“I would advise this Ben, who I am told is the Deputy High Commissioner of the UK to Nigeria, to keep his dirty nose out of our (Nigeria’s) internal affairs.
“I know that his preferred candidate did not win the presidential election but that does not mean he should cross the line and take liberties with us here. I wonder who the hell he thinks he is?”
These were the words of the Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Fani-Kayode, while reacting to comment by the British deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones.
Llewellyn-Jones had on Sunday, in an interview with Nigeria Info FM expressed worries over the possible repercussions of derogatory comments being made by Fani-Kayode against opposition parties.
In a tweet on his official handle reacting to the Envoy, Fani Kayode, a former Nigerian Aviation minister, drew his attention to the fact that Nigeria is no longer their colony.
A socio-cultural organisation of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Afenifere, has drew attention to a statement by the Chairman of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Council of Elders, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, describing Yoruba as “political rascal,” with a warning that it would not take it any more
In a statement yesterday, March 26 by its National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, Afenifere said: “we hereby call on Ohaneze to warn the Chief not to insult the Yoruba. We are a proud nation. We are a hospitable race. All these should not be interpreted to mean weakness. In fact, it is a sign of being civilized. Enough of the provocation.”
The statement said: “We have since reviewed the video recording of the event and our leadership will be reaching out to the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to seek clarification on why Chief Iwuanyanwu made the comment and whether his view is a reflection of what Ohanaeze Ndigbo indeed think of the Yorubas.”
It said that in line with the race’s ethos of good upbringing, it urged Yorubas, “and indeed all Nigerians, to remain calm and continue to show love to their Igbo compatriots and members of other ethnic nationalities.”
It noted that the Yorubas have a long history of association and partnership with Igbo counterparts and that “diversity is one of Nigeria’s strengths in the comity of nations and we should not allow politics, religion, ethnicity or anything else to divide us.”
“We urge all Yorubas to continue to relate well with all other ethnic groups in Nigeria and abroad. Our common humanity is more important than the divisive antics or careless remarks of any individual or group. The Yorubas are known worldwide as promoters of peace, unity, and orderliness. We should hold on strongly to those virtues in the interest of peace, progress, and prosperity in Nigeria and the world.”
In a short video clip that has since gone viral, Chief Iwuanyanwu, while speaking in Awka, Anambra State capital, at a forum to mark the first anniversary of the administration of the state governor, Charles Soludo, had angrily reacted to the reported clashes between Yorubas and Igbos in Lagos during the 18 March governorship election in the state.
The elder statesman had condemned the reported violence and informed the gathering of the efforts made by Igbo’s apex organisation to address it, even as he warned the Yorubas against further provocation.
As a statesman, Chief Iwuanyanwu was handed the microphone on Saturday for a remark, and he commended the governor for his work in the state.
He said the Council of Elders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo appreciates and supports him, “and we are very proud of you.”
However, after applauding the governor, the businessman turned politician delved into the reported tension between Igbos and Yorubas in Lagos, and assured the people of continued protection by the apex Igbo body.
For the avoidance of misinterpretation, the transcript of the short speech is reproduced below:
He said: “Now, I saw the various associations coming here from Lagos. I want to let our people in Lagos to know that on Wednesday, I called a meeting of the Ohanaeze Council of Elders Worldwide and we x-rayed the events in Lagos, and I want to tell you that people attended from America, Canada, Europe, and Nigeria. So I want those who are from Lagos to go home and tell those in Lagos that we have resolved that never again can we allow anybody to take the life of any innocent Igbo person. All of us are going to fight the person. We are going to fight the person. Never again!
“We are in Nigeria and we have invested in Nigeria, and our investments are so much. We are not going to take it when people tell us to go; we are not going anywhere. And I want to tell those who are in Lagos to realise that there is no war between us and Yorubas. Yorubas are just political rascals, and we are going to handle them.
“The elders have directed the Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Emuche… to set up a commission of inquiry, to find out things destroyed, people are going to pay.
“Meanwhile, I thank you for this opportunity, I’m very grateful and I want you to give Soludo support so that he will continue to concentrate on his job and do well. Thank you very much.”
Oftentimes, intrigues exist in political matrixes. Concepts such as political mass participation, collective demands, group identity and determination, and collateral damages could all mean different things to different people. It only depends on which side of the divide the definer pitches his or her tent. This unrestricted latitude and privilege to operationalize concepts and political ideas (especially in Nigeria) with _‘sidon look’_ response from the masses breeds complacency on the part of the political gladiators. The salient issue, however, is that a little divergence from the standard definition or central course gnaws on both the integrity and legitimacy of the political institution.
Complacency comes in a surreptitiously slow-but-seamless manner. It doesn’t make noise even as it rubs in on people with definitive exactitude. Political activists become complacent when they are no longer thinking with the people, when they think they know it all, and when they are eventually disconnected from the people. A discernible disconnect between the people and the political party is always in a spiral form, thereby making it problematic to actually curb, or control. The central rule is: never take the people for granted! Political party is about the people, and for the people; not the people for the political party! To this end, the leadership of any party must stop thinking for the people, but with the people. These are the issues!
Once upon a time in Nigeria’s chequered history, the _National Party of Nigeria (_ NPN) was indeed a national party. During the 2nd Republic, NPN was the party to beat while other political parties appeared like Lilliputians. As time went by, Nigerians began to see it as a party of the elite, the powerful and the rich. So, the mass of the people, who obviously constituted the majority, started leaving the _‘One Nation, One Destiny’_ arrangement because, to them, they had nothing to show for being committed members of the party. After all, if you’re a politician of the NPN hue, you must be rich; otherwise, you’re just being used as cannon fodder. The perception went through the masses and it was well-received. Since politics is a game of numbers, the mass of the people left NPN – unknown to the party – for other political parties that showed some empathy towards the masses and the downtrodden.
Whereas Obafemi Awolowo’s _Unity Party of Nigeria_ (UPN) was determined to give the people, especially, the children of the poor ‘Free Education’, NPN started talking about ‘qualitative education’, which meaning was lost to the deaf ears of the masses. As far as they were concerned, what’s the meaning of ‘Qualitative Education’ when somebody else was ready to offer ‘Free Education’? In their opinion, that’s one sure way of deviating from the central theme of a political party. Thenceforth, complacency tampered with the destiny of NPN and its life never remained the same again! Sad therefore that the once-national party insisted on losing its vital contents! Ultimately, disintegration became its lot even before the military struck on December 31, 1983 and cleared whatever remained of NPN as a political party.
There was also a time when the _Peoples’ Democratic Party_ (PDP) boasted that it would be in power for the next fifty years. As fate would have it, Nigerians are now witnesses to what have become of its fortunes as a result of complacency, particularly, on the part of its leaders. Take, for instance, time it was in Nigeria when every nook and cranny of the country was overstuffed with the _‘Umbrella’_ men: strong in structure and texture, and powerful in shape and size! It was such a rich, national party that it was at a time assumed to be the biggest party in Africa. To its handlers, power was a personal property that could last forever even as they had forgotten that ‘disservice power is like power thrown away.’ For the once-thriving party, the rest is history! _Labour Party_ (LP) came recently, allegedly, from nowhere, only to help put a ‘dying-slowly’ lid on the hope of the hitherto formidable party!
When PDP came, the general thinking was that the party would have learnt a lesson or two from its forebears because, in terms of structure and configuration, PDP and NPN were Siamese twins from the same father, the _Northern People’s Congress_ (NPC) of old; but, unfortunately, they went the same way! Now, and in our very eyes, PDP is disintegrating! Since the focus of its leadership is no longer the people but what each leader and/or handler can covet and convert to personal advantages, is it any wonder that members of the same political family are now fighting over positions? Aren’t they fighting over, even monetising privileges and personalise perks of office?
By the way, while the loss of the National Assembly seats by the _All Progressives Congress_ (APC) to the PDP in the just-concluded Osun State House of Assembly election was an expression of what had long happened and crystallized, the ‘25-1’, winner-takes-all choristers might have forgotten that the Ademola Adeleke swing wasn’t the first in the state’s rich political history. With the benefit of hindsight, Osun has once experienced the Olagunsoye Oyinlola ‘25-1’ swing (in 2003) and Rauf Aregbesola’s ‘26-0’ has also happened to the state (in 2011). Yet, the heavens did not fall! Anyway, this is a story for another day!
Complacency helps in pushing people away. On the other hand, it represents a gateway for renewal because it also causes the people to think. Complacency shrinks the horizon of political parties and spells their doom. When a system becomes unsystematic, aberration steps in and discipline is the first casualty as control becomes problematic. Besides, immediately an institution deviates from serving the purpose for which it was created, its social influence and functional relevance are bound to wane with time! Added to these is that power is functional; but, once it starts malfunctioning, its legitimacy is withdrawn. Needless to repeat that it is the reason men of unproven character who have taken over the control of political parties in Nigeria remain liabilities even as they portend ruination to our political system.
To sum up, there is a way leaders in the political space conveniently forget that performance and competence are key players in party sustainability and that no amount of political inducement or violence can help obliterate a cumulative history of non-performance. The principal reason for voting any government into power is to help bring the people up out of the valley of despair where the future is uncertain to the Next Level of development rooted in equality and the international character of mainstream socialism. Were Nigerians gainfully employed, the pressure wouldn’t have been that much on the politicians, and politicians would not have been taking the electorate for a ride! However, since the preys are seen as bootlickers even as the predators are tragically insensitive, one doubts if pressure can stop from being exerted on the politicians.
Above and beyond, since the politicians have always mistaken the masses for political irritants, it is doubtful if they (the politicians) will stop insulting the electorate’s collective intelligence with brazen ignominy. So, until there is a watershed in the life of each party, the way forward will always remain bleak! Normally, the credible way forward is total overhaul! Thankfully again, the introduction of the _Bimodal Voter Accreditation System_ (BIVAS) into Nigeria’s election process has now shown that her future is neither gloomy nor doomed.
May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!
•Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 08098614418 – SMS only)_
One of the factors that determined the just concluded elections in Nigeria is religion. Oh, agreed, in our politics, religion has always been a factor in determining winners and losers. But never before was it flagrantly flaunted and made to be the driving force than in 2023.
Unfortunately, shepherds led their flocks by the nose, feasting on their ignorance of their faith. What happened buttressed the fact that where there is ignorance, charlatans make hay or, more succinctly put, the one-eyed leads in the country of the blind.
The constitutional democracy we are practising is neither Islamic nor Christian. No doubt, like many other things in life that are secular, certain fundamentals of religion guide it because humans know intuitively that certain things are right or wrong, but that’s that. And this is why the prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace be upon him), who revealed that humans are born with the knowledge of God but circumstances make us what we are after, told us to listen to our hearts (conscience) even when a preacher does his preaching – or something akin to that, and this is what Sir William Blackstone called “Natural Law.
Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician most noted for writing the Commentaries on the Laws of England.
This is how he defined natural law: “Thus when the Supreme Being formed the universe and created matter out of nothing, He impressed certain principles upon that matter, from which it can never depart, and without which it would cease to be… so that when He created man and endowed him with freewill to conduct himself in all parts of life, He laid down certain immutable laws of human nature, whereby that freewill is in some degree regulated and restrained, and gave him also the faculty of reason to discover the purport of those laws. These are the eternal and immutable laws of good and evil, to which the Creator Himself in all his Dispensations conforms; and which He has enabled human reason to discover, so far as they are necessary for the conduct of human actions… that we should live honestly, should hurt nobody, and should render to everyone his due.” (Christian History of the Constitution, 1960, p. 142)
He further said: “This Law of Nature, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God Himself, is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid to derive all their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.”
He went on to define Revealed Law as the law given to us by God in Scripture. He then clarified that all man-made laws must be in the right relationship with the previous two laws (Natural, Revealed). Scripture supports the order of the way God gave the law to humans, first natural, then revealed, then governmental.
Both Islam and Christianity believe humans, as a creation of God, have a right to life and to possess property. Humans have the right to self-defence to protect their rights to life and ownership of property, and it is considered jihad in Islam to do so.
And this is what, for example, Lockean (John Locke) Enlightenment philosophers call Natural Law. A good example is the killing of Abel by Cain. Was there a recorded religious law before the act that frowned on murder? Natural Law philosophers would tell you that Cain’s crime was depriving Abel of a natural right – the right to life.
And so, these are the bases of all religions and all governments, especially ours, formulated by man for man. They are based on our intrinsic understanding of what is good or bad, which syncs with the word of God but is not fundamentally based on it. This is why it is called secular, that is, not overtly or specifically religious. The word secular is derived from the old French seculer, from Latin saecularis, from saeculum ‘generation, age’, used in Christian Latin to mean ‘the world’.
And so this is why all types of religious adherents, including atheists, can contest together and against one another. Had the government been religious, there would never have been any argument. No Muslim is fit to contest for anything in a Christian government, just as no Christian would be eligible to contest with Muslims in an Islamic government.
Elsewhere, I observed that there is nothing religious about any of the tickets or candidates. To begin with, any position that is Islamic will not be contested for by a Christian and vice versa. And this is why no Muslim president will begin minuting on a file with the name of Allah or a Christian in the name of Jesus. Each one of them will preside over Nigeria according to the dictates of the manmade constitution. Nothing more, nothing less.
The two leading Muslim contenders have all identified with Christians. For instance, Atiku Abubakar has praised the agenda for national development brought to him by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) while Tinubu has tried to assuage their fears over the Muslim-Muslim ticket by telling the Christians that his wife is a pastor and some of his children are Christians. His running mate, Kashim Shettima, had earlier told Muslims that their interests were to be taken care of by the Sultan of Sokoto while saying he had rebuilt thousands of churches as well as taken thousands of Christians to Jerusalem.
For these reasons, we should not allow ourselves to love or fight any of them based on their ethnicity or religion because none of these defines any of them. And this is why those being presented as the representatives of the competing religions neither know the religion nor practise it in its undiluted form.
And so, our government is not what the Imams, Bishops, or the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) want us to believe. They speak based on their interests and dance to the drumbeats of those who fill their pockets. It is only the Muslim/Christian who is ignorant (a jahil) of Islam/Christianity that will believe they are fighting Allah’s/Jesus’ cause based on the brouhaha we just witnessed.
Another contentious issue we witnessed was when some people designated Lagos as a “No-man’s-land”. They, therefore, swore to take it and make it theirs. Surely, that’s what happens when you appropriate what has no owner; you become the new owner. But is Lagos a “No-man’s-land” or does it have an “owner”?
Hassan Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.
‘When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.’
To say things are tough in Nigeria will be an understatement, with fuel scarcity, naira redesign crisis, bad roads, poor power supply, joblessness among others things that make life miserable for citizens.
When COVID-19 hit the world in 2019, there was nothing like it in recent history as people were locked in their homes with little or no food, while government palliative measures in Nigeria to send food to homes failed. It was later discovered that some people hoarded food, waiting for the right time to sell and profit from the mysteries of fellow citizens.
Now fast forward to 2023. It was a bigger crisis created by the central bank in an attempt to redesign currencies and withdraw the old ones just few weeks to a national election that will produce new set of leaders that will serve for another four years.
As if the central bank got its research wrong that the volume of new currencies to replace the old ones being recalled would not adequately go round, the cash shortage crisis that resulted brought the entire economy to its knees, with small businesses closing down, hunger hitting homes while protests erupted across the country as banks closed down with no cash to disburse and the fear of being attacked.
Not a few people believe that the naira redesign crisis is worse than COVID-19 with the perennial fuel scarcity and power outages no longer seen as major contenders for the afflictions of the African most populous country.
From the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook for October 2022, Nigeria economy didn’t grow and perform as expected due to structural economic shocks and challenges brought about by the global fall in oil prices, which was a fall-out of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Nigeria’s economic potential is said to be constrained by many structural issues, including inadequate infrastructure, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, obstacles to investment, lack of confidence in currency valuation, and limited foreign exchange capacity.
Other similar reports had traced Nigeria’s biggest economic problems to corruption, poor human development, over-dependence on crude oil, crime and terrorism, low export earnings, high rate of unemployment, lack of infrastructure among others.
With high inflation which hit 21.91% in February 2023, taking a toll on household’s welfare and high prices said to have pushed an additional 8 million Nigerians into poverty, the country is ranked 103 out of 121 countries in the 2022 Global Hunger Index (GHI), a position that signifies a level of hunger that is serious.
World Bank in its 2022 Poverty and Prosperity Report said Nigeria contributed three million people to global extreme poverty, while the country is “home to a large share of the global extreme poor.”
This is the economy that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is going to inherit with unemployment rate of 32.1%, public debt at 36.6% of GDP together with a population of over 200 million, majority of who will try everything possible to escape to other countries where they believe that things can never be this bad.
PRODUCTIVITY
Nigeria’s national productivity growth rate has been low due to what observers linked to infrastructure deficit, unemployment and youth challenges, constant strike actions, brain drain, corruption, insecurity, poor workers’ attitude to work. Up to 80 percent of workers are said to be employed in sectors with low levels of productivity—agriculture and non-tradable services, which means that the kind of jobs needed to generate income growth and lift many Nigerians out of poverty are not available in large numbers.
A major problem facing the economy is the neglect of the manufacturing sector, with the country not producing enough, for both local consumption and export, with statistic showing that non-oil exports as a share of non-oil GDP averaged 1.3 percent while manufactured goods as a share of total exports remained low at 5.2 percent in 2021.
The Tinubu administration will be expected to develop an economic agenda with a practical strategy on how to structurally transform the economy, moving labor and economic resources from low productivity sectors to high productivity sectors.
To implement policies that will deliver an inclusive and competitive economy, first, it may have to rattle feathers in getting professionals to head all the strategic government agencies which are currently headed by mediocrities. It will definitely create bad blood among those that have seen such jobs as their birthrights, but the assurance of a greater opportunity in an expanded economy that will profit all should assuage any aggrieved interest with entitlement mindset. If the economy is productive and people are earning healthy wages in the private sector, the rush for government jobs and appointments will definitely drop. But under no disguise must any of the strategic government agencies be manned by unqualified persons again.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that unemployment and underemployment rates increased to an all-time high of 56.1 percent in 2020, pushing 133 million Nigerians into multidimensional poverty with economic growth not inclusive as it faced key challenges of lower productivity, weak expansion of sectors with high employment elasticity.
Getting the youths to work must be an immediate task for the new government and will be driven by fixing productivity through combinations of policies that cut across some strategic sectors of the economy. With a population of over 200 million, it’s obvious that a weak manufacturing base can only yield foreign exchange shortages, limited number of jobs created to accommodate workforce entrants, and an import bill that can hardly be met by export earnings.
Starting with national registrations of all unemployed youths across the country through dedicated local government centers, the policies that will get them engaged should explore opportunities in strategic sectors such as blue economy, energy , digital economy, mining, sport, agriculture and tourism, and get them to seamlessly access the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund approved by the outgoing government to support entrepreneurship for the over 68 million Nigerian youths between ages 18 and 35. This will instantly have impact on getting the youth to start doing business. The new entrepreneurs will need trainings, mentorship to grow and this can be provided by the well established ones including the multinationals which must be mandated to deliberately accommodate them for an agreed period, even if it will be at the expense of subsidy and tax incentives from government.
Many startups that need to be encouraged by the coming government are currently springing up in Nigeria, developing technology to fix identified problems in payment systems, insurance, agribusiness, e-commerce among others. The beauty of their emergence is that their concepts are globally acceptable, making them eligible to expand to other countries while attracting foreign exchange and creating new jobs.
Very laudable is the latest $600 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) Programme with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Agence Française de Développement and FG through the Bank of Industry to support young Nigerians ranging from ages 15-35 who are entrepreneurs at the early stages in creative, innovative and technology-enabled ventures.
I attended a forum sometime when an expert said that if the government can provide a grant of just $100,000 each for 100 youths, they will be capable of solving the nation’s economic problems in the medium and long term.
The incoming government should explore similar initiatives to raise funds to encourage more startups that will be building solutions to solve identified problems that are still numerous in Nigeria because it’s still an underdeveloped economy.
Even though oil and gas is going out of fashion globally with migration to clean energy, Nigeria will still need all it can get in the short and medium term from oil to industrialise its economy.
The President-elect will need the right professionals to run the oil industry. Specifically, there will be a need for a total overhaul of the system. The new NNPC Limited should be made to advertise the positions of its CEO and other top directors to attract the right professionals from all over the world. If a small Nigerian independent energy firm, Seplat Energy Plc with assets which cannot be up to 1% of NNPC can be so profitable to the extent of declaring $951.8 million revenues for 2022, there is no reason why the national oil company which has always been declaring losses should not be making over $100 billion in a year.
It is also very important that the government must do everything possible to provide incentives and attract investors for the realization of the Trans Atlantic gas project that will take Nigerian gas through North Africa to market in Europe.
There will also be a need to remove fuel subsidy at the early stage of the administration as the commodity is no more available at the subsidized price, couple with the associated scarcity, but government must deliberately develop a scheme to subsidise transportation cost for the indigent people that will be mostly hit by economic hardship. A specialized e-card can be issued for them to access subsidized transportation services for a period of time.
While ensuring effective management of the oil and gas assets for the nation to receive commensurate returns, the oil industry must be made to adopt the right energy transition strategy so that the nation will not miss the opportunity to be a leader in clean energy without becoming the dumping ground for foreign technologies in the long term.
In extension, the mining sector must receive the necessary attention for it to live up to its potential. Law must be reviewed to end illegal mining which has been the bane of the sector.
It was not until the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia that it dawned on many that the country of only 43.79 million is the leading food basket of the world. It accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market. With more than 50% of world trade, it is also the main player on the sunflower oil market.
Nigeria with a total of 79 million hectares of agricultural land and only 44% being cultivated should naturally be the food basket of Africa. But not only that it’s failing to fulfill this purpose, it’s contending with an annual food import of $20 billion.
There are some exportable agricultural products that keep on having growing global demands which Nigeria has the right climate to produce to quickly bridge its foreign exchange gap in few years.
A list of items with high global demand that Nigeria can exponentially raise its cultivation and export includes; ginger, cocoa butter, rubber, palm kernel oil, textiles and garments, gallstone, sesame seed, garlic, yam tubers, charcoal, cotton, cassava floor, cashew nuts, honey among other.
With over $40 billion earnings from crude oil but mere $10 billion from non-crude in 2021, it’s interesting to note that Nigeria can be positioned to capture a major slice the global sesame oil market which is anticipated to expand to $ 10.7 billion over the 2021-2031 period; cassava starch is projected to reach $66.84 billion by 2026; cashew is estimated to reach $10.5 billion by 2031; ginger is projected to reach $7.53 billion by 2028.
The Tinubu government can return to agriculture and make it the number one foreign exchange earner for the country by attracting investments and partnering the state governments based on the agricultural products they are the best at. The farm settlements that the government will promote should be mechanized, modernized with all amenities in the cities such as sporting and recreation centers with cable TV among others to attract youths and help solve unemployment problem.
*Segun Adeleye is the President/CEO, World Stage Limited.
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election, Atiku Abubakar has made it clear that he is challenging the process leading to the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President-elect in the interest of Nigerians and democracy.
“The decision to challenge the sham election of February 25, the worst election in our democratic history, is not predicated on my personal interest but for the interest of Nigeria and its people. “It is aimed at deepening democracy and ensuring that we do not confer legitimacy to an outcome of illegitimacy.”
In a statement today, March 25, debunking story making the rounds that he given legitimacy to the presidential election of February 25, Atiku said that the so-called press release did not emanate from him or his office, “and it should be treated with repudiation, untrue, and deliberately contrived by those who illegally appropriated the mandate of the Nigerian people.
He stressed that his lawyers still have his unflinching mandate to challenge the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.
“I join other lovers of democracy in Nigeria and friends of our great country in the outright rejection of the predetermined outcome of the February 25 election.
“I shall continue to challenge the legality of that election, alongside my party, the Peoples Democratic Party.”
Atiku, in the statement he personally signed, said that his commitment to the democratic struggle in Nigeria is beyond an election season.
The Department of State Service (DSS), has warned those it described as “desperate politicians” planning to cause violence in the country to desist forthwith in their own best interest.
The Service made it clear that such politicians and their footsoldiers will regret such action if they defy the warning.
In a statement today, March 25, the DSS spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya said that information available to the Service showed that desperate political leaders are planning to violently disrupt peace in the country.
“The Service hereby warns those desperate to cause a breakdown of law and order to desist from that.”
He stressed that the Service will not tolerate a situation where persons and/or groups take laws into their hands and champion anarchy.
“Those peddling fake news, hate speech and all forms of false narratives as basis to ignite violence or pit the people against the present or incoming administrations, at the Federal, State and Parliamentary levels, should stop forthwith.
“Those inciting violence have nothing to gain as doing so will not only consume them but also the innocent.
“It is otherwise disturbing to see respected personalities use their platforms to mislead or incite citizens.
This, to say the least, does not augur well for peaceful coexistence and general order.
“Therefore, the Service will continue to take necessary measures to checkmate these elements who do not wish the country well.
“This is to ensure that the conducive environment is provided for citizens and residents to pursue their legitimate businesses.
“A stitch in time, they say, saves nine. Let all be guided.”
Dr. Afunanya recalled that the Service had earlier advised political players to abide by the rules of engagement as well as approach the courts for redress, if and where there are suspicions of infractions on extant electoral laws.
“It is evident that some aggrieved politicians are already taking advantage of this legal process.
“This, without doubt, is the beauty of democracy. It is strongly believed that this approach enhances peace and security. All and sundry should cherish it.”
Spokesman of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President-elect, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has reminded the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, that of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi and others who are busy causing trouble in the country because of their electoral loss in the February 25 election that violence is not their exclusive preserve. He stressed that the best option they should resort to is to tow the line of peace for the progress of the country, and take their cases to appropriate legal authorities in the land. “Their continuous determination to dare us should cease forthwith. “We are not lacking in capabilities and capacities. Our silence should not be taken for cowardice. “We should come together for the peace of our beloved country. It is better.” In a statement today, March 25, Keyamo, who is currently the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, strongly warned Atiku and Peter Obi against taking to the streets while also pursuing their cases in court. “However, if their intention is to truncate the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice-President-elect, they should immediately bury the thought.” He said that those who have taken to the streets protesting against Tinubu’s mandate were fixated on having an Interim National Government but that they must be daydreaming. Part of the statement reads: “We have watched with great concern the condemnable activities of some persons and groups who are desirous of truncating our democracy. “For reasons best known to them, these persons have remained embittered that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner of the 2023 General Elections. Repeatedly, but unfortunately, these misguided individuals have called for either the cancellation of the results or that the President-elect should not be inaugurated on the 29th of May, 2023. “We wish to reiterate and emphasise that these positions are not in tandem with our constitutional provisions or our electoral laws. We would have taken these as mere wishful thinking, however, because of their implications for national security and public order, we have therefore considered it necessary, if not expedient, to call them to order. “We are aware of the intentions of those engaged in these treasonable and subversive acts. We also know those involved in the many plots being contrived to undermine the transition in particular and democracy in general. They are fixated on an Interim Government. They have done it in this country before and it threw the country into avoidable crises for many years and they want to do it again. They are bent on delegitimizing the new government. Some have made treasonable insinuations and openly called for military take-over. It is for these reasons that they are desperate to incite the people against the incoming Government. “It is perplexing to see that those contesting the results want to be in the courts and on the streets at the same time. However, if their intention is to truncate the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice-President-elect, they should immediately bury the thought. It is gratifying to note that the President has set in motion steps for the actualisation of the swearing-in ceremonies. In this regard, the Presidential Transition Council has remained focused and committed to its Terms of Reference in respect of organizing a hitch-free handover.” Festus Keyamo said that on many occasions after the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the election, his public speeches and utterances had centred on reconciliation, forgiveness and a greater vision for Nigeria. He that that the President-elect knew those who were sponsoring violent protests against his mandate as well as their sponsors from within and outside Nigeria and “shall be working closely with the security agencies to apprehend them and bring them to book. “He has pledged fairness as the basis for his present and future engagements. He has unequivocally stated that he would not accord favour to those that supported him, and neither would he mistreat those who did not vote for him. This is statesmanly and patriotic. We all watched the President-elect as Governor of Lagos for eight years. He never undermined any person or tribe. He championed people-oriented policies. It is common knowledge that he is a welfarist and a pacifist. This is even more so that millions of citizens have spoken through the ballot box in his favour. “By being declared winners, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima are legally entitled to be inaugurated into office as provided for by law and as we have practised since 1999, whilst those who feel otherwise have the right to seek legal redress in court. Why should their situation be different from what we have practised since 1999? “Those who are dissatisfied with the declaration must conduct themselves within the ambits of the law. Nigeria is not a lawless country and should not be portrayed as such no matter the frustrations as presently being exhibited by some bad losers. “Those who are stoking the embers of hate, division and falsehoods as well as peddling misleading narratives through some compromised media outlets should detract from such. It amounts to campaigning after elections. “Hate speeches, fake news and propaganda at a time like this are needless because Nigerians have already made their choice. “Those who are bent on scuttling the process will ignite the fire of destruction and run away. But they should not even start. “We simply wish that peace reigns in the country. It does not make sense that some persons who should know better are encouraging violence and are so determined to achieve that. “We know these persons and their sponsors from within and outside Nigeria and we shall be working closely with the security agencies to apprehend them and bring them to book. Our concern is that everyday Nigerians who are unaware of the evil intentions of these persons should not be used as cannon fodders. Enough is enough.”
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity for nearly eight years, Garba Shehu, shared his key experiences in government with our Abuja Bureau Chief, LEON USIGBE. Read on:
How would you describe your experience in your almost eight years in office as a spokesperson to the President? Okay, let me start by saying that you know how we came here, I had worked, up to the 2015 primary, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. I led his media campaign, and we lost the primary. And you know, upon his emergence as candidate, the then, General Muhammadu Buhari, welcomed all of those that he defeated, and they in turn donated all their assets, campaign assets, including media to him. So, in effect, then we were all donated to candidate Muhammadu Buhari to work for his success in the 2015 election. So, candidate Muhammadu Buhari had the grace to pick me and make me his director of the media campaign. And we ran a good campaign, we won. And in 2015, he appointed me as one of his media aides along with Femi (Adesina) , my colleague. So, it’s been nearly eight years now, it’s been quite an interesting journey and a journey of discovery because we have come to know at close range now and to understand the essential Muhammadu Buhari and to then appreciate so much about him. In the first instance, if you’re into marketing, communication, you have products to sell. At all times, your job is made a lot easier by the success, by the efficacy of that product. If it is a good product, there’s less trouble, you have to try to market because testimonials will come. And for us in the media, you probably will be able to sleep longer nights. You’re not likely to be woken from sleep every hour by journalists from across the globe because Nigeria is a global brand, of global interest, having to ask you about this or that. And in doing this job, perhaps the most troublesome questions would be having to deal with the scandals. So, if you’re dealing with a boss who is above scandal, I think half of your job is done. And you’re also having a leader who reposes confidence in people he puts in positions. He doesn’t meddle. If President Buhari chooses to do a job, he gives you 100% space to do it. We’ve had testimonials from key ministers, whether it’s finance, works or whatever, that, never for a day, the President had never called to say, ‘issue this contract or that contract or take away from this one and give to that person.’ And it is the same with us in the media space. You go to him with what you think should be said in the given situation and 98-99% of the time, he will tell you, ‘It’s your job, you know it. Go and do it the way you think it should be professionally done.’ So, it gives you that latitude of freedom to also discover yourself, to exercise yourself and do what you think is a good job. We make mistakes. It’s not as if we don’t. But again, the thing about him is that there is never a public rebuke by him before everyone, to call you and say, ‘Look, why did you say this. Why didn’t you say that?’ Maybe on a one on one. And then, you also have been dealing with a president who has a large appetite for news. It amazes me that for the most part, this is the quality of the president that a lot of Nigerians have not discovered up to this time now that we’re even getting out. When we started, we were doing morning briefings for him, go to him and say, ‘Well, this is what the television networks are saying this morning. This is what the newspapers are reading this morning.’ I tell you for the most part, you will find that he has read far more than you have read yourself. He reads paper from cover to cover. And so therefore, you realize by 10 o’clock when you ask to brief him, you’re bringing nothing new to him. I’ve always said this about Nigerians that if they know how President Buhari does these things, they’d realize that the quickest way to get his attention on any given issue, whether it’s a flood situation or disaster or some trouble that is brewing somewhere, put it in the newspaper. He will read it before maybe, you know, says Niger Delta, the minister, director in the field does a memo to ministry headquarters, ministry headquarters forwards a letter to President through Office of Chief of Staff and all of that, the President reads the press, and he watches TV. That’s why he’s always on top of the situation and well ahead of you for the most part. So, this is it. What else is there to say? It’s a good ride, it’s been a good ride and we’re grateful to him. Because when you look back at all of those who were here before us, the longest time media advisers in this position stayed was two years, three years. They were either sacked, or they resigned, went under or they died. Here we are, eight years on and about to leave at the same time with the President. So, it’s been quite an exciting opportunity and we don’t take it for granted. Now, some people see your role as maybe the specialist in public affairs as far as issues concerning the President are concerned. They tend to see you as the spin doctor in the President’s media team. Do you see yourself as a spin doctor for President Muhammadu Buhari in your time as his spokesman? I think that spin doctoring has a negative connotation. I’ve read the book of the one they call the spin doctor to Prime Minister Tony Blair – Allistair Campbell. He came from the BBC, and he was asked this question once and they said whether he would define the truth. He wrote a book, which I read. I think they call it Spin Control or something like that. He said that when he was with the BBC, the facts were manifested by the truth. When he worked for the Prime Minister, the truth was manifested by the Prime Minister. So, I’m trying to say that really, spin doctoring is something akin to telling lies. I don’t want to own up to that. But in this work, I and Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the President, have come a long way, even before we were in this office, we had been friends, we had met, even at family levels, we had interacted. So, from day one, we made it clear to one another that this job will not divide us, it will not destroy that relationship we built over a long time. So, my own attitude to it, then, had been, because by the pecking order, the Special Adviser to the President is above the Senior Special Assistant. So, I yield the forecourt to him, I yield the foreground to him. And whatever he decides that he wants to do, I don’t stand in the way. Whatever he leaves undone, or whatever the President or Presidency asks me to do, then I will do. So, in this way, we have avoided conflict completely. I remember when we started, we were about to start, (ex-Ekiti) Governor (Kayode) Fayemi called the two of us to his suite in Hilton and was concerned that there’ll be fighting between the two of us in doing the job. I said no, we won’t fight. We’re friends, we have come a long way. And today, here we are. That’s the way it is. Now, let me say between the two of you, the public perception is that you are more controversial. A lot of people took exception to what you say, maybe your characterization of political opponents. Do you think you were fair to Buhari’s political opponents in what you put out in public space? Well, let me say that maybe what marks my work assignment slightly different from that of Femi is that Femi came here straight from the newsroom. And for me, I had left the newsroom for a while, and I had jockeyed with the politicians for some time before I found myself here. Yes, I had imbibed a bit of nuances in politics. And so therefore, yes, I think it is not wrong to think that I think politically some of the time. But this is the game. President Buhari as far as the media is concerned, if you like, you can call him a distant person. He stays away from the dogfights. Maybe because he had his own history, you know, that relationship abuse, his own personal relationship with the media coming from the days of Decree 4 and all of that. And so therefore, he keeps his place. And he sees the media as our own turf – ‘you guys, it’s your space, handle it.’ And I respect him for that. The opposition has been mostly unkind to him, and they have attacked him and attacked him on matters that he ought not to be treated in that kind of way. Those of us around him have the duty to stand up for him to say that these are the facts. So, in doing this, obviously, you’re walking on eggs, some eggs will break. But on the overall, my view is that we’ve been very fair in the way we handled the opposition, drawing from the spirit of the President himself who strongly believes as a convert, democratic convert, that people should have the right to say what they want so long as they’re not in breach of the law. Thank God, also, from the training we have brought to the job, where we’re coming from, from the media, you as a journalist, every one of us criticize people every day in our lives. We bring information to the public space, that can build people, that can destroy people, in the belief that it’s professionally right to do so. If we find ourselves in a place like this, where we are the objects of criticism, subject of criticism, how can we say that others have no right to criticize or attack us? So, we’re not aggressive. We’re not fighters. We’ve chosen to live with it. And I think, at the end of it, history will be written. We have never said DSS, police go and arrest Dr Leon Usigbe of Tribune. You know that you have written in a manner that is so aggressive some of the time. But we allow it to go. That’s fair enough. In 2019, when Atiku Abubakar became the presidential candidate of the PDP, of course, he became the major opponent of your principal, the President. I was just wondering; did you not find it awkward that you were pitted against your long-term principal, Atiku Abubakar? Didn’t you find it awkward that you were now in the middle of your former principal and your present principal? How did you deal with that situation? No, it wasn’t, it wasn’t uncomfortable for me at all. And I will tell you two things. One is that it is not possible for a man to serve two bosses at the same time, if there is sincerity, especially when they are pitted against each other. When Atiku Abubakar surrendered us as a team, his own media team, to candidate Muhammadu Buhari, I believe at the time he did, he didn’t in any way assume that we would sit on the fence. And one would be very insincere to President Muhammadu Buhari to take his job and to not serve him. And my own sense was that even Atiku Abubakar would be happy with me that I wasn’t working the two sides of the road. Again, if you see how I have run my own engagement here, I had focused on delivering President Muhammadu Buhari to the Nigerian public doing assigned duty as faithfully as one could do so. He never called to say, ‘you are the attack dog, go after Mr. A., Mr. B or even Atiku.’ So, that’s the decency in President Muhammadu Buhari. And two, for whatever reason, and let me say this, maybe for the first time, and, may God bless the soul of Duro Onabule because he called me as soon as these things were unfolding and said to me, ‘Garba, never you publicly attack Atiku. He is your former boss.’ And when you look back, you will see that the late Duro Onabule was Chief Press Secretary to President Babangida at the time when they annulled the June 12 election. Duro Onabule came from MKO Abiola’s media empire. For one day, there was never a day Duro Onabule attacked Abiola even when the military and Abiola were in the ring. I thought it was an important lesson for me. You have never found me going out to attack Atiku. He was my boss at some point. And it is common sense. If I had, you know, because I’ve moved to Buhari and then begun to launch attacks on Atiku, what would Buhari think of me himself? He obviously would know that his day is going to come, that one day I will move to another boss and launch open attacks on him. It’s a matter of decency. So, this is how I’ve managed it and have not found any conflict in my mind because I know what I have done. You didn’t have any situation where you feared being accused of betrayal because your former boss is your present boss’ main opponent? When you serve with sincerity as I’ve tried to do, and as I said, in this work, Femi and I complemented one another. And you go back and check the records. There are also people whose names I will not mention who despite whatever they had said against Buhari, you find that Femi had gone after them with the greatest politeness that you will ever find, or never at all. Once I see a situation like that, I move in. I think that it is so much also that Femi had done so much and did so well that we never allowed anyone, you know, to have to take cheap shots at Muhammadu Buhari. So, we have covered for one another. So, what’s your relationship with Atiku Abubakar right now? You know, that’s a difficult one because if you visit him all the time and he’s also covered by the Secret Service over there, as the President is covered by the Secret Service, they obviously will assume that you are carrying stories, peddling tales from one camp to another. So, you must choose your movement. When there are big things that affect him say, condolences, when there is loss in family, or also major happenings, I go to him. I would usually go to President Muhammadu Buhari and say, ‘Well, Mr. President, I’m going to former Vice President Atiku, this is happening in his family and that I want to go’ and…he himself would usually say, ‘when you go, tell him that I sympathize with him, or this is my message to him,’ so that you don’t leave any window for mischief makers or secret service to say, you are seen. Because if you leave immediately, and there is a press conference about that, and they make some nasty revelations, they will say, ‘Ah, this man was here.’ So, you have to just be that careful. Earlier, you said in the course of the job, you people make mistakes, and the President doesn’t openly publicly scold you. But are there things that you look back to and regret saying in the course of your job? Yes, of course, there must be. There were two incidents that I feel sad about and one is the incident in Maiduguri in which about 40 or so farmers were killed by Boko Haram. And the other one was the incident of the kidnapping of Kankara (Katsina) students, about 300 of them. In both cases, I still feel the regrets that you are dealing with top military figures who know the facts. And it feels sad that even in this position where we are, news sources can mislead you into saying things that ought not to be said. I mean, as a reporter, you are trained to be on your guard. You know, you are trained to check and cross check facts before you publish. So, if I was a reporter and somebody tries to use me to establish wrongful information, facts that are not factual, facts that are not true, I can understand. There are many people out there who want to use journalists for their own ends. But to sit here as a spokesman for the President, and for the top military official, knowing full well that we’re not allowed to make mistakes in this job and then they give you numbers that are misleading, maybe because they want to cover up, maybe their own shortcomings, and then you go out there and make a pronouncement. That I feel I’ve been abused. I still regret it. I’m sure that there are a lot of people who still look at you as ‘is that not the one who said less than 10 Kankara girls were stolen when there were 300?’ I could not have manufactured it. People who knew what was going on misled you. So, that is something to regret forever in one’s life. You are leaving office as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, what now? What will you be doing after you leave the office? The first thing on my mind is maybe for a month or two to just go and decompress. So, when you do that, then you probably have the clarity of mind. To say what, I want to be honest with you, what is it that you want to do going forward? I have no clear idea as to what it is. The first thing is, we get out of the Villa and decompress. And then have the clarity of thought, then you decide what you will do. I have a farm, I have some animals, although they’re very few. But I’m also planting a lot of economic trees. Is it farming? I wrote a column for the Nigerian Tribune before I came here. Do I want to resume as a columnist? Mr. (Nduka) Obaigbena, the President of the Nigerian Press Organisation, had always wanted that…in fact, at some point, he even offered me foreign posting. He said, ‘we’ll take you out, give you a house, give you a car’ then. So, there are a lot of things that one could do, but I haven’t decided on what I want to do. But to be honest with you, it’s been an enormous privilege being here eight years as I said from the beginning. Whether it’s the late Mrs. (Remi) Oyo, Reuben (Abati) or Segun Adeniyi, all of them, if you look at them, how long did they serve? Two, three years, they’re off. So, we thank God, we’ve been there eight years. I think there’s hardly anything to look forward to. Maybe some other challenges. But I think we have come here; we have seen and it’s for the people to determine whether we have conquered or have been conquered.
The Emir of Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State, Sidi Bage has assured the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo that whether in office or out of it, the people of the State will continue to regard him as their captain.
“You are a worthy captain of our State and we have in turn demonstrated this in fact and in deed. We told our governor that our captain must be our number one priority in anything that we are doing in this country, outside of the Presidency, the Vice President is our priority. Mr. Vice President, we cannot express our gratitude for the kind of love that you continue to show Nasarawa State.”
The Emir spoke today, March 24, when the Vice President performed the foundation laying ceremony for the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Solar Cells Production Plant in Gora, Nasarawa State.
Emir Sidi Bage said: “there is no other State in the country that you have visited more than Nasarawa State, particularly in the North.
“No matter how small that project, programme or whatever it is that we are doing here, Mr. Vice President will always be with us in Nasarawa State.
“I want to pledge that this bond between us, on behalf of our people, I promise we will keep this bond going, in or out of office.
“You remain the captain of this State and I will continue to honour this pledge on behalf of our people.”
This was even as the Governor of the State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, thanked the Vice President for his concern towards the development of the State, country and the welfare of its people. He said that Professor Osinbajo had occasion to visit the homes of vulnerable people, who believed that there is nothing else for them.
“You had the time to go into their homes and give them hope. Such people, with the hope you have given them will never, ever forget you.
“We also in Nasarawa State, knowing that you touched lives, will never forget you; we remain grateful to you, sir, in office and out of office. “In area of promoting agriculture, you are there, you have partnered with us; in the area of promoting health, you were there to commission our diagnostic centre in Lafia…
“When we have condolences, you are the first to visit. Mr. Vice President, we are forever grateful to you. This is the best we have seen ever in the history of Nasarawa State.”
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The Emir of Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State, Sidi Bage has assured the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo that whether in office or out of it, the people of the State will continue to regard him as their captain.
The Evils Of Complacency In Politics, By Abiodun Komolafe