Media Strategist, Demola Olarewaju Joins Race For Lagos PDP Spokesperson

 

A Lagos and Abuja based Public Relations Consultant; Mr. Demola Olarewaju has officially joined the race to become the next State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State. He was until June this year the Head of Corporate Affairs of TStv Africa, an Abuja based digital satellite company.

A prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Demola Olarewaju has been a frontline advocate of the party on social media as well as various programmes on radio and television. Before going into the corporate world, Olarewaju had overseen the media engagements of former Minister, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro before 2015 and also led the Lagos digital media arm of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign in 2015.

He had after then worked with presidential aspirant and former Governor Sule Lamido before working with the eventual candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the Director of Digital Media Strategy in the PDP presidential campaign structure.

His entry into the race to replace Barr. Gani Taofeek who has held the position for two consecutive terms and a period of ten years has received widespread support from the digital media world as well as with stakeholders in the party who desire a spokesperson conversant with all forms of modern communications.

According to Wole Adeyeye, a close associate of Mr. Olarewaju, he submitted his nomination form last week in Abuja, after it had been duly completed and signed by 4 nominees each from every LGA in Lagos State, including PDP BOT member Dr. Charles Akitoye, PDP SW Zonal Secretary, Hon. Rahman Owokoniran and five House of Representatives candidates of the PDP in Lagos State in the 2019 elections including Michael Adewara, Azeez Akinsanya, Oluwaseyi Olowu, Afolabi Fadahunsi and Adamoh-Faniyan Olagbenga.

Adeyeye further explained that Demola Olarewaju went into the Wadata Plaza only with a few close associates and thereafter paid a courtesy call on the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, whom he had worked closely with in the past. Mr. Ologbondiyan expressed high hopes that the Lagos PDP would come out stronger after the convention, expressed confidence in the capacity of Demola Olarewaju to do the job but maintained his neutrality as regards the aspiration as an NWC member.

Demola Olarewaju had led the PDP digital media operations in various elections under the office of the National Publicity Secretary including the Osun election in support of Senator Ademola Adeleke as well as the Edo gubernatorial election.  He is also a member of the Publicity Subcommittee of the forthcoming PDP National Convention.

The PDP Lagos State Congress is expected to hold in October, following the Ward Congresses held last week Saturday and the LGA Congresses to be held shortly.

Kennie Obateru: As NNPC’s Mr. PR Bows Out In Style

 

By Charles Affiong,

The Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry has been in the news, lately. This time around, the industry was hugging global and local limelight for the right, nay positive reasons. It all began at the Aso Rock Villa where President Muhammadu Buhari (in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources) announced a whopping N287billion profit after tax by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He also, in a historic feat, gave his assent to a 20-year-old Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), signifying a major Act  that will change the fortunes of the nation’s oil and gas industry for the better.

There were also some positive news from the hallowed chambers of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where the Federal Government okayed the sum of $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries. There was also the news from the magnificent towers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where a major reshuffle in the Top Management of the Corporation was announced. Thus, for the oil and gas industry, the last few days were unprecedented, as they have recorded some very remarkable developments.

Lying quietly in between such exciting and high-profile happenings was the story that NNPC’s quintessential image maker, Dr. Kehinde Obateru, will be taking a deserved bow from the public service, and by extension, from the public limelight. This is after about thirty years of meritorious service to his fatherland through the NNPC. Rising from a Protocol Officer to a Minister of Petroleum in the early 90s to hold several Public Affairs position in NNPC, Dr. Kennie, as he is fondly known by friends and colleagues, will be proudly going home having attained the statutory 60 years retirement age, which came while he was holding an enviable position of being the Official Spokesperson of Africa’s largest Corporation.

Without mincing words, Dr. Kennie’s retirement from public service was extra special. And this is for many reasons. One, here is a man who had for three decades of his illustrious life, given his all towards promoting the NNPC brand. In Dr. Kennie, you are talking of a PR man that has bestrode the business of corporate image making like the proverbial colossus. You are talking of a man who has upscaled the art of reputation management in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to global standards. You are referring to someone who came to the PR profession not by mere happenstance, but by dint of hardwork, commitment and adequate preparation.

Simply put, in Dr.Kennie, you are referring to a man who lives PR, eats PR, drinks PR and even sleeps PR, as you will come to know soon. Looking at his exploits in his early days as a News Reporter/Sub Editor for a national newspaper and as a Sales Executive for an independent petroleum marketing outfit, you will agree that the man was cut out for the image-making profession. From his humble beginnings, it was obvious that Dr. Kennie’s early journalism background had some impact on getting him to fall in love with Public Relations.

As a Reporter, the young Kennie has interviewed hundreds of VIPs and company spokespersons, a golden opportunity that has sharpened the requisite job competencies needed for survival in the critical business of PR, especially media relations and stakeholder management. At the same time, the oil marketing job has availed him the opportunity of learning how to sell even the toughest of ideas, brands and businesses. Therefore, when in 1992, an opportunity to work at the NNPC Public Affairs Department came calling, Dr. Kennie jumped at the opportunity.

From there onwards, you could see that Dr. Kennie was made for the top. Gradually, he rose and rose through the ranks, serving in several PR leadership roles across NNPC’s business value-chain. These include Manager, Media Relations in the Corporate Headquarters (2007 –2008); Manager, Public Affairs, Port Harcourt Refinery (2008 – 2010); Manager, Public Affairs, NAPIMS-NNPC (2010 – 2015) and General Manager NNPC London Office (2015-2020).

Therefore, when in March 2020, the NNPC announced Dr. Kennie as its Official Spokesperson, friends, colleagues and associates considered it a right choice, akin to a round peg in a round hole. And so, since March last year to his very last day in the office, the Kwara-born PR guru spent the last 18 months helping to enhance the positive visibility of the NNPC brand, which, under the exceptional stewardship of the GMD, Mallam Mele Kyari, was already witnessing rave reviews for its entrenchment of Transparency, Accountability & Performance Excellence (TAPE) vision.

Dr. Kennie had also prepared academically before providence smiled at him to pick up the coveted role of NNPC image-maker. He is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos, University of Ilorin and University of Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom. He also holds a certificate in news reporting, a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts and an M.Sc in  Public Relations. In 2012, he was awarded a doctorate in Management [Honoris Causa], by the Commonwealth University, Belize. Dr. Kennie is a member of the international Public Relations Association (IPRA), a senior member of the Africa Public Relations Association (APRA), a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).

His appointment in March 2020 as the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the NNPC did not therefore come as a surprise. In fact, if there was one outstanding thing the appointment did, it was simply to underlie the confidence which the management of the Corporation has reposed in him to deliver on his new task of boosting NNPC’s corporate reputation. One of such major responsibilities was selling the TAPE mantra to NNPC’s internal and external stakeholders, a task well-delivered by Dr. Kennie.

Dr. Kennie will be remembered for being a journalists’ – nay stakeholders’- delight, any day. Although soft-spoken, he never shied away from responding and attending to the deluge of inquiries that flood the organisation on a daily basis. His tenure has witnessed one of the most peaceful and harmonious era in terms of relationship between the NNPC and its critical stakeholders. Gone were the days when the media, especially, will be engaged in a cat-and-mouse race, as a result of some inquiry to the Corporation.

Several stakeholders who have worked with him will attest to the fact that Dr. Kennie was an epitome of humility; a self-driven goal-getter, an amiable PR practitioner and an embodiment of competence and professionalism. Professionals within the industry always talk about the goodwill and improved positive mileage which the NNPC is currently enjoying via its successful entrenchment of the TAPE mantra. Majority of such professionals have confessed that such remarkable milestones were well-known to Nigerians, with Dr. Kennie as the chief PR man at the helm.

On Friday, the 24th day of September, 2021, Dr. Kennie will be taking a bow, as he will officially hand over the reins of NNPC’s Group Public Affairs Division (GPAD) to his successor, Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, another experienced and capable hand. To the glory of God, Dr. Kennie will be leaving the stage as an accomplished professional and a fulfilled public servant, who will look back at the NNPC with a smile that simply says: “I came, I saw, and I conquered.”

In few months to come, NNPC, and the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry will never be the same again. The NNPC will particularly be witnessing a major growth in its 44-year history. It has been predicated on delivering more value going forward. It will soon be incorporated and governed by the principles of Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA). It will declare profit and present dividends to millions of its shareholders (Nigerians). It will also be a fully integrated energy company purely driven by profitability and performance excellence. I reckon in those coming months, Dr. Kennie would proudly tell his grandkids that I was part of it all.  

It was Edward Louis Barnays, the American Publicist and globally acclaimed pioneer and father of modern Public Relations who once said: “Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time.” Going by Barnays’ priceless words, it definitely looks like he was referring to the retiring NNPC image maker, as there will be so much joy, happiness and merry-making for Dr. Kennie in his spare time.

Happy 60th birthday, Dr. Kennie Obateru, NNPC’s Mr. PR. Enjoy the best of your spare time.

 

Affiong, a Public Affairs commentator writes from Lagos.

RE: NNPC In Procurement Fraud: Two Highest Bidders In Slop Oil Sale Are The Same People

 

By Muhammad Sani

I read with dismay and growing alarm a news report of the above heading in the Premium Times of 11th September, 2021. Dismay because over the years the online medium has carved a niche for itself for serious and professional reportage, and alarmed because its treatment of this particular issue falls far short of expectations and requirements of investigative journalism. This does not bode well for its reputation and rating.

It particularly rankles that there is a complete disconnect between the headline and the main story. While the former promotes an alleged fraud or irregularity in two companies with same directors emerging as highest bidders in a slop oil sale, the story itself delves into and harps on local companies being muscled out of a bid to export a kind of petroleum product that should not have been sold abroad in the first place!

Also, the story is punctuated by and riddled with sweeping statements, over generalizations, unsubstantiated claims and speculations dressed up as facts and scoop.  Attributions were largely vague and sometimes dripping with mischief, leading one to an inevitable conclusion that the whole thing was a hatchet job.

For instance, the main meat of the story was that there were “behind-the-scene manoeuvres in which three bid-winning companies possibly took cues from NNPC insiders and decision makers,” in contravention of the Procurement Act. Surprisingly, there was no shred of evidence to support the allegation.   Interestingly, the first and second bid winners, who seem to have two directors in common (Premium Times failed to state what law this violates even though that is what its headline is all about) ended up not paying for the allocation and lost the bid, notwithstanding that they are export companies which Premium Times laboured to suggest that they have enormous financial and technical capacities.

Premium Times equally claimed that the sale of slop oil was “taboo transaction” and injurious to the economy, but did not so much as bother to find out who really authorized it and what benefits the country stands to gain from it.

Must we always insist on seeing things only from the negative lenses? Is it professional for a news medium to base its argument and arrive at a conclusion purely and exclusively on antecedent (as if things must always remain the way they are) and self-serving, skewed opinions of unnamed “industry stakeholders,” “industry watchers” and such nebulous individuals?

On the whole, the Premium Times treatment of this issue is yet another pointer to how vested interests can use the media to fight their own war. But much more than that, Premium Times really ought to have done better!

 

Muhammad Sani, writes from Guzape, Abuja

Mele Kyari Can’t Be Distracted – Alliance

 

The Integrity Youth Alliance has condemned the smear campaign against the unprecedented performance of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari

According to a press release on Monday, 13th September, 2021 in Abuja, the National Coordinator of the Alliance, Kelvin Adegbenga said that instead of saluting the efforts and performance of the NNPC Management team under Mele Kyari, some sponsored elements are busy dishing out unsubstantiated publication with no substances.

"One of the platforms used for this hatchet job is, unfortunately, the Premium Times, which used to be credible. But lately the paper is fast losing focus and credibility.

One solid evidence of this is the story on the sale of slop oil by the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The paper admitted its sloppiness by revealing that "it initially thought the company that won the bid was not registered with the CAC".

But when Premium Times realized its blunder, it created a phantom company with a similar name and said that was the ozone that was not registered"

Having failed in that concoction the paper then screamed that the companies that came "First and second belong to the same Directors"

How pathetic. How is owning more than one company in Nigeria a crime?

"For the fact that we have a former Chief of Staff, Late Abba Kyari; Super Cop DCP Abba Kyari and most outstanding NNPC GMD Mele Kolo Kyari having the same names, doesn’t mean they are the same person, the Group said.

Responding to the baseless allegation by Point Blank News, that the there is “orchestrated plot to loot $1.5 billion using the Turn Around Maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery, PHR, by the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari, Managing Director, Port Harcourt Refinery, Ahmed Dikko, and some members of the Buhari cabal”, the Alliance said that due diligence was carried out in the public and Italy’s Maire Tecnimont was awarded the $1.5bn Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, contract after meeting all the requirements and approval by the NNPC Tenders Board, President Buhari in his Executive capacity as Minister of Petroleum and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

"The question we want to ask Point Blank News is: Have they visited the Port Harcourt Refinery to see that Maire Tecnimont is not carrying out the Engineering, Procurement and Construction?

"With the caliber of organisation and agencies set up to monitor the rehabilitation which include Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), ministry of finance, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the two labour unions in the oil and gas industry – Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).among others, there is no way 'a huge chunk of the $1.5billion meant for the TAM of the Port Harcourt Refinery' will go for the 2023 general elections, the statement said.

On the allegation that Tecnimont is a 'little know' Italian Company, the statement said, "Tecnimont is an international leader in the field of plant engineering, rooted in the pioneering experience of Italian industrial technology shaping the new frontiers of Engineering Innovation. Tecnimont embody the contractor spirit of the Group in Engineering, Procurement & Construction of large scale projects worldwide.

"Since 1927, as engineering center of Italy’s chemical and energy conglomerates, and then as independent brand since 1973, Tecnimont long experience in managing complexity is complemented with a flexible business model ready to quickly adapt to market evolvement.

"The Point Blank News team should have visited the Refinery to monitor the rehabilitation that engaged over 3,000 employees with only 70 expatriates engaged instead of publishing a baseless hearsay.

“The EPC contractors are already on site, mobilized fully and working with the NNPC project management group. They have commenced all the activities, the statement said.

“Those making desperate effort distract the NNPC Management team under Mele Kyari have failed as transparency and accountability remained the cardinal pillars of his management.

“Mele Kyari has walked the transparency and accountability talk by opening up the books of the Corporation the way no other management before his has done.

“The key accomplishments in this regard include: The publication of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Audited Financial Statements of the Corporation and its 19 subsidiaries registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990 as amended alongside that of the National Petroleum Investment and Management Services (NAPIMS) to provide clarity on Joint Venture finances.

“It is not surprising that no other credible media organization published the empty allegations as the Point Blank News and Premium Times are known for publications of unconfirmed news, the statement concluded.

 

Coalition Calls On National Judicial Council To Commence Investigation On Justice Nwosu-Iheme

 

......Says Corruption has become Pervasive in the Judiciary

The Global Centre for Conscious Living Against Corruption said that Nigerian courts have increasingly been acquiring the reputation of temples of judgement, and not of justice.

This was disclosed on Friday at a press briefing in Abuja by the Director General of the Coalition, Dr. Nwambu Gabriel.

“There is perhaps no greater point in our national history than now when public confidence in the judiciary is at an all-time low, Dr. Gabriel said.

He further said that as a coalition of non-partisan, non-governmental civil society organizations who have been observing elections across the country, the coalition have also followed the proceedings of court as it affects the Cross River North Senatorial District bye-election.

He said, “On the 30th of July, the Election Petition Appeal Tribunal headed by Justice Nwosu-Iheme ruled on the matter following an appeal filed by Joe Agi (SAN) consequent to the victory of Sen. Dr. Steven Adi Odey at the Election Petition Tribunal. The court declared Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe as the winner of that election.

The Coalition, as observers to the Cross River North Senatorial District bye-election observed three main mind burgling issues about the said judgement:

“That pursuant to Section 285 (13) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). An Election Tribunal or Court shall not declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of the election thus rendering the order made on the 30th July, 2021 on INEC to issue certificate of return to Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe who admitted before the trial tribunal that he was not given INEC Nomination forms and that his name was not forwarded by PDP (his political party) to INEC as its candidate.

“That pursuant to Section 141 of the Electoral Act, 2015 (as amended), an election tribunal or Court shall not under any circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of the said election. Thus making the order of the Honourable court made on 30th July, 2021on INEC to issue certificate of return to Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe who admitted on oath not to have been nominated pursuant to section 32 (1) of the Electoral Act 2015 (as amended) for the bye-election of Cross River North Senatorial district held on the 5th December, 2020 and his name not forwarded by his political party to INEC as its candidate is without jurisdiction and illegal.

“That Jarigbe  Agom Jarigbe did not file a cross petition and so cannot be entitled to any relief of the court of Appeal warranting his being declared a winner of the election.

The coalition said that Justice Nwosu-Iheme who presided over the matter was very hostile in court on the 30th of July, 2021 as she shouted down on all the counsels in court and allowed only the counsel to Hon. Jarigbe to address the court. This raises a lot of curiosity.

The Coalition raises many questions such as “If not for corruption, how could a Justice of the court of Appeal Jettison Section 285 (13) of the 1999 constitution (as amended)?

“How could a justice jettison Section 141 of the Electoral Act 2015 (as amended)?

“How could a Justice use a pre-election matter for which Senator Odey and even the PDP, (a party Hon. Jarigbe claimed to have won a primary election) not joined in the matter held in Abuja (a court without jurisdiction) to determine an election matter thus violating and contradicting the fundamental principles of elementary law.

“How could a Justice of the court of Appeal use a matter purportedly filed by one Chief John Alaga who was not even a candidate of any political party in the 5th December, 2020 Cross River North Senatorial District bye-election to rule on an appeal?

Dr Gabriel further accused the Judge by saying that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, an election tribunal delivered a judgment in so much hurry. It commenced sitting on Tuesday and ruled on Friday. There were three appeals with all the processes, objections, motions, etc., with very voluminous documents. These documents were not read nor even opened.

“No doubt, the controversy surrounding this matter has attracted it to be in the public domain. A real huge disgust to the public

“Cases such as this keep reoccurring because Nigerians prefer to remain mute. People are often reluctant to speak out on issues such as this. Little wonders, corruption has become pervasive in our Judiciary today, he concluded.

Why Matthew Page Is After My Shadow

 

By Philip Agbese

I will court some decorousness and pretend to be excited, though it’s far from my mood now. As someone always mindful of my beloved country, and a slave to conventions of decency in intellectual engagements, I dare say, I am unscathed and undazzled by the dangerous hurricane wind which blew past me last week.

Straightforwardly, the initiates know, it is not easy to devout time and energies into a published research work. And on the strength of this reality, I will acknowledge the academic exercise coupled by a non-resident scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, (CEIP), Mr.  Matthew T. Page for his published paper, “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria,” dated July 28, 2021.

However, let me also quickly add that whatever findings postulated by Mr. Page in the published work has only ingrained on the tiniest part of my psyche. It only pricks as an excellent census of Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGOs) operational in Nigeria.  

Nevertheless, I have to contest some tenders and disagree with Mr. Page, who is also, an Associate Fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House, and doubles as a non-resident Fellow with the Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja. The author of the work has too generously assumed a number of presumptions and conclusions in the paper on the status, modus operandi, the significance and personalities of NGOs in Nigeria, with specific emphasis on where the searchlight beamed interminably on my personage.

Page attempted to drag my reputation into public disrepute, by aligning a retinue of what he called “briefcase” NGOs to me with the badge of “fakeness,” even though there was no established prima facie case or evidence of my criminal indulgence or misdemeanor. It is a negative profiling of my person, no doubt. But I am sure, Matthew T. Page never intended such outcomes, but only undertook a research to understand how NGOs operate in Nigeria. It is understandable.

Nonetheless, I have every problem with the salient judgement tone and insinuations propagated by the researcher. I felt more compelled to raise a voice and make a few clarifications, against the   loud denunciations’, judgements, interpretations’, justifications and condemnations of NGOs as categorized by Mr. Page’s analysis as “credible” and single-person groups. 

But famously, let me make this declaration. I am a bona fide citizen of Nigeria, with an unfading passion for my beloved country. I am also a staunch democrat and an avid believer in the cardinal doctrines of democratic governance, especially its guaranteed liberties.

And most significantly, years back, I observed my country as a nation thrown into deliberate quagmire, distress, trauma and torments by demonic forces. It’s a game gleefully exercised by the power drunk or power-hungry elites, who are in connivance with feudal lords and the affluent desperadoes who have held the rest of the downtrodden captive on a vicious podium of power tussle for supremacy.

In a number of years, we endured massive killings, sorrows, agonies, conflagrations of varying dimensions, the reign of gun-stars and gangsters, ethnic warlords, and the supremacy of armed militias against the Nigerian state. And for similar number of years, succeeding leaders of Nigeria helplessly watched the evolution, embryony, progression and entrenchments of these multidimensional lethal crises developed near impenetrable foothold in the country, until the Buhari Presidency.

When President Muhammadu Buhari became the democratic leader of Nigeria in 2015, his early actions from day one, conveyed a clear message of his willingness and commitment to regenerate and redeem Nigeria from the barrage of these subsisting afflictions, listed earlier. In President Buhari, I saw the portrait of a leader with a strong will, honesty, strength of character and a staunch  commitment to the liberation of Nigerians.

Before proceeding, let me be blunt to Mr. Page! In all democracies around the world, there is always a conflict of partisan interests from the citizens. Leaders are loved and hated, supported or frustrated.  There is no country where a serving President is loved or hated by all; there is no single nation with such complacent citizenry. 

And I have never concealed my love for President Buhari, which is effervescent till tomorrow. I do not also hate those who hate him. We only interface on the strength of superior arguments either in support or in opposition to Mr. President depending on one’s camp or standpoint. Therefore, Mr. Page cannot determine for me, whether to love or hate my President or query my working in his favour.

My assertions are not peculiar to Nigeria. Even in great world democracies like Britain and America, love or hatred for a particular reader is unevenly spread amongst the people. In yesterday’s American political history, we saw Americans who perceived ex-President Donald J. Trump as a narcissist, white supremacist, braggard, a psycho and a poor leader, who deserved to be booted out of office after his first tenure.

 But then, there were other Americans, who loved President Trump in spite of his personal shortcomings as outlined by his opposing camp. We are witnesses to the resentful actions of the die-hard supporters of former President Trump when they assailed the Capitol Hill and violently broke into the building and disrupted congress proceedings. So, my love for President Buhari is not a restraining weapon for anyone who chooses to hate him. My working for him was an expression of him because he pricked my psyche as a better leader more than others.      

So, Buhari’s early manifestations as Nigeria’s leader endeared and tethered me to his personality/administration. I decided straightaway, without any modicum of hesitation to also conscript myself into the clan of patriots like my President and loyalists of my country, as exhibited by Mr. President. At all times, I elevated and defended national interest first in support of Buhari.

Unfortunately, down the lane, sprouted forces that were arrayed to sabotage Buhari and the country emerged and are at work to see the administration’s end . The sabs launched massive attacks especially on sectors and areas President Buhari’s imprints started registering early remarkable impacts and the radical reversal of the nation’s assailing misfortunes.

Consequently, in just a few months, the Nigerian Military made tremendous impacts in the counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast. The then leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai (rtd) (now Nigerian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Benin Republic) ensured he never disappointed Nigerians and Mr. President, his Commander-In-Chief. He led troops to miraculously recover Nigerian territories captured by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, freed thousands of Nigerians abducted and held hostage by insurgents in the Northeast in the shortest time. 

The Military descended on armed bandits and cattle rustlers in the Northwest and a lot more, even unsparing of violent militants and secessionists down southern Nigeria. Normalcy begun to return to hitherto troubled areas. This respite lasted all through to end of 2017, but was brutally terminated.

And the saboteurs’ and detractors with unimaginable nest and angles of attacks unleashed co-ordinated or diversified atrocities on the Nigerian state to reverse the gains. And deliberate misinformation, fake news and de-marketing of the President and the Nigerian Military’s efforts in containing insecurities became the official antiphonies of the conspiratorial gangs.

As a patriot and someone loyal to my country Nigeria, I could not stand on the fence and idle as some devious Nigerians plotted further destruction of my country and future. I had to conscript myself in this war in my smallest way. It was about the time the United States of America identified cyberspace terrorism globally as a portent weapon used by terrorists, their agents and sympathizers’ in trumpeting the triumph of terrorism against state forces. Therefore, I joined the Nigerian military in these war times to battle cyberspace terrorism.

We all know, wars are emergencies. And every energy and strategy are invested into it insofar as it can railroad a victorious cause.  That was exactly how I functioned in these crucial and precarious times to fight terrorists and bandits for my country. Mr. Page and his partners must know in wartimes insistence on legality and illegitimacy of actions geared towards entrenching peace and security or ending the holocaust do not occupy the center stage.

In fact, questioning the registration status of NGOs which birthed to support the Military match the propaganda prowess of terrorists, appears more like an ass in the face of this emergency and insulated from strict interpretations within the precincts of law.  These actions or dramatis personae cannot be invalidated by Mr.  Page’s skewed definition of “credible” and pro-government NGOs.

Let me put Mr. Page on notice that after this piece, I will respond finally to Mr. Page on why his categorization of NGOs in Nigeria as credible and discredited merely on the bases of their outings or output in Nigeria is disingenuous and faulty.

So, I like to conclude this piece by reiterating to Mr. Page and his admirers that his submissions on my person in the paper titled, “Fake Civil Society: The Rise of Pro-Government NGOs in Nigeria,” only conveyed his repulsion of me, my vehicles of battles against terrorists and for standing up for country at its most difficult and challenging times. I perceive Mr. Page’s elucidations only within the prism of  his  desire,  together with  his sponsors to resort to the pen to persecute me for the exhibited patriotism and loyalty to  my country. But I am unfazed by his poisonous arrows.

Agbese is a human rights activist and scholar based in the United Kingdom.

Folio Media Group Launches FOLIO POST As News Media Outfit To Streamline In-depth, Digital Contents

 

Folio Media Group (FMG), publishers of Daily Times, Nigeria’s oldest media brand is set to take another bold step in the media industry by setting up FOLIO POST, in recognition of the company’s global digital appeal.

The FMG in a statement on Saturday, July 10, 2020  announced the pre-launch of FOLIO POST as a multimedia news platform that will provide detailed, accurate and “on the go” contents targeting young and active global audience.

The move will see to the merger of Folio Nigeria, launched by FMG in 2018 with an exclusive news affiliation in Nigeria and Africa to CNN international (powered by CNN 2018-2021) and the set-to-be launched FOLIO POST into one core web destination – www.thefoliopost.com.

Folio Nigeria which was rebranded in 2020 to tell multi-focal culture stories from Africa to resonate on a human level will now be integrated into FOLIO POST to become a full fledged news and investigative media platform.

The advent of digital media has significantly increased the access to news but also created an influx of information laden with lies and half-truths which has proven to be damaging to the journalistic process and the practice of democracy in Nigeria and globally.

According to the statement signed by FMG founder and publisher of Daily Times, Fidelis Anosike, FOLIO POST proposes to empower Nigerians with information from an unbiased angle and at the same time maintain the core ethics of journalism.

The statement said FOLIO POST will maintain Folio Nigeria’s mandate of using “text, photography, and videos, to engage the audience deep into the latest inspiring developments, providing fresh, nuanced, and layered perspectives on a youthful and innovating continent”.

“The vision is to make politics cool for the young and savvy by breaking down hard and investigative stories into simple and easy perspectives”, the release read.

The statement also called for collaborations from other media companies and advocacy groups with clear a focus on accountability and enforcing the democratic process.

The company said the brand which is domiciled in Nigeria will launch officially in the next 90 days, noting that it has a target of setting up a similar media outfit in other African countries such as Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal and South Africa within the next five years.

Asides Daily Times which FMG acquired in 2004, the company has other subsidiaries including the Folio Media and Creative Academy (FMCA); a capacity building academy for Journalists, Media Executives,Public Relations Officers ,creative industry practitioners, with the corporate mandate to empower 50,000 people by 2026.