₦airaland Forum

Kidnapping: Manufacturers Seek State Of Emergency In Southeast

SUNDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2010 00:00 FROM LAWRENCE NJOKU, ENUGU NEWS - NATIONAL

THE Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), South East Zone, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in the five Southeast states and replace the governors with military sole administrators, stressing that the radical measure is necessary to address the failure of the governors in guaranteeing security of lives and property in the area.

Reacting to the kidnap of a member of the association and the chief executive of Juhel Nigeria Limited, Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, by unknown gunmen at Okigwe last Thursday, South east zonal chairman of MAN, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, noted that the failure of the governors to address the growing unemployment as well as their indifference to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) which has made the undergraduates of the universities to be idle for more than six months, are responsible for the multiplication of crimes in the Southeast.

The kidnapped victim, Dr Okoye, recently opened an infusion plant in Awka, Anambra State. He was kidnapped on his way to Owerri to board a flight en-route Abuja. The incident occurred less than two months after his 76-year-old mother was kidnapped in his village on the eve of President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to Anambra to commission the infusion plant. Sources said over N3 miilion was paid to secure the release of the old woman.

Obidigbo said the governors of the five South East states seem to be enjoying the kidnapping saga explaining that they stand as indirect beneficiaries of the crime since according to him, “when everyone runs away as most manufacturers are doing, the governors would be free to continue with the looting of the economy in which growth they show little interest.”

Chronicling the litany of woes dogging manufacturers in the southeast, the MAN Chairman noted that manufacturing has become the worst form of investment anybody could make even though those who venture into manufacturing, like the JUHEL MD, do so to provide employment to the growing army of unemployed young people.

The Association explained that the legislators from southeast in Abuja ought to take up the issue of kidnapping and keep on shouting until something was done since, according to him, the southeast geopolitical zone is fast drowning socially and economically.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32100:kidnapping-manufacturers-seek-state-of-emergency-in-southeast&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Jonathan endorses Amaechi for 2nd term

NewsDec 12, 2010

By Jimitota Onoyume, Port Harcourt

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday endorsed Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as his candidate for next year’s governorship election.
The president, who spoke at a special civic reception organised for the governor by his ethnic group on the platform of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural organisation, further called on the governor to context the election.
The president, who was represented by the vice president, Namadi Sambo, cited Amaechi’s performance in the state as the major factor behind the endorsement.
“Amaechi is a special person. Amaechi, please run and run. We have endorsed you as our aspirant. Rivers people have made a good choice. Rivers is the only state that has a well furnished and equipped secondary school in Nigeria and the entire West Africa.
“When you have an intelligent and performing son like Amaechi, the right thing is to support him. I will support Amaechi and Rivers State.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/jonathan-endorses-amaechi-for-2nd-term/

Obasanjo, Daniel, Kuye’s truce parley flops

NewsDec 12, 2010

By Kolade Larewaju, Abeokuta

Ogun State Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), reconciliatory meeting, called yesterday at the instance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was said to have ended inconclusive but with an eight-member committee set up to look into the areas of differences and harmonise positions.
The committee, with Senator Ayo Otegbola as chairman, have as members: Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Tunji Egbetokun; factional Speaker, Mr. Soyemi Coker; former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sarafa Ishola; member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dave Salako, Mr. John Obafemi and Prince Wole Otenaike.
The meeting lasted over two hours.
The meeting was said to have been well attended by the two factions with Governor Olugbenga Daniel leading one group and Minister of Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye, leading the other. Also in attendance were members of the G15 lawmakers led by Egbetokun and the G11 led by Coker.Obasanjo was said to have in his opening remarks told the gathering that he summoned the meeting to find a solution to the problem within the party and to ensure that there was a lasting peace before the forthcoming elections.
After his departure, impeccable sources told Sunday Vanguard that it was virtually impossible to resolve the area of differences as each group was said to have stuck to its position, prompting the setting up of the committee comprising members of the two factions.
Otegbola, though on Gov. Daniel’s side, was said to have been chosen as chairman of the committee because of his age and closeness to Obasanjo.
A member of the House of Assembly who was at the meeting, however, told Sunday Vanguard that the “meeting was deadlocked because nothing really came out of it.’’

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/obasanjo-daniel-kuye%E2%80%99s-truce-parley-flops/

Adeboye warns on rigging

HeadlinesDec 12, 2010

By Sam Eyoboka

UNMOVED by the prediction that Nigeria may disintegrate in five years time, that is, 2015, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, says the nation cannot go under.
The highly-respected man of God, preparing for his church 2010 Holy Ghost Congress, also reiterated his call on Nigerians to turn out en masse for the forthcoming voter-registration and be prepared to defend their votes, adding that Christians would protest any attempt by anybody to rig the elections.
The six-day Holy Ghost Congress, which begins tomorrow at the Redemption Camp on Kilometre 46, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, has as its theme, “All will be well.”
Addressing the management staff of Vanguard Media Limited, publishers of Vanguard Newspapers, who paid him a thank-you visit in his house at the Redemption Camp for gracing their recent Vanguard Media Christian Fellowship end-of-year thanksgiving service, Adeboye assured Nigerians that God cannot allow the nation to disintegrate.
The cleric, who was listed by the Newsweek magazine as one of the 50 most influential individuals in the world, also used the occasion to reiterate that when he had time to read Nigerian newspapers, he made it a point of duty to pick Vanguard first because, according to him, “It is consistent.”
“I want to really thank God for Vanguard Newspapers. I am always very careful about what I say because I know that a lot of people are listening; if nobody else, those who are our members. Since they heard that Vanguard is the first paper I read before I read others, I am sure quite a few people now will be saying there must be something in that newspaper, because they know that there are some newspapers I don’t touch at all, because I have seen them falsify reports,” the General Overseer said.
Continuing, he said: “I have found Vanguard surprisingly consistent in reporting the truth, at least, as much as possible. So, I read Vanguard. It is the first one I pick when I want to read newspapers. After that, I read two others. I don’t want to mention the others.”
He thereafter appealed for a continuation of the relationship that has been established. “I will gladly want this relationship to continue and if there is anything I can do for Vanguard too, no matter how little, I will be more than willing to do it,” he promised.
Asked to speak God’s mind about the forthcoming elections, he assured that all will be well, adding, “I have already said that before and I will say it again during the Congress because somebody said you cannot complain about something you permit. If we don’t vote and then somebody comes to power because we did not vote, we have no right to complain about the fellow who is in power.
“The question will be where were you when he was being elected? Not only must we register; not only must we vote; we must defend our votes. We must let INEC know, in advance, that, this time around, if anything goes wrong or if the elections are not well handled, we (Christians) will react,” he said, adding, “I know that there are some people outside the Church who will join us to support our reaction.”
On the recent American prediction about a possible disintegration of Nigeria, the pastor said Nigeria cannot disappear because it is founded by God Himself and will, therefore, not allow anything happen to it.
“Nigeria is a country founded by God. I know that one for sure because October 1 is a very special day in the calendar of God. In the Jewish religion from which the Bible took its root, October 1 is when we have the Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast of Trumpets, many scholars believe, is the most likely time—nobody is sure—when Jesus Christ will return. So, there is a very significant importance attached to October 1. Our people, the nationalists who fought for the nation’s independence, didn’t know what they were doing when they selected October 1 as the day of independence.
There was no earthly reason they should have chosen October 1 but you see nothing happens except God allows it.
“So, God chose that day for Nigeria and that is why I am confident, without any doubt, that this is a country in which God Himself is highly interested and such a country cannot just vanish from the surface of the earth,” he argued.
Speaking earlier, Vanguard Editor, Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, who led the team, thanked the General Overseer of RCCG for the honour he had done to accept to preach during the end-of-year programme. Speaking in the same vein, Assistant General Manager, Brands, Mr. Fred Udueme, promised to establish a stand in the camp where copies of the newspapers will be available for residents.
The team which comprised Bayagbon; Udueme; Circulation Manager, Mr. Temisan Amuka; Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. Victor Omoregie; coordinator of the Vanguard Media Christian Fellowship, Elder Emmanuel Obuh; Religious Affairs editor, Mr. Sam Eyoboka and Mr. Lamidi Bamidele, presented a painting and copies of Vanguard to Daddy G.O, as Adeboye is fondly called.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/adeboye-warns-on-rigging/

‘Nigeria should start producing condoms’

December 10, 2010 06:44AM

The Director of Planning and Research in the Ministry of Health, Muhammed Lecky, has advised that Nigeria should consider local production of condom as an alternative to importation to fast-track the fight against unwanted pregnancies, HIV, as well as to open an avenue for employment.

Mr Lecky said that such suggestion became necessary in the light of the huge consumption of the commodity in the country. “We have the raw materials, we have Export Free Zones and we produce oil which is the basic ingredients for producing latex condom here,” he said.

He spoke against the backdrop of a donor report claiming that the federal government was not providing enough fund to import condom. The report also stated that at least 20 million pieces of condom were consumed in 2009. “We have employment problem here in Nigeria and we are getting people who donate $52 million and buying 200 million pieces of condoms for Nigerians,” he said. “Yet we are talking of government not spending money on the commodities; so why are we not producing these things here.”

He said that development partners should support the manufacture of condoms in Nigeria instead of importation, to make the condom policy more efficient. “Let the partners themselves propose it as an option, so that the more we produce, the more we have efficiency; the price will drop and everything will be on demand,” he said. “Usage will definitely go up because it will now be affordable, accessible and available without any logistics problems.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5652010-147/story.csp

A school in need

By Gbenro Adeoye

December 10, 2010 01:39AM

Dare Olawumi’s excitement to get to school each morning stops where his passion for education and his love for his class teacher end. As the assistant head boy for Ilakpo Community Primary School, a public school in Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, Master Olawumi’s only wish is for his school to be better. “I like my aunty and my books but I don’t like my school,” he said.

Poor learning conditions

Bordered by bush and a church, with no water, toilet facilities and building structure, the school’s suitability for learning purposes is under question. The only physical assets are the roofing sheets used as cover from sun and rain, its chalk boards, which double as demarcation between adjoining classrooms, drums, and teaching aids. “We don’t like as we are,” said the 13 year-old primary six pupil. “Even when my friends see my school, they say ‘look at his school’, but they teach us very well, so I’m still happy when I’m coming to school in the morning. Sometimes when we are playing, we get injured because the ground is rough, and the pupils dirty the water we buy from outside. We don’t like it. We want our school to look fine. The noise from other classrooms and the church is also affecting us too much.”

When it rains heavily, the pupils are sent home to prevent any mishap occurring as a result of the flooding associated with the community. The lack of toilet facilities in the school also means that pupils have to make use of the bush anytime they need to relieve themselves, thereby causing a permanent offensive stench around the school compound. “We need toilet because we go to toilet in the bush; and we also need where to play,” said Esther Ayede, a pupil.

The need for a school

The school was founded when Beatrice Ayoade, a public school teacher, resolved to bring basic education to Ilakpo Community; as the hitherto closest public schools to the community are at Abule-egba, some kilometres away. Worried about the increasing number of school age kids roaming the streets of the area, Mrs Ayoade pressed for the establishment of Ilakpo Community Primary School on a communal piece of land, in January 2009. “I saw children going into the bush picking snails during school period, some roaming the streets, and some going very far to go to school, rushing for bus,” said Mrs Ayoade. “I approached the ‘baale’ (elder of the area) who showed me the community land set aside for school building. I rallied round the community for support and added my own money, and that led to the start of the school free of charge for the children of this community. The children told me that they don’t have the money to get private education.”

After its formal registration as a public school under the State Universal Education Board, four months later, the school received some support from the local council government and the education board. Some community members also contributed towards the provision of furniture, books, and covering. “The school belongs to the government,” said Mrs Ayoade. “They’ve provided furniture and books, but the building is still a challenge. We don’t have toilet or water, so the children enter the bush; but we monitor them so that they don’t go too far into the bush.”

Government’s response

A block of six classrooms for the school, being constructed by the local council, has been abandoned for over six months. It has become overgrown with bush, in spite of a contract board stating a contract duration period of ‘eight weeks’. Kenny Okunmuyide, the Chairperson of the council, said the contract board showed that work is ongoing there. “Are you compelling me or what?,” he said, reacting to a question about the slow pace of construction work. “You are asking all these questions on the phone and you expect me to answer? Come to my office.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5651957-147/story.csp



Even when my friends see my school, they say ‘look at his school’, but they teach us very well, so I’m still happy when I’m coming to school in the morning, says a a pupil Photo: NEXT

Goodluck Jonathan, Omo Onile! By Pius Adesanmi

Posted: December 11, 2010 - 12:12

Saharareporters

Columnist: Pius Adesanmi

Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is a chameleon. Last week, he was heir apparent to Alhaji Barkin Zuwo of blessed memory, keeping government money in government house in order to make his visitors happy. Only God knows for how long he’d been doing the Barkin Zuwo thing until Pastor Tunde Bakare and Mr. Yinka Odumakin became the gale that blew over the fowl’s ikebe, revealing a sordid anus.

This week, the President has shown another colour. We hear that he has become omo onile, selling houses all over the place. His address is not a paraga joint in Shomolu/Bariga or any of those places where omo oniles converge to sell the same land or house to ten different people. He lives in Aso Rock, Abuja, but has no shortage of customers in his new omo onile vocation.

His most prominent customers? You guessed right, the usual suspects: David Bonaventure Alechenu Mark and Dimeji Bankole. Here is how NEXT newspaper headlined the matter last week: “On Tuesday, November 30, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan approved the sale of the official residences of the presiding officers of the National Assembly. The Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives have all been given leave to purchase their current living quarters, presidency sources told NEXT over the weekend. The 2011 Appropriation Bill, which is yet to be brought to public notice, has already made N1.5 billion available for the construction of replacements for the yet-to-be sold properties.”

This is no time to call a spade a digging object. This is daylight robbery. Pure and simple. There should be no mistake about this: the seller and the buyers of those houses are all thieves robbing the Nigerian people blind. They deserve worse than the Jangedi treatment. President Jonathan appears to have entered an alapata (butcher) mode in recent times, hacking and selling off our commonwealth to four moral derelicts and prurient intellects in the leadership of the National Assembly.

President Jonathan and the thieves to whom he is selling the commonwealth of the people of Nigeria must of course be extremely happy that Wikileaks has overshadowed this crime in progress. But they forget Ecclesiastes and its Nigerian resonances too quickly. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to rig and a time to zone; a time to rule and a time to loot; a time to lose everything and a time of comeuppance. For the people of Nigeria shall one day witness the affliction of these wicked people. Some Monday for sure.
Of course you will hear that everything was done by the book; that President Obasanjo embarked on a monetization policy to save us some money; that only the leaders of the National Assembly have so far not benefited from the said policy; that the four men have in fact “tried” for the people of Nigeria by sacrificing what is due to them for so long. You will hear all the regular bla bla bla that our fiends in the rulership have perfected as they institutionalize legalized robbery.

Last week, I described the National Assembly as a gangrened proscenium “populated almost exclusively by school certificate forgers, Oluwole customers, University dropouts, active and retired political assassins, and puny election riggers.” What I failed to add to this description is that this motley crowd of Ali Babas congregate only to create legal frameworks and enabling laws for robbery. Hence, at no time in the history of our country have we been faced with the scenario of so much opportunity for perfectly legal robbery by so few.

Here is how we, at the editorial board of the Nigerian Village Square, described the phenomenon: “While Nigerians are fixated, and rightly so, on the familiar forms of corruption, a more insidious kind of sleaze is proliferating. It is the corruption of anticipatory stealing of appropriated and budgeted funds - a practice that permeates all levels of government in Nigeria. Across the country politicians and bureaucrats are fleecing the commonwealth by abusing the notion of democratic accountability, inverting the legislative process that is integral to it, and perverting the accounting procedures that are crucial to modern governance. Our rulers figure out how much they want and can steal, package it in a budget proposal, and lobby their legislative partners in crime to pass it through the formal processes of law making. Once it is legislated and hence legal, there is only one name appropriate for it: budgeted corruption. And, this is all within the bounds of legitimate political transaction in our serially abused democracy. Democracy was never meant to function this way – as an enabler of corruption. But the criminal creativity of our rulers is infinitely elastic.”

Budgeted corruption is how to explain the immoral salaries and allowances of the largely indolent members of the National Assembly; it is how to explain the impending sale of those official residences by President Jonathan. It is all legal. They have of course already budgeted 1.5 billion naira to construct new official residences. And those new ones will in turn be auctioned off at giveaway prices to the successors of David Mark and Dimeji Bankole as our brain-dead rulers continue the endless dance of Sisyphus on the grave of our hopes and aspirations as a people.

We must of course ask the questions that will never be answered by this brood of vipers. Always, we must ask these questions. How much is President Jonathan selling our property to the four buccaneers in the National Assembly? We need to know. How do the four men propose to fund their purchases? Of the four, only David Mark has had an illustrious looting career. He has been stealing from us for a very long time – as Minister of Communications and Niger State Governor in the 1980s. He is the only one who has stolen enough from the Nigerian people to be able to afford his official residence “cash down” until the harsh judgement of history and the Nigerian people descend on him.

This raises even more worrisome questions about Dimeji Bankole’s situation. He too is going to buy his own residence. And we already know how Chief Kayode Odunaro and Morgan Omodu, his media vuvuzelas, will rationalize all of this with a straight face. Their oga did not go out of his way to ask for the building, the president made and approved an offer. Bankole’s hands were tied because he couldn’t possibly say no to the President. Besides, everything is legal. I have heard spins of the sort from my two friends so often whenever Bankole’s hands are in the cookie jar that I could almost recite their rationalizations like my Hail Mary. Suffice it to say that Bankole got to the National Assembly only in 2003 and became Speaker in 2007- the effective date of his full membership of Nigeria’s lootocracy. If the young man has been stealing serious money only since 2007 and now enjoys parity or near-parity of purchasing power with his senior colleague in the Senate who has been stealing since the 1980s, what does that say about the scale of his corruption?

Oh, one more question: when does Omo Onile Jonathan propose to sell Aso Rock?

http://www.saharareporters.com/column/goodluck-jonathan-omo-onile-pius-adesanmi?page=1

Moles in High Places

Kingsley Omose

December 10, 2010

The revelations by Wikileaks from leaked diplomatic cables of the United States embassy in Nigeria that Shell knows everything about key decisions in government ministries because they have their moles planted in all the main ministries of the Federal Government should not come as a surprise.

Reading the original news report from the Guardian of London, my only surprise was that they were referring only to moles in key government ministries and not those supposedly elected into to public office by Nigerians but actually sponsored to do the bidding of such companies.

I dare say that these moles do more that make such companies aware of key government decisions and in some cases probably allows these companies to dictate and influence government policies and actions from the inside.

I first came to appreciate the depths of the practice of mole planting in key government ministries by companies doing business in Nigeria during the ports privatization exercise and in my interactions with the MDAs in that sector.

While the National Council on Privatization had adopted a policy of ‘one company one port’ to ensure that no single company ended up with more than one port concession, the outcome of the ports concession especially as applied to ports being used for oil and gas purposes was another issue entirely.

There was this company which ended up with 5 port concessions in Nigeria Port Authority’s Eastern zone, ensuring a 50 years monopoly in the handling of oil and gas related cargo for almost all international oil companies and service companies in Nigeria.

The same company had also agreed tariffs with the agency overseeing Joint Venture relations for the handling of oil and gas related cargo, while other another government agency regularly issued directives to importers of such cargo to discharge such cargo ports which fell within the jurisdiction of this company.

When considered against the background that total spending by IOCs and service companies on oil and gas logistics amounted to over 30% of every US Dollar spent in that sector, the stakes were quite high and extended all the way to the corridors of power.

A top government official who was supposed to be overseeing the privatization exercise was even one of the key share holders of the company in question, but it was in my day to day interaction with
these key MDAs that left me with the impression that I was dealing with moles of that company.

Even when the company that I was representing was finally able to secure space in one of the ports in the Eastern zone after the intervention of a Ministerial Panel set up by Olusegun Obasanjo who
was then president, we were still frustrated by moles in one of the government agencies who ensured we could not use the facility.

Contrary to the directive of the then President Obasanjo, the agency refused to issue our company a copy of the lease agreement for its facilities, ensuring that we were disqualified from the bidding for
handling of the project cargo for the Escravos Gas to Liquid Project belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited.

In the course of my daily interaction with the public officers in some of these MDAs, I began to look out for defining features and qualities that made these moles stick out like a sore thumb, and I have decided to reproduce some of them here with a view to helping smoke out these spies in our midst.

The most common feature of these moles was that their children were attending top schools outside the shores of Nigeria, mostly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, which would otherwise be impossible if they were depending only on their salaries and other emoluments.

The next most common feature of these moles who were supposed to be public servants was that they owned houses in the top cities of the world, again mostly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America with a sprinkling in some other European countries.

Their foreign houses were also complimented by the houses they had scattered either in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Abuja, which were mostly put up for rent and leaving you wondering how they could afford to build or buy the homes in which they were residing.

Again, anytime these moles travelled out of Nigeria by air, they mostly flew First Class with Business Class being the least preferred option, and the frequency of such oversea trips was enough to leave
you wondering at the staggering travelling costs they incurred annually.

If you are observant when next you enter any of the top shops either in Europe, the United Kingdom or the United States of America, you would likely find their wives and sometimes children blowing wads of foreign exchange as if money was going out of fashion.

Finally, when ever these moles travelled to cities where they did not have residencies, you were likely to find them occupying the most expensive rooms and suites in top hotels and being driven around in
some of the most luxurious vehicles available.

The job of the State Security Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Persons Commission and the Code of Conduct Commission following the Wikileaks revelations is straight forward, and that will be to smoke out these moles in our MDAs and high places.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/moles-in-high-places.html

Halliburton May Pay $500m To Avert Cheney’s Trial

SATURDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2010 00:00 FROM LAOLU AKANDE (NEW YORK), ISA ABDULSALAMI (JOS), OGHOGHO OBAYUWANA AND LEMMY UGHEGBE
(ABUJA) NEWS - NATIONAL

U.S. Hopes Leaks Won’t Hurt Ties With Nigeria

AMERICAN Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton yesterday dropped a hint that Washington and oil services company, Halliburton were working towards an amicable resolution of the face-off between that country’s former Vice President Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which wants to prosecute him over alleged bribery charges.
“WE do not believe that there will be a basis for further action, but we will look into it,” Clinton remarked, giving the first official reaction of the United States government to Cheney’s indictment by the EFCC in the $180million Halliburton scandal in Nigeria.
EFCC Chairman Farida Waziri had on Thursday said the Nigerian government’s decision to prosecute Cheney over alleged complicity in the Halliburton 180 million bribe for contract deal was to demonstrate that nobody was above the law.
Speaking at an anti-corruption rally to mark this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day in Abuja, Waziri decried the manner in which some multi-national companies come into Nigeria to do business with the mindset that the country was corruption-ridden and thus engage in sharp practices. “No one is above the law and the EFCC is poised to pursue all corrupt cases before it without considering personality profile to ensure that justice is achieved in the end,” she stated
She explained that the EFCC was on the verge of recovering more than $500 million from some multi-national companies that have violated the law in Nigeria.
She also, in Plateau State, said the EFCC has so far recovered U$ 3.5 million from economic crimes culprits.
Waziri, represented by the Assistant Head of Internal Audit of the EFCC Headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Abraham Anjorin, disclosed this during the commemoration of this year’s International Day against corruption organized by the Plateau State chapter of the Anti-Corruption Revolution in collaboration with the anti-graft agency which took place at the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Centre for Excellence in Bukuru.
Meanwhile, Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the ministerial committee session and 10th anniversary celebrations of the Inter-Governmental Action Group on Money Laundering (GIABA), in Abuja yesterday said that since the setting up of the EFCC about a decade ago, $11 billion has been recovered by the body while its ground activities have stalled many more perilous activities of economic criminals. And, Sambo, represented by the minister of the Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, said that since the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes has become one of the standard barometers of good governance, Nigeria would love to be well acquitted on this count in the comity of nations.
Besides, Washington is hoping that the recent leaks of sensitive information in US diplomatic cables regarding Nigeria by Wikileaks will not damage the friendly relationship between both countries, according to the American Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Philip J. Crowley.
Crowley who answered reporters questions after an earlier press conference addressed by Mrs. Clinton and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Odein Ajumogobia at the end of their meeting on Thursday afternoon, condemned the leaked documents regarding Nigeria from US diplomats.
Clinton’s speech on Thursday afternoon in Washington DC after her meeting with Ajumogobia at the US State Department, indicated that Cheney was not likely to be prosecuted in Nigeria over the Halliburton corruption scandal. It also indicated a US preference for a possible out of court settlement, sources said yesterday.
For instance, yesterday some US news website were already disclosing potential fines that Halliburton was willing to pay to stop the arraignment of the former US leader.
Clinton was asked whether the former vice president would be coming to Nigeria to answer the charges leveled against him in the ongoing Halliburton probe in line with Nigeria and the US Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement Treaty.
According to Secretary Clinton “Well, I’m not going to comment on any legal matter. Once an issue is in the court system, we will handle it through appropriate legal channels. So that’s got to be the way that we’re going to respond. But of course, we do not believe that there will be a basis for further action, but we will look into it.”
Just as the US government expressed its official view on the matter for the first time, US news website are also reporting that the oil services company, Halliburton may have been engaging lawyers to negotiate with EFCC on the payment of up to $500 million in fines to settle bribery charges against the former US Vice President.
According to rawstory.com, the US oil firm is seeking ways to settle and protect the former Vice president, who was Chief Executive Officer during part of the time that the bribes were paid out to Nigerian officials, from any personal embarrassment.
The news website rawstory.com is an alternative news source based in Washington DC from which the US mainstream media at times sources information. The website says it focuses on stories under-reported by the US major news organization and draws “ upon a panoply of news sources and select those stories we think most intriguing to an audience seeking news underplayed by the mainstream media.”
Indeed, the chairman of the Nigerian anti-corruption agency, EFCC which recently announced an indictment of the former US Vice President was also quoted on Friday as having said in Abuja that the US former Vice President was not above the law, and considering the amount of money spent on the bribes, those at the helm of the company like Cheney cannot but be aware of the expenditure.
Although Clinton and Ajumogobia did not discuss the issue at their meeting, sources say the US government has been particularly concerned over the indictment of the former US Vice President not sure what the best way to respond, especially since both Nigeria and the US have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
Based on Clinton’s comment, sources said the US is likely to pursue a negotiated settlement of the involvement of the former Vice President outside the courts.
Since the story broke, Cheney has not responded to media inquiries either directly or through his assistants. Halliburton, headquartered in Houston, USA, has also not openly issued any statement on the matter.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32003:halliburton-may-pay-500m-to-avert-cheneys-trial&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Aregbesola shuns Ooni’s installation of Jonathan, wife

NewsDec 11, 2010

By Gbenga Olarinoye

Osun state Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola Friday shunned the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade as he was absent at the installation of President Goodluck Jonathan as the “Ohun- Orun” of the source and his wife, Patience as the “yeye
Ohun-Orun” of the source.
The coronation ceremony was part of the activities marking the 30th coronation anniversary of the Ooni, Oba Sijuade.
The ceremony was witnessed by the President of Benin Republic, Dr Boni Yayi, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, PDP governors of Oyo and Ogun states, Otunba Alao Akala and Otunba Gbenga Daniel respectively and former Governors of Osun and Ondo states, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Dr Olusegun Agagu among others.
Neither Governor Aregbesola nor his deputy, Mrs Grace Laoye-Tomori or any representative of the Governor was around when the ceremony lasted.
It was however gathered that Osun state Governor was at the Ibadan airport to receive President Jonathan and his wife earlier in the day.
But the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN Director of Research and Strategy in the state, Hon Sunday Akere told our correspondent that there was no rift between the Governor and the royal father.
He explained that the Governor traveeled to Lagos on Thursday and had so many official engagements outside the state.
The absence of the Governor at the Ooni anniversary may not be unconnected with frosty relationship between the duo before, during and after the 2007 elections.
Speaking shorthly after his installation, President Jonathan asked Nigerians to take the issue of the coming registaration exercise seriously in order to ensure credible elections next year.
He also called on traditional rulers across the country to ensure that their subjects in their domains participate actively in the exercise.
President Jonathan reiterated that next year’s general election would be conducted on the basis of one man one vote.
He disclosed that it was a matter of regret that traditional rulers were not given specific roles to play in the 1999 constitution, saying that National Assembly would be made to pass amendment bill which will specify the roles of the royal fathers.
Other prominent persons at the ceremony which earlier witnessed that engagement ceremony of Princess Adenrele Sijuwade and Mr Ayodeji Fayose at the palace include Minister of Defence, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, Minister of Women Affairs Mrs Marian Annenih, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Cheif Gani Adams, Professor Michael Faborode, Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University OAU Ile-Ife and Professor Wande Abimbola former VC of OAU among others.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/aregbesola-shuns-oonis-installation-of-jonathan-wife/

Sambo says EFCC recovered 11 billion dollars

December 11, 2010 07:52AM

Vice President Namadi Sambo on Friday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had so far convicted 400 persons and recovered 11 billion dollars.

Delivering an address at the 10th anniversary of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in Abuja, Sambo said the government was committed to fighting money laundering to a standstill.

The vice president, who was represented by Emmanuel Iheanacho, the Minister of Interior, explained that the country was the first in the West African sub-region to enact an anti-money laundering legislation in 1995.

Mr Sambo stressed that the country was the first in the sub-region to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in 2004.

The vice president stated that the establishment of the anti-graft bodies represented a practical approach to the prevention and control of financial crimes based on international conventions and best practices.

"The government has a zero tolerance policy for corruption and financial crimes and will continue to provide resources to the various anti-graft bodies to carry out their functions optimally," Mr Sambo said.

He said the country was committed to the principles and objectives of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), adding that the authority would implement the recommendations in the mutual evaluation of the country's financial system.

He urged the development partners and multilateral institutions to continue in their provisions of technical assistance to deal with the multi-faceted problems of transnational crimes.

Mr Sambo said the country was delighted with the efforts of GIABA in the last 10 years to curb the impact of money laundering and terrorism in the sub-region.

According to him, the issues of corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing were a major problem not just within the West African sub-region, adding that it was a global phenomenon.

"The crimes have had adverse impact on regional security and development, including reputational damage to the image of member states,'' Mr Sambo said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5652846-146/sambo_says_efcc_recovered_11_billion.csp

Extradition Trial: James Ibori Appeal Judgement For Monday

Posted: December 10, 2010 - 20:49

By SaharaReporters, New York

Next Monday, December 13, is James Ibori's date with destiny, as the Court of Appeal of the United Arab Emirates will deliver a ruling regarding the extradition trial of the former Delta State.

On October 17, a court of First Instance ruled that Ibori be extradited to the United Kingdom where he is wanted on charges of money laundering, credit card fraud and official theft. Similar charges have already led to the conviction of his wife, Theresa Nkoyo; his mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo (nee Onuigbo) and his elder sister, Christine-Ibori-Ibie.

Bhadresh Gohil, his UK-based lawyer, is also awaiting sentencing after he was found guilty in two separate trials pertaining to his assistance of Ibori in laundering vast sums of money looted from Delta State using UK banks, real estate firms, offshore accounts and cronies.

Ibori has remained in jail in Dubai as he contests his extradition to the UK. He recently received a visit from Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South), who confided in associates that he was shocked to see how diminished Ibori has become in his Dubai jail, where he addresses even low level prison guards with unaccustomed courtesy.

Mr. Manager was a commissioner in the Ibori government between 2003 and 2007,and has stood by his former boss through his ordeal. When Ibori was acquitted by Justice Marcel Awokulehin last December, Manager celebrated publicly. "This is one man who has written his name in gold in the infrastructural development of the State," he said of Ibori. "As somebody who has walked very closely with him this is one of my happiest days."

Ibori has not had many happy days since then. If the court rules against him on Monday, he will most certainly appeal again to the Dubai Supreme Court. UK sources have however told Saharareporters that if next Monday's ruling goes against him, it would be clear to him that further appeals would be futile.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/extradition-trial-james-ibori-appeal-judgement-monday

Four persons arrested over stolen election machines

By Okechukwu Nnodim

December 10, 2010 09:09PM

The Murtala Muhammed Airport Police Command, Lagos on Friday arraigned four suspects in connection with the disappearance of 20 Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The suspects, which comprises of three males and a female, were apprehended by police detectives who paraded Shasha community, a suburb in Lagos that shares boundary with the tarmac of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).

"In the early hours of today (Friday), four suspects were arrested by our detectives; who are involved in the stealing of INECs DDC machines," said Moses Onireti, commissioner of police MMIA Command.

"The names of the suspects are Suleiman Isa, male who was arrested at Shasha, Alimosho LGA; Mrs. Sumonu Modupe, who was arrested at 17 Samuel Street Akowonjo; Lawan Lateef, who was arrested at Shasha; and Bamidele Joshua, who was also arrested at Shasha. So far they've all made useful statements to the police."

Explaining that 16 of the 20 gadgets were recovered from the suspects, the police commissioner disclosed that the "vital parts" of the equipment have been removed and four of the INEC DDC machines are yet to be seen.

On how the suspects gained access to the tarmac of the international airport, Mr. Onireti disclosed that though there are certain places at the airport where police officers are restricted from entering, the path in question was a bush path, adding that the suspects must have gone through the bush before getting to the tarmac.

"We learn from mistakes, but the truth is that the police do not gain access into certain areas around the airport, and the place where this incident happened is very close to the bush from where the culprits must have passed through," he said.

"I will describe the stealing of the machines as robbery but as a constructive theft, because what we recovered were empty containers; so the 16 containers recovered were virtually empty and four o f theses machines are still missing."

Victims of circumstance

The female suspect, Mrs. Modupe who was once a cleaner art the airport, said that though her brothers, the other suspects sold the gadgets to one Yemi, who deals in the sales of Computers at Ikeja, they were all "victims of unfortunate circumstance."

According to her, the brother, Lawan stumbled on the gadgets when he went into the bush to defecate, adding that upon discovering laptops and other equipment packed in a bag by unknown persons, he called her and the others.

"They brought it to me and I asked them how did they get it and they told me. I asked them to return it where they got it from, but they refused and said they will sell it at computer village in Ikeja. I refused and asked them that if they cannot return it, they should go and burn it instead of the laptops to cause trouble among them," she said.

"That was the mistake I made, for I did not know it was this much and that they refused my warning and sold it to Yemi who is no where to be found now. They laptops have INEC written on them and they are other information on them which say that the machine belong to the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The commissioner, however, pleaded with the public to alert the police of any useful information that will lead to the recovery of the other missing gadgets and the vital parts of the ones already recovered, as well as will lead to the arrest of Mr. Yemi.

"The suspects will be charged to court and we want the public to help us with information that will help us further in our search and further investigations," he said.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652624-146/four_persons_arrested_over_stolen_election.csp

RMAFC: Observing The Constitution In Breach

Written by Leonard Karshima Shilgba, PhD

Thursday, 09 December 2010 19:26

Revenue Mobilization Allocation And Fiscal Commission: Observing The Constitution In Breach

Now is the time for Nigerians to examine their nation’s constitution to be able to hold their public servants accountable both to them and the constitution. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has been observing the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria only in breach with regard to the remuneration of both state and federal legislators. It is my responsibility under section 24 of the constitution to point to any infractions of the constitution by any individual, group, government agency, department, or commission. That is exactly what I have set out to do. Henceforth, the expression “the constitution” should be understood to mean the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999).

Sittings of the legislature: In section 63 of the constitution, it is stated as follows:

The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each sit for a period of not less than one hundred and eighty one days in a year.

Besides, with regard to the sitting of a State House of Assembly, section 104 of the constitution states that:

A House of Assembly shall sit for a period not less than one hundred and eighty one days in a year.

It is not difficult to conclude that the work of a Nigerian legislator at the federal and state levels is indeed part-time. However, in order to avoid probable abuse of the responsibility where a legislator will be negligent of his or her responsibility, the framers of the constitution set a minimum number of sittings for the legislature. Accordingly, for the removal of an individual legislator, the constitution states, among other grounds for removal as follows:

Section 68 (1): A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if:

(f) without just cause he is absent from meetings of the House of which he is a member for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one-third of the total number of days during which the House meets in any one year.

Section 109 (1): A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if:

(f) ) without just cause he is absent from meetings of the House of which he is a member for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one-third of the total number of days during which the House meets in any one year.

The examination of the above suggests that a legislator in Nigeria cannot sit for less than one hundred and twenty one days in a year (or four months).

The remuneration of a legislator (at state and federal levels), therefore can only be part-time, even as he works both part-time and flexitime. Besides, he can only be paid according to the number of times he sits for legislative assignment. Which body is assigned the responsibility of determining the remuneration of the Nigerian legislature? It is the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Section 70: A member of the Senate and House of Representatives shall receive such salary and other allowances as the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission may determine.

Section 111: A member of the House of Assembly shall receive such salary and other allowances as the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission may determine.

In determining the salary and allowances of a legislature in Nigeria, the RMAFC cannot set their pay by the month, but pro rata. In other words, the salary and allowances so determined must be calculated according to the number of plenary sittings, while work in committees should attract relevant allowances—Committee allowance. The RMAFC should publish the salaries and allowances they have approved for Nigerian legislators for Nigerians to see if they have complied substantially with the constitution. The huge financial bleeding the nation is suffering must be stopped by the RMAFC. It is an emergency, more so at this time that government is looking at reducing significantly recurrent expenditure!

If we take into consideration the fact that 1, 152 members of the state legislators earn a minimum of N 50 billion a year (N 5.1 billion in salaries, and N 35.9 billion in allowances); 8, 692 members of the local legislatures in the 774 local government areas in Nigeria earn N 342.9 billion a year (N 25. 9 billion in salaries, and N 317 billion in allowances), and less than 500 federal legislators earn N 60. 4 billion a year (N 6.2 billion in salaries, and N 54.2 billion in allowances), we can see that just 10, 308 Nigerians (legislators at the three tiers of government) earn a total of N 453.3 billion, which is an average of N43,975, 553 a year!

A lie that Nigerians have been fed with for years is this. Basic salaries of our public servants are published, while allowances, as percentages of the basic salaries are selectively released. The real thing is befuddled. Take, for instance, the basic salaries listed above.  All those 10, 308 legislators earn a total of

N37.2 billion a year in basic salaries (average is N3.6 million per legislator), which is just 8 percent of their total annual remuneration! The significance is that strange allowances are being paid those legislators, and the RMAFC is empowered by the constitution to cut or expunge those allowances in accordance to sections 84 and 124. The ball is now in the court of the RMAFC.

This problem of unjust reward of public officials is not limited to the legislature. The federal, state, and local executives, with at least 472 officials (federal), 2664 officials (state), and 3,096 officials (local), take a cumulative of N 98.3 billion (federal; N 8.6 billion in basic salaries, N 89.7 billion in allowances); N 300.6 billion (state; N 28.4 billion in salaries, N 272.2 billion in allowances); and N 250 billion (local; N 16 billion in salaries, N 234 billion in allowances). From what I have stated here, which was the case in 2009, we can see that a total 16, 540 Nigerians take from our commonwealth at least N 1.102 trillion a year, or more than 7 billion US dollars a year! If Nigerians cannot join some of us to picket the RMAFC office in Abuja during the break and to symbolically protest at the various legislative houses across the nation, we have only proved not ready to pay for what we desire.

We do not need to pay any Nigerian who knows the facts of the matter to show up at those protests.

[b]Think of what 3 billion US dollars, invested annually in infrastructural development, can achieve for our nation! They keep feeding us with information such as we need 100 billion US dollars to generate 40, 000 mega watts of electricity, just to show us that government is impotent as far as generating electricity is concerned. But this translates to just 1 billion US dollars for 400 megawatts, or 1,200 mega watts generated with 3 billion US dollars. If we, through the RMAFC, could peel off just 3 billion US dollars from the more than 7 billion US dollars that our public officials earn (that is, less than 50 percent off their individual salaries and allowances), we could generate at least 4,800 megawatts of electricity in 4 years with no external funding! Nigerians, this must be our rallying point! Now is the hour! In fact, I would not advise more than 20 times the national minimum wage as sitting allowances/salaries for a legislator, while their transport and accommodation expenses should be paid only when they are sitting, and nothing more.[/b]

Our public education shall remain under-funded; our roads, railways, and airports shall remain in their ugly and decrepit state; manufacturing industries in Nigerian shall continue operating at far below installed capacities or even shut down, thus frustrating job creation due to poor public electricity; our health sector shall remain parlous; and our aspiration to join the 20 most industrialized countries in the year 2020 shall remain a pipe dream if we don’t stop the bleeding and plough the savings there from in the critical sectors of the economy, some of which I have itemized.

All legislators in Nigeria should serve part-time, according to the constitution. They do not deserve gratuities, pensions, or severance benefits. Each legislator must keep a stable job or business, and would only sit when the need arises for law-making or consideration of serious national issues; then their transport allowances, sitting salaries, and accommodation allowances, and committee (where required) allowances are paid. That means, someone like me can keep my teaching job in the university, where I can, given class scheduling, and still do my legislative work if I am a legislator. The Vice-president of the US, until he entered upon his current job, taught law in the university while he served as US senator.

I conclude that the Nigerian constitution recognizes law-making as a part-time job, requiring at least one hundred and twenty one days of sitting by an individual legislator. The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission must take note and act accordingly.

Leonard Karshima Shilgba is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria and President of the Nigeria Rally Movement (www.nigeriarally.org ).

TEL: +234 (0) 8055024356

EMAIL: shilgba@yahoo.com

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/revenue-mobilization-allocation-and-fiscal-commission-observing-the-constitution-in-breach.html

Jonathan presents 4.5tr budget to Assembly next week

By Emmanuel Ogala

December 10, 2010 01:07AM

President Goodluck Jonathan will, Tuesday next week, present the 2011 budget estimate of N4.56 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.

In a letter to leaders of both chambers, dated December 8 2010, the president asked the Speaker and the Senate President to let him address a joint session of the national assembly at noon on Tuesday next week.

At the Federal Executive Council meeting last Wednesday, the government approved a budgetary proposal of N4.56 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year. The figure is 10.27% less than that of 2010, but fits into the 2011-2013 Medium Term Fiscal Frame.

Wednesday’s approval signifies the commencement of the implementation of the 2011-2013 Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and Fiscal Strategy Pare (FSP), the revenue and expenditure frameworks of the government as agreed to by FEC.

According to the these documents, the 2011 budget will have an increased non-debt recurrent expenditure compared to the 2010 budget. The recurrent non-debt expenditure increased by 6.77% to N2.849 trillion with major increase in personnel cost and lower overheads.

Recurrent expenditure has been on the increase in recent years and this trend might persist in the medium term as the wage increase for civil servants, medical personnel, university lecturers etc. is fully implemented.

“To manage this, the Government is to set up a Committee to rationalise recurrent expenditure.” Notwithstanding complaints by policy makers, the capital expenditure decreased by 38.6% to N1.083 trillion. Statutory transfer is lower at N179.78 billion, while debt service recurrent is also lower at N517.07 billion.

Return of joint sessions

In addition to the budget, the president also forwarded a bill to establish the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority which he said will “build a savings base for the future generations, enhance development of the infrastructure sector in Nigeria, assist fiscal stability in certain circumstances and for related matters.” The budget presentation is coming late, but if successfully presented to a joint session of the national assembly, it will mark a return to the traditional method of budget presentation which was discarded last year following the inability of both chambers of the Assembly to agree on a venue.

Since 1999, the president had always addressed a joint session of the legislators in the larger House of Reps chambers but last year the Senate insisted that the address take place in its chambers.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652084-146/jonathan_presents_4.5tr_budget_to_assembly.csp

Nigeria goes nowhere if PDP wins 2011 election, says Utomi

NewsDec 10, 2010

By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

Ahead of 2011 election, The Chairman of Social Democratic Mega Party, SDMP, Prof. Pat Utomi on Friday said Nigeria will continue to trail other countries if Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, remain in power after the polls, saying “Nigeria is not going anywhere under the PDP.”
Meanwhile, Utomi promised to unveil his 2011 presidential campaign second week of January, 2011 under the platform of SDMP.
Utomi who made this known during an interview in Ikoyi, said the reason is that PDP is basically a platform for elites who shares the economic rights of other members of the country.
He added “It is not a political statement, but it is the fact. A platform of that nature cannot move Nigeria to the standard of a just and progressive society that we all yarn for. In PDP, there major concern is not to rule but how to share the economic rights of other members of the country.”
His words “If Nigerians truly know the reason why power supply is not available in the country, they will stone the politicians, leach them on the street.”
He promised “For me politics is not about party but I will continue to engage with the set of politicians that share certain value system, with any person who believe that we can advance the common good of all through a people entrepreneur market economy. I will continue to work under any platform,” the chairman said.
Utomi However noted “not just against PDP, of service to the Nigerian people that politics is about sacrifice for the good of all not an investment to recruit fund.”
On his presidential ambition, Utomi said “The world has been laughing at the way we run politics in Nigeria. At present, we do not have candidates, foreign countries are not taking all those who are currently parading their self as the potential candidate for the post of president serious.”
He added “eligible candidate for various post in the country will emerge between January and February. Right now what we are dealing with are people who have one year experience and have repeated thirty times claiming to have thirty years experience.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/nigeria-goes-nowhere-if-pdp-wins-2011-election-says-utomi/

Police bosses moved over loss of election machines

By Soji Bamidele

December 10, 2010 12:59AM

The Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, John Haruna, and his Lagos State counterpart, Marvel Akpoyibo, have been transferred on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim.

The development followed the disappearance of some of the Direct Data Capture machines imported into the country for the registration of voters for the 2011 elections, on Wednesday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Mr Haruna has been redeployed to Lagos State to take over from Mr Akpoyibo, who has been asked to report at the Force Headquarters for further directives.

However, spokesperson for the Nigerian Police, Emmanuel Omore, has denied knowledge of the redeployment. “I am not aware of the transfer and I am yet to see any signal to that effect,” he said. A senior police source, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that “the signal for the movement has been signed and will soon be served administratively.” The source further said that the two commissioners already aware and have even started networking in their new stations. According to him, Mr Akpoyibo may likely proceed to the National Policy and Strategic Studies, Jos, for a course.

The DDC machines were brought into the country via cargo aircraft early in the week and kept in a store before the disappearance on Wednesday morning.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652118-146/police_bosses_moved_over_loss_of.csp

Wikileaks US Embassy Cables Details How Pfizer Blackmailed Nigeria's Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa, To Enter Into $75m Nigeria settlement For Kano Drug Trial Victims

Saharareporters

Posted: December 10, 2010 - 01:13

Wikileaks
Wikileaks US Embassy Cables Details  How Pfizer Blackmailed Nigeria's Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa, To Enter Into $75m Nigeria settlement For Kano Drug Trial Victims

Monday, 20 April 2009, 16:00
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000671
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS TO USTR-AGAMA
DEPT PASS USAID AFR/SD FOR CURTIS AND ATWOOD
BAGHDAD FOR DUNDAS MCCULLOUGH
TREASURY FOR PETERS, IERONIMO AND HALL
DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/CREED
EO 12958 DECL: 04/20/2034
TAGS ECON, EINV, EAID, ETRD, PGOV, NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PFIZER REACHES PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT FOR
A $75 MILLION SETTLEMENT
Classified By: Economic Counselor Robert Tansey for reasons 1.4(B&)

1. (C) Summary. In an April 2 meeting with the Ambassador, Pfizer lawyers Joe Petrosinelli and Atiba Adams reported that Pfizer and the Kano State government had reached a preliminary settlement on lawsuits arising from medical tests conducted with Trovan (oral antibiotic) on children living in Kano during a meningitis epidemic in 1996. Petrosinelli said Pfizer has agreed to the Kano State Attorney General's (AG) settlement offer of $75 million, including a $10 million payment for legal fees, $30 million to the Kano State government, and $35 million for the participants and families. According to Adams, several final details need to be worked out on the mechanism for payment. Pfizer strongly recommends setting up a $35 million trust fund for the participants to be administered by a neutral third party and for the $30 million for the Kano State government to be used for improving health care in the state. Pfizer underscored that the Nigerian representatives wanted lump sum checks and that Pfizer is concerned with potential transparency issues. The next step is a meeting between high-level Pfizer officials and Nigerian side at a neutral location to work out the final details. End Summary.

2. (SBU) On April 2 Pfizer lawyers Joe Petrosinelli and Atiba Adams and Pfizer Nigeria Country Director Enrico Liggeri met with the Ambassador and EconDep to discuss the status of settlement negotiations. Four lawsuits were brought against Pfizer stemming from medical tests with the oral antibiotic Trovan conducted on children living in Kano during a meningitis epidemic in 1996. In Kano State Court there is one civil suit and one criminal case and in the Federal High Court there is one civil suit and one criminal case. Since 2006, Petrosinelli and Adams have been briefing the Mission on the status of the cases.

Settlement Reached

------------------

3. (C) Petrosinelli reported that Pfizer had tentatively reached "an agreement in principle" on the Kano AG's settlement offer of $75 million. Adams explained that the parties agreed that the $75 million would be broken down as follows - a $10 million payment for legal fees; $30 million to the Kano State government; and $35 million to participants and families. Petrosinelli noted, that Pfizer has worked closely with former Nigerian Head of State Yakubu Gowon and that he has played a positive mediation role with Kano State and the federal government. Petrosinelli said Gowon also spoke with Kano State Governor Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who directed the Kano AG to reduce the settlement demand from $150 million to $75 million. Adams reported that Gowon met with President Yar'Adua and convinced him to drop the two federal high court cases against Pfizer. (Comment: In 1966 Gowon became the head of state following a military coup that deposed Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi who had come to power via an earlier military coup. He was head of state from 1966 to 1975. He now plays an elder statesman role in Nigerian politics. End Comment.)

More Discussions Needed

-----------------------




4. (C) According to Adams, details need to be worked out on the mechanism for payments to the Kano State government and participants because Pfizer is unwilling to give a lump sum payment. Pfizer is concerned with transparency issues and is pushing for a $35 million trust fund for the participants to be administered by a neutral third party and the remaining $30 million to be used for improving health care in Kano state. Pfizer underscored that the Nigerian representatives were pushing for lump sum checks and Pfizer will not agree to that. Pfizer is considering rebuilding Kano's Infectious Disease Hospital where the trial was conducted and working with health care nongovernmental organizations. Adams suggested that the trust fund for participants be administered by a neutral third party because he expects "additional" participants to come forward after they hear about the settlement. The Ambassador suggested Pfizer work with NGOs already working in Kano State and for Pfizer to consider working with local NGO implementing partners that the USG has used because of their transparency record.

ABUJA 00000671 002 OF 002

EconDep provided Pfizer a copy of the U.S.-Nigeria Framework for Partnership document as a guide for existing projects and partners in Kano. Petrosinelli explained that the next step was a meeting at a neutral location between high-level Pfizer officials and the Nigerian side to work out final details and conclude the settlement.

Pfizer Exposes Attorney General

-------------------------------

5. (C) In follow up to the April 2 meeting, EconDep met with Pfizer Country Manager Enrico Liggeri in Lagos on April 9. (Note: Liggeri has years of experience in Nigeria because his family operated a business in Lagos from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. He spent most of his childhood in Lagos. End Note.) Liggeri said Pfizer was not happy settling the case, but had come to the conclusion that the $75 million figure was reasonable because the suits had been ongoing for many years costing Pfizer more than $15 million a year in legal and investigative fees. According to Liggeri, Pfizer had hired investigators to uncover corruption links to Federal Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa to expose him and put pressure on him to drop the federal cases. He said Pfizer's investigators were passing this information to local media, XXXXXXXXXXXX. A series of damaging articles detailing Aondoakaa's "alleged" corruption ties were published in February and March. Liggeri contended that Pfizer had much more damaging information on Aondoakaa and that Aondoakaa's cronies were pressuring him to drop the suit for fear of further negative articles.

6. (C) Liggeri commented that the lawsuits were wholly political in nature because the NGO Doctors Without Borders administered Trovan to other children during the 1996 meningitis epidemic and the Nigerian government has taken no action. He underscored that the suit has had a "chilling effect" on international pharmaceutical companies because companies are no longer willing to conduct clinical testing in Nigeria. Liggeri opined that when another outbreak occurs no company will come to Nigeria's aid.

7. (C) Comment: Pfizer's image in Nigeria has been damaged due to this ongoing case. Pfizer's management considers Nigeria a major growth market for its products and having this case behind it will help in efforts to rebuild its image here. Final discussions on the $30 million and $35 million are likely to be tricky because the Nigerian side wants to control who gets the money, not Pfizer. The U.S. Mission will continue to advocate for transparency in settling the case and also note to GON authorities that Pfizer must abide by the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and cannot simple hand over large sums of money to state and local officials. Petrosinelli and Adams will get back to the Mission on what further assistance may be needed. End Comment.

8. (U) This cable was coordinated with ConGen Lagos. SANDERS


http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-details-how-pfizer-blackmailed-nigerias-attorney-general-micha

Wikileaks: US Cable Explains How Former Sec of State Rice Got Ambassador Gambari Fired From Burma Job Over Incompetence

Saharareporters

Posted: December 10, 2010 - 06:40

Wikileaks: US Cable Explains How Former Sec of State Rice Got Ambassador Gambari Fired From Burma Job Over Incompetence

VZCZCXYZ0012
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #7438 2811952
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O P 071948Z OCT 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON PRIORITY 0000

Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 19:48
C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 107438
SIPDIS
USUN FOR JEFF DELAURENTIS
EO 12958 DECL: 09/23/2018
TAGS PREL, KPAO, PHUM, BM
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: REPLACEMENT OF SRSG GAMBARI FOR
BURMA MISSION
Classified By: IO PDAS James Warlick. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) This is an action request. See para. 4.
2. (C) Department views the "good offices" mission of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative (SRSG) to Burma as an important vehicle for encouraging democratic progress in Burma. Consequently, Department has viewed with growing concern the lack of progress on core political steps that the UNSC called on Burma to take such as the immediate release of political prisoners and the opening of a meaningful, time-bound political dialogue with democratic and ethnic minority leaders, in particular, with Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), over the course of SRSG Gambari's four missions to Rangoon. Indeed, it appears that Gambari's access to regime officials and ability to secure results has only contracted over the course of these missions. His access to democratic leaders has been constrained by both the regime and more recently a loss of confidence in Gambari among leaders of the democracy movement.

3. (C) Gambari appears unrealistically upbeat, pursuing and reporting progress on peripheral matters (e.g., a possible economic forum, the possible placement of a UN staff member in Rangoon) that are a distraction from what the Security Council has articulated as critical goals and identified as Gambari's mandate.

4. (C) Considering the key role of the good offices mission and Gambari's inability to secure significant progress from the Burmese regime, USUN is asked to demarche SYG Ban or Ambassador Kim to seek Gambari's dismissal as SRSG for Burma. This demarche should occur as soon as practical.

5. (C) Taking into account Gambari's usefulness in his concurrent role as UN advisor on the International Compact with Iraq, as well as SYG Ban's likely sensitivities in regard to a possible dismissal, Department provides the following talking points (not/not to be left as a non- paper) for use by USUN in this demarche:

6. (C/rel to UN) Begin points:

Over time, the United States has become increasingly concerned that the UN good offices mission in regard to Burma is in dire jeopardy.

Special Representative Gambari's fourth and latest trip to Burma continued a disturbing pattern of regime-managed itineraries; restricted access to key regime officials and activists; and complete lack of progress on the critical issues that form the core of Mr. Gambari's mandate: the opening of a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with democratic and ethnic minority leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, toward democratization and national reconciliation, and the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.

While the main responsibility for this lack of progress should be attributed to regime intransigence, Mr. Gambari has not been willing to acknowledge it. This lack of progress, Mr. Gambari's inappropriate claims of success regarding peripheral issues, and his unwillingness to press the regime more forcefully for progress have caused us to conclude that his continued involvement undermines the good offices mission and should therefore be ended.

We have no wish to embarrass Mr. Gambari and have no intent to link any removal with a lack of progress in Burma, but we would ask that you find a way to terminate gracefully his participation in this particular mission. In particular, we cannot support further travel to Burma for discussions with regime leadership by Mr. Gambari as part of the good offices mission.

We urge you not to rush to name a replacement. There have been a series of Special Representatives, none of whom have succeeded due to regime intransigence. Absent some sign that the regime is willing to engage seriously, we fear appointment of a new envoy could actually encourage the regime and some of its friends to continue to emphasize process over substance. As you requested, however, we are willing to share ideas of possible candidates as you consider next steps.

There is talk of your ramping up your personal involvement on Burma, or perhaps even visiting. We think you could play an important role but understand you will have to consider carefully how you would engage. Although a trip by you could be useful, we believe it's critical that the groundwork be laid so you can be confident that your visit will result in tangible progress.

We understand that the Burmese are unlikely to make major concessions as a condition for your visit. However, we do not believe you should go without a strong indication ahead of time that your visit would coincide with some tangible, positive steps. Steps that we recommend you insist upon are: the release of high-profile political prisoners; the release of Aung San Suu Kyi or at least the easing of her house arrest; insistence that you and any subsequent Special Representative will be able to determine your own schedules, including meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, political prisoners, activists, and whomever else you wish; and that you will have access to the senior most leadership of the Burmese regime; agreement on specific steps to begin a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic and ethnic leaders; and a guarantee that any Special Representative will be granted a multiple entry visa.
End points. RICE

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/wikileaks-us-cable-explains-how-former-sec-state-rice-got-ambassador-gambari-fired-burma-j

Ibrahim Lamorde Returns To EFCC As Director of Operations, As Secret Letter Written By Waziri To Support Ibori Surfaces

Posted: December 9, 2010 - 23:18

By SaharaReporters, New York

Ibrahim Lamorde, the former Director of Operations at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission during the tenure of Nuhu Ribadu, has regained his position at the anti-corruption agency.

EFCC sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Lamorded was restored to his former role in a renewed attempt to reinvigorate the agency, which has suffered a credibility crisis since Mrs. Farida Waziri took over in 2007.

Mr. Lamorde, who is an officer in the Nigerian Police Force, resumed duties today at the Abuja headquarters of the EFCC on a day that Mrs. Waziri was coincidentally and curiously absent from the office. Saharareporters sources said Mrs Lamorde left after a short visit to the premises. He is likely to take up his duties in full next Monday.

The new appointment is coming on the heels of a fresh revelation by SaharaReporters today of a secret document signed for James Ibori by Mrs. Waziri in 2008, aimed at bolstering the defence of the former governor of Delta State against charges of corruption in the United Kingdom.

The letter, written to the law firm of Efere Ozako & Associates in Abuja, is dated December 22nd 2008. In it, Mrs. Farida Waziri categorically certifies Ibori and the Delta State government clean of money laundering allegations regarding Wings Aviation and Captain Nogie Meggison, its Managing Director.

“From the record of investigation conducted, there was no established connection between Mr. James Ibori or the Delta State government and Wings Aviation nor was it established that Wings Aviation used to launder funds for or on behalf of Mr. James O. Ibori.”

SaharaReporters learnt that Mrs. Waziri, just like the former Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa, who wrote a similar letter to Ibori's lawyers in 2008, was acting on a script to extricate Ibori from the freezing of his assets by the UK authorities. Earlier this year, Ibori fled into hiding on his way out of Nigeria, as the EFCC under Mrs. Waziri pretended to be looking for him.

When he was eventually grabbed in Dubai by local police, Mrs. Waziri said she had been working hard with foreign law enforcement on the Ibori file and that she was sending experts abroad to work to have him extradited to the UK. The Metropolitan Police in London vehemently denies any collaboration between it and Mrs. Waziri regarding Ibori’s extradition trial in the UAE.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/ibrahim-lamorde-returns-efcc-director-operations-secret-letter-written-waziri-support-ibor

Women besiege PDP secreatriat in Ilorin, demand female gov

NewsDec 10, 2010

By Demola Akinyemi

Ilorin—Hundreds of women across Kwara State, yesterday, besieged the state secretariat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ilorin to demand for female candidacy as the successor to the outgoing governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
The women in about 32 commercial buses believed that it’s only a woman governor that could continue with what they described as the good works of the outgoing administration.
The women who were mainly politicians, students and markets woman, among others said it was high time the PDP leaders looked into their plight so as to move the state forward and also enhance the political stability in the state.
The spokesman of the group, Barrister Yemisi Bamidele impressed it upon the PDP leaders that, women should be given chance to lead the state in 2011 in view of the past neglect that had greeted the womenfolk in the country.
She noted that history and record have confirmed that, the women equally possessed the required talents and exposures that can help the nation to move forward if allowed to occupy the leadership position like that of the governor of the state.
Bamidele added that, the leadership of the party in the state should encourage the women in politics stressing that, it is by so doing that they would be able to contribute their quota towards the growth of the state and in the nation in particular.
In his response, the state chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Yusuf Aiyedun explained that, the leadership of the party was not against the women from occupying the governorship seat of the state.
He further explained to them that, in encouraging the women in politics, the national headquarters of the party has exempted the women from paying any kobo as nomination form of the party .
Aiyedun who urged them to shun any acts that may affect the existing peace in the state noted that, since they have obtained the nomination form, they should work hard for the primaries of the party so that they could achieve their desired ambition

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/women-besiege-pdp-secreatriat-in-ilorin-demand-female-gov/

I will not go to court if I lose, says Buhari

By Festus Owete

December 10, 2010 12:49AM

Former military head of state, Muhammadu Buhari,yesterday formally joined the presidential race for the third time, pledging that he will not contest the result of the elections whatever the
outcome.

Mr Buhari, who is contesting the 2011 polls on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change, the party he founded earlier in the year, said since he did not succeed at the court on two previous occasions, it will be a waste of time to go there again.

He was the presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2003 and 2007. According to him, his experience as well as reports from several independent local and international observers, showed clearly that those elections were not transparent, credible, free or fair, nor did they reflect the true will of the people.

He said that as committed democrats, he and his supporters chose to toe the legal path in protesting these malpractices but regretted that the outcome was not encouraging.

"The judgement of the Supreme Court in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary hardly conformed to the idea of justice. The common feeling was that the judiciary was not acting independently," he said. Even though we disagreed with these rulings we accepted them as a decision of the highest court of the land so that people do not lose faith in the overall democratic system. This time we are not going to court. Once bitten, but in our case twice bitten, " Mr Buhari said that he joined the race again after three months of wide consultations through letters and by telephone calls to hundreds of people.

Betrayed and bungled

According to him, his involvement in democratic politics in the last nine years has not only led him to every part of the country, but has made him to engage in comprehensive and rewarding consultations with a wide spectrum of people throughout the country, and he was convinced that Nigerians deserve better and will respond to good leadership.

He added that after 12 years of democratic practice in the country, the PDP "administration's record is a catalogue of betrayal and serially bungled opportunities" while "poor and incompetent management has combined with pervasive corruption and bad faith to worsen poverty and unemployment." The former head of state said he is a strong believer in multi-party democracy because it offers the best opportunity in terms of security, equity, prosperity and progress as a nation, but lamented that "the conduct of Nigeria's leadership in the last twelve years has given democracy a bad name."

He argued that if the country is to enjoy the fruits of a modern democratic state, responsible leadership must ensure that governance is conducted transparently and effectively towards improving and not worsening the well being of its people.

Mr Buhari said his vision for the country centres on his strong belief that since it is the only country Nigerians have, they have to work together with him to salvage it.

Great potentials

"My vision of Nigeria iscentred on the strong belief in this country. We all know that our country has great potentials. This is the only country we have, so we should all work to salvage it. With our enormous human and natural resources, we need to develop a nation where all Nigerians can be party to the process. We must return to the era when honesty, hard work and discipline once again are virtues," he said.

He stated that apart from undertaking other developmental efforts to reposition the country, he will make a genuine effort to tackle the problems of Niger Delta. Mr Buhari attributed the roots of the problems in the region to corruption and the failure of the Nigerian elite to understand the grievances and deep-seated feeling of its people.

He also regretted that hoodlums in the region are not being treated as criminals and terrorists but as representatives of a community whose immediate environment produces the bulk of the foreign exchange earnings of the country.

According to Mr Buhari, "We are going to engage Niger Delta people together with knowledgeable Nigerians, experts and the oil companies to evolve a systematic solution to these festering crises so that the country can move forward. We will review the activities of the local, state and federal governments with respect to Niger Delta areas." Responding to a question on the alliance talks between the CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Buhari said it is in progress and that a report on it will be submitted to him soon by the head of his party's team, Aminu Bello Masari, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He asked other opposition parties to join him in forging an alliance to dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party from power. Mr Buhari also said that his party has no business with the decision of some northern members of the PDP to pick a consensus candidate to represent the region, saying CPC is a national party and our constituency is the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

Earlier in his speech, the CPC national chairman, Rufa'i Hanga said that Mr Buhari is the only presidential aspirant on the platform of the party so far, and that was the reason he attended the formal declaration of the aspirant.

Among those who delivered goodwill messages are a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, Balarabe Musa, Tony Momoh and Lanre Tejuoso.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652176-146/i_will_not_go_to_court.csp

Nigerians among highest bribe payers in the world

By Ayo Okulaja

December 10, 2010 01:03AM

The global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International has ranked Nigeria as one of the countries in the world where bribes are paid to achieve an aim or get a service.

The Berlin based organisation stated this in the 2010 Global Corruption Barometer (a worldwide public opinion survey on corruption) released yesterday to mark the world’s International Anti-corruption day where it warned that “corruption has increased over the last three years” as one in four people report paying bribes in the last year to one of nine institutions and services, from health to education to tax authorities.

“Almost half of all respondents say they paid bribes to avoid problems with the authorities and a quarter say it was to speed up processes,” it added.

When the poll’s respondents in Nigeria were asked how the level of corruption has changed in Nigeria in the last three years, 73% of the respondents admitted that corruption has increased, 17% said it has decreased while 10% said it has not changed.

Nigeria was ranked with Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, India, Iraq, Liberia, Palestine and Senegal as nations where the highest numbers of reported bribery payments were made in 2010, one in two people affirmed to have paid bribe.

According to the survey, the institution perceived by respondents to be most affected by corruption is the Nigeria Police where the survey revealed that 56% of the respondents acknowledged to have given bribe to the police.

Most worrying

According to Transparency International, “Bribes to the police have almost doubled since 2006, and more people report paying bribes to the judiciary and for registry and permit services than did so five years ago.” Identifying the poor and young to be the most victimised in paying bribes, the report stated that “the demographics of bribery continue to disadvantage the poor and the young, as lower income earners report paying more bribes than higher income earners. Poorer people are twice as likely to pay bribes for basic services, such as utilities, medical services and education, than wealthier people.” “A third of all people under the age of 30 report paying a bribe in the past 12 months, compared to less than one in five people over 51 years of age.” “Corruption is a regressive tax. This injustice must be addressed. The marginalised and poor remain the most vulnerable to extortion. Governments should do more to identify corruption risks in basic services and to protect their citizens,” the report added.

The 2010 Global Corruption Barometer surveys more than 91,000 people in 86 countries and territories focusing on petty bribery, perceptions of public institutions and views of whom people trust to combat corruption. “Despite these results, the survey also found that seven out of 10 people would be willing to report an incident of corruption” the report noted.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652148-146/nigerians_among_highest_bribe_payers_in.csp

EFCC denies politicking with Cheney’s charges

By Ebenezer Ajewole

December 10, 2010 01:00AM

The head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri, said yesterday that the federal government’s decision to charge former United States vice president, Richard “Dick” Cheney, for complicity in the $180 million Haliburton bribe scandal was not politically motivated. Speaking at the International Anti-Corruption Day 2010 forum in Abuja on Thursday, Mrs. Waziri said that millions of naira have been siphoned to overseas accounts by corrupt Nigerians with the aid of foreign collaborators.

“Some foreigners come into the country with the mindset that the country is very corrupt and everything goes,” she said.

However, she said that the commission was on the verge of recovering over $500 million from several multi-national companies that had violated the country’s laws.

Multiple agencies

Mrs. Waziri admitted that corruption was endemic in the country but was quick to say that anti-graft bodies in the country like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau were ready to tackle the problem. She said the commission’s efforts had attracted support from anti-graft agencies in France, Britain, the US, Germany and the European Union.

The minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, also spoke at the event. He disagreed that the number of anti-graft agencies were helping with the fight against corruption.

“The multiplicity of anti-graft agencies with same functions and un-coordinated mechanism is one of the problems facing the agencies in Nigeria,” he said.

He promised that joint investigations and sharing of information amongst these agencies would be encouraged in a bid to move the agencies forward.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652089-146/efcc_denies_politicking_with_cheneys_charges.csp

INEC recovers stolen machines

December 10, 2010 01:00AM

The Independent National Electoral Commission said, on Thursday, that 16 out of 20 missing Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines, to be used for voter registration in 2011, have been recovered.

In a statement, Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, in Abuja, said the machines were recovered by Thursday afternoon. The statement said that security agents were working to recover the remaining four machines, as well as apprehend the people who stole them.

The statement also reassures Nigerians that the voter registration, scheduled for January 15 to 29, 2011, will hold.

A consignment of 20 machines was stolen on Tuesday, out of a total of 6,000 brought into the country by Zinox Technologies Ltd.

“Furthermore, INEC has been assured of intensified safeguards against further breaches,” stated Mr Idowu. “The Commission uses this opportunity to urge all eligible Nigerians to turn out for the planned voter registration in January and to work with INEC for the attainment of free, fair and credible elections in 2011.”

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5652157-146/story.csp

Stampede as Boko Haram, task force engage in gun duel

NewsDec 9, 2010

By Ndahi Marama

MAIDUGURI — RESIDENTS of Zannari ward in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, fled their homes in the early hours of Thursday following shootout between suspected member of the Boko Haram sect and the joint task force of military and police stationed in the area.
Vanguard learnt that the shootout started at about 7:30 am when the suspected sect members attacked and burnt down one of the security patrol vehicle in Zannari, London Ciki ward within Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
An eyewitness, Mallam Ibrahim Adam, told our correspondent that, when they heard the gunshot at first, they thought it was coming from a distance not knowing that the shooting was taking place right at their domain.
According to him, he quickly gathered his family took whatever they could take and fled the area.
He said immediately they came out of their house, their were some young men with riffles who asked them to leave the area immediately and they followed others who were fleeing as well before they found themselves in the GRA.
When our reporter visited the area after the incident, there was heavy presence of security personnel with some suspects arrested, while house-to-house search was ongoing in the whole part of the area.
Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, who was also in the area had while speaking to Journalists advised the sect to drop arms in the interest of peace in the state, adding that there was no alternative to peace.
He said that government would continue to work to ensure the protection of lives and property of citizens as government on its part would not relent until the situation was brought under total control and the perpetrators of this evil are brought to justice.
The Brigade Commander, 21 Brigade, Brigdier General Ibrahim Hassan Ndaliman, also told journalists that his men despite their number at the time of the attack were able to contain the insurgence and fought the good fight owing to their military tactics, which was why there was no casualty on their side except for the patrol vehicle, which they lost.
On the police side the CP Abubakar Mohammed Jinjiri told newsmen that the police is still searching for the suspects and is making arrest, which they will make it public when they were able to completely fish out the bad from the good.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/stampede-as-boko-haram-task-force-engage-in-gun-duel/

The Politics Of Saraki And The Identity Crisis Of Northern Yoruba In Nigeria

Posted: December 8, 2010 - 22:07

Abdul-Rahoof Adebayo Bello

There are no new truths, but only truths that have not been recognized by those who have perceived them without noticing - Mary McCarthy, US writer (1912-1989)

Like a recurring decimal, the problem of Nigeria’s structural defects came to the fore in the process of choosing a ‘northern consensus candidate’ for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for the 2011 presidential election. The attendant brouhaha and intrigues over the issue of zoning while it lasted, reminded Northern Yorubas of what some of them already knew: no Kwaran of Yoruba ethnic or linguistic stock can ever become the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria! No, this is no malediction neither is it a statement made under the influence of alcohol but it is the stark reality of a plague we are living with like the HIV infection. There is crisis of identity for this group of people who, by the ‘mistake of 1914’ are classified as Northerner when as of fact, they are historically, culturally, linguistically and politically members of Oduduwa family in the geographical south-west of Nigeria.

Political analysts were watching with keen interest when Governor Bukola Saraki, the Aremo (first male child) of the most powerful political dynasty in Nigeria, threw his hat into the ring of political contest for the position of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Paradoxically, Dr. Bukola Saraki allows history to repeat itself because he fails to learn from history by been one of the most vociferous propagandist of zoning arrangement in favour of the North in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). This is a case of a sympathizer crying louder than the bereaved. However, he joined the race along with three others (Gens. Babangida, Gusau and Alh. Atiku) to slug it out with the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in the PDP.

By the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Saraki or any Nigerian citizen is qualified to aspire for the office of Nigeria’s president but that is legalistic or dogo turanchi as far as the Adamu Ciromas of this world are concerned. To them, names like Sarakis, Awoniyis, Jemibewons, Adebayos, Olawoyins, Ogunniyis or Smart Adeyemis from either Kwara or Kogi have not meaning in the northern political lexicon, therefore, presidential ambition nursed by these people is not only repugnant and abominable but also incompatible with the concept of northern brotherhood. To the present crop of northern political elites (with the exception of a few), it is a joke taken too far for the likes of Alh. Yekini Alabis, Abdul-Rahoof Bellos or Alh. Lai Mohammeds from Kwara or Kogi are mere slack variables (dummies) in the political calculus and conceptual analysis of northern politics as such elements are regarded as beirebe or banza-bokwai, (people from non-Hausa/Fulani states). They are only relevant to inflate the demographic figure in order to sustain the phantom population density of the so-called ’19 northern states’ whenever the north is threatened by the south over issues such as resource control, fiscal federalism or sovereign national conference come up on the national agenda.

In fairness, there was no such dichotomy in either words or actions when Sir Ahmadu Bello – the Sardauna of Sokoto was in the saddle in the north. That was why there was no cases of religious crisis or ethnic animosity as we now witness in Jos, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kaduna or Zango-Kataf. In the Sadauna’s north, it was one north, one people, one God, the regional ethos, which fired the patriotism in a Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, Major Theophilus Danjuma and such other military officers to stake their lives in the July 29, 1966 counter coup, which was originally intended to pull out the northern region from Nigeria. According to Amadu Kurfi, (1983:38), the original intention of the July 29 counter coup leaders was to seize the reins of government and then announce the secession of the Northern Region from the rest of the country. These days, the same middle-belters have become estranged species as they are no longer regarded as ‘core’ northerners, judging by the wide condemnation of President Olusegun Obasanjo for appointing some of them into key positions in the country. On that strength, therefore, Governor Saraki’s aspiration was/is seen as anathema, which could be likened to an atheist preaching from the pulpit of a cathedral.

It is disturbing to note that for disclaimer over presidential slot in the north are the Yoruba ethnic groups from Kwara and Kogi States even if they can speak Hausa, the northern lingua franca. Perhaps, to avoid such embarrassment in the league of northern traditional rulers, the Emir of Ilorin, Alh. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari quickly deleted his lovely Yoruba middle name ‘Kolapo’ shortly after he ascended the throne. Although, this was a contradiction to his forbearers’ reverend and veneration for their Yoruba name and cognomen such as Aiyelabowo, Alabi Opo, Oroganloye, Oba digi Aye, Momolosho, etc. In the same wavelength is our brother - a press dynamo from Ilorin, Modibbo ‘Lanre’ Kawu who also made a public renunciation of his popular Yoruba middle name. However, a group called Arewa Integrity Forum under the leadership of one Abdulmuminu Adamu fired the first salvo of negative sentiments to Bukola Saraki’s presidential aspiration. The forum, at a press conference in Kaduna, disowned Governor Saraki saying he was acting the script of Yoruba. His words:

Mr. Saraki was playing a script of Yoruba agenda, adding that the information available to us was that the Kwara governor is from Abeokuta, and was working on a plan hatched by a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also from Abeokuta. His root is from there and we as northerners, we will not bless his aspiration, the AIF leader said. As we are all aware, Bukola is a stooge and a spoiler who will use the northern platform to achieve his political interest. We would not allow Mr. Saraki to speak on behalf of the north. The reason behind the formation of the Northern Union being led by Mr. Olusola Saraki, father of the Kwara State governor, was owing to the refusal of the Arewa Consultative Forum to allow him into their midst (See NEXT newspaper).

In the same vein, the Niger Delta Standard also reports that the North West and North East disowned Governor Saraki because “he is not northern enough.” To rub salt on Saraki’s wound, the Adamu Ciroma’s committee refuses to consider him as a core Northerner because he is said to have come from a minority ethnic group in the North (See the Nigerian Voice). It would be recalled that Bukola’s father (Dr. Olusola Saraki, the Waziri of Ilorin) had also suffered the same fate in the past but according to Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), men occasionally stumble over the truth, but they pick themselves up and continue as if nothing had happened. Before going into the anatomy of the Saraki dynasty’s politics of northern hegemony, it would be pertinent to quickly look at the historical metamorphoses of politics in Kwara State.
Where Does Kwara Belong?
What is known today as Kwara extended to the whole of the present Kogi State and it was created on May 17, 1967, the eve of the Nigerian civil war by the then Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. The State was created from the old Ilorin and Kabba provinces of the defunct Northern Region with the name, Central West State but it was to be changed in 1968 to Kwara, which is said to be the name of a river in Kaduna State. The older generation of Kwarans is in a dilemma to satisfy the curiosity and inquisitiveness of the younger generation about the meaning of their State of origin! What is the rationale behind the change if not a strategy for internal colonization and perpetual subjugation of the Yoruba ethnic nationality in the north?
Prior to the Fulani uprising of 1831, which culminated in a palace coup against Afonja,  the Yoruba Governor of Ilorin and the generalissimo of Yoruba nation, the greater parts of the territory now in Kwara and Kogi States belonged to the House of Oduduwa under the suzerainty of Alafin of Oyo. The 19th century inter-tribal wars in Yorubaland coupled with internal weakness and other factors led to the fall of Oyo Empire, leading to infiltration and adulteration of history and cultural anthropology of Yoruba nation. Even the emerging Ibadan army cannot challenge the Fulani hegemony on Igbomina, Ekiti, Ibolo, Okuns and Ogoris in the northeast of Yorubaland. That was the position recognized and maintained by the colonial masters during the various boundary delineation exercises between the North and the South (of the then geographical expression) starting from 1893 under Captain R. Bower leading to the 1914 amalgamation by Lord Luggard.

Agitation for Ilorin West-Merger
Agitations for reintegration of the Yoruba ethnic groups with their kith and kin in the West started in 1898 when a powerful delegation of Yoruba traditional heads (mostly from Igbominaland) journeyed to Ila Orangun to meet Captain Bower, the colonial Resident and Travelling Commissioner of the Interior Yoruba on the need to return them to Oyo province. In the entourage were Olomu of Omupo, Elese of Igbaja, Elesie of Esie, Oloro of Oro, Eledidi of Edidi, Alaran of Arandun, Alapa of Apa, Onirore of Rore, Olobo of Obo-Aiyegunle, Olosi of Osi, Olora of Ora, Olota of Ilota, Eleju of Igbonla, Olupako of Share and Baale of Ilala (see Isaac Adebayo, 1996:61).
Also in the 50s, another conscious effort was made by the Action Group Party which entered into an alliance with the Ilorin Talaka Parapo (Ilorin Commoner’s Party) to get the Yorubas out of Ilorin and Bida/Lafiagi Emirates in the North. By 1957,  according to Bola Ige (1995:110), Ilorin town was safely in the clutches of the NPC but ASA, MORO, OFFA, ERIN, IGBOMINA AND EKITI areas remained pro-Awolowo and his party but the victory of the alliance in the 1956 Northern Regional elections, wining the four seats in Ilorin was anchored on ‘An re West’ (we are going to West) political slogan. The allies also won elections into the Ilorin Native Authority Council and a majority of the district councils throughout the province. ‘Those local bodies then passed resolutions favoring transfer to the Western Region, with the elected members from the alliance outvoting the elected NPC members and the traditional members nominated by the Emir’ (Schwartz, F. A. O, 1965:92).

Earlier, the Offa Descendant Union had hosted the meeting of Egbe Ibile Yoruba in 1950 and the agitation for boundary review was one of the resolutions passed at the meeting was forwarded to the colonial Governor Sir John Stuart Macpherson who made a pledge to address the issue at the Legislative Council meeting in 1951(Adisa Onikoko). The matter also came up at the 1957 Constitutional Conference in London and pursuant to this, Henry Willink Minority Commission of enquiry was set up and it visited Ilorin in February 1958 to hear evidence from interested parties, including the political groups i.e. AG/ITP and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). The Willink Minority Commission recommended, among others, that a plebiscite be held in the Ilorin and Kabba divisions. In such a plebiscite, if 60 percent voted for transfer, the transfer should be made. The report, which was published on August 18, 1958 states:

…… If no solution is found to this dispute, we fear that the Northern Region may continue to find Ilorin an embarrassment rather than an asset and relations within the Federation may be embittered for some time to come. We see no prospect of a solution that would ease the tension except by means of plebiscite in which there is general acquiescence and by the result of which all have agreed to abide (Ojiako, J. O. O. 1981:43).

Surreptitiously, the NPC succeeded in resisting the holding of any such plebiscite and thus, the area remains part of the North until today (See Mobolaji Aluko). This is patently one of the perfidious plans by the British for the independent Nigeria to fail.

On March 30, 2005, at the National Political Reform Conference held at Ilorin, the issue of identity crisis also came up through a memorandum signed by 24 elders and leaders of thought from Kwara South, consisting of Ifelodun, Irepodun, Oyun, Offa, Isin, Ekiti and Oke-Ero Local Government Areas of Kwara State. They highlighted the social and political effects of “the forced dismemberment of the various groups in Kwara from their kith and kin in the South West of Nigeria, which the British carried out in 1906 and by force of that circumstance made the Yoruba ethnic groups become minorities in the North.” Therefore, they demanded for a separate state for the Yorubas in the present Kwara and Kogi States to be known as Oke-Oodua, which is made up of Igbomina, Ibolo, Ekiti and Okuns. They stated that:

Culturally, we are Yoruba and we share same aspirations with our kith and kin in the South West. However, in addition to our other Yoruba groups, we are grouped in the same state with other tribes, such as Baruba, Nupe, Hausa and Fulani who naturally share the same aspiration with their own people in the North. We are also zoned to the North and therefore we are regarded as Northerners. The unanticipated and perhaps unplanned consequence of the forced association has been the gradual erosion of our culture and identity. Our dilemma has been and still is this, in which direction do we look? We have a problem of identity in the name of either Kwara or when it comes to aspiring for national political office. Kwara has no meaning or identification. We cannot aspire for any position slated for the Yoruba because we are treated as "Northerners" Neither can we aspire for that slated for the North because we are regarded as "Yoruba.”

Kwara and the Saraki’s Northern PoliticsPolitically, the Saraki’s phenomenon did not come to the consciousness of Kwarans until 1974 when the London trained medical doctor Abubakar Olusola Saraki was conferred with the honourary chieftaincy title of Turaki of Ilorin by Alh. Sulukarinaini Gambari (Aiyelabowo V), the Emir of Ilorin (1959-1992) for his philanthropist activities in the Ilorin metropolis. He had earlier in 1964 contested election into the Federal House of Representative as an independent candidate but lost to one Alh. Babatunde Gada, an NPC candidate because Dr. Saraki’s personality and claim of indigeneship of the ancient city was translucent and shrouded with obscurity. However, he beat a retreat only to relaunch in the early seventies, when there was a vacuum of leadership in the Ilorin political turf, which required a well-to-do personality to fill when the military eventually disengaged and return Nigeria to civil rule as promised. Ilorin, like the Biblical Israelites, needed a political leader, a torchbearer and a personality to fill the vacuum created by the demise of Alh. Yusuf Amuda Gobir, the first Ilorin indigene to be appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary in 1962. Late Amuda Gobir was a jewel of inestimable value to the people of Ilorin Emirate. A renowned author, L. A. K. Jimoh, (1994:305) had these words to describe him:

Amuda Gobir was an amiable personality and readily helpful at all times not only to individuals no matter their place of origin but also to communities, organizations and societies. Through his efforts, silently in most cases, several Ilorin indigenes, in particular, and Nigerians generally, secured Federal appointments and were, with his encouragement, able to make impressive advancements in the Federal Public Service. He also obtained for several other people various forms of public patronage, including contract awards in different sectors of the economy.

Unfortunately, the man died in a ghastly road accident while holidaying in Spain in 1975, his premature death left Ilorin with no choice than to look up to Dr. Olusola Saraki who had started making  generous donations towards execution of community projects in every nook and cranny of Ilorin. Dr. Olusola Saraki saddled himself with the followings communal services:

•    tarring of Ilorin township roads;
•    sinking of boreholes to mitigate the acute water problems in Ilorin;

•    establishing bakery industry;
•    establishing a cinema house close to the Emir’s Palace;

•    feeding indigents in his house at Agbaji and later at Ile-Loke (GRA)

•     dolling out money with  textile materials (Ankara) to women.

Taking the advantage of the prevailing poverty in the land, Dr. Saraki wove his political philosophy on the theory of[b] ‘give them the fish and not the hook’[/b] so that they can continue to look up to you, therefore, he started by giving out N20, later increased with inflationary trends to N50, and to N200, and then to N500 but currently stands at N1000 to whoever cares to attend the political night vigil at his Ile-Loke residence whenever the ‘Oloye’ was in town. This ‘generosity’ was the magic wand that has warmed him into the hearts of the people in Ilorin and even beyond, hence, he took another bite at the political apple in 1976 when he contested and won election into the Constitutional Conference. In 1979, he contested and won election into the Senate on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) where he was elected the Senate Leader. Ever since, Saraki’s political profile has been on the rise until becoming a political godfather in Kwara State. He assumed this stardom with the tremendous support he enjoyed from the House of Alimi, which he  exploit to launch himself  into political relevance in the northern political calculations. In reciprocity, the Emir also needs the political machinery of Dr. Olusola Saraki for the sustenance of Fulani hegemony to ward off the incessant hostilities from the Afonja family, Balogun Alanamu, Balogun Ajikobi who are senior members of the Emirate Council, and the entire Yoruba ethnic nationality in the State.

Therefore, for Dr. Olusola Saraki to remain a lone tree that makes a political forest in Kwara State he must be seen to be championing northern interest and in some cases, to prove to be more northerner than even the Sultan of Sokoto, otherwise, the northern cabal will move the federal might against him and his dominance of the political firmament in the State shall become history. That is why he had to move from Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) over irreconcilable differences, which could not be far from his inability to speak Hausa, to form his own group called the Northern Union (NU)  rather than joining the Afenifere or the Yoruba Council of Elders where he rightly belongs, if some facts of history are anything to go by. For instance, Mallam Muktar his father was not buried in Ilorin, otherwise his mother should have been buried the same place with her husband instead of Iseyin, her hometown in accordance with Islamic injunction. Therefore, those who insinuate that Olusola Saraki is from Southwest might not be too far from the truth. Nevertheless, the patriarch of the ruling dynasty in Kwara State would not associate with Yoruba because he needs the north more than he was needed in the north for the survival of his prebendal politics of ‘eba and wazo’. The flawed electoral system in Nigeria gives victory at the polls not to the most popular candidates but the candidates anointed by some godfathers. In most cases, election results in Nigeria are usually not in favour of the contestants who polled majority of lawful votes by eligible voters but cooked by the electoral umpire acting on the scripts of the northern military and political cabal who see ruling Nigeria as their birthright. Thank goodness, President Goodluck Jonathan has promised the international community that 2011 elections in Nigeria shall be different in that votes shall start to count and shall be counted; That there would be internal democracy in the political parties and that multiple voting and ballot-box snatching has become banished into the dustbin of history. He also promised that political corruption through the practice of godfathrism is taking a flight out of this great country. But behold! Vigilance is the eternal price for liberty. We get our fingers crossed.

Conclusion

Governor Bukola Saraki’s attempt at ruling this country suffers the same fate like that of his father because of his identity crisis but ironically, he fails to learn from history. In 1983, Dr. Olusola Saraki made a frantic effort to contest for the presidency on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) but was told that the incumbent President Shehu Shagari was to go for second term but he was not satisfied because President Shagari was a reluctant candidate. The fallout of the power game led to a grand conspiracy and discrimination against the elder Saraki, which led him to seek a political asylum with the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). To take his pound of flesh from the NPN, he directed his supporters to vote for the UPN’s gubernatorial candidate Senator C. O. Adebayo. Another attempt was made by him under the Social Democratic Party but had to chicken out for a more formidable power blocs formed by the late Chief M. K. O. Abiola and late Gen. Shehu Yar’Adua. Again, in 1998 when the presidency was zoned to the southwest to compensate for the injustice done to Chief M. K. O. Abiola, Dr. Saraki attempted the APP ticket but got disappointed by the northern cabal in the party who preferred to go into alliance with the AD for the 1999 presidential elections. How else does Dr. Olusola Saraki want to be told that he has overstayed is welcome in the north? If your religion cannot change you, then change your religion.
In this piece, Dr. Olusola Saraki is used as a case study but no one should delude him/herself by thinking that other Kwarans are immune against this discrimination arising from identity crisis, which makes the presidency a no-go area for them despite assurance provided by Sec. 42(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Today dies and tomorrow buries it, what kill today is coming to kill tomorrow. In the Nigerian primordial politics, how do you explain a situation whereby a a Olubukola Saraki, Smart Adeyemi or my good brother from Ipee Rev. John Dara should succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo after the expiration of his statutory second term in office? On the contrast, is it justifiable for a Belore, a Kawu or Serah Jubril to have succeeded late President Umoru Yar’Adua if he had completed his mandatory two terms in office? This is a time bomb waiting to explode!

The Way Out
Through legislation or political approach, the following measures should be taken as a matter of deliberate policy by the federal government:
➢    Convoke a constitutional conference of various ethnic nationalities to determine the Nigerian union along true federalism
➢    Redraw the boundaries of the component units of Nigeria to make it reflect historical and cultural homogeneity
➢    Insert a specific clause in the Nigerian Constitution to make it justiciable for the Yoruba ethnic groups in Kwara and Kogi State against any form of discrimination on the basis of their ethnic origin
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

30th November 2010
Abdul-Rahoof Adebayo Bello, an academic staff of the National Open University of Nigeria hails from Omupo, Kwara State.

E-mail: abdulrahoofbello@yahoo.com

References:

Adebayo, I., (1996). The Orangun Dynasty, London, Catford Copy Centre.

Adisa-Onikoko, A. T. (1992), A History of Ilorin Emirate, Ilorin, Atoto Press Ltd.

Aluko, M., in Ilorin Irredentism and the Burden Of Internal Colonization, Burtonsville,     MD, USA http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/iarticles, visited 28/11/10

Ige, B. (1995), People, Politics and Politicians of Nigeria (1940 - 1979), Ibadan,     Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria) Plc.

Jimoh, L. A. K. (1994): Ilorin: The Journey So Far, Ilorin, Atoto Press Ltd.

Kurfi, A., (1983), The Nigerian General Elections 1959 and 1979 and the aftermath,     Lagos, MacMillan Nigerian Publishers Ltd

Ojiako, J. O. O. (1981),  NIGERIA: Yesterday, Today, And …… ?, Onisha, Africana     Educational Publishers (Nig.) Ltd.

Schwarz, F. A. O. (1965), Nigeria: The Tribes, the Nation or the Race. The Politics of     Independence, Cambridge, Mass, MIT Press.

Newspapers
NEXT newspaper, Tuesday, September 16, 2010

Niger Delta Standard of Monday, November 1, 2010

The Nigerian Voice, Tuesday, November 23, 2010


http://www.saharareporters.com/article/politics-saraki-and-identity-crisis-northern-yoruba-nigeria

WikiLeaks: Jonathan Responds To The United States

Posted: December 9, 2010 - 18:16

By SaharaReporters, New York

President Goodluck Jonathan has challenged the United States account of the events that took place in the turbulent period leading up to his assumption of the presidency last May, calling the account of Ambassador Robin Sanders “essentially third party narratives, and are largely inaccurate.”

In a WikiLeaks cable on Nigeria which SaharaReporters broke yesterday, Ms. Sanders, reported to Washington on her meeting on February 26, 2010. The cable portrayed a troubled Jonathan who seemed unsure of himself and where the country was going, with the US ambassador offering advice on how to proceed on such issues as Umaru Yar’Adua’s incapacitation, the military, electoral reform, and Olusegun Obasanjo.

In Jonathan’s response to our story, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ima Niboro, dismissed Jonathan’s meeting with Ambassador Sanders as having been no more than one of countless meetings with different groups and people with different suggestions, stating that the account in the cable was “largely silent on these suggestions.” Jonathan did not say what suggestions he received from those other groups and individuals.

He seemed particularly irritated by the suggestion that he was not equipped for the position in which he had found himself. In the cable summary, the US ambassador wrote of Jonathan as follows:


He said he is “not a politician” and had very limited experience as an administrator, but concluded, “I will not tolerate a brawl.” Jonathan said he will dissolve the Cabinet once he knows people are more comfortable with him being the Acting President or if the current strategy to convince Yar’Adua surrogates and family members to allow the ailing president to resign.

In Jonathan’s response to that characterization, he said, “how can it be said that a man who had been a Deputy Governor, an Acting Governor, a governor, a Vice President, and then Acting President could have described himself as “lacking in administrative experience”. That the President holds a Ph.D, was a lecturer for 10 years, and was an Assistant Director at the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, do not make the statement less rankling.”

Despite this outrage, Mr. Niboro’s response was silent on the fact that Jonathan did tell the US ambassador:

“I was not chosen to be Vice President because I had good political experience…I did not [have such experience]. There were a lot more qualified people around to be Vice President, but that does not mean I am not my own man.”

He was even more silent on the bigger picture, which includes running for the presidency in 2011. The leaked cable shows that, just as he would later tell President Barack Obama when he visited the White House in April 2010, “his sole focus is to leave a legacy of both electoral reform and credible elections, including changing the entire Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

At that time, at the end of February, Jonathan seemed keen to convince the United States he saw his mission as simply to clean up Nigeria’s electoral process, a point that was repeated again and again to Ambassador Sanders:




• Jonathan said he does not anticipate standing for elections in 2011 and that he is not working towards being a presidential candidacy. He wants to put into place an electoral structure that will be ready for national elections. He did, however, note that, “if they want me to run, that will be something to consider at that time.
• He stressed that his focus now and for the next 12 months will be on “doing a good job and witnessing respectable and credible elections in 2011.”

During that visit to the United States in April, during which he attended the Nuclear Summit, Acting President Jonathan also repeated this promise on various occasions, along with his determination to battle corruption. One such stop was at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington DC.
“I have promised Nigerians and the rest of the world that 2011 elections in Nigeria would be credible,” he said at the CFR, pointing out that he considered himself “a victim of [presidential] elections that have been questioned.”
Stating that his focus would be on electoral reform, delivering peace dividends to the Niger Delta and the rest of the country, and combating corruption, he declared, “… I can promise Nigerians and indeed the American audience, that 2011 elections in Nigeria will be credible. You don't need more than one year to achieve that. If I don't, even if you gave me 10 years, I cannot achieve it.”
Yar’Adua, whose disappearance to Saudi Arabia in November 2009 in poor health pushed Nigeria to the brink of a constitutional crisis, died on May 5, 2010, paving the way for Jonathan to become President. Four months later, in September, he publicly declared he would run, and immediately became a player in a match in which he is also the referee, linesmen, and commissioner.

Full text of the press statement:
ON WIKILEAKS AND ALL THAT
Wikileaks is the new travesty that international diplomacy has to deal
with. Nigeria is no exception.

The point to be made is that the accounts of meetings between
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and US diplomats are essentially
third party narratives, and are largely inaccurate.

The President, in those tempestuous days during which the nation
tottered on the brink, held meetings, and then more meetings, with
different groups, the diplomatic community inclusive.

The President met with different diplomats and special envoys who
offered different suggestions on a way out of the impasse that our
late leader's health had imposed on the nation. We note that this
account is largely silent on these suggestions.

Instead, what is served up is an unfair account severely impacted by
selective perception and individual expectations. For instance, how
can it be said that a man who had been a Deputy Governor, an Acting
Governor, a governor, a Vice President, and then Acting President
could have described himself as “lacking in administrative
experience”. That the President holds a Ph.D, was a lecturer for 10
years, and was an Assistant Director at the defunct Oil Mineral
Producing Areas Development Commission, do not make the statement less
rankling.

This only goes to show that the report itself is a souped up version
of the standard conversation that takes place in such meetings. We
find this account as wholly unfortunate, and we are only employing the
best of diplomatic finesse in that statement!

Ima Niboro
Special Adviser to the President,
Media and Publicity
9th December, 2010

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/wikileaks-jonathan-responds-united-states

Saraki Is Not From Kwara By Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho Abdulrazak


Posted: December 9, 2010 - 18:56

TheNEWS-Bamidele Johnson

Alhaji AbdulGaniy Folorunsho Abdulrazak, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, claims to have met the father of Dr. Olusola Saraki in Abidjan in the sixties. In this interview with BAMIDELE JOHNSON, he tells the story of his friendship with the older Saraki, whose origin he gives as Abeokuta

Q: What do you know about the background of Dr. Olusola Saraki?
Well, in 1962, I was appointed Ambassador of Nigeria to Cote d’Ivoire and one of those who met me at the port as part of the Nigerian community in
Abidjan turned out to be the father of Olusola Saraki, Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki. As an ambassador there, my second secretary in the embassy, Ignatius Olisemeka, who later became Foreign Affairs Minister, led officials of the embassy to come and meet me. That was around September or
October 1962. In those days, there was only one flight from Lagos to other West African countries. Ships plied the coast of West Africa, carrying some
passengers. One of the ships named General Mangaine travelled on the West African coast, stopping at principal ports. After leaving the Cameroons, it came to Lagos, where I went aboard together with Ado Ibrahim, who is now
the Emir of Kano. Both of us were appointed the same day as ambassadors; he to Senegal, I to Ivory Coast. We went with our respective families,
stopping at several ports along the way until we finally disembarked at Abidjan. So, I observed that the crowd that came to meet me at the port was divided into two and members of each group had flags of different colours,
saying: “Welcome, our ambassador.” One group had white and the other, green. And they were supposed to be a Nigerian community welcoming their ambassador. Then, Olisemeka, my secretary, took me to my official residence. He was more like a permanent secretary to me. He was like a permanent secretary is to a minister. When we got home, he showed me the rooms along with my children and wife. Later, I called Olisemeka and asked why members of the Nigerian community that came to meet me were waving different banners and were standing apart, not mixing. He said I was very perceptive. I asked if they were divided and he said they were. He explained that the division was caused by a fighting over who would lead the Nigerian community. When I asked who the contenders were, he said one was called Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, while the other was Emmanuel Alabi.

So, I told Olisemeka that one of my first duties would be to see Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki and Emmanuel Alabi. And I said I would see only the two of them and not their supporters at 10a.m. the next day. On getting to the embassy in the morning and settling down in my office, Olisemeka came to tell me that the two gentlemen had arrived. He then brought in Muttahiru Saraki, who sat on my right, Alabi on the left. I thanked them for welcoming me on my arrival and told them that my secretary, also present, told me that the two of them were fighting over the leadership of the community. I said I was not prepared to work with a divided community. I also told them that I had not invited them to the embassy to hear why they were fighting.

I said from their looks, Muttahiru Saraki would be the older person. And
because of that, I said I was recognising him as the leader of the community. And against my expectation, Alabi stood up and prostrated before Saraki, holding his leg and saying: ‘I accept you as my leader.’ And I told him he would be Saraki’s deputy.

Alabi then asked for permission to say something and I asked him to go on. He said nobody ever called the two of them together and it was only their followers who were treating the matter that way. And Alhaji Saraki also said he accepted him as his deputy.

I later thanked them and they went away together. About a week later, Olisemeka came to me saying he wanted to thank me for the resolution of the problem between Muttahiru Saraki and Alabi. He said it was like a miracle and that within a week, he had seen a reduction, to about one per cent, in consular problems like fighting between Nigerians, going to police stations and so on. From then on, throughout my stay there as ambassador, I went to the mosque to say my Friday prayers with Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki. I’d go out of my way to take Alhaji Saraki from his house and we’d drive to the mosque together. After prayers, I also brought him back. Naturally, the relationship between the two of us blossomed. Then one Sunday, my guard, a policemen, came and said there was an old man who wanted to see me and his name was Saraki.

He then brought in Muttahiru Saraki and we started to talk. Then he asked me where I come from. I told him I am from Ilorin. Alhaji Saraki said he was an Egba man from Abeokuta. By this time, I did not even know the existence of Olusola Saraki. So, the man told me he was from Abeokuta, but he went to a Quranic school in Ilorin at Agbaji, an area of reputed for Islamic scholarship. The man, with his own mouth, told me he was an Egba man from Abeokuta. And as of that time, I knew of no existence of any member of his family. This was in early 1963. So, we carried on like that.

The fact that I resolved the problem between him and Alabi helped us a great deal for our consular cases. As the leader of the Nigerian community and being older than me, Saraki, at my request, always sat by my side wherever I went in my my capacity as Nigeria’s representative. At a point, members of the Nigerian community were calling him deputy ambassador and he enjoyed that. Anywhere I went officially, I took him along. When I was going to present my letters of credence to the head of state (Houphouet-Boigny) I took him along, too. Incidentally, President Houphouet-Boigny was a medical doctor and had been Saraki’s doctor before he became President. They knew each other before I came on the scene. After the man entered politics and he became minister and later, president, they saw less of each other. So it was a great reunion for them on that day. Of course, the news quickly spread that the “deputy ambassador” was a friend to the president. We carried on like that and had a good personal relationship.

Did you meet his wife?
He was a polygamist. He had about three then, with some children, some older than Sola Saraki, and some younger. When I got to the house every Friday to take him to the mosque, I saw them. One Sunday, he came again through the policeman at the gate. And after entertainment with drinks, he told me he had come that day to thank me. He said he had never met any human being, not even his own children, who had honoured him as I had done and that he did not even know how to show his appreciation. I said there was no need for all that. That was in 1963. He then said that he had a son who was studying to be a doctor in London and whenever he came home on holidays, he’d like us to meet. One Sunday during the summer holidays, Alhaji Saraki brought Sola to introduce him to me. And after they took their seats, Alhaji Saraki started talking by saying ‘Sir’. I asked him to cut that out because he was as old as my father. He then reminded me about his son he said was in London. I stood up to greet Sola and he stretched out his hand for a handshake. The father got up and slapped his face, saying: That’s my god you want to shake hands with. You should prostrate.

But I said we were both young men, within the same age group. I made light of it, saying we knew how to greet each other. That was how I met Sola Saraki.

Did you relate with him at all?
I will get to that. So, the father now said he was putting him in my care. ‘Take care of him for me,’ he said. Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, the father of Sola is dead now, and is in the right place. If I am telling lies, he is hearing. That was how I met Sola Saraki. And I told him that it was good that as a young man, he is a professional. I advised him to return home to participate in politics. I am talking of 1963.

I remained in Abidjan till 1964, when my party, the Northern Peoples Congress, through my leader, the Sardauna of Sokoto, sent for me. He said I had to resign because they wanted to appoint me a minister in the cabinet of Tafawa Balewa. So, the Sardauna sent for me and said I was going to be a minister in the next government. He said he would tell Ilorin people that I’d be returned to the parliament unopposed. I was appointed minister in charge of Nigerian Railways and I performed other functions, like being a confidante to the Prime Minister.

Back to Sola Saraki. When I then went back to campaign in 1964, to go to parliament, with a view to be appointed a minister, Sola surfaced. That was two weeks to the election. He told me that he had decided to heed the advice I gave him in Abidjan to go into politics. I asked where he wanted to contest and he said Asa. Asa is a local government that shares a boundary with Ilorin Central. When I replied Sola, I admitted that I advised him to come into politics, but he had come too late. In Asa, there was a member of parliament, Mr. Babatunde, whom the party had decided to return unopposed. However, he said he would contest.

Did you raise the issue that he was an Egba man when he said he was going to contest?

That didn’t arise at that time. It is now that the sort of question is being raised. He said he would contest. He went to Lagos and brought some packets of medicine and he put up a mat and a hut in Asa and started giving people injections. These were for people who lacked medical attention. The whole of Asa local government had no hospital at all. If anybody fell sick, they had to take the person to Ilorin.

He started giving them cheap medicine, thinking that it would win him their votes. He did not take into consideration that one, there was a member of parliament on ground. Second, the same man was being presented by my party. Also, he was going to be an independent candidate. Naturally, he was defeated. That was his entry into Ilorin politics. Then, he started visiting Ilorin, sharing money to people; money that he had made from medical practice through the retainership he had with the Nigerian Ports Authority and Ministry of Defence. At that time, the army did not have a hospital or a medical department. The Air Force also did not have any. So, whatever bills he sent to them, they paid him.

So, he was making constant visits, and building himself up. And that was the situation in Ilorin. If he says he is an Ilorin man, ask him where the home of his father is.

He will point to Agbaji. Agbaji was the place his father schooled. That is
the only connection he has to the place. He knows I know this and he cannot face me and say it is not true. There was one time he wanted to change his identity, claiming he was from Mali. If the father of Bukola is not an Ilorin man, how can Bukola be?

Who is the mother of Bukola? We know she is not from Ilorin. It is even doubtful that she is a Nigerian. The wife that I know with Sola Saraki, that he brought to my house in 1964, when he became a doctor, did not have a job. I was then a minister, living at No 2 Thompson Road, Ikoyi. He brought his wife, saying they had just come together from England. And I got the wife a job through my friend and colleague in the cabinet, who was the Minister for Establishment. That was the first job of Morenike, the mother of Gbemi. And the mother of Gbemi is not the mother of Bukola.

All through this time, were you still in touch with his father whom you left in Cote d’Ivoire or you broke off?

I maintained my friendship with his father. His father was writing me letters. In one of the letters, he told me he was very sick. And at that time, Sola was in private medical practice at Offin in Lagos and I went there to rebuke him. I said he was a useless doctor if his father was suffering in a foreign country. I said he should be his number one patient at his clinic. And he brought him back. It was in that hospital that the man died.

If you were that close, you must have met some of Muttahiru Saraki’s family members. Do you recall running into any of them in Ilorin?

None at all. Even up till now. There was one Iya Alaro. But Iya Alaro was a daughter of Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, married to an Ilorin person. And that is the root of Sola Saraki coming to Ilorin. When he came to Ilorin, he stayed with Iya Alaro at Agbaji. But Iya Alaro’s relationship with Ilorin was that of a wife of an Ilorin man. I know Alhaji Saraki had a male child in his house in Abidjan. He was older than Sola. He did not have Western education. And I think he must have settled back in Lagos or Abeokuta.

Dr. Olusola Saraki’s claims to Fulani ancestry and Ilorin indigeneship are challenged by disclosures that he is an Egba man from Abeokuta in Ogun State-BAMIDELE JOHNSON
At a press conference in Abuja in August 2009, Dr. Olusola Saraki told his audience that he is essentially of Malian origin. His great-grandfather, allegedly a Fulani, he said, migrated from the West African nation to settle in Ilorin about 200 years ago.

“My great-great grandfather originated from Mali and I am talking about some 150 to 200 years ago. And they are Fulani and that is where we got our Fulani connection from. My great-grandfather settled in Ilorin preaching the religion of Islam, My great-grandfather brought our own Qur’an to Ilorin from Mali to Agbaji, where we settled,” he claimed.




His mother, Saraki added, hailed from Iseyin in Oyo State. His father, he declared, hailed from Ilorin. The last claim has for long been a subject of muted dispute in Kwara, where Saraki has been the major determinant of political fortunes for decades. His hold on political affairs has delighted and riled in equal measure. Saraki’s already declared intention to instal his daughter, Gbemisola, a senator, as the next governor of Kwara State has angered more than a few people in Ilorin–for a variety of reasons. To the indigenes of Ilorin, a city reputed as a centre of Islamic learning and culture, the attempt to instal a female governor is a desecration of Islamic injunctions on the position of women. Also, the incumbent gover•nor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, is his son.

This has provoked allegations that Saraki has enslaved indigenes of Ilorin and the state in general. It has also re-invited public attention to his origin. Mrs. Sarah Jubril, a Peoples Democratic Party presidential aspirant, recently rekindled public interest in Saraki’s claim to Ilorin indigeneship. “Please, check the roots of the Sarakis, Did he not come out one time to say he is from Mali? Please, check the magazine where it was published because I • Saraki: Is he really from Abeokuta?. of the community would be. The contenders, Olisemeka explained, were Muttahiru Saraki and one Emmanuel Alabi, both of whom were present when Abdulrazak was welcomed at the port.

The next day, on Abdulrazak’s orders, the two men were brought to the Embassy without their supporters. The objective was to find a solution to the feud. “I thanked them for welcoming me on my arrival and told them that my secretary (who was also present) had told me that the two of them were fighting over the leadership of the community and that I was not prepared to work with a divided community. I also told them that I had not invited them to hear stories about why they were fighting,” said the ambassador.

Given that Muttahiru Saraki looked considerably older than Alabi, Abdulrazak told the two men that the older man would be the leader, while the younger would be his deputy. The directive, said the former ambassador, worked like magic. “Emmanuel Alabi stood up and prostrated before Saraki and held his leg, saying: ‘I accept you as my leader.’

“Alabi then requested my permission to say something and I asked him to go on. He said: ‘Sir, nobody ever called the two of us together. It was only our followers that were treating the matter that way,’” the lawyer said.
The resolution of the feud engendered friendship between Alhaji Saraki and Abdulrazak. They started attending Friday prayers together. “I usually went out of my way to Alhaji Saraki’s house to take him in my car to the mosque and brought him back after prayers,” he said. One Sunday morning in 1963, the policeman attached to Abdulrazak came to tell him that an old man wanted to see him. The policeman gave the guest’s name as Saraki–Muttahiru. After swapping pleasantries and a few banters, Alhaji Saraki asked where Abdulrazak hails from. “I told him I come from Ilorin,” he replied. “Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki said: ‘I am an Egba man from Abeokuta, but went to a Quranic school in Agbaji.’ The man himself, with his own mouth, told me he is an Egba man from Abeokuta,” the former ambassador added.

The friendship between the two men grew, with the ambassador taking Muttahiru to many places, including where he performed official duties. Soon, people started referring to his friend as deputy ambassador. “Anywhere I went officially, I took him along. So, when I was going to present my letters of credence to the head of state (the late Houphouet-Boigny), I took him along. Incidentally, President Felix Houphouet-Boigny was a medical doctor and was Saraki’s doctor before he became President,” Abdulrazak said.

The former ambassador also met Muttahiru’s three wives and some of his children. One of the children was said to be one Iya Alaro. It was through her that Dr. Saraki was said to have come to Ilorin. Iya Alaro, said Abdulrazak, was married to an Ilorin man with whom she lived in Agbaji, the quarters Dr. Saraki claims as his root. On another Sunday in 1963, Muttahiru, who was a trader in Abidjan, visited his ambassador friend. He told Abdulrazak that he would want him to meet his son, Olusola, who was then a medical student in Britain. When the holidays came, the younger Saraki have it. We are not sure of the indigeneship of Dr. Saraki. So, in the name of Allah that he worships, let him be fair to Kwarans,” she said.


While Saraki’s claim that his father studied the Qur’an in Ilorin’s Agbaji Quarters has not been contested, many contend that the one advertising him as a Fulani of Malian origin was invented, first to establish his hold on Kwara politics, and then, tighten it. One of those convinced that the identity Saraki is claiming is a concocted one is Alhaji AbdulGaniy Folorunsho Abdulrazak, Northern Nigeria’s first lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Abdulrazak, a former Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, claims that Saraki is of Egba (Abeokuta) and not Malian origin. Saraki, he says, hails from Ago-Ika Quarters in the Ogun State capital. The former ambassador bases his claim on his interaction with one Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki (now dead), whom he met in 1962 and became friends with. Muttahiru Saraki, according to Abdulrazak, was the father of Dr. Saraki.

The interaction began in Abidjan, capital of Cote d’Ivoire, where Abdulrazak was posted as Nigeria’s diplomatic representative. On his arrival, the new ambassador was met by the Nigerian community at the Abidjan port, as he got off the ship that brought him from Nigeria. Even in the jubilation that greeted his arrival, the new ambassador could see that members of the Nigerian community that met him were divided. One group, he recalls, waved white flags, while the other waved green. He wondered why he would be received by members of the same community waving different flags, but bearing the same message: “Welcome, our Ambassador.”

The answer came when he got to his residence. It was provided by Ignatius Olisemeka, who became Foreign Affairs Minister in 1999. Olisemeka was then the under-secretary at the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan. “I called Olisemeka and asked why members of the Nigerian community that came to meet me were carrying different flags and were standing apart, not mixing,” he recalls. The under-secretary explained that the community was divided and that the division was caused by a dispute over who the leader visited his father in Abidjan and one of the places he was taken to was the home of the ambassador. At the ambassador ’s residence, Muttahiru prefixed every reference to Abdulrazak with “Sir”. It was something Abdulrazak was not comfortable with and he registered his disapproval by requesting that his guest should cut it out because “he was as old as my father”.

Alhaji Muttahiru introduced his son– Dr. Saraki–and a drama ensued. “I stood up to greet Sola have a job. I was then a and he stretched out minister, living at No 2 his hand for a Thompson Road, Ikoyi, handshake. The Lagos. He brought his father got up and wife, saying they had just slapped Sola’s face, come together from saying “That’s my god England. And I got the you want to shake wife a job through my hands with. You friend and colleague in should prostrate,” the cabinet who was Abdulrazak claimed.

Minister for Establish-The slap unsettled ment. That was the first the young man and job for Morenike, the the ambassador had mother of Gbemi,” the to find a way to former minister said. defuse the tension by Gbemi, the aspiring saying something to governor, and Bukola, the effect that as
the incumbent, added young people of Abdulrazak, are not about the same age, from the same mother. they knew how to • Omo-Iya: Saraki not from Ilorin • Alabi: Saraki is from Ilorin. Abdulrazak said Alhaji
greet each other. “The father now said: ‘Sir, I give you Sola. Take care of him for me.’ Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, the father of Sola, is dead now, and is in the right place. If I am telling lies, he is hearing it,” he stressed.

Abdulrazak and the younger Saraki also became friends. He advised him to return home after his studies to participate in politics. Olusola Saraki took the advice. In 1964, Abdulrazak left Abidjan for Nigeria to campaign for election into a seat in the parliament, the route to a ministerial appointment. Two weeks to the election, he met the younger Saraki, who said he had returned home to take part in the election as advised. He also had his eyes on a parliamentary seat for Asa, which shares a boundary with Ilorin. Abdulrazak, who was a member of the Northern Peoples Congress, NPC, said he warned the younger Saraki against contesting the election because the NPC had decided to give the man representing the constituency–one Mr. Babatunde–an automatic ticket back to the parliament.

The ambitious Saraki contested as an independent candidate and lost. That, however, did not affect the friendship between him and Abdulrazak, who said he used his position as a minister to assist Dr. Saraki’s wife, Morenike, to get her first job. “The wife he brought to my house in 1964, when he became a doctor, did not Muttahiru told him that while schooling in England, the younger Saraki had written a letter stating he was confused over the two women in his life. The first, a non-Nigerian, had borne him a child, while he had just met the other–a Nigerian–that he was considering settling down with. Even then, there was a snag: the new woman (Morenike) is from a Christian home. The Sarakis are Muslims. Muttahiru was also worried and sought Abdulrazak’s advice. “I said the question should be resolved between the girl Sola wanted to marry (Morenike) and Sola himself,” said Abdulrazak, who claimed that Bukola was brought to his house by Morenike in 1964. The woman also had another child strapped to her back. That child, he said, is Gbemi.

Abulrazak also maintained contact with Alhaji Muttahiru through letters. In one of those letters, Muttahiru had written that he was very ill. It came at a time that his son was already a practising doctor in Offin, Lagos. “I went there to rebuke him. I said you are a useless doctor if your father is suffering in a foreign country. He should be your number one patient at your clinic,” Abdulrazak said of his reaction to the news of his friend’s illness. Muttahiru was brought to Lagos for treatment and it was in the hospital that he died.

Another man who disputes Dr. Saraki’s indigeneship of Ilorin is
Dr. Sa’ad Omo-Iya, a politician and lecturer at the Department of History, University of Ilorin. While he does not claim to know exactly where Saraki hails from, he is convinced that the politician is not from Ilorin. According to Omo-Iya, when Saraki came to contest the parliamentary election in 1964, he contested in Asa and not Ilorin. And before 1974, when he started his politics-inspired philanthropy, added the lecturer, there was nothing link•ing him to Agbaji Quarters, where he claims to be his family compound. Saraki was said to have lived in a place called Popojiwa. But when he was given the traditional title of Turaki of Ilorin in 1974–on account of his generosity–the traditional institution found a place for him in Agbaji. Many people, said Omo-Iya, did not oppose him because he was spending money and presented him•self as a defender of Ilorin people, who felt oppressed by the Igbomina. One man, however, rejected Saraki’s gesture. The man, who also once lived in Abidjan, was resident in Agbaji. Saraki was said to have claimed he was the man’s nephew and offered to rebuild the man’s old house in Agbaji. The man was said to have turned down the offer, saying no brother of his told him he had a son named Olusola. The house remained that way until the man died and his children got seduced by Saraki’s wealth.

Omo-Iya insists that the Sarakis are the only Ilorin family that does not have extended family members or a family house. A similar claim was made by Abiodun Kolawole, author of Kwara: A State In Bondage. In the book’s first chapter, the author contends that Saraki’s origin is hazy. While he agrees that Saraki’s mother may have hailed from Iseyin, his paternal roots do not lend themselves to such a declaration, as there is no Ilorin indigene that does not have extended family spread from one quarter to another, either through marriage or relocation from one part of the emirate to another. “Saraki’s family is one of the very few exceptions that do not have any claimed relations or historical family house in Ilorin,” writes Kolawole.

On Page 16, the author describes as fallacious Saraki’s claim that his great-grandfather, an alleged Fulani, got to Ilorin 200 years ago.

According to the author, historical records show that the arrival of the Fulanis in Nigeria is just a little above two centuries. On account of his residency of Ilorin for more than four decades, the Ni•gerian Constitution regards Saraki as an Ilorin man. Section 42 of chapter IV of the Constitution provides for the right to freedom from discriminations.

Specifically it states: “ A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:
(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or

(b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions.”

Dr. Saraki is said to be out of the country for medical attention.

http://www.saharareporters.com/interview/saraki-not-kwara-alhaji-abdulganiyu-folorunsho-abdulrazak

Wikileaks Cable Details Turai Yar'adua's Corruption And Links With Smuggling Syndicate Led By Alhaji Dahiru Mangal

Saharareporters

Posted: December 9, 2010 - 19:17

Hajia Turai Yar'adua
wikileaks
Wikileaks cable details the smuggling activities of the Yar'adua regime. Saharareporters had exposed the smuggling activities of Turai Yar'adua in this 2009 report http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/yar%E2%80%99adua%E2%80%99s-closest-friend-dahiru-mangal-and-wife-turai-are-nigeria%E2%80%99s-biggest-smugglers-%E2%80%93-s

VZCZCXRO3296
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #0320/01 0520630
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 210630Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2117
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 8760
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000320

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/AA, INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2033
TAGS: PGOV PINR KCOR NI
SUBJECT: (S/NF) NIGERIA: KANO BUSINESSMAN ALLEGES YAR'ADUA
CORRUPTION

REF: 07 ABUJA 2627

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for Reasons 1.4 (b,
c, & d).

1. (S//NF) SUMMARY: XXXXXXXXXXXX alleged a close
association between President Yar,Adua and Katsina native and rumored smuggler Dahiru Mangal. XXXXXXXXXXXX claimed Mangal is the President's "Mr. Fix It," taking care of "anything filthy" Yar'Adua needs done in addition to smuggling items for several wealthy Nigerian businessmen through Niger into Kano. Another Kano business contact corroborated XXXXXXXXXXXX 's allegations, but observed that Mangal no longer deals openly in illicit activity since Yar'Adua named him a special advisor earlier this month. As well, XXXXXXXXXXXX maintained that he had been approached by a man claiming to represent First Lady Turai Yar'Adua and seeking an USD 2 million pay-off.




While Post cannot independently authenticate these allegations of corruption by the President or First Lady, Post has heard rumors of an emergent "Katsina clique" in the Presidential Villa. END SUMMARY.

2. (S//NF) Kano real estate entrepreneur and longtime Mission contact XXXXXXXXXXXX told PolOff February 10 that Katsina native Dahiru Mangal, who XXXXXXXXXXXX contends deals in illicit smuggling of goods into Nigeria, is also known as President Yar'Adua's "Mr. Fix It." XXXXXXXXXXXX alleged a close association between the President and Mangal, dating to the former's tenure as governor of Katsina, and claimed the latter remains to this day Yar'Adua's "go-to man" to accomplish "anything filthy that Yar'Adua needs done." Mangal, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, is also the "go-to" for any wealthy Nigerian, who wants to import "just about anything" into Nigeria. He declined to state whether Mangal smuggled weapons, drugs, or persons into Nigeria. (On February 17, PolOff queried another Kano business contact, who corroborated XXXXXXXXXXXX 's accusations, however claimed Mangal no longer goes by "Mr. Fix It" since Yar'Adua officially named him a special advisor earlier this month. Allegedly, Yar'Adua instructed Mangal to cease any illicit activity if Mangal wished to enjoy official recognition by the President. The contact implied this may connote, inter alia, that Yar'Adua desires to maintain at least the appearance of respect for rule of law, and thus, does not want any of his close advisors openly involved in suspect activity.)

3. (S//NF) XXXXXXXXXXXX told PolOff XXXXXXXXXXXX several Nigerian businessmen who have employed Mangal'sservices over the past several years. Reportedly, Mangal owns a warehouse across the Niger border (likely close to the Katsina border with Jibiyya and Maradi) in which he stores hundreds of 40-foot shipping containers. XXXXXXXXXXXX claimed Mangal is able to import goods from around the world, including China. In return, Mangal requests a flat fee of 2 million naira (USD 17,000), excluding the cost of goods. Approximately 100 containers per month are brought into Kano, and goods are then delivered to clients or sold in Kano's Kurmi market.

4. (S//NF) Mangal also operates several legitimate businesses, XXXXXXXXXXXX asserted, including Mangal Airlines. The
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria contracted Kabo, Bellview, Meridian, and Mangal Airlines for the December 2007 hajj operations, which transported approximately 100,000 Nigerians to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage. (Note: Many Nigerian Muslims have criticized the GON's handling of the 2007 hajj claiming several thousand Nigerians were left stranded in Saudi Arabia and could not return to Nigeria, except without extraordinary hardship, and several others were never airlifted from Nigeria at all. End Note.)

5. (S//NF) Moreover, XXXXXXXXXXXX said XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX had been approached recently by a man claiming to speak on behalf of First Lady Turai Yar'Adua. The person, who arrived at the meeting with XXXXXXXXXXXX in a Peugeot with a "presidential" license plate, told XXXXXXXXXXXX the First Lady would "allow" them to construct the homes so long as she is given an advance payment of 250 million naira (USD 2 million). XXXXXXXXXXXX said he was willing to offer the First Lady twenty plots of land instead, to which the presumed emissary grimaced. The negotiations, XXXXXXXXXXXX told PolOff, continue.

6. (C//NF) NOTE: During a late January conversation with PolOff, XXXXXXXXXXXXX said XXXXXXXXXXXXX purchased an USD 10 million house in central London approximately 7 years ago, XXXXXXXXXXXXX. This house apparently was excluded from President Yar,Adua,s public declaration of assets in June 2007, which put his total wealth at approximately USD 7 million. END NOTE.

7. (S//NF) COMMENT: While XXXXXXXXXXXX is a trusted, longtime Mission contact who has provided veracious information in the past, we cannot independently confirm his statements regarding Mangal or the First Lady. Certainly, the man who approached XXXXXXXXXXXXX seeking a pay-off may simply have been attempting to exploit the First Lady's name for personal enrichment. We have heard rumors of the emergence of a "Katsina clique" in the Villa -- a group of individuals from the President's home state of Katsina who reportedly constitute Yar'Adua's inner circle and increasingly, control access to him. The surfacing of this group may be a corrollary to Yar'Adua's lack of national exposure (and hence, his deficiently broad support base) and his inability thus far to stamp his authority on the ruling People's Democratic Party. Rumors abound alleging that the First Lady, Special Advisor Tanimu Yakubu, and Minister of Agriculture Sayyadi Ruma are involved in corrupt practices.

Reports of both the First Lady and Yakubu's taste for the high life and tendencies toward illicit enrichment surfaced during a December 2007 debrief by XXXXXXXXXXXXX outlined problems he saw in the Villa and cases XXXXXXXXXXXXX was closely watching (Ref A).

Several contacts from XXXXXXXXXXXXX, moreover, maintain that while
the President "appeared incorruptible" during his tenure as
governor, his wife siphoned off millions in public funds for
private use. Post will closely monitor these accusations and
report any new developments. END COMMENT.
SANDERS


http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/wikileaks-cable-details-turai-yaraduas-corruption-and-links-smuggling-syndicate-led-alhaji

5 escape death as building collapses in Lagos

HeadlinesDec 9, 2010

By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

At least five construction workers narrowly escaped death, Thursday, when part of a building still under construction located beside Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja suddenly collapsed at about 3.20p.m.
The yet to be identified injured victims are currently receiving medical treatment at the Lagos State trauma Emergency Centre located at the Old Toll Gate where they were rushed to by staff of Lagos State Emergency Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS.
The building, which suffered partial collapsed due to structural defect, according to one of the engineers on site, was meant to house Shoprite Mall, Kentuckey Fried Chicken, KFC, and Silverbird Cinemas, various offices and shops scheduled to be completed in November 2011.

The Ongoing Construction Building of Ikeja City Mall, Own by Lagos State Government Collapsed around 3.20pm, and injured five workers on site, the Building situated at Alausa Business District,
The structure, is being constructed by an Italian company, CAPPA and DALBERTO Plc on about three acres of land opposite Elephant House.
LASAMBUS to the rescue
According LASAMBUS General Manager, Mr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, five people were rescued from the debris.
He said: “My own job is to respond to this kind of calamity quickly to ensure that we rescue our people. We have the state Fire Service, the State Ambulance Services and the Civil Defence Corps on ground for the rescue operation.”
According to him, the construction company has made the roll call of the workers at the site and observed that no one is trapped except the five people that have been rescued.
He said: “The state Ministry of Physical Planning will have to visit the site to investigate the cause of the collapse while the debris is being evacuated. For now, we have sealed off part of the area where the crack occurred.”
Project Manager for CAPPA and DALBERTO, who simply identified himself as Christian, said that the company would investigate to know the cause of the collapse.
He said: “Please understand us. We cannot tell you what has caused the collapse. We will look into it and see.”
Victim’s story
Meanwhile, one of the construction workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the pressure on the construction company to deliver the project as scheduled had compelled the company to be working both day and night, adding that the iron rod networking of the part that collapsed was not properly done.
He said: “Some of us that did not sustain injury in the collapse will go and do thanksgiving in the church. We saw it coming. The rush to complete this project is too much.
“We had just cast the decking of the first floor in that part of the complex. The workers that poured the concrete were still very much around the ground floor when the cantilevers gave way and the whole decking fell in.”
Francis Obinna, Head of Disaster Management unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, who led a team of rescuers to the site, told newsmen that he mobilised to the scene when they heard a heavy sound from the site.
“Five persons are injured and have been rushed to the hospital. They were workers casting the decking when the building collapsed. Emergency response teams were here and attended to the situation promptly.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/12/5-escape-death-as-building-collapses-in-lagos/

Nafada accepts “progressives” court judgment

By Emmnauel Ogala

December 9, 2010 12:37AM

The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Usman Nafada, on Wednesday, stunned his colleagues at plenary when he said the House will abide by the ruling of the court legalising the stay of Dino Melaye and others in the chamber.

Mr. Nafada’s contrasting speech surprised many lawmakers who were already astonished by the appearance of Mr. Melaye and Solomon Ahwinahi (members of the ‘Progressive’ group), who had evaded security at the Assembly to attend plenary.

The Progressives, a pressure group in the House of Reps opposed to the leadership, were the previous day prevented from attending plenary at the National Assembly by a joint security siege believed to be carried out on the order of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

The deputy speaker, however, deviated from the “tyranny of the majority”, which the court said was applied by the Speaker in suspending Mr. Melaye and his group in June, and said that since the Ethics and Privileges committee was handling the case, the House will allow the committee to submit its report to it before taking further steps.

Members of the group were forcefully evicted from the chambers in June after they accused the Speaker of allegedly misappropriating N9 billion out of the capital vote of the House. An Abuja High Court, however, nullified their suspension but the leadership of the House has since denied them entrance, saying they have appealed the court’s ruling and also applied for a stay of execution.

“A notice for stay of order or application for appeal does not constitute an order,” Dino Melaye countered the House leadership’s claims on Wednesday.

“For me not to enter the chamber, they need a superior judgement or a stay order. What they have filed can only be compared to a man that has applied for a job and says that he has automatically got the job,” Mr. Melaye said.

He argued that until a superior judgement upturns the High Court judgement which nullified his suspension, he remains a sitting member of the House of Representatives and will attend plenary the following day.

Dikko entrance

Mr. Melaye’s entrance into the chamber surprised both his colleagues and security operatives who did not notice when he entered. Mr. Dino claimed before bewildered reporters and the cheering crowd that he came into the chamber using “Dikko style.”

He was apparently referring to an unsuccessful attempt by a Nigerian military government to bring a former minister, Umaru Dikko, back from the United Kingdom in a crate to face corruption charges in 1984.

“The most important thing is that I came in, I signed the register, and I also got the order paper of the day. It’s fantastic to be back here!” He said.

Despite heightened security and thorough search of vehicles entering the Assembly premises on Wednesday, Messrs. Melaye and Ahwinawhi strolled into the chamber shortly after the House sitting commenced at about 2.00pm. They signed the attendance register and collected the order of proceedings for the day.

They sat in the respective seats exchanging pleasantries with other astonished lawmakers who shook their hands. Both men spent about 10 minutes in the chambers before they left to address the press and a cheering crowd.

However, after Mr. Melaye left the complex, Independence Ogunewe, another member of the group, was prevented entrance into the chamber by Emeka Okere, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the National Assembly based on “an order from above.” Mr. Ogunewe berated Mr. Okere, saying he was blocking justice. He reminded Mr. Okere of the case between his daughter and the Nigerian Navy, where the court ruled in Miss Okere’s favour that she was molested by Naval ratings.

“It means you are saying there are different standards for different situations,” Mr. Ogunewe said.

However, the Speaker was sighted in a secret meeting


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