President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that he had declined assent to the Electoral Amendment Act to avoid a situation where some of its provisions would bring confusion in the 2019 general elections.
The President, in an explanatory note attached to the letter with which he returned the Act to the National Assembly, promised to sign the Act immediately after the elections next year.
“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.”
Part transcript of the letter the President sent to the National Assembly, explaining the rationale behind the rejection of the controversial Act is reproduced:
Pursuant to section 58 (4) of constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the House of Representatives, my decision on 6th December 201 to decline Presidential Accent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill , 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly.
I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.
Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.
“This leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the national assembly to specifically state in the Bill, that the Electoral Act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 General Election.
It is also important for the following drafting amendments to be made to the Bill: section 5 of the Bill, amending section 18 of the Principal Act should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the figure “30” for the figure “60” is to be affected.
Section 11 of the Bill, amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the proviso is to be introduced.
Section 24 of the Bill which amends Section 85 (1) should be redrafted in full as the introduction of the “electing” to the sentence may be interpreted to mean that political parties may give 21 days notice of the intention to merge, as opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 84 (2) of the Electoral Act which provides the provision for merge of political parties.
The definition of the term “Ward Collection officer” should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition than the capitalized and undefined term “Registration Area Collation Officer.”
On December 1, 2018, the remains of Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, the Iyasele of Esanland, were buried in his Mausoleum in his country home in Uromi. Although, I had, on that occasion, written a tribute to celebrate his persona, humanity and generosity, about a week after, I have yet some more to write in his memory within the context of two important events that always happen, back-to-back, in December, and to which he had an obligatory attachment.
One is the remembrance of a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters and Second-in-Command to General Olusegun Obasanjo from 1976-1979, the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who died on December 8, 1997 in Abakaliki prison where he was serving a jail term for his purported involvement in a phantom coup to oust the dreaded military dictatorship of the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha. The other is the birthday of a former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma, on December 9.
Anenih had leveraged on our closeness to saddle me with some media responsibilities, largely on consulting basis, and had found it unnecessary to appoint a media aide. The understanding was that, in a world in which internet and mobile telephony have mediated spatial distance, I could always be reached for necessary media interventions while attending to my other responsibilities.
Newspaper adverts in memory of Yar’Adua and in celebration of Danjuma’s birthday were some of the interventions. In recent years, I had come to realise that I needed not to wait for Anenih’s instructions on these. I would simply do the needful and draw his attention to the artworks for his approval. But I remember an unpalatable 2015 incident. That was the year the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost the presidential election. He had resigned from his position as Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees. So many things happened in quick succession, including his emergency open-heart surgery.
Unrealized expectations and dreams had weighed down many political partisans. I thought certain things would not interest Anenih in that situation. I thought the annual ritual of remembering his friend, Yar’Adua, and celebrating another friend’s (Danjuma) birthday, would be some of those things. I decided neither to talk nor do anything about them. On the morning of December 8, my phone rang and he was on the line. I knew immediately that he was going to talk about Yar’Adua’s remembrance advert that was not placed in the newspapers. I was right. He was not happy.
Anenih said I should have reminded him and he insisted that the advert should be placed in the newspapers the following day. I used the opportunity to remind him of Danjuma’s birthday the following day (December 9). His response was: “I hope you are working on that already. I don’t want what happened with the Yar’Adua advert to happen again.” He made it clear that as long as he lived, he would continue to remember Yar’Adua and celebrate Danjuma. A former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, had virtually become a beneficiary of Anenih’s annual celebratory ritual. He had, on the occasions he asked me to place birthday greetings for the general, remarked that “Abdulsalami is a good man.”
I know that the political relationship between Yar’Adua and Anenih dates back to the Third Republic politics whereas their personal relationship began while both were in service: Anenih as a policeman and Yar’Adua as a soldier. It was in the ill-fated Third Republic that both men worked very closely with each other in the task of actualizing the presidential aspiration of Yar’Adua. Anenih had once told me years before the publication and public presentation of his autobiography: “My Life and the Nigerian Politics” that he came to be known and addressed as “Leader” after Yar’Adua referred to him as such in his speech in one of their several meetings in Benin while at the head of Yar’Adua’s presidential campaign. And, the sobriquet stuck.
The appreciation of the magnitude of Yar’Adua’s influence on Anenih came from him at his 80th birthday reception in Abuja. In his speech on the occasion, he drew attention to the presence of the wife of Yar’Adua, Hajia Binta, whom he asked to stand for recognition. Anenih was emotional as he expressed gratitude to Hajia Binta for honouring his invitation. As he wiped the tears that cascaded down his cheeks with his white handkerchief, he declared: “Whatever I am today in Nigerian politics, God used the late General Shehu Yar’Adua to make it possible.” That certainly explained his loyalty to the Yar’Adua family, which he extended to the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The Danjuma story as told by Anenih was also quite interesting. Both of them served as cabinet ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term as president from 1999 to 2003. Obasanjo and Danjuma were friends, but issues having to do with an oil block to Danjuma’s company had put a strain between them. Friends became enemies. Out of Obasanjo’s government in his second term, Anenih had tried to reconcile them. Obasanjo reportedly frustrated the reconciliation. Danjuma, in his generosity, would go out of his way to appreciate the effort of the Iyasele of Esanland. That consolidated the friendship between them.
Interestingly, Yar’Adua was an astute businessman just as Danjuma. But while the former would go on, upon his retirement, to build and nurture a powerful political machine with the sole objective of actualizing his presidential aspiration, the latter would prefer to devote his time, energy and resources in the boardrooms. Whereas, the organizational legerdemain of the Katsina-born general was legendary, his political savvy, even in death, continues to confound and inspire, at the same time, his followers and associates. For Danjuma, he continues to affect humanity with the enormity of his philanthropy.
These different trajectories were aptly recognized and appreciated by Anenih during his life and times. Consider the last commemorative message published last year in three national newspapers by Anenih on Yar’Adua: titled, “Unforgettable Shehu”, it read: “You were steadfast in your political conviction. You committed yourself to the building of a united, progressive Nigeria. You left indelible marks in the politics of our nation. You nurtured friendship with exceptional care and consideration. You were, no doubt, a great man, a rare gem. My dear friend, Shehu, may your worthy legacy continue to endure.”
And, this was Anenih’s last message on the occasion of Danjuma’s 80thbirthday last year: titled, “A General with a Heart of Gold @ 80”: “We, who are your friends, call you TY because that is who you simply are to us. From our privileged relationship, we see in you simplicity of the soul and generosity of spirit; we see in you humaneness, love of country and devotion to the Almighty God. As an officer of the elite Nigerian military where you rose to the position of Chief of Army Staff, you served the country with distinction and left indelible footprints in the sand of time. You are arguably the best that the Nigerian military has produced in your generation, and you have continued to positively impact this nation with a legacy of communal compassion and uncommon act of philanthropy.
“As a Minister of Defence during the Obasanjo regime (1999-2003) where we were both Ministers along with other prominent Nigerians such as Mallam Adamu Ciroma, you served with unparalleled commitment and distinguished yourself as a member of the Federal Cabinet. As a disciplined, courageous and patriotic Nigerian, you have at all times fought and stood for the unity and stability of the country. Through your entrepreneurship and exemplary life of selflessness in giving to noble causes, you have shown that the only life worth living is one lived in the service that uplifts humanity. I am proud to state that I and my family are beneficiaries of your acts of kindness and generosity. On behalf of myself and the entire Anenih family, I wish you a happy 80th birthday and pray that each day in your life brings you love, happiness, health and immeasurable joy. Congratulations!”
Remarkably, Anenih was directly involved in the couching of these two messages. Very unlike him, he dictated the tenor of the messages. Did he have a premonition that they might be his last? Indeed, December 8 and 9, 2018 would not record Anenih’s commemorative and celebratory lines in any newspaper for Yar’Adua and Danjuma. Regardless, Yar’Adua continues to live in the minds of those he left behind while Anenih has joined the celestial pantheon. And for Danjuma, family members and associates would clink the good wine glasses in celebration of his 81stbirthday. Rest in peace Yar’Adua! Rest in Peace Anenih! Happy birthday, Danjuma!
Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch Magazine, was a media consultant to the late Chief Anenih.
Tomorrow, Saturday, December 08, 2018, creme de la crème of the society will converge at the National Universities Commission to witness, celebrate and give support to one of their own, who launches his personal memoir titled ……But for God…….
It is a book that encapsulates, in simple and convincing language, the life and times of DrAaze Thomas Adaba, the OhiEtohueyi of Ebirland (meaning the beacon of Light in Ebiraland) and the pioneer Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).It is a book written, from start to finish, by the celebrant himself.
It gives me great pleasure to say this. I knew when this project of writing this 631page book began, shortly before his 74th birthday in 2015. It is amazing how Dr Tom Adaba effortlessly recaptures events that happened in his life in the late 50s and 60s.
It is an affirmation that even at age 77, oga remains articulate, retentive and very active. To crown it, he was not only honest to himself but looking back he hysterically laughed at himself. He did not hold back any information as it relates to his own fair share of rascality as a child. Despite his rascality, he was obedient, respectful, brilliant and hardworking. He hawked kerosene as it were the practice in those days.
Rascal, yes, he was and you could still see some element of it in him till date. l will give one or two examples to buttress this claim. As a child growing up in Karaworo, Karaworo is a quarter around RCM North in Okene, where the first Catholic Church was built in Ebiraland. It is important, I also mention this. There is a quarter in Lokoja known as Karaworo too. So, I am not mistaken one for another.
As Dr. Tom Adaba himself brilliantly recaptures, hear him talk about his foster father, the late papa Balogun, a no-sense man who was his school headmaster and the Catechist at that time. Let us flip through the book.
“…….One God-given early evening, after completing our chores of cleaning the sanctuary, the altar, candle holders and other utensils, we again embarked on enacting the entire process of the Mass. Unaware that my foster father who was conducting catechism classes at the other end outside the church, had at one stage come towards our group but maintained a distance, was watching everything we were doing, I was acting his part with such gusto in interpreting, using his mannerisms and limping.
“Thomas!” he called. I am not sure if I could answer. Should I run away? If I did, to where? At that point, all my fellow actors had fled leaving me alone with a wet pant, shaken and frightened, Looking into my eyes, I could estimate how many strokes of the cane were awaiting me in the house. Getting home, the news was already well spread from the church and I was ordered to remain on my knees till he came……..”
At another occasion, the celebrant rebelled against his class teacher popularly nick-named “Mr. Cane”. Just imagine Dr Tom Adaba in your mind, in the fifties in his white shorts and shirt school uniform leading a protest to the RevdFr in charge of the school. What was the outcome of that protest? Let us return to ….But for God…., quoted copiously
“….our class teacher whom we all called teacher Peter whose nickname by the pupils was Mr. Cane brought us three questions in Arithmetic for us to answer during the lesson period for the subject. That very morning the Standard 5 and 6 pupils were doing the entrance Examinations to St. Thomas’ Teachers College, Ibusa. One thing he servoured so much was flogging the pupils hence we named him Mr. Cane. He did not even do the entrance examination, yet he gave it to us to test our ability.
After marking our work, it was only Andrew SalihuOnotu who scored 2 out of 3. About 5 of us scored 1 out of 3. Instead of congratulating us for our efforts, his verdict was that for each point missed, we would receive three strokes of the cane. When he administered the 3 strokes on Andrew, we knew that we were in for a rough time. The 5 of us received 6 strokes each, while the remaining 24 received 9 strokes each.
Teacher Peter decreed that only Andrew was qualified to go on break, the rest of us were to remain in the classroom during break time. And so it was, our pupil teacher and Andrew who scored 2 out of 3 left the rest of us in the classroom during break time. Staying in the classroom was not much of a bother to me. My main concern was my one penny which I planned to use in buying moi-moi and playing the big-boy for a change on that day that was aborted by teacher Peter’s detention.
The fact is that I hardly ever had money to buy moi-moi during break time. I was almost perpetually at the moi-moi stand to beg others who bought for some. In those days, one penny worth of moimoi was a milk cup full. That day was the only day I was planning not to beg but to be begged for a cut of moimoi. Behold, the opportunity was now aborted by teacher Peter’s high handed indiscretion.
A thought came to my mind…. I gathered five of my fellow mission boys and we went to the Rev Father’s house which was just some 100-metres away from the school to report what had happened… I took one of teacher Peter’s used canes and headed for Father’s house to present our case…. I briefed my colleagues who bought into the idea…. We were all familiar faces to the priest because we were mass servers or Altar boys. In my own case, he was very familiar with my ability to speak English fluently. I led the team and as the spokesperson, narrated all that had happened to Father. Little did I know what impact this would have. What I wanted was for Father in his capacity as the Manager and overall boss of the school to permit us to go out for break like all other pupils. This he did. He took the cane from me…. his face now red and his hair standing, he simply said that I should go back to the classroom and tell my other classmates that they should go out on break.
I sensed a brewing trouble. Father who was also the school manager had sent for the headmaster whose house was also about 100-metres away and who was my foster father. I could not think of any moi-moi at that time as I was seeing an unfolding episode that I did not bargain for. In other words, it was not intended. As I saw my foster father heading for Father’s house, I went and hid myself under the bridge that was very close to the priest’s house. Indeed it was an ear-shot from where I hid.
On arrival, the shout with which the priest opened his statements were as frightening as lightening. He did not hesitate to tell my foster father that I led a group of mission boys to report to him about the atrocities of Teacher Peter. I heard him openly blame my foster father for letting such nonsense go on in a school that he headed. He then demanded that Teacher Peter be brought to his office immediately…..my foster father was simply pleading repeatedly for the Father’s patience promising that it would never happen again. And when Teacher Peter arrived, the priest’s rave increased in tempo, verbal abuses of all dimensions and strong reprimand were hurled at the teacher. Indeed the teacher could not or was not allowed to utter a word until he was told to apologise to the priest by my foster father…. the priest sternly warned him never to handle a cane again. On bended knees, he then began to rattle repeatedly “ I am very sorry Father. It will never happen again.”
At the end of that stormy and humiliating session, Teacher Peter whom we thought was a small god came out of the priest’s office drenched in tripidating sweat like a chicken beaten by rain storm. He was led out by my foster father. I quickly ran into the classroom as the resumption bell had been rung some five minutes earlier. I ran to take my seat before the terror arrived to take a roll call.When he arrived, it was certain that all was not well. He spent more time looking at me ostensibly with some helpless bitterness. Rather than take the next lesson which was Nature Study, we were told to go out under one of the trees for some relaxed songs or game competition.
Not long after we had settled outside, I saw my foster father coming with some canes and two big boys from the upper class. Before all my classmates, he asked me what I did earlier on. Instead of answering, I was calling out all my partners in the crime. They were Christopher Adeleke, Joachim Onotu, who later became a Priest and is late, Francis Oyibo (late) Vincent Nwaduba (late). Before I could call two of them who were obviously denying, I got a good stroke of the cane on my back from the headmaster. Then I confessed all that transpired including our “great trek” to the priest’s office. At that stage, the big boys were told to carry me. One clasped my two hands in his arm thereby rendering me helpless, while the other held my two legs stretching me out for the administering of strokes of the cane on my buttocks….”
Are you still wondering why Dr Tom Adaba is such an embodiment of discipline? There is no way any person will undergo this kind of furnace of discipline and not be a strict disciplinarian himself. Now enjoy this.
“……..We woke up as usual at 5 O’clock, ran to the public tap which was 150-yards away, under some mango trees. Because it was dry season, there were some other people on the line before my turn. I deferred to them and waited for my turn. In the process, I slept off under the mango tree. When I woke up and fetched my water, I was already late for my foster father’s bath. ….., on arriving home with the water, words had already gone to my people that I was sleeping under the mango tree. I was told to remain kneeling till my foster father came back from Mass. On his arrival, he directed one of the most wicked teachers who was living with us to give me 6 strokes of the cane in that cold morning. With relish, this sadist administered it with extras on my back.
As if what I had received was not enough, I was given a big pot which I had to fill before going to school. I ran with my bucket with the same speed from the house to the public tap. On getting there, I simply forced my way to the tap breaking the pot of the woman whose turn it was. I filled my bucket and of course the woman had to follow me to the house with the broken pot. Within five minutes, I was home with a bucket full of water and a woman with a broken pot. My foster father paid three pence for the pot but I paid another 6strokes of the cane for being over-zealous to fill the pot before school time. Guess who administered it again? It was the monster. After this, I was beginning to limp slightly……. By the time, I could fill the big pot, the final bell for reopening of the school day had struck. I got dressed in my damp calico school uniform which was washed with ashes on Saturday because there was no soap to wash it. On arrival at the school, my uniform was adjudged dirty and damp by the school’s sanitary master. This earned me six more strokes of the cane. The school band was still playing, though rounding up when I got to the door of the class. My class teacher adjudged me late. That qualified me for the final six strokes that left me incapable of sitting down well in the class for the whole day. My school teacher later sympathized with me when he asked me why I was limping and could not sit well and I told him of my plight. Indeed, he regretted the six strokes he gave me. A teacher with a human heart you would say.
The celebrant shares his experience as a kerosene hawker in Okenein Karaworo and its environs.
“I hardly had time for any school work. The only time I was in school was the morning period. After the school mid morning break, I had to take off my school uniform for house chores. When others were in class, I was given bottles of kerosene and other small wares to go and sell in the villages. This lasted till about 8pm when I would arrive sometimes with good sales and at others bad or zero sales……”
I like to share the celebrant’s fair share of persecution at his place of work.
One day, an office assistant, he recalls, entered his office and said “ogawetin you do this people? They done put your name down for retrenchment to Minister for approval. You no known person?” The celebrant replied “..I do not have anybody to intervene but I have God”. The office assistant was angry and angrily retorted “….oga, everything God, God. You and this your God self”. With that the office assistant stormed out of his office. The celebrant want down on his kneels but not before he called his pillar of support of over 26years at that time, our unassuming mother, Lady Aaze Theresa Adaba, about the unhealthy development in the office. While the celebrant was in the office praying, mama was in the house asking God to take control. Of course, God did take control. Let us be guided by the book once more.
“…I was told that the Director General had asked after me a few times. I then called him to find out if he wanted me to come upstairs to see him but he said gleefully that Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, the Minister of Information, to whom the list (list of those to be retrenched) was submitted wanted to see me. The DG was expecting that the Minister, out of courtesy, would tell me to get prepared for my retirement. I immediately took off for the Minister’s office. He received me warmly as an old colleague and friend in our lecturing days in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
He then informed me of an upcoming parastatal in the Ministry and asked, if I was interested. On replying that I was, he asked for my curriculum vitae, which I promptly fetched from my office. He then asked if I knew any other people that could be slated for consideration. I offered two names of old colleagues who I believed, were quite qualified. He was grateful for it and we parted.
The next time we would meet was when he again sent for me through my DG. I went and he told me that he had processed the papers of the prospective candidates and wanted me to know that he was about to submit his recommendation to the President. (Please note, the President then was IBB – additional emphasis mine). He simply assured me that I was one of his recommended candidates for Mr. President’s final decision. I thanked him for that honour and departed.
Our third meeting was early in August in Ogun State when he went to officially open an international conference for African Journalists organized by us, members of the Ministry’s advisory committee on Information. After the ceremony, he told me to see him on Saturday of that week after we had finished the conference. On the dot of 2.00pm, I was in his office. He congratulated me saying
“Mr. President has graciously approved your appointment as the Director General of the new broadcast media regulatory body the National Broadcasting Commission. Mr. President expects a sterling performance from you. I shall be away for two weeks in theFarEast. The news will be embargoed until I come back. Therefore keep it to your chest and prepare for me a work chart for the new Commission……
The rest is now history
The book “….But for God….” Is an inspirational book suitable for all classes of persons in many directions. It is a book that inspires one into the academic world. It is a book that encourages you to believe in your God and remain steadfast in the face of persecution at work places. Thebook encourages couples to be united in the face of hardship and other matrimonial challenges. It must be said, the celebrant is a phenomenal, selfless and generous in every direction. He could be friendly but do not take that for granted.
The book is recommended to students of history. It is a book that pleasure readers will find as a handy companion and interesting to read.
What else to say? Let us meet at the book launch on Saturday, December 08 2018 where one of his old students, a former VC the University of Abuja and now a Dean at the Nile University, Professor NuhuYaqubhas been saddled with the responsibility to review the book proper.
I recall Mr. Peter Enahoro of Peterpan fame, a bosom friend of the celebrant who prides himself as “the living ancestor” said to me, via WhatsApp message few days ago thus “……I’m sure it will go well on Dec 08 (meaning the book launch – additional emphasis mine) DrAdaba is a brilliant organizer. My regards to him”
And another guru in journalism, Dan Agbese of NewsWatch, Dr Tom Adaba’s “paddy, paddy, since their younger days in Jos said “….we splashed Jos in colours….”.Please let us splash Maitama the venue of the ook launch withwithcolours.
Bernard Balogun (BenPino) wrote from Wuse District of Abuja and could be reached via bernardbalogun1@gmail.com.
President Muhammadu Buhari has, for the third time, declined his assent to the Amendment made in the Electoral Act and returned it to the National Assembly.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate), Ita Enang, who spoke to newsmen today, Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the President has communicated to the National Assembly on the decision taken on the Electoral Act.
He refused to answer questions on the implications of none assent of the President to the Act, saying continuously that the National Assembly is in a better position to make any inputs into the matter.
He said however that the President has assented to the amendment made to the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) act.
According to him, with the assent, NOUN can now operate and enjoy the same status like other conventional universities in the country.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, has donated 140,468 bags of food items to displaced victims of Boko Haram in Borno and Yobe states. The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engr Mustapha Maihaja, who this at the flag off of distribution of the items at Teacher Village in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, said that the food items will be distributed by the centre to 33,343 households in designated camps and communities in Borno State over the next four months. A statement by the Head of Media and Public Relations, Sani Datti, quoted Maihaja as commending the effort of the Minister of Defence, Retired Brigadier General Mansur Dan Ali, who facilitated food assistance to the North-East. The statement read: “In Borno, a total of 125,372 bags of 25kg of rice and beans and 62,686 cartons of condiments with each containing 4kg semovita, two litres of vegetables oil, 29 sachets of tomatoes, 1kg of salt and two sachets of seasoning will be distributed directly through the combined efforts of NEMA, SEMA and critical stakeholders using the voucher system. Each household of six persons will get a food basket of 59.8kg for the period of one month. “In Yobe, a total of 15,096 bags of 25kg of rice and beans with 7,548 condiments will be distributed to 3,774 households identified to benefit from the gesture, where the total food basket to be distributed was put at 225,685.” Leader of the team, Nasser Alsubaie, an Assistant Director of Emergency Aid From King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, said that the generous donation would benefit more than 840,000 Internally Displaced People in the North-East, as the donation was a testimony of the humanitarian commitment of the centre. “It will be recalled that early this year, Saudi Arabia pledged to donate the sum of $10m for capacity building to NEMA and relief assistance to the Federal Government to address the food crisis and resultant malnutrition caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East.”
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole of introducing rascality into the party. “The party’s national chairman has, in less than six months, enthroned the culture of rascality into the party and the development is not good for the Party. APC is not known for rascality and abuses. And the earlier he is called to order the better for the party.” Governor who reacted to statement attributed to Oshiomhole that God will punish both Obasanjo and Abubakar by allowing President Muhammadu Buhari defeat them in 2019, lamented the manner Oshiomhole had been abusing sitting governors and the former president. He advised Oshiomhole to take a cue from Buhari, pointing out that the President has never used any foul language on any Nigerian, low or high, and that was the best way to go. The statement read: “Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is the former President of the Country. And no matter the provocation or his political activities this time, Oshiomhole should have considered his status as the former President of the Country in talking about him, and should have exercised caution in addressing him. “Saying that God would punish the former President was never advisable. This should not be the language of APC.”
The Presidency has described those who have been saying that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari will rig the 2019 elections in the country as Irritants. The Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, who spoke on a programme on Arise TV, said that the President would rather lose fairly than to rig the 2019 elections. According to him, the citizens of the country have shown faith in what the president is doing and hope that the administration of Buhari will take Nigeria to the place the country deserves. Adesina, who said he was surprised to hear that some people may have entertained the idea that the president will attempt to rig the presidential elections, said that he finds the idea offensive. The presidential spokesman said that if anybody is going to try to rig the elections, then it would certainly not going to be the president. He asked Nigerians to disregardthe idea of a possible rigged presidential election. Adesinahe said that the Buhari’s ‘Next Level document’ is aimed at ideepening the development presently taking place in the country. “It is based on the consolidation and progress of what has already been done and what is to be done in the future. “The development will continue and will give its fruits soon. If Buhari is re-elected such focal areas as economy, security and infrastructure will receive the attention and funding.” He also said that those Nigerians who would vote for Buhari will not be disappointed. “As for the comments of the president himself, Muhammadu Buhari said that the general election in 2019 would usher another clime of unity, peace and maturity. He also added that the political consciousness in the country has increased, as can be seen in the increased number of political parties that were registered.” Source: Vanguard
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has distanced itself from Wednesday’s endorsement of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) as a consensus candidate for 2019 presidential election. SDP National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Alfa who disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja, said the party already has a candidate, Donald Duke, whose name had been submitted to INEC for the 2019 election. Alfa said that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party would meet next week to take a position on the issue. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), on Wednesday announced that it had endorsed Mr Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2019 presidential election. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the spokesman of the group, who announced the endorsement, said Mr Abubakar is the coalition’s consensus candidate. The SDP publicity secretary, however, said that the attention of the party had been drawn to the statement issued on the endorsement. “We want to enjoin the general public, SDP faithful, especially all our candidates to carry on with their campaigns effectively, irrespective of the development. “We assure you that the SDP National Working Committee (NWC) will meet and issue (an) appropriate statement on the matter next week. The SDP is one of the 39 opposition parties that formed CUPP in July 2018 with the aim of producing a presidential candidate that can defeat the ruling party All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2019 election with the aim of forming a government of national unity. NAN.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that Nigeria is Doomed under the administration of the party. In a letter of resignation which he addressed the chairman of the party in his Sharada ward, Kano State, Na’abba, whowas speaker of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003: “my decision to resign from the party follows the cavalier manner in which both the Federal Government, States controlled by the APC and the APC itself are being run, as a result of which anybody who has eyes to see only sees doom and not prosperity for our dear country.” Na’aba, who complained about the manner in which the party’s Congresses and primary elections were conducted, said: “there is clearly no doubt in my mind, and the minds of visionary Nigerians, that the APC administration is characterised by lack of consultation, crass incompetence, lack of vision, arrogance, and dangerous fixation.”
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Tomorrow, Saturday, December 08, 2018, creme de la crème of the society will converge at the National Universities Commission to witness, celebrate and give support to one of their own, who launches his personal memoir titled ……But for God…….
President Muhammadu Buhari has, for the third time, declined his assent to the Amendment made in the Electoral Act and returned it to the National Assembly.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, has donated 140,468 bags of food items to displaced victims of Boko Haram in Borno and Yobe states.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole of introducing rascality into the party.
What Would Anenih Have Penned For Yar’Adua, Danjuma? By Sufuyan Ojeifo
On December 1, 2018, the remains of Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, the Iyasele of Esanland, were buried in his Mausoleum in his country home in Uromi. Although, I had, on that occasion, written a tribute to celebrate his persona, humanity and generosity, about a week after, I have yet some more to write in his memory within the context of two important events that always happen, back-to-back, in December, and to which he had an obligatory attachment.
One is the remembrance of a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters and Second-in-Command to General Olusegun Obasanjo from 1976-1979, the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who died on December 8, 1997 in Abakaliki prison where he was serving a jail term for his purported involvement in a phantom coup to oust the dreaded military dictatorship of the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha. The other is the birthday of a former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma, on December 9.
Anenih had leveraged on our closeness to saddle me with some media responsibilities, largely on consulting basis, and had found it unnecessary to appoint a media aide. The understanding was that, in a world in which internet and mobile telephony have mediated spatial distance, I could always be reached for necessary media interventions while attending to my other responsibilities.
Newspaper adverts in memory of Yar’Adua and in celebration of Danjuma’s birthday were some of the interventions. In recent years, I had come to realise that I needed not to wait for Anenih’s instructions on these. I would simply do the needful and draw his attention to the artworks for his approval. But I remember an unpalatable 2015 incident. That was the year the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost the presidential election. He had resigned from his position as Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees. So many things happened in quick succession, including his emergency open-heart surgery.
Unrealized expectations and dreams had weighed down many political partisans. I thought certain things would not interest Anenih in that situation. I thought the annual ritual of remembering his friend, Yar’Adua, and celebrating another friend’s (Danjuma) birthday, would be some of those things. I decided neither to talk nor do anything about them. On the morning of December 8, my phone rang and he was on the line. I knew immediately that he was going to talk about Yar’Adua’s remembrance advert that was not placed in the newspapers. I was right. He was not happy.
Anenih said I should have reminded him and he insisted that the advert should be placed in the newspapers the following day. I used the opportunity to remind him of Danjuma’s birthday the following day (December 9). His response was: “I hope you are working on that already. I don’t want what happened with the Yar’Adua advert to happen again.” He made it clear that as long as he lived, he would continue to remember Yar’Adua and celebrate Danjuma. A former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, had virtually become a beneficiary of Anenih’s annual celebratory ritual. He had, on the occasions he asked me to place birthday greetings for the general, remarked that “Abdulsalami is a good man.”
I know that the political relationship between Yar’Adua and Anenih dates back to the Third Republic politics whereas their personal relationship began while both were in service: Anenih as a policeman and Yar’Adua as a soldier. It was in the ill-fated Third Republic that both men worked very closely with each other in the task of actualizing the presidential aspiration of Yar’Adua. Anenih had once told me years before the publication and public presentation of his autobiography: “My Life and the Nigerian Politics” that he came to be known and addressed as “Leader” after Yar’Adua referred to him as such in his speech in one of their several meetings in Benin while at the head of Yar’Adua’s presidential campaign. And, the sobriquet stuck.
The appreciation of the magnitude of Yar’Adua’s influence on Anenih came from him at his 80th birthday reception in Abuja. In his speech on the occasion, he drew attention to the presence of the wife of Yar’Adua, Hajia Binta, whom he asked to stand for recognition. Anenih was emotional as he expressed gratitude to Hajia Binta for honouring his invitation. As he wiped the tears that cascaded down his cheeks with his white handkerchief, he declared: “Whatever I am today in Nigerian politics, God used the late General Shehu Yar’Adua to make it possible.” That certainly explained his loyalty to the Yar’Adua family, which he extended to the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The Danjuma story as told by Anenih was also quite interesting. Both of them served as cabinet ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term as president from 1999 to 2003. Obasanjo and Danjuma were friends, but issues having to do with an oil block to Danjuma’s company had put a strain between them. Friends became enemies. Out of Obasanjo’s government in his second term, Anenih had tried to reconcile them. Obasanjo reportedly frustrated the reconciliation. Danjuma, in his generosity, would go out of his way to appreciate the effort of the Iyasele of Esanland. That consolidated the friendship between them.
Interestingly, Yar’Adua was an astute businessman just as Danjuma. But while the former would go on, upon his retirement, to build and nurture a powerful political machine with the sole objective of actualizing his presidential aspiration, the latter would prefer to devote his time, energy and resources in the boardrooms. Whereas, the organizational legerdemain of the Katsina-born general was legendary, his political savvy, even in death, continues to confound and inspire, at the same time, his followers and associates. For Danjuma, he continues to affect humanity with the enormity of his philanthropy.
These different trajectories were aptly recognized and appreciated by Anenih during his life and times. Consider the last commemorative message published last year in three national newspapers by Anenih on Yar’Adua: titled, “Unforgettable Shehu”, it read: “You were steadfast in your political conviction. You committed yourself to the building of a united, progressive Nigeria. You left indelible marks in the politics of our nation. You nurtured friendship with exceptional care and consideration. You were, no doubt, a great man, a rare gem. My dear friend, Shehu, may your worthy legacy continue to endure.”
And, this was Anenih’s last message on the occasion of Danjuma’s 80thbirthday last year: titled, “A General with a Heart of Gold @ 80”: “We, who are your friends, call you TY because that is who you simply are to us. From our privileged relationship, we see in you simplicity of the soul and generosity of spirit; we see in you humaneness, love of country and devotion to the Almighty God. As an officer of the elite Nigerian military where you rose to the position of Chief of Army Staff, you served the country with distinction and left indelible footprints in the sand of time. You are arguably the best that the Nigerian military has produced in your generation, and you have continued to positively impact this nation with a legacy of communal compassion and uncommon act of philanthropy.
“As a Minister of Defence during the Obasanjo regime (1999-2003) where we were both Ministers along with other prominent Nigerians such as Mallam Adamu Ciroma, you served with unparalleled commitment and distinguished yourself as a member of the Federal Cabinet. As a disciplined, courageous and patriotic Nigerian, you have at all times fought and stood for the unity and stability of the country. Through your entrepreneurship and exemplary life of selflessness in giving to noble causes, you have shown that the only life worth living is one lived in the service that uplifts humanity. I am proud to state that I and my family are beneficiaries of your acts of kindness and generosity. On behalf of myself and the entire Anenih family, I wish you a happy 80th birthday and pray that each day in your life brings you love, happiness, health and immeasurable joy. Congratulations!”
Remarkably, Anenih was directly involved in the couching of these two messages. Very unlike him, he dictated the tenor of the messages. Did he have a premonition that they might be his last? Indeed, December 8 and 9, 2018 would not record Anenih’s commemorative and celebratory lines in any newspaper for Yar’Adua and Danjuma. Regardless, Yar’Adua continues to live in the minds of those he left behind while Anenih has joined the celestial pantheon. And for Danjuma, family members and associates would clink the good wine glasses in celebration of his 81stbirthday. Rest in peace Yar’Adua! Rest in Peace Anenih! Happy birthday, Danjuma!
Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch Magazine, was a media consultant to the late Chief Anenih.