UK Asks Switzerland To Arrest Kola Aluko For Alison-Madueke Proceedings: saharareporters
In an email to SaharaReporters, Nathalie Guth of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said, “I can give you the additional information, that the OAG has received a request for mutual assistance from England.” Mrs. Guth bolded ‘from England’ to emphasize that it was the UK, not Nigeria, requesting Mr. Aluko’s detention.

SaraReporters has confirmed from the Attorney General’s Office in Switzerland that the United Kingdom has requested Mutual Legal Assistance from Swiss authorities for the detention of Kola Aluko.

r. Aluko is the alleged money launderer for the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

SaharaReporters broke the news earlier today that Kola Aluko has holed himself up in his regal estate in southern Switzerland after learning of Alison-Madueke’s arrest in the United Kingdom. Alison-Madueke and four others are confirmed to have been arrested by agents attached to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK for bribery and other financial crimes.

In an email to SaharaReporters, Nathalie Guth of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said, “I can give you the additional information, that the OAG has received a request for mutual assistance from England.” Mrs. Guth bolded ‘from England’ to emphasize that it was the UK, not Nigeria, requesting Mr. Aluko’s detention.

This communication from the Swiss Attorney General’s Office contradicts reports earlier from Reuters news that it was Nigeria which had requested the assistance from Switzerland.

SaharaReporters spoke with Femi Adesina, the Senior Special Adviser for Media and Publicity to President Buhari, who told SaharaReporters that he did not want to comment on whether Nigeria requested mutual assistance from the Swiss because he did not have all the information.

SaharaReporters also called Mr. Aluko’s home phone number, +41919402714, but it has been disconnected since our last communication with his employee yesterday.

A call to the Home Office department in charge of Mutual Legal Assistance did not yield any result, as the officer who answered our call said he could not provide information about MLAs but the office confirmed they knew of Mr. Aluko.

Source. http://saharareporters.com/2015/10/07/uk-asks-switzerland-arrest-kola-aluko-alison-madueke-proceedings

After the cut

Ok

Popular Hausa actress?

hmmm I never heard about her

Buhari: The First 100 Days

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

Without any fear of contradiction, the last 100 days of our new President deserve to be written in gold. Once things can get better, Nigerians do not give a hoot as to who is the President. And with this president, they are indeed getting better. That is the plain truth!

This morning, a trader sent me a notice that a bag of cement now costs N1,600 after it has been at N2,000 for many years. This is just one cause for me to celebrate this administration. I did not rush to place any order, knowing fully well that the price will crash further with the determination of the present team to get things better. If it will cost N500 a bag in Sudan, why will it cost even N1000 in Nigeria? The monopoly of whoever raised it to N2000 need – and must – be broken.

There are many other goodies apart from crashing prices. For the first time, fuel is selling at the control price of N87 nationwide. Yet, prices, as important as they are to our lives, are not my most important source of relief, happiness and hope in the past 100 days. Had Jonathan won the last elections, his bloodsucking war generals would have continued to promote the cause of Boko Haram, allowing the group to extend its operations, by this time, down to southern Bauchi and into my home at the foot of the Bauchi Plateau. I would have been a displaced person somewhere in Nigeria or a refugee stranded in Hungary, knocking at the doors of Western Europe. I would have been Aylan Kurdi.

This is no exaggeration. All the signs were there. Banks and schools in the local government were shut down early this year and even government officials were advised to report for work late and leave early. We were starting to have some sleepless nights, knowing that the insurgents were living just less than twenty kilometers from us in the Lame-Burra forest reserve and especially after they started carrying out some low scale attacks in the periphery of the forest and ‘receiving’ deliveries of vehicles from the military as usual.

Suddenly, things started to change immediately it dawned on Jonathan and the PDP early this year that they would lose the elections unless they could immediately regain the confidence of Nigerians before going to the polls. They postponed the election by six weeks and started to pursue the insurgents. It was a belated effort despite which they lost the elections. Today, with the revelations of the heinous war crimes committed between the office of the NSA and the Defence Headquarters, Nigerians will now attest that had Jonathan won the elections, Boko Haram would have returned with full force. Those tapeworms would have continued to suck our blood. Fortunately, God answered the prayer of the weak; He came to our rescue and sent them packing.

The coming of Buhari and the achievements which greeted his genuine efforts to end the insurgency have removed our fears and replaced them with the assurance that we will continue with our lives peacefully. What, if I may repeat, can be a better cause to celebrate the last 100 days?

We in the Northeast are not alone. Other Nigerians also share in this and many more delightful experiences since the inception of the administration. In various ways, the new administration has generated not only the hope that things will get better. Delightfully, beyond the hope, there is the undeniable reality that things are indeed getting better, for the first time since the August 1985 coup. Only the blind will fail to see the magic that accountability is playing. Appointments are done on merit, not for political patronage. They are also not done with merely the understanding, but the undertaking, that achievement is the minimum acceptable standard, with zero tolerance for failure. Gladly, the appointees so far have not failed the President.

From the service chiefs that have reclaimed all territories under Boko Haram to the NNPC directors that have swiftly restored our refineries and ensured a nationwide sale of petrol at control price nationwide, one can breathe the fresh air of the new dawn. What is new therein are many: the generation and distribution of over 5,000 MW for the first time in decades; the constitution of panels to investigate past corrupt practices that for the first time questions retired service chiefs; the firm measures taken to check the further decline of the Naira; the sharp rise of our foreign reserve to $31 billion; the sacking of the cabals that have been behind our misfortunes especially in the security agencies and prosecuting them; the initiation of reducing the massive leakages of our national wealth by politicians and public servants through high recurrent expenditures in both the executive and the legislative arms of government; etc.

The international community expected as much. World leaders did not hesitate to identify with our President, making pledges to work together with him in the emergence of a better Nigeria. We have regained the respect we once had among our African brothers after we were derided as the sleeping giant. Suddenly, the giant has awakened, opened his eyes and is making efforts to be on his feet once more.

Our guess of what can be achieved when Buhari forms his cabinet will not be futile. Surely, Buhari is very likely to be the first president who Nigerians of various backgrounds and affiliations will sincerely advocate for his second tenure. He will not need to sponsor a campaign for a second or third term. We will demand for his stay, if he is able to remain focused and continue to record remarkable achievements.

The premise of my proposition lies in how a consensus is developing on the trust that Nigerians now have in the President. Of course, there will always be some voices that are disgruntled at the President’s success especially from the opposition PDP. Such elements are praying for his failure such that they can return to power and, once more, unleash their regime of terror and corruption on Nigerians. Those culprits aside, other Nigerians are ready to forget their differences and unite behind an accountable leader. If the President can bring succor to our lives, few of us, if any, will bother about the faith he holds, the tribe he belongs to or the section of the country he came from. That was the trust we tried to invest in Obasanjo in 1999 and in Jonathan in 2010 but the shoulders of both painfully proved too frail to carry it. Ironically, it is today carried on the shoulders of a 73 year old whom we thought would by now be too old to succeed.

I have witnessed many regime changes in Nigeria. Arguably, it is difficult to recall anyone that achieved so much in so short a time like the present one, apart from, perhaps, that of Murtala Mohammed in 1975. As it charts its course, there will be many challenges for the administration to tackle, especially in relation to the corrupt political class that the President must learn to negotiate his path with and the dethroned, wicked league that suffocated us in the past thirty years. There are fears too, including whether this president will be an exception to the rule that assassinated every good leader who set out to emancipate us. The only assurance I have is that this time there are indications that they will fail because the Most High seems to be in support of this journey. His hands are clearly behind the emergence of Buhari as the President, for a purpose, and He will protect him as long as he remains sincere, fair and God-fearing leader.

This was a journey that almost everybody abandoned, after being defeated by the mightiness of the incumbent administrations since 2003, which broke every rule and blocked every path in order to remain in power. Not only those who rallied around Buhari in the TBO in 2002 and the others who carried the struggle further, even Buhari himself, by 2011, had lost all hope that he would succeed. Nigeria saw him publicly broken in tears and promising not to contest again. The feeling of defeat was as glaring as it was overwhelming. Ayyah!

However, in accordance with the Tradition of God, that was the tipping point needed for things to take a turn, for man is initially allowed to dream, toil, do his best and everything possible to succeed but success will remain elusive. He is abandoned and he finally makes up his mind to abandon the path. Then the help of God comes, bringing into play all the requisite forces and circumstances for success. That was the tradition of all Messengers and the personalities that emancipated their people. We have seen it in Noah, Hud, Saleh, Shuaib, Abraham, Lot, Yunus, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon them. They all broke down at a point, before He extended His noble and mighty Hand, picked them from the level of despair and led them to the heights of success:

“Until when the Messengers lost hope and thought they have been rejected, Our help came to them and We emancipated whom we wished…” Yusuf: 110

That is why God ascribed success only to Himself:

“Success cannot be except from God, the Almighty, the Wise.” Al-Imran, 126

I stand to be corrected. The success at the 2015 polls was not from Buhari or any of his allies, but from the Almighty that guided everything to the destination that He wished. It is usual though in their myopic character and in the frenzy of victory to hear people speak about Buhari’s resolve, Tinibu’s political sagacity, America’s intervention, Jega’s transparency, Jonathan’s concession, etc. The truth is that all these were mere tools in the Hand of God.

It was that Hand that picked Buhari from ground zero in 2011 and guided him all through to height of success at the polls in 2015. It is the same Hand that is guiding him today. I have no doubt that the same Hand will protect him against the conglomerate of evil such that, at least once more, we can, among other nations, be proud to answer the name of our fatherland. To God we submit our prayers.

The improvement in governance is all we demand for because of the egalitarian nature of its benefits. Had many of our governors realized this, they too would have chosen to be some smaller Buharis in their states. However, many still believe in money, corruption and godfathers. They fear people instead of God, and think that pleasing “nobody” to the detriment of “everybody” is what will earn them success. They are mistaken. Time will prove them wrong. It may give them a second tenure but they, like their predecessors, will live to regret ever being corrupt governors in their lives. We doff our hats for the few governors that have resolved to do the right thing for the benefit of “everybody”.

So, I am fine with the 100 days of Buhari in office and look forward to still better days of peace and prosperity in the near future. With the guidance of God, I have no doubt that he will succeed finally. The President only needs to remain sincere, hardworking and focused. He must also continue to watch his back, for God likes those who remain vigilant. On our part, as Nigerians we must remain supportive, patient and patriotic. That is all we need to build a better tomorrow.

Bauchi

Good Morning Friends, In commemoration of President Muhammadu Buhari's 100 Days in office next month, I wrote an OP-ED yesterday, titled "Understanding Buhari in 100 Days".

I hope you find it interesting...

UNDERSTANDING BUHARI IN 100 DAYS

THE ENORMOUSLY popular talk show,Berekete on WazobiaFM radio, Abuja station told the incredible, yet true story of the hardworking and respected school teacher somewhere in Plateau state who hanged himself.

He hadn't been paid salary for seven straight months. He came home to find that no one had eaten and two of the children had medical prescriptions for which there was no money.

He sneaked out without talking to anyone.

After a long while, news came home that he had strangely been caught with a stolen goat.

On his day in court, the teacher confessed to the offense. The reason he stole, he told the local judge, was that he hadn't been paid for seven months and when he got home to see what he saw, he just couldn't stand it.

The judge allowed him to go home on bail on self-recognition given, as he said, the good impression the entire village had of the otherwise respected teacher.

All were shocked to find his body dangling from tree the morning after. He couldn't live with the shame.

In the recommendations and notes the Ahmed Joda transition committee presented to him as President -EIect, Muhammadu Buhari was informed that a section of the Fedaral government as well as 27 states hadn't paid salaries, in some case for up to a year.

The Joda committee advised that this was a national emergency and should be treated as such.

It is on account of this that one of theactivities- please note the choice of this word:activities, not achievements- of President Muahammadu Buhari in these past three months is the settlement of unpaid salaries. This is going on right now.

Like the proverbial blinking of the eye, Saturday September 5th will mark the 100th day of the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC government which took office on May 29th after the new party became the first in opposition to unseat an incumbent government in an election adjudged by everyone as free and fair.

There are many out there who say that the performance of a president and his government in terms success or failure cannot be judged in 100 days and I agree with them.

But history will be written anyway. In the coming week or two, a rash of commentaries and analyses to commemorate the event will be made.

I myself don't deny that 100 days is long enough to know and understand the man who is the head of a government.

Buhari arrived power with strong support from young men and women and this country's poor. The new government was not favored at election by the monied power-brokers although that did not stop the President from taking measures such as improving security that are good for business and investment.

This government is business-friendly but not one that is for crony capitalism.

The new government inherited enormous problems created by the tainted PDP administration, largely caused by the lack of governance,corruption and lawlessness. This was mostly evident in the last two years of the Jonathan Goodluck administration. As the President continues to point out,the drift is most evident in the oil sector.

I believe that there is enough on the ground in those 100 days to understand President Buhari, his government and what it stands for.

I will cite a few of these.

Before I do that, I will make a little confession.
In the course of electioneering, the presidential campaign had so many centers of public communication which, for whatever reason were on the loose.

There is a certain document tagged "One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days" and the other, "My Covenant With Nigerians." Both pamphlets bore the authorized party logo but as the Director of Media and Communications in that campaign, I did not fund or authorize any of those. I can equally bet my last Kobo that Candidate Buhari did not see or authorize those publications.

As a consequence of these publications, expectations have been raised unreasonably, that as President, Muhammadu Buhari will wave his hand and all the problems that the country faces- insecurity, corruption, unemployment, poor infrastructure would go away.

But that notwithstanding, President Buhari has given the job his best shot and the whole country is saying that we never had it so good. He has re-instituted the values of hard work and administrative efficiency. The President says times without number that this country needs to fix governance and that he won't tolerate laziness.

Some of the other activities I wish to enumerate also include the fact of his taking relations with the country's immediate neighbors to new heights. By their open admissions, this country's neighbors did not have someone they could talk to on the deteriorating security situation in the Lake Chad Basin area in Aso Rock.

Buhari embarked on his foreign policy on Day Four of his administration.

When he met Barack Obama, the U.S president told the Nigerian leader that he was getting it right and that it is only when Nigeria gets it right that Africa will get it right.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who came calling this week said that our president is "courageous, focused and firm."

Relations with the "G 7" group of industrialized countries have since been "reset" and the dividends of this have begun to flow inwards.

In the area of economic management, Nigerians are already seeing things happen that they thought were not possible in so short a time.

He didn't put a Kobo to finance the power sector. Yet, reading his body language alone and knowing that there are things you cannot do and get away with under Buhari, electricity supply all over the countries has risen to unprecedented heights.

Actually, some cities are on the verge of calling 24-hour, round the clock power supply. The country generates more power than can internally be taken by the deplorable distribution system we have on the ground, which points to the next challenge that the country faces.

Framework for the management of the country's finances has been put in place. The wobbly Naira is being stabilized and inflation is headed towards a single digit.President Buhari is keeping a close eye on the government treasury.

Agriculture is getting its own shot in the arm.
Rice importation has been curtailed and seven governors whose states are priming a massive local production of the commodity have had a strategy meeting with the President on the next steps that are coming. Americans say their intervention in our agriculture will come next year.

Boko Haram, which had more or less been allowed to fester for about five years is about being ended but what is even more interesting is that intelligence coming from the fired-up armed forces who now work in synergy with each other is raising hope that the Chibok girls may, repeat may be found in good numbers in a geographic location of interest somewhere in the North-East.

President Buhari is being praised at home and abroad for his ongoing fight against corruption. He said from the beginning that his government will not tolerate this vice.

Borrowing the words of India Narendra Modi's, he said himself that "I won't steal and I'll not allow others to do it." President Buhari has walked his talk since he come to office.

Himself and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have not only given up half of their salary, they have cut a good number of funding lines to their official homes and offices.

President Buhari also takes the environment seriously. He blames the lack of security in the Lake Chad region on the recession, almost drying up of the lake. He has undertaken to clean up the Ogoniland.

In this country, appointments and removal from office are done usually in accordance with a spoils system.

A new government sacks officials on the basis only that it did not appoint them, by the predecessor-adminstration.

President Buhari has shown that his government is different. He wants to look at each case on its own merit and it is clear by now that he is not ready to surrender the country to burnt out politicians. Technocrats will have a big place in his administration.
He has appointed no ministers yet, but the government is running smoothly.

In this period of three months, government certainly deserves a pat on the back for improved power, reform in the energy sector, foreign relations fight against corruption and insurgency and the fact of Nigerians being at peace, not only among themselves but with their neighbors and the rest of the world.

In think in summary, I would like to end this piece by saying that President Muhammadu Buhari will turn out to be a leader in the tradition of Lee Kuan-Yu and India's current reform-minded Prime Minister Modi with strong and clear emphasis on detail and execution. He may however differ with them by not micro-managing things.

GARBA SHEHU
SSA MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE PRESIDENT.
Source
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1660910514123033&substory_index=0&id=1636468759900542&ref=bookmarks

More

Less than 24 hours ago, it seemed that Pedro was set to make the move from Barcelona to Manchester United. However, according to Dominic Fifield of the Guardian and numerous other sources on Twitter, the Blaugrana benchwarmer will instead be heading to Stamford Bridge:

This is Abobaku, the man earmarked to be buried alive with late Ooni of Ife today Friday as a mark of respect to the monarch and in consonance with the culture there.

Well, its amazing that all these so-called human rights activists are quite over this seemingly barbaric and archaic tradition which dehumanizes humans and devoid of any rational reasoning.

When was the last time you saw a powerful Emir Withdrawing money himself?
This is one of the many things I like about this person.

http://www.234pulse.com/2015/08/need-cash-for-sachet-water-pics-emir-of-kano-muhammadu-sinusi-iii-withdrawing-money-from-atm/

Nice move

Garba Shehu gives the breakdown

COST OF PRESIDENT BUHARI'S TRIP TO UNITED STATES GROSSLY EXAGGERATED

Our attention has been drawn to an editorial published in the Nigerian Pilot of August 2, 2015 and an earlier report in which the total cost of President Muhammadu Buhari's recent trip to the U.S. was estimated at N2.2 billion.

It is very sad that in this age of free-flowing information and in this era of CHANGE, a media organisation would make itself available as a vehicle to peddle a lie of such low and ignominious quality.

Contrary to the newspaper's assertions, the total cost of the trip to the Nigerian taxpayer was at the most minimal, in line with the policy of this administration to cut waste and extravagance.

In point of fact, the total amount expended on the trip by the Office of the President amounted to nothing near ten per cent of the speculated figure.

Owing to the free accommodation provided by the host government, all the personal staff who accompanied the President on the trip received reduced allowances.

His son, Yusuf, received neither allowances nor estacode. The five Governors on the trip each paid his own way. Permanent Secretaries who traveled on the delegation did so in accordance with extant rules and none of them exceeded their estacode entitlements.

Apart from the Nigerian Pilot's mischievous mathematics, it is shortsighted and misleading of the newspaper to have claimed that President Buhari's trip to the U.S. achieved nothing.

Nigerian-US relations had suffered severely over the past few years. That relationship has now been reset. The benefits of this symbiotic relationship will become more and more evident as the Buhari administration continues to tackle the challenges of corruption, security and the economy.

Some of the more immediate benefits of the President's trip to the U.S include: the proposed $2.1 billion fund from the World Bank for the re-development of the northeast battered by Boko Haram; $5 billion from US investors in Nigeria's agriculture sector; $1.5 billion investment in the Nigerian health sector; and another $5 billion investment from the U.S. in our country's power sector.

Also, as things stand at the moment, the embargo on the sale of weapons sales to Nigeria is in the process of being removed.

The trip to the U.S by President Buhari was definitely very successful and beneficial to Nigeria.

Only those rabidly determined to find faults unnecessarily will cook up falsehood in a futile effort to rake up murk where none exists.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 5, 2015

Source https://m.facebook.com/GarShehu/photos/a.1636528929894525.1073741828.1636468759900542/1653977874816297/?type=1&source=48&ref=bookmarks

RealYaks:
The presidency monday stated that President Muhammadu Buhari was misquoted when he said his government would only favour the zones that voted for him during the election, assuring Nigerians that no part of the country would be left out under the present government.

Reacting to a video of the president during his US visit last week, Buhari’s media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu said the insinuation was a “social media commentary” that was not tenable.
The most misquoted president ever!
In the video, Buhari had stated that Nigerians should not expect constituencies that gave him five per cent of the vote to be treated in the same manner as those that gave him 97 per cent of the vote during the elections.

But as he continued speaking, he clarified that even if tried to favour one constituency over another, the constitution would not allow him to do so, as he was expected to treat all parts of the country fairly.

However, the video, which went viral, has raised eyebrows with some Nigerians wondering if Buhari’s initial remark was a Freudian slip.

Dismissing this notion, Shehu said: “That is a social media commentary. Whoever says that is just making a social media commentary which is a discussion not regulated in accordance with journalism ethics.

“What the president meant to say was that the world of politics is seen as a reward system by which people expect to derive maximum support from giving maximum support and he meant to say that he is a different kind of leader and will govern in the interest of all.

“He repeated his famous quote that I belong to everybody and I belong to no one. He said he will be fair to all irrespective of how they voted and went on to say that the constitution of the country makes it compulsory for every Nigerian government to run all in livid administration.

“Under our constitution, everyone and every part of the country is protected. That is what he meant to say. So that line was taken out of the context in which the statement was made.

“Taking together in its contest, the president intended to reassure all the parts of this country that none will be neglected.”

Source http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/presidency-buhari-was-misquoted-on-preferential-treatment/215849/?utm_medium=twitter

The most misquote president ever!

The presidency monday stated that President Muhammadu Buhari was misquoted when he said his government would only favour the zones that voted for him during the election, assuring Nigerians that no part of the country would be left out under the present government.

Reacting to a video of the president during his US visit last week, Buhari’s media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu said the insinuation was a “social media commentary” that was not tenable.

In the video, Buhari had stated that Nigerians should not expect constituencies that gave him five per cent of the vote to be treated in the same manner as those that gave him 97 per cent of the vote during the elections.

But as he continued speaking, he clarified that even if tried to favour one constituency over another, the constitution would not allow him to do so, as he was expected to treat all parts of the country fairly.

However, the video, which went viral, has raised eyebrows with some Nigerians wondering if Buhari’s initial remark was a Freudian slip.

Dismissing this notion, Shehu said: “That is a social media commentary. Whoever says that is just making a social media commentary which is a discussion not regulated in accordance with journalism ethics.

“What the president meant to say was that the world of politics is seen as a reward system by which people expect to derive maximum support from giving maximum support and he meant to say that he is a different kind of leader and will govern in the interest of all.

“He repeated his famous quote that I belong to everybody and I belong to no one. He said he will be fair to all irrespective of how they voted and went on to say that the constitution of the country makes it compulsory for every Nigerian government to run all in livid administration.

“Under our constitution, everyone and every part of the country is protected. That is what he meant to say. So that line was taken out of the context in which the statement was made.

“Taking together in its contest, the president intended to reassure all the parts of this country that none will be neglected.”

Source http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/presidency-buhari-was-misquoted-on-preferential-treatment/215849/?utm_medium=twitter

keyzid:
Lalasticlala, ishilove, front page pls.

cc: Lalasticlala, ishilove,

[s]

psucc:
Corruption, Boko Haram, Probe are the only policies this government will pursue in the next 4years.

Read through the piece but will not see where he made mention of job creation, reviving the dying naira, rescuing the stock market, measures to diversify the economy, the education sector, etc.

[/s]

I thought he only touched where we need a helping hand?
OK, maybe you read the article in a hurry, so go through it again.

"Nigeria committed to good governance and fighting terror". PMB

By Muhammadu Buhari July 20 at 9:20 AM

Muhammadu Buhari is president of Nigeria.
This month, the world moved a step closer to the defeat of Boko Haram, the jihadist group that has terrorized hundreds of thousands in the northern states of Nigeria. In one of my first acts since taking office as president six weeks ago, I have replaced the heads of Nigeria’s army, navy and air force. Our new military leadership has not been chosen because of their familiarity with those in government, as was too often the case in the past, but on their track records and qualifications alone.

These new military leaders will be based in Borno State in northern Nigeria, where the headquarters of the armed services has been relocated. This shift of resources and command directly to the front line, in addition to the replacement of the head of the State Security Service, Nigeria’s intelligence organization, and a new emphasis on working in partnership with our neighbors, has equipped us to take the fight directly to Boko Haram.

Already we are beginning to see a degrading of Boko Haram’s capabilities as a fighting force. In recent weeks, it appears to have shifted away from confronting the military directly to an increase in attacks on civilian areas, as we saw only last week when an elderly woman and 10-year-old girl blew themselves up at a Muslim prayer gathering in northeastern Nigeria. We should not be confused by this change, hateful as it is: It does not mean that Boko Haram is succeeding in its aims — it shows that it is losing.

While we work to defeat the terrorists, I ask the people of Nigeria and the world for resolve and fortitude. The campaign we will wage will not be easy; it may not be swift. We should expect stages of success and also moments when it may appear that our advances have been checked. But no one should have any doubt as to the strength of our collective will or my commitment to rid this nation of terror and bring back peace and normalcy to all affected areas.

Similarly, my determination should not be underestimated in other matters. This includes instilling good governance and tackling the scourge of corruption that has held Nigeria back for too long.

As I meet with President Obama today — the first time a president of the United States will encounter a Nigerian counterpart following the peaceful transfer of power in a contested election in our history — I will be discussing my plans for critical reforms. So, too, will I discuss why the formation of my administration is taking time and, crucially, why it must. Already there are voices saying these changes are taking too long — even though only six weeks have passed since my inauguration. I hear such calls, but this task cannot and should not be rushed.

When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office. It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full Cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States did not cease to function in the interim. In Nigeria’s case, it would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government to have made these appointments immediately on my elevation to the presidency; instead, Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place.

I cannot stress how important it is to ensure that this process is carried out correctly, just as it has been crucial to first install the correct leadership of the military and security services before we fully take the fight to Boko Haram.

There are too few examples in the history of Nigeria since independence where it can be said that good management and governance were instituted at a national level. This lack of a governance framework has allowed many of those in charge, devoid of any real checks and balances, to plunder. The fact that I now seek Obama’s assistance in locating and returning $150 billion in funds stolen in the past decade and held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former, corrupt officials is testament to how badly Nigeria has been run. This way of conducting our affairs cannot continue.
Indeed, the failure of governance, it can be argued, has been as much a factor in Nigeria’s inability thus far to defeat Boko Haram as have been issues with the military campaign itself.

So the path we must take is simple, even if it is not easy: First, instill rules and good governance; second, install officials who are experienced and capable of managing state agencies and ministries; and third, seek to recover funds stolen under previous regimes so that this money can be invested in Nigeria for the benefit of all of our citizens.

We seek the support and partnership of the United States in these tasks. The importance of the fight against terrorism and corruption in Nigeria, Africa’s most powerful economy and largest populace, cannot be underestimated. Our allies can provide much-needed military training and intelligence as our soldiers take the war effort to Boko Haram. Similarly, we look to U.S. businesses as well as the Obama administration to help develop governance initiatives that can ensure that Nigeria’s wealth benefits all its people, not just a few. By taking these steps, we will be positioned to benefit from increased investment — particularly in energy and electricity — from the United States.

I was elected on a platform of change. I know this is what the people of Nigeria desire more than anything else. I know they are impatient for action. I realize the world waits to see evidence that my administration will be different from all those that came before. Yet reforming my country after so many years of abuse cannot be achieved overnight. In our campaigns against both Boko Haram and corruption, we should remain steadfast and remember, as it is said: “Have patience. All things become difficult before they become easy.”

Source. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nigeria-committed-to-good-governance-and-fighting-terror/2015/07/20/8c1acd00-2e21-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html

yatch360:
Buhari be like....o boy maintain oo.
Saraki be like. Baba am loyal to everybody and loyal to nobody.
Buhari be like....okay,we go see

Nice one also

southniyikaye:
buhari be like, if u like make u enter inside my Belle or siddon for my head pray, u Don already Bleep up so I no fit forgive u

hahahaha na who send nam

Where is the pictures?

redsconsult:
another mohammed rants on nairaland....so there is no competent person in other regions except from the north. what has the constitution said about true federal character.. buhari need not polarise nigeria issue... its not only the north that voted for buhari so he shld also consider others in his cabinet... its nigeria not northernocrazy...

Hopefully you go through ALL the writeup b/4 commenting? because he says there are a hundred available appointments coming, remember?

Buhari's Appointments Are Perfectly in Order

I know Buhari to be a very deliberate, reasonable and patriotic person. I know this very well. So if he makes an appointment, I can see the number of hours, days and perhaps weeks of critical thinking and consideration that went into it.

Besides, this is a person that was in this position before and coming immediately after the most reckless administration in the history of this country, the need to recruit serious minded people can hardly be faulted.

And on matters of security, PMB is in the best position to know who he needs not only to guard him but to protect the nation as a whole. The rule is that you're your best security, followed by you, and followed by you because you are the last person to willingly jeopardise your life and that of your administration.

The dilemma is always that there is only one you. So the logical thing is to appoint someone who, among other parameters of competence, you believe will never betray you or the nation. Then leave the rest to God. Let's not forget how he was once betrayed in 1985.

The "Oga" I know will be the last person that will discriminate against any section of this country. He believes in its unity. Out of hundreds of appointments, he has done only five or six. He does not have to alternate their sequence. However, in the end I am sure the fairness that has been the hallmark of his previous endeavours especially in the military will once more become manifest.

There is one notion that we need to get rid of in our minds, that northerners, and Muslims too, are the minor statistic in this country as all appointments since 1999 tried to prove. Digital technology and transparent electoral process is refuting this falsehood. Against this background, it is not surprising that giving five appointments to northerners between the Presidency and NNPC is attracting criticisms from some quarters. I wonder if we expect PMB to zone the positions of his Chief of Staff, Chief Security Officer, GMD NNPC and DGSS among six geopolitical zones or between North and South.

I am quite at home with the appointments so far. I am sure Lawal will give the DSS a new face that smiles at all Nigerians, different from the previous one that was doing its best to deliberately criminalise northerners and kill them with reckless abandon.

Buhari should move on with other appointments based more on competence than on anything else.

Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

feran14:


am still looking for the attack... .. I cant see any...

check the second pic AGAIN!, or should i find you a medicated glass?

alberto2k:
and the hating smelloz might even be an SSCE holder

bad belle ppl shaa

I make it to front page!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A sign of #newnigeria

Chidinma's Fans attack her on Insta for wrongly saying Vice governor

yaksincluded@yahoo.com

Olucheye:
[size=13pt]See How Beautiful It Is When Two Matured Adults Marry Mr President Elect?

SAY NO TO UNDERAGE MARRIAGE By Paedophile's Who Hide Under Religion.

First Lady Elect As Well Be Told, 17 And Marriage Shouldn't Appear In The Same Sentence. [/size]

hey mister Holy,!, lets be honest here, how many under age hv u disvagin b4 opening ur mouth here?

Brian

Good morning fellow Nigerians.
I have repeatedly reminded many that I, Ahmadu Adamu Muazu have been in the PDP since 1999 as a matter of principle & strong ideology.
Those who insinuate that I did not do my best for our great party & Mr. President during election are being economical with the truth.
In the face of abuse, insult & open ridicule by our friends & brothers we supported our leader President Jonathan faithfully.
I gave my best & all to the campaign of Mr. President & the party. We went to every state in Nigeria to campaign.
The perception of President Jonathan & our party in the north was at an all time low because of the lies they were told by politicians.
Those who blame us for not delivering maximum votes to the president in the north seem to have forgotten that it's the people who vote.
I have always preached against ethnicity & tribalism & the voting pattern in the election was a concern to me personally. I will support President Jonathan again & again if the opportunity presents itself.
The unity of Nigeria to me is greater than sectional or ethnic interests. I can never regret supporting our leader President Jonathan. If I had my way, everyone in my state "Bauchi" would have voted for President Jonathan but it's the people that vote not me.
If we must reform our party then we must begin by finding real solutions. Those who are pointing accusing fingers will not help us. Some even ridicule & insult us that we betrayed President Jonathan. How can one betray himself?
Those who are busy pointing accusing fingers are yet to come to the realization of what has happened but we have gone beyond that. For those who are wishing that I will either decamp or resign, I advice you to kindly stop wishful thinking. We have a party to lead.
The APC has nothing to offer someone like me. I am too principled to betray my party. I have been here since 1999. But things will change now. Power truly belongs to the people & we are giving it back to them.
I am willing to work with all members & organs of our great party to begin a new journey of trust & sincerity with the Nigerian people. In few days time, I will be setting up a communication mechanism through which Nigerians can better communicate with us.
We must provide a responsible & credible opposition to the incoming government. Together Nigeria will be great.


Source https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=451662851658389&id=302624999895509&refid=7&_ft_=qid.6145665849153988244%3Amf_story_key.5411304579220223173&__tn__=%2As

how about this one