this piece is dedicated to the educated and sophisticated South- the Western, Eastern and Southern.
but many #lazynigerianyiuths will run from reading and demand for a summary!
and you all think #endsars is your problem...
mumus, everywhere u go.
second base jare!

ON NOVEMBER 25, 2020 7:21 AM IN PEOPLE & POLITICS
By Ochereome Nnanna

President Muhammadu Buhari’s romance with Niger Republic has become an affront to the national interest of Nigeria. When he was sworn-in as an elected president in 2015 he went to Mamadou Issoufou’s presidential palace in Niamey, Niger Republic, to celebrate. They gave him the reception of a conquering Fulani warlord: a white horse and sword.

I found that curious. How can a Nigerian leader celebrate his electoral victory in a foreign country and not Daura, his supposed hometown in Nigeria? The answer has since been provided through Buhari’s policy actions in the past five plus years. We have since learnt that Buhari is a first-generation Nigerian whose father, Ardo Adamu Buhari, a duck seller, had migrated from Niger, settled in Nigeria and married a Nigerian woman, Zulaihat.

The borders defined by the European colonial masters mean nothing to typical Northerners. When you hear that Nigerian borders are porous, what it really means is that there is no intention in the minds of Northern Nigerians and their elite to create an effective barrier between them and their kith and kin in the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Northern Cameroun. Meanwhile, the Southern borders are strictly monitored (within the limits permitted by the selfish interests of corrupt Customs and Immigration officials).

When Buhari’s government in August 2019, “closed the borders” it was the Southern borders that were actually closed. Fatuhu Mohammed, a nephew of President Buhari’s, who represents Daura/Mai’adua/Sandamu Federal Constituency in the House of Reps alerted during a plenary session that smuggling was still freely thriving at the Daura border, 13 kilometres from Buhari’s country residence.

It is no secret that Niger Republic nationals are regularly smuggled in to vote in Nigerian elections. It was in this dispensation that the political leaders of that country threw caution to the wind and attended Buhari’s rallies in Kano with large contingents led by governors of Maradi and Zinder provinces! If you thought these were inconsequential and harmless cultural exchanges, Buhari has proved you wrong. He has taken several concrete policy steps that showed his engagement with Niger is longer a joke. Early in 2018, the Federal Ministry of Transportation revealed plans by the president to build a railway line from Kano through Daura and Jibia to Maradi in Niger Republic.

I wrote an article condemning the project, but of course, they pressed ahead with it. The Federal Executive Council in September this year, announced an award of $1.9bn contract for the project. The money is part of the numerous loans Buhari’s government has been freeloading from China. Also in June this year, the Federal Government announced the award of contract for the construction of 614-km gas pipeline from Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano with eventual termination in Morocco through Niger Republic worth $2.8bn.

The latest story in town is that on November 20, Nigeria signed an MOU to import petroleum products from Niger. The shipments will be coming from Soraz Refinery in Niger’s Zinder oilfields. The refinery, which is jointly owned by China (60 per cent) and Niger (40 per cent) has a daily output capacity of 20,000 barrels. Niger’s domestic consumption requires only 5,000 barrels per day. The surplus 15,000bpd will be taken up by Nigeria to service our adjoining Northern fringes.

Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong about buying refined products from neighbouring countries if our countrymen in the Northern fringes will find that cheaper and more easily available. However, there is a shameful, or is it personal impunity factor at play here. Buhari who as Petroleum Minister in the late 1970s oversaw the construction of the second (150,000bpd capacity) Port Harcourt Refinery, Warri and Kaduna Refineries; has been his own self-appointed Petroleum Minister since 2015.

He had promised to fix our refineries during the campaigns. When he took up the Petroleum portfolio, his supporters said he was bringing his “wealth of experience” to reform the sector. ALMOST SIX YEARS DOWN THE LINE, THE INDUSTRY REMAINS COMATOSE. Even the reforms proposed by the PriceWaterhouse and Coopers, PWC, audit exercise in 2014 has been altogether abandoned. Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, continues to import fuel while Nigerians are forced to swallow the bitter pill of the full deregulation of the downstream sector.

The first question is: WHAT EXACTLY HAS BUHARI ACHIEVED WITH HIS POSITION AS OIL MINISTER? The first audit report of the NNPC in 43 years revealed that the Kaduna Refinery gulped N63.4bn without generating a kobo in 2018. Also in September 2020, another NNPC report disclosed that three refineries reportedly swallowed N140bn to produce less than 40 metric tonnes of crude oil. There is no clear picture about anything being done to bring back our refineries. Rather, we await for Dangote and other private refineries.

What “magic” is Niger employing to refine petroleum that Nigeria’s President and Oil Minister, Buhari, cannot deploy in Nigeria? Why aren’t Nigerians complaining about Buhari’s incompetence as Oil Minister and the use of Nigeria’s largely borrowed funds to develop his father’s country when our own infrastructural deficits are among the world’s worst? The $1.9bn railway line to Maradi was never taken to the National Assembly for approval; it was an act of naked impunity. It is an impeachable offence, but who will bell the cat?

Buhari is using our scarce, borrowed resources to service his cross-border selfish interests with resources mined mainly from the Niger Delta and the Lagos business districts. He is going beyond developing Northern Nigeria; he is working for Niger Republic too. Is this regime all about Buhari’s interests? And why are Nigerians who will repay the loans letting him get away with these?
These are issues that should concern Southern political leaders, elected representatives and statesmen. Rather, they struggle to be selected as leg men to serve the interests of a foreign country. It is a shame and a pity.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/11/buharis-unholy-romance-with-niger-republic/

las las we go dey alright

flexzy001:
las las we go dey alright

it's like saying Las Las, idps go dey alright.
or Las las, victims of herdsmen go dey alright.
does dt make sense to you?

Only a southern president can solve this problem and reposition Nigeria for Nigerians. A southern president of the Igbo extract is the answer

lastmessenger:
Only a southern president can solve this problem and reposition Nigeria for Nigerians. A southern president of the Igbo extract is the answer

bro, we've had 2 southerners.
neither tribe nor religion have a place in solving this problem.

DZTech:
bro, we've had 2 southerners.
neither tribe nor religion have a place in solving this problem.

yes we have had two and none was Igbo. We need a man who will correct the imbalance and only a southern president can do that.

DZTech:
it's like saying Las Las, idps go dey alright.
or Las las, victims of herdsmen go dey alright.
does dt make sense to you?

With God everything go dey alright

flexzy001:
With God everything go dey alright

which con3 u know wey God develop?

lastmessenger:
yes we have had two and none was Igbo. We need a man who will correct the imbalance and only a southern president can do that.

hm...
the way they've developed Southern States? like who?

He can never romance forever, it is his time, all thanks to zombies that voted him in again.

If u think too much about Nigeria problems u will have chronic stroke

The man is from Niger republic! He is doing close to 6 billion dollars projects in Niger republic with borrowed funds that will be paid from oil receipts from the south! As at today, Buhari is doing far more capital intensive projects in Niger republic than in the former eastern Nigeria that produces over 95% of Nigerias oil and gas income! He's doing that boldly while southern politicians like Timpreye Sylva are sent to the press to explain how these kind of actions are the best for Nigeria. These fulani guys have no iota of loyalty to Nigeria. They're in the middle of an intense scramble to loot as much as they can before the country implodes under the heavy weight of her iniqiuties. To them Nigeria is a conquered territory. Their homeland is in Zinder via Marada! If this country doesn't solve the fulani born to rule mentality and obvious penchant to utilize massacres in advancing fulani interests, Nigeria will never move forward..

Nigerians wanted change and this the change they voted for . More things to unfold

-I don’t think those whose land bears the brunt of the exploration and exploitation are complaining. #WeMove .

DZTech:
hm...
the way they've developed Southern States? like who?

do you know that it takes twice the amount of money used to develop north to develop south. For example to build a road in the south is so expensive owing to our soil texture

lastmessenger:
do you know that it takes twice the amount of money used to develop north to develop south. For example to build a road in the south is so expensive owing to our soil texture

bro, enough with the excuses.
Na only 9ja south get d soil type for world?
which excuse u wan give for bad schools, no health care centres, no amenities?
on top 13% derivation, nddc. Nd ministry plus faac allocation?
y u go dey defend criminals wey dey suck our people blood?!

So Buhari father is from Niger republic. hmmmm

We have since learnt that Buhari is a first-generation Nigerian whose father, Ardo Adamu Buhari, a duck seller, had migrated from Niger, settled in Nigeria and married a Nigerian woman, Zulaihat.

No wonder Niger Republic is Bubu's first choice country.
He is just ruling Nigeria for political advantage.Any wonder he opposed a Nigerian during the election for the post of OAU sec.for a Nigerien in 1984?

Buhari is only Honoring his ancestral home

He said it during the campaigns in 2015 that he normally goes to Zinder to cool off when he feels Daurra is too hot for him. Buhari sees Zinder in Niger republic as his home! His uncle's are still there! If you watch closely, you will notice that when ever he's on his visits to Niger republic, he normally goes with ONLY northern politicians! He doesn't understand the concept of "Nigerian nationalism" here and will actually prefer the borders left open and unchecked, that's why he keeps complaining foolishly that the Nigeria-Niger border can never be monitored! At the moment, Niger is in the middle of a big electoral crises because the out going president who's a Fulani helped to power by northern Nigerian politicians is desperately trying to hand over to another fulani!

That should give you a clue as to what we should all expect from Buhari come 2023! Other ethnic groups in Niger are up in arms! Buhari is not the only northern politician desperately trying to lump Niger into Nigeria with all her economic baggages, Kwankwaso, the Abachas , the governor of Katsina state have all built schools and other amenities for their people in Niger. Niger and Chad also helped Nigeria greatly during the war with Biafra! So if Cameroon can get Bakassi for her efforts, Niger should... Have you also noticed that the dubious construction of Dangotes refinery seems to be grinding to a halt since Buhari decided to favour his uncles refinery at Zinder? And that Dangote, the ultimate "team player" seem not to care? The corrupt Nigerian press is so lukwarm no investigative journalism ever thrives here otherwise if the real owners of that refinery are revealed, we might start to understand the reason for the crude politics going on..

DZTech:
this piece is dedicated to the educated and sophisticated South- the Western, Eastern and Southern.
but many #lazynigerianyiuths will run from reading and demand for a summary!
and you all think #endsars is your problem...
mumus, everywhere u go.
second base jare!



https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/11/buharis-unholy-romance-with-niger-republic/

The most shameful Nd disgraceful thing is, the same Southerners are being used to execute the project without objecting to it.
It's well.

akaahs:

The most shameful Nd disgraceful thing is, the same Southerners are being used to execute the project without objecting to it.
It's well.

it's old news na.

after all, who showed illiterate "mallams" of d 60s-90s how to steal public funds?