₦airaland Forum

Thirty-seven days after Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Nigerian security officials of raping and sexually molesting women and girls in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Borno State, two policemen, three army personnel, one prison official, one Air Force personnel, a staff of Borno Ministry for Agriculture and two members of the Civilian JTF have been arrested.
Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Ibrahim Idris, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday.

Speaking at the Inspector-General of Police Conference, Idris said police will work with the army and Air Force for investigation of their personnel and added that, on conclusion of investigation, any suspect found guilty of the offence would be dismissed and then, “taken to court.”
In an October 31 report, HRW alleged “government officials and other authorities in Nigeria have raped and sexually exploited women and girls displaced by the conflict with Boko Haram.”

The group further added that, in July, it documented sexual abuse, including rape and exploitation of 43 women and girls living in seven IDP camps in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

“The victims had been displaced from several Borno towns and villages, including Abadam, Bama, Baga, Damasak, Dikwa, Gamboru Ngala, Gwoza, Kukawa, and Walassa. In some cases, the victims arrived in the under-served Maiduguri camps, where their movement is severely restricted after spending months in military screening camps.

“It is bad enough that these women and girls are not getting much-needed support for the horrific trauma they suffered at the hands of Boko Haram.

“It is disgraceful and outrageous that people, who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them. Four of the victims told HRW that they were drugged and raped, while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance.

“Many of those coerced into sex said they were abandoned after they became pregnant. They and their children have suffered discrimination, abuse, and stigmatisation from other camp residents. Eight of the victims said they were previously abducted by Boko Haram fighters and forced into marriage before they escaped to Maiduguri.”

Women and girls, abused by members of the security forces and vigilante groups – civilian self-defence groups working with government forces in their fight against Boko Haram – told HRW they feel “powerless and fear retaliation” if they report the abuse.

The HRW report documented how a 17-year-old girl said just over a year after she fled frequent Boko Haram attacks in Dikwa, a town 56 miles west of Maiduguri, a policeman approached her for “friendship” in the camp, and, then, he raped her.

“One day, he demanded to have sex with me. I refused but he forced me. It happened just that one time, but soon, I realised I was pregnant. When I informed him about my condition, he threatened to shoot and kill me if I told anyone else. So, I was too afraid to report him, ” she said.
The report added that, “in some cases, men used their positions of authority and gifts of desperately-needed food or other items to have sex with women.

“A woman in a Dalori camp said residents get only one meal a day. She said she accepted the advances of a soldier who proposed marriage because she needed help in feeding her four children. He disappeared five months later when she told him she was pregnant. Victims of rape and sexual exploitation may be less likely to seek health care, including psychological counselling, due to the shame they feel. Fewer than five of the 43 women and girls interviewed said they had received any formal counselling after they were raped or sexually exploited,” said Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at HRW.

President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently ordered the IGP and North East governors, to, as a matter of urgency, commence investigation into HRW’s report.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

sarrki:
Morning brother

I know this story dey sweet your heart

With an eye firmly fixed on the 2018 governorship polls in Ekiti and Osun States and 2019 general election, the movers of the proposed new mega party are already targeting at least 16 states of the federation whose governors they are confident will decamp to the new party, to bolster their chances of unseating the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The new opposition party is believed to have the tacit support of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that currently controls 11 states in the country, a National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bola Ahmed Tinbubu, and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a major chieftain of the APC.

Both APC leaders have, however, denied their involvement in the proposed party, saying they remained committed to the APC.

Some of the states being considered for the taking are spread across five crucial geo-political zones of the country, with the calculation that once the new party is able to hold down these states, the others could be turned into battleground states, where it would compete for votes with the APC to shore up its chances in the 2019 elections.

The states already considered to be the strongholds of the proposed mega party are Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu in the South-east; Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Cross River and Bayelsa in the South-south; Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Lagos in the South-west; Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa in the North East; and for now Benue State in the North-central zone.

Since the governors of the 16 states are seen to be sympathetic to the cause of the mega party, either directly or indirectly, their membership would most likely be taken for granted, while the party is saddled with the task of concentrating on areas where it is considered to be relatively weak.

The movers behind the new party are of the view that if they must make any meaningful impact in the elections in 2018 and 2019, respectively, then certain states are germane to the victory.

However, whilst the backers of the party are working on a winning strategy, the Makarfi-led PDP, sources confirmed yesterday, has expressed disappointment in the way Atiku and Tinubu denied their involvement in the formation of the new party.

The PDP leadership, THISDAY gathered, while trying to empathise with the concerns Atiku and Tinubu might have over the news of their involvement in the proposed party coming out too early in the day, however, some members of the PDP felt that they should have known what they were up against from the outset.

According to a PDP chieftain, “We would have expected Atiku and Tinubu to have been more strategic in their reactions to the news.

“They just proved that they could develop cold feet at the slightest whiff and are not really prepared to take on the challenges that lie ahead. Their denials could be a setback for the mega party, as there is no way the formation can progress with this kind of attitude.

“We know it is going to be tough, but we must be ready to live with the consequences.”
From the perspective of the PDP, the source said the party was on the verge of putting its house in order and was preparing to start a new chapter, adding that once the challenges related to the leadership tussle are cleared, it would be in a better position to fully concentrate on the talks for a new mega party, which he described as the only joker for the 2019 elections.

He said the argument by some concerned observers about the Makarfi-led PDP not really needing an alliance or merger the minute it settles its leadership crisis may be logical, but noted that the battle to unseat an incumbent president in Nigeria was not an easy one to be prosecuted by one party alone however strong, hence the need for co-operation from people of like-minds to pool resources.

He noted that with the PDP going into talks with anyone as a united family, this would give it better grounds for negotiations and that the concerns about anyone selling out or undoing the party would be unfounded once the other faction has been completely neutralised.

“At least, we know that the Ali Modu Sheriff faction is working for and with the APC. So, the fears about the kind of damage they could do would have been adequately checkmated with their exit.
“The collaboration is therefore important and key to the success of our collective plan to take over the government and lead the nation to a better place,” he said.

He described the issue of the presidential candidacy as too early in the day since the consolidation of the proposed party was yet to take place.

“It is true that the APC wing of the proposed party might have been pondering their options on the choice of candidate for the presidency, but the PDP too has its own take on all of this and there are many options from which the ideal candidate can be chosen.

“But first, we need to tidy up the amalgamation and other things will follow,” he said.
The source did not however dismiss the influence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the choice of a presidential candidate for the mega party, but expressed concern about Obasanjo’s opposition to Atiku and former President Goodluck Jonathan, both of whom he said the former president had vowed never to have anything to do with.

“His take on Atiku is particularly worrisome because he once said even if he dies today and Atiku was coasting home to the presidency, he would beg God to let him come back to life, finish him off and then return to God.

“You may want to laugh this off, but it is deep and speaks so much about his disdain for these two persons, Atiku especially,” he said.

STATES ON THE RADAR OF NEW MEGA PARTY:

•Lagos
•Oyo
•Osun
•Ekiti
•Enugu
•Ebonyi
•Abia
•Delta
•Bayelsa
•Rivers
•Akwa Ibom
•Cross River
•Taraba
•Gombe

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

devilmaycry:
[right]SO what happened after

Ifakiland:
U went to spend d nite in his house, he forked u and u decided to pray in d mrn after?? Menh God is truly not a man o!

The Federal Government on Monday announced that 571,000 tonnes of foreign rice warehoused in neighbouring countries were being targeted for the Nigerian market for the Christmas and New Year season, but vowed to stop their entry.

It also stated that Nigeria recently took delivery of 110 rice mills in its bid to enhance local production so as to commence the exportation of white rice from next year.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who disclosed these in Abuja, stated that some of Nigeria’s neighbours, particularly the Republic of Benin, were not moving goods within the region as required by relevant treaties.

He, however, stated that the Federal Government would henceforth check all illegal movements of food and non-food items into Nigeria from the neighbouring countries.

Ogbeh said, “What they do is that they import goods, station themselves at our borders and then smuggle them into Nigeria. For instance, the Republic of Benin doesn’t eat parboiled rice. They eat white rice. But all the rice that comes from the borders into Nigeria is parboiled.

“I have a list now of all the ships that left Thailand in the last seven weeks and they’ve arrived; 571,000 tonnes of rice waiting to enter Nigeria for Christmas. But we won’t allow that. We have to review the treaty in the region, because we are at the losing end. Why are we doing this? It is because this rice is not definitely grown in the Republic of Benin.”

He added, “They bring tomato paste and chicken not produced in the Republic of Benin and because the Nigerian market is so huge, that they want to exploit it. But no economy out of sympathy should damage our own and we should not out of sentiment allow anybody to do things to us, which we can’t do to them.

“When Dangote was trying to ship his cement through the Republic of Benin to Togo, it took him one year to persuade them.”

Ogbeh reiterated that the country would start exporting rice from next year, as he stated that 110 mills had been acquired to make this a reality.

He said, “We can make it happen. We have just brought in 110 rice mills of different capacities. Some can do 100 tonnes, others 50, 40, 20 and 10 tonnes. We are going to give them to cooperative organisations and rice millers all over the country to enhance their milling capacities.

“We have another 12 rice mills to come in maybe next year so that the milling capacity is strong enough for us and we too will begin to export white rice to West Africa.”

On the issue of possible famine in Nigeria from January next year, the minister stated that the government was prepared and promised that the country would not experience such.

The minister stated, “We want to put it quite clearly that there is no danger of famine in the country, because the government will not allow that to happen. We are already taking steps to make sure that Nigerians don’t go through any such harrowing experience. There has been some panic over the massive purchase of grains from many of the big grain producing fields in some parts of the country.

“This fear was heightened by emirs and chiefs in the North, who met with us on Tuesday last week and raised the same anxiety. It is true that for the first time in our history, we are witnessing an extra-ordinary purchase of our grains from the West, North and Central Africa. We are even getting demands from as far as Namibia; they are asking for grains in large quantities of up to 37,000 tonnes of maize.”

sarrki:
Guy chill

It's because of Gej you are against

Every policy of pmb

Gej was a total mistake 

If not for Nigeria 

Gej first degree Animal science 

Masters fisheries 

PhD zoology 

Are we wildlife park ?

sarrki:
Nice one

I trust pmb

He will use it well

Wailers food is ready

In another boost to the Nigerian economy, the board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the sum of $600 million to support the Nigerian economy.

This was revealed by the President of AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, monday while fielding questions from journalists at the 11th African Economic Conference in Abuja.

Adesina said: “As far as the AfDB is concerned, we had said that we are going to consider a billion dollars to support Nigeria when I visited the president and already that has gone to the board and $600 million has been approved by our board just a month ago for Nigeria to support its economic governance.

“The $600 million is going to help in many ways to stabilise the naira. It is also going to help the government to support the very much needed reforms in the agricultural sector in terms of different agricultural policy reforms and also in the energy sector that is very fundamental to how you grow the economy and come out of recession.”

On how Nigeria will emerge from its current recession, he said the AfDB would provide support to the private sector, adding that the “Bank continues to make significant amounts of support in the private sector, they are investing in banks, we are giving them quite a lot of financial support trying to keep them afloat in this very tough period”.

He added that Nigeria had taken some tough policy decisions, stating: “I think the government has taken some tough policy decisions with the removal of subsidy on petrol and the naira was also allowed to devalue.”

He observed, however, that there was still a problem with regard to the foreign exchange market
“There are still a number of issues to be sorted out. We have got to have the monetary policy and the fiscal policy regime sorted out so as to be able to stabilise the naira and provide sufficient amount of access to foreign exchange for those that want to bring in machinery equipment or materials,” he said.

Adesina was optimistic, nonetheless that as these policy instruments are sorted out, Nigeria would be in a good position to significantly attract some amount of foreign direct investment, which it needs.

The proposed mega party by some aggrieved opposition politicians of major political parties in the country may already have run into a hitch, following the stringent condition allegedly handed down by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support the new party.

THISDAY learnt that when the notion of the mega party was brought to Obasanjo’s notice, the former president, who was not averse to a new formidable opposition party, was quick to give a condition that his former deputy when he was in office, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, should not by any means whatsoever become the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 elections.

The new opposition party is believed to have the tacit support of some members of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that currently controls 11 states in the country, a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bola Ahmed Tinbubu, and Atiku Abubakar, a major chieftain of the APC.
The party is being championed to challenge the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general election.

However, when Obasanjo, according to sources close to the ex-president, was approached to lend his support to the new party, he informed the proponents of the new party that he was prepared to back it on the condition that Atiku was not picked as the presidential candidate of the party.

According to a source, who was conversant with the outcome of the meeting with the former president, “He (Obasanjo) addressed the group that met with him, informing them that he had made too many mistakes in his life and for the nation, including the blanket support he claimed to have granted the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari, and therefore was not prepared to make any more mistakes.”

The THISDAY source hinted that the former president said that although he was quick to support the APC, however, he was not as quick to support Buhari’s bid to become president in 2015, because he had reservations about his capacity to lead the country.

But because the APC to which he had declared his support had also settled for Buhari, he had no option than to tag along.

However, given the current state of the nation and political developments, he informed his guests that it would be foolhardy of him to rush into taking yet another critical decision, especially on the presidency of the country.
It was for this reason he was said to have reluctantly supported the idea of the mega party, but added that he would only identify with it if Atiku does not emerge the presidential candidate of the party.

He was said to have pointed out that Buhari’s obvious unimpressive stewardship to date had lent credence to his initial hesitation to support him and that having worked with Atiku, he could tell where his presidency would head.
Obasanjo made it clear to the proponents of the mega party that their presidential candidate could be anybody with the minimum requisite qualifications and experience, but certainly not Atiku.

Another source, who also hinted at the development, confirmed Obasanjo’s stringent condition not to field Atiku, saying: “It is true, that is very correct.”

He further revealed that the reason Obasanjo did not want to make another mistake with Atiku stemmed from his regret for coming round to support Buhari despite his reservations.

The source said: “Before the December 2014 congress of the APC, where Buhari was picked as the presidential candidate of the party, he informed (Rotimi) Amaechi and others not to back Buhari because he lacks the capacity to run the country.

“He told them to vote for (Rabiu) Kwankwaso, but his advise was ignored and now Nigerians are suffering for it, so he does not want to make the same mistake again by backing the wrong person for presidency in the person of Atiku.”
On the issue of Senate President Bukola Saraki, the source disclosed that it was most likely that Saraki would remain with the APC given the recent attempts at rapprochement by Buhari.

“Also in so far as Tinubu is a major proponent behind the establishment of the proposed mega party, it is very unlikely that Saraki will leave the APC to join forces with Tinubu,” the source volunteered.

He added that while those from the other political parties were ready to go ahead with the formation of the party, the PDP faction led by Makarfi was yet to fully decide on the issue.

“The PDP component has not really been determined yet. For now, the plan is to take total control of the party, finish off Ali Modu Sheriff and then move on in that light. Ultimately, it may be where we are headed, but the truth is we must first tidy up the PDP house before moving on.”

According to the source, some individuals in the PDP had already bought into the mega party idea and had been meeting with those concerned but “the Markarfi-led PDP as a whole has not really bought into it. But I can tell you that the APC wing of the merger is set to roll”.

Still on the Atiku matter, the source hinted that some of the decision makers in the country, a majority of them retired military officers, already share Obasanjo’s view and might follow through with him.
The only person, a major ally in the merger talks, who has refused to buy into Obasanjo’s position on Atiku, the source hinted, is Tinubu, who yesterday categorically denied his involvement in the mega party.

But clearing the doubts on the denial, the PDP source said it was expected since most people would at the moment distance themselves from any involvement in the new party because of the timing.

“It is important that they all lay low until the timing is right, so that people are not framed and thrown into the gaol for pursuing an agenda different from theirs,” he said.

Reacting to his involvement in the formation of yet another political platform to challenge the APC in the 2019 elections, Tinubu said he has no intention of abandoning the ruling party, which he laboured to build.
Tinubu, on his Twitter account, said that despite the mistakes that had been made by the APC, he remained committed to the “ideals that fuelled” the formation of the ruling party.

The former Lagos State governor said that the national purpose of the APC was bigger than the desire of any individual.

“I have devoted my political life to achieving what has been achieved. My heart is too much of the people and my mind too fixed on establishing a positive historic legacy… rather than engage in destructive pettiness,” he said.
“This government, APC, is for the betterment of the people and the national purpose is bigger and more important than any individual’s desires.

“This is a party I laboured with others to build. We would not abandon it for another. Millions of Nigerians who voted are watching and praying.

“In our journey to national betterment, plans and policies will be made, then amended. Mistakes will occur and then corrected. Achievements will be had and replicated.

“Through it all, I, Asiwaju will remain true to the progressive ideals that fuelled the creation of APC,” Tinubu said.

In the same breath, a source close to Atiku also denied his involvement in any shape or form in the proposed mega party, saying the concern of the former vice-president was in the success of President Buhari and would not do anything inimical to the collective interest and ideology of the ruling party.

“I think we should ignore those who out of self-interest are trying to drive a wedge between the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar and his party, the APC.

“Right now, our nation needs unity of purpose, not political brinkmanship; we are facing formidable economic and structural challenges, and we should focus on fixing the many things that prevent us from unleashing our economic and entrepreneurial potential, instead of pretending that a little political theatre will magically make things work,” he said.

Lagos state Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has increased to N10 million the death insurance benefit for police officers, who die in active service.

Ambode announced this in his office yesterday after he was presented with two awards recently won in South Africa by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the State Police Command.

Promising that his administration would stop at nothing to ensure the safety of all citizens, he said security and safety of the people remains one of the focal objectives of his administration, and that government would continually embrace measures to motivate and encourage officers.

The RRS, at the awards presented by Security Watch Africa (SWA), emerged the best anti-crime police squad in West Africa. The RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, won the award of most outstanding police operational officer in Africa.

The government also bagged the award as the best security and most safety conscious state in Africa.
Ambode congratulated the commander and men of the RRS for the feat, saying that the people were appreciative of the gallant efforts of the unit at reducing crime rate, especially in the last one year.

He praised the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, for his purposeful leadership, saying it was evident that the police were performing creditably well.

Alluding to the need for increment in the death insurance benefit of officers, the governor recalled the recent loss of some officers in active service, adding that while government was not praying for a recurrence, it was appropriate to reasonably reward the family of any officer in the event of eventual death.

He said his administration was raising the stake of death insurance policy from N1million to rank and file and N2million to senior officers to N10 million.
Ambode presented three patrol vehicles and 45 power bikes to the RRS.

He directed the police to ensure hitch-free yuletide celebration across the state.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

NATIONAL Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has defended the borrowing plans of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, saying it was inevitable, in view of the current economic realities in the country.

Odigie-Oyegun said Nigeria must borrow to invest in infrastructure and grow the economy

The APC National Chairman spoke Sunday night after receiving a lifetime achievement award presented to him by the Warri Choral Society during a classical music concert the society held in his honour at the Muson Centre in Lagos.

Assuring that the loan would not be used to pay salaries, Odigie-Oyegun said: “If you read the newspapers, you hear the President being advised to pump money into the economy. So the question is where is the money coming from? Simple!

“It has to come from somewhere, including borrowing — both internal and external. To get this country going again, you have to pay contractors. Some contractors have not been paid for 10 years.

“So long as the borrowing is done not to pay salaries, which the President Buhari administration will not do, but invested to create opportunities, solve our problems of power and things like that.”

“To allow people to have money to consume, to buy goods, to pay for services so that factories can produce. So it is that cycle. We must kick-start the economy and to kick-start it will need money, lots of money.”

He also said the ongoing fight against corruption was necessary for the country to make progress.

McBrooklyn:





Lol, dem no fit

femcruz:
OPEN THE BOOT & FIND NOTHING THERE AGAIN....YOU GO TEAR RUN!!!

McBrooklyn:





Baba mi, na zo OoO. E don pass that level sef!!

McBrooklyn:
To all those ladies deceiving us;

wasting our precious time;

our airtime;

our money;

our food;

asking us to be responsible for their well-being;


Your future husband will not show on your wedding day!!!

seunny4lif:

Na question now

seunny4lif:
Ooooh nice
Good one from her

But na this girl Timaya beat now
I'm asking ni ooooooh

The North has ruled out blanket support for President Muhammadu Buhari if he decides to seek for a second term in 2019. Already, top northern politicians and powerful political blocs have been shopping for Buhari’s replacement ahead of the next general elections, New Telegraph has learnt.

Speaking to our correspondent on phone at the weekend, spokesman for the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, pointed out that the forum only supported the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 election because it fielded General Muhammadu Buhari as its presidential candidate “who happens to be a northerner.”

Multiple sources confirmed to New Telegraph last night that different interest groups in the North have put machineries in place to get an appropriate candidate to replace Buhari in 2019.

It was further learnt that different groups from the North have sent emissaries to possible candidates, such as Atiku Abubakar, Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe governor), Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sule Lamido, Ibrahim Shekarau, among others on the need to replace the president in the 2019 election.

It was gathered that among the grouse of many in the region is the mass hunger and poverty that has attended the Buhari presidency. A source with one of the presidential hopeful told New Telegraph last night that: “More than in 2015, we are receiving requests from different interest groups who are telling us that they want to work with us. I can tell you that most of the groups are from the North. Their complaints are the same – the economy.

They are telling us that there must be another change in 2019. The mood generally in the North is dampened. Buhari is not as popular as he was in 2015 now.”

An aide to another presidential hopeful simply said that the North has “donated Buhari to Nigerians who wanted change.” “In 2019, we are going to take him out of that seat for sure.

We are consulting now and trying to fix the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). If we get that right, then, we are ready to sack Buhari. At least, it is clear to Nigerians now that the man has failed. He is unelectable.”

But it was learnt that the president’s men are already plotting his reelection in 2019. Sources said Buhari’s nephew and confidant, Malam Mamman Daura; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, and former SGF, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe as well as some state governors are the drivers of the president’s second term agenda. Buhari’s anchormen, including ministers, have been holding series of meetings on the president’s re-election.

“At appropriate time, we will dispel this noise of non-performance. The president has been faithful to his promises. Though we are in a challenging time,president has done well in governance,” one of the ministers told New Telegraph last night. Abdullahi, who ruled out a blind support for Buhari in case he runs for a second term, said that if other northerners indicate interest in the presidency, “we will put all the cards on the table and evaluate all the candidates and see what they have in store for the north.”

He, however, said that the north has so far been short changed by the present administration because the ministerial appointments that it got are not commensurate with the votes that APC received in the last election from the region.

The former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, however, said that it is rather too early to say that the north is shopping for Buhari’s replacement, “but when the time comes, we will tell our people which way to go.”

The NEF spokesman said that the forum has not met Atiku Abubakar in order to seek for its support ahead of the 2019 presidential race, adding that he has heard that the former number two citizen is said to be eyeing the presidency.

“Like everybody else, I have heard of series of meetings going on, but I have not been told by any credible source.

As for meeting with any politician towards 2019, all I will say is that nobody has met us,” he said.Like Abdullahi, former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, said that he heard that the north is shopping for Buhari’s replacement to field in 2019, describing the move “as a viable alternative if the north wants to retain power.”

According to him, the president is so incompetent and overwhelmed by the burden of office, “so there is no way he can succeed.” “However, the tragedy of the situation is that the north has no alternative to Buhari because money power is the deciding factor in politics and elections in this country. That is why the north can’t get the right person,” he argued.

The leader of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) dismissed Atiku as an alternative northern candidate because of his record of alleged corruption.

Musa also ruled out Governor Nasir el Rufai, arguing that he is not performing as governor of Kaduna State and so he is not qualified to be president.

“So, the north is in a kind of dilemma because, whereas Buhari has failed as president, it has no alternative to him in 2019 because of the dominance of money in politics and the fact that those who want to replace him are not credible,” he noted.

The opposition politician also ruled out the rabid support that Buhari received in the north in 2015, in case he decides to seek re-election in 2019. “Virtually every northern elite that supported him since 2003 when he first contested for the presidency, is not with him,” he said.

The former governor predicted that Buhari would lose the coming election if he decides to run for the presidency in 2019 because he is not just politically unreliable, but he will also be hampered by limited resources unless he is sponsored by foreign powers.

According to him, the level of poverty in the country and the prevailing awareness will limit the president’s access to the treasury in order to fund his campaign.

“Unless he decides to fund it with recovered looted funds, the amount which Nigerians do not know, there is nowhere he can get the kind of money to run for the presidency, after losing the goodwill that he enjoyed from the people,” Balarabe added.

Speaking in the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic and a social critic, Dr. Jun-aid Mohammed, described Buhari as a monumental failure as president.

“Although I have not heard of plans to replace him and field another northerner in 2019, I will not be surprised if this happens,” he told our correspondent yesterday.

“President Buhari has been a monumental failure and the north shouldn’t support him in 2019 if it wants to retain power. Anti-corruption has always been the hallmark of northerners in government, but this government is the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria.

“All northern leaders, from Tarka to Aminu Kano and Sardauna, are not nepotistic, but the Buhari administration is the most nepotistic that has ever been since independence. “So, the north is justified culturally, politically and morally to replace Buhari in 2019 if it chooses to do so.

The north has been categorical when it wants power, it also didn’t hesitate when to let it go. And when it wanted it back, it said so categorically. Now, it must show clearly that it wants to retain power by replacing Buhari,” Mohammed said.

The Russian-trained medical doctor however said that “if Buhari decides to contest in 2019, he will be defeated, except if he rigs the election and there will be violence which may lead to the break-up of Nigeria.”

Speaking to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, a chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) dismissed what he described as “doomsday scenario of failed politicians who cannot speak for the north.”

According to him, President Buhari is still lionized by the masses of this country, especially in the north where he commands a cult-like followership.

“Buhari’s victory in 2015 was a result of the resolve of the masses to vote for change and to keep vigil over the votes cast until results were counted and declared.

“The victory was not as a result of any elite consensus or machinations. It was a revolution of the masses and the elite just had to key into it or else they will be swept aside by the wind of change.

“Buhari’s war against corruption, whereby billions of looted funds have been recovered and the adherence to the rule of law, including the degrading of Boko Haram capabilities in the North-East, have further endeared the people to him. If elections are held today, he will win fair and square,” he added.

New Telegraph gathered that although Buhari’s handlers are trying to make incursion into the South-East, many leaders in the zone are not convinced or persuaded by the Buhari presidency.

Thus, many believe that his running battles with splinter agitator groups in the zone and the lack of reasonable appointments for the zone under his watch are good reasons not to return him again.

“The man should not even think of a second term. He should just leave after this term,” said a leader in the zone.

nairalanddss:
when I saw this I jus started laughing... hahaha

morbeta:
Is this man hunted by MKO's ghost? Cos the way he is sounding now is like he has parked his luggage and ready to travel to hereafter.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

MackBrooklyn:




Lol, personalities? Now this is funny, very funny!!!

Smartademu:
u are joking, right?

MackBrooklyn:





Fixed!! You're welcome!!!

opethom:
story for the Gods, MKO died as a legend, we don't know what's gonna end you

ikp120:
Moral lesson: Buhari listen to me now

MackBrooklyn:





Chei, so virgins still dey exist??

Tony Anenih, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) board of trustees, says he MKO Abiola’s persistent refusal to listen to his advice landed him in jail and ultimately led to his death.

Abiola, acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, was arrested and imprisoned after he declared himself president-elect, but he died in July 1998 on the day he was to be released on the back of the death of Sani Abacha, the military ruler on whose orders he was jailed in the first place.

In his book, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics’, the statesman said he advised Abiola against declaring himself president, but that he refused to listen.

He said Abiola reached a secret agreement with Sani Abacha, former head of state, to take over from Ernest Shonekan, interim president, but he fled the country when things were heating up, leaving his supporters behind.

He said when Abiola came back to the country frustration drove him to declare himself president after his scheming to succeed Shonekan had failed.

Anenih, who was the national chairman of Abiola’s Social Democratic Party (SDP), said the late businessman kept the leadership of the party out of his negotiations with the military.

[b]“It is a pity indeed, that Chief Abiola kept the leadership of the party away from his arrangement with General Ababcha to take over from Shonekan. If he had brought it to the notice of the leadership of the party, he would have been advised well,” he said.

“In a similar but not exactly identical set of circumstances, I had advised Chief Abiola against declaring himself the president of this country when frustration arising from Abacha’s refusal to hand-over to him drove him into that extreme line of thought. I spoke to him on telephone pointing out that the army was not there to back him up. He had no police support, and not even the immigration or customs would back him.

“It was clear to me that the course of action to which Chief MKO Abiola was heading was not only going to be self-destructive, but also ruinous. He was play into the hands of the military and offer himself as a sacrificial lamb by delivering himself to those who for various and obvious reasons, very much wanted him out of the scene.

“Chief Abiola did not listen. The result of his line of action landed him in jail.”

“I wished he had listened to my advice not to declare himself president of this country. If he did, I believe he would, in all probability, still be alive today. Frustration arising from the collapse of his scheming drove him into extreme step which, in the end, set up a chain of events that ultimately caused him his life.”[/b]

Lalasticlala, Mynd44