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Tag: BUHARI

  • Jonathan has declared war on Nigeria – Buhari

    Jonathan has declared war on Nigeria – Buhari

    Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has said President Goodluck Jonathan has declared war on his own country.

    Buhari in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Kaduna said he has never seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as it is being witnessed now.

    He said, ”Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes.”

    The former head of state said the developments in the polity have become an unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the Boko Haram sect, which has put Nigeria on tenterhooks, with innocent citizens being killed daily.

    ”In my capacity as a former head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former head of state to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.

    ”History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.

    ”I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state Governor, a Minister, a Head of State, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria’s political history since independence in 1960.”

     

  • 2015: Friends urge APC to adopt Buhari

    2015: Friends urge APC to adopt Buhari

    Friends of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, under the aegis of Buhari Friends Organisation Network, at the weekend urged the party to adopt the former Head of State as its presidential candidate for the 2015 election.

    They spoke in Abuja at the inaugural general meeting of the group.

    The group’s National Coordinator, Saint Athanasius Okon, noted that like Buhari, his friends also hate corruption, lawlessness, impunity and other vices.

    Okon said: “We have to take it upon ourselves as his good friends who hate corruption, indiscipline, lawlessness, impunity in government and insecurity, to first call on the APC leadership and other members of the party to adopt General Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2015 general election.”

    Explaining how Buhari’s candidature would help the party and Nigeria, the spokesman said the Head of State embodies peace, good governance and the rule of law.

    Okon noted that because of the high level of corruption, unemployment, poor economy, indiscipline, insecurity and sundry vices forced on the nation by incompetent leadership, Nigerians should ask for Buhari’s return to power through a democratic process.

    According to him, history is replete with the ex-Head of State’s record of zero tolerance for corruption and advocacy of a  debt-free economy with priority for employment generation when he was in power.

    Okon recalled that industries were functioning at full capacities and electricity supply was adequate under Gen. Buhari’s leadership.

    The spokesman said during Gen. Buhari’s short administration, Nigeria was united and peaceful, adding that the nation was better off than the 15 years of the present civil rule.

    He noted that although Gen. Buhari’s friends would not advocate for a military rule, “history shall continue to have a place for him as an exemplary leader”.

    “As far as we are concerned, it is either those in government, whose responsibilities are to ensure that the above-mentioned problems and lots others are addressed, are incompetent or not sincere enough. That short-lived administration of General Muhammadu Buhari, which was in place for just one year plus, was better than 15 years of the so-called civil rule.

    “Considering the situation we have found ourselves now, with high level of insecurity occasioned by incompetent leadership with no will power to enforce our laws, you will agree with me that there is no better time than now for the man who matters most to come out and salvage the ugly situation for this country to become good again to live in.

    “He (Buhari) did it before; he can do it again, even better. My brothers and sisters, comrades and associates of General Buhari, let us rise and ask for Buhari’s return to power through a democratic process.

    “In view of the significance of this objective, we have to take it upon ourselves – as his good friends, who hate corruption, indiscipline, lawlessness, impunity in government as well as insecurity – to first call on the leadership of the APC and all the members of the party to please adopt General Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2015 election.

    “For those who accused Gen. Buhari ignorantly of sponsoring insurgency or supporting same, there are questions for them too: Are these people aware that Gen. Buhari’s convoy was attacked …by the Boko Haram insurgents? His cars and other valuables were destroyed. And it took God’s intervention to save his life.“

     

  • Jonathan to meet former leaders in Aso Villa

    Jonathan to meet former leaders in Aso Villa

    President Goodluck Jonathan will meet some former Nigerian leaders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, later on Thursday.

    The meeting, billed to start by 8pm has been classified as private.

    The agenda of the meeting was unknown as at press time on Thursday, even though it came at a time President Jonathan expressed increasing worries over conduct and utterances of some politicians, which he claimed was encouraging terrorists and could jeopardise the 2015 general elections.

    While it was also unknown if all former leaders have been invited to the meeting, former Heads of State –  Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari are already in Abuja for the meeting.

    Also, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme and ex- Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, are in town for the meeting.

    Others expected at the meeting, if invited, are former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and former Head of the Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan.

  • Re- Buhari, Tinubu and the fierce urgency of now

    Re- Buhari, Tinubu and the fierce urgency of now

    Segun, the APC faulty political approach at winning the 2015 presidential elections isn’t a theoretical elite matter that can simply be made good with the declaration of pious intentions. Capturing votes from the people is a practical thing and has to do with the electorate whose sense of purpose can’t just be wished away even with attractive logical conclusions. It neither flouts common sense nor offends reason on the part of the party to allow the rule of expediency and wisdom to guide its footsteps in the interest of all concerned. Leaders emerging through Muslim-Muslim ticket could turn out to produce the Nigerian nation of our dream forthwith no doubt but it is better to face the reality on the ground than being carried away with sweeping generalisations that border more on logical reasons, Emmannuel Egwu, 08037921541 *Happy Sunday Mr Segun, I must commend you on your piece. It did not only make an interesting reading but also dissuade so many Nigerians from using religious sentiment to truncate our collective resolve to usher in a new political order come 2015. I am a Christian from Akwa Ibom State but I must confess that there is no politician that can be compared to Buhari and there is no Christian running mate that will be as powerful as Tinubu. My wish is to witness in my lifetime how Nigeria becomes a giant of Africa, a nation devoid of tribalism and corruption. Please keep on educating the people, Thomas Thomas, Uyo, 08029300123 *APC Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba agenda will fail, 08063693335 My brother, SegunAyobolu, you made my day with your column of yesterday. God bless you, Anonymous, Osogbo *Egbon Segun, I agree totally with you. The fierce urgency of change needs passionate consideration and not religious bigotry and sanctimonious posturing. A Tam David West versus a Femi FaniKayode? The latter is a Lilliputian. FaniKayode is but trusted like the fox a la James Hardly Chase, 08110190709 *Sege, an old school mate at Saint Anthony Secondary School Ilorin agrees with you on your write up on Buhari and Tinubu, Tony Iyeh, 08063983535 Bravo for your incisive and factual write up on Saturday. We need an upright, courageous and visionary leader to steer the ship of state away from the treacherous rapids of insurgency threatening to drown us all. Please relent not, 07031677944 *Sege, you are not being realistic. Muslim-Muslim ticket will give Jonathan cheap victory. Buhari may be good but his utterances in the past have shown him as an ethnic or religious bigot. The truth I know could be bitter, 08051103922 *How can anybody ever be contemplating a Buhari- Tinubu presidency? Apart from being a Muslim-Muslim ticket, these are two very strong characters who command followership in their separate domains. It will amount to having two presidents at a time. And in any case the party does not belong to them only so why should they corner the juiciest positions? APC would be making a big mistake if they don’t drop this idea, 08023019889 *Honestly Bola Tinubu is the most sophisticated, pragmatic, dogged and dynamic politician with the largest political followership in the country today. As for General Buhari, his followership in the North is unequalled. No one can stand his integrity in Nigeria. Buhari can be the next Mandela. If we truly want this inept, incompetent, corrupt, arrogant and primitive leadership of PDP to end then the best is a Buhari- Tinubu ticket. This will restore credibility, security and good governance to the country. This is not the time to talk about religion. I am a Christian but that is not the issue. No more Azonto dancing, 08033394837 *Mr. Segun, thanks for the good work but I will not leave you alone. The PDP has not spent 15 years in power not to talk of 16. Mr Ayobolu, some columns are veritable sources of teaching materials for some of us, Charles Iyoha, Chairman, Academy Limited, 07033775454 *Dear sir, your earlier article last week was well thought out, an article from the heart. I was disappointed that you changed your mind so soon. I love Tinubu very well but I don’t think it is fair for us to ask him to be a running mate or to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket. APC should throw it away. Ahmed Tinubu is bigger than that, Abiodun, Surulere, 08050219909 *Buhari is an extremist and allowing such a person to become president at this time will spell doom for Nigeria. I believe that most Nigerians will rather vote for an incompetent Jonathan than a religious bigot taking into consideration what we have seen and gone through in the hands of the Islamic extremists. Let the APC look for a younger and liberal Muslim from the North, GbotemiOrijeka, Omuo-Ekiti, 08032225597 *When people like the Emir of Adamawa and Governor Nyako can talk nonsense without considering others and our APC keeps quiet then let everyone go their way. Buhari and Tinubu fine but who wants this nation wiped out by Hausa-Fulani Islamic fundamentalists? 08033798382 *Segun, inasmuch as I agree with you on this issue of Buhari-Tinubu ticket, I strongly disagree with your analysis of Christians taking other positions. We are not in a religious competition but in viability testing as a country. Muslims can be in all positions so far they follow the law but the fact remains that the Muslim community in Nigeria must apologise to the Christian community for truncating the June 12, 1993, election of Muslim-Muslim ticket, Obikoya Oladele, 08189507816 *Segun, I often agree with most of your comments but the only way for APC presidency in Nigeria is Kwankwaso/Oshiomhole ticket. Let Buhari remain party leader and Tinubu Senate President. You need to listen otherwise Jonathan will win. Big shame if PDP loses, Comrade Ade, Action Alliance for Good Governance in Nigeria, 08088255828 *Sir, forget about religion in politics. APC should take Buhari/Amaechi or Oshiomhole. APC should give a different ticket from public permutation even though I love Tinubu because he is a planner, Adekoya Muyiwa, Gbagada, 08035313169 *Dear Mr Ayobolu, please continue to write on this issue from various angles until Nigerians continue to begin to think aright. Buhari-Tinubu ticket is what Niheria needs now. I am Ibo and a born again Christian but the truth is that tribalism and religion have destroyed us and we need these men to salvage us, 08035410243 *Segun, please add that Buhari was one time governor of old Borno State. He knows how to move into North East and terminate insurgency. He knows how to ensure proper use of funds given to military commanders, UdemeUkpong Please you need to send this piece to the social media. Nigerians need to read this beautiful piece of work by you because you write like a prophet. God bless you, 08161817776 *I agree with your article today. Though I am a Christian, I will march with Buhari/Tinubu ticket to give us good governance unlike what we are witnessing now, S.O. Olagoke, Ibadan, 07087726651 *Segun, this is a highly objective and intellectual masterpiece. Until Nigerians rise above religious and ethnic frivolities and tow the path of objectivity, this nation cannot join the league of progressive nations. Sentiments apart, I think in this circumstance, this ticket can rebuild Nigeria even though I am a Christian, Anonymous *Thank you very much Mr Segun. Keep on enlightening people, 08065988557 *So Fashola and Oshiomhole are not good enough just because you have been ’settled’. Shame on you, 08033603023 *I just read your article on Buhari and Tinubu. Don’t let us mince words. If APC attempts such a venture it will be a disaster as they will lose heavily. You have to be more realistic in your analysis, Gbenga Bamgbose, Ibadan, 08152572815 *Segun, I am a great admirer of your column every Saturday. I have a lot of love and respect for Professor Tam David West but I totally disagree with your analysis of APC Muslim- Muslim ticket. In Abiola’s time it was possible but in present day Nigeria, APC will be committing suicide if they try it. The Christians in Middle Belt, South-South, South-East and even the liberal South West will revolt and things might fall apart while the centre may not be able to hold, Uncle EyilesanAjibola, 08023500760 *I read Illuminations column on Buhari-Tinubu ticket. It’s okay but is this country going to accept that with all these CAN members junketing with the ruling class? That’s my fear because we didn’t have this set of people during Abiola/Kingibe era. God wiil give APC the Wisdom of Solomon to do it right, JenyoAdebisi, 08182087116 *Masterpiece! Exceedingly illuminating. Catch you in the Villa 2015!,08033228564 *Dear Bolu, the only hope left for us in the country is electoral victory of APC come 2015. I beg you in the name of God to stop promoting this Muslim-Muslim ticket idea of yours. It will not work, 08070997674 *Thank you for the presentation of the response of an enigma and renowned neurologist like Professor Tam David West as regards this Buhari-Tinubu ticket. If APC reasons this way, this ticket will pave the way for a straight fight with PDP and possibly send it packing. God be with Nigeria, B. I. Aguda, Ekiti State Coordinator, Oodua Redemption Alliance, 08028838606 *The biggest mistake APC will make is to merge two Muslims together as President and Vice President. If they do that, they won’t win this election. So you call us in South-South, South-East and North-Central fools?,08091595261 *God will immensely bless you for coming out boldly to endorse the Buhari-Tinubu ticket in your piece today. Their combination for the 2015 election is the best for now. I have been voting for Buhari since 2003. With Asiwaju’s mettle in the South West in the last one decade, I have been doffing my hat for him, Deji, 08030824100 *You are on point Segun. All the noise about Muslim- Muslim ticket not going to fly is due to fear of how well it will do because of the personalities involved. Who cares if Hindu-Hindu ticket can make my country better? (I am a Christian anyway), 08053562380 *This is an election period, for the opposition party to field Muslim-Muslim candidates will be a bad gamble. The reason is that the ruling party has politicised religion to such an abysmal level that an all Muslim ticket will not augur well with Christians because of the menace of terror ravaging the polity, LaideOwadusi, 08021483687 *Ayobolu, your article is so well written and thank you for your boldness. I voted for former President Obasanjo not because he was a Christian. I just felt he was good enough to clear the confusion in the country then. That is history now but in the elections since Obasanjo’s first coming, I have always voted for General Buhari to satisfy my conscience. Buhari/Tinubu ticket would be fantastic and I will vote for them even if mine will be the only vote. I believe in them to do this country proud, SeargentTarbundeAgovson, Gboko-South, Benue State, 08035935995

  • Buhari: Insurgents have no justification for girls’ abduction

    Buhari: Insurgents have no justification for girls’ abduction

    Former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari condemned yesterday the abduction of the Chibok, Borno State schoolgirls, saying “there is no justification whatsoever” for it.

    In a statement, Gen. Buhari said the girls’ abduction underscored the threat we have been facing as a nation.

    The statement reads: “Over the past few weeks, the abduction of the school girls at Chibok, Borno State has underscored the threat we have been facing as a nation in recent times from the actions of misguided persons masquerading as adherents of Islam.

    “Our hearts are with families who have lost loved ones in this cycle of senseless violence. We also empathise with the parents of children whose daughters are in the custody of a group of anarchists.

    “That horrific video posted on the Internet is a clear manifestation of the mindlessness of the bigots. It shows them for whom they are, such men cannot threaten nor should they be allowed to violate our sovereignty. It is clear from what they profess that they are not followers of God. They do not mean well for our country and her citizens. I am a Muslim, I am versed in the teaching of Christianity and I understand both religions to seek peaceful co-existence of all humanity.

    “I wish to reiterate that there is no justification whatsoever for this unrestrained disregard for the sanctity of human life. It has no place in the Holy Quran and neither does it have a place in the Holy Bible.

    “Let these people know that the entire civilised world is united against their terrorist act. We are grateful to the world for standing by Nigeria at this trying time. We hope and pray that the young ladies will be reunited with their respective families in the days to come

    “While the Federal Government and the nation’s Armed Forces are working to ensure citizens’ safety under the present situation, we believe that more could still be done to ensure the safety of Nigerians and the Nigerian nation. We are therefore glad that the Federal Government has accepted international support in the search for the missing girls and for an end to the insurgency in parts of the country.

    “I fought for a united Nigeria. In my old age, I want my grand children, your grand children, our youths and indeed all Nigerians to benefit from a prosperous and united country devoid of sectarian violence whether home grown or imposed on us from outside.

    “Now is not the time to play politics. Now is also not the time to trade blames and amplify our ideological differences. The unity of Nigeria is not negotiable and nothing should divide us as a people. I therefore urge all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to support the country in her effort to bring an end to this attack on defenceless citizens and indeed a united nation.

    “We must put aside all other considerations and ensure that our country Nigeria pulls together now so as to recover our sovereignty. After all, we all know that Nigeria is the ONLY country we have that we can call our own.

    “God help and bless Nigeria.”

  • Buhari, Tinubu and the fierce urgency of now

    Buhari, Tinubu and the fierce urgency of now

    Even the blind can see the imminent danger. The nation burns. This Titanic called Nigeria sinks deeper every day. Air Nigeria is in turbulent weather. The need of the hour is a competent and tested pilot as well as co-pilot. This aircraft must not be allowed to crash disastrously out of history.  Bombs explode daily. Innocent lives are wasted. For more than two weeks now, over 200 school girls from Chibok in Borno State have been in the custody of savage gangsters somewhere in the bowels of Sambisa forest. The Nigerian state is hobbled, confused and helpless.  Inexplicably oblivious of what Martin Luther King famously described as ‘the fierce urgency of now’, an unfazed President dances ‘Azonto’ in Kano a day after the Chibok tragedy. Nero fiddled. Rome burnt. Must Nigeria go the same way?

    The Jonathan National Conference (JNC) has sought and obtained an extension of six weeks. More talk. More allowances. More squandering of valuable time. Yet the Nigerian state and polity unravel steadily on a daily basis. Even then, 2015 draws inexorably closer. It is election year. It is a year of referendum on the performance of elected officials at national and state levels. We must not allow the JNC to be the grand distraction it is designed to be from the crucial electoral choices to be made next year. What is the dire need of the hour, the crux of the ‘fierce urgency of now’? The answer is leadership. That has been the focus of this column in the last two weeks and remains so today.

    We now have a tentatively balanced and viable two-party system that can provide the electorate with credible choices in the next election. But what alternatives will the electorate have to choose from? For the PDP the answer is clear. The party is satisfied with its performance in the last 16 years and that of President Jonathan in the last four. As far as the PDP is concerned, Nigeria must continue on its present path. After all, President Jonathan confidently declared on May Day that poverty is not Nigeria’s problem. His very cogent reasons: The country has a GDP of over one trillion Naira with an economy growing at about 7%. Aliko Dangote is ranked among the 25 richest people in the world. Nigeria ranks among the first 10 countries in the ownership of private jets.The problem, Jonathan argued, is not poverty but the redistribution of the country’s wealth. How well has he done that? The outcome of the polls will tell next year. Do the majority of Nigerians agree with the PDP that Jonathan is the Mandela and Obama of our time? The 2015 polls will tell.

    There has been a flood of reactions to my last two columns. Some have disagreed vehemently with me. Others have concurred with my position and even helped to further reinforce and clarify my thoughts. That is the beauty of democracy and the value of debate. I was quite elated with the following text message from the famous Virologist and intellectual at the University of Ibadan, Professor Tam David West: “Segun, I congratulate you on your ‘Further Thoughts on Muslim-Muslim Ticket’ published in The Nation today. It is the best I’ve read on this unfortunately controversial issue, the very best I have read. For my friend Tinubu, it is the best testimonial on him ever written. So there were so many Christians in Tinubu’s cabinet? That is the way they demonised Buhari but most of his personal aides were Christians. Do you know that Tunde Idiagbon’s wife was a born-again Christian? Femi Fani-Kayode has unnecessarily politicised the issue. Nigerians want committed statesmen with a track record of performance that can take this country forward. I stubbornly remain an unrepentant Buhari supporter; he has no match in integrity, seriousness, discipline, patriotism and leadership by example. I am also a great admirer of Bola Tinubu and this has been since Moshood Abiola introduced us several years ago. Tinubu is also a hard to beat brand in Nigerian politics”.

    Upon further careful thought, I want to affirm that a Buhari-Tinubu ticket is the best bet for the APC to dislodge the PDP from the centre come 2015. First, we consider the merit of the ticket. The country’s number one challenge is security particularly the Boko Haram menace. This is Buhari’s forte. He is a tested soldier who fought during the civil war to keep Nigeria one. He is an experienced former military Head of State. During the second republic, he played a key role in decisively and clinically crushing the Maitatsine Islamic uprising in Kano. When in 1983, Nigeria’s territorial integrity was threatened by rebels from Chad, Buhari commanded the operation that routed the rebels which involved forays into Chad Republic despite the dithering of the Shagari administration. Buhari is from the North. He has the will, ability and courage to take the ruthless action necessary to crush Boko Haram without anybody accusing him of committing genocide against the Hausa-Fulani.

    The country’s second major challenge is corruption. Buhari’s record, reputation and capacity to decisively tackle this scourge are too well known and I need say no more.

    The third key challenge confronting Nigeria is the need for radical financial re-engineering and economic rejuvenation. This is the immense value Tinubu brings to the ticket. His financial genius and dexterity in economic management laid the foundation for the Lagos transformation that Fashola has taken to unprecedented heights. Lagos was practically bankrupt when Tinubu assumed office in 1999. The state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue was about N600 million. By the time he left office in 2007, the IGR was about N8 billion monthly. In 2001, the Tinubu administration invested N4 billion in the then ECONET amidst widespread criticism. By the time the state divested from the venture in 2007, Lagos reaped a profit of over N20 billion. I can go on and on. What Tinubu did for Lagos, he can partner with Buhari to do for Nigeria.

    Now, what about the electoral dynamics of a Buhari-Tinubu ticket? It has the capacity to reap unprecedented votes from the North-West, North-East and South-West that will tilt the electoral scales in the 2015 election. And with the notable politicians from the South-South, South-East and North-Central in the APC, the party will put up a credible showing against the PDP in those zones further consolidating its electoral performance nationally. Attempting to rig against this combination will be politically suicidal and unsustainable. A Christian National Chairman of the party, a Christian Senate President and even a Christian Speaker of the House of Representatives will provide the requisite religious balance. What the APC needs is the audacity of courage to do that which is necessary to win power at the centre and enable Nigeria respond to the fierce urgency of now.

     On BRF’s successor

    Dapo Thomas, my good friend and brother, was at his thrilling best in his piece in this and some other newspapers last Sunday on the dynamics of choosing Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola’s successor within the APC. My take on some of his submissions from my own observatory are as follows: (1). Tinubu has a track record of identifying competent leaders and backing them with his formidable political structure. But I think he strives to build consensus around his choices and diplomatically navigate around any initial oppositions. (2) Both Tinubu and BRF are too politically astute and wise not to be on the same page on the 2015 succession. It is in their collective interest. (3) It may be an exaggeration to aver that BRF and Akin Ambode ‘loathe’ each other. They are both intelligent technocrats who may naturally have cause to disagree. But I see them as being above pettiness and meanness. (4). BRF has utilised power positively and, like Tinubu, I believe his political influence will far outlive his formal tenure in office and (5) The APC ticket remains wide open until all intra-party constitutional processes have been complied with.

  • Buhari: nothing to do with Boko Haram

    Buhari: nothing to do with Boko Haram

    A former Head of State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retract its accusation linking him with the Boko Haram terrorist acts, tender an unreserved public apology to him or face legal action.

    In a statement he signed yesterday in Kaduna, Gen. Buhari said: “I cannot sit back and allow my image, and that of my political party, be smeared by falsehood in the name of politics.”

    The former Head of State said the widely publicised and serious allegations the PDP and its spokesman Olisa Metuh, made against him that his utterances were responsible for the current state of insecurity and terrorism in the land, were “absolutely without basis”.

    He said: “To support his claim, Mr Metuh engaged in twisted logic and outright distortion – which he called facts – in which he said that I, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, beckoned on my ‘supporters to go on lynching spree’ should I lose the 2011 presidential election, as a result of which ‘an unprecedented violence broke out, claiming the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

    “I take very serious exception to this grave accusation against me by the PDP Publicity Secretary. It is a false allegation aimed at tarnishing my image and reputation in the hope of destroying my political and electoral standings, and that of my party, the APC, in the country.

    “Firstly, it is public knowledge that Boko Haram, as a terror organisation, long preceded the 2011 presidential elections. My utterances or lack of them on the 2011 presidential election could not, therefore, have created nor sustained the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “Secondly, the PDP Government of President Goodluck Jonathan constituted the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu Panel of Inquiry to investigate and report on the post-election violence in some parts of the country. The panel discharged its duties within its terms of reference and submitted its report to the President. This report was accepted by the government and a White Paper was issued. Nowhere in that report, a product of a thorough investigation of that unfortunate incident, was I mentioned in the remotest way to have uttered a word or acted in any form or manner that sparked off the violence. If I had, certainly, that investigation would have uncovered it. The truth is that I had not.

    “Thirdly, 2011 was not the first time I contested a presidential election and was declared defeated; it was the third! If I had had no cause to ‘beckon on my supporters to go on lynching spree’ in the two previous occasions, I would have had no cause to change in 2011 – and I did not.”

    The APC chieftain said the PDP National Publicity Secretary also deliberately misquoted the interview he gave in Hausa on May 14, 2012 in which he said the opposition was determined to fight in the 2015 elections.

    He said: “I used the Hausa idiom ‘Kare jini, Biri jini’, which is a metaphor for a very tough fight. But, like the Islamic fundamentalist toga they falsely put on me because they cannot impinge on my personal and professional integrity, PDP apologists deliberately twisted this idiom to mean I called for violence.

    “I am not a violent person and, other than my professional calling as a soldier. I have never associated with violence; I abhor violence and have never advocated it. I have always been a law-abiding person who insists on due process and the rule of law in all my private and public affairs.

    “It is, therefore, a grave infraction to my person, personality and integrity that such a false and malicious accusation is being levelled against me by the PDP. This is dangerous politics by the ruling party and it must stop forthwith.”

  • Buhari: nothing to do with Boko Haram

    Buhari: nothing to do with Boko Haram

    A former Head of State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retract its accusation linking him with the Boko Haram terrorist acts, tender an unreserved public apology to him or face legal action.

    In a statement he signed yesterday in Kaduna, Gen. Buhari said: “I cannot sit back and allow my image, and that of my political party, be smeared by falsehood in the name of politics.”

    The former Head of State said the widely publicised and serious allegations the PDP and its spokesman Olisa Metuh, made against him that his utterances were responsible for the current state of insecurity and terrorism in the land, were “absolutely without basis”.

    He said: “To support his claim, Mr Metuh engaged in twisted logic and outright distortion – which he called facts – in which he said that I, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, beckoned on my ‘supporters to go on lynching spree’ should I lose the 2011 presidential election, as a result of which ‘an unprecedented violence broke out, claiming the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

    “I take very serious exception to this grave accusation against me by the PDP Publicity Secretary. It is a false allegation aimed at tarnishing my image and reputation in the hope of destroying my political and electoral standings, and that of my party, the APC, in the country.

    “Firstly, it is public knowledge that Boko Haram, as a terror organisation, long preceded the 2011 presidential elections. My utterances or lack of them on the 2011 presidential election could not, therefore, have created nor sustained the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “Secondly, the PDP Government of President Goodluck Jonathan constituted the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu Panel of Inquiry to investigate and report on the post-election violence in some parts of the country. The panel discharged its duties within its terms of reference and submitted its report to the President. This report was accepted by the government and a White Paper was issued. Nowhere in that report, a product of a thorough investigation of that unfortunate incident, was I mentioned in the remotest way to have uttered a word or acted in any form or manner that sparked off the violence. If I had, certainly, that investigation would have uncovered it. The truth is that I had not.

    “Thirdly, 2011 was not the first time I contested a presidential election and was declared defeated; it was the third! If I had had no cause to ‘beckon on my supporters to go on lynching spree’ in the two previous occasions, I would have had no cause to change in 2011 – and I did not.”

    The APC chieftain said the PDP National Publicity Secretary also deliberately misquoted the interview he gave in Hausa on May 14, 2012 in which he said the opposition was determined to fight in the 2015 elections.

    He said: “I used the Hausa idiom ‘Kare jini, Biri jini’, which is a metaphor for a very tough fight. But, like the Islamic fundamentalist toga they falsely put on me because they cannot impinge on my personal and professional integrity, PDP apologists deliberately twisted this idiom to mean I called for violence.

    “I am not a violent person and, other than my professional calling as a soldier. I have never associated with violence; I abhor violence and have never advocated it. I have always been a law-abiding person who insists on due process and the rule of law in all my private and public affairs.

    “It is, therefore, a grave infraction to my person, personality and integrity that such a false and malicious accusation is being levelled against me by the PDP. This is dangerous politics by the ruling party and it must stop forthwith.”

  • Buhari: APC’ll provide security

    Buhari: APC’ll provide security

    Former Military Head of State Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) said yesterday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will address insecurity, if given the mandate next year.

    He spoke at the palace of the Chief of Maro’a, Malam Tagwai Sambo, when he visited to condole over the recent killings in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    Gen. Buhari, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of not protecting the people.

    He said: “If Nigerians give their mandate to APC in 2015, it will address the prolonged insecurity that has bedevilled the country, which the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to address.

    “For me, I am not a stranger in Kaura because my elder brother is a close friend of the Chief of Maro’a, so I feel like I am at home here.”

    Also speaking, former Commissioner for Finance Sulaiman Hunkuyi condemned the attacks.

    Sambo thanked them for the visit and described the incident as an act of God. He prayed against a recurrence.

    The APC delegation, which included Deputy National Chairman Aminu Bello Masari, National Secretary Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, donated N2 million to the victims.

  • 24 Hours Curfew imposed on Kafanchan as Buhari cancel visit

    24 Hours Curfew imposed on Kafanchan as Buhari cancel visit

    A 24 hours curfew has been imposed on Kafanchan, Jema’a local government area of Kaduna as a result of the alleged killing of two youths who were said to be among an unruly crowd insisting that jungle justice be meted out to suspected 32 Fulani men arrested by the Army with weapons in Kafanchan.

    The incident which has generated tension across southern Kaduna led to the cancellation of the visit by former Head of State and a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to Bondong in Kaura local government area of the state to condole with victims of the recent attack on three villages in the district which left over 120 people dead.

    However, the state governor, Mukthar Ramalan Yero called on resident of the area to remain calm and law abiding as Government is doing all within its powers to sustain peace in the entire state.

    In a statement made available to The Nation, the Director General, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Ahmed Maiyaki quoted the governor as telling the people to remain calm and desist from taking the laws into their hands to avoid throwing the state into confusion and anarchy.

    The Governor Yero said security operatives have intensified surveillance across the state aimed at foiling any attempt by miscreants and criminals to attack innocent citizens in the area and called on all law abiding citizens to cooperate with Government and the Security agencies in the ongoing push to rid the state of hoodlums and evil doers.

    The governor said “this is not the time for people to obstruct the course of justice by attempting to perpetrate barbaric acts of jungle justice. Government and indeed security forces will never fold their arms and allow people take laws into their own hands.

    “We want to assure the entire people of Kaduna State that in our resolve to end the spate of unwarranted attacks on innocent citizens, Government will continue to work with security agencies to ensure that those behind the various killings in the state are brought to justice. This will be vigorously pursued without fear or favour”.

    Sources in the area told The Nation that soldiers on routine patrol in the area had arrested some men with weapons and once the information filtered into the town, some youth gathered and insisted that they be released to them.

    One Yashim Bonnat who claimed to be a youth leader in Kafanchan,  “I am around the Railway Junction of Kafanchan town. Youths have surrounded an office around here where soldiers are keeping 32 Fulani men that they caught this morning around 10am while trying to fuel their truck.

    “I saw with my eyes the weapons recovered from them. They included 12 AK riffles, about 13 den guns, a bag of ammunition, all kinds of machetes, knives, and what looks like improvised explosives among others. They are displaying the arms and made the men to seat in front of them. No one needs tell you that they are Fulani men. . . This is making the youths here very angry.

    “They are saying that the men were coming to attack Kafanchan and that it was God that apprehended them. So they want the soldiers to release them to be lynched by them. You can hear the shooting of guns in the air to scare them away. My nose is choking with tear gas too”, he said and hung up.

    When contacted, spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command DSP Aminu Lawan, said he was not in a position to comment on the issue as it was an operation of the Army and not the police saying “It is the Army that arrested the people. It is the Army that is said to have shot people. They have not briefed us. I cannot speak for them,” he said.

    Assistant Director, Army Public Relations office of the One Mechanised Infantry Division, Kaduna, Col.Usman Abdul said though he had heard of the arrests and the violence in Kafanchan, he has not been sufficiently briefed to make any statement to the Press, and asked for more time.

    However, the Chairman of the local government  Daniel Amos imposed a 24 hours curfew on the local government after seeking the permission of the state government.

    Organisers of the planned visit by Gen. Buhari to Kaura, Barrister Francis Kozah told The Nation that “We have been making preparation to receive Gen. Mohammadu Buhari in Kafanchan this morning. He was to tale relieve materials to Bondong. But because of the violence and curfew in Kafanchan, his visit has been cancelled.”