The Nation Newspaper

Category: Opinion

  • Nelson Mandela Day is for all

    Nelson Mandela Day is for all

    A Nigerian lawyer and entrepreneur has said that Nelson Mandela Day does not only celebrates Nelson Mandela’s life, but it is also a Universal call to action for people to recognize their ability to affect their community positively.

    The day hopes to inspire people to embrace the values that Mandela shared. These values include freedom, equality, reconciliation, and democracy etc.

    I regard Madiba as the most reputable African Leader. You can see from South African to other parts of the Globe, people from different race and culture are celebrating our African Icon.

    We need African leaders to emulate our ICON. Nelson Mandela not only became the great example of a leader that Africa needed, he became a respected figure across the Globe  He also became a personal example to me.

    His legacy on peace and forgiveness should be a Global template for both citizens and leaders. Without his amazing personal leadership and ability to inspire people to forgive and reconcile, the world would not celebrate Him on this day. He is in deed a great example to emulate.

    From Libya to Nigeria, from Somalia to Congo, Africa has been devalued and belittled with the Western media mockingly looking on and pretentiously aiding and abetting our constant leadership challenges.

    Let our leaders pay adroit attention to African troubles and restore the pre-colonial pride and éclair of yesteryears.  Let our leaders find wisdom and inspiration in the immortal words of Franz Fanon when he said that, ‘We are nothing on earth if we are not first of all slaves to the cause of the people, the cause of justice, the cause of liberty’.

    If our leaders believe and act on these words, then, a new dawn of positive actualization, accountability and development will smile on our Africa. Let us take back our Continent; others are taking back theirs!”

    Idaminabo, the founder of African Achievers Awards, a set of annual awards bestowed on Africa’s most accomplished achievers who devote their time and talents toward improving Africa’s international profile and building stronger, integrated communities in Africa, summed saying, “We celebrate you Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela our African ICON.”

    Written By Tonye Rex Idaminabo, who in 2015 was ranked by Forbes Magazine among leading Young African Entrepreneurs. He is also an Executive Director of Reputation Poll International (a Global Reputation management Agency that focuses on creating, profiling and promoting brands. 

    He is a winner of several Awards including 15th GAB Award London (for his contributions to the promotion of the positive image of Africa and Africans through Leadership), National Heritage Awards, British Award for African Development  (It was a Private Parliamentarian Award Ceremony which was hosted by Pauline Latham MP and Jeremy Lefroy MP, UK Parliament, (He was decorated with the honour for his significant role in promoting African and Diaspora entrepreneurial developments as well as setting good models of business and development in the UK and Africa and has been nominated for several Awards which includes the All African Business Leaders Award (Organised by CNBC Africa). Most recently, The Mayor of Cambridge in England presented him with an award for His contribution for the Cambridge Leadership Academy.
    @rexidaminabo

  • Ekitigate and NA 38: Have we forgotten so soon? 

    A story is making the rounds about a petition to Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo on behalf of the 38 senior military officers that were compulsorily retired in June of last year having been found to be corrupt, partisan or ethnic in the performance of their duty.

    The petition written on behalf of the disgraced officers by one barrister Abdul Muhammed produced headlines like “How Buratai, Dan Alli and Olonisakin Destroyed the Lives of 38 Senior Army Officers.”

    To say the least, the petition is an insult on the intellect of every Nigerian that believes in the country making progress economically and democratically for it collectively painted us all as persons whose memory do not go beyond the span of 12 months.

    The document is a slight on the integrity of Professor Osinbajo by insinuating that he lacks the capacity to personally and independently decipher events and bereft of capacity to recall whose import he was aware of at the time of their making.

    Barrister Abdul Muhammed must have his assumption for wasting productive time in drafting the incoherent petition and apparently chief among them is misplaced belief that Nigerians have forgotten the knife edge uncertainty that the actions of some of these officers placed the country upon by their unprofessional act. If the lawyer was genuinely deluded, the citizens have the painful burden of asking a pertinent question: Have We Forgotten So Soon?

    How can we forget that some of these officers that are today being portrayed as saints took it upon themselves to descend into the arena of politics? They were this close to polarizing the military along political lines. So nauseous were their conducts that that they were on the verge of foisting their own brand of power through the barrels of gun on the people by actively conniving to sabotage the ballot as the only recognized means for the people to express their desire and choice of leaders.

    Does this lawyer seriously think the disgraceful act engaged in by someone like Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, who sat in a hotel room to pervert the will of Ekiti people and bestow the disaster called Ayo Fayose is a trait that should be allowed to persist in Nigeria’s revered military?

    If the Brigadier was punished for maliciously and criminally abusing troops under his command and corrupting them to tarnish that which they were sworn to protect in the small enclave that is Ekiti state, why should those that repeat the same bad behaviour on a national scale not be dealt with on a more intense scale?  Perhaps, the expectation was that they would be left in place after threatening Nigeria’s democracy so that they would be in place to strike a final damaging blow at a time of their choosing.

    There is no point wasting too much time detailing the damage done by those that were shown the way out for dipping their hands in the public till in acts that ultimately led to the death of some troops. But in a country where even convicted thieves and corruption suspects on trial are feted as the credible opposition one is barely surprise that the disgraced officers are the latest on the list of those that are now considered victims that must be immediately canonized, washed with media bleach and presented as saintly frontrunners in the next general elections.

    It is best we do not raise the issue of those that were ethnic champions among the retired officers. It is to the credit of such failures that we owe the mutation of ethnic agitation that has become a singsong in the land. If elite military men sank into the opprobrium of seeing their nation as less than their ethnic stock when matters are reckoned then there is no basis to expect nationalism from a barely educated and definitely unenlightened artisan or petty trader. It is the realization of such banality that has made the crimes of the former officers in question  deserving of the punishment meted out and more.

    It will therefore appear the group of 38 misled their lawyer because being a learned fellow he must know the implication of trying to pull a fast one on Nigerians and Professor Osinbajo. Or is it that the lawyer, going by the address of his chambers in the domain of the former president that was defeated in the polls, was intent on mischief for its face value? This could be another in the series of the spoilers that have been lined up to paint the current government in bad light.

    It is apparent in the new desperate bid to taint the Minister of Defense, Mr. Mansur Dan Ali, Chief of Defense Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur  Yusufu Buratai, when all the allegations raised in the so called petition has been disposed of, having been found to be without merit. What could then be the objective of presenting the re-hash of the same none-issue to the Acting President?

    Could it be that they think Nigeria has suddenly become tolerant of corruption or that there is a new approval making political soldiers the toast of the town? Whatever drove them and their wig for hire lawyer to submit that petition is irresponsible.

    More irresponsible however is their decision to leak their petition to the media, a copy that bears no mark of acknowledgment to prove the Acting President’s Office received it anyway. The leakage nonetheless betrays the true intent to blackmail Professor Osinbajo into reversing decisions taken to sanitize one of the important institutions in the country, the military.

    What is reassuring is that the Acting President is by now wise to the antics of this gang and will not be taken in for a minute.

    He must note that these people are the ones planting stories in the media to discredit the military. It is their new stock in trade and is proof that throwing them out of the Armed Forces was a timely decision that saved the country. Had these political soldiers that have stashed away slush funds as war chest with their ethnic backing not been exposed,  God knows they would have overthrown the democratically elected government by now.

    The Acting President must therefore properly read this petition for what it is, an attempt to test the waters and see how easily he could be shaken, a prelude to the attempt they will make to snatch power from him. We have not forgotten so soon how toxic these characters can be.

    Idoko Ainoko is a public affairs commentator
    He writes from Kaduna, Kaduna State.

  • Ekitigate and NA 38: Have We Forgotten So Soon?

    A story is making the rounds about a  petition to Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo on behalf of the 38 senior military officers that were compulsorily retired in June of last year having be found to be corrupt, partisan or ethnic in the performance of their duty. The petition written on behalf of the disgraced officers by one barrister Abdul Muhammed produced headlines like “How Buratai, Dan Alli and Olonisakin Destroyed the Lives of 38 Senior Army Officers.”
    To say the least, the petition is an insult on the intellect of every Nigerian that believes in the country making progress economically and democratically for it collectively painted us all as persons whose memory do not go beyond the span of 12 months. The document is a slight on the integrity of Professor Osinbajo by insinuating that he lacks the capacity to personally and independently decipher events and bereft of capacity to recall whose import he was aware of at the time of their making.
    Barrister Abdul Muhammed must have his assumption for wasting productive time in drafting the incoherent petition and apparently chief among them is misplaced belief that Nigerians have forgotten the knife edge uncertainty that the actions of some of these officers placed the country upon by their unprofessional act. If the lawyer was genuinely deluded, the citizens have the painful burden of asking a pertinent question: Have We Forgotten So Soon?
    How can we forget that some of these officers that are today being portrayed as saints took it upon themselves to descend into the arena of politics? They were this close to polarizing the military along political lines. So nauseous were their conducts that that they were on the verge of foisting their own brand of power through the barrels of gun on the people by actively conniving to sabotage the ballot as the only recognized means for the people to express their desire and choice of leaders. Does this lawyer seriously think the disgraceful act engaged in by someone like Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, who sat in a hotel room to pervert the will of Ekiti people and bestow the disaster called Ayo Fayose is a trait that should be allowed to persist in Nigeria’s revered military?
    If the Brigadier was punished for maliciously and criminally abusing troops under his command and corrupting them to tarnish that which they were sworn to protect in the small enclave that is Ekiti state, why should those that repeat the same bad behaviour on a national scale not be dealt with on a more intense scale?  Perhaps, the expectation was that they would be left in place after threatening Nigeria’s democracy so that they would be in place to strike a final damaging blow at a time of their choosing.
    There is no point wasting too much time detailing the damage done by those that were shown the way out for dipping their hands in the public till in acts that ultimately led to the death of some troops. But in a country where even convicted thieves and corruption suspects on trial are feted as the credible opposition one is barely surprise that the disgraced officers are the latest on the list of those that are now considered victims that must be immediately canonized, washed with media bleach and presented as saintly frontrunners in the next general elections.
    It is best we do not raise the issue of those that were ethnic champions among the retired officers. It is to the credit of such failures that we owe the mutation of ethnic agitation that has become a singsong in the land. If elite military men sank into the opprobrium of seeing their nation as less than their ethnic stock when matters are reckoned then there is no basis to expect nationalism from a barely educated and definitely unenlightened artisan or petty trader. It is the realization of such banality that has made the crimes of the former officers in question  deserving of the punishment meted out and more.
    It will therefore appear the group of 38 misled their lawyer because being a learned fellow he must know the implication of trying to pull a fast one on Nigerians and Professor Osinbajo. Or is it that the lawyer, going by the address of his chambers in the domain of the former president that was defeated in the polls, was intent on mischief for its face value? This could be another in the series of the spoilers that have been lined up to paint the current government in bad light.
    It is apparent in the new desperate bid to taint the Minister of Defense, Mr. Mansur Dan Ali, Chief of Defense Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur  Yusufu Buratai, when all the allegations raised in the so called petition has been disposed of, having been found to be without merit. What could then be the objective of presenting the re-hash of the same none-issue to the Acting President? Could it be that they think Nigeria has suddenly become tolerant of corruption or that there is a new approval making political soldiers the toast of the town? Whatever drove them and their wig for hire lawyer to submit that petition is irresponsible.
    More irresponsible however is their decision to leak their petition to the media, a copy that bears no mark of acknowledgment to prove the Acting President’s Office received it anyway. The leakage nonetheless betrays the true intent to blackmail Professor Osinbajo into reversing decisions taken to sanitize one of the important institutions in the country, the military. What is reassuring is that the Acting President is by now wise to the antics of this gang and will not be taken in for a minute.
    He must note that these people are the ones planting stories in the media to discredit the military. It is their new stock in trade and is proof that throwing them out of the Armed Forces was a timely decision that saved the country. Had these political soldiers that have stashed away slush funds as war chest with their ethnic backing not been exposed,  God knows they would have overthrown the democratically elected government by now. The Acting President must therefore properly read this petition for what it is, an attempt to test the waters and see how easily he could be shaken, a prelude to the attempt they will make to snatch power from him. We have not forgotten so soon how toxic these characters can be.
    Ainoko, a public affairs commentator writes from Kaduna, Kaduna State.‎

  • Boko Haram And Sen. Kyari’s Meaningless Phobia

    Our own Distinguished Senator Abubakar Shaib Kyari is one Nigerian representative gripped by the fear of Boko Haram insurgency. He represents us the good people of Borno North senatorial district in the National Assembly (NASS). The only snag is that his fears are unfounded and the alarm he is mouthing all over the place is just tricks to exploit the menace of terrorism at the detriment of our people for his personal gains.

    At least, while refuting claims of the defeat of Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast region, one could sight in him a politician who may not be speaking the truth. He exudes more of an ulterior motive, known with politicians at the approach of general elections. They are always jittery and exploit everything to their advantage.

    It may be true that what frequently interrogates Sen. Kyari’s mind is how sounds of terrorists’ bombs would no longer resonate anywhere in our native state of Borno or the Northeast. It underscores why Sen. Kyari, a man caught up in such dilemma aggressively disputed the reality as mouthed by the Nigerian government that Boko Haram terrorists have been defeated in Nigeria.

    And that’s why phrases like subjugation, decimation, defeat and elimination of Boko Haram terrorism, as bandied in the media strikes the same meaning to him. To our Distinguished Senator, they all mean one and the same thing. However, whatever the bent of his convictions, it does not add or subtract any of the existing realities in our communities. The reality is that Boko Haram is at the stage of it complete elimination, having been defeated in Nigeria and we shall see them no more.

    Probably, one may be tempted to say Sen. Kyari has failed to grasp the gist because he has lost touch with the practical reality at home. This may not be far from the truth as we are yet to feel the impact of his stewardship anywhere close home since his election in 2015.

    To Kyari, like many other Nigerians, whom he probably spoke their minds, the lexical confusion still exists about the Federal Government’s efforts.

    To this end, Sen. Kyari qualifies for an honorary title or a Pulitzer Prize in literature. If for nothing, in at least, peculiarly redefining the counter-terrorism war and raising the matter to the realm of national discourse to clarify those genuinely confused. The response to Sen. Kyari has become imperative because he was courageous enough to voice it out, unlike other Nigerians with similar doubts, but preferred to remain silent in ignorance.

    This response would certainly get other Nigerians in semantic confusion to differentiate between the words- defeat and elimination of terrorism. The motion Sen. Kyari moved in Senate plenary was premised on this ambiguity to arm himself using the military and an INEC that will follow his lead since the area remains inaccessible in his imagination.

    Certainly, Sen. Kyari cannot be a victim of polluted conscience. He’s too nice a dude. What is expected of him after this clarification is to raise another motion on the floor of the Senate in appreciation of soldiers in the counter-insurgency war. They deserve it because of the depravity or sacrifices they make to face terrorists. The Nigerian troops and political leadership in Borno State deserve his little commendation.

    Much more, parliamentarians, whether at the national or state level from Borno state should do same to create the path for Nigerians and the government to appreciate what the military are doing in curbing terrorism in the Northeast or Nigeria. What else? If those directly in the furnace of terrorism, like Sen. Kyari do not know when it flourished and at the point it was decimated and defeated, the dilemma of Nigeria becomes more complex. They must herald the songs of victory over terrorism.

    Sen. Kyari’s profile indicates that he was member-elect, House of Representatives in the aborted transition of whatever year best known to him. In 1999 to 2003, Senator Kyari represented his people in the House of Reps. Thereafter; he served severally as commissioner in Borno state under different governors. It means, for slightly above 20 years, Sen. Kyari has been in politics and government of Borno state. He should know better the tensioned years of affliction of his constituents under the yoke of terrorism and now that the Nigerian military has ebbed it into near oblivion.

    In Sen. Kyari’s electoral sojourn, the most fertile period was the last general elections when insurgency peaked. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) housed in camps became the easy target of elective office seekers. Kyari like many others benefitted from this misfortune suffered by our people, by influencing votes or rigging the elections with food items in the guise of relief materials.

    But that era has gone for good. The Nigerian military has defeated terrorism and IDPs have relocated to their devastated communities and homes. Whatever the level of poverty the returnees are facing, they are living a far more dignified life than what obtained in 2015 in IDP camps.

    Sen. Kyari’s refusal to accept the defeat of terrorism is gleaned more from the reality that he is afraid of testing his popularity on neutral basis in 2019. There is no room for his ilk to busy themselves in Abuja only to come back to Borno to hide under Boko Haram to rig the people’s mandate. It is understandable why the clan of politicians have kept drumming the existence of Boko Haram insurgency. But Boko Haram terrorism has been decimated and defeated and there are no more IDPs to exploit for electoral gains.

    But as advice, Sen. Kyari should be thinking of something tangible such as a cottage industry to establish in Borno to employ our youths in the state in order to independently empower them with the return of peace in dislocated communities. This done, it would be the signboard of the years of his political patronage in his constituency or Borno state and visa to his re-election.

    Sen. Kyari should not be the typical Nigerian politician who only recognizes the value of his people when seeking their mandate. In the pathetic state of IDPs returning to desolated homes, Kyari should not manifest more in unconscionably exploitation of the vulnerable. He should act more practically.

    Kyari is a smart politician, no doubt and he should act it in conduct to earn our support now that we have elevated him to the status of a Senator. It does not matter whether he discerns the meaning of “victory ,” of terrorism or not. His actions would speak louder than words in the gloomiest phase of the life of his people.

    Sen. Kyari should understand that majority of the votes he got in 2015 senatorial elections came from IDPs camps. This is the time to justify the massive support and appreciation of the people, who have returned back to our ruined villages.

    Sen. Kyari should rummage his conscience, by asking himself critical questions about terrorism in his native state of Borno.

    Nigerians would want to know where was Sen. Kyari in 2013 when insurgents sacked his people in Damasak village and they deserted homes for him to stage campaigns in IDPs camps? Are these people not gradually being resettled in their homesteads in these communities with the defeat of terrorism? Can Kyari recollect the condition of the road to his village from Maiduguri to Damasak from 2013 and before May 2015? What is the situation now on the road?

    Sen. Kyari must know that if the evidently false alarm he raised at the Senate or during personal media interviews are targeted at creating a panic in order to exploit the hapless people of our constituency in 2019, he may be heading towards his political apocalypse. Our people are now settled in their villages with the defeat of terrorism. They have become part of the informal security network working with security agents to fish out the remaining elements of terrorists to eliminate terrorism permanently.

    No Nigerian, much more a Borno indigene who has sensed the remarkable difference in their lives now about insurgency would want to be fooled again in whatever guise.

    In 2019, there would no longer be people displaced into camps to be settled with morsels of food in the guise of relief materials. They would have all settled in their homes in dignity to question the performance of representatives these years, especially those who come to seek re-election. And representatives like Sen. Abubakar Shaib Kyari should know better. He knows that we are waiting for him come 2019 to pass our verdict and his latest attempt may not be far from desperation to militarize the senatorial district for an election that we would be denied any participation but results written in his favour.

    Therefore, if elections are Sen. Kyari’s nightmare and that’s why terrorism is not defeated, he should have no reason to fear. He should rather come back home to his constituency freed from terrorism to showcase his relevance and stop hiding in Abuja or Maiduguri and its environs to throw unfounded missiles.

    Bulama  sent this article from Maiduguri, Borno State.‎

  • Buratai: That Moment Of Truth On BBC

    Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai is admired in multiple ways. He is a soldier who stands up for the truth and a puritan to a fault. His disarming frankness, hard work and flair for excellence are largely responsible for his meteoric rise in the Nigerian Army.

    In a publicized interview on July 3rd, 2017, Gen. Buratai , who featured on the BBC HARDtalk programme, anchored by Stephen Sackur spoke on a range of issues, including state of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Nigeria and particularly in the Northeast. The COAS who has spent the last few years of his career fighting Boko Haram terrorism, first as Field Commander, Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and now, as Nigeria’s COAS and leader of the counter-insurgency war stated lucidly that militarily, the Islamic sect, Boko Haram insurgents have been defeated.
    Buratai was explicit that; “ I don’t think anybody has said Boko Haram has been eliminated. Terrorism is something that is resilient. Today we have gained tremendously. Before May 2015, the Boko Haram were even in Abuja; they were in Kano; they were in Kaduna; they were penetrating down to the South. And we had to stop them. “
    “And for the past one and a half years, you have not had any attack in Jos, either Abuja or Kano or many other places. Not even as close as Gombe, where we had several attacks. You have never had it. Now, they are only concentrated in certain areas in Borno state and parts of Yobe state,” he explained…If you talk in terms of military action; militarily, Boko Haram has been defeated.”
    The crux of the message by Gen. Buratai on state of the terrorism war in Nigeria is clearly discernible and can be dissected on three planks. First, terrorism is a devilish vice that has traits of resilience and so, no one has claimed elimination of Boko Haram insurgency completely.
    And secondly, Nigerian troops have been able to substantially curtail its unbridled influence reflective in the previously widespread attacks in major cities and states in Nigeria, which are now reduced to attacks in parts of Borno and Yobe states. And also, Nigerian troops have been able to curb its incursion into the Southern part of the country.
    And thirdly, the cumulative effect of the situation interpreted together alludes to the incontrovertible reality that Nigerian troops have defeated Boko Haram militarily. Combatively, it has recorded immense gains against terrorism in Nigeria.
    But Nigerians have a confounding capacity for mischief. The Gen. Buratai’s brief interview on BBC, presented in plain language has been misinterpreted by mischief makers. Even if these Nigerians considered it too cumbersome to digest the literature of terrorism emanating from other parts of the world which have suffered the terrorism scourge, Gen. Buratai offered them the sketch of it.
    Unfortunately, they never burdened themselves with listening to dispassionately decode the contents of the interview appropriately. They preferred to form opinions, which have no nexus with what the Army Chief uttered. Thereafter, they rushed to the media in disputation of the exclamations of the Army Chief.
    Therefore, expectedly, Sen. Abubakar Kyari , representing Borno North senatorial district, instantly countered the claims of Gen. Buratai, that Boko Haram has been defeated. And his only reason for mouthing this illogicality were his claims of knowledge of information that Boko Haram terrorists have regrouped and plotting to soon unleash a serious attack on the state.
    Senator Kyari failed to crack between the words, “elimination” and “defeat” of Boko Haram terrorism as Gen. Buratai clearly explained in the concept of the resilient character of terrorism anywhere in the world. By the Army Chief’s exposition, the fact that activities of Boko Haram insurgents have been restricted to occasional strikes on targets’ in parts of the two states is indication of the defeat. This is a remarkable difference compared to the past when terrorism was felt almost in all parts of the North and beyond, which expressed differently, is their certified defeat.
    Forwardly, it is understandable that the total elimination of terrorism in the country will stretch overtime, before it eventually fizzles out. But for now, intermittent attacks by remnants of Boko Haram insurgents will continue and these attacks have serious undertones.
    From all nuances of assessments, the subsisting Boko Haram attacks are not from the original religious and combative sect of Boko Haram insurgents . It is the political cum business wing of terrorism in Nigeria that is at work. So, it is more a combat for the political leadership and its business collaborators than the guns of soldiers.
    It was former President Goodluck Jonathan who first raised the alarm about the existence of three sects of Boko Haram insurgency in the country. He identified them as the original religious sect of Boko Haram; the political and the business wings of Boko Haram terrorism. And the types are self-explanatory.
    There is no gainsaying that based on combat on the battlefields; Nigerian troops have defeated the Islamic sect of Boko Haram terrorism. It accounts for why they are no longer strong enough to generously spread atrocious attacks on Nigerians in different parts of the country as obtained before May 2015.
    Gen. Buratai personally led troops to confront them in the caves, forests and other hideouts and smoked them out. The dismantling of the Sambisa forest was the final indication of the defeat of the religious sect of Boko Haram terrorists. Nigerian Army ensured their sources of foreign funding in food supplies and weapons were blocked. These terrorists and their families starved en masse and started surrendering to the Nigerian Army in droves since 2016.
    This is also evident in the recent declaration of armistice and surrender by over 700 Boko Haram insurgents and among them, top commanders, on the list of most wanted terrorists declared by the Nigerian Army.
    The political and business wings of Boko Haram insurgency have sustained presence with the sporadic attacks. Both play complementary roles. The political wing of terrorism is funded by some dubious politicians, whose poor records of representation of the people are afraid that given a free atmosphere, the electorate would terminate their political ambitions with the ballot. So, they have continued to sponsor dissident elements to keep detonating bombs, to scare returning IDPs and to create the general impression of a hovering threat of terrorism in Borno and Yobe states.
    The business wing of terrorism operates on the ideology of profiteering. Some of them have links to external sponsors of terrorism, who pay them handsomely as agents. Yet, others are into the business of trade in weaponry and when Boko Haram festered overpoweringly, it provided ready markets for these criminal Nigerians, who reaped from it bountifully.
    These set of terrorists agents are aversed to news about the complete elimination of terrorism in the country, because it will collapse their business empires in arms trade. They are part of the sponsors of the skeletal terrorists’ bombs detonating in parts of Borno and Yobe states.
    Consequently, Nigerian dissipating energies in attacking, refuting and encouraging terrorists with views about the strength and existence of terrorists are causing more harm to themselves than the country. They independently conduct their own research on why snippets of terrorism still exist in Borno and Yobe states.
    Nigerian Army has defeated Boko Haram terrorism; but if Nigerians want it totally eliminated, it is more a battle of conscience and attitudinal change than military action. So, it would be more worthwhile to engage the politicians and the businessmen nourishing terrorism for personal gains than descend on the Nigerian Army. This is the moment of truth.

    Angula writes from the United Kingdom.‎

  • The gang up of failed ministers and the illusion of grandeur

    There couldn’t have been anything more absurd, a gathering of ministers who in their time failed to deliver on key programmes of their administration and were summarily sacked from office.

    But in Nigeria, anything is possible as people no longer feel ashamed over the consequences of their actions.
    In trying to understand the motive for the Monday meet which this time chose to focus on 2019, let us examine the history of this group as that would determine their worth and their significance to the polity.
    When President Muhammadu Buhari took over power on the promise to cleanse the country of the mess of corruption left behind by the administration preceding his, it was discovered that the rot was deeper than expected and to get to the root of the matter, it was decided that the head of that administration had to be asked certain questions even though this was against the gentleman concession made by the president initially.
    But as the interest of the nation became paramount and all seems to be settled that there was a need for the former president to clear the air on certain issues, some ministers with skeletons in their cupboards and who realized their tracks would be exposed in that bid quickly convened a meeting to sway the mood of the nation against the plan.
    Their action which was not in the interest of the nation but clearly to cover their tracks was what gave them the idea to converge.
    Prior to that the ministers had tried to frustrate investigations into their administration by running to Jonathan to save them from Buhari and issuing warning to permanent secretaries in federal ministries not to do them in.
    So when the same coterie of ministers who served under the PDP concluded their meeting at the residence of former minister of special duties, Tanimu Turaki at Asokoro, Abuja, one could not help but feel sorry for Nigeria when viewed against the backdrop of the fact that the nation once gave the task of running the affairs of this nation to this awful pack of self serving politicians.
    At the end of their meeting, despite all the challenges facing their party, their image and integrity and their dwindling political fortunes coupled with the startling revelations about how their party tried to run the country aground, all the ex-ministers could muster was to challenge the president on his sick bed with something they know they have no capacity to deliver.
    If the intention was divert the attention of the public from investigations of sleaze during their time then it must be emphasized that the task has failed as their conclusion at the meeting has only highlighted the need to accelerate the process of investigations so that these ones who have done incalculable damage to Nigeria and its resources can be prosecuted and permanently put behind bars where they belong so that the nation can this time and on a serious note breath fresh air.
    Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, Turaki said they will like to see President Muhammadu Buhari re-contest in 2019 so as to defeat him in the election. After having a good laugh at the childish outburst, the first question any serious minded person would ask this pack of comedians is on which platform do they intend to do that giving how their party has not only been fragmented but stymied to the point that it has remained in permanent convulsion.
    Without the capacity to manage a party once out of power, the former ministers have exposed their real motive of being in government, which reads, ‘to milk the country dry’ and once that attraction was removed by the loss of power they all scampered leaving the party to bleed endlessly to the point where no single awe inspiring individual is remaining.
    One would have expected that given this grim reality, the ministers would have done a deeper introspection to examine the factors that have rendered them redundant and effete that they cannot muster courage and resilience to put up even a feeble opposition and why their party seems heading to extinction.
    The recourse to meaningless and childish talks about inviting Buhari to re-contest does not even arise as right thinking members of the society are concerned about how to clean the mess left behind by the PDP.
    The PDP leaders had the temerity to talk about the security situation in the country. What an irony. They forget that the Boko Haram menace got its seed from the PDP store, got planted under that administration, was watered by same, grew and began to bear fruits all under that administration.
    Nigerians have not forgotten that when they were in power Nigeria did not just lose local government but more than the land mass that could make three or more states while all the leadership then could offer was a feeble ‘we are on top of the situation.’
    The PDP leaders also accused Buhari of trying to polarize the country thereby choosing to forget that it was during the Jonathan administration that regional suspicion heightened due to the open bias shown on issues that affect the polity.
    When a group from Niger Delta planted a bomb around the Eagle Square Abuja and detonated same and later owned up to the act, then President Jonathan came out openly to exonerate them because as he said they were his brothers.
    The attempt to compel other leaders of the group responsible to pin the plot on northern political leaders though it failed set into motion the process for which all the regions began to view themselves with suspicion.
    They forgot that it was a PDP president, who on assuming power jettisoned the political arrangement within his party that stipulate the sharing of offices on rotational basis and further sowed the seed for divisive politics when he reneged on a promise not to run again in 2015.
    The claim that Jonathan exercised patriotism and selflessness by conceding power is also hogwash as it was later found out that the idea did not run deep with him and the top men in that government when they tried to pressure the then national chairman of the party to use the platform of the party to challenge the elections in court.
    In saner climes, the PDP and its henchmen would have been haunted and prosecuted for the damage they have done to the country which the APC government is trying very much to fix but because shamelessness has been elevated to a virtue this pack have the temerity to show their faces in public.
    If they are serious, they should intensify their prayers that the President should come back hale and hearty and they will see the reality that would greet their long expected comeuppance when further investigations would not only reveal the real amount stolen by key members of their government but when the process would put them where they belong, behind bars.

    Ainoko, a political analyst writes from
    Kaduna.‎

  • Dangote And Arewa Youths’ Uncouth Ranting

    Madness has no defined pattern. To insist on orderliness in insanity is asking for the impossible or the Biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle. I also know that personal idiosyncrasies cannot be garbed in general conviction for every person.

    What has got me thinking is the insistence of Northern youths on the rightness of the three months quit notice they issued Nd’igbo resident in Northern Nigeria to relocate to their ancestral Southeast region of Nigeria. More arcane is the inclination of these youths to insult, hurl invectives and lampoon anybody who does not share this barbaric thought.
    The latest signals from these Northern youths on intolerance against opposing voices to their recipe for violence and destabilization of Nigeria is the umbrage against a prominent Northerner. The iconic Nigerian and international business tycoon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group came into their baseless crossfire when he counseled them to have a rethink over such manifest pomposity. So, the youths imagined that they have a greater stake in Northern Nigeria than Dangote.
    Nothing is impossible in Nigeria. When Dangote pleaded with Nigerians to ignore the so called Arewa youths, who issued eviction order to the Igbos in the North as inconsequential, the near faceless northern youths went berserk, crazily insulting a man who is unpretentiously a pillar of their survival as a people and a region.
    A public statement issued by the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) through its spokesman, Abdul-Azez Suleiman, these demented Northern youths described Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man in very despicable terms.
    Nothing can ever be so disheartening like this apparent display of ingratitude and debauchery by these crooked Northern youths, incensed for inexplicable reasons. What I cannot fathom is that much as people have reasons for their madness or remain dogmatic in silliness, it is idiotic to compel followership by force. The weird thought that everybody must coercively accept the excuse or reason for certain genus of madness as exuded by CNG is not tenable anywhere.
    Any attempt to decipher the mission of the statement on Dangote by these patently demented Northern youths leaves me with a nagging dilemma. I am really confused because youths claiming the toga of the conscience and voice of a large region like Northern Nigeria display the least grasp of the traditional afflictions of the region.
    No one knowledgeable about the North would claim its problem is barrenness of morality. Morality has no placement in the science of development or the econometrics of the region. It is sloth and the unbridled appetite for violence, as even presently canvassed by the Northern youths that is the burden of the North. That’s why it is largely undeveloped. Islam or Christianity has taken care of moral values in the North.
    If the North is presumed poor as they have canvassed, it’s because the youths have refused to copy the Dangote example, who, as a budding, energetic young man, traversed the nooks and crannies of Nigeria trading in small wares. And today, his business has appreciated in leaps and bounds, to place it high on the list of world recognized business conglomerates.
    And like self-indictment, the youth’s preachments on upholding Northern values and its abuse by people like Dangote dissects and exposes their poverty of the mind. Nigerian borders are very porous, particularly in the North and so aliens, smuggle themselves into the country.
    And the Northern youths strike me like such people. This is how Nigeriens illegally migrated into Nigeria and left us with Boko Haram insurgency. The insistence of members of the CNG on lighting up a conflagration in the North and Nigeria compels my deep suspicion in this direction.
    And there are proofs. Precisely, if members of CNG are truly Northerners, they would understand that the culture of its people pay utmost respect and regard to elders. Even those influenced by drugs know the limits of madness and could not do as little as point a finger at an elder, much more unleash insults like the perverse minds in the CNG delight in doing. And like Dangote rightly qualified, just to earn underserved relevance.
    The Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello never at any point canvassed such volatile or dissenting views on Nigeria. He preached peace and love; lived and died for the progress of the North and the unity of Nigeria. So, where have they borrowed the ideology of violence as means of resolution of disputes, on which platform they have tethered their present campaigns of hate against the Igbos or any group in Nigeria?
    Dismissing Dangote as inconsequential is immaterial. He does not need their endorsement or consent to preside over his global business empire. The idea of patriotism is subjective; So, if the youths believe that the resort to hate speeches, segregation and campaigns for Nigeria’s break-up is patriotism, Dangote and millions of other Northerners do not believe in it, period!
    They can go ahead and lick their wounds, but should neither drag others into their nightmare nor expect sympathy from sane minds. When they talk of Professor Ango Abdullahi in patriotic terms because of his support of their destructive intentions, it makes me seek.
    Much I would not like to drag his personality into mud, it suffices to say, he remains the only Northerner of repute who has openly supported the insanity of the CNG. Even at that, he has done it criminally, by usurping the platform of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), taking undue advantage of his position as Spokesman of the group. NEF has widely disowned his comments on the eviction order to Igbo. If characters like Ango Abdullahi are the Northern elders CNG worship, it means the future of the North is irretrievably gambled to vultures.
    And it is understandable. In the first place, the CNG membership itself is packaged on fraud because when you have Northern grandfathers and uncles above the age of sixty or septuagenarians’ , claiming to be youths for the sake of railroading a selfish and armchair revolution, they have no option than to support debased elders. So, the natural option is to make loud noise to be noticed, while they veil the fraudulence.
    At their ages, Dangote had already become a notable name in business in Nigeria and Africa. Today, the Dangote Group has created countless jobs for idle youths like them all over Nigeria. And Northern youths are the majority beneficiaries. If the verbal restlessness of CNG members is a result of idleness, they are free to approach any of his companies for engagement. What will keep destroying the North is when youths spend productive age and hours spreading hate campaigns instead of investing in productive and lucrative ventures.
    I do not see how the Igbos quitting the North would make its economy better. The solution is in productivity whether in business or farming. And Dangote is a model in this respect and CGN members shall do their souls some good if they emulate him.
    History and posterity will gleefully remember Dangote as one Northerner who opened the doors of development and progress in the North. But on the flipside, these CNG members shall only be gloomily remembered as apostles of violence.
    It’s unfortunate that the loquaciousness’ of CNG members has laid bare their cursed senses. Initially, Nigerians thought they had genuine convictions. But on the contrary, like IPOB’s leader Nnamdi Kanu, I now know violent youth activism in Nigeria is propelled by hunger and joblessness. I plead with Dangote to get some trailer trucks ready for these idle CNG members to work, hauling cement, sugar and rice from his factories to markets around Nigeria for us to have some peace.
    Working and indeed, hard work is the only way to develop and free the North from poverty, and not the hoopla of disintegration. While the Southeasterners’ have not abandoned the traditional occupation of their forefathers, like trading in “Okporoko” (stock fish); their half-educated counterparts in the North, especially in the CNG have forgotten the traditional occupation of our forefathers-cattle rearing and farming. Until they return to these, there can never be peace in their souls, but they cannot plunge the North nay Nigeria into violence. Finally, Dangote is a self -fulfilled man in business and wealth. He has never been interested in politics, even now. He has been prodded several times to pick up Nigeria’s Presidency on a platter of gold, but he rejected it. He has no Trumpian instincts, which are only known to American’s in President Donald Trump. So, the grandparents camouflaging as youths in CNG should focus their tenuous and vindictive energies elsewhere.

    Okanga, a traditional warrior contributed this piece from Agila, Benue State.

  • The persecution of Ogbadu and the Burden of Reforms

    In the midst of the challenges besetting the nation it has become easy to mix the grain with the chaff and possibly throw away that which is valuable because of a now dominant tendency to pull down anyone in public office irrespective of whether they are tainted as alleged or not. The Director General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Professor Lucy Ogbadu’s sterling performance in office has not insulated her from such mudslinging. If anything, her achievement in office rather served as accelerants for her detractors to pile on the fire of persecution against her.

    Given the several attempts on the integrity of NABDA and the person of its Director General in recent times, it came as no surprise that the last round of such efforts centered around maligning Professor Ogbadu using the investigation of a Director of the Agency, Mr Josiah Habu, who heads its Bayelsa Office as a cover. Interestingly, even Habu is a secondary person in the said investigation, which makes the DG a distantly placed person. Yet her invitation to clarify issues for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was convoluted to equate her being the primary person of interest.
    Since the anti-graft agency must not be distracted in doing its job, and doing a thorough job for that matter, it becomes pertinent to not dwell on what they will not find in the course of their investigation but to focus on those things that Professor Ogbadu has gotten right since taking over the helms of affairs at NABDA. This is important for several reasons. One, it is important to make a departure from the culture of negativity, which has in some instances discourage some people of high standing from accepting to serve the nation. Secondly, in a world that is increasingly research, technology and biomimetics driven, the good works that NABDA is doing for Nigeria should not be buried under the avalanche of wild accusations that could compromise the credibility of the agency.
    Furthermore, it is about time we give credit when there are glaring result to prove that a public office holder has performed. This entails that we collectively look below the surface. Perhaps, it would open our eyes to the strong possibility that the recent persecution of Professor Ogbadu is being instigated by militants and job racketeers who have been shown the way out of a place where they are ill fit to function. Details that emerge are that she has refused to play ball, which was the usual practice and those who felt shrifted by this decided to get at her with negative media trial and campaign of calumny. These persons had vowed that nothing will ever work in the agency and one who is determined to make a difference has decided to dare the status quo because of her belief in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari with its focus on change.
    Reform, like birthing, has its pains. Professor Ogbaduis however not the one to be daunted by the tendency of humans to resist change and reforms brought NABDA to the era of modern biotechnology. The core departments of the agency, which were responsible technical matter were limited to only the Department of Molecular Biology before 2014, a situation which was at variance with the fact that application of molecular techniques can be found in all the other technical departments of Medical, Agriculture and Environmental departments. She swung into action and go new departments which approved by the office of the Head of Service, which has tilted the organization towards being heavier on its core mandates as opposed to being administration heavy.
    The DG has also explored the goodwill she and the agency enjoy with the legislative arm to push through the passage of a biosafety law. For a country like Nigeria where scientists were once in grey areas whenever they had to venture into modern biotechnology practice the law is a lifesaver with its passage after 13 years of struggle thus paving the way for the practice of modern biotechnology in the country. In terms of legislation, the NABDA Bill, which had remained in limbo since the inception of agency in 2001 is now before the National Assembly after her vibrant leadership got the approval of the Federal Executive Council for it.
    These and other achievements did not spring out the thin air but are product of careful planning, a culture Professor Ogbadu entrenched with NABDA’s 5-year Strategic Development Plan was developed has kept the agency from drifting after fads and being blow in any direction that the global biotechnology wind blows.
    Part of the measurable results from this plan is the improved and strengthened research capability at NABDA made possible with the acquisition of state of the art facilities. It is now able to deliver world class services in the areas of DNA Fingerprinting Service and research, Level 2 Biosafety laboratory for research, Vaccine research laboratory, Aquaculture recirculating and breeding facility, Aquaponics facility for vegetable, Proximate Analytical laboratory, Refurbished Tissue Culture/TIBS facility, Semen Banking facility for Animal Genetic resources research, Microbiology laboratory for Starter Culture research, Upgraded Bioinformatics training facility and Bioenergy Analytical laboratory. Result coming out of the place has reduced the country’s dependence on running some tests abroad.
    As someone with a strong belief in Nigeria’s self sufficiency, she has brought NABDA to collaborate with other organizations in Nigeria in a way that maximize resources through sharing with other local and international institutions. In is in keeping with NABDA’s mandate to promote biotechnology in Nigeria and it has enabled the agency to bring together research experts from Universities and research institutes to form a functional network that can address national goals.
    These and other achievements were made possible through reform and a will to implement change. Sadly, those that are not comfortable with this development believe the best way to truncate the march to progress is to malign the pathfinder that Professor Ogbadu is. It is up to her to make sure that the unjustified persecution does not define her or temper what she has committed to doing for the country.
    History is always around as a teacher and a guide to those who have made up their minds to live for humanity.
    The story of late Dora Akunyili in the hands of Onitsha market drug dealers and her close shave with death is a pointer to help this Amazon not to be distracted by such criticisms, the new den which Ogbadu has found herself might still be her stepping stone to the top

    Ibekwe, a security strategist contributed this piece from Nsukka, Enugu State.

  • Buratai: Decoding the True African General

    Africa suffers artificial drought of hardcore and outstanding professionals in every field. This plaque has become more visible with Africans joyful acceptance of the neo-colonial erroneous, biased and destructive verdict of Africa as a continent of failures.

    And each time, these alien forces descend their imperial knives on the precious skins of Africans and Africa, it deposits far-reaching consequences. Africans exceptionally gifted are held back in giving out their best. They suffer a psychological inhibition based on these polluted verdicts imposed on people of the continent.
    But Africans are equally and competitively, very intelligent like the white-skinned people. How Africans prefer to celebrate their foolery, instead of positive assertion of themselves is really a riddle. Nonetheless, as time ebbs, more courageous Africans have overcome these mental barriers and are steeping out to prove to the whole world the real substance or worth of an African.
    No one can deny brilliance and intelligence of African people in every chosen field of human specialization. Nigerians in particular have carved a niche for themselves in their preferred careers. They are celebrities in academics’, science and indeed, in all professions.
    As the largest black nation on earth, the conspiracy of foreign nations against Nigeria is really subject of a whole thesis. The blackmail of compelling the people to think more in failure and destruction, than progress has impinged on the psyche of Nigerians retardation. It has gone to sublime levels that optimal exhibition of skills is most times impeded in some people because of this belittlement.
    As determined as ever, Nigerians are gradually breaking these barriers to demonstrate their excellence to the world. That’s why Nigerians are usually elated, anytime a Nigerian displays uncommon exploits or accomplishments in his career, especially in exceptional professions.
    It explains why Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai’s embodiment of professionalism, perfection, discipline and courage in the war against terrorism excites the people. Upon leading the counter-insurgency war that humbled Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs), Nigerians feted him with celebrations and Africa picked it up and expanded it. Today, Gen. Buratai is celebrated around the world, as an exceptional professional soldier of high esteem.
    To many, the Nigerian Army Chief is indescribable. Also, a peep into his persona does not provide easy insights either. What is however certain is that his personage undulates with unrivalled zeal for exceptional exploits and successes. He has an extremely infectious aura.
    But what has worked more for this African Army General is his flair for professionalism, discipline, uprightness in leadership, selflessness, courage, transparency, principle of inclusiveness and hard work. And all these have been seared in the passion for positive results in all endeavors; which have made him a worthy assert to Nigeria, Africa and the world. Beyond flattery, Gen. Buratai is admittedly a special specie of humanity. By the dictates of his profession, he ought to be tough and rugged; but to the contrary, he is amiable and humane in dealing with fellow men. It’s scarce to find such qualities and virtues buried in a single soul in the military, particularly in Nigeria.
    Africans have seen Gen. Buratai as both a leader and soldier in the trenches, much as in the administrative boardroom of his vocation, bearing all risks, good or bad. He does not chase shadows and nothing distracts his focus and concentration.
    True to his type, Gen. Buratai personifies the Christ-like motif of troops under his command. He positions himself to feel their pains, sufferings, agonies; the heat in the trenches, the dejections and the defeats. He is not bossy, so shares the victories and joys of his troops in the same measure the least among troops would feel. It’s not unusual to see him spend Sallah or Christmas celebrations with troops in the battlefield, where he personally lights the candle of bonfire carnivals. This is a mark of leadership, very scarce nowadays.
    Understanding the strength behind the modus operendi of Gen. Buratai has proven to be no easy path to walk. But suffice it to say, in achieving efficiency and effectiveness on targets, the COAS utilizes his unique talents to create the needed impact. He is feted in Africa and beyond because Gen. Buratai extensively tapped and improvised on the wisdom, vision and intellectual prowess of men or globally acclaimed war veterans, upon his appointment as the ombudsman of the counter-insurgency war in Nigeria.
    It gave birth to the reforms and innovations Buratai brought to bear on the Nigerian Army. Suddenly, Nigerian soldiers’ adjudged as weaklings, who could shamelessly bid an effeminate retreat in the battlefield became courageously, gallant soldiers to confront terrorists and defeat them.
    Therefore, having prepared his house, this Soldier-General courageously broke new grounds and unimaginable records in terrorism warfare. It has continued to draw the inspiration of the world to his convictions, tactics and strategies.
    As earlier hinted, there is no iota of doubt that Gen. Buratai must have drawn inspiration from great men, such as the famous English novelist, Ernest Hemmingway, author of the popular, “Old Man And The Sea.” Author Hemmingway timelessly asserted that “Once we have a war, there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat, brings worse things, than any that can ever happen in war.”
    For this Nigerian Army Chief, the wise counsel of this author was his conviction and guiding principle. It compelled him to face the lethal Boko Haram terrorism war in Nigeria without flinching. He feared more the consequences of defeat, than the difficulties of surmounting the hurdles, some deliberate, on the battlefield to ensure victory.
    And the wisdom, tactics and strategies of Chinese war veteran and father of the Chinese revolution, Mao Tse Tung was also of immense assistance to him, as leader of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Nigeria. Mao Tse believed thus;
    “Imaginative, intelligent, and bold leadership is absolutely essential. Commanders and leaders at every echelon must be selected with these specific qualities in mind. Officers and NCOs who are more than competent under normal conditions will frequently be hopelessly ineffective when confronted with dynamic and totally different situations.”
    The unfaltering Nigerian Army Chief and Commander of the anti-terrorism war in Nigeria imbibed enough of these virtues and effectively applied them. So, he risked advance on enemy troops, where his predecessors dreaded; he trailed insurgents and their agents, dynamically in tactics, from battlefield encounters to cyberspace terrorism manifestations and matched action for action.
    He suffocated enemy forces’ sources of food and ammunition supply. He endured and ignored all manner of distractions back home to focus on his assignment to earn the victory today savoured by the whole world.
    And in all instances, he moved centuries in thinking, ahead of the localized thoughts and strategies of enemy forces- the Boko Haramists. This Army General slept once in two weeks, always awake to strategize and personally supervise field operations. He left nothing to chance; while terrorists slept every day in their hideouts with the delusion of courage and invincibility.
    So, he conquered them and their agents in the trenches, caves, cyberspace propaganda and everywhere. They scattered in confused directions, as his troops chased them to the point of conquer or surrender.
    After the defeat of Boko Haram terrorists, the Nigerian Army Chief also deployed the wisdom of Mao Tse in cleansing communities in Northeast, Nigeria of remnants’ of Boko Haram terrorists. He commanded his troops to embark on “Operation Crackdown.” Mao Tse’s thoughts in this direction were that;
    “After the enemies with guns have been wiped out, there will still be enemies without guns; they are bound to struggle desperately against us, and we must never regard these enemies lightly. If we do, nor now raise and understand the problem in this way, we shall commit the gravest mistakes.”
    Today, Nigeria has regained her freedom. The world stands up in stupefying relish of Buratai’s exploits and victories over terrorism warfare in Nigeria within the shortest possible time.
    This Nigerian Army General perceived defeat in the eyes of troops, but meticulously inspired them into self-confidence, greatness and victory; he triumphed over their disunity and inclination for mutiny and made them converts of the new order of professionalism, discipline, comradeship and pursuit of the common agenda of defeat of enemy forces against Nigeria.
    No doubt, Gen. Buratai strikes as an angel to civilians in his operational jurisdictions; but a very venomous snake to enemies of state. For Nigerians and millions of Africans, this Army Chief is simply one of the best Africans in recent times. This is attested or gleaned from the flurry of unsolicited awards and recognitions showered on him across the globe in the last few months. The Republic of Brazil recently feted and decorated him with the country’s highest military honour in global recognition of his battle against terrorism in Nigeria and the world.
    Thus, Gen. Buratai can be described as a gentlemen soldier, a great soldier of repute, a hero of international dimensions, the conqueror of terrorists in Nigeria and environs. He has replicated history in Nigeria and the world, by religiously deploying and improvising on the military wisdom of those before him to attain the unimaginable victories in war against terrorism.
    Consequently, the world is prodded to utilize his wealth of wisdom to surmount the global monster of terrorism. This would be a step palpably illustrative of the global agenda on collective action against terrorism, a reality now, than yesterday and likely tomorrow. But if treasured masters of the game, like Buratai are factored into this global collaborative action against terrorism, the world may likely experience respite.
    Goulding, a security expert writes from 199 Watford Way, Hendon, London, United Kingdom

  • Another theoretical national budgeting: how long will it continue?

    Another theoretical national budgeting: how long will it continue?

    I read in one of the Nigerian newspapers that, “The Senate and the House of Representatives, on Thursday, 15/06/2017, replied Acting President Yemi Osinbajo over his comments on the 2017 budget after appending his signature to the appropriation bill. A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abubakar Lawan, had brought up the Acting President’s post-budget comments on the floor under matters of privilege at the session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. He then cited Daily Sun and Daily Trust among newspaper publications that quoted Osinbajo’s comments on the powers of the National Assembly to alter the budget.

    He also said, “Budgets are priorities of the government because we are representatives of the people. We can say even though these are priorities of the government, based on our job of representation, these are not the priorities of the people and we can refuse to fund them”. One might therefore ask the following questions, “is there detailed information for the alteration of the budget?”, “what have been refused to be funded in the previous national budgets?”, “in terms of items, is there any major difference between the 2017 budget and previous ones?”

    Pragmatic national budgeting can never be attained in this ‘make-belief’ democratic system we are currently experiencing- this government of the few, by the few and for the few. This is the reason why there has never been any monumental infrastructural development in the country since the inception of democracy. Year in, year out, theoretical budget garnished with some items that are supposed to be periodic is churned out. For instance, every year, millions of public naira have been spent on telephone charges by the transport ministry: 4.2 million naira in 2009, 25.3 million naira in 2010, 22.5 million naira in 2012, 23.2 million naira in 2013.

    However, since 2014, the allocation on telephone charges has experienced drastic decline.  The budget on sewage charges over the same period for the transport ministry headquarters increased tremendously from 1.05 million naira in 2009 to 6.4 million naira in 2010. Thereafter, it somewhat plateaued at about 6 million naira until 2017. In the 2017 budget, 9.5 million naira has been appropriated for sewage charges. What could be the explanation for this increase? On library information (books) for the headquarters of the transport ministry, millions of naira have been budgeted for eight consecutive years: in 2009, it was 5 million naira.  An average of 24.5 million naira was budgeted for library information in 2010 and 2012. It then dropped sharply to 7.5 million naira in 2013, and then 5 million naira and 1.4 million naira in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Since then, it has been on a rise; 10.42 million naira in 2016 and 20.4 million naira in 2017 has been appropriated for.

    In the last eight years, billions of naira have been allocated for the purchase of computers and computer software.  Every year, you find projects that are meant to be periodic included in the national budget by various ministries. Capital projects have now become ‘recurrent expenditure’. Looking at the trend on budget allocation on the aforementioned items, one might infer that corruption peaked at 2010.  I am not making this up: this is true. You can check the records by scrutinising the budget documents available on the national budget website. Yet, when you go to these ministries, you will be surprised at what you will find. Nobody seems to query those responsible for this unwholesome act. In the very eyes of our imans, priests, professors, prominent judges, political activists and prolific writers, a few Nigerians have been able to carry out their functions without any human feelings to the masses. How do we hope to achieve development with this kind of approach?

    The outcomes of the ‘make belief’ democracy can never be positive but rather stagnation and hardships to the rest of the citizens who are not connected to the cabalistic chain. I am not astonished to hear and see that, ‘in the midst of the high rate of unemployment, recruitment exercises at the final stages are cancelled’, ‘scholars sent abroad for a one-year studies would have their upkeeps not paid until the ninth month, and there is no concrete reasons for the delay’, ‘theoretical national budgeting occurring for a decade’, ‘recommendations made from public hearings are not implemented’, ’bickering among politicians’.

    I hope that we will not see a rise of budget padding in 2018, as it is the penultimate year leading to the 2019 general elections in the country.

     

    Aniefiok Livinus Cranfield University, UK