The national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has announced the decision of the party to pick Alhaji Yahaya Bello, from the Kogi Central Senatorial District as replacement for the governorship candidate, late Price Abubakar Audu, who died on November 22. Yahaya Bello came second in the primary conducted by the party as runner-up to the November 21st election.
James Faleke who was running mate of late Audu will keep his place as deputy to Bello.
This was even as Dr. Tom Ohikere, head of media for the Abubakar Audu/James Faleke Campaign Organisation, described the decision to replace the late Audu with Bello, who came second in the primary as “illegal and moral burden” on Oyegun and other members of the national working committee.
Audu was from the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from the 21 local councils in the state, had won 16 and was clearly ahead of the PDP opponent and incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada.
According to results declared by the Returning Officer, Professor Emmanuel Kucha (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi), Audu scored 240,867 while Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party garnered 199,514 votes.
Professor Kucha said the margin of votes between Messrs Audu and Wada is 41,353. He that the total number of registered voters in 91 polling units, in 18 local government areas, where election was cancelled is 49,953.
He said by INEC guideline, no return could be made for the election until supplementary election is held in areas where election was cancelled. [myad]
“What is the matter this time? Many Nigerians are lamenting that the change you promised them is fast becoming a mirage. It is certainly not what they are seeing right now.”
Read the full memo:
Your Excellency, it’s been months since I wrote my desperate memo to you. I wish to thank you once more for reacting promptly and swiftly at that time and for giving me the honour and privilege of meeting you in your office. I remember presenting you a special compilation of my articles, especially the many admonitions to your immediate predecessor, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
After handing over the book to you, Sir, I promised to continue acting in my self-appointed capacity as Special Adviser because of the need to tell you what those very close to you might not be able to say. They might be afraid of you and your reaction.
The truth is you are a plain and simple man imbued with a mission and a passion to save this great country but you cannot do it on your own. You can only do it if people close to you, who should be advising you, tell you as it is so that you can do that which you were elected to do.
Sir, it is on the above basis that I’m back today for reasons some of which you probably know already from your own personal observations and readings. But before I go further, kindly permit me to set some records straight before some conspiracy specialists step forward to ascribe other people’s opinion to me. I shall clearly expose my personal views and state where I belong or stand for any avoidance of doubt. Everywhere I go people refer to me as Buhari’s man and ask “what’s your Baba doing ooo?”. I seriously have no problem with that. I’m proud that I joined so many other Nigerians as well as foreign friends in supporting a man of impeccable pedigree and solid integrity. No matter your view of President Muhammadu Buhari, one thing his bitterest enemies give to him is the fact that he is way above the level of most mortals in matters of uprightness.
This is why many of us volunteered to scream your name to high heavens and we were ready to follow you to Golgotha. Many of your opponents have not gotten over the thrashing you gave them and would forever seek everything and anything to smear you with. It is therefore not surprising that there has been so much noise about what you’ve done or left undone. Whether they are right or wrong in their assessment, I feel it is right and proper to let you know what people are saying about you including your most ardent fans and supporters. Sir, please, let’s not dismiss them as mere rabble-rousers. A groundswell of public opinion can easily metamorphose into an ocean of disenchantment and cataclysmic confusion. In short, I believe your enemies are skilfully setting you up for failure in order to be able to taunt your supporters later by saying we “we told you so!” In this regard it is pertinent to always bear in mind the Yoruba saying ‘ehin kunle l’ota wa, ile ni a se ni ngbe’! Loosely translated it means “the enemy lurk outside in the backyard but your foe resides inside your house.”
What is the matter this time? Many Nigerians are lamenting that the change you promised them is fast becoming a mirage. It is certainly not what they are seeing right now. They insist that your style and methodology appear too slow for a nation in dire straits and in need of urgent and miraculous deliverance. They are not happy that you are no longer the prudent man they used to know. They think you’ve already capitulated by frolicking with members of the bourgeois class and junketing around the world while Nigeria burns like Dante’s inferno. They are miffed that you are still keeping the Presidential fleet when you are supposed to have sold most of them off, if not all. They are worried that the mandate of four years they gave you is being unwittingly frittered away and before you know it all the goodwill you garnered would have evaporated and vamoosed. Time, they say, waits for no man!
The economy and the free fall of the Naira have become worrisome. There are all manner of rumours that may make matters worse, if true, about the current state and status of our banks. Though the Central Bank of Nigeria has come out forcefully to dispel the dangerous rumours, they want you to unleash your economic master-plan as soon as possible, so that what was once a baseless rumour does not somehow become harsh reality. They are expecting a blue-print that would guarantee a farewell to poverty. On this I agree with the opinion that something drastic has to be conjured up to arrest this drift to perdition. Nothing amplifies this monumental tragedy than the debit card fiasco which stipulates that Nigerians cannot live in a civilised world by walking into any international hotel or shop of their choice and paying with their cards. This is terribly depressing.
What this means in plain terms is that Nigerians must patronise the black market and run the risk of carrying cash recklessly whenever they travel abroad. It makes a mockery of the cashless society that the CBN has fought so hard to put in place and jeopardises your fight against corruption because government officials who travel abroad must of necessity carry large sums of cash if they are not to be embarrassed or even disgraced. Sir, the most important thing is that this is not healthy at all. The last thing your Government should be telling the world is that we are so broke that we are on our knees. The world laughs at us and treats us with derision because we have resources other than crude oil which should make us one of the richest in the world if we properly harness them. We must stop giving the impression that we are so impoverished when it is leadership, brigandage and a lack of focus that has failed us.
The other matter that continues to embarrass Nigerians is the issue of Boko Haram. The matter is made worse by the fact that you are a retired army General who should know and have what it takes to drastically reduce if not exterminate the cankerworm. But rather the menace has exacerbated. It has snowballed into a seemingly unquenchable conflagration. I had argued repeatedly that the military alone cannot achieve this result. Intelligence seems to be the key word here. Also identifying and locating some of the cells and prominent sympathisers is crucial. Those who arrogantly and naively say that no form of negotiation should take place are very far from the theatre of war. They have probably not heard of a group called IRA, the Irish Republican Army, that terrorised Great Britain for God knows how many years. I and my directors at Ovation International were lucky to escape a massive explosion that shattered the peace and tranquillity of London Docklands when a bomb went off inside the South Quay light rail station which was next to our office at Beaufort Court. The battle of wits and the war of attrition had to be fought using the carrot and the stick approach. It was the carrot approach that eventually succeeded and the United Kingdom has now been rid of that hitherto interminable scourge for many years!
The Boko Haram issue has defied every effort made so far and it is time to expand the options for the sake of our fellow citizens in the heart of this conundrum. When over 200 girls vanished into thin air, we were so sure they would return very soon but that has remained an illusion. This should tell us that this issue is not a joke and that we need to keep all windows open. Sir, Nigerians want to see government show a different approach and better compassion than what we had in the past. They are waiting to see how you will do this with minimum collateral damage.
Sir, you have a herculean task ahead but it is not a mission impossible. Other nations are experiencing almost similar challenges and they are forging ahead. The first indicator to exhibit our seriousness is when we stop the business as usual syndrome and tighten the belts of government officials and politicians. If the idea is to continue along the path of profligacy then Nigeria is contagiously jinxed. The Republic of Tanzania has already taken the lead. I will publish a report that has already gone viral below this letter as a veritable example of what is possible.
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has prepared a draft of 166 billion naira proposed budget which he presented to stakeholders, residents and other members of the public in the state today.
The governor gave the hint that the proposed budget, with 104 billion naira as capital and 62 billion naira as recurrent components, would be presented formally to State House of Assembly in December.
El-Rufai spoke to the stakeholders at the General Hassan Katsina State House, Kaduna, during an emergency budget Town Hall meeting.
Governor El-Rufai gave the reason why past governments left behind legacies of abandoned projects one of which was because huge annual budgets were approved without being implemented.
He said that previous administrations in the state had reduced budgeting into a pictographic art without considerations or any relationship to reality.
The governor said that he would always put the people first in all his actions, and that the present administration is determined to reverse the neglect that the public interest had suffered in the past by restoring hope.
He said that some of the reliefs for the poor in the proposed 2016 budget would include interventions in school feeding, planting of economic trees, and waste collection which are expected to create 200,000 jobs.
“We have called this meeting today to present to you the broad principles informing the policy choices that are reflected in the draft 2016 budget. The budget is anchored on the commitments outlined in the Restoration Programme, the manifesto platform on which the Kaduna State APC campaigned.”
He recalled that he made it clear during his campaign that the APC believes in the capacity of the people to make the best choices for themselves, if they are properly educated, given decent healthcare, and jobs in a secure environment.
The major highlights of the 2016 Budget Proposals, he said is a moved away from funding government to providing infrastructure and services to citizens, adding that it will restore the 60:40 ratio in favour of capital expenditure.
“This is in keeping with our agenda to expand access to Education, Healthcare, Jobs and Security.” [myad]
Ex President of the Nigerian, Senator David Mark has laughed off the ruling of the Appeal Court which voided his election saying that if the same election is conducted hundred times, he would still win it convincingly.
In a statement today by his media assistant, Paul Mumeh, the former Senate President said that he has no doubt that his constituents would turn out en masse to vote for him again.
The Appeal Court had, today, ordered a re-run of the Benue South Senatorial election. The appeal was brought by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Daniel Onjeh.
David Mark asked his people not to be deterred by the verdict but be strengthened ahead of the re-run, adding: “whatever the situation may be, one thing I know is that my people are solidly behind me . They also appreciate the fact that I have done more than enough to lift up Idoma nation to a position of eminence in the contemporary political history of Nigeria.
“I won the election clean and clear. If we go back to the polls 100 times , I will still win convincingly.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has galvanised the world leaders in Malta to make the war against corruption a global issue and to do more to support the Nigeria’s efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Buhari, who spoke at a group meeting of Commonwealth leaders on corruption, chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, said that corruption in the oil sector and outright theft of Nigeria’s crude oil had been exacerbated by the culture of impunity which reigned under previous administrations. The President said that corruption in the sector had also thrived because of the ease of transferring illicit funds abroad and the institutional protection given to corrupt officials in the past. “Now that we have the political will to stop impunity, we need the cooperation and assistance of the international community. “We must all work together to compel multinational oil companies, international financial institutions and international shipping lines to stop aiding and abetting corruption in the oil sector in Nigeria.” President Buhari told the gathering which included the leaders of Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malta, Sri Lanka, Botswana and Trinidad and Tobago, insisted that corruption is a stumbling block for any country to move forward. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Prime Minister Cameron said that the Commonwealth and the international community must do more to fight corrupt and promote good governance. “We care passionately about this issue of fighting corruption. In my view, this issue needs to have a much higher billing on the international agenda, not just because fighting corruption is right in itself, but because all the other things we want to achieve as countries and members of the Commonwealth depend on our success in doing so. “If we want fair economic growth, we need to reject corruption. If we want to see fair and sustainable development, we need to deal with corruption. I think this is an absolutely vital issue. It is an issue for all of us because so much of the money stolen from developing countries is hidden in developed countries. “So dealing with money laundering, dealing with beneficial ownership and making sure we stop stolen money being hidden away in developed countries is absolutely vital,” the British Prime Minister said. [myad]
The Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has lamented that the Nigeria’s crude oil is suffering from lack of market in the world as 34 million barrels are now on the sea without buyers. He also lamented that because of this bad market picture, his state could only get N55 million for the month of September, which sent a clear message that all avenues hitherto untapped must now be examined in order to sustain development initiatives. The Governor who spoke at the commencement of the reconstruction of Orita-Olaiya-Ita-Olokan Road at Olaiya Junction to commemorate the 5th year of the Aregbesola-led government in Osun, said: “we must at this point tell ourselves the truth. There is no money coming from the federation account. Thirty four million barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil are on the sea without buyers. “Money coming from the Federation Account has dipped seriously and our hope for survival is in our hands, what our forefathers lived on was agriculture. “We must now go back to the farms and work. We also need to pay our taxes so that government can meet its responsibilities. For September, our state got N55.8 million. The money we received cannot pay for the power supply by IBEDC that we use at the state Secretariat monthly.” Aregbesola drew the attention of the people to the issue of strictly adhering to town planning rules, saying that his government regret and offer sincere sympathy to those that will be affected with the construction of the road which his administration is embarking on. The Governor admonished those affected to see this as their own sacrifice of the present administration’s effort to enhance the status of our cities for better living conditions of the generality of the people. Aregbesola said that Messrs. RATCON Construction Company Limited will be undertaking the reconstruction of the road at the cost of N985,115,410.78 million. “The expansion of the road and the need to have a reasonable setback unfortunately meant that some buildings are already standing in the way and has to be separated. This could have been avoided if there had been strict adherence to town planning rules in the past. “We regret this and offer sincere sympathy to those affected. They should see this as their own sacrifice in our efforts to beautify our city and develop a decent human environment. Nevertheless, we have set aside the sum of N392 million to the 127 people whose buildings were affected.” The Governor appealed to people of the state to bear with government on the pains and discomforts associated with the road construction projects embarked upon, especially Gbongan-Akoda Road, noting that the delay was due to the unexpected financial challenges that befell the nation. He assured that all the projects embarked on by his government will be completed before the end of the present administration. [myad]
President Muhammad Buhari & Queen Elizabeth Discussing
President Muhammadu Buhari has attributed the rise in the activities of Boko Haram and terrorism in some African countries to collapse of the Gadhafi regime in Libya. The President admitted before Queen Elizabeth and other top leaders of the Commonwealth of Nations that it might not be easy to eliminate Boko Haram because of the modern communication system that make its members to be more daring. “We have agreed to a joint task-force for the elimination of Boko Haram, but it may not be easy, especially after the events in Libya when trained people with weapons moved back to Sahel region from where they were recruited by the former Libyan leader. “Those weapons and expertise in their use are now aggravating the situation in the Sahel and further south.” President Buhari, who spoke at a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II for Heads of State and Government participating in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta, called on the body to set up a committee to oversee the rendering of greater assistance and support to Nigeria and other member-countries which have been adversely affected by the scourge of terrorism. President Buhari hoped that the committee would be established before the next meeting of the organisation, adding that such committee should be made to visit member-countries of the Commonwealth where terrorist organisations have established a foothold, with a view to evolving practical strategies for more meaningful assistance to the affected countries. He appealed to the Commonwealth to show greater resolve in helping Nigeria and other developing nations in their efforts to overcome the challenges of economic development, security, terrorism and corruption. “With the improvement of global communications, terrorism has no borders now. What happened recently in France had a profound effect on all of us, but very few countries realize that Nigeria has suffered terrorist casualties of over 10,000 killed in the last six years. “Right now, we have over two million internally displaced persons, most of whom are women and children, and most of the children are orphans.” President Buhari who rolled out the efforts being made by his government and other members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to curb the menace of Boko Haram. President Buhari expressed his administration’s appreciation of the assistance already being received from the Commonwealth, Britain, the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations, France and the United States. “I am grateful to Britain, France and the United States. They have already sent teams to train the Nigeria Military and Police in the control of terrorism. “The Commonwealth has helped us in so many ways by the visible support they have been giving to help us overcome the problem of terrorism.” The Queen’s Banquet at which he spoke was also attended by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon. [myad]
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State has nullified the election of the former President of the Senate, David Mark. Mark has been in the Senate since 1999.
The court which delivered its verdict today, ordered the Independent National Electoral C omission (INEC) to conduct fresh election in the Senatorial District.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Benue South, Mr. Donald Onjeh had challenged the decision of the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the victory of Senator Mark of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election into the Benue South Senatorial District seat. Details later. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of 30 new judges for the Federal High Court. The appointment was based on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. Names of those that were appointed are: 1. Hon. Justice Yellin S. Bogoro – Bauchi State 2. Rosemary O. Dugbo Oghoghorie - Delta State 3. Taiwo Obayomi Taiwo – Ogun State 4. Ibrahim Watila - Borno State 5. Mallong Peter Hoommuk - Plateau State 6. Isa Hamma Adama Dashen - Adamawa State 7. Hassan Dikko - Kebbi State 8. Jude Kanyioh Dagat – Kaduna State 9. Olayinka Olusegun Tokode - Osun State 10. Simon Akpah Amobeda - Kogi State 11. Jane Egienanwan Inyang - Cross River State 12. Daniel Emeka Osiagor - Rivers State 13. Prof. Chuka Austine Obiozor – Anambra State 14. Iniekenimi Nicholas Oweib - Bayelsa State 15. Hassan Muslim Sule - Zamfara State 16. Hadiza Rabiu Shagari – Sokoto State 17. Saleh Kogo Idrissa – Yobe State 18. Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik - Edo State 19. Hillary Ide Osho Oshomah - Edo State 20. Fadima Murtala Aminu – Adamawa State 21. Toyin Bolaji Adegoke - Kwara State 22. James Kolawole Omotosho - Ogun State 23. Nehizena Idemudia Ekunwe – Edo State 24. Stephen Daylop Pam – Plateau State 25. Akintayo Aluko – Ekiti State 26. Dr. Nnamdi O. Dimgba - Abia State 27. Emeka Nwite – Ebonyi State 28. Abdulazeez M.Z. Anka - Zamfara State 29. Abdu Dogo - FCT 30. Adamu Turaki Muhammed - Jigawa State. The new judges are to be sworn-in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, on December 2, 2015 by 10am [myad]
Ebonyi state government has embarked on the conduct of a comprehensive census of all its indigenes who are hawking in the major cities, like, Lagos, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Aba and others. This is even as the state government has planned to spend N3 billion for the rehabilitation of Ebonyi its indigenes hawking in such major cities of the country. This was part of the resolution reached during the Etate Executive Council (SECOND) meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital. Briefing news men at the end of the meeting, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Senator Emmanuel Onwe, said the Special Advisor to the Governor, Lagos Liaison Office, Mrs. Jacinta Nworie, had been redeployed and re-assigned as Special Adviser on Talent Development. Mrs. Nworie, according to him, has been charged with the responsibility of conducting census of the hawkers with a view to rehabilitating them. “The SA on Lagos Liaison Office is to immediately be redeployed by the Secretary to State Government and to be relocated or re-assigned to the office of the SSG. Her position is to be redesignated as SA on Talent Development in the Department of Talent Development. Her responsibility would be, first to conduct a comprehensive census of all Ebonyi indigenes who are hawking in the major cities, like, Lagos,Onitsha,port Harcourt,Aba and else where. “Once such comprehensive census is taken, it is the resolution of EXCO to make a budget of N3 billion to begin a rehabilitation process of all Ebonyians who are engaged in a disgraceful and humiliating activities of hawking on the highways in major cities of the country.” The commissioner said that the Executive Council terminated a contract awarded for the provision of electricity at the Federal Teaching Hospital,FETHA 2 in Abakaliki. He said that his Power counterpart, Chief Emmanuel Uguru, was given one week to take over the contract and complete it for commissioning. The council also banned the sell of used cable wires in the state and advised those selling such items to get approval from the Commissioner for Power to avoid being charged to court. Senator Onwe explained that this was part of the measures taken to avert the stealing or vandalism of cable wires in the state Also , the council directed those lobbying to replace the retired permanent secretaries to stop doing so as governor was not in a hurry to appoint new ones. Onwe added that the council banned government functionaries and civil servants from attending private functions scheduled for Fridays. [myad]
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The national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has announced the decision of the party to pick Alhaji Yahaya Bello, from the Kogi Central Senatorial District as replacement for the governorship candidate, late Price Abubakar Audu, who died on November 22. Yahaya Bello came second in the primary conducted by the party as runner-up to the November 21st election.
Open Memo To President Buhari, By Dele Momodu
Read the full memo:
Your Excellency, it’s been months since I wrote my desperate memo to you. I wish to thank you once more for reacting promptly and swiftly at that time and for giving me the honour and privilege of meeting you in your office. I remember presenting you a special compilation of my articles, especially the many admonitions to your immediate predecessor, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
After handing over the book to you, Sir, I promised to continue acting in my self-appointed capacity as Special Adviser because of the need to tell you what those very close to you might not be able to say. They might be afraid of you and your reaction.
The truth is you are a plain and simple man imbued with a mission and a passion to save this great country but you cannot do it on your own. You can only do it if people close to you, who should be advising you, tell you as it is so that you can do that which you were elected to do.
Sir, it is on the above basis that I’m back today for reasons some of which you probably know already from your own personal observations and readings. But before I go further, kindly permit me to set some records straight before some conspiracy specialists step forward to ascribe other people’s opinion to me. I shall clearly expose my personal views and state where I belong or stand for any avoidance of doubt. Everywhere I go people refer to me as Buhari’s man and ask “what’s your Baba doing ooo?”. I seriously have no problem with that. I’m proud that I joined so many other Nigerians as well as foreign friends in supporting a man of impeccable pedigree and solid integrity. No matter your view of President Muhammadu Buhari, one thing his bitterest enemies give to him is the fact that he is way above the level of most mortals in matters of uprightness.
This is why many of us volunteered to scream your name to high heavens and we were ready to follow you to Golgotha. Many of your opponents have not gotten over the thrashing you gave them and would forever seek everything and anything to smear you with. It is therefore not surprising that there has been so much noise about what you’ve done or left undone. Whether they are right or wrong in their assessment, I feel it is right and proper to let you know what people are saying about you including your most ardent fans and supporters. Sir, please, let’s not dismiss them as mere rabble-rousers. A groundswell of public opinion can easily metamorphose into an ocean of disenchantment and cataclysmic confusion. In short, I believe your enemies are skilfully setting you up for failure in order to be able to taunt your supporters later by saying we “we told you so!” In this regard it is pertinent to always bear in mind the Yoruba saying ‘ehin kunle l’ota wa, ile ni a se ni ngbe’! Loosely translated it means “the enemy lurk outside in the backyard but your foe resides inside your house.”
What is the matter this time? Many Nigerians are lamenting that the change you promised them is fast becoming a mirage. It is certainly not what they are seeing right now. They insist that your style and methodology appear too slow for a nation in dire straits and in need of urgent and miraculous deliverance. They are not happy that you are no longer the prudent man they used to know. They think you’ve already capitulated by frolicking with members of the bourgeois class and junketing around the world while Nigeria burns like Dante’s inferno. They are miffed that you are still keeping the Presidential fleet when you are supposed to have sold most of them off, if not all. They are worried that the mandate of four years they gave you is being unwittingly frittered away and before you know it all the goodwill you garnered would have evaporated and vamoosed. Time, they say, waits for no man!
The economy and the free fall of the Naira have become worrisome. There are all manner of rumours that may make matters worse, if true, about the current state and status of our banks. Though the Central Bank of Nigeria has come out forcefully to dispel the dangerous rumours, they want you to unleash your economic master-plan as soon as possible, so that what was once a baseless rumour does not somehow become harsh reality. They are expecting a blue-print that would guarantee a farewell to poverty. On this I agree with the opinion that something drastic has to be conjured up to arrest this drift to perdition. Nothing amplifies this monumental tragedy than the debit card fiasco which stipulates that Nigerians cannot live in a civilised world by walking into any international hotel or shop of their choice and paying with their cards. This is terribly depressing.
What this means in plain terms is that Nigerians must patronise the black market and run the risk of carrying cash recklessly whenever they travel abroad. It makes a mockery of the cashless society that the CBN has fought so hard to put in place and jeopardises your fight against corruption because government officials who travel abroad must of necessity carry large sums of cash if they are not to be embarrassed or even disgraced. Sir, the most important thing is that this is not healthy at all. The last thing your Government should be telling the world is that we are so broke that we are on our knees. The world laughs at us and treats us with derision because we have resources other than crude oil which should make us one of the richest in the world if we properly harness them. We must stop giving the impression that we are so impoverished when it is leadership, brigandage and a lack of focus that has failed us.
The other matter that continues to embarrass Nigerians is the issue of Boko Haram. The matter is made worse by the fact that you are a retired army General who should know and have what it takes to drastically reduce if not exterminate the cankerworm. But rather the menace has exacerbated. It has snowballed into a seemingly unquenchable conflagration. I had argued repeatedly that the military alone cannot achieve this result. Intelligence seems to be the key word here. Also identifying and locating some of the cells and prominent sympathisers is crucial. Those who arrogantly and naively say that no form of negotiation should take place are very far from the theatre of war. They have probably not heard of a group called IRA, the Irish Republican Army, that terrorised Great Britain for God knows how many years. I and my directors at Ovation International were lucky to escape a massive explosion that shattered the peace and tranquillity of London Docklands when a bomb went off inside the South Quay light rail station which was next to our office at Beaufort Court. The battle of wits and the war of attrition had to be fought using the carrot and the stick approach. It was the carrot approach that eventually succeeded and the United Kingdom has now been rid of that hitherto interminable scourge for many years!
The Boko Haram issue has defied every effort made so far and it is time to expand the options for the sake of our fellow citizens in the heart of this conundrum. When over 200 girls vanished into thin air, we were so sure they would return very soon but that has remained an illusion. This should tell us that this issue is not a joke and that we need to keep all windows open. Sir, Nigerians want to see government show a different approach and better compassion than what we had in the past. They are waiting to see how you will do this with minimum collateral damage.
Sir, you have a herculean task ahead but it is not a mission impossible. Other nations are experiencing almost similar challenges and they are forging ahead. The first indicator to exhibit our seriousness is when we stop the business as usual syndrome and tighten the belts of government officials and politicians. If the idea is to continue along the path of profligacy then Nigeria is contagiously jinxed. The Republic of Tanzania has already taken the lead. I will publish a report that has already gone viral below this letter as a veritable example of what is possible.
I wish you well as always Sir. [myad]