Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Major General Muhammadu Buhari to swear with the Holy Quran if he did not visit any hospital for medical attention during his visit to United Kingdom.
Fayose ask Buhari to swear with the Holy Quran if he did not visit hospital in UK
Fayose accused the APC leadership for not being fair enough to the nation by hiding the health status of the former military ruler.
In a statement signed in Ado Ekiti yesterday by his Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka said Buhari will never be the president as he would dash the hope of his followers.
“Buhari will never be Nigeria president again because some APC stalwarts want to ride on his back by seizing power at all cost.
Fayose , however clarified that he was not wishing Buhari dead but just to save the country from unnecessary embarrassment
“I wish they can see spiritually what I am talking about that Buhari, despite the hullabaloo will never be president.
” I predicted my return as Ekiti State Governor and I am saying it again that Buhari will never rule Nigeria again.
”After President Goodluck Jonathan, there will be a young element in his late 50s from the North that will be Nigeria’s president. I want to liken this revelation to the story of Elijah and Elisha. I am the Elijah while my followers are Elisha.”
“I owe it a duty to Nigeria and its people to expose the antics of the APC cabal whose only interest is to seize power to further their selfish interests.
”Without doubt, it is obvious that these cabal in the APC are trying so hard to deceive Nigerians on Buhari’s health status. That’s the reason they have been using ‘Photoshopped’ pictures to defend their lies on Buhari’s UK trip.
”First, they used a March 5, 2013 picture, claiming that Buhari was taking a walk in London on Thursday. Later they came up with another poorly cropped picture of Buhari with former British Prime Minister,Tony Blair.
”The same people who lied in September 2012 that they received a gold card invitation to attend the Democratic National Convention in the United States of America are behind the robing of Buhari in the garment of lies and I challenge Buhari to swear by the Holy Quran that he did not visit any hospital in the United Kingdom last week.
”However, I want to disappoint this selfish cabal. Buhari is only raising their hope and that hope will be dashed.”
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.
Former Prime Minister and UK envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, has confirmed he held a private meeting with the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari(retd) in London, weekend.
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State had claimed Gen Buhari was not in any meeting with Tony Blair, but that the former head of state had checked into a London hospital. He claimed the APC photoshoped a photo showing Tony Blair, Buhari, Governor Amosu of Ogun State and former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki.
Vanguard contacted Tony Blair’s office and got confirmation that the former Prime Minister did had a meeting with the APC candidate.
From Left; Gov Amosun of Ogun State, Gen Buhari, Mr. Blair and Sen. Saraki in London.
In an e-mail response to Vanguard’s inquiry, Rianne Buter, Senior Media Manager at The Office of Tony Blair, said: “ Mr. Blair had a private meeting with General Muhammadu Buhari in London,” adding that “Mr. Blair hopes to visit Nigeria shortly when he will see the President.”
It will be recalled that Fayose had claimed the photo of Buhari meeting with Blair was photoshopped.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said, ”Without doubt, it is obvious that these cabal in the APC are trying so hard to deceive Nigerians on Buhari’s health status. That’s the reason they have been using ‘Photoshopped’ pictures to defend their lies on Buhari’s UK trip.
”First, they used a March 5, 2013 picture, claiming that Buhari was taking a walk in London on Thursday. Later they came up with another poorly cropped picture of Buhari with former British Prime Minister,Tony Blair.
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.
Reprieve came the way of the chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited , Dr Wale Babalakin and four others Monday when an Ikeja High Court presided over by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo discharged them over alleged N4.7b fraud preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Lawal Akapo, formulated four issues raised by the defendants which he used to determine his ruling.
EFCC accused the defendants of aiding the former Delta State governor, James Ibori to siphon public fund belonging to Delta State.
The four issues raised by the defendants are: “Whether the EFCC can prosecute a defendant without fait, whether James Ibori is a public officer, whether two prosecuting authorities can jointly sign a charge and whether the charge on the surface contains sufficient information.”
Justice Akapo, however, resolved three of the issues in favour of the defendants and only upheld that the EFCC had the power to prosecute any criminal matter in court without fiat
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.
Oba Gbenga Sonuga is the Fadesewa of Simawa, in Makun Sagamu, Ogun State. Despite being the custodian of the culture of the community, his love and obsession for art and culture is very strong that he is always seen in many art events in the country. Before being crowned Oba, Fadesewa of Simawa, in Makun Sagamu, Oba Gbenga Sonuga, sometimes fondly called ‘OBA ART & CULTURE’ or BABA CULTURE was the Director for the Lagos State Council for Art and Culture.
As he celebrates his 70th birthday, art and culture aficionado and enthusiast the Freedom Park, Lagos where the occasion was marked with the presentation of his photo autobiography titled Deep As the Ocean. The book, entitled; “Deep as the Ocean: An Auto-Photo- Biography in Three Cycles,” according to Sonuga, is a rich diary of his life from the cradle to royalty, and specifically touching on his roles within the country’s art industry.
In his autobiography, he recounts his experience, and viewpoints as a heritage of historical photography that pans over 70 years. For his day, he launches what he proposes to become an annual lecture on the importance of retaining our essence of Art & Culture particularly in its affectation of community building, and the selection and election of leaders.
Oba Gbenga Sonuga has long been a voice for change and excellence in the Arts & Culture scene, having been under the tutelage of Prof Wole Soyinka, whom he fondly calls ‘Mon Prof’, then working under Demas Nwoko for a decade at the New Culture Studios in Ibadan, then running a film company called 4Reels, before becoming the director of the council under the late Governor Mudasiru where he served for another ten years.
As Director he produced a touring performance of ‘Ori’ by the state troupe to the United States, he also wrote and produced a play for the World Decade for Cultural Development, declared by the UN via UNESCO in 1989 called SALT, which was rehearsed for 3 months and then performed for one night only at the National Theatre Main Bowl where few have been privileged to perform. After formal public service he founded the International Centre for the Arts, Lagos (ICAL).
Remembering the performance at the National Theatre Oba ‘Art & Culture’ bemoaned the under-investment and limited patronage in the area of arts and Nigerian culture, siting the under utilization of the National Theatre as a big example. SALT he said was performed in the Main Bowl of the theatre, which has now fallen into disrepair, and never shown again. In celebration of his 70th birthday, he will premier the video recording of the play SALT for the first time ever since it’s performance in 1989.
The National Theatre is a national heritage and should be brought back to the standard needed to support long running performances and shows in the main bowl and annex halls. He said it was a shame that the artists having worked so hard and rehearsed for three months, never got to perform that play again. In the audience then were General Mohammed Buhari, Governor Mudasiru and the Late General Sani Abacha amongst other dignitaries.
On why he wrote and produced the play SALT he mentioned the adage ‘of being the Salt of the earth’, that nothing in life is sweet without Salt. And art and culture is like the salt of life. Without it we can never truly enjoy life. Leadership without an appreciation for art and recognition of local culture is prone to all sorts of gaffes and misdeeds. Followership outside of a cultural context appropriate for instance to Nigerians only fosters an identity of individuals and communities that are alien to the local sensitivities of our surroundings.
They will never truly fit in well, like a square peg in a round hole. Trying to shoehorn western ideals of leadership without application of our Nigerian culture of selecting leaders with a good head through consistent demonstration of leadership in their communities leaves much to be desired. Obas and Baales and community leaders have a strong role to play.
Recalling his time at the council in Lagos, he edited and published one of the first dedicated books on Lagos Life & culture to wide and global acclaim. It serves as major feature on the coffee table of many lovers and residents of Lagos today. Oba Gbenga is truly a living legend and cultural icon in Nigerian Art & cultural history.
Recollecting how he came to be Director for art and culture, he fondly cited that that was the only job he ever applied for, and the only one he ever got. However it was not all smooth sailing as he did not get the job for another three years because it transpired that the then governor of Lagos State, Gen Jakande did not want to give the job to someone from outside Lagos.
Then he was still at New Culture Studios, with Demas Nwoko. But following the coup in 1983, and the appointment of Colonel Mudasiru, the job became his because he was deemed the most qualified for the job at the time. Smiling he recalled the Late Chief Segun Olusola calling him to say someone in Lagos clearly wanted to give him a job because the wanted advert literally published and read like his personal resume, asking for 10 years experience in art and culture, and international exposure amongst other things.
By then he had successfully taken a troupe to FESTAC 77, where working with him then was the current DG of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Akin Adejuwon. As Director of the council he would go on to work with and often help shape many of today’s greats in theatre and film; Otunba Sola Fosudo, Mufu Onifade, Toyin Gbajumo, where they performed the play ‘Ori’ meaning head of destiny. The philosophical undertones of the play were that the greatness of the nation was key to having a ‘good head’ at its helm of leadership.
On leaving the Lagos State Council Oba Gbenga Sonuga set up the International Centre for the Art Lagos to promote Nigerian Art and Culture both around the continent and internationally. Chaired by the late Ambassador Chief Segun Olusola ICAL went on to stage many cultural interventions in London, the United States, Ethiopia and many others some funded by grants provided by the Ford Foundation.
Reflecting on a life well lived the man we fondly call ‘Oba Art & Culture’ has indeed lived a full life, and a life of impact. He said ‘I am inspired by the new generation of artists, playwrights, and producers. Particularly with the focus on developing sustainable patronage, because art cannot survive without patronage, and culture cannot be preserved without being practiced and passed on to the next generation.
He cited a few good examples such as the Terra Kulture, Beeta Universal, the new Nollywood, and Theatre in the Park, The Omenka Gallery, the centre for contemporary art & culture, and so many others. He said “The baton has truly been passed on but we must continue to build an area of art and culture in all the areas we build and develop. Much like the West End in London, Broadway in New York, Le Louvre in Paris, we need more areas where art and theatre, and culture can survive and thrive.
Onikan was planned for that, with the National Gallery, National Museum, the MUSON Centre, in that area. A master plan to develop a cultural district is still very needed.” He continued “I hope to continue my series of lectures on art and culture, to help and foster the next generation, and propel the ideas and lessons needed to continue to have a good head, and a good nation”.
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.
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." —Groucho Marx "Politics, noun: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary The insanity is palpable the moment you step out of the airports, be it Abuja or Lagos or Port Harcourt. It smacks you right in the face, oppressive and dominating, even causing fear because you don’t know when it will explode into violence. Even if you are apolitical and neutral, you have that feeling that it is better not to utter a sound in favour of any political party or candidate.
Because the airports are owned by the Federal Government, the likelihood is that you will only see political campaign posters and other adverts of the incumbent president, and none of the opposition. This intolerance is of course replicated in the states, irrespective of the ruling party. The states are even worse; some governors either subtly or openly direct their state-owned radio and television stations not to accept or broadcast or publish opposition campaign adverts and jingles.
So, on my way to the city of Lagos from Muritala Mohammed Airport, I noticed that many BRT buses (owned by the Lagos State Government) had Akinwunmi Ambode's (the ruling APC gubernatorial candidate) campaign posters. I did not see any for Jimi Agbaje of the PDP and others, (I will admit I don’t know of any) of the other political parties contesting for governorship of Lagos State. I asked myself if Jimi Agbaje and the other contestants didn't approach the Management of BRT to pay for and use the buses to also run their campaigns. Were they refused? If they were, does that not show that the Government of Lagos State, which the BRT officials represent, is intolerant, undemocratic and partial and is not providing a level playing field for all, and deliberately contravening the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Did the Government of Lagos State buy those buses with the funds of Lagos State (irrespective of political affiliation or sympathy) or the funds of the APC? I later read that Jimi Agbaje alleged that his posters (that a private advertising agency placed on poles on the Highways and bridges built by the Federal Government were pulled down by Lagos State Signage Agency and that that all attempts to get the permits to place these posters were rebuffed! The Agency has not denied this story.
Politics of bitterness! Again this is replicated in all the states of the Federation. It is the season of insanity and insensitivity, selfishness and greed. In most states of the Federation, the civil servants have not been paid salaries, some for up to six months. Yet, there is billions of Naira being spent by politicians and governors seeking second terms, or departing ones seeking to install their proxies. Can we relate to this? And yet, the unpaid civil servants and teachers, who have their own financial needs to take care of their families, have not taken to the streets, but are instead praying hard for a better governor or better Nigeria, without wanting to lift a finger. And worse, helping the politicians to steal or misuse their own salaries. Insane!! Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps they are just being patient (as we always do) and hoping to exercise their voting rights and seek revenge on the governors who are not paying their salaries but are using state funds to fund their political campaigns. Let us be clear here! There is hardly any second-term seeking governor, senator, member of the house (federal or state) that is using his/her own money or even donations from the public to fund their election or re-election campaigns. They are using state funds.
This is not new to Nigeria, but all these decades we just conveniently ignore this callousness and a rape of the law. And with a depraved and lawless society as ours, the politicians readily take advantage and empty the treasury to fight elections. That is another instance of the insanity of our seasons of politics. Of course, we have passed the crazy height of the carpet-crossing and defection from one party to the other, every politician, small or great, unknown and known, seeking to be relevant, seeking to have a foothold on power and unwilling to be swept away from the chance of partaking in the looting of the treasury. Politicians all over the world are certified insane, but Nigerian politicians are even more insane, and this should be of concern to us, because they are more dangerous, murderous and absurd than their counterparts’ elsewhere. They are simply there for the money and power. Nothing else! And they do not care how they get there; how many dead bodies are left in their wake; how many lives they ruin on their way up; how many lies they tell to the people; how many unfulfillable promises they make; how they tread on the Constitution, etc. They do not give a damn, and this is what makes them dangerous and toxic to our health and welfare and well-being. One should hear them on TV and Radio.
A police minister was shouting himself hoarse, full of righteous indignation and piety, and could not disguise his hatred for the opposition presidential candidate; and one irresponsible governor wishing the opposition presidential candidate dead. Even people in opposing political camps are wishing one another dead and all sorts of evil to fall upon their “enemies”. All in the name of the Nigerian brand of politics. It is the madding crowd (after “Far From The Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy), unfortunately, it is very hard for the public to put a distance between these mad politicians and us.
They are with us everywhere, inside our houses and bedrooms. Posters and fliers and billboards everywhere; some obscuring traffic! You wonder how these people get the money to do these political adverts, while the public go hungry and desolate. Again, thousands, if not millions of unemployed youth ambling all over the country, desperate and ignored. Man’s inhumanity and insensitivity to man, that’s what I call it. For over six months, all over the Federation, government and governance has ceased, federal and state. They have shut down. Maybe that’s the rationale for not paying the civil servants; after all they are not doing anything in the ministries and government departments and agencies. Virtually a shutdown of government! The governors looking for re-election do not even bother to call weekly Exco meetings. How could they, when they are on the campaign trail, distributing money, wasting resources? Out-going, non-returning governors are even worse – they are busy mopping up the treasury and setting a cover-up in place to hide their evil deeds. Politics in Nigeria often bring out the worst and the primordial in us. The people are intolerant of each other’s political convictions for one reason or the other – tribal, religious, self-interest and selfishness. If you are making money or deriving some favour from one political candidate or party, then of course, you never see their flaws and sins, despite the obvious lapses, poor governance or lack of sincerity. Then, your political rival becomes your enemy. When I use the word “enemy”, I mean real foe that you want to get rid of; a “fight to the death” kind of thing.
Check Facebook and you will see the vituperative languages being used by us to defend our political stance. And the senseless thing is that the politicians, who we are tearing each other apart for, do not even give a damn about our ranting or about our lives. You can hardly partake in a political discourse on social media these days without some mediocre idiot and men/women of low intelligence hurling abuses at you, just because you do not belong to the same political camp, or you do not share their political convictions or you are not voting for their candidates. Our brand of politics is that of mud-slinging, insults, abuses, condemnations, bitterness. Real political considerations and issues are rarely of discourse. Who cares about ideologies, policies, feasible and workable manifestoes, work-plans, development plans? Who wants to talk about how to fund education, healthcare, electricity, creation of employment, etc? When participants in a political argument show themselves to lack phronesis (good practical and wise judgement), then we are entitled to judge them irrational. And this is what we have in most of our politicians and the followers. All they tell you is they will do this and do that – the same thing their ilk have been telling and promising us since 1960 and which we have rarely seen manifested.
Of if manifested, their neglect has made them of no use for purpose. The long and short of it is this: Leaders or rulers are only as bad or good as the society that spawns them. A bad society will consistently produce bad leaders while a good society will also consistently produce good leaders. Our society, yes the Nigerian society, is immoral to the core; and this is why we have been producing the type of leaders we have had for the past fifty years. When occasionally a good leader rears its head up, we reject them, and then we start complaining. We cannot continue doing things, running our lives the same old, corrupt and depraved ways and expect to get different and better results. We simply have to change or depart from the old ways of doing things if we want to have a chance at a better life, survival, progress and development. A better Nigeria will be elusive if we do not change from our warped and depraved behaviours.
When a society decides to change, that change must be constructive and led by sincere, truly patriotic leaders and sincere and completely patriotic followers! There is no room for hypocrisy, corruption, nepotism, maladministration, defective political, ethical and social structures, tribalism and non-altruistic demonstrations. In fact at this stage of our lives, there is no longer any room for experimenting or for failure. We do not have the time; the oil is drying up, the population is growing, and the world is leaving us behind every second. We must start applying holistic approaches to the way we do things.
PDP or APC; Jonathan or Buhari; these do not really have any import on me. This 2015 Election, if allowed to take place on a free and fair basis, offers some hope to our nascent democracy; it offers a hope to the people to know and feel what democracy is all about – power really belongs to the people. If there is a change of federal government and ruling party from PDP to APC, for example, it will empower Nigerians, from grassroots to the top, and then they will realise their full power in a democracy. It will mean that every four years, we, the people, know and are assured that we can always throw out a bad performing government; a useless senator, a corrupt and ignorant governor, an awful councillor and evil politician in general. It will also mean that we will not even allow such low-life get to power in the first place. There we are!!! God save and bless Nigeria!
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.
Someone recently placed on the table an impossible proposition. She said to do a comparative analysis of President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari! Among her interlocutors, the suggested instantly elicited an argument. How does one compare day and night? Is not the former resplendent light and the latter pitch darkness? The conversation should actually be one of contrastive analysis, beginning with how both men appropriated political power. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was elected President of Nigeria in a ballot declared by both local and international observers to be, in every respect, better and more credible than the ones that led Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to Aso Rock, the Nigerian seat of the presidency.
In contradistinction, Major General Muhammadu Buhari toppled the Nigerian Constitution on the last day of 1983 in order to become the Military Head of State. The common denominator here is that both men attained the political leadership of the country, Jonathan by the people’s mandate and Buhari through the barrel of the gun. This makes Buhari a very lucky man indeed, given what obtains in other countries whose historical circumstances are afflicted by the aberration of military dictatorship. Take the example of the Greek Colonels who seized power on April 21, 1967 and made an elongated mess of the cradle of democracy until July 24, 1974 when, utterly discredited, they were forced from office. Less than a year later, the elected government of Konstantin Karamanlis had the members of the sacked junta arrested, detained and put on trial for high treason and insurrection. Four ring leaders of the Colonels’ Coup – Papadopoulos, Pattakos, Makarezos and Ioannidis were sentenced to death; the sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment. Hundreds of other officers were equally handed long stretches behind bars, to teach them that “the head is bigger than the body!”
But, what do Nigerians have? The longest streets in the major towns and cities are named after those who toppled the constitution, who went on to enjoy two pensions – one as retired military brass and two, as retired heads of government! That explains why Buhari is today running to be President of Nigeria – for the fourth unprecedented time.
But to return to the contrastive analysis. In March 1976, General Olusegun Obasanjo, as head of the military junta, appointed Buhari the Federal Commissioner (Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources. That same year the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was created with Buhari as its Chairman; he held both positions until 1978. During his tenure, however, $2.8 billion allegedly went missing from the accounts of the NNPC. The allegation set off a major national controversy that, in 1980, prompted President Shehu Shagari to inaugurate the Crude Oil Sales Tribunal of Inquiry, headed by Justice Ayo Gabriel Irikefe, to establish the veracity or otherwise of the story. Although the Tribunal could not substantiate the allegation of the missing billions, its limitation lay in the unexplained failure to summon Generals Obasanjo and Buhari, who as Head of State and Oil Minister/NNPC chairman respectively, controlled oil sales during the period in question.
Following that missing billions saga, Buhari had it in for the national media which he held responsible for introducing the story, using it almost to the point of turning the country into something of a tinderbox. He got his pound of flesh back when he seized power in December 1983 and enacted the notorious Decree Number 4 of 1984 which comprehensively circumscribed and emasculated press freedom.
President Jonathan, on the contrary, reacted with enlightenment and vision to negative press. During Buhari’s dictatorship, the social media did not exit. Not even in fictional works. But both the orthodox and social media descended on Jonathan with extreme prejudice, abusing, calumniating, castigating, denigrating, disparaging, lambasting and pillorying him on 24/7 basis. Further, they homed in on the President’s wife, ceaselessly and incessantly ridiculing her, claiming that her English was not only atrocious but also rendered in accents unbecoming of a First Lady. Her traducers didn’t depose any reasons why Dame Patience should speak English with cadencies and tonal inflections of Queen Elizabeth ll. They were wrong on her English because content analysis of the spoken English and grammar of her predecessors did not confirm that any of Mrs. Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, Mrs. Ajoke Muhammed, Mrs. Sefinatu Buhari, Mrs. Maryam Babangida, Mrs. Maryam Abacha and Mrs. Stella Obasanjo excelled her in those departments. Yet, not one of these blessed First Ladies was ever subjected to any disrespect or obloquy on account of perceived diffidence in diction and elocution.
How did President Jonathan react to all of the bad faith? Wearing a smile, he carefully skirted around the howls of execration to hand Nigeria its first and only Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
General Buhari told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” How have both men been tackling the cankerworm? Buhari tried politicians in military tribunals and handed then sentences that ran into hundreds of “Calendar Years”! Not one of those afflicted with such Draconian backlash served up to a year in jail. They were all set free. Not a single one of them is perceived to be corrupt on account of their trial by Buhari’s kangaroo courts. All that may be three decades ago. Today, a key Buhari supporter is reported to own the following on account of having served as Governor: two massive hotels, many shopping complexes, an airline, a concession company, an amusement park, numerous estates and countless media organizations. What does Buhari have to say on this score, given that non-tolerance of corruption is a cardinal pillar of his electoral campaign? Nothing!
But President Jonathan has been fighting corruption with institutional reforms. His government introduced the Integrated Payroll System which employs the use of biometrics to check the scourge of ghost workers, 66,000 of whom had been fished out as at the last count, thereby saving the government some N139 billion in annual, phantom paychecks. The Jonathan government ended the 40-year old corruption in the fertilizer sector. Said Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources last November: “Between 1980 and 2010, over N873bn ($5.4bn) was spent on fertilizer subsidies. No more than 11 percent of farmers received these fertilizers. Over N776bn ($4.8bn) was estimated to have been lost to corruption or an average of N26bn ($162.5m) annually. The system displaced the private sector.” The government halted the corruption by resolutely removing government from direct procurement of fertilizers.
In January 2012, President Jonathan also moved to wipe away the corruption tied to oil subsidies. But a very well-known opposition character fuelled daily protests in Lagos, paying and feeding vagrants and professional agitators to mass at the Freedom Square, to engineer instability.
Many opposition voices claimed there was monumental corruption at the NNPC. They mentioned sums ranging from $10 billion to $50 billion as having been plundered. This immediately led to a national uproar. The Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, investigated the allegation and, despite being people by many APC members, concluded that it was devoid of truth as no money was missing at the NNPC. The Committee described the allegations as “misleading and highly destabilizing.” Heedless, the APC ran with the narrative, generating so much pointless heat. Unlike Buhari who flew off the handle when $2.8 billion allegedly disappeared under his watch at the NNPC in the late 1970s, President Jonathan ordered a forensic auditing of NNPC’s books. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Finance Minister, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the biggest and most renowned auditing firms in the world, to carry out the forensic audit of the NNPC. Like Makarfi’s Senate Committee, PwC also found that there was no truth whatsoever in the allegations of missing money at the NNPC, lending further credence to the Jonathan administration’s fight against corruption through reforms !
What about the other contrasts – including those in the areas of the economy and national security – between Dr. Jonathan and Alhaji Buhari? They would be discussed in the second half of this effort to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Iloegbunam (iloegbunam@hotmail.com) is the author of Journey to the Throne, the biography of Eze (Professor) Green Nwankwo
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.
Before his advent into politics, Dr. Roland Lere Oritsejafor was a medical practitioner. However, his foray in politics was anchored on his desire to give succour to the hapless people in his community and Nigerians at large. Though among his Itsekiri kinsmen and political folks, he is known as Dr. O., he immense contributions to community and national development earned the title of the Ogwa of Itsekiri kingdom.
Consequent upon his contributions to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, and disposition to issues of national importance, Oritsejafor rose to the position of Deputy National Secretary of the PDP during the tenures of Audu Ogbe and Vincent Ogbulafor.
To him, the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), chaired by Professor Attahiru Jega, was due to security challenges the nation is currently embroiled in particularly in the northern part of the country.
The former minister explained that the reasons advanced by the INEC Chairman were cogent enough to justify postponement of the elections. The Ogwa of Itsekiri, who posited that the initial clamour for the shift of the elections by a cross section of Nigerians may not be unconnected with the lingering security crisis confronting the northern part of the country as current development in the political space has further exonerated Jega of any under hand dealings as alleged in certain quarters.
According to him, the new election dates will help to douse with tension generated by the polls as well as position INEC to conduct the elections without hitches particularly on the distribution of the PVCs.
“The call by some Nigerians to postpone the elections showed that the number of PVCs so distributed was not enough to justify proper conduct of the polls in February. The elections postponement vis-a-vis distribution of PVCs remains a technical issue”, he said.
Against this backdrop, he enjoined INEC not to hesitate in disclosing the total number of PVCs distributed thus far.
“When the total PVCs distributed are less than forty-six percent, the election can still be said to be authentic. But our concern is the large number of Nigerians who would be disenfranchised in the only, but a global problem.
On security challenges, Oritsejafor insisted that insurgency is not Nigeria’s problem only, but a global problem.
His words, “We don’t live in isolation. Insurgency is a global problem. All over the world, we’re all aware of the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalists particularly with regards to the problem they have with America.
”Today, insurgency has come to a head as it has spread it’s tentacles to virtually all the nooks and crannies of the world via Isis. Hence, Nigeria’s case is not peculiar one. Already, the violence perpetrated by them has spread to African countries.
”Boko Haram insurgency is not a local affair. The arms used by the insurgents come from outside the country. From my experience in the Defence Ministry, it’s most difficult to use arms against your fellow countrymen. Hence, caution cannot be thrown to the wind in dealing with this issue. This may have put the president in a dilemma.
”However, its only when they pose threat to both the citizens and government that the Federal Government may be left without an option. But even at that, there’s need to exercise caution because the insurgents are citizens of this country,?”
The Ogwa recalled that when Boko Haram insurgents started , it was a Herculean task for Jonathan to order arms against them because they are fellow Nigerians.
He disclosed that insurgency in Nigeria persisted for so long because Mr. President was seeking peaceful options to resolve the problem.
Sponsors
The former minister lamented that government is yet to unmask the sponsors of the insurgents but stated that it’s more of an ideological issue.
“They want to take over Mali but were rebuffed following intervention. Everybody must be involved in tackling insurgency in Nigeria. Nigerians must be vigilant and render assistance in anyway possible to security operatives. The Islamist have access to weapons of war, and they live among us,”he said.
Oritsejafor disclosed that government is finding it difficult to in clip the wings of Boko Haram because sources of their finance and weapons are shrouded in mystery.
He implored Nigerians to emulate Alhaji Abdul-Mutallab who exposed his son for being a member of an Islamist group.
Allocation for weapons
While enjoining government to stop those siphoning funds budgeted for weapons for the military, the former minister noted that successive military ruler had neglected this all important aspect, rather, most of them spent so much time and money in equipping special squads to the detriment of the military.
Oritsejafor declared that, only recently, military chiefs confirmed that they are better equipped under democratic governance. He reiterated that intelligence gathering remains a measure to put insurgents at bay.
Peace accord under threat
Recent events confirm that the Abuja peace accord entered into by the political parties appears to be under threat. Apart from the verbal warfare, followers of the political parties are engaged in violence.
The PDP chief said the political class must take the blame should the Abuja peace accord collapse.
”The political leaders must be blamed if the Abuja peace accord fails. Their followers listen to them. Whatever the leaders say, the (followers) are ready to accept. Hence, it’s the responsibility of the leaders to caution their followers. Government serve everybody and violence is not an answer to any challenge. We’re all brothers and sisters and Nigeria belong to all of us,” he said.
“Though Nigeria is reported to be the largest country in Africa, today, Ghana is more respected because they are getting their electoral process right.
“When I was Deputy National Secretary of the PDP, we were sent to Sao-Tome as international observers of that country’s election. I was surprised that there was no permanent electoral body and no security personnel detailed to check violence. Party agents and voters were at the polling booths to cast their votes peacefully”, he said.
Oritsejafor recalled that since the advent of democracy, the PDP has lost some states to the opposition party mainly due to lack of internal democracy.
He, however, said the ruling party is working to reclaim its lost glory, by learning from its mistaking as well as making amends in areas where necessary.
According to him, from available inventory, the party has recorded tremendous progress in agriculture, transport, gender equality in governance as well as demonstrated honesty.
Oritsejafor joined issues with those who see the APC presidential candidate as anti-corruption crusader.
“Has he been ever tested in a democratic environment? How did he fight corruption? Was there a case taken to a court of competent jurisdiction? What were the parameters used for the prosecution of corrupt officers? But President Jonathan, as a true democrat, adhere to the rule of law in the persecution of corrupt public officers. Under his watch, many public officers have been persecuted and the records are there for all to”, he said.
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.
Now that there is a break, half time break, in political campaigns or a postponement of the elections by six weeks, it is time to take stock of the various political activities, and possibly prepare for a more refined, purposeful and positive approach contrary to what some have taken as “do-or-die”.
My constituency is the media and that is the area I wish to address because I am genuinely concerned. We cannot sit back, arms folded, looking the other way, and pretending that all is well.
Let the truth be told, we have simply behaved as if there is no tomorrow for Nigeria. The campaigns or advertisements of mudslinging and derision, which we have allowed to appear on the screens, have not been helpful to the cause of this nation. It has indeed helped to divide us as a people.
The media are expected to be the unifying factor for all interest groups but unfortunately some of us have come out to be brazenly partisan. When I see such, the question I ask myself is, are these media houses aware that they have viewership across the various political divides? What happens to their viewers who do not agree with their new position? It is only natural that they will switch over to a more objective and balanced station. Has this helped the cause of the station?
The advertisements are to say the least, banal, puerile, uncultured and primitive. One of the greatest values the Nigerian is identified with is respect. Our morals, and indeed our religious institutions teach us to honour our elders and our leaders. The two major political party presidential aspirants fit very well into the category of those we should respect and honour, as elders and as leaders. The advertisements have not in any way reflected it. What examples are we giving to the younger generations? Aggression and abuse of elders would not earn votes. Rather, they evoke sympathy, and indeed a vote for the victim.
The National Broadcasting code has ample provisions for elections. Among them are:
4.2.2 Broadcaster shall
(a) Not broadcast a programme which violates social values,
shows disrespect for law and order or departs from an honourable life-style;
(g) avoid the use of foul and blasphemous language;
5.1.6 Archival or library materials where used to illustrate a current event, shall be used with discretion and clearly identified to avoid confusion or causing emotional pain, offence, embarrassment or defamation.
5.2.5 Political broadcasts shall be in decent language
5.2.7 A broadcaster shall, in using a political material for news, avoid taking Inflammatory and divisive matter in its provocative form;
5.3.6 A live broadcast shall take cognizance of the cultural and religious sensibilities of all Nigerians, and avoid offensive inputs.
What, in our coverage, commercials or news clips, have exonerated us as objective stations, and non defaulters in the provisions listed above?
The documentary that was transmitted on two major networks recently was, to say the least, in bad taste. Though designed to demonise a political opponent, its inaccuracies and the very obvious “run-him-down” line-by-line production, are not only nauseating but could do the very reverse of the intention – evoke sympathy for the central character in the production, as an underdog.
One of the advertisements, in which the same presidential aspirant was transformed into a leopard, was, to me, most despicable, and disgusting. This is a person running for the highest position in the land – the presidency. That visual Nollywood voodoo style production is an insult on our collective carriage of the presidency. Even if he were the least of all the aspirants in terms of followership, that office must be respected and the contestants given their due honour.
Permit me to ask if it is the vogue these days not to preview what is to go on air. Even if the producers come in with such raw and indecorous content, is it not the station’s responsibility, as professionals, to determine what will suit the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerian viewers by either editing the advertisement or out-rightly dismissing the producer to go and refine his production?
What has become of our ethical standards? If a poll is taken today, are these stations, in all sincerity, sure of retaining their level of audience or viewership? I very much doubt.
Another area that bothers me is the Outside Broadcast activities of the stations. There is undoubtedly a very pressing need for serious training of the crew ranging from the cameramen, the on-air presenters, right on to the producers and directors. The earlier this is done against future events, the better it is for our profession and the viewers.
By the way, I want to believe the watchdogs or regulators of broadcasting – The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) as well as the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) – have done and are seen to have done something by way of sanctions to these errant stations to serve as a deterrent against the second half of the political campaigns. Both stations and the regulatory bodies must be seen as a servant of all.
Elections will come and go but Nigeria will remain. Nigeria will remain as what – a nation infested with hatred, distrust and demagoguery? This is certainly not what we envisage for a country so heavily endowed by God to make us prosper as brothers, sisters and our brothers’ keepers. How shall we see one another after an election campaign so richly studded with hate, bitterness and indeed venom, all in the name of winning the election? At the end of the day, only one out of the 14-contestants will be sworn in as the President, whose constituency is the whole of Nigeria.
Acceptable platform
This is the time to present an acceptable platform for some soft landing for both the winner and the losers.
The broadcast media has an immeasurable role to play in this. Though a lot of harm and hurt feelings have been engendered by various broadcast segments, this ‘half time’ is auspicious for us to mend fences and resolve to be better, fairer and more professional in the second half. If we preach hate, we shall reap hate and destruction. If we preach love and peace, we shall reap same. Let us endeavour to preach the latter with our media for the good of this nation and its wonderful people. Nigeria needs peace for progress and development. The broadcast media must be in the vanguard for its promotion.
God bless Nigeria.
*Adaba is pioneer Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission and Chairman/CEO, Trim Communications Nigeria Limited.
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.
READ Don’t break Nigeria over Jonathan, Buhari, Gov. Sule Lamido warns HERE
In this concluding part of the interview with Gov. Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, he says his fellow governors who defected from the PDP ought to have followed the honourable path by quitting office. He also speaks on what he calls `the healing process’ for Nigeria.
You can see the difference between those days and today, when a governor will leave the party that sponsored him to office and join another party while still maintaining the office he got from the old party.
When we were fighting in the PDP, I told my colleagues that the issues we were fighting for were fundamental. We were fighting for justice, we were fighting against impunity and we were fighting for due process. The people we were fighting were dangerous. It was like by the time they fight back, our offices, our personal lives and families and relationships could be on the line. Therefore we should stay in the party and fight. If we were going to join the APC, then we must be prepared to resign our offices. There is something called honour around leaders, especially elected leaders. I don’t wear your gown and use it to make shakara for you. It is not fair and it is not right.
And then, soon the military intervened, and all of you were witnesses to, and victims of, military justice. Some are saying the way the military handled the persecution of the political class, sometimes sending people to 200 years jail terms, sometimes on trumped up charges, was meant to decimate the political class. How did it affect you personally?
When the military took over in 1983/1984, the people holding power were part of the first generation of leaders. The people who came in were the third generation of the military. The first generation were the Ironsis, the Maimalaris, the Gowons, the Ojukwu’s and so on. Those who came in 1984, the people they displaced from power were part of the old order, the leaders who took over from the colonialists.
Because the new leaders were part of military leaders, the difficulty they had in asserting their authority, their attempt to replace first grade leadership with third grade meant they had to literally destroy the old order, because there was no way they were going to share space with the Ziks, the Awolowos, the Mbadiwes, the Aminu Kanos, the Joe Tarkas. It was necessary, or so they thought, to first destroy what was standing before they could find the ground to stand. They set out to disgrace us, remove our moral authority and make it sound as if we were thieves, crooks and corrupt people, and they made themselves look like saviours and revolutionaries, blah, blah, blah. They deployed lack of due process, lack of law, lack of human rights and even lack of cultural background.
And you can see the effect of these. They ended up taking away our history and truncated our political track records. How many young Nigerians know the story of Nigeria today? They don’t know and they don’t want to know because there is no running story. There is no continuity in our political evolution. What you have is a patchwork of eras. These boys were not able to replace what they destroyed with anything worth keeping. They were marauding the landscape with their military laws and decrees with immediate effect but we ended up having no effect because these laws and their system of rule was hanging. It had nothing to stand on. Even when they started their political transitions, they made things worse by disqualifying everybody who was in politics between 1960 and 1983. You can see the consequences. We are paying very dearly for it.
You played prominent roles during the military transitions to democracy. In particular, what did you see as your mission when the movement towards the formation of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party was going on? Did you see it as an opportunity to continue from where you stopped in 1983?
Our mission was informed by the coup of 1983 and the aftermath of it. Between 1983 and 1998, the military did incalculable harm to the polity. By 1998 we had no sense of our history. We did not know where we were coming from. We lost track of the contributions of our founding fathers, what was their vision and mission. The past was shut out. In its place was the culture of nepotism, brute force, abuse of power, mindless corruption and political greed that was not governed by any sense of restraint.
That is why today, governance has lost meaning. Government can become the property of the governor and the state his estate. Thank God we are able to maintain definite tenures. If we had no tenure limits, we would be having 36 state emperors and a king at the centre, each with the power to extend its dynasty. We have no philosophy that guides the way we do things and run a system in order to deliver good governance and use public resources to serve the people. It is everybody doing just as he likes. You can only get anything if you know Mr A or Mr B; citizens have lost their rights.
So, in 1999, after Babangida tried to continue and failed, he set up an interim government and left. General Abacha allowed the interim government to operate for only 82 days and he took over. He too tried to transform into a civilian president after five years in power. Generals Buhari, Babangida and Abacha had transformed politicians into praise singers and sycophants. People like us felt very offended and worried. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) founded by Babangida were government inventions.
They were owned by the military government, who gave politicians offices, houses, cars and even allowances. They also felt free to ban, disqualify any candidate and annul concluded elections. It was very obvious that he who paid the piper dictated the tunes. So, the party system the military set up was just a fraud, because the military was also using these associations of praise singers and political conmen to sabotage the parties and transition programmes they were running. We felt there was danger.
We felt pained that Nigeria, the leader of the black race, can be so trivialised. So, myself, Abubakar Rimi, Solomon Lar, Alex Ekwueme, Iorchia Ayu, Solomon Ellah, Bola Ige, and two others, formed the G.9. We met at Ekwueme’s office in Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi and discussed Nigeria extensively.
It was agreed that for some of us from the North who had worked with the military to prove that we were not part of the Abacha agenda for the North, we should go and form a group and challenge Abacha. ‘Go and challenge Abacha if you want those of us in the South to believe you’ . We agreed. We formed the G.18, which was purely a northern formation.
We challenged Abacha on a number of issues and gave it to Solomon Lar to go and read it out in the media. After that, the security agents came and picked me and Rimi and we were incarcerated. When the news came out the following day, the South became convinced of our commitment and therefore more people joined us and we formed the G.34, which was a national movement. We became interested in forming a party that will protect democracy, attract and unite all Nigerians, a party that will consolidate democracy, develop the country and make Nigeria a showpiece in the comity of nations.
Eventually, a man who did not play a role in the formation of the PDP became the president of Nigeria under the PDP banner. Somehow, the two of you clicked and have worked together ever since. So, how would you portray Gen Olusegun Obasanjo’s role in our democracy since 1999. Is Obasanjo a saint or sinner?
Before we go there, let us discuss how he emerged. There was a coup in 1983 and Buhari, a northerner was head of state, who took over from Shagari, a northerner. Then, Babangida, a northerner overthrew Buhari and ruled Nigeria for eight years. After that, Abacha, another northerner, took over and was in power for five years. And there was an election won by Chief Abiola, which was annulled.
This had a very profound effect because the elections of June 12 were very transparent and credible. The North was seen as a power monger. When Abacha died and we formed the PDP, we were looking for a Nigerian symbol. The issues in 1998 were not about development. The main issue was giving the Nigerian nation, which was like a ship adrift in the ocean, a chance to find a steady course once again.
We needed someone who will take the country out of bickering and bring about unity. We decided that the Yoruba had been wrongly treated and must be appeased because of their son, Abiola. Obasanjo was in prison, and we were looking for a Yoruba Nigerian president, not president of Nigeria for the Yorubas. If we had asked the Yorubas to give us a president, they would have given us Bola Ige, Abraham Adesanya or Olu Falae. These people may not solve the problem of uniting the nation because we feared they might be pursuing ethnic agenda. Our leaders reflected and decided to bring out Obasanjo, a man whom we knew was very sound and a nationalist.
What did Obasanjo do with the opportunity given to him?
Leave your personal opinion about Obasanjo. I know you hate him like nobody else. I have seen your writings. That is your own business. How did we click? you asked. When he made me foreign affairs minister, it was a time when Nigeria was a pariah nation in the world. I never knew him from Adam before he became the elected president. To me, Obasanjo was either crazy or a genius for him to place the heavy burden of that huge ministry on someone he never knew from Adam.
Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido and President Goodluck Jonathan
I knew that as a foreign affairs minister, what you say or do, or do not say or do not do can make or unmake the image of a nation, and this was a time when Nigeria’s image was already in the worst of shapes. I was touched, and I swore to myself that I will stand by this man for as long as he continued to be active in politics. And within three years of Obasanjo’s ascension to power, Nigeria’s unity was fully restored, and her image abroad was also restored. By 2001, Nigeria was stable and very, very reconciled. And when he started preparing for his second term, the very people who put him there wanted him out. I did not go along with that. I asked why they should use him and dump him.
In 2003, when we went for campaign in Rivers, Obasanjo made another very profound impact on me. At the arena where we were having the campaign, Peter Odili, the governor of Rivers State, stood up on the podium. He said: “We, people of South-South, our chiefs, leaders and the entire people, we met and decided that we want to control our oil, because God, in His infinite mercy, put the oil in our soil. And God does not make mistake. So, Mr President, we want to hear from you what will be the fate of our oil when you come back for a second term. We are going to give you our votes 100%; even if you are dead, we will still vote for you”.
Odili said so, right there at the campaign ground in Port Harcourt. I was cringing inside when I heard this, because it was a public place and a sensitive thing to say in a public place. Here we were, looking for votes. I was wondering what the president’s reply would be. Then, Obasanjo, in his normal character, stood up. He said: “Peter, thank you very much. I agree with you, God does not make mistake. He also made that man, Sule Lamido, a Nigerian, just like you. Therefore, the oil is for all Nigerians, irrespective of where they come from”.
Only someone with moral authority and courage will say so while looking for votes. So it made a serious impact on me. These are the things that define Obasanjo. We do have our own ups and downs, but once it comes to the issue of Nigeria, he and I are on the same page. I think he and I share the same intensity for Nigeria. He says Nigeria gave him everything, and he is ready to give his life for Nigeria. He said so. The same thing applies to me. Nigeria gave me the space to grow, gave me the opportunity to go to the House of Reps, gave the opportunity to be a minister, Nigeria gave me everything. So, I am willing to give back to my country.
You have governed Jigawa State for almost eight years now. We all know where the state was in 2007. It was rated by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics and the Central Bank of Nigeria as the poorest state in the North and Nigeria. We know where it is today, as one of the most rapidly growing in terms of infrastructure and the best in doing business according to international rating agencies. This is why my newspaper gave you an award. What was the template you brought here that brought about the great turnaround?
We are not just talking about developing Dutse into a little beautiful city but creating 27 new towns all over the state.
Every human being has pride. Every human being has a sense of belief in himself, or at least, should have it. These will become obvious when the institutions or the platform he needs are given him to demonstrate it. The first thing was that I knew my people to be very proud, very hard working, very industrious and very humane. I was humbled that they made me their governor.
The first thing I did was to ensure that the government belonged to them. When you are down, it is up to you to decide that you want to pull yourself up. Otherwise there is nothing anyone can do for you. We felt embarrassed and pained when we were being rated so lowly, and we knew that what they were saying was true. We had to unite to save ourselves from ourselves.
So, I decided that I was going to lead, not in terms of being a leader but being part of the people. I do not have any particular training, or qualification, but even when I was foreign minister, I kept my eyes open, and I noticed that there is something called class, and when I became governor, I decided it was an opportunity to prove that what other people now take for granted in other parts of the world we can do it here. I am going to build structure, infrastructure and institutions that will support our collective drive towards achieving human dignity. Our destination is peace and prosperity and a humane decency. We started by having a conference of all Jigawa citizens. We called it the Talakawa Summit.
This summit brought in all artisans, all professionals, from the local midwife in the village to the carpenter, from the woman who makes fura to the vulcaniser and the carpenter. We decided to listen to them first. Then I told them that Jigawa had been a victim of poverty, squalor and destitution. We the elite were here living in comfort and the ordinary people were living in pain. We have switched off from human compassion. We must switch back on and begin to look our people in the face, their clothing, what they eat and how they live.
It was time we listened to their stories of agony, ordeal and pain. It should not be like what we always did, discussing about hunger, poverty, refugees and their kwashiorkor in the comfort of seven-star hotels without even listening to the people who were going through these things. When they had narrated everything, we decided to use what we got from them to form the basis of how to run our government. So, what you are seeing today is the result of the collective will, strength and energies of the people of Jigawa State, not Sule Lamido.
We all travel all over the world and we read about how Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and now Dubai grew and transformed from backwardness to grade one entities. Why can’t we do the same here in Jigawa State? These people started from somewhere, now see where they are. It is up to us to compel ourselves to be what we want to be. It is not Sule Lamido, but the resolve of Jigawa people to put the inglorious past behind them and move from darkness to light. We refused to go by the Nigerian pace but we decided to dictate our own pace. We knew our potentials, and we summoned the discipline and commitment and passion to change our situation.
What do you say about President Jonathan, the Peoples Democratic Party and the future of Nigeria?
If you look at the party from 1999, the way things happened was not the way things were planned. Man proposes, God disposes. It is part of human evolution that things unforeseen can come in and take the centre stage. Nigeria has been traumatised. We began in 1999 with so many injuries and so many difficulties. We had to reconcile and restore Nigeria first before anyone could start aspiring to be governor, president and what have you. Of course, as human beings, we make mistakes.
I think what redefined Nigeria was denying Obasanjo a smooth sail in 2003. He went through a lot of pain to get re-elected, and that eroded confidence and trust among his friends and associates. In a way, all these things influenced his thinking towards 2007. And then, Umaru Yar’ Adua was in office. He was there for only three years and he died.
In 2007, Yar’ Adua, a Fulani, a Northerner; Buhari, a Fulani, a northerner; Atiku, a Fulani, a northerner, all of them northerners, Muslims and Fulanis. There was no southerner in the presidential race in 2007, yet the elections were very acrimonious. The power struggle among these otherwise brothers was very bitter, and when we do these things, it has a way of defining the disposition of the younger generation. By and large, our activities also impact on the environment.
The structure of the PDP made sure that there was no way that Atiku and Buhari could have beaten Yar’ Adua. Buhari had no structure but depended on the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP). Atiku was a PDP creation. At the end of the election, there was total distortion of realities, due to the amount of propaganda. Even though there was no way the duo could have won the election, they made a lot of people to believe that the election was rigged.
It was pure mischief, but these things stuck. When you tell a lie over and over, it begins to wear the toga of the truth. They went to the tribunal, they lost. They went on appeal, they lost. And the more they lost the more the propaganda. At the Supreme Court, the judges are also under the same influence in the environment. There was a tie. It took the maturity of the Chief Justice of Nigeria then, after examining the implications for the nation, and he broke the tie accordingly.
Buhari never attended the Council of State meetings when Yar’ Adua was president. But when Yar’ Adua died, the very first meeting Jonathan called, Buhari was the first to be there. And they were Muslims. They were Fulanis and northerners. These things also permeated down to the grassroots. By stroke of providence, Jonathan became the president.
By 2011, Jonathan won the election, and some people started saying he is a southerner. Who was there before him? Was it not a northerner? There are certain things in life you cannot avoid. As a Muslim, I intensely believe in God, and there is nothing that man can do to change the course of destiny.
Whatever the shortcomings or strong points of President Jonathan, they are part of the process of national healing, and it is the duty of all of us to come together and be part of the national healing. Nigeria cannot be hinged on a single person or section. So, in 2015, whatever it is, we must be ready to rally around the president.
Even if he makes mistakes, we should be able to pull him back. But when you vilify him, or deride him, or disown him, you will take away his authority from him, and you will strip him of his pride and he will become like any other person. That is not the way to go because, as they say, things that go round will come round. Today, it is Jonathan. Next day it can be anyone else.
You cannot build a strong, united, prosperous nation with that kind of attitude. If you think the leader you elected to office is going wrong, rally around him and stop him from straying. When you abandon and malign him, he is going to be like any other person, and he might begin to get out of hand in a way that does no one any good. And remember, he has his own supporters.
Before you know it, the nation is broken again into factions. So, to me, maybe I am becoming too old and don’t see things from the perspective of the youth of today, but I think our values are being eroded, as a people, as an economy, as a nation and as Africans, and we must not allow that to happen. Nigeria was here before Jonathan and after Jonathan, Nigeria will be here, I am very sure.
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.
President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, held a closed-door meeting with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III.
The closed door meeting was the second such parley. Sometime last year, the president was in the state to solicit votes ahead of the March 28 poll in which he is seeking re-election.
Just like Jonathan asked for the support of the monarch towards his second term in office, Sunday Vanguard learnt that the president told the Alaafin to help him so that he could consolidate on his present achievements.
Oba Adeyemi was, however, said to have been non-commital while responding to the demand but said everything must be done to ensure that peace reigned during the election, saying that only in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility can there be genuine development.
Newsmen were not allowed into the ancient palace as heavily armed soldiers condoned off the school’s premises where the helicopter that brought Jonathan landed and the premises. Some top government officials and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by its Chairman, Adamu Muazu, were in the entourage of the president.
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.
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