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Tag: BUHARI

  • When PMB met Talon

    Guess who came calling – Nicodemus-style – at the Aso Villa the other day; Benin Republic’s President Patrice Talon. Another strongman seeking to carve democracy in his image and after his likeness in his country coming to meet President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja Thursday last week. Although reports said that the meeting came moments after he arrived at the forecourt of the presidential villa at 11.35am, the agenda was not made public. Coming however in the wake of the April 28 parliamentary election which shut out the opposition parties and the accompanying clampdown on their leaders culminating in the restrictions imposed on former President Boni Yayi – a development which notable leaders in the sub region have since condemned – there can be no guessing what the discussion was all about.

    Chair of Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, Professor Ropo Sekoni, also a visiting member of this newspaper’s editorial board first drew home to me the unmitigated travesty going on in Benin via an open letter titled – Call from the international scientific community to Patrice Talon, president of the Republic of Benin. The missive,  penned by scholars and activists drawn from the international scientific community and the international community of artists and intellectuals which include himself, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Henry-Louis Gates Jr. Sekoni and nearly two score others was a clarion call on Talon to end the charade.

    Months after that letter, Talon continues to play deaf. More than that, he has, thus far, done well to hold down any challenge – including getting his soldiers to mow down demonstrators who dared to protest. By the way, this individual was elected in 2016 at a time his predecessor was supporting another candidate. Think of this happening in a country whose practice of multi-partysm – once upon a time – could have been deemed a model.

    Today, the country sits, precariously on the edge. Only 11 days ago, Olusegun Obasanjo, and his Ghanaian counterpart, John Kufuor, had rallied for the intervention of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. The duo, while acknowledging the “general feeling of violation of the individual and collective liberties which has invariably culminated in the restrictions currently imposed on former President Boni Yayi and some other opposition leaders”, concluded chillingly: “The ongoing political crisis appears to be worsening the security and humanitarian situation which might open a floodgate to terrorist incursion that will lead to further destabilisation of the West-African sub-region”.

    Until last week, the country’s Big Brother and neighbour, was practically (at least officially) missing in action. Not a word on the political travesty or the killings that have accompanied it; not on the threatening anarchy – perhaps a case of Big Brother choosing not to fight other people’s fires when its abode is engulfed in conflagration. Yet, much as one would readily acknowledge the feelings of those who would baulk at the idea of the country poking its nose into what is going on next door at a time the country’s hands are already bloodied fighting banditry, kidnapping and other variants of insurgency, (no matter the dire situation in that enclave of 11 million people), one is quickly reminded of the proverb about feigning indifference while one’s neighbour gobbles a suspicious insect; the same would require more than a pill of endurance to keep from staying awake all night when the full effects of the toxic intake inevitably sets in. That is assuming that the country has not already, suffered enough in the hands of this listless, parasitic neighbour whose destiny, though inextricably linked to ours, continues to make good feeding on our flesh and blood.

    Sure, the situation in Benin calls for drastic action. Getting former President Yayi out of the jailhouse will be an important first step. And then for President Talon to dismantle his democracy of exclusion and to undertake a fresh credible and transparent process; after all, what is democracy without a vibrant opposition and an open and transparent process?

    Now, I understand why the Big Brother will be dragged in to quell the fire stoked by that wayward actor next door; which of course explains the shuttle to Abuja last Thursday. One can only hope that our president was frank and brutal in conveying the expectations of the entire civilised world to the wayfarer, hoping that reason prevails and all goes well in the end.

    Remember, this is about Benin Republic a country whose relationship with our country is as insufferable as they are toxic. Never mind that Big Brother is routinely summoned to help pull their chestnuts out of the fire as exampled in the delinquency currently ravaging their polity; their leaders think its fair game to keep setting our own economic backyards on fire!

    I speak here to the menace of smuggling and cross-border banditry which the country aids and abets; the associated subversion that have undermined our trade policies and in the process, reduced the swathe of our common borders to an ungoverned space; the slow, agonising death visited on our farming communities and our textile industry – all of which can only guarantee that our national aspirations would never be met.

    Surely, no one could have put things better than Africa’s foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote: “There is no country that can survive with Benin Republic as a neighbour”.

    He did not exaggerate. Ask the rice producer, the palm oil producers, the textile manufacturers; all, without exception share a common story of how their businesses have wilted under the menace of smuggling with our darling ECOWAS neighbour tacitly providing facilitation.

    Does anyone see why the official indifference to the existential challenge posed by the country’s policies on our country’s well-being is so galling? It seems such a long time ago when Obasanjo shut the country’s borders against Benin Republic. I couldn’t now recall the roof caving in; instead, Nigeria actually got some reprieve with smuggling and cross-border banditry taking a dive.

    Sure, President Buhari couldn’t have brought up these issues at that short meeting. Or did he – considering that the matter is not only grave but has become an existential one?

    Yet, the conversation is long overdue if ever the country desires to make progress. Guess it’s time to rethink elements of the farce called ECOWAS under which grave injurious, toxic trade practices are perpetrated against Nigeria; for enablers like Benin, time for the Big Brother to demonstrate that injury to her can attract severe consequences.

  • Buhari: History beckons

    As 2015 presidential election was approaching, it was clear to any keen observer of Nigerian political scene that the then president, President Goodluck Jonathan was overwhelmed with the issues of governance of the country. He looked tired at campaign rallies and was unsure of himself and  suspicious of people surrounding him. Under his watch, the country was ravaged in the northern part by the insurgency of the deadly Boko Haram which abducted more than a hundred school children at Chibok. Added to these, there were allegations of  corruption at low and high places in the country and generally there was pervasive low morale among the people. At that time, people felt the need for a change of direction in the governance of the country. Despite the odds against President Jonathan’s election, millions of Nigerians were not wormed to the possibility of the alternative candidate, Muhammadu Buhari of APC becoming the president of the country.

    The reason for the  skepticism for Buhari was simple. Nigerians who often possess elephantine memory referred to the draconian military rule of then General Buhari  between 1984 and 1985 with trepidations. Added to their fears, were the utterances of the General when he was out of power on issues like Sharia, Boko Haram insurgency, ethnicity and religion. To many people, his utterances on these issues portrayed him as a sectional leader unfit to rule a multi-religious and multi- national country like Nigeria. However, the awesome propaganda machinery of his party, the APC blunted these fears and presented Buhari as a man of integrity who had no stomach for corruption and who would use his military background to destroy the Boko Haram insurgency within a short period of taking over power. These propaganda stuffs impressed millions of Nigerians and Buhari defeated  the incumbent President Jonathan who contested on the platform of PDP, that had then ruled the country for 16 years. This was the first time that an opposition party would wrestle power from the governing party in Nigeria. It was a glorious era  for democracy.

    Read Also: Buhari: we will continue to stabilise West Africa

    On becoming president in May 2015, President Buhari started on a very low key and the situation was not helped by ill-health which hobbled his performances  for some months. However, later in his first time in office,  thanks to God his health improved and people were able to  see positive actions on infrastructure development, renewed efforts on combating the insurgency of the persistent Boko Haram, and high profile war on the debilitating plague of corruption that had rendered our country prostrate. Many people felt that he could have done more if one judged by the promises of change made in his party’s manifesto.

    However,  out of the blues, and with deft political masterstroke, he jolted his supporters and opponents alike  by bringing the issue of June 12 debacle to the political front burner. Last year, he recognized the June 12, 1993 election which was annulled by the military administration of Ibrahim Babaginda, and in addition gave posthumous award of GCFR , the highest  honour in the land reserved only for the president to Chief Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the freest election ever conducted in our country. The vice-presidential candidate to Abiola in the election, Babagana Kingibe, despite his perfidy in the June 12 debacle was given GCON, an award reserved for the vice-president in the land. With this singular act, President Buhari  was adulated and won many people to his side politically.

    This adulation increased again this year, when he declared  June 12 henceforth as Democracy Day instead of May 29 foisted on the people by President Obasanjo. This month, the first Democracy Day was celebrated with pomp and pageantry in the presence of many African Heads of States and foreign diplomats.

    The action of President Buhari in resolving the June 12 debacle to the  satisfaction of most Nigerians raises a pertinent question on how knotty political problems are solved in this country over the years. Initially,  the protest against the criminal annulment of June 12 presidential election was a pan-Nigeria protest but over time, through the machinations of the malevolent administrations of Babaginda and Abacha, the issue was portrayed as that of the people of Southwest despite the fact that patriotic Nigerians who were not from Southwest also struggled for revalidation of June 12 mandate  at the risk to their lives. Such patriotic Nigerians included,  the late iconic Chief Anthony Enahoro, Admiral Ndubisi Kanu,  Air  Vice Marshall Dan Suleimam, Chief C. Ezeife and  Alhaji Balarabe Musa. The fiendish  attempt to make  the struggle for the revalidation of June 12, a Southwest affair probably was responsible for the  inaction by previous administrations on the issue. However,  the Obasanjo administration could not be totally absolved for its non action on the matter because President Obasanjo refused without any obvious justification, to assent to the bill passed by  the then National Assembly to name the National Stadium after the late Chief Abiola for his role in promoting sport not only in the country but in the whole of Africa.

    It seems to me that President Buhari unlike his predecessors was able to take action on the June 12 presidential election debacle without any rancour,  because he is a prominent member and now the  leader of the formidable northern political establishment that had been dictating the political agenda in the country since independence. At independence, the departing colonial masters consolidated power in the hand of the northern political establishment through a skewded geo-political configuration foisted on the country. The many years of military rule in the country which was dominated by people from the north strengthened and reinforced  this skewed configuration. This setup has put the northern political establishment in an unassailable position to dictate to the rest of the country the following, year of our independence, their favoured census figures, the time for the creation of states and the number of states and local governments to be created in the country and the mode of governance in the country.

    This is the reality of our country from the time of independence.

    President Buhari has a unique advantage which his predecessors did not have. As somebody from the powerful northern political establishment,  he should use his position and clout to free Nigeria from the shackles repressing good governance in the country. We do not need to go far to see that Nigeria is bogged down presently with suffocating over-centralised  system of governance which has bred resentment and bitterness with attendant disunity in the country. Nigeria needs true federalism so that governance can be effective as we had immediately the country became independent before its  truncation by the military in 1966. In addition to getting us out the present ponderous and ineffective system of governance, President Buhari has a duty to this country to step up the fight against the virus of corruption with vigour without caring whose ox is gored.  There is need also to strengthen our  security and prosecutorial institutions by removing them from the apron-string of the presidency.

    Mr President,  history beckons to you and you should do the needful for Nigeria to secure your place in history. All you need is the will to continue what you did with June 12 debacle with  other seemingly intractable political and economic  problems facing the country. Kemal Atartuck in 1923  did what was right for Turkey; Konrad Adenauer did the same for Germany immediately after Second World War and  Franklin Roosevelt lifted up his country during the depression of 1933. You too can stand up and pull Nigeria out of its present socio-economic quagmire.

     

    • Professor Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan.

  • Buhari commissions erosion and flooding project in Kebbi

    In an effort to find a lasting solution to the problem of erosion and flooding across the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his administration’s commitment to addressing environmental challenges across the country.

    The president disclosed this in a message while commissioning erosion and flooding control project in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

    President Muhammad Buhari explained that the calamity of erosion and flooding is crippling the socio-economic development of the rural communities.

    Read Also: Buhari commissions state-of-the-art Yemi Osinbajo Primary School

    Earlier in his remarks, Musa Awalu, the representative of the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Fund office, Abuja, pointed out that its office has spent over five billion naira in controlling erosion and flooding in the state.

    The contract, which was awarded in 2017 was aimed at controlling the erosion and flooding in two rice fields in Bendu and Aljannara communities in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Meanwhile, the benefitting communities expressed happiness over the projects.

  • ‘Buhari needs experts to drive economic agenda’

    Textile and Garment Workers Union has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint capable hands if his agenda of growing the economy and creating over 100 million jobs is to be achieved.

    The union praised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for initiating creative monetary policies to finance businesses geared towards the creation of jobs.

    At the interactive enlightenment session with stakeholders, organised by the  Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) in Owerri, the Secretary-General of union, Comrade Issa Aremu, commended Buhari for setting the  agenda.

    “President Buhari has made a commitment that he will work towards the creation of 100 million jobs and what it means for us is to compliment his effort in achieving that objective. But he must ensure that he appoints capable and tested hands into his cabinet if he is to achieve this ambitious agenda,” he said.

    Read Also: Social investment key to stronger global economy, says IMF

    The Labour leader commended the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for banning importers of about 43 items, which could  be produced locally, from accessing  foreign exchange.

    “Items, such as rice, tomatoes and textile fabrics are things we can produce locally and with the creative intervention of target financing by the CBN we have already seen the impact on our economy. Today, we talk about Anchor Borrower for rice production and through it, a lot jobs have been created.  CBN has also been engaging critical stakeholders on this  vision  and they are doing it both vertically and horizontally and we need other agencies to do same,” he said.

    Responding, CBN Director of Corporate Communication, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, said besides its core mandate, the apex bank‘s  new emphasis was on growth to unlock the creative energy of Nigerians.

    “At CBN, our emphasis is on growth by funding the  cotton/textile value chain by providing cotton farmers the input, including high-yielding seedlings. We have given loans to textile manufacturers to enable them to re-start production which will  create Jobs.

    “We are also doing the same with the palm oil value chain across the Eastern Nigeria /Southsouth . It is the same for the creative industry by providing finance to help creative arts by building of film academy, music production centres.”

  • Just In: Buhari, Benin Republic President meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met behind closed doors with President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic.

    The meeting started at the President’s office around 11.30am.

    It was still in progress at the time of filing this report

  • Buhari seeks Ecobank’s partnership on special agric fund

    President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the collaboration of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) to “institute special agricultural development fund.

    He spoke  when ETI board  led by the Group Chairman, Emmanuel Ikazoboh visited him at the State House, Abuja.

    Buhari stressed that his administration remains committed to the goals of securing the country, inclusive economic growth, and fighting corruption.

    According to him, Nigeria is in a unique position as the most populous and resource-rich nation on the African continent, adding that the resources would be harnessed and properly managed, to engender a prosperous and peaceful country.

    He said: “If assets and resources available to Nigeria were properly managed, she would be prosperous and peaceful. But the poverty and insecurity we are experiencing today are results of decades of neglect and resource mismanagement.”

    Ikazoboh, who had in his delegation, the Group CEO Ecobank, Ade Ayeyemi and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, called on Buhari to address Apapa gridlock, describing the port  as the center of trade in the country.

  • Buhari, Governs take Oath amid hope for better days

  • Our agenda for Buhari, by OPS

    As President Muhammadu Buhari took oath of office for the second term of another four years, the Organised Labour has put before him the fixing of power, job creation, among others, as priorities to combat unemployment and insecurity in the country, writes TOBA AGBOOLA.

    The Organised Labour  expects  President Muhammadu Buhari to focus on policies that  will lift  impoverished Nigerians out of poverty as well as check ‘gangsterism’ in his second term.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Ayuba, said for Buhari to achieve this, there are three key areas he needs to focus on. “The clear agenda is on three issues. Let him concentrate on building three critical infrastructure. One is power. When you have constant power supply, everybody will find his or her level. Industries will blossom and we can begin to address the problem of jobs and insecurity in our country. We thank God that part of the loans sourced will be used for the Mambilla power project. Power should be our major priority for now,” he said.

    He continued: “The second priority is the issue of insecurity. Yes, there are new emerging trends, but no investor will come into a country with security challenge. So, there is need to look at our security architecture. We need to end the entire process of insecurity. I agree that the fight against corruption must be a priority,  but it is also essential that we must get people, who have integrity and we have so many of them in Nigeria. He should not restrict himself to party faithful.

    “Nigerians are making waves around the world. For this second term, he should go for the best. People of proven integrity, not those when you appoint them, they will ‘eat and clean mouth’ and pretend as if they have not eaten at all. This is what is required now and, if we are able to do this, Nigeria can return to the path of greatness, progress, prosperity and everybody will be happy and things can move forward.”

    The government, Wabba said,  must put in place agro-allied firms that will add value to agricultural products as it is done in countries like Thailand and India in rice production, adding that  this is how to create jobs for the youth.

    “The last is the issue of our comparative advantage in oil and gas. We have no business to continue to import refined products; we are exporting our jobs. It’s not rocket science to fix our refineries. In fact, a modular refinery can be built in 18 months. Our refineries can be overhauled. The four refineries, if upgraded, are enough to serve our local needs and even the West African market. It is because of the corruption in the system that we’ve not been able to do this. Those refineries can be used to power businesses and even the power system.

    “But selling it to a few individuals, who are not even paying taxes is not going to help us because in every economy, there is a stage where the government plays critical roles. Look at the United States, when did they start privatisation? It’s recently. Even the United Kingdom, it was during the administration of Margaret Thatcher. The government has a role in business; it has a role in driving social system. We cannot talk of privatisation when we have not stabilised,” Wabba said.

    On the new minimum wage, Wabba said the country has passed the level where governors or employers could play God over the workers.

    He said: “We thank God that we have passed that level, we have passed the bridge. Today, it is a law. If you don’t pay, you have violated the law. There is provision for sanctions; there is provision for us to take many, many actions, including taking the issue to court, and demanding that you pay arrears. Clearly, we have gone beyond the level of ‘whether I can pay or I cannot pay. Political office holders, including governors, have sworn to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, anybody that does not pay has invariably violated the Constitution and his oath of office and he should resign.

    “Clearly, going forward is about the normal tradition that we are going to engage states that refuse to pay. We are not treading this path for the first time. We will continue to do that and nothing that was given to workers ever got to them on a platter of gold.

    “We are not under any illusion that any recalcitrant governor or any recalcitrant employer will give workers the minimum wage on a platter of gold. The law is there, but we have to do engagement and we will do that vigorously and with all our ability to make sure that Nigerian workers benefit from this little increase.”

    Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Director-General, Mr Timothy Olawale said although the employers’ body does not expect surprises, judging from the president’s policy thrust in the last four years, it nevertheless expects that the administration will not deviate from key polices contained in the Economic Growth Recovery Plan (ERGP).

    “Having followed keenly the thrust of President Buhari-led administration, we do not expect any deviation from the administration’s policies. Much surprise is not expected, judging by the direction of the administration since its inception, hence, we expect to see more of policy stability,“ Olawale said.

    According to the NECA boss, there is the need for the government to sustain its commitment to the implementation of the Economic Growth Recovery Plan (ERGP).

    He noted that stability of different economic policies and focus on different social investment programmes such as the trader-moni, etc, which are deemed pro-poor and deepening of engagement with the private, will help the government put the economy on growth path.

    He added that infrastructure development must also be sustained, as employers expect to see the completion of major infrastructure projects across the country.

    The DG, who expressed concerns of businesses as regard what he termed ‘worrisome trend’ in the first four years of the administration, reminded Buhari of the need to check ‘regulatory gangstarism’, which reached a new height in the last four years of his administration.

    “As the President was making efforts to ease the challenges of doing business in Nigeria, some regulatory agencies were stifling businesses, discouraging entrepreneurial propensity of small and medium scale entities and inadvertently creating the environment for job losses,” he said.

    While drawing the President’s attention the to this anathema, he said “the President must ensure that this trend is brought to a stop”, adding that “a collaborative engagement of the private sector and creation of an environment for it to thrive is the only panacea to the raging threat of unemployment in our nation”.

    Olawale said the Buhari-led administration has another four years opportunity to reverse the negative trends and prognosis associated with the nation in the last four years, noting that concerted efforts must be made to revive moribund industries, support struggling enterprises, create a responsible regulatory regime and focus on inclusive growth for the rapid development of our nation.

    Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) General Secretary, Mr Okugbawa Lumumba, who spoke on his expectations from the new administration,  advised Buhari to promote good governance that would benefit the nation and the masses. “We want the government to expedite action on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill. The last bill was reviewed in 1959,” Lumumba said.

    The PENGASSAN chief said there should be local refining of crude oil, instead of importation, to save cost. He urged the president to also ensure transparency and positive reforms that would change the lives of the masses.

    National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products President Mr Babatunde Olatunji advised the government to kick off the implementation of the leather policy, promised last October 31.

    Olatunji said any policy, made to develop the sector would improve the nation’s gross domestic product, curb influx of foreign foot wears and leather.

    National Union of Textile Deputy General Secretary, Garment and Tailoring Workers, Comrade Ismail Bello, said the sector needed policies that would revive and create jobs.

    Bello said  the non-conducive business environment, smuggling, among other factors, had made the textile manufacturing hubs in Kano, Kaduna and Lagos solitary camps, adding that out of the 250  textile firms in Nigeria, only about 25 are struggling to remain functional due to smuggling and counterfeiting.

    He said the sector is expecting a boost in the patronage of local fabrics and an increase in electricity supply to boost production.

    The scribe said the government should equally collect right duties on imported fabrics to discourage importation and provide gas at affordable prices to reduce production cost.

  • Buhari, Northern governors meet over insecurity

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with state governors from the northern part of the country at the State House, Abuja.

    The meeting bordered on increasing insecurity in the northern parts of the country.

    Speaking with State House correspondents, Katsina State Governor said that they came to brief the President on the increasing insecurity in the North.

    He said they came to see the President based on a resolution of the Northern state governors forum at a meeting held in Kaduna 10 days ago.

    According to him, the increasing banditry and kidnapping in the North West and North Central is gradually becoming more threatening like the insurgency in the North East.

    He called for urgent and decisive action against the insecurity in the area.

    He said “The issue that brought us to the President is about the rising insecurity in the north west, north central and north east. North east is known for Boko Haram insurgency but of recent what was known to be cattle rustling in North West and some parts of north central has turned out to be something different from what we had before.

    “So, this concern made us to come and brief the president so that urgent action would be taken in order to curb this deadly menace of banditry which is gradually graduating into insurgency.

    “You know the north west with a vast forest area going to north central and then even going out of Nigeria.

    “So we need to act quickly and decisively so that it doesn’t turn into something else like what we had in the northeast,” he said.

    According to him, the President has given his full commitment that something seriously will be done in order to make sure that the menace is curbed.

    The governor said they made suggestions to the president on the way forward but that, “It’s not for public consumption “

    On Magajin Gari Daura who was abducted 26 days ago, he said “I think the police are working serious and they have made some progress but for obvious reasons, they cannot disclose all what they have done for security reasons but work is going on.”

    The governors at the meeting included Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state, Kashim Shetima of Borno, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Sani Bello of Niger State.

     

  • Breaking: Buhari signs 2019 budget

    President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the 2019 Appropriation bill into law.

    The National Assembly had earlier passed the 2019 Budget of N8.92trn, as against N8.83trn presented by President Buhari on December 18, 2018

    The increase of N90bn in the budget was to cater for security challenges in the country, packages for lawmakers and support for Zamfara State.

    But signing the budget on Monday, the President faulted the increase in the budget, which introduced new projects.

    Read Also: Breaking: Buhari meets South South Monarchs in Aso Rock

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, however, arrived late for the signing ceremony.

    He arrived the President’s office by 11.17am

    The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who represented him at the ceremony, had disclosed that Saraki was coming straight to the Villa from the airport