No Point Discussing Jonathan Anymore - Leadership Newspaper Column

Sam Nda-Isaiah

— May 12, 2014

It may well be an embarrassment for Nigerians and indeed Africans that American, British and French troops have to come in to rescue a country that is considered the continent’s superpower. Is this the same Nigeria of Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Muhammed, Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Shagari? Is this the country of Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar? Indeed, is this the Nigeria of generals T.Y. Danjuma, Muhammadu Shuwa, Gibson Jalo and Benjamin Adekunle? This is very painful. We must accept this as our fate and punishment for condoning the Jonathan presidency.
But that’s just an aside. If you have been listening to the international news media – CNN, BBC, SkyNews, Aljazeera, The Economist of London, New York Times and indeed all other major international cable TV channels and newspapers – it should be clear by now that there is nothing any Nigerian needs to say about Jonathan and his government anymore. The world’s verdict on the incompetence of President Jonathan is unanimous. We should thank God that the international community does not see a problem with Nigeria itself as a country. Their verdict is that it is Jonathan that should not be in power at all. All the CNN correspondents are in agreement on Jonathan’s incompetence. Isha Sesay even went beyond the call of duty to educate the world about Nigeria and the cluelessness of its government. She is probably angrier than the rest because she is an African herself and the fact that girls are involved; both are good reasons for her to be angry. Richard Quest said it is not that Nigeria is ungovernable, it is governance incapacity that is at issue – a direct reference to Jonathan’s incapability to effectively perform his job as president. The Economist bluntly describes President Jonathan as “incompetent” and the government he supposedly runs as “clueless”; it rightly concludes that “the incompetence of Nigeria’s president and government is hurting the country’s reputation at home and abroad”. It is very true and cannot be put better. Jonathan has brought down the esteem of the entity called Nigeria. We must rebrand our country after we have freed ourselves from him. This we must do by May 29, next year. For Dame Patience, The Economist says “Patience is not always a virtue” and rightly uses words like “bizarre” to describe our first lady. They conclude that she makes matters worse for Nigeria.
The New York Times editorial avers that “Jonathan leads a corrupt government that has little credibility”. How true! Hillary Clinton threw all diplomacy aside to declare that “President Jonathan’s government has failed”. She also said “the government in Nigeria has been, in my view, somewhat derelict in its responsibility towards protecting boys and girls, men and women in northern Nigeria over the last years”.
On his own, the influential United States Republican senator, John McCain, said “the United States didn’t have to wait until a practically non-existent government of Nigeria gave us the go-ahead before mounting a humanitarian effort to rescue those 276 abducted girls”. See how Jonathan is making foreigners insult us?
The world has passed a clear vote of no confidence on President Jonathan and therefore will get more interested in the process and the outcome of the 2015 presidential election. The three words – “incompetence”, “corruption”, “clueless” – have become part of the Jonathan narrative. With this verdict and the way Jonathan has battered our image as a country, I wonder why he still wants to force himself on us as president till 2019. But we wait to see how he will achieve that. Were this to be in most other countries, the president would have resigned, but, in President Jonathan’s alternative universe, he actually wants to continue as president till 2019. And this is a president who not only cannot protect his citizens, but cannot now protect or even guarantee the security of the nation’s children. If the world is currently so outraged about the kidnap of more than 200 girls in Chibok and President Jonathan didn’t give a damn until the world started showing interest in the matter, only God knows how this story will change when the world finds out that, hours after Boko Haram killed over 74 persons in a bomb attack on Nyanya, the president was dancing at a campaign rally in Kano. Not to talk about the fact that he has not made any reference to the burning to death of 60 teenage boys at Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State, a few weeks ago.
There is no need for any Nigerian to waste time on President Jonathan anymore. The world has already united against him. He will now need more than the good luck of his name to survive till May 29!

EARSHOT
The New Hashtag

There’s a new hashtag making the rounds. I do not support it and I even think it is rude to our very well respected first lady and Bayelsa State permanent secretary. All those behind this hashtag should know that “dia is God o!” and Madam must ensure that all of those involved are invited so that she wouldn’t have to ask one person, “Na only you waka come?” Chei! Chei! I can’t believe this.

REF  http://leadership.ng/columns/370431/point-discussing-jonathan-anymore

Some thoughts on the 2015 elections - Peoples Daily Column

By Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
Elections are critical turning points for all democratic systems. They express, in their pure essence, the exercise of sovereignty of the people, and represent the institutionalization of the consent to govern from the people to leaders. Citizens are most powerful during elections, not just as voters, but as people who hold opinions and views that will determine those who will exercise power. The degree to which elections genuinely involve citizens and voters in the manner leaders emerge is one of the few benchmarks for judging the quality of a particular democratic system.
Some preliminary comments may be necessary to put the linkages between elections and the nature and quality of the democratic process. First, it is important to note that elections on their own are not necessarily evidence that democracy exists. Pre-determined or rigged elections are very common, and in many instances, elections are merely routine rituals orchestrated to preserve the status-quo. Secondly, there is very little agreement over what represents genuine value added to democratic systems in terms of elections. In stable, advanced democracies, voter turn-out hovers around 30 – 45 per cent. In many instances it is lower. This suggests that a small percentage of the entire population decide who governs. On the other hand, large turn-outs in developing democracies have coincided with massively rigged elections in many instances. While citizens therefore demonstrate a deep and popular desire to influence the emergence of leaders, mandates are stolen by a handful of powerful people, thus rendering the electoral process into farce. Thirdly, there has been a raging debate over what the world should tolerate as credible or acceptable elections in developing democracies. Poorly – conducted elections have been accepted or tolerated in developing democracies by developed democracies because of the primacy attached to stability, and a questionable belief that with every successive election, the democratic system grows and develops.
Little attention is paid to the damage which successively rigged or disputed elections do to democratic systems in the manner they progressively shrink and violate the foundational values of the democratic system. Finally, citizens and voters expect elections to result in real changes in their lives or their social environments. Perceptions regarding the degree to which this happens are critical in determining dispositions towards democracy as a system of government, and, particularly in developing democracies where leadership plays such decisive roles in determining quality of life, elite competition for power very often draws citizens into serious conflicts over electoral outcomes.
Elections and the Political System.
The electoral process is a sub-set of the political system. All elections therefore reflect the basic issues and concerns of the political system. In developed democratic systems where most of the basic political issues such as the manner classes should compete for economic and political values; the form and structure of governments; nature and operations of basic institutions of state; processes and systems which determine citizen-state relations as well as group relations; the place of values such as faith and a few others are more or less settled, elections tend to be largely about choices within very limited political spectrum. On the other hand, in democracies where allocation of resources between classes and groups is a major issue, or where questions around values such as faith are still unresolved; or where loyalties to centripetal values are central to the political process; or where weaknesses of the elite are significant, elections tend to be volatile and massively destabilizing. If elections do not progressively capture, process and resolve some of these major issues, they merely reflect cumulative frustrations, and each election throws up more challenges to the capacity of the democratic system to resolve basic political issues.
In political contexts where basic issues remain unresolved, it is reasonable to expect that any or all of the following are responsible:
i. Elections merely compound the problems, for instance, by becoming one more arena and opportunity for competing values or interests. Leaders who emerge from the elections reflect and champion narrow interests that may not even qualify strictly as partisan interests.
ii. Democratic processes and institutions do not function between elections to resolve basic issues in the political system, as a result of which elections represent their highest levels of articulation;
iii. Elections do not reflect popular will, including the desire to resolve basic political questions and achieve progressive resolution of these questions. Consequently, leadership is isolated from the imperatives of exercising mandates in accordance with basic popular concerns.
Elections in Nigeria
Elite cohesion, a vital requirement for achievement of political hegemony has always been a major problem with the Nigerian political system. The build up to political independence exposed a weak elite rooted in powerful regions, collaborating only to achieve electoral victory or keep the opposition out. The goal of independence provided an incentive and a rallying point, but intense competition and the absence of unifying values among the political leadership left it exposed and weak. This explains in large part, both the relative ease with which the 1966 coup occurred, and the consequent split within the Armed Forces which was an organic appendage of the political elite.
The long stay of the military in power precluded the possibility of growth and development of a political elite, democratic values and institutions. That period coincided with the real beginning of a rentier state and a political system which was fuelled essentially by patronage. The brief period of civilian rule highlighted the huge chasms which had developed in the ranks of the political elite. Elite recruitment had suffered a major setback. The elite operated basically with the pre – 1966 values and worldviews in spite of efforts of the military to fragment their bases. The prime goal of capturing the state and bestowing patronage to sustain control was still visible and available to the military, and it moved once again to take back control of the state. The political elite was reduced to playing facilitating roles for a military whose own project was principally the control of resources of the state and political power. This singular goal made control and governance difficult and unstable, and the military itself went through a damaging process which progressively robbed it of cohesion and integrity.
The 1999 collaboration involving the rump of the non-military elite from the North and a military desperate to exit without further damage produced the current democratic dispensation. The 1999 elections were a comparatively tame affair, reflecting as they did, a basic consensus around candidates and outcomes at the national level. Subsequently, however, elections became principally about concentrating power around President Obasanjo and leaders of the PDP. His first term taught Obasanjo the lesson that power is best concentrated around his office and person, and his second term was a study in the process of imprinting a powerful leader on a political process.
Nigeria today bears all the hallmarks of a political system centered around powerful leaders who sustain control by subverting basic processes and values that give democracy its basic character. State resources are plundered to build and sustain loyalties, or prove access to patronage which reproduce the basic parasitic nature of the state. Subversion of the rule of law and due processes in the operations of core governance institutions have led to massive declines in their efficacy and integrity. Corruption and the collapse of policing institutions as well erosion of integrity of the judicial system have robbed the state of the capacity to perform its two basic functions: to protect life and pursue the economic well-being of citizens. This is the context in which the 2015 elections will be conducted.
Context of the 2015 Elections.
The 2015 elections will test and stretch the democratic process to their limits, or beyond. It is already the most pronounced aspect of our political process and the period until the elections will cumulatively challenge the security of the nation, the integrity and capacity of the electoral process, and the peace and livelihood of citizens. No elections have held such potentials to deepen the nation’s problems, or



REF   http://www.peoplesdailyng.com/some-thoughts-on-the-2015-elections/

Chibok girls and CAN - Peoples Daily Column

Monday Column by Emmanuel Yawe

royawe@yahoo.com | 08024565402

There has been global outrage against the kidnapping of over 200 teenage schoolgirls at a government school in Chibok, Borno state, and the ineptitude of the government in freeing the prisoners. Apart from the media spotlight on this outrageous act, some of us have received desperate calls from Nigerians abroad seeking information on what the hell is going on here. Nigerians living abroad have become butts of ridicule and very cruel jokes. A friend in the UK told me on the phone how his nine-year old daughter, after watching news broadcast about the girls came over to him to find out why nobody could alert the police about the abductions; or are there no police in Nigeria? Born in the UK, she has no idea about what life is in Nigeria.

Still another friend from the US had a more humiliating story at a party he attended last week. After being introduced as a gentleman from Nigeria, his would be friend let out a loud hiss, refused to shake hands and just turned his back. That is the humiliation Nigerians abroad irrespective of tribe and religion are being subjected to – just because they are Nigerians.

I have written a couple of times on these pages about Boko Haram. One Nigerian, a complete stranger this time called me from France. He had faced embarrassing situations in that country too and was reading everything he could find online about Boko Haram. In the process he found a piece I published about a year ago captioned “B/H and Ahmad Salkida’s Hijra”. He wanted to know about the whereabouts of the young man and if it was possible for Ahmed to help our security agencies sort out the Boko Haram mess. I told him the man was in exile after the security agencies had threatened his life. I have lost all contact with him.

Boko Haram is a product of intelligence failure and monumental incompetence on the part of our security agencies. As a reporter who covered a similar uprising – the Maitasine in Kano (1980), Bulumkutu in Maiduguri (1982), Yola (1984), I can say this without any fear of contradiction or even threat of elimination. If as a young reporter I risked my life for the progress of my country, I do not know why I cannot do so as a grandfather looking at the world beyond.Maitasine could have grown into a more horrible monster if the security and political elite at the time had bungled the way we are doing today. Shagari for all the insults of incompetence heaped on him before and after the Kano uprisings acted the way a Commander-in-Chief should do. In fact, immediately after he was overthrown, the Maitastine people regrouped in Yola to foment bloodshed. The military government acted swiftly there and again in Gombe when the group drifted there.

You can say that it was easier to defeat Maitastine because they were a rag tag group whose armoury did not go beyond cutlasses, daggers, bows and poisoned arrows. But you get it wrong. When Boko Haram started, they were even worse off than Maitatsine; they went to battle with nothing but bare hands. I have little inside information about Boko Haram. The ultimate authority on the group in Nigerian journalism is Ahmad Salkida. Way back in 2005, he sent the first ever news dispatch to be published anywhere in the world. New Sentinel newspaper where I was the Managing Editor published it as an exclusive. That was the trick.

Boko Haram leaders saw him as a friend to get their message to the world and he saw them as the gateway to the big story he had always dreamed of when he cut his teeth as my pupil reporter at Crystal International Magazine where I was the founding Editor. In the years to come, Ahmad became a confidant of Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram and Shekau his successor. He got good exclusive stories for the Trust Newspapers and then the Blueprint for his efforts. No Nigerian outside that group has the kind of information on it like Ahmad. Comrade Shehu Sani and Dr. Datti Ahmad who have both tried unsuccessfully to broker peace with the group will come to the stand as my witnesses.

But here is the reality of Nigeria. Ahmad who has precise information about the group that could be used to end it has been bullied out of the country. Meanwhile Boko Haram has become the biggest industry in town. Lean looking generals and security spooks of yesterday have suddenly become potbellied and rosy cheeked. Ahmad has fled his fatherland. With this type of country, what stops us from hitting world headlines with blood cuddling stories where young girls are herded away, the government cannot differentiate between right and left and the Kidnapper – in – Chief – gleefully announces to a shocked world television audience that the girls are up for sale in the market?

These things are only possible in Nigeria because we are very dishonest with ourselves and even the God we pretend to worship. Boko Haram is committing all these crimes because they say they are a puritanical Islamic group. I am not a Muslim but I know that all good sources of Islam, beginning from Borno, the centre of Islamic worship in Nigeria; Egypt and Saudi Arabia where Muslims from all over the world derive inspiration from – have condemned their actions.

As a northern Christian, I have always been suspicious of CAN. It was founded by Jolly Tanko Yusuf who appointed the Sardauna of Sokoto the life Patron. There couldn’t have been a greater demonstration of political opportunism. The Sardauna was not only a Muslim; he was a very, very proud one who preferred to be the Sultan of Sokoto to being the Prime Minister or President of Nigeria. How did he become the life Patron of CAN?

Over the years, CAN has refused to put away this shabby betty coat of opportunism. I felt sad the other day when I read a report by the CAN in northern Nigeria in which they reduced the issue of the kidnapped girls to that of religious persecution. Are the people writing this type of thrash Nigerians? Do they live in Nigeria? Did they go to school? Are they different from Boko Haram? Are they Christians?When the unfortunate girls come out alive, they will come out as world citizens. Boko Haram has promoted them to that enviable status. The whole world has stood up for them. They are beyond what the Nigerian government and Nigerian Christians can handle. Those of them who come out alive will be Citizens of the World. Those who may lose their lives (I pray this will not happen) will become martyrs for the freedoms we cherish as human beings, irrespective of religious persuasion.

The leaders of Northern CAN should not demote these girls to the lowly position of ‘persecuted northern Christians’ so that they can ingratiate themselves to power – just for a bite of the crumbs.

REF  http://www.peoplesdailyng.com/chibok-girls-and-can/

Missing Girls: Top US General, Rodriguez, Arrives In Nigeria

Foreign military experts including a top United States General David Rodriguez have arrived in Nigeria to assist the federal government in the rescue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.A military source who sought anonymity because of the sensitivity nature of the matter, disclosed this to LEADERSHIP in Abuja, yesterday.

Rodriguez became the third commander of US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 5, 2013. The  US Africa Command is one of six unified geographic combatant commands within the Department of Defence unified command structure.
A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania,  Rodriguez earned his commission from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1976.
Rodriguez has commanded at every level while his  previous assignment was Commanding General of the US Army Forces Command. The renowned general’s additional commands include the International Security Assistance Force – Joint Command (IJC) in Afghanistan; the 82nd Airborne Division; 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division; and 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He also commanded companies in 75th Ranger Regiment and 1st Armoured Division.





REF   http://leadership.ng/news/370498/missing-girls-top-us-general-rodriguez-arrives-nigeria

Obasanjo: Lamido can rule Nigeria

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido is competent to rule the country in 2015.
Obasanjo said this in Dutse, the state capital, yesterday when he visited the state.
He said given Lamido’s background and pedigree he is capable of ruling the country.
His words: “Given his background, performance and credibility, he is competent. With his exposure, he can stand shoulder to shoulder with anybody.
“If it is the wish of the people, it is okay. He did not tell me he is wishing but being the wish of the people let wait and see. Based on his track record, would you say he is not competent?”
The former President said he was in the state to adopt a school under the Obasanjo foundation and train girls.
Obasanjo said the rationale behind supporting girl child education in Jigawa is to train and bring them up with ideals needed for good leadership.
“Our hope is to produce future leaders who would grow up with one Nigeria in their subconscious, committed and patriotic, those who understand that self is not good enough.”
Obasanjo praised Lamido for the construction of the “best international airport” in the country within a short time.





REF   http://thenationonlineng.net/new/obasanjo-lamido-can-rule-nigeria/

At Last, Obasanjo Speaks On Abducted Chibok Girls

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday condemned the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State.
Obasanjo made the condemnation during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jigawa State Government to adopt a junior secondary school and a primary school in Kudai, Dutse.
He appealed to the abductors to release them without any condition because the girls were innocent and should not be made to suffer unreasonably.
“Whatever the grievances, objectives and anger of this group of people who are behind this abduction, they should not have acted on these innocent girls.
“We condemn their action and also appeal to them to release these girls unconditionally because they have important contributions for the future of this country,” Obasanjo said.
The former president sympathised with the parents of the girls but added that people should not be discouraged to send their female children to school.
He said Nigerians should see what happened as a stumble and not a fall and be challenged to give their girls good education.
Obasanjo prayed and expressed the hope that the girls would be found and delivered to their parents.
He said that his visit to the state was to fulfil a promise he made during Jigawa Economic Summit to adopt a school and transform it to a model on the African continent.
Obasanjo said that the gesture was to complement the efforts of Gov. Sule Lamido in promoting girl-child education in the state.
Lamido thanked Obasanjo for his support and cooperation for the development of the state.

REF  http://www.osundefender.org/?p=164509

Amnesty International Stands By Claims That Nigeria's Military Had Four Hours To Stop Chibok Raid – But Failed To Act BY SAHARA REPORTERS

Salil Shetty

By Salil Shetty

On Friday night, Nigerian information minister Labaran Maku went on the radio to denounce evidence obtained by Amnesty International which, we had said, showed the Nigerian security forces received advance warning of the impending Boko Haram attack on Chibok but failed to act on it. Other officials said they doubted "the veracity" of the revelations. The defence ministry described them as "unfortunate and untrue".
Later, though, the government softened its position. Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, the country's minister of state for defence, told CNN that "we must investigate and ensure we get to the root of it".
As well he might, because we stand by our evidence. Testimonies gathered by Amnesty International, and confirmed and corroborated through multiple credible sources, indicate that several military officers had more than four hours advance warning of the armed raid on Chibok and the subsequent abduction of girls from the Government Girls Secondary School on 14 April. Amnesty International has learned that Nigeria's military headquarters in Maiduguri was alerted to the impending attack soon after 7pm that day. Between 7 pm and 2 am, the military commands in Damboa and Maiduguri, 36km and 130km away from Chibok respectively, were repeatedly contacted with warnings by both security and local officials.
As the convoy of armed Boko Haram fighters on motorbikes and trucks made their way towards Chibok they were seen by locals, some of whom also raised the alarm. In the village of Gagilam, local civilian patrols alerted officials, including the Borno State Governor and senior military commanders based in Maiduguri. One local told Amnesty International that he called security officers to warn them. "I made several other calls, including to Maiduguri. I was promised by the security people that reinforcement was on its way," he said.
Two senior officers in Nigeria's military confirmed to Amnesty International that the military was aware of the planned attack even before the calls received from local officials.
An urgent, independent and transparent investigation is clearly essential. But the first priority for Nigeria's security forces is to achieve the rescue of the schoolgirls.
More than three weeks after the incident, the whereabouts of the girls is still unknown. Their ordeal and the strain on their families defies imagination. Frustration and anger at the failure of the government to find them is mounting and these latest revelations will further erode Nigerians' trust in the ability of its state forces to protect them and uphold the rule of law.
The Chibok abductions are shocking not just because of the brutality involved, but also because they were preventable. That these young girls were snatched from their school and are still deprived of their liberty is a heinous crime. That the Nigerian authorities had advance warning of the attack and failed to protect the people of Chibok is an inexcusable dereliction of duty. The primary responsibility of any government is to protect its population and the welfare and safety of a nation's children is paramount.
The challenge will be to respond in a way that upholds human rights and begins to restore Nigerians' confidence that the state can protect its people. Since the declaration of a state of emergency in three states more than a year ago, Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed grave concern, not just at the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Boko Haram insurgents but also at the commission of gross violations, including extra-judicial executions, by government security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations.
Yesterday, Michelle Obama took the unusual step of delivering her husband's weekly video address to draw attention to the plight of the kidnapped schoolgirls. "In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters," she told a national audience on the eve of the US Mother's Day, adding that she and her husband were "outraged and heartbroken" at the abduction. Some years earlier, speaking in Kenya, President Obama had summed up what many in Nigeria must currently be feeling: "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost."
The wellbeing and security of the schoolgirls of Chibok is crucial. President Goodluck Jonathan must now do all in within his power to ensure their safe return. But that is only the start. What Nigeria needs, even when faced with lawless brutality and violence, is a government that respects human rights and the rule of law for all.
Salil Shetty is Secretary general of Amnesty International


REF  http://saharareporters.com/news-page/amnesty-international-stands-claims-nigerias-military-had-four-hours-stop-chibok-raid-%E2%80%93-fa

They have turned the government into one big joke - Lai Mohammed

APC NATIONAL PUBLICITY SECRETARY.

The unprecedented merger of three political parties into the All Progressives Congress, APC last year revolutionised the political space and gave fillip to the opposition in the country. However, recent congresses to produce officers for the party have opened fault lines within the opposition party. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party last weekend fielded questions on the mutterings in the party, the state of affairs in the country and the resolve of the party to give good govervance to Nigeria. Excerpts How would you describe the recent congresses across the country?
I believe that they have been largely successful in the sense that there is no way you can build a new party like ours without having permanent structures at the various levels of the party.
For our exercise, we started at the ward level and the idea was to get the administrative structure at that level. To ensure that people at the ward level actually take possession and ownership of the party and at the local government level also, that the people should take ownership of the party. Ditto for state and at the national level.
Various structures
The idea is that when you have a mass movement like the APC and given the genesis of the APC which is the coming together of several political parties and the collapse of the various structures of those parties, we could not stay for too long without having permanent structures at the various levels. Every officer today, before the congresses were interim and were not elected as it was just an ad-hoc arrangement to be administered.
All our congresses at the ward level were direct congresses and every registered member of the party had the right to cast a vote and choose the candidate of his own and I think largely, it went very well.
Yes, we are not unaware of some misgivings, some people who believed that they were short-changed. It is to be expected and this was why we also set up appeal committees at every level of the congress to address such grievances and I can tell you that the whole problem stem from the fact that some people believe rightly or wrongly that they should take control of the party structure in every level in order to show that they relevance. And this I think is the root cause of all the problems.
You see, these are people who have political ambitions and of course, you cannot rule that out because people are in politics because they have legitimate political ambitions. But we have told everybody that possession or hijack of party structures does not necessarily help to advance your political fortunes, no. As a matter of fact, it would eliminate people against you and create factions within the party.
Reports ofappeals
The party would do everything within its powers to resolve all these issues. Even the reports of the appeals are even subject to the appeal of the national exco of the party.
Are you aware of the memo from Chief Tom Ikimi?
I am very much aware, I was copied. Actually, we were all very embarrassed that it was leaked to the press.
He claimed that efforts to resolve these grievances are being ignored.
I think it would be very wrong of me to start discussing the internal workings of the party or our challenges on the pages of the newspaper. But I can tell you that I know that the situation prevailing in states differ from one to the other. As a matter of fact, while we have concluded state congresses in some states, we are still conducting local government congresses in some states.
So, when people now talk of appeals being heard and being resolved and meetings being called, it is because they don’t have holistic picture of the whole thing. But I know that on a daily basis that the national chairman, the secretary and the exco, they receive complaints and petitions and appeal committees are set up and I am sure all that the exco is waiting for is for a time when all the congresses would have been completed and from that point in time they would do the review. But once again, a newspaper is not the place to discuss the internal affairs of the party.
But this situation has led to the defection of some of your followers in Edo State including the former national vice-chairman, Pastor Ize-Iyamu
We are worried naturally because we do not want any of our members to go. But what we would not do is to make decisions without going into the root cause of the disaffection in every issue. As I am speaking to you now, many of our leaders are talking to the disaffected members. I called the pastor myself and he called me back and we are concerned that any of our members should leave.
In any political party you only want to have more members, you don’t want to lose any. It is only when it becomes impossible for you to retain them that you accept their leaving. Right now, I don’t think that it has gone beyond remedy.
Enthusiasm that the APC would be a viable alternative to the PDP is being played down as it is alleged that there is no difference between the two. Is there really a difference?
Enthusiasm is building by the day. I can show you that surveys have shown that we are becoming more and more popular by the day. At a point in time we had to face what we are facing now. A town would be peaceful until the king dies. Once, the king dies then you would see all the princes who had been united before wanting to become king and in the process, some would even leave town, there could even be breakdown of law and order, but at the end of the day everybody comes back, accept the situation and life goes on.
So, what we are witnessing now, which is disagreement in terms of congresses is bound to happen. I would have been worried if anybody would say in Edo State, your congress was not free and fair or that in Borno State they just wrote names. But there is nobody who can say this because we insisted on direct primaries.

Directprimaries
What is interesting is that in many states, they did not complain about ward congresses, many of them did not complain about local government congresses, the complain was about state congresses.
The interesting thing is that once you accept the outcome of the ward congress, it is difficult for you to reject the outcome of the state or local government congress because it is at the ward congress that everything is decided. The ward congress is where you really test your popularity because, there, every member of the party has a right to vote.
It is the executives and the delegates who emerge at the ward level that go to vote for the executive at the local government level. But things change at the local government level because some political appointees including commissioners, ministers, governors, legislators are all automatic delegates. So the thing changes completely at the level of the local government.
How can you compare us with PDP?
It is one thing for people to disagree and say no, we do not accept the outcome of the election, that does not bother me. But if you say you do not accept the process, that bothers me. We followed through with our guidelines at the ward level but people who lost out are complaining. It does not mean that their complaints are not genuine but we also have our peace, let’s sort them out.
Some people still have doubts about the chemistry between Asiwaju Tinubu and Gen. Buhari. Are they really working together?
I can tell you confidently that but for the mutual respect and understanding between these two leaders, APC couldn’t have gotten to where it is today. I know that there are daily consultations between our leaders, Buhari, Ogbonnaya Onu, Asiwaju Tinubu and Bisi Akande on diverse issues.
Was there an agreement between Buhari and Tinubu not to vie for the presidency as has been alleged?
There is no agreement. I keep telling people that at no point in time did the party at the highest level ever discuss the issue of its presidential candidate or running mate.
Presidentialcandidate
At no point in time. All you have is speculations. If anybody says that there is an agreement between Buhari and Tinubu that none of them will run for office, let him bring it out.
So, do you expect any of them to run?
I expect anybody to run Emmanuel. You are the same person who will say that we are not democratic, you are the same person who is saying consensus is not good and now you are asking me whether any of them would run? Anybody in our party can run.
We cannot shut down the aspiration of anybody.
President Jonathan said recently that the PDP candidate will emerge after you would have chosen yours?
Does anybody take that man seriously? Let him speak for his own party. He cant speak for my own party. Our candidate in line with our constitution, in line with our guidelines and in line with INEC regulations.
Are you embarrassed with the situation in the country arising from the kidnap of the Chibok girls?
Absolutely! That we have become a beggar nation where we would need America, UK to come and free our own kidnapped children. It is very embarrassing, but we welcome it because we have always told Mr. President that this government lacks capacity, that he should reach out and we in the opposition, how many times have we offered him tips, advise. The same thing that the governor of Borno State told him about the capacity of our soldiers that is now playing out. What did America say? What did the UK say? It is very embarrassing that Amnesty International would claim that actually that government had four hours advance notice! Then what happened?
We have never criticised this man for the sake of criticism! Never! We have always raised issues and always said that the manner he is handling this issue smacks of incompetence.
But are you satisfied with the intervention of the First Lady?
They have turned the government into one big joke. The wife has no constitutional right, has no constitutional role to be calling principals, commissioner for education. She doesn’t understand that we are running a federal system of government where the states are not appendixes of the Federal Government.
African tradition
I spoke to the governor of Borno State in Maiduguri when we went to see him and he said that the First Lady invited the Borno State officials that they knew that constitutionally they were not bound to answer but out of respect for the office of the president and the African tradition, thinking that she was going to show genuine concern, but she called them tongue lashing these people, for four hours they were standing and they were handed over to the IG to be detained.
They made it seem like this thing didn’t happen and that you are just embarrassing the Federal Government. For God’s sake, what did the government do for the first 16 days? For the first 16 days, nothing. It was after that he set up a fact finding committee. We pray that these girls are returned safely and even at that, it is a big blow to Nigeria. Is this a country with a very rich military tradition?
But the president said the problem flowed from more than 20 years of underfunding of the military?
But what did he do? Which party has been in power since then? Is it not the same PDP? Is he not castigating his own party? What has he done since he got there? This man lacks competence, lacks capacity, lacks vision. He is overwhelmed by the job.
Has the coming of the former PDP governors not fragmented your party?
You see what I tell people is that in politics, that a thousand friends are not enough, one enemy could be too many. Those who are saying that we shouldn’t have accepted the PDP governors, what is their logic? For a party that once to win, 11 against 23 or 16 against 18? Don’t for once mistake the greed, ambition of some leaders for the genuine followership of the people. Many of these people when they left, how many of them left with their supporters. We all know how much money changed hands between the presidency and some of these our leaders that left. Many of them just smiled to the bank at the expense of the country. Nigerians are not fools. For a party that is desirous of winning, I think we had no alternative than to accept those PDP governors.
Even the bad ones?
What is your definition of a bad one? I can start from the top and say even Mr. President is a bad one! How do you determine the bad ones? If in your church a heroin addict decides to seek salvation, you will turn him as a bad one?
Are you not bothered that in Imo the coming of Rochas Okorocha has led to an exodus of some stakeholders and even in Adamawa, Buba Marwa and other principal stakeholders have left?
What you talk of in politics is net profit, not gross profit! You are only talking of those who have left, not about those who have come in! I can tell you we have gained more, but of course, we would have wished all of them to have stayed, but it is not possible.
CODER has raised issues concerning the genuineness of the intentions of INEC. Are you worried?
We are very worried because if INEC says they have facilities for card readers, why are they not starting with Ekiti and Osun? We are asking INEC, why don’t they want to use Ekiti and Osun a pilot scheme for the electronic voters card?

REF   http://www.osundefender.org/?p=164355

Nigeria kidnap: David Cameron joins 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign

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David Cameron and Christiane Amanpour with Andrew Marr

Nigeria under attack

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised Britain "will do what we can" to help find more than 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.

He made the comments as he held a sign bearing the "#Bring Back Our Girls" slogan on the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
Mr Cameron is the latest high-profile supporter of the social media campaign after US First Lady Michelle Obama was pictured with a similar poster.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has claimed the abductions.
During the programme, fellow guest Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent, handed Mr Cameron the sign and asked if he would like to join the campaign.
Taking it from her, he replied: "Happily."
Mr Cameron later tweeted: "Proud to support #BringBackOurGirls."
'Immensely complicated' He told the BBC One programme: "I rang the Nigerian president to offer anything that would be helpful and we agreed to send out a team that includes some counter-terrorism and intelligence experts to work alongside the bigger American team that's going out there.
"We stand ready to do anything more that the Nigerians would want."
He said it was unlikely Nigeria would ask for British troops to help but added: "I said to President Jonathan where we can help, please ask, and we will see what we can do."

Michelle Obama has been campaigning for the release of the girls

Mr Cameron also spoke of the importance of tackling extremism around the world.
"This is not just a problem in Nigeria," he said. "We're seeing this really violent extreme Islamism - we see problems in Pakistan, we see problems in other parts of Africa, problems in the Middle East.
"Also, let's be frank, here in the UK there is still too much support for extremism that we have to tackle, whether it's in schools or colleges or universities or wherever."
He recognised it was not an easy task to look for the girls, who were taken from their school in Chibok on 14 April.
'Information gaps'

“Start Quote

They (the schoolgirls) are in the hands of a very disparate group which is extremely irrational and difficult to deal with and utterly merciless in the example it has shown in the past”

Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury

"We can't just pile in and do whatever we'd like," said Mr Cameron. "It's immensely complicated because they are probably in this deep area of jungle that is three times the size of Wales.

"But it's good that efforts are being stepped up and we'll do what we can."
The Foreign Office has said there are "large information gaps" because of the scale and nature of the incident.
"The priority for the team in the first instance is establishing the facts such as the precise identities of those taken and what has actually happened to help Nigeria build a better picture," a spokesman said

Boko Haram at a glance

• Founded in 2002
• Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Some three million people affected
• Declared terrorist group by US in 2013

Mrs Obama has described herself and Barack Obama as being "outraged and heartbroken" over the girls' abduction.

Speaking instead of her husband in the weekly presidential address, she said: "What happened in Nigeria was not an isolated incident. It's a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said it was "wonderful" there was a global campaign to support the girls.
Speaking to The World This Weekend on BBC Radio 4, the leader of the Anglican Church said the girls were at "colossal risk" from the extremists holding them.
"They are in the hands of a very disparate group which is extremely irrational and difficult to deal with and utterly merciless in the example it has shown in the past," Archbishop Welby said.
During Sunday's programme, Amanpour told Marr about the social media drive, saying: "On the one hand, the hashtag is great because it mobilises people.
"On the other hand, I'm a tiny bit concerned it's a big bubble that then collapses with nothing really being done."
However she said Nigeria was "100% saturated with social media" and that "this (campaign) is really getting to the people in Nigeria".
Boko Haram has admitted capturing the girls, saying they should never have been in school and should get married instead. The group has also threatened to sell the girls as "slaves".
The name Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, and the group has been engaged in a violent campaign to create an Islamic state since 2009.
It is thought the majority of the girls are Christians, although a number of Muslims are among those who were taken.
Chibok, from where they were abducted, is a small community where families are made up of members of both faiths.


REF   http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27360712

security challenges: Nigeria 'll Continue to be United and Indivisible - Tambuwal

 Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

  Mohammed Aminu 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Saturday said Nigeria will continue to be united and indivisible, irrespective of the security challenges bedeviling it.

He made the remark Saturday, at Sanyinna in Tambuwal local government of Sokoto state at the launching of a book, " Sanyinna District: Events, Trends and Turning Points."

Tambuwal, who spoke through the Speaker of the Sokoto state House of Assmebly, Alhaji Lawalli Zayyana, noted that Nigeria is historically a united and an indivisible nation and would continue to remain so irrespective of political, ethnic and religious differences and myriad of problems facing  it.

" Nigerians should go back to history and we should write more books on Nigerian history and communities in particular," he said.


REF  http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/tambuwal-nigeria-ll-continue-to-be-united-and-indivisible/178227/

Tambuwal urges youths to embrace education

The Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, on Sunday in Funtua, Katsina State advised youths to resist any attempt to discourage them from acquiring education.

Tambuwal

Tambuwal, who made the call at the 18th graduation ceremony of Madarasatul Hisburahim, an Islamic education forum, described education as the pillar of development in any society. “There is the need for stakeholders to work conscientiously towards imparting moral education in the younger generation,’’ he said.
The Speaker later donated N3 million to the school’s management, and N50,000 to each of the 53 graduating students who successfully memorised the Holy Qur’an.
Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, said Islam preaches peace and harmony and reiterated his call that Muslims were not terrorists.
Abubakar explained that only unity and peace would save the country from the present security challenges it was facing.
He urged the graduates to consider the memorisation of the Holy Qur’an as a step to the pursuance of knowledge and pledged continued support to the school.
The Sultan also donated N1 million to the school.
While speaking, the state’s Gov. Ibrahim Shema, who was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Musa Adamu, said his administration had initiated the Qur’anic school feeding support programme.
He said the state had also supported over 400 religious institutions in the state. “Our administration is committed to education and stakeholders should support our efforts to promote sound moral upbringing for children,’’ Shema said.
The School Head Teacher, Malam Salisu Tasiu, said the school has 2,329 students, with 252 of them very good at reading the Qur’an. He said 53 others had memorised the holy book this year. The event was also attended by Sen. Abu Ibrahim (APC-Katsina South), among other dignitaries.

REF:  http://www.osundefender.org/?p=164227