Dele Momodu, who publishes ‘Boss Newspaper,’ and an allied of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said that he( Saraki) will contest the 2019 Presidential election.
He said: “The Boss can exclusively reveal that Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has joined the 2019 Presidential race. There is no doubt that he would be a formidable force that should not be ignored because only few politicians in Nigeria today have the pedigree, the experience, the clout and the connection of Senator Saraki.
“Impeccable sources reveal that as he plots his move for the Presidency, he is said to be considering building alliances with all Nigerians of like minds.
“He is also considering using the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu as his running mate. Having already exhibited the ability to work seamlessly with politicians from the two main political parties, it is a path he can easily thread.
“Having risen to the enviable position of the number three citizen, the only place to go for the two-term Senator and former two-term governor is up! Indeed, Saraki is not new to the dynamics of power politics, he is the scion of a political dynasty that is well-known across the nation.
“He has all the criteria that a modern Nigerian president should have, he is tall, urbane, suave, charismatic, cool and collected. But behind this charm, is a man of steel who is never afraid to pursue causes that he feels are right and just.
“Saraki is one of those rare breeds who is street smart as well as book smart. This was evident when he steered his political path away from his father, and triumphed without breaking up the family or the people’s faith in his leadership abilities.
“Those who know, say he is counting on his youthfulness and ability to connect with the youths and his strategy will be to spread the “I am one of you” message and show his track record of working with young technocrats and turning them into prolific achievers.
“Of course, like everything in life, Saraki would have to navigate through thorny paths to reach the Presidential Villa, he surely has many challenges ahead.
“The most important challenge, according to our source, is the perception that he is corrupt This has been a damaging blow to his profile, little wonder that Saraki has not taken this allegation lying down.” [myad]
The Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah has asked God to forgive elders who have committed sins against Him but pretending as if they are good.
In his Easter message to every section of the Nigerian society, Kukah said: “rather than worry that they are burying their children, our elders are busy with other ideas, denying sins that they themselves have committed against You and our dear country. We beg you to overlook their excesses and grant them forgiveness. But, please heal our country.”
He said that the forces of evil should not be allowed to have the last say even as he asked God to protect the country because no human army can do this.
“No power on earth can protect us except you. We are sorry for destroying our country through our collective greed. We stand before you in sorrow and ask for your mercy and forgiveness. The ship of our state is being tossed in the winds, but we know you will save us. Please save our dear country from the grip of evil forces.”
The full text of the message goes thus:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity…WB Yeats(1865-1939)
This is no ordinary Easter, Mr. President because these are no ordinary times for our country, Nigeria, over which you preside.
I know that in your Easter Messages, you, the Senate President, the Speaker and our Governors, will all exhort Nigerians with the usual moral platitudes encouraging us to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ, to love one another, to embrace peace and live in unity. Good talk, but, as you must know very well, most ordinary citizens will say that love, tolerance and a sense of community seem to be in exile or in suspended animation in Nigeria.
Mr. President, I have decided to speak to a cross section of Nigerians, beginning with you and going right down to the many nameless men and women who do not even qualify to be classified as the ordinary man in the street because they live on water and have no streets on which to walk. I believe that this country is so split both vertically and horizontally today that all of us must honestly identify our many sins of omission and commission so that we can honestly seek a solution. This is a time for us to genuinely face what looks to me like an impending calamity. The gathering clouds are clear for us to see and even those who cannot see can hear the rumbling and rolling sound of thunder. We ignore them at our own risk. I therefore state as follows:
To President Muhammadu Buhari:
You know Sir, that you rode into town like a knight in shining armour, carrying the joys, pains, anxieties and fears of a people whose broken dreams had littered and turned the landscape into a kaleidoscopic scenery of desolation and despair. In your campaigns, you had promised to restore a sense of national pride in us by slaying the dragon of corruption, banishing the retrogressive scourge of Boko Haram, bringing back our daughters from Chibok and making our country and citizens truly safe.
We waited in hope right to the end of the first year, but somehow, amidst some hazy weather, all we heard was the sound of screeching tyres with the plane carrying our hopes seemingly unable to take off. It finally did but we had barely gained altitude when sickness struck and you spent the better part of a year seeking healing. The nation prayed for you and miraculously, you recovered. Evidently, you had been saved for a purpose. Our prayer is that this realization will help you understand that you have a date with history and divine judgment.
For now, before your eyes and in your hands, our country, our communities, our people are all in a state of stupor. We have never felt so alienated from one another. The bogeyman of religion, region and ethnicity, which we thought we had overcome by the sheer nature of your support base, have come back with a vengeance to haunt and threaten the very foundation of our existence. Mr. President, you are too distant from your people. There is a sad feeling that you do not share in the pain and suffering of your people. You must very quickly find a way of connecting with your people before the devil takes over the space. For taking on this challenge and connecting with Nigerians, happy Easter.
To the Political Class:
To Governors, Legislators, Senators, and all who are actively engaged in Politics: Please recall that Nigerians have over the years struggled for the building of a democratic, free and egalitarian society. You who are in politics today are beneficiaries of the sacrifices of those who have gone before you.
The nation has not been able to develop a political culture due to the disruptive nature of the political process marred by corruption and violence. Years of military rule have diminished our appreciation of Democracy.
The average age of Governors and Legislators across the country is 50. These are the years of dreams, maturity, sacrifice, patriotism and self-giving. But, sadly, you do not seem to be ready to depart from the culture of cronyism, prebendalism and primitive accumulation. The result has been ruination and decay.
I appeal to you to please abandon the spirit of selfish accumulation and embrace the principles of integrity and genuine service of our country. Do not let this country collapse in your hands. For accepting to make some sacrifice, respect and listen to our people, a happy Easter.
To the Political Parties:
Political parties ought to provide the vital foundation stones and building blocks for institutions through which political actors must graduate. It is here that new entrants learn the fine moral principles and ideologies that underpin the Parties. Sadly, there are no Parties in Nigeria. We have only rickety and disposable contraptions put together for state capture. No sooner does this happen that the actors go their way and the circles of frustration return. This explains the debilitating culture of political incoherence and dissonance in our country.
The Parties have become notorious conveyor belts and incubators of hatred, intolerance and corruption of the worst kind, even against their own members. For now, the political parties seem determined to rely on both Federal and State Government and Institutions to serve as their ATM machines. Tragically, this is why politics is toxic and totally unattractive to people of honour.
I want to call on Parties and their leaders to become true to their political claims as expressed in their Manifestoes, reduce the culture of godfatherism, and focus on building the foundation of a strong political culture. Political parties must reduce their adversarial proclivities and focus on patriotic bipartisan areas of co-operation so as to hold our country together. Our people are dying daily across party lines. For agreeing to make Political parties more respectable, a happy Easter.
To the Religious Leaders:
We are all custodians of the faith and trust of our people. Sadly, we have proved to be as divided as the people we are supposed to lead. We have been seduced by powerful politicians and have allowed politics to corrupt the sacred spaces of religion. Thus we have lost our voices and no longer seem to have the capacity to interrogate power, as we are called to do.
Religious leaders have fallen to the temptation to present their Churches and Mosques as platforms for partisanship. No divinely inspired religion can pretend that there is no distinction between religion and politics. Unless we are in a theocracy, no Church or Mosque can have its entire people with the same political affiliations.
Religious leaders must avoid the temptation of being seduced by filthy lucre and power for personal or any other gain. We must seek the collective welfare of our people and develop a culture of neutrality that can inspire the confidence in our people in the power of religion to change society so that the common good is always sought and promoted. For seriously rethinking our role in moulding our society, a happy Easter.
To the Ordinary people of Nigeria:
The men and women in power who pretend to represent you, call you the masses. The politicians, the business men/women, the religious leaders, all claim to act on your behalf.
But you yourself ,no matter how rich or poor, how educated or otherwise you are, have a duty to understand that God has plans for you and for every individual and you have a duty to both yourself and your neighbour. You have to defend your personal dignity and seek the enforcement of your rights to have property and to raise a family as opposed to waiting for the crumbs from our greedy leaders.
Defend your dignity as human beings and children of God. Do not allow the rich and powerful, who are rich because you are poor, to divide you. They have light and water in their high fenced houses not because they are Muslims or Christians or that they are from this or that or the other tribe but simply because they are rich. You are poor, homeless, have no road, no water, and your children are sick and illiterate, not because you are Christian or Muslim or from this tribe or the other, but simply because you are poor. You and your children vote, but their children do not vote because they are abroad. Your children beg and die on the streets while their children are abroad fraternizing with those they call infidels. They give you a fake religion that enslaves you while they give their own children the religion of education that will liberate them and make them rule over you.
Rise and defend your right to food and shelter because poverty is not a divine inheritance. Easter teaches us the message of love and of gentleness and of true strength. It tells us that to defend oneself does not mean to turn to violence or to any other misdeed or evil. But it means to recognize one’s dignity as a child of God and remember that each one is created and called to enjoy the fullness of life. Easter means to recognise one’s right to be considered and respected, it means being determined to stand up for what is right and just, it means being strong and steadfast, full of hope and full of love, both for oneself and for others. For deciding today to shake off the shackles of bondage and free yourselves so as to secure your future and your family, a happy Easter.
To God the creator and maker of the world:
God our Father, creator of Heaven and earth, we thank you for our dear country Nigeria. You have given us so much, but like selfish animals in a pool of water, our leaders drink and mess up the water for those coming behind them. We thank you for the gift of Easter and other religious feasts. These feasts have been emptied of their moral content because our people only see them as dates on their social calendars. Please forgive us and let us turn to you.
Lord, God of Heaven and earth, so many of our children and our parents have died senseless deaths. Rather than worry that they are burying their children, our elders are busy with other ideas, denying sins that they themselves have committed against you and our dear country. We beg you to overlook their excesses and grant them forgiveness. But, please heal our country.
The forces of evil cannot have the last say. Please protect our country because no human army can do this. No power on earth can protect us except you. We are sorry for destroying our country through our collective greed. We stand before you in sorrow and ask for your mercy and forgiveness. The ship of our state is being tossed in the winds, but we know you will save us. Please save our dear country from the grip of evil forces.
Finally Lord, we commit all our children into your hands. Save them from the hands of marauders who continue to prey on them. Help, guide and protect our children, especially our daughters, who, even in their innocence carry the seeds of the promise of tomorrow. Our daughters in Chibok are still in your hands as well as our dear daughter Leah. Bring them back home, O God. Leah has defied the forces of evil and her innocent courage is a sure sign that our dream for a new dawn is not empty. Raise up more Leahs for us so that our future can be guaranteed. Thank you, Father, and please forgive us our sins. Show our leaders the way, convert them to yourself. For a united Nigeria, happy Easter. [myad]
There is anger in the land. Nigerians are not happy. They are fuming with anger and despair over failed electoral promises of the ruling party.They are angry over their miserable living conditions. They are angry over the continuous rape of the country by her unfaithful political leaders. There is no mistake about it. Every Tom, Dick and Harry are bitter about the excruciating Nigerian condition. Even children are not excluded.
The Nigerian condition is fast becoming beyond prayers and redemption. It has defied all logic and solutions including dry fasting and intercessory incantations. It can be easily felt from the north to the south and from the east to the west. Everybody in Nigeria is angry over the general insecurity in the country dubbed the giant of Africa. Apart from the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east and other isolated places, the murderous campaign of Fulani herdsmen across the country has caused much pain and anguish in the land to the extent that a former Defence Chief, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), has urged victims of such mindless attacks to defend themselves. He said the security agents could no longer defend them. If Danjuma can ask Nigerians to defend themselves, then something is fundamentally wrong with our security systems. And if all Nigerians take up arms to defend themselves, there will be anarchy. Is the government ready to confront such anarchy? What has been officially described as herders/farmers clash is fast metamorphosing into a huge theatre of warfare and the Federal Government is handling the matter with kid gloves. The government is behaving as if there is no cause to worry when the danger signals are already everywhere.
The government has not come up with measures to tame the marauding herdsmen. Government has not deemed it fit to disarm the killers that mask themselves as Fulani herdsmen. The government has not designated them terrorists as it hurriedly did to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The government has refused to use operation python dance or whatever code name to decimate the Fulani herdsmen as did to members of unarmed IPOB members in Abia State. This injustice and double standard is happening in one country under one law and under the watch of a government that lay claim to change.
Add this to the anger expressed recently by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, over the violence and killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna, during the burial ceremony of the late Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri, Bishop of the Diocese of Kafanchan on March 15, 2018. Bishop Kukah is not happy with the religious and ethnic divisions in his home state, Kaduna, ostensibly induced by Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration.
The story of Southern Kaduna reflects the story of power and even social relations between the North and South of Nigeria to a large extent. Kukah did not say anything new. He said what is already in the public domain. What is new is the language used to express his bottled-up anger against the Kaduna and Northern establishments and even the courage to speak truth to power using the funeral mass homily to do so.
There is anger over the politics of abductions and dramatic return of Dapchi schoolgirls and non-release of Leah Sharibu, the only Christian girl among the abducted on account of her faith and refusal to denounce it. That Sharibu was not released because she refused to be converted to Islam should worry the government. With the non-release of Sharibu due to her Christian faith, the country is gradually being dragged into a sectarian crisis of immense proportion.
I hope our leaders know the import of not allowing Leah Sharibu regain her freedom because of her faith. Those that negotiated the release of the 104 girls without Sharibu must do something to get her released forthwith. Leah Sharibu is a hero of sorts for keeping to her faith. She is a symbol of the Christian faith for refusing to deny Christ and the Cross. Let Christians all over the world rise in defence of the religious and human rights of Leah Sharibu.
The government that negotiated for the quick release of Dapchi girls after one month in captivity must also seek for the release of the remaining Chibok girls who have spent years in captivity. The celebration over the release of Dapchi girls and the accompanying photo shows in Abuja and other places are unnecessary distractions and politicization of human misery.
What is happening in Nigeria reminds me of Igbo myths and folktales. It appears that all the animal stories I have enjoyed as a child had the present Nigerian political characters in them. Some of the actions of our current political actors can be rightly located in some Nollywood films. Even some actions of the government can be interpreted from the mood and conceptions of Nollywood movies. That is why some members of the opposition read Nollywood in the dramatic Dapchi episode.
Poverty is another major cause of anger in the land. Nigeria is blessed with plenty material and human resources. Nigeria is blessed with oil and gas as well as other minerals. With plenty petrol-dollar in our purse, more than 70 percent of the population still live below $1 dollar per day. The rising unemployment in the country, especially youth unemployment is adding to the anger in the land. The saying ‘a hungry man is an angry man’ has found a practical expression in Nigeria. When such angry mob visit, they maim, rape and plunder and cause more human misery. The anger of poverty is fueling insurgency, kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy, political agitations and even herdsmen menace blamed on desert encroachment and lack of green pastures.
The unbridled endorsement of candidates over the 2019 general elections, mostly based on selfish motives, is causing anger in most parts of the country. Even the endorsement in the ruling party is causing some divisions already. Such endorsements in Imo, Abia, Ekiti, Osun are tearing friends and party members apart. With these endorsements from left, right and centre across the country, the road to 2019 is fraught with palpable fears and dangers. It is going to be ‘a do or die’ politics again.
Let the Federal Government address the many causes of anger in the land, especially those caused by herdsmen menace, poverty, religious and ethnic violence. Government must ensure the security and welfare of all Nigerians. Endorsement of candidates for the 2019 polls should not replace actual governance. The current obsession with endorsements by some political actors across the country is uncalled for. It is unnecessary distraction. Above all, the visible path to a peaceful Nigeria is restructuring. *Mr. Obiora is the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the SUN newspapers
“We must not allow those who seek to divide us to pretend as if our problems are as a result of another ethnic or religious group.”
This was the message from the former Nigerian Vice President and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to Christians to mark the Easter celebration today, Friday.
He called on the nation’s leaders at all levels to follow the virtues that define this season which he said are: “sacrifice, love, and charity – and come together to help all Nigerians resolve the differences that divide us.”
He also called on Nigerians to emulate the virtues of love and sacrifice which characterized the life of Jesus Christ, describing those two qualities as essential to the unity that Nigeria so desperately needs at this time when vested and provincial interests threaten to tear the nation apart.
Atiku, who holds a traditional title of Waziri Adamawa, also encouraged Nigeria’s leaders to use the opportunity of the Christian celebration of Easter to reflect on their stewardship to their people and to the nation.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has come up with its list of names of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders who it alleged looted the nation’s treasury, in reaction to the list earlier released by the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed on the PDP looters.
In a counter statement today, Friday, National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, said: “in line with the directive of the ruling APC Government that PDP should return all looted monies for Nigerians to accept our apology, PDP hereby wholeheartedly agrees to abide by this suggestion and will get its members to return the said looted money.
“Accordingly, the following are directed to immediately report to the EFCC with their loots:
“Rotimi Amaechi, Timipre Sylva, Bukola Saraki, Aliyu Wammako, Sullivan Chime, Orji Kalu, Ngige, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdullahi Adamu, Abubakar Moh’d, Gov. Lalong, Bello Hayatu, Sen. AbdulAzeez Nyako, Sen. Alkali Moh’d, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, Sen. Andy Uba, Sen. Nazif, Sen. Magnus Abe, Engr. Dakuku Peterside, Sen. Silas Zwingima, Sen. Binta Massi, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, Dr. Idi Hong, Adm. Murtala Nyako, Sen. Bello Tukur, Jummai Al-Hassan, Sen. Hunkuyi, Sen. AbdulAzeez Ibrahim, Sen. Adamu Aliero, George Akume, Joshua Dariye.
“Speakers Aminu Masari, Aminu Tambuwal, Yakubu Dogara, Gali Na’abba, Nat Chairmen Barnabas Gemade and Audu Ogbe, COAS Dambazau, Oserheimen Osunbo, Musliu Obanikoro, Adam Oshiomhole, Jim Nwobodo, Govs Atiku Bagudu, Ganduje, Nasir El-Rufai, Ortom, Ishaku Darius, Rochas Okorocha, Bindo Jibrilla, Abubakar Sani Bello, Ahmed of Kwara, Dakingari, Danjuma Goje, Obanikoro, Sen. Lokobiri and Chinweke Mbadinuju.
“While awaiting the publication of more names, I trust Nigerians will now see our sincerity and accept our apology.” [myad]
Africa is going through another phase of self-imposed slavery and colonization. This is especially in the face of the aggressive buy over of the African continent by the Chinese. Yes, The Chinese.
It’s on report that all the major mining business going right now in Zambia, a country rich in Copper, is by the Chinese. Africa’s debt to the Chinese has also become a source of worry to every right thinking individuals, including the major power blocks in the world. A cursory google of “Africa’s Debt to China” will tell you more of the story. That is on the continental Africa.
Closer home, as at December 2017, the official figures for Nigeria-China Bilateral trade stood at over $2.7bn, with the debt profile standing at over $5bn(five billion US Dollars).
This is clear case of trade imbalance, not solely brought on because of Nigeria’s inability to export alone, the root cause can be traced to different Economic sabotage, unfair business terms between Chinese Manufacturers and underhand dealings by Chinese businessmen.
A case that readily came to mind is that of the CIG Motors, importers of the Chinese brand Vehicles GAC.
GAC Vehicles has seen an increase in demand in Nigeria, due to their rugged nature and functionality in Nigeria. Lot of Nigerians now see the GAC brand as a viable alternative to Japanese, American and European giants.
But there is a snag. According to an ongoing investigation and reports, a Chinese company in Nigeria, CIG Motors, led by one Ms. Diana Chen, has been making trade between Nigerians and the Chinese vehicle manufacturers impossible.
A Nigerian delegate visited the Management of the GAC sometime last year, and came back with the promise that there will be an increased trade with their Nigerian partners, only for Ms. Chen to scuttle everything.
Her primary claim is that she has the sole license to market and sell the GAC brand in Nigeria. WHAT? Who does that? Does BMW or Mercedez Benz, or Toyota, even Honda, gave license to a sole Distributor in a market like Nigeria? Where is that done?
Beyond the simple fact that the claim of sole distributorship, no Monopoly, in Nigeria is ridiculous, can any Nigerian behave in such brazen manner in China?
This is in stark contrast with the bilateral trade agreement signed by both governments of China and Nigeria. It should be noted that in spite of Nigeria’s trade increasing exponentially from a paltry $880m in 1998 to a staggering $3bn as at 2006, the trade between the two nations has remained disproportionately in favour of the Chinese.
As noted by Efem N. Ubi, (PhD), a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute if International Affairs, Lagos, Solving the Nigeria’s trade deficit will go have to beyond rhetoric and diplomatic meeting, with much of the solution having to come from the Nigerian end. In the four key factors he mentioned, one of them is that the Chinese government has to declare its readiness to encourage Chinese companies to outsource and offshore to Nigeria.
What this simply implies is that we cannot be claiming Nigeria-Chinese trade when Nigerian business communities has been handicapped from the start, using the inability for them to trade on common platform, as seen in the case of the GAC Motors/CIG edging out Nigerian businessmen in the Motor manufacturing industry trade.
There are other economic implications for Nigeria as well. It is understood that due to the Monopoly that Ms. Diana Chen and her CIG Motors enjoys, she has been fixing prices of vehicles arbitrarily, making a model that should not cost more than N7m to be as astronomical as N20m. It was also reported that Ms. Chen owns over 90% of CIG Motors, how then is her business beneficial to Nigeria and Nigerians?
This issue is beyond Ms. Chen cornering the GAC market from China, it is about economic diplomacy between China and Nigeria. It is about fair trade partnership. It is about economic espionage and sabotage.
Both the Nigerian government and the Chinese government needs to DO SOMETHING before it snowballs into full economic rows between the two nations.
Adetayo Adegbemle, a public opinion commentator/analyst, wrote in from Lagos (Twitter: @gbemle, @PowerUpNg)
President Muhammadu Buhari has described late Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Umar Buba Jibril who died today, Friday, as a humble and vibrant national legislator.
In a condolence message by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, the President commiserated with the family of late lawmaker and sympathized with the leadership and members of the House of Representatives in particular and the National Assembly in general.
The President Buhari also condoled with the people of Kogi State whom the late lawmaker represented creditably for many years at both the state and national legislatures even as he prayed that Allah will comfort all who mourn the late Jibril and grant his soul eternal rest.
Hon Umar Jibril, who represented Lokoja/Kogi Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, died today in Abuja at the age of 58. He was until his death, the Deputy Majority Leader of the house. He was also a former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly.
Meanwhile, President Buhari had also commiserated with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, over the death of his younger brother, Clement Ogbeh.
He condolence with the immediate family, the Otukpa community of Benue State and friends of the deceased, who worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria and is being buried today. He prayed that God will comfort the family of the departed, and grant his soul eternal rest.
The President General of the umbrella Igbo Organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo has advised Ndigbo to always think of home and not to allow the hardship occasioned of the last two years affect them in thinking about their homeland.
Chief Nwodo, in an Easter message expressed sadness with some state governments in Nigeria for what he called ‘deliberate exorbitant tax’ which he insisted is targeted at Ndigbo to cut their savings and discourage their “Aku rue uno” policy.
Nwodo advised them not to be dissuaded, adding nowhere is their wealth more secure than home even as he also advised Igbos to show more than passing interest in the socio political development in the country by ensuring that all eligible voters collect their voters card and be ready to use it effectively to pick leaders that would fight for their interests.
He advised Nigerians not to allow the prevailing hardship in the country affect their spirit of love, brotherliness and peaceful co existence even though as he emphasized that the country “is clearly under siege from all corners.”
He said that the period of Easter should be used as a good opportunity for Nigerians to pray more to God to send succor to alleviate their sufferings.
Nwodo called on Nigerians to use this year’s Easter festivities to engender the spirit of oneness and also re-dedicate themselves to the virtues of love, patriotism and unity for the desired national development.
“Nigerians Christians must allow the solemnness of the last 40 days of fasting and prayers to influence their thoughts and actions in relating with one another.”
Nwodo said that the Lenten period that just ended offered incalculable lessons in love, humility and forgiveness which should guide our way of living irrespective of religion, ethnic and political differences and help in ushering in a new and adorable era where bitterness, hatred is absent.
The Ohanaeze leader urged Nigerians to use this period to think deeply at the state of the nation with a view to finding a lasting solution to the country’s challenges.
“Restructuring this country is perhaps the sincere and pragmatic way to address the nation’s socio political and economic challenges and time is ripe for political leaders to embrace it”
The Presidency has called on the leadership of opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to return the resources of the country they looted during the 16 years the party occupied the leadership of the country as way of pacifying angry Nigerians instead of an empty apology.
The Presidency, through the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu today, Friday in a statement, advised Nigerians to be cautious of the “less-than-honest apology offered by the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus.
“The point made by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is apt and on cue, that there are heavy moral duties that go with apologies if the culprits want to be taken seriously. The PDP is desperate to recapture power because it no longer has unhindered access to national resources for private uses and its apology should be seen in this context.
“The PDP has not even acknowledged the fact that it plundered the national economy, and for a party that dismissed the anti-corruption war as a political witch hunt, it is impossible to believe that its public apology comes from the bottom of the heart.
“Even desperate thieves apologize because they are caught and not because they are incapable of repeating the crime if they had another opportunity.
“We believe that the PDP should not only apologize for the imposition of candidates, and the culture of impunity, but must also come clean and acknowledge that they participated in large scale corruption and massive diversions of public funds to private pockets while poverty was ravaging the ordinary Nigerians.
“We challenge individual PDP leaders to publicly and voluntarily tell Nigerians how much they stole and then agree to cough up their illegal acquisitions of wealth if they want their apology to be taken seriously.
“Apology borne by desperation to recapture power without a desire to admit how much they stole and the reluctance to return the loot is morally hollow. This goes beyond rebranding. Nigerians are not interested in brands. They want their money back.
“For such apology to gain acceptance, the offenders must first of all show remorse; then return that which was unlawfully taken or restore the damage caused the nation; and commit to never doing the wrong they did again. The PDP has done none of these for them to be taken seriously by anyone.
“Instead of addressing this cogent issue raised by the Minister, the PDP veered off to accuse this administration of borrowing money but failed, in that regard to admit that they borrowed to steal while Buhari administration is borrowing to set up long-delayed infrastructure.
“They accused the President of unevenness, of inflaming ethnic and religious tensions, when it is on record that they gave this country its divisive president who chose the hallowed premises of places of worship to read important national statements.
“President Buhari never fails in his duty as the Chief Security Officer of the nation. He acts fast whenever and wherever there are incidents by ordering law-enforcement agencies to do their job and fact-finding mission to give him actionable reports.
“PDP’s uncaring attitude to these matters, including the kidnapping of 270 girls from Chibok is the hallmark of the long years of misrule.
“Another issue of moral and political significance is about the recent disclosure by US investigators that the PDP government engaged in massive data theft that included the hacking of Candidate Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data before the last general elections. PDP’s continued silence on this reprehensible heist only goes to confirm their remorselessness even as more and more facts are emerging that the same unfair method was the modus operandi that they used to capture political power in the 2007 elections.”
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has accused the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Anthony J.V Obinna, of blackmail as the 2019 general elections get nearer.
A statement by the governor’s media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo said: “We have read the latest accusation by Archbishop Anthony Obinna of the Catholic Diocese of Owerri against Governor Okorocha, and we shall continue to show our respect for the Archbishop, but, one fact remains sacrosanct, he cannot install a governor of APGA extraction in 2019, because he could not do that in 2015 when he first tried it.
“The archbishop had hidden under his Easter message to continue his onslaught on the governor and his Rescue Mission Government, making it the tenth time in less than two months he had descended on the governor and the administration.
“Of all the allegations the archbishop made against the governor, the most unfortunate was the one he said Governor Okorocha is the only voice which everyone has to listen to and obey, otherwise, arrests and imprisonments would follow. That was the height of blackmail.”
Okorocha alleged that the Catholic prelate has continued his onslaught against his government using his Easter message as a guise.
The governor’s aide faulted the claims by the Catholic prelate that the people of the state have been living in fear and panic, even as he challenged him to mention anyone who has been arrested in the state for criticizing the governor.
“And we humbly wish to challenge the archbishop to mention just one person the governor or government arrested for any reason, including criticizing him or anybody, since he came on board as governor in 2011.
“Where the archbishop fails to do this, we ask with every sense of politeness, that he corrects that false claim, and, if he deems it worth-doing, apologise to the governor.”
He said that of all the governors who have governed Imo state, both military and civilian, Okorocha stands out as the most tolerant and accommodating, adding: “the overwhelming love of Imo people for the governor means more to us than the weak voice of the opposition in the state made up of few politicians.”
He alleged that Archbishop Obinna has intensified his disdain or hatred for All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Okorocha this time because of the 2019 election.
“And the archbishop should know that most people have become fed up with his repeated unprovoked and unwarranted attacks on the governor and his government, using every platform and every event available to him.”
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The Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah has asked God to forgive elders who have committed sins against Him but pretending as if they are good.
Africa is going through another phase of self-imposed slavery and colonization. This is especially in the face of the aggressive buy over of the African continent by the Chinese. Yes, The Chinese.
Nigeria: So Much Anger In The Land! By Robert Obioha
The Nigerian condition is fast becoming beyond prayers and redemption. It has defied all logic and solutions including dry fasting and intercessory incantations. It can be easily felt from the north to the south and from the east to the west. Everybody in Nigeria is angry over the general insecurity in the country dubbed the giant of Africa. Apart from the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east and other isolated places, the murderous campaign of Fulani herdsmen across the country has caused much pain and anguish in the land to the extent that a former Defence Chief, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), has urged victims of such mindless attacks to defend themselves.
He said the security agents could no longer defend them. If Danjuma can ask Nigerians to defend themselves, then something is fundamentally wrong with our security systems. And if all Nigerians take up arms to defend themselves, there will be anarchy. Is the government ready to confront such anarchy? What has been officially described as herders/farmers clash is fast metamorphosing into a huge theatre of warfare and the Federal Government is handling the matter with kid gloves. The government is behaving as if there is no cause to worry when the danger signals are already everywhere.
The government has not come up with measures to tame the marauding herdsmen. Government has not deemed it fit to disarm the killers that mask themselves as Fulani herdsmen. The government has not designated them terrorists as it hurriedly did to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The government has refused to use operation python dance or whatever code name to decimate the Fulani herdsmen as did to members of unarmed IPOB members in Abia State. This injustice and double standard is happening in one country under one law and under the watch of a government that lay claim to change.
Add this to the anger expressed recently by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, over the violence and killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna, during the burial ceremony of the late Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri, Bishop of the Diocese of Kafanchan on March 15, 2018. Bishop Kukah is not happy with the religious and ethnic divisions in his home state, Kaduna, ostensibly induced by Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration.
The story of Southern Kaduna reflects the story of power and even social relations between the North and South of Nigeria to a large extent. Kukah did not say anything new. He said what is already in the public domain. What is new is the language used to express his bottled-up anger against the Kaduna and Northern establishments and even the courage to speak truth to power using the funeral mass homily to do so.
There is anger over the politics of abductions and dramatic return of Dapchi schoolgirls and non-release of Leah Sharibu, the only Christian girl among the abducted on account of her faith and refusal to denounce it. That Sharibu was not released because she refused to be converted to Islam should worry the government. With the non-release of Sharibu due to her Christian faith, the country is gradually being dragged into a sectarian crisis of immense proportion.
I hope our leaders know the import of not allowing Leah Sharibu regain her freedom because of her faith. Those that negotiated the release of the 104 girls without Sharibu must do something to get her released forthwith. Leah Sharibu is a hero of sorts for keeping to her faith. She is a symbol of the Christian faith for refusing to deny Christ and the Cross. Let Christians all over the world rise in defence of the religious and human rights of Leah Sharibu.
The government that negotiated for the quick release of Dapchi girls after one month in captivity must also seek for the release of the remaining Chibok girls who have spent years in captivity. The celebration over the release of Dapchi girls and the accompanying photo shows in Abuja and other places are unnecessary distractions and politicization of human misery.
What is happening in Nigeria reminds me of Igbo myths and folktales. It appears that all the animal stories I have enjoyed as a child had the present Nigerian political characters in them. Some of the actions of our current political actors can be rightly located in some Nollywood films. Even some actions of the government can be interpreted from the mood and conceptions of Nollywood movies. That is why some members of the opposition read Nollywood in the dramatic Dapchi episode.
Poverty is another major cause of anger in the land. Nigeria is blessed with plenty material and human resources. Nigeria is blessed with oil and gas as well as other minerals. With plenty petrol-dollar in our purse, more than 70 percent of the population still live below $1 dollar per day. The rising unemployment in the country, especially youth unemployment is adding to the anger in the land. The saying ‘a hungry man is an angry man’ has found a practical expression in Nigeria. When such angry mob visit, they maim, rape and plunder and cause more human misery. The anger of poverty is fueling insurgency, kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy, political agitations and even herdsmen menace blamed on desert encroachment and lack of green pastures.
The unbridled endorsement of candidates over the 2019 general elections, mostly based on selfish motives, is causing anger in most parts of the country. Even the endorsement in the ruling party is causing some divisions already. Such endorsements in Imo, Abia, Ekiti, Osun are tearing friends and party members apart. With these endorsements from left, right and centre across the country, the road to 2019 is fraught with palpable fears and dangers. It is going to be ‘a do or die’ politics again.
Let the Federal Government address the many causes of anger in the land, especially those caused by herdsmen menace, poverty, religious and ethnic violence. Government must ensure the security and welfare of all Nigerians. Endorsement of candidates for the 2019 polls should not replace actual governance. The current obsession with endorsements by some political actors across the country is uncalled for. It is unnecessary distraction. Above all, the visible path to a peaceful Nigeria is restructuring.
*Mr. Obiora is the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the SUN newspapers