By Akanimo Sampson,
Port Harcourt
A NIGERIAN spiritual leader and political thinker, has sparked off a potential international row, indicting Russian citizens on the deplorable economic situation in their country.
In a recent exclusive interview with this reporter in Awka, the Anambra State capital in Eastern Nigeria, Chief Nwankwo Nnabuchi, claimed that Russia, one of the world’s super powers, is being ravaged by poverty.
Nnabuchi, a British trained social scientist who leads the Kuu Lam Chee Brotherhood, an order of avatars and robe travellers, insisted in the interview that Russians are responsible for the woes of their country.
”Since after the collapse of Soviet Union, Russia ought to have done better than it is now. Considering the economic resources and abundance of human and natural recourses, Russia ought to be at par with US.
”System of governance, corruption, money laundering and above all lack of interest in the nationhood, are fingered in the level of poverty in Russia. Through corruption and money laundering, trillions of dollars were moved to Europe, and this assisted in the strengthening of Europe’s capital and financial bases which are now being channeled to cripple Russia”, he said.
According to Nnabuchi who often speaks for the inner circles of spiritual masters, ”for Russia to survive, Russian business men and scholars should develop the zeal similar to that of the Russian soldiers who are superb in the defence of the Russian Federation”.
Russia has a population of 143.5 million people, with $1.3 trillion GDP and annual defence budget of $66 billion. In comparison with US, Russia’s GDP is only 7.00% of US’; Russia’s population is about 44% of US; her annual defence budget is 11% of US’.
Compared with European Union, Russia’s GDP is only 7.00% of EU’s; her population about 28% of EU’s; military expenditure 30% of EU’s. For the interviewee, using these statistics,”it is doubtful that Russia intends to engage EU in both military and economic tussle. Russia’s population is about 15% of NATO’s; GDP only 3.3% of NATO’s; and her military expenditure is 7.33% of NATO’s”.
Before now reports had tended to show that Russia was bracing to join NATO or EU but was turned down. Those who know better say EU and NATO prefer to assimilate countries of the Balkan and Baltic areas, and boasting that Russia is so weakened that she cannot stop them from expanding towards her borders.
Arguing, the spokesperson of the spiritual masters said, ”if neither EU nor NATO wants to admit Russia into her fold then she has something up her sleeves. Regrettably, both European Union and NATO expect Russia to fold her arms and watch the disgrace and humiliation of her country and possible enslavement of her citizens.
”The tragedy would have been worse if Russia did not ‘annex’ Crimea and the attached Peninsula, using western parlance. To a reasonable person, as well as the unseen, western plot in Ukraine was a ploy to get access to Crimea peninsula and quicken the balkanization of Russia, the only nation whose military can, to a certain degree, check western incursions and intimidation”.
Continuing, he said, ”we (spiritual masters) are of the opinion that whosoever organised and defrayed the cost of protests that removed the elected president of Ukraine [President Viktor Yanukovych] unconstitutionally, brought the ongoing catastrophe not only to the nation but also the untold hardship the citizens of the country are facing.
”If the relationship between Russia and Ukraine was the basis for the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine, and if for any reason that relationship is being destroyed for a better ally, Russia has absolute right to retake her gift back. Ukraine, willing to move westward, should demand from Europe another territory of the size of Crimea to compensate for the loss of Crimea. If she is unable to achieve this objective, she should take it as the price attached to immaturity in international politics or the betrayal attached to geo-political rascality”.