This doesn't look like a run for me. Its about doing the needful. How many people watch or listen to electronics media these days. It is gradually changing. Even the elites that constituted viewership strength of the module are not sworn voters. Some of them travel a day or two before the election and the real voters on ground. This is the gist, has GMB ever campaigned? Yes, he have, he is and he will always. he prefers dealing with the electorates. He has taken his campaign to all platforms. His manifesto and programme are in the good book of those criticizing him. If the debate is about examining the capacity and capability of candidates I think GMB has been tested and proven beyond that.

It is not about him or refusing the debate. He wont attend a function because the ruling what him to or because is an avenue to get their skirmish prosecuted on air.

How can Buhari debate when he has not been able to make up to an hour's cumulative speech in all his campaigns
What does he have to say to the fiflu??
All the hype would soon EVAPORATE!!!!

jhydosky:
Dear Berem,
I am supporting GMB for this election but I am not comfy with APC shielding him from debate.

GEJ is not superior to a Buhari. Man-to-man.

He will thrash the Otuoke Ph.D holder.

APC's strength is in her team and Buhari leads this team.

Please let GMB debate this guy!!

?You are an APC E-warrior unlike other APC sycophants who would vote for buhari even if presents NEPA bill as certificate. Let the truth be told always. How can the man who is promising so much change be afraid to take an an opportunity to tell Nigerians in dept how he intends to bring about that change. #BuhariMustDebate

nduchucks:
As a card carrying member of the PDP pre 2011, though I did not support GEJ's candidacy because of the way he emerged as the PDP flagbearer, I was willing to give GEJ the benefit of the doubt. If he had performed, this election should have been a cake walk for him.

The sad truth is that, GEJ's accomplishments are not enough to win this 2015 elections, he has squandered the goodwill he enjoyed among Nigerian people. He is now a desperate man looking to score cheap points during a debate.

GEJ is already a goner and should not be dignified with a debate. Produce the audit report about the missing $20 - $65billion, depending on who you believe, and lets debate that.

liar you have never supporte GEJ.Abeg park wll jare

IVORY2009:


Actually, the way democracy is practiced in other developed countries, U.S, Great Britain, a debate tells the eletorate ahead of time what a particular candidate is going to be offering, wen he/she is voted into office, and he/she is held accountable, if he fails to deliver, but you and I known that since 1999, the issue of debate has not been taking seriously, even the current president is not left out, you asked of what else intrest me in GEJ, that is the reasons he is going to be telling us today in the debate, then we can now choose, whether to vote hin back into office or not, for now, we are patiently awaiting the debate, to know what our incoming president has to offer, is it General Mohammedu Buhari, Goodluck Johathan, Oluremi Sonaiya, Ambrose Albert, Ganiyu Galadima, Rafiu Salau, Godson Okoye etc

but Sincerely friend, what do you think GEJ would tell you in a debate different from what he has been telling us ever since? A presidential debate holds waters in a country whr a majority of the citizenry are educated, not in a country whr pervasive illiteracy is the general order. Surely we know GEJ can speak far better than Buhari, but good leadership goes far beyond dat. It encompasses so many attributes of which eloquent speaking is a part of it. That aside, GEJ has promised us heaven on earth but still fails to achieve the basics of his campaign promises. We were all hoodwinked by his "if I can make it you can make it mantra" , but I must confess that Nigeria's problems goes far beyond mere paper and mouth propaganda, we need real action. I became disinterested in GEJ right from that very day he refused to declare his national asset. You can't say you are fighting corruption when you still do things that encourage it. What prevents GEJ from building a refinery for 6yrs if he truly means well for u and me? For me, Buhari is more honest and deserves my vote.

chukwudi44:


liar you have never supporte GEJ.Abeg park wll jare

Oga, I was a card carrying member of the PDP. I have opened many threads in the past where I highlighted what I thought were great strides by GEJ, i.e. until the man became the emblem of corruption.

i will vote for GMB debate or no debate DEAD OR ALIVE.I am sick of Jonathan's government .Otueke is waiting for Jonathan .

wildikeman:
u APC blind liars have started again...when?

The PDP is only wanting to associate with Buhari to raise their dwindling profile.

nduchucks:
Oga, I was a card carrying member of the PDP. I have opened many threads in the past where I highlighted what I thought were great strides by GEJ, i.e. until the man became the emblem of corruption.

I don't think it should be too difficult to share the links to such threads in your above post or should it

The Crimes of Buhari”–By Prof. Wole Soyinka

The grounds on which General Buhari is being promoted as the alternative choice are not only shaky, but pitifully naive. History matters. Records are not kept simply to assist the weakness of memory, but to operate as guides to the future. Of course, we know that human beings change. What the claims of personality change or transformation impose on us is a rigorous inspection of the evidence, not wishful speculation or behind-the- scenes assurances. Public offence, crimes against a polity, must be answered in the public space, not in caucuses of bargaining. In Buhari, we have been offered no evidence of the sheerest prospect of change. On the contrary, all evident suggests that this is one individual who remains convinced that this is one ex-ruler that the nation cannot call to order Buhari? Need one remind anyone – was one of the generals who treated a Commission of Enquiry, the Oputa Panel, with unconcealed disdain. Like Babangida and Abdusalami, he refused to put in appearance even though complaints that were tabled against him involved a career of gross abuses of power and blatant assault on the fundamental human rights of the Nigerian citizenry. Prominent against these charges was an act that amounted to nothing less than judicial murder, the execution of a citizen under a retroactive decree. Does Decree 20 ring a bell? If not, then, perhaps the names of three youths – Lawal Ojuolape (30), Bernard Ogedengbe (29) and Bartholomew Owoh (26) do. To put it quite plainly, one of those three Ogedengbe – was executed for a crime that did not carry a capital forfeit at the time it was committed. This was an unconscionable crime, carried out in defiance of the pleas and protests of nearly every sector of the Nigerian and international community religious, civil rights, political, trade unions etc.

Buhari and his sidekick and his partner-in-crime, Tunde Idiagbon persisted in this inhuman act for one reason and one reason only: to place Nigerians on notice that they were now under an iron, inflexible rule, under governance by fear. The execution of that youthful innocent for so he was, since the punishment did not exist at the time of commission – was nothing short of premeditated murder, for which the perpetrators should normally stand trial upon their loss of immunity. Are we truly expected to forget this violation of our entitlement to security as provided under existing laws? And even if our sensibilities have become blunted by succeeding seasons of cruelty and brutality, if power itself had so coarsened the sensibilities also of rulers and corrupted their judgment, what should one rightly expect after they have been rescued from the snare of power. At the very least, a revaluation, leading hopefully to remorse, and its expression to a wronged society. At the very least, such a revaluation should engender reticence, silence. In the case of Buhari, it was the opposite. Since leaving office he has declared in the most categorical terms that he had no regrets over this murder and would do so again. Human life is inviolate. The right to life is the uniquely fundamental right on which all other rights are based. The crime that General Buhari committed against the entire nation went further however, inconceivable as it might first appear. That crime is one of the most profound negations of civic being. Not content with hammering down the freedom of expression in general terms, Buhari specifically forbade all public discussion of a return to civilian, democratic rule. Let us constantly applaud our media those battle scarred professionals did not completely knuckle down.

They resorted to cartoons and oblique, elliptical references to sustain the people’s campaign for a time-table to democratic rule. Overt agitation for a democratic time table however remained rigorously suppressed military dictatorship, and a specifically incorporated in Buhari and Idiagbon was here to stay. To deprive a people of volition in their own political direction is to turn a nation into a colony of slaves. Buhari enslaved the nation. He gloated and gloried in a master-slave relation to the millions of its inhabitants. It is astonishing to find that the same former slaves, now free of their chains, should clamour to be ruled by one who not only turned their nation into a slave plantation, but forbade them any discussion of their condition. So Tai Solarin is already forgotten? Tai who stood at street corners, fearlessly distributing leaflets that took up the gauntlet where the media had dropped it. Tai who was incarcerated by that regime and denied even the medication for his asthmatic condition? Tai did not ask to be sent for treatment overseas; all he asked was his traditional medicine that had proved so effective after years of struggle with asthma! Nor must we omit the manner of Buhari coming to power and the pattern of his corrective rule. Shagari’s NPN had already run out of steam and was near universally detested except of course by the handful that still benefited from that regime of profligacy and rabid fascism. Responsibility for the national condition lay squarely at the door of the ruling party, obviously, but against whom was Buharis coup staged? Judging by the conduct of that regime, it was not against Shagaris government but against the opposition. The head of government, on whom primary responsibility lay, was Shehu Shagari. Yet that individual was kept in cozy house detention in Ikoyi while his powerless deputy, Alex Ekwueme, was locked up in Kiri-kiri prisons. Such was the Buhari notion of equitable apportionment of guilt and/or responsibility.

And then the cascade of escapes of the wanted, and culpable politicians. Manhunts across the length and breadth of the nation, roadblocks everywhere and borders tight as steel zip locks. Lo and behold, the chairman of the party, Chief Akinloye, strolled out coolly across the border. Richard Akinjide, Legal Protector of the ruling party, slipped out with equal ease. The Rice Minister, Umaru Dikko, who declared that Nigerians were yet to eat f’rom dustbins – escaped through the same airtight dragnet. The clumsy attempt to crate him home was punishment for his ingratitude, since he went berserk when, after waiting in vain, he concluded that the coup had not been staged, after all, for the immediate consolidation of the party of extreme right-wing vultures, but for the military hyenas. The case of the overbearing Secretary-General of the party, Uba Ahmed, was even more noxious. Uba Ahmed was out of the country at the time. Despite the closure of the Nigerian airspace, he compelled the pilot of his plane to demand special landing permission, since his passenger load included the almighty Uba Ahmed. Of course, he had not known of the change in his status since he was airborne. The delighted airport commandant, realizing that he had a much valued fish swimming willingly into a waiting net, approved the request. Uba Ahmed disembarked into the arms of a military guard and was promptly clamped in detention.

Incredibly, he vanished a few days after and reappeared in safety overseas. Those whose memories have become calcified should explore the media coverage of that saga. Buhari was asked to explain the vanished act of this much prized quarry and his response was one of the most arrogant levity. Coming from one who had shot his way into power on the slogan of discipline, it was nothing short of impudent. Shall we revisit the tragicomic series of trials that landed several politicians several lifetimes in prison? Recall, if you please, the judicial processes undergone by the septuagenarian Chief Adekunle Ajasin. He was arraigned and tried before Buhari’s punitive tribunal but acquitted. Dissatisfied, Buhari ordered his re-trial. Again, the Tribunal could not find this man guilty of a single crime, so once again he was returned for trial, only to be acquitted of all charges of corruption or abuse of office. Was Chief Ajasin thereby released? No! He was ordered detained indefinitely, simply for the crime of winning an election and refusing to knuckle under Shagari’s reign of terror. The conduct of the Buhari regime after his coup was not merely one of double, triple, multiple standards but a cynical travesty of justice. Audu Ogbeh, currently chairman of the Action Congress was one of the few figures of rectitude within the NPN. Just as he has done in recent times with the PDP, he played the role of an internal critic and reformer, warning, dissenting, and setting an example of probity within his ministry. For that crime he spent months in unjust incarceration.

Guilty by association? Well, if that was the motivating yardstick of the administration of the Buhari justice, then it was most selectively applied.

The utmost severity of the Buhari-Idiagbon justice was especially reserved either for the opposition in general, or for those within the ruling party who had showed the sheerest sense of responsibility and patriotism.

Shall I remind this nation of Buhari’s deliberate humiliating treatment of the Emir of Kano and the Oni of Ife over their visit to the state of Israel? I hold no brief for traditional rulers and their relationship with governments, but insist on regarding them as entitled to all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of any Nigerian citizen. This royal duo went to Israel on their private steam and private business. Simply because the Buhari regime was pursuing some antagonistic foreign policy towards Israel, a policy of which these traditional rulers were not a part, they were subjected on their return to a treatment that could only be described as a head masterly chastisement of errant pupils. Since when, may one ask, did a free citizen of the Nigerian nation require the permission of a head of state to visit a foreign nation that was willing to offer that tourist a visa? One is only too aware that some Nigerians love to point to Buhari’s agenda of discipline as the shining jewel in his scrap-iron crown. To inculcate discipline however, one must lead by example, obeying laws set down as guides to public probity. Example speaks louder than declarations, and rulers cannot exempt themselves from the disciplinary structures imposed on the overall polity, especially on any issue that seeks to establish a policy for public well-being. The story of the thirty something suitcases it would appear that they were even closer to fifty – found unavoidable mention in my recent memoirs, YOU MUST SET FORTH AT DOWN, written long before Buhari became spoken of as a credible candidate. For the exercise of a changeover of the national currency, the Nigerian borders air, sea and land had been shut tight.
Nothing was supposed to move in or out, not even cattle egrets.

Yet a prominent camel was allowed through that needles eye. Not only did Buhari dispatch his aide-de-camp, Jokolo later to become an emir- to facilitate the entry of those cases, he ordered the redeployment as I later discovered – of the Customs Officer who stood firmly against the entry of the contravening baggage. That officer, the incumbent Vice-president is now a rival candidate to Buhari, but has somehow, in the meantime, earned a reputation that totally contradicts his conduct at the time. Wherever the truth lies, it does not redound to the credibility of the dictator of that time, General Buhari whose word was law, but whose allegiances were clearly negotiable.

On the theme of double, triple, multiple standards in the enforcement of the law, and indeed of the decrees passed by the Buhari regime at the time, let us recall the notorious case of Triple Alhaji Alhaji Alhaji, then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Who was caught, literally, with his pants down in distant Austria. That was not the crime however, and private conduct should always remain restricted to the domain of private censure.

There was no decree against civil servants proving just as hormone driven as anyone else, especially outside the nation’s borders.

However, there was a clear decree against the keeping of foreign accounts, and this was what emerged from the Austrian escapade. Alhaji Alhaji kept, not one, but several undeclared foreign accounts, and he had no business being in possession of the large amount of foreign currency of which he was robbed by his overnight companion. The media screamed for an even application of the law, but Buhari had turned suddenly deaf. By contrast, Fela Anikulapo languished in goal for years, sentenced under that very draconian decree. His crime was being in possession of foreign exchange that he had legitimately received for the immediate upkeep of his band as they set off for an international engagement. A vicious sentence was slapped down on Fela by a judge who later became so remorse stricken at least after Buhari’s overthrow that he went to the King of Afro-beat and apologized.

Lesser known was the traumatic experience of the director of an international communication agency, an affiliate of UNESCO. Akin Fatoyinbo arrived at the airport in complete ignorance of the new currency decree. He was thrown in gaol in especially brutal condition, an experience from which he never fully recovered. It took several months of high-level intervention before that innocent man was eventually freed. These were not exceptional but mere sample cases from among hundreds of others, victims of a decree that was selectively applied, a decree that routinely penalized innocents and ruined the careers and businesses of many.

What else? What does one choose to include or leave out? What precisely was Ebenezer Babatope’s crime that he should have spent the entire tenure of General Buhari in detention?

Nothing beyond the fact that he once warned in the media that Buhari was an ambitious soldier who would bear watching through the lenses of a coup-detat. Babatope’s father died while he was in Buhari’s custody, the dictator remained deaf to every plea that he be at least released to attend his father’s funeral, even under guard. I wrote an article at the time, denouncing this pointless insensitivity. So little to demand by a man who was never accused of, nor tried for any crime,much less found guilty. Such a load of vindictiveness that smothered all traces of basic human compassion deserves no further comment in a nation that values its traditions.

But then, speaking the truth was not what Buhari, as a self-imposed leader, was especially enamoured of enquire of Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor both of whom, faithful to their journalistic calling, published nothing but the truth, yet ended up sentenced under Buhari’s decree. Mind you, no one can say that Buhari was not true to his word. Shall tamper with the freedom of the press swore the dictator immediately on grabbing office, and this was exactly what he did. And so on, and on, and on………

Why is Buhari acting like he is scared of something. People are supporting him and he cannot even step out to talk and atleast still give his supporters more reason to align with him. He is just being evasive. But why?

sleekpro:



You are most stupid of all buharist,
Is stephen suker and christiane amanpour the people he is going to lead?
He should come and tell us (nigerians) what he have for us, rather than the back door interview he has been granting!
#gej till buhari come for debate.

Yo! sleek. Point is, if he'd faced these toughies who is their for him to fear. We know the one who's afraid. These PDP are making it look like they have Einstein's brain.

IbnSultaan:
GMB will not do things because jonathanians want him to do
All we as for is a neutral ground if that is not available,Then it becomes impossible to be part of such

GMB has always been part of debates.

Haba! Which one be neutral ground again? Abi na until d debate hold 4 sambisa forest na buhari go agree to come?

ishar:
Why is Buhari acting like he is scared of something. People are supporting him and he cannot even step out to talk and atleast still give his supporters more reason to align with him. He is just being evasive. But why?

Skeletons in his cupboard my dear

berem:
Ifeanyi, Channels TV is not solely organizing the debate tomorrow. They are oganizing the debate with other groups affiliated to PDP. Another reason to boycott the debate.

NTA dem no gree, FRCN dem no gree, AIT dem no gree, channels too nko, dem no still gree. So which media organisation is not affiliated to PDP? BBC hausa I guess

How do you expect him to come for Presidential debate

3cycle:

Yes, I want him to back APC's accusations and propaganda with facts.
He should give me just a reason to vote him in 2015. Abi you don't want igbo votes

For conclusions to be valid, the inputs must be unbiased. You have their lives to guide you.

taharqa:


Abeg, shattap yr mouth Tha!!

It is way pass d time for early morning jokes....

What you mean jokes. Have you ever seen the Buhari trembling before the press?

ghost1718:
how can somebody that can not read A,B.C.D stand in public

are you sure of that ? or just trying to get people attention toward your post ....... I wonder how some people think like ...................

3cycle:
The illiterate one has refused to debate. Okupe has this to say [b]If APC did not withdraw from the debate it would have been foolish and stupid. Their candidate has no record of performance neither is he eloquent nor educated....... Doyin Okupe. [/b
Buhari is a failure.

hmmmmm.....so not attending the debate now make him a failure...see chicken talk

I actually do empathize with him
This is a man that has never won an election in his life
If it were a coup,he might have an idea what to do
He is not accustomed to thinking

PDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attendPDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attendPDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attend

nduchucks:


Oga, I was a card carrying member of the PDP. I have opened many threads in the past where I highlighted what I thought were great strides by GEJ, i.e. until the man became the emblem of corruption.

Please Benchmark GEJ to past Presidents on the economy and infrastructure and tell us who performed better.

While the rest of you go on about security please remember that it was under OBJ that Bakassi Peninsula ceased to become part of Nigeria! OBJ also had the niger delta militants to deal with which he did not solve until he left office and yet he succeeded in wiping out one full village!

Abraham2013:

NTA dem no gree, FRCN dem no gree, AIT dem no gree, channels too nko, dem no still gree. So which media organisation is not affiliated to PDP? BBC hausa I guess

They should go and do the debate on top of berem's bed
Na dat time we go sabi say e dey fair for the chicken general
Ndi ara

akatekpe:
'olodos' been ruling us since 1914. Only in Naija u see Presidential aspirants running away from DEBATE

Not just running way but running away with a band of eediots in support

bakila:


Cool down, Nigerians are fighting back now by voting Buhari for a change to happen. If he does not perform we will give him the same treatment. [b]The debate is a distraction from the mean issue. [/b]Before you decide do a through analysis of the views and comment of all the candidates.
After you are done with your analysis go to Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana or Cameroun and come take your decision.

One rule for some and another rule for others. Why?

No certificate, can't debate. You guys should respect yourselves give up. Some excuses are lame.

motta:
PDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attendPDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attendPDP fans is it that you ppl are dull or u have a problem of remembering things I can vividly remember dat the last debate GEJ did not attend so why the shouting and the noise just because the peoples General font want to attend

Am not a PDP fan but i just believe GMB is a total sham infact if APC had put someone better maybe they would have had my vote. Even if GEJ didnt attend debate in 2011 was it all d tym. But buhari has on two occassions boycotted and will not be surprised if he does it again. The truth is ur leader is unprepared, scared and weak which implies that he isnt even sure of the change he wants to bring. He has called GEJ names and the opportunity to further drive the nail in he boycotted, HABA.

anonimi:


I don't think it should be too difficult to share the links to such threads in your above post or should it

Some people are just as lazy as GEJ himself, but here are a few:

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Deserves Credit In Some Major Fronts

GEJ and Almajiri Schools

Derivation On Solid Minerals

The time to memorize what he would say was too short, hence the decline to participate.

mikeansy:


While the rest of you go on about security please remember that it was under OBJ that Bakassi Peninsula ceased to become part of Nigeria! OBJ also had the niger delta militants to deal with which he did not solve until he left office and yet he succeeded in wiping out one full village!

but it is far better than boko haram's mayhem coupled with the rising tide of crime everywhere.
we lost bakassi, but now we are losing a whole region out of nigeria

mikeansy:


Please Benchmark GEJ to past Presidents on the economy and infrastructure and tell us who performed better.

While the rest of you go on about security please remember that it was under OBJ that Bakassi Peninsula ceased to become part of Nigeria! OBJ also had the niger delta militants to deal with which he did not solve until he left office and yet he succeeded in wiping out one full village!

Security is more important to most Nigerians and it trumps Economic or infrastructural gains.

No foreign country has ever carried out millitary operations in our territory, but Chad did that with impunity without any protest form GEJ. BH continues to capture territories not to talk of our children and girls. None of these happened during the leadership of any past leader in Nigeria.

For this reason alone, I cannot vote for GEJ. He has brought too much shame to our land.

franciskaine:
but Sincerely friend, what do you think GEJ would tell you in a debate different from what he has been telling us ever since? A presidential debate holds waters in a country whr a majority of the citizenry are educated, not in a country whr pervasive illiteracy is the general order. Surely we know GEJ can speak far better than Buhari, but good leadership goes far beyond dat. It encompasses so many attributes of which eloquent speaking is a part of it. That aside, GEJ has promised us heaven on earth but still fails to achieve the basics of his campaign promises. We were all hoodwinked by his "if I can make it you can make it mantra" , but I must confess that Nigeria's problems goes far beyond mere paper and mouth propaganda, we need real action. I became disinterested in GEJ right from that very day he refused to declare his national asset. You can't say you are fighting corruption when you still do things that encourage it. What prevents GEJ from building a refinery for 6yrs if he truly means well for u and me? For me, Buhari is more honest and deserves my vote.

[b] Don't forget the popular saying, "a Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" why am I quoting this statement, it means that Nigerians are becoming responsible/up and doing, they want to know/ have an impact on who rules them, governor them etc, that is the beauty of democracy for you, the electorate are meant to hold leaders accountable for not performing when they are voted into office, we are go to get there gradually, gradually...

I would want to agree with you that leadership goes beyond speaking english, but action is required, but the level Nigeria is presently, if you ask me, neither General Buhari or Goodluck Jonathan can't fix the country, but as it stands wat do we do, it is unfortunate that they are the two front runners @ the moment, and we have to make a decision on any of them, to rule us for the next 4 years.

Building refinery is not a days jobs it actually takes years to do dat, but be that as it may be, the present government fails in that aspect, similarly, Gen. Buhari has been der before, he could not build any too, so both candidates are in same level.[/b]