₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s ex-Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Matthew Mbu, has stated that he was aware of the plan by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha to remove Nigeria’s Interim leader, Chief Ernest Shonekan, from office within three months.

Mbu also wrote how Babaginda spared Abacha because he (Abacha) saved him from two coups.

H revealed how he warned Ibrahim Babaginda against handing over to Shonekan because Abacha was going to take over.

This was made public through an autobiography he left behind to be published by his family

The autobiography entitled, “Dignity in Service,” is due for public presentation on Tuesday next week at the Yar’Adua International Conference Centre, Abuja.

In the book, the late diplomat, who was the Foreign Affairs Minister in the government, said he had hint of the coup against Shonekan from the UN but did not specify who the actual person was.

He wrote, “Thereafter, they gave me hints that we would not last more than two to three months in office and that they were going to sack us. I had hints about the eventual takeover by General Abacha from the UN.

“When I came back, I packed all my things as usual but I could neither get Shonekan to understand me, nor even his boss, IBB.

“I said, ‘Don’t make the mistake of handing over to Shonekan; if you do that, in three months, Abacha will take over and Shonekan will be jettisoned from his seat.

“Exactly three months later, it happened. IBB phoned me and said, ‘You said it!’ and I replied, ‘What did I tell you?

“There was an intimate relationship that existed between IBB and Abacha. IBB told me that Abacha had done him favours in the past. He had saved him from two coups.

“Probably that explains why they were so intimate because he was the only one who could come and interrupt him at anytime and stay with him for hours.

“As the foreign affairs minister, I had a lot to do and I could not wait until when IBB was through with Abacha, other ministers could not do it but I could go there at anytime and I would always ask IBB, ‘What is it between you and this man, haven’t you done enough for him?’

“He would reply ‘He did so much for me.'”


http://dailypost.ng/2018/04/07/warned-babaginda-abacha-overthrow-shonekan-mbu/

How did they maneuver through the death trap roads to Arochukwu

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Wednesday said the Federal Government was worried about the low number of candidates seeking admission into its 104 colleges across the country, who registered for the 2018 National Common Entrance Examination.

The minister, in a statement released in Abuja by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Priscillia Ihuoma, noted that only 28 candidates from Zamfara State registered for the examination.

Pleading with state governments, heads of schools and interest groups to persuade school-age children in the areas with low registration to register for the examination, he said that a directive had been given to leave the portal open for registration until April 13.

Adamu said the report of a stakeholders’ meeting held recently indicated that Taraba, Kebbi and Zamfara states had the lowest number of candidates who  registered for the entrance examination. While Taraba had 95 candidates, Kebbi had 50.

The release read in part, “Ahead of the 2018 National Common Entrance Examination for admission of candidates into the 104 Federal Government colleges on Saturday, April 14, the minister has expressed worry over low registration for the examination so far.

“According to him, the report of a meeting of major stakeholders in the education sector said candidates registered in 2018 stood at 71,294 as against 80,421 that wrote the examination in 2017.

“The report further shows three states with the highest number of pupils registered so far are: Lagos with 24,465 candidates, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, with 7,699 and Rivers State with 4,810 candidates respectively. On the other hand, three states with extreme low registration are: Zamfara with only 28 candidates, Kebbi, 50 and Taraba, 95 candidates respectively.”

The minister said the examination would go on as planned and urged state governments, parents, heads of schools and relevant interest groups in areas to take steps to remedy the situation.


http://punchng.com/only-28-candidates-registered-for-common-entrance-exam-in-zamfara/amp/

If the government is serious in filling up these so called Hard-to-filll positions,the way to go is to train (on the job & off the job training) and equip young graduates so they could fit in. Simple!

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in an interview published Monday, recognized Israel’s right to exist and extolled the prospect of future diplomatic relations between his kingdom and the Jewish state.
In an extensive interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg , Prince Mohammed laid out his vision for the future of the Middle East, including the possibility of cooperation with Israel.
Asked whether he believes “the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least part of their ancestral homeland,” he replied: “I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation. I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.”

However, in keeping with the terms of his kingdom’s regional peace proposal, the Saudi crown prince added that an agreement with the Palestinians was a prerequisite to formal relations. “But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations,” he said.
Did he have “no religious-based objection to the existence of Israel?” he was further asked. To which the crown prince replied: “We have religious concerns about the fate of the holy mosque in Jerusalem and about the rights of the Palestinian people. This is what we have. We don’t have any objection against any other people.”
Asked about anti-Semitism in Saudi Arabia, he said: “Our country doesn’t have a problem with Jews. Our Prophet Muhammad married a Jewish woman. Not just a friend — he married her. Our prophet, his neighbors were Jewish. You will find a lot of Jews in Saudi Arabia coming from America, coming from Europe. There are no problems between Christian and Muslims and Jews. We have problems like you would find anywhere in the world, among some people. But the normal sort of problems.”
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official relations and the kingdom does not recognize the Jewish state. Israel has hinted at clandestine ties with Saudi Arabia in recent years, stressing the two countries share an interest in countering Iran. The rumors of covert relations have been denied by Saudi officials. Still, a Saudi general visited Jerusalem in 2016 and met with Israeli lawmakers, and Saudi officials have met with Israeli officials on several occasions in public; Saudi Arabia also last month allowed Air India to fly to and from Tel Aviv via its airspace.
Discussing whether a shared concern over Iran was bringing Israel and Saudi Arabia together, he said: “Israel is a big economy compared to their size and it’s a growing economy, and of course there are a lot of interests we share with Israel and if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and countries like Egypt and Jordan.”
Salman also discussed the threat to the Middle East he said was posed by Iran, even saying that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, “makes Hitler look good.”
“Hitler didn’t do what the supreme leader is trying to do. Hitler tried to conquer Europe. This is bad,” he explained. “But the supreme leader is trying to conquer the world. He believes he owns the world. They are both evil guys. He is the Hitler of the Middle East. In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened. We don’t want to see what happened in Europe happen in the Middle East. We want to stop this through political moves, economic moves, intelligence moves. We want to avoid war.”
Asked about the differences in how former US president Barack Obama and his successor, Donald Trump, chose to deal with the Iranian threat, Salman said that although the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran aimed to curb the Islamic Republic’s fanaticism, it included risks his country could not afford to take.
“President Obama believed that if he gave Iran opportunities to open up, it would change,” Salman explained. “But with a regime based on this ideology, it will not open up soon. Sixty percent of the Iranian economy is controlled by th Revolutionary Guard. The economic benefits of the Iran nuclear deal are not going to the people.
“They took $150 billion after the deal — can you please name one housing project they built with this money? One park? One industrial zone? Can you name for me the highway that they built? I advise them — please show us something that you’re building a highway with $150 billion,” he said. “Fo Saudi Arabia, there is a 0.1 percent chance that this deal would work to change the country. For President Obama it was 50 percent. But even if there’s a 50 percent chance that it woul work, we can’t risk it. The other 50 percent is war. We have to go to a scenario where there is no war.”
In a major Saudi shakeup last year, Prince Mohammed pushed aside his older and more experienced cousin to become first in line to his father’s throne, setting himself up to control Saudi policy for decades to come.
The Saudis are working aggressively to change perceptions. They’ve cast themselves as essential partners against Islamist extremist groups and, especially since Trump’s maiden overseas voyage last year, touted their lavish purchases of high-tech goods from job-creating American companies. In Yemen, the kingdom says it is improving military targeting, opening up ports and pledging $1.5 billion in new aid.

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/04/02/557238/saudi-arabia-bin-salman-israel

As the controversy rages over #Buharichallenge on the twitter, social media, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has promised to reward anyone who can mention three projects, initiated, inaugurated and completed by President Muhammadu Buhari for public use in the last three years since assumption of office.
In an exclusive interview with Nigerian NewsDirect, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said his party knew that the present administration had not done any project, thereby its tactics of using all diversionary tactics to cover its ineptitude in power
Ologbondiyan, who also confirmed that he had been following the social media debate since it was started by a Nigerian, Jesse Ukachukwu, using twitter handle, @JesseUka. Ukachukwu had challenged anyone to mention any project envisaged, completed and inaugurated by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari , he promised to pay N50,000 to the account of anyone who can give him the right answer.
He wrote, “I will pay N50,000 into the account of any person who gives us ONE visible project envisaged, completed and inaugurated by the govt of Buhari since he became president three years ago”.
More than four days after he posted it, no one had been able to mention any three projects, initiated, completed and inaugurated by President Buhari for public use since he assumed power three years ago.
In the meantime, other social media users have raised the price money to N350,000 but PDP said it had raised the price money to N500,000.
In a similar vein, the National Chairman of Peoples Party of Nigeria, Hon Razak Eyiowuawi described the trend as shameful and call for reflection.
“Despite several billions of naira allocated to capital projects, does it mean that the Federal government cannot point to any project completed by the current administration? He asked.
In a related development, PDP said the APC-led government should disclose the sources of the looted funds used to prosecute President Buhari’s campaign in 2015.
The party while responding to the allegation of hacking into the President Buhari’s personal records with intention of rigging the 2015 election in the famous Cambridge Analytica episode said the APC and its Federal Government are chasing shadows in their desperate plot to implicate the opposition in the alleged hacking into the personal record of its Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
The party said while it welcomed an open investigation into the Cambridge Analytica saga, it demands that such inquest be extended to cover the sources of the looted funds used to prosecute President Buhari’s campaign in 2015.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, on Sunday, said the APC was merely seeking to divert public attention from its manifold failures and scandals, as it is already public knowledge that neither the PDP nor any of its officials or members were ever linked or indicted in any way, in the said saga.
“It is also public knowledge that the document being relied upon by the APC clinically stated that, “there is no suggestion that Jonathan knew of the covert operation.”
“We are therefore aware that this new agenda is to divert public attention from the various scandalous allegations hanging on the neck of the Buhari Presidency, including the use of looted funds to finance his 2015 Presidential election, the Martin Luther King award saga, the damaging Bill Gates verdict on the Buhari’s economic policies as well as the numerous financial scandals in the NNPC under his watch.” The party said
“This inquest should therefore be completely open and independent of government control, so that Nigerians will know the truth, not only on the Cambridge Analytica saga, but also on the source of funds for the President’s 2015 campaign and other sleazes under his watch” the statement concluded.

http://nigeriannewsdirect.com/buharichallenge-mention-three-buharis-projects-collect-n500000-pdp-tells-nigerians-apc/

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday listed cases of alleged looting by officials of the Federal Government.
The party was reacting to the list of “PDP looters” released in Lagos on Friday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Mohammed had listed the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus; chairman of DARR Communication, Chief Raymond Dokpesi and former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, among the alleged looters.
But in a swift reaction, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said for the All Progressive Congress (APC) to accuse members of the PDP of treasury looting is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

In a statement, the party listed cases of alleged looting by officials of the federal government in the Buhari administration but which the PDP said have been swept under the carpet.
“This is a government that is yet to account for $26 billion (N9 trillion) stolen through corrupt oil contracts in the NNPC, N1.1 trillion worth of crude diverted to service APC interests, N18 billion Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) intervention fund stolen by APC officials, including their former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.

“The N10 billion National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for which members of the Buhari cabal were indicted, as well as the Mainagate, where the APC government recalled and reinstated an individual indicted for scam running into billions of naira,” the PDP stated.

Dismissing the list released by Mohammed as hollow and laughable, the PDP challenged the minister to name any of its members that has been convicted for treasury looting.
The party said the list is an extension of federal government’s media trial of its members and challenged it to come up with names of its members against whom the federal government had secured convictions.

It added: “The list put forward by the federal government as purported looters amounts to a cheap blackmail as none of those listed have been indicted or convicted by any court of competent jurisdiction or any panel of enquiry in our country.
“The list issued by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, only goes to show that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency have no prove of corruption against the PDP.”
The party said in its frenzy and desperation, the federal government even included names of individuals who are not standing trial or under investigation for any act of corruption, as well as those who are not even PDP members.

“The Buhari-led federal government has manifested its frenzy by going after matters that are in court and in which none of the persons have been convicted, thus betraying their wickedness and desperation to mislead the public, the court and divert attention from the heavy looting involving their members.
“We are not in doubt that the individuals he has mentioned will take their legitimate stride and pursue appropriate action in the court.
“However, attacks on individuals, who are members of our party, do not in any way detract from the fact that the PDP, as a political platform, is not a party of corruption.

“It is unfortunate that the APC and its government under whose watch horrendous sleazes are happening on a daily basis and a government that has failed to fulfill the littlest of its campaign promises, can spend a wholesome three years searching for flimsy allegations to discredit our party and its members.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/pdp-replies-apc-lists-cases-alleged-looting-buhari/

It was reported at the Senate plenary on Thursday that no fewer than 66 persons were extra-judicially mowed down in Zamfara state by maruading gunmen.
This latest tragedy happened last night with women and children as major victims.
Senator Kabiru Marafa, representing Zamfara central senatorial district, brought the sad development to the attention of the hallowed chambers through an adopted order 43.
In his explanation, Marafa disclosed that young married women were brazenly separated from their husbands and raped with impunity.
“Mr. President, the killing took place in my senatorial district and even beyond in the state”
He claimed that local authorities with particular reference to the state government do not want the public to know about the lingering violence meted out to the people.
The lawmaker further accused the local media of being compromise with hush money against reporting the prevailing carnage and state of lawlessness.
Marafa also said unconfirmed reports of the number of casualties was put at 66 while the international media houses said it was 15.
The lawmaker said the situation required urgent response before the state goes out of control.
He also spoke of the need to declare a state of emergency in the state if the state of lawlessness persisted.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/29/fresh-violence-zamfara-claims-66-lives-senator/

Senate President Bukola Saraki and the All Progressives Congress Chairman , Chief John Odigie - Oyegun , were absent from the 10 th Bola Tinubu Colloquium , which was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos on Thursday .
The colloquium is organised annually as part of events to mark the birthday of a national leader of the APC,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,and this year ’s event , which was held at Eko Hotel and Suites , Victoria Island , Lagos , had the theme , “Investing in people .”
Other notable APC members absent were the Speaker of the House of Representatives , Yakubu Dogara , and the Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi.
It was not clear why all of them were absent at the event , but Oyegun is at the centre of a one year tenure elongation granted to the executive of the party at all levels, which Tinubu had openly opposed.

continue read:
http://punchng.com/saraki-oyegun-absent-as-buhari-lauds-tinubu-at-66/

usba:
[s][/s]

Here are words on marble:

My greatest joy is that APC has laid a precedent on how to fight corruption.At the long run a different individual will take over the mantle of leadership of this country, in fact I pity those who are enjoying the tide now. what goes around comes around.

Clerverly:
[s][/s]

So which Region are always online 24 hours abusing Buhari?

No government in Nigeria that didn't receive her share of insults and abuse, so I don't know why Buhari and his supporters are averse to insult. Obasanjo, Jonathan even Yar'adua were constantly insulted by Nigerians. Today Trump and Putin are insulted on daily basis. As long as you present yourself for political position, your privacy and dignity will become a public discuss.

Because you don't have any thing to offer Nigerians. A serious minded govt will devote all her energy to improving the lives of her citizens. Imagine employing someone who claims to have what it takes to turn around an ailing company,instead of concentrating and focus in salvaging the company, all he keeps doing for 3years is to blame the past managers, while he run the company aground the more.

Clerverly:
You see frustrated ipob miscreants supporting their Regional corrupt Party!

Tinubu wey no gree separate from Buhari dey pain dem go...

From all indices which region is the "fake changi" affecting the most and which region is rank lowest in poverty index in Nigeria? Keep supporting failure because you're out to spite the so called ipob.
By the time Buhari is done with Nigeria everyone's brain will auto-reset.

The Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo and the Middle Belt Forum has set up a movement known as the Mass Alliance for Inclusive Nigeria, MAIN Front.
The Movement is to deepen the call for Nigeria’s restructuring.
This is contained in a statement by PANDEF leader, Chief E.K. Clark; Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Chief John Nwodo and President, Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bala Takaya.
In a statement titled, ‘Nigeria at crossroads: MAIN front to the rescue’, the leaders said, “Nigeria is, at the moment, in a state of inertia, with her people stranded at the juncture of dilemma, pondering as to what path leads to socio-economic emancipation, where the future of our country’s younger generation can be secured, and our women saved from needless anxiety over what fate awaits their children.
”As a country of energetic and hardworking people, we have not always been like this. For long rendered prostrate and made to exist in a state of suspended animation, our country now is on a fast-tracked race to a bleak future for the unborn children.
“Our country has never been in a more dire strait than it is today with the virtual collapse of governance, crass display of insensitivity, the arrogance of power, unquantifiable corruption, and the country fast becoming a laughing stock and butt of practical jokes in enlightened circles.
“Beyond the hyperboles, and given the reality of our existence, the future ended yesterday if the ‘state of anomie’, where lives have become cheap and un-guaranteed, with almost assured deaths of children and women, including the unborn babies, and destruction for family compounds and communities.
”Without sounding pessimistic, under the present social order, the quest for peace and socio-political progress, no matter the sincerity of individual actors, will remain, regrettably, an unfulfilled passion.
“In the circumstances, our major assignment, is to salvage the ship of the Nigerian state tottering in a scarily rudderless manner in the roaring waters of insecurity, economic decline and permanent political tension, is the restoration of stolen Nigeria ‘Article of Faith’, amongst Nigerians.
”The point being made, in no unmistaken terms, is that the dismantled federal architecture must be reconstructed, where each state in Nigeria will be self-accounting with respect to its nature-endowed natural resources, of which no federating unit in Nigeria is denied of God’s numerous gifts to His creatures, and self-securing of lives and property within its constitutionally-defined geopolitical space.
”This is the irreducible minimum item of a social contract that our long-suffering people demand of any group and association that seeks to take control of our country’s political destiny, henceforth. This precisely is what we, the Mass Alliance for Inclusive Nigeria, pledge to affect.”
They demanded the immediate release of the remaining Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu, stressing, “While we rejoice with the parents whose daughters have been returned, we strongly demand the immediate release of Leah Sharibu, who remains in the custody of her captors, given her refusal to denounce her Christian faith. The Nigerian state cannot claim to have closed this sordid saga for as long as Leah and outstanding Chibok Girls remain in captivity.”


http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/29/2019-ohanaeze-afenifere-middle-belt-forum-pandef-float-new-movement/

….says his view carries no weight until party decides

…as court adjourns hearing of suit till April 16

ABUJA – The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Wednesday, challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to hear the suit seeking to nullify the one-year tenure extension that was granted to its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other members of its National Working Committee, NWC.


The party further queried the decision of the court to grant accelerated hearing to the legal action that was initiated on March 8 by four of its members who told the court that they are aspiring to run for leadership positions upon expiration of the current term of executives of the APC at various levels.

It will be recalled that the National Executive Council of the APC had at a meeting it held on February 27, 2018, extended the four-year tenure of the party officials due to expire on June 30, by one year.

However, the plaintiffs- Ademorin Kuye from Lagos State; Sani Mayanchi from Zamfara State and currently the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state; Are Mutiu also from Lagos State, and Machu Tokwat from Kaduna State, maintained that the action of the APC NEC was illegal.

Aside Odigie-Oyegun, others that the plaintiffs, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/237/2018, urged the court to compel to vacate their positions at the expiration of their current tenure, are officials of the party at the National, State, Local Government Area, and Ward level across the country.

Meanwhile, at the resumed proceeding on the case on Wednesday, counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. Jubrin Okutekpa, SAN, notified the court that President Muhammadu Buhari had at the National Executive Council meeting of the APC in Abuja on Tuesday, conceded that the tenure elongation was unconstitutional.

He said there was need for the court to expedite hearing of the suit so as to promptly reverse the illegal tenure extension that was condemned by President Buhari.

However, APC, through its lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, urged the court to discountenance the submission which it said was misconceived.

APC told the court that President Buhari was entitled to his personal views, saying he is an ordinary member of the party like others.

Daudu, SAN, said: “As far as President Buhari’s view are concerned, it carries no weight until the party meets and decide and deliberate on it. As far as the party is concerned, he is an ordinary member like others.”

He said the party was inline with Order 7 Rule 1 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, entitled to 30 days from the date the suit was filed, to enter its defence.

APC insisted that the suit raised serious constitutional issues, saying “for the interest of fair hearing, we are still within time to file our processes”.

Similarly, Odigie-Oyegun who is also a defendant in the suit, through his lawyer, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, aligned himself with the position of the party, even as he opposed the abridgement of time for hearing of the suit.

On his part, the National Organising Secretary of the party Osita Izunaso who is also a defendant, challenged his inclusion in the matter.

Izunaso, through his lawyer, Mr. James Onoja, SAN, further contended that he was not properly served with the court processes which he said was dumped at the APC secretariat.

Meantime, INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Idris Yakubu, told the court that the commission also raised a preliminary objection against the suit.

In a bench ruling, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba said the court would adopt a procedure that would guarantee fair and expeditious hearing of the matter.

He ordered all the parties to file and exchange their processes before April 16.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/senators-total-monthly-entitlement-stands-n1-063m-rmafc/

So true Simi.
God was speaking to Nigerians when He said in
Isaiah 29:13

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Mathew 15:8

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

The leadership of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Igbo youths under the aegis of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, IYC, the Yoruba Youth Council, YYC, and 54 other groups met in Abuja on Monday.

In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the groups said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had failed Nigerians.

According to the youths, the current administration had failed in securing the nation from the herdsmen killing people in the North and other parts of the country.

They said, “The present government under President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in all ramifications and Nigerians, particularly the youths, must begin to examine other options and review the leadership selection process.”

The youths vowed to mobilise Nigerian youths across all ethnic divides to work for a more stable and guaranteed future for the populace.

The meeting was convened by the National President, National Ethnic Nationalities Leaders, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, who is also the leader of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum.

At the meeting, they examined the security situation in the country and the uncertainties in the political and economic environment.

Signatories to the communiqué included: Yerima, B. Oweilaemi (President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide and Ethnic Nationalities Forum of Niger Delta); Okechukwu Isiguzoro (Deputy Chairman, Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders ) and National President, (Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide); and Eric Oluwole(National Secretary Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders and National President, Yoruba Youth Council.

They expressed concern that in the past three years of the Buhari presidency, Nigerians, especially youths, were being killed and maimed under various guises, while the country’s elite and politicians “only quarrel and raise further tensions.”

The groups said the meeting was necessitated by “our concern over the deepening poverty and restiveness among the nation’s youths due to long neglect by the authorities.”

The communique added, “Worried by the recent uncertain twists in the country which are punctuated by crises and conflicting perceptions, the leaders of Nigeria’s ethnic nationality youth groups met in Abuja to review the state of the nation.

“It’s close to three years since the present government was sworn in with Muhammadu Buhari as president and Nigerians, especially the youths, are yet to feel any meaningful change.

“It’s been one challenge after the other, from stinging poverty, to mass joblessness, to pervading insecurity, to painful fuel scarcity, to poor power supply and to a persistent instability in the value of the naira.

“We insist that the government must take visibly serious steps towards an extensive restructuring of the country as the only remaining available solution to the current economic and political woes.

“We resolve to mobilise youths across all ethnic divides to work for a more stable and guaranteed future devoid of undue manipulation by the present crop of bankrupt elite.

“We, therefore, call on the youths everywhere to wake up and participate actively in the leadership selection processes in their local governments, states and the federation.”

http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/27/2019-arewa-igbo-ijaw-yoruba-youths-meet-vow-mobilize-buhari/

It's happening before our eyes.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who defected recently, from the ruling All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic party, has denied a festering rumour that he is about to dump the PDP for the resuscitated Social Democratic Party. This is coming barely four months after he left the APC. Atiku, in this interview with LASISI AYUBA, says the SDP defection story is absolute falsehood, and volunteers a historical recall of how he was hounded out of the PDP and begged to join the APC. The former VP, widely believed to be in the presidential race, also offers glimpses into a Nigeria of his dream. Excerpts:

You are a Fulani and most of the recent killings of innocent local people in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states have been attributed to herdsmen of Fulani extraction. Does this not make you uncomfortable?

The herdsmen crisis actually came about as a result of leadership failure. Nations are not static; they grow and change. To be sincere, desertification was not an issue in northern Nigeria 50 years ago. Now, it is an issue. The changing environment has placed a great strain on people who live off the land like the herdsmen. Leadership is essentially about anticipating the consequences of these changes. When I gave the keynote speech at this year’s Silverbird Man of the Year ceremony, I addressed this issue. I said Nigeria was caught up in a Malthusian trap where population growth has far exceeded Gross Domestic Product’s growth. For the specific issue of herdsmen, in my private capacity, I established a company called Rico Gardo that provides animal feeds at very affordable prices to pastoralists so that they do not need to graze their cattle on private lands. This firm has been very successful in reducing herdsmen-farmers clashes in its area of operation. John F. Kennedy said, ‘When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents ‘danger’ and the other represents ‘opportunity.’

I think our current set of leaders are too focused on the danger side of crisis and are not as focused on the opportunity side of it. Turn this crisis into an opportunity. New challenges require new thinking. If I were to advise the Federal Government, I would counsel them to learn from Rico Gardo. Just as Nigeria has built government and privately owned fertilizer plants, the government should build and encourage the private sector to build animal feeds factories. Sell the feeds to the herdsmen and make money from them. The value chain this industry will create will generate jobs for Nigerians and revenue for the government. But most importantly, it will end these clashes. I am not telling you of what I have heard. I am telling you of what I am doing. And what I am doing is working in the area where Rico Gardo is operational. My plan for the future is to expand nationwide. However, let me also say that it is a misnomer to use the term ‘killer herdsmen of Fulani extraction’ or ‘killer Fulani herdsmen’. When kidnappers kidnap, we do not identify them by their ethnicity. We identify them as kidnappers, pure and simple. The vast majority of Fulani people are peaceful and live in harmony with other ethnic groups. There may be fringe elements with criminal tendencies. Some may be Fulani. Some may not even be. Let us identify them by their activities and not by their ethnicity.


How would you describe the recent kidnap of 110 schoolgirls from Dapchi in Yobe State, barely four years after a similar thing occurred in Chibok, Borno State?

Let me paraphrase Oscar Wilde and say that to lose one set of girls to Boko Haram may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose another set, looks like carelessness. As an opposition party, the APC was vocal to the point of exploiting the issue of the Chibok girls’ kidnapping. They criticised that government every step of the way and some may even claim that they undermined the then government’s efforts at resolving that unfortunate incident. So it is rather surprising that a set of people who were so unsparing in their critique of the previous government would be in a situation whereby they have allowed these same terrorists to kidnap 110 girls. And not just the girls; I am very sad about the killing of United Nations’ staff and aid workers in Rann. We have also had policewomen abducted by Boko Haram.

But if you were the President under this circumstance, what would you have done differently?

Recently, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro, revealed that 150,000 policemen are guarding various members of the elite and those we know as ‘big men’. If I had my way, I would have recalled all of those 150,000 policemen, who are not performing core police duties, and sent them to provide security for every school in the North-East region. That, to me, would be a better use of their time and services. We already know that Boko Haram has an agenda to cripple Western education in Nigeria. So how could we have left those schools unguarded? Why should the police be guarding VIPs who can afford personal guards and leave vulnerable girls unguarded? We are spending billions of naira trying to encourage girls to go to school only to allow them to be abducted by terrorists. I gave a number of Chibok girls scholarships to study at the American University of Nigeria, Yola. I did this in part because I wanted to reverse the damage done by Boko Haram to girl-child education in Nigeria. I condemn these abductions and I urge the Federal Government to take a firm action to ensure that it never recurs in Nigeria.

By the time you are elected president in 2019, what would be your early policy decisions?

That is a hypothetical question because I have not declared any ambition to run for president in 2019. However, if what you are proposing should happen, my focus would be on jobs. I have ideas on how to make jobs for all a reality and in God’s good timing, I shall make this public. For now, let me just say that I strongly believe that a man who has no hair cannot lend you a comb. It is wishful thinking to expect a man who is unable to create wealth in his private businesses to create wealth for the public. I have been creating jobs in the private sector for over 30 years. Modesty is my nature and is the tradition with which I was brought up. But personally, the employees in my firms number in the tens of thousands. There is no state in Nigeria that is not represented on our payroll. In essence, my first action would be to remove the impediments that militate against job creation. The budgeting process will be disrupted. No more will recurrent expenditure attract the lion’s share. I will reverse this. We will have a budget heavy on capital expenditure. Roads will be built in every state. Mass housing schemes will pop up in every local government area. Railways will be extended to every state capital. Rivers will be dredged to open up the hinterlands of the North. Licences will be given to state governments to begin immediate exploitation of resources in their jurisdictions.

I will turn Nigeria into a massive construction project. I will not be doing this for fun. The purpose would be to get Nigerians working again. If our youths are busy building roads, mass housing, power stations, dams and schools, they will not have time to be Boko Haram, kidnappers and militants. Our youths are some of the most intelligent and innovative youths on planet earth. But if we do not give them positive outlets to express their innate intelligence, we can be sure they will express them negatively.


It is now about four months ago that you defected from the APC, back to your old party, the Peoples Democratic Party; ostensibly to contest for president. But it would seem you have now developed cold feet, as not much has been heard from you ever since.

Cold feet? Not at all. I think what has happened is that some people may have confused an event with a process. Resigning from the All Progressives Congress was an event. Rejoining the Peoples Democratic Party is a process. The law of process is one of the most vital laws of leadership. Worthwhile processes happen over time; they do not happen overnight. You must remember that unlike the APC, the PDP is a party governed by processes. And then on a wider scale, there are other processes that are controlled by the Independent National Electoral Commission. I understand that standards have slipped in the last few years and people expect ad hoc behaviour from the political class. But I come from a tradition of discipline.

I had a Facebook live video interface with Nigerians where I announced my resignation from the APC on November 24, 2017. The leadership of the PDP in the North-East geopolitical zone paid a solidarity visit to me on December 3, 2017. I visited the PDP national headquarters on December 5, 2017 where I was received by the party’s caretaker committee, including the then caretaker Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi. I was a participant and major speaker at the December 9, 2017 convention of the PDP. Thereafter, I began national consultations. I was in Ekiti State to confer with the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Governor Ayo Fayose, on January 25, 2018. Between February 1 and 2, 2018, I attended the funeral of Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and was energised by the legacy of that great man and fellow founding father of the PDP. So the issue of cold feet does not arise. If anything, my feet are warm. Let me add that politics is not about delivering activity. It is about having a positive impact and that I have been doing.

We are hearing yet again that you are perfecting plans to defect to the Social Democratic Party. Can you clarify this once and for all?

The SDP? This is news to me. Yes, I was a member of the Social Democratic Party along with Chief MKO Abiola, the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and many other patriots. As a party, we worked with Chief Abiola and helped him win the June 12, 1993 presidential election. However, that party was made defunct by the military on the 17th of November, 1993. I have no plans whatsoever to join any party known as the SDP. I never left the PDP. I was pushed out. I did not go looking to join the APC. It was the APC that came to me at my house on December 19, 2013, appealing to me to join their party because my party, the PDP, was factionalised at that time. I am one of the founding fathers of the PDP. I have absolutely no reason to contemplate leaving the PDP as those challenges, which caused it to be factionalised, have now been fully resolved.

You have been at the forefront of calls for restructuring. Do you really believe in it or you merely see it as a vote-getter in 2019?

I have been a consistent advocate of restructuring since 1995 when I was a member of the National Constitutional Conference. My brother in arms in the push for restructuring was the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme. The idea for the six geopolitical zones is a fruit of our restructuring advocacy from that conference. Rotational presidency was another fruit. If I have been consistent about restructuring since 1995, which is 23 years ago, the question cynics should ask is this: is it possible for a man to pretend for 23 years? I am passionate about restructuring. I believe in it. Restructuring does not mean the dismemberment of Nigeria. Rather, it would lead to a more perfect union for all of us. It does not matter what tribe you come from, you have got the identity of a Nigerian. We must get rid of the unhealthy rivalry that exists among our people and create in its place, pure harmony. But for this to happen, we must build true unity with fidelity to the principles espoused by our founding fathers, which were the ground upon which Nigeria was built. The reason we have been having these negative disruptions and periodic chaos is because we have drifted away from those ideals that ensured that between 1957 and 1966, Nigeria was one of the most stable and economically prosperous nations in the world.

Harmony does not mean uniformity. This nation is too large and heterogeneous to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather than force all of our ethnic nationalities to have a uniform voice, I believe that the mark of a true leader is the ability to craft a blend of the various voices within Nigeria into a harmonious tune that produces pleasant music that is conducive to unity. Any forced unity that is not founded on justice is a unity of oil and water. They will never mix. But justice is the bonding agent. The glue, if you will, that binds many pages into one book, and if I were to title that book, I would call it ‘Great Nigeria’. This is the only motive behind my consistent call for the restructuring of Nigeria. I vividly remember the healthy rivalry that existed among the three regions in early pre-independent Nigeria. Unity founded on justice was the reason for that healthy interplay amongst the three regions.

The Western Region was allowed to exploit its resources and they set the pace, which was followed and sometimes surpassed by the other regions. Those saying that we should forget our differences and just forge ahead – as if they (the differences) do not exist – need a reality check from Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late Sardauna of Sokoto. The Right Honourable Nnamdi Azikiwe had told the Sardauna: ‘Let us forget our differences’ to which Sir Ahmadu Bello responded: ‘No, let us understand our differences. I am a Muslim and a Northerner. You are a Christian, an Easterner. By understanding our differences, we can build unity in our country’. It is this ‘understanding’ that I am championing, using restructuring as the only vehicle that can bring it about. Without this understanding, we will continue taking one step forward and two steps backwards, as our very recent history
attests to.

boko Haram has been hijacked by some politicians in the country.The original ideology of the sect has now been converted to a money making venture and propaganda and a political tool adopted by some heartless politicians to attain political power.

There are emerging indicators that this is no comfort period for President Muhammadu Buhari, reflecting that the Presidency is under tension over the political forces that are rising against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the build up to 2019 general elections in addition to the cornucopia of intractable security and economic crises in Nigeria.

The tension, stakeholders in the Nigerian project, conceived has created palpable phobia in President Muhammadu Buhari on his ambition for re-election for second term in 2019.

The leadership of the ruling APC are not excluded from the tension that has engulfed the presidency and the party government.

The reflexes of the tension in the presidency and the subtle fear manifested in the sudden resolution of the APC leaders to resolve the differences between President Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly, essentially, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Right Honourable  Yakubu Dogara.

Further symptoms of the uneasiness in the presidency manifested in President Buhari’s cancelation of the trip to Kigali, Rwanda, for the Heads of Government Summit of the African Union (AU).

The president has been under caustic criticisms of several elder statesmen over the unmitigated killings by Fulani herdsmen and inability of the government to put a stop to the killings and protract lives and property of Nigerian citizens. The situation is exacerbated by the hardship in the country as a result of the mismanagement of the economy.

However, the Minister of foreign Affairs gave the excuse that President Buhari canceled the scheduled Tuesday’s trip to Kigali, Rwanda, because he has to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area to allow for more consultations with stakeholders in Nigeria over the trade agreement.

The spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tope Elias-Fatile, had in a statement on Sunday, declared:  “President Muhammadu Buhari has canceled his trip to Kigali, Rwanda, to attend an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union on Tuesday, March 21, to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area. This is to allow more time for input from Nigerian stakeholders.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo may have contributed to the tension in the presidency since he made a special statement advising President Buhari not to contest for re-election in 2019, citing reasons of failure in governance.

Several other persons, including Professor Wole Soyinka, former Head of State, retired General Ibrahim Babangida, Reverend Father Mbaka, Pastor Tunde Bakare, also joined the league of critics of the president on leadership failure.

Though, several other presidential aspirants are yet to declare formally for the 2019 presidential race, President Buhari is still holding back from declaring for the presidential race even after he has been endorsed for re-election by APC governors and other party leaders. More so, when some party stakeholders have made public their withdrawal from the race because the president is contesting.

However, Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Sunday, explained that President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to formally declare his intention to contest the 2019 presidential election because he wants to prevent opponents of his administration from sabotaging the country.

“You know the peculiarity of Nigeria, particularly now. If the President speaks too early, it’s a problem. There is a lot of sabotage in the country.

“You have also heard so many have said ‘don’t run’. Because they know that if the President runs, other people should just run away because they don’t have the foggiest chance in hell to beat him. So, they want to discourage him from running.

“Now, if he tells you, ‘I’m going to run’, and elections are still one year away, it gives them one year to sabotage the entire country from all fronts – politically, socially, economically – they would throw everything at him just to dissuade him from running.


“So, when you know that, why then do you speak early? I think it makes a lot of sense for you then to keep things close to your chest till it is time for you to then say, ‘ok, I’m running’ by which time they can do less damage,” Adesina stated.

Meanwhile, former President Obasanjo declared in the United Kingdom (UK) at the weekend that Nigeria will collapse if Buhari wins the 2019 presidential election.  The former president has also continued mobilization for the consolidation of the Third Force to unseat President Buhari in 2019.

The Third Force met in Lagos at the weekend while Obasanjo was in the UK. Those in attendance included Olisa Agbakoba, former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and others. Though, Obasanjo was not there, sources close to the meeting said the meeting was convened at his instance.

The negotiations for the 2019 presidential ticket have continued to generate uncertainties as the elite continue new formations of alignments and re-alignments.

So many calculations were gathered to be going on in the presidency.   The demagogues were said to be adamant in persuading President Buhari to run for second term even in the midst of conflicts in the ruling party.

https://nationaldailyng.com/tension-in-presidency-buhari-frets-over-2019/

kenniefawole:
University Of Ilorin



Unilorin was established according to the decree of the Federal Military Government in 1975. It is owned by the federal government.

Ilorin is an ancient city, the capital of Kwara State situated approximately 300 km from Lagos and 500 km from Abuja. This location makes Unilorin an extremely popular an place.

The landmass of the University of Ilorin is about 15,000 hectares and this makes it the largest university in Nigeria in terms of land mass.

2. Obafemi Awolowo University



This institution is owned by the federal government. OAU is located in Ile-Ife, the ancient center of the Yorubaland.

The foundation of the university was held in 1961.

The first classes were performed in October 1962. At that time this place was called the University of Ife and was managed by the regional government of Western Nigeria under the leadership of the late Samuel Ladoke Akintola.

On the 2nd of May, 1987, the university received a new name Obafemi Awolowo University which has survived to our days.

The educational institution was named after Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the first premier of the Western Region of Nigeria and invested much effort in the development of this place.

Now it is the second largest university in Nigeria in terms of landmass with an area of about 13,000 hectares.

3. University Of Abuja



It would be strange if the residents of the capital did not have an impressive educational institution nearby.

The third largest university in Nigeria was founded in Abuja on January 1, 1988. Two modes of teaching were immediately established: remote and ordinary.

Any student can find suitable conditions in this prestigious place which landmass is about 11,824 hectares.

4. Federal University Of Agriculture, Abeokuta



This university was opened on 1 January 1988 after the federal authorities eliminated four technological universities previously united in 1984.

The landmass of FUNAAB is about 10,000 hectares.

5. Ahmadu Bello University



This research university operates under the supervision of the federal government and is located in the Kaduna State.

The ABU was founded on October 4, 1962. Initially, the institution was called the University of Northern Nigeria.

There are 2 campuses: Samaru and Kongo in Zaria. ABU has a landmass of about 7,000 hectares.
CHeck out more pictures:
http://www.smoshblog.com.ng/2018/03/18/see-top-5-largest-university-nigeria-photos/

Ahmadu Bello University Is the Biggest University in Sub-Saharan Africa - Mustapha

http://allafrica.com/stories/201208300800.html

Some persons were feared killed as Yoruba and Hausa youths clashed at Gida Panli , Kotomola, in the Ojota New Garage area of Lagos State .
It was learnt that the clash broke out on Thursday after a Hausa youth reportedly beat up his Yoruba counterpart over a misunderstanding .
Some area boys in the area were said to have avenged the assault on the Yoruba youth , leading to the clash which spilled over to Friday morning .
Our correspondent learnt that several motorcycles were destroyed in the melee while commercial activities in the neighborhood were paralysed .
Police have been drafted to the troubled spot to restore normalcy .
“There was a misunderstanding yesterday ( Thursday ) between a Yoruba and Hausa youth. The Hausa guy reported him to some area boys in the area and they settled the issue .
“Afterwards , he went to attack the Yoruba man and beat him up. That made the area boys to be angry. They attacked the Hausa man and the clash started . Traders had to vacate the area and many Hausa people had been chased away .
“I learnt some people were killed , but I am not sure of the number yet . Police have been trying to restore normalcy ,” a commercial driver in the area , Wale Ajayi , said .
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti , confirmed the clash and promised to get back to our correspondent with further details .
Details later.

http://punchng.com/panic-as-yoruba-hausa-clash-in-lagos/

The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has praised former President Goodluck Jonathan’s attempts at ending the Almajiri system through construction of schools in Northern Nigeria.
The group blamed Northern Governors for showing no political will to end the system.
The group made its position known in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola and available to newsmen. It said, “While we commend the Jonathan administration for building al-Majiri schools in some parts of the North, Northern governors must be held responsible both for the misuse and disuse of those structures.
“Most of the al-majiri schools are lying fallow today while some have been converted to other uses. This is most unfortunate. The Buhari administration must also intervene by initiating a special project for the almajiranci.”
It said that the number of children involved in the al-majiri system has been rated at over ten million. “Recent studies have revealed that kids metamorphose from this ugly phenomenon to members of street gangs.
“It is strongly suspected that many al-majiri children are now commanders in the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency.”
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) frowns at the poorly arranged educational system which resulted in the al-majiri syndrome. “It is escapist, pernicious, retrogressive, counter-productive and inhuman,” it eplained.
The statement said that Al-majiri as practiced in Northern Nigeria today was a bastardisation of the Islamic education system.
“Although the word is originally from ‘al-muhajirun’, that is, migrants, a reference to the early Muslims who followed Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Makkah to seek refuge in Madinah in 622 C.E., it is now used to refer to child beggars. These are children whose parents gave them out to teachers to learn the rudiments of Islam.
“Unfortunately the system has bread poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. It has produced a fi sabilillahi mentality plus an army of vagabonds and a battalion of bowl-carrying kids always roaming the streets aimlessly. It ends up breeding hunger, squalor and the resultant disease.
“For example, in places like Azare, Bauchi, al-majiris tie bowls to their clothes and beg for just anything, anything at all. In places like Maiduguri, Borno State, they offer to carry bags for strangers and they are ready to assist in doing house chores for a whole day once a meal is guaranteed. Older al-majiris in Maiduguri area sell sachet water while some do scavenging and sell whatever they find to recyclers,” it noted.
It lamented that in thunder, rain and flood, al-majiri children crowd up in open spaces to spend the night.
“The few who find shelter share single mosquito-infested rooms with scores of others. They are prone to all sorts of contagious diseases. Their personal safety cannot be guaranteed and many fall into the hands of bad gangs, like the notorious Yandaba boys of Kano,” the statement observed.
“It cannot be called Islamic education in any sense as the focus of the children involved is fully on begging, searching for food and making a living. It makes mockery of the institution of parenthood as envisaged in Islam.
“The Qur’an commands parents to take charge of the educational, social and economic responsibilities of their children from infancy till they reach the age of full maturity and capability.
“This age is forty years (Qur’an 2:233 and 46:15). It is therefore the height of abdication of parental responsibility to give out children to Islamic teachers without caring for the needs of such children and without paying the teachers for their services. No wonder the teachers end up exploiting the children for their personal needs.
“MURIC exhorts Northern governors to come up with a master plan capable of resolving the al-majiri debacle once and for all.
“This plan should take cognizance of the need for a census of all those involved in the system, buildings to be used as hostels, modern structures to be used as schools, adequate remuneration for the Islamic teachers, free feeding and capacity building for the kids, among others.
“In the final analysis, the blame rests squarely on Northern politicians dead and alive for failing to see the threat coming and for their inability to evolve a means of combating it and bringing it to a halt. It may have been callous and myopic, but the present crop of politicians must not repeat the mistakes of history. Al-majiris must be reined in if the North really wants Boko Haram and gangsterism to become history,” the group explained.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/14/almajiri-muslim-group-hails-goodluck-jonathan-blames-northern-governors-indifferent/

Shared from:Asari Dukobu

Of the 20 AIRPORTS in Nigeria, 12 are INTERNATIONAL, 8 are DOMESTIC.
The NORTH has 8 Airports designated as "International" by FAAN, The rest of Nigeria has 4 INTERNATIONAL airports.
South-South 1
South East 1
South West 2.
7 of the 8 Northern International airports handled less than 2,700 flights in 2016 according to FAAN figures.
Calabar is NOT designated as an "International" airport operation wise.
Enugu, till date, is still half an international airport.
This is your One Nigeria
90% of these Northern International airports are "SEASONAL" airports having passengers ONLY during Hajj periods
Even during the seasonal Christian pilgrimage, Southern Christians are made to use the Lagos or Abuja airports. That's how unfair the whole thing is?
The region that actually constitute the international traveling public has far fewer international airports than the region were people rarely travel.
This is why there's an NNAMDI KANU.
The injustice in Nigeria is obvious to even the blind.
The implication of this is that these so-called ghost international airports get funds and attention like an International hub though nothing practically goes on there.
How can Katsina, Yola, Maiduguri and Sokoto be designated international status for God's sake!
Who exactly is flying out of Nigeria from these places?
Whenever you dig around for information in Nigeria, what you'll find will leave you stunned.
Please, lets peacefully split along regional lines before we choke to death on sadness.
Or, lets properly federate so that people can actually plan and manage things they can actually internally sustain.
Now, factor in that majority of Nigerians living in Diaspora or frequent travelers originate from Southern Nigeria.
How can it be that it took more than 50 years for an international airport to be built in Enugu, a region whose indigenous people are the highest number of frequent travelers in Nigeria?
Even the one now in Enugu functions like a third class International airport.
It is too much for a coincidence that a region with unarguably, the highest number of diasporans only got an international airport few years ago when places with lesser frequent travelers had airports scattered all over servicing almost no one for years.?
How can this not make you reason right?
Can you not see the structural marginalization?
Will I still be a bigot when I raise these issues?
Can we not separate bigots from truth bearers?
Why would you tag me a bigot?
Do you want me to see all these and keep quiet just to come of as detrbailized?
Well, I cannot be your type of detribalized Nigerian.
A slave shackle should not be likened to jewelry.
Do you now see why I AM FOR UNITED STATES OF BIAFRA?

ASARI DUKOBU

FarahAideed:
https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a9b911637635.png

Quite pathetic.