Mr. Rights Blog

More than 50 years before the creation of Nigeria as a united entity, Lagos is already a major centre of modern civilisation. Lagos history is rich in Yoruba tradition, trade and commerce, infrastructural development and cosmopolitanism." -EXTRACTED In the past few days, i have followed the unhealthy debate between easterners in Lagos and their host and i must say that such is really uncalled for. No tribe or race is an island of knowledge and civilisation. At one time or the other, each one of them contributed in one way or the other. While it is proper for every one to feel good about themselves and try as much as possible to amplify in a good way, their importance and contribution to the society they live in, it is also very crucial to take into account, the reality of other factors without attempting to ridicule the contribution of others. I therefore advise all those joining the discuss to thread with caution and avoid things that are capable of setting our peop...

The hate we instigate against each other will not consume the land we live on, the tribe we belong or the religion we practice, it would only  consume us, the people, irrespective of tribe, region or religion. Although, I may not be able to tell you how we could solve the herdsmen problem, but i know how we won’t ever solve it. Instigating hate against each other will never solve the problem. This is something we all know, yet we continue to do the same thing over and over again. That's bad. Some myopic people are quick to claim that division is a way out. But what do they know? I will only refer them to India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan have hated each other for more than 70years. Here is why. The British colonized Indian for more than 200 years and Indians weren’t happy about it. All the people’s rage were directed at the British and to put stop to such rage, British had an idea, ‘’divide and rule’’. What does that mean? Muslims against Hindu’s, against Sikhs, ag...

A survey conducted by leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara State, Kwara Must Change (KMC) has indicated that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may not, in the 2019 general election, win any seat in the home state of Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. This is contrary to the assumptions of people outside Kwara State that have been projecting Kwara as a strong hold of the PDP. The survey conducted by Kwara Must Change (KMC) about 2 weeks ago revealed that the Senate President will not return to the Senate and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will lose the upcoming election in Kwara State with a very wide margin. According to Kwara Must Change president, Abdurazaq Hamzat in a statement during the week, the survey was separately conducted for the 3 senatorial districts and the result shows that in Kwara Central, where senate President Bukola Saraki is running for senate for the 3rd term, the All Progressive Congress (APC) will win by 75%, leaving only 25% for the PD...

The wind of Otoge movement (Enough is Enough) in Kwara State is currently blowing all across Nigeria to an extent that other opposition states in the country are adopting the slogan to advance their quest for freedom and political emancipation. After the 2015 election, Leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara popularly known as Kwara Must Change (KMC) has been leading the charge to liberate Kwara State from oppression and the grip of Bukola Saraki led dynasty. The group, along with others did a lot in terms of creating massive sensitization and the result is the unrivaled awareness of the people of Kwara, giving birth to the OTOGE movement. Since the adoption of OTOGE as the slogan by All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kwara State, the ruling dynasty has been running here and there to slow down the unstoppable growth of the opposition, but like a moving train, the OTOGE movement is unstoppable until victory is attained. At first, it was just Kwarans in different state of the feder...

Few weeks ago, my attention was drawn to an agitprop and hogwash material circulated online by agents of the Senate President titled: Brief History of Kwara Must Change anchor (Tinubu’s Agent in Kwara). My initial reaction was to ignore it because i do not think it is worthy of my response. However, i am now forced to issue this response because of genuine concerns by friends and associates concerning the content of the material. The material, which also made it to the front page of nairaland, Africa’s largest forum was circulated by emissary of the ruling government in Kwara State in a desperate attempt to link the Pro-Democracy struggle of Kwara Must Change to end oppression and enthrone people’s governance to some imaginary sponsors that do not exist anywhere. It is important to note that, this is not the first time the Bukola Saraki led dynasty will be attempting to link Abdulrazaq Hamzat or Kwara Must Change to Former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu and Minister of Inf...

Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP), an independent Non-Governmental Organization for Professional Peace Advocacy, Research and Conflict Transformation received with great honour, our nomination for the NCMG prestigious Peace Award in the Institutional Peacebuilders category. The 2017 edition of this award category was won by the #BringBackOurGirls movement led by former Minister of Education and 2019 Presidential Candidate, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili. Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG) that was incorporated in Nigeria in 1996 translated due to global demands into an international brand with major focus on promoting and advocating for world peace and conflict management within the Africa continent. The NCMG thus became NCMG International as approved by its Board of Governors with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012 and has been on the vanguard of ADR development in Africa, and continues to advance the frontiers of this relatively new industry through collabor...

A post recently made on facebook by Abdulrazaq O Hamzat, a former President of Congress of NOUN Students (CONS) has generated a new debate about the position of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) among institutions in the country. Hamzat, who is still in court against management of the institution over his unlawful expulsion in 2015 for exposing corruption and forming a student association declared that, despite all the challenges confronting the University, the Open University is still the best in Nigeria. In his words, ‘’ National Open University of Nigeria is the best institution in Nigeria’’ While some people expressed their disagreement with the former NOUN student leader, In the discussion that followed, Hamzat argued that, there is no institution in Nigeria with it’s own standard dedicated course materials apart from Open university. These course material, he maintained are the best anyone can find anywhere around the world. Hamzat also argued that, an average ...

Doctor is basically a title for teachers or scholars. It was derived from the Latin word doceō (I teach). Ironically, it has been observed that the use of Doctor’s title is confusing in today’s world. For example, if someone is addressed as doctor today, no one can properly predict their profession or qualification. This is so because in a general sense, there are three (3) majorly recognized bearer of the Doctor’s title in Nigeria. We have the Medical Doctors, Academic doctors (PhD) and honorary Doctors. Although, there are other bearers of Doctors title, but in Nigeria, these are the 3 mostly recognized and used in public space. From the laymen point of view, the only people mostly recognized as doctors are medical practitioners. As a matter of fact, some laymen do not know there are other kind of doctors. Recently, I heard of a story in which a man is called doctor in his area. One day, a child suddenly fell sick early in the morning, but rather than rush the child to t...

Kwara Must Change wishes to inform the general public that we carefully followed the recently conducted Governorship election in Osun state and the reactions that trailed its outcome. While it is true that Kwara Must Change didn’t go to Osun to observe the governorship election, it is important to state that we carefully studied the position of several local and international observers that monitored the election. Before we go further into giving our position on the Osun election,it is necessary to remind the general public that in November 2017, local government election took place in Kwara State and during the build up to that election, some peaceful youths in Lafiagi town, Edu local government were violently murdered in broad day light by Senator Shaaba Lafiagi's security. Until this day, nobody has been held accountable for the murder, neither did the Kwara State Government issued any statement in recognition that some Nigerian citizens under its watch had been cruelly...

The integrity of Nigerian state has been questioned and all its security agencies including Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Police and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are on public trial. Whether they would pass this test is left to the current administration. In particular, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government which prided itself as an anti-corruption administration is on trial in public glare and the whole world is watching to see, if the integrity of this great nation will be protected or shattered on the basis of personal interest and loyality. During the weekend, I watched a video of popular human right radio program, Brekete family anchored by Ahmad Issa, the ordinary president. The segment in question was the continuation of a fraud case, allegedly involving Abba Kyari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. The matter in question also involves allegation of impunity, human right violation and high level criminality perpetrated b...

Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP) is part of a global campaign to get the word ‘’peacebuilding’’ into dictionaries on or before 21st September 2018. We have teamed up with other organizations around the world to advocate for the inclusion of peacebuilding into dictionaries to celebrate this year’s International Day of Peace. In many history books and academic materials, war mongers are usually painted as legends and their stories often told over and over again with so much glitz and fanfare. Stories of great Empire’s all over the world are usually stories of war and war mongers, not that of peace and peacebuilders. Peaceful leaders in time past are relegated and accorded very little or no space in our history books and if not, where are the stories of leaders who opposed to war in time past? Where are the stories of peace builders of our world? It starts with small omissions like not having the word, ‘’peacebuilding’’ in the dictionary, whereas, ‘’warmongering’’ is ...

My first encounter with Kofi Annan happened in my peace course material, then our path crossed in real life. Anyone who has a degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution will most likely come across the name of Kofi Annan and Boutrus Ghali almost on daily basis. Apart from Mahatma Ghandi of India, the famous nonviolent resistance activist, Boutrus Ghali and Kofi Annan are arguably the two most important figures in the development of peace practice, particularly at the United Nations. Whenever you hear the phrase, ''agenda for peace'', expect the mention of Boutrus Ghali, but when you hear ''peace building'', expect to hear Kofi Annan. Both men are from Africa and they are both former Secretary General of United Nations who played leading role in the development of those concepts. After coming across Kofi Annan all through my first degree classes in our course materials, i later came close to meeting the icon during my MSc. Immediately a...

In the past few days, several of our respected comrades, friends and families who had once resorted to key into the visionless dynasty, had finally departed the camp of the oppressor. As I am writing this, many more are on their way out of the rejected dynasty, to join us in the victorious path of freedom that has already been destined for 2019. I, Abdulrazaq O Hamzat, on behave of the entire members of Kwara Must Change, uses this opportunity to welcome all our distinguish friends and family members, who were once held in the camp of the overlord back to the genuine path of prosperity for all. Believe me when i say, we are very much happy to have you back on the path of self worth and respect for human dignity and I assure you that we would jointly celebrate the imminent collapse of the oppressive dynasty that has kept us all down. We understood why you were there in the first place and we hold no grudge against you. This liberation struggle is yours, the imminent freedom is yo...

I do not know Gbemi Saraki and she doesn't know me. I have never seen Gbemi Saraki and she has never seen me. I have never spoken to Gbemi Saraki ans she has never spoken with me. But I ask for fairness and respect, not for Gbemi Saraki, but for everyone, including you. This is why I am called Mr.Right. When you hear people call me Mr.Right, it is not because I am always right, but because i always stand for truth and human rights. Ladies and Gentlemen, Did I ask the opposition to give Gbemi Saraki ticket to run for office? No. Did I ask you to support Gbemi Saraki? No. Did I ask you, not to hold Gbemi accountable for her 12 years at the National Assembly? No. So, what did I ask from the opposition? Treat everyone, including Gbemi Saraki fairly and justly. Few days ago, when I published an essay titled ‘’Gbemi Saraki and Kwara opposition’’, I was bombarded with messages and calls, from friends and associates. Few minutes after the essay was published, the calls start...

Many have sorted my view on the defection trends that has been taking place in recent days, particularly in Kwara State. Some have called, tagged me on facebook and sent messages on whatsapp, seeking to know what my opinion is and where I belong. For me, that is not the most pressing issue needing attention. For any freedom loving Kwaran, there is an important matter that should be addressed. This is the most important matter at the moment. It’s the issue of Gbemi Saraki. Some people call her okere. According to one of my friend, ‘’anti Gbemi is okere tin mu koki’’. Make una no laugh ooo, olohun o ni pa wa le kun. Gbemi is the beautiful daughter of Baba Saraki and like me, you may not be a fan of her father’s politics, but you can’t take away her alluring, exquisite, comely, pulchritudinous and statuesque look. Kai, somebody may say, ‘’ebo yi po’’ bee ni, opo, she is that beautiful. Abi be ko? On a serious note, I made use of all these words to describe her beauty because so...

Kwara Must Change is calling on the federal government to immediately effect the arrest and prosecution of Senator Shaaba lafiagi, over the gruesome killing of 3 youths in Lafiagi town. The murder of the three youths took place during the November 17 protest against the poor representation provided by Mr. Shaaba Lafiagi, the senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District. Kwara Must Change had, on November 23, petitioned several agencies, including Police, Army, Federal Ministry of Justice, National Human Rights Commission and others, to demand a proper investigation, arrest and prosecution of the culprits and to get compensation for the victims’ families. The NHRC acknowledged the petition through a letter dated 27 November, 2017. The commission, in its acknowledgement letter addressed to Kwara Must Change President, Abdulrazaq Hamzat stated that, it has commenced investigation into the matter. "The extra-judicial killings, which was ordered by Senator Sha'aba La...

She’s loose, really, is she loose? (POEM) By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat Every prostitute was once a responsible lady Someone broke her hymen and turned her crazy Don’t ask me who it was, just look at the mirror It is someone like you, actually staring at you #STOPSHAMINGWOMEN Remember, she used to be self-restraint and pious But not anymore, because someone broke her sainthood and made her spacious What she used to avoid, now she relish and can’t resist Her former abomination, now her favorite meal, who’s to be blamed? #STOPSHAMINGWOMEN Immorality gives her pleasure; but someone first forced her to do it Now she’s weird, Carrot, banana and cucumber all falls on her But sugarcane is all she seek to derive satisfaction Her abuser gave her rough and she gets satisfied, not in any other way #STOPSHAMINGWOMEN Her power of self-control taken, now she wants it plenty and weird 1 to 10 and still counting, ex’es without number They all call her names to shame her, as if the...

Nobody is under any obligation to help or support you. It is not even mandatory on anyone to advise or return your calls. Those who offer some advise and words of encouragements deserve some accolades. People who offer support and help deserve greater commendations. And even those who merely responded to your call, but failed to help also deserve some kudos. Nobody is under any obligation to help or support you. If anyone calls you with their credit, thank them. If they picked your call, appreciate them. If they offer you peanut as support, commend them and if they did nothing, do not hold it against them. Nobody is under any obligation to help or support you. Of course, it is expected that friends and family raise each other, but this is not a mandatory obligation. Some people will, some will not. You don't have to be bitter about it, you don't have to regard those who didn't help as enemy or bad people. We are wired differently. If people help you, tha...

‘’the peaceful action of a sincere peacemaker can melt the strongest heart of a brutal murderer’’ Abiy Ahmed One man has capacity to inspire peace against all anti-peace forces, no matter how long and bitter the war has been fought. This is what we have learned from Abiy Ahmed (41), the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia in his quest to end his country’s 20 years war with neighboring Eritrea. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after many years of struggle and internal rift which started in 1974. Five years later, both countries fought over disputed territory along their border. In that unfortunate battle, which signifies the beginning of a long term conflict between the two countries, more than 80,000 people were reportedly killed. Several attempts by the international community to resolve the dispute didn’t yield any result, including a UN backed boundary commission in 2002, which resolved that Ethiopia should cede the town of Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia refused to honor the ...

If you do not give up, you may never come up. If you do not lose hope, you may not birth hope. So, feel free to give up. Feel free to lose hope. I have given up many times, after I had explored all chances and opportunities without success. I have given up many times, after all hope seems lost without any possibility of redemption. I have given up so many times, after i had tried and exhausted all my talent, skills, hardwork and network. Yes, I have given up many times, after running to God in prayers and my prayers seems not getting to the most high. In my mind, I no I am finished. It's all over for me. My so called intelligence has failed and my prayers unanswered. I have lose hope many times when my vast knowledge hit the brick wall and my network helpless. Trust me, nothing is so humbling like when your greatest strength seems to be so useless and even those who shared in your idea, passion, patriotism and activism are too consumed in their own issues to come t...