Update on the Ferguson grand jury verdict, it was violence not peace

UPDATE on The Ferguson grand jury verdict, peace or violence?

And the verdict gave rise to violence. Officer Darren who fatally shot an unarmed teenager was not indicted by the grand jury.

What is a grand jury in the American legal system.

photo culled from udayton.edu 

A grand jury is a group of people, everyday people , chosen by a judge and guided by the DA (district attorney) to interview and determine if a crime had been committed that would warrant the suspect going to trial (probable cause). In Missouri, 9 of the 12 grand jurors must vote to indict the suspect before an indictment could stand.

The identities of the jurors are kept secret for their protection I would think and a verdict of no indictment means there won’t be a criminal trial. However a civil lawsuit can still be filed by Michael’s parents.

The DA is walking a tight rope, contrary to what most people think, the american justice system is highly political. DA need the police to help investigate crimes and successfully win his cases, what would happen if the police think the DA sold one of their owns out? Yet the DA swore to serve the public, how would he help them have confidence in the justice system?

On the other hand the governors and mayors want certain types of outcomes for political reasons and to pass certain messages; these are the tight ropes the DA walks on almost every case. 

So why the violence on the verdict of the grand jury that a crime had not been committed?

It’s because of the legendary high handedness of the police especially against black communities and non Caucasians communities. Statistics after statistics show the ingrained racial profiling in the discharge of police duty, a Blackman would likely get shot trying to break into his own car and a white guy most likely helped by the police trying to break into someone else’s car!

I don’t believe violence is the appropriate reaction from the Ferguson community and other sympathetic people across the nation.

These communities should get their acts together, educate their kids better to respect those older than them, be more responsible and comply with laid down laws, more of them should pressure their council members into getting laws that unfairly target a particular race changed. Home training is lax, the fear of your kids being taken away into the foster care system has stopped so many parents disciplining their kids, I believe in spanking to correct a child but that is after several warnings.

Kids are said not to be able to reason well below 18 which is why they are kids, scientifically the part of their brain required for that isn’t well developed, so why then would some people who has no kids ask you to reason with your kids?! Yes you teach them by reasoning and negotiating, but a kid throwing unnecessary tantrum sometimes need a spank, a healthy corrective spank not a brutal beating like you are sparing with a punching bag.

That tight line the DA walks, every parent need to walk same at home with their kids!

The police on the other hand need to know irrespective of race, everyone is someone’s child. Shielding officers who have committed murder or manslaughter using excessive force will simply erode the people confidence in the police and brings the day of anarchy nearer. Thinking of it, the people far outnumber the police; let’s not put that to a test via violence.

See an excerpt of Darren’s account below culled from CNN and decide what verdict you would return if you were a juror.

Note that eye witnesses said Michael had his arms up in surrender before he was shot.

Grand jury transcripts

He says he shot at Michael Brown for a second time when Brown turned on him.

"As he is coming towards me, I tell, keep telling him to get on the ground, he doesn't. I shoot a series of shots. I don't know how many I shot, I just know I shot it," he says, according to documents released Monday night.

"I know I missed a couple, I don't know how many, but I know I hit him at least once because I saw his body kind of jerk," he says. Wilson testifies that Brown did not slow down.

"At this point, I start backpedaling and again, I tell him get on the ground, get on the ground, he doesn't. I shoot another round of shots," he says, according to the released testimony.

"Again, I don't recall how many it was or if I hit him every time. I know at least once because he flinched again. At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him.

"And the face that he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn't even there, I wasn't even anything in his way." He told the jurors he thought Brown was going to tackle him.

He said Brown's left hand was in a fist and his right hand was under his shirt in his waistband. 

Brown was "just coming straight at me like he was going to run right through me," Wilson says. "And when he gets about that 8 to 10 feet away, I look down, I remember looking at my sites and firing, all I see is his head and that's what I shot.

"I don't know how many, I know at least once because I saw the last one go into him. And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone. It was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped."

"When he fell, he fell on his face."

The Ferguson grand jury verdict, peace or violence?

The Ferguson shooting. Michael brown and Darren Wilson

The dawn of a new era?

The United States is viewed as the land of opportunities where dreams are achieved irrespective of who you are. This is in contrast to the centuries of slavery of the Blackman and continued racism both subtle and flagrant on non Caucasians.

Sadly, instead of the the black community to rise up and deal positively with these racial challenges, most instead resigned themselves to fate, abandoned the raising of their kids to how the system (with policies drawn up by sometimes childless people whose racial prejudice no one knew) dictated how kids should be raised.

Some few years ago in Britain, alarmed by the rate of lawlessness of the youths, the UK government decided to hold parents responsible for the anti social behavior of their kids.

In the US, a state placed a hefty fine for sagging on the streets. These are all talks for another day.

The issue here however is the shooting of an unarmed teenager Michael Brown by a police officer Darren wilson with history of using excessive force whilst on duty.

 Darren and Micheal

The aggregate in the different versions of stories was that Michael brown and a friend were walking back from a store where he was said to have robbed the store of 50 dollars worth of cigarettes when confronted by the police.

This was where the story changed with Darren Wilson the police officer saying Michael attacked him and tried to disarm him before he fatally shot him along with some other officers far away fromj the police car where the supposed attempted disarming took place.

Eye witness accounts said Michael raised his two arms as a sign of surrender but was still shot in cold blood right on the streets and his body there for over 4 hours.

These events caused a riot in Ferguson Missouri which was later quelled amidst other fatalities.

The DA had to convene a grand jury to look at the case and decide if the officer in question was guilty of murder.

Micheal's mum and step dad

As at the time of this post, the grand jury had reached a decision but the announcement delayed most likely due to the expectation of an outbreak of violence even though the governor had declared a state of emergency in Missouri and called in the National Guard days before.

So we wait and watch to have an insight into the American law enforcement system and the legal system.

May brown‘s soul rest in peace.

I will keep you updated and give a better explanation of events later. 

Muslim body, MURIC, Its not the Jewish symbol on new N100 note

Professor Akintola and MURIC, it’s not the Star of David!

I paid little attention to the unveiling of the centenary 100 naira note by President Goodluck Jonathan mostly because I couldn’t be bothered, with hundreds of people being slaughtered in the North East and book haram threat hanging like the swords of Damocles I couldn’t even think about a new currency though I seem relatively safe in Lagos.

I heard this morning on my very vibrant bbm group named SOLACE that Professor Ishaq Akintola of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) wrote an article asking why a Zionist symbol should be on our nation’s currency whilst the Arabic words that reads 100naira has been removed.

We launched into a discussion which wasn’t even along religious lines with some saying the question is a valid question. We talked on and asked what national symbol the Star of David could represent and it dragged on to Igbos being descendants of Jews and it could because of them the Jewish symbol was put on the new note. We discussed back and forth and I said the CBN governor should be the one to answer the question; all along I still didn’t bother to check the currency because I already knew what the Star of David looked like, I even said the closest thing in our culture to it would be what is called a banishing pentagram.

Some few minutes ago, I decided to look at the currency in dispute and checked Linda Ikeji blog for the full gist. Only for me to discover that what the furore was all about is not even the Star of David!

 The symbol MURIC wants answers to is not the Star of David

The diagrams above shows what the Star of David is, it’s a double triangle.

 The star of David has 6 vertices (points)

 What is on our new 100naira note is a double square over each other having 8 vertices (points). See the symbol circled below

Note that it has 8 points and not 6.

The banishing pentagram has 5 vertices like a normal star.

Before we crucify the, President who in the first place is the wrong person to ask, that symbol is neither a Christian symbol nor the Star of David.

So what then is it? My guess is it may be a security feature to make counterfeiting a tad more difficult but it’s a question the CBN governor has to answer to calm nerves in this edgy times.

I guess we all just cried wolf when there was none!

The Tambuwal debacle

Should  Hon.Tambuwal vacate his seat?

It was with amusement that I saw pictures of our honourable house members scaling the wall breaching security to get into the house, at that juncture I took no sides knowing the antics PDP could use to get at the former speaker. 

I later watched the video and saw what I see on Lagos streets, supposed government officials and bullion vans feeling like they are above the law driving dangerously like other road users don’t exist.

The speaker vehicle drove dangerously towards the access control that had been going on well before they came and the police reacted to the threat as the mob attempted to storm the building by locking the gate. What they did would have gotten an ordinary citizen shot.

Tambuwal identified himself as the speaker and demanded to be let in. the police ignored his request.

Which brings us to the question, having jumped ship from PDP to APC, is his seat legally vacant as per the constitution or can he keep it? As at when he identified himself as the speaker was he the speaker?

I am not a lawyer talk less a constitutional one but the section of the constitution that shows the answer is clear.

Section 68 of the Nigerian constitution states

68 (1) A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if -

(a) He becomes a member of another legislative house.

(b) any other circumstances arise that, if he were not a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, would cause him to be disqualified for election as a member;

(c) he ceases to be a citizen of Nigeria;

(d) he becomes President, Vice-President, Governor, Deputy Governor or a Minister of the Government of the Federation or a Commissioner of the Government of a State or a Special Adviser.

(e) save as otherwise prescribed by this Constitution, he becomes a member of a commission or other body established by this Constitution or by any other law.

(f) without just cause he is absent from meetings of the House of which he is a member for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one-third of the total number of days during which the House meets in any one year;

(g) being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected;

Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored; or

(h) the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives receives a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission stating that the provisions of section 69 of this Constitution have been complied with in respect of the recall of that member.

(2) The President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall give effect to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, so however that the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House concerned that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in respect of that member.

(3) A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be deemed to be absent without just cause from a meeting of the House of which he is a member, unless the person presiding certifies in writing that he is satisfied that the absence of the member from the meeting was for a just cause.

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Going by the above section of the constitution, Tambuwal remains the speaker of the house until sub section 2 is applied in which a member of the house will present evidence of Tambuwals defection and then his seat declared vacant.

Pro APC people argue that Tambuwal can keep his seat citing paragraph G of sub section 1 with emphasis on the word “faction”.

We are tempted to ask another question, is there a faction in PDP? But on closer examination of this clause, what actually affects PDP in Tambuwal defection is the word “division” The right question to ask is if there is a division in PDP.

The faction refers to when two parties merged as in what happened in ACN and Tambuwal was a member of one of the factions that merged into APC!

Let’s therefore define what a faction is first. According to Wikipedia and the the free dictionary

A political faction is a group of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a common political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. Members of factions band together as a way of achieving these goals and advancing their agenda and position within an organization.

Operation of factions

In political organizations that are democratic in structure, factions rely heavily on securing enough votes to win important ballots. This process is sometimes referred to as “doing the numbers”. Having the numbers will allow the faction to push policies it supports and elect its members to powerful positions within the broader organization.

If one faction develops within an organization, there will usually be at least one other that develops in opposition to it. Opposing factions will try to match each other's level of organization and internal discipline, but will also engage in negotiations and trade-offs to ensure that the organization’s activities are not compromised and that every group has a chance to obtain at least some of its goals.

Key to the operation of an organized faction is the existence of a power base. This will typically be some office, division or branch of the broader organization over which the faction has effective control. Sometimes a power base may be an external or affiliated organization that is involved with the broader organization in some way.

A power base serves several key functions:

• It acts as a recruitment center for new members, and promotes homogeneity within the membership (crucial for maintaining factional cohesion);
• It can be used as an organizing center for factional events and activities;
• It functions as a springboard, advancing the career of selected factional members and allowing them to gain skills that will increase their effectiveness and clout.

Effects of factions

The existence of a factional system can have serious negative consequences for a political organization. If factional strife becomes intensive and public, the organization may suffer from perceptions of disunity. Taken one step further, if the conflict is particularly severe, it may cause ruptures within the organization that seriously impede its effectiveness, leading to break-up or collapse of the organization.

To avoid harm to the organization, factional operations are usually conducted under strong secrecy and with minimal public scrutiny. This, however, can lead to the proliferation of unethical behavior. Warfare between the factions may lead to tactics such as ballot box-stuffing, stack-outs, membership fraud, and other generally fraudulent conduct. Individuals who abandon a faction may be subject to intense personal vendettas where their former comrades go about sabotaging their careers. A climate of intense factional conflict can also motivate individuals to focus on attacking their factional enemies rather than furthering the broader organization.

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When we look at the definition of faction and the context in which the word along with "division" and "merger" was used in the constitution, its glaring that it means if there is a spilt in that political party such that we have two PDPs or a merger between ACN and CPC and others that formed APC.

As at the time of Tambuwals defection, there was no division within the PDP thus the argument that he retains his seat becomes moot.

Him running to court to get a judgment maintaining the status quo until the determination of his suit is a time wasting tactics done in bad faith by both him and the APC.

Asking the courts to define what a faction is a cheap and dishonorable act by Tambuwal trying to eat his cake and have it. 
Adjourning the house first then declaring his defection is also another dishonorable act a premeditated move that reeks of bad faith. It means he clearly knew what would follow once he announced his defection (as per sub section 2) and prevented the right and lawful thing from being done.

I was told by some of my group friends that PDP should head to court and i said, The failure of men to be Honorable is what leads to court cases. Hiding behind the court to twist a well known law doesn't paint you as law abiding citizen, it makes you a dishonorable person. For a party shouting on the roof tops how dear they hold the country it simply shows they really dont care about the country but wresting power for themselves.

Ironically as I was writing this piece, information came that the same APC who wants Tambuwal keep his seat after defection wants the opposite to happen in Ekiti state after some house members defected to PDP! This paints APC as a party so selfish they are ready to create a constitutional crisis where there is none all in a desperate attempt to further plunge the nation into unnecessary tension.

http://www.osundefender.org/?p=196032

Shamefully, APC has no case because the Ekiti reps were sponsored by ACN which has now merged to form APC! (Sub section 1 paragraph (g) clearly applies  to them!) and they get to retain their seats. APC know it but derive absolute pleasure in wasting tax payers money and love justice being delayed.

Whatever the outcome of the court case as concerns Tambuwal, APC has secured a dirty win by delaying election into Tambuwal's slot either the court ruling is in their favour or not.

I however trust our learned judges who rule based not only on written English but with their conscience and broad understanding on life.

I write as a neutral person in this matter i am not a member of any political party at this moment and in the nearest future

Life as a dream

Life has always been a mystery although we pretend to know what life is and how life works. We have even become experts at taking lives using varieties of methods that appall even the gods whilst in contrast saving lives remains an emerging science.

Both skills we have acquired however had made me observe and ponder what life really means and why we are alive.

Many are quick to point out we are alive for a purpose, that we are “kept" alive to fulfill a particular purpose and thus we fight for life,

Though a new set of people whom we term crazy now do all they can to get themselves killed, before you mention suicide bombers, I would say you group thrill seekers into that same category, or what do you want on mount Everest or bungee jumping? Some even walk tight ropes with no safety net!

Let me not digress as tempting as it is; so are we alive for a purpose as they say?  If we are, are flies and mosquitoes and viruses and bacteria alive for a purpose too?

I ask because just as we do everything possible to stay alive so do they!  

A mosquito will even fly upside down to avoid being killed and from all known science it has no brain with which to be self aware talk less process enough information to discern or understand what life is or purpose is.

Have you tried swatting a fly before?  See how it does all it can to stay alive and even if hit how it fights the mortal battle to keep living?

Same goes for all animals I have heard of with the exception of man who sometimes takes his own life for no reason.

If human life is so special then other animals shouldn't resist dying nor we killing them, a fly should simply wait for me to swat it and a mosquito should respect me enough to kill it without embarrassing me with its aerial acrobatics!

If human life is that special why then do we die easily like we do? Why have we perfected the art of killing? We can kill over 1 million people at once!?

I observed a dog some years back, it was lazing near a kerb idly watching motor bikes and cars pass near him without flinching, a couple of minutes later a truck came along following the same path as the bikes and cars did but to my amusement, the dog on sighting the truck, quickly got up and took major steps away from where it was and when the truck had passed went back to that same spot to continue its lounging! I was amused but also amazed, why didn’t that dog want to die?!

Image culled from

So what then is the purpose to life (if there is one) that makes all living things want to live?

I have seen animals fight to the death over territory but never seen one fight to the death to save their young. So what will make a sometimes vicious animal want to preserve its life rather than err towards the survival of the species?!

What then is life and what is its purpose? Why are we here? Why have we been told to hold life precious? Even those who preach higher purpose and an afterlife are not ready to start the afterlife until they lose total grip on this life.

What then is life?! What is its purpose having established its not only humans that want to stay alive.

Is life even real? Are we real or are we similar to a program in someone’s computer, a program that doesn’t want to be ended not because it’s self aware but simply following an iterative loop.

I won’t be happy to die and find out that all I have been made to believe about life was wrong! What is the true purpose of life?

Those who know about life, over to you! teach me and teach others....else wake me up from this dream!  

References

Imagine!

Imagine!

Imagine we all didn't happen
Never getting this common denominator
And scattered around never without a crossed path

Imagine no Principal
No Adedeji to keep us in line
No Odusina to keep us on our toes
No Ewumi to let us know it'll all be alright
Imagine us without those tough rules
Imagine us living carefree
Living high school life high on drugs

Imagine there were no crazy seniors
No Aloma, Okusaga nor Maam Tete to punish us hard
Imagine we living with no elder respect
Imagine us living Levi-free
And no such thing as offenders list

Imagine we had no Oye Otubanjo
Just a team without a captain
Just like an army with no commandant
Just like a tribe without a king 
Just like a man without face

Imagine no biology lectures
from the ever kind gboyega's mum
Doctors Odusoga, Allinson, Sanni & Adeniji only able to imagine anatomy
From a lame man's point of view
Or better still from a butcher's shop
Imagine no PhyChemMath
Oladiran and Lawal only imagining engineering from a carpenter's view
Imagine them not turning out as barristers
Bajo still hustling the white van 
Dare pimping the Ojuelegba streets
Being thrown in gaol for living thug life

Imagine no sports field
No AIONIAN nor inter-house sports
No 'Jomale like Usain Bolt
And Muyi running with no goal
No Foluso with a dozen goals
Folarin and Mamora kicking horns in place of tennis
Right in the village square

Imagine no fab cliques
No Hardliners no Malady Boyz
Imagine us with no envy
From all the schools all around
Imagine no OLASS and AGGS
Giving us love cause of our green & white
With all dem girls vying and trying
To roll Willoughby's style

Imagine school without ambition and dreams
Imagine Olamide not having flown in air Not flown the world over in a frenchman's plane
And not dwell his home in the city of lights 
Imagine no Trade Engineers
And King Buddy in a dead end job
Imagine homeboy Tosh struggling
Trying to live bye a dollar a day job
No FirstRand just another nigga hustling

Imagine us all not come this far
Imagine us all living like scallywags
Like street urchins with no damn hope
Pushing shitty trucks at Ita-Osu for survival

It takes no imagination
To know we were truly blessed with JOGS!

-Jango
Started 23:54GMT 22nd Dec 2012
Finished 02:15GMT 23rd Dec 2012
Inspired by and dedicated to the group and school I spent 6 years of my life with

Jango can be reached via yemioduwole@yahoo.co.uk 

My Love

My love

Men only live twice, with each life a choice before them.
The cross road of love and that of reasoning smack in the face.
If we could see the future many a lot will wait,
Yet we see the future and I didn't wait.
For If I waited how would we meet; without an error there is no correction,
Without a ying what then is the yang, and without either where is life?

Cut loose and run, that's the answer on many a lips,
But know them what has been shared and how many bricks layered?
Rome wasn't built in day and a fortress won't fall in an hour!
I love you, empty words without substance; I love, you, even angels concur.
This heart is in agony, for its life has been wrenched and this man lorn,
Where is Juliet, hurry before Romeo crosses to Orion!

Fiery, love lives way long beyond a kiss,
Two hearts entwined bound by cords stronger than silk.
There is no one but you, I am no one without you.
Live I a long life unknown or a short one more famous than Achilles?
My dear Jane, look not unto terra cota to replicate this journey,
Gaze unto Venus and the eagle nebula the fountain of us.

All being said and done, where does a life gets its soul and a man his spirit?
From whence should oriyomi start the journey of many eons?
If the gods ask of me my life, I couldn't give it for to Aurora it belongs,
Know now not Helen, that I will burn Troy just for you?!
But they say reason must prevail.......,
I go forth then into the land of no reason for without you I just can't live.

- With all my life
Yomi lawal 11th Jan, 2013 2:15am