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The Rivers State Government issued a statement saying its governor, Amaechi has been arrested and being held hostage by security operatives in Odudu, Ondo state.

Amaechi was arrested as he made his way to Ado-Ekiti for the political rally of Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi.

According to a statement by Ibim Semenitari, Commissioner of Information and Communications stated that the Rivers state Government is concerned about the safety of Governor Amaechi.

“The safety of Governor Amaechi who is right now being held hostage commando style by soldiers and federal government security agents in Odudu, Ondo state.

“Governor Amaechi as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ forum and as an APC governor and chieftain had left Port Harcourt this morning for Ekiti state where he was to join his brother governor in his last mega rally before the elections.

“Governor Amaechi was ambushed and refused entry into Ekiti by military personnel acting on orders from above. He made to turn back and return to Akure where his chattered aircraft was parked but was chased and rounded by armed soldiers and security personnel in Odudu, Ondo state.

The statement said: “According to the captain who led the operation, he had orders not to allow the governor entry or exit. In the meantime, the chattered aircraft that conveyed he governor has been grounded while the minsters of Defence, police Affairs and Minister of state for Defence have landed the Akure airport.

“The Rivers State government is especially worried that Federal government and President Jonathan have singled out Governor Amaechi for harassment and attack.

“While we hold the person and office of the President in utmost regards, we believe that it is unacceptable that the presidency would disrespect the person and office of an elected governor of a federating unit and consistently hound him.

“The Rivers state government is all more worried as Ondo saga is coming on the heels of a plot by six PDP lawmakers this morning to carry out a kangaroo impeachment of the duly elected governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, con first at Krisdara hotels and later Bauchi street, Port Harcourt.

“Ordinarily such banality should be ignored as it neither is legal nor constitutional. However in the light of the recent attempts to hoist a Chief Judge on Rivers people through the back door and the attendant rumours that the reason for that desperate act was to make it easier for the PDP to actualize its sinister daydream of ousting Governor Amaechi before May 29, 2015, we believe that it has become necessary to draw the attention of Rivers people, Nigerians and the international community to the situation in Rivers State.

“Only yesterday, in preparation for this tragicomedy, the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused Governor Amaechi of importing terrorists into the state and the region. They continued their diatribe by demanding that the governor of Rivers State be put under surveillance.

“The State Government wouldn’t have dignified the PDP’s display of ignorance with a response but for the fact that these accusations coupled with today’s actions are omniuos signs of how far the PDP is willing to go in its quest to cling onto power by all means.

“The antecedents of impunity on the part of the leadership of the PDP are instructive and the party’s desperation to harm and stop anyone they perceive as major threat to their crumpling electoral fortunes next year is no longer news. The detention attempt and incident at the Kano International Airport last week are still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

“Also, the call to put Gov Amaechi under surveillance (or is it house arrest?) on the same day that PDP started effort to unseat the Governor of Adamawa State, His Excellency, Murtala Nyako, is enough indication of the script already written by a jittery PDP
It is sad that the insane minds of the authors of the PDP accusation are jeopardizing police investigations of the 486 travellers who were intercepted in Aba, Abia State, and who are still being screened. One only wishes that the PDP would address the issues of the insecurity in the country with as much fervor and vigour as it deploys towards witch hunting its political opponents.

“The River Government wishes to state that the world knows those who feather the nest of cultists and militants and for whom they are canon fodder. Governor Amaechi’s position on cultisim, violence and insecurity are clear as is his commitment to fighting poverty and improving the lives of our present and future generations.
The Rivers State Government will not be deterred in its efforts to deliver good governance and ddemocratic dividends to our people.
We appeal to all Rivers people appeals to all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and citizens in the state to remain calm in the face of these provocations.

“We call on the Security Agencies to exhibit professionalism in their conduct of affairs. We appeal to all well meaning people in Nigeria and around the world to please call the PDP to order before they truncate our democracy.

UPDATE:

The Rivers state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who was barred from travelling to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, for a political rally and then detained for over an hour by a detachment of soldiers, has been released.

“They have finally released him and he is currently on his way to Akure airport,” an aide of the governor said. “But as he travelled, the soldiers are following him behind.”

After the governor arrived the airport in Akure, he found that his plane had been impounded. “He is currently stranded in Akure and it is not clear whether he and his entourage will be able to secure space in a commercial plane.”

The Rivers State Government had issued a statement saying Mr. Amaechi, was arrested and held hostage by security operatives in Odudu, Ondo state.

The governor, the statement said, was arrested as he made his way to Ado-Ekiti for a political rally by his Ekiti State counterpart, Kayode Fayemi.

“It appears to us that the PDP clearly have no interest in the peace and stability either Rivers state.

“We are mindful of these mischievous elements but continue to call for tolerance and eternal vigilance. We are certain that the God who reigns in the affairs of Rivers people will again deliver us from this evil and terror that stalks us at noon day.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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This combo photo shows British former prime minister Tony Blair (left) and London Mayor Boris Johnson. (AFP Photo / John Stillwell / Leon Neal)

Tony Blair’s essay on how the Middle East should blame its own religious dynamics for its troubles – instead of Western attempts at intervention – has seen London Mayor Boris Johnson launch a scathing attack on the “unhinged” former PM.

Johnson’s strong condemnation is a reaction to the arguments made in the former British Prime Minister’s piece entitled 'Iraq, Syria and the Middle East,' where claims range from placing blame on the Shiite government in Iraq to the inherent religious dynamics within the Middle East region, even to Syria for allowing the recent attack on Mosul to take place from within its borders, as well as Shiite fighters from Iran – all to explain why militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) are making such progress these days.

But perhaps the most off-the-wall remark that has sent everyone, from the British press to Blair’s former party mates, to Boris Johnson, over the edge was Blair’s claim that Britain should be thanked, not blamed, for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Lashing out at the former Prime Minister, Johnson wrote for The Telegraph on Sunday that “I have come to the conclusion that Tony Blair has finally gone mad.”

His essay “struck me as unhinged in its refusal to face facts. In discussing the disaster of modern Iraq he made assertions that are so jaw-droppingly and breathtakingly at variance with reality that he surely needs professional psychiatric help.”

Attacking also the former PM’s vague claim that Islam should act more responsibly in watching out for both Shia and Sunni extremism on its fringes (since extremism, allegedly, arises out of thin air), Johnson writes: “He said that the allied invasion of 2003 was in no way responsible for the present nightmare – in which Al-Qaeda has taken control of a huge chunk of the country and is beheading and torturing Shias, women, Christians and anyone else who falls foul of its ghastly medieval agenda. Tony Blair now believes that all this was ‘always, repeat always’ going to happen.”

Not so, Johnson believes.

An Iraqi weeps as he walks away from the ministries of justice and labour following a suicide bombing on October 25, 2009. (AFP Photo / Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

“The reality is that before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, there was no Al-Qaeda presence in that country, none at all.” Despite his brutal tyranny, “Saddam did not have anything to do with the 9/11 attack and he did not possess Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

Hammering the point home about just what exactly British and American interventionism accomplished in Iraq, Johnson lays it out simply, “The truth is that we destroyed the institutions of authority in Iraq without having the foggiest idea what would come next. As one senior British general has put it to me, ‘we snipped the spinal cord’ without any plan to replace it. There are more than 100,000 dead Iraqis who would be alive today if we had not gone in and created the conditions for such a conflict, to say nothing of the troops from America, Britain and other countries who have lost their lives in the shambles.”

The London mayor makes the admission that he was among those that voted for the war in the belief that it was the right thing to do – after all, Saddam was considered a madman whose prolonged rule would only bring about a further stagnation in Iraq. But because there was no government waiting to replace him, as well as no institutions or infrastructure set up in place for after the devastation of the conflict, Johnson, like others, became disillusioned with the Bush/Blair plans.

By refusing to admit the colossal miscalculations and lack of foresight that led to Iraq’s present state a decade after invasion, “Blair is now undermining the very cause he advocates – the possibility of serious and effective intervention.”

An image uploaded on June 14, 2014 on the jihadist website Welayat Salahuddin allegedly shows militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) capturing dozens of Iraqi security forces members prior to transporting them to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them. (AFP Photo)

“Yes, we helped cause the disaster in Iraq; but that does not mean we are incapable of trying to make some amends. It might be that there are specific and targeted things we could do – and, morally, perhaps should do – to help protect the people of Iraq from terrorism (to say nothing of Syria, where 100,000 people have died in the past three years),” Johnson wrote of Iraq's neighbor, whom Blair accused of being guilty of leading his country into a war with extremist insurgents, while also accusing the West of not doing more to topple the president – the Alawite Bashar Assad, who has been fighting the same Sunni extremism plaguing Iraq for three years now.

Johnson asserts that unless Britain, with its great military spending and permanent seat on the UN Security Council, does not admit to its failures as well as enjoy its successes, it would be completely self-defeating for what it tries to accomplish.

When it comes to the question of why the Iraq invasion happened in the first place, the London mayor alleges that the former British leader’s whole campaign arose out of a desire to achieve personal “grandeur.”

“Somebody needs to get on to Tony Blair and tell him to put a sock in it – or at least to accept the reality of the disaster he helped to engender. Then he might be worth hearing. The truth shall set you free, Tony.”

Boris Johnson traveled to Iraq and wrote his own piece for The Spectator in May 2003, giving his thoughts on life in Iraq after Saddam Hussein.

He reminisced about how "within the space of the last half-hour, I had slunk past a ten-year-old with an AK47 over his shoulder, chewing the fat with his dad in the door of the shop" to the harrowing theme of gunfire, and his tragic near-death experience "in a city with no recognized authority" after accidentally interfering with its shopkeeper.

"It was troubling that we were preparing war against a sovereign country that had, so far, done us no direct harm," Johnson wrote. Despite this, he stated that the disorder was rampant and it wasn't solely at the direct hands of the US but the subsequent post-invasion turmoil.

"Weeks after the invasion, buildings are still burning, not from missiles but from the looting. Most of the shops are shut. There is glass everywhere, and rubbish all over the streets, because there are no municipal services; and there are no municipal services because civic order has broken down," Johnson wrote, citing the concerns of one Iraqi emphatically questioning: "Where is our gas, our electricity? They just make promises!"

"Power is being contested on every corner, between Shia moderates and extremists. It is being fought for by umpteen Kurdish parties, Assyrian parties, secular parties," he added.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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President Goodluck Jonathan has been advised to start writing his handover note well ahead of next year’s election in view of the successful National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) concluded yesterday in Abuja.

In a statement congratulating the party’s leaders on the outcome of the Convention, the Rivers State Chapter of APC said: “We are proud of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, General Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Chief Bisi Akande, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governors Chibuike Amaechi and Aliyu Wammako, as well as other party leaders too numerous to mention, for organising a successful Convention to the chagrin of the PDP leadership and other enemies of democracy who had prayed for a failed Convention. For these great Nigerians to have buried their ambitions, differences and interests to unite to present this great salvation party for Nigerians is a great development in the efforts to retrieve our great country from the evil clutches of PDP and rebuild it in accordance with the wishes of all Nigerian patriots.

“The Convention that successfully produced a substantive leadership to steer the affairs of our great party without any rancour or division should be a thing of joy to all Nigerians. With the election of a great mind, a visionary, foresighted leader and fighter for true democracy like the former Governor of Edo State, Chief John Oyegun as our National Chairman, the need for President Jonathan to start writing his handover notes cannot be over-emphasised.

“With other great minds like Elder Pius Oluwole Akinyelure, Mr. Hillard E. Eta, Mr. Segun Oni, Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu, Alhaji Mai Mala Goni, Barrister Muiz Banire, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Mr. Orji Ngofa, Mr. Timi Frank and Mrs. Racheal Akpabio
who also emerged among our substantive leadership during the Convention, APC shall surely take its rightful position as the emancipator of the masses and restorer of hope of Nigerians by bringing up a focused and visionary Presidency that will take us out of the mess into which the PDP-led administration has put our nation.”

Rivers APC in the statement signed by the Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, expressed confidence that “the new APC leadership would be able to mend the ideological, cultural and ethnic cleavages of the major blocs that gave birth to the party which are the binding forces of our great party.”

Continuing, Rivers APC said: “The new leadership should be assured of our common and united drive to send packing the present PDP leadership at all levels of our nation as we need to see an egalitarian Nigeria where the lives of Nigerians and their property will be secured, jobs created for our teeming youths and create the type of Nigeria devoid of corruption and respected by the international community.

“In line with the above, our vision is tied with what our Leader, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, stated during his remarks during the Convention that “APC promises CHANGE; and it has the pedigree to do so. As it is usually said, no nation can rise above the quality and capacity of its leaders. The aggregation of the individual qualities and capacities of the leaders that make up the APC is what APC boasts of. Our pedigree is in the performance of our states: Lagos; Rivers, Edo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, Sokoto, Kano, etc. But above all, our hope for change is in you: In your desire for a better Nigeria. A Nigeria where the stealing of public fund will be corruption and is punishable; where our unemployed youths with will not be reaped off and lured to their graves in the name of job interviews; where lives will worth much more to the Government than mere flowers that blossom and fade with time; where national growth will not be measured by the number of private aircraft but by the number of persons that can announce their next meal; where education for all shall be the responsibility of all; where health delivery shall be a priority to Government, a right of the people and not a privilege. APC states are doing these . . . APC Nigeria will do even more.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Washington (AFP) – The United States condemned an attack on Russia's embassy in Kiev on Saturday and called on Ukraine to provide adequate security for the diplomatic mission.

The US reaction came after a crowd, inflamed by the downing of a Ukrainian military transport plane, tore down the embassy's flag and overturned vehicles as a dozen police looked on.

"The United States condemns the attack on the Russian Embassy in Kiev, and calls on Ukrainian authorities to meet their Vienna convention obligations to provide adequate security," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, called Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and expressed condolences for the 49 troops killed Saturday when pro-Russian rebels shot down the Il-76 transport plane near the airport that serves the city of Lugansk, a senior State Department official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kerry underscored to Yatsenyuk "the commitment of the United States and G7 partners to raise the costs for Russia if it does not end the flow of weapons across the border and break with separatists."

Kerry also called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, voicing the United States' "strong concern" about the transport of heavy weapons and militants across the Russian border into eastern Ukraine, and the downing of the transport plane.

"He pressed Foreign Minister Lavrov to make clear Russia's commitment to de-escalation and peace by ending the flow of weapons and support to separatists, and actively working with Ukraine for a ceasefire, amnesty, and political dialogue," the official said

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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In what appears as President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s allegation that the President was out to kill him, two ministers apparently acting on behalf of the President blasted the governor in Abuja on Friday.

Separate statements issued by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, and Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Abdul Jelili Adesiyan, described Kwankwaso as “being desperate and paranoid.” They added that Kwankwaso’s outburst against the President was the height of irresponsibility and an indication of a failed governor.

In a statement made available to one of our correspondents in Abuja by Maku, the minister said Kwankwaso should explain to the people of Kano the role he and the All Progressives Congress played in the emergence of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano, instead of dragging President Goodluck Jonathan to it.

Kwankwaso had on Wednesday accused the President of causing the crisis that followed the appointment of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.

The governor also said the President should be held responsible for whatever happened to him, his family or the people of Kano State.

But in the statement signed on behalf of Maku by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Joseph Mutah, the minister said the governor was engaging in a campaign of calumny against Jonathan and the Federal Government.

Maku said, “It is a known fact that the appointment of traditional rulers is within the purview of state governments and it is surprising why Kwankwaso has chosen to drag the name of the President into the succession crisis rocking the Kano Emirate.

“Instead of throwing tantrums and casting aspersions on imaginary enemies, Kwankwaso should face the people of Kano and explain to them the role he and APC leaders played in the imbroglio.

“The Police in Kano have offered explanations why officers and men were deployed to guard the palace of the emir, yet Governor Kwankwaso decided to further his unbridled campaign of blackmail against the President and the Federal Government.

“The recent outbursts of Kwankwaso have lent credence to observations in some quarters that the governor is now afraid of his own shadow as the people of Kano become increasingly impatient with his years of one-man rule under which he imposes his will on the state in total disregard to the wishes of the people.”

Writing on his Twitter page on Wednesday, Kwankwaso had said his government followed the same process which his counterpart in Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, adopted in appointing the Emir of Gombe.

He, therefore, wondered why the President should cause crisis in Kano State and accused him of plotting an “agenda which is not good for this country.”

The governor said it was a known fact that the Jonathan’s administration had enough security challenges which it should focus its attention on.

The minister said, “After the recent denial of freedom of choice for the people of Kano by imposing local government chairmen and councillors on them, he then took on the late Kano monarch shortly before his demise.

“Governor Kwankwaso, as is well known to the public, then went on a highly politicised selection process, turning the ascension to the throne of Kano into a partisan political enterprise during which prominent All Progressives Congress leaders and some governors moved to Kano reportedly to influence the outcome.

“The result is the outpouring of anger and protests in the ancient city of Kano with the unfortunate breakdown of law and order.

“Governor Kwankwaso is therefore singularly responsible for the violence in his state. The selection of successors to other traditional institutions in other parts of the North in recent years has not witnessed the kind of public anger and protests and violence that greeted the exercise conducted by Kwankwaso at the Government House in Kano.”

He added, “The police authorities in the light of the violent opposition to the highly political selection process for the new Emir of Kano only helped to restore law and order and to protect the historic palace of the throne of Kano from being razed or destroyed by aggrieved people of Kano.

“To turn round to blame President Jonathan or the Federal Government for the crisis is the height of delusion and irresponsibility on the part of Kwankwaso. He is the architect of the crisis and violence and if he has a conscience, he should examine his role in this unfortunate and needless crisis into which he has plunged the ancient city of Kano and its respected traditional institution in recent weeks.

“The latest claim by Kwankwaso is wild and outlandish and does not fit into the character of President Jonathan or the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“The Federal Government urged the people of Kano to remain peaceful and law-abiding, as well as shun violence “in spite of the highhandedness of Governor Kwankwaso and his associates.”

Also, the Minister of Police Affairs said it was unfortunate that instead of Governor Kwankwaso to appreciate the efforts of security agents in ensuring peace in his state, he was busy abusing Jonathan.

Adesiyan in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Wale Akinola, said the governor needed to be educated on the role of police and other security agencies in the society.

He said, “Police have the mandate to protect the lives and property of every citizen of Nigeria and Kano State cannot be an exception.

“When there is protest, the police should be able to protect people’s lives so that it will not lead to a major crisis and that was what the police did in Kano to stop youths who were dissatisfied with the appointment of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.

“But instead of appreciating the efforts of security agents in bringing about peace in the state, Kwankwaso was abusing Mr. President.

“I think Kwankwaso needs to be educated on the role of police and other security agencies in the society as well as the functions of the President of Nigeria in order to give him an insight into their operational procedure.”

He said Kwankwaso’s outburst against the President was an indication of a failed governor who acts against the will of the people.

The minister added, “It is rather unfathomable that Kwankwaso could use the protest that followed the appointment of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano as an opportunity to insult the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria the way he likes.

“His recent outburst is an indication of a failed governor who acts against the will of the people.

“Have you ever seen the opposition party insulting the President of the United States of America, or the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, or Chancellor in Germany?

“It is only in Nigeria that those who lack patriotism like Kwankwaso can insult the President at will.

“Rather than reflect and ever remain grateful to PDP for giving him the platform to become a governor and a minister, Kwankwaso now has the audacity to abuse the President.

“While I recognise the inalienable right of citizens to hold opinions and identify with political platforms of their choice, I find it very difficult to understand the type of bitterness that has taken hold of an elected person like Governor Kwankwaso who hugely benefitted from the PDP on which platform he was twice elected governor in addition to being appointed minister.

“Kwankwaso has not only shown his aversion to the unity of the nation but also the agenda of his party, the APC, to attack well-meaning individuals and leaders as a means to cause confusion among Nigerians and destroy our oneness as a people.”

Asked to react to the ministers’ statements, Kwankwaso said he had no comments.

Speaking through his media aide, Baba Dantiye, he said, “We have no more comments on this. We are busy with the convention.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Of all the cities in Northern Nigeria, Kano is perhaps the most important.  Although it used to be subject to the Sokoto Caliphate, in many respects it has since become a far more important city in Nigeria than Sokoto.  Kano was the administrative capital of the entire Northern Nigeria under British colonial rule.  Today, it is by far the biggest metropolis in Northern Nigeria.  It is not only the vibrant commercial capital of the region; it is a leading epicenter of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa.

True progressives

Kano is also in many respects the most truly progressive state in Nigeria.  It has never been a follow-the-leader city.  The people of Kano have a mind of their own.  They specialize in bucking the national trend.  Kano is the city of trail-blazing Mallam Aminu Kano and the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), which later became the formidable People’s Redemption Party (PRP).  It is also the city of Maitama Sule, another one of Nigeria’s former luminaries and perhaps the most distinguished orator ever in the history of Nigerian politics.

Lamido Sanusi New Emir of Kano

For these reasons and more, the politics of Kano have far-reaching regional and national implications.  It also goes without saying that the Emir of Kano is inevitably a very influential man, not only in Kano and the North, but in Nigeria as a whole.  By virtue of his office, a lot of people look up to him.  His views go a long way to shape public opinion in the Northern part of the country and even beyond.  This makes the choice of the Emir of Kano more than a local affair.  It is a choice that must be made soberly and with great circumspection as befitting such a local office of national significance.

Lack of probity

This makes the choice of Lamido Sanusi, the disgraced former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the new Emir of Kano most inappropriate.  It is a choice that, wittingly or unwittingly, will bring the office of the Emir into disrepute.  It is improper that a man who still has allegations of financial improprieties hanging over his head at the national level, to which he might have to answer in the court of law, should be appointed to such an important post.  This is how Nigerian leaders show they have little or no understanding of the ethics of public office and good governance.  Lamido Sanusi has just been fired as CBN governor on allegations of corrupt practices.  How then can such a man be rewarded with the appointment of Emir of Kano before his innocence is established?

This is the Nigerian way and it is the way of ignoble and corrupt practices.  Sanusi’s appointment to such an important post could not have taken place in countries concerned about probity and transparency in public office.  His appointment confirms the allegations of our gaggle of Western traducers that Nigeria is a citadel of corruption.  It tells the world that Nigeria deserves to be one of the lowest-ranked countries on the corruption index of Transparency International; a global civil society organization that engages in comparative analysis of the levels of corruption in the countries in the world.

Case against Sanusi

Sanusi is accused by the federal government of running the accounts of the CBN like a bull in a china shop.  It is only in Nigeria that you can have a Central Bank governor spend government money as outrageously and as whimsically as Sanusi is alleged to have done.  The government reveals that Sanusi gave away nothing less than ?163 billion in 63 unauthorised “intervention projects” in different parts of the country.  This largesse is more than the entire annual budget of a state like Edo.  He is also accused of being guilty of a number of grave financial improprieties.

Will he now get away with these corrupt practices simply because he has been appointed as Emir, or will he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law?  Your guess is as good as mine.  If the charges against him are dropped simply because of his appointment, it will be another example of Nigeria’s tendency to condone corruption.   Even the former prime minister of Israel was tried and sentenced to jail for corruption, which is what happens in those countries with zero tolerance for the improprieties of public officials.  The question now is whether the Emir of Kano is beyond the law.  Another question is whether Nigeria a real republic or no more than a banana republic?

The Emir of Kano does not have any constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution.  If Sanusi is prosecuted in spite of his appointment and found guilty, it would undoubtedly be demeaning to the office of the Emir of Kano when and if he is ignominiously sent to jail.  Indeed, he would be the first Emir to be granted such distinction in Nigeria.  While every Nigerian must be deemed innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of law, commonsense dictates that you do not appoint a man with criminal allegations hanging over his head into high office until he has cleared himself of those allegations in the court of law.

APC treachery

This makes the appointment of Sanusi as Emir by Governor Kwankwaso of Kano an act of deliberate mischief.  The Nigerian Senate recently declared Sanusi a liar and mischief-maker for making false allegations that a whopping 49 billion was missing from the federal accounts.  A liar and mischief-maker is not suitable for the politically-sensitive post of Emir of Kano.  Governor Kwankwaso himself was accused of being a fraudster by no less a person than Goodluck Jonathan, the President of Nigeria.  What we now have is that an alleged fraudster has appointed another alleged fraudster into high office, undermining the reputation and integrity of the important city of Kano.

Are there no protocols concerning the appointment of Emirs and Obas in Nigeria?  Certainly there must be.  Even if there is none, should propriety not tell Kwankwaso that a man facing corruption charges is not be eligible for political appointment?  Only in Nigeria does this kind of disregard for ethics and good governance hold sway.  Since this is coming from one of the new kingpins of the APC, who is even being touted by some as presidential- candidate material, what does it tell us about “fresh air” that the APC claims it will bring to Nigerian politics?  It tells us that the APC is one big charade.

Make no mistake about it: this is a political appointment.  Even more pointedly, it is an APC appointment.  Governor Kwankwaso who made this appointment is a rebel PDP Governor who recently defected to the APC.  He would not have made the appointment as a PDP governor.  This appointment was made to spite the government of Goodluck Jonathan.  But what small-minded people like Kwankwaso don’t seem to understand is that when they undermine the government of the Goodluck Jonathan, they are undermining the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Unworthy governor

One of the allegations against Sanusi by the federal government is that he is suspected to be one of the financiers of Boko Haram.  The fact that the man is now appointed as Emir, without these allegations being ironed out, is further evidence that some Northerners are not ready to confront the issue of terrorism in the North.  If they were, a man facing terrorism-related charges by the federal government would not be the preferred choice as Emir of Kano, a city that has been attacked severally by the Boko Haram.

By this act, Kwankwaso has made himself an unworthy governor of Kano.  Only an unworthy governor would turn such a revered institution as the emirate of Kano into political football.  Kwankwaso has made the people of Kano into a laughing-stock.  Revered institutions like that of the Emir of Kano should be beyond the shenanigans of this type of political manipulation.  I have said it before and I say it again: there is nothing progressive about the APC.  This appointment of Sanusi as the new Emir of Kano is further proof.  What the APC bring to Nigeria is the same tired old-time corrupt politics that has been the bane of the country for the longest time.  The APC is one big con.

Unfortunately for Kwankwaso, he chose the wrong state to do this prank.  Kano is a highly volatile city.  The people are not going to take this appointment lightly.  Already, there have been a number of violent skirmishes since the appointment.  Kwankwaso has lighted a bush-fire whose consequences may be more than he bargained for.  You can never tell how far Kano citizens who have been brazenly disrespected by the governor will go in registering their protest.  In any case, Kwankwaso’s act is sure to backfire against the APC in Kano.  This means we have not yet heard the last of Kwankwaso’s treachery.

Questionable future

If Lamido Sanusi were wise, he should spend some time reading the tea-leaves.  Some people are already concluding that Sanusi is the new Emir by divine providence.  However, appointments as Emir or even as Sultan are no longer sacrosanct.  Mustapha Jokolo was removed as the Emir of Gwandu in 1995 and replaced by Mohammed Jega.  Ibrahim Dasuki was removed as the Sultan of Sokoto in 1996 and replaced by Muhammadu Maccido.

Therefore, this is a piece of advice for the new Emir of Kano.  Don’t bother to move your belongings into the Emir’s palace just yet.  Don’t even bother to change the curtains or the carpets for now.  You may not be on your throne for long.  Thanks to Kwankwaso, the Kano Emirate has been politicized to all effects and purposes.  Today, it is clearly in the APC camp.  But if the APC lose the governorship election in Kano in February next year, it is not improbable that the Emirate will immediately be declared as a PDP terrain.

In that case, His Royal Highness, the new Emir of Kano, might end up with the same fate that befell him as CBN Governor.  He might be summarily dismissed.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has narrated how he was detained and escaped from Kano after his plane made an air return due to bad weather at Abuja Airport.

Governor Amaechi visited Kano on Sunday on a condolence visit, following the death of the late emir, Ado Bayero.
His return to Kano, however, led to the grounding of the private jet in which he was travelling.

The governor said even when they came down from the aircraft, they were not allowed to leave the airport by the officials who claimed to be acting on orders from above.
But the regulatory agency, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, swiftly denied reports that it grounded the plane which took Amaechi to Kano.

A source close to the agency said: “NCAA is not connected to the grounding of the aircraft. I think the order could be from the presidency or did you see NCAA in your report.”
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, also denied issuing the order for the grounding of the aircraft.

A NAMA source, however, stressed that the aircraft in question was not the controversial aircraft earlier grounded by the aviation authorities last year that was only released a week ago, adding that the aircraft was currently parked in Port Harcourt.

However, Governor Amaechi told Vanguard yesterday that those with him had to break the exit gates, made a dash through the night for Abuja by road and arrived in the early hours of yesterday.

Governor Amaechi was with Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator Shaban Lafiagi and erstwhile national chairman of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, when the incident happened on Sunday evening hours after Sanusi was named as 57th Emir of Kano.

Danjuma and Lafiagi, both serving senators, were former governors of Gombe and Kwara states, respectively.
The presence of Governor Amaechi and other top chieftains of All Progressives Congress, APC, earlier in the day in Kano, it was reported, was to put pressure on the authorities in Kano to push for the emergence of Sanusi as emir.

Amaechi, however, denied the insinuations, saying he only came for a condolence visit. The reported lobby of the APC chieftains was in the face of alleged similar moves by sympathisers of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to stop Sanusi, who had lately emerged as a vicious critic of the Federal Government.

Amaechi’s story
Noting his experience in an interview with Vanguard, Governor Amaechi said: “We made contact with the tower to depart and they said we cannot leave, that the airport commandant said that no private jet can leave or enter Kano today.

“We thought it was a joke. We then called the airport commandant and I again called the governor to intervene and the governor called the commandant who said that it was the order he got from Abuja.
“Then five minutes after, they locked us inside the airport. They locked all the exits to the airport and we had to break the key to one of the exits and then we stepped out.

“We had to take a big decision. We called the governor who said he was sending cars to bring us to Government House and we said okay. But we made a decision that when the cars (from Government House) come, we would tell them to go back and not to tell the governor where we are.

“So we entered our car, got instruction to put off our phones and I drove from Kano to Abuja. We arrived Abuja 2a.m.
“We arrived after the announcement and we were impounded because they did not get what they wanted.

“The kingmakers selected Sanusi as number one, Ado Bayero as number two. Do I know any kingmaker? We all went for condolence visit.”
He also denied any role in the emergence of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.

“We are in a dictatorship and it is supposed to be a democracy and everybody has a right to disagree with the President,” Amaechi added.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will ensure the development of Ekiti State if the people of the state vote in the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Mr. Ayo Fayose. Jonathan spoke on Saturday in Ado-Ekiti after Fayose received the official flag from the national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

He said, “”I only came to Ekiti during Segun Oni PDP-led Government to commission projects. When you vote Fayose and the PDP returns to Ekiti again, I will join hands with him to develop this state.”

Jonathan, who admitted that he had not visited the state in a long time because there were no projects to inaugurate, said he was impressed by the mammoth crowd that filled the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti, the venue of the rally.

He said, “We are going to provide adequate security that would enhance one man, one vote. I am not in Ekiti today to convert you because by this crowd, you have shown that you are for the PDP.

“You have really shown clearly that you want change in Ekiti. You have shown that you want leadership that will improve your well-being, and level of education in Ekiti because education is key in this state. We will bring back the lost glory in the education sector.”

The Chairman Board of Trustees of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, who dismissed the All Progressives Congress as a contender for power, said the party was no match for the ruling party in Nigeria.

“We are not competing with APC because they have nothing to offer. We have come to offer you hard work, to offer you freedom, to offer you commitment and success,” he said.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo who thanked the Ekiti people for trooping out to receive the President and PDP leaders also commended them for their support to Fayose.

He said, “I am aware of the problems of teachers, the moment he (Fayose) enters, the problem of teachers is solved. As you know, in this state there is problem of transportation, the very day he comes in it will be solved.”

Fayose told the crowd, “When I come back, I will give you jobs and do local content. I left N10.4bn, I recapitalised. They have sold all these properties. They have taken away our wealth all in the name of being progressives. They are only retrogressing.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Even before he was appointed the 14th Fulani emir of Kano on Sunday, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) courted controversy by constantly affirming his ambition to ascend his forefathers’ throne. Asked several times if it was true that he had a presidential ambition, Sanusi always replied that he would rather be emir of Kano than president of Nigeria. After being conferred with the title, Dan Majen Kano, in 2012 by Alhaji Ado Bayero, people insinuated that he was being prepared for Aso Rock, but he consistently denied it. SLS said: “When you come from my family and accept a title you cannot openly be in partisan politics. It is an unwritten law. Mistakes were made in the first republic but since then avoided. The institution belongs to all Kano people and joining one party alienates supporters of another. “One has to choose between political ambitions at federal or state level and the love and unity of Kano people.

I made my choice long ago and everyone knows it but it won’t stop the fabricators from doing what they are good at. “I repeat that I am not in partisan politics, I have no desire to contest for elective office and the story is false as far as I know.” ‘Disrespectful’ Then another controversy. By saying he wanted to be emir, even when there was a sitting one in Bayero, was he not being disrespectful to his father-in-law? His response: “In our own part of the world, the emir takes it for granted that every prince wants to be an emir and in fact, it would be a sad day if a prince, when asked his ambition in life, ranked another office higher than the throne of his ancestors.” Sanusi is Mr. Controversy. Has anyone forgotten that he was made Dan Maje after the Dana crash of June 2012? Several CBN top executives died in the crash and many Nigerians voiced their disappointment that the ceremony still went ahead a few days after.

If only they knew Sanusi’s cousin also died in the crash… Does anyone still remember how he arrived his office in Abuja after his Dan Maje “coronation”, fully dressed in the traditional outfit of a Kano prince (pictured)? It was an “eyesore” to his critics who said it was the final evidence that he was an Islamic fundamentalist. Don’t blame the critics, his sympathisers said; after all, they are only used to seeing a Rev. Fr. Moses Adasu or Rev. Jolly Nyame wear their cassocks to office as governors – but a Muslim going to office in a prince regalia must be uncomfortable to live with. Donations Yet more controversies: he donated N100 million to Boko Haram victims in Kano after a particular orgy of attacks that left hundreds dead. Some said Sanusi was only trying to “buy” Kano people ahead of his future ambition of being their emir. But Sanusi also donated to University of Benin and the Madalla bomb victims. Well, that was an “afterthought” (Madalla) and an attempt to say thank you for an honorary doctorate degrees awarded to him (Uniben), his critics said. And why did he not donate to victims in Abuja, Yobe, Maiduguri, Suleja, Kaduna and so on?

And why was he donating the funds of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) like a Father Christmas on the rampage? His critics had many questions for him, some of which he never answered. By the way, his controversies as CBN governor from 2009 to 2014 are enough to fill a medium-size library… As a public commentator, he was always in the line of fire and never hesitated to jump into the fray. As emir of Kano, will he continue being controversial? Or will the weight of the traditional institution temper him? Copyright 2014 The Cable. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.thecable.ng as the source

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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Nigeria's former central bank governor has been named the new Emir of Kano, making an outspoken critic of the government's record on corruption one of the most influential leaders in the largely Muslim north.

Lamido Sanusi was suspended in February by President Goodluck Jonathan on government charges of financial recklessness and misconduct.

The move came soon after Sanusi alleged that the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation misappropriated $20bn in public funds.

Sanusi is the great nephew of the previous emir, Ado Abdullahi Bayero, who died on Friday aged 83. The emir of Kano is Nigeria's second-highest Islamic authority.

Sanusi's switch from the offices of the capital Abuja to the palace in Kano will make him a central player in confronting Boko Haram in the northeast.

The fighters have set their sights on toppling the traditional Muslim hierarchy in Nigeria, accusing it of failing to enforce what they say is their true interpretation of the Quran.

The appointment was announced in Kano in the presence of four "kingmakers" – royal officials who meet in closed session to decide on the succession.

The officials considered a number of names and put them forward to the state government for approval.

"The state government received their recommendations and Allah has conferred on Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former governor of the central bank, the successor to the late emir," said State Secretary Suleiman Bichi.

Boko Haram fighters were suspected of an explosion on Sunday that killed at least three people outside an army barracks in Nigeria's northeastern city of Gombe

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

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