₦airaland Forum

ademoladeji:
YES PLEASE!!!

When happiness is subtracted from marriage, it becomes dungeon, slavery, hell etc.

I believe you guys can work it out. I wouldn't wanna start conspiracy theories here but with the right intent, you guys can pull the string together and fire the catapult.


cc: Hanseël1 beebeeöoh

labake1:
Stupid suggestion from a drunkard. He didn't reason his suggestion to the negative side. The crime rate will be much than before

“My point is, people cannot be slaughtered in their houses helplessly. Maybe what we need to do is to liberalise gun control. Let everybody own a gun so that when you are coming to my house, you will know that I have my own gun while you are coming with yours,” a senator. Kabir Marafa, said on Tuesday.

Mr Marafa, who represents Zamfara Central Senatorial District, was clearly angered by not just the killings across the country but also the defenseless state of the victims. His Zamfara State has witnessed hundreds of killings by armed bandits in 2018. Several houses and properties were also burnt and destroyed by the criminals during the attacks.

On Tuesday, while contributing to a debate at the Senate on the insecurity across Nigeria, the senator called for legalisation of guns and firearms to enable citizens defend themselves.

He said he believed that the only advantage the criminals have over their victims is the guns and weapons they carry.

Mr Marafa had at several times decried the killings across the country, especially in Zamfara State on the floor of the Senate and called for the intervention of the federal government in crisis-affected areas of the state.
He has openly accused the state governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, of playing politics and blame game with the incessant killings in the state.

What Led To Call

Prior to Mr Marafa’s call for liberalisation of gun control, former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, raised a point of order on the killings in the state.

Mr Jang called on the federal government to take proactive measures to prevent more killings.

His point of order went on smoothly as many lawmakers in the upper chamber took turns to condemn the attacks and seek protective measures for people of the state.

Among the many contributors was Isa Misau (APC, Bauchi Central) who blamed the happenings on the incompetence of security agencies as well as the executive arm of government.

Mr Misau expressed disappointment at President Muhammadu Buhari for his continuous refusal to sack “incompetent people” in authoritative positions. He said the president is paying more attention to corruption than to injustice.

Mr Marafa, thereafter, stood up and expressed disappointment at Nigerians who judge the killings based on religion.

He said religious leaders who are giving the killings a religious colouration, are hypocrites.

“Plateau State is predominantly a Christian state, so if people are killed in Plateau, Christians will be killed. But we sit down and say ‘Christians are being eliminated’, ‘it is genocide’ and so on. This is hypocrisy! We ought to give this thing the name it deserves.

“There are killings in Zamfara and those arrested are not all foreigners or Fulanis. I make bold to say that the killings in Plateau State are happening in conjunction with indigenes of that state because it is a business. But every day, we either give it an ethnic or religious colouration without minding the fact that these things are being done and we are the losers.

“The Christian and Muslim clerics that are giving these killings a religious colouration are all hypocrites because we all know where they belong to. It is not limited to one religion but at the end of the day, the problem remains,” he said.

He then described the attacks as “a grand agenda by other lawmakers that want state police.”
His accusation was followed by noise and rowdiness as lawmakers protested and asked him to withdraw his statement.

Mr Marafa withdrew his accusation, and then called for the legalisation of guns for citizens.

“My point is, people cannot be slaughtered in their houses helplessly. Maybe what we need to do is to liberalise gun control,” he said.

How Other Lawmakers Reacted

Although his call for liberalisation of guns led to more chaos in the chamber, Mr Marafa was, however, unconcerned and appeared satisfied having made his point.

Some lawmakers protested in the background but no one stood to either condemn or support Mr Marafa’s statement on gun liberalisation.

After a while, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, simply called the Senate to order, condemned the attacks and then resolutions were made – among which was the creation of state police.

Nigerians React

There have been mixed reactions to the lawmaker’s call. While some people think it is a good call, others, however, do not see it as a way of curbing insecurity in the country.

Francis Enobore, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Prison Service, strongly disagreed with the senator.
Using prison officers as example, he said it will increase dangers in prisons which can lead to the breach of security in prisons.

“As a prison officer, I don’t think I will agree with that opinion. Given the nature of our prison facilities, I don’t know how safe it will be for every prison officer to bare guns even though you are within the prison yard.

“The idea of giving guns to some prison personnel, came as a result of external invaders who broke in and set some prisoners free because in the past, when students or any group of persons, are demonstrating or have different opinion from the government, what they resolve to is invade the prison, set prisoners free and so on.

“Even the guns that we get is to ward off external invaders and on rare occasions where you have internal disturbance. So no, I won’t support that,” he said.
Ibanga Isine, a lecturer at the American University of Nigeria, said Mr Marafa is right “to an extent.”

“When you see the level of insecurity in the country and the senselessness of government in tackling the situation, you realise that such calls are necessary.

“I mean you can’t just tell people to go and pray. For a president to say that, it shows that the government is not ready to take the bull by the horn.

“Instead of people waiting for the killers to come, kill them and take away their lives and their lands; for now, it is somehow right for calling for legalisation of guns in the country. To that extent, he is right,” he said.

He, however, wondered if the country can afford letting every citizen carry guns.

“If you allow everyone to carry guns, then both the sane, the semi-sane and the unsane will get it. It will result to a major problem in the country,” he said.

He urged the federal government to empower or re-organise security agencies and create state police.

“Empower them and give them a free hand to do their jobs. Let them be properly equipped and in a position to take care of their country instead of asking Nigerians to carry arms.I also support the call for state police,” he added.

Hamzat Lawal, an activist,, frowned at the idea; making reference to the abuse of guns in the U.S.

“In Nigeria, we cannot even regulate the oil and gas sector, we cannot regulate our security and now you want to put guns on the street and arm people, No, I would not support that motion,” he said.

He accused the government of shying away from its responsibility, which is protecting lives and properties of its citizens of Nigeria.

“I understand Senator Marafa and other colleagues who are bitter with the fact that it’s been senseless killings for the past weeks and government sadly came out and was comparing deaths in the past and present administration.

“Be that as it may, it will be a disaster if guns find their way into everybody’s hands. It then means that anybody’s face you hate, you’ll just take a gun and shoot the person,” he explained.

He said the federal government should rather start looking at how much is the security votes that goes to state governor.

“Every now and then, they come to Abuja and they sign and collect undisclosed amount for security votes. If we can find out what is happening with that money and make it more transparent and accountable, maybe we can get our security right.

“Implementing gun control will be like turning governors into warlords,” he said.

Chioma Chuka, a human rights activist, said Mr Marafa’s call shows that the country is moving towards a failed state.

She stressed that one of the primary duties of the government and the commander in chief of the armed forces is to secure the lives and properties of Nigerian citizens.

She said Nigeria already has a lot of undocumented arms.

“As a matter of fact, an international report I read recently, says there are almost twice as many small arms in the country than there are people. So a country that is already proliferated with arms and you have this call? I think TY Danjuma said recently, that people should rise up and defend themselves; we are itching towards a failed state,” she said.

While describing the attacks as well as Mr Marafa’s call as a really unfortunate situation, she said it is even more unfortunate that the government is focused on 2019 not minding the killings.

Her advice to the people in power is that “they need people to vote them in 2019. People need their lives to vote them. Too many Nigerians are dying.”

Yomi Fawehinmi, an economist, rejected the call in totality, stating that it is no way to solve the issue.
He said countries like the U.S. have proven that giving people guns does not solve security issues “because you then have mass shooting and gun shooting and so on.”

‘I think instead of giving people guns which will just cause chaos, they should ensure that the guns are currently in the hands of the right people.

“Insecurity is simply the absence of security. So the only way to tackle it is to provide security and in that case, it is the question of finding more creative ways to provide security. Our security is just based on guns, checkpoints and all,” he said.

HarunaWest:
am so appalled.. thot I was d only one

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday, came hard on the Federal Government of Nigeria, headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing the government of wasting the last three years of its occupation of power to fight perceived political enemies in the country. Saraki also accused President Buhari of targeting only his political opponents in his fight against corruption, lamenting that the wasted years which would have been used to build unity among the various strata of the country were used to stoke the fire of division and rancour in the land.

The President of the Senate made these declarations in a statement he personally signed in Abuja, in which he reacted to the Supreme Court judgement, which upheld the earlier judgement of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), that he had no case to answer in the 18-point charge preferred against him for false assets declaration he allegedly committed in 2003, and thereby acquitted him.

He further lamented that instead of working together in the interest of the nation and to seek to do better for the people, those in government were busy fighting one another and using legal instruments to mount baseless accusations against one another, to the detriment of the people. Saraki expressed regrets that, as a result of the war of attrition, the various arms of government had wasted resources needlessly in the last three years of the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He maintained that his trial at the CCT was politically-motivated, insisting that the case was trumped up because of his emergence as the President of the Senate, against the wishes of certain political forces in the country, noting that if not for vested political interest, nobody would have brought up the issue of assets declaration that happened 15 years ago. Saraki described his CCT trial as a flagrant vilification of his person, and a clear demonstration that some people were after their personal interests rather than the national interest.

Recalling that his trial was a tortuous journey of 1018 days, Saraki said that though he believed in the need to fight corruption, but he would never be party to the selective application of the law or the rhetoric of an insincere anti-corruption fight. The statement which was personally signed by Saraki reads: “At the end of a tortuous journey of 1018 Days, counting from September 22, 2015, when the case began at the Tribunal, I am happy that I have been vindicated.

The Supreme Court has affirmed that there is no evidence of false declaration of assets. The court also observed that certain agents took over the responsibility of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in this trial, and one can infer that this was done towards a pre-determined end.

“This outcome has gladdened my heart and further strengthened my belief in this country and as well as my faith in the Almighty Allah, who is the righter of all wrongs. God has vindicated me today before the judgement of man, and I am most thankful and humbled at His grace and infinite mercies. “Through it all, I refused to be shaken, knowing, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, that the arch of the moral universe may be long, but it bends towards justice. I knew the day would come when justice would prevail and I would be exonerated.

have always believed in the infallibility of our Judiciary, secure in the knowledge that our courts – the last refuge of the oppressed – would never condemn the innocent. This outcome is also a vindication of my belief in the rule of law.

“As I said in my first appearance at the CCT, this is a politically motivated case. The case was trumped up in the first instance because of my emergence as the President of the Senate, against the wishes of certain forces. Ordinarily, I doubt anyone would be interested in the asset declaration form I filled over 15 years ago.

“What we have seen is the opposite. Instead of working together in the interest of the nation and to seek to do better for our people, we are fighting one another and using legal instruments to mount baseless accusations against one another. “Instead of exhibiting the need for unity and working day and night for that purpose, we are stoking the fire of division and rancour. I maintain that, above all else, my CCT trial has been a flagrant vilification of my person, and shows that some people are after their personal interests rather than the national interest.”

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced investigations into the railway scholarship scandal involving top government officials, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Investigations by this newspaper showed how some ministers and other top public officials cornered scholarships meant for young Nigerians.

The scholarship was offered by a Chinese firm, Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), for young Nigerians to study an undergraduate degree course in railway engineering in China.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the scholarship scheme was cornered for ministers and other top public officials.

The top officials who benefitted were identified in a document used by the construction firm, CCECC, to permit selected candidates to participate in the scholarship interview. Some of the officials shown to have sponsored candidates include the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the Minster of Communication Technology, Adebayo Shittu; and the Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru.

Only candidates whose names were on the document were allowed for the interview at the CCECC office in Abuja. Each of the names was typed close to that of the top official who nominated them as seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

Several other candidates who showed up for the interview without being on the ‘special’ list from the officials were stopped at the gate and were asked to get letters from a minister or permanent secretary of any ministry to participate. Most could not and were thus barred from the interview and the scholarship opportunity.

Following the reports, Nigerians demanded independent investigation and prosecution of the officials involved in the scandal.

THE INVESTIGATION

Reliable sources at the anti-graft agency told this paper that the investigation commenced on the matter last week.

The CCECC, which is providing the scholarship, was invited on Thursday, July 5. It sent its representatives.
They (the CCECC officials that came) “cooperated with the investigators,” a source at the agency said.

Another person summoned to answer questions on his roles in the scandal is Sabiu Zakari, the permanent secretary in the transportation ministry who wrote the letters asking top government officials to nominate candidates for the scholarship.

“The permanent secretary is expected on Monday or Tuesday,” our source said.

The various ministers and public officials who sponsored candidates are expected to be questioned at a later date.

The ICPC also on Tuesday, July 3, sent a letter to PREMIUM TIMES requesting the paper’s cooperation to enable it to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter.

In the letter signed by the Head, Chairman’s Special Unit, Agha-Ibe GO, the agency confirmed it was investigating the scandal and said the action of the officials appeared a violation of some provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

In its response to the anti-graft agency on July 4, PREMIUM TIMES said it was “committed to working with” the ICPC to ensure the matter was well investigated and persons found culpable prosecuted.

Redphallus:
This babe is fine, she tries. By the way, what is with all this small girl big God narrative of recent?

onatisi:
The funniest thing is that the dullard president and is cows followers still believe that tinubu has the magic wand to help them win the election

princeade86:
fear of Nigerians is d beginning of wisdom.

onatisi:
Definitely Oyo state APC has broken up into 2 factions and one faction is already threatening to pull out of APC

EternalTruths:
That fake Christian pretending to belong to the Body of Christ.

Two days after some aggrieved chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) launched the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), its chairman, Buba Galadima, has declared that the mother of all shocks is underway for the ruling party.

This is as he accused some people around President Muhammadu Buhari of reeking in corruption. He claimed that more surprises will follow in the coming days. In an exclusive chat with Saturday Sun, the Yobe-born politician, who is an old ally of President Buhari, said, governors and some serving ministers who are members of APC, will soon join its fold.

He said that the renouncing of the party by some chieftains in Kwara State will be replicated in several states soon. He however did not state the specific day such will take place.

On Wednesday, at a well-attended press conference in Abuja, leaders of the new breakaway party, said they had the support of all the legacy parties that formed APC even as they refused to rule out that Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, as well as other aggrieved members will soon join them. At the press conference, Galadima, said some chieftains of the party were compelled to take the new step because the APC has derailed from its original plans and vision.

Speaking with Saturday Sun, he said: “I can tell you that we have more surprises coming. The shocker is such that it will take APC and its leaders by surprise. This is something I can confirm to you. You remember what the leaders of APC in Kwara State told Saraki to lead them out of the party? That will happen in more states. More states will follow suit and it will be like that going forward.

“Some governors and other top government officials in this government are going to be with us at the right time, they will openly align with us. Just wait and see how things will unfold in the coming days and weeks.”

Also speaking on a morning show on African Independent Television (AIT) yesterday, Galadima said he will disprove those who have dismissed his influence.

He said: “I want to make an observation because people on the other side of the divide said that some of us are inconsequential hired machineries who he will not loose sleep over our actions. I want to state unequivocally for the world to know that there is no man with integrity, character and impeccable honesty from the other side more than me.”

Emphasising his incorruptibility, he said, “For those that know me from 1959 when I started school to date, I have never been found with anything even those that tried to destroy me could not destroy my character and integrity.

“I also want to say that we know all those opportunists who live in opulence and who cannot account for some of the palatial palaces they have built through the wealth of the people. May I also add that those who hired them for a particular purpose will live to regret because they have brought in the scenario of Pharaoh and Moses.”

Back to the crisis rocking APC, he declared that the problem within the “APC did not start from the election tussle of the National Assembly because for me that was democracy in action and once legislators are appointed, they put aside their political differences and work as one unit to produce laws for the good governance of the country and also as an arm of government to provide checks and balances to the excess of the government from whatever party the president comes from.

“The real problem of the APC started because those of us who are founding members of this party, those who made life sacrifice, those of us Nigerians with impeccable patriotism that came together because of the slide then and decided to submerge and subsume our interest to form the APC.

“I should boldly say that I was one of the nine signatories that formed the APC and nobody can delete that history. We never see the faces of all these opportunists I am talking about. They never appended their signatures then yet they are reaping from where they did not sow. “Because they have no history of why the APC was formed, what we suffered and what we did to protect entrenched interest, they started doing things that were not envisaged by the founding fathers of the APC.”

He maintained, “The crisis has been on but it took different dimensions when the tenure of the immediate national officers was expiring. Different interests started resurfacing and through to it, all the ideals for which we formed the APC were thrown to the dustbin. Those of us who are patriotic, who have made sacrifices to bring about the formation of this party cannot sit idly and watch them destroy our sweat. “ He argued that the current crisis is the worst the party has experienced . He said “this is the beginning of what you call crisis. I should say that I am glad that Nigerians of all walks of life have shown solidarity with us.

“And for those who could not lose sleep, I wonder why they went cap in hand, kneeling down before the members of National Assembly. I want to say that as at today, if I give directive to the National Assembly to impeach anybody for constitutional infraction, it could be done because I have that majority in the National Assembly.”

On his problem with President Buhari, he explained “I don’t have any problem with Mr President but I assisted him since 2002. I have made more contributions than even himself in becoming the President of Nigeria. Maybe I should tell the world that because of him, I have suffered intimidation, arrests, questioning about 38 times.

“Not only that, I was detained in an underground prison, chained hands and legs and tried for treason because of him. All these people around now were the people fighting us then. Some of these people were receiving money from the government of the time during elections in conducting fake research and using their positions as members of the trade union to say that the election was conducted fairly but today they are Buhari people. I am shocked.

“There is nothing happening except that I just saw him during a world press conference, an elder statesman and former president said that he does not need my vote, my supporters, my families and those that interact with me. He never mentioned any reason and I dare say that I have more integrity and more honest than any person in this country.”

Some of the killings across Nigeria are sponsored by “disgruntled politicians” who have lost out politically, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

The president was quoted as saying this in Borno in a statement by his media aide.
Mr Buhari also vowed to deal with such people sponsoring the violence.

Hundreds of people have been killed in separate violence in different states across Nigeria. Some of the states affected include Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara and Taraba.

The killings are sometimes caused by herders and farmers conflicts and sometimes carried out by criminals.

The president has been criticised by many Nigerians for not doing enough to stop the killings.
On Friday, Mr Buhari said he would do more to stop the violence.

“We shall fish them (violence sponsors) out and punish according to the provisions of the law,” he said.

Read the full statement by the president’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, below.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Monguno, northern Borno, promised to fish out and punish politicians who are deliberately instigating violence in some states as a way of seeking relevance in the country’s politics.

Speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the closing events of the 2018 Army Day celebrations which the army chose to stage in the one-time stronghold of Boko Haram terrorists, 136 kilometres from Maiduguri, the president repeated what he told Christian leaders on Thursday, that a solution is being found to the deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen, and whosoever is found culpable will be brought to justice.

While thanking the armed forces for keeping the country safe, President Buhari acknowledged that there were still challenges faced by the nation.

“This does not mean there are no challenges. There are pockets of violence in several states. Some deliberately instigated by disgruntled politicians who have lost all arguments and are desperate to cause mayhem as a way of seeking relevance. We shall fish them out and punish according to the provisions of the law.”[/b]

[i]Making a self-assessment of the administration he has led in the last three years since his election, the president said, “We have worked tirelessly to ensure and preserve the dignity and sanctity of life. When I was sworn in as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I promised that this administration would tackle the challenges of Insecurity, poor Economy and Fight Corruption.

“We are all witnesses to the fact that our once battered economy as a nation has exited recession and is once again vibrant. Our nation is safe again, thanks to the efforts of our security agencies.

“I want to use this opportunity to reassure the world, Nigerians and the families of the remaining kidnapped Chibok girls and Leah Sharebu of the Dapchi School girls that this administration will not relent in our efforts to see that they are all released. I also want to reassure all Nigerians that the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes is being tackled and all those found culpable would be brought to justice. Let me quickly remind us at this point to always be tolerant, loving and ready to give peace a chance.”

President Buhari reiterated what he said to the Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern Chapter, that none of our religions or cultures permitted the killing of one person by another.

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State who spoke at the occasion said triumphantly that, “we have cut the rubicon of insurgency in the Northeast, Thank God, we have come to the end of insurgency. Suicide attack is a sign of weakness, not strength.”

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, commended the army for establishing a motorcycle battalion that is enhancing quick mobility and providing security in areas of unfavourable vehicular movements, and the Air Force for setting up rapid response groups in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

He assured that “appropriate measures are being put in place to address security challenges in the nation; the Armed Forces are currently handling Operation Delta Safe in the South-South, Operation Safe Haven in the North Central and Operation Awatse to combat militant activities in the Arepo general area and other parts of the Southwest. Recently, the Nigerian Army established Operation Whirl Stroke to tackle insecurity in the North-central states.”

In his speech, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin, said that the military operations in the North-east were moving from engagements of a combat nature to humanitarian and civilian support services to assist the victims of the insurgency to return to their communities which they were forced to abandon.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said the choice of Monguno for the 2018 events was intended to celebrate the achievements of the army in its combat efficiency, civil-military relations and its efforts in research, development and technological attainments.

He said the army had accomplished the president’s objective of stabilising the North-east and other parts of the country, and assured of their unwavering support and loyalty to the president and the constitution.

On arrival at the Kinnasara Army barracks in Monguno, President Buhari inspected military equipment on display by the 21 Specialized Corps of the Nigerian Army, and inaugurated the first indigenous Mines Resistant and Ambush Armoured Vehicles (MARAPS).
Before his departure, the president also toured one of largest camps housing Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs in Monguno town.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

syndrum:
Nigeria goalkeeper was celebrating his son's 17th birthday while he's still just 19years.. Can't you see that the lawd is good..?

kmaster007:
buhari is doing you big time...

hatchy:
0-2 Now.

Shame to Buhari the terrorist Fulani.

The Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known as Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, has spoken again on the state of the nation.

Oyedepo, when reacting to a statement recently credited to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina that “You can only have ancestral attachment when you are alive. If you are talking about ancestral attachment, if you are dead, how does the attachment matter?,” declared that Nigeria is gradually turning to Animal Farm.

Speaking last night in Otta, the headquarters of his church, the fiery preacher said anyone trying to destroy Nigeria will die.

He said, “I heard they said you should choose between your life and your land. If they take your land and rename it, won’t you prefer to be dead than to be alive?

“The place of my father’s sepulchre? If you come there, we will show you strength. What nonsense?

“This is becoming worse than Animal Farm! You know Animal Farm? George Orwell. I’ve never seen this kind of kangaroo nonsense.

“Death is not a problem. Who do you want to harass? Even when I was a boy, you couldn’t say that.

“They say my name is on their list. Who do you think you can harass by that?
Nonsense!
Their names are also on my list.
Their names are in ‘red’.
You know what that means?
Rest In Peace.
They will rest in crisis!
Every plan of the devil against you will walk on their own head.

“It is better to lose your land than lose your life? You better stop that folly,’ the Bishop concluded.”

The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo said on Thursday that the celebration of the 2018 Nigerian Army Day at Mongunu in Borno North was a proof that the “end of the Boko Haram terrorists group will come sooner than later.’’

Osinbajo, who spoke at a “Mini Trade Fair and Military Equipment Exhibition as part of activities to mark the day, also said that it was a proof that the terrorist had been “substantially degraded.

According to him, Borno and the entire region (North East) will surely bounce back, and with the support of the rest of the country, make up for the years of bloodshed and destruction.

The vice president said that the Sambisa forest, once the symbol of Boko Haram’s domination of the region, had been reclaimed, while the work of rebuilding had started in many communities across the state.

“Indeed, we are here to celebrate all of these wonderful successes, and progress.

“At a point, a few years ago, it felt as though they – terrorists were succeeding.

“As a result of the insecurity, social and economic life rolled to a halt in many parts of the state, as Boko Haram controlled a large territory and acted like the de-facto government of the state.

“The town of Monguno, which today is playing host to us, was a few years ago firmly in the hands of the terrorists.

“Today, thankfully, the tide has turned, in large part on account of the gallant and heroic work of the Nigerian Army. And it is on account of this that we are here today, to celebrate.

“We are here to celebrate the gallantry of our soldiers, men and women from every part of Nigeria, of different faiths and tribes and tongues, gathered to fight and defeat a common enemy.

“We are also celebrating the resilience of the people of Borno State, and reaffirming that our primary obligation to them, as a Government, is to ensure that they are able return to their communities and rebuild their lives and livelihoods in peace and safety,’’ the vice president said.

Osinbajo expressed delight over the progress being recorded by the ongoing Operation Last Hold designed to rid remnant of terrorists from the Lake Chad Basin and Northern Borno.

The vice president noted in the last three years, life was gradually returning to many parts of Borno as schools had reopened, airlines resumed flights, religious celebrations held, major roads and highways reopened.

He said that he had no doubt that NADCEL and events lined up to mark it in Mongunu “will go a long way towards changing the negative narrative of terrorism, hunger and danger that have defined the North Eastern part of Nigeria, and the entire Lake Chad Basin, in the last decade.’’

Osinbajo commended the army which he said had fought wars at home and abroad, to secure the country, and keep it united, though it suffered loss and setback.

He specifically commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai for “inspiring the Nigerian army to turn the tide against Boko Haram.’’

“With the success of yet another Army Day Celebration, this time in the heartland of a dying insurgency, Gen. Buratai has left no doubt about the quality of his leadership.

“And today, we are all proud to associate with the Nigerian Army, for the ongoing victory in the North East.

“Long may that victory continue, even as it extends to other troubled parts of the country,’’ he said.

The vice president acknowledged the sacrifice made by members of the armed forces and other security agencies in the fight against the terrorists, saying “we are also here to remember.

“To remember the tens of thousands who have lost their lives to this needless violence; the innocent civilians, and the vigilante and military dead, who paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the security and sovereignty of Nigeria.

“We will never forget. And we shall continually strive to work to build a Nigeria in which terrorists and bandits shall have neither sway nor leeway.’’

ABUJA—DISTURBED by the increased number of road blocks along major federal highways in the South – Eastern roads manned by a combined force of the Police and the Army, the Senate yesterday asked the Federal Government to dismantle them.

According to the Senate, dismantling the road blocks would help facilitate the free movement of goods, people and services throughout the region and the whole federation.

The Senate therefore mandated its committees on the Police and the Army to take a tour of the South-Eastern highways to investigate the matter and report back to the upper chamber.

Need to balance national security

The Senate also urged the Police and the Army to always seek to balance the imperatives of national security and the economic interests of citizens in the monitoring of their environments, especially where there are no evident security breaches.

Resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a Point of Order by Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, PDP, Abia North and entitled: “The growing proliferation of joint Police and Army manned road- blocks along the South- Eastern Express Roads which portend serious implications on the hardship of road transportation and the economy of the region.”

Senator Ohuabunwa who came under a matter of urgent public concern said the Senate is “ conscious that in the democratic governance of our nation, and for the purpose of promoting national integration, it is the duty of the nation and the states to provide adequate and unhindered facilities, including express roads for and encouragement of free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the federation, while at the same time providing for the security and well-being of citizens.

Roadblocks in S’East becoming intimidating

“Observed that while there have been serious breaches of the security of lives and property of citizens arising from the war against terrorism in the North Eastern part of our nation, and this necessitating the hindered mobility of people, goods and services on the roads leading to these areas, the same case cannot be made for the heavy blocking of most South-Eastern roads by combined Police and Army security where a state of war does not exist.

“Concerned that the number of road blocks along the major federal expressways in the South-East which are manned by a combined force of the Police and the Army have suddenly increased and became intimidating, with the most affected roads being the Enugu Port- Harcourt Express Way, the Enugu-Onitsha Road and the Enugu-Aba Express Road, all of which have more than 50 road blocks heavily manned by the Police and Army, and proliferated at close and intermittent junctures.

Waste of FG resources

“Persuaded that these high proliferation of road blocks and heightened police and army presence in an otherwise peaceful environment is not only costly, unnecessary and failing to balance the matters of national security and citizens’ well-being, but is also extensively obstructive to the free movement of goods and people. It is increasing the citizens hardship on the roads and their travel time while proliferating extortion and corruption on the roads and all these are generally affecting the economy of citizens, the South-East region and the nation very negatively! “

As suspected Fulani herdsmen kill at will, prominent Yoruba leaders on Thursday called on all governors and opinion leaders in the South-West to defend the geopolitical zone from invaders.

Speaking at the peace parley organised by a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yoruba Koya Movement, Senator Femi Okurounmu said the ongoing killings in Nigeria were allegedly planned by the Fulani elite to capture the country by all means.

He said, “The leader of the Fulani in Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello said in 1960 shortly after independence that this ‘new nation called Nigeria shall be an extension of the estate of our great grandfather, Othman Danfodio, we must ruthlessly prevent a change of government.

“We must use the people of the Middle Belt as willing tools and the people of the South as conquered territory and never let them rule over us, never let them control their own future.’ So, tell me, what can be more explicit than that? The killings are going unchecked because (President Muhammadu) Buhari has keyed into the Fulani agenda.”

Okurounmu also alleged that some governors were scared to stop the insecurity being perpetrated by the Fulani herdsmen in their domains because they did not want to offend Buhari.

Also, another elder statesman, Prof. Banji Akintoye, challenged the Yoruba nation to speak with one voice against the incessant Fulani herdsmen’s attacks.

He said, “The South-East is now one against the Fulani oligarchy, so also is the Niger/Delta. Yoruba land must therefore unite, else there would be fire on the mountain.

“That Yoruba people are accommodating should not be taken for granted.”

[We welcome all tribes but they should all be law-abiding; they should not come to destroy our properties. Fulani herdsmen need to be stopped and driven away since they are always causing havoc. They cannot be allowed to destroy farmlands in Yoruba land except they want to rear their cattle peacefully.”

He also called on the South-West governors and their counterparts in Kwara, Kogi and Edo states to set aside party interest and join hands together to protect Yoruba land for history and posterity.

In his remarks, the convener of the parley Otunba Deji Osibogun said unless all Yoruba people unite to defend themselves, one day, they would sleep and wake up to see all their lands captured by the herdsmen.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

ozoebuka1:


And i tell you, this is maximum sophistication... Verily verily I say say unto you if you add barbarism and skull mining together the product is afonjastic cone heads

Millenniumlady:
Any man that can give me the cars in the second picture will be lucky to date me

shegzhkn:
Meaning they can't afford to vote the 'conservative party'