The 60th anniversary celebration of WNTV, first Television Station in the continent of Africa on Thursday, 31st October, 2019, at Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, Nigeria, has no doubt ignited fresh hopes and enthusiasm that the age-long rating of prestigious/highly-rated profession of journalism now being threatened through the dissemination of fake news and hate speeches from the uncensored SOCIAL MEDIA portals could still be redeemed!

Of recent, disappointed and disgruntled politicians had taken to the social media to disparage all achievements of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in the areas of security, economy and war against corruption, since 2015, through distortion of facts and figures on the social media where authors identities were hidden with pseudo names!
However it is gratifying that the present administration is very much alert to uncover the fifth columnists behind the clandestine moves and speedily bring them to justice according to the Minister of Information and Culture who took advantage of several fora to announce that the APC-led Federal Government, would not fold its arms and watch the unfolding scenario degenerate into chaos or anarchy!

ANTECEDENTS OF WNTV!
Corporate Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), the brain-child of late sage, Chief Jeremiah Oyeniyi Obafemi Awolowo, (GCFR), Premier of the then Western Region Action Group Government, which debuted on 31st October, 1959, shortly before Nigeria's independence in the following year, symbolized the patriotic capacity of a leader who strongly believed in the educational emancipation of the people as the greatest legacy that could be bequeathed to posterity! Before that epoch event, Chief Awolowo, an erudite lawyer, a great philosopher, an outstanding patriot and de-tribalized Nigerian, whose colossal image transcended his generation, had in 1955, introduced FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION for all residents in Western Region, irrespective of tribe, tongue, caste, place of birth, religion or region and today eminent and very successful Nigerians from all geo-political zones, who benefited from Pa Awolowo's educational largesse, have proudly broadcast his benevolence at every opportunity or occassion with much pride and well wishes to the memory of this great leader of all times!

WNTV was not only first in Africa, but a trail-blazer ahead of some European countries of Netherlands (1960), New Zealand (1960), Ireland (1961), China (1962), Malta (1962), Greece (1966), Canada (1967), Federal Government of Nigeria's NTA (1975); and it was not surprising that Vice President and other eminent dignitaries graced the symbolic august occasion in Ibadan, seat and headquarters of the station in Oyo State, In a tweet to commemorate the day, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), reminiscence that exactly 60 years ago, late Premier of Western Region. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, then flanked by Governor General, Sir John Rankine, Chief Anthony Enahoro and Chief T.T. Solaru, formally entered the history books by inaugurating the Western Nigeria Television, first in Africa, adding, " we celebrate what is possible".

WESTERN NIGERIA TELEVISION (WNTV), AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL!
According to Wikipedia citation, WNTV was created as a partnership between the Western Regional Government and a foreign firm, Overseas Rediffusion and designed to be an educational tool for the masses and also a medium to beam local culture, foreign news/aims and objectives of government's social contract with the people in that region. It was also revealed that the, "Establishment of the station was enhanced by a Constitutional change which removed broadcasting from an exclusive item to a concurrent item and political resolution of the Regional Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Regional Minister of Information, Chief Anthony Enahoro!" WNTV, later re-named Nigeria Television Authority (NTA, Ibadan), following its acquisition by the Federal Government which in 1975, established its network of TV Stations across Nigeria in a sweeping move to educate the entire population, was studded with well-qualified, well-educated, professional, articulate, sagacious and obsessively-patriotic journalists whose pedigrees and antecedents were unquestionable!

MUST LOFTY IDEALS OF GREAT MINDS BE RUBBISHED THROUGH FAKE NEWS, HATE SPEECHES?
These days, you don't have to be a trained journalist to express opinions, comments or publish your views in the print, electronic or social media in Nigeria because the existing internet platforms of the 21st Century are very porous and accommodative to all comers irrespective of low education, training or exposure! Prior to now, especially in the years preceding and few years into independence (1950-1966), the Nigerian Press enjoyed much respect and prestige because of the pedigree of practitioners, authenticity of news, quality of published articles, commentaries, documentaries and the richness of editorial opinions of that era.
Those were the hey-days of respectable media practitioners and great personalities like the late Herbert Macaulay, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, late Babatunde Jose, late Anthony Enahoro, late Bisi Onabanjo, late Alade Odunewu, late Adamu Ciroma; Mrs. Theresa Ogunbiyi, octogenarian Lateef Jakande, Peter Enahoro, Sam Amuka etc, who all blazed the trail in professional and qualitative journalism of the 20th Century Nigeria! Those journalists of great repute articulated social engagements to inform, educate and entertain the citizens with vital information of government policies/activities as they affected them, demanded for accountability to the people because they were fearlessly to published the truth even in that colonial era!

HAS THE NIGERIAN PRESS GONE TO ROOST?
Now that that the nation has experienced 20 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, why is the Nigerian Media not on full throttle as the true Watchdog and defender of the defenceless citizens according to their constitutional obligations in Chapter II Section 22 & Chapter IV Section 39? The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), should carry out an urgent FORENSIC AUDIT to fish out not only MERCENARY journalists in their ranks, but also, FAKE broadcast, print or electronic media establishments which are being sponsored by drowning renegade politicians who were bent to destroy all economic gains of the nation because they were not in the saddle! The corporate media should realize by now through investigative engagements that its ranks have been infiltrated by mercenaries who work for the highest bidders to heat up the polity especially in the past FOUR years when failed politicians could no longer loot the TREASURY which they converted into Automatic Teller Machines (ATM), between 1999-2015! THEY ARE THE ENEMIES WITHIN - WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE UNCENSORED SOCIAL MEDIA TO PERPETRATE EVIL! THEY HAVE TO BE STOPPED!

NIGERIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION (NBC) VERSUS AFRICAN INDEPENDENT TELEVISION (AIT)!
The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), is the regulatory body of all broadcast establishments in Nigeria and since part of its responsibilities also include control and discipline of erring licensees of the broadcasting industry, it was high time sentiment was cast aside for the law to take its course against defaulters of the provisions of the NBC Act Cap N 11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and the broadcasting code! It is no longer secret that African Independent Television (AIT), and Ray Power, the twin broadcast stations, owned by PDP Chieftain, Raymond Dokpesi, had been arrowheads of reckless dissemination of fake news and hate speeches against the person of President Buhari, APC Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, during the events leading to the 2015 General Elections and thereafter till date and have refused to repent, because they have evaded requisite punishments that should have been meted to serve as deterrent to their ilk’s! In spite of the fact that TWO court cases against AIT were withdrawn by President Buhari and Chief Tinubu in 2016, the stations continued to heat up the polity through licentious broadcasts and on 6th June 2019, EIGHT days after the fresh second term mandate of the APC, the duo broadcast stations had to be shut down and suspended indefinitely from any form of broadcast in Nigeria! AIT in particular was defaulted for being partisan; airing an unprofessional presidential documentary of a matter pending before a tribunal, inability to pay its fees as at when due; and using divisive and inciting contents from the SOCIAL MEDIA!

URGENT MEASURES TO STOP THE MENACE!
WE suggest that because the broadcast stations have had previous opportunities to redeem whatever was left of their tainted image and had refused, fresh forensic investigation should be conducted by a combined synergy of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Director of State Security (DSS), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), to unravel if AIT & Ray Power were still not the brains behind the continuous torrents of FAKE NEWS AND HATE SPEECHES on the social media! Unlike WNTV, AIT/RAY POWER, which is just 25 years in existence, "is patently partisan - and, especially in the last two years - it decided to conduct its activities in a manner detrimental to national interest as if it was beyond regulatory direction of NBC by heating up the polity through the habit of using the channel to fight its personal battles contrary to the statutory requirements of the law" says the Commission. The NBC monitoring reports also claimed that the following divisive comments accredited to the segment of Kakaki, tagged "Kakaki Social", which were inciting were as follows:
(1) 'Nigeria is cursed', 'we declare independent state of Niger Delta', 'Nigeria irritates me', 'this country is gradually Islamising'; other similar slogans were also used without editorial control in breach of the broadcast code!
WAS THIS THE KIND OF FREE PRESS AND INDEPENDENT MEDIA THAT NUJ ADVOCATED FOR DURING THEIR MEDIATION OF REPRIEVE ON BEHALF OF AIT?

"When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands." (Job. 22:29-30). THE MASSES MUST BE DELIVERED FROM THIS DELIBERATE AFFRONT OF AIT/ RAY POWER AGAINST THEIR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS TO RIGHTEOUS GOVERNANCE!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

[Lamentation Over Africa: Pride of the Black Race Across The Universe!]
Africa, O Africa! How have you fallen disgracefully to the ground?
From grace to grass in the miry clay to lose your prestige, albeit, first estate;
Through greed, thou wast ravished by strangers for filthy lucre,
Your children orphaned, scattered in White man's land;
Enslaved, disparaged, disillusioned; how did we get here?
Africa, O Africa! You must rise from the ashes, regain your pride of place!
It is not late, it will never be too late to regain lost ground!

Historians have failed to dispute the fact that civilisation was first noticed in the North Eastern part of your vast and richly-endowed landscape, before it debuted in other lands of Medieval/Modern Europe and your sister continents of Asia, the United States and Australia!
Geologists and anthropologists have proved that early artifacts of letterings, writings, sculptures of Africa, were found in its various countries not limited only to NE but also in the West's Nok culture, in Kaduna, North Central Nigeria - notable for Iron deposits and a population named after the Ham Village of Nok; also gold/tin mineral deposits in Zamfara, North West; works of art, architectural designs/constructions, metal works, canals for waterways, artesian wells, the pyramids, mausoleums, etc, were commonplace in Alexandria, Egypt's southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; Philistia (present day Palestine), which had rich deposits of lime, chalk and alluvial deposits from streams; not forgetting the mineral resources of the Lebanon Region, the Transjordan and the Dead Sea (an inland body of water, 50 miles or 80.46 km. long and 10 miles or 16.093 km. wide), full of very rich mineral deposits; Mesopotamia (Western Asia), within Rivers Tigris Euphrates waterways, and Democratic Republic [DR] Congo (formally francophone ZAIRE), is one of the richest countries in natural resources with untapped deposits of raw materials estimated to be worth in excess of US $24 trillion dollars), in Central Africa, etc, etc.!
QUESTION 1: What happened to your arable agricultural lands/ farms produce, animal husbandry projects, abundant milk, fura de nunu, green vegetables, peppers, tomatoes; cotton/jute industries, large stocks of timber woods, merchandise of gold, expensive ornaments and vestures; innumerable natural mineral deposits of iron, steel, copper, silver, uranium, deposits of lime and chalkalluvi etc, the sea/faring ships and your daring voyagers?
QUESTION 2: How did you suddenly become the most-backward continent among the rest, that you now have to go cap in hand to beg for virtually all the basic amenities of life from UK, USA, EU, CHINA, JAPAN, GERMANY, ARAB NATIONS, G8, G7, COUNTRIES, etc, and now RUSSIA in spite of your enviable tropical sprawling lands that enjoy abundant sunshine and rainfalls at their unfailing seasons?
QUESTION 3: Why would you be described as backward, poor, illiterate, raw, uncouth, unhealthy, UNDER-developed despicable etc?
QUESTION 4: Why do you catch cold each time one of these advanced countries sneezed?
QUESTION 5: Do you know who or where the next Summit will hold? - Maybe on the MOON?
QUESTION 6: How did you get to this harrowing level to BEG for their workforce to come and build your strategic structures, bridges, hospitals, refineries dams and for their finances to feed your children?
QUESTION 7: Don't you have your own AFRICAN workforce? How would you expect them to transfer their technology/intellectual property to YOU? Don't you have any shame? Have you ever thought of technology acquisition?

ALL 55 AFRICAN UNIONS (AU), COUNTRIES ARE FREE - AREN’T THEY?
The United States of America fought bitter wars to become the greatest global economy, China did the same and the Russian Revolution of 1917 open rebellion, succinctly supported by the armed forces against the ruling overlords headed by strings of very powerful and domineering TSAR title holders, brought to an end bad governance and ushered in "communism" - the doctrine of commonness, i.e., common ownership of all property which progressed gradually from 1917 into revolutionary socialism which was based on the writings of Karl Marx - a German social economist of Jewish origin whose ideologies also influenced governments of Poland and China! All EU Countries have gained independence in similar fashions - not on a platter of gold, - but unlike their Asian, European or American counterparts, their leaders adopted neo-colonialist attitudes of illegal acquisition of wealth/properties to the detriment of the masses of freedom fighters - many of who lost their lives in the process!

BUT THE EQUATION MUST CHANGE NOW! AFRICANS WILL EAT WHAT THEY GROW; WEAR THEIR MANUFACTURED CLOTHES; DWELL IN HOUSES THEY BUILT; AND RIDE IN CARS & TRUCKS THEY CONSTRUCTED! THEY MUST SHUT THEIR LAND BORDERS LIKE CHINA IN THE YEARS OF STUBBORN PATRIOTISM, AND ACHIEVE ALL-ROUND SUFFICIENCY, IF NEED BE!

The 21st Century stampede by World Powers for the abundant natural resources massively studded in the belly of Africa is reminiscent of the MAD GOLD RUSH of 19th Century which swept through Continents of Australia/United States; New Zealand, Brasil, Canada and South Africa! In the 15th Century, before World War I, the civilized World powers described Africa as a DARK CONTINENT, because little was known of its interior as British and Portuguese seamen and explorers only established trading ports around the coastal areas especially of the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa!

Now in the 21st Century, swarms of expatriate geologists, economists, industrialists, engineers, scientists, technologists, information communication experts, technocrats, portfolio investors etc, are clustered in the 53 African nations determined (this time around), to "legitimately" explore, exploit and harness the immense mineral resources outside of CRUDE OIL, and all economic opportunities available within the bowels of black continent! Of the Seven geographic global continents, AFRICA, is the most divinely-blessed with the greatest number of natural resources and also the most-endowed with friendly climatic condition, predictable weather and virtually devoid from all ecological calamities/disasters that beset Asia, Europe, United States like, devastating landslides, earthquakes, storms, tornadoes, tsunamis; massive forest fires, etc, constitute regular affront to safety of lives and properties in those continents!

Therefore, the alien invasion/aggressive occupation from Cape to Cairo; Freetown to Addis Ababa; DR Congo to Libya, etc, by G8, G7 and EU entrepreneurs, including the United States, the Asian Tigers (China, Japan, Koreans etc,), and now, the re-entry of the RUSSIAN FEDERATION, in all areas of trades, industries, manufacturing, and investments especially is therefore not surprising, cannot be overemphasized, nor wished away!
Most prominent among the contestants are the United States (acknowledged as the global economic giant), the Socialist Republic of China, ( the second largest economy after the US), and now the Russian Federation, just concluding, "The Russia African Summit", held at Sochi, and attended by over 50 African Presidents/Head of States, including Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari.


RUSSIA,S PRESIDENT VLADMIR PUTIN IS A MAN TO WATCH VERY CLOSELY!
In some bi-lateral agreements with Nigeria, Mr Putin will ensure completion and commissioning of the AJAOKUTA STEEL ROLLING MILLS, which construction began in 1979, but aborted along the line by a Russian outfit! He will support war against crime, corruption, insurgency, supply Nigeria with military weapons to end Boko Haram terrorism etc, etc, improvement of the Oil Sector through upgrading NNPC Refineries and a Russian-based Oil & Gas Company, and to develop Nigeria's gas facilities. Russian engineers will build and deliver the 1,400 km. railway line from Lagos-Calabar and construct NUCLEAR PLANT for Nigeria which should start immediately and also renew Nigeria-Russia military cooperation, not forgetting collaboration in Security, Education and Agriculture, according to the deals!


ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY!
Since the USSR was voted out by the Supreme Soviet on 26th December 1991, and its 8th and last President Mikhail Gorbachev, resigned about 26 years ago, the Russian Federation had remained s shadow of itself and could only play the opposition in global security affairs with whatever remained in its arsenal! Current President, who had made all of the above promises is a man to monitor very closely because he had been involved in many controversies across the globe –
He was fingered in some expansionist ambition both in Poland and Ukraine through renegade Russian soldiers;
Accused of masterminding the shooting down of a Malaysian Airline Flight 17 (MH17), commercial aircraft Boeing 777 - 200 ER from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, on over the Eastern Ukraine/ Russian border -283 passengers and 15 crew were killed in that horrible incident, but President Putin denied any involvement!
He was also accused of collaborating with Turkish rebels who tried unsuccessfully in the state capital, Istanbul, to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2015; he also denied; and
President Putin's Russian army, was also deployed to support the oppressive government in Syria, headed by Bashar Al - Assad since the beginning of the Syrian conflict 2011 - with at least 400,000 death recorded as at 2016!


ALL OTHER CONTINENTS PUT TOGETHER NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS THEM!
It is most gratifying to note that these developed nations have realised that they could no longer stand aloof and dismiss Africa as a DARK CONTINENT or under-developed, when their industries could actually run aground without continual replenishment of their warehouses from the inexhaustible natural mineral endowments that abound all over the blessed lands!

Prior to this period of economic advancement, the British and French Administrations took early steps to secure sovereignty over their colonies in Africa shortly after World War II, for three strategic reasons:
To assert authority as colonial masters;
To protect the colonies from unforeseen invasion;
To grow their economies which were severely devastated through wars, with natural mineral /agricultural deposits that were in excessive abundance in those colonies!
They adopted a very simple strategy through language diplomacy which encouraged closer affinity and were so classified as Anglophone/Francophone Colonies until the attainment of self-rule or independence!

A cursory glance at the map of Africa will reveal startling facts that virtually all countries of the black continent were at one time or the other (apart from Ethiopia and Liberia), colonized/enslaved by some superior forces! Their fears were not misplaced after all in view of the present trend of the economic battle for the SOUL OF AFRICA - but this time around, MUST not be by foreign predators or taskmasters, BUT by equal project partners working together to achieve mutual economic goals beneficial to both sides.

Nigeria' foreign policy of non-alignment since independence would surely give the nation a comfortable leverage to chose its friends or allies with the good leadership already exhibited by MR. INTEGRITY, President Muhammadu Buhari! "A stitch in time saves nine"!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Antagonists who believed that Nigeria's 2020 Budget and subsequent ones would be very difficult to implement, have hinged their unfounded fears/arguments on three planks, that unless issues of debt management: i.e. external indebtedness/debt servicing, internal borrowings and the controversial petroleum products subsidy, are completely resolved favourably, the country might encounter another economic recession, whereas, these challenges have been adequately addressed in the Mid- Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and the annexed Financial Document, which were submitted earlier by Executive to the National Assembly!

The Federal Government is aware that all of the budgets from 2019-2023, MUST serve as legal testaments that MUST be cast in iron to prove the credibility of the Change Administration of EIGHT consecutive years, because 2015-2018 budgets had served as the FOUNDATION STONES on which APC's legacies MUST be solidly built for posterity to judge the administration of the man who contested FOUR TIMES to occupy the much-coveted seat of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria - the man, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR!

For the painstaking an discerning minds, the contentious issues which were meticulously addressed even when the Minister of Finance, recently addressed the media in respect of the breakdown, should no longer attract any further condemnation because Internally-Generated-Revenues (IGR's), should exceed budget assumptions especially as the crude oil bench mark at US$60 dollars and the Nigerian Customs Service, with the advantage of the closed borders should rake in higher quarterly revenues (which stood at N 311.2 billion, as at the end of the First Quarter of 2019), while Onne Port, Area 2 and Tin Can Island Port Commands have also reported a total of N81.1 billion naira, and N78.8 bn respectively (as at the end of the First and Third Quarters of 2019, respectively), to reduce the impact of debt-servicing and borrowings and mitigate deficits!
It is also very important to note that exploration, exploitation and extraction of the natural mineral deposits (available in large quantities in all States of the Federation), are being aggressively addressed and intensified by both the Federal and State Governments and through a concerted effort of bringing everybody (the locals and their foreign partners on board), revenues from this Sector, would exceed that of Crude Oil, in a very short while!
Fuel subsidy would eventually be cancelled when:
The nation is flooded with Refineries and petroleum products were no longer imported;
All forms of oil bunkering eliminate;
Road networks across the nation are in perfect conditions;
Public transportation of air, rail, roads and water ways are modern and digital like in other climes between 2019 and 2021.

DID NIGERIA BORROW MORE IN THREE YEARS THAN IN 30 YEARS?
It is not true that Nigeria borrowed more in the last 3 years than it did in 30 years! That must surely be part of the grand plan to discredit the Change Administration because, the nation's new attempt at democracy is only 20 years now -1999-2019!
Between 1999-2005, Nigeria's total foreign debt was US$35.916 billion when ex-President Obasanjo, successfully negotiated with the PARIS CLUB CREDITORS, to pay back in monetary transaction - the sum of US$18 billion dollars while the rest was forgiven? When Obasanjo exited office in 2007, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held sway as the ruling party and accrued fresh debts to the tune of US$63.806 billion dollars by 2015, when it handed over to the APC which won the Presidential election! Nigeria's total foreign debt as at March, 2019, was US$ 68.4 billion dollars and nominal GDP reached US$114 billion dollars as at June, 2019!

Is the ruling party borrowing to pay salaries? No! All borrowings are channelled towards CAPITAL PROJECTS/INFRASTRUCTURES that are people-oriented and are identifiable unlike what transpired in past administrations!
It is a welcome development that the President had ordered a probe into the accounts of NNDC which had gulped trillions of naira from 2001-2018, with barely any tangible infrastructures to show for it!

THE TRUTH ABOUT NIGERIA'S DEBT BURDEN & EARNINGS!
Vice President, Prof. 'Yemi Osinbajo, said on 27th October, 2018, Nigeria's debt was US$73 billion dollars - a $N10 billion dollar increase from the N63 billion dollars, the APC Administration inherited in 2015, at the 9th Public Lecture of Sigma Club, at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, South West, Nigeria. He further said that the nation's debt in 2010, was US$ $35bn dollars; 2011, $41 bn dollars; 2012, $48bn dollars; 2013, $64 bn dollars; 2014, $67.7bn dollars; 2015, $63.8bn dollars; 2016, $57.8bn dollars; 2017, $70bn dollars; 2018, $73 bn dollars!


UNDISPUTED EARNING FIGURES DURING THE OIL-BOOM ERA ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1990-1998, a period of 8 years, $119.8 bn dollars; 1999-2009, a period of 10 years, $481bn dollars; and 2010-2014, a period of 4 years, $381bn dollars! Total earnings by PDP Administration between 1999-2015, was, US $ 862bn dollars in 16 years!

OUR POSTULATION: MULTIPLY US$ 862 bn dollars with an aggregate forex rate of N160 naira per dollar and get a whooping N137.920 trillion! DIVIDE this figure by 16 and get N8.62 trillion per annum earning, while annual BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS, never exceeded N4.5 trillion ($22.6 bn dollars), as per the 2015 Budget figures submitted to the National Assembly by ex-President Ebele Jonathan, before his exit! NOW, DEDUCT N4.5 trillion naira from N8.26 trillion, you get a balance of N4.21 trillion!! FELLOW NIGERIANS, WHERE DID THE MONEY DISAPPEAR? IS THE 3-YEAR-DEBT OF BUHARI MORE THAN THE 30 YEARS DEBTS OF THE MILITARY JUNTA/PDP PUT TOGETHER? YOU BE THE JUDGE!

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS: BLOCK ALL WASTAGES IN BOTH THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATURE!
News have it that the President is taking measures to look into areas of wastages in government, beginning with the dispensing of ESTACODES (foreign exchange allowances paid to top public officers who travel overseas for official duties), many of who travel Business Class, which ripped off government coffers in millions of US dollars annually! Mr. President should not scratch the surface of the War Against Corruption in this SECOND AND LAST TERM, but ensure to keep his integrity intact by going the whole hog!

He should beam his searchlight on the following areas of wastages/leakages urgently:
All bogus, humongous, fraudulent allowances by the TWO ARMS - especially the LEGISLATURE! N5.5 billion for legislators exotic vehicles MUST be stopped - they should purchase locally- manufactured vehicles from INNOSON MOTORS!
Budget padding MUST not be allowed - not ever again - enough is enough! HOR Member Jibril Abdul Mumini's confessions of this heinous crime by the citizens representatives are still in the public domain!
ONE LEGISLATURE IS SUFFICIENT FOR NIGERIA! - (a) We members of the editorial board of the Zion B-BC Newsletter began the campaign and advocacy since 2013, and we have never stopped whoever cared to listen that, parliamentary duties should NOT only be on PART-TIME but that each State of the Federation and the FCT, should produce TWO representatives each - totalling 74 Certified Citizens, who would distinguish themselves righteously!
THE SENATE MUST BE SCRAPPED! It is long overdue for the upper house of the NASS to be locked and its keys thrown into River Niger! Nigeria's Senate of the of the FOURTH REPUBLIC from 1999, had served - with very few exceptions - as a CONFLUENCE OF GREEDY POLITICIANS (discredited ex-governors, expired civil servants, ex-Commissioners/Ministers, political jobbers, etc), who are sworn enemies of downtrodden masses who neither voted for them nor were even aware of their representation, to date!
Apart from a regular annual N150 billion for their allowances, they would always manoeuvre the Constitutional duty of oversight to corner huge sums of money as CONSTITUENCY ALLOWANCES illegally to swell their insatiable appetites for the love of money at the expense of the masses who die every day in the hands of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers etc, and always had the guts to label Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world with 100 million who could hardly afford a meal per day, over 60% youth unemployment, over 13 million out-of-school children who roam the streets etc!

THE ADVOCACY IS GAINNING MOMENTUM! The argument that the President could not wake up one morning and annul the Sections of the Constitution that established the SENATE is very untenable! HOW LONG DID IT TAKE THE 7TH/8TH NASS TO PASS ABOUT 48 BILLS WHEN IT WAS CONVENIENT TO FAKE LEGISLATIVE PERFORMANCES? ANSWER: ONE DAY!!

President Buhari MUST make the bold move with the support of all patriotic citizens, send an EXECUTIVE BILL FOR THE SCRAPPING OF THE SENATE LIKE HIS SENEGALESE COUNTERPART WHOSE COUNTRY IS NOT FACING EMBARRASSING FOREIGN DEBTS and whose country is relatively at peace with a virtually contented citizenry! IF LEGISLATORS would not co-operate, the President could call for a REFERENDUM TO DECIDE THE ISSUE ONCE AND FOR ALL!

We are sure that all monies that would be saved from wastages from all of the above sources would be more than sufficient to take care of all INDEBTEDNESS, place Nigeria on a very sound economic footing and NIGERIANS WOULD DEFINITELY FORGET THE PAST, MOVE FORWARD AND SUPPORT LEADERS WHO WOULD EMERGE AS HEROES OF THIS OVERDUE PURGE OF A CORRUPTED NATION!
LET IT BE KNOWN TO ALL ELECTED POLITICIANS, POLITICAL APPOINTEES AND PUBLIC OFFICER- ESPECIALLY THE PROFESSIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS, THAT NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STEAL ONE KOBO FROM THE TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (TSA), BECAUSE ALL EYES ARE FOCUSED TO MONITOR, LIKE THE CCTV CAMERAS, & ENSURE THAT ALL DEPOSITS/WITHDRAWALS WERE LEGAL AND THAT NO ILLEGAL TRANSACTIONS WOULD EVER BE ALLOWED!
‘’And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword’’ (Lev 26:.


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The 2020 Budget of Sustaining Growth and Job Creation was not so christened just for the sake of grammatical expression nor for appending a nomenclature but was a deliberate thought that speaks volumes of its righteous intentions to succour all patriotic citizens who must now enjoy sure dividends of sound democracy!

In four years and four months of the Change mantra, the nation went through the travail of the gold, silver or precious stone that must be baptized by the fuller's furnace to discard all dross in other to come out shinning and attractive for more valuable commercialization!

Going down the memory lane from 2015 when there was a change of guards, Nigerians cannot easily forget the chaotic social insecurity, an economy at the brink of recession coupled with an almost empty treasury that was bequeathed to the victorious All Progressives Congress (APC), which won the general elections in spite of the advantageous power of incumbency of 16 years by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)! Nigerians bore the pains and pangs during those years of economic hardship coupled with large scale insecurity which escalated with Boko Haram insurgency/terrorism in the North East, herdsmen/farmers clashes in the North Central and all forms of crimes and criminalities especially kidnappings across the nation AND still voted for continuity because they believed in the sincerity and faithfulness of the incumbent captain of the ship!
At several stages, the people had to bear scarcity of petroleum products - premium motor spirit (petrol), and kerosene, which became incessant an unbearable until the pump price was raised from N87.00 to N145.00 and did not protest - even when the organised labour incensed them; because of a determined resolution to support the new administration to block all loopholes created through the notorious and very infuriating scam called, "petroleum subsidy"! The President said at the 2020 Budget Presentation that good governance, inclusive growth and collective prosperity could only be sustained in an environment of peace and security. We could not agree more!

ECONOMIC PALLIATIVES IN THE 2020 BUDGET FOR ALL PATRIOTIC CITIZENS!
The 2020 Budget is the panacea to those several years of sufferings as it will provide the following palliatives:
Unlimited opportunities for all farmers, industrialists, manufacturers to freely sell their products - locally and internationally since local borders closure had provided the leverage! Prior to this period, the Nigerian market had been suffocated with foreign agricultural produce/goods from neighbouring West African countries to the detriment of Made-In-Nigerian products!
All farm produce and locally-manufactured products will continue to be exempted from the Value Added Tax (VAT), regime - which percentage should not be increased but closely monitored by faithful/righteous personnel with integrity.
The very rich and affluent should be made to pay more tax to alleviate poverty from the land!
The CBN cashless policy/banks charges and commissions should maintain status quo MUST not affect deposits/withdrawals of the 40% bank-friendly citizens to avoid heavy deposits in SEPTIC TANKS!
Education/Health's seemingly low appropriations will receive greater boost through allocations to Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), and Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), aside of their N48 billion/N46 billion, budget figures, and in true perspectives, these headings are not the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Government, which takes care of only TERTIARY LEVELS while the 774 Local Government Areas, the 36 STATES of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), take care of the PRIMARY & SECONDARY levels of Education/Health!
All ongoing capital projects (roads, bridges, etc,), will be prioritized and completed while it is planned that 16 roads and bridges would be added to existing ones to boost transportation of agricultural products from the rural to urban markets in commercial acceleration for gains and profits!
Outside of income (direct/indirect), taxes, government would lay greater emphasis on Internally Generated Revenue (IGRs), from agriculture, solid minerals, tourism, film industry etc, while it is strongly believed that the status quo of 5% VAT which would accrue at least a whooping N 4.7 trillion, (at GDP's 78%-80% of consumption expenditure), or more, if properly monitored by righteous agents of government, be maintained for sure results.
A general overview of the budget of Sustaining Growth and Job Creation reflects a determination by government to build on existing gains of the 1.9% economic growth and further reduce inflation rate to the barest minimum because its appropriation was evenly spread to touch all aspects of the mandatory social-economic activities of the people and simultaneously inculcate the culture of patronage of local products!


PDP CONTRACTED ECONOMISTS & SENATE MINORITY LEADER CONDEMN 2020 BUDGET!
But the PDP opposition detractors and their hired economists had never stopped to condemn the best of APC policies, and the 2020 Budget was not an exception!
They believed that the new budget was incompetent because debt servicing had swallowed one quarter of N10.33 trillion; that a large chunk would also go into recurrent, without considering the inclusiveness of the approved N30, 000, National Minimum Wage; while they also condemned the N2.4 trillion which would be borrowed to fund part of the budget assumptions - when compared with the 2019 figures! They also criticized the N3.32 billion allocated for foreign/local travels for the President and his Vice, which they believed was on the high side forgetting the high premium benefits that have accrued over the years to establish Nigeria as the economic destination of both Africa and the world!
Debt servicing/finance borrowing is global trend as no country, not even the United States of America, can even be self-sufficient without borrowing! For instance, the US Federal Budget deficit for fiscal year 2020, is $1.10 trillion, which occurred because government spending of $4.75 trillion, is higher than its revenue of $3.65 trillion! According to the report, US Fiscal Year 2019 Budget created a $1.09 trillion deficit!


BUHARI IS DETERMINED TO RESTORE BUDGET CYCLE!
UNTIL Tuesday 8th October, 2019, when President Buhari presented the earliest annual budget in recent times to the joint session of the 9th National Assembly (NASS), his APC Change Administration, found it very difficult to revert to the constitutional budget cycle of January to December calendar, courtesy of an inherited unfaithful Civil Service and an inordinately ambitious hostile Legislature which held sway between 2015-2019!
Apart from a total sum of N8.156 trillion estimated as IGRs in 2020, a finance Bill which proposed the controversial increase of VAT from 5%-7.5%, was also attached to the budget proposal on the assumption that a revenue estimate was expected from that source to partly fund the 2020 Budget.


FRESH COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATURE!
The two chambers have swung into action and are currently discussing the general principles of the 2020 Budget assumptions and would soonest, commence a second reading before breaking into Committees which will then invite officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to defend the figures appropriated to them!
They have also promised the nation that, by the special grace of God, they would complete all deliberations on the new budget and pass it before they proceeded on break in December in order to restore the constitutional budget cycle of January to December!


IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2020 BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS!
Total budget estimate is, N10.33 trillion or US.$33.8 billion dollars;
Capital expenditure, N721.33bn, which is 23% less than 2019 allocation;
Internally-generated Revenue (IGR), N8.155 trillion, to comprise (a) oil revenues, N2.64 trillion; (b) non-oil tax revenues of N1.81 trillion, plus other revenues of N3.7 trillion;
Debt Servicing, N2.45 trillion, about one quarter of the total budget;
Economic Growth of 1.9%.
Oil Benchmark: US$57 dollars per barrel;
Daily Oil Production, N2.18 million barrels per day (mbpd);
Foreign Exchange Rate, N305 naira per US dollar and
Budget deficit is projected at N2.18 trillion,


Others are, STATUTORY TRANSFERS: NASS, N125 billion; Judiciary, N110 billion; North East Development Commission (NEDC), N110 billion; Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCP) N44.5billion; Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), N11.79 billion; Niger Delta Development Commission, N80.88 billion (now under the supervision of the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs.

NON-DEBT RECURRENT EXPENDITURE: Personnel Costs, N3.6 trillion, an increase of N620.28 billion over 2019 Budget - to cater for the new national minimum wage as well as for an improved welfare package to the Armed Forces and Police; and an Overhead Costs projected at N462.6 billion.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE: Capital projects were allocated N2.46trillion ( which embodied Statutory Transfers of N318.06 billion), but at 24% of aggregate expenditure, this provision falls short of the 30% recommended in the ERGP of 2017-2020. Other key capital expenditures include but not limited, to: Works and Housing, N262 billion; Power, N127 billion; Transportation, N123 billion; Defence N110 billion; Water Resources: N82 billion; Agriculture & Rural Development, N83 billion; Interior, N35 billion; Zonal Intervention Projects, N100 billion; Social Investment Programmes, N30 billion; Federal Capital Territory (FCT), N28 billion; Industry Trade and Investment, N40 billion; etc, etc.
WILL THE NEW NASS BE A RUBBER STAMP IN VIEW OF PROMISE TO RE-ACTIVATE BUDGET CYCLE? NO! BECAUSE GBAJABIAMILA SAYS: NASS HAS AUTHORITY OVER THE PURSE AND WILL BE VERY THOROUGH IN OVERSIGHT! WHAT'S THE INFERENCE?
PAST APC EXECUTIVE BUDGETS WERE ALWAYS PRESENTED LATE AND DELIBERATELY DELAYED BY THE PDP-LED NASS - NOT EARLIER THAN JUNE OF EACH YEAR - BUT THAT WOULD SOON BECOME A THING OF THE PAST! "Where there is a WILL, there, certainly will be a WAY!



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

It is true that the Nigerian government is backed by law to collect taxes from its citizens for the purpose of fulfilling social contracts in governance but the legal document did not insinuate in any form that official taxation should be exploitative or punitive against the governed!

With the recent flurry of fresh taxation of virtually every aspect of social life: first, it was the government's plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT), from 5% - 7.2%, because Nigeria's VAT levy was the lowest in the world! But the protagonists of the new tax drive did not bother to carry out painstaking researches to discover the enormous economic advantages that accrued to the citizens in climes with higher VAT! With the current 5% VAT regime, can past and present administrations point to any benefits that have accrued to vast majority of the populace of which government is the sole beneficiary?

A value added tax (VAT), is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale. The amount of VAT that the user pays is on the cost of the product, less any of the costs of materials used in the product that have already been taxed.

In Nigeria, VAT is payable on goods and services consumed by private concerns, business entrepreneurs, government agencies etc! However, some agricultural produce/fertilizer, pharmaceutical/medical equipments, including commercial vehicles/ spare parts, diplomatic baggage, etc, were exempted from VAT!


NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF NEW VAT REGIME!
The fact remains that although government would enjoy buoyant revenue to cater for various strategic infrastructures and other special intervention programmes through the tax increments if such funds were managed by righteous officials; but on the other hand, products and services that are not VAT exempted would attract serious inflation that would further deflate the purse/purchasing power of the average income earner as they would purchase what they could only afford! By implication, the formal sector of the economy - especially the SMSE's will suffer significant patronage which in turn will be counter- productive for an economy which is consumption-driven!

An Investment Researcher, Mr Robert Omotunde, in a radio interactive programme, stated that Nigeria's GDP as at 2018, stood at 78% of consumption expenditure adding that if government taxed that percentage at 5% VAT, the country should have earned N4.7 trillion in VAT, but that it got only N 1.2 trillion instead! It is obvious that the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) should waste no time to advise the President against the imminent danger posed through the proposed VAT increase as it would produce human vultures ready to predate the common patrimony!
Nigeria should expand its TAX NET to the RICH and the AFFLUENT and also to non-oil revenue base in order to spare the poor masses of further economic agonies!

TAX SHOCKER FROM CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)!
And while the organized Labour Unions/masses, Civil Society Organizations/NGO's who hold the short end of the stick expressed resentment and outright condemnation over the proposal, a SECOND SALVO was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through a tax shopping list which would fleece the 40% bank-friendly citizens through new tariffs on deposits/withdrawals - manual or electronic transactions at unbelievable percentages! According to Governor Godwin Emefiele, CBN's new policy on increased tax collections was introduced to ensure greater financial inclusion for increased economic growth and that only 5% of bank customers would be affected! Is CBN not contradicting its CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PORTFOLIO?


LEGISLATIVE INTERVENTION SHOULD HOLD SWAY NOW!
From all indications, it is very unlikely that the Senate which must review the VAT Act Cap VI LFN2004 (as amended), would assent the planned increase by government in order to avert further hardship on the meagre income of the poor masses, in spite of the fact that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), meeting of 11 September 2019, approved the increase for its consideration! In Nigeria, governments at Federal and State levels, are empowered to tax several items, commodities and services as stipulated under Legislative Powers of the Second Schedule - Parts I & II - Exclusive/Concurrent Lists. There are 68 "controversial" items on the exclusive list under the purview of the Federal Government and Sections A-L in Part II, which are exercisable by both Federal and States Government.
* The National Minimum Wage was yet to be implemented nationally - except by Kaduna State which paid its workers the agreed amount at the end of September, 2019! WHY PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE BY FORCING ADDITIONAL VAT AT THIS AUSTERE TIME?
* Who would VAT favour - rich or poor? Definitely, the RICH who have more than sufficient funds to shop anywhere all the time!
* Must government become taxaholic on the poor masses rather than the rich and the affluent who are pathetic tax dodgers and tax evaders? NO!

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 states without ambiguity in Chapter II Section 2 (a) (b) (c), as follows: (a) " sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives its powers and authority." We will stop there for brevity!
Section 24 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) & (f), of the same Chapter also clearly spelt out Duties of the Citizens; but for the purpose of this work, we will restrict our analysis to (f), which specifically urged the citizen: "to declare his income honestly to appropriate and lawful agencies pay his tax promptly." Are the Nigerian affluent TAX-FRIENDLY? NO!


THE GREATEST ASSET OF ANY NATION IS ITS PEOPLE!
Nigeria is not an exception to this global conception which classifies the people as power house, engine room, workforce, the golden goose that lays the golden eggs etc, etc; from whom governments derive not only their POWER but also their LEGITIMACY and MUST therefore handle them with the greatest care and treat them with utmost respect and dignity! Governments should never forget that a people could make or mar the nation's development, peace, economy etc, depending on the kind of leadership that navigates the ship and the economic team at the helm of affairs!

TAX DRIVE NET SHOULD BE SPREAD TO CATCH MILLIONS OF RICH EVADERS!
Statistics have proved that only 40% of Nigerian taxable adults actually fulfil this constitutional obligation, while the very rich and wealthy form the bulk of evaders whether it is direct or indirect! DESIGNATED CONSTITUTIONAL TAXES: VARIOUS FORMS OF TAXES IN NIGERIA - INCOME TAX, VAT, BANK TAXES, COMPANY TAX, ROAD TAX, PORTS TAX, ETC, SHOULD NOT BURDEN THE POOR ALONE!
*WHAT ABOUT THE PROPOSED RE-INTRODUCTION OF TOLL GATES ON FEDERAL HIGHWAYS WHICH WOULD BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE AND TANTAMOUNT TO DESTRUCTION OF THE GAINS AGAINST CORRUPTION, KIDNAPPINGS, ARMED ROBBERIES, VIOLENCE, BLOODSHED AND TERRORISM IN NIGERIA?
*MULTIPLE TAXES BY FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA MUST BE ABOLISHED BY THE BRAND NEW ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL (EAC)!
*SIX NIGERIAN BILLIONAIRES CAN ERADICATE POVERTY IN THE NATION! Whistle Blowers should come to our rescue and fish them out! After all, they made their billions from this great country!
*CAUSES FOR DESPERATE TAXATION; DEFECTIVE CONSTITUTION, SOURCING OF MONTHLY FUNDS FROM FEDERATION ACCOUNT BY STATES; DELIBERATE REFUSAL BY GOVERNORS TO GENERATE FUNDS INTERNALLY (IGR's); FAILURE TO EXPLORE & EXPLOIT NATURAL RESOURCES THROUGH EXTRACTION - OUTSIDE OF CRUDE OIL!
*AJAOKUTA STEEL INDUSTRY, KOGI STATE – ESTABLISHED IN 1979, HAS BEEN ABANDONED UNTIL THE VERY RECENT RUSSIAN INTERVENTION – WHICH HAS REQUESTED FOR URGENT ESTABLISHMENT OF A SEA PORT AT LOKOJA, NIGER STATE AND RAIL LINES TO TRANSPORT HEAVY IRON PRODUCTS FROM THE PLANT TO OTHER LOCATIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES AND EXPORT!
*ALL EFFORTS MUST BE HARNESSED BY FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO GENERATE FUNDS FROM NATURAL RESOURCES IN ORDER TO RELIEVE THE POOR MASSES FROM TAX OVER-BURDEN!

CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER!
New Tax ID: FG directs CBN, others to synergise with the Joint Tax Board. The Federal Government has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, the National Identity Management Commission to cooperate with the Joint Tax Board in the release of relevant individual records! What does this mean to the Nigerian taxable adult? The end of multiple taxation on his meagre take-home-pay is in sight!
WHO SAYS PRESIDENT BUHARI'S APC GOVERNMENT IS NOT ON COURSE? When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. (Prov 29:2)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The choice of the phrase: #Revolution Now', adopted by the organizers of a planned nation-wide protest and the timing of the nocuous event, conceived by Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to provoke fresh civil disobedience was very offensive/insultive to the sensibilities of compatriots for peace, stability and good governance in Nigeria - especially the vulnerable downtrodden who would unfortunately become canon fodders, peradventure it succeeded!

Law-abiding citizens had hardly recovered from the atrocities unleashed on the innocent population severally at the Federal Capital and the Commercial cities of Abuja and Lagos, by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Shi'ite protesters between June and July, 2019, when fresh news spread that another 'revolution', that would heat up the polity and further destabilize a nation grappling to contain acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmers/herders clashes etc, by some disgruntled elements, was in the offing!


The nation-wide protest tagged, 'Revolution Now', which was disrupted by security agents on 5th August 2019, was a STUNT; a dangerous adventure which back-fired for Omoyele Sowore, the "not-too-young -to-rule" candidate and chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC), during the February 23rd, 2019, Nigerian Presidential Election because the Directorate of State Services (DSS), operatives did not waste time to arrest him on charges bothering on terrorism in Lagos, on Saturday, 3rd August, 2019, for questioning before he could hatch a CIVILIAN COUP-DE-TAT in Nigeria!

Without falling for the legal semantics making the rounds, the security agents who had other evidences against Sowore told him that his revolutionary project was a process of removal and replacement of a government in a political upheaval and was a criminal and treasonable offence - against legally-constituted authority of a STATE/COUNTRY!
The DSS told Sowore that his planned protest was a ploy to overthrow the democratically-elected government of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), through the application of force!

IS SOWORE A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST OR A CONFUSED POLITICIAN?
Prior to his incursion into Nigerian politics - 48-year-old Sowore stood out as an outstanding, respectable and successful entrepreneur in the Diaspora, being the chief executive of the internationally-accredited online news outfit, the SAHARA REPORTERS - a trait that cut across accomplished Nigerian professionals, who normally returned home to add value to their nation's socio-economic pursuit of a better life for the citizens!
Sowore lost woefully in the 2019 Presidential Election - coming 10th with 33,953 votes as against President Buhari's 15,191,847 million; but that was not all, the National Executive Council (NEC), of his party later accused him of anti-party activities including refusal to render accounts of donations/ expenditures and wasted no time to relieve him of his position as chairman, - even with a court judgement in their favour!
Sowore first tried his 'revolutionary ideology' to "BANDY OUT", military dictatorship at a very tender age of about 21/22 years as an undergraduate student at the University of Lagos, Akoka, but he and his cohorts seemed to have forgotten that constitutional democratic governments that cannot be 'bandied out' had been entrenched for about 20 years in Nigeria!
Sowore was born in February 1971, just when the 30 month-long BIAFRA WAR ended! That war consumed over one million lives and strategic properties in millions of dollars and by 1992, he was of age and matured sufficiently to re-act negatively to the military environment into which he was conceived and born!
BUT has he not negated his own ideology being the major dramatis personae who conceived the idea of the mass protest (this time, against a democratically constituted government), sold it to his cohorts who defied official ban and occupied some public spaces in Lagos and Abuja on Monday 5th August, 2019, while he was being quizzed by DSS operatives in respect of treasonable offences? Or was he acting the script of the opposition who never saw anything good in neither the APC ruling party nor the person of President Buhari or had he an inordinate ambition? IS HE A MISGUIDED YOUTH LIKE NNAMDI KANU - THE FUGITIVE SELF-ACCLAIMED LEADER OF THE PROSCRIBED INDEPENDENT PEOPLE OF BIAFRA (IPOB), WITH WHOM HE POSED WITH IN A RECENT PORTRAIT WHICH WENT VIRAL ON INTERNET?


'BUNDLE' DEMANDS FROM SOWORE'S 'REVOLUTIONARY' GROUP!
Sowore and the organisers of #Revolution Now' adduced several DEMANDS ranging from: * release of all political prisoners without trial; * implementation of new workers salaries, payment of pensions to retirees; *massive employment opportunities across board; * end of special privileges to the ruling class in the choice of private educational institutions and hospitals for their wards - in Nigeria or overseas; *abolition of humongous salaries to political appointees; *return of political power and national wealth to the working people in order to break monopoly over land ownership; *term limits for lawmakers; devolution of power from federal to states; resource control; * abolishment of the Senate; and the enactment of a new people's Constitution, among several others with IMMEDIATE MILITARY EFFECT! Although those contracted to participate in the protest were advised not carry weapons - even the smallest stones, BUT the organisers had fore-knowledge that members of the recently-proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and IPOB fanatics would hijack the protest if government did not moved swiftly to nip the mis-conceived "revolution" in the bud?

THE LISTED DEMANDS, CONTAINED NO NEW SUGGESTION OR IDEAS - THEY ARE ALL BEING IMPLEMENTED SEQUENTIALLY BY THE CHANGE APC ADMINISTRATION! IT IS EVIDENT THAT SOWORE INTENDED TO TAKE OVER THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AS WAS DONE IN SUDAN, TUNISIA, OR EGYPT, BUT THE NIGERIAN SITUATION HAS NO SEMBLANCE WITH THE ARAB SPRING!

Although, the Nigerian nation's challenges are multi-faceted due to its cultural, lingual, tribal and religious diversities but all citizens enjoy equal fundamental rights and cannot be manipulated by a mis-guided youth who in spite of his education believed that the POLITICAL UNITY - displayed by all of them in 1993, to vote MOSHOOD ABIOLA to presidency, was synonymous to a 'revolution' that could be replicated in 2019! NIGERIA IS NOT A MUSLIM STATE!

An Abuja High Court on Thursday, 8th August, 2019, granted an ex-parte motion by the DSS to further detain Sowore in its custody for 45 instead of 90 days requested by the agency, while further investigations continued in the treasonable charges brought against him under Terrorism Prevention Act, Section 27 (1) and the video evidences: exhibits/clips of his fraternity with the fugitive revolutionist, Nnamdi Kanu and also some proscribed IMN adherents! Sowore should go through the process of the law to prove his culpability to the charges or otherwise!

#RENAISSANCE NOW', NOT, #REVOLUTION NOW'!
Nigerian YOUTHS should come of age and embrace the lofty government programmes for better socio-economic life for all citizens, bond together with security agencies in intelligence gatherings to tackle on-going crisis of BOKO HARAM and other security challenges in the country, because they will eventually take over the reigns of administration in the nearest future!
Are those social critics in support for a regime overthrow by Sowore who recently lost an election more populated than the united millions who voted for Buhari's first and second terms in office? Those to be bandied out are the terrorists, kidnappers, militants, bandits, herdsmen killers etc! Sowore is no doubt the arrowhead of the gang of bad losers who tried to stop BUHARI both in 2015 & 2019 elections without success!

Nigerians need SPIRITUAL REBIRTH - a process of change that would give fresh hopes to the downtrodden through the sacrifices of all compatriots - who must ensure good governance, block avenues for corruption, treasury-looting and financial wastages; for the common patrimony to go round and provide all social amenities for all citizens!

All State Governors, irrespective of party affiliations should partner with the Federal Government to actualize the ongoing socio-economic/political restructuring programmes - which include aggressive diversification to agriculture, scientific/technological exploration and exploitation of natural mineral resources which abound in the 774 Local Government Areas, State and Community Policing etc. ALL HANDS MUST BE ON DECK TO BUILD ON THE APC GAINS OF THE LAST FOUR YEARS TO ACTUALIZE OUR DREAM OF AN EGALITARIAN NATION!


"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah. 29: 11).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

TWO strategic economic thrusts in the month of August, 2019, by President Buhari: first, declaration of Nigeria's attainment of food security/immediate ban on forex allocation for food importation through the Central Bank of Nigeria (on the 13th), ; and second, partial closure of the nation's northern border with Benin Republic due to massive smuggling activities, especially of rice (on the 20th), were no doubt, positive ideas of government to boost patronage of locally-made products; and which the newly inaugurated Economic Advisory Council (EAC), must advantageously employ as a starting point to further deepen the execution of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP)!
The body will be required to advise the President on economic policy matters, fiscal analysis, economic growth and a range of internal and global economic issues in collaboration with relevant cabinet members and head of monetary and fiscal agencies and will report directly to the executive President unlike the disbanded Economic Monitoring Team (EMT), chaired by the Vice President, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo, with a view to achieving quicker implementation and eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks in this second and last term of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)!
Although, the EMT under Osinbajo's watch performed creditably, in spite of the self-inflicted economic recession foisted on the nation by the failed PDP 16 years of woeful administrations, ulterior motives have been adduced to the President's move by government detractors who believed that Osinbajo was being sidelined by the Presidency "cabal" which would not want him to succeed his principal in 2023!

VP Osinbajo is constitutionally Chairman of the National Economic Council, current Chairman of the Governing Board of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); National Boundary Commission, the Border Communities Development Agencies and the Niger Delta Holding Company - a limited liability company owned by the three tiers of government; but it was being alleged that the President was planning to strip him also of his brain-child passion known as the Special Intervention Programmes (SIP), which comprises of the Trader Money Scheme; N-Power/School Feeding programmes and others, while some of Oshinbajo's aides had been transferred out of Presidential Villa and seconded to MDA's!

All of the welfare programmes previously under the VP's purview/supervision are expected to be transferred to the newly-created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, headed by Sadiya Umar Faruk, according to the allegations!

Without losing sight of the President's core mission to provide adequate security, actualize successful economy and destroy institutional corruption, this second term aggressive moves within three months of inauguration could safely be interpreted to mean only one thing; a determined General who MUST win the battle at all costs by deploying his arsenals in the right directions under a unified command! The Presidency is ONE, because both the President and his Vice were elected with ONE TICKET!


TEMPORARY BORDER CLOSURE IS YIELDING POSITIVE RESULTS!
Nigerian borders were not normally shut except for very logical reasons which have to do with all forms of sabotage that border on infiltration of the economy: through illegal importation/exportation of foods, beverages, goods/services; or with security: smuggling of dangerous weapons, illegal immigration, terrorism or external war! The Federal Government was not unmindful of economic saboteurs, whose sole ambition was selfish aggrandizement through illicit trades and gains in collaboration with unfaithful ECOWAS neighbours and was poised to destroy their structures/cartels where they existed by destabilizing all their nefarious activities with the combined efforts of security agents at the land border posts, sea and air ports!

The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), bloc which could not call its saboteurs to order, were mostly concerned with the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Act of which Nigeria is a signatory rather than the welfare and economic prosperity of the Nigerian people whose fundamental rights were being trampled upon through the criminal dumping of banned foreign goods and products on the nation! They strongly believed that Buhari's stringent measures would not prevent smugglings into Nigeria but insisted, through its Parliament for the re-opening of the borders which had remained shut for over TWO MONTHS and promised to support a co-ordinated fight against the menace! But President Buhari told a delegation of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), on Friday, 20th September, 2019, in Abuja that the border closure was yielding positive results/dividends!


THE EAC MEMBERS ARE SEASONED AND GLOBAL-QUOTED AND TESTED ECONOMISTS!
The Chairman of the 7-member Presidential Economic Advisory Council is Prof. 'Doyin Salami and Dr. Mohammed Sagagi, Vice Chairman; Dr. Mohammed Salisu, Secretary; other members of the crack economic team are Prof.Charles Chukwuma Soludo, former Governor of the CBN; Mr. Bismack Rewane, a renowned business economist,; Mr. Ode Ojowu, a former presidential chief economic adviser; Iyabo Masha, former International Monetary Fund (IMF), Country Representative for Sierra Leone. Though not recognised by the Constitution, EAC will influence the President to take immediate and decisive actions this time around. They will hold monthly technical sessions as well as scheduled quarterly meetings with the President but the chairman could meet with Mr. President at short notice over pressing/urgent matters!


URGENT EXPECTATIONS FROM EAC!
According to a Public Finances Analyst, Mr. Olusegun Lemo, Nigerians would expect the new advisory body to urgently analyse current indices in respect of fiscal/monetary policies as they affect the economy viz: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), rate @ 2.85%, annual GDP growth @ 1.94%; unemployment rate @ 23.1%, inflation @ 11%; interest rate that the CBN recently held @13.5%, cash reserve ratio @ 22.5%, and Public Finances Crude Oil is $70 bpd. in order to shore up revenue that would address the masses unfriendly TWO DIGITS ratings of unemployment, inflation and interest rates to enable government to lift 100million Nigerians out of poverty annually from 2019 and in subsequent years ahead, since government administration is a continuum!


TWO OTHER SWEEPING CHANGES IN QUICK SUCCESSION!
Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita was suspended indefinitely on 19th September, 2019; for her to be investigated over allegation of over a bank account deposit of N3 billion naira contract scandal by EFCC/money laundering financial crime linked to her through her assistant while she was a Director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. She has been replaced by Dr. Folashade 'Yemi-Esan, with immediate effect!
Chairman of the Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, (SPIP), Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, was suspended on 21st September 2019, to face investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, in respect of alleged certificate forgery and extortion perpetrated while in office as head of the ad hoc body!

AFENIFERE DESCRIBES OSINBAJO'S OFFICE AS IRRELEVANT, REDUNDANT AND INCAPACITATED!
The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has faulted President Buhari for inaugurating the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), to replace the Economic Management Team (EMT), being headed by his Vice, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo. They claimed that the move was to render the second-in- command moribund, though his principal unequivocally stated that EAC would address mounting economic challenges with a view to attaining Nigeria's position among the first 20 economically-viable countries by the year 2020 and also achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), by the year 2030! The group also insinuated that the development was a Northern agenda in a permutation, to sideline Osinbajo and by extension the South West, ahead of 2023 Presidency, which is rotational between the North and the South!

During the first term when Osinbajo held fort as acting President for President Buhari who had health challenges, and no lacuna was noticed as he discharged the duties of the two men creditably, Afenifere did not allege any discrepancies in the hierarchy! Afenifere must be reminded that both men are regarded as associates in the Constitution!

We disagree with the myopic, nepotic and tribalistic position of Afenifere and their ilk’s who forgot that President Buhari acted within executive/constitutional rights and powers which allowed him to deputize his Vice or the Ministers or any other officer in the public service of Nigeria to act on his behalf as he felt appropriate in the process of diligent exigencies of services, according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, Chapter vi Section 148(1)! Positioning Osinbajo for presidency in the 2023 General Elections is nothing short of sheer absurdity and a political miscalculation deliberately posited by Afenifere to heat up the polity!

Serious-minded Nigerians have no time for idle minds which would rather read negative meanings to every move of a determined APC Government which would stop at nothing but stamp an indelible mark of economic laurels in the sands of time for a country which global highly developed countries almost ran aground through an avalanche of horrible negative reports BUT would support the new drive to make this nation economically-viable by the 2020!
Nigeria will surely achieve this enviable status with the duo of BUHARI AND OSINBAJO in the saddle and in perfect control of the SHIP to the shame and detriment of the detractors! Whosoever God hath blessed, let no man curse!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The over eight-hour land-mark judgement of Wednesday, 11th September 2019, at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Abuja, by a five-member panel of eminent, articulate and proven jurists of the Nigerian Bench, headed by his lordship, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, which gave a resounding victory to President Muhammadu Buhari, has sent a very strong judicial signal to appellants, that electoral disputes/litigations could never be settled in the courts of public opinions, social media or pages of newspapers but in Constitutional Courts of competent jurisdiction, legally constituted for such duties!


But before that judgement which dismissed all prayers of the petition "in its entirety", the major litigant, Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), candidate, in his characteristic desperation, wrote to the President of the Appeal Court on 5th September, 2019, on the need not to allow his petition to be caught up by constitutional timeline since the Tribunal had on 21st August, 2019, reserved judgement after the petitioners and respondents - INEC, President Buhari, and his Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), adopted their final written addresses!

However, when the deed was done, head of the opposition PDP legal team had no choice than to eat the "humble pie", acknowledged the professionalism, thoroughness, legal prowess and outstanding conclusions of the cohesive team of the legal luminaries, who were united to dismiss in entirety, all of the three prayers sought by the appellants to nullify the victory of the winner of the Presidential Elections of 23rd February, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari, and declare the runner-up, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as winner in his stead!


RUMBLINGS BY PETITIONERS BEFORE THE D-DAY!
Weeks before the D-Day, PDP in frenzied desperation to sway public opinion in favour of Atiku Abubakar, the social, print and electronic media was orchestrated with all manner of postulations that negative reports by international observer groups, which alleged electoral malpractices, vote buyings, ballot boxes snatchings, security agents interventions at polling stations etc, should sway judgement in favour of the candidate who lost woefully!
Their three-pronged appeal was predicated on the following planks:
That the election was marred by irregularities;
That Atiku received more votes than Buhari and:
That the president did not have a secondary school certificate, a basic requirement to contest the election. PDP said it would appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court!
President Buhari, according to the results released by INEC, garnered 61% of the votes as against the 41% of Atiku Abubakar at the 23rd February, 2019, election but that the 35.6% turn-out of the electorate was lower by 8.6%. compared with the 44% in 2015, and Atiku rejected the results hours after Buhari was declared winner with a promise that he would challenge the results at the Appeal Tribunal while his Party described it as a "direct assault on the integrity of our nation's justice system"!

*Contrary to PDP's stand, Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, congratulated President Buhari for his second victory over Atiku through a live broadcast because, he would not pay the nocturnal visits to Aso Villa like other opposition governors and party stalwarts - though he neither liked the President nor his policies!

SUMMARY OF THE LAND-MARK JUDGMENT THAT WOULD STAND THE TEST OF TIME!
The Jury was very painstaking in reading out the judgement through the lead Judge who initially decided pre-trial applications which favoured Atiku and his lead counsel before advancing into the main prayers of the appellants. The lead counsel's name which were abbreviated in some documents were accepted as genuine while ATIKU WAS DECLARED AS A BONA FIDE NIGERIAN AND NOT A CAMEROONIAN AS ALLEGED BY THE RESPONDENTS!
With analytical precision, one after the other, all arguments raised by the petitioners: from the crime of perjury in a sworn affidavit; to the existence of an INEC website/server; alleged electronic transfer of results through Card Readers to INEC's central server; vote-buying; criminal intervention by security agents (especially soldiers and policemen), to support electoral rigging by the APC; malpractices through ballot boxes snuffing/snatching at the polling booths with the connivance of policemen, etc, etc, were all succinctly treated without giving any room for ambiguity or controversy!

The lead Judge, Justice Garba, who took over from President of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, who was initially rejected by the PDP, for probable vested interests, adduced and quoted copiously from a plethora of decided cases ranging from the lower courts through to the Apex court in a manner of a jurist who knows his onions and conversant with extant laws in the terrain of legal jurisprudence! The English definitions of some contentious words were not left to doubt as the learned judge employed the Webster/Oxford and other dictionaries to lend credence to the judgement!

And the "coffin" of the judgement pronouncements which did not favour Atiku Abubakar, was finally nailed by two other distinguished judges of the panel, who further buttressed the conclusions of the lead judge on the prayers in respect of Perjury and Vote-Buying, which were unsubstantiated by neither evidences nor witnesses by the petitioners, according to the law!

ALL FIVE JUDGES DISMISSED THE APPEAL IN ITS ENTIRETY, STRESSED THAT THE ONUS OF PROOF RESTED SQUARELY ON THE APPELLANTS WHO FAILED TO PROVE THEIR ALLEGATIONS BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBTS!

ATIKU'S LEGAL TUSSLES BEFORE 2019!
The PDP Presidential Candidate at the 2019, General Elections, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, (1999-2007), suffered public disgrace/humiliation in the hands of his principal, Chief Aremu Obasanjo who accused him of alleged crimes of official corruption, aggrandizement and abuse of office during their second term, all in a bid to scuttle the ambition of the former from succeeding him in office and he (Obasanjo), succeeded!
Obasanjo instituted official panel of investigation and found Atiku guilty of impropriety in the handling of sales of Federal Government's critical assets, of which he was chairman; in his alleged involvement in a $500,000 bribery scandal involving a US Congressman, William J. Jefferson; and in the manipulation of the Petroleum Trust Development Fund, (PTDF), accounts, in other to castigate, reduce him to odium and unfit to further hold any public office - especially, his obsessive ambition to become the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, denied all allegations and got redress in over seven case which he instituted against Obasanjo and the Federal Government between 2006-2007, and was cleared by the Supreme Court as suited and qualified to contest the 2007 Presidential Election as the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), candidate, but lost to late President Umaru Yar 'Ardua!
Political observers strongly expected, Alhaji Atiku to institute legal actions of libel, slander, defamation of character, etc, against his boss years after they both lost the immunity shield, but that never happened; instead, Atiku sent emissaries to placate Obasanjo and subsequently travelled to personally beg for pardon and obtain assurances to shore up his dented political clout.

ATIKU HAS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT!
But in this trending matter, Alhaji Abubakar has the fundamental right to go the whole hog in the belief that he still had a good chance of upturning the verdict of the Appellant Court at the Apex Court!
Atiku, whose penchant for litigation had become obstinate is poised to proceed to the Supreme Court, which would finally arbitrate on the judgement of the Appeal Court and lay the case to permanent rest within the constitutional 90 days window allotted to the excercise from September 11, 2011!
Incidentally, the Abuja Presidential Appeal Tribunal judgement coincided with the18th anniversary of September 9/11 catastrophic terrorists bombings of the New York Twin Trade Center Towers, and other strategic government structures which humbled America, the most powerful global nation, which had won several battles ( civil wars, world wars), in its 233 years of independence! HE WHO THAT THINKS HE STANDS SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS, LEST HE FALLS! HERE LIES THE LITMUS TEST FOR ATIKU WHO STRONGLY BELIEVES HE WOULD NEVER LOSE ANY LITIGATION AT THE SUPREME COURT!

Atiku Abubakar's determination to further launch his appeal at the Apex Court for a final and logical conclusion should not be constrained that the outcome may further strengthen not only our DEMOCRACY, but also establish the much-desired foundation for STRONG INSTITUTIONS and become a REFERENCE POINT for future LEGAL JURISPRUDENCE!

"Whatever has a beginning MUST SURELY have an end!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The White minority South Africans who lost power to the majority Blacks in 1994, when the African National Congress (ANC), won the presidential elections for the very first time in the nation's history were never comfortable in defeat! It has been 25 years when fortunes were reversed, when the Enslaved legitimately took over the Masters tables and the once powerful and mighty task masters became the subservient in the equation; but as bad losers, had surreptitiously sponsored deliberate and regular XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS from Mandela to Ramaphosa, against African immigrants across the nation by applying the wicked and insensitive doctrine of divide and rule!


From prison to palace, late President Nelson "MADIBA" Mandela, proved to be magnanimous in victory, brushed aside the pains of 27 years of incarceration at the dreaded Robben Island, the massive slaughter of about 700 innocent SA SOWETO BLACK SCHOOL CHILDREN and an estimated 1,000 injured, on 16th June, 1976, for protesting against the "Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which forced all Black schools to use Afrikaans and English in a 50-50 mix, as languages of instruction!
He equally waved off crimes of Boers massacres of his fellow country men/women over trumped-up charges by consecutive White minority governments which were the worst kinds of racism/apartheid/xenophobia against fellow citizens of the same country! He forgot that the bestial act of that cold-blooded murder of school children precipitated a setback to child education/ mentoring and simultaneously created a deficit in the overall education sector for massive illiteracy to flourish! AND NOW, IT IS VERY EASY FOR THE WHITE BOERS TO EASILY MANIPULATE THE ILLITERATE AND JOBLESS SOUTH AFRICANS INTO XENOPHOBIA!

And when he climbed the podium on 10th May, 1994, Mandela in his inaugural speech, solicited that "bygones be bygones" but forgot to bequeath a bonding legacy that South Africans should remain eternally grateful to their African brothers/sisters especially governments of Nigeria, Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Lesotho plus other African countries, which allied to put an end to the evil practice of "apartheid" with huge fundings and effective advocacies, and effected the desired democratic administration where the majority blacks eventually won the 1994 elections to break the shackles of bondage by White supremacists of several decades!


THE STORY OF APARTHEID: TRUTH MUST BE TOLD NOW!
BLACK South Africans must definitely have short memories! Once upon a time, THEY WERE NOT A PEOPLE and virtually had no citizenship because their WHITE TASK MASTERS burdened them with an everlasting servitude, treated them worse than second class citizens and yoked them as SLAVES in their fatherland where they had no respite and no one to rescue them but successive NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AND ITS PATRIOTIC CITIZENS!
The story of Apartheid began in 1948 when the White-supremacist government of that dispensation introduced an inhuman and detestable policy of racial separation/discrimination purposely against the majority indigenous Blacks, who actually owned the land and successfully enslaved them until 1990, (42 consecutive and uninterrupted years of man's worst kind of wickedness against his brethren), when the MADIBA, President Nelson Mandela, who had been in the forefront of the emancipation of his great fatherland from colonial domination, was released from 27 years of prison incarceration and emerged through an overwhelming popular votes to become the first-ever Black SA President! Right from independence in 1960, successive Nigerian governments and its patriotic citizens condemned APARTHEID in all its ramifications and mobililized international support for a crusade against the obnoxious and very irratitating policy in which PETS OWNED BY WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS HAD SUPERIOR RIGHTS THAN THE BLACK CITIZENS!

Under the policy, Blacks were forbidden to dwell in cities and urban centres with their White counterparts; they must not ride in the same public transportation with the whites, must never share public toilet facilities, schools, churches etc, with the Whites because they were regarded as slaves and very inferior to their masters and MUST ALWAYS PRESENT OFFICIALLY-APPROVED IDENTIFICATION CARDS for employment unlike the Whites! South Africans owe Nigerians an everlasting GRATITUDE!
The present generation of South African blacks who lacked historical knowledge of past contributions of other African States to their liberation and independence, had continuously blamed their massive jobless woes (about 48%), on legitimate African immigrants who are engaged in honest businesses, instead of directing their venom on the Whites and the few RICH conniving-Blacks, who owned virtually all the thriving business in their country!
Xenophobia is synonymous to apartheid/racial insensitivity/bigotry/segregation/discrimination of an immense dimension that could provoke the kind of atrocities displayed through massive daylight destruction of valuable properties, lootings and killings of Africans by Africans for the umpteenth time on the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria as they were ferried with BUSES FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER WHILE SA POLICEMEN, CONNIVED BY STANDING ALOOF!!
The White BOER minority which perpetrated APARTHEID (racial discrimination), through government machinery for decades (1948-1990), following de-colonization of SA territory, [though hidden in the background since May 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the first black President], still lay claim to a superior skin ego and also undue socio-economic headstart during the dark days when the SA blacks dwelt in squalor and abject poverty in their fatherland!

Whatever unfortunate pains/agonies/sorrows/losses, and collateral damages suffered by Africans through xenophobic attacks of the past or present, MUST be squarely laid at the doorsteps of all past and present South African presidents, including the "Madiba", who honourably bowed out after ONE TERM of five years but failed to educate their citizens on the need for unity and brotherliness with all African nations which supported them in their time of need!
Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the incumbent, Cyril Rhamaphosa, (believed to be multi-billionaires), cannot feign ignorance of the enormous contributions of Nigeria and their neighbouring African country during the painful/agonising years in the struggle against APARTHEID regimes of White minority!

ZIMBABWE'S NATIONAL HERO, ROBERT MUGABE SUPPRESSED WHITE SUPREMACISTS!
Late President Robert Mugabe critics would fault him for his solo effort of trying to put his country on the pedestal as a sit-tight for 31 years! But Mugabe fought the minority dominant Whites of the then Southern Rhodesia Government to a standstill until victory was achieved for him to take over the mantle of leadership in 1980!
From1980-2018 - ROBERT MUGABE who passed on at 95 on Friday 6th September, 2019, bequeathed a LEGACY OF SOUND EDUCATION to his citizens and earned for his country the credit of being placed as the only African country with the highest percentage of literacy! Mugabe was well educated. He was a teacher-turned-politician and had to his credit at least seven academic degrees. He did not only educate his people, he also empowered them through a deliberate agricultural revolution which transferred all Whites owned lands/farms to the rightful Zimbabwean black majority, who had been largely marginalized through racial bigotry of past White administrators! This true pan-Africanist would be fondly remembered for educating a people who do not believe in XENOPHOBIA!


WE ADVOCATE STRINGENT MEASURES BY NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT!
We join all Nigerians, from the Presidency/Legislature/Judiciary, including Nigerians in the Diaspora, to condemn the most recent SA xenophobic attacks which began from Thursday, 29th August, through Tuesday, 3rd September, 2019, and advocate for legal, economic, diplomatic sanctions against SA this time around - but We vehemently oppose and discourage any form of reprisals against SA interests or citizens in Nigeria!
On the legal plank, We support the suggestion that SA Government be dragged before the AFRICAN HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS COURT - based in ARUSHA, TANZANIA, to seek redress in the form of compensations for Nigerian victims in the unabated confrontations both in 2016 when 26 African immigrants, including Nigerians were killed and especially the18th February, 2017, reign of xenophobic terror which resulted in destruction, burning, looting of homes, workshops and properties of Nigerians - worth millions of US dollars, with professionally-documented evidences, authentic video footages, industrial experts/eye-witnesses reports!
Economic Sanctions: Trade between SA and Nigeria favours the former because its business interests in Nigeria spanning all areas of communications, industry, manufacturing, banking and commerce, are enormous; therefore, Federal Government should invoke economic sanctions against it without further delay! MTN which was slammed with a fine of US $5.2 dollars by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in 2016, for impropriety in business transactions, and is yet to pay the in full, should be forced to pay with interests. Some Nigerians have even suggested that all SA business interests should be NATIONALIZED AND THEIR LICENCES WITHDRAWN immediately to send strong messages to the nation!
On the diplomatic front, most Nigerians opined that all relations with the HOSTILE NATION should be severed, that our High Commission and Consulate shut down, our ambassadors recalled, while all immigrant Nigerians repatriated! We will not support extreme measures especially when Nigeria's Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Information and Culture, have confirmed that no NIGERIAN LIFE was lost in the fracas but stand by our President's statement in the belief that there would be no future occurrence!
‘’And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Luke 6:31)’’.

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens had assumed the derogatory pun as the "Ruse of Law", instead of the "Rule of Law" for various reasons ranging from injustices experienced by suspects during investigations of infringements of the law, prosecutions of offences, bail procedures, temporary remands at the correctional institutions and finally, the unrighteous role of the Judiciary which should serve as the last hope of the common man!

Rule of law should not be given a blanket criticism/condemnation when unfavourable to some persons or segments of the society because of its human rights value chain and the wider implication of its jurisdiction over every facet of human endeavour and MUST be recognized:
As the law which is fundamental, inalienable, and enforces human rights of the individual as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended;
That it should be recognised like the purveyor of freedom which must be prioritized through righteous governance to ensure fair play, justice and equity to each citizen at every level of enforcement, investigation, prosecution and, or judgement;
That it is a system of law which guarantees innocence of individuals under investigation/prosecution until the contrary was proved at competent courts of jurisdiction;
That the law is applicable to all and sundry: litigants, appellants, accused persons, defendants, plaintiffs, respondents, the religious, the criminals, the rich/poor and all law-abiding citizens without exception;
And that in every true democracy, rule of law must act as the watchword to guide all socio-economic activities and establish the solid platform for crime-free societies where awareness and limitations of citizens rights are respected religiously!

CONTRAVENTION OF THE RULE OF LAW HAS COST NIGERIA TREMENDOUS BLOODSHED!
It is a decade down the line, (30th July, 2009 - 30th July, 2019), when the rule of law was denied to Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf, who was reportedly killed in police detention after his arrest and hand-over by the Nigerian Army for investigation/prosecution in respect of offences of unlawful assembly, violent attacks on worship places, contravention of public order, etc. Following the alleged extra-judicial killing, his lieutenants/followers swore to avenge his death through insurgency and all manners of brigandage which resulted in terrorist acts of suicide bombing and mass kidnappings for ransoms! Not less than 100,000 persons have lost their lives, while billions of naira worth of strategic properties lost to the avoidable calamities! If the rule of law was applied to Yusuf and his followers, in 2009, the nation would have been spared the agony of human and economic disasters that were still ongoing!


URGENT ADVOCACY IS NEEDED NOW TO IMPLEMENT RULE OF LAW IN ALL FACETS OF LIFE!
Who should then be the expert or best qualified to interpret the tenets of the Rule of Law and legal processes of Criminal Jurisprudence in Nigeria other than the practitioners under the aegis of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), whose affirmative submission at their recent 59th Annual General Conference held in Lagos between Friday 23rd to Thursday, 29th August, 2019, was a consensus vote that, "the rule of law must be entrenched and given the prominence it deserved as the priority policy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!" Being an annual event poised to ensure clientele professional satisfaction, practitioners at the 2019 edition deliberated on the trending national discussion on the danger threatening smooth execution of citizens fundamental rights in respect all the "freedoms" as enshrined in Chapter IV, Section 33(1)46(1)(4)(a)(b)(i)(ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Current Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Paul Usoro, SAN, said during the Conference week that the ruling government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), could not be totally condemned for disobedience to the practice of rule of law, because in some cases, it was compliant.

The Chairman is also a beneficiary of the rule of law because in spite of being prosecuted for alleged money laundering fraud charge of the sum of N1.4 billion naira, he is presumed innocent and remains the Chief Executive of the body until the contrary is proven! APC was rule of law compliant in the case of el Zakzaki and wife, who were allowed to travel to India for medical treatment; it was compliant when the courts ruled that it had no candidates in the Rivers Governorship/Election and Zamfara Governorship/National Assembly Elections/State House of Assembly Elections, which ultimately favoured the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).


VARIOUS COMPLAINTS AGAINST GOVERNMENT ON VIOLATIONS OF RULE OF LAW!
Legal practitioners. pressure groups, NGO's, CSO's etc, are quick to accuse governments at all levels of deliberate disobedience to courts orders and thereby violating the doctrine and the rule of law and by extension, the fundamental rights of several individuals! Although leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, (IMN), el Zakzaki and his are now enjoy bail facility, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, who is facing charges of economic sabotage, money laundering, arms possession, in stilll in DSS custody in spite of many court judgements in his favour since 2015, because Government claims that NATIONAL INTEREST SUPERSEDES THE RULE OF LAW?


CULPABLE JUDGES AND LAWYERS!
In 2014, during a lecture titled "Nigeria at Centenary: A Nation in Bondage", a retired President of the Court of Appeal, in a very passionate indictment, claimed that the Judiciary was riddled with corrupt elements especially among those who called the shots at the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC), and added that some dishonourable people, " not fit to be judges and senior lawyers, got into the system, made it the highest level of judicial career and subsequently frustrate the common man's quest for justice and equity" He also claimed that it was an open truth that both serving and retired judges acted as "arranges" or "couriers", who reach out to "purchase justice on behalf of crooked litigants”‘ and concluded that the problems with the Nigerian Judiciary, might be compounded or unresolved for a long time because "Nigerians naturally hate the truth and whosoever voiced the truth was marked for destruction"!
THESE REVELATIONS WERE MADE LONG BEFORE THE "STING OPERATION" CARRIED OUT BY THE DSS ON 8TH/9TH OCTOBER 2016, ON SOME JUDGES WHO HAD BEEN UNDER WATCH BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY!

Eight months after that operation, described as unheard of, unprecedented and unlawful by detractors of the WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION, even though they are aware that Judges were not above the LAW, one of the accused persons, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, was DISCHARGED AND ACQUITTED by his fraternal colleague on the BENCH following a "NO CASE SUBMISSION" by the defence counsel and was set free to go home to enjoy the sweat of his labours and RESUME AT HIS DESK for business as usual!
He was among the SEVEN Justices investigated after that STING OPERATION carried out by the DSS on 8/9th October, 2016.He and his wife Olabowale and Mr. Joe Agi, SAN, were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), prosecutors on an 18- count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy to receive gratification in various ways contrary to Section 8( 1)(a) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and items recovered from his home included the following: Large sums of money in foreign currencies; $121.279 US Dollars, 400 Euros, 110 Indian Rupees, £80 pounds sterling totalling several millions of naira and also TWO PUMP ACTION RIFLES!
During his trial at the law court, evidences were adduced that the Judge transferred N175 million in TWO TRANCHES in N90 million and N85 million respectively to a property company through a Nigerian Bank and was also admitted in evidence that a litigant standing trial before the Judge bought a car worth over N7 million naira for Mr. Ademola junior! That was not all, while the fate of ONE female Judge who was also on trial – Justice Ajumogobia, was yet to be decided, SIX Judges, who were about to be formally charged, were SUDDENLY RECALLED AND ASSIGNED TO DUTY POSTS BY THE NIGERIA JUDICIAL COUNCIL (NJC), who, arbitrarily decided that EFCC failed to file charges against them, months after their arrest and suspension!

WHAT ROLE HAS THE RULE OF LAW PLAYED IN ALL OF THE ABOVE? SHOULD CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE AND THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE TAKE ITS FULL COURSE WHEN NATIONAL INTEREST IS AT STAKE?


WHO DETERMINES WHAT CONSTITUTES NATIONAL INTEREST: EXECUTIVE OR JUDICIARY?
Defense of "National Interest" according to the Executive arm of government's understanding, constitutes total clamp down on clandestine initiatives/plans conceived and to be hatched by persons with ulterior dispositions in order to perpetrate criminal acts that could destabilize an otherwise peaceful environment with a view to causing confusion, danger, civil disobedience, anarchy or insurgency to innocent citizens, while the Judiciary believes that national interest should constitute total execution of the rule of law which would subdue and nip in the bud any form of disgruntled citizens insurrection!
Either way, both arms should unite to correct all existing flaws in the existing Constitution with a view to preparing the platform for a Constituent Assembly of eminent citizens who will fashion a BRAND NEW and unambiguous Constitution for Nigeria! "A house divided against itself shall fall!" A word is enough for the wise.


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

There was a time in the life of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when prodigality occupied the centre stage and the common patrimony was converted to private possessions of some selfish few shortly after the "Biafra War" and the era of Oil Boom debuted! The hard currency flowed seamlessly into the coffers of successive military governments from the 70's into the 90's when they reluctantly handed over to the civilians in an arrangement which looked more of a Diarchy, because all the corrupt military generals could not take their hands off the TILL, and treasury-looting became the first sets of accredited government contractors through subtle intimidations of the new administration of 1999, headed by retired General Aremu Obasanjo, who perpetrated an import-driven economy!

They were all into the Oil and Gas, Export/Import of foreign merchandise, exotic foods, vintage wines, alcohols, tomato paste, stock fish, canned fish, beverages, milk, rice, palm oil, vegetable oil fabrics, electronics, automobiles, motor bikes, electric cables, household utensils/furniture’s, even tooth picks, etc all, to tightly keep the economy in their leach! And in all of those neo-colonialists manifestations, the downtrodden masses suffered deprivation of virtually all social amenities of electricity power, potable water, sanitation/drainage systems, motorable roads, adequate shelters, job opportunities, protection of life and property, etc!

During those periods of sufferings and deprivations one prominent civilian Commissioner in the North in the early 70's LATE ALHAJI UMARU DIKKO, philosophically SAID THAT THE TREND COULD STILL DEGENERATE TO CITIZENS PICKING GARBAGE’S FROM THE DUST BINS FOR SURVIVAL and quickly escaped to London the military could arrest him!!
HOW time changes! In the midst of those commotions, there was a divine intervention through one General who was preserved to change the unpalatable story line in the person of the incumbent second-term democratically elected President Muhammadu Buhari, who vehemently refused and resisted the successive and abusive prodigality of past administrations to entrench true federalism by returning the common wealth to the citizens through the very transparent, Treasury Single Account (TSA), which enshrines accountability as demanded by the Constitution and total war against corruption, violent crimes/criminalities, insurgency/terrorism, which were off-shoots of past maladministration’s!

From the inception of the first term, in 2015, aggressive diversification from the mono-foreign-exchange -earner product of crude oil to Agriculture engage the attention of the Change APC Administration under the watch of President Buhari, who ensured that all foreign goods that were detrimental and inimical to economic growth, were outrightly banned to give way for local manufacturers/industrialists, livestock and poultry farmers to thrive!

Therefore when self-appointed foreign economic growth global monitors of independent Republics announced in 2018 - that Nigeria was the "poverty capital" nation of the universe and detractors at home and the Diaspora chorused the rating to spite the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), government as if that verdict were the gospel truth, We debunked the unsolicited, unholy, abusive and detrimental ranting of the meddlesome interlopers as very incorrect, offensive and untruthful in our Vol. 7. No. 258 publication of 22nd July 2018.
CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT THE NIGERIA CAME OUT OF RECESSION EARLY IN THE YEAR 2018, WE BELIEVE THAT THOSE NIGERIANS WHO ORCHESTRATED THE POVERTY ANALYSIS BY UN (CCA), AND THE PROGRESSION CHART USED BY WORLD POVERTY CLOCK (WPC), TO DISCREDIT NIGERIA WERE VERY UNPATRIOTIC!


NIGERIA HAS ACHIEVED FOOD SECURITY!
On Tuesday13th August, 2019, the Executive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, declared to the world that Nigeria had achieved food security and advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to stop approval of foreign exchange (forex), allocations for food importation! His exact words: "Don't give a cent to anybody to import food into the country," but he later told critics that the forex ban was to improve agricultural production and attain full food security!
Prominent on the welfare policy of the ruling government is the aggressive diversification from crude oil, the only forex earner to agriculture, which attracted less investments, provided massive employment opportunities and produced credible, glaring and unhidden results for local/global testimonies!

In less than two years of its first term, the APC Government in collaboration with willing States, lifted farmers fortunes beyond measures and no fewer than 16 millionaires emerged from Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Lagos States! Food Security is the AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS to food by all people - and according to the World Food Summit of 1996, such situation only existed when all people have that opportunity "to access at all times to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life." We believe that food security or sufficiency for any nation tantamount to agrarian economic growth and by implication, a veritable avenue to poverty alleviation, which is a trending situation of the new Nigeria of our collective dreams!


THOSE WHO CHORUSED POVERTY ARE ALSO AGAINST FOOD SECURITY!
They said that the President had no right to stop forex on food importation in spite of the noticeable depletion of the nation's foreign exchange reserves!
That the Executive could only deal with fiscal policy alone and not monetary, a prerogative of the banking agency which was autonomous and independent of government's manipulation, according to the CBN Act 2007, that established it and accountable only to the National Assembly (NASS).
That the Executive President was restricted to only three areas in the administration of the apex bank, namely: approvals of (a) Annual declarations; (b) Currency designs; and External investments, which were in tandem with global best practices and principles.
They also argued that if such forex had to be stopped, it should be gradual because importers would sought for forex from other sources since importation of food was only banned from official forex allocation, and would therefore create inflation - especially after Nigeria became a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in July 2019, which encourages tariff wavers!
IT is pertinent to digest the President's directives from the proper perspectives: first government’s concern was predicated on encouraging more investors to venture into farming while discouraging external competitions, opening opportunities for regular exportation of surpluses to needy nations to speedily increase the depleting foreign reserves! FREE TRADE DOES NOT MEAN FORCED TRADE!
ALTHOUGH, all staple food items such as: rice, beans, millets, garri, soya beans, fish, milk, palm oil, etc, that are locally produced, have been totally banned from importation so that the local farmers could thrive, rich people could still import exotic foods and pay high tariffs to whet their luxurious/expensive tastes which they could easily afford and it should no longer be the concern of government to fund their vanities and frivolities!

For the records, the concern of the APC administration from the onset to erase poverty in all forms, through adequate provision of strategic social intervention programmes is very much on track and had yielded positive economic results! But detractors want the President to fold his arms because of some administrative clauses of CBN's independence which have no structure in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
PRESIDENT BUHARI HAS SUCCESSFULLY WORKED WITH THE CURRENT CBN's GOVERNOR, GODWIN EMEFUELE, APPOINTED BY PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S (PDP), EX-PRESIDENT, EBELE JONATHAN, IN 2014, AND HAS ALSO RE-APPOINT HIM FOR A SECOND FIVE-YEAR-TERM!
Will this same Emefuele - whom PDP's candidate in the 2019 Presidential Elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, boasted that he would sack immediately he was elected - begin to quote CBN's Act 2007, which encourages social intervention strategies and disobey the Presidential directive?


MORE INVESTMENTS NEEDED TO BOOST NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH!
Was it not high time for Nigerian investors to divert more attention to the agriculture, mineral exploration, tourism, entertainment, the film industry, and the Art sectors; etc, to boost all economic derivables, encourage Nigerian-made products manufactured within Nigerian borders for export, acquire more forex and attain the much-sought-after-position among the 20-most-economically-viable nations of the world by the year 2020?
CHINA AND NOT AMERICA, SHOULD BY NOW BE NIGERIA'S ROLE MODEL IN RESPECT OF DETERMINED NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT IS MASSES-ORIENTED AND PEOPLE-FRIENDLY BECAUSE FOOD INSUFFICIENCY WOULD NEGATE BOTH PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTHS AND SUBSEQUENTLY BIRTH POVERTY AND CRIME - AN HUNGRY MAN IS SAID TO BE AN ANGRY MAN!

IF some Nigerians had sufficient food to eat in 2010, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was at its peak of corruption with impunity - A DEAD AND ROTTEN WHALE, WASHED ASHORE ON THE LAGOS BAR BEACH - would not have been aggressively attacked and bombarded with axes, cutlasses, machetes, jack knives, swords etc, by hungry people who had a field day in spite of warnings by the medics of consequences of health hazards!
FOOD SECURITY WOULD DEFINITELY ELIMINATE NOT ONLY POVERTY BUT ALSO UNEMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES IN ALL STATES OF THE FEDERATION!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

DURING his first term in office, the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, was turned into a sort of "Mecca", because PresidentBuhari had to play the neutral arbiter and father of the nation, always on hand to settle feuds between elected/political appointees who, in spite of designated powers, failed to appreciate their high pedestal! But this time around, he had given marching orders to checkmate the influx of the Toms, Dicks and Harrys, whom his Chief of Staff (COS), must now properly screen for appointments to avoid administrative distractions!
In a statement at the conclusion of a two-day induction retreat for 43 ministers-designate, presidential aides, and other top government functionaries, on Tuesday, 20th August, 2019, the President was very categorical that he would not entertain an extension for frivolities in his second term as he enjoined the ministers to hit the ground and work for the People of Nigeria, from whom they DERIVE THEIR POWERS to function!
"In terms of co-ordination, kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be CHANNELLED through the Chief of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters be co-ordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation," said the President unequivocally. He also urge the new ministers to engage and benefit from the experience of the older ministers and former governors in the cabinet, because FOUR years is "not a very long time"! The ministers were eventually inaugurated and assigned portfolios on Wednesday, 21st August, 2019, about THREE MONTHS into the new administration.
BUT most critics faulted the presidential directive and described it as high-handed, despotic and very unconstitutional as it has reduced ministers into serfdom/subjection of an oligarchic government!
Further in his address, the President confirmed that solutions that would address collaborative, purposeful and quicker results in actualising a more prosperous Nigeria in the areas of adequate security, macro-economic stability through agriculture and food security, the anti corruption war, industrialisation, energy security for petroleum products/electricity, transportation SMEs, human capital development for social inclusion, transportation, housing, financing and consumer credit facilities for a greater percentage of POOR PEOPLE, were fully researched/discussed at the retreat and must be implemented for them to access regular good/nutritional food, quality education for their children, including affordable healthcare for their families without delay!
He also assured Nigerians that solid foundations for progress had been established through the recapture of 18 Local governments previously held by Boko Haram in the North East while revamping of decayed infrastructures through investments in Road and Rail infrastructures, diversification of the economy from Oil towards Agriculture and Industrialization in spite of the sordid state of the economy and the huge legacy debts bequeathed to his administration in 2015, were pursued with dedicated/patriotic vigour!

THOSE who have criticised the seemingly derogatory directive to the ministers had freedom of expression but no rights to stop the President who, according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chapter VI, Sections 147 (1) - (6) and 148 (1) (2) (a) - (c), possess the prerogative and absolute authority to hire whom to work with, dictate contract terms, conditions of service and duration! For instance, the President could, at any time during the "marriage", revise the terms, reshuffle the cabinet or even FIRE those performing below expectations without infringing "pre-nuptial agreements", because in the final analysis, ACCOUNTABILITY WOULD BE DEMANDED FROM HIM BY THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED HIM TO POWER AND NOT HIS APPOINTEES!


CHIEF OF STAFF SHOULD NOT BE MADE THE SCAPE GOAT!
Eighty-one-year old Abba Kyari, (OON), a two-time Chief of Staff to President Buhari, is no mean personality. He was educated at the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick, attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos and International Institute for Management Development, (IMD), Harvard Business School and possesses a Masters degree; first appointed to the position on 27th August 2015 and his main pre-occupation was always to organize the daily presidential itineraries and ensuring that his principal was well-informed in advance to avoid administrative negligence or diplomatic blunders; and ensure perfect/ingenious security network within the entire presidential complex! He is naturally unassuming; he is a silent backstage worker whose immense contributions could not be wished away for good governance!
During his first tenure, he caved under much pressure from all directions of the polity; from appointed ministers, secretary to government, heads of service and parastals, political jobbers in the corridors of power, high profile contractors, captains of industries, organised labour, lobbyists, protesters, etc, etc., because it was the first term of his principal after a long break from martial governance! The President then, had to be very accommodative as he converted to a new trajectory in democracy but this time around he has barred them all from barging into the Villa as if it were a Village Square where the "baale" had no prerogative!


WOULD ABBA KYARI HAVE MERCY ON THE AGGRIEVED?
What would be the fate of the thousands of thousands of petitioners who can only communicate their president through the mails when the men of timber and calibre were barred from free access to the Aso Rock Office? We have it on credible authority that Mr. President was always oblivious to the pains of the aggrieved from one administration to another because documented petitions ended in COS trash bins - in most cases without any form of acknowledgement, even when the addressee was personalized! We want to believe that the presidential directive was a BLANKET CHEQUE to deprive aggrieved citizens from seeking redress from their CHIEF SERVANT who promised to cater for their welfare at all times!


THE BREAKDOWN OF THE CABINET AND PORTFOLIOS!
The list contained 14 former ministers, 29 new names consisting 7 females. The 14 ministers retained their portfolios - Federal Capital Territory, Labour and Employment, Education, Science and Technology, Health, Foreign Affairs, Water Resources; Finance, Aviation, Justice, Information and Culture, Works and Housing, Transportation. Osagie Ehanire (Edo State was) - was made substantive Minister of Health while, Mustapha Babs Shehuri (Bornu State) - was moved from Power, Works and Housing as Minister of State, to Agriculture and Rural Development, in the same capacity.

NEW MINISTERS: Dr. Ikechukwu Ogah (Abia State), Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development; Sharon Ikeazor (Anambra State), -Minister of State, Environment; Ambassador Katagun (Bauchi State), - Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment; Clement Ike, (Edo State) - Minister, Budget and National Planning; Isa Pantami, (Gombe State) - Minister of Communications; Emeka Nwajiuba, (Imo State) -Minister of State, Education; Muhammad Mahmood, (Kaduna State) - Minister of Envirionment; Sabo Nanono, (Kano State) - Minister of Agriculture and Development; Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi, (Kano State) - Minister of Defence; Ramatu, Tijjani (Kogi State) - Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Goddy Jedi Agba, (Cross River) - Minister of State, Power; Mohammed H. Abdulahi, (Nasarawa State) - Minister of State, Science and Technology; Zubair Dada, (Niger State) - Minister of State, Foreign Affairs; Sunday Dare, (Oyo State) - Minister of Youths and Sports; Maigarai Dingyadi, (Sokoto State) - Minister of Police Affairs; a brand new Ministry Sale Mamman, (Taraba State) - Minister of Power; Abubakar D. Aliyu, (Yobe State) - Minister of State, Works and Housing; Sadiya Umar Faruk, (Zamfara State) - Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; a brand new Ministry.

FORMER GOVERNORS AND SENATORS: Ex-Governor Timipre Sylva, new Minister of State, Petroleum under the President; Ex-Governor/serving Senator George Akume (Benue State), Minister of new Ministry of Special Duties; Ex-Governor Richard Adeniyi Adebayo, (Ekiti State) - Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Ex-Senator, Gbemisola Saraki, (Kwara State) - Minister of State, Transportation; Ex-Senator, Adeleke Mamora, (Lagos State) - Minister of State, Health; Olamilekan Adegbite, (Ogun State) - Minister of Mines and Steel Development; 'Tayo Alasoadura, (Ondo State) - Minister of State, Labour; Paulen Talen, Ex Deputy Governor (Plateau State) - Minister of Women Affairs;


EXPECTATIONS FROM THE NEW SQUAD OF LUCKY MARSHALS!
They should take the assignment as an opportunity to serve Nigerians righteously NOT because it was their TURN to share the NATIONAL CAKE! Nigerians MUST watch and monitor them very closely - especially - former governors and ministers who are back in the saddle to continue where they stopped in the first term and might likely relax! Their first task is to ensure that Nigeria attained recognition as one of the 20 economically-viable country in the year 2020 and also achieve the lofty ideals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), for African nations. Equally important is the fact that they MUST exhibit exemplary disposition: declare their assets on assumption of office, be content with their remunerations, avoid criminal tendencies through bribery and corruption and ensure they would not manipulate the Treasury Single Account (TSA), for illicit pecuniary gains!
RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTS AN NATION; SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE. (Proverbs. 14: 34).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Concerned patriotic citizens of Nigeria believe that there could be no better LEGACY for President Muhammadu Buhari to bequeath as he serves out his second term in office, than to revert governance to the parliamentary system which was treasury-friendly and effortlessly fulfilled the fundamental rights of the people in areas of security, economy, education, health facilities, employment opportunities, shelter etc, as was the case from independence before the military interregnum!

The people enjoyed better life opportunities without parochial consideration, tribal sentiments, nor social discrimination/classification but as one united people which cared for one another!
But now, the youths have suddenly metamorphosed into Frankenstein monsters -- social miscreants, street children, insurgents, bandits, militants, gunmen and terrorists - especially in the past 20 years of the new democratic dispensation, because political jobbers of successive administrations short-changed them by forcing them into the illiterate world of the STONE AGE and invariably turned them into brutish beasts!

Although, heinous social crimes of kidnappings/homicides have turned out to be no respecter of persons considering the fact that the genre of victims cut across all facets of human discipline, We still believe in the determination of President Buhari to change the unpleasant scenario in no time for he is the divine Crusader who MUST give account of his stewardship to the Fathers of Lights who sent him!

To the ever greedy Nigerian politician, especially the LEGISLATORS, the presidential system is gold-mine, it is Eldorado, a condition of advantageous illicit financial flow through which all manner of dubious economic transactions contrary to good governance were cleverly executed!
The Nigerian type of presidential system opens its doors for treasury looters who hide behind the faulty 1999 military-conceived and crafted Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to perpetrate all manner of heinous financial crimes from one administration to another through annual budget padding and dubious/illegal legislative oversight duties, unknown to the constitution!

The mono-economic crude oil foreign exchange earner did not help matter because those politicians were able to manipulate the system, acquired for themselves and their cronies Oil Licences through which they were able to penetrate the Oil and Gas Sector to become billionaires at the expense of the perpetually average youth/poor worker who could hardly survive with one US dollar (N360 naira), per day!


BRAZEN CORRUPTION AT NNPC!
In spite of the fact that President Buhari held on to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources portfolio in his first term, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), under his watch, was still perceived to be a citadel of corruption because of the deliberately-infused intricacies of financial accountability through the Petroleum Act which established it and also by its officials, who have taken criminal advantage of the entire commotion that allows the corporation to keep certain percentages of financial accruals for "running costs" without first remitting all oil sales/financial transactions into the Federation Account and by extension, to the Treasury Single Account (TSA), before such deductions were effected!

Although it is gratifying that Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu and Group Managing Director, Mai Kanti Baru, who publicly washed their dirty linens over accusations/denials in respect of illicit NNPC contract awards running into billions of US dollars during the President's first term had been cleverly eased out, that unacceptable administrative step had in no way erased the fact that NNPC cannot boast of a clean slate of annual forensic financial audit records even under the president's eagle eye!

Most Nigerian billionaires made their dollars as recipients of illegal OIL BLOCS while Nigeria is adjudged as one of the most corrupt nation and its citizens, the poorest mass of people in the world because NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE PRESIDENT, CAN AUTHENTICATE THE BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL EXPORTED FROM THE NATION ON DAILY BASIS!

Should Nigerians continue to suffer in the midst of so plenteous natural resources while very few percentage of privileged politicians continue to take advantage of a deliberately faulty system of DIARCHY instead of GENUINE/TRANSPARENT DEMOCRACY?

ARISE AND SHINE MR. PRESIDENT!
President Buhari MUST rise from the onset of his second term last opportunity as a DEMOCRAT to prove his detractors wrong by putting his very best into the ring and defeat those who want to smear his IMPECCABLE INTEGRITY by not only stealing but squandering the COMMON WEALTH through frivolities and vanities of dubious salaries/allowances which they claimed were legitimate perks of office in all departments and sectors of the economy!
Between 1999 and 2018, legislators pretentiously made several attempts to amend the contentious Constitution without success because those bunch of egotistic lawmakers, at every turn, tinkered with the rules of engagement to favour themselves over and above the other tiers - the EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIARY!


ATTEMPTS BY 7TH-8TH NASS TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION!
The 7th National Assembly collected a "working capital" of over ONE BILLION NAIRA from the treasury to enable the Joint Committee of both chambers to function seamlessly and without any form of financial hitch.
Amendments to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Act 2015, as presented by the National Assembly, met all statutory provisions as set forth in the 1999 Constitution. For instance, the two thirds majority resolution of States Houses of Assemblies were obtained according to Section 9(3) and not less than four fifths majority of all members of each House of the National Assembly, were also secured!

Although, the Nigerian Constitution is silent on presidential assent for Constitutional amendments, the legislators decided in the spirit of mutual co-operation of checks and balances, to send them like any other Bill of the National Assembly [NASS], that required such assent to become an Act, it was therefore a surprise that the outgoing President could VETO the document; but in a letter dated13th April, 2015, to NASS, the ex-President Ebele Jonathan, rejected the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution (Alteration) Bill 2015 because he perceived deliberate attempts by the very ambitious Federal Lawmakers to whittle down presidential powers!
The 8th NASS also made similar moves shortly before the 2019 General Elections especially in respect of Amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, to regulate the conduct of Federal, States and Area Councils' Elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and were rebuffed by President Muhammadu Buhari who discovered several "booby traps" in the document which was submitted FOUR desperate times for presidential assent!


INTRODUCTION OF PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT FROM THE YEAR 2023!
For starters, the SENATE must be scrapped before the commencement of a new government in 2023, for a single unicameral parliament that will be people-friendly to come on board! Unicameral parliamentary governance is popular globally because the practice enables government to save more money to cater for masses social infrastructures and also create employment opportunities for Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (SMSEs), who are the backbone of the Real Sector of the economy!
THE SENEGALESE GOVERNMENT ERASED THEIR SENATE IN 2012 TO PROVIDE FOR MORE FUNDS TO SUCCOUR THE VERY POOR IN THEIR NATION!

BUHARI MUST REMEMBER THAT HE WAS DIVINELY-CHOSEN TO SAVE THE TALAKAWAS FROM TOTAL ANNIHILATION BY POLITICAL PREDATORS!

Between the Nigerian Senate and its House of Representatives counterpart, N150 billion naira is consumed annually from the national budget with no visible or feasible impact on the downtrodden masses they claim to represent!
(PRAY & FAST EVERY WEDNESDAY TO STOP BLOODSHED IN NIGERIA!)

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

IF TELEVISION footages, social media videos and newspapers reports of Tuesday, 2nd July, 2019, of the enormous damages inflicted by defiant Shi'ite adherents to the heavily-guarded gates of the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, were truly authentic, it is fresh proof that teeming street children have come off age and are ready to foment fresh security challenges if swift, adequate and professional measures were not quickly put in place to securely nip in the bud the violent agitations for the release of Sheikh Ibraheem el Zakzaki, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, from protective custody or detention!
Other protests by the same group in spite of the alleged fatal causalities of three dead persons, (two protesters and one policeman), continued elsewhere in Abuja on Wednesday, 3rd July, 2019, and Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria simultaneously, but were professionally dispersed with tear gas while unspecified number of protesters were arrested!
Their grouse was hinged on the same demand since 2015, that their leader whom they claimed was seriously ill should be released to seek medical attention abroad and were prepared to die if their demand was not met as they brazenly threw stones and several hard objects at armed security agents! It was reported that they also seized a policeman's pistol and shot sporadically at security agents! Videos posted on the internet revealed that protesters involved in the violent uproar were youths between the ages of 15-25 bracket and were adamant and unremorseful
Government asserts that Shiite Muslims have been brainwashed to disobey laws of the Federation of Nigeria by el Zakzaky, who had elevated himself into an institution above constituted authorities in view of his large followership and international support from the Islamic State of IRAN!


THESE UNFORTUNATE YOUTHS NEED GREATER SOCIAL INTERVENTION!
Recent national statistics on child education claim that out-of-school-children in Nigeria has risen from ten to thirteen million, in spite of the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, (NHGSFP), and other incentives introduced to check-mate the alarming figure of primary school drop-out rate, pegged at about 30%, during President Buhari's first term on office! In 2018, over USD$ 183million was invested in the cost-effective programme, according to official sources!

Over NINE MILLION pupils in 30 States presently benefit from the Federal Government's free feeding programme which has taken the children off the streets to actualize formal education from Primary I to at least Junior Secondary I, while the economic value-chain-benefits of government's Social Investment Programme, (SIP), flow to agriculture/poultry farmers and food contractors who supply food stuffs, chickens and eggs etc. to actualize the masses-oriented venture.
But more needed to be done outside of feeding to vocational interests in agriculture, theatre arts, building technology/masonry, aquaculture, movie industry etc, to save the rest of these children who are endangered due to the influence of the Almajiri System of Education which selfish and exploitative religious leaders explore to brainwash them with fanatical doctrines that were opposed to acceptable international norms!

The freedom of association and worship as stipulated in the Nigerian Constitution gives much latitude for manipulators in the system to abuse those privileges but, it is believed that the Federal Government is now poised to proscribe the Almajiri System of Education and opt for formal studies that would embrace both Islamic and Western Education as substitute!


PAST VIOLENT PROTESTS LINKED TO SHI'ITE MUSLIMS!
Although, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), group claimed they were a peaceful Faith organisation, past events of violence linked to them proved the opposite. In December 2015, the group blocked the Zaria-Kano Highway in a massive procession of thousands of adherents and refused to give way for the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff entourage to pass through!
They resisted all entreaties but became very violent. And between 12-14th December days of the confrontation, the group alleged that at least 348 members died while the Army debunked the figure as highly exaggerated!

In another incident also, a lorry-load of hundreds of new cutlasses, camouflaged with leaves and straws were discovered by security agents during a protest march by the same group in Zaria in 2015!
On 30th October, 2018 the same group laid siege on the Federal Capital Territory from the satellite town of Nyanyan on the Nasarawa State axis forcefully marched into the city until they were halted by soldiers who mounted road blocks to repel the dangerous move to avoid another round of bloodshed!


DEMAND FOR EL ZAKZAKI 'S RELEASE!
Since the year 2015, when el Zazaki and his wife had been facing trial over allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly among other charges, sustained pressures have been mounted by his followers for his release
This Islamic leader is educated and possesses a first degree of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but majority of his followers are illiterates. He began to spread his religious ideologies on the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, since the early 1980s and over the years, was able to build a large population of followers who could not be said to have gainful employments but became unruly, unmanageable and disobedient to all social laws and lawful authorities/institutions - including the Police and Nigerian Army personnel!

It is no secret that ambitious religious leaders needed adherents to believe in their doctrines and propagate the messages/ideologies in order to have exposition that would eventually attract popularity, fame, power and fortune and el Zakzaky is not an exception!

SHI'ITE MUSLIMS ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA!
Shi'ite Muslims in Nigeria are in minority to their SUNNI counterparts world-wide and while desperately craving for global recognition, they began to constitute themselves into an autonomous religious sect due to the secular state of the nation which allows for freedom of worship! Although affiliated to IRAN – the acclaimed Shiite Muslim country of the world - not much searchlight was beamed on them by Nigerian security agents until in recent years when they grew in population and became unruly in their mode of worship and procession in Zaria, North Central State!

During the Sect’s confrontation with the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff whom they allegedly planned to assassinate in 2015, the Islamic State of Iran tried to meddle in the internal affairs of Nigeria by summoning Nigeria’s Ambassador in Tehran for explanations on the detention of Shiite leader, Sheikh Zakzaky and deaths of several of his followers in Zaria, but was rebuffed by the Federal Authorities!


NOW THAT THEY ARE GETTING WILDER!
With recent developments which involve violence of high degree, possession of dangerous weapons, arms and ammunitions, confrontations against law enforcement agents in a suicidal bid to overheat the polity:
The Shi'ite Islamic Movement of Nigeria can no longer claim to be a peaceful organisation!
Its members can no longer play the victim by declaring that they were ready to die, if their leader was not released!
Handlers of the Movement must follow due process of the Law and advocate their members to shun every form of violence if they were truly a peaceful religious body and should not exaggerate a matter that borders on national security/interest.
Religious extremism is unacceptable, even in a SECULAR STATE as Nigeria, which in NINE years, is still grappling with Boko Haram insurgency which had claimed thousands of innocent lives and We advocate all law-abiding citizens should be spared of any other form of religious upheaval from being unleashed on this nation!
The sanctity of lives must now take the front-burner because too much bloodshed had also been recorded by the hands of murderers, bandits, assassins, cattle herdersmen/rustlers, militants, gunmen etc, on virtually daily basis and all Nigerians must rise in unison to condemn the very unacceptable situation once and for all by supply authentic information to all law enforcement agencies about the activities and movements of these enemies of the STATE, who are not GHOSTS but human!
Nigerians are tired of all forms of insurgency and violence and concerted efforts should be made by National Orientation Agency (NOA), in this regard, to avail the good citizens who are in the majority all necessary precautions to take in all given circumstances of national upheavals!

IT IS OUR CANDID OPINION IS THAT THE TRIAL OF SHEIHK el ZAKZAKI AND HIS WIFE SHOULD BE ACCELERATED AND JUSTICE BE METED TO THEM - WHICHEVER WAY IT TURNS - PRISON OR FREEDOM, SO THAT ANOTHER BOUT OF RELIGIOUS INSURRECTION CAN BE AVOIDED!

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. (Prov 18:5)

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

NIGERIANS can again enjoy a fresh breath of air following Federal Government's decision to suspend the controversial RUGA Settlement Plan which it proposed to alleviate the aggravated herders/farmers clashes but bungled by incompetent official marketers who failed to disseminate the document's well-intended content in a universally-acceptable language to all stakeholders!
The proposal was greeted with misconception/public outcry instead of applause and totally condemned by most Nigerians, except by some Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) who have given 30 days ultimatum to the Federal Government to rescind its decision or SOUTHERN non-indigenes be faced with QUIT ORDERS from their territory as they did in August, 2017!
Although cattle rearing is big business and generates lots of revenue into the national coffers, it had attracted lots of security challenges which government could not afford to overlook and should not allow to rubbish all economic gains recorded by President Buhari's APC Change Administration in the past FOUR years through the mismanagement of a good idea that turned sour! Should the lives of Nigerian citizens be sacrificed to protect mere animals which only exist to satisfy human economic needs and consumption?
Will the Federal Government ever get its act right over this very sensitive issue which has thrown up tribal, religious, nepotic sentiments, connotations/interpretations because the President's public relations officers bungled the advocacy of the RUGA idea which came out of the blues to confuse Nigerians who neither understood the nomenclature nor the real purpose/intention of the administration?
Some said that RUGA, translated to mean "Fulani Settlement", was the President's hidden agenda to "fulanise" Nigeria, since such settlements were proposed to be established in all 36 States of the Federation, without similar provisions for the FARMERS whose lands were being destroyed by nomadic Fulani’s cattle, but government said that RUGA was for every Nigerian whose vocation is animal husbandry, irrespective of tribe, State or language!


NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL (NEC), PROPOSED NATIONAL LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PLAN!

Following a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), of 18th January, 2019, chaired by the Vice President, Prof. 'Yemi Osinbajo, the establishment of a National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), was proposed to encourage RANCHING and mitigate the escalating crisis between pastoralists and farmers. NLTP was open to all interested States without compulsion to Governors who have opted to enact the Anti-Open Grazing Law to solve the imbroglio.
But a statement on 2nd July, 2019, from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the acronym of the proposed plan of government was "RUGA", and not "NLTP" adding that it was just a matter of semantics; a position that was diametrically opposed to the Vice President's statement! The NLTP which was backed by ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments since 2005, would have attracted at least N2 trillion naira to the economy if there had been consensus among all States in the implementation process!


MILITATING FACTOR OF THE LAND USE ACT OF NIGERIA!

The Constitution of the Federal Republic, 1999, confers on State Governors, the right to adjudicate over land matters but also allows the Federal Government to acquire land in any part of the country through due process according to the Land Use Act. Chapter 202 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, of the Act is relevant in this respect; but it must be noted that the law emanated from an unfriendly Military Decree, signed into law on 27th March, 1978, during the tenure of retired General Aremu Obasanjo! Therefore Governors cannot be forced to part with State lands by the Federal Government, except by mutual agreement!


IN THESE TRYING TIMES, BEING A NIGERIAN FULANI PRESIDENT COULD BE VERY TASKING!

Of all Nigerian Heads of State, military or democratic, none had shown more patriotism and love for the downtrodden like President Muhammadu Buhari. His love for the under-privileged/poor masses, popularly called, "Talakawas", could only be rivalled by late NORTHERN ELEMENTS PROGRESSIVE UNION (NEPU). Leader, Mallam Aminu Kano, of blessed memory. When Buhari could not succeed to sanitize the socio-economic life of Nigerians as a military Head of State, he was elected after three failed attempts to eventually become the democratic president from 2015, through divine intervention!
When the Fulani herders/farmers clashes escalated on his assumption of office in the first term, the social media attributed the audacious/puff-headed attitude of Fulani’s to the fact that their kinsman became the numero uno citizen, of the country and would protect their selfish interests! Sandwiched between the Red Sea and the Pharaoh's Army, President Buhari brainstormed with his advisers, security/economic teams to first introduce COLONY Settlements in all States of the Federation to contain nomadic movements of the Fulani’s and their animals!
The Scheme was aborted because it was virtually opposed from the proposal stage by most Governors and their citizens except for some Northern States and the confrontations between the two camps escalated to murderous proportions which resulted in loss of several lives to further aggravate/compound security challenges of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, and overstretch operational engagements of the security forces!
In his quest to finding a lasting solution to the compounded security challenges, the President and his team suggested the RUGA Settlement Plan, which also turned out to be unpopular, because government failed to employ massive articulate advocacy that would have convinced all and sundry of the sincerity of the administration in proffering permanent solution to the incessant clashes once and for all!


SHOULD IT NOT BE RANCHING INSTEAD OF RUGA? THE WAY FORWARD!

Global nations - including Nigeria's West African neighbours which are also into animal rearing do not record human casualties through herders/farmers constant clashes because their pastoralists and cattle are ranched - not nomadic! A RANCH is a large area of land equipped with multiple structural facilities needed to raise livestock - especially cattle - and is actually similar to RUGA or CATTLE COLONY and should be improvised through consensus between Federal and State governments to alleviate incessant bloodshed between the herdsmen and farmers, permanently!
The Nigerian experience which is a complete opposite of what obtains in other climes, needed to be quickly addressed now that President Buhari has been given a second chance by the electorate to turn the security/economic fortunes this great nation around for the citizens to dwell in peace together in spite of tribal diversity.
Before the controversial RUGA Plan, there was the CATTLE COLONIES Programme earlier mooted by the Federal Government as A ONE STOP SHOPPING MALL where all basic necessities/amenities of stakeholders ( provender, grass, water, health facilities, schools, markets) etc, which government believed would keep the offending animals off other people's farms and green pastures! BUT the people cried against RE-COLONIZATION of Nigeria by the FULANIS! Thereafter, some dissenting State Governors proclaimed the Anti- Open Grazing Law to solve the challenge in the best way suitable to them!


DID BENUE AND EKITI GET IT RIGHT?

It is on record that Benue State, farmers and citizens in North Central Nigeria were viciously attacked by Fulani herders when the Governor proclaimed the Anti-Open Grazing law inspite of the threat of non-compliance by the MIYETTI-ALLAH CATTLE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (MACBAN) and their herders resident in the State, and scores of lives lost! Though they denied the attack, evidences were adduced by government to prove that they were culpable! In spite of the mayhem inflicted on innocent citizens, the association headed to the Court in 2017 to challenge the anti-grazing law, but in a judgement of Thursday, 4th July, 2019, lost the case with costs awarded against them!
Ekiti State, South West Nigeria, which also proclaimed a similar law, had close shave of atrocities from the branch of the Cattle Association, until several moves of conflict resolutions were organised to douse tension!
EL RUFAI'S PAYMENT TO FOREIGN FULANI HERDSMEN AND PMB'S CLAIM THAT HERDSMEN INVADERS WERE FOREIGNERS FROM LIBYA/NIGER: are confirmations that FOREIGN FULANI’S ARE CULPABLE FOR THE MAYHEM AND NOT THEIR NIGERIAN COUNTERPARTS! BUT WHO CONTRACTED THEM? BECAUSE THE CASUALTIES WERE MOSTLY FARMERS AND NOT FULANI’S!
NIGERIA'S POROUS BORDERS HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO BE SHUT AGAINST RAVAGING BANDITS BY THE PRESIDENT who instructed that modern technology be employed by security agencies to stop further illegal migration of foreigners into Nigeria!
THE SUREST WAY FORWARD IS - RANCHING AS WE HAD ALWAYS ADVOCATED!
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psa 133:1)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Royal thrones and ancestral stools in Nigeria are no longer the exclusive preserve of grassroot elders of the communities who from time immemorial had been custodians of culture, customs and tradition, bequeathed from one generation to another. In a deliberate and determined move to spread the gospel of civilization to the nooks and crannies of the nation, the academia, professors, technocrats, professionals, captains of industry, accomplished and articulate educationists etc, had invaded royal palaces of the six geo- political zones to effectively represent the voice of their subjects and ensure fair share of the socio-economic equation in the Nigerian project!
Standing shoulder high above the multitude of those traditional patriots is Muhammadu Sanusi II, (CON), the 14th Emir of Kano, who bluntly told President Buhari that Nigeria would become bankrupt if the outrageous payment of 70% of the total generated revenue on debt servicing persisted because no nation could survive in an economy where expenditure on basic social infrastructure depended on a paltry 30% of its total income! He made this assertion at the 3rd National Treasury Workshop organised by Office of the Accountant General of the Federation held on 25thJune, 2019 in Kano, North West Nigeria!
Although the Accountant General of the Federation believed that maintenance/servicing of the nation's debt profile which was put at N 24.4 trillion, a sharp rise of 12.5 % increase from the 2017 status, was sustainable, the Emir maintained that the country's balance sheet was already overstretched! He also said that if the President would keep his promise of June 12, 2019, to lead millions of Nigerians out of poverty, all of the common patrimony being appropriated as subsidies on petroleum and electricity should be diverted to education, health and other critical infrastructures! In his words, the nation could soon witness the worst case of insolvency unless the Federal Government eliminated the huge resources being spent on the subsidy of petroleum and other commodities!
The very outspoken Emir, who was the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009-2014, vehemently opposed the subsidy regime and opined that "subsidies must be totally removed”, for such monies to be diverted to education, health facilities, employment, and shelter for the masses!
THE EMIR'S STAND ON BOKO HARAM TERRORISM!
Being an Islamic scholar, Sanusi condemned the Boko Haram false indoctrinations and urged his followers to resist such! The terrorist reacted violently to the new Emir's advocacy and bombed the Kano Mosque (the seat of the Emirate), in which 150 faithfuls lost their lives in November 2014! The terrorist commander, Abubakar Shekau accused Sanusi of deviating from Islam and threatened the Emir's life but he was undaunted and told Shekau that he (Sanusi), was "safe with Allah" and likened Shekau's statement to those of heretical Islamic preacher, Maitatsine!
SHOULD TRADITIONAL LEADERS GET INVOLVED IN PARTISAN POLITICS?
There is a general consensus that traditional institutions headed by monarchs, should be completely insulated from partisan politics in view of the highly revered and influential positions over their subjects to whom they owed absolute neutrality in the dispensation of social administration, justice and equity consistently.
Although, there are no hard and fast rules nor specific constitutional clauses to check traditional rulers disposition to politics, State Governments in Nigeria have established, ministries for local government and chieftaincy affairs, to properly administer processes of choosing traditional heads from among the people according to their customs through orderly procedures that would ultimately enjoy the blessings of State Governors, who hands over "Staffs of Office", to successful candidates during official coronations!
State governments play pivotal roles in chieftaincy affairs through payment of regular salaries/allowances, provision of vehicles for smooth administration through the traditional rulers at the grassroots more! And in view of this intervention, most traditional rulers have been nothing else other than partisan to the one who pays the PIPER!
KANO STATE AS A CASE STUDY OF THE PIPER WHO DICTATES THE TUNE?
It is not in contention that the Kano Emirate is funded through taxes and subventions by the Kano state government who pays salaries, allowances, and other emoluments that were legitimate monthly/annual expenses of the monarch and his retinue of palace workers!
During his first tenure, APC Governor Umar Ganduje, tried unsuccessfully to DETHRONE, Emir Sanusi through some trumped up accusations that he wasted public funds through extravagant/opulence lifestyle; and through Federal Government's diplomatic interventions, all charges and inquisitions were dropped!
But, back in the saddle for a second tenure as governor, Ganduje took up the gauntlet again and on Wednesday, 8th May, 2019, he decided to whittle down the Emir's powers when he signed into law the creation of FOUR new Emirates: Gaya, Bichi, Karaye, and Rano. The new Bill stated that the Emir of Kano would henceforth preside over TEN Local Government Areas, instead of the former 44 LGAs!
But the Kano State Kingmakers who were aggrieved by Ganduje's high-handedness had filed a suit against the governor, Kano State House of Assembly, the Attorney General and four others over the creation of new Emirates, in Kano State. They claimed that action was aimed at decentralizing the main Kano Emirate led by Sanusi and condemned his decision to sign the Kano State Emirs Appointment and Deposition Amendment 2019 Bill into law. There had been public outrage against the action which the Kano State High Court ordered Ganduje to suspend. The case was adjourned till 16th July, 2019.
SANUSI 'S ROLE IN GOVERNANCE AND AS A TRADITIONAL LEADER!
His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, (CON), the highly revered 14th Emir of Kano, North West, Nigeria, born Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, is blue blood; a noble aristocrat, a man of sterling, impeccable and untainted character, an outstanding personality with exemplary charisma and laudable traits that are traceable to his antecedent and pedigree! The 57-year-old was crowned on 8th June, 2014, following the death of his granduncle, Ado Bayero.
A very intelligent banker and brilliant economist who attended the prestigious Kings College, Lagos, where he graduated in 1977; proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1978-1983 and obtained both Bachelors and Masters degrees; taught for two years in the school and later studied Islamic Law at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, Sanusi did not allow the silver spoon to becloud his ambition for relevance among the highly educated and in the course of time distinguished him as a worthy ambassador in his chosen discipline! Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, even as a prince, did not count himself better than his peers but worked assiduously to reach the pinnacle of his profession in the banking industry as he was first crowned Governor of the Central Bank, before he received the Kano Royal Crown as birth-right!
As Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), between 3rd June 2009 and 20th February2014, he was not just the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but also doubled as the official "Watchman/Whistle Blower" over the enormous funds that were dispensed on daily basis for smooth execution of the nation's foreign and local policies of the economy, like none before him had ever done! He had a blue print predicated on "enhancement of quality of banks, establishment of healthy/financial stability and the imperative contribution of the financial sector to the REAL SECTOR!" Sanusi has to his credit several local and international awards of distinction, which singled him out not only as a very outstanding scholar but also as a banking guru!
He did not waste time to sanitize the banking industry through radical anti-corruption strategy following Mrs. Cecilia Ibru's mismanagement of the OCEANIC BANK, in which billions of naira of public funds were fraudulently looted and could not be accounted for! During his tenure, several bank managers, including CEO, Mrs Ibru, were convicted by the law courts and sent to prison terms!
SANUSI ACCUSED JONATHAN'S GOVERNMENT OF $20 BILLION US DOLLAR FRAUD!
For the very first time in the history of Nigeria's financial transactions at the apex level of the Executive Arm, in 2014, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, moved against the norm and the protocol, to blow the whistle over UNREMITTED/MISSING FUNDS from the vaults of the apex bank under his watch and that audacity, caused him his plum job, because ex-President Ebele Jonathan, did not waste time in relieving him of the exalted post without completing his five-year tenure!
HIS OFFENCE: He accused Jonathan's Government of a $ 20 billion US-dollar-fraud in the Oil Sector of the economy under the watch of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in 2014. Sanusi had earlier disclosed in 2013 that, Nigeria lost one billion dollars on monthly basis due to diversion of funds under the ex-president's watch while American and British stakeholders in the oil industry were quoted to have disclosed that former petroleum minister, Diezani Allison Madueke, might have organized a diversion of $ 6 billion US dollars, an equivalent of N 1.2 trillion, from the NIGERIAN TREASURY! Allison-Madueke was arrested in London on 2nd October and still facing interrogation and prosecutions for sundry financial offences at the British courts, though the present Change APC Administration has put up pressure for her extradition to Nigeria to face several financial crime charges!
As an economist, Sanusi had always favoured removal of subsidies - citing the high level of corruption engendered by the practices, the inefficiency of subsidizing CONSUMPTION instead of CONSUMPTION, (leading to slower economic growth), and the fact that government borrows money to finance the SUBSIDY - thereby, taxing future generations so that present Nigerians can consume more fuel! Like other economists and development practitioners, Sanusi believes that SUBSIDY was biased in favour of the middle/upper classes who consume most of the fuel to personal advantages - including illicit commercialisation of the product in neighbouring West African States!
QUOTE FROM SANUSI: "IF YOU WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO SPEAK MY MIND, DON'T INVITE ME AGAIN!"
RIPPLE EFFECTS OF TOTAL REMOVAL OF PETROLEUM SUBSIDY - WITHOUT CREATING PALLIATIVES?
Poverty ratio would increase; the products will become out of reach (too exorbitant), for the masses to access; unemployment percentage will rise as employers lay off workers; labour sector would demand for more salaries and allowances for government employees and resist of any form of down-sizing or right-sizing by the administration!
Governments would come and go but the royal traditional thrones remain permanent because the traditional stools must not be polluted with any form of political partisanship. Military governments used to curry favours from traditional rulers for the purpose of reaching out to citizens at the grassroot to deepen socio-economic development - but politicians MUST not convert the sacred custodians of culture/tradition to politicians for any reasons! TRADITIONAL STOOLS MUST BE INSULATED FROM POLITICS FOR THEM TO EARN THE HONOUR AND RESPECT DUE TO THEM AT ALL TIMES! But being critical of government would not amount to political partisanship especially by monarchs who love their subjects and are determined to keep them abreast with the social amenities of the civilized world. We encourage more professional to mount the royal stools to make the difference! ‘’By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.’’ (Prov 8:15)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

porka:


Firstly, you seem to be using regionalism and parliamentary system of government interchangeably. They are not synonymous. The former is an administratIve division while the latter is a political system. This is one of the confusions in the narrative of the advocates of the parliamentary system. You have to clear the confusion before any meaning can be made of your position.

Secondly, it is fallacious to state that "majority of the problems that we witness in our country today, very much has to do with the presidential system of governance that has creataed a lot of wastages in government, which has also in turn allowed corruption to thrive on a very large scale in the system". It is not. Wastages and corruption have always been in Nigeria. It is in all the systems we have tried; parliamentary, presidential and military.

All you need to do is to look at the coup speech that heralded the collapse of the parliamentary system in 1966.

The young Major Chuckuma Kaduna Nzeogu stated emphatically in the speech that "The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife".

You can read the rest of the speech here: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/09/radio-broadcast-by-major-chukwuma-kaduna-nzeogwu-%25E2%2580%2593-announcing-nigeria%25E2%2580%2599s-first-military-coup-on-radio-nigeria-kaduna-on-january-15-1966/%3famp

If the republic was an Eldorado as it is being painted, why bother reestablishing it? Mind you, they had to wipe out a section of the first generation of political leaders to prove their point. They didn't just wake up to hijack the system. They were idealistic just like you. They were into all this parliamentary system presidential system thing too. More than that they were more aggressive in taking steps to "correct the systematic corruption" of the day.

By far the deepest cause of the so-called wastage is self interest which is a variation of self preservation in a country that has no one loyal to it. Self preservation manifests in primitive acquisition of material things and positioning the future for the individual, family members, clan and then ethnic group in that order.

What you see are people making money off the government for their children or preserving positions for their kins or filling up agencies, parastatals positions with their clan or outrightly establishing agencies for their tribe. These increase the cost of running the government beyond any other measure. No parliamentary system will ever curb that.

Thirdly, to make a "sincere comparison" of the economic performance during the parliamentary system and the presidential system to someone who has a prefix Dr. before his name is assumed to mean employing globally recognize, time tested economic indices, right? Ok.

Here we go - the population of Nigeria in 1963 was 48m, in 1966 it was 51m. In 1999 the population was 119.3m and by 2014, the projected population was 176.5m. The GDP in 1963 was $4.2b, $6.4b in 1966. In 1999 Nigeria's GDP was $35.87b and $569b in 2014.

Per capita GDP in 1963, 1966 and 2014 are $874, $804 and $3,221 respectively. Life expectancy was 39.45 years in 1963; 40.84 years in 1966. it was 53.30 years in 2014. Infant mortality was 196 death per thousand in the 1960s, it is 65 now.

There were 5 universities in the entire country, Ibadan, Nsuka, Zaria, Ife and Lagos until 1970. More universities were established by the federal and state governments between 1979-1983 than the whole 12 years of the first republic.

We currently have over 120 universities in the country, which means that Nigeria produced fewer university graduates to run its economy in the 1960s than now. There are more doctors and nurses per 1000 persons now. There were fewer primary school and secondary schools then than now.

Fewer villages, towns and cities had electric power in the 1960s. The hydro-electric plant in Kainji was built by the Europeans. Only government offices and few homea had telephones and few homes had television. The Lagos-Ibadan expressway was not constructed until 1978. Hospitals were mostly in the cities with little access to healthcare services by the majority rural people. Public healthcare delivery is better now than then; there are more University teaching hospitals now, over 26 federal medical centres running alongside state's and private facilities.

More dams were built in the four years of 2nd republic than 12 years of 1st republic. There was a massive spending on the Steel Plant in Ajaokuta to jumpstart the industrial economy in the 2nd republic. It was sadly abandoned by military governments thereafter. More Nigerians lived in mud houses in villages than cement block homes in the 1960s. From 2006-2015 more Nigerians owned their own homes (cement block, zinc roof) more than at any time in the history of Nigeria.

The 1960s economy was largely agragrian. Export was raw agricultural products. Foreign ownership characterized the industrial and retail sectors of the economy in the 1960s as against the current indigenous ownership structure. Government dominance in the first republic's economy is visible in the construction of monuments.

The financial institutions and markets were weak and rudimentary in the 1960s. Nigeria's banks and the capital markets are stronger, diversified and capitalized now than the 1960s.

Nigeria was already inching towards a private sector driven economy in 2014 with a GDP projection of $1trn in 2020 that would have made it an upper-middle income country before the sudden "change". It moved remarkably from agriculture led system to a service sector driven. Foreign capital inflow in form of FDI was top in Africa. The middle-class grew exponentially up to 2014.

But now, they said everyone should find his way back to the village to live in huts with thatched roof and gathering fruits.

Corruption will always thrive in government as long as the foundation of the country remains. If you like introduce "angelimentry" system of government.

There is nothing like less creation of pilitical offices. That was also the forceful but myopic argument supporting reduction/merging of government ministries in 2015. The socalled reduction of ministries has not impacted positively in any significant way on the cost of running government. It has changed nothing. There are even more brazen insertion of bogus expenditure in the budget of the socalled nimble ministries than at anytime before. Fewer ministries, more expenditure.

If you like change to emirate system or the Vatican model, what you think you saved in one section will go in another direction. If you don't give money to "clerics for prayers" in exchange for intelligence, you will release 10 times of it to armed groups in exchange for kidnapped victims. What you don't spend on education because your people don't go to school, you end up spending 5 times of it on RUGA Settlements or Cattle Colonies across.

For clarification purpose, reference to the days of the regional government in Nigeria,is a pointer to the parliamentry system of governance that was in play at that time.
Aside from that, this debate can go on and on, but the truth remains, our system of government is simply not just working to suit the urgent needs of our nation.
But if you assert that all the systems that Nigeria has pratice has failed, what system of government do you suggest that we should practice?

porka:
Dear Pastor Olufon,

What can you say about the kidnappings, rape and killings going on in the Christian part of the North and now in Yorubaland?

Meanwhile, the parliamentary system of government you are advocating was practiced in Nigeria from 1954 - 1966. The results were bitterness, acrimony, killings, arson, trump-up allegations, exclusion of minority tribes, wanton destruction of property and alleged corruption. So much was the ethnic suspicIon that the Mid-West voted for a separate region. It (the turn of events) eventually culminated in a brutal military coup and a civil war.

What do you think has changed? What is the level of national unity existing in Nigeria presently compared to the late 50s and early-mid 60s?

What is the level of Nigeria's organizational ability today to withstand such experiment at this time? Israel today does not have a government but the country is still functioning. Nigeria today is with a government (even in a presidential system) but the security has broken down completely, how do you reconcile that?

Have you considered the practice of calling election at the slightest inconvenience of the coalition in the parliamentary system? Where will we get the money to run elections at every disagreement between politicians? Where is the INEC impartiality and technical/logistical ability?

The cost effectiveness of the parliamentary system is the funniest part. Does it mean we would not budget for constituency offices and legislative aides and the tools to assist the lawmakers in their duties? Does it mean that the legislative oversights will automatically cease?

To just sit down in Europe and admire their system without consideration for the enormous challenges they are facing and the peculiarity of our situation is very cheap. Many of you are in perpetual trial and error mode as if the lives of human beings are not important, it seems.

Many were advocating for a military-like dictator to just WIPE OUT corruption and provide "good governance/leadership" and "everything will just fall into place". How is that panning out now with Buhari?

And when the error starred them in the face they will just move on to another rhetoric without any sign of remorse or the courtesy of an apology to the people whose lives have been affected negatively.

We practiced parliamentary system for 12 years when the ethnic, tribal and clannish tendencies were not that manifest but it didn't work out, it failed and eventually cost millions of lives. We have practiced the presidential system of government for 24 years (1979-1983 inclusive) and things are getting out of hand. Does it not suggest that it has nothing to do with any system of government? Does it not tell you that there's a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed?

Dear porka, majority of the problems that we witness in our country today, very much has to do with the presidential system of governance that has creataed a lot of wastages in government, which has also in turn allowed corruption to thrive on a very large scale in the system. Though, no system of government is perfect, lets make a sincere comparism between the days of regional government and this present day of presidential governance, what was the economy like then, What is it like now?
To "the funniest part " there surely will be appropriations for the government to function, but far less amount of funds is used to run a parliamentary system, because there is less creation of political offices, the fact that the military hijacked the system does not mean that the parliamentary system failed! if we are to stick to the facts, to eliminate wastages and massive corruption in Nigeria today, a parliamentary system is what Nigeria needs! however if you disagree, you are very much entitled to your opinion too. Thanks for commenting and God bless you.

jodeci:
What's Nigeria's destiny? Doom I guess.

I think that you should be more positive friend, if Nigeria's destiny is "Doom", will it benefit you positively or negatively?

porka:
Dear Pastor Olufon,

What is your opinion about the invasion of Yorubaland by Fulani jihadists who are currently kidnapping raping and killing Yoruba people?

What do you say about the invasion of the Yoruba forest reserves by Fulani gunmen? Is this existential threat against your people not more important than EU election observer mission report?

You have not done any lengthy thesis on the terrible situation up till now suggesting that you are not bothered about the existence of your own people. Is this how your mind functions? Or is there anything you know that the people don't know, which makes the situation a non-issue to you?

Dear friend, you did not read before making a comment, your comment bears no resemblance to the article in question, whenever you are ready to comment, direct it towards the EU Election Observation Mission (EUEOM), Final Report on the 2019 General Elections.

Arda1000:
I read everything... and dude u made no sense...

Perhaps you read; but still no justification for your assertion!

Arda1000:
to be sincere this is the most foolish write up I have ever read

State your reasons friend! Did you even read through, or are you just commenting on the headline?

The clamour for a return to the Parliamentary System of government by Nigerians at home and the Diaspora, has reached its crescendo and the newly sworn-in legislators - especially in the House of Representatives - should urgently take over this advocacy from the 71 members of the 8th Green Chambers, who could not complete the national assignment before the end of their tenure! REFERENDUM?

In December, 2018, those patriotic legislators, with one voice and in one accord, called for the re-introduction of parliamentary legislature in view of the discrepancies between the poor and the very rich politicians who pretend to represent the downtrodden in Nigeria. They argued that Nigeria could not have been rated as the POVERTY CAPITAL of the world if wastages were not entertained in governance!
Before these honourable gentlemen embarked on this noble mission, We of the Editorial Board of the Zion B-BC Newsletter had canvassed for the same CHANGE, in some of our past editions and encouraged the Buhari Administration to moot an Executive Bill for scrapping of the SENATE and divert all appropriations which would have otherwise accrued to the "distinguished Senators", to social intervention programmes in agriculture, education, health, job creation! etc.Check: "Go to the Ants & 74 legislators are sufficient. ....
Those 71 daring legislators, who moved against the several years of STATUS QUO of sharing illicit monies through dubious salaries, allowances, and annual budget paddings, rose in unison to debate the Bill and to amend the1999 Constitution of Nigeria to that effect. The Bill passed through First Reading and the 9th NASS legislators were urged to continue from where they stopped!

GAINS OF A PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.
First, it is not complicated; second, it is cost-effective; third, it bonds the government and its subjects for faster political, social and economic developments; fourth, it does not allow for incompetence among the executive and the legislature! A parliamentary system or parliamentary democracy is a system of democratic governance of a State where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the confidence of the legislature. Under a parliamentary system of government, members of the Cabinet or the Executive Council are also members of the legislative arm of government who normally formed a unicameral parliament, having won elections in their various constituencies.

The Head of a parliamentary government who is addressed as Prime Minister, (Head of Government), must enjoy the confidence of his colleagues, to remain in authority and also consult with the Head of State, who is a ceremonial head. The British House of Commons which is perhaps the oldest parliamentary democracy in the world, serves as a case study in view of the trending challenges of BREXIT REFERENDUM of 23rd June, 2016.
Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron honourably resigned for failing to stop United Kingdom (UK), from exiting after 43 years of membership and now his successor, Mrs. Theresa May, is on her way out also, without achieving her ambition to take the UK out of the European Union (EU), because she was unable to convince her colleagues with neither fool-proof nor superior arguments!
In a parliamentary system of government, the role of the Head of State, though ceremonial, is not completely redundant because he must always be consulted according to constitution, to assent to bills of parliament into law and call on elected prime ministers to form new governments as at when due.

9TH SENATE MUST PUT NATIONAL INTEREST ABOVE EGOTISM AND SUPPORT THE BILL!
As the new House of Representatives members resuscitate the debate on re-introduction of Parliamentary system, Senators should not stand aloof but create a committee to work with the lower house to ensure a quick passage of bill with their concurrence and thereby WRITE THEIR NAMES IN LETTERS OF GOLD for posterity to judge them as true representatives of the talakawas!
Delegates to the 2014 National Conference, recommended a return to parliamentary system of government; and now socio-cultural groups, consisting of Afenifere, Ohaneze N'digbo, prominent Nigerians and politicians, have all backed the move by the 71 legislators because of the general consensus that the Presidential system has turned out to be the albatross of the Nigerian economy!
The ball is squarely in the court of the House of Representative legislators who must realise that a unicameral legislature is the best option for the nation to surmount challenges of unemployment, human development opportunities as more funds would be made available to cater for the Labour Sector of the economy!
They should also be ready to make sacrifices as the 360-strong membership figure will also be pruned to 74 legislators who will be assisted by a professional secretariat and work on part-time! In this 21st century age of computer science and hi-tech information/communication facilities, what excuses would any developing economy give for being saddled with 469 law makers who were virtually interested in eating the "national cake", without contributing time and resources to grow the economy!

THE SENATE HAD OVERSTAYED ITS WELCOME - LET'S EASE IT OUT!
Patriotic Nigerians are fed up with the Presidential system of government which favours squadermania and wastages! They are also tired of the desperation of money-bag politicians who have invaded and turned the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly (NASS), into a den of robbers, where illicit deals unknown to good governance were hatched and executed with impunity for only 469 persons out of about 200 million citizens, to continue a life of opulence at the expense of the TALKAWAS - the poor masses!
Why was their so much frenzy, hustle and bustle, so much horsetrading and desperation at the just concluded inauguration of the 9th NASS, on Tuesday, 11th June, 2019, for principal offices by ranking officers of the ruling and opposition parties, for transient positions of life and the ephemeral gains of money? It has been established that Nigeria Legislators are the highest paid politicians in the world! Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have not denied that they earn more money than their United States counterparts and even the Presidents of their country and that of America!

The year 2009 statistics of federal legislators emoluments revealed that they were the highest paid public servants in the world because a total of N102.8 billion, (5% of the country’s annual budget), comprising of N11.8billion as salaries and N90.96billion as allowances, was spent on 469 Nigerians; 109 Senators and 360 House of Representatives members! The largesse incredibly increased to N 150 billion naira from 2011 to date and those legislators continued to smile to the bank at the expense of the poor masses!

In the United States of America (USA), where minimum wage was USD$1.257, (N191.667), a US law maker earned USD$15,080 (N2.3million), per month while his Nigerian senator counterpart earned N29.472.749.00million totalling an annual haul of N182million, in a country where minimum wage is a paltry N18.000 and which many State Governments still owed up to seven months payment of arrears to workers!

It was revealed that Nigerian Senators got more money from their numerous allowances than from their annual basic salaries.
The allowances include but not limited to the following: Hardship allowance, 50% of basic salary, (BS); Constituency, 200% of BS; Furniture, 300% of BS; Newspapers, 50% of BS; Wardrobe, 25% of BS; Recess, 10% of BS; Accommodation, 200% of BS; Utilities, 30% of BS; Domestic Staff, 35% of BS; Entertainment, 30% of BS; Personal Assistant, 25% of BS; Vehicle maintenance, 75% of BS; Leave allowance, 10% of BS; Severance Gratuity, 300% of BS; paid once in four years and, Motor Vehicle allowance, 400% of BS, also paid once in four years!

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, bequeathed to the nation by the Military, is full of several flaws which give room to clever politicians to manipulate wealth to themselves and further impoverish the citizens instead of improving their lots!
Of the Three Arms of government, the Legislature is the citadel of greedy politicians who claim to represent the masses and who claim outrageous salaries and allowances they are illicit because those monies were neither processed nor appropriated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the body that is constitutionally set up to fix salaries and allowances of all public officers, at the Federal and States levels! These politicians capitalize on Chapter V Section 80 (2) (3); 81(1) (2) (4) (a) (b); 82; 83 (1) (2) of the said faulty Constitution, which saddles them with oversight functions, including, scrutiny of the annual budgets which the document mandates the Executive to prepare and execute judiciously to ensure consistent economic growth! The RMAFC official salaries and allowances for legislators is less than TWO million naira per month, but these legislators appropriate a whooping N150 billion naira annually to themselves and their Administrative staff, and collect same in defiance to whatever figure was fixed by the Executive in the budget preparation.
Apart from this illegality which has been ongoing since 1999, annual BUDGET PADDING, which translates to, insertions of new amounts for Constituency Projects, re-writing, re-inventing and distortion of the entire document to accommodate their whims and caprices by arriving at a total figure completely different from the original!
The SENATE is also a recluse of some sort where Governors who had served the constitutional EIGHT years in office BUT would still smuggle themselves to spend the rest of their unproductive lives because of the LOVE OF MONEY! Apart from two former governors/senators, who were successfully prosecuted and eventually convicted to spend SEVEN YEARS in prison after several years of trial, majority of them who have been indicted by the EFCC still walk free, to contest and win elections!

THE NIGERIAN LEGISLATURE PAY PACKAGE IS SYNONYMOUS TO ROBBERY OF THE TREASURY!
Welcome and Severance Packages for Nigerian Legislators are not Christmas, Easter or Sallah Hampers, both terminologies were coined by National Assembly paymasters to identify tons of monies paid to Nigerian Legislators, at the points of entry and disengagement from their four-yearly bazaar/jamboree, at the "hallowed" chambers! They have begun to collect these largesse with impunity! IS RMAFC ON DUTY OR RECESS? APC MUST GET IT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS 9TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY! There MUST be no jumbo salaries nor humongous allowances this time around!

WASTAGES IN GOVERNMENT MUST BE BLOCKED AT THIS NEXT LEVEL! What values have legislators added to the lives of the overall masses of the population they claim to represent from 1999-2019 - a period of 20 years, when most negative global indexes, relating to backwardness were the lot of successive governments until the last four years when fresh foundations for economic growth were laid by the incumbent APC Administration!
In 58 years of independence, has the lot of the TALAKAWAS improved with the annual figure of 469 legislators in the areas of education, health, transportation, housing, employment, SECURITY etc? The answer is NO! Interestingly these legislators were always the first to condemn Nigeria in concurrence to all foreign negative indexes in respect of the national poverty level, illiteracy level, insecurity, economy, corruption etc, when they should be held responsible for all socio-economic decays recorded against Nigeria!

NIGERIA SHOULD FOLLOW SENEGAL'S FOOTSTEPS AND SCRAP THE SENATE TO IMPROVE THE LOT OF THE DOWNTRODDEN!
On 19th September 2012, Senegalese legislators voted to SCRAP its Senate and SAVED an estimated United State $ 15 million dollars under the watch of Macky Sall, who was re-elected in February, 2019, for a second term! President Buhari should do the same to create the necessary conducive atmosphere for the Parliamentary Democracy to take off from 2023! "A Stitch in time saves nine!"



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

THERE was massive jubilation in the camp of Nigeria's major opposition party, PDP, when the EU Election Observation Mission (EUEOM), Final Report on the 2019 General Elections was released on Friday, 14th June, 2019, to coincide with the on-going appeal of their candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, against his loss, at the Presidential Appeal Tribunal, Abuja. The People's Democratic Party strongly believes that the orchestrated report would vindicate their claims of election-rigging and thereby, reverse the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari, in their favour!

Since PDP lost the 2015 presidential elections to its charign, to the All Progressives Party (APC), it never failed at every opportunity to seek for foreign interventions that could "miraculously" sack the ruling party and overturn the tables in their favour to continue their unabated looting of Nigeria's treasury which persisted for a consecutive period of 16 years, 1999-2015!

It is instructive to note that this international observation mission of the European Union (EU), which monitored the 2019 General Elections on the invitation of the Independent Nigeria Electoral Commission (INEC), did not represent the EU as a body, and the report released by it on 14th June, 2019, was fragile and futile because prominent member countries of EU had congratulated the winner, President Buhari and Nigerians for a successful outing!

The EU Report was SUSPECT, considering its timing and the excited reception given to it by the major opposition party whose appeal against President Buhari's victory was being microscoped at the Electoral Tribunal! Was it not evident that the report was intended to influence or intimidate the Tribunal's Judges Adjudication over the appeal before them for the following cogent reasons:
It took this group almost three months to compile an indictment which portrayed the entire elections as totally marred by violence, malpractices, vote buying and biased intervention by security agents in favour of the ruling party! "We saw systemic failures in Nigeria's 2019 Elections", they asserted; and in another vein, the report also indicted the two major parties, APC and PDP in respect of perpetrating electoral violence in some States - especially Rivers - and made some recommendations to assuage future occurrences in 2023.
Was the report not SUBJUDICE? Was it not a plot against Buhari's overwhelming victory at the poll because PDP claimed that its content would vindicate it at the Appeal Tribunal? WAS IT NOT A CASE OF INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY? In tandem with EUEOM were the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and International Republican Institute (IRI), reports which claimed that the 2019 Elections were marred by irregularities such as intimidation of voters and electoral officials, vote-buying and election-related violence! WHY ARE THESE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AFRAID TO CALL A SPADE BY ITS NAME? CAN THE MOTLEY CROWD OF ELECTION OBSERVERS INTIMIDATE THIS FOCUSSED CHANGE ADMINISTRATION LED BY THE INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED MAN OF INTEGRITY?
PDP MEMBERS ARE GLOBALLY IDENTIFIED AS THE DESPERATE POLITICIANS WHO WOULD GO TO ANY LENGTH TO "REGAIN POWER", BUT THE FOREIGN OBSERVERS FAILED TO SAY THE TRUTH!
Shortly before the elections when President Buhari warned Nigerians to resist the temptation of BALLOT BOX snatching or be prepared to do so at the risk of their lives, he was castigated and labelled as a leader without conscience; - BUT the opposition still went ahead to recruit thugs who snatched boxes and also perpetrated much violence which resulted in the loss of some lives!
Also before the 2019 General Elections, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), operatives seized several containers of military camouflage uniforms and also thousands of arms and ammunitions being smuggled into the country through the nation's numerous porous borders by desperate politicians who were bent on seizing power at the centre by force in a commando fashion!

PARTY COALITIONS AND POLITICS GANG-UPS AGAINST BUHARI!
It is on record, that ex-president Aremu Obasanjo, plotted with about 35 political parties, led by the PDP, in his bid to oust the incumbent deployed all manner of unholy strategies to heat up the polity - including the bare-faced demand that he should resign at the end of the first tenure! Obasanjo reconciled with his estranged Vice President, Atiku Abubakar whom he swore never to forgive for reasons of betrayal and tried effortlessly to discredit and malign the person of President Buhari, but to no avail and the rest is now relegated to history!

FOREIGN OBSERVERS SHOULD NEVER HAVE BLAMED APC FOR ANY ELECTORAL VIOLENCE!
Why would a Change Government which was faced with the challenges of crimes/criminalities of Boko Haram terrorism, farmers/herders incessant clashes, rampant incidences of kidnappings, banditry, militancy, etc, right from inception in May, 2015, decide to wage fresh wars of electoral violence upon its already traumatized citizens?
The famous Slogan of the major opposition party candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar throughout the campaign period before the elections was: "BUHARI MUST GO. ..... BUHARI MUST GO........BUHARI MUST GO!" The African adage states that: "IF THE WITCH CRIED IN THE NIGHT AND THE BABY DIED IN THE MORNING; IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE WITCH HAD KILLED THE BABY!

WHO WILL BELIEVE OUR REPORT? PRESIDENCY INSISTS THAT ELECTIONS WERE FAIR!
INEC released a report that the 2019 General Elections was not only free, fair and credible, but was a great improvement over that of 2015! The body announced early on Wednesday, 27th February, 2019, that the incumbent, President Buhari, candidate of the governing APC party won the poll convincingly with 55.6% of the total valid votes in the presidential election while his closest candidate, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, scored 42.2%! The body did not deny that there were some security lapses at some polling centres, but that the election generally witnessed reduced violence, ballot box snatching and announcement of fraudulent election results.
Chairman, YIAGA AFRICA, Samson Itodo, disclosed that its youth group, "Watching The Vote (WTV)"; electronically monitored the general elections in all States of the Federation and CONFIRMED that total FIGURES OF RESULTS COMPILED BY WTV AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION COMPARATIVELY TALLIED WITH THOSE WHICH INEC RELEASED! The non-partisan Local Observer group published its assessments, successes, challenges during the conduct of the 2019 elections through Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT), election observation deployment at the end of April 2019. The group conducted an extensive reflection sessions with its State Focal Points in charge of; election observation deployment in various States in Nigeria to assess the quality of its deployment for the 2019 Elections to which it deployed 3,906 Observers across ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN Nigeria for the Presidential Election - using the Parallel Vote Tabulation methology, and took steps to assess the process in a bid to improve on the system ahead of the Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship Elections coming up in November, 2019.

These Ambassadors for credible elections who were spread throughout sampled polling units, used data and technology to enhance deployment in challenging terrains of the Riverine and especially, the insurgency affected areas of North East Nigeria, which monitoring recorded 100% coverage!

APC REACTS NEGATIVELY TO THE FOREIGN REPORTS!
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, described reports on the 2019 General Elections by some international institutions as efforts to discredit the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration. He said it was an orchestrated international conspiracy to discredit Nigeria's successful diversification policy which has placed the nation as the number one commercial/industrial destination in Africa adding that Nigeria now enjoys food security which has reduced drastically previous large global importation!

ARE FOREIGN ELECTIONS PERFECT? Can perfect elections be conducted anywhere in the world as long as human factor prevailed? Can the United States, which is globally adjudged as the best universal democracy, vouch for conduct of flawless elections The Florida's year 2000 controversial presidential election figures still rings bell. Florida, a swing state, had a major recount dispute that took centre stage in the contest between Gorge W. Bush and Al Gore of that time. It is still in the public domain that President Donald Trump was rigged into the White House by Russian Server hackers while there were electoral flaws in several EU Countries; Spain, Turkey, to mention a few!
WORLD LEADERS sent goodwill messages to President Muhammadu Buhari, on his re-election for a second term in office: In Africa, President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, was the first African leader; followed by Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa; Cameroonian President, Paul Biya ; President, Xi JinPing, leader of the most populous nation and second largest economy after the US, led the pack among other leaders outside the shores of Africa to congratulate President Buhari. He promised a more robust cooperation with Nigeria. He was followed by the President Donald Trump; Mrs.Theresa May, United Kingdom (UK); Angela Marcel of Germany. ........... Etc, etc,
President Ramaphosa in his message paid particular focus on the strengthening of economic cooperation; his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Akufo-Addo extended a warm congratulations while Zimbabwean Emmerson Mnangagwa also wished Buhari well in his efforts to steer the country towards further progress and development! Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Russia, were not left behind as they all congratulated Buhari as the winner of the 2019 Presidential Election and said they looked forward to cordial economic relationship. KENYA'S President, Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated President Buhari saying his victory was a clear demonstration of the trust and confidence, Nigerians have in him and his ability to lead the country to greater heights.

PATRIOTIC NIGERIANS HAVE REJECTED FOREIGN ELECTORAL REPORTS!
EUEOM, IRI, and their ilk cannot force biased election reports on Nigerians who believe in the results already declared by INEC and in the solid socio-economic achievements of President Buhari of the first term and are very willing to support the second term agenda programmes of the NEXT LEVEL! It very clear that those reports were their personal records which have neither legal binding nor could in any way influence the JUDICIARY in the discharge of their duties at both the Appeal Tribunal and Supreme Court, at the appointed period!

"When men say are cast down, then thou shall say, there is a LIFTING UP!..........."(Job 22: 29).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The furore generated in the public domain by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), that the recent attendance of President Muhammadu Buhari, to the 14th Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Saudi Arabia, inferred a direct move to Islamise Nigeria, was nothing short of an absurdity, a mischief and myopic attempt to further widen the religious dichotomy between adherents of the two major FAITHS and incite them to "war, war" instead of dwelling together in harmony!

The body condemned the trip which it described as unconstitutional and queried if the President would attend the WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES or send his Vice to represent him whenever the members met?
It warned government not to overheat the polity through lopsided appointments in which people of the same ethnic and religious group as the President's, dominated the others and added that, "The preponderance of the Fulani people at the corridors of power is what Chief Obasanjo referred to as Fulanisation agenda."

SHOULD (CAN) FAN THE EMBERS OF A RELIGIOUS WAR BECAUSE SOME MISGUIDED (CAN) DIRECTORS WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT BUHARI WON HIS SECOND TERM BID ELECTION?
We believe that God favoured Buhari to serve for two terms according to our prophecy of 2014 and turned a deaf Ear to CAN supplications, intercessions, chain prayers, white fastings and night vigils for the opposition candidates to prevail, at both elections in 2015 and 2019! CAN's sing-song about Islamisation of Nigeria has assumed the sound of a broken record because the group did the same in 1986, when Nigeria official joined the OIC in order to shore up the nation's dwindling economy.
AND IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS, 1999-2019, OIC HAS RECORDED THE ATTENDANCE OF FOUR NIGERIAN PRESIDENTS TO ITS VARIOUS SUMMITS - TWO CHRISTIANS AND TWO MUSLIMS!!
For 58 years, consecutive Nigerian Governments (military and democratic), had guarded jealously, the freedom of its citizens to religious association and worship because the individuals of different FAITHS, cut across genders, tribes, traditions, cultures, castes, etc, in order to avoid volatile situations that could occur through any form of rivalry or the assumption of superiority of one religion over another!

The two major religious Faiths - Christianity and Islam - control large number of adherents across Nigeria; the North, predominantly of the Islamic stock, while the South is domicile with Christians. Although their are other smaller religious groups and beliefs across all sides of the Niger and Benue Rivers, the drafters of the Nigerian Constitutions, had in their wisdom avoided any alignment of State to any religion!
According to this very sacred documents, Nigeria is described as a SECULAR STATE - that is, a State that allows for freedom of worship and does not adhere to a particular religious ideology to govern the country because global history is replete with the disastrous/devastating nature of religious wars of the past, which turned out to be very gory and inhumane, because of intolerance and rivalries! In addition to this status quo, Nigeria's foreign policy is predicated on the NON-ALIGNMENT plank!


WHO IS A RELIGIOUS VIOLATOR - AREMU OBASANJO, CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN), OR MUHAMMADU BUHARI?
First it was ex-President, Aremu Obasanjo who, in his usual manner of seeking a lost political relevance, claimed that the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, was executing an agenda to "Fulanise and Islamise" Nigeria!

Second, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), condemned in strong terms, President Buhari's attendance of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, formerly, Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Summit, which held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, from Thursday, 30th May, to Saturday, 1st June, 2019, and defended ex-President Obasanjo's allegation that the incumbent President was bent on "Fulanising and Islamising" Nigeria, or;

Third, President Buhari, who hit the ground running immediately on the second day of his swearing- in ceremony on 29th May, 2019 to attend the OIC's 14th Summit in Saudi Arabia, with a mission to solicit for more support to end Nigeria's insecurity situation and also to secure assurances that would attract more international investments to boost Nigeria's economy?

NIGERIA JOINED OIC SINCE 1986!
Nigeria became 46th of the 57-member countries of the organisation in 1986 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. OIC which had been in existence since 1969, is an organisation that advocates international economic cooperation through trade, science/technology, banking, environment, health, higher education, humanitarian, cultural, social and family affairs/women empowerment channels, that would enable member countries to grow rapidly, enjoy equal opportunities and be in better positions to cater for their citizens!

In 33 years of Nigeria's membership of OIC which has a population of 1.8 billion, FOUR Presidents of Nigeria, Aremu Obasanjo, late Umaru Ya'Ardua, Ebele Jonathan and the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, have attended past summits! In 2013, Jonathan and wife were delegate and guest respectively at that Summit! It is also on record that ex-Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, a Christian, sent a Nigerian delegation led by Alhaji Abubakar Gumi, to represent Nigeria at the very first inaugural session of OIC in 1969! WHY SHOULD (CAN), NOW SPEARHEAD A PROPAGANDA OF CALUMNY AGAINST PRESIDENT BUHARI?
OIC's advocacy in about five decades of existence, no doubt has continued to prove that Islam was not a religion based on violence and that Muslims by nature were peaceful people because there had existed, a universal mis-conception that Jihadism (an act of holy war), which occurred in the 12th Century, was an act of terror against Islamic non-adherents; but this assumption has been denied severally by Islamic scholars who described ISLAM AS A RELIGION OF PEACE!



BUHARI PRAISED OIC FOR INTERVENTION IN FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IN NIGERIA & AFRICA!
The President who read the collective statement of African countries at the Summit, passed a vote of confidence on several intervention programmes of the member States all over Africa and especially in Nigeria in the areas of banking, industry, health, agriculture, trade, investment and most importantly, the fight against terrorism!
He said that the robust interventions of the various OIC Institutions and principally the Islamic Development Bank Group, had also been effective in rural development, food security, science, technology and innovation, poverty alleviation as well as women and youth empowerment. In the specific case of Nigeria, the President acknowledged the support of OIC Member States in countering the menace of terrorism and armed criminality in West Africa, the Lake Chad area and the Sahel Countries. He appreciated their contributions in the alleviation of the humanitarian crisis arising from the insurgency but urge them to do more.
He also highlighted the Inter-Water Basic transfer, aimed at re-charging, the Lake Chad, the National Food Security Programme, the Second Niger Bridge,, various Road/Schools rehabilitation projects, in Nigeria that have attracted the support of OIL Institutions adding that African members needed more support to overcome serious security problems of violent extremists and armed criminals, where they existed, etc, etc.


WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES OF OIL!
It is very instructive to note that apart from Nigeria, the following countries in the West African sub-region are also members of OIL: Republics of Mali (1969), Guinea (1969), Niger (1969), Chad (1969), Senegal (1969), Sierra Leone (1972), Cameroun (1974), Gambia (1974), Gabon (1974), Burkina Faso, formerly, Upper Volta (1974), Togo (1997), Benin (1983), and Cote d' Voice (2001). The theme of the 2019 Summit was #Session of Hand in Hand Toward the Future.


ARAB COUNTRIES DO NOT SUPPORT TERRORISM!
SAUDI ARABIA FORCES in concert with other Arab countries and the United States of America between 2014-2017, dislodged Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), militants which took advantage of the Syrian war to carve out an illegal "State" from where they launched attacks on other Arab States, including Saudi people and also bombed their mosques. ISIS which is reputed for violence and brutality, including beheadings and floggings, met its match in the allied forces, were defeated, disgraced and driven out of their illegal occupation! ISIS like Boko Haram has been tactically defeated degraded and has such resulted to suicide attacks/hit-and-run tactics to remain relevant!


TERRORISTS ARE MERCENARIES!
Most terrorists groups across the world have proved to be MERCENARIES who have no particular ideologies nor personal political convictions/motivations other than the acquisition of illicit money and illegal power! They are no respecter of persons, governments or constituted authorities! Most times, We, as social critics and political commentators wonder why mosques, churches and other places of worship are bombed indiscriminately; or why soft targets of innocent people at motor parks/bus stations, market places, remote communities domicile by law-abiding and peaceful peasants were deliberately attacked by gunmen, bandits, militia men, marauders, who also kidnap lots of them for ransom, used them as human shields, the women as wives, sex slaves, and cooks?

Terrorism has become big business, big industry! Who sponsors the heinous crimes through supply of logistics: arms/ammunitions, information, communications, transportation, food, medicine, clothing’s, etc,! Why do governments negotiate with terrorists and pay huge sums of money for the release of kidnapped victims? Why do governments exchange terrorists commanders/prisoners of war (POW), in exchange for abducted citizens and the cycle of atrocities continue unabated because they (governments), indirectly or inadvertently, supply huge funds for them (terrorists), to purchase more arms to continue the "thriving business" with precious human lives!
MAN'S INHUMANITY AGAINST MAN HAS DESTROYED WHAT IS LEFT OF THE SANCTITY OF LIFE; BUT INCITEMENT FOR A RELIGIOUS WAR WILL BE MUCH DISASTROUS!

This unfolding vicious scenario has nothing to do with Muslims or Christians, Religion or Faith - it has to do with the bestiality that is inherent in an average man who has no fear of GOD in him! And the earlier, Christians and Muslims close ranks and pray fervently to the Creator of the Heaven and the Earth, for divine intervention, not much will be achieved with human wisdom or understanding because Satan, the evil archangel is bent on truncating the PEACE, which has been promised to the entire humanity by the Lord Jesus Christ, who says, "In me, you will find peace, but in the world, you will find tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have conquered the world." (John. 16:33).
Tribal, ethnic, chieftaincy, land or border disputes/conflicts, can be tamed; but RELIGIOUS WAR IS WILD FIRE THAT CANNOT BE QUENCHED AND MUST BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS! LET US ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ISHMAEL AND ISAAC CAME OUT FROM THE LOINS OF ABRAHAM! WE MUST BE OUR BROTHERS KEEPER!

THE WHOLE WORLD IS NAMED AFTER GOD!
‘’If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land’’(2 Chron 7:14)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

Contrary to the trending outbursts on the social media that it was "anathema", for President Buhari to have failed to deliver a written speech at the second term low-key swearing-in ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Wednesday, 29th May, 2019; the President actually spoke to Nigerians through the journalists who play the critical role of ensuring accountability from government as stipulated in Chapter II Section 22, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

In a question and answer session with the “Watch Dogs” at the Eagle Square, shortly after he took his fresh oath of office, President Buhari made the following statement: “Today is for oath-taking. It has to take place today because it is the constitution. Every other thing including the inauguration speech is moved to June 12th."


THE PRESIDENT SAYS “I AM NO LONGER BABA GO SLOW”!
The uncomplimentary toga of "Baba Go Slow", has been cast away because the President is set to complete all campaign promises which are ongoing in respect of fool-proof security environment across Nigeria's 774 LGAs, an enviable position among the 20 top global economies by the year 2020, and an intensified war against institutional corruption, in martial "quick time"!

Unperturbed by the pressures generated through a frivolous litigation which sought to annul his second term swearing-in-ceremony because of the pending appeal against his victory at the Appeal Tribunal, the President unequivocally told Nigerians in a 24-minute interview on the NTA Network on 27th May, 2019, that he would initiate new directions, fast-track all government activities, and prod his new management team to keep on their toes for quick results! He equally promised to put up his best performances to justify the new mandate given to him by the electorate - majority of whom are the down-trodden in the political equation!


BUHARI ALSO SPOKE TO NIGERIANS IN A FRESH DECLARATION OF HIS ASSETS!
The President also declared and presented his sworn assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), before the swearing-in ceremony, according to the law to signify the end of his first four-year term. The assets which showed no significant difference to that of 2015, communicated to Nigerians, no doubt, the lofty ideals of transparent, faithful and righteous leadership qualities of a man of integrity!

According to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, the number one frugal citizen did not build new houses, neither did he purchase new Shares nor operate new bank accounts at home or abroad. The 2015 declaration consisted of the following items which can still be verified by interested Nigerians according to the media aide: 270 cows, 25 sheep, five horses, birds and economic trees, five houses in Kaduna, Daura, Kano and Abuja, a mud house also in Daura, a plot of land each in Port Harcourt and Kano; an orchard, and some cars.

BUT FIFTH COLUMNISTS SAID THAT THE PRESIDENT FAILED TO DECLARE A NEW 2019 MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS S 560 (Maybach), purchased at a cost of USD $ 170 dollars, or N 61.2 million naira (at conversion rate of N 360.00, per dollar), and specially-designed for him, and which was unveiled as he drove into the Eagle Square venue on the 29th May 2019!
We are yet to confirm the veracity of the claim, but assuming that a new vehicle was added to the presidential fleet, did it make the vehicle the president's property?
Nigerians cannot be hoodwinked by the President's detractors who have refused to repent and follow the path of honour to build a brand new Nigeria devoid of the politics of calumny! When the President assumed office in 2015, he refused to purchase new vehicles contrary to requests by advisers but claimed that those he met on ground were still good to go and thereby saved billions of tax payers money which could have gone into corruption and deliberate wastage as was done by the consecutive 16 wasted years of PDP administrations!

THE OPPOSITION PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), said that the President could not deliver a speech because the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), "was overburdened by the guilt of the rigged presidential election", though, government had earlier informed, not only Nigerians, but the entire global community through the erstwhile Minister of Information, that, 29th May, 2019, would be low key and for oath taking only in compliance with the Constitution; while all other inauguration activity - including the President's speech - for a fresh Four-year term would hold on June 12!

Following very wide consultations, President Buhari, announced last year, his decision to change the annual celebration of DEMOCRACY DAY from May 29, to June 12 in commemoration of the June 12,1993, Presidential Election, massively believed to have been won by a business icon,Chiel MKO Abiola, but annulled by the military junta of retired General Ibrahim Babangida and had promptly forwarded a bill to that effect to the National Assembly (NASS), for Constitutional amendment and passage into law!

BECAUSE BUHARI IS CARRYING THE ANOINTING, HIS ENEMIES SHALL BE DASHED INTO PIECES!
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2:1-12). THE LORD HAS SPOKEN: LET NO MAN CONTEND WITH HIM!


THE PRESIDENT IS SWORN IN AGAINST ALL ODDS - HE SHOULD PUT HIS ALL INTO THE NEXT LEVEL!
The President who was sworn in by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, took the oath-of-office at a low-key ceremony at the Eagle Square, on the 29th May, 2019, shortly after his Vice, Professor ‘Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, had been sworn in, exuded good health, vigour and vitality, but however, did not give a prepared inaugural address at the ceremony, which according to presidential sources, has been reserved for JUNE 12, 2019, which is the new and constitutionally-enacted Democracy Day!

Expectations of better performances at this NEXT LEVEL as promised by the President himself, are very high, both at home and the Diaspora. President Buhari should emulate South Africa's President CYRIL RAMAPHOSA'S example by swearing in his NEW CABINET, without any delay. Mr. Ramaphosa was sworn in on Saturday 25th May, 2019, and swore in his cabinet ministers on Thursday, 30th May, 2019!

WE believe that President Buhari has already laid a very good foundation to build on without further waste of time and that his new team should hit the ground running to implement the party's three cardinal promises of adequate security, very buoyant economy, intensify the war against institutional corruption, focus more on unemployment and agriculture in order to eradicate poverty and by extension, insurgency, terrorism, banditry and all forms of crimes/violence for the economy to achieve the year 2020 target date of a place among the first 20 global economies!

In spite of the multi-farious challenges faced by APC Government in the last four years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that Nigeria's economy grew by 1.98 % in 2018, which the body regarded as the nation's fastest pace since RECESSION! IMF also forecast a growth of 2.1 % in 2019, but we believe that the new economic team would perform better than the forecast!
Nigeria's POROUS BORDERS, which are wide open in more than 400 areas of the nation's land mass (and through which terrorists and bandits had infiltrated to kill our people and destroy our collective psyche), MUST be quickly addressed by the President and all measures, including the deployment high technology of CCTV CAMERAS and DRONES, to all States in border areas, to seal these enemies of our beloved nation off permanently!
There is no doubt that the nation's security outfits are seriously overwhelmed, overstretched and heavily overlaboured but they have been very faithful to discharge their onerous duties this far to the best of their abilities BUT they need greater encouragement in additional manpower, sophisticated weapons, more of authentic intelligence information gathering and better WELFARE packages, to build up new incentives and patriotism!


BUHARI SHOULD SIGN THE PEACE CORPS OF NIGERIA (PCN) BILL NOW!!!
DO WE STILL NEED TO REMIND PRESIDENT BUHARI TO SIGN THE PEACE CORPS OF NIGERIA (PCN), BILL WHICH WAS SUBMITTED BY NASS MONTHS BEFORE HIS FRESH ELECTION INTO LAW? IT IS ON RECORD THAT THE OVER THREE MILLION PATRIOTIC YOUTHS OF THAT NGO, VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY FOR HIS VICTORY!

NOW IS THE TIME TO FAVOUR THESE LEADERS OF TOMORROW BY GIVING THEM IMMEDIATE EMPLOYMENT THROUGH HIS SIGNATURE ON THE BILL AS HE RETURNS FROM OIC OFFICIAL ECONOMIC ASSIGNMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA! THE 8TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WILL REMAIN IN SESSION TILL 11TH/12TH JUNE, 2019.


The PCN, members will definitely augment the shortfalls in the strength of the overall security personnel and can be quickly deployed to all sensitive areas (especially, SOFT TARGETS), for information and intelligence gathering duties, including BORDER PATROLS! "A stitch in time saves nine"!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The acronym FEC, (Federal Executive Council), under which the regular weekly meetings between the President, his Vice and Ministers of Government is convened is an aberration - a misnomer, because the term neither exists nor conforms with any provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999!

Chapter VI, Section 148 (1) (2) (a) (b) (c), titled, "Executive responsibilities of Ministers" specifically charged that,” the President may, in his discretion, assign to the Vice President or any Minister. ...responsibility for any business of the Government of the Federation, including the administration of any department of government;.....HOLD REGULAR meetings with his Vice and all the Ministers. .... for the purposes of: .... DETERMINING the general direction of domestic and foreign policies of Government. ..... CO-ORDINATING the activities of the President, his Vice and Ministers of the Federation in the discharge of their executive responsibilities. ..... and ADVISING the President generally in the discharge of his executive functions ...... OTHER THAN. ...... those functions with respect to which he is required BY THE CONSTITUTION to SEEK the ADVICE or ACT on the RECOMMENDATION of any OTHER PERSON or BODY."

In view of the above Constitutional provisions, a change of nomenclature should be effected without further delay for the APC Administration to be Constitution compliant. The title, "PRESIDENT AND MINISTERS MEETING" (PMM), no doubt is a more appropriate appellation and not FEC; second, outside of constitutional budgets formulation and execution according to due process with Legislative oversight and approval, it was not stated that the President and his Ministers "in council", should approve weekly appropriation bills always solicited for by the ministers!

FEC, was introduced through an error of commission or omission or as a carry-over of the military mentality as the nation transited from martial to "civil" laws under a retired Army General! Although the aberration had been publicly criticised by the media, civil societies and various organisations, but the appointed professionals who should check the anomaly especially, in the Ministry of Information/National Orientation Agency, of the consecutive administrations since 1999, insist on correct procedure, did not bother to correct a glaring error which was at variance to the Federal Constitution! Approval of BILLION NAIRA CONTRACTS for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including parastatals had been a weekly exercise in 20 years of the new democratic process, while less attention was given to more pressing demands of the nation's political, economic, and social programmes especially, the recalcitrant challenge of insecurity across board!
On our part, We had drawn the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to this anomaly, and had pointed out that if the Constitution and the LAW had to prevail in the long run, all administrative and financial transactions of that body from 1999-2019, would be termed as VERY CORRUPT, NON-TRANSPARENT, IRREGULAR, UNLAWFUL, CRIMINALLY-MOTIVATED AND EXECUTED, would be declared NULL & VOID and should be punished appropriately!
The Presidents Management/Economic Teams, past and present, which were appointed on the basis of their professional capabilities/dexterity, (especially, the Ministers for Justice and Attorney Generals), who should have rightly interpreted the law, should first be held responsible while total blames rest on the executive presidents on whose tables," THE BUCK STOP!


WHERE WERE THE BILLIONS OF WEEKLY NAIRA CONTRACTS STACHED?
Until 2015, when some measure of sanity pervaded Nigeria's economic and fiscal responsibility space, through the advent of the Change APC Government, which was persistent on checks and balances through meticulous monitoring of budget execution and implementation, methods of budget approval on weekly basis, was an all-comers affair by PDP's consecutive PREDATOR Administrations which had no qualms about probity or the welfare/security of the citizens and most contract monies were embezzled with institutional impunity because the TREASURY was virtually empty at the exchange of guards!

We have no doubt that the guilty would someday answer to posterity and to God in respect of discrepancies which they deliberately condoned for their illicit gains but to the hurt of the Talakawas who still wallow in abject poverty in the 21st Century where digital information technology infrastructure holds sway globally and can proffer solutions to virtually any subject or challenge under the Sun!


FLURRY OF CONTRACT AWARD ACTIVITIES AT FEC MEETINGS AS APC'S FIRST TERM WINDS UP!
If the transition from 29th May 2019, would not be a continuity of the All Progressives Congress (APC's), administration, the rate at which FEC Meetings of the past two months had awarded contracts worth billions of naira to Ministers/Ministries, SHOULD BE SUSPECT! Our attention is especially drawn to the Ministry of Aviation which committed the nation to the loss of millions of US dollars, during an adventurous solo-venture into its pet-dream of the launch of a National Carrier, tagged, "Nigeria Air`", initiated and, or, commissioned (?), without the blessings of the Federal Government, at a London Air Fair in July, 2018!
According to its Minister, the anticipated "Carrier" would have begun operations before December 2018, with Federal Government Share put at 05%, while undisclosed Private Partners' Share was fixed at 95%, but the CONTRACT was rejected and aborted because Government said, "it was not carried along"!
Having failed in that venture, the Ministry had sought for and succeeded in getting the following contracts through FEC:
N 743 million for procurement of security and safety gadgets as well as incidences laboratory for Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),
N391.8 million for procurement of pavement marking machines - visual aid for pilots for safe operations;
N1.187, 960,000 million Euros or N 414,543,760.23 million naira, excluding taxes!
Up till Wednesday, 16th, May, 2019, contracts were still approved to MDA's but to what purpose were these financial contract approvals intended? How many billions of naira approved to contractors at this dying days of APC's first term? Could the contracts still be executed before 29th May, 2019 or rolled over to the 2019 Budget Appropriation yet to receive Presidential assent; or would unspent monies be returned the Federation/Treasury Single Account, just like in the days of the late President Umaru Yar'Adua, of blessed memory?
ARE THE ALLEGED BAD EGGS AMONG PMB'S KITCHEN CABINET STILL HOLDING SWAY? If it were ("before, before", between 1999-2015, no one would have raised an eye brow, because the norm then was to deliberately delay contracts execution till the end of every budget year with a view to withdrawing lots of monies into private pockets of the awardees and their collaborators!


IF FEC IS THE PROCURER, WHAT IS THE DUTY OF THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (BPP)?
We will not assume that our readers are accustomed to how annual budgets (itemized summary of intended expenditure), are formulated and executed, but will just break down the whole gamut in their proper perspectives according to the 1999 Federal Constitution: The Executive Arm is empowered to initiate proceedings of budget formulation being the Administrative Head of government by requesting all its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to forward to the Ministry of Finance, within a stipulated period, their sundry NEEDS, for a calendar year, for vetting, scrutiny and approval. [Chapter V, Section 81 (1) (2)].
THE National Assembly (NASS), has constitutional powers and control over public funds and also of oversight to subject the budget to rigorous scrutiny with the aim of sifting out discrepancies, according to Chapter V, Section 80 (1) (2) (3) (4), and also to conduct investigations, expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement of administration of funds appropriated by it.
During the recent public hearing on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), held at the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Finance, Appropriation, Aids, Loans, and Debt Management, the following parameters for executing the 2019 Budget, were agreed on: (1) Oil Production of 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd); (2) Oil price benchmark of USD $ 60 dollars; (3) Foreign exchange rate of N305 naira to a dollar; (4) Inflation rate at single digit 9.98%; (5) Nominal consumption at N119.28 trillion; (6) Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP), N 139.65 trillion; and (7) GDP Growth Rate at 3.01%.
Once the budget received presidential assent as contained in the estimates, the Accountant General of the Federation will issue guidelines on public expenditure through: THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT WHICH ARE THE REGULATORY AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF: PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, HARMONIZING EXISTING GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES THROUGH REGULATIONS, SETTING STANDARDS, DEVELOPING LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN NIGERIA! "FEC" HAS NO BUSINESS IN CONTRACT APPROVALS!

Between the year 1999-2000, procurement assessment report exposed an on-going fraud that the sum of 60 kobo was always lost to under-hand practices out of every One naira spent by the Federal Government! A swift reaction by government in 2001, brought on board an intervention crack detectives of the "Budget monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit”, which quickly checkmated the national financial embarrassment! NIGERIANS MUST ALSO RISE IN UNISON TO MONITOR ALL THE RECENT FEC BILLION NAIRA ALLOCATIONS TO MDA's AND BLOW THE WHISTLE AGAINST ECONOMIC SABOTEURS IN BUHARI'S GOVERNMENT! FOLLOW THE MONEY - YOUNG HAMZA, NGOs, CSOs, ORGANISED LABOUR, STUDENT BODIES, NANS, SERAP!

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to all people.”(Proverbs. 14:34).

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

When Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 Presidential Election against all odds, the opposition was shaken to their very marrows and reacted like bad losers through defiant grandstanding and a hostile attitude which delayed the unorthodox hand-over ceremony to barely two weeks to the president's investiture! His acceptance speech of the 29th May, 2015, at the Eagle Square, Abuja, which spelt out a-three-pronged approach to combat insecurity, strengthen the battered economy, and eliminate corruption at all costs, left no one in doubt that it took him three decades to prepare a come-back to complete that assignment which he embarked upon as a military Head of State between 1984-1985!

Although it took him six months to put his cabinet together then, he was painstaking and very meticulous in his choice of ministers who served without blemish and had faithfully given accounts of their stewardship which tallied with the President's Valedictory speech of Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019, in which he attributed the success of the first term to the winning team.

EXCERPTS FROM PMB'S VALEDICTORY SPEECH.
".....We inherited a broken economy which eventually went into a recession in the second quarter of the Fiscal Year 2016. .... further compounded by insecurity and massive corruption. ......we pushed forward to deliver our campaign promise to rescue our country from its parlous state.....through a common vision, heated debates...... differing views that produced national decisions. I retained my cabinet for the full term. ....each of you had a unique skill and strength, we are a diverse but tolerant nation where no one is silenced and where every opinion should be heard and considered."
The President encouraged his ministers to remain PROUD for the following reasons:
Having served to the best of their ability,
Part of a government that liberated the local governments previously under Boko Haram rule,
To have contributed to food security and economic diversification agenda which led to revival of rural agrarian economy,
To have been part of the team that developed the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which led Nigeria exiting its worst recession in decades,
To have introduced the social investment programme that enhanced livelihoods of millions of Nigerians,
To have participated in setting outstanding pensions of many senior citizens abandoned by previous governments while supporting state governments to meet their salary arrears, and
To have overseen the most ambitious road, rail and airport rehabilitation programmes in the history of Nigeria. He also assured the ministers that their achievements of three-and-a-half-years had guaranteed their position in the history books of Nigeria, having built the foundation for an improved economy and a more purposeful government.

WE COULD NOT AGREE MORE with the President, because we monitored the team right from the onset and did a background check on each of the ministers and this was our submission in the 170th edition of the Zion B-BC Newsletter of 13th November, 2016, on completion of their first 12 months: "These Federal Ministers Are Truly Round Pegs In Rounds Holes, Hurray"! And below are some of the convictions that compelled that conclusion.


EXCERPTS OF OUR 13TH NOVEMBER, 2016, EDITION.
"Nigeria’s Change Administration Ministers of President Muhammadu Buhari had been the most criticised, intimidated, harassed, disrespected and most lambasted of political office holders around the globe in recent times! Before the eligible chosen citizens were unveiled, bitter members of the failed opposition party unleashed all manner of reckless accusations that the President's nomination of his "kitchen cabinet", (i.e. close and personal aides), was predicated on a Northern agenda since majority of the appointees, were mostly of northern origin, and advocated civil disapproval against the government without success!
But in spite of all efforts by the opposition to stampede government to act at their bidding, it took a period between 29th May, 2015; to 12th November, 2015, (134 days), for the President, his "Think Tank"/Consultants to prayerfully, carefully and painstakingly conclude the selection and investiture of the Federal Ministers who, (inclusive of the first two citizens), made up the Federal Executive Cabinet (FEC). With the capable assistance of Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, President Muhammadu Buhari oversights the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as substantive minister.
The cabinet had been dogged, consistent, focused and resilient in its commitment to ensuring that all strategic economic policies were executed to the letter with the tacit support of the Private Sector and the Stock Exchange to keep the economy on course as business partners in spite of all distractions by the detractors of government. At that meeting of Wednesday 10th November, 2016, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President charged his ministers " to work harder to endear themselves to Nigerians" as he reviewed the progress, sundry challenges and social commitments of the cabinet to the people in one year." (End of excerpts).
It is on record that President Buhari never sacked any of the outgoing ministers - not even Aisha Alhassan (Mama Taraba), Minister of Women Affairs, who publicly pledged allegiance to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whom she described as her godfather and whom she would vote for, at the 2019, polls!
In the run-up to the 2019 General Elections when Aitiku "atikulously atikulated" himself to become the presidential flag bearer of the opposition PDP, Mama Taraba held on to her position as Minister and continued to collect, salaries, allowances, including perks like foreign journeys, because President Buhari ignored her antics, refused to sack her in spite of pressures from many powerful circles in the ruling party until it dawned on her to resign discreditably, "to pursue a higher political ambition in her state of origin!" Unfortunately, one death was recorded: - that of the Minister of State, Labour, Barrister James Enojo Ocholi, SAN, (Kogi), who lost his life in a ghastly motor accident, along with his wife and son, on the Kaduna-Abuja Highway, on 6th March, 2016, just four months into his appointment!


NIGERIA EXPECTS HIGHER AND BETTER PERFORMANCES IN THE NEXT LEVEL!
Unlike what happened in 2015, President Buhari will definitely not keep the list of appointment of ministers and his advisers to his chest for too long because the time is short! Nigerian masses have tasted true dividends of democracy for real and cannot wait even for ONE WEEK after his fresh inauguration on 29th May, 2019, to capitalize on the economic gains of his first term in office, Starting with the interest-free Market Women Credit Facilities, Market Money Programme, CBN's Anchors Borrowers Scheme for Farmers to attract more people into the economic diversification policy, N-Power Scheme for fresh University graduates, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs), for that all-important sector which represents the backbone of great world economies; not forgetting the urgent need to deregulate the MIDDLE & UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRY, that will surely open new doors for technical and professional cadres of employments!
To quickly accomplish all of these in sequences, THIRTY SIX MINISTERS, + ONE for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), MUST hit the ground running immediately after the inauguration of the 9TH National Assembly (NASS), on 10th June, 2019. The vetting and confirmation of these fresh ministers must take the front burner for the President to accomplish all of the tasks and challenges that also needed to be tackled in respect of total eradication of CORRUPTION AND RESTORATION OF ADEQUATE SECURITY for the ECONOMY to thrive!


WILL BUHARI BRING ON BOARD FRESH BLOOD OR FRESH BRAINS, OR A MERGER OF BOTH?
We suggest that Mr. President's new cabinet should be 100% BRAND NEW in all ramifications - and as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he should change all the pilots with the exception of the Nigerian Police Force, who was confirmed on Thursday 23rd May, 2019, after five months in acting capacity! As far as We are concerned, NO ONE IS INDISPENSIBLE! All ministers of the First Term should officially hand over to their permanent secretaries on Tuesday, 28th May, 2019, and go home to ROOST!
The Grapevine told us that during one of the last-minute meetings of the unconstitutional Federal Executive Council (FEC), (27th March, 2019), an Architectural Design of 12- Storey Complex for the Departments of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Head Office, was awarded for a whooping mouth-watering N1.4 billion naira, while actual the edifice would go for a staggering sum of about N35 billion naira on completion, and Minister of State, Ibe Kachikwu said that the contract sum was normal! How normal was this last-minute contract awarded to a Nigerian firm, Messers Arteck Practice Limited to design a proposed 12-floor on the plot in Abuja, at N 1.4 billion naira, which will seat new Head Office when moved from Lagos! DID PRESIDENT BUHARI ACTUALLY CHAIR THAT MEETING WHICH AWARDED N1.4 BILLION NAIRA FOR A 12-STOREY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN?
OUR CANDID OPINION IS THAT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDITING SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT ON EACH FEDERAL MINISTRY BEFORE NEW MINISTERS COME ON BOARD! Mr. President should remember that the 2017 Budget was barely half-way implemented and was rolled over into the 2018 Appropriation which is yet to accomplish 60%!
When the new 2019 Budget is signed into law by Mr. President, the figures of unspent monies must swell in the Treasury Single Account (TSA), for urgent execution of uncompleted projects and provide ample opportunity for Government to revert to the constitutional January to December Budget , with new hands of Cabinet Ministers and competent and patriotic Legislators.

THE URGENT ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE POLICE, INTRODUCTION OF "TRUE"FEDERALISM/RESTRUCTURING DEVOLUTION OF POWERS AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY, ALL OF WHICH PRESIDENT BUHARI IS FAVOURABLY DISPOSED, SHOULD BE GIVEN TOPMOST PRIORITY AS SOON AS THE NEW MINISTERS ARE SWORN IN!
WE BELIEVE THAT FAULT-FINDERS OF THE OUT-GOING FEDERAL CABINET HAVE NOTHING TO PROVE AT ALL!
"He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich." (Proverbs10:4).


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

The clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria's political system which in the recent past was a household demand, has gradually taken the back stage to pave way for a consensus public opinion that the surest way out of the nation's quagmire of national insecurity, was the emergence of divinely-endowed selfless leaders whose main pre-occupation would be cantered on a total welfare package for the citizens!

Political office holders since 1999 till date, were not oblivious to the demand of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of all organs Nigeria, Chapter II Section 13, 14 (1) (2) (a) (b) (c), (3) (4), which clearly spell out the responsibility of government to the citizens among which are the following: that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government derives ALL ITS POWERS AND AUTHORITY; SECURITY AND WELFARE of the people shall be the PRIMARY PURPOSE of government etc. With this arrangement, the PEOPLE should be the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), who hire and fire!

But majority of those opportunists (especially in the National Assembly ), who invaded the political terrain as desperate merchants since 1999, were determined to profit at all cost having identified all the loop holes in the military-crafted document which favoured mercenary transactions with so much impunity, had cleverly manipulated the system to cover up their tracks!

At the present time in the history of this nation, 469 Legislators and their cronies regularly collected N150 BILLION naira as salaries/emoluments, minus other perks of office, working allowances, and the controversial Constituency Projects (usually converted to cash), Allowances, from the annual federal budgets contrary to Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), constitutional provisions; Chapter V, Sections 70 and 84 (1) (2) (3) (4), and imprudently referred to those illicit largesse as "mere pittance" of the total budget percentage!

Those were bad leadership traits that pervaded the turf for too long before the advent of the Change APC Government which from 2015 had frontally confronted all of the bequeathed fraudulent practices because those fingered to have committed economic/financial crimes by the EFCC had fought back viciously with the alleged looted funds to prove their "innocence"!

Government as a gift of the Holy Spirit, (I Corinthians.12, is synonymous with the word, leadership, in that it is the management or control of a system or people, and that was why it was possible for those who performed creditably and diligently in office, past or present, to be so endowed with the exemplary gift to work seamlessly without paying much attention to the lucre of office!

To lead means, to assume headship, show ability to guide others (presumably), in a right direction. Leadership position is not limited to the aged realm of society! Prophet Samuel was barely a teenager when God placed him as leader over Israel (1Sam 1, 2)! Emmanuel Macron, current President of France was only 39 years in, when he was elected to that exalted position by his people to serve!

NIGERIA'S BRITISH LEADERS!
Nigeria's colonial masters were national leaders in their own right! At least, they successfully, piloted the conglomerate of the entire mass of uncivilised 250 tribes, inundated with diverse opinions, languages, cultural beliefs, traditions, world views etc, for close to a century years at independence and handed over to compatriots selected/elected from among the indigenes!
Or, was the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern British protectorates, by Sir Frederick Lord Lugard, in 1914, a ploy to further consolidate their very prosperous economic empire that guaranteed regular supplies of raw materials to their emerging industries back home because history did not confirm whether natives from both sides of the divide were ever consulted!
It should be recalled that British explorers/missionaries first made incursions/inroads into Nigeria with merchandise to trade and simultaneously preached religion in a manner that would endear them to the indigenes but along the line surreptitiously imposed themselves as masters with the aid of greedy chiefdoms and of superior fire power of sophisticated arms and ammunition which gave them the mantle of leadership with less resistance!

Before the emergence of the first set of indigenous politicians who took over at independence from 1960, the scenario plotted by the British masters foisted the existence of the three major tribes of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, to the detriment of the other 247, who were completely interwoven and completely knitted to the prominent tribes in trade, business, social engagements/interactions, traditional rites, religious/inter/intra marriages, chiefdom/community matters etc.
Nonetheless the Founding Fathers played along and pretended all was well, with the intention to first grab independence with both hands on a platter of gold and latter settle the score of who took what or who shared what, when the dust would have settled! WERE THEY NOT GOOD LEADERS? Of course they were also good leaders who did creditable nation-building assignments in the three regional groups.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was quoted to have said that he was happy that Nigeria would attain independence in 1960, and would not be bothered if either himself, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, or the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, became the first Prime Minister; rather, he would be satisfied that the country from the shackles of colonial rule! Well said but how well did they manage the freedom?
Did the first coupist not accuse them of tribalism, nepotism, corruption, aggrandizement, looting of the national treasury, etc, - which were not qualities of good leadership?
IF THE BRITISH COLONIAL MASTERS PRETENDED THAT NIGERIA WAS POPULATED BY THREE MAJOR TRIBES, WERE THE INDEGENES UNAWARE OF HOW MANY CHIDREN BORN TO THEIR FATHERLAND?

Some excerpts of the Lyrics of Nigeria's Anthem at independence are as follows: .........’’though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand................. that TRUTH and justice reign.................TO HAND UNTO OUR CHILDREN A BANNER WITHOUT STAIN’’. Etc
WHAT WAS SWEPT UNDER THE TABLE IN 1960 REARED ITS UGLY HEAD WITHIN SIX YEARS THROUGH THE NIGERIAN ARMY WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN APOLITICAL!
Imagine if force was not introduced during the teething stage of the nation's political, economic and social development, the stake holders would have, through "trial and error", surmounted the early hurdles of nation-building and democratic principles and build up egalitarian societies! THAT ANOMALY PRECIPITATED BAD LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNANCE UP TO 2015 BUT THERE'S FRESH HOPE FOR RESTITUTION AND RESTORATION!

ROADMAP TO FUTURE SELFLESS LEADERSHIP BEGINS WITH NIGERIAN YOUTHS!
The Change Administration has now positioned Nigerian Youths like never before, to take over the mantle of leadership when PMB would have successfully completed his second term in the year 2023!
THE SIGNING OF THE "NOT-TOO-YOUNG-TO-RULE AND THE N30,000 NAIRA NATIONAL WAGE BILLS"" BY PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI INTO LAW, WAS DELIBERATE, STRATEGIC, WELL INTENTIONED AND MOTIVATED TO PREPARE THEM FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP POSITIONS FROM THEN ON!
Now, Nigerian youths need to change the attitude of pursuing short-cuts to life successes as exhibited by the present generation of politicians who predate on the common patrimony with reckless abandon and impunity to brazenly exhibit such outrageous larger-than-life- illicit wealth that could mislead the very WEAK among the emerging/patriotic "not-too-young-to-rule", to follow their very bad leadership examples!

They also needed to stop identifying with or supporting the condemnable deeds of looters of the treasury who have continued to deploy such illicit funds to destabilize the polity through the sponsorship of crimes and criminalities of terrorism, kidnappings, murders, arson, assassinations, etc,
They should jointly condemn those social media rats and youths whose reasoning faculties have been damaged through drugs and who see nothing good in all the concerted efforts by the present administration to shore up the economy and put Nigeria in perspective among the comity of nations.
Nigerians Youths should interact by faith with God and request for wisdom, knowledge and understanding in spiritual and world affairs in order to be prepared for future leader positions through diligence in hard work and labour.

There is dignity in labour NOT in laziness and stealing. There is work for every serious and determined youth in Agriculture, small scale medium business enterprises, for starters. They must not despise the beginning of small things.
YES, we cannot change our topography as a nation, we cannot change our diversity of tribes and tongues, we cannot change our psyche as a people BUT, WE CAN CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE TO LIFE THROUGH THE FEAR OF GOD WHICH IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM! (PROVERBS. 9:10), WITH WHICH TO BUILD A UNITED, STRONG, ECONOMICALLY-VIABLE EGALITARIAN SOCIETY AND TOTALLY SHUN THEIR LOVE OF MONEY WHICH IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL! (1Tim 6:10). AMEN!

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon,. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

There can be no better time than now for all Nigerian compatriots to rise in unison as OMBUDSMAN, to protect the TSA common patrimony from desperate and vicious human predators who are bent on destroying the economic gains of the ruling APC Administration in its FIRST TERM
Since the PDP lost woefully at the last general elections, its wounded parliamentary political office holders had devised all available strategies to execute LAST MINUTE attacks on the TREASURY through both: (1) The 2019 Budget Padding and (2) Execution of Budget during Procurement Process; since the headships of both National Assembly (NASS), Chambers are still illegitimately and criminally held by Senator 'Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, who were the arrowheads of the infamous LEGISLATIVE COUP of 2015, which held the Executive by the jugular right from their kangaroo inauguration of 9th June, 2015!

Their latest plot was to tacitly delay the 2019 Budget as they did to the 2018 Document which was delayed for SEVEN months before the President was forced to sign it in order to avoid any delay in the implementation of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP). On Wednesday 24th April, 2019, at plenary, the Senate again postponed the passage of the N 8.83 trillion 2019, Budget proposals to Tuesday, 30th April, 2019, when the 8th National Assembly would have just about 38 days to wind up!
The same prank was played by these opportunists in government in 2017, when the Budget Bill was signed into law on JUNE 12, by the Vice President, Professor 'Yemi Osinbajo, (SAN), who complained bitterly about the delay and the paddings through illegal insertions, re-writing, re-inventing, cutting of allocations to critical infrastructures in order to increase their fake Constituency Project Allowances and thereby making the original document very difficult to implement!


PRESIDENT BUHARI MADE THE FOLLOWING REMARKS AT THE DELAYED 2018 BUDGET SIGNING CEREMONY!

"The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budget should be proposed by the executive is that, it is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects. Unfortunately that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to 347 billion Naira in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to 578 billion Naira.
"Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible to implement with the reduced allocation. Some of the new projects inserted by National Assembly have not been properly conceptualized, designed and costed and will therefore be difficult to execute.
"Furthermore many of these new projects introduced by the National Assembly have been added to the budgets of most MDAs with no consideration for institutional capacity to execute them or the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required, etc."


IF THIS IS NOT PADDING, THEN WHAT IS IT?

The brazen legislators made cuts from masses-beneficial strategic infrastructure projects as follows: Counterpart-funding for the Manbilla Power Plant; Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads; * The East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road; Lagos-Ibadan Express Way and; Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project, were cut by an aggregate of N11.5 billion Naira. Others are, some ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the FCT, Abuja, especially major arterial roads and the mass transit rail project, cut by a total of N 7.5 billion Naira.
Cuts in the Health and Education Sectors amounted to N7.45 billion Naira and N 3 billion respectively. In the National Housing Sector, an amount of 8.7 billion Naira was cut, while 70 new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing by appropriating some of the additional funds expected from their upward review of the Oil price benchmark from USD $45 to $51 dollars and AN INCREASE IN NASS BUDGET OF 125 BILLION TO 139.5 BILLION NAIRA WITHOUT ANY DISCUSSION WITH THE EXECUTIVE! HABA, HABA, HABA!!!!!


ASIWAJU AHMED 'BOLA TINUBU'S ALLEGATIONS OF 2019 PADDINGS BY OUT-GOING NASS!

All Progressives Congress (APC), National Leader, Chief 'Bola Tinubu has publicly alleged that the out-going NASS members of hatching some plan to pad the 2019 Budget Estimates for illicit gains! According to him, Saraki and Dogara and their ilk, hijacked the national budget process in the past four years and repeatedly sought to pad them with pet projects to the detriment of the average person who should benefit from well-intended capital projects! He advocated that a repeat of their malign control of NASS must never be repeated
Expectedly, both men have denied: FIRST - SARAKI, who said through his spokesperson that Tinubu should withdraw the allegations which they consider as careless, irresponsible and callous and also requested him to substantiate the issue of regular budget padding by NASS. He also said that Tinubu who served as a Senator for 22 months - though under a military regime - should know how the legislature worked.
THEN - DOGARA , who said that Tinubu's assertions were in pursuit of fascist agenda to control all levels of power in Nigeria, because only an ignorant person with dubious academic certificates would conclude that the author of a document padded a document which he alone could constitutionally draft!


WHAT HON. JIBRIN ABDUL MUMINI (FORMER CHAIRMAN APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE), CONFESSED ABOUT BUDGET PADDING!

When Hon. Jibrin Mummini, in 2016, AS AN INSIDER, exposed how budgets were padded annually to suit the whims and caprices of the legislators, he was very detailed and specific in his allegations with facts and figures about how much accrued to 10 principal officers, including the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, his Deputy 'Lasun Yusuf and himself! Though, he was maligned by the leadership which he accused and eventually suspended for 180 legislative days, he approached the court for redress, won, was recalled and paid all his salaries/allowances!


HOW CAN DOGARA AND SARAKI NOW DENY BUDGET PADDING? The responses of both men portray them as pathetic liars, who should neither represent the masses nor hold public offices at any level of government FOREVER!
OUTSIDE OF BUDGET PADDING, THESE INSATIABLE LEGISLATORS ALSO COLLECT HUMONGUS SALARIES/ALLOWANCES FOR NON-EXISTENT CONSTITUENCY PROJECTS!
SENATOR SHEHU SANNI EXPOSED ILLEGAL MONTHLY WORKING ALLOWANCE OF N3.5 MILLION APART FROM 15 OTHERS, WHICH HIS COLLEAGUES OF THE 8TH NASS COULD NOT DENY!
ALL CITIZENS - COMPATRIOTS, NGO'S & CSO'S - MUST RISE UP AS "WATCHMAN" OF THE TSA AND ALSO THE ILLEGAL SALARIES/ALLOWANCES OF ALL POLITICIANS/POLITICAL APPOINTEES - EXPOSE ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH AND BLOW THE WHISTLE!

CODE OF CONDCT BUREAU (CCB), MUST WAKE UP AND ENFORCE THE ASSETS DECLARATION LAW, INSPECT, VET & SCRUTINIZE ALL CLAIMS AND MAKE THEM PUBLIC TO BLOCK ANTICIPATED CLAIMS BY ROUGISH POLITICIANS/APPOINTEES AND ALL PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS!

In addition to all of these suggestions, A BRAND NEW CONSTITUTION MUST BE CRAFTED BY THE LEGITIMATE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA, EARLY IN THE SECOND TERM, BECAUSE ALL OF THE SO-CALLED AMMENDMENTS OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, HAD FAILED AND HAVE COME TO NOTHING!
THE SENATE MUST BE SCRAPPED TO DESTROY ALL PRODIGALITY AND WASTAGES IN GOVERNMENT AND THIS 2019 SET OF SENATORS SHOULD BE THE LAST! Also the present number of 360 House of Representatives Members should be pruned to 74, should serve part-time and payed salaries according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), recommendations!

This is the set time to put Nigeria back on a sound economic footing and register it among the 20 most-economical viable global nations by the year 2020! IT IS OUT COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO SALVAGE THIS PRECIOUS NATION FROM POLITICAL JOBBERS AND OPPORTUNISTS! A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE! "Righteousness exalts a nation, but SIN is a reproach to all people." (Proverbs 14:34).)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

APC CANNOT AFFORD A FRESH LEGISLATIVE COUP THROUGH ALI NDUME!

"HURRICANE SARAKI," which crash-landed on Nigeria's topography since June, 2015, finally subsided in February 2019, after four years of stormy onslaught on the nation's political murky waters with devastating effects that almost grounded all socio-economic activities of the ruling government and the already traumatized citizens, but for a timely and appropriate divine intervention according to prophecy!

It is no longer news that OUT-GOING SENATOR 'BUKOLA SARAKI of Kwara State, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the All Progressives Party (APC), in 2014, with the sole aim of becoming the 8th National Assembly Senate President through the precipitation of a civilian coup with the minority members of his former party!
AND THAT, the first term of the ruling APC Administration under the watch of the Change Agent, President Muhammadu Buhari, faced serious socio-economic and insecurity challenges because of the confrontational stance of Saraki and his NASS cohorts, who constituted a horrible clog in the wheel of the progress of a nation already stressed with the maladministration of 1999-2015, is also no longer news!
WHAT IS NEWS is that our prediction that SARAKI, and his notorious clique would FALL AT THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THEY FELL!
Saraki's political life was drowned in the monstrous hurricane of his creation and he has fulfilled the cliché which states that: "He who sows the wind would surely reap the whirlwind"! The proud and arrogant Saraki kissed the canvass at the feet of a better qualified, humble and adorable candidate of the Kwarans in an "O TO' GE' ", (enough is enough), campaign which mobilized the Electorate of the Kwara Central Senatorial District, to vote him out and break the several years of the Saraki Dynasty YOKE, on Kwara indigenes once and for all!
Would anyone shed tears for the demise of Saraki's inordinate ambition which spanned 2001 - 2019, through clandestine manoeuvres from administrative appointment to the prestigious governorship position of eight years and another two terms as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which has now come to an abrupt end?
IN Saraki's permutation, his political sagacity fetched him a second tenure Senate Presidency as the icing on the cake of his political laurels but, little did he suspect that, that move would back-fire! Perhaps, SENATOR DINO MELAYE OF KOGI STATE - his faithful protégée, who could not swap his re-election seat for his master would at least render him a "Nunc dimittis"!


HISTORY MUST NOT REPEAT ITSELF!
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Bornu South Senatorial District, at the National Assembly, needs no introduction for the obvious reason that he was part the notorious SARAKI COUP, of 9th June, 2015, which almost truncated the lofty ideals in the genuine manifesto of the Change Administration of the APC!
At the onset, they all pretended to be loyal members of the party, who only believed in the separation of powers and total independence of the Legislature from the Executive - an argument that still remained untenable and unreasonable because, they all rode into the Senate on the party's platform and must surely be subject to its supremacy, if truly they were representatives of the people and not TRAITORS, as they turned out to be!
At a particular period when the excesses of the Saraki group became so negatively manifest, Ali Ndume, repented and stood up to defend APC's position at a plenary discussion and that effrontery attracted the eerie of the chief coupist, Saraki, who wasted no time to whip him into line! Ndume was promptly suspended for SIX LEGISLATIVE MONTHS! (Below are excerpts from our previous publication: Vol. 8. No. 190. 2nd April, 2017, on Ali Ndume).
"THESE POMPOUS SENATORS OF THE 8TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ARE ENEMIES OF THE NIGERIAN MASSES!"
"Why would anyone lament over the SIX-MONTH suspension of Senator Ali Ndume, former majority leader representing Bornu, South, over unproven allegations against Senators Saraki and his godson, Dino Melaye?
Have people forgotten so easily that the TRIO were the ARROWHEADS of Senate coupists who defiantly rejected Party's internal democratic plan of fair contests between interested candidates, but covetously and vexatiously installed themselves as principal officers for the hallowed chamber in connivance with the opposition party on 9th June, 2015, by despising the ruling Party's supremacy?
"They believed then that their "victory" was the unfettered democratic CHANGE that the Electorate deserved, though Party's constitutional procedures and moral responsibility/decorum was shunned, rebuffed and thrown to the dogs for the inordinate ambition of a FEW senators!
On the day of the "COUP", only 57 out of the 109 - which did not fulfil TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY QUORUM of the whole house, voted Saraki and his accomplices to assume positions as principal officers in which the 45 PDP minority members formed the bulk of voters! Who does not know that a house that is divided against itself will definitely fall? The imbroglio being witnessed within the rank and file of the Red Chamber now, is just a tip of the iceberg - the beginning of the end of Saraki and all the Senators who conspired to anoint him as their president has just begun!
"Though the APC was predicated on democratic principles that stresses party supremacy and discipline, these ungrateful former PDP members who coasted to electoral victories on the platform of the APC, constituted themselves into the opposition with a view to truncate the Change mantra right from inception of the new government. They orchestrated a face-off with the Executive in the THIRD QUARTER of 2016 when they rejected the list of about 48 non-career ambassadorial nominees by President Muhammadu Buhari; rejected the Executive Mid-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), document which Ali Ndume, as the then Senate Leader described as an "EMPTY DOCUMENT"; rejected US$ 29.9 foreign loan request by Mr. President meant to cushion the biting effects of the economic recession; refused to confirm Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chairman; accused Secretary to Federal Government, (SGF), of misappropriating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), funds and demanded for his immediate removal from office!" etc, etc.


ALI NDUME COULD BE A "DOG IN THE MANGER AGAIN"!
Ali served his punishment and returned to the Red Chambers, and luckily for him, he was re-elected for another four-year tenure and is very ambitious to become the new Senate President, come June 2019, is spite of his Party's preference for Senator Ahmed Lawan, whose candidature, the outward-bound Saraki subversively overthrew with the covert support of the opposition PDP Caucus in 2015! It should be recalled that in the 2015 Senate legislative insurrection in which Senator Ali Ndume, actively participated, he did not contend the presidency with Saraki, BUT, vigorously contested the deputy position with Senator Ike Ekeremadu, who was the consensus compensation for PDP's connivance!


OSHIOMOLE IS ANOTHER MAN TO WATCH!
Comrade Adams Oshiomole, Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, has been very undiplomatic in his administration since his assumption of office! Sitting Governors of, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, accused him of imposition of candidates during party primaries that produced factionalized candidates from the same party, and demanded for his removal without success! Now that APC has won the elections with comfortable majority in the National Assembly (NASS), he has begun a campaign of "winner takes all" and the imposition of principal officers on both chambers; and if not quickly checked, would likely play into the hand of Ali Ndume, who could become an insurgent and replay a coup drama with the opposition, like he did with Saraki in 2015!
The General Elections have come and almost gone but APC's numerical advantage had been greatly compromised through acts of commission or omission, by the party's hierarchy, with Oshiomole as the arrow head!
Before the 2019 General Elections, APC was in control of 23 States and boasted of majority figures in the two NASS Chambers, in spite of the gale of defections which defied all constitutional provisions! But as at the dust settled over the outcome of elections, it was very glaring that the ruling party had suffered several defeats at the States and the National Assembly, although statistics at the time of this publication stated as follows: States controlled by APC - 19, PDP, 15; Legislative Seats: APC - Senate, 65; House of Representatives (HOR), 203; PDP, Senate, 41; HOR;102 and the ripple effects of faulty diplomacy would definitely manifest at State Assemblies when a new Change Administration reconvenes in continuity from 29th May, 2019, and from early June, 2019, respectively!
EVEN, APC's controlled States of Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, have now been won by the opposition PDP, due to defective diplomacy by the leadership because it is believed that Adams Oshiomole did not work in isolation from the party's National Executive Council (NEC)!


PMB MUST NOT STAND ALOOF THIS TIME AROUND!
Unlike his 2015 inauguration speech of; "I am for nobody but I am for everybody," which was twisted by the ilk of the Sarakis, who took advantage to manipulate the system in their inordinate favour, this time around, President Buhari, MUST have his feet on the ground to ensure a well-co-ordinated and smooth synergy between the two arms, in other to avoid the unpleasant pitfalls of the past FOUR years which almost truncated the nation's nascent democracy!
A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE!


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. G-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.