₦airaland Forum

President Muhammadu Buhari’s support for an independent Palestini­an State forced Israel to formally recognize the agitation by the Indigenous Peoples of Bi­afra (IPOB) for the creation of an independent State of Biafra, an Arab diplomat has disclosed.

The diplomat told The AU­THORITY at the weekend that Buhari’s pledge to help “our brothers and sisters in Pal­estine” attain independence greatly angered the Israeli gov­ernment.

Buhari had in a visit last year to Qatar, promised the Emir (Head of State) Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani, that “we will stand side by side with you, until our brothers and sisters in Palestine achieve their desired objectives (independence).”

According to the diplomat, “Buhari’s meddling in the Israe­li-Palestanian crisis was largely unnecessary”.

The envoy pointed out that “while Buhari keeps address­ing Palestinians as ‘our broth­ers and sisters,’ majority of Mus

lim countries like Senegal have since softpedaled on their sup­port for Palestinians.”

He continued: “It was not for nothing that Prime Minis­ter Benjamin Netanyahu chose to recognize Biafra at a very im­portant ceremony like the Hol­ocaust memorial, last April.”

“At the memorial, Netanya­hu chided the world for keep­ing quiet and standing aside and did not prevent genocide or mass murder in Biafra, Cam­bodia, Rwanda, Sudan and also in Syria.”

He observed, “Netanyahu is the first Head of State of a First World country to describe the 1967-1970 war against Biafra as genocide.”

“The Israeli PM’s presence at the 51st ECOWAS summit in Liberia, the first by any Israeli leader to Africa, and the first by any non-African Head of State, coupled with the promise of a $1 billion solar power project for the region, was tailored to teach Nigeria a bitter lesson,” stressed the envoy.

He noted that Nigeria’s ab­sence at the “very important” re­gional summit may have been orchestrated to avoid the em­barrassment the very large Is­raeli delegation would have caused the country.

The envoy said: “ECOW­AS countries have a combined population of about 350 mil­lion, of which Nigeria, which suffers tremendous power def­icit, has about 180 million or more than half of the total pop­ulation. Clearly, one would have expected such solar power plant to be sited in Nigeria, but Israel chose Liberia apparently to snub Nigeria.”

He added that Israel’s bid for reinstatement as an observer in the African Union (AU) would further injure Nigeria’s interests.

“Perhaps Nigeria should pay greater attention to Netanyahu’s forecast at the ECOWAS sum­mit that ‘Israel is coming to Af­rica and Africa is coming to Is­rael”, advised. The envoy.

He expressed fears that with Nigeria’s decision to withhold funding of the ECOWAS may have come a whittling down of the country’s dominance in the sub-region.

“Nigeria’s influence in ECO­WAS is at its lowest ebb. The country used to be the big­gest financier of ECOWAS, but stopped funding the body the moment Buhari came into power. Nigeria’s indebtedness now hovers around $700,000. What did you expect? The oth­er member countries are now forced to look elsewhere, and don’t be surprised if non-Afri­can countiries like Israel come in handy,” opined the diplomat.

He cited the recent decision of Morocco, a northern African country, to join ECOWAS as a pointer to the belief that certain countries can’t wait to take over Nigeria’s leadership role in West Africa.

“I fear that like Israel, Mo­rocco may have a diplomatic axe to grind with Nigeria after your president (Buhari) open­ly declared support for the in­dependence of Western Sahara just a few months after hosting King Mohammed VI in Abuja”.

”I don’t know the shape of your country’s foreign policy. Your president goes about can­vassing support for people who seek self determination in Isra­el and Morocco, yet rolls out the tanks on Nigerians who express the same sentiments.

Group kicks, says talks deceptive, hypocritical

The All progressives Congress (APC) has adduced the need to fix the nagging problems of insecurity and the recession as reasons for the delay in restructuring the country as outlined in the party’s manifesto.

APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday in a chat with The Guardian, faulted claims that the party was playing politics with the issue, said the issue of restructuring the country may not be placed on the front burner before 2019.

According to him: “My own take is that every government has its own priority and you will agree with me that if you have to deal with the issue of Boko Haram or you need to deal with the issue of the economy that has gone into recession and all that, you have to get your priorities right. I don’t think it would be a wise move to add the challenges of restructuring if you have not dealt with the problems that affect the average Nigerian.

“So when people are hungry, when people are losing jobs, when people’s salaries are not being paid I think any responsible government would consider this to be a priority even while it still believes in the restructuring of the country.

“The issue of restructuring is never a gimmick. It is in the manifesto of our party. How can that be a gimmick? That is why I said that the fact that it has not been done does not mean that it would not be done.’’

Meanwhile, former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, has lauded former military president Ibrahim Babangida for throwing his weight behind calls for the restructuring of Nigeria.

In a statement yesterday, he also commended the recent resolution of the APC Progressive Governors Forum and several well-meaning Nigerians who stressed the need to restructure and entrench true federalism in the polity.

Saying that the issue transcends religion and ethnicity, he noted that the convergence of positions by leaders and stakeholders from diverse regions of the country on the issue speak volume of the need to ensure good governance in the polity.

He explained that the agitations for secession would not have arisen if the country had shown sincere readiness to address the underlying problems that feed the agitations by separatist forces.

However, the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, believes that those at the forefront of the calls to restructure the country were using it to score political goals.

Blaming the ruling elites for using the agenda to hoodwink the gullible populace to further their selfish desires, he challenged restructuring proponents to come out with a blueprint on how to achieve the goal.

If you look at the issue of fiscal federalism, are we going back to the old three of four regions or are we going to use the present six geo-political zones to achieve it? If we are to use the present six geo-political zone, take one of the zones for instance, which of the states of any of the zones would agree to merge with one another.

Also, the United Action for Democracy (UAD), a non-governmental and human rights group has kicked against the notion to restructure Nigeria as agitated for by some citizens of the country.

UAD yesterday at a press conference, moved against the pro-separatist agitation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the purportedly quit notice by the northern youths.

According to the convener of the group, Gabriel Ojumah, “Nigeria has moved from regional government to federal system of government yet things are not working right: what we need is not a geo-political restructuring but a change in the ruling class of the country.”

Ojumah reiterated that, “should Nigeria divide today, the known cabals in the leadership of the country will continue ruling in the various parts of the country hence we still come back to square one.” He added that the masses should be united in the front to change the current social order and exploitative ruling class in the country.

https://m.guardian.ng/news/apc-explains-delay-in-restructuring-nigeria-as-atiku-lauds-ibb/

thecitizenng.com

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar has attributed the secessionist agitations in the country and the counter responses as symptoms of rot in the Nigerian system.

Abubakar said this in Sokoto today when Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers paid him a Sallah homage.

”In the past, a lot of things were done by some people with impunity and nothing was done.
That is why you find lack of good governance now weighing us down now in the country”, he said.

”However, as it is now, no matter how bad your hand is, you cannot cut it and throw away,” the monarch said.

Abubakar stressed the need to use dialogue to resolve all the misunderstandings and problems in the country.

The royal father said Nigerians should sit together, brainstorm, look at what went wrong, retrace our steps and move forward.

The sultan also appealed to statesmen in the nation to intervene and assist in this direction.

According to the monarch, we are not short of statesmen across the country and they should help in championing the dialogue.

”We should not allow sentiments to rule our heads. Nigeria is a very big and lucky country and we have no any other nation we can call our own.

”We should love one another irrespective of any religious, ethnic or cultural differences,” Abubakar said.

He also extolled the developmental strides of Wike in Rivers, as well as his existing relationship with the Muslim community there.

Speaking earlier, Wike said that the people and government of Rivers believe in the indivisibility of Nigeria.

Wike further averred that there were better ways to solve the agitations and problems of Nigeria, rather than a pondering on a break up.

”Rivers and its people believe in the oneness and unity of Nigeria and that is our stand.

”The sultan is a father to all Nigerians and he is a peace builder in Nigeria and beyond.

”We have also been friends with Tambuwal since and before his emergence as a Speaker, House of Representatives and this will be sustained in spite of party differences,” Wike averred.

Tambuwal, who accompanied Wike, had earlier said that the visit would not have come at a better time than now, and restated his belief in the unity of Nigeria.

The governor said that the visit would help to strengthen the bond of unity between the two states.- NAN.

news2.onlinenigeria.com Jun 28, 2017 3:44 AM

Former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet, has said that restructuring alone will not solve Nigeria’s many problems, rather, what Nigeria needs is true federalism with all it entails, including fiscal federalism.

He also said that the report of the National Conference contains all the ingredients, and if adopted will keep Nigeria strong, united, indivisible and devoid of incessant rancour between the various ethnic groups in the country.

He said: “Restructuring is not equal to true federalism. What Nigeria needs is true federalism, with all it comes with, including fiscal federalism.

“The resolutions of the last National Conference captured all the ingredients, and if adopted will keep Nigeria strong, united, indivisible, devoid of incessant rancour between groups and fear of domination.


Former Minister for Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebeth arriving for a private visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Photos by Abayomi Adeshida 09/02/2017
“I think the country should be very grateful to the All Progressives Congress, APC’s Governors Forum which has come out to support this position strongly on the current challenges to Nigeria’s unity. We should all applaud them, cease all altercations forthwith and work from there. With 24 out of 36, and they are all APC governors, coming out with this position, the Constitution is amended.

“What is remaining now is to sit down and work out the details. At the same time, we must continue to pursue the fight against corruption more intensely and vigorously while ways to contain corruption very drastically must be part of the Constitutional amendments for the true federalism. There must be an atmosphere of fear to prevent corruption and enthrone the rule of law without fear or favour.”

scannewsnigeria.com Jun 27, 2017 8:08 AM

No fewer than 38 universities across the country have increased their tuition fees as a result of poor funding by the Federal and State governments.

The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter, Dr. Deji Omole, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday. The statement which assessed the two years of President Muhammadu Buhari in office, lamented that the current government had made Nigerians poorer. Omole said that the public education was not taken seriously because most children of the rich and those in high offices do not attend school in Nigeria. “The latest increment might be attributed to poor funding by the federal and state governments as ASUU poorly rated the President Muhammadu Buhari in the area of funding of university education. ASUU also noted that it would be difficult for any Nigeria university to effectively compete globally with the inadequate allocation of budgetary funding as prescribed by UNESCO to fund education. University of Lagos (UNILAG) which was paying N14, 500 would now pay N63, 500 as tuition fees.

post-nigeria.com Jun 26, 2017 10:27 AM

HAPPENING NOW: Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, Enters Into A Closed Door Emergency Meeting With Buhari’s Son, Yusuf, And Other Top Aso Rock Cabals
Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Sunday​, is hosting top Aso Rock cabals, Muslim faithfuls, and Religious leaders, on the occasion of the 2017 Eid-​E​l-Fitr, with President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf, also in attendance.

Eid-E​l-Fitr​ marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The meeting came barely a few hours, after the Presidency released the voice of Buhari, as proof that he is not suffering from speech impediment, as widely speculated in the media last week.

Although, a thorough scrutiny of the voice shows that all is not well with Mr President, as the message seemed to be inaudible, and sounded faintly.

“Buhari is still sick. Nigerians must act fast, and intensify prayers for our beloved President”, a concerned source said.

The meeting is taking place in ​Osinbajo’s​ official residence, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja​.​

​Present at the meeting are: ​Director General of the DSS, Lawal Daura​ Musa; FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Malam Garb​a Shehu; among others.

QUIT NOTICE: Ohanaeze bombs security forces
news2.onlinenigeria.com Jun 25, 2017 2:34 AM
…IPOB: No referendum, no elections

By Emeka Mamah, South East Regional Editor, & Chimaobi Nwaiwu

Enugu —Even as the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, continues his consultations in the wake of secessionist and separatist agitations in the country, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed concern over the inability of the security agencies to arrest any of the northern youths who threatened Ndigbo living in the north with quit notice some weeks ago.


Igbo Chiefs
The non-compliance by the security agencies is in spite of the directive from both Acting President Osinbajo and the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nsair El-Rufai.

It said that the action of the security agencies, which were firmly in the hands of northern officers, amounted to double standards which could lead to the second pogrom against Igbo in the north.

President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, made this known while inaugurating the Planning and Strategic Committee of the pan-Igbo group, led by the former Governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, in Enugu, yesterday.

Meanwhile, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, said they have resolved totally and without equivocation never to participate in further elections in Biafraland in Nigeria, starting from November 18, 2017 governorship election in Anambra State, and the general election coming up in 2019.

The only pre-condition for participation, the body insisted, would be a referendum on the future of Biafra.

Security agencies’ double standard

Nwodo said that the threat by the northern youths, with obvious backing from some northern elders, amounted to threats to declare war or mop-up operation against Ndigbo.

According to him, “What remains worrisome is the incapacity of the police to make needful arrests in this situation, pointing to double standarts from our security forces.

“A desire and public proclaimation for the state of Biafra cannot be too different from a quit notice which amounts to a declaration for a new state of Nigeria without the Igbo.

“In the latter case, an obvious violation of our constitution points to treason and a declaration to take inventory and acquire property not belonging to one amounts to conversion and declaration to commence mop-up action if the quit notice is not complied with at a certain date is a declaration of war.

“We have, as Ohanaeze, maintained absolute restraint in our public utterances. The Acting President, by his interactions with concerned groups, shows he is prepared to engage everyone in order to ensure that justice is done.

“His proclamations that government will guarantee the security of life of all Nigerians and their properties wherever they live is reassuring.

“What worries us, however, is whether the Arewa youths are acting out a plan that may spiral out of control. Why have disclosures that some soldiers are talking with politicians not led to any arrest?

“Why have none of the Arewa youths been arrested in spite of the orders of the Inspector General of Police and the Chief Security Officer of Kaduna Stae, Mallam El-Rufai?

“If our security forces, formally in command and control by mainly officers of Northern Nigeria, fail to carry out lawful and needful arrests of criminals among Arewa youths, or coup plotters in the army and their civilian collaborators, how can we expect them to heed to the orders of the Acting President to protect our people in the north?

“What should we advise our people in the North to do in the circumstance? Are the rhetorics of today not similar to the rhetorics between 1966 pogrom? If there should be a repeat performance, what explanation can we make to our people?

“Against this background, our young men and women are spiralling out of control. The jury is still out in Igbo land regarding the choice between self-determination and restructuring as a solution to our current impasse.

“Whereas a lot of the elderly, the business class and the professionals want to preserve our continued existence as one indivisible, united and restructured Nigeria, a number of the young ones are resolute about self-determination.

“How do we resolve this duplicity that gives the impression that we all are on one of the sides depending on who is making the assessment…?”

Nwodo, however, asked the committee ,which has 10 former governors as members, to design an economic blue-print that would forsee the following:

*”An integrated railway network linking all the seven Ohanaeze States;

*”Annual growth of one million palm trees in each of the seven states within the next five years as well as a corresponding growth of attractive processing industries for palm produce but on high, medium and small scale levels;

*”Design a policy for the maximisation of our coal resources for power generation, and another geological inventory of all our resources and carefully scripted plan for engaging the Federal Government in their exploration;

*”Develop plan for a refinery for petroleum resources ;

*”Plan for a paradigm shift to greenhouses methodology for vegetable production using the Netherlands experience as a typology;

“There must be a deliberate policy for development of ICT hubs in our states to encourage our human capital development;

“An educational curriculum geared to development of skills among our young men and women;

*”Recommendation of appropriate policies to our government to improve the educational standards in our schools at all levels; and

*”Growth of reliable financial institutions for mortgage, small scale business finacing and research,” among others, he added.

Nwodo açknowledged the prompt condemnation of the Igbo quit notice by Northern Governors’ Forum, Middle Belt Forum, Afenifere, PANDEF, among others.

But he also noted the “rather mild and equivocal condemnation from Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF,” adding that the defiance of Arewa youths by threatening and daring the police to arrest them, the clear incapacitation of the police and unwillingness to arrest them, their renewed aggression, following the issuance of another statement involving an association of wider youth organisations in the North and the support offered them by splinter elements of the neighbourhood, point to a swell of reasonable support from a section of Northern Nigeria”, he concluded

Prof Soludo, who spoke later, promised that the members would do their best to meet the expectations of Ndigbo, especially at this period of “our history.”

IPOB

IPOB’s statement, issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Powerful, made it clear that “the era of crooked Nigerian elections and imposition of politicians in Biafraland from Abuja has gone and will never be tolerated again. Until there is an agreement for a date to democratically ascertain the will of the people of Biafra, IPOB will campaign for a total boycott of elections.

According to IPOB “It is very pathetic that some hired hands and unity beggars in Nigeria have adopted the unenlightened and illiterate approach of always equating self determination with war.

“IPOB is a genuine peaceful organisation that is following the stipulated laid down rules of the United Nations and African Charter, which Nigeria ratified and adopted in the constitution for self determination.

“Referendum for Biafra is all we are asking for not war. It is the only civilized way to settle this burning issue of Biafra once and for all time.

“We are not interested in anything violent or war to achieve the sovereign state of Biafra because IPOB has many potent weapons than AK47, bombs and mortars.

“Therefore, anybody waiting for IPOB to engage in violent warfare is wasting his or her time because Nigeria has already collapsed under the burden of incompetence, greed, corruption and institutional laziness.”

dahmelawlah:
Please people, how do I go about redeployment. I was posted to Kebbi state

I was posted to Kebbi State also. If u hv genuine doctors report dat will demand ur redeployment, certainly dry will redeploy u. wer ar u coming frm cos am in Anambra

God have mercy. If it's in Nigeria it would have been a different story