In early preparations for the 2018 hajj operations, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for services, with the National Adilla Establishment, a Saudi Arabian Agency in charge of coordinating all pilgrims’ activities in Madina. The Establishment is in charge of receiving pilgrims at Airports and Land entry points, taking custody of the pilgrims’ passports, liaising with transportation companies and landlords for the provision of transportation and accommodation service and handling any other issue involving pilgrims during their stay in Madina. The signing was done by the Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad and Vice Chairman/CEO of the Adillah Establishment, Essam bin AbdulAziz Demyati, at the Adillah’s Madinah Headquarters on January 7. The Nigerian Delegation at the Meeting include Nigeria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Isah Mohammed Dodo; the Chairman House Committee on Nigeria-Saudi Arabia Parliamentary Friendship and Hajj, Dr. Abdullahi Salame; NAHCON’s Commissioners PPMF, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahim and Operations, Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh; the Nigerian Consul-General, Ambassador Sani Yunusa; NAHCON Board Members; Representatives from the Office of the Secrertary to the Government of the Federation; State Pilgrims Welfare Boards and Leadership of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators in Nigeria (AHUON) and Staff of the Nigerian Embassy; Consulate and NAHCON. Prior to the signing of the MoU, the two parties reviewed the 2017 Hajj for the purpose of harmonizing their efforts for better 2018 Hajj arrangements. The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the trends of partnership between them. Some of the issues discussed included the problem of some Tour Operators’ passengers that failed to comply to their return flight schedule; Problems caused by Gratis Visas given by Saudi Foreign Missions in Nigeria; late arrival of some Pilgrims into Madina, among others.[myad]
Governor Samuel Ortom has reiterated that members of a Fulani group, known as Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore are threats to peace in his state, insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari should do something about it. Governor Ortom who had a closed-door meeting with the President today, Tuesday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja said: “I believe that my request that the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who has earlier threatened and I accused them directly…since June last year, I have been writing to the leadership of security agencies that these people are a threat to our collective interest and they must be dealt with. “They must be arrested and prosecuted because we cannot allow impunity to continue to thrive.” The governor regretted that because there was no action taken, the same group embarked on recent killings, adding: “I think that Mr. President will also do the needful to ensure something is done. “There has been relative peace amongst farmers and herdsmen; they were doing well until this militia – Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore – came and attacked us. And they are known. We know where they are. As I talk to you they are in Tongua in Awe local government. That is where these people are camped and coming to attack people.” Governor Ortom said that he had, on January 1st, briefed the President when the killing incident began, and that after sometime when action was not forthwith, he had to come back personally to the Aso Villa to brief him. “Already, because of the communications we have been having when this incidents started, actions have been taken as directed by him (President Buhari). “The movement of the DIG (Deputy Inspector General – of police), the movement of the IG (Inspector General – of police) to Benue State to ensure that this challenge is surmounted, at the instance of Mr. President is the right thing in the right direction. “Of course, additional personally of DSS (Department of State Security) and Police have been deployed, and even the Army. “We have additional personnel on ground now. We have adequately and fully given them the logistics support to ensure that our people are protected.” Governor Ortom denied that he hired mercenaries from Republic of Ghana to fight herdsmen, saying: “I’m not aware of this and I don’t even know about that. I’m hearing it for the first time. If someone has done that it must be this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, that have done it.” On suggestion that full blown military operations be set up in Benue like other places, he said: “anything that can stop the killings of my people I will go for it. I support it. Any policy or any directive, anything that will helped stop the killing of these innocent people who are not armed because this can not continue is welcome. “We know that the continuity of this will create greater challenges. I don’t want it to continue. We are struggling with economic issues; we are struggling with political issues and we are struggling with several other issues in this country, security issues and all that – Benue State should not be part of this. There is no need for it.” The governor said that the law on prohibition of Open Grazing and Establishment of Ranching was made out of the necessity to ensure that there is peace for herdsmen and farmers. “The law seeks to protect all and as I talk to you, except this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who are instigating people to fight and to kill us, there are Fulani men in Benue State as I talk to you doing their businesses. Speaking on the Federal Government’s idea on setting up colonies to solve the problem, Ortom said: “I’m waiting to be briefed about what colonies means. I don’t understand it…but like I keep saying, for us, the way forward is ranching and uptil this time I am talking to you, the way forward is ranching because it is global best practice. “It is practice in other parts of the world, on African soil, in Swaziland, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and almost all African countries that rear cattle. So why can’t we do the same thing here? “For the colony thing I don’t know what colony is.”
Some arrested suspects paraded in Tarabe State | Photo credit: PRNigeria
Troops of 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army stationed in Takum, Taraba State, have arrested nine well-armed militia from Benue, claiming to be members of government sponsored security volunteers. The armed gang were arrested at Arufu, a boundary town between Taraba and Benue States, a military intelligence source said today, Tuesday. Five of the suspects were armed with AK-45 rifles fully loaded. On their arrest, a reinforcement of a purported Civilian JTF Group came to prevent the troops from taking them to custody. The military source further disclosed that when the soldiers stood their ground, the armed militia’s reinforcement later withdrew. The officer said: “during the preliminary investigation the arrested armed gang claimed that the weapons were issued to them by one Aliyu Tashaku through an agent of government. “The suspects also confirmed that they were 60 in number in their own camp located at Gbeyi, Benue State. However, further investigation revealed that they were more than 700 and well-armed at the camp where they were trained by selected ex-service men on a monthly allowance of N15,000.00 from their sponsors.” Meanwhile, the suspects are said to be cooperating with the investigators while security operatives are conducting further investigations to unravel the real sponsors of the armed gang and their motives.
President Muhammadu Buhari has advised illegal migrants to stay back home and find ways to improve their personal economies instead of daring the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea, with scores of lives lost in the process. Receiving the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Louise Mushikiwabo, as Special Envoy of President Paul Kagame, at the President Villa, Abuja, today, Tuesday, President Buhari said that Nigeria had taken it upon herself to bring back thousands of her citizens now stranded in Libya. “Illegal migration is now a major issue in Africa. Many dare the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea to get into Europe, and many die in the process. Or they get into trouble, as we now see in Libya. I don’t envy our position, as many Blacks claim to be Nigerians, even when they are not. “Our Embassies in North Africa are now overworked, trying to identify the true Nigerians. Most of the reasons they mention for migrating illegally are untenable. They should stay here, and see how they can improve their own economies, instead of risking their lives.” President Buhari said that Kagame, as the incoming Chairman of African Union (AU), had the issues of South Sudan, separatist agitation in southern Cameroon, unrest in Togo, and many others on the continent, to contend with. “Gaddafi’s long rule produced many people, whose only skill is how to shoot guns. Now, they are scattered around the continent, still with their weapons, and fomenting trouble.” President Buhari added that Nigeria is taking steps to curtail the development. Hon. Mushikiwabo said that his President sought the counsel and support of the Nigerian President, as he assumes the AU chair from this month. “He will also need counsel on security issues in the Sahel, ongoing reforms in AU, borrow your expertise in agriculture, and renew friendship and kinship between our two countries.”
President Muhammadu Buhari and Benue State Governor met at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has denied news making the rounds that On the he was prevented from seeing President Muhammadu Buhari. He declared: “I have never accused anyone of blocking me from seeing Mr. President. I’m seeing Mr. President. I told him when this incident occurred I spoke to Mr. President on phone and followed it up. I know what it entails being a President, even as governor most times I am not with my phone. People cannot access me the way it used to be, talk less of a president. I didn’t say that and I have not said it.” The governor, who answered reporters’ questions after an audience with President Buhari today, Tuesday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja stressed that he has free and unfettered access to the President anytime he wants, “I speak to him on phone and I see him personally. I requested to speak to him on phone that day because I couldn’t come to Abuja and he gave me the opportunity and today I’m here and I have seen him.”
The Rivers State Governor has declared suspected cultists, kidnappers and armed robbers, parading themselves as militants wanted. He promised to pay N20 million to any person who volunteers useful information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of any of the suspects. The governor, who broadcast to the people of the state today, Tuesday, on the security situation in the state, said that based on reliable information by the security agencies, he has direct them to immediately arrest and prosecute the suspects who have either reneged on the terms of the amnesty and or refused to embrace same by continuing with cultism, kidnapping, and armed robbery in the State. He named the suspects as follows: In Ogbia/Egbema/Ndoni local government area are Oluchi Igwedibia, a.k.a. Obatosu; Eze, a.k.a. Ugly Vulture; Austin – 6i/c Iceland Omoku; Evidence; Tompolo from Obuboru – Greenlander. From Asari Toru local government area are Idaye Granville, a.k.a. Egbele; Mpakaboari Dalabu, a.k.a. Parker while from Andoni local government area are Etengo Etnego – MEND; Victor Ekens – MEND. There are also, from Aoada local government, Happy Harry Odulu, alias Chief Priest; Egbema-Ogbogolo; Ahoada Augustine Obene, alias Sunshine, Okogbe village and Tu-Man, P, from Idoha village. Others are: ELEME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. MBAJO – DEYGBAM EMOHUA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. GOODLUCK IGONIKA – ICELAND 2. JUSTICE ORDAH (a.k.a. ADC) – ICELAND 3. SUNNY KEMJIKA WOVODO – DEYGBAM 4. ONYEMA UWOBO – ICELAND IKWERRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. JONATHAN NKEMIJIKA (alias School Boy) GOKANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. BARIJASI FRIMA (DAYWELL) – BOMU 2. ELVIS KOOYA (DAYGBAM) – BODO 3. GIOBARA POIBA – K/DERE 4. BONIFACE PAAGO (a.k.a. Chairman) – BODO OMUMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. JOHN WALA – DEYWELL 2. IHECHIMERE NWAYINWU – DEYWELL 3. BRIGHT OKERE – DEYWELL AKUKU TORU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. OSELA JACK – GREENLANDER DEGEMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. LUCKY MILLER – DEYGBAM 2. SOMINBA BIABO – 3. OROLOBO NELSON – ICELAND 4. WATER BABY – ICELAND 5. DANIEL BOBMANUEL – GREENLANDER ETCHE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 1. UCHECHKWU OKERE (A.K.A TOGO – DEYGBAM “We wish to reassure Rivers people once again of our commitment to support the security agencies to guarantee the safety and security of lives and property across the State.”
The Presidency has described frequent conflicts between farmers and cattle rearers in some states in Nigeria, as too serious to be trivialised. As the Presidency put it: “whipping up hate may captivate the public and score political points on social media, but it will not bring an end to the crisis.” Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement today, Tuesday, insisted that the best way out is for every stakeholder to sit down with the government and security forces and carry everyone along in finding an all-embracing solution. “As a father, a military General and a statesman, President Buhari has maintained lasting relationships with Nigerians, Muslims and Christians among every ethnic group. It is also a known fact that the young people who trek the whole distance of thousands of kilometers tending the cattle do not own the cattle. In fact, many of the cattle are not owned by Fulanis or Muslims. “The point is that it is too simplistic to see the conflict as ethnic or religious even as he said that the President seeks the support and cooperation of all citizens and the media in particular, to join hands with his administration to find permanent solutions. Garba Shehu said that President Buhari has been concerned about the conflicts each time he received those very gruesome pictures of mayhem from several parts of the country, especially as it affected Benue and neighbouring states. “He is equally worried about some public pronouncements and finger-pointing that are, in most cases very unhelpful to peaceful coexistence of our diverse peoples. “The President is conscious of his duty to Nigerians, not least because he is held accountable for everything that goes wrong. “He deeply sympathizes with the families and all the other direct and indirect victims of this violence. He is determined to bring it to a permanent end.” According to him, while there are many Nigerians who see the conflict between the nomadic herdsmen and peasant farmers as an ethnic problem, others point to religious differences and agenda, saying: “the President does not subscribe to such simplistic reductionism. “President Buhari holds the view, as do many experts, that these conflicts are more often than not, as a result of major demographic changes in Nigeria. When Nigeria attained independence, the population of the country was estimated at about 63,000,000. Today the population is estimated at close to 200,000,000; while the land size has not changed and will not change. Urban sprawl and development have simply reduced land area both for peasant farming and cattle grazing.” He described as both unfair and unkind for anyone to keep insinuating that the President is condoning the spate of killings in Benue and other neighboring States. He stressed that the President has publicly condemned the violence at every turn and is prepared to permit every possible step that can lead to the stoppage of the killings. “It is on account of this he brushed aside an opinion that the federal government should challenge the constitutionality of the anti-open grazing bill. He wanted to give a chance to the State government to succeed in stopping the senseless killings. “It will be recalled that as he did in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria, which required sustained action from the government before it was finally curtailed, President Buhari gave the relevant mandates to the country’s security agencies to put a stop to the Benue killings. “The killings must stop and the security agencies have the President’s support to do this as quickly as possible.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has disowned the existence of several twitter handles purportedly by him. “We wish to inform members of the public, particularly members of the social media community that Mr. Emefiele currently has no twitter handle. We wish to state categorically therefore, that the twitter handles bearing the name and photographs of Mr. Emefiele are fake and targeted at misleading unsuspecting members of the public.” A statement by the CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, advised all members of the social media community and the general public to be wary of the fake accounts and discountenance whatever message conveyed therein.
Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful elimination of the dreaded leader of terror gang in the state, Don Wanny. Wike, narrated how the dead gang leader masterminded the murder of 23 innocent persons at Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area on January 1st, 2018, which he said traumatized the entire State and the country. He recalled also that he had earlier placed a prize tag of N200 million for any information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this most heinous crime against humanity. In a broadcast to the people of state today, governor Wike, he also assured the security agencies of his determination to continue to support them with whatever it would take to have these criminals apprehended and brought to justice. The governor described as gladdening, the news about the death, on January 7, of Don Wanny and two of his fellow gang members in their hideouts in Enugu State while trying to escape arrest from the security agencies that were closing in on them. “Although we would have wanted Mr. Don Wanny and his gang members to have been arrested alive and put to trial for their numerous crimes and atrocities against his own people, his death, nevertheless, is a huge relief to the entire State, and therefore, most welcome development. “For years the security situation in Omoku in particular, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government area in general, has been most challenging because of the criminal activities of Don Wanny and his gang. “We therefore wholeheartedly thank President Muhammadu Buhari for rising to the occasion and not politicking with the issue of security. We also commend the security agencies, particularly, the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Security, for swiftly rising to the challenge in the most professional manner.” Governor Wike said that the heroic success has proven what is possible when the security agencies are willing to discharge their constitutional duties with unadulterated commitment and professionalism. He recalled that since 2015, his government had been calling for tackling security issues devoid of political considerations in Rivers State in order to achieve maximum result. He added that this level of commitment and professionalism as demonstrated in the Omoku case is exemplary. “Therefore, we will continue to demand no less from our security agencies to keep our State safe and secure for residents, visitors and investors. “As a government, we have invested heavily on the security of the State and will continue to do everything within our powers to guarantee the security and safety of lives and property throughout the State. As a fact, we will spare no cost in ensuring that nobody will have peace if the lives and property of our people make no meaning to them. “However, we are deeply worried when our investments in security are deliberately prevented from yielding the desired results due largely to the recurrent tendency to politicize the federally controlled security agencies and services in the State. This is the reason why we must thank the President for doing things differently and with the support of all, a different result has been achieved. “The aftermaths of crime and insecurity affect society as a whole, and not only the direct victims. Accordingly, the duty to fight crime and criminality remains collective and no right thinking person should ever indulge in politicizing security issues under any circumstance. “In deed, at a time such as this, we expect political leaders to eschew political sentiments in their reactions and utterances and join forces with the State Government to address the situation and bring justice to the victims. “Regrettably, instead of showing respect for the dead and genuine sympathies to the bereaved families, the leader of the All Progressives Congress and former Governor of the State prefers to exploit the unfortunate incident for political ends by disseminating wild, unguarded and inciting statements to the unsuspecting public. “Contrary to his false claims and posturing the security challenge in Omoku predated our administration and Rivers State was never peaceful when he held sway as Governor. In case he has forgotten, this same Don Wanny tragically killed 32 persons in Omoku on the 14th of December 2014 under his watch as Governor. Yet, he failed to bring Don Wanny to justice. “We reiterate our zero tolerance for all forms of criminality and reassure all residents of our determination to be tough with those who choose to violate our criminal laws and undermine peace and security in the State. “To underscore the seriousness we attach to the fight against violent crime, we shall be amending the Anti kidnapping law to prescribe the maximum sentence for engaging in cultism, robbery and kidnapping. “Our decision to offer amnesty to all repentant cultists, militants and criminals was done in good faith and in the best interest of the State. Regrettably, while the programme was on course, the former governor and his ilk dissuaded some of these criminals from sincerely embracing the amnesty. The result is the recent escalation of cult and criminal activities in parts of the State. “At all times, our position on the amnesty offer is clear: those who genuinely embraced the offer are bound to fully, completely and perpetually renounce all forms of criminality and be of good behaviour in order to enjoy terms of the amnesty. The full weight of the law will be released on those who failed to embrace it.”[myad]
I wrote the following piece, presented in italics, shortly after the postponement of the 2015 Presidential elections. It is important that the reader approaches it with an open mind, with an understanding of the context of its construction. The piece, titled “Buhari’s One Chance Campaign” never got published. One of my colleagues to whom I showed it advised against its publication. His point was that we should remain professional and not get involved in partisan politics. A member of our digital media team was so excited he wanted the article published. Anyhow, the older team member won the argument. But in the light of recent developments and the fortunes of the Buhari administration since 2015, the article has proved prophetic. In 2015, the Buhari campaign train was so hypnotic most Nigerian voters jumped onto it. Less than three years later, the same persons are struggling to jump off the train. Out of the 15 million persons who voted for Buhari in 2015, millions of them have lost their jobs. Today, the strongest and most vocal supporters of the Buhari proposition are all so embarrassed they have chosen to keep quiet. One of them is now a self-appointed referee of Nigerian democracy going about with a RED CARD. A former Minister of Petroleum who promised that under Buhari, petrol would be N40 per litre has been wisely quiet. A senior citizen who asked Nigerians to stone the Buhari team if they did not deliver in two years has not been heard from for a while. On twitter, and the rest of social media, many Nigerians are wielding stones and throwing them at will. The tomorrow that we looked forward to yesterday is now so laughable if not saddening. The country is in a worse shape than it was in 2015. The same economy that used to be one of the most stable in Africa is now in tatters; insecurity has worsened, yesterday’s hope has turned into despair. Yesterday’s supporters have become today’s critics of the government. There are many lessons involved: how the Nigerian intelligentsia gathered dust in their faces, and how the people betrayed themselves. In 2015, here is what I wrote and kept: BUHARI’S “ONE CHANCE” CAMPAIGN: “Ordinarily, a busy bus station in Lagos is the headquarters of nightmare. Getting from one stop to the other could be an uphill task especially during rush hours. In those days when I journeyed from one end of the city to the other in Molue buses, I had to, like nearly everyone else in the same situation, learn how to jump into a moving vehicle, how to descend while it was in motion and how not to end up under the wheels as many routinely did in our Alakuko-Alagbado side of the city. But the “One Chance” always seemed, at first encounter, like a God-sent. If you lived in Lagos in the 80s and 90s, you’d probably remember those buses referred to as “One chance” and the dubious notoriety that they eventually came to acquire. Once you heard the bus conductor screaming “One Chance…one chance…enter, enter.. ko si change ma wole o”, you knew immediately that with only one seat left to make up the full passenger load, your long wait at the bus stop had come to an end. It was natural to jump into the bus. It promised a change of circumstances and offered hope. It was also reassuring because you could actually see a number of people already seated inside the bus. And of course, it was ready to move. But with time, and this is the rub of it: the “One Chance” acquired real notoriety. The phrase itself has since become a footnote in motor park lexicography, following the realization that a “one chance” trip could be a journey to despair. Not every “One Chance” bus was necessarily bad in those days, but the phrase became a metaphor for impending evil, and the label stuck. It became synonymous with a vehicle of deceit deployed by criminals who posed as transporters and passengers, and lured anxious commuters into their trap. The passengers in the bus were practised con-artists who would eventually reveal their true nature. The driver could be an agent of the real gangsters waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting victim. Lives were lost, many ended up in ritual dens, never to be seen again, women were raped, the luckier victims were dispossessed of valuables and pushed out of the vehicle. As such frightening tales made the rounds, people became wary of “One Chance buses”; they became more careful in responding to the calls of urgent movement and deceptive completeness. They learnt to look before boarding. They learnt that useful lesson about the contrast between appearance and reality. What you see is not always what is. When the illusion clears, the residue is sheer regret. And so, to every “one chance” call, caution became advisable. The leading opposition party in the 2015 Presidential elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) reminds me of this “One Chance” phenomenon. General Buhari is driving a “One Chance” bus, and trying to lure unsuspecting Nigerians to certain despair. His passengers are a motley of disaggregated, conflicted persons, looking for innocent preys. Their conductor is a waltzing, energy-drink-guzzling hustler who is driven by malicious desperation. With drums and dance, and a song, they have managed to generate hype, hoopla and hysteria at every bus stop. The unwary may have boarded the bus, not even knowing where it is headed. Those who seem to believe that a democracy also guarantees the right to be misled, have jumped into that tragic “one chance bus”. They have been told their driver is unqualified, lacks a mastery of the road; he doesn’t even have a licence. Happily enough, they are all beginning to get the message. I have heard some of the once- hypnotized respond that they actually wouldn’t mind if the fellow brandishes a NEPA receipt and calls it a driver’s license. This is a strange kind of hypnotism; and that is how it works: it is the first cousin of delusion. No wonder, every attempt to get the driver to take a driving test has also failed. The conductor is also hyper-active, gripped by strangely high spirits, having customarily taken a quantum of same. He urges the driver to keep his feet on the accelerator, and yet, the last time this man drove a vehicle was in the other century. But the hashish is so strong, its effluence so consuming that the passengers have failed to see that their driver is already falling asleep on the steering. He is the oldest driver in the motor park, but he wears stylish clothes to make him look young by all means. His bones are weak; his grip on the steering is failing. He often forgets the name of his assistant. He can hardly remember the name of his conductor. And don’t bother to ask him about road signs. If only those rushing into his “One Chance” bus would take a look at the passengers and the conductor: the tell-tale signs are not hidden. A certain kind of people is easily deceived by appearances. It happens often on our expressways, where all you need to do to mislead other motorists is to suddenly make a U-turn in the middle of the road, and face the opposite lane. Wave your hands to suggest anything and mumble some mumbo-jumbo such as “Change, Change”; almost instinctively, every other motorist will slow down and begin to stare at you for signs, and they will obey your cue. They will even scramble to do so, until a logjam is created. The madness could continue for close to an hour, until a reasonable man would venture out in the proper direction of the original route. Gradually, others will return to the same route until it is realized that they had initially been misled, scammed, misinformed, deceived. This is exactly the tragic nature of the Buhari campaign in this election. Apart from the hotly-contested 1959 and 1964 General elections, which unfortunately sowed some of the seeds of an eventual blow-out, no other general election in recent memory has been this fiercely contested. Before February 14, emotions had reached a boiling point in Nigeria. This is probably why the postponement of the elections has been a blessing in disguise. If the pre-February 14 tension had run its course, with the country tottering dangerously on the brink, the outcome could have been disastrous for the polity or whosoever emerged as winner. Elections in themselves do not guarantee peace or stability; they could in fact, become the catalyst for dissolution. This is why caution is advisable. But the Buhari campaign group and its supporters are incautious, driven as they are solely by narrow interests, unbridled passion and phantom triumphalism. For an election that has not yet taken place, they are already claiming victory, and threatening chaos if Buhari does not win. Their attempt to force their candidate and ambition on Nigerians as an inevitable outcome only points to sinister motives. This is their undemocratic strategy with which they are luring the unwary into a tragic “One Chance” bus. Such shamanistic tactics, and the hideous propaganda propelling it, do not bode well for our country. Buhari was unelectable in 2003, 2007, 2011, and he is even far more unelectable now. In his previous failed attempts, he was at least his own candidate, but this time, he is at best some other people’s Special Purpose Vehicle; that is why he comes across more in this campaign like a mannequin under the control of seen and unseen masters with hidden agenda. Nobody should seek the Presidency of Nigeria as an SPV. I argue that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, apparently the owner of the APC, wants a Buhari Presidency because he imagines it will transform him, not Professor Yemi Osinbajo, not anyone else, into the most influential political figure in Yorubaland. The “treacherous” Rotimi Amaechi is busy dancing up and down because for him, a Buhari Presidency will enable him settle scores, with his imaginary enemies. Festus Odimegwu, who was booted out as Chairman of the National Population Commission for making racist comments about Nigerians of Northern extraction wrote a Buhari endorsement article recently, it was actually a masked revenge piece. They will all be disappointed. And if General Buhari wants to be President, he needs to come across as his own man. President Jonathan is his own man. All the self-proclaimed, would-have-been Godfathers to his presidency have on their own committed political suicide. He is tested, healthy, strong, focused and committed. He has campaigned on the basis of his record of achievements and the phenomenally positive transformation that Nigeria has witnessed under his watch in the past four years: the revived railways sector, the strengthened education sector, greater emphasis on youth, women empowerment and inclusive governance, a robust, economy, massive job creation, expansion of the space for human freedoms, and a purposeful, engaging campaign for a second term. In comparison, all I see on the Buhari side, is a lot of mean tactics, hate-driven propaganda, shallow costuming, third-party outsourcing of leadership, and manifold deception. Their attraction is that of a “One Chance” bus, not concrete vision, not change or progress, not leadership. The electorate is beginning to see through their charade. Their “One Chance” bus is now being seen for what it is: and it is precisely why the electorate will vote massively for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on March 28.” That is the article that never was. But here it is, three years later, unedited, fully reflective of the mood in which it was written. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. But this much can be said: no matter how challenging the last three years may have been, we can only hope that we have all learnt our lessons about the complexity of Nigerian politics and the length of the politics of acrimony. Looking forward to tomorrow, President Buhari can still change the narrative and prove all Damascus-moment critics wrong. I am optimistic that he can. He should. [myad]
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Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful elimination of the dreaded leader of terror gang in the state, Don Wanny.
