2015 still on my mind

I cannot just explain why 2015 comes to my mind regularly. The feeling
I have is one of apprehension. And whenever I feel this way about
something, it always portends trouble. I recall with nostalgia the
feeling of fear and despair that enveloped me sometime in 1992,
particularly after the Social Democratic Party (SDP) national
convention in Jos, where the late Chief Moshood Abiola emerged the
party's presidential candidate. His victory was unprecedented and
defied all logic. He won votes from almost every section of the
country. There was little or no controversy about the outcome of the
primary elections, unlike what we have these days. I had, indeed,
feared for the worst, going by the prevailing circumstances at the
time.
While many people were basking in the euphoria of Abiola's emergence
as the SDP candidate for the 1993 elections, I was engrossed in deep
thoughts about the goings-on in Nigeria then. Those familiar with
things that occurred prior to the 1993 general elections would confirm
that all was not well with our dear nation. My major worry at that
time was whatwould become of the military brassesif eventually they
summoned enoughcourage to hand over power to a democratically elected
government. Iknew that it would be difficult for the military to
ordinarily abdicate the power they shoot their way – at their own
collateral peril – to acquire. I alsowondered how the contending
forceswould agree to cede power to a southerner when the north had
held power since 1979.
As I was ruminating over all this, my mind strayed quickly to what
happened to Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, who, though, won his party's
primaries, had the election in which he was to test his popularity put
on hold by the military. That particular incident made me become wary
of every other effort aimed at conducting any successful elections in
Nigeria.
For those who did not know: military in politics had almost become a
part of our national life, which was why the Great Zik advocated
diarchy – a form of arrangement in which political power could be
shared between the civilians and the military. That, indeed, was Zik's
panacea for incessant military putsches at that time. And so, it
became expedient that acceptable general elections be held in 1993, at
least to prove to the world that we had come of age. The arrangements
made for the smooth conduct of the elections convinced everybody,
probably, except me, that all was going to be well. And truly all went
well in the elections, because it stands today as the smoothest and
freest in the annals of Nigeria. It was even very clear that Chief
Abiola was going to win, despite the fact that it was a Muslim-Muslim
presidential ticket. In fact, Abiola garnered more votes in the
Christian areas than he did in core Muslim areas where his deputy,
Babagana Kingibe, comes from. It would have been improbable that any
person would ever think thatTofa-Abiola's rival in the elections – was
going to win. With due respect toTofa, he did not command the same
clout as Abiola to guarantee him victory and, therefore, could not
have beaten Abiola under any guise.
The umpire of the doomed election, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, was a man of
honour and integrity. He discharged his duties with utmost diligence
and professionalism. Therefore, the blame for the annulment of the
elections should not be heaped on him. He carried out the mandate
given him by the military leadership, but the military thought
otherwise about its outcome and cancelled the entire project, which
was indiscrete and tragic.
I have made the foregoing musings, because I am not comfortable with
what is happening in our polity. Politicians are exhibiting the same
penchant for which the 1993 electionsmet with tragedy. Look at what is
happening all over the country, and you will easily discern a very
curious pattern evolving. It is not in doubt that some dubious
elements are working against the system – either to torpedo it or make
it static. President Goodluck Jonathan assumed the presidency in 2011
with unparalleled enthusiasm as he hit theground running, moving me to
do a special piece commending his foresight and forthrightness. Though
he is doing his best currently, nevertheless he would have done better
if the enemies of progress had allowed him space.
Forget the boldface: President Jonathan governs under extreme
difficult conditions – much more than any past president had done. He
has faced more violence, more opposition, more fiscal downturns, more
controversies, more diatribes, more invectives, and endured more
pains, than any president that had ever ruled Nigeria. Despite all
these pitfalls, the man is still trudging on.Obasanjo carried almost
the same baggage of woes, but his could not equal Jonathan's.
Militancy was quite pronounced during Obasanjo's reign. Nonetheless,
what we have in Jonathan's time is beyond militancy: we have a
full-scale war at hand. What is going on in the North East of Nigeria
is nothing other than a full-blown war. What else is war when heavy
military ammunition is being used to rout a dare-devil sect that has
refused to be annihilated, with thousands of refugees created inits
wake? Though the state of emergency rule has made appreciable progress
it is yet to achieve the ultimate purpose for which it was declared.
Instead of being cowed the Boko Haram sect is still boasting of its
insufferable strength and indestructibility.
Wait a minute: what has happened to the case of the massacre of some
security agents in Eggon Local Government of Nasarawa State? It seems
the matter has, as usual, been swept under the carpet. When will we
learn to visit judgment on those that infringe the law of the land,
especially the heinous ones bordering on life and pose threat to our
national sovereignty? How could anybody sleep comfortably when the
bodies of 70 gallant security operatives lay stone dead in the bowels
of the earth? This country is a very interesting place!
I had expected by now that all the culprits would have been rounded
upand made to face the full weight of the law. The sacredness of life
is something this administration shouldendeavour to preserve. The life
of every Nigerian is entrusted to the care of the government. It is,
therefore, its duty to protect it. What happened in Eggon and what is
happening all over the country are signs of ominous times ahead!
We read how over 100 innocent villagers were killed in cold-blood by
invading marauders in Zamfara last week. I was also told of the
internal war of attrition going on in Ogbunike,in which five youths
were dispatched to their early graves, with over 52 houses torched in
a reprisal attack. The same ogre spectacle has been the lot of some
areas of Ebonyi, Benue, Anambra and Plateau states inrecent times. Yet
we are told all is well with Nigeria. There has also been an upsurge
in the number of kidnapping and murder cases across the country. All
this has compelled me to dub life in Nigeria a very cheap commodity.
Not only that: the political elite seem to be in endless drift. They
carry themselves brashly as if they 'own the land'. They fight among
themselves publicly and display other behavioural patterns alien to
our culture and morass. Could anybody have believed some 15 years ago
that governors would be calling themselves names in public? The recent
Nigeria Governors' Forum's (NGF) imbroglio has brought all of that to
the fore. I must confess that I never knew that some of our governors
lacked decorum until the recent unsavoury incidents took place. Some
of them behave uncomely and conduct themselves untowardly. What a
pity!
Every one of us has his shortcomings, no doubt. But as elected leaders
we should carry ourselves with some dignity and candour, not allowing
greed and selfishness to becloud our sense of reasoning. What is it
that we should mortgage our conscience – throwing caution to the dogs?
Is it material wealth or fame? Tell me! Vanity!
What some of our leaders tend to forget is that life is transient. It
is not something worth dying for. The positions they occupy today are
terminal: they must come to an end someday. There were even some
pastleaders who did not serve out their tenures due to circumstances
beyondtheir control. So, when we govern, weshould do so with the fear
of God and love for the people placed under our aegis. It does not
really matter on which political divide you may stand. What is
important is that we all work toward the same goal of making life
better for our people.
I must not fail to exhort our governors to shun parochialism and
egocentricity and work for the enthronement of peace and good
conscience in their forum. The currentcrisis rocking the forum has the
capacity to imperil our delicate democracy and dislocate the polity.
Already, the crises have caused serious disaffection among its members
and, by extension, those connected to them one way or another. The
truth is that the crises in the forum have been exported to their
states where they have since been localized, thereby fueling tension
in the polity.
Nobody need be told that no electioncan hold successfully under the
present security situation in the country. Attempting to do so will
amount to deliberate suicide. We need to first of all restore law and
order, reconcile all warring parties, curtail restiveness among
communities, promote civil rights and dignity of human life, reduce
unemployment and general backwardness among the people, create an
agreeable environment for meaningful, economic planning and growth,
and banish corrupt practices. Any effort to organize general elections
without addressing thesefundamental problems objectively will be
futile.
In less than six months, Anambra governorship election will hold. How
prepared are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and
the political gladiators for the election? I know that up till date no
serious preparations have been madefor the election. As usual, INEC
will apply fire-brigade tactics to deal with the challenge. Why not
commence immediate preparations – ahead of time – to avoid tardiness?
The Anambra State governorship election will be a foretaste of what is
to come in 2015. I am certain it will produce shocks and unpalatable
consequences. I hold this view because of the precedents already set
in the state. The situation becomes more precarious now that
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu isno more. The state had witnessed
peaceful elections in the past, in deference to the gigantic presence
ofthe Ikemba. Take, for instance, the crisis in the All Progressives
Grand Alliance (APGA). It has persisted because Ojukwu is no longer
there to broker peace and mutuality. Those hebequeathed the party to
have placed their personal interests high and above the good of the
party and their following. I would not like to make particular
references to some of the demeaning allusions some south eastgovernors
make against one another. The other day one called the other a
dictator in public.
It is high time we allowed good neighbourliness and love to rule our
lives. Squabbling among ourselves will not serve us any good. Rather
it will estrange us and endanger our democracy.
Politics should be seen as the game itis and not for unnecessary
vendetta, bad blood or wickedness. There is no way we can achieve the
goals of democratisation without peace, progress and love. We must
emulate the way politics is played in the United States – from where
we copied our current style of democracy. It is completely against the
norms of democracy for politicians to apply extremism in their
electioneering as obtains today in our country.
Agreed, we may belong to different political parties, but we share the
same vision of making Nigeria better than we met it. It is, therefore,
preposterous that instead of working towards this goal some
politicians work against it to the detriment of our collective
patrimony.
The whole world is watching, God is watching us, as we walk steadily
toward the 2015 elections, which some commentators fear would makeor
mar Nigeria. As I have always opined, there is no amount of
divisiveantics by anybody or group will truncate the destiny of
Nigeria. The times may be very rough Nigeria will always ride the
storms and emerge unscathed. Those working against Nigeria should know
we have no other country to call ours. If they succeeded in destroying
Nigeria, which country then would they control or govern? Commonsense
should have told them that no matterhow much they try to destroy
Nigeria,it will keep growing stronger and stronger. It is an exercise
in futility forone man to think he can convenientlytake on the
majority in a contest and win.
Nigerians should turn their hearts back to God and follow the
teachings of Jesus Christ and other prophets of God. We must shun
clannishness, envy, greed, ethnicity, hegemony, and violence as we get
ready for 2015.Following this path of honour will afford us the rare
opportunity to write our name in gold as a generation of patriots who
worked selflessly for the peace, growth and unity of our fatherland.

One leader in whom the world is pleased

Today, Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner, symbol
of South Africa's liberation, and a very important citizen of the
world, spends his 22nd day in hospital, his fourth hospitalisation in
six months. And like all the struggles that have hallmarked his 94
years on earth, Mandela's latest struggle, the struggle for life in a
Pretoria hospital, has kept the world on edge.
Black or white, rich or poor, strong or weak, religious or heathen,
straight or gay, peoples around the world are united in solidarity and
support as they wait and pray for more time for the man whose people
fondly call Madiba, a name rich in meaning and history. It is the name
of his Xhosa tribe but which his Thembu clan gave to him as an act of
honour.
As the world waits, and despite encouraging bulletins from the office
of President Jacob Zuma, in the last two days, indicating marginal
improvement in his condition, it is almost certain that Mandela may be
playing his last act on the world stage. That reality has not been
lost on his clan and family, who, against Xhosa tradition and custom,
have started preparing for the worst. Clan chiefs are said to have met
and concluded burial plans.
This is why South Africans now wake up each morning with a deep sense
of foreboding, praying fervently for more time for the 94-year-old
anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as the pioneer
president of democratic South Africa from 1994 to 1999. From their
profuse expressions of love for the Madiba, typified by their endless
prayers and praises, it is crystal clear that South Africans do not
want to bid their iconic leader bye yet.
Still, there is nothing strange in the recent developments in
Mandela's health profile. Whatever may be happening now is not unusual
for a 94-year-old. If you have ever watchedan old folk sign off, you
would understand that it is not easy to go. My father is almost 95,
and we, his children, learn new lessons every dayabout the trauma of
growing old. From my father's experience, I can tell you that growing
old is not a tea party.
Let's save my dad's experience for another day. Let's return our gaze
to the moment.
Now, I'm sure you must have been seeing the crowd (of almost 1000
people) that gathers daily, from sunrise to sunset, in front of
Mandela's hospital in Pretoria, singing and praying for his speedy and
complete recovery. You must have noticed, too, the steel in their
supplications to the Almighty to restore their legendary leader to
health. What about the great outpouring of love coming from virtually
every corner of the earth?
Which African leader, in recent history, has enjoyed such profound
expression of love from his people, and, indeed, from people across
the world? In a continent suffering chronic leadership anemia, in a
region where filthy despots masquerade as Messiahs, and where people
go into wild jubilation at the death of a tyrant or rejoice openly any
time a 'life president' bites the dust, is it any wonder that South
Africans remain strong in their solidarity for their beloved leader?
The reasons for that effusion of love are simple. One, no leader, in
recent history, has made enough troubles and sucked in deprivations
that could last several lifetimes as Mandela did to liberate his
people from "a systemof violent prejudice and helped unite white and
black, oppressor and oppressed, in a way that had never been done." (
www.slideshare.net).
Second, no leader has placed so muchpremium on the judgment of
history, and focused so firmly on posterity as Mandela. He is one man
of history who had his mind constantly primed on posterity. Mandela,
very early in his life as a revolutionary, saw what others didn't see.
And he worked and walked far ahead of his peers in the struggle to
liberate his people from the shackles of apartheid. Although he knew
that the path to freedom was strewn with tribulations that could
easily shatter even the heart of the strongest of men, he
volunteeredto sacrifice his comfort for a crown of thorn and absorb
punishments that debase human dignity.
Or which leader, aside Mandela, couldspend 27 years in the slammer,
away from his beloved family, and the comfort of his home? Who is that
leader that can survive "without hearing a baby cry or holding a
child'shand" as TIME magazine summarised Mandela's travails in its
tribute to the legend on his 90th birthday? Indeed, which leader, if
not Mandela, who loves to be surrounded by children, would suffer such
deprivation for a people? Such leaders are rare. They are very rare in
Africa. That, perhaps, is why some commentators feel that the unique
attributes of this extraordinary man would continue to recommend
themselves for academicresearch after he is long gone.No wonder, as
time tickles for the legend, people, across the world, are engaged in
serious conversations, not as to whether the world would see yet
another Mandela, but whether the world would uphold the strategic
leadership lessons he has taught us all.
Paying glowing tribute to the man hedescribed as his personal hero,
yesterday, President Barack Obama said Mandela epitomizes the best in
human spirit and dignity. Praising thedeparting icon for his moral
courage and conviction of those principles that set the human spirit
at liberty, the US President, after a private visit to Mandela's
family, in South Africa, said: "The outpouring of love that we've seen
in recent days shows that the triumph of Nelson Mandela and this
nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit, the yearning
for justice and dignity that transcends boundaries of race and class
and faith and country.
"That's what Nelson Mandela represents, that's what South Africa, at
its best, represents to the world, and that's what brings me back
here."
That's what also makes the world to unite in solidarity for Mandela as
he continues his biggest battle yet in a Pretoria hospital. It is also
the same reason his compatriots are not ready to release him yet. Dr.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is one selfless leader in whom all South
Africans, black or white, and, indeed, the whole world are well
pleased.
As prepares for the imminent departure of the icon, the best
tributeAfrica can pay to his memory is for its leaders to imbibe those
leadership lessons that the legend spent his extraordinary life to
teach the world. The leaders, and those aspiring to leadership, must
imbibe the Madiba'sstrength of character, display unflinching
commitment to values that help build strong and virile nations,
demonstrate the courage to inspire and display an unambiguous ability
to nudge their followers to great heights.
If they are able to achieve all these, and they are achievable, that
would be the ultimate triumph of Mandela

Jonathan: Hard work, many foes, powerful critics

I always say to my friends that I pity President Goodluck Jonathan.
Why do I say so? He ascended power at the most inauspicious time. He
mounted the saddle at a time the manipulations of the system by a few
elites (both civilian and military) was coming to a head. It was a
period of subversion, political subterfuge, cunning and heartless
looting combined to produce a level of injustice, dislocation and
deprivation that was threatening to totally consume the citizens and
the nation. He came at a time the wickedness of afew men began to
spill dirty and nasty consequences. Trust conservatives to reinvent
themselves, they sought a "virgin" and found one in an innocent
Goodluck Jonathan. Since then President Goodluck Jonathan has had to
carry the cross meant for others. Yes, the trouble meant for those
before him.
This piece, which will come in series, is about my assessment of the
President's Transformation Agenda Mid-Term Report (2 years in office),
released in Abuja few weeks ago. It is unfortunate that in a nation
that says it is practicing democracy, that report has received more of
partisan and deep tribal responses as against critical review and
dissection that should be the case. All the opposition parties just
dismissed the report, while the usually vociferous voices from the
Western part of Nigeria, which went dead during Obasanjo years, have
suddenly regained momentum and the Mid-Term report has, to some
extent, provided them a new platform or standpoint for new style of
"redemptive" advocacy. I like that except that sometimes I get
confused about how to place or what to make of selective posturing.
Even in this dilemma, I do know that our national problems, to some
extent, have been made more complex by this style of selective
interventions.
While listening to one of the television analyst, I heard one of the
political party leaders say the President presides over one of the
most divided period ever in the nation's history and he laid the
blameat the feet of the president. That position has been chorused by
a lot ofwriters. Such position raises questions of correctness. It is
true we have security challenges currently on our hands; but the
threat they constitute never approximated that engineered by the
annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election supposedly won by
the late M.K.O. Abiola, himself a military apologist. Those who make
allusion to divided nation deliberately refuse to acknowledge that the
foundation to what is happening now was laid many years ago when the
military held sway and by fiat and force of arms narrowed state policy
and programmes to their whims and caprices. I have not read any of our
analysts tell me that the troubles of June 12 spilled over to 1999,
which produced a president whose people did not like and did not vote
for. Nobody mentions the Igbo who were better placed to win the
presidency at the time, but were edged out in very dirty circumstances
and terms, with some of the spurious excuses hinging on a civil war
that ended on asuperficial note of "no victor, no vanquished". We have
kept quiet as ifthat was not equally a case of edging out a race.
Former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, few months
ago,produced a book in which he detailedhis odyssey in relation to his
quest to become Nigeria's President in 2007 and how our usual
perversion of electoral process and abuse of state power resulted in
the imposition of a candidate for PDP and subsequently apresident that
was ill. Need I say more? I don't want to remember the period in our
recent history in which a vibrant political party in control of a
region chose to commit political suicide in the bid to save a
tribesman.Did that act take place in a very united nation or in a
nation full of hypocrites?
Those who like propelling the blame game syndrome and find it
convenient to talk about a deeply divided country and hold tenaciously
to it fail to also say it was a problem ignited long ago, which
maturity datewas bound to come long after the foundation was laid.
After all, a tree does not dry up the day it is cut down.I usually
tell some analysts friends that there was no way Jonathan wouldn't
have become the president at the time given where he was and the
history of this nation, which we all agree has never in any manner
favoured the minorities of the South-South, who we also know give more
than enough to sustain this nation.
Now, some say Jonathan has been indecisive and they hold tight to this
position. The truth, from what I can see, is that the situation and
variablesJonathan has had to confront are quite different from those
of ex-President Obasanjo's period. Northern key players have since
told us they engineered Obasanjo'scomeback to power, never mind that
many of them now express deep regrets for outsmarting themselves and
the rest of us. So, to a reasonable extent, they had an obligation to
uphold and protect the man they made, even if he made mistakes; of
course, he made many. Secondly, at that time they had nothing at stake
asis currently the case with their desperate desire to return the
presidency to the zone. Then, we must not fail to note that Obasanjo's
assault when he had security challenges were against Benue and the
Ijaw zones, areas not known for hard-line tendencies, whatever maybe
the issue. If one thing, Obasanjo's courteous reaction to the sharia
eruption in some parts of the North tells a story. Besides, a good
number still believe that even though there may be some relationship
between hunger and security challenges in the North, the huge
political disagreements over whether Jonathan should be stopped or not
obviously added an entirely new but frightening dimension to thewhole
development.

Democracy must win people’s confidence

Professor Steven Torkuma Ugba Benue State governorship candidate of the ACN
By ROSE EJEMBI, Makurdi
Governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in
Benue State in the 2011 general elections, Professor Steven Torkuma
Ugba, speaks on the leadership crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors'
Forum, Boko Haram insurgency and other pertinent national problems
militating against the institutionalization of democracy in Nigeria.
Implication of Nigeria's Governors' Forum's crisis for democracy?
If it was a PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) affair, it would have been
no problem. But Nigerian Governors' Forum is not all a PDP affair. It
is a national affair, a microcosm of the problem at the national
level. Nigeriais trying to institute democratic process, but there are
some people hell-bent on ruining the process through the election of
a chairman forthe forum. If 35 people cannot declarea winner, then,
that body and Nigeria have a big problem. If the trend continues, only
God knows what would happen. I feel sad for Nigeria because if
executive governors who should decide who will lead them cannot, then,
it is a big problem.
I don't care less whether it is Jonah Jang or Rotimi Amaechi. The
issue is that the democratic process cannot stand on one leg. Where 35
highly educated persons who have high degree of awareness cannot elect
a leader, they have destroyed the democratic confidence. It should be
seen as the symbol of the elections tocome and the kind of people to
expect in the general elections of 20
On the allegation that the president may have a hand in the crisis?
I will treat it as a rumour but if that is the case, it is
unfortunate. Lobbying, canvassing can be used but if 35 people cannot
line up for election, and president is accused, and his menhave
denied, I don't see anything wrong but if he was involved in causing
confusion after someone had been elected, then, it is unfortunate.
He may have had a hand in the governor's forum before the votes were
cast but if governors had signeda document choosing a governor as
chairman, governors' decision should be the overriding decision. But
if theydecided to change their minds, no problem.
That somebody signed a piece of paper does not mean that he cannot
change his mind but if president caused a change in the decision, it
is unfortunate. Obtainable substitution is alleged. He can lobby for a
candidate but should not interfere with result of the election.
Handling of Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani herdsmen attacks on farmers
The question of insecurity in Nigeria is a complex one. The major
factors causing it include: lack of opportunityfor ordinary persons to
maintain himself and the intractable general economic problem;
Politics, whereby people are doing calculations to secure for
themselves tickets as the time for election approaches; chief
executives at various levels have various interests that could be
conflicting. This has made them to miss the duty of maintaining law
and order.
It is unfortunate. Chief executives should pre-occupy themselves by
initiating dialogue and arranging for the ordinary persons to speak on
matters affecting them. Such arrangement should not be hijacked.
What is happening in Benue as regards insecurity is unfortunate. All
we need is to cry out. Guma, Makurdi, Agatu, Gwer-West are being
attacked. The problem was in Zaki-Biam, now, ithas spread. What is the
governments doing to curtail these attacks?
You cannot be running an absentee government and expect results.
Dialogue is a strategy that will help people to express their worries
and anxieties so that proactive steps can be taken.
If the people are being killed, where are the paramount rulers? Chief
executive officers of the states, sometimes, can hold discussions in
the open at the local, state and national levels.
There is the crisis of confidence on ground. You see, what Boko Haram,
MEND and the other groups are involved in is a complex problem, so, we
need more concerted efforts. We have big, big issue on hand.
Those in authority can do more; local government chairmen, governors,
the president can do more and they should do more.
Emergency declaration in some states
Presidency has responsibility of protecting lives and property. It
givesMr. President the opportunity to use his wisdom because the buck
stops on his desk. He needs wisdom to do it, those who take
initiatives, those advising him need to plan a grand strategy in
addition to the issue of unity.
In as much as one supports the president's steps, he needs a much more
grand strategy to cover the entire country, he must not be doing this
to score a cheap political point.
He must win the confidence of the people. Some people say president
must come back in 2015 or Nigeria will be no more. That kind of
statement is not good. President must absolve himself from such
things.Assessment of 14 years of democratic rule
At the state level or even national, are we doing enough to create
opportunity for the people at Otukpo,Makurdi, Gboko and Katsina-Ala?
Are we raising their standard of living? You must agree with me that
we are not developing. I am fully aware that we don't have the money
but let us have the structures that can sustain development. By
consideration, we don't have money but we should not abuse the
privilege given to us. I don't think any Nigerian is too big to
sacrifice anything for the good of the country. Why are we still
talking of bad roads between Makurdi and Abuja and even between
Makurdi andOtukpo?
At the slightest provocation, the roads are blocked. Sometimes, your
life is in jeopardy. The Federal Government should ensure the roads
are awarded for construction. We appear to be thinking that government
should not be about serving people or assisting them to grow. We
should do what is right for our country, give thought to what to do
for our state and country.
Plan for 2015?
I want to participate and ensure that our party emerges victorious at
the polls in 2015. My case which started in2011 is very much alive. I
am not in any way ready for the 2015 governorship race. If I must run,
it willbe a collective decision. When the time comes, we must see that
the 2011 case is decided. We know that the apex court which is the
Supreme Court, is yet to decide the matter.
Is the case not being delayed? I am not unmindful of that, but only
those who see it as a do or die affair will be worried. When you are
institutionalizing a democratic process, you must have the patience.
I am almost 50 years old. Some people may not have the wherewithal to
withstand the process of the making of a good democratic process
through the judiciary.
We need to know the final stage of the case. Some people say 2015 is
around the corner, no, no, no, God knows, even if it is within a few
weeks, the democratic process should win the confidence of the
people.
On the allegation that your court caseis detracting Suswam from governance
I didn't have any personal issue with my younger brother, Suswam. We
were all seeking to better the lots of the people. I don't have
commissioners, I don't go to Abuja, I do not control the treasury, I
only consulted with the lawyers, I only want to encourage the
institutionalization of the democratic process.
We are questioning what INEC did that was not correct, we questioned
that at the court of law. I don't have a fleet of private or official
cars, how could I be held responsible for the poor performance of a
sitting governor who has been there for years and has spent two years
in his second term? Federal Government has not given me money. I don't
understand.
Relationship With Georg Akume, the Senate minority leader
My relationship with him could not beany stronger. He is my political
leaderin Benue State. In terms of national politics, Akume is my
friend, my relationship with him is very strong. We have the ambition
to salvage our state. I have no issues with Akume, hedoes not have
issues with me; we areallies. He is my political leader, I believe in
Benue, I believe in Nigeria,we will not like a situation where Nigeria
will deteriorate. I want my country to be the best in the whole world,
not only in Africa.

Behold the NYSC entrepreneurs

BY CALEB AYANSINA
There have been developmental initiatives across various sectors and
tiers of government, to address the problem of youth unemployment in
the country. However, these efforts have made little or no impact
considering the enormity of the problem. Most of the initiatives fall
short in terms of scope and scale.Today, the National Youth
ServiceCorps (NYSC) is probably the only government institution that
has presence (infrastructure and personnel) in all the 774 local
government Areas (LGAs) of the country, putting it in a position to be
reckoned with, in ensuring youth empowerment.
Created 40 years ago, the scheme annually mobilizes and deploys over
300, 000 young graduates from higher institutions across the
federation.
Recently, the scheme generated some controversy leading to the call
for its scrapping by critics who cited insecurity challenges while
others clamoured for its restructuring.
This scenario compelled the management to go back to the drawing
board, to reinvent a scheme that is tailored to the security and
socio-economic realities of the time.
In March 2012, to be precise, the NYSC leadership took a bold step by
introducing skill acquisition and entrepreneurship programmes into the
orientation course content, in order to raise an army of entrepreneurs
that will drive the economy and not job seekers that will trudge the
streets in search of scarcely available jobs.
To institutionalize this, the Federal Government raised the number of
departments in the NYSC from seven toeleven with Department of Skills
Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) as one of the
newdepartments.
The project is a nationwide initiative, targeted at young graduates
mobilized and deployed in a year mandatory service. Implementation of
the project would be cascaded down to the states and LGAs.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that the project was designed to be implemented
within the framework of camping exercise (in-camp) and the service
year of the corps members (post-camp).
The in-camp component of the project would focus largely on creating
the entrepreneurial and self-reliance spirit, helping corps members
explore income generation opportunities available, with a view to
identifying the one that best suits their personality/circumstances
and professional training, some sort of hands-on training, as well as
development of business plans.
The post-camp component would provide the platform for a more rigorous
training of interested corps members, with a view to equipping them
with the necessary technical/vocational skills, as well as business
competence needed to start-up business; this would be carried out by
various partner organizations with cognate competence and experience
in the identified skills sets.
There are about 10 skill sets, according to the Director of SEAD, Mrs.
Marry Damabia, which cut across various sectors of the economy,
ranging from energy, construction, agro-business and environment.
Some of the NYSC members told Sunday Vanguard that they were trained
on poultry, grass-cutter rearing, snailery animal husbandry, bees
keeping, fish farming, plantain and banana sucker multiplication, bead
making, tailoring, etc.
Not less than 131, 659 corps members were given skill acquisition and
entrepreneurship development training in 2012.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the NYSC/MDGs
War Against Poverty (WAP) at the NYSC orientation camp, Kubwa, Abuja,
the Director General of NYSC, Brig. General Nnamdi Okore-Affia, said
the scheme introduced skill acquisition and entrepreneurship
development training for corps members, with a view to providing the
graduate youths with skills, in addition to their academic skills for
self-reliance.
"The level of youth unemployment called for serious concern. We will
be glad if we can get all the help we needto properly drive this
programme. It is our expectation that if this collaboration works, we
would have contributed in no small measure towards driving national
socio-economic development," he said.
Okore-Affia explained that the project was meant to empower corps
members with entrepreneurial and agro-enterprise skills, with
corresponding interest free loans, to generate employment, eradicating
poverty and hunger, as well as creating wealth.
"Through continuous training, the scheme would be producing successive
and successful generation of corps entrepreneurs, who are expected to
be vanguards in the process of nation building.
"This segment of the population is highly productive and highly
creative, and if properly harnessed would contribute significantly to
the developmental aspiration of any nation. Nigeria therefore cannot
be an exception."Also, the State Coordinator, NYSC, LagosState, Mrs.
Adenike Adeyemi, said the introduction of SAED into the NYSC scheme
had helped many fresh graduates to be self-reliant, creating
employment opportunities instead of searching for non-existent jobs.
Recently, the scheme synergized with the Office of the Special
Assistant to the President on Youth and Student Matters, to work out a
more realistic approach to entrepreneurial empowerment for youths.
The two bodies jointly developed a model called the 'Micro Enterprise
Pack Model'.
The components of the new model were unveiled, when the SSA to the
President on Youth and Student Matters, Comrade Jude Imagwe,
visitedthe NYSC Directorate Headquarters in Abuja.
Imagwe observed that the previous approaches only brought people
together for entrepreneurship programmes and dispersed them to their
consistencies without any assistance.
Not only that, the NYSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a
private company, JFK Consult, on post-camp skill acquisition
programmefor corps members.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the training programme which also
targetsother interested youths in the society will commence on
social-media from where qualified candidates are going to be selected
for two weeks training at the entrepreneurial academy in Abuja.
The Chief Executive Officer of JFK Consult, Mr James Abiona, said it
was important for corps members to get the basic entrepreneurial
skills before they get through with their service year so that they
would not remain job-seekers, but job creators.
At the signing ceremony, in Abuja, Mrs. Marry Damabia, who signed on
behalf of the NYSC noted that the programme would build on the
entrepreneurial lecture received by corps members during their
orientation exercise in camp.
Meanwhile, Damabia decried the non-chalant attitude displayed by some
government institutions which have direct bearing on the mandates of
the scheme, but refused to cooperate despite several letters written
to them, either for approval or partnership.
She noted that the scheme was facing some constrains ranging from
inadequacy of funds to drive the programme, to lack of materials for
practical hands-on training both in andout of camp, mentoring centres,
among others.
Damabia therefore, appealed to them for change of attitude, while
calling on corporate bodies and well-meaning individuals "to continue
support us, so that the real purpose of NYSC can be realized".

2015: I Could Be PDP Presidential Flag Bearer – Lamido

Much touted presidential hopeful and Governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji
Sule Lamido, hasdeclared that the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) is a
large party and anyone of itsmembers can become President in 2015.
Lamido, who is widely believed to be nursing a presidential ambition
in 2015, was speaking in an interview with Channels Television where
he narrated his chances of clinching the PDP ticket for the
forthcoming general elections.
He said, "Anybody in the PDPcan become the President," adding that "It
can be me; it can be Jonathan or anybody".
Lamido, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Olusegun Obasanjo
administration, also restated his firm belief in the democratic tenets
of nomination just as he said it will be selfish and arrogant of him
if he declares such an ambition without the essential nomination by
his people.

Why President Jonathan’s Administration Is Still Unpopular Among Nigerians – Maku

Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, has noted that the
unpopularity of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administrationin
the eyes of Nigerians is not unconnected to its resolve to carry out
deep reforms in several sectors of the economy.
Maku said this yesterday at the 2013 ministerial platform in Abuja.
He said that despite challenges inherited from previous
administrations and current wave of insecurity across the country, Mr.
Jonathan had carried on with the transformation agenda, which he said
is aimed at revamping the critical sectors of the economy and carrying
Nigerians along in his style of governance.
Maku, who decried the spateof negative criticism and violence in the
country, urged Nigerians to have confidence in the government "as it
is poised to tackle the myriads of developmental problems confronting
the country."
He added that "This President is not popular because he is embarking
on some secret and deep reforms and for him to be a reformer, he must
carry out some deep reforms that could transform the country.In doing
this, he has to carry the people together, which is what we are doing"

Jega admits rot in INEC, unveils 2015 plan From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja

Says officials connive with politicians to rig elections
THOUGH the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is
supposed to be an unbiased umpire as regards electoral matters, the
bodyis to some extent bogged down by electoral malpractices.
According to the Chairman of the INEC,Prof. Attahiru Jega, electoral
fraud is perpetrated by officials of his agency in connivance with
politicians.
Jega, who noted that the actions of such members and ad-hoc staff of
the commission had continued to rubbishthe efforts of the commission
in transforming the process of electing public officers, was reacting
to variouscriticisms which the commission received from some chairmen
of political parties and stakeholders who converged on Abuja yesterday
towitness the official unveiling and public presentation of Strategic
Programme of Action of INEC from 2012 to 2016.
The INEC chairman noted, however, that many officials of the
commission who were identified to have compromised standards had been
either prosecuted or dismissed from their duties in an internal
exercise without media hype.
Earlier in their reactions to the INEC strategic programmes for
credible elections, three different chairmen of political parties ,
Chiefs Sam Nkire of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Chekwas
Okorie of the United Progressive Party (UPP) and Victor Umeh of the
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) had taken turns to urge INEC to
improve on its efforts to weed out the bad eggs in the commission,
stressing that their activities had continued to inhibit theefforts of
the commission as well as cast doubts in the minds of Nigerians in
delivering a free and fair general elections in 2015 and beyond.
While Nkire stressed the need to checkmate some corrupt INEC officials
who he said had given INEC a bad image by working in hand with
security operatives from the army andpolice to rewrite election
results, Okorie noted the need to expedite action on the Electronic
Voting System (EVS), saying it would limit themistakes of the
commission.
On his part, Umeh urged INEC to review its position on the recruitment
of ad-hoc workers, sayingthat given some of their actions, they posed
great threats to the success of INEC's efforts in conducting credible
elections.
In his remarks, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
representative, Prof. Sam Egwu restated the organisation's confidence
in INEC and its agencies, stressing that UNDP had continuously voted
its money for the Democratic Governance Project (DGP) in the country
that led to the organization ofa free and fair election in 2011. The
agency, however, urged the INEC chairman to use the opportunity of the
2015 elections to improve on its 2011 performance which was adjudged
to be credible by the UNDP
"For the avoidance of doubt, UNDP is actually supporting the INEC with
a number of partners that we are familiar with. But more importantly,
as we commend the leadership of INEC for remaining focused on the
desire to improve on the credibility ofthe 2015 elections beyond the
remarkable achievements of the 2011 elections, we also urge the
commission to improve. The strategic plan that is being unveiled today
we know has been a very long and intensive consultative process which
INEC leadership has been engaged forthe past one year. The strategy we
believe is not just to prepare for the 2015 elections, but to put in
place a programme to all relevant stakeholders that can lead to the
ownership of process as well as ensure that the electoral system will
become stable for the progress of the country. It is our belief that
we have produced a strategic plan, INEC will follow through to... so
that by 2015 and beyond, we will look back and saythat we have put our
money to support Nigeria in the areas that matter most," the UNDP
representative stated.
Earlier, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Andy Uba who was
represented by his deputy, Senator Abdukadir Jagere, said that
democracycould only be said to have been sustained in Nigeria if INEC
improves on the gains of 2011 general elections.
The INEC Programme of Action Plan which spans five years has the
following as core objectives:
. To provide electoral operations, systems and infrastructure to
support delivery of free, fair and credible elections;
. To improve voter education, trainingand research;
. To register political parties and monitor their operations;
. To interact internationally and nationally with relevant stakeholders; and
. To re-organise and re-position INEC for sustained conduct of free,
fair and credible elections.
According to the commission's National Commissioner and
Chairman,Strategic Planning, Dr. Nuru Yakubu, the action plan is
action-oriented and further seeks to achieve the overall mandate of
INEC.

Jonathan’s Government Is One Run On Lies, Says Fani Kayode

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has descended on
Special Adviser to the President on political matters, Dr. Ali Gulak,
who he labeled a "liarfor the president," just as healso targeted the
Goodluck Jonathan administration which he said is run on the "wheels
of lies."
Fani-Kayode, who made these comments in response to the statement
credited to Gulak where he described the former minister as "an
attacker of any government in power", said, "I call the government of
Goodluck Jonathan a failure; if the president thinks I am wrong, let
him orone of his cerebral ministersrespond to me, not Gulak. Who is
Gulak? I don't trade words with minions."
Fani-Kayode in a statement issued yesterday said: "Gulak said I
attacked Obasanjo's government, a government and president that I
proudly served and that I have defended for the last 10 years of my
life. "Please, let him provide the evidence of that attack on
Obasanjo's policies, record in public office and performance in
governmentbetween 2003 and 2013 or he should forever shut his mouth
and be damned. He cannot do so because it never happened. What he said
is false. He is a liar."
Imploring Nigerians to do allwithin their means to vote out the
present administration in 2015, Fani-Kayode added,"Jonathan's
government is a government of lies that is run and supported by liars
and we need to get them out in 2015 in order to save Nigeria.
"People just don't realise how bad things are. Recently, a UNESCO
survey placed Nigeria on top of the list of nations with out-of-school
children – 10.5millionof them – because they lacked access to
classrooms and have to take lessons under trees.
"Why should we be ranked with nations like Pakistan (5.4 million),
Ethiopia (1.7 million), India (1.6 million) and the Philippines (1.5
million), when we have so much oil wealth."
The former aviation ministeralso berated the present administration
for doing nothing tangible to better the lot of Nigerians despite "all
our oil wealth and all the money that has accrued to the Federal
Government in the last 5 years."
He noted that 80 per cent of Nigerian graduates are now unemployed and
that 70 percent of the Nigerian people are living below the
povertyline and, according to the United Nations, are "hungry".
He further stated that "Abusing Fani-Kayode will not change any of
those facts or improve their imageand abysmal performance. They should
stick to the relevant issues and provide better governance for the
Nigerian people for the last two years that they will remain in power,
rather than spending their time on me."

Gulak: Any Niger Deltan Against Jonathan’s Second Term Bid’s Not A True Son Of The South-South

Although the 2015 general elections is still two years away, the
Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed
Gulak, has launched a passionate appeal to the leaders and people of
the South-South region of the country to givemaximum support to the
administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Gulak, who was speaking while receiving a delegation of the Niger
Delta Leaders' Assembly in his office, said no indigene of the region
in his right senses would stand against the realisation of the
president's second term ambition.

He said. "Anybody from the South-south and the Niger Delta who is
against Goodluck Jonathan's second term in office is not a true son of
the Niger Delta. Whoever he may be, I believe every son of the Niger
Delta must make every sacrifice for the success of Goodluck Jonathan".

In a veiled reference to the purported no-love lost relationship
between President Jonathan and the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike
Amaechi, Gulak said it is only people with sinister agenda that would
want to bring down their brother just because the opposition is
cheering themon.

"We have seen very few of them who are hostile, who are recalcitrant,
who are devilish, who are vicious, who want to bring down their
brother because the opposition is clapping for them. The drummers are
inside the bush and we haveseen them dance unclad.

"Those that said Jonathan will not be shall be put to shame. Those
that hate President Jonathan with passion have failed to understand
that God gives power to whosoever He wants; and that He can take away
from whomever He wants and whenever He wants. But this time around God
has given power to President Jonathan and all of us would have to put
our hands on deck to help him," he said.

The presidential aide, who explained that the president was doing his
best to tackle the issue of insecurity in the country, added that the
problem wasa global phenomenon.

In his words, "It is not limited to Nigeria alone but the President is
facing the challenge and we are succeeding".

FG Reiterates Ban On Use Of Unauthorised Siren, Covered Number Plates By Public Officials Posted by: danielon June

Following the unauthorized use of sirens, covered number plates and
unregistered vehicles by public officials, the Federal Government on
Friday said henceforth, any official caught engaging in such practices
will be arrested and prosecuted.
The directive has been communicated to the Nigeria Police who will
enforce the ban.
In the same vein, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,
Alhaji Bukar GoniAji, has equally directed all Federal Government
officialsto henceforth comply with the order.
Goni Aji, whose directive was contained in a circular sent to all
ministries, department and agencies of the Federal Government, said
that such acts pose a breach to national security.
He added that intelligence reports have shown that men of the
underworld also indulge in these unlawful acts to perpetrate heinous
crimes.

Why Local Governments Must Be Freed In Nigeria By Law Mefor

The 1999 Constitution clearly sees theLocal Government as a tier of
government and that is why its autonomy is inevitable. Today,
governors sit on their funds and misappropriate them. At best, Local
Government funds are used by these governors for a few cosmetic
projects in urban centres, to the detriment of the rural poor and
remote Local Governments, whereas their essence is for grassroots
development and bringing government closer to the people.
Of truth, only few Nigerians are from the States' capitals while a
greater majority of the citizens are from the rural areas. For the
avoidance of doubt, the functions of Local Governments that impact
directly on the rural populace, as detailed in the Nigerian
Constitution, are:
• Economic recommendations to the State;
• Collection of taxes and fees;
• Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and
homes for the destitute or infirm;
• Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled
trucks), canoes, wheel barrows and carts;
• Establishment, maintenance and regulation of markets, motor parks
and public conveniences;
• Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, drains and other
public highways, parks, and open spaces;
• Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses;
• Provision and maintenance of publictransportation and refuse disposal;
• Registration of births, deaths and marriages;
• Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of
levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a
State; and,
• Control and regulation of out-door advertising, movement and keeping
of pets of all descriptions, shops and kiosks, restaurants and other
places for sale of food to the public, and laundries.
From these functions, it can be seen that Local Governments are
designed for the rural poor and has been embraced by almost every
country of the world. As a global necessity, local government
administration is such that virtually every country of the world has
one form of it or the other. In Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Mali and South
Africa have well established local government systems. In Asia,
Afghanistan, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian
Authority, Philippines, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Turkey also do
have.
In Europe, Albania, Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, England,
Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland all have well established local
systems.
In the North America, Canada and Mexico are good examples as well as
the United States. In Oceania, Australia and New Zealand have
excellent local government administrations and in South
America,Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay all have
thriving local government systems.
Local government or municipal government is a form of public
administration, which in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest
tier of administration within a given countryand that is how it is
conceived in the 1999 Constitution for Nigeria.
In all Federal States, Local Government generally comprises the third
(or sometimes fourth) tier of government but the current practice in
Nigeria has rendered the Local Government structure meaningless by
removing its autonomy. This is not so in other countries; though they
may not be independent, they are financially autonomous in all the
countries that have them.
In India the local government is the third level of government apart
from the State and Central governments. Local government is the lowest
level in the system of government in Malaysia - after Federal and
State. Local government is the third tier of government in Pakistan,
after Federal Government and Provincial Government. There are also
three levels of local government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Netherlands has three tiers of government as well. There are two
levels of local government in the Netherlands, the provinces and the
municipalities.The system of local government is different in each of
thefour countries of the United Kingdom. In total there are 426 local
authorities in the UK. 346 of these are in England, 26 in Northern
Ireland, 32 in Scotland and 22 are in Wales.
Canada has a federal system with three orders of government. The
largest is the federal government, followed by the provincial and
local governments. Mexico is a Federal Republic made up by 31 states
and a federal district and Local Governments as well as Brazil, which
is divided into 26 states and a federal district and municipalities at
the same time.
To restore Nigeria's Local Governmentsystem, Clause 14 proposed for
amendment by the Senate that seeks direct payment to Local Governments
from the Funds of the Federation by removing Section 162 - the State -
Local Government Joint Accounts – from the Constitution. This is
oneamendment most Nigerians are in agreement with, as the joint
account has permitted the governors to sit on the Local Governments
funds and to whimsically dispense with them as they please. Thus, to
make for accountability and for effective Local Government system, the
committee recommends the expurgation from the Constitution the
State-Local Government Joint Account. Doing so isreally needful now.
It is also important to note that the Senate is not planning to remove
the supervisory powers of the States. No; what they plan is to allow
Local Governments access to their funds directly from the Federation
Account. How they utilize the funds can then be supervised by the
governors. It is believed this will bring development closer to the
grassroots, which is the reason nations have Local Government in the
first place.
If you recall, the whole idea of Joint State - Local Government was
originally planned in a way as to have the States to contribute 10% to
the account and then redistribute to the Local Governments in the
State in order to ensure even development. In practice however, States
do not contribute the said 10% but instead, confiscate the funds that
come to the Local Government from the federation account and apply
them to the uses they decide to the detrimentof the rural poor and
grassroots development.
Critics fear that if this proposal scales through, it would only imply
that Local Governments have more moneyat their disposal to embezzle.
This would then increase political competition (including electoral
violence) at the Local Government level and therefore would not
improve grassroots development. Agreed also, the problem with Nigerian
politics may be more of the character of the Nigerian politician than
political structures, but the nation needs the right laws in place
first and foremost, while equally fighting to get the right people in
place.
Moreover, the contemplation of the Constitution is that money be made
available for development at the grassroots level with the States
retaining supervisory powers in orderto prevent embezzlement as many
fear. The fact remains: where governance is mostly needed is at
therural level. For that is where 70% of Nigerians live as well as the
informal sector feeding the nation.
The nation needs rural roads, markets, schools, parks and more,
andsuch are the functions of Local Governments. Developed as they are,
Local Governments are still an essential feature in most advanced
economies. In Nigeria, like in all otherdeveloping countries, the need
for Local Governments is even more urgent and that is why the
recommendation of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review togive
Local Governments back their money is perhaps the most importantof all
their recommendations. Let it be.
• Law Mefor, Author and Forensic Psychology, is National Coordinator,
Transform Nigeria Movement (TNM); +234-803-787-2893;
lawmefor@gmail.com.

2015 And Chido’s Hornet’sNest By Godwin Onyeacholem

By Godwin Onyeacholem
No matter where they reside, whether in Nigeria or outside, critical
chroniclers of this country's roller-coaster existence have always
been the butt of disparaging comments from jaundiced participants who
find themselves in the maddening struggle towards building a befitting
functional country. Perhaps discomfited by the certainty of truth,
these characters often do not hesitateto hit out at anyone whose
viewpoint they consider incongruent. Like the practiced cobra, they
lie in wait for their quarry, waiting for it to cross their path. And
soon as it does, they strike with the same natural impulse of the
deadly reptile.
My friend Chido Onumah found himself in this situation when he dared
to pose a question that seems to have rattled the opposition. Just
when three major opposition parties and some smaller ones had
consummated a merger that fostered a grander party called All
ProgressivesCongress, APC, primed to dislodge thelargely despised PDP
in the next elections, Chido stirred the hornet's nest. In the piece
published in his column in The Punch on June 21whichwent viral almost
immediately, Chido coined an unequivocal headline the opposition must
have deemed audacious – 2015: Who will defeat Jonathan?
What a cheek! Joe Igbokwe, the frequently excitable, typically devoted
Lagos state publicity secretary of the leading merging party, ACN,
won't dignify the question with what could turn out to be potentially
damaging silence. Yet, instead of taking his time to properly reflect
on the gist of the piece, Igbokwe promptly seized upon the mischievous
author in a rejoinder, implying the futility of the exercise and
indicting him for working hard to insinuate himself to the Presidency.
Interpreted correctly, Igbokwe's mindis that the author is assailed by
poverty and hungry and, therefore, did the piece to book a passage to
rehabilitation by either Aso rock or the ruling party.
Laughable as it is, this far-fetched deduction does nothing to flatter
the political acumen of Igbokwe, not to mention his rational mind.
Much as hetried in his rejoinder, he failed to answer a simple
question that is obviously intended to rouse the opposition to the
reality of what they lack. The question is, besides General Muhammadu
Buhari, who again can the opposition, now circumscribed in APC,
present as their presidential candidate to face President Goodluck
Jonathan in 2015?
There is no point mentioning Adams Oshiomhole, Raji Fashola, Kayode
Fayemi or Rochas Okorocha. These aregood materials quite alright, but
given the sentiments and mood that have produced a permutation that
favours a president of northern extraction, there is no way this APC
would present any of the aforementioned personalities or anyone for
that matter who is not from the north as presidential candidate in
2015. If the party does that, it would pave the way for Jonathan to
coast to victory without breaking sweat.
Certainly in the future the position is bound to go to a candidate
from the south, but for this moment the opposition would have to go
for a northern candidate as a strategy for garnering the significantly
huge northern vote which, barring any underhand dealings, will be
leveraged by an also large southwest vote that will effectively
checkmate PDP at the polls. They will neglect to do so at their own
peril. And the pointis – and Igbokwe would do well to take this as a
matter of fact – the only candidate from the north who has what it
takes to beat Jonathan in a free and fair election is Buhari.
This is the point that Chido made that upsets our friend Igbokwe so
much. Take it or leave it, the opposition as it is constituted today
does not parade anybody from the north that possesses anything close
to Buhari's integrity, credibility and mass appeal capable of
galvanizing the northern electorate for victory. Certainly neither the
prickly Nasir El- Rufai, nor the enthusiastic Nuhu Ribadu, to name
just two visible northern politicians whose names are sometimes thrown
up as likely presidential candidates.
Igbokwe should not delude himself into believing that the average
Nigerian voter is refined enough to vote on the basis of performance.
If his party does not this moment begin the positioning of a
well-prepared, well-managed, better-packaged Buhari for the next
election Jonathan will win again hands down. He won in,of all places,
south west – opposition ACN stronghold – in the April 2011 election in
spite of the perpetual non-performance of the PDP and the intense
campaign against PDP mounted by Igbokwe's party. It is easily recalled
the many instances the ACN leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu appeared on
rostrums denouncing the PDP, describing it as Poverty Development
Party.But to the utter consternation of many an observer, the party
which was labelled as the dispenser of poverty won the election "fair
and square" in Tinubu's ward barely one month after. The ACN abandoned
its presidential candidate and voted the candidate of a party it had
pilloried and castigated in the days leading up to the election. How
did that happen?
The ACN has maintained loud, embarrassing silence all along. Neither
Igbokwe nor the highly effective Lai Mohammed has been bold enough to
offer any convincing explanation since that disastrous showing. The
question is asked again:What happened? And who says it can'thappen
again? Igbokwe should ratheraddress that instead of looking to
denigrate anyone that tries to stimulate reasoned – even if
uncomfortable – debate around the preparedness of the opposition as
2015 beckons.
Godwin Onyeacholem is a journalist; can be reached on gonyeacholem@ gmail.com

Chido Onumah Still Misses The Point Here! By Joe Igbokwe

By Joe Igbokwe
I have just read the second part of Mr. Chido Onumah's piece on 'The
Opposition and 2015'. There, the writer struggled to justify his first
article where he claimed that "If free and fair elections were held
today (even though PDP would never permit free and fair elections)
chances are that President Jonathan will emerge victorious". I have
also followed the reactions including another piece from one Mr.
Godwin Onyeacholem, ostensibly to strengthen Chido's. I want to say
that these are interesting times in Nigeria but we have passed through
this way before and so this is not a road less traveled.
I am a living witness of how Nduka Obiagbena's THISDAY Newspaper
helped in rigging 2003 and 2007 presidential elections through fake
opinion polls and such other favourable feautures that helped soften
the ground for the electoral heist the PDP continues to inflict on the
polity. I know that in the someday, somebody who knew how it happened
in THISDAY will open up. Today Chido Onumah has started a similar
project of rigging Jonathan back to power via such flimsy and
laughable excuse as the that opposition not being ready to
wrestlepower from PDP. I dare ask my brother that in view of the
monumental work and sacrifices the opposition has put to work as a
united from in the ensuing election, what again does he expect the
opposition to do to meet his unexpressed standard of chasing out a
party with a notorious history of woeful performance?
Chido talked about 2011 elections andhow President Jonathan won the
South West and how history is likely to repeat itself in 2015. For the
avoidance of doubt those who voted Jonathan in the South West told us
how Jonathan moved from nowhere to become Deputy Governor, from Deputy
Governor to Governor, from Governor to Vice President and from Vice
President to become President and concluded that the man has
somedivine luck going with him. They told us that they want to tap
Jonathan's divine luck. That is how we got to where we are today. Now
where is the luck after four years? Where is thedivine luck in
Nigeria? Can we see it? Can we feel it? Where has this luck ledNigeria
to? In 2015 I am sure ethnic and religious sentiments will be played
out to discredit General Buhari(rtd) if we choose him as our candidate
to make way for Jonathan because the issue of luck will not matter
again. But I will not fail to educate Chido that Jonathan won 2011,
not through the votes he got from the South West but from the
fictitious millions that were written for him in the South South and
South Eastern states. These were the huge tranche of figures that
swayed the votes for him and the opposition knows this fact en route
2015.
There is no doubt that Chido fell into the elaborate power-retention
scheme of the PDP and other parties in power. They have their boxers
whoengage in not finding satisfaction with whatever those who oppose
do to challenge their hold but continue to throw unending challenges
on them as a demobilization scheme. In the APC case, the PDP and its
hidden persuaders once told us that the opposition will never unite to
fight their stranglehold on power. When they saw that the opposition
was determined to prove them wrong, they threw all manners of spanners
on their way and so far the oppositionhas succeeded in outliving these
challenges, to the chagrin of the PDP and their hidden and open
supporters. From trying to stop them, several top leaders of the PDP
have come out openly to express the fear that the APC will pose a
serious challenge to their hold on power. But Chido rather feels that
he has to pose impossible tasks on the opposition soas to make it seem
impossible to defeat the PDP in 2015.
It seems to me that Nigeria is in dire need of honest intellectuals
that will reshape the way we think and the way we act. The late Chief
MKO Abiola said politics of the stomach has ruined Nigeria. And unless
the real intellectuals stand up, dishonest men and women will continue
to shape the tide of public opinion in Nigeria. I wrote my refutation
to Chido's because I believed he was ruled by the common interest and
should know more than what he put up in hisinitial article. But his
reply rather confirmed my fear that quite indeed, Chido knew what he
was doing but I doubt if his opinion was altruistic, as it pretended
to be.
From what Chido presented in his twoarticles, I am being led to
believe thatChido Onumah who wrote a book on how to reclaim Nigeria
does not believe in the book he wrote. I guess that any effort to
reclaim Nigeria would be stymied by Chido who will certainly lay
unattainable standards for the reclaimants, as he is laying for the
opposition in Nigeria today. My argument is that Chido should have
taken a stand that we must rid this country of PDP and Jonathan and
consequently put his feet, hand, head,heart, eyes into the project. In
thisgame, it is either you lose or you gain.A real man takes a stand
when the need is greatest. I wonder then how he feels Nigeria would be
reclaimed ifhe believes that with its woeful outing in power for
fourteen years, with a party that is torn to the seams by crisis and
the pursuit of self interest, PDP is still invincible.
The clowns in Nigeria's political landscape have been saying that
opposition in Nigeria can never come together to work as a team. Now
that we are genuinely working ourselves to bones to come together what
do we get in return? What are we seeing? I invite Chido Onumah to
recall what the progenitors of this merger have gone through in the
hands of PDP and its agents. I repeat that Chido Onumah tried to make
his first and second article look like he is trying to put the
opposition on its toes but deep inside his heart is an intention to
rig President Jonathan back to power. I stand to be proved wrong and a
million articles in favour of Mr. Chido Onumah can never move me. The
opposition has surpassed theexpectations and doomsday prophecyof the
PDP and its agents and now, it is about 'not being ready for power'.
What a country?
In both his works, it was obvious that Chido took Nigerians for
simpletons and fools who cannot discern or fathom what they want from
government. If he ever did, he wouldn't have insulted Nigerians with
that hyperbole that if free and fair elections are held in a country
that has suffered the worst form of mis-governance in fourteen, the
same party that inflicted this horrendous torture will return to
power. Chido never told us what he feels the PDP and Jonathan have
doneto retain the fidelity of Nigerians come rain come sun. He never
enumerated the high achievements this party and president have
achieved to make Nigerians to merit such flattering support he is
projecting. He merely wanted to soften the ground for PDP's well known
electoral robbery through doing what they boast they know how to do
best. But then, Chido saw this huge potential for a party that had 23
governors at the inception of this administration is now struggling to
retain the loyalty of only 14 of them. He feels no one can defeat
suchparty, what a intellectual hatchet!
My brother and friend Mr. Chido says he will want us to have a debate
about 50 potential presidential candidates in our party. Apart from
General Buhari any of these great minds in APC below can rule this
country better than President Goodluck Jonathan. They are: Nuhu
Ribadu, Nasir El' Rufai, Pat Utomi, Gov Babatunde Fashola, Gov
Oshiomhole, Gov Rochas Okorocha, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Audu
Ogbeh, Gov Fayemi, Senator Chris Ngige, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Alhaji
Shekarau, to mention a few. If the job prescription is to warm the
seat and sleep walk through Nigeria's many numerous problems, as
Chido's Jonathan is doing, I want to tell Chido that tens of millions
of Nigerians can do it.
My take in all this is that time has come for Nigerians to tell us
where they are in the struggle for the soul ofNigeria in times of
trouble. You do nothave to sit in the sidelines, you just have to take
a stand – either on the side of change or for the maintenanceof status
quo. The choice is ours.
For me, I want PDP out of our lives. I want President Jonathan out. I
have seen what BAT and BRF did in Lagos for 14 years. I have seen what
other good governors did including some PDP Governors. A friend told
me that ifa team goes to World Cup tournamentunprepared the best they
can get is to get knocked out in the first match and the team goes
home. If you elect a weak president in Nigeria 150 million Nigerians
will suffer for four years and if he gets eight years, we allwill
suffer for eight years.
Joe Igbokwe
Lagos

Still On Jonathan, Opposition And 2015 By Chido Onumah

Columnist: Chido Onumah
I would be deluding myself if I imagined that my article last week,
"2015: Who will defeat Jonathan?" would not elicit the kind of
"violent" outbursts that have trailed it. After all,this is Nigeria
where you can't take a position without being accused of "looking for
something". It is understandable. Some journalists andcolumnists have
written their way to plum government jobs.
That piece was meant as a wake-up call for the opposition and an
attemptto redirect the jaded public discourse on the future of
Nigeria. In a way, the diatribes notwithstanding, I am happywe are
gradually shifting gear and areinclining toward a proper debate about
2015.
This is helpful considering that the only debate on that subject so
far has been name-calling and threats by ethnic warlords and religious
bigots. If it is not Ohaneze N'Igbo shouting from every rooftop, "It
is the turn of Ndigbo" or Dokubo-Asari threatening that the country
will go up in flames with the aid of oil from the Niger Delta or
Kingsley Kuku promising us that militants will return to the creeksif
Jonathan is not reelected in 2015, then it is Prof. Ango Abdullahi or
Farouk Adamu-Aliyu assuring us that the North (which North?) will
break away and form its own republic.
In his rejoinder to my piece, Joe Igbokwe took umbrage at my assertion
that, "If free and fair elections were held today (even though the PDP
would never permit free and fair elections), chances are that
President Jonathan will emerge victorious". According to Igbokwe, "I
do not know what led Chido Onumah to believe that PDP led by anybody
in Nigeria today can win a presidential election in a free and fair
process".
"Now the question is this: On what basis is PDP going to win this
election? Is it based on performance? What is the basis? How good have
we fared in the past 14 years to warrant Chido to make this egregious
forecast? Are we getting better? If youstill give PDP 50 years can it
do anything better than what we have seen?" Igbokwe asked.
Need we remind Joe Igbokwe that even with the knowledge and experience
of the wreckage and wanton pillage since 1999, the PDP led by Goodluck
Jonathan won in the South-west during the presidential election just
two years ago? In the same South-west, the Action Congressof Nigeria
(ACN) won convincingly in the gubernatorial and National Assembly
elections.
I did not infer that Nigerians do not have the capacity to bring about
change by voting against PDP, but it will take more than saying
President Jonathan is clueless to achieve that. For the avoidance of
doubt and contrary to Joe Igbokwe's assertion, I did not gloss over
"the critical importance of performance in winning elections or the
issue of party unity". The point being made here which was the gist
of my article is that Nigerian voters are not as "sophisticated" as
Igbokwe assumes, notwithstanding the grinding poverty, President
Jonathan's lack of performance and the unmitigated disaster that has
been the hallmark ofthe PDP since 1999.
I have watched Goodluck Jonathan closely since I first met him in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, in 2006 duringa continental environmental
conference that looked at the impactsand implications of renewed
mining boom on communities in Africa, and it is difficult to put
performance and Goodluck Jonathan in the same sentence, yet he won a
presidential election "convincingly" in the South-west, even with the
level of education and exposure of voters in that geo-political zone.
We need to know what made that victory possiblein an opposition
stronghold. Obviously, Nigerians notice the imperative of performance
in winningelection as Joe Igbokwe rightly noted,but whether this
imperative is overriding every time is another matter.
I did not tie the future of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to one
man – Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)as Igbokwe erroneously implied. I
was clear in my assertion. As an aside, the former head of state will
be 73 in 2015. I personally do not support gerontocracy in an era in
which the world is electing young and visionary presidents in their
40s.
Talking about the presidency in 2015, the APC, undoubtedly, is a party
of immense potentials. But it remains just that, a party of great
potentials. We would need to translate that potential to reality and
time is of the essence. I stand by my assertion that, "If elections
were held today, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is perhaps the only
person with the pedigree, name recognition and national appeal who can
give President Jonathan and the PDP a run for their money".
"Is Chido saying that if anything happens to Buhari today, APC will
not fill a presidential candidate in 2015?" Don't we have more than 50
presidential candidates who can do better than Buhari if we search for
them? Joe Igbokwe queried. The answer, my dear Joe Igbokwe, is thatthe
issue goes beyond fielding a presidential candidate. You want to field
one with the pedigree, integrity,national appeal and acceptability
thatstands a chance. Now is the time to make that decision no matter
how difficult it is; not tomorrow, not next year. As a card-carrying
member of ACN, and now by extension a member of APC, I would love to
have the debate about the 50 potential presidential candidates in the
party.
I appreciate what Joe Igbokwe refers to as "mines and bombs PDP
mercenaries have been sowing on APC's highway to reclaim Nigeria".
Wemust add to this the fact that APC is contesting against an
incumbent president (whom some have described as the most powerful in
theworld) who has made corruption the directive principle of state
policy.
I hope this resonates with Joe Igbokwe. Let's assume elections are in
April 2015. There are 36 states and 774 local governments in the
country. If a candidate (but not just a candidate) emerged today, that
means he or she has 22 months (or about 675 days) to make an
impression. This is not an attempt to pull down the APC, but in all
seriousness to show the urgency of the task at hand.
I agree with Joe Igbokwe that it is not "easy for ACN, ANPP, CPC and
APGA to come together in today's Nigeria to challenge PDP". In my
appraisal of theAPC a few months ago, I noted, "If the APC succeeds,
and I hope and pray it does, it will be "a marginal improvement over
where we are coming from". I ended the appraisal by quoting Edwin
Madunagu who noted in his piece "Reflections on Party Combinations",
The Guardian, March 7 & 14, 2013, "Someone has referred to the
newly-formed APC as the 'new' SDP. Yes, there are a couple of elements
in common. But there is at least one more requirement for theAPC: It
has to show that not only is thestatus-quo totally bankrupt (which is
the case), but also that the APC is a historically progressive way
forward at this moment, and that it is the only one".
"Now, if the question is, 'Is the opposition ready to compete in
2015?' please take notice that the answer is yes and this is final",
Igbowke concluded. Quite reassuring!I am currently teaching a summer
course for young journalists from around the world on media and
information literacy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
There are many students and academics from Egypt – some of them active
participants in the "Egyptian Uprising".
Very often our debates veer toward the situation in Egypt which bears
an uncanny resemblance to what we have in Nigeria. After one year in
office, Egyptians are tired and angry with Mohamed Morsi and his
Muslim Brotherhood/Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and they are eager
to end their reign.
Egypt is known as a nation where people, no matter their religion or
culture, leave together in peace. But that is no longer the case under
Morsi who, late last year, granted himself unlimited powers to
"protect the nation and to legislate without judicial oversight". My
students say he is destroying Egypt, undermining its constitution and
using religion to divide the country.
"If elections were held in Egypt today what would happen to Morsi and
the Muslim Brotherhood?" I asked a groupof students. They were
unanimous in saying Morsi would "win". I then asked why. The response
was that theopposition had not been able to unitearound a nationally
acceptable candidate that could articulate the feelings of Egyptians.
But beyond that, one perceptive student noted, "a lot of Egyptians are
illiterate; they are easily swayed by religious arguments – which the
Muslim Brotherhood is manipulating. The Muslim Brotherhood is well
funded, getting support from some of the very rich countries in the
Middle East. During election they will buy people with bags of rice,
cloth and oil".
Does this sound familiar?
conumah@hotmail.com

Still on Jonathan, opposition and 2015 by Chido Onumah (conumah@ hotmail.com)

I would be deluding myself if I imagined that my article last week,
"2015: Who will defeat Jonathan?" would not elicit the kind of
"violent" outbursts that have trailed it. After all,this is Nigeria
where you can't take a position without being accused of "looking for
something". It is understandable. Some journalists andcolumnists have
written their way to plum government jobs.
That piece was meant to be a wake-up call for the opposition and an
attempt to redirect the jaded public discourse on the future of
Nigeria. In a way, the diatribes notwithstanding, I am happy we are
gradually shifting gear and are inclining toward a proper debate about
2015.
This is helpful considering that the only debate on that subject so
far has been name-calling and threats by ethnic warlords and religious
bigots. If it is notOhaneze Ndigboshouting from every rooftop, "It is
the turn of Ndigbo" or Dokubo-Asari threatening that the country will
go up in flames with the aid of oil from the Niger Delta or Kingsley
Kuku promising us that militants will return to the creeksif Jonathan
is not reelected in 2015, then it is Prof. Ango Abdullahi or Farouk
Adamu-Aliyu assuring us that the North (which North?) will break away
and form its own republic.
In his rejoinder to my piece, Joe Igbokwe took umbrage at my assertion
that, "If free and fair elections were held today (even though the PDP
would never permit free and fair elections), chances are that
President Jonathan would emerge victorious". According to Igbokwe, "I
do not know what led Chido Onumah to believe that the PDP led by
anybody in Nigeria today can win a presidential election in a free and
fair process".
"Now, the question is this: On what basis is the PDP going to win this
election? Is it based on performance? What is the basis? How good have
we fared in the past 14 years to warrant Chido to make this egregious
forecast? Are we getting better? If youstill give the PDP 50 years,
can it do anything better than what we have seen?" Igbokwe asked.
Need we remind Igbokwe that even with the knowledge and experience of
the wreckage and wanton pillage since 1999, the PDP led by Jonathan
won in the South-West during the presidential election just two years
ago? In the same South-West, the Action Congress of Nigeria,
interestingly, won convincingly in thegovernorship and National
Assembly elections.
I did not infer that Nigerians do not have the capacity to bring about
change by voting against the PDP, butit will take more than saying
President Jonathan is clueless to achieve that. For the avoidance of
doubt and contrary to Igbokwe's assertion, I did not gloss over "the
critical importance of performance in winning elections or the issue
of party unity". The point being made, and which bears repeating here,
which was the gist of my article, is that Nigerian voters are not as
"sophisticated" as Igbokwe assumes, notwithstanding the grinding
poverty, President Jonathan's lack of performance and the unmitigated
disaster that has been the hallmark ofthe PDP since 1999.
I have watched Jonathan closely sinceI first met him in Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State, in 2006, during a continental environmental conference
that looked at the impacts and implications of renewed mining boom on
communities in Africa, and it is difficult to put performance and him
in the same sentence, yet, he won a presidential election
"convincingly" in the South-West, even with the level of education and
exposure of voters in that geopolitical zone. We need to know what
made that victory possible in an opposition stronghold. Obviously,
Nigerians notice the imperative of performance in winning election as
Igbokwe rightly noted, but whether this imperative is overriding every
time is another matter.
I did not tie the future of the All Progressives Congress to one man -
Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) as Igbokwe erroneously implied. I
was clear in my assertion. As an aside, the former head of state will
be 73 in 2015. I personally do not support gerontocracy in an era in
which the world is electing young and visionary presidents in their
40s.
Talking about the Presidency in 2015, the APC, undoubtedly, is a party
of immense potential. But it remains just that, a party of great
potential. We would need to translate that potential into reality and
time is of the essence. I stand by my assertion that, "If elections
were held today, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) isperhaps the only
person with the pedigree, name recognition and national appeal who
could give President Jonathan and the PDP a run for their money".
"Is Chido saying that if anything happens to Buhari today, APC will
not fill a presidential candidate in 2015? Don't we have more than 50
presidential candidates who can do better than Buhari if we search for
them?, Igbokwe further queried. The answer, my dear Joe Igbokwe, is
that the issue goes beyond fielding apresidential candidate. You want
to field one with the pedigree, integrity,national appeal and
acceptability thatstands a chance. Now is the time to make that
decision no matter how difficult it is; not tomorrow, not next year.
As a card-carrying member of the ACN, and now by extension a member of
the APC, I would love to have the debate about the 50 potential
presidential candidates in the party.
I appreciate what Igbokwe refers to as "mines and bombs the PDP
mercenaries have been sowing on the APC's highway to reclaim
Nigeria".We must add to this the fact that the party is contesting
against an incumbent President (whom some have described as the most
powerful in the world) who has made corruption the directive principle
of state policy.
I hope this resonates with Igbokwe. Let's assume elections are in
April 2015. There are 36 states and 774 localgovernments in the
country. If a candidate (but not just a candidate) emerged today, that
means he or she has 22 months (or about 675 days) to make an
impression. This is not an attempt to pull down the APC, but in all
seriousness to show the urgency of the task at hand.
I also agree with him that it is not "easy for the ACN, ANPP, CPC and
APGA to come together in today's Nigeria tochallenge the PDP". In my
appraisal ofthe APC a few months ago, I noted, "If the APC succeeds,
and I hope and prayit does, it will be "a marginal improvement over
where we are coming from". I ended the appraisal by quoting Edwin
Madunagu who noted in his piece, "Reflections on Party
Combinations",TheGuardian, March 7 & 14, 2013, that, "Someone
hasreferred to the newly-formed APC as the 'new' SDP. Yes, there are a
couple of elements in common. But there is at least one more
requirement for theAPC: It has to show that not only is thestatus-quo
totally bankrupt (which is the case), but also that the APC is a
historically progressive way forward at this moment, and that it is
the only one".
"Now, if the question is, 'Is the opposition ready to compete in
2015?'please take notice that the answer is yes and this is final",
Igbokwe concluded. Quite reassuring! I am currently teaching a summer
course for young journalists from around the world on media and
information literacy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
There are many students and academics from Egypt - some of them active
participants in the "Egyptian Uprising".
Very often, our debates veer toward the situation in Egypt which bears
an uncanny resemblance to what we have in Nigeria. After one year in
office, Egyptians are tired and angry with Mohammed Morsi and his
MuslimBrotherhood/Freedom and Justice Party and they are eager to end
their reign. Egypt is known as a nation where people, no matter their
religion or culture, leave together in peace. But that is no longer
the case under Morsi who, late last year, granted himself unlimited
powers to "protect the nation and to legislate without judicial
oversight". My students say he is destroying Egypt, undermining its
constitution and using religion to divide the country.
If elections were held in Egypt today, what would happen to Morsi and
the Muslim Brotherhood?, I asked a group of students. They were
unanimous in saying Morsi would "win". I then asked why. The response
was that theopposition had not been able to unitearound a nationally
acceptable candidate that could articulate the feelings of Egyptians.
But beyond that, one perceptive student noted, "Alot of Egyptians are
illiterate; they areeasily swayed by religious arguments- which the
Muslim Brotherhood is manipulating. The Muslim Brotherhood is
well-funded, getting support from some of the very rich countries in
the Middle East. During election they will buy people with bags of
rice, cloth and oil".

Ogun: Otunba Gbenga Daniel, 12 others suspended for anti-party activities

From MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta
The crisis within the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), in Ogun
Statefurther deepened, as the party said it had suspended the
erstwhile governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel for alleged
anti-party activities.
Chairman of the PDP in Ogun East Senatorial district, Otunba Doyin
Fakoya made the disclosure during the party's Remo- North Federal
constituency meeting held at Isara in Remo-North Local Government Area
of the state.
But in a swift reaction to the purported suspension, an aide to the
former governor, Chief Lasisi Bamgbose described it as a joke.
According to him, the alleged suspension was not properly done and it
remains nothing but an illegal exercise that would bring further ill
feelings among supporters of the former governor. "I dey laugh about
this," he said.
According to Fakoya, Ward 12, Sagamu Local Government Area, where the
former governor hailed, carried out Daniel's suspension.
His words: "As of today, I am the chairman of Ogun East Senatorial
district. I have got a copy of letter thatOtunba Gbenga Daniel has
been suspended; he is no longer a memberof the PDP he has been
suspended by ward 12 Sagamu constituency 2.
Fakoya said the ward acted based on the report of the disciplinary
committee set up to look into the allegations leveled against Daniel
and others.
His words: "Otunba Gbenga Daniel was the one that brought the PPN to
Ogun State, he is now financing Labour Party at the moment. You cannot
be in two parties at the same time, you can not be in PPN, PDP and
Labour Party at the same time what are we afraid of.
"Otunba Gbenga Daniel is like any other citizen that jumps political
party, he was fortunate that he governed Ogun State for eight years,
is that the reason for being in three political parties at the same
time. "Alhaji Bamanga Tukur said we should put discipline back into
the party and his ward said it has suspended him from the party, so be
it, he is not God, he has been suspended by ward 12 Sagamu
constituency 2. I have got the copy of the letter, I have sent a copy
of the letter to the state secretariat and I have sent one to the
press."