₦airaland Forum

HE Toyin Saraki: We must close the knowledge-gap on breastfeeding and show its transformative value

This week, World Breastfeeding Week presents an opportunity to promote the widespread benefits of breastfeeding on an international scale, in the hope of making this vital practice a global norm. According to recommendations from the World Health Organisation, exclusive breastfeeding - breastfeeding in the absence of additional supplements - should be practiced for the first 6 months of life, followed by a period of feeding breast-milk in addition to other foods for at least 18 months thereafter.

Sadly, this wholly natural, simple method of child nourishment is not universally practiced, with figures particularly low in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015 only 27% of babies in West and Central Africa received exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months, rendering this region the lowest in the world. Although breastfeeding is widely practiced across the Africa, many babies are also given additional water by their mothers. Yet the human body provides the exact composition of nutrients and water in a mother’s milk, making additional nutrition both redundant and dangerous for an infant. The readiness of mothers to provide their baby with extra supplements is worrisome, and highlights the educational vacuum that exists surrounding breastfeeding practice.

Nigeria, the country of my birth, has the poorest EBF rate in Africa, with just 17% of children being exclusively breastfed to the optimum age. It is paradoxical that it is in countries and regions of poverty and a lack of resources where nature’s mechanism of child nourishment is most flatly rejected.

The health benefits of breast milk to a child are innumerable, and extend far beyond the realm of nutrition. Enzymes in the milk work to activate and enhance the baby’s immune system, as well as stimulating growth. The enzymes received in breast milk therefore have the effect of greatly decreasing a child’s vulnerability to childhood cancers, infectious diseases, respiratory infections, neurological disorders, allergies, and epilepsy and depression in later life, to name a few. Likewise, the mother also benefits from breastfeeding, which provides a level of protection from breast and ovarian cancer, and expedites a mother’s recovery from childbirth.

Strikingly, health indices are just one of many aspects of wellbeing that are positively affected by breastfeeding; recent studies published in 2015 suggested that breastfeeding not only increased intelligence, but it also improved educational attainment and earning ability. Those that were breastfed longer were found to have increased language performance ability and visual reception, and improved motor control performance.

In contrast, additional nutrition can lead to a host of complications. The 63% of mothers in West and Central Africa that fail to provide this basic method of nourishment to their babies are victims of misinformation and hearsay, and we at the WBFA strive to reverse this trend.

The WBFA recognise EBF as a key to sustainable development, and a mechanism for opening doors and improving lives. We pioneered Nigeria’s first civil society health visitor program supporting mothers through antenatal, perinatal and postnatal birth preparedness and we have seen the impact these can have first hand. This week we will be hosting MamaCare Antenatal Classes and Breastfeeding Initiative campaigns in Nigeria to celebrate the theme of this week, in alignment with our overall mission to improve perinatal care in Africa. Working in association with a wide range of organisations and individuals who share our mission, the WBFA strives to promote, protect and support EBF in Nigeria. With the breastfeeding training simulators donated to us by the Laerdal Global Health, the WBFA hopes that our ambitious aims can be accomplished.

Indeed, there is much to be done. In order to improve the rates of optimal EBF, we must firstly address the barriers to this practice. Studies have concluded a set of reasons that deter women in Nigeria from EBF; fear of passing on illness, insufficient lactation, ill health, social stigma, and pervasive old wives tales were all identified as factors that dissuaded women from EBF. From these responses, we can begin to map out a plan of what needs to be done to make universal EBF a reality.

Firstly, basic education on the benefits of EBF would thwart belief in old wives tales, and should serve to extinguish social stigma surrounding breastfeeding. The WBFA already have a training programme in progress, but we must expand our reach to even the most remote corners of Africa.

Secondly, health factors that prevent women from producing sufficient milk, or deter mothers from breast-feeding from of fear of contagion, highlight the heightened importance of a mother’s health during and after the gestation period. Healthcare, and the fulfillment of SDG 3, is absolutely vital for development and societal progress. Studies have shown that women who attended four or more antenatal visits were significantly more likely to engage in EBF. This ascertains and justifies our emphasis on maternal health and increased access to perinatal care.

The WBFA is doing all it can to ensure that EBF is normalized. We are promoting the “10 steps to successful breastfeeding” programme, which provides health professionals with the framework and tools to change practice and achieve measurable results in improving breastfeeding. But greater action must be taken from the top. We must call upon all African leaders to make this issue both a priority, and a stepping-stone to wider development.

Last Thursday the World Bank Group hosted a panel to discuss global efforts to combat early childhood malnutrition, the link to ending extreme poverty, and why it is imperative that we invest in the early years of life. This was in praise of Roger Thurow’s groundbreaking new book ‘The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children - And the World’. This enlightened piece of research provides new insight into the importance of perinatal care, while ratifying the work carried out by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), where we put perinatal care at the epicenter of our endeavors.

The inextricable link between perinatal care and the survival and development of mother and infant is widely acknowledged. However, on closer inspection the implications of the first 1,000 days span far wider than traditional health indices. The research conducted by Roger Thurow has unveiled the extent to which the first 1,000 days of an embryo’s life are impactful, physically, but also socially and economically in the longer-term. Highlighting the link between malnutrition within the first 1,000 days and lesser success in later life, Thurow castes light on just how crucial this stage of development really is. The research shows that malnourishment during this time strongly and positively correlates with lesser time spent in school, 20-30% lower wages as an adult, and increased vulnerability to chronic illnesses.

The far reaching consequences of the first 1,000 days render WBFA’s mission to improve perinatal care ever more pertinent. Despite universal recognition of the importance of perinatal care, in Africa recognition has not been met with responsive action. Every year 125,000 women and 870,000 newborns die in the first week after birth in Africa alone, with figures escalating into the millions within the first few years of life. These statistics are as frustrating as they are dismal; they mark a direct and irrefutable failure of governments and institutions to provide the simple but necessary care that is needed within the first 1,000 days.

Nutrition is paramount, and has been shown to affect the development of the foetus’ brain. Malnutrition of the mother is also associated with greater risk during childbirth. The provision of nutritious food has the potential to significantly reduce maternal mortality and offers a fair start to children across Africa. Breast milk provides a child with all the necessary nutrients and is proven to be the best possible food-source for young infants. For this reason the WBFA promotes breastfeeding through workshops that encourage and educate young expectant mothers in Nigeria on the value and practice of breastfeeding. These workshops develop awareness of the nutritional value of breast-milk in remote areas, while emphasising the importance of a mother’s health during this time. A greater focus on dietary education and awareness for young expectant mothers empowers women to make informed decisions on the way in which they nurture their child, both before and after birth.

There are other factors that make this time so critical. Vaccination is a simple but effective way of improving a baby’s chances of survival and development, and WBFA are proud to have been working steadily towards our goal of universal vaccination in Nigeria. Sadly, although attainable, this goal is far from being realised. Just 26% of newborns in rural Nigeria received the necessary 3 doses of the DPT vaccination in 2015, which protects against a combination of highly contagious and potentially life-threatening diseases. The importance of vaccinations to these diseases cannot be understated, and should be incorporated into the broader picture of perinatal care measures in Africa.

In line with last Thursday’s message from the World Bank, we at WBFA praise the work of others that share our cause, and advocate that this critical issue be given greater leverage in the public policy debate, to provide all women and children with the care they need in the future.

Empower the girl child and she will confidently grow into womanhood with the assurance of something she can use to fend for her family. Education is one of the key ways of ending gender inequality, hence the best gift for any child is quality and sound education.

Shitty post full of lies. Waste of time reading this cheap fabrication.

No matter what you do in this life, some people must always hate.
Saraki keep up your good work for to whom much is given, much is expected. You have truly symbolized yourself as a father.

I'll like to clarify something about this article;
It is a stale news, an event that took place November 2015!
Bloggers need to do more researches before posting stories, there are recent news everyday, political news, sports, educational, etc..... these are what we need posted to enable us keep abreast of happenings all around us.
Thanks for your efforts at informing us though, just try to give us the latest.

greatiyk4u:
Saraki the Former senate President of Nigeria...........

Na true joke ooooooooooooo

Dream on............
You will wake up after four years to realize that it is a dream that can never come true.
He stands Senate President of Nigeria till his legitimate tenure elapses.
GBAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wadetaw202:
It is a lie. His wife took salary and still continues to collect salary as first lady. Ahmed has no choice than to be paying the thief because of the covenant the two of them made before ahmed was made governor. The money was paid into Ahmed's wife's account and this got Bukola's wife very angry. She called Ahmed's wife to return the money, but the latter refused. Ahmed had to be paying Bukola's wife out of state allocation, just to maintain peace.

Ahmed is a confirmed slave to Bukola. Everybody knows this. Certain percentage of state allocation goes into Bukola's pocket. Everybody on the street of Ilorin knows this. Because they are quiet doesn't mean they are dumb.

There you Lie!!! All these cooked up ruse is unhealthy abeg. If you have personal beef with the man, doesn't mean you should go all the way to create a barrage of lie to confuse and convince non-discerning minds of your deep rooted envy for him.

Just come out openly and say you are jealous of him, simple.

Boyooosa:
Change ur high to SK, IG is dangerous for ur brain!

And is that supposed to be your "high table'?
Chai see the kind of garbage u re spitting!!
Ur reasoning level is stomach churning abeg!

tomakint:
Funny looking woman still behaving like a teenager......very terrible family....wasting taxpayers monies by junketing round the globe in an event they are not needed.

So you mean the Obamas and Co are all behaving like teenagers right?
I wonder where u re from o!
Do enough research on her personality and you will understand that u misfired big time by thinking (and alleging) that she spends "taxpayers monies"

Akaujaa:
The rate at which this woman travels overseas is alarming. That's how they launder our money, using their wife's and cronies. #watchSaraki.

Always try and run background checks on peeps before judging!!
She is the daughter of a Billionaire; She is an OJORA so she does not spend one of your kobo.

In this unstable time where there is both political and economical instability in the country marafa still decides to cause more chaos, he took it too far by hiring agents to carry out an absurd protest hoping to tarnish the image of the Senate with his cooked up befuddled lies and create unrest in the country.

Good one. Well meaning Nigerians are solidly behind you and we are aware of your constant succor especially in the area of health.
Nigeria obviously needs intervention in her Health Sector. With the relentless effort of Mrs Toyin Saraki (a World Class Health Champion and Advocate) coupled with the support of these notable international dignitaries she hosted, am sure our health sector would experience a mega positive turnaround soonest.

This is a very very old picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Surprised that folks are now seeing it and flogging the whole issue like its a great innovation/invention.
This just shows you how most media houses have lost track of the core of their existence; carrying old, stale news of an event that participants have even forgotten.
Nigerian bloggers........I bow for you guys!!!!!

sapiosexual1:
Word has it that their love story began after Saraki met Toyin in a club

See rumormonger oooo.
Club kooor...........Party ni

Beauty and Brains.
She is just a perfect woman.

Moment of Obligation - The moment that serves as the turning point; changes you from thinking only about self but also about the wellbeing of others, especially those who are less privileged than you.

Always Pro-Health!
For the love of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
If you haven't heard of Wellbeing Africa then check UK Guardian's NGO Hero award 2015 am sure it will clear every doubt in your heart. And Mrs Toyin Saraki is the Founder/President, an organization dedicated to caring.

This woman is truly a selfless health champion. She didn't wallow in her predicament but took it upon herself to ensure total eradication of similar cases happening to others. She deserves to be honoured for such lovely act. She is beyond doubts a good role model to upcoming generations.

Great.
Keep up the good work.

Abeg Abeg....
Make this Lamorde guy just shut up and go wash himself clean.
He should stop hiding behind a finger and go and account for his deeds.
If he isn't shaddy why should he be afraid and start giving excuses?
If found guilty, pls no mercy for someone like him.

babanett:
Saraki’s wife, @toyinsaraki affirms her integrity

On september 06, 2015 at 7:22 pm in
RIGHT OF REPLY

By Akeem Olagoke
After reading your story titled: ‘EFCC’s Alleged Diversion of Trillions – Lamorde and the Schism in the Senate’, written by Henry Umoru, the Senate Correspondent of your newspaper, published on Sunday, August 30, 2015, particularly the section of the report sub-titled ‘Toyin Saraki’s Saga’, I feel compelled to give you the benefit of the account of what transpired during Mrs Saraki’s visit to the office of the anti-graft agency.
efccI believe this will stop all erroneous insinuations and imputations contained in your article and others published in Nigerian newspapers in which people try to link the wife of the Senate President with the activities of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions concerning the EFCC.
As a citizen with the utmost respect for highest standards of transparency and democratic accountability, , Mrs Toyin Saraki visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on July 27 and 28, 2015, in response to an invitation. Mrs Saraki made herself immediately available to assist the commission wholeheartedly with any lawful enquiry they had.
During her visit, Mrs. Saraki was informed that this enquiry concerned “an investigation into public funds diversion and money-laundering.” It was based upon a 2012 petition submitted to the EFCC by one Sulaiman Abdul – of unknown and unverified provenance – regarding alleged “non-completed and non-performed Kwara State 2012 MDG contracts”.
Mrs Saraki assured the EFCC of her cooperation towards the prompt and positive resolution in satisfaction of this enquiry. Mrs Saraki has always maintained absolute propriety as a spouse of an elected public officer, and in her own private capacity. She has never sought to influence awards of government contracts in any capacity.
Mrs Saraki has noted, as a matter of fact, that the 2012 petition upon which she was belatedly invited to attend this enquiry, three years later, in July 2015, made no reference to herself or her Wellbeing Foundation Africa.
The petition concerned the performance of a third party independent distributor of her foundation’s copyrighted and trademarked intellectual property. She has been reliably advised that this independent distributor won its contract in an openly advertised competitive tender process in Kwara State – long after the May 2011 conclusion of her husband’s tenure as Executive Governor of Kwara State.
Mrs Saraki has since been informed that this company – a well-regarded health sector distributor – in which it should be clear she has no proprietary interest, won this tender in all due process, satisfied its obligations to a high standard, and duly received its completion certificate from the Kwara State Government.
It is pertinent to note that there has been no complaint from the Kwara State Government.
Mrs Saraki has willingly provided comprehensive documentary evidence of the lawful contractual relationship with this independent company.
For the record, the company is an appointed distributor of her Wellbeing Foundation’s registered copyrighted and trademarked tools and resources, which have been deployed throughout Nigeria’s National Health Strategy’s Midwives Service Scheme.
Since its inception, the Wellbeing Foundation has adopted a globally recognised charity sector-funding model that is widely used by others such as UNICEF and OXFAM.
Having always placed an emphasis on the importance of accountability, transparency and diligent reporting, Mrs Saraki has always operated within the law and to the highest standards of global compliance in all of her activities, and she is confident of her personal and institutional integrity.
It is thus, a sad reflection of the general mistrust of prominent figures in Nigeria, that any authentic and verified lawfully earned copyright, trademark and author royalties accruable, and declared transparently, to Mrs Saraki and The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, could ever be hastily and wrongly presumed, by any party, to be illicit in origin. Equally worrisome, is the unfortunate prevalence of maliciously concocted petitions, of fictitious origins.
Every single day, 2,300 newborns and under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age die in Nigeria. This makes Nigeria the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world
For over a decade, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa has led efforts to reduce Nigeria’s unacceptably high maternal, newborn, and child mortality indices.
Through collaboration and consultation with local, national, and international partners, WBFA has developed innovative solutions that have been adopted into the very frontline of the Nigerian health systems.
These solutions include the WBFA Integrated Maternal, Newborn, and Child Personal Health Record, WBFA Universal Health Maternity And Child Record Books and Notebooks, the WBFA Clean Birth MamaKit, the WBFA BabyKit, WBFA EMONC Skills & Drills Training, #MaternalMondays Demand Creation for Birth-Preparedness, WBFA Baby-Friendly Initiative Breastfeeding Manual, WBFA Antenatal Education Curriculum, and Inclusive Access to Health Financing Capacitation.
Having been partners to the United Nations Every Woman, Every Child initiative since 2011 at the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, WBFA has consistently worked to bring global best practice innovations back home to Nigeria. These innovations include the Alaafia Universal Health Coverage Fund, which provides health insurance for 5000 Kwaran residents annually, and the recent partnership with the Johnson and Johnson Foundation and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to provide ‘skills and drills’ emergency obstetric and newborn care training for health-workers in Kwara State.
The WBFA’s work as a non-governmental civil society organisation has been recognised by the United Nations, as demonstrated by the awarding of special consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Affairs Council, while the WBFA also led Nigeria Health CSO’s recent Position Paper On Health, presented to The Presidential Transition Committee.
Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning, Dr. Robert C. Orr, has previously commended the Wellbeing Foundation for its life-saving interventions, writing “African philanthropy for women’s and children’s health is something that could catalyse much needed resources toward the issues that you have championed for nearly a decade in Nigeria, including the Personal Health Record (PHR) of Nigeria.”
Mrs Saraki has thanked her supporters, who had accompanied her to the meeting, for their peaceful presence. Additionally she categorically denies reports that supporters forced their way into the offices of the EFCC. A group of supporters and friends attended the meeting venue as a gesture of goodwill, speaking to her character as a philanthropist and global reputation as an advocate. They made themselves available should the enquiry process have necessitated any standard sureties – which were not called upon. Their presence was in no way intended as a tactic nor should it be interpreted as such.
Mrs Toyin Saraki remains positive about working with the EFCC, which asserts itself to be “a body operating to international standards” towards the prompt resolution, and satisfaction, of this enquiry. She hopes that the spirit of this enquiry will thus follow the global standards and principles of open democracy, transparency, and impartiality that the EFCC – and other similar organisations around the world – are founded upon, and in adherence to the Rule Of Law.
Mrs Saraki’s legal team requested some weeks ago that the EFCC fully disclose to her, the identity of a fraudulent female impostor who has been using a false likeness of Mrs Toyin Saraki’s name and identity.
This impostor has been known to the investigative body for a number of years, thus she is disappointed that she was not previously informed about this despite the risk to herself and her reputation from an individual of such apparently grievous criminality.
A response has not been received from the EFCC, regarding the above requests.
We thus caution the media to refrain, cease and desist from unfounded speculation, and politically influenced conjecture in order to preserve the principles of equity, dignity, fairness, and justice, in the interest all concerned parties to the presumed lawfulness and integrity, of this EFCC enquiry.
Her Excellency Toyin Saraki looks forward to drawing a line promptly under this matter and continues to focus on her consistent leadership of global advocacy on maternal, newborn and child health.
* Olagoke is Private Secretary to Mrs. Toyin Saraki, Founder – President, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa

Good one.......She is plainly vindicated.

SamiraF:
Toyin Saraki is clearly a straightforward decent and transparent woman. Indeed, she has integrity. Very hardworking, her foundation's achievements are not something that can even be bought with money. How many politician's wives in Nigeria can account for themselves so properly or openly?

I wonder o...... How many politician's wife/wives can so openly account for themselves?
Nigerians will just judge issues unilaterally.
Sheeesh!!!

dinkyicon:
However, her appearance at the headquarters of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission in Abuja with an unruly crowd of supporters
caused commotion. The crowd forced their way into the offices of
the EFCC’s Director of Operations, accusing the agency of bias.

Hoax my brother. Read between the lines and you will see what this is all about.
If the so claimed "unruly crowd of supporters" really caused commotion to the point of forcing their way into the offices of the commission's DoO then am pretty sure they would have been arrested and charged (+ we would have seen the photos as well since we saw many published photos and none portrays violence).
It is clearly the machination of some aggrieved persons in the political field.

TijaniAbu:
Salient point you made here, has the EFCC ever released any pics of their investigators quizzing anybody before releasing these pics of Saraki's wife to press through Sahara? I don't think so. Smacks of a dirt campaign

@TijaniAbu, You are on point!!!
It clearly shows the machination of some aggrieved persons to go to that extent. However, their blind anger gave them out by their over activities.... though only reasonable and deep thinking Nigerian will see that.

These myopic minded Nigerians will never cease to amaze me. When EFCC invited saraki's wife we hailed them and ask her to defend herself which she did. Now that there are fresh facts and indications that Lamorde misappropriated recovered funds some unrealistic fellows are here saying it was because of saraki's wife. Who is Lamorde that he cannot be investigated? Let him go to senate and defend himself too and prove his innocence.

THERE have been consistent efforts by reactionary forces within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to portray Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as disobedient and treacherous party men since June 9, 2015 when the election of presiding officers of the National Assembly. But nothing can be farther from the truth.

While, I disagree with those who want us to believe that the party has no say in who becomes what at the National Assembly, I prefer the term “party influence” to “party supremacy”. Only the Constitution is supreme in a democracy. APC’s dictates cannot be superior to Section 50 of the Nigerian Constitution, which upholds the rights of even non-APC federal lawmakers to aspire to any presiding office of their choice.

Besides, ascribing supremacy to the party, especially when it is in pursuit of the personal interests of a few, sounds haughty, arrogant, and tyrannical. But, party influence means that you are able to rally your party men and women to tow party direction without necessarily feeling compelled, subjugated, and cheated. Rather they obey the party because the party’s motives and modus oparandi radiate internal democracy, equity, and justice.

If the truth most be told, the APC leadership and elders actually lost their moral authority to influence their federal lawmakers towards a desired result when they prevaricated on zoning and also failed to ensure that equity prevailed in allocation of substantive offices at the federal level among the various families (defunct political parties and splinter of parties) that make up the APC larger family. Some party leaders succeeded in goading the APC into clear preferential treatments for some contenders for the presiding officers positions of the National Assembly; and the party did it in such a way that left the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) family of the APC with absolutely nothing, hence used and dumped.

After the controversial straw polls, substantive offices in the Federal Government, by APC’s proposal, were as follows: President Mohammadu Buhari (defunct CPC), Vice President Yemi Osibanjo (defunct ACN), Senate President Ahmed Lawn (defunct ANPP), Deputy Senate President George Akume (defunct ACN), Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila (defunct ACN), Deputy Speaker (defunct ANPP). It did not matter to the APC hierarchy that the nPDP brought five incumbent governors in addition to a good number of federal lawmakers and therefore contributed in no small measure to the party’s victory at the general elections.

Such treatment must have left people like Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara feeling like half casts of the APC family. The show of disdain and discrimination was so barefaced that in the so-called straw poll for the Speakership, Dogara’s supporters were taken unawares, while Gbajabiamila and his supporters came well mobilised and prepared because they were obviously tipped off. House Members-elect were also made to write their names and the name of their preferred candidate. It was lie voting at gunpoint, against your conscience. Little wonder Dogara’s group walked out, while Senator Saraki and his supporters boycotted the straw poll for the Senate Presidency entirely.

If the party was ever supreme, it vaporised once vaulting personal ambitions and interests of a few powerful party leaders took pre-eminence over the 1999 Constitution, parliamentary convention, internal democracy, justice, and equity. So, what the APC propagandists dubbed the ‘Saraki-Dogara rebellion’ is actually ‘APC injustice against Saraki and Dogara’.

It could be also be recalled that when Hon. Dogara accepted to cede the position of the Majority Leader to the “Loyalists”, with a proviso that it would not go to the South West and by implication, Hon. Gbajabiamila, since the zone already had the Deputy Speakership, the supremacists and their godfathers emotionally blackmailed President Muhammadu Buhari into eventually breaking his principle of non interference. Compelled, Dogara conceded the position to Gbajabiamila to massage Bola Tinubu’s battered ego. So, the party would have lost its ‘supremacy’ had another “Loyalist” like Hon. Ado Dogowa become the Majority Leader or the ‘Loyalists’ from the South East got the Deputy Majority Whip in line with federal character.

For Saraki, who would not succumb to such tyranny against subsisting parliamentary convention, his wife suddenly became a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC overnight. But Mrs. Saraki had no immunity even as governor’s wife and also left office over five years ago. The Buhari we know would never go after Mrs. Saraki to get back at her husband, but I would be under the heavy influence of rum to vouch the same way for the many tin gods in the APC known to induce and manipulate state institutions to achieve selfish ends.

Pray, how on earth do you convince the world in this circumstance that Mrs. Saraki’s cross has nothing to do with her husband’s refusal to bow to ‘party supremacy’? If a witch cries at night and the child is pronounced dead in the morning, where would fingers naturally point? It looks every inch the case of Oba Ovonranwen Nogbaisi who says that when you cannot lynch the master, you go after his favourite goat. I think it is up to Mr. President as the father of the APC to utilise the opportunity of this National Assembly recess to ensure that the APC regains its peace, groove, and focus.Those singing the betrayal song to divide him and National Assembly or its leadership are just selfish. political actors who want to run a ring around him.

Likewise, the police meddling in the internal affairs of the Senate over trumped-up allegation of forgery of the Senate standing Rules 2015 bear all the imprimaturs of the tin gods of the APC. Pray, what have the police got to do with the Senate Rules for crying out loud.

It has never been the practice that Rules of a past Senate such as the 2011 Rules, which died with the 7th Senate, would apply to a new Senate such as the 8th Senate. Even the foot soldier of the APC tin gods like Senator Marafa who is promoting the lies along with his co-travelers in Senate disunity Forum, knows he was given 2011 Rules produced by the National Assembly management, not 2007 Rules, when he was first inaugurated a Senator in 2011 or the 6th Senate. So, if the 2015 Senate Rules is fake, where then is the original? It can’t be 2011 Rules, which by National Assembly, died with the 7th Senate.

Funny enough, the police took only the accounts of the arrowheads of the APC tin gods in the Senate (aka Senate Unity Forum). Same with former APC Senators. No single PDP Senator was interviewed, whether serving or former. Not even the leadership of the 7th Senate. I am also wondering what manner of investigation would dismiss the account of the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly and the longest serving legislative expert in the National Assembly to all in the bid to arrive at a prearranged conclusion. The police admitted in their report that he said “The Senate Standing Orders 2003, 2007 and 2011 followed the same procedure as that of the 2015” and that “amendment of Standing Orders is by practice and not necessarily by procedure”? in other words, if you say the 2015 Standing Rules was forged, all others before it, including that of 1999, were all forged because they were the products of the same procure.

My thinking is that it is up to Mr. President as the father of the APC to utilise the opportunity of this National Assembly recess to ensure that the APC regains its peace, groove, and focus. Those singing the betrayal song to divide him and National Assembly or its leadership are just selfish political actors who want to run a ring around him. The good thing is that the National Assembly has been cooperative, approving all his requests and appointments, including a questionable $75 World Bank Loan for a highly indebted Edo State. So, what does the President need from the National Assembly- party supremacy or cooperation? It is up to him to decide.

Suleiman Ibrahim, a political analyst, wrote from Keffi, Nassarawa State.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/saraki-and-dogara-not-guilty-as-charged/#sthash.swtDogki.dpuf

Abegi all these politicians and their personal grievances. Am sure it was because Ndume is not the one there that made him champion reduction of privileges. Else as senate leader, instead of calling and pleading with the senators to heed the motion of the senate president and reduce their allowances so that the poor people he said are unable to feed can be fed he is here talking about cutting down of principal officer's privileges. We ain't no fools and we know that most of these politicians don,t love us. If he is for real, then let him show us by stripping himself off the allowances and only be living on half his salary, then we will believe him and know that he really has the interest of the masses at heart.

They should score another goal ooooo

Toh

Modibbo is just looking for attention. He wants to use Senate President Saraki, to get popularity. Pity. Others have tried with various forms of criticism but failed and he is also on the same lane.

Funny how a such a sensitive report got missing in transition. But if it's a case of someone stealing food from the market, the report will not go missing. Those responsible should be made to account for this negligence cos am sure something is being hid from us. Imagine the police supposedly confirmed that an act was criminally executed, only to send it to ministry of justice to see if the crime was really committed. We are simply being mocked.