The Nation Newspaper

Tag: New York

  • Buhari departs for New York Sunday to attend UN General Assembly

    President Muhammadu Buhari will on Sunday depart for New York to participate in the 73rdSession of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) which officially opened September 18, 2018.

    The theme for this year’s Session is: “Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.”

    The highpoint of President Buhari’s participation, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, will be his address on Tuesday to the General Assembly on the opening day of the General Debate.

    “The President’s presentation of Nigeria’s National Statement is expected to reaffirm the nation’s commitment to international peace and security; sustainable socio-economic development; disarmament and denuclearisation; youth and women empowerment; climate change; rule of law and human rights; among others.

    ‘He is also expected to particularly canvass international support for the fight against corruption; the return of illicit assets; counter-terrorism and insurgency; curbing irregular migration; re-settling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); recharging the receding Lake Chad; and calls for the reform of the United Nations, especially the expansion of the permanent membership of the Security Council to make that vital principal organ of the global organisation reflect regional and equitable geographical representation.” he said.

    Read Also: Buhari, Saraki and caustic electioneering

    The statement also said that the President and his wife, Aisha, will also attend a welcome reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and his spouse for Heads of State and Government and their spouses.

    The Nigerian leader and his delegation will participate in a High-Level meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis organised by the World Health Organisation as Nigeria currently ranks seventh amongst the high TB-burden countries globally, and second in Africa.

    The Nigerian delegation is expected to attend the Mandela Peace Summit, which is a High-Level Meeting on Global Peace in honour of the centenary birth of the late South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela.

    Other side-events lined up for the Nigerian delegation include: High-Level Meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit; the Second Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum; High-Level Meeting on Action for Peace-Keeping; Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; High-Level Meeting on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa; and Pathway to Localising a Global Agenda.

    During the course of his stay in New York, in addition to the audience with the UN Secretary-General, the Nigerian President is also expected to have bilateral meetings with African and world leaders including Bill Gates with a view to promoting national and African interests.

    He will also grant audience to a select group of Nigerian professionals based in the United States.

    Apart from his wife, President Buhari will be accompanied by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.

    Others on the presidential entourage include: the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Abubakar; Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammad Babandede; and the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu.

  • Etsu Nupe for world leaders forum in New York, Canada

    THE Commonwealth Business Women Network Nigeria, led by Mrs. Afoma Clara Adigwe, has confirmed the Etsu Nupe, chairman, Niger State Council of  Traditional Rulers, and  chairman Coordinating Committee of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, Dr Yahaya Abubakarh, as the guest speaker at the Commonwealth Africa Forum.

    The forum will hold in New York and Canada on October 9 and 12 with the theme Africa Open for Business.

    According to information, the monarch will also be honoured with an award of excellence for his outstanding contributions towards Agriculture and Food Security in Africa from the Commonwealth Africa Initiative (CAI).

    The monarch will discuss the mutually-reinforcing linkages between sustaining peace and prosperity in Africa and the 2030 agenda at the Africa Forum in New York, which is aimed at bringing together Africa and North American business leaders representing multi-nationals, large corporations, SMEs, confederations, and multilateral and regional institutions. The session will also have a question and answer segment and a high level one-hour panel on September 28 in New York.

    The Africa Forum is organised by The Commonwealth Africa Initiative, a Pan Commonwealth Organisation based in London.

  • Etsu Nupe talks culture in New York

    After a recommendation by the Commonwealth Business Women Network Nigeria, led by Mrs. Afoma Clara Adigwe in New York and Canada, the Etsu Nupe, Chairman Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, and Chairman Coordinating Committee of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, HRH (DR) Yahaya Abubakar CFR has been confirmed as the Guest Speaker at the Commonwealth Africa Forum which will hold in both countries respectively.

    According to information, the monarch will also bag an Award of Excellence for his outstanding contributions towards Culture, Agriculture and Food Security in Africa from the Commonwealth Africa Initiative (CAI).

    The traditional ruler will also be speaking at the event which holds between  October 9 to 12 in Toronto, themed Africa Open for Business.

    In the same vein, the highly respected monarch will discuss the mutually reinforcing linkages between sustaining peace and prosperity in Africa and the 2030 agenda at the Africa Forum in New York which is aimed at bringing together Africa and North American business leaders representing multi-nationals, large corporations, SMEs, confederations, and multilateral and regional institutions. The session will also have a question and answer segment and a high level one-hour panel on September 28, 2018 in New York.

    The Africa Forum is organized by The Commonwealth Africa Initiative, a Pan Commonwealth Organisation based in London.

  • Dance, drama light up Celebrate the Comforter in New York

    New York City was virtually lit up in white that day. Members of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide, clad in white, literarily brought down the roof with praise at the 2018 Celebrate the Comforter convention organised by Love of Christ Generation Church at the United Palace on Broadway, EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

    Children of God, will you shout Hallelujah… Shout Hallelujah…will you shout 10 times…,” began the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, as he called for love and unity in the church.

    He was one of the special guests at the 2018 Celebrate the Comforter convention. It was an over six-hour power-packed praise attended by former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the Chairman of Ovation Media Group, Bashorun Dele Momodu; and frontline artiste Jide Kosoko, among other dignitaries.

    It was a beautiful gathering of people – young and old – clad in stylish white robes of various fabrics and designs.

    There were music, drama and prayer ministrations, but people will not forget the thrilling songs that made them dance “like David danced”. The United Palace on Broadway, New York was virtually  lit up in white as thousands of worshippers from the two main denominations of the white garment movement, Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Worldwide and Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church Worldwide, came together in a unification service. The event was convened by Revd Mother Esther Ajayi, the General Overseer of Love of Christ Generation Church, London.

    The maiden edition was held at the Excel, London last year.

    Led by His Eminence, Prophet Adegboye Alao, Head of the C&S Worldwide and Pastor and Supreme Head of the CCC Worldwide, Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, the worshippers literarily brought the roof down with explosive praise and worship songs.

    The power-packed music ministrations were rendered by the 150-man mass choir, which comprised worshippers from C&S and CCC and notable artistes, such as Sinach, Sir Shina Peters, Lanre Teriba (Atorise), Evang. Olatunde Olomola (Baba Ara Jnr. of CCC), Lady Evang Bisi Alawiye, saxophonist Ayoide Mustapha, Bai Yewu, Esther, Muyiwa and Riversongz.

    The event was graced by church leaders from other denominations, such as Prophet Samuel Kayode Abiara of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC).

    At the event, men of God took turns to  pray for peace in Nigeria and the world.

    With the theme, Celebrate the Unity in the Holy Spirit, the essence of the celebration, according to the convener, was to bridge the gap in the body of Christ because other churches are always invited and carried along. She added that it was also to disabuse the minds of the people about white garment churches, especially “those who are hypocritical about us”.

    “The body of Christ is one, not divided” according to 1 Corinthians 12:1 to end. White garment churches are Bible believing churches and should not be discriminated against,” she said, while stating that the reason behind holding the first edition in the UK and the second edition in the United States was to ensure that the celebration of Christ got maximum world attention.

    “I am happy that our efforts to unite the Celestial Church of Christ and Cherubim and Seraphim Church have started yielding fruit. Both churches came together to proclaim the name of Jesus, evangelise, pray for peace,” Ajayi, who is also referred to as Iya-Adura, said.

    Overwhelmed with the turnout, Iya-Adura linked its success to prayer and fasting before the event, noting that the third edition would hold next year at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos.

    Word on the Comforter was delivered by her husband, Dr. Ademuyiwa Ajayi, while her daughter, Ola Ajayi, who is her personal assistant, was the director of programmes.

    “I have worked with some fascinating characters: from Hollywood royalty to real royalty; pop stars to politicians; presidents and prime ministers; sports heroes, superstar celebrities, captains of industry and everything in between. I have heard every sort of story, told by every type of person, but I can truly say that I have never heard a story like that of Esther Abimbola Ajayi, nor have I ever met anyone like her.

    She is embarking on a full-frontal assault on culture: releasing her book, CRAZY FAITH and much more,” said African American Pastor as he took Rev Ajayi into his Live network programme viewed across the globe.

    He added: “When you first meet Rev Esther, you are immediately struck by her energy; she has real swagger. Not in an arrogant, look-at-me kind of way, but with a self-confidence born out of a clarity of purpose and identity.  She bounds into the room like a ‘force of nature’, and her conversations are punctuated with “It is going to happen at some point!” and “God is in it.”

    Also, Comforter Bibles and other gifts were distributed to all attendees.

  • FIFA meets with top clubs over $25bn investors offer

    The ruling body FIFA has met with seven leading clubs including Real Madrid and Manchester United to discuss a 25-billion dollar offer from investors for a revamped Club World Cup and a new global Nations League, the New York Times reported.

    The paper said that officials from Real, United, Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus Turin were invited to FIFA’s Swiss headquarters on Wednesday over the controversial issue.

    The paper quoted FIFA as saying that “today’s meeting allowed us to observe a real interest for a complete reform of the Club World Cup and the development of a new model of competition that would benefit the entire football community around the world.”

    Read Also: Budweiser kicks off ‘Light Up The Fifa World Cup’ global campaign

    FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed the offer from yet to be identified investors to the governing body’s council two months ago.

    The investors are allegedly ready to dish out a maximum 25 billion euros for the two competitions between 2021 and 2033.

    The proposal has been met with stiff resistance from various sides including Europe’s UEFA and club organizations.

    Critics fear an even more blown up match calendar and rich clubs becoming even richer.

    NAN

  • ‘How New York named street after Kudirat Abiola’

    National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) member and United States-based paediatrician Dr Bashiru Dawodu was part of the rally in New York, following which the city named part of Manhattan’s 44th Street and Second Avenue after the late Kudirat Abiola. He tells ROBERT EGBE how he and other Nigerians fought against military rule from overseas and how this has prepared him for the intrigues of Nigerian politics.

    For over a century, your family has had its roots in Oshodi 1 Constituency, where you were born and raised. You’ve also always been a ‘Lagos boy’; schooling in King’s College and graduating as a medical practitioner from the University of Lagos. What made you decide to go abroad?

    I was privileged to get grants and scholarships from Lagos State. I applied for the grants to enable me know more medicine and become a specialist, so I can do more for our people. That’s why I went abroad in 1991. I was there till  2016. But I’ve been going back and forth from 2010. I had my training in paediatrics. I held various positions, including head of department, hospital administrator, chairman of the department, head of paediatrics at Mitchel County Paediatrics in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States of America. I was also chief medical director of the hospital. I was also involved in a lot of non-governmental stuff; I established and planned programmes for the local government where I practiced. I also designed policies. For instance, I designed asthma programmes, immunisation, sickle cell, teen health programmes etc. I also started Free Clinics, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Free Clinics organised free medical missions and healthcare to several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria. We’ve been doing that every year. We come to Nigeria, for instance, bi-annually. We were in Lagos just last month. I bankrolled most of our operations myself. Of course, we had volunteers.

    What was your relationship with Nigerians in the US?

    In the US, I was very active in my community. I was a member and patron of Eko Club International. It was an association of Lagos-bred Nigerians, or Nigerians with Lagos interests in the Diaspora. It carries out a lot of charitable activities in hospitals, or schools, or taking care of orphans in Lagos. It’s different from the Eko Club in Lagos, Surulere. I was very active politically in the US. We were able to organise and mobilise Nigerian-Americans to participate in US elections. We tried to get Nigerians to run for office as Mayor or council men; candidates that we felt were going to be favourable to not only Americans but also the Nigerians there, whether they were Democrats or Republicans. I’ve also been very active in Nigerian politics in the Diaspora. I’m a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Diaspora. I was in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). I was a founding member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). I was also in the Action Congress (AC), which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). I was also a founding member of the APC in the Diaspora, of which I am still an active member.

    What was your role in NADECO?

    Basically we were concerned about (the late M. K. O.) Abiola’s mandate (following the cancellation of the June 1993 presidential election by military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida). There were a lot of Nigerians in exile then. I was living in New York at the time. I remember that one of my friends, the late Sikiru Babalola, told me about this group, Democracy Now, and they were trying to fight the military government from remaining in office. When they went to (former US Secretary of State) Madeline Albright, she said the US had to hear from Nigerians before America could get involved in that. So, I started accompanying him to the meetings; this was in The Bronx, New York, with Baba Alao Aka-Bashorun. I remember that Pa Rabiu, an institutional, legendary activist in New York, was there. He was US-based but very Nigeria-centric, very well known. I also remember that Pa Anthony Enahoro was there. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd) was also there, among many others. This was the New York arm. People were doing things in Washington DC. So, we held a lot of protests. I remember the one we did for Abiola’s wife, the late Kudirat. The meetings eventually metamorphosed into NADECO, because most of the pioneer members were there at that time.

    Protest for Kudirat?

    This was in New York. We called it the ‘mother of all rallies in New York’, because it shut down a particular major highway in the city of Manhattan, New York. So, they had to name the road Kudirat Abiola Way. When you go to New York, you’ll see it. It’s in front of the Nigerian Embassy. So, the Mayor of New York gave us that concession after Kudirat was murdered.

    When did you decide to become involved in politics in Nigeria?

    It was during the ACN days that I made up my mind to go back to Nigeria and participate in politics. That was about 2007/2008. My Diaspora folks knew I was from Oshodi and they advised me to go to my local government, register with the ward and interact with the people and leaders. So, I did that and became part and parcel of the Nigerian arm of the party. It wasn’t really difficult to integrate, because I returned to a place where my entire lineage is. My father and mother were born here, very well-known members of the society. I did everything here, I’m a child of the community. Once I mentioned my name, they knew who my father and mother were. When I started, I found out there were a lot of health needs, so I began free medical checkups and give people free medications. They were very happy. I was a participant in the 2007 election primaries. I decided to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives, but the party leaders persuaded me to step down for Hon. Moroof Akindero, who later won during the general election. In 2011, I contested again, but lost out in the primary to the incumbent. In the 2015, I was the second runner-up in the primary. I’m very proud of what we did. Moving forward, politics is very dynamic. In the last primary, three of us contested, there are re-alignments now. A lot of people felt I was the best, but I didn’t really get a chance. But my structure is stronger now, because I have my own group in every ward which is integrated in mainstream groups. So, the situation is different now, because basically it looks as if all the structures over here support me for this House of Reps in 2019.

    You’re a medical doctor. You save lives. Why politics?

    A lot of people have asked me that question. Someone even said: You’re a doctor. What are you doing in politics? You need to go and treat patients. The way I see it is that people’s perception depends on their understanding of life. A doctor, a paediatritian, can only see at most 100 kids in a day. But the governor of a state can immunize thousands of children in a day. No doctor can do that. So, through governance and policy one can do more for the people than what individual professions can do. Government policy determines the road you walk or drive on, the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, where your kids go to school. So, it’s a very important part of life and I don’t think any profession should be excluded from that, if the man has good ideas.

    Secondly, my community has done a lot for me and I see this as payback for them. For about 10 years now, I’ve gone round identifying their needs and I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the things I’m doing now on my own are better done via the government. So, the government is better placed. But thank God that we have a great government in Lagos.

  • ‘Switzerland returned $322.5m Abacha loot with interest’

    Switzerland said it has returned all the money kept in the country by late Nigeria’s Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha, with 1.5 million dollars interest.

    Amb. Pio Wennubst, Assistant Director-General and Head, Global Cooperation Department, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, told our Correspondent in New York.

    Wennubst said Switzerland returned about 322.5 million dollars ( N116.11 billion ) to the Federal Government.

    According to him, the original amount was 321 million dollars.

    The Federal Government had announced receipt of 322.51 million from the Swiss government as part of the looted funds recovered from the late former Head of State.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, through her Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Oluyinka Akintunde, had confirmed the receipt of money from Switzerland.

    Akintunde said: “We state that $322,515,931.83 (N116,105,735,458.80) was received into a Special Account in the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) on Dec. 18, 2017, from the Swiss government’’.

    Confirming this, Wennubst said: “We returned 321 million dollars including the interests.

    “We return all the amount, 322.5 million dollars including the interest for the time that the funds were blocked’’.

    The Swiss envoy also said that the money was returned to the Nigerian Government unconditionally.

    “We are not talking about the condition; there was a programme on the social safety net that was developed by the Government of Nigeria and the Bank.

    “After discussing, the only condition, set by the judiciary, not by us, was that the return of this asset should have been monitored by the World Bank and this is where we worked on’’.

    According to him, these funds were part of the Nigerian Government contributions to the social safety net programme, “plus concessional loans from the Bank”.

    We recall that the ‘Abacha loot’ was frozen in 2014 by a Swiss court after a legal procedure against his son, Abba Abacha.

    Originally deposited in Luxembourg, the money was a fraction of the billions of dollars allegedly looted during his rule from 1993 to 1998.

    Similarly, the UK Government also pledged its commitment to ensuring that money and other assets illegally transferred from Nigeria are repatriated back to the country.

    Mr Nick Dyer, Director General, Economic Development and International, UK Department for International Development told our correspondent that assets return would contribute to the development of the origin countries.

    Dyer said it was an important part of the development process to identify how and where assets were going astray and to also recover them and send them back.

    NAN

  • BBNaija: Bisola counts gain, one year of “See Gobe’ show

    Bisola Aiyeola, first runner up, Big Brother Naija ( BBNaija ) 2017 season two ‘See Gobe’, says her participation in the show has contributed to her successful growth in the entertainment industry.

    Aiyeola, who is most popular for her hit movie ‘Picture Perfect,’ recently, released two hit songs this year, ‘Luchia’ which details her life journey and ‘Uncle Luku’.

    She credited the Big Brother Naija platform for allowing her possess “a greater selection in the kind of projects” she does.

    According to her, it gave her an opportunity to add her voice to the plight of young girls and most importantly, become closer to her fans.

    In her reflective post on Tuesday on Instagram, @iambisola, Aiyeola wrote:

    “Today is a birthday of sorts for me. One year ago, I left the Big Brother House as runner-up and set upon a path that has been beyond my wildest dreams.

    “People always ask me about my time in the house, but the truth is none of us imagined the hype surrounding everything we were doing and how our lives were going to change.

    “It still takes me by surprise when I travel around the world and people come up to me to wish me well and sometimes even quote things I said from a year ago.

    Read Also: BBNaija: Iyanya, Bisola, invite Teddy A to music collaboration

    “I went to the house with just one purpose, which was to reach as many people as possible and showcase my talent.

    “When I think of the things that my Big Brother experience has allowed me to do in the past 12 months, it is difficult to do so without overwhelming gratitude,” she wrote.

    The actress and singer also thanked her manager, The Temple Management company and family for supporting her dreams during and after the show.

    Aiyeola finally got into the Big Brother house in 2017 after auditioning for the show for nine consecutive years. She came second after popular winner, Efe Ejeba.

    Apart from being the first runner up, the mother of one won ONE’s ‘Back to School’ presentation task, where she called on Nigerian lawmakers to prioritise girls’ education.

    As part of her ambassadorial duties, she attended the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York to push for girls’ rights.

    NAN

  • ‘NAPTIP rescues 13,000, rehabilitates 8,000 trafficked persons’

    Dame Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ), said no fewer than 13,000 trafficked persons have been rescued by the agency.

    Okah-Donli disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in New York at the premiere of a movie about human trafficking in Nigeria.

    The movie, ‘Mrs Adams’, which premiered at the Nigeria House, came at a time Nigerians and Africans were taking the perilous Mediterranean Sea route to Europe, and was produced by Queen Blessing Itua.

    “So far, we’ve rescued over 13,000 victims, we’ve prosecuted about 339 traffickers and we’ve rehabilitated about 8,000 victims as well,” she said.

    According to her, the prostitution trade, which draws its recruits mainly from human trafficking, is estimated at roughly 150 billion dollars business.

    She, however, cautioned Nigerians against referring to trafficked persons as prostitutes, saying they are victims, not criminals adding “a prostitute works for herself and cuts the shots”.

    “But somebody who is sexually exploited does not work for herself, she work for someone else; she does not even have the freedom or access to the money”.

    She said many victims were scared to talk because most traffickers were known to them – family friends, boyfriends, brothers, fear of reprisals or death because of sworn oath.

    “Some of them came back with all sorts of conditions – some treatable, some untreatable, some with hepatitis, HIV, some with full-blown AIDS,” she said, adding many of the victims has psychological problems.

    “A lot of them come back mentally sick and so we have to refer them to the mental hospitals because they were traumatised, they’ve been beaten, raped and used.”

    Okah-Donli regretted that while NAPTIP tried to arrest the perpetrators, they sometimes connived with some law enforcement officers, who were supposed to protect the victims, and allowed them to escape.

    According to her, NAPTIP is making a case to ensure that NAPTIP officials are at the airports and borders to check such abuses.

    She said human trafficking involved recruitment, transporting and harbouring of human beings to exploit them sexually, for forced labour or for the purpose of organ harvesting through force, deceit, abduction, or fraud.

    She accused destination countries of irregular migrants of corruption at the detention centres, saying that is where people go to buy them for organ harvesting, sexual exploitation and forced labour.

    The NAPTIP chief, in an emotion-laden narrative, decried the rampant cases of organ harvesting, whereby people waiting for transplant went to the ‘black markets’ to buy the organs.

    “People buy men, women, boys and girls, and use them for sexual purposes or for taking their organs off them and using them for whatever purpose or sell them outrightly.”

    She said the Federal Government was responding to trafficking in persons through the domestication of the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crimes and establishment of NAPTIP, among others.

    Okah-Donli added that trafficked persons, when rescued by NAPTIP, were counselled, treated, some went back to school while some were trained in skills acquisition programmes.

    “For us, ‘prevention is better than cure’. We try to prevent by sensitising everyone and of course we are trying to change the mindset of our youth who think that anything outside Nigeria is the best.

    “They think when they go abroad, there’s work waiting for them, there’s money everywhere. So we’re trying to make them believe, first of all, in their country and in themselves.”

    The NAPTIP chief said the Federal Government was signing bilateral agreements with the various countries of destination adding,  it planned to sign mutual legal assistance with all the endemic countries.

    NAN reports that another book, authored by Itua, ‘We are the Blessings of Africa’, which stressed the urgent need to change the perception about Africa adding, was also launched at the event.

    It was attended by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, his Deputy, Amb. Samson Itegboje, and Senior Special Assistant to the Wife of the President, Dr Hajo Sani.

    Others were Nigeria’s Consul-General in New York Tanko Suleiman, representative of the Minister of Women Affairs, governors’ wives, commissioners for women affairs, and the civil society organisations.

    NAN

  • `Buhari’s victory in 2015, a political revolution’ – Dalung

    `Buhari’s victory in 2015, a political revolution’ – Dalung

    Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barr. Solomon Dalung, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory against an incumbent in 2015 had proved that one could win election in Nigeria without having money.

    Dalung, who said this, while addressing officials of the Permanent Mission, Nigeria House in New York, said there was a brewing political revolution against ‘god-fatherism’ in the Nigerian political space.

    “There is hope for Nigeria. The victory of President Buhari, up till now, not many Nigerians have understood it; it was a political revolution.

    “What it has brought is that you can contest and win election even when you do not have money.’’

    “God-fatherism’ was instituted to control elected officials so that they would not go beyond control.

    “Dalung said ‘god-fatherism’ is a political servitude where you are tested to determine your loyalty. The thing is that without a god father, they believe you can’t be controlled.’’

    Read Also: NYCN urges Buhari to caution  Dalung

    The minister was in New York for the Seventh Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum at the UN Headquarters where he delivered a paper on: ‘The role of youth in building sustainable and resilient communities’.

    “The ‘Not too Young to Run’ is an advocacy that is sending strong signals to political lords that they had overstayed their welcome; either they give way or they will be forced out.’’

    The minister blamed those he called “urban gorillas” whom he said were in charge of the country’s political machinery for manipulating the system.

    “At 53 years, they still call me a small boy,” he decried, saying he had contested elections several times and won but was deprived by the ‘urban gorillas’.

    The minister also said that he brought the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Plateau but suffered as an orphan because he did not have a god-father.

    According to him, his advocacy is to liberate the young people, reorient the mindset of many Nigerian youths that have been enslaved.

    He also called on young people to understand the political system they were coming into so as to better strategise.

    According to Dalung, Nigeria is making steady progress in infrastructure, economy and security and called for unity.

    “We can refine and build a Nigeria of our dream.

    “We have the best form of selfless ministers in this era. As ministers, most of us do not have houses but we live in rented apartments in Abuja.

    “Some of us lived in Boys Quarters before we got apartments because people were asking for N1.5 million as rent.

    “I would have even preferred to stay in Gwagwa but we were told we could not for obvious reasons,’’ he said.

    Dalung said Buhari had made a statement about the rampaging armed herdsmen but that the country would also need to engage its neighbours to stop giving access to the criminals to move freely into the country.

    Earlier, Nigeria’s Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Amb. Samson Itegboje commended the Federal Government for the steady progress in the areas of economy, infrastructure, fight against insurgency and anti-corruption.

    The Nigerian ambassador pledged that the missions’ would continue to bring their expertise to bear on the international stage so as to lift the flag of Nigeria high among the comity of nations.

     

    NAN