Buhari’s Chief Of Staff Describes New National Intelligence Boss As Patriot, intelligent And Gentleman

January 20, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, has described the newly-appointed Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as “a patriot, intelligent and consummate gentleman.”
Abba Kyari, who spoke at a send-off in honour of Ahmed Abubakar today, Friday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the new NIA boss who until his new appointment was a Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on Foreign Affairs/International Relations, said: “I met him for the first time in this office after my appointment as Chief of Staff.
“I do not think his elevation will deny us the opportunity of still working together. During his stay here, he distinguished himself as a patriot and he brought his wealth of experience in working with international organisations to bear on his work.
“At any given time, even at late hours, Abubakar was always ready to give his best. He was committed.”
This was even as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu regretted that the new Director General of NIA had been maligned by a section of the media following his appointment.
“Ahmed Rufai Abubakar is a perfect fit who is most qualified for the job. He has occupied various top public offices in the agency in the course of which he received several awards. He left voluntarily to go to the United Nations as a Director.
“When he retired, he was appointed as a senior adviser in the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) regional coalition of countries for the fight against Boko Haram and other trans-border security threats in the region. There is no doubt at all as to Mr. Abubakar’s qualifications for the job and that is what is most important.”
Also speaking at the send off get-together, the State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Lawal Kazaure advised the new NIA boss to surround himself with the right advisers.
“Do not have people who tell you what you want to hear around you but those who will tell you the truth dispassionately.”
The Permanent Secretary, State House, Barrister Jalal Arabi said that the civil service has gained richly from Abubakar’s wealth of experience.
“Hardwork was Ahmed Rufai Abubakar’s middle name during his period at the State House. Please, I want you to be guided by your conscience and philosophy in your new assignment.”
Also a presidential aide in the Office of the Chief of Staff, Fola Oyeyinka, noted that colleagues will always have fond memories of the new intelligence chief as a generous and witty gentleman.
“We worked together in the ‘Chief of Staff’s Little Office’ and I recall He will always share his lunch and food with us. Our ‘little office loss’ is Nigeria’s gain and we wish the new DG the very best in his new role.”
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said that she had looked forward to consummating their work plans for 2018 before the new appointment.
“When he was appointed, I got a text message from someone who said: a Yoruba man was removed from office and now a northerner has been appointed in his place, what kind of thing is this?
“I replied: If it is this Rufai that I know and have worked with, honestly he is the best person for the job and I really don’t care where he comes from, and that ended the conversation.”
Mrs Bumi Badejo, who recently retired as a Director in the Office of the Chief of Staff, said that career civil servants that worked with Abubakar would fondly remember him as a witty, humble and intelligent gentleman.
“He will correct you nicely without raising a word. He is a wordsmith.”
A steward, Sule, recounted his over two-year stint with his principal which he said was devoid of rancour, query or any ill-feeling.
Sule jokingly told his former boss: “I will not forget your kindness to us. Please do not forget us in your new office.”
Responding, the new DG NIA confessed that he was emotion-laden for so many reasons, thanking the colleagues for all the good things they have said about him.
“The best I could have done in my life is to serve the President and the nation.”[myad]

We Are Not Marketing Fake Rice, Gov Ibikunle Of Ogun Protests

Greenbarge Reporters

January 20, 2018

The Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has protested the rumour going round that the rice which his government has since been producing is fake, describing such allegation as a deliberate attempt to bring down the market of the product.
Governor Amosun, who was reacting to report on social media alleging that his administration mounted sandbags with few bags of rice as rice pyramid to deceive the state indigenes as well as his gullible followers, said that it is wrong to deliberately run down the state by those who have the plans of running for the office of the governor.
The governor, spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Dayo Adeneye, today, Saturday at the opening of the 2018 Media Workshop of the State House Press Corps with the theme: “The Role of The Media in Peace Building: 2019 in Perspective,” in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital,
Social media reports had claimed that the Mitros rice being produced by Amosun-led state government is not available in any shop in the state, alleging that there is no rice farm anywhere nor factory where the rice was being bagged.
The governor, whose lieutenants had earlier led members of the Press Corps to the Ogun State Mitros rice processing factory at Asero Odeda local government area of the state, appealed to the media to continue to report the truth no matter how politicians try to change the story.
According to governor Amosun, the yield this year will surpass that of last year because the farmers now know that the government is serving as off takers and will always buy whatever they produce and sell at N11,000 to the public.
“I’m just urging our colleagues, we were able to take you round and you saw for yourselves what obtains, you saw the processes, the farms, you saw the farmers, you saw how grateful they were to this administration for empowering them. They were also grateful to the federal government programme IFAD, FADAMA for empowering them and helping them to achieve what they have been able to achieve with MITROS RICE. You also saw the processing plant, the rice mill, the bagging process and all that.
“Some people are just being mischievous because we are approaching election year and they are trying to score cheap political points.
“The social media can either be used either as weapon of mass destruction or weapon of mass development because people tend to believe everything they read on social media whether is true or not.
“So we will like for you to tell the story as it is so that these distractors can shut up. Is better for you to tell that story than for us to defend ourselves so they won’t say there is nothing to defend. You have seen that there is no bag of sand as rice, what you saw were happy farmers who are going to plant this year triple what the planted last year both in parboiled rice and Ofada. And people who are happy to buy rice at N11,000 of 50kg rice the same that was going for between N21,000 and N22,000 per bag over a year ago. Now the price has been crashed.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor and the Chairman Presidential Taskforce on Agriculture came to verify for themselves. Rather than encouraging this administration to do more they think they can score cheap political points by de-marketing this state and publishing false and fake stories about MITROS RICE.”
The two guest lecturers at the workshop were Dr. Wale Aderemi, Senior Lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU) and Dr. Abubakar Kari, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Abuja.
Aderemi advised the media to shun sensationalism and fake news, even as he stressed the need for the main stream media to tackle social media which are sadly forming public opinion today.
He said that for peace building ahead of the 2019, a free press is key.
“As the fourth estate of the realm, peace journalism should be adopted as a framework like the Kenyan Media did. To down play all features that divides the nation, because hiring the side of caution was better than bloodshed.”
He said that the manner and language of reportage can be very dangerous, saying that while the truth should be reported the way it is, the language used should be checked.
He advised media practitioners to avoid taking side and promoting prejudices ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Dr. Kari described Nigeria as a conflict-ravaged polity that is characterized by conflicts, saying that media has been part of the problem rather than being part of the solution.
According to him, ethnicity, religion, interests of editors and complete lack of neutrality has characterized media report in recent times and called for a change ahead of the elections.
This was even as the state Permanent secretary, ministry of information said that the state government would continue to encourage national discuss that is germane to the continuous existence of the country, adding: “the media has a stake in steadying the ship of progress in the country. The media has a role to play in managing the perception of a Nigeria’s polity and those at the helms of affairs.
“How we present our stories will show if we are Nation builders or wreckers.
“We have no other place to go, this is the only country we have and the way we manage it if we will have a smooth transition in 2019.[myad]

Asiwaju Tinubu Wonders At Politicians Who Turn Nigeria Into A Game

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

The national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has pondered over the way many politicians turned Nigeria into a game.
He said: “for too many, Nigeria itself is a game. They are not wedded to the idea and ideals of Nigeria as a diverse and democratic but unified nation.
“Too many of us for too long have treated politics as a game open only to an elite, exclusive club of players. The nation and the people constituted the pitch upon which the game would be decided.
“They see the nation not as object of loyalty but as the most available platform to realize their personal aims. In their minds, Nigeria is lesser than their ever expanding ambitions. Because they view Nigeria as a game, their politics is but a game within a game.”
Asiwaju Tinubu made these points as a guest speaker at the Daily Trust annual dialogue in Abuja on Thursday.
Tinubu, who was former governor of Lagos, noted the incorrect mindset that politics is a game has mis-shaped” the politics and injured the nation in ways mundane and profound.
Approaching nearly 60 years of independence, Nigeria remains a complex yet incomplete work of art, a project as much on the drawing board as it is our daily reality.
He said that instead of Nigeria to be a joyous nation, “we have become a cruel playground where the fears and concerns of the average person get exploited but their interests never get promoted.”
According to him, while democratic politics inherently bear aspects of competition and contest, he argued that such must never be reduced to a mere game.
“The objective of a game is served by the mere playing of it. Playing the game is an end in and of itself. However, this cannot be the case with politics and elections.”
Asiwaju Tinubu stressed that winning the political contest can never be an end in itself, adding that the proper outcome of electoral victory is not for the victor to revel at his good fortune or his skill in electioneering.
“The inevitable sequel to an election is for the winner to assume the sobering burden of governance. Elections are not the climax of an epic book. They are merely the close of the book’s opening chapter.
“What comes afterwards – governance — is much more vital than politics, for governance determines how we shall live.”[myad]

Why I stand with Buhari, By Femi Adesina

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

These are very difficult times in our country. Sad, mournful and dolorous times, as the New Year opened with killings in Rivers, Kaduna, Taraba, and Benue states, among others. Of course, there had been gruesome carnage on the Mambilla plateau mid last year, and bloodletting in Numan, Adamawa State, as well as in other places. Hell suddenly seemed to have enlarged itself against Nigeria. Sincere condolences to those who are grieving and mourning the loss of loved ones.

But instead of finding solutions, and joining to chart the way forward, some people are making political capital out of the killings. They are trying to use the orgy of bloodshed to advance their political interests, wanting to make it appear that it is a failure of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Faults are thick where love is thin. There is prejudice in Nigeria. Plenty. There is insularity, in prodigious quantity. There is animus, antipathy against anyone that is not of your ethnic or religious stock, or that belongs to a different political orientation or persuasion. If you meet him, kill him, if you can’t catch him, poison his footsteps, seems to be the singsong among some people. And as the build up to general elections next year gathers momentum, matters are made worse. Everything must be politicized, including wanton killings. There must be spurious handshakes across the Niger, and across the Benue, all for political gains.

But I stand with Buhari, and will always do. Why won’t you? Your snout is in the honeypot, licking the nectars of office, some cynics would say. Really? My bank balances do not indicate so. It is not just about money. It is about conviction. It is about believing in a man who can bring enduring change to our country, if we allow God to have His way through him.

Standing with Buhari through thick and thin is not about money, or the spoils of office, which are not even available in these lean times. In or out of my present position, I stand with Buhari. Sir Walter Scott wrote: “Other people’s resolutions may fluctuate on the wild and changeful billows of human opinion. Ours, now and forever, are anchored on the Rock of Ages.” In or out of government, I stand with Buhari. Why? You will get to know shortly.

There is strident attempt to defame, demean and de-market the Buhari government today. Who are those behind it? The crooks, thieves, freeloaders, who want business as usual. They hate probity. Their souls abhor accountability. They prefer the plunder of the past years, and can’t wait to see that epoch return. They engage in all sorts of misinformation and disinformation. Hate speeches. Fake news. Under us, you had leeks, onions and garlic to eat. You were fed manna till you wanted no more. When you were tired of the fluffy stuff, we gave you meat, you gorged yourself so much, till meat began to come out of your noses. They wouldn’t tell you about what William Shakespeare calls “the goodly apple, but rotten at the cheek.” They won’t tell you about humongous amounts of money made from oil, which stood at over $100 dollars per barrel for about six years, and which they looted to the last cent. Foreign reserves; depleted. Excess Crude Account; looted. Federation Account; plundered. They turned the country to a wasteland, leaving an economy primed for recession. But deftly and sure-footed, the Buhari administration is building a new foundation for the economy, erecting an edifice that will stand the test of time, not a bubble that collapses with just a pinprick, not a will-o-the-wisp that vanishes in the midday sun.

That is why I stand with Buhari, and have stood with him since he was a military leader in the 1980s. I can trust this President. I can go to bed, knowing that my leader is not striking deals to fleece the country in the dead of night. I can trust that every money that comes into the coffers of Nigeria, will be used for the good of Nigerians. Am I saying it is a perfect administration? Such has not been forged from the smithy of the divine powers. Every human enterprise will have its shortcomings, but on Buhari I still stand. I stand with him, and by him, any day.

Some people ask themselves: can we afford to be outside government for another four years from 2019? We would be dead! No access to the public treasury, which we know how well to abuse and plunder? To ravage and savage. They have spat into the sky, and collected the spittle with their faces. Rather than let Buhari be, we would employ all the tricks in the books. Defame, demean, de-market him. Is he not Fulani? He is supporting herdsmen causing murder and mayhem round the country. Trumpet it from the rooftops, even without a scintilla of evidence. He is sectional, and bent on Islamizing the country. He is fighting a one sided anti-corruption war. His war against insurgency is a fluke, not winnable.

They refuse to see massive investments in infrastructure, which would burst into full bloom in another year or two. Roads, rail, power. They refuse to see the rebounding economy, strides in agriculture and mining, all with good auguries for the future. They refuse to acknowledge the stock market, which recently recorded N15.78 trillion, the highest in the history of the country. What of N1.3 trillion spent on capital projects in 2016? And almost the same amount for 2017? No, they rather imagine how much of that amount they would have pocketed if they were in power, living in obscene luxury, while the rest of the country went to hell, if it wanted. They refuse to see the good things happening to the country. And none is as blind as those who deliberately refuse to see. All these and more are the reasons I stand with Buhari, and will always do. So that Nigeria can have a future and a hope. Our own Canaan, flowing with milk and honey.

After primitive fury was unleashed in Benue, and about 73 people were left dead, a sitting President eyeing reelection could also play politics with it, visiting and muttering the right words to impress the people. Nothing wrong. But for President Buhari, action speaks louder than words. Action stations, he told the security agencies. The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations was first despatched, then the Minister of Interior, the Inspector General of Police himself, and then the Nigerian Army. Consultations were held with the governor of the state, with Benue elders, and now, a committee headed by the Vice President, made up of nine governors, has been set up to proffer solutions to farmers/herdsmen clashes. Action truly speaks louder than words.

President Buhari has not thrown his hat officially into the ring for a second term in office. But they are in mortal fear of him running. Therefore, they do all they can to dissuade him. Malign him, paint him black, devalue him before the electorate. But they don’t know that there are many devices in the hearts of men, but only the counsel of God shall stand. If God has ordained President Buhari to be in power beyond 2019, human effort to stop it can only end in futility.

I stand with Buhari, because it is solid ground for Nigeria. All other ground I see, at least for now, is sinking sand. For us, for our children, for generations yet unborn, Buhari is engendering a new country, whose builder and maker is God. Let the wailers wail; endlessly. Let the heathens rage; till they render themselves hoarse. Let them throw even the kitchen sink at him, they did worse in the build up to 2015. I stand with Buhari. I know his heart for Nigeria, and for Nigerians. Let people shed their prejudices. Let them eschew hate, and purge themselves of all malice. The future can only then be written in gold.

.Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity

[myad]

Federal Govt Moves To Freeze Account Of Boko Haram Financiers, Empowers Committee

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

The Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government has reconstituted the National Sanctions Committee to trace and freeze financial flows of Boko Haram terrorist funds.
The committee, which was inaugurated today, Friday, has as its chairman, the Attorney General and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Members of the committee are the minister of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Adviser, Director General of the Directorate of State Security, the Inspectore General of Police, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Others are the Chief of Army Staff, Director General of the National Intelligence Agency and the Director General of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.
A statement from the Presidency said that the mandate of the committee is to trace and freeze financial flows of terrorist funds.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was quoted as reiterating the federal government’s commitment to eliminate terrorism in the country.
The sanctions committee was set up in 2013.

Why I Cannot Underrate People From Southern Nigeria, Christians – Buhari

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

President Muhammadu a group of APC Chieftains to dinner at the State House — President Muhammadu Buhari hosted a group of APC Chieftains to dinner at the State House, Abuja

Over two years after winning the 2015 election, President Muhammadu Buhari has narrated sweet experiences he had with people from the Southern part of Nigeria that were Christians to show why he can never underrate the region.
Buhari, who hosted to a dinner, the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), John Oyegun and other party chieftains, at the Presidential Villa Abuja, said that as the only politician that three times in the Supreme Court, “there is one thing that disabused my mind in a dispassionate way about ethnicity and religion across the country.
“You know that tribunal for presidential election started at High Court of Appeal. The President was my classmate. I missed only four of the court sittings.
“For that first phase, 2003, we were in court for 30 months. My legal leader was Chief Ahamba (SAN), an Igbo man. He asked the panel of judges to direct INEC to produce the voters register to prove to you that the election was done underground. “When they came to write the judgment, they completely ommitted that. Another Igbo man, a Roman Catholic, in the panel of judges wrote a minority report.
“I went to the Supreme Court. Who was the Chief Justice? An Hausa Fulani, a Muslim from Zaria. After 27 months, Ahamba presented our case for two hours and 45 minutes. The Chief Justice got up and said they were going on break and when they return the following day, they will deliver the judgment. They went away for three months. That was what made it 30 months.
“And when they came back, they discussed my case within 45 minutes.
“In 2007, who was the Chief Justice? A Muslim from Niger State.
“The third one, who was the Chief Justice? My neighbour from Jigawa State. The same religion and the same tribe.
“Finally, the determination of our people and technology: the Permanent Voters Cards made it possible for us to be here.”
President Buhari insisted that voters education is important, saying that education the right of the people to choose leaders of their choice.
The President said: “there is something that hit me very hard and I am happy I hit it back at somebody. Seven states of the North are only represented in my cabinet by junior ministers, ministers of state. In South East, I got 198,000 votes but I have four substantive ministers and seven junior ministers from there.
“You are closer to the people than myself now that I have been locked up here, don’t allow anybody to talk of ethnicity. It is not true.
“The PVCs worked well in 2015. That was why when the former President rang me, I went temporarily into a comma. I will never forget the time. It was quartet after 5pm and he said he called to congratulate me and that he has conceded defeat. He asked if I heard him and I said yes and I thanked him for his statesmanship.”
Buhari considered such decision coming from a man who had at various times, became a deputy governor, a governor, Vice-president and President for six years, was great.
According to him, Jonathan had stayed long enough that he could have caused some problems.
“I felt I should invite you and eat together and to tell you that as I am sitting here, I am very much aware of the problems in this country and that I will always reflect on the historical antecedents before I arrived here.
“I keep telling people that while I was in uniform, quite reckless and young, I got all the ministers and governors, and put them in Kirikiri. I said they were guilty until they could prove their innocence. I was also detained too.
“I decided to drop the uniform and come back. Eventually, I am here. So really, I have gone through it over and over again. This is why I am not in a hurry virtually to do anything. I will sit and reflect and continue with my clear conscience.
“I thank you for honouring my invitation and I am telling you that if I don’t ring you or call you, it is not because I ever forgot how you supported me at one stage or the other over the years from 2003 till now.”
The APC national chairman said that he was very touched by what President Buhari said and hoped that it is understood in the proper perspective.
“It indicates quite clearly that you have listened to what people are saying. It has been such a terrible misrepresentation. You have seized this opportunity to say that you are not what people are saying.
“There are so much misconceptions. Look at the example you have given that those who stood by you through the periods of problems and struggles are not people of the same religious persuasion.
“You have said it that you are not an ethnic jingoist. I know this because I have known you for a very long time.
“For some of us, when these things are said, we find it painful but I hope there will be proper rendition of what you said today and it will start clearing the air.
“The only thing I will add is that you have had a most challenging 2017 in every respect, including your son’s predicament.
“It is our prayer that all the struggles you have been through, all the efforts you have put in for this country, the mind that you have to improve the lot of the ordinary man of this country, that we will begin to see results in 2018 and see the essence of the man, Muhammadu Buhari.
“For almost three years, you have laboured to reconstruct the broken foundation of this nation. You have laboured to put a new infrastructure without which development is impossible.
“They were just dipping hands in the treasury, the banks were just changing papers and collecting commissions and we all said we were developing and prospering. But it was not a development that touched the ordinary man of this country.
“For the first time, that is about yo begin. It has taken three years of foundation laying and thank God the harvesting, I believe, is going to begin this year.
“It is my hope that it will come early enough for people to see that if one has to call anybody the architect of a modern Nigeria, you will bear that distinction.
“Like I said when we were launching the book of your achievements, what you started, you cannot complete. That is a matter of fact. But what you started is basic, fundamental that Nigerians must learn a new way of doing business based on their sweat from which profit will come based on their resources.
“When we are used to doing things wrongly, change becomes very difficult and we are passing through that stage now.
“It is not a struggle we can complete in four years or even eight years. But you have started something new and that change is not for nothing. It is even deeper than most of us understand. We must carry it on until it becomes second nature to us.
“We are firmly, totally and completely behind you and when you make up your mind soon as I hope you will, you will find an army behind you. Those who wish you well are already working and it is my hope that you will agree eventually that continuity is important and critical. Otherwise, all what you have struggled for will come to nothing.”[myad]

Ogun Governor Blames Politicians For The Crises In Nigeria

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has held politicians solely responsible for the crises that have been dodging the country.
The governor, who spoke when members of the State House Press Corps, from the Presidency, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said that the political class in the country have been in the habit of making careless and inflammable comments without considering the negative effects of such comments on the unity of the country.
Amosun called on the media to continue to deny such politicians the use of their platform to promote such divisive antics, but to concentrate on things that seek to unite the country.
Governor Amosun said that there is no nation in the world that had not gone through some challenges, even as he advised the political class to leave their bad ways
“When we speak, we should speak of things that promote unity and peace. This is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength.
“We are better together as a nation. There is no where a part will be better than a whole if it is properly put together. Our diversity should strengthen.”
He expressed gratitude to the media for the support it has been giving the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He called on journalists to praise his government where it has done well and constructively criticise it where it has done wrong. [myad]

God Cannot Be Happy With Those Killing In The Name Of Religion – Sultan Of Sokoto

Greenbarge Reporters

January 19, 2018

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III has said that God Himself cannot be happy with those who kill in the name of religion.
The Sultan, who spoke yesterday, Thursday at the Interfaith Dialogue Forum For Peace (IDFP) 1st General Assembly in Abuja, noted that whereas there is no disagreement between Christianity and Islam, Muslims and Christians are always at each other’s throats in the name of the two religions.
“We must never play to the gallery. Before the Benue crisis, we have always had issues. You cannot be shedding blood in your country and expect God to be happy with you. Taking a single life unjustly in Islam is akin to taking the life of humanity.
“We cannot protect our religion by killing people. If you see people tying belts and killing people and expecting to have 70 or so… Islam has been dragged to the mud. People make comments on social media and people who do not know the truth simply believe it. It is quite unfortunate.
“No matter what we do or say, we can never bring back the lives of people lost in these senseless killings. When will this killings and madness stop? What are the security agencies doing? We can challenge our leaders with a united voice. If we challenge our leaders in one voice, we can move forward.
“We can only resolve our problems when we speak the truth and say it as it is. The CAN Secretary General has said the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) should be labeled a terrorist organisation. MACBAN has no control of any Fulani man. MACBAN is a body to help the various Fulani organisation to come together and help themselves. We have always said that Fulani do not carry arms. We have always challenged security agencies to arrest these killers and bring them to Justice. MACBAN is an organisation that helps Fulani and not makes them kill people.”
The monarch said that it is wrong for people to assume that the entire Fulani people were bad, and called on Nigeria to avoid negative profiling of people, adding, “you cannot say all the Fulani are bad. Majority of Fulani are excellent people, just like the Igbo and Yoruba are also excellent people.”
Calling on the both Federal and state governments to rise up and stave off further bloodshed in the country, the Sultan said the problem between the herders and farmers was economy and not religion. He called on both religious and political leaders to be sincere in tackling the problems associated with constant clashes between herders and farmers.
Sultan Abubakar III called on Nigerians to embrace dialogue and say the truth at all times. Lamenting on the killings that have taken place in some parts of the country, he harped on the need for implementation of recommendations of various workshops on how best to tackle the problems.
Speaking on behalf of Bishop Samuel Ayokunle, who is the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Most Rev. Stephen Mamza, said the challenge of tackling the crisis is insincerity by religious leaders.
“When we hear of killings, we wait to hear who has been killed. We only condemned when those killed belong to our religion. Once the victims are not from our religion, we simply keep silent. This must stop if we are committed in tackling the problem,” declared the Bishop.
Arch-bishop of Abuja Arch-diocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, in his remarks, urged Nigerians to take the risk of trusting one another in a bid to resolve the present bloodshed, adding that something fast must be made to save the nation from yet another round of crisis.
“We are on a troubled boat. We must do everything to ensure we sail safe so that we all can be saved. We must come together and work in unity,” declared the Cardinal Onaiyekan.
Head of delegation from KAICIID International Dialogue Centre, Mr Abderrahmen El Yessa, expressed delight on the strides achieved so far by the IDFP.
“I’m happy to attend with you today this 2nd General Assembly of the IDFP. One year after its establishment, the Forum is now a good example of inter-religious initiative, where Muslims and Christians are working together and joining their effortsto promote social cohesion and mutual understanding in the country.

“The 1styear is always challenging for any newly established institution. It requires a huge investment to lay the foundation of the new entity and expand its activities, while learning how to work together. However, the IDFP members were able, during this limited period, to launch the Platform, adopt its bylaws, complete its registration as a legal entity under the Nigerian law, adopt its action plan, explore potential partnerships, and start to implement some important activities and initiatives.

“In that sense, the existence of the IDFP is already an achievement, by itself, particularly given the raise of violent extremism and hate speech, as well as the overall context of political violence with underlying ethnic and religious dimensions. However, it’s not enough and the Forum needs to upscale its activities and conduct concrete initiatives on the ground to promote peace.”

Calling on IDFP to focus on strengthening inter-religious dialogue in order to influence decision-makers through effective advocacy, El Yessa called on the forum “reduce inter-communal tensions in the crisis areas and strengthen mutual trust and understanding; addressing the roots of the intercommunal and inter-religious misunderstandings, particularly through inter-religious education and the development of a common curricula to be taught in the religious faculties and seminaries and focusing more on mobilizing additional resources from potential donors to upscale the Forum’s activities and interventions throughout the country and increase the IDFP’s autonomy and sustainability.”
El Yessa, who is the Chief of Inter-religious Dialogue in Conflict Situations at KAICIID, promised that the Vienna-based organisation “will continue to help the Forum to build its capacities and mobilize additional funds. It will also providean institutional support (both technical and financial), as well as to support its initiatives and share the best practices from around the world.
Welcoming delegates to the General Assembly, the Co Chairman (Christina) of IDFP, Bishop Sunday N Onuoha, lamented the challenges being faced in the country, following the bloodshed experienced in various parts of the country.
“How can we explain the comments made by those in positions of responsibility who have refused to guard their tongues and they talk as they are above the law, thereby encouraging terror subjects to act with impunity? It appears as if Nigeria is on life support with many parts of the organs collapsing on daily basis and there may be the need to rush Nigeria to an emergency room and place her on intensive care unit,” Bishop Onuoha lamented.
Co-chairman (Muslim) of IDFP, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, harped on the need for all religious leaders and adherent to live in unity and work together as one family.
“If Muslim misbehaves, all of us, both Christians and Muslims would call him t order. If a Christian does well irrespective of religious collaboration we would applaud him. Despite being a Muslim, I have no fear of being contradicted that a Christian Elder Uzoaku Williams is the most productive and creative member of the executive committee, she is simply fantastic,” Alhaji Sanni noted.[myad]

New NIA DG And Competence Question, By Muhammad Ado Fili

Greenbarge Reporters

January 18, 2018

In the recent past, if there is a decision made by the Buhari administration which has generated so much venom from greater section of Nigerians, it was the appointment of his kinsman, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency.
The President has before, been accused for alleged brazen nepotism or cronyism in previous appointments, which his handlers have always defended albeit lamely, saying the President made his appointments based on track-records and competence.
Suffice it to ask however where lies the logic of “competence and track-record” in this latest case when a person who is not competent enough to pass promotion exams twice is appointed to head Nigeria’s intelligence agency? Why will a person with questions on his nationality be appointed the head of this strategic agency?
It is public knowledge that Abubakar was born and raised in Chad. Abubakar’s father and mother lived and died in Chad, and a number of his close relations still lives in the country.
In puncturing the narratives further, one asks why would a young boy of primary school age attend a primary school in Chad if his parents were not resident there? Was his parents on diplomatic mission in Chad that they enrolled him in a school at Port-Lamy, Ndjamena? Your guess is as good as mine.If, as one of his hatchet handlers wrote implying that Abubakar was actually taken to Chad by his uncle who went there to seek Islamic scholarship, how come then that he ended-up, putting him in a primary school in Chad. What an irony for an Almajiri to take his (baby) Abubakar away from the comfort of his parents house at that tender age, and take him to far away Chad, with all the harsh conditions and hostile environment, just to end up enrolling him into a primary school.
The questions to ask include among s others, what sense does it make for an Islamic Mallam himself (the uncle) to enroll his teenage nephew in a Boko school when he went to Chad purposely to seek for Islamic education,And as an Islamic Mallam does he even have the wherewithal, like, house, job, resources, family, food and the required documentation to enroll young Abubakar in western (Boko) school, which he, most likely does not even believe in?
It makes one also curious to know if as a Islamic scholar, who took care of young Abubakar during his primary and secondary school days in Ndjamena, his uncle took with him his wife along too. Again, why would an Islamic scholar who went to Chad in quest of Islamic education, want to enroll his nephew in a French speaking primary school at that age, knowing that Abubakar is a Nigerian – from English speaking background
Did Abubakar’s uncle an Islamic Mallam had the necessary residency permits to enroll his child (a foreigner) into a school that needs all prerequisite documentation for all foreigners to get admission? Did Abubakar’s parents allowed the uncle to take him to Chad and enroll him in a school there, because Chad has a better education facility than Nigeria?
Historically the traffic for all Islamic scholars has been from Chad to Borno to learn Islamic education, and not the other way round, as Borno was known all over the sub-saharan Africa as the center of Islamic scholarship, how then is it that his case is the reverse of the situation, at that time. It sounds very unusual and curious to carry Abubakar whose parents were supposed to be alive at that time, to allow their four year old son to be moved over 1000km across the Sahara, to go in search of something that he can get free and better quality, with someone who may not even believe in Boko education. I am really curious.
Security insiders say that when he transferred his service from Katsina State to NIA in 1994 during Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim’s tenure as D-G, his questionable background was altered, just as security vetting on his place of birth, dual nationality, marriage to a non-Nigerian etc were waved by the D-G.
Another dent that Abubakar’s appointment may bring to the NIA is his exposure to politics (PEP). A top spymaster who pleaded not to be named argued that “a politically-exposed person with clear political allegiance should not be the D-G of NIA, not even an employee of the agency”. He said President Buhari should redeem the image of the agency by appointing competent hands with no questionable background or political exposure, to man the agency, the President is creating another round of controversy, scandal and exposure to public in an agency that is still smarting from trouble..
It will be recalled that after the submission of the Osinbajo-committee report on the $43m discovered by EFCC at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi Lagos, the president appointed a review panel headed by Babagana Kingibe, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Three former Directors General of the NIA, Albert Horsfall, Zakari Ibrahim and Ezekiel Oladeji served as members, while Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs/International Relations and now substantive D-G of NIA, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, served as the secretary.
Less than a month after submission of the Kingibe panel report, the President curiously appointed Mr Abubakar as the substantive Director-General of the agency, sparking debates that the new external security boss was not competent enough to head the agency. Sources said even Vice President Yemi Osinbajo kicked against the appointment, while insiders believe Abubakar cannot be a judge in a matter in which he had unreserved interest.. It is morally, ethically, legally and politically reprehensible and incorrect for someone who is a member of the Presidential Review Panel (PRP) to end up putting the “crown” on his head after skewing all the necessary conditions and recommendations of the committee to suit his eventual ascension to the throne. The field is very far away from being level. This is in fact a rocky field.
How can someone who left the service as a Deputy Director for whatever reason come back through the back door to preside over the affairs of substantive Directors who earned their promotions legitimately? In a para-military organization like the NIA. Does it look and sound reasonable? Can’t we foresee the possibility of insubordination, disloyalty, sabotage and bad blood by these disgruntled Directors? Is this kind of intelligence and security outfit we want in this country.
Even his vetting, which was supposed to be comprehensive and holistic, was waived for Abubakar by Ambassador ZAKARI. For example all NIA Officers spoken to, agreed that the team that vetted him did not go to Chad, as part of their assignment, which means, there is a wide dark area of his life that was not vetted, e.g. is it even true that he schooled in a primary school in Chad?, Did he have legitimate residency permit while in Chad? Who was his guardian there? Was it a Nigerian or Chadian, was his father in Chad then or not? Was his mother a Nigerian or Chadian? The lack of all these information made his vetting incomplete and therefore his employment a nullity. So he should not even have been an NIA staff in the first place.
Since what we are trying to avoid is unnecessary controversy and to ensure that the issue of divided loyalty is forestalled, the best thing to do now for the government is to temporarily suspend the DG until a thorough investigation is conducted by an impartial umpire, so that this raging controversy can be doused in the national interest. Whatever is the case, it is apparent that Abubakar has sufficient interest in Chad, that can make his sympathy tilt towards Chad on issues involving that country. Our sources indicated that Abubakar has lived in Chad continuously for not less than twenty years.
The President should, in the spirit of the Unity of Nigeria, reverse this appointment with immediate effect, as the appointment clearly shows, the insensitivity of this government. How can the Heads of the two most sensitive security agencies, be headed by two retired officers from the same state, which also happen to be the same with the President. What happens to reason, equity, fairness and Federal Character. Mba O Mr. President Mba.

Citizen Ado writes from Malali, Kaduna.[myad]

Don’t Bring Benue Killings To My State, Gov Fayose Begs Fulani, Tiv Communities

Greenbarge Reporters

January 17, 2018

“I’m sad about the killing in Benue but we don’t want brutality in Ekiti. I won’t accept any killing here. The only thing acceptable here is peace. I therefore plead with everybody to cooperate with us.”

These were the words of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as he addressed various communities, including Fulani herdsmen and Tiv people in the State, following the killing of a Fulani man by suspected Tiv man in Oke Ako in Ikole Local Government Area of the state.

Governor Fayose confirmed at the meeting that the Fulani man, whose name was given as Babuga Dengi, was killed by members of the Tiv community farming in the area.

Fayose who had recently raised the alarm of an impending invasion of his state by Fulani herdsmen, stressed: “there is no room for the killing of Fulani herders or farmers or anybody in the state.”

The meeting summoned by the governor was attended by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, farmers, local hunters, security agencies and representatives of the Tiv community.

The governor warned Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers against turning Ekiti to a war zone, just as he urged security agents to quickly fish out the killers of the herder.

“I can’t accept anybody to be killed. If anybody killed anyone I will make sure you are killed by ensuring justice,” said Mr. Fayose.

“I want peace in my state and everybody living here is from Ekiti whether you are Fulani, Tiv, Yoruba or anybody. Cow matter can’t cause problem between us. Oke Ako-Irele issue should not be allowed to fester. Cooperate with us and whoever kills would be fished out.

“When you are entering Ekiti, drop wherever you are coming from at the boundary. You can’t kill Yoruba, Fulani, Igbo or Tiv here. From information so far, the deceased died as a result of clash between Fulani herders and some Tiv people, but at that we can’t condone lawlessness. We don’t want that type of Benue issue here.”

A communique proceeding from the meeting however, noted that the problem in Oke Ako was between Tivs and Fulani, and resolved that the people must live in peace.

It urged security agencies to fish out the killers of the herdsman in the area.

The meeting agreed that the committee on herdsmen should be expanded to include Fulani herders while urging the committee to be more proactive and report immediately to security committee when they see strangers in their communities.

“We ask security agencies to do more in intelligence gathering, information and prevention, while we thank them for what they have done so far,” the communique added. [myad]

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