I Could Have Achieved Much But For The Reasons Beyond My Control – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted that his government could have achieved much for the country if it were not because of the reasons beyond his control.
He said however that despite the enormous problems inherited when he assumed office almost seven years ago, he can look back with satisfaction that his administration has kept faith with the people and has done well even amid dwindling resources.
President Buhari, who spoke last night at a dinner in honour of the 2022 Committee of Business, Political, Media and Civil Society Leaders, insisted that his government would have fared better “if we had secured the support of most of you that are here today, knowing that while government comes and goes, the country must remain and thrive.”
The President wished that the group had convened earlier, even as he advised them to try and accommodate a few more interests in their next meeting as they take a ”deeper dive into our national challenges and proffer workable and sustainable solutions for the near, medium, and long term.
“As we all know, I have been very critical of the Nigerian elites, essentially because some of us have not always demonstrated that we can rise above personal gain, political partisanship as well as ethnic and religious differences when the situation demands that we all speak and or act as one in the interest of our country.
”There are also many among our elites for whom profit remains the only motivation for any and every enterprise.
”But now, I feel heartened that a more collaborative social enterprise model for resolving our common challenges is being forged.
“I am delighted that members of the Nigerian elite have woken up to the fact that the task of changing this society is a task for all of us, whether we are in the private or public sector. Knowing that, we have enormous challenges as a nation, but they are not beyond our capacity to overcome if we embrace a new approach.
”I must commend this initiative and its conveners. This is the kind of spirit I have always advocated because it is what we need at this time as we seek to build our society for peace, security and prosperity through dialogue while narrowing the gap between rich and poor.
“We cannot retreat to our ethnic cocoons, nor can we continue to seek solace in our past. We must champion the idea of a Nigeria where every citizen would be proud to call their own. That is the charge before you.”
The President lauded the group for rising above all ethnic and religious divides for the common good, describing the feat as ‘‘fantastic’’.
Expressing delight on the new consciousness by the Nigerian elites to work together with the political class and civil society to build a better Nigeria, President Buhari noted that building consensus around issues of the economy, national security, governance and such other critical areas of national life is a sure path to the future we seek to build.
Buhari said that he is gradually entering his final year in office, saying: ” it is a period I intend to spend not only on consolidating on the achievements of the past seven years but also to leave a legacy for a united, peaceful, and prosperous Nigeria.
”It is our desire to finish strong in the next 16 months and ensure all hands are on deck for the last lap. We are doubling our efforts against all forms of insecurity, equipping our armed forces and strengthening the police.
”We are determined to continue the war against corruption and fight poverty, we remain focused on building an all-inclusive economic opportunity for all citizens.”
President Buhari used the occasion to wish politicians, at the dinner, interested in elective positions in the 2023 polls the best, advising that ”there is nothing better than experience in leadership.”
The Convener of the Group and Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena said with Nigeria facing a ”historic transition like no other”, and with crisis across Africa and at home, the 2022 Committee emerged to ”defend the national interest.”
”The 2022 Committee was put together to defend Nigeria in a time of crisis and in a time of transition, we must defend the national interest.’’
He said that membership of the group has been carefully selected from the business community, investors, governors, security sector and elder statesmen.
Giant Telecommunication Firm, the MTN Nigeria has announced the loss of eight million subscribers last year, 2021. The number of subscribers declined from 76.5 million in 2020 to 68.5 million in 2021.
The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Cyber Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has independently identified two cyber vulnerabilities through which cyber attacks are being carried out.
The Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) has suspended Burkina Faso following a military coup in that country.
FBI Findings After 15 Years Investigation Of Islam Through 15,000 Informants
After 15 years of broadly targeting the 3.3 million-member community and extensively monitoring its activities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declared an end to its surveillance of Muslim Americans, saying its exhaustive study of their beautiful culture was finally complete.
Officials confirmed that the program was started in the fall of 2001 when federal agents, captivated by Islam’s complex history and rich spiritual traditions, redirected the full force of the bureau’s intelligence-gathering apparatus toward developing a more thoughtful, nuanced appreciation of the Muslim-American way of life.
“We’d always known Islam was one of the great world religions, but it wasn’t until we recruited a network of 15,000 informants and infiltrated mosques all over the country that we came to understand just how magnificent and fascinating it truly is,” said FBI director, James B. Comey, who noted that agents gained a valuable and eye-opening understanding of Islam—while also learning a lot about themselves and their own faith in the process—after entering the Muslim places of worship to collect as much information as they could on the intriguing personal beliefs of the religion’s followers.
“After analyzing the transcripts of thousands of phone calls and intercepting the communications of prominent Muslim-American leaders and academics, we’ve really come to admire their vibrant culture.
“The considerable amount of intel we’ve gathered and carefully pored over for the past 15 years has shown us that their faith and customs are really quite inspiring,” Comey added.
“If there’s one thing we’ve taken away from all our surveillance, it’s what a glorious and enriching part of our world Islam is.”
According to sources within the bureau, the harvesting of internet data, widespread racial profiling, and the nationwide mapping of Muslim communities have allowed agents to closely observe the followers of Islam on an extremely personal level, thereby allowing them to develop a deep respect for the amazing ethnic and cultural diversity of the faith’s 1.6 billion believers, as well as the striking distinctions between the religion’s various sects, which, they stressed, went far beyond just Sunni and Shiite.
Remarking on all the information they had gathered, FBI officials emphasized that adherents of Islam speak dozens of beautiful languages—Arabic, but also Urdu, Pashto, Farsi, Bengali, Javanese, and many others—and noted that agents came to treasure this linguistic richness after installing recording devices throughout Muslim-American communities and then surreptitiously listening in on Quranic study groups, prayer sessions, and social events.
“Thanks to advances in video surveillance, we’ve been able to look inside Muslims’ homes and view some breathtaking calligraphy prints and handwoven tapestries,” said former agent Casey Hanna, who fondly recalled assignments that allowed him to overhear moving recitations of the Hadith, which he was fascinated to learn come from an oral tradition and are considered to be the direct word of the Prophet Muhammad.
“I went undercover in hundreds of Muslim-owned businesses and residences across the nation and was lucky enough to sample many variations on the aromatic stews and delectable desserts that serve as staples of halal cuisine—Arabian, North African, Indonesian. They were all delicious, and unlike anything I’d ever tasted.
“I’ll never forget this one instance when I closely trailed a New York shop owner for three straight years—his coffee was just spectacular,” Hanna added. “Muslims were the first people to drink coffee, you know.”
After realizing they could not fully nurture their curiosity by limiting their study to Muslims in the United States, the FBI reportedly enlisted the help of the NSA to find out more about the incredible religion. Between 2002 and 2008, the bureau is known to have monitored 7,485 email addresses around the globe in order to learn answers to their many questions about Muslims’ compelling lives and rituals, from why they don’t eat pork, to what Muslim holidays are like, to why some Muslim women wear garments that cover their heads while others don’t.
Comey told reporters the FBI also received information from the CIA, whose enhanced interrogation techniques and clandestine intelligence-gathering methods yielded many interesting revelations from Muslim sources around the world, such as the fact that Arabs make up only 15 percent of the global Muslim population, and that through most of history, women in Islamic societies actually had more property rights than women in the West.
Saying they thoroughly enjoyed studying “such a lovely people and such a lovely faith,” Comey explained that agents would often remove a Muslim citizen from their community and keep them detained for days, weeks, or even months on end to learn everything they could from them about Islam.
“There’s no way I could remember the names of all the Muslim citizens that our agents brought in to discuss the beauty of Islam with one-on-one, but rest assured that with their help, the FBI has gained a deep and illuminating understanding of Islamic culture,” said Comey, who noted that by combing through thousands upon thousands of citizens’ banking records, agents discovered with astonishment how some observant Muslims set up special loan payment plans to avoid paying interest, as they consider it usury, which is forbidden under Sharia law.
“It’s crazy to think about, but until little more than a decade ago, I had no idea there were Five Pillars of Islam that guided all Muslims’ spiritual lives. I also didn’t know anything about the multitude of Muslim contributions to mathematics and science that have been absolutely vital to the world.
But that’s not to say they don’t value art, though. Poets like Rumi and Hafez drew upon mystical Sufist interpretations of the Quran to write verse that is every bit as sublime as, say, Keats or Coleridge. And don’t even get me started on the architecture.
“As this program sadly comes to an end, I just want to thank Muslim Americans from the bottom of my heart for teaching us all about your faith and your culture,” he continued.
“We’ve learned so much about you over the years. More than you could possibly imagine.”