You know, if the Ekiti gubernatorial rigging conference of June 20, 2014 were a television or stage story from one of Nigeria’s great dramatists, it would have been a rib-cracking success.
The trouble is that both the event—as audiotaped by the courageous Captain Sagir Koli of the 32nd Artillery Brigade—and the frightful aftermath, are real.
The audio-tape, as analyzed by specialists and people who know the participants, identify one of them as Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Nigeria ambassador to Ghana, former Senator and at the time, a junior Minister of Defence in the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. He has recently been renominated for another Ministerial chair.
On the tape, Obanikoro asserts himself: “[I] am not here for a tea party, am on special assignment by the President.”
In his first response as the tape goes public, Obanikoro denied being the person heard, denouncing the audio as fake. He has since then admitted to Senators, the support of whom he is trying to gain in his quest to return to the federal cabinet, that he had participated in the meeting but that the objective had not been to rig.
The entire experience was about the determination of the Peoples Democratic Party to make Ayo Fayose, a former governor of the State, its new governor.
Fayose was at the meeting. At first he also denied having been present, and blamed the All Progressives Congress, which he denounced as a party of liars, alleging that computer software had been used to make his voice sound like his voice.
“There are softwares that can re-create voices and even bring the voices of long-dead notable persons back to life,” he told the manipulated people of Ekiti. “There are softwares that can turn printed text into synthesized speech, making it possible for anyone to use recordings of a person’s voice to utter new things that the person never said. One of such softwares is called ‘Natural Voices.’”
But times change quickly, and Fayose was soon admitting that Fayose, the governor, was the Fayose on the tape.
That was partly because another person heard on the tape was identified as Jelili Adesiyan, the Minister of Police Affairs, who was present at the election-eve meeting in Akure on behalf of the PDP.
“I was there, Fayose was there, Otunba Omisore was there, Senator Obanikoro was there,” Adesiyan declared to Sunday Punch. “I am not denying that there was a conversation but it was not what they are saying.”
Following Adesiyan’s admission, Fayose hopped from denial to denunciation.
“…Listen to the tape you will see that I was the one accusing the army of compromise,” he said, with no apology for his lie that that the tape was an invention. “Listen, take time to listen. But they would come back with propaganda and saying it all as if the whole world of propaganda belongs to them,” he said.
Two-time governor Fayose is the father of several children, and it is unclear exactly how they feel when they face their friends who have listened to their father’s scandalous performance on the tape. The governor almost engages in fisticuffs with General A.A Momoh as the PDP mugging team orders military men to implement the rigging scheme and work with PDP agents to that end. Momoh’s brief included the arresting of selected APC stalwarts, including Bimbo Daramola, the Director-General of the opposing Governor Kayode Fayemi campaign.
That plan included the use of a confidential and restricted “National Security Task” sticker on official cars to help separate the PDP rigging machine operators from others and help General Momoh’s Special Team prevent APC voters from reaching the polls. Add that to the widely-reported arrest of APC members in Ekiti during the election period and the scandalous use of masks by so-called security officers and it is clear that a shameful political crime has been committed.
On the tape, Fayose alludes to these schemes, but in admitting that the tape was authentic, he says he was only “accusing the army of compromise”. Adesiyan says it was just a conversation, and that the meeting was to persuade General Momoh to release some detained PDP agents.
General Momoh has so far said nothing. There is evidence that Adamu, the captain’s 15-year old brother, was bound and tortured. Momoh is alleged to have been acting in the election at the instance of the Chief of Army Staff, who was executing President Jonathan’s script.
Little wonder then that the president has denied the authenticity of the tape. “It’s all fabrications,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Why should I investigate things that are not real?”
That was despite the key figures on the recording admitting their participation. Late last week, even the political traveler Femi Fani-Kayode, who is currently the spokesman of Mr. Jonathan’s campaign, controverted his boss.
“We have listened to the audio clip and we make bold to say that the discussion that took place in it did not make any mention of any form of rigging in the Ekiti state governorship election and neither did it contain any evidence of any conspiracy to rig,” he said.
Few things in Nigeria can demonstrate why Nigeria does not work as the “Ekitigate” tape does. Every time there is the opportunity to do the right—and sometimes easier—thing, Mr. Jonathan chooses the wrong. Even on a recording in which his name was deployed to do evil, he failed to identify the opportunity to defend what is right.
But the reason the Ekiti rigging masterplan is such a sad story is that somewhere in Abuja, the Chief of Army Staff is ignoring this clear opportunity to clear the name of an army, which tortured a 15-year old. The CAS is afraid, or complicit.
Somewhere in Abuja, the Director General of the State Security Service is ignoring this opportunity to serve his country, afraid or complicit.
Somewhere in Abuja, the Inspector General of Police is sitting on his hands, afraid or complicit.
Impunity, complicity, an absence of integrity and professional pride are ruining Nigeria’s security services as their commanders accept errand chores for politicians. In a quiet coup, the most scurrilous civilians have taken over our disciplined forces.
In the end, the lesson to learn is that weak men—men of weak character—cannot provide strong leadership. Weak men cannot build or lead strong institutions. Weak men may loot and steal and kill, but they cannot a strong nation build.
Let the history books reflect the fiction that in June 2014, Fayose defeated incumbent Governor Fayemi by an incredible 203,090 votes to 120,433, beating him all over the state, including in Akure and Fayemi’s own local government of origin.
Let those books record that Kayode’s loss was, in effect, an act of armed robbery of the people. And let them show that the people of Nigeria found out how the grand act of brigandage and deception was carried out in full view of a scoffing world but nobody gave a damn. I name this feeling: shame.
Audio Interview: Ex-Wife of AyeDEE aka Mukhtar Alexander Dan’iyan Comes Forward with Damning Allegations of Fraud, “419” and More.
...Listen in on the interview and feel free to share your thoughts:
In the interview, the woman alleges the following:
1. She was married to him from 2001-2004, and is now divorced. They have a child (son) together.
2. She claims he does not pay child support. The host ask, if you know his location, job and he does not pay chid support, why didn’t you go after him? She responds that she lives in another state plus he always files 1099s. She also claims he uses other women to hide money under various names so it is hard to go after him.
3. She claims he is a fraud. He lives in a house where he does not pay rent and is a squatter. She claims he is a dangerous man.
4. She claims he spends a lot of time on the internet bringing down people. He allegedly has “psychological issues.”
5. She claims women need to be careful because he uses women for his agenda.
6. She claims he is half Nigeria and half Ukranian.
7. According to her, all of the above information is verifiable information via public records.
8. She denies he is a Middle East expert as his twitter profile indicates.She claims he is “broke and poor and swindles people.”
After failing to blackmail Linda Ikeji, Mukhtar ‘Mr. Aye Dee’ Daniyan, a Twitter predator, seeks out another victim, this time Bola Tinubu but it is a journey that has ended even before it began.
The man, who canonized his name and sought to change it from Daniyan to Dan’Iyan, a.k.a. @Mrayedee, never rests nor slumbers in his relentless search for a prey, someone to blackmail. He has been around for a long time, since the days of the struggle against dictatorship but while others fought at the battlefront, he was at the rear with the “gang of four” as described by Prof. Wole Soyinka, sabotaging the efforts of the team and seeking to profit from the struggle.
[b]Here is more of what Prof. Soyinka had to say about ‘Mr. Aye Dee’ in his memoir, “You Must Set Forth at Dawn”:
“One was a self-hating Igbira, a minority tribe from the Nigerian hinterland, whose yearning to be mistaken for a Fulani aristocratic scion had resulted in his changing his name from Daniyan to Dan’Iyan. Partnering him was an ambitious youth from Swarthmore College, Jude Uzowanne. The third member was a labor unionist from Edo in southern Nigeria, Tunde Okorodudu, an activist in his own right who fell under the spell of the fourth member and center of intrigue, the liaison officer for the U.S. Boston chapter, Maureen Idehen, a pharmacist who had worked closely with me and was central to the coordination of activities for much of the United States. Together, this Gang of Four—the accolade was spontaneously bestowed—succeeded in serving a timely lesson on the power lust even among a yet inchoate formation that sought to curb power at its most virulent and malignant. It was a low point in the career of the anti-Abacha movement, suddenly compelled to confront the banal distractions of trite intrigues and personal ambitions. Expelling the miscreants took its toll. The liaison officer, the Boston-based Maureen Idehen, made off with our scant funds, leaving behind a trail of bad checks.”[/b]
Enter @MrAyeAee, the Twitter handle he now deploys as weapon to move from prey to prey, victim to victim, to destroy reputations and pass old, fake and fallacious information over to an unsuspecting public as the gospel truth. He has employed his IT knowledge in the most dubious schemes. But Google has found an answer to his type, thanks to the Linda Ikeji saga that exposed him as a cyber predator and serial blackmailer.
Ayedee or Dan’Iyan covertly and overtly worked to destroy Linda Ikeji, accusing her of plagiarism. Imagine the chief plagiarer pointing fingers. He got Linda’s blog shut down. He thought he could destroy her reputation. But he failed as most blackmailers do. Days after, in an unprecedented decision, Google decided to bring Linda back. Exposed, AyeDee has moved to another prey. This time he is looking for big money and big attention. He has chosen the wrong person to blackmail in Bola Tinubu.
Digging up court documents nearly 20 years old whose veracity are yet to be confirmed, AyeDee has been all over Twitter and Google Plus, slicing up false, old and unverified statements and reports to blackmail Tinubu and his family. Many would want to ask, ‘Why now? Why dig up an open and shut case from the US courts even if it was true?”
The ways of the blackmailer are not hidden. They can dig up anything and serve up anything as new.
Let’s for the sake of argument agree that such court decisions exist and Tinubu was mentioned. Was he ever convicted? No. He was never. The US government sought for a settlement because they could not prove their case against him. Period. So, whose interest is ‘Mr. AyeDee’ serving by bringing up documents about a case that is closed and that has been denied by those mentioned? They were allegations that the US could not prove.
‘Mr. AyeDee’ no doubt has pay masters namely, Musliu Obanikoro, whose credit card crime remains on the books. I challenge him to travel to the USA today if he will not be apprehended. I am willing to buy him a first class return ticket.
Tinubu today travels in and out of America without anyone stopping him. HE TRAVELS IN AND OUT OF EUROPE without anyone stopping him. He is invited and visited to international functions in the USA and Europe. He is well respected. His democratic credentials are unquestionable. A towering figure in Nigerian politics. Tinubu’s place is secured and no amount of regurgitation by the likes of Mukhtar ‘Mr. Aye Dee’ Daniyan can change that.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has dragged Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, accusing him of sponsoring violence against its members and supporters in the state.
In a petition submitted to the Commission by the Secretary of APC in Ekiti State, Mr. Omotosho Ayodele, the party alleged that Governor Fayose armed thugs and gave them authority to physically attack and intimidate opposition personalities in the State.Ayodele-Fayose
The petition which was received by the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Prof Bem Angwe, read in part: “We are here over the present political situation in Ekiti State. When all Nigerians are busy praying for peace, what we have in Ekiti State is a clear departure from that.
“As this Commission is clamouring for a violence free polls, we are aware of the determination of the Commission to bring the perpetrators of violence in the polls to book, unfortunately the person who is supposed to be the Chief Security Officer in Ekiti State is the person unleashing this violence in the State.
“Fayose’s boys are always on the streets macheting people, scaring people. Vehicles are being damaged, houses damaged. Inspite of various petitions to the police, nothing has been done.
“Governor Fayose does his things with impunity and nobody challenges him, with what we have seen so far, we can no longer guarantee a violence free elections in Ekiti State. The activities of Fayose is undermining the peace pact signed by our Presidential Candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and President Goodluck Jonathan”.
Ayodele who handed the petition further told the Commission that, “On January 21, 2015, Mr. Fayose’s thugs and members of the Oduah Peoples Congress,OPC, dressed in Army and police uniforms, backed by policemen attached to the Government House ransacked and vandalized the APC Secretariat on Ajiloson Street, Ado-Ekiti, while the security guards on duty were physically assaulted.
“On January 24, Adelek Samsom, a students’ union leader who attended the APC Presidential rally in Ado-Ekiti with his colleagues was violently attacked by Mr. Fayose’s thugs. He sustained life threatening injuries on his head”, he added.
Prof Angwe after receiving the petition, restated the determination of the Commission to ensure that anybody found culpable of promoting violence and hate speech is prosecuted no matter how highly placed.
He said: “The NHRC is home for all Nigerians irrespective of religion, ethnicity and political affiliation. I want to commend you for taking this cause of action and not to take the laws into your hands. Your allegations are against a sitting Governor which has consequences, because if they are false, they portend serious consequences, and if they are true they still have consequences.
“We at the Commission are saddened by these allegations, we are determined to ensure that people get remedy whenever their rights are abused. It will be sad if the allegations are proven against an Executive Governor who has sworn an oath to protect lives and properties.
“Africa should move away from the days of President Idi Amin of Uganda where peoples rights are trampled upon with impunity. Nigeria has empowered the Commission to ensure that impunity is stamped out, by this singular act of empowering the Commission to do its job, we are committed to ensure that the culture of impunity is a thing of the past”.
One of the monarchs, apparently speaking the mind of his colleagues, protested the impromptu meeting, which he regarded as a disrespect to the royal class.
“We must be respected because we are not politicians and cannot just be summoned into a meeting without prior notice,” he said.
“Also, we down here, always respect elders, we don’t say because of politics, one will not know his elders.”
After the meeting, the Obas reportedly proved their displeasure by reluctantly agreeing to take photographs with President Jonathan.
GEJ gets schooled on the finer details of etiquette. That must have been quite a humbling experience.
Ekiti's own version of Reno Omokri (Lere Olayinka, special Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor on Public Communications) demonstrates why stupidity is known to have no limits.
Interesting to read about Buhari's continued efforts to win hearts and minds. This has got to be of cold comfort to the incumbent and his league of TANoids
Mr. Shehu disclosed that Buhari left the London residence of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, at about 1.30 pm U.K. time and returned to his rented flat in the city.
Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to call one of his party’s governors, Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, to order over his continued pestering of their candidate, with falsehood and death wishes.
patrick89: another lies again!! You apc guys can lie for Africa!! You have been bursted again! This was his trip in 2013 why surfacing it now? Yeye dey smell.
L0nestar: In a bid to discredit the people's general And stick the 'illness tag' to our next president Some people have become blind and will believe whatever is posted Without taking a closer look. Too bad, we who are wiser are more than the gullible. I've spotted differences for you. If hate has blinded you. #ChangeIsInevitable #GMB2015 #APC
I take back what I wrote earlier. My vision was a bit hazy when I mistook your post for the rant of an ill-informed TANoid.
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has accused the federal government of plotting to use security agents to frame some northern Muslim clerics and traditional rulers for being in possession of stolen Permanent Voters Cards.
Garba Shehu, Director of Media and Publicity of the Organisation said in a statement that the Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has concluded plans through some government controlled security agencies, to shift the paradigm of public perception of corruption on them to the camp of the opposition (APC), by witch-hunting some Northern Muslim clerics and District Heads as having stolen Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), to rig the forthcoming presidential election in favour of General Muhammadu Buhari, the torchbearer of the APC.
The statement said “If this clandestine plan is hatched like the use of the military to rig the polls in governorship election in Ekiti State last year, or the underhand treatment currently being given to INEC and other state institutions, we in the APC and majority of fellow Nigerian men and women would disbelieve it, resist it and question it till such an oppressive decision is rescinded and the anomaly rectified.
“Information at our disposal shows that certain state agencies like the Customs, Immigration, Police and so on are waiting on the wings to mop up PVCs across the country (possibly from illegal immigrants) and bundle them on hapless religious leaders and District Heads of Northern extraction, to corroborate PDP’s over-flogged narrative that people in the Northern States have collected voter’s cards by proxy; even though INEC top-shots have publicly denied such allegations. The ploy to also heap this electoral offence on APC cum Buhari supporters is, to say the least, dastardly, cruel and heinous.
“Election must not be seen or taken as a do-or-die affair. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and the best hands should govern it. After all, the opposition has won elections in Senegal, Ghana, Sri Lanka, among others. Why should ours be an exemption?
“What President Jonathan and his party should learn from their multifarious campaign of malice and mudslinging, to which millions of state funds are daily being pumped, is that Nigerians are not buying their lies and they will voice out their anger through the ballot at the polls in March and April.
“No amount of cajolement or harassment can bottle the people’s power to elect their leaders. It is a constitutional right that not even the military has the power to remove. General Buhari is a man of proven integrity and honesty. These are the tangible and incorruptible attributes that endear him to the masses.”
20 February 2015 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly urged the Government of Nigeria to ensure that the new dates set for the country’s general elections are maintained following the vote’s recent postponement, according to the United Nations spokesperson’s office.
The polls, originally scheduled for 14 February, was pushed back to 28 March and 11 April following appeals by the armed forces to delay the vote amid ongoing fighting in the country’s north-eastern regions against the militant group, Boko Haram.
In a statement released by the UN spokesperson earlier today, the Secretary-General welcomed commitments by the candidates to the Presidency to respect the new calendar and commended the progress made by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the preparation for the elections, including the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards.
In addition, the spokesperson said Mr. Ban urged all relevant national institutions to continue to work with INEC “to ensure all voters can exercise their constitutional right to participate in the elections freely and without intimidation.”
Although the postponement was greeted in many quarters as an opportunity to channel the country’s collective focus on fighting Boko Haram, some Nigerians have reportedly voiced concern about the delay’s legality.
“The Secretary-General nevertheless expresses strong concern over reports of election-related violence,” the statement continued. “He urges all political leaders to adhere to their commitments under the Abuja Accord, to refrain from inflammatory statements and to immediately condemn any statements from their supporters that amount to an incitement to violence or subversion of the electoral process.”
The spokesperson said Mr. Ban reiterated that the UN would continue to closely follow developments in the country and that the Organization was “offering its full support to Nigeria at this important moment,” particularly through the ongoing active engagement of his High-Level Representative to Nigeria, Mohamed Ibn Chambas.
This is getting boring now, TANoid L0nestar. Why don't you just quit while the going is good, to avoid putting foot in the mouth? I say this because the photographs used to illustrate your point were actually taken on different days, in 2013. Capisce?
Just accept that both camps were wrong - that Buhari was neither stretchered out of Nigeria nor snapped at the airport's health control unit, on this particular trip
mrmetoo1: But seriously why should I let it go? If someone can prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that the picture was taken 2013, then I'll let it go. I'm not that petty, I'll apologize and admit I was wrong. You can't tell me because he was wearing the same trench coat then it means it was 2013. The picture that was taken today that he was walking down the street, that was the same trench also. Someone said shoes, let them show me a clear side by side to prove to me its the same shoes and then I'll take them seriously. I just hate the character assassination
But I have provided pics which show the attire he wore yesterday. Politicos like Buhari don't time to change outfits several times a day, I know this much from my work in the field.
mrmetoo1: How can you prove its the same shoes. I've zoomed on both pictures and it image gets distorted for you to really have a clear view. As far as the caftan, please spent one look darker than the other?
I am afraid you are going to have to let this one go, since you are no more correct than the TANoids who claim Buhari was actually stretchered out in an "air ambulance" .
In my view, the pic at the airport was definitely taken in 2013.
General (Rtd) Muhammadu Buhari seen here delivering a speech at the 4th African Diaspora Conference in London. Buhari was a Major General in the Nigerian Army and a former military ruler of Nigeria.
tawa89: I just stumbled on these pictures of Buhari when he attended the AFRICAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE in UK in 2013, interestingly, Michael Tubi wrote an article on it in 2013 attaching Buhari's pictures. I have googled both the author and the news portal and they are actually very valid. I just brought here for further analysis, do you think they are same?
I am afraid that the picture circulated earlier today does appear to have been taken in 2013.
The ones included below reveal the outfit Buhari had on yesterday, when he met members of the HOR, prior to his departure
If so Sahara should inform USCIS to investigate taking that citizenship.
US laws prohibit its citizens from accepting foreign positions in which they make government policies.
Read nothing into the fact that the case described below, filed by disgruntled members of the PDP, was dismissed. Obanikoro is only following in the footsteps of Ibori and others, who have successfully made a mockery of the Nigerian judiciary.
Is he afraid someone will approach him with the microphone he dreads like death? Shame!
I hope he uses the opportunity of his visit to request for his certificate (in person) from Cambridge!
You are having a laff...having lost all sense of proportion.
Someone who turned up for a debate when GEJ could not marshal the gumption to do so, in 2011.
Someone who has featured on CNN, Al Jazeera and various other international media agencies, without making any of the pedestrian gaffes which have to come to characterise our seat of Presidency?
I beg, much as I am not entirely sold on Buhari, you will have to do a whole better than this. Stop scraping the barrel
doctokwus: It is very instructive that Obanikoro instituted legal action against SR in Nigeria courts,,but only wrote a letter admonishing SR against further damage to his character in the U.S. In the letter from his legal representatives in the states,they also tacitly admitted the authenticity of the audio tape, but only disagree on the interpretation given to it by SR. That shd tell everybody all there is to know. No person who took time to listen to the tape ever doubted the authenticity, even all the actors have admitted same,so koro is on a lost cause.His damage limitation may even further dent his image because I believe for Sowore to have openly called him a murderer,he must have documents in his possession that links all those he so accused with those crimes. It wud have been best if obanikoro had kept quiet hoping this ugly episode,just like many others, would be forgotten by Nigerians.
peaceland: Good day, I think we should all read the content of the letter, it says a lot about the authenticity or otherwise of the tape. I am not a lawyer but I believe based on the content of the letter - the issue is not the tape but the comments SRs made based on the tape and that such comments could not have been deduced from the tape. SR need only to apologize for their comments outside of the tape and ask all listeners to judge the tape as seem fit to them. Thank you
You are both absolutely spot on. This is no longer about the veracity of the tape - Obanikoro's initial contention - but more to do with the statements credited to Sowore on February 14th.
Someone's finally decided to reach for low hanging fruit, after the hue and cry which first trailed Ekitigate
Ah well, when all is said and done, this would not be the first time Obanikoro has been branded a murderer. If I were Sowore, I will simply put up a case of befuddled Nigerianspeak
Obanikoro knocks APC over murder allegation
The Lagos State chapter of the APC had in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, accused two men, Ade Lawyer and Olokodona, of killing Asake, who is a member of the APC. It added that the assailants were loyalists of the minister.
Following Asake’s killing, his supporters were said to have embarked on a revenge mission, killing two others in Ebute Ero.
However, Obanikoro, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Media and Strategy, Ohimai Amaize, said the minister knew nothing about the incident.
I am inclined to agree with @OP on this one. From what I can see; Buhari's speaking engagement at Chatham House is more aspirational than guaranteed, at this stage.
PRESS RELEASE
Buhari, APC presidential candidate undertakes a short UK trip Abuja, Nigeria, 19 Feb 2015: The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari today (Thursday) left Abuja on a short working visit to the United Kingdom. In the course of this visit, General Buhari is expected to hold meetings with key members of the British political establishment and interact with some global institutions with stakeholder interest in the affairs of Nigeria. General Buhari would hopefully give a talk at the prestigious foreign policy hub, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatam House in London.
Signed: Garba Shehu Directorate of Media and Publicity APC Presidential Campaign Organisation Plot 781 Herbert Macaulay Way Central Area
Politics › The Political Armed Robbery In Ekiti - Sonala Olumhense by TheOtherview(op): 10:17pm On Feb 22, 2015
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