I’ve been in London for the past month; and as always, there is much to comment on.

Let me first compare the glaring differences between British public servants and Nigerian public servants.

Last week, Angela Rayner was forced to step down as Deputy Prime Minister following an uproar about her failure to pay sufficient tax linked to a property transaction.

The tax shortfall was 40,000 pounds (about 80 million naira) and miniscule compared to the amount of money that Nigerian public servants regularly get away with stealing.

As I watched Rayner tearfully apologizing for her “mistake” and trying to justify it, I almost pitied her for being hamstrung by a system that scrutinizes politicians so stringently and takes ethics so seriously!

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has just been compelled to sack Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to the United States, because of an ongoing scandal that revolves around recent revelations about Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile who died while incarcerated.

I strongly suspect that if all or most Naija politicians and diplomats who have socialized with criminals or done business deals with criminals (or engaged in criminal activity themselves) were to be thrown out of office, our corridors of power would be almost empty!

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police authorities are so concerned about an upcoming drama that they have cancelled all leave ahead of  it.

Tommy Robinson, a white anti-immigration and anti-Islam activist who has served time in prison, founded a far-right organization called the English Defence League (EDL) and is planning a “free-speech festival” that is due to take place in London this weekend.

Robinson and his cohorts are no strangers to violence. Brits of all hues who oppose their religious, racist, anti-democratic bigotry are likely to robustly confront them. And mayhem is expected.

The  Metropolitan Police  has arranged    assistance from other police forces. Both uniformed and undercover officers will flood the streets

Robinson claims to “stand against tyranny” event and says things like:    “We don’t just Unite The Kingdom, but the world. OUR countries belong to US, the people, not those elected to work for US.”

Tens of thousands of his flag-waving “patriots” are expected to descend on the capital for the event, which will climax with a series of speeches in Whitehall expected to include Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31-months for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers and describes herself as a political prisoner of the relatively liberal Sir  Keir Starmer.

Black and brown folks have been advised to steer clear of Central London on Saturday and I must say that I feel really sorry for any non-whites who yearn to regard the UK as home and a safe haven.

Most white Brits are tolerant enough. Some are genuinely wonderfully kind-hearted. But a noisy, toxic minority of thuggish elements is hellbent on making anyone who doesn’t look like them feel unwelcome.

These deranged xenophobes stand outside buildings that house foreigners, shouting abuse and waving Union Jack or Saint George (patron saint of England) flags. I’m sure that some of these characters would murder blacks or browns if they could get away with doing so.

If non-white countries were thriving, there wouldn’t be so many black and brown people fleeing the lands of their birth and having to cope with traumatic hostility as they desperately seek better lives in the UK and other Western nations in which racism is rife! 

READER’S RESPONSE

Last month, I asked Vanguard readers whether they thought that Peter Obi should stick with the Labour Party and try to win the 2027 election on his own terms. Or whether he should fully embrace the new ADC alliance and accept any role it offers him…

…In other words, whether Obi should take the view that trouncing Tinubu by any means necessary is the most important priority and that this objective is more likely to be achieved by an alliance that includes Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El Rufai and other big boys.

Ifeanyi Maduako (+234 805 627 8945), writing to me from Owerri, had this to say:

Dear Donu Kogbara.

Peter Obi did very well in the 2023 presidential election. The bitter truth is that he actually won the election which only God has the true result figures. However, the vice presidency office is not a small position. If pairing with Atiku in 2027 can defeat Tinubu, I support it with my full chest. If we repeat the same mistake of 2023, the votes will be divided and Tinubu will grab, snatch and run away with victory.

The sufferings of Nigerians are unprecedented. I never knew that Buhari could be better than any president until now.  

Please, let Obi stoop to conquer.

I don’t currently agree with Mr Maduako, but I find his perspective interesting and will occasionally, in the coming weeks, publish other comments from other Vanguard readers who want to share their opinions about this burning issue.

DONU’S WORLD

I have a YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD.

https://youtube.com/@donukogbara?si=bBm_IPdFZ_wUyKYq

NIGERIA UNFILTERED – spicy commentaries on Naija issues – appears every Wednesday, while DONU’S WEEK appears on Fridays and is international as well as local and covers a mish-mash of soft and tough issues around my personal life, my work and my worldview.

Two days ago, on Nigeria Unfiltered, I wondered why Nigerian leaders are so allergic to providing us with quality socio-economic development and have spectacularly failed to reproduce on home turf the things they love about the foreign countries they are always visiting.

Please check out Donu’s World videos twice a week. I would love to hear your opinions and any constructive criticisms you may have to offer. And I will be very grateful if you “like”, subscribe and share!