In the picture are Plant Director, Dangote Cement Plc Obajana, Mr. J.V Gungune presenting a copy of the Community Development Agreement to the Elosho of Iwaa land, Oba Francis Migbole at the signing ceremony of the Community Development Agreement (CDA) today, July 14, at Obajana Kogi State.
Some of the areas of support itemized in the five-year Community Development Agreement include: Road infrastructure, education and scholarship, health, micro-credit and enterprise development, employment, vocational training, award of contracts, and the provision of startup capital to businesswomen, among others.
On the cusp of every political evolution in Nigeria, there is often a trafficking of recriminations: “The north is scheming to dominate the south, and the south is angling to outwit the north.” Syrupy conjectures and time-tested misconceptions. Crisis merchandisers are at their best stoking the tension as conspiracy theories of Islamisation surge in the public grid.
We will always have conspiracy theories and crisis merchandisers – for as long as unity and mutual trust remain elusive.
Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, has set off a tinderbox of reactions by his choice of running mate – Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno. Ordinarily, there should be no hue and cry over his decision. He is at liberty to decide who to walk and work with. But Nigeria has been diametrically sundered by years of attrition, hate-bartering and exhausting recriminations. Undoubtedly, the psychological mutilations from these years of anger will shape up to be the frustrations of the next administration.
Should Tinubu relinquish his right to choose a running mate he believes is loyal, competent and can help him win the presidential election so as to pacify those threatening Armageddon? I do not think it will be fair to relieve him of carte blanche in this regard. He is only a presidential candidate, and not yet the president. If he becomes the president in 2023, then it becomes a bounden and inescapable obligation for him to abide, through and through, by the constitutional stipulations of federal character.
The truth is, Nigerians are hurting from the exclusivist governance style of the current administration and are afraid of a reprise of their agony; hence the outcry. It will be imprudent to dismiss the concerns of the Christian community who have endured the tragedies of kidnapping, killing; desecration of places of worship and other assaults on their existence by Islamist terrorists. Their agitations are born out of the realities of the times. Priests are being kidnapped in what appears to be a targeted hit. Only a few weeks ago, terrorists attacked a church in Owo, Ondo state, killing about 40 people, including children. So, it will be injudicious to shrug off the apprehension of the Christian community on the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
However, Tinubu is one whose leadership antecedents are a staple of public discourse. Religious or ethnic bigotry is not in the trove of the famous allegations against him. As governor of Lagos, Tinubu had a diverse cabinet; in fact, he is reputed to be one of the few governors who appointed non-natives, including Igbo citizens, to their cabinet at the time — when bringing non-indigenes into state cabinets or government positions was unsexy.
I watched the interview of Sam Ayedogbon, senior apostolic leader at Realm of Glory International Churches, on Arise TV, on Tuesday. The pastor railed against Tinubu’s choice of running mate, but said something profound about the APC presidential candidate. He said when Tinubu was governor of Lagos, a church was to be demolished for certain official reasons, but he protested against it to the governor. He said Tinubu invited him to explain the reasons for the planned exercise, but he declined to meet with him. According to Pastor Ayedogbon: ‘’But the church was no longer demolished’’.
Really, I black out when conversations oscillate around religion and ethnicity. I think the issues we should be interrogating at this time are: Security; Economy; Education; Healthcare; Infrastructure. I would rather assess the presidential hopefuls by their blueprint on these fundamentals which directly affect me than flagellate over religion.
I believe Tinubu has his work cut out for him. He should reach out to the Christian community, their leaders and groups with tactile assurances, and that if he becomes president, he will build a country where all Nigerians can exist under justice, equity, peace and harmony and where no one will be excluded on the basis of religion or ethnicity.
He should going forward begin to show prospects of inclusion and of sensitivity to diversity in his disposition, plans and policy paradigms. It is important that he shows there will be no perpetuation of the current administration’s exclusivist proclivities which deepen national strife and insecurity.
Let me synopsise my thoughts with this poignant paragraph from ‘The Broken Truths; Nigeria’s Quest for National Cohesion’ – a book by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. He wrote ever so candidly: ‘’God created us for a purpose and meaning in life. He is the Lord of History and time. However, for us Nigerians, God has become the greatest excuse for the inefficiency, corruption, and shameful degrading life of our people today. We are over 90% percent Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, but there is nowhere in the world where religion has become an incubus, a burden, and a source of dreadful violence as it has in Nigeria. Our leaders are constantly kneeling before pastors and imams seeking blessings while the rest of the world is moving on, drawing inspiration from sweat, brains and brawn without evoking God. We, on the other hand, evoke God to witness to our corruption and outright larceny.’’
Nwabufo aka Mr. OneNigeria is a writer and journalist.
Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has cautioned that Nigeria might drop into debt distress, unless it earns more revenue, defending the government’s eurobond issuances to fund its spending plans.
It emphasized that the nation needs to generate significantly more revenue beyond current levels to avoid debt distress.
In a statement today, July 13, DMO noted that while other developing and advanced countries have higher debt as a proportion of gross domestic product than Nigeria, the nation’s revenue-to-GDP ratio is much lower.
“With revenue-to-GDP at just 6.3%, Nigeria has one of the lowest ratios in the world, placing it 194 out of 196 countries.”
Citing the World Bank’s Economic Outlook for 2020 report, DMO, which issued the statement in response to criticism from a member of Nigeria’s rate-setting monetary policy committee that the West Africa nation risks debt distress due to its eurobond obligations, insisted that the increasing accumulation of eurobonds in the external debt component is worrisome,
According to transcripts of the May meeting published on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website, a member of the MPC, Robert Asogwa, unexplained that the government preference of eurobonds at high interest costs, with the associated exchange rate risk may hurt Nigeria, sooner than anticipated.
Africa’s largest economy had total outstanding debt of $100 billion as of March 31, according to the latest figures from the DMO.
External loans comprising concessional and commercial debt stood at $40 billion, with the balance of $60 billion owed to domestic issuers.
Yields on Nigeria’s external borrowings have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — to an average of 12% — increasing the country’s debt service burden, which already consumes more than 90% of government income.
The DMO said that the country has had to issue eurobonds due to the size of the annual budget deficit and the need not to crowd out the private sector from domestic capital markets.
“The public should take into cognizance other benefits of eurobonds, which include increase in the level of external reserves, and opening up of opportunities for the private sector to issue” similar debt since 2011, the DMO said.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has Advised Nigerians to beware of what he called “ touts” in uniform of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) that are going about duping people in the name of issuing international passports to them.
The minister, who queried the Passport Control Officer of the Alausa Passport Office of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos, Mrs. B. L. Bukar, today, July 13 for breaching due process in the issuance of passports, called on Nigerians to follow due process in their passport application.
He asked them to shun patronizing touts who will end up disrupting the standardized procedure, saying: “I have said it for the umpteenth time that Nigerians must stop patronizing touts either in uniforms or in civilian clothing. The only way for you to apply for your passport is online.
“The attempt to get passports on-the-go and boycott the standardize collection timeline of three weeks for reissue and six weeks for fresh application after capturing, which is the main reason why many patronize touts, will only end up in disappointment.
“Our appointment-based system for capturing applicants data and standardized passport collection procedure has made nonsense of promise by touts to deliver passports to applicants who patronize them. Patronizing them will only end in disappointment.”
An applicant had complained on Facebook about the application process being cumbersome, saying: “after I completed my application and chose today for my data capturing appointment, I printed every necessary documents, however, on my arrival here, I was asked to start filling a manual form again, which I had filled online and printed already.”
However, the Minister, who came across such complain in the Facebook, asked the Passport Control Officer at the station, Mrs. B. L. Bukar, to explain the breach of due process.
According to the minister, such request on applicant is strange.
The officer who allegedly sold the obnoxious form and made the request for manual filling was identified and subsequently queried.
Addressing the applicants, the Minister pleaded with Nigerians to totally avoid the urge to patronize touts, saying that if they cooperate with government, the ongoing passport reforms will work and the system will be improved overall.
Ogbeni Aregbesola told the officers on duty that they are servants of the people and this must be reflected in their attitude at work and the way they relate with passport applicants. As such, they should avoid creating false gridlock that frustrates and exasperates the people.
Aregbesola said that the earlier visit to Kirikiri Custodial Centres and the Alausa Passport office is part of his effort at ensuring that the Ministry and the agencies serve Nigerians to the best of her abilities and to keep the agencies on their toes, knowing that he may walk into any of our service centres at any time.
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has made it clear thathis mission is to recover Nigeria and take back Nigeria from those who have misruled it all these years.
Reacting to the Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who cursed the Labour Party to the point that that it would labour to deat, Peter, at a political rally today, July 13 ahead of Saturday governorship election in the State, said that there is dignity in labour.
Peter Obi, who is former Anambra State governor, called on the people in the State to reject the APC and the PDP in the election., saying: “those of you who have gathered here, it is easy for you to think those other parties who have kept Nigeria in darkness for 23 years are better. You are the one that is suffering. They have stolen your future and I want you to recover it from them. You have no jobs; you have no food.
“Your children are not in school, and their children are schooling overseas. This is the time to recover Nigeria. This is the time to take back Nigeria. We have governors that owing salaries and pensions, and labour people who are working hard have not been paid.
“Somebody said that they can labour till death. When they show hatred or talk like that, Labour Party will show them love. There is dignity in labour. We have promised to move Nigeria forward from consumption to production. You cannot do production without labour. Those of you who have laboured will get their reward. That is what we want to do in Nigeria.”
Tinubu, who is also former Lagos State governor had, while speaking during the APC mega governorship rally in Osogbo, dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the LP as mushroom parties, saying that members of the LP would “labour till death”.
“I ask you to please do the same thing you did in Ekiti. Come out with your PVCs and vote massively for APC.
“The voting is now in your hand. Be very vigilant. Be watchful. You will not do it in vain.
“Think about your children and vote accordingly so you can see the future. Come out en masse. Don’t mind PDP and other mushroom parties — parties like Labour; they will labour till they die. God will not make you labourers.
“You’re next. We will be here till tomorrow. We will come back here for the victory dance. Look at the trajectory of our lives. We make promises and fulfil them. We are the ones upholding the party, the Buhari party. Don’t answer the naysayers.”
Emir of Daura, Dr. Faruk Umar Faruk, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to be disturbed by insults and criticisms from Nigerians.
Dr. Faruk, who received the President who was on Sallah homage to his palace today, July 13, emphasized the need for the President to increase his patience and tolerance as he begins to countdown, knowing that the ultimate reward for all his sacrifice will come from God.
“All Nigerians, both good and bad, know you are doing your best. In life you will have people who like you, and those who do not like you. If you have many wives, or many children, they will not like you equally.
“Some are insulting you and belittling your efforts now. Don’t worry. They will do the same thing to the next president.
“Keep doing your best, and remain tolerant as a leader. In Daura here, even the blind or the leader of all the blinds know that you have made a great difference. We are grateful, and proud of you.”
The Emir thanked the President for the infrastructural and institutional developments in the state, saying generations will remember and remain grateful to President Buhari.
This was even as the President advised parents to inculcate right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities and living a purposeful life through continuous education.
He also charged the youth to seek education, not for government jobs which are unavailable but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
The President said that more time should be given to the coaching of the future leaders, with basic knowledge of moral values, as the fast changing world, driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding.
“I was locked up for more than three years, after leading the country. At that point, I realised and I told my children that your net worth is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life.
“My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting a first degree.
“They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated.”
The President noted that the younger children should be guided and taught history, as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful, without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds.
“Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes.
“We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs. We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming more smaller, nimble and efficient.
“Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology. During the Covid-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively.”
President Buhari said that he will be more regular in visits, preparatory to the handing over in May, 2023, adding that the prolonged absence was due to the demands of his office.
“This is the longest I have been away from home. Infact, the Emir took to the court of public opinion at the prayer ground, when he openly told everyone that I had not visited Daura for close to a year.”
President Buhari said all Nigerians must make sacrifices to move the country forward, especially the public servants, calling for more selflessness and inclusion.
“At the end, it is only God that can reward your efforts, not man.”
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Bello Masari listed the achievements of the President to include social security, which was created to cater for the poor, and ensure that they receive some money at the end of every month.
“No government in the history of this country has done more to reduce poverty like President Buhari’s administration. He asked religious and community leaders to bring enlightenment to bear on successful government programs such as the Social Investment Program, SIP through which 120,000 poor citizens in 12 Local Government Areas of the state receive a monthly payment of N5,000 and this is happening in all the states.
“Today, we have over 863,000 children in the state being fed under the school feeding program. This has created 10,000 jobs for women cooks, 14,000 young men and women enrolled in N-Power.
“We have food vendors who are engaged and earning their livelihood. All the foolish talk on social media is by those who only think of themselves. Our elites are never happy or appreciative until something gets to their pockets.”
Masari said that security in the country had improved considerably, compared to when the President came into power, reminding the Daura Emirate Council, title holders, political leaders in the state and citizens across the entire federation to remember the bombings if mosques and churches before 2015 that had hindered worship, problems which explained are no longer with us.
Human beings forget easily. It is true that we have not reached where we want, but efforts are being made to ameliorate the situation. Look at the size of our security compared to the population, you will know we all have to be involved in securing the country.”
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal has acknowledged that the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is good, but that sycophants have now cornered him on the issue of choosing Senator Kashim Shettima, a Muslim like him, as his running mate.
In a long letter he released yesterday, July 12, Babachir Lawal said that Tinubu’s decision to go for Muslim-Muslim ticket was a “disastrous error” even as he admitted that Tinubu remained “a very good man, a great listener, a humble and very generous in both cash and kind, especially where it could advance his political interests.”
He added however that it is in the nature of power that “sycophants and lapdogs have the most influence on leaders with such character traits, alleging that Tinubu had in the past, surrounded himself with smart, street-wise “guys that could tell truth to power.”
He noted that Tinubu had brought up, politically, smart people lie Rauf Aregbesola, Yemi Osinbajo, Babatunde Fashola, Dele Alake, Muiz Banire, etc, adding that Lagos days were the days of think-tanks, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, principles and ideologies.
Babachir warned that there will consequences for Tinubu’s choice and that these consequences might come in the form of Christians all over the country revolting against the APC which could put the chances of his election in serious jeopardy.
Read the full essay below:
I thought I will be able to avoid commenting on the disastrous error by my very good friend, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his choice of a running mate.
I will be the very last person to stand in the way of my very good friend Tinubu’s path to the presidency. This is because, since 2011, my consuming passion has been for him to succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria.
It will not be true if I say that I did not see it coming. I have often read his body language, picked up snippets from several discussions with his lapdogs (some of whom, sadly, are Christians but most of whom are Muslims), and I have conveyed my reservations to them against the pitfalls of a Muslim-Muslim ticket towards which I sensed they were drifting.
As part of my obligation to him, a close friend, I had on many occasions argued the merits and demerits of both ticket permutations to him. I have done so in both verbal and written form, and I have likewise done so with some of his close respectable associates and friends. In all instances I had left him with the sole responsibility for his final decision arguing that in the end the consequences of the outcome of any bad decision would be his to bear.
There might be some collateral damages, though. I have also, on several occasions, passed on to him counsel and messages from some well-meaning Nigerians intended to alert him on the possible outcomes of the presidential ticket permutations.
Tinubu is a very good man. He is a great listener. He has a very humble and friendly disposition to everyone. He is very generous in both cash and kind, especially where it could advance his political interests. But I have realised that it is in the nature of power that sycophants and lapdogs have the most influence on leaders with such character traits.
They will lie to him, malign and disparage others and generally do anything to curry his favour and also put well-meaning associates in a bad light. I suspect this is what has happened to my friend. He has been cornered by self-serving, hero-worshipping lapdogs.
It never used to be like this. While in his hay-days in Lagos, he surrounded himself with smart, street-wise guys that could tell truth to power. He had Rauf Aregbesola, Yemi Osinbajo, Babatunde Fashola, Dele Alake, Muiz Banire, etc. The Lagos days were the days of think-tanks, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, principles and ideologies.
But these people have since grown-up and moved up to establish their own systems, leaving my friend stranded. Nature, they say, abhours a vacuum.
Welcome the Abuja equivalent. But the Abuja equivalent are people inflicted with the modern Nigerian diseases – religious bigotry, sycophancy and morbid tribalism. They are mostly political jobbers who are most times not averse to the application of diabolical means. Gone are the days of think-tanks and strategic planning. Gone are the days of principles and ideologies.
Try and call a meeting; they will not attend. Try and make a plan they will sabotage it. Everything is ad-hoc; everything is chaotic because they excel in such environments.
The result is that they have played on his long-term ambition to be president and have built it into a sort of desperation and a crescendo that easily justifies this satanic resort to a Muslim-Muslim ticket. This is the calamity that has befallen my friend.
And why Kashim Shetima? He is an overambitious man who has a Machiavellian bent and has lots of money with which to procure a preferred-candidate status among Tinubu’s lapdogs. And as we are beginning to see, to also procure bogus supporters, especially from among the Christian community, to help launder his not-so-good image.
But as a popular proverb goes: “Those whom the gods want to destroy they first make mad”. It appears that the gods want to destroy the APC and its presidential candidate and have chosen the instrumentality of the northern Moslem governors and their super ambitious tool and Kashim Shettima for this purpose. Alhaji Kashim Shetima is a Greek gift from the Northern governors to Tinubu. I advise Bola to make sure Kashim’s two hands are always in plain sight and empty.
True, based on the advice of his new friends, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made his choice. And I am sure he thinks he is ready for the outcome of that choice. He has chosen to bring religion to the front burner of Nigerian politics. And being a Muslim, he has chosen to take sides with his own religion. For all he cares, Christians can go to blazes with their votes.
But he must also be told that there will consequences for this choice. Some of them are that Christians all over the country will revolt against the APC to put the chances of his election in serious jeopardy. It will also put the election of all Christians standing for elections in Christian-dominated areas in jeopardy. This could result in APC being a minority party in both the National and State Houses of Assembly.
Now tell me which Christian will vote for APC with the following contraption: Moslem Presidential Candidate (Lagos), Moslem Vice Presidential Candidate (Borno), Moslem National Chairman (Nasarawa), Moslem Deputy National Chairman (Borno), Moslem President (Katsina); Moslem Senate President (Yobe); Moslem Speaker (Lagos); Moslem Deputy Speaker (Plateau) e.t.c. APC the great! Wu na de try woh!
The northern governors and some northern Moslem elites must have persuaded him that they would never vote for a ticket that has a northern Christian on it. And he has agreed with them. But if he thinks a Moslem-Moslem ticket will win him the northern Muslim votes, he should have a rethink. They will massively vote for one of their sons because it is in their nature to do so.
Buhari, their first son, will not be on the ballot in 2023. Atiku their second son will be.
Proof of a possible Islamic agenda was leaked when Governor Ganduje, the “Kadmul Islam”, gave advance notice that Tinubu had assured them he would nominate a Moslem as his running mate. For those who might not know, Governor Ganduje has a foundation called “Ganduje Foundation” which purpose according to its website is to “provide selfless service to humanity and Islam” but whose primary purpose it appears is the conversion of Christians to Islam.
So if my very good friend Tinubu, in a desperate bid to become president, allows himself to be made into a religious bigot or even a mujahideen, he is welcome. But it is a risk that will not play out positively for his presidential bid. But, were he to win and become President of Nigeria, it would be as a sectional president, an Islamic president, and he will surely face massive discontent and opposition even before taking off.
Expecting Nigerians to ignore this crass insensitivity to the country’s diversity amounts to acceding to the perpetration of very grave injustice and discrimination against a huge segment of the society. No one who seeks to be president of Nigeria should ever deploy the tool of religious extremism and exclusivism as a tool to win elections. This is very, very dangerous. And this is very sad.
But, baring any last-minute change of mind, Bola has made his choice. He should be bluntly told that in this choice, Nigerian Christians clearly see a pending Islamic Republic of Nigeria in its infancy and are right to be severely anxious. There has been gloom among the Christian community all over the country since Tinubu announced Kashim Shetima as his running mate. Are the generality of the Muslim ummah happy with this? The answer is a resounding NO.
How then do we respond? The decision as to how to respond to this deliberately senseless act of provocation is both corporate to each religious group and also personal to each voter that loves peace, and hates injustice. Christians want to continue to live peacefully with their Muslim neighbours at home, at school, and at the workplace. In the markets and on the streets as we have always done or desired to do. And I am sure Moslems share this view too. No one person’s ambition to rule over us should be allowed to set us apart and at war with one another.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should be compelled by whoever can do so to rescind this decision. President Mohammed Buhari should exercise his powers as the Commander-in-Chief and as the APC Leader to revoke this nomination of a VP by Tinubu. The APC National Chairman should refuse to sign the nomination forms if not rescinded. There is a story in the bible on how some people responded to similar provocation:
“And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents” (1 Kings 12:16).
I would love for Bola to be our next President. But I am afraid a Moslem-Moslem ticket will be “Dead on Arrival”. And the arrival date according to INEC’s election timetable is 25th February 2023. This ticket will drag down the whole APC members to the pit. We all should reject it.
The North-East zonal treasurer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Galadima Abba has resigned from his position as well as from the party over what he described as violation of the party’s principles and ideologies.
In his letter of resignation today, July 12, addressed to the Ward Chairman, Itas Gadau Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Galadima Abba complained first, about the unfair treatment of the Rivers State Governor, Nyeson Wike after the party’s primary that produced Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential candidate.
He also complained about how Governor Wike was treated by the party leaders during and after the presidential primary election.
According to him, the emergence of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as the vice-presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 election is not according to the principles and ideologies of the party.
He added that recent activities show that PDP is not ready to reclaim power in 2023.
The letter reads in part: “I write to tender my resignation as zonal treasurer (North-east) and a member of People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) My resignation was as a result of wide consultations with my teaming supporters, political associates and in response to the unfair and unjust treatment extended to His Excellency, Barr Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON, the Executive Governor of Rivers State during and after the presidential primary convention.
“As a critical stakeholder, unjust and unfair treatment of founding members posed a great threat to the collective political interest of our leaders and us, thereby necessitating my resignation in protest of the ways things are unfolding in the party.”
The Convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark has said that the former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is still angry with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the 2015 betrayal.
According to Clark, Jonathan is angry because of how party members, led by the former National Chairman of the party and ex-governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu betrayed him in 2015, saying that this has been the reason why Jonathan has since stopped attending meetings of the PDP.
The Niger Delta leader, who spoke today, July 12,at his Asokoro residence in Abuja when the Delta Central Leaders of Thought of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by its National Leader, Chief Ominimini Obiuwevbi visited him.
According to him, members of the PDP from the north also worked against Jonathan, claiming that it was the turn of the north to produce Nigeria’s president.
Clark complained that many PDP leaders in the northern region funded the All Progressives Congress and its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
Clark said: “Now coming home politically, Jonathan was the President for some time as the result of the death of President Yar’Adua. Jonathan ruled for about five years, he is a Christian and the northerners said it was their turn.
“From 2011, they have been worrying Jonathan. Even in 2015, the northern PDP leaders ganged up with APC, Tinubu and removed Jonathan from office. They did not campaign, Jonathan was on his own.
“So, when people say why Jonathan is not in PDP, not attending PDP meetings, I can safely say that he’s learning his lesson that the people he trusted did not trust him.
“They squandered the party’s money and left.
“So, when people say why is Jonathan not in PDP, he knows how they betrayed him: how the northern PDP governors contributed money towards Buhari’s success, how members of government betrayed him.
“The national Chairman of PDP at the time was Governor (Adamu) Mu’azu. He did not go to his hometown to campaign; he was only following Jonathan about.
“He knew what he was doing. Every one of them wanted Buhari to win. So, Buhari won. He has ruled for eight years.
“Now, the same northerners are now saying competence, no zoning, integrity.
“It fell for the prey, they maneuvered PDP with Alhaji (Atiku) Abubakar who has been wanting to be president of Nigeria over the years, championing the cause of division. So, the PDP, a party we love, PDP a party of southern Nigeria, disappointed us.
“In 2019, 11 million people voted for Atiku Abubakar (PDP). Five million from the North, five million from the South. Now he doesn’t think that we ever did anything for him.
“So, Nigeria has changed. If anyone tells you that all is well in Nigeria that person is living in a fool’s paradise.
“I’m happy to note that you are members of the ruling party that is APC and I will give you a message to Mr. President, who is the leader of your party.”
Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for the 2023 election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described other political parties as a mushroom groups.
Tinubu, who participated in a mega campaign rally for Governor Adegboyega Oyetola today, July 12 in Osogbo, said: “PDP and mushroom parties. Like Labour party. They say they are labour, they will labour till death.”
Speaking in Yoruba language, the APC Presidential flag bearer said: “God will not let you (electorate) become labourers. You will meet good fortune at home; the good fortune of money and children. You are next.”
Tinubu attended the rally alongside Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and several APC Governors, including campaign leader, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
Other Governors present at the rally include Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Babagana Zulum of Borno State and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu and the party’s Vice Presidential candidate, Kassim Shettima, were also present.
Governor Oyetola is seeking a second term of four years in Saturday’s governorship election in Osun state.
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Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has Advised Nigerians to beware of what he called “ touts” in uniform of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) that are going about duping people in the name of issuing international passports to them.
No One Is Islamising Nigeria, By Fredrick Nwabufo
On the cusp of every political evolution in Nigeria, there is often a trafficking of recriminations: “The north is scheming to dominate the south, and the south is angling to outwit the north.” Syrupy conjectures and time-tested misconceptions. Crisis merchandisers are at their best stoking the tension as conspiracy theories of Islamisation surge in the public grid.
We will always have conspiracy theories and crisis merchandisers – for as long as unity and mutual trust remain elusive.
Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, has set off a tinderbox of reactions by his choice of running mate – Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno. Ordinarily, there should be no hue and cry over his decision. He is at liberty to decide who to walk and work with. But Nigeria has been diametrically sundered by years of attrition, hate-bartering and exhausting recriminations. Undoubtedly, the psychological mutilations from these years of anger will shape up to be the frustrations of the next administration.
Should Tinubu relinquish his right to choose a running mate he believes is loyal, competent and can help him win the presidential election so as to pacify those threatening Armageddon? I do not think it will be fair to relieve him of carte blanche in this regard. He is only a presidential candidate, and not yet the president. If he becomes the president in 2023, then it becomes a bounden and inescapable obligation for him to abide, through and through, by the constitutional stipulations of federal character.
The truth is, Nigerians are hurting from the exclusivist governance style of the current administration and are afraid of a reprise of their agony; hence the outcry. It will be imprudent to dismiss the concerns of the Christian community who have endured the tragedies of kidnapping, killing; desecration of places of worship and other assaults on their existence by Islamist terrorists. Their agitations are born out of the realities of the times. Priests are being kidnapped in what appears to be a targeted hit. Only a few weeks ago, terrorists attacked a church in Owo, Ondo state, killing about 40 people, including children. So, it will be injudicious to shrug off the apprehension of the Christian community on the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
However, Tinubu is one whose leadership antecedents are a staple of public discourse. Religious or ethnic bigotry is not in the trove of the famous allegations against him. As governor of Lagos, Tinubu had a diverse cabinet; in fact, he is reputed to be one of the few governors who appointed non-natives, including Igbo citizens, to their cabinet at the time — when bringing non-indigenes into state cabinets or government positions was unsexy.
I watched the interview of Sam Ayedogbon, senior apostolic leader at Realm of Glory International Churches, on Arise TV, on Tuesday. The pastor railed against Tinubu’s choice of running mate, but said something profound about the APC presidential candidate. He said when Tinubu was governor of Lagos, a church was to be demolished for certain official reasons, but he protested against it to the governor. He said Tinubu invited him to explain the reasons for the planned exercise, but he declined to meet with him. According to Pastor Ayedogbon: ‘’But the church was no longer demolished’’.
Really, I black out when conversations oscillate around religion and ethnicity. I think the issues we should be interrogating at this time are: Security; Economy; Education; Healthcare; Infrastructure. I would rather assess the presidential hopefuls by their blueprint on these fundamentals which directly affect me than flagellate over religion.
I believe Tinubu has his work cut out for him. He should reach out to the Christian community, their leaders and groups with tactile assurances, and that if he becomes president, he will build a country where all Nigerians can exist under justice, equity, peace and harmony and where no one will be excluded on the basis of religion or ethnicity.
He should going forward begin to show prospects of inclusion and of sensitivity to diversity in his disposition, plans and policy paradigms. It is important that he shows there will be no perpetuation of the current administration’s exclusivist proclivities which deepen national strife and insecurity.
Let me synopsise my thoughts with this poignant paragraph from ‘The Broken Truths; Nigeria’s Quest for National Cohesion’ – a book by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. He wrote ever so candidly: ‘’God created us for a purpose and meaning in life. He is the Lord of History and time. However, for us Nigerians, God has become the greatest excuse for the inefficiency, corruption, and shameful degrading life of our people today. We are over 90% percent Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, but there is nowhere in the world where religion has become an incubus, a burden, and a source of dreadful violence as it has in Nigeria. Our leaders are constantly kneeling before pastors and imams seeking blessings while the rest of the world is moving on, drawing inspiration from sweat, brains and brawn without evoking God. We, on the other hand, evoke God to witness to our corruption and outright larceny.’’
Nwabufo aka Mr. OneNigeria is a writer and journalist.