The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • The lies of Omokri about Osinbajo

    Reno Omokri, a former special assistant on New Media to former President Goodluck Jonathan, is an interesting man. Two years after his former boss lost the April 2015 presidential elections to President Muhammadu Buhari, he has shown, through his statements and social media posts on issues related to the last administration, that he remains loyal to the man who once held sway in Aso Rock.

    But Omokri forgets that loyalty, no matter how noble it seems on the surface, can sometimes be blind – blind to facts and figures, especially if it is clouded by sentiments and not reason.

    A few days ago, Omokri claimed, in a statement, that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ‘lied” against his former boss, Jonathan. He said, “Speaking on Friday the 27th of October 2017 in Lagos at a ‘Greater Nigeria Pastors Conference’, the Vice President said, “Weeks before the 2015 elections, the government then, gave out N100billion in cash and $295million in cash ostensibly for security within two weeks. I make bold to say that the Vice President has once again taken to his characteristic habit of lying.”

    Omokri’s attempt to denigrate the personality of the Vice President was a cheap shot and needless, especially coming from one that had once been accused of identity theft in the past. Everyone remembers the scandalous case of Wendell Simlin?

    A brief refresher: In February 2014, an American woman had accused Omokri of impersonation and identity theft. He was alleged to have used the now infamous pseudonym, Wendell Simlin, in an article that was circulated to journalists and bloggers. The article tried to link the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, to Boko Haram. An online medium, Premium Times, later discovered that the document’s digital signature was identical to previous ones sent by Omokri. The real Wendel Simlin was actually the American woman’s son based in California. The digital footprints of the article exposed Omokri. Why, then, should the public believe such a man with a digital penchant for deceit?

    Back to his statement on the Vice President, Omokri went on to add that, “Nigerians may recall that only last week, Vice President Osinbajo was in Anambra State where he lied that the present administration had paid $2 billion for the second Niger Bridge.”

    For one, Omokri’s allegations hold no water. Secondly, he based his false claims on yet another false claim; that he could only support with more false claims. He would not know, of course, that you cannot build something on nothing!

    On the second Niger Bridge and the $2b mentioned in the media, the Presidency came out with a statement to clarify the figures. The Vice President did actually mean to say N2b and not $2b. It wasn’t a statement of deceit, mentioning the dollar currency was simply inadvertent and unintentional. It is important to mention also that the official statement of the VP’s comments on the Bridge clearly stated N2b, and not $2b, like what was mentioned in the video clip that was quoted by some media houses. But, of course, Reno will pretend not to have seen that.

    So, where is the ‘lie’ here, Pastor Reno?

    In April, 2015, weeks after Jonathan had lost the presidential elections, a major national daily, and many others, carried the cover report with the screaming headline, “Jonathan demands N2tr election funds refund, audit.” It said the former president had set up a committee to conduct an audit of how the elections funds were disbursed by party members and state officials.

    Two trillion naira. For 10 seconds, please let that figure sink in. N2trn is N100 billion in 20 places.

    According to the report, sources within the party and the former government said that “Jonathan was disturbed that despite giving campaign coordinators, ministers, special advisers, close aides and friends, support groups and traditional rulers over N2tr in cash, most of them could not deliver their polling booths and local governments. The (then) President was said to have been further irked by the results of an investigation he ordered.”

    The Peoples Democratic Party also spent billions on hiring of jets, advertisements and in other areas for campaign purposes.

    Since 2015, Nigerians have come to realise the monumental corruption that happened under Jonathan’s watch; from former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison Madueke, to former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, and many other officials in the former administration that have been accused of corruption.

    In the infamous $2.1 billion arms scam that almost derailed Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North East, the former NSA is alleged to have awarded fraudulent contracts to purchase equipment for the military. When President Buhari took over, the renewed vigour displayed by the Nigerian military in tackling the insurgency was there for all Nigerians too see, as they reclaimed territories once under the stronghold of the insurgents and recorded numerous victories.

    Also, after the presidential and gubernatorial elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said about 205 of its personnel, including former Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs),  had received part of the N23 billion alleged to have been disbursed by Alison-Madueke to rig the 2015 elections in favour of Jonathan. More facts keep emerging on the litany of fraud that was perpetrated by officials in the former administration.

    Recently, President Buhari ordered the sack of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; the Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke, over allegations of corruption. The President may not have acted sooner because he had to study the report of the investigative panel headed by the Vice President. In the end, the proof was clear. So he did the right thing.

    Many Nigerians have also commended the President for this bold move, which they say has sent a strong signal that the administration was, indeed, committed to fighting corruption, despite claims of critics.

    One of the key areas of the Buhari administration is to fight corruption, rebuild the economy and improve security. If this move is not any proof that Reno and his likes have asked for, one wonders what more they require. Truth is, this administration is working hard to tackle corruption and block government officials from looting state treasury, like was rife under the last administration. Nigerians have come to trust the Buhari administration, because of the commitment, integrity and forthrightness of the President.

    Then, Reno made another feeble attempt to score cheap points by using the illustration of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the Jonathan administration as a yardstick. That the Buhari administration implemented it is commendable, there was nothing hurried about it. The framework was already there, why delay it any further if the TSA could block conduits of corruption and then save the country billions? Now, one wonders why the former administration failed to implement it when it had the opportunity to do so.

    Again, the claim that President Buhari asked the World Bank to focus only on Northern Nigeria has been proven to be inaccurate. The North East of the country is just a subset of Northern Nigeria. The Presidency and the World Bank have since come out to clarify this. Omokri, being a student of governance and politics, should also know that international institutions and NGOs give more priority to crisis-ridden areas around the world, which the North East of the country falls into as a result of insurgency.

    On the issue of the erroneous claim by Omokri of a $25 billion Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation scam, the truth is: there is no $25 billion NNPC scam anywhere. This issue has been clearly addressed several times by both the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Presidency. Media claims on social media comments that $25b worth of oil contracts were awarded by the NNPC or that $25b in NNPC funds was missing have been proven to be both false. Presidential approvals were only given on Joint Venture financing arrangements, meaning loans to cater for cash call obligations, and not for the procurement of contracts.

    Omokri should heed his own advice; he is the one that needs to turn a new leaf. A word is enough for the wise.

     

    • Thompson writes from Abuja
  • APC and 2019: Time to separate wheat from the chaff

    APC and 2019: Time to separate wheat from the chaff

    With 2018 beckoning and the 2019 elections only about a year away, the political clime is already heating up.

    The real contenders and pretenders will gradually be revealed before our very eyes.

    For the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), it would be yet another time to weigh its popularity before the people.

    In this piece, Coordinators of Our Lagos Your Lagos, Aregbe Idris and Abiodun Yinusa, submit that in the run up to 2019 elections, the real leaders of the party must take its rightful place and unseat the fair weather leaders who are only after their meal ticket.

    They insist that real leaders don’t claim credit for success, rather they accept responsibilities and that attempts by usurpers of the party will be resisted by real members of the party.

    Read on:

    “Leaders who can’t see it would probably not find it. Leaders who lack vision cannot inspire teams. Blind Leaders cannot continue to lead. Leaders who see ability alone in their family, friends or neighbors are not Leaders. Leaders who lack character or integrity won’t last the test of time and it’s high time we ignore ‘the know it all leaders’ and the hidden ones amongst us.

    “The Alimosho’s, the Kosofe’s and quite number of key places are tired of those individuals who handed themselves leadership roles in their communities. Their quietness and calmness is for the love they have for the true leadership and structure on ground by our foremost leaders: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Akinwunmi Ambode who have taken the State to its best. Any attempt to raise hands on these God given people, millions of hard stones comes back to you in a hard way.

    “When we look at the effigy of these people, we keep praying for their long life. It is good for you to look back at where you guys are coming from and check if these people haven’t contributed to your life. The ‘It’s all about them politics is over’. A leader in one state today, a leader in another state tomorrow is over. Stay where you are and lead your people, if it’s all about true service and nothing behind that. Omo Eko niwa leni, Omo Osun niwa lola, Omo Ogun niwa the next day politics is over in Lagos. Asiwaju does not teach zigzag politics.

    “A true grass root leader lays ground rules for promoting community change and not interfering with progressive, statesmanship decisions. You should always demonstrate credible commitment to their party and to their community. It is forbidden for any leader to obstruct growth process in the state. Your intention for this singular act is unacceptable. ‘We love Lagos, we cherish our dreams and we won’t let anyone divide us’.

    “I dare any of these so called leaders to come out if you have never for once, twice, or thrice benefited from the politics of the anointed one over the other. Anyone who wishes to leave should leave now, we mean NOW. We need the real party members and party faithfuls to enjoy and feel the Tinubu-Ambode breeze with ease in Lagos- The only State that will save our party in the 2019 General Election in the Country”.

    Idris and Yinusa are both Coordinators of Our Lagos Your Lagos

    Read Also: 2019: Ebonyi APC drums support for Buhari

  • Once Upon a Time before Buhari

    Once Upon a Time before Buhari

    “When it comes to value, no one talks a better game than those in communications. It’s our business, after all. But when it comes to measuring leadership competencies and effectiveness, nothing speaks louder than the bottom line.” Anonymous
    The above analogy perfectly fits the Nigerian state under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. Quote me anywhere. I recall in 2015 at the eagle square when he took the oath of office, the famous take away from his speech was “I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody.”
    It is only natural that the country went to town with that phrase forgetting the salient points of his speech. That paragraph in his speech is the basis of the article. Please permit me to reproduce it here.
    “At home, we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are going to tackle them head-on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.”
    Read between the lines in the above paragraph. Take a break; recline on your chair, and think of Nigeria pre-2015. Think deeply and reflect on the happenings in the new Nigeria concerning the fight against Boko Haram insurgents and also the fight against corruption. Has there been a renewed hope for Nigeria? Has there been competencies and effectiveness? And is Nigeria moving forward? All of these questions have answers. But who will provide the answers? I will attempt with examples.
    Once upon a time, Abuja was always under attack by Boko Haram insurgents. The United Nations House was bombed. The headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force was attacked. Two bombs exploded at a crowded bus station in Nyanya. Thisday newspaper office in Abuja was raided. And much more. Residents of the Nation’s capital lived in fear. Some relocated, and some took extra caution. During that period, Nigeria itched towards anarchy. Nobody knew when the next bomb would detonate. We lived in constant fear of the unknown.
    These are undeniable facts. Now fast forward to 2017. Do residents of Abuja now sleep with their eyes closed? Since assumption of leadership of the country, has any bomb been detonated in Abuja? Let us learn to call a spade a spade if we are desirous of moving forward as a nation. You might not like President Muhammadu Buhari’s face. But you cannot deny that he has shown how nothing speaks louder than the bottom line. And what is the bottom line in this instance? Your guess is as good as mine in the sense that no meaningful development could be achieved without adequate security. That was the thrust of the Buhari administration. All of these are evident in the release of 106 Chibok girls, as well as over 16,000 persons in Boko Haram captivity, tackling insurgency, the decimation of Boko Haram in the North East, and rebuilding lives of citizens there. It is instructive to state that about one million displaced persons in the northeast have returned to their communities within two years of this administration.
    For some of us that have visited Borno state, it was such an emotional site that if not careful you could slip into emotional distress. I won’t mention the human tragedies because of its sensitivity. But I will say that even live stocks were not spared in some of these towns. You can put one and two to this statement. At some point, close to 13 local government areas in three states (Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa) were under the control of Boko Haram Insurgents. In a report by Daily Trust news on 5 January 2015, captioned “41 DAYS TO ELECTIONS: 13 Local Govts under Boko Haram” it stated that “Nine of the affected local governments are in Borno State, and they are: Gwoza, Bama, Mafa, Dikwa, Kala-Balge, Ngala, Marte, Abadam, and Mobber. The other four are Michika and Madagali in Adamawa State, as well as Gujba and Gulani in Yobe State.
    The insurgents have also established partial control in parts of some local government areas in Borno, comprising Mungono, Kukawa, Guzamala, Gubio, Magumeri, Damboa, konduga, Chibok, Askira Uba, and Jere. Before the outright takeover of many communities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, the Boko Haram had earlier caused collateral damage in various places where they destroyed entire villages, markets, military barracks, police stations, governmental buildings, prisons, farmlands and other symbols of authority and worship places, including churches and mosques.”
    I want you reading to create a mental picture of the above statement. That is the only way you would get to appreciate the giant strides of our military in reclaiming these territories. This didn’t happen by magic or voodoo. It happened because of leadership competence and effectiveness. Let me take us back to that portion of his speech again. He said “We must not succumb to hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.”
    This was the mood before President Buhari came onboard. But this isn’t the norm anymore. Our hopelessness has turned to optimism. The defeatist spirit has been replaced with the resilience spirit that we are known for as Nigerians. And guess what? Under President Muhammadu Buhari we have shown that “we can fix our problems” And you also do not have to like his face. But don’t feign ignorance.
    Once upon a time, Ambassador James Entwistle, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, says his government will not sell arms to the country due to human rights abuses committed by its soldiers in the north-east. Our soldiers were in the habit of” maneuvering technically” into neighboring countries and some into rivers just in a bid to run for their dear lives. Monies meant for weapons and welfare of soldiers ended up in private pockets. There was so much impunity, and Boko Haram Insurgents gained more ground. But not anymore.
    The US state department approved the sale of a $593 million A-29 Super Tucano attack planes with associated parts, training, facilities, and weapons, to Nigeria. Some cheering news I guess. But it didn’t happen by magic too. Something must have been done right by the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, the chief of Army staff. The appointment of Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai as chief of army staff is one of the best decisions of the President Muhammdu Buhari because he has also demonstrated capacity by leading an army whose morale was at its lowest ebb. He not only revived their confidence, but he also placed it on a very high pedestal. That is the spirit in the Nigerian army today.
    Once upon a time on the night of April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State. You remember the” BringBackOurGirls” hashtag that went viral worldwide? If you don’t then you should remember that between 2016 and now, 106 of the kidnapped schoolgirls have been rescued. And need I mention that efforts are ongoing toward ensuring that the remaining girls in captivity are rescued and reunited with their families.
    The commitment of the Nigerian government towards the rescue of the kidnap girls has received commendations from wide and far. It is on record the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump encouraged President Buhari to keep up the excellent work he is doing, and also commended him for the efforts made in rescuing the Chibok girls and the strides being taken by the Nigerian military. While this might seem infinitesimal in the eyes of those opposed to the progress of Nigeria, it is indeed a worthy milestone. One thing is clear; President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated capacity. You could question his methodology, but nothing speaks louder than the bottom line. And the bottom line is that Nigeria is on the path to greatness again.
    Pause! You remember Sambisa forest? Once upon a time, it sounded like a shrine when one pronounces it slowly (Sam…Bi…Sa.) Sambisa was home to the infamous Ground Zero, the operational headquarters of Boko Haram insurgents. Guess what? Ground Zero is now a military training ground. The Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship (NASAC) 2017 was held at Sambisa forest. This is no small feat. Even the Peoples Democratic Party congratulated President Muhammdu Buhari for the achievement.
    Life has returned to the local government areas that were hitherto under the capture of Boko Haram insurgents. Roads that were closed for years have been reopened. Economic activities have all resumed. At least one can thump his chest and say there is a time we got something right in our history. And that was when we voted Muhammadu Buhari as President to lead our country.
    Good leadership is essential to government and to the numerous groups and organizations that shape the way we live, work and play. President Muhammdu Buhari’s strong will and incorruptibility cannot be questioned, and he has demonstrated that leadership is not about titles, but about one’s life influencing another. I repeat. Nothing speaks louder than the bottom line.

    Angula, a public affairs commentator wrote from the United Kingdom.

  • James Terhemen Iorkusah: The Best Man on the Job

    James Terhemen Iorkusah: The Best Man on the Job

    For how long can the people of Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency preserve the notion of mediocrity, yet try to battle every now and then with the challenge of ineffective representation which continues to stare them in the face?

    After generations of trying to force square pegs to fit round holes, it seems painfully obvious that political decisions of the people of this area have been in conflict with the real world of progress and development which is everyone’s ultimate desire.

    What then is to be done? In assessing our sons who vie for political positions, we must realize that true merit is like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.

    This is one strong quality that James Terhemen Iorkusah possesses which eclipses others who desire the Kwande / Ushongo Federal House of Representatives seat in 2019. Kwande / Ushongo is the leading political rallying-point, having produced the likes of the late Appolos Aper Aku who is today a reference point for development in Benue state.
    But over the succeeding years, the political horizons keep expanding, yet development seems to elude the people of this axis.

    The good news, however, is that a brilliant young man who is a powerful serendipitous driver of social progress is set to take the bull by the horns and change the status quo for the good of his beloved people.

    James Terhemen Iorkusah is a man who has an unrivalled penchant for the provision of service to his people. His life is the quintessence of service to humanity; his sacrifices for those around him and beyond irrespective of class, creed or ethnic background-eye catching; his versatility and ingenuity as an incredible technocrat and entrepreneur-beyond compare; His uncommon love for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ-Inspiring; Not to mention his astounding leadership as a consummate family man.

    From his humble beginning in Mbagwaza district, Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State where he was born into the devoutly Christian family of Mr Joseph Iorkusah Korinjo and Mrs Mary Udookwase Iorkusah Korinjo on November 28, 1967 as the 2nd of 9 children, his thirst for excellence and greatness was astonishing, evidenced by his remaining at the top of his class during his Primary Education at LGED Primary School, Ushongo between 1973 and 1979.

    He proceeded to the NKST Secondary School Adikpo where he emerged with flying colours in his O’level in 1984. Like Alfred Tennyson, he decided to drink deep from the sea of knowledge.

    This made him leave the comfort of his motherland to Plateau State where he bagged his first degree in Business Management from the University of Jos in 1991.

    His passion to serve his people would not let him stay idle, so he proceeded to Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo in 1996 as a Lecturer. By 1999, he bagged an MBA from the prestigious University of Nigeria Nsukka.

    His imprints and legacy at the Institution are there for all to see. He found the woman of his dreams in Mrs Ene Violet Iorkusah, and the 20 years of marriage has been blessed with 3 wonderful children.

    A goldfish has no hiding place, so it was only a matter of time before Nigeria’s prestigious Banks would come calling. His career in the Banking sector would begin in the year 2000 and spanned for over a decade where he worked for the then Standard Trust Bank, Oceanic Bank, Equatorial Trust Bank and Fidelity Bank, bagging a professional diploma in retail banking from the International Academy of Retail Banking (London) during this period, to add to his burgeoning portfolio.
    A Purebred Community Man
    James Iorkusah put the opportunities that came his way to the service of his society in many ways.

    While serving as an Area manager at Fidelity Bank, James influenced and got the NKST Primary School Iortyer along Gboko Road which structure became an eyesore renovated as part of Corporate Social Responsibility funded by the Staff of Makurdi Branch and the Bank.

    The story of the Kwande Local Government Secretariat unarguably one of the Best Local Governments Secretariat in Benue State cannot be complete without mentioning Mr. James Iorkusah. As the Area Manager in charge of Makurdi Area, he initiated and ensured that Kwande Local Government Council was granted a Loan of NGN200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira), the highest amount enjoyed by any Local Government Area in Benue State as a Loan from any Financial Institution.
    This enabled Kwande Local Government to complete the Local Government Secretariat and also construct a befitting Local Government Council Chambers among other projects.

    His Passion for Youth Enablement
    Facilitated the admission and successful graduation of many young men and women especially those of Kwande extraction from the Benue State Polytechnic Ugbokolo between 1996 and year 2000. This fact is not hidden and can be collaborated by many ex-students on the Benue Polytechnic.

    Out of his meagre resources, James ensured he helped some less privileged Students pay their School Fees during his days as a Lecturer at Benue State Polytechnic. He also did same to many Students at Benue State University and other Schools with a particular emphasis on Students from Zone A. No wonder the Zone A Students of the Benue State University gave him an award.

    During his working in the Banking sector which spanned over a decade, James Iorkusah ensured he, directly and indirectly, facilitated the employment of Benue indigenes in every one of the Banks he worked. Owing to his short stay at Standard Trust Bank he was able to facilitate the employment 2 Benue sons. At Oceanic Bank 5, Four at Equitorial Trust Bank and over 30 at Fidelity Bank Plc.

    It is worthy to note that James ensured his area was well represented in the utilization of available employment opportunities for example when the Benue State University Branch of Fidelity Bank was established at a time James was made the Area Manager of Makurdi Area and two Branch Managers were to be appointed for Benue State University and Makurdi Main Branches, James ensured the two slots were distributed between Kwande and Ushongo Local Governments.

    The record of this great son of Kwande/Ushongu Federal Constituency who has demonstrated passion for service even when he has not held any political office calls to the mind of the people of Kwande/Ushongo the question that if the chicken has no teeth and yet eats stones, it should tell the cow who has teeth but eats mere grass what it would do if God had blessed it with teeth.

    The time to send insecure people who do not love their people with passion to represent us is over. Now it is time to send the right man for the job.

    Solomon Semaka is a public affairs analyst and media consultant writes from Abuja.

  • Claims of corruption in Army by Idris Ahmed, false, unpatriotic

    Claims of corruption in Army by Idris Ahmed, false, unpatriotic

    By Oladimeji Odeyemi

    Whenever the search for false intellectuals and characters, who are veterans in the business of opportunism, propaganda and cheap blackmail arises, one name is always resounding, and never found missing on the list, He is, Dr. Idris Ahmed, a self acclaimed leader of the relatively unknown group, called Citizens United for Peace and Stability (CUPS).

    Known for his notoriety, in raising false alarms and accusations, his latest diatribe, and continued spread of falsehood, titled “Corruption in the Army” and subsequently decorated with a fictional narrative, of an imaginary Soldier, serving under the Special Military Task Force, code named “Operation Lafiya Dole” in the North East, is a reminder of how some unpatriotic elements, within the country, have continued to pretentiously, paraded themselves as intellectual, to give subtle support, to remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents and other separatist organizations, in the country.

    In the latest campaign of calumny, being propagated by Idris Ahmed, he failed as usual, to provide any real evidence based on solid foundations for the accusations, regarding alleged corruption, and issues of the welfare of men of the Nigerian Army, other than the faceless ‘unknown soldier’.

    For those who have keenly followed the personality that Idris Ahmed represents, and his continuous outbursts against the military, particularly the Nigerian Army, there is no doubt that he has merely been expressing his frustration based on his dissatisfaction, towards the decapitation of the dreaded Boko Haram, which He and some other false intellectuals, have given tacit support, over years.

    So, any personality that is involved in that heist that has led to the loss of many of our citizens and soldiers, will never have reason to believe in any success as may ever be achieved by the Nigerian Army.

    No doubt also, that with the professionalism that General Buratai has instilled in the Army, under the current leadership, one should not look far, before understanding the psychology of the remnants of Boko Haram, and members of their intellectual wing.

    Is it not callous, for Idris Ahmed and his ilks, to keep spreading this falsehood, beyond reasoning, at a time that Nigerians have ignored their several biases, to rally behind the men and officers of the Nigerian Army, as It is presently confronted with the difficult task, of totally defeating the left overs, of Boko Haram and other criminal gangs, operating across the country?

    Sadly, despite the numerous achievements of the Army, in ensuring that terrorism is totally defeated, and peace returning to troubled parts of the country, the leadership of the Nigerian Army, are being blackmailed and ridiculed in the public by a group of false intellectuals, who are determined, never to see anything good in the Nigerian Army and it’s leadership. They have continued to thrive on falsehood, and create rumor that are mainly aimed at tarnishing the image of the Army, and by extension, our nation, which they’ve falsely continued to claim they love.

    The latest junk, being circulated by Idris Ahmed and his gang of blackmailers, is just one of their numerous publications, which they have continued to churn out, mostly through the social media, against the Nigerian Army and its leadership, with allegations of corruption, inadequate welfare for men on duty, and other unsubstantiated accusations.

    Contrary to claims by these elements, the Nigerian Army, under its incumbent leadership, is far different from what used to be obtainable, in the country’s military circle. The army has since the assumption of office, of General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, worked diligently towards the actualization of its mandate, keeping faith with the core anti-corruption principles of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and has in an unprecedented manner, repositioned the force, in a way that exemplifies professionalism, Prudence, Integrity and dedication to discipline, among its men and officers.

    The welfare of men and officers of the army, without exception to their families, have remained a Cardinal objective, of the Nigerian Army under the current leadership, just as the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, keeps showing unprecedented commitment, towards adequate funding, for the prosecution of the war against terrorism in Nigeria, particularly in the North East.

    The leadership of the army has continued to demonstrate it’s resolve, to have an Army that would be the pride of the Nation, as a prudent and professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.

    As it is today, we have a duty to history, by ensuring that as Nigerians, we wholeheartedly support the Nigerian Army in the war, towards completely eradicating the remnants of the Boko Haram, and other criminal gangs, still operating through isolated approaches in our country.

    To Dr. Idris Ahmed, and other sympathizers of the insurgent groups, within the country, they should be reminded that we have friends and relatives, among men and officers of the Army, and as such can tell Nigerians, the factual situation, when it comes to the welfare and remuneration of men of our military. At no time, have they had it better.

    We shall not allow people using imaginary fame, and unrestricted access to the social media, to continually insult our sensibilities, under some vague patriotic concern, while in the true sense, promoting actions, that are not only unpatriotic, but also inimical to Peace and Stability, in our country.

    Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji is the President, National Committee of Yoruba Youth and Convener, Coalition of Civil Society Against Terrorism in Nigeria.

    He writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.

  • When Dr. Ahmed’s CUPS of Lies Overflows

    CUPS – Citizens United for Peace and Stability, is everything but what it claims to be because nothing from its antecedents hints at unity and neither has it shown any propensity for peace or stability. If anything, the man around whom the entire contraption revolves, Dr. Idris Ahmed, has repeatedly engaged in acts that confirm CUPS and himself, being its solo operator, as the activist wing that operate under cover to sustain the Boko Haram terror group.

    The social media handles of CUPS, more accurately the social media accounts of Dr. Idris Ahmed, read like the bulletin boards of insurgents and sociopaths that have axes to grind with the remaining population of Nigeria, the government and all the agencies that represent it. In other countries, the content of these handles or accounts would easily be credited as being the official position of groups like Boko Haram, indigenous People of Biafra – IPOB, and other elements that are resolute on causing the country hurt.

    Although Ahmed’s sycophantic fans, always eager to massage the oversized ego of a man addicted to self-worship are always on hand to suck up to his toxic post, one of them, Abdulrasheed Bello asked a question on his most recent post. Bello wrote “Your antagonistic behaviour against the military is not in any way helpful to anti_ terror campaign in your area mallam idris.(sic)”
    The post titled “Corruption in the Army Exposed: A Brave Soldier from Operation Lafiya Dole Writes President Buhari an Open Letter,” was another in Ahmed’s long running to achieve on social media what his terrorist colleagues in Boko Haram have died trying to do on battlefields, depressing the morale of soldiers fighting the counter-terrorism war. He has therefore committed boundless intellectual resources to chipping away at the credibility of the military in a way that the institutions and their leaders look bad before the troops.
    In the said open letter, several claims have been made that should be immediately investigated. This investigation should be as open as possible and by openness the idea is to not restrict such fact finding to only what happens within the military but to ensure that consequences go beyond the forces. If for instance it were to be established that Ahmed and CUPS orchestrated fake reports to malign the military he should be made to answer for his actions. Where the reverse is established he should be tasked as a citizen to more meaningfully contribute to making things better as opposed to doing damages in the name of activism.
    But given CUPS/Ahmed’s trends and the tone of the letter there would not be much surprises.
    First, the letter referred to incidents and casualties that have never been reported even by pro-Boko Haram platforms that have been adequately financed to report just such military losses. What are the chances that CUPS is able to blindside its sister platforms by getting exclusive access to such information? Secondly, the pictures of the “horrible” meals allegedly served to troops are presented in manners that hinted at manipulations – the closest hint of context in the photographs was the sandy ground (if that is assumed to be the looks of a desert floor); there are no other markers to indicate the meals were served to troops – why are we looking at only the close shots of one person’s portion, could meat have been plucked off the food just before the pictures were taken, could the pictures have been staged in Ahmed’s ancestral compound?
    Whatever the case maybe, it is most irresponsible for Ahmed, who is hiding in the United Kingdom, to pen a letter to the President as nameless “Patriotic Soldier” who claimed to have taken the bull by the horn yet hunker behind a dubious unanimity. He is the author of that letter to the president and from his antecedent as the one that coordinates the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria this is a new front to attempt undoing the military under the cover of activism while terrorists over run the country.

    His CUPS is overflowing with lies and the intention is none other than depressing troops morale for Boko Haram, which includes creating the impression that soldiers are willing and fully sharing damaging information with terrorists by colluding with him.
    Assuming troops that are really colluding with Ahmed by sending him pictures, such soldiers should be mindful of the perils they subject not just their brothers in arms but also themselves to. From the comfort of his Coventry pad, Ahmed can easily get the foreign franchises of his terror network, which have the wherewithal to analyze communications like pictures from the theatre of operation for digital markers that would give away troops locations. It will pay such soldiers to revisit their timelines to see the relationship between when they sent pictures/messages to CUPS/Dr. Idris Ahmed and the Boko Haram ambushes they have recorded.

    Contrary to being used as whistleblowers as Ahmed would make them believe, they have been made unwitting spies for Boko Haram while the mobile devices they sent their messages on are ready made bugs and trackers that place more information in the hands of Boko Haram than they can imagine. Ahmed is the conduit for these leaks even though he presents to them as an activist. They would therefore do well to severe relations with him as every single one of his actions serve purposes other than the ones he pitches to the world.

    For troops that find themselves in dire straight on account of poor welfare, they should explore the existing feedback mechanisms that have been put in place by the current leadership of the services in recent times.
    Furthermore, the military leadership must rise up to the occasion to address the kind of lapses that create opportunities for the Ahmeds of this world. It was recently revealed – by a CSOs coalition that the budgetary releases are no being made by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, as at when due. If this development is truly impacting troop morale the military leadership should openly demand that the ministry pays up before characters like Ahmed succeeds in using lies to roll back the progress made in the anti-terror war.

    Ochada is an editor at THE NIGERIAN, writing from Abuja.

  • The Veiled Haunting Stench In Idris Ahmed

    Unpatriotic forces hatch fresh trouble for Nigeria every day. The battle from paid moles, morphing into forlorn dissenting elements and veiled agents of destabilization of the country are waxing stronger than combats in the trenches. A resentful character identified as Dr. Idris Ahmed, ostensibly oozing with the putrefying stench of a pigsty is the latest entrant into these organized plots.

    In spiraling artificial lies and familiar falsehoods, he first protected himself with the tags of “patriotism,” and as someone given to “probity.” He endlessly delighted in the delusion of fouling the air by scripting obscenities and inanities against the Nigerian Military.

    Meaningless hallucinations are unprofitable anywhere. Therefore, it is not enough to resurrect senses caged by the demons of Lucifer to shout on rooftops, fluid and unverified claims alluding to alleged corruption in the Nigerian Military, including the Nigerian Army as publicized by Ahmed’s group, Citizens United For Peace and Stability (CUPS).

    CUPS spitefully submitted, “The fact remains true that there is still malignant corruption in the Nigerian military (Army, Navy and Air force).” While resisting the temptation to hold briefs for the sister arms of the Military, it is foolish or idle campaigns to attempt to smear the integrity and character of the Nigerian Army with merely prosaic and infantile opinions.

    Months earlier, Transparency International (TI) committed such blunder against the current military leadership, by alleging corruption in the award of Defence procurement contracts, like Ahmed’s CUPS has elected to do. While the statement whirled emptily to unwilling ears, TI’s Country Representative, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani repudiated his organization by refuting the allegation voluntarily, as a gaffe, pleading misplacement of time-frame.

    Truth is irresistible as Ahmed himself confessed in the satanic attacks on the Nigerian Army that “… things are admittedly much better than what they were just a couple of years ago….” It’s doubtful whether the CUPS leader knows the strength of his confession before proceeding to vaguely, disgracefully and nonsensically allege, “…billions of Naira is still being siphoned off through inflated and bogus contracts.”

    True patriots are known by patriotic actions. They do not parrot like demented souls, as Ahmed has depicted himself. He has failed to take legal action upon the discovery of the criminal sabotage of his country, by the anonymous officer; he claimed to have stealthily investigated. A petition, with the necessary proofs of the sleaze to the anti-graft agencies (EFCC or ICPC) for appropriate action would have been an exemplary patriotic action.
    CUPS claimed, a soldier in the battlefront, Private Abdulrauf Aliyu who sustained severe injuries during soldiers encounter with Boko Haram terrorists was abandoned to his fate after the initial first aid treatment. It is blankly, a very callous and empty presumed negative profiling of the Nigerian Army. Imagine the dozens of soldiers injured in the warfront since the war on terrorism intensified under the regime of President Muhemmedu Buhari.

    It is unconvincing that an army that humanely evacuates wounded Boko Haram insurgents, its arch enemies, for treatment in military hospitals’ would abandon its own soldier in distress and need of healing.

    Nothing has ever been so inconsistent and proclaims itself in stupefying falsity like the CUPS’s conjectures. Where are the referrals from the multiple public hospitals in Maiduguri to a specialist facility in Sokoto at the instance of Private Aliyu’s family? It is altogether nonsensical for anybody to reason that the Nigerian Army would consent, with written approval, the transfer of an injured soldier in active service to his family for treatment. Solders are not Nigerian footballers.

    And most profoundly, “his salary and allowances were callously cut off, “ which implies what? The “cut-off” of his salaries and allowances means suspended since he was declared an AWOL or paid in half? It is puerile argument and contradictory for CUPS to expect that Private Aliyu would have been paid allowances the organization in a disguised letter to Mr. President claimed are pending for months?

    All through his vexatious diatribes, Ahmed assumed the toga of the victim, the complainant and the wailer groveling at the temple of justice, never allowing the real victim to speak to the world about the alleged injustice. Even Private Aliyu’s alleged mails, possessed by CUPS are shielded from public view. And the simple reason is that Ahmed is the manifest author of the plots or imaginations he scripts and allocates nomenclatures to give it semblance of reality.

    At the risk of flattery, Nigerians have always excitedly proclaimed the faultless operations and sanctity of the Nigerian Army today under the leadership of Lt.Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and leader of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Nigeria. He exudes profound transparency, accountability, probity, professionalism, discipline and an unusual humaneness in leadership. Undoubtedly, as attested nationally and internationally, with the array of accolades’ and awards on the Nigerian Army, Gen. Buratai has indubitably already raised “A military, befitting of the most powerful Black nation on earth.”

    Even the critical-minded Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka on BBC Hausa Service recently also added his voice to the list of world leaders and personalities in undiluted appreciation of the Nigerian Army for its courage in tackling terrorism in Nigeria. So, if the tantrums of Ahmed are animated by the instincts of rubbishing this heritage, such power belongs to God and not him, least of all, the deployment of uncouth diction.

    And obviously, CUPS has kept rambling and tumbling in the bid to confer credibility on implausible arguments. It states albeit idiotically that corruption and impunity in the military cannot be tolerated based on the challenges the Nigerian military is facing on insurgencies.

    By self-admission, Ahmed and his gang of bizarre “patriots” believe payment of salaries and allowances of soldiers, in the warfront is antidote to their effective performance in the operations of the special assignments, whether in North or Southern Nigeria. Ahmed seems to postulate that failure to pay these legitimate entitlements to soldiers stimulates a dampening morale to perform. But how can he possibly explain the decimation and defeat of Boko Haram terrorists by the same soldiers? Or, what spirit, tonic and energy gave them the impetus to quash the other suffocating armed local conflicts in Nigeria?

    The letter to Mr. President, which Ahmed cleverly disguised to author with the vague identity of “Patriotic Soldier,” also infinitely celebrates his mercantilism in the guise of activism. What intelligence informed his clique, President Buhari acts on ghost mails is surprising. But the epistle complained about every aspect of welfare of soldiers in “Operation Lafiya Dole.” It ranges from the claim of unpaid operation allowances to poor quality of food, yet there is only a lone protester from the supposed large number.

    A mischievous person like Ahmed can snap a poor plate of food or distort its contents to propagate an evil agenda, so, the “Patriotic Soldier,” wailed about food devoid of meat or fish and estimated its cost at N200.

    He proceeded to calculate the value of what government feeds every prisoner as higher than soldiers, by pegging the amount at N14, 000. Whether it is per day or week or month, this vital detail was wittingly omitted to fire the mischief. Assuming this is correct, but in simple arithmetic, N600 per day for a soldier sums up to N18, 000 a month; four thousand naira higher than the monthly feeding sum of each prisoner.

    Precisely, Dr. Idris Ahmed hides in London to manufacture imaginations and authors’ letters to Mr. President impersonating names of purported complainants. From Ahmed’s antecedents, it’s obvious he is the latest don recruited by foreign forces to rattle the military and its leadership, while clandestinely co-ordinating the resurgence of Boko Haram Terrorism in Nigeria.

    The plot is to exploit the anti-corruption badge of President Buhari to dismantle the performing military leadership under the mask of activism; whilst terrorists overrun the country. If this is how Ahmed and his allies have been trained to expose corruption, phew!
    Raheeem writes from Kaduna, Kaduna State.

  • Amnesty International is this the end?

    Amnesty International is this the end?

     

    The world is confronting new realities as hitherto power bases succumb to the excessive clout they have built around themselves as communication becomes more democratized, liberalized and diversified. This unravelling extends beyond nations once considered superpowers or corporations deemed too big to fail to now encompass once assumed neutral non-governmental organization, Amnesty International that was imbued with the toga of neutrality but now proven to be partisan and compromised beyond imagination.

    Amnesty International has had a good run in misleading the world. Its reports, as it likes to term them, have been pivotal in shaping a global conflict to the extent that they have been used by client colonial powers as justifications for forceful regime change in target countries, whose leaders often meet ends that rubbishes the human right façade of Amnesty International. If the gruesome end of the likes of Muammar Quaddaffi and Saddam Hussein dismissed as justified, the industrial scale slaughter that have followed the Amnesty International midwifed instability remains a blot on the soul of the world to the extent that not much has been done to consign this outdated relic of human rights monitoring to the negative column in the reckoning of history.
    Perhaps, similar to countries and businesses that refused to adapt fast enough to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world where information has become readily available, Amnesty International failed to upgrade its tricks and the strategy of manufacture of dissent – whereby it uses its reports, in conjunction with its franchises to incite citizens against constituted authorities while citing violation of their rights. Oftentimes there would not have been any rights violations prior but citizens that have been incited against their countries must be managed before they hurt or kill others and the very process of containing their insurgency creates a rich picking for Amnesty International to issue reports that often threat offenders as victims and the law enforcement agencies as aggressors.
    Nigeria has been on the receiving end of such questionable strategy with Amnesty International issuing reports that have at different times shored up the morale of Boko Haram terrorists, ethnic separatists, militant arsonists and even kidnappers and robbers whose rights are placed not just above those of law enforcement agents but also above the safety and wellbeing of the innocent civilian population. The NGO’s campaign of attrition knowns no bound and for this it regularly procures the collusion of local international partners to demonize critical national institutions.
    While the cup of its iniquities was already overflowing to a point that several other groups had declared it persona non-grata in Nigeria, it took Amnesty International’s misstep of peddling its ware before the Presidential Investigation Panel to Review Compliance of The Armed Forces with Human Rights Obligations and Rules of Engagement for its years of deceit to finally unravel. Its several previous reports in Nigeria have now been effectively exposed to have been sham – products of witnesses, interviews, pictures and video manipulation.
    Perhaps, indifferent to the trail of credibility questions and doubts about its ethical integrity, marched a crop of its so-called experts to confound the panel at it had done in too many instances across the globe. The international organization was however in for a shocker for the entire duration of the hearing. A member of the Panel at a sitting in Port Harcourt, Professor Hauwal Ibrahim challenged Amnesty International to identity the mass grave it accused the Nigerian military of burying the remains of victims of the alleged human rights abuses it has so much touted. For an organization that has done plenty of abracadabra with geo-location, coordinates and pictures of alleged mass graves of victims that challenge has been met with a deafening silence and inaction.
    Instead of showing the physical grave locations, which would have proven its allegations against the military, AI only tendered more of its photoshopped pictures and professionally edited videos. Its target was apparently to dazzle members of the panel with its rehashed accounts while pointing at the pictures and videos as its only evidence.
    It took no efforts for those that testified on behalf of the military to pick holes in the methodology adopted by AI in reaching what has now been proven to be its serially jaundiced reports. They easily exposed the international NGO as an ongoing sham that is out to achieve aims other than it tends to make the world believe.
    As opposed to the hogwash that AI had fed the world with, an organization like the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) was able to present the findings of its own work in Nigeria’s crisis areas before the panel in a constructive way that offers the way forward as opposed the antagonistic approach of its international counterpart. This glaring discrepancy in the both methodology and output possibly provoked Edward Omaga of SHAC to an extent where he demanded that Amnesty International be shown the way out of Nigeria.
    Not even Omaga’s harsh demand places AI in a position to call him out since SHAC paraded experts that easily trounced its line-up. In SHAC’s team were a one-time Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations – Ambassador Lumumba D’Aping, head of Preventive Diplomacy in Geneva – David Falt, a practicing human rights lawyer in the United States and United Kingdom – Mary Johnson, Professor Shuaibu Danfulani of the University of Abuja and Dr. Ifure Ataifure of the Centre for International Strategic Studies, Abuja. It is left to be seen how AI would again cast aspersions against these persons as it had done in the past against those who dared speak out against its serial misadventures in the country.
    The kind of revelations that SHAC made about the state of affairs in Nigeria’s anti-terror effort, which was a stark contrast from the erroneous impression popularized by AI, should make Amnesty International temporarily close shop in Nigeria to review its processes, standards ethics and even personnel in Nigeria. It must, and urgently so, confront all it has done wrong in sinning against Nigeria since the country is proving to be its graveyard. Unfortunately, even this saving grace will not last forever as tales of its misdeed continually spread.
    Like its client states that have recently becoming victims of their own scheming, already reaping storms from the wind they sowed, Amnesty International is beginning to face its own days of reckoning. It may not necessarily implode or explode in one fireball moment; its international media partners would see to it that the right propaganda spin retains some measure of defeated respectability for it considering how it has helped them created reports to justify their campaign of calumny against targets in the past. Like its client states the recent flop in Nigeria is the start of a descent into the abyss. Could this be the end for Amnesty International?

    Murphy, a security expert contributed this piece from Ambu street, Calabar.

  • Christ’s School Ado Ekiti – Future Not in Change of Ownership

    Christ’s School Ado Ekiti – Future Not in Change of Ownership

    We had thought that the issue of the future ownership of Christ’s School would be exclusively dealt with internally and not subject to media report or exposure. Being a sensitive issue many Alumni members have argued passionately either for retaining the present status of public ownership, returning it to its ‘original’ owner or concessioning it, as it were, to Ekiti Anglican Diocese in collaboration with Alumni members. Events in the last few days have prompted us to put the case openly to the public particularly stake holders comprising; parents, Alumni members and what is left of the ‘original’ owners.

    What are the facts:

    • During the contest for National Presidency of Alumni Association some years ago (leading contestant being Dr. Kayode Obembe and Chief Olusegun Ogunkua) these two illustrious Alumni members and their backers took different positions about the future ownership of the school. The Ogunkua group was supported by some alumni members particularly in North America. At the end of a keen competition, Dr Obembe emerged National President. He performed wonderfully, harnessing resources, putting his hands in his deep pockets, constructing new structures in the schools, renovating and refurbishing dilapidated buildings. There was a breath of fresh air into the activities not only in the Alumni Association worldwide but also within the administration of the two schools. Unfortunately, the administration was followed by another one headed by a respected woman, who for obvious reasons could not perform effectively. One significant outcome of the two regimes was that everybody seemed to have forgotten a change in the structure of the ownership of our schools
    1. The resurgence of the clamour for a change in the ownership came with the new administration of Sir Justus Imo Itsueli whose candidature was largely promoted by our worthy colleagues in Lagos plus a sizeable number of home branch leaders. The new administration assumed office believing rightly or wrongly that its core mandate was to get Christ’s School back to private hands, this contest includes Alumni members and they pursued this conviction with all hearts and soul.
    • It would appear that in pursuit of their goal, less attention have been drawn to more practical and mundane needs of the school e.g. maintenance and repair of the Alumni hall, and other structure yearning for attention.
    • Some decisions have been hurriedly achieved at less than exhaustive deliberations, affirming preconceived goal of ownership. Consequently at the midterm period of the National Association, not much was achieved except by Sets of Old Students for which we would remain externally grateful.
    • It is true Christ’s School was conceived and born by Archdeacon Dalimore, then head of Ekiti District Church Council. It is also true that the school was completely CMS, later Anglican when headed by successive principals; Chief Babalola, Acting High minister (1946) Canon Lesile Mason the Builder, Rufus Ogunlade, teacher of all times and various notable educators –Fasoroti, Lafihan, Agbebi, Bayode, up to our present Christopher Abe.
    1. Since Secondary Schools in old Ondo State (present Ekiti & Ondo States) were compulsorily acquired by Government, Christ’s School has her fair share of dislocation, loss of core values and in some cases the relics and some unkept structures. But since Ekiti State was created in 1996, there has been tremendous improvement in physical appearance, structures, ethos and general direction. This improvement has been due largely to the appointment of old students as principals. Significantly, all round improvements have been noticed as a result of active involvement and valuable contributions by Old Students.
    • With the above preliminary observations, there are two main issues to be addressed:
    • What is wrong with the present state of the school to warrant a change in ownership?
    • What is the performance of schools being managed presently by the proposed new owners? We shall attempt to analyze.
    • (a). Are the buildings and structures of the school condemnable to the extent that only new owners can rectify them?

    (b).       Is the performance of the school in public examinations getting poorer by the day?

    (c).        Is the reputation of the school dipping?

    (d).       Are notable Alumni members kept off from the School? In order words are Alumni members not building hostels, lecture theaters and staff quarters etc.?

    (e).       In short, what is in Christ’s School today that is repellant to erstwhile friends and admirers that cannot be rectified.

    9           (a). We are presuming that the recommended new owners (Church, Alumni members) are running privately owned schools today. What is the position, quality and general acceptance level that these schools possess that will make a new Christ’s School gravitate to their levels?

    (b).Is it school examination performance?

    (c). Student population?

    (d). Affordable and acceptable fees?

    (e) General acceptability by the public, etc?

    1. In summary, it is our view and conviction that the present ownership of Christ’s school should continue

    (a). In terms of admittance and accommodation, no private school owned by the envisaged new  proprietor can match Christ’s School. For example, Christ’s School has six arms in JSS 1, Christ’s Girls’ School six, while Anglican High School Ile Abiye has two arms in JSS 1

    (b). Arising from the above Is that while Christ’s School and Christ’s Girls’ School remain open to the ‘ordinary’ students and school fees affordable by ‘ordinary’ people, the situation will certainly not be possible in any other institution run by Anglican Church or the Alumni Association which can be classified as elite School on account of low attendance and high fees.

    (c)         The effective supervision of government owned schools in the last two years has shown positive results. The state moved up dramatically from the bottom of the national league to the top in public examinations. Observers have attributed this phenomenal progress to the close watch put in place by high government officials especially the Deputy Governor and the Commissioner for Education. The Christ’s School Group apparently is a beneficiary of this welcome development. Shall we now abandon this and plunge headlong into uncharted waters?

    (d)        We are not unaware that there is a document prepared by promoters of change of ownership with its claim to viability. Complete with data, figures and postulates, the paper paints a picture of viability and a gradual withdrawal of public ownership. Unfortunately, the document is unrealistic in an environment where the upkeep and maintenance of even the Alumni Hall is near-impossible by the National Association, in a society where local capital formation remains a dream and where the majority of the people eke out a living.

    (e)  Finally, let us continue to nurture our institution that will perpetually attract the fervor, emotion, commitment and attachment of former students to this citadel of learning where the total man (and woman) are built. Let us also learn to thank God for little mercies and not frenetically seek to topple the applecart.

     

    • Fasuan is of the 1946-51 Set. Elder Allen Alebiosu is of the 1959-63 Set.
  • Nigeria’s economic future in its hands – Queen of Netherlands

    Nigeria’s economic future in its hands – Queen of Netherlands

    By H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA)

    In a small, rural community outside Kaduna, a woman is starting her day. Her business is selling produce. Of all the tools she uses, the most important is one that fits in her pocket.

    Each day, she completes dozens of transactions using her mobile phone—buying crops from growers, selling to her customers, paying school fees and other family bills. Using her mobile phone remotely to access low-cost and secure mobile money services, she has been able to stabilize her finances, save for the future, expand her business, and invest in her family’s welfare.

    Mobile money isn’t a futurist fantasy, requiring new technologies that are generations away. If a phone can send and receive text messages, it can send and receive money. Eight out of 10 Nigerian adults already own a mobile phone with that capability. But only two out of 100 have a mobile money account—a lost opportunity to extend financial access to millions of Nigerians who are currently excluded from the financial system.

    When I last visited here five years ago in my role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Nigeria was launching a detailed strategy to expand financial inclusion, especially to poor and rural communities. The ultimate goal was to strengthen equitable growth and development. Today, advances have been made but half the country still does not have even a basic financial account, and so leaders are refining those plans to encourage significantly faster progress.

    Mobile money is one of the most promising and exciting tools available to transform the landscape of opportunity in Nigeria and around the world. A recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that access to mobile money in one African country lifted ten percent of the extreme poor out of poverty—a truly inspiring result!

    So what could mobile money mean in the daily lives of Nigerians?

    A peanut farmer in northern Nigeria could pay for his supplies in minutes using his mobile phone rather than traveling for hours to do so in person.
    Remember our produce seller outside Kaduna? Thanks to mobile money, she can limit the risk of carrying cash or hiding it at home by depositing it electronically into her account.
    A mechanic in Abuja could receive the credit he needs to improve his operation based on the digital history of his mobile money payments.
    A family in Sokoto state that has never had electricity at home could purchase a few hours of light each evening using a solar system that they pay for and activate through mobile money.
    A couple could afford to get medical help for an elderly parent in Kwara State thanks to low-cost health insurance they obtain through their mobile money provider.

    When more and more people experience benefits like these, opportunity rises, poverty erodes, and the wealth of the nation grows and grows. So how can we move quickly to speed progress on financial inclusion and build mobile money into a viable option?

    As the Secretary-General’s Special Advocate, I’ve traveled the world talking with governments, businesses, and individuals about financial inclusion—what works and what doesn’t. I’ve found rising recognition that mobile money can make an important contribution to financial inclusion and that it can be provided effectively by a range of entities, not just banks.

    Mobile network operators, for example, have deep knowledge of digital technology and a great network of access points for low income populations. Nigeria is estimated to have between 150,000 and 200,000 airtime agents throughout the country. India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Ghana all offer compelling examples of how this can work.

    Other challenges will also need to be addressed. Anyone who has had their phone service drop out during a call can predict that problems with downtime could seriously undermine the growth of mobile money; connectivity will need to be strengthened. It will also be vital to build digital literacy among customers. And regulations must be put in place to protect them from fraud.

    But mobile money invites us to think creatively in all sorts of ways. Phones can be wallets. Small shops can be mini-bank branches. Mobile money payment histories can be used to build a track record to gain credit.  As your government sets the stage for these innovative ideas, we look to Nigeria’s banks and other businesses to bring them to life.

    There is a lot of work to do, but this is a country that knows how to succeed. I look forward to the next chapter of that success—one that includes all Nigerians.

    Biography:

    H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) since 2009. On the invitation of the President, she is visiting Nigeria from 31 Oct.–2 November to discuss the country’s progress on extending financial services to all.  As Special Advocate, she is the leading global voice advancing universal access to affordable, effective, and safe financial services. Collaborating closely with global and national partners, she raises awareness, encourages leadership, works to break down barriers, and supports action to expand financial inclusion.

    For additional Information please see www.unsgsa.org of the UNSGSA 2017 Report: http://bit.ly/2y9WQTr