How Buhari’ll play his politics" By Emmanuel Aziken

How Buhari’ll play his politics"
By Emmanuel Aziken
How Nigeria’s new president will play his politics is a sort of mystery to many people including his close aides. However, almost everyone agrees that the advent of the Buhari era in Nigeria’s democratic dispensation will bring a change to the way and manner former holders of the office of president had played their politics.

A stalwart of the new president, Osita Okechukwu who has followed him since 2002 said that Buhari would be a sticker to the rules of the democratic enterprise discharging the responsibilities of his office strictly according to the laws of the land and in the dictates of his conscience.
Given the high expectations on him, Buhari, it was also gathered, would live to his reputation and ensure that the uprightness that has followed him all through his public life is not soured.
But how he plays his politics will be seen in his dealings with the other arms of government, the governors and his party.

The advent of Buhari will for the first time erode the overwhelming influence that Nigeria’s governors had in the past pulled on the levers of the Federal Government. Governors had in the past arrogated to themselves the privileges of appointing ministers they foisted on the president.
However, under Buhari that practise might change. As he said in an interview with a newspaper ahead of his inauguration today, “the type of people I am supposed to appoint, like in the cabinet and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and service chiefs will be different from how the PDP appointed its. Definitely the system is going to be different from what we had under the PDP where governors nominated ministers.”
Unlike some of his predecessors and notably, President Goodluck Jonathan, Buhari is going to work with only those he has personally verified their competence.
That decision, good as it is, also could provoke political consequences as the ministers may be tempted to see themselves as political rivals of their governors in their states. However, the ministers knowing that their appointments are at the mercy of a stern and rule of law president would be tempered in any effort to overreach themselves in their states. The president would also seek to use moral suasion in some of the issues of concern to him as relating to the governors.
governors of his party just before the presidential election in Owerri, he had told them to urge their Houses of Assembly to review pension laws enacted for governors, describing the financial provisions as indefensible.
The urge was upon the realisation that he could not as president prevail on the governors or the state legislators. Hence, in several issues where he may not have direct power to influence the governors, he would be expected to use moral suasion to bring the governors into line.
Of more significant would be his dealings with the National Assembly.
The new president prior to his inauguration had sought to distance himself from the squabbles in his party over the choice of presiding officers of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
As he told the same newspaper in the interview, he would not bother himself with the politics of the emergence of the presiding officers, affirming that he was determined to work with whoever is produced as Senate President or as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
There is, however, no doubt that the practice of influencing legislators with money to push key legislative proposals or appointments would not be tolerated in the Buhari presidency.
This new dispensation is bound to shake up the system and inevitably bring some sanity to legislative oversight and operations of the machine of government.
Buhari and his party
Buhari may want to deny it, but his approach towards the APC leadership would always be shadowed by the experience and betrayal he got from his former party, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP in his two presidential bids on the platform of that party. It is, however, instructive that in the days leading to the merger of the three parties that formed the APC, that Buhari’s objection to the participation of the ANPP was mellowed by convincing facts on why the party was needed.
Such attitude would be seen in his future engagements with the APC. The president would be swayed by convincing arguments on issues. It is expected that the caucus of the national leadership would continue in pushing forward party positions on issues, but such issues would not be expected to becloud Buhari’s judgment.
Buhari would be expected to make a distinction between the roles of the government and the party in running the country. The party may articulate policies, but the implementation would solely be that of Buhari and those he delegates such responsibilities to.
Relationship with party elders
Party elders such as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former ANPP national chairman, Ogbonnanya Onu (if not given an appointment) would continue to play roles from the background and positively so, except they overreach their bounds wherein the president would step in to check them.
It has been alleged that Tinubu’s reported support of two of the leading candidates for the office of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives is to ensure that he has able men in the National Assembly who can check Buhari should the president attempt to wreck the system that the two of them conceived.
However, such assertions betray the confidence that Tinubu and Buhari have for each other. The two men have over time weathered past several other controversies including the nomination of Yemi Osinbajo as vice-presidential candidate without as much as rocking the boat.
It is thus expected that the two men would continue to push forward the collective goal for which they effected a change in the leadership of the country.
Though Buhari’s position has been consolidated with his new position, assertions that the president would cage Tinubu underplay the simple fact that though he has dropped his cherished title of General, the fact remains that Buhari remains an officer and a gentleman. He would not ordinarily rock the system except something extraneous develops.
Vanguard.




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Adime Dime: Do Not with hold what is due to a Man when it is in your power to do so.

Adime Dime

Do Not with hold what is due to a Man when it is in your power to do so.
Thank you Mr President GEJ, you came in Peace and you leave in Peace.
Bless You Sir.
Many do not think you deserve any commendation or praise for your period of service be it how small and those who do are not courageous enough to acknowledge the goodness of God in you. FOR THERE IS GOOD IN ERVERY MAN/WOMAN CREATED BY THE ALMIGHTY GOD.
On balance, God called David a Man after His own Heart. That is for God to determine.
GEJ. You have come and about to leave, You have done your best and your best may not be good enough for some in their wisdom.
You have admitted your mistake in Governance and it takes a courageous Strong Secure Leader and a real Leader to do that.
You have served as a servant and humble Leader and chosen the path of Honour, conceded defeat when others would have held on for selfish and ethnic or regional reasons.
I recognise and choose to celebrate your singular benevolence, humility and selflessness in Power.
There are many even millions who eulogise you even in your short comings which is common to Man may be not on this page (social media) & other media.
However, your good attributes will not go uncelebrated, someone like me choose to celebrate you not because of your exceptional performance which is without its draw backs but because of the legacy of Peace you brought to Governance and with which you are leaving.
You have run your race in Governmental service and by 29th May 2015 would have finished, leaving a foundation and legacy of Peace for the in coming Government to build on.
It takes a real Man to Govern a Nation like Nigeria and leave behind your kind of legacy of commendable handover. You have set a precedence.
It is up to history to judge you and your tenure and with time and space I am convinced it will judge you well on balance.
Go well Jonathan and It shall be well with you and all who serve under you.
Now we usher in a new dispensation, a new leadership to steer the course of Nation Building. Peace.
A Rare Leader of Our Time, A Political General, Lover of Peace.
Extraordinary Man from an ordinary background who turned by a singular Act into a Statesman and World Acclaimed Leader who just by a singular Act of Benevolence and true character when it really matter most.
The Man of the Moment. A man of uncommon courage.
Deserve a noble Price for Peace and exemplary Conduct.
A hero Indeed of the Great Nigeria NATION.
A great Democrat.
You have made History and you are departing from the eye of the storm of Nation building with your Head High. Bless You Mr President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan(GEJ)





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NOW THIS IS THE REAL CHANGE

NOW THIS IS THE REAL CHANGE
Newly sworn-in Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike has announced the appointment of Justice Daisy Okocha as the Chief Judge of the state.
Wike made the appointment in his inaugural speech immediately after being sworn-in by the Chief Judge of Bayelsa state, Justice Kate Abiri.
He also directed that all the state owned courts which has been under lock be opened with immediate effect.
The new governor further announced the reinstatement of some Lecturers of the Rivers state University of Science and Technology who were relieved by the Amaechi-led administration.





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GOODBYE TO NIGERIA'S BEST PRESIDENT EVER

GOODBYE TO NIGERIA'S BEST PRESIDENT EVER
The Man Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
No other leader of Nigeria was so hated and sabotaged yet so successful as you. You became greater in defeat. I admire your greatness in humility and humility in greatness. Peace be with you





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No regrets losing Presidency to Buhari, says Jonathan"

No regrets losing Presidency to Buhari, says Jonathan"

Despite the painful loss of the Presidential election to his opponent of the All Progressives Congress, President Goodluck Jonathan, has said that he has no regret over his defeat.
And rather than whinge over the historic defeat of an incumbent president by an outsider, Jonathan has moved on in his strides, describing the sad development as an act of God.handover
The President, who is handling over the mantle of leadership to Buhari on Wednesday, spoke at a grand House Reception organised in his honour by the Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communications Plc, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, owners of AIT and Raypower.
The elaborate send forth event, which attracted top Nigerians from all walks of life, was held at the Daar Communications Headquarters, Kpaduma Hills, Asokoro and was attended by many top Nigerians from all walks of life, including the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and Chairman and publisher of Vanguard, Mr. Sam Amuka.
Jonathan, who was also presented by rare mementos by Dokpesi, said: ‘‘By this time people are supposed to be running away from someone who has lost an election but I am being celebrated by Daar Communications PLc.
“For me, whatever happened in the election I have accepted it in good faith. Even though, some have argued that those I entrusted with my campaign disappointed me, I have no regrets for losing because in any political processes, there are all kinds of stories and conspiracies.
“We are a very religious society; whether Christians or Muslims or some other religions, I believe it is the will of God that the election went the way it did. I have always maintained that for the ordinary Nigerian, what is important is the style of governance, not who is even the president.

“Anybody can be the President any day but if the country is peaceful, and economic activities are going on smoothly, our children are going to school, hospitals are okay and they can eat what they want to eat, then, of course people will be happy.
‘‘I believe the incoming administration will toe that line and Nigerians will begin to see that there is no difference between political parties because even as we see there is no difference between the PDP and the APC. If you look at the number of people that moved from PDP to APC, then you will really see that both parties are almost the same.
‘‘What is important to us as Nigerians is what the government is bringing to bear and I have always maintained that politicians must learn to put the people first. If our aspiration is really for the interest of the people, then you wouldn’t want to hurt these people, you wouldn’t want anybody to be slapped because of your own ambition. ‘‘For me, my ambition is to see what contribution I can make for the ordinary people and that is why their lives are special to me. And I wouldn’t do anything that would create crisis, to kill innocent people. ‘‘People should not be surprised for the decision I took. in Nigeria. Doing that is diminishing Nigeria. I wouldn’t want to be a party that will diminish this country.
‘‘There is combination of bad and good in my administration just like in any other administration, but what should be uppermost in the mind of the leader is to make sure that the bad is not more than the good. One thing I must always ensure is peace and unity of this country.
‘‘We must have a nation before aspiring to hold any position: without a nation, you can’t be elected to any post. I charge all politicians to consider the people first before self. You can lose today and win tomorrow but anybody that dies in the process can’t be revived again. While looking for political offices, we must conduct ourselves in a way that will not halt the lives of innocent people,” Jonathan said.
DAAR Communications Chairman, High Raymond Dokpesi, described Jonathan as a rare leader, who has made Nigeria and Africa proud because of his exemplary leadership, outstanding achievements that would be difficult to erase, despite his bowing out of office.
Dokpesi explained that the event was specially organised by his company to salute and pay tribute to the sacrifice made by the President for peace to reign in Nigeria and for the numerous contributions he made in the area of infrastructural development.
Dokpesi said Jonathan had made history as the first African incumbent President to concede defeat.
While thanking the President, Dokpesi said the whole world would remember him as the one who laid foundation of democracy in Nigeria.
Speaking at the grand event, Chairman of Vanguard Media Limited, Mr. Sam Amuka, who presented the star gift to President Jonathan, described him as a selfless man, who put Nigeria’s corporate interest above all other interests by conceding defeat just as the elections results were announced.
Amuka said: “God has used you to preserve Nigeria by one singular action you took. You saved this country by giving them peace. You are not only a national hero, you became an African hero and that made you a world statesman. Nigeria will not forget you for what you did, that moment you called the president-elect, Buhari, and conceded defeat. We will always thank you and appreciate you Mr. President. God will bless you and go with peace of God, the veteran Nigerian journalist and publisher, said.’’
Speaking at the ceremony, a member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, Prof Jerry Gana, questions the audacity of Jonathan’s administration’s critics, describing them as pathological cynics who had refused to admit the unprecedented achievements of President Jonathan spread across the country.
Gana asked such critics to learn to give due credits to President Jonathan and his administration, which he said had made a mark in the country. He also said that Jonathan had by his leadership style proved to the world that it is possible for a leader to be endowed with enormous powers but yet remains humble and human.
While reacting to the allegation by the APC that the PDP had failed in the last 16 years, Gana said the ruling party had succeeded in restoring democracy and confidence of Nigerians in the electoral system.
Source Vanguard.






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Buhari sworn in as Nigeria president after historic win"

Buhari sworn in as Nigeria president after historic win"

Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as Nigeria’s new head of state on Friday in a ceremony mixing military pomp with cultural tradition after he won the first opposition victory over a sitting president in the nation’s history.

The 72-year-old took the oath of office before the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Supreme Court President Mahmoud Mohammed, to begin a four-year term.

I, Muhammadu Buhari, do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said at the ceremony at Abuja’s Eagle Square venue.
“That as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability and in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law.”

Buhari’s inauguration, before past Nigerian leaders and serving heads of state from across the continent, comes 32 years after he seized power in a military coup and was ousted 20 months later.
Before taking the oath, he shook hands with the elected president he ousted in 1983, Shehu Shagari, and the general who deposed him, Ibrahim Babangida.

– Democratic milestone –

Buhari has described himself as a “converted democrat” and vowed to lead an administration committed to the needs of Nigeria’s 173 million people by cracking down on the scourge of corruption.
But analysts said his first task may be managing the expectations of Africa’s most populous nation, which has struggled for decades with woeful infrastructure, crippling unemployment and widespread unrest.
But beyond the political challenges facing the new government, the historic importance of the ceremony should not be overlooked, said Clement Nwankwo, an activist who fought against military rule.
“The handover… represents a significant milestone in the democratic development of Nigeria,” Nwankwo, who now heads the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, told AFP.
Civilian rule was restored in 1999 but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has held power at the federal level for the last 16 years, at times appearing intent on staying on at any cost.
Buhari’s win over outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan in March 28 polls and the subsequent inauguration of a long-time opposition leader were not expected, added Nwankwo.

– Corruption, economic crisis –

Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer and leading economy, deriving more than 70 percent of government revenue from crude sales.
Plunging oil prices have caused a cash crunch that has left thousands of civil servants unpaid and pushed the naira currency to historic lows.
Buhari and his All Progressives Congress Party have pledged sweeping change, particularly in job creation, electricity supply and insecurity.

Buhari won the support of voters largely through his tough stance against corruption. His brief tenure in the 1980s is remembered as a time when bribery and graft were forbidden.
He said his administration would have zero tolerance for corruption but experts warn that maintaining his fragile coalition could involve working with some politicians who have a mixed past.
Buhari is from Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and enjoys massive support in the region.
But he almost certainly would have lost without the backing of partners from the predominately Christian south, including ex-PDP heavyweights who have been linked to graft.

– Insurgency –

Victims of Boko Haram’s brutal insurgency in the northeast have voiced hope that Buhari will do more than Jonathan in tackling the uprising.
Gains have been made since February in an offensive backed by neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger but violence persists and sustained pressure is required to defeat the resilient Islamists.
Containing unrest in the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta may prove to be just as tough a problem.
The delta is Jonathan’s home region and some former militants who fought for a fairer share of oil revenues in the 2000s had threatened to resume violence if their native son was defeated.
A 2009 government amnesty programme that saw oil rebels swap guns for regular cash stipends has significantly reduced unrest but the scheme expires this year.
Cancelling the amnesty programme risked “plunging Nigeria’s oil-producing region back into an armed insurgency”, said analyst Malte Liewerscheidt at the Verisk Maplecroft consultancy group




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Xenophobia: Zuma Calls Jonathan after Diplomatic Spat"

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma have held a telephone conversation on recent developments between the two countries.
A statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of South Africa, on its website yesterday, confirmed the phone call.
Relations between the two countries got strained in the last one week following the recall of Nigeria’s envoys in Pretoria and Johannesburg last Saturday by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Danjuma Nanpon Sheni.
Sheni was suspended by Jonathan over the recall without the approval of the presidency.
South Africa had expressed shock at the recall of the envoys and threw some jabs at the Nigerian government which it said it never blamed for the deaths of 84 of its citizens in the collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos.
“We did not blame the Nigerian Government for the deaths and more than nine (9) months delay in the repatriation of the bodies of our fallen compatriots, or for the fact that when these bodies eventually returned, they were in a state that they could not be touched or viewed as required by our burial practice,” it said in a statement issued by the spokesman, Mr. Clayson Monyela on Sunday.
“We shall also continue to support and not blame the Nigerian Government as it battles to deal with Boko Haram that continues to kill many innocent civilians. We hope that the more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram will someday be reunited with their families,” the statement added.
Even though the South African government had said it would raise its concerns over the recall of the envoys with the incoming administration, the telephone conversation between the two presidents may be an attempt to thaw the frostiness of the last few days.
The statement read in part: “The two presidents reaffirmed the warm and cordial relations between South Africa and Nigeria and pledged that the two countries will continue to work together for the good of their peoples and the continent as a whole.
“President Jonathan expressed his support for the efforts of South Africa to arrest the attacks on foreign nationals and to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, including foreign nationals and those from the African continent, in particular who bore the brunt of the attacks earlier this month.”
It added that President Zuma would attend the inauguration of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on May 29.
Meanwhile, the South African government has distanced itself from the statement made by Monyela, on the recall of Nigeria’s envoys over the xenophobic attacks.
Briefing the media along with other members of the Inter-ministerial Task Team this week, the Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, said the statement was not the official position of the South African government and that South Africa maintains a cordial relationship with Nigeria.
“I will reiterate our position, we still have cordial relations with all the members of the African Union… very cordial relations with the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Radebe said.

As Nigerians Wait for the Buhari Touch" By Eddy Odivwri

As Nigerians Wait for the Buhari Touch"
By Eddy Odivwri
Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office as the 5th democratically elected president of the largest black nation in the world.
He is coming at a time so much seems to have gone wrong. The mess is much. But he has been given a mandate to clear it all and make clean the Augean stable for the benefit of Nigerians.
In the next few weeks, the depth of how low we have sunk as a people will become even clearer. But Buhari will not have to dwell in that sunken state. He will have to bail Nigeria out and nudge the nation on the path of rebirth and regeneration. That is the mandate he sought for. That is the mandate he was given on March 28. To whine endlessly on how degenerate the system is, how empty the coffers are, how decrepit the structures are, how hefty the debts are, how disenchanted the workforce is, how weak the security forces are, etc., will be akin to a lazy workman who always complains of a bad tool.
Not many of these shortcomings should really be strange to Buhari. They were part of his campaigns. They formed the basis of most of his promises.
How he is able to harness both his goodwill, the lean resources and the social momentum will determine how quickly he can change the ill narrative of the nation’s governance.
Indeed, and understandably, the expectations are as huge as they are urgent. Luckily for him, the body language he exudes is that of a no-nonsense leader. His signature attribute of being a disciplinarian is catching up. During the fuel scarcity (as if it has ended) for instance, one heard many of the people warning those who want to shunt on the fuel queues that the era of nonsense and impunity has gone, lapping it up with the reminder that Buhari is coming on board and everybody must “maintain”.
I understand some persons at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are already returning some of the money they stole. I can predict that it will be an act that will have a catch-on effect. Something that can really produce a national rebirth. All that Buhari will need to do is to reinforce his austere mien and defer to neither person nor pressure, but just the law.
Many believe there are quite a number of people who funded Buhari’s election who are not the best examples of socially upright persons, given the height of their questionable wealth.
How Buhari is able to manage such characters out of the front row of his government will send a strong signal of how far he can go in his crusade to cause a change in the country.
A few instances of his acts in recent times provide some aperture on what kind of president Nigeria will be having in the next four years.
First, his refusal to support any particular candidate for the National Assembly leadership and his subsequent declaration that he is prepared to work with anybody from any part of the country was quite on point. It resonates well with the nationalistic spirit.
Second, his refusal to bow to his party’s governors’ pressure of accepting their ministerial nominees speaks volume of how independent he can be. Yet, he cannot do away with the governors in such sweeping manner without clear socio-political consequences.
Finally, his decision to suddenly travel to the UK last weekend without a hint to his party chieftains is indicative of his own convictions.
In all, it is emerging that he will not be a push-over, contrary to the impression created around him during the campaigns that he is hardly ever in charge in the real sense, citing the prominence of his then deputy, late Brig Gen Tunde Idiagbon (while as Head of State) and the overriding control exercised by Afri-Projects Consortium (APC) ( a consulting firm) during his days as the Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund ((PTF).
This time, it is clear, Buhari is determined to be his own man.
Whatever strategy Buhari adopts, what will matter is how quickly he rises to the occasion of dealing with the immediate challenges facing Nigerians and reducing significantly the weight of suffering in the land.
This will not be the time to play to the gallery. He must have the courage to take hard and tough decisions, even though they may not be popular.
The nagging question of the subsidy on some petroleum products is one such core issue that must be dealt with early enough in the life of this administration.
The other one will be the content and character of his cabinet. Nigerians and indeed the world is waiting and watching to see Buhari’s first steps.
All said, Buhari must realize the expectations from Nigerians and even the world is high. He thus must hit the ground running. His template of operation must be freed from obfuscated bureaucratic complexities. Nigerians want to see results, almost impatiently.
Oil Marketers: Villains or Patriots?
Last week, Nigeria had the worst energy crisis ever. The nation was brought to her knees, no thanks to the greed and dubiousness of oil marketers. They simply held the nation to ransom. There is no greater show of coup d’etat. What they did was seditious. It was a blow against state, all in the name that they were owed some spurious N200 billion. Most Nigerians know that many of the marketers are deeply fraudulent. They are into sharp practices as they often connive with officials of NNPC or PPRA of even DPR to fleece the nation of huge sums by either inflating figures or simply conjuring figures of fictitious product supplies which they pass on to government for payments. They take massive advantage of Nigeria’s warped system to undo the country. Little wonders their figures are always at conflict.
And so, they crashed the nation’s economy and inflicted the deepest and harshest punishment on their fellow citizens. Many died in the process as hospitals could not even find diesel to power their plants so they could carry out urgent surgeries. What else can be more wicked?
But if the marketers were heartless and dubious, what shall we say of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke who in the wake of the crushing scarcity, fled and got ensconced in a cosy London hotel while Nigerians groaned and moaned in pain? Jonathan could not control her. As I write, she is still in London. Doing what? I don’t know! She was even absent at the valedictory FEC session held last Wednesday. And yet they claim to be servants of the people. Servant or leader my foot! We cannot wait to breath the fresh air of Change in every department of our lives.
Culled from ThisDay.




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Jonathan’s Immutable Credentials"

Despite the criticism surrounding his presidency, President Goodluck Jonathan will go down in history as an exceptional democrat with deep tolerance as his defining virtue, writes Ojo M. Maduekwe
Some people had predicted that Nigerians will soon start to compare the administration of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan to that of the President-elect Muhammadu Buhari and wish that the former were still their president. Only that none knew that the basis for comparison might be soon.
Buhari’s action, barring the Africa Independent Television (AIT) from covering his activities, in reaction to AIT’s alleged partisanship during the just concluded 2015 presidential election has reminded many people of Buhari’s first coming to power between 1983 and 1985, when as a military dictator, he clamped down on the press.
Citing issues of “ethics and standard” Buhari on Monday, reportedly barred the AIT crew from entering the Defence House building to cover an official meeting between the president-elect, the Cuban and the Switzerland ambassadors as well as other guests. The spokesman for the Buhari Campaign Organisation said AIT was asked to step aside on “security and family concerns”.
According to Garba Shehu, “Buhari has decided that they will have to resolve some issues relating to issues of standard and ethics. We will be talking with them to try and resolve the matter, but for now the station has been asked to stay aside because, like I said, there are some family and security concerns… You can quote me that I said that we have asked them to step aside and that we are resolving the issues of ethics and standards with them.”
During the campaigns and prior to the March 28 presidential election, AIT aired a series of documentaries said to have disparaged Buhari, his late wife and late daughter, as well as other prominent faces in the APC – an action likened to the infamous PUNCH newspaper front page advert sponsored by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose against Buhari.
But Buhari’s action was greeted with widespread outrage. Professor of English at Carleton University, Ottawa Canada, Mr. Pius Adesanmi, took to his Facebook page and posted the following: “You cannot ban or prohibit or prevent a media group from covering your activities never mind the unethical, stomach-churning jackass that AIT has been.
“In a democracy, the worst you could do is tactically ‘freeze out’ journalists and media groups making you uncomfortable. They still have the right to be there – and report things as they see it. If there are ethical breaches, there are appropriate institutions and channels to handle that.”
Another reaction came from a prominent supporter of Buhari, Mr. Kayode Ogundamisi. In a series of 16 tweets on social media platform – Twitter – the social and political commentator went from narrating how “AIT and Raymond Dokpesi’s DAAR Communication is an outfit that played a monstrous role during the 2015 Presidential Election” to “General @MBuhari barring AIT is disappointing, the decision should be reversed…”
Seeing the Monday miscalculation by the president-elect, the APC on Tuesday in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said “There must be repercussions, within the realms of the law, for media organisations which have wantonly breached the Code of Ethics of the journalism profession and turned themselves to partisans instead of professionals. But such repercussions will not include barring any accredited media organisation from covering the activities of the President-elect.”
It will be surprising if APC’s correctional statement will change people’s perception and suspicion about Buhari’s perceived “dictatorial” tendency because, people voted for him and not APC and so will take more seriously Buhari’s action over his party’s reaction and attempt at correcting his gaffes. It is only when Buhari re-assures (assuming he does) of his support for press freedom that the suspicion his action has re-ignited can be doused.
His claim to being a former dictator turned “democracy convert”, as well as his party’s change mantra is already being questioned. “Once a dictator, always a dictator,” some have said. His action, aside the criticism also generated comments where some compared him to Jonathan, who is said to have displayed a calm demeanour whenever criticised, and in some cases ridiculed.
Buhari, by his action barring AIT has shown himself as not only intolerant to criticism but also unable to follow due process. The change that Buhari and his APC promised was hinged on the strict observance of the rule of law. There are appropriate channels available to Buhari for seeking redress, including the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) or the court.
There are arguments in support of Buhari’s action. Many of the masses who mimicked Shehu’s excuse of “security and family concerns” have gone further to also argue that Buhari as president-elect was not yet the President of Nigeria and is still acting in his personal capacity, and for this can choose the television station he wants to air “his activities”.
Not only was Buhari on an official engagement, since he was meeting officials of the Cuban and Switzerland foreign ministries, the venue of their meeting, the Defence House, was not Buhari’s private property, but an official building owned by Nigeria.
Buhari’s gaffe, irrespective of his party’s reaction has woken and given tooth and claws to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a once upon a time ruling party gearing up to become an opposition. Their reaction was a summation of the fears of millions, who have never believed in Buhari as a democrat or his party as the change that Nigerians need.
PDP in a statement through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, asked, “Has our dear nation finally fallen into the clutches of totalitarianism and impunity where government actions will be based on egocentric decisions and impulses of individuals rather than the rule of law?”
The party wasted no time in drawing comparison between Jonathan and Buhari: “The APC and the President-elect may have one or two lessons to pick from President Goodluck Jonathan, who though the most maligned and abused President in the history of our nation, even by the APC, allowed his actions to be sufficiently guided by humility, tolerance and the rule of law.”
Except for few instances where Jonathan was seen to have stood his grounds of rights in relation to press freedom, history will forever group him as one of Nigeria’s most criticised and ridiculed president. But the lesson is in the fact that he remained largely calm and was not seen to be vindictive of any media, organisation or political party for criticising him.
APC’s rise from an opposition to a ruling party was partly and largely because Jonathan took several bashing from them and did not go after the party and its members like some past leaders would have done. Even when the first lady was disparaged on several occasions, Jonathan never resorted to media suppression. His governance may have been poor and somewhat incompetent, but same cannot be said about his credentials as a true democrat.
Buhari’s action only goes to show that his media handlers may have succeeded in changing his wardrobe and given him a pair of glasses, but are yet to change some of his entrenched dictatorial tendencies, such as how he sees and handles the press; attitudes that saw to his failure and eventual toppling as military dictator.
The “converted democrat” may be nothing more than a smokescreen just for the purpose of APC winning the presidential election. And truly, for APC, winning still is easier.
Culled from ThisDay

Senate Presidency: North East Disowns Ahmad Lawan

he Senate North east caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday distanced itself from the aspiration of Senator Ahmad Lawan to emerge as the President of the Eighth Senate.
The caucus addressed Senate correspondents yesterday in Abuja.
Caucus leader, Senator Danjuma Goje from Gombe State, said what was before the North east was how to persuade APC leadership to consider the region for the “highest position in the National Assembly.”
Besides, Goje said the caucus has opened channels of communication with five other caucuses in the chamber and outside the National Assembly as well.
His words: “The members of the North East APC Senators caucus in a meeting held in Kaduna Room of Transcorp Hilton Hotel on April 30, 2015 with the 12 of the 13 members in attendance and one apology from Ahmed Zanah, who was indisposed but was with us on telephone, also concurred, which means that he was in harmony with what we discussed yesterday.
“We resolved as follows yesterday, that I, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, from Gombe Central senatorial district, was unanimously elected as the leader of the caucus and Senator Isa Hamamisu as the secretary of the caucus.

“While the party leadership is considering the zoning of the National Assembly leadership position, the caucus is appealing for the zoning of highest position in the National Assembly to the North East considering the special needs of this zone.
“In other words, we resolved to call the leadership of our party to formally zone the highest office of the National Assembly to our zone in view of our special circumstance.
“This caucus should be allowed in consultation with the party leadership, other caucuses, zonal leaders, other stakeholders to nominate the senator suitable to occupy such an office which is zoned to our zone.
“For this reason, the caucus urges the public and distinguished colleagues nationwide and indeed, everybody, Nigerians and non-Nigerians to completely disregard any purported endorsement of any Senator from the North East by any zone because zoning of posts by APC has not been formally done yet.
“We are waiting for our formal zoning of the various posts of the national assembly before we commence nomination and we believe that any post zoned to us must have our input as the caucus and then, we consult with other caucuses, party leadership and indeed, other stakeholders before arriving at a decision.
“We should completely disregard any endorsement of any of our member here or absent. We do not know anything about it, we do not support it, we disassociate ourselves completely from it.”
Senator Goje reiterated that the caucus was not in support of any other caucus adopting or endorsing any senator from the North east for the Senate Presidency.
“What we are saying is that we, the North East caucus, formally disassociate ourselves from any endorsement from any other zone. Other zones have the right to decide what they want but we in the North East are not associating ourselves with those so-called endorsements because the party has not zoned anything to us.

“It is after the zoning has been announced that we will sit down and nominate our candidates that we feel are capable and suitable to represent the zone. But we cannot stop others from doing what they want, all we are saying is that we are not part of it. We have nobody in mind yet, we have not decided anything because we do not know what is coming to us. We do not want to jump the gun…” Goje affirmed.
Senators-elect at the briefing apart from Goje, were, the Secretary of the caucus, Isa Ahmed Gusau; ( Bauchi Central); Ali Ndume ( Borno South); Bukar Abba Ibrahim ( Yobe Central) and Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako ( Adamawa Central.

Others are, Binta Garba ( Adamawa North); Ahmed Abubakar ( Adamawa South); Usman Bayero Nafada ( Gombe North); Abubakar Jare ( Borno North ) and Sulyman Nazif ( Bauchi North).
The caucus’ new stance on the zoning controversy in the APC is at variance with the earlier postures of senators Goje and Garba who have at different times indicated interest in the zone getting the deputy senate president slot.

Buhari, The Nigerian Monetary Economics and Need for a Japanese Miracle" By Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu

Buhari, The Nigerian Monetary Economics and Need for a Japanese Miracle"
By Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu
Historically, any economy that emerges from war will face the crises Nigeria is facing. Post war economy suffers three major problems: Unemployment, Shortages and inflation. We all saw how the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan pushed the global economy into recession. To solve the recession the U.S Government made three different quantitative cash injection called QED 1,2 and 3. In the case of Nigeria, Boko Haram wars contributed in destroying the economy because investing in war has no return on investment. But corruption, mismanagement and crises in and weakening of the criminal justice procedure also fast tracked the process for Boko Haram. But on the whole, its total waste of time to only sit and point accusing fingers without doing much to solve the problem. The situation might even be more fundamental than we see it. We should diagnose and understand our problem properly and then work to offer genuine and mixed solutions.
Monetary Economics
There was a time when our economy was good, especially in the early post colonial period and the post civil war oil boom. The economy was good because fiscal discipline and planning processes of the colonial regimes were not disrupted. WE NEVER GOT IT RIGHT ECONOMICALLY, at least not by universal macro economics terminologies and theories.
In monetary economics, which is part of macro economics, money in form of cash serves three different purposes; its a medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account. We all know this concept from the time of cowries. What many of us find very challenging, is knowing, how cash in circulation relates to real or applied economics.

The cash, called legal tender or currency denomination or paper money or bank note or Naira relates to the economy in direct value term. This relationship, globally, is categorized in to 3 levels. Its whether its narrowly, broadly or index aggregated in relation to over all economic activity.
If your currency is NARROWLY related to your economy, you will be struggling against the world’s leading bank notes. The contribution of your economy to the global production or productivity is not strong and may not even be stable. You may be subjected to currency printing not backed by value occasionally, foreign exchange frequent interventions,cash mopping periodically, cash shortages, ruinous economic expansion, emergency and un balanced production arrangements of goods, one sided or a single product economy etc. Currently this is where Nigeria is. And even quite recently the economy was injected with about eight hundred billion naira cash with no value propping done by the CBN.
If your cash is STRONGLY related to your economy, you have long term stability in inflationary rates, long term fixed foreign exchange rate, stable interest rate, hefty and stacked cash reserve in other currencies, favorable balanced of trade position (settlement and clearance). You also have good Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). You will have state of the art ARTIFICIAL friends, showing up for your hard currency. Countries in this category might be Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Brunei etc. Countries under this monetary condition hardly rose to enter the developed world club but they could come down from the HONEY TREE and join the down trodden depending on democratization and resource allocation or income redistribution structures that could cause social crises or lack of it.
In INDEX AGGREGATED there is estimation of cash to each of the complex objects of the economy. It may go cash for real or genuine economic value. Such economy might be a developed one. Product or brand name development, market entry strategies, competing for market share or competitive positioning, averaging in the industry, frequent shut down or market share surrender due to stiff competition and innovations heat up, shrewdness, cut throat and edgy competitive overthrows are the order of the day. Its the best economy in growth terms, its free, democratic and for survival of the fittest under rule of law and equal opportunity. You compete for your live to the next day and earn by your design and efforts strictly.
This monetary economics categorization is important for any country that is ready to level up in real economic growth. It is also important in addressing internal monetary policies and related areas such as inflation, devaluation etc.
Where We Missed The Points

Reward or compensation system using cash, in monetary economics, is guided by a theory called ‘aggregate demand for out put’. HERE ITS SUGGESTED THAT FOR YOU TO GIVE CASH TO ANY BODY, HE MUST EARN IT. If you are paying salary to an individual, you must make sure he produced that salary. If you invoke other theories in micro foundation like ‘economic rent and transfer earning’, you can pay the labor or the factor of production even higher. Its simply saying every staff must produce higher than his salary to the system for value to be created or profit made. So the mere fact in government workers are not paid salaries it means not all the workers produce their salaries in commensurate terms. Hence we keep excess or redundant labor. So to fix the economy Buhari should apply systematic mobility of labor to other corporations and sectors of the economy that need expansion. In this way we will also have skilled man hour optimization. We do not have to reduce employees.
Economic Miracle
It is expected, as usual, Buhari will launch a development agenda full of social projects in education, health, transport etc. But economic development is different from economic growth and one can not be sustained without the other. Economic development is totally about social infrastructure while economic growth is purely market driven and business environment development to maximize market share for entrepreneurship and prepare your local commodity for global competition as a subtitute or a monopoly. For long term strategy and policy sustainability, Buhari will have to perform miracles. At least that is what the situation is asking for. His circumstances and the country’s situation is calling for miracles to be done. There is no point listing problems since everything and every body are problems.
Japan once found itself in our shoes. Nigeria today is like Japan after 1945. Because of the expenses of the second world war and other vices, Japan then a developing country slumped into crises. But through endowed mixed policies, the Japanese adopted what was called ‘the Japanese economic miracle’ and emerged the second most developed economy in the world in the years leading to the lost decades of the 90s and end of cold war.
In comparable terms the Japanese Yen looks even like the Naira, despite all the differences in economic growth.
How Japan did it! There must be complete paradigm shift and strings of in depth reversal of long standing policies.

I do not think Buhari can be overwhelmed suddenly by the devastating condition of the economy. He can be nervous actually but he would have faced worse challenges else where since he fought in a war. I don’t know how he intends to bridge over to economic lime light. Different people suggest different approaches like subsidy removal, tax collection etc. But his eyes must be set on the long term solutions like the Japanese did.
Role of the International community: For many reasons the U.S helped in the reconstruction and the building of the Japanese Economy. Chiefly, both China and Russia were targeting the pacific with socialist/communists take over. So since Japan was ravaged by the war especially the nuclear bomb, the whole pacific region was to be shut down for the U.S. that is if Japan towed the line of Russia then. So America needed Japan. The U.S needs Nigeria today to win the terror war in Africa and the middle east. The U.S posture towards Buhari is very friendly unlike Yaradua and GEJ. This is the time to go with the shopping basket. 1, Start buying my oil temporarily, he can request the U.S. 2. Lets partner in Agriculture and market development. 3. Lets try medium and low scale joint investments. 4. Lets partner in ICT and anti corruption efforts. 5. Lets partner in low or semi skilled labor development and construction. The list can grow gradually. What a good start.
Role of Industrialization. Buhari, like Ikeda of Japan then, promised to migrate the economy to mining and industry. Its wonderful, provided technology and cost management can be imbibed. That’s the right way and the right replacement for oil based economy.
But for Industrialization to succeed, we must revisit our import list and reverse the economy to export driven with full protectionism. The need for short term electricity bridging, in good time, we can work with U.S and Germany. They have the capacity and companies to do that. Changing the economy from import to export if we can go the Japanese way, was called ‘cooperation’. We need customs, Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council and all importers to device the policy, and operate export only economy.

If we may adopt proprietary technology across board, our economy will witness a rapid rise. In 1965 the nominal GDP for japan was $91 billion but by 1980 it rose to over $1.2 trillion.
Yes! Buhari is overcrowded with huge challenges but if he can distinctively separate policies of government in economic development like roads, health, water, transport etc from economic growth of business development and global market share promotion and adopt rational monetary yardsticks, like the miracle of japan, Nigeria will emerge a strong force to reckon with world wide and our problems might be finally over.
–– Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu, lives in Abuja
Culled from ThisDay.




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Saraki, Ideal Senate President to Complement Buhari" By Mike Nkwocha

Saraki, Ideal Senate President to Complement Buhari"
By Mike Nkwocha
There is no doubt that the All Progressives Congress’ victory in the last general election will take Nigeria in a different direction from the People’s Democratic Party leadership of the past 16 years. In recent times, the only Presidential contender that has attracted enormous public confidence in his ability to tackle plethora of problems confronting our nation is Mohammed Buhari, the President -elect. The expectations are too high and the pressure for a quick-fix is already on. But we should all realize that the General does not have a magic wand to wave and solve all our problems in one day. What we expect from the good General and his party is to show us clearly that they are in the process of laying strong foundation for effective governance and good service delivery. Our own is to recommend and advice and wait for positive action. After all, like the popular Nigerian adage says “it is the same Alhaji that we are all tending the cattle for”. To this end, much is expected from APC in their choice for leadership of National Assembly and persons appointed into the Federal Executive Council to assist the President.

The most immediate of these decisions for the President-elect and APC is the matter of leadership of the National Assembly because of the strategic importance of the legislature in a democracy and the agenda of change that was used by APC to serenade Nigerians into handing an over whelming victory to an opposition party, the first time in the history of our dear country. APC leadership should realize that Nigerians will start counting their sincerity and performance from the selection of leadership of National Assembly to the actual performance in office. A weak foundation would have been erected for anybody to hope for a scintillating performance in office if the party allows petty politics and naked show of power to drive their decision. A situation where leadership of APC starts to campaign against zoning arrangement in deciding the issue of leadership of National Assembly bothers on cockiness and chicanery because the party used the same zoning to determine the position of office of President , Vice-president and its National chairman . Our legal lexicon has institutionalized Federal Character or Zoning to ensure inclusiveness and effective administration of our country. So for a party whose major electoral asset is the credibility of its leaders to turn around to canvass against those core values that made it attractive to the populace is courting nothing but scorn.
Any objective person should easily agree that National balancing, strong character, integrity, experience/competence, leadership skill and equity are the core criteria the APC should seek, to determine who will head the 8th National Assembly. The lessons of leadership failure of the PDP should not be lost on the APC. Luckily for the party, the three contenders to the leadership of National Assembly are credible personalities but the party must choose the best to send a message that they are well equipped and ready for leadership. However, I believe that Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki is better situated to discharge the functions of the office of the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly than the other two distinguished Senators- Dr. Ahmed Lawan and Chief George Akume. My reasons are as follows;

National balancing: The APC started National balancing when the Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets were given to the North-West and South-West respectively. The Chairmanship of the party was zoned to South-South leading to the emergence of Chief John Oyegun. Recollect that Chief Bisi Akande was prevailed upon to step down as interim Chairman for the position to go to South-South. The Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum and Northern Governors Forum have gone to the North-West and North-East. The party initially zoned the position of Senate President to the North-central but later threw the contest open. The reason was not stated but it was speculated that the Godfathers of APC felt that zoning it to North central will make it easier for Saraki to emerge. But for proper political balancing, the position should go to the zone because it is the zone that made it possible for APC to win when they changed their allegiance from PDP to APC. Saraki and Akume are from this zone but fortunately for Saraki, Akume is no longer in the contest.
Strong Character: one of the most endearing qualities of \ Saraki is his strength of character. Strength of character is a necessity for an aspirant to such exalted and exacting office. Saraki showed his stuff when he disagreed with his father on the choice of his successor as the governor of Kwara State. In a country struggling with nepotism, his insistence on power rotation in his state against his father’s desire to install his sister is a big plus to him. It showed a man with character and class who cannot easily be swayed by base and mundane instincts. His strength of character was also put to test when he left the new PDP to APC at the time they disagreed with President Jonathan on the running of the party. A firm and discerning mind is needed to run the Senate and interface with the executive arm for good governance to become institutionalized in Nigeria.

Integrity: Today in Nigeria, Saraki is one of the most investigated public officer yet nothing has been found to stain his reputation. A reformer who believes in positive change will always find himself at odds with the system. Some people will call it controversy but it is actually a progressive controversy when a top politician continually engages the system for a better society. If it is not so, then I wonder what it was when Saraki alerted the Nation on the rip off called fuel subsidy. His motion for a probe of fuel subsidy on the floor of the Senate brought another round of investigation of his tenure as Governor. A Governor who voluntarily waived his immunity and was given a clean bill of health by no less a person than the famous anti-fraud czar, Nuhu Ribadu, at the time almost all the Governors were indicted for corruption cannot be underestimated in matter of integrity .
Experience/Competence: Saraki has shown exceptional ability in this area. As a governor, he managed his state excellently to enable him to install his successor. He turned Nigerian Governors Forum into an effective body to midwife a robust relationship between the Federal and State governments. He epitomises the Igbo adage which is translated to mean that “one cannot use a mirror to search for a golden bracelet worn on the wrist”.

Leadership skill: Many of these attributes have horned the leadership skill of Saraki to a point of excellence. Nigeria and APC need a person of such great ability to assist Buhari in the onerous task of Nation building. There is no gain saying the fact that every Senator is qualified to be a Senate President but it is only one person that can occupy the position at a time. I believe that the time is ripe for Saraki to lead the National Assembly to join other arms of Government to take Nigeria to prosperity and development. The leadership of the National assembly should be a bridge between the centripetal and centrifugal forces in National power game viz: APC and PDP, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa/Fulani, Ijaw, Tiv, etc. Saraki’s support base cuts across these interests power blocs and he is in a better position to reconcile their conflicting demands by utilizing his exceptional leadership skills.

Equity: In law, it is said that whoever goes to equity must go with clean hands because equity can only intervene when somebody is acting in good faith. There are five parties that merged to form APC namely: ACN, CPC, ANPP, PART OF APGA, AND NEW PDP. In the distribution of offices, CPC and ACN have gotten the President and Vice President respectively. APGA has the Chairman of Progressive Governors Forum while ANPP has the National Chairman of APC and is rumored to be on the verge of emerging the SGF. It means that it is only the new PDP that is left out in the sharing arrangement. Let’s not forget the fact that it was the new PDP that changed the game for APC when they entered the alliance with their five governors. So for equity sake, the chairmanship of the National Assembly will be an adequate compensation to them through Saraki. Finally, in life, there is time for everything and everyone. It is useless when mere mortals fight hopelessly to rearrange divine arrangement. In my humble opinion, there is an unseen hand that arranged the equation to favour Saraki and it is needless to fight it. In this period of Change, Let the Nation continue to crown who the cap fits.
Barrister Nkwocha writes from Awka, Anambra State.



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Military Rescues Fresh Batch of 234 Boko Haram Victims"

Military Rescues Fresh Batch of 234 Boko Haram Victims"
The Nigerian military in their ongoing onslaught against the Boko Haram terrorists on Friday rescued 234 more victims, bringing the total of those rescued in the last four days to 687 women and children.
The military had earlier rescued an initial 293 and 160 persons respectively before the further success.
This is as the 293 women and children rescued earlier in the week were reportedly on their way to Yola, the Adamawa State capital for rehabilitation .

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade confirmed this in a statement yesterday, adding that the freed women and children had been evacuated to join others at the place of ongoing screening.

According to Olukolade, this number represented an update on the 160 women and children reported to have been freed in addition to the 293 women and girls rescueds earlier this week.
"This set in addition to the previous individuals earlier rescued during the ongoing operation in the area", he noted.

The Defence Spokesman assured that "The assault on the forest is continuing from various fronts and efforts were concentrated on rescuing hostages of civilians and destroying all terrorists’ camps and facilities in the forest".
Meanwhile, identities of the freed hostages are yet to be ascertained as the military continued with their profiling for further intelligence gathering.
It could be recalled that Olukolade had during a joint press conference with the Spokespersons of the Army, Navy and Air Force at Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Thursday, insisted that the military were yet to conclude on the identity and profiling of the over 400 women and girls rescued from the notorious Sambisa forest till date.

According to him, what was uppermost in the mind of the military was the profiling of the freed hostages and to finish the job of liberating the entire Sambisa forest from the siege of Boko Haram terrorists.
“The true identity of some of the rescued women and girls are yet to be ascertained. At the moment, what is upper most and of priority is their movement to a conducive place where they are now undergoing thorough profiling to verify their true identity, where they come from, how they found themselves in the forest, etc”, he said.

Additionally, he noted, numbers of persons were still being recovered from the forest. Until such comprehensive profiling was done, nobody could confirm whether they were among the Chibok girls or not.
A source close to the military formations in Yola revealed to THISDAY that the victims had left Maiduguri , the Borno State capital on Friday under military tight security to arrive Yola on the same day.
The source said the military was planning to hand over the victims to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for proper care and rehabilitation following their experience in the hands of the insurgents.
Our source noted that a rehabilitation centre had already been designated for them in Yola, with a team of experts to attend to their psychological and medical needs so as bring them back to normal life.
"Some of them are mentally unstable because of the maltreatment in the hands of Boko Haram and unfavourable environment they were living before they were rescued by the military" he said
The source who spoke to us on telephone explained that because of security reasons and not to attract attentions from the general public the military may want the victims to arrive Yola in the night.
However an official of NEMA confirmed the incident but said he had not taken permission from his boss, so he could not speak regarding the matter. He said it was true that the military were trying to hand over the first batch of the 293 victims of the Boko Haram insurgents to NEMA for rehabilitation in Yola.
While he pleaded for anonymity, he said the victims had passed Mubi town in Adamawa State at the time he called around 4:30 pm yesterday, adding they may want to arrive in the night to attract less attention from the public

‘Missing $20b’: As Buhari ‘Sets Sail’ With Probes" # General Buhari is a Northern apologist # By Chukwuma

It was difficult suppressing a yawn of boredom when President-elect Muhammadu Buhari stated recently stated he will probe the so-called ‘missing’ $20b. Hear him: “Since this (missing fund) was documented, the new administration will take a look at it. You all know what the Emir of Kano talked about this when he was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria when he said $20 billion US dollars, not naira; $20 billion US dollars was unaccounted for. They said it was a lie, instead of investigating it they sacked him. And God in his infinite mercy made him the emir of Kano; in any case that is what he wanted.”

Buhari, according to news reports, spoke while receiving a delegation of All Progressives Congress, APC stalwarts in Abuja led by Adamawa State governor-elect, Alhaji Jibrilla Bindow last Sunday. While conceding the right to sound-off to his cronies, a cursory assay of Buhari’s proclamation raises some worrying angles. The general from Daura in Katsina State is certainly not a rookie politician even if certain observers claim his sharp edges have been mellowed by age. He should be seen not act or speak as a greenhorn.

Governance policy proclamations are not positions to be shaped by caprice or whims. They should be informed by deep thought to deliver enduring effects and meaningfully leverage society. Buhari could deliberately confine himself for now to small talk as he receives the customary courtesy visitors. It will serve the interest of his impending tenure if he were to limit himself to simple statements of his party’s blue-print.
Buhari’s fond reference to the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Sanusi Lamido Sanusi - perhaps as a fellow member of the northern ruling class - and his deprecating wrist-slap on the outgoing administration suggests unnecessary bias. His words again: “They said it was a lie, instead of investigating it they sacked him.” The most recent pronouncements from the presidency which ordered release of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers forensic audit report of the phantom $20b have even essentially taken the wind out of Buhari’s probe sail. To cap it further, the presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has even stated that reviewing certain policies from previous regimes was not out of place.
It is instructive that while the released forensic audit did not mention any missing funds it required NNPC’s exploration and production (E&P) subsidiary – the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company to remit $1.48b to the federation account.
But perhaps more importantly, for General Buhari to state categorically and sentimentally commit himself to a course that he assumes he has all the necessary information puts him in a bad light in the morning of his yet to take-off administration. Here is why.

Tracking back, President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of former CBN governor, now the Emir of Kano followed a process that has hardly been faulted by objective analysts. Sanusi had earlier controversially alleged that $49 billion was missing, a figure that he willy-nilly reduced to $20b, et cetera. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was to state that the alleged unaccounted money was between $10 billion and $12 billion, adding that the money was for crude oil sales which often captured in government accounts only after payment. At press time the remittable figure to the federation account stands at $1.48b
The decision to suspend Sanusi Lamido was actually based on a report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria dated June 7, 2013. The report was made after a review of Sanusi’s response to the query issued to him by the President over the apex bank’s financial statement of 2012. His response was dated May 20, 2013. FRC report signed by FRC’s Executive Secretary, Jim Obazee noted that Lamido Sanusi ran a weak corporate governance structure as transactions that needed board approval were carried out in the apex bank without such approvals. Interestingly, it could be recalled that that the Lamido Sanusi-led CBN had removed some bank executives on the basis of lack of corporate governance.
According to a copy of the report the council indicated that the explanation provided by the suspended CBN governor was “a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud, wastefulness, and abuse of due process and deliberate efforts to misrepresent facts on the part of the leadership of the CBN.” The council then advised the President to exercise the powers conferred on him by Section 11(2)(f) of the CBN Act 2007 or invoke Section 11(2)(c) of the said Act “and cause the governor and the deputy governors to cease from holding office in the CBN.”

Amongst other infractions, the report stated that board approval for the equity investment in the shares of International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation of Malaysia to the tune of N0.743 billion was also not provided. The share certificate is also to be provided as it seems that section 34 of the CBN Act was violated. It said that the date of the board approval of the apex bank’s financial statements was not disclosed, adding that in the CBN response, “the president was informed that the management letter on the financial statement was yet to be discussed by the Board Audit and Risk Management Committee, a scenario contrary to section 3 (b) of the CBN Act 2007. This is supposed to take place, considered by the Board and decision taken.”
The particulars of the infractions by Sanusi included: Persistent refusal and/or negligence to comply with the Public Procurement Act in the procurement practices of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
(A) By virtue of Section 15 (1)(a) of the Public Procurement Act, the provisions of the Act are expected to comply to ‘all procurement of goods, works and services carried out by the Federal Government of Nigeria and all procurement entities.’ This definition clearly includes the Central Bank of Nigeria.
(B) It is however regrettable that the Central Bank of Nigeria, under his leadership, has refused and/or neglected to comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA). You will recall that one of the primary reasons for the enactment of the PPA was the need to promote transparency, competitiveness, cost of effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system.
(C) Available information indicates that the Central Bank has over the years engaged in procurement of goods, works and services worth billions of Naira each year without complying with the express provisions of the PPA.

(D) By deliberately refusing to be bound by the provisions of the Act, the CBN has not only decided to act in an unlawful manner, but has also persisted in promoting a governance regime characterised by financial recklessness, waste and impunity, as demonstrated by the contents of its 2012 Financial Statements.
The fact that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is no longer the CBN governor does not confer him with immunity from being answerable to key infractions of office by the incoming regime. Will the incoming General Buhari-led administration move against the new Emir of Kano in the spirit probing all everything under the President Jonathan regime. Your guess is as good as mine here – Buhari will not! Against this background, his loud proclamation that he will probe the phantom $20b in NNPC would appear not to have been a product of deep thought.

Currently, by all objective parameters of delivering governance, deep thinking is crucial as opposed to ad-hoc proclamations. It is worth noting here that Nigeria is the world’s fifth largest federation, after India, the United States, Brazil and Russia and deserves genuine visioners to move forward.
Quality, democratic governance must be epitomised by predictable, open and enlightened policy-making, a bureaucracy imbued with professional ethos acting in furtherance of the public good, the rule of law, transparent processes, and a strong civil society participating in public affairs. This must be devoid of arbitrariness as his recent pronouncement suggests.From May 29, General Buhari will have the opportunity to make history or be rubbished by history. His choices will ultimately decide his fate.
•Chukwuma is a public issues analyst based in Abuja

A Different May 29

A Different May 29"
For the first time in 16 years, May 29 would elicit more emotions than celebrations of a new government, rather another government, assuming office. May 29 is laced with trepidations about what the new government would do. The fears are mainly among those who have run the affairs of Nigeria since the 1999 season of civil administrations.

The immediacy of the fears has been located in indications that the eyes of the government may not wonder beyond a few years in the prosecution of its anti-corruption agenda. The befuddlement over the age of Nigeria’s corruption and the interesting analyses to save a select few from the blows, if they ever come, are another interesting side to the inauguration of the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari. Whatever he does would be a new aspect of our governments; how he does it may bear more importance.

If history was made on May 29, 1999 with the return to civil rule, barely a year in the life of the Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar administration, today is simply historic. For the first in our history, an opposition party won the election at the centre.

Nigeria has managed 16 years of uninterrupted civil administration: two and half times the six-year duration of the post-independence civilian administration, and three times longer than the 1979-post military government of President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari.

The quadrennial routine of swearing in governments also reminds politicians that their time has started “running”. Many of them understand this to mean that they should immediately commence plans for their re-election in 2019 and decide who succeeds them in 2023.
Section 14 2(b) of the Constitution, to which the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors would swear to today, should be at the centre of the contract between Nigerians and their governments.
It states, “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” Do politicians act as if the people’s security and welfare are the purpose of government? Which actions of governments have shown the importance of the people? How do governments relate to the people? Has democracy improved lives of Nigerians? Is the country more democratic today than in 1999?
Our governments have assumed the authoritarian ways of the military. The separation of powers the Constitution intended is a mirage. Local government administrations, the third tier of government, are dead. In most States, Governors are imperial. They are Executive Governors, a title alien to the Constitution. When they embark on their frequent travels, governance waits until they return. They are accountable to nobody as the State Houses of Assembly are compliant.
Today could mark the beginning of governments where the people count.
Vanguard Editorial.





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Transition May 29: High cost of blood, tears and more"

Transition May 29: High cost of blood, tears and more"
By Charles Kumolu
IT is the ninth peaceful transfer of power and perhaps the most intriguing in Nigeria’s 55 year history as an independent nation. Like the transitions of 1960,1965,1979,1983,1999,2003,2007 and 2011, the processes leading to 2015 general elections were typically Nigerian in every sense, as all the peculiar oddities inherent in the nation’s electoral process strikingly manifested.

However, the exercise which would culminate in the transfer of the reins of government on May 29, 2015, could not be written off to have only reproduced the fault lines in Nigeria’s political culture, as few developments signposted an uncommon readiness to get the country back on track. These election- related occurrences from November 16, 2014 when electioneering activities commenced till date, came at a huge cost to the citizenry as well.

Indeed, records were made and long held myths shattered, leaving many with mixed tales concerning the activities heralding the election of Nigeria’s fifth executive President. Some burning issues worthy of note include election-related violence, ethnic rivalry, North and South dichotomy, further collapse of the economy, depreciation of the Naira, drop in Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, fall of the stock market, mismanaged relationships, abandonment of governance and disenfranchisement of voters.
Those who spoke to Vanguard Features,VF, opined that these events and issues are too critical to be ignored whenever the 2015 general elections are discussed. ‘’What the nation saw in human, material, economic and even strategic cost, were in proportions never seen before. They are too critical to be ignored. It becomes very important that they are looked into with the view of ensuring more acceptable developments in future.

Yes, it was not new that Nigeria was taken to the cliff because by all laws of social science, the country had always been on the edge. Every other thing experienced during the just concluded elections, came at price tags of varying degrees,‘’ the President, Federation of Election Monitors, Comrade Joseph Odi, told VF.
Ethnic rivalry/North and South dichotomy.

Like Odi observed, the election divided the country along primordial, ethnic lines that had historically been a prominent feature of Nigerian politics. The millions of networks, family links, ethnic loyalties, religious bonds, among others, that make the country work in spite of often being on the edge, were destroyed. Regrettably, these social, political and economic connections that create leaders and ultimately prevent wars in an often volatile nation, were mortally threatened during the election.

At the expense of national unity, politics of brinkmanship was displayed by members of the two leading political parties, supporters and kinsmen of candidates. For instance, kinsmen of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan, in a move that whipped up ethnic sentiments, threatened that should the President lose, hell would be let loose.

Notably among those behind such threats were Alhaji Muhajhid Asari Dokubo and High Chief Government Ekpemupolo. Also, the First Lady, Patience Jonathan reportedly made statements considered insulting to the sensibilities of the North.
She was alleged to have said at a campaign rally in Calabar that: “People in the North breed more children than they can cater for. Our people do not give birth to uncountable children. Our men don’t give birth to children they dump in the streets. We are not like people from that part of the country (North)”.
She was apparently referring to the Almajiri system in the North, a lower stratum of children whose condition, her husband claimed to be addressing with the establishment of Almajiri schools in some states in the North. The combination of these scathing remarks got the polity overheated, leading to mass movement of people to their places of origin in the build up to the polls.

Depreciation of the Naira
The value of the country’s currency was another casualty as the Naira further lost its value against the United States dollar. Indeed, the development further impacted negatively on the country’s already struggling economy. A few weeks to the election, the exchange rate was N225 to the dollar against the official rate of N197.
Some Bureau De Change operators told VF at the peak of that crisis that the high demand for dollars by Nigerians, especially politicians, was responsible for the high exchange rate witnessed in the country. The preference for the dollar by politicians then was such that many feared that the dollar would replace the Naira as the country’s official currency.
Drop in Foreign Direct Investment

Prior to the commencement of the electioneering activities, the volume of trade with foreign nations was considered robust. But given the tensed political climate occasioned by politics of brinkmanship, Nigeria witnessed a sharp drop, leading to incalculable economic losses. Little wonder an international research firm, Standard Chartered Global Research, said in its report that the postponement of the election added pressure on the economy.

“The election delay puts at risk our call for further policy tightening at the March MPC meeting. With oil prices still languishing at low levels, resulting in minimal injections into the FX reserves, we expect the reserves to come under further pressure, perhaps dropping to about six months of import cover,” the firm stated.

Abandonment of governance
In Nigeria, the practice has always been to dedicate the second and third years in the life of an elected government to governance, while politicking takes a large part of the fourth year. This scenario played out in Nigeria as government activities practically took the back seat. VFchecks showed that more time and resources were actually dedicated to election -related issues than governance.
In a few places and instances where the business of governance was attended to, policies were often moulded by political persuasions. Both governors seeking re-election and outgoing ones were more concerned with election matters at the expense of their primary statutory functions. The same thing applied to Federal and state lawmaking houses, as the legislators hardly met during this period.
For instance, President Jonathan in a move to woo voters in the South West, literally relocated to the zone for about two weeks at the height of the electioneering campaigns.
Electoral violence

Numerous incidents of election- related violence took place in different parts of the country. Although electoral violence has been a recurring feature of electioneering campaigns in the country, it assumed epic proportions at the last polls. These improper conducts were common sights in all the geo-political zones. In fact, the National Human Rights Commission reported that no fewer than 58 people died ahead of the polls. The report which was released in February, said 61 incidents of election violence occurred in 22 states, resulting in the death of 58 persons.

There were other incidents of violence during the presidential and governorship polls. Apart from the human casualties, several people had their prized possessions and means of livelihood destroyed. This sad story is being told in Rivers, Ebonyi, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi and even Lagos where killings and destruction of property featured prominently.
Ebonyi: Four killed, eight vehicles vandalise

In Ebonyi State, the political violence that took place during the governorship election claimed about four persons while over eight vehicles were destroyed. Although VF could only confirm four deaths, unconfirmed reports claimed that the death toll rose to seven. The violence recorded occurred before and during the election in 13 local government areas in the state. The deaths occurred mainly in the North and Central senatorial districts
.
The violence was traced to the alleged decision of Governor Elechi to use an opposition political party to make good his vow that his Deputy, Dave Umahi, would never emerge victorious at the polls.
Harvest of deaths in Akwa Ibom
The elections in Akwa Ibom State were marred by violence. No fewer than six persons were killed, while eight were injured in Nsit Ibom and Nsit Atai local government areas of the state. In Ukpum Ete Ward 1, Ikot Abasi Local Government, sensitive and non-sensitive materials were snatched away by thugs.
The situation was the same in Mkpat Enin LGA where two Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, adhoc staff were injured. Election materials were also snatched in Eket and Ibesikpo Asutan local government areas. These materials were later recovered by the Police.
Monarch, four others killed in Benue

In Benue State, the district head of Utange in Ushongo local government area, Zaki Joseph Kumbur, and four others were reportedly killed. This came just as INEC offices in Tarka and Ushongo local government areas were attacked by suspected hoodlums who also snatched ballot boxes in several polling units around Makurdi and other parts of the state, in the wave of crisis and violence that affected the polls in the state.
A breakdown of the reported killings showed that two persons were shot dead in Zaki-Biam in Ukum local government area, one person was gunned down at the North Bank area of Makurdi while another person was killed in Gwer Local Government Area.
Party supporter shot dead in Plateau

In Plateau State, voting was nearly marred in Sarkin Arab Ward and environs when a young man at nearby Ali Kazaure polling station in Jos North Local Government Area was shot dead by a security operative. The deceased, alleged to be a supporter of one of the political parties, had engaged a supporter of another party in a scuffle before the security personnel standing by intervened to end the quarrel.
In the course of the scuffle, the deceased allegedly drew out a knife and the soldier tried to take the weapon from him. He was said to have struggled with the soldier who got infuriated and shot him. The timely intervention of other security agents saved the situation and normalcy was restored in the area.
Councillor beaten to death in Bauchi

In Bauchi State, the Chairperson of Bogoro Local Government Area, Hassana Arkila, confirmed the death of the PDP Councilor for Gizaki/Badagari Ward, Mr Musa Daniel. He was allegedly beaten to death by angry youths while on electoral duty. Arkila described the attack on the Councillor as unfortunate and linked the incident to saboteurs of democracy.
She said :” I want to confirm the death of a PDP Councillor who was beaten to death by irate youths. l am assuring the people of the state that the full wrath of the law will catch up with the attackers”. In Lagos State, two corpses found in Oshodi and along Apapa – Oshodi Road were linked to the polls.
Rivers of violence, blood

Heavy shooting was reported in Ozuoba and Rumuolumeni in Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state. No fewer than six people were reported killed in various parts of the state. The State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, who was almost attacked by irate youths when he stopped over at Omagwu, in Ikwerre Local Government Area, to probe allegation that electoral materials meant for the area had been diverted, described the election as a sham.
Armed political thugs allegedly invaded a collation centre in Buguma in Asari Local Government Areae, killing at least five persons and burning some houses. A police patrol vehicle, the house of the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Joeba West, and INEC polling centre in Kalabari National College in the town were razed by unknown arsonists.






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