₦airaland Forum

I de laugh in Congo! If Fayemi who could not manage ordinary Ekiti state? Fayemi was kicked out of Ekiti state government house before of his corruption and incompetency. Is that the change APC stand for?

The people i saw there has nothing to offer. Buhari should lather take them to his Duara cattle rearers association if he manage win their president

Theodore Orji should go and sit down left for him i will vote APC

https://cdn.akamai.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/180814F-Attahiru-Jega.jpg?maxwidth=400&maxheight=540


By Chuks Okocha

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to the claims of complicity levelled against it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the controversy surrounding the educational qualifications of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, restating that the commission has no powers to disqualify any candidate sent to it by the political parties and has advised the PDP to challenge Buhari’s candidature in court.

INEC, which was responding to the allegations made by the PDP presidential campaign spokesman, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said if the ruling party feels so strongly about the matter, “it knows what to do”.

Speaking on the issue on Sunday, INEC’s Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Wale Uzzi, and its Director, Legal Services, Mr. Ibrahim Bawa, stressed that the commission has no constitutional power to disqualify any candidate presented to it by the political parties.

According to Uzzi, “In line with Section 31 of the Electoral Act, the commission has no powers to disqualify any candidate whose name has been submitted to INEC.

“This is the power of the law and it is expected that a political party in the calibre of the PDP should know this aspect of the provision of the law.

“If the PDP feels strongly about this matter, it knows what to do. It should take him to court and that is the only option. If any political party is aggrieved and is serious about it, the only option available is the court.”

He said Buhari had complied with the provisions of the constitution and Electoral Act because he had provided the commission with an affidavit to prove that he (Buhari) has the necessary qualifications to contest the presidential election.

Uzzi added: “It is not necessary to provide certificates but provide evidence that show that he is educated.”

Corroborating his colleague, Bawa said: “The law states that the candidate must be educated to a certain level and once you have sworn to an affidavit that you have the necessary educational qualifications, that serves it.

“It is the responsibility of the PDP to accept it or exercise the option of going to court. It is only the courts that can direct the commission otherwise.

“This is what the Electoral Act states in Section 31 of the amended act that INEC has no powers to disqualify any candidate presented by any political party. This is the position of the law.”

He further disclosed that some civil society organisations had already applied to INEC for a certified true copy of the academic qualifications presented by General Buhari and that INEC had obliged them the request.

Also, an email written on January 8, 2015, from the Public Affairs Officer of the US Army War College, Col. Kerr Carol, to INEC has confirmed that a “Nigerian, Col. Muhammadu Buhari was a graduate of the US Army War College Class of 1980 and earned a US Army War College Diploma”.

It further clarified that the Army War College first awarded master’s degrees to the Class of 2000.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/inec-pdp-should-go-to-court-over-buhari-s-certificate-controversy/198990/

APC are gathering of vultures with certificateless terrorist as their presidential candidate

APC Buhari candidacy will set Nigeria on fire

Buhari is in trouble

[s]

munex007:
Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘unknown’ story, as not many Nigerians are familiar with the book written by Rosaline Odeh, the then Head of Research and Documentation Section, Federal Department of Information, in May 1984.

The book, Muhammadu Buhari: Nigeria’s Seventh Head of State, was published by the Federal Department of Information, Domestic Publicity Division, Ikoyi Road, Lagos. It is in seven chapters of 95 pages, and details the early life, educational qualifications, career, and thoughts of the then head of state.

Chapter 1 is on parentage and background of the Daura, Katsina State-born retired military officer and politician. He was the 13th and last child of his mother, and also the last of his father’s 23 children.

Gen. Buhari’s father was Hardo Adamu, a Fulani chief of Dumukorl, a village near Daura. He, however, died when the young Muhammadu was just four years old. All he can remember of him is that “he was tall and fair in complexion.” The young boy ended being brought up by his mother, Hajia Zulaihalu Musa, who had great influence on him.

Chapter 2 is on Buhari’s childhood and early education. This is the portion that, perhaps, unravels the current raging debate on his academic credentials.

At the age of six, the book says, General Buhari was enrolled at the Central Primary School, Daura. His nephew, Mamman, who is two and a half years older, says of the young pupil: “He was above average academically and more than usual naughty.” Buhari himself corroborated: “I was a truant in primary school. I spent a lot of my time playing around. But when I went to secondary school, I changed.”

Classmates at Daura Primary School remember Buhari as a fast runner and centre forward for the school football team. He was always neatly dressed. He was to finish primary education in 1955 at Kankia Primary School.

In 1956, he proceeded to the Katsina Provisional Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina. According to his schoolmates, he had then become “a serious and hardworking student who tried to excel in everything he did.” Deeply religious, he said his prayers regularly, and was among those who made prayer calls at 4:30a.m.

Who were some of Buhari’s classmates, and what did they say of him?

General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (now deceased): “He worked fairly hard at his studies and games. He was reserved. He was one of the few boys in the school trusted by his classmates, and was quite dependable.”

Alhaji Fathu Abdullahi: "He made a lot of friends from outside his Daura group. He was very broadminded. Very serious for his age and had no time for frivolous talks. He was very religious, even at the age of 12.”

Mallam Muktari, Zango: “He used to baffle me. He was so strong-willed and principled. He always stood his ground and did not follow the crowd.”

Buhari was a school monitor in Class 2, later a school prefect, a house captain, and ultimately he was made the head boy of the school.

According to the book, of all the boys who applied to join the Army from Katsina Secondary School, only two were taken. Muhammadu Buhari and Shehu Yar’Adua. They both ended up as Generals.

Chapter 3 is on Buhari’s military career, which he started at Nigerian Military Training College, Katsina, in 1962. He then went to the Young Officers Course No. 5 at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, from May 1963 to July 1963, Mons Officers Cadet School, Aldershot, in the United Kingdom, and he was commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant and posted to 2nd Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta as a Platoon Commander.

What are some of the other courses Buhari attended? According to the book, he was at the Army Mechanical Transport Officer’s Course in Bordon, United Kingdom from May 1965 to June of the same year, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India, from January to November 1973, and Army War College, U.S.A, from July 1979 to July 1980.
During the Nigerian Civil War, he was the Brigade Major of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, and Commander, 31st Infantry Brigade.

Chapter 4 is titled ‘Food for Thought,’ and it chronicles Gen Buhari’s views on different national and international issues. It also dwells on his private life and family

‘Landmarks Along the Way’ is the title of Chapter 5. It details Buhari’s footprints on the sands of time: as governor, minister, a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), General Officer Commanding (GOC), and call to duty as head of state.

Chapter 6 is on ‘A Journey Into the Past.’ What are readers served here? The influences on Buhari’s early life that made him what he became, particularly as a modest, self-effacing man. Hear his comment on leadership: “If there is anything we need in this country, it is leadership, and I also think, if there is anything we have in this country, they are good soldiers. If you stay with your men, and train with them, they will follow you. Much will be accomplished. If you stay with them and train with them, they will do anything.”

And his philosophy? “You will never succeed if you are unjust to your people.”

The final chapter: ‘Moment of Decision.’ Here, readers will get the appraisal and comments of people on Buhari. They include Dr Onolapo Soleye, his Minister of Finance, the Emir of Daura, Gen Musa Yar’Adua, Alhaji Mamman Daura, Gen Martin Adamu, and many others. Adamu, who was Buhari’s Commander during the civil war, said: “I am saying with all sense of responsibility. I don’t think he is an ambitious man. He feels strongly about Nigeria as a country. Given the support of the Armed Forces and the public, there is no reason he should not succeed. This time is the last chance for Nigeria’s survival and territorial integrity. I believe everything he said in his first speech.”

GMB is really giving PDP sleepless Night..

May the eyes of coward never sleep..
#SaiBuhari

[/s]
Effort in futility

sam1234:
INEC is not showing them anything, they should go to court. Rubbish! Pressure Group ko Temperature Group ni?

Where were they when Buhari contested in 2011?? Now they're aware that he's about to kick out the drunk fisherman to Otuoke, they're raising their ugly heads.

Like somebody told me today "Even if Buhari shows me a leaf as his certificate, I'll still vote for him." That's how bad it has become.

Okay we nigerians are saying in one accord we dont even need thier credentials anymore . all we are saying is that we want BUHARI that is all. fools

Typical Buhari mentality

bettercreature:
Not sure this election is going to hold mark my word...PDP knows jonathan is going to loose the election there by seeking various means to stop the election

Is that why Buhari refused to present his certificate to INEC?

philips70:
Don't follow crowd mentality. Pick up your electoral laws and read it without putting on Okupe's cap. If you understand it you won't follow them ask for Buhari's certificate anymore. Many of your fellows on this forum did same and have moved past the madness.

What is this talking about? Did u read the news at all?

This Buhari certificate saga have shown the true Image of APC, it's supporters and what they stand for. Imagine a graduate saying it doesn't matter whether Buhari has certificate or not, Nigeria has really gone to the dog

atlwireles:
The corporal, parading as major general is about to be exposed

We are waiting for APC to present their Sahara reporters US war college certificate

Nice development. The certificateless general want to reap where he did not sow.
Oya APC e-rats over to u

Not time for celebration yet

Before nko? Who want to associate with a terrorist? Buhari is fake, everything about him is fake. An army general without certificate

masseratti:
Having people like Doyin okupe,olisah Metuh and now the like of FFK as the mouth piece of Gej shows the kind of person he is.

Is Liar Muhammad and Amaechi anywhere better than FFK?

Old foolish people will believe this trash from Sahara reporters. It's now a diploma no longer a master degree? APC supporters are laughable

I responded that the journalists involved didn’t do that kind of thing; they were not thinking about material promises made by anybody. As a matter of fact, nobody made such promises. What happened was that stories were written and sources were de manded and were denied because it was not ethi cal. But when you look at it now, this is 2015, about 31 years later, I have also reflected on the matter especially when I wanted to do that rejoinder to the comment made by General Buhari that some journalists made some demands, that the demands were not honored and they started blackmailing them.

I have seen that time is a healer of certain wounds because people are still asking that the man who jailed you wants to become the president that what do I feel about it? They asked if I would vote for such a man. I want to say categorically that Buhari as the head of state at the time, didn’t order the de­tention of Mr. Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor.

He never did. Even Idiagbon did not. It was the head of NSO that ordered our arrest. That was the file my colleague saw when he was brought in to see Rafindadi after I had briefed him. And that was an order that they complied with. Buhari was not responsible for our arrest, so I do not see why at this time, people are trying to make political capital out of what happened in 1984. Apart from that, it was an issue in 2011 election. Between 2010 and 2011 people kept saying this over and over again. I think it’s now over 30 years, people should learn to be charitable; they should learn to forgive and let bygones be bygones especially when we know the truth about who did what. I will like to say that Buhari didn’t order my arrest, so I bear no grudge against him.

Are you saying if there was any hurt he’s been forgiven?

Left to me, the hurt was inadvertent; it was aimed at protecting the government. I know it was not for journalists alone, there were other professional groups other than journalists that the decree was targeted at. I am very happy that we faced the bullet and the bullet was deadened at our end. The press and the government are rivals in the search for in formation. They are also rivals in secrecy matters. The government wants to keep its secrets secret and we want to make the secrets open because we want to inform our audience. That’s why we always quarrel and that’s why I believe the govern ment and the media need more fora to understand themselves. There are hostilities because we don’t understand ourselves.

Are you saying you wish General Buhari well as he aspires to rule Nigeria?

Yes, as far I am concerned now and considering the fact that there is an order that the Minister of Petroleum should not appear before the National Assembly to defend her conduct and considering the fact that the Naira had been further devalued. Now listen, in Ghana the Cedi we used to mock, the Rupee we used mock and the Yen. The Naira is just not there again. We say revalue the Naira but they said they cannot because we only have one commodity. The government has been saying a lot about agriculture. Cocoa provided the mainstay of the defunct western region under Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Groundnuts provided the mainstay of the defunct northern economy under Sir Ahmadu Bello. Have our farmlands suddenly become infer tile? We have solid minerals; we have gold in Ilesa. What I am trying to say is that if we look critically, we have other commodities and if they are har nessed we will be able to say we have more than oil. I appreciate what the Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina is doing now. Rice is be ing produced on massive scale but the problem is mechanization. They are trying to see if we can grow wheat here. I believe enough efforts have not been made to find alternative income-generating activities.

Some even seem to be too powerful. They are sacred cows and they cannot be tamed. Is that not dangerous? I believe that a person like Buhari at this time can call anybody to order and some people are afraid of that.

The fear of a few people who have plundered the treasuries of this country should not be allowed to hinder our economic progress and political trans formation. I think Buhari is humble. How many times did Abraham Lincoln run for presidency of United States? Was it not about 11 times? But Bu hari is running for about three, four times and peo ple are saying he is too old. He is not too old. Let them go to India, let them go to other places there are examples. I will not like people to use Decree 4 as an excuse to deny somebody, who can help bring discipline through democratic means, to Nigeria, another opportunity of getting to the position of president of this country. I think God is getting tired of the injustice in this country.

That is why some of us are seeing the reason to rally round the man and support him. The Sun is not a newspaper for any candidate, it is a national newspaper. I am very happy that you raised the is sue about what my position is on somebody who put me in jail. I think 30 years is long enough, we should forgive and forget and let there be progress. Those who are ready to continue confusing issues out of their ignorance should be pushed aside and let us do what our conscience dictates. Except we want to suffer for another four or eight years, it will be costly to make a wrong decision again.
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=99656

How did you feel when you were con victed and sentenced?

Oh, I felt sorry for Nigeria. I felt the government had been misled into turning a patriotic journal ist who slept in his office many times to write stories at the Daily Times and Daily Sketch into a criminal. When Chief Obafemi Awolowo said he did not agree with the presidential system that was recommended by the Constituent Assembly in 1975, I was in Daily Sketch then. I told the editor of Sunday Sketch, Sola Odunfa that I would give him an article. That was on a Thursday. I did not sleep, I wrote on why the presidential system is superior to the Westminster model contrary to what Chief Awolowo said. I was at the Constituency Assem bly in 1978 and we told them that the idea of keep ing journalists out and asking them to be briefed by members was wrong. We wondered why they didn’t do something more acceptable profession ally and eventually they decided they would give us a chance to meet the deputy chairman around lunch time for briefing and then they would break up by 5 pm or 6pm after the afternoon session and would have another round of briefing.

Otherwise we would have to meet each member of the assembly for comments. It means that was unofficial, it could be tainted with personal opin ions. So, it’s now time for me to say that Decree 4 was just meant to ensure that no professional can step out of line, that no professional brought the government to ridicule or embarrassed the govern ment in any way. But when you now say Protection of Public Officers against False Accusation Decree, what was my offence in saying an embassy or a mission had been closed? Or that somebody had been retired? In fact, they were not even quarreling about the retirements because all the reports were authentic. So, what is the embarrassment there? There was no accusation in that. That is why gov ernment is a wonderful institution, let’s put it that way. I discovered later that government did not like what happened because we had in my report about those who were posted, which was also embel lished, names of certain people who were not ca reer diplomats, most of them were military officers. I think whatever might have irritated or annoyed the military top brass was that people were phoning them to tell them that this all-embracing unity gov ernment they wanted to form had six out of eight people from the northern part of the country as ambassadors or high commissioners. Was that the kind of country they envisaged? I think that must have embarrassed the government. But that wasn’t false accusation but they were not analyzing gram mar. They just felt embarrassed that people asked them that question. That was why they asked who gave us information. So, I would say the drama of that day was something I would never like to be repeated.

How long were you in jail?

The jail term was one year, but then one prison year is eight calendar months. So, we were in jail for eight months. Interestingly, the weekend before we were to be released, prison inmates organized a football competition and all sorts of competi tions for us. Then something happened. At about 3am they came for us in our cell and took us to the administrative block of the prison service. When we asked them what was happening, they said they were taking us to the United Kingdom, and that I was going to the United States. I asked how pos sible was that because we didn’t have visas, we didn’t have passports? They answered that it was possible because the government could perform wonders. What happened was that they knew Ni gerians , the civil society, had prepared a welcome rally. They were to stand from Kirikiri and follow us down to our homes. So, they pre-empted them. By that arrangement, they decided to take us from the prison and dumped us in our houses before the day we were to be released so that by Monday, if any civil organisation came to Kirikiri they would find the place empty. It was like the case of Jesus and the empty tomb.

Where did you live then?

I lived at Mende, Okupe Estate on Sumaila Street. Let me tell you the joke. My wife and my children had just moved from Shogunle to the place. I gave her a cheque for her to relocate to Maryland but I didn’t know the house. So, when we were released, they took us in a common vehicle through Isolo be­cause Nduka lived around that area. They searched for his house until they got it. As for me, I told them I lived at Sumaila Street so they took me to the street and we saw No.5 but they didn’t believe a journalist could live in that kind of house , because it was too good to them. So, they didn’t bother to knock but instead drove down to the end of the street before they concluded that my house had to be at beginning of the street. So, we went back and behold that was the place.

What time was it when you got home?


It was around 4 am. It was like an armed robbery operation. We went in and it was a blissful trans formation.

Did they count the number of days you had spent in detention before you were actually sentenced?

They were not interested in doing that. The sen tencing was in July and we were released the fol lowing year.

So, how did you feel?

In prison? I wrote a book, Power of the Press, and it’s based on the experience and all the points that were made by the late Chief Rotimi Williams that I could recollect. The arguments of the pros ecution and defense counsels were presented from my point of view and the analysis of the ethical is sues involved and the publication of the statement I made and questions they asked me. I had to respond to an article that claimed some journalists asked for something but when they were not given they started making accusations against some lead ers claiming that they didn’t keep their promises. I had to respond to that article about two years ago in The Sun on the comment by General Buhari, be cause I believed he was misled into thinking that those of us, The Guardian staff, who were involved in the Decree 4 matter wanted something from the government but because we were not obliged, we decided to write stories. That is not possible.

https://sunnewsonline.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Tunde-Thompson-702x336.jpg
BY OLAKUNLE OLAFIOYE

Just like in his previous outings, the ghost of Decree 4 of 1984 is haunting General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd), presidential candi­date of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as he once again takes another shot at the presidency. The infamous decree which made the duo of Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of The Guardian newspaper the first victims of military law, has in recent weeks gained cur rency with political rivals using it as a weapon against the former military head of state.

But Tunde Thompson believes Buhari’s op ponents are deliberately confusing and mislead ing Nigerians . In this interview, he lays bare the issues surrounding their detention as well as unmasked those behind their ordeal. Excerpts:

Who is Tunde Thompson?

I am a journalist and I’ve been a journalist since 1971 when I joined the Daily Times as a trainee sub-editor. I was there till 1972 when I left for the University of Ibadan to read Political Science. I was in UI till 1975 but during my vacations I worked with Daily Times and I didn’t need to ap ply. Daily Times was at its apogee then. By 1975 when I tried to return, Daily Times had deterio rated and I couldn’t even find my way back. Tony Momoh, who was the editor, confided in me that he couldn’t employ me directly, that my applica tion had to go through the board and all that. So, in the end, I went back just to say hello and then I was with Dr. Olu Onagoruwa who said to me “Somebody was asking to see you and Felix Ad enaike called from Ibadan saying Jemibewon had given himself and Tola Adeniyi a job , to run Daily Sketch and that I was needed. He said Felix told him that they had been looking for me all over the place”, but I was in Calabar for my youth service between 1975 and 1976. That he said “Wherever I was, they were ready to increase my pay.” So, I became the features editor and later political editor at the Daily Sketch. I was there till the 80s or so when Daily Times improved a little and I went back to the Editorial Board as a senior lead writer but for a short while as the firm became worse by 1983 and many of us had to leave. That was when The Guardian started and I joined The Guardian later when it become a daily newspaper as a senior diplomatic correspondent. That was what I was do ing before I ran into trouble.

How did your trouble start?

It all started when I became deeply interested in the people at the Ministry of External Affairs who had been retired. Some people came to me and said they had retired so and so person. Even some of the affected diplomats complained to me as the senior diplomatic correspondent. My child was ill at that time, so I was away for some time, but sub sequently, I discovered that embassies and consul ates had been closed down and all that, so, I wrote about it. The authorities came for me when I wrote an Op-ed in The Guardian entitled, ‘The Mysteries of External Affairs.’ I questioned why people who had been doing a great job suddenly lost their jobs in so short a time. I went to Nigeria’s mission in Lebanon, as they said Nigeria should re-open its mission in Lebanon. Then I told them government had the right to close down any mission if it was not generating returns. I was defending my coun try, but I was seen as a security threat. So, that was the beginning of the fire. When the report was out, security people came, asking for the writer of the story. It was an Op-ed page and it was obvious that the name of the writer would be there. When the paper told them that we stood by our story they retreated, but by the time I wrote about some am bassadors being retired and military officers sent to diplomatic missions there was trouble.

Was it a joint effort between you and Ira bor?


No it wasn’t. My grandmother died in Edo State and I had to attend the burial. So, I gave him my manuscript, being an assistant news editor. When I was in Benin that Sunday, I sent for the paper and when I saw the report I shouted. I knew something had gone wrong because somebody I did not talk to was quoted in the story. So, on February 11, 1984 somebody from Nigeria Security Organisation, NSO, Awolowo Road, came to pick me up at The Guardian premises and the receptionist said to me “your friend from Ibadan wants to see you .” To cut the story short, he insisted that I should follow him. I went to the editor and the legal adviser and they asked me to comply. At the end of the day, I ended up at Ikoyi, Off Awolowo Road and that was the beginning of a hell of experience.

What did NSO ask you?

They came on a Friday knowing that week end was the best time to subject you to an ordeal with mosquitoes since nobody could bail you on a weekend. They didn’t question me till the following Monday. We were kept in 10 x 10 room and we were about 10 . If you wanted to pee, they told you to knock from inside and they would open from outside. During questioning, they wanted to know who told me what I wrote. As I was writing they told me I had to tell them who told me this and that point. That was the problem. Even at the point of death, a journalist is not expected to disclose his source. I told them I wouldn’t oblige them adding if I wrote something they liked, they should applaud me but conversely they could send a rejoinder and I would publish it. Another questioning session took place about two days later and they took me to the head of security at that time, Alhaji Rafindadi. He it was, who really asked me who told me what I wrote. I told him he was a security man and if I told him that a man in my neigbourhood does not go to work, that he’s at home from morning till about 9pm or 10pm and by 10 pm he’s gone and by 6am he is back and he lives big. You investi gated and discovered him to be the kingpin of the underworld. Would he disclose his source ? We are supposed to obey the same rules about professional ethics. If you won’t tell him why should you ex pect me to tell you who told me what I wrote? As I told your men, if you like what we write, clap for us but if you don’t, send a rejoinder we will publish it. That was the beginning of it. So, what led to anoth er person being called was when the man asked me about another story that was written and that had been embellished. I don’t mean embellishment in an offensive way but I think the person that did it was doing his job, by adding additional paragraphs as an assistant editor and that was the source of the problem. So, I had to confess that I did not work on the story alone that they would need to call him to confirm or verify what happened.

Was that when they went for Irabor?

Yes, something happened after I said that. They decided to go for him and they went for him at a very interesting time. It was the day Offodile pro mulgated Decree 4 of 1984, The Protection of Pub lic Officers against False Accusations Decree at a world press conference. Incidentally, Nduka Irabor was coming from that conference with the report when they arrested him and brought him to Ikoyi. He became the second victim of the decree.

You must have been detained under De cree 2 ….(cuts in)

There was no Decree No.4 at the time we com mitted the so-called offence and there was no basis for prosecuting us. They could have watched de velopments and see who would be caught because the “offences” for which we were prosecuted was committed before the decree.

That means they made the decree retro active?

But that is unacceptable professionally. They made it retroactive and nobody called them to order. Instead there were theatrics in court that if you see a secretary having sex with a Permanent Secretary and a journalist wrote about it, would you arrest the journalist? That was irrelevant to me. But the strategy adopted by The Guardian in court was that we won’t even say a word. So, Nduka and myself did not utter a word because if we uttered a word they could ask us who told us what we said and then if we failed to name our source(s), it would mean that we were subverting the process, that we were trying to sabotage government’s efforts at get ting the truth. But you don’t get the truth by forcing people to divulge who told them what they were told. I think that is where the problem arose. What I find interesting now is that people are still talk ing about this Decree 4 like somebody wanting to know what I felt.

For how long were you in detention be fore you were taken to court?

Policemen can be very good. They know when there is truth on the side of their master and on the side of the accused. What happened was that I told them to put me on the corridor when Nduka was coming in so that I could alert him about what questions I was being asked. They put me on the corridor and I whispered to him that they had been asking me about foreign missions that had been closed down and then about those that had been appointed as ambassadors or high commission ers and they wanted to know who told me but I refused to tell them. At that point, somebody saw us and raised the alarm that we were talking and I replied that we were not talking but only greeting each other. So, they took Nduka away immediately to another detention room and I was taken back to where I was with about eight to ten others with the air-conditioner making noise to disturb my sleep and mosquitoes viciously attacking us . By the fol lowing day or two days after he was taken in for questioning and he was already alerted. We later met when they said they were arranging for us to meet lawyers from Rotimi Williams chambers.

For how long were you there before you were taken to court?

From February 11 when I was arrested and within a week or two, Nduka came in and then we were there till May when the trial started and up till July 4.

Were you granted bail?

For where? We were moved in a very dramatic away from Awolowo Road, to the Maximum Se curity Prisons at Kirikiri . They moved both of us into a cell meant for those awaiting trial . At that time we discovered those who were awaiting trial were even more than prisoners. There were so many of us and some could not have their bath for days. So, they depended on us for food, soap and all that.

Can you recall your day in court?

That was a very dramatic day I can’t forget. We were whisked out of the premises of the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons between 7am and 7.30 am . Imagine going from Kirikiri to Ikoyi in La gos Island ? Consider the distance then with all the traffic one had to contend with. We got there with policemen on standby. Then I saw my wife and one of my children and we went in there. In the defence we prepared overnight, the most important thing there was that the decree was promulgated after we had been arrested and that it should not have been retroactive. But our lawyer didn’t raise that point at all. So, I was very unhappy about that and because we were not allowed to speak from the dock. If we had been allowed to speak, I could have made the point that we didn’t commit any offence. I had gone to the Federal Government Press to look for a copy of the decree to buy after Mr. Omerua who was the Minister of Information said there would be a de cree soon. The decree wasn’t ready when I went there. I wanted to study it but I didn’t know I would be a victim of it later. I cannot begin to paint the picture of the whole drama but on that day, every where was tense and it was obvious that freedom was far from us.

Who was the judge?

It was Justice Ayinde. I understood that there was nothing we could do to convince him. Even if we had said that the decree was promulgated after the offence it wouldn’t have made any difference.

This trash does not in a anyway answer question about Buhari certificate. We want to see Buhari certificate!

Said Kouachi, one of France’s Charlie Hebdo terrorists had links to Umar Mutallab, the Nigerian ‘underwear bomber’ who tried to blow up a commercial US flight on Christmas Day in 2009, it has been claimed.
The revelation comes as French investigators try to establish the connections the suspects had with terror networks and one another.
Two brothers who killed 12 in an attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine on Wednesday were shot dead Friday as they fled a warehouse north of Paris, firing at police.
Shortly afterwards in eastern Paris, anti-terrorist forces stormed a kosher supermarket where hostages were being held by a gunman with reported links to the brothers. The gunman and four hostages died.
A Yemeni journalist and researcher, Mohammed al-Kibsi, told CNN he had met and spoken with one of the brothers – Said Kouachi – in Yemen in 2011 and 2012.
He said Kouachi – who was studying Arabic grammar – shared a small apartment with the ‘underwear bomber’ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for one to two weeks in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, was sentenced to life in prison in February 2012 for trying to bomb a US passenger plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit as a would-be suicide mission for al-Qaeda.
He was badly burned when a bomb sewn into his underwear failed to detonate fully in the plane carrying nearly 300 people.
During his trial, Abdulmutallab said the bomb in his underwear was a ‘blessed weapon’ to avenge poorly treated Muslims around the world.
Mr al-Kibsi told CNN Abdulmutallab and Kouachi also prayed together at the Al-Tabari School while they were staying together. As yet, his claims have not been given official confirmation.
It came as Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, known as AQAP, released a statement saying they directed the attack to make good on previous threats.
One of the brothers – Cherif Kouachi – named the terror group’s Yemen branch as his commanders.
A statement released in English said: ‘The leadership of #AQAP directed the operation, and they have chosen their target carefully as a revenge for the honor of Prophet (pbuh) [peace be upon him].
‘The target was in France in particular because of its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations.
‘The operation was the result of the threat of Sheikh Usama (RA). He warned the West about the consequences of the persistence in the blasphemy against Muslims’ sanctities.
‘Sheikh Usama (RA) said in his message to the West: If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions.
‘The Organization delayed to claim responsibility due to the executors’ security reasons.’
In a chilling telephone conversation with a journalist – later played out on French news network BFM – Kouachi said he knew he was talking to a reporter before saying: ‘I am a defender of the prophet.
‘I was sent by Al Qaeda of Yemen. I’m financed by Imam anwar al Awlaqi – Anwar is a predicateur (preacher). He has lived in the Yemen. He is one of the thinking heads of Al Qaeda.’


http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/01/11/french-terrorist-linked-with-nigerias-umar-mutallab/

APC are just wasting their time, without Buhari certificate no election for him. Nigerians are not fools

BIAFRAN ECHOES OF THE DEFEAT OF THE BUHARI/NIGERIAN LED ARMY AT ABAGANA WAS FELT IN ANAMBRA AS ANAMBRARIANS OFFICIALLY REJECTED BUHARI'S

*It should also be noted and remembered that Anambra State was the first South Eastern State to overwhelmingly reject apc in a landslide defeat that landed the APGA candidate, Gov. Willie Obiano, as the winner and governor of Anambra.
Awka AK47 made defeated the Buharist in 1960s when they invaded Biafra, at the battle of Abagana, this a repeated of history as BIAFRA MASS MUDERER buhari WAS DUMP IN AWKA. A Welldone Job Awkamania! we know those who are Biafrans .
Buhari's APC Campaign Rally Flops in Awka, Anambra State
Ndi Anambra have echoed their believe in Gov Willie Obiano with overwhelming support for President Jonathan
Buhari's Campaign Rally at Awka was abruptly cut short as people refused to associate themselves with APC.
Buhari and his entourage instead visited the Igwe of Awka, HRM Gibson Nwosu and the Anglican Bishop of Awka before leaving the City.
The rally held yesterday at Emmaus House, Awka can best be described as the worst campaign gathering ever conducted by any party in Nigeria.
This is a sign of the people's resolve to return President Jonathan come February 14, 2015.
It's however surprising that Sen Chris Ngige and a whole lot of candidates under the flagship of APC could not mobilize even hired crowd to receive their Presidential Candidate.

So it depends, I am not also sure that every president has left office rich. I know they are not.
Apart from Generals Yakubu Gowon, Mohammadu Buhari and may be Shehu Shagari, some people say every other president left richer
No. This is perception. Everyone went there, served and left. I wouldn’t say they left there richer than they were when they came in.
We really wouldn’t want to talk about the dead but is Abacha among the leaders you claim did not make money
(cuts in)…ok talk about the living, talk about me.
The circumstances surrounding your emergence as military president in 1985, some people believe that it was more of self-preservation than national interest. Can you tell us what happened?
First of all, we planned a coup towards the end of 1983 that truncated the democratically elected government and the military government came in January 1984. Then that government also suffered the same fate as the democratic government when the military staged one of the finest coup in this country, because there was no blood, nothing was lost, smooth and everybody was treated with the most civility and our administration came. When we came in August of 1985 there was a plan to kick us out in December 1985, it didn’t work, they went into operation again in 1990. I think the country was going through a phase at that time, it’s a developing country and we always had one reason or the other for doing what we did at that time.
But the talk at that time was that there was a rift between you and Buhari and he wanted to dismiss you from the Army.
No, let me give you a lesson today. A coup or change comes about if there is frustration in the society. Just get that right. There was frustration in the society between 1984 to 1985. The ground was fertile for a coup. It wasn’t fertile, thanks be to God, in December, 1985 when the first attempt on me was made. Neither was it fertile in April 1990 when the second attempt was made and we had the support of all of you sitting down here. You write, you analyze, you talk, and you demonstrated. It was not unusual then to hear, in the case of the democratically elected government in1983, a common phase was ‘the worst military regime is better than this government’. So you were giving us the impetus to stage a coup. We are not dummies. If we didn’t have the support of all of you, we wouldn’t venture into it.
We cannot end this interview without talking about June 12…
Yes, it is a day in the history of Nigeria and the day the most credible election was held, so what is your question.
Why was it annulled?
We gave you a lot of reasons but I understood the passion, at that time everybody was fed up. The sentiment was, ‘just pack your things and go’. Our thought process is very limited. First of all, on June 23, 1993, I was on the air, and I told Nigerians why we had to do what we did. But I was sensible enough to know that whatever I said nobody was interested. So the important thing is ‘get out’. I hate to say it but when we annulled June 12, the same Nigerians supported the intervention of the Military. True or false?
True because you saw it, you are old enough. All those who fought for June 12 ended up serving the Military Government they didn’t like and that perpetuated a longer stay of the military in government.
When you were leaving government you used the phrase ‘stepping aside.’ Why did you choose to use that phase?
Every one of you thought that I was not keeping pace with the Nigerian dream. We have a tradition in the military, if you are marching in a column, when they say left, you should obey the command. If you right foot, somebody will shout at you because you are affecting the column, you should step aside so that the column will continue. That was what I did.
What’s your philosophy in life?
To be at peace with myself and other human beings.
And your values …
Oh that one is a lot. I told you earlier when we were talking about the stupendous wealth, I told you I know who I am , I know what I represent , I know my background so there are things I wouldn’t do.
What are these things?
(Laughs), I wouldn’t steal and I don’t have business to fight you even if you are abusing me. This is still part of what I believe in. I will always forgive you because if we offend God he forgives, so why should I hold anything against anybody
Why then was it difficult to forgive your bosom friend, late General Mamman Vatsa?
Because others before him faced the same law, the only change in that law was introduced by us to give room for appeal. If i was involved in that coup and it flopped, I would have been shot too. So it is the application of the law but then it is painful. We made the law others suffered the consequences.
As military president, you had the power to commute the death sentence to jail term
But all those that were shot dead, were shot under a military regime.
You have a beautiful mansion here; anybody would like to live in this kind of house. We understand that it is a souvenir from a contractor
Whoever that contractor is, I think he should have gone to jail, to give this as a souvenir. I told you I was living in this environment before I became the president. I built a house here when I was Chief of Army Staff. If I open the window for you, you will see a very beautiful house just behind us, that is where I started and then kept on moving up to this place.
But you got this place after you left office?
I started building it in 1991, took 2 to 3years so that by the time I finished I would have a house to sleep in.
What is the value of the property?
Now, or then?
Now
I cannot estimate because it has appreciated.
Then
I know what my friends spent
Your friends built it for you?
No, my friends contributed.
You have good friends..
Yes I have
Were they your friends before you went into government?
They were friends before we came into government and friends while I was in government.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/174561-interview-why-we-overthrew-buhari-babangida.html

One of the things to avoid, especially in government institutions, is too much control, where there is a lot of control corruption easily manifest itself. So you look at where there is a lot of control, try to do away with it and then things will work for the people.
The military regimes before you, Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo and General MuhammaduBuhari/Tunde Idiagbon had programmes that frontally tackled corruption. Will you say your government fought corruption?
Well, we had different approaches; I think my government was able to identify corruption prone areas and checked them. If you remember in this country, there were things they call essential commodities. These are also sources of corruption; you go and buy omo or food or whatever it is and we got government to take its hands off such activitie. Let people use their own brains, hands and labour, nobody has to do it for them. So we did but I am proud to say that was much more effective.
I don’t have the facts but if what I read in the papers is currently what is happening then I think we were angels.
I asked that question against the background that during the Buhari administration, there was War Against Indiscipline, you didn’t have a programme like that. You came in and the programme died as it were. Why didn’t you put up something similar to deal with corruption, knowing that corruption was very prevalent?
Because I was learning from the mistake of those before me. If you take for example the War Against Indiscipline, they were teaching you how to queue, to say sorry when you march somebody! It hasn’t solved anything. It was trying to make you to be civil in your approach to things. Ok I accepted I am going to queue before I get into a car but I might have bribed somebody before I got a ticket to go into the vehicle. We tried not to fall into the same trap, by tackling the source and making corrections in those places.
You described yourself as an angel when you ruled this country. Sadly people tend to remember your regime as institutionalizing corruption in Nigeria.
Yeah, I know. Maybe I have to accept that but anybody with a sense of fairness has no option but to call us saints. I give you example, in a year I was making less than seven billion dollars in oil revenue, In the same period there are governments that are making 200 to 300 billion dollars. With seven billion, I did the little I could achieve; with 200 billion there is still a lot to be achieved.
You are not looking at the benchmark, what was the value of naira to the dollar then and what is it today?
When I left office, it was 22 naira to the dollar Now it is 162 and is not my making, I left it at 22, official rate.
When you came into office, the naira and the dollar were almost at par, so what happened that triggered the massive devaluation of the naira under your watch?
The world is changing economically and if you want to compete with the industries around the world, you have to moderate your currency and what we did was in accordance with the development in the world at that time. The first time when it became one dollar to four naira, we almost went crazy, all of us in the military but then we were learning. Our economy should not be oblivious of what is happening in the outside world and we wanted to compete effectively with other countries.
All the same, we were able to keep it down to 22. When I left, it went up to 85. Abacha was good; he kept it between 85 and 90.
In terms of accounting for resource earnings, we can remember that during your regime, there was also this gulf war and Nigeria earned a lot of money. What happened to the gulf war oil windfall?
First of all, that war lasted 3 months, about ninety something days; it didn’t last up to a year. So get that fact straight. Secondly, the oil price at that time was below 18 dollars per barrel, so there is no way you could make 12.4 billion in 3 months. We couldn’t have made that amount of money but Pius Okigbo knew what he was doing. He had brains and he said between 1986 or 1988 to 1994, monies that accrued to the federal government at that time was about that money you are calling, windfall. He said so. It is there in his book. Then the other thing he said, the monies could have gone into generative investment, I am not an economist but I have an understanding of what this is. Our argument then was if you have the money why keep it and be looking at it when you have a lot of things that will benefit the ordinary man. So that money was not stolen.
Where is it?
It is what you see now in the country, Thank God most of the infrastructures we put in place are what you are using today and proudly so.
What are these infrastructures you are talking about?
Abuja for example, I built Abuja. Today we have a brand new capital, we used that money. I gave you a Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, you cannot build it now for all the money Nigeria is making. And what did it cost me? 500. 600, 700 million naira. For the first time, a dual carriage way was seen in the northern part of the country between Kaduna and Kano and then linked it up from Abuja. You cannot afford to do it now, you cannot even afford to touch it because there are a lot of competing needs. You have to put money in education, armed forces infrastructural development, you have to put money in transportation; there are a lot of competing demands.
You talked about Abuja being a brand new city, surprisingly the city is perhaps the only modern capital without a rail transport system. How come you never thought of building a rail system or was it not part of the master plan?
You have got good roads. But the advantages of the rail over road is quite obvious as it is cheaper and can move more people per time. The first standard gauge railway was established during our regime. If you ever travel, just go to a place called Itakpe, there is a rail track linking it to Delta. It is a standard gauge railway. So we put these things where we thought the country will benefit from it.
If as you said, you did so well, why then is the perception that your government and your person are the most corrupt in Nigeria?
Well, you gladly use the word perception, and it is said that perception is not reality.
Why the perception?
I should ask you, because it is the perception of the media.
Are you worried?
No, and you know why? Because now a lot of people can reflect; you believed quite wrongly that we are all crooks and I bear no grudge whatsoever against anybody but I know time will come when they will say after all, they did something and this is what is happening. Now, even our fiercest critics give us credit for certain things we did.
You are regarded as one of the wealthiest Nigerians living, how did you make your money?
Well, that is if you believe I have the money.
This is not a perception
If you give me some facts, throw it and say this is it then I have cause to explain. But I know who I am and what I represent, I know what values I stand for. A lot of us will not make such stupid mistakes.
What are the investments of IBB?
Let me tell you something, maybe you have a hand in it, I have been the most investigated president Nigeria has ever had. By now somebody should have come forward to say here it is. Every government that came after me investigated me because of that perception. Because they wanted to retrieve the billions I stole. Unless you can tell me that you haven’t been very efficient in your investigation, that’s your problem and not mine.
We interviewed General Olusegun Obasanjo and asked him how he makes his money and he told us that he is a big time farmer. In your case, what do you do, how do you earn your money?
My pension (Laughs…)
What is your worth?
It is difficult, worth in terms of?Naira and Kobo
I wish I could have shown you my bank account, My account officer just left. I would be ashamed to say it so I won’t say it.
What are your investments, what do you do?Are you into telecoms?
No. The issue that I have stake in a telecom company has been laid to rest for a long time. Globacom issued a statement, nothing of that nature. Agreed they are good and doing well. I am proud that they came up during our time but I am fairly an arrogant man, I don’t plead. If you are good and it is good for us, we say go ahead and do it. So, no Globacom, no petroleum industry and I am not a farmer because I can’t farm.
You have Heritage Press
Yeah, it hasn’t been working very well yet.
Are we to assume that outside government you are not productive? Then how do you get by?
(Laughs), it doesn’t mean that I am not making money. Of course I have investments, no doubt about that.
What are these investments?
I would assure you using my head, I came to one conclusion that the best investment for someone like me is banking, that’s all
You have shares in banks?
Yes.
How many banks
No, in one bank.
A major shareholder?
Yes.
Which bank are we talking of …
(cuts in) ..Again investigate…laughs
We have observed a trend, most Nigeria leaders come into office not comfortable financially but by the time they are leaving, they become billionaires. Why is it so?
Now you said most, let me tell you on my own. When I got into office August of 1985 I made a declaration and it is there on record what I had, what I possessed, everything and when I left not much have changed. Before I became president I was living in this environment, nobody seems to remember that. I tried farming before I became president. I failed. That’s why I said am not going into that field anymore.

[b]Former Military President, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida may go down in the history of Nigeria as the most loved yet most hated leader to ever rule Africa’s most populous nation. Such paradox marks him out as an intriguing personality, who remains a reference point in the political circle more than two decades after he ‘stepped aside’ from Aso Rock in controversial circumstances.
In this rare encounter with a team from Zero Tolerance (ZT), a quarterly magazine published by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, at his Hill Top mansion in Minna, Niger State, the former leader offers rare reminisces on his leadership of the country and attempts a prognosis on the myriad challenges facing Nigeria. He spoke about why he led a coup that toppled the regime of Muhammadu Buhari and why he approved the killing of his bosom friend, Mamman Vatsa.
The interview was conducted by the ZT team of WILSON UWUJAREN, TONY ORILADE, WILLIAMS OSEGHALE, AISHA MOHAMMED and FRANKLYN OGUNLEYE. We have the magazine’s permission to republish the interview here.[/b]

Excerpts:
Let us congratulate you on your 73rd birthday
Thank you for reminding me that I am an old man
At 73, do you feel accomplished?
First of all, I need to thank God for having attained this age, at remarkably good health still talking and moving. I remain grateful to God, brothers, friends, colleagues and Nigerians generally for all the goodwill.
Any regrets?
So far, the emphatic answer is, no!
Looking back in the last 73 years, what will you say has been your greatest achievement and contribution to this country?
Seriously speaking, my generation came at a time when Nigeria was just trying to be on its feet. I went into the military service in 1962, Nigeria was just about two years old and it had the problems of a developing nation, what they need to go through and so on. So, we were witnesses to this development and I think, one should be able to quantify his contributions based on that period, what we had been doing. I think it was very fulfilling and rewarding.
Why did you choose to go into the military at that time?
There was a drive to get students or people from this part of the country so as to balance the officer corps of the armed forces; so there was a deliberate drive to recruit officers from this part of the country and I was fortunate that the minister for the army happened to be from this part of the country. So one of his first recruitment drives was to come to our school; he talked to us and gave reasons why we should join the military. Then, we saw some demonstration by General Yakubu Gowon; he was a captain at that time, a lot of us got excited. We applied and were recruited.
If not the military, where else would you have been?
My original thought was to be a civil engineer but when this military thing came, I jettisoned that and went in for the military.
EFCC is eleven years old now, what is your assessment of the Commission?
Well, I think EFCC has done remarkably well because it came at a time when this country needed an organization that should check the scourge of corruption and the rest of it. I think it came at the right time. I took quite an interest to know how the Commission operates, especially under the present leadership. I believe they are achieving good result. I was reading in the media some of the prosecutions and convictions recorded and I think I am impressed as they have been doing everything in accordance with the law.
Like everything new, the Commission experienced some teething problems. First of all, the public needed to understand what it was trying to do but I understand what the Commission is doing now. It is very civil, you don’t condemn people, you investigate, you establish facts and so on. This is what is happening now and I think the fact that anybody is innocent until proven guilty is what you are doing now. I think this is good for this country.
Despite all the efforts, Nigeria continues to be ranked as one of the most corrupt countries, what will you say is responsible for the high level of corruption in this country?
The fact that the corruption index says Nigeria is highly corrupt is quite subjective. A lot of us have had lots of experience in other countries; generally every country has the problem of corruption in various forms. I think what we need to do is to do the little we did when we were in office, try to find out the source of corruption and then block it.
Back in 1986, Cooperative Boards as we knew them then was an institution bedeviled by corrupt practices. An ordinary farmer brings his products, the board is there to assess it as either grade one ,two or three. A lot of things went wrong, so what we did was to encourage the farmer to go to the end users, negotiate. The end user will also inspect what you have. So the farmer is talking to you directly, no middle man or anything because the corruption starts where the middle man is.
Once you have identified areas that are prone to corruption, the next thing is to eliminate them and get the people educated. In the case of foreign exchange for example, you needed to go to the Central Bank or to the banks before you could get foreign currencies but by establishing the bureau de change, you could walk in there, exchange the money and put it in your pocket, go on with your business and you are not robbing anybody.

adebayoggt:
all dis Gej e-rats.will cook up anything and says no tribal insult.only mumu like u fall 4 dis sh********t

You can bring it on if u have any....

barcanista:
Many politicians were arrested including Ojukwu, but nothing was found against him and he was freed unconditionally. Was he the only one? No! Buhari was only trying to arrest corrupt people and not want them to flee.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Odumegwu_Ojukwu#After_Biafra

You are busted again. So we who are not in govt are not even safe if Buhari win election, (impossible though) as in Ojukwu case?

datolee:
Adamu Ciroma and Maitama Sule were ministers, was Ojukwu part of the government? why was he arrested? How can someone who is not in government be corrupt and enriching himself with Nigeria money?

Let me quote Ojukwu when he was release "As a committed democrat, every single day under an un-elected government hurts me. The citizens of this country are mature enough to make their own choices, just as they have the right to make their own mistakes"

Bacrcanista nemesis!