs of the production of foods, including transportation, procurement of medicine and many other manufactured needs. We need not go on and on with respect to qualities of the provision of health and education, unemployment and underemployment, etc.

Herein lies the huge disconnect between the annual ritual of celebrating democracy amidst very unpleasant and harsh realities facing ordinary Nigerians. In spite of the pretentious honour of democracy day by commemorating sham elections, the impact of persistent autocratic practices, including by a corrupt system at different arms and levels of governance, as well as sectors of society, resultant socio-economic inequities, and pains in living continue to bite hard and harder.

Democracy is a governance structural arrangement to guarantee the good life for people in their environment on earth. It is not like religion where benefits and gratification are delayed until existence in a presumed heavenly space. Democracy is for improved lives and living on earth. It is a conception that is superior to the current deceptive fixation on elections irrespective of performance failures of those who put themselves forward as leaders, on accountabilities on many other freedoms that are crucial for human existence. 

The performances of elected office-holders on all crucial freedoms are very important. Whether elected leaders fail on other important freedoms beyond the freedom to vote should be of great concern. Democracy should be a preferred structural arrangement for the strive towards the many crucial freedoms for human existence that are put together as utmost freedom.

*Babafemi A. Badejo, author of a best-seller on politics in Kenya, was a former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, and currently a Legal Practitioner and Professor of Political Science & International Relations, Chrisland University, Abeokuta. Nigeria.