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Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
@RealOlaudah
Sep 24, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
“She was called Phillis, because that was the name of the ship that brought her, and Wheatley, which was the name of the merchant who bought her. She was born in Senegal. In Boston, the slave traders put her up for sale:
-she's seven years old! She will be a good mare! Image
She was felt, naked, by many hands.
At thirteen, she was already writing poems in a language that was not her own. No one believed that she was the author. At the age of twenty, Phillis was questioned by a court of eighteen enlightened men in robes and wigs.
She had to recite texts from Virgil and Milton and some messages from the Bible, and she also had to swear that the poems she had written were not plagiarized. From a chair, she gave her long examination, until the court accepted her:
She was a woman, she was black, she was a slave, but she was a poet. "
Phillis Wheatley., was the first African-American writer to publish a book in the United States.
#BlackHistory
#TransAtlanticSlavery
#BlackLivesMatter
#History

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More from @RealOlaudah

Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Dec 1, 2025
MAZI MBONU OJIKE: REMEMBERING THE BOYCOTT KING 69 YEARS AFTER

On November 29, 1956, in a hospital ward in Enugu, a brief but blazing life came to an abrupt end. The man who died that day was only 42, but he had already etched his name in the annals of Nigerian history as the Boycott King, the Freedom Choirmaster, and the Cultural Evangelist. His name was Mazi Mbonu Ojike – a teacher, journalist, pan-Africanist, politician and one of the most original minds of the nationalist generation. Sixty-nine years after his passing, the story of his life remains evergreen, poignant and a fascinating chronicle of selflessness, uncommon focus and commitment.

Mbonu Ojike was born in 1914 at Ndiakeme Uno, Arondizuogu, in present-day Ideato North LGA, Imo State, into the large polygamous household of Mazi Ojike Emeanulu. Mbonu's mother was Mgbeke. His father was a prosperous Aro trader, and like many traders of his generation he preferred his sons to follow his footsteps rather than waste time in school. Young Mbonu thought otherwise. Defying family expectations, he insisted on formal education and enrolled at CMS School, Arondizuogu, where he distinguished himself as a bright and serious pupil. By 1925 he was already a pupil-teacher at the Anglican Central School in Arondizuogu and, later, at Abagana, teaching during the day while studying advanced lessons at night.Image
In 1929, he gained admission into the prestigious CMS Teachers' Training College, Awka, graduating in 1931 with a Higher Elementary Teacher’s Certificate. There, he won the college prize associated with the famous book "Aggrey of Africa", an experience that sharpened his awareness of the African predicament under colonial rule. Shortly afterward, he joined the staff of Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS), Onitsha, one of the leading secondary schools in Eastern Nigeria. At DMGS, he served as choirmaster, Sunday school supervisor, and organist. These roles would later bolster his flair for music and performance at political rallies. But he also became restless. Disturbed by discrimination against African junior teachers, he led an agitation in 1936 for salary justice, accusing the authorities of unfairly raising only senior staff salaries. It was an early sign of his refusal to accept inequality quietly.

Gradually, young Mbonu grew disillusioned with a missionary education system he felt did not serve African development and suppressed African culture. He resigned from DMGS and worked briefly for West African Pilot in Lagos, where he came under the influence of the paper’s publisher, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik). Inspired by the writings and example of Zik and other African thinkers, Ojike decided to seek higher education abroad. In November 1938, he left the shores of Nigeria for the United States with other young men - part of the group that his kinsman and ally, Dr. K. O. Mbadiwe later romanticised as the “Seven Argonauts”. Mbonu Ojike and K.O. Mbadiwe were among those seven young men who were inspired to sail to the United States on December 31, 1938, in search of the Golden Fleece: others were George Igbodebe Mbadiwe, Otuka Okala, Dr. Nnodu Okongwu, Engr. Nwankwo Chukwuemeka, and Dr. Okechukwu Ikejiani. They were later joined by Dr. Abyssinia Akweke Nwafor Orizu.
Young Mbonu’s first port of call in the United States was Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Then he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and later Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He also obtained a master’s degree in education and administration. America did not merely educate him. It enlarged his vision and mission. He quickly emerged as a student leader and cultural ambassador. Among other roles, he was President, African Students Union at Lincoln University, Co-founder and General Secretary, African Academy of Arts and Research, Co-founder, African Students Association of the United States and Canada with K. O. Mbadiwe and John Karefa-Smart, Member, American Council on African Education.

Through these platforms, he lectured extensively on African culture, colonialism, and racism, writing rejoinders to distorted portrayals of Africa and organising African dance festivals in major U.S. cities. One famous photograph shows him and his ally, K. O. Mbadiwe, in full African dress, standing beside US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at an African Dance Festival in New York - a striking image of African audacity and self-assertion. During this period he wrote three important books:
▪️Portrait of a Boy in Africa (1945)
▪️My Africa (1946)
▪️I Have Two Countries (1947)

In these works, he explained African customs to Western readers, challenged notions of African inferiority, and called for a mutually respectful relationship between Africa and the West.
Read 8 tweets
Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Aug 14, 2025
In 1997 when we were preparing to deploy the A-Jets to Sierra Leone, the pilots for the Sierra Leone operations were drawn from Kano, Yola and Kaduna and were made to undergo some recurrence and simulated combat training missions at 99, Air Combat Training Group in Kainji. On one of such recurrence flights, Okejuju and I flew to Kaduna to practice some instrument approaches and landings. On arrival at the Kaduna military airfield, we commenced the usual approaches and after about three of such approaches, the Air traffic controller called to inform us that our exercises were disrupting the flying operations of the student pilots who were equally training with the air beetle aircraft. He subsequently instructed that we vacate the airspace for the young pilots and come back after about 25 minutes. In his words: "Aggressor 01, please work northwards and return to continue your approaches after twenty-five minutes". The call sign. Aggressor 01 was always reserved for the Commander of the unit or whoever was the Air Component Commander.
We obeyed his instructions and my Commander directed that we proceed northwards, Northwards of Kaduna is in the general direction of Jaji and it could further be extended to Zaria and Kano if need be. As I was flying northwards of Kaduna, I suddenly noticed that there were so many vehicles at Jaji. I pointed this out to my commander who then said that the day was for graduands at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) hence he presence of so many vehicles.
In our usual tradition, when we see a body of troops or a congregation of military personnel, it is common that we perform some aerial displays to grace the occasion and raise the morale of the troops. I decided to carry out some serial displays over the AFCSC before returning to Kaduna with the approval of my boss. Unknown to me and my boss, the then Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha was in attendance.
Read 16 tweets
Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Aug 12, 2025
Buhari, Galadima’s revelation, and Nigeria's field of landmines

An epic event passed two weeks ago without significant notice. It was as if a giant comet scurried through the sky without anyone showing interest or an incubus beast running on a tarmac without any notice from the control tower.

In the bitter game for political power in Nigeria and the often vicious scramble for state capture in Africa’s largest democracy, the revelation came that former President Mohammadu Buhari was invited to contest the Presidential election for one major reason: to stop the O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC), in a way, the euphemism Yoruba agitation for self-determination.

It has rekindled old wounds: There are two major contending forces in Nigerian post-colonial history: Ethnicity and Religion, the most profound being ethnicity, tied to religion. These factors have dominated power and politics in Nigeria since 1960 and may shape the future. We have four major ethnic contenders in Nigeria: Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, and ethnic minorities. Of these four, three have fought to seize the trophy through violent means: The January 1996 coup saw the Igbo outcry, irrespective of the propaganda to cover the motive; the second was the counter coup of July 1966, led by the Fulani using a Northern minority, General Yakubu Gowon as a pun, the third attempts were by ethnic minorities; first the 1976 led by Col Bukar Dimka from Plateau and on April 22, 1990 by Major Gideon Orkar, a Tiv from Benue State. Only the coups planned by the Fulani or their rookies had ever succeeded. Both Orkar and Dimka have been demonised as villains, but the reality is that their mission was to resolve the power equation they felt was against ethnic minorities.
A few weeks ago, the prominent Northern politician from Yobe State, Buba Galadima, brought the debate into the front burner when he made the most chilling, heart-throbbing revelation about Northern power game. He spoke about what motivated the North, a section of it, powerful but small, to look out for late Nigerian leader, Mohammadu Buhari to contest the Presidential elections, the last of which he won in 2015, was to promote Fulani interest in Ilorin and put an end to O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC).
It indicated that the race run by Buhari was predetermined. The truth is that with the advantage of power inheritance from the British, the Fulani are the most successful power brokers in Nigeria, either through coups or democratic means, they have managed to hold the aces. However, let us examine Galadima’s revelation first by looking at the Fulani ruling class and their successful manipulation of power and politics in Nigerian history.

Fulani and the ABC of power and politics in Nigeria

Since the medieval period, the Fulani, a product of the union of Arabs, Judaizancy, Berber, and Tuarad, have organised along a common cause. In Roman times, they lived in Togent and Adrar in Mauritania, an excellent transmitter of cultures, preserving their language as a secret weapon. They were driven by the Tuaregs down to Senegal and Mali. Their mention once came in the book al-Berkri described as an ‘indigenous white race alien to the surrounding populations.’ Soni Alli once raided and sold them to slavery. One of the first Fulani states ever to be established was led by Alfa Ba, whose son Karamoko Ibrahim took over after his father had killed a Madingo King during a festival and then occupied the territory. Karamoko declared himself the Al-Imani and then divided the state into nine provinces. Around 11th century, the Fulani formed three groups, one to the East, the other to Massina, Timbuktu, Dori, Upper volta, Niger Republic, present day Nigeria, Cameroon, even Saudi Arabia and Chad. One of their leaders, Toable, moved with 400 horsemen and went to Konni in Niger Republic, while Musa Jokolo’s grandchild, Sa’adu led some from Konn Gobir in Sokoto. They came with cattle, camel, and many books. Among these groups was Usman Dan Fodio, known for his ‘esteem and reverence for his piety and learning.’ It was this group that left the greatest impact in Nigeria, having taken over Hausa territories and some parts of Yoruba indigenous land.

Galadima’s revelation has told us again what we should have known that the Fulani uprising led by Uthman Dan Fodio today continues to have a great impact on Nigerian political economy including all elections since the 1950s. The intelligence and prowess of the Fulani ruling class should not be in doubt, and so also is their prowess to organise beyond the capacity of their numerical strength. Though found in more than 10 countries, the Fulani have no country of their own even with their population of some 20 million people across Africa.

As it is, for them, Nigeria is the last hope that must never be allowed to slip away, perhaps by all means necessary. It is the only country they can own and control.
A sociologist described the Fulani as ‘having an innate sense of what is decorous and proper, polite and respectful to their seniors, capable of great fortitude of bearing tremendous pain or affliction without showing feelings, reticent in their affairs, having a deep sense of shame. If unjustly humiliated, Fulani is prone never to forget such instances. Of the superior intelligence of the average Fulani there can be no doubt; but their character in general would appear to retard their advancement.’ Let us examine the eight years of Buhari in the context of this debate. In this logic, the building of railway from Nigeria to Niger Republic should be appreciated, never in the national Interest.

Buhari, Democracy and Ethnic Politics

On the question of power and politics in Nigeria, for me, Galadima’s revelation was the biggest story since 1999. He made what himself described as ‘revelation’ on national TV while speaking on the death of the former President. Galadima repeated the same in an interview with Vanguard Newspapers. He said himself, Alhaji Wadanas, Professor Yadudu, Bashir Al Hatu, Alhaji Yahya Sule Hamma and 34 others recruited Buhari into politics. On the mission, he said around 1999 and 2000, the O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC) was on rampage especially in the South West and that they inconvenienced people from the North to the extent that they ‘mobilised over 500 vehicles to invade Ilorin in Kwara State with the sole aim of uprooting what they called Fulani in Ilorin.’

Hear him ‘We felt former President Olusegun Obasanjo was doing nothing, and President Bola Tinubu, who was the former governor of Lagos State, did nothing. We felt that was too much, so some of us felt those people were being encouraged by their leaders in authority. So, how do we stop that? I called a meeting in Kaduna, and we discussed how to save our people from the OPC and I suggested we remove the government either through the ballot box or the barrel of a gun. And they said it was impossible to remove General Obasanjo. That was how Buhari came to our mind. When he was approached, he had unkind words for politicians but since he didn’t say he was not doing it, we persuaded him and we achieved our first purpose of putting a brake on what OPC was doing.’

He said immediately after Buhari joined partisan politics, ‘we had a very big outing in Daura’ and that Obasanjo’s government ‘was shaken to its bone marrows’ and Obasanjo had to checkmate the OPC. For that reason, ‘we achieved our first purpose of bringing Gen. Buhari into politics.’

There are important issues tied to this revelation. It shows that the ruling class in the North is organised-a tiny clique that michieviously claims it represents 19 states of the North; they hold strategic meetings to determine who leads the country bearing in mind their own interests. It was also an indication that the main reason Buhari was presented was not for you and me, had nothing to do with the fight against corruption or insecurity in the national interest, but to stop the OPC and also protect the Fulani dynasty. The OPC is the classical sense, sums up the over 50 self-determination groups in the South West.
Read 8 tweets
Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Jul 28, 2025
PRESS STATEMENTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Position of the Middle Belt Forum on the Proposed Legislation Making the Sultan of Sokoto, Permanent Co-chairmen of National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria

🧵
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) wishes to categorically express its firm opposition to a contentious clause in the National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, currently before the National Assembly. The Bill, sponsored by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau South), who is respected son of the Middle Belt and the Gwad-Goemai of the Goemai ethnic nation, has passed its second reading as of March 2025 and is now under consideration by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

At the heart of the controversy lies a deeply troubling clause in the Bill which proposes that the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife be made permanent co-chairmen of the proposed National Council for Traditional Rulers.

While we leave our esteemed partners from the Southern region, to determine their position on the inclusion of the Ooni of Ife, the Middle Belt Forum unequivocally rejects, abhors, and condemns the institutionalisation of the Sultan of Sokoto as a permanent co-chairman of this proposed council.
This rejection is anchored on strong historical, cultural, constitutional, and moral grounds, which we now outline in clear terms:

1. The Sokoto Sultanate is Historically Junior to Middle Belt Monarchies

Historically, the Sokoto Caliphate is a relatively young institution compared to ancient kingdoms and confederacies in the Middle Belt. For instance, the Kwararafa Confederacy, which flourished for centuries, predates the Caliphate.
It is a historically documented fact that the confederate state of Kwarafa existed right back to circa 800s-1700s A.D. The Aku Uka of Wukari, its current spiritual heir, represents a legacy that predates Sokoto Caliphate's very existence. The Sultan of Sokoto can therefore not supersede the Aku Uka of Wukari in status and prestige to seat over him as Chairman of the Traditional Council created by law.
Read 13 tweets
Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Jun 17, 2025
THE FALL OF THE TEFLON DON? NIGERIA’S 2027 SHOWDOWN WITH TINUBU

No institution has been able to rein in Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has evaded accountability at every turn with deliberate indifference. Like Teflon, nothing sticks to him. Not yet.

Each time he crossed a line, the system didn’t push back, it adjusted. The boundaries of legality, ethics, and public decency were redrawn to accommodate him. Every time an institution had the power to stop him, it chose instead to serve him. What should have been checks on his power became enablers of impunity.

I have painstakingly documented the twenty six most egregious examples of this pattern. Clear, disturbing instances where Tinubu got away with breaking the law, ignoring it, or twisting it to his advantage, and where those meant to hold him accountable chose silence, complicity, or active collaboration. Together, they form a portrait not just of a man, but of a captured state that bends for power, not principle.

🧵
Given this pattern, there is little surprise in Tinubu’s behavior; he is acting exactly as expected. What’s more troubling is the response of many Nigerians, their willingness to excuse, ignore, or rationalize his behavior and record. Rather than demand accountability, they cling to the illusion that change will somehow arrive through hope alone, without resistance, accountability, or demand for justice.

This collective disillusionment has come at a steep cost. Nigerians, bruised, broken, and betrayed, have withdrawn, not out of approval but because they have been conditioned to believe that nothing will ever change. Tinubu has not merely survived scrutiny; he has neutralized it. He has not only ruled; he has rewritten the rules. And in the Nigeria he governs, impunity has become the only law that still functions.

As the nation edges closer to 2027, a more urgent question comes into view: will Nigerians finally see him for who he truly is and understand the scale of the damage his leadership has already inflicted? Will those who have endured the consequences of his reckless, self-serving policies find the courage to hold him accountable? Or will silence and resignation once again prevail?

The urgency of these questions is underscored by the past two years of his presidency, years marked by the rise of ethnocracy, where key positions in government are dominated by his ethnic kin, creating resentment and division. Layered on top are staggering levels of incompetence, frequent policy failures, entrenched corruption, widespread insecurity, creeping authoritarianism, growing hunger, and a collapse of public trust. These trends are not isolated missteps; they are dangerous patterns that, if left unchecked, could plunge the country further into deeper instability.
And the list of what he has gotten away with only keeps growing. Character flaws that would disqualify any serious contender in a country where integrity still counts. Scandals that would end political careers in any functioning democracy. Alleged crimes and election fraud that should provoke outrage and global condemnation. Policy fiascos that have deepened insecurity and despair. Abuses of power so blatant they no longer shock anyone. We will return to these in greater detail.

Despite all this, Tinubu grows more brazen by the day. As opportunistic politicians defect to his side, he becomes further emboldened, exposing just how corroded Nigeria’s political culture has become. Only in Nigeria could a man with his record of misrule, unexplained wealth, systemic abuse, and unresolved controversies not only become president but now, without irony, prepare to ask for another four years in 2027.

The consequences of elevating a shadowy, unaccountable figure to the presidency again are now impossible to ignore. Two years in, the naira has collapsed, inflation has soared, and poverty has worsened. According to health and humanitarian reports, more Nigerians are dying from hunger and disease than during Buhari’s tenure. The fuel subsidy was removed without any relief measures, plunging millions into further hardship. Insecurity continues to spread. Billions in borrowed funds have failed to revive the economy, leaving the country drowning in debt with nothing to show for it.

And yet, Tinubu remains untouched, shielded by loyalists, protected by money, and insulated by a system that rewards failure. His presidency has dragged the standard of leadership to unprecedented lows.
Read 9 tweets
Olaudah Equiano® Profile picture
Jun 11, 2025
BURIED FOR 50 YEARS: BRITAIN’S SHAMEFUL ROLE IN THE BIAFRAN WAR

It is a good thing to be proud of one’s country, and I am – most of the time. But it would be impossible to scan the centuries of Britain’s history without coming across a few incidents that evoke not pride but shame. Among those I would list are the creation by British officialdom in South Africa of the concentration camp, to persecute the families of Boers. Add to that the Amritsar massacre of 1919 and the Hola camps set up and run during the struggle against Mau Mau.

🧵
The northern and western regions of Nigeria were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of Igbo were slaughtered.
But there is one truly disgusting policy practised by our officialdom during the lifetime of anyone over 50, and one word will suffice: Biafra.

This referred to the civil war in Nigeria that ended 50 years ago this month. It stemmed from the decision of the people of the eastern region of that already riot-racked country to strike for independence as the Republic of Biafra. As I learned when I got there as a BBC correspondent, the Biafrans, mostly of the Igbo people, had their reasons.
The federal government in Lagos was a brutal military dictatorship that came to power in 1966 in a bloodbath. During and following that coup, the northern and western regions were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of resident Igbo were slaughtered. The federal government lifted not a finger to help. It was led by an affable British-educated colonel, Yakubu Gowon. But he was a puppet. The true rulers were a group of northern Nigerian colonels. The crisis deepened, and in early 1967 Eastern Nigeria, harbouring about 1.8 million refugees, sought restitution. A British-organised conference was held in Ghana and a concordat agreed. But Gowon, returning home, was flatly contradicted by the colonels, who tore up his terms and reneged on the lot. In April the Eastern Region formally seceded and on 7 July, the federal government declared war.
Read 13 tweets

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