Nigerian Newspapers
Soyinka: Nigeria on the brink
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka warned yesterday that Nigeria is on the brink.
If the leadership fails to halt the growing insecurity, said the playwright, it may end in a civil war.
The National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, faulted the Federal Government’s handling of the Boko Haram crisis and suggested “a carrot and stick approach”.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi faulted the current political arrangement, where people without known pedigrees find their way into public offices. He suggested a review to enthrone the best.
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make public the process for mergers to ensure that parties willing to fuse together do so easily. This, he said, will prevent unnecessary acrimony and reduce the cost of elections.
They all spoke in Lagos at the fifth edition of “The Bola Tinubu Colloquium” held as part of activities marking the former Lagos Governor’s 61st birthday.
The theme was “Beyond mergers: A national movement for change. A new generation speaks”.
Other speakers were young professionals —members of the new generation.
They includeManaging Director, Frontier Capital Limited, Femi Edun; Chief Executive Officer, Venia Consulting, Kolawole Oyeneyin; lawyer Myani Bukar; musician Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) and Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Millenium Development Goals Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello.
Soyinka particularly faulted the way President Goodluck Jonathan appears to be treating the threat posed by the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Let’s face it. This nation is on the brink. There are those who don’t understand this, who won’t accept this. I feel very sorry that they will wake up and find out that we have fallen over the brink. It is not what we envisaged during our struggle for independence.
“It is not what we envisaged when we struggled to overthrow dictatorship and install the rights and dignity of human beings and citizens in the society. But, whether we like it or not, it has come upon us.
“My problem with the government right now, especially the President of this nation, is that he doesn’t seem to realise it.
“He has not taken the people of this nation into confidence. By now, it is my belief that the President should be addressing the nation – and in great details – explaining why, if he agrees, that this nation is at war and that certain things have to be done to ensure that we pull back from this second round of what is moving towards a civil war. That, of course, is if he and his government accept this.
“By now, we should be tightening our belts in many different directions. By now, we should never have persuaded ourselves to see what is happening in the North as being confined in the North. It has been obvious all along that this is not a Northern affair alone; no!
“I read in the papers the other day that some cells have been found, trying to blow up Lagos. My reaction was what is new about that?, We have said this ages before on various lecture podia, that wait a minute, it is happening there, but believe me, it is happening every where.
“And this consciousness should have been imparted to Nigerian citizens from the very beginning, at least two years ago. So that everyone understands that the problem we are facing right now is not just regional. It is national, it is a humanistic problem.
“I remember the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I can’t remember precisely what they were, but I know they were plagues. There is the fifth. And it is called Boko Haram. That is the kind of language that the leadership of this nation should be imparting to Nigerian citizens today,” Soyinka said.
In Tinubu’s view, Nigeria is drfting apart because “we have leadership that is dividing us more and more every day”.
He called for value reorientation among the leadership and suggested a reversal to the old national anthem that de-emphasises differences.
“We must question ourselves in Nigeria. I disagree with my brother and friend Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who says youth may form your own party. Politics is not economic policy where you can change a bank note.
“If only to merge, some people are already forging names, and trying to prevent the creation of APC. You can imagine what you will go through.Come and join us. You see, with a wife like this (pointing to Oluremi standing behind him), is politics not sexy? Join us, it’s sexy here on our side.
“On your side, it is a challenge that you have to face. It’s not a question about age. We have seen example of age.
“The present President is a young man, but he has been appointing an 83-year-old man to be chairman, not just of board of trustees, but of Ports Authority where high decisions, articulated, modern, 21st century information technology are needed. How do you modernise? So, youth belong here.
“We can see the live tweets of this event. So, it’s not about age. There are a lot of educated relics. I have not seen anything higher than Ph.D in the academic curriculum of universities. So, we have a Ph.D man (holder) there now.
“What will do it for you is strong determination, perseverance, courage and boldness. If we fail to join the movement, we’ll fail to continue to interrogate our leaders, and fail to do what you did during the oil subsidy removal.”
On security, Tinubu said: “No nation has fought a religious war and survived it. It is no winner, no loser. We’ll end up coming to the table to discuss. Therefore, it’s a clarion call: we must find those who are responsible for the bloodshed, but we must apply justice.
“Those with human blood in their hands must be brought to justice. But we cannot throw away the question of amnesty. It’s a carrot-and-stick approach. And we used it before. Surrender your guns; we give you money for it. Why can’t we do it again?”
The CBN Governor, who took over from Soyinka as chairman of the event, argued that it was wrong to assess a nation’s economy in isolation of the wellbeing of the people.
“What is destroying this country is that people are corrupt and doing nothing. We need to be asking, as civil society, what are we doing?
“One governor asked a minister publicly, ‘in the years you have been minister of so, so ministry, please tell me one project you have completed’. I have been reading the newspapers everyday to see the projects completed by that minister. I have not seen one.
“Now, this is not a question that a governor should be asking a minister. It is a question that Nigerians should be asking their public officers. How can you be a governor or minister for four years and not be able to stand up and say this is what I have done.
“And you know what will happen? After the elections, the same ministers will go through a process that is supposed to be a screening process, and they will stand there on national TV, and talk about what they did as ministers, and they will end up saying nothing. And they will be unanimously confirmed.
“We are a country which has absolutely no regard for merit and competence. We talk about federal character. There must be a minister from every state. I have talked about this over and over again.
“What is the connection or relationship between the number of states in the federation and the number of ministries we should have at the federal level?
“It is so unintelligent. So, you must have 36 ministers whether or not you need 30 ministries. Plus another six from different geo-political zones. And the only qualification to be a minister is that you should come from a state and should have attempted WASCE.
“In other countries, it is assumed that before someone is even proposed for public office, he would have to show certain skills,” Sanusi said.
He urged the youth to be inquisitive, engage the nation’s leaders and get involved in political activities so that they could help bring about the needed change.
Sanusi argued that the youth could effect the change the nation desires if they could organise themselves and form a political party. He noted that with their current population, they could displace the current old political players.
Fashola faulted the political arrangement in the country, noting that as things are now, it will be difficult for the ruling party to be displaced and the needed change brought about.
He said such would only be possible if the merger being planned by the opposition succeeds, thereby narrowing down the gap between the ruling party and the opposition.
“In India, the difference between the opposition and the party in power is so thin. So, the party in government disconnects with its people at its own peril. It’s out at the next election. So, that is the capacity for change that the merger that is on the horizon brings. The only thing that I can say to the regulator of that process is that I have looked at the provisions for merger as well.
“It is the same oil money that passes through our hands that passes through the leaders of Dubai. Therefore, although the guidelines are there, the question to ask is what does a party that needs to merge do? Should it keep its name and hide it because some people will hijack it?
“Or should it get a trademark and patent first? In my view, the regulator owes a duty to this society to ensure that the provision for mergers have a real chance of being actualised. And in that way, it will save itself the agony of re-registering parties and deregistering them, because once it midwifes one merger, the possibility for strengthening political alliances becomes real.
“The cost of election in that sense will come down. Ballot papers will stop looking like a long sheet for pool betting.
“I think, therefore, that the signs coming out now are very refreshing and I hope that as we look on beyond mergers, we’ll see that the birth of mergers will give us a new national movement for change that will include a very strong positioning for this generation, the generation of tomorrow that are here today.”
At the event anchored by Lagos State’s Attorney General Ade Ipaye were ACN National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, the party’s chieftain, Tom Ikimi, Senator Buka Abba Ibrahim, Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Abu Ibrahim and Senator OlorunnimbeMamora.
There were also governors – Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), former governors Segun Osoba (Ogun) – Otunba Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti), Donald Duke (Cross River) and Abubakar Audu (Kogi).
Otthers include Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, Ayo Opadokun, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, rights activist and lawyer Femi Falana (SAN).
Oyeneyin, who spoke passionately on the topic, “Beyond Merger- Responsibility of Older generation to the younger generation said many youths were angry with the country our leaders left for us.
To him, the situation is like a time bomb waiting to explode – if nothing is done to address it.
“We are a generation that have never witness a good Nigeria and I speak for myself and people within my age bracket. We have kept so much in our heart as young people and I think time has come for us to speak out, Oyeneyin said.
He said it is sad that a country with youth population of 67 million, the present political structure is built in such a way that the youth have been cut off from governance.
He said change would come if young people are brought on board, considering that they have the intellectual and human capacity.
He also charged the leaders to kill the mentality that youth are leaders of tomorrow. “Tomorrow is already here,” Oyeneyin said.
He said the youth must be part of the ideology, stressing that they must not be left out in decision making.
Mrs Abiola-Costello, who spoke on “Millenium Development Goals- where is Nigeria,” said the country was lagging behind in the implementation of the eight goals, but, in her view, the Southwestern states have done so well compared to their counterparts from other region.
Wellington urged the youth to be involved in the political process, by first, registering to vote, and actually voting for the right candidates.
It is either they do that, he said, or they sit back and let someone else “steal your voice”.
He said the youth should continue to protest peacefully against misrule, using social media (also new media) as a tool. “Become fully involved in the political process. Use whatever voice or platform you have constructively,” Wellington said.
Bukar argued that most internal conflicts where citizens kill one another often arise from countries’ inability to effectively define who a citizen is.
He praised the effort of the National Assembly to replace state of origin with residency in the Constitution.
“Indigineship should be replaced with residency; Federal Character principle should be done away with. Land ownership should be revisited,” Bukar said.
He urged the youths to be interested in, and involve in the task of nation building.
He praised the attempt by the opposition to form a formidable party, but warned that they should be interested in the country’s growth, failing which the youths will cease to collaborate with them.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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