Yoruba/Igbo Spat: I Chose Not To Die (1)

BY MAGNUS ONYIBE

When Nigeria’s first Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, wrote his fa­mous book, The Man Died in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny, I can imagine that the wordsmith never expected that he would be required to contextualize the cen­tral message in the book which is basically that a man dies if he does not speak out against tyranny.

By speaking out against perceived injustice perpetrated by the Federal Government of Nige­ria, FGN, against the Igbos that degenerated into the civil war of 1967-1970, Prof. Soyinka, a Yoruba man, was taken into custody and held in detention by the authorities.

His offence was that he attempted to take over a radio station by holding a gun to the head of a broadcaster with a view to forcibly compelling his victim to allow him speak out against the government.

It was while he was incarcerated that he wrote the book, The Man Died, which is basically a pris­on note by a radical theatre arts lecturer from the premier university in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, UI.

It is not amazing that over 50 years (1967-2023) after Prof. Soyinka’s showdown with the authori­ties, history appears about to repeat itself as Sen­ator Datti Baba-Ahmed (also a university propri­etor not a lecturer) like Prof. Soyinka has gone to Channels Television (also a broadcast station) to air his grievances about what he deems as an act of tyranny against him and the Labor Party, LP, by demanding that government must not swear in the INEC declared winner on May 29 as mandated by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, FGN.

The Baba-Ahmed outburst is in the manner that Soyinka attempted to denounce government in a rather violent way by way of taking hostage a broadcaster in a radio station thereby threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria before he got apprehended and taken into custody.

While it might have been expected that it would be required of Prof. Soyinka to be justify­ing the reasoning behind the theme of his seminal book in media interviews or during book reading sessions, as if in validation of the belief that life is very unpredictable, the renowned poet has found himself in a situation in which he appears to be like a bull whose horns are caught in a thicket formed by a web of complex and complicated branches of trees packed densely together.

To untangle himself, the erudite and revered Prof. is demanding a television debate with Sen­ator Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice presidential can­didate of the insurgent political platform, Labor Party, who seem to have borrowed a page out of Prof. Soyinka’s very prescient book by forceful­ly demanding that the candidate that has been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, should not be sworn into office as president on May 29 as mandated by law.

It is an action that has been equated with Prof. Soyinka’s speaking out against tyranny in 1967 and which landed him in hot waters, that is prob­ably why the likes of my good friend, Mr. Festus Keyamo, APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesman, has on March 23 written a petition to the Directorate of State Services, DSS, requesting it to apprehend the aggrieved LP vice presidential candidate, Senator Baba-Ahmed.

It may be recalled that the LP vice presidential candidate had spoken up against government via a television interview in the manner that Prof. Soyinka attempted to seize a radio station to de­nounce government for similar case of injustice about a half century ago.

As lawyers always argue, no two (2) cases are the same.

That aphorism is derived from the belief that circumstances and time have roles to play in de­termining the appropriate actions to be taken or already taken in matters which appear to be similar in material, context and content.

It matters that Prof. Soyinka attempted to speak out via broadcast in a radio station during a military regime while Baba-Ahmed actually spoke out in an interview by a television station.

Also it is critical to point out that while Soy­inka never got round to actually speak out via a radio broadcast as he had intended, so we don’t know what he really wanted to say, which means that we do not know whether he wanted to incite a street protest in the manner of a mob action against government or just air his grievances in the manner that Baba-Ahmed, the vice presiden­tial candidate of LP did on Channels Television on March 22 by demanding that the president-elect must not be sworn into office as president on the constitutionally scheduled date of May 29.

We are all familiar with the genesis of the current spat which is triggered by the claim and counter claim that the 2023 elections (particularly the presidential contest) were rigged in favor of the candidate that has been declared the winner.

Arising from the above, tension has been rising and falling between the Yoruba ethnic group of the ruling APC candidate that has been declared the winner of the presidential contest by INEC and the Igbos, which is the ethnic nationality of the LP flag bearer that was placed in the third (3rd) position in the race to Aso Rock Villa.

The attention that the verbal and written ex­changes between the Nobel laureate, Prof. Soyin­ka, and Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed has received in both virtual and real life space, compels its characterization as Rumble in the Jungle. That is how the epic boxing bout between the legendary pugilists, Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, was branded when the world boxing duel to deter­mine who would be heavy weight champion of the world was staged in Kinshasa, Zaire in Africa back in 1974.

Although, elections are supposed to be another type of war without guns, it is disheartening that politics in Nigeria is more often than not being turned into a blood sport.

Based on experience, most election seasons in Nigeria come with significant peculiar changes in the process.

That is why 2023 election which is supposed to be the crowning glory of our evolving democratic process that is about to hit the milestone of contin­uous or back to back practice for twenty four (24) years without a break, is turning out to a festering sore ethnic and religious conflicts.

It is more disappointing because technology in the form of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System which was relied upon to deliver elections 2023 and was touted as a panacea to the past election malpractices that had dogged our elections failed to live up to the high expectations.


It is on account of the identified malaise of the ongoing conflict between the Igbos and Yorubas that manifested mainly in Lagos State leading to the Igbo/Yoruba spat wherein the Igbos resid­ing in the state were allegedly intimidated by the Yoruba goons that prevented them from voting during the March 18 gubernatorial elections that our country is now on edge.

By the same token, the allusion to religious war allegedly by Mr. Peter Obi in his conversation with Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Winners Church, during the run up to the pres­idential election of February 25, has also been interpreted as weaponization of religion by Mr. Obi who was presumably caught on tape solic­iting for Christian votes from Bishop Oyedepo.

That incident is now infamously dubbed ‘Yes Daddy Gate’.

Obviously, the leaked or doctored audio tape is tagged ‘Yes Daddy Gate’ after the infamous Watergate scandal that rocked the USA and led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 after some thieves were discovered to have broken into the Democratic Party, DNC data base and the truth was leaked in an audio recording.

In Nigeria, a type of Watergate scandal had also occurred when an alleged diversion of funds estimated to be about $2.1 billion was made against then National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Ahmed Dasuki and the scandal was tagged ‘Da­suki Gate’.

There are two (2) significant fallouts from elec­tions 2023.

These are the rift between the Yorubas that have been hosting the Igbos without conflicts over the years until politics reared its ugly head in 2019 and the current election 2023 season.

The second is the role that religion now plays in our politics which was hitherto mainly defined by ethic nationalism.

With ethnic nationalism becoming a signifi­cant factor in politics in Lagos and religious dif­ferences taking on a life of its own nationwide, our beloved country maybe descending towards an uncharted territory.

Two caustic articles written by Prof. Soyinka and Mr. Femi Kusa published in the mass media recently reveal how deep the ongoing Yoruba/Igbo spat really is.

The first is the piece titled, ‘Fascism On Course’, which is in defense of himself against the onslaught from Obidients following his con­demnation of Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s televi­sion comment that is considered as incendiary by LP supporters.

Expectedly, the Nobel laureate practically took no prisoners: “The refusal to entertain corrective criticism, even differing perspectives of the same position has become a badge of honour and certif­icate of commitment. What is at stake, ultimately is – Truth, and at a most elementary level of social regulation: when you are party to a conflict, you do not attempt to intimidate the arbiter, attempt to dictate the outcome, or impugn, without credible cause, his or her neutrality even before hearing has commenced. That is a ground rule of just proceeding. Short of this, truth remains perma­nently elusive.”

Prof. Soyinka was unapologetic. Instead he seemed sorely vexed.

On his part, Mr. Femi Kuta, who is a found­ing member of the Guardian newspaper and its first editor also took umbrage against the Igbos who the Yorubas, especially in Lagos, believe are nursing territorial ambition of taking over Lagos State.

Here is how he expressed outrage: ‘LAGOS QUESTION’. Two questions grossly unrelated to good or bad governance were the dominant questions in the presidential and governorship elections in Lagos.

He argued, “These questions were, who owns Lagos? And is Lagos a no man’s land? Both ques­tions are related.

“The Yorubas of South Western Nigeria say Lagos is their political capital and that Lagos is not a no man’s land. Ibos say Lagos is no man’s land.”

He forcefully made his case by making the fore­going inference: “This means everyone can come to Lagos and do whatever he or she likes with La­gos. They cite the cases of Nigerians becoming Mayors in the United States. But they forget to remind us that the U.S. is no man’s land because Europeans who fled their continent when life be­came unbearable for them there forcibly took the land from American Indians. In Nigeria, save for the Funlani conquest of the Hausa states, no other nationality conquered another and colonized it”.

At the end of his narrative, he was kind of conciliatory and sensitive to the interests of the Igbo settlers.

Both media interventions in my assessment are quite pungent and unfortunate because they are avoidable crisis that should not beset a metro­politan city like Lagos and Nigeria that needs to be united to enjoy the benefits of its large size made possible by the multiplicity of ethnic nationalities that make up the country.

By and large, the trigger for the fiasco in Lagos is the parentage of the LP candidate, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, whose mother is an Igbo woman, who married a dye-in-the-wool Lagos indigene, Mr. Rhodes Vivour.

The purity of ethnicity of a potential gover­nor of Lagos was weaponized in 2023 because it was the most vulnerable underbelly which the ruling party could explore to win over the hearts and minds of Lagosians, more so because the LP candidate also has as a wife who is an Igbo lady. To the ignorant voters only indigenes can rule over them, as such none indigenes should not be voted for.

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

NIGERIA: Church, State, And 2023 General Elections

Image via The Daily Citizen

BY ABIODUN KOMOLAFE

Originally, in the secular world, the State came before the Church because, by its institutional characteristics, it is the custodian of all other institutions.

In other words, the State is the behemoth institution, co-existing but superior to other social institutions. And that has been established since 1648!

Thenceforward, the marriage between the Church and the State has been at the mercy of the State. The only exception is Rome, where a State exists within a State because the papacy is a state on its own.

In the United Kingdom, the Church legitimizes the State. Succinctly put, the Church is the legitimacy booster for the State.

That is why, while the powers of the State protect the King or the Queen, the Church legitimizes the State. The more reason the King or the Queen can do no wrong!

Again, that’s why, immediately after a Prime Minister is elected, he or she goes to Buckingham Palace for the blessing of the King or the Queen. And the King or the Queen will normally approve the appointment of the Prime Minister because it is both symbolic and a symbiotic thing!

Basically, though the State is always there to protect the interests of the Church, the unfortunate thing is that, in the Nigerian circumstance, the Church is now representing a sectorial capacity of the religious sector. For instance, the Islamic faith is as formidable as the Church. As it is, the Bola Tinubu/Kashim Shettima same-faith joint presidential ticket of the
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has so made the powers of the two main religions in Nigeria become so antagonistic to each other that it is now the test of religious influence!

It is also interesting to note that former Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State did add the reality of ‘Isese’ (traditional worship) to the mix, which, of course, is still within the purview of religion.

Gboyega Oyetola, the immediate past governor of the State, did not betray the trust! In Osun, for instance, ‘Isese’ now has a recognized annual holiday attached to it.

Impliedly, the indigenous religion is also qualified to be a contender for the throne. While the Christians may put forward advice, the Islamic world will be willing to add its voice.

Ultimately, the ‘Isese’ adherents, who also have the recognition of the State, will also want to be heard! So, it’s no longer the Church solely.
Where also lies the place of the atheists and others whose interests are not captured in the present picture? After all, Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians, irrespective of creed or race.

What’s more? Elective offices in Nigeria are supposed to be secular. That’s what Article 10 of the Constitution says! Yes, the atheists may not have the population with which to push through their wishes, but within the context of liberality, even the Boko Haram insurgents have a reason to make a demand in a democracy!

With a specific reference to the 2023 elections, there’s a lot of confusion in the definition of Christianity in Nigeria. And it is deliberate! Take, for instance, the case of Peter Obi. As governor of Anambra State, it’s alleged that he never gave non-Catholics free access or Certificates of Occupancy to build their churches in the State. Added to Obi’s purported sins were that he almost chased everybody who wanted to build a mosque in the State away.

As a matter of fact, these allegations have been appropriately documented and any Nigerian with disagreeing opinions has been asked to come forward and open up. Now, Obi as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) is a regular face at Pentecostal churches and

Congregations. As Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, doesn’t being a Christian go beyond being a churchgoer? Those who still doubt the relevance of, or the influence of religion in Nigeria’s democratic journey had better ask Atiku Abubakar why he hurriedly deleted his tweets condemning the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel by religious extremists in Sokoto on his Twitter handle. Obviously, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate did it to appease the hoodlums. Otherwise, he would lose the entire North come February 25, 2023!

It has also been argued that Nigeria is currently not a State. Well, those who hold this notion may not be wrong after all! For example, had dear fatherland truly been a State, the Ademola Adeleke-led government in Osun would not have deliberately refused to pay the salaries of certain public workers.

That’s not possible in a true democracy! No! In a thriving democracy, public administration cannot come down to the handlers’ personal feelings or idiosyncrasies.

All said, the immediate major interest of the Nigerian State, so to speak, is to have successful elections in 2023. Without a doubt, the point opined about the question of religion and its influence on; or relevance to, governance is so critical to social cohesion. The State will want the cooperation of the Church, while the Church, though it will want to appear neutral, will be very sensitive to its interests. So, the State must be extremely careful not to be seen as being religiously biased or partial.

If it does, it could lose its legitimacy; and it will have legitimacy crises. Take, for instance, the Nigerian situation: the current president is a Muslim, and so are most of the key position holders in its bureaucracy and public service. Coincidentally, the ruling party has also presented a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the election. Under this condition, should the handlers of the State spew words that are perceived as being against the Christian world, it can bring the country to its knees.

If I may ask, how coterminous is the interest of the Church with that of the Nigerian State? Whereas the interest of the State is as constant as the Northern Star, the Church cannot but negotiate its interests and preferences with the State within the context of the demands of other similar social institutions.

The interest of the State is to have a legitimized government in place, and the interest of the Church is to have its interests protected from hindrances from the State or opposing faiths. That the Church is presumably drawing global attention to the fielding of Tinubu and Shettima as the APC joint presidential flag-bearers as a result of these fears cannot be far from the truth. The argument is that, as Muslims, a Tinubu/Shettima.

The presidency may not be sympathetic to the core interests of the Church, more so as they don’t even understand the components of those core interests.

Lastly, it’s a statement that the burden of the success of the forthcoming elections lies squarely on the State. However, since it is a societal issue, it, therefore, behooves the Church and other societal groups to cooperate with the State to ensure a peaceful atmosphere prevails before, during, and after the exercise, for it is only in a peaceful atmosphere that the interests of the State and the Religious Community (the Church inclusive) can be realized.

How to get societal peace engineered in an environment of insecurity, poverty, hunger, and other kinds of social malady places an enormous burden on the State. It’s after these negative social indices are sorted that both the Church and the State can have peace and, effectively, a legitimate government.

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

SOURCE: STANDARD GAZETTE

Obi’s Popularity And The Secessionists’ Propaganda

Peter Obi

BY RICHARD MADUKU

“Be wary of settling in any town or village in Nigeria where an Igbo person is not found.” Only a few adults in Nigeria would say that they have not heard this saying. And on hearing it for the first time, no well-travelled grown-up in Nigerian would say it is not true. The population of Igbo in most big towns outside their homeland is so huge that some have their own kings and chiefs! No other ethnic group is as widely ingrained into the Nigerian fabric as the Igbo.

Apart from being found in large numbers in every town and village, they also dominate most businesses all over Nigeria. They have even monopolized a few businesses such as the importation and retail of automobile spare parts. In the highbrow areas of all the big cities, most of the eye-arresting mansions are owned by them. They are by far the richest. But despite the hospitality of their hosts that made them to luxuriate like trees by the riverside, some Igbo still grumble that they are hated by other Nigerians.

They started grumbling after the Civil War in 1970 despite how other Nigerians bent over backward to welcome them back. The Igbo harbouring this belief have turned from grumbling into loud agitation. It started not long after the military handed over to a democratically-elected government in 1999.

They formed an organization known as the ‘Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)’, which simply means secession once again. This time though, after a referendum to determine if it is the wish of the majority. The secessionists have since begun to spread their views through every medium including a pirate radio station. Being so better-off than other ethnic groups, many non-Igbo can hardly believe that some of them are still agitating this way.

The agitation became more virulent about seven years ago when a faction broke away from MASSOB to form the ‘Indigenous people of Biafra’ (IPOB). It is led by one Nmandi Kanu of dual nationality (Nigerian/U.K). He is known for his fiery rhetoric (some bordering on the bizarre) against the rest of Nigeria.

Mr. Kanu, for instance, had accused the Federal Government for aiding the Fulani to subjugate the whole country through terrorism as they had done to Hausa and some other tribes in northern Nigeria. He revealed that the unchecked infiltration into forests of the Southeast and other zones by terrorists masquerading as herdsmen is the first stage of the subjugating agenda of the Fulani.

He was charged for treason and while on bail, the Nigerian Army invaded his family home but he managed to escape to the U.K. From there he went on to create an outfit known as Eastern Security Network (ESN) to flush the Fulani terrorists out of the Southeast forests. Some other states have since created similar outfits solely for the same purpose – a proof that Kanu did not lie on this.

A few years back before his abduction from Kenya and eventual detention in Abuja last year, Kanu’s daily tirade on his pirate radio station and the social media had moved his supporters into demonstrating along Nigerian major roads and streets chanting: ‘We want Biafra! We want Biafra!’ The protesters outside the Southeast were even more in number and more unruly than their brothers back home. They began to cause traffic disruptions in many places. It got to a stage some youth groups in the North could no longer tolerate it and they gave them a three months’ notice to quit their region.

Not all non-Igbo were surprised that the demonstrations abruptly stopped and Igbo leaders everywhere who had not condemned the agitation began to sing reconciliatory tunes. This episode reminded one of a cartoon in the social media with the title ‘What manner of people are these?’

In the first strip of the cartoon, a man on a podium had asked a hall filled with Muslims “Who wants sharia?” All hands had shot up. “Who wants to live in Saudi Arabia or Iran?” the man on the podium went on to ask in the second strip but surprisingly nobody raised his hand! But that was not the end. In the last strip, the man then asked: “Who wants to live in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom?” And like in the first question, all hands went up again!

The quit notice episode is not the only area that makes many non-Igbo to wonder ‘What manner of people are these Biafran agitators?’ The presidency of Nigeria which no Igbo person has held since the return to democratic rule is another area. The secessionists still think an Igbo president is overdue in Nigeria. They believe the presidency had eluded them since the end of the Civil War because other Nigerians had ganged up against them. Many non-Igbo are unsure what the secessionists really want: Biafra or the Presidency?

If it is the Presidency, something has been happening that rubbishes one plank of their agitation. This trending event has been described variously as unprecedented, a phenomenon, a tsunami, a movement or a democratic revolution. Nigerians in their millions across the country want to vote for Mr. Peter Obi, an Igbo man, to become the president in the 2023 presidential election!

The nation-wide yearning for him to become the president began in May this year (2022) when he became the Labour Party presidential candidate. Since then, Nigerians from all walks of life have been rooting for him as they had never done to anybody in history. This is as a result of his eight years’ record as the Governor of Anambra State.

As a governor, he was able to pay all pensioners, workers and contractors until nobody was owed a kobo by the time he left office. He also invested so much in education including ICT that Anambra students began to excel in external examinations and competitions including those that were global. He also bought shares on behalf of the state that are yielding dividends today. He did not borrow to do all this. As if that was not enough, he left billions of naira in three different banks for his successor!

He was able to accomplish all this and more because he drastically cut the cost of governance including denying himself the luxury and pomp associated with his office as a governor. For instance, he shunned long convoy of vehicles when touring and he ensured he paid by himself for fuel bought on the way. He refused to give brown envelopes to dignitaries who paid courtesy calls on him. He sold the state government lodges in Abuja and Lagos because they were costly to maintain. He even refused to build a Presidential lodge. He moved out of his official house for Presdent Olusegun Obasanjo who was to stay for more than one day when he visited the state!

It is all this and more that has endeared him to the hearts of the multitude now pining for him to be the next president. It shows that Nigerians did not hate the Igbo as the Biafran agitators always claim!

* Maduku, a retired Nigerian Army (Infantry) Captain and novelist, lives in Effurun-Otor, Delta State

INTERVIEW: I Wanted To Handover Within Six Months – Abdulsalami

BY KABIRU A. YUSUF

DAILY TRUST

Abdulsalami Abubakar. Image via Daily Trust

Abdulsalami Abubakar is a distinguished elder statesman who was military head of state between 1998 and 1999, when he handed over to a civilian...

General Abdulsalami Abubakar is a distinguished elder statesman who was military head of state between 1998 and 1999, when he handed over to a civilian government. In this interview with Trust TV he went over the story of his life and some of the momentous episodes of his long military career. Excerpts:


It appears as if you started your military career in the air force and then you moved to the army. I wonder, why this switch?

Like you rightly said, I started in then army to the air force and back to the army. Why I said that, I attended the interview for the army that was in December 1962, when we finished from secondary school. At that time there was general mobilization to indigenize the officer corps in the Nigeria Military, at that time it was only the Navy and the Army that were in existence. So in 1962 we attended the selection board for the army.

Now at that time there were limited numbers of slots for training of cadets in the then Nigerian Military Training College, which metamorphosed NDA. So, after the selection board, we were divided into two; one group started the military training, that is the group that consist of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Abacha, General Nasko, Magoro, Sani Sami, General Omu and so on.

So we were in the waiting list; waiting for them to finish their training before we now report. It was during this waiting period that the air force was established. So some of us who were in the waiting list were told, “why don’t you go and start training in the air force?” So we the became nucleus of the air force.

The Germans came in and we conducted military training for the air force after which, I think three or six months thereafter we were sent to Germany. We were in Germany when the Civil War broke up and there was dearth of officers in the Nigerian Army, so some of us were drafted back to the army. We were to the NDA, which was by then on, for what was called emergency training after which we were commissioned and were sent to the war front, so this is the story.

So did you always want to be in the army from secondary school, and what was the motivation?

Like I told you, at the time we were finishing our secondary education in 1962, there was this general mobilization to indigenize the officer corps in the Nigerian military. There was this team set up by the Ministry of Defence to go round, to entice school leavers to join the military.

Now let me trace back a little bit back to my school days, right from my senior primary school up to secondary school, I personally was interested in outdoor life, so I was a member of the Nigerian Boys Scout.

Now back to the issue of the government’s effort to sell ideas to school leavers to join the military, they set up a team to go round and address the school leavers. Our school was one of those targeted and the team included the then Captain Gowon, General Gowon who became the head of state. They came round to us, very smartly well dressed and so on and they tried to tell us about professions in the army, the opportunities and so on. So that nailed the box, so to speak. And at the end of our secondary certificate examination, we applied and went for the selection board.

It appears you are one of those officers who weren’t political; you were not a governor or minister like some of your colleagues, indeed until you became the chief of defence staff before you became well known. Did you deliberately avoid such appointments for professional reasons?

Well let me say, that is the will of God. I never opted to serve but for the hindsight of our leaders at that time, there were quite a number of us who were completely left to be in the military so that at least, maybe they have seen our values to maintain the military ethics and so on; so quite a number of us me inclusive were, should I say mercifully were left out of the politics, at that time we were completely left in the military.

And of course, like me, we all grew up in the profession and were not well known because we were strictly involved in our military duties. Like you said when you grew up in rank whether you are in politics or not, you become known to the public and certainly as a chief of defence staff that actually now exposed me to the public.

Is it true that you were about to be retired as chief of defence staff in 1998, that a day before you retired, Abacha died and instead of retiring, you were promoted to head of state?

That again is the will of Almighty God. Indeed yes right from the beginning of Abacha’s administration there were quite a number of some caucus members of that military, who were very uncomfortable with some of us and we were penciled down for retirement but luckily enough, every time I escaped being retired up to the time God in His wisdom did what He did and I became the head of state.

Was it about your relationship with General Babangida; was the reason they saw you maybe as somebody who should be done away with?

Well, really I was not in the mind of this caucus members but you might be right to say well, sometimes relationships affects whatever position in life somebody is, that is per assumption and so on.

But were you not a friend to Abacha? I expect that you came a long way.

Well of course, let me say this; all our generations we knew ourselves whether we were in the same school or not, as long as you were a sportsman. You know during that time there was interschool sporting activities where we were zoned in northern Nigeria to play against various schools up to the time you come to the final. Now I happened to be a sportsman and General Abacha was also a sportsman.

Which sports was this?

Football, hockey, cricket, athletics and so on; you know there was an annual event where the schools compete against each other. And of course it was during one of those games that we knew ourselves.

We were the contemporaries, like I was in form one in Bida Secondary School, Abacha was in form one in Kano, this was how we met.

And like I told you there was this issue of trying to entice school leavers to join the military. The same way a team came to our school, another team went to Kano and other schools and again we finished in December 1962, he and I belonged to that set. All of us were interested to join the military we all attended the selection board.

In actual fact, during that selection board like I told you, we were in the waiting list and on that list, I was directly next to General Abacha.

You know Late General Abacha was a short individual, so when we came to the beam, we helped to lift him up to get to the beam.

So I think our relationship with General Abacha went back to our school days and it continued when we found ourselves in the military and by coincidence, during the Civil War, we found ourselves fighting in the same brigade. I think he was commanding 95 battalion then, I was commanding 84 battalion under 9 Brigade commanded by Late General Shehu Yaradua. So we were operating in the same theatre during the war. Actually this bonded our relationship more and more.

But still that didn’t make you escape potential retirement at that point in 1998?

Well that is the wish of the other members of the kitchen cabinet, let me put it that way, but that was not his idea. I must say, quite honestly, to me, Abacha was a very loyal man to his friends and people who he knew. He never betrayed any trust, so he stuck to his gun, right to when he passed away.

Like I said, right from the day when he became head of state, there were people who were very uncomfortable with some of us and wanted to weed us out but as luck will have it, he stock to his gun, he refused to retire me and some others who went along with him.

I know there was a lot of pressure for example for him to retire people like Late General Haladu, Late General Duba and General Useini, me inclusive, and some other people but fortunately some of us escaped that scheme.

There is the general impression that General Useini was a very good friend of his, indeed they seem to share some closeness.

Of course, but because he was friend to General Abacha, the other members of the kitchen cabinet had their own idea.

Sir, can you relive for us the day Abacha died and the drama and how you became the head of state?

A lot happened the day General Abacha passed away. He died I think the day he was to travel to Togo for, I think, the ECOWAs or AU summit.

Now I got a call from the Villa that General Abacha wanted to see me. So, immediately what came to my mind, I said; I hope he had not changed his mind about going to this Togo and was going to send me because at that time when he passed away, already I was the de facto number two man because at that time General Diya and others were having problem on this alleged coup.

So I suspected that the General had changed his mind and he was going to send me because in a lot of times, I am called upon to go and represent the head of state.

So I took my time, when I went to the bathroom and I told my wife, “look I think I might be going to this AU Summit, so help me prepare my bag” but before I finished then there was another call.

Was this in the morning?

Yes, in the morning. Then there was another call; “look the president is waiting for you,” I said “okay I am coming”.

So I casually put on my tracksuit since there was no time to dress in uniform and so on, since there was agitation that I was wanted immediately.

So I came with my tracksuit, I think I was even wearing slippers. When I entered they said, “General is in the office”; so naturally when I come to the office, no matter who was with General Abacha I normally just go in and meet him and maybe he would say “Okay, wait, let me finish with this gentleman or he will ask the fellow to give us chance”.

To my surprise when I came, as I was climbing the steps, somebody said “No, he said you have to wait in the waiting room”.

To my surprise, I was in the waiting room for over 30, 40 minutes, then I kept wondering what was happening. Any time I wanted to go up, they said no, the General said I should wait.

So after about 40 minutes waiting, then Late Coomassie, (Ibrahim Coomassie), who was the inspector general of police came to where I was sitting and he said “Please come”. Instead of going up to the office, we followed out, he said “No, we are going to the house”.

It was in that process he told me, “Look, unfortunately General Abacha has passed on in the night”. So that was how we went to the villa where General Abacha was living and as we entered, they showed me on the right where his corpse was, so I entered and prayed for his soul and so on.

Then we entered the parlour where I found some gentlemen including I think…Coomassie of course was there then the chief justice of the federation, I think Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and one or two security operatives, I can’t remember everybody.

Was it clear this was just natural death because as you know there was a lot of speculation.

Well at that time I was told he passed away and so on and at that time all these speculations did not arise until later on. All we were concerned was that okay, that the head of state has passed on, how do we now break the news to the country and so on and so forth.

We were guided by the then chief justice of the federation saying that “Look, so much as there is the need to inform Nigerians about the passing away of the head of state, you cannot leave a vacuum, there must be a substantive head of state before you can go ahead with other things”. So I think that set up the chain of events.

So immediately, as the chief of defence staff then, I quickly summoned for the council of state meeting.

Still in your tracksuits or you had change by then?

I was still in my tracksuit because there was no time, because it was really a shocking and devastating period we found ourselves. So it was later when we set up the meeting, that I had to go home and really get properly dressed.

So was there a consensus or tussle about who will become the head of state at that time?

So now when I came back well dressed, by that time members of the military ruling council had started arriving, when we all assembled then we went to the meeting. Of all course we had to break the news although it had become a common knowledge between the members that his Excellency General Abacha had passed on.

We had to tell the council of his demise and the advice given by the chief justice of the federation, that before we did anything there must be somebody to take over, so that he is in charge.

It took time before the members of the council of state arrived. Of course in the chamber, there was a lot of interactions. Finally it was decided that okay we had General Useini who was then the most senior officer, so to speak, but he was in the administration, he was then minister of FCT and I was the chief of defence staff, so the issue was one of us should emerge as the head of state.

There was a stalemate in the discussion, somebody raised an issue, “Look, we should tell the world General Abacha has passed on, before it was too late, let’s please go and bury the gentleman before we come back and sort out ourselves”.

Meanwhile as all this was going on, it was decided by the family he was going to be buried in Kano and while we were still talking, arrangements were being made for his burial in Kano. So I think this took us to night time, when we all then decided, okay, let’s leave this and then go and bury him and come back and this was what happened.

So we went to Kano and buried him and came back and resumed the issue of who will take over. Of course as the chief of defence staff, I was presiding on the meeting; so finally after votes and so on, the council members decided that I take over as the head of state.

There was a vote?

Yes, there was!

You were also there when another dramatic death happened, that of MKO Abiola. There are still people who say funny things happened. Can you really lay the cards on the table, tell us what you know.

Well, I smile because there were lots of allegations here and there that we killed Abiola. As always when I am talking about late Abiola, I still thank God for directing me on things to do when he gave me the leadership of this country.

On the day Moshood (Abiola) passed away, may he rest in peace, two to three things make me always say I thank my God for the guidance He gave me. One was I received a delegation from America headed by Pickering (Ambassador Tom Pickering) who was then, I think, the secretary of state or so. In his team I remember very well, was Susan Rice. I remember her very well because of the role she played later.

So after the normal courtesy and discussion we had, when they were leaving my office, Pickering said “Your Excellency we made a request to see Moshood Abiola but we were denied”, so I said “Why were you denied? who denied you?” There and then I made a decision, I said “Look, you will see Moshood definitely, I overruled whoever said you cannot see him”. So I now called my chief security officer, I said “Please make arrangement for this team to see Abiola,” that is one point.

Now during the incarceration of Moshood Abiola, except his personal doctor, to my knowledge, no member of his family saw him. So when I became head of state, based on consultation and interaction together with Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, I gave the family a date that they could come and see him.

So a day before he died, his family came to Abuja to see him. For one reason or the other, the whole family could not see him at the same time, so it was agreed that when this group of his family will see him today, tomorrow the next team will see him. So they saw him like yesterday, now this team from US came to see me and I said they could see him. Normally it was in the evenings the family go and see him. So because I had authorized the American team to see him, so the other part of the family were waiting to see him.

So, it was at this meeting when the American team was meeting Abiola he fell sick and suddenly the security officers called the medical team to come and attend to him, and when they saw the situation they said it was severe and they needed to take him to the medical centre. So it was the medical team plus the American team that took him to the medical centre, unfortunately at the medical centre he gave up.

Then my security chief called and said “I have bad news for you”, I asked what it was, he said “Abiola is dead”. I was shocked. He told me he was there with the American team, at that time I was staying in the barracks, I had not moved to the villa, so I said okay, let him take the American team to my house, I will meet them at the house; so I closed from the office, and went there.

The issue now was how do I break the news to Abiola’s family and how do we tell the world Abiola had passed on. I must be thankful to God and again to Ambassador Kingibe because we called on him and asked him to bring the family of Abiola. So when they came I broke the news, that unfortunately this is what has happened.

As you would expect, the family broke down and they started crying, I can’t remember which of the ladies, I held her, she was crying, sobbing, it was then Susan Rice, that is why I always remember her, said “Mr President that is not your job, let me do it”, so she now held this lady until she settled down and she calmed down a little bit. Then we had to summon my second in command and other people and then strategized on how to break the news.

That is why I always say I thank my God for guiding me, if I hadn’t said the American team should go and meet Abiola certainly I don’t know how I would explain to the world that Abiola had died, and the American team will they believe me that we had not killed Abiola at that time when they were requesting to see him?

You decided quickly after you took over to first hand over power, to have a transition which surprised so many people because we know even now, recent times, coup makers in Africa are still trying to find a way to stay on. What really informed your decision to quickly leave?

Well, again I give credit to Allah who in the first place gave me that responsibility and also helped in guiding me in talking to my colleagues to reach this decision.

When I took over, Nigeria was on a precipice. There was a lot of agitation by the civilians asking the military to leave the scene and hand over, so if you recollect, at that time there were lots of demonstrations, a lot of disturbances, a lot of destructions of government properties and so on.

Now what was happening in the political field has found its way into the military. We in the military were supposed to defend the constitution and defend the Nigeria’s integrity.

Now, by the time I took over, the military had become a victim of itself. One, the seniority in the military was crumbling, you find a junior officer lording a senior officer because he was in the political administration of the country.

Two, you will find out at that time, instead of us talking about the unity of Nigeria, we started talking about our region, we started to take sides with our civilian counterparts.

Within the military?

Within the military and that was a very dangerous situation I found in the military.

Another thing, some of us who fought the Nigerian civil war in order to keep the country one started feeling; how could we allow what we fought to keep together to crumble in our eyes.

So these are some of the factors that really struck us in the leadership; now let us ensure this country doesn’t breakup, let us try to restore the dignity to the military and restore the status quo where seniority and nationalism abide.

So we sat down and decided that the best way was as soon as possible, within the shortest time, we should give civilians what they wanted; let them take over the governance of the country, let the military go back to the barracks to resume our military duties.

So these were some of the issues that made us took the decision that we did. Of course it wasn’t easy, there were lots of proponents, okay let us take so much period of time, it is not easy to prepare for election, this and that but in the long run some of us, with the support of some of the people who were on my side, we put our foot down and said no, let’s do it the shortest possible time.

In actual fact, we wanted to do it in less than six months but we had been cautioned, it is not easy to prepare elections, it will take time to register political parties and after the election it will take at least 60 days to ensure that all these judgments, the hearing and so on are finalized.

So together with all these calculations of forming political parties, preparing for the election, preparing for any electoral challenges in the court, we finally decided that okay, let’s take nine months and do this thing.

Yet, we ended up with Obasanjo, the whole process ended up producing another general as president and people keep saying that you generals actually found a way to organise this transition. He was in prison and somehow he was brought out, dressed up as a civilian candidate, and became president. There is this believe that this is all arranged by the leading generals of the period.

Thank you for asking that question. I always smile and laugh when I am accused or my government is accused of imposing Obasanjo.

Now of course we released Obasanjo and other prisoners and pardoned them. So when Obasanjo was released he came to see me, saying he was going to take the government to court. “Why are you going to do that?” He said his business was crumbled by the military, his human rights have been violated, that he did not commit any coup and so on and so forth. I said “Sir, please let bygone be bygone, thank God you are alive today, forget about these things. Some of the issues you mentioned, within my power I will look into that, so we left it at that”.

The next time he came to see me was to tell me that he had been approached by this group of people, they want to make him the candidate to stand for election.

I said “Sir, if I were you, please disregard this people, Sir, go home and rest and sort your health out and so on and so forth”. He said “Okay, General thank you for your advice, I will get back to you”. He never got back to me. The next I hear was that he was one of the presidential candidates.

I tried to tell people that I had nothing to do in bringing Obasanjo to contest the election. Whatever must have happened was within the political parties and so on.

But you had to rehabilitate him after prison…

Like I had all other prisoners! What do you mean by I had to rehabilitate him?

Well I am thinking of his businesses, whether he was helped with something to revive them which was one of his complaints.

Of course not only him, all people that were imprisoned in one way or the other, we tried to rehabilitate them; to help them in one way or the other. In one way or the other we did what we could to assist them, so you cannot equate that to bringing him to contest for an election.

Close allies of yours, General Babangida and General Gusau seems to have been involved in this PDP arrangement and that is why it is assumed you would be in the know and probably help here and there with the situation.

Of course I know the situation of the political parties; of course we had to intervene in one way or the other to give peace a chance. We put some conditions for the registration of political parties, in order to make peace reign we had to tinker with some of the conditions because categorically the AD did not qualify, it was only I think PDP or APP that qualified to be registered as political parties.

But if we had not done that we would still not be out of the woods. There was this agitation from the South West that they have been shortchanged and so on and so forth, so we said look, what we are trying to do is bring peace, no laws are sacrosanct, let’s see how we can tinker. So we tinkered and allowed the AD to be registered and thereby we were able to placate another area where there will be unrest and accusations; so we did.

Now if in the process of making political parties, people are jockeying here and there, please take my administration out of this tinkering. We didn’t know anything, we did not say look make A, B, C, D the presidential candidate, it is an issue between the political parties.

If as you have said Babangida, Aliyu Gusau have played a role, that must be a role they were playing with the political parties because they became members of political parties.

What have you been doing since your retirement; I know you do a bit of farming, how is it going? Farming is easier said than done.

Exactly! Farming is easier said than done but Alhamdulillah we thank God, so far so good. When I retired, I went full stream into farming, we do agrarian farming, we have some citrus fruits and we have some animals, I am involved in animal husbandry and we produced the best yogurt in the country, Maizube Yogurt, if you haven’t tried it, try it, it is the best yogurt.

Is it still going, the business?

Yes, the children have now taken over and you know age is catching with us so we relaxing.

Again besides farming, I go involved in some peacemaking efforts. I find myself being engaged by the UN, by the African Union, by the ECOWAS to try and mediate in some of these conflict areas and Alhamdulillah somebody has been contributing his quota and bringing peace to the world.

You are also involved with the National Peace Committee of which you are the chair and during the transition in 2015 you played a role in ensuring that there is a smooth transfer of power between Mr Jonathan and Mr Buhari. So I wonder, was it challenging because there are some stories around that, I mean how did Jonathan concede, was it pressure from foreign countries or is it pressure from your committee and others?

I think whoever is telling stories of the pressure from foreign countries and the peace committee on Jonathan to concede, is not being fair to him. I think President Jonathan deserves all commendation for what he has done to save this country from further political logjam.

On his own he conceded the situation and despite the pressure from his own party not to concede, he conceded defeat and called President Buhari to say “Your Excellency congratulations, I think you have won squarely I congratulate you; you are going to be the next president of this country”.

So I think Jonathan’s role is being underestimated and credit is not given to him as it should be. I confirm here, it was neither pressure from the peace committee, nor from the international community, it was out of his volition, it was out of his love for peace and progress of this country, that he conceded.

Of course during the logjam, we talked to him and talked to Buhari on how to resolve the issues. You could remember the drama that happened when the results were being declared, certainly that put a lot of stress on the peace committee and quite a lot of home work had to be done in order to quench that problem that would have arisen from the declaration of results.

I must thank the security forces and Nigerians really for the success of what happened in the 2015 election. Nigerians are good people, they are good and honest people, they love this country and each of us played a role to make sure that there was peace and tranquility in 2015.

Do you have any concerns about the next round of elections which is coming in a little over a year?

Well, I expect more maturity, more understanding than just seeking power from the politicians. A lot has not met our expectations from the bulk of our politicians and our leaders. Yes, there are some challenges in leadership, but you know politics is a dirty game and I think we are playing dirty politics in this country. My prayer is that our politicians and the electorates are aware that their actions or inactions will mar this country.

We have a lot of problems, people do anything in order to be elected and unfortunately the electorates also they sell their liberty, they become enticed by mere token of worldly gifts. I hope we will now wake up and do the right thing which we know is right to elect people we trust that can really look after us and deliver governance as it should be.

It sounds that you are disappointed with the current lot who are in power.

Well, of course I have some misgivings with some of the things but by and large you know when you are in leadership they say the onlooker sees best of the game.

We are outside, me and you, maybe the leaders see things different way but quite honestly, regardless, we could have done better that what we are doing. It is all collective leadership and I think all leaders should try to see what role they can play in providing this leadership and governance.

And also we the citizens, as much as possible, we should try to engage the people we elected to deliver, we should not become praise singers and become subservient to people because they are in authority. We should be bold enough to tell our leaders, “Look, what you are doing here, you have done the right thing, here we think you should improve on it”, and so on and so forth.

But unfortunately all of us just sit down and start complaining through social media, through reckless statements and so on. I pray our leaders also listen and see things the way they are in order to have them in governing us.

Many of the senior Generals, your colleagues even those behind you have made the transition to civilian politics; contested for office and all that; I don’t know if it has ever occurred to you to also do that maybe to be head of state again through the electoral process?

Very soon I will be 80years old, what will I look for except now to wait for my time to go and meet my Maker.

But even before then.

Well you are now talking about inside, very soon I will be 80, so to look for what again? Almighty Allah has already been kind to me, it is now payback time, in advising the government and our politicians on the way they should run the affairs of this country.

Now I am looking and playing with my grandchildren and trying to you know encouraging them and see how they can grow up to be good citizens in the country.

Yes, everybody has his own desire, people wants to play politics and I am happy that the security people are also getting involved after retirement in playing politics and some of them have really done very well in politics and they are still doing very well because you see, when you are in the military, right from the day one, you are taught about leadership, management of human beings, management of resources and that is what administration is all about.

So I am happy some of us who retired are involved in politics, they have gone into politics and like I said they have made a mark.

You have never been tempted?

No, no! I’ve never been. Politics have never been my, you see there are some qualities and some characteristics that makes a politician; naturally I am a very reserved fellow, I don’t want any disturbance and all this trouble but others, you know they have got the flair to play politics and so I am happy and I hope even the younger generation who are retiring will also go in.

You can see policemen, military, army officers, air force, navy and so on, are all involved in politics and the more the merrier.

40% Of Doctors In Nigeria Are Unemployed, Says FCT NMA President

Image via This Day

BY KUNI TYESSI

ABUJA (THIS DAY) -- The President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter and the Medical Director, Nyanya General Hospital, Dr. Ekpe Philips Uche, has revealed that up to 40 per cent of doctors in Nigeria are unemployed.

He added that after their National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) programme, it takes an average of a year or two to get employment which is usually offered by private hospitals and they are under paid.

Uche who spoke in Abuja at the national round-table discussion on Accountability for Maternal Health, which was organised by Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Centre for Reproductive Rights, New York, said inasmuch as Nigeria is bereft in the quantity with medical personnel, the ones on ground are not utilised through engagement.

He said to reduce maternal mortality, there was need to engage capable hands with the prerequisite qualifications to work in the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) as it is not about building the structure and recruiting incapable hands.
“At the end of the day, we lose out on our best hands that are supposed to take care of our patients. Ideally doctors are not enough, including pharmacists and nurses.

“We should keep the ones we have but unfortunately, the government of the day is not keeping them.

“We have so many doctors roaming the streets of Nigeria without jobs. Up to 40 per cent of them are unemployed. Many of them are taken up by private hospitals who do not even pay them well,” he said.

The Executive Director, WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Adolabi in her speech, said maternal health issue was a human right concern and that government has the obligations to ensure that women’s rights were respected, promoted and protected.

“It is our belief that beyond the much touted medical and social reasons for maternal deaths, preventable and needless deaths of women at childbirth constitute a violation of fundamental rights, including right to life and eight to family life,” she said.

Facebook Leak Indicts FG, Exposes APC As The Real Enemy Of Nigeria – PDP

BLUEPRINT NIGERIA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the closure of a Pro All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari Facebook account for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” by an Israeli social media company further exposed them as schemers and real enemies of Nigeria democracy.

PDP in a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan Sunday noted that “The revelation exposes the APC as a fraudulent and violent-loving party, whose divisive activities are now directly threatening the security stability of our nation.

The statement reads in parts: “Our party notes that there are more damning revelations against the APC, not only on its rigging of the general election, but also on how it is working against our nation, which will come to light at the appropriate time.

“The APC, which engaged in manipulation to foist itself, will do anything, no matter how vile, to sustain itself in office, not minding the social, economic and collateral damages such could cause our dear nation.

“It is however, to say the least, despicable that in their desperation to hold on to power at all costs, President Buhari’s handlers and the APC engaged in this sneaky disinformation, internet lies and smear campaigns against PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“It is also unpardonable that instead of owning up, the Federal Government and the APC, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, are seeking to cover their tracks and divert public attention from their devious acts by making unsubstantiated security allegations against our party and Atiku Abubakar.

“The Facebook revelation exposes how President Buhari, in his claimed integrity, allowed the enlisting of criminals, hackers and internet fraudsters in the desperate attempt to manipulate the views of Nigerians against Atiku Abubakar; a scheme which failed as Nigerians had already made up their minds to do away with the incompetent, deceptive, vindictive and corrupt APC administration”.

PDP also alleged that, “APC has now commenced a renewed plot to engage in fabricated security accusations against the PDP and our Presidential candidate in another desperate stunt to play the victim and divert attention from its endless election manipulations, all in the ill-fated attempt to demonize the PDP, hoodwink Nigerians and confer legitimacy on the outcome of the rigged election”.

SOURCE

Obasanjo Reveals How President Buhari Is Empowering Terrorist Group, Boko Haram

BY OBAFEMI JAMES

OLEH, DELTA (NIGERIA NEWS) -- The Boko Haram has been a terrorist group that has been disturbing the peace in Nigeria since 2011 during the Goodluck Jonathan regime with various suicide bombing carried out. The formal President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo reveals how President Buhari has been empowering the terrorist group, Boko Haram, NIGERIA NEWS reports.

Obasanjo speaks at the 2nd session of the Synod which took place at St. Paul Anglican church, Oleh, Delta state. He addressed on the topic titled, “Mobilizing Nigeria’s human& natural resources for national development and stability”. He said Buhari attempts paying a ransom as a form of negotiation in which the terrorist group does not succumb to take.

The few speeches concerning how Buhari administration has taken the fight against the terrorist group with levity hands by Olusegun Obasanjo is as quoted below:

“They have both incubated and developed beyond what Nigeria can handle alone. They are now combined and internationalized with ISIS in control. It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now West African fulanization, African Islamization and global organized crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining, and regime change.

“Yet, we could have dealt with both earlier, and nip them in the bud, but Boko Haram boys were seen as rascals not requiring serious attention in administering holistic measures of stick and carrot. And when we woke up to reality, it was turned to industry for all and sundry to supply materials and equipment that were already outdated and that were not fit for active military purpose.

“Soldiers were poorly trained for the unusual mission, poorly equipped, poorly motivated, poorly led and made to engage in propaganda rather than achieving results. Intelligence was poor and governments embarked on games of denials while paying ransoms which strengthened the insurgents and yet governments denied payments of ransoms. Today, the insecurity issue has gone beyond the wit and capacity of the Nigerian Government or even West African Governments”.

SOURCE

NIGERIA: Herdsmen Displaced 680,000, Destroyed N400bn Property — Ortom

BY ANETA FELIX

NSUKKA (TV 360 NIGERIA) -- “Over 680,000 people have been displaced and property worth over N400bn destroyed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Benue state”, says Governor Samuel Ortom on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Prof Miriam Ikejiani lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ortom said:

“Benue has been thrown into humanitarian and economic crisis of numerous proportions.

Homes, schools, churches, health centres, security posts, roads, bridges, farms and other sources of livelihoods have been destroyed.

These have been estimated at over N400bn over the years. Over 180, 000 of our people were registered in eight IDP camps in most part of 2018 while over 500,000 displaced people have been living with relatives in uncompleted buildings and public places in the state.”

He also said the problem of herdsmen is gradually becoming a national one.

“At first, it was Plateau State and southern Kaduna, then Taraba, Adamawa, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Delta, Cross River, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Enugu, Zamfara, Katsina, Rivers, Ogun, Ondo and other states.”

“It is spreading and soon it will become an obvious national social and economic problem too difficult to contain”, he said

The governor said the passage of the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law in the state led to the frosty relationship between him and the Federal Government.

He said, “Within 12 months, no fewer than four commissioners of police were posted to the state. Some spent less than two months before they were replaced. The motive was obviously to shop for a commissioner of police that would bend the rules in favour of the herdsmen against poor farmers.

“In January 2018, one of the police commissioners who was apparently on a special mission to the state, supervised the illegal impeachment move against me by eight out of 30 members of state House of Assembly a few days after he assumed duties.

“Again, in 2018, there was a circular by the police high command transferring all my police aides to other states. Though the order was later rescinded, I found it strange and unacceptable. It was impunity taken to new heights.”

He insisted that Nigeria needed a grazing law that would encourage ranching as a solution to the herdsmen/farmers conflict.

Ortom said, “Any recommendation about opening cattle routes of the 1950s will not work because on such routes there are hospitals, airports, university campuses and government secretariats.”

NIGERIA: Experts In Digital Healthcare Launch Doctorcare247

Image via Advanced MD

BY VICTOR OKEKE

ABUJA (LEADERSHIP)--Experts in digital healthcare system have launched a telehealth platform to aid the delivery of healthcare services to patients at their convenience. The chief executive officer of the group, Chucks Chibundu, said Doctorcare247 would help change the landscape of healthcare in Nigeria, noting that the desire to bring convenience to healthcare seekers was the idea behind the development of the service. “Nigerian digital health space is largely virgin. Government is currently pushing technology and healthcare policies are aimed at ensuring Nigeria takes advantage of global trends to align and enhance local efforts for desired benefits to Nigerians. Our initiative through Doctorcare247 is to complement government efforts at building capacity that supports universal healthcare for all, albeit driven by technology.

“With Doctorcare247, patients have immediate access to medical care from the comfort of their homes, offices or even on the go. Patients avoid long waits at hospitals and clinics, and get prompt help in case of emergencies,” he said. He added that the platform would benefit both medical practitioners and organisations saying that Doctorcare247 is solving the problem of access by enabling providers to extend their geographic boundaries for improved access to primary care and specialty providers. The Doctorcare247 platform can be accessed from any device, anywhere, and at any time. The platform brings added value to organisations since the use of telehealth, as opposed to physical visits to medical facilities, increases savings on health plans.

“Doctorcare247 will work with Health Management Organisations (HMO’s) to provide coverage in most states. Patients with high cost plans will benefit from Doctorcare247 as it provides access at lower costs. Using the platform also cuts out all other ancillary costs and convenience of accessing physical medical facilities,” Chibundu said. Telehealth is global new healthcare delivery system that is gaining wide spread recognition, especially with the constant enhancement of technology that drives delivery and Internet connectivity.

How To Stop Young Nigerians From Travelling Abroad — Swiss Official

Walter Leimgruber, Swiss Federal Commission on Migration to Nigeria. Image: Kulturwissenschaft

LAGOS (NAN)--The visiting President of the Swiss Federal Commission on Migration to Nigeria, Walter Leimgruber, on Thursday, enjoined Nigerian governments and the private sector to develop more possibilities for young Nigerians at home.

Mr Leimgruber told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the development of prospective projects and job opportunities for them would discourage them from embarking on illegal migration to Switzerland.

“The view of many young Nigerians of Switzerland is that it is a rich country with a lot of prospectives where they can work, have a decent life and everything.

“But sometimes, they do not see that it is not so easy to get access to all of these.

“Nigerian governments and the private sector need to really begin to develop prospectives, projects, and jobs for the young people at home.

they would stay in their country. They will then be willing to travel on the regular legal way,’’ he said.

Mr Leimgruber, who is leading a delegation of top executives of the commission to Nigeria, said that they were on a fact-finding mission to deepen Nigeria and Switzerland’s migration partnership.

The Professor of Cultural Anthropology said that the commission and the Swiss government had realised that it would take a partnership between both countries to effectively address issues of migration.

Mr Leimgruber, who said that there would always be migration, however, added that it was important for people to embark on regular legal migration than risk their lives through illegal migration.

“We are in Nigeria because we think that this migration partnership between Nigeria and Switzerland is one very interesting project and programme on how international relations in the field of migration can best be handled.

“As a migration commission, we have for many years dealt with internal questions bothering on how to deal with migrants coming to Switzerland. We have also been looking to integrate migrants and put up the asylum system.

“We have realised more and more that we cannot deal with issues of migration alone. We have to work with organisations like the International organization for Migration (IOM), UNHCR, and other partners in countries where these migrants come from,’’ he said. (NAN)

NIGERIA: Alleged $6.3 million Fraud: Absence Of Defendants Stall Arraignment Of Access Bank CEO, Others

Herbert Wigwe. Image via Premium Times

BY OLAMIDE FADIPE

LAGOS (PREMIUM TIMES) -- The arraignment of the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, before an Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High Court was stalled Thursday due to the absence of the defendants.

Joined in the suit are Cast Oil & Gas Ltd as the first defendant; Seyi Sanni, second defendant; Adekunle Adebayo, third defendant; Access Bank, fourth defendant; and Mr Wigwe, as the fifth defendant.

The others are Titi Oshontoki, sixth defendant; Chinyere Bishop-Adigwe, seventh defendant; Sunny Amos Offiong, eighth defendant; Augusta Energy Nigeria Ltd, ninth defendant; and one Tunji Abraham who is at large.

The defendants were accused of a $6.3million fraud.

According to the judge, Hakeem Oshodi, proceedings cannot continue and neither can preliminary objections be heard when the defendants to be arraigned are not all present in court.

The judge was responding to counsel to the fourth defendant, Paul Usoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who sought to raise a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.

When the matter was called, only two of the defendants were in court.

Consequently, Mr Oshodi, adjourned the matter till June 3, for the hearing of the preliminary objection.

The defendants are facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretences, fraud, and stealing, preferred against them by the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU).

The prosecutor, Emmanuel Jackson, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said the defendants committed the offences between January and December 2015.

He said they conspired with one another and with Augusta Energy of Geneva, Switzerland, to defraud Top Oil &Gas Development Ltd to the tune of over $6.3million.

Mr Jackson said the defendants obtained the said money from Top Oil & Gas Development Ltd by falsely telling the chairman of the company, Don Etiebet, and other officers of the company, that Cast Oil and Gas Ltd had a contract with Augusta energy of Geneva Switzerland.

They said the contract was for the supply of 10,000 metric tones of automatic Gas Oil (AGO) by Augusta Energy of Geneva to Cast Oil & Gas, and that the price of the products was $6,382,665.71. They allegedly claimed Top Oil & Gas was the consignee of the products.

Mr Jackson also said the defendants had also informed the complainant that after financing, purchasing, supply and importation of the said products into Nigeria from Switzerland, it would take delivery of same in its capacity as a consignee of the product and authorised Cast Oil &Gas to sell the said products on its behalf.

He further said the defendants also ensured that Top Oil & Gas Development recovered the monument invested for the purchase, supply, and importation of the said products, which they knew was false but induced the complainant to invest the said sum in the purported business, and fraudulently converted it to their own use and benefit.

According to the prosecutor, the defendants stole $6.3million, the property of Top Oil &Gas Development Ltd, which they deceived company to pay to Augusta Energy of Geneva Switzerland on behalf of Case Oil &Gas as the cost price of 10,000 metric tonnes of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

Meanwhile, the product which Top Oil &Gas Development Ltd, was deceived to pay for, was not supplied or imported into Nigeria, but they instead converted the money into their own use and benefit.

Mr Jackson said the alleged offences are contrary to Sections 422 of the criminal code, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation 2004, 8 (a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other related offences Act, No 14 of 2006.

He said the offences are punishable under Section 1(1)(a) of the same Act, 383 (2)(f) and 390 (9) of the criminal code, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

NIGERIA: How Lawyers Reacted To Onnoghen’s Conviction

Former CJN, Walter Onnoghen in CCT on Monday. Image via Premium Times

BY HALIMAH YAHAYA

ABUJA (PREMIUM TIMES) -- Some Nigerian lawyers have reacted to the conviction of the embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The CCT, led by Danladi Umar, convicted Mr Onnoghen for his failure to declare some of his assets. The tribunal also ordered his immediate removal as the CJN.

The CCT stripped him of all offices he occupied, such as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council and Chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of cash found in five accounts linked to Mr Onnoghen.

The tribunal, invoking the full provision of Section 23 of the code of conduct law also ordered that Mr Onnoghen should not be allowed to occupy any public office for the next ten years.


Mr Onnoghen has appealed the decision.

Reactions

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, a lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said the presidency has succeeded in becoming the ‘accuser, prosecutor and judge’.

“It was the CCT Chairman who said that he is not subject to the disciplinary control of the NJC and the Federal Judicial Service Commission. He said that he is only answerable to the presidency.

“The President is the presidency. Therefore, it will amount playing with words to now say that the CCT Chairman is not under the control of the presidency. While that may be the case constitutionally, it becomes a different matter entirely when the issue of likelihood of bias is raised.

”If the CCT Chairman asserted that the presidency controls the tribunal, it begs the question whether the executive is not the accuser, prosecutor and judge.

“I align myself with the proposition that Section 158 (1) of the Constitution guarantees the independence of the CCT and other bodies listed therein.

“However, it is my considered view that the framers of the Constitution did not intend that those institutions should operate in total isolation of the other. Where the conduct of a judicial officer amounts to a breach of the judicial oath or the judicial code of conduct and a contravention of the Code of Conduct under the Fifth Schedule to the Conclusion, both the NJC and the CCT will have the authority to investigate the same and appropriate sanctions.

”In the light of the conflicting decisions by the CCT on the issue and having regard to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Ngangiwa v FRN (2017), I will rather prefer that the Supreme Court clarifies the correct position of the law,” Mr Effiong said.

Another lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, weighed in.

“On Friday the 29th of March, 2019, while overruling the no-case-submission of the CJN, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman made this prejudicial statement: The defence team ought to perform its duty as a minister in the Temple of Justice but it seems they are hell-bent on preventing the defendant from facing his punishment.

“With the above declaration, it became pretty obvious that the former Chief Justice of Nigeria was not given a fair trial. Indeed it was no fair-hearing when the tribunal chairman accused the defence team of preventing the defendant from facing his ‘punishment’ at a time the CJN was yet to open whatever defence he may have to the charge upon which he was being tried.

“What one could surmise from the above is that the tribunal chairman was working towards a pre-determined end. The outcome of that kind of abhorrent approach represents a travesty of justice and all that the administration of justice ought not to be.

“That such judicial oddities could befall the highest judicial officer of the land speaks eloquently of how low we have descended and how endangered the justice system administration, our democracy, had become.”

Mr Jideobi also commented on Mr Onnoghen’s appeal.

“Ordinarily, it is the expectation of all those who believe in the core tenets of the Rule of Law and constitutionalism that his appeal would be allowed and the judgment of the trial tribunal set aside without much ado.

“But when one recalls that the same Court of Appeal is yet to deliver judgment in the earlier appeals filed and argued by Justice Onnoghen almost two months now, there is room for one to worry for the fate of the appeal which Justice Onnoghen has now filed against his conviction.

”It appears that we are now in a political situation in this country where many things are now uncertain including otherwise certain and settled legal principles which ordinarily ought not to be.”

Tohwo Oseruvwoja, also a lawyer, disagrees with his colleagues.

“The judgment has no implications on the judiciary because the case is between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a former Chief Justice of Nigeria as an individual and not the judiciary as an institution as widely misconceived by some public and social analysts.

“The position of the law is that if anyone is alleged to have committed an offence, except the President or vice or a Governor or Deputy Governor, who are immune to criminal prosecution while in office, such a person, no matter the position he or she occupies in the three arms of Government must face the appropriate court or the tribunal that possesses the Jurisdiction to try such an offence and also punished such offender.

“By virtue of section 18 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 23 of the Code of Conduct Tribunal Act 2004, the CCT possess the jurisdiction to try offence of false asset declaration or non-declaration of an asset by Public Officers. Therefore, the convict(ion) is not against the judiciary but against Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen as an individual. The judiciary is an institution distinct from Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen.”

NIGERIA: Gunmen Kill Ex-Anambra Lawmaker, Renowned Athlete

Masked Gunmen image via Independent Newspapers

AWKA, ANAMBRA (INDEPENDENT) -- The bullet-riddled body of Chief Frank Igboka, former Chief Whip of the state House of Assembly, was all policemen of the Anambra State Command, met by the time they responded to the shattering sound of gunfire ripping through the stillness of the night at Nimo, a village a few minutes drive to Awka, capital of Anambra State on Tuesday.

Igboka a renowned athlete and the President General of Nimo community in Njikoka Local Government Area, was reportedly eventually felled at about 8:18 p.m. after series of attempts on his life by suspected assassins.

The former lawmaker, who is reported to have about 30 medals in his kitty for his athletic prowess, was said to have been killed by unknown gunmen while driving to his house, located a short distance to the scene of the crime.

News Express, quotes resident of the area, Ijeoma Okonkwo, who as saying that the sporadic gun shots which sent people running to their homes for safety lasted for about 20 minutes.

She said: “I was sitting outside of our home at about after 8pm discussing politics with my parents and brother when suddenly we started hearing loud gun shots. We all ran into the house until the sound of the gunshots stopped.

“I joined my brother to run outside shortly after the gunshot sound stopped. When we got to the scene, some people had already gathered there and on close look, I discovered the man shot was Nimo PG. The people shot him severally.

“It is sad. This is the man that chased bad boys away from Nimo and we have been enjoying peace.”

A statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Haruna Mohammed, said that the deceased was shot at close range by four armed men.

He said the suspects after killing the deceased, escaped towards Abacha/Eziowelle road in a pick-up van.

The statement reads in part: “At about 8:18pm on Tuesday, there was a sporadic gunshots around Nimo market in Njikoka LGA of Anambra State.

“Police patrol team attached to Nimo Division rushed to the scene and discovered Chief Frank Anthony Igboka on the driver’s seat of his Chevrolet SUV vehicle lying unconscious in the pool of his own blood and his body was riddled with bullet wounds.

60% Of Nigerians In North West, North East Live In Extreme Poverty – Dangote

Internal Displaced Persons in Northern Nigeria

BABATUNDE AKINSOLA

KADUNA  (NAIJA 247 NEWS) – Africa’s richest man and president of the Dangote group, Aliko Dangote has challenged northern leaders to wake up from their lethargy and provide leadership that will lift the region from extreme poverty and wants.

Aliko Dangote In a keynote address at the fourth edition of the Kaduna Investment Summit in Kaduna, Dangote said the investment needed to generate employment can only be provided by private investors and called on state government in the region to provide the enabling environment to attract investors to the region.

He said if the 19 northern states had 10 governors in the mold of Nasir El Rufai’s, the region would be on the path to greatness According to him, with the right investment in Agriculture, the north will be an oasis of prosperity adding that there is no country with such fertile and arable land that has the level of poverty witnessed in the north .

“Nigeria is bedivelled with many developmental challenges but with abundant capital,human and natural resources. Our country human developmental indicators rank poorly when compared with h global averages. Nigeria is ranked at 157 out of 189 countries in the areas of human development index.

Adaku Efuribe joins global fight against extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa “While the over all social economic considerations in the country is a cause for concern, the regional imperative are infact very alarming. In the north western and North eastern part of Nigeria, more than 60% of the population live in extreme poverty. It is instructive to know that the 19 northern states which account for over 54% of the country’s population and 70% of its landmass collectively generated only 21% of the total sub national internally Generated Revenue in 2017.

“Northern Nigeria will continue to fall behind if respective state governments do not move to close the development gap and that is why we are always saying that the biggest challenge we have and what We are always praying for is to have ten governors like Mallam Nasir El Rufai’s. “Closing this gap requires multi layer investment and government will not be able to muster the needed funds. Only private sector can raise the amount of capital require to find the kind of investment required. Government must create a conducive environment that will trigger a huge inflow mof private capital into the private sector of the economy. Private investment will create jobs and will go Long way to erase the challenge of unemployment and poverty. As more people get employed, you will notice a sharp decline in some of the social vices now prevalent in our society.

Kaduna State is a shining example of this. While several states are taking steps in this direction, only a few like Kaduna are making visible progress. “As the capital of the former northern region, Kaduna continues to lead on several matrix. Kaduna currently has the highest WAEC pass rate in the north and second highest IGR generation in the northern part of the region after Kano” he noted. Ex-VP Sambo canvasses more support for FG’s economic diversification policies On the way forward for the region, Dangote called on the 19 northern states to identify areas of comparative advantage and provide information and data on the opportunities available in their states in order to attract private sector investors.

“As private sector investment propels an upsurge in economic activities, the financial viability of state governments will also improve. State governments will have more money to invest in human capital development and the rampant cases of insecurity as we have it now will subside. The north must focus on harnessing it’s massive agric potentials in terms of both production and processing. No region with such agricukture potentials should be this poor. We have what it takes to turn around our fortunes and I pray all the19 governors of the northern states will wake up and follow the foot steps of Kaduna State government.

Given the vast tracts of arable land and conducive condition, I think in the next ten years, Agriculture can generate more revenue and prosperity than oil that we have now if we have the right commitment” he said. He said the Dangote Group is ready to partner with any state government that creates enabling environment for investment in the state.