₦airaland Forum

An Igbo group known as Igbo
Renaissance Agenda, IRA, on Monday
warned that if anything happens to the
leader of the Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB, Nigeria “would not
survive it, even a minute longer.”

The group issued the warning while
reacting to a recent call by Arewa
youths asking the Acting President,
Yemi Osinbajo to arrest the IPOB leader
for what it termed “threat to national
security”.

Reacting to the call, IRA, in a statement
by its Coordinator, Jude Ndukwe and
Secretary, Amaka Ekwo, described the
call as “hypocritical and callous.”

The group warned that the era of the
North “lording it over Nigerians and
cowing the rest of the country into
silence was long over.”

IRA noted that rather than been
“obsessed” with Kanu, Arewa group
should “face the cankerworm and work
assiduously to tackle the menace of
terrorism, abject poverty, illiteracy,
disease, laziness (a vice that makes them threaten to acquire properties of
Igbo by seizure) etc that ravage their
region”.

Clainig that the ultimate target of the
Arewa youths was to see to the failure
of the Acting President, IRA said, “They
are looking for ways of pushing
Osinbajo into making monumental
errors that are capable of imploding the nation so that they would turn
around to say he lacks the capacity to
lead thereby using that alibi to create
chaos that could see him ousted and
have any of their kinsmen replace
him.”

The statement reads, “Following the
call last week by the Arewa Youth
Assembly to the Acting President to
arrest the leader of the Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu,
for what they termed “threats to national security” arising from his
movements in parts of his country, we,
the Igbo Renaissance Agenda, IRA,
wish to state that such calls are not
only hypocritical and callous but also
prove that the real enemies of Nigeria are the several Arewa groups being
used to achieve some sinister agenda
by their elders.

“We are alarmed that while the
dreaded Boko Haram and Fulani
herdsmen terrorists designated as the
most dangerous and fourth most
dangerous terrorist groups in the
world respectively are having a field day killing innocent Nigerians almost
on a daily basis especially the latest
one in Maiduguri where oil explorers,
university lecturers, staff of NNPC and
our security agents were mowed
down in cold blood, some still missing while some others were kidnapped,
the concern of Arewa groups is an
Nnamdi Kanu who is non-violent,
never kidnapped anyone, nor
requested for ransom from anybody
unlike terrorist groups from Arewa’s enclave.

“While the Arewa controlled military
and other security forces keep
releasing dangerous terrorists into the
society in the name of de-
radicalisation, they also empower
them by giving them huge sums of money in exchange for kidnap victims
thereby compromising the general
safety and well being of law abiding
Nigerians.

“The non-prosecution of a good
number of these criminals and their
funding by Arewa-led government
agencies in the name of ransom
payment have the unimaginable
propensity to embolden the them to carry out the kind of brazen attacks
they did in Maiduguri and other places
in recent days. This should be the
concern of any reasonable Arewa
group.

“Rather than face the cankerworm and
work assiduously to tackle the menace
of terrorism, abject poverty, illiteracy,
disease, laziness (a vice that makes
them threaten to acquire properties of
Igbo by seizure) etc that ravage their region, they are so obsessed with the
legendary Nnamdi Kanu who has
always conducted himself peacefully
everywhere he goes.

“We know the main objectives of the
Arewa youths and their elders. We
know that their other target is
Osinbajo. They are looking for ways of
pushing Osinbajo into making
monumental errors that are capable of imploding the nation so that they
would turn around to say he lacks the
capacity to lead thereby using that
alibi to create chaos that could see him
ousted and have any of their kinsmen
replace him.

“Our message to the Arewa youths and
their elderly sponsors is simple: we
dare anyone to touch Nnamdi Kanu
and see if the nation would survive it
even a minute longer.

The National Council on Information (NCI) has recommended the “setting up of a Council to regulate the use of social media in Nigeria”.

The recommendation is contained in a communique issued at the end of Extraordinary Meeting of NCI on Hate Speeches, Fake News and National Unity held on Friday in Jos.

In the communique made available to journalists on Sunday, the Council recommended the use of stringent measures in checking conventional media and their programmes.

The Council, presided over by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, noted that Social media has no address as such vetting and editing posting in social media might be difficult.

The Council recommended that Information managers at the state level should open a website to counter report of any misinformation posted by the social media as quickly as the hate speeches, misinformation and fake news are posted.

It recommended immediate killing of whatever postings on social media assumed or presumed to be hate speeches or fake news or misinformation by the information managers in various states.

The Council noted that social media might take over the 2019 elections because Nigerians had come to rely more and believe the social media over the conventional media.

It directed the Federal and State Ministries of Information to use jingles to promote peace and come up with cartoons on the TV and Newspapers telling the dangers of fake news and hate speeches.

“The collaboration must start with National Orientation Agency and the state governments,” the Council recommended.

The Council underscored the need to start talking to those responsible for law and enforcement of justice to address the issues of citizens taking laws into their hands.

The body also emphasised that “the welfare of the people is paramount, people well fed will listen to their government”.

The Minister said the careless incitement to violence and the level of insensitivity to the multi-religious, multi-ethnic nature of the country must not be allowed to continue because it is detrimental to the unity and well-being of our country.

The truth is that when Buhari returns home some people will prop him up and pretend that he is well enough to be President until he falls sick and goes back abroad again.

I am convinced that Femi Adesina has
now finally lost his mind. In his latest
essay he compared Buhari to David.

What on earth is Davidic about Buhari?
David was a Spirit-filled believer and a
heroic and courageous child of God
whilst Buhari is a son of perdition and
a tyrannical servant of satan.

Femi also said Buhari could have “cut
off the heads” of his opponents,
meaning he could have had them
assassinated. Gosh. Poor Femi.

He has just made a cardinal spiritual
blunder the consequences of which I
have no doubt that he will deeply
regret. I knew that he was frustrated
but I never knew he was a man of
blood.

I never knew that he and his leader
believed in murder as a tool of
governance. God will see to it that they
pay a terrible price for even thinking of
taking the life of their detractors and
political enemies both in this life and in the next.

The truth is that God alone gives and
takes life and whether they like it or
not He guards His own jealously. No-
one is intimidated by Femi’s implicit
threat.

He ought to be mindful of the fact that
whilst he and his associated are
planning to take someone elses
precious life they may end up losing
your own. Examples of that are replete
in the Holy Bible.

Abishai and David’s other strong men
were courageous and righteous men
who undertook a noble cause, shed the
blood of evil men and fought against
tyranny.

That is not the case with Buhari’s cabal.
They are the opposite. They are the
darkness that seeks the darkness. They
prey on the weak, they destroy the
young and they slay the old, the
vulnerable and the weary.

Buhari has no Abishai’s around him. He
has no Joab’s and no Prophet Samuel’s
either. He only has Absalom’s, Haman’s,
Judas’, Dalila’s and Ahitophel’s.

That is the tragedy and the weakness
of his Presidency. That plus the fact
that he does not fear God and he does
not respect the rights of the Nigerian
people.

Finally Femi wrote “when Buhari
returns home some people will bury
their heads in shame”. He is wrong.

The truth is that when Buhari returns
home some people will prop him up
and pretend that he is well enough to
be President until he falls sick and goes
back abroad again.

It is called “corspsocracy” and it is
defined as the rulership of the living by
the dead.

The path of blood is a dark and
unpredictable one. I advise Femi not to
take it.

Leader of a coalition of Arewa youth groups that gave Igbo in the North October 1 deadline to vacate the region, Yerima Shettima has stated that the idea behind the quit notice is working perfectly.

According to him, the groups decided to come with the quit notice to make leaders in the Southeast sit up and tell Nigerians their position in the call for separation by leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

He said right now, Igbo elders and youth leaders had maintained they want to stay in Nigeria, denouncing Biafra, which according to him, was the main purpose of the quit notice.

Shettima who spoke with Sun said, “To God be the glory you can see that after this madness of quit notice everybody sat up.

“For the first time, we saw the governors being compelled to come forward to say look we are not part of Biafra, we do not believe in Biafra.

“That is a plus to Nigeria. On the issue of organization, such as Ohaneze, the Ohaneze Youth Council met with us three days ago and told us they don’t believe in the Biafra struggle.

“‘We are Nigerians and we believe in a country called Nigeria and we want to be part of it but we are thinking of restructuring.’

“That is a plus to Nigeria. To me ordinarily we would have been honoured for what we did. It should have been celebrated as a nation that there is that awakening of consciousness in our country.


“The government on their part sat up under the leadership of the Acting President. You could see meetings going on to save the country. We want the country to remain together and on that note we will be making adjustment.

“Based on the meeting of the south east governors, jointly with Ohaneze and other organizations, even before the Ohaneze Youth Council met us, I said we will review our position on the quit notice and we are working on that.”

The Oodua People’s Congress on Thursday lashed out at the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, for allegedly making uncomplimentary remarks about a former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and other prominent Yoruba leaders.

It however said it supported the aspirations of all self-determination groups who pursued their aims through non-violent means.

A statement by the National President, OPC (Reformed), Dare Adesope; and the National President, OPC (New Era), Rasaq Arogundade, also said the two factions had fused.

It stated that the OPC remained committed to the restructuring of the Nigerian nation and to the attainment of a just and egalitarian country, in which all federating units and constituent tribal units would have a sense of belonging.

It said, “The OPC also supports the genuine aspirations of all self- determination groups who pursue their aims through non-violent means.

“The Nigerian constitution and several international charters, to which the country is a signatory to, recognise the right to freedom of association by anybody, whether individual, corporate or institutional.

“However, in supporting such agitations, we must not shy away from rebuking Nnamdi Kanu for the aspersions he has been casting in the direction of our revered leaders. Kanu’s repeated condemnation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others is condemned in the strongest possible terms.”

It added, “The idea of respect for elders might be alien to Kanu and his ilk, but it is a fundamental part of the Yoruba culture and tradition and we cannot afford to overlook such transgressions.

“We therefore use this medium to warn Kanu and other such individuals who are fond of making careless comments in relation to our leaders; that OPC will no longer sit back and allow this bunch of nonentities to disrespect our leaders or to use them to score cheap political scores.

It added that the OPC was also committed to the promotion and furtherance of democratic principles in Nigeria, adding that it would continue to support the entrenchment of democracy, rule of law and all the attributes of a sound democracy.

Even as his domestic approval ratings hit an all-time low, US president Donald Trump can take comfort in his growing popularity in some parts of Africa’s most populous nation.

Though his xenophobic, white nationalist views have no doubt alienated many Nigerians, his nativist and Islamophobic rhetoric has energized others. Indeed some see Trump as a political icon. Even though Trump has said little to nothing about Nigeria, these groups see in him a powerful figure sympathetic to their aims. It goes without saying that Nigerians’ reaction to Trump’s 2016 election victory was muted compared to their response to president Barack Obama’s historic 2008 win.


Over the course of his presidency, however, Nigerian goodwill toward Obama faded, hurt by his decision not to visit Nigeria, his support for gay marriage, and perceived unwillingness to supply arms to the Nigerian military. Former president Goodluck Jonathan even accused the Obama Administration of clandestinely supporting president Muhammadu Buhari’s candidacy, claiming U.S. actions during Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election amounted to interference.


69% of Nigerians still view the United States favorably, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center poll. This reservoir of goodwill—combined with Trump’s robust social media following and his ambivalence about contentious issues like human rights—suggests Trump might receive a warm welcome if he decided to visit Nigeria. A U.S. presidential visit is long overdue: the last was by George W. Bush in July 2003.


Growing Social Media Footprint
So how big is Trump’s Nigerian fan base? In the absence of public polling, one quantifiable metric of Nigerian interest in Trump is the number of people following him on Twitter. Over 700,000 Nigerians tune in to Trump’s tweets: over 2% of his 32 million followers, according to TweepsMap.com. His Nigeria-based Facebook is another useful metric of his popularity: between October and June it more than quadrupled, says analytics firm SocialBakers.com.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigerians still want the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to return to power in 2019. He therefore appealed to the party’s members to rebuild it.

Mr. Jonathan said this on Monday evening as he led other party chieftains to a meeting of Expanded National Caucus of the party at its Wadata Plaza national secretariat.

Mr. Jonathan also assured that many members of the party who left it as a result of its internal crisis would return.

The former president, who arrived at the venue to a loud ovation, assured party supporters that the PDP has gone past ‘its worst moment.’

“The first thing we need to do is to rebuild the party because when the party is strong, everything will be added to that.

“Whether you have individual or group interest, as a politician, you must serve. These are very basic things. But first and foremost, we must strengthen the party.

“Let us cooperate with the Caretaker Committee and make sure that PDP is very cohesive. And when that happens, people who stepped aside may step back.’’

PDP had been factionalised since its national convention which held in May 2016 in Port Harcourt leading to numerous court cases that ended last week at the Supreme Court.

With the affirmation of Ahmed Makarfi as its authentic chairman by the apex court, the crisis that had ravaged the party was finally laid to rest.

In reaction to an alleged FG’s plan to stop shooting music abroad, Nigerian singer Mr. Peter Okoye, Paul Okoye’s twin brother went to his Instagram handle and wrote:

The fractures within OPEC's precarioua
production cut agreement are
becoming increasingly more visible.

Following last weekend's report that
OPEC will invite Nigeria and Libya - two
cartel member states whose output
was not capped as part of the Vienna
agreement - moments ago Nigeria's oil
minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has politely declined such an overture,
saying that his country will "miss" the
ministerial meeting in Russia on July 24,
adding that it will eventually find the
time to meet Saudi and Russian oil
ministers (just not now), and that his country has no set timeframe to join
OPEC oil production cuts.


And while Kachikwu said that Nigeria
will support a cap on its production, this
won't happen for a while: he said that
while his country is currently producing
1.7mmbpd of crude, it will (maybe?)
impose a cap only when it can stably pump 1.8 million barrels per day. He
also said that he will hopefully know in
"two to three months" whether oil
output has stabilized before agreeing
on production cuts. Faced with the prospect of even more
supply output out of Nigeria, oil is once
again on the back foot.

The National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, NDLEA, on Monday denied
allegations that it was “harassing” a
former first lady, Patience Jonathan.

In a statement by its spokesperson,
Mitchell Ofoyeju, the anti-narcotics
agency said it did not harass citizens.

Jonathan had petitioned the House of
Representatives last week alleging
harassment of her family by security
agencies. She had included NDLEA and
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC in the charge.

Bright Tamuno, the lawmaker
representing Okrika Federal
Constituency in Rivers State, had made
the claim while presenting the petition
at the House’s plenary last Thursday.

“No former first lady has been harassed
like this before, and in view of the
sacrifices that her husband has made
for the country, the House should
consider and call the security agencies
to order”, he had stated.

The letter to the lawmakers came six
months after the former first lady
wrote a similar petition to the
lawmakers making the same claims.

In its reaction, the NDLEA maintained it
always takes appropriate action
against anyone or group of persons
who contravene the NDLEA Act Cap
N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
2001.

“This is done through painstaking
investigation, arrest and prosecution of
suspected drug traffickers. All
operations are conducted in
compliance with the rule of law and
global best practices,” Ofoyeju added.

Lawyers representing Senator Dino
Melaye on Monday said they have
served the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) with an
order restraining it from continue with
the senator’s recall from the Senate.

Melaye’s lead counsel, Chief Mike
Ozekhome (SAN), told our
correspondent that INEC was served
with the order on Monday morning.

“The clear order was duly served on
INEC this (Monday) morning.

“INEC, has therefore, been restrained by
Justice John Tsoho from taking any
steps on the matter of Senator Melaye’s
recall till the hearing and determination
of his motion on notice for interlocutory
injunction against INEC.

“The application, along with another for
joinder by some persons, was fixed for
September 29, 2017,” he said.

Justice Tsoho made the order on July 6.

He granted an interim injunction
restraining INEC or its agents from
acting on a petition allegedly submitted
by Melaye’s constituents, pending the
hearing and determination of his
motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

The judge also barred INEC from
commencing or further continuing with
the process of recalling Melaye or acting
on the petition pending hearing and
determination of his motion on notice.

Justice Tsoho further restrained INEC
from conducting any referendum based
on the petition until Melaye’s motion on
notice for interlocutory injunction is
heard and determined.

“The suit is adjourned to the 29th of
September, 2017 for hearing of the
plaintiff’s motion on notice and the
application for joinder,” Justice Tsoho
added.

The Southern Leaders’ Forum has called on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to address the nation on measures being taken by the federal government to protect the Igbos and other southerners from attacks by Arewa youths.

They reminded Osinbajo that October 1, 2017 ultimatum would elapse in less than 2 months.

The leaders, who met in Lagos at the residence of Chief Albert Korubo Horsfall, also stated that Nigeria must be restructured by December 2017.

A communique read by Senator Bassey Henshawat the end of the meeting reads: “The leaders noted with gratitude the statement by the Acting President that the issue of restructuring would be addressed soon and urged him to act on the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

“The 16-point agenda submitted by the South-south leaders to the president should be acted upon immediately to avoid a resurgence of youth restiveness in the region and sustain the current peace.

“The leaders noted that the issue of restructuringand change was an important part of the All Progressives Congress’ manifesto.

“The meeting also noted with great concern the continued menace of armed Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of Nigeria and the proliferation of Fulani settlement in the south and alert the Nigerian authority and the world at large to this dangerous development and call on the federal government to make an official statement on thisand take appropriate action to check it.

“They reiterated and reaffirmed the decision taken at their meeting of June 18 on the unity of Nigeria and the need for restructuring and the solidarity of the entire south.

Among others in attendance were Dr Okey Anueyiagu, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, General Alani Akinrinade, Obong VictorAttah, and Mr. Ledum Mitee.

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has revealed those against restructuring of Nigeria.

Fani-Kayode, on Monday in his latest article sent to DAILY POST, said those resisting the idea of restructuring and that said no to the conducting of a referendum on self-determination by the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria were arch-conservatives that seek to preserve what the French call the “ancien regime”.

‘Ancien Regime’ a political or social system that has been displaced.

He added: “They are people that have fed fat on Nigeria and the very idea of dismantling and reforming our constitutional structure, redefining our nation and allowing the will of the people to be done terrifies them beyond belief because they stand to lose everything.

He added: “They are people that have fed fat on Nigeria and the very idea of dismantling and reforming our constitutional structure, redefining our nation and allowing the will of the people to be done terrifies them beyond belief because they stand to lose everything.

“They are ignorant, self-serving, reactionary, godless and cruel people that are still living in an inglorious, inequitable and unconscionable past. Worst still, they are suffering from chronic delusions and they are out of touch with reality.

“They are modern-day slave masters who seek topreserve and protect a cruel, moribund, retrograde, unjust and failed system which serves their interest alone and which cages and destroys the future and destiny of our people.

“They use childish tales about the horrors of war to deter us from insisting on our rights and fighting for our freedom.

“They insist that we must accept the fact that we are slaves and second class citizens, that the “Christians are nothing” and that Nigeria was bequeathed to them and their misguided and servile friends and allies by our erstwhile and ever so reactionary British colonial masters.

“They use the security agencies, the Armed Forces, the traditional rulers, the media, the rulingclass, the political elite and all the other tools of oppression to intimidate and demonise us, paint us black, stand in our way and drown our voices but in the end they will fail and we shall prevail.”

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has mocked President Muhammadu Buhari who has been in London for medical check-ups since May7 and Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, as they were conspicuously absent at the G20 Summit taking place in Hamburg, Germany.

Femi-Kayode, writing on his Twitter feed, stated that Presidents of fellow African nations like Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa are present, but Buhari is “missing” and Osinbajo was not invited.

He tweeted: “G20 meets. President of Senegal, Ivory Coast and S.Africa are there. Nigeria’s Pres. has gone missing and her Acting Pres. was not invited!”

The G20 is a forum, that gathers world leaders from the top 20 of the world’s most successful and emerging economies.

This year’s annual summit is being held between July 7 and July 8.

ImadeUReadThis:
How?

FNN is already in the dustbin.

AOL Time Warner are considering pulling the plug on the gay news network

It is with moral decorum and unbiased reportage, that i call to question, CNN's Richard Quest Business Traveller's terrible depiction of Nigeria's Eco-climate. In Quest's latest business show, the English reporter focused on the Nigerian business climate. His show was inaccurate, myopic, untruthful, but worse was sectoral. Either by design or by error, the host painted the economic sector has been dominated and facilitated by the South West. He supposedly interviewed the movers and shakers of the business sector. All the CEO's and proprietors were all suspiciously from the Southwest.
Starting with Lai Mohammed and moving to Mo Abudu and Nike studios, only one or two individuals were not of the southwest.
I believe this is wrong and does serious damage to business savvy investors who are interested in Nigeria and those already operating in Nigeria. It could also bring about friction within the country.
If Nigeria really wants to grow and bring forth prosperity by bringing in foreign investments, then it has to do so by equitably presenting the SWOT capabilities of all the tribes that makeup Nigeria.
In the future such a mistake shouldnt occur

Newmanluckyman:
...was there a referendum in your constitution when a plebiscite was conducted if people wanted a mid west to be carved out of the old western Nigeria?