The Nigerian Illuminati: Existent or Not?

In the private garden of a well-known Marxist scholar and activist in Abuja, Dr. Udenta O. Udenta, history was made as a group of free thinkers gathered to raise wine glasses at 7.30 pm of that blessed evening in toast for the birth of what should be seen as The Nigerian Illuminati.

The group felt challenged by the growing need to remedy the Nigerian nation that is in a state of flux. Truly, strategic efforts are now needed more than ever before to fix it. There is now a growing need for critical thought, questioning, mastery, de-constructing prevalent orthodoxies, reinventing national values and striving for a system of national relationships founded on coherent set of national patriotic ideals.

When Europe faced similar problems, their intellectuals resorted to what has now come to be known as The Illuminati, to reach out to the deep in search of solutions to address their then challenges.

The Abuja Illuminati is an adaptation of The Illuminati of yore. This has become urgently necessary seeing that the nation's leaders across board lack the required knowledge to effectively deal with problems of development and governance. This has long brought disastrous consequences on the nation and its people and it needs to be halted without further delay. This is an onerous goal The Abuja Illuminati has set out for itself.

Historically, The Illuminati refers specifically to the Bavarian Illuminati, an enlightenment group founded as far back as May, 1776. In modern times, it is also used to refer to an organization which acts as a shadowy "power behind the throne", as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati.

In the present context of The Abuja Illuminati, the emergent group is to strive to shape events to enthrone a new virile nation through research, discussions and allied efforts.

As the Illuminati was believed to be behind the French and subsequent Revolutions so shall The Abuja Illuminati strive to change the Nigerian nation for the better through a revolution of thought and action and by creatively interpreting phenomena and values that appear settled and through research and discussions and readily making available to government and policy makers and policy implementers time-honoured solutions to the nation's myriad problems.

It is important to note that in the time past during the period when the Illuminati operated in many countries, many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians were members and remained subservient to authorities so long as statecraft is inherently development-oriented and humanistic in nature. Where there is a fundamental disconnect, the Illuminati's intellectual and philosophical depth will prevail.

The Abuja Illuminati is therefore not conceived as opposition to government or alternative government but a body set up to make needed research information available to government and the public, by pushing the level of national discourse and the modes of social intervention and practice to a higher level of praxis and affirmation.

Even in Europe and America where knowledge is readily available, The Illuminati could be said to have survived in loose forms to this day as enunciated by Conspiracy theorists who believe that world events are being influenced by the Illuminati. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that many notable people were or are members of the Illuminati.

Presidents of the United States are a common target for such claims. Because of its overriding need, The Abuja Illuminati is to be modeled after the Illuminati as obtained in Europe in past, as a forum for robust discussions on government, nation building and citizen development.

There is therefore an overriding need and justification for the emergence of the intellectual discussion group. The emergence of the Abuja discussion group principally arose from the need to bridge the void existing between the intellectual content of the state and the mundane, inept conception of statecraft with its mediocre and incoherent intervention strategies.

So one wonders where the incoherent claims that Nigerian Popstars like Tu Face, D'Banj, and the P. Square brothers are purportedly part of the Illuminati, and why some of these artists would go to greats length to debunk these claims.

What actually is the Abuja Illuminati based on, "The Illuminati of Yore", made up of freethinkers who wish to discuss their country issues in constructive terms or "The Illuminati of Shadowy Powers" who are supposed agents of the Devil and wish to control the world as put by Conspiracy Theorist.