₦airaland Forum

By Nkechi Odoma

Assessing a phenomenon comprehensively at every point and dimension of history is quite difficult. It is impossible to get an accurately wholistic picture of any occurrence, so long as different people are involved in appraising it.

And philosophers have profoundly argued that the preceptory senses of all human beings do not function on same polar in exactitude. The sense of interpretation of reality by humanity functions in dissimilar patterns. What is often adopted as the confluence point is the preponderance of a baseline.

The Military like any other profession religiously relies on loyalty and the patriotism of those who operate under its temple. It means, everyone of them professes to its etiquettes and decrees regarded as sacrosanct. Where there is a betrayal or violation of the institutional oath or its operational creeds, the organization or institution becomes endangered in many facets.

The military subscribes to total obedience, professionalism, loyalty and patriotism in the discharge of its constitutionally defined responsibilities. It is central to the operations of the Military. That’s why acts of insubordination in the Military is ruthlessly handled and with all seriousness.

Many Nigerians have no inkling about the reasons responsible for the ravaging and festering of Boko Haram terrorism in the country which constituted a nationally perpetual source of agonies. What most people knew was the simplistic understanding that Boko Haram killed, abducted, committed acts of arson, and raped married women and teenage girls because they were mightier.

Even the critically-minded never bothered to deeply reflect on the menace of terrorism in Nigeria; its entrenched tentacles or fortress in the Nigeria’s neighbouring countries such as Chad, Niger and the Cameroun republics. What was frequently bandied in public domain was that Boko Haram factional leader and his top commanders were all powerful and had Nigeria on their palms, which they caress mindlessly in violent destructions or bloodbath.

To these minds, the Nigerian military, and in particular, the Nigerian Army was at best, a bunch of effeminate assemblage of men and women, who fed robustly on state resources, without justifying it in actions on the battlefield. Nigerian soldiers were ridiculed as an Army which could not fight a less trained ragtag army such as Boko Haram. People defamed our soldiers as weaklings and disingenuous in warfare, the reason for their existence.

But a plethora of factors accounted for the lackluster performance of the Nigerian Army before President Muhammadu Buhari was ordained leader of Nigeria. Thereafter, he appointed Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai as the Chief of Staff (COAS; an appointment he added an additional mandate as leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria.

An avalanche of reasons fired the glaring incompetency of soldiers in courageously and victoriously facing the Boko Haram insurgency in the preceding administration. Some people are aware of this water-tight fact and the masterminds are not in the dark too. But it is not everything on security that ought to be naked in public space.

Even a blindman discerned the lack of patriotism and loyalty of the Army to their Commander-in-Chief and other senior leaders of the time. Soldiers of the era were not even patriotic to their country. It was not questionable that they regaled in this unpatriotic act for suspected vicarious benefits.

Of course, when Nigerians persistently heard stories about instigated mutiny in the frontlines and soldiers shirking in the heat of battle before enemy forces, it only expressed the extent of degeneration in the Army as an institution. It was not surprising they failed to achieve any tangible results in the counter-terrorism combats.

And there was no option because the Army of the time was perilously populated by spies and betrayers of the country in favour of enemy forces. Secret information leaked easily and tales of ambushes were rampant. Several unpleasant and unprofessional acts occurred behind the scenes at the theatre of war and no one was apologetic about it.

But a knowledgeable and astute soldier, Gen. Buratai understood all the minutiae and challenges. It explains why he focused his initial days as the Army’s Chief helmsman to reposition the Army into a professional institution, responsible, responsive, loyal and patriotic in the discharge of their constitutional mandates.

With the right clan of comrades, adequately prepared for the task, Gen. Buratai has effectively utilized soldiers in the positive service of Nigeria. Today, Nigerians are seeing an Army which is ready to die on the battlefield in defence of their country than allow terrorists of whatever hue feast on blood of Nigerians.

Whichever direction the pendulum swings, one can say, it is Gen. Buratai or Nigerian Army. Or, whether option ‘A ‘or ‘B’ and even both, the destination is the same in the service of the nation in the Army of today.

Everyone can attest that their sacrifices have guaranteed them a prestigious place in history. Under the Buhari Presidency, the Nigerian Army has surpassed expectations and even those who shy away from confessing it publicly, exclaim it in privacy. It has handled the insurgency decisively and these deeds have not gone unnoticed.

But as usual, a lot of Nigerians only identify and align the perfection of Gen. Buratai and the Nigerian Army to the counter-insurgency and other Internal Security (IS) operations. But that’s the lacuna in human perception earlier hinted. The truth is that the Nigerian Army is also famed endearingly in handling other issues bordering on security in Nigeria outside terrorism. A Nigeria without an Army would have gone extinct by now.

Soldiers have been the rescuers and saving grace of Nigeria on many precarious public security threats. Normally, the Presidency issues the orders for the deployment of the Army over security issues that have overwhelmed civil security. And each of the interventions of soldiers on Internal Security has resolved the problem quietly in favour of Nigeria’s peace and security.

And manifold examples are handy. No Nigerian will dispute that Nigeria’s eighth democratic republic would have been an illusion if not because of the intervention of the Nigerian Army. The country’s politicians who are badged perpetually as power monks ganged-up to forcefully wrest power from the incumbent who was re-contesting for second term and the popular choice of Nigerian masses.

There were flyers from meetings in their secret shrines, especially by some opposition elements that the 2019 elections should be bloodily rigged in their favour. Political thugs and election riggers were empowered to execute the job. It was scary and disturbing.

Arms and ammunitions were stockpiled in different parts of Nigeria, ready to be unleashed on Nigerians on election-day. Bloodshed was already prepared and hovering in the air for Nigerians, only waiting in the offing to be unleashed on the d-day.

President Buhari got wind of it. He acted on intelligence reports immediately in national interest, by deploying Nigerian Army to complement civil security in the 2019 electoral exercise. Soldiers saved the day, as there were attempts of violence, but the initiators were not given a chance to carry out the evil by the Army.

All two segments of national elections were conducted with near zero level of violence and bloodbath. The professionalism and neutrality of the Nigerian Army in the exercise is applauded to date.

Those enjoying the success of that election and the stability of Nigeria’s transition from democracy to democratic government, least remember that Gen. Buratai and soldiers laid a smooth bed for them, by acting as defence bulwarks. The plotters were stopped and failed woefully to accomplish the deadly plots of violently disrupting the elections at the detriment of the lives of Nigerians.

Likewise, in the face of the ravaging deadly Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria, measures to control its spread in the country were brazenly abused by Nigerians. Civil security drafted to enforce lockdown and restriction of movements, with the imposition of stay-at-home order by the Presidency, undeniably compromised the process by assisting the populace to flout the order to imperil public health

Again, only Nigerian soldiers deployed to parts of Nigeria to enforce the stay-at-home order that has lessened the impact of Covid-19 spread in Nigeria. Or else, the country would have been in the hottest furnace of another national problem, recording thousands of infections and deaths daily.

Gen. Buratai has proved in this instance too, that the Nigerian Army is after public good. But how many Nigerians ever genuinely sit back and reflect on these to say, “thank you” to the Nigerian Army and Gen. Buratai? Therefore, it is not baffling when knowledge of Gen. Buratai or Nigerian Army’s messianic roles in service and protection of the nation is narrowed down to only Boko Haram.

It is amazing that people only talk about Buratai's heroism on terrorism combats and forgetting the other equally very sensitive areas where the Army has come first and stainless in the course of interventions. Has anybody ever cared to know what Niger Delta militancy, armed banditry and cattle rustling would have done to Nigeria without the Army?

And what ethno-religious crisis, herdsmen/farmers inferno, violent separatists agitations, and communal clashes would have done to the challenges of insecurities in Nigeria had the Army been unresponsive? Gen. Buratai and the Nigerian Army’s patriotism have indisputably earned them a colorfully prestigious place in the nation’s Hall of fame. The day of a formal festivity in celebration of these great heroes and heroines would certainly come.


Odoma wrote this piece from Abuja,

WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE PEOPLE OF KOGI STATE FROM ALL DISEASES


The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to reports in sections of today's press credited to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General, National Centre for Disease Control (DG NCDC) insinuating that states which are yet to record cases of COVID-19 are either negligent in testing and tracing, or actively hiding, the disease within their territories. 


Since Kogi State is one of only 3 states in the country yet to record any case of Covid-19, and indeed the DG NCDC is quoted to have mentioned us by name, we find the said comments, along with the unfair attempt to name, defame and shame us incredibly distressing. 


Kogi State confesses that she is not aware the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria is a one-legged race to see which state can put as many cases as possible into the national incident basket, and even if such were to be the case, the current administration in Kogi State does not play such games with the lives and psychology of her people.


The Governor of Kogi State does not believe that increasing the burden on the overwhelmed NCDC and the other agencies cum resources labouring in the frontlines of our response to this deadly pandemic, when neither case nor cause for such has genuinely risen in the state, is helping the country in any way. 


Kogi State has religiously followed all the NCDC and World Health Organization (WHO) CoviD-19 advisories, both for identifying cases and preventing spread. 


We have also adhered strictly to the various guidelines from, and directives of, the Federal Government, customised to improve both efficiency and efficacy within the peculiarities of our own circumstances. 


While we are not surprised that they have worked for us so far in keeping our state CoviD-19 free, we do find it disconcerting that the lead agency in the fight is possibly expressing doubt in their efficacy while simultaneously denouncing us for following her own guidelines. 


In fact, we built our self-assessment app hosted at kogicovid19.gov.ng around the NCDC's checklist for 'suspected and high risk' cases and as at last week it has been visited nearly 200,000 times with over 14,000 completed self-assessments out of which only about 60 presented cause for further investigation which then failed to meet the Covid-19 spectrum. 


As of today being Tuesday the 28th Day of April, 2020 we insist that Kogi State has no confirmed case of Covid-19, or any case to the knowledge of our vigilant medical structures across the state which matches the suspected or high risk factors for it. If the situation changes at this very moment we shall not hesitate for a second before alerting the NCDC. 


Convinced that we have not erred in any way to deserve censure from a body we have obeyed without complaint, even when the result has been serious disruptions to our society and way of life, we however reiterate that we shall not capitulate to intimidation of any kind.


Accordingly, if the latest position is to forward all cases of cough, catarrh, fever and allied febrile and respiratory ailments occurring in Kogi State to the NCDC unvetted as possible CoviD-19 cases, we demand a firm and public advisory to that effect from the agency, and not the indirect (and documented) pressure which we have come under this week from high up the hierarchy of the agency.


We are thus left with no choice than to issue this rejoinder, both for the records, and to avoid being unfairly victimised or stigmatised howsoever the highly fluid coronavirus curve/situation develops in future. 


Such comments as were attributed to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu in the offending news reports, if indeed the NCDC head was not misquoted by a mischievous newsman, can only be described as unfair, unfortunate and dubious. 


They are also inherently subversive of the Federal Government's herculean efforts to keep as much of Nigeria as possible free of CoviD-19, not to mention how they undermine the  good faith and trust displayed by Kogi and other states in complying with the NCDC's directives. 


Assuming, but not accepting, that the head of the NCDC was neither misquoted nor quoted out of context, and if a strategy is actually in play, for instance the development of herd immunity to the coronavirus in the general populace (with all the scientific gray areas and dangers of mass deaths associated with that model), should state governments not be officially informed and carried along?


We sincerely hope the NCDC and Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu will quickly come out to repudiate or retract those dangerous comments (whichever is applicable) in order to minimise damage to the mutuality of trust and cooperation which we need to continue working together through this pandemic.


For how can we, or for that matter, any other state in the Federation which cares for her people, continue to exercise faith in, and compliance with, the NCDC's guidelines if there is even a scintilla of suspicion that rather than working with us to prevent the spread of this deadly virus, the agency has an ulterior motive to see it spread through the length and breadth of the land?


For a better understanding of the forces truly at work behind this interview we now have some questions for the NCDC in the hope that her answers will shed light on recent events of a curious nature which we are investigating as a State:

Must every State in Nigeria record cases of COVID-19 considering that not even China, the origin and for a while the epicentre of the outbreak, experienced it in every province?

In the light of known science about diagnosis and prognosis of Covid-19 and given that it has been several months since we started hearing of the so-called asymptomatic carriers, is it possible for such individuals to remain so indefinitely - neither showing symptoms themselves nor infecting anyone else in proximity to them? 

What informed the position of Dr. Ihekweazu that states not yet affected with the virus in Nigeria are hiding cases or was he expressing an expected outcome? 

The NCDC set certain criteria for people who should be tested, have those criteria changed, and if yes, when, and why was it not communicated to states via the usual official channels? 

Are we moving to a stage of random testing? Does the Centre now have the resources and capacity to test all Nigerians?

Can the NCDC explain her certainty that Kogi State is among those who are hiding cases? 

Does the NCDC know anything about the recent rush by known fake news merchants on social media  to raise persistent false alarms on the alleged escape of COVID-19 patients from NCDC isolation centres in neighbouring States into Kogi State? 

If the answer to the above is affirmative, what informed such belief and why did the NCDC deny that there were such escapes when health authorities in the state approached her for confirmation after each rumour spread?

Given the devastation wrought by the disease in several locations across the country including in health institutions where patients or their doctors have tried to hide cases of COVID19, does the NCDC believe that any right thinking Governor will hide cases in his State? 

Assuming a Governor were to exhibit such mental imbalance as to attempt to hide cases of COVID-19, does the NCDC believe he will not only do so without the body count exploding but that he will also receive the connivance of the medical, media, civil society and traditional institutions in his state, as well as the general public? 

If Kogi State did not hide Lassa Fever cases which have killed more Nigerians comparatively, why should it hide cases of COVID-19 cases which is attracting more global attention at the moment?


The work at hand remains gargantuan, for the NCDC and for all the states, and while we await the answers to the above queries, we urge the NCDC to continue investing her whole focus on the daunting task of containing the coronavirus rather than generating needless controversies which  distract her and her partners from the fight at hand. 


As a Government, we are ever willing to follow the guidelines already set by NCDC to protect our people as well as all lawful upgrades to them in future. We will therefore not hesitate to present samples of people who genuinely fall into the established category of symptoms to the Centre. We shall continue to work with the NCDC and other health authorities to keep Kogi State free of CoviD-19 and other forms of diseases. 


The Kogi State Government also commends the leader of our nation, President Muhammadu Buhari for rising gallantly in defense of the Nigerian people at this trying time of global health apprehensions. 


Difficult times define great leaders and the President has proven to be a capable leader for Nigeria at this time characterised by a willingness to empower experts and give them the stage in the interest of the nation, and beneficiaries of that trust like the NCDC and state governments must not mismanage or abuse same for any subterranean motive.  


We thank the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health and of course the NCDC for all they have done and will continue to do until this pandemic is contained and crushed. 


We wholeheartedly accept our responsibility as a Government to ensure the wellness of our people. We shall continue to do whatever needs to be done to ensure COVID-19 does not set foot in Kogi State.


 We also urge the people of Kogi State to remain calm and rest assured that we have never hidden, we are not hiding, nor will we ever hide, any case of Covid-19 in Kogi State. We urge them to ignore all and every statement to that effect as nothing but malicious and dangerously instigatory rumours which government will henceforth deal with as appropriate. 


Signed: 
KINGSLEY FANWO 
Hon. Commissioner for Information and Communication

APPENDIX: HOW HAS KOGI COMBATTED COVID-19? 
 

Lest anyone accuse us of ineptitude or riding on sheer luck, we wish to point out that in addition to everything else, Kogi State has had an excellent history of managing epidemics in the past. 


The excellent network we already had in place for managing Lassa Fever and other disease outbreaks long before CoviD-19 appeared on the scene provided a framework upon which we founded our current structures for containing the virus. 


We inaugurated a CoviD-19 and Lassa Fever Squadron Committee chaired by the Deputy Governor of Kogi State to enable us tackle the former without losing track of the latter, which was already claiming casualties across the nation at the time. 


The Committee which is overseen by the Governor himself is composed of a broad spectrum of medical practitioners, Civil Society Organization, Religious Leaders, traditional institutions and other stakeholders has thus far done a great job in keeping both diseases at bay. 


The Kogi State Government has developed and deployed measures which have proved effective: 

Our people are adequately sensitised in all languages and locations throughout the state about the coronavirus. 

Our people and their properties are adequately secured in their homes and when they venture out by a state security infrastructure which is permanently on high alert. Since the lockdown began, we have arrested at least 21 kidnappers in addition to many perpetrators of other crimes.

We have set up 3 Isolation/Containment Centres in the State, which currently lie unused (as we indeed hope they will remain until this pandemic is over). 

We have, through the Kogi State Ministry of Health, deployed health personnel to all the 239 Wards of the State to help sensitize the people on the dangers of the virus and also in contact tracing. 

We provided emergency and toll free numbers for anyone who suspects a case of Covid-19 to call in at no cost and we have responded to many calls, all of which turned out to be false alarms. 

We ensured that the economic disconnect which drives people to risky behaviours at times like this are minimised through a curated lockdown system which sustains a level of business activities while reducing the risk of contagion. 

As part of our controlled lockdown procedures for social distancing we shutdown schools, places of worship and events with mass gatherings and sent state workers on Grade Levels 1 to 13 on paid furlough. 

We banned  certain means of public transportation like motorcycles and tricycles which tended to increase exposure. 

As mentioned earlier in this piece we were the first state to officially release a web application for self-assessment which has proved to be popular and effective in reducing panic among the populace. The Federal Government and several state governments have since launched similar apps. 

What we expect from the National Centre for Disease Control is commendation of our efforts to contain the outbreak of the pandemic.

A coalition of Civil Society groups have conlcuded plans to drag the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, over what it termed the ongoing monumental corruption, currently taking place at the Commission. The group which includes the Centre for Change, Centre for Public Accountability and others said it has become necessary, to demand for a thorough investigation of the commission’s activities, under the Interim Management Committee, whose activities it says has become counterproductive and may totally make it impossible for the Commission to futher deliver on its mandate, across the Niger Delta region.

In a statement signed on behalf of the groups by Comrade Atani John and Olufemi Lawson the coalition want the EFCC, to probe series of “frivolous” contracts being awarded to phony companies, among which it says were, the reported Lassa fever equipment contract, in which over N4 billion naira was alleged to have been misappropriated. Also is the fraudulent award of a N4.5 billion contract to a company belonging to a relative of the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr Godswill Akpabio. The coalition also accused the IMC of NDDC of already paying the company over one billion Naira, in clear violation of the due process and operational guidelines of the NDDC.

The group also said it is aware of plans, by some desperate officials of the commission, to conceal evidences that will aid a thorough investigation of the NDDC’s activities and part of steps being consider includes setting fire on some offices housing vital information and documents, regarding contract awards by the NDDC.

It urged security agencies to place special surveillance on the NDDC headquarters and offices, in order to avert the evil plan.

The group also said it is engaging stakeholders and relevant authorities in the niger Delta, to join the call, as this remains the only way, towards ensuring the survival of the agency, which has now been turned to a cash cow, for some greedy and self serving politicians.

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace (NIFROP) has announced an extension to its 21-day fasting and prayer till the end of Ramadan.

According to NIFROP, this is in light of the prevailing circumstances in the country and a show of solidarity to its members as well as other Muslims around the country.

The group made this known in a statement signed by Chairman, Board of Trustees, Archbishop Julius Ediwe, on Tuesday.

NIFROP, however, encouraged all members to be steadfast in the prayer for Nigeria against the further spread of COVID-19, as well as an end to the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.

It further declared that the end of terrorism is imminent as “God has revealed to us during our fasting and prayers that indeed Abubakar Shekau would be captured and Nigeria shall be free from the clutches of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist activities”.

Read full statement below:

The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace wishes to inform the general public of the extension of its 21 Day Fasting and Prayer session for divine intervention in halting the further spread of COVID-19, the impending economic meltdown as well as the capture of Abubakar Shekau and an end to the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP in Nigeria.

The 21 Day Fasting and Prayer session would continue till the end of the Ramadan in light of the prevailing circumstances in the country and a show of solidarity to our Muslim brothers and sisters, and members of NIFROP, as well as other Muslims around the country.

NIFROP has been in the vanguard of uniting adherents of different faiths under one umbrella in prayer and supplication to God for divine intervention in the affairs of Nigeria.

We are standing by the word of God in the Book of Mathew 6:16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."

We encourage all our members across the country to be steadfast in the prayer for Nigeria against the further spread of COVID-19, as well as an end to the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.

We wish to state that the end of the Boko Haram/ISWAP group is imminent as God has revealed to us during our fasting and prayers that indeed Abubakar Shekau would be captured and Nigeria shall be free from the clutches of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist activities.

NIFROP has been connecting with our members all around the country through a virtual platform through sermons and words of exaltations from Pastors and Imams from different churches and mosques across the country.

We are mandated to pray together in the book of Ephesians 3:16-19 which states that "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

We wish to state that our prayers and fasting programme is structured through an online format where our members link up to an online platform where we pray together and after that break our fast.

In the past days, we have prayed for God's intervention in the affairs of Nigeria. We have also prayed for the grace of God upon the life of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, to continue to lead Nigeria with the fear and grace of God.

We have also prayed for our troops engaging the Boko Haram terrorist in North-East Nigeria. We pray for God in his infinite mercies to continue to protect them and grant them victory.

The leadership and members of NIFROP felicitates with all Muslims in Nigeria in the month of Ramadan fasting, prayer, and reflection.

NIFROP, since the commencement of its prayer and fasting programme, our Unity Church and Unity Masjid is reaching out to over 5000 families through the provision of food items and direct cash transfers to ease hardship brought about by the compulsory lockdown in the country and the negative impact of Covid-19 on our daily living. With the support of our brothers and sisters all over the world, we will be able to increase this number as it may please the lord of host.

May God, in His infinite mercies, continue to protect Nigerians and the rest of humanity in this challenging period.

...Donated to other maternity patients...

The Chief of Staff To The Executive Governor of Kogi State, Pharmacist Abdulkareem Moh’d Jamiu Asuku on Tuesday visited one of the beneficiaries of the Asuku4GYB Health intervention who recently delivered to a set of triplet.

The Chief of Staff through the NGO cleared the medical bills and donated generously to the family while he equally instructed them to reach out to his Head of Health outreach Comrade Abdulrahim Ohindase for future needs of the newly born.

Pharmacist Abdulkareem Jamiu also made generous donations to other maternity patients to meet up their individual financial needs.

The COS commended the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja who accompanied him to the maternity ward for the good work the hospital has done assuring that the hospital would continue to enjoy robust partnership with the State Government

The Chief Medical Director, Dr. Olatunde Oladeji Alabi lauded the usual efforts of the Chief of Staff in offering intervention to the down trodden in the society encouraging him to do more.

Signed:-
Abubakar Y. Mujahid
Special Assistant To Chief of Staff.
� - Yahaya AbdulMutoleeb

Clerics across religious groups have launched a 21 days of fasting and prayers to seek divine intervention for an end to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the success of Nigeria’s military against Boko Haram terrorists as they make a final push to contain terrorists’ threat to the country.


The clerics, under the National Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP) said the fasting and prayers will be remotely held with prayers sessions streamed online to conform with the requirement for social distancing as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19. 


This round of fasting and prayer, which kicks off today is significantly different from previous prayer sessions held by the group for which its members congregated to pray while urging those that cannot be physically present to pray from their homes.


Bishop Sunday Garuba, who is NIFROP’s President said “For the fasting and prayers we have launched, clerics of the Christian and Muslim faiths will be joining the prayers from across the country and from several other locations from across the world. We are mindful of the need for social distancing at a time like this so each person will pray from the confines of their homes while we all connect through online streaming of key activities. In fact, we urge all faithful to obey the directive to stay at home and observe social distancing.


“This fasting and prayers is our contribution and support for the ongoing global efforts to prevent the killer Corona Virus from spreading and killing more people. We will be interceding for God to divinely stop the virus in its track while giving knowledge to our doctors and scientists to find the weak point of the virus and be able to develop solutions, be it vaccines or cures. Humanity need the mercy and compassion of God at a time like this.


“We are assured by the words of God in 1 John 5:14 that says, ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward him (God), that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.’ We are going to use our prayer session to ask God for forgiveness, as God for an end to the plague of Corona Virus, ask God for healing and recovery.” He said.


Bishop Garuba revealed that NIFROP, which is also known as the Unity Church and Unity Masjid, will be using the period to support vulnerable families with food items and direct cash transfer to those who have fallen on hard times within the period.


He explained that “During the 21- Days period, the Unity Church and Unity Masjid will be embarking on intercession for God's intervention, we will also distribute food stuffs with other essential palliatives and cash transfers on daily basis to indigent families.”


On the ongoing military efforts to clear Boko Haram out of Nigeria, Bishop Garuba stressed that NIFROP will specifically pray for the troops and their commanders to succeed in their quest to restore the northeast of Nigeria into an area where people are free to worship God according to their conviction.

He said the prayers will expose more about those that have been hiding behind Boko Haram and using the terrorists to torment Nigerians.

By Ahmed Badamosi

The Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers Without Borders France), ASF France, has added its name to the list of foreign organizations who see nothing good in Nigeria.


It is well known that there are some groups which never pull the attention of the rest of the world to any positive happening in Nigeria but never miss the opportunity to cast the country in a bad light at the slightest chance.


ASF France has joined this army of naysayers, when in the bid to gain relevance, interfered in the internal matters of Nigeria by issuing a biased statement against its security agencies.


Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, is always of interest to the international community and its role as a stabilising regional force has long been established.


Due to its significance to the world, mushroom organizations, who have run out of ideas plying their trades in other climes without getting any attention, try to take advantage to seduce the needed attention.


This is what the Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers Without Borders France), ASF France did recently by its so-called intervention in the internal affairs of Nigeria where it says it is condemning reported cases of brutality and extra-judicial killing of civilians by security agencies, in the course of enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown.


The ASF France, hd in a statement through its head of office in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu, said it views the action of security agents as reported by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, “of having killed 18 citizens in the first 14 days of the enforcement of lockdown regulations on the COVID-19 pandemic,” as unacceptable and a direct disregard of their role as protectors of the society.


But in trying to appear as protecting the Nigerian citizenry, the ASF France has exposed the ulterior motive behind its so-called intervention and exhibited basic ignorance about the issues it claimed to be trying to address.


That the ASF France had set out from the beginning to do a hatchet job to discredit the security agencies is evidenced on the fact that it relied one hundred per cent on a report by an agency indicting other agencies, but did not conduct an independent investigation to verify the allegation in a matter as sensitive as alleged extrajudicial killings.


Neither did it make any effort to contact any of the agencies alleged to have carried out the judicial killing to confirm if the allegations are true.

As an organisation which claims to be defending the right of citizens, the ASF is well aware that the principle of fair hearing is fundamental to justice and should have in this case extended it to the security agencies before rushing to the media with what has turned to be a one-sided and obtuse report.


It would appear there are certain international bodies always out to hinder security agencies in Nigeria from doing their work and would always display their mischievous penchants for exaggeration of errors and witch-hunting at the slightest opportunity they get.


Not long ago, it was Amnesty International, AI, that advertised itself as ever willing to look the other way when terrorists blow up humans in their hundreds through either bomb or by the use of other devices but would find fault the moment the Nigerian Army or the other security agencies are called to stop the carnage by the terrorists who are well armed and who have made their intentions to overthrow the government of Nigeria known.


The hypocrisy and selfish intent of the AI were exposed by their constant claims that it is the security agencies that are killing the terrorists while not mentioning any atrocity committed by the terrorists.

It seems the ASF is now trying to continue from where the AI seemed to have stopped but has picked on the wrong issue.


The Government of Nigeria, worried by the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, otherwise known as COVID-19, the world over, took certain measures which include the closure of international borders, restriction of internal movements, maintaining citizen social distancing and directing a stay at home order, to stop the spread of the pandemic.

To ensure compliance, the government then mandated the security agencies to monitor the stay at home order for their own safety.


The law enforcers, driven by a sense of patriotism and the need to serve humanity, did not mind the risks involved but stepped into action to ensure compliance with the government’s order.


In the course of achieving that, those found to have contravened the laws were brought to the mobile courts established for the purpose and tried. The speed with which the security agencies attended to the matter helped increase the level of compliance in all the states of the federation.


This in effect has resulted in a stoppage of community transmission, identification of those who had come in contact with positive cases and generally brought down the number of contraction as people began to stay at home.


While a vast majority of people, including the government of other countries expressed joy knowing well the impact of what an explosion could cause and are commending Nigeria for how it is handling the situation, all that the ASF France could see about the development is negative.


It is instructive that while the ASF France did not commend the efforts of the Nigerian government in halting COVID-19 in the statement, it made heavy weather out of some infractions that occurred in the course of ensuring compliance by indicting Nigerian security agencies of killings not minding that it is doing so on a false premise and without proper investigation.


Groups like the ASF must be reminded that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and is well aware of how to handle its internal affairs without undue interference by self-serving originations.


The issue of COVID-19 is a sensitive matter and it borders on the health, wealth, security and general well being of the nation hence steps taken for the general good should not be viewed from an adverse perspective nor misinterpreted and cast in a bad light.


The essence of deploying security personal is because they possess the requisite facility for monitoring, investigating and apprehending offenders and it is not only Nigeria that has involved the security agencies. South Africa, on Wednesday, mobilized 70,000 of its security personnel to ensure strict compliance.


The security agencies as far as COVID-19 are concerned,  have been going about their duties with the utmost sense of decency and decorum and should not be smudged with the tar of isolated but regrettable incidents.


So far, the mobile courts have heard and dispensed with 90 per cent of the cases brought before them. This is proof that the security agencies have not been arbitrary in handing the issues but observed, following due process.


So far, no Nigerian has reported that security agents broke into their home and dragged them to answer for charges they are not aware of.

All the cases have been of those that violated the stay-at-home order.


From the various reactions of the offenders, particularly in Abuja where a man even removed his clothes and another lady who drove past a blockade, it is clear that the security agents have made a tremendous effort to maintain civility even when provoked.


So, therefore, this is not the time for any organization to begin to query the role of the security agencies in their bid to ensure that COVID-19 is defeated. This early campaign to cast a slur on the conduct of the military is a subtle way of encouraging lawlessness and would not augur well for the country if security agents are blackmailed into not doing their jobs.


A responsible civil society organization should have occupied itself with contributing to the success of the campaign by championing the cause of defeating COVID-19 through focusing on issues like the regular washing of hands, maintaining social distancing and maintaining basic hygiene rather than devote its attention and resources on attacking agencies of government trying to do their best in the circumstances they found themselves.


If the problem of the ASF officials is that they only understand French and the French ways of doing things, they should have asked Nigerians who understand the English language to explain to them what is going on.

That way, they would have appreciated what the Nigerian security agencies are doing, thus saving themselves the embarrassment of advertising their ignorance and lending their services to unacceptably interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation.

 

Badamosi wrote this piece from Abuja.

By Idoko Ainoko

Peter Ayodele Fayose’s theatrics during his time as governor of Ekiti State is sorely missed. In one episode, he chanted “I am in severe pains” after an incident involving the police. However, his exit may have birthed a new entertainer, with superior larks and mastery. Even Fayose would be proud.

Today, the convener of Concerned Nigerians and self-styled activist, Deji Adeyanju is in severe pains on a scale that rivals Fayose’s a thousand-fold. His anguish bothers on how our troops have been killing terrorists like flies and ants. A bitter fellow, he is depressed realizing that the end of Boko Haram terrorism has come. His resentment is that 105 terrorists were killed in Buni Gari. He is reeling from hot metal and fire meted on the jihadists, sending them to their graves. Adeyanju is in pains because Boko Haram terrorism is going to end soon and he will be out of business.

Crisis entrepreneurs like Adeyanju are facing hard times with COVID-19 and no longer see terrorism financing as lucrative at the moment. His pockets are dry and the economy is bad. He is in pains because Nigerians are united and standing by the Army. The end of Mr. Shekau has come and Deji will continue to remain in pains till death.

Adeyanju’s pains are about to get worse. A major source of his monetized pseudo-activism is about to get vaporized as confirmed by the news that Abubakar Shekau is weighing surrender as an option in his bid to avoid being killed in battle like his followers he fooled to their death.

Since Chadian President Idris Deby learnt to turn the heat on Boko Haram terrorists after understanding that wild predators cannot be kept as pets, Shekau no longer find safety slinking into Chad, Niger or Cameroon, after carrying out attacks in Nigeria.

A military operation by the Nigerian Army after Deby’s epiphany has turned the heat on Boko Haram terrorists, once wrongly perceived as invincible by those who didn’t know better, in a way that death is visiting the terrorists faster than their daily food ration. The seriousness of the operation can be gauged by the realization that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai relocated to the battle front to direct the war from there.

The message is clear to Shekau, hence the reported overtures and his body language point to an eventual surrender. The Coordinator of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General John Enenche, confirmed that much as a guest on a programme on national television. Refreshingly, the position of the military is that Shekau is welcome to surrender; he will be processed accordingly to internationally accepted procedures.

Herein lies Adeyanju’s pains. He cannot begin to consider life without the field assets that he and his cohorts of fraudulent activists persistently use to harass the government of the day. He rushed to post on social media that “The Military says it will accept the offer of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau to surrender. Buhari is the number 1 enemy of this nation.”

The import of his post is that Shekau’s surrender should not be accepted. The only display of common sense is his decision not to outline in detail how the military’s willingness to accept Shekau’s surrender makes President Buhari the number one enemy of Nigeria. His track record as a Buhari abuser has attenuated one to disregard irresponsible barbs like this from Adeyanju but the opportunity should not be lost in educating him and his ilk since they need to understand that military engagement and prosecuting a war is not the same as being bankrolled by dubious politicians to constitute nuisance on the streets and in the public opinion space.

First, let us get the downside out of the way. By surrendering, Shekau will escape the fate and treatment he visited on others. He would escape a violent end and transit into being a high value inmate in whatever facility he is processed to. There is the outside risk of a handful die hard terrorist staging attacks to demand for his freedom – but that is an outside chance for the very reason that his surrender will be treated as a betrayal by his followers so they will not want to have anything to do with him. That said, it is important to look at the up sides of a Shekau surrender.

An immediate benefit of Shekau surrendering is that there will be no last stand on his part. Such last stand fight by a terrorist leader natural comes at a huge human cost. His ISIS counterpart, al-Baghdadi had explosives strapped to his body when he was killed. Shekau still has a handful of maniacs around him and they will do their outmost to make it an expensive victory for any unit that is capturing him. Is Adeyanju suggesting that one more life should be lost when the criminal in question is willing to turn himself in?

A capture of Shekau in battle will inspire whatever remnant is left of his terror group to attempt spectacular rescue bids similar to what Adeyanju’s associates in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) had contemplated on several occasions. Perhaps Adeyanju prefers that Shekau is captured in battle like the IMN leader, Mr. Ibraheem el-Zakzaky so that he can again take to the streets in paid protest to demand the release of Shekau. Nothing can be put past this money-driven activist once it has a currency sign next to it.

A third possibility that Adeyanju possibly prefers is Shekau being killed in battle. While this is satisfying for the average person, it is the least desired outcome for several reasons. One, the killing of al-Baghdadi made it possible for ISIS to name a replacement, killing Shekau will allow the remaining terrorists to name a new leader but by surrendering the terrorist would have naturally help kill the group he led because some of his people will surrender alongside him.

Two, a Shekau that turns himself in alive will make an interesting interview subject for investigators – revelations that will come from him are bound to be earth shaking because persons, names, roles and complicity will be revealed. This must be what Adeyanju fears, his role in the Boko Haram days of terror and those of his associates could be laid bare if Shekau were to ever surrender.

The question can now be put forward. Who is the actual number enemy of Nigeria? A President Buhari, who stomached vile insults to his person from fake activists while dedicatedly wearing down Boko Haram, through his preforming military chiefs, to a point that Shekau is considering a surrender? Or, Adeyanju, a failed activist who has suddenly become jittery because a murderous terrorist’s surrender will either expose his shady dealings with deranged killers or lead to loss of revenue for him?

The answer is as clear as day light. It will be to Mr. President’s credit that he cleaned up the mess created by Adeyanju’s sponsors. The paid activist, on the other hand, will go through life with the pain of knowing that he stood on the wrong side of history.

Ainoko is a public affairs commentator and writes from Kaduna

By Ayokunle Adeniji

A couple of things must be involved when an individual with Omoyele Sowore’s assumed standing decides to downgrade his #RevolutionNow protest into #PotPanProtest. He might have finally seen #RevolutionNow for the aberration that it was, the very thing that made the movement collapsed even before it properly took off in spite of the fact that it was touted as the mother of all protests, Nigeria’s version of Arab Spring that will finally overthrow a democratically elected government and hand over the reins of power to the opposition the one led by a Sowore, who only garnered some 38,000 votes in the 2019 election.

It could be that introspection finally forced Sowore to re-assess his situation. Revolution is idealistic. Hunger is real. What better way to tell people that he is more about the culinary gains and not the improvement of the lots of Nigerians as he likes to pretend. He struck on a symbolic note with the genius result that pots and pans became the symbols of his supposed protest against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Afterall, the pots and pans have to be empty to be beaten upon and create the din that is sending Sowore into ecstatic mind trips.

A third possibility is even less palatable. Sowore is no stranger to megalomania, a twisted strain of god syndrome – a perverted assumption that he alone holds the answers to Nigeria’s problems. Could he have become bipolar in the period he was in custody while standing trial for treason, a sojourn that derived from his call for nationwide mayhem with the #RevolutionNow excuse. The choice of pots and pans, while on the surface may be symbolic of hunger, holds a deeper meaning for Sowore because the raucous noise from the affairs seems to be feeding the cravings of a manic-depressive.

Videos of participants in the distasteful protest, shared to Sowore’s Facebook wall, depict what is to be expected. An assortment of people with anger issues arising mostly from their perceived failure in life or in what they should have done better. Let’s ignore Senator Shehu Sani, who rolled out an expensive non-stick pan that gave away the game that this protest is more about political bitterness than it is about the suffering poor, who have been hit hardest by the lockdown imposed in scores of countries of the world to curtail COVID-19 from exterminating humanity.

Whatever Sowore’s mental status is, he has no justification for reducing a matter of human misery into comic relief for the twisted pleasure of his social media followers. It is like kicking those affected by the virus in the teeth and rubbing their faces in the mud. Such insensitivity from someone who boasts about fighting for human rights is irresponsible and condemnable irrespective of whatever justification is made for it. Reducing hunger into a joke creates the risk for those who should intervene becoming de-sensitized to the realities of families suffering deprivation.

The travesty is that Sowore works with international partners, who are given to political correctness, people that abhor referencing situations or persons in a way that disparages or attracts negativity. All he needed to have done was to run his #PotPanProtest through the matrix applied to international engagements and he would have possibly come up with an acceptable execution plan for his desired attack on the government. That way he will have a politically correct approach and terminologies that do not criminalize hunger or glamourized those that are well fed to the point of making mockery of the have-nots.

The ravages of COVID-19 are real and serious. The over 182,000 deaths recorded as at the time of writing pale into insignificance compared with what is to come for the living. The global economy has taken a hit. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is concerned that 195 million jobs can be lost to the impact of the virus. The United Nations has warned of biblical famine due to the virus, which must be noted is not peculiar to Nigeria.

Yet all Sowore can think of is to localize a global crisis as a result of the pandemic in a manner that suggests that only Nigeria is afflicted or that the blame lies on one political party or the president. This kind of slant should have anyone that has ever relied on Sahara Reporters, published by Sowore, to have a rethink about what mental, psychological and emotional poison they have been fed. They should be alarmed that this slanting of the situation was not a product of error, but a well-orchestrated plan that have other aspects being executed by people in the same circuit as the Sahara Reporters publisher.

Yes. The government response could have been better and that is the feedback from citizens to their governments the world over, even in the countries that were labelled as “advanced economies” before COVID-19 struck. But Sowore’s #PotPanProtest must be one of the few instances were recalcitrant elements are attempting to hijack the people’s pain to revive a failed revolution, which was misguided in the first place. This is cowardice. Bravery would have seen him retain his #RevolutionNow war chant and see how quickly he ends up in jail.

The reality is that the government is giving palliatives and food assistance, but we all know that this cannot go around. Mosques, churches and other religious groups are giving relief packages in addition to organizations and philanthropists that are throwing in their support. Even at personal level, individuals are being their brothers’ keepers and keeping families out of the grip of hunger. This is the story in several countries of the world as the virus brought out in most people the humanity that was once thought lost even though it also unmasked the monster in someone like Sowore.

If Sowore is truly interested in the starving masses as he put it, there are several channels available to render assitance without making mockery of those that will go to bed without dinner tonight and without hope of waking up to a breakfast. He can for instance distribute palliatives to the poorest and most vulnerable that have not been reached by government using the huge funds that he leveraged from people using Sahara Reporters as a battering ram. He could also go to his client and play his charm on them to take responsibility for feeding specific vulnerable communities while he can also convince the mega-Bishops in the land to consider increasing whatever charities they are already involved in.

It is painful that as lofty as these ideas are, they are beyond Sowore, who is too far consumed by the hatred he harbours for President Buhari, and whoever will occupy the office after him (he has a penchant for hating whoever occupies the office of the President). His manic episodes, as confirmed by the beating of pots and pans, and the resulting depressive aftermaths have taken such strong hold of him that he will most likely degenerate into being suicidal. Things must not be allowed to get to this stage since he would still be rushed to a hospital should he make any attempt on his own life, which would only drain the available medical resources at a time when slowing down COVID-19 is the priority. Sowore should be placed on suicide watch because #PotPanProtest has clearly confirmed he is losing it.


Adeniji wrote from Lagos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4cbRii5cts

Nigeria is one of the countries in a long list of places where the COVID-19 pandemic is wrecking havoc. All sectors of the economy have felt the debilitating effects of the ailment.
The education sector is one of the worst affected areas in Nigeria. Activities at all levels of the educational system have been put on hold by the federal government.
Students have seen their academic calendar disrupted by the pandemic.

Cessation of studies is however not the only challenge confronting the students.
Presently, many students are stranded at most campuses of higher learning courtesy of the lockdown order. Returning to their bases have become virtually impossible.

"Starving has been the order of the day since this lockdown order was pronounced", Godwin Enobong, a Computer Science student of Abia State Polytechnic, told our reporter.

In a bid to ameliorate the plight of most of the stranded students, the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B (South South), led by its Coordinator, Comrade Etinyene Friday Offongekpe, has flagged off an intensive distribution of palliatives to the affected students.

The palliatives comprise mostly of food items.

So far, students of University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and Akwa Ibom State College of Education have benefitted.

Sensitization on the pandemic was also done by the NANS Zone B team.

The exercise is scheduled to continue throughout the zone in the coming days.

Speaking at the visited campuses, the Coordinator, Comr. Offongekpe reiterated NANS commitment to ensuring that the welfare of students is prioritized.

While advising them from indulging in acts capable of marring their educational pursuit, Offongekpe expressed optimism that the concerted efforts at tackling the scourge will culminate in its eradication.

The benefitting students spoke glowingly of the leadership of NANS ZONE B.
Unwana Ibanga Michael, a Year 2 Chemistry student of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, called on relevant authorities to emulate the gesture: "My family is based in Port Harcourt, I have been unable to return home since the lockdown order was given.
I wish to thank Comrade Offongekpe and NANS for this gesture. May other quarters emulate this widow's mite gesture, I am really grateful."

On his part, Precious Azubuike Nelson, a Philosophy student of the University of Uyo, also lauded the NANS Zone B leadership.
"As the NANS Zone B has deemed it necessary to reach out to us at this point in time, we are very elated as you can see. At least, we will have something to keep body and soul together for some days. God bless NANS Zone B."

It is on record that Comrade Offongekpe was the first student leader of NANS to kickstart the campaign against COVID-19 by providing facemasks, hand sanitizers as well as educating the students on possible preventive measures.

Offongekpe, a Communication Arts Student of University of Uyo, was elected in October 2019 at the delegates convention at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
A one time Worldwide President of Etim Ekpo Students Association succeeded Comrade Bishop Godson Okereke of Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State.

Since being inaugurated in December 2019, NANS ZONE B has been a beehive of activities.
The coordinator first embarked on campus facilities tour during which he met with management of institutions across the zone.
He had a closed-door meeting with the management of Ebonyi State University to resolve salient issues including tuition fees hikes, SUG election, students accommodation etc.
At Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Comrade Offongekpe also intervened in students and management issue which led to the settlement of the hostel allocation problem.

These and other intervention of Comrade Offongekpe embolden the rife belief that NANS ZONE B is in safe hands.
Long may the good works continue.

By Nkechi Odoma

After an exciting display of photoshopped actions by President Idriss Deby, in a manner which glaringly spited our troops, the Chadian leader is surely having blissful nights. He feels accomplished not because he is fighting terrorists, but for the simple reason that his plots of mockery has been successfully executed.

Deby was extremely elated because he sold a hoax to a docile gullible population and it flowed with him excitedly. A few disgruntled elements patronized his counterfeit ‘triumph' and heaped accolades on him. Deby knows deep down his soul that he has duped a complacent continent.

In Africa, there is the resentful tendency of leaders to use every opportunity in exploiting the peoples consciousness in their favour to gain political mileage. On the political chessboard, all is fair insofar as it confers victory or shores up the popularity rating of the schemer.

Boko Haram insurgency has been a problem in West Africa since 2009, particularly around the axis of Lake Chad Basin. The infiltration of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the region is also concentrated in the area over a year now. President Deby and his satanic comrades romanced the havoc terrorists have wrought for the region noiselessly and unperturbed.

Deby suddenly woke up one day to stage a movie scene claiming to be fighting Boko Haram. What a repentant heart. Christianity and the season of Easter especially, preaches about repentance and salvation. From this prism, one is tempted to pardon President Deby’s hocus-pocus. But outside the periphery, Deby is a loathsome character, revoltingly satanic and a trickster in the fame of Ghanaian fables.

But who cares in Nigeria about his antics or the demonic inner contraption of his wretched and evil heart? Certainly, nobody gives a damn about him, after all, not many Chadians cherish him any longer . It’s their exclusive burden. The people have acquiesced to his wickedness and that’s why they still tolerate him as their leader. He is free to hatch any evil against them.

But Deby’s attempt to pollute Nigeria and instigate Nigerians against our military is provocative. It violates international conventions. Even Africans do say, a man who sleeps in his house and puts his legs in another man’s house is gunning for trouble. President Deby is standing on this keg of gun powder, which might finally explode on him.

In 2016, when the Nigerian Army demystified the dreaded Sambisa forest, Boko Haram’s most fortified fortress, President Buhari did not rush to Chad to celebrate photo fair of this victory over insurgents. President Buhari didn’t photoshop and released the pictures to the media.

It is inexplicable and inexcusable for President Deby to throw mud into the faces of Nigerians this boldly. He has nicely derided Nigerians with his pretentious confrontation with Boko Haram insurgents in Chadian territory.

It even pains more infinitely to realize that President Deby is a symbol of deceit and leadership degeneration in Africa. For the clear- minded, what is incontrovertible in Deby’s latest actions is that he is not fighting terrorism. If he pretentiously and cowardly flinched before terrorists yesterday, he cannot make such loud noise today as fighter of terrorists.

The world should understand clearly that Chad under Deby is not fighting terrorism. President Deby is fighting for his own political survival, but has found the plank of terrorism a necessary tool to nourish his ambition." This is made manifest in the open secret about to be ratified alliance between the terrorists group (Boko haram/ISWAP) and a tribal opposition group in Chad attempting to take over his job.

Real warriors do not brag; they do not boast. The real victory in any war is not the ephemeral type, but the permanence of victory. Nigeria has recorded more victories against Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the last four years under the Buhari Presidency than Chad and every other interest put together in all tinges. Nigeria has conquered the terrorists several times, but did not make a carnival out of it, like Deby because it has not reached the terminal point.

In President Buhari’s time, Nigeria has retrieved all the 18 local government areas in the Northeast coercively annexed and occupied by Boko Haram insurgents. Nigeria has destroyed countless Boko Haram armoury bunkers in the country, including Sambisa forest. Nigeria has regained the freedom of tens of thousands of Nigerians held in Boko Haram’s secret gulags.

Nigeria has restored religious and traditional rulers forcefully deposed by insurgents in the Northeast. Nigeria has forced terrorists to confine their operations to the Lake Chad area. Nigeria’s counter-terrorism combats have more success narratives than Chad can ever approximate. But it is silent because the battle is in its final stages.

So, the disgruntled elements celebrating Deby’s circuit show should reflect deeper. The intense noise about Idris Deby of Chad fighting Boko Haram better than Nigeria is baseless and vexatious. It is hollow and outlandish. It is another fake news by fake activists and their league of idle congregants.

That President Deby is leading Chadian troops to clear Boko Haram /ISWAP terrorists from the Lake Chad Islands is far from the truth. In all ramifications, this sort of news can only be peddled by idlers and people who have medals in falsity. The propagandists are devoid of any idea about what Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and ombudsman of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai and Nigerian troops are doing in the Northeast.

Gen. Buratai is a terror to terrorists. He is a thorn in the flesh of terrorists. That’s why they attempted to kill him several times, but he defended himself and rather sent the insurgents who ambushed his path to their early graves.

However, what is indisputable is that Chad is not fighting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad. Even what President Deby did and garnished it with photo carnival had no nexus with terrorism. Deby and Chadian troops only summoned effeminate courage to confront Chadian rebels at Kelkoua, a tiny portion on the bank of the Lake Chad. Chad has the disreputable record of being a breeding ground for rebels.

The operation led by President Deby of Chad only cleared a mere 2% of the camps of Chadian rebels in the Lake Chad Islands. The whole world knows that 80% of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists are Chadian rebels. Virtually all of them are found in Lake Chad Islands within the Chadian territory.

Criminals have neither strict morals or bounds, so they stray into Nigeria from Chad to commit atrocities. Therefore, Idris Deby is fighting his own rebels which they have romanced and petted over time, but have gone berserk. The rebels have grown in strength and have become monstrous hence the Nigerian military is not allowing them the liberty to freely operate in Nigeria.

So, Chad has discovered it’s foolery of courting and dinning with rebels and terrorists and now fighting for its existential survival; while President Deby is exploiting it for his survival in power. Without mincing words, Chad should face its consuming quagmire and never to contemplate dragging Nigeria into its morass.


Odoma is President, Africa Arise for Change Network and wrote from Abuja.

Citizens Against Fake Activists (CAFA) is appalled by the tenuous lies being peddled by one troll factory under the auspices of Concerned Nigerians (CN) and its convener, Deji Adeyanju, who has now been proven to be working with interests that want to jeopardize Nigeria’s ability to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. It is important that the relevant security agencies immediately investigate him.



In a pattern that has become synonymous with him, Adeyanju again deployed fake news to the effect that law enforcement agents have killed more Nigerians in the course of enforcing the stay at home directive than the virus has killed. CAFA is concerned that this kind of irresponsible behavior will encourage gullible people to flout the lockdown directive and thereby encourage the spread of the disease.

The impression created by Adeyanju in his misleading statement was that a few people that chose to disregard the stay at home order are entitled to compromise the safety of others by engaging in acts that will speed up the spread of the killer virus. There is ample science backed data to show that countries that took social isolation seriously recorded comparatively lower cases while those whose citizens misconstrued the concept of civil liberties to disregard government-imposed lockdown are today paying the price by way of a disproportionately high human toll.

CAFA therefore categorically dismisses Adeyanju’s allegations against the security and military agencies as patent falsehood intended to blackmail the military, the police and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration like he has been paid to do and consistent with his obsession with demonizing the aforementioned. The only verified instance of killing, which took place in Delta state, is being investigated by the appropriate authorities while the other instances mentioned by the paid activist have been investigated and discarded.

Nigerians should recall that CAFA had raised the alarm over an increase in the deliberate attempts by crisis entrepreneurs and political merchants of war masquerading as activists to cause discontent in the country. Their sole aim is to discredit the Buhari led administration and it is now apparent that they do not care if they expose millions of Nigerians to the deadly COVID-19 with their irresponsible acts.

Adeyanju, like his fellow paid activists, has the right to make a living off paid activism as he did in the past including openly supporting the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a group that a competent court properly designated as a terrorist organization. He perfected the act of creating phantom casualties for when his clients protest, including the protests in which he arranged thugs to attack himself so that he can blame the government for deploying excessive force against him. But Adeyanju should have by now realize that COVID-19 is a threat to humanity and it is not his call to encourage people to disregard the government ordered lockdown and social distancing necessary for dealing with the pandemic.

CAFA calls on the security agencies to thoroughly investigate Adeyanju over the inciteful nature of the lies he is telling to make people flout the stay at home order. It is important to address the trouble being fomented by Adeyanju and nip it in the bud. He should not be allowed to create the impression that the government, military and security agencies are the enemies when in reality COVID-19 is the enemy. Authorities must also note that Adeyanju’s attempt at incitement is like a pilot or testing the waters for his circuit of paid activists to know how the government will respond to such criminality. Where they sense a tepid response to Adeyanju’s lies they will then escalate the incitement until it leads to social unrest that they are hoping will bring the government down.

Meanwhile, since Adeyanju’s statement is based, in part, on the lie that people “could no longer bear the brunt of the stay-at-home order by the government,” CAFA is appealing to Nigerians to take advantage of the various palliatives being provided by the government, organizations, religious bodies and well spirited individuals. There is a place for being positively proud but there is also the time for the humility to accept help as people the world over have been compelled to do since this virus shut down economies and unleash hardship on populations.

Signed
Comrade Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah
Director of Communications and Publicity

By Richard Murphy

In August 2015, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, had cause to commend Nigeria's effort towards counter terrorism in the West African sub region.

He said while speaking at a Dialogue on extreme violence and other issues bedeviling Africa that though no country can tackle the threat of terrorism on its own, Nigeria’s increased cooperation with countries of the region is welcomed.

It came as a little pat on the back for Nigeria given that it had only recently then experienced a regime change and the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was putting structures to confront the challenges.

But three years down the line, Nigeria qualified for more than a pat on the back from world leaders.

United States president, Donald Trump, while speaking about Nigeria's fight against terrorism at a joint press conference with President Buhari at the White House, in April 2018, had more to say about Nigeria in that regard.

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s partnership and leadership role in the fight against terrorism, Trump said, "Nigeria was one of the first African nations to join the coalition to defeat ISIS, and Nigerian forces are currently leading regional efforts against ISIS in West Africa, and doing very well."

He said, "Nigeria is also leading African nations in the fight against Boko Haram, and — another ruthless jihadist terrorist group."

Terrorism, defined as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims; and insurgency, a rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents has been recorded in many parts of the globe for centuries.

The Nigerian army even when it was part of a West African Frontier Force, is not new to both as it has been involved in counter terrorism and anti-insurgency operations mostly outside Nigeria since the 60s and has given good accounts of itself wherever it is involved.

Nigeria according to verifiable documents, has contributed more than 20,000 troops to various UN missions since 1960.

What is worthy of note in all these exercises is that Nigerian troops have come out with higher reputation as disciplined and well trained force after each assignment and has been the leader in many tough military assignments.

It has been sent on UN and ECOWAS missions as far as in the former Yugoslavia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and other places .

When UN forces in Somalia were trapped and humiliated by rebel forces at the beginning of the war in Somalia, Nigerian troops led in the operation that later restored sanity, albeit temporarily to the war torn country.

The troops for that particular operation were drawn from Nigerian Army's 231 battalion in Biu and were trained at the Nigerian Armed Forces Simulation Center in Jaji.

Nigeria through its troops has also played a prominent role in the West African sub-region through the commitment of substantial military capacity to peace keeping missions.

The reputation of the Nigerian army in counter insurgency operations was so high at a time that its expertise was being sought in all troubled spots across the globe.

This had seen the Nigerian army leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) force to Mali and contributing 900 of its troops to that country.

The role Nigeria played in restoring democracy to countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia has remained green in the memory of the citizens of these countries who never fail to applaud Nigeria's role in saving their countries from unending wars and bloodshed.

In October 2004, Nigerian troops again were deployed into Darfur, Sudan to spearhead an African Union force to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Nigeria's role as a big brother was constantly accentuated by the success of its military in every given mission.

But as the Nigerian army fought for other countries, the time came for its capacity to be tested at home.

The first was in the late 60s when the civil war broke out and the second was the taking up of arms against the Nigerian state by the Boko Haram terrorists in 2009. On both occasions, Nigerian army showed it has the capacity to reenact the feat it has achieved abroad at home.

As the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces responsible for land warfare operations, the NA bears the brunt of the nation's security challenges.

It did not disappoint even with asymmetric warfare introduced by the Boko Haram and later the ISWAP terrorists. It is well known how the army was called in to intervene when the insurgency of the Boko Haram got out of hand in its early days and how the army discharged its duties effectively and arrested the sect's leader and handed him over to another agency.

It took several years after that before the insurgents again regrouped and took up arms against the Nigerian state. But even after that, the Nigerian army has been relentless in proving its capacity to safeguard the country.

This much came to the fore with the coming of Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff.

This time the focus shifted from launching counter attacks to leading offensives against the insurgents and in their turf. The operations became so successful that the terrorists could no longer launch attacks on communities as any attempt they make are preempted and dispelled.

In 2015, the Nigerian army repelled an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in the town of Biu in the north-eastern state of Borno where the militants had entered the town firing guns very early in the morning causing many residents to flee. The army had engaged the militants in intense battle and the insurgents were killed and driven back and calm was restored to the town. There have been several other instances after that but mentioning a few remarkable ones would suffice.

In June 2019, Nigerian troops again thwarted an ISWAP attack on a military formation in the Northeast where the Boko Haram came in seven gun trucks and motorcycles and stormed the base at Goniri, Yobe State. The ambush did not succeed as dozens of the terrorists were annihilated while many of them fled with injuries.

In that encounter, five gun trucks, weapons and rounds of ammunition were recovered from the militants, while their motorcycles were destroyed. Again in December 2019, Nigerian troops fought back Boko Haram insurgents at Gonar Bukar settlement on Gashua Road on the outskirts of Damaturu, the Yobe capital. They had attempted to infiltrate Damaturu metropolis in the evening and troops engaged the insurgents and sent them fleeing.

Then in January this year there was massive shooting in Monguno, a major town in northern Borno State, as the Nigerian military repelled an attack by the terrorists.

Suspected members of the ISWAP faction of Boko Haram attempted to invade the community that now serves as a mega camp for internally displaced persons and soldiers battled for several hours to repel the attack. In March 2020 Nigerian troops also devastated Boko Haram militants in Damboa, a town 85 kilometers away from Maiduguri.

Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, who is slow in commendation was so overwhelmed that he was full of praises for the Nigerian troops. He said the troops demonstrated unprecedented gallantry when they tackled the insurgents saying 19 gun trucks were recovered from the insurgents while an unspecified large number of them were killed. “‎I find it compelling to salute our gallant soldiers of the Nigerian Army and Air Force, under operation Lafiya Dole for a decisive blow against Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday morning in Damboa town," he said.

In all, the Nigerian army has shown that it is unrivalled in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.

Murphy is a security expert and wrote this piece from Calabar

By Julius Orya


When the Nigeria police in February announced that it undertook a combat operation that led to the killing of 250 alleged terrorists in Birin Gwari, Kaduna State, many Nigerian activists questioned the announcement saying there were many gaps in the story. 

They demanded picture and video evidence and challenged the police to take newsmen to the scene of the fight to convince them.
When gallant Nigerian troops repelled a planned invasion on the town of Biu, Borno State, last December and took out quite a number of the insurgents as they tried to escape, cynicism greeted the cheery news from the camp of activists who wanted to reduce the feat as insignificant. 

But last week, when the Chadian President, Idriss Deby Itno, came out and announced that his troops have killed over 1000 of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists, Nigerian activists did not demand a picture or video evidence from him. He, rather got a standing ovation.


The same people that tried to fact check the announcement by the Nigeria police and downplay the liquidation of insurgents by Nigerian troops never deemed it fit to subject the claim by the Chadian President to scrutiny.


Deby Itno had said that while Chadian troops liquidated over 1000 of the insurgents, that only 52 of his men fell in the 'daring' operation on the fringes of the Lake Chad, which has been code named 'Operation Colero de Borno.'


Those who have bothered to fact check the claim of the Chadian President have however uncovered lots of misinformation, half truths, exaggeration and outright lies in the Deby story. 


The first is the claim by Deby Itno that he is fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists. The second is the claim on the identity of those liquidated and the third is the motive for moving against the militia.


Of the four countries directly affected by the activities of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists,  that is, Nigeria, Cameroun, Niger and Chad none of them has been so receptive and welcoming of the groups like Chad.


While the three other countries had committed to a joint multinational task force and were doing all they could to suppress the insurgents, Chad under Deby on the other hand had preferred to play the ostrich.


Over the years, Chad would pretend to be with the multinational task force in the day, but in the night, when the other countries send troops to go after  the insurgents, it will allow them safe abode deep within its borders and beyond the 25 kilometers allowed for penetration by the multinational force. This is why while the other countries have been able to keep the population of insurgents low, Chad has seen to a boom in their population. 


Fact check revealed that since the insurgents began to seize territories in 2013 and hoist their flags, they do not at any one time station more than 300 of their men at a particular location preferring to be itinerant for fear of being subdued.


When the insurgents seized Gwoza in Borno State and made it the capital of its caliphate, facts on ground showed that it kept only about 400 of its militia to secure and administer the place until they were flushed out by Nigerian troops.


In other smaller communities that the insurgents manage to capture, residents say after the initial invasion when they come with so many of their men, they quickly retreat leaving about 100 of them to hold on and maintain the siege.


For any country to have 1000 of the fighting men of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists, as claimed by the Chadian President therefore, means that either the country is accommodating the two terrorists groups or the claim in number and identity is not entirely true.


One has a cause to believe that while Chad harboured the terrorists and was using them to extort money from other bigger countries, it also had its own share of rebel militias that are almost indistinguishable from the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists. This is because their activities are known to overlap.


Militancy in Chad evolved from a series of mutiny that has become part and parcel of the politics of that country over the years since the days of Goukouni Oueddei who was shoved off the throne by Hissen Habre.


Habre also got a worse treatment from Deby who was his associate and the culture of schemes, betrayal and power tussle has become the order in Chad.
Deby Itno himself has survived many putsch and in the bid to make himself the life president,  removed term limit for the presidency and has been winning elections since then.


This, needless to say, has set him against a section of the country who are yearning for regime change and for the enthronement of true democracy in the tiny country. A mutiny even arose from within the armed forces which was however quelled and the leader arrested and detained.


Deby Itno, to sustain his grip on the nation, had to keep political opponents behind bars for several years and under inhuman conditions. 
Despite all that, he has not been able to shake off the fear that he might lose the throne the same way he got it hence never cease to look over his shoulders.


Matters got to a head last year, when there was an agitation from the civil populace against bad governance. As the agitation grew, Deby Itno decided to move against the largest concentration of armed militia in his country which he by default allowed and which could be used against him. 

The militia, realising they were about to be sacrificed in the political chess game, decided to preempt the Chadian President by moving against his killer squad and succeeded in killing 98 of them.
This angered the Chadian President who saw the political implication of the liquidation of his strike force and decided to retaliate by giving the militia a bloody nose.


It was so personal to him and relevant to his survival on the throne that he had to lead the operation himself as he trusted no one else to do that for him given the level of disenchantment and mistrust even in the armed forces . So the Chadian President in leading the troops was basically fighting for his own political  survival . Hence on the first fact check, Chad is not fighting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad. 


One the second fact check,  it is equally important to probe the identity of the militia the Chadian troops engaged. It is a well known fact that 80 percent of Boko Haram/ISWAP are Chadian Rebels as virtually all of them are found in Lake Chad Islands within the Chadian Territory. Deby Itno in dislodging his country's rebels who have grown in number and have mingled with the terrorists across the border for his political survival, has turned his political fight into a propaganda to portray him as a warlord fighting terrorism and insurgency. 
Unfortunately, this is the version our Nigerian 'activists' want to believe. Whatever they chose to believe, no one can sell the dummy to us that there was any 1,000 terrorists killed anywhere by the Chadian President who is fighting for his own survival.

Orya wrote this piece from Karu, Nasarawa State.

Idris Derby: When Orange Is A New Black

By David Onmeje

Celebration of fantasies over anything foreign has deeply influenced the psyche of Nigerians. It is in the character of every Nigerian to even abominably bow to anything and everything foreign, no matter how fake. And many are still pleasurably ignorant that the original or initial religious Boko Haram insurgency has been decapitated and eclipsed.

The scanty traces of insurgency in the country and the infiltration of ISWAP terrorists into Nigeria is deliberately festered for a different motive. What is energizing rebels and criminals in the Lake Chad Basin enclaves is economic terrorism because of its rich oil and gas resources. The naturally endowed Lake Chad Basin area is largely shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and to a large extent, Cameroonian republics.

For clarity, in a March 2020 well researched article published in the Journal of Politics and Religion, titled “Untold Story of Boko Haram Insurgency: The Lake Chad Oil and Gas Connection,” authored by Mr. J. Tochukwu Omenma, the author opinionated that “Oil as an important natural resource will continue to shape international conflict, and since the beginning of oil exploration in the Lake Chad basin, oil products have been a key element of the riparian states' national interest and contestation. The “greed-and-grievance” theory explains this configuration of forces behind the insurgency in the Lake Chad region.”

There have been some funny hallucinations in Nigeria, the last few days. It about the Chadian President Idriss Deby, who reportedly led his country’s Military in an operation against Boko Haram called, “Operation Boma’s Wrath” on April 4th 2020. The Chadian forces onslaught extinguished terrorists in the battle at Kelkoua, bank of the Lake Chad. Scores of Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized and two Boko Haram command posts in Chadian territory were dismantled.

This should only be commendable to the extent one discerns Chad’s repentant posture in supporting terrorism. President Deby deluded himself by erroneously thinking he could keep enjoying the criminal alliance with Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents eternally.

The only appropriate description of President Deby’s action is “revolt is the chamber of terrorists.” Deby was disappointed that his partners in crime betrayed him when the Boko Haram militants again attacked a military base in Boma on March 23, 2020, killing 98 Chadian soldiers. It happened earlier at Diffa region. He was incensed and ordered the vengeance operation to appease his soul. These are tricks crafty leaders like President Deby play with the lives of the people.

So, the onslaught killed, dislodged and captured Boko Haram terrorists’ major bunker of armoury in Chad territory. It is good news that some Boko Haram terrorists escaped into the Nigerian, Nigerien and Cameroonian territories. Its cheering revelation that terrorists have no abode in Nigeria because of the superior might of Nigerian troops. It intimated Nigerians that terrorists empowered to torment the country are harboured by neighbouring countries.

In justifying the queerness of some Nigerians, a joint military operation by Nigerian troops under the auspices of the Multi- National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) through combined air and artillery bombardments strikes also dislodged fleeing terrorists from Chad which wanted to take shelter at the Tumbun Fulani area in Borno state and Lake Chad Islands in Nigerian territory.

But Nigerians never gave a thought to the brilliant and proactive actions of Nigerian troops. Some newspapers still credited the action of Nigerian troops to Chadian forces. And so, what resonated in the country was rather the bemused celebration of President Deby for the “wonderful feat”, just to spite President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Military. One cannot scoff at the idiocy of some Nigerians enough.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to comprehend Nigerians. The Chadian Military’s strike, dislodgement and destruction of the armory bunker of Boko Haram terrorists is at best, an action expressive of a deal gone awry between Chad and Boko Haramists and their ISWAP counterparts. But compatriots failed to discern this simple insight.

Some shallow-minded fellows never reminisced that the Nigerian Military had consistently complained about the tacit support Nigeria’s neighbours who extend assistance to Boko Haram terrorists, especially Chad. The insurgents armoury bunker attacked by the Chadian forces in her territory was neither assembled in a day nor in a hurry. It has been there and provided a convenient environment for Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to stockpile weapons, raise and train foot soldiers, in spite of the presence of MNJTF.

It is one of the many secure spots in Chad and other neighbouring countries Boko Haram retire for protection and replenishment each time they launch attacks on Nigerian territories. This is not hidden and Chad particularly has refused to heed to pleas to cooperate with Nigerian forces and MNJTF.

It is therefore, surprising that instead of Nigerians to deeply assess the sudden reaction by Chad, they are senselessly celebrating the fantasy of the action Chadian forces led by President Deby. Suddenly, almost every Nigerian has forgotten that Chad has been a major impediment in Nigeria’s absolute success in her counter-terrorism expeditions.

Under the Jonathan Presidency, President Deby allegedly collected $20 million to assist Nigeria fight Boko Haram. But thereafter, Chad embarked on actions which were supportive of terrorists and emboldened insurgents against Nigeria. And similarly, it is an established fact that under the Buhari Presidency, once Boko Haram terrorists chased from Nigeria in the heat of field combats with Nigerian troops, they cross into Chadian territory, where they are shielded to escape and recuperate to plot fresh attacks on Nigeria.

In the past, Chad had variously frustrated and sabotaged regional cooperation in the war against terrorism ostensibly because of its secret agreements with Boko Haram insurgents. Chad vacillates allegiance between Boko Haram and alliance to the mandate of MNJTF.

For instance, in 2014, Chad pulled out hundreds of its troops stationed in Niger to assist in the regional collaborative fight against Boko Haram. Chad acted in this resentful manner after President Donald Trump included the country on its revised travel ban list, as one of the countries suspected of aiding and abating terrorism. President Trump was explicit that Chad reneged to “adequately share public-safety and terrorism-related information."

In January 2020, Chad again, withdrew its troops from Nigeria operating under the MNJTF. Thereafter, Boko Haram strikes in Nigeria accentuated. Anonymous Chadian military sources claimed its forces had completed its mission in Nigeria. Chad and her tricky engagements with neighbouring countries in the fight against terrorism is so glaring.

It is no news that Chad is famous for its refusal to fund MNJTF as agreed by the member-nations. And it condescends to the level of even consenting to hundreds of cattle rustled in Nigeria by terrorists from ransacked communities to find their way into Chadian markets unmolested. It has remained one of the main sources of funding of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria.

And despite Chad’s US secured computerized gadgets, installed at all Chadian borders with neighbouring countries, Nigeria inclusive and backed up by a 24-hour security surveillance and checks at all border-crossing points by Chad’s security forces, Boko Haram still freely ferries weapons through the country into Nigeria. Chad has not denied that it is one of the countries from which Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists receive smuggled weapons.

Terrorists smuggled heavy military weapons from some countries in Europe to Boko Haram in Nigeria transit through several countries, including Chad. Chad has neither denied or raised an eyebrow against this act clearly because of a deal and understanding it has reached with terrorists. The silent voice in the deal between Chad and Boko Haram seems to say, “allow us use your country, to transport weapons to Nigeria and we will not strike your country.”

Therefore, it is absolutely senseless and smacks of infantilism for President Deby and his partisan promoters in Nigeria to make a bazaar over his revolting against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists partners for betraying Chad by striking the country’s military base and killing soldiers. Like earlier stated, the Boko Haram armoury bunker destroyed in the “operation Boma’s Wrath,” was not erected in a day. How come Chadian intelligence never knew of it and reacted until the satanic souls rose against them?

Nigerians must know it is a battle between two criminals - Chad and Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists. Nigerians celebrating President Deby just to deride President Buhari and the Nigerian military have missed the drift and failed to decode the underlying conspiracies against their country. It is the fundamental problem of some Nigerians.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai and Nigerian troops have demonstrated in actions these past years their mettle. A combination of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists are not beyond their capacity to handle.

The COAS is leading the counter-terrorism combats effectively and he has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is capable of quenching the fire of terrorism in Nigeria. Nigeria has never had a pact with the rebels; but it is open secret that President Deby struck a deal with them, except that it has gone sour now.

Deby needs to clear his name in the kingdom of Lucifer and apologize to his compatriots for sacrificing them. Leading the battle at Boma personally was rather Deby’s symbolic purging of a haunting guilt. Nigeria is not a place for him to come and fart after playing such odious roles to terrorists, rebels, killers, murderers and rapists.

Had the likes of Chad not denied Nigeria and her military, the necessary cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism would have been blighted a long time ago, not only in Nigeria but from the West African sub-region. President Deby should stop playing the gods, because the “rich also cry.” His day of reckoning is finally here!

President Deby cannot connive and cooperate with Boko Haram for ages to torment and massively murder Nigerians only to step out angrily to avenge betrayal of his country by the sect and expect sane people to eulogize him. It is childish antics and fraudulent playing to the gallery. The Nigerians hailing the actions of the Chadian President urgently needs to have their brains examined.

Onmeje wrote this piece from the United Kingdom.

Citizens Against Fake Activism (CAFA) has blamed the fake news being propagated by dubious activists for the seeming resilience of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as it warned that these so called activists are plotting to escalate their lies now that Boko Haram is taking a beating home and abroad.

This fake activists have a perfected a vicious circles whereby they tell lies to slow down the military, allow Boko Haram terrorists re-gain grounds and then turn around to blame the government for not doing enough to curtail the terrorists even though the same dubious people accuse the government of right abuses each time there is a successful onslaught against the terrorists. These fake activists and fake news agents are in essence responsible for the continuous Boko Haram terrorism in the country.

After years of not doing much to support Nigeria in smoking out terrorists that plan and launch attacks from its territory, the Republic of Chad was recently coerced into attacking Boko Haram fighters after its military suffered heavy losses to the criminals; instead of urging Chad to do more in flushing out the terrorists, these fake activist rather rushed to deploy fake news that they hoped would sour relations with Nigeria so that Chad will again lose its new found impetus to do the right thing.

The liars also attempted to rewrite history by attempting to mislead the unwary and create the impression that the terrorists have not been decimated on Nigeria soil and only operate cross border from the safe havens they found in a country like Chad, which did not do anything to stop their act of terrorism until Chadian President Idris Derby saw the ugly side of the viper he had embraced to his bosom.

It must be clearly stated that these fake activists deliberately engage in what they do. The fake news they publish are meticulously crafted and vetted by their clients following which they unleash these campaigns of misinformation, falsehood and calumny with the intent to use them for strengthening Boko Haram/ISWAP especially whenever they are being pummeled by the Nigerian military.

With the knowledge that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. General Tukur Buratai had directed troops to prepare for a final assault on Boko Haram/ISWAP and mop up terrorists that may be escaping from the trouble they courted in Chad, it is important to alert Nigerians to be on the lookout for an increase in fake news emanating from these compromised activists.

CAFA wants to particularly warn Nigerians to be on the lookout for contents from the arrowheads of the fake activists, Aisha Yesufu, Omoyele Sowore, Deji Adeyanju and Ahmad Salkida. These individuals and their proxies as well as affiliated international NGOs would be escalating the campaign of fake news and unsubstantiated stories to help Boko Haram/ISWAP resist its imminent end.

Our monitoring revealed an increase in the deployment of fake news by these people since additional steps were recently taken to launch the final attack against Boko Haram, notably the lies that were directed against Nigerians when the army shuffled its commanders to better position itself. They have also started peddling rumours and lies since the Chadian operation with the intent of blackmailing the Nigerian military into inaction and that will allow fleeing Boko Haram terrorists melt into the Nigerian society from where they will rebuild their cells.

Nigerians should blame these identified fake activists that persistently undermines national security should they do anything to strengthen Boko Haram. Citizens should exact a steep cost from them if they as much as run a single item of fake new and shame their families in market places, malls, schools and even at places of worship to serve as deterrent to other would-be promoters of fake news now that this batch of never-do-wells has been exposed.

CAFA appeals to authorities to nip the problem of fake news in the bud by leveraging on the international movement against the ugly phenomenon to arrest the ugly practice that is threatening the security of the country. We are aware that it is possible to charge purveyors of fake news to court under several pieces legislation that are already in place.

Comrade Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah
Director Communications and Publicity

By Mohammed Ibrahim

Deji Adeyanju invokes a strong feeling of empathy these days. A close observation of his persona lucidly reveals a squandered childhood and misused middle-age. He is full of the emotions of regrets and self-pity. He is a perfect portrait of a thoroughly misguided soul, pushed into a burning furnace by a toxic ambition in the quest for prosperity.

Listening to his lamentations, it drapes with the pathetic feelings of a frustrated man. Adeyanju is a self-acclaimed activist who is in intricate conflict with his inner self. Recently, Adeyanju exclaimed on his Twitter handle that Nigeria is not a country worth dying for. The ennui in him is understandably deep upon the realization that he has taken faulty steps during the best part of his life.

If Adeyanju dreads dying for a public cause in his country, it implies that he is not a true activist. He does not believe in the pro-masses campaigns he claims to advocate, probably because of the attraction of financial rewards. Everywhere, people make sacrifices for their people and nation. There is a country called Nigeria today because some of our forebears battled the colonialists and made sacrifices for independence of the nation.

Likewise, many soldiers battling Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorism in the Northeast have died. They have paid the supreme price so that other Nigerians can exist in a peaceful and secured country. Therefore, pro-masses campaigners do not dread death for whatever reason as Adeyanju has done. It means his actions all this while have been deceitful. Adeyanju’s actions reminds of another odious character, by the identity of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). He too dreaded to make sacrifices for his people but when it mattered most, he sneaked out of Nigeria. They are the self-seeking brats who project the false image of chief agitators of public cause. And they are aplenty in Nigeria, confusing themselves and those who believe in their inveterate gospels.

It is one of the many contradictions in Nigeria. The likes of Deji Adeyanju flaunts the public badge of activists, but he is everything except what he claims in public. Adeyanju is a political merchant and crisis entrepreneur, designed in a manner beneficial to him. His utterances most times portray him as a debauch. He wrote on his twitter handle another day that President Muhammadu Buhari is an animal. “Only an animal will kill 1,000 Shiites and boast about it on National TV,” he asserted.

No man who grows up in a disciplined home would use such vulgar and debased language on his leader. No circumstance, anger or instigation justifies such an uncouth diction on your President. But Adeyanju does not give a damn. Rather, he expects sane and good-mannered Nigerians to listen to him; he wants them to believe what he says or take him for a responsible person. But Adeyanju must know that student unionism is different from activism. What he does is disguised and advanced form of verbal terrorism.

And it is not surprising that Adeyanju markets himself in this manner. He has links with gangsterism, lacks morality, and an undisciplined lad. These are his observable innate attributes. In his undergraduate days at the Bayero University Kano, (BUK), Adeyanju was reportedly a rough character.

And old habits die hard. So, out of school, he is still the same Adeyanju. The air of cultism, and murder whirls around him. An awaiting trial ex-jailbird, people with such nasty experience are barren of a humane conscience; they are ruthless. When he organizes and leads protests to protect the interests of the brutal, barbaric and murderous members of El-Zakzakky's IMN in Nigeria, he is only identifying with his soulmates.

It defeats logic that Adeyanju should stand up for the defence of members of the illegal Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), a murderous sect in Nigeria. It is strange that the self-styled pro-democracy campaigner claims the murder of a thousand Shiites by government, (how did he arrive at this figure?) but is less unconcerned about the innocent Nigerians the religious extremists have killed for over 40 years. What a warped sense of justice!

So, garbing himself with the robes of a political activist is merely an antic of masking himself to exploit gullible politicians. Adeyanju has rendered himself as an active voice of political power mongers in Nigeria. In his estimation, this is a career and he practices it with every expertise.

It surprised many that when Justices Okon Abang sentenced the former PDP national publicity secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh to jail after convicting him on charges of corruption, Adeyanju came out barking and howling like a castrated bull. He again tweeted, expressing disappointment with the decision of the judge.

He sought to exonerate Metuh from guilt, claiming the former PDP pub scribe was only paid for a transaction. To know Adeyanju is not only a brainwashed soul contracted on hatchet jobs, he argued farcically that the recipient of money for a transaction has no obligation to investigate the source. This reasoning is too infantile, especially for anyone familiar with the facts surrounding the scandalous disbursement of the $2.1 billion arms procurement fund to politicians. But is a trite law and common knowledge that a person who receives stolen property is also an accomplice in the criminal act.

Adeyanju is a doubtful character with multiple identities. He is variously known as Charles, Umar and so forth. And as an unstable character, Adeyanju has been shuttling between Christian and Muslim faiths at different intervals. He presents himself as a Christian today and a Muslim tomorrow. It smacks of a character who is at war with himself and cannot be trusted. Those who know him claim, Adeyanju was chased out of the Nigerian Peace Corps for impersonation as well. Dubiousness surrounds him.

A person like Adeyanju with such filthy credentials has no moral justification to even pretend leading a genuine public cause. It is impossible! It must be made abundantly clear to Adeyanju that a political merchant cannot automatically morph into an activist. Adeyanju cannot run away from his rotten past and seek to clad himself with a new artificial identity. He must identify his personality in consonance with his known antecedents.

And there are just two alternatives left for him. Adeyanju should acknowledge himself either as a fake activist or a cloaked terrorist. But surely, he is not a genuine activist. His actions of defending the murderous Shiites cannot exculpate him from the tag of a terrorist. It will do Adeyanju a lot of good, if he stops deceiving himself and Nigerians with the fake title of an activist.

Ibrahim wrote from Kaduna.

By Ajibola Adeojo


If recent reports of the success recorded by Chadian troops against the Boko Haram terrorists are anything to go by, then it would be taken that the Chadian forces used a new approach that had never been seen before. 


Codenamed “Operation Boma Wrath," Chadian troops were said to have launched an attack on the terrorists, following an attack on their military base on March 23 by Boko Haram in which 98 Chadian troops were killed. 

The revenge attack was adjudged a success because the Chadian troops killed many of the insurgents, destroyed five of their bases and many of their bunkers where its top commanders were hiding and recovered thousands of weapons from them.


Few of the surviving insurgents were said to have ran to Nigerian territories to escape been killed.


But if the Chadians had this  offensive strategy against the Boko Haram terrorists who have been taking refuge in their territories for several years why are they unleashing it only now? 


The answer is not farfetched. Chad did not use any new approach in military warfare. 

That it decided to come out against the insurgents now has more to do with the relationship between the Chadian president, Idriss Deby Itno and the insurgents.


Long before now, Chad had been engulfed in internal crisis for many years and many of its rebels frequently found themselves in Northern Nigeria.


Driven by hunger but with guns and other weapons at their disposal, they wreaked havoc on several Nigerian communities, seized their food supplies and extended their heinous criminal activities to highway robberies. They were known as Kwanta Kwanta due to the language they deployed in their operations.


With the advent of the Boko Haram, especially with the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, top commanders of the sect that were seeking revenge against the Nigerian State were mopped in by the Chadian rebels and in no time the latter surrendered to the command of the Boko Haram because it had more resources and an identifiable structure.


Chad therefore became an important operational base of the terrorists with the knowledge of the Chadian goverment.


The Chadian President had used this relationship to his advantage to demand financial support from Nigeria before.

But the relationship between Boko Haram and Deby went sour in recent times mainly because the Boko Haram were no longer economically useful since nobody was paying to have them kept at bay as was the practice during its early days and secondly, they were becoming a nuisance to their host communities. 


The recent killing of the Chadian troops by Boko Haram broke the proverbial back of the camel and the Chadian government had to turn its gun on the terrorists.


The swift manner the exercise was carried out however raised the questions about the  approach used which saw the Chadian troops waking up one day to round up the terrorists in a singular attack.


Some say this is because the attack was led by the Chadian President himself and would want Nigeria to emulate that.

Those advancing this line of thought forget that about the same time that the Boko Haram attacked the Chadian troops killing 98 of them, the theater commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi was also ambushed by the insurgents and would have been killed if not for the deployment of superior military strategy that gave the insurgents a bloody nose.


It is recorded that the Boko Haram suffered so much in that attack that they abandoned a large cache of their weapons and fled.


But days after the Nigerian soldiers outmanouvered the insurgents routing them out in their numbers,  only a little media attention was given to it unlike the Chadian episode. 

The truth is, apart from needless propaganda, Nigeria has fared far better in military operations than the tiny African country, hence has nothing to learn from Chad.

Even judging by the two incidents, it is clear which side gave a good account of itself as far as responding to attacks is concerned.


While Chad was humiliated by the killing of  98 of its finest fighters, said to be the equivalent of its strike force, Nigeria lost only two soldiers in the ambush before reconnoitering to take on the insurgents and blowing them away.

It is obvious that the Chadian military strategy and approach to counter insurgency differs from that of Nigeria in many respects and it would be a great disservice to Nigeria for anybody to suggest that Nigeria should adopt the Chadian approach in its fight against the insurgents. 

One, there is not even a clearly laid out strategy that has cast Chad as having an upper hand in the fight against insurgency. 

In the history of warfare, before any strategy could be said to be superior, it must have  produced the same results over and over again. 

This is not the case with the Chadians as what we have seen is a one off tit-for-tat mission that managed to succeed..

But the danger in playing the defensive or counter offensive like Chad has done in an asymmetric warfare like the one involving Boko Haram is that the insurgents are allowed to make their pick of targets before they are replied.

This could be counterintuitive as the insurgents while taking the time to plan and launch attacks would not always assemble in a place waiting to to be struck. 

Another thing is that allowing the terrorists to converge at a particular place before taking on them.would be at a great cost to the civilian population along their camps who would be made to bear the brunt of their sustenance and the many humiliations that come with it.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria is far ahead of Chad and other countries in the fight against insurgency.

Nigeria has been the leader on many counter insurgency operations across the continent including the multinational joint task force currently fighting the Boko Haram.

The Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has been leading the fight from the front since he was so appointed in June 2015.

He has personally participated in drills and other military exercises with fighting troops, talked and interacted with them directly  and led operations in the theatres of war.

His presence at many operations has served to inspire troops and boosted their confidence in the battle field. 

Apart from that, the Chief of Army Staff  has been able to win the war by adopting tactics and strategies that suits particular geographical locations which he is quite familiar with.

Troops confidence has further  been boosted with the keen interest he has shown in the improved welfare of soldiers and instilling in them a high sense of patriotism.

Chad on the other has had a pact with the insurgents which went sour and were driven by rage of betrayal by an estranged accomplice. 

Nigeria however is driven by patriotism and the need to save humanity from catastrophe and disorder. 

The two countries are not in the same category. 

Nigeria is doing well in the fight against insurgency and has nothing to learn from a one off operation.

Adeojo, a security analyst wrote this article from Ibadan.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram has confirmed the killing of one of its top commanders, Muhammad bin Mallam Fow, who went with the nom de guerre, Abu al-Kukhtar al-Ansari.

A biography published for al-Ansari in the Issue 228 of the digital terrorist propaganda newsletter, al-Naba, that was distributed on April 2, 2020 and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group confirmed his death at the hands of government troops.

The ISWAP propaganda newsletter confirmed that the Nigerian Army killed al-Ansari when the terrorists undertook a failed revenge attack on Damaturu, which the they launched in retaliation for the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu ai-Muhajir, ISIS leaders that were earlier taken out by US forces.

In addition to sundry crimes, the publication confirmed that al-Ansari masterminded attacks on Damaturu, Geidam, Garanda and Mallam Fatori in his capacity as the emir of Security Work Battalion.

While the mainstream media had been skeptical of the report by the Nigerian Army that it had neutralized a senior Boko Haram commander, al-Ansari, and scores of other terrorists during the attack on Damaturu, the obituary verified that he was killed when he tried to fire an RPG round to destroy an armoured tank.

The deceased terrorist also ran ISWAP’s indoctrination programmes in addition to managing the terror group’s intelligence network that identify and arrest those that are planning to embrace the offer of surrender from the Nigerian Military.

His death four months after he was appointed Commander of ISWAP’s Security Work Battalion shows that the Nigerian Army regularly neutralize occupants of the position.

By Francois Bonaventure

In November 2014, Mahamat Bichara Gnoti, a political associate of Chadian President, Idriss Déby Itno, was arrested with missiles.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that the missiles were meant for the terrorist group, Boko Haram and that the associate of Deby was indeed one of their suppliers of arms.

Since the arrest of Gnoti, not much has been heard about the case because as is widely known, the man is well connected with the Chadian President.

Th connection between him and the Chadian President was remarkable because of the claims to counter-insurgency  and anti terrorism stance of the Chadian President in the wake of Boko Haram attacks on Nigeria.

The Nigerian government, then led by President Goodluck Jonathan was irked by the activities of the terrorists especially the abduction of the over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State and wanted to do all it could, not to appear helpless.

That was when the idea of the multinational task force that operate within the sub region without hindrance was mooted and Nigeria bought into it wholesale.

The understanding of Nigeria was that since the terrorists were operating along the border towns and normally cross over to other territories when the heat turns on them, the best way to handle the situation was to seek the cooperation of those countries that Nigeria shares common border with so that military cooperation would be made feasible.

Nigeria shares border with Cameroun, Niger and Chad on the fringe affected by Boko Haram insurgency, but it was suggested to Jonathan that it was important he meets with the president of Chad, as they said a lot depends on his cooperation since his country links the operational  base of the insurgents.

Jonathan agreed and in spite of the status of Nigeria in the sub region,  travelled to Ndjamena to meet with Deby in his capital of Ndjamena.

If Jonathan had bothered to do  a little background check on his host, he would have been a little circumspect on his dealing with his Chadian counterpart.

Deby, is not new to schemes and subterfuges. He took over power from President Hissène Habré in December 1990 through a well organised rebellion and has since survived various rebellions against his own rule.

The highpoint of his scheme to remain in power was the removal of term limits for the president in 2006 paving the way for a life presidency.

This was the man Jonathan was dealing with and without realising what was happening  found himself in the meeting that had been prearranged to extort Nigeria.

But typical of Jonathan, even when he saw some prominent Nigerians on the team of the Chadian president 'welcoming' him to the crisis ridden country, he did not suspect foul play and went on with the deal and in fact, travelled  twice to Ndjamena to wrap up the agreement.

Jonathan after the meeting in N’Djamena, told newsmen that there was a need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.

He said, “If you look at the economies of Nigeria and Chad, both are linked. The Boko Haram people don’t ask permission to move from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.

“If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war, because when the heat is strong in one country, the criminals and terrorists will go to  another one and hide. So we must work together and we are discussing along that line.”

But this was only the side Jonathan was exposed to.

Details of the negotiations that would emerge later indicated  that the Chadian President, had already been groomed to make certain financial demands on the Nigerian president, which he did and was paid handsomely before he accepted to allow his troops participate in the multinational task force.

Knowing how desperate Jonathan was, the Chadian president who is said to be worth  millions of dollars continued to squeeze his Nigerian counterpart any time he needs money using the participation of his troops and use of his territories as bait.

In March 2015, Deby was furious that the Jonathan government  negotiated a ceasefire with the Boko Haram in a deal he facilitated.

“I told President Goodluck not to open negotiations with terrorists … but it was a political choice,” Mr. Deby told a French magazine.

The Boko Haram openly denounced the ceasefire as they did not get anything from the deal and launched assaults on communities.

It was only then that Deby raised his voice against the ceasefire but made no mention of the amount that went with it.

The Nigerian government initially claimed splinter groups of the Boko Haram were responsible for the continued fighting, but later blamed the failure on sabotage while saying nothing about the money involved.

Deby and his collaborators continued to explore ways of bilking an unsuspecting government but unfortunately for them, Jonathan lost the 2015 elections and a new man, Muhammadu Buhari came in as president.

Seeing the commitment of the new helmsman to live up to his promise to defeat the insurgency and terrorism, the Chadian President put on the same act and had the Nigerian President visit him in his nation's capital.

But President Buhari was a different meat to chew. After listening to the Chadian President with his so called commitment to fight the insurgents and the financial demands he was making on Nigeria, President Buhari saw through the plot to extort Nigeria, but rather than decline flatly, offered a diplomatic approach by offering to make the financial contribution to the multinational task force which was headed by Nigeria.

Deby did not like the idea and not long after, Chad's cooperation in the multinational task force waned.

But Nigeria continued the fight and as the insurgents saw the renewed vigour from the Nigerian side, many of them took to their heels and ran into Chadian territories for cover.

This is because most of them are dregs of Chadian rebels that helped Deby to power when he ousted the regime of Hissen Habre.

Deby, knowing fully well that the terrorists were using his country as a base did nothing ostensibly to get back at the Nigerian president for refusing to make financial payments to him directly.

But the number of terrorists in his country continued to increase as Nigeria became unbearable for them.

When the terrorists could no longer fend for themselves as they could no longer cross over and raid Nigerian villages as they used to, they turned their guns on their fellow country men and women in Chad who called on the Chadian government to wade in.

As the Deby led goverment dilly-dallied , the people, whose lives were being snuffed out in hundreds by the terrorists rose in revolt against the Chadian government.

Knowing the extent his people can go if he fails to do something, the Chadian President shamelessly turned the heat on the Boko Haram who he was using to extort Nigeria and other countries.

But rather than let it lie low as a price he had to pay for his greed, Deby decided to use the attack as another opportunity to bend the hands of the Nigerian government by running a propaganda that he was leading the war from front.

Unfortunately some gullible Nigerians took the claim seriously and began to blackmail Nigeria.

But everyone knows it was not  the Chadian soldiers that have secured Nigeria and made it impossible for the insurgents to do as they wished all these years.

The recruitment of some unpatriotic elements to help Deby with his propaganda so that he would further extort Nigeria and share the loot with them has been exposed.

Bonaventure wrote this piece from London.

*Boko Haram: God has revealed himself to Idriss Derby, French counterparts to severe relationship with terrorists*

The National Inter- Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP) believes God finally revealed himself to Chadian President Idriss Derby and his French counterparts to prevail against Boko Haram terrorists.

The now repented Derby was guilty of turning blind eyes to the terrorism around the Lake Chad Basin, especially knowing the Nigerian troops can't trespass its shores.

Under the leadership of Lieutenant General T.Y Buratai, the gallant troops repeatedly decimated the Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters, with the remainder fleeing to neighbouring nations where it found solace.

But in a surprise turn of events, Derby backed by his French allies, recently led an onslaught on the Islamic fighters and NIFROP traced this to a supernatural encounter with God.

In a statement signed by Chairman Board of Trustees, Arch-Bishop Julius Ediwe on Monday, NIFROP disclosed that “Boko Haram terrorists would have become history by now if Nigeria’s neighbours go beyond paying lip service”.

NIFROP urged Niger and Cameroon to sustain the momentum and cooperate with Nigeria to separately but simultaneously launch similar operations in their territories.

The religious group, however, advised authorities to investigate sources of the weapons seized from the Chadian military operation against Boko Haram.

On its part, NIFROP assured the Nigerian troops of its total support, spiritually and physically as they edge closer towards victory over the terrorists.

Read full statement below:

The National Inter- Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace (NIFROP) is pleased that the Lord our God has finally revealed himself to Chadian President Idriss Déby to prevail against Boko Haram terrorists with the army of his country.

NIFROP had always been of the view that the Boko Haram terrorists would have become history by now if Nigeria’s neighbours go beyond paying lip service to the threat posed by the extremists to the Lake Chad Basin. The terrorists had become attuned to the fact that Nigerian troops will not violate the territorial integrity of the country’s neighbours by conducting operations beyond Nigeria’s borders, hence the hit-and-run tactics of attacking Nigeria and then fleeing into Cameroon, Chad or Niger.

Had the terrorists constantly had the kind of reception they just got from Chad each time they flee into its territory after carrying out attacks against Nigeria then there would not be as many as two scores terrorists left alive in the Basin as of today.

The divine hand that guided the Chadian President and his french allies to lay siege to the terrorist from the Chadian end of the Lake Chad Basin is a welcome development that should be sustained by that country and adopted by Niger and Cameroon. We urge the trio of Cameroon, Chad and Niger to realize that Boko Haram is a toxic terrorist organisation that has no honour and can therefore not be on friendly terms with any nation.

These three neighbours must thus coordinate with Nigeria to separately but simultaneously launch similar operations in the territory of each country so that the terrorists are deprived of the opportunity to regroup. They should no longer be allowed the luxury of being able to flee across international borders whenever there is a military operation against them in one of the neighbouring countries. The Presidents of these nations must be able to say like King David in 2 Samuel 22:38 “"I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.”

This will effectively make it possible for these countries to support Nigeria by ensuring that the terrorists no longer use their territories to launch attacks on innocent Nigerians. Had this level of commitment been present from these countries in the past four years and coupled with the fierce efforts made by the Nigerian military under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari the end would have come for the terrorists.

NIFROP is further of the view that sources of the weapons seized from the Chadian military operation against Boko Haram should be properly investigate because the images of the seizure clearly confirmed past assertion by organizations like ours that had concluded that there are third party states arming the terrorists to torment the region. The sheer volume, assortment and sophistication of the weapons recovered from Boko Haram confirmed that the Nigerian military has been successfully containing terrorists that are far more dangerous than previously thought.

It is our belief that the Nigerian Army under the leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai at this moment needs prayers on the scale of the ones we are praying for the end of Covid-19 to come. NIFROP is doing the needful in this regard as we appeal to God to strengthen the hands of the state against terrorists. The say that victory is close even as we warn the Army leadership to be wary of demonic agents that will come up with fake news in efforts to break their spirit.

But our troops should be rest assured that God has given them victory over the terrorists and the next few months will see them making progress that will be more than what they have achieved in the last four years. As troops buffet the terrorists on one side, their old allies will turn against them from within, including ISIS and ISWAP because God has heard the prayers of the people of the world. Like he promised in the holy scripture, he will turn our enemies against themselves and give those who believe in him the desired victory.

We are already in thanksgiving mode at NIFROP because the Book of 2 Chronicles 20:22-24 recorded how the children of Israel faced a seemingly unwinnable war but “As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, 23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!” So shall it happen to Boko Haram, ISWAp and ISIS.

By Ogunmola Ayokunle

Nigeria operates on a faulty foundation. It is a country intricately entangled in different ways. But the greatest challenge Nigerians as citizens of a defined geographical entity has been the inability to overcome the indifference to their country on patriotism and loyalty as a people responsible to a nation.

A critical assessment of the actions or conducts of majority of Nigerians gives the impression that some people think their country is a temporary abode of habitation, as they would one day abandon it to an original home somewhere. It is utopian thoughts. Condemnably, this inclination has perpetually amplified national faultlines of ethnicity, religion or regionalism on every issue.

But the narrative on citizenship is different in other climes. Not long ago, President Donald Trump had a fierce confrontation with Speaker Nancy Pelosi over parliamentary debates on whether or not America should go to war with Iran over the crisis and controversies generated by the President’s order which led to the assassination of an Iranian Army General, Qassim Soleimani.

In spite of the official and unconcealed open bickering of these top senior America leaders, all parliamentarians whether of the ruling republicans or democrats harped defiantly on protecting the national or American interest first. In their contributions, all were concerned that personal animosities should not supersede the American interest. This is the tattoo of patriotism and loyalty responsible citizens wear at all times.

And all citizens of other countries of the world do not compromise their national interest, no matter the motivation or circumstance; whether as individuals or corporate bodies. Unfortunately, the experience of Nigeria is sadly different and extremely odd. Here, Nigerians do owe allegiance not to the nation, but their sentimental blocs or personal interests even where these are injurious to the national question.

The media plays an important role in reshaping society and molding public opinion. But in other countries, the media and its operators play these roles with ultimate regard and responsibility to their country of domiciliary. APF, an online newswire is of France and similarly, the Cable Network News (CNN) is of America.

However, no matter the challenge posed to them by professionalism and ethical demands, they do not compromise the national interests of their countries. It is like a taboo for either CNN or APF to practice their trade in a manner that is likely to compromise or jeopardize the national interests of their countries, particularly on security matters.

Nigerian citizens have a different perception of citizenship. They seek every day to pull down their country. They embark on actions which tend to even question the humanity in them. Some media in Nigeria are the worse culprits. Not only are they are excited by the security challenges that have held Nigeria at the jugular, but they ply their trade in a manner that unpretentiously expose them as saboteurs against their nation.

Cyberspace terrorism is globally acknowledged as a new, but very strong and lethal aspect of terrorism. There are even laws prohibiting the indulgence into cyberspace terrorism, which is by every ramification a potent threat in counter-terrorism efforts. But some media in Nigeria and its practitioners have given full support and exercise it wittingly.

Topmost among Nigerian media in this disapproving attitude against Nigeria or their country is Sahara Reporters (SR). This online publication operated by Nigerians owes its existence/funding to external forces. And to date, SR still draws its funding substantially from external sponsors, including countries which are Nigeria’s adversaries.

Therefore, SR has no feeling for Nigeria’s predicaments on insecurity. The touchiest aspect of it is that SR goes out of its way to indulge in destructive falsehood against the Nigerian Government, the Nigerian Military and particularly, the Nigerian Army, which are battling Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism in the country’s Northeast.

SR has ordained itself as a news platform that has become a concentrated and brazen mouthpiece of the enemies of Nigeria. Every Nigerian and the entire world knows that Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism which have troubled and tormented Nigerians for over a decade is funded and activated by external forces. The conspiracy against Nigeria is thick and, it is refreshed every day. And the actions of SR indicate that it has conscripted itself into plots to destabilize Nigeria.

So, SR is very incensed that the Nigerian Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Military have not given terrorists or their sponsors a chance to overrun Nigeria. SR has devoted its news platform to rubbish the Military and efforts of troops in quelling terrorism in the country. They are tacitly frustrating the counter-insurgency operations in the country.

SR does it by mindlessly unleashing a pen and psychological war on the Nigerian Army and the troops in the frontlines through mischievous and fabricated news reports. The intention of SR through such invented and resentful reports is to give full support to terrorists, glorify their acts and embolden insurgents to plot and unleash more atrocities on Nigerians.

When SR is not reeling out fake news against the Nigerian Army, its editorials are fixated on dictating to Mr. President who is qualified or unqualified to serve the nation as Service Chiefs. SR has rendered its news platform to terrorists’ sponsors to ensure Nigeria is defeated in the war against terror.

Regrettably SR has marketed itself consistently as the pen wing of terrorists. It is acting as a news medium to complement terrorists’ efforts in executing the agenda of disintegration of Nigeria. So, SR is now courageous to take their battle to the doorsteps of Nigerian troops at the warfront.

The instruments adopted by SR even question their professional competence and ethical sanity. They engage in outright falsehood; publish unverified news, twist everything that comes from the theatre of operation to give a different interpretation to the public. By this action, they bolster the horrendous acts of terrorists to keep greasing their sponsorship by terrorists’ kingpins.

Just yesterday, SR quoted out of context, the former Commander, Command Theatre, Operation Lafiya Dole. And to blow-up their known mischief, SR speculated generously about deaths of soldiers and civilians as well as missing persons from the imaginary encounter between troops and insurgents. It however never complied with the professional creed of confirmation of the news, but went ahead to publish it.

The online publication sourced the materials for the said publication, after some mischief makers went to town with an alarming casualty figure, as it was done in the Jonathan's era to instigate mutiny in the armed forces. SR faults everything or decision taken by the Army leadership with every bias. Whose interest is SR serving? Could it be that SR is more interested in festering Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism in Nigeria than devoting their news platform to assist the Nigerian Government and people battle terrorism to a terminal point?

It should not be concealed to SR or its operators that it is into active cyberspace terrorism by promoting the agenda of terrorists and their financiers. What is however clear is that SR cannot continue to thrive in the corporate world on the blood of innocent Nigerians. By the strength of the prayers of Nigerians, nemesis will soon trace and catch-up with SR.


Ayokunle is a security expert and wrote this piece from Ibadan.

*Covid-19: Human rights group lauds Nigerian Army's involvement in lockdown enforcement*

.......Welcomes probe panel

The Save Human Advocacy Centre (SHAC) has hailed the Nigerian Army for another timely intervention in a crucial period to save Nigerians from impending collapse to the dreaded coronavirus.

The SHAC believes the Army's proactive response to enforce the stay-at-home order could ultimately be the game-changer as the country edges towards victory over the pandemic.

Coronavirus has swept across the world, killing thousands and forcing millions into quarantine. Several nations have activated armed forces to help combat it.

South Africa deployed its army to enforce a 21-day lockdown and U.S. President Donald Trump activated the National Guard in New York, California and Washington.

The U.S., French and Moroccan armies have set up field hospitals, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the army to carry out drills to increase its readiness.

Led by Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General T.Y Buratai, the Army is ensuring that Nigerians adhere to President Muhammadu Buhari's lockdown order in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun; doing so within the ambit of the law.

In a statement signed by Executive Director, Dr Grace Gyang, SHAC praised the Army Chief for going a step further to set up up toll free lines and help desk to checkmate suspected human rights abuses.

According to the group, Lt. Gen. Buratai has again proven that he is after the protection of the lives of Nigerians whether in war situations or on public health issues like now.

“ By the figures SHAC monitored on April 5, 2020, through a special website called ‘Worldometer,’ Nigeria’s Covid-19 cases are 224; we have recorded 5 cases of deaths and 32 recoveries in nearly two months since the first case was discovered. NCDC has tested over 4,000 cases. This is not time to joke with our lives! It means God Almighty is very merciful to us and we are obligated to appreciate Him through our actions and conducts,” the statement said.

“At this point, SHAC is commending the Nigerian Army in safeguarding Nigerians in this precarious time by enforcing the stay-at-home order. We are also pleased by the Army’s initiative of setting up toll free lines and desk to checkmate suspected abuses of Nigerians by any of its personnel in implementing the lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“SHAC is infinitely proud and appreciative of the leadership offered by the COAS Lt. Gen. TY Buratai. For the umpteenth time, Gen. Buratai has proven to Nigerians that he is after the protection of the lives of Nigerians whether in war situations or on public health issues like now.

“We endearingly salute the proactive initiatives by Gen. Buratai, which actively responded to the genuine concerns raised by well-meaning Nigerians on restriction of movement to tame the spread of Covid-19. Or else, by today, and without the action of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria would have been in the same ditch of mess over Covid-19 with countries like Italy, Spain and America among others. We live in a panicked world now!.”

SHAC, however, welcomed the COAS’ resolve to investigate alleged human rights abuses against his officers and soldiers.

The group advised Nigerians, though, to allow the Army investigate and punish those found wanting within its laid down laws while they also do their best to ignore fake news.

“ SHAC is appealing to the understanding of Nigerians that in every organization or institution, there are deviants. The COAS is not unaware of the few cases where some soldiers abused or violated the human rights of some Nigerians in the course of enforcing the stay-at-home order as directed by the FGN and state Governments,” it said.

“ The issues are on his desk. And Gen. Buratai has ordered and arrested the suspected soldiers for unprofessional conduct as he has always done even in instances before now. The soldiers are currently subjected to military interrogation to ascertain the veracity of the claims and culpability of the soldiers.

“ And if found wanting in the reported cases of abuse of civilians, the trusted Gen. Buratai will not be hesitant to discipline or punish them in accordance with laid down Military laws. We again appeal for calm and understanding from all Nigerians. We all need our supports in this difficult period.

“ Perhaps, before we conclude, the general public must be watchful about the activities of fake activists who are out to blackmail the military and Nigerians. These emergency or contracted activists are unto their usual business by dusting up old pictures of soldiers’ brutality of civilians and doctoring them to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army.

“ These pictures and videos have gone viral on social media platforms to poison the minds of Nigerians against soldiers. But we must be clear-eyed to discern the fakeness and ensure that we are not misled by such dubious elements and their gimmicks.

“ SHAC is disclosing to the public that Nigerians who have difficulties reaching the Nigerian Army Human Rights Desks nation-wide can reach us over their problems in this period. We have equally launched a situation room to monitor issues of human rights abuses by all security agencies participating in the Covid-19 lock down across the country and not just the Army. We are concerned; all Nigerians are concerned.

“ Finally, we enjoin all Nigerians to support the federal and state governments by observing the stay-at-home order. We should resist the temptation of being used by dubious elements to disturb the peace of the country through Covid-19. We are just trying to overcome Boko Haram and as a nation, we cannot afford another round of mass deaths in whatever guise.”

By Philip Agbese

Nostradamus is famed globally as a man who saw tomorrow. He was a great seer, whom God endowed with unbeatable clairvoyance. He could predict the future events with amazing precision. He was venerated world-wide because his prophetic prowess and projections hardly missed the targets.

President Muhammadu Buhari can be likened to the great Nostradamus. He is imbued with such telepathy. He met Nigeria in a terribly shape. It was a country wholly dependent on other nations for survival. Buhari perceptively saw tomorrow. He had a sound vision about tomorrow and the future, which told him repositioning Nigeria on the path of self-reliance was the only worthwhile step of redemption of the country.

As democratic President of the country, he knew salvaging actions towards self-reliance were necessary to fortify the future. Thus, his administration initiated policies and programmes that would pull back Nigeria from the claws of dependence to self-sufficiency.

The Buhari Presidency preached, initiated and implemented policies on diversification of the economy. He knew a mono-economy as operated by Nigeria which depended solely on crude oil proceeds for national revenues was preposterous in the event of a global crisis. In the last few years, his administration has pumped trillions of naira to boost agricultural production, promote small scale enterprises and the manufacturing sector.

God Himself, through His divine knowledge and wisdom gave President Buhari the foresight of what was to come in the nearest future. And the President’s actions were tailored in the direction of boosting domestic food production, achieving food security and scaling up activities in the manufacturing sector. And just in four years, Nigeria has pleasantly achieved self-sufficiency in food production & many essential products for her 200 million people!

But initially, the opposition in the country, criticized President Buhari’s policies and actions. He was condemned as a leader groping in the dark. The President was unjustly lampooned for his genuine efforts in transforming Nigeria.

However, the reality has only dawned on Nigerians on the wisdom of President Buhari, with the global pandemic, Coronavirus (Covid-19) currently ravaging the world. Buhari saw today’s reality years back and prepared Nigeria for it. There is now imposition of movements and restrictions on business transactions world-wide.

The price of crude oil in the international market has also slumped unimaginably. But the manageable stabilization Nigeria has achieved, in the face of this global threat fueled by Covid-19 pandemic is attributed to its impressive self-reliance status ennobled by the Buhari Presidency. Nigeria would have been in deep mess had President Buhari sustained the culture of Nigeria’s 100 percent dependence on foreign countries.

When President Buhari closed land borders, his critics and opponents filled the space with resenting voices. But the reality of Covid-19 has exposed the wisdom in that decision. It is the strength of a leader who has foresight. Even Buhari’s most ardent critics, now acknowledge him in their reflective moments, except that the usual pride of Nigerians has restrained some of them from confessing it publicly.

But in more diverse and salient ways, President Buhari’s leadership has shuddered Nigeria protectively and impactfully. The deliberate multiplication of crises, violence and conflicts in Nigeria orchestrated by state actors with its attendant humanitarian problems hinted Mr. President of the necessity to manage the fallouts more frontally and coordinatively. And Mr. President observed that mass poverty in Nigeria among the majority poor was also a problem which needed to be confronted and solved by the federal government in an organized manner.

And it is his divine wisdom and knowledge of anticipation of the unexpected that informed President Buhari to establish the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development on August 21, 2019. As usual, the unknowledgeable opposition in Nigeria and critics slammed him variously, accusing his government of ‘duplicitousness’. But Mr. President saw tomorrow and was unperturbed and undaunted.

And after establishing the Ministry, President Buhari proceeded to appoint a humanist, trusted administrator and competent disaster management expert, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq to pilot the affairs of the ministry.

With Covid-19 gradually simmering into the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and government’s proactive steps to halt the spread of the disease, a total lockdown of the country has been ordered. The importance of the creation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has once again come to the fore.

Through the effective coordination and supervision of agencies under the Ministry, the Minister is providing palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians to save lives and alleviate the suffering of people locked down in their homes as a result of Covid-19 epidemic.

It has adopted a multi-faceted approach in dishing out palliatives to the poor and vulnerable, IDPs, the elderly, persons with disabilities, refugees, trafficked persons, and petty traders among others, as part of Presidential interventions to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown of the country. The palliatives have manifested in form of cash and food supplies to vulnerable groups in the country.

Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq has established the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development’s COVID-19 Response Committee, comprising all agencies under the purview of the Ministry which are speedily delivering diverse reliefs to vulnerable segments of the country. Agencies under the Ministry have been repositioned and are working seamlessly with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and delivering succor to Nigerians susceptible to extreme hardships as a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown of the country.

The minister has started dishing out palliative interventions to over 11.4 million households, and to vulnerable Nigerians already captured by the social investment/welfare programs register, covering 35 states and 453 LGAS across the country.

The minister is also exploring the possibility of expanding the register of beneficiaries, as she is in discussion with the US Social Protection Donor Group to add an additional 1 million households to the scheme for the intervention.

And it was divine wisdom and foresight that propelled President Buhari to appoint Engr. Mustapha Maihaja in 2017 as Director- General, National Emergency Management Agency (DG NEMA). NEMA under the leadership of Engr. Maihaja is leading other agencies in providing relief services and palliatives to vulnerable groups throughout the country as well as responding to other disaster situations.

Nigerians are experiencing less hardships during the Covid-19 shut down of the country because NEMA is in perfect working synergy with agencies like North East Development Commission (NEDC), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP ) and all the components of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) in reaching out to vulnerable Nigerians. Nigerians have started receiving food items, conditional cash transfers, and protective items such as face masks, soaps and sanitizers.

Furthermore, the impact of Covid-19 in Nigeria would have been devastating had the Presidency failed to engage experts ab initio in disease detection and management in the country. It was a divine foresight that informed President Buhari to appoint Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, a world class epidemiologist and public health physician of international repute as the Chief Executive Officer,(CEO) Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) since August 15, 2016.

From the first index case of Coronavirus in Nigeria, reportedly imported into the country by an Italian, Ihekweazu has taken proactive measures to secure the country. In alliance with relevant MDAs, the NCDC boss has established Isolation Centers as well as Covid-19 Testing Centers in states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It promptly acts on specimen of persons suspected of the virus and give necessary advice to safeguard public health. The proactive handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the success story and the near zero casualty figure in Nigeria is as a result of the ingenuity of the NCDC’s CEO.

Likewise, it is only divine intervention that has insulated President Buhari from contracting the deadly coronavirus disease, even though he mingled with his closest aides and some governors that have already tested Covid-19 positive. These persons are receiving treatments in isolation centres. President Buhari is indeed divinely inspired and empowered to protect Nigeria from unexpected emergencies or disasaters.

Agbese is a human rights laws researcher writing from the United Kingdom.

Human right and social- justice crusaders, otherwise known as activists have moved up the social ladder in Nigeria.

They are no longer the harassed and brutalised lot locked up in dungeons, sacrificing their comfort for any cause they believe in.

They have joined the upwardly mobile in Nigeria who drive exotic cars and spend their evenings at lush gardens in the Federal Capital, Abuja with movie and pop stars.

That lifestyle used to be the exclusive preserve of con men also known as 419 and later internet fraudsters who stage scams to swindle the unsuspecting public of their hard earned money.

The crusaders for democracy and social justice in Nigeria have had their reputation tainted by desperation to make it and have found a gold mine in the offer by corrupt politicians to blackmail either the president of Nigeria or the military.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that blackmailing the Nigerian president was discovered to be a gold mine shortly before the 2019 elections which the president won with a big margin.

The desperation to taint the image of the military especially that of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai is another goldmine, due to the success of the military operation in the Northeast which has shored up the credibility of the president in delivering the promise he made to the electorate in 2015.

President Buhari had won the 2015 election partly due to the belief that his wealth of experience in the army would help in curbing the terror being unleashed on Nigerians by the Boko Haram terrorists.

Our investigation found out that opposition politicians shortly before the 2019 general elections, in the bid to detract from the high points of the Buhari administration decided to destroy the main thing standing for him; his credibility. This is as all polls conducted before the election indicated that Buhari stood a better chance of winning the election due to his popularity.

The plot was contrived to work on staining his image before the electorate and the international community.

The strategy is said to be aimed at cutting down on his large followership in the northern part of the country and to make it impossible for him to penetrate the southern part which he seemed set to do.

The inclusion of the international community was to regurgitate the age old fable about not being a democrat so that his foreign support base which helped in 2015 would be weakened.

Top opposition figures, our findings revealed, reached out to some individuals and organisations who were known activists for that purpose while offering to pay good money for the 'project.'

As hard currencies were being mobilised for the purpose, sources in the opposition disclosed to our correspondents that the buzz caught the attention of other intending freeloaders who also aimed to make something for themselves and before the elections would come, the queue of activists demanding a deal became quite long.

Our investigations showed that the bait dangled before the activists who became steeped in the project was responsible for some of the negative publicity against the Nigerian president in the media during the 2019 elections.

An Abuja based social crusader who partook in one of the campaigns and made 'good money' for himself, told our correspondent on grounds of anonymity that he knew from then that the business will not go away in a hurry due to the money in their circulation and the desperation of the opposition to paint the president in bad light.

Rather than abate after the elections, things got more serious when the processes of litigation over the election commenced.

The opposition was hopeful that it would get a favourable judgment and intensified its bid to win 'in the court of public opinion.'

He said that was boom period for the activists as the desperation of the opposition took another dimension.

Another activist who said he got a slice of the action after the elections admitted that he got introduced into the business by a friend who was an associate of an opposition politician

" I was with them one day when they now asked me if could use my creativity to earn something for myself and I said yes.

"That was how I stated and we held several meetings and I was assigned a particular task and topic; I performed well and was paid and the game continued," he said.

But even as the opposition lost at the courts, the business of blackmailing the president and the military has not stopped.

This is because the military was not unrelenting in making the president proud by defeating insurgency.

Only last week, our reporters stumbled on a meeting in the Wuse area of Abuja where people were being asked to turn in their scripts for vetting and possible reimbursement

Our reporter found out that the activists are usually given topics to develop and blackmail the president and that any that gets the go ahead of the opposition receive as much as $10, 000.

The delivery could either be in form of a news story written against the president or military which is circulated to the mainstream media or by direct confrontation with constituted authority.

An insider told our correspondent that "what you get depends on your target. For PMB they pay as $100, 000 which is about 38million naira while for the military the pay as much as $50,000.

It is not immediately clear whether such activists are working in cahoots with the insurgents terrorising Nigeria in the Northeast but an insider told our reporter that 'for now it is the politicians trying to get at the president.'

The recruitment of the activists for the purpose of destroying the image of the President our finding revealed is done in two stages.

The first is call up those who have for one reason or the other fallen out with the president and the second is to reach out to the camp of the supporters of the president to give the campaign of calumny a modicum of credibility.

Sources also revealed that even some clerics have also been recruited into the business.

Attempts to confirm if the police is aware of this did not yield fruit but police sources say the authorities may soon swoop in on the activists as what they were involved in was criminal

A top member of the ruling party who asked not to be named when contacted, said the party is aware and will soon take an action on those involved.

By David Onmeje

It is a truism that opposition and robust criticisms suckle democratic wheels and allow governance flourish on beneficial templates. The problem in Nigeria is that a number of critics are more confused than the views they reel out in criticisms. Sometimes, they even reel out criticisms which burp with warped opinions, obviously pointing to the shadows of hirelings.

The National Communications Commission (NCC) Complex at Mbora was recently commissioned with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance. It was a great accomplishment and a successful ceremony by all gradations.

But thereafter, a critic, apparently on a hatchet job, staged out with vituperations of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami. Apparently, he had personal or instigated issues with the Honourable Minister, but unfortunately presented them in an award-winning trophy of flawed style and lost senses from the first word to the last with his flawed ink. Candidly, he impressed himself, but no one else.

The critic, Emmanuel Johnmar was loud in condemnations of the Minister; labelled him a liar, corrupt, incompetent and a neophyte in managing Nigeria’s Telecommunications industry. Scrutinizing the contents of his criticisms, there was the confounding problem of establishing his real intent. He got himself confused more than the public he staged out to elucidate.

Was Johnmar attempting to praise Mr. President or berate him for appointing an incompetent person like Dr. Pantami to superintend on Nigeria’s communication’s industry and digital economy? At a point, the critic sounded like someone weeping for President Buhari for having a “disaster” like Pantami in his government. But could the critic be more catholic than the Pope?

What befuddled most was the critic’s parameters of what his intelligence could deliver to him as yardsticks of excellence or commendable performance on a job or public office. It was laughable that the critic’s notion of splendor in the case of NCC, one of the many agencies under the supervision of Dr. Pantami was that there is “no credibility in employment, promotions and awards of contracts.” Is this his idea of perfection in a public office? How could a normal person degenerate this poorly in reasoning?

Sadly, that’s the critic’s idea of excellence of a government agency or ministry and not service delivery to the public. It provided clear insights to discerning minds that disgruntled staff of NCC and their shadowy accomplices in the Ministry have contracted him to run down the Minister at all cost.

These are same critics who abuse President Buhari’s principle and philosophy that government is continuity. Nigeria’s landscape is dotted with billions upon billions of uncompleted projects. And public funds have been sunk into them, but every successive government abandon such projects. But President Buhari introduced a new approach to governance by completing these abandoned projects, yet the critics are still fuming and mouthing all manner of insanities in condemnations.

When Buhari completes projects abandoned by his predecessors, the critics claim he is devoid of wisdom to initiate and complete his own projects. If he overlooks them and apply his principle, in the greater interest of Nigerians, the same critics still complain. One is compelled to think whether Buhari’s predecessors brought out the money for such projects from their family patrimony.

The crux of Johnmar’s criticisms on President Buhari, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) NCC, Prof. Garba Danbatta is that the incumbent administration never appreciated the NCC Complex building they commissioned as started by previous administrations in Nigeria. What is the heck here?

The same senior officials Johnmar sought desperately and provocatively to disparage have traversed a long trajectory in public leadership. President Buhari’s public leadership antecedents are open secrets. Whilst Prof. Danbatta has an established niche as a famed academic in his field of specialization, who by virtue of public service, works under Minister Pantami. And both are crack brains in the Information and communication (ICT) industry in Nigeria.

Dr. Pantami particularly has come a long way in the ICT industry home and abroad. He established his fame years back, right from the point he was the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) at the outset of the President Buhari’s administration.

Buhari wanted to indoctrinate Nigeria into e-governance and he had to look for an ICT expert. He found an Information Communication Technology (ICT) specialist and Internet Technology (IT) czar, Dr. Isa Pantami, a Fellow of British Computer Society (FBCS). His briefs from the Presidency was to spearhead reformations and innovations that would restructure and reposition NITDA as a vibrant agency of the federal government that will drive the Buhari administration’s dream of e-governance for Nigeria.

And Dr. Pantami marshalled out a work-plan and a template, which accomplished this mandate within the shortest possible time through an action frame-work he christened, as, “The Strategic Roadmap To Transform the Nigerian IT Sector,” document. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy elevated the Nigeria’s regulation of the IT industry and left relics such as e-governance in MDAs; enhanced cybersecurity; digital inclusion; platforms for private sector capacity building by IT stakeholders, development of local content and its promotion.

Nigeria as a nation benefited a lot from his initiatives in NITDA. Through e-governance, ghost workers from the federal civil service numbering over 34, 000 were fished out and government saved billions of taxpayers’ money to invest in other sectors. JAMB now conducts Computer Based Tests (CBTs) and several other federal government MDAs are seamlessly harnessing the treasures of Dr. Pantami’s IT knowledge in different sectors of governance.

It is the reliability and impact of Dr. Pantami’s performance in NITDA that ASUU is hesitating enrolment into IPPIS and advancing all manner of excuses. Its therefore, uncharitable for any critic to descend his contracted ink or axe on such a rare gift to Nigeria in the IT or ICT sector. Pantami’s elevation to the position of Minister streams from his preceding excellent performance as NITDA boss. President Buhari knows Pantami has the knack for the job and willing to do it to the fullest to salvage Nigeria. Whatever Johnmar wrote adequately expressed itself in frustration.

Nonetheless, as Minister, Dr. Pantami has taken full control of Nigeria’s Telecoms industry and IT world; he was first to decry to Telecoms operators that they are over-billing Nigerians on data. He was frank that once Nigerians purchase data, it should not expire. He is working towards implementing the pay -as- you-go package for all GSM operators in the country. He is perfecting plans to compel Telecoms to charge Nigerians less for the services they offer.

It is very unconscionable for a self-styled critic to brand Dr. Pantami and those who work under him with such baseless allegations. These are allegations even the so-called critic has not dropped any hint about their veracity. It’s not all about anyone sleeping to wake up and some demons quarantining his senses to scribble rubbish. The critic imagined and wrote frivolous allegations against Dr. Pantami because Nigeria is in a democratic government and freedom of expression is permitted. It smacks of the abuse of the same liberty of freedom of expression.

Minister Pantami remains one of the best leadership personalities in the new team of President Buhari and a vital cog in the #NextLevel blueprint. And it is definite that detractors such as Johnmar would maliciously come after him. President Buhari selects his team carefully.

So, those trying to crucify Pantami’s efforts are both local and international enemies of Nigeria who do not want the progress of the country and have conscripted critics to act at their behest. The Minister’s stewardship is stainless and
he is poised to add more value to the development of Nigeria in the ICT and IT sector. Let the angels of darkness allow the star to shine on Africa.

Dr. Pantami has demonstrated himself as a dynamite in ideas, which are beneficially explosive. The critics should take an honourable bow out of his leadership space. Nothing written against Pantami has any modicum of conviction. It is the simple and plain truth. Johnmar is however appreciated for exercising his freedom of expression in a democracy.

Onmeje is Group Managing Director of TheNigerian News Group and wrote this piece from London.