Mark And Mystery Of Political Victories, By Ismail Omipidan

January 25, 2016

They have always ganged up against him. But somehow, he had always survived the gang up. David Bonaventure Alechenu Mark is his name. Some hate him, others love him.
But what many did not know, is that like most Nigerian names, whose meanings appear to be a factor in the life of the bearer, Mark’s native name, Alechenu, may have also played a prominent role in shaping his destiny and political journey.
Alechenu in Idoma literarily means “a surprise or the unexpected.” His first election as a Senator was no doubt a surprise to many Idoma people. While in exile, Idoma people had queued behind Chief Steven Lawani, the immediate past Benue deputy governor, after rejecting the leadership of former Senate President, Chief Ameh Ebute, who had represented the area in the Senate, during the defunct NRC/SDP era.
Lawani, had won the Senatorial seat of the area under the defunct UNCP, and was even getting set to take another shot at it on the platform of the then APP, when suddenly Mark returned to a heroic welcome from self exile.
Once he returned, the PDP offered him the platform and without any political bargain, Lawani chickened out of the race. And even though Ebute attempted to stop him on the platform of the APP, Mark was obviously the preferred choice of the people. He was elected Senator in 1999.
2003: But before the 2003 polls, he had fell out with some prominent stalwarts of the PDP, especially within Zone C, his immediate Senatorial district and the larger Benue PDP. Against all odds, he backed Akume for a second term in office, on the understanding that Akume would pave the way for an Idoma governor in 2007. Although, attempt was made to pull him down at the poll, as most Idoma big names then moved to the UNPP, Mark again triumphed.
2007: However, before the 2007 poll, he had again fallen out with Akume, a thing that never gave him the opportunity to pull the bargain he had with Akume through. In spite of that however, he attempted forcing an Idoma governorship candidate on the PDP, since he was in firm control of the State’s party structure, as Akume had fallen out with Obasanjo. But his instruction that no Idoma man should participate in the party’s governorship primary, organised by the Akume group, a thing that would have made him had his way was not heeded by the Idoma governorship aspirants.
At the Senate primary too, Mark faced a formidable opposition in General Lawrence Onoja (rtd). At the end, although Mark had the highest number of votes, he did not score the required percentage to be declared winner. While Onoja was hoping and waiting for a re-run between them, the party headquarters in Abuja, gave Mark the ticket.
The contest at the General election was fierce. Mark was not only battling with his opponent, Alhaji Usman Abubakar Maishanu aka Young Alhaji of the now defunct ANPP, but was also battling with forces both from within the PDP in the State, and outside the State, but within the North-Central zone. Eventually he won, but not without some controversies, which later ended in the Appeal court, in Jos, where he was adjudged to have won the poll in the first instance.
Contest for Senate Presidency in 2007: If Mantu had succeeded in winning a re-election in 2007, it would certainly have been difficult for Mark to vie for the Senate Presidency, let alone win, as such Mantu’s loss, became Mark’s gain.
But even at that the forces within the North-Central zone of the PDP, linked up with other like minds outside the zone, with a view to stopping Mark from emerging as the Senate President. Curiously, Chief Tony Anenih, who was bitter with Obasanjo then, was the arrow head of the group. In spite of the fact that PDP announced Mark as its candidate, Senators Nuhu Aliyu, Akume, Gbemi Saraki and former Governors Kure, all from PDP North-Central zone, including Aliero and Yerima among others, met and insisted that “Obasanjo’s candidate must be blocked at all cost.”
This, made Akume to run against Mark, against the Senate Standing Rule, after Senator Aliyu and Gbemi, in that order, stepped down for Akume. But again, Mark triumphed, beating Akume silly at the end of the contest.
2011:Like in 2007, Onoja again in 2011, tried to contest the PDP ticket with Mark at the primary. But unlike in 2007, where Mark failed to make it at the first ballot, this time around, Mark trounced Onoja at the party primary, before Onoja, moved to the ACN, to pick the party’s ticket. Again, at the poll, Mark was returned as the duly elected Senator for Zone C, for another four year term, a victory that gave him the opportunity to offer himself once more for the position of the Senate President, a contest; he won unopposed, despite the obstacles initially placed on his path.
2015:He did not get the party’s ticket on a platter of gold. But he emerged unopposed, following the withdrawal of his major challenger, at the eleventh hour. The withdrawal was made possible through the intervention of the respected Och’Idoma.
At the General election, he emerged victorious. But the Appeal court nullified his election. And by February 13, 2016, he will be returning to the polls. Mark himself is like a mystery. He had in the past survived series of conspiracies against him; therefore I don’t think this one will be an exception. Like in the past, this time too, the forces against him are beyond the Idoma land, but like I said, he would survive it. Let me also hasten to add that Mark is the voice the Idoma people needs today. He may not have done much in terms of physical infrastructure, but he has done a lot in terms of Human Capital development. And evidences are all over.
However, let me also warn, God forbid, if anything should happen and the forces against Mark succeed, the Idoma people should know that they would have been sentenced permanently to a political siberia. A word, they say, is enough, for the wise.

Omipidan, writes from Abu. [myad]

We Are Leaving Kogi State Better Than We Met It, Deputy Governor

Greenbarge Reporters

January 24, 2016

The Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Yomi Awoniyi has said that the outgoing administration is leaving the state better than it met it 2012.
Awoniyi, who spoke today at a thanksgiving service held in his honour at the First Baptist Church, Mopa, described the tenure of outgoing Governor Idris Wada as a successful and eventful one, which the people would live to cherish for a long time.
According to him, the administration has laid a solid foundation for the future growth and development of the state and prosperity of the people.
He thanked the people for their support for the Wada administration, saying that the leadership and members of the church and the people of Mopa were particularly wonderful in their support and prayers for the administration.
The outgoing deputy governor promised his continuous support to churches in the area and promised to remain steadfast in his resolve to join others to uplift the socioeconomic status of Mopa.
Awoniyi solicited the support of the people for the incoming administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress, saying that it was their support that enabled the outgoing administration to make successes in all sectors.
In his sermon, Rev. Joshua Ige was full of praises for Awoniyi for what God has been able to use him to achieve for the people of Mopa and the state in general.
The cleric, who described Awoniyi as a pillar of support for the church, prayed and wished him well in his future endeavours. [myad]

Challenges And Opportunities Awaiting Bello As Wada Hands Over A Troubled State, By Deen Adavize

Deen adavize

January 24, 2016

On Wednesday, 27th January 2016, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello will assume duties as governor and chief security officer of the confluence state. His assumption will not only mark the beginning of a new era, but also end the decade-long political dynasty of certain section of the state.

Since its creation in 1991, the state has witnessed unprecedented political instability, socio-economic downturn, improvised by ineptitude of people who prioritise self-interest over state development.

There is no doubt that the incoming government will inherit a state with a severe and devastating structures, ranging from political instability, increasing wave of insecurity occasioned by decades of systematic neglect of army of youths in the state and wide spread poverty, infrastructural cum educational decay, accumulated debts and general loss of morality amongst other pot of challenges.

In spite of these alarming hurdles, the incoming governor still has numerous opportunities to overcome all the challenges which are even complicated by the outgoing Idris Wada’s administration. Yahaya Bello only needs to assemble competent team with well-articulated and all inclusive policy.

Politics of acrimony and ethnic rivalry in Kogi state

The task ahead of the God’s own-governor is indeed enormous but surmountable with diligence, prayer and diplomacy.

The history of politics in Kogi state has always been characterised with acrimony, manipulation and ethnic rivalry. Undoubtedly, the circumstances that led to the emergence of Yahaya Bello as governor-elect is still fresh in the memories of discerning Nigerians. The sudden death of Kogi born political “bulldozer,” Prince Abubakar Audu was responsible for his divine emergence.

His party painstakingly took a decision that was quickest, safest, cost-less, simplest and legally proven alternative. It was a decision that defied all human manipulations at that particular time. But this irreversible decision was greeted with a lot of controversies because of the persistence and long history of inter/intral-ethnic struggle in the state.
The incursion of south-west political godfather, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu into Kogi politics further worsened the already volatile political environment. His persistent struggle to impose his begotten-political-son, James Faleke as governor of the state has created yet another uncertainty in Kogi politics.

The all-round litigations filed by various interest groups against Bello would for sure, have a negative impact on his administration.

In addition to multiple litigations which Bello needs to sail through by God willing, the current unresolved crisis in the state legislature would, of course, constitute another challenge for his government.
It also need be stated that his party has minority in the current state assembly with opposition PDP leading the leadership of the legislative arm of government. Even though, the current speaker is also from his constituency, he may still be faced with a strong opposition and clash of policy interest that require a lot of works to deal with.
The challenge of a troubled economy

About 25 years after the creation of this well-endowed state which supposed to be competing favorably with states like Lagos, River, Ilorin and others viable states in the country, the state has unfortunately, remained one of the poorest, according to recent survey. This is despite numerous human and material resources coupled with its strategic location, bordering nearly 10 states of the federation, including federal capital territory, Abuja.

In his recent parting message, the outgoing governor, Captain Idris Ichala Wada declared that his administration was “leaving behind N44.46 billion domestic debt and $35.7 million as external debt for the incoming government” without visible achievement.
Needless to say that I’m yet to see in any publication, whether the governor is also leaving behind any penny in the state coffer.
According to him, some of his major achievements are recent awarded N4billion contract of Ganaja flyover, the uncompleted Allo cement company, the yet to be completed ethanol factory in Banda among others. This is the height of ineptitude and misgovernance ever exhibited by a sitting governor in the history of Nigeria. He added that “about 85% of the monthly allocation goes into payment of salary.”
In his earlier statement, the governor said that the average total annual revenue accruing to the state from federation account and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was about N80 billion but that 90 percent of it goes into salary while the state is left with only 5billion.
It will be recalled that at the last count, the state workforce stands at Kogi Central Senatorial District, 4,069 (almost 11%); West Senatorial District, 6,519 (almost 19%); Kogi East Senatorial District 24,621 (about 70%) totalling 35,209.
In addition to the seemly empty treasury and accumulated unaccounted debts, the state governor is also leaving behind the lingering crisis between it and organized labour in the state. The labour leaders in recent time have asked the outgoing governor to account for the disappearance of about N2billion from the state coffer, but, Wada and his team are yet to provide a satisfactory answer to this allegation.
As such, correcting this comatose economy and social inequalities would require a diligence and diplomatic strategies which may take quit sometime to realise. The misfortune of former and outgoing administrations in the state will indeed have a great impact on Yahaya Bello’s administration. The expectations of the masses are high and the people are anticipating to see him wave his magic-stick and wipe out their tears caused by his predecessors. Though, the masses are not to be blamed as they have suffered untold hardship in the area of insecurity, dearth of infrastructure, alarming rate of poverty, unemployment amongst others, but they need to be patient and corporate with the incoming government to succeed as it takes long meticulous time to repair than to destroy.

Rising spate of insecurity in the state

Despite the claim by the Wada government that his greatest achievement was the restoration of peace and security in the state, available record show that the state is still beclouded with insecurity occasioned by frequent cases of armed robbery, communal crises, Kidnapping, assassination and youth restiveness in the three senatorial districts of the state. Recent reports revealed that major roads in and around the state have become hubs for armed robbers and hoodlums who jump out from the bush onto the road to attack unsuspecting travelers without mercy.
In Okene, Kabba, Ijumu and Ajaokuta for instance, banks are forced to close as early as 3pm every day and completely closed down during Yuletide period as armed robbers can freely invade the towns and raid the banks without assurance of security.

Recently, money meant for payment of workers in Adavi LG area were carted away in broad daylight at Ogaminana, Adavi LG area. During the last supplementary governorship election, hoodlums burnt down INEC office in Idah without single person announce to be apprehended. In Ibaji, Dekina, Okehi, Idah, Okene, Adavi, Ajoukut, Ijumu and Kabba LG areas, several people were assassinated within the period of four years of Wada administration.
In November last year, about 22 people were murdered by Fulani herdsmen in Dekina LG community while in April last year, TAO FM radio station was bombed by armed men and killed about 4 members of its staff at Kuroko, Adavi LG area of the state.

According to security sources, about 50 people were kidnapped since Wada assumed office in 2012. These include high court judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi; the American Missionary, Rev. Phylhis Sortor; Rector of Federal Polytechnic Idah, Mathew Akpata; seven Chinese men; the Oba of Apaa-Bunu in Kabba/Bunu LGA, HRH Oba Adebisi Obademi; the Bursar of Federal Polytechnic Idah; Alhaji Yahaya Bello’s mother, Hajia Hawawu Bello, two sons of Kogi State House of Assembly Speaker, Lawal Momoh Jimoh; the wife and daughter of the former council chairman of Adavi, Salihu Adaviruku and the younger brother of late Prince Abubakar Audu. The State Commissioner for Land, Housing and Urban Development, Hon, Stephen Maiyaki was among other numerous unreported cases. Yet, Wada, in his usual deceptive statement claims to have restored peace and security in the state despite these glaring evidences of acute failure in all aspects of the state which can be testified to by all right thinking Nigerians who pass through the confluence state.

The Golden opportunities:

While it’s undeniable that the 40 year old young entrepreneur would, by God willing, take over the leadership of over five million people of Kogi state, with numerous challenges, there are also numerous opportunities his Excellency can utilize to deliver his campaign promises and win the confidence of all Kogites within the next four years.

He can borrow a leaf from his counterparts like Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, and follow the developmental posture of the president Buhari administration. It is obvious that his party at the center will not see him failing and will support succor his administration to succeed at all costs.

Also in his favour, is his divine emergence that defied, and continue to defy all human manipulations by God’s willing. This alone shows that he has the guidance, beyond human making, to succeed, the state with little influence from political ‘bourgeoisies’ as he is not indebted to any political godfather in the state and at the federal level.
His experience in leadership traits which include: development, valor, fairness, fearlessness, hospitability, honesty, industriousness and gallantry would as well help him when effectively put into practice to navigate through all hurdles on his way.
Assembling sincere and knowledgeable and competent team will help him in tackling the challenges. He needs to explore numerous human and natural resources that abound the state.

As Kogi citizens are anxiously awaiting the ‘new direction,’ he must not fail the people. He must ensure that his policies and programs are driven by mass appeal. He must quickly develop a program to absorb the jobless youths who have constituted security menace to the state. He should not allow the litigations to distract his focus even as he should put faith in God. He should believe and trust that God who has brought him to limelight by His grace, would also protect him and make him triumphant in the end.

In an attempt to stretch a hand of fellowship, he must do that with one hand. In an attempt to run all inclusive government, he must do it with cautious. And, in an attempt to reconcile all aggrieved person, he must do it with long hand: that are precious words of advice to the God’s owned governor, his Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello.
I wish him and kogites a very best of luck as they begin a new political era, come Wednesday.

deenadavize@gmail.com

Falana Drags Okonjo-Iweala To Criminal Court For Complicity In Treasury Looting

Greenbarge Reporters

January 24, 2016

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has dragged former minister of Finance, Ngozi Oknojo-Iweala to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for failing to “prevent systematic and widespread corruption” in the previous administration which made her to be a complicity in the treasury looting.

“The failure of a former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to prevent widespread and systematic corruption including the re-looting of the Abacha loot amounts to complicity under the Rome Statute, and therefore fits the legal requirements of a crime against humanity.”

In a petition addressed to the prosecutor of the world body, Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor of the ICC, Falana sought the prosecution of Dasuki whose trial by the current administration, he said, should not stop the international body from probing him.

Here is the full text of the petition:

We are a firm of civil rights lawyers based in Lagos, Nigeria. We are the defence counsel for the majority of the members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Nigeria who were charged with mutiny, cowardly behavior and sundry offences before the courts-martial instituted by the former military authorities.

As we shall demonstrate anon, the only “offence” proved against our clients in the military courts was that they had the temerity to demand for weapons to fight the well equipped troops of the Boko Haram sect.

On account of the deliberate refusal of the former military authorities to equip and motivate the members of the armed forces involved in combat operations the insurgents have killed about 25,000 soldiers and civilians including children and displaced over 2,000,000 people. Having compromised the security of the people of Nigeria by collaborating with the terrorists the former military authorities deliberately encouraged the brutal killing of innocent people including ill-equipped officers and soldiers.

During a visit to Borno state in 2014, former President Jonathan revealed to some selected leaders of the community that it was when Alhaji Modu Ali Sheriff caused the extra judicial killing of the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf that the group declared war on the Nigerian people. Even though President Jonathan knew that Alhaji Sheriff was a major sponsor of the terrorist group the government did not charge him to court under the Terrorism Act applicable in Nigeria. In order to divert the attention of the Nigerian people and the international community from the afore mentioned crimes against humanity, scores of soldiers were put on trial before courts-martial for demanding for equipment to fight the well-armed members of the Boko Haram sect.

The military courts convicted the soldiers and sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment while 70 were sentenced to death. Over 3,000 others were dismissed from the Nigerian Army in similar circumstances. Having investigated and confirmed that the said soldiers were sacrificed to cover up the criminal negligence of the former military authorities the current Army leadership has ordered the recall and reinstatement of the 3,000 dismissed soldiers and commuted the death sentence of 66 out of 70 convicts on death row to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The inquiry conducted by the Presidential Panel on arms procurement has established that the bulk of the sum of $2.1 billion and N643 billion ($4 billion) earmarked for the purchase of military hardware to fight terrorism was criminally diverted by the former government through the office of the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd). It has also been confirmed that the said Col. Dasuki colluded with some serving and retired military officers and civilians to divert the sum of $2 billion and N29 billion set aside for the procurement of fighter jets and other equipment for the Nigeria Air Force. As if that was not enough, the sum of $322 million and £5.5 million from the Abacha loot which was illegally transferred to Col. Dasuki by a former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for prosecuting the war on terror has also been criminally diverted. Part of the stolen fund was used to fund the campaign for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general election.

Apart from diverting the fund for acquiring military equipment some corrupt public officers also stole money set aside for acquiring the necessary gadgets and equipment for securing the Nigerian people. For instance, the $470 million contract awarded in 2009 for the installation of CCTV cameras in Abuja, the seat of the federal government, was poorly executed due to corrupt practices. Thus, the identification of terrorists who launched bomb attacks in public places in Abuja has been frustrated by the government officials who stole the contract sum. Notwithstanding the deliberate refusal of the military authorities to purchase arms and armament due to the criminal diversion of the security fund, Col. Dasuki gave a lecture at Chatham House in London on February 8, 2015 where he claimed that Nigeria had acquired adequate equipment to prosecute the war on terror. At the time he was addressing his London audience Col Dasuki was well aware that the fund for procurement of weapons had been stolen by himself and his cohorts.

However, out of the fear that he could be made to account for his role in the diversion of the security fund the then Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Barde disclosed, while he was retiring from the service on July 30, 2015, that the armed forces led by him lacked the equipment to fight the terrorists. In his reaction to the disclosure Col. Dasuki stated sometime in August 2015 that the equipment ordered by the Jonathan administration had not arrived the country! It is submitted that the former public officials, serving and military officers as well as civilian collaborators who engaged in the criminal diversion of the security fund are liable to bear full responsibility for the death of about 25,000 people who were killed by the Boko Haram sect and the over 2,000,000 people displaced by the terrorist organisation. Nigeria is a state party to the Rome Statute and deposited its instrument of ratification on 27 September 2001.

The preamble to the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which Nigeria has also ratified states that corruption “is no longer a local matter but a transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies. We strongly believe that allegations of corruption so far made against Col. Sambo Dasuki and other public officers have had catastrophic effects on the lives of over 25,000 Nigerian soldiers and civilians including children akin to crimes against humanity as contemplated under the Rome Statute and within the jurisdiction of the Court. The Rome Statute in article 7 defines “crime against humanity” to include “inhumane acts causing great suffering or injury,” committed in a widespread or systematic manner against a civilian population.”

The common denominator of crimes against humanity is that they are grave affronts to human security and dignity. We believe that the staggering amount of public funds alleged to have been stolen create just these consequences. Crimes against humanity are not only physical violence; allegations of corruption highlighted above hold a comparable gravity, which the Prosecutor should examine and thoroughly investigate. The elements that need to be established to prove a “crime against humanity “under article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute are that, the perpetrator inflicted great suffering or serious injury by means of an inhumane act; that the perpetrator was aware of the circumstances, and that the act was committed within a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population; and that the perpetrator knew of that link. The consequences of allegations of corruption highlighted above are similar to those of the offences in article 7(1). Corrupt officials in the government know well that their conduct is criminal and injurious, and that their ostentatious lives, built on a radical breach of solemn trust, aggravate their crime against humanity.

We believe that these allegations of widespread and systematic corruption amount to crimes against humanity and therefore clear violations of the provisions of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court. These allegations have given rise to individual criminal responsibility of those suspected of perpetrating corruption, as entrenched in the Rome Statute. Although the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has so far shown some political will to fight corruption and recover stolen assets, we believe that an international investigation by the ICC from the perspective of crimes against humanity would complement the anti-corruption initiatives by the current government and contribute to ending a culture of impunity of perpetrators. We submit that substantial grounds exist to warrant the intervention of the Prosecutor in this case.

Under Article 30(2)(b) of the Rome Statute, a person has intent “in relation to a consequence, [where] that person means to cause that consequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events. We therefore submit that this is sufficient to hold Col Dasuki and others that have been indicted in the arms theft scandal responsible for crimes against humanity perpetrated against Nigerians.

The failure of a former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to prevent widespread and systematic corruption including the re-looting of the Abacha loot amounts to complicity under the Rome Statute, and therefore fits the legal requirements of a crime against humanity. Falana then asked the ICC Prosecutor to: Urgently commence an investigation proprio motu on the allegations of the criminal diversion of the security fund of $2.1 billion and N643 billion earmarked by suspected perpetrators, with a view to determining whether these amount to crimes against humanity within the court’s jurisdiction. In this respect, I also urge you to invite representatives of the Nigerian government to provide written or oral testimony at the seat of the Court, so that the Prosecutor is able to conclude on the basis of available information whether there is a reasonable basis for an investigation, and to submit a request to the Pre-Trial Chamber for authorization of an investigation.

Bring to justice those suspected to bear full responsibility for deliberate under funding of the armed forces through widespread and systematic corruption in Nigeria; and Urge the Nigerian government to fulfil its obligations under the Rome Statute to cooperate with the ICC; including complying with your requests to arrest and surrender suspected perpetrators of the criminal diversion of security fund, testimony, and provide other support to the ICC. [myad]

Guild Of Online Publishers Describe OPAN As Guests Of Kirikiri Prison, Blackmailers

Greenbarge Reporters

January 24, 2016

The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) has described members of a pararel body going by the name Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN) as guests of kiriniri prison, character assassinators, blackmailers and extortionists.
GOCOP said that a statement credited to members of the OPAN denying that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed did not meet with Online Publishers in Lagos on Friday is unfortunate and ridiculous even as it decried a deliberate attempt by OPAN to distort facts relating to its formation.
GOCOP also expressed shock at the orchestrated campaign aimed at dragging the name of the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, a thoroughbred professional, in the mud by a group it described as charlatans who have taken their deceit of being professional journalists too far.
GOCOP made its position known today in a statement by its Acting President, Musikilu Mojeed; General Secretary, Dotun Oladipo; and Publicity Secretary, Olumide Iyanda, saying that not all members of OPAN can be described as professional journalists.
It said that many of those who make up the organization are people who worked on the fringes in media houses and have taken to online journalism principally as tool for blackmail and extortion of money.
It said that this fact is reflected in the membership of the association’s Board of Trustees, which is made up of a columnist with The Guardian and former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati; some unknown lawyers; engineers; and Indian nationals.
GOCOP said that the OPAN’s statement was clearly attention seeking and part of the carefully planned strategies to embarrass the current government and blackmail it into giving it undeserved recognition.
It said this is more so that OPAN, especially its leadership, is made up of people with questionable characters.
“These are people who have spent months and days in Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State and the dungeon of the Department of State Services for attempt to blackmail and extort money from eminent Nigerians, including prominent businessman, Femi Otedola and a former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu.
“These are people who did not work for a single day as professional journalists, but as marketers, personal assistants and cameramen in media houses.”
The statement by Mojeed, Oladipo and Iyanda said that most members of GOCOP belong to the elite group of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), while none of those in OPAN qualifies to belong to any journalism association in the country, including the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“In mentioning a Special Adviser in the Presidency in their statement, by which we know they are referring to the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, OPAN is only seeking to drag a man of integrity, who insisted throughout the years OPAN had the backing of Abati that the right thing be done, into a needless controversy.
“There is no one who does not know that Mr. Adesina is a thoroughbred professional who will not stand by impostors and never-do-goods.
“And for the records, Adesina, being a concerned stakeholder and then President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, had been a strong pillar of support for GOCOP right from its formative stage. At that time, he agreed to be a member of the Board of Trustees of GOCOP. “This was even when he had no inkling he was going to emerge the presidential spokesman.
“So also do we know that the choice of those who attended the meeting with Alhaji Lai Mohammed was carefully thought through and not men of doubtful standings who have spent days and months behind bars for failed attempts to blackmail.
“While we do not query anyone’s right of association, our stand still remains as an association: no person of doubtful character will be allowed to be a member of GOCOP. Only thoroughbred professionals and people of integrity. Members of OPAN have a right of association, but they should remain within their confines and not cast aspersion on others who have devoted their lives to making a name for themselves in journalism and are professionals in the real sense of the word.
“And thoroughbred professionals indeed abound in GOCOP, with most of the publishers having worked at the highest levels in publications such as Thisday, Punch, Tribune, Newswatch, Tell, The News, The Nation, Nigerian Compass, New Telegraph and Champion as Editors.
“We do not intend going beyond this for now as documents in our possession will be made available to the public on the atrocities of these charlatans if they push their luck any further.
“Our aim is to professionalise the practice of online journalism and not engage in blackmail, which has given journalism a bad name in the country.”
In the statement, the leaders recalled how they were frustrated in the early days of the formation of GOCOP that is made up of seasoned journalists, with many boasting of over 25 years experience and rising to become Editors and Desk Heads of renowned newspapers.
It was at that time, they said, that the “existence” of OPAN was known, after they (GOCOP) leadership) had made move to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
The leadership recalled also that a team of its officials, made up of a former President, Malachy Agbo, who is now the Chairman of Igbo Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, and Oladipo, met with the so-called President of OPAN, Olufemi Awoyemi, in his office in Lagos State to see how the emerging group could fuse into the existing one.
However, the GOCOP group came out shell shocked with the revelations from the meeting when Awoyemi said that OPAN was formed and registered four years before the meeting and that they had kept its existence only to the members, who were less than five, with majority of them based outside the country.
“He equally gave part of the terms for fusing as the repayment of the registration fee of the association, which he said would be deducted first from any money made by the association before members could begin to benefit financially.
“When asked how much the registration fee was, Awoyemi said OPAN was registered in 2001 in the United Kingdom with £65,000 (Sixty-five thousand pounds).
“At this point, Agbo told Awoyemi that the emerging body was not intended to be a money making association but a peer review gathering that would leverage on the experience of its members to bring sanity to online journalism.
“After the meeting, OPAN members, working in concert with Abati, who deployed the powers of the Presidency, frustrated efforts to register the new body, with security agents threatening the leadership of the emerging body.”
What was most curious, according to GOCOP, was that the initial name sent to the CAC, the Nigerian Online Publishers Association, was endorsed and granted registration, with the certificate of registration issued.
“A few weeks after, CAC wrote NOPA claiming that it registered the association in error as OPAN was already in existence.
“It took a long battle for CAC to agree to the name GOCOP. The name was even suggested to the online publishers by CAC. And this came amid threat of heading to the law court to challenge the CAC.
“It also took OPAN, which claimed it was registered in 2001, over 14 years to formally launch the association.
“OPAN was launched about a month after GOCOP did its own formal launch in 2015, which was attended by the likes of a former Chairman of The Punch titles, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, represented the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Alhaji Abdulrasak Namdas; the Founder of Zinox, Leo Stanley Eke, who delivered the keynote address; the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo; and Adesina.” [myad]

FCT Minister Gives Workers Up To March 31 To Declare Their Assets

Greenbarge Reporters

January 24, 2016

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has given all members of staff of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), including Agencies and Departments up to March 31, to declare their assets.
The Minister said that the order became necessary in view of the need to ensure that all civil servants comply with the requirements of the law under the provisions of Paragraph 11 of the 5th schedule of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The directive was contained in a circular signed by the FCTA Director of Establishment and Training, Mr. S.H. Mohammed.
According to the circular, the law provides that all Public Officers should declare their Assets and Liabilities on:
i. Assumption of Office
ii. At the end of term of office
ii. At Interval of four years for Public officers on Continuous employment of Government
iv. And at such intervals as may be determined from time to time
The Minister therefore directed all members of staff to fill the assets declaration form and submit the acknowledgement slip to the office of the Permanent Secretary on or before 31st March, 2016.
He advised those members of staff who have earlier declared their assets to submit their acknowledgment slips along with others on the said date. [myad]

Where Are The Public Intellectuals? By Reuben Abati

Greenbarge Reporters

January 24, 2016

Something sad has happened and is happening, and is getting worse in our society: the decline of public intellectualism. And so I ask, where are the public intellectuals? Once upon a time in this country, the public arena was dominated by a ferment of ideas, ideas that pushed boundaries, destroyed illusions, questioned orthodoxies and enabled societal progress. Those were the days when intellectuals exerted great influence on public policy, and their input into the governance process could not be ignored. Ideas are strong elements of nation building, and even where interests are at play, you know the quality of a country by the manner in which a taste for good thinking propels the leadership process.

Public intellectuals are at the centre of this phenomenon: they include academics who go beyond their narrow specializations and university-based scholarship to take a keen interest in public affairs and who use their expertise and exposure to shed light on a broad range of issues. They also include journalists, writers and other professionals who question society’s direction, and offer alternative ideas. The beauty of public intellectualism is that the intellectual at work is a disinterested party, he is interested in ideas not for his own benefit, but for the overall good of society, and he does not assume that his opinions are the best or that he alone understands the best way to run society and its organs. The product of this attitude is that discourse, a culture of debate, is encouraged and in the cross-pollination of ideas, a good current of thought is created; truth is spoken to power.

We have had glimpses of this in Nigeria, and without trying to sketch a history of public intellectualism in our country or attempt a ranking of public intellectuals, let me just say that between the 60s and the 90s, there was so much fascination with ideas in this same country, it was as if the public mind was on fire. Academics from various disciplines took a keen interest in the prospects of the new Nigeria, and they went to the public arena to project ideas. Journalists became revered as sages, so much that certain newspaper columnists almost single-handedly sold newspapers.

Public lectures were organized which attracted persons who were just interested in ideas. Writers did a lot more than the professional task of producing novels, poems and plays and wrote public essays. The vendor’s stand every morning attracted not just buyers and free readers, but also young Nigerians who every morning debated major topics of concern. On television also, there were debates and those in the corridors of power also took ideas seriously. So influential were intellectuals in the public space that they soon got invited to be part of government and although the military had always opposed intellectualism, at least one government, the Babangida government had the largest collection of intellectuals in office since independence. Many who lived during that era will remember the debates over the IMF/Structural adjustment Programme.

As the years went by however, public intellectualism began to decline. In 2006, Jimanze Ego-Alowes published a book titled How Intellectuals Underdeveloped Nigeria and Other Essays, an allusion to the complicity of intellectuals in the crisis that had by then engulfed the country. Four years later, Rudolf Okonkwo in an article titled “The Comedy of Our Public Intellectuals” observed as follows: “the world of the Nigerian public intellectual is a zoo. It is a zoo full of nihilists. Some are sectarian in their outlook and others are humorless. Some are eccentric while others are comical. But one thing they all have in common is an over-inflated ego of their importance in the scheme of things.”

I don’t know about over-inflated ego, but I do know that the flame of public intellectualism in Nigeria is now almost a flicker. There are extremely few new significant voices, saying anything of consequence, the soldiers of old have become old, the fire in their belly, now subdued. It is as if our academics have lost interest in public affairs, as only a few of them maintain a column or write an occasional piece or take on public issues in the manner of the likes of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Segun Osoba, Claude Ake, Bade Onimode, Ola Oni, Mokwugo Okoye, Mahmud Tukur, Yusuf Bala Usman, Ayodele Awojobi, Biodun Jeyifo, Femi Osofisan, Stanley Macebuh, Odia Ofeimun, Niyi Osundare, Chinweizu, Kole Omotoso, Yemi Ogunbiyi, Bode Sowande, Patrick Wilmot…The opinion pages of the newspapers are no longer vibrant. There is so much “opinionitis”, but debate is rare and rejoinders are always self-serving.

What has happened is that politically neutral intellectuals have now become scarce; the typical intellectual of today is not public in the sense in which that word is used; he is in reality affiliated to partisan and sectional interests. The intellectual influence in Nigeria’s affairs is thus diminished because of obsession with individual interests: academics are now at best “acadapreneurs”: the intellectual as an entrepreneur. Business and partisan interests have compromised media houses; those once vibrant platforms are no longer offering vibrant ideas. Within the cultural sphere, there is a total dumbing down. Where are the creative writers? They are still writing, but few want to get involved in the issues of the day and offer ideas.

The effect is that we are in the age of clichés, of jargon writing, of mundane, unimaginative commentary. Whatever appears intellectual is written off as arrogant and there is no quality debate on anything because people have resorted to making fashionable statements that suit the moment and every one is locked in their own little corner, not willing to listen to the other side of the story. The reading public, whatever is left of it, is also not interested in ideas or anything that requires rigorous thinking. We have thus lost a critical element of public intellectualism: an audience. The people are interested in easy stuff, in fashionable opinions that align with their own partisan interests. Nobody wants to read any long commentary; there is an obsession with short thinking, and whereas brevity may be a good technique, there are certain ideas that just cannot be reduced to a tweet. It is really sad that today, intellectualism is seen as a threat.

Even when corporations and politicians in power draw intellectuals close; they end up usurping the powers of the intellectual, compelling him to hold his intelligence within the scope of the definition of his assignment. Intellectuals can be inside or outside, and there are classical cases of intellectuals in power making a difference, but that age appears ended, the disdain of intellectualism has turned politicians and corporate gurus into wise men that they are not, and the intellectual into an organic element of power. The greatest power of the intellectual lies in his freedom; when he is denied that under any circumstance, society turns off its energy source and gradually, it is the self-imposed wisdom of clowns that prevails.

The gap that has been created seems to have been easily filled by internet gladiators who spend the day shuffling from Instagram to Facebook to Twitter and other social media threads. These new culture activists project a democratic impression of public intellectualism – and yes, there is a sense in which everyone is an intellectual, from the village priest to the village idiot- but I don’t see the rigour, the breadth and depth and the aesthetic alienation that can elevate this genre and its promoters to the grade of public intellectualism. For the most part, social media in Nigeria is predominantly at the level of tabloid sensationalism, and it accommodates and offers the same degree of freedom to the ignorant and the mischievous, as well as the entrepreneur and the uncouth. There is no doubt however that its content and the quality can be raised, but that will require innovation, the intervention of thinkers and the creation of new audiences that will be interested in something more than the quick and formulaic.

What we have lost is not the intellectual, as there are many educated Nigerians who are experts in their narrow fields, what we have lost is active intelligence as a tool for social progress. The rub is in the intelligence part of being intellectual. Being intellectual is about living a life of ideas and using those ideas to engage society intelligently in a committed manner.

In addition to other reasons, it may well be that our intellectuals are tired of engaging Nigeria. Having tried over the years to engage the governance elite with ideas and to show that only good ideas should govern society and having been spurned by the politicians, Nigeria’s intellectual elite seems to have become so frustrated, it has retired largely into a state of indifference and inertia. What is the point knocking one’s head against a wall? But intellectuals in society cannot take such a stand. That will amount to an abdication of responsibility: when intellectuals do no more than make righteous noises, the harvest in the long run, is counter-productive.

Another factor is the emergence of a “climate of fear,” and a culture of silence/co-optation/acquiescence. Politicians distrust intellectuals; they can’t tolerate anyone around them speaking truth to power or raising disturbing questions. The intellectual is expected to keep his ideas to himself and respect constituted authority. He is expected to enjoy his freedom in his head and dare not go public with it. Ideas cannot thrive if the man of ideas is afraid to think, and whisper or speak. Rather than insist on the freedom to differ, many academics, journalists, writers and thinkers have since dropped the baton, and surrendered the public space.

But that is unhelpful cowardice. Those who know better must continue to engage the public vigorously with ideas about governance and public policy, and encourage open debates, for the good of the entire society. Those ideas must however, be relevant for them to be of any value; they must not be abstract theories that disconnect with the people’s realities, but ideas that offer intelligent solutions to practical problems.

Right now, there are critical areas where such intervention is needed: budgets, economic planning, handling a currency crisis that is fast turning into a nightmare (France has declared an economic emergency and yet was not in as bad a position as we are in…Argentina made changes to its export taxes to address its own dilemma…). We have had schizophrenic interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria and yet where are the intellectuals to come up with analysis and desired alternative views, beyond bellyaching? Where are the inorganic public intellectuals to guide public thought? Who are those thinking for government, the opposition and indeed the public space? [myad]

Corruption Was Destroying Nigeria’s Future Before Buhari Came – US Scribe

Greenbarge Reporters

January 23, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 8, 2014. Kerry squarely blamed Russian agents on Tuesday for separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine, saying Moscow could be trying to lay the groundwork for military action like in Crimea. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

United States of America (USA) Secretary of State, John Kerry, has narrated at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland how President Muhammadu Buhari has come to save Nigeria from destruction as a result of corruption that had even rendered the nation’s armed forces ineffective to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

“When Nigeria’s President Buhari took office last spring, he inherited a military that was under-paid, underfed, and unable to protect the Nigerian people from Boko Haram. And one reason is that much of the military budget was finding its way into the pockets of the generals. And just this week, we saw reports that more than 50 people in Nigeria, including former government officials, stole $9 billion from the treasury.

“Still in the United States, my friends, we continue to prosecute corruption and we live with a pay-to-play campaign finance system that should not be wished on any other country in the world. I used to be a prosecutor and I know how hard it is to hold people in positions of public responsibility accountable. But I also know how important it is.

“The fact is there is nothing – absolutely nothing more demoralizing, more destructive, more disempowering to any citizen than the belief that the system is rigged against them and that people in positions of power are – to use a diplomatic term of art– crooks who are stealing the future of their own people; and by the way, depositing their ill-gotten gains in ostensibly legitimate financial institutions around the world.

“Corruption is a social danger because it feeds organized crime, it destroys nation-states, it imperils opportunities particularly for women and girls, it facilitates environmental degradation, contributes to human trafficking, and undermines whole communities. It destroys the future.

“Corruption is a radicalizer because it destroys faith in legitimate authority. It opens up a vacuum which allows the predators to move in. And no one knows that better than the violent extremist groups, who regularly use corruption as a recruitment tool.

“Corruption is an opportunity destroyer because it discourages honest and accountable investment; it makes businesses more expensive to operate; it drives up the cost of public services for local taxpayers; and it turns a nation’s entire budget into a feeding trough for the privileged few.

“And that is why it is imperative that the business community of the world starts to demand a different standard of behavior, that we deepen the fight against corruption, making it a first-order, national security priority. It’s why we are now providing technical assistance to more than 25 countries to build online business registration sites, which helps to reduce red tape and opportunities for graft – for the bribery necessary to get the permit, to get the local zoning, to get the land, to get the go-ahead. It’s why we’re expanding our law enforcement programs that send judges overseas to share best practices. And it’s why the U.S. Department of Justice has successfully returned $143 million since 2004 and is litigating now more than a billion dollars’ worth of stolen assets. It’s why we are working with businesses to spur reform and civil society groups whose investigative work on the ground is vital to strong law enforcement and justice. And it’s why we are developing stronger intelligence on kleptocrats and their networks on those who were using targeted economic sanctions and visa restrictions to deny bad actors the profits from graft.

“All told, corruption costs the global economy – global GDP – more than a trillion dollars a year and costs the global economy on an international basis about $2.6 trillion. Imagine the difference that would make to all those kids under the age of 30 – 60 percent in some countries – yearning for jobs and opportunity, for electricity, for education. This corruption complicates, I assure you, every single security, diplomatic, and social priority of the Government of the United States and other governments who are trying to help countries in the world. And this in and of itself creates tension, instability, and a perfect playing field for predators. It is simply stunning to me – I head up the interagency task force of the all-government effort of the United States to deal with human trafficking – it is simply stunning that in the year 2016, more than 20 million, some estimate 27 million people, are the victims of modern-day slavery in what has become a $150 billion illicit human trafficking industry. New York Times recently had a compelling story on its front page of a young Cambodian boy seduced into leaving his country, going to Thailand, believing he’d be part of a construction company, and he wound up at sea for two years with a shackle around his neck as a slave for illegal fishing. Those numbers should shock the conscience of every person around into action, because although money is legitimately and always will be used for many things, it shouldn’t be hard for us to agree that in the 21st century, we should never, ever, ever allow a price tag to be attached to the freedom of another human being.

“The bottom line is that it is everybody’s responsibility to condemn and expose corruption, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to replace a culture of corruption that has changed the way in which people accept the standards that the world long ago adopted, whether in Basel banking standards or in the universal standards of behavior or human rights, and it replaces malfeasance with a standard that expects honesty as a regular way of doing business. Never forget: The impact of corruption touches everyone – businesses, the private sector, every citizen. We all pay for it. So we have to wage this fight collectively – not reluctantly, but wholeheartedly by embracing standards that make corruption the exception and not the norm.

“Now, obviously, corruption’s not a new problem. Every nation has faced it at one time or another in its development. America’s own Founding Fathers knew the threat of corruption all too well, warning of the dangers that it posed to democratic governance. But today, corruption has grown at an alarming pace and threatens global growth, global stability, and indeed the global future.

“And when Prime Minister Abadi, who I met with yesterday – and we talked about the reform effort in Iraq – when he took office in Iraq over a year ago, he found the government payroll weighted down with 50,000 soldiers who didn’t even exist. That meant $380 million of dishonest public officials that got that money instead of it going to build the kind of inclusive and capable security forces that Iraq desperately needed.” [myad]

Dasukigate: Senator Waku Wants Anenih, Yakasai To Apologize To Nigerians

Greenbarge Reporters

January 23, 2016

A foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Senator Joseph Waku has asked the former chairman of the party’s BoT, Chief Tony Anenih and Alhaji Tanko Yakasai to apologize to Nigerians for the shameless role they played in the $2.1 Billion meant for the procurement of arms for soldiers in the North East which the former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki allegedly diverted

While describing arms scandal as a shame of a nation, Waku who is a leader of the pro-North Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) expressed disgust at the caliber of people involved in the scam.

“What does Anenih want again at his age? What does Yakasai want again at his age? It is a big shame on these two men referred to as elder statesmen, to be involved in alleged sharing and looting of funds meant to purchase arms for our troops to fight Boko Haram. These two old men should not only apologize to Nigerians, they and others that partook in the sharing should refund the money to the national treasury,” Waku who is now a top chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also spoke on other issues in this interview with TUNDE THOMAS. Excerpts:

What is your reaction to the alleged looting and sharing of the $2.1 dollars arms fund by some top political leaders in a scandal that has come to be dubbed Dasukigate?

It is very shocking and disgraceful, most especially when you look at the caliber of people involved. Look at the names that Dasuki has been mentioning as beneficiaries of the loot. These are people that Nigerians until now look up to with respect. Tanko Yakassai, Tony Anenih, Haliru Bello, people who are supposed to be role models, now turning into looters. It is a big shame. I’m highly disappointed with these people.

What still baffles me is this, what constitutional power did Dasuki have to withdraw and disburse public money to few individuals? Dasuki is not an official or treasurer of PDP. Even in his role as the National Security Adviser, he lacked the power to share and distribute the money the way he did.

What Dasuki did was not only criminal, but it is also illegal. I’m surprised that former President Goodluck Jonathan has chosen to keep quiet. Please he should be told that in this case, silence is not golden for him at all. It is even unfair that up till now nobody has deemed it fit to ask Jonathan questions including security agencies.

Is Jonathan bigger than Nigeria?

But some are saying that being a former President, it should not be seen as if Jonathan is being humiliated by asking him questions or interrogating him?

Rubbish. That is one of the biggest problems confronting Nigeria. The big man syndrome culture of the untouchables, that is one of the things killing us. Is Jonathan bigger than Nigeria? Will Jonathan be the first former president to be investigated or quizzed over corruption? We should be able to draw a line between sentimentalism and patriotism. To me, asking Jonathan to speak out or being quizzed is an act of patriotism. Asking that he should be left alone is sentimentalism.

How can they leave Jonathan alone? He is a central and key figure in this scam. Dasuki has been mentioning his name repeatedly, and let’s look at it this way, can Dasuki do anything on his own without the consent and approval of the president and the commander-in-chief? It is very unfair to detain Dasuki, while Jonathan remains a free man.

Jonathan should be arrested now. He should be quizzed and if he is found culpable let him be put on trial. If he is eventually found guilty, he should be sent to prison. Yes, Jonathan should be sent to prison if his hands are not clean, heaven will not fall if he is jailed. He will not be the first former president to be jailed. There are several other examples and instances across the world.

For those Jonathan’s apologists who keep on saying that we leave the man alone because he handed over power to Buhari peacefully, what is the big deal in that? I ask again, what is the favour Jonathan has done Nigeria by handing over to Buhari? Was Jonathan not defeated at the polls? Did he not admit defeat? If Jonathan had stubbornly refused to hand over power after he lost the election, he would have ended up in shame, he would have been disgraced like the former leader of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo who refused to quit after he lost to Alassane Quattara, where is Gbagbo and his wife now, they are both in prison in The Hague, Netherlands. Both of them fell from grace to grass, that would have been Jonathan’s lot if he had tried to play funny games.

I’m not saying Jonathan is guilty in this arms fund scandal issue, but if his hands are clean let him come out and clear his own name. Nigerians are waiting for him to speak out.

But some of those mentioned by Dasuki as beneficiaries are saying that they don’t know the source of the money, and that they just collected it?

That is a fake explanation. That explanation is not acceptable. They are all liars – Is Dasuki the National Treasurer of PDP that they all should be collecting money from him? They should have asked Dasuki questions, but they didn’t, and they accepted the money. They have case to answer.

I expected that people like Anenih, Yakassai, Haliru Bello, and Bafarawa to have raised alarm when the money was being paid into their accounts by Dasuki.

The only exceptional cases to me are Falae and Ladoja. Sine they got the money from Tony Anenih and not directly from Dasuki, they may not have any reason to suspect foul play. They may have sincerely thought that the money was clean money meant for election purpose to support Jonathan’s re-election bid.

But some of these people are insisting that they will not refund the money they collected?

They are jokers, and this is why I’m making this appeal to President Buhari that this issue of war against corruption should not be treated with kid gloves. These looters should not be under-estimated. They have money to fight back, but government should not succumb.

Dasuki, Anenih, Bello, Yakassai, Bafarawa and others should have even been charged with treason because they stole money meant to procure arms to fight Boko Haram insurgents. There should be no going back on the prosecution of these people and if they are found guilty, let them go to jail.

I know that Anenih, Yakassai, Bello, these are people that are over 70 years and 80 years but if through their own action they committed crimes that culminate into their being handed jail sentences, so be it. Old men including retired Generals are sent to prison in other parts of the world. Nobody is above the law, it is what you sow that you reap.

What do you think should be done with money being recovered from looters?

It is public money which should be put into use for public good. The money should be used to provide infrastructural facilities, like good roads, state of the art health facilities, modern rail system and other utilities that will serve public interests. Looted funds being recovered should not be re-looted. I even have confidence in the man in charge, President Buhari is a no-nonsense man that will deal with any saboteur or greedy official that attempts to tamper with recovered loot.

Being a foundation member of PDP, how do you feel by the unfolding development in your former party?

I left PDP when the party was still in control of the federal government. I left PDP to join the then opposition party, APC because some of us were not happy with the way things were being done then. A lot of things were going wrong then in PDP and as elders we tried to intervene and restore sanity but they didn’t listen to us.

We saw the rot in PDP and we tried to correct the ills in the party but we were shouted down and even called names. I was number 11 on the list of founding fathers of PDP but I had to leave the party for the then opposition APC because I didn’t want to be associated with a lot of rubbish going on in PDP.

16 years of PDP in power was years of waste. It was years of the locust. We thank God that Nigeria now has a purposeful leadership under President Muhammadu Buhari.

What is your take on allegation that Buhari’s war against corruption is selective?

People saying that are apologists of PDP and they should not be taken serious. PDP was in control of the federal government for 16 years, so it is natural that more of the party’s members who held one public position or the other are the ones who have questions to answer. But even at that, any APC member that is found wanting should also not be spared. The president has even declared himself that he is for nobody but for all. Buhari is on course with his anti-corruption war. He should not be distracted by PDP apologists.

What is your candid assessment of President Buhari, especially his ability to deliver because some people are saying that nothing has really changed in the last 7 months since he assumed office?

Forget what his political opponents are saying, Buhari has been fantastic in the last 7 months. Under his dynamic leadership so many things are changing in Nigeria. For the first time in several decades, looters of public funds are being openly exposed and loots stolen are being recovered.

I believe we should give Buhari chance to perform so far he has been very fantastic. If there is anybody that can sanitise Nigeria, it is the man Buhari, the incorruptible. This is a man that was a former Head of State, former state governor and former minister for Petroleum Resources, yet he doesn’t own a filling station. No, that wealth or ill-gotten fund has been traced to him. This is a man that has shown rare courage in making a big difference as Nigerian leader, we should give him a chance to work.

My only advice to Buhari is on the issue of court orders being disobeyed in some cases like that of Dasuki. I advise President Buhari and those in charge of publicity around him to ensure that members of the public are well informed as to reasons why some court orders are not being obeyed. It is for security reason or state interests, they should let members of the public know.

On the issue of recent mass defection of some PDP members to APC, how do you see the development?

I advise APC leadership to be very careful because most of the defectors are not doing so out of genuine intention. Why are they now crossing over to APC after the party had won power? Some of these people do not have any electoral value, they are also coming to pollute APC.

Source: The Sun. [myad]

Where Is Former President, Goodluck Jonathan? By Dele Momodu

Greenbarge Reporters

January 23, 2016

Fellow Nigerians, I’m surprised that no one has asked about the wellbeing, welfare and whereabouts of our dear former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan. Are we so wicked and uncaring that we have forgotten the gentleman who brought us fresh air so soon? Do we truly suffer from “collective amnesia” (apologies Wole Soyinka) that no one is coming up in defence of the man who brought FaceBook to Africa’s biggest nation? Where are all those acolytes who were falling all over themselves this time last year during the Presidential campaigns? Where are the royal fathers from different parts of Nigeria who were decorating our President with all kinds of esoteric Chieftaincy titles?
Where are the experts who were churning out endless statistics about how God had blessed us with the greatest President Nigeria ever knew? What happened to all the economic magicians who claimed that former President Jonathan had propelled us to the pinnacle of the temple and proclaimed that in consequence we were Africa’s numero uno economy? Where are the priests, pastors, alfas, Imams, marabouts, traditional worshippers, and all manner of religious personages who trumpeted that Ebele Goodluck Jonathan was the anointed of God at the 2015 Presidential elections?
Where are the 14 million farmers who were connected by mobile phones in our season of unprecedented Agricultural Revolution? Where are the plentiful loaves of cassava bread and the myriad of rice pyramids that we were told littered everywhere? Where are the ultra-modern air-conditioned trains that we were told travelled from Lagos to Kafanchan, to Kano and Enugu? Where is the second Niger Bridge; and the strategic East-West road?
I have too many questions begging for answers but I will limit myself to only that relating to former President Goodluck Jonathan. I’m just trying to imagine the state of his mind at this terrible moment. I’m not a psychologist but I can attempt to play the role of one by doing some psychoanalysis of the man who left power under one year ago only to witness that things have literally fallen apart with his legacy completely obliterated in the twinkle of an eye.
In case you think I’m mucking around and mocking our former President, please perish the thought. I’m more of a sympathiser who would wish to draw sumptuous lessons from the tragedy that befell our former leader. From what I can see so far, President Jonathan as a person is a good man who was fortunate to have been able to effortlessly navigate and meander his way through the murky waters of Nigerian politics to arrive at the topmost position in Nigeria. He was obviously ill-prepared for power and governance and when it landed on his laps he hardly knew what to do with it. He was like a student who was too favoured and over-pampered by his lecturers until he had to write external exams and get exposed to the real world.
I’m certain, President Jonathan could not have bargained for the hurricane that has hit him. When he conceded and congratulated the then President-elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, he must have looked forward to a life of bliss in retirement. But what is happening now is the worst nightmare for a man who had been compared to Mahatma Ghandi, Lee Kuan Yew and Nelson Mandela.
I don’t know how this cacophony of allegations and babel of counter-allegations would end or subside but I am convinced President Goodluck Jonathan would have to speak up sooner than later. The reason is simple.
I expect his embattled foot-soldiers to put all the blame on him as the one who authorised the disbursement of our common wealth by the most generous government in human history. As to the sharing of the bazaar, let’s be fair, how many people are there who would have been paid those stupendous sums and would reject the money or ask where it was coming from.
At the end of the day, the former President would have to bear his own cross and come out clean and accept the blame. As the saying goes the buck stops at number one! I’m not sure apologies would suffice at the stage things have reached especially if the Buhari government is determined and ready to take its pound of flesh. In my view, it would be difficult to jail the messengers and let the master who sent them on irrational errands go scot free.
That is the dilemma President Buhari would have to grapple with in the not too distant future. Would Buhari in good conscience be able to jail a former Nigerian President if indeed there was an agreement not to probe and punish the man? Will he be able to ignore the fact that this was a man who, uncharacteristically, voluntarily relinquished power after losing an election and was heralded by the whole world as an apostle of peaceful and democratic change in Africa? It is a tough question that only President Buhari can answer.
The other poser is, how much of the wasted or looted funds can be recovered? I think from the experience of the past, it may not amount to much after all. The litigations are going to go on ad infinitum and some of the alleged culprits may actually escape punishment on technical and other grounds. The EFCC under the energetic and passionate Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was faced with such frustration. There is no other way to punish anyone under the law without going to court.
That is the democratic way. It is the democratic way that former President Jonathan embraced, leading him to loosen his hold on power. And it is the democratic way that brought this our new President Buhari to power. There is thus no other way but to follow the judicial process and the principles of natural justice that flow therefrom. Those campaigning for extra-judicial prosecution and conviction may soon reach a cul-de-sac. You can keep the guys indefinitely in detention but how will that bring back the money.
The truth is that the worst form of corruption is abuse of office and the impunity that it begets. That was the basis of the unbridled corruption that enveloped the Jonathan administration. If it remains unchecked, it will not be long before this present government also succumbs and becomes engulfed by the corruption it is professing to fight. Then we would have come full circle without anything to show for it, not even a wee part of our plundered wealth.
I think the biggest mistake of this government was the policy of saying people should not pay foreign currencies into their accounts. This has deprived the government of springing a surprise on those who would have kept their loot in Nigeria. It is now too late to expect those people to pay these foreign currencies into their accounts because of the policy reversal apparently foisted upon us by the visit of the IMF team.
I am certain most of those monies have escaped our shores and no matter the anti- money laundering agreements we sign, those foreign countries are not likely to repatriate the funds at a time the world economy is almost comatose. This is another example of the need by all spheres of government to think through policies before they are announced. There have been too many policy somersaults by our apex financial regulatory bodies in recent time to augur well for our ailing economy. Negative signals have been sent by government to investors and citizens both at home and abroad and this has further increased the pain and burden of Nigerians.
My personal advice is for government to work harder at getting back most of the money that has been stolen or misappropriated, as a matter of top priority. President Buhari may have to enter into unpleasant compromises to achieve this, but such is life. There is no point wasting the little resources now available to us on prosecuting and jailing criminals without getting something substantial out of the exercise.
I pray and wish that President Goodluck Jonathan can redeem his erstwhile government a bit by appealing to his men and women and convincing them to return the atrocious sums of money which they stole without the fear of God. He should save Nigeria from this unnecessary ordeal of trying to compel refund of the filthy lucre and allow this government to settle down and concentrate on the serious business of governance.

THANK YOU, LT. GENERAL T. Y. DANJUMA
I know this would come as a surprise to one of Nigeria’s most respected and respectable retired army Generals but I believe we must always show gratitude to those who touch our lives hoping that others would emulate such acts of selflessness. Let me go straight to my gist.
I had called Senator Mrs Daisy Danjuma sometime last year seeking an appointment with her husband, Lt. General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma. My mission was simple but not seemingly so easy to achieve. I wanted “General” as we all call him to write a foreword to my forthcoming book titled PENDULUM: A Book of Prophecies. “Aunty Daisy” as we call the amiable Senator told me the General was in Abuja but should be back the following day. I promised to drop one of the special draft copies for the General. Indeed, I had presented one copy to President Muhammadu Buhari when he invited me to the Presidential villa in Abuja.
I went to the Danjumas hoping to drop the book and run but Aunty Daisy said the General just returned from Abuja and would like to see me briefly before retiring upstairs. I entered the house and personally handed him my book. He told me it might take him a few months to read and then decide whether he would pen the foreword or not. The General has never been known to hide words under the tongue; he is very blunt and straight-forward. I told him I would wait patiently for his decision. He said he had many books to read and that he had just bought President Olusegun Obasanjo’s latest books to add to his reading list, that very day. I saw a man who relished knowledge and reading and I knew I had come to the right person.
I had good reason to choose the General. I had previously identified him as an intellectual and avid reader of my column. He had surprised me on one occasion when I attended his annual birthday celebration on December 9, in Victoria Island, Lagos. In the middle of the merriment, General pulled me aside and said:
“I’m a great fan of your column because you write so well and logically… I think I missed the last two and I’ve just told my wife to make sure she gets it from you…” I was deeply touched by the compliment.
I have been a family friend of the Danjumas for about 15 years and Senator Danjuma has become my big sister to the extent that I am invited to and welcomed in their homes in Abuja, Lagos, Surrey and Marbella at any time. It has been a privilege knowing the man of few words who retired from the military with a glowing record and high esteem. Since then, he has taken to the boardroom with consummate ease and has remained one of the most astute financial players in Africa. What is more, the General has committed a substantial chunk of his immense fortune acquired from his numerous businesses to charity. He is a man of impeccable taste and academic nobility. He reads voraciously and his libraries are well-stocked. His selection, and collection, of world music is amazing. He carries himself with so much grace and panache.
My patience in relation to the foreword to my book eventually paid off two weeks ago when I suddenly got a call from Senator Daisy Danjuma after I had almost given up. She said the General would like to speak with me and put him on the line. The General told me that he had read the book and he had found it so “fantastic” that he had agreed to author the foreword. There was only one word he wants me to change.
I was very grateful and excited. I have since picked up the work from his Lagos home and, by the grace of God, the book should be ready for publication and circulation shortly. There are a few other books that are almost ready and we should celebrate a festival of books from me this year.
Exciting times are coming. [myad]

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