The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Enough

  • PDP: Six weeks is not enough

    PDP: Six weeks is not enough

    In less than two weeks Nigerians would be voting in elections that may turn out to be a watershed in the country’s democratic development. Despite all the advantages of incumbency, a very strong possibility exists that an invigorated opposition could topple the ruling party for the first time ever.

    President Goodluck Jonathan says his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is too big and established to fail. The owners and operators of the tragic ocean-going vessel ‘The Titanic’ had similar notions of its invincibility before it sank like a stone in the Atlantic. The president might be privy to intelligence we don’t have, or perhaps this is just bluster to project a positive front even when things aren’t going the way you would like.

    The two main political parties have commissioned their own private polls and have a fair idea which way the wind is blowing. That notwithstanding, both sides would tell you in public that they would win handsomely.

    To further muddy the waters you have clerics who also say they know who will emerge winner. To give their claims credibility they boast that God let them in on the secret. There’s a little problem though: some say General Muhammadu Buhari would win, others insist Jonathan would prevail. One thing that’s not in dispute is that God is not the author of confusion. In another fortnight those who truly heard the Almighty and those who were just hearing things would be separated.

    For those who make no claims to prophetic or clairvoyant capabilities, there’s a common sense way to project what is about to happen to the nation’s power configuration. These informed observers understand our political behavior and can sense which of the leading contestants has a credible route to power judging by the way the electoral map is shaping.

    Of course, their projections cannot be foolproof being the works of men. There are also imponderables that may yet come into the mix over the next 12 days to throw all assumptions out of the window. However, for the sake of today’s column we must stick with what is known at this point.

    So what is not in dispute? This is the most bitterly contested election in a generation. The exchanges have quickly headed for the gutter. The feeble attempts at discussing policy have been drowned out by a slew of invective.

    Jonathan’s campaign has informed us that leading opposition figures have body odour and should be in jail for their supposed crimes. Cash-strapped television stations have lost their heads and broadcast potentially libelous smear documentaries just because they have to pay bills.

    First Lady Patience Jonathan – not one to sidestep a fight – declared her husband’s rival ‘brain-dead’ and suggested that Northerners breed like rabbits without caring how present and future almajiris would be fed. She added helpfully that her own people were not that way.

    We’ve heard – albeit without a shred of proof – that the All Progressives Congress (APC) splashed out all of N5 billion so that Buhari could stand in the spotlight at London’s Chatham House.

    Of course, the APC campaign are no innocents and have given as good as they have received. They have questioned the psychiatric health of the Jonathan campaign spokesman as well as his choice of leisurely diversions in the past. Among other choice insults their characterization of the president as ‘clueless’ might just be the mildest.

    This recourse to coarse abuse simply says one thing: people are not looking to be persuaded about whom to vote for anymore. Minds have been made up and there’s not much that either side can do now to convert voters in a significant manner as to swing the direction of the election from what it would have been had it held as scheduled on February 14.

    Nothing has happened in the last five weeks since the polls were shifted that can be classified as game-changing. Rather all that has unfolded has hardened positions and attitudes. Take the smear documentaries against Buhari and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Tinubu.

    The airing of the videos didn’t reveal allegations or accusations that were not already in the public domain. Before they were broadcast there was advance warning that the ruling party was considering the nuclear option. That fact conditioned how many received it.

    For PDP supporters who watched gleefully and shared same online, the recordings merely preached to the converted. On the other hand they only served to incense APC supporters who felt that rules for political broadcasts were being blatantly violated while so-called regulators of the industry kept disgracefully mute.

    The purpose of the documentaries was to destroy the image of the APC leaders and turn voters against the party. The hope was that after viewing them, Jonathan and his PDP would smell like roses compared to the opposition. That hasn’t happened.

    Where the president and his supporters miscalculate is that they don’t understand the depth of feeling of those who have turned against the ruling party. Demonising Tinubu isn’t going to make the typical APC supporter love Buhari less. Calling the general names hasn’t turned his admirers to deserters because they are in love with him – and love is blind.

    I am equally mystified as to why Jonathan and the PDP think that the gains of the military campaign in the North-East will shift the electoral equation in any significant way before March 28. The perception of the president as not being up to the job transcends his handling of the insurgency – although that has been a major contributor.

    The dampener for Jonathan is that many can see the desperate attempt to manipulate the military success for short term political gain, and they are unmoved. What has been achieved over the last four weeks doesn’t obliterate the memory of five years of unrelenting bloodshed and traumatisation of the North-East. The contributions of our neighbours are no big secret and that vitiates the degree to which the president can claim credit.

    I am amused when PDP and the military get worked up at the lack of outpouring of love and affection from the public for their efforts. You don’t have to browbeat people to make them express what they don’t feel. When the Cameroonians called a demonstration in support of their troops, the response was massive. When Nigerian government officials and their spouses tried the same thing in Abuja, the response was underwhelming.

    In anger sponsored agents embarked on picketing selected offices of newspapers in Abuja. But they just don’t get it: you can’t decree affection. The moment the government chose to politicise the military’s actions they took it out of the realm of the patriotic and made it partisan.

    Again, by jumping legs first into the polarised political atmosphere and forcing through the polls postponement, the military turned many Nigerians against the institution as they were perceived as being too willing to do the partisan bidding of the ruling party.

    That perception that the armed forces had been sucked to deep into terrain they shouldn’t be found in was what Lt. General Martin Agwai (retd) erstwhile boss of SURE-P harped on at former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 78th birthday celebration. For his troubles he was kicked out of his job.

    Clearly, the military’s victory over Boko Haram in the North-East is not what is resonating with voters in the South-South, South-West, South-East, North-Central and North-West. If it was so important to them there would have been enthusiastic and spontaneous celebrations of the successes. Insurgents being chased out of Bama or Baga won’t be the reason many would vote for Buhari or Jonathan. The insurgency would count in the North-East but not in the way the PDP campaign is hoping.

    Perhaps the clearest indicator of how the presidential contest of 2015 is tilting lies in the body language of the two main candidates and their campaigns. The PDP campaign projects a defensive air. The president looks stressed and disturbed. Each new day there’s a new embarrassing story like the Nigeria-Morocco diplomatic fiasco or the First Lady putting her foot in her mouth.

    Each time the PDP presidential campaign makes some new outlandish claim like blaming the opposition for the recent fuel scarcity they come across having lost the plot.

    For Buhari, it has been a remarkable turnaround from the candidate who ran on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) four years. He may not be the perfect candidate but he has handled himself with calm assurance this time around, and he has also learnt to play politics better. That is evident in the remarkable cohesion that his patchwork coalition of opposition parties has shown going into the elections.

    In the weeks leading to his 1992 loss to the then Democratic Party challenger Bill Clinton, the air around former United States President George Bush Snr. and his Republican Party was decidedly gloomy. It is akin to what surrounds the PDP.

    When the party’s governors insist Jonathan would win – and tell voters to ignore the ‘APC propaganda’, they are simply reinforcing the notion that the other side is now dominant. Clearly, six weeks isn’t enough to undo the damage of six years.

  • Enough

    •Now that the certificates of General Buhari have been unveiled, we should now turn to issues

    At long last, the result is in. General Muhammadu Buhari’s education is as he claimed. In the past few weeks, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) propaganda machine went to town and ratcheted up the emotions of detractors and even fair-minded Nigerians against the candidacy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer. They labelled him a liar and impostor in what was brewing as a certificate controversy.

    He had claimed that his certificate was with the Nigerian Army, and they should provide the paper to quiet the tension triggered by the matter. The Nigerian Army did not show much zeal until a few days ago when its spokesperson, Brig.-General Olajide Olaleye, announced in a press conference what was an apparent contradiction. The army affirmed that he had graduated but “neither the original copy, certified true copy, nor statement of result is in Gen. Buhari’s personal file.”

    What happened to his file? Did anyone interfere with protocol and slipped into the file room and salted it away? How did the general rise from a humble officer in the early 1960’s to become not only the head of some  commands  and even fought a civil war and commanded a division that routed invaders of this country? Was the army so careless that it recruited an uncertificated Nigerian that soared to become the commander-in-chief of that army? Did someone want to smear the army’s name?

    These are questions that must be answered. It is not only embarrassing to the general, it should be a matter for criminal investigation. A soldier of that standing and prominence could not have risen without a clear documentation. How can the army affirm a premise and lose the proof, and come to the public eye and expose its own inefficiency? In a day where the army bumbles in a fight against Boko Haram, which is defeated often by a smaller Chadian army, this is not a time for the esteemed Nigerian Army to expose itself over a small matter like certificate location.

    Or is it some members of the political class that infiltrated the file room and carted away the paper to deepen suspicion of a fibbing general?

    That explained why General Buhari was compelled to give a press conference, and he described the controversy as inspired by “mischief.”

    Well, he was proved right. Copies of the certificates have been unveiled. It is now clear, on the evidence of the certificate copies, that he sat for the University of Cambridge West African School Certificate Examinations  and obtained five credits in English Language, Geography, Hausa language, History and Health Science. He had a pass in Literature in English. His examination centre number is 8280 and candidate number is 002 and the examination took place in 1961.

    The authenticity of the Cambridge printout of the results affirms his claim a day earlier that the late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua was his classmate.

    Was the drive to slur the image of the general driven by mere politics or intended to use the political class to damage the army? Or was it an earnest quest to fulfill the requirements of the constitution? The constitution requires any aspirant to the position of president to have at least a secondary school certificate or its equivalent.

    How come a man who graduated from the American War College that approximates with a master’s degree does not have his secondary school certificate? It is an irony all-Nigerian that his maximum certificate is available but not his subordinate papers.

    A lot of distracting rhetoric has overwhelmed this certificate saga, and we believe it is high time any further hoopla over it was laid to rest. The candidate has run for political office, that is the presidency, more than once, and it is now that some mischief makers want to make storms over it.

    There are more important matters about the economy, education and inequality to address and not a trifling like a bogey of a certificate scandal.

  • Enough is flipping enough…!

    Seriously, when it comes to the situation with the insurgency in Nigeria, ‘enough is not enough,’ ‘enough was enough’ a long flipping time ago. Are you kidding me? Are we seriously waking up in a country everyday to disastrous news of bombs going off here, bombs going off there, towns being overrun here, children being kidnapped there, people being slaughtered in this corner, communities being murdered over there? Are we serious…?

    I mean, the worsening security situation in the country, particularly in the North-eastern part of the country is getting more and more worrisome by the day. We awake virtually every morning to gloomy and dispiriting news of senseless killings and destructions by insurgents in the region. More demoralizing is the recent insurgents attack via a suicide bomber at a secondary school in Yobe state, killing innocent children who were having morning assemblies before going to their classrooms, as is customary in Nigerian schools. Further reports stated that the parents and guardians of the children thronged to Potiskum general hospital in search of the bodies of their children and those that were injured by the blast. As a parent and mother, I can only imagine the nightmare the parents of those children are going through.

    The times we are living in and the terror we are witnessing in Nigeria can only be described as crazy. For God’s sakes, when will this madness, brutality and savagery end?  The pain and agony fellow Nigerians are going through daily is devastating. It is unacceptable and it cannot be allowed to go on any further. While majority of us politicize the situation, engage in blame game and conspiracy theories, sentimental and bigoted and sometimes preposterous opinions about the cause of the escalating security deterioration in the country, the insurgents are utilizing and exploiting the lack of unity within us, the lack of cohesion within us, the lack of oneness among us, and the lack of speaking with one voice, by capturing and amassing more territories under their supposed caliphate.

    As at the last count, the insurgents had captured about 9-LGAs in Borno State, 5-LGAs in Adamawa State and 2-LGAs in Yobe state. For a sovereign nation like Nigeria, this is preposterous and deplorable! While we engage in the “assumed” narrative that the present insurgency is a Northern agenda to destabilize the Jonathan government, or a Southern agenda to extirpate the North, or a Muslim agenda to Islamize Nigeria, or the insurgents are being sponsored by the opposition or the ruling party, the reality on ground is that, as the insurgents attack increases, death toll rises exponentially.

    Reports have it that between July 2009 and June 2014, the insurgents have killed more than 5,000 civilians and still counting, including at least 2,000 in the first half of this year. More than 1000 women and children have been abducted by them, including the infamous kidnapping of 276 teenage school girls from Chibok in April this year. Over 650,000 people have fled the conflict zone/region by August and an unprecedented increase of 200,000 since May this year. A report by ”Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence” in May, by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10% of IDPs in the world, making Nigeria with 3.3 million IDPs, the largest population of persons displaced by conflict in Africa.

    While the government is preoccupied with posturing itself in a positive light, in anticipation for 2015, giving us the impression that all is well despite the “all of a sudden” increased attacks by the insurgents, while the military consistently tell us they are winning the war against the insurgents and “on top of the situation”, despite the situation on ground which exposes and entirely different story. While all the political parties continue capitalizing on the situation, never missing any opportunity to throw daggers, accusations and ‘shade’ at one another, this cancer of blood thirsty, callous, evil men continues to spread. While outgoing governors bicker over senatorial seats come 2015 and party aspirants fight to the death for the right to represent their parties, these group of murderers are fast expanding the areas where they hoist their flag. While in certain quarters it is said in vociferous tones that the insurgency is

    being perpetuated in only the states controlled by the opposition parties choosing to forget that government controlled parties such as Bauchi and Gombe states have also been attacked, the terrorists are detonating their bombs and launching their offensive with no mind to party affiliation. While politicians are busy cross-carpeting from one political party to another and embracing the lack of definitive political ideologies of political parties in the country, insurgents stealthily crossing closer to the core of Nigeria from the North east all the way down and are literally 2 states away from the Capital Abuja. While some political leaders continue to exhibit an insatiable avarice, egocentricity, inconsideration and inordinate ambition for political offices, the insurgents continue to show footage of how its members are currently controlling towns and villages

    under the supposed “Islamic Caliphate”.

    If there was ever a time Nigeria needed to call “CodeRed” and declare an all out war and assault on the insurgents, I think that time is now. Enough with the kid-glove handling of the insurgency issue. Enough with the “olive branch” offer by the government, it is obvious that the insurgents do not want to negotiate and lay down their arms in the interest of peace, especially after the recent cease fire deal went sour. It is unacceptable continuing to allow these dastard insurgents run amok, causing violence, mayhem, destruction and murder in theirwake. The full weight of our military might needs to be deployed if it would annihilate the insurgents and bring peace to the affected towns and villages in the Northeastern region.

    The authorities need to act fast and decisively, by putting a stop to the violence once and forall and reclaiming our lost territories. As Nigerians, this is the time we need to rise up in a single voice and say no to the insurgents, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, class or position.

     This is a Nigerian problem and we should all rise up to the occasion by speaking out againstinsurgency and terrorism with one collective voice. We must all be united in this battle against the insurgents and terrorist, including refusing to let anyone politicize it. Nigeria, by virtue of the leadership of a very organized Lagos government did it during the Ebola saga and succeeded in halting its spread. We conscientiously adhered to the warnings from our government on the way the virus was spread, even avoiding handshakes and hugs with lovedones and close friends. Even the revered Catholic Church suspended the traditional administration of Holy Communion on the tongue of the recipient. Instead, they opted to administer the Holy Communion on the palm of the recipient in an attempt to check the spread of Ebola. The common enemy then was Ebola; the common enemy now is the insurgents. We did it then, and we can do it now.

    No matter how anyone cuts it, there is just no ifs, buts or how’s on this insurgency issue. The situation cannot be allowed to continue in this manner. These good for nothing, low life, dementing colon turd, nonsense, vomit stain, murdering ingrates with wicked intention parading as insurgents have got to be stopped, they have got to be destroyed for good. The video of these irredeemable food trough-kidnapping plonkers taking over Nigerian towns and terrorizing people is just heartbreaking. There are just no words to describe the pain, anger and frustration of every peace loving person at the actions of these savages. Enough is flipping enough and it has got to stop. But that can only effectively be done when peace loving Nigerians stand on one side leaving insurgents on the other. When Nigerians stand on one side and speak loudly and clearly with one voice. Fellow Nigerians, united we stand, divided we fall!

  • Love is just not enough!

    I realise that a lot of singles are so particular about finding the right person that they drain all their energy in the search, but when he surfaces, little or nothing is done to sustain the relationship. It is not getting into a relationship that matters. As a matter of fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg. It is one thing to find a relationship,it is another thing to sustain it. Staying in a relationship needs a lot of work. And for most singles, that is where they miss it.

    You see, although love cements a relationship, it takes much more than love to sustain it. As an individual, you need to work on improving your strengths, thereby downplaying your weaknesses. I know of a mature single lady who craves for a serious relationship, but is about to blow it because she is missing the point of sustaining her relationship.

    After Joke and I got acquainted, on studying her, I realized she was really a nice person with a good heart. Each time we talked, I could sense someone who craved for a serious relationship, but all the guys who came her way ended up dumping her and moving with another woman. Joke and I got really close and we even got spiritual about the whole thing. She fasted and prayed for weeks, concentrating on God’s word and all too soon he came.

    Anyway, he not only swept Joke off her feet, but he treated her with so much respect that there was no contesting he was heaven sent. All that was about two years ago, and guess what? Matt called me a few weeks ago to say he was calling off the relationship with Joke. I wasn’t surprised though because I realised that Joke although has a very good heart, but her attitude is nauseating. As a working class, she was able to give herself and their family some good comfort. But her financial independence got too far. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to be financially independent, of course. But Joke’s financial independence became her undoing because of the way she handled it. Perhaps paranoid from the fact that she had lost confidence in relationship I could sense her laid-back attitude to work on her relationship with Matt, as we fondly called him.

    Indeed Joke was optimistic about getting into a relationship and she indeed got one by the Grace of God, but she wasn’t doing anything to make her relationship work without actually realising it. Matt, at some point, had called me to speak about her attitude with me and I assured him she would turn a new leave. For the most part of their relationship, she took him for granted. After almost two years, she wouldn’t even accept to meet his family when he demanded for her to meet with them. She was too engrossed in making money that she didn’t seem to realise  she was taking him for granded. Her excuse was always that she loved Matt no doubt, but she needed to secure their future together. The truth was she wished that their relationship would end in marriage, but the kind of lifestyle she had imbibed as someone who was fortunate to get a well- paying job after her graduation from the university, she couldn’t sacrifice a little time for her relationship, not even weekends.  All Matthew’s complaints about her attitude seemed to fall on deaf years.

    Don’t think she was taking Matt for granted because she was seeing someone else. I can tell you for sure that she wasn’t seeing anyone and that indeed she genuinely felt something for Matt and was looking forward to becoming a bride, but her uncontrollable quest for comfort and laid- back attitude didn’t let that come to fruition. Joke always extended financial assistance to Matt, but he wasn’t that sort of man. He was a proud man who didn’t believe in living off a lady. He knew he could give Joke the kind of life that she wanted, so all he wanted from her was to give him attention. He was contended with a low-paying job and even would go out of his way to buy her some luxury items. So after close to two years of their relationship,, he decided to move on. But to my chagrin, Joke almost went mad because of the break-up. “So you really love Matt”, I asked her and she echoed, of course. “I’ve never loved any other guy the way I love him.” “ Yet you take him for granted, not giving him attention that he deserves? Living him to do the loving alone?” She kept looking at me. She further  said, “But I always reassured him verbally of my love for him just so that he’s not in doubt about it. So why is he doing this now?”

    My sister, love is not just enough. You need more than love to sustain a relationship. Ask our parents that have been married for years, they will tell you. Relationship is a lot of work. You have to work on improving your relationship, line of communication and  fire of love.

    So I advise all singles to work on themselves. If you think you’ve found the right person, then don’t take him for granted because we are meant to love and be loved in return. That is the only way a relationship can stand the text of time.

    Some sisters have terrible attitude that is a put- off for prospective spouses. Yeah, like Joke who so wanted to have a serious relationship. She got one, yet she is on the verge of blowing her chance with Matt just because she wouldn’t step out of her comfort zone to spend time with the one man who can’t leave without her. Matt and I have discussed their issue and I have begged him not to walk out on my friend because I know how she so loves him and wants to get married and start a family, but what I couldn’t assure him was if Joke will ever turn a new leave. Dear readers, do you think Matt should reconsider his stance or should he just move on. Just like my friend, Matt can’t wait to start his own family and has found someone (Joke) who he loves so much. The only snag in the relationship is her attitude. Do you think he will not regret his decision to marry Joke? Right now, he’s kept her incommunicado, just to teach her some lesson, but intends to go back to her so they can settle down, but what kind of future lies ahead of them, if she doesn’t eventually turn a new leave. Matthew wants to know if he should move on or wait to see if Joke will learn anything with the step he has taken already to call off the relationship, even though he intends to get back with her.

    Away from Joke now, what is that attitude that you have that is not helping you to settle down when we ought to. You need to make a conscious effort to dump them. You need to deliberately strive towards being a better person.

    Talking about attitude, for some people, their own attitude that’s not making them settle is their aura. The aura around some ladies can be a put-off to their would-be sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Please, let’s learn to put our best foot out. Don’t try to break family bonds.

    Love is never enough. Get a good attitude that fosters relationship. Some have lost potential husbands because of their attitude of not trying to improve their own life, but hoping that the man will do everything for them. A woman is a not a liability. If a man needs a liability, then he can get a luxury car and maintain it. Even that car has brand equity on its owner because he will be perceived as a successful man, especially in the kind of society we are in.  Strive to  build yourself, so that your partner can be proud of you. I am not saying a guy shouldn’t care for the lady he says he loves. Of course, he should, but don’t become lazy. Aspire to leave a meaningful life.

    I can go on and on and talk about attitude that are not helpful to sustaining a relationship. But let me stop here so that we do not lose focus of the main subject of today topic. Matthew who is at the  cross-roads and needs meaningful contributions that can help him to make a decision that he will not regret in future. Please, endeavour to send a text. Matters of the heart are a very serious issue and require constructive advice that will foster a good marriage. The reason why there are tons and tons of divorce cases today is because of the problem of choice. A lot of people make the wrong decision when picking a spouse. Having a good relationship begins with picking the right person.

  • Manu: Iheanacho good enough for Real Madrid

    Manu: Iheanacho good enough for Real Madrid

    Nigeria Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has told AfricanFootball.com he is not surprised by Kelechi Iheanacho’s man-of-the match showing for Manchester City in Thursday morning’s pre-season tie because the player is good enough to play for a bigger club like Real Madrid.

    Nigeria Under 20 forward Iheanacho crowned a five-star display for Manchester City with a superb goal in a 4-1 pre-season win over Sporting Kansas City.

    The Golden Ball winner at the 2013 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in the UAE placed his first-time shot inside the near post with a left-footed strike from 20 yards out with an assist from Navas for the fourth and final goal of the match in the 88th minute.

    Kansas City goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum denied Iheanacho twice in the first half and the Nigeria starlet was on till 90+2 minutes, when he paved way for Jason Denayer.

    “I’m not surprised at all by what Iheanacho has shown because if given the chance, he can play for any team in the world, even Real Madrid,” said Nigeria U-20 coach Manu.

    “He already has the technique to flourish at the highest level and the only thing the more established players at City could have over him is experience.”

    Manu said Iheanacho’s biggest asset is his composure and clinical finishing around the box.

    “At his age, his finishing around the box puts him in a class of his own. He scores five goals in a training. Once you give him the space and allow him to control the ball around the goal area, he could convert three of the five chances he gets. He is that good.”

    The Flying Eagles coach told AfricanFootball.com he believes his performance against Kansas City will improve his self-belief.

    “His performance (vs Kansas City) will give him even more confidence to step up his game,” he said.

    Next month, the Flying Eagles will host Lesotho in a final African Youth Championship qualifier and coach Manu said he expects Iheanacho to rejoin the team at least two weeks to the August 16 clash.

    “We have asked City we need the player back with us at least two weeks before our qualifier, but if that is not possible, we could still have him a week before the game as long as he is playing regularly for his club,” said the coach.

  • Enough is enough

    Enough is enough

    Indeed, only Allah knows the Hour (of death); He sends down the rain and knows what is contained in the wombs (of prospective mothers). No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow; no soul knows in what land it will die or be buried. Indeed, Allah alone is all-Knower and He is well acquainted with all things”.  Q. 31:34.

    Cries! Wailings! Tears! Sorrow! Those are the appropriate words with which to describe the tragic occurrence in Nyanya area of Abuja, last Monday morning, which fortuitously put the whole country on the extreme edge. The place was a popular motor park in the suburb of Abuja city. Like a devastating earthquake, a single bang of bomb blast erupted from devil’s own enclave and instantly sent scores of innocent people, including women and children, to the world beyond without any prior premonition.

    And when the electronic waves, especially the cable networks, throbbed with the sad news, the entire world shivered restlessly in frightful perplexity. The displayed pictures of the scene did not help the matter. It was indeed a devil’s day of action.

    But Oh God! Why this again? That was the common question on the lips of millions of Nigerians. Given that situation and its sudden occurrence, it became impossible to know the casualty figure immediately as families, friends and relatives trooped to the scene to look out for their beloved ones. But when the dust settled later, conflicting figures began to emerge from different sources. Some put them as 150, some said called them 200 and others estimated them to be 140. But the official figure which many Nigerians did not believe was 71.

    The fortuitous news of the misfortune simply mirrored the fang of destiny and precipitated untold agony across the African continent.

    The Global Mobile System (GSM) became unusually busy as parents, relatives, friends and business partners in Diaspora started to call in order to know whether or not their beloved ones were affected. All these were greeted by lamentations in the semblance of medicine applied to the corpse of a lifeless body. The rest is a story not meant for today.

     

    Irony of life

    If life is said to have an irony, this implacable tragedy is a typical example. Or how can one explain the situation whereby people who were innocently in pursuit of their daily bread; parents who were taking their children or wards to school; wives who saw off their travelling husbands to the garage; husbands who went to ‘drop’ theirs wives at the garage where they could join the buses that would convey them to their offices and newly employed youths who were going to resume work for the first time; all just fell to the claw of one destiny unplanned?

    Later in the day, it dawned on some parents who were expecting their children back from school that they had seen the last of them when the latter were going to school in the morning. Bachelors and spinsters who left home with the key of their rooms in their pockets would have the doors to those rooms broken after their demise. What a nightmare!

    What a dramatic turn of event! And the agents of Satan who precipitated that evil act would lurk in some corners to laugh away the agony of their victims not knowing what agony is awaiting them too. Our tears, our sorrow and our lamentations can only express our feeling. They can neither replace the lost lives nor bring restitution to their relatives. No amount of money can compensate for a lost life.

     

    Natural demarcation

    The demarcation between life and death is like the diaphragm between the  thoracic and abdominal cavities. It takes only the grace of Allah for that diaphragm to sustain the natural but mysterious demarcation that keeps man intact until the otherwise happens. Death, like birth, is a divinely scheduled programme in the life of man. It is a phenomenon specially shrouded in mystery. The circumstances that precede death are beyond the predictions or permutations of man. They cannot be foretold except by sheer deception. Every soothsayer will die with his soothsaying and no atom of the world will feel his exit.

    Kings die as much as slaves. Masters die as much as servants. And all together will lie helplessly beneath the earth without distinction.

    Because of its invisibility death is known only to the living as no dead person ever knows what has happened to him even as he cruises ahead in his dream-like sojourn to an unknown destination. The painful lamentations that follow the death of a person by his relatives and associates can never remedy that natural occurrence. Times and places may be different, but we shall all join the train of death one day.

     

    Parable of coffin

    From the very first day of man’s conception in the mother’s womb, a parable has occurred in his life. That parable is of a coffin. When a child is perfectly pearled in the womb of a mother, it hardly occurs to anybody that what we generally call pregnancy is a coffin in which the child lives all alone to enjoy the naturally provided facilities.

    While there, he knows neither the source of those facilities nor his next destination. But when he is eventually delivered into the world he feels ejected from the home of pleasure and cries out profusely in protest. Yet, it is that cry that gives assurances and comfort to those who usher him into the world.

    Yes, the world, in the eyes of sheer mortal beings, is quite large.

    But it remains a coffin for everybody as its large size is only to enable it to accommodate as many humans as possible which a woman’s womb cannot contain. Even as small as the womb of a mother is it sometimes accommodates two or three or four or even more children to confirm the concept of coffin in which man lives. Just as twins or triplets or quadruplets or even quintets are born on the same day and into the same hands so do people randomly die in singles or doubles or multiples sometimes at the same hour and at the same place even if they never knew one another.

    We only ignorantly move about in our individual coffins of life and behave as if the pendulum of death has nothing to do with us. And when the unexpected occurs the remembrance of whence we emanated or wither we are bound is completely lost on us. The entire planet called the earth is nothing but one big graveyard in which billions, even trillions of people had been buried through the millennia. There is no single piece of land (even one foot) on earth that has not served as a grave in which skeletons of humans have been buried. Yet the same earth keeps beckoning to us in drones, indicating that she still has space in abundance for those whose time is up for transiting from life to death. And as we had no say in the choice of the mothers who piloted us into this world so we have no say in the choice of that portion of the earth that will pilot us into the hereafter. Our world is a transit along the unknown journey that transforms us from the living to the dead. The choice of place and time of where death will occur are determined only by the Supreme Being who created us and will ask us for the account of our existence on this earth.

     

    Inseparable web

    Death is the inseparable web of life from which no man can escape.

    The time, the place and the mode are the factors that make it a mysterious phenomenon.

    Whenever we are inside or outside our residences we must be conscious that we are in a coffin.

    Whenever we are in a vehicle, in an aircraft, in a ship or a train, we must not forget that we are in a coffin. If that coffin has not been closed on us it is only because the time is not yet ripe for death to lay its icy hand on us. There is no armour against death. That is why the Almighty Allah says in the Qur’an thus: “Say, verily, the death from which you are fleeing is bound to overtake you and then you will be brought back unto Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of human perception as well as all that cannot be witnessed by a creatures’ senses or mind, whereupon He will make you truly understand all that you were brought to do in life”.  Q. 62: 8

     

    Experience

    Were an unborn baby to have a choice on whether or not to exit from its mother’s womb it would have preferred to stay put. But if the baby did not exit from its mother’s womb, how would it enjoy the pleasurable bounties of this world? This is the scenario which Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, gave a deep thought in the introduction to his autobiography (My Odyssey) when he wrote thus:

    “Man comes into the world and while he lives, he embarks upon a series of activities absorbing experience which enables him to formulate a philosophy of life and to chart his causes of action; but then, he dies; nevertheless, his biography remains a guide for those of the living who may need guidance either as a warning on the vanity of human wishes or as an example or both….”. Incidentally, Dr. Azikiwe was a journalist.

     

    Public reactions

    No sooner that the Nyanya tragedy occurred last Monday morning than reactions started pouring from all parts of the country and even the Diaspora. Many Muslim organisations and individuals reacted bitterly and expressed deep concern about what the issue of insecurity in becoming in the country.

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in particular issued a press release in which it expressed sadness and condoled with the families of the victims. Read the full text of the press release below:

    Enough is Enough

    For the umpteen times the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is hereby lamenting and condemning the bomb blast that once again occurred in Nyanya, Abuja in which scores of innocent Nigerians were killed in cold blood.  For how long will these lamentations and condemnations continue in a country that is supposed to be guided by law is the capital question for now.

    We have a three tier government to which the citizenry look for protection and necessary provision of social amenities. Yet, feeling security look alien to an average Nigerian. Where is the place of loyalty and patriotism in this? Nigeria has consistently had a government in place for decades since independence (in civilian costume and military uniform) there has never been any difference. Is this a matter of carelessness or one of complacency? We need to ask ourselves where we are coming from and where are we going from here? Unless these questions are sincerely answered and the necessary decisions are taken at the appropriate time any hope of graduating from a country into a nation may end up in forlorn.

    Today’s precarious experience is not peculiar to Nigeria. Some other countries have passed through similar experience in their history. The only seeming difference is that while others were very serious in tackling such a horrible situation, the required seriousness is conspicuously absent in our own case. We prefer to pass the bulk even where bulk passing serves no purpose. It is strange that in a country which claims to be civilised is still applying an 18th Century solution to a 21st Century problem and yet expecting a deserving result. Treating the effect of an ailment while ignoring its cause as Nigeria seems to have been doing in the past three years is like scratching a monster on the head.

    While we do not necessarily need to repeat here that security is not about bayonets and tanks alone we are constrained to warn that with the current situation, Nigeria may have become engaged in a war of attrition with criminals who may have undisclosed scores to settle with country. And such a situation will rather require strategy and wisdom than military might to be tackled. We have lost enough lives to those who do not value their own lives let alone those of others.

    There is enough evidence to show that the same strategy used in the past three years has become obsolete for the problem at hand and it must be urgently changed.

    Condoling with victims of terrorism now and then can never proffer solution a seemingly insuperable problem like the one currently faced by Nigeria. Enough of losing lives of women, children and innocent Nigerians without any hope for a better option.

    As usual, we painfully condole with the families of the victims of this latest tragedy and all Nigerians who are directly or indirectly touched by the devastating effect of that tragedy believing that another one will not be allowed to occur soon. We pray the Almighty Allah to spare this country of a calamity which may not consume only those who wrought it but also the very innocent ones who know nothing about it. God save Nigeria for us and for those coming behind us.

    Amen!

  • There’re enough lower-denomination notes, says CBN

    There’re enough lower-denomination notes, says CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured that it has sufficient volume of lower denomination notes.

    Is Assistant Director, External Communications, Isaac Okoroafor, stated this at the World Bank Group’s headquarters in Washington DC.

    According to him, said the CBN has instructed its branches in the 36 states and Abuja, to ensure that members of the public are sufficiently provided with the lower denomination notes, if they so request.

    He said: “What we have done is to instruct all our 37 branches all over the country, to go further down to interface with members of the public, shop owners, just walk into any of our branches, and they will change the money for you.

    He refuted allegations that the CBN charges banks for bringing mutilated notes to the apex bank, rather, he explained, “what people refer to as a charge, is actually a punitive charge, and it arises from the fact that banks which have responsibilities of sorting the currencies they lodge with us, have failed to carry out this duty.

    “ When they bring these notes to lodge with us, we look at them, and when we find out that they are not sorted, we now use our own facility to sort them, and impose a penalty upon them, that is the charge. The penalty is N12,00 per box of about 10,000 pieces of currency which value is N10million.”

    He said if banks lodge money with the CBN which they have sorted, no charge is imposed on that, adding that the essence of sorting is to separate the fit notes from the unfit notes.

  • We have enough cash for investment, says Cadbury

    Cadbury Nigeria Plc has adequate cash flow to sustain continuous investments in its Nigerian operations over the immediate and medium term, the management of the confectionery giant has assured.

    The management of Cadbury Nigeria yesterday visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to further explain the reasons for the recent capital reduction exercise to the investing public.

    Managing director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emil Moskofian, said the company is committed to continuous investment in its Nigerian business noting that the Cadbury Nigeria has demonstrated this commitment over its almost five decades of operations.

    According to him, Nigerian market, the largest in West Africa, is a very important market to Cadbury and it cherishes its long history and iconic brands.

    He explained that the decision on the recent capital reduction was taken because the company has surplus capital in excess of the current investment requirement and that should not be misconstrued as lack of appetite for the Nigerian market.

    He noted that the company has continued to surpass projections and the business is in good shape with good profit such that it can fund additional investments from its ongoing business.

    “We believe all the investments we want to do between two to five years we can fund them from our current business, there is no need for us at this point to dip into that surplus cash that we are sitting on, hence the reason we looked at what to do with that cash. We went through a number of options and decided to give the surplus cash back to shareholders. That does not suggest our lack of appetite for investing in this market,” Moskofian pointed out.

    He added that as part of the Mondelez International, the global snack powerhouse, Cadbury Nigeria has access to many global brands and innovation, which the Nigerian business could tap on to fuel its growth going forward.

    Cadbury Nigeria recently completed capital reduction exercise under which it returned excess capital of N11.9 billion to its shareholders by cancelling two out of every five ordinary shares held by the shareholders. Consequently, it reduced the share capital account by an amount equivalent to the par value of the cancelled shares and share premium accounts by about N11.27 billion. Also, each shareholder will receive returned capital per cancelled share at N9.50 per share.

     

  • IGP Abubakar to politicians, police: enough of nonsense

    IGP Abubakar to politicians, police: enough of nonsense

    The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar has read the riot act to the political actors and police personnel drafted to provide security in the crisis- ridden Rivers State.

    In a statement by Deputy Force spokesman Mr. Frank Mba yesterday, Abubakar warned both the political actors and police personnel found acting out of order would not be spared, regardless of their positions or connections.

    The IGP has set up an investigation panel to identify the police personnel that were present during Tuesday’s mayhem at the Rivers State House of Assembly and the firing of tear gas into the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

    The panel is headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Mr. Philemon Leha.

    Leha has been mandated to investigate the circumstances surrounding the impasse.

    Abubakar charged the warring parties to seek civilised and decent means of resolving their differences, devoid of any form of violence and confrontation.

    He reminded the people that the maintenance of peace remained paramount to the well being and development of the state, adding that the police needed the maximum cooperation and understanding of the people to optimally discharge its statutory responsibility.

    “While the Force continues to do everything within its constitutional powers and means, to provide a safe, impartial and conducive atmosphere for legitimate social, political and economic activities to thrive in the state, it will not tolerate any form of lawlessness or acts amounting to threats to public safety and public order.

    “The success of our democracy depends on our collective efforts and contributions”, the IGP said, adding: “We must as a people, manage our differences to the advantage of our growing democracy for the good of all”.

    Abubakar assured the people of police’s readiness to ensure their security at all times, imploring them not to further heat up the polity through hateful, inflammatory, and unguarded statements and actions.

    He enjoined them to consciously work towards the enthronement of peace, stressing that they must seek civilised and decent means of resolving their differences, devoid of all forms of violence and confrontation.

    “The police high command uses this medium and opportunity to remind the citizens of the state, irrespective of their ideological leanings, of the need to play by the rules.

    “The Force will not spare anyone found to have fallen foul of the law, irrespective of placement and status”, Abubakar said.

    He enjoined the people to go about their legitimate businesses without fear of intimidation.

    The State Security Service (SSS) yesterday summoned the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Amaechi to Abuja for interrogation on his alleged role in Tuesday’s fracas at the House of Assembly and why he allegedly exposed the governor to danger.

    The invitation was said to be based on alleged video footage which captured the CSO as having pushed someone in the Assembly.

    But the summon has fueled anxiety that the CSO, allegedly regarded as loyal to the governor, might be recalled from his beat.

    The CSO is expected to appear before a panel on why he did not advise the governor against going to the tension-soaked Assembly Complex, knowing the inherent danger.

    A reliable source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The CSO was invited to the SSS Headquarters on why he was allegedly involved in the fracas. The camera captured him pushing someone with his pistol exposed, a trend which was unusual of the service.

    “What if one of those aggrieved had removed the pistol to attack the governor or any of those fighting.

    “The opinion of the service is that the CSO should have been with the governor to protect Amaechi from any harm and not seeing him in the middle of the fracas.

    “The job of a CSO is to protect his principal (the governor), you cannot even leave your principal an inch.

    “The camera showed security lapse which exposed Amaechi to danger. The CSO should have advised the governor against going to a place where he could be injured or killed.”

    Asked if the purported action of the CSO was meant to defend the governor from danger, the source added: “When he comes to Abuja, he will be able to explain why he acted in that manner.

    “No one is withdrawing the CSO now but it is a routine thing to seek clarifications from officers on duty. The SSS wants its officers to be strict to their mandate or schedule of work.”

    But there were fears that the summoning of the CSO was a subtle move to recall him from the governor.

    Another source added: “I think this is a fresh ploy to withdraw loyal security details from Governor Amaechi. They are desperate to leave the governor bare so that hoodlums can deal with him.

    “It is clear to everyone that the CSO had been loyal to the governor and protective. Some forces in Abuja and Rivers State had been uncomfortable with the diligence of the CSO.

    “We have got information that they want to withdraw the CSO and redeploy him for being loyal to his principal and doing his duties according to his conscience. He is a thoroughbred and non-partisan officer.

    “As for the governor and his aides, the invitation of the CSO is just a smokescreen of a hidden agenda to deal with Amaechi.

    “It was obvious that an unseen force is behind the invitation of the CSO for a purpose. The SSS should instead investigate who has been pulling the string from China on how to cripple Amaechi’s security.

    “The threats to destabilise Rivers are worst than the era of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. At least Abacha made a pretence but those calling for Amaechi’s head do so with impunity because of the backing of some forces in government.”

  • ‘Enough is enough’

    ‘Enough is enough’

    On Saturday, June 11, 1994, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) preidential candidate in the June 12, 1993 election, the late Chief Moshood Abiola declared himself as the President and unfolded his plan for a Government of National Unity (GNU) at Epetedo, Lagos Island.

     

     

    PEOPLE of Nigeria, exactly one year ago, you turned out in your millions to vote for me, Chief M.K.O.

    Abiola, as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But politicians in uniform, who call themselves soldiers but are more devious than any civilian would want to be, deprived you of your God-given right to be ruled by the President you had yourselves elected. These soldier-politicians introduced into our body politic, a concept hitherto unknown to our political lexicography, something strangely called the “annulment” of an election perceived by all to have been the fairest, cleanest and most peaceful ever held in our nation. Since that abominable act of naked political armed robbery occurred, I have been constantly urged by people of goodwill, both in Nigeria and abroad, to put the matter back into the people’s hands and get them to actualise the mandate they gave me at the polls. But mindful of the need to ensure that peace continues to reign in our fragile federation, I have so far tried to pursue sweet reason and negotiation. My hope has always been to arouse whatever remnants of patriotism are left in the hearts of these thieves of your mandate, and to persuade them that they should not allow their personal desire to rule to usher our beloved country into an era of political instability and economic ruin. All I have sought to do, in seeking dialogue with them, has been to try and get them to realise that only real democracy can move our nation forward towards progress, and earn her the respect she deserves from the international community.

    However, although this peaceful approach has exposed me to severe censure by some who have mistaken it for weakness on my part, those with whom I have sought to dialogue have remained like stones, neither stirred to show loyalty to the collective decision of the people of their own country, nor to observe Allah’s injunction that they should exhibit justice and fair-play in all their dealings with their fellow men. Appeals to their honour as officers and gentlemen of the gallant Nigerian Armed Forces, have fallen on deaf ears. Instead, they have resorted to the tactics of divide and rule, bribery and political perfidy, misinformation and (vile) propaganda. They arrest everyone who disagrees with them. Even the 71-year old hero of our nation, Chief Anthony Enahoro, was not spared. How much longer can we tolerate all this? People of Nigeria, you are all witnesses that I have tried to climb the highest mountain, cross the deepest river and walk the longest mile, in order to get these men to obey the will of our people. There is no humiliation I have not endured, no snare that has not been put in my path, no “set-up” that has not been designed for me in my endeavour to use the path of peace to enforce the mandate that you bestowed on me one year ago. It has been a long night. But the dawn is here. Today, people of Nigeria, I join you all in saying,

    “Enough is Enough!” We have endured 24 years of military rule in our 34 years of independence. Military rule has led to our nation fighting a civil war with itself. Military rule has destabilised our nation today as not before in its history. Military rule has impoverished our people and introduced a dreadful trade in drugs which has made our country’s name an anathema in many parts of the world. Even soccer fans going to watch the Green Eagles display in America are being made to suffer there needlessly because Nigeria’s name is linked with credit card and fraud and “419.” Politically, military rule has torn to shreds the prestige due to our country because of its size and population. The permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council that should be rightfully ours, is all but lost. For who will vote for Nigeria to get the seat if Nigerian military rulers do not respect the votes of their own people? Enough of military rule.

    We are sickened to see people who have shown little or no personal achievement, either in building up private businesses, or making success of any tangible thing, being placed in charge of the management of our nation’s economy, by rulers who are not accountable to anyone. Enough of square pegs in round holes. We are tired of the military repetitive tendency to experiment with our economy: Today, they say “no controls.” Tomorrow; they say “Full controls”. The day after, they say “Fine tuning”. The next day, they say “Devaluation.” a few days later, they say “Revalue the same naira upwards again Abi?”

    All we can see are the consequences of this permanent game of military “about turns;” high inflation , a huge budget deficit and an enormous foreign debt repayment burden, dying industries, high unemployment and a demoralised populace. Our youths, in particular, can see no hope on the horizon, and many can only dream of escaping from our shores to join the brain drain. Is this the Nigeria we want?

    We are plagued also by periodic balance of payments crises, which have led to a perennial shortage of essential drugs, that has turned our hospitals and clinics into mortuaries. A scarcity of books and equipment has rendered our schools into desolate deserts of ignorance.

    Our factories are crying for machinery, spare parts and raw materials. But each day that passes, instead of these economic diseases being cured, they are rather strengthened as an irrational allocation of foreign exchange based on favouritism and corruption becomes the order of the day. Enough is enough of economic mismanagement! People of Nigeria, during the election campaign last year, I presented you with a programme entitled “HOPE ’93?. This programme was aimed precisely at solving these economic (problems) that have demoralized us all. I toured every part of Nigeria to present this programme to you the electorate. I was questioned on it at public rallies and press conferences and I had the privilege of incorporating into it much of the feedback that I obtained from the people. Because you knew I would not only listen to you but deliver superb results from the programme, you voted for me in your millions and gave me an overwhelming majority over my opponent. To be precise, you gave me 58.4 per cent of the popular vote and a majority in 20 out of 30 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Not only that, you also enabled me to fulfil the constitutional requirement that the winner should obtain one-third of the votes in two-thirds of the states. I am sure that when you cast an eye on the moribund state of Nigeria today, you ask yourselves:

    “What have we done to deserve this, when we have a president-elect who can lead a government that can change things for the better? Our patience has come to an end. As of now, from this moment, a new Government of National Unity is in power throughout the length and breath of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led by me, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, as President and Commander-in-Chief. The National Assembly is hereby reconvened. All dismissed governors are reinstated. The State Assemblies are reconstituted, as are all local government councils. I urge them to adopt a bi-partisan approach to all the issues that come before them. At the national level, a bi-partisan approach will be our guiding principle. I call upon the usurper, General Sani Abacha, to announce his resignation forthwith, together with the rest of his illegal ruling council. We are prepared to enter into negotiations with them to work out the mechanics for a smooth transfer of power. I pledge that if they hand over quietIy, they will be retired with all their entitlements, and their positions will be accorded all the respect due to them. For our objective is neither recrimination nor witch-hunting, but an enforcement of the will of the Nigerian people, as expressed in free elections conducted by the duly constituted authority of the time.

    I hereby invoke the mandate bestowed upon me by my victory in the said election, to call on all members of the Armed Forces and the Police, the Civil and Public Services throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to obey only the Government of National Unity that is headed by me, your only elected President. My Government of National Unity is the only legitimate, constituted authority in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as of now.” People of Nigeria, these are challenging times in the history of our continent, Africa, and we in Nigeria must not allow ourselves to be left behind. Our struggle is the same as that waged by the people of South Africa, which has been successfully concluded, with the inauguration of Mr. Nelson Mandela as the first African President of that country. Nelson Mandela fought to replace MINORITY rule with MAJORITY rule. We in Nigeria are also fighting to replace MINORITY rule, for we are ruled by only a tiny section of our armed forces. Like the South Africans, we want MAJORITY rule today, that is rule only by those chosen by all the people of Nigeria as a whole in free and fair elections. The only difference between South Africa and Nigeria is that those who imposed minority rule on the majority rule whether it is by black or white, remains minority rule, and must be booted out.

    I call on you, heroic people of Nigeria, to emulate the actions of your brothers and sisters in South Africa and stand up as one person to throw away the yoke of minority rule for ever. The antics of every minority that oppresses the majority are always the same. They will try to intimidate you with threats of police action. But do not let us fear arrest. In South Africa, so many people were arrested, during the campaign against the Pass Laws, for instance, that the jails could not hold all of them. Today, apartheid is gone for ever. So, let it be with Nigeria. Let us say goodbye forever to minority rule by the military. They talk of treason. But haven’t they heard of the Rivonia treason trial in South Africa? Did those treason trials halt the march of history? People of Nigeria, ourtime is now. You are the repository of power in the land. No one can give you power. It is yours. Take it!

    From this day, show to the world that anyone who takes the people of Nigeria for fools is deceiving himself and will have the people to answer to. God bless you all.Long live the Federal Republic ofNigeria.Long live the Government of National Unity.