₦airaland Forum

The PDP Rebirth Mandate, has condemned in its entirety the arson and attacks on innocent Nigerians by members of the Ibrahim El-Zakzaky-led Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN.

The group was reacting to the Monday's attack by the Shiite militants on emergency point of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and innocent citizens leading to deaths.



Reacting to the incident, PDP Rebirth Mandate frowned at the attack, while warning members of the opposition party against sponsoring or participating in the protest by the violent group.
Charles Ukaha, President of the group, who addressed newsmen, called IMN to immediately stop its campaign of violent clashes with the Nigerian public while also halting attacks on law enforcement officers.

Full text of his speech below.

Gentlemen of the press, on Monday July 22, 2019 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) again launched terror attacks against the Nigerian state. As was the case in the recent past, the target of the attack was the National Assembly before security operatives managed to contain them to the Federal Secretariat axis.

Nigerians who were peacefully going about their own legitimate businesses were forced to flee as shot were being fired. Security operatives and paramilitary personnel in the vicinity were seen fleeing with civilians owing to an extant directive not to engage the members. This decision to retreat is highly logical given the casualty recently suffered on their part when IMN members invaded the National Assembly and randomly targeted policemen in a gun attack that resulted in the loss of life and some policemen left with life changing injuries.

The IMN members, similar to what they did in the past, set ablaze a vehicle belonging the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and vandalized vehicles belonging to other Nigerians. We have not arrived at a point where people take to their heels at the mention of IMN. It all echoes the early days of Boko Haram too clearly and it is not a nightmare that any right thinking Nigerian wants to live through again. This is especially so when some representatives of the group have been reported that they have the capacity to blow up the entire Abuja.

The PDP Rebirth Mandate is taking this unprecedented decision to wade into the situation given the reports that have been carried in some quarters that politicians from PDP are the ones sponsoring these attacks on the corporate entity of Nigeria and the wellbeing of millions of Nigerians. Our party has been called names of all sorts because some misguided members that do not know the dangers of supporting a group like IMN or who do not appreciate the full extent of threat it poses to Nigerians. We believe that our stance at this press conference will be instructive as to whether we approve of IMN’s terrorist acts or not.

Nigeria is more important than the political, economic or religious ambition of any individual or group, which is why we believe that the IMN should get all the condemnation it is deserving for its actions against the Nigerian state, irrespective of what the provocation was initially. Assuming their grouse against the nation or government of the day were legitimate pursuing justice with violence and injustice will only further complicate things.

We therefore call on IMN to immediately stop its campaign of violent clashes with the Nigerian public while also halting attacks on law enforcement officers, who have till date demonstrated remarkable restraints in the face of the baiting done by IMN members. If there is still a leadership structure in place within organization, we urge them to restrain their members and call them off the streets of Abuja and other Nigerian cities to which they have deployed.

IMN, its leadership and members, know that the ongoing campaign of terror against the Nigerian state can no longer be considered a mere case of civil disobedience. It now, in view of recent incidents, qualify as a full scale insurrection against the country. The group’s history of disavowal of the Nigerian state will therefore create conditions that warrant stronger responses from the state in order to guarantee the safety and security of other citizens.



We appeal to those sponsoring the IMN protests, whether within or outside our great party, the PDP to desist from using politics as a decoy to disguise the sick portion of their mind that enjoys terrorism. It is wrong for anyone to think that the best way of getting at the government of the day or political rival is to support terrorists and extremists. It is a strategy that has time and again proven to be laden with ugly backlash that consumes not just the intended target but also the person deploying it.

Our group condemn those that had thrown decorum to the wind by verbally supporting IMN through statements, press briefings and social media posts that have encouraged its members to continue this misguided insurrections against the country. These members of the PDP that have done this are uncharitable elements that must be dealt with immediately because they are a liability to our great party.

We therefore call on all PDP party members at all levels to stop participating in IMN protests irrespective of who gave the directive to take part or how much mobilization was provided. We further direct that no member of the PDP should issue statements, address conferences, write opinion articles or make social media posts in official capacity to support IMN or even marginally condone the crime they are committing. Those that have been engaged in this kind of activities in support of IMN are enemies of the PDP, who also do not mean well for our dear country.

The PDP Rebirth Mandate will be closely monitoring compliance with these directive and shall make repercussions costly for any party member or official that goes out of line to pitch tents with terrorists to the detriment of the country.

We like to emphasize that this tough stance against terrorism was borne out the need to ensure that a prosperous Federal Republic of Nigeria remains in existence by the time the PDP becomes ready to reassume its role as Nigeria’s foremost ruling party.

Home News News Boko Haram: Security Has Improved In Lake Chad Region – MNJTF By Emergency Digest - July 21, 2019 Boko Haram: Security has improved in Lake Chad region – MNJTF The security situation within the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJNTF) Area of Responsibility in the Lake Chad region has improved since the activation of OP YANCIN TAFKI on January 22, an official has said. The force commander, C.O. Ude, also said although confrontations between the military, drawn from affected nations, and the terrorists have increased in the past four months, civilian casualties have continued to decrease, “largely due to the interposition of the military force.” The major general said this during the just concluded Lake Chad governors forum in Niamey, Niger Republic. Governors from North-east Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad and their representatives attended the two-day second governor’s forum at the end of which they reaffirmed their commitment to improving cross border security. The event, organised by the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), had technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Union (AU) and the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI). The MJNTF commander, who noted that the war was far from over, however, highlighted the successes recorded against the terrorists, who have been waging pitched battles across swathes of the four nations “It is equally worthy to mention here that the MNJTF has continued to successfully discharge its mandate as the civilian casualty figures has significantly reduced from about 1,967 recorded in 2015 to less than 570 at the end of 2018. “The few attacks by the terrorist groups against MNJTF forces have been successfully defeated by decisive counter-attacks by own forces with heavy casualties inflicted on the enemy,” he said. “The offensive operations under OP YANCIN TAFKI in coordination with national operations have been directed to fixing and destroying the enemy within identified areas and camps,” he explained. The official also said the force has conducted “robust fighting patrols and clearance operations to dominate area of operations and deny the terrorists freedom of action and further degrade their will to fight. “So far, over 815 BHT have been neutralised, 55 captured and 37 BHT have so far surrendered. Similarly, several technicals, weapons and logistics hitherto in the hands of BHT have either been destroyed or recovered in the on-going operations. These operational successes have therefore imposed significant setback on the fighting capacity of the terrorists. “It is worthy to note that these successes were as a result of well-coordinated execution of combat missions by MNJTF forces and National Troops as well as the excellent coordination of ISR and air support from the various Air Forces of TCC including our partners. “It is equally important to note that own forces have the initiative. The offensive operations, counter attacks and pursuit of the enemy has been decisive and commendable. It is hoped that with the high level of fighting efficiency of the troops, we will continue to maintain the pressure on the terrorists as we execute the crucial stages of the operation and consolidate the current gains.”

By Okanga Agila


A Korean proverb says, “ You will hate a beautiful song, if you sing it often.” And that’s why the bird, parrot has no existential value even among the family of birds. It is a meaninglessly talkative bird. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), describes the parrot as a bird with excellent capacity to mimic “…and can copy sounds that they hear in their environment; they can even copy human words and laughter.”

That a parrot has the capacity to imitate human sound, does not confer on it the ability of prehensile. It does it more for fun as part of her nature. So, it is not controvertible that the parrot is disliked for its consistent and meaningless exhibition of the “gift” of squawking almost minutely. Its mimicking of the human sound is neither a message discernible to itself nor to other birds in its vicinity.

Apparently, the burden of the parrot is an exact replication of the moral plight of former Nigeria’s Military Head of State and democratic President for eight years, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ). At adult age, he has injected himself with the virus of incessant verbal public commentaries and open epistles on national issues directed at the incumbent leader of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari solely for self-appeasement.

Obasanjo who regales in the status of an elder statesman in Nigeria and Africa. But like the parrot bird, he merely imitates what great statesmen and leaders of other African countries do when out of power. It’s clear, he does it without necessarily understanding the trajectory the other leaders he blindly mimics have left as legacies in their respective countries. So, they are justified in morality and pride.

Unfortunately, OBJ only knows that former leaders of nations ought to be public commentators on affairs of their countries while out office, just like the parrot mimics human voice. But other leaders of African nations with such indulgence have records of legacies they can pinpoint for the generation today and posterity.

Unluckily, OBJ is devoid of such fondly memories in his years of shadows on the leadership podium of Nigeria, but copies them by parroting endlessly. And like the Ivorian proverb says; “He who talks continuously, talks nonsense,” OBJ is not only confronted with the dilemma of vomiting what many consider as nonsense, but indicts and ridicules himself each time he throws jibes and tirades at the Buhari Presidency.

The obsession of OBJ now is to disparage everything President Buhari has done to tame the tide of sponsored insecurity in the country. In his wonderland, OBJ feels contented to harshly scold President Buhari on Boko Haram, herdsmen killings, communal conflicts and other assorted criminalities besieging Nigeria. He fails to recognize any effort of government on security.

In all his vituperations against the Presidency, he has never preached the necessity of Nigerians to co-exist in love and peace; he has never taken his admonishments to the doorsteps of sponsors of violence and killings in the land, who are determinately pulling the strings of conflicts and disunity in killings. He doesn’t want to know the public voice of an elder statesman should embody such cautions, as against incitement.

The former President prefers not to remember that he laid and sustained the foundations for the widespread violence, killings, disenchantments and hopelessness’ in the land. The alterable truth is that OBJ is responsible and indeed, knows the hidden faces tormenting Nigeria because it started during his Presidency. But he never acted; rather he romanticized these crises entrepreneurs’ or actors and gave them every leverage to consolidate into the monsters of today.

Therefore, it is laughable when OBJ laments current killings and violence around the country and proceeds to colour it in very awful terms of inciting diction. But it was worse under his reign. This is not to say, any death of a Nigerian in an unlawful circumstance should be justified. But OBJ’s trumpets are resonating to loud on the side of sanctimoniousness over problems he created.

Entrenched insecurity in Nigeria had the blessings of OBJ as a serving President. This elder statesman has forgotten that the shameful failure of state security to secure the lives and property of Nigerians in the early days of his Presidency gave birth to illegal vigilante groups across Nigeria. The Bakassi Boys and the O'odua People's Congress (OPC) and others, freely embarked on the task of securing their communities and carried out illegal detentions and extrajudicial killings. OBJ as President had all the powers, but could not do anything.

In the year 2000 alone, inter-communal conflicts were rife all over Nigeria. At least, 2,000 Nigerians were coldly murdered in the Kaduna riots of 2000. And in a single month, about 1,000 persons were killed in Jos in the month of September 2001, according to Human Rights Watch. What drastic measures adopted by OBJ to halt the killings and violence? There was no actionable anger from the Presidency and OBJ was as cold as impotent ash.

These ugly scenarios’ outlived his Presidency and flourished throughout the 16 years PDP government held power in Nigeria. Of course, the killings have not been obliterated completely. But if Jos has some measure of respite from the killings now, the relieve has come under the Buhari Presidency.

OBJ keeps parroting feebly and like a traditional adage says; “ A talkative bird will not build a nest.” So, he left these problems to fester into near irremovable stains because he was more interested in talking than action.

It is very sad that OBJ today wants Nigerians and the whole world to know President Buhari is the architect of Nigeria’s problems with resurgence of violence and killings. OBJ’s evil heart does not allow him the luxury of introspection on his previous outings.

In March 2010, OBJ told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview after about 200 persons lost their lives in violence near the city of Jos between Christian and Muslim communities that the eruption of violence had no religious connotations.

OBJ stated; "If you have one group or a community that has land that's been encroached upon by another community or even by itinerant cattle farmers, then the people who lay claim to the land will fight back. If there are job opportunities in an area, and persons believe they are indigenous to that area, and (are) not getting enough out of the jobs that are available, they will fight those who are getting the jobs."

Today, OBJ sermonizes in his latest open letter to President Buhari that “And Boko Haram will not go away on the basis of sticks alone, carrots must overweigh sticks. How else do you deal with issues such as only about 50% literacy in North-East with over 70% unemployment?”

Yet, this is a leader, who laid the template that dubiously sold all Nigeria’s national assets; from landed properties to companies, industries and so forth, which threw millions out of jobs. And all sold assets are performing at less than 10 percent. What convictions compelled him to dispose these national assets, if he ever knew unemployment was a problem in the country?

But he wants Buhari to solve the problem of insecurity through the “carrot approach,” by relaunching Nigeria on the track of industrial development or boom in just four years. What a hypocrite!

It is quite painful that OBJ had all the chances to right the wrongs of Nigeria right from independence to the time of his Presidency. But he abused every opportunity all so gleefully. What happened to the report submitted to him by the Justice Chukwudifo Oputa-chaired panel on Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission? He buried it so impishly.

But it was one Panel Nigerians embraced and hitherto very bitter enemies poured out their minds in public reconciliation. But OBJ confined the report to the trashcan, instead of implementing the recommendations that would have cemented the cracks and berthed durable peace among bickering peoples and communities in Nigeria.

If militancy heightened in the Niger Delta; or the unabated animosity, violence and killings’ in Southern Kaduna; the ongoing internecine killings between Jukun and Tiv communities in Taraba state or elsewhere in the Middle Belt; the violent eruptions on the Plateau between Berom and Hausa/Fulani ethnicities and even the herders/farmers conflicts are an off-shoot of Obasanjo’s negligence as President of Nigeria. He is challenged to publicly prove otherwise.

Was OBJ able to address or bring justice or succor to victims of the November 1999 massacres of civilians in Odi, Bayelsa state or in what ways was his administration able to assuage the pains of victims of the October 2001 military invasion of Zaki Biam and parts of Benue state? All committees he constituted himself on these extrajudicial killings submitted their reports to him. But he dumped them until his tenure expired. These reports, if implemented, rendered a very dependable platform for OBJ to manage Nigeria’s diversities and implant national unity and cohesion.

In a July 3, 2003 open letter to the then President Obasanjo, Ken Roth, the
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch lamented and pleaded on the Oputa Panel report thus;

“The Oputa Panel submitted its report to your government well over a year ago. We are disappointed to note that neither the report nor any plans to implement its recommendations have been published.…We urge you to ensure that that those responsible for ordering and carrying out the massacres in Benue and Odi, whatever their rank or position, are identified, charged and tried without delay.”

Furthermore, today OBJ howls about Boko Haram insurgency like a castrated bull. But it started under his watch and like the other security aberrations’ he consented, nurtured and permitted to gather enough muscles to now threaten Nigeria, he did nothing. Nigerians now bear the brunt and agony of his executive inactions as insurgency has consumed over 20, 000 Nigerians since 2009 when its operations peaked unchallenged.

No one is claiming there is no insecurity in Nigeria. Certainly, there is insecurity in Nigeria like every other part of the world. But is OBJ saying it has just occurred to him to care about Nigeria’s security? It smacks more of mockery and a feeble attempt to reinvent and purify his sadistic mind on Nigeria by tacitly prodding communities or individuals to violence and killings.

More Nigerians have been killed under his leadership than any natural disaster or leader that has ever administered Nigeria since 1960. If OBJ cannot atone for his sins; it is unpardonable for him to try to mock Nigerians or any leader.

Finally, OBJ should learn from the wisdom of this African proverb; “ Young people talk of what they are doing; old people, of what they have done, and fools of what they have a mind to do.”

Okanga, a traditional warrior wrote from Agila, Benue State.

By Israel Abiodun


The National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko has apparently gotten a new lease of life. Those who may not know him well enough would be unaware that the enforced silence, seen on his part, in recent times has nothing to do with retreating for introspection, which would have been a good thing since that would have imposed a period of coerced reasoning on him, something he appears incapable of. The silence on his part is a manifestation of the power of hunger.
Those who know him are conversant with how such period of silence was dictated by the absence of a client to inspire Onwubiko to write misleading pieces or making rounds of the studio of media outlets where he performs as a talking head, a pseudo-expert in activism, albeit without the fair disclosure that his brand of activism is the one that can only be procured and activated by the abundance of lucre. The money comes in and Onwubiko starts chiming on loop like the sound of the bank alert that announced that his clients have paid for him to resume his mud slinging.
One would think that receiving money for his activism would at least prompt him to go out on a limb in an attempt to wrap the sewer cleaning job he does in some layer of respectability. That is however something he does not have capacity for. He is too given to ethnic bigotry to deliver something relevant and useful for his client in the hope that such will accidentally contribute to the public discourse on whatever he is being paid to muddle up. Note must be made here of the fact that Onwubiko’s contributions to national dialogue have only been belligerent, attacking individuals and organizations, without ever coming up with a constructive concept of how to deal with an issue.
This is the logical explanation for his recent outburst against the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General TY Buratai, who Onwubiko picked offense against for highlighting the political facet of the criminality that appeared to have escalated in several parts of Nigeria. Perhaps at this point, a futile attempt should be made to educate Onwubiko, his lack of capacity to genuinely learn is not in doubt as he has on several occasions demonstrated that much. But efforts must still be made to highlight certain things, at least for the benefit of those that he is misleading.
Had he but stepped back and think about the situation without the impact of the dizzying ethnic bigotry that drives him, he would have noted, like other right thinking Nigerians, that the escalation of security breaches occured sharply in the weeks after the elections, which has been attributed to defeated politicians covertly supporting or sponsoring such criminal acts. Perhaps he knows the facts but decided to play the ostrich because admitting that failed politicians contribute to insecurity would amount to self indictment since these failures of politicians are not only his associates but are also the ones plying him with bread and butter to provide the energy for his keening.
It must be appreciated that while Onwubiko is not alone in being paid to criticize public office holders and critical national institutions, he seems to hold the record for being the worst ethnic bigot in his field, save for a couple of other hirelings from the southwest whose outbursts can be legitimately attributed to mental health issues and substance abuse. Onwubiko’s unacceptable ethnic bigotry is one that must be addressed for the very fact that it poses the risk of distorting the field in a manner that makes seeking non-violent solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges difficult, if not impossible. He has no right to create such problem for Nigeria, a country he loathes belonging to since he has severally expressed his preference for the defunct Biafra.
This is why it is unfortunate that he accused the COAS of all manner of things for being forthcoming about why banditry and other criminal situations persists in the same statement in which he accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honorable Femi Gbajabiamila of ‘high treason’ for going on an exploratory visit of troubled places in Zamfara state in pursuit of peace building. Such conflicting response should remove every doubt that exists as to whether Onwubiko’s ethnic bigotry has destroyed the last shred of objective reasoning he is capable of.
Only such ingrained bigotry can make a man that supports a designated terrorist group, the Indigenous People of Baifra, IPOB, come out to speak as if Nigerians have forgotten where he stands on the unity of the country. He believes and support IPOB’s goal of partitioning Nigeria, destroying the country, so that some people can massage their lack of capacity for living in a multicultural country. Had General Buratai not been professional in curtailing and ultimately crushing IPOB’s criminal activities Nigeria would have become history and there would be no country for Onwubiko to rant about.
He regularly rants along these bigoted ethnic lines, which poses the risk that some people could be misled into believing his lies if they continue to be exposed to them without the record being set straight. Onwubiko is aware that if he repeats his lies often enough, people will still not believe him, but there is the risk of attenuation, whereby his irresponsible utterances become less jarring as people get used to them. This is a process of normalizing bigotry, something Onwubiko, or at least those using him, is aware of.
Normalization of ethnic bigotry is a development that right thinking Nigerians must not allow to happen. People of conscience must continually rise up to ensure that Onwubiko’s attempt to make bigotry the new normal is fiercely rejected, with him being put in his place each time he attempts to turn history on its head and make his own ethnic group appear dominant over the others. Those with the resources can attempt to rehabilitate him so that he finds other productive engagements to put food on his table, That way he would not have to pretend to be a concerned activist when in reality all that he wants to cater to are his pocket and perverted ethnic orientation. This is why HURIWA and Onwubiko’s normalization of ethnic bigotry must not be allowed.

Abiodun is a public affairs commentator based in Ibadan.

The South- East Econonic and Social Rights Movement (SESRM) has raised the alarm of the alleged plot by Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last election and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, to disrupt peace ahead the tribunal ruling.

Recall that Atiku had approached the tribunal following the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the February 23 presidential election by INEC.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday in response to development in the polity and the need for the Federal Government to act swiftly on IMN and her political allies, SESRM said Atiku is hell bent on getting judgment through the backdoor.

Mazi Okechukwu Ude, Secretary General, who addressed the media on behalf of the group, said having failed in their two plans, Atiku and his allies have resorted to spreading the problem to the southeast and south-south to achieve a total breakdown of law and order.

He, therefore, called for various security agencies to be deployed to “our aid because the threat posed by this man is credible to the point that we live in fear in our home states as we speak.”

Full text of his speech below.


Those that have been following proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal would have noted how things are not going as advertised for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. None of the earth shaking revelations he used to deceive our people to get our bloc support are anywhere to be seen, which has now made it clear that he scammed the Igbos into making enemy of the incumbent government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Igbos for Nigeria Movement has been closely following these development in addition to reviewing Atiku’s utterances, both on the petition and contemporary national issues. What he have concluded from our observation is that recent events from the tribunal seems to have forced Atiku to give up and that he has now resorted to exploiting desperate attempts to destabilize the country.

What we have learnt is that there is a plot to activate the third phase of a “Plan C” that we have now found out involves flooding parts of the South-East and South-West with killers who will disguise as herdsmen and as armed protesters of the Shiites sect to torment the nation particularly these two geo-political zones. The objective is to create the impression that the current government is incapable of securing the lives of Nigerians, incite people to violence and shut the country down.


This plot was initially unbelievable to us until our contacts within and outside his camp validated them for us. We therefore use this press conference to raise the alarm that our people in the South-East are being set up for death by the same man they supported as a bloc. He wants to exterminate Igbos to make certain political points about how the country is not safe under the Buhari Presidency. It is the most bizarre and inhuman political strategy we have ever seen or heard of.


We are specially appealing to the federal government not to allow this calamity befall the Igbos before it wades in and do the needful. This is not the kind of scenario where the government should wait for the act to be committed before issuing condolence statement and vowing to punish perpetrators. The plan and the person behind it are already known now so we demand that the appropriate security agency should immediately arrest Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP now before he activates his “Plan C”. He should be prosecuted under the relevant law.

It must be noted that Atiku and his associates had successfully activated the Plan A and Plan B of his agenda, even though unsuccessfully. The implementation of these plans was responsible for the massive propaganda that was intended to destroy the military. The Plan B component has been behind the upsurge in the attacks and kidnaping in the northwest and northcentral. The pursuit of Plan C is to spread the problem to the southeast and south-south to achieve a total breakdown of law and order.


The federal government should not allow the Igbos to be victimized as being planned by Atiku. The various security agencies should be deployed to our aid because the threat posed by this man is credible to the point that we live in fear in our home states as we speak.

By Bonaventure Ogar

The resurgence of the activities of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has raised some weighty concerns in some questers. While it may not be out of place to take a cursory look at the activities of the IMN and its violent tendencies, it is sufficing to state that there may be more to the sudden resurgence of the IMN than what you and I might know.

As a start, I would say boldly that there are indeed political undertones to the activities of the IMN in Nigeria and with the renewed boldness to confront security agencies that led to the death of two or so law enforcement officers.

I recall that I have stated in numerous forums that not until we stop playing politics with human lives, Nigeria would continue to sit on the brink. This is more worrisome when it is realized that those set of politicians that preach one Nigeria during the day, and at night fund the nefarious activities of militant groups to destabilize the country.

And when the destabilization plot is gathering momentum, they take to the pages of newspapers to issue statements calling the government inept and clueless. They also whip up unnecessary sentiments all in an attempt to turn the people against the government of the day. These have been their stock in trade and no longer a secret to some of us, but a big secret to the majority of the members of the unsuspecting general public.

It must be stated in clear terms that the activities of the IMN are being funded by an all righteous individual that has refused to come to terms with the outcome of the recently concluded general elections. For that individual, Nigeria is his birth right, and he cannot seem to come to terms with the result and as such, all must be done covertly to make the country ungovernable.

But there is a snag for him. And that is the fact that he is still living in delusion, thinking his funding of the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) went unnoticed. The IPOB issue was one of the lows of this same individual when he indeed thought he could use the IPOB agitation for his political advantage and so he pushed forward the restructuring narrative.

To some it might be a pleasant coincidence, but in truth, it was a well thought out strategy which eventually didn’t see the light of the day because Nigerians indeed decided to take their destinies in their hands by refusing to be pushed around and deceived by the same set of politicians that have been part and parcel of the rot in the system since the advent of democratic dispensation in Nigeria in 1999.

The sad thing about the whole script is that the victims are usually ordinary citizens on the street. Those that struggle to make ends meet. Those that line up at the motor parks to board buses. Those that go about their daily lives with a firm hope that one day, their dreams and aspirations would be translated into tangible realities. Yes, these are the victims of the selfishness and wickedness of some highly placed. Those whose children dot the nook and cranny of Europe, America, and the United Arab Emirate. Those who after setting a dangerous destabilization agenda would be pictured in the United Arab Emirate with cronies celebrating the success of an evil plot.

Indeed, a sad episode in the annals of Nigeria. To think that all of a sudden, the IMN would come out so daring and armed with dangerous weapons and well-mobilized leaves all to the imagination. This is also akin to the creation of what I call the “killer herdsmen gang” soon after the results of the general elections were announced. For some of us that are students of history, we were able to put one and two together and come to the conclusion that would stand the test of time.

That of the killer herdsmen was so glaringly a creation of the disgruntled politicians club ostensibly headed by this same politician whose marabout had told him in times past that he would win elections in the country. And we are still waiting for that to happen. Just maybe how that could happen is through unorthodox means such as sponsoring violent protests across the country. Funding and arming militant groups to cause untold hardship to the ordinary and unarmed citizens of our great nation.

And to also cause international and national embarrassment to the efforts of the government of the day. This is called politics, I think. Yes, but at the expense of human lives? At the expense of the destruction of properties? At the expense of disrupting economic activities?

All of these are questions the prominent politician must answer in the solitude of the four walls of his room. He needs to dig deep into his soul and search for answers to the above questions and to ask himself if his actions are indeed patriotic or unpatriotic.

I could go on non-stop on highlighting the grand plot against Nigeria by the prominent politician. And I would be able to justify every line or paragraph because the signs are apparent. Having said that. It behoves on well-meaning Nigerians see that big man politicians as the unseen finger in the spate of violence in the country. And it is my prayer that in due time, he shall be made to account for his misdeeds against that country that made him who he claims he is. Time shall tell.


Ogar is a forensic psychologist and contributed this piece from Akwa.

The Management of the Nation Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and that of Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) have agreed to partner in ensuring that graduates mobilized for national service are genuine. This came at the instance of a courtesy visit to ICPC Headquarters, Abuja by NYSC's Director General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim recently.

Briefing the Chairman of ICPC, the NYSC boss said that the scheme recently uncovered where unqualified persons were mobilized for national service, and sought for cooperation to halt the practice.
Responding, the Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said that his commission is ready to work hand in hand with NYSC in putting eyes on the mobilization process of all institutions that produce Corps members.

He said "my one year of national service under NYSC was the defining moment that brought me to where I am today. I see NYSC as a great institution that no one should take for granted. I therefore give you my word that we shall work together to ensure those who are involved in the ungodly act are apprehended and sanctioned."

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has been warned against their constant anti-Nigerian propaganda, capable of heating up the polity in the country.

The Nat Democratic Front, which handed down this warning on Friday, described HURIWA and its leader, Emmanuel Onwubiko, as commissioned agents to escalate anti-Nigerian state propaganda.

NDF was reacting to a recent statement by HURIWA where it accused the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as working against the Nigerian state.

Bolaji Abdulkadir, NDF National Secretary, while addressing a press conference on the constant media propaganda by HURIWA on Thursday in Abuja, said Onwubiko and his group are agents of destabilization that are in pursuit of ethnic agenda in Nigeria.

It, therefore, asked Onwubiko to refund their paymaster as their task of tarnishing the images of Buratai and Gbajabiamila has failed woefully.

Full text of his speech below.



The National Democratic Front (NDF) has become aware of escalation of anti-state propaganda by one Emmanuel Onwubiko and his blackmail group, the so called Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA). This is not his first time but we are seeing a dangerous pattern that requires that the lies he is putting in the public space are expeditiously corrected before people think that is the correct state of affairs.

The latest of this failed attempt at using negative propaganda against the Nigerian state involved Onwubiko disparaging the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. He futilely strived to create the impression that these reputable men are the enemy when the real enemy of the people is the person attempting to shove falsehood down their throats.

This refined urchin accused General Buratai of sophistry because he dared to expose how politics and politicians are the real factors driving the widespread security breaches in the country. Interestingly, Onwubiko alluded to how banditry, kidnapping and terrorism are happening across the country without acknowledging that the people he works for are the ones that unleashed these evil as punishment on Nigerians for not voting to reintroduce corruption during the recent general elections.

It is common knowledge in Nigeria that because of monetary and ethnic considerations, Onwubiko is a die hard supporter and canvasser for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The HURIWA businessman is aware that his client famously declared that killings and violence will intensify when President Muhammadu Buhari gets re-elected. The predicted violence has not taken hold and one of its promoters is blaming the Chief of Army Staff for situating the problem where it is.

At the right time, Onwubiko will have to answer for his contributions to the carnage that has been witnessed in some parts of the country. When that time comes he will be able to tell Nigerians how much he collected to launch the evil propaganda against the government and the persons that paid that money.

Meanwhile, we realise that Onwubiko’s main interest is not General Buratai, whom he merely used to gain relevance and attract attention to his wares as a blackmailer. His intended target is the Speaker, Rt. Hon Gbajabiamila, whom he believes would be amenable to blackmail, only that his projection was wrong. Not only is the strategy wrong, the premises upon which he attempted to tarnish the image of the Speaker were faulty to the point where one have to begin to review his mental state.

He has a problem with the peace mission embarked upon by Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila in Zamfara state, which he concluded was high treason. While this appear logical on the surface, an actual understanding of it will show a kind of deviousness that merits being confined to supervised care. He rather wants the bandits to be tried and no talks held with them even if that will bring solutions.

We are at a loss if this is the same HURIWA/Onwubiko that chastised the government for not negotiating with extremists of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), two groups that have been outlawed on account of their being militarised and being a terrorist group respectively.

Two things stand out in this historic transaction of Onwubiko. He is first about the money and will sing to support any group that drops coin in his bowl, which was the basis on which the IMN bought his services to argue that government should dialogue with them.
The second thing is that Onwubiko is an irredeemable ethnic bigot who thinks a terrorist IPoB should be pampered with negotiation and amnesty while bandits should be treated differently simply because they are from the north that he hates with all his being. The records are there and they speak to how the HURIWA leader has been playing two sides of the divide.

It is therefore not in doubt that HURIWA and Onwubiko are agents of destabilization that are in pursuit of ethnic agenda. Since the organization and its leader are one and the same, we confidently say that Onwubiko has proven that he does not know the difference between politics and agitating for human rights. If he does he would not have disingenuously attempted to retire the political contract he got to malign Buratai and Gbajabiamila under the sub-head of human rights. It stuck out like a sore thumb for what it is. A cheap propaganda that was badly packaged and delivered.

We know Onwubiko as a confused bigot that can sell his family to the highest bidder or if the money arrives at a certain time in the right amount. His brand of activism is purely monetized at the very least it must appeal to his ethnic jingoism, for which he must be paid anyway.

Our charge to Onwubiko with his HURIWA is simple. He should go back and refund whatever he has been paid to carry out his latest assignment because he has not only failed those who sent him the errand but has also failed himself for not being able to come up with something more creative than the watery non-issues he tried to raise against the two leaders.

He must also learn to not try gaining political capital out of something that Nigerians are trying to get rid of. His attempt to leverage on the terrorist attacks and kidnappings for making money is reprehensible and he is advised to desist from such irresponsible acts.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council, the umbrella body of southwest youths has cautioned members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, against taking their protest to Lagos State and the entire Oduduwa region.

The youth group strongly warned members of IMN to desist from its plan of inflicting harm on innocent citizens in an attempt to make the country ungovernable.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, Dayo Jacob, National Chairman of the group, fingered some politicians as faces behind the activities of the sect.

The group warned the IMN and their sponsors to desist from their “nefarious activities and explore peaceful means of airing their grievances if they are indeed genuine.”

The statement reads.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council the umbrella organisation for the youths of Oduduwa extraction in South West Nigeria dedicated to sustaining the ideals of the Oduduwa Empire took a cursory look at the sudden resurgence of the violent tendencies of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) with a view to ascertaining the motives behind their actions and putting issues in proper perspective for the discerning members of the general public.

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria in recent times have undertaken violent protest in the federal capital territory Abuja and some parts of Nigeria in an attempt to drive home a hidden agenda of making the country ungovernable and thereby subjecting innocent citizens to untold hardship.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council in line with its core mandate of bringing to the fore issues that affects the relative peace and tranquillity in the Oduduwa kingdom and by extension Nigeria, undertook a systematic research on the issues been canvassed by the IMN that led to the death of law enforcement officers and the disruption of peace and tranquillity in the country.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council consequently deployed its resources and network across the country with the sole aim of unravelling the motives of the IMN that led to the resurgence of violent protest in the country.

The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council commissioned a high powered delegation of a special investigative committee to look at the issues objectively by activating its array of network in Nigeria, and the findings were subjected to series of checks in an attempt to put forward a balanced discovery for the members of the unsuspecting general public.

The findings of the committee were mind-boggling, and an indication the indeed the activities of the IMN are sponsored by individuals and organizations with an ulterior motive on the continued existence of Nigeria as a country.

It was discovered that some disgruntled politicians who ended up at the losing side during the recently conducted general elections were behind the resurgence of the activities of the IMN in Nigeria, and with a vow ensure that the country is made ungovernable for the present administration.

This much was gathered by the various report gathered from credible sources which indicated that the protest by the IMN is sponsored by wealthy politicians that are yet to get over their electoral defeat at the recently concluded general elections in the country.

These set of politicians have devoted a vast amount of money towards actualizing their nefarious motive by mobilizing the IMN with dangerous arms and ammunition as well as logistics for wreaking havoc on innocent citizens.

We also have it on competent authority that a key member of the position party that aspired for one of the highest position in the country is indeed the brain behind the protest in the country. This individual owing to his massive war chest has devoted a large amount of money through proxies to continue to encourage and fund the activities of the IMN towards painting a picture of a high level of insecurity in the country.


It was discovered that the target of the IMN is innocent citizens that are going about their normal businesses and operatives of the security agencies which culminated in the disruption of businesses and the death of some police officers.


The Progressive Yoruba Youth Council having studied the facts before it consequently made the following resolutions.

The IMN and their sponsors should desist from their nefarious activities and explore peaceful means of airing their grievances if they are indeed genuine.

That the politicians that have vowed to make the country ungovernable by devoting vast amounts of money in the destabilization plot should desist from such as it has become apparent that national interest should surpass personal and selfish interest.

That the IMN and its sponsors should stay away from southwest Nigeria and other parts of Oduduwa kingdom in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

That the IMN should in clear terms desist from extending their nefarious activities to Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of the country as such moves would be resisted vehemently.

That the interest of the country should be taken into consideration due to the heterogeneous nature of the country at the risk of insulting the sensibilities of the generality of Nigerians.

That those politicians that are behind the violent activities of the IMN should have a rethink and explore other civil avenues towards driving home their reservations on the electoral mandate freely given to the present administration by the people of Nigeria.

That given the magnitude of the evidence at the disposal of the Progressive Yoruba Youth Council , there would be no hiding place for sponsors of political unrest in the country.

That the Progressive Yoruba Youth Council has initiated various mechanism towards ensuring that sponsors of violent protests in the country are made to face the full wrath of the law given the present circumstances.

That the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable and as such, they should have a rethink in their destabilization plot and instead channel their time and resources towards productive ventures in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

That the Progressive Yoruba Youth Congress has notified its members of the impending plot by the IMN and its political sponsors to disrupt activities in southwest Nigeria.

That the Progressive Yoruba Youth Council would not hesitate to present the array evidence of the destabilization plot to the general public and the various security agencies in the country.

By Anthony Kolawole



There is an image that the promoters of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) want people to have about the Shiite group. It is image of a docile group that continues to maintain civility even in the face of provocations, a collection of religious devout who only hold hands and chant prayers as their mode of protest. The pictures and videos they are ever willing to share and promote online are the ones in which IMN members are on the receiving end of the supposed brutality of law enforcement agencies, oftentimes these are images of wounded members or those fleeing from teargas.
An objective flip of the channel will however reveal an IMN that is so militarized that the Kaduna state government, following a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, issued a White Paper that outlawed the group. Part of the reason for the ban was that IMN was found to be a militarized extremist group, whose members were not only armed but also dangerously radicalized. With the ban came the realization for IMN that it can no longer freely operate in Kaduna state since there is a framework under which its activities are effectively criminalized.
Compelled to relocate its activities to a more tolerant Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigerians are now able to fully appreciate the full extent of harassment and intimidation that the people of Zaria and environs in Kaduna state had to endure at the hands of these fanatics before their reign of intimidation was cut short. But that realization might have come too late as the extremist members of the group now have the nation’s capital in their rabid grip.
Dislodging them from Abuja is proving difficult. First, they have in the course of the past three years infiltrated the satellite towns of the FCT and set up cells that they easily activate for their so called protest for the release of their leader, Mr Ibrahim ElZakyzaky, who is standing trial for treason before a court in Kaduna. It should be noted that they refused to protest in Kaduna, where their leader is on trial but rather preferred to punish the inhabitants of Abuja. Considering that IMN has only so far activated its brigades assigned to protests, we should all be afraid of when its actual militants wings, already ensconced in the satellite towns, are activated.
Secondly, IMN enjoys some misplaced sympathies from Nigerians who are not necessarily supporters of the group but who end up sympathizing with them while castigating the authorities for the wrong reasons. Among these are those who do not fully appreciate the risk posed by IMN members to the society – these ones see the issue purely from a misplaced human rights perspective, they want IMN members to be accorded liberties they deny other Nigerians. The other sympathizers are those who, for political reasons, find it expedient to demonize the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Armed Forces of Nigeria, with the Nigerian Police Force, simply because it fits into their own larger agenda. The mix of these two categories of sympathizers is catalyzed by the die-hard campaigners of the IMN – ranging from paid activist lawyers to erstwhile journalists and columnists that have switched alliance to become part of terrorists.
There is a thickening of the support from those sympathizing with IMN for political reasons. They have seen that Nigerians have come to disregard the group’s provocative protests that consist of denying Nigerians right of way, vandalizing cars and property along their protest routes, launching projectiles against security personnel, defacing public property and just about any other criminal thing that can be done in the course of protests. The images that the IMN propaganda machine shares from these confrontations usually omit IMN militants throwing back teargas canisters at policemen, they edit out the members hurling stones and sticks and the IMN camera somehow always miss its members dressed in military fatigues and camouflage, with some influence peddling such pictures also do not make it into the publications that are tolerant of the IMN nuisance.
But the recent attack on the National Assembly by IMN militants during which shots were fired and some policemen sustained gunshot wounds, others were stabbed or clubbed, is a wakeup call to the growing rabidity of IMN extremists. It does not matter whether its members came with the weapons they used or snatched the ones with the policemen, the warning light is blink red and rapidly. An outlawed organization that attacked two critical institutions in a democracy – the parliament and police – has crossed the Rubicon. The only outrage left for the group is to launch full scale terrorist attacks on key national institutions.
It is critical to at this stage interrogate what emboldened IMN militants to attack the National Assembly without the fear of repercussions. An immediate answer is to be found in the violence that has spread across the country. The spate of kidnappings, banditry and terrorism (in the north-east) have stretched the military and police thin. The start of IMN’s terrorism will open a new front that will further burden law enforcement and the military, which will certainly give IMN an upper hand.
Interestingly, the spate of kidnappings, banditry, and other forms of violence besetting the country are not unconnected with IMN’s growing rabidity. It is has been revealed that the massive attacks and killings that have taken hold of the country after the general elections are meant to culminate in political instability, which the opposition has reportedly engaged the IMN to precipitate, hence its decision to invade the National Assembly and make that arm of government unable to function afterwards. A desperate opposition found in the IMN a willing vehicle for achieving the destabilization of Nigeria and some citizens that are no wiser are cheering them on.
Between the IMN and the opposition, the conspiracy to destroy Nigeria’s democracy is thickening. When democracies fail, the first casualty is often if not always the parliament – the executive arm will survive and judiciary will exist as a tribunal of sort. The burden is on the members of the National Assembly to shake off their present lethargic silence especially since it was their institution that was targeted by the extremists. They should collectively, as an institution, demand an end to IMN’s menace while uniting across party lines to call the opposition to order and ask that it stops using the Shiite group as a prop.


Kolawole PhD, a University lecturer wrote from Keffi, Nasarawa State.

....say movement remains a political group


Commercial activities in the Federal Capital city were on Tuesday halt momentarily following a protest against the menace of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, INM.

The protest, which was championed by the Concerned Women/Africa Arise for Change Network was well attended by angry Nigerians, who insisted the activities of INM have political undertones.

The tall took off at Unity Fountain and is terminated at the National Assembly complex.

Speaking during the well-attended rally, Princess Ajibola, convener of the group, called on the National Assembly to pass a resolution, compelling the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to file a suit for the court to declare IMN a terrorist organization so that law enforcement agencies can better respond to the threat it poses to the country.

Her speech below.


Concerned Nigerians Women and the Africa Arise for Change Network are staging this rally today in order to put it on the record that we are not in any way part of the conspiracy of silence in the glaring threat now posed to the country by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).

Nigerians and the entire world was last week threated to the macabre spectacle of IMN members invading the National Assembly, the most important site for our democracy. While every Nigerian has the right to protest to the National Assembly, the intention of the IMN militants was very obvious because they were there to sack the parliament as demonstrated by their attack on the policemen on duty.

IMN attacks on members of the public and security operatives is not new. Killing law enforcement officers is also not new to them. What however became alarming in this instance was the sheer intensity of the attack during which they shot several policemen in addition to wounding others with catapults and cudgels.

It is laughable that the IMN extremists resorted to playing the victim after their attempt to overthrow the National Assembly failed. Had they succeeded in entering the chambers and killing our federal lawmakers like they planned they would have by now been declaring that Nigeria is a Shia Republic. Further proof that they intended to overthrow the government was their decision to target the Federal Secretariat within hours of attacking the National Assembly. This was the IMN militants targeting the buildings that implement the policy of the executive arm of government. With this pattern, it is a matter of time before they launch crippling attacks against the court in order to instil fear in the judiciary.

We have heard the lies that have been repeated over and over by IMN sympathizers that the group is harmless and non-violent. Our rally today offer a demonstration to such people on how non-violent marches are held. Peaceful protests does not involve protestors menacing other citizens, chanting anti-government slogans and definitely does not involve attempting to forcefully take over government building, neither does it involve killing policemen that are on legitimate duty for the country.

We therefore question the conspiracy of silence by those who think Nigeria deserves to have another terror group when the vestiges of Boko Haram is still being eradicated from their remaining strongholds. We condemn those that have obstinately refused to see nothing wrong with recent attempts by IMN insurgents to take over the National Assembly. Equally condemnable are those that are advocating for the extremists to be pampered and allowed to wreck the country for other law abiding citizens.

This is why we are dismayed at the discovery that disgruntled and defeated political actors were the ones that sponsored factions within the IMN to carry out the attack. It has been revealed that associates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Atikulooters are behind the recent wave of coordinated protests across Nigerian cities by the IMN. We gathered that the objective is for the IMN extremist to sack the government so that the opposition can exploit the ensuing confusion to demand for the installation of an interim government.

Some members of the National Assembly that were in on the game went on the defensive for the IMN insurgents when the invasion was discussed on the floors of the Senate and House of Representatives. These are the lawmakers that would have called for an interim government had IMN succeeded with the evil plot it was executing on behalf of the opposition.

The failure of the plot has however seen the opposition accusing the incumbent government of harshly clamping down on IMN extremists while ignoring their treasonable acts. The opposition, in its criticism, largely ignored the shooting of policemen by the IMN fanatics. It glossed over the attempt to take over the National Assembly as if it was a natural everyday occurrence. It is interesting that while the IMN leader, Mr. Ibraheem El-Zakkay, is being tried for treason in Kaduna, his radicalized members are protesting in Abuja, in yet another confirmation that it is high politics at play. The opposition knows that it is responsible for this latest mayhem and has continued to wrongly accuse the government. This attitude derived from the fact that IMN was running errands for the opposition.

Concerned Nigerians Women and the Africa Arise for Change Network use this opportunity to warn the compromised members of the National Assembly that are collaborating with IMN that their plot is no longer secret. Details of their deal with Atiku’s associates and the IMN are well known and will be revealed at the right time. They still have time to team up with their right thinking colleagues and do the proper thing before it is too late.

The right thing to do is for the National Assembly to pass a resolution compelling the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to file a suit for the court to declare IMN a terrorist organization so that law enforcement agencies can better respond to the threat it poses to the country. This is the befitting response from Senators and members of the House of Representatives, whose sacred institution was violated by these aspiring terrorists.

We shall keep up this demand until the IMN is designated a terrorist group. We will not stay silent while neo-terrorists destroy our democracy.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai has strongly warned those individuals who are unnecessarily politicizing security-related issues in the country for undue political gains to henceforth refrain from doing so.

General Buratai gave the warning when he paid an operational visit to troops of Exercise Harbin Kunama III at 1 Division Super Camp Kuyelo at Kuyelo district, in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Monday.

Acting Director Army Public Relations Col. Sagir Musa who stated this in a Press Release signed and made available to Journalists said the Lieutenant General emphasized that the security and unity of the country are non-negotiable. 

He therefore cautioned all those playing politics with the Security issues of our country to have a rethink as the Nigerian Army will continue to remain firm and decisive in combatting all threats to the security and unity of the nation towards the continuous provision of an enabling environment for peace, national security, and national development at large.
Lieutenant General, Burrata used the opportunity to inspect troops tactical deployments and later addressed the soldiers and enjoined them to be ruthless and decisive in dealing with the bandits. 

Col Musa said General Buratai observed that the security situation in the country as a whole has greatly improved, and commended them for the commitment and sacrifice which they have continued to demonstrate in the discharge of their constitutional roles to their fatherland. 
He said: “General Buratai noted that owing to such commitments and sacrifices by them as well as their colleagues in the North East, armed Bandits in the North West and Boko Haram terrorists in the North East have been technically defeated.”

COAS, therefore, urged the troops not to relent or become complacent until all the remaining bandits and other criminal elements are completely eliminated from our communities.

However Col Musa said Kuyelo Super Camp is one of such Camps established recently by the Nigerian Army across the North West region which is similar with one established in the North-east zone to deal decisively with the menace of cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed banditry and other acts of criminality being perpetrated by armed bandits, Boko Haram and other criminal elements within the regions. 

He said that during the visit 1 Division Garrison Commander Brig Gen OJ Akpor briefing the Chief of Army Staff on the operational activities and successes recorded achieved so far since the establishment of the camp include the neutralization of several bandits during engagements with own troops, the recovery of assorted automatic weapons from the bandits, the recovery of several rustled cows, the rescue of 20 kidnap victims, amongst others. 

Akpor said the Troops also conduct medical outreaches aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the local populace with a view to garnering their support especially in the area of volunteering useful information required for the successful conduct of the operations. 

“It was clear from the Commander’s briefing that no major acts of banditry have been recorded recently, that the security situation in the general area has greatly improved and that the locals, especially farmers are now going about their businesses without lets or hindrances owing to the operational activities of troops of the Super Camp.
Col Musa said also General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army, Maj Gen F Yahaya has given some clarifications on the current and projected operational activities of his Division at large especially with regards to the conduct of anti-banditry operations.

Maj General Yahaya thanked the COAS for providing adequate operational and logistics requirements to effectively execute its roles of combating banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping and other associated insecurities across his Divisions area of operation.

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has conferred on the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, the honour of ‘Anti-Corruption Ambassador’.

The anti-graft agency boss awarded the newly appointed NYSC DG with the prestigious award on Monday when the latter led his team on a visit to the headquarters of the EFCC.

Among others, the pair discussed potential collaboration between the two agencies in the fight against corruption.

Like Magu, the NYSC DG is renowned for his uncomprising, dogged and zero tolerance to corruption.

The visiting DG was also presented with a gift by the EFCC Acting Chairman.

By Usman Bello

Since 2015, there have been some remarkable improvements in the operations of the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian Army, though not my constituency I have over the years followed its affairs critically, and it has somewhat become my hubby to make analysis whenever there is a change in its leadership, when redeployments are carried out and the likes.

You reading might be wondering why my passion is in the affairs of the Nigerian Army. The reason is simple. As a young boy in the streets of Kaduna, I have had the privilege of seeing soldiers from the Nigerian Defence Academy carry out morning drills. I have always been fascinated by their way of life, though regimented, it still interests me. In a way, that gave rise to a desire for me to enrol in the Nigeria Army, but as they say, man proposes, and God disposes. That dream didn’t materialize, but the interest remained.

I recall that I made a scanting remark when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed the present Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai. My statement was not in any way meant to slight him. But instead, I believed that there were other better-qualified people to have been so appointed.

I wasn’t swayed by the fact that he was a northerner like myself, but I was somewhat interested in what he would bring to the table since the little I gathered about him was that he was at a time commander of the Multinational Joint Taskforce situated in Chad. In truth, he wasn’t flamboyant and was always wearing a smile. I felt as a general in the Nigerian Army; he should smile less and wear the dreaded look that would send chills down the spine of the enemy. But I was wrong.

Back to the crux of this article. I won’t mince words. I have never liked General Buratai because he is a hardliner despite his meek looks. Even though from all available records, he has done quite a lot since he came on-board, I still had some reservations. I was propelled to write this article upon a discovery which was brought to my attention by bosom friend Aminu Saleh, a military historian on a research he conducted titled “Operational Effectiveness of the Nigerian Army (2015-2018)

The report looked at the various innovations in the Nigerian Army since 2015 in details. It touched on the war against terrorism, the quality of postings and appointments, promotions, discipline, welfare, amongst a host of others.

I must confess that I was astonished by the revelations in the report. It contained facts and figures and concluded that the Nigerian Army in the years in the review had indeed experienced tremendous improvements in the areas mentioned above. One of the areas was in the over 50 commissioned projects that cut across education, infrastructure, innovations, and capacity building, and research.

I recall the report contained over 50 laudable projects that were initiated and commissioned under Tukur Buratai as Chief of Army. From the establishment of a Nigerian Army University to the reintroduction of military training in the Nigerian Military School. There is also the establishment of a Directorate for Civil-Military Relations, as well as the creation of a Human Rights Desk in all Nigerian Army formations.

There was also the resuscitation of all Command Secondary Schools across the country to the establishment of the Nigerian Army Aviation, as well as the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company. There was also the commissioning of housing accommodations across military formations in the country. And the list is endless.

But my point of departure was the way and manner he has executed the war against Boko Haram. In my opinion, the approach has been that of a hardliner giving no room for a flexible approach. Of course, this position of mine would be contested by some with a view that disapproves a soft approach in dealing with a terrorist group that has caused wanton destruction to the economy and the lives of the people of North East Nigeria.

But they must understand that I am not in any way in support of the activities of Boko Haram, but I thought that the Operation Safe Corridor initiative should have been more expanded to allow the Boko Haram fighters the window to surrender peacefully and embrace peace. But that has not been the case. Instead, the approach has been that of crushing them.

But I have realized that it is too late in the day for General Buratai to change his hardliner stance. In a way, it has paid off, with the decimation of the Boko Haram group, but we must also realize that we would have achieved more if the approach had been softer. This is my opinion.

To me, General Buratai shares some similarities with President Muhammadu Buhari, who once he believes in a cause goes all out for it. Yes, this has its merits, it also has its demerits, and that is the point I am trying to make with profound respect to their personalities and commitment to the Nigerian cause.

In all, the Nigerian Army has witnessed tremendous transformation under General Tukur Buratai. That much I admit and appreciate. He has done more for the Nigerian Army than any other Chief of Army Staff in times past. He has added value to the operational effectiveness of the Nigerian Army. This was the position of my friend Aminu Saleh, and I concur with him. My disagreement with his execution of the Boko Haram war is a personal opinion being a northerner, but it did not in any negate the numerous achievements that litter the Nigerian Army.

Borrowing from the words of my friend, Aminu Saleh, General Buratai is the Mr. Commission of the Nigerian Army. Somewhat hilarious, but the truth and a reflection of the reality on the ground.

Most times, I wonder where he derives his energy from. And what are the factors that propel him to do what he does? No doubt, he has done well, and the Nigerian Army is better for it. It is hoped that he should continue in this fashion for as long as he remains at the helm of affairs at the Nigerian Army.

Bello is a retired civil servant and wrote from Kaduna.

By David Onmeje

The promotion of Lamidi Adeosun to the enviable rank of Lieutenant General by President Muhammadu Buhari recently has got the country talking. In some quarters it was stated that he was by this promotion appointed the Chief of Army Staff. And of course, the Nigerian Army was quick to clarify that the elevation of Lamidi Adeosun was in reward for “extraordinary feats, courage, exemplary leadership, loyalty, uncommon commitment and valour in the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East part of the country.”

The accolades mentioned above were showered on Lamidi Adeosun not on the strength of his religion or ethnicity, but for the fact that he has indeed distinguished himself as an infantry soldier of repute with his exploits in the counterinsurgency operations in North East Nigeria.

According to reliable sources within the Nigerian Army, Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun has been around leading some of the deadliest battles in counterinsurgency operations. His penchant for excellence earned him the nickname “star boy” by officers and soldiers because of his approach to work.

It has been stated that while he was the General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, his exploits were commendable. He led his men to confront the Boko Haram insurgents in some of the deadliest battles in the history of the insurgency in North East Nigeria. It was also stated that Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun is not the type of commander that would give orders from behind. That he was always ahead with his troops and lead by example.

According to information gathered from impeccable army sources, it was stated that it didn’t come as a surprise to officers and men of the Nigerian Army that President Muhammadu Buhari indeed recognized the numerous sacrifices of Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun that culminated in his special promotion.

In some quarters, it was stated that is boyish looks always gives a wrong impression about his personality, but upon close contact with him, the giant in him is revealed. He is easy going but firm. He abhors indiscipline and other acts that bring the institution of the Nigerian Army into disrepute.

This much was identified by the Chief of Army Staff, which resulted in his posting to head the prestigious Infantry Corp of the Nigerian Army in 2017. While leading the Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army, it was stated that Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun introduced radical reforms that repositioned the corps into taking its pride of place in the structure of the Nigerian Army.

In my opinion, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai must be commended for how he has been able to utilize the potentials of Lamidi Adeosun which was evident in his postings to strategic commands in the Nigerian Army including his present position of Chief of Training and Operations, Nigerian Army Headquarters.

This is indeed an example of the quality leadership the Chief of Army Staff has introduced in the operations of the Nigerian Army since he assumed command in 2015. I say this because as a commander, one must be able to identify talents and deploy them to where their services are needed in the overall interest of the country. It is instructive also to note that Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun was once commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram terrorist in the Lake Chad region. And his records are replete with phenomenal exploits.

How he does some of the things, he does remain a mystery to those that have worked under his commander in times past. Some say he is such a workaholic and one that was always thinking about the next step. He continually engages his lieutenants on policies and as well as the implementation of these policies.

And that today he is so celebrated is not a coincidence. The statement from the Nigerian Army on his special promotion indeed says it all about Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun. His detribalized nature has also earned him praises from the unlikely of places while he was GOC of 7 Division of the Nigerian Army and as well as while he was Director of Administration at the Defence Headquarters.

Special praises also go to President Muhammadu Buhari who through his action has again proven to all and sundry that there is a reward for hard work and that the Nigerian dream is beyond religious or ethnic sentiments. But that of a strong commitment in service to fatherland.

It must also be noted that the likes of Lt Gen Lamidi Adeosun and many others have strived to give in their best to Nigeria. This story should encourage others towards giving their best in service to fatherland. We must strive and not be discouraged in the task of nation-building. Just like the citizens have a role to play, the government also has a role to play.

This demonstration by President Muhammadu Buhari is indeed a testament of his belief in a strong and united Nigeria that would be prosperous for all. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai under whose leadership of the Nigeria Army, the likes of Lamidi Adeosun flourished tells of the attribute of a great leader that he is.

This is indeed a welcome development, and it is hoped that Lt Gen Lamidi Adeosun would continue to render his invaluable service to Nigeria in whatever capacity he finds himself.

Onmeje wrote from the United Kingdom.

The Coalition for Nigeria Movement has called for immediate stop to terror activates of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, otherwise known as Shi’ites.

The coalition was reaction to the invasion on the National Assembly complex by members of the Islamic group on Tuesday, which led to the death of a police man and destruction of vehicles.

CNM described the attack on Police by members of IMN as height of barbarism and unpatriotic.

Addressing newsmen on the development on Wednesday, Honourable Gabriel Tavershima Tyonongo, political analyst and coordinator of the movement, urged the Nigerian government to take a decisive action against the sect group before it snobalws into another dreaded sect like the Boko Haram sect.

His statement below.


We invited you to this all important press conference to make known our position about Tuesday’s attempt by the Shiite group, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) to overthrow the government of Nigeria. We said they want to overthrow the government of Nigeria based on their action at the National Assembly yesterday.

Without meaning to bore you, the action we are referring to was the terror attack by IMN members on the National Assembly during which shots were fired. The shots, as reported in the news and according to eye witnesses, where fired by IMN members using guns that they snatched from Policemen on duty at the National Assembly.

They shot several people and two policemen have so far died among those shot. They beat up and brutalized citizens in the place, ransacked the security post and set ablaze several cars.

The Coalition for Nigeria Movement, after carefully reviewing the situation, came to the apparent conclusion that the IMN action of Tuesday was an attempt to overthrow the National Assembly as part of a larger plan to form a parallel government in Nigeria. The sheer violence that was unleashed on the National Assembly and the resolve to kill as many policemen as possible is a confirmation that IMN was ready to begin implementing an agenda it has rehearsed for a long time.

We are referring to the fact IMN does not recognize the Nigerian neither does it accept its authority. The disdain it has for constituted authority is mirrored in the way it runs departments that are parallels to the federal ministries of the national government. It has its own quasi-judicial system and the only thing it has not replicated in its internal structure, the National Assembly. Became the first target of its attempt to create a parallel government.

It is interesting to note that in spite of the throng of people in the National Parliament, policemen and other para-military agencies were the direct target hence the reason that two policemen were killed. This raises questions: one, how was it possible that only policemen got caught in the hail of bullets fired by IMN? Such targeted shooting confirmed that there are many IMN members that have professionally trained in weapons’ handling. It also shows that there target is the state and every symbol of the state, including policemen on patriotic duty.

We have reasonable cause to believe that the group’s long running battle and lies against the Nigerian military was to a build up to Tuesday’s attack. The strategy was to demonize the military to a point where public opinion has pressured troops to ignore IMN even at their worst. Their objective was to overwhelm the regular police security at the National Assembly Gate and thereafter kill federal lawmakers and precipitate a constitutional crisis while announcing their own parallel government. Nigeria is indeed in danger from IMN’s extremism.

We are also concerned that the spate of kidnap for ransom that was recently witnessed in the country, in spite of a particular ethnic group being blamed for the crimes, is actually the handiwork of IMN militants that are using Fulanis as cover to raise funds from kidnapping.in order to finance their attempt to hijack the parliament. Note that the funds so raised are deployed for providing logistics for funding the groups’ cells that now permeate Abuja. This illegal money is being used to feed the group’s militant members that hide under the cover of “legitimate protests” to case the seat of power with a view to overthrowing the government when they think no one is watching. This was precisely what happened on Tuesday.


It must be noted that there are other countries with Shiite population and the kind of terrorism being unleashed on Nigerian by IMN is not consistent with the responsible behaviour seen among the sect’s members in other countries. The killing of policemen can therefore not be in pursuit of Shiites’ rights as these extremists want the world to believe but rather an implementation of IMN’s terrorist agenda.

We understand that the attack on parliament was a trial run as the militants only used the weapons they were able to snatch from policemen on the scene. There are feelers that the group will launch more attacks using weapons from their secret weapons’ cache. These attacks will simultaneously take place at several locations of Abuja so that they can overstretch, overwhelm and confuse security agencies. These are credible threats that cannot be toyed with.

The nation’s law-enforcement agencies are therefore urged not to allow themselves to be caught unawares by the IMN fighters and online components. The coming days will be critical as they battle a group that sees nothing good in Nigeria. Nigerians must see it as their responsibility to expose the lies of IMN and to the reign of terror that the group wants to unleash on the land.

We warn IMN members that the putsch they attempted at the National Assembly shall be with consequences. The Coalition for Nigeria Movement will among other things insist that the government of Nigeria gives the maximum punishment possible to those IMN members.

Boko Haram/ISWAP: Centre identifies high human rights compliance, Buratai’s regular visits to troops as factors in Nigeria’s war against terror

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) has identified the secrets behind the success of the Nigerian troops in their fight against insurgency in the country.

The centre linked the success of the troops to high human rights compliance and regular visits of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai to soldiers on the battle field.

The Centre made the observation at the public presentation of its special report on the war against terror by the Nigerian military and human rights compliance.

The report, which was presented on Wednesday in Abuha, called on the Nigerian government to accept repentant terrorists so as to ensure they are fully rehabilitated so they can fit back into society.

The report jointly signed by Ibrahim Abubakar, Executive Secretary and Emmanuel Ogah, Director of Research and Documentation reads below.

Executive Summary:

The war against terrorism in Nigeria (North-east) had spanned over ten years since when the Boko Haram terrorist group resorted to violence against the state in 2009. The Nigerian military has since then been actively engaged in the battle for the soul of Nigeria. The turn of events has witnessed sordid tales of maiming and killings of innocent people by Boko Haram terrorist. This period also saw an increase in kidnapping of women and children, that drew the world attention to Nigeria.

The Nigerian military has indeed risen to the occasion in ensuring that the territorial integrity of the country is preserved due to concerted efforts of all relevant stakeholders, including President Muhammadu Buhari. This report took a cursory look at the various issues at stake as it concerns the protection of human rights by the Nigerian military in executing the war, as well as the multiple allegations of human rights violations against the Nigerian military by organizations such as Amnesty International.

This report was commissioned to put paid to speculation and to present issues in proper perspective for all sundry.


INTRODUCTION:

Boko Haram violence escalated from revenge attacks on the Nigerian police and security forces to (soft target) attacks on public servants, politicians, moderate imams, and civilians, through bombing and shooting attacks on schools, churches, mosques, markets, government installations, and other public places. Most writers and commentators have attributed the transformation of the group to the death of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, ostensibly at the hands of government security agencies in 2009. Since then the group has launched a full-fledged military campaign against public institutions and civilian populations. Although its methods have occasionally included terrorist attacks in a few towns and cities in other parts of northern Nigeria, the most severely affected communities are in the North-east, (especially Borno State) where these attacks have been concentrated. In other cases, attacks on rural communities are routinely carried out, resulting in mass murders and abductions.

Consequently, the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre, a civil society organisation dedicated to the protection of human rights and the entrenchment of good governance in Nigeria commissioned a special report to look at the various lingering issues in the theatre of operations in North East Nigeria as it concerns the protection of human rights and the multiple interventions of the Nigerian military in ensuring that the security of lives and properties takes centre stage.




THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IN NIGERIA:

The Nigerian military has fought the war against terrorism in Nigeria since 2009. However, there was a period when the Nigerian military was struggling to understand the peculiarity of the war, and in that process, lots of casualties were inflicted on them by Boko Haram terrorist, who were engaged in guerrilla warfare and were also conversant with the terrain.

This gave rise to casualties on the part of the Nigerian military and also saw to the control of over 16 local government areas in North East Nigeria by Boko Haram terrorist. In some instances, it was reported that women and children were taken into forced marriages and as sex slaves. Young boys were recruited in the Boko Haram fighting force, and young girls were used as suicide bombers.

All of these changed in 2015 by the change of government in Nigeria that ushered in President Muhammadu Buhari as president and the subsequent rejigging of the operational strategy of the Nigerian military that also saw to the appointment of new service chiefs for the various arms of the Armed Forces.

From the observations gleaned from the research work, a lot has been done by the Nigerian military in the fight against terrorism since 2015. The present crop of service chiefs has displayed a commitment that has seen to the dislodgement of Boko Haram fighters from areas it once held sway including the notorious Sambisa Forest.

Our team of researchers made discoveries that explain why the Nigerian military was able to turn the tide against Boko Haram terrorist. And they are:

ROUTINE VISIT BY THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF TO THE THEATRE OF OPERATIONS:

It was observed that the Chief of Army Staff, as an operational strategy towards boosting the morale of the fighting troops, carries periodic visits to the theatre of operations. In some instances, it was announced and in other cases not announced in an attempt to gauge the mood of the troops.

It was also observed that there are several times the Chief of Army Staff when on routine visits, his convoy was ambushed. These incidents didn’t deter the Chief of Army Staff from continuing with the regular visits that also involves occasional dining with troops at the battlefront.

The team of researchers was able to identify that the impact of the routine visits by the Chief of Army staff has had a tremendous impact on the morale of the fighting troops, which has resulted in the renewed vigour as exhibited by the troops in the battlefront.

The soldiers in the battlefront always look forward to the visit of the Chief of Army Staff to the battlefront. In some instances, the Chief of Army Staff visits the troops in trenches and passes the night in the trenches with them.




COMMANDERS AND TROOPS OBSERVE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF HUMAN RIGHTS WITHIN THE THEATRE OF OPERATIONS:

Another area where the routine visits of the Chief of Army staff have impacted positively in North East Nigeria is in the area of helping to ensure that commanders and troops observe the highest level of human rights within the theatre of operations.
This is on the heels that there has been a series of allegations against the Nigerian Army on human rights violations in executing the war against terrorism.

However, what was observed was that the bulk of the allegations are speculations that were propelled by rumours and not any verifiable fact gave the tough stance of the troops on the battlefield. It was also observed that so e aspect of the rumour was also fuelled by the narrative been pushed in the media by some foreign NGO’s whose activities have been questioned by the military authorities as to their sincerity in the rendering of humanitarian services in the North East region.

Available information that was deposed by locals and community leaders in the affected communities indicates that the issue of human rights violations is on the side of the Boko Haram terrorist who has carried on with a high level of recklessness and without regards to the sanctity of human life.

The team of researchers also noted that the operational structure of the Nigerian military in the theatre of operations is structured in such a way that ensures strict adherence to best practices as it concerns the civilian population. There is also a human rights desk that constantly probes cases of human rights violations that arises, and such cases are given speedy attention and action taken in the overall interest of all concerned.

This is also attributed to the routine visit of the Chief of Army staff to the theatre of operations alongside the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs who constantly briefs the Chief of Army Staff on the relationship between the military and the civilian populace in the theatre of operations.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MILITARY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BORNO, YOBE, AND ADAMAWA STATES:

The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre took out time to analyse the various collaborations entered by the Nigerian military with the government of the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. It was observed that the collaborations in place are yielding the required dividend that has manifested in some of the success stories of the Nigerian military in the war against terrorism. However, it was observed that more work has to be done in ensuring that the collaborations are watertight to yield more dividends in ensuring that more success is recorded.

The Nigerian military has always engaged these states governments on critical issues as it concerns its operational strategies, but there are some bottlenecks manifest in government bureaucracy that somewhat slows down the process. Therefore, there is a need for a review of the collaborations to make it more robust and encompassing to improve the synergy between the Nigerian military and the state government.

The state government must see themselves as critical stakeholders and live up to expectation by giving the Nigerian military all the necessary support it needs in the war against terrorism.


THE LAKE CHAD BASIN AREA AND THE MULTINATIONAL JOINT TASKFORCE OPERATIONS:

The Lake Chad Basin is the largest endorheic drainage basin in Africa, centred on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of desert or semi-arid savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the same name but extends further to northeast Nigeria. The basin spans seven countries, including Nigeria, Chad and a part of Niger.

By its geographic situation, the Lake Chad basin is the buffer zone between the Sahel and Sub-equatorial Africa; between Central and West Africa. Indeed, the former great lake is shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. It is because of this strategic position in the trade routes that the British colonial power made Maiduguri as the capital of Borno state in Nigeria.
The first Joint Task Force operation aimed at the Boko Haram insurgents was code named Operation Restore Order I. It was established on June 12, 2011. Later in the year, Operation Restore Order II and III were launched to provide security against Boko Haram in Bauchi and Yobe states respectively. The mandate of the task force was to restore law and order to the north-eastern part of Nigeria and Borno State in particular.

The countries in the Lake Chad Basin region established the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in April 2012 and upgraded it in 2015 for managing the Boko Haram crisis. The decision followed the realization that the problem is not necessarily Nigerian, as initially perceived, but a regional question. This security management formation is with a counter-terrorism mandate.

The most critical of the problems is that the countries need to work collaboratively at dealing with a common enemy, they are suspicious of each other over border issues. This factor has reduced the effectiveness of this security community.

It was observed that the current operations of the Multinational Joint Taskforce need to be scaled up for more effectiveness given the fact that Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist has made the Lake Chad Basin region as a haven for their operations. There is also a need for an improved financial commitment from the countries in the Lake Chad Basin region for the effectiveness of the Multinational Joint Task Force operations.

CONCLUSION:

• The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre after comprehensive scrutiny of the operations of the Nigerian military in the war against terrorism states that the Nigerian military has displayed a considerable commitment towards the fight against terrorism in Northeast Nigeria. The determination of the Nigerian Army is impeccable and worthy of commendation given the fact that despite the avalanche of challenges associated with unconventional warfare such as this, it has strived to adhere to global best practices in human rights.

• The Nigerian military must sustain the tempo of the war by ensuring that Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist are not allowed to regroup.

• Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist must surrender in the light of the prevailing circumstances in an attempt to ensure a seamless transition into civilian through the instrumentality of Operation Safe Corridor.


• The Nigerian government must accept repentant terrorists but must ensure they are fully rehabilitated so they can fit back into society.

Signed: Ibrahim Abubakar
Executive Secretary


Emmanuel Ogah
Director of Research and Documentation

The National Democratic Forum has in strong terms condemned the invasion of the National Assembly by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, otherwise known as Shiites, on Tuesday.

NDF described the attack on security agencies as an attempt to overthrow an arm of government.

Recall that protesting Shiites members agitating against the continuous incarceration of their leader, Sheik Al-Zacky Zacky on Tuesday clashed with the Nigeria military, resulting in the death of some persons and burning of vehicles.

The protesters, who were in large numbers, were heading towards the National Assembly at about 1.15pm but were intercepted by the military personnel already waiting at the gate.

Reacting to the development, NDF wondered the authorities have continued to threats he issue of the IMN with kids gloves.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, shortly after the bloody clash, Dr Abdulakdir Bolaji, Secretary General of NDF, called on the authorities to immediately expel all known IMN members from Abuja.

The group also demanded that all those arrested in connection with the attack on National Assembly must be arraigned for treason and attempt to overthrow the government.

The statement reads in full.

Tuesday July 9, 2019 was the day members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) terrorised the very symbol of our democracy by launching coordinated attacks on the National Assembly. At the end of the attacks, the IMN members had snatched weapons from the security personnel on duty with which they shot two policemen and an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). At least three cars were destroyed while a security post was also vandalized. We are in the process of verifying if anyone died in the attack as reported by some media organizations.

For the duration of the attacks, Nigerians in the National Assembly Complex were terrorised on a scale comparable to last year’s terror attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan; the attacks carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan on Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai –India in 2018; and the terror attack of two months ago on Pearl Continental Hotel, Gwadar – Pakistan. The attacks on the National Assembly bear a frightening similarity to these other coordinated terror attacks because of the sheer helplessness that the occupants of these buildings experience for the duration of the barbarity.

Even at height of their madness, Boko Haram never sent their terrorists to attack the National Assembly because they know the implication of such. They are aware that attacking the National Assembly is to add the crime of treason to whatever other criminality they may already be guilty of. The rap sheet for IMN is therefore growing longer with illegal arms possession, operating as an outlawed group, acquiring military training in violation of the constitution, murder, attempted murder and now treason with attempt to overthrow Nigeria’s democracy.

Permit us to mention that we know the Nigerian state is not helpless as some people will think. Without prejudice to whatever investigations will unveil, we believe that the snatching of the weapons from the security operatives was possible because of the directive that security agencies should exercise restraint in the face of IMN extremists. This approach to dealing with the threat posed by the outlawed group has proven to be a wrong call, one that must be immediately jettisoned by the state.

The National Assembly is the highest symbol of Nigeria’s democracy. Whilst IMN was once seen as the problem of Zaria, Kaduna State and Abuja, the Federal Capital territory, by attacking the National Assembly, they have made themselves the problem of all Nigerians because each and every one of us has a representative in the national parliament. The attack is therefore an attack on every state of Nigeria, on every citizen and on everything we stand for as a nation. The action of the IMN is therefore a visitation of terror on the Nigerian state. It is an attack targeted at overthrowing the government by destroying the strongest institution in our democracy.

We will like to point out that we had joined other Nigerians in the past to express reservations about the presence of IMN extremists in the nation’s capital. They hide under the pretext that they are demanding for the release of their leader, Mr Ibraheem ElZakyzaky, who is standing trial before a competent court. Unfortunately, possibly because of the fear of international backlash, the government allowed these extremists to continue to infiltrate the nation’s capital without evicting them.

The concerns we had expressed about the group in the past were because of their violent activities and attacks against state institutions and unwarranted clashes with security operatives. We must not lose sight of the fact that in their bid to acquire more weapons, the IMN fighters attempted to hijack a military convoy that was conveying weapons along the Zuba-Kaduna Expressway, a development that they used to bring the City under siege.

The situation is dire to the point where even residents of Abuja had expressed concerns about the activities of this outlawed group owing to the threat they pose to other Nigerians. This threat is in addition to their menacing protests that they use to deny other people unhindered use of the roads and causing traffic congestion.

Our demand to the Federal Government, in the light of Tuesday’s desecration, is unequivocal. A strong and clear message must be sent to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in a way that it reverberates even with their sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has recently been issuing propaganda to support these terrorists. The message must make it known that no theocratic entity will be allowed to overthrow Nigeria’s democracy, directly or through proxies like IMN.

We, therefore, demand that the Federal Government immediately expel all known IMN members from Abuja while law enforcement agencies are mandated to dismantle all known cells of the group, in the nation’s capital and across the country.

A further demand is that all those arrested in the attack on National Assembly must be arraigned for treason and attempt to overthrow the government. In this case, the government must not cave in to the blackmail of pro-IMN countries and organizations that will wrongly accuse it of rights abuse.

The government must also rise up to the occasion and formally designate IMN as a terrorist group in line with existing anti-terrorism legislation. Had the Federal Government towed the line of the Kaduna state government that outlawed this terrorist group perhaps the country would have been saved from the harrowing experience of having the parliament come under attack.

It is our earnest hope that the government will not allow things to degenerate to the point where Nigerians are compelled to resort to self-help against IMN extremists as the situation is fast approaching the one of “kill or be killed”. Nigerians will not watch docilely while terrorists overrun their capital and attack their representatives. We expect to see actions on the part of the government in the days ahead as a way of reassuring us that terrorists will not be allowed to truncate our democracy.

....wants same gesture extended to security chiefs

Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for re-appointing Boss Mustapha and Abba Kyari as Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chief of Staff respectively.

According to these distinguished Nigerians, the move is a step in the right direction, a testament of the president's resolute commitment to entrench the gains made so far by his administration in the past four years.

In order to sustain these massive accruals in other aspects, especially in tackling terrorism and insurgency, Nigerians in Diaspora, however, urged President Buhari to extend the same gesture to the Security Chiefs.

The group made this plea after an extraordinary emergency general meeting in London, the United Kingdom, on Saturday.

In a statement signed by the President, Clifford Ogbonna, retaining the country's security architecture will be crucial in building on the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism, insurgency and other vices.

According to the group, the current Service Chiefs worked tirelessly in ensuring that Nigeria does not experience a security decline as was the case prior to President Buhari's administration.

Read full text below:

The text of an Electronic Statement by the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group on the reappointment of Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff to the President and Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation for immediate release on Saturday, 6th July 2019.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group arising from its emergency extraordinary general meeting which held in London the United Kingdom to review the state of affairs in Nigeria vis-à-vis the reappointment of Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari and Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, resolved on the followings:

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group salutes the courage of President Muhammadu Buhari in the reappointment of Mallam Abba Kyari and Boss Mustapha respectively, which is an indication of an unalloyed commitment to the Nigerian cause given the fact that these two individuals have displayed a rare commitment to ensuring that Nigeria is on the path to greatness through their actions during the first tenure of the present administration.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group, notes that the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Government of the Federation are offices that are instrumental to the smooth running of government business and the choice by President Muhammadu Buhari to reappoint the duo is indeed a testament to his commitment to entrench the gains made so far by his administration in the past four years.

The reappointment of Abba Kyari and Boss Mustapha came as no surprise to the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group given the fact that their activities were closely monitored in the last dispensation by the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group through the constant evaluation of the quality of work emanating from these two offices especially as it concerns government business in Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari has indeed exhibited an enduring legacy of selfless service by his ability to identify those that are genuinely committed to the Nigerian cause and not pressured by the court of public opinion in appointing and reappointing individuals into sensitive positions of authorities.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group consequently wishes to state that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has ensured that the appointment and reappointment of individuals into positions of authority in Nigeria is based on merit and track record, which was recently displayed in the reappointment of Abba Kyari and Boss Mustapha respectively.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group states that another area that has witnessed a significant level of improvement and sacrifices is the area of the security architecture in Nigeria. It would be recalled that before the coming in of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, Nigeria was on the verge of collapse and that meant that quality appointments needed to be made in the critical security sector.

This ultimately gave rise to the appointment of the present crop of service chiefs that literally hit the ground running and today we are all witness to their exploits, bravery, commitment and dedication to duty that has seen a tremendous improvement in the fight against Boko Haram and other militant groups in the country as well as a more focused and professional Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group therefore charges President Muhammadu Buhari extends the same patriotic gesture by retaining the present crop of service chiefs in Nigeria, led by General Abayomi Olonishakin in an attempt towards ensuring that gains recorded in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP and other violent groups in Nigeria are sustained in the overall interest of the country at large.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group has monitored the activities of the Service Chiefs in Nigeria since 2015 wishes to state that in the annals of the country, Nigeria has never experienced the level of commitment as exhibited by the service chiefs in ensuring that the territorial integrity of Nigeria is maintained at all times.

The Service Chiefs have indeed worked hard night and day towards ensuring that Nigeria stays united, safe, and secured in line with the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Nigerian people.

It is also instructive to note that the service chiefs in Nigeria are by all indicators those that have strived to translate the policy direction of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari into tangible realities as evident in the fact that no Nigerian state or local government area is under the control of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

The fact that the federal capital territory Abuja and its environs have not witnessed any terrorist attack since 2015 is also a testament to how hard the service chiefs have worked in ensuring that Nigeria does not experience a security decline as was the case before the coming on board of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group after a careful deliberation on the above stated facts, believes that the service chiefs are deserving to be a part of this new administration in an attempt to avoid a policy summersault or a change of operational strategy that might create a vacuum and buoy the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to gain grounds.

The Nigerians in Diaspora having researched extensively on warfare and how countries have been able to overcome such challenges notes that war commanders are not changed in the middle of a war, especially when victory is near sight.

The Nigerians in Diaspora, therefore, urge President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the same patriotic gesture of retaining the service chiefs in Nigeria in an attempt to sustain and win the war against terror in Nigeria ultimately.

By Karen Goulding

It is not news that as President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari also doubles as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What is, however, the news is that fact that some individuals and organizations either by commission or omission do not know that it is the prerogative of the President to choose those to work with and not the court of public opinion.

In areas as critical as the security sector, the court of public opinion should not be the yardstick for measurement, but rather the yardstick for measurements are the exclusive preserve of the Commander in Chief, who by and large is a part of the team that formulates operations policies and strategies.

In Nigeria today, we are all witness to the fact that the war against terrorism has been one difficult one. One that at some point stretched our armed forces thin. So much so that we were on the verge, until a decision was taken by the Nigerian people to elect someone who would translate our hopes and aspirations into tangible realities.

Enter 2015, the year President Muhammadu Buhari assumed leadership of the country. I recall that one of the cardinal promises he made was tackling the insecurity that has threatened our very existence. It then became a topic of discussion on how intended to carry on this task considering the fragile state in which the country was at the time.

One of the first signals that President Muhammadu Buhari meant business was when he appointed Services Chiefs for the various arms of the Armed Forces. I recall that some segment of the country applauded, while some screamed. But the president allayed their fears when he stated that he didn’t know any of the service chiefs personally, but relied on merit and tracked record in the service. And he was not wrong.

Fast forward to four years after, every discerning mind would readily admit that one of the best decisions that have been taken by the present administration was in the quality of the service chiefs and how they have carried on in the task assigned to them. This much is evident in the fact that no Nigerian territory is under the control of Boko Haram terrorists. This is also evident in the improved physical and psychological state of the troops at the frontlines.

Make no mistakes, Nigeria has made tremendous gains in the past four years, and all of these can be attributed to the unalloyed commitment of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, as well as the various services chiefs who have strived night and day towards ensuring that operational policies are implemented without fail.

This is also mindful of the fact that an area as sensitive as security requires consistency, and this comes with time. I say this because as one who has studied various forms of warfare in Nigerian and other climes, I think it amounts to a record-breaking feat to be able to curtail the activities of a group as rampaging as Boko Haram/ISWAP. A group that has operated with sophistication and external support.

The rational thing to do in this instances is to give the service chiefs the required time to fully execute their operational strategies in the war against terrorism in Nigeria. This is of the essence because security is not a place for experimentation because the consequences for perceived lapses are always severe. A good example can be seen in the way and manner the economy has enjoyed stability, which culminated in the reappointment of Godwin Emefiele as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. In my opinion, this was done in an attempt to ensure that there are no policy summersaults of economic policies that would be likely in the event of a change of hand at the helm of affairs at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This much President Muhammadu Buhari identified, and he indeed used his prerogative based on a couple of factors to reappoint Godwin Emefiele. This much must be extended in the critical security sector and with the way and manner the services chiefs have demonstrated that capacity to galvanize our troops towards recording tremendous successes in the fight against terror in Nigeria.

If we must admit, the security challenges in Nigeria are such that requires all hands to be on deck. It is such that has threatened our existence to the very foundation. I stand to be corrected, the past four years in Nigeria indeed witnessed a plethora of security challenges that one felt at some point that the military would have crumbled due to the pressure that was exerted on it.

The case of the Nigerian Army is particularly worthy of mention in the sense that it was able to sustain operations simultaneously across the country amidst fighting terrorism in North East Nigeria. This, in my opinion, was made possible because President Muhammadu Buhari refused to be pressured into effecting a change in the leadership of the Armed Forces then. He believed in their efforts, and today, he wasn’t wrong.

It must be noted that this is the same scenario playing out with a segment of the population who for selfish reasons want the service chiefs replaced, not on the strength of non-performance, but the strength of political patronage. And ironically this has been the pattern in times past and part of the reason why we found ourselves in such precarious situation before 2015.

Just like it was stated earlier, President Muhammadu Buhari is conversant with the workings in the critical security sector, been a general in the Nigerian Army and former head of state. So it would be uncharitable for him not to be involved in the operations and activities of the Armed Forces in Nigeria. And it would also be uncharitable for the president not to know the numerous sacrifices of the service chiefs in ensuring that the war against terrorism and other security challenges are curtailed.

As a fact, there has been a justification for every inch of decisions in the critical security sector in the country because the service chiefs have demonstrated this capacity and ability towards ensuring that Nigeria overcomes its security challenges. Consequently, the question goes thus: do you change a winning team? Do you fox it when it is not broken?

As stated earlier, the prerogative remains that of the President and Commander in Chief as regards the tenure of service chiefs. And if one is to make a suggestion, it would be that the service chiefs continue in office and assist President Muhummadu Buhari in his quest to make Nigeria great again. This is especially so because indeed this generation of Nigerians and the future generation have nowhere to call him other than Nigeria and as such we must remain here and salvage it together.


Goulding is a security expert and contributed this article from the United Kingdom.

The League of Security Experts and Professionals has rebuked Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for displaying “ gross ignorance” over his call for Chief Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai to relocate permanently to Borno State.

The umbrella body for security experts and professionals in the country gave this reprimand in a press conference on Friday in Abuja.

According to the group, the remarks made by the former Vice-president is highly “misleading and lacking in depth and purpose, laced with mischief, ignorance, and a clear case of playing to the gallery.”

The motive of the PDP chieftain the group alleged was to cast aspersion on the commitment of the COAS in the fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist in Nigeria and on the fringes of the Lake Chad region.

The security stakeholder therefore considered Atiku as a “security threat with his actions and inactions since after the general elections and therefore the relevant security agencies should be on the alert.”

The group, however, advised the Adamawa-born politician to henceforth desist from making ignorant remarks about the Nigerian military.

“The pertinent issue today is the call by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai to relocate permanently to Borno state in an attempt to coordinate the fight against insurgency better. He also stated that the Chief of Defence Staff should have an annex office in Zamfara state, instead of sitting in their comfort zones in Abuja,” the statement reads.

“The League of Security Experts and Professionals wishes to state that the curriculum vitae of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar puts him in the lowest rungs of the ladder to contribute on military strategies in Nigeria for undeniable reasons. If indeed he chooses to air his opinion on national issues as expected, he should be guided by the need for decorum and respect for facts and the sensibilities of others at all times.

“The League of Security Experts and Professionals would state in unequivocal terms that the statement credited to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a direct affront to the efforts of the Nigerian military in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria and other parts of the country.

“ This is especially so as there have been no efforts whatsoever by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar towards contributing positively to sustainable peace in Nigeria, either while he held sway in office as Vice President and otherwise.

“ For the records, the League of Security Experts and Professionals is aware that the Chief of Army Staff and other top commanders of the Nigerian Army have been in the trenches in the past weeks supervising military operations.

“ As a critical stakeholder in the security sector in Nigeria, the League of Security Experts and Professionals is also aware of the gains recorded by the Nigerian military in North East Nigeria, particularly around the Lake Chad basin region.

“ The efforts of the Nigerian military in its operations in other parts of the country is also worthy of mention, which Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would not see or admit.

“ It is therefore pertinent to state that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should desist from commenting on how the Nigerian military should implement its war strategies and he should be bold enough to visit the Nigerian troops in the trenches for first-hand war experience.

“ It must also be expressly stated that the business of security is not for entertainers and political jobbers that thrive by creating sensational headlines for newspapers. It is a job for the strong in spirit. And those with the interest of the country at heart. However, it is on record that the actions of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar have never been in the interest of Nigeria from time immemorial in his days in the Nigerian Customs Service.

“ The League of Security Experts and Professionals wishes to advise Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to call home his ignorance on the operations of the Nigerian military and stop misleading the members of the unsuspecting general public.”

The Redemption Kperogi Won’t Find

By Okanga Agila

Wikipedia describes Farooq Adamu Kperogi as “a Nigerian academic, media scholar, public speaker and newspaper columnist.” He is a well-respected Nigerian but that was until he was outed as a fraud a few days ago. Kperogi made the unenviable list of “Fact-checking social media influencers who shared fake news during Nigerian general elections” alongside raucous politician, Dino Melaye.
The fact-checking was done by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), which found that Kperogi deployed weapon grade fake news – videos and pictures – during the recent general elections. He shared a video of a female electoral official thumb printing ballot papers and claimed the crime was being committed to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 presidential election but it turned out that the video was from 2015 and it was for a parliamentary election while the party being thumb printed for was Accord.

For someone that claims to be an associate professor of journalism, one that insists on holding those in authority to account, Kperogi fell short of his own standards as he refused to answer questions from the ICIR reporters that did the fact-checking. Tragically, the report done by ICIR exposed only a fraction of the fraud that the so called media scholar has pulled on his unsuspecting readers. He has a serial history of manipulating events to suit whatever interest(s) he is pandering to at the point when he is launching his mischief.

Naturally, the fact-checking is a major blow to whatever credibility Kperogi has. If he can lie with his posts on the scale he did during the elections, when emotions were highly volatile and the fake video could have triggered a nationwide inferno, one wonders if he has ever said the truth in any of his write-ups and posts when it did not seem much was at stake. A logical reaction is for Kperogi to attempt redeeming what he can of his image after literally being caught pants down by the fact-check.

It is thus not surprising that because he knew that he was about to be exposed he sought out what he knew would touch on raw nerves of right thinking Nigerians and of interest to those that are too mentally incapable to bother about knowing the difference. Less than 48 hours to the ICIR report being published, he picked on the war against Boko Haram in Borno (and neighbouring states) as his path of distraction to shoo attention away from the discovery of his lies. His approach, typical of the prescription in his writing is to add more falsehood to the falsehood he had been indicted for peddling.


In a piece he authored on June 22, Kperogi shamelessly picked on Borno state governor, Babagana Umaru Zulum, who he called several names for daring to suggest an alternative approach to dealing with Boko Haram. He went on to suggest that Boko Haram’s language of violence must be replied with violence and even threw some deranged inferences of ‘eye “plucker”’ with a feeble attempt at revisionism by claiming that ‘Gandhi’s oft-quoted aphorism that “an eye for an eye will only leave the whole world blind” is not entirely accurate.’ He must really think he is something special to attempt nullifying Ghandi’s wisdom.

To justify his perversion, he quoted Malcom X but forgot to quote his contemporary, Martin Luther King Jr., who met a fate no different from that of his contemporary anyway. Kperogi will do well to read Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote that “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Even as Kperogi attacked Zulum, he could not hide the object of his rage for long as he tried to diminish what President Muhammadu Buhari has achieved in the time he has been in office. Acknowledge that the Boko Haram crisis has crossed the timeline of one decade, which gave them time to have killed more people, but an equally murderous Niger Delta militants got the offer of rehabilitation and reintegration, which cannot be described as a total failure today. So at what point did it become a crime to attempt repeating a modified version of that approach with the insurgents? Plus, while it serves the liar’s interest to claim that President Buhari sided with Boko Haram in the Goodluck Jonathan years, it is disingenuous of him to not recall that the same Jonathan usually use the first person (plural) possessive pronoun “we” whenever he was referring the then murderous militants at a time he was Vice President to the late Umaru Yar’Adua.

The Nigerian Army and its leadership are natural victims of Kperogi’s misdirected venom, bystanders caught in the hail of his stray bullets of hatred for President Buhari. It does not matter that the military operates under known constraints and the ones not known to the public. It does not matter that the fire of terrorism that the Nigerian Army is putting out is being fed with fuel from beyond the borders of Nigeria. The successes that have been recorded in containing the insurgency and terrorist activities count for nothing. All so long as Kperogi finds something to throw angry Nigerians off the scent of the deception that this charlatan fed them during the elections and the preceding days.

Lying may be a way of life for Kperogi but to make war face paint with the blood of those that have been unfortunately killed by terrorists is a new low, even for him. The concept of “soft targets” does not in any way designate those that are being attacked as expendable on account of their class but is rather suggestive of the terrorists launching attacks against places where they know they will meet the least resistant. A man that deludes himself about teaching others the correct usage of English language should have at least made the effort to understand something as simple as this instead of using his ignorance of the concept as a basis to incite people to begin a class war.

It is okay for Kperogi to sit in Atlanta, United States and be asking why there is no outrage. It shows that he is disconnected from reality to a point where he now believes his own lies. The people he is inciting to be outraged are aware that President Buhari and the military are making the right efforts, which the Zulum, as a new governor, has also come to appreciate and keyed into. It is Kperogi who must be reminded that he can only try in vain to attempt setting Nigeria on fire after being paid for such assignment by neocons, the same people that make arms and other logistics available to Boko Haram. He is the one that should be encouraged to be ashamed that he is now trying to incite people to violence by writing about Boko Haram when his promotion of fake news during the elections could not achieve the same result when the country was most vulnerable.
In all these, the people targeted by Kperogi – President Buhari, Zulum and the leadership of the Nigerian military – are not the ones to be pitied. Even the nuisance himself is past the stage where one feels pity for him. Neither should any thoughts be spared for his hapless social media followers, who consume the bile he vomits all over the place without question. The true victims of Kperogi are the students that are being made to study journalism under a confirmed purveyor of fake news, a man in need of redemption. But it is the redemption that Kperogi will never find unless he first learn to purge himself free of hatred. Only then will he realize that he has strayed from the true path and have continued to walk farther away from reality.

Okanga wrote this piece from Agila, Benue State.

Third Republic Senate President, Sen Ameh Ebute, has urged the UK parliament to support Nigeria's besieging insecurity challenges with modern arms and technology weapons of warfare.

The highly vocal lawyer-cum-politician made this plea in a letter addressed to Rt.Hon. Mrs. Kemi Badenoch, Member of Parliament (MP), representing Saffron Walden constituency on Thursday.

While appreciating previous interventions of the British Government to battle the terrorism scourge, Mr Ebute believes more can still be done.

According to the ex-lawmaker, with the support of the UK, the remnant Boko Haram sect will be completely defeated.

Read full letter below.

June 25, 2019

Rt.Hon. Mrs. Kemi Badenoch, MP

Member of Parliament (MP),

Saffron Walden constituency

& Other Colleague-PMs,

House of Commons,

London, United Kingdom (UK)

Dear MPs.

“ A Plea For Parliamentary Support Of Nigeria To Counter Resurgent Islamic State of Iraq-Backed Boko Haram Terrorists Renamed ISWAP In Northern Nigeria And The Lake Chad Basin Enclaves.”

I am delighted to have the privilege to write to UK Members of Parliament (MP) through you. Accept the fondest greetings from me and Nigerians.

My motivation of writing the House of Commons through you is my conviction that our lamentations would receive a wider attention in the UK Parliament in recognition of your unique position as Vice Chairman, Conservative Party For Candidates. It is also, spurred by your crystal interest and likewise, the entire British Parliament to assist Nigeria overcome the besieging insecurity challenges in the country.

I believe the facts on the disgusting security challenges assailing Nigeria are already known to all. But let me briefly recount that insurgencies and insurrections appear to have become intractable security problems in Nigeria.

Over the last three years, the Nigerian Military, especially the Nigerian Army have been doing an impressive job is taming and routing out the perpetrators of insurgencies and insurrections out of our shores. The efforts have yielded substantial liberative fruits or else, Boko Haram terrorists would have forcefully taken control of more than half of the territories comprising Nigeria by today.

I cannot say, the counter-terrorism strides of the Nigerian Military have met the targeted results. It means total victory against Boko Haram terrorists as Nigerians anticipate is being frustrated by the interest and sponsorship of insurgents in the country by deadly terror sects domiciled in the Middle East.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) led by Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi ‎ or Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samariai, are militant organizations fueling terrorism in Nigeria and environs. And we are aware the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) among others have designated ISIL and affiliates topmost on their list of terrorists organizations.

May you recall that the United States of America has specifically designated ISIL’s leader, Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi as a Global Terrorist. It confirms his outreach in this devilry act against humanity.

Therefore, ISIL’s agenda of territorial expansion has made inquest into Nigeria and other surrounding countries of the West Africa region. And by March 2015, it officially confirmed its sponsorship of Boko Haram terrorists, which previously operated on local strength; which ISIL has now renamed, "Islamic State's West Africa Province" (ISWAP).

However, in the last four years, Nigerian government and her Armed Forces have tirelessly fought the scourge of Boko Haram to a standstill. The Nigerian Military has been able to reclaim back her territories under the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents and freed thousands of abducted Nigerians held captive in various secret camps by the terrorists.

Nevertheless, like I stressed earlier, the recorded victories of the Nigerian Government against Boko Haram so far have not reached the point of final extermination of these Islamic militant group.

Rather, what we have seen in recent months is the resurgence of Boko Harm, with a resilience and sophistry of weaponry, which I believe has slowed down the pace of the final annihilation of the Boko Haram in Nigeria, despite the struggles of our competent Armies.

I am strengthened by the recent parley in January 2019 anchored on the issue of Boko Haram in Nigeria, which you and your colleagues in the House of Commons interacted mutually. I learnt the discussion ended with a promise of the Parliament to lobby and or, prevail on appropriate authorities in the United Kingdom beginning with the UK House of Commons to support the Nigerian Government with military technology gadgets/weapons to fight this global threat to humanity.

And this is now the time to take steps in this direction before ISWAP (Boko Haram) entrench its tentacles; completely annihilate and dislocate the civilian populations within the Lake Chad region including citizens of Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Nigerian Republics.

I make this profound plea, believing that the strength, competence and dexterity displayed by the Nigerian Military in standing out to terrorists these years show determination to overwhelm terrorists if adequately supported. So, with the empowerment of Nigerian troops with modern technology weapons of warfare, I am sure, the regrouping of terrorists under the auspices of ISWAP will be crushed instantly.

There is no doubt about the new threats posed to the sovereignty of Nigeria, with the resurgence of Boko Haram terrorists with a strange vigour roundly because of the backing by Iraqi’s ISIL and the UK has a role to play.

And the UK’s role is largely to consent and act in consonance with its pledges by deploying the needed modern technology warfare equipment to Nigeria for the combat of terrorism. If this is done, it will no doubt help to reduce human casualties in the theatre of war and finally extinguish the ghost of terrorism in this region in a very short time.

I appreciate previous interventions of the British Government to aide Nigeria battle the terrorism scourge in terms of training of troops and provision of logistics. But much more can still be done. So, we are appealing for a step-up of such interventions and gestures in the area of modern technology weapons aid to Nigeria.

And it is the most germane time to embark on this action. You can recall that in August 2018 the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May paid a state visit to Nigeria and met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. The bulk of their discussion centered on combating terrorism. And Mrs. May promised to increase UK’s military support to Nigeria to assist the country protect its citizens and British workers resident in Nigeria from terrorists’ atrocities.

The British PM’s pledge was later reiterated by UK’s Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jeremy Hunt who also visited Nigeria in early 2019. He was emphatic that discussions by the British Government are ongoing in the aspect of increasing aid and military support to combat the Boko Haram terrorists.

This was after Mr. Hunt visited some crisis ridden places in the Northeast and concluded by a verdict that the crisis had the potential to trigger humanitarian problems if left unattended , in a manner that would dwarf the Yemen experience.

It will good enough for the House of Commons to add their voice of reminder to the issue and persuasion of relevant authorities to initiate appropriate actions for weaponry aid to Nigeria with modern technology devices.

We are a sovereign nation and our Military is very strong and capable. So, once they are supported, it will completely delete Boko Haram in Nigeria. We are not burdening anyone to move troops to Nigeria or asking anyone to come with boots on the ground because there are enough Nigerian troops on ground.

I specially thank you for your audience. And I trust that the contents of this letter will be conveyed to other MPs in the House of Commons for their necessary action.

By Idoko Ainoko

In Nigeria today, the Nigerian Armed Forces under the leadership of General Abayomi Olonishakin can best be described as top notch. I recall when I attended a strategic session on institutionalizing the reforms in the Nigerian Armed Forces at Chatham House in the United Kingdom, the bulk of the speakers did commend the efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism and other security threats that the country is faced.

These are no mean feat by all indications. And this is where the dexterity and leadership acumen of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin comes to focus. Those in the know of the rot in the Armed Forces before 2015 would marvel at the various policies that have been introduced towards ensuring that our military stays true to its constitutional mandate and values.

I have long admired General Abayomi Olonishakin for the way and manner he has conducted himself since 2015. Some say he is the unseen hand behind the successes recorded by the Nigerian military in the fight against Boko Haram. Some call him the strategist and one who loathes limelight.

For those in the know of the operations of the Nigerian Military, would readily tell that the Chief of Defence Staff is such an ingenious individual that pays attention to details and leaves no stone unturned when formulating operational policies of the Nigerian Armed Forces. This much can be seen in the way and manner the Nigerian military has carried on the fight against insurgency and other security threats that pose serious security concerns in the country.

The mere fact that our security agencies curtailed the activities of militant organizations such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is indeed a testament of how hard the Chief of Defence Staff has worked in ensuring that there is operational synergy amongst the services that constitute the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This didn’t happen overnight or by magic. I firmly believe that the relevant military authorities channelled conscious efforts in the form of formulating and executing strategies that would stand the test of time. I am also of the opinion that rebuilding the Armed Forces Institutions in Nigeria was a necessity when President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as President in 2015.

This was so because we were all witness to the rot in the system that was on the verge of imminent collapse. Corruption reigned supreme, and the number of casualties suffered by the Nigerian troops was in high numbers. And indeed that was when there was a lack of patriotism and reluctance by soldiers at the battlefront to confront the Boko Haram insurgents.

Even the top hierarchy of the armed forces was equally complicit in the rot that engulfed the system where monies earmarked for arms and ammunition ended up in private pockets. But all of these have indeed changed for the better with improved welfare for troops in the battlefront, accountability and transparency have been entrenched, and morale of the soldiers boosted to confront the various security challenges in the country.

And Nigeria is indeed better for it. This is why I have always told all that cared to listen to that, but for the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria would have either gone up in flames, or we would have seen a return to military rule. Yes, it was that bad.

But thank God for the quality of appointments in the Armed Forces led by General Abayomi Olonishakin, whose tenure as Chief of Defence Staff has seen to the rejuvenation of our Armed Forces and also seen to the multiple inroads the Nigerian Armed Forces as recorded in the quest to keep Nigeria safe and secured.

Two things can be used to explain how things turned around for good. The first is loyalty. Loyalty in the sense that commitment to the country must be constant. More like our national anthem and pledge that states thus “Arise, O compatriots Nigeria's call obey to serve our fatherland with love and strength and faith. The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain, to serve with heart and might one nation bound in freedom Peace and Unity.

I do not know what could be more profound like our national anthem; little wonder it has a way of spurring one to greatness. And this is what the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin has been able to bring about in the discharge of his duties as Chief of Defence Staff. He has demonstrated loyalty and patriotism, such that has endeared him to the heart of many Nigerians. His capacity to carry the various services of the Armed Forces had never been in doubt from the word go and this much he has done excellently well to the admiration of all and sundry. Lest I add that only recently, he was appointed to head the Committee ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staff.

Just like the famous saying, a goldfish has no hiding place, so is the case of General Abayomi Olonishakin, who has exhibited every form of loyalty and patriotism in the discharge of his duties. Special commendation also goes to President Muhammadu Buhari, whose commitment to the rebuilding of the critical institutions in the Nigeria military is unflinching. And this can be called the true spirit of Nigeria.

I do not doubt that the various reforms introduced by General Abayomi Olonishakin in the Armed Forces would indeed stand the test to time. And it would serve as reference point not just for Nigeria, and also other countries in the world.


Ainoko is a public affairs analyst based in Kaduna.

... says Governors are deliberately stalling peace efforts


The Concerned Middle Belt Citizens Forum (CMBCF) has faulted Benue State Govenror, Samuel Ortom and his Taraba State counterpart, Darius Ishaku, for kicking against the planed Ruga settlement for pastoral herders.


Ortom and Ishaku had came out to voice their rejection of the imitative by the Buhari-led government with the aim of resoling the lingering herders/farmers crises.

National President of the CMBCF, Comrade Augustine Awulu at a press conference of Wednesday, said the governor deliberately stalling peace efforts to end the nagging menace.

Earlier, the National Democratic Front (NDF) had called on Governors Ortom, Ishaku and others to emulate the former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and turn in every weapon in their possession to the relevant authority their own good.

Awulu of the CMBCF said Ruga settlement for the herders remains a lasting panacea to the nagging crises between farmer and cattle rearers.

Text of his statement below.

The Concerned Middle Belt Citizens Forum” (CMBCF) is again constrained to speak to Nigerians for obvious reasons. In the course of the week, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) led by President Muhammadu Buhari announced its intention to experiment with establishing “Ruga Settlements,” for pastoral herders in 12 pilot states of the country.


Surprisingly, this policy has been greeted with a strong cynicism, antagonism and antipathy by some States Governors in Nigeria from the Southeast and North Central States. We consider this absurd in the truest sense of it.


We are not principally concerned with whatever the Governors of the Southeast think about this policy which is a carefully thought-out plan and strategy to end the regime of clashes, killings and destructions between herders and farmers in Nigeria.


We have grieved over these skirmishes enough and President Buhari had sufficiently notified us that “Whatever it will take, I am determined to bring peace between farmers and herders.” The President aims at adopting a middle course as an enduring solution between the herders and farmers. And “Ruga Settlements,” are ideal by our sense of fair judgement.


Therefore, we were not disappointed when Governors of the Southeast opposed it; but drenched in sadness when the twosome of Taraba state Governor, Arch. Dairus Ishaku and his Benue State counterpart, Hon. Samuel Ortom voiced opposition to Ruga settlements.


Northerners do not share same cultural ties or even economic proclivities with the Southeast. Easterners are basically businessmen and women or commercialists or traders. But in the Middle Belt, we are farmers notable in crops and animal husbandry. There is little essence in emphasizing that we need one another to survive in this hostile world.


And we must necessarily see ourselves as members of the same family, bond by the same economic destiny. Its difficult to change this narrative now, as wished by some partisan State Governors, who are exploiting the herders/farmers crises to protect their unpopular decisions and blur shortcomings as state leaders.


Nigerians are aware of the history of the herders and farmers clashes in the country and its aggravation in the last few years. The States Government of Benue and Taraba have already passed anti-open grazing laws, which are in their very contents and mode of implication very defective and deficient, while they prescribed ranching as solution.


The magnitude of the clashes and carnage between cattle rearers and farmers has exacerbated because of these faulty or grey areas in the anti-open grazing laws. And there is no way, any right-thinking leader would feel, we shall continue to exist on such fault lines. Let us state clearly that we are not necessarily faulting the laws, but the grey areas in it, which are known to the Governors who hurriedly endorsed such laws under whatever convictions.


The unalterable truth remains that at this stage of our lives, we cannot convincingly say, only crop farmers are needed and so, herders should go to hell! It’s impossible! Whether we like it not, we must find a way of accommodating both farmers and herders in the same geographical enclave. That’s why we find “Ruga Settlements,” idealistic, rational and acceptable.


The “Ruga Settlements” is an initiative of the National Economic Council (NEC) presented under the National Livestock Transformation Plan (2018-2027). It is conceptualized to permanently halt the age-long herders-farmers crises and to massively develop the livestock industry.


The FGN is experimenting it for herdsmen in 12 pilot states nationwide, which it disclosed through, Alh. Mohammadu Umar, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, during an interview with journalists in Abuja, at the workshop on Regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and associated legislations in West Africa.


Again, we reiterate that we cannot understand the opposition of some States Governors to it, especially, those who are apostles’ of cattle ranching because Ruga settlement is the same with it in colour and operation. They are all about restriction of cattle movements; but open to stationary operations of herders in selected camps, licensed and protected with appropriate legislations by the FGN. For Christ’s sake, nomads are also Nigerians


The Ruga settlements would have modern facilities and amenities, and ventinary clinics for treatment of cattle to enhance greater productivity. It is what states which have passed anti-open grazing laws have advocated in such laws.


So, where is the confusion and why the resistance to Ruga settlements? Or could it be that we hate our brother-herders so much that we think, shutting the doors against their only means of economic survival would give them the grace to sing songs of praises of this fraternity? Everything about life, is live, lets live!


Please, we must be reasonable for once! The Ruga pilot programme has already commenced on a 31,000-hectare in Kotongora, Niger state. It is within the same Middle Belt and North Central region particularly.


We believe the FGN is working in tandem with a World Bank recommendation which stated as far back as 1954, after a review of pastoralism in Nigeria that “stabilization” was the most important and critical ingredient in the expansion and modernization of cattle production in the country.


Therefore, among the three proposals the World Bank recommended were establishment of “grazing reserves to be protected by law; provision of land rights to the pastoralists and the development of communal villages in grazing reserves as a means of bringing livestock into peasant agriculture.”


Let us remind that even in a post independent Nigeria and precisely in 1965, these World Bank recommendations were passed in to law. And it consented to a minimum 10% of the country’s land area to be legally acquired and constituted into grazing reserves for lease allocation to grazers.


Unfortunately, as we speak, only about 23 proposed grazing areas out of 299 proposed in the then Northern states, including Abuja, amounting to 2.3 million hectares have been operationalized. And it covers only slightly above 500,000 hectares of land for Nigeria’s cattle population which is estimated at over 19 million cattle?


There is no fairness in this posturing and grandstanding by these Governors and other opposers to Ruga Settlements’. We must do the needful now, by embracing the Ruga Settlements’ as a modern -day recodification and re-modelling of grazing reserves.


By our thinking, this is what Ruga settlements means and it is only the FGN which has the financial muscle to implement it. And it is the most preferable to the popularized concept of ranching because, while Ruga settlements are insulated and protected from abuse by local forces; ranching exposes herders to the near dictatorial tendencies of local communities, which would again open fresh vistas of conflicts.


We must give peace a chance. No Nigerian alive today can think forceful Islamisation of the country is possible. So, whatever conflicts between herders and farmers have no religious undertones and its time, we call a spade a spade.


What we are now attempting to understand is not new. It has always existed in the Northern region and even recognized by the colonial government. Yes, we made mistakes. But we cannot perish the idea of grazing reserves, now renamed Ruga settlements, which share every affinity with ranching.


Nigeria has over 40 million hectares of grazing lands, but just about 3 million hectares are specifically tagged as grazing reserves established under the Northern Region Grazing Reserves Law of 1965.


And furthermore, from Nigeria’s total of 417 grazing reserves, only about 113 have been gazetted. So, the permanent rehabilitation of herders can neither be overlooked nor ignored by anyone.



And before the Whitemen removed the veil from our eyes in the guise of colonization, we had traditional grazing grounds called “Hurmi,” and such lands were strategically located at the vicinity of the towns and villages throughout Northern Nigeria. We need peace and harmonious existence.


So, we have lived with this idea and these modern-day crusaders of anti- Ruga settlements should know. And rewinding history backwards further, we will understand that as far back as 1901, Nigeria recognized nomadism in the use of land, when a devastating drought occurred in some parts of Northern Nigeria.



The understanding to persuade nomads to settle in areas of greener pastures within the North, the move was first made in 1942. Riyom near Jos, in present-day Plateau State is famed for this settlement, where pastoralists were encouraged to settle. Each herding household unit was allocated a piece of land and persuaded to engage in mixed farming and alongside development of pasture areas.


We have appreciated the issue of population explosion and the attendant consequences of scramble for lands. But to think that we can make these calculations, and ignore pastoralists is unwise. We are obligated to factor them into it. And Ruga Settlements provides this succor nomads need desperately.



To continue to sustain the argument of resistance in accommodating them is not only foolish, but chaotic and a sure path of nourishing the anarchy our people have had to bear these years.



Let’s learn from the wisdom of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, who said; “herdsmen, let us appreciate, are perhaps humanity’s earliest known tourists. They must be taught however that there is a culture of the settlement, and learn to seek accommodation with settled hosts wherever encountered.” Ruga Settlements provides the finest and nicest platform for such co-habitation to pastoralists.


Therefore, the Concerned Middle- Belt Citizens Forum” (CMBCF) believes that the initiative of the FGN on Ruga Settlements for pastoralists is the ultimate antidote for peaceful co-existence and harmonious working relationship between herders and farmers and by implication, all the citizens of Nigeria.



Those opposed or antagonizing it, especially the State Governors, are doing so out of mischief. Or perhaps, to extract their pound of flesh from Mr. President for depriving them access to council funds, which they mindlessly siphoned; and strengthening the judiciary at the state level and working towards total autonomy for the 744 Local Government councils in Nigeria.


These are two different issues, which should not be mixed under whatever guise. We want the opposers to Ruga settlements to be guided accordingly.

The Northern Think Tank group has rejected the planned security conference by the Arewa Research & Development Project (ARDP).

Recall that ARDP had through its leader, Usman Bugaje, called for more proactive measures in addressing the security situation in some parts of northern Nigeria.

To provide solutions to these challenges, Bugaje announced that the group would be organizing a conference on northern security which is scheduled to hold July 1 and 2, at the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation conference in Kaduna.

The northern group in a press statement described the move by Bugaje and his followers as misleading, warning its leader, to stop “hiding his atrocities under security conference.”

It, therefore, called Nigerians and the world to disregard Bugaje’s latest attempt at seeking relevance instead of forgiveness we recommend that the right things should be done to eradicate the security threats confronting Nigerians

His text below.

A group of disgruntled politicians under the aegis of Arewa Research & Development Project (ARDP) have announced plans for a “Northern Security Conference” billed to hold in Kaduna from July 1-2, 2019.

ARDP is supposedly convened by one Dr. Usman Bugaje, a politician that has in the past played both sides of the game since he has been in government and in opposition, depending on what faction proves to be more lucrative.

The last time this politician had any news mention of note was when he declined the offer to serve Nigeria as an ambassadorial nominee. We have since discovered that his reason for declining the appointment was he was aware that he would not have scaled security clearance because of the many activities he was engaged in with some of his other associates.

Interestingly, it is this same set of people that are today announcing that they are giving northern Nigeria a security conference to discuss the same problem they helped created. While it is very possible that the same people that started a problem (or series of problems) may hold the key to the resolution, logic dictates that we question the motive behind this offer of proffering solution that is coming from the architects of the nation’s problems.

In the prevent press briefing addressed by Dr. Bugaje, ARDP listed the security challenges confronting the country to include Boko Haram, banditry, kidnap for ransom, ethno-religious crisis, and farmers-herders crisis. It does not take a doctorate in security to figure that all these are security challenges that have their roots in the proliferation of arms that was actively promoted the political class, especially those that deployed youths as foot soldiers in their bid to win elections. Perhaps the problem would not have been as bad if the politicians, like Dr Bugaje, only armed the youths; they also plied them with hard drugs, expose them to slush funds and identified political opponents as targets to be dealt with or eliminated.

Youths, in addition to being left despondent and desperate, are left angry against the society once the politicians dump them after elections. Not willing to wait for another four years, these identified crimes become alluring to the youths.

This is not to discount the roles that these politicians similarly play in pitching Nigerians against each other along the lines of ethno-religious differences. When it suited them they set the south against the north, Christian against Muslim and one ethnic group against the other so long as it will fetch them votes or get them into whatever office they seek.

We are not unaware of the contribution of corruption to the toxic mix we are today dealing with. Bugaje and his co-travellers can lie to themselves all they want but it will pay them to acknowledge that the time is nigh for them to give account of how their cohort enriched themselves as opposed to truly serving the people. Had the people being properly empowered as opposed to politicians building mansions the extreme poverty that is fuelling some of these problems would not have been in existence.

The conference announced by ARDP is therefore a smokescreen for achieving other objectives as the situation on ground does not call for holding talk shops for grandstanding by people that already know what the causes of the problems are. We understanding that this grandstanding is aimed at unveiling a divisive agenda as the participants of this meeting plan to claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is not serving the term of the north hence the north will be again be presenting a candidate in 2023. But even this agenda is a ruse because the actual target of the conference is to provide justification for a planned forceful hijack of the government or at the very least some of its core functions.

This is why Dr Bugaje, in his briefing, alluded to societies resorting to self-help and the plan by the conference “to provide solutions particularly the coordination and the regulation of the community responses” while also “a committee will be constituted to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementations of the decisions of the conference,” which are coded ways of saying that the conference plans to not only hijack the government but also take over the role of law enforcement.

Regardless of whatever problems the country is facing, the path chosen by ARDP is not one that will lead to solutions. If anything, the Northern Security Conference as conceived and announced by Bugaje’s ARDP will rather create new problems. The first of such problems is that it will instantly validate the secessionist agitations and separatist movements in the south. Talks of community responses will also promote the birth of ethnic militias, which is a recipe for disaster.

On the strategic front, the conference is nothing but an attempt by those responsible for the problems to continue to divert attention from the core issues militating against the north and the root causes of insecurity. The reality is that Dr. Bugaje and his group represent nothing but another appendage of a political class that is out to benefit from every situation including the blood of the innocent person in the society. It is on this note that we ask that any northern worth his name should stay away from the conference as it would end up as a venue for the roll call of the north and Nigeria’s problems.

As we ask the north, Nigerians and the world to disregard Dr Bugaje’s latest attempt at seeking relevance instead of forgiveness we recommend that the right things should be done to eradicate the security threats confronting Nigerians. A first step is for all desperate politicians to retrace their steps – a conference is not needed to make this happen. The next step is for them to, under a plea deal, brief security agencies about the roles they played in precipitating the current security situation. They must also produce a catalogue of the arms they have supplied to their thugs, the financial backing they have given such thugs, details of the cells created by such goons and identities of the individuals behind such groups.


These are practical steps that we are demanding Dr Bugaje, his group and associates take instead of playing to the gallery. The north is not unenlightened as he may be led to believe and there is no more room for him to continue toying with the collective future of the north while thinking that he is playing a game.

By Professor Emmanuel Ome

A lot has been said about the security situation in Nigeria. Some have said the situation has worsened, some have also said the situation has improved. While it's normal for divergent views on the security situation in Nigeria, one thing stands sacrosanct. The security chiefs in Nigeria have performed creditably well.

There is a significant challenge that I have come to realize in this country. A situation where, for inexplicable reasons, hard work is not always appreciated. A situation where people throw all manners of spanners in the wheels of progress. Also, a situation where people cry wolf where non exist.

I want to use the tenure of the present security chiefs in Nigeria as an example. I recall in 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed the security chiefs, he did state that he never knew any one of them personally, but relied on the track record in their careers.

Most Nigerians didn’t believe it because it sounded strange and not the usual way of doing things in a country where one must have a godfather to be so appointed into a strategic or sensitive position of authority. But President Muhammadu Buhari changed the norm, and the nation was shocked.

But today he has proved that his judgment was not in error. Not in error in the sense that the security chiefs have lived up to expectations and defied all the odds to prove doubting Thomases wrong that there are people whose passion and commitment to the Nigerian cause is unflinching.

A critical analysis of the security situation of the country before 2015 and now gives us a vivid example of how hard the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Olonisakin and the various services chiefs have worked towards ensuring that the territorial sovereignty of Nigeria is preserved at all cost. Make no mistakes. The present chiefs came on-board when Nigeria was on the brinks. There was the Boko Haram threat; there was also the Indigenous People of Biafra threat, the Niger Delta Avengers as well as that of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and other clandestine forces within and many being fueled from outside just too numerous to mention.

That the Federal Capital Territory is now safe for all is a testament. That no local government in Nigeria is under the control of Boko Haram terrorist is also a testimony. If these are not noteworthy, I don’t know what else to call it.

We must be true to ourselves to know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Yes, there might be pockets of security challenges here and there, but if we must admit, we have made substantial progress in ensuring that Nigeria is safe for all.

And this brings me to the call in recent times about the suitability of President Muhammadu Buhari continuing with the present security chiefs in his next tenure. This is quite an interesting topic that I would like to highlight on in this piece.

As a start, it is the prerogative of President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint those he feels he can work with. It is also the prerogative of the president to know those who have delivered in their national assignments.

I, therefore, ask, what will be the problem if the Security Chiefs also make the President's second term list for another four years? What is the difference between civilian appointments and military appointments? What does the constitution say about appointments?

I stand to be corrected; it is only those with mischief that would want to impress on the president to change a winning team. But they forget that the president himself was once a member of the constituency and he knows what to expect from those handling the various services in the Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

If we must admit, the past four years have witnessed the rebuilding of state institutions like the military that saw an unimaginable level of rot with the morale of its personnel at its lowest ebb. But can we say of that now? Your guess is as good as mine.

If only we could realize the efforts made towards ensuring that the military institution recovers from the rot it was entangled in by past administrations. This much can be seen in the substantial gains recorded since 2015. Those that have refused to be on the side of the truth probably are basking in the prism of their selfish interest. Just maybe, it has not been business as usual for them, and as such there must be a change in leadership so that they can take advantage of the heist that reigned supreme in previous administrations.

As a researcher, I can say that I know what has gone into making the military institution what it is today. I also know for a fact that the Nigerian military of today has experienced a transformation that has defied the odds. The odds that stated that Nigerian would disintegrate. The odds that posited that Boko Haram was going to overrun the country and establish caliphates. The odds that stated that the people of Zaria would not know peace under the threat of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. The odds that also predicted that the Niger Delta Avengers would cripple critical oil infrastructures and cripple the economy. But they were proved wrong.

All of these didn’t happen by magic. But for the efforts of a group of people who have strived day and night for Nigeria to stay united. These are no mean feat, and we must give kudos to those that have made significant contributions in service to the country — starting with Chief of Defence Staff and the service chiefs.

Aside sentiments, I have always identified with the paradigm that posits that “you don’t fix it when it is not broken” and not in a sector as sensitive as the security architecture in the country. I stand to be corrected, the bulk of Nigerians want the present crop of security chiefs to continue in office for as long as the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces so decide. Personally, changing the security chiefs now would do the country no good. This is not to say there are not others out there, but we must understand the peculiarities of our security challenges and why there is a need for consistency. But it remains the president’s prerogative, and no one should make no mistakes about that. If the president so decides, we must give him that support and understanding.

In a similar light, the Customs has also not done badly in terms of revenue generation. This is another area where the president’s choice of appointment has also proven to be effective. Under the present arrangement, the Nigerian Customs Service has witnessed tremendous growth in terms of revenue generation, and Nigeria is better for it.

We cannot deny these facts, and as such we should stop playing to the gallery on the efforts of the present administration towards ensuring that Nigeria is on the path to greatness through the quality of appointments in these critical sectors.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is undergoing the same kind of healing permissible by Mr. President’s wisdom. It is a historical fact that has settled in our polity today that Godwin Emefiele will be the first CBN Governor to be appointed back to back for a second term. This tells much about President Buhari building strong institutions for our country and never interested in playing politics with critical aspects of our national life. Those who mouth ethnic and religious sentiments in appointments went to bed at this point.

I can go on non-stop on this topic. But I would not because I firmly believe that Nigeria is on the path of greatness. And those with a contrary opinion should provide us with facts and figures and not sentiments. Like I stated earlier. This is a discourse.


Ome is a professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

A group of well-meaning Nigerians, under the auspices of One Voice Nigeria, has called on the 9th National Assembly to improve its annual allocation for defence.

According to the group, committed to rallying Nigerians of diverse persuasion to adopt a common ground, the budgetary allocation doesn't match the current realities on the ground.

It was on this premise these concerned Nigerians launched a campaign titled ‘Nothing is Too Much for Our Security’ at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Tuesday.

At the event, Convener Comrade Kabiru Ibrahim Dallah stated that security is the most serious business and should be given utmost attention.

While applauding the efforts of the 8th National Assembly to marginally increase funding for defence, the group charged Senator Ahmed Lawan’s led arm of government to go more steps further.

One Voice Nigeria, however, called on all Nigerians, home and abroad to join this one-off project aimed at supporting the nation's troops and enhancing our sovereignty.

“ It is on this note that One Voice Nigeria today launches the ‘NOTHING IS TOO MUCH FOR OUR SECURITY’ campaign. The campaign will focus on several areas to ensure that there is an improvement in the quantum of resources available for providing security to Nigerians, ensure that the appropriation of the resources is not delayed and ensure prompt release of funds that have been approved,” the statement reads in part.

“ We hereby present our 3-point agenda for security spending. The first point of the agenda we are setting for the National Assembly is to double and possibly quadruple defence and security spending. This point is premised on the reality that the current budgeting for the Armed Forces, particularly the Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Police Force is very low.

“ The need for the Federal Lawmakers to find ways of increasing the funds available to these bodies in view of ongoing operations against Boko Haram/ISWAP, cattle-rustlers, bandits, kidnappers, militants and other threats that have necessitated the massive deployment of the military and mobile police units. The budgeting for these organizations simply has to change to reflect the current reality. We see the necessity to pass a special supplementary budget to ensure that they are speedily empowered to deal with the security threats in the land.

“ The second point is that the National Assembly must, for the sake of the urgency around security issues in Nigeria, ensure speedy passage of defence budget and releases to the military. The country has the benefit of experience to know what happens when intervention budgets are allowed to succumb to politics as was the case with the issue of the $1billion sought by President Buhari, which the last parliament frustrated in the name of getting at the president.

“ By the time the lawmakers in that parliament were done with their politicking Boko Haram has upgraded to become ISWAP. This situation could have been avoided if the urgency of the situation were considered and given primacy.

“ The third point of the agenda is to the Ministry of Finance, which must give priority to issues of national security and to ensure that no arm of the military or the Police suffer any financial weakness on the account of non-release of funds.

“ It does not matter if the expenditure in question is recurrent or capital whether for procurement of critical war infrastructure or for other logistics. Going forward, any contrived failure to release funds to these institutions would be viewed by Nigerians as collusion with terrorists and criminals on the part of the officials responsible for such delay.

“ We, therefore, urge you all to follow us on all social media handles that will be passed by my colleagues to critically engage stakeholders at all levels. This is our new approach to fighting insecurity and urge all Nigerians and our international partners to join us on this project.

“ Nothing is too much for us to spend on the security of Nigeria. Nothing is too much because security is key.”

The Arewa Citizens Action for Transformation (ACAT) has questioned Dr Usman Bugaje's sudden interest in national security, particularly at a time the Nigerian military is making giant strides.

Mr Bugaje, an ex-political adviser to former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar, under the aegis of Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) will hold a two-day conference on the security situation in the north.

ACAT, a leading voice in the north on security issues, has frowned at this proposed summit, inferring that Bugaje's motive is purely to “ to cast aspersions” on the integrity of the current military leadership and to bring the entire institution to ridicule.

In a press conference on Tuesday, while welcoming brainstorming discuss on pressing security issues, Coordinator Comrade Audu Aboki downplayed Bugaje's conference as “nothing new will come out", especially as it focuses on physical security issues.

Instead of playing the critic card, ACAT, however, advised the group to join other Nigerians in encouraging the gallant troops on the frontline.

“ It is good to note that groups like the ARDP call intending to call a meeting of northern elders to discuss the security situation in the country as late as in the third quarter of 2019 when the federal and state governments have been at it for more decades. Well, as they say, it is better late than never.

“ But while the situation calls for concern as security is a recurrent issue, it is mischievous to use alternative facts to support dubious claims.

“ While it may be true that security is perhaps today the biggest single issue that faces the nation, it is incorrect to say that the security situation in Nigeria has continued to worsen and is about to ground the whole country.

“ Besides, it is also most uncharitable for any individual or organisation within the country to claim that insurgency has sapped the human and material resources of the Federal and State governments to the extent that both levels of government are exasperated.

“ To the best of our knowledge, the federal government has in the last four years walked the talk about its resolve to tackle the security issues in the country and has achieved quite a lot in that respect while showing no sign of despondency.

“ Within the period the current administration has been in place, more weapons have been secured and deployed for use by the security agencies while the ones previously seized from the weaponry by the terrorists have been destroyed rendering them incapacitated for a long period of time.

“ We are pained to recollect the gory past, but let us remind the ARDP that there was a time in this country when the Eagle Square, police headquarters and the UN building were bombed in broad daylight in brazen disregard to the security network and political authority in the country then.

“ All these have become history due to the efforts of the current military. Inaccurate comparisons like the ones done by the ARDP come not only as counterintuitive to the collective interest of the nation but questions the credibility of whoever is making it.

“ The focus for any citizen with a sense of patriotism should be on encouraging

“As we commend the sudden interest of the ARDP on security matters, we wish to inform the organisation that long before now, the Nigerian armed forces especially under the current administration has not spared any effort to turn the situation around and has succeeded very much in doing so.

“ That is why the President has made the issue of security one of the cardinal points of his administration.

“ The ARDP can call for a meeting on any issue that suits its fancy but it is wrong to use the military as its whipping boy.

“ Suffice it to say that the idea of a meeting on security is a good one but nothing new will come out of it as discussion on security that focuses on physical security agencies is just wasting time.”

By Philip Agbese

I recently read the piece by the dependable Festus Adedayo, who in truth is one of the best hands in the media landscape in Nigeria. I mean with a Ph.D. in Political Communication from the University of Ibadan, one should expect that his political services should be in hot demand.

He was at a time Special Adviser on Media to the Governor of Enugu and Oyo States and recently the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan appointed him to the same position. But it ended in a controversy that the appointment had to be reversed not on the strength of capacity or qualification. I stand to be corrected.

I admire Festus Adedayo for his intellectual prowess. He speaks power to the truth on critical issues as it concerns governance and he has been applauded severally for this seemingly patriotic stance.

But I have some reservations on his recent piece titled “Buratai’s Bruises on Nigerian Troops.” He, as usual, played with words and tried to mesmerize his readers. He went back and forth, trying to justify the title of his piece. He also went as far as quoting from the Nigerian Armed Forces Act, especially Section 45, 46, 47 and 48 which deal with the misconduct of military personnel.

But the plot failed. This time he was unable to deliver on his much anticipated best seller. I won’t say I was disappointed. I would rather say he wrote with so much venom that he forgot the place of logic in writing and that emotions should be kept at bay. Those were the areas he got it woefully wrong. Aside the fact that he wrote on a topic he was completely ignorant on.

Back to the crux of the matter. He stated that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai accused his troops of treason with his statement at a workshop tagged “Transformational leadership” which was organized by the Army Headquarters Department of Transformation and Innovation, which held at the Army Resource Centre in Abuja recently.

Buratai had said: “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to the insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks or simply insufficient commitment to a common national/military course by those at the frontlines. Many of those on whom the responsibility for physical actions against the adversary squarely falls are yet to take ownership of our common national or service cause fully.”

I will start on this note. The media quoted the comment by the Chief of Army Staff out of context, which is common in this clime. Two statements in the commentary were right and a reflection of the harshness of the reality on the ground in Nigeria. And they are an insufficient willingness and insufficient commitment to take ownership of our common national service or cause fully.

The above two have been the bane of the myriads of challenges facing Nigeria. Lack of willingness and lack of commitment to a common goal. Everyone seems to be preoccupied with their interest rather than national interest. And this was simply what the Chief of Army Staff was trying to emphasize in his comment.

But for how the press interpreted it. The statement wasn’t meant to dampen the morale of the troops. Far from that, rather it was meant to provide explanations to why things go wrong and why things also go right narrowing it to the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

Festus Adedayo in his piece in an attempt to let the world know he is an intellectual went ahead to suggest what the Chief of Army Staff meant by insufficient willingness. He wrote “Insufficient willingness” could be a symptom of several malaises, ranging from weariness to fight, disobedience to command, sagging morale, cowardly behavior, communicating with the enemy, among the panoply of other tendencies.”

After reading this, I wondered if Festus Adedayo was a soothsayer that could with the whip of a handkerchief interpret a statement with such authority. I think he took his brilliance too far for want of a better expression.

He also systematically analyzed how Boko Haram fighters earn $3000 daily and how Nigerian soldiers earn a meager N1000 daily. Even though he alluded that it was not his original idea, but that of Dr. Sidi Mohammed, a member of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI). The mere fact that he could cite such nonsense is an indication of how not be an intellectual.

And assuming such was even real, I can bet that even soldiers would readily switch camp since it’s all about how the Nigerian Army has neglected the soldiers at the battlefront as Festus Adedayo wants us to believe.

He also attempted to be emotional in his piece like he has ever traveled to the theatre of operations for once in his lifetime. If he hasn’t, then there is no moral justification for him to lend his voice to the activities of the Nigerian military in North East Nigeria. The bulk of the stories of neglect and what have you are figments of the imaginations of the authors, or probably they still relied on the fate of Nigerian soldiers before the advent of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015. Just like Festus Adedayo and members of the unsuspecting public.

Festus Adedayo tried as much as possible in his piece to conceal its true intention, which is to throw a jab at the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for the humiliating way his appointment was terminated. Even though he has screamed to high heaven that he never wanted the job, but a week after he didn't come out to reject it, not until the public outcry that followed.

One of such way he wanted to get at the government was his satirical statement that read thus “The truth is, if we count the number of the dead since Buhari assumed office in 2015, it should be near the casualty figure of the Nigerian civil war.” I wondered how Festus Adedayo lost it this easily. A Special Adviser to the Senate President is not an Olympic medal that should rattle the Festus Adedayo we all know.

Having stated the above, it becomes apparent the Festus Adedayo needs some form of enlightenment on what it takes to be in a war situation and what most war commanders face in galvanizing their troops to victory. Festus Adedayo should know that there would lethargic feelings which would translate to insufficient commitment or reluctance. This is a natural occurrence even in the most civilized climes in the world.

Warfare is not political science or communication, and as such, it would be difficult for Festus Adedayo to comprehend the statement of the Chief of Army Staff, just like those that misconstrue it to mean blaming the soldiers for the setbacks recorded in recent times.

His entire piece was laced with outright insinuations and illogical conclusions. There was not a single sentence or paragraph that contained first-hand information; rather it dwelled on hearsays and cheap gossips not befitting for intellectual discourse.

Festus Adedayo must rephrase his piece to read “How I misled my readers with half-truths” and consequently apologize immensely for missing it this time around. In all, I need to mention that I am a great fan of Festus Adedayo. But the truth must be told at all times. This very one is a big disappointment. The comment of the Chief of Army Staff was not a bruise. But rather a wakeup call. It is called strategy.

Agbese is a human rights activist based in the United Kingdom.

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups against terrorism in Nigeria has said it is not surprised by the revelations made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai that the insufficient commitment of some men and officers of the Nigerian Army is encouraging the renewed wave of isolated attacks by the decimated but extremely desperate Boko Haram /ISWAP insurgents being witnessed in Borno State. This is as the group also warned Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against making political gains out of the situation in the Northeast, and desist from any personal attack against the Army Chief.



Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, the group led by its Convener, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji said there is nothing new in the disclosure by General Buratai, as this is a known phenomenon with any Armed Forces all over the world, especially when there are political interference and desperation to effect a change of leadership in any Nation . He said the group have raised similar alarms in the past, when it realised that there have been subtle supports for Boko Haram and other violent groups by politicians and some Tribal warlords who are desperate to unseat the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The coalition said it is also unfortunate that some elements within the Military might have allowed themselves to be demoralized by the antics of these desperate politicians, ethnic champions, religious fundamentalist and their foreign collaborators, who masquerades as Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), operating in the Country.

The group also said the position of the Army Chief, cannot be completely separated from the available intelligence that, some politicians who were defeated during the 2019 General Elections have resorted to wanting to infiltrate the military, in order to deepen the level insecurity in the land, while also encouraging insurgency as their own form of revenge for their rejection by Nigerians at the poll.



"Rather than the PDP, SERAP and their collaborators both local and foreign attacking General Buratai, Nigerians should rather appreciate his courage, for exposing what ordinarily some service Chiefs would have been covering from public knowledge, about the conduct of some of their officers and men."

"The Chief of Army Staff, by virtue of his position has access to the best intelligence about the conduct of his men and therefore owes it a patriotic duty, to Nigerians whose taxes are being used to fund the operations of the Armed Forces."

As key followers of events in our country, we also wish to state that we're much aware there have been several attempts to politicise our Military operations and promote politically motivated acts of terror being committed against Nigerians by those that want to take over the government at all cost. Therefore, the position of General Buratai only confirms this, as only external influences could have made any Army battling insurgency, to relax and become non committal.

While admonishing the officers and men of the army not to see General Buratai's revelations as an attack but rather as a call for an improved commitment, the group said Nigerian Army have sacrificed too much to keep the country safe and united and therefore should rededicate itself, to the war against criminal elements, who are desperate to undermine the sovereign integrity of the country.

By David Onmeje

Sometimes, I prefer to allow certain media publications pass without the necessary reactions. But I have burdened myself by ardently believing in the axiom that silence, means consent or approval of an act which falls prostrate before reason, facts, truths and wisdom.

The penchant of some Nigerian media to celebrate negativity in sensationalism most times unsettles me. The Sun Newspaper is famed for this proclivity and often, twists facts, sensationalize and infuse extraneous embellishments into news stories to water the appetite of its vulnerable fans.

Let us guide ourselves properly! I know Nigeria is still battling with the scourge of Boko Haram resurgence in the Northeast and security challenges. And with the activated backing and increased funding in cash and weapons to insurgents by Iraqi’s Islamic State (ISIL), defeated Boko Haram, rechristened as Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) has bounced back around the Lake Chad enclave with an astounding strength against the Nigerian people .

But our troops in the frontline have not relented, but working round the clock to contain the menace. And if you ask me, I know that had troops relaxed, Boko Haram insurgents would have recaptured reclaimed territories in the Northeast and smoothly be expanding tentacles to other parts of the country.

However, it has been impossible and thumps up for Nigerian troops! Indubitably, the war is stiff and sustained on both sides. But I cannot concede to arguments that insurgents have repressed or overpowered the Nigerian troops to such weakening levels as bandied in the media or elsewhere, conscious of the high possibility of deaths in war.



I find it patriotic, the zeal to succeed at all cost by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and ombudsman of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai. So, the avertable lapses on battlefield in the Northeast has understandably poked his anger. No boss of his ilk will take the frustrations with a smile.



His indignation came on the heels of what I may be permitted to describe as an “in-house,” interaction with his team over the renewed atrocities of Boko Haram in the Northeast.

Therefore, at a “Transformational leadership workshop”, organized by the Army through the Department of Transformation and Innovation at the Army Resource Centre, Asokoro, Abuja two days back, the Army Chief frowned at his officers and troops in the battlefield.

Let me replay a portion of what Gen. Buratai said at the workshop, which has become sensationally celebrated by some Nigerian media for reasons I can hardly discern. Some media houses even imputed their own interpretation of what the Army Chief voiced to his team, by claiming Nigerian troops are Ill-equipped and suffer neglected welfare.

Gen. Buratai stated; “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks or simply insufficient commitment to a common national/military course by those at the frontlines.”

He fumed further, “Many of those on whom the responsibility for physical actions against the adversary squarely falls are yet to fully take ownership of our common national or service cause.”

I have always known Gen. Buratai as an officer who is always blunt; stands by the truth at all times, but hates with a passion any act of professional indolence or negligence. So, did we expect him to remain silent in the face of the obvious sabotage of the ongoing counter-insurgency operations by his troops? Should this caution have translated into his “blame” or “accusation,” of his troops as reported by some media?

What has pained me more is that everyone of us is aware of Boko Haram agents everywhere, including the Military, who are playing the roles of sabs in the efforts to contain insurgency. Buratai has only reduced their number, but the remnants are still within the fold of troops.

I am not consternated at the reportage of what the COAS mouthed at the workshop. But I am certainly sad, at its promotion and elevation by some media outfits like The Sun Newspaper. It is not enough that the news qualified for The Sun’s cover story, but the embellishments and imputations were of extreme dimensions.

It told me clearly, that the gatekeepers failed patriotism by ignoring the protection and safeguard of national interest on security matters. It is barefaced lack of professional and ethical wisdom on the part of The Sun editorial team in appreciating national ethos on security.

And by the ownership and regional flavor traditionally aligned with the medium, it tells anyone in unambiguous terms that the newspaper is discreetly working for Nigeria to be declared a failed state.

The Sun celebrated what I think, they presumed a plus for themselves. But I rather mirrored Gen. Buratai, as a soldier and leader pained by the deliberate frustration of the counter-terrorism war now by a gang of conspirators, whose penetration in the Nigerian entities in unpredictable.

I asked myself why troops would suddenly develop cold feet or apathy in performing the same tasks; under same conditions which they previously excelled? Something is amiss!

And we all shall be damn wrong to think it is the psyche of Gen. Buratai alone that is being tormented by our reckless conduct; we shall be wrong to think only Buratai, officers and soldiers have a divine duty to battle terrorism. It is a task for all of us in our own minute ways.

And it is naïve to think abusing the chances of contributing to the complete routing out of Boko Haram from our shores is praiseworthy and might of journalism that would earn us a trophy in media excellence. It is an unpardonable mistake that may boomerang on all of us.

Today, our troops have compelled Gen. Buratai to remind them and indeed, Nigerians about what President Muhammadu Buhari, who is still the Commander-in-Chief echoed 35 years ago that “this generation and indeed, future generations of Nigerians have no other country but Nigeria, we must remain here and salvage it together”.



I believe absolutely that the Nigerian Military is not a lame duck anywhere in the world. It has always been trailed by successes’ and accolades anywhere it has served humanity in international, multinational operations and other military assignments.

Why is the case of their country different? I sense that they are being prodded by covert forces to disloyalty and unpatriotic acts, as manifest in the backslide in their professional performances on the battlefield now. It was Sun Tzu who said, If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”

And Sun Tzu again says, “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.” Precisely, no one needs a soothsayer to confirm that Gen. Buratai has not only imbibed this principle, but applies it meticulously on his officers and soldiers, especially his troops since he assumed the leadership of the Nigerian Army.

I see in Gen. Buratai an Army Chief who is extremely proud of his troops. He holds them in very high esteem and fetes them both home and abroad in glowing tributes.

In Gen. Buratai’s actions, I see a boss in a warm relationship with his officers/troops. He introduced the culture of constant visits to troops at the frontline and interactions with them to have firsthand knowledge of their personal problems. He stimulates their psyche by participating in victory camp carnivals in the Northeast, trainings, battles in the trenches and celebration of special festivities like Sallah, Christmas and New Year with troops in the battlefield even at the expense of spending such seasons with his family.



And Buratai also rewards troops who have recorded exceptional performances on the field; while promotions of deserving personnel are timely implemented. His concentration on the welfare of the Army is very uncommon.

Gen. Buratai ensures Army personnel’s prompt payment of salaries and allowances; renovation of Army barracks, investing in retirement housing schemes for personnel and personally interacting with spouses of troops at the warfront very frequently and solve their problems. How else could a leader dispense himself to get the targeted outcomes if sabotage is not involved?

So, although, several newspapers and online platforms published the news, but I consider, The Sun’s version very offensive and disheartening by its elevation and mischief contents. I have no doubt that the editorial team did a very unpatriotic job by undermining national security and infusing interpretations’ outside the intendment of the Army Chief when he thundered in admonishment of his team at the workshop.

Finally, a word of caution for the other herds of unprofessional practitioners in the media industry, too enthusiastic to promote the enemy against Nigeria to have a rethink. We shall only be doing a disservice to ourselves and our country by failing in our gatekeeping prescriptions with the neglect of due diligence on stories before going out to mislead the public or elevating terrorists exploits against our nation.



The conduct of The Sun newspaper to say the least, is nothing but a glaring attempt by the organization, which has obviously lost its credibility years back for its undisguised promotion of narrow-minded ethnic and sectional agenda in Nigeria to bounce back to reckoning. But the Nigerian Army is the wrong choice for this experiment.

Onmeje wrote this piece from London, United Kingdom.