Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s allocation of N39.4 billion for oil exploration in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Reacting to the pronouncement of the allocation as enshrined in the 2016 budget, Onuesoke, while speaking to newsmen in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State said it was amazing that when the West and other parts of the world were embarking on renewable energy exploration, Nigeria was allocating funds for oil exploration in arid Northern part of the country.
“I wonder if Nigeria is thinking ahead or backward. I am saying this because when countries like America are selling their reserve and diversifying into other sources of energy generation, it is now Nigeria is exploring for more oil in the North. It should be noted that Nigeria cannot be an advocate of climate change and at the same time invest on oil exploration instead of renewable drive for sustainable energy like solar,” he argued.
•Police arrest 137 pro-Biafra agitators in Onitsha
There were fears of repraisals yesterday following Wednesday’s fracas in Onitsha between pro-Biafra agitators and security agents.
Biafran Protest over Kanu
A mosque and some trucks with Dangote inscribed on them were burnt in the Southeast’s commercial city.
But the North’s governors and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) moved fast to prevent a reprisal.
Markets, banks and schools in Onitsha remained closed yesterday. There was however calm in the city.
The Building Materials International Market at Ogidi, near Onitsha, New Auto Spare Parts market at Nkpor and other major markets were not open for business.
Stern-looking soldiers and riot policemen were patrolling the streets. There was a traffic gridlock from the former Toll Gate at Ogbunike to the Bridge-Head end of the Enugu/Awka/Onitsha Expressway.
The NSCIA is the umbrella body of Islam in Nigeria. It is headed by the leader of the MuslimUmmah, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar.
Northern Governors’ Forum Chairman and Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said in Maiduguri that the governors took firm measures to avoid any spill-over of the violence that broke out in Onitsha.
The governors reminded all Nigerians to realise, “ that the evil being perpetrated by the Boko Haram insurgents against innocent Muslims, Christians and followers of other religions, regardless of their geo-political divides since the last six years, was more than enough trouble for the country and hence the need to come together as a single unit to collectively fight terrorism that is a threat to all law-abiding Nigerians.
“We condemn the Wednesday crisis in very strong term. We have been in touch with one another today. The governors of major cities in the North in particular, have been in critical touch to share thoughts and we have collectively taken firm measures to ensure that the violence doesn’t spread to any part of the 19 northern states and we will also be working with our colleagues in the South to nip the crisis in the bud, but we will not disclose the measures we have taken so that those who may want to take advantage of the Onitsha mayhem don’t know our strategies.
“However, it is surprising to the Northern States Governors Forum that any Nigerian at all can even contemplate any kind of violence when we already have serious problems of Boko Haram insurgents that are killing Muslims and Christians, killing northerners and southerners, attacking mosques, churches and markets, in an effort to kill all of us that do not subscribe to their interpretation of Islam.
“ We have Boko Haram that kills Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Yoruba, Kanuri, Ijaw and anyone they are able to come across. We thought that the existence of Boko Haram should have been enough to make all Nigerians fuse into one and fight a common enemy. It is really sad that any Nigerian can contemplate violence.
“We can’t afford any distraction that will shift our focus from the bigger problems of Boko Haram that has an ambition of sending the human race into extinction. We urge all Nigerians to be calm.
“We particularly call on all Nigerians living in the northern states not to pay attention to differences in religion and ethnicity but rather, should see each other as Nigerians with equal residential rights and fundamental human rights that include freedom to lawfully reside anywhere in Nigeria, freedom of worship, movement, trade, association, education, healthcare and other rights as provided by the Nigerian constitution.
“We particularly call on our youths not to allow anyone use them for any purpose because youths have suffered more than any other age category from the hands of Boko Haram insurgents and that is more than enough. Our focus should be on how to end the Boko Haram insurgency and not to be driven into any other crisis.
“We have suffered too much, we must say no to any crisis. As heads of Government of the 19 northern states, we will, by the grace of God, do everything humanly possible to ensure that no resident, regardless of his or her ethno-religious background, is denied any of these rights.
“ As Nigerians, we are one, we need one another and we must live as one people,” Shettima said.
The NSCIA urged Muslims not to attack Christians.
The council said Muslims should not fall into the agenda of the hoodlums in Onitsha to cause an inter-religious crisis in the country.
It urged the Federal Government to direct security agencies to urgently safeguard the lives of Muslims in any vulnerable community.
The statement, signed by NSCIA Secretary-General Prof. Is-haq O. Oloyede, said: “We call on Muslim brothers and sisters not to embark on reprisals on Christians and their places of worship in any part of Nigeria. We are already engaged in discussions with various security and relevant government agencies to forestall further aggravation of the situation.
“We also call on all religious and interfaith organisations across the country to step up their peace-building initiatives in order to support the government and strengthen the enabling climate of peace and good relationships.
“In addition, we want to request all Imams and Muslim scholars to cooperate with the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in dousing the tension created by the unfortunate incidence.
“Importantly, Muslims are enjoined to heed the call of Allah by upholding the virtues that guard against the demolition of ‘monasteries, synagogues and mosques in which Allah is much mentioned’ (Q 22:40).
The NSCIA urged Muslims to beware of falling into the agenda of the hoodlums in Onitsha to cause religious crisis nationwide.
It said: “The perpetrators of the dastardly acts, which culminated in the loss of lives and burning of trucks owned by a prominent Muslim businessman only sought to provoke inter-religious crises and thereby get Nigeria further embroiled in needless bloodletting. Muslims, must as a matter of principle, resist the temptation of being drawn to retaliation.
“They should consider the perpetrators as criminals and not representative of any ethnic or religious group.
“The NSCIA is fully aware of the development and is working round the clock to put the situation under control.
“Muslims are warned against the antics of those who seek to whip up religious sentiments to further their clandestine political motives. Vengeance is for Allah and Muslims should exercise maximum restraint in these trying times.
“We also call on the government to investigate the incident surrounding the killings and wanton destruction of the mosque in Onitsha and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We pray for God’s continued guidance and support of our leaders and the citizens of Nigeria in the effort towards building a nation where peace and justice shall reign.”
It pleaded with the Federal Government to take appropriate steps to protect Muslims and any vulnerable community.
A group, Concerned Elders of the North, CEN, in answer to the accusation of lopsided appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari, made by some aggrieved people from the South, has released a list of some appointments made by the Goodluck Jonathan government.
Jonathan vs Buhari
It claimed that what Buhari has done is that he has merely chosen people he knows well as his personal staff “which is to be expected of any serious President”.
The appointments made by Buhari include his ADC, the State Chief of Protocol, the National Security Adviser, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the DG, SSS.
The list of the appointments by the Jonathan administration, sent to Sunday Vanguard by the group, at the weekend, is made up of people from the South.
The first group of 13 appointees (a minister, the SGF and heads of parastatals) were from the South-East while most of those in the second group of 37 were mostly from the South-East and the South-South.
The Jonathan govt appointments
A: THE SOUTH-EAST LIST
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA – Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance
Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has faulted the claim by Arewa Consultative Forum on the reports of the 2014 national conference.
Nigeria
The group particularly asked the ACF to “stop peddling the funny claim of the North being 80 per cent of Nigeria in land mass and with a higher population” because the “fallacies have been laid to rest.”
A statement on Sunday by the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said, “All the over 600 resolutions taken at the conference were by consensus as delegates never had to vote once. The only issues that remained contentious were the percentages of increase in derivation, the minerals development fund and the disaster reliefs fund.
“The point of disagreement was when some Arewa delegates insisted that they would only agree to the five per cent increase in derivation and same for mineral resources development all over Nigeria on the condition that the five per cent earmarked for disaster intervention fund should be only for areas where Boko Haram are operating, while other delegates frowned on making Boko Haram a derivation item.
“The compromise struck was to refer the items to the president for a technical committee harmonisation.”
Afenifere added that the allegation “laced with the usual feudal arrogance, outright misinformation, atavistic obfuscation and delusory myopia” would have been ignored “were it not that falsehood repeated time and again may start to wear the garb of truth.”
It said, “Let us from the outset make it clear that the unitary order, which the House of Arewa, has used to limit the flourishing of the component units of Nigeria for decades, has now entered a terminal crisis with shrinking receipt from oil and like a one-legged man dancing “skelewu”, will sure hit the ground even if he has all the stage to himself.
“And when the fall comes, ACF and co-travellers would wish we had done the needful. They should therefore perish the thought that Afenifere is cajoling them to allow a restructured Nigeria.”
Afenifere said it was amused that ACF was still peddling the claim of controlling 80 per cent of Nigeria because it had thought the fallacies have been laid to rest in 2014 after some of their delegates had taunted their co-conferees from the South “with map of Nigeria drawn at the back of their babanriga showing the North as 80 per cent of Nigeria.”
Odumakin recalled that during the national confab, delegates were unanimous that the figures of all the censuses held in Nigeria till date had not been credible due to hegemonic interferences with what should have just been an exercise to provide scientific data to aid planning and development.
It was also agreed that the natural boundaries of the North and the South are Rivers Niger and Benue “but the British drew artificial boundaries to favour the North and punish the South for agitating for independence.”
Afenifere also queried why the North would be using the issue of bigger land mass, which was allegedly cornered to its advantage, to harvest revenue from the central purse instead of cultivating it.
The delegates, it said, also resolved that if the higher population claim were true, “why would a man say his neighbours should not send their children to the best schools because they have to cater for his own children who are more than theirs?”
The Nigerian military has pleaded for time to enable it study the report, containing allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses levelled against officers and men by the Amnesty International (AI)
Nigeria military
The AI has, on June 3, released a report, indicting some past and serving military officers of war crimes in the course of the counter-insurgency campaign in Northeastern Nigeria.
But a statement yesterday by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, accused the AI of rehashing the same report since 2011 and presenting it to the public.
“Amnesty International report was released on 3 June 2015. Therefore, the Nigerian military as a responsible corporate organisation is bound to respond to these allegations in order to put the records in proper perspective.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the Amnesty International’s allegations of human rights abuse and extra judicial killing of civilians are a rehash of the same allegations made against the military since 2011.
“No new facts have been unearthed by the Amnesty International to warrant their repeated allegations.
“However, the figures adduced by the Amnesty International as victims of extra judicial killing by the military have kept on increasing from 4,600 to 8,000 and even as high as 13,000 civilians.
“The military has the constitutional and moral responsibility to protect Nigerian citizens and cannot suddenly engage in mass murder as portrayed by the Amnesty International’s allegations”, the statement said.
According to the Army Chief, the military had already begun investigation into the report and that it would require some time to address the issues raised therein.
The statement said: “Consequently, several investigations on these allegations are ongoing. Some investigations have turned in their preliminary reports which have been acted upon. Some of the investigations could not be concluded due to the inaccessibility of the terrain due to the activities of Boko Haram terrorists.
“Similarly,the Defence Headquarters set up two Joint Investigation Teams (JIT) to investigate, screen and categorise suspected insurgents in detention. Out of the 504 suspects screened, prima facie cases were established against 350 suspects and were recommended for trial at the Federal High Court. Their case files were forwarded to the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice.
“The preliminary investigation reports submitted have resulted in the release of some detainees who are under age, women and children from some military holding facilities. Sequel to the report of the investigation panel, 42 detainees were handed over to the Borno State Government on Thursday,November 6, 2014 and another set of 124 persons were also handed over to the state government on November 8, 2014 respectively.
“You may recall that the released persons were assisted with a token financial assistance of N100,000 each by the military. The living condition of the detainees was improved upon with the decongestion of holding facilities.
“Additionally, the Code of Conduct for troops in the North East and other Internal Operations and Rules of Engagement clearly spelt out guidelines for troops. Therefore, the Nigerian military does not in any way condone indiscipline or breach of such regulations, let alone wanton killing or destruction. The Nigerian military collaborates with the International Committee of the Red Cross on training of personnel on laws of armed conflict and humanitarian law regularly”.
The statement added that the Nigerian Senate and the National Human Rights Commission had also conducted independent investigations into the allegations.
It continued: “It is worthy to note that the Human Rights Watch on some occasions had to recant its allegations of human rights abuses by the Nigerian military after thorough investigation.
“The military requested the Amnesty International to provide a member for the investigation panel to look into the allegations, but the invitation was not honoured by the Amnesty International.
“The essence of offering the Amnesty International the membership of the investigation panel was to guarantee fairness and justice, while proving to the world that the military has nothing to hide or cover up. The office of the Attorney General of the Federation was also carried along in all the investigations.
“The military is still conducting investigations on the Amnesty International’s allegations. In the course of forensic investigations, the withdrawal of troops from the frontline for investigation tends to dampen the morale of soldiers and distract ongoing operations against insurgents. This is one reason why the understanding of the Amnesty International would be worth the while.
” The Amnesty International wrote a five-point questionnaire to the Nigerian military in November 2014, alleging extra judicial killing of some groups of people by the military.
“The military responded to the five-point questionnaire immediately and in December, precisely 23 December, 2014, the Amnesty International sent another 37-point questionnaire to the Nigerian military which was answered.
“The e-mail and hard copy were delivered to the Amnesty International Headquarters in London on 23, December 2014. If the military had anything to hide, it would not have responded to the 37 questions and others, especially in the light of the constraints of timing”.
The Army Chief stated further that the military authorities had facilitated a visit to the detainees by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the various detention facilities at the shortest notice.
The military, he said, would not have allowed access to the facilities and other operational areas if there was anything to hide.
Chairman of the Northern Elders Council, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, tells LEKE BAIYEWU why the North voted against President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election
What is your reaction to the claim that the Peoples Democratic Party lost the last general elections due to some actions and inactions of the leadership of the party?
When I was an active member of the All Peoples Party, the procedure then was for the party to investigate the causes of the failure to be able to establish who is at fault and who is not. Until a party does that, it will remain a mere speculation to say some people did not do what they were supposed to do. If you will look at the number of the people professed to be leaders, they are so many. And if the party fails, it is the collective responsibility of everybody. You cannot single out some individuals to say they are responsible unless you can establish that with concrete evidence.
Your support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election gave the impression that you have joined the PDP. Is this true?
I am not in the PDP. I have been supporting the Federal Government and the President’s second term bid but I made it clear all the time that I was not doing so as a member of the PDP. I left my former party, the APP, in 2001 and I wrote the secretary of the party then in March of the same year. In April 2002, I formally announced my withdrawal from partisan politics; that I will no longer be a partisan politician but I will continue to express my opinion on emerging national issues and will continue to relate with Nigerians regardless of their political inclination.
Is it true that the Northern Elders Council you are leading was set up to tackle the Northern Elders Forum over Jonathan’s re-election bid?
The Northern Elders Council is an organisation made up of northerners who believe in a new Nigeria. We were opposed to the stand of the Northern Elders Forum because they were fighting for only the North; they were not fighting for Nigeria. We felt that the way they were dealing with the issue of Jonathan was so sectional that if they were left unchecked, they would harm the unity of this great nation. We do not oppose somebody because we hate him. The fact that they are opposing somebody just because he comes from a particular area or a particular religion is what we do not like.
We have our history. I was a member of the Northern Elements Progressive Union in the First Republic; even before then, during the colonial era I was active. In the Second Republic, I was a member of the National Party of Nigeria, whose motto was ‘One nation one destiny.’ My political history is related to the cause of national unity, and I believe that the unity and the future depend on the people of the country working together in harmony. We are interrelated; we are to complement one another.
While the NEF was opposed to Jonathan’s re-election, the NEC supported him. Was the support also about national unity?
Jonathan was not contesting as a southerner; he was contesting as a Nigerian. They (NEF) were opposed to him because they were northerners and they did not want him to contest. They did not say why they did not want him to contest except that they were northerners and they would not vote for him. In their interviews, they stated clearly that the North would not vote for Jonathan and clearly the North did not vote for Jonathan. It was clear that it was a premeditated action, it was not natural. It was a collaboration between various actors, including some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, some traditional rulers, some religious leaders and some politicians that incited the people.
While openly the election was not fought based on religion, the voting was guided by and was largely on the basis on religion. People were asked not to vote for people who were non-Muslims. If you go to a mosque and you have an imam asking his congregation not to vote for somebody except somebody of the same religion, then he (the imam) is asking people to vote based on religious sentiment, which should not be the basis of elections. The basis for an election should be on the programmes of the party of the individual contesting; what they promise to do for the people in the country, not about religion. In a country that has roughly 50 per cent Muslims and 50 per cent Christians, it will not augur well for people to vote for a candidate based on his religion. It is not in the interest of the country.
What efforts did NEC make to counter the mobilisation efforts of the opposition in the North?
It is for you to find out. Certainly we supported him (Jonathan) on the national programmes not because he was a Christian.
Now that General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), your brother from the North, has won the presidential election, what will your relationship with him look like?
I do not know him very closely; hence, it will be very difficult for me to judge him as much as possible. I will wait for his actions to enable me assess what he is doing and to be able to have valid judgement.
Do you have any faith in him as the next president of the country?
It depends on his activity. I will wait for his activities. All I know is that he was a military man who overthrew a government duly elected by the people of Nigeria. Now he says he is a born democrat; let us see him in action.
Beyond Buhari, do you see his party, the All Progressives Congress, bringing about the change it promised the electorate?
I do not want to predict anything but I can tell you that the majority of the people who make up the elected public officials of the APC were by this time last year in the PDP. They were not created anew. I want to see what they are going to do that will be different from what they have been doing before. I know they left the party as a result of quarrels, not as a result of any ideological difference between them and others who remained in the PDP.
What efforts are the northern leaders making to come together again after the electioneering seemed to have polarised them?
We are not making any efforts.
Does it mean the NEC will remain in opposition to the NEF even after the elections?
We are not a political party. The political parties will do what they think is right for them to do but we are not a political party.
Will the interest groups in the North also remain divided?
Interest groups are interest groups; they will remain what they are, election or no election.
Would you agree that the North is no more unified as it used to be?
There has never been a unified North. In the North, people are free to pursue whichever opinion they believe in. This was what happened in the First Republic when there were no fewer than 10 political parties. The majority of northerners contested elections on these various platforms and won. So was the Second Republic; there was the NPN, the Great Nigeria Peoples Party, the Peoples Republican Party and the Nigeria’s Peoples Party. Each of them won elections in the North. Therefore, the North has never been one political entity or a political party group. We belong to different political persuasions. And so we will continue to be.
The wife of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Aisha Buhari, has condemned the repeated bashing of the North by the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Patience Jonathan allegedly described the region as an enclave of beggars and unwanted children.
Mrs. Buhari said the description coming from someone who ironically campaigns for votes in that region is an indication of a hidden agenda, adding that the people of the North should, therefore, reject the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate.
Mrs. Buhari promised Kano women that her husband and the APC will be faithful to their electoral promises, and also will initiate programmes that will make women self-reliant.
“With General Buhari in power, the spate of kidnapping and reckless assassination of innocent people will be history in Nigeria. With General Buhari in power, the nation’s depressing economy will be rebounded in line with the expectation of the citizens and world best practices,” she said.
Mrs. Buhari said she was in Kano to canvass the support of women knowing their role as important pillars in winning election the world over, saying it would be a disaster for any politician to ignore the vital role of women.
She stressed the need for women to exhibit courage and fighting spirit, just as she urged them to make themselves available as foot soldiers during the election.
Mrs. Buhari advocated for more freedom for women in the North so that they would be able to engage themselves in productive enterprises like their counterparts in the Southern part of the country.
She commended the Kano State Government under the leadership of Rabiu Kwankwaso for its giant developmental strides, particularly in improving access to education.
Mrs. Buhari said Mr. Kwankwaso’s administration took children out of streets to schools.
Foreign private security personnel from South Africa, Russia and South Korea are on the ground in northeast Nigeria to train Nigerian troops and are not engaged in frontline combat against Boko Haram, Mike Omeri has said.
The co-ordinator of the National Information Centre told Reuters in London on Tuesday that the foreigners on ground were only engaged in training Nigerian troops.
Reuters, quoting security and diplomatic sources, had reported that Nigeria had brought in hundreds of mercenaries to give its offensive against the Islamist militant group a shot in the arm ahead of the March 28 presidential elections.
“There are trainers on the ground to assist in the handling of equipment,” Omeri told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference in London.
“They simulate, they teach. These are the things they do.” Asked if they were directly involved in fighting, he said: “I am not aware of that.”
Omeri would not confirm how many foreigners were involved but said they had come from the same countries that had provided military equipment. He cited South Africa, Russia and South Korea.
“Acquisition of recruitment and military hardware is done through a number of processes. There are government-to-government exchanges and there are those who also come through contractors,” he said.
The contractors’ stay in Nigeria would end when local troops had become proficient at handling the equipment, he added.
“This is training on site and maybe this is why the people on the ground have been described as mercenaries,” he said.
He declined to predict how long it would take for the military to regain full control. “We have started the final onslaught,” he said. “This is the road to the finish and we are on it already.”
On many occasions, the campaign train of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was stoned by ‘Sai Buhari’ chanting thugs in the north during the just concluded PDP presidential campaigns. One unique feature of these unprovoked violent acts is that the stoning took place only in towns dominated by the Hausa Fulani Muslims [HFM] and Kanuri Muslims [KM] and some of these dark spots are Bauchi, Katsina and Gombe. The stoning of the president by the thugs assumes a worrisome dimension considering the fact that GMB was neither stoned nor jeered at by the good people of southern Nigeria during the APC’s presidential campaigns in the South. While the president’s campaign train was pelted with stones in GMB’s home state, Katsina State, GMB was well received by the peace loving people of Bayelsa State, and even the Bayelsa State Governor who belongs to the PDP was not left out. Since the thugs always chanted ‘Sai Buhari’, whenever they stoned the president’s campaign train, it is pertinent to x-ray GMB’s supporters with a view to ascertaining whether or not they were responsible for these terrorist acts. Consequently, GMB’s supporters are hereby divided into four distinct groups, the Mallam El–Rufais’ Group [MEG], the Senator Tinubu’s Group [STG], the Almajiris’ Group [AG]and the Others Group [OG].
The MEG consists of HFM and KM politicians who want to ride on his popularity amongst northern Muslims to electoral victory. Members of this group have very little or no electoral value while some of them, such as Mallam El-Rufai had been very critical of GMB. To underscore his disrespect for GMB, Mallam El-Rufai once said ‘Pa Buhari is perpetually unelectable. He is the only senior military officer that failed all the senior military examinations in the history of the Nigerian military. If you check the official names of officers like IBB, IDIAGBON, DIYA, DANJUMA, ……etc, you will see a suffix FSS, Psc, mni. Pa Buhari has none. He failed the Command and Staff examination and all other military examinations’. But now, just like the rest pretenders in the MEG, he desperately needs GMB to achieve his political ambition in Kaduna State. Unfortunately, the MEG constitute GMB’s ‘think tank’ but as expected, these pretenders will definitely dump him the moment they achieve their political ambitions.
Initially, the STG consists only of prominent members of the APC from South West Geopolitical Zone [SWGZ] but due to surreptitious campaigns by the STG, some Media Organizations [MO], Civil Society Groups [CSO], clergymen and Social Commentators [SC] based in SWGZ have keyed into STG’s treacherous plan. Their primary objective is to reclaim power from HFM provided the APC emerges victorious in the forthcoming presidential election with GMB as its presidential candidate. They believe that either the pending disqualification cases against GMB or his assumed ill health will cause him to vacate office prematurely thereby facilitating his replacement by the Vice President, an individual of Yoruba extraction. In furtherance of this, about 25,000 clergymen of Yoruba extraction had been mobilized to pray for GMB’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election. According to Bishop Kayode Williams, the 25,000-strong ‘prayer warriors’ will congregate at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos for the exercise.
The OG consists of Nigerians who really want something different from the PDP. While a good percentage of members of OG want a government that will perform better than the PDP government, some of them do not care, as long as PDP government is replaced with another one. At a campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Governor Rotimi Amaechi said ‘Nigerians want change, it can be for better or worse, we do not mind, Nigerians just want change’. Again, in response to a documentary on Senator Tinubu’s alleged corrupt activities in Lagos State by the AIT, some APC supporters said ‘even if the PDP shows a video of Tinubu and Buhari robbing Central Bank of Nigeria, we will still vote for the APC’. In response to GMB’s inability to attach genuine academic qualifications to INEC Form 001 as required by Law, some APC supporters said that they would accept a stark illiterate as their president provided the individual is GMB.
The AG consists of HFM and KM who are former and current students of Almajiri education. They are found mostly in North West Geopolitical Zone [NWGZ] and North East Geopolitical Zone [NEGZ] and they are the real supporters of GMB. Though GMB has done very little or nothing to improve the standard of living of these people, he has been very consistent, more than any other HFM or KM politicians in promoting the spread of Sharia Laws throughout Nigeria.
At a workshop organized in Kaduna by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in 2001, GMB was quoted to have said ‘I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God’s willing, we will not stop the agitation for total implementation of the Sharia in the country. It is a legal responsibility which Allah has given us within the context of one Nigeria, to continue to uphold the practice of Sharia wholeheartedly and to educate non-Muslims that they have nothing to fear. What remains for Muslims is for them to redouble their efforts, educate Muslims on the need to promote the full implementation of Sharia law’. He further advised Muslims to vote only for politicians who will promote Islam. Encouraged by this hate speech eloquently delivered by GMB, an Islamic fundamentalist group named Muslims League[ML] sent out this text message to voters during 2011 governorship election in Kaduna state, ‘Muslim brothers, vote for Shaaban of ACN for governor bcos CPC candidate Haruna is not a Hausa Muslim. Him and his running mate JD Ephraim are from southern Kaduna.’ Here even a northern Muslim contesting election on the platform of CPC, a HFM political party, was rejected by the ML because Alhaji Haruna was not a Hausa Muslim.
When the Federal Government imposed emergency rule on the three North Eastern states to combat Boko Haram terrorists, he condemned it and said that any attack by the security forces on the Boko Haram terrorists was an attack on the north. He said that Boko Haram terrorists were also fighting for their rights the same way Niger Delta militants did, hence, the Federal Government should treat them the way the Niger Delta militants were being catered for. In recognition of his support, Boko Haram terrorists nominated him to lead their delegation to talks with the Federal Government, an offer he reluctantly turned down because of pressure from the MEG.
It is suicidal for anyone to be seen in Jonathan/Sambo campaign vehicle in HFM and KM dominated towns and villages in NWGZ and NEGZ. Because of the AG penchant to generate violence with or without any provocation, many southerners had left the north in droves and more are still leaving as the 28 March 2015 approaches. However, the AG view the exodus of southerners from the north as a welcome development because those southerners, whom they believe are pro-Jonathan will not be able to vote during the presidential election.
His penchant to use religion as a campaign tool has heightened tension considerably in the north, especially in NWGZ and NEGZ. The situation is so pregnant with violence that the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido had to complain openly. According to the Governor, when GMB talks to electorate in the north he usually plays up the religious card, but when he is in the south, he plays it down by harping on national unity. He wondered why GMB should ‘chose a Christian as his running mate and shunned the Muslim community then turn round to tell people in the north that his contest is anchored on promoting and guiding Islam’. The Governor further stated that because of GMB’s divisive campaigns, even HFM politicians are vilified and maligned because they refuse to vote for a Muslim as their president and opted to vote for a Christian.
Because of GMB’s support for the implementation of Sharia Laws throughout Nigeria, members of the AG regard him as the only politician that will usher in a ‘paradise’ in Nigeria if voted into office as the president of Nigeria. They believe that he will ensure strict interpretation and implementation of the Sharia Laws throughout the Federation. Members of the AG stoned the president because they consider the forthcoming presidential election as a religious war between infidels led by president Jonathan and Muslims led by GMB. They see themselves as Mujahedeen [Allah’s soldiers] and they are prepared to either kill anyone or even lay down their lives in order to install GMB as the next president of Nigeria. They are the foot soldiers GMB hopes to unleash on the nation again to ‘soak dogs and baboons in blood’ if he loses the presidential election. God bless Nigeria.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, on Friday said as far as the forthcoming general elections were concerned, politicians from the Northern part of the country had miscalculated.
Doyin Okupe
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), a Northerner, is contesting against President Goodluck Jonathan (a Southerner) of the Peoples Democratic Party in the march 28 presidential election.
Okupe, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said the Northern politicians got it wrong because they erroneously believed that a national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is the leader of the Yoruba race and that he could deliver the South-West to his party.
He said while doing that, the North left out some of the people that really mattered in the zone, whom he described as the North’s former allies.
He said, “The North has always had partnership in the South—in the South-West, South-South and South-East.
“But somehow, the North miscalculated this time around because they assumed wrongly that Bola Tinubu was the leader of the Yoruba race, and that if they can strike a deal with him, they have got the South-West.
“While doing that, they left their former allies that included Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, Richard Akinjide, Olunloyo and others.”
Okupe said even if Buhari wins the presidential election, which he said was impossible, the North would still lose out.
He said if Buhari wins, he would not be able to do second term, therefore giving room for a Southerner to again emerge as the President in 2019.
He wondered if the North would be satisfied with only four years when they could have their full eight years from 2019.
Okupe said, “Even if Buhari wins this election, which is impossible, he cannot do a second term.
“So, when the second term comes, why would other people not contest against him? He is a Northerner and if he cannot run for election again, then, the thing should go back to the South. So, would the North be satisfied with only four years?
“These are the issues. That is why I am saying this 2015 election is beyond Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. It is a matter of national stability.”
A Christian group, Northern Christian Leaders Eagle Eyes Forum, which endorsed the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), said the members now live under threat.
Buhari
Specifically, the group on Friday raised the alarm that its leaders’ lives were under serious threat following its endorsement of Buhari.
Addressing journalists in Kaduna, Chairman of the Forum, Pastor Aminchi Habu, simply described the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan as a disappointment.
Habu said in 2011, the Christian community overwhelmingly voted for Jonathan but regretted that the President had failed the entire nation, adding that Jonathan’s “poor performance” informed the body’s decision to support Buhari.
He said the Forum could not be intimidated in any way to vote for Jonathan on the basis of religion or ethnicity.
The Christian body argued that they believed that Buhari could rid the country of insecurity and underdevelopment.
Habu said, “Our decision to endorse Buhari was informed by our patriotic commitment to build a free, fair and a secular society, where the inheritance should be justice to all.
“After the endorsement, our members, especially the Chairman of this Forum, have continued to receive threats through phone calls and text messages, labelling them a sell-out, who have abandoned a Christian candidate in the person of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“We supported the present government in 2003, 2007 and 2011. However, after critical analysis, the Forum decided to endorse General Muhammadu Buhari, based on the abysmal performance, the security challenges, outrageous corruption in public places, coupled with economic downturn in the country today.
“Our enemies accused us of collecting N500m from General Buhari. This accusation is not only wrong, but a blatant lie from the pit of hell. We charged anybody with concrete evidence of any money, collected by anybody on behalf of the Forum, to come forward with such evidence.
“The endorsement of Buhari was done publicly, and not secretly like our accusers will do; yet a segment of corrupt minds is employed to water down the good intention of the Forum, which is to build bridges and promote peaceful co-existence within our complex diversity.
“We shall not betray our trust as religious leaders for any monetary consideration. We shall do everything humanly possible, within our calling, to protect the interest of our image.
“We are therefore calling on Christians not to be deceived by these religious bigots and shun sentiment by voting the right candidate in the forthcoming general elections.”
Boko Haram fighters killed nearly 70 civilians and six soldiers in an onslaught on the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol on Wednesday, a Cameroonian security source told AFP.
“There are many (dead) civilians, nearly 70. The toll for the soldiers stands at six,” said the source in Fotokol, adding that there were also Boko Haram bodies “everywhere”.
The attack came a day after Chad sent troops across the border to flush the jihadists out of the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which lies some 500 metres (yards) from Fotokol on the other side of a bridge.
President Goodluck Jonathan will beat the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari in the north, come February 14, 2015.
Jonathan in Borno
This was the assertion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which noted that President Jonathan’s soaring popularity among the voting population across the country is an evidence.
Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement, Saturday, the party said President Jonathan will beat Buhari with more than two-third of the total votes cast, as well as the required 25 percent in all the states of the federation.
Metuh noted that this was not only because the PDP controls 12 out of the 19 states of the region, but also because the citizens are pleased with the numerous development projects he executed in the region.
The PDP said the various projects and appointments in the north have placed Jonathan ahead of Buhari in the mind of the people of the north, especially due to the fact that the APC presidential candidate never executed any project in the region when he was head of state and has so far failed to articulate an acceptable blue-print for development.
“Indeed, Nigerians in the north are eager to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan come February 14, 2015. Voters in the region appreciate the direct positive impact of the numerous development projects executed by the Jonathan administration in all sectors of life.
“They appreciate the fact that recognizing that agriculture is the mainstay of the northern economy, President Jonathan ensured that out of the 2.7 million direct farm jobs achieved by his administration, over 2 million are in the north.
“They appreciate the fact that President Jonathan established the e-wallet system, which eliminated the corruption in the distribution of fertilizer and other farmputs, making the products directly accessible to millions of farmers in the region thereby boosting their productivity. They appreciate the fact that silos are brimming and food pyramids are returning in the north.
“In education, President Jonathan’s imprint in the north remains indelible. Today, the once relegated Almajiri boys can now go to school following the establishment of the Almajiri System of Education, the first of its kind, with over 150 special schools already built, while others are nearing completion, a noble idea, General Buhari never thought of when he was head of state.
“Also, out of the 14 new universities established by President Jonathan, 9 are located in the northern states thereby ensuring that all states of the region have a federal university. This is in addition to the establishment of new secondary schools and training of teachers for quality education in the region.
“Furthermore our citizens in the north are happy with President Jonathan for his efforts in tackling desertification in the region especially with the establish of more than 80 km of 15–row Green Belt in addition to the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation in Kano and 10 other Northern States”.
Another reason cited by the PDP was the increased attention given to the health needs of the region, especially the interventions towards polio eradication and treatment of VVF among others.
The party also noted that roads in the region, that have been abandoned for long have received serious attention under Jonathan, citing the Kano-Maiduguri highway, the longest stretch in the country.
Other projects cited by the party include revitalization of the railways, especially the rehabilitation of the Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano narrow gauge, the Markurdi-Lafia-Kuru-Bauchi-Gombe-Ashaka-Maiduguri line and the branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna, the dredging of the River Niger from Lokoja to Baro in Niger State, the acceleration of work on the Geregu power station, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power, the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power and various dam projects including the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam, which is being built to contain flood from Lake Nyos in Cameroon.
President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, in Sokoto described those calling him enemy of the North, as liars who have nothing to offer the region.
PDP lagos, President Jonathan
The President also said his administration had achieved a lot in the area of transforming the educational and agricultural sectors across the Northern states.
The President, who spoke during the campaign rally in Sokoto State at Shehu Kangiwa Square, said his administration had achieved more for the North than any other administration led by former Presidents of Nigeria.
His words: “When I came on board as president, I established 14 new universities, four were built in the South while 10 were built in the North, yet they keep telling you I hate the North. If truly I hate the North and I do not want the children from the North to be like me, will I take such action?” the President asked.
He went further: “Federal Government has no business with basic primary education because they are functions of the state government, but I took it upon myself to build Almajiri schools here because we realised there is a higher percentage of children out of school in the North than in the South. So we intervened massively. Is that hating the North?
“In the area of agriculture, tell me of any government that has supported the North with several agricultural equipment and with billions in cash loans. Is that hating the North? If I don’t like the North, will they benefit up to 70 per cent of agricultural reforms we are doing?” he asked.
He said those claiming that he was against the North themselves really had nothing to offer the region.
His words: “Those who say I do not like the North were also presidents in the past, but what did they do for the North? How many schools or universities did they build in the North and what did they do to ameliorate the problems in the agricultural sector?”
President Jonathan, however, called on politicians in the state to shun the act of violence at the forthcoming elections.
He said: “We must learn to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship in politics because on my arrival this morning, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saadu Abubakar, drew my attention to the unwarranted rivalry that existed among political parties in the state and he condemned the development in its entirety.
Stressing further, he said: “I visited Ogun State recently and the state Governor, Ibikunle Amusun, who is of the opposition party accommodated me at the Governor’s Lodge, where both of us passed the night without any rancour. I believe this is what politics should be.”
In their goodwill messages, former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa and the Deputy Governor of the state, Barrister Mukhtar Shagari promised to deliver the state 100 per cent to Jonathan at the forthcoming polls.
Some angry youth on Saturday attacked and set ablaze a campaign bus branded with President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign posters at Zololo junction, Bauchi road in Jos, Jos North Local Government area of Plateau state.
BREAKING: Youth set Jonathan’s campaign bus ablaze in Jos
The bus was on fire at the time of filling this report. However, witnesses said the driver of the bus escaped unhurt.
It is not clear what led to the attack. Police could not be immediately reached for comments.
A witness, whose car was also torched by the rampaging mob, said another PDP-branded car was also set alight.
The source, who only identified herself as Mrs. Rose, told PREMIUM TIMES that her Honda car was also smashed by the protesting youth.
She said the road leading to the area was blocked by the rampaging youth, as they bashed other vehicles plying the route.
According to her, the incident occurred in the presence of members of the Special Taskforce on Jos crisis STF, who could not help stop the action of the youth.
The incident has generated tension within the state capital Plateau state capital as residents rushed home for safety.
The attack occurred as PDP supporters in the state converged at the Hiapang Airport to receive the gubernatorial candidate of the party, Gyang Pwajok, who was returning from Lagos after receiving his flag last Thursday.
Zonal Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party Youth Frontier (PDPYF) North-west, Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi, on Friday accused some Northern politicians close to President Goodluck Jonathan of lacking the political strategy, media management and genuine commitment to market him to Nigerians.
PDP
Speaking at a one-day sensitization seminar for the PDP Youth Awareness Volunteers on building party support tagged; “Our PDP, Our Chances and Their Supports for 2015″ in Sokoto, Dingyadi described such politicians as a liability rather than asset to Jonathan.
Dingyadi, who was former Deputy Director of Media and Publicity for Obasanjo/Atiku Campaign Organisation in 2003, noted that ministers and politicians from the North-west who benefited immensely from this government, were not making real efforts to explain to the people why they should vote for Jonathan in 2015.
According to him, such politicians were not conversant with Jonathan’s transformation agenda and commitment towards nation building and as such were not doing enough to make his achievement known to the generality of Nigerians.
“The truth of the matter is that, these politicians lack strategies and moral ground to convince people on the need to vote for Jonathan due to the fact that they abandoned the same people when they need them most.
“In fact, some of them while in power keep the people at arms length, yet they want the same people to treat them with dignity and respect. It is a day of reckoning for them and the people they neglected in the past are watching and ready to teach them a lesson,” Dingyadi said.
ABUJA – Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force, NDPSF, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari has again stated that desperate politicians from the northern Nigeria are ungrateful parasites who have not appreciated the south and especially the Niger-Delta for depending on their oil proceeds over the years.
Asari’s outburst was a reaction to the comments recently made by the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido that staunch supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan such as Asari and Chief Edwin Clark were making incisive statements in their bid to secure a second term for Jonathan.
Lamido had in his statements decried the candidacies of Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives congress, APC.
He was quoted as saying that the duo were capable of setting Nigeria ablaze with their ambition.
But reacting to the statement, Asari who was also the former national President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC and Jonathan’s kinsman in a telephone chat with Vanguard said that the north was bleeding over their loss of political power.
He stated that until the zone disabuse its mind from the mentality of “born to rule”, they would continue to meet stiff resistance from their southern counter-part.
“The president will win. There is no other option. If they contest they are wasting their time. He who pays the piper will dictate the tune. We own them. We are feeding them. They are parasites. A beggar has no choice. In all religions, in Islam, every where… if you are a beggar, you will respect the one who gives to you. They are beggars and parasites.”
With Shaka Momodu E-mail: shaka.momodu@thisdaylive.com, 08112661654
It is not my desire to join issues or engage any of my colleagues in an open debate in the media. This article should therefore be seen as an exception. After reading Waziri Adio’s article on the back page of THISDAY 15th December titled, “Is This, Finally, The Buhari Moment?” I came to the inescapable conclusion that there were obvious gaps that needed to be filled. For the records, Mr Adio was spot on and I largely agree with the analysis except for the phrase ‘contrived handicaps’ which is suggestive of falsehood sold as truth.
I therefore find the urge to correct some misrepresentations too strong to resist. It is particularly expedient to fill the missing years between 1984 (about 30 years) ago when Buhari entered the consciousness of Nigerians with those immortal and awe inspiring words which Waziri heralded his article, “This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no country other than Nigeria, we shall remain here and salvage it together” and his 2014 speech preceding his nomination when he stated thus, “We seek a new Nigeria. It starts with us, it starts today…. Nigeria is our home. Let us now turn it into the great Nation we know it can and should be.’’
Of truth, that statement in 1984 captivated and galvanised Nigerians across the country into looking inward and believing our situation was not beyond redemption. But the succeeding years have seen Buhari morphing into something of a caricature image far less noble than the vision encapsulated in that powerful summation of 1984.
These years have been very revealing of the Buhari personae. So much water has passed under the bridge such that it would be wrong to condense and analyse Buhari on just two inspiring quotes 30 years apart and attempt to sell his candidature as a viable alternative. I find this unhelpful for a society yearning for direction.
What about the intervening years that have thrown up a deeply partisan, sectional and religious irredentist that I am sure, many Nigerians would find different from the man who spoke those words 30 years ago? The truth here is that from when he spoke his first words to Nigerians and became a fixture of sort in our psyche, Buhari has evolved severally; he has become a convoluted and conflicted brand. From an inspirational national leader, he withdrew into the conclave of an ethno-religious champion and a fanatical extremist who has sought without apologies to anyone, to undermine everything the Nigeria nation stands for.
We will be guilty of extreme naivety to wave off these tendencies that are so manifestly glaring in the APC presidential candidate as figment of our imagination or merely “contrived handicaps” by Buhari haters to undermined him like my Egbon Waziri has done.
While Mr Adio will have us believe that the well deserved appellation is “contrived handicaps”, the facts and records of history speak to the contrary. As I said, Buhari has become deeply conflicted and I say it without mincing words and that contrary to Waziri Adio’s position, Buhari is an ethno-religious fundamentalist. The ark of history is on my side here. The fact that Buhari is being rebranded by the APC apparatchiks and has consequently toned down his extremist views about North/South and Muslims/Christians of the country, for political correctness does not make him any less a religious extremist. I even find the whole rebranding project pretentious, deceitful, and unflattering to the iron-cast inscrutable image of the General. My admonition to those behind it is that you cannot change a man from who he is to who he is not.
The proof of Buhari’s ethno-religious leaning is stated here in his own words and recorded position on issues pertaining to Sharia and the interest of the North as against the overriding interest ofNigeria. If Waziri Adio so fervently believes that Buhari is not a fundamentalist, what does he make of Buhari’s statement 27 August 2001,“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing, we’ll not stop the agitation for the total implementation of Sharia in the country.’’
As if that was not enough, Buhari stated further, “Muslims should vote for fellow Muslims who can defend their faith”. If Waziri Adio so strongly believes that the fundamentalist toga was ‘contrived,’ what does he make of the above?
Just a few weeks ago, Atiku Abubarkar called Buhari a religious bigot and warned that Nigeria doesn’t need a religious bigot as president. I believe Atiku played that up for his own political advantage because of the primary that was coming up where he alongside other contestants squared against Buhari, but even at that, he was merely stating a self evident fact.
Recall also that during Governor Rasheed Ladoja’s time as governor of Oyo state, Buhari travelled all the way from Daura in Katsina to visit Governor Ladoja in Ibadan. It was no ordinary visit, but a protest visit that Ladoja’s people were killing his (Buhari’s) people. Still wondering what all that means? Well, you don’t have to wait for long. Here it is. It was all about the clashes between Hausa-Fulani herdsmen grazing with their cattle in indigenes’ farmland and destroying their crops. Buhari’s exact words were: “Your people are killing my people.” If this is not a sufficient proof of this man’s sectional-ethnic affinity and inclination then, someone will have to tell me what is. Governor Ladoja was so disappointed in Buhari, that he issued him a rebuke, urging him to play the statesman instead of narrow ethnic interest that chips away at his position as a former head of state.
Just last year, when the state of emergency was declared in parts of the North-east to tame the menace of the devilish and blood-thirsty Boko Haram which has severally broken its own worst record of human carnage, Buhari stated in an interview that he was against the state of emergency and military action against sect, which he described as a grave injustice to the North. According to him in his lamentation, “unlike the special treatment the federal government gave to the Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses demolished.”
Waziri Adio should tell Nigerians what Buhari meant by that statement. If it was not supportive of Boko Haram and at the same time playing the ethno-religious card, then half the world is not enough as a gift to me. Now, how can a former head of state even make such a statement? What was it meant to achieve? Any objective deductions from Buhari’s statements will inevitably come to the sane conclusion that many Nigerians have come to – a religious fundamentalist who wants to right the perceived ‘wrongs’ done to the north.
Lest we forget, The same Buhari was once nominated by Boko Haram as their chief negotiator even though he reluctantly declined. But why did the murderous terror sect choose Buhari of all people, a former head of state of Nigeria, as their negotiator from a motley crowd of qualified ethno-religious champions who believe that power belongs to the north or “northerners are born to rule”? I am unable to find an answer to this question except to think that perhaps, Boko Haram trusted him more to represent their interest. Was this also ‘contrived’?
It is easy to rebuke those who call Buhari a religious fundamentalist or an extremist, but Buhari’s character portrait and utterances over the years speak to the answer. I was once a big fan of Buhari in the 80s, and for the life of me, I agonised over many sleepless nights when my ‘hero’ started to unravel before my very eyes. His war against indiscipline endeared him to me. It was good for society and it remains an enduring legacy in the country today.
While this write-up is not an assessment of the failings of Buhari’s regime from 1984, I am of the belief that a man who executed three young Nigerians with a law retroactively implemented and has remained unrepentant, unremorseful and still believes in the rightness of that action, his sense of morality and righteousness must be deeply flawed. And for those who think Buhari’s views have matured over time, I say, I wish. We seems to have forgotten so soon how innocent youth corpers serving in parts of the north were killed just because Buhari lost the 2011 presidential election? And I dare say the language of his campaign was largely responsible for those killings.
I am also not impressed with the narrative out there that Buhari believes in fighting corruption with total commitment, even though he may not be personally corrupt and I dare say, he is not. He allows certain things under table and in some cases, negligently aids and abets corrupt acts. Remember the 53 suit cases? What about his stewardship at PTF? It is not as flattering as some would want us to believe. And before I forget, in 2008, at the 10th anniversary of the death of Abacha, Buhari declared to the consternation of all Nigerians that Abacha was neither corrupt nor a thief. “He did not steal Nigeria’s money,” he declared sternly with military fiat. This is despite the fact that several countries had returned hundreds of millions of dollars to Nigeria as part of Abacha’s recovered loot. I don’t know if this position was also ‘contrived’ by Buhari’s hate club. If not, I don’t know how much good this does to the General’s image as an anti-corruption leader that is being daily burnished in the media. Anyone who denies this fact of history that Abacha did not loot the treasury cannot be an honest person and for Buhari to do that speak powerfully to the charge against him. It is an eloquent testimony that tells a lot about what his promoters would not want to talk about.
The harrowing traffic chaos that we all suffer and agonise over today in Lagos is a direct result of Buhari’s narrow and parochial minded view of economic affairs of this country. The cancellation of the Lagos Metro Line project after commencement of work remains a sad reminder of Buhari’s lack of vision and foresight. Tragically, those who have borne the brunt of that unfortunate action are today the very people packaging, marketing and promoting him to be president partly with the resources of the Lagos state. Thankfully, our memories are not like architecture that is often described as frozen music.
This is Professor Wole Soyinka’s take away on Buhari in 2007. It is like he just wrote it yesterday,“The grounds on which General Buhari is being promoted as the alternate choice are not only shaky, but pitifully naïve. History matters. Records are not kept simply to assist the weakness of memory, but to operate as guides to the future. Of course, we know that human beings change. What the claims of personality change or transformation impose on us is a rigorous inspection of the evidence, not wishful speculation or behind-the-scenes assurances. Public offence, crimes against a polity, must be answered in the public space, not caucuses of bargaining. In Buhari, we have been offered no evidence of the sheerest prospect of change. On the contrary, all evidence suggests that this is one individual who remains convinced that this is one ex-ruler that the nation cannot call to order. Need one remind anyone he was one of the Generals who treated a Commission of Enquiry, the Oputa Panel, with unconcealed disdain. Like Babaginda and Abdusalami, he refused to put in appearance even though complaints that were tabled against him involved a career of gross abuses of power and blatant assault on the fundamental human rights of the Nigerian citizenry. Prominent against these charges was an act that amounted to nothing less than judicial murder, the execution of a citizen under a retroactive decree. Does Decree 20 ring a bell? If not, then, perhaps the names of three youths-Lawal Ojuolape(30), Bernard Ogedengbe (29) and Bartholomew Owoh (26) do. To put it quite plainly, one of those three-Ogedengbe-was executed for a crime that did not carry a capital forfeiture at the time it was committed. This was an unconscionable crime, carried out in defiance of the pleas and protests of nearly every sector of the Nigerian and international community, religious, civil rights, political, trade unions etc.”
It is a tragic irony that some of those rooting for and shouting sai Buhari! sai Buhari!! are members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm who suffered terribly under the General’s jackboot. Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor must be pinching themselves and wondering what has happened to society’s gatekeepers’ memories.
A cross section of Senators on Tuesday disagreed with the fresh request by President Goodluck Jonathan to extend the emergency rule in the three North – Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, over the insurgency situation in the region.
Army, Jonathan fighting Boko Haram
The senate dissolved into a closed – door session to consider Jonathan’s letter seeking the extension of the proclamation, for another period of six months, following a motion by the Senate leader, Victor Ndoma – Egba, who cited order 40 (2) of the Senate standing rule.
The senators reconvened after a two and half hours extensive brainstorming over the issue and announced that the discussion on it would be Wednesday.
Senate President, David Mark, at the resumption of plenary, said, “The Senate in a closed session met and discussed the letter from Mr President on the extension of a state of emergency.
“We had a very extensive debate on it. And we will continue with the debate Wednesday.
The Jonathan letter reads in part, “Extension of the period for the proclamation of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
“May I respectfully draw your attention to the state of emergency proclamation 2013 in respect of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States which was approved by the National Assembly and extended for a further period of six months by the National Assembly as conveyed by the Clerk of the National Assembly dated 21st of May, 2014.
“By virtue of provisions of Sections 305, (6) C of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the proclamation afore mentioned will elapse after a period of six months from the date of approval of the National Assembly except the period is extended by the National Assembly.
“It is important to state that despite concerted efforts by this administration to stem the tide of terrorism and insurgency in the affected states, the security challenges that necessitated the proclamation are yet to abate.
“Consequently, it has become imperative to request the approval of the senate for extension of the period for the state of emergency for a further period of six months.
“In view of the foregoing, I most respectfully request distinguished senators to consider and approve by resolution the extension of the proclamation of the state of emergency by a further period of six months from the date of expiration of the current period.
“I look forward distinguished Senate President to the usual kind expeditious consideration of the above request by the senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Bello Tukur (PDP, Adamawa Central), who briefed journalists after the senate had adjourned, did not give details of what transpired at the closed-door session.
ABUJA—The military, yesterday, raised alarm that following the new onslaught by Nigerian troops to reclaim seized communities from Boko Haram terrorists in the North East, the insurgents have resorted to using women and children as human shields in order to halt or slow down the troops’ advance.
Nigerian soldiers on armour tank seized from Boko Haram in Konduga
The alarm came a day after the Boko Haram captured another town, Maiha in Adamawa State.
Vanguard reported, yesterday, that Nigerian troops, in collaboration with Israeli and American military advisers have commenced a major offensive to reclaim Mubi and other towns from the terrorists and as at yesterday, sources said the troops were advancing to Bazza, en route Gulak.
The resort to use of women as human shields as well as children as child-soldiers by Boko Haram militants in their quest to weaken military operations was said to be giving the military authorities concern.
A top security source in the North-East disclosed that the terrorists, while carrying out their recruitment, rape and kill some of the young captives who are reluctant to join them.
The source said: “In most cases, children and teenagers are forced to be in the forefront in the battle against the Nigerian troops through ambushing and suicide bombing; and there are established cases of women and children getting involved in terrorist acts like recent bombings in schools.
“On several occasions, the Nigerian military has captured small children who were forced to take up arms against the state with some of them behaving abnormally due to indoctrination and inducement through the use of hard drugs.”
The security source added: “We are being cautious in abiding by the rules of engagement even when we are aware that the militants recruit children for spying on us and pushing them to engage in hostilities against innocent citizens and the troops.
“Most of the children, especially teenagers were recruited through abduction, kidnapping and enticement with money after which they undergo brainwashing and combat training. Those that are unwilling to cooperate are punished or summarily executed.”
Reliable sources further suggested that insurgents have relied on the knowledge that Nigerian troops have a responsibility to observe strict rules of engagement and also avoid a situation whereby patriotic citizens caught in the crossfire of conflict will lose their lives.
Military lost men while avoiding child-soldiers— Source
“We have lost our men in the battle-field while we tried to avoid shooting children and teenagers who are forced to confront us. How do you expect us to arrest a child with a gun? Do we accord such an armed under-age combatant with the status of a child deserving of protection under the rules of engagement?
“It may become inevitable that some collateral damage may be recorded if we get the orders, especially because Boko Haram elements were using civilians as human shields to continue to gain undue advantages in the current battle in the North East.
“However, much as troops are determined to avoid collateral damage, it has become inevitable to be decisive with armed underage combatants and female suicide bombers with the situation degenerating by the day.
“The military will no longer tolerate a situation where insurgents use human shield to gain undue advantage especially now that majority of Nigerians have demanded that a full scale war be declared by government in response to Boko Haram,” the source declared.
Boko Haram captures another Adamawa town
Meanwhile, Boko Haram has expanded the territory it controls in Adamawa State after it overran the town of Maiha on Monday. The group had earlier renamed two towns it captured in Adamawa and Borno as part of its declared caliphate in the North-East of the country. Mubi, in Adamawa was renamed ‘Madinatul Islam’, meaning the “City of Islam,” after an October 29 invasion, while Gwoza in Borno was renamed “Darul Hikma” meaning “House of Wisdom”.
Maiha is about 25 kilometres from Mubi, the commercial town captured by the insurgents in Adamawa last week and about 200km from Yola, the state capital.
It was gathered from residents that before the town eventually fell to the insurgents, it was already a shadow of itself as commercial and social activities were paralyzed as people had deserted the town due to its proximity to Mubi.
Residents also claimed seeing many soldiers running away from the area with some of them hitch-hiking in residents’ vehicles. The soldiers reportedly told the residents that if the insurgents caught up with them, it would lead to instant death.
A fleeing resident, Kabir Musa, in a telephone interview with an online news medium, Premium Times, said “the insurgents started trooping into the town around 2:30 p.m. and engaged troops stationed at Kosha before advancing to the main town of Maiha. The soldiers, who advanced to the area in their bid to recapture Mubi, started running away as the insurgents overran the entire town.”
Another resident of the town, Garba Baba, said some fleeing soldiers begged him to assist them with civilian clothes so they would not be traced by the insurgents. The soldiers, he said, even threw their guns into the bush.
“The fleeing soldiers asked us to give them our clothes so that they can camouflage and escape from the area safely as some of them discarded their weapons in the bush. A lot of discarded weapons are currently lying in the bush,” Mr. Baba, who also fled Maiha, said.
He said the insurgents did not encounter any challenge from Nigerian troops similar to what happened when the insurgents captured Mubi.
According to him, “the insurgents did not encounter any challenge as they stormed the town in APCs and Toyota Hilux vans, firing shots into the soldiers’ directions , and chanting Allahu Akbar. The Boko Haram insurgents had ordered us not to run, saying that they were not after civilians but soldiers and other security people.”
Another resident still trapped in Maiha, Dauda Mallam, said: “Many of the residents fled into the bush, particularly soldiers. Some of them may have been killed by bullets. The insurgents also hoisted their flags in strategic places in the town.”
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