Religion? See what you done to Africa

Hmm
Northern can unite ehn

Good for them

Eya
Now, you will here from zombies saying buy made in Nigeria products.

Buhari defender oooo
Things are hard oooo

Keep deceiving yourself and some unrepented zombies.

Lagos stress na die

A former presidential aspirant and lawmaker in the Fourth Republic, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE, discusses the state of the nation and solutions to the insecurity and widening socioeconomic gap in the country

In terms of security, economy and anti-corruption, do you think Nigeria is better or worse than it was in 2015 when the current administration began?

I’m not happy about the security situation. I am one of those who campaigned for this administration and I believe this administration can deliver, so we need to cooperate. One of the ways is for us to have a new constitution. Whether it is the People’s Democratic Party that comes back or another party, with this type of constitution we are using, it would be difficult to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians. It is the constitution that is at fault and that is what we must correct. We have men in the All Progressives Congress who are capable enough to deliver the goods, it is the constitution that is our headache.

What would you say to people who claim the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), refuses to listen to the yearnings of the people and may not heed the calls for a new constitution?

I don’t think the President is a man who doesn’t listen. But the fact remains that it has not been up to three weeks that the (southern) governors (banned open grazing in their states). By the time 17 governors in this country, covering the entire South (take a position) with this statement that I’ve made, which is what people have been saying individually and as groups, I’m sure those who are advising the government will certainly advise that they should take a second look. We are not just saying this for the sake of saying it. I’m sure he is a man who will listen. I know he will listen.

If restructuring is implemented, do you perceive any losers or winners?

Everybody will be the gainers, I don’t see anybody losing by having a good framework. That is what helped America. Even the blacks are not losers in America today. At least, a black man has been president. If their constitution was not elastic enough to accommodate everyone, it would have been difficult for a black man, who is a minority and in fact of direct African origin, not a third or fourth generation African descended from slaves. So, there will be no loser. All we have to do is to cooperate to make it work. That is what helped America. Everywhere Americans are, they put their country first because the American government will do anything to protect the interest of their citizens anywhere they may be. Let us put our constitution right. Let it be a constitution of the people and not a military constitution. We have said goodbye to military rule, we should say goodbye to their constitution.

Are you not worried that there are people who benefit from the current structure as well as the ongoing conflicts and they may not support any change?

If what you say is true, then those people should think twice because it may be a pyrrhic victory, that is, something you gain now and makes you happy only to find that you will lose multiple of it in the near future, sooner than you anticipate. If you’re gaining something at the expense of the masses suffering, someday, they will look back and strike you. He who stands should be careful lest he fall. That is why all those ancient empires never lasted, they all collapsed. So, whoever has an advantage had better use it carefully because someday, something will snap. We’ve seen a warning shot in the #EndSARS protests. Those who are familiar with history will remember the French Revolution of the 18th century. It was what led to the rise of Napoléon Bonaparte. It’s not what you aim to achieve that you eventually get once force is introduced in the midst of human dissatisfaction. You cannot suppress human beings all the time, so one has to be very careful.

The President recently complained that despite his orders to shoot anyone with an AK-47 rifle, banditry was still festering. What do you think is the problem?

It is the commanders, soldiers and military officers he gave the orders to that should either shape up or ship out. It’s as simple as that. The President’s order must be obeyed, so the commanding officers that the President gave the order to must either shape up or ship out. They have to carry out the order of the President. There are no two ways about it.

What should be done if they don’t comply?

They know. They have to resign or they will be sacked.

The President has expressed his desire for another loan of $6bn to finance the 2021 budget deficit of about N5tn. Do you think that is justifiable?

To be candid, I have been shuttling between Ijebu and Abeokuta in the past one week. I have not been getting the newspapers every day so I am not aware. It was when I arrived that I saw something on the network news about the need to borrow money. I don’t know the details. Now that I’m back in Lagos, I will ask for arrears of these reports and find out. But the President has economic advisers and the Central Bank of Nigeria is also there. The CBN will be able to advise him on the implications of what magnitude (of loans) this economy can sustain over the next few years. If it is something we cannot do, they will advise Mr President to be careful about it.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum recently recommended a pump price increase from N162 to between N385 and N408.50. How do you think this will impact the average Nigerian?

I know it will affect Nigerian business people, suppliers of foodstuffs and so on because it means the drivers will charge more to carry things from the farm to the market. That is further inflation. It will be risky to further inflate the economy that is causing hardship to the people. We have to be very careful about such things.

Actually, the increase in pump price of petrol was recommended in the context of the removal of subsidy, especially in the light of the dwindling remittance by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the nation’s coffers.

Are we sincere as a people to ourselves? Is it not a winner-takes-all sort of situation? If we give subsidy and the thing is done judiciously as it should have been done, the hardship should not be so much on the people. The Yoruba have an adage that says, “when honey touches your mouth, you should quickly lick it.” There is no point getting rich and getting fat at the expense of the people. I’ve told you, the #EndSARS protest last October is a pointer to our people to be very careful. All these middlemen who supply these things (petroleum products) will get subsidy and they will be laughing all the way to the bank all the time.

If the fuel pump price is so high, it is reflected on the drivers carrying produce from the farms to the towns and so on, and the prices will be so high. If people are not able to feed themselves, someday, they will get into the streets and those who are comfortable are in danger. I don’t pray it happens.

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If you read the history of the French Revolution, a mob looked at all the people who were robust and said to one another, ‘All the people with big bellies have swallowed the gold trinkets of their wives and that is what makes their tummies protuberant, begin to disembowel them!’ They started disemboweling all fat people. They tore so many tummies only to find faeces, not gold. But they had killed so many people. Somebody then said, ‘Wait, all this time we have been disembowelling people and not a single trinket has been found. Stop!’ But people had already died. That is the type of mob rule we must avoid. It has happened in other places before, it could happen here.

Let those who are laughing all the way to the bank today remember that the people have feelings. The day they revolt, even innocent people might suffer. So, it is not just the government alone, even ourselves as individuals, cartels, trade unions and motor dealers’ increasing prices every now and then, there is a limit. Make haste slowly. We should be able to put things in order before revolutionary bloodletting comes as a solution because that is what we believe it is leading to.

There is a lot of political positioning ahead of the 2023 elections with supporter groups springing up. One of those believed to be in the running for president is the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Do you talk about that?

I don’t want to talk about that. I would rather say, let’s solve the problem that is in our hands first—stability of the country. There is a proverb in Latin that says, primum vivere deinde philosophari, meaning let us secure life before we begin to philosophise. Before all these speculations and debates, let there be safety. The country must be stable first and we must ensure we have a constitution that is workable and acceptable to the people. I would like that to be done quickly so that nothing tampers with the election. When we get to the election, Asiwaju is a formidable, experienced person, the type that could contest the presidency in any country. There will be others too who will come and the people will decide who they prefer. They will look at their pedigree and background.

But it’s too early for that, what is important now is let there be safety and security in this country. Let people who are afraid and want to secede be comforted that once we are together, justice will be done to them and there will be peace and unity. Then those who believe the country belongs to an exclusive class should learn the lesson that they cannot hold it for long. The Yoruba have a proverb that says, what the greedy man has is not his own, because in the process of getting more, the little in his hand will get out of control.

So, first things first, let’s have safety and security of the country and oneness such that the youth will have confidence and faith in their own future because they seem to have no faith. If we put it right, it will be easier for whoever emerges as Mr President in 2023. He won’t have as much criticism as we have now. It will be in the interest of those to contest to have a stable constitutional review and put it behind us. There is still time to do it; if we agree to start now, before the end of this year or early next year, we would have settled it.

We would have a referendum and the whole country would agree that ‘this is the type of country we want through more power to the federating units.’ That is, more responsibility to the grass roots—local and state police, while very few at the federal level. Most things that are at the federal level should be devolved and then when we have an election, it will be smooth sailing. We will be able to take the most experienced and competent candidates at that time. We don’t know how many are coming yet. But I have nothing against Asiwaju.

What do you think it will take to achieve restructuring as a country?

It is if we all agree now, time is of the essence. I’m not the only one who has been talking, many people have been talking before. This is the first time I’m breaking the ice. I’ve refused to talk for the past eight to nine months because I’ve written my views to the National Assembly hoping that they will do something. But for nine months, people have been suggesting that any elder statesman who has seen nothing in all that is going on appears to be happy with what is happening. I’m not happy, I grew up in this country and I’m 88 years old. Nigeria has never been like this before in terms of insecurity.

I enjoyed travelling at night. Now, one has to recite Psalm 121 every. Yesterday (May 20), I was in Abeokuta for a meeting. The day before, I was in Ijebu for a meeting. I had to return at night and we were looking left and right, it was uncomfortable. Driving after 9pm is a big risk. Even during the day, people are being attacked and kidnapped. It was never like this before. The herdsmen I grew up to know were friendly people, they only carried sticks. You would say, ‘Sanu.’ They would say, ‘Sanu yowa,’ and pass by. They were peaceful people, not people with AK-47. Things have changed and I’m not happy with what is happening now.

I don’t know of any reasonable person who can say he is happy with the insecurity situation in the country now. That is what we must put right first, then routine things like periodic elections every four years will follow in a peaceful atmosphere. Then you can go and campaign, and return at 2am, sometimes. I ran for president of this country before. I drove all the way to Sokoto State, Maiduguri, Calabar and Port Harcourt, every nook and cranny of this country. Day and night, I was travelling. I dare not do that now. It’s not safe, it’s suicidal to be travelling the way we used to. Something bad has happened in terms of the security of this country. You must put it right first!

What do you say to the APC members who believe you should not criticise the government?

We have a means of criticising. If there is something wrong, we should be able to criticise, but not destructive criticisms. If you have means of correcting from within the system, you should try to explore that through the party hierarchy. Make resolutions at party meetings that ‘this thing is bad, let’s make amends to this and that.’ We would not be happy to destroy a house we helped to build. It’s our own government, I’m not happy as things are. If we are silent, they say it is because we are happy we are in government, but we can’t be in government forever. People were in government before us, someday somebody will come again. That is life, it’s continuous.

How come you look so young and fit at 88?

That is the grace of God. You’ve seen the pictures of my dad and mum. To some extent, I inherited good genes. I have never been a drunk or smoker. Whatever you do, do in moderation. Discipline yourself—no excessive eating and so on; this is important apart from good genes, which is the work of God. If the family you are born to is one where whooping cough is hereditary, it is likely you would inherit it. It’s part of grace that you are among healthy people. My father lived to 87 plus, my mother up to 92, and my elder brother 91. So, to some extent, we are lucky. We have good genes but again it is all part of the grace of God and discipline. The only thing I need to watch is that I do not sleep long enough. I work until 12am, sometimes 1am; seldom do I have siesta. I may have 20 missed calls in the past two hours that we have been talking. But the glory goes to God Almighty.

I walk a kilometre every evening, unless the rain disturbs or I am on the road travelling. The local government election is coming up now and we have been having series of meetings. Everybody wants to have a stake, everybody wants to be councillor or chairman. You have to persuade some of these people but they still say, ‘Baba, you can’t retire now o. We need your wisdom and experience.’ My children are complaining that ‘you’re stretching yourself so much.’ Some friends say, ‘Don’t abuse God o! God has been so generous to you. With a very strong physique and good health, don’t overstrain it.’ I’m trying to avoid overstraining it but God may have his purpose for preserving me, it may be to be able to help and give some advice that will help the family, community and country I belong to. Nobody chose whose family member or what nationality he would be. It’s God’s exclusive choice, so we make the best of it.


https://punchng.com/nigerians-will-choose-between-tinubu-and-others-in-2023-senator-durojaiye/

Congratulations to the winner.

There is no difference between apc government and military regime.

This is laughable

Thousands of aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Saturday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, dumped the party to form what they described as a “Third Force”.

This is coming just as political activities for the 2023 election gained momentum in the state.

The MM Event centre venue of the decamping exercise along Offa Road was full to capacity as thousands of APC card-carrying members burnt scores of brooms, which is the symbol of the party.

The Kwara Central Senatorial Chairman, Alhaji Abdulfatai Abdulrahman – flanked by other notables leaders – who addressed the gathering, said their “New party will soon be unveiled in due course”.

However, many of their supporters donned the paraphernalia of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) believed to be sponsored by a former gubernatorial aspirant, Yakubu Gobir.

A cross-section of the decampees

According to the senatorial chairman, “It is, however, disheartening, shameful and preposterous that Kwara APC cannot manage its success even at half time of its tenure in the saddle of governance in the state.

“The intra-party crisis has been on for long and unabated.

“The struggle for the soul of the party, which cannot be divorced from the 2023 political ambitions, has been the root cause of the lingering internal squabbles.

“The hopes and expectation of party members to reap the fruits of their collective labour have been dashed due to the self-inflicted and unwarranted crisis. This was not what Kwarans bargained for”, he added.

He accused the Senator John Danboi-led team and National Secretariat of the party of doing nothing to address the “perfidious and glaring aberration process” of the registration/revalidation exercise, describing it as flawed with deliberate policies and grand orchestration to deregister and disenfranchise selected members of the party.

“The deliberate inaction to address the lingering crisis in Kwara APC has become obvious to all discerning minds that the agenda to deregister and refusal to revalidate thousands of members across the state was a grand plot that has the backing of the National Caretaker Committee.

“There is also evidence that the incumbent governor has concluded every arrangement to ensure all the elective positions from the wards to the state level work in his favour to ease his re-election bid as governorship flagbearer of the party”, he said.

Abdulrahman, who put the figures of the new decampees at twenty thousand, listed other members to include local government party chairmen, local government women leaders, youth leaders, wards chairmen as well as APC party stalwarts across the sixteen local government areas in the state.

https://dailytrust.com/breaking-thousands-dump-apc-in-kwara-state-burn-brooms

Everything is possible in naija.

Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, bandits are the major insecurity in Nigeria today.
How does this concern twitter?

Osinbajo is not a bad choice but must yoruba be president again after 8 years as president and another 8 years as vice and the injustice continues.

aremuforlife:

Do you have any statistics proof to that or it's just an assumption, the loan he collected from china are attached to infrastructure, would you have suggested tge government should abandon infrastructure, can you suggest another means to finance our deficit infrastructure. The state loans are also included in the loans.

Cutting down cost of governance would have go a long way.
Just one point ooo
More to come ....

aremuforlife:

The loans are attached to project "infrastructure", Infrastructure is needed to develop a country, we need to stop creating unnecessary fears and tension. America is among the highest debtors in the world and they are not creating tension, you may say their economic is better than ours, that doesn't mean we are not doing better, Nigeria has the strongest economy in Africa. We need infrastructure to move forward. I will give my consent to borrow more for infrastructure.
All state capitals need to be connected with rail.

Hope you are aware that Buhari government is using over 90% for loans servicing alone.
Also, fuel, electricity and other basic things government keep increasing every now and then is to meet up with loan servicing because it is putting too much pressure on government.

Buhari keep dividing Nigeria with his words.

Liar's

Hmm
This is too much ooo
Any hope for Nigeria after buhari?

Last week, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had his first interview with any media house in Nigeria this year. He had the interview with Arise TV. To show how unusual it was for Buhari to grant an interview, the Chairman of Arise TV, Mr Nduka Obaigbena, was on set with his editorial team who did the interview: Reuben Abati, Segun Adeniyi, and Tundun Abiola. From photos taken after the interview, one could see how excited and fulfilled Obaigbena was that his TV station pulled off the milestone of interviewing Buhari.

Interestingly, in spite of that rare opportunity he had to speak to Nigerians on sundry national issues, Buhari bungled the opportunity again and got his country more divided than before the interview. The high point of the interview was his response to the agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra. Buhari said:

“That IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they will have no access to anywhere. And the way they are spread all over the country, having businesses and properties, I don’t think IPOB knows what they are talking about. In any case, we say we’ll talk to them in the language that they understand. We’ll organise the police and the military to pursue them.”

Note how he equated IPOB with the Igbo. As far as he is concerned, IPOB is the same thing as the Igbo. Every Igbo person is an IPOB member and the Igbo land area is the IPOB land area.

Also, note the condescension and malice. To him, it should not be well for “these people”. Whatever should be done to make life miserable for them is welcome. Whoever should work against their success is an ally.

This attitude towards the Igbo has characterised Buhari’s regime since the past six years. He does not see them as equal partners in the Nigerian project. He does not believe they should get anything. To him, whatever is given to them should be out of pity or generosity, and they should be grateful for such a show of large-heartedness. Like beggars, the Igbo should not be choosers.

Interestingly, whenever he displays this Igbophobia, there are many Nigerians who feel happy that “these terrible people” have been treated the way they deserve. You then wonder what the gain in all this is. Sadly, weeks or months later, the same people who laughed at the Igbo for being treated poorly by Buhari get their own treatment from the same Buhari. They then turn to look for those who would stand by them or sympathise with them.

How does Buhari’s attitude to the Igbo make Nigeria better or stronger? What value does it add to Nigeria’s wellbeing? None. Rather, what it does is to destroy the bond that holds Nigeria together.

Since last week when Buhari made those unpatriotic comments, IPOB would have, ironically, got more members and received more funds from supporters. Some people who still nursed some hope that Nigeria could be turned around would have given up and turned their back on Nigeria.

To show their defiance to what Buhari said, many Igbo people took possession of the dot-in-the-circle tag and began to show how the dot is the nucleus of the circle. Many immediately printed T-shirts with the dot in the circle and began to sell them and wear them.

Ironically, people like Buhari who regularly take actions that distance many Nigerians from Nigeria usually claim that they are patriotic while those who are agitating are termed enemies of Nigeria. But that is false. The biggest threats to Nigeria are those who act like Buhari in matters concerning Nigeria. They divide Nigeria. They create anger and distrust among Nigerians. They treat Nigerians of other ethnicity and religion as second-class citizens, thereby making them distance themselves from Nigeria.

There is a simple way to know those who are enemies of Nigeria: those who don’t want Nigeria to progress or survive:

When you note that Nigeria is not progressing or headed in the right direction and ask for Nigerians to sit down to peacefully discuss how to make Nigeria work and progress, they say no vehemently and give lame excuses how Nigerians should first of all restructure their minds, restructure their states and hold their governors accountable. They do everything possible to see that Nigerians never peacefully sit down to resolve the issues concerning Nigeria.
Then, when you complain that you are tired of the backwardness and bloodshed in Nigeria and need to part ways, so that you can run your life and territory in a more peaceful and progressive way, the same people shout that you are asking for war and should be dealt with.
These are the real enemies pushing Nigeria into crisis and praying for Nigeria to be destroyed. And Buhari is the number one member of that group. They do not believe in dialogue. They do not believe in compromise. They love the backwardness Nigeria is experiencing. They love the crises happening in different parts of Nigeria. As far as they are concerned, it is better to let Nigeria burn down than have any peaceful discussion on the way forward.

These are the people who make separatists like Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho popular. These are the people who make Nigerians feel unsafe and frustrated and ready to take extreme measures to protect their people. The more people like Buhari display their hatred against other Nigerians, the more these people become more popular.

Sadly, people like Buhari do not see how their actions and utterances are pushing Nigeria to the brink. They do not see how volatile Nigeria has become and how delicate Nigeria’s future has become. Rather than take conciliatory steps to calm down frayed nerves and unite Nigeria and see what can be salvaged about Nigeria, they relentlessly employ offensive measures which make things worse.

The irony of Nigeria, therefore, is that those who do not wish the country well are those who package themselves as patriots and defenders of Nigeria. It is a tragedy of unquantifiable proportions. Sadly, Nigeria is the victim of this subterfuge.


https://punchng.com/buhari-fails-whenever-he-has-chance-to-shine/

A situation
We found ourselves

Running mate to tinubu

It's finished

So because Buhari talk on an arranged interview is now achievement?

Good luck to them

Lol

PLATEAU State Governor, Simon Lalong, has confirmed the sack of the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Letep Dabang.

Lalong confirmed what was until then a rumour during a lecture and dinner organised for APC stakeholders as part of the activities to mark Democracy Day, at the Government House, Jos, on Saturday.

The governor paused mid-way into his speech at the event to introduce a new state party chairman. He said, “We have a new APC chairman in Plateau. He is here with us, I saw him trying to send a text message using his phone and I said, “Let me stop here and recognise him before he will suspend me.”

Although did not elaborate, our correspondent gathered that the new acting chairman, Enock Fanmak, was until his appointment, the state APC Vice Chairman.

The former acting chairman, Dabang was suspended via a letter dated June 11, 2021, signed by the APC Acting National Secretary, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe.

It read in part, “The Party is in receipt of a correspondence suspending you from office as the State Caretaker Chairman of Plateau chapter of our party, over anti-party activities.


The letter also noted that based on the allegations against the former chairman, a three-man fact finding committee was set up to investigate. Dabang was asked to proceed on suspension until the case against him was dispensed with.


https://punchng.com/anti-party-lalong-confirms-plateau-apc-chairs-suspension/

Yes ooo