Female Suicide Bombers; Chibok Girls?

By Kodili Ejiofor

The new and increasing trend of teenage female suicide bomb attacks in recent times is causing a growing apprehension among key campaigners of the #BringBackOurGirls; they feared abducted Chibok girls might have been used to carry out the suicide attacks.

On Monday alone two female suicide bombers struck in different parts of Kano, killing and injuring many on a day Muslim faithful thronged the prayer grounds to observe the Eid-el-Fitr. Yesterday two female suicide bombers hit Kano and Potiskum.

 Members of the #BringBackOurGirls group, including one of its coordinators, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, raised the alarm that the continued incarceration of the abducted girls in Boko Haram’s custody could spell doom.

The former education minister stated that the Federal Government must not “move on,” as the Chibok girls may well be indoctrinated or coerced into being used as suicide bombers.

“It feels like eternity since April 14 when our girls lost their freedom. How can we move on like that? This new trend and serial pattern of female suicide bombers surely should particularly worry us.

“Female suicide bombers are again and again becoming the trend and our Chibok girls are still in the enemy’s den. It worries me stiff. Are we thinking? Our Chibok girls really need to be rescued from the clutches of evil.

"We must all not stop praying and demanding that the FG acts for results. We have no apology for being agitated. We have nothing to defend for crying out for their rescue,” she wrote on her Twitter page.

Another key member of the coalition, Bukky Shonibare, stated that the number of days the abducted girls had spent in Boko Haram’s custody was enough for them to have been indoctrinated.

According to Shonibare, it is now increasingly dangerous for the Federal Government that boasted of knowing the location of the girls to leave them with their captors.

“Seems abducted women that were undergoing indoctrination and brainwashing while in hostage for years are now being sent out as suicide bombers. However, 100 days is long enough for anyone’s ideologies or principles to be distorted, especially teenagers whose values are still being shaped.

"To know the possible impact of 100+ days on one’s ideologies, psychologists say it takes only 30 days! It is now increasingly dangerous to leave those girls there. Whatever is it they are doing maybe counter-productive?“

They (Chibok girls) can be indoctrinated, brainwashed, or put under duress to do this. In the face of death, no sensible human will be a ‘willing participant.’ There’ll definitely be an element of coercion,” Shonibare tweeted.

Political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, said the resort by the Boko Haram to the use of teenage female suicide bombers might be a technical way by the insurgents to save their men for combat.

He lamented that it was unthinkable that the terrorist group would make use of innocent girls as couriers of death.

Echoing the sentiments of the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners, he added, “You don’t need 105 days to indoctrinate an innocent girl. Some of those Chibok girls may never be ‘innocent’ again. Chibok girls or not, these insurgents are destroying young girls. Again, the girl child suffers for what she knows not about.” 

That Presidential Kolanut Gift to Chibok Girls Parents

By Nasiru Suwaid

When it happened, it was like a rumbling below the ground surface, a kind of earthly tremor which causes movement of molten lava, however, what truly occurred was only an emission of poisonous gases, which unlike the usual earthquake activity, not much physical infrastructural destruction was caused, rather, the harmful reactive agents escaped into the lungs of the proximate human population abound and slowly destroys the heart and soul of the general mass of inhabitants. Actually, the event took place immediately after the extra constitutional Doctrine of Necessity came into effect, which brought into life the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a reality brought into existence due to the patriotic activities of the Save Nigeria Group. As expected, one of the first to visit the presidential villa was the convener of group, thus when Pastor Tunde Bakare and his delegation sat with the new Nigerian leader, his demands were firm, resolute and selfless, which is that the president must restructure the country, to prevent the kind of criminal cronyism perpetuated by lieutenants of the Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, when a sick man was hijacked to act a part he is unable to perform.

However, after the intensive bilateral session and as the fiery Lagos preacher and his group were about to take their leave, they were immediately accosted by one the presidential aides in the person of Mr. Godsday Orubebe and handed a brown envelope containing the princely sum of fifty thousand dollars as token of appreciation, for identifying with the new Nigerian leader with such an august visit. To say that the incorruptible man of God was shocked is to understate an obvious fact, thus, upon his enquiry as to what the action portends, the swift response was that it is nothing but the giving of Kolanut to a visitor, a known African tradition of honoring an important guest, which nearly put him in a quandary as to how to react, to such seemingly genuine act of kindness. In the end, what tilted the balance and caused the rejection was the quantity of the sum given, which is just too large to be gifted away at the expense of the Nigerian public, especially, as it could be a mere blackmail that serves as settlement, against future demands on the authorities, which is the enforcement of every citizen’s essential duty of demanding for accountable governance, a kind of shutting the mouth of a belligerent activist and an insurance for conformist acceptable behavior.

Thus, when a few days ago, deep and low murmurings that crystallized into a loud chatter, began within and amongst the representatives of the Chibok community in Abuja, I was not surprised, indeed, I even suspected it must have had something to do with the Malala extracted presidential agreement, in which the Nigerian government acceded to her request to receive the guardians of the abducted Chibok girls. However, what the parents were fighting about was the seeming unjust sharing formula of the presidential gift of a hundred million naira, akin to a Kolanut token given to an honored guest, the problem though is while some are getting huge sums of money, others were only receiving mere pittance. Unfortunately, rather than the officials and aides of the president, who must have distributed the brown envelop, to enter the fray and ensure justice was done in the sharing of the presidential largesse, the dual spokespersons of the government, in the persons of Drs Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati rejected the story as a mischievous mischief, by the opponents of the current democratic regime.

It seems, the fact that were the claims to be totally untrue and patently false, as alluded by the duo, then, it must have been premeditatively concocted to embarrass the presidency, thus the charge of intentional slander immediately suffices, though, since the allegation was not just against an individual but directed at the office and person of the Nigerian Head of State, it has assumed the much weighty charge of seditious libel, as such, requiring the attention and interest of at the very least, the Nigerian Department of State Security. Who had before now, have been engaged in the Chibok matter, albeit, at the detriment of other pressing state security matters, indeed, what is more a higher national threat, than causing a discomfiture to the person of the Nigerian president, in fact, it has been steeped in the investigation of the //BringBackOurGirls movement, over the allegation that the group was assuming a subversive dimension and at best, engaging in corrupt exploitation of a national tragedy, by receiving and collecting donor funds from countries and entities, who have had negative intentions towards the Nigerian state, in fact, the primary goal of those nations is seeing to the dismemberment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

How To Make It Big As A Pastor In Nigeria

By Samuel Ajayi

Disclaimer

This article is not in any way targeted at any individual or group of persons, it is merely a realistic view of the society. This article is also not meant to slander any religion or reduce the very existence of God, this article seeks to expose merchants and whore-mongers that use HIS name to rob innocent folks.

Prelude

The very nation of Nigeria is full of pastors, bishops, reverends and so many Christian religious title that I can’t even remember them all, we have heard and seen some of the ridiculous things these people do to their followers on a daily basis, I on the other have been in the mental chain some of these people use and have watched from an experience point what it means first hand, to experience mental slavery. Wait! This article is not about my experience, rather it’s a look at how easy it is to make being a pastor a day job in Nigeria and make money, who doesn’t want that, right? So let’s get to it. Before we start, it is important to point out that there are genuine ministers of God out there, they are the ones who inspired me to write this. Now that the shenanigans are out of the way, we can begin.

JOIN A CHURCH

Obviously you can’t be a pastor if you don’t attend a church, this will give you false credibility but, who cares? Most people in church are like you anyways, they enjoy the pretense and you are just joining the club. Make sure you join the workers, attend every program and get close to the pastor. It doesn’t matter if you are not born again just feign good behaviour and the pastor will love you. Start lobbying for the chance to lead prayer sessions and little speaking time, the point is to begin to gather influence amongst the members so that when you want to leave they will follow you. When you have gathered enough clout, start a fight with the pastor and watch your loyalist follow you. You can even tell them that “God” asked you to move, a discerning pastor will see through you but, your followers can’t. They will believe you and ignore the man, some might even hate him. Around here, the truth is hardly believed and lies reign supreme, we like it that way. The truth is overrated around here and lies are celebrated.

READ MOTIVATIONAL BOOKS

Naturally people in Nigeria need answers, it’s no surprise because of the collective ineptitude of our leaders, they will listen to anyone that promise success with inspiring stories and clichés that even sound very unreasonable when people think about it but, it doesn’t matter, nobody thinks around here, they just listen and let people like you think for them which is good for business. You don’t even have to read the bible too much, it complicates things when you say this and the bible is contradicting it. Read so many books from Brian Tracy, John Maxwell and so on. The idea is to gather as much success stories as possible so you can share on the altar. They would love you for that and say that “our pastor is inspiring” which is good because more people will come. When more people come, more money come and so on and so forth.

LEARN PUBLIC SPEAKING AND ELOCUTION

The trick here is to learn the skill to be able to speak and cajole people with your voice and delivery, the trick here is to sound very international in the delivery of your words and motivation. It comes handy when you are trying to convince them to give or donate to the ministry; people are most likely going to give their money to a sweet talker. The idea is to promise enough and deliver very little, you can even say God commanded you to say so, your principal weapon is your mouth make sure yours is trained in the art of convincing, make sure you attach a blessing to every gift they give. Who wouldn’t believe? You are the pastor and people believe the pastor more than God. They will believe you so much that if you say they should eat grass, grass will be as delicious as Iyan and gbegiri soup, such is thy power thou pastor so, so and so, you get the picture.

PACKAGING! PACKAGING! PACKAGING!

If you want to make it big as a pastor here in Nigeria, always package yourself. Failure to do this will truncate your hustle as Elnathan John would say, and you don’t want that. Make mountains out of mole hills, exaggerate a lot, wear expensive clothes and lie about traveling abroad, if possible get a nice hotel and rent it as location for your church. People gravitate towards what they can’t have, they will worship you like a god and even give you money to continue living the life, isn’t it ironic that the only reason you wear expensive cloths is because of the money they give you yet, they continue to give you more so that they can live the kind of life you are living. Don’t worry, not a lot people think around here. However, be careful not to overdo it so people won’t start noticing, if they do things could get very ugly, very fast, just ask our dear reverend. So whatever you do, package it very well. If not, you won’t attract the kind of crowd you want, the enterprising youths, bored rich people and most importantly, corrupt politicians, these are your target market I mean members if you catch my drift.

PATRONISE POLITICIANS

The Nigerian politician is a curious breed, they always seek religious validation for their corrupt practices. Therein lies your opportunity, release a prophecy about the governor and release it to the papers, they have people monitoring that. They will surely contact you and if they don’t? Organize a program and invite them, make them the chairman and sing their praises when they come, did I hear you say ‘he is corrupt’, those are the ones you need. They are more liable to release public funds in the name of God than do their constitutional duties, they are nice like that. When they come, reserve only the best seats for them. The real members can sit at the back and watch, they are not rich enough to sit there. If they get arrested for misdeeds, say it is the work of the opposition, pressurize authorities for them to be released. Start a mega project and invite them, you’d be surprised how much you would realize in profits. When they leave office or are convicted, abandon them and move on to the next government. Your allegiance must always be to the government in power, if you are lucky they might even give you an appointment meaning you can directly steal from the pot under a religious board or whatever agency they decide to name it. Don’t worry, the church members won’t get angry, in fact they would celebrate the “Grace of God” in your life. They will defend you to the end, and make excuses for you, just keep dropping “Motivational rhema”. You are beginning to make it at this stage, just look around you there are examples all around. People around here celebrate mediocrity and disregard excellence, you are just feeding on the ignorance.

BUILD A UNIVERSITY

The very peak of pastoral success in Nigeria is to build a university, it’s easy really. Start it as a church project and extort your members. They will gladly do it for you o man of god, ask for donations from your political friends and watch them donate in a frenzy. On the day of commissioning, invite your politician friends and increase security for the event so much that regular church members won’t be able to get to the venue. Make the school fees unaffordable for your members, the money will continue to flow in. Now the money of every rich man will begin to flow to you via your school, isn’t this great? Your wealth is set for life, except for the devil creeping in and even that has an antidote, a juju man is easy to find. Very well, you can now begin to add to your title, something like Apostle, Dr. Pastor, Prophet, Bishop, Reverend, Evangelist and so on just to establish your own self-importance and satisfy your African title mentality.

CLOSING

You are now a big pastor, your name is always in the papers and people worship you more than the God you profess to serve. The private jets keep rolling in and the fast cars move in. The sermons are full of establishment of your own personal self-worth and the people love it. At this time, you can decide to buy a large expanse of land and establish your own city. Your eminence is well celebrated thanks to the gullibility of the followers.

The word of the bible is forgotten on the pulpit and we celebrate wealth over wisdom, cash over character and title over substance. Such is how to become a pastor in Nigeria, if you doubt me just look around and see examples of acts such as these. As for me, well, I am just an amateur satirist.

Ajayi is on Twitter @AjayiSamuel92

Israel, Boko-Haram, El-Zakzaky and our troubled nation

By Muhammad Al-Ghazali

These are not the best of times to be a Nigerian or indeed a citizen of the world. In the Middle East – and we should never be deluded to imagine that we are immune from events so far from our own shores – Israel continued its gruesome massacre of innocent women and children with the declared intent to defend itself even though it has occupied the territory belonging to its victims cast in the mould of aggressors for more than half a century in defiance of the United Nations.

In the words of Noam Chomsky, himself of Jewish ancestry, “Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums to attack a population that has no air force, no air defence, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armour, no command in control, no army… and calls it a war. It is not a war, it is murder.” 

But he did not end there:  “When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can’t defend yourself when you’re militarily occupying someone else’s land. That’s not defence. Call it what you like, it’s not defence.”

 Fittingly, Chomsky’s umbrage at Israel’s barbaric treatment of Palestinians resonated with the attitude of a sprinkling of other Jews who joined hundreds of thousands of civilized people to protest the slaughters in major capitals of the world. Their gesture proved beyond all reasonable doubt that if we all embrace civility, it is possible for our common humanity to triumph over our primitive impulses.

Only the current Israel leaders can explain why they have become so scornful of their history or its tragic lessons. Only they can also explain why their condemnable behaviour induced such nostalgia for Adolf Hitler as evidenced by those who carried posters of the leader of the Third Reich during the protests. On the surface such gestures may appear obscene, but given the realities of unfolding events in Gaza, we can hardly gloss over their significance.

Back home in Nigeria, the first hints emerged that the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East were beginning to gain the upper hand in their war with the Nigerian Army, a prospect that appeared highly unlikely only a few years ago. As I wrote this, news reached me of four separate bomb blasts in Kano, to go with the previous two in Kaduna which targeted Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi and General Muhammadu Buhari. Only the previous week, the sect was said to have been emboldened enough to hoist its flag in the town of Damboa, in Borno State, effectively annexing a portion of Nigeria.

As incredible as it may appear, the ‘ragtag’ army of insurgents, now appear to have put the modern Nigerian military on the defensive. Morale among the rank and file is thought to be at its lowest ebb no thanks to endemic corruption. There has been at least one reported incident of a mutiny against the GOC of the 7th Division established to confront the insurgency.

 And quite incredibly the President has written to the National Assembly for approval to borrow a billion dollars to purchase military hardware! Didn’t the Governor of Borno State Kashim Shettima alert the nation months ago that the insurgents had superior weapons? Didn’t he also warn about the issue of low morale of the troops? What was the reaction of the presidency at the time?

If this were to be a sane country, any approval of additional military funding to battle the insurgency must be accompanied by a well publicized apology to Governor Shettima from the presidency. The request itself is the clearest proof yet that the presidency fiddled while Rome burnt for its belated reaction to the threat posed by the insurgency.

Just like with his attitude to the kidnap-ping of the Chibok girls, the President stands accused for his wrong perception and reaction to the threat posed by the Boko Haram at the initial stages. He lost too much time listening to the theory of the short-sighted hawks around him who encouraged him to believe the insurgency was a ploy by northern elites to undermine his presidency. 

 Nigeria, under President Jonathan failed to conclusively prosecute the killers of Mohammed Yusuf, the pioneer leader of Boko Haram. His government failed to bring to justice the perpetrators of other well-documented atrocities against innocent Nigerians in the fight against the sect – a documented fact cited by the American military for its unwillingness to work with the Nigerian army.

Quite unfortunately, it now appears our security forces have not learnt anything from its recent past. Lest we forgot, the genesis of the conflict with Boko Haram and the Nigerian state commenced with the police ambush of a funeral procession by its members in Borno State.  Obviously, the troops who gunned down over 30 Shiite Muslims including three sons of their leader Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, during their annual procession through the city of Zaria, must be from another planet. It may be history about to repeat itself.

This will not be the first time Nigerians would be faced with such monumental crises in the history of the nation. But there can hardly be another epoch in the evolution of the nation that we have all felt more vulnerable individually and collectively. 

With each passing day, the feeling of fear among ordinary Nigerians has become more palpable. We fear for our children in schools. Fear stalks us on the way to our places of worship. We visit our markets and malls with apprehension.

With Nigerians now perpetually crouched under a relentless shower of bombs, they should ordinarily be entitled to competent and decisive leadership of the type provided by General Gowon during our civil war. With Jonathan’s reactive and fidgety style of leadership, they are certain to be disappointed. 

Since independence, Nigeria has had a ceremonial president (Azikiwe). It had a Prime Minister (Balewa), and Executive Civilian Presidents (Shagari, Obasanjo and Yar’adua). It also had a Military President (Babangida), numerous military Heads of States (Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Buhari, Abacha, and Abdulsallam).  Compared to all these gentlemen, President Jonathan appears the least gifted or inspiring as a leader. He also undoubtedly differs in intellect and other qualities. And by ‘other qualities’, I refer to the pedestrian definition of the subject itself. Leaders are often accessed by their abilities to unite people of diverse backgrounds and creed towards the attainment of common objectives and greatness. Where has President Jonathan taken Nigeria in the past five years except closer to the abyss?

His presidency is easily the most divisive in our history. His antecedents bear that to be true. But if the Fourth Republic is allowed to collapse, and its history is eventually written, the narrative is sure to be dominated by the detailed account of the failed state institutions that also contributed in various ways to its demise.

Its epitaph may read: ‘Here lie the wretched remains of Mr Fourth Republic, betrayed by docile and irresponsible citizenship and compromised by visionless leadership’; but the greater share of the blame will also be apportioned to the various state institutions that failed in their constitutionally prescribed responsibilities.

 Few Nigerians can deny that our NASS aided the enthronement of tyranny in the land when it metamorphosed into a mere appendage of the Presidency under David Mark; that under our corrupt Judiciary justice is now for the highest bidder; that allegations of graft and incompetence against our military by the international community are true; that our Civil Service is among the most corrupt in the world, or even that under the Jonathan presidency, the SSS has become ridiculously partisan.

Al-Ghazali is a columnist with the Dailytrust Newspapers

Jonathan's Impeachable Offences

By Comrade Timi Frank

It is no longer news that instigated impeachment gale is sweeping across opposition states in the country. What is news is that the National Assembly has decided to overlook the avalanche of impeachable offences committed by the chief instigator of the impeachments, President Goodluck Jonathan. Nowhere was this more glaring than in the report of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Senate Committee on Finance which recommended that the Senate should call on the president to present a supplementary budget to cover unbudgeted expenses in the name of kerosene subsidy for the year 2011 and 2012. This is not only unconstitutional but an impeachable offence, and the world is still watching to see how the Senate intends to sweep this gross financial misconduct by the president under the carpet.

Our National Assembly, as an arm of government, must stop genuflecting before the executive. The legislature, by its sheer population, presupposes that its members are harbingers of reason, rationality, logic and wisdom. So they must not become pawns in the hands of the executive. This refusal to activate its oversight functions has today bred monumental corruption and tyranny in the Presidency. The president feels all-powerful. He is presently deploying his powers inordinately to impeach progressive governors at will.

When the National Assembly came up with the Doctrine of Necessity which saw then Vice President Jonathan become acting president, one had the feeling that this is a National Assembly that could be relied upon to defend our hard-earned democracy. But the events that have since defined the character of the assembly leave one pondering so many unanswered questions.

Nobody should entertain any illusion. As it stands today, the National Assembly is only being tolerated rather than respected by the executive and the judiciary as a necessary evil. It is like, “Let them have their say, we (executive and judiciary) will have our way.” If not, what accounts for so many resolutions of the National Assembly that the executive had failed to implement? Why are bills passed during the 5th and 6th National Assembly still forming the bulk of the legislative activities of the 7th National Assembly? There is however no assurance that the same bills will not dominate the 8th National Assembly. Why is the judiciary today so audacious as to order the legislature to suspend critical investigations while it dilly-dallies in the face of frivolous court processes? Why should the National Assembly asphyxiate itself by proposing to bury illegalities emanating from the executive or the judiciary?

Where then are the checks and balances envisaged in the principle of Separation of Powers? If the National Assembly becomes a sell-out, then, it is bye-bye to freedom of the people because they represent the grass roots. Collectively, they are supposed to hold the government accountable to the people far above what a thousand non-governmental organisations can do. Their failure is the cause of our stagnated development.

Due to over-protection by the Peoples Democratic Party-led National Assembly, especially the Senate under David Mark, the president is today deploying excessive powers to annihilate the opposition. The president has caused the impeachment of Adamawa governor Murtala Nyako. Yet he has committed impeachable offences which the National Assembly has chosen to turn a blind eye to. President Jonathan has lined up the removal of progressive governors like Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo as well as those of Oyo, Rivers, Borno and Yobe before the 2015 elections. Yet, the Senate has chosen to sweep his impeachable offences under the carpet.

Since 2011, no capital appropriation has achieved up to 35 per cent performance and yet no money was returned to the treasury by either the minister of finance or any of the MDAs. But, between 2007 and 2009, most MDAs returned their unspent budget. Is this not an impeachable offence?

The president has refused to assent to a total 120 bills passed by the current National Assembly. He has not sent any communication as to their rejection as stipulated in Section 58 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution. Yet the National Assembly has failed in its duties to invoke the necessary constitutional provisions to veto the bills. I believe that this is one of the reasons many analysts believe that the National Assembly as it stands today is just a money-guzzling machine without utilitarian value. So those calling for the scrapping of one of the chambers or that the legislature as presently constituted be made to sit on part-time basis are spot on after all. They must not continue to drain N150billion from the nation’s resources annually without adequate workable laws in the country to show for it. If all they do is fight for contracts, then, they have no reason to be there.

The National Assembly has, like Esau, sold its democratic rights to the Presidency. If I had my way, most of those over-indulging the president would never be allowed to find their way into the hallowed chambers in the next elections. They have ripped the people off by abandoning their sacred duty, which is to hold the government accountable to the people. They are today after filthy lucre. Those who have failed deserve no chance to be re-elected. Their place let another take.

Elections would be due in the first quarter of 2015 — just three months to the expiration of the 7th National Assembly. Are we to be deceived that lawmakers that would be encumbered by re-election matters at that time would still have the time to look at the PIB or even the ongoing Constitution Review process? Except a miracle happens, the legislators of the 8th National Assembly would still be saddled with the same bills the 7th Assembly has failed to pass in four years. What a waste!The judiciary must not soil the temple of justice. Judgements influenced by cash or political considerations will ultimately blight our democracy and doom our nation. This will not be in the interest of all.

The judiciary must not collude with legislators to thwart the will of the people. Judges and magistrates must know that, in their judgments, they judge themselves. Such judgements don’t lie.

Now that the president has begun to instigate the removal of APC governors over alleged gross misconduct, he should also be prepared to weed out all those that have been accused of corruption around him. A good example is the minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, who has failed to account for the alleged missing $20billion in NNPC or how she allegedly squandered N10billion to fly private jets in two years.

The National Assembly as the bastion of our constitutional democracy cannot afford to stifle the maturation of our democracy on the altar of personal interest. Our lawmakers are yet to regenerate themselves. They are still awash with pedestrian and parochial interests.

Finally, much as nothing is wrong with probing an erring public officer, probes with intent to impeach should not be instigated from outside. It should come from a constitutional process of lawmakers being alive to their responsibilities. If our democracy fails, some of our lawmakers who have colluded with the executive both at the state and national level to rob the people should be held responsible. One of such collusions is their refusal to sponsor impeachment notice against Jonathan for gross misconduct.

Comrade Frank is a Columnist with the Leadership Newspapers

Who is afraid of General Muhammadu Buhari?

By Theophilus Ilevbare

The attempt to snuff life out of one of Nigeria’s most revered former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, in a fiendish operation which would have passed for a routine Boko Haram attack if their hand had performed their enterprise, would have thrown Nigeria in turmoil of unimaginable proportions as President Jonathan submitted days ago. The failed “assassination attempt,” as Buhari tagged it, may not be unconnected with the grand plot to silence the opposition. This is coming on the heels of the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state and the tightening of impeachment noose around Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state. Clearly, the shades of the varying scope of operation to hunt down those who pose a threat to the present government as enshrined in the alleged sniper’s list former President Olusegun Obasanjo divulged in his missive is being made manifest. Surely, the mere knowledge of an alleged sniper’s list should be instructive to the opposition party leaders. Impeaching opposition Governors one after the other, it now appears, is part of the grand scheme.

To underscore the gruesome motive of the perpetrators, eyewitness accounts said the bomb-laden car single-mindedly targeted the vehicle conveying the APC chieftain to Daura, his ancestral home from Kaduna. It hit target but the bulletproof construction of the SUV ensured the General escaped death by the whiskers. To the ‘terrorists’, they came agonisingly close.

How can we forget retired General Muhammadu Mamman Shuwa? In November 2012, the civil war veteran was killed in cold blood by unknown gunmen in his Maiduguri home yards away from soldiers idling away in enforcement of law and order. Boko Haram, the usual suspects were fingered. Had Buhari suffered a similar fate, the perpetrators would use the sect to divert attention from the perpetrators.

The PDP have sold a dummy to Nigerians for too long that the sponsors of terror were members of the opposition, All Progressive Congress (APC), but this attack have vindicated the much maligned progressives. Buhari has openly challenged those who accuse him of religious fundamentalism to come out and show proof. No one till this day has any clue.

For irredentists, who think the attack on Buhari’s life was stage-managed, let them continue to stew in their bitterness and wallow in their chutzpah. Same people who peddle such falsehood of a self-masterminded attack won’t roam within a metre radius of a spot of a bomb scare. Any reasonable Nigerian will acknowledge the risk in masterminding such an attack as the probability that it could spiral out of control is higher than its success.

The political elite in the ruling party must truly be frightened by Buhari’s growing popularity ahead of the 2015 elections even though the media coverage on the General is frequently negative with unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations. It has rather won him more support from discerning Nigerians who cannot be misinformed or misled by needless propaganda. For his loyalists across the country, they can boldly say of him, “All I need from Buhari is his word, I can take it to the bank.” Such is the cult-like following that Gen. Buhari wields that he need not rent a crowd, or share rice to garner support.

This is because of his glowing and incorruptible antecedents. Very few people in this country will occupy the number one position to live a modest and Spartan life afterwards like him. He occupied lofty positions like the Governor of the defunct North-Eastern State of Nigeria, Head of State, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources and Chairman of NNPC, Chairman of Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF). He could easily be one of Nigeria’s wealthiest politicians with oil blocs to boot because he birthed and supervised the establishment of our existing refineries. Today, we import 70% of the fuel we use because those after him have literally crippled the refineries. He could have retired into stupendous opulence like the Danjumas, Obasanjos, and Abachas of this world. But Buhari bucked the trend and chose the honourable path.

His detractors and traducers are uncomfortable with him around the political scene. Maybe he scares them with his incorruptible, uncompromising, sober, painstaking personae he exudes; his intolerance of impropriety – a major fault of the privileged political elite – scares them. He is everything they are not.

There have been various attempts to erode the electoral value of a man who has validated his cast iron reputation for accountability and transparency coming out unscathed from probes regarding his tenure as Chairman of PTF. And as Buhari’s staunch loyalist in Mallam Nasir el-Rufai posited that his antagonists “have changed our politics into that of ethnicity and religion to divert attention from their incompetence, lack of capacity and looting of the treasury… PDP is scared of Buhari’s integrity and his track record of doing the right thing and ensuring that people are brought to justice when they break the law. They are afraid of that day when he will become President."

With the failed attempt to take General Buhari’s life, the burgeoning army of opposition against the General of impeccable integrity would now sit back, maybe have a rethink, recall their foot soldiers masked in the toga of Jihadists cutting short the lives of “infidels” they see as living corpses.

In the 2011 presidential elections, the man they hate to see even in their dreams, got over 12 million votes with a party that was formed barely 10 months to the election without the support structure and votes a state Governor or even a Local Government chairman would have brought into the party. He had no war chest or federal might to manipulate voters and electoral officers, a trick the PDP has perfected over the years. But Buhari’s enormous star power earned him a couple of senators and a state governor after the elections. It won’t take a political scientist, a Nostradamus or some prophetic unction to work the numbers in votes the General will pull in 2015 with the 15 Governors in the APC fold!

Those who plotted the dastardly act are enemies of Nigeria, they neither seek its prosperity nor tranquility but thrive and profit from the chaos, bloodshed and colossal sleaze. They are afraid of the intimidating profile of the former Head of State and his acolytes in the opposition party.

Whoever wanted Buhari dead has made a super hero of him. Of all the reasons why Buhari was wanted dead, the 2015 general elections keep popping out of every possibility and conspiracy theory. Inadvertently, they only succeeded in raising his popularity meter. With the overwhelming outpouring of emotion and support, the retired General has reaffirmed his status as a political heavyweight and gladiator who remains a top contender for next year’s general elections.

Ilevbare is on twitter, @tilevbare.

The Miraculous Deliverance of Oga Jona: A Reply

By Chinonso Madu

Her entrance met the vain décor of the presidential villa. The corridor was a marbled thoroughfare; the door to the waiting room a goal post. The room was magnificent, a replica of a byzantine chapel except for the Italian sofas which replaced pews. Ostentation loudly greeted and humbled her admirable class. She looked around in systematic evasion of an embarrassing transfixion. Having wined and dined with President Barak Obama at the White House, she was supposed to be used to such edifices. Again, she was the epitome of fearlessness. But butterflies were gulping her self-confidence. For once in the recent past, she felt as weak as a human being. For sure, that wouldn’t be Miranda. So suddenly “normalcy!” thundered and awakened the ears of her mind, and she turned into her real self forthwith.

"Madame please sit, His Excellency will be with you in a few minutes,” Man Friday politely offered, motioning her to a seat. The sofa was soft to her soft body, but she wouldn’t allow it to soften her mind as well.“Thank you,” Miranda said as he took his leave.

She had expected the usually long, frustrating wait in the lounges of the high and mighty, but Oga Jona showed up almost immediately, his face resplendently childlike in its penetrating, genuine smile. His manly and noble perfume conveyed somewhat admirable innocence that mirrored a good heart. He was nothing short of a handsome gentleman. Is this actually Oga Jona? Polished, simple, cute: indeed different! That’s Miranda in thought typical of the rapid nature of a lady’s imagination – it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. “Good afternoon, Your Excellency,” she greeted, standing shyly with a little bow, and extended her tender hand.

Good afternoon, Miranda. How are you?” The presidential handshake was reassuring, and she was quite happy about it.“Fine, thank you, sir!” “Please did the security act impolite towards you?”“Not at all sir.”

“Good. Congrats on your new book, I have it in my shelf and you know I will read it.” His smile betrayed him and she smiled back, responding, “Definitely, sir.” They almost laughed.

With both seated the reason for the meeting couldn’t but unfold. It seemed closed-door, or rather one-on-one chat. Man Friday maintained a reasonable distance at the corridor. No journalists: no cameras (at least the visible ones).

"Miranda, lately, it’s been Chibok, Chibok, Chibok. It has assumed the status of a matter that gives definition to my success or failure.”

"Sir, Chibok is not a matter, it is THE matter - your refusal to visit it, or rather the cancelled visit, the parents of the girls, The Girl From Pakistan - a young girl: you made her appear more important than 150 million Nigerians, your interviews solely with foreign journalists. Your Excellency, Nigerians are angry. Everybody, except your praise-singers, is very angry with you. Obama would have gone to Chibok the same day. He would have met the parents of the girls immediately instead of blaming others, especially the opposition.” Now Miranda had two crease lines on her forehead. And Oga Jona smiled dryly.

"My dear Miranda, I see your pains, your tears, you feel for the girls and their parents. But for sure, not more than I do. I don’t know how many sleepless nights you’ve had. Well, it’s actually an unfortunate situation. Concerning the visit to Chibok, trust me on this, what an elder sees seated, a child will never see even if he climbs an iroko tree. The courageous young girl visited and we gave her the normal welcome we give to foreigners, heeding her request. No excuses, but Obama avoided coming to Nigeria, so “Obama would have gone to Chibok,” I’m afraid, is lame. No insult intended. In fact, even “lame” as an insult is kind of lame. You advocate “no” to the blame game, but every Nigerian is exculpated except the president. Nigeria’s security situation is peculiar, and a discourse misses the point once it isolates peculiarity. Perhaps I need to explain that there are legislative and judicial arms of government. I’m not a dictator.”

"Sir, your critics need results; Nigerians want something tangible, your plans…”

"Yes, result they will get. The knowledge of the rescue plan for the girls is only for those directly involved in the rescue operation. Certain intelligence is for certain people; certain things are better said in certain ways or not said at all. Again, certain things are better left unsaid. Classified information must always be there. Some pundits are inattentive to eloquent silence. It is difficult not to despair but possible to match forward with hope and purpose. What we are fighting is an aspect of the African predicament that built up with time, a long time at that. Long-term solution is not just key but the only thorough one. Tying slim-feet trousers and an adjusted hat to the solution will only appear silly. We shall bring the girls safely home. Yes, there is God!” Their eyes met agreeably and he continued, “I have a gift for you.” He looked at the corridor and signaled something with his eyes to Man Friday.

"A gift for me?” she queried. I think something is wrong with this man. I’m sure he wouldn’t permit himself that joke. Her thought was rapid as usual, though she kept it to herself. “Yes, Man Friday will see to it before you go.”“Thank you, sir. But how about preference for foreign media?”

"You want me out of Bayelsa – at the same time I have to pretend Bayelsa TV is better than CNN. It’s a correlate of the claim, ‘I spend most of my time in Nigeria but I eat breakfast, lunch and supper in the U.S.’” Now Oga Jona’s words have begun to irritate Miranda’s ears. “Actually, genius has its limits, unlike stupidity in its limitlessness – it is Einstein’s, not mine.” What the hell is he talking about? She could only talk to herself because her own answers are the only acceptable ones to her. Unruffled, Oga Jona continued, “Believe it or not, folks are free to be stupid, just that some abuse the privilege. Bourdillon fellas rejoice when tragedy visits because it means Oga Jona will at last cower and flee that they may ascend the throne. More casualties, more joy. Incredible!”

“And the election?”

“Winning an election has never been a do or die affair for me let alone now that I’m not sure I’ll even vote myself. My interest is simply who will better the condition of Nigeria and birth her socio-economic salvation. We’ve been inclusive, neither neglecting any part nor marginalizing women. I’m sure you know the primary function of the local governments – it’s rural development. Sharp Woman is doing a tremendous job in finance. The perplexity is only in hens that mistake their eggs as asteroid. Your name came up a few days ago for a ministerial post. They said you’ll never drink as a minister. However, voices echoed that your interest is in the gubernatorial seat. Would you like to clarify this?” Without waiting for her answer – she had none anyway, he continued, “You’d also like to know what I’m doing for the Niger Delta youths. What I’m doing about roads. Isn’t it?” He paused and looked at Miranda’s blank face, his own not losing its smile. She moved her face slightly down without uttering a word. That sufficed for Oga Jona as an affirmative answer. “Well, let me bring your gift before responding to that.” Again, his eyes went to the corridor, and Man Friday understood immediately and hurried away. Oga Jona shook his legs, not to shake off tension but in satisfaction with the concluding meeting. He had stopped talking; Miranda was quiet too.

Soon they heard footsteps from the corridor. Oga Jona’s smiles widened as the footsteps drew nearer. When the figure materialized, Miranda was startled and sprang to her feet.

"Good afternoon, Your Excellency,” he said first and Oga Jona nodded with satisfaction and pride like an agama lizard. Then he turned to Miranda, “Good day young lady.” She tried to respond but could only quiver, mouth wanting in saliva. She was still standing. Oga Jona’s image turned completely grotesque as she tried to wake up from the nightmare.

"That’s your gift Miranda. Now The Man From Lagos, please help me answer her,” Oga Jona said.

"What is the question Your Excellency?”

"She wants to know how I’m fighting youth unemployment in Niger Delta and my statistics of new roads. Please answer her."

"Job creation in Niger Delta will definitely disfigure their identity. Just as some zones are destined to be leaders and not followers, the Niger Delta people have it as a divine mandate to fabricate humour for the entire nation, comedy enough for exportation. Who are we to use job creation to damage their divine vocation? Are we mates with God?” he almost screamed, even Miranda felt her head shake in response. “Again, why would we keep shoeshiners out of job by building roads?” The Man From Lagos looked at Oga Jona and he nodded – his response was superb. The next moment Miranda realized herself, she was exiting through the corridor. She wished the meeting never held; the presidential villa was actually a terrible place.

"Everyone purports to know what Nigeria needs. I’m beginning to think that what Nigeria actually needs is less people who know what Nigeria needs.” That’s Oga Jona chatting with The Man From Lagos as they gulped their beer.

Madu is Winner of the 2009 Italian National Competition on Fairy Tales, Racconta La Tua Favola

Dear God, Buhari Must Not Die Now

By Simon Kolawole

We have many reasons to be thankful that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari survived the bomb attack in Kaduna on Wednesday. I’m not trying to suggest that the lives of those who died are worthless - or that we should be less thankful for several other lives that were saved. Personally, Kaduna means a lot to me. That is where I have the largest concentration of my relatives. My elder sister, my nieces and nephews, my uncles and aunties - plenty of them - live in Kaduna. Many of them were born there. Kaduna is where they see as home. To cap it all, my dear grandma, on whose palms I grew up, currently lives in Kaduna. I, therefore, have a lot of stake in Kaduna.

The peace of Kaduna means much to me. Anytime there is violence in the state, I am always in panic. It’s been like that since the Kafanchan riots of March 1987. My mum used to live in Zaria, with two of my siblings. It was no fun trying to find out if they were safe in those days when there was no SMS or Whatsapp. Last Wednesday, I went into the panic mode again immediately I heard of the blasts. I STARTED WORKING my phone like a mad man to be sure my people were safe. So, there is every reason for me to be thankful for those who escaped the attack  - and to be sorry for the unfortunate victims.

But Buhari stands out for a reason. If he had died in that attack - which he described as a “clear assassination attempt” - I shiver to think of the consequences. I don’t know of any Nigerian politician todaywho has a genuine following like Buhari, even if this emotion is not shared nationally. Buhari’s following, in my opinion, ranks next to that enjoyed by politicians such as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Chief Obafemi Awolowo. These guys were demi-gods. They enjoyed natural following - devoid of BAGS of rice and gallons of kerosene.

I grew up thinking Awo was next to God. I remember the 1983 elections. According to the fable that we were being fed with, Awo had promised to relocate to the moon if he lost the presidential election. And so, as innocent children, we usually gathered in the evening to look at Awo in the moon. We convinced ourselves that we actually saw him. That is the stuff fanatical following is made of. It has nothing to do with naira and kobo. I don’t know of any Nigerian politician today who enjoys anything close to this devotion and affection  - apart from Buhari.

Who wants Buhari dead? Five possibilities are being bandied around. One, perhaps he just accidentally ran into a situation. Two, perhaps Boko Haram has decided to take him out. Three, maybe people within his party are trying to uproot him - because of 2015. Four, maybe it is people outside party - also because of 2015. Five, maybe it is some agent provocateur out to plunge Nigeria into Rwanda-like ethnic crisis. In a country where no single assassination case has been resolved, we would have been left to work with permutations and theories for the rest of our lives if Buhari had been killed.

The first possibility is ruled out because this is clearly not an ACCIDENT. The bombers chased him, tried to block him and eventually denoted a bomb around his convoy. I saw what would pass for bullet marks on his car. If this was accidental, then we can only say maybe it’s a case of mistaken identity. Perhaps, it was someone else they thought was in the car. But from all descriptions, the assailants knew what they were doing. They came for Buhari. For someone who was a soldier all his life and had been a military head of state, I would rather believe his words that it was a clear assassination attempt. He knew what he saw.

The second possibility - that it could be Boko Haram  - also baffles me a bit. I have never seen Buhari as someone to be targeted by Boko Haram. And my reasoning is not complicated. The people Boko Haram has gone after are those they perceive to be exploiters and enemies of the people. I said “perceive”. Buhari, in the North today, does not represent an oppressor or a sell-out. Maybe the insurgents were offended by his criticism of them in recent times. It could be that since terrorism’s biggest fuel is embarrassing the government and enjoying publicity from it, taking out a big fish Buhari would add a huge feather to their cap.

There is a third possibility - that it is politicians within his party who want to take him out before the presidential primaries. According to the theorists, Buhari has become a problem for the APC big boys  - they cannot live with him, yet they cannot live without him. Clearly, it would be very difficult for APC to justify not giving its presidential ticket to this immensely popular politician who got 12 million votes in 2011 without inducing any voter. Killing Buhari, according to these theorists, would solve the dilemma and whip up sympathy for APC ahead of the 2015 elections. But Buhari is a massive asset - whether or not he gets the party’s ticket - so why would they kill him?

The fourth possibility: could it be the PDP that is trying to snuff life out of Buhari? A theory says this could be PDP’s way of making re-election a smooth ride for President Goodluck Jonathan.  Buhari has not only been a formidable opposition candidate since 2003, he has also been a vocal figure in criticising the PDP-led governments. So, maybe they want to silence him for good. However, PDP stalwarts would tell you Buhari is a very beatable opponent for Jonathan because they have perfected a way of de-marketing the retired general. They think Buhari is Jonathan’s favourite opponent that they know how to handle

Finally, could an agent provocateur be on the prowl - neither APC nor PDP? Someone trying every means possible to set Nigeria on fire? Maybe they are trying to go for targets that can inflame passions and make the people pour into the streets and start killing one another and destroying property. Imagine if Buhari had been killed and it was interpreted as a North/South, Muslim/Christian issue. With the kind of fanatical support Buhari enjoys in the North, we would still be dealing with reprisals and counter-reprisals across the country today. Ethno-religious passions are so inflamed in Nigeria right now that a little spark can lead to months of untold crisis.

So many theories. So many possibilities. To be honest, I don’t even know what to believe. But I know one thing: God has done innocent Nigerians a big favour by sparing Buhari’s life.

Kolawole (sms 08055001961)

President Jonathan frowns at terror attacks in Adamawa, Kano and Cameroun

State House Press Release

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan wholeheartedly condemns the recent terrorist attacks in Kano and Adamawa States as well as the kidnap of the Lamido of Kolofata in Northern Cameroon, Lamido Seini Lamine and the wife of the Vice Prime Minister of Cameroon.

The President describes as shocking, callous and reprehensible the multiple bomb blasts that occurred in Kano within 24 hours, and the unrelenting attacks by the Boko Haram at a time the Muslim faithful are observing the holy festival of Eid el Fitri.

He commiserates with the families of all those who lost their loved ones in the Kano and Adamawa attacks and wishes the injured speedy recovery.

President Jonathan further notes that the deployment of young women as suicide bombers represents a new low in the inhuman campaign by these terrorists and an expression of utter disregard for the dignity of the female gender as well as a wicked exploitation of the girl-child.

The President states that the abduction of the Lamido of Kolofata and the wife of the Vice premier of Cameroon clearly underscores the regional security threat that Boko Haram has become.

He welcomes the recent resolve by the Defence Ministers of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Benin and Niger to further strengthen existing partnerships in order to forestall the desperate attempt by misguided elements to turn the sub-region into a battleground for terrorism and radical extremism.

President Jonathan urges the security forces to remain resolute, and not be discouraged by the desperation of the agents of evil. He believes that with the continued cooperation between Nigeria’s security forces and their counterparts in neighbouring countries, the war against terror will surely be won.

Reuben Abati

Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)

2015: Niger state and that "Perfect" Governor

By Fodio Ahmed

The relative developmental backwardness of Niger state 15 years into the present democratic dispensation is a situation that has readied people of the state to give their votes to that ‘perfect gentleman’ who can wholly turn their fortunes around in the next gubernatorial election.

Based on my interactions with many Nigerlites across its three Senatorial Districts, electing a governor for the state next year means one thing to everybody; the person should just be a revolutionary that will cure the state of its rots, without minding the party he comes from or whose ox is gored.

However, the writings that are now clear on the wall gave me the pat to commend their collective resolve and also plead with them to keep this resolve alive up till the time a winner would be announce after the poll next year.

But despite the fact that I am sensing ‘ideal democracy’ being played in the build up to the election, I must remind my fellow Nigerlites that it is high time we put an end to the sycophantic politics which we are perennially known with; it clears the way for our leaders to loot us blind, steal our future and build personal edifices with the money that is meant for building infrastructure for us.

After Kure and Talba’s eight years each, what basic amenities are we enjoying in the state? Nothing! Now, as far as we are not patients of psychiatric hospitals, I am sure we won’t want another tenure of nothingness.

In a prognosis on the election by one Bala Yakubu Gawu in the Daily Trust edition of May 21, 2013, the present Deputy Governor, Musa Ibeto, the writer, whose words spoke volumes that he was paid to write the piece, fronted the Deputy Governor to be our next Governor.

According to Gawu, among the horde of people jostling to succeed our present loquacious Governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, none of them can move the state forward like Ibeto can do.

Weeks after Gawu’s publication, a popular columnist in the same Daily Trust, Muhammad Haruna, came up with another prognosis, though his own sounded more sensitive, fronting Abubakar Sani Bello.

Apparently, the longstanding relationship between Mohammed Haruna and Sani Bello’s father-in-law, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, spawned his sentiments. Haruna was Abdulsalami’s Media Adviser when the latter was the Head of State of our country, you see?.

As far as I am concerned, the two writers penned their respective pieces having a candidate in mind, because they are cut from the realities in the state. Weighing their respective pasts, Ibeto and Abulolo cannot turn the fortunes of Niger around, so we don’t need them.

Now, am not trying to also front a candidate because I am having a sentiment, but having weighed his achievements in the various places he has served, I would boldly and defensively tell Nigerlites that among the candidates that are so far vying for Niger’s number one seat, Mustapha Bello, is the only person close to that revolutionary we are clamouring for.

And if I were the sum total of Nigerlites, I will throw away partisan politics and vote for the best among the lot which, for the time being, is Mustapha Bello.

I will write another piece if a better man joins the race before the poll. For now, let me leave us with a quote by Jerry Long Felllow: “The height that great men reached and kept was not attained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night.”

Fodio writes in from Kano

Ping 33050122

@Mr_Hodiyo on twitter

So who wants Buhari dead?

By Sam Nda-Isaiah

It is now incontrovertible that someone somewhere really wants General Muhammadu Buhari dead. The event of July 23, 2014, must not be taken or treated lightly. If we had a serious government in place, then, setting out to uncover the mystery would have become a major national assignment at this point. General Buhari is not just another Nigerian. He is a former head of state and he is also the leader of the Nigerian opposition, whichever way you choose to see it.

Buhari himself has rightly called it an assassination attempt. But the government and their friends said if it were an assassination attempt at all, then, the searchlight should start from his own party, All Progressives Congress (APC). Some have even gone further, if preposterously, to directly point fingers at presidential contenders within the party. But it gets curioser and curioser; our own Mujahid Dokubo-Asari has said Buhari actually stage-managed the attack on himself so as to give his (Asari-Dokubo’s) paymaster, Goodluck Jonathan, a bad name. I didn’t know this man is so brilliant. How ingenious!

But Buhari’s well-wishers think those who want him dead are closer to Jonathan than to him. Just within hours after Buhari had said that Jonathan had declared war against Nigerians, that direct attack on his person, as if to confirm Buhari’s statement, occurred. Nobody has directly accused Jonathan himself of trying to kill Buhari – at least I have not heard that publicly – but there are some facts that are very difficult to ignore.

You may not like former president Obasanjo and I am not exactly his fan – but you cannot take things he says about this government lightly. After all, are both the Jonathan and Yar’Adua governments not an offshoot of his own? Obasanjo said in that defining letter he wrote to Jonathan recently that he was aware that hitmen and killer squads were being trained for President Jonathan in preparation for the 2015 elections. And nobody should tell me not to take Obasanjo seriously on this one please. If there are 1,000 people on the so-called hit list, as Obasanjo said, it will make sense to assume that Buhari’s name would be among the first. So this is one possibility. The snipers were probably very upset about Buhari’s assertion and they just decided to start their assignment from him.

Another possibility could be that, yes, Boko Haram wanted Buhari dead. The mass murder of that day in Kaduna bears the signature of Boko Haram all over it. It would be plausible to link the suicide bomb attack on Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, the Darika sect leader, to the one on Buhari only minutes apart on that same day. Dahiru Bauchi’s message to those who wanted him dead is that they should be a little more patient. At his age, 89, they wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Why did they spill the blood of scores of innocent people just to reach him? he asked. It’s just simply outrageous.

Could it be that Boko Haram wanted to kill Buhari because he has been critical of their activities? If this one is the case, then, it should be clear to those jesters who have been desperately trying to force the label of “sponsor of Boko Haram” on Buhari to go and find something else to do. If Boko Haram wanted to kill Buhari, then he could not be their friend. It is not that anyone needed this proof in order to make this point in any case.

Now, let’s go back to the theory being bandied by the PDP and their friends. My friend, Akin Osuntokun, hinted in a write-up that the fact that the bullet-proof vehicle that Buhari was travelling in on that fateful day was given to him by Jonathan was enough proof that Jonathan could not be behind the failed assassination attempt. He said that it was Col. Dangiwa Umar who told him so. I think Akin did not understand what Col. Dangiwa told him because I placed a call to Col. Dangiwa myself after reading Akin’s piece. I do not think that Akin was lying. I just think he simply misunderstood Col. Dangiwa because I know the president did not give Buhari that jeep. It was in fact given to him by an APC chieftain. I know that as a certainty. So that’s settled.

PDP’s publicity secretary, a certain Olisa Metuh, insinuated that those who attempted to kill Buhari could be his fellow APC presidential aspirants. I don’t know whether that makes sense at all, but listening to those PDP people, I know that there is nothing the human mind cannot contrive. If anyone in APC wanted to kill Buhari, would he use a bomb or a suicide bomber?

Anyway, whether it is Boko Haram or PDP people or even Buhari’s APC competitors that desperately wanted him dead, is it not still within the métier of the Jonathan government to protect the people and unravel the mystery and save us all? Or has Jonathan and his people forgotten that elementary responsibility of government? Even if it is APC members that wanted Buhari dead, is it still not the duty of the government that Jonathan heads to protect him? Why are they talking as if the president is totally excused, if it is Boko Haram or APC members that wanted to kill Buhari? The way some of these PDP chieftains are talking about this their brilliant idea of an intra-APC murder conspiracy against one of their own, you would be forgiven to think that they were part of the assassination plot. These people do not even understand the first thing about the workings of government. Is it not the duty of their government to keep everybody safe? People who accuse those in government of such criminalities do so because of the Jonathan government’s body language. Why, for instance, does the government conduct all Boko Haram suspects’ trials in secret? Who does the government want to protect or what are they hiding? Why is it that nothing has come out of all the several discoveries of bomb-making factories we constantly hear of? Or several shiploads or truckloads of arms that have been impounded by the customs and other security agencies? Why is it that, in all these years, no serious Boko Haram suspect has been arrested and tried by government? Is it possible that the government would not know the financiers of these hoodlums? Government? Is it indeed possible that any government at all would not know the financiers of criminals within their land for this long? Does this make sense to anyone? If it is indeed true that Jonathan’s government still does not know those arming these terrorists, why are they still in power? Is it by force? There are several unanswered questions and many things are not adding up.

The matter is even getting more complicated. Some followers of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi are beginning to say that the attack must have been masterminded by some members of the Izala sect with which they are in perpetual enmity, even though no one has any proof of that. I hope some of these members of the Darika sect do not go on a groundless revenge mission thereby spilling more blood unnecessarily.

This is just the time that Nigeria needs very strong and competent leadership. We certainly do not have one at the moment. The situation is getting scarier and scarier by the day.

EARSHOT

…And More And More Bloodletting

Who’s feeding on all this blood that’s being shed in Nigeria every day? Last Friday, soldiers needlessly killed 35 unarmed Shiite sect members including three sons of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, during a peaceful demonstration in Zaria. Was there no way that bloodletting could have been prevented? What danger did these Shiite sect members, who were unarmed and are ideologically opposed to Boko Haram, pose to the peace of Zaria and the country? Yes, I am aware of their occasional excesses and peskiness, but is that worth 35 lives especially since many of them were arrested alive? Maybe I don’t know enough, but when did peaceful protests for whatever reason become so much a crime that 35 people have to be killed? Is Nigeria losing its soul?

The leader, El-Zakzaky, has so far called on his members all over to show restraint. This should be commended but there must be consequences for the murder of 35 innocent souls even if the murderers were those in authority. The government must not mismanage this one again and create another Boko Haram on our hands.

Isaiah is a columnist with the Leadership Newspapers

Tribute to Umaru Dikko

By Adamu Adamu

The death and burial of Alhaji Umaru Dikko over the course of the last few days have brought a remarkable life to an end, and for many it closes a chapter and draws the curtain on the scene of the titans. With Dikko there was never a dull moment; and of him, it could be said with some truth what General Ibrahim Babangida once said about Chief Obafemi Awolowo—he was not the main issue, but you were either for him or against. Mostly against.

Dikko was a colourful politician, cut in the aristocratic mould in a way that differed from the other well-known politicians. He was not like Kingsley Mbadiwe’s man of timbre and calibre given to boyish banter—who, inebriated like the other by the exuberance of his own verbosity, sought to amuse others with linguistic bombast. He was no Musa Musawa who dazzled the multitudes with unbelievable and inimitable vernacular oratorical wordplay. If there was a Demosthenes for agreeable political demagogy it would be none other than him; and you never stopped marveling from where the Muse for that one came.

And Dikko was not in the class of those who could utter the like of Adegoke Adelabu’s half-educated peculiar mess [penkelemess]: he was in a class of colour all his own. A very educated and schooled person, Dikko was a brilliant student throughout his school days with a dazzling display of brilliance which included double promotions—and always coming tops in his class in Barewa College, Zaria and in the University of London where he read mathematics when other students were reading administration to become District Officer. He graduated with first class in mathematics from University of London.While in exile in Britain, he enrolled to study law—a decision, no doubt, informed by expectations of the litany of litigations in which he expected a fugitive like him to get mired-up in on his return home. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1991, at the age of 55.

He was always passionate about what he did; perhaps because there was no time he wasn’t sure of himself, or of what he wanted for himself or what he believed his people and the North wanted. He pulled no punches. He fulminated on behalf of a corporate North of his imagination-and he gave his all for it; but down there at its plebeian depths, the nation never took notice of him or his devotions to it. 

Dikko was a gifted young student who was to mature into a cantankerous politician armed with the Nigerian equivalent of an Oxbridge secondary school alma mater. When he chose politics; he appeared fit for the calling: he was worldly wise, streetwise and loud; and, with a boldness tending towards pugnacity, he was a cocksure man who had as much the gift of the gab as he had gilt on the garb.

He appeared in control of his affairs and seemed to have had an unusual hold over President Shehu Shagari to whom he was brother-in-law; but not even all this would translate for him into enduring electoral popularity in politics. In one breath, he had it all but in the end he didn’t have it all. 

After Shagari’s election victory, he became for him a Rasputin, a Man Friday and a Sancho Panza all rolled into one—the ultimate enforcer, as Mohammed Haruna called him. He was Rasputin for the hold he exercised over the president, Man Friday for the errands he ran and assignments he discharged; and he was faithful Sancho Panza to a president who towards the end of his presidency, appeared like Don Quixote. It was for these reasons that, though he had no useable electoral constituency of his own to call his turf, and no electoral value to the party as such, he became the power behind the presidency. He didn’t win his Senatorial election: he was roundly trounced by little-known Ibrahim Barau of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP). Yet in government, he went on to become more powerful than all those who did.

 And where he stood behind the president, he could do and undo, and did and undid matters of the highest moment and the greatest consequence. His brashness and boldness deprived his effort of inclusivity; and it was as such that he was seen, tolerated and derided as the more disagreeable face of the Shagari administration. And many never forgave him.

His scathing and disconcerting put down to MKO Abiola’s expressed—and by all standards merited—interest in the presidency of Nigeria, for instance, came in very bad taste. “The presidency is not for sale,” Dikko said; but what was heard, because it was said with a nod of aristocratic arrogance and such body language as suggested the idea of ‘born-to-rule,’ thereby confirming all the fears, and reinforcing that long and widely-held stereotype. For all Abiola cared, the debacle of June 12 might have started then.

Dikko didn’t mind and never shied away from playing his role as Shagari’s attack dog who barked, bit and kicked; and, like the great praise-poet, ko bai kashe lakai-lakai ba, yana bata fata. Even if he didn’t kill, he would have done irreparable damage: the body might still be living but the skin had been permanently scarred.

And as you do to others, so would you be done by. And ironically that was exactly what happened to him when he encountered hounds of the Ngbati press. Employing the power of the written word and the utility of repetition and repetitiveness in the manufacture of a Goebbelsian truth, the press of the South West cast Dikko as the great villain.

So greatly and so stridently and so regularly was the press war against Dikko launched that even some in his own National Party of Niger, NPN, began believing in the truth of his monstrosity. It would be difficult to defend the NPN or its prominent son, especially against corruption; but it was clear that Dikko was presumed guilty, and even at that, not given the chance to prove his innocence—and he was sentenced by the court of public opinion, greatly influenced by a section of the press, to the status of Nigeria’s most corrupt politician of the Second Republic.

Following the coup that toppled the Shagari regime, Dikko, along with many of his colleagues in government, fled to Britain. While his colleagues quietly went down and settled to a quiet life in exile, he didn’t. He became the spokesman of the toppled regime. Underestimating the opprobrium that his political persona attracted, and at the same time underestimating what a lone exile in faraway Britain could do to unseat an unsmiling military regime that appeared to have the support of the nation’s fighting men, Dikko declared a jihad against it. He fumed, he fulminated and he fumbled, all to a worldwide audience on satellite television. 

If others saw him, so also did the soldiers—and they didn’t miss the dare; they took it. Going by the mood of the nation and perhaps playing a little to the frenzied gallery of the public approval that greeted its putsch, the Buhari administration went after him.It proved a diplomatic nightmare and a fiasco that somehow got Dikko some sympathy; and as an episode, it reinforced Dikko’s hatred and opposition to the military, though on answering Abacha’s call, he would come across as selective in his opposition to the military as an institution.

Dikko’s greatest problem was that most people found him indigestible; and that, coupled with his brashness, made people want to believe the worst about him. And there a lot that people would find disagreeable, but he never seemed to worry.“I sought power and I got it” was his reply and explanation to those who thought he was highhanded. And, so what if I was, was the unspoken add-on. Dikko brooked no nonsense, and, in pursuit of his goals, he didn’t give a damn what you thought of him. But on his return to the country during the Abacha regime, he proved ineffective and almost a spent force as a politician.

Whatever people thought about him, he was a passionate person, who probably had very good intentions but didn’t know how to get on with other. May his soul rest in peace.

Adamu is a communist with the Dailytrust Newspaper

Impeachment is a dangerous game

By Mahmud Jega

The last time I wrote something on this page about Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Hammanyero Nyako, it was to totally disagree with him over the paper he delivered at a seminar in Washington, DC. He said in it that he suspected the Federal Government and President Goodluck Jonathan of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged many Northern states. Nyako followed up on that lecture with a memo that he wrote to fellow Northern governors in which he reiterated the sensational allegation and even elaborated on it.

My own take on both papers was that Nyako did not adduce tangible proof to support the very serious allegation that he made against the Federal Government. Just as the latter did not take kindly to his charges, Nyako’s supporters did not take kindly to my stance. I received several text messages accusing me of either being paid by the presidency to attack Nyako or of having an inordinate hatred of him. Both charges were untrue, as far as I know.

Now, fast-moving events in Adamawa State in recent weeks concerning a move by the State House of Assembly to impeach Nyako may easily be a continuation of that affair in which we all burnt our fingers. Nyako’s memo to Northern governors became an issue at a Council of State meeting. We heard from three governors that everyone at the meeting condemned the memo. Nyako said nothing of the sort happened. The current attempt to impeach Nyako is inevitably seen by many Nigerians as an effort by the Presidency and PDP to get even with him. If so, this is a dangerous gambit that in the long run will further erode the credibility of Nigerian democracy and contribute to its ultimate ruin.

Impeachment has been a bad word in Nigerian politics since the Second Republic because it has never been done in this country for the right reasons. The worst example was the impeachment of old Kaduna State’s PRP Governor Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa by an NPN dominated state assembly in 1981. Apart from Balarabe, no other governor was impeached in the Second Republic but many deputies were impeached or otherwise forced to resign, all of them for political reasons. They included Kano State’s Ibrahim Bibi Faruk, Oyo’s Chief Sunday Afolabi and Ondo’s Akin Omoboriowo.

In this Republic, governors impeached since 1999 include Chief D.S.P. Alameiyeiseigha of Bayelsa, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Joshua Dariye of Plateau and Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo; the latter two were restored by the courts. Even though all four men probably did some criminal things, most Nigerians believed that their removal from office was entirely due to their falling out with then President Olusegun Obasanjo. In all four cases EFCC played a heavy handed role in their ouster. In addition to these men, deputy governors were removed or forced to resign in Kebbi, Lagos, Sokoto and Cross River under similar circumstances. Also, three Senate Presidents, many state assembly speakers as well as numerous local government chairmen have been impeached in this Republic. In almost all cases the real reasons were political, though allegations of misdeed levelled against some of them were probably true.

In the unfolding case of Adamawa, matters have gone quite far with the appointment last Friday of a 7-member panel by acting Chief Judge Justice Ambrose Mammadi. The panel is to investigate the allegations levelled against Nyako and his deputy, Bala James Ngilari. This is the first time in Nigeria’s political history that a governor and deputy are to be impeached at the same time. For that matter, the two men belong to different political parties because Ngilari did not follow Nyako when he defected to APC from PDP. The real reason for this double impeachment could be religious. Given the sensitivity of religion in Adamawa politics, Muslim members of the assembly may not back a move that would hand over the state to a Christian governor, hence the need to remove both of them.

On the face of it the allegations against the two men are weighty. Nyako is charged with 20 offences. They include a charge that he fraudulently diverted N10 billon in workers’ salaries for September and October 2011, diverted N120 million in workers’ emolument for May 2014, paid N1.7 billion to his Special Assistants and issued a fictitious N8 billion contract. He is also accused of diverting N120 million “to sponsor fictitious visit of General Muhammadu Buhari to Adamawa State,” appointing his family members to dominate the MDGs Office, SPPU and Ministry of Health; extra-budgetary procurement of fertilizer, diverting N400 million out of N500 million Federal Government Intervention Fund for flood victims and appointing his wife Dr Halima H. Nyako as chairman of Adamawa State Action Committee on Aids (SACA) contrary to the agency’s law. The impeachment notice was signed by 19 of the 25 state lawmakers. Ngilari on his part is accused of extra-budgetary expenditure of N390 million as overhead cost from January to December 2013, among others.

Nyako has already tried some tactics to ward off impeachment. He travelled out of the state to avoid personal service of the charges but was served by substituted means. His aides now claim that Acting Chief Judge Ambrose Mammadi’s 3-month tenure expired yesterday so he cannot swear in the impeachment panel today as planned. Since the governor appoints acting Chief Judges, he is likely to stall on appointing a new one. Now, one big loophole in the impeachment procedure is that the charges must be dropped if the panel finds the men not guilty. Hence, there was a desperate effort by both sides to handpick the panel members.

 Nyako also tried to stall the process in court but Nigerian courts usually refuse to interfere in impeachment cases, preferring to review them after the deed is done. Court cases would have been unnecessary if Nyako had enough support among the legislators to thwart impeachment. As things stand, his party APC does not have a single member in the Assembly. Not one of the 20 PDP members followed him when he defected. The 5 lawmakers that he met in APC also defected to PDP, which says something about Nyako’s political abilities.

Of the two obvious beneficiaries of this dangerous gambit, Nyako exonerated one while the APC North East vice chairman implicated the second. Nyako said the presidency is not behind the impeachment move as widely suspected. Instead he blamed influential citizens of the state based in Abuja, clearly meaning Bamanga Tukur and possibly Jibril Aminu and General Buba Marwa. APC vice chairman Engineer David Lawal however said it was Speaker Umar Fintiri’s “greed, malice, envy, revenge and inordinate ambition” that was driving the process. If both Nyako and Ngilari are removed, Fintiri will become the acting governor for three months and could well perpetuate himself in the by-election.

 Whoever they are, the powers that are propelling this impeachment move should tarry awhile and consider an issue of a philosophical nature. During the Clinton impeachment saga of the 1990s, I heard a Harvard law professor speaking on CNN on the meaning of impeachment. Translated in Adamawa terms, it means 20 people are about to revoke the result of an election in which all the state’s voters took part. This, according to him, is an act that should be done only in the gravest of circumstances. An officer elected to a certain term in office should be allowed to serve out that term unless his continued stay in office imperils the Republic [or in this case the state] such that we cannot wait for voters to pass their judgement in the next election. That is what impeachment means.

If people elected to offices for fixed terms could be removed by small teams of legislators merely to confer political advantage to some parties and groups, then it makes nonsense of having elections in this country. Impeachment should be done, as the Harvard professor said, only in the gravest circumstances. Admiral Murtala Nyako is a cantankerous man, as I personally noticed when I met with him for five hours some years ago. That, however, is not in itself an impeachable offence.

Jega is a columnist with the Dailytrust Newspaper