Putin: No one would be able to get military superiority over Russia

President Vladimir Putin says he will not allow anyone to get a military advantage over Russia and pledges that the country will never yield to foreign pressure. In a tough statement that comes amid tensions with the West over Ukraine, Putin warned Friday that "no one should have any illusions that it's possible to achieve military superiority over Russia or apply any kind of pressure on it." He added that the nation's military would always have an "adequate response." The Russian leader vowed that an ambitious military modernization program envisaging the deployment of hundreds of new combat jets, missiles and other weapons would be carried out. Despite an economic downturn caused by low oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, Russia's military budget has risen by one-third this year.

Boko Haram: Troops reclaim Madagali, seven others

The Defence Headquarters yesterday announced the reclamation of Gulak, the headquarters of the Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, and seven other key towns from Boko Haram by soldiers. Many insurgents were arrested during the battles for the reclamation, while arms and ammunition were recovered. The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, in an update on the ongoing campaign against Boko Haram in the North-East, said the troops “routed terrorists from Bara, the headquarters of the Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State and Gulag, the headquarters of the Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State in the early hours of yesterday. “The fierce fighting that preceded the clearing of towns and other communities resulted in the killing of many terrorists; the capturing of some of them; and the recovery and destruction of arms, thousands of assorted rounds of ammunition as well as vehicles and other equipment, including anti-aircraft guns, Ggeneral pPurpose machine guns (GPMGs), grenades, multi-barrel bombs, multi-barrel grenade launchers, rifles and mortar guns. “Other locations also cleared in the course of the two-day operation included, Shikah, Fikayel, Tetebah, Buza, Kamla and Bumsa.” A military source said the soldiers’ exploits had provided a ray of hope that the North-East would be safe for the forthcoming general elections. The source said: “Virtually all communities under Boko Haram siege in Adamawa State have been liberated and reclaimed. The troubled Adamawa North Senatorial District has been cleaned up. “Nigerian troops have gained some mileage in the last few weeks. We are hopeful that normalcy will be restored in all the towns and villages in the zone. “Apart from reclaiming these territories, troops have also been mandated to maintain high presence and embark on 24-hour surveillance.”

D’banj did not invite me for his anniversary –D’Prince

The much talked about D’banj’s 10th year anniversary on stage has come and gone but the memory still lingers. It was reported that so many Nigerian artistes including his label mates were not invited to the concert. And confirming that, his former label mate, D’Prince, in a recent chat with Saturday Beats, said he was not invited. He explained that he was not in town and perhaps, that may be why he didn’t get any invitation. He emphasised that there is no quarrel between him and D’banj as they are close friends. “D’banj is my very good friend and anytime I see him, we hug and talk. There is no beef between us. The truth is that I was not in town when D’banj had his anniversary.” Explaining why his other label mates were not present at the concert, D’Prince said, “Tiwa Savage is pregnant and Dr. Sid is also not in town while Don Jazzy was in South Africa. I was not in town and even before I travelled, I did not get a personal invitation to the event.” Commenting on D’banj’s recent interview where he spoke about how Mo’Hit broke up, D’Prince said he thought the issue was long gone and forgotten. “To be frank, I thought that chapter was closed about two years ago, I never knew that D’banj is still granting interviews regarding the split because I thought we had gone through the whole story, leaked e-mail, hearsays and the likes. I am so happy that D’banj and Mavin Records are doing great. I don’t want us to keep putting the fans in the mishmash. The fans would always be vulnerable. The fans would always want to be entertained and we would always be the puppets that entertain them. “I think D’banj was speaking based on his feelings and the fans reacted. I will always have love for Mo’hits, DB records and Mavin Records because at the end of the day, it is the music that would keep us relevant. It is what brought us to where we are in the first place. We should all concentrate on our work and progress. We should love one another and not hate. There is no fight or war between us. What matters most is moving forward and making music. I feel that he was pressured to do the interview; he did so and expressed his feelings. I may agree and disagree with some of the things that he said but at the end of the day, I am still going to stick to love, peace and harmony,” he said. D’Prince is currently ecstatic about the success of his current song, Oyo, and is working on his next album due to be out very soon.

Dual citizenship not barrier to holding public office –SANs

Some senior lawyers have dismissed claim by a group, All Nigeria Save Democracy Movement, that any Nigerian with dual citizenship is not fit to hold a public office, saying that does not exist in the constitution. According to them, what is important is for the person, either vying for a political office or being nominated for a position, to be a citizen of Nigeria and be qualified to hold such office. They said there is no law that disqualifies anyone with dual citizenship from assuming public offices. The group had, in a petition, called on the Senate to disqualify a ministerial nominee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, because of his alleged dual citizenship of Nigeria and the United States. The group claimed that by virtue of Sections 147 (5), Section 66 (1) and Section 28 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Obanikoro “was not even qualified to run for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” which he did and won. But a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, said what was required for holding public office was for the person to be a citizen of Nigeria. “There is no law that says because you have dual citizenship, you are disqualified from holding an elective post or ministerial position in Nigeria,” he said. Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, also said there was nothing debarring any Nigerian from holding public offices as long as the person was a Nigerian. “Being a Nigerian is the most important thing, and once a person is a Nigerian, particularly by birth and parentage, he or she can hold public office,” he said. A human rights lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, agreed with his senior colleagues, adding that having dual citizenship would not rob the holder of his/her primary citizenship.

Tinubu plots to be President

Presidential Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is plotting to become the President of Nigeria through the back door. It said the plot by the former governor, who is a stalwart of the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, was to take over as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the event that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) wins the March 28, 2015 presidential election. Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP-PCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, made this allegation at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. He nevertheless said the campaign team of the PDP-PCO wishes Buhari long life. Fani-Kayode said skeletal information available to the PDP-PCO suggests that the Vice Presidential candidate of the APC, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, was picked by Tinubu and forced to take an oath to resign his appointment six months into the new cabinet should the APC win the elections. The PDP-PCO further alleged that the party would field Tinubu as Osinbajo’s replacement after the alleged resignation. Fani-Kayode argued that given the huge financial war chest being deployed by the leader of the party and his overbearing influence at single-handedly facilitating the emergence of Buhari and Osinbajo as the party’s candidates after allegedly failing to push the Muslim- Muslim ticket, further lends credence to his claim. He asked Buhari to watch his back, adding that the alleged gang-up against him and Nigerians was based on the calculation that his health conditions would deteriorate and lead to his death, paving way for the vice president to take over power. Fani-Kayode said, “It should baffle well-meaning Nigerians why Tinubu has decided to draft Buhari, despite his age, acrimonious background and questionable health status, into the presidential race whilst ensuring that his stooge, Prof Osinbajo, was foisted on the general as vice presidential candidate. “The reason is that the PDP-PCO wishes to use this forum to expose the ungodly plan by Tinubu to seize the presidency of Nigeria by subterfuge. “You will recall how Tinubu wanted to be running mate to Buhari in spite of the nationwide resentment for Muslim-Muslim ticket that he and Buhari planned to foist on their party. “Senator Tinubu had justified the ticket by saying that competence was the important thing and not the issue of religion. “But when he and Buhari could not push through the agenda within the APC, he (Tinubu), after being given the opportunity to nominate a vice presidential candidate, decided to prop up his stooge in the person of Prof. Osinbajo. “Now the real reason Tinubu nominated Osinbajo has been made known to us and we hereby offer a public service to the Nigerian people by drawing their national attention to it. Credible pieces of information at our disposal indicate that Tinubu has perfected plans to come to power through the back door. “Tinubu, according to our information, has compelled Osinbajo to swear to an oath that after six months in office, he would resign as the vice president, in the unlikely event that their party wins. The wicked plot, as laid out by them, is to force Osinbajo to resign for Tinubu to be nominated by Buhari as his replacement. “The ultimate objective of this plot is to ensure that Tinubu becomes President. The script is simple: given the questionable health of Buhari, Tinubu, who is desperate to be president for his own selfish reasons, will simply bid his time in the evil expectation that Buhari will not be able to go the whole hog. “How wicked can those that hatched this plan be? How unfair can they be to the North, to Buhari and to Nigerians? We wish Buhari long life. Senator Tinubu’s dangerous plan is about getting power. This is sad. No thoroughbred Yoruba man or indeed Nigerian wants to get power through the misfortune of another person. “But this is the perfidious path that Tinubu is passing through. This is repugnant. “It will interest you to know that our information is strengthened by the very similar act of resignation which Senator Tinubu had planned to force on Pastor Tunde Bakare which you can all watch now. “We will like to show to you some footage that is on Youtube of Pastor Tunde Bakare’s interview where he openly admitted that he refused to sign a resignation letter that would have seen him hand over his vice presidential position had Buhari been successful in his presidential campaign in 2011. “Becoming the vice president is not the destination but becoming the president! The agenda of the cabal within the APC is with the perceived health challenges of Buhari. They have told themselves in hushed tones that he has prostate cancer, acute asthma and that he suffers from dementia. This is their assessment and not ours. We do not know how true this is or what the nature of his illness is and neither are we interested. All these allegations of ill-health, to the cabal provide the justification for their evil plan.” He said the structures around Buhari belong to Tinubu and that the actors around him, driving his campaign behind the scenes are also Tinubu’s men. He said, “Most of the covert funding for this campaign comes from Tinubu’s friends outside the country and from Tinubu himself. So if he becomes President, Buhari will become virtually incapacitated and he will not be the one running the government. Those behind this plan would now be waiting for Buhari to pass on. That is what Tinubu wants to do to the North and to Nigeria. “This is a wicked and ungodly attempt for Tinubu not only against the North and the Hausa/Fulani but against the whole country. We are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that most Nigerians are not with this cabal. This is because no sane or rational person would wish another person evil to actualise his political ambition.” Attempts to get the response from the spokesperson of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report. Calls to his mobile phone indicated that it was switched off while an e-mail sent to him had yet to be replied.

‘Obasanjo issues with Jonathan’

Chief Augustine Onyemaechi Mazie, is the Chairman, Board of Trustees, New Paradigm Transformation Initiative, NPTI, and strong advocate of unity, peace and progress of Nigeria. A retired Air Force personnel, he served as the Chairman Unity Campaign Team for the Election of the National Chairman and National Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2001 and is a two- time Principal Secretary of PDP, 2001 and 2005. In this interview, he bared his mind on the chances of the presidential candidates of the two major political parties in the forthcoming elections, saying that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would have toppled Jonathan’s administration if he was still in the military. He also spoke on why former President Obasanjo is having issues with President Jonathan. Excerpts. What is NTI’s assessment of Jonathan’s re-election bid? The New Paradigm for Transformation Initiative, NPTI, is a socio-economic and Non-Governmental Organization, committed to the improvement and sustenance of peace, unity, positive transformation of Nigeria, and socio-economic wellbeing of the Nigerian people. In essence, one of the cardinal principles of the organization is to support any leader that upholds the principles of good governance. Presently, it is pledging its support to President Goodluck Jonathan because the members were convinced that the President truly inspired them through his transformational policies and initiatives like FoI law, free and fair elections, institutional restructuring, economic reawakening and the ongoing infrastructural revival. As stakeholders in Nigeria, we in NPTI can talk about what is wrong with Nigeria, if the President is not tackling the Transformation Agenda, which he promised Nigerians, but if Nigerians are misunderstanding what he has been doing, we will help him to project his good work. Don’t you feel jittery that the President is not getting the expected support? Well, I can tell you that there is no fear at all in the Jonathan camp as I speak. I have come to realize that some people criticize everything that is begin said about the President without actually knowing what is being done. Some people said that President Jonathan has not built roads and other infrastructure, you cannot say that of him. If they are saying that, what were the situations of our roads when he became President? If you travelled during the last Christmas and saw the condition of the roads. You would agree with me that he is working. But some people will wonder if it is only roads you could point at? But he has performed in other areas as well. Take a look at our railways. I was so happy because I have little children who didn’t know when the rail were running, but this past December, we saw train running from Port Harcourt to Enugu. The President has not hidden his plan for the aviation sector. When you go round, you will realize that he has worked on that sector too, including agriculture, economy, and attracting foreign direct investments. What is your take on his anti-corruption war? I am surprised that the opposition is talking about corruption. Obasanjo in his inaugural speech as President in 1999, commented on corruption. He said he was going to fight corruption, but this corruption turned back to fight them. And you can see that is what is happening to Jonathan now. Do you think his approach to the fight is yielding result? The fact that the President has not jailed anybody does not mean he is not fighting corruption. He said “I am putting structures in place to be sure that if you block the way people steal money, there will no more corruption’’. The President is devising a system that was created by past leaders that will not tempt people to commit corruption. He said we have to put some processes, checks and balances in place, so that people do not just steal money anyhow. If those things are put in place, how do you think people will engage in corruption? But the opposition insists his government is corrupt? Those pointing accusing fingers at the President have not cleaned their cupboard very well. How could Buhari say he wants to come and fight corruption? When he was Minister of Petroleum, it was reported that $2.8 billion was missing. He has not accounted for it till today. At that time, one NTA journalist, Ms Vera Ifudu, reported it extensively. There is also this case of 53 suitcases that passed through Buhari’s ADC, Jokolo, which has not been accounted for till date. What do we see in this country as corruption? Those corrupt people who fought Obasanjo are still fighting back. Buhari committed the greatest disservice to Nigeria by toppling a civilian government. If Buhari was still in army, the way he is fighting to become president, he would have toppled this present government. If Jonathan were to be like Buhari, he would have probably sent Buhari to jail for the atrocities he committed. Do you think the Transformation Agenda is real? Remember that the President told Nigerians that when he was growing up, he had no sandals. The same man who said he had no sandals after going to school is now trying to prove to Nigerians that there are so many people like that by building 125 Almajiri schools. That is impacting because most of these Almajiris did not have the privilege to go to school, rather, they go pan-in-hand begging for food. These young lads, through Jonathan’s intervention, are now in classrooms and would be future leaders. So, if you are building for the future, you are impacting lives. We were spending billions of naira importing rice. The agricultural reform plan of this administration has changed all that, that we now have rice.

Why Obasanjo does not want 2nd term for Jonathan

Odilim Enwegbara is a Development Economist and public analyst based in Abuja. In this interview, he, amongst other issues, says why he feels former president Olusegun Obasanjo does not want a second term for President Jonathan even as he calls Nigerians to support his quest for a second term. Excerpts: Many People have the impression that President Jonathan’s government has the worst record on economy, security amongst other issues. What is your opinion? First, let’s know who are these people you’re referring to here? I think we should know who they are and why they are drawing such a conclusion because, I will assure you that those who are saying this should be members of the opposing parties — like APC, who have to turn facts upside down so that they can win the presidential election. As an economist and Nigeria’s economy watcher, I will tell you that Jonathan administration has so far outperformed his predecessors. In fact, Jonathan’s achievements in the last four years remain far higher than Obasanjo’s eight years in power which saw the worst infrastructure decadence in Nigeria’s history, including leaving us with less than 2000MW of electricity, road networks only better than those in the war-torn Somalia, and rotten state of our airports and railways. From what you are saying you must be one of those calling for his reelection? Let me say it here that I am not an active politician. But instead I am an economist and nationalist. I have been fighting for a just, peaceful, fair, and equitable Nigeria. It’s a call for us, for our children and their children for them to eventually be proud of Nigeria. I want to say this because there is a carefully constructed front wanting to humiliate Jonathan out of office. This wouldn’t even be imagined had Jonathan come from one of the three major ethnic groups. Remember how in 1993 Abiola was denied the presidency of this country. What is happening to Jonathan today is like what happened to Abiola in 1993 because Jonathan, a south-southerner is being opposed because he’s not a westerner, or northerner. There is no way the current effort to humiliate him out of office would succeed. What will you make of the refusal by APC presidential candidate Gen Buhari to participate in the presidential debates? It is ironical that Gen. Buhari doesn’t want to debate with President Jonathan. By so doing, he is denying Nigerians the right to decide between him and Jonathan who has what it takes to run the affairs of the country. Had the two debated, one of the questions should have been if the two would be ready to subject themselves to independent team of doctors to ascertain their physical and mental state of health given the tasking nature of the office of the president of Nigeria. Also Buhari would have been asked to explain to Nigerians why should someone who overthrew a democratically elected government now want to be democratically elected? Shouldn’t that be sending the wrong signals to today’s senior military officers who, seeing how Buhari has been rewarded, could be contemplating overthrowing government with the hope that years later Nigerians could be rewarding them too by electing them? Obasanjo and Jonathan had been like father and son. What, in your opinion led to their present irreconcilable disagreements to the extent that Obasanjo recently denounced the president accusing him of having squandered the country’s foreign reserves, without anything to show for it? On Monday, he tore his PDP membership card and ditched the party. Besides geopolitical interests I just enumerated above, Obasanjo hates rivalry. Particularly, he hates to be alive and see any of his close successors also become two- term presidents of Nigeria like him. OBJ’s fears are fully understandable especially given his determination to be seen and called “Father of Modern Nigeria.” That’s why the fear that should Jonathan too become a two-term president of Nigeria, Jonathan’s legacies could overshadow his and most important rubish his political godfather status in PDP. That is why OBJ never wanted GEJ to become a two-term president of Nigeria. If you look at all the attacks both locally and internationally, you would discover that those asking for Jonathan’s head have one affiliation with Washington or another, including some of those who have accused the president of not doing enough to rescue the Chibok girls. They are not doing what they are doing because they love the Chibok girls but because this is part of strategy to humiliate Jonathan out of office. Are you saying that that is one of the reasons why the US secretary of state, Mr. Kerry recently visited and went as far as giving some marching orders to our president? The US Secretary of state came here to insult us and our president when he said, “Let me make myself clear…” as if talking to president of a US colony. He has little or no respect for the Nigerian people and their president, not even as a sovereign nation. He shouldn’t come here to give us a marching order. I am sure there is no way Mr. Kerry could have thought of talking to South African President Jacob Zuma and the people of South Africa the way he talked to our president; not even Ghana’s. He talked down on us and got away with it because Obasanjo and his foot soldiers have cleared the way for Mr. Kerry. America should apologize to Nigerians for the insult we received from their chief diplomat. What can you tell us about the falling oil prices? No, the global oil plunge is not because of the so-called shale oil. The truth is that the US national security establishment working in collaboration with Saudi Arabia has been manipulating oil prices since the 1970s, thanks to the 1945 alliance between President Roosevelt and King Saud, which continues to guarantee US-Saudi powerful oil card to be used against those they want to punish. Therefore, the falling oil price is caused by their joint manipulation . While America is manipulating the oil price down to punish Russia for ‘’invading’’ Ukraine, Saudi Arabia is flooding the market with its cheap oil to also punish Russia for supporting the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war. This is a repeat of the 1986 use of oil card as a weapon to orchestrate the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the two successfully manipulated the oil prices by 300 per cent downwards, which led to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union which was 80 per cent dependent on oil export as its source of foreign exchange. Unfortunately, given how highly interconnected the global economy has become, the current collapse in oil prices is affecting the entire global economy. Even the so- called major IOCs, from ExxonMobil to Shell and to Chevron, as a result of the collapse in oil prices, have opted to shut down production as well as rollback critical investments in oil exploration. It is to the extent that export-dependent economies like China, India, Japan, Germany, etc. are already feeling the impact of oil price collapse since big time importing OPEC nations are restricting importations.

Chatham House: Buhari’s Speech on Nigeria’s Transition

Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition. Permit me to start by thanking Chatham House for the invitation to talk about this important topic at this crucial time. When speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally prefer to be my country’s public relations and marketing officer, extolling her virtues and hoping to attract investments and tourists. But as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with many challenges, and if I refer to them, I do so only to impress on our friends in the United Kingdom that we are quite aware of our shortcomings and are doing our best to address them. The 2015 general election in Nigeria is generating a lot of interests within and outside the country. This is understandable. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, is at a defining moment, a moment that has great implications beyond the democratic project and beyond the borders of my dear country. So let me say upfront that the global interest in Nigeria’s landmark election is not misplaced at all and indeed should be commended; for this is an election that has serious import for the world. I urge the international community to continue to focus on Nigeria at this very critical moment. Given increasing global linkages, it is in our collective interests that the postponed elections should hold on the rescheduled dates; that they should be free and fair; that their outcomes should be respected by all parties; and that any form of extension, under whichever guise, is unconstitutional and will not be tolerated. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War, democracy became the dominant and most preferred system of government across the globe. That global transition has been aptly captured as the triumph of democracy and the ‘most pre-eminent political idea of our time.’ On a personal note, the phased end of the USSR was a turning point for me. It convinced me that change can be brought about without firing a single shot. As you all know, I had been a military head of state in Nigeria for twenty months. We intervened because we were unhappy with the state of affairs in our country. We wanted to arrest the drift. Driven by patriotism, influenced by the prevalence and popularity of such drastic measures all over Africa and elsewhere, we fought our way to power. But the global triumph of democracy has shown that another and a preferable path to change is possible. It is an important lesson I have carried with me since, and a lesson that is not lost on the African continent. In the last two decades, democracy has grown strong roots in Africa. Elections, once so rare, are now so commonplace. As at the time I was a military head of state between 1983 and 1985, only four African countries held regular multi-party elections. But the number of electoral democracies in Africa, according to Freedom House, jumped to 10 in 1992/1993 then to 18 in 1994/1995 and to 24 in 2005/2006. According to the New York Times, 42 of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa conducted multi-party elections between 1990 and 2002. The newspaper also reported that between 2000 and 2002, ruling parties in four African countries (Senegal, Mauritius, Ghana and Mali) peacefully handed over power to victorious opposition parties. In addition, the proportion of African countries categorized as not free by Freedom House declined from 59% in 1983 to 35% in 2003. Without doubt, Africa has been part of the current global wave of democratisation. But the growth of democracy on the continent has been uneven. According to Freedom House, the number of electoral democracies in Africa slipped from 24 in 2007/2008 to 19 in 2011/2012; while the percentage of countries categorised as ‘not free’ assuming for the sake of argument that we accept their definition of “free” increased from 35% in 2003 to 41% in 2013. Also, there have been some reversals at different times in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritania and Togo. We can choose to look at the glass of democracy in Africa as either half full or half empty. While you can’t have representative democracy without elections, it is equally important to look at the quality of the elections and to remember that mere elections do not democracy make. It is globally agreed that democracy is not an event, but a journey. And that the destination of that journey is democratic consolidation – that state where democracy has become so rooted and so routine and widely accepted by all actors. With this important destination in mind, it is clear that though many African countries now hold regular elections, very few of them have consolidated the practice of democracy. It is important to also state at this point that just as with elections, a consolidated democracy cannot be an end by itself. I will argue that it is not enough to hold a series of elections or even to peacefully alternate power among parties. It is much more important that the promise of democracy goes beyond just allowing people to freely choose their leaders. It is much more important that democracy should deliver on the promise of choice, of freedoms, of security of lives and property, of transparency and accountability, of rule of law, of good governance and of shared prosperity. It is very important that the promise embedded in the concept of democracy, the promise of a better life for the generality of the people, is not delivered in the breach. Now, let me quickly turn to Nigeria. As you all know, Nigeria’s fourth republic is in its 16th year and this general election will be the fifth in a row. This is a major sign of progress for us, given that our first republic lasted five years and three months, the second republic ended after four years and two months and the third republic was a still-birth. However, longevity is not the only reason why everyone is so interested in this election. The major difference this time around is that for the very first time since transition to civil rule in 1999, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing its stiffest opposition so far from our party the All Progressives Congress (APC). We once had about 50 political parties, but with no real competition. Now Nigeria is transitioning from a dominant party system to a competitive electoral polity, which is a major marker on the road to democratic consolidation. As you know, peaceful alternation of power through competitive elections have happened in Ghana, Senegal, Malawi and Mauritius in recent times. The prospects of democratic consolidation in Africa will be further brightened when that eventually happens in Nigeria. But there are other reasons why Nigerians and the whole world are intensely focussed on this year’s elections, chief of which is that the elections are holding in the shadow of huge security, economic and social uncertainties in Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. On insecurity, there is a genuine cause for worry, both within and outside Nigeria. Apart from the civil war era, at no other time in our history has Nigeria been this insecure. Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of our nationals, displacing millions internally and externally, and at a time holding on to portions of our territory the size of Belgium. What has been consistently lacking is the required leadership in our battle against insurgency. I, as a retired general and a former head of state, have always known about our soldiers: they are capable, well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to do their duty in the service of our country. You all can bear witness to the gallant role of our military in Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur and in many other peacekeeping operations in several parts of the world. But in the matter of this insurgency, our soldiers have neither received the necessary support nor the required incentives to tackle this problem. The government has also failed in any effort towards a multi-dimensional response to this problem leading to a situation in which we have now become dependent on our neighbours to come to our rescue. Let me assure you that if I am elected president, the world will have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to recently; that Nigeria will return to its stabilising role in West Africa; and that no inch of Nigerian territory will ever be lost to the enemy because we will pay special attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service, we will give them adequate and modern arms and ammunitions to work with, we will improve intelligence gathering and border controls to choke Boko Haram’s financial and equipment channels, we will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development plan promoting infrastructural development, job creation, agriculture and industry in the affected areas. We will always act on time and not allow problems to irresponsibly fester, and I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from the front and return Nigeria to its leadership role in regional and international efforts to combat terrorism. On the economy, the fall in prices of oil has brought our economic and social stress into full relief. After the rebasing exercise in April 2014, Nigeria overtook South Africa as Africa’s largest economy. Our GDP is now valued at $510 billion and our economy rated 26th in the world. Also on the bright side, inflation has been kept at single digit for a while and our economy has grown at an average of 7% for about a decade. But it is more of paper growth, a growth that, on account of mismanagement, profligacy and corruption, has not translated to human development or shared prosperity. A development economist once said three questions should be asked about a country’s development: one, what is happening to poverty? Two, what is happening to unemployment? And three, what is happening to inequality? The answers to these questions in Nigeria show that the current administration has created two economies in one country, a sorry tale of two nations: one economy for a few who have so much in their tiny island of prosperity; and the other economy for the many who have so little in their vast ocean of misery. Even by official figures, 33.1% of Nigerians live in extreme poverty. That’s at almost 60 million, almost the population of the United Kingdom. There is also the unemployment crisis simmering beneath the surface, ready to explode at the slightest stress, with officially 23.9% of our adult population and almost 60% of our youth unemployed. We also have one of the highest rates of inequalities in the world. With all these, it is not surprising that our performance on most governance and development indicators (like Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance and UNDP’s Human Development Index.) are unflattering. With fall in the prices of oil, which accounts for more than 70% of government revenues, and lack of savings from more than a decade of oil boom, the poor will be disproportionately impacted. In the face of dwindling revenues, a good place to start the repositioning of Nigeria’s economy is to swiftly tackle two ills that have ballooned under the present administration: waste and corruption. And in doing this, I will, if elected, lead the way, with the force of personal example. On corruption, there will be no confusion as to where I stand. Corruption will have no place and the corrupt will not be appointed into my administration. First and foremost, we will plug the holes in the budgetary process. Revenue producing entities such as NNPC and Customs and Excise will have one set of books only. Their revenues will be publicly disclosed and regularly audited. The institutions of state dedicated to fighting corruption will be given independence and prosecutorial authority without political interference. But I must emphasise that any war waged on corruption should not be misconstrued as settling old scores or a witch-hunt. I’m running for President to lead Nigeria to prosperity and not adversity. In reforming the economy, we will use savings that arise from blocking these leakages and the proceeds recovered from corruption to fund our party’s social investments programmes in education, health, and safety nets such as free school meals for children, emergency public works for unemployed youth and pensions for the elderly. As a progressive party, we must reform our political economy to unleash the pent-up ingenuity and productivity of the Nigerian people thus freeing them from the curse of poverty. We will run a private sector- led economy but maintain an active role for government through strong regulatory oversight and deliberate interventions and incentives to diversify the base of our economy, strengthen productive sectors, improve the productive capacities of our people and create jobs for our teeming youths. In short, we will run a functional economy driven by a worldview that sees growth not as an end by itself, but as a tool to create a society that works for all, rich and poor alike. On March 28, Nigeria has a decision to make. To vote for the continuity of failure or to elect progressive change. I believe the people will choose wisely. In sum, I think that given its strategic importance, Nigeria can trigger a wave of democratic consolidation in Africa. But as a starting point we need to get this critical election right by ensuring that they go ahead, and depriving those who want to scuttle it the benefit of derailing our fledgling democracy. That way, we will all see democracy and democratic consolidation as tools for solving pressing problems in a sustainable way, not as ends in themselves. Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition Permit me to close this discussion on a personal note. I have heard and read references to me as a former dictator in many respected British newspapers including the well regarded Economist. Let me say without sounding defensive that dictatorship goes with military rule, though some might be less dictatorial than others. I take responsibility for whatever happened under my watch. I cannot change the past. But I can change the present and the future. So before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time. You may ask: why is he doing this? This is a question I ask myself all the time too. And here is my humble answer: because the work of making Nigeria great is not yet done, because I still believe that change is possible, this time through the ballot, and most importantly, because I still have the capacity and the passion to dream and work for a Nigeria that will be respected again in the comity of nations and that all Nigerians will be proud of.

FG approves $403m loans for APC states

The Federal Executive Council gave the go head to President Goodluck Jonathan’s anticipatory approval of different foreign loans totaling about $403million for Lagos, Rivers, Ogun and Osun States among others. This was in addition to $1.2billion multi-donor credits approved for the establishment of the proposed Development Bank of Nigeria. Another $295million foreign loans were approved for other developmental projects across the country. The Minister of State, Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda who addressed state house correspondents after the meeting said the the loans which guaranteed by the government were for states being governed by the All Progressives Congress further confirmed Jonathan’s position that he is the President of all Nigerians. He said the President had identified the distinction between governance and politics and would not tribalise his office for any reason. According to the minister, the council approved the President’s anticipatory approval to obtain $100 million credit from the French Development Agency in support of Lagos Integrated Urban Development Project (Eko- UP). “The facility is meant to improve living conditions of the most vulnerable urban population of metropolitan Lagos, improve management and treatment of solid waste, strengthen the capacity of Lagos state and implement urban development projects in Lagos State,” he explained. He gave the repayment period for the loan as 20 years, including seven years moratorium, commitment fee of 0.25 per cent per annum and an appraisal fee of 0.25 per cent. The projects has three major components: slum upgrading in the two local council development authorities of Ifelodun and Bariga by the Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority; construction of solid waste management facilities in the state by Lagos State Waste Management Authority and provision of capacity building and technical assistance for LASURA, LAWMA, Project Management Unit and the two LCDAs. For Rivers State, Yuguda said the council gave approval for African Development Bank’s credit facility in the sum of $200 million for the proposed Port Harcourt water supply and sanitation project as well as an African Development Fund’s credit of $5million to support Urban Water Sector Reform Project. He said the credit facility would be secured from ADB with a repayment period of 15 years, five years moratorium, adding that the interest is enhanced variable spread loan with lending spread of 0.60 per cent per annum which translate to 1.56 per cent.

Military Onslaught On Boko Haram

The current offensive by the Nigerian Armed Forces against the Boko Haram insurgents has led to the recapture of several towns and communities that used to be under the control of the terror group, as well as the seizure of a large cache of arms and ammunition. We take a look at the Nigerian military and the Multi-National Joint Task Force’s renewed efforts to rout the insurgents from the country’s North East. Following the shift in the 2015 General Elections due to the security challenges in the country’s North East, the current Nigerian military offensive has led to the invasion of the Sambisa forest, killing hundreds of the insurgents and destroying their camps. The military success recorded in the renewed fight against Boko Haram in the country’s North East has raised hopes, creating a morale booster for many as the activities of the terror group had constituted a major threat to the survival and unity of the Nigerian State. The turning of the tide of the Nigerian Military against Boko Haram is attributed to new strategies, arrival of sophisticated armaments and support of the Multi-National Joint Task Force clobbered by the current Military Onslaught, the Boko Haram terror group has reverted to attacks on soft targets as witnessed in suicide bombings in Kano and Potiskum. The recent successes of the Nigerian Military against Boko Haram have tended to restoring their rating as one of the best Military in the world.

Why we dumped G-5 govs – Lamido, Aliyu

ABUJA – Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State and Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, yesterday, took on their Kano counterpart, Mallam Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso over his accusation that the two governors betrayed five other governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who agreed to dump the party following their irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the party. It will be recalled that Governors Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto; Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; Babangida Aliyu of Niger; Sule Lamido of Jigawa; Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, who were members of the G-7, within the ruling party opted out to form what was known then as the new PDP. While the other five governors teamed up to form the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Babangida Aliyu of Niger returned to the PDP. Speaking on their exit from the PDP weekend, Governor Kwankwaso said both Aliyu Babangida and Sule Lamido betrayed the other five governors by returning to the PDP. Why I betrayed them— Lamido Responding to the accusation while speaking to journalists in Abuja, Governor Lamido said: “I am a betrayer, confirmed. I betrayed them. I did, yes. I am aligning myself to what he said. I am aligning my answer to what he said, go and find out from him. But I did that in the interest of the nation.” In his response, Governor Babangida, however, said there was never a time the G-7 group planned to dump their party(PDP) for another party and that there was no basis for any of the members to label him as a betrayer. He said at the time he led the G-7 group, the objective was to resolve the leadership problem in his party and not to dump it as some of them have done. A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Israel Ebije in response to Governor Kwankwaso’s claim that he (Babangida) was privy to the G-7 decision to decamp to APC, Aliyu said there was never a time the issue of dumping their party for whatever reason was discussed. He described the defection of some of them to the All Progressives Party as a personal decision which he as leader could not query and as such those of them who refused to defect with them should therefore not be seen as traitors. Aliyu however said he has no regrets in leading a group that brought sanity to the PDP at a time the party was passing through difficulties. He said their effort was indeed nationalistic and a reflection of maturity of Nigerian democracy. I never planned to dump PDP— Babangida Aliyu His words: “Let me state in categorical terms that I never discussed with the G-7 governors over issue of decamping to the APC. I led the group primarily to stabilize the PDP. At that time, the PDP was having challenges hinging on impunity which had to be addressed. “Let me, therefore, intimate that based on principle, I never planned to abandon the PDP for another party. It is also important to note that the G-7 achieved its objective of repositioning the PDP which was at the time passing through leadership challenge. Therefore I had no reason to leave, besides our effort brought the ruling party back on its feet.” He said he will remain committed to the PDP and would work towards ensuring that the party wins all elective positions in Niger State. Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State while speaking in Kano, weekend, said: “Everyone knows that Governor Lamido was part of us, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a certain height before choosing otherwise and we were all surprised by his final decision. “But, if there is anybody who would criticise our exit, it shouldn’t be Lamido and the Niger State Governor. After all, our judgment would decide the outcome of the general election. However, we know that PDP is no longer the monster it used to be, and I tell you they are ready to do anything to have someone like me who was considered as an irritant back in their fold.”

Reps hail Jonathan, military for successes against B’Haram

The House of Representatives, yesterday, hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for the impetus given to the Nigerian military that facilitated the recovery of some towns that had fallen under the control of the insurgent group, Boko Haram, particularly in Borno State. This was prompted by a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Rep Muhammad Tahir Monguno, APC, Borno. The House also praised the military for its bravery and steadfastness, noting that in previous months, notably in Borno, Boko Haram had nearly over-run the state, but today the tide is turning against the insurgents as a result of the gallantry of the soldiers. Monguno said prior to the new offensive, the insurgents had subdued some communities, hoisted their flags in the local government headquarters and subjected the people to despicable norms.

UK VISIT: Group tasks Buhari on Secondary School certificate

LAGOS – Move on Nigeria, a civic action group promoting good governance, democracy and the Transformation Agenda has urged the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari to seize the opportunity of his trip to the United Kingdom to collect his original Secondary School certificate from University of Cambridge before returning to Nigeria in order to put to rest the controversy surrounding his academic qualification. In a statement signed by its National Co-ordinator, Mr Clem Aguiyi, the group maintained that General Buhari should shame his critics over the controversial school certificate by collecting it from University of Cambridge but if he fails to collect it then he should voluntarily withdraw from the presidential race. According to the statement, “Nigerians are graciously waiting to see the original result of Buhari of 1962 and we want to tell Nigerians that Buhari was enlisted into the Nigeria Army on the basis of his Principal’s recommendation letter and not on the basis of Secondary School Certificate.”

Kwankwaso faults Lamido’s comments on G- five governors

Fresh facts are now emerging on what led to the breakup of the G-Seven Governors Forum that protested during the Peoples Democratic Party’s special convention in 2013. Leader of the governors G-Seven group, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is now the North-West Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential campaign team, recently said his five colleagues’ exit from the party will not affect the progress of the party. Lamido declared that the exit of Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara) and the impeached Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state, from PDP is inconsequential and of no effect to the success of the party in the forthcoming general election. But Kwankwaso took exception to Lamido’s utterances on the five governors, describing him as a betrayer. He said, “I don’t want to talk too much about the Governor of Jigawa State. Everybody know that he was part of us. He worked so hard. In fact, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a level that we felt there was no going back, and we were surprised that he had different things in mind. He stayed in the PDP and we felt we had no business being in PDP. “I think if there is anybody who should criticize our exit, I believe it shouldn’t come from him or the Governor of Niger State. I don’t want to join issues with any of my colleagues. Nigerians are the best judges on our actions and utterances and of course on what we have done. And I believe that judgment will be part of what will happen during the next elections. “What we have done is not a secret, it is not something that anybody can hide and I believe that we have done the right thing, we have deepened democracy. PDP is no more the monster it used to be where nobody was important, where people were not respected, even the governor of the most populous state who won election almost single-handedly within the party to come back as a governor. “I was not being respected and they see me as an irritant and so on, but I can tell you, now if there is anything they can do under the sun to take me back to their party, they will do. I can assure you now that they know the importance of Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in Nigerian politics. I have no business talking about my colleagues. You can bring another topic.” Kwankwaso also described the PDP as a dying elephant, saying the exit of former President Olusegun Obasanjo is an indication that the party is already dead. He said Obasanjo’s resignation confirmed the evil that is going in the party. The governor said, “Obasanjo has got supporters not only in Ogun State, not only in western states, but across the country, and for him to come out to say what he said (because most of us who have worked closely with him know that he is somebody who tolerates things). I have not seen him since he decided to leave the PDP, but I can comfortably say that so much must have happened in the party for him to come out and tear his card and said that he has left the party. Kwankwaso also described Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose’s recent statements against the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as reckless and unguided, saying such utterances should not emanate from a person who called himself a leader.

Is Fayose under fire over death wish for candidate?

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose came under fire yesterday as eminent Nigerians criticised his continous death wish for All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Senator Ayo Arise, Ekiti State APC and others had harsh words for the governor. But despite the criticism of his hate message, Fayose yesterday in Abuja inissted that Gen. Buhari is receiving treatment in a London hospital. Amosun wondered how some people in the name of politics could descend to a ridiculously low level of wishing Gen. Buhari dead. Amosun, who travelled to London with Buhari and returned on Sunday, wondered how a “sane person” could wish his fellow human being ill or dead , adding that it is even a “disgrace to the Yoruba race” for a Yoruba to indulge in such. The governor, who spoke with reporters shortly after a meeting with representatives of over 57 Community Development Associations(CDAs) and Cooperative Societies at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, said “Buhari is alive, hale and hearty”. The APC presidential candidate is agile and healthier than the “character” behind the spate of ill-will and death wishes against him, he said. The governor urged genuine lovers of democracy and humanity to call those wishing the former Head of State dead to order, stressing that the strange practice did not only go against tradition but does not have basis in Christianity and Islam. Amosun said: “Let me say this is a big shame. We are Yoruba. It is an unwritten rule they would say that even if in different pàrties they are not fighting, they want to represent our people. How can a sane person wish somebody else dead? Why? It has never happened, it is a disgrace. “For your information, Buhari is even stronger than the character saying the man is ill, maybe because of his military background. “The man is hale and hearty for his age. It is like Baba Obasanjo; this is a man that is very agile and you just have to tell him slow down to catch up with, just like some people will tell me to slow down. “We went to about five places. Even when I went to Ben Television, I told him, ‘sir, you can’t follow me; you have to go home;’ he was ready to follow me even in the cold. “The man was working round and you saw the photoshop they are using; they sre saying a lot of rubbish. That is not politics; it has descended to an abysmal level. All lovers of democracy and humanity should call them to order. “Politics will end one day and where will such people be? I think they are descending to a level that is unheard of, that negates good living.” Senator Arise, a PDP chieftain, who spoke on a Channels Television breakfast programme monitored in Ado-Ekiti, said although Fayose is entitled to his opinion, he is not speaking for the party. To Arise, who represented Ekiti North in the Senate between 2007 and 2011, the hate campaign mounted by Fayose is needless as all what is needed is for PDP members to work for the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan at the March 28 presidential contest. He said: “Our party has come out strongly to say that Fayose is not speaking for the party. So, I won’t say he is not entitled to his opinion at this level. “But, left to me as an individual, I disagree with him on this. I believe we don’t need such in the PDP. All we need is to work hard and campaign for Mr. President to win the election fair and square.” In a statement on Monday signed by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, the Ekiti APC accused Fayose of diverting the attention of Nigerians from his alleged fraudulent victory as revealed in the audio tape leak. It said the revelations in the tape would not be eclipsed by his anti-Buhari campaign antics, stressing that the money the governor is spending in his hate campaign could have been channelled into productive activities for the benefit of Ekiti people. The statement said: “He knows with Gen. Buhari as the President, that will be the end of impunity and fraud through which he was declared the governor. “He knows he can’t survive the revelations contained in the tape when Buhari becomes the President. That is why he wants General Buhari dead. We know Fayose very well. He will go to any length in his hate campaign, wishing Buhari dead. But he will not succeed. “Theý spirits of Nigerians that desire change in their lives are stronger than Fayose’s selfish spirit whose only wish among millions of Ekiti is to build an empire around himself with stupendous wealth while Ekiti people beg him for crumbs from his table. “Governor Fayose is taking his hate campaign against General Buhari to the level of personal agenda far and above the collective agenda of Ekiti people for good governance and development of the state. “If Fayose had taken the issues of development seriously as he is doing in his hate campaign against Buhari, the effects could have been felt in many areas that are germane to the state development,”the APC added. It said: “Fayose is busy on two fronts. One, in Ekiti, he keeps telling the people and workers in particular about the debts profile and the difficulty that he will face in paying workers’ salary, starting from March while saying nothing about his development plans for the people. “Outside giving Ekiti people chicken and rice, he doesn’t have any development plan. “At the national level, he is busy with anti-Buhari campaign, wishing the APC presidential candidate dead and completely unable to divorce his personal interest of political survival from the collective interest of Ekiti people for a purpose-driven government that caters for the general good of the people. “We have no doubt in our minds that Fayose needs medical attention.” Oyo State chapter of the Buhari Campaign Vanguard said Fayose’s “antecedents and precedents constitute serious affront to human dignity”. Speaking in Oyo town, the State Deputy Co-ordinator for the Vanguard, Chief Segun Taiwo said: “How on earth could a right-thinking and normal human being who is not a human type be wishing his fellow being dead because of politics. “Is Fayose God? Can he tell us when he will die, where and how? Who is Fayose to determine future aspiration of his fellow being? It is even a taboo in Yoruba culture to wish anybody dead.” Fayose denied yesterday the reports that he had sent some people on Gen. Buhari’s trail. He spoke at a news conference in Abuja on the health of Gen Buhari, saying he is receiving treatment in a London hospital. He said: “At Buhari’s age, I don’t need to run after him. My prayer is that he live long. Buhari is old even to govern a state. He is frail, old and not strong to run the affairs of this country. “General Buhari is not well, he is sick in the hospital. This is not personal. I am not against the North. I am not against the South. Our leaders should show us their medical records. “I am saying that Nigeria needs a healthy leader who will be able to address the problems of this country. Even in advanced countries, those wishing to lead present their medical records because they know the amount of energy to be deployed.” Fayose also spoke on the interview Gen. Buhari granted a London television station, All Eyes on Africa, which he said was conducted in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja room. Also, the governor admitted that he participated in the June 20, last year Ekiti governorship election rigging meeting, secretly recorded in an audio tape by Captain Sagir Koli. He said: “Yes, the voice in that audio tape is mine. If you listened very well, you would have heard me complaining about attempts by the APC to rig the election,” Fayose said. He had earlier denied ever been at such a meeting.

Shekau order: APC alleges plot to blackmail Buhari

Insurgents ‘posing as women in Baga’ THERE is a plot to frame up Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as a Boko Haram sponsor, the APC Presidential Camapaign Organisation (APCPCO) said yesterday. The proof lies in the Federal Government’s order to troops to capture alive Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. A fake Shekau, said the APCPCO, will be made to state that he is working for Buhari, the APC’s presidential candidate. But, said the organisation, it is all blackmail because: •the military has claimed several times that Shekau has been killed; and •Gen. Buhari was attacked in Kaduna by suspected Boko Haram bombers who killed some of his guards. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the general elections from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11 because the Service Chiefs said they could not gurantee security. They needed six weeks, they said, to wipe out the Boko Haram insurgency. Shekau issued a video tape in which he lampooned the plan to defeat him. The APC campaign said in a statement signed by its Director, Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, that the directive to soldiers to capture Shekau alive is a ploy by the government to claim glory for winning the war on terrorism. He said that “the charge to the military, that they should catch Shekau alive by the President in the last 24 hours lends credence to the report that indeed a fake Shekau is about being created.” The statement argued that the profile of the leader of the insurgents as a dedicated ideologue presupposes that the man is not likely to allow himself to be caught alive. “It is both contradictory to the ideology he preaches and the psychological profile that the world has of him that Shekau would allow himself to be caught alive,” it added. According to the statement, the attack in Kaduna on Gen. Buhari was seen and believed by most Nigerians as perpetrated by the Boko Haram. “The police that is constitutionally empowered to investigate and report on such incidents has not contradicted the widespread belief that this was a Boko Haram attack,” APCPCO said, adding: “The view of the APC is that it does not make sense for General Muhammadu Buhari to be in league with, or be associated in any way with people who have set out to kill him.” Shehu advised the government to listen to the various counsel from international bodies and lately by religious leaders that campaigns must be about issues and not maligning people, adding that “unfounded allegations linking the opposition to insurgency amounts to leaving the issues to pursue personal attacks as warned against, barely 24 hours ago by leaders of the Catholic Community through Arch. Bishop John Onaiyekan”. The APC Campaign said it was shocked, as other Nigerians by the President’s admission in a weekend newspaper interview that he had underestimated the Boko Haram challenge, arguing that any leader in that circumstance should not consider himself fit to seek re- election. Quoting President Jonathan’s recent confession that he underestimated Boko Haram, the APC presidential campaign said the admission was a direct evidence that the President has nothing to offer and must bow to the wind of change. President Jonathan is out of touch with the realities of the lethal challenges posed by global terrorism, including Boko Haram, which is believed to be affiliated to Al- Qaeda global terror network, Shehu said. Malam Shehu maintained that for any President to under-estimate terrorism, it means that he doesn’t take any national challenges seriously, including health, poverty, unemployment, power, education, infrastructure and other issues. He emphasised that with his admission, President Jonathan has passed a vote of no confidence on himself and his administration, adding that his confession underlines the imperative for change. Shehu said a President admitting his incompetence in tackling a mortal challenge to the security of Nigerians, he has no business seeking re-election or looking for excuses to delay elections.

Conspiracies against President Jonathan

The conspiracies against President Goodluck Jonathan are no longer hidden from the public glare. These plots started several months ago, even before INEC fixed the election time table. Foremost amongst the plotters are : 1) General Olusegun Obasanjo, (1) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (3) The Northern Elders Forum (4) Boko Haram and now Chukwuma Soludo, among others. These people or group of persons have not hidden their hatred for GEJ and the Federal Government. They all have their parochial reasons for participating in the plot. Obasanjo began the execution of the plan by his infamous “Letter to the President’ where he accused GEJ government amongst other things, of training snipers to assassinate over 1000 prominent Nigerians, (unsubstantiated); massive corruption, etc. He followed that letter with several attacks on GEJ on every occasion. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi continued from OBJ letter by writing his own letter accusing NNPC of having not remitted over $49.8billion which he later scaled down to $10.8 billion and then upgraded to $20billion. Forensic Audits by world class audit firm, Price Water House Coopers, has shown that no such money was ever missing or unremitted. Boko Haram has always struck when GEJ has something to celebrate. Even when Jonathan was to declare for Presidency, Boko Haram struck in a school in the North-east, killing over 50 students. This was intended to prevent GEJ from declaring. Of course APC latched on to that unfortunate incident to condemn the President for going ahead to declare for President when students had just been killed. Nigerians and indeed the world should note that in all Buhari’s endeavors and political maneuverings including all APC’s activities, Boko Haram has never disrupted their franchises. Now Soludo has come up with another voodoo N30trillions missing. On his part, the D-G, Buhari campaign organization, Governor Rotimi Amaechi recently accused pastors of collecting N6billion as bribe to support Jonathan. The clandestine activities of the Northern Elders Forum is obvious to all Nigerians. These plots are all about stopping President Jonathan from being re-elected. The vitriolic pursuits of ‘Stop Jonathan at all Costs’ using the instrumentality of corruption and Boko Haram have been casting aspersions on the integrity and image of Nigeria. Nigeria is being demonized before the world as a corrupt country, with corrupt and incapable military, because of false allegations of spurious stolen monies. These actors do not mind if Nigeria’s image is completely denigrated. These plotters are completely jaundiced to the gains of the Jonathan administration. Their goal is to delude Nigerians and the international community into believing that the government of Jonathan is not only monumentally corrupt, but weak, clueless and don’t have the nerve to tackle Boko Haram. Unfortunately many Nigerian and foreign countries and their press are buying into these diabolic plots. It is either Jonathan and his men were deliberately ignoring these shenanigans or they are oblivious of the fact that these people were targeting his re election bid. Part of their grand design is to weaken the credibility of the Jonathan administration. PDP as a party has been slow to react coherently to all the falsehood that APC and their sympathizers have been churning out. PDP and its presidential candidate have been too gentlemanly. Olisa Metu, the publicity Secretary of PDP has not matched the loquaciousness of Lai Mohammed, his APC counterpart. Lai Mohammed is a tough malevolent alarmist. Ditto the national chairman of APC, John Oyegun. These people raise alarm on any thing from the ridiculous to the profane. Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Muazu rarely grant press conference. PDP Publicity Secretary is more like a pastor admonishing the Elders and Deacons of his church when addressing the Press. These PDP people don’t spit fire like their counterpart in APC. Even the APC governors are not different. Adams Oshiomhole is full of showmanship. Amaechi another noisy governor. Take his theory of APC forming a parallel government if they lose. Buhari, of course is of the same stock aka, ‘baboon and the dog being soaked in blood’. If PDP and the President want to avoid these well aimed plots to frustrate their victory at the polls, they should reduce the smiles on their faces and add a little bit of frowns. They should learn not only to talk tough, but coherently. PDP should project the achievements of the Jonathan administration with some steel. This is because APC is a reactionary and alarmist party. If the Buhari’s certificate saga had been that of any PDP candidate, Tinubu and his APC gang would have led mass protest to INEC headquarters to disqualify the candidate.

I Bought My Burial Vault 4 Years Ago – Fashola

Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola says he bought a vault where he will be buried four years ago even as he said his administration is about to build a new cemetery in the state. Fashola said every human being must plan for his exit, since death is inevitable, saying that most people do not always prepare for their burial place. The governor spoke after inspecting the proposed cemetery for both Muslims and Christians in the state, located along Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. He lamented that most people could not access some of the old cemeteries where their loved ones were buried several years ago, adding that, people must plan for their demise they way they plan for success while alive. “We are going to deliver a cemetery like no other, it will also be competitive. We will manage it and make it cost competitive. There will be high density vault, there will be medium density vault and low density vault for people who really want to make a statement at their exit. “It is true of life that everyone who come must go. So as we are building hospital to receive new born babies, schools to teach them survival skills in life and start businesses, we must also plan for the end and this may sound odd as some people don’t want to discuss it. “I have bought my own vault. It surprises people I paid for it about four years ago. I always tell people if you come here to life, you must plan to go. Those who don’t want to go shouldn’t come,” he stated. On the Lagos Court of Arbitration building on Lagos Island, Fashola said that the compelling need to resolve trade disputes locally rather than travelling to London and Paris informed the sitting of the centre in the state. “This is the place for dispute resolution. It is the Lagos Arbitration centre. We could save a lot of money and create employment through this court. We lose a lot of fund to other countries in terms of arbitration. When dispute arise in the country, the preferred place is Paris, France or London, United Kingdom. And there is nothing special there. “All we need is to create a centre that will have the necessary reputation. We have the personnel because some of the best arbitrators in the continent are Nigerians. We also have the economic for the arbitration because a lot of construction, developmental and Public Private Partnership, ( PPP) projects are ongoing. And dispute from there could be resolved here,” he added. Fashola said the court would also create jobs for many residents, stating that through the initiative the state government has created a local destination for the sub-region as the court would be the destination for arbitration for West Africa. “We already have the international recognition for this. All that is left is to complete the project. We have received some arbitration funds also. And the next three weeks, the building will be ready for commissioning. We have at least 11 rooms here,” he said.

More pressure on naira as market loses $800m

The removal of about $800m from the foreign exchange market following the closure of the Retail Dutch Auction System and Wholesale Dutch Auction System window by the Central Bank of Nigeria will put further pressure on the naira, analysts have said. In a move to calm the forex market, the CBN on Wednesday closed its official window to avert the emergence of multiple exchange rate regime and preserve the country’s foreign reserves. It stated that all forex demands should be channelled to the interbank market. The closure of the RDAS has been described by analysts as an implicit or tacit devaluation of the naira, with the CBN now selling dollars to banks above the official rate. The CBN on Monday last week had sold a dollar N30 above its N168 (+/-5 per cent) rate. While the move had been adjudged as a welcome development as it would stop further depletion of the country’s forex reserves, analysts said it did not mean that the naira’s weakness had ended. Analysts at Ecobank’s Economics Research Desk, headed by Mr. Angus Downie, said, “Closing the RDAS window immediately removes $600-$800m from the foreign exchange market each week, which will significantly add pressure on the naira to weaken further given strong US dollar demand.” They however noted that the CBN had advised that it would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market, selling the US dollar when it considered it necessary, adding that expectations by some in the market that the naira could weaken sharply appeared overblown. “This latest development reflects the CBN’s long-held view that it would eventually seek to remove itself as one of the largest suppliers of foreign exchange to the market as well as the main price setter – as part of a broader aim of gradually moving exchange rate policy from a managed float to a free float regime. “The move comes at a time of heightened currency pressures driven by the collapse in oil prices, which could undermine efforts to develop exchange rate policy and strengthen the market overall,” the Ecobank analysts said. Although the CBN is expected to inject the US dollar when it considers it necessary, the dollar liquidity will shrink due to insufficient supply, according to the analysts. They said the foreign exchange market was likely to price the naira significantly weaker, with a new, temporary market clearing price of around N210 or higher. Analysts at Renaissance Capital Limited said the devaluation would significantly lower the risk of soft capital controls and aggressive rate hikes, “but does not spell the end of naira weakness, in our view.” They stated that the naira devaluation implied inflation would continue to accelerate in the coming months into the lower double-digits.

Confusion as wife kills husband on Valentine’s Day

Residents of Adefowope Street, off Beach Road, Etegbin, in the Otto Awori Local Council Development Area of Lagos are divided over the reasons that could have made a woman to push her husband from the balcony of a one-storey building on Valentine’s Day. It was gathered that the incident, which happened in the community, had left neighbours and residents at loss over what might have actually transpired. It was learnt that the woman, identified as Onyinyechi, in anger pushed her husband, George, from the storey building, leading to the husband’s death. While some residents claimed that Onyinyechi, who was a teacher in a private school in the area, was angry that her husband did not give her a Valentine’s treat on a day when most lovers made out time to celebrate each other, other residents said the couple was quarrelling over a monetary issue before the incident. A man, who claimed to be a close friend of the deceased, however, insisted that the cause of the couple’s misunderstanding bordered on plans for Valentine’s Day. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said, “George returned home in the evening of Valentine’s Day, a time the wife felt was already too late to go for an outing. She got angry and it resulted in a fight.” Another source, who also claimed to have a close relationship with the family, however, said the cause of the fight was monetary issue. He said, “A family friend had given George money to give to his wife as gift for their newborn baby. George did not only keep the money to himself, he also did not tell his wife about it. Onyinyechi later met the man, who asked her if she got the gift he sent through her husband. She was not only surprised, but furious that George could keep such a thing from her. It was in the process of asking him about it on the evening of Valentine’s Day that the fight started.” A neighbour, who also spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, explained that the incident happened around 4pm on Valentine’s Day. She said, “On Saturday, at about 4pm, my daughter rushed inside my apartment where I was sleeping to wake me up that Iyawo (Onyinyechi) and her husband were fighting upstairs. “As she was still explaining to me, I heard a sound of something falling. I rushed out only to discover that it was my neighbour, George. I started screaming for help and other neighbours rushed in to assist me. We got a tricycle and rushed him to a hospital. “The wife, however, remained upstairs in her apartment. She didn’t bother to come down to assist us, despite the fact that her seven-month-old daughter was downstairs playing with my children. George was certified dead at the hospital and we couldn’t take him to the mortuary without his family’s consent, so, we brought him back home and called his family members.” Another neighbour, who identified herself as Mama Ifeoma, who was part of the people that took George to the hospital, said the doctor discovered a cut in his head. She said the doctor explained that the injury could be as a result of an object that must have been used to hit him on the head. She said, “The doctor told us that George must have been dead before he was pushed down from the balcony.” When our correspondent sought Onyinyechi’s comment on the issue, it was discovered that she had traveled to her home town in Nnewi, Anambra State with her daughter. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, has yet to respond to enquiries on the incident as of the time of this report.

Interim government rumour treasonable, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said the insinuations that he was planning to put in place an Interim National Government instead of ensuring the sanctity of the May 29 handover date amounted to treason. He said the only ING that could be put in place was that of the military which, according to him, will not be accepted by Nigerians and the international community. Jonathan spoke during the opening mass for the plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja. The President again assured all stakeholders in the political process that the general elections would hold on the rescheduled dates of March 28 and April 11 and the winners inaugurated on May 29. He said, “There is no way Goodluck Jonathan, elected by the people with a clear mandate, will go and head an interim government. “The only ING anybody can constitute is that of the military which, of course, will not be acceptable. “The Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations won’t accept it. We will not allow Nigeria to be a pariah state again. “Clearly, the insinuations about interim government, to me, amount to treasonable offence .” Jonathan also described the recent poll delay as a blessing in disguise. He said there would have been a monumental loss during the attack by Boko Haram insurgents on Gombe State on February 14, the day the presidential election would have taken place. The President said, “Look at what happened in Gombe State on February 14 , if the elections had been held, the casualty figure would have been higher. “It is better for us to conduct elections that will not be contested; elections that are credible, free and fair. “We believe no criminal element can come and prevent us from conducting our elections. “I will not do anything that would jeopardise the interest of this nation because of personal interest. “When I listen to how some of us (politicians) talk… but God is supreme. This nation will survive.” Jonathan used the opportunity to again thank Christians and indeed all Nigerians, for their prayers which he said, had sustained the country despite its security challenges Giving assurance that the country would overcome its challenges, Jonathan condemned utterances that overheat the polity. Like Jonathan, the Senate President, David Mark, said the postponement of the polls was “a blessing in disguise.” Although he did not cite security implication like the President did, Mark stated that the delay had provided millions of eligible voters an opportunity to collect their Permanent Voter Cards. According to him, if the elections had held on Feb. 14, many Nigerians would have been unable to vote. The News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying, ‘‘I want to be re-elected back but I do not want to go through the back door, I want to be re-elected with many Nigerians accepting that this is their choice. ‘‘Whatever we can do to enable few more Nigerians to vote on their appointed days, I think it is proper that they do it.’’ Mark also restated that ING was “absolutely alien to the current constitution “and added, ‘‘We will not allow that.’’ Also at the event, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, urged Jonathan to warn his aides and supporters about their utterances. Onaiyekan also called on politicians to desist from mudslinging that has so far characterised electioneering ahead of the general elections. He said, “There should not be room for negative campaigns. Personal insults and caricatures should give way to rational discussion of issues that concern us all. “Truth must be sacrosanct even in politics. Lies, deceit, calumnies cannot move us forward. They are the hallmarks of the bad politics which have not allowed us achieve the high level that we deserve as a nation. “These are what builds tensions, heats up the polity, spreads dangerous rumours and cause deep distrust among rival political groups. All these are not in the interest of our people.” The cleric enjoined politicians to use the opportunity provided via the postponement of the election to mend fences. President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said that the theme of the conference, “ Good Families Make Good Nations,’’ challenges every Nigerian to nurture their family. Oritsejafor appealed to the government to continue to work hard to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians. He also advised church leaders to ensure that their followers imbibed sound moral values needed to raise responsible families. The CAN leader said, “We must along with other stakeholders continue to assist in creating an enabling environment for families to grow and mature, respect constituted authority, be honest and love one another. ‘‘I am pleading for cooperation, unity and brotherhood; efforts must be made to denounce worldliness, to build families that imbibe godly and enduring values.’’ Also, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, appealed to the Anglican Roman Catholic Commission to give a definite agenda to the commission. Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Jos, and President, CBCN, said the Catholic Church had uses different associations to enlighten its members to shun acts of violence. Kaigama said that the church had gone beyond political or religious differences in promoting the common good of the nation. Tenure extension, invitation to anarchy –Reps The House of Representatives on Sunday re-stated its stance against extending the tenure of the current Federal Government under the headship of President Goodluck Jonathan beyond May 29. It said keeping the government in office beyond May 29 without conducting elections was an “invitation to anarchy.” The House spokesman, Zakari Mohammed, spoke against the backdrop of speculation that Jonathan might still use insecurity in the North-East to request the National Assembly to defer the March 28 presidential poll by six months. Mohammed, who spoke exclusively with our reporter, noted that the House “as an institution,” took a collective stance against tenure extension to safeguard democracy. Besides, he said democracy and the institution of the legislature must outlive the present crop of lawmakers. The lawmaker added,”If we support what is unconstitutional because people say we will benefit from it, what are we doing to democracy? “We swore to an oath to uphold the constitution; we cannot afford to be selfish because there were people who held these offices before we came in. “If they had chosen to go against the constitution, they would not have vacated the offices for us. “Even if we are to benefit mutually (tenure extension), it is an aberration and can only lead to anarchy. That is why say no tenure extension; it is unconstitutional.” Mohammed observed that the power equation in the House at moment, where the All Progressives Congress members were more in number meant that a proposal for tenure extension would die on arrival. The APC now dominates the House with about 180 members, while the Peoples Democratic Party, hitherto the majority party with 208 members in 2011, has dropped to around 161. Speculation of a further postponement of the poll from March 28 have heightened lately, with fears being expressed that Jonathan may rely on the National Assembly to make the extension possible. A legislative official told our reporter in Abuja on Sunday that it “ is likely the government will use the insecurity in the North-East as a ‘part of the country at war’ to request for the deferment.” “The President will have to rely on the National Assembly, which is the approving authority in this regard,” he added. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, appeared not to be sure of the likely turn of events when he told the Senate last week that he could not guarantee the sanctity of the March 28.

Buhari’ll never be president again -Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday boasted that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), “will never be Nigeria’s President again.” The governor also challenged the former Head of State to swear by the Holy Quran that he did not visit the hospital in the United Kingdom last week. Fayose who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said, “I wish they can see spiritually what I am talking about that Buhari, despite the hullabaloo, will never be president. I predicted my return as Ekiti State Governor and I am saying it again that Buhari will never rule Nigeria again. “After President Goodluck Jonathan, there will be a young element in his late 50s from the North that will be Nigeria’s president. I want to liken this revelation to the story of Elijah and Elisha. I am the Elijah while my followers are Elisha.” Maintaining that he was not wishing Buhari dead, the Governor added, “I owe it a duty to Nigeria and its people to expose the antics of the APC cabal whose only interest is to seize power to further their selfish interests. “Without doubt, it is obvious that the cabal in the APC are trying so hard to deceive Nigerians on Buhari’s health status. That’s the reason they have been using photoshoped pictures to defend their lies on Buhari’s UK trip. “First, they used a March 5, 2013 picture, claiming that Buhari was taking a walk in London on Thursday. Later they came up with another poorly cropped picture of Buhari with former British Prime Minister,Tony Blair. “The same people who lied in September 2012 that they received a gold card invitation to attend the Democratic National Convention in the United States of America are behind the robing of Buhari in the garment of lies and I challenge Buhari to swear by the Holy Quran that he did not visit hospital in the United Kingdom last week. “However, I want to disappoint this selfish cabal. Buhari is only raising their hope and that hope will be dashed.” Meanwhile, the Action Group of the APC in Ekiti State has described Fayose as a “political stalker” whose actions should be viewed as a threat to the life of Buhari. In a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Segun Dipe, the group asked Fayose to tender an unreserved apology for having the general on his death-wish list. Stating that Buhari was a former head of state and a presidential candidate, Dipe said everyone should “have Fayose on notice how his words and deeds have been threatening the life of General Buhari. “The indecorous governor is bent on seeing the APC Presidential candidate dead before the March 28 Presidential election, because his party is sure of losing the election, and he feels he will stew for it. “That Fayose could be hounding Gen. Buhari with death threat is quite unwarranted and unfortunate. He has sent spies after our Presidential candidate and may soon start toying with the idea of snipers, that is, if he has not already. “That Fayose is fraudulent, corrupt, inept, indecorous and uncouth is not in doubt. What is worrisome to us is why the twice-lucky governor should be trailing the general even beyond the shores of Nigeria, to ensure that his wish against him comes to pass.” Dipe hinted that his group was aware that Fayose in his desperation to see Buhari dead had travelled to UK just about the same time that Buhari travelled and had been trailing the movement of the general since then. He, however, revealed that Fayose’s activities were also under close watch as he went about devising various means, including diabolical, of haunting Buhari to death. “He wants to hold on to power by all means possible and he knows that an integrity-driven person like Buhari as president would clip his wings. “Our group is calling on all well-meaning persons in Nigeria and across the globe to call Fayose to order as his actions and words amount to not only wishing Buhari dead but driving the general to his death. God forbid. “The group also calls on all sons and daughters of Ekiti who are desirous of rejecting the toga of indecorous and gluttony, which Fayose has brought on them, to come out enmasse and vote General Buhari in as President come March 28, as well as the the candidates presented by APC for all the other political positions at the polls. “A vote for APC is a vote against Fayose’s indecorous ways and PDP’s clueless impunity,” the statement added.

Capture Shekau alive, troops urged

Following the spate of recent successes recorded by troops against boko haram insurgents in the north eastern parts of the country, Nigerian troops have been put on red alert for any insurgents’ leader bearing the name of Imam Abubakar Shekau who is believed to be desperately looking for escape routes. A senior military source however, informed that troops have been urged to try at all costs to capture Shekau alive so that he would face justice. On at least two occasions now, troops have killed characters calling themselves Abubakar Shekau in videos but the insurgents manages to find other individuals looking like him and pretend that he was still alive. The order to catch Shekau alive is therefore to ensure that it will no longer be possible to resort to the same trick. According to sources, the rumour about Shekau’s invincibility is one of the factors that troops are afraid to confront the terrorists. Meanwhile troop’s morale has been greatly boosted in recent times by arrival of sophisticated armaments and the decision of senior military officers to lead the war against terror directly which also influenced the change of some commanders. An intelligence sources disclosed that some of the successes recorded in recovery of big towns in the North-East were due to deployment of new strategies, improved disciplinary measures, and sincerity of participating countries in the regional alliance and the acquisitions of latest equipment. In the past, Colonels have led direct attacks in accordance with military tradition but because of the large scale desertions recorded, Military Generals then decided to directly lead the war and this has greatly boosted morale. It was even learnt that many of the troops that earlier deserted have returned while others have expressed desire to return to the front. Within a week of the massive operation, the troops have recovered Monguno, Marte, Gamboru Ngala, Dikwa among other big towns and several surrounding communities in Borno State. The source added that “with acquisition of new equipment from various sources and the specialised training of the troops on guerrilla warfare, the military indirectly called the bluff of some deceptive western countries who are now trying to save face by claiming to work with our neighbours. “The effective collaboration and mutual relationship with our neighbours is paying off as they now realise that inactions can pose disasters to their countries too,” he concluded.

Fleeing Boko Haram fighters drown in Lake Chad

Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters, fleeing the heavy air bombardments from Nigerian Air Force fighter jets, have drowned in Lake Chad. This reportedly happened during the air strikes heralding the advance of Nigerian troops on mission to flush them out of Baga, Borno State. Not even the strategy of mining over 1,500 spots with land mines on the routes leading to the town could save the fighters from the aggressive move of advancing troops. Our reporter was told that during the coordinated air and land operation, sinister attempts by the fighters to catch the troops unawares with the planting of land mines proved useless as all the mines were cleared one after the other. Nigerian Army recently procured and deployed several counter mines sweeping armoured personnel carriers (APC) and other sophisticated equipment with capability to detect mines planted at 1,000 meters radius. The resistance of the Boko Haram insurgents was said to collapsed and the land forces stormed the town in the early hours of Friday. Baga, which hitherto served as the headquarters of the Joint Multi-National Task Force, JMNTF, eventually fell to Nigerian military by 2pm yesterday. Many of the fighters died while an unknown but substantial number fled with various degrees of injury, in the encounter along the routes of advance as troops headed for Baga. A statement from the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), signed by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, said, “Apart from the five anti aircraft guns and the rifles captured from the terrorists, over 34 motorcycles and five vehicles including trucks, being used for operations by the terrorists, were destroyed in the course of the fighting as troops headed for Baga. “The troops finally began clearing the terrorists from Baga on arrival in the town Saturday morning. “A comprehensive cordon and search phase of military operation has now commenced to enable troops mop up arms and ammunition and also apprehend any terrorist who might be hiding in the vicinity. “The exercise will also determine details of the casualties inflicted or incurred in the course of the operations to clear Baga and environ of terrorists. “Similar exercise is being carried out in over 12 locations namely Gajigana, Ngaze, Ngenzai, Marte Junction, Mile 90, Yoyo, Kekeno, Kukawa, Cross Kauwa, Kangarwa, Amirari and other localities where troops have flushed out the terrorists in the operations preceding the entry to Baga. “The troops are now dominating and conducting aggressive patrols in the locations. The morale of troops remains high.” It will be recalled that hundreds of Boko Haram fighters, looking to rearm the group attacked Baga early in the year killing people estimated at over 3, 000 by international organizations while the DHQ put the number of dead at about 150 persons.

Sambisa Forest: Blow-by- blow account of the assault against Boko Haram

The emergence of Boko Haram in 2009, with base in Maiduguri, Borno State capital and the late Mohammed Yusuf as the leader, has become an issue of serious concern not only to the people of the North-east and Nigeria but also the world at large. After the killing of Yusuf, his second-in-command, Abubakar Shekau, took over, engaging in the killing of thousands of people including security operatives. But with the continuous raid of their hideouts in different parts of Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa states, the group had to relocate to Sambisa forest and established their camps there. It was from there that they continued to launch massive attacks and captured communities in the affected states. The first town that the terrorists captured was Damboa in southern Borno in July 2013. Thereafter, more communities were captured and controlled by the insurgents. But with the collaboration of Chad, Niger and Cameroon with Nigeria, the terrorists were given a nose blow with the recapturing of most of the communities taken over by the insurgents and liberating the people from Boko Haram. Significantly, the battle to route the insurgents in six weeks, as promised by the Federal Government, a situation that led to the shifting of the 2015 general elections, appears to have started yielding results. One of such efforts was the one put in place by troops from the Joint Multi-National Task Force (JMNTF) to recapture Mubi, Adamawa State and environs from the terrorists. The troops also stormed Sambisa forest decimating the terrorists. The conquest is traceable to a number of factors, which hitherto encumbered the operations of the military. Apart from partnering with Chadian, Camerounian and Nigerien troops in confronting the sect, first is that the Nigerian Army and the Airforce, which didn’t have the requisite weaponry to fight the type of guerilla warfare that was visited on the country by Boko Haram, have become properly equipped with necessary military hardware. The Airforce was reinvigorated by the Federal Government’s procurement of 40 attack aircraft including helicopters with night vision equipment and capabilities. Before now, the Boko Haram terrorists, aware of the shortcomings of the military, employed anti-aircraft guns to bring down some Airforce aircraft. The noise level of such aircraft easily gave them away during attack missions but that has been addressed. Many armoured personnel carriers were also attacked by anti-tank weapons as well as landmines planted on attack routes by Boko Haram. But with the new acquisitions like mines-counter armoured personnel carriers such as the Cobras, equipped with night vision, and which can operate on any terrain; as well as the High Velocity T55 armoured tanks with mine sweeping capabilities, Boko Haram terrorists now know they can never be a match for the military. They are yet to understand what is hitting them. On Friday January 30, spokesman for the Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said the military had captured Michika in Adamawa, after “operational searches for arms or stranded terrorists” and other casualties were concluded by troops. The statement read in part: “Military operations is ongoing in Michika after troops sacked the terrorists who have been operating in the town and environs. “The main assault on terrorists’ main positions was concluded as many of them died in the combat. Troops who sustained injuries in the operation are receiving necessary medical attention. Other troops are continuing the pursuit of those who are on the run from the town”. The statement said that normalcy had been restored in the town that was captured by insurgents last September. On how Baga and Monguno in Borno State were recaptured, Olukolade, in the statement, said: “Meanwhile, the Nigerian officers in key command positions of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the North-east sub-region are in the process of accounting for their actions leading to the loss of weapons, men and location in their area of responsibility in the mission area. “This is a normal military procedure in major operations or after encounters. The essence is to extract and collate relevant information for subsequent missions. It could also lead to or determine appropriate disciplinary action where necessary”. These successes could be attributed to heavy use of sophisticated weapons and sustained commitment and dedication by troops. On February 16, troops of 7 Division, Nigeria Army, in a coordinated military operation and spearheaded by “air assaults” cleared Boko Haram terrorists on the shores of Lake Chad. According to a statement by Olukolade, a number of terrorists as well as truckloads of rice, beans, and other logistics meant for resupply to the insurgents were also captured and recovered at Baga that was captured on January 3. The statement read in part: “Casualty inflicted and arms recovered as well as other outcome of the operation in Monguno, Marte and other communities already secured will be determined after the ongoing cordon and search in the environs. “The air and land operation is continuing with aggressive advance towards other designated communities and locations meant to be cleared in the ongoing offensive against the terrorists”. Mopping up On February 18, a press statement from the DHQ spokesman stated that mopping up operation of some of the communities where Terrorists incurred heavy casualty in the two days of military operation to clear 11 communities was ongoing was on-going. Over 300 terrorists were killed while a few were captured, the statement added. Several weapons and equipment were also captured and some destroyed. The statement went on: “It has been confirmed that five different types of armoured fighting vehicles, an anti- aircraft gun, about 50 cases of packed bombs and eight different types of machine guns, five rocket propelled grenade, 49 boxes of various types and calibres of ammunition as well as 300 motorcycles destroyed in the fighting. A total of six Hilux vehicles including those mounted with anti-aircraft guns were also destroyed. However, two soldiers lost their lives while 10 others were wounded in the course of the operation. “The cordon and search operation is continuing along with aggressive patrols by troops who are now dominating the cleared communities such as Monguno, Gabchari, Abba Jabari, Zuntur, Gajigana, Gajiram, Damakar, Kumaliwa, Bosso Wanti, Jeram and Kabrisungul. The various phases of the highly coordinated air and land operation is also ongoing in the designated theatres being handled by contingents involved in the renewed counter terrorism campaign in and outside Nigeria”. On February 19, hundreds of Chadian troops, battling Boko Haram militants to retake Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State,made a headway, killing 117 terrorists with the arrest of the Amir (Commander) of the sect. Dikwa, the headquarters of old Kanem Bornu Empire, was taken over by Boko Haram some months ago, forcing the first class monarch, Alhaji Abba For Masts II, and thousands of his subjects to take refuge in Maiduguri. A source stated that the recapture of Dikwa took place at about 7am on Thursday after Chadian troops cleared Gamboru, Ngala, Kala Balge and several villages of Boko Haram insurgents, and proceeded/stormed Dikwa, about 100 kilometers north-east of Maiduguri. Palace arrest He added that the raid, which comprised of military air strikes with a back up by ground troops, inflicted severe casualties on the terrorists which led to the recapture of the town. The source also revealed that during the encounter, two Chadian soldiers lost their lives, while the Amir (Commander) of the sect was arrested at the palace of the Shehu of Dikwa where the troops suspected was turned as the base/headquarters of the insurgents. “The terrorists had established themselves in Dikwa after taking over many buildings including the Shehu’s palace, local government secretariat as well as the official and private residences of prominent people”, he said. Also, reports monitored on BBC Hausa Service in Maiduguri, on Thursday, revealed that “no fewer than 117 insurgents and two Chadian soldiers were killed after reclaiming Dikwa by troops, and that the town is totally under the control of Chadian troops, while the sect’s Commander (Amir) have been arrested”. Same day, Olukolade said”, “A concerted air campaign by the Nigerian Air Force is ongoing in furtherance of the mission to clear terrorists from all their enclaves. The air strikes, which today targeted the training camps and logistics dumps of the terrorists in Sambisa forest and parts of Gwoza, have been highly successful as it achieved the aims with required precision. The death of a large number of terrorists has been recorded while many others are scampering all over the forest and out of the struck bases. Details of casualty will be determined in subsequent phases of the operation. “Meanwhile, the strikes continue in other locations of the theatre heralding the advance of troops and other elements of the mission”. Meanwhile, following the successful onslaught against the Boko Haram militants around Gwoza axis, which shares border with Sambisa forest and Askira Uba council area of Borno, hundreds of suspected members of the sect, who escaped, reportedly invaded Askira Uba, shooting residents, burning homes and public buildings, and leaving scores of people dead. Askira Uba is south and about 220km drive from Maiduguri. It shares border with Sambisa forest from the north. It had witnessed series of terrorists attacks since last year which led to the displacement of thousands of residents before some fleeing residents took liver and resettled in the troubled town. Sources said the terrorists, armed with AK47 rifles, improvised explosive devices, petrol bombs, and riding in Toyota Hilux vehicles, stormed the town at about 7:35pm and wreaked havoc with no confrontation as security operatives had vacated. Discordant tunes in camps Reacting to the recapture of the communities by troops and the bombings of Sambisa forest, a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Maiduguri, Mallam Yakubu Usman Jalo, in an interview, applauded the military, especially the JMNTF for a job well done in clearing the terrorists from their hideouts, noting that he was optimistic that most of the closed roads linking Maiduguri will be reopened soon for motorists. Some internally displaced persons, taking refuge at different camps in Maiduguri, also expressed satisfaction with the military conquest but insisted they would rather stay in the camps than to go back to their communities ravaged by insurgents after capturing them and had been under Boko Haram control for many months, while others indicated interest in going back to pick up their pieces and begin new lives”. Mallam abba umar baga, one of the inmates at the camp at teachers village, maiduguri, said he was eager to go back home with his family if security operatives will be deployed permanently to the area as, according to him, he was tired of life at the camp, while mallam audu bako, who claimed to be a village head in kukawa, said that even if baga town and environs had been recaptured, he preferred staying in maiduguri than to go back and face another encounter with the sect..