And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing. And give me from Thy presence a sustaining Power. (Al-Isra', Ayah 80)
That was my prayer as I left my office last Thursday after writing a letter to His Excellency, the Governor of Bauchi State, to allow me attend to a call of an associate who direly needs my services.
Few minutes ago, Today, 5 December 2022, I received a letter from the Secretary to the Government conveying my release by His Excellency. In it the Secretary conveyed “the appreciation of the Executive Governor for your contribution to the Education Sector and wish you well in your future endeavour…”
With this my tenure as Commissioner of Education has come to an end. I am happy to see the peaceful ending of what have been very exacting but fruitful years and will ever remain grateful to God who stood by me until the last minute. It was natural that the above verse came to mind as I was taking a memorable snapshot of the office. (Inset) I pray that he will also be with me in my new assignment.
I thank the entire people of Bauchi State for the cooperation they gave me and will ever remain grateful to the public servants with whom I have interacted over the 3 years and three months of my tenure. Of particular mention here are staff of the Ministry, the Zonal Offices and Schools; Teachers, PTAs, SBMCs, Development Partners, NGOs and volunteers.
On 25 February 2023, I will pick this voter’s card, walk to the polling centre and cast my vote for His Excellency, Chief Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the Jagaban Borgu. This is a firm commitment given after a history of association, honour, demographic reality, constitutional requirement, weighing pros and cons as well as the personalities of the candidate and his running mate.
Association
In 2011, I supported the presidential candidature of Nuhu Ribadu. Together we travelled and met with the Jagaba many times in Lagos. Why I pitched my tent with Ribadu then, apart from sharing many things like age, world view, personality, background, geography, etc, was the firm belief that no matter how popular is a northern candidate, he needs to crossover to the South for additional votes and geographic spread that the constitution stipulates. For Buhari to run again that year, 2011, after two previous unsuccessful attempts, would be an exercise in futility as it indeed proved to be after failure of the last minute CPC/ACN merger attempt then. The results did not tie to warrant the second round as calculated in Buhari’s quarters. In 2015 the merger was done and victory was achieved. Elections are about law and numbers. No magic.
There will hardly be any southerner better fit for the position of a partner to the North than the Jagaba today. He is our Abiola, if not better. As some of my readers rightly said, he has patronized us many times: Atiku in 2007 under AC, Ribadu in ACN (2011) and Buhari in APC (2015). This is a consistent friend in need. Honour begets reciprocity.
Victimization
Furthermore, I am aware that the Muslim identity of the Jagaba has been used to disenfranchise him politically three times. In 2011, Buhari was not keen on the merger that required Pastor Bakare to withdraw for Tinubu because he Buhari was opposed to a Muslim-Muslim ticket after receiving over a decade of bashing from the southern press over shariah.
In 2015, Tinubu was bluntly and brutally told at a caucus meeting that he cannot deputize for Buhari because he was Muslim. He swallowed that and presented Osinbajo.
For the third time, for 2023, the some people want to crucify him for picking a Muslim as deputy against all odds. He believes that the Muslim identity of his running mate will earn him the winning vote and choosing a Northern Christian that will upset the Muslims will deny him our vote.
How honorable would I look if I would I turn my back against a friend in need who earlier provided platforms for my brothers and now believe in my capacity to rescue him? What if my son will contest the Presidency tomorrow and he goes to the Southwest to ask for support? And that day will come, when a northerner will again be in need of that alliance. Let us behave wisely. 2023 is not the end of Nigeria. We must guard the honour that we are known for.
Repeat Disaster
Southern partners of the north have been changing over the years but they remain constantly relevant. The North must not return to those days of serial losses by promoting a candidate acceptable only to it. This is the situation that the Atiku ticket presents today, regrettably.
Our brother, the Wazirin Adamawa, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has failed, against all advice, to patiently nurture the support of the South-south in 2011 after losing the ticket to the incumbent. Instead, he supported Buhari of the opposing CPC. Worse still, in 2015 he abandoned the the PDP, led 5 governors in rebellion against the southern President, claiming that it was the north’s turn, and decamped to APC to humiliate Jonathan out of power. Still after Bubari’s 8 years, in 2022, he blocked the emergence of Southeast and south-south candidates, claiming that rotation is a party matter.
Now he has gone to the south-south cup in hand and they paid him back in his own coins. This produced Peter Obi ticket and the G5; two blocks that will deny him the traditional PDP votes in the Southeast and South-south. Southwest is already effectively blocked against him by Tinubu.
The Waziri is effectively left with the North. Here, Benue, Plateau and Southern Kaduna are not likely to vote for “another Fulani”, as we heard them declare repeatedly. The votes of the Muslim North are themselves divided for and against him, not united as they were for Buhari. Borno and Yobe, will massively vote for APC. The ruling party even for kinship will also take Kwara and Kogi. Then incumbency will retain for APC the states of Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Gombe and possibly Katsina. Yes, Waziri will get Adamawa and Taraba and possibly Sokoto and Kebbi. Bauchi and Nasarawa are still uncertain for him. Kano belongs to Kwnkwaso, things being equal.
Then as Babachir and some anti-muslim irredentists are threatening northern Muslims of humiliation, a block vote, including Kano, in favour of the Muslim-Muslim ticket is possible. That will seal the fate of Atiku decisively.
Now, this calculus does not add up to an electoral win in any way. It is a recipe for the disasters of 2003, 2007 and 2011 to repeat themselves.
Existential Threat
Babachir’s insolence is an evil that must be disproved and defeated by both Muslims and Christians. Those who failed to earn the APC VP ticket should return and introspect on why they were not considered electorally viable enough to win it, not resort to blackmailing and threatening Muslims. That will only prove the evil that they are, which made it right for the Jagaba to reject them in the first place. Nobody can publicly say he will teach 120 million citizens a lesson and be allowed to succeed unless if those citizens are worse than donkeys. No lion can stand an army of 120 million donkeys. None.
Now Babachir’s insult has pushed even the reluctant Muslims to prove their electoral worth as they are increasingly rallying behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket. The majority well-meaning Christians should also do the same. Babachir is posing an existential threat to all northerners. If there is a Christian who will be fair to Muslims tomorrow, I and many Muslims will vote for him, as many of us did for Obasanjo and Jonathan between 1999 and 2011. But a genocidal psychopath of whatever religion does not deserve to be even a deputy local government chairman anywhere in this country. Let us leave him to grumble and crumble alone.
Same faith tickets are not new in Nigeria and they are presently practiced in all predominantly Christian States like Plateau, Benue, Edo and even in a number of Southwestern states where Muslims are predominant. Their Muslims have not threatened our national security for their selfish reasons as Babachir and his gang of rejects are doing up here. Tam.
Pros and Cons
Beyond the acquaintance, honour of reciprocity, averting past electoral disasters suffered by the North and the existential challenge of the Babachirs, the Tinubu/ Shettima ticket presents a lot of pros which my readers expressed when I asked their opinion on the my Facebook page last week. I share the views of those who are convinced of the Jagaba’s record performance in Lagos, arguably the best that the country has known of a governor since 1999, which, according to the readers, came from his courage, team work, modernity, foresight, talent hunting, etc.
For a person who also believes in efficiency, I cannot but be attracted to the Jagaba. Nigeria needs system upgrading and in some areas even disk reformatting. The Jagaba is the perfect person with the record to handle that squarely. No one better than him can pursue digital reform in commerce, taxation, education, governance, communications, etc. His pragmatism and penchant for modernity is needed to solve our security and other challenges. Who can project the success story of Lagos at the national level better than its original author—the Jagaba? None of my readers has denied him these qualities.
From among my readers who are opposed to the Tinubu Presidency are a number of cons which arise from five sources: the perceived limitations of age and the much touted fake stories of his sickness; the accusation of supporting OPC to kill Hausas in Lagos and their molestation while he was governor; the perception of tribalism, as the Igbo and Hausa too are accused of by others; his affiliation to APC and the President, seeing what the readers consider as the failure of the government in many areas in the past 8 years; and the predominantly Christian nature of his house.
Well on the first and last issues, the runner-up candidate, the Waziri, cannot completely acquit himself either. He too is old. Being over 70 he must have evidently slowed down and cannot disclaim having age associated illnesses. Above 60, one must have one or two. They both have slip tongues as President Buhari did in Germany and suffered issues of memory many times. Jos where both misnamed their parties—PDAPC and APDP—was no coincidence. Kwankwaso had it once in Kano too: NPCP. Mischief makers do not deserve our attention.
Even at 61, I have had many times that I could not recall names instantly. The brain just fails to retrieve the information from the disk as fast as when I was much younger. I had the privilege of meeting the Jagaba recently and was surprised that he negated those stories by holding me to a night conversation of one hour after a long day he had in Ebonyi. I watched him appear from his room, walked towards me straight, shook my hands and sat right beside me. There was no sign, then and not in his appearance at Chatham House and the BBC a week later, of a debilitating sickness as purported and he appears to get increasingly stronger. He is alert and he still argues his points as it better than the other candidates.
In any case, the strength of any leader is not in the class of his weight; otherwise, America would have made Tyson a President. It is in the people a leader rallies around him. To be fair to the Jagaba whose talent-hunting obsession is renowned, his Presidency as an institution will run be unhindered by his age. He cannot have our best, the Kashims, the Elrufai’s, the Ribadus, the Hadizas, the Modibbos, the Arabis, etc. and fail to perform. But if he will resort to family and friends instead of competence, then I concede that his age will become aggravating. He is not as old as Mahathir Mohammed or Joe Biden after all, not minding similar attacks from Trump during the 2020 campaigns which the latter has proven wrong.
All said about age, as Muslims, we must believe that “no soul shall die except by the will of God, a decree determined”, as He said in the Qur’an. Period. Furthermore, the constitution has foreseen that and made the necessary provisions, whether an elected President is living or dead.
The Christian component of the Waziri’s family cannot be denied and neither is he a better practicing Muslim than the Jagaba. None of them is a Sheikh or Imam, anyway. We are in the same boat.
The OPC related killings cannot be ascribed to the Jagaba just because he was the Governor of Lagos. We northerners in particular must understand that by now better than anyone. Unfortunately for the Jagaba, he was the Guinea Pig of insurrection in this dispensation. When the OPC came, we had no experience of Plateau, Boko Haram and Bandits. Is it justified for anyone now to equally accuse Governors Sheriff, Shettima, Zulum, Yari, Bello, El-rufa’i or even the President, who has all our war arsenal at his command, of being supporters or financiers or Boko Haram or Bandits? What will be our reaction—believe him or refute him? So if the late Sheikh Jafar were alive, he would have withdrawn his fatwa on the Jagaba for he would have known the hard way that Governors do not have the power of controlling high level violence. They can only cooperate with the Federal Government, which the Jagaba did and OPC was quelled though not before it left many innocents dead, as Boko Haram and bandits are doing for over a decade today.
All the major tribes accuse each other of tribalism. President Buhari is accused of preferring Hausa Muslims in appointments. The Hausa see the Yoruba as more tribal than them though. But the Jagaba has set a record to reckon here. More than any governor, he has elevated non-natives of Lagos including Hausas to levels of commissioners, helped many grow their businesses in Lagos including Dangote. Of course, as with Buhari in 1984 or Elrufai in FCT and now in Kaduna, anyone wanting to modernize cities has to encroach on the business spaces of the common man who is fond of erecting illegal structures. The Jagaba cannot modernize Lagos by magic. He has to touch such structures belonging to commoners too. But all said, I think his inclination for merit in administration will blunt his natural instinct of kinship, which we all share anyway. He may not give 3 ministries to a single Hausaman—as Buhari did to Fashola—but he will not suppress northern talent at all. His record denies that flatly.
Finally, there is nothing he can do regarding the failure of APC. He is undoubtedly its chieftain but not more. Do you want him to decamp to PDP on that count? The President and members of his cabinet should carry their cross—and so should governors, each in his own domain. The Jagaba has acknowledged the successes of the President and has promised to build on his good works. Where necessary, he will change course, surely. I am Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he told the BBC. Come again. Is the alternative—the PDP—in a better position than the APC when it comes to failure of administration?
So put generally, the pros of the Tinubu Presidency will by far outweigh its cons. Yet, there is another pillar of the ticket we must mention before we conclude this piece—the backup.
Kashim Shettima
In his choice of a running mate, the Jagaba has picked a very strategic one. Choosing Kashim earns him not only a reliable and loyal VP, but also a credible one. His Excellency, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, the former Governor of Borno State and a present senator, is not only highly competent but also carries a political aura that can shelter the entire North, coming from the prestigious Kanuri tribe and with the personal humility to listen, respect, engage and accommodate all. He is among our best. You can see him admirably reaching out to so many people and groups everyday, not taking anyone for granted. Yet, even as a future VP, former Governor and a Senator, he will go to the kettle and personally prepare coffea for his guest. That is humility personified.
The Jagaba did not look for a lackluster yes man of no firm roots. He went for a talent that is both loyal and strong enough to support the President, humble enough to follow him and honest enough to caution him. That is my friend and Kanuri master, Kashim. With the Jagaba as the President and him as the VP, I can find no safer shelter among the 2023 presidential camps.
Come with Me
These are my reasons for answering the call to support the Tinubu/Shettima ticket. And I call on every dispassionate mind to do so for the sake of unity and progress of our country. I am not only promising this cause my vote and that of my family, but I will also work hard to earn it many more, as much as my talent, body and resources can afford me in the next two months. Come with me.
May God be with us and guide us to what is best for our dear country as we vote for the next President on 25 February 2023.
Dr Aliyu Tilde is a well known writer, columist, blogger and academic. He is known for writing very controversial articles. He has worked with Premium Times and Daily Trust newspapers and has also served as a lecturer at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.
Dr Tilde is a two-time commissioner for education in Bauchi State. He resigned from government in December to, in his words, "attend to a call of an associate who direly needs my services".
2023: MY PROJECTIONS
Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Below is a table of my estimates on 2023 presidential elections vote distribution among the four principal presidential candidates. I cannot lay my hand on 2023 voter cards issued by state; so I was compelled to use the one released in 2019 believing that any variance will more or less be evenly distributed among the states. The table has given estimated votes of each candidate per state and the sub-totals is given for each zone, which add up to the totals at the bottom of the table. Turnout in 2019 Presidential Election was 35% according to INEC. I reduced the total PVCs collected to this percentage.
In this article, I have discussed the factors that influenced my judgement. The major factors are incumbency, ethnicity, religion, G5, and the tickets of NNPP and LP.
In summary, the APC ticket is leading—though not with the huge percentages someone computed recently, which I copied and posted on my page and WhatsApp—followed by the PDP’s. As it is now, Labour and NNPP tickets will only play roles of factors that will widen or narrow the gap between the two major tickets.
Now, let us pick the factors one by one.
Ethnicity
The effect of ethnicity is obvious in the votes that the parties will get. The springboard of the LP is Igbo vote, APC the Yoruba and Kanuri votes, and NNPP northern Hausa-Fulani votes as it is to a lesser extent for the PDP.
The greatest beneficiary of the ethnic factor is the APC. The Kanuri and Yoruba will massively vote for the party, giving it an irreversible head-start of 9 states cutting across the Southwest, North-central and Northeast, which other parties will find impossible to catch-up with. It is this launchpad that will make the ruling party the undeniable front runner throughout the race.
Other parties will benefit from this factor to limited extent: LP, in the best of chances, will get the 5 Igbo states solely on this basis and many Igbo votes in the south-south, Lagos and Kano. Much of the support that the PDP candidate will get in the Northwest and Northeast is also ethnic though it will seriously be countered by incumbency in many states.
Incumbency
The next factor is incumbency. All the forecasts I read could not hide the clear arithmetic that the APC will be the biggest beneficiary here. It has the Federal Government with influential political appointees from every state in addition to other public servants who can be mobilised in its favour especially when developments before the election make its success at the polls inevitable. The privileges of having parastatals like INEC, CBN, etc. along with the role that security agencies will play in determining the atmosphere of the election in protection or furtherance of APC interest cannot be discounted.
In addition to the monopoly of the Federal Government, the APC heads 26 states, including the G5 states, against 9 States of PDP and 1 of APGA. While the incumbency in states makes it easy for the APC to meet the 25% constitutional requirement, it makes it hard for the PDP to do so. Labour and NNPP stand no chance at all, kicking them out of the race prematurely. A willing, sitting governor—with the state machinery, ruling party structure, contestants for every seat and backed by the Federal Government—is very unlikely to fail in gathering something between 20 and 25% of the vote for his presidential candidate. Prior to the electoral reforms of the past 10 years, this factor alone was earning a candidate of a ruling party the majority vote.
Incumbency in state will help APC to neutralise the mild ethnic factor in the North which the PDP candidate is promoting in Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina and Kano. In Oyo and Ebonyi, however, where ethnicity is strong, the effect may not be prominent.
Religion
Religion will help LP gain votes in many Christian dominated areas in the North to the detriment of the PDP as we heard from some groups. The Muslim-Muslim identity of the APC ticket has the potential of gaining currency as its antagonists threaten to use it to politically demystify the Muslim north. Facing this challenge means shifting votes in the region from PDP to APC.
G5
As their alliance with the APC becomes conclusive, debates on the relevance of the G5 are unanimous on their huge psychological impact on the PDP. The vote gain for APC may not be spectacular but it will definitely improve the chances of the APC in the unlikelihood of the race becoming tight with the quantum it will increase the gap under normal circumstances.
LP and NNPP
The LP will most likely reach the polling booth on 25th January. Its followers are not in the mood of surrendering to “the north” because doing so will vitiate the raison d’etre of the party, question the character of its candidate and create mass disappointment among its supporters, many of whom may boycott the polls. Its condition that the PDP candidate surrenders his ticket to the LP signifies the impossibility of any alliance. So PDP will lose the votes of LP members which it had in 2019.
But let us even grant the alliance between LP and PDP. According to the table below, it will reduce the margin of the APC but not bridge it completely. In fact, a reviewer of the draft of this article emphasized that I have credited LP with more votes than it can possibly get, insisting that LP is just a media hype and not taken seriously by Ndigbo. Added to this is the voter apathy among the Igbo as will be explained shortly. So the currency of LP may be more of crypto kind than hard and the leverage that PDP expects from it is not conclusively weighty enough to change the outcome of the election.
An obvious danger of PDP/LP alliance is the kinetics it will prompt in the NNPP camp. In order to block the PDP candidate, his rival NNPP candidate will then be persuaded, motivated, if not instigated, to align with the APC, a development that will foreclose the election in favour of the latter before the voting day.
Worse is a scenario where NNPP candidate withdraws for APC in the absence of a similar alliance between LP and PDP will be devastating to the PDP. It will be the end of discussion.
Voter Apathy
Supporters of candidates who are not the major contenders may develop voter apathy if their pessimism becomes entrenched before the elections. Voter apathy in presidential elections is historically highest among the Ndigbo. So the parties that would suffer most are APGA, LP and PDP, especially if IPOB will issue its usual threats. But whether the NNPP candidate withdraws or not, his ideologically bonded followers who are less prone to apathy will abide by his instructions.
The same fear applies to the Northwest and to some extent Northeast in states infested by Boko Haram and banditry. The parties found a way round the problem in 2019 but in 2023, with digital live transmission of results, they need to be more ingenious than usual.
Finally, disillusionment in the North may not allow the record turnouts we witnessed in 2011 and 2015 in the region. This will have equal effect on both APC and PDP.
Caveat
Both the APC and PDP presidential candidates are astute politicians. Each of them may have something up his sleeves. The mighty Hand of God is also there, always. So what we said above cannot be in any way final but just a fair representation of what I discern at this moment.
Originalsly: I'm not understanding. The mastermind of the killings was present at the meeting ... and they took the opportunity to ask him questions instead of ganging up and kick the life out of him? Now I'm wondering if the community out there is too civilized...... or a community of cowards. They called on the government .... what was the response?... or the call went on deaf ears?
To be fair to them, if you read Simon Ekpa's response, it seems like he also came to the meeting with his supporters.
JoeNL22: Oga Wetin concern Obi with this news na? Stop all this your nonsense propaganda. Obi has nothing to do with BIFARA, BIFARA has nothing to do with Obi. Obi is National project.
That question should be directed at 4 people/institutions.
1) The member of the Autopilot that told Vanguard that he was involved.
2) Emma Powerful, the spokesman of the DOS, who said that they will investigate.
3) Vanguard Newspapers, who got the briefing from both people.
4) You. Nobody mentioned Peter Obi on this thread before you. You introduced Peter Obi to this thread. In fact, I had totally forgotten about that article until you introduced Peter Obi to the thread (which is why I said "Thank you" ). So you should also answer the question, "What does Peter Obi have to do with this that you introduced him to the thread"?
Luchitec: Jeez, this Simon Ekpa guy is actually a confirmed megalomaniac. How did this clown conclude that 70 million Biafrans support his "No Election" mantra in Biafra land?
Biafra group accuses Peter Obi of having hand in Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention
January 4, 2023
By Nwabueze Okonkwo, ONITSHA
The intelligence network of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB has accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi of solidly behind the continued detention of the leader of IPoB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, at the Directorate of State Services, DSS facilities in Abuja.
A competent intelligence gathering source revealed that Obi may have had a pact with the DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF to ensure that Kanu remained in prison custody until after the election because if he regains his freedom before the election, he could declare sit-at-home in the Southeast zone on the election day and truncate Obi’s anticipated massive votes from the zone which is his stronghold.
However, in a swift reaction, IPoB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful has come out to say that IPoB has no business in the election of the Zoological republic called Nigeria.
According to Powerful, “IPoB does not have any interest whatsoever in the election, neither do we have any interest in any candidate. We have said it time without number that whether Nnamdi Kanu come out from prison custody or not, IPoB will neither participate nor constitute an obstacle to the electorate by declaring sit-at-home on election day.
“Although our members are not going to vote since IPoB has nothing to do with the election, but we are not going to stop anybody from voting, neither are we going to force anybody to vote. Anybody who comes out that day to force people to vote or stop people from voting is an enemy of Biafra”.
On whether Peter Obi actually has any hand in the continuous detention of our leader, Kanu, Powerful declared: “we will set machinery in motion and if it turns out to be true that he has hand in Kanu’s continued illegal detention, we will pay him back in his own coin”.
The intelligent source had revealed that the delusional quest of a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction in the coming February 25, 2023, general elections has already trapped its numerous victims and still counting.
The intelligent source which is coming from an insider within the pro-Biafra group, IPoB, stated that unfortunately, the freedom of Kanu, the Afarukwu Ibeku crown Prince who also doubles as the leader of IPOB has been sacrificed on the altar of Obi’s ambition to the extent that Obi is secretly behind his continued illegal detention.
According to the IPoB’s insider source, “the fear of Mr Peter Obi and the Western world is not unconnected with Obi’s perceived likely negative effect the release of the Biafran leader could have on his chances in the Southeast, where he hopes to amass votes”.
“The desire of the people of the former break-away region of Biafra, the Igbos to produce a Nigerian President amidst the unwritten post-civil war policies designed to keep the Igbos in check and to deny them a shot at the highest position in the land since after the fratricidal civil war that ended on 15th January 1970 has continued to agitate the people of the region”.
“The Labour Party Presidential candidate is the real reason the Department of State Service, DSS and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF have refused to set free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as ordered by the Court of Appeal since last August and Obi’s imprimatur in the whole saga is becoming evident,” the source further stated.
The source recalled that Obi, an Igbo apologist had on Sunday, June 18, 2006, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the commercial hub of the South East zone, Onitsha, as part of measures to contain activities of suspected members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB and ordered shoot-at-sight which left hundreds of non-violent MASSOB members killed with their bodies said to have been dumped at the Onitsha Army barracks and the notorious Awkuzu SARS, the very reason for which lead to a fall out of favour between Obi and his then mentor, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
“The fear of a possible election boycott if Kanu is released and the consequences of its attendant massive compliance in the Southeast region as latter events have proved has remained a worrisome possibility to Mr Peter Obi as the Southeast remains the strongest base where he hopes to get bulk votes, hence his obsession to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release”.
The recent revelation which the source said was confirmed through intelligence gathering and their moles within the Secret Service has left a bitter test as the overall ambition of Obi points to his avarice and a strong disdain for Biafra and the clamour for its actualisation as is being championed by Kanu”.
The people are aghast that Obi has neither made a statement calling for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as ordered by the Court of Appeal four months ago nor visited Kanu in solidarity with his course. An act they described as typical of a traitor and of an Oboteman”, said the source.
Shame will not allow the idiot in Germany to post the outcome of their nonsense. Let me post it for them. Biafrans will breakup Nigeria this years & there is nothing you can do about it.
Disregard the report from @vanguardngrnews about Igbo community in Finland distancing itself from Simon Ekpa. There is nothing like Igbo Community in Finland. I was Chairman of Igbo Union Finland from 2015 to 2019 & handed handed over to the so called Mr no name.
When I will have their time, I will engage the faceless individuals who has breached the agreement that nothing will be reported nor sent out to the public as we reached no agreement on press release. I made it clear after answering many questions on Biafra Exit from members.
I also made it very clear that there will be no election in Biafraland & this is the resolve of 70million Biafrans. We will release the audio recording of the meetings to the world, because we know the game they wanted to play. Before the meeting, we agreed that no body will be allowed with phone, everyone dropped their phones before entering the meeting. The meeting ended without resolution, the remaining few were warned & cautioned that since no resolution were reached, & our position on no election in Biafraland were made, everyone left the meeting.
So when I have their time, they will answer how & where such decision was reached in a meeting that myself & many Biafrans participated in. The meeting ended when the so called Kingsley Orji physically assaulted one of the Biafra leader by kicking his scrotum.
Again, @vanguardngrnews should stop misleading the public. You have been reporting fake news without verification. Nobody is the leader of Igbo Community in Finland. There are many Igbo Union & they are all autonomous. Reporting a nonsense letter signed by a hungry & envious nonentity from desperation as coming from Igbo Community in Finland is misleading a funny joke. A call to Igbos in Finland could’ve helped in your reporting.
Igbo Community without logo & address is a scam. The same thing Nigeria is known for. Fraud & scam. If anyone paid him for such letter, go & collect your money. Even his kinsmen will not vote in Biafraland. Our stand is freedom through referendum, war or in any form the freedom comes this year 2023 or there will be no Nigeria. Nigeria must disintegrate to save the lives of indigenous people.
The recorded audio of the meeting will expose the criminality of those brown envelopes claiming they are supporting @PeterObi you will listen to how I objectively responded to all their questions after which many of them misguided element as at that time repented.
@vanguardngrnews should also report this rejoinder that there is nothing like Igbo Community in Finland & if there is such, the undersigned name on that letter has no right to sign a statement from Igbo Community in Finland.
Igbo community in Finland distances self from Simon Ekpa actions, utterances
January 3, 2023
The Igbo community in Finland has distanced itself from actions and utterances of Mr. Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed head of an autopilot Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPoB, separatist group residing in Lahu, Finland.
The Igbo community in a statement by Kingsley Orji, said: “The Igbo community in Finland convened a meeting on December 18, 2022, to discuss the escalating crisis in Nigenia’s southeast region. Mr. Simon Ekpa was present at the meeting, affording us the opportunity to ask him some pertinent questions.
“Prominent among the issues discussed was the recent enforced 5 day sit-at-home order issued by Mr. Simon Ekpa. The illegally imposed and ruthlessly enforced order caused incomprehensible economic misery and devastation to lives and property, causing significant anxiety among the Southeast population.
“The discussion also addressed his ongoing, vicious incitement that no elections or political gatherings will hold in the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. A pronouncement that constitutes a gross breach of the people’s fundamental human right to assemble and vote.
“While we respect and recognise the right of individuals to express their thoughts, the Igbo Community in Finland strongly denounces Mr. Simon Ekpa’s seditious statements and actions, which have taken on a dangerously violent dimension of killing and devastation whenever he issues such directives. Due to his threats and the violent actions of his group in South-east Nigeria, there is a high level of insecurity in Igboterritory, which makes it hard to travel and do business.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the Igbo Community in Finland is openly and strongly condemning Mr. Simon Ekpa’s violent method of operation and wishes to state our position as follows:
*That we reject every illegal sit-at-home order or any other orders that restrict the economic activity and daily lives of people, as criminal elements have exploited such orders to kill, steal, and destroy properties in Igbo land.
*That we strongly urge Mr. Simon Ekpa to rescind his undiplomatic campaign slogan that ‘there willbe no election in Biafra land in 2023’ and cease all his efforts to deprive Igbos of the opportunity and the right to vote and participate in the political process of electing their leaders.
“That Simon Ekpa be warned strongly not to use social media to spread threats of violence, which is making the Igbo people of Nigeria angry.
“There is no place on the planet where people can simply hide, incite violence, and escape punishment, ttherefore, the Igbo community in Finland is calling for action as follows:That Simon Ekpa be immediately restrained, investigated, and made to face the full wrath of the law both in Finland and in Nigeria.
“Based on Belgian law on universal jurisdiction, that the Finnish authorities should take jurisdictionright away and stop Mr. Simon Ekpa from continuing to incite violence against life and people,murder of any kind, mutilation, cruelty, and violations of the right to life.
“That all relevant authorities should deploy all diplomatic channels to ensure that Mr. Simon Ekpa and his group are prevented from causing further damages,” the statement added.
Igbo Community In Finland Demands Probe, Trial Of Simon Ekpa Over Killings In South-East Nigeria
January 3, 2023
They called on the Finnish government to restrain the separatist leader, adding that there was no place on the planet where people could simply hide, incite violence, and escape punishment.
The Igbo community in Finland has decried the seditious statement of Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed head of an autopilot Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, residing in Lahu, Finland.
They called on the Finnish government to restrain the separatist leader, adding that there was no place on the planet where people could simply hide, incite violence, and escape punishment.
The Igbo community in statement signed by one Kingsley Orji, called for both governments of Finland and Nigeria to commence immediate investigation of Prince Ekpa with a view of bringing him to face the full wrath of the law.
The statement said the Igbo community in Finland had convened a meeting on December 18, 2022, to discuss the escalating crisis in Nigeria’s southeast region.
According to the statement, Ekpa was present at the meeting, which afforded the attendees opportunity to ask him some basic questions.
“Prominent among the issues discussed was the recent enforced 5 day sit-at-home order issued by Ekpa. The illegally imposed and ruthlessly enforced order caused incomprehensible economic misery and devastation to lives and property, causing significant anxiety among the South-East population.
“The discussion also addressed his ongoing, vicious incitement that no elections or political gatherings will hold in the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria – a pronouncement that constitutes a gross breach of the people’s fundamental human right to assemble and vote.
“While we respect and recognise the right of individuals to express their thoughts, the Igbo Community in Finland strongly denounces Simon Ekpa’s seditious statements and actions, which have taken on a dangerously violent dimension of killing and devastation whenever he issues such directives. Due to his threats and the violent actions of his group in South-east Nigeria, there is a high level of insecurity in Igbo territory, which makes it hard to travel and do business.”
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the Igbo Community in Finland is openly and strongly condemning Simon Ekpa’s violent method of operation and wishes to state our position as follows:
"That we reject every illegal sit-at-home order or any other orders that restrict the economic activity and daily lives of people, as criminal elements have exploited such orders to kill, steal, and destroy properties in Igbo land.
"That we strongly urge Mr. Simon Ekpa to rescind his undiplomatic campaign slogan that ‘there will be no election in Biafra land in 2023’ and cease all his efforts to deprive Igbos of the opportunity and the right to vote and participate in the political process of electing their leaders.
“That Simon Ekpa be warned strongly not to use social media to spread threats of violence, which is making the Igbo people of Nigeria angry.
“There is no place on the planet where people can simply hide, incite violence, and escape punishment, therefore, the Igbo community in Finland is calling for action as follows:
“That Simon Ekpa be immediately restrained, investigated, and made to face the full wrath of the law both in Finland and in Nigeria.
“Based on Belgian law on universal jurisdiction, that the Finnish authorities should take jurisdiction right away and stop Mr. Simon Ekpa from continuing to incite violence against life and people, murder of any kind, mutilation, cruelty, and violations of the right to life.
“That all relevant authorities should deploy all diplomatic channels to ensure that Mr. Simon Ekpa and his group are prevented from causing further damages,” the statement added.
Politics › Re: Dr Aliyu Tilde Endorses Bola Tinubu. Releases Presidential Election Projections. by naptu2(op): 5:18pm On Jan 04, 2023
