tpiah!:

first time i'm seeing buhari's family.

the oldest daughter is quite pretty.

but i thought he had many wives?

and the children in this photo must have been born relatively recently, because i'd have thought he'd have kids who were 30+ years old unless he married late.

good photoshoots btw.

the lighting, poses, etc.

Some of these kids are likely his grandchildren, i don't think all are his immediate children.

Meyungbe-Olufunmilade: Towards a Buhari-Bakare bloodless revolution

MONDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2011 00:00 BY ’FEMI MEYUNGBE-OLUFUNMILADE OPINION - COLUMNISTS 


AT the presentation of his book - Colonialism in Africa: Ancient and Modern - our prolific constitutional lawyer and patriot par excellence, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, early July 2010, made a passionate call for revolution as the way out of the unending rot that is the Nigerian state as a prelude to a regime of transformational leadership. Excerpts of his exact words as reported by The Nation of July 8, 2010, is worth reproducing here at some length: “I want a wholesome transformation and this is where I disagree with T.Y. (Danjuma), I want a bloody revolution. We need a revolutionary change, a bloody one and those who survive will pick up the pieces. Corruption has eaten deep and everybody is involved, only a bloody revolution will remedy the situation. That was how France was saved. If you read about the French revolution, that was what saved France and Europe is what it is today because of the French revolution. I cannot see the country being saved other than through a bloody revolution.”

This submission by Nwabueze, a most temperate elder statesman not known for reckless outbursts, is something that should cause responsible Nigerians some deep reflection. Nwabueze premised his submission on the nature of the present ruling class in Nigeria dominated by the ubiquitous “patronage organization” called the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Of the National Assembly, whose under-500 members Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently revealed, consumes 25 per cent of federal budget overheads, Nwabueze said it is a “House of thieves,” lamenting that “what is going on there is terribly incredibly.”

In other words, what Nwabueze is saying is that in a situation where the principal agents of retrogression are the supposed leaders of a country and such persons are ensconced in a democratic cloak, thereby giving a stamp of legitimacy to their perfidy, while they would not permit peaceful change via popular elections, only a violent revolution becomes the only option for change if an enslaved people must free themselves and make progress. Voicing his own view on this same issue at the Nwabueze book presentation was another eminent Nigerian, equally unaccustomed to reckless outbursts, Lt. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma. According to him, “Revolution is exceedingly costly, it is a very costly means of transformation. I am an optimist as far as our country Nigeria is concerned. I believe one man in position of authority can transform our country, only that we have not been lucky to have such a man.”

If carefully dissected, the positions taken by these two Nigerian statesmen, Nwabueze and Danjuma, are the same essentially. They both agreed Nigeria needed transformation. They only differed on the type of revolution required to bring about the transformation. One felt the revolution must be bloody, emanating from below, shaking a rotten superstructure of corruption and retrogression to its very foundation. The other thought the revolution could be from the top – the initiative of a powerful leader – percolating down. It can even be argued that Danjuma didn’t say a bloody revolution as canvassed by Nwabueze is impossible. He merely said a bloodless kind is more desirable. Obviously, if transformation is possible via the two kinds of revolutions being canvassed, the preference of most people would be the bloodless kind. Why split blood to get what is achievable without blood?

What I may add to the debate is that indeed both kinds of revolutions are possible in Nigeria. The bloody kind is inevitable if the present crops of leaders being thrown up by the PDP continue to call the shots in Nigeria. We already see symptoms of what late Prof. Claude Ake would call “revolutionary pressures” across Nigeria. Like it or not, the rise of ethnic militias like the O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Bakassi Boys, myriads of Niger Delta militant groups, as well as fundamentalist religious groups like the Boko Haram, all of which are challenging the authority of the Nigerian state and contesting its legitimacy, are manifestations of deep frustrations with the extant social order coupled with a resolve to transform it by force of arms, which generally-speaking is the goal of every revolution. So far, the Nigerian state has been able to contain the revolutionary groups, including the Niger Delta’s which almost submerged it.

However, we are at a point where things might boil over decisively, except fundamental, progressive change germane to the aspirations of the mass of exploited and oppressed Nigerians is effected. Those of us involved in producing university graduates wonder what will happen any moment from now as year after year we swell the ranks of the unemployed in tens of thousands with sophisticated minds. Something just has to give way. To every action there must be a reaction. I foresee a situation where progressive elements within the military would align with their ideological compatibles in civil society to save Nigeria from implosion and disintegration as multiple ethno-religious militias contest for supremacy or seek to carve spheres of control for themselves as the Nigerian state teeter towards collapse.

The only detour from the bloody “revolutionary path,” apologies to Kwame Nkrumah, is to vote out the PDP-led federal government and its entire bad eggs from the corridor of power come the 9 April, 2011 presidential election. I almost would have said anything else is preferable to PDP because nothing can be worse than the PDP, an association of powerful Nigerians across ethnic and religious divides who see government purely as an institution for self-enrichment. Who says PDP has no ideology? Its ideology is malversationism, meaning a belief in the stealing of public money for private purposes. That is why we hear of trillions budgeted for this and that public projects but we never get to see anything done. That is the story of electricity, road, healthcare etc under this accursed PDP regime in the past 12 years. In the Southwest, PDP governors don show us pepper. That is why our people are savouring the fresh breath of change when PDP governors were made to restore the guber mandates they had stolen in Ondo, Ekiti, and Osun states, and even in our cousin state, Edo.

That is why our people in Ogun and Oyo states are counting the days by hours, if not minutes, to liberate themselves from a PDP wracked by internal war in their ambience, come April 2011 guber polls. That is why progressive-minded Nigerians from North to South, East to West, desirous of bloodless revolution, are eagerly waiting to troop out on April 9, to vote for the duo of former Head of State of War Against Indiscipline (WAI) fame, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and Pastor Tunde Bakare, a say-it-as-it-is preacher, as president and vice president, respectively. This duo, considering other leading candidates and based on their track records in the public domain, as well as their worldview, constitute our best bet, our surest pathway to progressive, bloodless, revolutionary change. Buhari once did it as Head of State, instilling discipline and probity from top to bottom, all within 20 months (January 1984 to August 1985). It is no little tribute to his efficacy that policemen stopped asking for bribes as they do presently.

Any policeman that flouted what was then the norm at a checkpoint, for instance, instantly attracted the censure of passengers in surrounding vehicles in the form of a deafening shout of “WAI!” Since Buhari’s exit from power, the dog had returned to its vomit? How did he do it then? Simple. Leadership by example. Policemen refuse to be sermonised today by our so-called leaders largely because, being close to them as security aides, they know they are not practising what they are preaching. And our so-called leaders dare not clamp down on the erring ones among them because they lack the good conscience to do so. They fear the backlash.  It is high time things changed for good in this much-abused federation.

• Dr. Meyungbe-Olufunmilade teaches Political Science at Igbinedion University, Okada. Edo State.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38536:meyungbe-olufunmilade-towards-a-buhari-bakare-bloodless-revolution&catid=38:columnists&Itemid=615

“Democracy is being stretched before Elections”, Buhari tells Commonwealth

The Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Commonwealth to lean hard on the incumbent government in Nigeria to stop abuse of power in the build up to April elections as it is bound to foul the conducive atmosphere need for credible polls.
Gen.Buhari made the call at a meeting with Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth,Mrs Masire Mwanba in Abuja Wednesday Morning as part of the group’s consultations with stakeholders ahead of the elections.

The front line runner specifically referred to the detention of the CPC governorship candidate in Nassarawa state,Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura by the police over alleged heckling of President Goodluck Jonathan campaign train in the state on Monday:
“Information at our disposal indicates that Al-Makura was not even in Nassarawa on Monday and neither was anybody arrested among the hecklers who claimed to have been sent by him.This arbitrary arrest shows that democracy is already being stretched before the elections”.

Gen Buhari who was accompanied by his running mate,Pastor Tunde Bakare told the Commonwealth Scribe that the background of INEC chairman Prof Attahiru Jega rekindled hope in the ballot box upon his appointment but that some recent developments give cause for concerns about the electoral body:
“There is the scandalous substitution of candidates submitted by our party in some states.How can the electoral agency can revalidate a candidate rejected by us based on inducement of party members with money?Our team of lawyers will challenge that”he said.
He also drew attention to the many hitches that characterized the voter registration exercise,the lack of will to deal with high profile violators of the rules governing the exercise and excessive pandering to the ruling party on breaches of clear provisions of INEC guidelines.
He equally frowned at the situation where adequate remedies have not been made for problematic terrains in the Niger Delta and Mambilla Plateau where elections did not hold in 2007 because materials arrived 24 hours after the elections.

He however praised the people for the keen interest they have shown in the electoral process:
“The awareness is higher today and even the elites are getting involved because they realize the effects a rigged election could have on the system.Kano started it 2003,Bauchi and Lagos followed suit in 2007 and it is clear a country wide mood for mandate defense is gathering”.
He further called on the Commonwealth to ensure it does the needful to monitor all the electoral processes recalling that part of the evidence used to get the Supreme court to split in two halves over the 2007 elections before the casting vote of the chief Justice was the report of the International Observers.

He concluded that the April polls is critical to the future of Nigeria and the rest of the world must assist the people of Nigeria to have their electoral will asserted.
Earlier,Mrs Masire Mwanba had explained that her team was in Nigeria to hold a listening brief and assess the processes leading to the elections as election day alone does not give all the flavors.

Yinka Odumakin.
Spokesman to Gen.Buhari

http://buhari4change.com/?p=361

good job honeric01, keep it up.

^^^^^

Thanks

Wole Soyinka is the chairperson of the board of another party. Amongst us are professional politicians and those who have political interests.

@ Honeric01
thanks for your effort, can any one tell us if Buhari av ever been bias against any christian during his public service?
i being a muslim is not my making and u being a christian was never your making. however to be a sincere muslim or chriatian is our making and that what should count.  
let vote people who will not embezzle our money for the fear of God and not just for EFCC. Buhari has examplified it and i equally believe in Tunde Bakare. this country belong to the two great religion let vote for the best of them

as a muslim if Bakare was to contest against Atiku i will obviously have gone for bakare knowing fully well that as a muslim i stand to benefit from the sincerity of bakare than anything Atiku will offer

the christians are afraid of buhari because of a propaganda that he will implement sharia (I WONDER  HOW POSSIBLE IS THAT), the northern elite dont want him because he will probe their ill gotten wealth, then they sell the idea of him implementing sharia to the christian because that is their worst night mere even if in reality it remain impossible. These same northern elite achieve cheap popularity by implementing a political sharia. WHY CANT WE TAKE A PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT WE HEAR ABOUT PEOPLE BEFORE JUDGING THEM

we are already seeing the changes Tunde Bakare is bringing on this ticket! the pics are lovely and shows 2 honest men!

the change has come, keep it up honeric!

“Learn from 18 days that shook Egypt” Buhari urges Nigerians


The Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) has called on Nigerians to draw the right lessons from the 18-day revolution which saw Hosni Mubarak quitting office after 30 years; and do the needful to effect a regime change in Nigeria at the April polls.

Gen. Buhari praised the resilience of hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who made exceptional sacrifices to assert their collective will “The Egyptian pro-democracy campaigners defied all odds to achieve their set goal of terminating the 30-year old grip on power by Mubarak. Their tenacity has again confirmed the truism that no force on earth can stop a people determined” he said.

The presidential hopeful added that as the historic moment beckons in April, Nigerians must gird their loins and insist on free and fair elections that will usher in accountable leadership that will bring about good governance:

“Unlike the Egyptians who went through self-denial for 18 unbroken days to achieve their aspiration for leadership change, Nigerians just have to take their voter cards, vote on each election day and ensure that their votes count and are properly counted. It is time to demonstrate people’s power to free our country from those who have held it hostage for the last 12 years and are threatening to keep it so for 60 year”

Gen. Buhari equally commended the organizational zeal of the Egyptian demonstrators, peaceful conduct and doggedness even in the face of extreme intimidation and provocation. “More importantly Nigerians have to learn from the way faiths integrated to achieve national aspiration. Christians formed rings round Muslims as they observed their Jumat prayers during the demonstrations. For us as a people, we need to also move from balance of hate to balance of faith as the Egyptians practically demonstrated on the field of battle for change. Rather than allow ourselves to be divided by our faiths, we must emphasise what binds us together and areas where the shoe pinches us collectively as people with common humanity. With all sense of modesty, this is part of what the Buhari-Bakare candidacy represents”.

Gen. Buhari also gave kudos to the armed forces in Egypt for the professional way they conducted themselves throughout the 18 days of civil disobedience. “The military in Egypt showed exemplary conduct with the way they refused to be used to attack the forces of change. They showed the whole world that there is a clear difference between the state and those who temporarily occupy political offices for a fixed tenure. This is a lesson for our security agents who have been used to subvert the will of the people at elections in recent past. The time has come for our own security forces to demonstrate similar valour by putting national interest above that of individuals when there is a clash between the two”.

‘Yinka Odumakin,
Spokesman for Gen. Buhari

http://buhari4change.com/?p=397

We’ve joker for April polls –Buhari

From AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja


Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has passed a damning verdict on the present state of affairs in the country, saying: “Nigeria is going neither left nor right.”

In this exclusive interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, the former military Head of State, who said he was “encouraged by the response of Nigerians in their awareness and support for good governance,” discarded his earlier statement that there may be no Nigeria in 2011.

Hear Buhari: “With what has been happening since the last election, the country is going neither left nor right and there is a lot of wastage because of lack of focus and collapse of infrastructure, insecurity, corruption, indiscipline, the whole lot. For that reason, Nigerians are now prepared to listen and they are listening very hard.

“It is worrisome because I asked your colleagues to go into the archives and find out how much this country earned in the past 12 years of the PDP government and then compare it with the state of our infrastructure.
“Did you save the Nigerian Railways? Did you save the Nigeria Airways? Did you save the Nigerian Shipping Line? Did you save, at least, some motorable roads, North, South, East and West? All these have gone with all these resources and if this clique insists on holding Nigeria hostage again for another four or eight years, God knows the end of it, what we will find, what will remain of Nigeria.

“There will be Nigeria in 2011. I don’t think Nigerians are not committed to having one country and I don’t think they can fail to find a way of getting rid of those that have sentenced them to insecurity and poverty.”
Not done yet, Buhari bared his mind on his choice of Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, and Chief Convener of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), saying he chose Bakare as his presidential running mate because both of them have the same commitment to Nigeria.

“I think we have the same commitment to Nigeria. If you could recall, there was almost a constitutional crisis about succession when the late president was sick and the vice president was supposed, as you know, to act. Pastor Tunde Bakare then, on the auspices of the SNG, which he initiated and led, demonstrated at the National Assembly the fact that Nigeria must be run constitutionally. And if you could recall, about the same time, I issued a statement on behalf of an organisation I was heading then, I was chairing the National Democratic Initiative or National Democratic Movement, that there is no problem about succession in the Nigerian Constitution. It is absolutely clear.

Where a president becomes incapacitated for whatever illness or he drops dead, the vice president is automatically sworn in. So, there was no problem and we appealed to Nigerians not to allow anybody to cause any constitutional problem where there was none, and we proceeded after that to the National Assembly with a signed letter, and so, President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, sent the letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole. And it arrived virtually the same time Pastor Bakare was fighting everybody, you know, who was trying to introduce some constitutional crisis where it was none existent. So, I think from there we began to understand each other, when people didn’t even realise this.”

Buhari also spoke on his third missionary journey, including the perceived crisis in his party, the CPC, the much talked about ‘tactical alliance with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)’, and other sundry issues. Excerpts:

Your Excellency, you have been on another round of presidential race for quite sometime now. How would you describe the journey so far?
Well, you know the journey has been tortuous. You know in 2003 we were in court for 30 months, and in 2007 again, we were in court for 20 months. So, the journey so far, as you asked, has been very rough, but our objective is very clear, hence we will maintain focus.
So, what have you done differently this time around that you believe will ensure your victory at the forthcoming polls?

The main difference is that I am contesting on the platform of a new political party, the Congress for Progressive Change. And if you recall, in 2006, six political parties, including mine then, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), making them seven, went through the processes and they adopted me or rather, gave me the ticket. These six parties were the Progressive Action Congress (PAC), under Nwodo (Jnr); the National Conscience Party (NCP), under the late Gani Fawehinmi; Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), under Tunji Braithwaite; Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), under Chief Olu Falae; Peoples Salvation Party (PSP), under the late Dr. Kumo; and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), under Balarabe Musa. So, really, we have enjoyed the support of other political parties.

How is your party, the Congress for Progressive Change, fairing?
We have conducted our congresses, convention and primaries successfully. Our people have only observation in two or three states – Bauchi, Kano and Katsina – and we still have at least, a week to agree with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), reconciling the candidates in those areas where there are representations to INEC.
General, like you rightly mentioned, crisis seems to be rocking the CPC, most importantly, in the North. Why?
There are three states I mentioned. How many states are there in the North? At least, there are 19 states in the North. So, when you have crisis in three states, I think we are not doing badly.

Then, is the CPC a viable opposition to displace the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections, most importantly, the presidential election?
Yes. We are very hopeful, we are very confident and we are going to consummate some form of alliance with other political parties to make sure we make Nigerians understand and support us, because we are going to give a clearly better alternative to the PDP.

Your Excellency, tactical alliance with other opposition parties; how realisable is it?
It is realisable after a day before the polling starts. Of course, I must publicise what is between the Action Congress of Nigeria and us. And even that one also, the leadership of the party gave the impression that the discussion with alliance had collapsed. It hasn’t collapsed. We are still talking with them. Although, they have put out their presidential and vice presidential candidates, we have choosen our own, but there are still areas we believe we can cooperate, elective areas that we can cooperate.

The refusal of the presidential candidate of ACN and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to step down for you, has been perceived as one of the reasons the CPC/ACN alliance is crumbling. How true is this?
(Heaves a sigh) The question of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu refusing to step down ought not to have arisen, because this is a problem between CPC and ACN. Not between Buhari and Nuhu Ribadu. I think this is very clear to ACN and it is, of course, still clear to us.

The Action Congress (AC) was hoping, and I am sure when you go back to your archives, you will find that they will give me a ticket so that I can contest on the ticket of AC before it even became ACN. But then, we registered our party after waiting for 11 months and 17 days before we got the registration from INEC. Having got the registration, the least we could do was to see the structure on ground, but it took too long with those opportunities to match ACN, as it were, but it was still possible and it is still possible that we can form some a sort of alliance with which we can go to the polls next April.

The election of Prince Tony Momoh, who people believe to be passionate about your ideals, as National Chairman of CPC; how was he elected as CPC National Chairman?
It was overwhelming. The results were published; the primaries and convention were very, very transparent. There was a lady from the South-South who wanted to be the chairperson of the party, and delegates from all the states were lined up and Prince Tony Momoh scored the highest. So, he has been elected chairman of the party, by the party, throughout the country.

And your friend and attorney, Mike Ahamba, left?
Yes, he did. I read it in the paper, and I replied him.
Okay. What do you have to say about the candidacy and inclusion of Muhammed Abacha, son of former Head of State, the late General Sani Abacha, as the gubernatorial candidate of CPC in Kano State by INEC and the crisis it had generated?
Yes, it is because we go by the Electoral Act. And INEC, by the Electoral Act, does not impose any candidate on the party.
We submitted names of those to be our candidates and INEC has the responsibility by the Electoral Act to see if there is any observation through the fact that they are supposed to supervise the election, if there is any observation, to discuss it and not to go to the press and counter our recommendation because the Electoral Act is constitutional and it is supreme. Not individuals ruling INEC.

Your Excellency, the issue of the choice of your running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, is currently the topic of discussion everywhere, crippling that of Goodluck/Sambo. What necessitated the choice of Bakare as your presidential running mate?
I think we have the same commitment to Nigeria. I have answered this question for the umpteenth time to some of your colleagues.
If you could recall, there was almost a constitutional crisis about succession when the late President Musa Yar’Adua was sick and the vice president was supposed, as you know, to act. Pastor Tunde Bakare, then on the auspices of the Save Nigeria Group, which he initiated and led, demonstrated at the National Assembly the fact that Nigeria must be run constitutionally.

And if you could recall, about the same time I issued a statement on behalf of an organidation I was heading then, I was chairing the National Democratic Initiative or National Democratic Movement, that there is no problem about succession in the Nigerian Constitution. It is absolutely clear that where a president becomes incapacitated for whatever illness or he drops dead, the vice president is automatically sworn in.

So, there was no problem and we appealed to Nigerians that they should not allow anybody to cause any constitutional problem where there was none, and we proceeded after that to the National Assembly with a signed letter and so, President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, sent the letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole. And it arrived virtually the same time Pastor Bakare was fighting everybody, you know, who was trying to introduce some constitutional crisis where it was non-existent. So, I think from there, we began to understand each other, when people didn’t even realise this.

Are you saying you chose him because of his courage and forthrightness?
Yes. His courage, you know, his energy and his forthrightness. Yes, we share the same sense of patriotism. We are so concerned about this country, Nigeria. This is a country that can be really secured and managed, hence we have the same objective about our country.

Are you saying you did not find other credible hands than Bakare or like Bakare?
He is the one that really presented himself. We fought the same cause, about the sanctity of the Constitution of the country, which is very, very stabilising, and some people wanted to destabilise the country for their own selfish end. We fought against it, no matter how briefly.

How sure are you that the Buhari/Bakare ticket will fly, considering that some people believe both of you have not been traditional politicians who are used to distributing money and more so, that both of you are viewed as extremists in terms of religious beliefs?
People are now prepared to listen and we are asking for their understanding and support. And with what has been happening since the last election, the country is going neither left nor right and there is a lot of wastage because of lack of focus and collapse of infrastructure, insecurity, corruption, indiscipline, the whole lot. For that reason, Nigerians are now prepared to listen, and they are listening very hard.

Sometime last year, precisely August 8, 2010, you granted a lengthy interview, saying 2011 was critical for the country, that there may be no Nigeria, adding that you were scared about the Somaliasation of Nigeria. Do you still maintain this hard-line and worrisome position?
Thank you. You changed it from hard-line to worrisome. It is worrisome because I asked your colleagues to go into the archives and find out how much this country earned in the last 12 years of the PDP government and then compare it with the state of our infrastructure. Did they save the Nigerian Railways? The Nigeria Airways? Nigerian Shipping Line, or at least, some motorable roads, North, South, East and West? All these have gone with all these resources, and if this clique insists on holding Nigeria hostage again for another four or eight years, God knows the end of it, what we will find, what will remain of Nigeria.

So, what happens if there is no Nigeria in 2011?
There will be Nigeria in 2011. I don’t think Nigerians are not committed to having one country and I don’t think they can fail to find a way of getting rid of those that have sentenced them to insecurity and poverty.

Your Excellency, so you have changed from your earlier position?
I have not changed, but I am encouraged by the response of Nigerians in their awareness and support for good governance.

So, now there will be Nigeria in 2011?
I hope so.
During your presidential declaration, you said you would not go to court after the election. Why did you say so? Is it because you are sure of victory at the polls this time around?
No. Not because I am sure of victory, but because I am sure Nigerians will take the decision themselves.
How about the programmes you intend to put in place if elected president of Nigeria, could you let Nigerians know what General Buhari wants to do differently?
I would rather wait a little for our manifesto, which I don’t want to do in piecemeal. But in short, we have four very important things under which other things will fall. And this faceless security you see, this country has to be secured. Secondly, it has to be managed.

The cost of management entails the utilisation of resources. I talked about you finding out how much this country earned in the last 12 years and the state of the infrastructure now. Education, healthcare and even drinking water, and really, if you see what the richest government has been getting from every quarter and then you find out that the services are collapsing, and then you can’t trace where that money is going, I think it is worrisome.

Then, the famous War Against Indiscipline (WAI), will you launch it again if elected president of Nigeria?
I think there will be need to re-launch the War Against Indiscipline because even under the military, they accepted it and people were voluntarily behaving themselves, cleaning up their environment every last Saturday of the month, on their own.
You know, people generally accept their status in life and work very hard. So, I assure you, this is what we hope to carry out through the Orientation Agency, an organisation, which is in place and will be empowered to perform.
Your Excellency, I have heard, seen and read your exploits in different areas, most importantly, how you pursued the Chadian Army that invaded and took 19 islands in Lake Chad within Nigerian territory, as far as 50 kilometres into Chadian territory when you were the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Armoured Division between December 1981 and December 1983.

General, from what you have been able to put in place so far, politically, can you confidently say you are sure of emerging victorious in the forthcoming presidential election?
I am confident because of the understanding and support we are getting now. Our people now seem to be very, very receptive mainly because I think they feel they have suffered enough. So, I am expecting and I am confident that people will vote for us massively, and God willing, we are going to form the next government in this country.
Any word for President Goodluck Jonathan; should Jonathan assemble his belongings for preparation to quit the Aso Rock Villa in May 2011, or should he defect to the CPC?
I wouldn’t expect him. I wouldn’t expect him to join the CPC.

Why, Your Excellency?
He is already an ostrich to the PDP. So, he cannot come to the CPC (laughs). But I would expect him to make sure that nobody makes more Nigerians his enemies. For example, what happened in Nassarawa State the day he flagged-off his presidential campaign. His party must be much more tolerant.

I understand there was a group that decided to come out and show the process of other presidential candidates than him and immediately the gubernatorial candidate, who was not in the state, was arrested and detained. We expected him to intervene immediately on such occasion so that he would not be presented as an intolerant leader.
And for the generality of Nigerians, my message is consistent; that I hope they have all registered, and I hope they will vote, and I hope they will insist that their votes count, otherwise, they shouldn’t blame anybody for any mis-governance in the future.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/feb/13/national-13-02-2011-002.htm

CPC declares one week fast for Buhari


The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has declared a week of fasting and prayer for the success of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaigns.

The prayers, which started this week, would be rounded off in mosques on Friday and churches on Sunday.

Buhari’s spokesman Yinka Odumakin said: "Prayers are to be offered for God’s protection over Buhari, his family, CPC candidates and supporters, and Nigeria in general. There will be supplications for strength during the campaigns and wisdom to give Nigeria the needed leadership and direction.

"The campaign, which promises a lot of excitement, will be unfolded at the end of the prayer sessions."

Buhari’s running mate Pastor Tunde Bakare said he joined politics to ensure a better Nigeria.

The lawyer, businessman and preacher made this known in an interview on an Ibadan-based radio station, Splash 105.5 FM, yesterday.

Bakare said: "I have been politically active from my university days and I’ve not stopped. This new development won’t surprise many people who know me well. I have used every medium to express my idea that my nation, Nigeria, can be better than what it is now."

He was confident that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would conduct credible polls in April, adding that Nigerians are prepared to defend their votes.

Bakare said: "I expect free and fair elections. Nigerians won’t allow rigging this year. Buhari has said that this year’s elections won’t be determined in the court, but would be settled at the polling booths. Nigerians are going to insist that the election be free and fair.

"CPC polling agents will monitor results at collation centres. We will win this election because Nigerians are fed up of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They are fed up with the goalless government that has no sense of direction.

"Look at the ridiculous amounts they are paying themselves at the expense of millions of people, who do not know where the next meal will come from."

Bakare said any attempt to rig the election may lead to chaos as witnessed in Egypt.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/28257.html

April poll is the last bid for the soul of Nigeria —Odumakin

Written by ADEYEMI ADEBANJO, NICK UWERU, SAM ODAUDU and MIKE OZOMOGE   


Mr. Yinka Odumakin was recently appointed as the Director of Publicity of the General Muhammudu Buhari Campaign Organisation. As part of efforts aimed at ensuring success for the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the April elections, Odumakin held an interactive session with selected journalists at the weekend. 

ADEYEMI ADEBANJO was there and now reports.

I will tell you a story. In 2002, Obasanjo brought a note to the Council of State which was supposed to be some kind of indictment emanating from the PTF which was cooked up anyway. Among the people at the Council of State meeting, was former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Victor Attah, who got up and said: “Mr. President, you must be talking about another organisation not PTF, because the kind of scrutiny we went through in PTF where I was a consultant and the kind of scrutiny we went through to get job from PTF shows that no government does that today. And interestingly, Buhari who was PTF chairman knew for the first time at that meeting that Attah ever worked for the PTF. But he didn’t have to know anyway because he was never interested in taking money from them.
So in the PTF, if you want to take a job of N10milion and below, an insurance company has to give you a guarantee that if you take away their money, the insurance company will pay. Anything above N10 million, a bank has to give you guarantee that if you go away with their money, the bank will pay back. So what is lacking in Nigeria today is integrity at the top. And looking at those who are in the front seat now, Buhari is about the only man who can bring that change. Well, the only other person who can bring about the desired change is Nuhu Ribadu. Ribadu is a good man but I don’t think his time has come because I mean you cannot go to a newspaper house today, fresh from journalism school and asked to be made the editor of the paper. People have cited the case of Obama, but Obama was not an overnight thing. He had years of community organisation, he had been a senator. So he just didn’t go to the Americans and say I want to be your president.

Shakarau is a younger person too, but my problem with him is this, apart from the fact that he doesn’t have a national outlook or platform; he was a man who came to office in 2003 riding on the crest wave of a popular movement, and riding practically on the back of Buhari to become a governor. As at the time Shekarau became a governor, it was doubtful whether he had N300, 000.00 of his own. You all will remember that Kwankwaso demoted him from the position of a permanent secretary and took him to the classroom, and as a classroom teacher, he was not entitled to an official house. So he was kicked out of his official house, and of course the Kano people with their talakawa tradition fought for him to become the governor. For a man who has not done any other thing apart from being a civil servant to be governor for eight years and now flying with jet all over Nigeria, throwing money all over the place under the pretence of wanting to be the president, where did he get the money? The case of other people who had done business and made money before they came to government house is understandable. But this was a civil servant, a permanent secretary before he became governor.
The other people who are running are people who cannot come up with a hundred supporters where they live or even in their state but now want to be president. In fact, I think that Buhari is our best chance to rescue this country in 2011. And to now get young men with ideas who can work to work under him is General Buhari’s greatest strength.

Hiccups in the alliance talks
Well, there is no new thing I want to say here but the truth of the matter is that the issues surrounding the alliance are not around General Buhari at all. Because from the other end that you mentioned, there is no dispute about the fact that if they want to work together they should know who the candidate should be.

On the platform to be used
Look, I hope that somewhere down the line during the campaign, I should be able to get you people down to the North to see any rally where General Buhari appears. It’s like when Awolowo appears in Ibadan or in Lagos in those days. And if the man has not spent one kobo to bring anybody out and they already know his platform, for him to now begin to canvass from another platform at this stage where we have comparative advantage in nineteen states and now trade that for four or at most six states, I think it is not reasonable.

The popularity of the CPC in the South
Well, you may say that the party may not have acquired the kind of clout that some parties are dishing out in the South-West and all that, but you cannot say that there is anywhere in this country that they have not heard of General Buhari. And that is why, for instance, anybody who wants to be vice president would rather prefer to run with him than run with his own candidate. So that plan is there. The other case we may not talk about now, but I can tell you that 2011 elections will not be so much about political parties because the parties have failed the people. Traditional politics has failed. 2011 will be a game of the polity. The polity is being divided into two now, those who are for the status quo, who are in the minority and those who want change. And interestingly, 60 % of those who will vote in 2011 don’t have allegiance to any political party. They don’t belong to any party; the parties are no longer attractive to them. All they want is change; they don’t want to continue like this. And that is why I said that it is going to be a two-way battle between the status quo that has made a mess of their lives in the last twelve years and the way of change. 
 
Look, this goodluck thing that you are talking about, there is a lot of good looks into that goodluck oh because people have seen beyond the lie that the PDP has a very transparent primaries where Goodluck emerged as the flag bearer, but a friend of mine put it appropriately on the Facebook when he said that the PDP primaries was a cash fight between Atiku and good looks. Another friend of mine who may join us before the end of this session, bought fourteen thousand dollars from a street guy in Ibadan who was a delegate to the PDP convention. The guy came back and told him,” Egbon this dollars I brought from Abuja I don’t know where they spend dollars, will you buy it from me”? And my friend asked him how he got the dollars. The guy said, well he got seven thousand dollars from one candidate, five thousand from the other candidate making it twelve. He said he saw a fellow delegate taking money from the opponent of their official candidate and said ‘I have caught you and I will report you to the governor’. So the other delegate parted with two dollars from his five dollars. So that is how our guy came back with fourteen thousand dollars.

Now we had a session where the moment you put those ballot boxes state by state. If Atiku were a sharp politician, that was the time he should have worked out of that convention. Because it was clear when Anenih  already told them in the South-South that there was no way they would not know how everybody voted. If you go there and vote against us we will get you. And what the camera cut was when they were dropping their ballot in the boxes. They didn’t show you and I where the governors stood on the head of the delegates dictating to them where they should tick. A day after that primary, what has happened? We have seen what has happened to the governors in their states. And today I can tell you, if you knew the influx of PDP members into the CPC in the North, you would be amazed. In one day in Kastina State, the entire Yar’Adua family all denounced PDP and picked up CPC members cards. Every one of them, even his junior brother in the Army resigned and picked up the CPC ticket. General Buba Marwa is today CPC governorship flag bearer in Adamawa State, an ambassador under the PDP government. A PDP serving senator is now a member of the CPC.

So I wouldn’t want to say much about gains already recorded by the CPC. But all I can tell you is that April elections are about big time surprises. And so what Jonathan did within the PDP to get the ticket is not a game you can play in politics. How many people can you bribe within the polity? And incumbency is a double-edged sword; it has worked for him within his party where he can use intimidation and all that. But to think that he can intimidate the entire country in April, will be a huge joke. When you look at the fact that despite the way INEC has mismanaged the voters registration process, you will still see people trooping out, some go to these centres as early as 5am to pick numbers. So, do you think these categories of Nigerians will trade off their rights with a paltry N1000 during the election?
So what worked in the past will not work this time around. And so I can tell you that money will fail in April.

Buhari’s running mate
Thank you. First and foremost, there are basic assumptions that are immutable. One, his running mate will not be from the North. His running mate will not be a Muslim. Not that General Buahri relates based on religion, but believes so much in the Nigerian project and believes that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic group; he should have a balance of faith in the ticket. He also believes strongly that Nigerians are bound to be reassured that everybody has a sense of belonging.
I circulated what he wrote to Ahamba because somebody just talked about Ahamba. General Buhari tried to explain to him the reason why the CPC had to zone the chairmanship position to the South-South. It is about the fact that everybody must have the sense of belonging, we see ourselves as one people. And don’t forget the fact that when they started the whole question of zoning debate, General Buhari has consistently maintained that he has no business with the issue. The whole of Nigeria is his constituency, not the North of it or any part of it.
So from that stand point, whoever will emerge as his running mate, definitely you can expect that the person will not be from the North, he will be from the South and will not be a Muslim.
As to your question, I believe that by INEC guidelines, all papers are supposed to be returned by January 31, 2011, so before February you will know who his running mate will be.

Decree 4
When General Buhari came in 1994, he came as a military head of state. Many Nigerians do not know today that General Buhari was not even part of the coup d’etat that brought him to power. In fact, a young officer who had gone to report to him that something was happening was detained by Buhari. Brigadier Ibrahim Bako was to lead the country but he was killed in the bloodless coup d’etat. It was after the death of Bako that all the guys who were the arrow heads said “well who can lead us now, who can be sincere with us”. That was when they invited Buhari and brought him to Lagos and announced him as the Head of State. At that period, General Buhari led a military regime and at that time he was 41.His position on the question of Decree 4 that you talked about is very clear. The people who were killed dared the law that they made and the law had to take its course. There was no action during his tenure that was not backed by law. They first made the law and then defended it. Throughout his tenure, there was no single media organisation that was shut down. Some people had come after him who when a journalist wrote something they did not like, they closed down the entire media house and denied others who were working there their means of livelihood. But in that particular situation, two people dared the law that was made, they went for the two people and Guardian was never closed down.
Now you can argue about the place of such in a democratic situation and I don’t think that General Buhari today can push such law into the constitution of Nigeria. But as at that time, that was the law of the country. And they did not act outside the law in that particular situation I am talking about and I have checked the records, there was no media organisation that was closed down, no journalist was killed or assassinated during his administration. Not one! We have had people who came after, who were so-called friends of the media, under whom journalists have had parcel bomb sent to them, and many disappeared without a trace.

Buhari’s desperation to be president
Thank you so much. I think that what we should have been praying for is now constituting an albatross. For a man to have taken on the PDP twice and even with their massive rigging, he has been officially declared first runner up in those two elections should be commended.  And don’t forget that Nigerians are not entirely convinced that General Buhari lost in those elections. In 2003, Justice Nwosofo of the Court of Appeal actually voided Obasanjo’s election and declared Buhari the winner. The panel of seven justices,  three said Yar’Adua won, three said Buhari won. The CJN, Kutigi came and cast his lot for Yar’Adua.
Again, with the kind of money that they throw around, to have taken the PDP to that point on two occasions shows the level of his belief in Nigeria. And what is he desperate for? He wants to make money? If somebody has been petroleum minister in this country, chairman NNPC, head of state, chairman PTF and does not have a filling station of his own. Could it then be that he now wants to amass wealth at old age? Our elders say when you see a hundred year old man planting a tree; he is planting for the next generation not for himself. And God forbid, am an Awoist, the illustrious Chief Obafemi Awolowo fought for the presidency of the country all his life because he believed the country could do better than it was doing. The pains Buhari carries today is becauset he knows the potentials of this country, what this country can achieve and he can see what is being done with it. Two days ago, Financial Integrity published that in the first years of the PDP, an average of $15 billion was taken out of this country every year.

So if you say he is desperate, perhaps he is desperate to make Nigeria better, he is desperate to stop the looting that is going on in the country, he is desperate to stop the empire of thieves who are currently holding the country down; he is desperate to make Nigeria become a proud entity once again where we can all proudly hold our green passports.  Last November, I was with a friend in Atlanta Airport and I was holding my passport and he was telling me to keep it away. Our passport has now become a thing of shame. In 1984, when General Buhari was Head of State in this country, the IMF people came to this country and they were to hold a meeting with him as the head of state, he invited General Babangida to come with him to receive the IMF team and he agreed. But at the last meeting, Babangida did not show up. The IMF people came, Buhari welcomed them, they presented their papers, Nigeria needs this and that. And Buhari told them, okay  gentlemen I am so grateful for your visit but Nigeria does not need your money at this point in time, if we do we will contact you.
Immediately they left, Babangida went to them at the American Embassy and ten months after Buhari was overthrown, they organise a debate and Nigerians said no we don’t want it but they took it. Despite the fact that Obasanjo paid a lot of money to the World Bank and the rest, today we are back in the debt trap. Look at the 2011 budget and see how much President Jonathan wants to use to service debt. N600billion! So the desperation should be taken within the context that he wants to take this country back from the thieves.

Buhari’s relationship with Idiagbon
With due respect, I think that it is a fallacy because when I was telling the story of Bako’s coup d’ etat, after the officers corps who led the coup detat, after Bako has been killed and they decided that it was Buhari that would lead them, the first thing he asked them was that they should allow him to nominate who the chief of staff supreme headquarters would be. And he single-handedly picked Tunde Idiagbon. And why did he pick Idiagbon? Because he had worked with him in various formations and he had seen in him a very competent hand. So when people talked about Idiagbon been the brain behind the administration, the question is who picked him? Those who planned the coup detat never wanted Idiagbon, it was Buhari who insisted that he wanted him.
And that is one thing about him. He is not afraid of his deputies. He is not afraid of delegating power to people. So what people should ordinarily celebrate is what some are using to attack him. Unlike the supreme president in Babangida or any other president that want all powers concentrated in one person. Even in PTF, he allowed people to work. I think when a man is not self-serving he will allow people to work. And so in this particular instance we have talked about, it is not a question of being afraid or any such thing. It is about the fact that this is not 1993; you cannot sell a Muslim –Muslim ticket to Nigerians in 2011. Not now when the frontlines are all over the place. Speaking with a very prominent Christian leader weeks back, the man said look God has not told him who the president will be but if it should be Buhari, his deputy has to be a Christian with a capital STRONG.
So it is not a question of being afraid of anybody and in fact at the end of the day you may find out that in case we may have to bow to alliance to run this race, we may even pick a deputy who is stronger than the person you just talked about.  So he is not afraid of his deputy because he is secure. It is only those who are not secured that will not work with deputies.  Go check this out. In 2007, of all the governors whose tenure expired in that year, only one, Zamfara’S was succeeded by his deputy.  This is the reason why Ubama said in Ghana that Africa needs strong institutions not strong men, but men who are not secured have one motto. Me, myself and I. But that is not Buhari for you.

http://www.newsstarng.com/index.php/politics/6457-april-poll-is-the-last-bid-for-the-soul-of-nigeria-odumakin

Good job
BB2011

On Politics and Governance

CPC believes that our politics is broken. Our nation urgently needs fundamental political reform and improvement in governance to make it more transparent and accountable. If you elect us in April, we will:
1. Initiate action to amend our Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments in order to entrench Federalism and the Federal spirit;

2. Strengthen INEC to reduce/eliminate electoral malpractices;

3. Attract the best and brightest into our politics and public service by aggressive recruitment of private sector people, academics and professionals within Nigeria and in the Diaspora through internships, fellowships, executive appointments and special nomination to contest elective offices;

4. Prevent abuse of executive, legislative and public offices through greater accountability, transparency and strict enforcement of anti-corruption laws whilst strengthening the EFCC and ICPC;

5. Amend the Constitution to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal cases;

6. Restructure government for a leaner, more efficient and adequately compensated public service;

7. Require full disclosure in all media outlets of all government contracts over N100m prior to award and during implementation at regular intervals;

8. Reform and Strengthen the Justice System for efficient administration and dispensation of justice along with the creation of special courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism and similar cases of national importance;

9. Enact the Freedom of Information Bill so that government held data sets can be requested and used by the public, and then published on regular basis;

10. Seek to amend the Constitution to require local governments to publish their meeting minutes, service performance data and items of spending over N10M.

CPC- On National Security and Defense

we will:

1. Urgently address capacity building of law enforcement agents in terms of quantity and quality as this is critical in safeguarding the sanctity of lives and property;
2. Establish a well trained, adequately equipped and goals driven Serious Crime Squad to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, militants, ethno-religious and communal clashes nationwide;
3. Begin widespread consultations to amend the Constitution to enable States and Local Governments to employ State and Community Police to address the peculiar needs of each community. This would mean setting boundaries for Federal, State and Community Police through new Criminal Justice legislation to replace the Criminal Code, the Penal Code and the Police Act.
4. Push for more support in the security and economic stability of the sub-region [ECOWAS] and AU as a whole and maintain a strong, close and frank relationship with West Africa, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, and other African countries.

On Conflict Resolution, National Unity and Social Harmony

we will:

1. Establish a Conflict Resolution Commission to help prevent, mitigate and resolve civil conflicts within the polity;
2. Bring permanent peace and solution to the Niger Delta and other conflict prone areas such as Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Borno and Abia in order to engender national unity and social harmony;
3. Initiate policies to ensure that Nigerians are free to live and work in any part of the country by removing state of origin, tribe, ethnic and religious affiliations and replace those with state of residence.

On Foreign Policy

we will:

1. Make regional integration a priority within ECOWAS including free trade with a view to ensuring that common tariff and currency are achieved by 2015 under Nigeria’s guidance and leadership;
2. Maintain a strong, close and frank relationships within the Gulf of Guinea, South Africa and the rest of the world;
3. Establish a new special relationship with the leading emerging markets like Brazil; Russia, India and China (BRIC) and other strategic partners around the world.

CPC- On Education

we will:

1. Fully implement and enforce the provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act with emphasis on gender equity in primary and secondary school enrolment whilst improving the quality and substance of our schools;
2. Targeting up to 15% of our annual budget for this critical sector whilst making substantial investments in training quality teachers at all levels of the educational system;
3. Implement performance based education as against the current certificate based qualification;
4. Enhance teacher training and improve the competence of teachers along with vigorous national inspection;
5. Make learning experiences more meaningful for children and make education more cost-effective;
6. Develop and promote effective use of innovative teaching methods/materials in schools;
7. Ensure a greater proportion of expenditure on university education is devoted to Science and Technology with more spaces allocated to science and technology oriented courses;
8. Establish at least six new universities of science and technology with satellite campuses in various states;
9. Establish technical colleges and vocational centres in each state of the federation;
10. Provide more conducive environment for private sector participation in all levels of education;
11. Establish six centres of excellence to address the needs of special education;

On Healthcare

we will:

1. Prioritize the reduction of the infant mortality rate by 2015 to 3%; reduce maternal mortality by more than 70%; reduce HIV/AIDs infection rate by 50% and other infectious diseases by 75%; improve life expectancy by additional 10 years on average through our national healthy living program;
2. Increase the number of physicians from 19 per 1000 population to 50 per 1000; increase national health expenditure per person per annum to about N50,000 (from less than N10,000 currently);
3. Increase the number of tertiary health care university teaching hospital from current 8 to 36 by 2015;
4. Invest in cutting edge technology such as tele-medicine in all major health centres in the country through active investment and partnership programmes with the private sector;
5. Provide ante-natal care for pregnant women; free basic care for babies and children up to school going age and for the aged;
6. Boost the local manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

On Youth, Sports & Culture

we will:

1. Provide the opportunities for youth to realize, harness, and develop their full potentials and to facilitate the emergence of a new generation of citizens committed to the sustenance of good governance and service to the people and the country;
2. Establish world class sports academy and training institutes and ensure that Nigeria occupies a place of pride in global sports and athletics;
3. Revive the Nigerian football league and put incentives in place to make it as competitive as other national leagues;
4. Put in place measures to identify talents early and ensure their participation in local and international games to enable them become professionals;
5. Mandate schools and communities to create playgrounds/sports-centres with needed equipment to develop skills;
6. Assist Nollywood to fully develop into world class movie industry that can compete effectively with Hollywood and Bollywood in due course.

Women Empowerment

we will:

1. Ensure the rights of women are protected as enshrined in our Constitution;
2. Guarantee that women are adequately represented in government appointments and provide greater opportunities in education, job creation and economic empowerment;
3. Recognize and protect women empowerment and gender equality with special emphasis on economic activities in development and in rural areas;
4. Promote the concept of reserving a minimum number of seats in the National Assembly for women.

On The Environment

we will:

1. Ensure compliance with policies and measures to halt the pollution of rivers and waterways in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country;
2. Create shelter belts in states bordering the Sahara Desert to mitigate and reverse the effects of the expanding desert;
3. Support and accelerate the implementation of regional water transfer initiatives across the country;
4. Adopt a holistic approach to erosion and shoreline protection across the country;
5. Create teams of volunteers to plant and nurture economically viable trees in arid regions;
6. Restructure the Ecological Fund Office to enable it meet today’s environmental challenges;
7. Regulate the timber industry to ensure that double the number of trees felled are planted by the loggers;
8. Ensure full compliance with town-planning and environmental laws and edicts.

CPC -On the Economy

we will:

1. Maintain sound macro-economic policy environment and run an efficient government and preserve the independence of the Central Bank;
2. Restore financial confidence by putting in place a more robust monitoring, supervising and regulating of the financial institutions;
3. Make our economy one of the fastest growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10% annually;
4. Embark on vocational training, entrepreneurial and skills acquisition scheme for graduates along with the creation of Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to create at least 2 million new jobs by 2015;
5. Integrate the informal economy into the mainstream and prioritize the full implementation of the National Identification Scheme to generate the relevant data;
6. Expand domestic demand and consider undertaking associated public works programmes;
7. Embark on export and production diversification including investment in infrastructure; promote manufacturing e.g through agro based industries and expand sub-regional trade through ECOWAS and AU;
8. Make Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Entertainment key drivers of our economy;
9. Balance the economy across regions by the creation of 6 new Regional Economic Development Agencies (REDAs) to act as champions of sub-regional competitiveness;
10. Put in place a N300bn regional growth fund (average of N50bn in each geo-political region) to be managed by the REDAs, encourage private sector enterprise and support to help places currently reliant on the public sector;
11. Amend the Constitution and the Land Use Act to create freehold/leasehold interests in land along with matching grants for states to create a nationwide electronic land title register on a state by state basis;
12. Create additional middle-class of at least 2 million new home owners by 2015 by enacting a national mortgage system that will lend at single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses.

On Agriculture

we will:

1. Modernize the sector and change Nigeria from being a country of self-subsistence farmers to that of a medium/commercial scale farming nation/producer;
2. Create a nationwide food inspectorate division with a view to improving nutrition and eliminating food-borne hazards;
3. Inject extra N30bn to the Agricultural sector to create more agro-allied jobs by way of loans at nominal interest rates for capital investment on medium and commercial scale cash crops;
4. Guarantee a minimum price for selected crops and facilitate storage of agricultural products as and when necessary

On Infrastructure

we will:

1. Undertake an urgent review of the PPP enabling environment with a view to addressing the legal, regulatory and operational challenges including introducing enabling legislation where necessary. In addition, we shall create a National Infrastructural Development Bank to provide loans at nominal interest rates exclusively for this sector;
2. Generate, transmit and distribute from current 5,000 – 6,000 MW to at least 15,000 MW of electricity by 2015 and increasing to 50,000 MW by 2019 with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply by 2019 whilst simultaneously ensuring development of sustainable/renewable energy;
3. Embark on a National Infrastructural Development Programme as a Public Private Partnership that will ensure the (a) construction of 3,000km of Superhighway including service trunks and (b) building of up to 4,800km of modern railway lines – one third to be completed by 2015;
4. Enact new legal and regulatory frameworks to establish independent regulation and incentives to accelerate public and private sector investment in seaports, railways and inland waterways;
5. Embark on BOT schemes with a view to ensuring that at least one functioning airport is available in each of the 36 states

On the Oil and Gas Industry

we will:

1. Make the industry and Nigeria one of the world leading/cutting edge centres for clean oil and gas technologists, scientists, mega structure installation, drilling, processing, production engineers supported with best services and research facilities;
2. Fully develop the sector’s capacity to absorb more of the nation’s new graduate in the labour market. The sector will produce more home-grown world class engineers and scientists;
3. Modernise the NNPC and make it the national energy champion. Consider breaking it up into more efficient, commercially driven unit and strip it of its regulatory powers and enable it tap into international capital market;
4. Enforce the government master plan for oil companies to end flaring that pollutes the air and damages people’s health and ensure that they sell at least half of their gas production within Nigeria;
5. Speedily pass the much-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and ensure that local content issues are fully addressed;
6. Make Nigeria the world’s leading exporter of LNG through the creation of strategic partnerships.

By Jide Ajani, Editor, Northern Operations Pix by Gbemiga Olamikan
In this second part of General Muhammadu Buhari’s interview, he touches on the very essence of his challenge against the elite in the country.

Just check out this exchange:
General, that is why I asked about the lessons you’ve learnt in politics. ANPP was your party that time and see how they treated you.

Do you know what? The decision to withdraw the case from court was not taken by the appropriate organs of the party saddled with that responsibility?

Do you know that the decision to join the so -called government of national unity or unity government was not taken by the appropriate organs of the party saddled with that responsibility?

Even the people to be appointed into that government, the decision ought to have been taken by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), and, more importantly, by its National Executive Committee (NEC).
None of the party’s constitutionally-recognised arms took part in taking those decisions.

So, what would I be doing in such a party?

It was total anarchy.

That is why I had to leave.

We then formed the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

But, ACN was very hopeful that it would get you on board; that, too, did not work.
ACN, even before it became ACN, when it was just AC, we were talking and there was indeed, hope.

Yes, AC was thinking of even giving me the party’s presidential ticket.

But, here we were, after getting a political party registered, I felt that the least we could do was to get the structure of CPC to be on ground first.

There was no way I could have gotten a political party registered and then I would dump it the next moment because another political party had dangled its presidential ticket before me. That was never going to be the case and I do not have any regrets about that.

People seem to forget the custom of loyalty.

The custom of loyalty is a two-way thing.

It has to go both ways.

Your party chairman explained last week that there was nothing strange in the position you took by sticking to your CPC for the presidential ticket. But, there are some other people who insist that you are just too rigid, that there are certain approaches that you could adopt in achieving the same objectives without being seen to have compromised. Why are you so rigid?

Well, I will try to answer you with what happened in ACN.

When I didn’t accept AC’s ticket after registering CPC and making them understand that I was a party to the registration of CPC, the least I could do was to see that the party should be on the ground.
And, if you believe that loyalty is a two- way thing, then you wouldn’t blame me for that.

They kept saying that they had the structures, that their party was more firmly rooted and that they would mobilise more easily.

Yes, I agreed.

But, we, too, in CPC, we were already building our structures gradually and we were also mobilising massively.
Okay, initially, we said we could go into an alliance, a sort of working alliance for the presidential election.

The arrangement was such that we would provide the presidential candidate and they would provide the vice-presidential candidate.

But, that did not work.

But, why?

That was because we had our congresses and we came out with a presidential candidate.

We offered that they could have the vice- presidential slot and then we could discuss how to fill the other offices.
But, then, again, this took a long time.

January 15 was beginning to get too close.

And, I needed to nominate a vice-presidential candidate.

But, then, again, you would wonder, since we had our own presidential primary before they had their own, if they wanted to make any sacrifice, they wouldn’t have had their own presidential candidate too.

Why, since the alliance talks were not really conclusive?

The truth was that they didn’t need to do that if they needed to make sacrifice based on the on-going talks about the possibility of an alliance.

In any case, the reason is that you cannot have two presidential candidates in an alliance.

That is not how it is done, it would never work.

You would recall that in 2006, six parties, PAC, NAP, NCP, PRP, PSP and DPA did their primaries and conventions and adopted me.

So, it is not something unique that ACN would have done to come into an alliance with us.

There was nothing new in that.

And, when you include ANPP, then you’ll end up with seven political parties. There was nothing unique in that had ACN adopted me if it was about good faith.

We could have won that election but Nigerians know how that election went.

PDP stole the election.

There are fears in some quarters and it is serious. Some people say a General Muhammadu Buhari becoming President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria would spell doom for a section of the elite. There are even talks that some people would just head for exile. I’m sure you’ve heard this talk before.

Well, it would appear that individuals are free to live wherever they choose to live and live comfortably.
Individuals are also very free to leave the country if they so choose, especially since they would be able to afford it.

Those of us who are sentenced to live in Nigeria will continue to live in this country because for us, we do not have any other country than this and we would not leave the country and go and seek comfort in another country.

Well, if people would feel unsafe, they can leave the country.

We would continue here.

What I’m trying to say relates to a possible witch-hunt; some people may be afraid based on past deeds.

If people feel unsafe to live under some leadership in Nigeria because of what they have done or because of some atrocities they have committed in the past and, therefore, would not feel safe to live under some type of leadership in the country, then may be they are using their sixth sense.

I ask that as a preamble to the issue of corruption in Nigeria. At a point, the index gave hope but at some other time, the index showed the opposite, went down again and some people say the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is not doing enough to fight corruption. How would you tackle the issue of corruption?
One of the things that CPC would do is to strengthen the institutions.

We already have the police.

In CPC, we have said that security, prosperity will bring stability. We have been harping on these three things before.

If we empower the police, they will do their work very well.

There are too many boards or commissions handling this or handling that.

We would look at the ones that would still be relevant to strengthen the police.

We will make the military more efficient by training and re-training and also by providing equipment and machinery.

In EFCC, there are volumes of representations which they cannot cover because of inadequate manpower or lack of resources.

We would do our best to strengthen the institutions by managing resources judiciously.

We have financial regulations in every department and every ministry and, in every state and they have to work.

There must be a proper accounting
of public funds in all the three tiers of government and what is lacking is that judicious use of public funds. This is the aim of CPC.

People say you are a good man and that you mean well.
(Cuts in) Thank you very much.

The question then is: You would not be in every ministry or every government department or agency to properly monitor these things. So, how much confidence would you have in your points men because you gave an instance of politicians attempting to highjack elective tickets even in CPC?

The laws and regulations on accountability in all these places you have talked about are not lacking at all. People just choose to do what they like.

People just refuse to respect the laws of the country.
What CPC would do is to ensure that there is a proper and judicious use of the country’s resources for the good of the people. The laws are there.

You look like a man too much in a hurry and when you interface your person with the slow wheel of democracy, especially recognising that CPC may not have an absolute majority in the National Assembly, how would you tackle the challenges of achieving results within this context?

Let me answer your question like this: You remember when Obama went to Ghana, he said what Africa needs are strong institutions and not strong people.

In the case of Nigeria, I dare to say that we are unique.
We need strong people to create those institutions and strengthen those institutions for effectiveness.

The truth is that, without a strong and clean leadership in the country, Nigeria cannot be stabilised.
The other side of the coin is that you may not even be able to strengthen the institutions if you are not strong and firm as a leader.

Followership and leadership: Which one should come first?

Look, Nigerians cannot be taken for granted any more.

As a state governor, you cannot be stealing state funds and then you expect the people to fall in line and be disciplined. It will never work.

Everybody responsible for some part of the treasury would also be pocketing the money because they know what the governor is doing.

If the president of the country is spending monies outside the approved budget or acts outside the approved regulations from the Office of the Accountant-General, Nigerians would rise against such a person and would not even obey such a leader and they’ll do whatever they like.

That is why we have had this mess on ground since 1999.

The infrastructure we met, we refused to build new ones and even the ones on ground were not being properly maintained.

Don’t forget, we used to have four functional refineries in this country with more than 480,000 bpd capacity.
We had more than 20 depots.

I don’t know how many pumping stations. We had more than 3,500 kilometre length of pipelines.
In 12 years, the PDP government could not maintain them and instead we are importing petroleum products at world market prices, something that we produce in this country!

This is the height of corruption, by killing the petroleum industry which the country depends on. Why can’t we refine our own crude and sell in our own country?

Instead, we give people contracts to import products and sell to Nigerians at world prices.

You chose as your running-mate, a Christian. Would I be right to say you are gradually coming to terms with the realities of the Nigerian polity by not being too rigid and picking not just a Christian, but a pastor as your running-mate?

It all started with the problem of the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was then ill.

Some people wanted to capitalise on that to create political crises and unconstitutionality and Pastor Bakare came all the way to Abuja to tell the people a piece of his mind that people needed to be careful and not plunge Nigeria into needless crises. He was determined.

At the same time, I made two appearances publicly and I also sent a message across to say that the constitution was very clear on succession plan.

From the National Democratic Movement (NDM), I signed a letter, counter-signed by Atiku Abubakar and we went to the National Assembly to caution them on what to do and what not to do regarding the matter – we sent copies to the Senate President and the Speaker.

That was where our interests conjoined.From that time I realised I had met a patriot because our focus was purely Nigeria at that time and you could see the determination.

So, when this opportunity came, I just knew that I had no better choice other than Pastor Bakare.
Finally on the issue of consensus, you turned it down because in the beginning, the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF), was presented as representing the North sans partisanship.

Look, even in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where they had their problem of zoning, that issue of consensus was tenuous.

It was even said to be a northern consensus but in that same North, some leadership of the North-Central did not believe in it.
I always said it and I mean it, it was mainly a PDP affair. They should go and deal with it since it is their problem

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/02/those-who-want-to-flee-when-i-take-over-are-free-buhari/

@ OP,
keep it up. BB for life!

Buhari eyes Northwest, Southwest 33 million votes

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari may have found what he considers the formula for winning the April 9 poll.

He is banking on the Northwest and Southwest votes estimated to be 33million to win the presidential election, it was learnt yesterday.

Of the provisional registration figure of almost 68million, 33million are said to be from the Northwest and Southwest.

Sources in the CPC, whose leaders held a strategy meeting in Abuja yesterday, believe that with the Northwest and Southwest votes, Buhari will win.

The sources did not say how CPC will penetrate the Southwest, which is the stronghold of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The ACN presidential candidate is Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, a northerner like Buhari.

Buhari, it was gathered, may have picked Pastor Tunde Bakare to make an inroad into the Southwest.

Analysts, however, told The Nation last night that Buhari should have gone for a politician with better electoral value than the preacher.

Although Buhari is perceived to be strong in the Northwest, he has to contend with other northerners like Ribadu and Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), who are also in the race.

Ribadu and Shekarau, it is believed, will give Buhari a run for his money in the North.

Buhari contested the presidential election on ANPP’s platform in 2003 and 2007.

A source said: "Going by the provisional figures from the voter registration, we have discovered that the Northwest and the Southwest account for about 33million out of almost 68million registered voters.

"So, the Northwest and the Southwest are crucial for any presidential candidate."

For hours yesterday, Buhari and top leaders of his party met behind closed doors to strategise on how to win the Southwest.

A source said CPC believes that if it can penetrate Southwest it may have a chance of winning the election.

"How to get the Southwest is our major headache. If we win there, we can win the presidential poll," the source said.

It was also learnt that the party may flag-off its campaign nationwide next week.

The campaign, sources said, may focus on the Northwest and Southwest.

"More attention will surely be paid to the Southwest campaign," the source said.

Investigation by The Nation revealed that the party met at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.

Clad in a green Babanriga with a cap to match, Buhari, who was sighted entering the hotel at about 3pm, immediately went into the session.

Among those at the meeting were Bakare; CPC National Chairman Prince Tony Momoh party executives and other leaders.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said the leaders met to agree on last-minute strategies for the polls.

He said: "The meeting arrived at various methods to drive our campaign and woo voters nationwide. So, we are set to hit the ground running to sell our candidate to Nigerians.

"We also discussed the take-off point, timelines for rallies and isolated issues in our manifesto that we are going to address at campaign venues.

"We are looking forward to a smooth campaign and we have mandated our leaders at all levels to begin house-to-house mobilisation.

"As part of the meeting, our leaders reappraised our electoral chances and we came to the conclusion that Buhari can win the April polls if we work harder."

Responding to a question, the source added: "Campaign is not about junketing. It is about being strategic and that was why we decided to meet.

Spokesman for Buhari Campaign Organisation Yinka Odumakin who confirmed the session, declined further details.

But pressed to comment on when the party will begin its campaign, Odumakin said: "Flagging off the campaign is most likely next week. We are putting finishing touches to that."

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/28389.html

Tunde Bakare’s metamorphosis


He was born 56 years ago towards the final stage of his father’s life. The father was a chieftain of Islamic religion. He was also said to be a very rich man. Tunde Bakare was then about three years old. The faintest memory he had of his father was that of climbing on his legs and playing with him. He remembered the father giving him sardine to eat.

He had to grow up with his mother. He recalled of those days as pretty difficult circumstances and internal wrangling within the family. Bakare narrated the story of his life in an interview with a journal which recently announced him as their Man of the Year: "By the time I went to school, I knew that it was my mother and I alone. So the first word I knew was the word of my mother. Whatever she said was the final authority in my life. So, whatever I have become today, I would say God and my mother have been responsible for it because those formative years were really influenced by my mother: the discipline, the character, industry; I saw all those things first in my mother.

"And by the time I was 10 years old, I was virtually responsible for cooking what we would eat. Mama would give me what was called kantoro in Yoruba (one and three. That’s now 15k). That was all the capital for any weekly groceries that I would buy. And I knew how to cook back then. I started child labour at that age too. I would go to fetch firewood from a place called Oloke meji. And by the time I was in elementary school, I had virtually known how to make money, in a little way. I would help my mum; she was running about three outfits. She was selling gari (cassava flour) in one market, obi (kolanut) in another, and Adire fabric in another. And she had to cover all these on daily basis. So, I needed to help alongside other people that were living with us then. So, growing up I had known a life of discipline, industry, a life of little rest; and very little time to play.

"By the time I got to secondary school, I was earning two shillings per day. I was fetching water for people. I had to go to the public tap, fetch the water and take it to where it is needed. It was about one kilometer – I had to go there 64 times to fill all the pots. I remember very well, filling each huge pots; there were eight huge pots, and each needed eight buckets – and I would have to go 64 times. I eventually acquired my basic equipment, two big pails. So that, if I would leave one at the water tap, I would quickly run … and somebody would help me put the other under the tap, and I was doing this 64 times. Thereby, I would earn two shillings per day. And that would be added to what my mother could make to send me to secondary school."

He came to Lagos on his 19




th

birthday. He had his oldest brother’s place to stay in 1973 when he came to Lagos. His mother, he said, did all she could do up to secondary school level, "and then God took over. So, it’s God and I from the day I arrived in Lagos, until now."Life in Lagos was grueling for him at the initial stage. He had to work as a washer man and a freelance photographer. He eventually secured a job with the First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/arts/life-midweek-magazine/28495.html

Curious observation,, is honerico01 the same person as 10ocirenoh?

^^^

Seems like my ID was spelt backward?

NM, I assumed it was you becaue he/she is also from Edo state.

^^^

Maybe a stalker or a clone?

the highlights

Politics and Governance
On Politics and Governance:
CPC believes that our politics is broken. Our nation urgently needs fundamental political reform and improvement in governance to make it
more transparent and accountable. If you elect us in April, we will:
1. Initiate action to amend our Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments
in order to entrench Federalism and the Federal spirit;2. Strengthen INEC to reduce/eliminate electoral malpractices;
3. Attract the best and brightest into our politics and public service by aggressive recruitment of private sector people, academics and
professionals within Nigeria and in the Diaspora through internships, fellowships, executive appointments and special nomination to
contest elective offices;4. Prevent abuse of executive, legislative and public offices through greater accountability, transparency and strict enforcement of anticorruption
laws whilst strengthening the EFCC and ICPC;
5. Amend the Constitution to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal cases;6. Restructure government for a leaner, more efficient and adequately compensated public service;Require full disclosure in all media outlets of all government contracts over N100m prior to award and during implementation at
regular intervals;
8. Reform and Strengthen the Justice System for efficient administration and dispensation of justice along with the creation of special
courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism and similar cases of national importance;9. Enact the Freedom of Information Bill so that government held data sets can be requested and used by the public, and then published
on regular basis;10. Seek to amend the Constitution to require local governments to publish their meeting minutes, service performance data and items of
spending over N10M.

Security and Conflict Resolution
On National Security and Defence, we will:
1. Urgently address capacity building of law enforcement agents in terms of quantity and quality as this is critical in safeguarding the
sanctity of lives and property;
2. Establish a well trained, adequately equipped and goals driven Serious Crime Squad to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, militants,
ethno‐religious and communal clashes nationwide;Begin widespread consultations to amend the Constitution to enable States and Local Governments to employ State and Community
Police to address the peculiar needs of each community. This would mean setting boundaries for Federal, State and Community Police
through new Criminal Justice legislation to replace the Criminal Code, the Penal Code and the Police Act.4. Push for more support in the security and economic stability of the sub‐region [ECOWAS] and AU as a whole and maintain a strong,
close and frank relationship with West Africa, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, and other African countries.

On Conflict Resolution, National Unity and Social Harmony, we will:
1. Establish a Conflict Resolution Commission to help prevent, mitigate and resolve civil conflicts within the polity;2. Bring permanent peace and solution to the Niger Delta and other conflict prone areas such as Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Borno and Abia
in order to engender national unity and social harmony;
3. Initiate policies to ensure that Nigerians are free to live and work in any part of the country by removing state of origin, tribe, ethnic
and religious affiliations and replace those with state of residenceThe Economy & Infrastructure Base
On the Economy, we will:
1. Maintain sound macro‐economic policy environment and run an efficient government and preserve the independence of the Central
Bank;
2. Restore financial confidence by putting in place a more robust monitoring, supervising and regulating of the financial institutions;
3. Make our economy one of the fastest growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10% annually;
4. Embark on vocational training, entrepreneurial and skills acquisition scheme for graduates along with the creation of Small Business
Loan Guarantee Scheme to create at least 2 million new jobs by 2015;5. Integrate the informal economy into the mainstream and prioritize the full implementation of the National Identification Scheme to
generate the relevant data;
6. Expand domestic demand and consider undertaking associated public works programmes;
7. Embark on export and production diversification including investment in infrastructure; promote manufacturing e.g through agro based
industries and expand sub‐regional trade through ECOWAS and AU;
Make Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Entertainment key drivers of our economy;
9. Balance the economy across regions by the creation of 6 new Regional Economic Development Agencies (REDAs) to act as champions
of sub‐regional competitiveness;
10. Put in place a N300bn regional growth fund (average of N50bn in each geo‐political region) to be managed by the REDAs, encourage
private sector enterprise and support to help places currently reliant on the public sector;
11. Amend the Constitution and the Land Use Act to create freehold/leasehold interests in land along with matching grants for states to
create a nationwide electronic land title register on a state by state basis;
12. Create additional middle‐class of at least 2 million new home owners by 2015 by enacting a national mortgage system that will lend at
single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses.On Infrastructure; we will:
1. Undertake an urgent review of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) enabling environment with a view to addressing the legal,
regulatory and operational challenges including introducing enabling legislation where necessary. In addition, we shall create a National
Infrastructural Development Bank to provide loans at nominal interest rates exclusively for this sector;
2. Generate, transmit and distribute from current 5,000 – 6,000 MW to at least 15,000 MW of electricity by 2015 and increasing to 50,000
MW by 2019 with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply by 2019 whilst simultaneously ensuring development of
sustainable/renewable energy.
3. Embark on a National Infrastructural Development Programme as a Public Private Partnership that will ensure the (a) construction of
3,000km of Superhighway including service trunks and (b) building of up to 4,800km of modern railway lines – one third to be
completed by 2015;4. Enact new legal and regulatory frameworks to establish independent regulation and incentives to accelerate public and private sector
investment in seaports, railways and inland waterways;
5. Embark on PPP schemes with a view to ensuring that at least one functioning airport is available in each of the 36 states.

On Healthcare, we will:
1. Prioritize the reduction of the infant mortality rate by 2015 to 3%; reduce maternal mortality by more than 70%; reduce HIV/AIDs
infection rate by 50% and other infectious diseases by 75%; improve life expectancy by additional 10 years on average through our
national healthy living program;
2. Increase the number of physicians from 19 per 1000 population to 50 per 1000; increase national health expenditure per person per
annum to about N50,000 (from less than N10,000 currently);
3. Increase the quality of all federal government owned hospitals to world class standard by 2015;4. Invest in cutting edge technology such as tele‐medicine in all major health centers in the country through active investment and
partnership programmes with the private sector;
5. Provide ante‐natal care for pregnant women; free health care for babies and children up to school going age and for the aged and free
treatment for those afflicted with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS;6. Boost the local manufacture of pharmaceuticals and make non adulterated drugs readily available.

for full reference - http://buhari4change.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/CPC-OurCommitmentToNigeria.pdf

I won’t accept more than N1m donation – Buhari
By Olusola Fabiyi and Abimbola Adelakun
Thursday, 24 Feb 2011

The Presidential candidate of the Congress for Political Change, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said his campaign office will not accept more than N1m from any individual who wants to donate towards campaign.

He, however, said that anyone who wants to donate more than that could do so through the party.

Buhari will be launching his presidential campaign in Kaduna on Tuesday, March 1. A statement from his campaign organisation says “it promises a redefinition of the tenor of campaigns for 2011.”

Buhari spoke at the unveiling of his campaign website in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said, “My campaign will accept donations from individuals but it must not be more than N1m. Those who want to donate more are free to do so through the party.

“I will also want to use this opportunity of the unveiling of the campaign website to let people know that Nigerians are aware of happenings in the Arab World.

“We have also seen the role played by the new media in galvanising people for change in North African countries in recent times. It shows clearly that a new society has come which must be engaged virtually.

“In order to avoid it, we must avoid electoral malpractices and also police our votes. We will not spare anything to have a credible election.”

Buhari called on all volunteers that had opened websites for him and his campaign team to close them immediately.

The former head of state said he was aware that some people, who had opened a website in the name of the party, were using it to solicit for donations from unsuspecting members of the public.

“We do not know about such and urge our teeming supporters not to fall into the hands of such people,” he warned.

He said many Nigerians were yearning for a change in the country, adding that he and his team would bring about such positive change.

Buhari said as soon as the party’s manifesto and programmes were released, he would hit the campaign grounds.

Also speaking at the occasion, Buhari’s running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, described the launching of the website as a positive indication, saying the party was ready to win the hearts of Nigerian youths.

Asked why he was running with Buhari, who he had allegedly described as a spent force in 2007, Bakare said he never used such a word.

He said what he actually said then was that “Buhari would not win because the forces of darkness are at play and riggers are at work. That was then, now we are moving on.

“So, it will be wrong to say that I called him a spent force. Do not also forget that I had mounted the pulpit and said Buhari remains the most credible person of all the presidential aspirants.”

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201102241503060

i'm falling in love with Buhari's daughter. shes so beautiful.

@honeric01
Keep up the excellent job.

honeric01:

On Politics and Governance

CPC believes that our politics is broken. Our nation urgently needs fundamental political reform and improvement in governance to make it more transparent and accountable. If you elect us in April, we will:
1. Initiate action to amend our Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments in order to entrench Federalism and the Federal spirit;

2. Strengthen INEC to reduce/eliminate electoral malpractices;

3. Attract the best and brightest into our politics and public service by aggressive recruitment of private sector people, academics and professionals within Nigeria and in the Diaspora through internships, fellowships, executive appointments and special nomination to contest elective offices;

4. Prevent abuse of executive, legislative and public offices through greater accountability, transparency and strict enforcement of anti-corruption laws whilst strengthening the EFCC and ICPC;

5. Amend the Constitution to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal cases;

6. Restructure government for a leaner, more efficient and adequately compensated public service;

7. Require full disclosure in all media outlets of all government contracts over N100m prior to award and during implementation at regular intervals;

8. Reform and Strengthen the Justice System for efficient administration and dispensation of justice along with the creation of special courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism and similar cases of national importance;

9. Enact the Freedom of Information Bill so that government held data sets can be requested and used by the public, and then published on regular basis;

10. Seek to amend the Constitution to require local governments to publish their meeting minutes, service performance data and items of spending over N10M.

You know what, the above excerpt just about sums up all one could ask for in a committed administration. Forget the talk about 5000MW, 24-km roads and lots of spewage. When push comes to shove, there has to be a way of ensuring accountability and yes, the above points are very do-able.
Any word from the parties intending to pool resources together?

Nice job @ OP!

9ijaMan:

@honeric01
Keep up the excellent job.

Thank you.

I’m Still in the Race, Says Bakare
By Omololu Ogunmade
24 Feb 2011

Ahead of next flag off of the presidential campaign of the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) in Kaduna, his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has denied insinuations that he has withdrawn from the presidential race.

Bakare who described the rumour as nothing but “a lie from the pit of hell,” emphasised that he was still very much in the race. In a telephone conversation, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman for Buhari, said Bakare and other party leaders were busy rolling out plans and strategies for the flag off of the presidential campaign of the CPC at the time of the telephone conversation last night.



He added though it might be the dream of some people for him to withdraw from the race, it remains an unrealisable dream for such people, insisting that Bakare has no plan whatsoever to quit the race.

He said: “It’s a lie from the pit of hell. As I am talking to you, we are busy strategising for our campaigns. It may be some people’s dream for him to withdraw, but there is nothing like that,” he said. Wednesday’s rumour marked the third time that Bakare’s entry into politics would be confronted with rumours.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/i-m-still-in-the-race-says-bakare/86748/