The Supreme Niger Delta Youth Council WorldWide (SNDYCW) has described the Niger Delta Avengers and Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) as groups of armed robbers masquerading in militancy.

The President General of the Council, Prince Michael Newgent Eaton who spoke when the council under the guidance of former Senate president, Mr. Joseph Wayas met with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kaduna, insisted that members of the MEND group and the Avengers should be arrested and prosecuted.

Ekamon said that they were in Kaduna to meet with leaders and elders of the region who have served the country well and want to see that the country remains as one indivisible entity.

“Our groups are not militants. We are here to see how we can build one Nigeria. We want to condemn the activities of the Avengers and MEND. They are criminals. But better put, armed robbers who are stealing the wealth of our land. We know them. We know that some of the Avengers have served in the previous government and they are even serving in this present government.

“If we are given the mandate, we will go and confront them in their houses.  So, we don’t want the President (Buhari) to be deceived by their antics. There is nothing in the real sense like avengers. They are playing pranks.”

The President General of the group said that the problem in the region is not that of the Federal government but that of their leaders who have been sabotaging the region because of their greed.

“What is it that the federal government has not done for the region. We have OMPADEC, NDDC, 13 percent derivation, Ministry for Niger Delta, security votes. We don’t know what our governors are doing with the security votes.”

According to him, it is based on this premise that they are organizing a summit in Edo State between the 27th and 29th of October to discuss the problem in the region, adding: “we are here to extend our hands of friendship to the people in this region (North). To seek their blessing and support. That’s why we are here with the former Senate president (Joseph Wayas)  who has never been invited by any anti corrupt agency. We also have the blessing of former Head of state, General Gowon.”

Responding, the chairman of the ACF, Ibrahim Coomasie observed that the two regions had sustained a long period of friendship.

Represented by one of the elders in the region, Musa Liman, the ACF chairman said that the forum believes in the doctrine of one Nigeria where equal justice and equity prevail. [myad]

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has made it clear that he is fighting the course of Yoruba race, irrespective of which political party he is operating from. He therefore insisted that attack on the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is as good as attack on the Yoruba race.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said: “even though I am not a member of APC and I will never be, I have elected to stand in defence of the Yoruba nation once again by saying no to the continuous dishonourable treatment being meted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, having paid his dues.

“If Tinubu is allowed to be embarrassed and disgraced just the way our past leaders were humiliated by these same elements, the Yoruba nation would have been made to suffer for uprightness.”

The governor condemned the Tuesday sponsored protest against the APC leader at the party’s national secretariat, saying: “it is unfortunate that Tinubu is now being vilified in a party he invested heavily in; and his fellow kinsmen that he brought up politically are part of this conspiracy.

“In their desperation, they have even tried to set him against the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, by insinuating that he tried to prevent his (Osinbajo) emergence as President Mohammadu Buhari’s running mate. This is sad!

“When other tribes protect their own, it is becoming historically common among the Yoruba to allow themselves to be used against their leaders just for momentary political gains at the expense of the collective interests of the Yoruba nation.

“It should be noted that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was sent to jail by the conspiracy and collaboration of some Yoruba with the external aggressors.”

Fayose argued that Tinubu is a prominent stakeholder and people should not watch while those he used his own sweat to make conspire with others to humiliate him.

“Most importantly, it is my position that irrespective of political affiliation, no leader of the Yoruba nation must be vilified unduly, especially by the same people who humiliated our past leaders such as Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Bisi Onabanjo, Lateef Jakande, and others.

“To me, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not be seen just as an APC leader, but acknowledged as a major stakeholder in the Yoruba nation that we must all protect beyond politics.

”It should be recalled that these were among the issues that I raised when I visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State a few months ago on the need to work together beyond party affiliations.

“Here in Yorubaland, it is said that if a household is at peace, it is because the bastard child of the family is yet to attain the age of maturity and those people that Asiwaju Tinubu made, but are now being used against him, should watch it.

“I therefore condemn this conspiracy against Asiwaju Tinubu and I admonish those that are hoping to make political benefits from it to have a rethink.”

The governor, who called for greater unity among the Yoruba, added: “we are first Yoruba before becoming members of political parties. It is my opinion that our leaders must be defended and protected, not-minding the personal gains of today.”

Some youth groups had protested in Abuja to condemn Tinubu for demanding the resignation of the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, over his role in the Ondo Governorship primaries that produced former Nigerian Bar Association President, Rotimi Akeredolu.

Oyegun reportedly overruled the majority decision of the National Working Committee of the APC that voted for cancellation of the primaries. [myad]

Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari has said that she is worried about the faith of the next generation of both girls and boys in Nigeria.
“As women and mothers of the nation, the faith of the next generation of both girls and boys occupies much of my thinking.”
Aisha Buhari, who spoke today, Friday, at the third annual conference organized by SHE Forum Africa with the theme: Regroup, Reboot and Remove the mask, called on women in leadership positions to be role models for younger generation of women leaders to achieve full inclusion of women.
The President’s wife, who was represented at the conference by the Dr. Toyin Saraki, wife of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said that women, including those in leadership positions, needed to come together to map out concrete plans on how to promote gender equality.
Aisha Buhari said that women also needed to work towards promoting health, safety, education and entrepreneurship for people in the work place, market and rural communities.
“To achieve gender inclusion, the world must break up and pay attention to the rights and opportunities of all human beings to reach and live up to their full potentials.”
She urged governments at the local and international levels, private and public organizations as well as individuals to work towards the realization of sustainable community development.
She said that such development would enhance empowerment of women, including the decision making process of women in the society, which she said would address the undeniable vices and social norms that make women and girls to be treated poorly.
She also urged business owners, civil society groups and institutions to proffer solutions to inequality in order to promote creative solutions and systemic change in the society.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, a Gender and Development Specialist, said that there is need for Nigerian women to regroup, reboot and remove the mask because Nigeria was at war.
Adeleye-Fayemi said: “There is a war going on in Nigeria and the rights of women are greatly affected. Women are dying daily due to maternal mortality, women are being kidnapped and one out of three women experience some form of violence in her lifetime.
“Poverty, exclusion and abuse are things that have almost been normalized in our country.”
Adeleye-Fayemi said that Nigeria has been featured badly in the global gender economic measures and called on women to take their rightful place in the economy.
She said that in the Gender Economic Measure, Nigeria features very badly on most global indicators, adding: “the 2015 World Bank Gender Equality rated Nigeria as 158 out of 177 countries on the gender economic measures.
“The 2004 World Economic Forum on global gender report rated Nigeria 118 out of 178 counties, Nigeria presently feature as one of the 20 worst countries in the world to be a woman.’’
She said that issues on gender equality and women right have been undermined, and that culture, tradition and religion are used as an excuse to exclude women from attaining their full potentials.
The gender activist said that there is need for more feminist in the decision making process such as women with agenda for change, transformation and how to move women right issues forward.
“We have only six per cent of women in the National Assembly in Nigeria; eight states in Nigeria do not have women at the state Houses of Assembly.’’
She called on all stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of gender policy framework on Violence Against Persons Act and National Gender Policy, among others. [myad]