History&Updates

History in News Feed:
The stamp duty act of 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament under Greenville's administration on British colonies in America. It was an important act that contributed to the emergence of American Revolution due to the economic challenges being faced by citizens of America of that time.

While Nigerians are facing harsh economic challenges, the commercial banks in the country particularly, Access Bank, in compliance to Financial Act 2019 (ratified by the National Assembly), has levied her customers the stamp duty charges which have sparked outrage in the last two days.

TODAY IN HISTORY: MAY 30TH

Today marks 53 years since colonel Chukwuemeka O. Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra (an Eastern, including today's South-South of Nigeria) from Nigeria.

Much literatures has been written about the Nigeria/Biafra civil war, but the fact still remains that the spirit of Biafra is yet to leave 50 years after the war ended.

The ugly issues that sparked the Nigeria/Biafra civil war still rearing its ugly heads in today's Nigeria after five decades of the war.

Social injustice, corruption, marginalisation, oppression, mass killings, ethnic cleansing/genocide, nepotism, mutual suspicion among ethnic nationalities among several others.

AFRICAN HISTORY IN REFERENCE: MADAGASCAR COVID ORGANIC CURE

The Madagascar Coronavirus herbal medicine was rejected by the Western countries and World Health Organisation on the basis that it emanated from Africa. For a very longtime, around 15th century, the Europeans made incursion into Africa on a mission not clear to Africans at the onset. But as time pass by, they started unveiling their plans which have underdeveloped Africa till date.
The western world has since then acculturated Africans into an European inclined ideology. Hence, our own culture suffered. Till date, majority of Africans have a contemptuous perception about anything Africa; ranging from medicine, laws, tradition, religion, culture, technology, etc. The Europeans made us to believe that whatever Africa is satanic (black colour representation of bad things, while white is good).
It's in this regard that the western world and controlled WHO rejected the Madagascar herbal organic.

This is also obvious in the practise of law, medicine, etc.
In the field of law, prior to the coming of Europeans, people have a self-restraint in criminal indulgence because of the consequences that follows without mincing words. But the English law we adopted gave rooms for defense counsel (lawyer) to represent a red-handed caught criminal in court.

Secondly, in the field of medicine, the Europeans and Africa medical practitioners have discredited local herbal organic on the ground that they lack scientific certification, but the local medicine has proved times without numbers it efficacy in cases where the scientifically proven medicine failed. Meanwhile, the scientific-certified medicine is made from the forest leaves that local herbs also originated from. Though, not everything about Africa is perfect, the same way Europeans too.

To this end, Africans must begin to rethink their steps and revert to our traditional means to solve our local problems, while trashing out the archaic and unworkable aspect of our culture and tradition, and by extension embracing that of Europeans that enhanced our society, while also doing away with unworkable ones.

HISTORY IN RETROSPECT: ISMAIL KHEDIVE AND MUHAMMADU BUHARI

In 1517, an Italian Political thinker and Philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote: Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who have been, and ever will be, animated by the same passions. The result is that the same problems.." This quote brings to the fore the continuous borrowing trend of Buhari's led administration. Buhari's administration reminds us of a famous African ruler of the Modern Egypt; Ismail (Khedive) Pasha, who reigned from 1863 to 1879.

Ismail (Khedive) Pasha succeeded his uncle, Said Pasha as Egyptian ruler. His reign executed major elephant projects amongst them is the completion of the Suez canal project. To be concise, Ismail's era was characterized by wasteful spendings of the profit yielding from Egyptian cotton crop sales, enormously enhanced in value by the American Civil War, and excessive borrowings from Europe's foreign financial institutions notably Britain and France to fund his lavish inclination.

By 1876, it had become clearer that Egypt was in debt to the tune of about £100 million of which sixty percent of it consisted of foreign loans. Under pressure from various European financial institutions, Ismail was forced to sell to Great Britain his stockholdings (some 44%) in the Suez Canal, and in 1876 he was obliged to place the finances of Egypt under the control of a debt commission that represented the French and British bondholders. His attempt to throw off foreign control in 1879 was answered by the Ottoman sultan's at the behest of the Britain, deposing him in favor of his son Tewfik Pasha - a compliant.

Although Egypt serviced the debt faithfully, European intervention increased and reluctantly refused to leave thus, subsequent events led to the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. Hence, the Egyptian lose her sovereignty and possession (Sudan) till mid 20th century when total independence was achieved.

In light of the Khedive Ismail's Egypt, Nigeria under Buhari is treading the same path as the recent senate approval of #850 billion fresh loan request by this government has further surged Nigeria's total debt. According to the Debt Management Office, the total debt stood at #22 trillion as at the end of June 2018.

The debt office reports on Nigeria’s debt every three months. Its website shows that at the end of March 2015 – two months before Buhari took office on 29 May – the country owed a total of N12 trillion. At the end ofJune 2015, this debt had risen slightly to N12.1 trillion. This was US$63.8 billion at the official exchange rate of the time, N196.95 to the dollar.

By the end ofJune 2018, total public debt had almost doubled to N22.4 trillion. This took Nigeria’s total debt to US$73.2 billion, using the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2018 exchange rate of N305 to the dollar. In addition, by December 31st 2019, Nigeria total public debt has rose to #27 trillion naira.

With the recent senate approval of #850 billion, Nigeria may find itself in a dire economic situation which the future generations will be obliged to pay all the incurred debts, and any failure to do so may result in the fate of the Egyptians in the late 19th century.

AFRICAN ICON:
Today, April 22, marks 82 years posthumous birthday of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a civil and human right activist, and social critics popularly reverred as "Senior advocate of the masses"
Gani Fawehinmi was the only person who on sympathizing with President Olusegun Obasanjo on Stella’s death, blamed him and Nigeria’s health system for her demise. He said
"The events of Saturday and Sunday the 22nd and 23rd October, 2005 which have thrown the country into mourning should never be allowed to repeat themselves. We do not want another plane crash and if you bring in another wife before you constitutionally quit office on 29th May, 2007, please do not allow her to go for a cosmetic surgery for beautification again. We cannot afford another death of the President’s wife in A*o Rock”.

His spirit of nationalism lies in the fact that he fought for the liberation of the masses and against the military dictatorship throughout his life.

In 2008 Chief Gani Fawehinmi rejected one of the highest national honours that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Nigerian government – Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) – in protest of the many years of misrule since Nigeria's independence.

Gani Fawehinmi died as a disappointed man, because of the state of his country at the time of his death, he refused the highest honour accorded him by his country on his death bed.

TODAY IN HISTORY: APRIL 22
It's been 10 years now when the popular street king, Oladapo Olaitan Olanipekun popularly known as "Dagrin" went six feet under, but it seems like it never happened.

The tragically prophetic song titled “If I die” was recorded on February 5th 2010 and was the last song he recorded before he passed away.