Nigerian Air force has confirmed the arrest of a man described as arm dealer in Numan, Adamawa state.
The Public Relations Officer of the Base in Yola, Gboko Tsekaa, who confirmed the arrest of Elisha Dubi, said to be a prominent indigene of the state, denied that the man was kidnapped.
Speaking to news men, the Air Force spokesman said that Dubi was arrested over allegations of dealing in and illegal possession of arms.
He was specifically said to be in possession of a missing FN Rifle.
The rifle was found in his house in Numan, Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Tsekaa said that it was thus not right to link Dubi’s arrest to kidnapping “by some unidentified Air Force men.”
He said that through a joint operation, the arrested man was found to be in possession of a missing Nigerian Air Force FN Rifle.
He explained that the weapon was stolen and allegedly sold to Dubi in Numan.
“We had an intelligence report of an arms dealer in Numan, who it was allegedly purchased the missing riffle.
“The NAF swiftly went into action in conjunction with members of the State Security Services and civil police to arrest the man.”
The spokesman said that the arrested arms dealer is in the custody of the Nigerian Air Force and is undergoing further interrogation, adding: “he is safe and sound.” [myad
Huawei Nigeria has launched a new GR5 Mini Smartphone designed with long-lasting battery of up to 32 hours, for hard users, to eliminate use of power bank.
Speaking at the launch of the phone in Lagos on Saturday, the Managing Director, Devices of Huawei, Mr. Leo Jiang, said that the phone has been equipped with a 3000mAh battery life, owing to the electricity situation in Nigeria. mAh means milliamp Hour and is a unit that measures (electric) power over time. It is commonly used to measure the energy capacity of a battery; generally, the more mAh, the longer the battery capacity.
”The phone’s 3000mAh battery with intelligent power saving technology allows the battery last for as long as two days without charging for light users, and 32 hours for hard users,” he said. According to him, the Smartphone, which features new generation fingerprint technology, has been improved 100 per cent over the first generation.
He said that GR5 Mini had a sensor that performed in 0.5 seconds and had 360 degree readability, builds on Huawei’s success in delivering powerful high end Smartphone with a high level quality.
”Bound to be a delight for photo and self-lovers, the Huawei GR5 Mini has an 8MP front camera, with high chromatic resolution, 4P lens array and a 77 degree wide angle visual range. “It takes sharp looking self and also allows self-lovers to capture more people in the shot.
”The rear-facing 13MP camera features a f/2.0 aperture, 78 degree wide angle visual range, 5P Aspheric lens array with a blue glass filter to improve photo quality.
”It also has professional mode for taking photos with parameters comparable to that of a Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera,” Jiang said.
He said that the GR5 Mini showed Huawei’s cravings for innovations with a 5.2 full High Definition (HD) display screen, which delivered great clarity and pixel density, even in sunlight or low lighting conditions.
According to him, the large display is also comfortable to handle and perfect for getting work done. He said that with an exquisite design, ergonomic streamlining and rippled surface treatment, the phone had an elegant look and feel, and a convenient and comfortable form factor that fitted every lifestyle.
Jiang said that Huawei with its awaken craftsmanship aimed to be the number one Android Smartphone maker. He restated Huawei’s commitment to its mission of continually providing better Smartphone that phones users could enjoy using every day.
Meanwhile, Huawei announced its partnership with Nigerian designer, Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture to give customers, who purchase GR5 Mini a designer phone case for free.
”We value our customers’ need for mobile technology, which suites their lifestyle and meets their needs, and now we are aligning with customers’ strongest passions, one which we have discovered to be fashion,” Jiang said.
GR5 Mini which provides support for tasks like speech recognition, low-power consumption MP3, sensor hub, Fused Location Provider (FLP) navigation, and more efficient location-based tasks is sold for N85,000. [myad]
Governor Ayodele Fayose has cautioned a Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) to slow down on his hatred for him so that he would not go mad. Fayose even recommended what he called “anti-Fayose cataract” for the lawyer so that he would see clearly what he (the governor) has been doing right. Reacting to comment made by Falana at the maiden edition of Ekitipanupo colloquium in Lagos on Thursday that Fayose was looting funds meant for the development of Ekiti State, the governor’s special assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka advised Falana, whom he described as self-professed human rights activist, to desist from such unwarranted utterances. He quoted Fayose as saying: “it is obvious that Falana is driving himself sick because of his personal hatred for Governor Fayose and if care is not taking, his state of mind concerning the governor may graduate from psychology to psychosis one day. “Falana should purge himself of his hatred for anything Fayose because he (Fayose) was not the one who scuttled his (Falana) ambition to be governor of Ekiti State.” Governor Fayose insisted that “the self-professed human rights lawyer” should get the anti-Fayose cataract that has blocked his eyes removed so that he can see all the developmental strides of Governor Fayose both during his first term and his second tenure, “particularly, all the dualised roads in Ado-Ekiti (except) two were done by Fayose. Today, which of the past governors in Ekiti can match Fayose’s achievements?” The governor challenged Falana to make public any evidence of his stealing of Ekiti State funds, saying: “it is strange that Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) could go public with accusation of fraud against someone who has not been pronounced guilty by any court of law and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) must take particular notice of this.” He wondered that Falana is still living under the illusion that he can achieve what he used the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to achieve against him in 2006 ten years after. He challenged Falana to put pressure on his allies in the EFCC to look into the looting of Ekiti State treasury by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi. “Is Falana unaware of the diversion of N852, 936,713.92 counterpart fund paid by the Ekiti State Government to access the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) 2012 Marching grant by the Fayemi-led government, which has made it impossible for Ekiti State to access UBEC matching grant for 2013, 2014 and 2015? “Is Falana not aware of the N25 billion bond and other commercial bank loans that the Fayemi’s government took and misappropriated, on which over N1 billion is being deducted from the State federal allocation now? “Why did Falana keep silent when Ekiti State treasury was being looted right, left and center by the APC government of Fayemi? Where was Falana when uncompleted projects like the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital and State Pavilion in Ado Ekiti were being commissioned by Fayemi? “Is Falana’s activism concerning Ekiti State only about Fayose and everything about his government? “As someone who used to be close to him, my counsel for Femi Falana is that he should stop thinking that he can realise his governorship ambition in Ekiti State by maligning Governor Peter (the Rock) Ayodele Fayose everywhere he goes. He should rather come to Ekiti and sell himself to the people.” [myad]
Nigeria Federal Government has set up machinery for the privatization of the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt international airports, with the inauguration of project steering committee for their concession.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, who inaugurated the committee today, Friday of said that the concession will be driven on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, saying that this is because government does not have the money to finance the project from start to finish.
According to him, the desire for the PPP strategy in the concession is necessitated by the situation in which the country finds itself, adding that economically, government cannot afford public spending on infrastructure.
The members of the committee include the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Taiwo Abidogun, the Director General, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Benjamin Dikko, representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Budget Planning and Aviation. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to jet out to New York on Tuesday, September 13, to attend the 71st UN General Assembly during which time he will discuss series of issues affecting Nigeria, including straighten record on human rights observation in the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, who spoke to news men today, Friday, emphasized that the president would, among others, set the record straight on the issue of human rights violation and sign the Paris Agreement on Climate.
The Paris Climate Conference held in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.
The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to 2°C.
The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.
Onyeama said that the president signing the agreement would send a signal to the world that Nigeria is serious with it. He said that China and the U.S. had already signed it.
He said that the UNGA conference was a unique one where Mr President had opportunity to meet world leaders and build on the country’s reputation.
“It is one unique conference where world leaders assemble and address issues pre-occupying their minds, it is a wonderful opportunity for the president to build on his reputation.
“President Buhari is well regarded by the world leaders and it will give him opportunity to reconnect and engage them on various issues.
“He needs world leaders’ support in the areas of economy, security, anti-corruption and governance. He will use the opportunity to push for Nigeria’s interest at the UN,” the minister said.
He said that the president would also use the opportunity to look for foreign markets for Nigeria’s products and garner support for the economy.
Onyeama said that the president would also use the opportunity to canvass for the repatriation of Nigeria’s stolen money in foreign banks.
“Mr President will use the opportunity to canvass for support for the recharge of Lake Chad.
“There will be a discussion on Lake Chad Basin and how to recharge the lake through Central Africa which will cost about 15 billion dollars.
“Mr President will engage and push for investors on the project. He will be looking at Public, Private Partnership to mobilise that kind of funding for Lake Chad. Such investment will have direct impact on at least five million people.”
The minister said that there will also be a discussion on one vision, one Africa where all African nations can have a voice on issues that have direct impact on the continent.
He said the EU would be putting 31 billion euros on the table to address certain issues affecting Middle East and part of Africa.
He said that Nigeria was the only one invited for the meeting to look into how to spend the money, adding that the forum would give Nigeria opportunity to access the fund.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has again made the list of the top 51 World Richest Billionaires In 2016, according to Forbes magazine. He is rhe only one from the whole of the African continent. The Forbes magazine named Bill Gate of the United States of America as the richest man in the world, with Amancio Ortega of Spain coming second and Warren Buffett of the United States of America coming third even as the Facebook founder and owner, Mark Zuckerberg of the US came sixth. Aliko Dangote, who is African’s richest man and owner of Dangote Group came 51st in the world. [myad]
The vicar of the Church of the Resurrection, Anglican Communion, 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, Ven. Ife Okupevi, has said that Nigeria is not working and asked President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to steer the nation’s economy from recession. He reminded the President that the suffering in the land is becoming unbearable.
The Vicar, who spoke when he delivered a sermon at the funeral service for late Mrs. Elizabeth Nwogwugwu, the mother of THISDAY Newspaper Editor and Group Executive Director, Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, appealed to the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, who was in attendance to inform the president that Nigeria is not working.
“Please tell Mr president that things are not working, Nigerians’ joy has been turned to sorrow; there is too much suffering in the land and this may lead to anarchy. Go and tell all the politicians, all our leaders to serve Christ and to do God’s will. Nigeria has been blessed with heavenly blessings. We are better than the United States of America because God has blessed us with many things. We are better than United Kingdom, Japan, Paris, China, if we can harness what we have, Nigeria will be great.
“Things are not working well in this our country, the Niger Delta Avengers are here, robbers, Boko Haram and kidnappers are making life undesirable for Nigerians. Think of all other atrocities, think of all the vices, corruption in this country.”
The vicar appealed to the president to direct state governors to repair roads and fix necessary infrastructure that will make life easy for Nigerians.
He also lamented the inability of some state governors to pay salaries and urged Buhari to direct the state governors to pay workers’ salaries to alleviate the poverty in the land.
While praying for Nigeria, he said: “I pray God to heal our nation Nigeria. We will celebrate Nigeria again. Don’t wait for October 1 before you celebrate Nigeria. Celebrate, pray and do good things for Nigeria every day. There is suffering because things are not working well. Our joy is turning to death. People are dying. Things are happening the other way.
“I know you represent the head of state. Things are not working well, so talk to the House of Assembly members, governors; you were once a governor, that they should repair our roads and give us good water.
“Do good in the military and health sector and our educational sector must be done well. Those that still owe workers should pay. We can’t continue like this, our land will not crash. This country will not die.”
Addressing the children of the deceased on the need to draw closer to God, he said: “this woman had served God. She expects a good legacy from most of us that are present here this morning.”
Dignitaries at the funeral included Chairman, Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Newspapers and Arise TV, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; former Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Chairman, United Bank for Africa, Mr. Tony Elumelu and Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, Others include, Former Commissioner of Information, Delta State, Chike Ogbeah; spokesman to the Senate President, Yusuf Olaniyonu, and Deputy Managing Director, THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Kayode Komolafe. [myad]
A driver with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nasiru Isa, has been arrested for allegedly breaking into one of the sealed mansions owned by the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, retired Air Marshal Alex Badeh. Also arrested are a policeman identified as Corporal Aliyu Ismaila, Abubakar Jibrin, Abdulsalam Ado, Ibrahim Babangida, Reuben Dauda, Hassan Aliyu, Sani Yusuf and Murtala Mohammed.
In a statement, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said that the suspect belonged to a criminal syndicate that specializes in breaking into properties sealed off by the EFCC.
The Commission had, in January, sealed off over five landed properties belonging to Badeh before arraigning him on 10-count charge bordering on money laundering and theft.
The EFCC said on August 30, 2016, the suspects, including the armed policeman, subdued the security guard at the property and attempted to break into the main building but fled on sighting some EFCC operatives.
The statement read in part: “On August 30, 2016, operatives of the EFCC, as part of monitoring activities on the sealed property, had gone to the site to execute a search.
“However, members of the syndicate took to their heels on sighting the operatives of the anti-graft agency. A carpenter, Yakubu Muhammad, who was hired by the syndicate, was left behind and was subsequently arrested by the operatives.
“The carpenter, who has been cooperating with operatives, confessed that he was not in the know of the illicit activity, as he was only brought in by the syndicate to assist with the use of his carpentry tools to break into the property.”
According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that shortly after the property was sealed, some individuals moved about 12 bags believed to contain items linked to money laundering offence, into the property.
“Investigations revealed that one of those in the know about the goods was the brains behind the scheming to steal them. The syndicate decided they would need to subdue the security man at the property, which would mean they would need to involve security personnel in the syndicate.
“Subsequently, Isa was contacted. To further beef up the security aspect of the crime, he also contacted his friend, Ismaila, who came for the ‘operation’ fully armed. In perpetrating the crime, Dauda had posed to be a senior official of the EFCC, while Jibrin posed as an Intelligence Police officer in the Inspector General’s office.
“However, on August 30, 2016, they were caught in the act of breaking into the property, having successfully overpowered the security guard at the entrance of the property.” [myad]
Here comes the preacher. What does he want to tell us? Doesn’t he know that we are hungry, and the din of hunger makes one deaf to reason?
The rumble in our tummies, as the worms compete for the little food left there, will surely be louder than what anybody can say now. True?
Not exactly.
Come, let us reason together.
Father Ejike Mbaka, that fearless priest of the Catholic church, gave an illustration recently, which I believe was not revealed to him by flesh and blood. There is hunger in the land, with people severely famished. And there is ululation, loud enough to deafen the deaf all over again, and wake the dead from his eternal sleep. The wailers are wailing so loud, as if Bob Marley had resurrected with his band, the Wailing Wailers.
But hear Fr. Mbaka: somebody came, looted your kitchen, carried away all the food. He did not even leave you crumbs to console yourself with. And then comes another person, trying to replenish your pantry, trying to restock your kitchen. And then you begin to shout; we are hungry o, we are hungry o, to the point of distracting and discouraging the new man. Who should you rather wail and rage against? The man that looted your kitchen, of course.
That is the exact similitude of the position of Nigeria.
There is hunger, lack, and deprivation in the land. But is it a death knell? Not when the kitchen is being restocked, and we will soon feed till we want no more. But what if we are dead before our kitchen gets replenished?
What if we had been knackered by hunger, before the days of plenty come? That is the purpose of this piece. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, established, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10).
Christianity is the religion I am most familiar with. But every religion must surely preach the virtue of godly patience.
“After ye have suffered a while…” Let’s look at it closely.
You give a single thing, you get four in return. What a huge return on investment. You put in suffering (patience, if you like), and you get this cocktail of blessings: perfect, established, strengthened, settled. Buy one, get four free. Hear who is preaching patience, from the cosy confines of the presidential villa. He has moved up, and from obscene comfort, he can preach. That was the insinuation my own brother, Dele Momodu, made in his Saturday column in Thisday a couple of weeks ago. He did not mention my name, but I knew he was talking of me. And I laughed.
Obscene comfort, in a Muhammadu Buhari administration? Funny. Well, I do not know about those who can hustle, and gain advantage from holding public office. But I can speak for myself. The day God was distributing the ability to hustle, I probably was not at home, so I have not been given that ability. And the Good Book says no man does anything, except it is given to him from above. The sum total?
I am on a national assignment that has cut my legitimate annual income by one third, so when there is hunger in the land, I go hungry too. Well, almost. When people talk of lack of money, I penny-pinch, too. Well, almost. Let nobody think those in government are insulated from what is happening in the country.
At least, those who have truly come to serve. But those precious promises hold true any day.
“In the days of famine, my people shall be satisfied.”
“The young lion may lack, and suffer hunger, but those that trust in the Lord shall not suffer any good thing.” (Ride on, preacher!).
In Benin on Monday, President Buhari spoke at campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He declared: “I assure you that we are going to get out of our economic problems. We are almost out of our security problem and we are going to make Nigeria great again. We are going to be very proud of our country once again.”
I believe it. Implicitly. If I don’t, I am then simply wasting time in government, when I could fare a lot better outside it. But the Daura man needs people to believe in him. Count me in the number. I had always been, and will always be a believer in integrity, probity and accountability. It is good for our country. The economy has fallen into recession, and after recession comes depression. Really?
Why are some people too eager to believe negative projections, while shunning the positive? Yes, when you have negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters, there is business contraction, and the economy falls into recession. Depression is even worse. But recession is not Armageddon. It is not a death sentence. Leading countries of the world had fallen into economic recession at one time or the other, and they came out of it, to become strong and sturdy again. Why not Nigeria? The projection is that by the end of the fourth quarter, we would be on our way out of recession. I believe it. I do not spend my days expecting a thunderstorm, and render myself unable to enjoy the rain. “After ye have suffered a while…”
Better days will come again, and under this Buhari administration. Yes, we shall soon be proud of our country again. Do we forget so easily?
No, we shouldn’t. Buhari and his party rode to power last year on the wings of three main promises, among others: security, anti-corruption, and economic restoration. The first promise is being roundly and soundly fulfilled.
You can’t administer a country you have not secured, the President keeps saying. And so, from Sambisa to Sango, in Ogun State, from the creeks of Ikorodu to those of Niger Delta, even the crocodiles are smiling, knowing that the country is being secured. From Ogbunike, to Okigwe, and to Okporoza, the security agencies are proving their mettle. In the North East, internally displaced people are returning home. Ask people from Konduga, in Borno State. Roads that had been closed for five years are reopening. Emirs, who had fled their palaces for many years, have returned. “After ye have suffered for a while…”
Corruption is being given a bloody nose! You do the crime, you serve the term. A Daniel has come to judgment. In Nigeria, not only are officials corrupt, but corruption has become official, said Shehu Musa, a former secretary to the Federal Government. Well, not anymore. Do the crime, serve the term, is the new singsong. Stealing has now become corruption, and the battle has just started.
The economy is the third promise. But just as the promise is being kept on the security and anti-corruption fronts, the economy will also be turned right side up. After ye have suffered a while… It is inevitable that we pass through this rough patch in which we currently find ourselves. Up to the end of 2014, we made an average of three billion dollars monthly from oil. We whacked everything, officially and unofficially, nothing put aside for the rainy day. It was a bazaar. Now the rain is falling, and it is beating us almost mercilessly. Monthly income from oil has dropped to as low as five hundred million dollars.
From billions to millions. We are running soaked. But after rain comes the shine. Nigeria not only has a thrifty and prudent leadership, but also one that will not steal our money. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so goes the saying.
Some people are so rapacious that if you keep a boiled egg in their care, and knowing that a bite on the egg would be quite visible, they then lick it, so that the egg never goes scot-free. But the good news for us is that a man who did not bite our egg in his 30s, would not lick it in his 70s. Our treasury is safe, and we will beat recession. Better days are surely coming, “after ye have suffered a while…”
We trusted Buhari and gave him our votes in 2015. Let us keep the trust, the confidence, and ride the storm. In quietness and confidence shall be our strength, not in wailing and throwing of tantrums. In private, and in public, President Buhari has acknowledged the tough times in the land. But he is not throwing up his hands in helplessness. Problems are meant to be solved, and the government is doing just that. It’s a time of national emergency that calls for cooperation, goodwill, best wishes, encouragement, even prayers. But some people rejoice, thinking the government would fail.
Why do the heathens rage, and the people imagine vain things? Wasn’t the siege on Samaria so terrible that they began to boil their children to eat? And then came Prophet Elisha, who told them, “Tomorrow about this time, shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel.” Did it happen?
It did. But the scoffers, the unbelieving, did not partake of it. Things will turn in Nigeria, and it would be for our good.(I can see everything turning around, turning around, turning around for our good). If you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small.
Good Nigerians will not faint, rather, they will trust, pray and encourage the man restocking their kitchens.
As sure as day follows the night, better things will come, and will not delay. The troubles of the present are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed, “after we have suffered for a while…” .
Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari. [myad]
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Governor Ayodele Fayose has cautioned a Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) to slow down on his hatred for him so that he would not go mad.
Rolland Ezuruike, a Nigerian, has set a new Paralympic record of 190kg to win gold in the men’s -54kg.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has again made the list of the top 51 World Richest Billionaires In 2016, according to Forbes magazine. He is rhe only one from the whole of the African continent.
After Ye Have Suffered A While…, By Femi Adesina
Here comes the preacher. What does he want to tell us? Doesn’t he know that we are hungry, and the din of hunger makes one deaf to reason?
The rumble in our tummies, as the worms compete for the little food left there, will surely be louder than what anybody can say now. True?
Not exactly.
Come, let us reason together.
Father Ejike Mbaka, that fearless priest of the Catholic church, gave an illustration recently, which I believe was not revealed to him by flesh and blood. There is hunger in the land, with people severely famished. And there is ululation, loud enough to deafen the deaf all over again, and wake the dead from his eternal sleep. The wailers are wailing so loud, as if Bob Marley had resurrected with his band, the Wailing Wailers.
But hear Fr. Mbaka: somebody came, looted your kitchen, carried away all the food. He did not even leave you crumbs to console yourself with. And then comes another person, trying to replenish your pantry, trying to restock your kitchen. And then you begin to shout; we are hungry o, we are hungry o, to the point of distracting and discouraging the new man. Who should you rather wail and rage against? The man that looted your kitchen, of course.
That is the exact similitude of the position of Nigeria.
There is hunger, lack, and deprivation in the land. But is it a death knell? Not when the kitchen is being restocked, and we will soon feed till we want no more. But what if we are dead before our kitchen gets replenished?
What if we had been knackered by hunger, before the days of plenty come? That is the purpose of this piece. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, established, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10).
Christianity is the religion I am most familiar with. But every religion must surely preach the virtue of godly patience.
“After ye have suffered a while…” Let’s look at it closely.
You give a single thing, you get four in return. What a huge return on investment. You put in suffering (patience, if you like), and you get this cocktail of blessings: perfect, established, strengthened, settled. Buy one, get four free. Hear who is preaching patience, from the cosy confines of the presidential villa. He has moved up, and from obscene comfort, he can preach. That was the insinuation my own brother, Dele Momodu, made in his Saturday column in Thisday a couple of weeks ago. He did not mention my name, but I knew he was talking of me. And I laughed.
Obscene comfort, in a Muhammadu Buhari administration? Funny. Well, I do not know about those who can hustle, and gain advantage from holding public office. But I can speak for myself. The day God was distributing the ability to hustle, I probably was not at home, so I have not been given that ability. And the Good Book says no man does anything, except it is given to him from above. The sum total?
I am on a national assignment that has cut my legitimate annual income by one third, so when there is hunger in the land, I go hungry too. Well, almost. When people talk of lack of money, I penny-pinch, too. Well, almost. Let nobody think those in government are insulated from what is happening in the country.
At least, those who have truly come to serve. But those precious promises hold true any day.
“In the days of famine, my people shall be satisfied.”
“The young lion may lack, and suffer hunger, but those that trust in the Lord shall not suffer any good thing.” (Ride on, preacher!).
In Benin on Monday, President Buhari spoke at campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He declared: “I assure you that we are going to get out of our economic problems. We are almost out of our security problem and we are going to make Nigeria great again. We are going to be very proud of our country once again.”
I believe it. Implicitly. If I don’t, I am then simply wasting time in government, when I could fare a lot better outside it. But the Daura man needs people to believe in him. Count me in the number. I had always been, and will always be a believer in integrity, probity and accountability. It is good for our country. The economy has fallen into recession, and after recession comes depression. Really?
Why are some people too eager to believe negative projections, while shunning the positive? Yes, when you have negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters, there is business contraction, and the economy falls into recession. Depression is even worse. But recession is not Armageddon. It is not a death sentence. Leading countries of the world had fallen into economic recession at one time or the other, and they came out of it, to become strong and sturdy again. Why not Nigeria? The projection is that by the end of the fourth quarter, we would be on our way out of recession. I believe it. I do not spend my days expecting a thunderstorm, and render myself unable to enjoy the rain. “After ye have suffered a while…”
Better days will come again, and under this Buhari administration. Yes, we shall soon be proud of our country again. Do we forget so easily?
No, we shouldn’t. Buhari and his party rode to power last year on the wings of three main promises, among others: security, anti-corruption, and economic restoration. The first promise is being roundly and soundly fulfilled.
You can’t administer a country you have not secured, the President keeps saying. And so, from Sambisa to Sango, in Ogun State, from the creeks of Ikorodu to those of Niger Delta, even the crocodiles are smiling, knowing that the country is being secured. From Ogbunike, to Okigwe, and to Okporoza, the security agencies are proving their mettle. In the North East, internally displaced people are returning home. Ask people from Konduga, in Borno State. Roads that had been closed for five years are reopening. Emirs, who had fled their palaces for many years, have returned. “After ye have suffered for a while…”
Corruption is being given a bloody nose! You do the crime, you serve the term. A Daniel has come to judgment. In Nigeria, not only are officials corrupt, but corruption has become official, said Shehu Musa, a former secretary to the Federal Government. Well, not anymore. Do the crime, serve the term, is the new singsong. Stealing has now become corruption, and the battle has just started.
The economy is the third promise. But just as the promise is being kept on the security and anti-corruption fronts, the economy will also be turned right side up. After ye have suffered a while… It is inevitable that we pass through this rough patch in which we currently find ourselves. Up to the end of 2014, we made an average of three billion dollars monthly from oil. We whacked everything, officially and unofficially, nothing put aside for the rainy day. It was a bazaar. Now the rain is falling, and it is beating us almost mercilessly. Monthly income from oil has dropped to as low as five hundred million dollars.
From billions to millions. We are running soaked. But after rain comes the shine. Nigeria not only has a thrifty and prudent leadership, but also one that will not steal our money. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so goes the saying.
Some people are so rapacious that if you keep a boiled egg in their care, and knowing that a bite on the egg would be quite visible, they then lick it, so that the egg never goes scot-free. But the good news for us is that a man who did not bite our egg in his 30s, would not lick it in his 70s. Our treasury is safe, and we will beat recession. Better days are surely coming, “after ye have suffered a while…”
We trusted Buhari and gave him our votes in 2015. Let us keep the trust, the confidence, and ride the storm. In quietness and confidence shall be our strength, not in wailing and throwing of tantrums. In private, and in public, President Buhari has acknowledged the tough times in the land. But he is not throwing up his hands in helplessness. Problems are meant to be solved, and the government is doing just that. It’s a time of national emergency that calls for cooperation, goodwill, best wishes, encouragement, even prayers. But some people rejoice, thinking the government would fail.
Why do the heathens rage, and the people imagine vain things? Wasn’t the siege on Samaria so terrible that they began to boil their children to eat? And then came Prophet Elisha, who told them, “Tomorrow about this time, shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel.” Did it happen?
It did. But the scoffers, the unbelieving, did not partake of it. Things will turn in Nigeria, and it would be for our good.(I can see everything turning around, turning around, turning around for our good). If you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small.
Good Nigerians will not faint, rather, they will trust, pray and encourage the man restocking their kitchens.
As sure as day follows the night, better things will come, and will not delay. The troubles of the present are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed, “after we have suffered for a while…” .
Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari. [myad]