“We urge him to ignore mischief makers who seek to pitch him against the President or the Nigerian people whose mandates they both exercise.”
This is the advice which the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) offered Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, against the backdrop of the recent misinterpretation given to the letter which President Muhammadu Buhari transmitted to the Senate about his journey for follow-up medical consultation in London.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its two-day emergency meeting in Kano today, Thursday, the Northern Elders Forum also warned those seeking undeserved political advantage to desist from such moves, adding that the North is conscious of its obligations and rights and will not hesitate to discharge and defend them without reservations.
The communiqué which was signed by NEF Deputy Leader, Chief Wantaregh Paul Unongo and its Spokesman, Professor Ango Abdullahi, said the group is aware that attempts are being made to exploit the absence of President Buhari to achieve dubious political goals.
The Forum advised Osinbajo to “exercise responsibilities as he did in the past with commitment, sensitivity and respect for the constitution.
“The task of governing the nation will continue uninterrupted until the return of President Buhari. We therefore appeal to all persons with responsibility to cooperate fully to sustain a united, focused and committed administration.
“While commending the sterling contributions of Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in providing the necessary leadership to stabilize the polity, we appeal to the executive and legislative arms of government to work together to pass the 2017 budget without further delay.”
The Forum expressed full support for the ongoing campaign against corruption in the country, saying: “we also expect that the war against corruption will not suffer a setback and current investigations and activities will not be stalled due to the absence of President Buhari.” [myad]
The House of Representatives has passed 2017 Budget with an addition of N143 billion over and above the N7.441 trillion which President Muhammadu Buhari presented before a joint session of the National Assembly on December 14 last year.
The 2017 Appropriation Bill was presented to the House by the Chairman of its Committee on Appropriation, Mustapha Dawaki before it was passed.
The House had suspended the business of the day and dissolved into the committee of supply for the consideration and passage of budget with its 12 attached clauses.
Members however protested the N84.7 billion Recurrent and Capital budget of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). [myad]
A 74 year-old medical doctor, identified as Dr. Mbakwe has reportedly shot himself to death with a gun Aba, Abia State. He was said to have taken his life after being bedridden with an undisclosed illness for thirty years.
A resident of Abayi in Osisioma Local Government Area of the state who witnessed the suicide mission, attributed the man’s action as an act of frustration due to his medical condition.
It was learnt that the victim’s family had already reported the matter to Abayi police division where the matter is now under investigation. [myad]
Governor Umar Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm in order to improve the agricultural base of the state.
The governor said at the signing: “we want to make vocation out of that and create employment opportunities because given the bulk of raw materials of fertilizer blending imported from Morroco, every state is having large bulk of such fertilizer raw materials and Nasarawa State is supposed to have about 20,000 metric tons, with that we would be able to have much more than we require for our use.
“It simply follows that we would be able to be making some businesses out of fertilizer blending after supplying our farmers, that is why we have to ensure we have the right type of equipment rather than depending on the decayed one that we already have in the state that works haphazardly.
“With this procurement of four different categories of fertiliser blending equipment from this year, Nasarawa State will be self-sufficient in fertiliser production for the state and beyond.”
The firm is expected to provide fertilizer blending equipment for the upgrade of the state fertiliser blending company in order to boost production and ensure that the product is sufficient for farmers. [myad]
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission (ICPC) have gotten additional job of monitoring the examination centres for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE). Also to be involved are police and other law enforcement officers.
According to the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede in a chat with newsmen in Abuja, each test centre will have a supervisor, a technical officer, a verification officer, three proctors as well as security agents.
“Each state will be superintended over by a head of a tertiary institution (Vice-Chancellor, Rector or Provost) who coordinates the supervisors under his or her jurisdiction”, Oloyede added.
“It is certainly not going to be business as usual in the conduct of the Board’s examination and other processes.
“In line with this resolution, the Board had secured through diligent prosecution, the conviction of two Nigerians who forged the Board’s results and came around for verification.
“At the moment, we have lodged complaints against a number of Computer-Based Test, CBT, centre owners for one infraction or the other and a number of them were arrested, cautioned, while others are to be prosecuted so as to serve as a deterrent to others”, he added.
The JAMB boss warned candidates not to fall for the ploy of fraudsters who he said were out to defraud them.
He pointed out a case at the Federal Government Science Technical College, Orozo,Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, where somebody was sending bulk messages to candidates to come and reprint their slips claiming to be from JAMB. [myad]
The Kano State House of Assembly has set up an eight-man ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations of mismanaging the sum of N4 billion which was leveled against the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II. The Emir was said to inherited the money from his predecessor, late Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero.
A member of the Assembly representing Nasarawa constituency of the state, Ibrahim Gama, moved a motion to probe the monarch at the House plenary today, Wednesday.
Gama said that some of the allegations against Emir Sanusi, who was former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), ought to be looked into.
He listed them as spending funds without the approval of the Governor of Kano, Umar Ganduje, attacking President Muhammadu Buhari’s polices and sending his daughter to represent him without wearing full traditional regalia.
The house adopted the motion after it was put to voice vote by the Speaker, Alhassan Rurum.
Labaran Abdul Madar, the chief whip of the house, will chair the committee. [myad]
“The sum total of the struggle by the IPOB (Indigenous People Of Biafra), which I am leading, is to ensure that there is dignity of life. And for us to fulfill that very mandate, we must be diligent, we must be focused, we must be sincere.”
The recently bailed leader of the Igbo group fighting for the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanu made those points today, Wednesday, when he visited the former Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme at his Enugu residence.
Kanu added: “I have come to tell you that we find you invaluable in our advancement of our people and in our course to also make life better for the public and for the masses.
“It (IPOB) is, more or less, today, an expression, a political expression to the yearnings and aspirations of the society – that’s what we are trying to do.”
The Biafran leader said that he was humbled and delighted to visit Dr. Ekwueme, which would enable him to explain the reasons they have been agitating for justice and fairness for Igbo people in Nigeria.
“So, I have come here to brief my father as to why we do what we do, and to get his blessings. Anything he tells me is what we are going to do, in so far as it advances our political course as a people.”
Dr. Ekwueme responded by assuring the IPOB leader that he would not fail to offer advice to the agitators, adding: “I will make my best counsel available to him (Kanu) in his very onerous task of leading an organisation that is committed to bringing justice and equity among people, especially for our people.”
The elder statesman said that it was a pleasure to host Kanu after his release from detention.
“I thank God that you are free and able to move around.” [myad]
The family of a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ondo State, late Deji Falae has sued Associated Aviation Nigeria Limited, asking the court to hold that the airline’s negligence was responsible for Falae’s death on October 3, 2013.
Falae’s wife, Ese, and three children are, through their suit, seeking compensation in the sum $100,000 as general damages, as well as another N219,906,250 “which the deceased would have earned in 15 years as a lawyer, a commissioner and owner of a construction firm had he not died.”
They are also asking the court to declare that Associated Aviation Nigeria Ltd, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority failed in their obligation of ensuring the safety of the passengers aboard the Flight 361.
Falae, then a serving commissioner, was among the people who lost their lives when an Associated aircraft conveying the remains of a former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu, from Lagos to Ondo for burial crashed at the Lagos airport.
The aircraft reportedly crashed just outside the aerodrome at about 9.32am, a minute after it took off. [myad]
DAAR Communications Plc, the owners of Africa Independent Television (AIT), has tendered unreserved apology to President Muhammadu Buhari over a documentary it aired during the 2015 Presidential campaigns, particularly to a former aide de camp of President Buhari, Mustapha Jokolo.
The company wrote in a retration: “DAAR Communications Plc states that in airing the said documentary, it had no intention whatsoever to embarrass or diminish the high reputation of Alhaji Mustapha Jokolo whom it holds in very high esteem.”
“DAAR Communications Plc hereby retracts the said documentary on the television station (AIT) titled ‘The Real Buhari’ aired on 24 January 2015 which was broadcast on its television station (AIT).
“DAAR Communications Plc hereby tenders unreserved apology to Alhaji Mustapha Haruna Jokolo for the broadcast of the said documentary on its television station (AIT).”
It would be recalled that in January 2015, the TV station broadcast a documentary entitled: ‘The Real Buhari,’ in which it alleged that Jokolo cleared 53 suitcases suspected to contain cash, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, for Buhari in 1984 when he was Head of State.
Jokolo, who is the current Emir of Gwandu, then filed a libel suit against AIT, but the matter was eventually settled out of court. One of the conditions for settlement was that AIT must retract its story and tender a public apology. [myad]
When President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) entered the presidential race in 2015, he might not have appreciated, as a fact, that he was taking his luck too far, given his age and, more importantly, his health status. Recall that he had unsuccessfully run for the position of president in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Following his defeat in 2011, he had, amid lachrymal emotion, announced that he would not contest the presidency again.
But the opposition forces, which had done their political calculations, realized that the only person who could passionately galvanize popular support in the north was Buhari. Little wonder they made available all the resources needed for his presidential enterprise while he only made himself available.
Those opposed to his presidency panicked because of the cult-like following that he enjoyed in the north. Added to the south-west votes that would be mobilized under the formidable leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the opposition was confident it would most likely upstage the applecart of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency.
Therefore, so many stratagems were introduced into the campaign mix. For instance, Jonathan’s handlers made so much noise about Buhari’s failing health. But his supporters, and Nigerians, who wanted anybody but Jonathan, discountenanced the public service announcement by casting their votes for Buhari and his promised change.
Buhari was confident to sweep into power on the wings of the legacy party- the All Progressives Congress (APC). The issue that probably preoccupied his mind was his health. Would it be able to withstand the strains and rigours of governance? Rewind: perhaps, if he had been lucky in 2003, or 2007 or even 2011 to become president, the narrative might have been different, given the fact that he would have been younger, stronger and, perhaps healthier in office than he now is.
Today, Buhari is sick and unable to attend to governance. Recent developments have convincingly indicated that what ails the president appears to be very serious, although, the nature of his sickness has not been officially confirmed. When he returned from his first major medical voyage to the United Kingdom recently, he said he had not been this sick in his life. He even confessed that he had blood transfusion.
His inability, in recent times, to rise to the challenges of governance such that on three consecutive occasions, he could not attend the weekly meetings of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in addition to staying away from other public functions, has been confirmatory of a health condition that is degenerating.
What should then happen in this circumstance? What should Buhari do, knowing full well that his presidency is a long distance race – up to 2019 and, by reason of strength, good health and life, through the intervening years to 2023 on a second term basis? But does he have the endurance to go the entire hog? This is the pertinent question, which only Buhari can answer and relate to.
In 2009/2010, this was the situation that confronted the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who was terminally ill, before he died in office on May 5, 2010. By the time Yar’Adua was debilitated by ill-health and became vegetative, he could not, personally, answer that question. The cabal or the hawks around him, who were enamoured by presidential power and were afraid to lose their privileged positions and access to the nation’s commonwealth, did everything possible to sustain Yar’Adua in office. The only thing they could not do was to mummify and prop him up after death on his seat as if he were still alive.
Should history be allowed to repeat itself as a farce with Buhari’s ill-health? The Punch in its editorial of May 4, 2017, titled: “Deepening uncertainty over Buhari’s health”, brilliantly dissected the circumstance in all its ramifications and surmised that the president should immediately declare his health status to put an end to the speculations surrounding it. This has not been done. Second, that he should not hesitate any further to embark on another medical vacation and transfer power to the vice president, which he has now done.
The other outstanding call, which the newspaper editorial considered the most important, was for him to resign right away, discountenancing the advice by the power hawks around him who might want to advise to the contrary. I concur with this advice. But it will take nationalism, statesmanship and selflessness, which advance the interest of the nation and defer personal interest in a situation like this that beckons on the president to actuate the doctrine of necessity.
There is nothing wrong on the surface of it if Buhari decides to resign. After all, as I have always told my friends, there are no more points for him to prove. He has done his best for the nation and for himself. His health should be paramount to him now. If he can no longer commit himself to governance due to ill-health, it should be in his interest as a man of integrity and the nation whose people gave him their sacred mandate, to honestly make a historic declaration to that effect.
To be sure, history and posterity will not forget him as a leader who, for love of country, resigned from office when he became encumbered by ill-health. He would not be the first leader to make such a sacrifice in human history. In August 2001, the late Bolivian ex-dictator, Hugo Banzer Suarez, who guided the country to democracy, resigned from office after falling ill with lung cancer that had spread. He died on May 6, 2002.
As I have noted supra, nothing is wrong on the surface of a decision by Buhari to resign. But underneath, there is bound to be a mélange of political considerations, permutations and calculations, which typifies the nation’s political plurality as well as ethnic and regional complexities in the contestation for and management of presidential power.
It is sad that due to a natural occurrence, the north was understandably “shortchanged” in 2010 when Yar’Adua died and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan had to take over from him. It will even be sadder if a similar situation repeats itself such that the north’s shareholding in the presidency is again threatened. This is why intensive prayers must be offered for Buhari to stay alive, hale and hearty.
Otherwise, there is nothing wrong if Buhari decides to put in place a concrete arrangement that will ensure a seamless transition and transfer of power, preparatory to 2019 presidential election. He can even make a statement to the nation that for reasons of his failing health, he is resigning and that his vice president will complete the remaining of his term in office, subsequent to which the political system will be guided to do the needful: ensuring that power returns or is retained in the north in 2019 to 2023.
This will settle the matter. The fears will be gone. The battle for the presidency will be pigeonholed or localized in the north. Political forces in the country will all look northwards. This will, certainly, assuage the fears of the north, particularly the far north. Commonsense.
Mr Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, contributed this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com [myad]
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