The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Herdsmen’s leader: any Fulani with AK47 is a killer

    Herdsmen’s leader: any Fulani with AK47 is a killer

    National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria Alhaji Muhammad Kiruwa Zuru, in this interview with reporters, says herdsmen who carry sophisticated weapons should be arrested. KHADIJAT SAIDU was among the reporters. Excerpts:

    Sir you met with the Service Chiefs recently. What did you tell them?

    Yes, we met with the Service Chiefs and we pledged our support and loyalty to the security agencies and we also advised that proper investigation should be done in order to apprehend the real criminals and not the innocent persons for peace to reign in our land and we also called on the security agencies to use their discretion to clamp down on these criminals.

    Again,  any Fulani seen with weapons like AK47  is a criminal and is up to something; he should be arrested because our Fulani move with their wives  and children  wherever they go. How can they go and kill people and their wives and children will be safe?

    Are you saying these people committing these atrocities   are not Fulani?

    I’m not certain because once  a particular crisis occurs people will just say it is Fulani, for example, the issue of Enugu  crisis, which happened at night. I wonder the eyewitnesses were to have  concluded  that it was Fulani herdsmen.  I think jumping into conclusions should be with evidence but nobody was arrested.

    What will you say about the  Agatu case in Benue State?

    You see, the people of Agattu   usually cross over with canoes at night to kill Fulani cattle and then put these cattle inside their canoe and go away with them, even then nobody was arrested. Then how will you say it is Fulani herdsmen that committed this particular crime?

    Let me tell you one thing, it is not only Fulani that breed cattle; we have many tribes now that breed cattle who are herdsmen. Even former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a herdsmen. So can we just conclude without proper investigation it is Fulani herdsmen that are committing these atrocities?

    I urge the security agencies to  investigate this matter very well. And I also call on all Fulani to be watchful of strangers that are coming in from other countries. And they should know the kind of persons they are, before associ-ating with them.

    What can you say now that President Muhammadu Buhari has given the order to deal with the situation?

    In my capacity as the President, Cattle Breeders Association, I am worried and I will be very happy if government and security agencies can fish out the culprits and we as Fulani disown and disassociate ourselves from whoever is involved in such killings and kidnapping and government should take decisive  action  because it is   disastrous.

    What is the solution to this problems?

    The immediate remedy to this problem is justice and fair play by the leaders. The issue of cattle ranches or grazing reserves is secondary. It is painful to know that even the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport here in Birnin Kebbi, Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi and the entire Federal Capital Territory Abuja are all set aside as grazing reserves but today it is no longer there and the Fulani are left alone without  any other option.

    Government should have it as a policy to always compensate for the grazing reserves taken away from the Fulani by the government. Secondly, if government will enhance the quality of the present grazing reserves, and provide water and other things,  then there will be no mass movement of Fulani from Jigawa to Enugu or to Lagos or to Ibadan.

    Therefore, we are in support of the establishment of grazing reserves. In addition, there is also need for proper enlightenment of the Fulani on the importance of the establishment of ranches and if this is done, a Fulani man can sell his property to establish ranches in their domains.

     

  • NDLEA fights youth addiction in Niger

    NDLEA fights youth addiction in Niger

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Niger State has appealed to patent medicine dealers to join the agency in the fight against illicit traffic, sale and abuse of drugs.

    Of particular concern to the anti-drug agency is the increasing addiction of youths to drugs.

    The NDLEA State Commander, Mr Joseph Iweajunwa made the call at a sensitisation workshop the agency organised in conjunction with the National Association of Proprietary and Patent Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) in the state.

    One of the problems facing humanity, he said, is the abuse and traffic of drugs, adding that no country is immune to the devastating consequences of drug abuse.

    He lamented that a large number of youths have become hooked on these drug, expressing concern over the new dimensions of abuse where psycho-active substances have become the drugs of choice.

    Iweajunwa said the workshop for NAPPMED members was necessary because the major source of abused substances especially Tramadol and cough syrups with codeine are the patent and proprietary medicine dealers.

    He intimated that NAPPMED need to put in place sanitising mechanism like a task force to ensure their members operate with the scope of their license as well as educating and sensitising its members on issues concerning their business.

    The NDLEA Commander said, “If the truth must be told, there is no other professional body that can carry out your role in the health delivery system of this nation. All we are asking is that you perform your statutory role in line with the rules and regulations guiding your license and profession.

    “It is only NAPPMED members that can reach out to every nook and cranny of this nation. Your members are the ones that are there for the poor masses. We all know that if your members decide to withdraw their services or go on strike even for one day, the nation may not survive the health crisis that will occur.

    “The reason we do business is to make profit but it is our social responsibility and morally imperative for us to consider the aspect of our actions on the mind and body of our people. A situation where we smile home with cash made from sales of psychotropic substances that have devastating effects on the people is totally unacceptable.”

    He then urged NAPPMED members to liaise with relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies in carrying out their lawful business adding that nobody can ban them from practicing their lawful and statutory profession if it is done with their license.

    He then urged NAPPMED members to liaise with relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies in carrying out their lawful business adding that nobody can ban them from practicing their lawful and statutory profession if it is done with their license.

    Giving the participants a lecture on “the role of patent medicine dealers in curbing illicit traffic, sale and abuse of controlled and psychotropic substances,” the NDLEA Deputy State Commander, Mr. Isaac Aloye disclosed that the commonly abused psychoactive drugs in Niger State include Valium, diazepam, rohynol, pemoline, Chinese capsules, nitrasepam, tramadol and cough syrup with codeine.

    He pointed out that the abusers of these drugs get them through the loose hands of private health centres and medicine stores, adding that the effects of drug abuse range from physical to social-political and economical which pose a serious health threat to human existence.

    They were also lectured on the various types of psychoactive drugs, how they can discern the signs of drug abuse and legal implications of illicit traffic and sale of controlled drugs.

  • ‘Workers’ low-income houses coming’

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration is about going into partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank to develop low-income houses for low-income workers in the Federal Capital Territory, the minister Malam Muhammad Bello has said.

    He gave the assurance while receiving a delegation of the Federal Mortgage Bank led by its Acting Managing Director, Mr. Richard Esien who paid him a working visit.

    Bello, however, made a case for the consideration of FCT Administration workers first, observing that the administration has the highest number of employees in the FCT.

    According to the statement issued by Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister said that there are so many big houses built in Abuja that are unoccupied because of the exorbitant rent charged by landlords.

    He said, “What we need today in Abuja are low income houses which low income earners can afford and that is what my administration would further encourage to take care of the less privileged people in the society”.

    The Minister emphasized that his Administration is prepared to enhance the relationship between the FCT Administration and the Federal Mortgage Bank for the mutual benefit of the two organizations; therefore the staff of the FCT Administration will have to be considered first.

    “We have too many highbrow houses in Abuja which have remained vacant despite the housing deficit the workers are experiencing in the city,” he stressed.

    While decrying a situation where estates were built in the past without provision of recreational facilities, children play ground as well as conversion of green areas to build houses; he directed that henceforth, all new estates must make provision for such essential facilities.

    The minister also directed that a green area be made available for the Federal Mortgage Bank to develop into a befitting Public Park for usage at weekends by the residents free of charge; adding that such gesture should be the Bank’s corporate social responsibility to the immediate society it is operating in.

    Speaking earlier, the Acting Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank, Mr. Richard Esien sought for plots of land to deliver houses to Nigerians in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s mandate of 5,000 houses yearly.

    He noted that it is only Bwari Area Council out of the six Area Councils in the FCT that has complied with the FMBN Act of contributing two and half percent of all workers earning and therefore appealed to the Minister to prevail on the remaining five Area Councils to make their contributions according to the law.

  • Herdsmen attacks: Jukun accuse Presidency, Arewa of silence

    The Jukun people in Taraba State have bemoaned what they called the “graveyard silence and inaction” of the presidency, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) over their plight in the Fulani herdsmen-farmers’ crises.

    The people, through the Jukun Development Association of Nigeria (JDAN), highlighted the atrocities being allegedly committed daily by Fulani herdsmen in Southern and Central Taraba State and much of the states in North central Nigeria, saying: “As we speak, hundreds of thousands of cows are occupying destroyed homes and farmlands across the region making sure that indigenous population never return to their homeland again.”

    At a press conference in Lagos which was addressed by the association President, Bako Benjamin, the Jukun people said despite all these, “We and the entire people of Jukun have waited patiently for strong words and actions from the presidency.

    “But the silence is becoming disturbing and dangerous, more disturbing is the graveyard silence of our  own Arewa Consultative Forum and Northern Governors Forum who have chosen to look the other way as fellow Northerners are been butchered and displaced from their ancestral homes and been replaced by new Fulani Herdsmen population.”

    Benjamin therefore stated that: “On behalf of the Jukun People all over the world and the traumatized Christian minority tribes in the North Central Nigeria, we call on the state and federal government of Nigeria to make a public pronouncement concerning these killings and displacements immediately to demonstrate concern and reassurance, otherwise the people of these regions will have no choice than to take drastic measures to defend themselves and protect their ancestral homes.

    “We once again call on the Taraba State and federal government to immediately send security agents to forcefully send packing all Fulani herdsmen illegally occupying farming communities and arrest the perpetrators of these genocides including village heads and their collaborators.”

    The association noted that another “disturbing aspect of this discriminatory bloodbath” is that the herdsmen always attribute “their wanton massacre to cattle rustling as the motives for the wanton killings, but facts point to Jigawa, Kebbi and Zamfara states as the headquarters of cattle rustling in Nigeria.

    “But curiously, Nigerians have never heard of any killing, burning of human beings, destruction of homes and farmlands and permanent armed occupation by Fulani herdsmen in farming communities in those areas,” JDAN stated, adding,

    “We want to make it abundantly clear to everyone today that this medieval-style territorial expansion and genocides in this 21st century is capable of triggering another round of Nigeria’s second civil war if not checked immediately by the authorities.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the violence by directing the security agencies to take all necessary action to stop the carnage.

    Apart from condemning the killings, the president has also said that stopping the attacks is a priority, and that security agencies should bring the attackers to justice.

  • Inside a forgotten town

    Inside a forgotten town

    Without electricity, hospital, paved road or healthy water, Ungwar Maikanti near Kaduna city is no better than a Stone Age settlement, reports TONY AKOWE

    Every community has its well-off class. In Ungwar Maikanti, just 25 minutes away from Kaduna metropolis, the richest man owns a motorcycle. Its residents enjoy the bliss only the Stone Age offers.

    Women deliver their babies at home unaided. There is no medical personnel in sight. Only a lorry that probably comes to get firewood from the community plies the road into Ungwar Maikanti. There is no potable water, nor hospital, nor electricity. The only school there has never received any form of government attention since the residents built it in 1997.

    Located West of Rigasa in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the community, which is surrounded by Ungwar Daudu, Kwati and Rigar Fulani, is always cut off from other communities and the state capital for about two months during the rainy season because the only road to the state capital is always flooded.

    Aliyu Bala, the 70-year-old head of the community, said, “Our town usually gets cut off for about two months from other towns and villages around this area”.

    Pa Bala added that the predominantly Gbagyi farming community has about 3000 inhabitants but has been neglected over the years by successive governments.

    He said, “We have been here for centuries because my parents and forefathers spent their lives here. We have no social amenities in these communities. No road, no water, no hospital, even the school here was built with mud by our people without government support. We are farmers but we cannot transport out farm produce to nearby markets because of bad road. The water we drink here is so bad that it causes sickness to our people.”

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that the residents drink water from a pond which is located far from them. Women and children wake up early in the morning to get water which is not drinkable from the pond. Women trek a distance to fetch water from the pond.

    One of the residents of the community, Talatu Iliya said the water from the pond smells and is sometimes covered by dry leaves, “but that is what we use to cook because we have no choice”, she lamented, adding, their children complain of frequent stomach ache and also suffer from cholera.

    She said, “You can see the kind of water we drink. Even dogs wouldn’t drink from the pond. The water smells and that is what we use to cook our food”.

    There is only one water well in the village said to have been dug by a white lady who visited the community years back. But the people hardly get water from it. Women in the community complain that they can only get water from the well very early in the morning and that in most cases, they can hardly fetch more than a bucket of water from it. They have however decided to reserve the water in the well for the primary school children who attend the community primary school. They want government intervention by constructing a borehole for them to get water for their use.

    Another major problem confronting this community is lack of health facilities. Pregnant women in the community do not attend antenatal because of lack of a health centre.

    Elizabeth Jacob who identified herself as one of the women leaders in the community, said they have lost several women due to complications from childbirth and other pregnancy-related ailments.

    She said: “We’ve lost scores of women during pregnancy and childbirth, because we don’t have any place to take them for medical care if the pregnancy came with complications. Our women give birth at home without support from any birth attendant. We only give them herbs to drink”.

    One of the women who died from complications, was identified simply as Asabe. She was said to be in labour for several hours but without medical help, she passed on.

    Nobody owns a car in the community; only one person ows a motorbike.

    It is only in Rigassa that they can access  a primary health care centre. But it was night and at that time, the lorry was nowhere to be found.

    Two weeks after Asabe’s death, another woman and mother of four identified as Lami lost a child due to complications during childbirth.

    In the area of education, The Nation was informed that even the local government has never come to the aid of the only primary school in the area built through community effort. It was learnt that over 80 percent of the youth in the community have not gone beyond primary school level. One of Youth Leaders in the community, Jacob Maiunguwa said “Our youth have not gone beyond primary school which is why they end up unemployed. Some of them joined their parents in farming, but during dry season they become idle, doing nothing”. Chairman of School Based Management Committee (SBMC) Peter Alkali said the only school in the village has not received any learning material from both local and state governments since it was built by the community in 1997. He said: “the School lacks chairs and other teaching materials the pupils miss classes during rainy season, because the only route linking the community with others get flooded and so it’s not safe for them to attend classes”.

    A block of classroom constructed in the area was said to have collapsed due to failure by Igabi local government authority to roof the building.

    But the people are still hopeful that with the promise to revamp health facilities and construct new ones across the state, the stage government will remember them and build a health centre for them.

    They are also hopeful that the Senator representing them in the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani will come to their aid and provide them a functional borehole and clinic.

  • Hope after Kaduna’s summit

    Hope after Kaduna’s summit

    Kaduna State’s investment summit could transform the state, if its recommendations are implemented, reports ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE

    Kaduna is open for business, the summit announced.

    It could well be.

    There was no shortage of local and foreign investors at the Kaduna State’s investment summit. Their full representation at the two-day event was a strong indication that its decisions might change the economic status of the state.

    Aside the revelations made on the economic and investment potentials of the state, life-changing commitments were made at the end of the summit.

    Dangote Group, which is investing $10 million in a tomato farming and processing firm.

    Olam International, a leading agri-business operating across the value chain in 70 countries, is equally investing US$150 million  to set up two state-of-the-art animal feed mills, poultry breeding farms and a hatchery to produce day-old-chicks in Kaduna.

    Discussions at the summit centred around Kaduna achieving economic development through partnership, shared goals and strategies with donor partners. It was however recommended that, for such to be achieved, Nigeria must  encourage healthy competition between states.

    Manpower training was equally recommended as well as capacity development, especially human capacity development.

    Part of the summit’s resolution was for the state to maintain focus on solid minerals as an effective way of revenue generation, as dimension stones were said to be in abundant supply in virtually every local government area of the state.

    Dangote Group said it invest a $10m in tomato processing, adding that apart from contributing to the economic fortunes of the state, the company would also improve standard of living of tomatoes farmers as well as create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the populace.

    For the Olam group, Governor Nasir El-Rufai on the day after the summit laid the foundation of the company’s $150 million biggest West Africa poultry and hatchery at Chikpiri Gabas village in  Chikun local government area of Kaduna.

    El-Rufai said the project was not about the size of the facility but jobs that would be created. He expressed belief that the return of vibrant economic activities and the reduction of poverty will drive prosperity.

    The governor said, “When I led a delegation from Kaduna to Olam’s headquarters in Singapore for discussions with their senior management in September last year, we went with a clear message that Kaduna is open for business, and that the government views the promotion of investments as vital for the realisation of inclusive growth and shared prosperity. Olam was persuaded, and they have pleasantly surprised us by the sheer scale of the investment project they have embarked on.”

    ”Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, represented by a Director in the ministry, Obinna George Opera, said el-Rufai’s investment drive has started to yield fruit, stressing that President Muhammadu Buhari’s diversification of economy from oil to agriculture will remain the administration’s top priority.

    Olam’s CEO for Africa, Mr. Venkataramani Srivathsan said, “This new venture into animal feed is a win-win for Olam and Nigeria. Domestically produced meat is being hampered by a lack of good quality feed, support for farmers and availability of young stock, but consumption is set to increase.”

    Veteran journalist, Alhaji Tajudeen Tijjani said, “Anyone who has been following el-Rufai from his days in the BPE will know that, when he is doing something, he puts all his commitment to it to see to its success.

    “As much as I have my reservation over certain policies of the el-Rufai-led government, I think this investment he has been able to drag to Kaduna State is awesome. Imagine the number of youths that will be engaged by the companies,” he said.

  • Medicare for the displaced

    Medicare for the displaced

    A radio personality inspires a medical outreach in displaced persons’ camps, reports  GRACE OBIKE 

    Quite a curious relationship exists between internally displaced persons in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the authorities. There are more than six of their camps there but the territory’s administration recognises none of them.

    That is not to say the administrators do not help, but such help comes in trickles, never clearly defined, almost an afterthought.

    So how do the displaced in the FCT get by? Mostly through private outreaches. This time a radio personality is their benefactor.

    They live in shacks made of polythene, sacks and cartons or in uncompleted buildings without toilets, windows or doors, even under the most severe weather conditions.

    Although several residents of Abuja have made it their mission to cater to their basic needs of food, clothing and in some cases educational and medical needs, their living condition often makes them ill without cash to buy medicine.

    Secretary of the Kuchigoro camp Enoch Yohanna explained that 50% of the camp population is suffering from malaria and most of their pregnant women do not go for antenatal because the primary health care centre in old Kuchigoro that they are suppose to make use of often goes on strike which makes it difficult to know when they work.

    “We appreciate all the other assistance that we get, like food and clothing but this free medical mission is one of what we need the most, they are saving our lives with this opportunity because we have been suffering, there is presently no medical centre created to cater for the needs of the IDPs here, presently almost 50% of our population is having malaria, I just recovered from it. They are just complaining, you can go round and you will see them just sleeping.

    “They are also using the opportunity to see our pregnant women for their antenatal care because most of them don’t have the opportunity to go for antenatal because they are supposed to be going to a primary health care centre at the old Kuchigoro but I think they go on strike oftentimes so we mostly don’t know when they are working.”

    Abuja broadcaster Grace Epko popularly known as Lady G with Wazobia FM called for help on air and her listeners responded. Aids flooded the camps.

    “I got to know about the state of the camps from individuals who visited and saw the detoriating state of the camps, the living conditions and I decided to pay a visit to the camp. I mentioned my intentions on air and the people from the When in Need Foundation (WINfound) called and offered to partner with me.

    “We came to Kuchigoro camp and what we saw was not really pleasant, so I went on air and began campaigning for support and people have been awesome, people came from all over the city to drop their contributions with us, which is really wonderful especially with the present economic downturn.”

    President/ CEO of WINFound Chetachi Ecton explained that she and her team of volunteers decided to partner with Lady G on a medical mission around the camps in Abuja to help the IDPs in an area they believe that their help is really needed.

    “When I saw pictures of the condition of the camps, I cried because I couldn’t understand why these individuals after so many years are still living in cardboard boxes; the water in some of the camps is so dirty, the children are fed near the gutter which we all know could be infected with anything, so I decided to do a medical mission, I said because of the dirty water around and the mosquitoes, I wonder how many people have suffered malaria so far, how many people have died of malaria.

    “But not just malaria, what about the pregnant women here, how are they taken care of, the men, how are they taken care of? So I decided to expand the medical mission to include everyone, the idea was to come for children alone for malaria testing but we can’t do the children and forget their parents so we decided to treat malaria, high blood pressure and as much as we can do in a day.

    “We have five or six doctors, nurses, lab technicians as soon as they heard what we where doing, they where volunteering to come. We have done other things in several states in the country.

    “Our foundation is global, whatever you see here has been done global, my team and I will decide when and how often to come back for medical missions and maybe when I return to the US, I will be lucky to find some colleagues that will donate their time to come back to help, this is going to be a continuous effort for us with the IDPs because they need us.”

     

  • New council chiefs promise not not to disappoint

    The chairmen-elect have promised indigenes and residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that they will not  disappoint the electorate who voted for them to pilot the affairs of the six area councils.

    They said they will ensure that they benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    The chairman-elect of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Adamu Candido made this promise on behalf of the elected chairmen at the presentation of certificates of return to the elected officers by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The elected chairmen also vowed ensure that they stand out as the best crop of elected chairmen in the history of the territory, while delivering the dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots.

    INEC presented certificates of return to 62 councillors and six area council chairmen elected at the just concluded elections in the FCT.

    The FCT-INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Jacob Jatau stated that he was delighted to see that the council elections were conducted peacefully.

    He said it was not the intention of the commission to conduct the supplementary elections, but was compelled to due to some hitches during the April 9 polls.

    “I want to say the supplementary election was concluded peacefully despite some hitches especially at polling units of AMAC,” he said.

  • ‘Prioritise basic amenities’

    Residents of Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have urged the chairman-elect Abdulahi Galadima to prioritise provision of basic amenities as soon as he takes office.

    The residents urged the chairman-elect to provide potable water and primary healthcare as well as rehabilitate primary schools and bad roads in the area.

    One of the residents, Jonathan Ishiaku said, “Kuje is mostly characterised by bad roads, dirty surroundings and because of that, we are often faced with difficulties in going about our businesses.

    “We call on the incoming council administration to repair the Kuje township roads to encourage us to go about our day-to-day businesses with ease.

    “The administration should focus on Kuje-Gwagwalada road, Lanto-Shadadi road and complete the Kuje Main Market,”.

    Mr. Folu Ade, an electrician who resides at Sauka area in Kuje, called for regular evacuation of refuse dumps to avoid spread of diseases, while John Ziko called for prompt and regular payment of council workers’ salary.

    “Failure to do so will amount to repeating past mistakes as delay in payment of workers’ salary results in strike.

    “Delay in the payment of workers salary has never been this bad; we look forward to the incoming administration to correct such abnormally.

    “If the incoming administration failed to perform in the next three years, we will vote them out in the next election,” Jonathan said.

    Another resident, Mrs Raheal Galadima, urged the incoming council administration to empower young people in education to promote capacity building among youths.

    ’’My expectation is that the chairman-elect should empower young people from the community to go to school or even further their education, where necessary.

    “It will be the way forward to drive human capacity development at the grassroots,’’ said Galadima, a teacher at Kayarda Primary School, Kuje.

     

  • Absentee moneybags

    Millionaires who usually thronged the corridors of power have now virtually disappeared.

    They were regular features at the Presidential Villa while Dr Goodluck Jonathan held the reins of power.

    As the President Muhammadu Buhari administration approaches its one year anniversary, many of them have distanced themselves from the administration since its inception.

    Many political watchers in May 2015 had thought that they would  only stay away for a few weeks to give the Buhari administration time to settle down.

    While many of them have stayed away completely in the past 11 months, only very few have been spotted about once or twice during the period, though there is still the possibility of some of them visiting the seat of power under the cover of darkness and away from the prying eyes of journalists.

    But whether they visited in the night under Jonathan, their presence during daytime was still felt in the Villa.

    These developments have been generating some questions among Nigerians.

    For instance, are the moneybags avoiding the Villa to stay away from the government’s  anti-corruption searchlight on them and their businesses?

    Or do they not feel free to give their support to the Buhari administration like they did to the past administrations?

    The following are some of the influential Nigerians who normally frequented the Presidential Villa under Jonathan but have completely stayed away under Buhari or whose number of visits are less than five times in almost a year.

    Hardly did a month go by under Jonathan without one of the richest men in the world, Aliko Dangote, visiting the Presidential Villa.

    But Dangote, who owns the Dangote Group operating in Nigeria and other African countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania, and Zambia, has only been sighted attending very few meetings at the Presidential Villa in the past 11 months.

    An entrepreneur, philanthropist and Chairman of Forte Oil Plc, Femi Otedola, who also normally visited the Villa under Jonathan, has become very scarce at the seat of power.

    Another influential billionaire who has become scarce at the Villa since end of Jonathan’s tenure is Tony Elumelu.

    Elumelu is an economist, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

    Founder of Stanbic IBTC Holding Co., Atedo Peterside, always attended one power sector meeting or the other in the last dispensation, especially with former Vice President Namadi Sambo. This appears to have become history.

    An influential businessman, Tunde Ayeni, who often visited the Villa under Jonathan has also become scarce.

    Although, he has been spotted few times at the Presidential Villa under the current dispensation.

    Another billionaire who never joked with his frequent visits to the Villa under Jonathan is Ifeanyi Ubah.

    He formed the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), which played a great role towards Jonathan’s re-election bid in 2015.

    Ubah became very scarce in the Villa in the last eleven months.

    But he was recently spotted in the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa at the end of Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari’s ‘The Essential of Beauty Therapy’ book launch.

    Another close ally of Jonathan, who normally frequent the Villa then, is Arthur Eze.

    Eze, who is a businessman with interest in oil and gas, has led many foreign businessmen to meetings with former Vice President, Namadi Sambo.

    He has become very scarce in the Villa under Buhari.

    It is not clear why many of these billionaires have disappeared from the Villa with their money and business ideas.

    It is, however, cheery news to hear recently that Dangote has decided to help the Buhari administration to revamp the economy.

    He made the promise in Lagos on April 22 when he was honoured as “Man of the Year 2015” by The Guardian newspapers.

    Promising to assist Nigeria to reach the next level, Dangote was certain that Nigerial will excel in the next two and half years.

    That is the spirit expected of these billionaires.

    If they don’t have any skeleton in their cupboards, they should feel free to come forward to assist the present administration in rebuilding the Nigerian economy.

    Everything should not be left for the government to do. The private sector has a great role to play.