Abia: My Mandate An Expression Of The Majesty Of The Rule Of Law - Uche Ogah

- extends hand of fellowship to his opponents while suing for peace and calm in Abia state.

Abia state Governor-Elect has declared that the consequential declaration of a Federal High Court that he be sworn in immediately as the Governor of the state is a testimony to the majesty of the rule of law upon which constitutional governance is founded and relied on in Nigeria. Speaking to news reporters in Abuja the Special Adviser to Dr Ogah on Publication Communications, Monday Onyekachi Ubani, stated that the INEC acted within its powers as a law-abiding institution in issuing Dr Ogah a certificate of return so as to avoid an unpalatable leadership vacuum in the state.

Regarding the controversy over the issue of stay of execution of the valid order by the Federal High court Ubani argued that the difference between a pre-election matter on which the Federal High court founded its ruling on and the post-election trial of electoral matters by tribunals on the issue of the stay of execution or arrest of judgement is very clear. "In a pre-election matter the enforceability of a court judgement is immediate as the losing side in the legal argument, in this case, Dr Ikpeazu, was never adjudged to have been qualified to contest the election in the first place while in a post-election matter the mandate enjoyed by an incumbent subsists until the tribunal or appellate courts rule otherwise."

Continuing, Ubani stressed that "the court having found that the information Dr Ikpeazu supplied about his tax payments were all false, ruled that he was not qualified to have participated in the primary election of PDP in Dec 2014, that all the votes he gathered at the said primaries were invalid and of no effect, in fact wasted. Since a general election has been held and the PDP won, Dr Ikpeazu was asked to vacate his seat while the certificate of return should be issued to Dr Ogah who came second during the primary election. He was ordered to be sworn in by the Chief Judge of Abia state immediately. Note the word used by the presiding judge was immediately. Enrollment order was procured by Dr Uche Ogah and INEC was served and they obeyed the extant judgement of the Federal High court by issuing Dr Ogah with the certificate of return".

Ubani also dismissed the injunction granted Dr Ikpeazu stopping the swearing in of Dr Ogah, charging that "I am not ignorant of the black market injunction allegedly obtained by Dr Ikpeazu at Osisioma Ngwa High court restraining the Chief Judge of Abia state from swearing in Dr Ogah. That interim order was premised on section 143 of the Electoral Act which is only applicable to judgements obtained in Election Tribunals, but not in pre-election matters. It is a laughable ruling not worth the paper it was written. For God's sake, a high court in Abia is a court of coordinate jurisdiction with a Federal High court and so any order given by such court to contradict an earlier order of the same court is ipso facto null and void. It is only a higher court that has the legal capacity to reverse the earlier order or judgement".

Ubani contended that "failure or delay to swear Dr Ogah in as the duly elected Governor of Abia state is an unqualified affront to the rule of law and constitutional governance in a true democracy, and an act that is capable of undermining the peace and stability of the state. Dr Ikpeazu has been duly removed as Abia state Governor and not amount of legal shenanigans and illegal public holidays will derail the law of the land taking full effect. Dr Ogah will be sworn-in in due course so as to avoid the dangerous power vacuum that currently exists in Abia state, and for him to begin the urgent task of empowering Abians with his laudable developmental programmes already lined up".

Ubani stressed that the Governor-Elect, Dr Uche Ogah is a man of peace who has already stretched out his hand of fellowship to his predecessor to join him in the task of building the state. "His Excellency is a man of peace, Ubani added, "and he has extended a positive arm of peace to his predecessor but to all his predecessor's supporters because as members of the same political party it is in the interest of the party and the good people of the state that they close ranks and work together for a smooth transfer of power and the unhampered running of the new administration".

In the same vein Ubani concluded that Dr Ogah has sued for peace and calm in the state which in his words "is the proud home of all Abians so that the solidarity and mutual love and tolerance Abians are noted for should be maintained as efforts are being made to overcome the present impasse and get life back on a normal course".

Exposed: NSA, Defence Minister Fingered In $2.1billion Fraud

By Ken Essien

The last on the arms fraud has not been heard as recent investigations have revealed that those catching the thieves have become thieves over night as a result of the temptation that comes with the huge sums of foreign currency involved.

The Office of the National Security Adviser, currently occupied by Babagana Monguno and Minister of Defence, Alhaji Dan Ali have both been fingered in the scandal involving the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement after the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested one of its member, Air Commodore Umar Muhammed (rtd) over the $2.1 billion arms procurement scam. It was gathered that the arrested committee member who voluntarily sang to the delight of investigators indicted both men as key influence in the syndicate.

The latest fraud involving persons serving the current government has raised concerns about the sincerity of the ongoing anti-corruption fight since the committee was itself set up to investigate the theft of funds meant for buying weapons to fight Boko Haram terrorists under the previous government.

According to a petition obtained from the Department of State Security Service through our source, a group of Nigerians through the Nigeria Concerned Citizen Assembly (NCCA), which expressed outrage at the involvement of high ranking administration officials in the latest scam has now asked the DSS to widen its probe as it warned that the sincerity of the agency in carrying out the investigation would be a test of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government’s to its campaign promise to tackle corruption.

Our source further hinted that both men have been making frantic efforts to use some highly placed citizens to sweep the allegations under the carpet but the no nonsense Director General of the Service has vowed that full forensic investigations must be carried out and culprits brought to book irrespective of their situations.

The assembly, in a letter to the Director General of DSS asked the secret police to look higher up the chain of command to those that Air Commodore Muhammed (rtd) answered to because the fraud committed in the committee was more widespread than reported.

The letter by NCCA’s convener, Dr Abraham Odukoya, dated June 27th 2016 revealed that the Minster of Defence, Alhaji Dan Ali resides in a N3.2billion Abuja property belonging to the arrested committee member with suggestions that the he answers to the minister.

“It may interest you to know that Air Commodore Muhammed (rtd) owns a guest house valued at N3.2 Billion within the highbrow area of the FCT -Abuja whereat he plays host to the Minister of Defence who actually attained his present position due to the influence of Air Commodore Muhammed. This is a clear indication that the allegation that the duo are collaborators in crime and benefited from the arms procurement fraud may not be false after all,” the letter reads.

The group which said the DSS could be on the verge of making history in the anti-corruption war given the calibre of those it is currently investigating noted that the fingering of the Minister of Defence in the scam has made the investigation “sophisticated, expensive and demanding” such that the department must now become deliberate in its actions.

There are concerns that the ONSA and Minister of Defence are already using their clout and connections to block the investigation after the level of their involvement was revealed. Both men who were totally bankrupt prior to their appointments have become millionaires overnight in less than one year into the administration, acquiring choice properties in and out of Abuja unloving to many that the have dipped their fingers into the treasury.

NCCA expressed concerns that “highly placed individuals” were out to scuttle the investigation given the concerted efforts they have been making in this regard since the arrest of Air Commodore Muhammed (rtd).
The group which backed the arrests made by the DSS insisted that the agency must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, “We are poised now more than ever before to kill this notion that high and mighty persons are above the law and cannot be touched even when they commit heinous crimes.

“We at NCCA are solidly behind you and call on you and the entire leadership of the DSS to continue to distinguish yourselves by ensuring that you get to the bottom of this arms procurement fraud in such a manner that no person, no matter how highly placed, is left off the hook,” it demanded.

The assembly warned that those involved in the fraud could constitute the greatest security threat to the nation if they are allowed to walk the country free with the proceeds of their crime. “The security implication of allowing those who have looted such huge amount on of money hang around freely and perhaps even use the monies to influence decisions in Nigeria is best analysed by your office,” the letter declared.


Source: https://www.newsghana.com.gh/nsa-nigeria-defence-minister-fingered-in-2-1-fraud/

Defeating Insurgency and Buhari's winning strategy

By Nkechi Odoma

The economy is biting hard and there are other things of concern as well. Militants are running riot down south and their activities further undermine the economy. If we think critically and with the benefits of what we see unfolding in Venezuela and other economies that were dependent on crude oil revenue the realisation will dawn that there are a lot of things to be grateful for.

Security is the greatest thing we should be appreciative of and acknowledge the efforts President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping a date with his electoral promises. Anyone familiar with the lightning speed with which Boko Haram was advancing and capturing territories prior to Mr President’s assumption of office will remember that the projection was for the terror group to have overrun the larger part of the country one year from the referenced period. Cities as far south as Lagos and Port Harcourt were already bracing for the possibility of attacks.

Those preparations turned out to be nothing more than drills as Mr President brought on board officers that have displayed unrivalled loyalty and coordination that has helped Nigeria tame what was its worst demon.

The confidence the Commander in Chief have in his military aides is exhibited by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar who have thoroughly seen the warfare as the first line proof of their loyalty to their boss who is leading the charge to end the war. These are the men helping President Buhari to stage a repeat of the crushing of the Maitatasine insurgency.

The destruction the terrorists left in their wake is being addressed with rebuilding efforts to which the international community, international and local NGOs, the other two tiers of government and others have pledged support and life could return to normal in these places in the shortest time possible.

A lot remains to be done however. Some of the terrorists merely fled cross border into neigbouring countries and still attempt to stage dramatic attacks from these places, if only to create the impression that they still have some sting. This is an aspect that requires constant attention so that they do not continue to instil fear in people of the north east especially displaced persons that are eager to return to their communities. The motorcycle brigade established by General Buratai should prove useful in countering the terrorists’ ‘hit and run’ attack strategy due to the ease of rapid deployment and versatility in difficult terrains.

On the perception of the overall security situation, Mr President must also be scored high as troops have been able to act decisively and civilly so in the face of provocations that were contrived to solely for political reasons. Had these provocative actions of separatists and militants taken place in the height of Boko Haram’s campaign of terror they would have still taken second seat owing their politically instigated origin. It is the taming of Boko Haram that has made miscreants to look like big game.

As with anything that is good, there is bound to “haters” which has been demonstrated by the wave after wave of attacks on the persons perceived as being key to winning the anti-terror war for Mr President. Even in this, President Buhari has demonstrated wisdom that could only come with high intellect and experience. One must hail his judgement for seeing through the ploy to make him get rid of his strongest assets in the anti-terror war.
He sidestepped the pressure to misread the people that joined his team at the very trying and challenging times of our nationhood in his quest to end the wanton killings of innocent citizens. Had Mr President chosen men with only military prowess without the ethical standards that correspond to his own anti-corruption stance he would have let Nigerians down. Fortunately for him and for our security, he has in place fantastic officers that have translated the fight against graft to reflect at all levels of the various services. Nigerians now ask questions about what happens to money in the military and even question the lifestyles of its leadership. Only a president that is truly committed to keeping his election promises could have nudged the nation in this direction.

But despite the politically motivated calls for the breakup of the country and militant attacks, Mr President should again mandate the service chiefs to draw from the lessons learnt in degrading Boko Haram to address these security breaches. It is not all about matching firepower with firepower as there are hidden strategies they have that cannot be placed in the public space but will no less solve problems in the Niger Delta. We cannot have these excellent men and not make the best use of them.

Odoma is National Coordinator, Africa Arise for Change Network and contributed this piece from Abuja.

Arms Fraud: The Real Enemies Within

By Terka Jam

Nigeria is indeed a powerful country. A country where things happen like it's a movie. For a long time, I have watched the revelations from the arms purchase scandal and the role of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Office of the National Security Adviser. I have had my reservations for inexplicable reasons. But the recent revelations have confirmed my suspicion. Who can be trusted to work in tandem with President Buhari to rid this country of corruption?

Leading an agency as sensitive as the EFCC requires two things mainly. You have to be strategic and dead to sentiments in whatever form or guise. But recent events in the EFCC and the Office of the National Security Adviser have made a mockery of the fight against corruption. You can't go to war without a strategy. It is beyond the media hullabaloo and social media hysteria. The Office of the National Security Adviser is as important as the air we breathe. But I have been really disappointed and pained and decided to put this piece together.

In truth, Nigeria has made considerable inroads in the fight against corruption, but with tiny input from the EFCC. I won't hesitate to give credit to the Department of State Security Service for very obvious reasons. Make no mistakes; I think one of the best decisions President Buhari has taken since coming into office was the choice of the Director General of the DSS and the attendant reorganisation witnessed. And one of the worst mistakes he has made also was the selection of the head of the EFCC and the choice of the National Security Adviser.

I will explain why. How can someone come out in the open to say some of his relatives are using his name to exploit people, and it ended there? That was what Mr. Magu said on the pages of newspapers. There was no account anywhere of him bringing those relatives to account for their despicable conduct. How can the National Security Adviser not be aware of that members of a highly sensitive committee under his watch are busy cutting corners and enriching themselves? What manner of anti-corruption war are we fighting? Your guess is as good as mine.

I will use a not so perfect example. President Buhari once fired his chief security officer for acts unbecoming of him because no individual is bigger than the country. The interest of the country should surpass all other interests, whether personal, ethnic or religious as the case may be. And it is ordinarily expected that President has to wield the big stick on the EFCC and the NSA in this case.
The EFCC chair, Mr. Magu is busy pointing accusing fingers. And that is the problem we have in this country. As a fact, I was so disgusted when I read in one of the online newspapers how the Chief of Staff to President Buhari is plotting to remove from office the EFCC chair. It was that bad. And I knew almost immediately that it was a sponsored campaign. Then I asked myself. Isn't this a mockery of the efforts of Mr. President?

I am also disappointed in the NSA Major-General Mungono, who is supposed to be one of the trusted allies of President Buhari. It was not possible that Air Commodore Umar Muhammed (retd) who was arrested by the DSS for alleged fraudulent deals involving top government officials could have acted without Monguno's involvement or knowledge as the National Security Adviser? And if the NSA so feign ignorance then does it not translates to incompetence? The ONSA had earlier issued a statement which has drawn the attention of Nigerians to the possible involvement of his office and the implication is that he can no longer be trusted with the investigation and therefore should tow the path of honour.

If President Buhari is serious about making headway in the fight against corruption in the country, the EFCC head should be redeployed back to force headquarters, and a more exposed and strategic officer be given the job as a first. Secondly, the idea of presidential panels should be discontinued immediate effect because of the embarrassment some of its members have caused the nation.

Only recently the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has asked the NSA, Major-General Mohammed Monguno to resign over the alleged shady dealings uncovered by the DSS at the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement. I can't agree less with their position because it's such an embarrassment and rubbishes the anti-corruption stance of President Buhari.
The president must understand that some people are bent on rubbishing his war against corruption. And it's quite sad. We have been washed with tales of how members of such committees have been helping themselves to the bank. And I call them the enemies within. They should stop pointing accusing fingers and sponsor meaningless petitions against the Chief of Staff in the media.

It is hoped that President Buhari will act in the interest of the country. We must not continue like this in the interest of peace and tranquility. We are watching likewise the world especially when there are speculations that the anti-corruption war is selective. In this instance, the rational thing for the EFCC chair and the NSA to do is to tender their resignation and save us this embarrassment. And the country would be better for it.

Jam writes from No7 Wukari Street, Katsina Ala, Benue State.

Coup Story A Plot To Distabilize Military, Niger Delta Youths Tell PMB

Youths in the Niger Delta under the auspices of the Niger Delta Youths Solidarity Movement (NDYSM) have said the recent coup story making the rounds is a deliberate ploy by mischief makers to destabilize the coherent military operations against militants while buying time to re-organize for attacks on the Nigerian State.

Addressing journalists today in Abuja, president of NDYSM, comrade Prince Kpokpogri urged the federal government to instead empower the military to deal decisively with trouble makers in the region.

He said afraid of the effectiveness with which the military leadership has dealt with Boko Haram insurgents in the north easr, and afraid of what will soon befall them, some militants and oil thieves chose to devise this latest ploy.

He accused some of the recently sacked top military personnel who stole or became active in politics while still in service have of being behind the worsening the breach of security in the region. According to him, since mandatorily retired, there appears to be a situation where the military skills of these disgraced officers have been added to the callousness of the militants operating in the region.

He said, "if the Nigerian state is still in doubt we only need to take a look at the change in the strategy being used to rustle feathers in the land. The stolen public funds seem to have found its way into the hands of groups that are now staging strong media attacks on not just key institutions in the military but also the management of its services and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said, "We believe these characters now dread the presence of the Nigerian military particularly the Navy and the Army who protect oil facilities from crude oil thieves and their agents and therefore resort to sow the seed of discord by peddling the coup story around. While we are mostly focusing on our region, we have observed that the same pattern of catalysing instability by questioning the credibility of President Buhari, tarnishing the standing and loyalty of the military and questioning its loyalty to the President and the nation have been on the rise.

"In view of the bad light in which the militants with the active backing of the ex-military officers sought to cast the entire Niger Delta region, we deem it imperative to warn them to stop blackmailing the institution of the military. We do not wish that their bluff snowballs into something else. These ex-military officers must know that there are other ways of seeking redemption in the aftermath of the disgraceful and unbefitting end to what should have been their illustrious careers. There is still time to rethink and act differently.

"We urge President Buhari not to surrender the war against corruption to criminal elements simply because they are fantasizing about a phantom coup that the military has denied anyway. The coup story is definitely a strategy that was hurriedly thrown up when they saw that they cannot dare Nigeria’s military might. Their ploy to force President Buhari to decimate the military through a purge to be triggered by the allegation of a coup has definitely failed before they have implemented it. Nigerians must make sure they continue to fail by constantly exposing their lies."

He said the activities of militant groups like the Niger Delta Avengers have further compound the environmental pollution that was already rife before they were initiated, saying the militants group cannot claim to be representing the interest of the region.

He said, "we were perplexed that instead of taking the Federal Government up on its offer of dialogue, more militant groups were announcing their presence on a weekly or even daily basis. This is a development that suggested that the so called militants were trying to create a situation where it becomes difficult if not impossible to for genuine reconciliation to take place. There was equally the outside chance that some of these mushroom militant groups, learning from history, were on the quick to register their presence in case another round of free for all amnesty takes place.

"We were further pained as individuals and as a people when persons who should have been revered leaders demanded an end to the prosecution of persons indicted for corruption as a cardinal demand or precondition for ending the attacks on oil installations. That development damaged our reputation and painted the hardworking youths in the area as urchins that are readily available fodder for the ruling class."

Corruption: Before They Inflict Further Punishments on Us

By Abdulkadir Suleiman

In many Nigerian cultures, there is this concept that one should grip offenders by the wrist as opposed to holding them by the elbow since they will not be able to easily wriggle free when held by the wrist. Some cultures also warn of the perils to the farmer if he tarries in arresting the thief since the thief could make the first strike of accusing the owner of the farm of theft.

So it is with the vampires that have over successive governments pillaged the resources of our country. We left them to help themselves to the public till as we cheered them on as “elites” or “ruling class” even when their self-chosen kleptomaniac makes such appellations antithetical. A brave administration, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, finally rose up to the task of apprehending these thieves and they have today turned on the rest of us, branding us as the offenders that are trampling on their right to loot the treasury. They have even gone the extra length of meting out punishments because we are finally growing the spine to call time on their crimes.

We are all gritting out teeth as the economy gets more challenging but the global slump in demand for crude oil and falling prices were enough to bring us to this sorry pass. What did us in is the insurrection by “militants” that have been blowing up pipelines to disrupt revenue from crude oil. Gas infrastructure also took hits leaving the nation mostly in darkness. But these are no militants as the demands presented on their behalf by geo-political leaders gave a clear indication of what the real issues are. For one, they think we have no right to investigate or prosecute Niger Delta persons that stole or helped themselves to money derived from oil sales – their warped logic is that we cannot stopped them from stealing money sourced from their own part of the country.

Of course, in furtherance of freeing anyone they decided to invite to share out of the oil money, the militants also curiously demanded the unconditional release of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and all charges dropped against him in the record setting arms purchase scandal. This suggests that the points at which crises are exploited to blackmail government may differ but those pulling the strings remain the same.

Any indignation we felt from those perverted demands has now been dwarfed by the natural outrage that accompanied the claims that military officers that stole money meant for buying weapons for the anti-terror war should have been allowed to continue in service simply because they are from certain geo-political zones. It turned out that those mandatorily sent on retirement cut across the country and across religious divides. The common denominator with all of them was the theft they engaged in or being political officers as was the case with others.

The leniency shown this officers, who were mostly just retired without prosecution, is turning out to be a national misstep. Instead of retreating into retirement with contrition – rueing the ignominy that should prevail until their dying days, these ex-military men appeared set to surpass their original crimes with that of insurrection as they are reported to have teamed up with the militants with each one allegedly running independent groups as a franchise for the larger destabilisation machine. Thugs who until a few weeks ago were fugitives are now bragging about their military capabilities and skills after possibly getting training from their disgraced seniors. They also boast about superior weapons that could only have been purchased with proceeds from the vandalised public tills.

But one thing stands in between them and the punishment they want to inflict on Nigeria, on the rest of us. The nation’s only saving grace is its professional military, the same one the compromised officers were sacked from. This perhaps explains the ploy to destabilize the military being the only obstacle in their way. After series of propaganda against the present crop of service chiefs failed to dent their impeccable standing among Nigerians, militants were used to fly the kite that there was a military coup in the offing.

Several intentions can be adduced from this ridiculous claim. One is to expect that the news would leave President Muhammadu Buhari jittery and untrusting of the military leadership and therefore carry out a cleansing that will get rid of patriotic officers and open the way for other possibilities. A second possibility is that the ex-military officers in their desperation to distance themselves from the ongoing atrocities in the Niger Delta gave the militants the script meant to make serving officers look like the threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

In both scenarios, the accusers conveniently omitted to mention or give indications as to who these officers are that told them to sustain attacks in the creeks. Could it also be a slip that the officers they allude to are now the same one that has joined them as patrons? What else should we be worried about in terms of the chain of command of this threat?

Ordinarily, Nigerians have nothing to fear about a coup so we should be able to continue demanding that those who have stolen our money should return it or face the wrath of the law. To do this effectively however, we must look higher than the militants and the ex-military officers to their connections in government. That the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) through Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement had a pilfering member in the person Air Commodore Umar Muhammed (rtd), who was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on suspicion of corruption, created a credible link for trailing those bent on destroying credible national institutions.

Worryingly, the DSS dragnet has also fingered the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) alongside the National Security Adviser, Major General Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Boss, Ibrahim Magu as co-travellers with Air Commodore Mohammed. In fact Dan Ali lives in the guest house of the arrested Air Commodore who offered him the accommodation as soon as he was appointment as minister.

They are yet to convince Nigerians that they did not all conspire to perpetrate the ONSA scandal. They must all therefore be investigated as they can never deny their association with the Air Commodore. It must be established if they are the remnant of the insidious threat to national security that have been propping up the militancy in the Niger Delta. Like we later discovered that Boko Haram was allowed to grow in order to justify diverting huge sums for arms purchase only for them to be stolen, there is something fishy about the way militancy has been given free rein in the Niger Delta and the ONSA scandal is not isolated from it. We must thus apprehend the thieves in this case before they apprehend us.

Suleiman writes from Katsina, Katsina State.

“Forgotten Soldiers” and a tradition of exploitation

By Anthony Kolawole

Slavery never ended. It only transmogrified. Instead of the conquering powers sailing in ships for many months to come shackle captives, our media help out in this betrayal – offering themselves up for pittance to engage in the largescale brainwashing with the gobbledygook approved for pushing out by the propaganda fronts of imperial entities. They masquerade as NGOs and not just their partners in psychological enslavement buy into their intellectual constrictions, they also recruited other influencers to drive and herd the rest of the population into that “think collective” to ensure issues are only viewed from a narrow prism of preconceived stereotypes.

Knowing the dynamics of this induced mass perception of key issues with a view to entrenching stereotypes – both of self and of the society that is the subject of conquest, it is not surprising that the military as an institution was the choice candidate for the low intensity war on the psyche of the Nigerian nation. The efforts struggled to cast aspersions on the Army as an institution that does not care. The International Centre for Investigative reporting (ICIR) through its “Forgotten Soldiers” series, a five part affairs, apparently wants to paint a picture that would make Nigerians hold their military up to a different light, which would no doubt yield a wrong perception of such a vital institution.

Once the wrong perception is created then citizens can erroneously, thinking their judgement was made on the credibility of unbiased media, begin to act out the fantasy of the original sponsors of the content they have ingested in error. ICIR, even if enshroud in a wrapping of Nigerianness has a large dose of foreign sponsorship. The concept of the piper dictating the tune has not been done away with. Of course it gets partner organisations that ran its name almost as a footnote in publications that have no other purpose than to provoke a wave of Nigerian refugees’ surge, similar to what international NGOs have gifted the middle east.

The Cable and not a few online outlets lent their platforms to these reports. It must be stated that organisations are at liberty to carry content that satisfies their editorial objectives while paying the bills. Whether these imperatives include a liberty to endorse half-truth by publishing it is another thing entirely. What is evident is that the rank of online newspapers that have been recruited to the other side of the equation, the one that thinks the military must be demonise for every failing of the larger system, is swelling. Mention must be made here that the “Forgotten Soldiers” business is an escalation of other stories carried in the Cable’s sister or partner organisations, which had left too many of these mouthpieces sounding like looped soundtracks as they jostled to see who would be the first to indict the military for high handedness and committing extrajudicial killings.

It is therefore not surprising to see the said series presenting issues that predate the current dispensation in the military, from 2002 to 2015, as if they were instigated by the current management of the military contrary to the fact that Nigerians reel daily from how the immediate past administration and military leaders held bazaars. It is ironic that international NGOs, possibly not too different from ICIR, are swooning today over the members of the now infamous government – they are either selling awards to that regime’s most senior officials or they are acting as their mouth pieces to bellow about how rights are being trampled in the course of recovering the money that should have addressed the problems being faced by the injured soldiers. Had the right thing been done by these yesterday’s men we possibly may not have had today’s wounded soldiers that are now being objectified and exploited for boosting page-views.

So the reality of fettered minds remains that some few chaps scattered across tastefully furnished offices around the world are using Nigerians to exploit what the tragedy of the dead and injured have become. They again play up the glaring deficit of cutting edge technology that beset us to the point where we have to keep relying on other nations for basics like prosthetics and of course knowing that the bionic version is something that we have only had the benefit of seeing on sci-fi movies.
A report that truly meant well would have exploited how to stimulate debates about the imperative of assigning increased resources for research in bionics and prosthetics.

If Nigeria must reach self-sufficiency in some key areas, then some of the early batches of artificial limbs would take a while to be at par with the ones from other countries. Of course the government or military should not use this as a basis to drop the ball on their part. Allowing this to happen will be placing more ammo in the hands of those who have resolved that they will use all available means to cause disaffection among Nigerians – or at least ensure people continue to arrive at conclusions with national consequences based on flawed information.

To further neutralise the potential for this kind of mischief in future. The military should continue with probes that are ongoing to expose those whose actions as individuals caused the mess that is now being used against the institution. While sanctions should be meted out to anyone found culpable in the failing that provided fodder for the report, the reality and possibility that the conditions of the wounded soldiers are the products of the amount available for their welfare must be addressed, which means increasing funds for treatment and rehabilitation should be better prioritized.
Since ICIR and the Cable have indicated they have even more to come in other parts if the series Nigerians must be prepared for an onslaught meant to hijack their minds as there are no indications both meant well. They want the military to fail. The population would do well to interrogate why their alliance is disturbed by the successes being recorded in combat with Boko Haram or in any other troubled spots in the country. They should demand proof that both organisation genuinely investigated anything because of the sheer feel of blackmail and mischief around the series.

We must recall that the Nigerian Army, in its demonstration of having nothing to hide, recently granted an unfettered access to one Samuel Malik of ICIR to the theatre of operation with the aim of "showcasing the immense contribution of the Nigerian soldier to the fight against terrorism", only for them to hit below the belt with a publication openly tried to do damage. It is really sad and unfortunate that the NGO and its ilk are so determined to cast Nigeria in a bad light despite the concerted efforts aimed at stemming the tide of insecurity, which inevitably makes one question the so-called international nature of ICIR, and to ask where else have they worked or disturbed apart from Nigeria? What is the motive of their pay masters?

Kolawole PhD is a University lecturer and contributed this piece from Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Fayose’s Growing Psychosis

By Philip Agbese

Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose has finally surpassed himself in the act of throwing pointless tantrums. His attempt to pass of a suspect mentioned in the Jefferson bribery scandal as the wife of the president, Mrs Aisha Buhari is a new low that should not have occurred even for a man recently found out to be richer than the impoverished state he is presiding over. One can understand his disconnection with reality as the paranoia that came with his being found out and the account with which he ferreted public funds frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The suspect in the Jefferson saga appropriated the name of President Muhammadu Buhari by claiming to be his daughter and consequently deceived people by claiming her name was Aisha Buhari. Apparently upon reading this while possibly still under the influence, he deluded himself into thinking he has finally found the ultimate weapon that would free him from the many atrocities he has committed against his own people.

Fortunately, former Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde has interrupted Fayose’s hallucination when he came out to confirm that the impostor the former Ekiti state governor wanted to use for his character assassination business was indeed not Mr President’s wife. This is not the first time the Ekiti state governor would tell a gargantuan fairy-tale to deflect attention from his comical handling of the state’s affairs while the populace suffers. He has been fond of this this diversionary verbal prancing and gallivanting since his party got booted out of office at the national level.

This is where we must be collectively wary since the Jefferson trick the nation’s chief comedian recently pulled won’t be his last because it was not his first. Between him and the platforms that amplified his falsehood, there is a feeble attempt at damage control with the latter making it look like a case of mistaken identity, an innocent error made by an opposition leader that is eager to speak truth to power.

Sadly, not many people know that Fayose did not commit this as a faux pax; rather this is a calculated scheming of a man who thinks he is doing the groundwork for the perfect alibi for when he is out of office. The strategy is simple: he brands and presents himself as a leading opposition voice and he becomes untouchable on that account – a perfect roadmap for blackmailing the federal government’s anti-corruption fight. Several before him had done it before, pleading political witch hunt when in actual fact they have pauperised the nation three generations ahead.

Fayose is entitled to finding his exit strategy but the rabidity is something the nation can do without. The mediocrity of slicing ponmo, patronising child hawkers and peeking down the cleavage of a pear seller definitely got trumped by this latest round of desperation at appearing populist. Attacking Mrs Aisha Buhari as a shot at populism is of course based on the erroneous impression that Nigerians enjoy and appreciate ridiculing her, which is far from the truth. The good work she has done with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from a crisis that the Ekiti state governor’s party allowed to fester.

Those who know this truth have distanced themselves from the likes of Fayose long before his latest antic. This is consistent with the Yoruba adage to the effect that while watching mentally challenged persons may be entertaining they are not desirable as offspring. The entourage that were his bastion of support have since retreated from close proximity to the safe distance from which one should cautiously watch a manic-depressive – they would have some fun at his expense but will not risk being the victims of any fallout from his erratic actions.

If his once close associates have retreated to a safe distance, corporate allies especially the media should adopt no less a measure. If they want to continue being relevant they must not only distance themselves from him and anyone peddling government or wife of the president bashing, they must also insulate themselves from Nigeria’s version of Trumpism. No media platform deserves the odious title of being acknowledged as the instrument that produced a regressive demagogue. The likes of Fayose may provide steady flow of controversial headlines and nuisance stories but how long will it take before media organisations that derive mileage from his clowning begin to themselves wear the unattractive label of un-seriousness? Truth be told, a few platforms that had grown their reputation over some years came away looking ridiculous in this instance of not distinguishing between a fraud and the real Mrs Aisha Buhari, philanthropist and respectable wife of the president.

Even more media outfits will get burnt in the coming months as not just Fayose but his other proxies and even wolves hiding within the ranks of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) make fresh moves to get at President Buhari through his wife. The damage from the Jefferson flop would be a picnic compared to the loss of face that would come from when future attempts at ridiculing the president or his family members backfire. For the latest round of failing to properly verify facts before parroting a post middle age street urchin, the collateral damage was that of appearing stupid, in future those involved in such acts would likely confirm themselves as dangerous to the country.

Like Fayose, who must one day account to Ekiti people why he used the military to steal their mandate and diverted monies meant for projects and salaries into his personal bank account, other people engaged in this campaign of calumny to divert attention from their crimes must be prepared for what is certain to come as we continue to build institutions and systems that will bring our country at par with other nations. Convoluting stories told in the past would therefore not save them from the laws that govern conspiracy, fraud and theft of public funds.

Agbese is national coordinator, Stand Up Nigeria and contributed this piece from the United Kingdom.

Why Would Anyone Want to Retain Post-UMTE?

By Israel Abiodun

We must of necessity at some point collectively agree to break tradition and the tradition I speak of in this instance is the penchant to place material gains over other life impacting imperatives. In this instance the imperative is for us to agree what constitutes quality education and what amounts to sheer profiteering dressed as quality assurance and control.
My position is in direct response to a newspaper editorial that deviated from the influential pieces Nigerians have always known it for to defend the extortion racket that tertiary institutions embark on in the name of conducting post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE). This reaction came despite the serious efforts to hold back from responding because it is often tedious taking on the establishment. The patriotic demand to point out potential pitfalls however trumped my fear of the backlash that could come from challenging a stereotype that have been carefully crafted over the years.

The write up in question dismissed the scrapping of post-UMTE tests as if the exercise is itself picture perfect and was the best thing since the introduction of mobile telephony although the direct opposite is the truth. In declaring the scraping of post-UMTE by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu as presumptuous, the editorial conveniently glossed over the context and circumstance under which the declaration was made. It has simply outlived its usefulness when an agency responsible for conducting entrance examination repositioned and woke up to its responsibilities.

Specifically, the Minister spoke at a meeting at which the cut off point for the year’s tertiary institution’s admissions was agreed to. That meeting convened by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) had vice chancellors, rectors and provosts of tertiary institutions in attendance and there has so far been no one of them that came out to express a minority opinion after it was reported that they were in support of the decision to scrap the tests which not a few stakeholders had described as exploitative. By the way, several of these institution heads had before that meeting muted the idea that post-UMTE was no longer necessary given the advancement that JAMB has made particularly with its Computer Based
Test (CBT) which significantly ruled out cheating.

Instead of acknowledging this advancement, it would seem the intention was to justify why prospective students should continue to pay what is nothing short of the “corruption fee” that the post-UMTE had become under the guise of being an exercise for sifting candidates. Any sincere member of a tertiary institution management would admit that there was no sifting being done with the exercise and that if anything it was a fund raising activity that doubled as a strategy for manipulating admissions to ensure that institutions have the cover to practice cronyism without being found out. If the institutions are able to sift their intake with post-UMTE how come we are ending up with so many unemployable graduates?
It is unfortunate that the comments of founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN on the scrapping of the post-UMTE has now been appropriated as a catch all license by those who want to sustain a practice that exploit prospective students monetarily while exposing them to the risk of travel they do not need to undertake in a country with high road accident mortality. Chief Babalola, who was instrumental to the introduction of post-UMTE, spoke about what was obtainable and the condition that led to the introduction of the exercise. Had the situation remained the same since the time the likes of the revered SAN were in charge we should have collectively questioned the sanity of not just the entire country but of our individual selves.

Similarly, to suggest that since most of the universities organising this questionable test are privately owned and thus beyond JAMB’s or the Federal Government’s jurisdiction smacks of mischief. Would the people pushing this argument also canvass that commercial banks stop being under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Nigeria simply because they are privately owned?

It is ironic that the ills of ‘miracle examination centres’ can be demonised in the same piece that cast several aspersions on JAMB when these same dubious centres have been the ones that launched the most attacks on the organisation since it conducted the UMTE with CBT. The singling out of the last examination, which was incidentally the first that was wholly CBT thus tend to prompt the suspicion that the entire piece could be at the behest of the miracle examination centres but some possibilities are just too outrageous to ponder.

This is even more so when one read the part that was not appreciative of JAMB and the vote of confidence it got from Malam Adamu. If the teething problems associated with the first use of the CBT were enough to scrap JAMB in favour of extortionist post-UMTE tests then any newspaper that has ever suffered incidents of ‘printer’s devil’ have to close shop in favour of town criers and church bulletins.

For those who have forgotten, post-UMTE tests have had their own share of randy lecturers leaking questions to candidates to score some hits that have no correlations with academics. It is the same tests that ae so badly organised in some schools that they eventually have to arrive at the final admission lists without recourse to them. It is the same examination that some government schools have used to side step the requirements for equal opportunities as enshrined in the federal character principle. And private schools have been known to use it as a cover to ensure they got enough revenue paying clients, who end up emerging with first class degrees even when they originally failed the UMTE.

It is alright for tertiary schools to want to protect a revenue stream they have since taken as a given but it is barely one step away from being irresponsible to try twisting the facts in a desperate attempt to overturn a government policy their leaders adopted when it was announced. It is definitely disheartening when an editorial, the most sacred asset of a newspaper, is deployed in defence of those whose only interest is making more money out of hapless candidates even when the relevant organisation has taken the necessary steps to save them the hardship.

JAMB has already stopped those playing games with Nigeria’s future in their track and it is now left for the government to make sure it is not brow beaten by the pro post-UMTE lobby to reverse the backing it is giving to the examination body. Those trying to revive the post-UMTE tests are sheer profiteers who have no business running schools if they cannot abide with a lawful directive.

Abiodun PhD is an educationist and contributed this piece from Ibadan.

Buhari's Certificate: Need to Reset National Discourse

By Philip Agbese

A PhD took us all to hell. He however didn't bring us back as the popular saying would have expected. Instead he left us there. But this is no issue to those that are eternally bereft of vision. They seek to dwell in a whitewashed sepulcher instead of appreciating the inner beauty of a chamber lined with marble.

Common sense would have dictated that we collectively tackle the rot and infestation left behind by certificated leaders but these lucifer worthy entities would rather make issues of the certificate of President Muhammadu Buhari. Apparently not satisfied with the rot they bequeathed him they will rather prefer that he is unable to focus by dragging out that which has been thrashed out adequately with the pretext that they had only approached the scale of justice to adjudicate in their bellyaching.

They had failed before in the past because President Buhari's tutelage in the United States where he got today's equivalent of a Masters wouldn't have been possible without the basic certificate that they had made an issue out of. Men of impeccable characters had severally attested to the existence of this document that some have now erroneously canonized as the manual for turning a country that has been pillaged by leaders past around. Had he not been so qualified would the various statutory bodies have cleared him to run for the elections at a time when all these organization operated as proxies of the then sitting government?

The issue here is not some piece of paper, by now discoloured with age, same as which countless of today's accusers cannot provide their own copies to save themselves from fates worse than death. The issue is that there exists a rank of people who think and know that President Buhari has set in motion the anti-corruption fight, an avenging angel that has ensured that none of their lazy yet to be born or existing but damaged offspring would benefit from the commonwealth that was looted without thoughts for the impact on the wider population of citizens who are too conscientious to appropriate even the lowest denomination they find on the wayside on their daily commute to backbreaking jobs.

Yet, no one from among these masses of Nigerians, further impoverished by the kleptomaniac disposition of certificate doubters, is making any racket on this matter. If anyone of such means make any issue of a certificate whose circumstances have been duly explained by Mr President, it must be that he or she is a victim of monetized dissent.

The slaves making this fresh round of distracting demand do so because once an entity is keyed on autopilot it tends to exhaust their energy until they eventually crash en-mass for no other reason than that they have no purpose to further fulfill in the absence of needless bellyaching.
The only value to their allegation, if it ever had any, was that its seed was first planted on a parched soil of bitter politics to stop President Buhari whose eventual victory was known to everyone the moment the All Progressives Congress, APC handed him the presidential ticket.

The indifference from Mr President's side is profoundly golden. In addition to making a mess of themselves with the suit in court they had also sought to gain traction from it by alleging that having an X number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) on the defence team is an admission of guilt. They failed in the very simple task of recall for they would have seen that a closer description of what they are insinuating was committed by someone who was trying to stampede a judge from the court by showing up with 99 plus SANs.

Like US President Barrack Obama like President Muhammadu Buhari. From before he clinched the Democrat nomination till date, a tribe of guys who have lost it there have sustained their birther conspiracy in the mirage of a hope that the US number one citizen can be flummoxed or forced out of office on that account. What a lot of them will one day realize is that they water over eight years of their sorry lives while Obama improved the fortunes of the US in that span of time. Some of them even went off grid - living wild in wilderness - until he completes his tenure.

The moronic equivalent in Nigeria would end up worse. Mr President would complete his tenure without these hapless fellows making any constructive input to the debates leading to the formulation and implementation of far reaching policies because they are doubters of his certificate. And it would not be their first productive shot at compromising systems and processes. Nigerians would recall that these were the same people that actively politicized the military by bringing serving officers into partisan politics to the extent that some of them became the mouthpiece for certificate deniers.

The remnant of this pointless charge would be led in the blogosphere and idle street corners by persons who, though possess conveyor belt certification but are nonetheless deficient in capacity to independently analyse issues and arrive at constructive conclusions, are in the need of the kind of quality education that accompanied certificates as at the time President Buhari got his. The conversation would thus be reduced into a trolling circuit without any redeeming feature to make it relevant to our national priorities.

The rest of us must therefore prove we are better educated than the certificate doubters by techs rolling the agenda for public discourse back to germane issues. How do we make those who bought the electricity distribution companies to stop their extortionist regime; how do we make sure the oil industry cabal do not find a new way to steal the country blind; how do we take out Naira back from currency speculators; how do we ensure that the goats that ate our yams do not define the perception of the anti-corruption fight; how do we prevent new goats from eating recovered yams; how do we expand the markets for the goods and services that will bloom from government's commitment to diversify the economy; how do we provide more palliatives pending when the hard work of now begin to yield results?

These are the issues that should dominate public discourse and not a matter that had been laid to rest pre-election. We are the ones to press the reset button and we should do so now by teaching the degrees, masters and doctorate degree holding illiterates among us how to think.

Agbese is National Coordinator, Stand Up Nigeria and contributed this piece from the United Kingdom.

Group Wants Former Gov Chime To Account For N450m Campaign Fund

By Abu Duniya, Abuja

A pan-national political pressure group, Nigerian Ex-Legislators Forum (NELF), has expressed dismay over the callous behaviour of the Former Governor of Enugu State, Mr Sullivan Chime, regarding the on-going investigation by the EFCC of the N450M allegedly disbursed by the Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dezieni Allison Madueke to the Enugu state chapter of the PDP for the 2015 general elections. In a press statement released to the media in Abuja on Friday 17 June, 2016 and signed by Hon Tambuwal Ahmed Muktar, who was the Chief Whip of Bauchi State House of Assembly in the Third Republic (1991-1993) and its National Coordinator; Elder Hon Ideke Onyeukwu, who was the Deputy Majority Leader of Enugu State House of Asembly in the same Third Republic, and its National Secretary; and Prince Dr Abel Adewale, who was the Deputy Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly during the Second Republic (1979-1983) and its Board of Trustees Chairman, the group warned Sullivan Chime to stop passing the buck and playing a blame game and accept responsibility for receiving, hosting and disbursing the fund purportedly sourced from the Petroleum ministry and shared out through Fidelity Bank.

Reacting to a spate of press statements Sullivan Chime issued and media interviews he granted on the matter, the group wondered how the Chief Executive Officer of a state and the undisputed leader of the PDP in the state suddenly surrendered his power and authority to known and unknown aides to the extent that he can no longer recollect what precisely transpired in the whole sordid transaction or account for how every single kobo kept in his care was spent. "Assuming that the PDP had won the 2015 Presidential election and Former Governor Chime was asked to render account of how the money was spent to the Campaign organization, would he bury his head in the sand, ostrich-like, and declare irrationally as he has been doing, that he shouldn't be held responsible because his subordinates presided over the expenditure"?, the group wondered.

Continuing, the group expressed alarm that going by Sullivan Chime's current behaviour, Enugu state must have been bled silly under his watch for 8 years and there is no way anybody would be held accountable. "In essence, what Sullivan Chime is telling the world is that if he were to be called upon to render the account of his stewardship as the Governor of Enugu state from 2007 to 2015, he will feign ignorance about how government resources were expended, preferring instead to place the blame for non-performance at the doorsteps of his commissioners, advisers and assistants", the group lamented.

The Ex-Legislators Forum further warned Former Governor Chime to stop roping innocent people into the mess he brought upon himself and face his responsibility as a leader, as the former Governor of the state, and as the leader of the PDP, while charging the EFCC to ignore Chime's illogical, meaningless and senseless statements and hold him fully accountable for the money in question. "No matter how many times he tries to drag the names of people like Prof Chinedu Nebo, the former minister of power, Prof Osita Ogbu, the former Chief Economic Adviser to President Yar'adua, Joe Mmamel, Ikeji Asogwa, Rita Mba and Victor Atuonwu and others into the mess in other to save his opportunistic hide and launder his tattered dignity, the truth is already out in the open. Transactions of that magnitude can only be controlled and discharged at the highest level of government and we dare say that nobody in Abuja will place the responsibility of disbursing and accounting for such an amount on any other shoulder other than the Governor Sullivan's".

The group further warned Sullivan Chime to desist from insulting the intelligence of Enugu state people in particular and Nigerians in general and borrow a leaf from the principled stance of leaders like Olo Falae, Achike Udenwa, Ali Modu Sherrif and Olisa Metuh in accepting responsibility for the funds they collected, in defending why they collected it, and in either remaining firm in their stance that they did no wrong or expressing their desire to return same. "None of these leaders ever called other people's names as accomplices even when they must have disbursed money to them; they rather, like real leaders, protected the integrity of others, and accepted responsibility for whatever happened. Olisa Metuh's case is instructive in that he averred that even though he disbursed money to people who delivered on the assignment given them, he pledged to return the money and refrained from naming others. Sullivan Chime should borrow a leaf from this act of courage, cease from dragging people's name in the mud and accept his responsibility like a leader, if he is truly one".

The group concluded by asserting that "as an elders' council made up of representatives of the people in the past 37 years, some members of which are well in their 70s, it will never stand aside and watch latter day leaders like Sullivan Chime destroy people's reputation on the alter of his selfish desire and unconscionable self-survival antics. "We will bring Sullivan Chime's unbecoming conduct not only to the court of public opinion but will also write to the EFCC, the South East Governors' Forum, the Nigerian Governors' Forum and the PDP Governors' Forum to call him to order. We will also be consulting with younger members of the civil society movements about the prospect of a coordinated mass action against Sullivan Chime if he persists in his perfidious path of infamy and immoral political conduct".

Someone Needs to Put Uboh in His Place

“Carry go no be quarrel” – street parlance.

Philip Agbese

At the street level folks don’t get to sign contracts. What enforces agreements is mutual respect, honour and the knowledge that reputation is everything. The concept of “carry go no be quarrel” entails that any side to a bargain can call it off without the other party picking unnecessary offence – a person who summons a street vendor for instance is not under obligation to buy the wares on offer even after picking them up, sizing them up and inspecting them. Dr Gorge Uboh, the managing director of Panic Alert Security Systems (PASS) of all people, being a streetwise guy, should know this unwritten code if he is truly worth his salt.

Uboh is however not only oblivious to this code but is also blissfully ignorant of the odium in which the average right thinking Nigerian holds him.

The derision with which we look at this jobber has nothing to do with his visage, which he will by the way do well to keep out of the public conciseness for all the negatives it has become associated with. The disdain is the direct consequence of Nigerians finding out that the man who pontificates as the cure for corruption is himself a cesspool of sleaze and that whatever we hear from him cannot be trusted – even a greeting of “good morning” from him requires one to double-check what time of the day it is.

In a recent interview he granted to disparage the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), he accepted his badge as an ex-convict so this article will take it for granted that the man we are dealing with here is a self confessed criminal since people are not usually convicted for being law abiding.

For the benefit of those who may not know Uboh’s antecedent, he is the same fellow currently being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for criminal conversion of property belonging to the Police Equipment Fund (PEF). It turned out that our anti-corruption crusader took six units of operational vehicles belonging to PEF from which he sold two units of Toyota Hilux pick-up vans in violation of known laws.

With such long trail of criminal involvement from his past, it was no wonder that he tried to use the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into helping him shake down a former EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde after the deal between them soured. It was the Senate outing that exposed Uboh for what he is, a man who constantly look for loopholes – not offer solutions for plugging them but to criminally exploit them for his own end. Once the authorities wise up to those loopholes then all those that corrected the lapses become his sworn enemies and are made the subject of elaborate blackmail in the media.

This was exactly what Uboh did with his interview in which he attempted to cast aspersions on President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption fight and using the AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) as the proxy on which to unfurl his hate driven vitriol. So incapacitating was his anger that the interview turned out to be an indictment of his character. He made it clear adequately that monetary gain and not patriotism was his drive for tracing the stolen funds and the clamour for the AGF to recover the money was so he can net his cut.

In a country where there is a Public Procurement Law, Uboh admitted he was all glee when his company, PASS was issued an engagement letter on the strength of his personal relationship with the AGF without any competitive bidding process. Has it crossed his mind that the letter disengaging him could have been the consequences of realizing that he did not comply with the process for being engaged for the assignment; or that his criminal record does not sit well with the new direction the country is treading?

One must apportion some blame to the AGF in this matter. True, he is not omniscient to fathom the character of all his acquaintances but a background check would have easily flagged Uboh as an ex-convict that cannot be entrusted. He would have also known about what the man did at PEF and later at the EFCC. The other thing is that once these facts became known to him, he should have public disowned the managing director of PASS on the strength of information available in the public domain. Instead, Malami tried to adopt the gentleman approach in dealing with a man to whom honor is an alien word. All these are however in the past now.

Looking forward, Uboh is a lesson to the government that not everything should be outsourced. The same recovery that this character was making so much noise about was what the EFCC quietly achieved without the operatives holding the government and country to ransom. And when it is time to outsource we must make sure we are not engaging an ex-convict, someone standing trial for criminal theft or a person unable to resist the temptation of asking for more cut than they are entitled to.

Now that the Ministry of Justice has done the right thing by distancing itself from Uboh, he should be smart enough or pretend to be and move on. Like a peddler of contaminated goods, authorities have after their assessment seen the poison he wants to foist on the system and have told him “carry go” and it should not be a quarrel.

Agbese is National President, Stand Up Nigeria and contributed this article from the United Kingdom.

In Defence of Dumebi Kachikwu

By Charles Ibekwe

“FLASH: @officialefcc is on the trail of Dumebi Kachikwu, the younger brother of Minister of State for Petroleum. His account (s) frozen.”

Nigerians have been inundated with the above bogus tweet circulated by Sahara Reporters on June 11, 2016, suggesting that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC was on the trail of Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu and that his account(s) have been frozen. To set the records straight, Dumebi is the younger brother of the Petroleum Minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu. Additional disclaimer: This write up is intended to set the record straight and not to set dignify the characters behind it.

The tweet from Sahara Reporters’ official handle, @SaharaReporters and the subsequent stories spun from it by platforms that did not bother to do any verification, were entirely false, reckless, irresponsible and without substance. The decent thing for Sahara Reporters to do under this circumstance is to tender an unreserved apology on Twitter quoting its original tweet and on its website detailing why and how it committed the heinous crime of character assassination.

Anything short of this would adequately prove that the site and its social media assets either have a vendetta against Mr Dumebi Kachikwu or that they have an extant contract to tarnish his family name. It would be sad if either or both of these are true as it would be at variance with the image of a responsible outfit that some members of the public still ascribe to the site.

Ordinarily, it is up to Mr. Kachikwu to defend himself but he seemed to have adopted a policy of not responding to garbage churned out on social media about his person. But he should have at least responded this time if only to put an end to this growing tradition of social media blackmail. His family, friends, associates and well-wishers should have insisted that he takes the necessary actions against this deliberate act of slander. The imperative for this is that there is the risk that less discerning part of the population risked being deceived to believe everything they read on these irresponsible social media platforms that are being used as tools of blackmail.

It is sad that the campaign to tarnish the image of Mr Kachikwu, who built whatever he has today from scratch as a private businessman, has again been revived after its sponsors closed shop sometimes ago upon realizing that they do not have the substance and facts to bring him down to their gutter level. They have therefore decided to ride on a gullible group-think in the social media to again attempt doing their damage.

Nigerians must be awake to the antics of these persons who resort to blackmail in their bid to arm-twist someone other than their victim by using him as a secondary target in a proxy war. If they are as savvy as they want to delude themselves to believe then they would have directly attack the subject of their frustration. Dragging family members into whatever scores one has to settle with a blameless public officer is the lowest form of cowardice and should not be tolerated by the society for any reason.
One must suggest and strongly so that the EFCC must put a system in place to constantly monitor those that use its corporate identity for flying their propaganda. Once it identifies such stories it should immediately disclaim them so that fraudulent people do not ride on its credibility to mislead the populace.

Operators of the sites that used Sahara Reporter’s tweet as the source of their news story in good faith, thinking they are quoting a reputable Twitter handle, must have learnt after being so burnt that riding on the coattails of that entity can only offer a ride to destruction. It sent out the tweet without hosting the same story on its website and never offered a follow up to admit its sin while those that went to town with the breaking news banner are now licking their wounds from falling for such fraudulent prank.

The reading public must on its part accept that some online platforms, regardless of what international recognitions they might have garnered, are simply not worth wasting their data subscription over, since they have repeatedly proven that they lack what it takes to produce contents that add values to their hapless subscribers. Paid hatchet jobs must not be passed off as exclusive reporting or breaking news as it amounts to the greatest insult to an industry for which many have paid the supreme price to build and it is the ultimate betrayal of the readers who are misled into consuming such toxic content.

Ibekwe, a civil rights activist contributed this piece from Enugu, Enugu State.

Getting it Right As the Number One Spouse

By Nkechi Odoma

Nigeria has had its fair share of first lady drama. Ordinarily the position is more of a ceremonial one that has no constitutional recognition but ever since the late Maryam Babangida stepped in as first lady, there was not going to be a dim in the spotlight on the ‘office of the first lady” as we call it in Nigeria.

Maryam Babangida was glamour personified, her Better Life for Rural Women pet project won the hearts of many rural and even urban women across the country, it was the first time the pet project of the wife of a president or head of state will be so popular. From Maryam Babangida to Maryam Abacha’s Family Support Program (FSP) it was clear to Nigerians that the “office of the first lady” was not going to be a quiet push over any longer.

I for one appreciate the helping hand that first ladies lend to their spouses while in office as long as it is done within the dictates of the law. Apart from the positive impacts these programs have on the lives of the people, it also helps to create more awareness for women empowerment across the country.

Since the return to civil rule in 1999, Nigeria is under the fourth administration and consequently we have had four spouses of the first citizen namely late Mrs Stella Obasanjo, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, Dame Patience Jonathan and presently, Hajia Aisha Buhari. Stella Obasanjo’s time in Aso Rock as first lady was remarkably tame. This was probably due to the fact that her husband, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as some will want to put it, was himself overbearing so there was no space for any first lady to take any stage at all let alone the center stage.

Hajia Turai Yar Adua’s time was not quiet though, and I think this was mainly due to the state of her husband’s health. With the then President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health in bad shape I would imagine his wife’s support was needed more. I guess this was why she was accused of several things including heading a cabal, shielding the president away from people to the point where some even accused her of running the country by proxy.

After the demise of President Yar’Adua came the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, who obviously was unprepared. Dame Patience Jonathan”s reign as first lady opened another chapter in the first lady episode. She was not one of those that would go unnoticed. She has been accused of a lot, from cutting business deals with businessmen and lobbyists to actually interfering in appointment processes of offices as high as ministerial positions and even dictating who got the People’s Democratic Party, PDP governorship tickets in a few states. She was as visible as the visible. The list of her entourage to foreign trips were points of discussion for several weeks sometimes months. Any state she visited went into lockdown and her influence grew to the point where she could “summon” stakeholders in the Chibok girl abduction to come and “state their problems”.

Patience had a running battle with the then governor of River State, Rotimi Ameachi, which was to eventually result in her husband’s political misfortune. She was indeed very politically active. Her conduct during the initial stage of the missing Chibok girls saga was heavily condemned in some quarters as insensitive, she addressed a gathering on the issue that produced the now popular phrase “Na only you waka come”
This has been the experience of Nigerians with first ladies before now and the expectation was that the position will further grow in influence; hence the displeasure of those who think a position without constitutional backing shouldn’t grow to become that powerful.

Then came Mrs Aisha Buhari, she was a fresh introduction into the mix beginning from the campaign trail, her first major appearance during the campaign was at the Ogun state presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Abeokuta, she was an “instant hit”. The news out was that the general was very reluctant to release his wife to join the campaign perhaps due to cultural beliefs. She was graceful throughout the campaign period.

A clear departure from the growing vanity around spouses of presidents was Mrs Buhari’s decision to shelve the appellation of “first lady” for Wife of the President, which to me is quite logical since she is officially Mr President’s wife while the concept of first lady is alien to the laws of the land. The humility in going this route has only boosted her gracefulness in my eyes.

Interestingly, adopting a modest approach as the wife of the president has not in any way affected her ability to touch lives. She has spent her time visiting and donating relief materials to victims of the insurgency and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). She has visited Borno, Nassarawa and Plateau states in pursuit of this objective. Her program and activities largely revolve around helping out IDPs, women and less privileged. I have not heard that she has traveled on any foreign trip with the president; she has held the position and office with decorum and class.

I am therefore amazed at stories on some online media making spurious allegations against Mrs Aisha Buhari. They have futilely tried to accuse her of corruption and have added other fables that cannot withstand the slightest interrogation. More recently there were efforts to make it look like she helped Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello secure positive outcomes from the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal by giving bribes to judges. Like previous attempts, this allegation too failed to stick for the simple reason that it was false.

But I only wish those peddling these stories would have realized by now that Mrs Aisha Buhari is a league apart from what they have been used to. Great men marry women that share their vision and our own President Muhammadu Buhari couldn’t have done differently. For a man who constantly strives to do right he would have taken his time to make his wife buy into his vision and the output is what we see Mrs Buhari exhibiting.

Those who are expecting a repeat of the husband losing public trust because of the wife’s excesses in the current government can find a different pastime as the Buharis have convinced me they are above such pettiness. My advice to them and other Nigerians is that we should leave Mrs Buhari alone as she continues to make the position of the spouse of number one citizen an ordinary affair that connects with the average right thinking citizen. I definitely don’t want to return to the days of imperial first ladies.

Odoma is National Coordinator, Africa Arise for Change Network and contributed this piece from Abuja.

The Oil Cabal Is Back

By Abdulmalik Inuwa Suleiman

The beneficiaries of the corruption in the oil industry are definitely still smarting from the industry wide changes implemented by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu especially at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). It was to be expected that they will not go down without a fight and that the seeming calm after the changes were announced was just the oil bandits in retreat to reassess their strategies for challenging a government that has exhibited zero tolerance for corruption.
Even after spending weeks to perfect their response to the clamping down on corruption in the industry they were only able to rehash their old strategies – launch personal attacks on the minister and his family. This took the wind out of the re-launched of a campaign of calumny they had launched against him in the past since it came out as the same tired stories they had always peddled.

A tweet by one of their online partner was all the other paid platforms latched unto to push out a news alert that Dumebi Kachikwu, the minister’s younger brother has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They also hyped the aspect about his bank account(s) being frozen without being able to specify what phantom crime they are accusing him of this time around.
A call to Dumebi Kachikwu however exposed the story as a figment of the writers’ overstimulated imaginations as he not only denied being on the run from the anti-graft agency but that he was still able to transact with his account(s) as at the time he was asked to verify the story.

That a false story was pushed out as breaking news should worry all of us. Not just because no one wants to or deserves to be so slandered but because of the inherent risks that such irresponsible behaviour poses tour collective freedom. All over the governments are scaling back on liberties often citing terrorism and online trolling. We have been fortunate that the ill-conceived bill to regulate social media and online platforms died a natural death but this kind of online hooliganism risks creating the basis on which society would demand a restriction of the freedom available online.

Much as one would want to call the online trolls to order however, they are merely the symptoms of a more insidious disease. They are the smoking guns while the hands that pulled the trigger actually belonged to the bandits that had held Nigerians hostage until the recent changes made to the way the oil industry is managed. The kite flown about Dumebi Kachikwu’s arrest was apparently better managed than another story that surfaced at exactly the same time. The Dumebi story basically tried to hide under the EFCC without canvassing the position of its sponsors.

The true identities of those paying for this campaign however surfaced in the second story that flushed morality down the sinkhole with unprintable accusations targeted at undermining the marriage of the Minister of State for Petroleum. It did everything to cast aspersions on his person as a gentleman as only could be delivered by the worst form of yellow journalism.

In the story, one of those redeployed by Kachikwu was desperately packaged to appear like the victim. Had those who rehashed this overused rendition of an event that never happened bothered to cross check their facts, they would have seen that redeployment of their principal was an act of unmerited mercy as thousands of Nigerian youths has taken to the streets at the height of the fuel crisis to demand the sack of this particular official for an history of record setting corruption. That a person who should have been fired, arrested, tried and jailed for serial theft is now piloting a campaign of calumny against the minister that showed magnanimity is the real definition of travesty.

My one cent for the team working on this new round of “bring the Kachikwus down” attack is that they should get back with the owners of the brief and demand more money because the task they have signed up for is not an easy one. They are being asked to hallucinate about events that never happened and this is a sure way of toying with eventual mental incapacitation because the prolonged hallucination trips could become addictive.

To the sponsors of the stories, one can only offer sympathies. It sucks to be cut off from the slush fund that used flow freely before Kachikwu became minister and brought so many dizzying changes that have dried up the tap of corruption money. But they will do well to keep their powder dry, save as much of their stolen wealth as possible instead of paying for expensive but pointless propaganda – there would be expensive lawyers to pay, bail to post and refund to make to when the EFCC finally gets to the right chapter that concerns them.

The rest of us look forward to being able to browse the net and read stories that chronicle the decisive steps the country is taken towards greatness and not some toxic piece of trash strung together by oil cabal members struggling to return from the permanent retirement that the change agenda has forced them into.

Suleiman is a public affairs analyst and wrote this piece from Katsina, Katsina State.

Retired Military Officers: Nigeria Needs Damage Control

By Israel Abiodun

The Nigerian Military finally worked up the courage to purge itself of political officers with the announcement that swept out several of such questionable officers. Details are still emerging but the sack which has the approval of the Army Council was attributed to “service exigencies”.
Even though a statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman did not specify the crimes of the sacked military officers, the affected persons have done a lot of massive self- reporting to confess their crimes. Details of their crimes were outed in online media platforms that are sympathetic to their cause or serving the same principal as the affected persons.

One of such sites went to town with the screamer, “FG Sacks 200 ‘Pro-Jonathan’ Military Officers”. The site thankfully went on to confirm that “loyalty to former President Goodluck Jonathan during the 2015 general elections” was the alleged grounds on which they were sacked. Nigerians must be reminded that the military is sworn to protect the country and the office of the president symbolises the country but nothing in that oath of allegiance mandates any officer to pursue the political ambition of the individual occupying the office. That would be playing party politics and it is clearly forbidden even if done in furtherance of the current office holder’s interest.

The responsible media organisation provided better insight that linked the sacked officers with defence contracts. The Presidential Committee investigating defence contracts had of course made indictments with of these sacked persons already being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) just as another panel that investigated military partisanship during the 2015 general elections made its own indictments.
The veiled threat to the nation contained in how the retirement of these officers was reported by their media allies therefore showed that not only were they culpable of what they were indicted for they have also shown no remorse about it and have continued along the same track by presenting the consequences of their ill thought actions as political witch-hunt.

For instance, the headline cited earlier followed with a narration that “The list showed that they were mainly from the South East, South South and a small percentage of them were from the North Central region of the country.” The impression created by this is that the South West, North East and North West zones were not affected because officers from these areas were-not pro-Jonathan. This line of thinking failed in its deficit of reasoning to realise that it is indicting the South East, South South and a small part of the North Central as the parts of the country that produce unethical and unprofessional officers who are also kleptomaniacs that cannot keep their hands out of the public till. All the decent Nigerians from these areas, including former military officers who served meritoriously, should rise up and condemn this callous criminalisation of their ancestry.

But to a more serious dimension. The Army waited too long before acting as the issue was one that threatened and has continued to threaten our democracy. If the delay in showing these errant officers the way out was to allow for thorough investigations, then that is fine. But what must be avoided going forward is tarrying on crucial decisions because of political consideration as this amounted to playing the game on the terms of the rogue officers. In the time between when they were investigated and when action was finally taken, they have been able to poison more minds within and outside the institution, which is why their media were able to claim that the development was causing ripples in the military.

I dare describe them in harsh words because of the jeopardy they put the country into. The military is an institution and the Presidency is an office with clear cut constitutional provisions guiding the roles of each. The personnel of the institution and the holder of the office swore to suppress personal interests in the discharge of their duties in the various capacities. For some personnel to have acted contrary, driven by ethnic and pecuniary interests, equals to treason. Had they succeeded in their political foray, wouldn’t we today be under a military government by proxy contrary to our collective avowal for a representative democracy? The concept of separation of powers must be clearly adhered to for the insulation of our military against partisanship.

In recent history, countries whose military officers became openly political like the sacked ones here have been plunged into intractable crises. This fact is what these card carrying members of political parties should bear in mind whenever they are tempted to delude themselves into thinking they have been unfairly treated. What would have happened if officers from the other regions had also been unprofessional and backed an alternate political party? It would have been the perfect trigger for a civil war. Purging them out of the institution would no doubts bring about a strong and apolitical military. This is a great achievement and if it is the only thing President Muhammadu Buhari can do for Nigeria then we should be very happy that our journey to nationhood has started.

The cheap attempt at blackmail does not detract from the reality that crimes were committed – violation of oath of allegiance, breach of laws relating to elections, theft and other crimes. The relevant agencies must therefore commence their trial while the military makes public a declassified version of the report that indicted them for Nigerians to appreciate the need to get rid of these compromised officers. In fact, anyone of them that feels he was unfairly fired should take advantage of a trial to reverse the situation.

The military and the Federal Government must however be proactive in dealing with a bigger problem. The sacked officers must be placed under constant security watch because of other prevailing variables. As at the time these officers were committing these heinous acts, miscreants in the South South and South East were making threats of a break up against the country if the permutation goes against their shared interest. Today, the threats have given birth to terrorist separatist groups that are killing security agents and destroying economic assets. Even from within the Niger Delta, some ex-militants have identified some sacked politicians from the previous dispensation as sponsors of the attacks.

This is why we must be vigilant because the sacked officers were neck deep in politics and the billions stolen from defence contracts means they are also stupendously rich. A combination of their military experience, diverted weapons and stolen money flowing into an already problematic South South and South East regions would produce another monster, something like "Military Avengers " that will either intensify the blowing up of oil and gas pipelines or even print the currency for one of their separatist groups to secede. The objective would be nothing less than the ridiculous demand from some regional leaders that charges be dropped against people standing trial for attacks in their areas to stop. The sacked persons, some of them also standing trial, would be additional incentives for more attacks.

As a country, we must now immediately begin damage control while hoping that it is not too late. While we were all focused on nation building these elements were busy perfecting their plans for the breakup of the country – the separatist groups have activated and their well-trained military counterparts may be on the way to joining them in insurrection with all their wealth of experience and material if nothing is done to neutralize their capacity to sink the country as they had promised.

Abiodun contributed this piece from Ibadan.

Nigerian Army: A Time to Purge

By Anthony Kolawole

Something is not right in our security arrangement and anyone that is sincere will admit it. It doesn’t require one being a security expert to gauge or have a sense of what is amiss. In the past few weeks, just as we are almost heaving a sigh of relief that the sadistic Boko Haram terror group has been degraded to the point of being wiped out, trouble reared its head in the Niger Delta with the emergence of the Avengers group and several other iterations. The bad news around all these is the seeming sabotage of the military’s capacity to respond to these breaches.

The sabotage is itself the product of the politicisation of the security circuit. Its travesty is that those politicking with security matters may be unawares of the risks they are exposing the rest of us, the country, to unwittingly or selfishly.

The Investigative Panel set up by the current government clearly indicted some officers for being politicised. Why the politicized officers are still in service when they were indicted for being corrupt and deeply involved in politics is something that has been blamed for the inability of the military to counter some of these emerging breaches. They remained in service despite hues and cries from various quarters in addition to the startling revelations by the military investigative panel of inquiry on involvement of service personnel in politics and electoral malpractices during the last general elections.

It must be noted that this same politicisation of officers of the services underpinned the trivialization of security issues, which was in turn was largely responsible for the ascendancy of Boko Haram under the previous administration. Issues that should be X-rayed dispassionately were instead subjected to political, religious, ethnic and sectional permutation such that it was either no decisions were taken or the worst possible factors dictate what decisions were arrived at.

Had only the political class been involved in this unpatriotic shindig it wouldn’t have mattered much since the professionalism of the military would have tempered their errors and we would have come out fairer than we did. But commanders and officers of the Air Force, Navy and Army were drawn into the morass. One needs not talk about what happened to the other branches of the security circle, which were all but reduced to civilian lackeys and their operatives were almost issued political parties membership cards.

It wasn’t the first time the military services were mired in politics. Years of military rule once made military officers into politically exposed persons contrary to the statutes and international conventions. Beyond the benefits of self-expression and self-determination accruing from being a democracy, non-politicisation of security and defence issues is the incentive for keeping the military out of politics. Logic would thus dictate that we also keep politics out of the military.

At the dawn of our present democratic journey in 1999, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo acted wisely based on this concept as he ensured the exit of all the politically exposed military officers. That our democracy has been sustained this far is in part attributable to this foresight. Had these officers who had become politically conditioned remained in the services it would have been like a domesticated predator cultivating a taste for flesh and blood – it would kill for food out of instinct at some point, same way these officers would have used their military advantage to bid for power.

Allowing the military in politics and introducing politics into the military under the previous government therefore pushed the country to the precipice without us realising how close we got to disaster. The Ekiti election audio saga, much as it shocked the population for its brazenness and depravity, was but just a tip of the iceberg; military officers allowed themselves to be used for intimidating political opponents, some became official spokespersons for candidate and their political parties. Worse beyond comprehension were those that sexed up security reports to justify political decisions as well as those who became conduits for theft of public resources including that meant for procuring equipment in furtherance of military operations.

Disciplined officers would have made adjustments once the administration that condoned such excesses was out of the way but having been contaminated with political involvement such addiction could be impossible to break. Some of such officer thus find accommodation in the political interests of appointees in the security sector, who want to continue the practice of politicising security matters for their own ethno-religious and economic interests.

This singular risk is why President Muhammadu Buhari must again repeat what was done in 1999. The Investigative Panel set up to probe military involvement in politics is already a step in the right direction. What is needed is the will to bite and bite strongly based on the recommendations the panel, which had indicted several officers for their ignoble roles in the last general elections.

The indicted officers who acted against our democratic process, growth and security must be shown that it is not acceptable and must not only be shown the way out but must also be punished as provided for in the laws. The military must remain apolitical and professional at all times and that is the crucial message here.

Kolawole PhD is a University lecturer and contributed this piece from Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Exposed: Extortion Syndicate Targets Politicians

By Abdul Inuwa, Abuja

A syndicate that specializes in digging out information against politically exposed persons for the purpose of material extortion and blackmail has been exposed and could now be the subject of a call for investigation.
The syndicate’s style of operation was detailed in a petition submitted to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase dated 06/06/2016, sighted by our correspondent.

The document revealed that the syndicate works with compromised staff of government agencies to obtain classified files on politically exposed persons and then extract information that they use to write petitions for blackmailing and extorting their marks.

The petition to the IGP gave suite B14C, 3rd Floor, Real Tower Centre, opposite Peace Park Utako, Abuja as the address from where these characters carryout their daily operation.

“Available information shows that a purported legal practitioner is the head of the ring while other accomplices are planted in strategic government establishment. It is confirmed that for a fee, the syndicate could be hired to raise malicious petitions. We are also informed that they go extra miles to source their information and this include hacking government websites or bribing insiders to enable them access classified document.

Further Investigation revealed that the syndicate has successfully used this approach to swindle a couple of politicians who complied with their demand for money to prevent such names from being linked with investigations by anti-graft agencies after they were shown fictitious petitions put up by the group.

The petition to the IGP proposes for members of the group to be apprehended and tried. It said, “A further indication of the mischievous intent of this group is that it does not use any right channel approved by law in its quest to get these documents by all means as they rather go through clandestine means or induce staff of agencies.”

“Once they lay their hands on the classified information they seek, the lawyers will then plead human right to ensure they overwhelm the streets of Abuja and other major cities with paid protesters if their subject fail to meet their demands. It will be noted that the Code of Conduct Tribunal [CCB] website was recently hacked, " a development that is not far from the operation of the syndicate.

We make this petition to your esteemed office to draw your attention to this dangerous development which is capable of derailing President Muhammadu Buhari war against corruption should the perpetrators be allowed to continue operating without being brought to book. Their action is also dangerous to the sustenance of our democracy as this abuse of official records of government.

“We pray you to kindly cause an investigation to be carried out into the activities of these elements with a view to making them face the law and putting a stop to their nefarious activities. We are confident that your office will treat our concern with dispatch,” the letter requested.

Kogi And The Endless Blame Game

By Philip Agbese

It is not the best of times to be from Kogi state. Kogi, like dozens of other states in Nigeria are in the throes of an economic meltdown that has shown no signs of abating. Coupled with successive years of misrule by previous administrations, the current governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, like many of his colleagues has not been able to pay salaries so the hunger in that state is understandable.

This has not been helped in anyway by the fact that the unexpected development that threw up Bello as the incumbent governor also caused massive dislocation in the “settlement system” that had ensured government handouts trickle down through cronies to street urchins, and arrangement that had ensured hangers on are well fed in a state that is only now trying to have the semblance of an economy. Yahaya Bello’s emergence was hotly contested before the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal upheld his election.

The desperation of those who lost out under the current configuration in the state is therefore understandable in view of the biting economic reality, not just in that state or in Nigeria but also worldwide. One can stretch one’s tolerance to understand that hallucination is a possibility with intense hunger but in this case seeing and hearing things that are not there should be limited to images of food and phantom aromas. The hallucination should not extend beyond things that pertain to the state lest it be interpreted as madness.

Claims by some groups, obviously sponsored, that the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari brokered a deal worth the whole of N1.5billion in bribes to the judges on the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal to give a favourable ruling has therefore gone beyond the realm of hallucination to become something else. Those behind the allegations and their mouth pieces that delivered the message must have succumbed to hunger on an unprecedented scale to conjure up images of what never was and can never be. They even claimed that the supposed bribe paid to the judges was the cause of the salaries being owed workers from the time of the immediate past administration.

Mrs Aisha Buhari happens not to be an indigene of Kogi state. To the best of my knowledge, she has stayed out of the politics of that state and I even commended her for maintaining neutrality at the height of the intense politics that produced the incumbent governor. This gives me a sense that those who floated that story have more than the politics of Kogi state at heart and her possibly bitter to the point of attempting to torpedo her blissful marriage to our number one citizen. What they stand to gain from that is yet to be seen.

Secondly, the story of the N1.5billion equally aimed for the judiciary, which could offer a clue that there is a calculated attempt to discredit this arm of government as the war on graft picks pace. We have repeatedly seen how suspects charged with corruption often delay their trial and possible conviction by praying judges to recluse themselves from cases on the strength of trumped up accusations like this. I will leave the legal expert to make the call as to what those making baseless accusations like this against judges should be charged with but I think members of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal shouldn’t have been dragged into the puddle that is Kogi politics.

It is even more sickening when I reckoned that the groups bandying this allegation around are themselves aware they have no fact. If they do, they should have by now been knocking on the doors of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the evidence they have gathered. They can even use ICPC or the National Judicial Council (NJC). The point here is that they should have filled a formal complaint or petition by now and not be threatening to report judges to the NJC if they truly have facts, except of course they are only tying to blackmail the judges, Kogi state governor or the President’s wife with the fraudulent allegations.
The accusation did not come until a few hours to when the tribunal was to deliver its ruling. Had the verdict done the other way, would those making this wicked allegations had accepted that they bribed the judges to secure a favourable ruling? To me, another dimension to the bribery allegation is that some people thought up an excuse to justify their failings since they had no case before the tribunal in the first place.

What I sense is that this is about the petty politics of the Kogi state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose gladiators think there is something to be gained by dragging Mrs Buhari into their crisis. The minions running the smear campaign adequately exposed their hands to reveal their instructions came not from inside Kogi state but from somewhere in the south-west of the country.

Unfortunately, dragging the woman into the fight will not be of any use to them but will instead hurt the anti-corruption fight. It will also portray Kogi as state that lacks the capacity to solve its internal political issues without recourse to smearing highly placed persons from other states.

My advice is that Kogi state and its people should stop the blame game and focus on the real issues plaguing them – economic viability, ethno-religious tolerance, political plurality, employment creation, education and enlightenment are a few of the crucial things that should be uppermost in their minds instead of blaming others for things they failed to do right.

Agbese is National Coordinator of the U.K. Based Civil Rights movement called Stand Up Nigeria and contributed this piece from London.

Dragging Aisha Buhari Into Kogi Politics Attempt To Undermine PMB - Group

A human right group, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CSJET) has condemned attempts to drag the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari into kogi state Politics, saying it is a clear indication that corrupt individuals who are not pleased with the President Buhari's anti corruption war are trying to get at him through his spouse.


The group however warned that Nigerians have become wiser and will not allow those it described as desperate and corrupt politicians in Kogi state to undermine the anti corruption war.



The group's reaction is coming after a syndicated publication across several online media alleged that the wife of the President brokered a deal to buy the Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunaljudgement for the Governor of Kogi State, Mr Yahaya Bello.


Addressing journalists in Abuja, Executive secretary of CSJET, Comrade Ikpa Isaac said it is obvious that the accusation marks a new low in the depth to which these corrupt people have sunken, adding that
the politicians should resolve their internal issues and desist from dragging the name of the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari into the state's Politics.



According to him, Mrs Aisha Buhari is not from Kogi State and therefore has no cause to want to influence the outcome of the Election Petition Tribunal, stressing that if she did not climb the campaign podium at the heat of elections why would she now breach protocols to interfere with the judiciary.

Isaac said the judiciary is pivotal to the anti-corruption fight of the current administration, so attempting to rubbish the honourable justices is a disservice to the great men working to midwife a reborn Nigeria.


He said had this people crying wolf have any genuine evidence, they should have approached the anti-graft agencies and table their facts for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or any other agency to act.


"Instead, despite the compelling evidence they claim to have, the groups fronting for whoever is behind this latest attempt at frustrating the anti-graft crusade is still at the stage of threatening to report to the National Judicial Council (NJC). People with facts do not threaten. They take action," he said.

He said, "We therefore want to warn the persons behind this abominable campaign that Kogi is just one of Nigeria’s 36 states. The politicians in that state must therefore learn to treat their internal state issues as what they are. Local. Internal. They should not attempt to nationalise their internal state politics simply to curry attention.


"In case they are ignorant of the implication of their actions, we have as Nigerians sacrificed a lot to get the anti-corruption fight to the stage where it is presently and we will not take kindly to anyone attempting to undermine its credibility by trying to knowingly or unknowingly rope the wife of the President into the politics of a state she does not even hail from."

Dasuki, Monguno And The Rest Of Us

“I am waiting for the newspapers to tell me the performance of my ministers and whether I should make changes.” – President Muhammadu Buhari

By Jonathan Ivoke

In one year and the realistic review Nigerians have for President Muhammadu Buhari could best be likened to getting a black eye.

The President’s sincerity in relying on public opinion is commendable, it demonstrates a capacity to listen and feel the public pause. Left to Nigerians however, excluding direct beneficiaries of the government, their families and their associates, Mr President’s entire cabinet should go. Incompetence would not be their major offence as the true case against them is that they are ultra-capitalists serving in a boss who is largely liberal socialist and abhors unbridled acquisition by individuals.

Since it will not be practical sacking the entire cabinet considering what it took to cobble it together, one would be satisfied at this point if the most incompetent and the least patriotic ones are shown the door be that person a minister or any other high ranking official.

No scientific poll is needed to arrive on the National Security Adviser, retired Major General Babagana Monguno as the choice candidate, the first to get the boot given the dismal performance that has failed to highlight the importance of security to the performance of any other sector of our national life given our recent peculiarities. To fail in that aspect is to fail in all and this is profoundly at the root of every other thing that had not met expectations in Mr President’s one year at the helms of affairs.

As far as the performance of this man goes, his now infamous predecessor retired Colonel Sambo Dansuki is beginning to look like a show stopper. Dasuki’s seeming better performance than the incumbent is despite him never having his eyes on his job, preferring instead to be the conduit pipe for paying off cronies as the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been able to prove. In those days that now look like long ago, there was no coherence, the security agencies had their reports and the President had his report because someone who didn't know his job was in charge.

A band of extremists was allowed to grow into the world’s most deadly terror group under his watch. In the whole of that time, he later had time to mount the rostrum in Chatham House to justify shift in election dates, Dasuki never as much as whimper once about the actions of nations that were putting western weapons in the hands of Boko Haram.

That someone can now trounce Dasuki’s record of incompetence without efforts is something we do not need newspapers or the entire media to raise before the country is saved from the doom being assembled for each day that the incumbent NSA persists in office. He should have left before this offer to Nigerians to name the non-performers in the government.

Before his loyalists come to his defence, and there are some unsurprisingly given the premise earlier established for political office holders, it is categorically clear that the NSA’s remit goes beyond defeating Boko Haram, which thankfully is being pursued by a crop of professionals that are leading Nigeria’s troop to success. Monguno’s responsibility to Nigeria is to have managed the security situation in such a way that we do not wake up with new worries every day. This may sound pedestal, but even the tomato crisis shouldn’t have occurred without him acting to avert it – after all there is the outside chance that hostile interests can now flood the market with contaminated tomato and do untold damage and riots could have been sparked off by the inability of Nigerians to get their hands on the succulent berries.

But more importantly, Monguno accepted to serve a government, whose head was threatened with inheriting an ungovernable country during the elections and the threats came from credible sources among whom were ex-militants and aspiring separatists.
It is therefore inconceivable that the Niger Delta Avengers surfaced right under the NSA’s nose and have continued their campaign of crippling the economy. If he can be forgiven for allowing the militants from regrouping without challenge should he also be forgiven for their groups continued existence after two weeks? His task immediately after being named to the position should have included immediately addressing those pre-election threats being that they came from persons with the means of executing the threats.

Now the country is faced with a catch 22 of going after terrorists whose community would never give up or provide information on.

Equally appalling was the ascendancy of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) before the DSS brought its leader before the law. Again, a useful NSA would have acted to prevent the disruptive and divisive activities of IPOB became a source of national irritation. The thriving of these criminal groups under the NSA’s watch is suspect and hints at another Dasuki in the making with huge funds being voted to combats crisis that were originally allowed to fester. Not realising that security breach should not be allowed to fester for monetary gains is in itself a lamentable level of incompetence.

This lack of competence has caused loss of revenue from the series of oil and gas pipelines that Niger Delta Avengers terrorists have blown up. The loss of revenue is telling on the economy that only just trying to diversify from relying on crude oil revenue. The hostile economic situation that is resulting threatens to create social unrests and even this has not been of any concern to Monguno. IPOB has been no less disruptive as its members have repeatedly shut down markets and even at some points taken over the Onitsha Head Bridge, a national infrastructure.

With these groups hitting the economy at will, education, health, agriculture and in fact every other sector are vulnerable, and Monguno cannot be allowed to continue in his comfort zone on the assumption that Nigerians will consistently hold the police, DSS or the military responsible for his failings.

So before the verdicts come in from the newspapers, President Buhari has his first candidate for a sack to make room for a more competent hand to come in.

The harsh assessment of the administration was not because Nigerians do not like President Buhari but it is because his advisers have failed and continue to fail him. The most dismal of them being the NSA who has repeatedly failed to identify and prevent what has now resulted into a full blown economic and humanitarian issue in the Niger Delta and being felt nationwide.

Ivoke, a political affairs analyst, contributed this piece from Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt.

Terrorism Is Terrorism

By Israel Abiodun

It does not matter that several individuals, groups and leaders threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable should President Muhammadu Buhari, who was then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeat the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). What matters is that the threats are now a reality with the birth of Niger Delta Avengers.
The group has within a matter of weeks blown up enough oil and gas infrastructure to cripple the economy of the country. In the space of time they have killed several troops and policemen sent to the Niger Delta to stop their attacks on critical infrastructure. They have issued more threats to blow up more installations and kill any additional troops sent to the area.

Similar threats to make the country ungovernable were made from another geo-political zone. The rise of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and re-militarisation of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) now appear to be the South-East response to President Buahri’s emergence. Far from the cover of ideological agitation that they present to the world, members of these groups have repeatedly shown their rabidity – from shallow graves of murder victims to chucking policemen and soldiers into the River Niger, their capacity to kill and maim.

Unfortunately, Niger Delta Avengers, IPOB and MASSOB have similarities with the biggest monster Nigeria began battling in recent years, Boko Haram. When the terrorist group first came to limelight the general misconception was to dismiss it as a group of fanatics pursuing the unrealistic goal of implementing full blown Sharia across Nigeria. We have all since learnt differently. Boko Haram is a group of mentally deranged sadists and pyromaniacs that have over and over again proven that Islam is the furthest thing on their minds and agenda. Their attacks on security formation and churches moved to mosques once they no longer got their high from killing non-Moslems.

It is the strategy of Boko Haram that Niger Delta Avengers, IPOB and MASSOB want to replicate, albeit with modifications to suit specific peculiarities. All the separatist groups, like Boko Haram abhor Nigeria as geographical and political entity and want to break it up for their purposes. At the start of Boko Haram’s reign of terror, several highly placed persons were talking about peace deals, amnesty, as well as stick and carrot approach among others. But it turned out that these people pretending to be interested in peace were actually buying time for the terrorists to gain grounds. The circle is playing out all over again with the separatist groups, their leaders at state and federal level are asking the Federal Government to dialogue with these criminal without even first distancing themselves from them.

Like Boko Haram, they are out to get what they want – separation from Nigeria, by the use of destruction, killings and instilling fears into the rest of the population. This explains the wanton riots in the south-east and the destruction in the Niger Delta. There is no other name for it but terrorism. It will be in the Federal Government’s interest that the terror groups are not allowed to get off with any other appellation because that is what they are. Local media must label them as such while we must all collective reject the western media giving them any other self serving designation.

We must also be mindful of what they think of the rest of us and how they perceive us. Boko Haram justifies its killing of others including devout Moslems by labelling them as ‘unbelievers’. Niger Delta Avengers sees Nigerians as occupiers. IPOB and MASSOB call Nigeria a ‘zoo’ and other Nigerians ‘animals’. Let us not forget the ‘cockroaches’ jibes before the Rwandan genocide took place. Depraved killers first programme their minds to see others as lesser humans to enable them carry out their pogrom without emotions. This is what these separatist groups are doing. This is what should scare Nigeria’s other ethnic nationals.

But we are being sold the lie that these separatists are mere agitators. Nothing can be farther from the truth. If it uses guns and explosives to kill, maim, destroy and intimidate then it is terrorism. The delay that allowed Boko Haram to mutate must not be repeated. That was a mistake. The delusion of dialogue could in the end be costly. We have been down that road before with Boko Haram when ceasefires, peace talks and amnesty were smokescreen for conflict entrepreneurs and terror sponsors to make money. Before anyone talk about dialogue we must first separate the criminals from genuine ethnic agitators and what if what they are asking for – the breakup of Nigeria, is as unrealisable as Boko Haram drive to rule the whole of Nigeria under Sharia.

Sponsors and sympathisers of these terror groups are highlighting casualties from clashes with security operatives as highhandedness that should make dialogue an option. Such misguided people should be educated as to the value and sanctity of human live. The right to life is the first and primary because it takes someone still alive to demand the other rights When Ethnic militias kill others in the pursuit of their goals it is called terrorism and no sovereign country will sit by and allow that go unchallenged and it closes the door on dialogue.

The rest of us should not be fooled into tolerating this newfound madness under any guise. Terrorism is terrorism and all terrorists should be treated alike. What is good for Boko Haram should be good for NDA, IPOB and MASSOB.

Abiodun, is a security strategist based in Lagos.

One Year of Education Under 'Change' Agenda

By Philip Agbese

According to the great Nelson Mandela “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” I cannot agree less with Madiba. If Nigeria must witness change in the real sense the most potent weapon to be deployed is education.

There is no doubt that the current government was bequeathed a decayed education sector. Graduates from our universities are considered not employable by many multinational companies working in the country, not their fault though, I have been privileged to sit in an interview session once and I was shocked at the quality of graduates produced by our universities, I saw graduates who could hardly write or speak a complete sentence correctly in English.

We should not be surprised that we are here already, several years of neglect, nepotism, and corruption couldn’t have produced a different result. Today we have many certified uneducated graduates roaming the country. Nigerians not only send their children to Europe and America to study, they were sending them to Ghana and Togo as well. This was happening in a country whose once upon a time our premier universities were great citadels of learning that could compare with any in the world. Foreign students trooped into our universities because of the quality of learning they offered.

All of that became history; our citadels of learning became the den for all sorts of vices, such as cultism, hooliganism, prostitution, exam malpractices, plagiarism, sexual harassment etc.
Lectures no longer serve as the eggheads of society, many now engage in sex for grades and selling of handouts to students. I cannot recall lately any research innovation from our Ivory towers that helped solve a national problem the nation was faced with. Rather than research Lecturers are now more of businessmen.

The secondary and primary levels are not any better save that the private sector is heavily involved at those levels. Government over the years has simply adopted a very mediocre approach to the provision of quality education at all levels.

The Buhari administration has promised to fix the decay in the education sector. The government in its first budget sent in a 403.16 billion naira for the education sector. This amount is only lesser than that of three ministries namely the ministries of Interior, Power, Works and Housing and the Ministry of Defense. The government through the Minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu has promised to ensure that all funds allocated to the Ministry of Education will be judiciously used unlike what obtained in the past.

This is quite reassuring , for those who know, they will tell you that some of the biggest frauds that was done in the last government was carried out in the ministry of education and agencies under it, many funds that could have gone into providing infrastructure in our various institutions were simply diverted to private pockets. Fortunately, the close watch Mallam Adamu has kept at the ministry has given effect to President Buhari’s zero tolerance for corruption as the ministry is now a trailblazer in how to make government transparent.

Nonetheless, the government must further intensify efforts at stamping out corruption in our education sector. Quality educational standards can never be achieved in a corrupt environment. The government must act to sanitize the processes of appointing heads of agencies of parastatals and agencies under the ministry of education. Since the minister is already on the right track in this regards, I can only urge him to do more.

The government has promised to build six new universities of technology in the six geo political zones of the country. This is in furtherance of its commitment to promote the growth of science and technology in the country. This is a welcome development and it is quite commendable. I am however amazed when some people criticize the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) in its efforts to introduce computer based examination systems.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu must see to it that this progress is not rolled back and it is commendable that he has already thrown his weight behind the innovation. Government cannot be seen as claiming to encourage science and technology on the one hand and then on the other hand withholding support for innovative technological processes within its agencies. The government should support the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB), in its effort to improve the quality and processes of its exam.
Anyone who chooses to study at the tertiary level in the year 2016 must at the least be able to operate a computer to take a test.

I am constantly impressed by the rate of computerization of the processes at JAMB. From the purchase of forms, to registration, the unification of admission processes, to checking of results all these processes are computer based. For this reason I believe the government should back the recently introduced computer based examination system. The computer based system will reduce exam malpractices drastically and further improve the quality of students being admitted into our higher institutions.

I want to commend the Dibu Ojerinde-led JAMB for being innovative and leading in deploying technology appropriately to solve our educational challenges. Prof Ojerinde will definitely be leaving behind a visible mark of excellence and innovation like no other in this organization that he has led for close to a decade now. If other agencies of government are as pragmatic and as innovative as JAMB has been in the last decade, I am sure our education sector will not be where it is today. I singled out JAMB to proof that transforming out education sector is not impossible; it however requires men of vision and character to lead such transformations.

Also now that the budget has been passed the government should begin work on its plans to recruit 500,000 graduates to help with teaching at the primary school level. This will go a long way in improving the quality of education at the foundation level, which is the most important part of any building.

Training and remunerations of teachers is also key. If teachers are not happy with their working conditions they may teach but just halfheartedly, if any job requires full dedication it is that of teachers. They have the enormous task of impacting knowledge on the future leaders of the country. To that extent, teachers’ wages must be seen to be commensurate with the task they have. This one write up cannot proffer solution to all the challenges our educational sector faces.

But at least opens up the space for more discussion on the way forward for this critical sector that has been neglected for so long.

One thing that seems to be in abundance at the moment though are promises, promises everywhere, we now wait to see the sustained fulfillment of this promises by the APC government as already being demonstrated in the education sector.


Agbese, National Coordinator of the United Kingdom based Civil Rights Coalition known as Stand Up Nigeria and contributed this piece from Watford Way, London.

Let Government Unmask Sponsors Of Boko Haram

By Ayokunle Awolowo

Nigerians are in a frenzy. It is one year since President Muhammadu Buhari entered office and everyone is focused on the big picture. His promises to Nigerians are many and people are focusing on the big ones – security, economy, anti-corruption and the whole long list. One promise is being overlooked because the seemingly big promises take national attention.

Mr President had promised to bring those behind Boko Haram to book. This should have been one promise kept within the first six months. Not one year. But these characters are still free men. They walk the street, it will seem, as saints since no one has been unmasked as a sponsor.

There is free counsel to President Buhari on what can be done. For one: classify the different forms of being behind Boko Haram. There are those that offer monetary and logistic support to the group. Nigeria now has BVN. Tracing funding and financing should not be difficult. Smoking out Boko Haran financiers is therefore possible in a matter of a few clicks.

Those that offer logistics and intelligence support to terrorists cannot continue to fleet like wraiths among us. They must of necessity communicate. SIM cards are now fully registered. Phone numbers of captured or killed terrorist are starting points. There is a treasure trove of intel there. Who have the terrorists been talking to in military circles, government circle, religious bodies, business world? We should know. We should act.

Captured terrorists must have spilled the beans more than once. Who did they name higher up in the command chain? Who has benefitted from or is still benefitting from their atrocities? Who stands to gain if the attacks continue? Amirs – commanders of the terror group have been captured in several instances, what stops authorities from further investigating those that have been named.

Who is the new Dasukigate leader? Before President Buhari there was a gang that stole the country blind in the name of buying weapons to combat terror. They allow terrorism to fester so they can keep harvesting their loots. Billionaires were made. Nigerians were killed. Who are the people that have stepped into those shoes? Are they too keeping terrorism alive for pecuniary gains?

How much of this is tied to 2019 general elections. Contenders have started campaigns even before President Buhari’s term in office properly begun. Are they trying to give PMB the GEJ moment? They reportedly infiltrated the former government. Have they infiltrated President Buhari’s government in just under one year? What hold do they have over the federal government that politicians in the axis are not having the searchlight beamed on them for whatever their roles may be in the endless carnage of the northeast?

Mr President must know that discerning Nigerians have not forgotten his promise. His promise was to bring those behind Boko Haram to book. On this promise, he must not and cannot fail. Other promises to Nigerians is hinged on it. The sponsors are like the brainbox or the heartbeat of the terror group. Arresting and prosecuting them will deal deadly blow to Boko Haram. Finishing Boko Haram off would be a promise kept. Stamping out Boko Haram will free resources to commit to other sectors.

Unmasking these sponsors would be hard. They possibly have clouts. They can hide behind their positions and public office. Mr President must look out for those that can be temporarily kept away from their positions to allow investigators have free hands. They need unfettered access.

The President must also look inward. Ineptitude in executing mandates could be a cover to create conducive atmosphere for Boko Haram. Appointees connected with security must be assessed for meeting key job performance indicators. Those that have performed below expectations must not only be shown the way out but must also prove their incompetence is not deliberate sabotage.



— Awolowo wrote this piece from 26 Sadatu Street, Oregun, Lagos.

Boko Haram: Is there a Conspiracy of Borno Stakeholders?

By Musa Ladan

The occasional attempts by Boko Haram insurgents to make statements with poorly thought out but nonetheless daring attacks for me is a thing of concern. I am concerned not because I think the group can resurge to the sick height it got to in its depravity but because factors and persons outside of the group would want it to and seem to be doing all they can to return the country into the nightmare scenario.

This concerns are neither misplaced nor exaggerated. For instance, I have constantly asked myself what it is that the people of the North-East, particularly Borno want. To the best of my knowledge and based on new reports, Boko Haram has been largely degraded while several pledges have been made toward rebuilding the area – there is even a Northeast Development Commission in the offing with the enabling Act in the making before the National Assembly. What is however missing is the buy-in and
support of those that parade as the leaders in Borno state.

Their contributions, if they can be so called, have been mostly petty politics, bickering and self-interest that have only served to distract the anti-terror fight. In some instances, these attitudes transcend the scope of distraction to look like deliberate acts of sabotaging efforts at bringing peace back to the place.

I consider the case of the Senator representing Borno Central, Baba Kaka Grabai, who as recently as February this year claimed that the terror group controlled half of the state when the reverse was the case. He made this allegation at a time when the insurgents barely controlled one local government or have been largely funnelled into Sambisa forest where troops are still cleaning out remnants of the terror group. There other politicians in the state that are of the same bend. They act to boost the morale of insurgents and they cannot claim this was being done unwittingly.

The Chibok Girl’s Parents Association has been no less disruptive. Its chairman, Mr. Yakubu Nkeki‎, was more interested in the place of ancestry of a rescued girl than in the hope offered by another child escaping slavery and deprivation. The throve of intelligence she could offer and assist with the rescue of scores of the children still in the grips of terrorists was insignificant so long as she was not abducted in Chibok or not on a list that the military had compiled of the stolen girls. The association through its utterances after the rescues suggested Chibok is a distinct state of the federation or even an independent republic that had no business with the rest of the country.

I am equally challenging Borno Elders Forum to prove they have done enough and that they have not been used or being used by embedded interests in their ranks. They have taken positions in the past that left me wondering whether as elders they truly want the crisis to end and life returning to normal.
No less deserving of my dissatisfaction is the National Security Adviser (NSA), Brig-Gen. Babagana Munguno (rtd), who incidentally hails from that state. Layman thinking would project that he would pitch in his best to use his office to restore peace to the state but nothing – body language, utterances and actions, has shown that he has any interest in ending the insurgency even now that Boko Haram has been battered to its weakest. He should, in my expectations, be on the case of the Ministry of Defence and military services to deliver the last surviving Boko Haram terrorist to him for trial. Such request would follow only after properly empowering them of course. I don’t think any right thinking person would have accused him of being partial or sectional because the northeast is deserving of all the national attention it can get now.

And there are the other assorted collection of groups and caucuses that are used as fronts by the vicious politicians from the state and at federal level, who possibly want terrorism to be sustained because they have turned it into an industry; there is money to be made from federal government funding and international organisations’ intervention. If the group that necessitated the interventions gets wiped out, then the cash runs dry so for them this is not a desirable outcome. So they cook up the most outrageous of stories to float so that troops can be distracted and the federal government left in confusion. Among their ranks are the collaborators that validate bogus claims of questionable NGOs that attempt to cripple troop’s ability to fight.

Not to be outdone are the so called activists from other states and the FCT that have somehow discovered that there is money to be made from disasters. The continued existence of Boko Haram guarantees their meal tickets since each atrocity the group commits provides another item to use for blackmailing the government.

I advise the Presidency that whatever progress is being made in the fight against Boko Haram must be weighed against the true intention of the leaders in Borno state. Do they want terrorism to be defeated or are they kin on retaining it as an industry? How much has the collective attitude and influence of the all the groups identified above contributed to our not having finished the fight? Who else among the state’s population are working to continue giving the incentives to terrorists? What roles have these various groups played at the various stages of the conflict?

I strongly think it would be damaging if President Buhari in his May 2017 speech has to again refer to the Boko Haram fight in the present continuous tense simply because the very people of the state are frustrating the war to end the insurgency. In case they have not noticed, the war is costing anything in the region of a fourth of our (real) national expenditure in addition to costing the lives of other Nigerians from other states. There is another security concern brewing up in the South-south for which the military is needed. So we cannot be fixated on Borno state forever. Those sustaining terrorism in the state – actively, through inaction or just sabotage – should know that the fundamentals of the crisis are not inelastic; something will give soon.

Ladan, a lecturer contributed this piece from University of Maiduguri.

Goodbye Kozechi

By Musa Fomson

Outgone ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nigeria, Mr Saheed Kozechi finally exited Nigeria bringing his hate campaign against the state and its institutions to a welcome end. Fortunately for him, he still got the valedictory visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, who did not fail to highlight the bright prospects of relations between Iran and Nigeria particularly in view of a much needed diversification from a mono-economy. What that speech should have also implied is that the country should also diversify its friendship base in case Iran decides to send another Kozechi.

Whatever assignment the Iranian government decides to give Mr Kozechi next – an outright sack, posting to another country or a desk job that would mothball his career, would be immaterial in view of the damage he attempted causing for Nigeria. What Kozechi owes other diplomats in his mould is to author a volume on “How Not to Be a Diplomat in a Friendly Nation”. He may possibly find redemption by spilling on what made him embark on the kind of the voyage he underwent during his deployment here.

Within weeks of President Buhari visiting Iran, which should suggest some level of friendliness between both countries, Mr Kozechi all but declared war on Nigeria, the administration of the president and the Nigerian Army. His supposed grouse was that the military clamped down on militant members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which is the Shiite Sect in the country.

Even though his country is the world’s main hub for Shism, it was no justification for what was to follow the December 2015 faceoff between the sect’s members and the military after they were reported to have made an attempt on the life of the Chief of Army Staff. A follow up military operation that left several dead is still the subject of several probe panels and investigations. Kozechi never exercised the restraint becoming of a diplomat as he constituted himself into a supreme authority to pass a guilty verdict on all other parties to the crises while not only exonerating but also instigating IMN members to further violence.

Beyond sitting in judgment, he passed his own resolution – over and above what the United Nations would have attempted even in war torn countries. Had he been allowed such licence he would have jailed every single person wearing military uniform or even executed them. Anyone not familiar with the situation would be forgiven if they had thought that Nigeria is a vassal of Iran. A less friendly state would have not only expelled such envoy but would go a step further to severe relations with the nation that the ambassador represented.

As if encouraged by the coolness from the Nigerian side, Kozechi upped the ante by actively running the propaganda wing of the IMN. He granted multiple interviews in which he did not stop with simply condemning the Army but was also demanding the release of key suspects apprehended in the military operation after the assassination bid. In one particularly jarring outing he hinted that Nigeria will burn if Mr Ibraheem El-Zakyzaky, leader of IMN who was arrested in that operation was not released. At the same time, articles resplendent with his style were appearing with the by-lines of those defending IMN and criminalising the military. The Islamic Human Right Commission was brought into the fray and in this the Kozechi signature peeped out a couple of times.

This perhaps was triggered by some youth groups and NGOs that wrote several protest letters and street protests to demand that the government expel him for his role. Part of their contention was that running the IMN propaganda was the least of Mr Kozechi’s sins as they accused him of having links with the cache of arms found in the group’s enclave during the military operation. They also suggested that he used his position to send Nigerian youths abroad for radicalisation under the guise of schooling abroad.

In all these, at the height of his unethical conduct around the IMN debacle, Mr Kozechi initially had what appeared to be the backing of his government as some senior regime officials initially held press briefings that appeared to reinforce his position at that time but they tapered off after a while but the controversial ambassador did not let off. It remained to be seen if the fence mending that Iran will do with his departure will distance the Islamic Republic from that misadventure.

In the event that Iran makes it clear that interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs was never its policy but that of a cowboy ambassador then future relations should grow to become robust since, as President Buhari rightly observed, Nigeria has a couple of things to learn about how that country survived the sanctions years without oil revenue. But if the reverse is the case Nigeria would have to shop for new friends as friendly relations is not the same as handing over a nation’s sovereignty to another.

Iran’s commitment to not interfering in Nigeria’s affairs would also be defined by its choice for Kozechi’s replacement. If he talks, acts and behaves like Kozechi then it would be Kozechi all over again. Whoever his replacement is must read up on some basic information on Nigeria before leaving Tehran: a secular state where the Shiite is just another sect not above the adherents of other sects and faiths whose experience with terrorism makes any form of extremism and radicalization unacceptable.
In the meantime, Goodbye Mr Saheed Kozechi, perhaps the mischief makers you groomed will miss you.

Fomson is National President, Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace.

Goodbye Kozechi

By Musa Fomson

Outgone ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nigeria, Mr Saheed Kozechi finally exited Nigeria bringing his hate campaign against the state and its institutions to a welcome end. Fortunately for him, he still got the valedictory visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, who did not fail to highlight the bright prospects of relations between Iran and Nigeria particularly in view of a much needed diversification from a mono-economy. What that speech should have also implied is that the country should also diversify its friendship base in case Iran decides to send another Kozechi.

Whatever assignment the Iranian government decides to give Mr Kozechi next – an outright sack, posting to another country or a desk job that would mothball his career, would be immaterial in view of the damage he attempted causing for Nigeria. What Kozechi owes other diplomats in his mould is to author a volume on “How Not to Be a Diplomat in a Friendly Nation”. He may possibly find redemption by spilling on what made him embark on the kind of the voyage he underwent during his deployment here.

Within weeks of President Buhari visiting Iran, which should suggest some level of friendliness between both countries, Mr Kozechi all but declared war on Nigeria, the administration of the president and the Nigerian Army. His supposed grouse was that the military clamped down on militant members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which is the Shiite Sect in the country.

Even though his country is the world’s main hub for Shism, it was no justification for what was to follow the December 2015 faceoff between the sect’s members and the military after they were reported to have made an attempt on the life of the Chief of Army Staff. A follow up military operation that left several dead is still the subject of several probe panels and investigations. Kozechi never exercised the restraint becoming of a diplomat as he constituted himself into a supreme authority to pass a guilty verdict on all other parties to the crises while not only exonerating but also instigating IMN members to further violence.

Beyond sitting in judgment, he passed his own resolution – over and above what the United Nations would have attempted even in war torn countries. Had he been allowed such licence he would have jailed every single person wearing military uniform or even executed them. Anyone not familiar with the situation would be forgiven if they had thought that Nigeria is a vassal of Iran. A less friendly state would have not only expelled such envoy but would go a step further to severe relations with the nation that the ambassador represented.

As if encouraged by the coolness from the Nigerian side, Kozechi upped the ante by actively running the propaganda wing of the IMN. He granted multiple interviews in which he did not stop with simply condemning the Army but was also demanding the release of key suspects apprehended in the military operation after the assassination bid. In one particularly jarring outing he hinted that Nigeria will burn if Mr Ibraheem El-Zakyzaky, leader of IMN who was arrested in that operation was not released. At the same time, articles resplendent with his style were appearing with the by-lines of those defending IMN and criminalising the military. The Islamic Human Right Commission was brought into the fray and in this the Kozechi signature peeped out a couple of times.

This perhaps was triggered by some youth groups and NGOs that wrote several protest letters and street protests to demand that the government expel him for his role. Part of their contention was that running the IMN propaganda was the least of Mr Kozechi’s sins as they accused him of having links with the cache of arms found in the group’s enclave during the military operation. They also suggested that he used his position to send Nigerian youths abroad for radicalisation under the guise of schooling abroad.

In all these, at the height of his unethical conduct around the IMN debacle, Mr Kozechi initially had what appeared to be the backing of his government as some senior regime officials initially held press briefings that appeared to reinforce his position at that time but they tapered off after a while but the controversial ambassador did not let off. It remained to be seen if the fence mending that Iran will do with his departure will distance the Islamic Republic from that misadventure.

In the event that Iran makes it clear that interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs was never its policy but that of a cowboy ambassador then future relations should grow to become robust since, as President Buhari rightly observed, Nigeria has a couple of things to learn about how that country survived the sanctions years without oil revenue. But if the reverse is the case Nigeria would have to shop for new friends as friendly relations is not the same as handing over a nation’s sovereignty to another.

Iran’s commitment to not interfering in Nigeria’s affairs would also be defined by its choice for Kozechi’s replacement. If he talks, acts and behaves like Kozechi then it would be Kozechi all over again. Whoever his replacement is must read up on some basic information on Nigeria before leaving Tehran: a secular state where the Shiite is just another sect not above the adherents of other sects and faiths whose experience with terrorism makes any form of extremism and radicalization unacceptable.
In the meantime, Goodbye Mr Saheed Kozechi, perhaps the mischief makers you groomed will miss you.

Fomson is National President, Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace.

Shiite-Army Clash: Iran Recalls Ambassador, Kozechi

Emerging information revealed that the Islamic Republic of has recalled its ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Saheed Kozechi, Wednesday to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.

Although no reason was given by the country's External Affairs Ministry, a very reliable source has informed that Kozechi was recalled to avert litigations and brewing diplomatic row between Iran and Nigeria over former ambassador’s unguarded utterances, which went as far as threatening Nigeria and the Federal Government. It was equally gathered Kozechi was fingered in the clandestine funding and instigation of the Shiite sect in Nigeria, a situation that should have earned him outright expulsion but for the intervention of Russia.

A top diplomatic source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the country withdrew Mr Kozechi “to avoid litigation filed against the country and the ambassador in Nigeria and other international fora from ECOWAS Court to ICC.”

The source said, “After much pleading he (Kozechi) was able to get influential Nigerians to ensure he was still able to say his official farewell at the Presidential Villa because you realise that from the way he carried on about the Nigerians state he should not have been accorded such courtesy.”

His removal was brought about by the doggedness of some civil society groups that took Kozechi to task over his vituperative utterances and stoking the embers of religious extremism which they argued could lead to another round of terrorism by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a branch of Shiite Sect in Nigeria which for long was accused of militarizing its followers to the point of attempting to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff late last year.

The ambassador’s removal might also not be unconnected to likely indictment and recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission and the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry which would soon make their findings public. The recall could be seen as a saving face measures to avoid outright expulsion, which the country could ill-afford.

Attempt to reach the outgoing Ambassador for his reaction was unsuccessful while a lady who identified herself as a Personal Assistant disclosed to our correspondent that there is a standing instruction for any one speaking on any issue to confirm from the Iranian External Affairs Minister as to avoid any unhealthy relationship with Nigeria.

Why SGF, Babachir Must be Allowed to Focus

By Abiodun Israel

The Buhari administration has been accused severally of being slow, many even say it is overwhelmed by the problems on ground. Whereas I will agree that the magnitude of problems left behind by the past administration is indeed enormous, I will want to disagree with the notion that this administration is incapable of solving these problems.

President Buhari comes across as a meticulous leader who would prefer things are done properly rather than hurriedly. This meticulous nature reflects also in the appointments he has made so far. One of such appointment is that of Engr Babachir David Lawal as secretary to the government of the federation(SGF).

Babachir is a 1979 graduate of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He is a seasoned professional who has distinguished himself both in the public and the private sector. Some schools of thought believe he actually got the appointment based on the testimony of his incorruptible nature.

His approach to work just like that of the president is not about noise making but about efficiency and results. Since Babachirs’ appointment I have been a keen follower of his actions, those within the presidency will attest to the changes he has brought to the office of the SGF since being appointed.

As soon as he was appointed one of his very first tasks was to preside over the smooth transition of permanent secretaries manning miniseries to the on boarding of minister plus the streamlining of ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) in the federal government. This on paper may sound very easy but in actual practice without much noise yet achieve such seamlessly is a proof of the capacity of Babachir to superintend the office of the SGF .

A lot of work is being done to streamline operations in parastatals within the presidency and work has been ongoing on this successfully however quietly. I believe the office of the SGF requires a man with deep maturity, calmness and the integrity, these three attributes cannot be taken away from Babachir.

Though a lot of people have different ideas of who they think the SGF should be, I have heard several people say it should have this person or that person, no matter how valid they think their arguments for whoever they support are , one thing you can’t take away from Engr Lawal Babachir is the fact that his profile matches the job title adequately.

Whereas I would have preferred not to talk about them, but from past experience where in this country where people sat in the comfort of their bedroom cook up fairytale like lies and dish it out to the public, and most often they don’t need everyone to believe it, just a few will do, the few helps in spreading it and before we know it what may initially look like a joke that will go away become a topic of serious discussion.

Recently some compromised media organizations have gone ahead to sponsor allegations of graft against the person of the SGF without substantiating it, all just to discredit him. I laughed when I read one of such articles. Those who know Lawal Babachir well in his days in the private sector and also public service will attest to his integrity and how morally upright he is. He has been a friend of president Buhari for a while now, there is a popular saying that goes “show me your friend and I can tell who you are” President Buhari is very choosy about his friends, had Babachir any trace of what this detractors are alleging, I personally can assure you Buhari will not touch him with a long pole.

I could smell raw malice and mischief in the publications. If anyone really has a substance of evidence against the SGF why not approach the anti-corruption agencies with your proof, why hide behind faceless publications to discredit a man putting his utmost best into his work to deliver the change the president has promised Nigerians.

It is amazing that one of the issues his detractors raised is the issue of his cordiality with the opposition. Babachir understands his role as SGF very clearly, he knows he is not just the Secretary for APC alone but for the federal government of Nigeria as a whole, this is very clear to him. So whether you are PDP or APC , he continues to relate with everyone as a bridge builder that he is, which explains the popular support he has with key stakeholders across the country.

It was this bridge building character that worked for the SGF when he led the delegation that waded into the proposed strike by labour unions over the fuel price hike and I must say that his demeanor throughout the process was quite commendable. He navigated the process quite naturedly without raising much dust. I know a few people may still be aggrieved that their preferred candidates where not appointed, I do not think spreading falsehood to discredit the chosen one is the correct approach.

The position of Secretary to the government of the federation is always critical to the success or otherwise of any administration, Since democracy returned in 1999, The office of the SGF have wielded so much powers, from Uffot Ekaette, to Babagana Kingibe, to Yayale Ahmed, to Pius Anyim you will agree that this men wielded enormous powers within the presidency, some of them where even nicknamed prime ministers. Lawal Babachirs humility in this position is therefore uncommon in this position. He is a man with a very balanced attitude toward life and work.

I think we need a man of wisdom and maturity like Lawal Babachir to manage the proposed change and reforms that the government plans to deploy to the operations of the presidency. Very soon government will be constituting the boards of several agencies and parastatals, new heads will be appointed, this entire task will majorly be spearheaded by the office of the SGF. I those throwing Mud on his white garment will now for the sake of Nigeria sheath their swords and let him concentrate on the enormous task ahead.

Abiodun is a public affairs commentator and writes from Ibadan, Nigeria.

AGF Abubakar and Our Incurable Tall Poppy Syndrome

By Kolawole Anthony

I may not be the biggest fan of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Malami Abubakar SAN but I cannot but observe that those presently trying to besmear him are doing a desperate job of it. With what I now of Nigeria and our tradition of targeted witch-hunt the style was usually to pick on one grievous offence and highlight same to the point of generating national outrage.

But the allegations against Mr Abubakar are as long as the 210 count charges that frustrated prosecution counsels will bring against an upright person just to increase the possibility of securing a guilty verdict. These numerous accusations – repeating them here would eventually amount to be slandering the gentleman – give me the sense that whoever the AGF’s enemies are must be very powerful. There is also no point in trying to make a list of the things the AGF got right for which he should be commended. That would amount to image laundering.

This write up is not about image laundering for anyone. For me, it is my contribution by giving an early warning on what I see as a potentially dangerous situation that is unfolding. Since the funny stories about the AGF increased in frequency, which I find hard to believe is a coincidence, I have taken time to observe that there are some other pivotal members of the current government that are not being spared. The minister of justice, in this piece, is therefore symbolic of all other members of the present government that are facing the onslaught from a group, individuals or both that are yet to marshal the courage to show their faces or reveal their identities.

Far from targeting Mr Abubakar, the target of those after him will appear to be his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, whose relationship with the minister dates back some years. As opposed to running Abubakar out of the government the objective from my viewpoint is to isolate Mr President from lieutenants that are truly loyal to him. Perchance President Buhari falls for this ruse he would be playing into the trap of his enemies who have conjured the Tarquin the Proud treatment for him as he would succumb to Tall Poppy Syndrome.

According to Wikipedia, the cultural phenomenon known as "tall poppy syndrome," is one in which persons of unusual merit are attacked or resented because of their achievements. The phenomenon dates back in time and Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling narrated that “The reference is to an ancient story in Rome in which the son of Tarquin, the kin of Rome, had gained power in the rival city of Gabii. The son sent a messenger to his father to ask for advice about what he should do, but the father did not trust the messenger. Saying nothing, he simply walked around in the garden and struck the flowers off the tallest poppies. When the messenger related this behaviour o the son, the son correctly inferred that he should try to bring about the death of the leading citizens of the city.”

The President would therefore be helping to weaken his own government if he buys into the barrage of supposedly “damaging stories” about a very strategic minister in his government. If the Tarquin story proves true in his own case, he will soon discover that the rest of his trusted allies would be sullied one way or the other and he will end up having to lop the tallest of his men off at the instigation of an enemy whose capabilities he is yet to fully grasp.

The other facet to the prism is the cultural side of the “tall poppy syndrome,” we all certainly enjoy it when persons in position of authority face the prospect of taking a big tumble. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on what side one views it from, President Buhari is the nation’s tallest poppy. The sadistic part of the population is setting him up with accusations about his appointees – if he fails to get rid of them after the accusations he would be accused of harbouring corruption; if he gets rid of those accused the same accusers will later come after him saying he is intolerant. I recall vividly that he was severally accused of “shopping for angels to occupy his cabinet” when he was trying to be thorough in arriving at the list of his appointees.

I have a sense that one dangerous thing that can happen the way things are currently going is for Mr Abubakar to be petrified by these allegations to the point of becoming ineffective in office. While he is at liberty to exercise his reflexive human reactions that include becoming overwhelmed by the circumstances, he will do well to be informed that the system will suffer if he should become lethargic just like those after his boss wants him to be. They will then finally have a genuine excuse to demand for his head, only that in his case they will want his head on the basest platter possible and not a platter of gold.

In the meantime, I am waiting to see the next story to added to the overfilled cart containing the AGF’s supposed misdeeds or who next would be added to President Buhari’s “to axe” list from among his cabinet.

Kolawole PHD is a University lecturer and contributed this article from Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Nigeria Ranked 4th In List Of Top 30 Most Powerful Militaries In Africa

According to an index released by Global Firepower (GFP) measuring a government’s military strength, Nigeria has been ranked as the 4th country with the most powerful military in Africa.

The list of top 30 countries with the most powerful military in Africa has Egypt topping the list, followed by Algeria, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa.

The list is drawn based on the country that has the most manpower, equipment which covers the air, land, naval power and the petroleum to sustain its army among other factors.

The ranking system focuses on the diversity of weapons systems and provides bonuses and penalties for things like nuclear arms, diversity of force structures, and alliances (like NATO).
Meanwhile, the most powerful military in the world is the United States, followed by Russia, China, India and the UK.
US has been the world’s strongest military since 1945.

Here is the full list of top 30 African countries:
1. Egypt
2. Algeria
3. Ethiopia
4. Nigeria
5. South Africa
6. Angola
7.Morocco
8.Sudan
9.Libya
10.Democratic Republic of the Congo
11.Kenya
12.Tunisia
13.Zimbabwe
14.Zambia
15.Chad
16.Uganda
17.Tanzania
18.South Sudan
19.Ghana
20.Cameroon 2
1.Mozambique
22.Niger
23.Ivory Coast
24.Mali
25.Madagascar
26.Gabon
27.Republic of the Congo
28.Namibia
29.Somalia
30.Central African Republic

Right Group Uncovers Plot To Blackmail AGF

A Human right group, the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) has raised an alarm over what it described as a plot to blackmail the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir David Lawal.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Executive Secretary of the group, Comrade Ikpa Isaac said recent reports accusing the SGF of monetizing his office for personal gain is a desperate ploy to undermine the anti corruption war of president Muhammad Buhari.

He said "The desperation to create doubts about President Buhari’s commitment to tackle corruption was such that they accused the SGF of allowing the activities of government to nosedive.
Unable to pin anything on him, they came up with the allegation of job racketeering, which they claimed was operated on his behalf by a syndicate."

He said the group is concerned because the strategy of those behind this plot is that they will attempt to create mistrust, division and infighting within the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

"The expectation is that with confusion sown in the government several outcomes to derail the anti-corruption crusade would be achieved: President Buhari would be distracted from focusing on stamping out corruption; the President would be misled or pressured into dropping those that are actually performing in the government

"After being wrongly accused of corruption, the exit of those that are performing in the government would virtually cripple the cabinet or slow it down; with the vacancy created by wrongly sacking key members of the cabinet, the proxies of pro-corruption persons would be appointed as replacements; the replacements will then engage in acts that will undermine the integrity of the government and compromise the anti-corruption fight.

"Even when President Buhari is discerning not to fire his strong hands, the sustained allegation of corruption against cabinet members is aimed at placing question mark on his government."
He said other campaign to descredit the President Buhari's anti-corruption war include recent claiming that a member of the President’s cabinet and serving minister used stolen funds to make Mr President’s election possible.

He said the campaign has now found a new target in the person of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engineer Babachir David Lawal, who they are accusing of monetizing his office for personal gain.

According to him "As with all other stories with sinister motives, all that was offered was ‘sources’ that have never been named in any of the several publications that have made such far reaching allegations.
Knowing the importance of the Office of SGF in the effective running of the country, we are worried about the impact that distractions like these allegations will constitute at a time when the country should be exploring multiple options for moving forward."

He said it has uncovered a plot to mobilize staff under various guises to contrive protests that will destabilize the operations of the SGF’s office so that the protests can be further used to justify the claims that Engineer Babachir David Lawal is corrupt.

He urged Nigerians to ignore the minute population of the very few and disgruntled elements seeking Engineer Lawal’s head for doing his job and serving the people with his best.