President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria arrived in the United States of America on Sunday to begin a four-day official visit to President Barak Obama in the White House. He inspects guard-of-honour mounted by the American soldiers on his arrival. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that his government would not spare anybody, not even members of his All Progressives Congress (APC) when he begins his anti-corruption crusade to sanitize the country.
He stressed that no one who might has amassed wealth illegally, would be spared in his government’s anti-corruption crusade.
“It is not the issue of party member (APC). If you have stolen, no party member can escape justice,” the President said.
President Buhari, who is rounding off a four-day official visit to the US, said this while speaking during an interview with Christine Amanpour on CNN today in New York.
He said that his government is ready to negotiate with terror group, Boko Haram, if the talks will lead to the freedom of over 200 girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, who were kidnapped in the school over a year ago.
Boko Haram stormed the GSS, Chibok, on April 14, 2014, and abducted about 278 female students of the school, who were preparing for their final examinations. About 58 of the girls managed to escape at different times.
The President, who noted that people needed to be cautious about the credibility of various Boko Haram groups, however, declared that the government would embrace any process that would lead to the freedom of the girls.
“If we are convinced that we can have the girls, why not, we can negotiate. Our goal is to have the girls. We will ask them what they want and we can free the girls; return them to their school; unite them with their parents and rehabilitate them, so, they can live a normal life,” Buhari said.
The President, however, warned that the country needed to be cautious about the authenticity of claims of any group, calling for talks with the government.
“We have to be careful about the credibility of various Boko Haram groups. You need to be careful that you are talking to the right group,” he added.
He said he would be delighted if his host, US President Barack Obama, could “change his mind” and visit Nigeria in his upcoming visit to Africa. [myad]
Crisis rocking members of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives has taken a different dimension as members loyal to the leadership of the party have dragged the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and the deputy, Yusuf Lasun, to court over the allocation of key leadership positions in the house.
Two aggrieved lawmakers are asking a federal high court in Abuja to restrain Dogara from refusing to accept nominees sent by the party leadership as majority leader and deputy; and majority whip and deputy.
Dogara and his supporters were believed to have rejected the party’s nominees, citing federal character principle since the deputy speaker, Lasun, is from the south west.
In a bid to pressure Dogara to shift ground, two loyal APC leadership, Abubakar Abdullahi (Niger State), and Olajide Jimoh (Lagos State), asked the court to grant an order restraining the Messrs Dogara, Yusuf, Clerk of the House, Sani Omolori, from preventing the announcement of the APC’s nominees as principal officers.
The APC lawmakers asked the court to determine whether Section 14 of the Nigerian Constitution on federal character applies to the internal workings of the National Assembly and, in particular, the House of Representatives with respect to the appointment of principal officers and, in particular the positions of Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Chief Whip, and Majority Deputy Chief Whip.
“It is an indisputable fact that the positions in question are party positions, that is, principal offices of the APC, albeit that they concomitantly are also principal positions within the House of Representatives,” they said.
“Consequently, the 1st and 2nd Defendants (Speaker and Deputy Speaker) shall in accordance with Article 9.2 of APC constitution, which states, ‘members of the party shall be obligated to affirm the party’s aims and objectives’, implement the party’s aims as contained in the party’s nomination letter”.
Besides, Gbajabiamila, the APC wants Alhassan Doguwa (North West) as Deputy Leader; Mohammed Monguno, (North East), as the House Whip; and Pally Iriase, (South South), as the Deputy Chief Whip. [myad]
The chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC), Ekpo Nta has made it clear that despite the immunity clause in the Nigerian constitution, public officers, including President and governors can be investigated.
The former Chief Security Officer (CSO), to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Gordon Obua, has debunked the rumour making the rounds that he was dead in the State Security Service (SSS) detention, saying that he was in the custody to give account of his six-year service to the former President.
Many social media, yesterday published the news of the death of the former CSO in the SSS detention. But he was presented at an unscheduled press conference at the SSS headquarters in Abuja today, where he has been held since Thursday last week.
Obua had embarked on hunger strike to protest his detention conditions and was reported to have fainted over the weekend. He is said to be suffering from hypertension and diabetes and was given medicare at an undisclosed facility and discharged today.
Obua, who was given chance to speak to newsmen at today’s news briefing said that he was alive and well, assuring members of his family that he would be fine.
He said that he was in SSS custody to give account of his 6-year posting as the Chief Security Officer to former President Jonathan.
He made it clear that he is still an employee of the State Security Service. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the plan by the World Bank to spend about $2.1 billion in rebuilding the badly devastated North-eastern part of Nigeria in the past six years by the Boko Haram insurgency, saying that apart from rebuilding the region in terms of infrastructure, priority should also be given to the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who now number over one million.
At a meeting in Washington today with representatives of the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Health Organization (WHO), President Buhari also asked the World Bank to send a team, which would work in concert with a team from the Federal Government, so that a proper assessment of needs could be done.
The World Bank will spend the 2.1 billion dollars through its IDA (International Development Agency), which gives low interest rates loans to government.
The first 10 years will be interest free, while an additional 30 years will be at lower than capital market rate.
The World Bank is eager to move in quickly, give out the loans, and give succor to the people of North-east, long at the mercy of an insurgency that has claimed over 20,000 souls.
WHO is also to invest 300 million dollars on immunization against malaria in Nigeria, while the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will collaborate with Dangote Foundation to ensure that the country maintains its zero polio case record of the past one year. If the effort is sustained for another two years, Nigeria will be declared fully free of polio. [myad]
Nigeria Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase has approved the post-humous promotion of the officers in the Yobe State Police Command who lost their lives while trying to contain the menace of Boko Haram yesterday.
A statement issued today by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu quoted the Inspector General as also directing the Medical department to foot the medical bill of the injured officer.
In addition, four children each of the deceased officers will be offered scholarship up to secondary school level while the families will be afforded priority in the budding Police Housing Scheme.
The police boss expressed happiness over the courage and gallantry displayed by officers of the State Police Command in containing the menace of insurgency in the State, adding that he is highly pleased that in spite of imminent challenges, the officers exhibited a high sense of patriotism and dedication to duty.
“While regretting the death in active service of three officers in the unfortunate incident of Monday 20th July, 2015, the IGP observed that but for the indomitable spirit, sacrifice and professionalism of the deceased officers, the terrorists would have detonated the explosives in a high profile target.”
Arase promised that similar gesture will be extended to other officers who paid the supreme sacrifice in the course of fighting insurgency. [myad]
It is typical for an American president to invite a nascent African head of state to the White House, especially less than one month after the latter’s inauguration.
To some observers, therefore, US President Barack Obama’s invitation of his Nigerian counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari, for a White House parley which began on July 20 would seem to be an aberration and a surprise. But an analysis of both leaders’ circumstances suggests that such a meeting is a no-brainer.
To start with, it is instructive to know that Buhari and Obama were elected during a period of economic turmoil and distress. When Obama was elected in 2008 the US economy was in dire straits and reminiscent of contemporary Nigerian economy. With unemployment rate hovering around 10%, the US economy was losing 800,000 jobs monthly. Budget deficits were spiraling, pushing the country’s debt stock to unsustainable levels.
Like Buhari, Obama not only met an empty treasury but was also saddled with a whopping debt burden of about US$10 trillion – or 72% of GDP.
Both presidents also inherited expensive and drawn-out wars which they pledged to end. Ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was a major mantra in Obama’s election campaigns in 2008. In Buhari’s campaign, a major platform was the promise to end the scourge of Boko Haram.
Just as Nigerians clamoured for change during the last elections, Americans desperately wanted change in 2008. When people clamour for change, they’re taking a big risk.
But, looking back, many Americans would say that the risk they took in 2008 was well-calculated. The US economy has rebounded. Unemployment has fallen from 10% in 2009 to the current level of about 5%. The US budget deficit is now less than half of what it was when Obama first took office.
Obama has also significantly reduced the presence of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a sense, he has virtually fulfilled all his election promises well ahead of the end of his presidential tenure.
Given the striking similarities in both leaders’ circumstances, Buhari would do well to borrow Obama’s economic “magic wand.” If he does, he’ll be surprised to learn that Obama turned the US economy around not through austerity measures, but by spending more.
A few days after his election, Obama appointed Harvard economist and former Treasury secretary Larry Summers as his chief economic adviser. At the same, time he announced his intention to launch an economic stimulus programme at a scale never seen before in the country.
Obama justified the stimulus programme by referring to the severity of the economic challenges he inherited. Despite push-backs from Republicans in Congress, he managed to implement a stimulus programme worth almost US$1 trillion. His strategy was predicated on the premise that the way to resuscitate the economy is not through belt-tightening, but via expansionary fiscal and monetary policies.
Obama’s stimulus strategy focused on “shovel-ready” projects that created jobs almost instantaneously, as well as on programs that delivered immediate cash to Americans. The projects and programs include infrastructure, education, health, renewable energy, tax incentives, unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions.
Shortly after Obama’s inauguration, Americans began to receive stimulus cheques in their mailboxes or get temporary tax relief. As an unapologetic proponent of “Middle Class Economics” – the notion that a virile middle class is a sine qua non for a robust economy – much of Obama’s stimulus money went to middle-class Americans.
Though Buhari has yet to formally unveil his economic blueprint, he should resist the temptation of embarking on belt-tightening as an end in itself. His administration appears to be drumming-up the need to reduce the cost of governance. While this is an unassailable proposition, he should be circumspect about what he intends to cut.
In the process of cutting costs care should be taken not to jettison investments and projects needed to enhance the country’s productive capacity. Buhari should consider increasing spending in sectors, projects and programmes that boost the economy, generate employment and promote inclusive growth. These sectors include infrastructure, labour-intensive manufacturing, agro-processing, health and education.
Nigeria is arguably a country where a massive economic stimulus programme is urgently needed. It has a large stock of human and natural resources that are grossly underutilised. The informal sector is bloated, with millions of underemployed youths. Most of Nigeria’s graduates are unemployed or engaged in menial jobs.
Meanwhile, there is a huge infrastructural deficit that can be partly filled through public works projects executed with direct labour. These projects would provide temporary employment to unskilled workers, enabling them to gain experience needed for permanent jobs.
Buhari has the pedigree to shepherd a massive stimulus programme. He’s known to abhor profligacy, which means that stimulus money will be spent prudently. He detests graft and corruption, which implies that stimulus funds won’t disappear.
This depends on whether Buhari will be able to prevent those around him from corruptly enriching themselves – something his predecessor failed to do. Like Obama, he cares deeply for the downtrodden, which suggests he’ll focus stimulus spending on job creation and economic empowerment.
Some may wonder how the Buhari administration could possibly finance stimulus spending. After all, he has inherited an empty treasury and faces dwindling oil revenues and a volatile global oil market.
But Nigeria could follow the example of Asian countries that financed their stimulus programmes through domestic borrowing (mainly by issuing government bonds). Borrowing money domestically in one’s own currency is not nearly as problematic as external borrowing.
Financing stimulus spending via domestic borrowing comes with a price. It may crowd-out domestic private investment by raising interest rates. But this would be temporary. The increase in aggregate demand generated by stimulus spending would subsequently crowd-in investment in the production of goods and services. This ultimately will generate employment opportunities.
One of the usual concerns about stimulus spending is the risk of inflation. But unemployment, economic disempowerment and youth restiveness are bigger threats to stability than inflation in the short to medium term.
Also, given the huge slack resources in Nigeria, it is doubtful that stimulus spending would precipitate hyperinflation in the short to medium term. In any case, the Central Bank of Nigeria has the necessary monetary instruments for reigning in inflation should it become a challenge.
One other lesson Buhari should learn from Obama is that it is better for a leader to stick with his or her convictions rather than let opinion polls or emotional sentiments drive their economic policies.
Some pundits were dismissive and derisive of Obama’s stimulus strategy when it was launched. The rest, as they say, is history.
Obama stuck with his stimulus strategy and eventually prevailed.
It remains to be seen how history will judge the Buhari presidency, and whether he will be the quintessential Obama. [myad]
A mother-of-five, Purni Orang was said to have been dragged from her home in the northeastern state of Assam, India and was hacked to death by more than a dozen local people wielding machetes.
When Governor Wada Turned Marginalisation Concept On Its Head, By Dr. Tom Adaba
A recent interview allegedly granted by Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada quoted him as saying that there is no marginalization of any group in his state. We would not want to believe that he said so. But if for any reason he did, we wish to serve this as a freshener.
Perhaps, it is necessary to define marginalization and cite a few, among the innumerable and outrageous instances of abuse of power and office in the name of marginalization by Governor Wada and his predecessors in a series of nepotic Igala governance.
By way of definition and education of all who cannot see happenings in Kogi State as marginalization, the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary describes it as “the relegation to an unimportant position within a society or group.”
In stating the entrenchment of a series of unforgivable marginalization in the state, we may have to make a comparative analysis of Wada’s government vis-a-vis that of the founding Governor Abubakar Audu (1991 – 1993 and 1999 – 2003) who we thought was himself not only despotic but a tribal warlord.
In Kogi State, there are three senatorial districts – the East comprising Igala and minorities like Bassa-Komu; Bassange Egbira Mozum; the West with the Okuns, Nupes, Oworos, Egbira-Kotos, Bassa-Komu,Gukeri, Ganagana and Hausa; and the .Central – comprising Ebira-Okene, Ogori Magongo and Ajaokuta.
The State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) stands at 7% East, 12% West; and 72% Central, yet the East has produced the governor of the state for 18-years, the life-span of democratic governance since the creation of Kogi State in1991.
Audu’s six-year governance of two terms (1991 – 93 and 1999 – 2003) produced the following: 17 Commissioners out of which nine were from the East, while four each come from the West and Central respectively; 33 Permanent Secretaries with 18-from Kogi East, 10 from the West and 5 from Central.
In the State’s Civil Service, of 33,000 workforce, the East had a lion share of 23,100, while 5,940 were from the West and 3,960 were from the Central. Here, one wonders whether it is the brilliance or competence of the Igalas in Benue State that had given them this advantage on arrival in Kogi. For those of us who were there at the inception of the state and knew the calibre of products that were moved from Benue State Civil Service to the new state of Kogi, we have our huge doubts. We denounced the fictitious figures and have been proved right by the recent audit that revealed the huge deposit of ghost workers.
If Audu’s government was iniquitous, Ibrahim Idris’ and Wada’s are a glaring display of impunity. The figures below attest: Wada’s government has 18 Commissioners out of which nine are from the East, five West and four Central; 60 Special Advisers with a whopping 30 from his home area, the East while the West and Central have 20 and 10 respectively.
Wada’s government has 83 Senior Special Assistants out of which 41 (50%) are from the East, 26 (31.1%) from the West and 16 (19.1%)from the Central.
Of Gov. Wada’s 242 Special Assistants, 139 are from the East, 66 from the West and 37 from Central.
Could this be somebody’s idea of justice, fairness and equitable distribution? Could this be the opposite of marginalization?
Of the 32 Permanent Secretaries, 24 (75%) are from the East while the West and Central share 4 or 12.5% each. Again, one wonders if the civil service knowledge, skills and even experience are the exclusive preserve of the East. Here again, we reiterate in the negative.
Indeed, the reverse should be the case because the reservoir of highly talented, experienced and skilled staff from the West and Central have been edged out by the nepotic system and replaced by the Igalas.
The state has 25 Board Chairmen comprising 14 (56%) from the East, 8 (32%) from the West and 3 (12%) from Central.
The present government of Kogi State headed by Capt Idris Wada has a Civil Service of 18,650 which breaks down as follows:10,393 (approx 56%) from the East; 4,977 (27%) from the West; and 3,280 (17%) from Central.
On the distribution of road projects, the East has N39.3 billion for about 476.6 kilomretres, the West N21.9 billion for 209-kilometres, while Central has a paltry N3.3 billion for 62 kilometres. It is however an irony that despite these figures, one cannot see a translation of them in action.
The litany of primitive imbalances is legion.
If all these are not heartless instances of marginalization, we are not sure what else to call it. Perhaps, it may make better sense labeling it iniquitous voodoo governance.
This must change. Kogi has all the potentials for a first class state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, considering its history, strategic location and boundless endowment. The time has come to flush out ineptitude and jungle inequity. It is time to redeem Kogi State by installing a civilized, just, fair and equitable government.
Dr. Adaba, OON, former DG NBC, writes from Abuja. [myad]