President Muhammadu Buhari and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, are currently in a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Prof Soyinka who arrived the Villa was immediately ushered into the President’s office where a meeting is currently holding.
However, the purpose of the meeting has not been made public yet.
Details later…
Eminent Nigerians, yesterday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently provide the right response to the current hardship across the country, lamenting that his ministers had performed below expectation.
They warned that if appropriate answers were not provided within the shortest possible time, the country might experience a total economic collapse.
While calling on the Presidency to review the performances of most ministers, they were ambivalent over resignation calls for those who may be found unproductive.
Those who spoke to Vanguard include, a former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; a former Chairman of Senate Committee on Oil and Gas, Sen Lee Maeba; Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed; ex-President of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Chief Olisa Agbakoba,SAN; and former presidential candidate, Prof Pat Utomi.
Others are a retired Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav; founder of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Chief Fredrick Fahseun and Publicity Secretary of Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Mr. Yinka Odumakin.
They spoke against the backdrop of the tackling of the ministers by Nigerians, who were irked by the prevailing economic hardship in the country at a Town Hall meeting held in Abuja last Monday.
IT SHOWS BUHARI GOVT HAS LOST CREDIBILITY — Mohammed
Mohammed said: “I am not surprised by the reactions of Nigerians against the Ministers. What I can say, with all sense of responsibility, is that majority of those ministers were not picked on merit, so how do you expect them to perform any magic? I can tell you that this is not a listening government, so they must surely come short of expectation.
WE ARE CLOSE TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN VENEZUELA — Sen. Maeba
Also speaking, Sen Maeba said: “It is very unfortunate that this government came under the pretence of change and miracle. But I keep asking whether the spirit of change has failed them or they refused to live up to their promises. I pray that this country’s situation does not get to what is happening in Venezuela right now
BUHARI NEEDS TO EMBARK ON OVERDRIVE—Agbakoba
Agbakoba said: "So, I think the President needs to go into overdrive. Everywhere you go, there is gloom and I think that gloom was what manifested at the town hall meeting.”
THAT IS BUHARI’S PROBLEM —Babatope
Babatope reacted thus: ‘’Those are Buhari’s problems.”
NIGERIANS NEED A CLEAR PATH—Utomi
Utomi said: “We have to do something more fundamental, it is not a one day wonder. However, it is important for people to see a clear path that you are travelling, it makes it easier for them to know that they will get to their destination.”
PRESIDENCY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT NON-PERFORMING MINISTERS —Tsav
Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said: “People are suffering so much, salaries are being owed. Nigerians expected that they will reduce the hardship in the country but they are more interested in going about to talk. People are tired of listening to things they did not do.
Veteran Nigerian comedian, Basketmouth, who yesterday debunked rumors that he was one of the advocates for the emergence of Buhari’s administration, has withdrawn his statement on the state of the nation, thereby apologizing to former president, Goodluck Jonathan for disrespecting him.
The comedian however, retracted his statement, stating he has ‘nothing but respect’ for the former president.
He wrote in his last Instagram post, : “I have to sincerely apologise at this point that in expressing my opinion in my last post which was primarily to clear the air about who I campaigned, supported or rooted for or didn’t, I was disrespectful to a man I have nothing but respect.
“The last President may have had some wrong advisers and consequently decisions were made that will eventually impact on the economy, however I am sorry if it came across as an attack on the man Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
“We all desired a CHANGE, majority voted for it, now we have it, it is definitely a process, a tough one because I know the hustle is real…believe me, I know.
“I trust it can only get better, let’s just try to be patient,” he added.
Malam Muhammad Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, during a one-day international conference on Palestine, has called on the federal government to support free Palestinian state.
Sanusi said this at the conference with the theme, “Palestine question; Issues, Challenges and Actions,” organised by the Center for Promotion of Shari’a in collaboration with Jama’atut Tajdidil Islamiya and the Afro-Middle East Center, South Africa held in Kano.
The Emir blamed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for the failure of Palestinian bid to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories at the UN Security Council.
“For decades Nigeria has been in the support of free Palestine until during the Jonathan era when Nigeria played a vital role in the loss of Palestinian bid to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories at the UN Security Council.
“I believe it is time for Nigeria to revisit its stand on Palestine”, the Emir said.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) speaking at the Presidential Villa while receiving leaders of anti-tobacco NGO groups in the country, reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to the reduction of tobacco use among citizens, particularly exposure of underage children to smoking.
The Vice President lamented inadequate information about the dangers of smoking “which has made it difficult to convince many to quit the dangerous habit.”
Osinbajo said, “we need the public behind us in this engagement. We need to change the public perception that smoking is a matter of choice. We also need to be more creative in passing our messages and in developing policies.”
While lamenting tobacco products “proliferation” in the country, Professor Osinbajo hinted that government would be exploring strategies on how to reduce tobacco consumption.
“The Presidency will give every support that is needed to ensure that tobacco control laws and policies are effectively implemented in Nigeria,” he assured.
• Experts Fault Assessment Criteria
Nigeria has lost its position as Africa’s largest economy to South African in dollar terms.
This came as the rand recorded gains to close at 13.2805 per dollar, with the naira weakening at 2.7 per cent, to N320 to $1, at the close of business yesterday.
From a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value of $510 billion to the present assessed $296 billion due to weakened naira, Nigerian economy is believed to have contracted by about 42 per cent compared to the South African economy that contracted from the assessed $370 billion to $310 billion.
Indeed, South Africa regained the position more than two years after losing it to Nigeria as the value of the nations’ currencies moved in opposite directions.
Based on the countries’ gross domestic product at the end of 2015 published by the International Monetary Fund, the size of South Africa’s economy is $301 billion at the rand’s current exchange rate, while Nigeria’s GDP is $296 billion.
Specifically, the rand gained more than 16 percent against the dollar since the start of 2016, while the naira lost more than a third of its value after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) removed a currency peg in June.
Although, both nations face the risk of a recession after contracting in the first quarter of the year, the Nigerian economy shrank by 0.4 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier amid low oil prices and output, and shortage of foreign currency to sustain imports.
In South Africa, GDP contracted by 0.2 percent from a year earlier as farming and mining output declined.
Reacting to the development, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf stated that the assessment criteria needed to be further interrogated as the nation’s economy could not have contracted so much within a year.
According to him, using the dollar value to measure an economy may not be correct as other measures like the purchasing power parity need to be measured.
“The contraction of the economy from $510 billion is alarming and I think the figures should be interrogated. Though the Nigerian economy contracted within the last few months, it is not as bad as it is being described. The current exchange rate cannot be used to assess the economy’s GDP,” he added.
Also, the Deputy Managing Director, Afrivest Limited, Mr. Victor Ndukauba, told The Guardian that the Federal Government’s concern, for now, shouldn’t be GDP grading, rather, instituting more robust economic policies that will jump start the economy, particularly the real sector.
He said: “Instead of comparing ourselves with South Africa, government should make the economy significantly more robust in order to earn more components to our GDP, that is – export more, import less, increase government spending etc.” He argued that it is no surprise that a GDP reevaluation will draw Nigeria back considering the free fall of the naira in the last one year.
However, the bottom line, for him, is infrastructure development, advising that significant amount of government’s investment should be in infrastructure.
“My take in the heated debate as to whether Nigeria should borrow or not is that, we need to borrow to develop infrastructure, the dearth of which is choking our economy and making our goods and services uncompetitive. We do not have good road network to move products from one region to another; there is no power, so businesses devote a larger part of their expenditure powering generators, which add to production costs. We also need to guarantee productivity to create more employment opportunities. We need to take away subsidies of any kind, improve our ports facilities, and once we do these, economic activities will definitely pick up.”
The CBN had raised its benchmark interest rate to a record in July to lure foreign investors, even as the IMF forecast the economy would contract 1.8 percent this year.
Nigeria was assessed as the continent’s largest economy in April 2014 when authorities in the West African nation overhauled their GDP data for the first time in two decades. The recalculation saw the Nigerian economy in 2013 expand by three-quarters to an estimated 80 trillion naira.
The rand gained 1 percent to 13.2805 per dollar at 4:03 p.m. in Johannesburg yestersday. The naira weakened 2.7 percent to 320 per dollar.
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sternly warned her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump about his “casual inciting” of violence, saying his startling remarks suggesting gun rights supporters could act against her “crossed the line.”
It was the Democratic nominee’s most forceful denunciation after Trump caused a firestorm by suggesting to supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday that “Second Amendment people” — those who support gun rights — could take action to stop Clinton from appointing US Supreme Court justices as president.
“Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments by Donald Trump that crossed the line,” Clinton told a rally in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president, or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.”
Trump and his campaign had quickly sought to douse the flames, insisting the Republican flagbearer was merely urging gun rights supporters to reject her candidacy at the ballot box.
Clinton appeared to reject the Trump campaign’s defense, warning of the dangers of reckless language during a presidential race.
She slammed Trump’s “casual cruelty to a gold star family,” referring to the billionaire’s clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in action.
“His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons, and now his casual inciting of violence,” she added.
“Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States.”
With Team Trump seeking to dig the candidate out of a deepening hole, former New York mayor and Trump backer Rudy Giuliani insisted the uproar was triggered by “the Clinton spin machine.”
But the Secret Service, tasked with protecting the president and presidential nominees, was taking Trump’s remarks seriously and has spoken with Trump’s campaign about them, CNN reported.
In an unnerving example of campaign security tensions, an animal rights activist appeared to rush the stage as Clinton spoke Wednesday, but was tackled and removed by security.
Secret Service agents jumped up to protect the candidate, then retreated after the protester was escorted out.
– ‘UNDER SIEGE’ –
Clinton meanwhile launched an open appeal Wednesday to independents and Republicans repulsed by Trump over his string of controversial statements.
The campaign unveiled a new website, togetherforamerica.com, that lists dozens of Republicans and independents who back Clinton, including former director of national intelligence John Negroponte and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Regardless of party, voters are increasingly concerned that Trump’s tendency to bully, demean and degrade others sends the wrong message to our children,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said in announcing the effort.
Lawmakers, former national security officials and other critics expressed concern that Trump had advocated violence, possibly in jest, against Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump, 70, said Tuesday. “Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Trump on Wednesday steered clear of the controversy at a Virginia rally, although he reiterated that the Second Amendment remained “under siege.”
Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month, prompting several Republicans to reject his candidacy.
He has clearly roiled the party with his unorthodox remarks, with some Republicans frustrated at his apparent inability to stay on message.
A Reuters/IPSOS poll Wednesday found that 19 percent of Republican voters want the real estate tycoon to drop out of the race, while 70 percent think he should stay and 10 percent say they don’t know.
The RealClearPolitics national poll average shows Clinton leading Trump by 48 percent to 40 percent.
Fifty prominent Republican national security experts announced in an open letter this week they would not vote for Trump, saying he “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president.
Six GOP senators including Susan Collins and a number of House Republicans have disowned him too.
– EMAILS, AGAIN –
Meanwhile, Clinton was enduring a fresh round of criticism over her emails from her time as secretary of state, which have been a thorn in her side and hurt her trustworthiness among voters.
Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch released a batch of emails that raise questions about the State Department’s relationship with the Clinton Foundation.
The Trump campaign seized on the latest emails to blast Clinton as “corrupt,” with critics saying the messages showed the foundation sought improper preferential treatment from the department.
Mr Kingsley Esiso, chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, has said that the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government has brought untold hardship on Nigerians.
Esiso who played host to PDP Patriotic Ladies in Asaba, urged the women to mobilise ahead of 2019 for the re-election of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and also vote out the APC at the federal level and other APC controlled states.
He said: “For about two years now, Nigerians have witnessed negative change that has brought injuries, hardship and high cost of living to them. They came with the mantra of change that former President Goodluck Jonathan was not doing well but the reverse is now the case. We will endure till 2019 to change the change.”
By Emmanuel Chiedu SB |
On my way back from work I was entertained with a little drama, two drivers almost came to punches because of the carelessness of one of them.
The truth is while majority of the fault dwells on driver one who hit emergency break, driver two could have avoided all of it if he knew some of the driving tips I will share with you today. I believe that safe driving behaviors breed safer drivers.
It is always good to be prepared for the unexpected when driving. The driver in front of you might be the problem, but you must be prepared to avoid or overcome it. Follow these driving tips by racv.com and you’ll help reduce your risk of being involved in a crash as well as improve your personal safety as a motorist.
POWER CHECK
When checking your vehicle, the POWER check is the easiest to remember. This stands for Petrol, Oils, Water, Electric, and Rubbers. Everything under each heading should be visually checked at least once per week.
TWO-SECOND GAP
At all times maintain a two-second gap from the vehicle ahead, no matter what speed you are travelling. When it is raining, a foggy night, or any combination of these, the gap should be doubled to four seconds.
SAFETY GAP BETWEEN VEHICLES
When you stop behind another vehicle in a line of traffic, always ensure you are able to clearly see the bottom of the vehicle's rear tyres. This ensures you are not too close to the other vehicle. Also, as you commence to move your two-second gap will already be in place.
INDICATE EARLY
Where practical, use your indicators for at least 30 metres before commencing to turn or change lanes, to tell other road users what you will do.
DRIVE WITH ANTICIPATION
Expect the unexpected and be aware that we all make mistakes sometimes. The other driver may forget to indicate, or to look to see if you are near by. If you have anticipated this may happen, it will not be a surprise.
We should be driving as a team, not as individuals, be prepared to let the other driver in, rather than blocking them out.
STOP AT LIGHTS OR STOP SIGNS
When you stop at the lights or at a stop sign, your car should be behind the thick stop line. There are some intersections, where if you stop over the stop line and a truck or bus turns into the street that you are leaving; it will collide with your vehicle.
PLAN AHEAD
Always plan well ahead. Your line of sight should travel parallel to the road, not down onto it. This makes it easier for you to prepare for anything that may happen long before you get there.
OVERTAKING
Overtaking is probably one of the most dangerous manoeuvres a driver can perform, especially on a two-way carriageway. Quite often the vehicle you overtake is only travelling slightly slower than you are. Make sure that you have enough room to go well past the overtaken vehicle before you move back to the left. Don't cut them off.
NEGOTIATING A CURVE
When you are negotiating a curve in the road, try to flatten the curve out as much as you can. This will give you a better view around the curve, a smoother path and it will decrease the potential of the car commencing to skid. For a left curve, approach as near as is safe to the right of your lane, when you can see where the road straightens out ahead, gently move across to the left of the lane and finish back in the middle of your lane. Use the opposite sequence for a right curve.
NIGHT DRIVING
Night driving can be quite difficult. Oncoming vehicles' headlights can dazzle you and you must keep alert to the lights and reflectives of cyclists and motorcyclists. Pedestrians can be impossible to see. Traffic lights can appear to blend in with advertising signs.
Leave yourself more space from the car in front, as this will create more time for you to be able to see what is ahead and prepare for anything that may happen.
THE NATION:
UNESCO DG arrives Nigeria, meets Buhari,
Army inaugurates court martial to prosecute four officers, 16 soldiers,
UK launches 24-hour visa service in Nigeria,
Ayew seals West Ham deal,
Three iconic Nigerians make records in Rio Olympics,
FEC tasks MDAs on 2017 digital broadcasting deadline,
NUC Phases out Diploma Programmes in Universities,
Flood looms as River Niger, Benue, Kainji Dam overflow.
GUARDIAN:
Philippines leader calls US envoy 'gay' prompting summons,
Libya pro-government forces seize Sirte campus from IS,
Army court martials 20 soldiers,
Armstrong completes hat-trick of time-trial golds,
15 believed to have escaped from Nsukka prison,
US pledges $37 mn aid for victims of Boko Haram,
When ships pass, whales eat less,
Sudan issues flood warning as Nile rises.
THISDAY:
Bayelsa Guber Poll: Amnesty International to Probe 'Electoral Violence,
Buhari Swears In Four Special Advisers, One Perm Sec,
PDP Chairmanship: Govs, Others Torn Between Agbaje and George,
Presidential Adviser: Budget 'Padding' Not in Legislative Lexicon,
CBN Grants Forbearance to Banks to Write-off 2016 NPLs,
News Blogger, Sidiq Usman, Regains Freedom, Nigerians Outraged over His Arrest,
Julius Berger: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Gridlock Will Not End Till Nov,
MEND Replies Jonathan, Insists Former President is Fuelling N'Delta Militancy,
VANGUARD:
Weeds, wild animals take over Federal dam in Imo,
Open, Distance Learning key to address shortage, quality of teachers- NOUN VC,
Survey rates Nigeria Police Force high in handling sexual assault cases,
Ebonyi Govt condemns stripping, battering of teenage girl,
Akinde bows out after 10 years as Bishop,
My wife hired assassins to kill me, divorce-seeking husband alleges,
Court dissolves 83- day-old marriage in Ibadan.
PUNCH:
Donald Trump and the 'nine lies,
Teenager defiles three-year-old girl in Lagos,
SEC postpones Sukuk bond issuance to 2017,
Fayose, Assembly move to criminalise grazing in Ekiti,
NUPENG asks FG to pay JVF to oil companies,
OAU changes 29 heads, reinstates four suspended students,
Olympics: Voodoo gods invoked to help Brazil's football team,
FMC doctors commence indefinite strike.
By Arthur Nwankwo |
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana
One thing you cannot take away from most Nigerians is their penchant for collective amnesia. Despite the lessons of our history, we seem to learn nothing. On several occasions, especially in times like this, most Nigerians find themselves in a state of apparent exhaustion, as though drained of all their physical and mental energies; in a kind of torpor from which we are aroused only by difficulty and hardship. I have come to appreciate the fact that of all human institutions, none is as pervasive and inescapable as the state.
As socio-political beings, God has destined man to live together; to form groups for physical and emotional sustenance. In forming such groups, the most powerful group, which man has formed is the state. In line with the principles of “social contract”, it is to the state that we grant, explicitly and implicitly, willingly and unwillingly, powers that affect every aspect of our lives. History has shown that when the state exercises its coercive powers without restraint we have little choice about this grant, and we may find ourselves with hardly anything beyond the hope for survival. In such circumstances, we can only take recourse to history to raise society’s consciousness to prevent the birth of tyranny; to avoid finding ourselves with no choices except suffering oppression and brutality.
The present government of Muhammadu Buhari is a direct threat to this country. Make no mistake about this – the lessons of history weigh heavily in this direction. I have in one of my earlier articles drawn attention to the activities that heralded the collapse of the ancient Mali Empire. In about 1203, Sumanguru (the Sorcerer King) took over what was left of old Ghana Empire. He was cruel and killed all that challenged his power. He killed many Malinka people but did not kill one of the crippled princes named Sundiata. In 1235, Sundiata crushed Sumanguru’s forces. This victory was the beginning of the new Mali Empire. Sundiata took control of the gold-producing regions and became Mali’s national hero.
Sundiata’s first major assignment was to eliminate all those who helped him to power; introduced a regime of monster and brutality comparable only to the monstrous Maghreb warrior, Samouri Ibn Lafiya Toure of the infamous ‘earth-scorch’ policy – much in the mould of modern day Boko Haram attacks. A few years in power, the people of the ancient Mali Empire would actually come to realise that he was more brutal and sadistic than Samanguru.
History is coterminous with the fact that brutal leaders all over the world have always emerged under the veneer of changing the status-quo in favour of the society. This trend sign-posted the emergence of Adolph Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Joseph Stalin in former USSR, Nimiery in Sudan, Jean-Bedel Bokassa in Central African Republic and Mobutu Sese Seko in Congo. This was also the trend that greeted Buhari’s jackboot dictatorship in 1983. Despite the euphoria that greeted the emergence of his military junta, his colleagues booted him out on August 27, 1985.
General Muhammadu Buhari, more than anything else, would be remembered as the coupist who led a severe military dictatorship that imprisoned its opponents without trial, publicly executed convicts by firing squad, arrested journalists who criticised it, ran an Orwellian intelligence apparatus that bugged the phones of government ministers; a man whose overthrow three decades ago was welcomed with relief by his countrymen, and who lost three consecutive presidential elections in 12 years. That such a character could be considered electable in any civil society would be unthinkable. But in a country like Nigeria, where majority of the people have been condemned to very short and embarrassing memories, such electoral “abracadabra” is possible. As a military ruler, Buhari’s uncompromising temperament invited opposition. Today, as a civilianised president, he has reinvented the Buhari persona with intensity and yet again inviting fierce opposition.
In the run-in to the last general election, I followed painstakingly the campaigns especially that of General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC change mantra. Like many discerning Nigerians, I had come to the inevitable conclusion that both the APC and Muhammadu Buhari displayed galling emptiness and hollowness. I also came to the conclusion that given Buhari’s poor intellectual capacity; those promoting his candidacy had other reasons for backing him, essentially because Buhari lacks the requisite credentials to launch Nigeria on the path of genuine rebirth. Events in the past 14 months have proved me right.
That, as a people, we have not learned very much from the lessons of history is, to me, the most important of all the lessons of Nigerian history. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge noted, if men could learn from history, it would teach men so much! But in Nigeria, ethnic, religious and prebendal passion and political party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern which shines only on the waves behind. Perhaps this explains Hegel’s conclusion that people and governments neither learn anything from history, nor acted on principles deduced from it.
Today, in the name of change, we have gone back 31 years in history to exhume memories of hardship, brutality and bestiality. As I have noted earlier, Buhari’s method of fighting corruption 31 years ago failed woefully and presently he is still reintroducing the same old strategy.
I have always asked this question: Can a man known for his uncompromising and rigid tendencies resolve issues that require tactical adroitness and pragmatic flexibility? I do not think so! His anti-corruption war has failed because of “sacred cow syndrome”. He is afraid of stepping on powerful toes and has made the corruption war apparently very selective. What Nigeria needs now is a reconstructive surgeon who must perform a painful operation in order to extricate a painful ailment and not a bulldozer or robot. Buhari is not a constructive surgeon and therefore lacks the requisite credentials to perform Nigeria’s surgical operation.
A middle-aged man, Simon Akor, has told a Nyanya Customary Court, Abuja, that his wife, Patricia, demands money before allowing him to make love to her.
Simon said this when he testified in a divorce petition against his wife on Tuesday.
“My wife always says I must give her money before I enter inside her buttocks, sometimes when I have money, I give her.
“Whenever am angry about it and talk to her about it, she will say that all her friends collect money from their husbands before their husbands can get into them,” she claimed.
According to him, Patricia rubs juju on her private part before making love to me.
The petitioner said when he confronted her, Patricia said it was the native doctor that gave it to her.
“That the native doctor instructed her to always rub it before making love to me, so that even if I drive her out of my house, I will not be able to perform with another woman.
“Whenever my wife rubs that oily substance in her private part and I make love to her, my penis will become very weak. I will not be able to do anything again,” he said.
He said that his wife invited the native doctor to live with them without his permission.
Simon said Patricia told him that the native doctor saw “darkness in our home’’ and had come to dispel it.
The petitioner also told the court that his wife was into human trafficking, adding that she used to bring girls to people in Abuja.
He told the court that his wife chased him out of the house, adding that he was no longer interested in the marriage.
Patricia, a businesswoman, denied the allegations, adding that they pull resources to buy the house.
The presiding officer, Everyman Eleanya, advised the couple to reconcile.
“You can’t force the court to divorce you, this is a court of justice, we are going to give you room for reconciliation.
“This is not because of you or your wife but because of your children.
“You should consider your children before you take certain decision in life,” Eleanya said.
He urged the petitioner’s sister, Mary Akor, who was also present in court to try and reconcile his brother and his wife.
He further advised her to “explore every possible means, including her church to bring peace and love between them.’’
He adjourned the case till Sept. 5, for the report of settlement (NAN)
Fear gripped the people of Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday as a cache of bullets buried underground was uncovered while the foundation of a building project for a community member was being dug.
The bullets were buried on a piece of land in the area with members of the community denying knowledge of how the bullets got there.
Sam Okaula, the state Commissioner of Police, CP, briefing newsmen at the site where the bullets were buried, said several buckets of bullets have been unearthed and that there were still some left which were yet to be brought to the surface.
“The bullets were discovered while the foundation of a building project for a community member was being dug.
“Investigations is ongoing to find out the purpose the bullets were acquired, when the bullets were acquired and who bought and buried the bullets.
“A full investigation will be carried out and we will be able to establish the purpose why they have been found in the area,” Okaula added.
See more pictures below:
Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the outgoing Governor of Edo State, earlier today revealed why he joined politics.
The former labour leader and civil servants turned politician spoke at an event, organised by the Kukah center: titled, “From activism to polical power: the challenges of democratic governance in Nigeria,” he said he joined politics to understudy and expose how politicians manipulate and control societies.
According to Oshiomole, “I joined the ruling class, having been temporarily associated with them, for the purpose of studying them to know and expose the hidden things they use to manipulate and control societies.
“I will be able to say, you know, I know how what you did that time, how much you consumed.
On the issue of change promised by the current administration, the outgoing governor explained that it will take collaborative effort on the part of Nigerians.
“No one of us can change society through individual actions, because the order you seek to change is of ignorance but you need to appeal to it.
“Those gaining from the order cannot be sermonised but by engagement you may probably defeat them,” he added.
A pro-All Progressives Congress, APC government blogger, Mr. Abubakar Sidiq Usman, better known as Abusidiq, who was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged story he posted on his website, says he was let down despite his struggle for President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Abusidiq was however released on Tuesday evening by the anti-graft agency following general public criticisms.
However, after regaining his freedom, the Abuja-based political blogger took to his website to slam the Buhari administration for allegedly enabling acts that contradicted the spirit of his campaign.
He wrote: “This experience has stirred up broader conversations on the roles of our statutory established institutions, the parameters of our laws, and our civil liberties as citizens of our great Federal Republic.
“Moving forward, I will be pursuing all legal and constitutionally established avenues to ensure that this does not repeat itself.
“This is a government that I fought for. But occurrences like these are not the experiences that myself and millions of Nigerians have fought for.
“The reason(s) for my arrest will be made know to you all.
“I would like to thank my family, my friends, my legal team, the members of the All Progressives Congress Youth Forum (APYF), political parties, members of the Nigerian online community irrespective of their affiliations, and hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who in one way or another spoke out against my unconstitutional detention by the EFCC.
“Your tweets, posts, and demands for the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech led to my release and the victory that we have achieved today.
“I hope that we can use this to rectify the wrongs in our system towards the attainment of a more sustainable democracy.
“Thank you all for the love and support you showed me,” he added.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Adeboye's marriage warning has continued to generate heat on the social media.
There was frenzy on social media recently over the advice by Pastor Adeboye to young men and women.
However, a Nigerian US-based medical doctor, Dr. Ijabla Raymond, in his own reaction, says he is convinced God does not speak to Pastor Adeboye.
The US-based medical doctor, in an open letter, wrote on his Facebook page thus: “The question that has been on my mind is: does that mean God is deaf? What parent makes their child beg (for one hour) for something they know the child needs? The truth is that prayers, besides making the believer to feel good about themselves, are an absolute waste of time.
“They do not grow the economy or an amputated limb. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high despite our regular night vigils, prayers and supplications – it is evident that a God who is interested in human welfare does not exist. If He did, malaria and cancers will not kill millions of children whilst He preoccupies Himself with consensual sex between homosexual cWouples.
“In our country, pastors are marriage counsellors, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and financial advisers all at once even though they are not appropriately trained for these roles. They tell women to go back to their violent husbands because, according to them, divorce is a sin against God. Many a woman has lost her life because of this advice. People like Adeboye are so influential anything they say is taken as the literal truth.
“Sadly, his comments portray a man who is out of touch with the realities of modern family life. More and more women are now in employment and some of them are the main providers for their families. Marriage is now regarded as a partnership rather than as a master-servant relationship. Some of the most celebrated chefs in western cultures are men – what is wrong with teaching our boys and young men to cook for themselves? Adeboye has similarly instructed his female followers not to marry men without jobs. But what happens when a man loses his job – should his wife divorce him?
“I feel sorry for the people who think God speaks through this man or through any man at all.
“If you want incontrovertible evidence that religion cannot reform the world, then consider the degree of theft and corruption in Nigeria. These problems have become endemic even though practically every Nigerian is a practising Muslim or Christian.
“Nigerian pastors have acquired a taste for private jets – ostensibly to reach the parts of the world that need the gospel of Jesus, except that they avoid such places as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. Charity begins at home – it is senseless to run off to put out the fire in your neighbour’s house when your own house is up in flames.
“Nigerians and their country are in dire need of salvation from endemic corruption. It is evident that religion cannot transform our nation because as our religious devotions have increased, so have our corrupt ways.
“Pastor Adeboye and his other pastopreneur friends need to sell off their jets, repent of their lies, stop robbing their church members through emotional blackmail, and give back what they have stolen. Their message has failed. Adeboye’s gaffes were followed by the news that the Nigerian government is going to subsidise pilgrimage to Mecca by granting Muslims concessionary exchange rate.
“That is almost N8 billion for an exercise that does not benefit our economy. Many businesses are failing, parents are struggling to send their children to school, our hospitals are poorly resourced but that is how our government chooses to spend N8 billion. And believers wonder why we cannot stop talking about religion. There would be no use to criticise religion if it is removed from public space and kept as a private matter. It is wrong for the government to use tax payer’s money to subsidise religious rituals.
“The week ended with the RCCG convention where Adeboye makes his usual wild claims but says nothing of consequence about our nation. Our Vice President and a professor of law, Yemi Osibanjo, who also happens to be a pastor in the Redeemed Church watched on as Adeboye went to town with his preposterous claims.
“For a man who claims to have resurrected dead people, cured all kinds of diseases and driven a car without feel, you would think Adeboye would have told Vice President Osibanjo by now where to locate the abducted Chibok girls, right? But no, another RCCG convention has ended and not a word about their whereabout.
“When Adeboye claims that his car drives without fuel or that he has resurrected dead people and there’s a medical doctor, engineer, architect, research fellow, PhD holder or a professor in the congregation who believes this fantasy then I feel grief and have great concern for the education system that has nurtured such people.
“Religion has caused more harm than it has done good to African societies. Without a doubt, Adeboye and his fellow pastopreneurs have been responsible for the corruption in the way a generation of Nigerians think. But judging by the reactions to his sermon on social media, I think it is safe to say that the scales are starting to fall off the eyes of believers. I believe that pastor Adeboye will think twice now before re-telling his favourite story of how his car drives without fuel.
“I am thankful for the Internet and how it has placed knowledge at the fingertips (literally) of ordinary people. I pay tribute to fellow secularists for their unrelenting effort to liberate the minds of our people from the shackles of religion. Despite my grief, I feel hopeful about the future.”
The alleged splinter group of the Niger Delta Avengers, Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, in a statement signed by its Spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte has insisted former President, Goodluck Jonathan is the grand patron of the Niger Delta Avengers, threatening to reveal more details if he continues to deny it.
The statement reads in full…
”To cut a long story short, NDA was formed to counter MEND but failed. The statement, however, said that the RNDA is not surprised that the alleged grand patron of the NDA, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has distanced himself from the NDA.
”It therefore did not come to the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) as a surprise that the Grand Patron of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has distanced himself from the NDA.
”Like every sponsor, sympathizer and operative earlier mentioned who has equally denied links with the Avengers, we can understand the wisdom behind their decision; as their participation was always meant to be covert.
”After a clandestine meeting in Otuoke, Bayelsa state in 2014 between the Grand Patron and several unidentified persons ahead of the Presidential election campaign of 2015, it was agreed that the Okah brothers should be contacted to reach out to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to endorse former President Goodluck Jonathan, and work with the group of persons to ensure victory for the PDP and President Jonathan.
”At the time, because MEND was the suggested tool, the NDA as a body was not yet formed.
”Mr Kingsley Kuku and Mr. Gordon Obuah, SA on Niger Delta and Chief Security Officer to President Jonathan, respectively were selected to visit Charles
Okah in Kuje prison. Mr Daniel Alabrah was given the assignment to draft an endorsement statement for Charles Okah to go through and pass on to MEND.
”The duo reported back that they had visited Okah in Kuje prison at night with the promise of his release along with others should he cooperate to get MEND to endorse Jonathan.
”It therefore came as a shock when MEND did the opposite and endorsed Buhari. Mr. Jonathan was livid with anger and swore that the Okah’s would rot in prison.
”It was also agreed that a show of force be put up in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state where ex-militants led by Government Ekpemupolo and Kingsley Kuku would threaten war should the electorate vote in Buhari’s favour.
”It was around that period the idea of forming the Niger Delta
Avengers was conceived. In fact the name “Avengers” came from the lips of Goodluck Jonathan.
”As election day approached, certain stakeholders were mobilized to form a force to standby and ensure total anarchy in the South-South and South-East within 24 hours if the election results were not favourable to Jonathan. It took everyone by surprise to learn that Mr Jonathan had conceded defeat even before the final results were released. The standby force who were to attack specific targets were told to stand down. They were all compensated in US dollars cash.
”The Niger Delta Avengers was born from the failure at the polls and would now be used as an organ to make the Buhari government ungovernable, bring economic hardship and cause hatred for the administration towards failure at the 2019 general elections.
”MEND was aware of this plot through a spy that could not be identified, and the group began its campaign to counter every effort of the NDA and the Biafra agitators to this day. MEND has been a thorn in the flesh because MEND’s successful propaganda has caused the split in our ranks today.
”If former President Jonathan provokes us further with denials of this revelation, we will reveal more sordid details. The prison authorities in Kuje who witnessed the closed door meeting from the outside can attest to that night visit of November 2014.”
The disputed National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that the rule of law must prevail for the party’s crisis to be resolved.
Sheriff made the statement when he received some members of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Reconciliation Committee, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, in Abuja on Tuesday night.
According to him, the crisis continues to linger because leaders in the party are not alive to their responsibilities and keep perpetuating it.
“I am ready to listen at any time to the committee but for the crisis to be fully resolved, the rule of law must be followed. The moment we want to use one impunity to address another, it will not work.
“If our leaders had taken their responsibilities, we would never have had most of the problems we are facing today.
“When a leader refuses to stand up to his responsibilities, there will be a problem.
“Why am I saying this? Some of our leaders are party to our problems,” Sheriff said.
Briefing newsmen after a closed-door session, Sheriff commended the efforts of the BoT toward reconciling feuding parties and affirmed his availability now that the BoT was now better informed on the crisis.
“All that was discussed today were the problems. They will go back to the BoT that sent them.
“I am sure that in the next meeting, they will come back with recommendations that will bring lasting solutions and peace to the party,” Sheriff said.
Earlier, Gana explained that the purpose of the visit was to find lasting solutions to the crisis and make PDP a viable opposition.
“We are here to find out together how PDP can be solid, firm, cohesive and triumphant.
“This is because Nigerians are waiting for PDP, they are missing the PDP, they are crying and yearning for PDP because the 16 years of democracy cannot be wasted away.
“We are here not as a panel, not as a court, not even as an appeal committee but from the BoT as heirs of the family.
“In a family there must be sometimes problems here and there but there must be re-consolidation. Where there are elders people say things don’t go wrong.
“The purpose of our being here is for this party to be strong again and be reunited,’’ Gana said.
Addressing newsmen, Gana described the meeting as fruitful and said the committee had taken note of the problems causing disaffection within the party.
“We are delighted that there have been clear resolutions on the determination and the desire that the problems be resolved, unity be re-established and for PDP to move forward.”
Gana said although the meeting was successful, there would be another session while the committee would meet on Wednesday for further deliberation on issues that were raised.
By Femi Fani-Kayode
Sadly many in the conservative core north remain unconvinced. For example the Arewa Consultative Forum issued a statement on the August 7, in which they stated their total opposition to restructuring and instead of offering an olive branch of peace and understanding to its advocates who are predominantly in the south they issued the usual warnings of dire consequences if the matter is pushed too far.
Worst still a few days ago the Emir of Katsina publicly admonished all northerners to support the government of President Buhari insisting that they had a duty to do so. His words.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is trying his best to rectify the situation and we must support and encourage him. During this trying period, we as northerners are expected to support President Buhari and his team instead of joining others to criticize them.” (The Sun Newspaper, August 7, 2016).
There are no prizes for guessing who the “others” that he is referring to are because it is self-evident.
What the Emir appears to have forgotten is that had it not been for a sizeable number of votes from the south west the President would not have had a hope in hell of being elected.
Simply put what he is saying is that Buhari is effecting a clear and simple northern agenda which must be supported by all true sons and daughters of the north.
He is also suggesting that the feelings and sensibilities of those that oppose him from the south do not matter.
Meanwhile the tension that is being generated by the sectional nature of President Buhari’s policies and government continues to escalate and a face-off is imminent.
Nothing reflects this fact better than the words and obvious concerns of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing who condemned the fact that whilst the Buhari administration continues to keep Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB in prison, they are releasing hundreds of murderous Boko Haram terrorists from detention. Their words:
“Buhari’s Federal Government continues to jail Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafrans while Boko Haram terrorists are being released from prisons. It beats the imagination that terrorists who have been responsible for the death of innocent Nigerians are being released while unarmed freedom fighters are kept behind bars against court orders” (Vanguard Newspaper, August 8, 2016).
They also went as far as to suggest that Mr. Kanu’s continued detention may “trigger a crisis in the south-east” .
Not to be left out, the Northern youths, under the auspices of the Northern Youths Leaders Assembly issued a statement on the 8th of August threatening to deal with anyone or any group of people who continue to criticise or try to “tarnish the image” of President Buhari.
Their words: “We will no longer tolerate any insults to the family and members of the President’s cabinet and we will mobilize all our resources to take on anyone who thinks they can use their image as a chess pawn in the game playing out in the media. We hereby warn that the north will no longer tolerate any further attack on the image, family and character of President Muhammadu Buhari in his quest to make Nigeria a better place for all” (Vanguard Newspaper, August 8, 2016).
Yet the most chilling warning of all came from yet another militant group in the Niger Delta Area known as the Adaka Boro Avengers. They went a step further than their brothers in arms, the Niger Delta Crusaders, by saying
“On the threat by Boko Haram to kill Christians we are also sending this message to those Northerners who want to burn and kill Christians in North in the name of the Islamic religion to commence immediately but they must know that one Niger Delta soul will be exchanged for 100 Northern souls” (Vanguard Newspaper, August 8, 2016)..
These are dangerous words from dangerous people. We ignore them at our own peril. It is clear to the discerning that now, possibly more than at any other time in the beleaguered history of our country, we need prayers to ensure a peaceful resolution to what is essentially an extremely complicated problem that presents us with an existential threat.
Only a fool would disregard the fact that the ethnic and religious polarisation that we are faced with today is real and that the drums of war are beating in our country.
When one considers all of the above is it any wonder that yours truly wrote the following words in my column a couple of weeks ago. I said:
“The prayer is no longer ‘God bless Nigeria’ but rather ‘God break Nigeria’.
It is no longer ‘God defend Nigeria’ but rather ‘God restructure Nigeria’.
It is no longer ‘God deliver Nigeria’ but rather ‘God deliver US FROM Nigeria’.
It is no longer ‘God preserve Nigeria’ but rather ‘God redefine Nigeria’.
It is no longer ‘God remember Nigeria’ but rather ‘God dismember Nigeria’ “- (‘NIGERIA’S THIRD MAHDI AND THE LAST OF THE AMALEKITE KINGS’, THE SUN NEWSPAPER, NEW TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER, July 25, 2016).
Clearly things are falling apart. Yet if the Buhari administration continues to ignore our concerns and admonitions and if they continue to insist on arresting and locking us up and attempting to intimidate us simply for our timely counsel and interventions perhaps they will listen to one of their own.
If they do not wish to hear the truth about the way forward from us perhaps they would be ready to hear it from someone who openly supported them and helped them to come to power last year.
That person is none other than the distinguished and highly respected General Alani Akinrinade, a war-hero, an elder-statesman, a revered and respected Yoruba elder and a leading supporter of President Buhari and the APC during the 2015 presidential elections. In July he said the following to the Sun Newspaper:
“First, the APC must be told, in no uncertain terms that it is fraudulent. They led us down the garden path, lying to us about what is in the end of the tunnel.
What was in the end of the tunnel was restructuring and each one of them, the party chairman, the president, his vice, and in that order, are all talking from the other side of their mouths now. In other words, they lied to us in 2015 before the election.
My message to them is, they should embark on a very major exercise now to restructure the country, otherwise, how do they propose to settle the crisis in the South-South because it is becoming embarrassing.
A man whose land you went to tap resources and then he couldn’t farm or fish, because you bastardised his farmland and you then send back to him stipends from what you took away from his land, such a man can never be happy”.
“Is the APC thinking that the matter of religion, ethnicity and other crises across the country are just going to go away? Even the late Sardauna of Sokoto said so, that we are a disparate people and we must recognise that fact and use it to our advantage.
Nobody is going to build Nigeria the way APC is going about it. I’m not too sure how many people sing our National Anthem again because they don’t even believe in it.
There is nothing like unity in this country. Unity can only exist when we all understand one another and there are some mutual relationships.
If I know you are always cheating me by giving 44 local councils to Kano and giving Lagos 20, which is not in the same parameter with Kano in terms of population, production and name it, how can I be happy”?
“However rickety Nigeria has become, if there is a wholesome reconstruction and re-engineering of the system, it can work.
That was the major reason the Southwest went along with the APC and Buhari, as the presidential candidate in 2015….to tell us that he didn’t read the recommendations (of the 2014 National Conference) and that it is best for the archives and that, in fact, restructuring is unnecessary and according to his Vice, what we needed is diversification and whatsoever, I remain baffled.
They were just saying we would diversify into agriculture and solid minerals, as if the items will come from heaven.. If the APC fails to do something in that direction, I’m not talking about the 2014 conference report alone, but all others preceding it that have similar recommendations to restructure this country, then President Buhari may forget it and I’m saying he is likely to be the last president of this country. It is as bad as that” – ( ‘A REALITY CHECK FROM GENERAL ALANI AKINRINADE’ THISDAY NEWSPAPER, 5 AUGUST, 2016).
It took courage for Akinrinade to speak up in this way and I commend him for it. His words and counsel are timely and I hope that those that are in power today are humble enough to accept them and retrace their steps.
Of all the heroes in both history and mythology the greatest were King David of Israel, William Wallace of Scotland, King Leonides of Sparta, Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great of Macedonia, King Jehu the son of Nimshi and Achilles of the Mermidans.
They all stood for the truth. They all loved their God. They all had faith and the courage of their convictions. They all refused to bow before the enemy. They all fought till the end.
O that we had just a handful of such gallant men in Nigeria: we would have restructured long ago and made waves in the comity of nations.
O that we had more men who have the courage of their convictions and who are prepared to risk all and speak truth to power.
Permit me to end this contribution with the words of Minister Louis Farrakhan the leader of the Nation of Islam in the United States of America. On August 7, he said:
“Anarchy may await America due to the daily injustices suffered by the people. There really can be no peace without justice. There can be no justice without truth. And there can be no truth unless someone rises up to tell you the truth”.
I concur. And this applies in the Nigerian context and to the Nigerian situation more than any other. There can and will be no peace in this country without justice.
That justice begins with “restructuring” and it ends with
“separation” and the birth of two or more new nations out of one.
Why? Because the Bible says “there is no fellowship between light and darkness” . It says “there can be no love or friendship between the children of God and the servants of Belial” . It says “we must not be unequally yoked” .
Nigerians are intensely political people, full of fire and outrage in their support or ability to undermine any figure of authority. Ours should have been the greatest of democracies, given our profound interest in public affairs. Unlike many Western countries where belief in any ideology is waning and voter turn-out is lacklustre, Nigeria is a country where fortunately and unfortunately dogma endures: we believe in many things (many unsubstantiated, antiquated convictions with destructive powers) but we differ from our Western counterparts in our unwillingness to critically assess and scrutinise said beliefs, hiding behind ethnicity and religion to justify those mysteries which enrich a few at the expense of the many.
Our rigid support system, based on how we worship, or what part of the country we come from, shows our mistaken understanding of political participation which is more a conspiracy to commit, support and justify theft than anything else. Politics rarely goes beyond, in the immortal words of Patience Jonathan: “na we time ” (to do what? I’ll leave that to the readers’ imagination).Now a crucial question poses itself: in the battle between the old, corrupt ways and the new, can the President rid himself of those undesired elements, even if they may be his nearest and dearest, who could ultimately cost him his re-election?
Our society is not educated (or mature) enough to turn partisan debates into civic engagement: country first, rather than party first, is a concept which continuously eludes us. However, APC must be wary of Nigerian disillusionment. Nigerians have slowly begun to realise their power: if they no longer believe in the APC because its narrative is unconvincing (a far cry from its fervent pre-election sense of national urgency), because, it seems, many in APC look all too comfortable with the old ways they campaigned against, then this would spell the end for the party. Nigerians won’t accept to be fed the romanticised notions of ethnic or primordial loyalty which dictate support based on everything other than rational considerations of performance: it’s already happening. A party that consistently gets votes in the modern world isn’t one that puts food on the table by sporadically donating relief items, it is, instead, one that empowers and prepares people for self-reliance.
What Nigerians really need, right now, is for the real Muhammadu Buhari to please stand up. I’m following the aftermath of the political conventions in America. There are so many lessons to be learned about what involvement in politics truly means, about the part every individual citizen has to play in mending a country and telling a new story. Ours (both our tragic story and heart-breaking country) needs Buhari, if he can let go of some of his friends before it is too late.
Perhaps his experience of being removed from power by striking at the heart of the cabal which enjoys and profits from Nigeria’s dysfunction, made him more of a realist. Perhaps it turned the soldier into a politician who is more ready to compromise by keeping some of those undesirable elements close, despite the scandals and unanswered questions, because of the greater damage they could do behind his back. Perhaps the strategist in Buhari can still surprise us. But we need the man who doesn’t pander to the interests or fear-mongering of corrupt individuals who either use militants or separatism as blackmail. He doesn’t have to have all the answers (those who voted for Buhari were no fools, no one mistook him for a policy wonk) but he must surround himself with more qualified, talented people who can provide said answers. Enough of the recommendations and placements based on rumoured or alleged familial connections, etc.
His communications team never tapped into his strengths and never sold a post-election plan or vision. The cynics might say there wasn’t one. But Buhari’s personal narrative, his knowledge of the civil war and all it wrought upon us in ethnic politics, could serve to unify this country, if he had the right people to articulate and sell his personal thoughts and memories to the masses. Obama once said: “There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.” I doubt many around our President fully understand the power of words. Many of the criticisms currently directed at the President, including the perceived lack of economic direction, would be far less if only there was someone regularly speaking to Nigerians, explaining the reasons for the hardships and detailing a way out, as opposed to ignoring the problems in the “Jonathanesque” way previously criticised.
The President does occasionally mention our values but not enough in connection to economic realities. Everything about the collapse of our economy, our reliance on FX dependent imported goods, etc, is a direct consequence of our shallow mind-set, never mind the elite schools many in our society will tell you they attended. We think and behave like paupers, semi-illiterates, awed by meaningless things. We’re paying the price for it now. A communications team should have used the President’s personal story, his humble beginnings, to inspire us to think differently about money and its uses. Very few people remember policy in detail but they remember the stories told about said policies: the intellectual passion, the storytelling prowess shown in the US when discussing the American idea is totally absent in Nigeria. Those few would-be intellectuals Nigerian Presidents have around them are often relics of an unfortunate past. Few are creative enough to craft the new policies we need to catapult ourselves into modernity and by extension, prosperity. The Muhammadu Buhari we need at this point must find a way to synthesize the old and the new. Not by providing jobs and opportunities for his friends’ children as is often the case in Nigeria but by allowing real talent to thrive. If the best man can get the job in Nigeria, half of our problems would be solved.
DOGARA
In Nigeria, offensiveness seems to be a legitimate form of engagement or even defence. The idea that padding the budget isn’t illegal isn’t just a dangerous one, it’s a testimony to the mind-set of politicians who think Nigeria is a country to be ruled rather than governed. Is decriminalising an accusation not a form of self-indictment? It amounts to saying “even if I did do it, it isn’t a crime”. Either way, one now sees the legislature has little grasp of its true functions. Only the executive is allowed to re-write the budget and replace projects, etc. Lawmakers are only empowered to trim sums, not allocate money themselves! Then of course there’s:”You mean I can’t come and see my President? Do I need any reason to come and see my President? It was a private visit.” Therein lies the problem. Without a doubt, Obama receives private visits—many in private locations. The White House or in this case, State House, belongs to every citizen and it is their right to scrutinise what goes on within it. But to a Nigerian politician, the state is often a private rather than a public affair. How this all ends will undoubtedly reveal who the real Buhari is and either bode ill or well for APC’s future.
CBN
Either not everyone in government is on the same page or the “real” Buhari is someone else entirely. After being told that subsidised rates would be reserved for more essential and productive functions of the economy, and that parents who send their children abroad can “afford” to source for FX in the parallel market, subsidised rates are given to pilgrims (both Muslims and Christians). Prayers can’t on their own boost Nigeria’s revenue, never mind what some fanatics, hiding under the cover of religion to help themselves to Nigeria’s resources, will tell you. Prayers are immaterial in a country of hypocrisy and generalised stealing. Sai Baba who so hated waste, where are you?
Bright Okpocha, a popular comedian known as Basketmouth has debunked rumors that he was one of the advocates for the emergence of Buhari’s administration.
Basketmouth had received comments from fans who allegedly blamed him for condemning the government he voted for after he aired his thoughts over the CBN’s new money transfer policy.
Clearing the air, he took to his Instagram page @basketmouth, and wrote: “I think it’s best I use this medium to clear the issue of “campaigns” and “support” now
“While many of my colleagues, friends and family members campaigned for the PDP, APC and various candidates during the last elections (and I cannot emphasize enough that it is their RIGHT to do so),
”I never campaigned for BUHARI or any other politician.
“All those saying that I did should do everything within their power to “THINK”.
“I know thinking can be a very difficult task for some but trust me; it can be a painless and enlightening process. ‘
“Think‘ of when I ever campaigned for BUHARI.
“Indeed I personally hoped that he would win the election but I did not campaign for him.
“Nigeria was in a bad place by the end of the last administration and it was only a matter of time before we would have suffered the plights of Brazil and Venezuela.
“Truth of the matter is that I would have voted anyone that could speak two words of English against Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and that’s strictly based on the amount of greed and selfishness we witnessed from members of his administration in the 6 years that he sat on the rock. They put us in this Septic tank we are in right now…..well, that and the oil price downfall amongst other things.
“I have said it numerous times that I am not a politician hence I try not to dabble in politics. However I think a few people interpret crying out against injustice by the one as campaign for the other.
“When the Late FELA KUTI and BOB MARLEY cried out against the injustices in their days, were they being partisan? Of course not. They were just being HUMAN!
“I am forever grateful to God for blessing me with a flourishing career, a beautiful family, food on my table and small change in my pocket. However I see too many people everyday who have not been so lucky to travel and see the way things are outside Nigeria/Africa. I have seen how GOVERNMENT can influence and affect the lives of the downtrodden positively. I am still patient, praying and hoping that PMB can turn Nigeria’s economy around and help strengthen Nigeria’s social justice system.
“Not so I can cheer him and be vindicated that I was right and some were wrong, but so my friends, family members and well-wishers who haven’t been favored as others can have renewed hope in our country Nigeria and the brotherhood we have enjoyed in this generation.
“Even the United States went through a tough recession in 2008 and with some patience they have been able to turn that around.
“So long story short, did I campaign for PMB? NO!
“Do I support and pray that his administration should succeed and improve the life of the common man, increase security, food, jobs, infrastructure, quality of education, healthcare and every other area that will make Nigerians proud wherever they may find themselves? YES!
“On the other hand, should he and his party fail, we are all free to cast our votes for the next man come 2019 and I shall be exercising that right.
“No need for quarrel.”
Akwa Ibom state governor, Udom Emmanuel, speaking with State House Correspondents after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, said he was there to brief the President on the security situation in Akwa Ibom state.
The governor stressed that the President is father to all irrespective of party affiliations.
“I am still serving a state and the state is within the country and the president is the father of the whole country. I think it is part of my responsibility to let the president know from time to time how things are being done and how we are faring. We discussed some issues bothering on security,” he said.
When asked if he had any request to make of the president, Emmanuel said, “Not really a request, but feedback. At times, feedback could be even very effective than request. Because feedback is necessary for further actions and the rest of things you want to do.”
He continued that, “We are all running one project which is project Nigeria adding that if we are running project Nigeria, all hands must be a deck to move the country to the level we all expect and dream of and that is the essence of the whole thing.”
On the restiveness in the Niger Delta, he said, “Well, I don’t know whether you want me to redefine that word restiveness, but permit me to also say, you are still pushing me to discuss security which we don’t discuss on camera. Spare me that today, but rather than calling it restiveness, I will say everything we discussed is about the wellbeing of Nigerians.”
Chelsea had only good things to say about the assured performance of their star midfielder, John Obi Mikel who is captain of the Nigerian Under-23 team at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Chelsea who had earlier granted Mikel permission to play with Nigeria at the competition said on their official webpage, “The 29-year-old influenced proceedings throughout a tense second half, when the experience of a player with a complete trophy cabinet in English football proved vital to reassure and reinvigorate a team of largely Under-23s.“
“Mikel and his team-mates displayed growing cohesion and confidence in comparison to their remarkable 5-4 win against Japan last Thursday, which took place only a few hours after the squad touched down in Brazil following a logistical nightmare.”
Obi Mikel, 29, has started the first two matches played by Nigeria at the Olympic Games, and Nigeria are guaranteed top spot in Group B after their 1-0 win over Sweden.
AFP Sports picks five young talents that could shine in the English Premier League this season:
MARCUS RASHFORD (MANCHESTER UNITED)
Everything so far has gone swimmingly well for the 18-year-old, one genuine success Louis van Gaal could point to in terms of bringing him into the side when pretty much all else didn't go right for the Dutchman. However, now the England forward -- who showed more spark and invention in a cameo appearance at the end of the Iceland Euro 2016 debacle than anyone else had done that evening -- faces two challenges. One is to maintain his progress, having lost that element of surprise, and another is to convince new manager Jose Mourinho that youth, not experience, can be more effective. 'The Special One' was at pains at his unveiling press conference to dismiss suggesstions he didn't favour youth. How Rashford fares under him may well reflect the truth of that statement.
RAMADAN SOBHI (STOKE CITY)
At £5 million (6m euros, $6.5m), Sobhi could prove to be one of the signings of the close season. The 19-year-old winger has been compared to one of Egypt's greatest players, Mohamed Aboutrika. He already has six full caps to his name and made his league debut for Egyptian giants Al Ahly aged 16. Played a huge role in Al Ahly winning the title last season under former Tottenham Hotspur boss Martin Jol. Another Egyptian great, Mido, has no concerns about him stepping up a few levels in the Premier League, although he preached patience. "The most important thing for me is he has the character, he has a big personality and is not scared of big occasions," Mido told the Stoke City website.
LEWIS COOK (BOURNEMOUTH)
For a 19-year-old, Cook arrives with a lot of playing experience having shone for fallen giants Leeds United over the past two seasons. The midfielder was named Football League Young Player of the Year last season -- previous winners include Dele Alli and Gareth Bale -- and knows what it is to win trophies having been a member of the England Under-17 side that won the European Championship in 2014. He is likely to get a fair bit of playing time and should come along nicely under the tutelage of Eddie Howe. Despite Bournemouth defying the odds and staying up last season, Cook may find a lot of responsibility falling on his young shoulders in what looks sure to a battle for survival this term. He did that admirably at Leeds but in a higher echelon it is asking a lot of such a young talent.
PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG (SOUTHAMPTON)
Southampton may have once again lost several established stars but in the 21-year-old Danish international midfielder they could have acquired a real gem -- certainly Saints think so in paying a reported £12.8 million ($16.6m, 15m euros) to Bayern Munich. Despite getting off to a good start with Pep Guardiola at Bayern they eventually fell out and he was loaned to firstly Augsburg -- where he flourished -- and then Schalke. Ostensibly a defensive midfielder, has also been used out wide. Faces a big task in replacing midfield enforcer Tottenham-bound Victor Wanyama but he will be determined to prove to Guardiola, now at Manchester City, that he made an error in banishing him when he was at Bayern.
BEN CHILWELL (LEICESTER CITY)
Claudio Ranieri has made superhuman efforts to persuade established stars such as Jamie Vardy to sign new contracts with mixed success. However, Chilwell's decision to sign a five-year deal could be equally as significant for the 19-year-old is a very highly regarded left-back. He has played for England up to Under-21 level and Ranieri ensured he got some regular first-team play by shrewdly loaning him out to Huddersfield Town last season before recalling him. Yet to make his Premier League debut but is an option to replace the 30-year-old Austrian Christian Fuchs in the first team.
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