₦airaland Forum

RexEmmyGee:
France
Monaco wants Independence.
President: Give them Autonomy.

Spain
Catalonia wants Independence.
King: Give them more investment and Semi Autonomy.

United Kingdom 
Scotland wants Independence 
Queen: Give them a Referendum.

Netherlands 
Macau wants Independence 
King: Hand them back to China. 

Nigeria:
Biafra wants Independence 
President: Kill them all!

fergie001:
No sauce?

Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal is expected to chair a northern conference on restructuring slated for October in Kaduna.

The conference organised by the Area Research and Development Project (ARDP) in collaboration with other northern platforms seeks to blend academic presentations with real politick with a view to charting a way out of the problem.

The convener of ARDP, Dr. Usman Bugaje in a press conference over the weekend in Kaduna said, "A lot has been said on restructuring and the future of the Nigerian federation for some time now.

"Different columnists, scholars and indeed cultural groups claiming to speak on behalf of their kith and kin, have made their views known and many of their views have been rushed, emotive and parochial and have added more to the confusion than bringing clarity into the debate.

"It is important that we leverage knowledge to elucidate the debate and avoid the confusion and tensions around the admittedly important matter which informed ARDP haven consulted numerous northern platforms decided to hold a conference on the issue in October in Kaduna."

"Also speaking at the opening will be the Chairman, ARDP Board, General John Shagaya, Atiku Abubakar, the Chairman of the Northern Elders Forun, Waterrange Paul Unongo and the Chairman of the Area Consultative Forum (ACF), Ibrahim Coonasie."

Dr. Bugaje added, "Some of the key papers will be on historicity of the Nigerian federation; an examination of the constitutional developments in pre- and post colonial Nigeria; and the dangers of war, dynamics of peace. Others will look at the principles of fiscal federalism and revenue allocation; the land question and the development agenda of the north.

"It is expected that at the end of the two-day conference, a committee will be set up and that committee will take an informed position of the north."

•Urge President Buhari to urgently review recent appointments
•It’s worse than quit notice to Igbo — Owie
•We are not surprised — Senators, PNDPC, IYC, others

Allegations of ethnic and religious bias in appointments into top management positions in the nation’s cash cow, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, drew the ire of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and other opinion moulders in the South, who described it as a threat to national unity.

While Afenifere described it as an act of impunity, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, raged that President Muhammadu Buhari was not walking his talk on the plea for national cohesion. The stance of Ohanaeze was endorsed by the South East Senate caucus.
Two rival Niger Delta groups, the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and Pan Niger Delta People’s Congress, PNDPC, in an unusual harmony, railed against the federal administration, describing the appointments as insensitive and further marginalisation of the oil producing region.
While Afenifere and Ohanaeze urged the President to immediately review the appointments, other groups and political stalwarts from the South, including former Senate Chief Whip; Senator Roland Owie, termed the appointments as provocative.
The uproar followed news of a major shake-up in the NNPC, last week. Out of 15 appointments made, 10 were from the North (mostly Hausa Fulani), three Yoruba, two from the South-South and there was none from the South East.


OHANAEZE
:
Reacting to the appointments, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, in a statement he made available to Vanguard, while calling on the President to review the appointments, said Ohanaeze was appalled at what it described as the consistent and unrepentant disposition of disdain for the South East by Buhari’s administration as seen in the reorganization at the NNPC.
The apex body said it had thought that after the President’s declaration in a broadcast recently that Nigeria’s unity was settled and not negotiable, that he would take all necessary actions in his governance to achieve it but the recent NNPC shake up has not shown that the administration is walking its talk.
He said: “This brazen disregard, marginalisation, and non-compliance with the Federal character provisions in our Constitution are the causes of lack of confidence which our youths have in our present governance structure.
“As long as President Buhari continues to live out his speech abroad that his government will favour those who voted 97% for him against those who voted 5% for him, so long will the dissatisfaction and unrest in our polity subsist,” Nwodo warned.
“There is no oil well anywhere in Northern Nigeria. Four of the five states in the South East have proven oil resources some of which provide our nation’s revenue, yet our people are not found fit to be adequately represented in a key corporate institution like the NNPC,” he said as he called for an immediate review of the appointments.


S-EAST SENATORS
:
The stance of Ohaneze was endorsed by the South East Senate caucus. Speaking with Vanguard, yesterday, Chairman of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, noted that the senators were in full support of Ohanaeze, saying “ we support Ohanaeze’s stance on what Buhari should do.”
Also speaking with Vanguard, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, PDP, Abia North, called on the President to have a rethink on the issue, saying “this one is a clear evidence of the marginalization that we have been saying about this government.
“What happened at the NNPC is evidence that what we have been saying is not imagined, but real.”


AFENIFERE
:
Afenifere in its response articulated by its spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “The issue for us is not about whether it favours us or does not favour us; it is about justice to all and being that it is skewed and that is not the way to build an inclusive society.
“You must carry everybody along. Does that mean that there was nobody qualified from the South East?
“Why the sheer impunity? I think that those who are running Nigeria now should be mindful of the need to build an inclusive society.
“You must earn the confidence of all, and it is not too late for this administration to listen and do something that is more balanced in a multi-ethnic society.”


PANDEF
:
Coordinating Secretary of PANDEF, Dr. Alfred Mulade, said the organization would come out with its formal position soon, but nevertheless stated that the group made its stand on NNPC, including participation in the oil industry/ownership of oil blocks known to the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, when the Chief Edwin Clark-led group visited him on August 3.
Clark had noted then that only one person from the South-South was represented on the nine-member board of the NNPC.


PNDPC
:
PNDPC leader, Ayemi-Botu, alias Lion of the Niger, who spoke to Vanguard on phone, said: “The present government is insensitive to the calls of well-meaning Niger Deltans on the lopsided appointments and management of the NNPC since the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board.
“The President actually started with 33 appointments clearly against the region, later it replaced the Group Managing Director of NNPC with a northerner and even when the 16-point agenda was presented to him, November 1, last year, his attention was drawn to the composition of NNPC board, dominated by northerners.
“There is no gainsaying that NNPC is an offshoot of oil that is derived from the Niger Delta and the people must have a say in what happens, but even while the anger has not subsided, the President came with the latest reshuffling or whatever they call it, where the north again has taken over the NNPC. This is unacceptable to the region.
“I dare say that the President should wake up and redress this anomaly for the region is very disturbed about it. We own the oil; it belongs to us, we should not be marginalized in our own resource, that is why everybody is calling for restructuring,” he added.

WORSE THAN QIUT NOTICE
:
Senator Owie on his part, said: “It is regrettable that we blame IPOB, Arewa youths or Niger Delta youths over threats capable of disintegrating the country but the series of appointments made by this administration even up till now have shown that the administration is worse than those issuing ultimatum to the Igbo.
“We have observed a systematic plan to strangulate the South, particularly the South East in appointments, and it seems that this administration is not bothered at all which is sad.
“I want to appeal to President Buhari to know that this country belongs to all the ethnic groups, he should not create problem for the North where he comes from because no matter how he sees it, he would not have become President without the support of other ethnic groups.
Also angry about the appointments, former Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Idada Ikpomnwen, retd, said: “It is not too different from what we have been observing for quite a while, that is since the coming of this administration. The truth is that the reason is not far-fetched.
“The administration has said that the majority of the votes that put the President there were Northern votes, so they need to take care of their interest, which to me is not a good position in the sense that after the election, the President becomes every body’s President.
“Therefore, they are entitled to positions, particularly when it is true that if it were not for some reasonable votes from other ethnic groups, he would not have met the constitutional requirements in terms of votes across the country. He got 1/3 in most of the states in the South.


Other reactions
:
Factional president of the Ijaw Youth Council, Mr. Eric Omare, on his part said: “We are disappointed, it is lopsided, unfair and unjust against us and it is a continuation of this government’s discriminatory treatment of the Niger Delta people.
“Further, it is also a violation of the 1999 Constitution because that law requires that when you are making appointments at the federal or state levels, you must look at the divergence of the ethnic and cultural units and above all, the appointments are unacceptable to our people.”

The Ndokwa National Youth Movement, NNYM on its part, described the managerial appointments into the board of NNPC, as a continuation of Northern supremacist agenda in the country.
NNYM, in a statement by its National Secretary, Presley Idi, urged the Federal Government to as a matter of national importance and unity, review the appointments “in which out of the top 15 positions, the South-South region only got two.”
“How a region that produces the very commodity that led to the creation of the corporation will have only two managers on its new list of appointees is a total aberration, an insult to our collective intelligence and a further proof that this government doesn’t have genuine intentions of keeping this lasting peace currently being enjoyed in the region.
“Going through the leadership structure of the corporation, it is appalling and disheartening to see that our people don’t even make up to five per cent of its set up and we desire to see changes made immediately.
“Certainly, we have industry players from the region that are over qualified and very capable of contributing better to the overall development of NNPC, with their achievements in the oil sector, something that the current set up can only dream of.”
“Again, we have always continued to advocate peace, we have never hesitated to leave the comfort of our homes to reach out to our brothers in the trenches when need be, we have instantly moved to contain rising tensions when they arise but if the implementation of the 97% vs. 5% formula is allowed to continue, we know not how long these brothers of ours whose demands and concerns are very genuine will continue to listen to our plea for calm.
“We will not call for violence, we will not push for separation, rather as intellectuals we will continue to dialogue, but it’s a known fact that he who makes peaceful changes unachievable, makes a violent one inevitable.

Yyeske:
I don't blame when IPOB miscreants insult all these Igbo elders, where were these outgrown fools when the polity was being heated up by Nnamdi kanu, did they call him to order? Now the hate is getting seriously real, they are now blaming the north. Bunch of old fools, they should just shut up before making a calming situation heat up again by trading blame

Olril18:
when the East enjoyed patronage in Jonathan's time,I wonder why the call for Biafra wasnt as profound... suddenly GEJ was defeated and ipobs begin ranting.
were this not d same people making jest of yorubas when they complained of marginalisation in Jonathan's time,did the Yoruba shout secession or cause confusion in the polity because d system didn't favour them?

so every time igbo don't get what they want, they must threatened and blackmail others of secession
nonsense.

Diademk07:
A Blog? So it has come to blogs?

Nonaira1 come and see your most revered Osu media at play.

The Arewa Youths Coalition (AYC), which announced the withdrawal of the quit notice given the Igbo, on Thursday, has said that it would take the ‘siddon look’ posture in order to allow the Federal Government do the needful.

In an interview with the Saturday Tribune, the leader of the Arewa Youths Coalition, Yerima Shettima, reaffirmed that they have suspended the Igbo quit notice as a result of intervention from prominent Nigerians within and outside the country.

He stated that, ‘With the intervention of people like the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, chairman, Northern States Governors Forum and Governor of Borno State, Alh Kashim Shettima as well as the former Chief Security Officer to the former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Al-Mustapha, and also appeals from the international community and other stakeholders, we now have to suspend the issue (Igbo quit notice).

In defending their action, Shettima maintained that the antecedents of the IPOB leader, Kanu were clearly misplaced and apron to violence.

According to him,”To compound the issue, nobody from the South East region appeared to condemn his action,

He added that, “We announced the quit notice out of frustration. Now, we have also realised that two wrongs cannot make a right.”

According to him, the Arewa youths are now pleased with the outpour of condemnations coming from Igbo leaders as well as their governors.

Commenting on their next line of action, he stated that, ”even though we have not decided on the next line of action, but in the next couple of weeks and even months our body language would be ‘siddon look.

However, he was quick to advise the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to take advantage of the olive branch extended to him and review his position in the interest of the country.

‘What we expect from him is that he has a re-think. It is never too late for him to join hands with us in building a nation we would all be proud to call our own, “he said.

The Northern Elders Forum on Sunday condemned the apex Igbo socio -cultural group , Ohanaeze Ndigbo , for criticising the Federal Government ’s plan to re -arrest the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra , Nnamdi Kanu .

The President- General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Chief Nnia Nwodo , had accused the Federal Government of bias , double standard and violation of Kanu ’s fundamental human rights , especially after refusing to arrest the Arewa youths whom he said threatened the Igbo.

However , the Chairman of NEF , Mr . Paul Unongo , said the northern elders were disappointed that Ohanaeze had trivialised a criminal matter .
Unongo said Kanu ’ s case was 100 per cent different from the ultimatum issued by the northern youths, adding that there was no basis for comparison .
He added that the northern elders were able to prevail on their youths and the matter had since been resolved .
The NEF chairman said the same could not be said of Ohanaeze which had failed to control the excesses of IPOB and other South- East youths .

Unongo said , “Leaders should be careful about what they support . This is the kind of thing that happened when our young men from the North , feeling cheated and angry with the old men from Kanu ’s place for not cautioning Kanu , did what they did ( ultimatum ) .
“But I came out immediately and said Nigerians have inalienable right to reside anywhere . I did that even to the detriment of my friendship with some people . But what Ohanaeze members are doing is that they are giving the impression that if someone commits a crime and is from their tribe , he shouldn ’t be tried . I don’t understand. Are they saying he ( Kanu ) should not be tried until someone from another part of the country is arrested ? That will invite chaos to the country .”
The NEF chairman said Kanu ’s matter should be left for the court to decide.
He stated that if it could be established that bail conditions had been flouted , the court should be allowed to do the needful .

Unongo said , “I will advise Ohanaeze and the Federal Government to let the matter be settled at the court because the issue of detention is in the hands of the court . The court had heard his case and the defence counsel asked for bail while the prosecution opposed it.

“It was granted and if the conditions were flouted , I think the prosecution is right to approach the same court to prove that the bail condition has been violated and to ask for the court to revoke the bail .”
Also speaking , the Chairman of the Northern Elders Council , Alhaji Tanko Yakasai , described Ohanaeze ’s position as trivial.

Yakasai said those who had been criticising the Federal Government for not following due process in the cases of embattled former National Security Adviser , Sambo Dasuki ; and the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria , Sheikh El - Zakzaky , were now lambasting the government for following due process regarding Kanu ’s bail revocation .

Yakasai said , “For anybody who is under trial and granted bail on certain conditions , the court has the right to ensure that he fulfils those conditions . Every Nigerian has the right to challenge him based on the conditions of bail . This is not a matter for debate .
“Every Nigerian should respect court orders. You cannot say because someone is your relation or is from your tribe , the court should not deal with the person. You cannot say that . It is either you abide by Nigeria ’s laws or not.

“There is no reason why people should ignore the fact that we have a judiciary which should be respected . Those who have been demanding bail to be granted Dasuki and El -Zakzakky and criticising the government for not obeying court orders are now criticising the same government for following the due process . I think it is too trivial for the leadership of Ohanaeze to speak like this .”

FG engaging in double standard –Afenifere

The Pan -Yoruba sociology-cultural group , Afenifere on Sunday accused the Federal Government of not being fair in its handling of the Kanu issue , noting that such was not good for the country .

The group ’s publicity secretary , Yinka Odumakin , said Kanu ’s re -arrest would overheat the polity , stressing that the government should rather engage in dialogue with IPOB members instead of going after them .
He noted that the government failed to arrest the Arewa youths, who issued a quit notice to the Igbo, but wanted to re - arrest Kanu , describing such as double standard.

Odumakin said , “The idea of re -arresting Kanu will overheat the polity , more so when youths in the north that issued a notice to quit were not arrested . Even after the Kaduna State Governor and the Vice President ordered their arrest , the police did nothing .
“The Minister of Internal Affairs said the youths were not arrested because they claimed they were misquoted , but a few days ago , the youths in the presence of some governors withdrew the order. ”
Afenifere admonished the FG to evenly apply the law equally in all situations, regardless of the status or origins of those involved .

The group said , “The government is giving the impression that what is red line for someone from a particular region is green line for someone in another part of the country ; I think it is better the government engaged to bring down the tension rather than strong - arm tactics that would overheat the polity .”
“There is a clear double standard and that is not good for inclusiveness . What the government should do is ensure even application of the law and engage more youths more rather indulge in sabre-rattling ,” Afenifere said .

Kanu dares FG

The leader IPOB , Kanu , has dared the Federal Government over the move to re -arrest him.
He said anyone who attempted to arrest him would die .
Kanu spoke on Sunday while addressing members of IPOB , Zone I , in Aba, Abia State .
He insisted that there would not be any election in Anambra State in November or any part of “Biafra Land ” in 2019 unless there was a referendum which the group has been clamouring for .
He said “Where we are is Biafra land . Aba is the spiritual capital of Biafra land . We started in Aba in 2015 at the Christ the King Catholic Cathedral . That day , heaven authenticated our move that IPOB would restore Biafra and that is what we have come to do.
“They shot and killed our members in many places in Biafra land when they were calling for my release . As our people rest in their graves, we will never rest until Biafra is restored . I don’ t care what they say in Abuja or Lagos .
“Some idiots who are not educated said they would arrest me and I ask them to come . I am in Biafra land . If any of them leaves Biafra land alive , then I will know that this is not IPOB . Tell them that is what I said .
“Some people talk about restructuring , are we restructuring Nigeria now ? Are we practising fiscal federalism? What we want is Biafra.
“We are not slowing down and no man born of a woman can stop us . They thought we are joking and God gave us a simple message that no one can stop us . The movement to restore Biafra is unstoppable .
“Don ’t be afraid. The plans of our enemies are not going to be actualised . The enemies are planning , but we are formidable . ”

PassingShot:
Cry cry baby. Weren't you guys urging and hailing the terrorist to carry on violating his bail conditions?

Now that he has been given more than enough rope with which he hanged himself, you're crying now that his stubbornness is about to do him in.

Empty chest beating with zero result!