The National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, has described the recent invasion of Yorubaland by the Niger Delta militants and killing of innocent people as “a big slap on our race.”

Angry Adams has therefore given a marching order to members of the Congress to resist such invasion whenever it occurred again.

The OPC chief, wo spoke during the 2016 edition of the annual Ifa Festival, organized by the Olokun Festival Foundation, which took place in Abule-Ado area of Amuwo Odofin Local Government of Lagos State, described the invasion of the South West by militants as “one too many”.

He told the crowd at the occasion that the OPC had, some weeks before the deployment, made some sacrificial offering as a result of the invasion by the Niger Delta militants.

The OPC chief said that the decision to appease the gods in Yorubaland was taken during a National Coordinating Council meeting of the group in Akute area of Ogun State.

“I told the coordinators to make some sacrificial offerings in all their local governments and by the next meeting; over 75 per cent of them had done the offering.

“It was not up to a week after that when President Muhammadu Buhari deployed the military to the place. One thing actually led to the deployment of the soldiers. Even if the Federal Government had not deployed the military men, our men would have confronted them. Our men in Isawo battled with the Niger Delta militants and facilitated the release of two abducted people in the community.”

Adams also directed members of the OPC to go out in full force and challenge the militants.

“We are committed, we are determined and we are resolute. We can no longer wait for the government and allow people to terrorize Yoruba land.”

Adams described Ifa as the Lord’s solution to whatever problem that may confront mankind and urged people to seek knowledge from Ifa.

“Orunmila is the grand priest of Ifa divination and he was always consulted before, during and after problems. People in those days consulted Orunmila, who in turn used Opele and Opon Ifa to seek knowledge from Olodumare. It is not until when a man gets problems that he consults. Ifa offers solution to mankind to prevent thorns that may appear in the course of one’s life. A good example of what Ifa can do is the computer. It can even do far beyond the computer.”

Adams advised traditional rulers to look inward and appreciate the Ifa priest in their domains and seek solutions to problems that are confronting not just their towns but also other towns and the country as a whole.

The Guest Speaker at the event, Chief Lekan Ajorotutu, described Ifa as the encyclopedia of human existence and an essential to human life.

At the event were Prince Owolabi Oduyebo, the Baale of Ateere; Chief Ifagbenro Atunfagbonbiada, the Araba of Ebute Ikorodu; Chief Rasak Oladosu, Special Assistant on Communication to Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State; Ambassador Yomi Fashlanso; Chief Femi Davies; Chief L.A. Adeola, the Baba Sango of Ijoraland; Chief Afolabi Hassan, member OPU executive, India; Chief Victor Adewale, Deputy Coordinator of OPU, Europe; Prince Olawale Ayinla, Treasurer, OPU worldwide, and others. [myad]

Youths in the Northern part of Nigeria, under the umbrella of Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF) has demanded the Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose to immediately apologize to Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari whom he had earlier accused being a fugitive from justice in the United States of America over the Halliburton scandal.

Addressing journalists in Abujaon Friday, AYIF national president, Comrade Abubakar Ibrahim said that the visit by the President’s wife to the United States of America recently is a further proof that Fayose lied in his claim about her.

“We pointed out this visit because of its significance to what had transpired earlier when Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose came up with his tales by moonlight in which he vigorously tried to mislead the public with claims that Mrs. Buhari was a fugitive from justice in the US over the Halliburton scandal. Various persons that set the records straight that the wife of the President was not the same ‘Aisha Buhari’ mentioned in the court documents were ridiculed and bad mouthed.

“May we remind Fayose that Mrs. Buhari was not the one who was recorded in a hotel suite conspiring with others to breach the Electoral Law? The first family did not tell him to engage in money laundry involving billions of naira ferried from one airport to another. It was not Mr. President that made the lodgement of proceed of crime into the Ekiti state governor’s bank account. It was not northerners that made Fayose to be richer than Ekiti state neither were we responsible for his inability to sell his family to pay salaries to workers’ whose money he has diverted into his personal account.”

The youth leader said that Mrs. Buhari’s visit to the United States has confirmed that Fayose wasn’t telling the truth, “we are calling on him to apologize to the first family, and Nigerian women.”

Ibrahim said that Fayose should rather focus his energy to explain his misrule to Ekiti people when his tenure expires.

“We see the vintage Fayose, upon realising that his lies have been found out, desperately looking for a way to distract the nation by calling attention to the handbag Mrs Buhari was holding in one of the pictures from the US. This obvious attempt to trivialize the issue with the woman’s bag is a new low for Fayose even by his own standards.

“Our expectations are that beginning with Ekiti state at the end of Fayose’s tenure the electorates would insist that psychiatric evaluation and a consequent certificate of mental competence would be requisite for all the candidates seeking elections.”

The youths called on Mrs. Aisha Buhari not to relent on her life changing activities and should rather increase the tempo upon her return from the United States. [myad]

President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that he is determined to bequeath a new orientation of leadership that is service-driven and committed to the realization of its potentials to Nigeria.

In his address at the graduation ceremony of Course 24 participants of the National Defence College in Abuja, the nation’s capital on Friday, President Buhari said however that he believed that such task would not be achieved easily.

“Let me assure you all that this Administration is committed to bequeathing to this nation, a new orientation in leadership that will be service-driven and committed to the realization of its promises to the electorates. We are however not under any illusions that this task is an easy one. But we have put our trust in God knowing that with hard work and sound vision, we will triumph.”

He told the soldiers about the core areas of the national life that require immediate intervention which he outlined when he took over the mantle of leadership on 29 May 2015, stressing the importance of seeking, first and foremost the need to secure the country, improve the economy and fight corruption.

“As it is, this is our unfinished business from the past and dates back to the creation of our republic, yet to this day, corruption and poverty remain our main national problems.

“As part of efforts to address the problem of corruption, we have set in motion legal processes to recover whatever we can and bring to justice those who betrayed their trust. Thus far, we have been able to recover billions of naira from indicted companies and individuals. In addition, through the implementation and enforcement of the Treasury Single Account, we have been able to save more for our nation.

“Furthermore, in our fight to end poverty in Nigeria, we have set up social interventions and reliefs for the poor, and already, data is being collated by the Economic Planning Office of the Vice President in conjunction with the World Bank. In addition, through our 2016 budget, we intend to stimulate the economy, making it more competitive by focusing on infrastructural development; delivering inclusive growth; and prioritizing the welfare of Nigerians. We believe that this budget, while helping industry, commerce and investment to pick up, will as a matter of urgency, address the immediate problems of youth unemployment and the terrible living conditions of the very poor and vulnerable Nigerians.”

President Buhari believed that for Nigeria to tap its vast opportunities, it needs a philosophy of transparency and accountability in governance.

He added that other core areas that the country needs to improve on are the rule of law and moral standards in government and in society in order to provide a good foundation for good governance so that the gains are not dissipated by corruption.

Good governance, the President said, must be based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, accountability and an ethic of effective implementation.

“Already, our unrelenting fight against criminality and corruption in governance is a clear testament that we intend to address these problems.”

The President reminded the graduands that their graduation is the beginning of a very challenging journey and that they live in an era where the pace of transition in research and socio-political environment is so fast, that even as he spoke speak, new ideas and concepts are being introduced, established ideas are being re-defined and research is opening new fields of learning.

“Your challenge would be to harness the latest defence and security research as well as extant government policies for the benefit of your Services, Organizations, and indeed your nations. For the Nigerian participants, I expect that you would all have made the most of your time on this course, and be ready to join the ongoing process to change Nigeria for the better.”

Buhari said that the National Defence College symbolizes the height of military professionalism and excellence in the nation, adding that it is a place where potential strategic leaders are trained in the procedure and processes of strategic leadership as well as serving as a good platform to produce leaders that will drive the change direction, which must be followed if we will keep-up with the 21^st century.

“We know that the National Defence College is a truly unique institution, one which we believe, has empowered you with the highest levels of skills in management practices of present day administration and governance for development of our institutions.  We are also very pleased to learn that the blueprints of training at this College have kept pace with our current security environment. In this vein, you will be pleased to note that in the last one year, through the hard work, dedication and sacrifices made by members of our armed forces and security services, we have been able to degrade significantly, the capacity of Boko Haram insurgents to wreck havoc on our society.”

On the matter of Herdsmen/Farmers clashes, President Buhari said that his government will not tolerate or condone acts of banditry and criminality, under any guise, adding that security agencies have been mandated to deal with such acts decisively.

“Let me state that this Administration has been working assiduously in conjunction with our local and international partners, to rebuild damaged communities in North East part of our country.  Similarly, we are committed to tackling the issues of underdevelopment and neglect in the Niger Delta area. This is a priority we have set before us and we intend to make appreciable gains in correcting the ills of the past in the Niger Delta by assuaging inherent grievances.

“As strategic leaders, you must remember that our Armed Forces have been the torch bearers of many of our non-military innovations. I am therefore, very happy to hear that the Graduating Course has undertaken a higher defence management and strategic research on the topic “Youth Bulge in Nigeria, Implication for National Security.” As we seek to solve the myriad of social and political problems we will look closely at your recommendations.” [myad]