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Showing posts with label President Muhammadu Buhari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Muhammadu Buhari. Show all posts
Boko Haram: What Borno residents need – Omokri counters Buhari
Reno Omokri, former
aide to ex-president Goodluck has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s
response to Boko
Haram suicide bombings in Mandarari community in Borno State.
Buhari
on Monday night expressed sadness over the attack and sent his condolences
to victims of the Borno attack.
The president wrote
“I commiserate with the families of the victims of yesterday’s Viewing Center
bomb blasts in Mandarari, Konduga LGA of Borno State.
“My deepest
condolences to all those affected.”
But, Omokri on his
Twitter page condemned the President’s reaction, noting that residents of Borno
do not need condolences but ‘Action’ against Boko Haram insurgents in the
state.
The former
presidential spokesman wrote: “Dear General Buhari, Borno people do not need
COMMISERATION. They need ACTION.
“Last month, you
went to Qatar to lie that Boko Haram were defeated.
“These are people
that could have helped us defeat Boko Haram. But you LIED to look good to
them.”
Meanwhile, Borno
State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirming the attack on Monday, said
30 persons lost their lives while 42 others were injured when
three suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) in Mandarari community of Konduga local government area.
Some Federal
Government workers on Monday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give priority
to timely payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees.
The workers made
the plea in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in
Lagos, at the pre-retirement workshop organised by National Pension Commission
(PenCom) for workers due to retire in 2020.
They noted that
retirees were being made to wait endlessly before receiving their benefits,
despite serving their fatherland for more than 30 years.
One of the workers,
Mr Olusegun Oga, a staff of Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, told NAN that
the delay in settling retirees’ gratuities and pensions had brought discomfort
to many retired workers and their families.
“Most times,
retirees find it difficult to make ends meet after retirement, this happen
because of the long period awaited for gratuities and pensions payments.
“President Buhari
must ensure that retirees get there benefits a month after retirement.
“A federal
government worker should be paid like workers in the private sector that access
their gratuities immediately after retirement,” he said.
Mr Olufela Fashoro,
an Assistant Editor- in-Chief in NAN, also urged the government to fast track
the payment process, as doing so would ease the hardships retirees go through
and make them live long.
Another worker set
for retirement, Mr Ime Abakada, commended PenCom for organising the workshop,
but said it must improve on the payment process.
”The workshop is a
good thing, it has created a lot of awareness for us, but the government should
improve on pension payments process,” he said.
Mrs Ekanem Aikhomu,
Head, Benefit and Insurance Department, PenCom, while reacting to the pleas
said the commission had written to President Buhari on the payment of all
accrued pensions.
Aikhomu said the
President, through the Ministry of Finance is working hard to ensure that
retirees’ plight come to an end.
“For instance, the
amount we budgeted in 2019 to clear Accrued Pension of Retirees was not
reduced, unlike the previous ones.
”Though, we won’t
disclose the amount, but all we are waiting for is cash backing,” she said.
The Head, Corporate
Communications, PenCom, Mr Peter Aghahowa further said the Commission will not
relent in making the country’s pension landscape at par with developed
countries.
He said the
Commission’s commitment to all citizens was one major reason it developed micro
pension scheme to attract informal sector workers into the new pension scheme.
Killings in Nigeria: Fulani group asks Buhari to listen to Obasanjo’s
advice
The Gan Allah Fulani
Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN) has called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to as a matter of urgency listen to the advice of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo on how to move the nation forward and halt the numerous
crises bedeviling the country.
Speaking with
newsmen in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the National Chairman of the group,
Alhaji Sale Bayari, said the present administration ought to listen to other
eminent Nigerians too in solving the nation’s problems, but that from the signs
he is getting, things are not in order.
He said considering
the tribal, ethnic, religious and sectional agitations from the South, East,
North and West, things must be done urgently to address and avert national
crises. According to him, there was no part of the country that agitation is
currently not going on.
He stressed that
even the crises that is already happening in the Northern states like Zamfara,
Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa and so on, are not good for the
country, including that of the other regions like Niger-Delta militants, IPOB,
Afenifere and the rest.
“In moving the
nation forward, the government must listen to some elder statesmen irrespective
of whatever their political views or affiliation is. Former President Olusegun
Obasanjo is one of them. I have found out that if any government in Africa is
to tap one-third of what is in the brain of Obasanjo and use it, Africa will be
better. Similarly, West Africa and Nigeria will be better for it.
“Obasanjo knows our
problem; and then whenever he talks and explodes sometimes, I have found out
that it is because he has made efforts to be listened to without success. He
will then feel that posterity will judge him harshly if he does not come out to
tell Nigerians and the world the truth of things”, he explained.
“Undoubtedly,
Obasanjo is an embodiment of knowledge, experience and he knows very well the
problem of our country, Nigeria. There is nobody dead or alive today that
thinks the way Obasanjo does or knows what Obasanjo knows.
“He knows Nigeria,
Africa and the entire world like the back of his hand. That is why I am
advising this government to tap the brains of people like Obasanjo.
“He is a person
that can lead the government into looking critically at the problem bedeviling
the nation and finding a way forward.
According to him,
“We know that government can do and undo, but any government desiring to move
forward will require the support of statesmen and nationalists like Obasanjo.
“There are other
statesmen the government should listen to; people like Yakubu Gowon, Ango
Abdullahi, Sultan of Sokoto, Oni of Ife, Eze of Onitsha, and others. These are
people that have this nation at heart and would not want it to disintegrate.
Bayeri maintained
that, “If they put their machinery in place, I bet you that peace and progress
will be achieved.
“But unfortunately,
nobody is mobilizing them or seeking their input in solving the national
crises. These people know what to do or the right people to call, among other
things in solving the problems,” he said.
Bayeri said his
fear is that if the government does not carefully handle these looming crises
and they degenerate, the nation does not have the well-withal in terms of
security to tackle it.
He said if the
nation has been unable to tackle Boko Haram since 2009, then it is a greater
danger if crises burst out in other states or regions in the nation.
“Recently, the
Secretary to the Government of the Federal, Boss Mustapha said if the armed
banditry is not carefully handled, it will be worse than the Boko Haram
insurgency. I totally agree with him entirely because if you look at the way
the thing is building up now, then you will understand what I am talking about.
“Very soon, some
religious and insurgent groups may capitalize on it to recruit people for other
nefarious acts. We should not allow this to happen, and we should do everything
possible to halt it,” he warned.
Atiku’s running mate, Peter Obi speaks on Buhari’s delay in forming
cabinet
The Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, 2019 vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has frowned
at President Muhammadu Buhari’s delay in constituting his cabinet.
Obi, a former
governor of Anambra State, said serious leaders form their cabinet within one
week of assuming power.
Buhari, who
dissolved his cabinet prior to his swearing-in on May 29, was yet to unveil his
new team.
Obi, while
addressing journalists in Lagos at the weekend, called on the president to
constitute his cabinet as soon as possible.
According to him:
“…these are serious leaders who are ready to move their countries forward.
Imagine forming their cabinets within one week of being sworn in.
“Can you compare
them with what is happening here in our country? I have always said it that for
our country to move forward, it must change its current compass.”
The vice
presidential candidate faulted the Buhari-led government for allegedly plunging
Nigeria into a debt of over N11 trillion “despite having nothing to show”.
“What we have today
in Nigeria is the cumulative effect of leadership failures. A leader must know
his/her destination. Painfully, we have plenty bad role models masquerading as
leaders.
“Nigeria is in
total mess because of too much borrowing caused by leadership failures. Our
situation will get worse if we do not solve these problems urgently. There is
serious crisis in Nigeria because politics is now business and transactions. In
fact, we have reduced our lives to transactions in Nigeria.
“Tell me, what is
working in Nigeria today? A country where states owe billions and the federal
government has borrowed over N11 trillion since coming into office and there is
nothing to show for all the borrowed funds. Are you not worried that over 21
million of our youths are not employed?
“Nigeria is
gradually collapsing and unemployment is part of the disease killing Nigeria.
All hands must be on deck to help save our nation from these leadership
failures.”
Ministerial appointment: Tinubu makes demand from Buhari
The lawmaker
representing Lagos Central senatorial district at the National Assembly,
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to show
magnanimity by appointing many women into his new cabinet.
She lamented that
the National Assembly was gradually turning into an “exclusive gentlemen’s
club”.
Tinubu linked the
apathy amongst women in running for elective political positions to a number of
reasons.
She stated this
yesterday in Abuja at an event that also had the presence of the First Lady,
Aisha Buhari.
She said, “We are
still watching and hoping that maybe, the President will be magnanimous enough
to appoint a lot of female ministers but they should be ministers who will not
disappoint us and do the work; not to go there and embezzle money.
“You know the last
experience was not actually pleasant, it should be women who are ready to serve
and make the necessary sacrifice.
“Do we need women
in the public place? Yes, that is why I am here to encourage the younger
generation to reach for the sky.
“It has always been
seven or eight women in the National Assembly, the National Assembly is turning
into exclusively a gentleman’s club and I think that if we are not careful,
that is what it will turn out to be and it is quite sad.
“I don’t think they
are being good sportsmen; they are quite vicious when it comes to positions;
everybody is striving and I think we women have to start raising boys that are
gender-friendly. We raised all these selfish men and this is what we pay for
that.
“The coming
generation should begin to raise men that would not feel threatened by a woman
who is in a top position, so we still have a lot to do but the current men that
are here are very vicious when it comes to seeking for top positions.
“Not that they don’t
allow women, it is just that everyone is striving so hard and you can see that
the violence in politics is keeping women back, there are a lot of things
keeping women back but the point is that the men are not just gender-friendly.
“I was just looking
when we went for registration today and I was just looking because it was just
a sea of men.”
Zamfara: Buhari reacts to latest killings, issues fresh order
President Muhammadu
Buhari has directed state governments across the Northwest to pursue an urgent
revamp of the national security apparatus in the subregion.
A statement issued
in Abuja on Sunday by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and
Publicity, said the partnership followed the infiltration of bandits into areas
that were hitherto secure.
”This is coming on
the heels of the recent killing of 34 persons in an attack on Tungar Kafau and
Gidan Wawa communities in Shinkafi Local Government Areas of Zamfara,” the
presidential aide said.
Shehu quoted
President Buhari as expressing sorrow over the renewed attacks and extended his
sympathies to the governments and people of Sokoto and Zamfara states.
The president
charged all stakeholders, including the federal security agencies and the
states involved in drawing up the long-term strategic defence plan to begin its
immediate implementation.
”Under the plan,
states are joining the federal government in supporting the security and
military operations by providing logistical support.
”States are
providing additional vehicles in addition to those provided from the center.
”The federal
government is establishing new forward operation bases and when all of these
come together, the ongoing operations will be scaled up,” the presidential aide
added.
According to him,
the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the various State Emergency
Management Agencies (SEMA) are expected to streamline their operations to
provide succor to displaced persons.
He noted that
thousands of the displaced persons were taking refuge in the neighboring Niger
Republic.
Shehu expressed the
hope that the full implementation of the plan would provide security for
residents to return to their deserted communities.
He reiterated the
determination of the Buhari administration to safeguard lives and property of
all citizens, assuring that the government ”will not fail in that regard”.
The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it does not have the server
where the PDP claim results of the presidential election were uploaded.
The electoral
commission is reacting to the request of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had asked the tribunal to compel INEC
to allow them inspect smart card readers and the server.
The opposition
party and its candidate are challenging the declaration of President Buhari as
winner of the presidential election that held in February. At the tribunal on
Thursday, Yunus Usman, counsel to INEC, said the party was asking something
they did not have.
“They are asking us
to bring something we do not have,” the lawyer said. Usman asked the tribunal
to strike out the application. Also, counsels of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) and Buhari asked the tribunal to strike out the application of the PDP.
They argued that
they could not prove the existence of a server. The electoral commission
said Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat the former vice-president who
secured 11, 262,978. But Atiku in his application claimed that he polled
18,356,732 votes while Buhari secured 16,741,430, citing INEC’s server.
Buhari vs Atiku: Human Rights Watch releases damning report on
Nigeria’s election, makes revelations
The Nigerian
elections in 2019 that brought President Muhammadu Buhari back into office for
a second term were marred by political violence, some of it by soldiers and
police officers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
Buhari defeated
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the keenly-contested
poll.
HRW called on
Buhari to take concrete steps to address the widespread political violence and
ensure accountability for human rights abuses by soldiers and police as he
begins his second term.
The report on the
election released on the HRW website on Monday noted that the election period
included persistent attacks by factions of Boko Haram terrorist group in the
northeast; increased communal violence between nomadic herdsmen and farmers
spreading southward from north-central states; and a dramatic uptick in
banditry, kidnapping, and killings in the northwestern states of Kaduna,
Katsina, and Zamfara. It maintained that security forces have failed to respond
effectively to threats to people’s lives and security.
Human Rights Watch
said it interviewed 32 people; including voters, journalists, election
observers, activists, and Independent National Electoral Commission officials
in Rivers and Kano states, and documented 11 deaths specifically related to
violent interference in the election process during the February 23
presidential election and subsequent state elections.
It added: “The
national and state elections in February, March, and April 2019 contributed to
the general insecurity across the country. The politically related violence
reported in many states was in contrast to the relatively peaceful 2015
elections that brought Buhari into his first term in office. According to a
report by SBM Intelligence, which monitors sociopolitical and economic
developments in Nigeria, 626 people were killed during the 2019 election cycle,
starting with campaigns in 2018.
“Kano state, in
northwestern Nigeria, has the highest number of registered voters in the
country. Rivers state, in the Niger Delta, receives the largest share of
crude-oil-based national revenue, representing significant electoral value to
any political party. The history of elections in both states is replete with
violence by state security agencies and criminal elements.
“Human Rights Watch
focused its research on both states in view of projections and reports of
violence during the 2019 elections. Despite police claims of increased security
measures to ensure peaceful voting, there seems to have been little or no
police response to reports of threats and acts of violence by hired political
thugs and soldiers against voters and election officials, Human Rights Watch
found.
“Voters and
election officials said that policemen either fled or stood idly by, fueling
allegations of complicity, as perpetrators stole election materials, disrupted
voting, and harassed voters. Witnesses said that the police also shot live
rounds of ammunition and used teargas to disperse people protesting voting
disruptions.
“Witnesses said
that after a soldier was killed in the town of Abonnema, in Rivers state, on
election day, soldiers shot at residents, killing an unknown number of people.
They also carried out sweeping arrests and arbitrarily detained several
people.”
“The soldiers were
on a rampage, shooting at anyone around,” said a 37-year-old man who witnessed
the episode. “As I made my way to flee, I saw people dive into the river, many
with gunshot wounds. The next day I saw three dead bodies riddled with bullets
floating in the water… I heard many more bodies were later recovered from that
river.”
HRW noted that
“Banditry and the recurring cycles of deadly violence between herdsmen and
farmers appear to have taken the lives of thousands. According to civil society
reports, over 3,641 people have died from deadly clashes between herdsmen and
farmers since 2015 and at least 262 people have been killed by bandits since
the beginning of 2019 in Zamfara State alone. The government deployed 1,000
military troops to the state in response, but few of those responsible for the
violence have been arrested or held to account.
“The northeast
conflict with Boko Haram and its splinter groups also remains one of Buhari’s
pressing challenges. Although Boko Haram’s territorial control has shrunk to
small pockets of villages around Lake Chad as a result of sustained government
military action since 2015, the group continues to carry out attacks against
civilian and military targets in the region and in neighboring Niger, Cameroon,
and Chad.
“In recent months,
renewed fighting between Nigerian government forces and a faction of Boko
Haram, known as Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), has led to
secondary displacement of civilians.
“Security forces
have been implicated in serious abuses, including arbitrary arrests, prolonged
detention without trial, torture, extrajudicial killings, rape and sexual
violence against women and girls in camps for displaced people. According to
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
more than 27,000 civilians have died and about 1.8 million people have been
displaced since the beginning of the conflict in 2009.
“Authorities have
also failed to address impunity for killings by security forces elsewhere in
the country. The authorities have yet to publish the report of the Presidential
Judicial Panel set up in August 2017 to investigate the military’s compliance
with human rights obligations, allegations of war crimes, and other abuses by
the military.
“Nigerian voters
have entrusted Buhari with another opportunity to address the nation’s serious
human rights problems, including political violence,” Ewang said. “He should
start by reforming the security forces to ensure strict compliance with human
rights standards, and prompt investigation and prosecution of those credibly
implicated in abuses.”
On the 2019
election violence, HRW said: “Nigeria’s elections have historically been
fraught with controversy, violence, and other abuses, with the 2015 elections,
widely believed to have been largely free of violence, bucking this trend.
There were reports of voter intimidation and violence around the 2019 elections
at both the federal and state levels, including by armed men hired by candidates
and political parties and by security forces, including the national police.
“Bauchi, Benue,
Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, and Rivers states were particularly affected by violence
during the March 9 gubernatorial elections. The Independent National Electoral
Commission canceled elections in places where the elections were disrupted and
held supplementary elections later. Kano state had supplementary elections on
March 23, and Rivers state on April 13.
“Kano and Rivers
states were probably the worst hit of the six states. They were identified by
both local and international analysts ahead of the elections as holding great
potential for electoral violence. Both are major political strongholds for the
two leading political parties, Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Abdullahi Ganduje of the
APC won the 2019 election in Kano, and Nyesom Wike of the PDP won in Rivers
state.”
Peter Obi, Nuhu Ribadu, others in presidential election tribunal as
hearing begins
The running mate to
the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi is
currently present at the hearing session of the petition filed before
presidential election tribunal against the declaration of President Muhammadu
Buhari as the winner of the 2019 presidential election.
It would be
recalled that Obi ran a joint ticket with the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku
Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election.
Also present in the
court is a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, and a commissioner at the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC)
Wole Olanipekun
while moving an objection on the preliminary application filed by President
Buhari on his qualification said the application have been filed and served to
all parties involved in the matter.
But drama ensued
after a counsel who identified himself as Poland standing in for the Hope
Democratic Party announced his appearance over which attracted a vehement
objection to his claim.
However, President
of the Tribunal, Mohammed Lawal Garba further urged all parties involved to
privately sort out the issues of representation.
Garba also
announced that all preliminary applications pending before the court would be
heard on June 13.
Meanwhile, the
tribunal has just gone into the preliminary part of the substantive matter.
Onnoghen: HURIWA warns Buhari govt against marginalising Christians in
Executive, Legislature, Judiciary
The Human Rights
Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari
against marginalising Christians in the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary
arms of government during his second term.
It warned that the
plots to undermine national unity by ensuring that only Muslims head all the
branches of the central government started when the Buhari’s administration
instigated the “kangaroo trial resulting in the removal of Justice Walter
Onnoghen, the only Christian to have held the position of Chief justice of
Nigeria in 30 years over some phantom and substantially forged allegations.”
HURIWA issued the
warning in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel and
the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf.
The Rights group
expressed apprehension that the “exclusion of Christians from headship of any
of the three constitutional arms of government at the center offends section 42
of the constitution which outlaws discrimination and also constitute a gross
infringements of the constitutionally guaranteed provisions on the Federal
Character Principles enshrined in the highest laws of Nigeria.
“This exclusion
will mark the end of Religious harmony in Nigeria and may result in anarchy and
doom unless political stakeholders take measures to stave off the building up
of mutual distrusts.
“We pray Buhari and
all political stakeholders to save Nigeria from slidding into a state of mass
distrust because if one of the largest constituents of Nigeria being Christians
are excluded from the headship of the three arms of government it may not
portend well for national peace, unity, and inter religious harmony that are
essential for sustenance of constitutional democracy,” HURIWA said.
HURIWA cited the
relevant sections of the Nigerian Constitution that speaks against the
systematic exclusion of Christians in the political schemes of leadership as is
about to happen imminently.
Section 42 of the
Constitution: “42. (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic
group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason
only that he is such a person:-
(a) be subjected
either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in
Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to
disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities,
ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not
made subject; or
(b) be accorded
either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in
Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or
advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities,
ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions.
(2) No citizen of
Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of
the circumstances of his birth.
(3) Nothing in
subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the
law imposes restrictions with respect to the appointment of any person to any
office under the State or as a member of the armed forces of the Federation or
member of the Nigeria Police Forces or to an office in the service of a body,
corporate established directly by any law in force in Nigeria.”
MURIC attacks TY Danjuma-led Christian body for dragging Buhari to UK
parliament over alleged Islamization agenda
The Muslim Rights
Concern, MURIC, on Friday described the claim by the Nigerian Christian Elders
Forum, NCEF, of supposed moves by President Muhammadu Buhari to islamize Nigeria
as a “compendium of lies from the pit of Jahannam”.
NCEF, under the
leadership of former Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. T.Y Danjuma (retd); ex-Military
Governor of Rivers State, General Zamani Lekwot (retd); and Chief Solomon
Asemota, SAN, had dragged
Buhari to the United Kingdom, UK, Parliament, over alleged move to Islamise
Nigeria.
Alleging that the
Nigerian leader was pursuing a jihad or Islamisation agenda, they told the UK
parliament that Buhari was not serious about tackling insecurity arising from
Boko Haram insurgency and herdsmen-farmers crises in the country.
Reacting to the
allegation, MURIC stressed that the Islamization claim was “frivolous,
unfounded, imaginary, untenable and unacceptable.”
In a statement
signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola,
the group insisted that Nigerian’s membership of Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, OIC, summit was not to Islamize the country.
MURIC recalled that
Nigeria became a member of OIC during the regime of former Military Head of
State, Gen Yakubu Gowon.
The statement
reads: “Northern Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) yesterday petitioned the
European Parliament over President Buhari’s attendance of the summit of the
Organisation of Islamic Conference and alleged Islamisation of Nigeria. NCEF
also alleged that the president was not doing enough on the security challenges
facing the country.
“NCEF’s allegations
are a compendium of lies from the pit of Jahannam. They are frivolous,
unfounded, imaginary, untenable and unacceptable. We have no modicum of doubt
that their lies will come crashing down on them like a pack of cards when the
EU Parliament investigates their allegations. NCEF cannot fool the EU
Parliament.
“EU Parliament will
find it interesting to know that Nigeria became a member of OIC back in 1969
when General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), a Christian, took Nigeria to the organization
in observer status. Gowon is not a Muslim but he needed the organisation’s
support for Nigeria during the civil war (1967 – 1971). Spain, Portugal and
France were supporting Biafra and Gowon found it mandatory to rally the support
of African countries through Nigeria’s membership of OIC.
“It will therefore
become clear that joining OIC has nothing to do with Islamisation but another
way of pursuing Nigeria’s national interest. Nigeria joined for political
expediency and the regularization in 1986 was merely procedural.
“Just as Gowon used
the instrumentality of Nigeria’s membership of OIC to secure victory for
Nigeria in the civil war, President Buhari used his physical presence at the
2019 OIC summit to return home with two juicy take-aways, not for himself, not
for Jubril of Sudan, not for the Fulanis, not even for Daura, but for his
country, Nigeria. OIC pledged to support Nigeria’s war against terrorism and
also to support Nigeria in completing the ongoing Second Niger Bridge project.
“It is therefore
unfortunate that NCEF still has the audacity to accuse Buhari of not doing
enough on security issues and for attending the OIC summit. How would Nigeria
have secured the organisation’s support for its war against terrorism if Buhari
had not attended the summit and tabled Nigeria’s challenges there?
“Again, is the
Second Niger Bridge situated in Daura? Who benefits from its completion? Is it
Buhari personally, the Fulanis as a race or Islam as a creed? NCEF petition to
the EU Parliament as well as the criticisms of Ohaneze and the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) are therefore a mark of ingratitude. But we are
certain that the petition in particular is an exercise in futility. Those
behind the petition should bury their heads in shame considering the economic
and security gains realized from the summit.
“Nigeria’s security
challenges did not start under Buhari. The Boko Haram phenomenon started in the
Obasanjo days and grew worse under Jonathan. The insurgents effectively
occupied 17 local governments as far back as 2014. It was Buhari’s frontal
confrontation that reduced the hoodlums to a hit and run guerrilla unit today.
“Bombs were
exploding on a daily basis in Jonathan’s days but it receded to a weekly and
later, monthly affair under Buhari. It was because the global terrorist network
knew that Boko Haram is dying that the Islamic State of West Africa has taken
over. The Nigerian security agencies kill and arrest scores of kidnappers,
armed robbers and other criminals on a daily basis. Yet detractors claim that
Buhari is not doing enough and NCEF thinks taking him to the EU Parliament is
the solution. Where did they take Jonathan to when the North East was almost
completely overrun under him? What kind of citizens drag their own country in
the mud before foreigners? Nigerians are waiting to see how NCEF will succeed
in its satanic mission.
“Concerning the
allegation of Islamisation via the OIC, if Gowon, a Christian, took Nigeria to
OIC (and he did) without Islamising Nigeria, if Obasanjo, also a Christian,
attended OIC (and he did) without being Islamised, if Jonathan, another
Christian, also attended OIC (and he did) without being Islamised, then this
allegation is a mere tool constantly and indecently employed by professional
blackmailers. Interestingly, it is used selectively, particularly when a Muslim
is in power.
“We will not
succumb to such cheap blackmail and we have no scintilla of doubt that the EU
Parliament which is full of credible and intelligent democrats as well as other
lovers of truth around the world will see through this gimmick. Do they even
think the EU Parliament is made up of mischievous people like them? Do they
think the rest of the world have not found out the truth about what is going on
in Nigeria? They have merely exposed themselves for what they really are.
Petitioning the EU Parliament with a document loaded with fabrications is
petty, demeaning and unpatriotic.
“We are however
miffed by the eagerness of our Christian neighbours to lie at will just to
blackmail Muslim leaders. This clearly amplifies a major characteristic of the
NCEF and its cohorts, namely, failure to practice the teachings of the
scripture.
“One of the
injunctions in the Ten Commandments says ‘Thou shall not lie’ (Exodus 20:16).
Leviticus 19:11 says, ‘Do not steal, do not lie, do not deceive one another’.
Proverbs 13:5 refers to liars as shameless people, ‘The righteous hate what is
false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves’.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul advised them against telling lies, ‘Do
not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its
practices’ (Colossians 3:9 – 11).
“We urge President
Muhammadu Buhari to ignore NCEF’s tantrums and continue his good work.
Posterity will record him as the father of modern Nigeria, a nation that came
out of the ruins of squandermania, moral debauchery, suicide-instilling roads
and epileptic electricity to become one of the global best in transparency,
probity, integrity and infrastructure.
“On a last note, we
appreciate majority of Nigerian Christians who do not peddle or believe these
diabolical lies. We reiterate that we are one with all righteous Christians who
follow the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him) to the letter. We appeal to
Nigerians in general to seize the opportunity of Buhari’s credible leadership
to join hands together with their Muslim neighbours in buiding a prosperous
nation. We remind NCEF that it diminishes its corporate entity to run down its
own country using unfounded allegations for parochial reasons. NCEF is advised
to eschew lies. The world is now a global village. Therefore, NCEF cannot fool
the EU Parliament.”
Peter Obi reacts to NBC’s suspension of AIT, RayPower FM, says Nigeria
back to military dictatorship
Peter Obi, the 2019
vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned
the suspension of DAAR Communication Plc, owner of AIT and RayPower FM by the
National Broadcasting Commission, NBC.
NBC had on Thursday
suspended the license of AIT and RayPower FM until further notice.
The
Director-General of NBC, Modibbo Kawu, disclosed
that the action was taken for failure of the broadcasting stations to abide by
the broadcasting code.
The offences listed
by the NBC included the airing of a presidential election documentary by the
AIT, a matter pending before a tribunal, the inability of the company to pay
its fees, the use of “divisive and inciting contents from the Social Media”
among others.
Reacting to the
suspension, Obi described the decision of Daar Communication’s licence as an
affront on the freedom of the press and speech as enshrined by the
constitution.
In a tweet, the
former Anambra governor wrote: “The suspension of the licenses of AIT and Ray
Power stand condemned. It is an affront on the freedom of the press, and of
speech as enshrined in our constitution. It is a throwback to the years of
military dictatorship. – PO.”
