The return of the convicted former Governor of Delta, James Ibori, was one of the top stories that dominated Google in the last few days.
The Google Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Mr. Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, made the disclosure in a statement in Lagos on Thursday.
He said, “The week starting from February 1 to February 8 could be described as quite sensational, if one was to use the Google Trends as a measure.
“The return of James Ibori, convicted former Governor of Delta, made the news again, when he returned to Nigeria.
“The former statesman has been in the news since he was charged to court for several corruption charges before he was extradited to the United Kingdom for trial and conviction.
“He was recently released from a London prison after completing a 13-year jail term,’’ the Google spokesman said.
Another top sensational trend in Nigeria was the news of a popular star accused of fraud.
“Oga Seun, wetin dey happen?’’ the Google manager queried.
Kola-Ogunlade said the popular Nollywood filmmaker, Seun Karim, a.k.a Seun Egbegbe, was in the news again for allegedly trying to defraud an unsuspecting Bureau De Change (BDC) operator of N10 million.
According to him, the filmmaker pretended to be a medical doctor while trying to defraud the BDC operator.
“This accusation comes six days before his appearance in court for alleged theft of nine iPhones in November 2016,’’ he said.
Kola-Ogunlade said the #IStandWithNigeria protest, which was held without the popular musician, Tuface, its mastermind, was a top trend.
“Just as the internet was ready to stand with Tuface who announced on social media that he would lead a protest against the Nigerian Government, he backed out.
“The well-respected musician explained that he stalled the event due to security concerns and public safety considerations.
“The protest which was publicised as #IStandWithNigeria, went on as planned without him in Lagos, Abuja and some other parts of Nigeria,” the Google man said.
Nigeria’s award winning musician, Tuface Idibia, has denied being arrested and detained by the Directorate of State Services (DSS) over his earlier planned anti-government protests in Lagos and Abuja.
In a tweet on Monday, the musician expressed gratitude to those who had shown concern over the purported arrest.
“Thanks for the concern, guys. I am fine and free,” he said.
“Reports about DSS arrest are not true. We are still compiling responses for the leadership.
“State your opinion on the social media with the #IStandWithNigeria. Peace! One luv always!!!”
The protest which was initially slated for Monday was cancelled on Sunday.
The cancellation did not stop other groups from carrying on with the protest, but it attracted a lean turnout both at the National Stadium in Lagos and Unity Fountain, Abuja.
The popular musician cancelled the protest on Sunday, citing “security concerns and public safety consideration.”
However, some groups vowed to go ahead with the protest despite the cancellation by its initiator.
The Federal Government on Monday replied the #IStandWithNigeria protesters who marched on despite the announced cancellation of the protest by top hip hop musician Tuface Idibia.
In a social media post, the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo said the voice of the protesters have been heard, “loud and clear”.
“To those who are protesting, WE HEAR YOU loud and clear.
“To those who are on the streets protesting the economic situation & those who are not, but feel the pain of economic hardship, we hear you.
“You deserve a decent life and we are working night and day to make life easier.”
Find the tweets below:
To those who are on the streets protesting the economic situation & those who are not, but feel the pain of economic hardship, we hear you.
The protest also held in the United Kingdom, where the protesters marched to the Nigerian High Commission, demanding five minutes speech from President Muhammadu Buhari.
The protest had several personality in attendance including Omoyele Sowore of Sahara Reporters, Charly Boy, Comedian Sheyi Shaw among others.
Conveners of the Monday national protest tagged #IStandWithNigeria, EiE Nigeria, a coalition of young Nigerians promoting good governance and citizen engagement, have written an open letter to the Federal Government.
The letter, whhich was addressed to the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, identified 10 challenges facing the country, from insecurity, high cost of governance, to poor power supply and more.
“In the words of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s First Prime Minister, ‘the future of this vast country must depend, in the main, on the efforts of ourselves to help ourselves.’
“Since the idea of a protest was muted a few weeks ago and a call to action was given for Nigerians to share their challenges and concerns via social media and SMS, we have received hundreds of text messages, Whatsapp messages; thousands of comments via various social media platforms and millions of engagements through various hashtags.
“The messages paint a clear picture of hardship across the country. Nigerians are facing difficult economic challenges and do not see any end in sight. Our standards of living have worsened and we are also disappointed in the lack of transparency and an ineffective fight against corruption in a government that made a fight against corruption a key pillar of its campaign. In summary, the change that Nigerians were promised has not been delivered and a road map to the desired destination is yet to be communicated.
“This is not about ad-hoc programs or sound-bites, but a sincerity in the government, from the Presidency to its various ministries and agencies, that this government that means what it says and says what it means. The various spokespersons for the administration are dismissive of Nigerians’ concerns, repeating that Nigeria is working when it is clear, even to the blind, that it is not!
“For example, a lot of work has gone into attempts to scuttle the peaceful gatherings in Lagos and Abuja, when the citizens right to free speech is inalienable. Furthermore, the implied attempt by some elements in security agencies to stifle the inalienable rights of Nigerians to freedom of speech and assembly cannot be allowed. We are in a democracy and citizens must be able to express their displeasure with their elected representatives in a lawful manner. If as much attention was paid to good governance, our circumstances would be much better.
“We all suffer from the country’s dysfunction and we are saying – Enough is Enough! Nigeria must come first! Not personal interests, not sectional interests; not business interests. From the impact of perennial power shortage to the lack of decent health care facilities and a good education for our children, we all pay the price, one way or another, for bad governance.
“The police who are here with us today, the teachers, hawkers in the street, traders in the market, labourers, all of us suffer when Nigeria doesn’t work. The hardship we are going through, is why we are gathered here today. Thousands of jobs have been lost over the last one year, factories have closed, people are struggling not just to keep their kids in school but provide the most basic of things – food.We have watched the price of some of our staple foods double, even triple in some cases. Yet the response to our decision to protest, a freedom and a right guaranteed by our constitution, was multiple attempts to intimidate us and discredit us. May we remind you that repressing angry and frustrated citizenry never bodes well for those in power?
“We have watched the price of some of our staple foods double, even triple in some cases. Yet the response to our decision to protest, a freedom and a right guaranteed by our constitution, was multiple attempts to intimidate us and discredit us. May we remind you that repressing angry and frustrated citizenry never bodes well for those in power?
“Perhaps it isn’t surprising that political office holders have no idea how bad things have become after all their office, the political power they wield, their jumbo pay & allowance, means that their reality is very much removed from that of regular Nigerians, the people they promised, nay, swore to serve.
“Well, most Nigerians are now fed up so we are gathered today, here and now to tell you that things are bad; really, really bad. It is also important to state, that while this message is addressed to you as the President of this great nation, the frustrations are not only towards the Federal Government.
“We are also speaking to the National Assembly whose job it is to represent Nigerians at the Federal level and their responsibilities include law-making; appropriating monies and ensuring they are spent judiciously. However, they have so far spent the last two years in office fighting for spoils, buying expensive cars, spending time on corruption allegations against several members and unanswered questions around the budgeting process and allegations of budget manipulation.
“At the State level, several states owe salaries and have refused to be accountable and transparent in the spending of resources, including the bailout funds they received from the Federal Government. This is simply unacceptable.
“Our call for this protest had 10 key areas of concern – security, education, health, power, unemployment, the high cost of living, social justice, transparency, the cost of government & patriotism – we are making demands of 5 of these issues as follows:
Transparency in all tiers of government
We want to know how much states received as bailout funds and how the funds were spent, especially as salaries are unpaid and social services are under-funded and some cases even none existent.
That the Federal Government puts in place a clear mechanism for making public new hires into government agencies to ensure that these jobs are filled based on merit, not nepotism. Allegations of illegal hires into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerians Prisons are yet to be answered adequately. Freedom of Information requests to these agencies have met with silence on the substance of the request.
Allegations of ‘sex for food’ and food stealing in IDP camps must be investigated those found guilty punished swiftly. The suffering of Nigerians that are already victims of the Boko Haram onslaught cannot and should not be compounded by the actions of unscrupulous people.
How much has been recovered from the government’s anti-corruption fight? How much has been spent and what was it spent on?
Security
#onevoicenigeria protest
ALL Nigerian lives MUST matter and we need to see government – at the State & Federal level – act in a way that proves this is indeed the case.
Insecurity is at an all-time low in Nigeria, from Benue State to the Niger Delta, from Southern Kaduna to the Northeast, scores are being killed and it seems the perpetrators are mostly getting away with it. The Federal Government and States must put proactive peace and security measures in place to ensure an equitable resolution of these current crises and this road map must be made public so citizens are aware that their rights are being protected.
Cost of Government
The cost of running our government structure is too high and needs to be reduced to reflect the reality of our dwindling economic fortunes.
National Assembly: The size is no longer affordable as it operates today. The structure that supports 469 individuals cost us N115bilion a year of which they provide no record of how the money is spent. There should be a referendum on a unicameral Assembly.
There have been several reports on eliminating duplicate agencies. They need to be implemented to reduce cost and increase efficiency.
Our budget process is poor and allows for fraud. We have not learnt from last year’s debacle. We propose open contracting data standard so that the budget and procurement data are linked in a way that allows citizens see clearly what has been funded. We also propose citizen consultation so that citizens have a direct say in the budget process.
Social Justice & Corruption
At a time of increasing suffering for many Nigerians, the government should be humane and put a pause on actions to drive government revenue that increase hardship. The demolitions of living areas and markets; increase in taxes and the introduction of new taxes.
We can’t have one set of rules for the rich, and another for the poor. Allegations of corruption by political office holders should be investigated and innocence has proven beyond reasonable doubt. The Presidency’s defence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on an offence to which he himself admitted guilt is unacceptable.
The government needs to follow the rule of law it espouses and obey court orders. Why has El Zaky not been released as ordered by the courts? A democratic government that tramples on the constitution is playing with fire as it undermines the foundation of its legitimacy.
Power
The lack of power in Nigeria continues to be a major hindrance to not just business but to people getting themselves out of poverty as many studies have shown. We demand that the government rolls out a 6-month emergency power plan that focuses on:
Metering all customers to stop estimated billing.
Appoint a NERC substantive Chairman and enforce the EPSR Act on Customer Complains Resolutions
Amend the ESPR Act to relax regulation to allow small-scale power generation. We believe this will in a very short time improve our power situation.
“It is important to reiterate that we are gathered here to protest because our political leaders have failed, our elected leaders have failed. They are not keeping their pre-elections promises, they are not delivering on their manifestos and programs. Worse, their actions and inactions have combined to create more hardship for millions of Nigerians.
“We are here to demand proper leadership, for accountability, for love of nation before self, for selfless service to the country.
“We are here because we are tired of those we have elected to ‘serve’ us taking advantage of us.
“We are here to say Enough is Enough!
“We are giving the government till its 2nd anniversary – May 29, 2017, to show substantive results on the issues we have raised. If not, the agitations will be louder and more intense.”
Tuface Idibia, Nigeria’s award winning musician, has denied being arrested and detained by the Directorate of State Services (DSS) over his earlier planned anti-government’s protests in Lagos and Abuja.
In his tweet on Monday, he expressed gratitude to those who have shown concern over the purported arrest.
“Thanks for the concern, guys. I am fine and free,” he said.
“Reports about DSS arrest are not true. We are still compiling responses for the leadership.
“State your opinion on the social media with the #IStandWithNigeria. Peace! One luv always!!!”
The protest which was initiated by the hip-hop artist for Monday was cancelled on Sunday.
The cancellation did not stop other groups from carrying on with the protest, but it attracted a lean turnout both at the National Stadium in Lagos and Unity Fountain, Abuja.
The popular musician cancelled the protest on Sunday citing “security concerns and public safety consideration’’.
However, some groups vowed to go ahead with the protest in spite of the cancellation by its initiator.
Some citizens took to their twitter handles, reporting situation at the venues of the protest with #StandWithNigeria playing prominent role in Abuja.
According to the tweet of Ms Maureen Kabrik @Mkabrik, “We are at Unity Fountain right now getting ready for our protest #IStandWithNigeria #OneVoiceNigeria.
The tweet displayed a long banner held by two men with the inscription “#StandwithNigeria’’ #OneVoiceNigeria”
BennyCapricorn @BennyCapricorn also said “Strong Woman @AishaYesufu God bless you always!!! Live @ the Unity Fountain. #iStandWithNigeria.”
Reports from National Stadium Lagos indicate that a few people turned out in spite of the cancellation of the protest.
kajogbola kabir @kosimagi tweeted, saying they were at the National Stadium in Lagos.
“At the National Stadium Surulere for the #Protest. #IStandWithNigeria #OneVoiceNigeria. Enough of talk on social media’’
Despite the pull out of hip-hop musician, Innocent Idibia, known as Tuface from the One Voice Nigeria protest against the federal government, various groups took to the streets in Lagos and Abuja on Monday.
The conveners of the protest, Coalition of young Nigerians promoting good governance and citizen engagement, tweeted: “It is not about where you are from or your religion. We are first Nigerians before anything else that defines us!”
A Musician, Innocent Idibia (alias 2Baba), has cancelled his anti-government protest planned for today.
In an Instagram post and a short video via his official handle @official2baba late on Saturday, the musician attributed the cancellation to “security reasons”.
The protest was scheduled to hold in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country.
He said: “Dear Nigerians, due to security concerns and public safety consideration, I hereby announce the cancellation of the march.”
The decision came a day after Laolu Akande, a senior special assistant (media) in the Presidency, said 2Baba had the right to protest.
Akande, who stated this on his tweeter handle: @akandeoj, said: “It is fundamental right of the people.”
“This administration will not prevent Nigerians from expressing themselves in peaceful protests,” he said.
Akande went further to question the logic behind the protest, judging by the efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to invest in the welfare of the people.
2Baba called for protest against what he claimed as the worst economic crisis in the country.
The police warned against the protest after its initial promise to provide security.
The authorities said they had “credible intelligence” that other groups were planning a counter protest on the same day and at the same venues, saying the event could turn violent.
But in a series of tweets yesterday morning, Mrs. Ezekwesili, a vocal member of #BringBackOurGirls campaign group, called on President Muhammadu Buhari “to allow Nigerians cry out their pains”.
On her verified twitter handle, @Obyezeks, she tweeted, “Mr. Pres @MBuhari Mr. VP @ProfOsinbajo Allow the people of your Land CRY OUT their pain on Monday. LISTEN, EMPATHISE & RETHINK POLICIES.”
Explaining further, the former minister decried the claim of police that it could not secure participants at the protest.
“Mr. Pres @MBuhari Mr. VP @ProfOsinbajo Your Govt CANNOT SECURE YOUR CITIZENS THAT WANT TO GATHER AND SPEAK THEIR PAIN TO YOU? Haba. Haba,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said.
“Mr. Pres @MBuhari Mr. VP @ProfOsinbajo The people of your Land are CRYING OUT in PAIN. Ask God for WISDOM to GIVE THEM A GOOD ANSWER,” she added.
She implored the government to listen to citizens’ plight and not bully them into silence.
In its reaction to the announced cancellation by 2Baba, a civic group, Enough is Enough Nigeria, has said it would proceed with it without the pop star.
In a tweet through its official handle, @EiENigeria, at 11:19 p.m. on Saturday, the group announced its resolve to go ahead with the protest without 2Baba, adding that it respects the artiste’s decision.
