The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has stated that by December 2015, Boko Haram would be completely wiped out of the country even as soldiers have ambushed the insurgents who were crossing from the Sambisa Forest into Iza.
The army boss gave this assurance in a statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, in Abuja today, saying that Buratai made the promise during a routine operational visit to frontline troops in parts of the Northeast.
“I want to reassure Nigerians that Nigerian Army is ever determined to succeed in meeting up with the set deadline of defeating Boko Haram terrorists by the end of this year,” it said.
The statement said that the Army chief had forfeited the public holidays to embark on operational and morale boosting trips to troops under Nigerian 3 Division and 7 Division areas of responsibility.
It said that Buratai’s first port of call was Headquarters, 33 Artillery Brigade, Shadawanka Barracks, Bauchi, where he addressed troops on the on-going operations.
The Army chief also visited the 301 Artillery Regiment, Gombe and Biu where he visited two units; 231 Tank Battalion and 331 Artillery Regiment in Aboge Largema Military Cantonment.
Buratai was accompanied on the visit by some Principal Staff Officers at the Army Headquarters and the General Officer Commanding 3 Division, Maj.-Gen. H.A. Umaru and other Commanders.
The report reaching us indicated that at the end of the encounter with soldiers in the Sambisa Forest,, two of the terrorists were killed while others abandoned their supplies and fled.
One general purpose machine gun and one AK47 rifle were captured. Other items abandoned by the terrorists were three bicycles, provisions including maggi, potash, peanut and onions. [myad]
There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari will announce the names of his ministers tomorrow, October 1st even as he has, today, formally sent the list to the Senate for screening.
The list was delivered to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki today by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.
With the submission of the list ,President Buhari has kept his pledge to unveil his cabinet by September.
There had been anxiety earlier in the day as the Senate adjourned without a mention of the nominees. A prominent senator had reported assured some journalists that there were still a few hours left before the end of September, a clear hint that the Senate leadership was hoping to receive the list no matter how later today. [myad]
The Nigerian Military has announced that Boko Haram insurgents have now resorted to poisoning water in some villages and communities in the North east, particularly Borno State.
This revelation was contained in a statement today by the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), 7 Division Maiduguri, Colonel Tukur Gusau
Gusau said that the terrorists have now resorted to poisoning water sources like wells and streams in areas from where they were dislodged by gallant troops or areas threatened by offensive operations.
“The latest being the poisoning of the cattle water ponds in Kangallam village along Marte and Abadam axis in Borno State where a large number of cattle died after drinking water from the ponds.”
The alarm was raised by the theatre Command of Operation, Lafiya Dole. [myad]
Former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, has won the All Progressives Party Congress (APC) primary election to emerge governorship candidate for the December 5 poll.
The former governor scored 981 votes to win the ticket, beating Godknows Powel, who polled 39 votes to emerge runner up while Wallman Agoriba scored 28 votes to place third.
Announcing the result at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa by Mansur Alli, Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Bayelsa APC primary election, said a total of 1147 delegates were accredited.
Alli said: “Out of 1,147 accredited delegates for the primary election, Timipre Sylva scored 981 to win other 18 aspirants who participated.
“On the result, five aspirants scored zero, there were 1120 valid votes and 27 voided votes in the election,” he said.
Speaking after the result was announced, Sylva commended the electoral committee on the smooth conduct of the primary election.
Sylva said he was ready to bring the much desired change to the people of Bayelsa.
He urged all the delegates and other aspirants to support his candidature to move the state forward. [myad]
Nigeria may be walking backward now, just when it is supposed to be wearing a new look, with President Muhammadu Buhari’s corruption war mantra. As a matter of fact, it is becoming obvious that many Nigerians have not yet come to terms with the reality that the CHANGE, which President Muhammadu Buhari brought, this time, is a clarion call for a break away from what were seen and practiced as normal and conventional before. In the process of effecting such CHANGE, especially the war against corruption, even as President Buhari sounded note earlier, anybody could be affected, just anybody. And it happened that one of the first victims of the war is the current Nation’s Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. Indeed, it was not President Buhari that is directly in charge of looking at the peoples’ closets in search of what they are hiding. What he simply does is to allow the system to run smoothly: allow the anti corruption institutions to operate without let or hindrance. And when one of such institutions found a person, which happened to be Senator Saraki who also happened to be the Senate President wanting, it simply invited him to answer some questions. And to be sure, in the national leadership hierarchy, Senator Saraki as Senate President is number three, after President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. One of the charges against Saraki is that he made false assets declaration. There were many other charges against him, which are of course at the level of “allegation.” It is on record that even former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried secretary to find some dirty dealings around Muhammadu Buhari upon which he would allow anti-corruption agents to charge him, but could not find any. It is not surprising that Vice President Osinbajo might also have been investigated but found to have done a clean job of his assets declaration. Saraki, being number three in the hierarchy, is alleged to have falsified some of his assets and is being asked to defend himself. It doesn’t matter who laid the allegations and for what purpose, but the bottom line is that the Code of Conduct Bureau found something wrong in his assets declaration and wanted clarifications. The seeming break in communication links which led the Tribunal to order that he should be arrested and brought before it could have been a miscalculation, but did not rule out the main issue at stake. And indeed, the 83 Senators were just exercising their constitutional rights when they passed a vote of confidence on Saraki yesterday, so early in the day, but by asking the court to drop the charges against him, and allow him to go on as if nothing happened, the 83 Senators are seeking to drag the country back. It is also strange and clear sign of backward thinking for our ‘distinguished’ Senators to be comparing the Saraki’s case which has not even started in earnest, with that of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which was pursued to the end. Apart from standing in the way of smooth execution of judicial function, the 83 Senators, by asking that the trial should be dropped, are simply telling Nigerians that no one should be tried henceforth for real or imaginary corruption. The question is that if Saraki is spared because he is a “big man” by virtue of his being Senate President, is it the “small men” like ordinary floor member in the Senate or civil servant that would be subjected to corruption trial? Saraki complicated the matter by whipping up unnecessary sentiment that he is being persecuted because he is Senate President to the chagrin of some powerful political leaders. If Saraki is sure that he had not done anything wrong; that he had declared his assets correctly, there is absolutely no point in looking at the direction of the faceless political enemies, after all, he is part of the CHANGE era and should even be happy that he is being subjected to the new system, which should be a signal to the bad ones that they would be made to pay direly for their sins against Nigeria. What the 83 Senators loyal to Saraki are expected to do would have been for them to encourage their President to face the trial, guide him on how he would clear himself of all the allegations, instead of creating scenes and playing some kind of drama. It is disturbing to think that our Senators, particularly the 83 of them are playing a game that make them look so suspicious and therefore, Cheap! [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that he would be the minister of Petroleum Resources in the federal cabinet he is about to form. He said that what he would do is to appoint a minister of state (junior minister) to would assist him to run the ministry properly and cleanse it of the Augean stables. President Buhari made thise known yesterday when he spoke to some select reporters in New York, USA, after addressing a global leaders’ summit on ‘Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism.’ “I will remain minister of petroleum. I will appoint a minister of state for petroleum.” According to him, this step is part of efforts to sanitise Nigeria’s oil industry which is plagued by corruption, massive fraud and crude oil theft. Buhari restated his determination to sanitise Nigeria’s oil industry and free it from corruption and shady deals. He said that the first step in this direction had already been taken with the appointment of a new management for the NNPC and its subsequent reorganisation. The president also said that the prosecution of those who misappropriated NNPC’s revenue under past administrations would soon commence. [myad]
Now it is clearer that even our ‘Honourables,’ many of whom were from the recycle bin of yesterday, have their suits, caps and their characters intact. Evidently, we have a legislature and an executive that are light years apart. President Muhammadu Buhari and his team are epitomes of hope. They symbolize the dreams of many Nigerians who believe this auspicious Democratic turnaround brings with it a lofty promise of a motherland capable of achieving anything. Many believe this is a team that is poised to expunge the cancer of corruption and replace it with accountable leadership. These were the baritone that gave PMB an edge over the powers that be, at a time when many have given up on Nigeria. Not everyone that contested and won elections share this lofty ideal. Many have come to Abuja with the hope of getting their own cut of the yam, as that has been the norm that occupied the political space for decades. This mindset was clearly illustrated in the unholy event of yesterday in the Senate. This is a man accused of one of the appalling cases of corruption given applause and a vote of confidence. If the likes of Daniel Kanu were on the floor, then one would understand. Albeit, we have Stella Oduah, Akpabio and many others that can fill those shoes. Change, to them, is no more than a change in date or term. Looking at it from the flip side, it appears more like a cynical rebellion against the expected largesse that appear no to be trickling. In this episode of celebrating corruption, Saraki is certainly not alone. He has a formidable team of like minds that are not ashamed to celebrate the festival of inglorious yam eating. They are becoming more of political prostitutes whose only ambition is personal gain that service and humility. But like Karl Kraus once said, corruption is even worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, but the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire nation. This was the plight of Nigeria until we began seeing promising improvement in vital sectors of energy, security and transparency that is now evident in the system. This is an achievement that we hope would get even better. Ironically, we are now faced with a parallel team led by ‘honourable scoopers,’ most of whom bring with them years and tones of yam eating antecedents. Even before we begin the journey in earnest, they have shown the very stuff they are made of. We are even graced at the red chambers with the disgrace of Oduah gate. Would this team of old guards from the ‘yam eating era’ ever relinquish their cynical past to embrace a glorious tomorrow? This brings me to what Frank Serpico once said: “The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity.” Abubakar Bukar Kagu is a Research Scholar at the Law School, University of Sussex. United Kingdom. Email: abbakagu@gmail. com Twitter @abbakagu. [myad]
There is nothing here to hide or be apologetic about. The emirs of Adamawa have shown love to my parents and grandparents and it is a sign of my appreciation of their love that I marry their daughter. This is the highest statement of friendship and loyalty on both sides. Again if you understand this, fine. If you do not buy yourself a brain, A la Pius. This is the response of His Royal Highness, MUHAMMADU SANUSI II, Emir of Kano to his critics over his marriage to an 18-year old Princess from Adamawa state. Please read on: ” I am sure NC members all have their views and have kept quiet out of (appropriate) deference to our right to make our individual choice. Obviously, I do not need to explain anything to anyone in a purely personal matter but a few points are worthy of note: 1. The lady in question is 18 and therefore legally of age to marry under all laws and certainly under Muslim law. 2. She is proceeding for her undergraduate education in the UK in January. She had an A in computer science in her O levels and plans to get a degree in computer science. 3. each and everyone of my wives is a university graduate and some have worked and then stopped and in each case the choice was purely theirs. 4. It is a tradition in Kano that emirs and princes in choosing wives consider issues beyond the individual. The family is in every sense a social unit. My predecessor was married to princesses from Ilorin, Katsina and Somoto. 5. The relationship between the late Lamido of Adamawa Aliyu Musdafa the father of the current Lamido is well known. Lamido Aliyu was the first Emir turbaned after Emir Sanusi I and they remained close until Sanusi’s death. 6. My own relationship with the current Lamido dates back to 1981 when he was Ciroma and commissioner for works. By the way the Lamido and I are not illiterates we know what we are doing and he does have a PhD in Engineering. 7. My own mother was married in Adamawa and lived there for more than two decades and I have eight younger brothers and sisters from there. 8. it is therefore natural that if I choose to marry from another kingdom Adamawa would be the first choice for me and I am extremely happy to strengthen these long historical bonds. 9. The young lady in question gave her free consent and even after the contract the wedding will not happen for a few years. By then she may be 21. If she freely consents to this I do not know on what moral grounds anyone has a grouse. She is an adult, she gave her consent, her education is not being in anyway interrupted. 10. The real issue is that people do not accept cultural difference. And you can see it in the approach to these issues. I am supposed to be urbane and western educated. Yes but i am not European. I am a northern Nigerian Fulani Muslim brought up in a setting exactly like the one my children are being brought up in. If you read this and it improves your understanding of this issue that is fine. If it does not just remember it isnot your life, it is not your daughter and you are not my wife therefore it is not your business. I obviously cannot stoop to the level of responding publicly to these kinds of articles. I have always been an advocate of girls marrying after maturing. I personally like the minimum age of 18 even though i understand those who say 16 is fine and indeed this is the law in most so called @advanced@ countries. Is this something that I expect a European or western trained or feminist mind to appreciate or endorse? Not at all. But has any american been bothered about my views on men marrying men or women marrying women which frankly I find primitive and bestial? No and my views do not matter. These are cultural issues. Even in Nigeria I have heard all this stuff as in Pius article about “north” and northerners. Again it is a failure to respect difference. There are parts if this country where parents expect their daughters to live with their boyfriends for years and actually get pregnant before they marry. It has become culture. We do not have that in the north and if your daughter gets pregnant before marriage she brings nothing but shame to the name. But we do not issue condemnations. We agree that this is how they choose to live. And i can give many other examples. When people use the term libido they do themselves injustice. First of all it shows how they view women and marriage. Women are nothing but the object of sexual desire. Marriage is nothing but sexual gratification. Well I am sorry but in my tradition it is not. Beauty and attraction rank third after religion and lineage in the choice of a wife. They see an 18 year old young lady. I see a princess of noble birth whose mother is also a princess, and who has been brought up in a good Muslim home. This is the kind of woman that is prepared for hiving birth to princes and bringing them up for the role expected of them in society. Marriage is both social and political. Expanding the links of Kano which have already been established by my predecessors through intermarriage with Katsina, sokoto, Ilorin, Katagum, Ningi, Bauchi etc to Adamawa is an important and significant step and this is obvious to anyone with a sense of how royal families work and Ibn Khaldun’s sociological concept of Asabiyyah. When the emir of Kano marries it has to be something beyond what he personally desires to what is appropriate for that position and the expectations of the people he represents. You don’t just pick up any girl on the street. And by the way for those who shout libido sex is cheap and available everywhere in all shapes and sizes and all colours if that is what they want. And all ages too. Marriage is a very different proposition. The mother of your children has to be something other than, or at least much more than a mere object of sexual fantasy. But if you do not know that you need to buy yourself a brain. I have daughters. And they know they can only marry from certain backgrounds. I always prefer family. When my daughter wanted to marry Mouftah baba Ahmed’s son and she asked me, knowing my views on family, i told her Mouftah is family. And this is not about me and Mouftah or me an Hakeem or Nafiu. No. It goes back to Baba Ahmed and Emirs Sanusi and Bayero. And the same rule applies to my sons. And it applied to me as well. It is I am sure very strange that I should even bother to comment on this. But it would be hypocritical for me to just keep quiet so long as these things are being posted and commented upon explicitly or in a snide manner. There was no secrecy in the marriage Fatiha. The date was fixed and it was to be done in the central mosque after Friday prayers. The day before we had a tragedy in Saudi Arabia and decided the Fatiha must be very low key as a mark of respect for the dead. All traditional rulers in Adamawa were there, as were governors and commissioners, members of my own emirate council and Adamawa people. There is nothing here to hide or be apologetic about. The emirs of Adamawa have shown love to my parents and grandparents and it is a sign of my appreciation of their love that i marry their daughter. This is the highest statement of friendship and loyalty on both sides. Again if you understand this, fine. If you do not buy yourself a brain, A la Pius. In any event this is my one and final and only comment on this. And I am matured man. [myad]
“Violent extremist groups – including Da’esh and Boko Haram – pose a direct threat to international security, mercilessly target women and girls, and undermine universal values of peace, justice and human dignity.”
This fear was expressed today by the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon at a high-level event in the ongoing UN General Assembly’s 70th anniversary, held in New York.
He made it clear that addressing the growing threat posed by violent extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Da’esh, goes to the heart of the mission of the United Nations and requires a unified response.
“That threat is growing,” he added, noting that recent data shows a 70 per cent increase in foreign terrorist fighters from over 100 countries to regions in conflict.
The Leaders’ Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, hosted by United States President Barack Obama on the margins of the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, brought together representatives from more than 100 nations, more than 20 multilateral institutions, some 120 civil society groups from around the world, and partners from the private sector.
The Secretary-General announced his intention to present a comprehensive Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism early next year to the General Assembly.
“Our objective must be to go beyond countering violent extremism to preventing it in the first place,” he added.
He outlined five key priorities: the need to engage all of society; the need to make a special effort to reach young people; to build truly accountable institutions; respect for international law and human rights; and the importance of not being ruled by fear – or provoked by those who strive to exploit it.
“We have a major challenge before us – one that will not disappear overnight – but one that we can address concretely by forging societies of inclusion, ensuring lives of dignity, and pursuing this essential endeavour inspired at all times by the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Opening the meeting, President Obama said that it is not going to be enough to defeat ISIL in the battlefield.
“We have to prevent it from radicalizing, recruiting and inspiring others to violence in the first place. And this means defeating their ideology. Ideologies are not defeated with guns, they’re defeated by better ideas – a more attractive and compelling vision.”
Highlighting some of the measures taken by the US, Obama noted that it is stepping up its efforts to discredit ISIL’s propaganda, especially online, and working to lift up the voices of Muslim scholars, clerics and others – including ISIL defectors – “who courageously stand up to ISIL and its warped interpretations of Islam.”
The US has also recognized the need to confront the economic and political grievances that exist in some of the areas that ISIL seeks to exploit. “The real path to lasting stability and progress is not less democracy; I believe it is more democracy in terms of free speech, and freedom of religion, rule of law, strong civil societies. All that has to play a part in countering violent extremism.”
And in all countries, it is vital to continue to build true partnerships with Muslim communities, based on trust and cooperation, so that they can help protect their loved ones from becoming radicalized, Mr. Obama continued.
“This cannot just be the work of government. It is up to all of us. We have to commit ourselves to build diverse, tolerant, inclusive societies that reject anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant bigotry that creates the divisions, the fear and the resentments upon which extremists can prey.”
Today’s meeting follows the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, held in February in Washington, DC, as well as a high-level meeting of the Security Council held in September 2014 that focused on foreign terrorist fighters. [myad]
The Nigerian police have described the story by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae about how money was paid as ransom to his kidnappers before he was released as tissue of lies, saying that they actually worked hard for his release.
Police spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole maintained that the elder statesman was rescued from the kidnappers’ den by the men of Nigeria Police led by the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase.
Falae’s family had on Monday admitted that his abductors were paid undisclosed amount of money before he was released and picked up by the police in Owo, Ondo state.
Kolawole, however, insisted that no ransom was paid.
“As a law enforcement agency guided by rule of law and personal ethics, we do not under any circumstance encourage the payment of ransom to kidnappers or other criminals as it is tantamount to rewarding crime and motivating other criminals to follow that path.”
“Our intelligence and operational teams comprising intelligence response team, a special anti-kidnapping unit, conventional and mobile policemen were deployed for rescue operation.
“In the process, we were able to identify the major actors and currently, high level Police activities are ongoing to apprehend and bring them to justice.”
Kolawole disclosed that the Nigeria Police under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase deployed unique intelligence and operational capabilities, including police helicopters for aerial surveillance for Falae’s rescue.
“If the payment was perfected through bank transaction, the Police have the capacity to track such transactions and will be liaising with the bank to enable us trace the cash and apprehend the perpetrators.
“This could be an added lead that could strengthen ongoing post-kidnapping efforts of the Police.” [myad]
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Saraki And His Team Of Likeminds, By Abubakar Bukar Kagu
Now it is clearer that even our ‘Honourables,’ many of whom were from the recycle bin of yesterday, have their suits, caps and their characters intact. Evidently, we have a legislature and an executive that are light years apart. President Muhammadu Buhari and his team are epitomes of hope. They symbolize the dreams of many Nigerians who believe this auspicious Democratic turnaround brings with it a lofty promise of a motherland capable of achieving anything. Many believe this is a team that is poised to expunge the cancer of corruption and replace it with accountable leadership.
These were the baritone that gave PMB an edge over the powers that be, at a time when many have given up on Nigeria.
Not everyone that contested and won elections share this lofty ideal. Many have come to Abuja with the hope of getting their own cut of the yam, as that has been the norm that occupied the political space for decades.
This mindset was clearly illustrated in the unholy event of yesterday in the Senate. This is a man accused of one of the appalling cases of corruption given applause and a vote of confidence. If the likes of Daniel Kanu were on the floor, then one would understand. Albeit, we have Stella Oduah, Akpabio and many others that can fill those shoes. Change, to them, is no more than a change in date or term. Looking at it from the flip side, it appears more like a cynical rebellion against the expected largesse that appear no to be trickling. In this episode of celebrating corruption, Saraki is certainly not alone. He has a formidable team of like minds that are not ashamed to celebrate the festival of inglorious yam eating.
They are becoming more of political prostitutes whose only ambition is personal gain that service and humility. But like Karl Kraus once said, corruption is even worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, but the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire nation. This was the plight of Nigeria until we began seeing promising improvement in vital sectors of energy, security and transparency that is now evident in the system.
This is an achievement that we hope would get even better. Ironically, we are now faced with a parallel team led by ‘honourable scoopers,’ most of whom bring with them years and tones of yam eating antecedents.
Even before we begin the journey in earnest, they have shown the very stuff they are made of. We are even graced at the red chambers with the disgrace of Oduah gate. Would this team of old guards from the ‘yam eating era’ ever relinquish their cynical past to embrace a glorious tomorrow?
This brings me to what Frank Serpico once said: “The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity.”
Abubakar Bukar Kagu is a Research Scholar at the Law School, University
of Sussex. United Kingdom.
Email: abbakagu@gmail. com
Twitter @abbakagu. [myad]