₦airaland Forum

Atouke: rather long but a good read nonetheless.

I normally don't read long comments, it was worth every minute .

The Enugu zone of the Court of Appeal today dismissed the appeal brought before it by Chris Ngige, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16, 2013 election.

Mr. Ngige had asked the appeal court to overturn the verdict of the Anambra State Governorship Election Tribunal that had earlier upheld the election of Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the Anambra governor. Mr. Obiano was sworn in in March 2014 to succeed former Governor Peter Obi, also of APGA.

The court in upholding the judgment dismissed all the four appeals against the election of the governor.

The presiding justice Mohammed Lawal Garba while pronouncing lead judgement on the appeal filed by All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate, Sen. Chris Ngige, resolved the 11 issues sought against the appellant and subsequently dismissed the appeal for incompetence and lack of merit and awarded N50, 000 cost against the appellant.

On the second appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Tony Nwoye against INEC and Governor Willie Obiano, another member of the panel, Justice Ejembi Eko who pronounced lead judgement, dismissed the appeal for lack of. Merit and awarded N50, 000 cost in favour of the respondent.

The third appeal filed by PDP suffered the same fate of dismissal as Justice Akeju I. O in his lead judgement awarded N30, 000 cost against appellant.

Today’s verdict marks the final stage of any legal challenge to the election of Mr. Obiano.



http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/obiano-floors-ngige-court-appeal

Is this not what we have now? Why not post pictures of the NE/NW/NC where boko haram is on a killing mission. The war is here already, your side of line has just not been bombed yet.

Eziachi: Glad you spent more than a second replying something you didn't even read. That must very clever of you? lol I wish I had such a skill.

Time to hit the ignore button.

koboko69: Do you have facts to proove them right either?

https://www.nairaland.com/1826485/nigeria-emerge-economic-force-powered

https://www.nairaland.com/1826038/british-firms-look-discover-boom

https://www.nairaland.com/1814723/manufacturing-sector-now-nigerias-major

https://www.nairaland.com/1814325/nigerias-economy-grows-6.21-percent

https://www.nairaland.com/1805969/nigerias-non-oil-export-products-rise

https://www.nairaland.com/1795035/stronger-economic-management-lifts-nigeria

https://www.nairaland.com/1816178/winning-nigerias-evolving-food-market

https://www.nairaland.com/1824769/world-bank-cuts-nigerias-poverty#24897246

These are Nigerian economic news headlines in the last 30-60 days. They all show one trend, improvement of this country. Do we still have lots of problems, yes we do. But pretending nothing is happening, is very disingenuous.

koboko69: You dey mind these vodoo economist. All this growth be like music....we dey hear am, but we nor dey see am Thanks to PDP entertainments!

Do you people object to news items, because they are good news, or because you have facts to prove them wrong.

Idrismusty97: It is indeed a rapid increase. I hope it doesn't just stay at the tenfold. I still believe we can do better than that. Nevertheless, A welcomed development!

Very correct, $3b should be the value of cash crop exports from two states alone. As long as we face the task at hand, Nigeria will surely move from tenfold to a hundred fold . We really have no choice.

Idrismusty97: $3bn is too small! With all the resources we have all over Nigeria. We should also be exporting bitumen which we spend more than $2bn annually buying from Iran.

I agree with you, but based on the starting line, one has to give this administration some real credit.

kettykin: What really is the South South.

What baffles me most is how these northern elders can spew out lies so easily to confuse gullible Nigerians, they have almost succeeded in convincing gullible Niger deltans that the north funded oil exploration in the Niger delta forgetting that there was no Niger delta in 1960 and Oloibiri was in the then Eastern region
It was the Zik led NCNC that moved for the creation of the Mid west from western Nigeria in 1963.

In I966 about 8 more states were created by Gowon who is a middle belter with the sole purpose to stop Biafra and even after so called the Liberation of Niger delta from Biafra in 1968 rather than let igbos go with their core igbo towns and form their Biafra the war still continued with massive blunders and losses of Nigerian soldiers in place like the Abagana , Owerri, Uzuakoli , Njaba and Orlu.

30 years later in 1996 during the constitutional conference of Abacha , the Alex Ekwueme led group pushed for the recognition of 6 geo political zones in the constitution with massive protest from the North , this was the exact issue that cost Alex Ekwueme the presidency in 1999 the north never forgave Ekwueme for that singular act that pushed for 6 geopolitical zones which is what made it possible for Goodluck Jonathan to be where he is today unshaken and unbeaten if we were in the old order before 1996 conference Goodluck would have been serving a life jail sentence with the likes of Awolowo , Abiola for poisoning his Boss , attempting to over throw the government and committing treason.
Future generations of Nigeria will one day recognize and appreciate the sacrifice Alex Ekwueme has done for the middle belt and south south which no amount of tirade , infighting , battle tanks , arm twisting, betrayals and backstabbing would have gotten them

It is now left for the Niger Deltans and true Nigerians to judge and find out who actually created the South South

The truth is most SS politicians know this fact. We will remain in debt to VP Ekwueme. Also the active role he played in our 13% derivation during the constitutional conference is well known to us.

[s]

Eziachi: There is no surprise there. No Igbo man born of his father will reason like you, hence you shouldn't have reason on it since my Igboness is my business and you are right on that front.


One day if you lucky enough to live longer than your girlfriend, you shall learn that disliking people based purely on their ethnicity is like allowing hate to live rent free in your heart and it's a burden. The likes of Buhari or GEJ and co who you waste your energy fighting over, are just professional politicians making a living and at least , best buddies behind the scene.


You are right about, I don't want to be consequential an unworkable experiment like Nigeria where people hated each other for no reason other their tribes or where I rejoice over a calamity that befall a fellow citizens because our language is different. And on Sunday they troops to the church, use the same mouth and heart to call on God. If my school of thought are called mindless wherever you come from or your church or mosque, am quite happy to be that mindless. Thank you very much.


I don't know Buhari or any rogue Nigerian politician from Adam to Eve, neither who outrigged each other in 2015 concerned me that much. But One thing stood out for me, I don't fight other people fight when it comes to professional politicians, who care more for a cow dong that they care about your very existence.
In conclusion, those with your kind of mindset are even more dangerous that those physical killer you are alluding because we come killers first in our hearts before picked up a knife.
And heart killers are always in hiding, but at least, with the physical killer, you know your enemies and have chance to defend yourself. Have a good life.

[/s]

Don't bore me with crap like this. Did not waste a second reading it.

Ghana should deal with those two ediots.

By Clifford Ndujihe & Henry Umoru
ARGUABLY, Nigeria has never had it so bad. Seven months to a presidential election, the aspirants are not known.
The political atmosphere is not charged or astir. Consultations, if any, are done in low and hushed tones. The electorates do not know what to expect from those who will want to govern them because nothing has been said or promised.
There is no flurry of activities in the political parties especially the opposition parties that should keep the ruling party on its toes. Does it mean the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan are doing well? If not, who is going to stop them? What will the person or party do differently for Nigeria and Nigerians?

There is loud silence in the polity less than three months to the beginning of presidential primaries. Does it mean that the political class and would-be candidates are taking the electorates for granted?
It has not always been like this. Several months before the April 21, 2007 presidential polls won by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the PDP with Dr Goodluck Jonathan as vice president, the polity was awash with a horde of aspirants, who criss-crossed the length and breadth of the country consulting stakeholders and seeking endorsements.
They were upbeat to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose perceived Third Term Agenda was shot down by the Senate President Ken Nnamani-led National Assembly with the support of Nigerians.
The aspirants included most of the governors, who were doing their second term then. We had Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida; Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Sani Yerima and his Abia State counterpart, Orji Uzor Kalu. Among those whose aspirations were not in doubt and whose political moves electrified the polity included Dr. Peter Odili, then governor of Rivers of State and General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
As of July 2010, about nine months to the April 16, 2011 presidential elections, many aspirants had emerged, declaring their readiness to do political battle with President Jonathan. Within the ruling PDP, Gen. Babangida had declared his intention.
There were also the likes of Atiku Abubakar; then Kwara State Governor, Dr Bukola Saraki; and General Muhammed Gusau (rtd). Among the opposition parties, those whose aspirations were known included Mr. Donald Duke, the former governor of Cross River State, who was warming up to fly the flag of Labour Party; Otunba Dele Momodu of the National Conscience Party (NCP); Malam Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Change (CPC) among others.
Even President Jonathan declared his intention on September 18, 2010, about seven months to the election.
But things are different now despite early release of the 2015 election timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
With the INEC fixing February 14, 2015, seven months away as the date for the presidential election, one would have expected that the political climate would be turbo-charged now with hundreds of aspirants showing interest to remove President Jonathan from Aso Rock.
One expected the PDP, All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), etc, to have commenced the process of producing their presidential candidates. It appears that the coast is almost clear for PDP’s Jonathan, who has not even declared his intention against the backdrop that the House of Representatives caucus of the PDP endorsed him, this week, for second time, with the PDP Governors, National Executive Committee (NEC), Board of Trustees (BoT) and others to follow, thereby clearing the political bush for the president.
2015 election timetable
According to a breakdown of the timetable of activities for the elections as contained in a document signed by INEC’s Secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, the presidential primaries of the various parties should be held between October 2 and December 11 while campaigns for the election will commence November 16.The dates are in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.
Campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on November 16, 2014 while campaigns for governorship and state houses of assembly will start on November 30, 2014.
According to INEC, campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections would end on February 12, 2015 while those of governorship and state houses of assembly would stop on February 26, 2015 and February 28, 2015 respectively.
With political activities so dull six months to the election, Saturday Vanguard asked politicians and stakeholders what the scenario portends for the polity.
APGA is not focusing on the presidency now –Umeh
Reacting to the development, Chairman, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, said that his party was for now concentrating on governorship, state houses of assembly and National Assembly elections and not the presidency because that requires so much resources.
He said: “Who are the presidential candidates of the other 24 parties? We are interested in building our party with more governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly victories across the country in the 2015 general elections! A Presidential election is not a local government election.
You need much resources to contemplate participation. When we muster enough strength, we will join the contest. But, we shall play a major role in determining who wins the presidential election in 2015 through alliance engagement.”
Politicians‘re not taking voters for granted –Ben Obi
Asked if politicians were not taking voters for granted with their approach, Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi said, “I don’t agree with you. INEC has a time table and you have to follow the time table.”
Told that campaigning is different from signifying intention to run, he said: “But you have to follow the time table. If somebody wants to run and he is consulting quietly, how would you know? I know of people who have interest. Running for presidential election is not a child’s affair. For you to go into the presidential race you have to consult to be sure of what is on the ground.
You have to have a structure. APC thought it was easy but as you can see they are now facing their own internal wrangling. If they don’t sort that out now before going to talk about, who will fly the flag of the party, your guess is as good as mine. Even in the PDP, we are doing some reconciliation.
As you can see the National Chairman who people refer as the game changer is moving around and he has brought some innovations, which are making the party come alive by trying to make sure that he reaches out. Fortunately for him, he has been a governor and most of these problems emanate from governors that want you to do this or that.
But at the end of the day they are leaders of their various states. So, they have found their equal match and colleague in Ahmed Muazu. So it makes things much easier.”
Why our politicians are timid –Odumakin
Asked a similar question, Mr.Yinka Odumakin, a leader of Afenifere and a delegate at the confab, said he does not think the presidential aspirants were taking voters for granted.
His words: “I do not think so. I think what is happening is that the country is unsettled with bombings, killings and crises. If you have a thinking political class, next election should not be the issue now. How do you want to conduct a successful election in seven months time in the midst of these?
“In Ekiti, we saw many things. Yes, the election was peaceful but how many soldiers and police did you deploy there? How many will you deploy all over the country in a general election?
“First, we have to settle 2014 and resolve the future of Nigeria before 2015 election. If those who want to scuttle the National Conference report succeed and we are talking about going for election next year, then we are going for war… that is why politicians are timid. We know the presidential aspirants but they cannot come out because the water is not settled, it is muddled. And the water is not going to clear unless we address the issues about the future of Nigeria.”
Scenario is amazing –Victor Attah
In his contribution, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, who described the scenario as amazing, stressed that the PDP and APC are simply the same as they are only politicking while the country was being underdeveloped.
Activities ‘ll pick up next month –Kumo
Commenting on the matter, former Special Adviser on Election Matters to past PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and a delegate at the National Conference, Senator Saidu Umar Kumo, said there was a little bit of maturity in the entire political system.
According to him, in past people used to come out early because there was no fixed date, but what obtains now is that INEC has released the election time table, adding, “since the time is known with the released timetable, from August, all political parties will come up and political activities would then kick off. It is not too late, people will build on this.”
I’m worried –Zoro
Former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and a delegate at the National Conference, Sani Zoro said: “My worry is that Nigeria is no longer a law and order country.
Some aspirants in some places had since launched their campaigns in the open, contrary to INEC guidelines. Yet, the so-called independent commission cannot bring them to book. I am not optimistic about rancour-free or free and fair elections in 2015.”
PDP’s candidate is known, we’re waiting for the opposition –Okon
On his part, a delegate representing Akwa Ibom State at the National Conference, Senator Aniete Okon said: “In PDP, the President has the conventional right of first refusal (to be the presidential candidate.) The party without excluding any other aspirant must in the manner of universal convention of parties in most democratic realms invite the incumbent to bear the party’s standard into an election on the incumbent’s record.
“In The PDP, we believe that Mr. President has more than made the mark. His record, given the distractions posed by the concert of dark intrigues that spawned hydra-headed conflicts and consequential breaches of security and eroded our sovereignty commends Mr. President to justifiably to present himself for re-election.
In the PDP, there is no credible aspiration that will be worth a passing glance. We are ready. It is the opposition that has the daunting task of house keeping to sort themselves and establish some thing akin to order.”
The opposition should come up with alternatives –Nwagwu
In like manner, Ezenwa Nwagwu, Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform and a delegate to the National Conference said: “For the position party, there is no pretending about who their (PDP) candidate will be. As it stands today even aspiration is criminalised and they started third party campaign, mobilization and group endorsements.
Worrying, however, is the opposition party, who in my view, should have unveiled their candidate considering that they may be bogged down by possible acrimonious convention. Therefore, they will need good time to get that behind to face the general election.”
Prospective aspirants are in order –Okoye
In his contribution, a constitutional lawyer and a delegate at the National Conference, Festus Okoye, said: “Parties and their candidates are products of the law and the Constitution. Their fidelity must be to the constitution and the law. Credible and transparent elections are therefore anchored on respect for the rule of law and due process.
”By the provisions of section 99 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), political parties and their candidates shall only commence what the laws refer to as Public Campaigns 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.
”Furthermore, political parties and their candidates shall campaign for elections in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be determined by the Commission.
This is also based on the fact that by section 30 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) the Independent National Electoral Commission shall, not later than 90 days before the day appointed for holding of an election under the Act publish a notice in each state of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory stating the date of the election.
Candidates of political parties will therefore only emerge after the political party primaries held in accordance with section 87 of the Electoral Act. What we have as at present are aspirants.
”The aspirants can engage in in-house consultation, lobbying, positioning, negotiation and endorsement. They remain aspirants and cannot in law campaign in public. So, the dearth of aspirants as at today is not a minus for the electoral process. Rather, it enhances the position that public officers should concentrate on the art of governance rather than running up and down campaigning when the time is not ripe.
”However, it will be naïve to pretend that political campaigns have not started or that we do not know the aspirants and or the candidates that may likely be in the race in 2015. Watching the television, listening to the radio and driving around the major cities one sees a galaxy of billboards, posters, handbills and paintings on the wall extolling the virtues of one aspirant or the other.
”My take is that candidates must comply with the law relating to public campaigns. My second take is that candidates can only emerge on compliance with section 87 of the Electoral Act. My final take is that the Nigerian people already know the likely presidential candidates as most of them have been doing underground campaigns.”
We’re following the electoral law –Okechukwu
For Osita Ikechukwu, National Publicity Secretary, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, activities are on going except that they are not full-scale because of the electoral law. He said that with the way and manner messages are carried out on President Jonathan, there clear indications that he is the candidate of the PDP.
According to him, Nigerian Television stations are awash with programmes and advertorial on President Goodluck Jonathan comparing him with late Nelson Mandela; President Barack Obama of the United States of America, USA, among others, just as he said that meetings take place everyday with groups and associations, adding that at the local level, activities are also on with governorship aspirants, senatorial aspirants and others showing interest.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/whither-nigeria-6-months-election-presidential-aspirants/#sthash.X9aYTGZj.dpuf

Second Republic federal lawmaker and convener, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Muhammed in this interview with JOHN ALECHENU reacts to an alarm raised by some northern elements recently that resource control was capable of splitting the country

Why does the North think resource control issue will split Nigeria?

I am aware of some of those sentiments; they are not confined to any section of the country, east or west, north or south. I did not make that statement as I don’t share those sentiments. I am not a spokesperson for the north and I have never claimed to be speaking for the north. Those northerners who make such statements must have their own facts and such questions should be directed at them. I’m not even a member of most of those northern groups or associations.

Northern Nigeria where you come from has been accused of having too many unviable states and local governments. It is believed that this is why Northerners constantly agitate for more oil revenue to sustain them. How do you react to this?

You have to define viability because it is a solid economic term. Whenever you spend more than you take in terms of what you generate as internally- or any other generated revenue, you are living beyond your means. By that definition, you are unviable. I can say most of the states/ local governments in South like their counterparts in the North are not viable. I can also say that the majority of the local governments, especially the 15 local governments around core Kano State are very much viable. And I can say almost all the local governments in Lagos State are viable and with a little bit of inventiveness, the local government areas around Port Harcourt, Aba, Onitsha can be made viable. So, telling me that certain local governments are unviable and they are more in the North than the South is a portrayal of ignorance. What I believe is that there have been quite a number of arbitrary demands and arbitrary creations of states and local governments in the history of this country and we have lived under the illusion which was encapsulated in the statement by General Gowon when he said money was not a problem. As far as I am concerned, in every society, in every country, in every generation, money is a problem because it is a finite resource. There is a limit to the amount of money you can have and whether you handle your money well or not determines whether you move smoothly into a modern age or you don’t. To blame anybody who might have been favoured or not favoured by the current transient distribution of local governments and say yes, because you are benefiting, that is why you are against resource control, in my view, is not true and is highly tendentious and is not supported by facts. If you are saying that there are local governments in the North that are not viable, are you telling me that all the local governments in the South-West are viable? How many of them are viable? How many of the states in the South-West are viable? So you have your own unviable states and local government structure, the North has theirs. There are some in the South South just as there are in the South-East, what are we talking about?

How would you react to the argument that the high population figure often quoted for the North is doctored?

Population per se has been very political and therefore a very contentious issue in the history of Nigeria. It’s not for me to defend or deny the population figures. But I know a lot of things being said about the population count, especially the last one in 2006, which is utter rubbish. First, there have been arguments that any time the population figure does not favour, not the South, but essentially the South-East, they raise dust. I remember when I was growing up, it was Chief Michael Okpara who created the crisis which led to the revocation of the 1963/64 census. It was also from the same region that the agitation for the revocation or the annulment of the 1973 census arose. As far as I am concerned, it is not the South that is agitating. We should be very careful here so that we don’t blame people who are not in any way responsible for the situation. That is number one. Number two, the last census of 2006 was the one I followed very closely because by some accident of fate, the then chairman of the National Population Commission, Mr. Samuel Makama, happened to have been a very good friend of mine for nearly 40 years. He comes from Mangu in Plateau State. He is not Hausa/Fulani, he is not a Muslim, in fact, he is a northern minority. He is a very progressive civil servant with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University. He was a very brilliant administrator in his own right who rose to the rank of the equivalent of director today. Sam is somebody I am prepared to defend with my eyes closed and my hands tied because I know his integrity was unimpeachable. When he was made chairman of the National Population Commission, I know the amount of soul searching which went especially in the minds of two people, General (Olusegun) Obasanjo, later President, and late Chief Sunday Awoniyi. These were people who had been in government and who were also alive working and holding positions during some of the crises caused by census. When he was picked for the job, I was asked frontally by Obasanjo, “Do you know this man?” I said yes I know him, “Can you vouch for his integrity? Yes I can, “Do you think he is too much of a politician?” I said no. In fact, he is too little of a politician. In the arguments canvassed by the South East, they said that since Nigerians could not conduct a census, we should hand it over to the United Nations. You cannot tell me the Indians don’t know how to conduct a census. The methodologies used in India were also used in other parts of the world where the UN was helping developing countries to conduct credible population count. And there have been no problem except with Nigeria. It’s also very interesting because the worst publicity which the last census got came not from the South-West or from the South-South. It came from the man who was appointed to succeed Sam Makama as NPC, Festus Odumegwu. After all this, the same people from the same tribal group, who have the same tribal agenda as Michael Okpara before are now coming to tell us oh, the census figures were cooked simply because they did not favour them. It is not my business that the Igbos normally marry late. My first wife was Igbo, I have an Igbo daughter but as a rule, they normally marry late because of the economic circumstances they face. Secondly, we also know that a majority of their women also read and read very late and the majority of the men prefer to trade, so what are we talking about here? That has been the attitude of the Igbos especially since they have now rediscovered their “friendship” with the South South. What value has that added to Nigeria? Nothing. Let them continue making those statements.

But many people still believe the North desires a very strong central government because it virtually lives off federal resources.

This is arrant nonsense! Ordinarily, I wouldn’t want to dignify this question with a comment. Let me tell you, throughout history, you first aggregate power by making sure you have power which is credible and respected. It is then you begin to say okay, let us devolve power. Anybody who knows something about the theory of power will tell you this. You can say the North is a victim of its own history. The North has been governed for over 400 years in a single area of interest. If you are dealing with people who came with such a history, you should be able to say maybe what the facts on their side are and what the fact on our side is. Will you rather have a loose federation or a loose confederation which has been agitated for by some in the South-West at certain times when it soothes them and opposed it at other times. The somersault made by Bola Tinubu regarding the National Conference for example, is a classical example. He had been the main financier of NADECO and PRONACO groups and when the time came and the President was misadvised to conduct a National Conference, Tinubu came back from London and described the whole thing as diversionary. Today, Yoruba land is split between supporters of Tinubu and those opposed to him on this issue. And that has been carried to the national conference itself. Essentially, Chief Falae and Femi Okoronmu and others are saying everything must be supported at the national conference because it is against Tinubu. The others are saying look, forget about Tinubu, look at the point he is making. Can this resolve any of our issues? I must say my friend Tinubu is having the last laugh because the conference has solved nothing. It has been a waste of time and a waste of resources and it has taken several notches up the issues that have bedevilled this country from 1914 to date, it has not resolved a single issue.

What happened to the traditional resources from the North such as the groundnut pyramids; what is the North doing to revive them?

Again this is a portrayal of ignorance on the part of some people. The groundnut pyramids are only a system of storage. And when you move from one system of storage onto another, you don’t say that that transformation is good or bad for a society or its economy. I believe a lot of groundnut is still being produced now but we have a huge population in Nigeria and the farmers are not encouraged by the economic circumstances.

At independence, the North and South had a 50: 50 strength in the officers rank of the armed forces until the likes of Babangida used their powers to skew everything in favour of the North later. Is this fair?

Babangida is given a lot of credit rightly or wrongly for a lot of things that happened in this country. Babangida had no hand in the composition of the officer corps at the time he became military President and up till today, Babangida has had no major influence in the composition of the officer corps of the Nigerian Army. Let those who are making these arguments give us figures. Those who are making those claims should also tell us what happened after a General Ihejirika became the Chief of Army Staff. I have said the man is a war criminal. The way he conducted the Nigerian Army, there was too much corruption and violations of international law, specifically international humanitarian law which provides for how war should be conducted. The way he conducted the war both in the creeks in the South-South and the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East was a criminal travesty and I believe one day, Ihejirika will appear at the International Criminal Court at the Hague. For example, there was a very controversial recruitment policy at the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria where Abia which has a population of about 3 million had over 460 people recruited into the Nigerian Army in a move aimed at changing permanently the character of the Nigerian Army. Lagos and Kano have a population of about 12 million each; each of them had not more than 100 people recruited into the Nigerian Army at that time. I would like those people to comment on that. I would also like people to talk about what is in place at the moment at the Nigerian Defence Academy which is a degree awarding institution? I want to know, how many people are being recruited from every state and local government in Nigeria and let us see who fares better? And then when this General Minimah was appointed as Chief of Army Staff, over 146 generals were retired just to make way for him. What has happened since he became Chief of Army Staff? The Army has been further destroyed because he inherited a virtually non coherent, non corporate Army and there was nothing he could do about it because it takes time to gestate. It takes time to train people and provide them with the right weapons and equipment. It also takes time to organise the officer corps and make sure there is some cohesion because Ihejirika ran an Igbo tribal army and that’s what has happened. I won’t bother to say anything more about this.

The South South people have been agitating for resource control, why is the North always opposed to this agitation?

We are a democracy and there should be the rule of law. This country attempts or imagines or appropriates being a country governed by the rule of law. There is something called Revenue Allocation Formula and there is also the Supreme Court which gives judgements and interprets decisions. The current revenue allocation formula is illegal and also in terms of the effect it has on public financing, is also unsustainable. No country can develop with the same characteristics which is a straight jacket in term of the current structure of public finance. If anybody is talking to me on this, I want the facts as we know them. Let those pushing this issue define their terms.

The South South people claim their resources have been used largely to develop other parts of Nigeria, do you want to fault that?

This is nothing new. Resources from other parts of the country have also been used to bring out the resources they now claim to be their own. There was no South-South, the South-South itself was a creation of the North. It was northerners who went to war and died. General Zamani Lekwot reminded us last Sunday that it was Northerners who went to war and created by force all the states in the South-South. I don’t want my time wasted. We should remember that no country in the world develops by depending purely on a single resource. That is why the whole argument about resource control is another level of irresponsibility on the part of the Nigerian elite. Oil is a western asset; it is a terribly polluting asset. We get oil money which gets to other parts of the country cheap. I worked in the Niger Delta; I worked for four years in OMPADEC. It is extracting a very heavy price; I don’t want them as Nigerians to pay that price and I believe the only way for us to survive is to diversify our economy. The future belongs to agriculture and natural resources and not oil. Besides, the oil now being used is only about 52 per cent on shore. The off shore by international law belongs to the whole of Nigeria as long as Nigeria remains one single state. It is our right to explore and exploit it to develop Nigeria. It is not for me to argue with international law. Those who tried it like Iraq are paying a heavy price.

When you say there must be balanced development, is that not a way of slowing down other regions from developing at their own pace?

I have difficulty with terms which are not defined. What is a balanced development? No development is balanced because the process of development itself unbalances society.

During the agitation for independence, remember that while other regions wanted independence almost immediately, the north said it would welcome it whenever appropriate, was that not a faulty stance?

Let us look at the facts as they were. When western education came, it came to Nigeria through the South, it has that advantage. I think you can say it was a grand plan by the colonial masters to keep control of Nigeria as a prize using the traditional system of governance in the North. But somehow, for some reason, after little fights here and there, they were able to persuade the emirs to submit their patrimony to them. When that happened, there was an understanding reached that there was not going to be the imposition of certain quasi religious institutions on the North. The North was going to be allowed to gradually develop and moderate its own culture to come into terms with modernity. I am not defending that decision and it is none of my business to defend it. It had been done. There was nothing that could be done because if somebody conquers you and persuades you by force of arms or threat of force of arms, to surrender your country, you cannot come and tell him that you have a right to vary the terms under which you surrendered. In the South, the process took a different turn by and large. Missionaries came in the wake of the colonial administration and set up mission schools and of course, had a head start in western education and western style of public administration which was extended to the North and it became a problem. The North had to catch up when independence was about to be given after the Second World War. India was much more valuable to the British colonial masters than for example, Nigeria. The British were in a hurry to divest power because of the peculiar circumstance at that time. The North under the leadership of Sir Ahmadu Bello was in a dilemma. What do we do? If we say let’s have independence under any term and let the British just go away, we will be swamped and since we have not been able to negotiate among ourselves the terms on which Nigeria will be governed after independence, we had to be cautious. We had to have institutions which would last and would protect our interests the way we saw it and that was the job of politics and political leaders. When the late Enahoro moved the motion for independence in 1956 or 57, the north gave a counter motion and introduced a caveat ‘as soon as it was possible,’ essentially, there is no value in the argument except as propaganda tool but there is nothing to be said.

Don’t you think the demand for a 5 per cent stabilisation fund might encourage militia movements from other regions?

I am a key member of the committee on devolution of power. I am not aware that any of the northern delegates canvassed for that in the committee. It more or less came through some of the intervention of the chairman, Obong Victor Attah, who said we have to diverse our economy and that we should also look at those areas whose economic resources are not developed and see what we can do to develop them. He suggested that we should take it as a national policy to diversify the national economy and in doing so, look at those areas wallowing in poverty for development. That is how the idea came. Another idea was that we have to, as a matter of policy, look at the North-East which is ravaged by Boko Haram as an area which is completely devastated, infrastructure wise. If we are sincere about development, we have to declare some kind of marshal plan in the North-East, not in the whole north. We cannot have a three-tier development kind of thing. Right now, the South-West is fairly developed, they have a per capita income rate that is the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and we have other areas in parts of the country like Kano who are also pockets of development process, then we have areas which have been completely pulled down, especially in the North-East. Whether it’s their fault that they have Boko Haram or it’s all our fault, the fact remains that these areas are yearning and they are going to continue to yearn for development. Because the underdevelopment which encouraged Boko Haram to emerge will be with us until we do something about it, we have to come to terms with this development. Otherwise, something more sinister can emerge. Professor ABC Nwosu and Annkio Briggs are also members of the committee, none of them opposed it. In fact, the biggest supporters were Nwosu and myself. As regards the money for the development of solid minerals, we are not going to make the money available for governors to share. We said the thing was going to be some kind of capital finance that anybody interested in investing in some aspect of the development of solid minerals will have this money at a cheaper rate than what you get at the banks and when you do that, the state can also participate by bringing its counterpart funds. It is not going to be federal money which those in government will steal like the governors have been doing.

tunshe: Hey! My stand isn't a religious one.

I'm not an advocate of violence, just trying to paint the picture of what's happening and the consequence.

It's a pity your comprehension skills watery.

Don't worry about my comprehension skill. Worry about your shameless religion, that brings only death and destruction to Nigeria. Sooner or later you will have your fair share of that death and destruction. You are not the only people in love with death.

tunshe: The extrajudicial killing of Muhammed Yusuf of boko haram is still yielding negative results and yet the zombie soldiers are complicating the problem with killing shites.

Check the history of the shites and you will understand the predicament of our nation. A female shites can be as deadly as a male Nigerian soldier when called to action.

To the kids spewing trash out of Hatred and intolerance, the problem here is beyond sentiments, the safety of Nigerians is eroding to zero %.

I'm not in anyway supporting violence but just giving an analysis of the situation at hand. The FG should promptly throw her weight in this issue to ensure reconciliation.

Please tell Nigerians, What day will this your religion of shame bring peace to this country? You people will kill the wrong people soon, then we can all die together in this country. You will sadly find out, you are not the only ones that love death.

Eziachi: Yes am proud to be a dispenser of the truth. If you know of any coup which Buhari planned or executed which the likes of OBJ, IBB knew nothing about but only you, pls let us know.

Serving in a military govt, no matter the level of participation does not translate into plotting a coup or overthrowing a government. Ebitu Ukiwe was number two to IBB eventhough he too knew nothing about any coup.

Am too smart, experience and too old to hate a fellow human to the extent that I will make up a wicked story or as silly as that they tried to bomb themselves simply because I speak a different language from the individual.

I will go miles to defend the Igbo nation but not by sacrificing my God's given wisdom and sense. This sort of reasoning is not why many of us fought for the dignity of Biafra people and many died for it.

What Reasoning what do I care about your Biafra? You and your Igboness are your own problem. You think everybody against Buhari is an Igbo tribe person. You have to learn to apply that age of yours. As I said before, your mode of dispensing truth applies only to people with mindless thought process. Thank God you are inconsequential to Nigeria. Send your Buhari out for election come 2015, we shall do the needful. Just don't kill innocent people after your head gets handed to you at the polls as usual.

Sancovie and co, there is no need responding to some people on this thread. If they believe and think Uduaghan has done nothing in delta state, then no wahala. Don't waste your time arguing with almajiri and APC supporter of APC. Been there done that.

This is actually good politics, let them spend money for the people. Kero or petrol all nah fuel.

I thought this man was going to cut a deal to save himself. Nasarawa PDP means business here.

Eziachi: Because Buhari had never plotted any coup. If you don't like someone, that is not an excuse to change history or maintaining inaccurate information, hoping that it will one day become the truth.

You are now the dispenser of truth? look for some kid to sell your truckload of manure.What a freaking joke.

idumuose: Yes o! Why didn't he reject the offer when he was asked to rule Nigeria? Buhari is gullible.

Now he wants to use the same platform he truncated in 1983 to launch his presidential ambition.

Of all the Nigerian coup leaders/beneficiaries,. Yakubu Gowon, Ramat/Joe Garba/OBJ/T.Y./Yaradua, Buhari/Idiagbon, IBB/Abacha, Only the buhari pretenders, go around Nigeria singing Buhari is not a coup plotter song. Thank God, Nigerians simply spit on their faces with that song.

The day he leaves government, paying common school fees for his kids will be like crossing the red sea. Nigerians, we never learn.

Sylverbox: how come only the man was quarantined? Ebola virus can be spread via aerosols so what about the people who shared the flight with him?

I hope they have a way of backtracking his movement from the airport in Liberia. All those passengers and people he touched or coughed in their presence should be worried.

phantom: this is the dunce altwireless was comparing to amaechi the other day....

BASTARD WERE YOU SEEKING MY ATTENTION

[quote author=phantom]this is the dunce altwireless was comparing to amaechi the other day.... [/quote

BASTARD WERE YOU SEEKING MY ATTENTION

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