Two huge issues loom large over Nigeria’s hard-fought presidential election this month: Boko Haram and corruption. Of the two, the breathtaking scale of official corruption is blighting the lives of more Nigerians than even the deadly insurgency.
A former Nigerian government minister has claimed that his civil servants offered him a 20 per cent slice off his department’s multi-billion dollar budget, assuring him they could bury their tracks. Their expectation, he said, was that they too would be rewarded with a generous tranche of the loot.
The senior politician, who cannot be named for his own safety, alleged that he had been approached shortly after his appointment to cabinet, while staying in a hotel on a high-profile foreign trip. He told Channel 4 News that he refused the offer, telling his civil servants that he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
“The scale of corruption by this country’s political elite is breaking people,” he said. “Some see it as the dispensing of patronage, so they can survive. But let’s say it straight: it is theft, theft with a sense of entitlement.”
“Nigeria,” he added, “is a country where you can disappear an elephant into the pocket of a shirt.”
A couple of days later, I was interviewing Nigeria’s flamboyant finance minister. Inevitably, before long, our conversation homed in on the C-word. “Your country has become a byword for corruption,” I said.
“I reject this completely!” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, shouted indignantly at me across the six-foot gap between our two armchairs in her ministerial office, strewn with photographs of herself with world leaders past and present.
“This country has a tendency for people to throw out wild numbers and because of the perception of corruption, people believe a lot of this. Nigeria is not a lawless country where you just lob accusations.”
Dr Ngozi, who earned her doctorate from MIT and who has spent years as a managing director of the World Bank, has a street named after her in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Half way along it, there’s a slum called Utako, whose residents live hand-to-mouth. Few have jobs; the rat-infested, malarial shanty lacks all basic services.
“The masses are suffering because of the greediness of our leaders,” said Stanley, a man in his late 20s, and one of the millions of Nigerians who do actually believe the “wild numbers” but are powerless in their poverty to hold their leaders to account.
“They are so corrupt don’t care about the masses,” he said. “All they care about is how to embezzle our money. If you look around this place, there is no sanitation, no water, no electricity. They don’t live in this environment.”
Nigeria now ranks as Africa’s largest economy, powered by vast oil reserves. Average incomes have doubled since 2010, yet a third of Nigeria’s people live on less than one pound a day.
For decades, it has been alleged that corrupt politicians were skimming huge sums off the national oil revenues – hundreds of billions of dollars according to the UN. Most of Nigeria’s 500 languages don’t even have words for “million”, let alone “billion”, but people know the score. Power is perceived as the licence to loot.
Until last year, these “wild numbers” were indeed just “thrown around,” as the finance minister put it. Then, finally, a whistle-blower emerged who put some flesh on the bones. The numbers were indeed wild. But he came with some pedigree. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was no ordinary whistle-blower.
Dr Lamido Sanusi, who had been awarded “Central Banker of the Year 2010″ by the Financial Times Banker magazine (an award which cited his “radical anti-corruption” campaign) discovered what he figured was a US$20-bn black hole in Nigeria’s national finances.
He wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan, detailing the mechanisms by which be believed an astronomical fraud had been committed. He calculated that over the course of a year and a half, a billion dollars a month had been siphoned off national oil revenues. These “leakages” were, Dr Sanusi told the president, “unsustainable”.
Last month, Dr Sanusi, a blue-blooded descendent of the Kano royal line, was reincarnated as the northern kingdom’s new emir. He swapped his pin-striped suit for flowing robes and a turban. Sitting in his throne room the day after his coronation (pictured below), HRH Muhammad Sanusi II told Channel 4 News exactly how he believed the alleged fraud had been perpetrated. He sticks by all his allegations.
“At the heart of the problem, to my mind,” he said, “is that the entire political system is held hostage by a small group of vested interests.”
His was an almost identical assessment to that offered by Stanley in the slum on Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Street, where most people I spoke to knew all about the former central bank governor’s staggering allegations. But Dr Ngozi herself dismisses his claim. “It just so happens that on this that he was not correct,” she said. Last year, she claimed more than US$10bn was “missing”.
The Nigerian government commissioned an independent “forensic audit” to determine the truth, but has chosen only to publish edited highlights of the final report – and many Nigerians still smell a rat.
Nigeria ranks 136th out of 175 countries surveyed for Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index – which measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. Obiageli Ezekwesili is Transparency’s co-founder. She too has served with the World Bank – as its vice-president for Africa – and as a Nigerian government minister.
“There is nothing cultural about corruption in African societies. What has happened is that the is an alienation of the systems and institutions of governance from the people,” she said. “So when you see elite greed manifested in grand corruption, perpetrated over time, it is simply that nobody has made the link to the fact that government owes us something.”
Oby Ezekwesili remains optimistic about Nigeria, despite its politicians’ winner-takes-all approach. “Give this country about a decade and a half, it won’t be the same. You know, when citizens awaken to the power of the office of the citizen, no society remains the same.”
Jonathan Miller, is a Foreign Affairs Correspondent at Channel 4 News
Nigeria has qualified for the 2015 African Beach Soccer Championship finals after Libya announced its withdrawal from the qualifying competition.
The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said in a statement today on its website that Libya’s withdrawal has been communicated to it.
Nigeria, who is the 2007 and 2009 champions, will now play in the finals scheduled for Seychelles April 14 to April 19.
The Supersand Eagles returned to the country today after a third-place finish at the Power Horse Invitational Tournament in Durban, South Africa.
They had planned to continue training in Lagos ahead of the first leg of the qualifying fixture against Libya which was to be played this weekend.
Speaking on the development, the team’s Head Coach, Audu Adamu, said: “We would have loved to use the fixture against Libya as part of our preparation for the African Beach Soccer Championship.
“However, there is nothing we can do other than to now start our final camping for the championship proper.”
Nigeria has pleaded with the government of Indonesian to tamper justice with mercy with three Nigerians who have been convicted in that country and are due for execution by firing squad for drug-related offences.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs, Ambassador Danjuma Sheni, who spoke to the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria Ambassador, Mr.Harry Purwato today in his office in Abuja pleaded that the death sentences should be converted to life imprisonment.
He told the envoy to speak with his home government to tamper justice with mercy in order not to allow anything to jeopardise the “very robust and excellent relationship between Indonesia and Nigeria.
“Your Excellency, I have been asked to summon you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appeal to you to talk to your government about the proposed execution of three Nigerians, who are currently on the death row in your country.
“As you know, your country and Nigeria have a very robust and excellent relationship and we do not intend that anything should happen to our relationship.
“We, in this context, are very aware of the consequences of drug trafficking in your country, but we still want to put it on record and we still want to appeal to you and to your President to tamper justice with mercy.
“We understand that the three condemned Nigerians have gone through the judicial processes and their appeals to the President have been turned down.
“We also understand, particularly, that one of them, Mr Salami, had been moved to an Island and that any moment from now, he may be executed.
“We want to appeal to you and through you to your government that this death sentence that may be carried out on Mr Salami any moment from now should be converted to life imprisonment.“
The permanent secretary also appealed to the Indonesian envoy to fast-track the completion of the ongoing exchange of prisoners’ negotiation between the two countries.
According to him, when completed, Nigerians serving various prison terms in Indonesia will have the opportunity to serve their sentences in Nigeria.
“I am also to use this occasion, your Excellency, to appeal to you on the need to quickly complete the ongoing exchange of prisoners negotiation that we have with your country.
“We wish that this be completed on time so that our nationals, who may be caught up there, would have the opportunity to serve their sentences in Nigeria.
“Some of our nationals are not on death row; they are in there for some other alleged crimes and we would wish that those who are willing and who wish to, would serve their sentences in Nigeria.
“So it is our wish as a country that we should complete this process immediately so that our nationals would avail themselves of that opportunity.
“Ambassador, we want to thank you coming in here but these are the words that my government has asked me to convey to you and through you to your own government.“
Responding, Purwato acknowledged the robust nature of the relationship between his country and Nigeria, and explained that the trial of the Nigerians was done transparently.
He said foreigners travelling to Indonesia were usually informed in advance that trafficking in narcotics attracted the death penalty.
The envoy said that all the legal processes available to the convicts had been exhausted, adding, however, that he would deliver the Federal Government’s message to his home government.
“Indonesians attach great importance to their relations with Nigerians and we also like to further our excellent relations in things that can be felt directly by the people of these two countries.
“As you rightly said, permanent secretary, the death penalty in Indonesia is actually done in transparent, credible and accountable manner.
“We do apply these executions to those who are adults and we do not apply to children, pregnant women or mentally ill persons.
“Executions are done after strict and transparent due process of law by which also we know that it would have already passed the district, appellate and Supreme Courts.“
Purwato explained that the request for clemency by the Nigerians on death row had been rejected.
According to him, the Indonesian government usually allows the embassies of nationals on trial for drug-related offenses to be involved from the beginning to the end of all cases.
The Federal Government had in January, summoned the ambassador following the execution of two Nigerians by firing squad for drug offences.
Preparations are in top gear for the execution by firing squad of one Raheem Agbaje Salami and two other Nigerians convicted of drug smuggling.
Factional leader of the Odua People’s Congress, OPC, Gani Adams
Northern socio-political organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has reminded the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Chief Gani Adams that Nigeria, like other nations in the world has come of age in the way it should conduct elections, saying that his call for the sacking of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor. Attahiru Jega is of no substance.
The OPC leaderhad called for the sacking of the INEC boss on the basis of the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards, introduction of card reader and the creation of 30,000 polling units, which he claimed favoured the North.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammadu Ibrahim, in Kaduna today, the ACF described Adams utterance as laughable and pedestrian, adding that he lacked the understanding of the Nigerian Constitution and the electoral law.
According to the forum, Adams has clearly shown that he is ignorant of digital age, where transparency is the hallmarks of free, fair and credible elections.
ACF said that the utterances of the OPC leader were not only parochial but one that portrayed him as seeking political relevance, saying: “It is not the tradition of the Arewa Consultative Forum to respond to such unguarded and misinformed statement by leaders of socio-cultural groups or any individual for that matter on national issues.
“However, we find it necessary to respond to Chief Adams false claim that the creation of additional 30,000 polling units was fraudulently done by INEC to favour the North.
“In fact, based on scientific and statistical analysis of the INEC data, the North was actually shortchanged.
“Nigeria with a total registered voter figure of 70,383,427 in 2011 and when divided by the proposed INEC 150,000 polling units across the country, every polling units in any state should have 469 voters per unit to make it easier for voters to cast their votes.”
ACF said that it was as a result of the hue and cry over the additional units from southern leaders that forced INEC to create the 30,000 units, adding that the creation of the units would not change the number of registered voters, calling on leaders at all levels to guard their utterances, especially on issues they were not properly informed.
The weekend press was, as usual, very generous with its pages dealing with the Special Adviser to the President on Media, “my friend before, before” as we say in everyday parlance, Dr. Reuben Abati. Reuben was joined in the attack against General Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal, this time, to attend presidential political debates, by his “cousin in office” Reno Omokri. Having seen the beating he received in the digital media, his own reputable turf, Reno deserves my sympathy. I won’t flog a dead horse. In responding to The Punch, which did us the courtesy of seeking our reaction to the Abati diatribe, our argument has been that three times in the past, (2003, 2007, 2011) Buhari appeared and took part in debates while all his opponents, including Dr. Jonathan in 2011, refused to take part. Where were all the critics, including Abati, then? Specifically, why did Dr. Jonathan refuse to debate in 2011? These are questions to be expected of every journalist handed the Abati script. For us in the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign, the decision to stay away from the debate was not one that was taken lightly. It was indeed a difficult one, considering that the promoters of the debates, themselves important arms of the media as they, were in all probability not going to accept this for any excuse. It is for this reason that we wrote very politely to them, to request that we be excused. Our view of their Principal, Dr. Jonathan is that he is a man who does not know what is debate or discourse. What he knows is insults, abuse and mudslinging. He doesn’t have the frame of mind to warrant a debate. That’s the man who called President Obasanjo a motor-park tout for merely criticizing him. Dr. Jonathan doesn’t “give a damn” about public issues, is that not what he said when he was asked whether he would declare his assets publicly? When you are in public office, you are a public property. The President they are presenting for a TV debate doesn’t know the difference between stealing and corruption and he goes on defending their ridiculous position at every given opportunity. How can you dignify a fellow who lacks the comportment of public interest with a debate? Dr. Jonathan doesn’t have an understanding of public interest. Neither does he have respect for age and the high office he occupies. If he and his team did, they would not have addressed every critic in the way they did, nor would have Reuben described General Buhari as having ran with his tail in between his legs. The President and his handlers have shown a rare lack of dignity and comportment dealing with people who differ with them. All through his tenure, whenever he is criticized on issues and policy by anyone, the tradition they put in place is to attack the critic with insults. Among these critics are men and women who want to exercise their right to choose as guaranteed by the constitution. The amazing thing about Dr. Jonathan is that he lacks the cultural diligence to call his handlers to order whenever they aggressively go after the honest critic. His handlers seem to know just one thing – the personal interest of Dr. Jonathan, and they too, in line with their boss’s thinking don’t give a damn about public good and public interest. Our position is that we can’t debate personal interest above public interest. We have chosen to stay away from debating Dr. Jonathan because we are not given to insults and abuse. We await their defeat in the coming election on March 28th.
Mallam Garba Shehu is the Director of Media and Publicity of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation.
Royal fathers from the South Western part of Nigeria, gathered at the palace of the Ooni of Ife to pray for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28, 2015 presidential elections
A tweet from Presidential Spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati said Yoruba Obas prayed for President Jonathan at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, March 7. [myad]
All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign has described as felonious, claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign, which call to question General Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to Nigeria even as it dismissed questions raised about the civil war role and commitment to the nation of its Presidential candidate.
In a statement, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign, Garba Shehu, described the PDP as questioning the continued existence of Nigeria as single entity.
“This is nothing short of treason. It rocks the foundation of the oneness of Nigeria, its constitution, its flag and desecrates the blood of fellow citizens, who fought on both sides of the war as part of their commitment to one, united nation.”
He dismissed the PDP’s attack on Buhari’s illustrious war record and inspiring patriotism as “a grim pointer to the desperation by the President to return even if in the process, he causes a permanent damage to the well being and continued existence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Garba Shehu accused the PDP of riding roughshod over the emotions of the Nigerian peoples, saying the latest statement beamed an unflattering light on the PDP and its government and lent credence to those who accused the ruling party of having lost interest in the unity of Nigeria.
He said that the world history had shown that in the process of the development of any nation, challenges bordering on national unity always crop up, saying: “This is the case with most developed nations. Take the United States of America for example, the civil war they fought did not decimate the nation but rather set up the base for unified development. Today, we all know how great the United States is.
“So, as it happened there, we, Nigeria as a nation, equally faced this type of challenge. We had to take actions, difficult as they were, to ensure peace, unity and progress. As a soldier of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Buhari’s participation in efforts to keep the country together was not because he loved the Igbos less but because it was imperative that we develop as a unified nation.
“Today, we are all here because of the sacrifices of our past heroes. Buhari, as a person, believes that these sacrifices should not be in vain; that we should build on our gains as a unified country on the pains of the past.
“Neither as Igbo, Hausa, Efik, Yoruba, Ijaw and Fulani, among other tribes, but as brothers and sisters unified in the vision of a greater future for our children.” [myad]
The last time Nigerians enjoyed something really close to an exciting Presidential debate was during the 1993 Presidential elections. I recall the colourful and memorable encounter between the late Chief MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention. At the end of that debate, it was clear who among the duo was better experienced, much more intellectually capable and more endearing to the electorate in terms of readiness for the job being applied for. That is what a debate, under these circumstances, is: it is a job interview.
The entire country is the panel and whereas actual measurement of impact may be tentative, especially in a developing country where there are challenges of illiteracy and access to mass media, the performance of the candidates ordinarily reshapes the conversation and can significantly influence voters’ choice. Unfortunately, in the lead up to this year’s Presidential elections, it seems certain that voters will be denied this opportunity for comparison, assessment, interaction, not to talk of the excitement and drama.
The man to blame for this denial is General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress. Getting him to debate the incumbent, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has been an uphill task. To say that the man is scared, practically running away from an opportunity to debate his ideas against the incumbent’s, is to be charitable. He doesn’t want it. Every effort to get him to the podium has been rebuffed by him and his handlers.
President Jonathan received, ahead of the INEC rescheduling of the dates for the 2015 elections, two requests for a Presidential debate. The President enthusiastically accepted and looked forward to both debates. But General Buhari was not interested. There is no gainsaying the fact that President Jonathan and General Buhari are the main contenders in this election. Every Nigerian would love to see the two of them debate. That would be good for our democracy.
The first group that approached President Jonathan was represented by John Momoh of Channels TV; Emeka Izeze of The Guardian, and Nduka Obaigbena of ThisDay, Arise TV and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria. They said they were in talks with the APC. They needed us to agree to a debate. We checked our campaign schedule, and since Sundays were left free for review meetings and further consultations, we suggested that a Sunday date would be most convenient for us. That was when the drama began. The would-be organisers soon informed us that General Buhari did not want a debate on a Sunday, because according to him “he does not work on Sundays.”
I thought that was rather odd. President Jonathan works everyday. The job of a President is a round-the-clock, all-year-round engagement. If a Sunday date would be inconvenient, may be a Monday then. Feedback from the Buhari camp: Monday was not okay either. Eventually, the contact persons reported that a Tuesday date had been agreed upon. This coincided with a day when we were supposed to have rallies in two states of the North. Nonetheless, President Jonathan directed that he will keep the date, and that rallies for the day should be fast-tracked. We adjusted our schedule and intensified preparations for the Jonathan encounter with Buhari.
Two days to this debate that would have been, I received non-stop frantic calls from the troika of Momoh, Izeze and Obaigbena. There had been a development, they said. The fresh development was that they had met that same evening with General Buhari and he did not agree anymore to a debate with President Jonathan. Rather, he wanted a town hall meeting, in which he would be the sole participant. Another town hall meeting could be organised the same day for President Jonathan and both could be aired back to back. That was his request and wish. Momoh and Co wanted the President to agree to this.
They’d rather have the two candidates say something on whatever platform than say nothing at all. The President’s response was that a town hall meeting is not the same as a debate. He wanted a face-to-face debate with General Buhari. He also told Messrs Momoh, Izeze and Obaigbena that if he wanted a town hall meeting, he could always ask his Presidential Campaign Organisation to arrange it. And General Buhari was in a position to organise his own town hall meeting as well. Should there be a change of mind and an opportunity for a proper debate, he, Jonathan, would be available at the shortest notice. We haven’t heard from the trio since then.
One of Buhari’s spokesmen later announced that he was pulling out of that particular debate because the organisers had been “compromised” by government and the integrity of the debate platform they were offering was therefore doubtful!Questions: The same media houses that grant APC disproportionate amount of attention, and which they patronise to push their propaganda? And who are the media managers on the APC side questioning the integrity of their old-time comrades, and one-time fellow hunters just so they could be seen to be committed? I leave these posers to the well-known parties involved to sort out among themselves, as they surely will when all of this is over.
The second group that invited us to a debate was the Nigeria Elections Debate Group, anchored by veteran journalist Taiwo Alimi in conjunction with a few media houses. The NEDG has been organising election debates since 1999, and has been so successful that it has been invited to do the same thing in other West African countries. The Buhari camp again rejected this invitation on the grounds that the media houses involved were pro-government and therefore partisan.
But of course, the puerile protestations of Buhari’s handlers are meaningless. A debate is what it is: an intellectual duel requiring skills, knowledge, comportment and the ability to persuade the listener. The medium may even be far less important than the message and the messenger. I have no doubt that Buhari’s handlers have enough sound knowledge of this elementary truth, but they are insecure. Each time they are asked to produce their candidate for a debate, they invent a ridiculous reason.
Obviously, General Buhari seems to be afraid of engaging every other Presidential candidate. He needs to be reminded that a Presidential debate will not require him to work out on a treadmill, or jog the distance, or recite the national pledge, or spell his running mate’s name. President Jonathan was and is ready. With Buhari fleeing the arena with his tails between his legs, there were suggestions that the President could end up debating other candidates from “smaller parties”, but he waved this aside, insisting that every candidate is important. As it then turned out, INEC rescheduled the election dates just the night before and the NEDG group on their own, postponed the debate.
It is worrisome that any Presidential candidate will shy away from a debate out of timidity and fear of inadequacy. And yet a President’s work is one of perpetual debate. He will have to chair meetings, where ideas will be expressed and he must understand what works and may not. He will attend international meetings where he is expected to contribute to discussions, often in the format of a debate. Without that ability to assimilate, process and discuss ideas, nobody should be trusted with even the management of a local council not to talk of the whole of Nigeria. A debate also provides a candidate at this level, an opportunity to communicate his vision of leadership, and to explain to the electorate in his own voice, why he deserves their vote.
General Buhari needs to come out of his comfort zone and undertake this test. He has been campaigning on the issues of security yet his supporters preach hate and violence. He talks about the economy yet he couldn’t at a town hall meeting differentiate between the excess crude account and the foreign reserve. He projects himself as an anti-corruption angel yet he is surrounded by a large crowd of morally conflicted persons; to worsen it all, he doesn’t even know the name of his own running mate. When he grants interviews, his responses are cryptic and elliptic, demonstrating such shallowness that confuses an informed audience.
His deliberate avoidance of a Presidential debate is akin to an act of examination malpractice. It is not good enough for a man who wants to be President of our country. He is short-changing the Nigerian electorate by denying them the opportunity of assessing him properly in an open debate. While a Presidential debate is not a constitutional requirement, it is an established convention that deepens and enriches the democratic process.
President Jonathan is ready to meet him in an open debate, any day, any hour, and at any venue of his choice. We invite General Buhari to take up the challenge.
Abati is President Jonathan’s official spokesman and media adviser. [myad]
Chairman of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya has alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not ready for the 2015 general elections because its plans to massively rig the elections have been disorganized by the introduction of card reader. In a statement today, Dr. Ikanya said that PDP’s lack of readiness is predicated on what he called its desperation to scuttle the polls with one booby trap after another. “The rejection by PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan of the card reader machines which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has successfully tested and intends to use for the March 28 and April 11 general elections did not come to us as a surprise because PDP as a party has not prepared well for the polls. “It had hoped to rig its way to victory as usual and has purchased and hoarded the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) of many Nigerians but has been frustrated by INEC’s ingenuity in introducing the card reader machines, which has disorganised its rigging plot. We can know understand why 14,000 PVCs of the Rivers State electorate have been declared missing by INEC as these are some of the cards stolen by PDP in its bid to rig the elections. “After succeeding to postpone the February 14 presidential election to buy time and seeing that Nigerians are hell-bent to sack his clueless and corruptive administration, Jonathan and his failed party are now preoccupied with their satanic plot to sack INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, and bring in someone who will do their bidding by abandoning the use of card readers so as to create the necessary foundation for them to rig. “Their rejection of the card reader machines after the same machines were approved and the contract for their purchase awarded by the Federal Executive Council under the watch of President Jonathan simply demonstrates that Jonathan and his doomed party are either not ready for this election or are looking for anything they can use as an excuse to abort it once again.” Dr. Ikanya stressed that the last-minute rejection of the card readers shows how jittery Jonathan and PDP have become, as they are aware that PDP can never win any credible election in Nigeria. He challenged Nigerians to rise as one and insist that the card readers must be used for the polls even as he said that it is too late in the game to change the rules. “PDP and President Jonathan have no hiding place anymore. They should be ready to face APC at the polls on March 28 and April 11 or get ready to face the wrath of Nigerians, who cannot afford to bear another four years of suffering and gnashing of teeth under Jonathan and his evil party, the PDP.” [myad]
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed his plans towards empowering Nigerian women which he said will, begin with ensuring that the rights of women as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, are protected under his government. General Buhari who sent a special message to Nigerian women to commemorate the March 8, 2015 International Women’s Day said: “my plan for Nigerian women has been made clear in ‘My Manifesto and Vision for Nigeria.’ “However, I would like to use this special opportunity that the world has set aside to celebrate women, to reiterate my personal commitment to the advancement of Nigerian women in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.” In his ‘My Manifesto and Vision for Nigeria’ document released to the media in December 2014, General Buhari guaranteed that women will be adequately represented in government appointments. He also promised to provide greater opportunities for females in education, job creation, and economic empowerment. “I will recognize and protect women empowerment and gender equality with special emphasis on economic activities in the rural areas,” he said. He added that he would use the party structures to promote the concept of reserving a minimum number of seats in the States and National Assembly, for women. “Women all over the world are playing an ever increasing role in moving their nations forward,” General Buhari said, “both in and outside government.” “In keeping with the times, my government will ensure that Nigerian women are given the opportunity to rise and play an even more prominent role in moving out great nation forward,” he said. [myad]
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Nigeria has qualified for the 2015 African Beach Soccer Championship finals after Libya announced its withdrawal from the qualifying competition.
Why Corruption Looms Over This Month’s Elections, By Jonathan Miller
Two huge issues loom large over Nigeria’s hard-fought presidential election this month: Boko Haram and corruption. Of the two, the breathtaking scale of official corruption is blighting the lives of more Nigerians than even the deadly insurgency.