₦airaland Forum

Nigerian Christians at home and abroad will be shocked by the reported crass opportunism of some of their religious leaders as next week’s presidential polls draw closer, SaharaReporters has learned.

Authoritative sources disclose that during a meeting of Christian leaders held recently, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor expressed a strangely personal reason why he is not supporting the clamor of Nigerians for change in the country.

Oritsejafor told his colleagues at the event, which was convened at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that oil bloc leases are due for renewal this year, and if the Buhari-Osinbajo ticket prevails, his chances of owning one would diminish.

“The oil in my father’s backyard,” he specifically said. “I don’t own one bloc, and all these Northerners have oil blocs!”
The CAN president has been known to be an ardent supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan, and anopponent of his leading challenger, General Mohammadu Buhari. What shocked many of the Christian leaders at the meeting, howver, was his message that he was less interested in good governance or the killing of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram in the Northeastern part of Nigeria, and more so about his desire to also own an oil bloc this year.

Reported to be an even more vocal supporter of Jonathan at the meeting was Bishop David Oyedepowho reportedly said it would be an insult to have any of the Christian leaders at the meeting to vote for Buhari. At a point, a respected pastor, Bishop Mike Okonkwo of TREM, lambasted the meeting for not inviting Pastor Yemi Osinbajo to witness the meeting, being himself a Christian leader and pastor.

According to Okonkwo, the least the Christian leaders could have done was invite Osinbajo and hear from him, adding that not doing that was “an act of cowardice.”

Oyedepo, our source said, did not take kindly to that suggestion from a Bishop of equal caliber, and demanded an apology from Okonkwo. Okonkwo, equally annoyed, insisted on his position and refused to offer an apology at the tension-filled meeting.

Sources said the conveners of the meeting did not want to invite Osinbajo as the candidates on the other ticketwere also not represented. But some sources at the meeting said it was a disgrace that a fellow pastor at their level, running for Vice-President was not even allowed to sit in at the meeting which was convened under the banner of the Nigerian Apostolic Coalition,membership of which he was entitled to.

While Oyedepo maintained his advocacy for President Jonathan at the meeting, at times in vehement anger and outright disrespect for the opposing views of the other pastors, a leading Bishop from the North spoke up against the plans of Oyedepo and Oritsejafor to mobilize support for the president. Christian leaders in the North have always criticized the ...

CONTINUE HERE: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/02/with-10-days-to-election-jonathan.html

Worried by the high rate at which resource-rich African countries lose huge revenues through corruption, illegal transfers of profits and money laundering abroad, the African Union, AU, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan and other African leaders to openly
declare their assets and subject their wealth to public scrutiny.

A report on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, compiled by an AU panel led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said Africa loses an estimated $60billion (about N10.08trillion) annually through such transfers. The report was presented Sunday at a summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The report has stirred massive concerns in Nigerian, which is said to account for over $40.9billion (about N6.87trillion), or 68 per cent of the total figure.

Cumulatively, Nigeria also topped the list of ten African countries with highest incidence of illicit financial transfers between 1970 and 2008, recording about $217.7billion (about N36.57trillion), or 30.5% of the total in the continent.

The issue of accountability and probity by top government officials has always been a source of serious concern in Nigeria, particularly with President Goodluck Jonathan repeatedly refusing to publicly declare their assets.

When the issue surfaced during his third Presidential media chat in 2014, Mr. Jonathan criticised those calling for the declaration, and said leaders should be allowed to determine whether or not the decision to make their assets public agreed with their personal principles.

The president emphasised his disapproval by infamously declaring that he did not give “a damn” about publicly declaring his assets.
“The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven,” the president said.
However, concerned by the findings in the report about the role of senior government officials, politicians and state executives in facilitating corruption and laundering of scarce public funds in the continent, the African Union reminded all African presidents that they must submit their wealth to public scrutiny in line with global standards.

“Global standards in anti-corruption and anti–money laundering require financial institutions to subject accounts held by certain persons to greater scrutiny and monitoring, including senior government officials, leaders of political parties, executives at state-owned enterprises and others with access to a large amounts of state assets and the power to direct them (often called politically exposed persons, or PEPs),” the AU said in its report.

“African Governments can greatly assist financial institutions in this task by publishing lists of PEPs, as well as any asset declarations filed by PEPs and information about whether the country’s laws prohibit or restrict the ability of their PEPs to hold financial accounts abroad,” the AU added.

In addition, the AU said the continent’s governments could demand foreign financial institutions to provide details of accounts held by their listed PEPs, preferably as part of the new system of automatic exchange of financial information being created under the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD.

The AU also proposed the integration of illegal financial transfers as a specific component of its Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, adding that its member states should allow the public access to national and subnational budget information, as well as processes and procedures for budget development and auditing in an open and transparent manner.

To eliminate the opportunity for illicit financial flows from national and local government treasuries, it noted: “Non-transparent government procurement and supply chains could provide opportunities for corruption-related IFFs. African Governments, therefore, should adopt best practices in open contracting to reduce IFFs through government procurement processes.

The panel in its recommendations asked the Bank for International Settlements to publish the data in its possession on international banking assets by country of origin and destination in a matrix format, along the lines of data published by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for bilateral trade data, foreign direct investment and portfolio investment.

Again, the Panel asked that the global community in all of its institutions, including parliaments, take all necessary steps to eliminate secrecy jurisdictions, introduce transparency in financial transfers and crack down on money laundering.
The Panel also called for stronger collaboration and consistent engagement between Africa and global players like the ...

CONTINUE : http://www.beriahng.com/2015/02/au-asks-jonathan-other-african-leaders.html

An ongoing investigation by Sahara
Reporters has revealed that former
Education Minister Nyesom Wike
and Nigeria’s First Lady, Patience
Jonathan, collaborated in a number
of schemes that enabled them to loot
the resources of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC).

The commission, which was
established to spearhead economic
development in Nigeria’s oil-
producing delta, has been left
financially insolvent, unable for the
first time ever to pay salaries to its
staff or to meet its obligations to
contractors.

Patience Jonathan
Over a two-week investigation,
insiders within the commission told
SaharaReporters that Mrs. Jonathan
and Mr. Wike, current governorship
candidate of the People Democratic
Party in Rivers State, caused a large
part of the commission’s current
woes.

A source at the commission alleged
that its management gave Mrs.
Jonathan N3 billion immediately
after the National Assembly
approved the commission’s budget.

“They said the First Lady had
facilitated the passage of the
NDDC’s budget without delay by the
National Assembly. That’s why they
gave her such a huge sum. The
payment was recorded as a
consultancy undertaking,” the
source said.

In addition, money drained from the
agency is reportedly bankrolling Mr.
Wike’s governorship bid. “Barrister
Wike is using billions of naira from
the NDDC to run his campaign. It is
one of the major reasons that the
commission has not been able to
honor its obligations or pay
salaries,” another source at the
commission stated.

Numerous sources said Mr. Wike
had handpicked Itotenaan
Henry Ogiri as the
agency’s executive director (in
charge of finance and
administration). The understanding
was that Mr. Ogiri, a close
associate of the Ikwerre-born
governorship aspirant, would dip
into the funds of the commission to
help finance Mr. Wike’s campaign.

Bassey Dan Abia, a lawyer from
Akwa Ibom State, heads the
commission’s management, which
is in its second year. Several
disaffected staffers accused the
management of financing other
political projects across the Niger
Delta, contrary to its mandate.

Mr. Wike’s campaign is said to
enjoy a huge war chest from the
commission’s funds. The former
Education Minister, who is being
backed by Mrs. Jonathan, showers
tons of dollars, his preferred
currency, on his supporters and
underlings, including some ex-
militants he has retained to
intimidate supporters of his political
opponents.

For the first time since then
President Olusegun Obasanjo
rebranded the commission in 2000,
the NDDC missed the timetable to
pay workers’ salary in January. In
addition, senior staff of the
commission said they were
distressed that their housing,
furniture and other allowances have
not been paid for the first time since
the establishment of the agency.

A long time staff of the commission
said this was the first time in his
experience that the agency had
failed to pay salaries in more than a
decade. “I was employed here
immediately after I graduated from
the University and the NDDC started
the graduate-training scheme. We
have never been owed salary ever.

We used to receive our salaries no
later than the 22nd of every month.
But right now we don’t even know
when it is coming,” he said.

Another staff said the board of the
commission was filled with
politicians who are bankrolling the
political aspirations of their puppet
masters.

“We got over 400 billion naira for
our budget last year. But look at the
situation we are in now. It’s so
embarrassing,” the staff said. He
said the board members were mere
proxies who take orders on how to
run the agency from outsiders who
are only interested in what they can
get from the commission.

“They are running this place like a
fiefdom, and they receive orders
from the politicians that put them
here. They have given all the money
to their political bosses and now we
are in trouble here.”

Occupants of the commission’s top
management posts, including its
chairman (from Cross River State),
its executive director for projects
(from Delta State), and its managing
director (from Akwa Ibom) were
accused of funneling funds to
partisan political candidates. The
governors of their state of origin
nominated members of the
management board, except in the
case of Rivers State, where Mr.
Wike chose. President Jonathan and
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
of Rivers have been in a long
running political feud.

The NDDC was set up to fund
projects designed to ameliorate the
environmental degradation in the
Niger Delta caused by oil
exploration. The area produces
more than 80% of Nigeria’s wealth.
A staff source said that, while their...

CONTINUE HERE: www.beriahng.com/2015/02/wike-patience-jonathan-loot-paralyze.html?m=0

I was on my way to work on the
morning of Monday, January 26,
2015, when my friend, Sodiq Alabi,
sent me a Facebook message
asking me how to contact THISDAY
newspapers since I am more
familiar with newspaper houses as
a regular contributor to issues in
national dailies.

Sodiq included in the message a
web link to an article in THISDAY
newspaper with the title,
“Cambridge University: Hausa
Language Not Offered in 1961
Exams”. I opened the article to see
these lines:
“The controversy over the
secondary school results of the All
Progressives Congress (APC)
presidential candidate, General
Muhammadu Buhari, continues as
the University of Cambridge has
said that Hausa Language, which is
one of the subjects listed by Buhari,
was not offered in its examinations
in 1961.

“The disclosure was contained a
statement from the office of the
Director of the PDP Presidential
Campaign Organisation claiming it
came though an e-mail dated
Thursday, January 22, 2015 from the
institution’s Archives Delivery
Service Officer, Jacky Emerson, to
one SODIQ ALABI who requested for
confirmation if the examination body
offered Hausa Language in the 1961
West African Certificate Examination
it organised.

“Emerson, in his one-sentence
reply, said: “According to the
Regulations for 1961, African
Language papers, including those
for Hausa, WERE NOT included for
West African School Certificate.”

“This development may have further
cast doubts on the certificate which
is purported to be General Buhari’s.

He is yet to react to the assertion by
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Presidential Campaign Organisation
that the document (the published
certificate) was forged and illegally
procured.” (Capitalizations mine)
Sodiq was shocked such falsehood
was attributed to him by Mr. Femi
Fani Kayode and wanted to contact
the Editor of THISDAY for such
wicked misrepresentation.

Sodiq Alabi (sodiqalabi@hotmail.com) had written an email to Cambridge
Assessment, the brand name of
University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicates, on
January 22, 2015, 13.31 hours, to
confirm whether Hausa was truly
offered by it in 1961 examinations.
By 4.10pm same day, Jacky
Emerson
(archives@cambridgeassessment.
org.uk), Archive Services Delivery
officer of Cambridge Assessment,
replied thus: “Dear Sodiq Alabi,
According to the Regulations of
1961, African Language papers,
WERE SET for West Africa School
Certificate.”

A screenshot of this email exchange
was shared to us on Facebook by
Sodiq and it went viral on the
internet. The email triggered other
Nigerians to send emails to
Cambridge Assessment for
independent confirmation and the
school came out with a release on
its website the next day. In the
release titled, “Statement in
response to Nigerian Presidential
election enquiries”, the school
stated, “The organisation also
confirmed that according to the
Regulations for 1961, African
Language papers, including those
for Hausa WERE SET for the West
African School Certificate.” Here is
the link to the Cambridge
Assessment website where this
confirmation was published: http://
cambridgeassessment.org.uk/
news/statement-in-response-to-
nigerian-presidential-election-
enquiries/.

Cambridge confirmation of hausa
language

It is however surprising that Femi
Fani-Kayode went ahead to alter the
content of Sodiq’s email in his press
statement to, “According to the
Regulations for 1961, African
Language papers, including those
for Hausa, WERE NOT included for
West African School Certificate.”,
and still quoted the email as the
source.

It is very unfortunate that this is the
man speaking for the President’s
re-election campaign. How do we
believe every other “fact” he has
quoted has not been altered as
well? It is a shame.

It is also very unfortunate that our
newspapers have gone to sleep and
investigative journalism is at its
lowest ebb in Nigeria. How will
Femi Fani-Kayode not be feeding
newspaper reporters with lies when
he knows how lazy some of our
journalists have become? This is
not an advertorial that does not
require independent confirmation,
all THISDAY and Daily Post that
reported this Fani-Kayode’s glaring
lie need to do is to seek out Sodiq or
confirm from Cambridge – which
had posted a confirmation statement
on conduct of Hausa language in
1961 WASC on its website since
January 23, two days before Fani-
Kayode came up with this lie – and
ask for their side of the story. It is
particularly curious that I had, in an
earlier article sent to THISDAY
which was published in its January
25 edition, attached a screenshot of
the email from Sodiq to buttress
some other arguments, so THISDAY
editors, at least their OP-ED editor,
could not have claimed not to have
seen the original content of Sodiq’s
email before Fani-Kayode’s
alteration.

This is not the first time President
Jonathan’s men are forging or...

CONTINUE HERE. .. www.beriahng.com/2015/01/buharis-certificate-how-fani-kayode.html?m=0

In the process leading to the plot
against the Roman leader, Julius
Caesar, Cassius, the arrowhead of
the conspiracy, was struggling to
convince Brutus, Caesar’s bosom
friend, to join the plot. In one
meeting, both of them excursed into
Caesar’s stupendous rise to
fame and strength and suddenly
Cassius wondered; ‘Of what meat is
this our Caesar fed?’ He enumerated
the frailty of Caesar and his
weaknesses, just like those of any
average Roman and wondered how
the same Caesar had grown so
powerful as to bestraddle Rome like
a Colossus while he and other
Romans must stoop to pass beneath
his giant frame.

Ever since the redoubtable Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari indicated
interest in the ensuing presidential
race, the rank and file of the PDP
has been ill at ease to handle his
challenge. They have been worried,
distracted and disoriented on how to
handle the Buhari challenge
especially with the manifest failures
and disappointments Nigerians have
experienced in the hands of the
party for the past fifteen years.

They leave nobody in doubt that
Buhari is their biggest headache,
their gargantuan problem, their
unrestrained nightmare and the
tsetse fly perched so inscrutably on
their scrotum. They say it, even
when they struggle to pretend
otherwise. They sing it, they breathe
it, they drink it and they ooze it from
all pores.


With his emergence in a very
spectacular APC presidential
primary in Lagos, there is no doubt
that the fear of Buhari has become
the beginning of wisdom for all
members, supporters and enablers
of the PDP.


From the president to the space
filler at PDP’s waning rallies, the
issue, the subject, the term remains
Buhari. We are not getting to hear of
the grand vision the PDP wants to
employ to navigate the country from
the doldrums where it had crashed
it. We are not hearing of what the
PDP did with the hundreds of
trillions of Naira harvested in
sixteen years of unflagging oil
boom. We are not hearing of what it
will do differently to stop the
carnage of unending human
wastage, the ravaging pangs of
poverty, the wildfire of corruption,
the inferno of mass unemployment,
unrestrained inflation,
infrastructural decay, insecurity,
which have been the negative
democracy dividends the PDP has
left Nigeria with in sixteen years of
disastrous leadership.

The PDP is not making any efforts to.......

CONTINUE HERE. .. ..www.beriahng.com/2015/01/of-what-meat-is-this-our-buhari-fed-by.html?m=0

In the process leading to the plot
against the Roman leader, Julius
Caesar, Cassius, the arrowhead of
the conspiracy, was struggling to
convince Brutus, Caesar’s bosom
friend, to join the plot. In one
meeting, both of them excursed into
Caesar’s stupendous rise to
fame and strength and suddenly
Cassius wondered; ‘Of what meat is
this our Caesar fed?’ He enumerated
the frailty of Caesar and his
weaknesses, just like those of any
average Roman and wondered how
the same Caesar had grown so
powerful as to bestraddle Rome like
a Colossus while he and other
Romans must stoop to pass beneath
his giant frame.

Ever since the redoubtable Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari indicated
interest in the ensuing presidential
race, the rank and file of the PDP
has been ill at ease to handle his
challenge. They have been worried,
distracted and disoriented on how to
handle the Buhari challenge
especially with the manifest failures
and disappointments Nigerians have
experienced in the hands of the
party for the past fifteen years.

They leave nobody in doubt that
Buhari is their biggest headache,
their gargantuan problem, their
unrestrained nightmare and the
tsetse fly perched so inscrutably on
their scrotum. They say it, even
when they struggle to pretend
otherwise. They sing it, they breathe
it, they drink it and they ooze it from
all pores.


With his emergence in a very
spectacular APC presidential
primary in Lagos, there is no doubt
that the fear of Buhari has become
the beginning of wisdom for all
members, supporters and enablers
of the PDP.


From the president to the space
filler at PDP’s waning rallies, the
issue, the subject, the term remains
Buhari. We are not getting to hear of
the grand vision the PDP wants to
employ to navigate the country from
the doldrums where it had crashed
it. We are not hearing of what the
PDP did with the hundreds of
trillions of Naira harvested in
sixteen years of unflagging oil
boom. We are not hearing of what it
will do differently to stop the
carnage of unending human
wastage, the ravaging pangs of
poverty, the wildfire of corruption,
the inferno of mass unemployment,
unrestrained inflation,
infrastructural decay, insecurity,
which have been the negative
democracy dividends the PDP has
left Nigeria with in sixteen years of
disastrous leadership.

The PDP is not making any efforts to.......

CONTINUE HERE. .. www.beriahng.com/2015/01/of-what-meat-is-this-our-buhari-fed-by.html?m=0

By Dapo Akinrefon

WHY did you set up the Lagos
Independent Presidential Campaign
Group for President Jonathan?

I set up the Lagos Independent
Presidential Campaign Group for
President Jonathan to deepen the
President’s presence in Lagos State
and take his message directly to the
people. There is a lot of
misinformation going on and a
critical way to counter that is
through grassroots mobilization.

Do you see President Jonathan
winning the election?

I have no doubt in my mind that the
president will win. It is going to be a
close election, but I have no doubt in
my mind that at the end, the
President will carry the day.

Dislocation of insurgency

However, from the distribution and
collection of PVCs, it is clear that
the APC wants to rig in the North.
How do you explain states like
Borno and Yobe with the dislocation
of insurgency recording 80 percent
collection? APC is setting the stage
to write election results. I am more
convinced about this, because their
candidate is not a known democrat,
so he doesn’t mind doing or
condoning whatever it takes to win.
He has no history of promoting the
rule of law.

Do you foresee any outbreak of
violence after the presidential
elections?

I hope not and that is why I am
happy about the peace accord
signed by Buhari. Let’s not forget
that it is his silence that escalated
the violence we are witnessing
today. After his loss in 2011, his
followers went on rampage and he
kept quiet. This degenerated into the
activities of Boko Haram. Prior to
that, the activities of Boko Haram
were not as deadly as they became
after the 2011 elections.

What are Jimi Agbaje’s chances in
the gubernatorial elections in Lagos
State?

I am confident with the feedback I
am getting with an average person
on the street of Lagos that they are
clamoring for a change that will end
one man’s control over our
resources in Lagos. They are
clamoring for a government that will
invest in education as a way to end
the slavery in our state. Just
recently, Lagos State Government
placed a N10, 000 fee on children
sitting for JSS 3 exam. This is
wicked and grossly insensitive on
the part of a government that
promised to give hope to the
hopeless. And when education is no
longer affordable, how can the
people have hope?
So I am confident that the mood of
Lagos State at this time favours the
victory and emergence of Jimi
Agbaje as the next Governor of
Lagos State and we are putting in
everything legitimately possible to
make this dream a reality.

Do you think there is a level playing
ground for the campaigns in Lagos?

Not at all! The APC government in
Lagos is not concerned about
democracy. They are trying to kill
the opposition in Lagos while we
have created space for the
opposition at the center. In Lagos,
they are hiding under LASAA to
deprive us, the opposition a voice.
In today’s Lagos, an average person
cannot contemplate running for
office because of the huge cost of
running a campaign.
Posters and billboards
This is what they are doing
consistently to ensure only their
posters and billboards are out there.
This is a recipe for unnecessary
crisis. Because when you remove
other candidates signposts,
billboards and posters, they on their
own too can retaliate and this can
lead to violence. I believe people
deserve to know what the opposition
is saying and put it side by side with
what the APC is saying. On another
level, the APC campaign has been
largely crisis ridden. Just today, 3
people were killed in Shomolu
during one of their campaigns.
They have also officially christened
their thugs, Team Lagos and they
have bought lots of deadly weapons
that they want to use on Lagosians. I
think it is time for the police to
begin to beam their searchlight on
these people.

Propagandas are being employed by
politicians to promote their
acceptance. Do you see that as
healthy?

A lot of mudslinging and
misrepresentation have been...........

.CONTINUE HERE... www.beriahng.com/2015/01/lagos-poll-im-confident-that-agbajell.html?m=0

This is a season of hire-wired deceits, misinformation, campaign of calumny and spewing of outright falsehood and lies – all to hoodwink and deceive ordinary and gullible Nigerians for their votes.

I am not worried about these antics of the politicians. It is their way. For them, their business is politics and their politics is business. No scruple. My real worry is that many Nigerians who are the elites can see through some of these outright falsehoods but have decided to sit on fence and keep an embarrassing silence. They forget that millions of ordinary Nigerians who are confused and hoodwinked by these falsehoods and who do not have access to facts depend on their voices and guidance to make their choices. This is, therefore, a message directed at those silent Nigerian elites who should speak up at this time. For me, I have decided that enough is enough. This is the time to speak up. Unfortunately, many of our elites do not want to speak up now because they do not want to be caught on the wrong side of any government in the next four years; they prefer to play safe, not wanting to be tarred with the brush of partisanship. But, I ask: what is wrong with partisanship in a country where you and your children have a huge stake? What is wrong in speaking up and standing up for what your conscience tells you is the right thing to do? What is wrong in being caught on the wrong side of the government in the next four years, if only you would be caught on the right side of posterity? Except for a few class of persons like INEC officials, security agencies and those on the Bench, every other Nigerian has a duty – yes, a duty – to speak up now for our country, and to come down from that fence on which they are sitting regarding the 2015 general elections.

Those elites who do not speak up now for fear of being branded partisan and losing face upon defeat are enemies of the people who are looking up to them for guidance. My message to those silent elites today is that whilst they are sitting on the fence, people are being killed like flies in some parts of the country on a daily basis; whilst we are on that fence, our foreign reserves are going down, corruption is growing like cancer, poverty is growing even in the face of dubious economic theories and figures, and we continue to live without adequate power supply. Yet, those who should speak truth to power are sitting on the fence in anticipation of personal gains. I am sorry, but today I have come down from that fence because my buttocks are already hurting from sitting on it. Do not forget that I am from the Niger-Delta region and all my close friends and associates are the main supporters and aides of Mr. President. Two or three Governors who are either my former classmates or colleagues are the main backers of Mr. President. It is so easy, so convenient and so seemingly logical for me to get into that political mix and forget about the good of my country for personal gains. The disgusting message we hear all over the streets of that region every day at this time – promoted by the hirelings of the President – is that Goodluck Jonathan is “our son”, so we have no choice but to support him. In fact, I see some of my “brothers” from the Niger Delta region these days strutting all over the place, denigrating people from other regions. It is typical of what the Yorubas call “omo oju ori ola ri” (a person whose eyes have not seen wealth before). But the question I ask those who tell me such nonsense and behave in such a manner is that, after the next four years, what is next for us? Is our entire future and that of our children dependent on a South-South President for the next four years? Kindly note that in getting down from the fence and speaking up at this critical time, I do not mind if you speak up for Goodluck Jonathan. Yes, you have a right to do so as a Nigerian. But, as an elite, your stand must be known so that when the massacres continue because of cluelessness, when the unrestrained stealing of our public resources continue, when darkness continues to befall the nation because of lack of power, it is important we all remember those who betrayed their conscience and the people because of ethnicity and self-aggrandisement and for posterity to record it as such.

We have a President who has no single appetite to fight corruption – yes, none. Imagine a campaign that is dominated by the theme of corruption, yet the President has decided to appoint a person facing trial for money-laundering as his Director of Media and Publicity. If nobody would say it, I will say it because I am the one prosecuting the fellow in court and the case has been adjourned to February 23 and 24 for trial. Part of the lies told is that the fellow has been freed whereas some of the counts in the Charge were just struck out and the court held that he has a case to answer on some other counts. Yet nobody is asking the President these hard questions. The President only mouths anti-corruption. The other day (December 23rd, 2014, I think) the President said he would like to erect a Hall of Shame for Nigerians who engage in corrupt and unwholesome activities that bring the country to disrepute. But he was the same person who brought a convicted criminal, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, out of the Hall of Shame to the Hall of Fame by misusing his power of Prerogative of Mercy when he granted pardon to this self-confessed ex-convict. Imagine the pain, the efforts and resources that go into securing a single conviction for corruption in this our clime. Yet, the President decided to spoil the party for anti-corruption campaigners. On top of that, he displayed corruption within corruption by selective pardon when the likes of Tarfa Balogun, Lucky Igbinedion and others who were convicted about the same period did not enjoy his Presidential pardon. Yet nobody is asking these hard questions on the campaign trail. The funny thing is that, nearly six years into his tenure as President, Goodluck Jonathan said the other day that he is just coming up with a plan to tackle corruption!! Haba, Jona ! To add insult to injury, President Goodluck Jonathan decided to tackle the corruption of stealing of our resources in the high seas by empowering small-time crooks and criminals to police our waterways. This is because he has no idea as to how to revamp, re-organise and re-invigorate the Nigeria Navy to perform its constitutional duty. These days, it is an eyesore to see our military chiefs and officers kowtow to these empowered small-time crooks and criminals for appointment and promotions and other privileges. The disaster about this initiative of empowerment of crooks and criminals is that crude oil theft has never been so high, so rampant in the annals of this country than it is now. Why? Because the President has put a rat as a watchman over a morsel of fish. It is sad to say, but the President, by his actions, has shown no spine, no appetite, no nerve to fight corruption. He just continues to sink into an abyss of moral debauchery. The other tragedy of this President is that, even as he is on the campaign trail, in the last one month, the omnipresent insurgents have attacked towns like Baga, Damaturu, Biu, Askira-Uba, Konduga, Marte and Gombe.

Even as we speak, the Boko Haram insurgents are in total control of the whole of Borno State except Maiduguri, Monguno, Dikwa, Konduga and Biu. The insurgents are in total control of towns like Baga, Bama, Gwoza and Banki. Before Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Boko Haram was nothing but a rag-tag group of extremists living in enclaves like Sambisa, while our proud military boys patrolled the towns. Now, under Jonathan, the reverse is the case. Our military boys are now in enclaves while Boko Haram patrol our towns. Is it not shocking that insurgents have a free reign to enter cities, abduct young girls like in Chibok, burn houses like in Baga, slaughter people for hours like in Konduga, Gwoza etc, yet our military men are nowhere to be found and they do not even give hot pursuit to the retreating insurgents? What is really going on? One obvious flaw is that our President has lost control of the military and the top hierarchy of the military is merely feeding fat on this unfortunate situation and the President seems to be totally helpless in the face of this. The only response the President and his handlers can proffer is to hide this glaring and crass incompetence under political gymnastics; they blame the opposition on the one hand and in the same breath, they say it is a world-wide trend and Nigeria is just having its fair share of a global malaise.

Is this true? As President, you are the Commander-In-Chief. If you have evidence against the opposition, just come out with it and arrest the ring-leaders. Do not cry like a baby as Commander-in-Chief. Deal with the situation. That is why you occupy that seat. Till date, no single evidence has been produced against any of the opposition leaders linking them with the insurgency. Rather, what we see is a President who is supposedly bent on fighting insurgency but who is wining and dining with someone who has been directly linked with sponsoring the insurgents and even traveling with such a person to Chad at a time when the State Security Services officially invited that person to answer questions relating to the insurgency. Another calamity and embarrassment is that our President, his Service Chiefs and security advisers were all led into wasting public funds by entering into a phantom cease-fire deal with fake Boko Haram leaders that left them with bloodied noses. Not to also mention the short-lived public celebration of the supposed killing of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, by the President and his security team, only for the outlaw to appear in subsequent videos posted online, taunting the Nigerian government. Any four more years of a Jonathan Presidency can only lead to more carnage by the insurgents. He just does not have the requisite capacity to tackle this problem of insecurity. The truth must be told.


Yet you hear the President say that the nation will appreciate him better after he has left office. I am sorry, but we have seen enough bloodshed and incompetence in the last six years to know there is nothing more to expect the next four years and we have seen enough to do an assessment right now and not in the future. In all his campaign tours, the President is already sounding like a broken record. He says he has made the rails to function again. He mentioned this so much that you imagine that he was primarily elected to revive a few train lines.

It sounds very funny when you hear such things, whereas the primary duty of government is the protection of lives and properties. If that primary duty fails, then the government has failed. It is like an undergraduate hoping to be promoted to the next level by barely scraping through the ‘electives’ and failing the core courses. It will never happen. So, is the President providing train coaches to be transporting the dead bodies from the North to the South? Are the trains to be occupied by living human beings or dead human beings? Make no mistake about it, like the President always says, it is true that we have a rise of terrorism around the world. But, we have all seen how governments around the world respond quickly and decisively to any attempt for terror to rear its ugly head within their society and how they quickly crush it. We saw it happen in the United States after 9/11; we saw it happen in Britain after the July 7, 2005 bus bombing; in the last few days, we have seen it happen in France and in Belgium.

In all these cases, all attempts were nipped in the bud. Even, here in Nigeria, previous governments have nipped insurgency in the bud. The ONLY government that has allowed it to fester, germinate and grow into a full-blown war leading to a successful secession of some parts of the country is that of President Goodluck Jonathan. It is so bad that hardly a day passes by without reports of one insurgent activity or the other leading to loss of lives and limbs. The President is also quick to mention that his administration has made the Nigerian economy the number one in Africa. He forgot to mention two things, though; one, that some of the major sectors of the Nigerian economy, that is, the telecom sector, financial services and the Nollywood industry that were taken into account to re-base the economy were sectors not created or grown by his government. Secondly, he forgot to mention that the so-called re-basing has no impact at all on the ordinary Nigerian as the 2014 World Bank Survey still shows that Nigeria is ranked third among world top five poorest countries with sixty-one percent (61%) of its citizens living below $1.25 dollar per day. No government can boast of any economic growth or theory that does not have a direct impact on the lives of its ordinary citizens. It is like a father coming home to announce and jubilate about a pay rise and promotion at workplace, yet the wife and children cannot eat or live better many months later. The Nigerian people have tolerated too much and taken too much battering from the PDP-led Federal Government since 1999. Under the Jonathan Government, the situation in the country has sunk to an all-time low, except for the few benefitting directly from the government. They are blind to criticism and blind to healthy opposition. They hurl abuses at anyone who dares to point out these acts of maladministration. In saner societies, the President will not be allowed to campaign in many parts of the country.

The people will rise against him and chase his convoy away. The clear alternative to this monumental mess is the person of General Muhammadu Buhari. Let us be clear that Buhari does not present the total package Nigerians want at this time. He is human, he is not perfect. But at this point in our history, at this time, at this moment, he presents the only viable option and avenue for the people to vent their frustrations and anger against an inept and clueless Federal Government. He represents the rallying point for the frustrated and teeming masses of our people. He reminds me of MKO Abiola (with some of his imperfections) who became the rallying point in the struggle against military rule.

That is the change we are talking about. It is not a change from imperfection to perfection. It is a change from hopelessness and cluelessness to some hope and to some expectations. All the personal attacks on the person of Buhari in the last few weeks have only convinced me that he is the best available option at this time. Anyone on the weaker side in any argument always resorts to personal abuses and attacks. Have you noticed that on corruption, the only accusation against Buhari is that, he was too high-handed in fighting corruption in the past? In other words, nobody can/has accused him of lacking the courage, zeal and will to fight corruption. On the other hand, the President eats, sleeps and wakes up with corruption. In one of his famous interviews, he did not even see stealing as corruption. That is why he does not see the point why he should not appoint a person standing trial for corruption as his Director of Media and Publicity. He just does not care. So, Nigerians, we must decide what we want. When Buhari fought corruption and was supposedly high-handed, he was ruling with Decrees.

Now, he has the Constitution, the National Assembly, and the Judiciary without ouster clauses to guide him. It is therefore only...

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It is shocking that rather than explain itself over the multiple crises it has engendered or has failed to respond to, or offer panaceas to these challenging troubles, desperate Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates and spokesmen have stuck to the tactics of demonising the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, using all sorts of red herrings, abuses, foul temper to whip up hatred against the person of the APC candidate. We hereby alert the general public that that desperation will intensify as the PDP senses the increasing possibility of losing the elections by a wide margin and once again, urge the PDP to Honour the violence-free pact it recently signed by halting the violence in its statements.

One of the red herrings being projected by the PDP and its many hatchet writers in the media is the allegation of corruption and favouritism in the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) run by Gen Buhari under the Sani Abacha regime and a little after. The critics suggest the existence of dossiers and investigative reports supposedly indicting the APC candidate of unwholesome activities when he presided over the affairs of the agency. But a few days ago, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was supposed to have commissioned the investigation, disclosed that he was in possession of the report and nothing untoward was established against the APC candidate.

To the astonishment of all right thinking persons, the PDP has chosen not to believe in the authority of President Obasanjo who ordered the investigation and has final say on it but prefers to allege that the man who has the fact is dead! Can there be a worse tragicomedy than this? Who really is fooling who?

Similarly, PDP’s agents, and sometimes unfortunately too, President Goodluck Jonathan himself, continue to falsely accuse Gen Buhari of either inspiring the violent Boko Haram sect or conniving at their nefarious activities. Not only are the accusations not proven; not only is the fact that Muhammadu BUHARI’S convoy was attacked by the same sect deliberately ignored the PDP continues to emphasise them, as part of a plot to label the APC candidate as a violent man who has no streak of democracy in him.

It is true Gen Buhari ruled as a military head of state. But it must also be acknowledged that General Obasanjo also once ruled as a military head of state. Yet, that did not prevent the PDP from nominating and presenting him as its presidential candidate in 1999 and 2003 general elections.

Gen Buhari was himself a victim of Boko Haram attack, and has also lost some relatives to the sect’s violent activities. He has denounced the sect, and has signified his preparedness to take on the militants on a much firmer and intelligent basis than President Jonathan has done in four years. In addition, though his views accorded with military dictates when he was head of state, he has submitted himself without reservation to democratic dictates in the past decade as he ran and still runs for elected office. It does not bear repetition to say that no elected president could rule like a military leader, when the constitution is very clear on how democracy must be run and with what institutions that must be done. No elected president can suspend any of the institutions of democracy. we hereby assert with all authority and knowledge that we can muster, that a disciplined leader like Gen Buhari would never engage in the disingenuous and reckless abuse of state security institutions such as invasion of database offices of rival parties as President Jonathan has done.

It is clear that President Jonathan’s aides, ministers and hatchet writers base nearly all their accusations against Gen Buhari on his period as military head of state. They have nothing on him since then, except fishing for other commentators’ views on the retired general, views that were either politically inspired or else taken out of context. The PDP refuses to acknowledge that the times have changed, and that the dynamics of Nigerian politics and the grave challenges of the moment have made the APC candidate’s style, views and discipline precisely the pressing need of the moment.

One or two PDP ministers even suggested that because Gen Buhari cancelled the Lagos Metroline project in 1984, it proved he did not like the Yoruba. This is another desperate ploy to put a wedge between the Yoruba and the APC candidate, an ethnic ploy that has become the stock-in-trade of the PDP and President Jonathan.

The President must be sorely embarrassed to learn the true story as relayed by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo a few days ago. The fact, according to the revered monarch, is that Buhari did not terminate the Metroline contract but demanded a comprehensive study of the contract and project to ensure that the Interest of the country was protected.

Today’s political and socio-economic needs are not the same as those of 30 years ago, which the PDP ministers and hatchet writers are mischievously emphasising. The nation was already suffering acute balance of trade crisis and the Shagari administration had introduced austerity measures. A new goverment determined to revive the economy needed to address the quality of government contracts.

The PDP spokesmen have also refused to focus on President Jonathan’s own appalling record on integrating the Yoruba into his government, an integration that he only half-heartedly and desultorily began when elections were around the corner.

It is surprising that the same critics and hatchet writers who claimed Gen Buhari targeted Yoruba politicians for extended incarceration after the coup of 1983 ignore the incarceration of Hausa/Fulani politicians. They also contradictorily accused him of attempting to crate a leading Hausa/Fulani and former National Party of Nigeria (NPN) politician from London to face charges in Nigeria, a fact derisively referred to by President Jonathan, when all along they had argued that he left politicians like him alone.

The fact is that President Jonathan’s mismanagement of inter-ethnic relations, a critical issue in a federal system like ours is the source of the tension that pervades the nation. We wish to draw the attention of Nigerians to the list of President Jonathan’s 109-member Presidential Campaign Council published yesterday and ask if any Yoruba person of substance is on the list. It says a lot about the anti-Yoruba sentiments of President Jonathan.

The fact is that the PDP has consistently avoided the main issues of this campaign. Apparently, it has no answers to them. The party prefers to....

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Spokesman of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Segun Olulade, made an appeal on Thursday to President Goodluck Jonathan to caution his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe; his Campaign Organisation Spokesperson, Femi Fani-kayode, and Mujahid Asari-Dokubo over their continued utterances considered inflammatory.

lawmaker Olulade said this in reaction to the peace accord brokered by distinguished senior citizen of Nigeria and former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and the former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, among other dignitaries.

The lawmaker said:

“Mr. President should let the example start with him so as to make it easier for every other concerned persons or group to follow suite. If peace is to reign, President Jonathan should be seen as genuinely committed to peace and politicking devoid of hate speeches and actions at all levels.“If President Jonathan can show best example as peace ambassador, it will be difficult for any Nigerian citizen to go against his...

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THE over 40% plunge in global oil price is an ominous sign that the economics of oil has changed. It has caused the devaluation of the naira and necessitated fundamental changes to the 2015 budget estimates. This trend might linger as low demand for oil persists due to insipid global economic activity and a growing switch away from oil to other fuels. Second, production in Iraq and Libya is climbing back to pre-crisis levels. Thirdly, America has become the world’s largest oil producer. Though it does not export crude oil yet, it now imports much less, creating a lot of spare supply. Finally, the Saudis have decided not to sacrifice their own market share to restore the price. They could curb production sharply, but the benefits would go to countries they detest such as Iran and Russia.

Because of this, Nigerians are understandably agitated. They want to know what steps are being taken by their government to put the economy on a sustainable footing. They want to know the level of importance being given to the diversification policy of the government and also what provisions are being made to protect the poor and vulnerable within this period of adjustment. This development has also become a big political issue between PDP and APC with so many lies and misinformation being peddled to scare people and smear the government. But this is predictable since the elections are only a few months away.

Contrary to the constant refrain in the media that this government is clueless, indisputable statistics are loudly proving otherwise. Despite the fall in naira’s value, there has only been a marginal increase in the price of food. In fact, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that, incredibly, prices of popular food items sourced from Bodija Market; Dawanu Market, Kano; Mile Two Market, Lagos and other major markets around the country were generally stable and even falling during the Christmas period. That is conclusive proof that increased food production and better economic management are having a positive effect.

The Federal Government had the foresight to pursue an aggressive diversification drive that is now yielding massive results. Our economy today is a lot less reliant on oil revenues than ever before. In the last few years, the non-oil sector has been growing at an average rate of 8 per cent. Food imports have declined considerably from N1.1 trillion in 2009 to N684 billion in 2013. Inflation has also eased to 7.9% as at November 2014 as a result of slower rise in food prices. This means the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) is fully working and delivering real practical results.

As a keen observer of events, I have not forgotten that we faced this sort of situation in the 1980s when oil prices fell to as low as $8 and again in 1998 when it fell below $10. During those times, the government owed salaries for months and things turned embarrassingly bad. However, this time, the government was not taken by surprise. The Federal Government currently has about $4 billion in the Excess Crude Account as a buffer to help manage the situation.

Despite the N142 billion shortfall in the 2015 budget as a result of the oil price plunge, smart initiatives are being implemented to manage the situation. It is pleasing to know that an aggressive drive is already underway to further increase the Federal Government IGR which peaked at N328 billion as of October 2014 by closing more leakages. The projection for 2015 is N450bn!

By strengthening tax administration, reviewing tax waivers /exemptions and imposing surcharges on luxury goods, the Federal Government hopes to increase revenues by over N200 billion in 2015!
In addition to this, the government has also announced clinical budget cuts to non-essential/developmental expenditures and rationalization of agencies to save N82.5 billion. The deployment of more IT systems has helped weed out 60,450 ghost workers saving N185.4bn for the government.

I am a firm believer in the possibility of Nigeria building an economy that places the non-oil sectors with the private sector in the driving seat. It is, therefore, exciting to know that beyond the budget and spending cuts, the government has plans to pursue policies that will motivate the private sector to invest and spark serious growth in some key sectors of the economy.

The launch of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company in January is a poignant testimonial to the above. Contrary to the delusion of his critics, the Jonathan administration opened a new chapter in the annals of the country’s mortgage sector by this singular action which seeks to facilitate access to affordable mortgages for Nigerian workers that are repayable over 15 to 20 years. This development has been hailed by business and development professionals as having the potential to change the face of mortgage financing in Nigeria and also reinvigorating the housing and construction sector. It is relieving to know that a total of 10,000 applicants are already being processed.

What is happening in the Agricultural sector is nothing short of a full-blown revolution. In addition to a N50 billion Farm Mechanization Support Fund set up by the Central Bank to establish 1,200 agricultural equipment hiring enterprises, a $100 million Government and Donor Fund for Agricultural Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN) has been launched to provide long-term financing for agribusinesses. We have also witnessed the launch of the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), as well as the Nigerian Schools Agricultural Programme (NSAP). These are new, creative schemes meant to inspire our youths to engage in large-scale agriculture as entrepreneurs. Government plans to develop over 750,000 young Nagropreneurs by the end of 2015.

In spite of the deliberate falsehood being spread, the Job creation initiatives of the government like YouWin are actually working and delivering good results. Over 2,400 young entrepreneurs and 22,000 jobs have so far been nurtured and created. The G-WIN programme targeted at women and girls has also yielded positive results with up to 2,285 young women trained in ICT and 2,362 patients treated for VVF. These initiatives will be invigorated in 2015 and beyond.

In addition, the Jonathan administration has made the most efforts at putting together an effective framework and resources for tackling poverty which has resulted in the setting up of a Social Safety Net with the World Bank supporting with US$500 million. This programme is set to cover about 13 million people within a 10-year period. Nigerians should celebrate that for the first time, Nigeria has put together a robust national system for effectively targeting the poorest for social assistance. Implementation of this project and other similar strategic presidential initiatives like the Safe School Initiative and the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) in the North East states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa will help to mitigate the suffering of the people and rehabilitate the infrastructure. Also, the Presidential Victims Support Fund will

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“When you were going to become the manager of PTF. We talked about it and when you finished and I took over, we looked into it. “I haven’t said this publicly, I would say it publicly now. When we looked into it, there was really nothing amiss except that that organisation went from road building to mosquito net-buying and all sorts of things. “And what the investigation discovered is a bit of inconsistency in prices and all that. In one area, mosquito net might have been given for N50; in another, N45. And I then remarked that this is fishy. We should look into it”.

“And I called my brother and colleague (Buhari), I said see this and he said ‘look we are managing billions of naira and I tried to make sure I see everything. But I will not say that what they have said about this is correct or not correct. But I can assure you, I tried to see everything.’ I said okay Muhammadu, between me, you and God, was there any personal benefit for you? And you said ‘no.’ I said that is the end of the matter”.

The above excerpts were the remarks former President Olusegun Obasanjo made on the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) controversy when the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Mohammadu Buhari, visited him at Abeokuta some days ago. I have recalled them to establish a number of points.

First is factuality – to report exactly what Obasanjo said especially against the background that the header (by the Punch newspaper – where I read the report) ‘I Found Nothing After Probing Buhari’s PTF” is misleading. He indeed found something ‘fishy’.

This is the second significant misleading header I will find in the reportage of the APC presidential candidate within one week. The other was that ‘the Army confirmed the claim that the original copies of Buhari’s certificates were in its custody’.

Contrary to this skew and slant – what the Army said was a mere reiteration and assumption of public service standard rule namely that copies of employees certificates are kept and filed away in the employee’s file.

The Army spokesman never said we checked and found Buhari’s certificates in his file and they couldn’t have found the missing documents otherwise this controversy would have been laid to rest with a simple categorical statement; and Buhari himself or the APC could have sent a clerical staff to retrieve the certified true copy from the Army records’ office.

Now back to Obasanjo and the PTF. The paramount observation that emerges from the former president’s clarification was his extreme indulgence of Buhari, bending overly backwards to express a personal obligation to exonerate a man whose conduct he found ‘fishy’. The suspect even admitted ‘I will not say that what they have said (the PTF report) is correct or not correct’.

How do you establish a suspect’s innocence from “I called my brother and colleague (Buhari), I said see this and he said ‘look we are managing billions of naira and I tried to make sure I see everything. But I will not say that what they have said about this is correct or not correct. But I can assure you, I tried to see everything’. I said okay Muhammadu, between me, you and God, was there any personal benefit for you? And you said no’. I said that is the end of the matter!”

Culpability or lack of it in public service is not established on the basis of whether the president believes you or not and as a matter of fact it is in serious breach of public service standards to establish innocence or culpability on the basis of private exchange of confidences.

And this is precisely the kind of individualised and double standards (where Buhari is concerned) that attracted this observation in this column a week ago “The tragedy here is the seeming predisposition of substantial segment of the Nigerian society to acquiesce and condone (and sometimes celebrate!) this (Buhari) woolly headed and condescending impunity; one law for Buhari and another for the rest of us”.

The affairs of the Nigerian state cannot be reduced to a matter of personal benevolence between a mentor and his protégé. If a president finds something fishy in the conduct of any agency of government what you do is establish a dispassionate (judicial) commission of inquiry to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the alleged questionable conduct.

And to think that the personality who was being so indulged was a leader who never showed an iota of goodwill to people whom his own military tribunals had exonerated of all charges. I refer to the conduct of Buhari as military head of state and crave the indulgence of Professor Wole Soyinka to press him to service once again:

“Recall, if you please, the judicial processes undergone by the septuagenarian Chief Adekunle Ajasin. He was arraigned and tried before Buhari’s punitive tribunal but acquitted. Dissatisfied, Buhari ordered his re-trial. Again, the tribunal could not find this man guilty of a single crime, so once again he was returned for trial, only to be acquitted of all charges of corruption or abuse of office. Was Chief Ajasin thereby released? No! He was ordered detained indefinitely, simply for the crime of winning an election and refusing to knuckle under Shagari’s reign of terror.”

Obasanjo’s technical cover up re-echoes a similar predisposition by Buhari’s successor who interdicted and censured the investigative report into the countertrade policy because it indicted his immediate predecessor in office. Is this what the fabled espirit de corp is all about?

All this, of course, now pales into insignificance relative to the personal integrity scandal over the shady and catch me if you can stonewall of the APC presidential candidate in regard of his inability to produce his credentials or its authentication.

Here, Nigeria, especially the younger generation who do not have a personal adult recollection of Buhari’s erstwhile stint in office, is lucky that they now have an evidence – not blinkered by the passage of time, the sympathetic mediation of institutional colleagues and friends and the filter of the colluding propaganda of media savvy party platforms and associates. They are being conspicuously presented an opportunity to have a rounded real life education on the kind of personality the APC presidential candidate truly is; and how his hypocrisy dovetails into that of his political party.

Following the evasive tactic of his party’s presidential candidate, this was the response of the party’s publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, to the scandal: “What is more and frankly speaking it does not appear the PDP is getting the best of advice from its members. They ought to realise that challenging Buhari’s education is a self-indictment on the party itself. The man contested election in 2003, 2007 and 2011 and under the same PDP-controlled INEC and he has repeatedly told them the same thing – go to the Army.”

Is this the best response option (for any honest Nigerian) when your integrity is called to question? In my evaluation, Buhari has not responded the way a man of integrity should respond when his integrity is called to question. A man of integrity should not seek shield and protection in dubious legalism in preference to the observance of full disclosure.

This is certainly a most bizarre manner of responding to the resolution of an issue that requires of Buhari and his party nothing more demanding than a simple request to the Army for the (speculation ending) release of the mysterious credentials. The only logical deduction from this stonewalling is that the certificates, especially the secondary school leaving certificate, do not exist.

How do we reconcile this moral regression with the image of the purported puritanical crusader who had people shot for drug peddling under a retroactive decree? Who harassed, detained and humiliated moral icons like the late Dr. Tai Solarin, an asthmatic, whom he denied access to his medications; who ransacked and surrounded Awolowo’s residence with Army troops for the duration of his incumbency as military head of state; from whose gulags notable politicians like Ambrose Alli and Bisi Onabanjo emerged to die a premature death; where Ayo Ojewumi went blind and followed suit.

The truth is that anyone who bothers to critically study the Buhari personae would always found his trumpet integrity suspect and the current certificate saga is only the latest in the long list of internal contradictions that demystifies him of any shred of lingering integrity myth.
Aribisala wrote of him in his vanguard newspaper column “A man should know at what age he went to school, but Buhari does not seem to know. If Buhari started school at 11 and he joined the army at the age of 19 in January 1962; that means it took him only eight years to finish primary and secondary school. That is not feasible. It would appear that, instead of completing school, Buhari opted to join the army.”

President Barack Obama entered all the requisite information on his eligibility to contest for the office of the American president including the fact that he was born in America. At no time did he swear to an affidavit that the original copy of his birth certificate was in the custody of any America public institution as a cover up excuse – yet he responded to the (far right) orchestrated scepticism on the true identity of his birthplace by publicly displaying the long form original copy of his birth record.

The APC candidate has been contesting for a similar office since 2003 yet all he could provide is a sworn affidavit that his certificates are in the custody of his former employers – whose retrieval has become a task beyond him and his political party.

And just like the eminent Obasanjo was worried years ago over the conduct of Buhari at the PTF, there is equally something ‘fishy’ about the self-willed inability of his ‘brother and colleague’ to come clean on the missing credentials.

The present excuse makes no sense, absolutely no sense. Can anyone think of any earthly reason why the Army, if truly the certificates are

CONTINUE HERE: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/between-buhari-and-obama-by-akin.html

I have decided to write on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, believing if I do, it would help me unravel what really makes Baba Iyabo,as he is at times called, really tick. In fact, I want to know who he is, without sounding disrespectful. Why he is what he is and why
he gets away with things others would dare not even try. I have to sound a note of warning that I am not that confident that the task I have set myself would hit the bull’s eye.

I do not need to talk about the fact of his having been head of the Nigerian state twice. First as a military leader in1976 till 1979 when he handed over the reign of governance to Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

Like a cat with nine lives, he came back from prison where he had been sentenced for a coup plot believed to have been orchestrated by the late Gen Sani Abacha military junta, to again assume the mantle of leadership of the country when there were serious suspicion and acrimony in the land with the death of Gen Abacha and the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 elections, Bashorun MKO Abiola who had been clamped into detention by the junta for claiming his mandate and proclaiming himself the president of Nigeria.

Need we talk of the fact that the election that ushered him into the highest office in the land in 1999 did not have the support of his kinsmen in the southwest. Other parts of the country voted for him, but not his people. One can go on and on about Baba Iyabo. There would always be one tale or the other to tell. Someone once said that if a man achieved what Obasanjo has achieved in life, then such a person deserves to be the father of the nation and thus would be at liberty to do anything. Is that really what makes Baba tick? I do not know whether this is why Baba courts controversy or why controversy continues to trail him? And the controversies have been many. Whether in his public or private lives, controversies have always been on the look out for Baba or is it the other way round?

The bombshell by Gbenga, son of the former president that his father had amorous relationship with his wife sent the whole nation reeling in shock. It sounded far fetched. But the son had gone to court to swear to an affidavit that his wife actually had an amorous relationship with his father in order to curry favour from Obasanjo who was the country’s president at the time. And she was adequately compensated, “for her adulterous acts with several oil contracts with the NNPC amongst which was the NNPC consultancy training in supply chain management and project management awarded to her company, Bowen and Brown,” was how Gbenga puts it. Next was the turn of his favorite daughter, Iyabo, who was appointed Commissioner for health in Ogun state by the Gbenga Daniel administration. Years later, the chummy relationship between Obasanjo and Daniel broke down and ever since there had been no love lost between the duo.

Iyabo, in a letter widely publicised by newspapers, had accused her father of being a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite, “determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president”. Among several others, Iyabo accused her father of cruelty, abandonment of his children and a legendary reputation of maltreatment of women, and so on and on. When the letter initially came to the public domain, it sounded unbelievable and a lot of people initially viewed it with disbelieve, that a letter of that nature could come from Baba’s favorite daughter. But Iyabo never came out to refute the letter. Thus lending authenticity to her claims. Who else would know a father more than the daughter?

As an author, Obasanjo has equally stirred controversy. First was the accusation of Brigadier-General Godwin Alabi-Isama that Obasanjo’s earlier book, My Command was a tapestry of inaccuracies. It was the same controversy with his latest book, My Watch. One can go on and on about controversies that have trailed the former President.

More recently and in the build up to the February election, Baba has made it clear that President Jonathan would not be getting his support. A letter by the ex-president in late 2013 to President Jonathan, entitled, ‘ Before it is too late’, gave indication that it had not been smooth between the duo. It was this letter that brought out the anger in Iyabo who accused her father of playing God.

More recently, the ex president had accused the president of having failed Nigeria. He stopped short of accusing the president of incompetence for having depleted the foreign reserve left behind by him and his successor, late President Umar Yar’Adua and squandering the crude oil savings of $35billion.“We left what we call excess crude, let’s build it for rainy day, up to $35 billion; within three years, the $35 billion disappeared. Whether the money disappeared or it was shared, the fact remains that $35 billion disappeared from the foreign reserve I left behind in office. When we left that money, we thought we were leaving it for the rainy day…” It was that same week that he attended the wedding of the President’s daughter. And that is the Obasanjo enigma.He had criticized the president publicly and had no compulsion in attending the president’s daughter’s wedding. Since his 18-page letter to the president, he had not hidden the fact that he would not want Jonathan to continue, but stand down as the country’s president.He is said to have always said he would support any candidate except Jonathan. Although Obasanjo had not come out to deny ever saying this, his body language and his consort with the opposition party is indicative of his stance.Is Obasanjo really playing God? To many people he is indeed doing so. People are also quick to point out that when Obasanjo takes on anybody, the person had better be careful. Recall his quarrel with his deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Atiku had never hidden his desire to govern the country, but the quarrel with Obasanjo scuttled that ambition. The tar of corruption painted the former Vice President has refused to go away, in spite of the fact that the courts found no evidence to sustain that claim.

In Ogun State, his home state, the ex president is at loggerhead with so many people in his party. Apart from former governor Daniel, he has refused to accept Prince Buruji Kashamu who he tagged as a wanted criminal in the United States. And if Obasanjo is playing God, is his position not a reflection of the feeling of the generality of Nigerians? How would his stance affect the outcome of next month’s election. Is it this fear that has gripped President Jonathan, which led to an emissary of PDP governors to the hilltop mansion of the former President to beg and more recently, a meeting between the duo in the presence of two topmost religious leaders in the country, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop Oyedepo?

CONTINUE HERE: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/obasanjo-you-cant-just-wish-him-away-by.html

Finally, the bubble burst on Tuesday, January 13 in Akure, the Ondo State capital, as some politicians known as the Agagu Boys defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

This development, though a big shock, but was dismissed by the State PDP, which said their defection was long overdue.
Reports had it that the late former governor Dr. Olusegun Agagu, before his demise had been fraternizing with the leadership of the APC.
The late Agagu at some point was alleged to have met with the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu several times on the possibility to collaborate.

The information leaked to the leadership of the PDP and Agagu was said to be sidelined on matters of the state, as Mimiko dictated the tune, even while in his former Party. Then, Agagu and his boys were tagged PDP Jagaban.

However, with the death of Agagu and the development which led to Mimiko defection to the PDP, the Agagu boys became threatened and uncomfortable with his leadership of the party.

Political future

After much dilly-dallying, Agagu’s younger brother who was his Chief of Staff for six years Femi Agagu led others to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his late brother’s god-father, to seek his advice on their political future under Mimiko’s leadership of the Party in the state.

Femi confirmed to Vanguard that former President Obasanjo knows and approves of their defection bid. Asked if their recent meeting with President Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State has anything to do with their defection, Femi said “It has every thing to do with our action.”

Vanguard reliably gathered that the former President Obasanjo facilitated the meeting Agagu boys had with Tinubu in his Bourdillion, Lagos residence.
Basking in the euphoria of his endorsement by the former President and Tinubu, Femi Agagu swung into action and started the mobilization of those he helped while he was the Chief of Staff and who benefited from his brother’s six years reign.

He won the hearts of some former Commissioners who are his friends and whom he influenced their appointment- Olaitan Ayeni (Works), Boye Adegbemisoye (Special Duties) and two former Speakers, Victor Olabimtan who is a Federal Commissioner, Federal Civil Service Commission and Taofiq Abdusalam.

Others are a State party chairman, working committee members, members of National Assembly, Speakers and members of Ondo State House of Assembly, commissioners and Special Advisers. A former Speaker, Hon Olabimtan was said to have jumped ship because of an alleged disagreement over his re-appointment as Commissioner in the Federal Civil Service Commission after serving his term.

But another source said he was annoyed because his appointment as the state Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan campaign was allegedly upturned by Governor Mimiko. This has however been denied by the governor’s aide who described him as been selfish and self centred. No fewer than 48 names were paraded as defectors to the opposition APC. Among the defectors were former Commissioners- Niran Sule (Special Duties), Mrs Bukola Tenabe (Women Affairs), Tola Wewe (Tourism), Tola Aworh (Information) and Akinyemi Akinnigbagbe (Agriculture), .

Also a serving member representing Owo/Ose Hon Eniolorunda Omosule and another former member, Hon Akinyujha Jones equally defected.
Some foot soldiers of the PDP governorship candidate in the 2012 election, Chief Olusola Oke were among the defectors.

Femi Agagu at a conference to announce their defection said “We have resolved to embrace change which the APC represents and drum support for the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as well as all the candidates of the party.

“We took this decision after lengthy sessions of consultation with friends, political associates as well as supporters in all the 203 wards of the state. We have also received the confidence of distinguished elder statesmen, non political young and elderly citizens who are concerned about the future of our dear state and country.”

Swift reaction

Meanwhile, receiving the defectors, the party Vice Chairman in the South West, Chief Oluwole Akinyelure and the state Chairman, Hon. Isaac Kekemeke said they will be integrated into the party not as joiners but co-founders.

They urged the new members to work tirelessly for the party to win in the next year elections.

But in a swift reaction to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, in a statement issued by the state’s Publicity Secretary, Hon. Banji Okunnomo said those who claimed to have defected from the PDP had since ceased to be members of the ruling party.

The party said: “The game plan of the members of the opposition who only waited till now to make their membership of the party public was

CONTINUE HERE: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/why-agagu-boys-defected-to-apc-in-ondo.html

THE academic credentials of former military ruler and presidential hopeful, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, were seized by the military junta of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida sometime in 1985.

That was the submission on Wednesday of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the political party fielding General Buhari for next month’s presidential election.

According to the party, the credentials were carted away by soldiers who raided the home of Buhari, when the Babangida junta seized power from the APC candidate in a coup.

Buhari, who had staged a coup against the civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari on 31 December 1983, was also ousted by his military colleagues on 27 August 1985, led by Gen. Babangida.

“After the coup and the arrest of Gen. Buhari by the Babangida administration, military officers raided the home of Buhari, ransacked it and carted away many documents. Buhari’s academic credentials were among the documents that were taken away,” a senior official of the APC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin said on Wednesday.

Fashakin, who was the spokesman of Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) before it merged with other parties to form the APC, made the disclosure during a live interview on Channels Television in Lagos.

Buhari’s academic qualification has become an issue in the coming general election since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disclosed that the Army General had lodged with it an affidavit that his academic credentials were with military authorities.

Section 131 (d) of the 1999 constitution prescribes minimum qualification for election into the office of the president.

It states: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if – “he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

The provision is silent on whether the “school certificate” should be primary school or secondary school.”

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has consistently expressed fears that Buhari has neither.

Fashakin believes that Buhari will not be contravening the nation’s laws even if fails to present his basic school leaving certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He outlined the primary and secondary schools attended by Buhari and drew attention to the several military trainings of the General.

Fashakin said that the Electoral Act simply requires that aspirants submit “documents” on their credentials, adding that the affidavit deposed to

CONTINUE http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/ibbs-govt-seized-buharis-certificates.html

On Thursday 8th of January, 2015, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came to Lagos, warts and all, in furtherance of a presidential campaign flag-off. They had advertised this flag-off with a promise to show what they had done in Lagos. I anticipated this visit because I hoped it would provide an opportunity to discuss issues important to the people. When they left, they left nothing tangible behind except violence, attacks and robberies on citizens who had been trapped in the traffic they created. The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention had held in the same city of Lagos a few weeks ago without violence and robberies. But that is not my take away. My take away was the presidential speech.

Having ridden to office on the back of civil society (a.k.a Doctrine of necessity), and having been elected by an impassioned campaign of emotion and sympathy (a.k.a ‘I had no shoes’), I expected that a president seeking re-election will understand that his record of service and not sympathy would be the vote catching message. Even though I was in Benin to attend the APC vice-presidential candidate’s town hall meeting, I took the time to listen to the presidential flag-off speech. Mr. President had my attention when he said his message that day, and for the rest of the 35 states and FCT, was going to be focused on young people.

And just as I thought he was going to raise hope, he did what no leader should ever do. He dashed hope. He told young Nigerians that his generation had failed. Yet he seeks their votes to lead them. This compounded the problem. If the president admits personal failure, he was uncharitable in seeking to paint everybody in his own service record. What then is his “Transformation Agenda” about? Failure?

My take away: Leaders don’t dash hope, they inspire it. To be fair, he quite rightly set out the agenda and burning issues on the minds of the Nigerian people when he opened by stating that he was going to address 3 (three) issues of corruption, insecurity and the economy. I expected to hear about a security plan to restore Nigeria’s territory that was lost to terrorists and how to bring back the girls abducted in Chibok, the president sadly said nothing. Instead, Mr. President went for the sympathy message again, that there was an assassination attempt on his life four years ago.

My take away: Mr President, this is a good try but it took four years and on the eve of election campaign for you to disclose such grave national........

CONTINUE HERE http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/presidential-declaration-my-take-away.html

Convener, Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare is the Senior Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly (LRA). In this interview with journalists in Lagos, he speaks on the state of the nation, his fears over the general elections, threatening to expose his colleagues who he said were bribed to influence previous elections, and other
issues. Senior Correspondent, TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI was there.

With few weeks to the general elections, it seems the government has not really put in place necessary structures for free and fair elections. With the way things are going, are you satisfied with what you have seen so far?

It is my very strong desire that God will give our leaders, not only hearing ears, but understanding heart to know that a good helmsman, like a good pilot, does not ignore the weather forecast, especially when they say it is going to be tempestuous and cause destruction. Going ahead regardless, is like saying ‘I don’t care’. I have clearly painted a picture of where we are and it is only wisdom that we must camp at Fair Havens according to Acts 27. We need to camp there and not sail to Crete because Euroclydon will come and hit. Disaster is ahead of us either way. Those in the North inflicting so much pain on our nation via Boko Haram do not have monopoly of violence any longer. And if you hear threats coming from both sides, if a Northerner appears and wins the election, the South South, whether he has won the election fair, square or not could allege rigging. If Jonathan wins the election fair and square, they will allege the power of incumbency
that the election has been rigged. The weather is not conducive for another election in 2015 in February for that matter. And I have quoted the right portion of the constitution that empowers both the president and the National Assembly for a six-months extension, provided it is not just to stay in power to elongate tenure, but to be working critically to ensure that these things are put in place before we go to elections. That is my considered opinion and I believe that I have the spirit of God.

You talked about having a transition government. Do you think that is feasible in modern day Nigeria?


I have spelt it loud and clear in the state of the nation address that the transition government is a national government, but still headed by President Jonathan because his time is still on. He cannot create a vacuum and he cannot say ‘I step aside’. It is not going to augur well for the nation. He has started with the 2014 National Conference. All these things that we are talking about have already been worked upon. It is a matter of fleshing it up and within a period of two years or less, they can be accomplished and the constitution is conducive to that if there is war. Those who say insurgency is not war is mere semantics. If your own daughter or son has been taken captive, none of those who are saying ‘ if we win election, we will find solution to it will stay in their beds’. They would have been looking for that solution. I do not see any patriotism in going to wreak our nation and this country is bigger than any person. None of them can hold us to ransom and say ‘We must go through this disaster at all cost’. If we have to do what we have to do to get to where we need to get to, we must do it now.

Looking at the general elections, some analysts have postulated that if President Jonathan wins, there is going to be a deadly dimension of Boko Haram in the North, if Buhari wins, the militants will resume hostilities. Don’t you think we are at a crossroads here?

We existed before this crisis and we will exist after this crisis. Nigeria will survive. If we put things in place that people see justice, fair play and the purpose of government becomes the welfare of the people and they are seeing the things that will augur well for our peaceful coexistence in a federal structure, all those things will take care of itself because if there is fiscal federalism today, I am not depending on your resources anymore. I am working on my own, while you are working on yours. In 2014, National Conference, we asked that a tangible national portion of our national resources be dedicated to the development of all the natural resources of the country. There is no part of this nation that is not endowed but we are dependent on one of those natural resources, which is mainly, oil and we have depleted everything. That is crashing already anyway with the price that is falling. So, it is about time to sit down and say ‘lets go to the table of brotherhood’. All these things that we got without any division, no voting are already raw materials to effect the necessary change. I do not like change as a slogan. I do not like change that has no substance. I will like to see that constructive change. If I say ‘I am a changed person, a born-again, but you find me still doing the things that I was doing before, then my dog has returned to its vomit. In the past, with military alacrity, I am not calling for military intervention, but we need such urgency at this time to critically deal with what we are faced with. You can’t use the cure for ringworm to cure leprosy. If every part of the country see that we are going to be free at last, we are going to develop at our own pace, we are going to do whatever we are going to do with our own resources and contribute our quota to the centre, all those things will die down. The firsts are recorded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo – first television station in Africa, first stadium in Africa, they were done from Cocoa and with a lot of prudence to manage resources. The ground has not stopped producing, but we have stopped developing each other parts of the country and other resources and have focused on oil. Now, the people who owns the oil are saying ‘we are tired of being slaves in our territory anymore, let us fight to finish’. Why fight to finish if every other region can go at its pace? True federalism will fix that. The military did a major damage to the Nigerian federalism and put everything at the centre and we are yet to recover from it. But, the National Conference has fixed that. We need to go back to that place and say this is one of those that will end up in PIB cabinet. With that, they see demonstration of goodwill, with every part of the country involved, not just one section of the country in the reengineering of our nation.

You once said the church was seriously bias during the conduct of the 2011 general elections and you promised to name some pastors that received financial inducements if you were put on the spot. Can you please name those clerics now?

In 2011, when I was selected by General Buhari as running mate, there was a gang-up against that ticket by a substantial section...

Continue here - http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/tunde-bakare-ill-expose-pastors-who.html

There has been growing tension between the United States and Nigeria over the former’s reluctance to provide real help with the war against Boko Haram. Indeed my good friend, Professor Ade Adefuye, Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States openly accused the Obama administration of failing to support the fight against Boko Haram.

Not only did they refuse to sell arms to Nigeria, they also blocked us from buying arms from third parties over whom they had influence. The Americans have been forthright in explaining their position. They accuse our armed forces of serious human rights violations.
By law, the United States cannot collaborate with armies that have a record of serious human rights violations. What they can offer in the circumstances therefore is capacity building for the armed forces on human rights. As a human rights advocate myself, I hold the view that military forces must not engage in human rights violations, and when they do, they must be held accountable. I have on several occasions condemned human rights violations by Nigeria’s security agents. Nonetheless, I find the American view to be dubious and mischievous.

I first encountered this attitude when extremist groups took over more than half of Mali. In response, ECOWAS and the African Union approached the UN Security Council for the authorisation to send 3,300 troops to chase out the insurgents. The United States took the lead that authorisation should not be given until the troops are fully trained to respect human rights in battle. The UN Secretary-General accepted that the mission should go ahead after the human rights training.

On October 9th 2012, he appointed Mr. Romano Prodi as his Special Envoy for the Sahel disregarding competent candidates such as Mohammed Ibn Chambers, the former ECOWAS President. Mr Prodi immediately announced that it would take him one year – October 2012 to September 2013 to ensure that the African troops are fully trained to fight the insurgents in conformity with international best practices before the would be allowed to engage the insurgents. The insurgents got a clear message; no one was ready to act for a full year as the earliest date for intervention was announced to be September 2013. It was with this assurance from the United Nations that pushed the Malian insurgents to conquer more territory while human rights training was being planned.

On Thursday 10th January 2013, they captured the town of Konna, a gateway towards the capital, Bamako to the south. It was the signal that told the world clearly that the ambition of the insurgents was not just to keep Northern Mali but also to conquer the whole country and extend the repressive governance they have introduced beyond the North. Alarmed that the terrorists would completely take over the country before the human rights training had commenced, France had to intervene and the rest, as they say, is history.

What is important to point out is that the terrorists that took over much of Mali and the ones that that are currently occupying more and more of Nigeria’s territory were/are engaged in massive human rights violations, far in excess of anything that has been associated with our armed forces. The logic of saying that help will not be rendered to a military that has been challenged by terrorists is a political choice the unintended outcome of which is to help the insurgents. It makes it easier for the terrorists to take over more territory and widen their base for massive human rights violations.

Three weeks ago, on 9th December last year, a powerful Senate Committee in Congress published its report on the widespread use of torture by American security agents engaged in the fight against terrorism. The implication was that with the attack on the American Homeland, President Bush took the decision to set aside human rights practices and gave orders for the extensive and intensive use of torture. The current American President, Barack Obama has explained to the world that they have now stopped using techniques of torture. As they have now stopped torturing suspected terrorists, I guess they have the right to take the moral high ground and lecture the Nigerian armed forces on the imperative of not engaging in human rights violations. The Nigerian armed forces should rise to the challenge and change their ways. I have myself been making the same point over the years. Be that as it may, I still do not understand why they cannot collaborate with the Nigerian armed forces. I know that they have collaborated closely with the armed forces of Israel, Egypt and Iraq, all of whom are widely known for violating human rights. Why is Nigeria different?

Following the abduction of nearly 300 girls by Boko Haram, the United States indicated that they would help with their search and rescue if asked. Their help was duly requested and they sent surveillance drones and about 30 intelligence and security experts to help the Nigerian military try to rescue them. General David Rodriguez, the top general for American missions in Africa, rushed from his headquarters to Nigeria to help the commanders in the crisis. Nothing happened and eventually the drone flights have dwindled or stopped altogether and the advisers have gone home without any success in the search and rescue operation.

According to Eric Schmitt, (New York Times, 31/12/14) officials at the headquarters of United States Africa Command have an assessment that the Nigerian armed forces are corruption-plagued and poorly equipped. He quotes an American official saying that, “ounce for ounce, Boko Haram is equal to if not better than the Nigerian military.” He claims that “actionable intelligence” from the drone flights was provided to the Nigerian military but they did not use it. This might very well be true. But if part of the problem is that they do not have sufficient arms, stopping them from getting the arms and expecting them to perform might be asking too much.

It was in this context that Ambassador Adefuye accused Washington of failing to provide the lethal weapons needed to defeat Boko Haram. In June, the Pentagon gave Nigeria some Toyota trucks, communications equipment and body armor. “There is no use giving us the type of support that enables us to deliver light jabs to the terrorists when what we need to give them is the killer punch,” the ambassador said.

Human rights organisations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty in particular, have been monitoring human rights violations by the Nigerian armed forces and the work, I think is having a positive impact. Our military know that they will be held accountable for their actions. Having established that, our international friends need to engage our armed forces from a more helpful perspective by not only criticizing them, but also helping them in the war against the terrorists. Our American friends need to come down from their moral high ground and help in the war against terror. I say yes to the importance of conducting war while respecting human rights and fighting corruption in the armed forces. I also say yes to the importance of supporting our armed forces towards a successful war against terrorism.

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Hurray! 2015 is finally here for good I will say. This is a year of great expectations and fears for Nigeria. The great expectations are those attributable to a positive change in leadership while the fears are those concerned with the electoral process that will lead to
that positive leadership change. I truly and completely share these expectations. However, my greatest fears center on what happens after a new president assumes office.

What will be the style and focus of leadership? Will the leadership continue with or promote the persistent culture of corruption, mediocrity and impunity? Will it simply carry on with State business as usual or simple not give a damn? Will the leadership change and become people-centered after the 2015 polls? Will terrorism continue to ravage human lives and property unabated? Will the security agencies wake up to their responsibilities? Will state resources be properly channeled to development purposes? Will the agencies of government continue to operate multiple and hidden bank accounts where some individuals draw from for personal gains? Will the courts truly become the epitome of justice and defender of hope of the common man? Will the health system improve? Will our roads remain death traps? Will the transport sector continue to remain largely in hands of touts and miscreants? Many more questions you may ask
The answers to these and many more of such questions will greatly depend on who becomes the next president of Nigeria. The next president will have to provide positive answers to these questions because Nigeria is in a dire need of positive change. This change has to be driven by the leadership. Nigerians cannot afford to continue to wallow in abject poverty in a country so endowed with abundant natural and human resources. Nigeria is the one of few most endowed countries on earth. Yet, a greater proportion of the nation’s wealth have been stolen away by the few who have taken this county captive and held the citizens to ransom. Not only has the country’s collective wealth has been stolen by the insignificant few; it has also been used as a weapon of destruction, intimidation and oppression against the poor and the lowly.

Nigeria’s leadership situation in the past three decades has been pathetic. The situation has grown from bad to worse and has finally presented us with four hydra-headed monsters that will destroy Nigeria if something urgent and drastic is not done by the next regime to arrest and put these monsters under control. These monsters are corruption, mediocrity impunity and terrorism. These monsters did not surfaced at the same time but developed gradually as the leadership shifted focus to self-aggrandizement and promoted moral decadence.
First was the problem of corruption. Cases abound in the first and second republic where state officials build over-head tanks not to store water, but to conceal cash stolen from the state. Some dug underground safes for the same purpose. Today, shameless and corrupt politicians do not need to hide their loots; rather they are proud to showcase them in the public even to the extent of making frivolous donations to individuals.

While still grappling with the problem of corruption, the leadership began putting mediocre officials in government. We have been witnessing a situation where federal and state appointments are given to individual based on political party affiliation and personal relationships without any regard to professionalism and competence. What these charlatans do is to engage consultants and farm out contracts to them thereby rendering their Ministry’s staff redundant. Since these charlatans have no clue of their job descriptions, they rely on contractors who of course are there to make a kill. Today, this remains the common conduit pipe of siphoning state funds.

After enthroning corruption and mediocrity, the next in line was the monster called impunity. The brazen manner in which the political leaders now perpetrate corruption, illegality, indiscipline, favouritism and barbarism is unprecedented. State officials go about fabricating and defending falsehood through the media paid or influenced with state funds and even threatening and silencing dissenting voices.
While corruption, mediocrity and impunity held sway, the nation’s critical sectors especially the security forces were neglected. Funds allocated for the welfare, pensions, training and equipping of the security men were reportedly embezzled by men and women who still walk the streets today with their children feeding fat and being trained abroad with looted funds. As this went on, terrorists surfaced and the result is well known to all.

There is need for Nigerians to put up a strong fight against these monsters if we truly love this country and want to see it back on the track of progress. This fight can only be led by the president for it to be successful.
As the 2015 elections draw closer, let us ask ourselves: Who can confront these monsters? Who has the will power to even try? Such is the man that should be elected to run the affairs of this great country. I am confident that a positive change is coming to Nigeria at last. The Nigeria of my dream is where corruption, mediocrity, impunity and terrorism shall be a thing of the past. Nigerians let us make it happen.

http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/four-monsters-awaiting-nigerias-next.html

http://www.beriahng.com/

Alice Cooper who is known for his outrageous stage act which featured guillotines, electric chairs, chopped up dolls and songs about necrophilia, Cooper – born Vince Furnier – has been a Christian for many years. In an interview with CNS News he spoke of his struggle with alcoholism, saying:


"Thirteen years ago I stopped drinking and I started going back to church. I was throwing up blood every morning, I was really a bad alcoholic. I wasn't a cruel or mean alchoholic, but I was definitely a self-destructive one."

Asked what he would say to people struggling with drugs, alcohol or pornography, he said:

"The world doesn't belong to us, the world belongs to Satan. We're living in that world, bombarded with that every day. If you don't have Christ in your life, you're a victim to that."

Cooper also talked about his Christian family heritage. He said:

"My grandfather was a pastor for 75 years,". "I grew up in a Christian home. My wife's father is a Baptist pastor. We were PKs, preachers kids and married each other. so I always refer to myself as the real prodigal son because ... I went out and the Lord led me through everything, maybe allowed it but then started reeling me back in, saying OK, you've seen enough, now let's bring you back to where you belong."

About his faith, he said:

"Before, you're always self-centred, everything is always for you, your self is god. Humans make lousy gods, we have to let God be God and us be what we are."

In a interview with Hard Music Magazine, he said:

"It's really easy to focus on Alice Cooper and not on Christ. I'm a rock singer. I'm nothing more than that. I'm not a philosopher. I consider myself low on the totem pole of knowledgeable Christians. So, don't look for answers from me."
In his stage persona, Cooper says that he sees himself as "the prophet of doom", warning his audience:
"Be careful! Satan is not a myth. Don't sit around pretending like Satan is just a joke." He said: "I think my job is to warn about Satan."

- See more at: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/alice-cooper-satan-is-real-and-world.html#sthash.6HQqRMzs.dpuf

Read more stories at http://www.beriahng.com/

Channels TV Terminates Pastor Bakare’s Broadcast Over Alleged Critical Comment On Nigerian Govt.

Channels Television, a Lagos-based independent 24-hour news station, on Sunday suddenly terminated a broadcast by fiery pastor, Tunde Bakare, over claims the tone of the message was critical of the Nigerian government.
Moment of Truth, a one-hour recorded paid programme, through which Mr. Bakare
broadcasts messages he preaches in his church, The Latter Rain Assembly, runs every Sunday on the Lagos channel of the station, between 5p.m. and 6p.m.
But 45 minutes into the programme on Sunday, Channels terminated the programme just as Pastor Bakare was making comments considered critical of the Nigerian government.
“We had to hurriedly take the programme off air after he (Pastor Bakare) began spitting venom against the government and saying things we cannot defend,” an official of the station, who asked not to be named because he has no permission to speak on the matter, told PREMIUM TIMES.
The official did not say what those comments were, but he insisted they were serious enough that Channels could not afford to allow anyone to spread them through its station.
When contacted, the General Manager of the station, Kayode Akintemi, confirmed he received complaints over the pulling of Pastor Bakare’s broadcast.
He however said the station was looking into the matter.
Pastor Bakare told PREMIUM TIMES he and his church had not been given any explanation for terminating the programme.
“The broadcast is not free,” Mr. Bakare said. “ It is paid for and those in charge will write them tomorrow to demand explanations.”
The pastor insisted Channels had no justification for pulling his broadcast.
“There was nothing I said in that broadcast that is subversive other than warning the nation that the forthcoming election is laced with disaster and that if we must plunge into it, we should be ready for the consequences,” he said.
In the broadcast entitled, “The Gathering Storm And Avoidable Shipwreck – How to Avoid Catastrophic Euroclydon”, Pastor Bakare accused the government of plunging the country into political and economic disaster and warned of an impending storm.
He spoke of the “fundamental flaw in the polity” and the gathering of the cloud ahead of a major storm.
Accusing the government of ignoring warning signs and allowing criminality to thrive, Mr. Bakare argued that the Nigerian economy had now crashed because it could no longer sustain the massive corruption in the subsidy fraud.
The pastor, who declared his loyalty for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, later identified the danger signs facing the country and the steps he said are necessary to avert crisis before, during and after the forthcoming elections.
According to him, the signs include:
Poor level of election preparedness
Acts of lawlessness and partisanship of security agencies
Security risks across the country
Likely minority king-making
Looming constitutional and legal crisis
Impending post-election tension
Looming economic collapse
Potential religious confusion, betrayals and persecutio……


- See more at: http://www.beriahng.com/2015/01/channels-tv-terminates-pastor-bakares.html#more

Former Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman, 2014 National Conference, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has alerted Nigerians to grave dangers ahead of the February 2015 general elections, insisting that some Nigerians are bent on dragging the country down the path of disintegration.
Indeed, Akinyemi, who sent a letter dated December 16, 2014, to the two presidential
candidates for next year’s election (President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) of the All Progressives Congress, APC), went down memory lane, pointing out that the conditions precedent before the post election violence of 2011 appear to be child’s play when compared with the already over-charged political atmosphere of the present times.
Whereas Akinyemi suggested a way out of the looming doom, the erudite professor was quick to note that he had observed something similar just before the 2011 election and the violence to follow, but also lamented that his noble intervention was totally ignored, many Nigerians were to be killed in the violence that followed the presidential election.

Akinyemi’s letter reads:

“YourExcellencies,
“Shortly after his appointment as National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi, at his own request, met with me in my office in Lagos to discuss the state of the nation. It was on the eve of the 2011 elections. I told the General that I was not worried about the conduct of the elections or about the outcome which I expected President Jonathan to win.
“What really worried me, I told the General, was the management of the violence that would ensue after the elections. I was sure that there would be violence on a massive scale and I made some suggestions to him about how I thought the violence could be contained.
“My suggestions were not acted upon. The elections occurred, President Jonathan won and all hell broke loose. Missing were the conflict-controlled measures which I had discussed with General Azazi.
“Now we are back at the same crossroads again, except this time is more precarious and dangerous than the last time.
“Firstly, we have this very notorious prediction from United States semi-official sources that the world is expecting a cataclysmic meltdown of the Nigerian nation come 2015. Of course, most Nigerians have taken umbrage at this prediction for their country. But there are Nigerians who are indifferent to the outcome of this prediction.
“One of my low moments during the just concluded 2014 National Conference was when in an attempt to break an impasse, I painted a grim picture of devastation which would follow a breakdown of the Nigerian state, to which a delegate between 45 and 55 years old replied: ‘So what?’
“I thought to myself, here is a man who would probably run away to a neighbouring country at the boom of the first gun but was callously indifferent to the fate of the youths, women and children who would be caught in the middle.
“Secondly, the certainty of violence after the 2015 elections is higher than it was in 2011. If President Jonathan wins, the North would erupt into violence as it did in 2011. If General Buhari wins, the Niger Delta will erupt into violence. I don’t believe that we need rocket science to make this prediction.

“The violence of 2015 is going to be horrendous and worse than the one of 2011 for the simple reason that the illegal, massive importation of weapons into the country has reached such alarming proportions that I really wonder which is better armed, the militias on one hand or the official armed forces on the other hand.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am not imputing the illegal importation of arms to any particular zone. Some years ago, some Iranians were arrested for bringing in a shipload of weapons into Lagos harbour. They were tried and jailed and then smuggled out of the country.

“Some months ago, sophisticated weapons were discovered buried in the basement of a Kano house. All these have now fallen below the radar. These are the ones we know about. How many do we not know about?
“There are states and movements out there, African and non-African, which do not mean well for the Nigerian state, which wish Nigeria to dissolve into a theatre of bloodshed, gore and instability.
“They will succeed if we continue the politics of making enemies of ourselves and friends of our enemies.

Way forward

“The first step forward is for the two Presidential candidates to meet and sign a Memorandum of Undertaking that will commit both to:
lA civil and peaceful campaign, devoid of threats.
lA commitment to preach peaceful elections to their supporters.
lA commitment to control their supporters after the elections. Supporters of whoever loses should be entitled to peaceful protests but not to violent protests.

“I also appeal to the following:

lThe Sultan, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III
lThe Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II
lThe Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha
lThe Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade
lThe Oba of Benin, OmoN’oba Erediauwa
lChief Emeka Anyaoku
lPastor Ayo Oritsejafor
lPastor Enoch Adeboye
lHis Excellency, General Yakubu Gowon
lHis Excellency General Abubakar Abdulsalami to facilitate the pre-election meeting between the candidates, the preparation of the Memorandum of Undertaking and as a Council of Wisemen to assist in managing the post-election conflicts.
“Yours sincerely.

Former Nigerian Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman, 2014 National Conference.”


READ THIS:

BUHARI - “No Right Thinking Nigerian Would Wish That Our Next Four Years Look Like The Last Four.''
http://www.beriahng.com/2014/12/buhari-no-right-thinking-nigerian-would.html

Yes! You read it right. Eating your
bread with olive Oil could cut your
heart attack risk in just 6 weeks.
New tests reveals that regular
consumption of olive oil
dramatically improved chemical
signals in the body linked
to coronary artery disease.

A study which was led by Glasgow
University confirms the health
benefits of a cornerstone of the
Mediterranean diet, especially for
those who don’t normally eat olive
oil.
In a report published in The
American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 20mls was added a day,
about four teaspoons to the diet of
healthy adults, which is the amount
used in bread during a meal. But a
range of signals for heart disease
measured in the urine improved in
only six weeks,

Dr Bill Mullen, of the Institute of
Cardiovascular and Medical
Sciences, said:
‘If we are able to identify the early
signatures of diseases before they
have had a chance to take hold we
can start to treat them before they
become a problem requiring costly
medical intervention.
‘It is the first time this technique
has been applied from a nutritional
perspective to try to get to the
bottom of which food or what
ingredient is truly responsible for
health benefits.’
Dr Emilie Combet of the School of
Medicine at Glasgow University,
said:
‘What we found was that regardless
of the phenolic content of the oil,
there was a positive effect on CAD
scores.

‘Any olive oil, low or high in
phenolics, seems to be beneficial.
‘Our study was a supplementation
study. If people in the UK replaced
part of their fat intake with olive oil,
it could have an ever greater effect
on reducing the risk of heart
disease.’
The changes detected were subtle,
and conventional markers of heart
disease such as cholesterol were
unaffected.
Dr Mullen added:
‘This is one reason why is it
difficult to convince people to
change their diet, they can never
see an effect.

‘We have shown, for the first time,
how proteomics can successfully be
used to measure the health effect of
food in a small study group after
only six weeks.

‘Currently measures of markers like
cholesterol can only tell you if you
are at risk of developing a disease,
not if you have it or if you don't.
‘What proteomic analysis of urine
can do is measure if you are at the
very early stages of disease
development, before any symptoms
are present, further measurements
after lifestyle changes or drug
treatment can then show the effects
of treatment.’
Olive oil contains omega-6 fats, a
form of 'healthy' polyunsaturates
which blocks the body's response to
inflammation in chronic conditions
such as heart disease and arthritis.

With this, I suppose including Olive
oil in our meals won't be such a bad
thing. If you have any other
advantages of Olive oil in the
improvement of our body please

Read more like this. @
http://www.beriahng.com

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano
State has urged Nigerian youths not
to allow themselves to be used as
instruments of violence during the
upcoming 2015 general
elections. Speaking at an event that
was organized by Association of
Writers on Human and People's
Rights (AFRIRights) on Saturday to
commemorate this year's World
Human Rights Day. The Governor
had this to say for the youths, He
said:
"But the people from rich
families in Nigeria,
particularly people, who are
benefiting from the stolen
assets of this country, do not
have reasons to work hard.
They end up being drug
addicts, and nuisance to
themselves and their families.
That is why it is important to
work hard as young men and
women, with the hope that we
will, together, make this
country a better place.
"Election is around the corner.
Make sure you exercise your
fundamental right to vote the
leaders you think will improve
this country. We should wake
up and do all we can to change
this country. The most civilize
way to do it is through the
ballot box. Please sit up and
do your best.
"Don't allow any politician to
use you to cause havoc in this
country. It does not pay. They
will quickly take the next
available flight and check out
of the country. But we will
remain here. We have no other
country, but this Nigeria. So
we have to ensure that it
works,"

Do you agree with the governor?
Leave your comment......
www.beriahng.com/2014/12/kano-state-governor-dont-allow-any.html?m=1

This is so horrible. I wonder what
goes through the minds of people
these days.
An Indonesian domestic helper by
the name Erwiana Sulistyaningsih
revealed to a Hong Kong court on
Monday that she had been terribly
tortured by her employer, with a
vacuum cleaner tube placed in her
mouth and twisted to cause
lacerations.
Sulistyaningsih's employer, Law
Wan-tung, a former beautician,
faces 20 charges, including
inflicting grievous bodily harm,
assault, and criminal intimidation.
Public broadcaster RTHK said Law
Wan-tung (employer) appeared calm
as she pleaded not guilty to all the
charges, except one, of failing to
take out an insurance policy for an
employee.
The domestic helper told the court,
through an interpreter, that her
employer had scratched,slapped,
and punched her.
Sulistyaningsih was only allowed to
sleep from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each
day, and given six pieces of bread
and a bowl of rice, she added.She
said her employer had also hit her
with hangers, mop handles and a
ladder, and she was not paid or
allowed enough food or rest, Hong
Kong's public broadcaster RTHK
reported.

www.beriahng.com/2014/12/indonesian-maid-reveals-that-her.html?m=1

I have better things to worry about. These men are already rich and famous. http://www.beriahng.com. A MUST see.

The burial ceremony of Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, the son of the former governor of the old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo which was slated to hold yesterday, December 5 could not hold after the corpse of the younger Nwobodo, went missing from the mortuary where it was preserved.
Reports have it
that trouble started after the former governor of Anambra State refused to bury his late son, within his compound but instead chose another site for the body to be laid to rest.
Chukwudi and Uso, younger brothers of the late Nwobodo, however, perceived their father’s action as a means to rob them of the chance to inherit the house in question and thus decided to make away with their brother’s corpse.
According to Vanguard the family held a meeting with the Archbishop of the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province of the Anglican Communion, Emmanuel Chukwuma, after which it was decided that the corpse be buried at the St. Mathew’s Anglican Church in Amechi Awkunanaw.

http://www.beriahng.com/2014/12/corpse-of-jim-nwobodos-son.html#more

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The problem with Hardball is that he must be an illiterate, one-armed economist. He is so stiff-necked that he does not understand that the science of economics is always about: ‘on the one hand and on the other hand.’ But Hardball is a one-track minded fellow with a plebian, brick-and-mortar idea about economics.

But sorry Mr. Hardball, economics is an arcane science; especially when it dovetails into the fine realms of fiscal macroeconomics; the econometrics of recurrent elements in sovereign appropriations or the monetary equivalences of fiscal measures, etc. Wow, this surely is beyond my ken I must confess.
Again, economists will always close every assertion with the phrase: “All things being equal” knowing for sure that all things never get to be equal. But simpletons like Hardball, burden by their untutored minds, would always expect things to be equal. This explains why he is forever hitting his head against the wall as if he was born to fret.
If only Hardball could get it into his frothy skull that economics is merely intellectualised madness; a tool made popular by world governments for the domination of world peoples. It never provides definitive answers, it is imprecise, malleable, and sometimes, outright dubious. If, therefore, a country expects to ever find solution to her growth and developmental problems from fine economic theories, then such a state would end up a basket case just like Nigeria.
The situation is worse, if not doomed when a country’s economy is overseen by a purist economist. This supple subject becomes an end in itself with its rich, endless debate the only result to be derived. This is the mire Nigeria is stuck in today. With Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala managing Nigeria’s economy we are not likely to witness what we, the laymen know as growth and development.
Trained at the best institutions of the West (Harvard and MIT), she trades in growth rate figures and fine theories and projections. So long as the numbers and ratings are looking up, then the economy is doing well. By her projections and prognosis of her people at the World Bank, Nigeria under her watch has been growing at the rate of between five to six per cent in the last five years they say.
Recently, the folly of economics and even economists came to the fore in Nigeria with a mild dip in the global price of crude oil. No sooner did this happen than Nigeria is almost embroiled in economic crisis. Mrs Okonjo-Iweala quickly declared a puerile cost-cutting called austerity measures, including the need to introduce luxury goods taxes.
Now there is no power supply, no industrial base, no refineries, no standard railway system and no agricultural sector. This country, run by an economist is a mono-economy living on massive importation of all her needs, including food stuff. For over two decades, she has been exporting her crude oil and importing refined petroleum products – a huge drain on the economy.
You would think that the looming crisis has sobered up a wasteful, quick-fingered government, but not in the least. Nigerians woke up last week to find that the Federal Executive Council has approved N9.2 billion post haste, for the procurement of cooking stoves for rural women. Now what manner of economics is this!?

http://www.beriahng.com/2014/12/okonjo-iwealanomics-n9b-stoves-in-time.html

Politicians’ desperate appeal to religion as a resort of last line of hope when confronted with firm failure is at once ubiquitous in nature and repetitive historically. Ordinarily, politicians ought not to be thugs and rogues; they ought to be leaders chosen by the larger society to administer the land on behalf of all members of the given society. The constitution and other
extant laws of the land make that otherwise difficult administrative job a very easy one. Unfortunately, as events have revealed over the years, particularly in our nation Nigeria, politicians, because of their materialism and acquisitiveness, are more of problem-creators than problem-solvers.
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and others pray for President Goodluck Jonathan during a pilgrimage to Isreal in 2013State House Photo
They fail again and again where they should have succeeded; they steal where they should not have stolen; they lie where simple truth should have been told; and they deceive where acting in a straightforward manner would have sufficed. This is the tragic situation of our shameless and dishonourable politicians in Nigeria. Then, when it becomes certain that the failed leader is about to be thrown out of office, having incurred the justifiable anger of the electorates, he suddenly begins to appeal to religion. He claims that he is a Christian or Muslim; he openly identifies with some religious leaders of his proclaimed faith, and in turn, expects all adherents of the faith he bogusly lays claim to, to support him. And this just for political benefit.
This is President Goodluck Jonathan’s situation at the moment as he faces a more than cloudy presidential election in 2015. It is clear that Nigeria, a not so fortunate country with regard to qualitative leadership, is terribly divided along politically created religious fracture lines. The fact remains that no President, in the history of this nation, has succeeded, through complicit actions and inactions, in polarising the nation as much as President Goodluck Jonathan. This fact is already in the public domain. My concern however, is to expose the underbelly motivation of Mr. President’s handlers’ religious hoodwinking of Christians in Nigeria. Christians need to know that they need not rush to give support to just any leader who mouths Christianity, without carrying out diagnostic examination of such a leader. The Bible enjoins us to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
To begin with, there’s nothing wrong with Christians in Nigeria giving wholehearted support to another Christian who aspires to any political office in the land, provided that the said Christian is a Christian indeed, and that he possesses leadership qualities to move the nation in the right direction. As a matter of fact, in our pluralistic nation, just anyone who, irrespective of religious affiliation and inclination, has character, wit, insight, generous spirit, self-control, resolve, honesty and a clear picture of where the nation ought to be, as well as the understanding of how to get there, can aspire to be anything in the country and get the support of the electorates.
In President Jonathan’s case, the undeclared reason for his appeal to religion is simply to take advantage of the numerical strength of Christians among the Nigerian electorates. This is sad. The rush and push currently going on in certain quarters within Christian circles in Nigeria today is totally political and shameful; and all is being done to give undue support to a non-performing president because he is supposedly a Christian. This is not the Bible. The God of the Bible, in actual sense, hounours only responsible people. He demands that leaders be accountable and faithful (1Cor.4:2). Therefore, Christian leaders ought to help Mr. President become more accountable, and rescue him from terribly political pettiness being displayed at the moment.
Let’s consider this important question: should we even consider President Jonathan a President with Christian character? I think not! But wait a minute; am I in a position to determine whether or not an individual is a Christian? Scripturally speaking, the simple answer is yes. In Matthew 7:21, the Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”. The implication of this passage is that open declaration of one’s religious standing, church membership, hobnobbing with credible and influential Christian leaders, as well as financial donations to churches does not confer Christianity on anyone. In fact, the above is totally useless without the heart and attributes of Christianity. To know who a Christian is, the Bible recommends that you look at what he does, and how he does it; check his character.
And then, the Holy Scripture also tells us that we know people – genuine Christians, fake Christians, genuine leaders, not-so-genuine leaders, totally corrupt leaders etc. – by their fruits. The Lord Jesus said, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:18 & 20). The Lord Jesus simply said, just look critically at people, see what they do, how they do it, check the fruits they produce, and you will easily understand where they belong. They may claim they are God’s, but when you check the fruits of their lives, you will understand to whom they belong.
The word of God then explains how a Christian – and this, all the more, applies to a leader – should conduct himself. The first of these points to be considered here is that a Christian is expected to keep his word. His word should be his bound. He should keep his promises and not be given to frivolities. This is how the Bible puts it: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:12). This is God’s standard. Do what you say or promise with your own mouth. Now does Mr. President keep his word? I’m sure he does not! I’ll give some examples shortly. But before the examples, please understand that he can still be supported by those who still wish to support him; however, that support should not be based on the fact that he says he is a Christian. Not at all! This is so because he’s not a man who keeps his word, and Christians, real Christians, do keep their words.
In 2011, while going around begging for votes, these were the words of Mr. President: “I do not make empty promises in my campaign because whatever I promise to do, I had already carried out adequate study to make sure I can accomplish it in the next four years.” This was on the 27th of February in Onitsha, Anambra State. But the truth, as available to us all, is that he did promise, but then he failed to fulfill his promises.
On the 12th of March, 2011 in Abeokuta, he promised to revive ailing oil refineries and build new ones. The available fact, as at today, is that Mr. President merely deceived people into voting for him with that empty promise, because as we all know, no ailing oil refinery has been revived, not to talk of building new ones. I know his supporters can come up with a million and one reasons why he didn’t fulfill that promise; but the fact still remains that he did not fulfill his promise. Then on the 31st of March, the same year in Abuja, he promised to expand and develop the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry to provide about one million jobs. Today, we are still waiting for these jobs in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
Earlier, in Awka on February 26, he said he would construct all the major roads which link Anambra with its neighbors; complete the ongoing aero-dynamic survey of gas in the Anambra River basin; complete the second Niger Bridge; and complete the Onitsha Inland Port. Nigerians would not be talking about generators by the time his four years in office would have ended, he guaranteed. It is about four years since these promises were made; however, if a Nigerian today does not have his own generator, it is because he is financially incapable to procure one. The promises were largely unfulfilled. Did Mr. President lack anything he needed in fulfilling these promises? Did he lack money, hands, time or occasion? None that I know. He just won’t do what he said he would do.
The above are few of the many unfulfilled promises, pledges and vows of Mr. President. I want to say that no Christian in Nigeria should be deceived into voting for Mr. President in 2015 because he lays claim to Christianity; he should simply be judged by his performance in office. He should be seen as a person – the current President of the country, who made several promises in 2011 while campaigning, and who failed to fulfill those promises – and be treated as such. This is the foundation upon which his re-election or rejection in 2015 should be based, not some useless religious mawkishness.
But then, there are other two important points we need to consider in this discourse: integrity and skillfulness. As far as God is concerned, these two qualities are central to leadership, and without them, no one in any leadership position, in the eyes of the Almighty God, could be considered successful. Hear the Bible: “He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” (Psalm 78:70-72).
That’s the Bible talking about David. In this passage, David’s background as well as his emergence to leadership was examined. God took David from following animals and made him a King. He named him His servant and empowered him for just a reason: to feed His (God’s) people, the Israelites. Now this is one important purpose of leadership: feeding, supporting, sustaining, nourishing, nurturing, encouraging, maintaining, strengthening and bolstering the led. Can we say this is what is currently obtainable in the nation under President Goodluck Jonathan? I think not. With the very basic requirement for meaningful living in the 21st century – electricity – almost totally missing in most homes, it is clear that the major focus of this administration is not to feed the poor, but to feed on the poor.
King David, having understood his assignment, settled down to lead his people, employing two important qualities in the process. First, he led his country with the integrity of his heart. He was a man in possession of very firm principles; wholly dedicated to his business, and displayed uncommon veracity in his dealings with his followers. Integrity requires that a leader be open and truthful. Integrity drives a worthy leader to eschew corruption and fight it. It equally demands that the leader be true to the laws of the land and not try to circumvent any aspect of it. A leader with integrity has nothing to hide from his followers, and he constantly fights and punishes, according the laws of the land, those engaged in sleaze. Can we say this is the situation in our nation under President Jonathan? Again, I think not.
Nigerians have not forgotten the recent stinking revelation of how the current Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, squandered 10 billion naira while junketing around. In the revelation, which the House of Representatives later passed a resolution to probe, it was alleged that the minister spent the amount to charter and maintain a jet for her personal use. As shocking as the embarrassing news was, the President has not found any reason to reprimand the minister for spending 130 million naira per month to maintain the aircraft in just two years. Were we blessed with a President who understands integrity and deals with us in the integrity of his heart, this reckless act would have been thoroughly dealt with. There won’t be any reason to bother you with other well-known corruption issues and cases around this government. But what is plain and obvious to all is that this is one administration that lacks integrity.
Now if President Jonathan willingly and consciously flouts important scriptural requirements and recommendations; if he chooses to scoff at the divine principle of integrity, should I then blindly follow him, simply because he claims he is a Christian just like me? This is my point. No Christian anywhere in the nation should allow himself to be sold a dummy. We should not be herded into wrongdoing simply because we have a “professing”, but in actual sense, a scripture-breaking Christian as our president. However, if an individual Christian, given his own conviction of the president’s performance and integrity, decides to vote for him next year, fine. The issue being that the Christian is voting, not because he is glad that the aspiring leader is a “Christian” and not a Muslim, but because the would-be leader is worthy and owns integrity.
The second virtue employed by David in his leadership adventure was skillfulness. Political and administrative skillfulness is possessing competence, adeptness, dexterity and proficiency in handling issues and situations in a way that avoids sloppiness, clumsiness and wastage. It is the hallmark of very capable leaders. It is a virtue that a nation like Nigeria needs in her leaders because of the inherent ability of this singular virtue to clean up built-up political muddle and clutter. Where unfortunately this quality is lacking in a leadership endeavour, as is currently the case with President Jonathan, disorder, disarray and chaos ensue. It is lack of skillfulness that causes a president to confer unconstitutional powers on ex-militants, freeing them to move around in convoys with security men, while reputable men are being hounded for saying their mind.
Imagine the one big ball of mess the nation has suddenly become, all because political and administrative skillfulness in missing. The way political issues and other sundry happenings in Nigeria have been handle by this administration really puts mud on the faces of Nigerians. It is the case of continual falling into one scandal after another, with the most recent one usually being more potent than the previous. Consider the latest in the series of misadventures of an administration void of political dexterity and steeped in error – the invasion of the National Assembly by security men.
While this act has been roundly condemned by people of wit and imagination in the country, the President is yet to see anything wrong with that assault and insult. And why would he? The unfortunate blitz obviously serves hisF purpose. It makes one to wonder whether the President have people who advise him at all. After all, even when a president is not particularly skillful, he still can tap into the skillfulness of brilliant and able souls within the country. With the way things stand at the moment, it is clear that the nation is being ruled by someone with shortage of political and administrative skillfulness, and Christians need to be reminded that God demands skillfulness in leaders that must deliver.
As a function of the above, the important question all Christians, indeed all Nigerians, need to ask before being goaded into voting based on religious or political sentiment is whether we are ready to withstand and stomach another four years of unproductive, completely messy political space dominated by shoddiness, corruption, unresponsiveness and a sense of despair never known to Nigerians since the end of the civil war. The crucial question is whether we are willing to endure President Goodluck Jonathan till 2019!
That idea, that thought alone, for me, is frightening! A president who doesn’t keep his own words, fights dirty, institutes and promotes ethnic racketeering, unable to manage rather commonplace and uncomplicated situations is, undoubtedly, not the person Nigerians need for the next four years of our national life.
Pastor Gabriel Olalekan Popoola, a former University of Port Harcourt Students’ Union Leader, worships with Living Faith Church and can be reached at gabrolap@gmail.com
SAHARA REPORTERS

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Louis Van Gaal & Local School Children Switch On The Christmas Tree Lights At Old Trafford

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Actress Bukky Wright gives reasons for dabbling into politics and also why she chose the SDP Social Democratic Party, a new party initiated by former Governor Olusegun Osoba, after decamping from APC.

She said:


“My most cogent reason is the marginalization of women in Ogun politics. The governor and deputy are men, the three senators are men, and the nine House of Representative members are men as well.
It is a big slap on the faces of all women as it negates the United Nations 30% affirmative action and inclusion of all women in politics. My people have called me and the voice of the people is the voice of God, so it is important that I yield to their call”, she answered.
Adding: “Secondly is to participate in the law-making process to attain peace and security or peaceful coexistence and good governance.
For equal and effective representation for my people in my constituency not to be marginalised at the federal level and claim the constituency right for them at the federal level by being their voice.
Thirdly, is to engage in checkmating the activities of the executives through the MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) for the purpose of ensuring transparency and accountability.
Unlike most of her colleagues Bukky is not trying out her luck on popular platforms like APC or PDP, she’s putting all her hopes on Social Democratic Party, SDP, a new party initiated by former Governor Olusegun Osoba, after decamping from APC.
“ I chose SDP to pursue my political aspirations because I believe in the leadership of Aremo Olusegun Osoba. It’s the leadership of the people for the people. Judging from his track record, Akinrogun is a man of his words, an elder that feels the pain of both the old and young people of Ogun state and he’s also a man of equality and democracy” she quipped

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Victor O. Ukpolo was born in Lagos, Nigeria in the year 1950. He migrated to the United States at the age of 23 as a student to study at the University of Maryland at College Park from which he received his bachelor's degree. He moved on to the American University where he received his master's degree and Ph.D in philosophy with which he steadily
climbed through various assignments and challenges to the chancellorship at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). He is thought to be the first native-born Nigerian to head a university in the United States.
Ukpolo was known for his effort in guiding the university through a rebuilding process after it sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Katrina, in part by launching an aggressive marketing and reorganization campaign. He also served as a professor and administrator at several institutions including California State University, in Los Angeles, and Austin Peay State University, in Tennessee.
Ukpolo is married to Dr Fawn Teresa Ukpolo, she is the director of the doctoral program in executive leadership at Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge. The couple has three children.

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