Friday 30 December 2016

The Malam Shekarau’s Warped Sense of Governance

 Malam Ibrahim Shekarau



By Bukar Raheem
Criticisms are undeniably the tonic of democratic governance anywhere in the world. But in Nigeria, criticisms hardly ascribe to anything sensible because the invective are contrived out of spite and malice, than a selfless inspiration. And most times, it is designed to re-stamp a fading relevance on the political turf.
Immediate past minister of education under the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan presidency, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has been so restless with his soul about the administration of President Muhammadu  Buhari (PMB). Not long ago, Shekarau bemused himself by mouthing claims of insensitivity of Buhari to the plight of Nigerians. And yesterday, he again mounted his consolatory lane by bluffing about President Buhari’s failure to fulfill his campaign promises to Nigerians.
At the Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) ceremony in Gombe, Shekarau said during an interview with reporters that; “The government has made a number of promises, particularly Mr. President (Buhari) himself and we have not seen things on the ground. There is hardly any concrete thing on the ground that you can see.”
Since his boss, former President Goodluck Jonathan miserably lost the 2015 presidential election in 2015, it is understandable that Shekarau is still smarting from the pains of defeat. He imposed a near solitary confinement on himself. However, the realization of his political blight has suddenly woken him up from slumber, but on the wrong side.
What else for a man, who fatally lost a presidential ambition in 2011 on the eve of his departure from Government House Kano,  simultaneously with his anointed successor and governorship candidate on the banner of  ANPP in 2011,  Alhaji Salihu Sagir Takai.  He has repeatedly and fruitlessly tried to plant Takai as governor of the state, the last attempt in 2015; but each trial is resisted by Kano people. His failed electoral escapades since 2011 are symbolic expressions of his rejection by Nigerians and Kano people.
A politician who suffers such serial electoral misfortunes needs political asylum for rehabilitation. It’s imperative because he becomes vulnerable to blurred sights and artificial senility to the extent of failure to even notice how much his environment has transformed.
It is the yoke of Shekarau now and it’s been hellish for a man whose last name invokes the same phonological sound with the name “Shekau,” the surname of factional leader of defeated Boko Haram terrorists,  Abubakar Shekau. So, Nigerians mistake him for a political terrorist each time he saunters on the political theatre in the years of turmoil in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.  
To make Nigerians rehearse and get familiar with his name, Shekarau speaks before thinking or utters any irrationality that comes to his mind, no matter how absurd, just to get noticed.   Again, stoking the fire, Shekarau decided to pour vituperations on the administration of President Buhari which Nigerians hold in high esteem. Whatever Shekarau says about the failure of Buhari to stick to his campaign promises is innately barren of the slightest truth to inspire the conviction of any Nigerian, including his adherents.
Even unrepentant critics of the administration, including Shekarau’s party- the PDP have turned a new leaf at the dawn of the New Year by decorating the Buhari government with accolades for his final defeat of terrorism in Nigeria. Shekarau can also ask former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who recently recanted his earlier criticisms and confessed to Buhari’s indomitable leadership in the defeat of terrorists in the country.
So, no one needs Shekarau’s encyclopedia to feel the impact the Buhari administration has docked in Nigeria these past 19 months.
Nigerians hate to be reminded of the memories of characters like Shekarau because of his striking resemblance with devils like Boko Haram’s Shekau.  When Boko Haram terrorists held sway, each time they strike Nigerians with bombs, arson and abductions, they would celebrate the feast of human blood in the open and in their conclaves.
The former Kano state governor also behaves in like manner. For instance, when he dumped the opposition APC in 2014 for the then ruling PDP, Shekarau, a Nigerian with a supposed nationalist flavor and outreach, who  in 2011 sought to rule  the country  as President danced on the blood and sorrow of Nigerians who were mourning an Abuja suburb car bomb blast, which murdered  nearly 200 Nigerians. 
The incident had the solemnity of a national tragedy. But quite awfully, a day after the incident, Shekarau irresponsibly organized his elaborate defection ceremony in Kano, which was given fillip by his political soul mate, former President Jonathan. At the show, they danced on the blood of these Nigerians hacked to death and mocked the mournful mood of the bereaved.
If Shekarau had preferred not to mourn the dead, but he would have at least, sympathized with the bereaved by quietly postponing his decamping jamboree. So, what moral justification would a man who shares the same cruel, inhuman and beastly instincts with leaders of Boko Haram terrorists claim over a focused and messiac leader like Buhari?
It is not strange for a man with such mindset to turn a blind eye to reality and claim Buhari has achieved nothing in his leadership of Nigeria. Even the administration’s frontal and timely tackling of insecurity loudly proclaimed in the manifest defeat of Boko Haram terrorists, with the capture of the Sambisa forest, for which Nigeria has earned international fame are not enough to unveil his eyes.
Nigeria is cursed with plenty of awkward leaders like Shekarau, who have enjoyed years of unrestricted pillaging of national wealth. They would naturally resist leaders like Buhari who would not fawn to such manipulations in the interest of the Nigerian masses.
It is this singular reason the likes of Shekarau would forever mortgage reasonableness or logic in their perception of the Buhari administration. It is the same Shekarau who admitted at various fora in the past that the preceding government led by his party- the PDP ruined Nigeria for 16 years until Buhari was saddled with responsibility of righting the wrongs.
Of course, Shekarau is aware that the PDP squandered every shilling in Nigeria’s foreign reserves; he knows the prices of crude oil in the international market have kept plummeting steadily and militancy in the Niger Delta would not even allow the country meet its daily crude oil production quota.
Furthermore, Shekarau has forgotten that the departing PDP government also piled debts for the incoming administration of President Buhari. As a key player in the disreputable Jonathan Presidency nay the PDP misrule of 16 years, he is sufficiently aware  of the severity of the problems, further amplified by a sickening economic crunch.
Yet, he dreams, Buhari should have solved all of them in mere 19 months because he made promises. Maybe, Shekarau would import  marabouts from India and Saudi Arabia like some of  his cohorts who collected illicit money from the arms procurement fund did in 2015 to perform the magic. But Buhari will not be part of his headache.         
Although bereft of conscience, Shekarau denied collecting N25million  out of  the alleged N950million 2015  campaign  slush funds allegedly diverted from the arms procurement fund diverted  to prosecute the Jonathan 2015 re-election campaigns for which he became a client of the EFCC. However, what he could not deny was availing his private house in Kano as the most secured sanctuary of sharing looted public funds to PDP party stalwarts for electoral purposes.   
While it is needless to remind Kano people of his wasted years as Kano state governor, Shekarau’s stint as education minister advertises his worse incompetence. The most prevailing problem of his time was FGN’s failure to fulfill the re-negotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement for the repositioning of the university system in the country. To say, Shekarau ever sighted the ASUU file to identify with his colleagues, much more act is to award him automatic credit, for at least, indicating concern.
But he came into office in 2014 to meet this subsisting issue and since ASUU suspended its months of national strike in 2013, only N200 billion for that year out of the bulk of agreed N1.3 trillion intervention fund was paid to universities. It has remained one of the haunting nightmares of the Buhari Presidency.
These are the many enormous problems Shekarau and his buddies in government created when they held power. But he wants Buhari to rectify them in a jiffy. They deliberately grounded all aspects of governance when it became clear the PDP was to be ousted, in order to cripple the successor from performing. Now that Buhari has disarmed them with his performance, a politician of the old ilk, like Shekarau is constrained and veiled permanently never to see  the laudable efforts a leader like President Buhari is making to redeem Nigeria. It’s a pity!
Raheem, a public affairs commentator contributed this piece  from Kaduna State.

Wednesday 28 December 2016

Exploring President Buhari’s 2016 As Antidote For 2017



By Kenneth-Kaunda Adamu 

In spite of daunting challenges and difficulties, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) gracefully and indubitably bade goodbye to the year 2016.  He is excitedly ushering Nigerians into 2017 with heightened hopes and pessimism of a better country on a greater momentum.

When one listens to Buhari’s  public speeches to Nigerians at any major forum these past months, the note of finality is always the plea to Nigerians for patience; professing knowledge of their predicaments, afflictions and resilience.

But the economic hardships experienced by the government and Nigerians notwithstanding, Buhari was able to rewardingly navigate the year 2016 to a successful anchor on the shores of 2017 for prosperity.  Based on prudent management of sinewy resources, the Buhari -led APC government has nonetheless, deposited relics of development and progress in several areas, which the President believes are the antidotes for a leap forward in 2017.

With the hardships of 2016 foretold, Nigerians are prodded to remember the respite the Buhari presidency has brought in their lives in several ways. The defeat of Boko Haram terrorism and the suppression of insurrections in parts of the country like secession agitations in the Southeast, militancy in the Niger Delta and armed banditry and cattle rustling in the Northwest are some of the modest milestones of government.

The Nigerian Army’s final onslaught against Boko Haram terrorists with the final dismantling of Sambisa forest, the terrorists’ haven and its new anointment as a military garrison is the President’s  2016 most overtly ambitious statement about his commitment to the safety of lives and property of Nigerians. And in spite of the enormous financial burden of prosecuting terrorism war anywhere, Buhari accomplished it even as Nigeria swam in economic recession in the last 19 months, from the zero penny treasury he inherited.

And with terrorists completely dislodged in the Northeast, some who were fortunate enough to escape have disguised and fused into peaceful Nigerian mega cities. The security agents’ arrest of BHTs commander a few days ago, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, who confessed fleeing from soldiers’ final onslaught on Sambisa forest bear testimony.

 And the Lagos incident was simultaneously followed by a similar arrest in Abuja of another fleeing Sambisa forest terrorist suspect, who identified himself as Usman. He was arrested by the AMAC Marshal Security agency at the Utako market. Utako district in Abuja, particularly the village settlement area has been a protective hideout for terrorists.

Terror suspect Usman has confessed the presence of his soul mates lurking in dark corners around the FCT, Abuja, which calls for more vigilance. It was at the same spot, another suspected terrorist’ gang leader, Aminu Sadiq, allegedly hid his squad and  bombs for days, before exporting them to  set Nyanya bus station in conflagration in 2014, depositing of tears and blood.    

But Buhari is ready to consolidate on the gains made on terrorism by the Nigerian Army under COAS, Gen. Buratai. It explains his special placement of defence and internal affairs ministries under a special package of critical public service provider-institutions in the 2017 proposed bill.

Buhari handled terrorism and other insecurity threats with seriousness in 2016. It accounts for the first time in several years, why Nigerians have celebrated major Muslim and Christian festivities in the year without echoes of bomb blasts or sorrows disclouring the mood of the celebrations.   

Again, the President’s preachment on diversification of the economy pumped billions of naira to the agricultural sector as soft loans to farmers. This was anchored through the CBN and subsidiary institutions. And the genuine farmers who accessed these loans did not only record bumper harvests in the year 2016, but had value for their agric produce in Nigerian markets. Today, the IMF lists Nigeria as a country on the path of diversification.

Observant Nigerians would concede that local rice, which is the staple food for the Christmas and the impending New Year festivities, was patronized more than refined imported rice. For a long time in the nation’s history, this was glaringly impossibility. Nigeria at the moment faces no threat of food insecurity and the need to import stable food items to further strain scarce FOREX  on account of these conscious efforts.   

And Buhari intends to expand the window in 2017 so that more farmers across the nation cannot only cultivate what Nigerians consume. It is expected that this would encourage export of refined agric and agro-allied products to earn cash for farmers and foreign reserve for the country.

When PMB increased the pump price of petroleum to N145 per litre, many Nigerians grumbled. But since the increment, the country has not witnessed fuel scarcity. And even the celebration of major festivities like Sallah  as well as Xmas and the coming New Year, there is no sign that the commodity would be scarce.

It  is rather in abundant supply, with some fuel marketers adjusting their pump prices slightly lower than official price. The liberalization of the oil retailing sector, has broken monopoly and installed healthy competition among marketers. Government plans to maintain this tempo of 2016 next year and at best, reduce the cost of refined fuel in the year 2017, when modular refineries’ come on stream and the refining capacity of the major refineries’ in Nigeria surges.  

The pains Nigerians have shouldered these past months by paying   N145 per PMS has robbed  dozens of fuel subsidy thieves of the trillions of naira  they dubiously  rape Nigeria annually  into their private pockets. Instead, the removal of fuel subsidy and the excess cash from it has created and is funding   the N-Power Jobs empowerment scheme of the FGN.

Even with just the 200, 000 applicants so far clarified and engaged, out of the 500, 000 targeted for 2016 in a depressed economy, the ovations from the beneficiaries  and their families are enough to move a leader like President Buhari to even sacrifice his soul to make more Nigerian unemployed youths  happier. The balance of 300,000 applicants in 2016 would soon be engaged.  This scheme has been retained with the same sumptuous budgetary provision in the 2016 budget estimates.  

Additionally, over 10,000 Nigerian youths have been recruited into the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). Like the N-Power jobs, engagement of applicants was based on merit, which adhered to the best practices in the world.

 So, children of poor families, with no political godfathers or influences of any kind, suddenly had jobs they never paid a dime either as application fee or bribes to conducting officials. It was properly organized and no stampede and deaths reminiscent of the Immigration recruitment ever occurred. Buhari does not intend to deviate from this path of equity and fairness to all Nigerians.          

The enforcement of the Treasury Single Account has blocked leakages in FGN revenue. It has brought sanity into the financial system as public officials have no more access to free money collected as revenue under their desks to squander.

Hardly do Buhari’s public appointees attend social functions and spray money on the floor in millions of naira or thousands of hard currency or donate same to projects of personal friends. They are still reaching out to associates, but within permissible limits of the law and legitimate income. The trend of un-receipted levies, arbitrary charged students is also gradually receding in public universities; hence it would no longer be slush funds for heads of such institutions’.     

But the big bang in 2016 was vibrated by a recent report of the IMF, which rated Nigeria as the 22nd largest economy in the world.  The global monetary body drew its conclusions in news published on its  website, somewhat expressing surprise that  despite  drastic drop in global prices of crude oil,  Nigeria weathered the storm of negative growth rate, the affliction of  several crude-producing countries in her dilemma

Interestingly, from IMF’s list of 30 countries, only Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa made the list, which pegged 24th and 30th respectively after Nigeria, enjoying   GDP growth rates of 5.2% and 2.4% accordingly. Nigeria has a GDP rate of Nigeria: $1.105 trillion; Egypt: $996 billion and South Africa pegs last in Africa with $724 billion.

 Under PMB, the IMF says the country has continued to diversify and likely to net its goal of climbing the ladder of the world's top 20 economies by 2020.

It explicit affirmation by the respected world financial body that President Buhari has been  on track in getting his policies on economic recovery  and  the administration’s  management of resources from the period it took over the reins of government in 2016 very effectively, even with crude oil prices dropping as low as far below $40 dollars per barrel.    

Nigeria has demonstrated enough leadership promise in Buhari and if such grandeur achievements can be recorded in 2016, despite the economic crunch, it is deducible that  with the determination of PMB to better the lot of the masses of Nigeria, the country can harvest more goodies in 2017 with the sustained,  unflinching support of all  Nigerians.   

For Buhari, the year 2017 is a more dependable era of governance. It is reason for his excitement that the implementation of his programmes and projects “…will move to centre-stage as we proceed with the process of re-balancing our economy, exiting recession.”


Adamu  K. K writes from Lokongoma Phase II, Lokoja, Kogi State.

Saturday 24 December 2016

Army’ Cattle Ranch Initiative as Masterstroke



By Gabriel Onoja

News that the Nigerian Army has sent soldiers to Argentina to learn cattle ranching was met with derision from some professional commentators who neither took the time to understand the concept or research how it tallies with the overall objective of the military.
Details of the excursion were first made known at the Commissioning of Mogadishu Cantonment New Mammy Market in Abuja where the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai was represented by the Chief of Army Logistics, Major General Patrick Akem.

Further revelation from the speech at that event was that the Army under the thorough leadership of Buratai has created the Barrack Investment Initiative under which Army family members are operating fishing ponds, vegetable gardens, fruits, livestock, chicken and eggs production.

As with many other things, this initiative, which should be lauded even without digging into the details have become fodder for armchair analysts that are questioning if learning ranching is the most pressing matter for the Army to expend resources in sending soldiers to Argentina to learn.

Without holding their barrels, the uninformed needless attack on the programme is symptomatic of one of the greatest challenges the nation faces – grandstanding. Many of the self styled critics of government programmes have scant idea about what they are saying including those that carry the label of ‘experts’. Issues are therefore analysed from longstanding ethnic, religious, geographical and political biases that could also be tainted by economic ideology.  This has made a mockery of the fabric of the nation where we are supposed to be celebrating genuine efforts that are made to redeem the country from incoherent practices that were deliberately created and institutionalised by the past administrations headed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Without any fear of contradiction, it is those same characters that messed up the system in exchange for patronage that are today posing as vanguards of national rejuvenation.

In the previous instances, they savagely overlooked and unconscionably turned blind eyes to the fact that the traditional role of a country’s army have mutated significantly to reflect changes that have taken place in the world. As Robert Gates, a former U.S. secretary of defense once said: “One of the most important lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that military success is not sufficient to win: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, promoting internal reconciliation, good governance, providing basic services to the people, training and equipping indigenous military and police forces, strategic communications, and more—these, along with security, are essential ingredients for long-term success.” 

Along this line, sending soldiers to learn about ranching would positon troops involved in the programme to contribute to food security, which is as important as securing the nation from terrorists attacks. Once the trainees are back in the country, it is not conceivable that only the Army will benefit from their acquired skills, which they will be able to teach to populations in areas that are suited for livestock breeding.

As a matter of fact, this would be an army that is not just providing food security but also providing job security for those that would be able to join the industry. This means the army is now looking and operating beyond the tips of their nose. This is selflessly done to add value to life of the ordinary man and create meaningful impact on the lives of those who have been trapped in the jaws of struggle for basic survival and sustainable livelihood.

Additionally, the idea of family members of soldiers being part of the economic programme means that families are not completely left without breadwinners should the head of the family die in the line of duty. This is a well thought-out idea.

Secondly, several persons, including the ECOWAS Parliament had identified ranching as a possible solution to addressing the perennial problems associated with transhumance - the action or practice of moving livestock from one grazing ground to another in a seasonal cycle – which is in part responsible for the farmers/herders’ clashes that has left hundreds of persons dead, displaced and valuable property destroyed as well as eroded basic livelihoods. Not a few people have urged caution while warning against a sledge hammer approach in curbing killer herdsmen. 

As attractive as ranching is as a solution to the problem, no one seems to have a grasp as to how to proceed. Where anyone has the sense of what to do, the finances required for commercial scale ranching is one that has not had any serious uptake in spite of the articulation around how it is a solution – no one is certain it will succeed.

Shouldn’t we then be pleased that the army is undertaking a kind of pilot scheme and one that it is not going into blindly by sending its personnel to a country that currently provides beef and beef products to 400 million persons? 

If itinerant herdsmen can be made to see the economic benefits of ranching would it not provide a basis for culturally re-orientate them to reassess their nomadic way of life that pitches them against farmers? Would the farmers themselves not consider embarking on small scale ranching that will make their states take firmer stance on cattle grazing since the threat of losing their protein source would have been removed?

When does this patriotic gesture become an audacious avenue for some undesirable elements to cast aspersions on the overall plan that is backed with a mission which has a vision attached to?

Where ranching is demonstrated to be a success and herdsmen resist adopting it is a matter of time before the succulent beef from ranches would put the tough and sinewy cuts from the transit cattle out of the market and the nomads would be forced to admit an end to their era, which would also end the orgy of killings that has unfortunately left the nation traumatized.

Furthermore, at a time the country is resolute on exploring new revenue sources towards diversification from being a mono-economy that was vertically and horizontally built on the  structures of oil, developing skills in ranching and actually setting up ranches across the country as being implemented presently has the potential for making Nigeria to join the league of nations that exploit livestock products. 

We must also face the reality that with the capture of Boko Haram camp in Sambisa forest, it is a matter of time before we begin to start having a peacetime army. Some nations have their army engineering corps building their roads and public infrastructure, others deploy their military for disaster response; we must accept the reality. Our gallant and internationally recognised have taken it upon themselves not only to be engrossed in the task of security our territorial unit also to secure livelihoods. This is a commendable gesture that must be given a standing ovation and not some sort of illicit condemnation. We have to deploy our troops to provide food security for the nation.  The lame argument canvassed by some commentators that no other country has committed its army to this kind of role is not acceptable since it implies a resignation to playing catch up on all matters. There is nothing to be lost in Nigeria blazing the trail in having an army that impacts life by providing abundant food.

Even as some uninformed critics have gone to town poking fun at this laudable initiative, one can only hope that it succeeds on a scale that is replicable and adopted by commercial livestock farmers. What is today the butt of jokes would turn out to be the masterstroke needed to nudge us towards self sufficiency in food production. When that time comes we as a people of goodwill or conscience and such infamous critics should be humble enough to acknowledge the timely necessity of the revolutionary thinking championed by General Buratai.


Onoja is Executive Direction, Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism and contributed this piece from Jos.

CSO Hails Military For Yuletide Operations in North East



The Nigerian military has continued to receive accolades for their conduct in the duration of the sustained war against terrorism even as it has maintained good community relations though achieving remarkable success at controlling acts of violence in the North East.
The latest commendation was expressed by the Northern Coalition Against Terrorism, which has praised the army’s leadership for proper welfare and humanitarian assistance to communities hosting the war against terror.
The group which made this known in a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Yusuf Mshelia, categorically lifted the Army’s yuletide engagements with the communities in the crisis affected regions.
According to Mshelia, the military’s latest extension of humanitarian gestures to the host communities is not only remarkable but also goes a long way in the overall success of the campaign against terror to give the people not only physical emancipation but also emotional respite.
“The kind gestures and humanitarian acts you see today exhibited by the Nigerian armed forces will go down in history as one of the cardinal steps at clearing the stripes caused by terrorism. It is a commendable effort just as it forms the base for a complete healing process for these already battered people”. Mshelia noted.
He said for sustainable peace and subsequent development of the region such humanitarian gestures were key to ensure reintegration of the affected communities and further forestall all opportunities at recruiting members of such areas into the nefarious act of terrorism.
The press statement also condemned recent media attacks on the Nigerian military by certain sections of the press, describing such as “diversionary and undeserving for a military which has proven its dedication to the nation’s unity and the war against terror in particular”.
“ at this juncture we wish not to only coned the military authority for the concerted efforts at duty but also encourage them to ignore all media propagandists aiming to rubbish your good works. We only view these attempts as as diversionary and undeserving for a military which has proven its dedication to the nation’s unity and the war against terror in particular”. It read in part.

Thursday 22 December 2016

The Noisy Noise Over General Olonisakin’s Tenure



By Prince Success

Nigerians are very difficult people. Most times, we baselessly portray ourselves as people who infinitely fault everything, including our own shadows, which we have no idea about its existence. To have a probing mind is a positive asset, especially when it is devoted to positive use.  But in our case, we are more prone to the negation offered by useless and unproductive criticisms steeped in lies. 

I was amazed at recent media reports faulting the extension of the tenure of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin. The extension is just for one year and our writers or let me say, armchair critics have found it necessary and expedient to fault the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) to accord him this privilege. 

And to find justification for the unwarranted pen assault on the President and also, Gen. Olonisakin, all manner of lies have been invented and embellished to give the warped thoughts of the critics some semblance of truth.

A reporter with one of the national dailies particularly displayed a confounding ignorance by crafting a report, which admits everything right about the re-appointment of Gen. Olonisakin. But the evil inclination to paint every action of government in black pushed him to submit to chicanery. 

A part of the report, which he credited to weird investigation laughably said, "Buhari's decision to extend the tenure of the CDS which would have ended this weekend, was due to political maneuverings by vested interest who wants to ensure that the two most powerful positions in the military, that of the CDS and that of the Chief of Army Staff, remain in the core north.”

I do not know what investigation as claimed by the reporter rewarded a fresh genealogy to the CDS General Olonisakin as a Northerner. To put the records straight, Gen. Olonisakin is not a Northerner as claimed by the cop reporter. The Defence boss is an indigene of Ekiti state in Southern Nigeria. And this deliberate and mischievous muddling of facts has automatically invalidated the further claims by the reporter that President Buhari “wants to ensure that the two most powerful positions in the Military, that of the CDS and that of the Chief of Army Staff, remain in the core north.”

Nothing can betray truth more pungently than this disingenuous contrivance. How would Buhari scheme to maintain the two most powerful positions in the military in the core north? By the way, what is or constitute “Core North” and criteria were used to determine which positions in the military are powerful and less powerful? Do we believe on the strength of the reporter’s submissions that the Chief of Air Staff and his Naval counterpart are insignificant positions in the military? Do I even believe that politics is factored into the appointment of Service Chiefs; an exercise I know is strictly guided by seniority and merit? 

It is sluggish journalism for reporters to speculate unauthenticated news and pass them as facts.  The devotion of a little time would have informed the reporter that the extension of the tenure of Gen. Olonisakin was spurred by his excellent performance and dedication to the counter-terrorism war in the Northeast and elsewhere in Nigeria.

The CDS’s tremendous sacrifices and seamless working relationship with the various arms of the military made President Buhari to accord him this rare honour. And the intention is nothing other than allowing him complete the absolute flushing of terrorists from the shores of Nigeria. It is not about any political maneuvering as implied.

Perhaps, the lazy journalist has never burdened himself with thoughts of visiting Borno state, which was the hotbed of terrorism or the Northeast region, when terrorism raged. All he knows about the battle with Boko Haram insurgents and its eventual defeat by the Nigerian military are media reports, some of which under reported the severity of the problem or failed to reflect the exactitude of events in the Northeast.

So, he is not primed to appreciate the enormous responsibilities placed on the shoulders of the Nigerian military in battling terrorism and the sacrifices they have made so that Nigerians, including him, now live in peace. If the President decides to reward a service of excellence to the CDS, why would anybody attempt to pick bones or even frown at the use of his discretion?

I hail from the South of Nigeria. And like some Nigerians, I was one of those who never strongly believed in the person of President Buhari as leader of Nigeria. I was frankly cynical about him. But I have also realized that sometimes, it is more reasonable to give a man the chance to prove himself.

And since Buhari mounted the seat as Nigeria’s President, he has demonstrated in words and deeds a religious commitment to the cause of this country. In him, you see the portrait of a man deeply pained at the destruction of Nigeria by a corrupt political elite and perpetual power mongers in the country. I have come to see him as the most detribalized Nigerian leader and it reflects in all his actions as President of Nigeria.

Today, the Southeast region, which rejected him at the polls are proud beneficiaries of programmes and projects of his administration. The number of roads currently ongoing in the region would make anyone think, the people led other sections of the country in voting for a Buhari Presidency. But essentially, these are the credentials of Buhari and when he declared in his maiden speech to Nigerians that “I am for nobody, but I am for everybody,” it casted off the shadows of partisanship, ethnicity and religious considerations in his administration of the country.

So, I am pained at the vile attempts by the reporter to discolour the extension of the tenure of Gen. Olonisakin with regional garbs. The desperation is awful and the intent despicable. Instead of applauding Buhari for his impartial patronage of the Southern region, particularly the Southwest, the spoilers have rather delighted in condemnations. The ulterior motive of playing one section of the country against as manifested in the jaundiced report is condemnable.

If other over-ambitious senior military officers nurse the ambition of becoming the CDS, there is no problem with it. But they should be patient enough to wait for their time, as ordained by God. To meaninglessly castigate Buhari for a decision he has taken, which has neither violated laws of the land nor is motivated by ulterior motives is regrettable and lamentable.

I feel betrayed by this reporter for his thoughtless display of ignorance about personalities and their geographical entities in rendering service to the nation.  Hmm! This is noisy noise, devoid of any iota of reasoning. I look at it more as a desperate attempt to poison the mind of Mr. President against the South because a man falsely accused is sometimes compelled to act on the reverse side of the accusation. We must discourage this thinking; if Nigeria must become the dream nation we wish it.


Success is a public affairs analyst and contributed this piece from Abuja.

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General TY Buratai Commissions Motorcycles For Troops In The Final Onslaught Against Boko Haram Terrorists.






Buhari AT 74: Echoes Of A Day in Africa’s Leadership Renaissance



By Uche John Madu
When news of President Muhammedu Buhari’s three decades, a score and a half birthday assailed me a few days ago, I was caught off guard. As a Nigerian and now her president, Buhari has stolen a special space in my heart, occupying it permanently.
What else, Buhari is still the upright, straightforward, hardworking, stern, disciplined and incorruptible man he was over three decades ago. Admirable virtues no doubt, but these are qualities which crave for attention in Nigeria or Africa, where men of his breed are scarce. The sophistication of Buhari’s life at 74 has left me pondering all day, about Nigerians and Africans.
But as thoughts about Africa’s years of leadership void, flashed through me in rivulets, my heart nearly melted. Why not? A continent, the land of my birth, so richly blessed in human and material resources, did not only submit itself to the rape by colonial imperial powers, but has refused to rediscover herself, decades after the dissipation of shadows of colonialism.
Nearly in the whole wild world, it is only in Africa that poverty, hunger and disease mindlessly ravage its populations. It's only in Africa that one can find sit-tight leaders either democratic or military. Africa bubbles with pervasive and reverting corruption. It is yet a continent which clearly has no focus or development agenda even on the dawn of the 21stcentury. Its development indices rank lowest in the world. Its peoples depend on foreign aid on virtually everything, including the crops, we are endowed to cultivate on our fertile lands.
In Africa, like painfully reflected in the creativity of the Ghanaian playwright, Ama Aidoo in the collection, “No Sweetness Here,” most leaders are half saints and half devils even when they stand on the pulpit, in the harrowed presence of God.
But it’s just today! Yesterday was different. Great Africa patriots and nationalists like Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and Zik of Africa, among others held the strew so positively strong for Africa. But the treasures are all lost in the fading shadows of the continent, which advances more in fantasies than reality.
Yet, this is the same continent, the Senegalese poet, David Diop painted endearingly in his poem, “Africa, My Africa,” much as his other intellectual contemporaries in literary works. But today, we are still on the apron strings of Western powers or the North, the East and the Asian continents. We have ignored the counsel of Late Captain Thomas Sankera of Burkina Faso who admonished us that “We must learn to live the African way. It is the only way to live in freedom and dignity.”
It is for this singular reason I hold Buhari’s appearance on Nigeria cum Africa’s political scene in high esteem. Nigeria, Buhari’s country of birth has gone through excruciating pains. It is a country that has experienced leadership failure since independence. It is a nation heavily afflicted by corruption since the first republic. It is a country that ignores her enviable human and natural resources to cringe before foreign nations for all manner of aids. Nigerian indeed, suffers the most awful internal hemorrhage of poverty, misery and suffering.
Apart from the short-lived first republic and Buhari’s equally short hibernation with power from 1983 to 1985, Nigeria grovels before every phase of its existence as a nation raped and deprived. But Buhari feels the country ought not to be this afflicted.
Thus, when Nigerians decided in 2015 to once again allow Buhari the chance of leading them, it was a challenge one could say, he hated and loved at the same time. And in the last 19 months, Buhari has proven to be both a leader of Nigeria and Africa with desperate songs of rejuvenation.
A political analyst once said, Buhari has always leeched on Nigeria’s political scene in her worse moments. In 1984, much as in 2015, every Nigerian or African knew Nigeria was not only in chaos, but on the brink of total collapse. While accepting the challenge to lead Nigeria, Buhari was optimistic that the country can salvage itself despite the enormous damage.
Like his media adviser, Femi Adesina wrote, Buhari has come; “To serve humanity, serve his country, and make a huge difference. He was sent here to show that it is possible to be squeaky clean, play according to the rules, and live for others, not for primitive accumulation.”
But as Nigeria howls under his therapeutic surgeries, Buhari has shown that he is truly an African statesman. He thinks more about Africa like his home country, Nigeria. So, when the Gambia exuded signs of a political implosion recently, with incumbent, but ousted President, Yahya Jammeh’s belated decision to contest the outcome of the election, after conceding defeat to President-elect, Adama Barrow, Buhari was on the team of ECOWAS mission led by its chairperson and Liberian President, Dr. Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to assuage frayed nerves.
Alongside, Presidents John Mahama and Ernest Bai Koroma, accompanied by Dr. Mohamed Chambas, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to West Africa and the Sahel, Buhari’s first and last concern was to lay the template in Banjui that would ensure the will of majority of Gambian people as expressed through the ballot is not violated by power monks.
It explains why the coalition of seven political parties that backed Adama Barrow beckoned on Buhari when it became obvious ousted President Jammeh plots to rock the boat. “He also knows how the opposition thinks. He can feel what we feel. We are quite glad that President Buhari is here, it gives us a lot of hope,” the coalition optimistically opined.
Much as Buhari is concerned about cutting the cost of governance in Nigeria, he feels African nations deserve such cost-saving measures more than anything elsewhere. It was this spirit that informed his call to ECOWAS for a reduction in the cost of governance by African nations.
While addressing the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York recently, Buhari never concealed his passion for the development of Africa. He raised a voice in favour of reforms and the under representation of Africa in the United Nations Security Council, insisting on “equitable and fair representation and greater transparency, legitimacy and inclusiveness in its decision making.”
I dare say, Africa has been haunted by decades of despotic leaders in civilian and military garments. From Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire; Omar Bashir of Sudan; Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; Paul Biya of Cameroun to Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso and a lot more, who have pilloried their people and their countries while in leadership.
But Buhari feels African nations and their peoples deserve a better deal. He feels Africa is a great continent that should be in the avant garde of progress and development. The sort of progress exemplified by a few great African leaders, who inspire hope, such as Nelson Mandela of South Africa or the late Captain Thomas Sankera of Burkina Faso.
Therefore, poised to lead the crusade for Africa’s leadership renaissance at the dawn of the 21st century, Buhari has begun his symbolic emancipation mission in Nigeria, a country he leads. He believes Africa has no business to piteously depend on Western nations for survival, as it could harness its numerous resources to place itself in a conspicuous position on the world map.
It explains his passionate attachment to things that essentially define the African spirit and endowments. He schemes endlessly to ensure the continent utilizes its own resources for survival. He has sufficiently reflected this inclination in his second coming as leader of Nigeria to a rousing applause by a depressed people.
Therefore, when former British Prime Minister, David Cameron described Nigeria as "fantastically corrupt", Buhari was deeply touched even though he knows it as the endemic problem of his country. So, he is determined to change the situation and leap Nigeria on the path of accelerated development, as attested by his current campaign on self-sustenance through the consumption and exportation of locally made goods to earn foreign exchange.
So, when Buhari declared in his 2017 budget speech that, “I will stand my ground and maintain my position that under my watch, that old Nigeria is slowly, but surely disappearing and a new era is rising in which we grow what we eat and consume what we make. We will CHANGE our habits and we will CHANGE Nigeria,” it was his unambiguous expression of leadership rebirth in Nigeria and Africa generally. Happy birthday, my President, Muhammedu Buhari and at 74, may Almighty God grant you the grace to wax stronger in these ideals of leadership.
Made writes from Badagry, Lagos State.

Tuesday 20 December 2016

CSOs, CBOs, Youth Groups Converge on Abuja for Governance Initiatives



Civil Society Organisations, Community Based Organisations and youth groups are set to converge in Abuja for a two  day interactive session to review President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 governance initiatives while setting agenda for the administration in 2017.
In a press release by the National Co-ordinator, New Initiative for Credible Leadership, Reverend Samson Onwu, he said that Participants for the interactive session, drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will apply their field experience in engaging with Nigerians in the past 12 months to make unbiased assessment of the impact of governance and policy on the populace.
Pre-event consensus building has surfaced key areas that would be receiving attention at the interactive session with the progress made in combating terrorism and dealing with other security threats by the military services identified as one of the leading issues in the year.
Other areas noted for review are the emerging economic realities and how Nigerians can exploit government policies being adopted to address existing challenges and contribute to the recovery efforts. Participants will equally assess the anti-corruption fight with a view to making input about how it can be further strengthened in view of the stiff fight back from corruption.
The session will also review development in the agricultural sector, youth employment under the N-Power programme, manufacturing and health sector among others.
The New Initiative for Credible Leadership is of the strong belief that assessing how governance performed in 2016 will provide vital information in identifying areas that can be strengthened to enable the country continue to make progress while  also making known areas that the  did not fare well and in need of improvement.
The review would flag governance issues that must be addressed in 2017 for Nigeria to be a better place since the interactive session will boldly make recommendations that are consistent with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.     

Saturday 17 December 2016

President Buhari And Gov. El-Rufai’s Unrewarding Jibes



By Philip Agbese 

The corridors of power is wrapped in some mystique and those familiar with the internal workings of the seat of governments would readily concede to the existence of an inner circle which influences major decisions. In Nigeria, it is loosely referred to as the “kitchen cabinet.”

Most times, it is a combination of informal busybodies who arrogate to themselves the powers of scratching the leader’s conscience or claim usurpation of his wisdom to tilt perceptions and decisions on leadership issues. They regale in it and often display a pseudo aura of sophistry more than the crown himself.

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s acclaimed stiffness, he is perceived to be surrounded by this clique, and Nigerians who know better even speculate and broadcast the names. And Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai is touted as belonging to this President’s Kitchen cabinet or his inner circle of influential men and women.

Whether it is true or false is less important. What is incontestable is El Rufai’s closeness’ to Buhari. There is no doubt that he is one of PMB’s closest confidantes.  He is reputed as sharing same perceptions about life or leadership with Buhari.  And El Rufai had once publicly confessed owing his elevation to the seat of governor of Kaduna state to Buhari’s prodding.

It implies the allegiance El Rufai owes to Buhari. And quite often he expresses concern about his desire to see an exceptional Buhari Presidency. He speaks in a manner that suggests a Buhari presidency excelling in performance to the level of not only disarming his critics, but to the point of gasping for breath.

A perturbed El Rufai once voiced his desire of a perfect Buhari Presidency during a state prayer session organized by an opaque group, by the nomenclature of Abdullah Network Communication.

After lamenting the enormity of the afflictions of Nigeria, he said; “it will be more painful if this government fails Nigerians.”

Therefore, in respect of  El Rufai, it is safe to hazard the guess of intimacy with Buhari and moreover, they belong to the same region and political party. By implication, El Rufai can have the President’s audience more frequently than his other colleagues.

An astute leader, no doubt, the governor is expected to deploy his energy and wealth of experience to assist PMB succeeds in the herculean task of governing Nigeria in order to redefine the Nigeria he wishes to see.

Nigeria is a large and complex country. And to abandon the burden of leadership of this great country on the shoulders of one man and expecting a wonderful performance is demanding too much. Buhari’s acolytes’ who share his vision and perceptions about changing Nigeria must necessarily and audaciously step out to render assistance.

Unfortunately, Governor El Rufai has not explored this plank of thinking. Rather, he has chosen to anoint himself with the toga of the  many half-hearted loyalists and sympathizers’ of the Buhari administration.  What these folks often flaunt is lamentations and wailings about the gravity of the decay in Nigeria and the hapless Buhari, always burdened with the responsibility of salvaging Nigeria from its degenerative pit.

It is what El Rufai has been doing in the last 18 months when Buhari ascended the throne as President and he held the other end as governor of Kaduna, a state referred to as the Northern mafia center. Some days back, El Rufai again repeated these idle and worthless talks, as he fielded questions from reporters after the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja.

Irritatingly drumming the obvious hardship in the country, which he blamed on  pervasive corruption of past era,  which Buhari inherited and the decline in oil production as a result of militancy in the Niger Delta,  Governor El Rufai said;    

“This collapse happened because there is a reduction in price of oil. Secondly, we were producing over two million barrels of oil per day but because of the situation in the Niger Delta, we are now producing about 1.1million barrels per day. It is therefore inevitable that there will be cut and pain. But to say that it is government that is doing it without referring to the cause, it is not fair."

Earlier, as a guest at the Sunday Service of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Governor El Rufai  had also  descended into another session of wailing, pitying Buhari, instead of  thinking on how to assist him to overcome the daunting challenges governance has bestowed on him.

Thus he said; “When we sit down with President Buhari these days, I pity him. I pity him because he has always become president anytime Nigeria is in trouble. First, it was after the NPN (National Party of Nigeria) government had almost grounded the economy (in 1984) and now, after a massive looting of the nation’s treasury; and he has to lead the team to fix it.”

Frankly, this is a flawed approach about someone you cherish who finds himself in a dilemma.  But El Rufai can do more than his present posturing. Lamenting and wailing all over Nigeria about the country’s past or why the masses must suffer and necessarily lick their wounds in appreciation and why no one should expect anything good too soon is disguised mockery of the President and Nigerians. It dampens the spirit and faith of Nigerians in the Buhari Presidency.

El Rufai can be more positive and pragmatic, if his intention is to render genuine assistance to PMB. For instance, he could assemble some prominent Niger Delta leaders, (some of whom might be even his friends), to open their own mutual dialogue with the dissenting voices and restive interests in the region.

The initiative could offer an informal platform for a parlay with these disenchanted interests in the region, outside of the officialdom of government,   with the intent of prevailing on them to also see the other side of the coin. If the parley strikes this reasoning and commitment from stakeholders in the region, it would douse tension in the area considerably and increase Nigeria’s daily crude oil exploration and export.    

As a Northerner, El Rufai is in a privileged position to know the secret sponsors of Islamic extremism, which has mutated into religious terrorism. He could privately engage these arrowheads in secret talks to convince them to discard such ideas and call their adherents to order.

Though not part of Buhari’s media handlers, but it is more worthwhile during such public outbursts, El Rufai could devote time to explain to Nigerians  the Buhari  policies and  programmes, which are still misty as well as the derivable benefits to wax  masses support of them and the  Presidency than wailing about past wrongs.   

 It is loftier to reason and act this way in support of the Buhari Presidency than posture in a manner suggestive of masses revulsion against PMB for inflicting pains on them. Competing for a medal in wailing as demonstrated by El Rufai is not the panacea. He must be seen engaging practical steps to assist President Buhari to salvage Nigeria. But if this task is too heavy for him, it is better and more honourable to remain mute than inspire and stir up the passions of hatred in Nigerians against the government with wailings’.


Agbese writes from the United Kingdom.

SGF, Nigerian Senate And Faulty Steps



By Okanga Agila

In its customary and baseless umbrage, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has indicted the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Babachir David Lawal over alleged contract scams. Flowing from this, the Red Chamber has also issued a matching order in a resolution calling on his resignation or suspension.

Precisely, the indictment of the SGF is over alleged contract infractions from the Presidential Initiative on the Northeast (PINE) on Internally Displayed persons (IDPs) camps. The Senate also directed President Muhammedu Buhari (PMB) to ensure his prosecution for contravening Nigeria’s code of conduct for public officials as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

Nigerians need no soothsayer to remind them of the absence of a Senate, which can proudly lay claim to the status of truly venerated parliamentarians of Nigeria. It has been the unfortunate situation since the return of democracy in 1999.

It explains former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s (OBJ) constant criticisms of the National Assembly. He adamantly and consistently describes them in derogative terms as crooks and unarmed robbers. Weeks ago, OBJ at the Akintola William Annul Lecture series in Lagos renewed the bellicose in these words;

“The National Assembly cabal of today is worse than any cabal that anybody may find anywhere in our national governance system at any time. Members of the National Assembly pay themselves allowances for staff and offices they do not have or maintain. Once you are a member, you are co-opted and your mouth is stuffed with rottenness and corruption…the National Assembly is a den of corruption by a gang of unarmed robbers.”

Like OBJ’s vexations, what is however novel today is the realization of the current Senate headed by Senator Bokula Saraki, as incomparably worse than preceding Senates. Many a times, they are seen indulging in responsibilities which at best seek to usurp the duties of other arms of government, while their cardinal job of legislation suffers neglect.

There is nearly nothing this senate has set out to do that it has done cleanly to the applause of all. It is famed in scandals and the blackmail of the executive.

When some Senators queued up to pressurize the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) against prosecuting Senator Saraki for alleged violation of assets declaration laws for public officers, it gave an inkling into their mindset. The egoistic refusal to consider President Muhammedu Buhari’s (PMB) about $39 billion loan request to salvage Nigeria or Sen. Dino Maleye’s verbal assaults to Senator Remi Tinubu have cleansed the Senate of any vestige of integrity.

The Senate’s grudge against Babachir is his alleged fraudulent handling of the contract awards emanating from PINE, an initiative domiciled in the SGF’s office for supervision.

The Senate’s ad-hoc committee chaired by Senator Shehu Sani which conducted an inquest into the mounting humanitarian crisis in the Northeast affecting IDPs claimed its findings suggest Babachir awarded fake and inflated contracts to his company, Global Vision Ltd. The Senate report alleged the SGF awarded the N200 million contract to clear ‘invasive plant specie’ in Yobe State to his company, where he presided as a director until last September, while holding the position of SGF.

It also accused PINE of exploiting the critical and deplorable conditions in IDPs in camps in the Northeast to allegedly award fraudulent contracts, as realities on ground in the camps showed a chasm between spent funds and remedied problems.

The Senate marketed their pre-conceived intentions on PMB through Senator Isah Misau who called for SGF’s suspension and prosecution. Misau claimed Buhari administration have difficulties with performance delivery “because of people like the SGF,” noting that “Without the prosecution of the SGF, this anti-corruption fight will go nowhere.”

In Babachir’s reaction to the Senate’s altercation with him, he described the lawmakers as people infested with the pull-him-down syndrome which they unleash on the best people unjustifiably, insisting that the Senate resolution was gibberish. Reminding Nigerians of the familiar imprints and antecedents of the Nigerian Senate, Babachir insisted that the Senate resolution is balderdash insofar as the committee never deemed it necessary to accord him the opportunity to defend himself over the allegations before nailing him in court of public opinion, after concocting outright blatant lies.

His words, “It is therefore, surprising that they devoted a whole session of today (yesterday) at maligning me, claiming what is not true without even giving me the chance to come and put my own case before them.”

The SGF made a valid point at this juncture. The validity of his submissions can be gleaned from the fact that as lawmakers, Senators are privy to the stipulations of law which demands fair hearing from all parties to a dispute before a verdict of condemnation is issued. But since today’s Nigerian senate is increasingly turning towards the absurd, extending such luxury to the SGF, who is perhaps, their arch-enemy, is unthinkable. So, they rushed like ravenous wolves in all directions to devour him with a verdict of guilt.

Anyway, Babachir is a man who is not given to the niceties of groveling before arrant rubbish, bluntly told the Senate “ I will not resign.” The scenario brings to the fore for the umpteenth time, the Senate’s obstinate nude dances in the market place. It is a chamber that has so far stripped itself of any modicum of integrity and respect in public estimation.

It is a Senate that allegedly forges House Standing rules; it is a Senate whose leader, Senator President Saraki has engaged tricks to evade trial for his alleged false assets declaration and it is a Senate with the least consideration of the feelings and the pains of the masses; they preach patriotism but settle for foreign official cars, worth millions, in the time of the country’s economic recession.

Sometimes, without any scruples, they anoint themselves with the wigs and robes of members of the Bar and the Bench, by conducting investigations into everything, everywhere to pass damnable verdicts. But sensitive bills affecting the lives of Nigerians gather dust on the shelves.

It is the proclivity to pursue the mundane, instead of the germane that the PIB has survived many sessions of the Senate untouched; the bill for the establishment of the National Poverty Eradication Commission is still at its virgin stage and for sure, a bill for the establishment of Special anti-graft and other related offences, as contemplated by PMB would be stalled and frustrated, because it would speedy the trial and conviction of the corrupt ones among them.

But when they resolved to dubiously protect Saraki from prosecution or whittle down the powers of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), amendment to clauses in the enabling Act received expeditious attention and passed overnight. The 2017 Appropriation Bill is likely to be passed mid next year again, as they would devote more time to chase the SGF. Can these Senators excuse Nigeria from their profane tendencies?

Okanga writes from Agila, Benue State.