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FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo recently assessed the younger generation of leaders in the country. His verdict: They have failed the citizenry.

According to Obasanjo, the performance of the current younger generation of leaders has not been impressive, particularly in terms of integrity. He specifically named his erstwhile deputy, Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu; ex-Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari; former Bayelsa State governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and others as examples of younger generation of leaders who failed the country.

“During my administration as president, we had some people who were under 50 years in leadership positions. One of them was James Ibori, where is he today? One of them was Alamieyeseigha, where is he today?
Lucky Igbinedion, where is he today? The youngest was the Speaker, Buhari, you can still recall what happened to him. You said Bola Tinubu is your master. What Buhari did was not anything worse than what Bola Tinubu did.

“We got them impeached. But in this part of the world, some people covered up the other man. The man claimed he went to Government College, Ibadan, but the governor went to Government College and packed all the documents so that they would not know that he did not go there.

“I wanted someone who would succeed me so I took Atiku. Within a year, I started seeing the type of man Atiku is. And you want me to get him there?

“I once went to Tanzania because Julius Nyerere recognised Biafra. He told me not to mind his aides and others in government. They would say they have one house in town but their five-year-old sons and daughters would have houses all over.

“Some of you who are condemning the leadership would get there tomorrow and it will be a different story. Only very few are actually good.

“From Abacha, my predecessor, we got $750 million. Through our lawyer in Switzerland, we recovered another $1.25 billion and the lawyer still said there was probably still another $1 billion to be recovered. In 1979, we had 20 new ships specially built for Nigeria. When I came back 20 years after, the national shipping line had liquidated.

“The whole thing is not just about leadership. If we talk about good leadership, you should also talk about good followers. If you talk about human rights, you should also talk about human duties and obligations.”

He lamented that despite the over half a century of independence, his own administration and that of others before him could not perform well.

“By implication, we are jinxed and cursed; we should all go to hell. The problem in Africa is that when one person takes over, he would not see any good thing that his predecessor did. Let us condemn but with caution,” he said.

Source: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/12/16/obasanjo-says-atiku-tinubu-alamieyeseigha-ibori-igbinedion-buhari-bad-examples/

1. If you are elected president, what specific steps would you take to combat Boko Haram?
2. Our country is facing economic challenges. The economy is declining based on falling oil prices. What do you recommend as a solution to this problem?
3. Power has been a problem in the country. General Obasanjo spent over $16 billion on the sector and the present administration has spent enormous sum as well. What is your recommendation to reforming the sector?
4. Unemployment is a big problem in Nigeria. The youth population is very high. How would you tackle youth unemployment?
5. Looking at the issues of ethnic and communal crises; how would you promote communal harmony and even development in every part of the country?
6. As chairman of PTF, you concentrated development in the north. The south suffered a great deal while the north enjoyed support. What is the guarantee that if you are elected president, you will not concentrate on the north?
7. Please tell us openly your stance on religious discrimination. Are you supporting the introduction of Sharia in every part of the country?
8. General, sir, are you an Islamic fundamentalist?
9. What are your views on homosexuals in Nigeria? Do you agree with the law that homosexuals should be jailed?
10. During your regime as military head of state, you probed and jailed several corrupt politicians. Do you plan to jail politicians that have been involved in stealing of public funds since you left office in 1985?

What about the dictatorial display of power where he ordered the massacre of civilians in villages such as Zaki Biam and Odi? You don't know the history of Nigeria?

holatin:
@least there are no boko haramite
all sector are not falling at the same time.
human right aren't abused.

Na prayer dem dey use take win elections?

crown777:
God's willing 2015 is yours. Amen

Thank you, my brother. Na so dem dey do. The Shekau in Rivers State, Mallam Amaechi is already promising bloodbath if the APC loses.

Blackfire:


and when buhari no win,dem go say na ojoro.#calling my people in the north to get prepared

Former Governor of old Kaduna State Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the eight year tenure of former President Olusegun Obasango as demanded by the latter.

Obasanjo had at the weekend during dared Jonathan to probe him instead of harassing the people that served as ministers under him.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s statement, Musa appealed to President Jonathan probe Obasanjo’s eight years tenure which he described as the most corrupt regime in the country.
“There is a popular demand by Nigerians that the government should investigate Obasanjo’s regime because of the numerous financial atrocities committed by him. No government can be more corrupt than the government of Obasanjo. His eight years reign exposed us to the present challenges bedevilling us,” he said.
Musa, who also doubles as chairman of the Conference of Nigeria political Parties (CNPP), recalled that the CNPP two years ago filled a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja praying it to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Obasanjo.
“The case was filed about two years ago and we are still in court. Many other organizations have called for the investigation and prosecution of Obasanjo because his tenure was the most corrupt one. So I think the president has to do the right thing. If EFCC cannot investigate and prosecute Obasanjo, let Jonathan do it. He will be doing a national service,” he said.
The former governor however added that the purported face-off between President Jonathan and Obasanjo was because of the way the latter has been criticizing his administration.

Many opposition party members, including numerous other Nigerians, seem to have the erroneous notion that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket is just for the picking by General Muhammadu Buhari. Many politicians, partisans and pundits have said this much; repeatedly, they have reinforced the impression in the media that GMB, to use his acronym, is a towering leader in the opposition party, who was one of the founding fathers of the APC in February last year when ACN, CPC, ANPP and a faction of APGA morphed into the new party. Another factor, they often cite to buttress this claim about his invincibility at the forthcoming APC primary election is the fact that he was able to garner more than 12 million votes in the 2011 presidential election, during his third attempt, in addition to a cult-like following in the northern part of the country. But how correct are these permutations and calculations in the face of the present Nigerian political situation? Could these veteran politicians and pundits be wrong in view of the fluid nature of politics and politicking, especially in this clime?

Before advancing reasons for such probable wrong-headedness, it is important to pose this caveat: that this article is neither intended to lampoon GMB’s foibles nor is it about judging his tenure as a former military head of state; an argument many have used against him to claim that as a former dictator he does not fit into the present democratic framework. However, this is a commentary about the seeming naivety of his present campaign which is largely hinged on the projection of his Spartan and puritanical persona; and about him being the only aspirant with the wand that can solve Nigeria’s problems through mere proclamations. This approach is not only politically self-serving but ignores the dynamics of the Nigerian political vortex along with its dexterously enlightened practitioners. These constituents cannot be taken for granted. They are clever, tricky and discerning and need to be properly understood for any aspiring politician to succeed.

All this put in context, my wager is that GMB loyalists should brace up for an outcome that may not be pleasant, a likelihood that their principal, GMB, may be on the verge of defeat at the primary; albeit not because he is not loved by party members or that the APC leadership is wont to betray or dump him. No! The essential reason for this imminent failure can be factored into GMB, the candidate, himself. How? This article will answer this question by examining three critical factors that may eventually determine who gets the APC presidential nomination and why GMB may not be the nominee, however, unpleasant it may sound to his admirers. Politics is pragmatic, not dogmatic.

For instance, it is politically suicidal, as widely reported in the media, that it only dawned on GMB as recent as November 19, 2014, less than 20 days to the convention during which delegates will pick APC presidential candidate, for him to be convinced of the need to set up a committee to raise fund for his campaign. This is an awkward joke in this highly monetized political clime and particularly in a contest where there are other competent aspirants fiercely gunning for the nomination. Though unfortunate, the truth is that aspirants fund members and parties in Nigeria, not the other way round. Money, plenty of it, is an integral part of our politics. Thus, this belated effort of GMB to raise campaign fund, coupled with the tales of his proverbial lean wallet would only reinforce the perception that the retired general is a ‘perpetual broker’. Translation: If he cannot fund his primary campaign, who the hell will unlock his or her vault for his general election campaign? This is the number one count against him. So, his numerous supporters should know that their hero scores zero in the first critical political game called war chest, notwithstanding that he was once an army general.

The second important point to note, and which is also crucial is the lack of the intense interactive and personal cultivation of relationship between GMB and the delegates to the convention. The GMB group celebrates the fact that their principal has a cult-like crowd of supporters, which many people claim is consigned to the northern part of the country, but the truth remains that this crowd is not the delegates. The delegates are just a few thousand elected and appointed members from all the 36 states and the FCT that need to be courted, convinced and persuaded to buy into the candidature of any of the aspirants.

Unfortunately, the GMB campaign machine has not covered much ground in this critical turf. The campaign has failed to move its principal around to meet, mix and mingle with these key members of the convention electorate scattered all over the country. This issue goes beyond making press releases; or setting up delegates to meet with GMB’s proxies, it requires GMB himself, the aspirant to personally engage the delegates in face-to-face meetings, articulating his positions on issues of national and local importance, knowing the likes and dislikes of delegates, understanding the programme priority of their constituencies and at times knowing them by their first names. That is to say there is a need to cultivate rapport, intimacy and goodwill with them.

Is GMB doing this? Has he ever done this? Reports say he is not that chummy and that he is not personally reaching out to this critical convention category. May be he is not used to this political habit of camaraderie. For example, during his three previous outings as presidential candidate in 2003, 2007 and 2011 he had the tickets given to him without going through any primary. So, again, his score sheet in the second critical political campaign test called, connecting with delegates is in the red.

What pundits and analysts should note is that this relationship building is of significance in the APC today than ever as the party has no block of governors influential enough to compel delegates from their respective states to vote en masse one way or the other at the convention. The convention is billed to provide a level plain field for all aspirants, a soft phrase for a free-for-all contest; a veritable ground for political horse-trade.

The third problem facing his campaign team is the lack of a well-articulated policy document on how to identify and proffer solutions to Nigeria’s myriad problems. Often, what are churned out by members of his campaign team are copious excerpts from the manifesto of the APC which in itself is not a bad idea. But a serious contender needs to go further by drawing up a distinct policy framework of his own vision, though embedded in the ideological spectrum of his party, as an indication of his preparedness to solve priority problems facing the nation that is presently enmeshed in disorder and chaos. Perhaps, to fill this gap, the GMB team has turned his acclaimed zeal to end corruption into a boring campaign refrain, always recalling his ‘no-nonsense’ war-against indiscipline (WAI) to cow the population when he was a military head of state between 1983 and 1985.

But the GMB team should be reminded that this is a different political climate demanding dexterity and not decrees. A democratic, 21st Nigeria definitely should have no place for such ancient governance template. It would have been more relevant if Nigerians are told about his plans to waddle through the complex and complicated political waters of Nigeria. No one from his team, not even GMB himself, has clearly and succinctly given good answer to this recurring issue. By now and from experience, GMB ought to know that putting forward a well-defined, thoughtful and comprehensive policy programme on such issues as infrastructure, power; unemployment, corruption, insecurity and numerous others, is a demand of serious leadership. Such a document has to be GMB’s contract with Nigeria. So, the GMB campaign has not done well in the third crucial political campaign game called social contract with the Nigerian people, or with the APC convention delegates. This is like a case of a student enrolled for a test but fails to turn in his paper at the end of the examination. What does the teacher grade? Nothing!

If all these factors are carefully weighed by the delegates, which many of them are wont to do, the result of the APC presidential primary may at the end be a landslide for the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar. The fact is that the former number two man may not enjoy the rabble-rousing prowess of GMB but on the three critical counts above, Atiku towers head and shoulders above GMB, both of who are the main contenders for the APC presidential ticket.

For instance, among all the APC presidential aspirants, Atiku is the only one that has the financial muscle to competently match incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, the obvious PDP candidate during the general election. Atiku has over the years through uncommon entrepreneurial investing accumulated abundant wealth to be able to deploy adequate war chest for the election. Secondly, Atiku is a seasoned pro in presidential primaries. He has been in the game since the early 1990s. He was an active participant in the days of SDP and NRC. He is on a familiar home ground and for a person of his knack for building relationships and budding friendships the intrigues of primary politics is not new.

Hear Atiku on this critical issue in a recent interview he granted The Cable online newspaper: “As of today, among the five of us who are going to participate in the primaries I am the only one who is running around the country. Nobody else is doing that. Nowadays delegates have become more enlightened than before. Most of them are very educated and most of them want to engage their candidates in discussions on what is it they have for them, for the electorate and for party. If they have not seen you, not to talk of interacting with you, how would they vote for you?”
On the third factor of having a social contract with the electorate, Atiku is also miles ahead of others. He has shown that he is someone who is prepared to lead, someone who has done his homework. As at today, he is the only APC aspirant who has prepared a comprehensive policy document on how to bring about the needed change in the polity. This policy document has been subjected to public scrutiny, debated and dissected by experts at a summit held at the Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta between October 27 and 28, 2014.

The gathering attracted more than 50 experts; its opening ceremony was open to the media, and the summit itself was presided over by the Director General of the 2015 Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Professor Babalola Borishade, himself an acclaimed political master strategist. The policy document meticulously identified eight priority areas namely, employment generation and wealth creation, infrastructure and power development, human and capital development, security and social cohesion and citizens and governance. Others are agriculture and food security, re-integration and regeneration of disadvantaged areas (this is especially for Delta and North-east regions) and anti-corruption and accountability. No wonder Atiku has been described by his peers, politicians from different political tendencies and pundits as the most prepared aspirant among the lot, including the incumbent, who came to power following the unfortunate death of his boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Ádua.

To be fair to others, Sam Nda-Isaiah also an APC presidential aspirant has articulated a prosaic memo on his vision for Nigeria, but it is more of fluff than stuff; a document far less profound and comprehensive than what Atiku has done. As for the time a comprehensive GMB policy paper will be available for public discourse, my hunch is, it is still like waiting for Godot, to use the title of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play.

•Dr. Olanipekun is a former political editor of NAN

Two lousy bitches make una park well.

”If the United states citizens decide to be bombing the USA everyday and ready to die, there is nothing Obama can do about it.

The only thing he can do is to urge citizens to report bad people. If citizens refuse to report evil people then there is nothing anyone can do.

Here in the USA in Chicago to be precise more than 10 people are killed everyday and that’s the same thing. I am only worried that this is Abuja.

“There are people in power in certain parts of the country, leaders, who quite genuinely and authoritatively hate and cannot tolerate any religion outside their own,”

“When you combine that with the ambitions of a number of people who believe they are divinely endowed to rule the country and who… believe that their religion is above whatever else binds the entire nation together, and somehow the power appears to slip from their hands, then they resort to the most extreme measures.

“Youths who have been indoctrinated right from infancy can be used, and who have been used, again and again to create mayhem in the country”

“Those who have created this faceless army have lost control.”
source: nigerians4change.com/2014/11/03/b-o-m-b-s-h-e-l-l-the-north-must-stop-bombing-nigeria-blaming-jonathan-prof-wole-soyinka/

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in the 2011 election, General Mohammadu Buhari, rtd,yesterday identified three types of Boko Haram in the country with the Federal Government topping the list, followed by those he described as criminals who steal and kill Nigerians in the name of religion, with the third group as the original one led by late Muhammed Yusufu.

Buhari spoke in Hausa while addressing members of the CPC from Niger State, who paid him a courtesy visit in Kaduna. He also warned that 2015 would be bloody if the elections were not transparent, just as he dismissed reports that he would not contest the 2015 presidency.

Buhari who painted a gory picture of Nigeria as that of a hound and a monkey engaged in a battle for survival said, “God willing, by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way.

“If what happened in 2011 (alleged rigging) should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.’’ He did not elaborate further.
On alleged existence of three groups of Boko Haram, General Buhari added, “I will like to quote Professor Ango Abdullahi that said there are three Boko Harams including the original one led by Muhammed Yusufu who was killed and his supporters tried to take revenge by attacking the law enforcement agencies and politicians. There is another developed Boko Haram of criminals who steal and kill… while the biggest Boko Haram is the Federal Government.”

He, however, said that he would make up his mind on the presidency when his party re-organises itself.

“That was what I told those who have visited me in the past but the press wrote that I said I have changed my mind about re-contesting.
On Boko Haram he said: “Since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.”
FG has destroyed oil industry

Commenting on the petroleum subsidy probe, he said: “The current leadership of the country has destroyed the petroleum industry. These kind of things can only happen under the type of leadership Nigeria has. No where in the world can such things happen and no where in the world can government increase the cost of petroleum products by over 120%. It is most insensitive. Besides the air people breath, the next important thing to them are petroleum products,
“Unfortunately for me, I know more about petroleum industry than others in government because I was there for over three years as a leader. We started with the Port-Harcourt Refinery producing 60,000 barrels per day. It was upgraded to 100,000 barrels per day. Another one was built there (Port-Harcourt) producing over 150,000 barrels making a total of 250,000 barrels per day purely on Nigerian crude.’’

According to him, the Warri and Kaduna refineries, had capacities for refining 100, 000 barrels daily each with over 20 depots and more than 3,200 pipe lines.
Source; http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/02/2015-will-be-bloody-if-buhari/

Story, story? Na now your eye just dey open? Bola Tinubu has not only sold southwest to the north. He has also sold the entire Yoruba land to Islamists. We understand that when a man is getting old and closer to his grave he'll begin to reconcile his ways to his creator, which is one understandable reason why Bola Tinubu is embracing his Islamic religion so dearly and allying with Muslims. But why do that under a democracy and foster Muslims on the people? I tell you, if you are a Christian and you want to run for any political office in the southwest just forget it! You will never win as God remains God! APC is an Islamist party. The reason why someone like Amaechi doesn't mind being on that party is due to his presidential ambition. He knows how powerful Rivers State is in Nigeria's political landscape and that APC will help him actualise his ambition by giving him the VP slot since he is a vocal weapon against Jonathan. APC finds Amaechi, being an Igbo Southerner, useful in the war against Jonathan. It's like using your own brother to fight you. Adams Oshiomhole was also born a Muslim even though he has converted into Christianity. Islam still runs in his blood and it's easy to see why he sympathizes with APC's islamic ideologies. It is time Lagos makes a vote for a Christian governor.

esmeralda1:
I just noticed the fact dt almost all Lagos state aspirants into almost all political openings are muslims. They've tried anyways

The Police High Command has defended the withdrawal of the security aides attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, referring to him as the former Speaker.

A high-ranking officer said that the force sought legal advice before taking the action as it has the statutory responsibility to uphold the spirit and letter of the constitution. He wondered why some elements prefer that the force make a selective enforcement of the law while at the same time canvassing a professional police for the country.

He argued that Section 68 (g) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) states: “Being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected;

“Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”

The officer observed that even members of the opposition hailed the performance of the Acting Inspector General Suleiman Abba concerning the immediate swearing-in of the acting Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala James Ngilari recently, following a court ruling for Ahmadu Fintiri to vacate the office even when the latter has given indication that he was going to appeal the verdict, the senior officer wondered at the double standards of Nigerian opposition figures.

“People should not forget that the institution of Nigerian Police belongs to all Nigerians whether politician or not and therefore, its actions should be respected because it is working for the orderliness of the society no matter which party is in government.”

Insisting that the Police are not expected to wait for a breakdown of law and order before it nips issues in the bud, he continued, “

“We are not preventing the court from carrying out its responsibilities but we also have clear and specific responsibilities granted by the same constitution and whenever the court decides later, we also have an obligation to abide.

Calling for the cooperation and understanding of everyone, he said, “We take certain actions with best of intention for the general good of the nation.”
source: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/03/controversial-withdrawal-of-tambuwals-security-we-have-responsibility-to-uphold-constitution-police/

Ever since making his declaration to run for the presidential elections in 2015, General Muhammadu Buhari has come under fire from some Nigerians who see his candidature as one that would further polarize the country along religious and ethnic lines.

Professor Wole Soyinka, Nigeria’s literary icon, had, in the past, warned Buhari against putting himself up for election into the presidential office in an article he wrote titled The Crimes of Buhari’.

One of such notable persons that has joined the fray of those asking Buhari to rethink his decision to vie for presidential office is Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a popular Islamic cleric. The Sheikh had asked Buhari what it was that he did not do at the time he was a military head of state that he now wants to complete.

Gumi noted that Buhari’s candidature is one that portends trouble for the country given his open support for Shari’a, a topical issue that is attractive only in the north. He noted that Buhari had, in the past, suggested the idea of expanding the implementation of Shari’a, which could jeopardize the religious freedom of Nigerians and further put the country into restiveness.

“The APC should field any other candidate other than Buhari. His time has expired. The natural thing to do when there is an allergic reaction is to avoid the allergens. Buhari is an allergen to Christians. Can’t we be treated with non-allergens?”

Sheikh Gumi further noted that Buhari’s rigid personality and inability to entertain advise from those around him is not the hallmark of a good leader.

“Buhari also cannot be advised. That is legendary. He believes in himself only. So if before ascending to power, he is unapproachable, when he gets power he will just turn into another Pharaoh as nobody has the monopoly of wisdom and no man is indispensable.”
From: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/10/21/withdraw-from-presidential-race-now-sheikh-gumi-warns-buhari/

"I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria "God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country."
~ General Muhammadu Buhari
(August 27, 2001)

Are you in wonder as to why Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not thrown his weight behind supporting Major Muahmmadu Buhari in his bid for presidency? To understand this, one needs to know first how Tinubu perceives Buhari.

Having run unsuccessfully on the ANPP in 2003 and 2007, and on the CNPP in 2011, Major Buhari is revving up to go to the polls for the fourth time even though the odds are stacked high and strong against him even within the political party through which he wants to contest for the presidency in 2015.

Some years ago, Tinubu had described General Buhari as a threat to the peaceful existence of Nigeria if given the opportunity to lead. He implied, though subtly, that Babatunde Idiagbon, Buhari’s deputy from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985, was the largely responsible for taming Buhari during those years when both men donned the military garb. Indeed, most people saw Idiagbon as the one with the humane face, and it was he that could put a leash on Buhari thus saving the country from what would have been one of the worst dictatorships in the world at the time.

Tinubu, who had just returned to Nigeria in 1983 to work for Mobil Oil Nigeria, having graduated from the Chicago State University in 1979, remembers exactly how the military, under the regime of Major Buhari, made a mess of the infant democracy by toppling the administration of President Shehu Shagari in a coup on the eve of New Year’s day in 1983. The same democracy is what the likes of Bola Tinubu fought relentlessly for even during the dark days of the military administration of Gen. Sani Abacha until democracy was reinstalled as the system for governing the country.
Tinubu noted in a diplomatic cable that was sent discreetly to the United States but leaked by the whistleblowing website, WikiLeaks, that Buhari is “far worse than Obasanjo”.

Tinubu who was then governor of Lagos State warned sternly that voting Buhari as president would spell doom for the country as his “ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigeria’s unity.”

Tinubu’s grouse with Buhari’s presidential bid is due to the latter’s sympathy for Islamic fundamentalists and his tolerance for Sharia Law in Nigeria. This, according to Tinubu, would spiral the country into complete chaos as Islamic terrorists would pressure and invade Lagos and other southern states so as to foster their Sharia Law in the region if Buhari is elected president.
Continue reading here: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/10/15/the-inconsistencies-of-bola/

I was to be hired by a prestigious PR firm recently; arguably the best in its industry in the entire country. I had received word prior that the boss of the firm had a short fuse and was fond of making a mess of his subordinates but I thought I could endure due to the fact that I was raised with tough love by my parents. Thankfully, the boss wasn't in the country when the HR firm sent me an email asking that I resume work. However, I deliberately did not honour the email for two vital reasons that I hoped the boss would understand on his return. On his return, I got a first-hand experience of his vitriolic spewing of lava in 3D! There and then, I made up my mind I wasn't going to work with someone like him even though that job was one I had hoped for as a dream job. It was all I could ever ask for in career growth in an organised setting. He followed up with an email afterwards telling me that the offer was still open for the taking and would like to know if I still wanted the job and when I would like to resume. I didn't go into lengthy explanations since he seemed to have missed the reasons I pointed out in a previous email just after the encounter with him; I promptly declined the offer in a polite tone. Working with such a boss would only undermine one's growth and it would shrink one's confidence.

Just sharing my experience on this topic....

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death in a new video obtained by AFP on Thursday and said the militants had implemented strict Islamic law in captured towns.

"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," Shekau said, adding that his group was "running our... Islamic caliphate" and administering strict sharia punishments.

Boko Haram has shown images of extreme violence before but the latest video shows at length graphic scenes of an amputation and a stoning to death as well as a beheading.

It also purports to show the wreckage of a Nigerian Air Force jet that went missing in the northeast on September 11. Boko Haram said its fighters shot it down but the military denied the claim.

The military announced last week that Shekau was dead and that a man who had been posing as the group's leader in the videos had been killed after fighting with troops in the far northeast.

Security analysts and the United States questioned the credibility of the military's claim.

View gallery
The video shows Shekau firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air from the back of a truck (AFP Photo/ …
The new 36-minute video shows Shekau, in combat fatigues and black rubber boots, standing on the back of a pick-up truck and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air.

Standing in front of three camouflaged vans and flanked by four heavily armed, masked fighters, he then speaks for 16 minutes in Arabic and the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria.

There was no indication of where or when the video was shot. Shekau appears in separate images from the violence.

- Propaganda claims -

The heavily bearded Shekau, who appeared to be the same man as those in previous clips, said the military's claim that he was dead was propaganda.

View gallery
A video screengrab shows a Boko Haram member standing on what the group says is the wreckage of a Ni …
"Nothing will kill me until my days are over... I'm still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah," he said, apparently reading from a script.

"It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul. I'm an Islamic student.

"I'm the Islamic student whose seminary you burnt... I'm not dead," he added, apparently referring to the destruction of the group's mosque in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, in 2009.

There have been two previous claims by Nigeria's security forces that Shekau had been killed or "may be dead" but Boko Haram has later issued denials in video messages.

Elsewhere in the new video, the militant leader said the group had implemented strict Islamic law in the towns that it had captured in the northeast in recent weeks.

View gallery
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appears in the video flanked by heavily armed, masked fighters (AF …
"We are running our caliphate, our Islamic caliphate. We follow the Koran... We now practise the injunctions of the Koran in the land of Allah," he said.

- Extreme violence -

The video showed footage of a man being stoned to death for adultery, another having his right hand cut off at the wrist for theft and a man and a woman receiving 100 lashes for sex out of wedlock.

Crowds of men, women and children are seen watching the punishments.

There was again no indication of when or where the images were shot but on August 21, residents who fled the Borno town of Buni Yadi reported that the group had carried out summary executions.

The scenes of graphic violence are not unprecedented but come as other groups in the wider jihadi network, particularly Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, have issued similar footage.

In a Boko Haram video obtained on August 24, footage showed the apparent execution of about 20 men captured in the Borno town of Gwoza and two others beaten to death with rocks and pick-axes.

On the air force jet, Boko Haram fighters are seen apparently picking through the wreckage of the downed Alpha aircraft and the military's green and white logo is clearly visible.

But air force spokesman Air Commodore Dele Alonge told AFP: "Our plane went missing some weeks back and we are still looking for it.

"For any group to claim they shot it down is mere propaganda and rubbish."
from: http://news.yahoo.com/boko-haram-leader-dismisses-claims-death-video-092321171.html

A deadly in-fighting has engulfed the camp of Boko Haram leading to the deaths of no fewer than 30 militants, a military officer on the Borno warfront has told TheCable.

The in-fighting is linked to a leadership struggle among the commanders following the killing of man who was believed to be the one posing as Abubakar Shekau in the propaganda videos of the terror group.

The death of the Shekau look-alike, identified as Bashir Mohammed (aka Isa Damasaka, Abacha Geidam, Bashir Konduga), is said to have created an unexpected leadership vacuum, even though the alleged Shekau impostor had said in one of his videos that someone worse than him would take over the group if he was killed.

Hundreds of militants had either surrendered or been captured by the Nigerian military two weeks ago after the battle of Konduga where the Boko Haram commander met his waterloo.

It is still not clear who the top contenders to replace Mohammed are but there are many in the hierarchy who could be interested.

“Some of the names we have heard include Habibu Yusuf, Khalid Albamawa, Momodu Bawa, and Mohammed Zangina,” the officer said.

The wherabouts of Mamman Nur, who is said to be one of the likely successors of Shekau, remain unknown three years after he allegedly masterminded the bombing of UN house in Abuja.

He is not thought to be currently operating out of the country because he is the link between Al Qaeda elements in Africa and Boko Haram.

Nur allegedly co-ordinated the training of suicide bombers in Somalia by Al Shabab, the group responsible for terror attacks in East Africa.

“There is every chance that by the time the dust settles after the in-fighting, Boko Haram would have been considerably weakened,” the officer told TheCable.

“The job is far from completed, but everyday we are winning.”

Military authorities are very confident that if Boko Haram is able to produce another propaganda video, the insurgents would confirm the death of the man that had become a global face of terror.
from: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/09/30/30-killed-as-in-fighting-hits-boko-haram/

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday denied the allegation that he took the former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, to Chad.
Sheriff has been named as one of the sponsors of the Boko Haram sect. He is being investigated in order to know the true position.
The former governor was spotted with President Jonathan when he held talks with the Chadian President, Idriss Deby, in N’Djamena on Tuesday.
But briefing State House correspondents, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, said that Sheriff was not on the President’s delegation to Chad.
He said, “We have noted with surprise, the unnecessary hue and cry raised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other bigoted critics of the Jonathan administration over the claim that the President is “hobnobbing” with the former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who was recently accused by the Australian, Stephen Davis of being one of the chief sponsors of the terrorist group, Boko Haram.
“The totally erroneous basis for that charge was the spurious claim that Senator Sheriff accompanied President Jonathan on his recent trip to N’Djamena as a member of his entourage.”
“Although Senator Sheriff himself has already given the lie to that claim through his Media Adviser, the Presidency wishes to affirm, for the purpose of emphasis, that the former Borno State governor was not on President Jonathan’s delegation to Chad.”
He went on: “In keeping with President Jonathan’s commitment to transparency and openness in the conduct of government business, names of the key members of his delegation were announced a day before his trip to N’Djamena.
“They included the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed and the Director-General of National Space Research and Development Agency, Prof. Seidu Mohammed.”
“As can be easily verified from the complete list of members of the Presidential entourage to Chad which was also circulated on Sunday and never changed, Senator Sheriff’s name was not on it. The only other persons on the list were the President’s aides, security personnel and journalists.
“The APC and others who rushed to condemn President Jonathan for a non-existent indiscretion would have found, if they took the least trouble to double-check, that there was absolutely no factual basis for their accusation.
“Those who associate with Senator Sheriff know that he has longstanding interests in Chad and often spends a lot of his time there.
He explained that Sheriff happened to be in N’Djamena at the time of President Jonathan’s visit and joined other Nigerian residents of the Chadian capital in coming to the airport to welcome their President.

It was the social media campaign of the year. #BringBackOurGirls awoke the world to the ravages of Boko Haram, an al-Qaeda-linked terror group in Nigeria, and the plight of the millions of people who live in the midst of their insurgency. At the heart of the message were hundreds of missing schoolgirls, abducted in April from the remote village of Chibok by Boko Haram fighters, who vowed to make them into slaves. The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag channeled both sympathy from abroad and local outrage and concern in Nigeria, with many angry at the government of President Goodluck Jonathan for being unable to free the captured women.

But four months later, the girls have yet to be brought back despite the efforts of the Nigerian military as well as U.S. counter-terrorism forces deployed in neighboring Chad. More than 200 girls remain missing in suspected Boko Haram captivity. Others have perished from snakebite, illness and deprivation in the wild.

Boko Haram itself has continued its slaughter this summer, and seized more territory in the country's restive northeast. Over the weekend, it stormed towns along Nigeria's border with Cameroon, killing dozens of innocents.
Nigerian forces are now fighting Boko Haram in pitched battles around Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the main hotbed of Boko Haram's operations. The U.N. reports that at least 1.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict since Jonathan's government declared a state of emergency in May.

But the gravity of the moment hasn't stopped some in Nigeria from appropriating the tragic hashtag for rather cynical purposes. Banners emerged in the capital Abuja over the weekend showing Jonathan alongside a new slogan: #BringBackGoodluck2015. The campaign appears to be the work of supporters of the president, keen for his reelection in presidential polls next February. It's not clear whether Jonathan has officially endorsed the new hashtag, but its seeming ubiquity suggests that he is not opposed to it.

While #BringBackOurGirls was just a brief cause celebre in the West — a passing moment to get morally exercised and then move on — it had a deeper meaning in Nigeria. It echoed the larger frustrations of a society that has little faith in its political leadership, is fed up with endemic corruption and wants genuine reform and better governance. Jonathan blamed activists espousing the hashtag for "politicizing" the crisis.

Boko Haram is a fanatical, murderous outfit, but its insurgency gained sway in a region that has been historically marginalized and neglected by Nigeria's central government. Jonathan's seeming indifference toward the missing girls hardly helped. In the early stages of the protests, his wife even reportedly had a number of #BringBackOurGirls activists detained.

In this context, the new campaign slogan is particularly galling. Jonathan has not brought back the girls, yet his campaign expects Nigeria to bring him back to power. One wonders if it will spawn more rich satire among Nigerians on social media. After all, there's plenty of precedent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/09/08/this-may-be-the-most-inappropriate-political-hashtag-of-the-year/

Apparently traumatised by the protracted wait for the rescue of the over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents from their hostels in Chibok, Borno State, parents have given up hope and are demanding a military invasion of hostage camps not minding the cost. PREMIUM TIMES caught up with the chairman of Chibok Local government, Tsambido Hosea, in Abuja last Friday during a protest to mark the 130th day since the girls have been in captivity. Mr. Tsambido said the parents are unable to move on with their lives, with their kids still in the custody of terrorists in some forests. He said the parents of the victims were seeking a logical end to their trauma either by burial or reunion. “If the Federal government has that capacity, let them go into the Sambisa. If there are some that God said would be rescued, they can be rescued by the force and if some have gone, it’s better (to know) than this entire trauma the parents are going through,” he said. He said the parents want to bury their children if they are dead so they can forge ahead with their lives instead of living with uncertainty, not knowing if their children are dead or alive. This abduction of schoolgirls on April 15 disrupted the lives of many in Nigeria, with some sympathetic Nigerians along with the Chibok community organising marches and protests to create awareness and force the Federal Government to be proactive on the issue. A group termed the BringBackourGirls movement have been protesting on the streets of Abuja since a week after the hostages were taken demanding their rescue, to the chagrin of the government. They meet at the Unity Fountain Maitama every day at 3pm. They said they will not stop meeting until the girls are brought back alive and well.
The parents say they don’t care about their life but let them go in. If they can take care of this Boko Haram, so that they will not spread to other places. So that they cannot continue with their menace. Let the girls be sacrificial lambs. That’s what they told me yesterday. I phoned them, that I know that I am going to face some interviews today. What is your opinion? So this their opinion. Actually, if the federal government has that capacity, let them go into the Sambisa. If there are some that God said will be rescued, it can be rescued by the force. And if some has gone, its okay, than all this troubles, than all this trauma the parents are going through now. They cannot do anything. But had it been they buried them, they would have forged ahead with their lives. They are saying let the government go into the forest. Even the corpse, let them bring the corpse of the children so that they will bury them properly. What they are saying is that these girls in the bush, it is better for the government, to go in with the force, with the army might to bring them even the corpse for them, so that they can bury them properly.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/headlines/167689-interview-make-abducted-girls-sacrificial-lambs-but-stop-boko-haram-chibok-chairman.html#sthash.1zLJ1WLq.dpbs

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has disclosed the intention of his administration to build an exclusively female bilingual college in Niger Republic.

Last year, Governor Kwankwaso spent over N1 billion on the building of the Kano-Niger Republic Bilingual College in Niamey.

Kwankwaso said the gesture was part of efforts of his administration to consolidate bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Niger Republic.

Hosting officials of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation, he said the second school would be for female students.

Kwankwaso, in a statement by his media aide, Mallam Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, explained that the move was also in furtherance of his administration’s girl-child education drive.

He recalled that his government had earlier constructed an all male bilingual boarding college in Niamey for Kano and Nigerien students, and that the need for another college became imperative because, “French is indispensable, considering the fact the Nigeria is surrounded by Francophone countries”.

He added: “Like the male bilingual college in Niamey, the proposed female college will provide opportunity for our young girls to learn French and interact with their Nigerien counterparts, thus promoting cultural relations between two brotherly nations”, he said.

While noting that the long existing relationship between both countries has continued to wax stronger, he said all the resolutions reached during his last visit to Niger Republic which include the setting up of an economic forum, establishment of a bilingual college and exchange of wild animals for zoological gardens have been actualized.

In his speech, Secretary General, Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation, Ambassador AbdulJalil Suleiman said the commission has recorded some achievements in the control of cross border drug trafficking, human tracking and equitable sharing of water resources between the two countries.

On his part, the president, Nigeria-Niger Joint Chamber of Commerce, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar praised the governor for what he described as his untiring efforts aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/daily/news/14690-kwankwaso-to-build-another-school-in-niger-republic

Nigeria's Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, has seized more towns along Nigeria's northeastern border with Cameroon and is adopting a strategy of encouraging civilians to stay, witnesses said Sunday, as the militants pursue their new aim to carve out an "Islamic caliphate" under their black and white flag.
Related Stories Nigerian army soldiers fled when hundreds of insurgents in stolen military armored personnel carriers, trucks and motorcycles attacked Michika on Sunday, said Marry Dauda, a fleeing resident.

She said an air force jet fighter arrived, but did nothing but surveillance. "The jet continued to hover over the town without attacking the terrorists," she told The Associated Press.

On Saturday, the insurgents took Gulak, an administrative headquarters of Adamawa state, said resident Michael Kirshinga, who also ran away. The nearby towns of Duhu, Shuwa, Kirshinga and others also fell in assaults over Friday night and Saturday, witnesses said.

Further north, soldiers fought off rebels advancing Saturday on Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, headquarters of the military campaign against the insurgency and the birthplace of Boko Haram. The military attacked the rebels' camp at a village outside Kondudga, just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Maiduguri.

Thunderous gunfire could be heard in Maiduguri throughout Saturday, instilling fear in already panicked residents. Hundreds fled the city even before hearing the sounds of battle.

The soldiers killed dozens of the extremists outside Konduga, said a member of the vigilante group that fights alongside the military. The soldiers were sent to retake the town of Bama, which fell to Boko Haram a week ago, but stopped at Konduga and refused to advance further, said a vigilante commander. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Bama is littered with bodies, residents who fled the town told the AP. The extremists were killing men, but sparing women and children, they said.

In Gulak, however, the insurgents were trying to persuade people to stay, said resident Michael Kirshinga. "They assured us that they will not attack us, but people begun to run for their lives, some of us have fled for fear that, after subduing the soldiers, the insurgents will turn their (gun) barrels on us," Kirshinga said.

Nearly 26,000 people fled Bama, the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency reported. Those fleeing joined 1.5 million people forced from their homes since Nigeria declared a state of emergency in May 2013, according to U.N. figures. They need shelter and food, and officials warn of a looming food crisis since most refugees are farmers.

A Ministry of Defense statement Friday tried to reassure residents without success. Most fearful are students and staff at the University of Maiduguri, which is alongside a dry riverbed and on the road from Konduga to Maiduguri, a route Boko Haram has used in past attacks on the city.

"We are so very scared. If they are to come attacking, as has been rumored, we doubt if they would spare us because they have to pass in front of our school before getting to the town," student Halima Muhammad told The Associated Press. He said students writing end of term exams can barely concentrate.

In December, Boko Haram attacked the main Air Force base used for bombing raids on their camps, destroying five aircraft. In February, the militants assaulted the main army barracks in Maiduguri and freed hundreds of detainees. Boko Haram's April kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls, of whom more than 200 remain captive, attracted international attention and promises of help from several countries including the United States, China and former colonizer Britain.

Nigeria has a large army of some 80,000 troops with a budget of $2.3 billion but demoralized soldiers say they are outgunned by Boko Haram, and that some of their colleagues are colluding with and even fighting for the insurgents. Endemic corruption has officers stealing some of the pay of the rank and file, who complain they are dumped in remote areas and ordered to fight without food or water despite blistering temperatures.

Boko Haram now holds a string of towns in all three of the northeastern states that have been under a military emergency since May 2014 — Adamawa, Yobe and hardest-hit Borno.

The seizures come as the United States announced that it is about to launch a major border security program for Nigeria and its neighbors to fight Boko Haram.

U.S. assistant secretary for African affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, made the announcement Thursday when she and the United Nations expressed deep concern about the deteriorating security situation. In an apparent rebuke to the Nigerian government and the military's denials of the perilous situation, she said it was "past time for denial and pride."
SOURCE: yahoonews

Former Head of Military Ruler and Chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Federal Government to stop the clampdown of Boko Haram insurgents, saying Niger Delta Militants were never killed or properties belonging to them destroyed.

Buhari who spoke on Sunday on a Liberty Radio programme, Guest of the Week monitored said accused the government of killing and destroying houses belonging to Boko Haram members while the Niger Delta militants get special treatment.

The former dictator said that unlike the special treatment given to the Niger Delta militants by the federal government, the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses demolished by government.

While accusing President Jonathan of failing from the beginning to address the security situation in the country, Buhari said he has never been in support of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa state.

According to Buhari “what is responsible for the security situation in the country is caused by the activities of Niger Delta militants. Every Nigerian that is familiar with what is happening knows this. The Niger Delta militants started it all.

“What happened is that the governors of the Niger Delta region at that time wanted to win their elections. So they recruited the youths and gave them guns and bullets and used them against their opponents to win elections by force.

“After the elections were over, they asked the boys to return the guns; the boys refused to return the guns. Because of that, the allowance that was being given to the youths by the governors during that time was stopped.

“The youths resorted to kidnapping oil workers and were collecting dollars as ransom. Now a boy of 18 to 20 years was getting about 500 dollars in a week, why will he go to school and spend 20 years to study and then come back and get employed by government to be paid N100,000 a month, that is if he is lucky to get employment.

“So kidnapping becomes very rampant in the South -South and the South -East. They kidnapped people and were collecting money.

“How did Boko Haram start? We know that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf started his militant and the police couldn’t control them and the army was invited. He was arrested by soldiers and handed over to the police.

“The appropriate thing to do, according to the law, was for the police to carry out investigations and charge him to court for prosecution, but they killed him, his in-law was killed, they went and demolished their houses.

“Because of that, his supporters resorted to what they are doing today.

You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua sent an aeroplane to bring them, he sat down with them and discussed with them, they were cajoled, and they were given money and granted amnesty.

“They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished.

They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”.

While fielding questions in English in the same programme, Buhari said that the promoters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) were aware of the challenges ahead of them in an effort to get the party registered, saying “the road to merger is quite rough.

“The ruling party, with its enormous resources and its capacity for coercion has seen it as a threat and they have said it. Personally, I came to realise since 2007 that Nigerians believe that the only way to stabilise the system of multi-party democracy is for the opposition parties that have representatives right from Councillors to the National Assembly come together to deliver their constituencies democratically.

This is the only way you can counter PDP’s enormous physical and material influence in the country”

He expressed optimism that the All Progressive Congress will be registered saying “by nature, I am an optimist. If I were not an optimist, I will not attempt to contest the presidency three times and end up in the Supreme Court three times. I believe we are going to be registered.

“There is a law guiding party registration which states that you must have your headquarters in the nation’s capital that can be identified by INEC and you must have a convention. All the three parties involved have held their conventions and have agreed to forsake our existing parties and go for APC.

“At the national level, we must have those who will run the party. As soon as we meet these criteria and INEC acknowledge that, 30 days after the acknowledgement, we are APC whether INEC write us and give us the registration or not”.
From: http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/exclusive/stop-killing-boko-haram-members-buhari-tells-fg/

Former Head of Military Ruler and Chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Federal Government to stop the clampdown of Boko Haram insurgents, saying Niger Delta Militants were never killed or properties belonging to them destroyed.

Buhari who spoke on Sunday on a Liberty Radio programme, Guest of the Week monitored said accused the government of killing and destroying houses belonging to Boko Haram members while the Niger Delta militants get special treatment.

The former dictator said that unlike the special treatment given to the Niger Delta militants by the federal government, the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses demolished by government.

While accusing President Jonathan of failing from the beginning to address the security situation in the country, Buhari said he has never been in support of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa state.

According to Buhari “what is responsible for the security situation in the country is caused by the activities of Niger Delta militants. Every Nigerian that is familiar with what is happening knows this. The Niger Delta militants started it all.

“What happened is that the governors of the Niger Delta region at that time wanted to win their elections. So they recruited the youths and gave them guns and bullets and used them against their opponents to win elections by force.

“After the elections were over, they asked the boys to return the guns; the boys refused to return the guns. Because of that, the allowance that was being given to the youths by the governors during that time was stopped.

“The youths resorted to kidnapping oil workers and were collecting dollars as ransom. Now a boy of 18 to 20 years was getting about 500 dollars in a week, why will he go to school and spend 20 years to study and then come back and get employed by government to be paid N100,000 a month, that is if he is lucky to get employment.

“So kidnapping becomes very rampant in the South -South and the South -East. They kidnapped people and were collecting money.

“How did Boko Haram start? We know that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf started his militant and the police couldn’t control them and the army was invited. He was arrested by soldiers and handed over to the police.

“The appropriate thing to do, according to the law, was for the police to carry out investigations and charge him to court for prosecution, but they killed him, his in-law was killed, they went and demolished their houses.

“Because of that, his supporters resorted to what they are doing today.

You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua sent an aeroplane to bring them, he sat down with them and discussed with them, they were cajoled, and they were given money and granted amnesty.

“They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished.

They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”.

While fielding questions in English in the same programme, Buhari said that the promoters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) were aware of the challenges ahead of them in an effort to get the party registered, saying “the road to merger is quite rough.

“The ruling party, with its enormous resources and its capacity for coercion has seen it as a threat and they have said it. Personally, I came to realise since 2007 that Nigerians believe that the only way to stabilise the system of multi-party democracy is for the opposition parties that have representatives right from Councillors to the National Assembly come together to deliver their constituencies democratically.

This is the only way you can counter PDP’s enormous physical and material influence in the country”

He expressed optimism that the All Progressive Congress will be registered saying “by nature, I am an optimist. If I were not an optimist, I will not attempt to contest the presidency three times and end up in the Supreme Court three times. I believe we are going to be registered.

“There is a law guiding party registration which states that you must have your headquarters in the nation’s capital that can be identified by INEC and you must have a convention. All the three parties involved have held their conventions and have agreed to forsake our existing parties and go for APC.

“At the national level, we must have those who will run the party. As soon as we meet these criteria and INEC acknowledge that, 30 days after the acknowledgement, we are APC whether INEC write us and give us the registration or not”.
From: http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/exclusive/stop-killing-boko-haram-members-buhari-tells-fg/

What Do You Think of the Austrialian Negotiator's Allegations that the Persons Shown Below are Sponsors of Boko Haram?

The former Governor of Abia state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu was a guest on AIT’s political and current affairs program “Frontline,” on Sunday June 1. While fielding questions, Kalu says that what Nigeria is experiencing with boko haram is a civil war. He also appealed to the government to plead with boko haram as they are humans…“If we are not careful, Jonathan will be the last president of Nigeria because nobody will take this bombing anywhere, because killing of people everyday means that there’s chaos and nobody wants to be associated with chaos, because it is from this bombing here and there that people will start demanding for independence. It happens but God forbid. We want our country to remain as one and a strong country.

Other countries even the European Union are expanding their boundaries so why should we allow our country to disintegrate. It’s not about President Jonathan or who is minister or governor or what have you. It is about the nation. President Jonathan does not own this country; neither are the ministers the owners of the country. The country belongs to all of us collectively so we must come out openly as we are coming out now to solve the problem of the nation: to be able to reach out to Boko Haram formally and informally. This is what I have always said. It’s not about the government. Business men own this economy. In the US, do you hear people talk about Obama? All the billionaires they don’t know who Obama is. They don’t even reckon with him because the economy is stabilized. People are talking about only three things: the economy, the economy and the economy. So I want people to come together, we are almost getting there, where the basing of the economy is very good, where the private sector will drive the economy not the public sector. And this is what I see that Iweala is trying to working out. Most of the political, business and military class, farmers know the root of this insurgency. We must come together and say we must stamp out this insurgency and we will stamp it out.”

Specifically what should the business class and the political class do to stamp out this insurgency?

This is a bipartisan decision that will be made by all Nigerians. It is no longer politics. It is not about APC. It is not about PDP. It’s not even about individuals, it’s about the nation. Commerce is no longer thriving, people should come together, the national security adviser should call a conference of few eminent people with the president and they will set up a strong committee and strategize on how to end this insurgency. These insurgents are our brothers, they are not from heaven. They are from here. They are from villages and the villagers know them, the farmers know them, the business men know them. So it is good we give peace a chance and call a mini summit and invite them directly or indirectly, we can discuss with them in Chad, Cameroun or even London or anywhere. So we can come together and plead with them. This is our country, the country is at the verge of collapse, and we are passing through a lot of pains, we are in a civil war! This is a civil war. There’s no civil war that is bigger than what Nigeria is passing throw today. So we must come back as Nigerians to put our foot down collectively as a people and be able to work together.

Some people say that Boko Haram may not be in a frame of mind to negotiate with the government; do you think the time is ripe now to negotiate with them?

They are human beings; they have blood flowing in them. They will negotiate. They are talking to a lot of journalists, they are reachable. So the government should go out formally or informally to reach out and negotiate with them. They are human beings. We will sit down and negotiate this issue. This issue is about negotiation. The people who are saying that the government cannot negotiate with Boko Haram are not realistic about the nation. Even after a civil war people will still go to the table to negotiate. So I believe that the government should set up informal channels to negotiate with Boko Haram and stop this insurgency.
Source: http://nigerians4change.com/2014/09/call-boko-haram-plead-with-them-ex-gov-orji-kalu-tells-fg/

Stephen Davis’ allegations about sponsors of Boko Haram are grave and cannot be swept under the carpet, writes Femi Fani-Kayode
I read the grave allegations made by an Australian by the name Stephen Davis about those that he believes are behind Boko Haram in the 29th August edition of THISDAY Newspaper. He made some very serious allegations; he mentioned names and I would be interested in seeing the hard evidence that he claims to have.


I have always said I believe that anyone, no matter which political party that person belongs to and no matter how highly placed or powerful that person may be, that is involved with Boko Haram ought to be captured, caged, flogged and brought to justice because I regard such people as nothing but bloodthirsty beasts.


I have also always said I believe that some of the leading members of the opposition APC are secret sponsors and supporters of Boko Haram and I am glad that Mr. Davis appears to share this view and that he has indeed confirmed my worst fears in his celebrated interview with Arise TV.


Similar concerns have been raised and allegations made about the suspicious nexus, the direct link and the questionable relationship between APC and Boko Haram by senior Members of Parliament in the British House of Commons together with a number of leading Russian and American civil and religious institutions, organisations, commentators and political figures.


It is therefore good news that Mr. Davis has confirmed some of our collective suspicions and fears and that he has decided to come out and tell us what he knows given the role that he played in the negotiations to broker a deal to get the Chibok girls released from Boko Haram. I have little doubt that on the allegation that the APC and Boko Haram are linked Davis is absolutely right.


I am not however convinced about the culpability of one or two of the other people that he has fingered. No one should be spared if the evidence is really there but I must say that I find the allegation that, for example, the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, is somehow involved with Boko Haram a little far-fetched. I say this because firstly the man spent so much of his time, energy, career and resources fighting that same terrorist organisation that he is now being accused of being part of.

Secondly, I say it because that terrorist organisation has killed and continues to kill so many of his officers. And thirdly, I say it because the man is not a Muslim but a Christian and I have never heard of a Christian helping or assisting an islamist terrorist organisation in their quest to establish an islamic fundamentalist state or ''new world caliphate'' in his country.


This is especially so when that terrorist organisation is committed to wiping out the Christian faith itself and killing every Christian, every secularist and every moderate Muslim in the country. It seems to me that this is an absurd notion and that it really doesn't make any sense but if the Australian has any hard evidence let us see or hear it.


Again, I disagree strongly with the leading figures in the opposition that have said that the federal government and the PDP are the ones behind Boko Haram. I say this because those individuals know very well that the APC as a party has far more sympathy for Boko Haram and far many more of their leaders and members have spoken up for and in defence of Boko Haram than anyone else.


On Friday 29th August in THISDAY Newspaper, one of those leaders said the Senator from Borno State that was facing terrorism charges was ''a PDP member''. This is not true. The Senator that he was referring to is Senator Ndume and he is in the APC and not the PDP.

Quite apart from that, certain things need to be noted. Let me remind those that are pointing fingers at the PDP today that it was not a member of the PDP or the federal government that said Boko Haram should not be proscribed as an organisation, even after they had slaughtered no less than 15,000 innocent Nigerians in cold blood, sometime last year. It was rather the official spokesman of the APC, Lai Mohammed.


It was not the PDP or any member of the federal government that told the world only last year that they were against the declaration of a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, that an attack on Boko Haram was an attack on the north and that Boko Haram members ought not to be killed but rather they ought to be pampered, granted amnesty and treated in a gentle manner like the Niger Delta militants. It was the leading presidential aspirant and one of the two co-owners of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari that said so.


It was the same General Buhari, who has openly identified with and publicly endorsed a number of the core objectives of Boko Haram when, as far back as 2001, he told the world that he wanted to ''spread sharia all over the country'' when he said ''Muslims should only vote for those that would protect their interest'', when he asked ''why should it concern Christians when Muslims chop off the limbs of one another'' in accordance with their divine law and when he said, in 2013, that there would be violence and that ''the blood of the dog and the baboon would both flow'' if the coming elections were rigged.

It was not the PDP or a member of the federal government that told the world three years ago that if President Goodluck Jonathan or any southerner emerges president in 2011 that ''we would make the country ungovernable''.


It was Alhaji Lawal Kaita, a leading member of the APC that said so. It was not the PDP or any member of the federal government that guaranteed the security of the Chibok girls and insisted that they should go ahead and do their exams at Chibok and that he would provide the necessary security, even after WAEC and the Federal Ministry of Education had written him a letter and warned him that it would be dangerous to do so and that he must not go ahead.


It was the Governor of Borno State, who is a leading member of the APC that did that. Not only did he not provide the promised security, he also abandoned the girls and left them in the lurch because only one adult, the school gateman, spent the night in the school with those girls despite all the obvious dangers. Worst still, there was no electricity and no generator functioning at the school throughout the night and neither was there one adult, teacher or supervisor with the girls at the school.


Even more suspicious was the fact that not one of the daughters of any of the staff and teachers that attended that school spent the night with the other girls at the school that night. They were all in the safety of their homes. One wonders why? Was it just a coincidence or did they have prior notice of the impending doom?


The whole Chibok episode is still clouded in mystery but given the fact that the Governor of Borno State is now one of the leading members of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, I wonder why he allowed all these lapses to take place and why he behaved in this way? Was his motive for not taking all reasonable measures to protect those girls political? Is there not more to his actions and inactions than meets the eye?


I repeat my constant assertion that Boko Haram is the military wing of the APC and that the APC is the political wing of Boko Haram. I make this grave and very serious allegation partly because of the aforementioned public utterances and actions of these leading APC members and partly because of a number of other things that I will not say publicly because Nigerians would be utterly traumatised if they heard them.


There would be uproar in this country if some of us were to say all that we know about the irresponsible and insidious religious agenda that the APC has and the hideous and shameful things that they are doing and saying behind closed-doors.


The suggestion that they never had a plan to have a Muslim/Muslim ticket is a lie from the pit of hell. They may have dropped that plan now due to the fact that it has generated a good deal of public uproar and outrage but that was their original plan and many of them were hell bent on it and probably still are. The suggestion that they have not used religion as a political tool is another dirty lie. That is what they have been doing from day one and they are still doing it now.


The suggestion that they cannot be equated with or compared to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt or the Sudanese supporter of APC is another lie from the pit of hell. If anyone has any doubts about that they should just scrutinise the religious composition of both their old and new Interim National Executive Commitee and they will see that it is virtually an all-Muslim affair spiced with a few token Christians lurking in the shadows and acting as fronts.


Nigeria is a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic secular state and it is exceptionally dangerous to introduce religion into politics and seek to use it to gain political power as the APC are shamelessly doing.


The suggestion that some of their more notable leaders often make that the PDP is linked to Boko Haram in any shape or form or that President Goodluck Jonathan, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) or the High Command of the Nigerian Military, Security Agencies and Intelligence Services are sponsoring or supporting Boko Haram is another lie from the pit of hell. For anyone in the APC to make such an allegation is not only absurd but it is like the pot calling the kettle black.


It was rather elements in the APC, and none of those in PDP or any of those organisations that worked day and night to ensure that America did not label Boko Haram a terrorist organisation throughout last year and up until early this year. This is after the terrorists had killed and abducted so many young and innocent Nigerians.


Now the question has to be asked: why was this so? If the APC were not behind Boko Haram, why did they not want them to be labelled terrorists by the Americans and the international community?


Why did they complain morning, day and night that the Nigerian military were killing ''innocent northerners'' and ''violating human rights'' simply because our brave soldiers were risking their lives on the war front and battlefield fighting terror, trying to protect our people and trying to wipe out the enemy.


Some have cited the former National Security Advisor, General Patrick Azazi's comments as evidence of PDP's so-called involvement with Boko Haram. They conveniently forget that the elements that Azazi was referring to at that time have now all left the PDP and have now joined the APC.


We do not need any more lessons, finger-pointing or self-serving statements from leaders of the APC or their party about Boko Haram. What we need and what we want from them is for them to stop supporting and encouraging the terrorists and to stop bringing religion into politics. They should also apologise to the Nigerian people for the shameful things that they have said which have done nothing but encourage the terrorists and the enemies of our people. May God grant them the grace and humility to do so!
-Fani-Kayode is a former Minister of Aviation

SOURCE: Thisday

Jigawa state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disassociated itself from the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 Presidential contest as announced by the North-West chapter of the party shortly after its caucus meeting in Kaduna on Sunday.

The state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud told newsmen in Dutse, the state capital today that the government and people of the state (Jigawa) were not in any way in support of the content the of the communiqué read after the Kaduna PDP north west zonal meeting in Kaduna. “We are not part of the decision. We didn’t know the content of the communiqué read after (Sunday) PDP north west zonal meeting at Kaduna. the government (of Jigawa) and the people remain loyal to the party and the federal republic of Nigeria. We are still members and remained loyal to the party and country.”

The deputy governor who represented governor Sule Lamido said said that governor Sule Lamido and Jigawa state government canvassed supports and voted for President Jonathan in 2011 election “but to our greatest dismay, Jonathan never fulfills any of the promises made to the people in the state.”
Source: www.greenbreporters.com

* I'm in wonder as to how it is GEJ's responsibility to develop the state. What is the governor's responsibility there?

Even though some of the contenders for the 2015 Presidential Elections have not made their intentions known publicly, Nigerians that follow the political scene quite well understand that they are keenly interested from their body language and press mentions. Many people consider the incumbent president to have the upper hand given that he does not have much of a competition in his political party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The All Progressives Congress (APC), on the other hand, has not given an inkling regarding whom it intends to field as its candidate in the presidential polls. Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who has contested albeit unsuccessfully three consecutive times (2003, 2007, 2011), is gradually losing some of the appeal he had due to his age. Other challengers in the race are Sen. Olubukola Saraki; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State.

President Goodluck Jonathan (PDP)
Age: 56 years
Academic Background: Zoologist, University of Port Harcourt
Experience:
Vice President of Nigeria from 29 May 2007 to 6 May 2010
Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 – 28 May 2007
Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State from 29 May 1999 to 9 December 2005
Initiatives:
Roadmap for Power Sector Reform
Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria
Agricultural Transformation
Electoral Transformation
Strengths:
Strong relationship with youths; up-to-date with contemporary developments across the world; intuitive; patience, action-oriented; respect for the rule of law; concern for mass welfare
Weaknesses: Soft-spoken, perceived as soft on matters requiring dictatorship


Olubukola Saraki (APC)
Age: 51 years
Academic Background: M.B.B.S, University of London
Experience:
Senator, Kwara Central from 29 May 2011 to date
Governor of Kwara State from 29 May 2003 to 29 May 2011
Strengths:
Young, technocrat
Weaknesses:
Perceived as one of the politicians in the class of those that are in politics for the immediate gain to their family.

Atiku Abubakar (APC)
Age: 68 years
Academic Background: Law Diploma, Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration
Experience: Vice President of Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007

Strengths: Philanthropist
Weaknesses: “In 2002 Atiku donated $750,000 to the National Peace Corps Association in the United States to fund a new initiative featuring global leaders who will discuss Peace Corps’ impact.” It was the largest ever individual donation in the Association’s history. (Source: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/08/atiku-abubakar-global-leaders-program/)


Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
Age: 72
Educational Background: Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna; Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, United Kingdom; Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India
Experience:
Head of State of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985
Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, from June 1978 to July 1978
Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources from March 1976 to June 1978
Governor of North-Eastern State of Nigeria from August 1975 to March 1976
Strengths:
Strongly perceived as an anti-corruption crusader; Action-oriented
Weaknesses:
Dictatorial; old; perceived as a proponent of Islamic fundamentalism

Rabiu Kwankwaso
Age: 58 years
Educational Background: Ph.D from University of Maiduguri
Experience:
Governor of Kano State from 2011 to present
Minister of Defence from 2003 to 2006
Special Adviser to the President on Dafur and Somalia from 2006 to 2007
Governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003
Strengths: Vocal; action-oriented; stern and firm; Strong proponent of economical development. Made strides in health, education, and agricultural development in Kano State.
Weaknesses: Unknown

There are indications that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and some other past leaders of the country are rooting for the current governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido to run for the Presidency in the next year Presidential election on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It is on record that Obasanjo, who brought in Goodluck Jonathan to run as Vice President to late Umaru Musa Yar’adua, had recently expressed anger with President Jonathan who he said promised that he would do only a term which is supposed to terminate in 2015. Obasanjo has since suspended himself from PDP with a provision that he would return to the party only when President Jonathan honours his promise.
Former President Obasanjo has no basis for his grouse with Jonathan considering that Jonathan is eligible for a second term. Obasanjo isn't being moralistic by turning Lamido, another PDP member, against Jonathan. It is an attempt to stir the hornet's nest in the party. Obasanjo, on his own part, tried to change the Constitution during his administration in order to provide for a third term. He hasn't changed, and I doubt if he would.