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TRANSFORMATION AGENDA IN PICTURES in no particular order

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#FAILBUHARI 14 IS THE END OF YOUR JOURNEY

kestolove95:
abg wia my broom ma sweep dix sensless and clueless post off!!

SEE IT HERE, MUNTULA

BUHARI'S DAUGHTER'S JOURNEY ENDS HERE

BUHARI, YOUR JOURNEY ENDS HERE

Open Letter To General Muhammadu Buhari

As a woman, I am pained that you will not have an office of the First Lady. Many have said that the constitution does not have a provision for that office, which I believe is true, but I still insist that you bring your wife to Abuja, and into the Aso Rock Villa, to help better our lives. She can only do that with the full paraphernalia of an office, so I advise that you reconsider your position.
BY CHIKA ONUORAJAN 13, 2015


Since I heard that the All Progressives Congress (APC) voted you in as its presidential candidate, I have been worried about so many issues, some of which I will mention, but others I will raise at other fora.

To start with, as a woman, I am pained that you will not have an office of the First Lady. Many have said that the constitution does not have a provision for that office, which I believe is true, but I still insist that you bring your wife to Abuja, and into the Aso Rock Villa, to help better our lives. She can only do that with the full paraphernalia of an office, so I advise that you reconsider your position.

Again, sir, it is not about that office, but about the dividends. Most of us do not like Patience, but we like what she has gotten for us. I am not so stupid and irreligious to believe we will equal the men, but at least we can consolidate on the 35% we now have. With you, the future is grim and foreboding.


Buhari at the commissioning of his campaign HQ in Abuja
Sahara Reporters
Dear General, sir, I may be sounding disrespectful at this stage in my letter, but it is for a good reason because as a woman who has nurtured children with a supporting husband, I cannot understand why a man who served in the Nigerian Army and rose to your rank can be described as an officer and a gentleman. An officer maybe, but a gentleman definitely not. And I thought one of the reasons given for wives decorating their husbands on promotion was to show they were a rank higher. It appears to me that for some of you, while you are officers, your wives are fresh recruits.

Pardon my anger, but I must keep speaking until I ventilate why I can never, ever, vote for you, even if my husband thinks you are what Nigeria needs. He is still suffering certain deprivations for suggesting that in a discussion with his friends to my hearing.

I read the other day that you claimed to have forgiven those who sent you out of Dodan Barracks, but I think all that is politics. If you could not forgive a divorced and dead wife, only fools, including your newfound friends, especially those of the South-West who propped you up, will believe you. That is if they are that foolish! I can wager that Ibrahim Babangida did not believe a word of that your comment. Knowing him as I do, he will work his best underground against you. So will his boys.

Sir, where exactly is your second wife, Aisha? There are too many stories in the open concerning her; and her continual absence either proves the stories have a semblance of truth, or you are just the good, old Buhari that cannot change.

I do not wish to comment on President Goodluck Jonathan or his wife, Patience, but I fear gravely that with you in the Aso Villa, our gender will lose all the gains that Jonathan’s presidency gave us.

Dear General, I read something written by a woman on the back page of the Punch newspapers of Thursday, January 8, 2015 concerning your “missing wife”, but this was the most instructive for me. The writer wrote: “There are several reasons one can adduce for Buhari and his wife’s photo hide-and-seek. One, the culture of lovey-dovey is simply not him. Like the Igbo proverb that says a man cannot learn to be left-handed in old age, I wager that this is a left-handedness that Buhari has not learnt and is probably a far harder lesson than removing his cap during a church service.

“Two, he probably thinks being seen with a woman will detract from his famed militarist discipline and Spartan image. He has done a lot of bending just to project himself as a non-Islamic fundamentalist (and) pan Nigerian statesman but the woman aspect just does not resonate well with him – yet. Third, the religion and culture Buhari has known all his life do gift a second-class citizen status to women.”

Sir, Is this writer right in her summation? If that is the case, we may have to wait until you are 76 years old and recognize how important we are as women to vote you in.

See you in 2019!

Chika Onuora wrote in from Asokoro, Abuja via chikamadubuikeonuora@gmail.com.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/01/13/open-letter-general-muhammadu-buhari-chika-onuora

Buhari's journey ends here

Buhari's journey ends here

Your journey ends here

*Insists Commission is subverting Constitution

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation, accused Professor Attahiru Jega’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of conniving with General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress, APC, to subvert Nigeria’s Constitution.
Jonathan’s Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, at a press briefing, quoted copiously from the Constitution and the Electoral Act to support his claim that, whereas the law expressly states that a candidate must present and attach his or her personal documents to INEC’s form, Buhari never did this in 2011 and has just ignored that provision of the law again while submitting his form for next month’s election. On both scores, he said, INEC looked the other way.
According to Fani-Kayode, this is a flagrant abuse of the law and an encouragement on the part of INEC to shield Buhari and put him above the law.
However, in a swift reaction, the Buhari Campaign Organisation’s Director of Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Jonathan should address the nation on the issue of Baga killings and not waste the time of Nigerians on a spurious certificate issue.
Shehu did not address the aspect of the subversion of the law in his statement.
‘INEC IS SHIELDING BUHARI FROM THE LAW’
INEC Chairman, Prof Jega
INEC Chairman, Prof Jega
Fani-Kayode’s statement, titled, ‘CERTIFICATE SAGA, WHY IS INEC INVOLVED IN A COVER-UP FOR BUHARI’, reads:
“It has been brought to our attention that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, either by error of omission or commission, may be engaged in acts that do not in every material particular support the advancement of democracy, the rule of law and the strict adherence to the letters and the spirit of electoral laws in Nigeria.
“His inability to present even the minimum requirement of just a leaving school certificate questions his moral and other credentials for pursuing the position of the President of Nigeria. The current emerging shocking disclosures bring to the fore how and what qualifications were used to recruit him into the military without a minimum school leaving certificate, where he rose to the rank of a general and even became the Head of State through a military coup that truncated a democratically elected government in 1983.
“Academic qualification is a threshold issue that cannot be waived for any citizen, no matter how highly placed and irrespective of whichever region such individual comes from except as provided by the Constitution. Thus the question must be asked: Is Buhari or any other citizen qualified to contest election into the Office of the President without meeting the minimum constitutional requirement?
A perusal of the Nigerian Constitution at Section 131 unequivocally states: ‘A person shall be qualified for election to the Office of President if: (a) He is a citizen of Nigeria by birth (b) He has attained the age of forty years(c) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) He has been educated up to at least School certificate level or its equivalent. It is to be noted that section 131 (d) is a specific directional order for all candidates to show proof of education up to a minimum standard not below school certificate or its equivalent’.
“But from what INEC has published, Buhari has not submitted any personal particular of minimum school leaving certificate for the 2015 election and shockingly, from INEC documents displayed in all constituencies, he also did not submit anything in 2011 and never referred the umpire then to the Secretary of the Military Board as well as previous elections he contested as evidenced in all available INEC records until this current discovery.
“If the Constitution did not require proof, it would not specify a minimum. To strengthen this claim, the extant Electoral Act directs that such proof must be sworn to by each candidate at a Court under section 31 (2) to (5), viz (2), ‘The list of information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state or the FCT, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office (3) The Commission shall within 7 days of the receipt of the personal particular of the candidate,(emphasis here is personal particular and not INEC form given to fill nor court document like affidavit) and publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest (4) A person may apply to the Commission for a copy of nomination form affidavit and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue the person with a certified copy of the documents within 14 days (5) Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false may file a suit at the federal high court, High Court of a state or FCT against such person seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false (6) If the court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit of any document submitted by that candidate is false, the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election.’
“First, in the INEC Form CF 001 for 2015 filled by General Buhari at Section C of the form, the instruction on the form clearly states, ‘Attach evidence of all educational qualifications’ – THIS WAS NOT DONE.
“Yet an affidavit was sworn otherwise. Curiously, he did not refer INEC to this Board in 2011 in his records available for anyone who cares to see how Buhari has, in breach of the Constitution of 1999, contested elections without meeting the mandatory constitutional requirement and has been treated preferentially.
“THE QUESTION TO ASK INEC: IS BUHARI ABOVE THE LAW OF THE LAND OR SHOULD WE SUSPEND OR AMEND THE LAW TO ACCOMMODATE HIM.
“It is common knowledge that Military Board like any others do not keep or retain original copies of personal particulars of individuals such as birth certificates, passports, and academic credentials of any personnel, especially retired personnel after over three decades. It must be stated that INEC erred in law by publishing the name of a candidate without receiving the personal particulars of the candidate within 7 days of receiving his nomination forms as indicated in Section 31(3).
“This is indeed a tragedy illustrating what Nigeria has become, that an individual is so powerful that the law has to be ignored to accommodate him. Certainly, INEC printed nomination forms or High Court affidavits are in no way or by any stretch of definitions, the same as personal particulars such as school leaving certificate.
The Nigerian Constitution has now been finally rubbished and no longer respected.
“The whole essence of the provision of the law, as quoted above, for citizens to apply for certified copies of such personal particulars is now defeated. How could citizens obtain from INEC a certified true copy as required by law when INEC has been referred to the Secretary of Military Board? That the candidate, General Buhari, from records available, has perpetuated this disdain for due democratic process, in a serial form since the beginning of this democratic dispensation, shows that our democracy is in trouble because it is now the rule of men and not the rule of law. This shameful development when added to the weight of his record of civil rights abuses, while in office, show he is an incorrigible anti-democratic character.
“That INEC, saddled with a statutory duty to promote good knowledge and practices of democracy (Section 1(2) of the extant Electoral Act) published as a candidate in all its offices the affidavit of a candidate whose personal particulars it did not receive within the prescribed time frame by law is most unfortunate to say the least.
Our conclusion: BUHARI, FROM THE ABOVE, IS NOT QUALIFIED TO CONTEST THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION”.
ADDRESS THE NATION ON BAGA – BUHARI
In a statement, yesterday, by the Director, Media and Publicity of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, rather than PDP wasting its energy on alleged certificate saga of Buhari, Jonathan should address the nation on the massacre in Baga town which “the Amnesty International has described as the single most deadly incident since the unfortunate insurgency started in the country”.
Shehu, who noted that the PDP had dwelt so much on the issue of academic certificate of its candidate, Buhari, stressed that there were more pressing issues for the government controlled by the party to address.
He said, “This government should not go on being insensitive. They have to account to Nigerians.The issue of certificate of General Buhari is a non-issue as everyone knows that Buhari is a product of Daura Primary School, Katsina Provisional Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) and the Nigerian Military Training College. This is in addition to several other courses he attended at home and abroad.”
According to the statement, while the PDP government has failed in its duty and responsibilities to the citizens and the nation, it has intensified effort to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.
He continued, ” A leading member of the party, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, a few days ago, informed Nigerians that in politics, you must tell lies. Nigerians should take their cue from there.
“Unfortunately, PDP has become a political party that is so fixated with keeping an incompetent government in power and is lustfully engaged in pursuing a non-issue about an individual’s academic qualifications.”
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/buhari-certificate-saga-jonathan-accuses-inec-of-cover-up/#sthash.lYIm6zXt.dpuf

*Insists Commission is subverting Constitution

President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation, accused Professor Attahiru Jega’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of conniving with General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress, APC, to subvert Nigeria’s Constitution.
Jonathan’s Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, at a press briefing, quoted copiously from the Constitution and the Electoral Act to support his claim that, whereas the law expressly states that a candidate must present and attach his or her personal documents to INEC’s form, Buhari never did this in 2011 and has just ignored that provision of the law again while submitting his form for next month’s election. On both scores, he said, INEC looked the other way.
According to Fani-Kayode, this is a flagrant abuse of the law and an encouragement on the part of INEC to shield Buhari and put him above the law.
However, in a swift reaction, the Buhari Campaign Organisation’s Director of Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Jonathan should address the nation on the issue of Baga killings and not waste the time of Nigerians on a spurious certificate issue.
Shehu did not address the aspect of the subversion of the law in his statement.
‘INEC IS SHIELDING BUHARI FROM THE LAW’
INEC Chairman, Prof Jega
INEC Chairman, Prof Jega
Fani-Kayode’s statement, titled, ‘CERTIFICATE SAGA, WHY IS INEC INVOLVED IN A COVER-UP FOR BUHARI’, reads:
“It has been brought to our attention that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, either by error of omission or commission, may be engaged in acts that do not in every material particular support the advancement of democracy, the rule of law and the strict adherence to the letters and the spirit of electoral laws in Nigeria.
“His inability to present even the minimum requirement of just a leaving school certificate questions his moral and other credentials for pursuing the position of the President of Nigeria. The current emerging shocking disclosures bring to the fore how and what qualifications were used to recruit him into the military without a minimum school leaving certificate, where he rose to the rank of a general and even became the Head of State through a military coup that truncated a democratically elected government in 1983.
“Academic qualification is a threshold issue that cannot be waived for any citizen, no matter how highly placed and irrespective of whichever region such individual comes from except as provided by the Constitution. Thus the question must be asked: Is Buhari or any other citizen qualified to contest election into the Office of the President without meeting the minimum constitutional requirement?
A perusal of the Nigerian Constitution at Section 131 unequivocally states: ‘A person shall be qualified for election to the Office of President if: (a) He is a citizen of Nigeria by birth (b) He has attained the age of forty years(c) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) He has been educated up to at least School certificate level or its equivalent. It is to be noted that section 131 (d) is a specific directional order for all candidates to show proof of education up to a minimum standard not below school certificate or its equivalent’.
“But from what INEC has published, Buhari has not submitted any personal particular of minimum school leaving certificate for the 2015 election and shockingly, from INEC documents displayed in all constituencies, he also did not submit anything in 2011 and never referred the umpire then to the Secretary of the Military Board as well as previous elections he contested as evidenced in all available INEC records until this current discovery.
“If the Constitution did not require proof, it would not specify a minimum. To strengthen this claim, the extant Electoral Act directs that such proof must be sworn to by each candidate at a Court under section 31 (2) to (5), viz (2), ‘The list of information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state or the FCT, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office (3) The Commission shall within 7 days of the receipt of the personal particular of the candidate,(emphasis here is personal particular and not INEC form given to fill nor court document like affidavit) and publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest (4) A person may apply to the Commission for a copy of nomination form affidavit and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue the person with a certified copy of the documents within 14 days (5) Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false may file a suit at the federal high court, High Court of a state or FCT against such person seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false (6) If the court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit of any document submitted by that candidate is false, the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election.’
“First, in the INEC Form CF 001 for 2015 filled by General Buhari at Section C of the form, the instruction on the form clearly states, ‘Attach evidence of all educational qualifications’ – THIS WAS NOT DONE.
“Yet an affidavit was sworn otherwise. Curiously, he did not refer INEC to this Board in 2011 in his records available for anyone who cares to see how Buhari has, in breach of the Constitution of 1999, contested elections without meeting the mandatory constitutional requirement and has been treated preferentially.
“THE QUESTION TO ASK INEC: IS BUHARI ABOVE THE LAW OF THE LAND OR SHOULD WE SUSPEND OR AMEND THE LAW TO ACCOMMODATE HIM.
“It is common knowledge that Military Board like any others do not keep or retain original copies of personal particulars of individuals such as birth certificates, passports, and academic credentials of any personnel, especially retired personnel after over three decades. It must be stated that INEC erred in law by publishing the name of a candidate without receiving the personal particulars of the candidate within 7 days of receiving his nomination forms as indicated in Section 31(3).
“This is indeed a tragedy illustrating what Nigeria has become, that an individual is so powerful that the law has to be ignored to accommodate him. Certainly, INEC printed nomination forms or High Court affidavits are in no way or by any stretch of definitions, the same as personal particulars such as school leaving certificate.
The Nigerian Constitution has now been finally rubbished and no longer respected.
“The whole essence of the provision of the law, as quoted above, for citizens to apply for certified copies of such personal particulars is now defeated. How could citizens obtain from INEC a certified true copy as required by law when INEC has been referred to the Secretary of Military Board? That the candidate, General Buhari, from records available, has perpetuated this disdain for due democratic process, in a serial form since the beginning of this democratic dispensation, shows that our democracy is in trouble because it is now the rule of men and not the rule of law. This shameful development when added to the weight of his record of civil rights abuses, while in office, show he is an incorrigible anti-democratic character.
“That INEC, saddled with a statutory duty to promote good knowledge and practices of democracy (Section 1(2) of the extant Electoral Act) published as a candidate in all its offices the affidavit of a candidate whose personal particulars it did not receive within the prescribed time frame by law is most unfortunate to say the least.
Our conclusion: BUHARI, FROM THE ABOVE, IS NOT QUALIFIED TO CONTEST THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION”.
ADDRESS THE NATION ON BAGA – BUHARI
In a statement, yesterday, by the Director, Media and Publicity of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, rather than PDP wasting its energy on alleged certificate saga of Buhari, Jonathan should address the nation on the massacre in Baga town which “the Amnesty International has described as the single most deadly incident since the unfortunate insurgency started in the country”.
Shehu, who noted that the PDP had dwelt so much on the issue of academic certificate of its candidate, Buhari, stressed that there were more pressing issues for the government controlled by the party to address.
He said, “This government should not go on being insensitive. They have to account to Nigerians.The issue of certificate of General Buhari is a non-issue as everyone knows that Buhari is a product of Daura Primary School, Katsina Provisional Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) and the Nigerian Military Training College. This is in addition to several other courses he attended at home and abroad.”
According to the statement, while the PDP government has failed in its duty and responsibilities to the citizens and the nation, it has intensified effort to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.
He continued, ” A leading member of the party, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, a few days ago, informed Nigerians that in politics, you must tell lies. Nigerians should take their cue from there.
“Unfortunately, PDP has become a political party that is so fixated with keeping an incompetent government in power and is lustfully engaged in pursuing a non-issue about an individual’s academic qualifications.”
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/buhari-certificate-saga-jonathan-accuses-inec-of-cover-up/#sthash.lYIm6zXt.dpuf

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday reopened old wounds in Enugu during his presidential campaign by reading the 1985 speech by former Military head of state, Ibrahim Babaginda after the overthrow of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The crowd of PDP supporters at the event listened to the speech with rapt attention and burst into wild applause once the President was done reading.

Also, the President and some members of his team posed for pictures with Alex Ekwueme, who many say was unjustly imprisoned by Buhari.

See speech below:

Fellow Nigerians,

When in December 1983, the former military leadership, headed by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, assumed the reins of government, its accession was heralded in the history of this country. With the nation at the mercy of political misdirection and on the brink of economic collapse, a new sense of hope was created in the minds of every Nigerian.

Since January 1984, however, we have witnessed a systematic denigration of that hope. It was stated then that mismanagement of political leadership and a general deterioration in the standard of living, which had subjected the common man to intolerable suffering, were the reasons for the intervention.

Nigerians have since then been under a regime that continued with those trends. Events today indicate that most of the reasons which justified the military takeover of government from the civilians still persist.

The initial objectives were betrayed and fundamental changes do not appear on the horizon. Because the present state of uncertainty, suppression and stagnation resulted from the perpetration of a small group, the Nigerian Armed Forces could not as a part of that government be unfairly committed to take responsibility for failure. Our dedication to the cause of ensuring that our nation remains a united entity worthy of respect and capable of functioning as a viable and credible part of the international community dictated the need to arrest the situation.

Let me at this point attempt to make you understand the premise upon which it became necessary to change the leadership. The principles of discussions, consultation and co-operation which should have guided decision-making process of the Supreme Military Council and the Federal Executive Council were disregarded soon after the government settled down in 1984. Where some of us thought it appropriate to give a little more time, anticipating a conducive atmosphere that would develop, in which affairs of state could be attended to with greater sense of responsibility, it became increasingly clear that such expectations could not be fulfilled.

Regrettably, it turned out that Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitudes to issues of national significance. Efforts to make him understand that a diverse polity like Nigeria required recognition and appreciation of differences in both cultural and individual perceptions, only served to aggravate these attitudes.

Major-General Tunde Idiagbon was similarly inclined in that respect. As Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, he failed to exhibit the appropriate disposition demanded by his position. He arrogated to himself absolute knowledge of problems and solutions, and acted in accordance with what was convenient to him, using the machinery of government as his tool.

A combination of these characteristics in the two most important persons holding the nation’s vital offices became impossible to content with. The situation was made worse by a number of other government functionaries and organisations, chief among which is the Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO). In fact, this body will be overhauled and re-organized.

And so it came to be that the same government which received the tumultuous welcome now became alienated from the people. To prevent a complete erosion of our given mandate therefore, we had to act so that hope may be rebuilt.

Let me now address your attention to the major issues that confront us, so that we may, as one people, chart a future direction for our dear country. We do not pretend to have all the answers to the questions which our present problems have put before our nation. We have come with the strongest determination to create an atmosphere in which positive efforts shall be given the necessary support for lasting solutions.

For matters of the moment which require immediate resolutions, we intend to pursue a determined programme of action. Major issues falling into this category have been identified and decisions taken on what should be done.

Firstly, the issue of political detainees or convicts of special military tribunals. The history of our nation had never recorded the degree of indiscipline and corruption as in the period between October 1979 and December 1983.

While this government recognises the bitterness created by the irresponsible excesses of the politicians, we consider it unfortunate that methods of such nature as to cause more bitterness were applied to deal with past misdeeds. We must never allow ourselves to lose our sense of natural justice. The innocent cannot suffer the crimes of the guilty. The guilty should be punished only as a lesson for the future. In line with this government’s intention to uphold fundamental human rights, the issue of detainees will be looked into with despatch.

As we do not intend to lead a country where individuals are under the fear of expressing themselves, the Public Officers Protection Against False Accusation Decree 4 of 1984 is hereby repealed. And finally, those who have been in detention under this decree are hereby unconditionally released. The responsibility of the media to disseminate information shall be exercised without undue hindrance. In that process, those responsible are expected to be forthright and to have the nation’s interest as their primary consideration.

The issue of decrees has generated a lot of controversies. It is the intention of this government to review all other decrees.

The last twenty months have not witnessed any significant changes in the national economy. Contrary to expectations, we have so far been subjected to a steady deterioration in the general standard of living; and intolerable suffering by the ordinary Nigerians have risen higher, scarcity of commodities has increased, hospitals still remain mere consulting clinics, while educational institutions are on the brink of decay. Unemployment has stretched to critical dimensions.

Due to the stalemate, which arose in negotiation with the International Monetary Fund, the former government embarked on a series of counter-trade agreements. Under the counter-trade agreements, Nigerians were forced to buy goods and commodities at higher prices than obtained in the international market. The government intends to review the whole issue of counter-trade.

A lot has been said and heard about our position with the International Monetary Fund. Although we formally applied to the fund in April 1983, no progress has as yet been made in the negotiation and a stalemate has existed for the last two years.

We shall break the deadlock that frustrated the negotiations with a view to evaluating more objectively both the negative and positive implications of reaching a mutual agreement with the Fund. At all times in the course of discussions, our representatives will be guided by the feelings and aspirations of the Nigerian people.

It is the view of this government that austerity without structural adjustment is not the solution to our economic predicament. The present situation whereby 44 per cent of our revenue earning is utilised to service debts is not realistic. To protect the danger this poses to the poor and the needy in our society, steps will be taken to ensure comprehensive strategy of economic reforms.

The crux of our economic problems has been identified to centre around four fundamental issues:

1. A decrease of our domestic production, while our population continues to increase.

2. Dependence on import for both consumer goods and raw materials for our industries.

3. A grossly unequal gap between the rich and the poor.

4. The large role played by the public sector in economic activity with hardly any concrete results to justify such a role.

These are the problems we must confront.

ON FOREIGN POLICY:

Nigeria’s foreign policy in the last 20 months has been characterised by inconsistency and incoherence. It has lacked the clarity to make us know where we stood on matters of international concern to enable other countries relate to us with seriousness. Our role as Africa’s spokesman has diminished because we have been unable to maintain the respect of African countries.

The ousted military government conducted our external relations by a policy of retaliatory reactions. Nigeria became a country that has reacted to given situations, rather than taking the initiative as it should and always been done. More so, vengeful considerations must not be the basis of our diplomacy. African problems and their solutions should constitute the premise of our foreign policy.

The realisation of the Organisation of African Unity of the Lagos Plan of Action for self-sufficiency and constructive co-operation in Africa shall be our primary pursuit.

The Economic Community of West African States must be reborn with the view to achieving the objective of regional integration. The problems of drought-stricken areas of Africa will be given more attention and sympathy, and our best efforts will be made to assist in their rehabilitation within the limits of our resources. Our membership of the United Nations Organisation will be made more practical and meaningful. The call for a new International Economic Order which lost its momentum in the face of the debt crisis will be made once again.

Nigeria hereby makes a renewed request to the Non-Aligned Movement to regroup and reinvigorate its determination to restructure the global economic system, while we appeal to the industrialized nations to positively consider the debt plight of the developing countries and assist in dealing with the dangers that face us. We shall remain members of the various multilateral institutions and inter-governmental organisations which we belong to and do what must be done to enhance the membership and participation within them.

Fellow Nigerians, this country has had since independence a history mixed with turbulence and fortune. We have witnessed our rise to greatness, followed with a decline to the state of a bewildered nation. Our human potentials have been neglected, our natural resources put to waste. A phenomenon of constant insecurity and overbearing uncertainty has become characteristic of our national existence.

My colleagues and I are determined to change the course of history. This government is determined to unite this country. We shall not allow anything to obstruct us. We recognise that a government, be it civilian or military, needs the consent of the people to govern if it is to reach its objective. We do not intend to rule by force. At the same time, we should not be expected to submit to unreasonable demands. Fundamental rights and civil liberties will be respected, but their exercise must not degenerate into irrational expression nor border on subversion.

The War Against Indiscipline will continue, but this time, in the minds and conduct of Nigerians, and not by way of symbolism or money-spending campaigns.

This government, on its part, will ensure that the leadership exhibits proper example. Criticisms of actions and decisions taken by us will be given necessary attention and where necessary changes made in accordance with what is expected of us.

Let me reiterate what we said in 1984: This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country but Nigeria. We must all stay and salvage it together. This time it shall be pursued with deeper commitment and genuine sincerity.

There is a lot of work to be done by every single Nigerian. Let us all dedicate ourselves to the cause of building a strong, united and viable nation for the sake of our own lives and the benefits of posterity.

Finally, I wish to commend the members of the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police for their mature conduct during the change.

I thank you all for your co-operation and understanding.

God bless Nigeria.

#Ekwueme #Buhari #PDP #Enugu

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BUHARI, here is your certificate - ofcourse after 12 years. That is 2 years for your FLSC refreshers, 6 years for secondary school and 4 years in Federal University Otuoke. No short cut. Thank God GEJ has built you universities, so avail yourself of the opportunities

These are some of the 14 Universities built by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, with their structures in no particular order
1] Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State. —North Central.
2] Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State. ——-North Central.
3] Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State.– North East.
4] Federal University, Wakari, Taraba State. —-North East.
5] Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.-North West.
6] Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State.——-North West.
7] Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State. —South South.
8] Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State.-South East.
9] Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State.——-South West.
President Goodluck Jonathan also on Thursday advised Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) to approve the upgrade of six Federal universities to Mega tertiary institutions with absorptive capacity of 150,000 students to 200,000 students each. The affected Universities are yet to be named by the Presidency.

A friend came back from France, after studying for his masters degree and was absorbed by Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State (FUNAI). He had an interview with the VC, Prof Ayo Ibidapo Obe directly and the VC was impressed and so he was directed to go through the recruitment processes of the school. He was absorbed and subsequently listed to go back for his PhD, being sponsored by the school via TETFUND. It breaks my heart when lazy Nigerians run their mouth and insult President GEJ, claiming that some of his works don't exist. The worst mistake Nigerians will make is to vote in Buhari in the forthcoming election. We will live to regret it. Jonathan did not only build these universities but appointed seasoned professors with administrative experiences and track records to man them. Prof Nebo was poached from Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State (FUOYE), while the like of Prof Ibidapo Obe still remain in the various ones. I don't want to forget how first class graduates have been selected all over the country and sent on scholarships to various countries to study with a bond to come back to Nigeria and serve after studies. A kid brother just graduated after his doctorate programme in Newcastle University. Instead of wasting your life badmouthing GEJ on Nairaland, go back to your books now and take advantage of GEJ's wonderful investment in education. A word is enough for the wise

#‎countdowntofailbuhari_14_2015‬

#COUNTDOWNTOFAILBUHARI_14_2015

kay1one:
We need a dp 4 this!

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