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Tag: North

  • North harmonises groups for 2015

    North harmonises groups for 2015

    The North announced yesterday the formation of a Joint Action Committee to harmonise the interests of the various groups working towards winning power in 2015.

    The groups’s spokesman and former Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, told reporters in Kaduna that the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum and some groups from the Middle Belt have agreed to collaborate in their approach to the 2015 elections.

    Baba-Ahmed said part of the objective of the group is to improve the unity and cohesion of the diverse people of the North in pursuit of goals and objectives which affect every northerner.

    He noted that the various groups in the committee have decided to devolve some of their responsibilities to the joint committee, but they will continue to exist as separate groups.

    The committee was essentially created to reduce waste in energy.

    Baba-Ahmed said “this is a collaboration to improve the way the North will approach 2015, politics generally and all other developmental issues. My statement says that one of our objectives is to take full advantage of the many options and opportunities that are available to the North.

    “We want to see a situation where the North plays a very informed, disciplined, strategic role in the manner in which politics is played in this country. There are many options available and we want to be sure that we work with those that will take the decisions to make sure that the north takes the best position in the interest of the people of the North.

    “Let me say that this collaboration is unique. It is one of the very few efforts that all northerners have made that involve the genuine participation of all northerners. Our committee does not recognise core or subsidiary North.

    “We recognise fundamental equality of northerners because the problems of the North affect all northerners equally. What happen, to the northerner in Benue happens to the northerner in Zamfara. We see the same level of poverty, insecurity and concerns. Those who use words like core northerners have no idea and we don’t want to operate with that kind of mindset.

    “All northerners are equal and we realised that we have been divided by these kind of talks. There is no such thing as core North. We are united by our common heritage, our history, our poverty and our contemporary exposure to the same kind of problem.

    “We are weakened by the day. There is no northerner that will tell you that he is better of because of his tribe or religion. So, this divide and rule has not worked for any single northerner.

    He said: “I don’t know about the elitist north. The masses have to be led by somebody because they cannot lead themselves and the Nigerian masses have been let down by the elites for too long.

    “Many people have claimed to be leading the North and they have let the people of the North. The elite themselves are rediscovering their potentials to lead and will submit their leadership to the goals and aspirations of the ordinary northerner. The elites cannot work without the masses.

    “Our group is to make sure that the best candidate with the best interest of Nigeria emerges President in 2015. If any group said that one North is dead, they are entitled to their opinion. I am sure that they have their reason for saying that. What I know is that there is a north.

    “There are many other options we are looking for and we will not limit ourselves to the issue of northern Presidency because it is only one of the options available to the North and we are going to work with others all over the place and we are going to be very strategic about the manner in which we work and advise politicians in this regard”.

     

  • Ex-FCT minister to Ango Abdullahi: you can’t speak for North on 2015

    Ex-FCT minister to Ango Abdullahi: you can’t speak for North on 2015

    The division in the North over the power shift has come to the fore, with the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Alhaji Abba Gana, declaring that the region’s opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid is false.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elder said that the party, and not the North’s elders, will decide the fate of the President at the primaries.

    He denied the insinuation that the North’s Elders’ Forum, led by the former university don, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, was pursuing the agenda of power shift on behalf of the region, stressing that he lacked the mandate of the entire region.

    Gana supported the suggestion by the PDP BoT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, that the incumbent President and governors should be given automatic tickets in 2015. He said the crisis in the party is temporary, adding that certain chieftains are only grandstanding and jostling to protect their interests.

    Also, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba North) dispelled the rumour that the North is opposed to the President’s re-election bid, clarifying that he (president) has the constitutional right to seek re-election. Bwacha said: “The President has the right to aspire to continue in the office beyond 2015. Prof. Ango Abdullahi is not speaking for all of us. I advise the majority group in the North to back the President because the minority groups have been backing the northern candidates. They should now reciprocate by backing the minority”.

    Gana, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), and Senator Bwacha spoke separately with reporters in Lagos on the Jonathan Administration, the PDP crises and controversial rotational principle in the ruling party.

    The former minister described the forum led by Abdullahi as an interest group existing outside the ruling party, which lacked the opportunity to unduly influence the party.

    He said: “The group cannot choose delegates. It cannot nominate candidates and cannot hold the primaries for the PDP. On the power shift to the North, there is division in the north. Some people want it to come to the north. Some want President Jonathan to finish his two terms. Despite the fact that the North has produced many Heads of State, crisis and poverty remain in the North”.

    Gana emphasised that the PDP was formed to protect the national unity and integration, warning the chieftains fanning the embers of disunity in the party ahead of 2015 to desist.

    Dismissing the opposition by the key PDP members to Dr. Jonathan’s second term bid as a rumour, he said: “PDP cannot say no to President Jonathan’s second term. He is the sitting President. So, most of us in the North will support him. It is wrong to bring someone to contest when Jonathan is still sitting in the Aso Rock. How can Jonathan support that person? How can the person benefit from the power of incumbency?”

    Gana urged the north’s leaders to ponder on the advice offered by the former Defence Minister, Gen. Yakubu Danjuma, to the region. He said: “Gen. Danjuma said that the North should learn, plan, relate better, work harder and talk less. The north needs another four years to plan, relate well, work hard and talk less. We need to groom a leader in the North to do that. It cannot be done in a crash manner. That leader should unite the North”.

    The former minister accused some PDP chieftains of inordinate ambition, urging them to learn from the lessons of history.

    He said: “They should look back and realise that greater Nigerians have tried to rule this country, but did not make it a do or die affair. They should emulate the likes of Olu Falae, Adamu Ciroma, Lateef jakande, and Bamanga Tukur, who wanted to be President, but did not achieve it and never caused trouble. It is a question of destiny”.

    Gana said that the media report that the Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, would defect from the PDP was untrue, pointing out that he is a loyal, consistent and committed party leader.

    He described the Nigerian Governors’ Forum as a non-governmental body, which derailed, owing to the politicisation of the forum by some members.

    Gana lamented the collapse of party supremacy and discipline in the ruling party, recalling that no governor would take on the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) national chairman, the late Chief Adisa Akinloye, in the Second Republic.

    The politician said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not dislodge the PDP from power at the centre. He added: “APC is a hurricane warning to the PDP. We will take care of it before it comes”.

    Senator Bwacha said that President Jonathan is qualified to re-contest in 2015, adding that efforts to use the security challenge in the Northeast to discredit his administration will fail. He added: “Satability is coming back to the Northeast. Boko Haram was orchestrated by certain individuals to discredit President Jonathan. Nigeria should give a second term opportunity to him”.

     

  • Neither Jonathan nor the North

    If you ran away from a death for donkey years, yet you came back to die the same death, then you have lost your care – Igbo saying, courtesy Chinua Achebe.

     

    The opposition column of Nigerian politics is flush with triumph – and the reason is clear: the formal registration, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the first in the country’s political history, is well and truly epochal.

    The victory whoop is understandable: at last, an alternative platform to face the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) behemoth in fierce, face-to-face electoral contest.

    Conversely, the ruling partisan camp is muffled with apparent worry, though Doyin Okupe, presidential spokesman has, as usual, essayed rich bluff and bluster, laced with Okupe-istic cant, claiming it was President Goodluck Jonathan’s democratic credentials – not the laws of the land – that ensured APC’s registration.

    That, as usual, was an empty bluff. The law that created the Presidency created INEC. The same grundnorm set out strict conditions for merging political parties. Creations of the law cannot, therefore, claim discretions in how their Creator works. It is entirely out of their hands, except of course, they want to criminalise their office which, it must be conceded, past office holders had done and got away with.

    This time, however, the forces behind APC were smart enough to follow, to the letter, the law on merging political parties. The Jonathan Presidency too was smart enough to know when it was licked, despite earlier childish manoeuvres on the APC acronym, from whatever camp. INEC too was smart enough to be strictly guarded by the law and nothing else. Over all, it is a triangular victory for the democratic republic.

    But victory hoop from the opposition?

    Yes, in the sense of a loyal opposition pushing for a partisan environment conducive to free and fair contests for political power, without the government of the day rigging the system in its favour.

    But no, in the sense of unbridled jubilation that suggests mere coming together of disparate opposition parties, into a single more powerful column, is the beginning of the end for PDP and its infamous power mismanagement. That does not necessarily follow.

    Even if that were so, the end of PDP does not necessarily translate into the end of power mismanagement in the polity. The PDP is no saint any more than the new APC are sinners!

    That brings the discourse to Nigeria’s latest troubling tendencies, symbolised by President Jonathan and his emotive Ijaw crowd, digging in for 2015; and the opposing “core North”, almost hell-bent on uprooting the “minority upstarts” and allies.

    It is a classic: power delinquency versus power senility.

    The APC must give these two pernicious tendencies rigorous thinking, if it hopes to be part of the solution to Nigeria’s power problems; and not the latest addition to it.

    Indeed, if the new party fulfils its potentials as agent of positive change, fortune-seeking stragglers from both camps would smarm it. If APC doesn’t have a ready formula to sort them out, it would go down with them, like the giffen theory in basic economics, where worthless goods drive out the good ones.

    Power delinquency comes from a sitting president with his minority backers who, just some four years in power, have developed the overlord complex so irritatingly common in the Nigerian power chamber. Though Jonathan’s South-South lacks the vote to propel him to a second term (even if his performance has been inspiring – and it definitely is not), his emotive supporters yammer as if just occupying Aso Rock is open sesame for a win in 2015.

    Some of these excitable fellows (just like the delusion that gripped the polity that APC would not be registered even if it met all the legal requirements), even darkly hint at something suggestive of rigging, even if they didn’t exactly spill it out. But pray: if 2nd Republic President Shehu Shagari, from a northern majority bloc could not hold on to his stolen electoral booty in 1983, what makes a minority bloc think they can in 2015, if they make the same mistake?

    Ranged against this power delinquency is the apparent power senility of the old North, as espoused the other day, ironically by Ango Abdullahi, an agronomy professor, and former vice-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University.

    Prof. Abdullahi said based on a North-South rotation pact, the North ought to take power in 2015; and that President Jonathan lacks the moral right to run, since he allegedly signed the reported pact as no. 37; same pact former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Jonathan’s estranged political godfather, allegedly signed as no. 1.

    This column has always held – still does and will always do – that the North was cheated on the zoning formula, on which Prof. Abdullahi based his argument. For that, blame Obasanjo’s perfidy and Jonathan’s crass opportunism, after the death in office of President Umaru Yar’Adua, in the run up to the 2011 election. It is the Nigerian elite penchant for short-term selfish gain, leading to long-term collective pain!

    Still, what was that professorial crap about the North having the democratic number to rule in perpetuity? The question is which North? What number? And for what purpose?

    Prof. Abdullahi easily forgets it was exactly this same “born-to-rule” mindset that led to the criminal annulment of Moshood Abiola’s presidential mandate in 1993, which marked the beginning of the end of the North’s power hegemony.

    Tragically, as Yerima would appear the brazen face of paedophilia for whatever justifications, Prof. Abdullahi would appear the unfazed face of northern hegemony, no matter the collective cost to the Nigerian state. Thus, when power delinquency confronts power senility, the sure result is avoidable national catastrophe.

    The APC must, therefore, note these destructive power tendencies and navigate a third but saner way of equity, justice and fair play. To do these however, it must think less of power and think more of service.

    Target: it must pare down the present parasitic presidency, which though gobbles the country’s wealth, is not an asset but a terrible liability: as Obasanjo’s tenure showed; and as Jonathan’s tenure is showing. That two extremely opposite personalities are delivering similar bungling shows it is a structural problem.

    “What does APC want?” (June 18) already, on this page, suggests how best APC can go about its arduous task, working on a six-region format; and turning felt needs of those six regions into a franchise of service to be implemented with despatch if it gains power, pending the country’s constitutional restructuring into productive federalism from the present parasitic unitary state in federal guise.

    APC must get real. After all its registration euphoria, the party cannot behave like the Achebe man who died the same death, even after running away from it for eons.

    That would be more than the death of a party. It could well be the death of a country, given the cliff to which the present powers-that-be have pushed this polity.

     

  • ‘Why power should not shift to North’

    ‘Why power should not shift to North’

    In the First Republic, he was a member of the House of Representatives and Federal Minister of Education. In the Second Republic, he was the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elder, spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU and MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on the Rivers State crisis, constitution amendment, agitation for Ibadan State and the clamour for power shift by the North.

     

     

    How can the Rivers State crisis be resolved?

    The Rivers State crisis is an internal matter. About two weeks ago, I was at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, and when I finished and was about to go, the court advised me not to go because the outside was tensed. I thanked them, but I did not accept the advice. I was to go to the airport to take a flight because I had to be at the Supreme Court the following day. Twice, I tried to leave, but the police sent me back. Twice again, I tried to take another route to the airport it was not possible. I had to go back to the court, I was to come to Lagos and take a flight to Abuja. So, I had to change my ticket. I then took the 8 o’clock flight to Abuja that day because I was having a very important matter at the Supreme Court. I must confess that I don’t know the internal reasons for the problem in Port Harcourt, but I suspect they are political reasons. Well, from all information at my disposal, I understand they are trying to settle the matter now. And I hope they will settle it amicably because the President is a very good person and the governor too. So, there is no reason for them to fight. Both of them are in the same political party. It is a family quarrel and sometimes, family quarrel becomes too acrimonious. It could be dangerous, if not properly controlled.

    19 governors voted for Governor Rotimi Ameachi, but the PDP said that Governor Jonah Jang, who scored 16 votes, is the NGF chairman. Again, five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly tried to impeach the Speaker. As a former parliamentarian, how do you view these scenes?

    The whole matter is political and such matters, at that level and of that nature, you don’t settle by votes because sometimes, what votes settle may not meet political expedience. You might win your vote politically and you might also lose politically. The good news is that I heard that the matter is now being settled. And very soon, we are going to hear very good news so that there will be peace and friendship in the Rivers State.

    What are the PDP elders doing about the national crisis that has engulfed your party?

    I don’t accept that a national crisis has engulfed the party. Politics consist of conflict and politics without conflict is not politics. What is going on happens in all political parties. So, I will not relate what is going on at that level of conflict as much of a conflict. So, let us accept it because similar things happen in the USA, France, England and many African countries. It is part of political evolution.

    How can the party avoid a rancorous mini convention this month?

    Rancor will not be part of it. That will not happen; the convention is going to be peaceful. It is going to go on very well and those who are wanted would be elected. I am not worried about that at all.

    Your party wants to bounce back in the Southwest. What is the prospect of the PDP in 2015 election in the region?

    The prospect is excellent. I have reasons to believe that the party will do very well in the elections. In the last election, which the PDP lost, it was politically manipulated. The power of the judiciary and other manipulations were at play, but I will not comment further on that. Those who should not lose election lost election. In the next election, you will hear good news in the Southwest on the political scene.

    Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) warned recently that, if the crisis going on in PDP is not resolved, what happened in Egypt would take place in Nigeria. What is your reaction to this?

    I did not read about that but I want to say such a thing will not happen here at all. What happened in Egypt was promoted from abroad. And I don’t want to say more about that. I have traveled extensively in the Middle East, and what they called the Green Revolution that is going on in the Middle East, families rule countries there, there is monopoly of power by limited groups. The situation in the Middle East is quite different from the situation in black Africa or in Europe. I will not compare Middle East with Nigeria. I have respect for General Abubakar (rtd) but what he predicted will not happen. We are going to have good news, good government, good politics and good political succession.

    Certain northern leaders are clamouring for the return of power to the north and the Southsouth is saying that Jonathan should remain in office beyond 2015. Now, how do we manage the situation?

    I think we should stop talking about regional politics. Before independence and after independence, through election and through military rules, the north ruled Nigeria for almost 40 years. And I expect many of their leaders, who complained of lack of power not to do so. People who can complain of lack of power are the Delta people, the Igbos or the Yorubas and some other people. At the right time, power should go to certain people in the north, but it is important not to equate politics with sections. We should not be talking about Yoruba or Igbo President. We should talk of Nigerian President. We should forget sectionalism.

    How do you assess the Jonathan Administration?

    It is excellent. Jonathan came from a very difficult situation and you will remember that nobody from his area has ever held that office. He is the first person to hold that office and it is not an easy thing to do. It is very difficult and challenging and I believe that he has done extremely well.

    Mrs Jonathan responded to Soyinka’s criticism of her involvement in Rivers crisis with derogatory remarks on the literary icon. What did you make of this?

    I did not read them, but I will not equate the politics going on in the Rivers with the First Lady. I have been involved in Rivers affairs politically and professional for almost 50 years. The politics there is more complex; you cannot simplify it or equate it with the First Lady. I believe that the problems of the Rivers State would be solved amicably and there is going to be peace there.

    Why are we having volatile situation in Nigeria, as exemplified by the Boko Haram?

    There is nowhere in the world that you don’t have security problems. We have it in Europe, the US, all over Africa. So, politics is conflict resolution and politics without conflict is no politics. That does not worry me at all, it is just part of the political equation. In spite of what we are saying, do you know that Nigeria is now one of the fastest developing countries in the world? If you look at the World Bank reports and you look at the IMF reports, Nigeria is doing extremely well. What we need is to develop our roads, airlines and other sectors of the economy.

    How do we reconcile this promising economy with the rising unemployment and lack of food for the ordinary man on the street?

    The unemployment in Nigeria was inherited; it was not created by the present government. And the steps are being taken to put all these things behind us. What we should avoid is to tie our economy with Europe and America. We should be global in our outlook. Look at China; it is doing extremely well. Look at Singapore, Malaysia and India they are making progress. If you take the Middle East right from Syria to Japan, their economy is doing very well. If you go on the Nigeria streets, you will see India cars and lorries being sold. That is what Nigeria should do. We should produce our own bicycles, our own telephones. We should forget the colonial past and embrace modern development.

    Would Nigeria have been better, if there was no military incursion?

    Much better, one of the things that destroyed this country was military intervention. I am not aware of any country in the world, which had the intervention of the military and has done well. Nigeria is not an exception and I hope the military will not intervene in our politics again.

    What is your position on the creation of Ibadan state?

    I support it. When we presented positions at the National Assembly. I was there. The Ibadan State is overdue and should be created as soon as possible. It is not only Ibadan, Ogun State too should be broken into two, Ijebu Ode has always been a provincial capital. Abeokuta has always been a provincial capital. these are the two that are denied their own states. I believe Ijebu Ode should be given a state and Abeokuta should be given a state too.

    Does the ongoing constitution amendment meet your expectation?

    What aspect are you talking about? There are so many things being discussed.

    The underage marriage and immunity clause…

    Under age marriage, I think that is a big joke. We have more serious things to discuss. I don’t think we should waste our time on that. Immunity yes, I don’t see why anybody should be immuned from prosecution, no matter what political office you hold. In America, President Richard Nixon was to be tried, Bill Clinton was to be tried as Presidents. And if you look at the political history of other countries, political office holders, are either tried criminally or you resign from office. So, why should Nigeria be an exception? That immunity was absurd and should be removed.

    The state police…

    That is rubbish. When we had state police, it was causing trouble. It was being used for politics. We don’t, need state police. There should be one police in the country. But the commissioner of police; should be working hand in hand with the governor of the state, no matter the political situation. We should not politicise police, they are the first port of call in crisis moment. Therefore, they are very important for our stability and for our peace.

    True federalism and local government autonomy…

    True federalism depends on the people. What is critical is not the structure of your constitution. What is important is the attitude of your constitution; doing the right thing is the most important thing and the sky will not be the limit for us. Local government autonomy is important but the biggest problem is the governance. When money is voted for local government, the governor will collect it and spend it on their behalf. I think that should be abolished. So, local government should have their own autonomy as far as possible. Again, at the same time, the governors should not interfere in the affairs of the local government.

    APC has vowed to dislodge your party in 2015 election, what is your reaction?

    That is a big joke and it will not happen, in the next election. PDP is going to win overwhelmingly, I have no doubt about that. We are working hard on that and it is going to happen.

    With the ongoing crisis in the party?

    Conflict resolution is synonymous with politics. It wakes people up. PDP’s progress is not in limit. We are going to overcome the challenges. And we are going to win the next election.

    What is your perception of the sanitation exercise going on in the judiciary?

    It is excellent, the Chief Justice of Nigeria has been excellent, I have my greater respect for her. We need very clean judiciary, that will deliver true justice not political justice, I believe things will continue to work very well.

    You are part of the team that defended Nigeria at the World Court over Bakassi. Can the matter could be revisited in the interest of the indigenes who are now scattered and homeless. What is your stand?

    Well, that judgment of the World Court was unfortunate because that particular land belonged to Nigeria. The people who caused the problem for us were the British. The British signed a treaty with France, the Anglo -French Treaty, in which they transferred the land to France. But the truth is that the land does not belong to Britain. In international law, the protectorate land belongs to the people of that place. And that place was a protectorate. So, Britain had no legal basis to sign a treaty with France and transfer it to them. The people of that land are the owners of the land and there are aspects of international laws, which support Nigeria. Having said that, that is the judgment of the International Court of Justice, but what I think we can do is to negotiate with the Cameroun.

    Nigeria is celebrating her 100 years of amalgamation…

    That is not independence; many commentators don’t clearly understand what that event means. That event was done by the British for its political and economic interests. That is very important. Lugard was involved. Also, the Royal Niger Company and the Colonial Secretary. Those were the three critical characters who did the amalgamation for the British economic and political interests and not Nigeria’s interest. They discovered that there is a lot of minerals in Jos, a lot cocoa emerging in the South, palm kernel coming up and also in other part of the country, we have other minerals. Colonialism is synonymous with economic exploitation; Britain did it for its economic interest and not for Nigeria’s economic interest. And that is it. It was an unwelcomed marriage. But we have done the marriage and now divorce is out of the question. We have to work together as a nation and make the best out of it.

    It is being held that a return to parliamentary system will make Nigeria better. What is your view?

    I don’t accept that. Parliamentary system means that a member of parliament, being Prime Minister, would preside over the country. I prefer where we have the President, who is voted for by the whole country, not by one constituency. I prefer the French and American system whereby a person emerges by the vote of the people of the country. Those who are talking about parliamentary system want to pull the hands of the clock backward. we should not accept that.

    Do you regret not being governor of Oyo State?

    Well, I don’t. I would have been happy, if I did. but why should I regret? I was in parliament before independence. I was in parliament at the time of independence, and I was in parliament after independence. And after independence, I was a Federal Minister of Education under Balewa. I enjoyed it and like it very much. I later became Attorney General. So, the sky is not the limit and I am quite happy with what I got. I think Nigeria has been very kind to me and I have been kind to Nigeria as well.

    You were appointed commissioner in the defunct Western State. Why did you not accept the offer?

    Well, three times, the governor of the state in the military era invited me to come and join and three times I declined. I said I do not want to be misrepresented, it was a very good gesture but it was not acceptable to me. And at that time I was the President of the Nigeria Bar Association and also I was handling a very big brief for a Swiss Bank, which involved a lot of money. You know that the military government is easily overthrown by the military and, considering what I was doing then, I didn’t want my name to be linked to anything that had to do with lack of accountability. That was one of the several reasons why I declined. But having travelled to Geneva to collect my fees from the Swiss Bank, the governor announced my name. And further more, I had just bought a property in London and when I start declaring all these in my asset, people will be saying it is government money; that I have taken. Whereas it is not government money, it was money from my professional earning, it was better for me at that time to remain in the profession.

    You were behind the 12 2/3 judgment by the Supreme Court. If a similar situation arises, will you take such, a brief?

    I will do exactly what I did, but what you must know is that I argued the case. I propounded the principle but I did not write the judgment. There were seven justices; six accepted to the doctrine that I propounded, one did not accept. It was the judgment of the court. So, why should anybody blame me for anything when I did not write the judgment. It is part of the law of the country now. And it will remain part of the law of the country for ever.

    Your daughter is now a Minister. People are saying that the polity is designed for the projection of the children of the legends…

    You get what you deserve and you deserve what you get. The question is, does my daughter deserve it? In London, she read Law and had first class. After finishing in London, she went to Harvard to do post graduate in Law and was one of the best. So, do you blame her for that? That my daughter, Jumoke’s daughter, Olayinka, went to theUniversity of Oxford to study and she had double first class. Three of my children read Law in Cambridge and three of my children also read in Harvard and one read in Oxford. So, why should you blame me for that?

    How do you access your governor in Oyo State, Senator Ajimobi?

    I regard Senator Ajimobi as a governor and Jumoke as federal minister. The two of them are my children, though myself and the governor are not in the same political party, but I hope one day he will come and join my political party.

    What is your position on the clamour for Sovereign National Conference (SNC) ?

    I believe in the National Conference not the SNC. The Sovereign National Conference will be the government of the country, but if we have a conference, which is not a government of the country, I accept that. Many people don’t understand a national conference and SNC. The word sovereign should be taken away from it. conference yes, SNC no.

     

     

  • 2015: Religion can’t divide North

    2015: Religion can’t divide North

    Prominent Northern leaders have dismissed as invalid and of no effect whatsoever, an alleged deal between President Goodluck Jonathan and some leading Islamic scholars aimed at ensuring his success in the 2015 presidential election.

    Reacting to the deal allegedly brokered by former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Yerima, the Northern leaders described the move as an attempt to divide the region and present Jonathan as having a solid support base in that part of the country.

    Second Republic House of Representatives member, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who is among the fierce agitators for power shift to the North, said that the move by the President to divide the North would fail and claimed that Yerima has no clout in the North to get the people behind the President.

    He said the senator’s action will not affect the resolve of the North to press for power shift in 2015.

    “Yerima Sani has an outstanding case with the EFCC. He was arrested by the former EFCC boss, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for alleged stealing and embezzlement. He is trying to do the bidding of some people who he feels can bail him out. But I tell you that he does not command our respect,” he said.

    Dr. Mohammed added: “Ribadu arrested him for stealing and embezzlement from the coffers of Zamfara State. He was taken to the court of law. He has been trying to get out of the matter. He brought blackmail upon himself.”

    Mohammed said neither Yerima nor Vice President Namadi Sambo can convince the North to embrace the President.

    He said: “Yerima is creating confusion to demonstrate relevance. He is absolutely nothing in the North. Quote me: Yerima Sani is nobody in Islam and North.”

    Mohammed also punctured the so-called meeting of the clerics with the President, pointing out that the former governor lacked the qualification to facilitate any such meeting.

    “You can see the level of decadence and desperation on his part by trying to mobilise the Muslim scholars. What about his association with the Egyptian minor? What is the population of Zamfara, compared to Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa? Can somebody who cannot deliver Zamfara deliver the North to Jonathan? He is nobody in the North. He does not command the respect of Muslims in the North because of his controversies”.

    Mohammed maintained that the North would insist on the Presidency on 2015, adding that the divide and rule tactics of the President would not achieve its intended objective.

    He said: “We are insisting on the Presidency based on agreement, justice and fair play as Nigerians from the North. That is our position and we stand by it”.

    On his part, erstwhile Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav described the alleged pact as a ruse. According to him, the President, through his foot-soldiers, is just trying to hoodwink Nigerians into thinking he still has some support bases.

    He said of the alleged deal: “I think it is just an attempt by the President to woo people to his side. It is the idea of his men and nothing more. Senator Yerima has denied it. And I can also tell you that I know some of these clerics very well. They are not politicians and so they will never go to Aso Rock to endorse anybody.

    “I have heard Senator Yerima explain that the clerics went to Aso Rock to pray for the nation. He said during Obasanjo’s regime, he led some clerics to Aso Rock to pray for the country. This is the same thing Jonathan asked for and Yerima went with clerics to do just that.

    “If Jonathan and his men are now trying to use that to woo Nigerians, it will not work. The President knows that he has failed. He cannot win in 2015 even if he gets the endorsement of one million clerics. He has lost credibility and Nigerians will reject him.

    “Why are we bothered about the visit of clerics to Aso Rock when governors who are the real politicians are paying solidarity visits to Governor Rotimi Amaechi? They have rejected Jonathan and they will tell their people not to vote for him in 2015.

    “If Jonathan wants to do well, he should caution his wife. He doesn’t need clerics to caution his own wife. He is building and the woman is destroying.”

    Another prominent northerner and a Northern Union (NU) chieftain from Nasarawa State, Dr. Halilu Giade, advised Nigerians to be wary of the antics of the presidency, the ruling PDP and some betrayers among the progressives.

    The medical doctor turned politician said the visit by Yerima and the clerics to Aso Rock at a time like this cannot be explained as harmless by the former Zamfara State Governor.

    “At a time when all progressives are closing ranks to free this country from the menace called PDP, it is wrong for the distinguished Senator to be caught in this kind of political web carefully spun by Jonathan to cause disaffection among the progressives and to deceive the people.

    “This is clearly an attempt to divide the North and hoodwink Nigerians but it will not succeed. The clerics are not the ones who will tell Nigerians how to vote. The endorsement amounts to nothing. Yerima should have been more careful if truly he was not part of the plot.”

    President Jonathan had met with Northern Islamic scholars on his second term ambition, which certain leaders from the region have vowed to resist in 2015.

    He was said to have been so impressed by the turn- out of the Islamic scholars at the meeting and the role played by Yerima in mobilising them that he is allegedly considering having him as his running mate in 2015.

    Sources said that Yerima, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, directed his associate and deputy governor of Zamfara State, Ibrahim Wakala, who served under him as the Commissioner for Religious Affairs for eight years, to mobilise the selected Muslim scholars to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for the meeting.

    Although the scholars were earlier scheduled to hold another meeting at Ibadan, Oyo State, for the purpose of forging unity among the faithful, they deserted the Ibadan meeting for the Aso Rock meeting where the President reportedly solicited their support for his political aspiration.

     

  • Rivers crisis shameful, say North’s elders

    Rivers crisis shameful, say North’s elders

    The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to halt the crisis in Rivers Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    They also called for the removal of Rivers Police chief Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    The spokesman of the group, Prof Ango Abdulahi, expressed concern over what he described as “the alarming desperation of politicians to manoeuvre themselves in vantage positions for the electoral contests of 2015”, saying it is a major threat to the elections and, ultimately, the democratic process.

    “The clumsy and embarrassing conduct and fallout of the election in the Governors’ Forum, the engineered crisis in the ruling party, the role of the spouse of the President in affairs of the state, are signs that Nigeria is descending into anarchy and lawlessness rarely seen in our history.

    “The hands of the Presidency are clearly visible in all these events that appear to draw inspiration from the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan to stay in power in 2015.The most recent developments in Rivers state represent a new low in the shameful conduct of political office holders at the highest levels and they should be condemned by all Nigerians.

    “It is a great pity that those who swore to defend our Constitution and to uphold the rule of law are the same people who use violence as a political too, and serially abuse the power entrusted to them. They have abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them in pursuit of more power and the unending persecution of imaginary enemies. They endanger our democracy and national security. They must be called to question and asked to stop now.”

    Abdulahi called on the President to order an immediate cessation of hostilities in Rivers state and stop using the police to settle his political disputes.

    The elders added: “the Nigeria police is not a political party and certainly not an arm of the Peoples Democratic Party. The governor and people of Rivers State, as indeed all citizens of Nigeria deserve the full protection of the law and of their rights to live in peace under state guaranteed security.”

     

  • North must claim presidency in 2015, says Ango Abdullahi

    The North on Tuesday  gave an indication of a heated Presidential race in 2015 saying that either through rotation or its population, it will take back the Presidency from President Jonathan.

    Secretary of the Northern Elders Forum and Former Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Food Security, Prof. Ango Abdullahi told newsmen in Kaduna that the various groups in the region were already working together to ensure that power return to the north in 2015.

    He also said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo begged the north to allow him have a second term since the original arrangement for rotational presidency did not include having two terms, adding that the north had to allow Obasanjo to serve two terms in line with the constitutional provisions.
    Prof. Abdullahi said that if the north cannot claim the Presidency through rotation, it intends to do so relying on its massive population, adding that based on population alone, the north can hold on to power in the country for as long as they wish to do so.
    He said “I want to make it absolutely clear to you that the ACF and all these other groups that have emerged in the recent past are committed to the interest that underlies northern interest.  There is no question about that.
    “The north is determined and is insisting that the leadership of the country will rotate to it in 2015 and I am making that very clear to you. On behalf of all of us, ACF in front because they have been the oldest group and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and our other groups that have been very active and strong.
    “All of us are likely to have this very tough and common agenda. Not that the north and power blind, no, it will be argued on the rational argument that are on ground today. The north on the basis of one man, one vote can keep power indefinitely in the present Nigeria state,” Abdullahi stated.
    “If it is on the basis of one man, one vote, the demography shows that the north can keep power as long as it wants because it will always win elections”.
    The former Vice Chancellor noted that the issue of rotational presidency between the North and South was accepted many years ago at the 1987 Political Reform Conference, where it was resolved that every part of the country should be part of the leadership.
    He said that the north has always made sacrifices in the course in the interest f the country, adding that “some of us who participated in conferences- constitutional conferences from 1987 until the last one- the Political Reform Conference, it was accepted that every part of this country should feel part of the leadership and these are the basis of the acceptance of the rotation between the north and the south

     

  • 2015: North to negotiate presidency, says Aliyu

    2015: North to negotiate presidency, says Aliyu

    CHAIRMAN of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) Babangida Aliyu yesterday gave a fresh condition for the would-be president in 2015, saying the North would be prepared to negotiate the exalted office.

    Aliyu has consistently said President Goodluck Jonathan signed a pact with North’s leaders to serve a four-year single term.

    He, however, said the region was prepared to go along with whoever emerged as the President in 2015, adding that the North will negotiate properly with those seeking the exalted office.

    The Niger State Governor ruled out the possibility of the North blindly voting for any candidate in the general polls without first safe-guarding its interests.

    Aliyu spoke at the weekend during the inauguration of an office complex built by Edati Local Government Area for employees of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), deployed to Enagi, the council headquarters.

    Aliyu said: “The North is prepared to follow whoever is duly elected in 2015. Whoever emerges as the president after a due and constitutional process, the North will support. But we are going to ensure that we properly negotiate for our interest and ensure that it is protected.”

    He denied the allegation that he has been advocating only northern candidates to seek the country’s highest office in 2015, maintaining that his position was that the promises made to the region are kept in the collective interest of all.

    The governor also frowned at the activities of some Abuja politicians, especially from his state, whom he accused of working against the interest of the region for selfish gains.

    Aliyu, who did not name such politicians, noted that their stock-in-trade was to flaunt their influence in Abuja and with the President, “all in an attempt to earn favour of the presidency in the 2015 bid” at the expense of the entire region.

    The governor cautioned against moves by self-seeking politicians to bring religion into the politics of his state, stressing that such move would not be accepted.

    “Here in Niger, we do not play the politics of religion. Such attitude would negate the development drive of the state and that of the country at large,” Aliyu warned.

    Commending the efforts of Edati council chief, Isah Kantigi, to improve the lot the electorate, the governor noted that the projects implemented by the council showed that the state government was not meddling in the management of funds allocated to it.

    “What we are witnessing today shows that we don’t interfere with our councils’ funds. That is why some of the councils have embarked on meaningful projects that touch people’s lives.

    “Edati Local Government Chairman has proved right by the projects executed today.”

    Aliyu promised a tour of the 25 local councils to appraise the projects being implemented at the grassroots ahead the council elections next year.

    The Edati council chair said his council slashed the overhead by 50 per cent to fund projects worth N260 million.

    Kantigi listed such projects to include the construction of offices for federal employees, a magistrate’s court and a 15-kilometre road.

    He pledged that the council under him would continue to implement projects that have direct impact on the residents, notwithstanding the paucity of funds.

  • How NYSC changed my view of the North

    How NYSC changed my view of the North

    “If Nigeria is to make rapid progress on all fronts internally, and if she’s to make her mark on the continent of Africa, and, indeed, in the comity of nations, her youths must be fully mobilised and be prepared to offer willingly and without asking for rewards in return, their best in the service of their nation at all times,” Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State, said during the inauguration of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on June 4, 1973.

    Prior to being mobilised for the National Youth Service, I used to think of horrific experiences I would go through during my service year. Fresh from the furnace, which higher institution campuses can be called, a graduate is made to live with yet another people from different cultural backgrounds with a meagre stipend and no accommodation.

    I got the impression that the scheme was a post-civil war panacea for reuniting the country. Well, our leaders caused the civil war but why are they disturbing my life by asking me to heal the wound they had caused? So I thought. When I was younger, I really hoped that events and government in Nigeria would abolish this mandatory service before it got to my turn.

    Today, however, I write this piece as a Corps member and a willing participant in a scheme I once wished should be abolished. And it is amazing that I discovered the beauty of the scheme just in my first few months of active service to my fatherland.

    When I was posted to Zamfara State, it took me time to get over the trauma. After I got my call-up letter, I sat on a fence for hours, ruing what had befallen me. With growing insecurity in the North, I had thought I was going for a journey of no return. But was it funny? My colleagues, who got posted to relatively peaceful parts of the country, mocked me, as though it was all planned.

    Some of them pitied me and said sweet words to douse my fear. The thought of redeployment came to mind. Friends asked me to feign incurable ailment just to get out of Zamfara State after the three-week orientation.

    Hitherto, I had been told the story of Zamfara and its strict Sharia Legal system during the administration of Governor Ahmad Yerima. We heard stories of amputation as punishment for even mild offences. Since I could not change the posting immediately, I left for the state with open mind. It was when I got to the state that I knew all the stories we heard in the South were actually exaggerated.

    In the orientation camp, dance and drama competitions held for Corps members brought together people of various tribes of the country to foster unity. I heard languages I never thought existed; names I could never pronounce. We discussed issues ranging from insecurity and corruption and it was surprising to see my fellow Corps members condemning evil. Our daily activities in the camp always started with a Muslim and Christian prayer and this shows that we are one people indivisible by religion or ethnicity.

    We were privileged to have top government officials, including the Emir of Anka, Alhaji Attahiru Muhammad Ahmad, and the NYSC State Co-ordinator, Mrs Ruth Bakka, to educate us on the state and its people. The Emir stated clearly that Sharia was to guide Muslims on their religious path and thus was not binding on non-Muslims. He said Christians are free to go about their normal business without fear of molestation whatsoever but should dress decently and respect the law of the land.

    In Southern part, we have different opinion of the North. We were told that places such as Zamfara State belong to Siberia given its low level of education and its culture, which is believed to be brutish and ordinary.

    We were told that Hausa girls don’t go to school. But I was stunned to see over 3,000 girls in a secondary school in Samaru struggling to get education. In camp, I met Muslim girls, who graduated with better grades than many of us from the South. They all wore Hijabs (veil), which were neatly tucked in.

    I also found that the average Hausa man is trustworthy and down-to-earth. When he tells you it is N10 gaskiya (truth), so it is. Tell a motorcyclist that you are stranded and he will be glad to help you to where you are going.

    At the place of my primary assignment (PPA), senior officials would make tea in a cold morning and share among the staff; even the gatemen would use cups from the Oga’s office. But Ogas in the south are to be feared from afar. One’s effort to learn Hausa language is instantly rewarded with slashed prices of commodities.

    When I was posted to my PPA in Kaura Namoda and I lost my way, I was directed to the lodge of Muslim Corps members, where I was fed and attended to regardless of my religious affiliation. This selfless service to has constantly been rendered by the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF), Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN), Catholic Corpers Association and the likes. These organisations are made up of Nigerians helping Nigerians regardless of tribe or tongue. This is one of the dividends of the NYSC scheme.

    I am now confident that the scheme is steadily achieving its objective, which is “to inculcate in Nigerian youths the spirit of selfless service to the community and to emphasise the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background.”

    Serving in Zamfara State has afforded me a lot of opportunities I would not have had if I remained in my Eastern zone. At least, I have experienced Zamfara for myself and can now separate fact from fiction. The state is peaceful and friendly. You are appreciated as a Corps member.

    The state even has good amusement park when my Imo State cannot boast of one. I have seen their religious practices and I can now compare with mine. I have seen their flaws and I now know how I can help. I have understood that you don’t judge people or any entity from afar; you must come closer, live amongst them and you will be amazed at how much you did not know.

    More importantly, I have seen that we are all the same people and can exist as one; you as a Christian and I as a Muslim, life will still go on. Our cultural and religious differences are simply variety, which we all know are spices of life. There is really no need for the hate anyone because of his tongue, background or faith.

     

    Nnaemeka is a Corps member, NYSC GUSAU

  • Aviation minister’s sop to the North

    Aviation minister’s sop to the North

    SIR: Permit me to highlight the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah’s hijab attire at the commissioning of the refurbished Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. As a Christian lady and minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there is no compulsion on her to wear a hijab for an official ceremony in Kano. Again the hijab has not been her normal mode of dressing as a public servant. The only safe assumption therefore is that she dressed the way she did as a sop to Northern culture and purely through self censorship.

    That is very shameful.

    At the psychological level, Nigerian politics is a battle of cultures. One culture is insular and conservative while the other is egalitarian and out-going. The tragedy of the Igbo who belong to the latter is that they go all out to court the others in the belief that they are thereby showing brotherhood.

    Ironically, this self-same thirst for camaraderie engenders more resentment against them. Historically, while the late Zik preached forgetting of differences, the late Sardauna preferred the understanding thereof. The portents haven’t changed today. It is instructive that at the same ceremony at which Princess Oduah tried to be full of unspoken apologies for who God made her, the CBN governor and Kano prince, Alh. Sanusi Lamido, came attired in full royal regalia the same attire he dons with petulant arrogance as a public servant.

    At some level therefore, the Kano event was a battle of two royalties, a prince and a princess. The princess came up real short and a disgrace to her culture, if you ask me.

    • Dr. Adighi Eme Ngene

    Akoka-Lagos.