stano2:
Thirded. SMH too

ABUJA–The agreement to make the 2015 general
elections coming up next month credible and violent-free was
formerly sealed Wednesday in Abuja by the 14 presidential
candidates squaring up for the contest.
Eminent among the contestants that featured at the signing
were President Goodluck Jonathan who is flying the flag of
the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and General
Mohammadu Buhari who is also the presidential flag bearer
of the nation’s leading opposition party, the All Progressives
Congress, APC. Others who made appearances included Tunde Anifowose Kelani of Action Alliance (AA) Dr. Rafiu Salau of Alliance for Democracy (AD), Ganiyu
Galadima of Alliance Congress (AC), Alh. Mani
Ibrahim Ahemad of ADC, Chief Sam Eke of Citizens
Popular Party (CPP) Ambros Albert Oworu of Hope
Party, Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya of KOWA party and Chief
Chekwas Okorie of Unity Progressive Party (UPP).
The Letters and the spirit of the undertaking otherwise called
“Abuja Accord” by the organizers of the event tilted “2015
General Elections: Sensitization workshop on Non-
Violence” essentially barred the contestants in the election
from making incisive speeches that could cause the eruption of
violence of whatever guise before, during and after the
elections.
The accord reads thus: “We the undersigned Presidential
candidates of the under-listed political parties contesting in
the General Elections of 2015;

By Adeyemi Johnson
RECENTLY, some APC stalwarts principally the
party’s chairman claimed that Nigeria has deteriorated
under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan
and that APC offers a better solution, but is that true ?
Rather than make subjective claims, it is better to examine
the facts by global verifiable standards.
The most acceptable global composite standard for judging
progress or development is the HDI Index. Many accept
that Nigeria has not moved as fast as it should in this index.
It measures three basic dimensions of human development,
such as long and healthy life, knowledge and a descent
standard of living.
The highest development is measured as 1, and anything
below from 0.9 to 0.01 are a continuum from very high to very
low respectively. But if we examine the facts from this
measurement, in 2013 the Nigerian measurement on this
index is 0.504. ln 2010 when Jonathan assumed office the
Nigerian measure was 0.492, but in 1985 when Buhari left
office Nigeria was second from last at the bottom of the
table with our rating at 0.421. So, although Nigeria has not
reached the highest ratings such as 0.810 to 0.870, under the
Jonathan administration, it has moved up the Index since
the time of Buhari.
But to show that this is a factual measure, If we examine
some of the key indicators which make up this index such as
life expectancy, which measures how long a person will live if
all the prevailing conditions at his/her birth remains so
throughout the person’s life, we also see that, in 2012 the life
expectancy of a Nigerian was 52.7, in 2010 it was 51 when
the Jonathan administration assumed office. There are some
who will say that this is an effort to polish the image of the
administration, but these measures are not conducted by
Nigeria but by independent organs allied with the United
Nations to measure the progress of mankind, and they often
speak frankly to developing nations to let us know that where
we are presently is far from the ideal and we should keep
aspiring to that ideal. But what is the APC offering ?
Looking back at the life expectancy of Nigerians in 1985
when Buhari left office, it was 47.18years and by 1999 when
the civilians took over from the military that claims to have
come to correct the ills of democracy, the life expectancy of
Nigerians had actually fallen to 46.71years.
Moreover, it must also be pointed out that, although the
national average in terms of HDI measurement is used as
the standard for a country, it does not reflects the lived reality
of everyone or the reality everywhere in a country. This is
especially true for some of the indicators used to measure the
HDI such as the standard of living which usually takes
account of things like poverty rate and distribution of poverty.
If we take the national distribution of poverty, low life
expectancy and low literacy rates in Nigeria, it is discovered
that the worst indicator measurements can be found in states
that were formally ANPP.
The leadership value of ANPP can be directly associated
with the leading presidential candidate that APC is offering
as an alternative to the Jonathan administration. And the
APC is saying publicly that the development that Nigeria
is boasting about does not reflect on the people, but in actual
fact, it is states under the leadership of the legacy members
of APC which is pulling down the national average. The
data from states under Buhari’s former legacy parties, are
pulling down the national average. If we take away the data
from these states, we might fare a lot better, what this means
therefore is that what has worked better in other states should
be emulated by these states, not the other way round.
So ,the question is: What is APC offering Nigerians? Is
it progress or regression? Because apart from these
quantitative facts, the APC is also offering qualitative
expectations. They tell us that Buhari is an upright leader
without administrative blemish. But many have pointed to the
public records not political statements to verify this claim.
They point to human rights abuses. For example, Tai
Solarin spent 17months in jail arrested with an illegal warrant
of arrest which had only a photocopy of the signature of the
Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters. A Nigerian
journalist, Vera Ifudu published that she was informed by
the late Chief Olusola Saraki who was then in the Nigerian
senate when the matter was probed that, the 2.8Billion
United States Dollars which was missing at the NNPC
under the Obasanjo regime while Buhari was Minister for
Petroleum was traced to Buhari’s private account’at the
Midlands Bank in the United Kingdom. She was forced to
resign because of this story without evidence to refute her
story. While late Fela Ransom-Kuti was arrested for
possession of Foreign exchange by the Buhari regime, money
that was meant for the upkeep of his band on a foreign tour.
He was forced to spend 18months in jail, by a judge who was
forced to imprison him by the Buhari regime, whereas on the
same matter of illegal foreign exchange, when the Buhari
regime was kicked out, his head of security, Lawal Rafindadi
was found to have operated several personal foreign accounts,
and until he died he was still fighting to unfreeze the accounts
seized from him.
Also,Buhari and his deputy, Tunde Idiagbon made a law
for Nigerians, that no one, under 18years should go on
pilgrimage to the holy land Mecca but Idiagbon himself was
found returning from Hajj with his 14year old son, when they
were dethroned. Buhari was aware that Idiagbon went on
hajj with his under-aged son. So they made one law for
themselves and another for Nigerians. Similarly, while
Buhari was Chairman of PTF, an audit of the Agency
found that over 25 billion Naira was missing though the
agency, his relative Ahmad Salihijo, whom he appointed as
the soleconsultant in charge of all the transactions of the
agency, died when the audit committee was constituted, some
say he committed suicide to hide the facts, we will never
know. But the audit report found many cases of clear over-
invoicing and importation of expired products by the agency.
Therefore, looking at the quantitative progress of HDI
indicators since 1985 and qualitative evidence the farce of
Buhari’s mythical uprightness, it is hard to understand,
where the confidence of the APC lies that it is offering
Nigeria a better choice for 2015

A RISK OF NIGERIA’S
INTERNATIONAL ISOLATION?
In recent weeks and, especially since the selection of the
72 years old, former Military Head of State, Pa.
General Muhammadu Buhari as APC presidential
candidate, I have repeatedly found myself disappointed,
angry and in despair at the low caliber leadership, and
the complete disregard for due diligence in the opposition
APC vis-à-vis the ruling PDP.
Every respected country on the face of this planet vets and
conducts vigorous background-checks on all their
candidates for elective offices and particularly so, for
their presidential candidates. This is in order, to weed
out those with dubious backgrounds, making outrageous
claims e.g. a candidate who lies about his education; and
importantly, to assess their personalities, motivations,
and the basics of their story. Were they who they said
they were? Did they have access to what they claimed?
These are processes every serious political party
undertakes to produce the best candidates to represent
their party for the good of country.
But this is not the case for APC that wants Nigerians
to vote for a candidate without presenting his original
certificates as required by law and whose background and
history is bound to restrict Nigeria internationally. The
consequences of faulty vetting can be devastating to the
APC and country; in this case, the selection of the 72
years old former Military Head of State, Pa. General
Muhammadu Buhari as their presidential candidate.
There must be a day of reckoning in the international
community for the 72 years old, former Military Head
of State, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, that
flagrantly disregarded international laws, conventions,
customs, the general principles of law recognized by
civilized nations and respect for the laws of sovereign
countries, namely the United Kingdom.
His notion of leadership, international laws, human
rights and civic values is not only to authorize, the failed
kidnapping of the late Alhaji Umaru Dikko from the
United Kingdom, the emasculation of a robust media,
using back-dated decree to murder young men etc., but
that, all public officials in Nigeria are crooks, corrupt
and the public is an ignorant inmpenproletariat.
It would be astonishing if, the 72 years old APC
Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammedu
Buhari, former Military Head of State, that has been
reveling in the climate of immunity, and have made
impunity his modus operandi for decades; would be
welcomed in London, Berlin, Washington, DC or the
United Nations with a red carpet.
APC should therefore, save Nigeria the bother; and
honorably withdraw Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari,
former Military Head of State from the February 14th,
2015 presidential election.
If not, the day of reckoning will show the decades of
Nigeria’s cowardice towards someone whose nature and
actions as Military Head of State were a clear disgrace
and embarrassment not only to Nigeria but the whole of
Africa.
Nigeria must not expect the international community to
accept a man that master-minded the kidnapping of a
resident of the United Kingdom; a serial Human Rights
abuser and a man that promotes Violence and Terrorism
(all major terrorist groups in Nigeria have all promptly
endorsed and adopted him: the 72 years old Pa. General
Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State,
as their presidential candidate, notably: Boko Haram).
Nigeria must come of age.
Nigeria and Nigerians must not be seduced and
intimidated into turning Nigeria into a patriarch state in
the community of respectable nations. Nigerians must
vote wisely.
In these times of falling oil prices, again; Nigeria
cannot expend her limited resources, international
goodwill and political capital on revamping and polishing
the image of a failed former military Head of State.
There are demonstrative evidence, though, that
Nigerians have no wish to return to the days of
patriarchic status, neither is Nigeria ready to vote for a
bad-intentioned myopia on the part of the APC to
eviscerate the gains of democracy and Nigeria’s well
earned international respect and image. Nigeria has no
time for extremely radical experiments and proposals.
A vote for the 72 years old APC Presidential
candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former
Military Head of State, would not be a step forward for
Nigeria; but a spite-filled step back and isolation from
the civilized world.
Ekiyorbomode A. Edotimi
Ijawiss@yahoo.de
Ijaw Institute of Strategic Studies