Northern leaders to Jonathan: Stop using Boko Haram to blackmail us
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ABUJA — Northern leaders, yesterday, frowned at what they described as a desperate attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to blame the rising wave of insecurity in the north on the leaders.
The leaders vowed to resist any attempt by the Presidency to use the Boko Haram onslaught to blackmail them instead of taking proactive measures to nib the insurgence in the bud.
The grouse of the northern leaders was that whereas the President had earlier claimed that he could not offer amnesty to Boko Haram members as they were ghosts, he went ahead to call on Northern elders to enjoin Boko Haram to stop bombings in the country.
A member of the Northern Elders Forum, Dr. Junaid Mohammed and National President of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, who spoke separately to Vanguard described the action of the government as a deliberate attempt to blackmail and provoke the north.
It will be recalled that during a visit to Borno State last month, Jonathan had rejected calls for amnesty to Boko Haram members, saying that he could not be dealing with those he described as ‘’ghosts”.
Last week, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, issued a statement, calling on the Northern elders to prevail on the sect to down tools and accept dialogue as the Niger Delta militants did before the late Yar ‘Ádua offered them pardon.
Governors Aliyu, Yuguda, Lamido and Kwankwaso
Okupe said: “There is no need for over-politicization of the demand for amnesty, or to blackmail the President for taking strong, patriotic views that are contrary to those of some of our respected elders.
“The true expectation is that our respected leaders will go back to the drawing board and increase consultation and networking with the aim of reaching out to the leadership of the insurgents and convincing them to do the needful and step out to be counted.”
Amnesty for Boko Haram members
Mohammed, a second Republic politician and leader of the ACF vilified the President for refusing to grant amnesty to the sect members, saying that what was good for one part of the country was also good for the other.
Mohammed noted that the President had failed to use his position as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to find an answer to rising insecurity that has led to the killing of innocent men, women and children in the north despite the avalanche of security apparatus and intelligence at his disposal.
The ACF leader, Yerima Shettima, on the other hand, told Vanguard that the north took serious exception to the attempt by the Presidency to associate its leaders with the Boko Haram sect.
Shettima noted, “We don’t control Boko Haram and have no way of knowing what they are doing and what they want. It is the President who once declared that there were Boko Haram members even in his government.
“Having made that public declaration before the world, it is baffling why the President has found it difficult to deal with such members in his government but has continued to make contradictory statements almost on a daily basis, trying to rope in northern elders”.
“We therefore, plead with the President to leave northern elders out of the Boko Haram issues and devise realistic ways of solving the problem of insurgency in the country, one of them being, the carrot and stick approach, so as to give peace a chance to reign in the land.
….Hold Northern leaders responsible for crisis, by Arewa youths
By SONI DANIEL
As security problems in the north escalate, youths in the region, yesterday, expressed disappointment with the political leaders from the area, whom they accused of not showing enough interest in tackling the challenges to pave way for peace and development.
The National President of the Arewa Youth Forum, AYF, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, who made the feeling of the youths known while speaking with Vanguard, noted that most of the leaders of the region were more interested in pursuing their personal goals than working for the overall welfare of the people.
Gujungu said: “We are disappointed that since the upheavals in the region started and is slowly crippling the economy of the region, those that are said to be representing the region have not deemed it necessary to meet and find a lasting solution to the impasse.
“As youths from the north we are not only disappointed but we also feel let down by those that we toiled for to occupy the exalted positions they are now enjoying today. We are worried that instead of working for the good of the people, these leaders are busy pursuing personal agenda to the detriment of all.
“It is in view of this that we call on leaders of the north at different levels, governors, senators, ministers, lawmakers at the state and national levels, commissioners and even those at the local government level to join hands with the Vice President Namadi Sambo, who is the political leader of the north and tackle the problems in the region.
“We use this opportunity to call on these leaders to put their personal ambition behind them and work for the good of the north as the youths and other well-meaning individuals are watching what is happening and will take necessary action when the time is right”.
“AYF wants to call on persons like the Katsina State Governor Shehu Shema that Arewa Youths are disappointed that instead of staying in Katsina to attend to the needs of the people; the governor is now more prominent in Abuja and Niger Delta.
“AYF is calling on those in the league of the Katsina Governor to have a rethink as after all is said and done, power resides with the people and no matter what the supposed godfathers think, the Nigerian people will one day decide their own fate.
Jonathan to Buhari: Stop Boko Haram
By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North
ABUJA— President Goodluck Jonathan, Tuesday, sent a strong message to former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, pleading with him to spearhead the campaign to persuade members of the Boko Haram sect to accept dialogue, as a means of ending the orgy of violence in the North.
ABUJA— President Goodluck Jonathan, Tuesday, sent a strong message to former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, pleading with him to spearhead the campaign to persuade members of the Boko Haram sect to accept dialogue, as a means of ending the orgy of violence in the North.
Similarly, Jonathan asked Buhari to emulate the role he ( Jonathan) played by going to meet militants in their vast hideouts in the Niger Delta to plead with them to lay down their arms and accept the general amnesty granted by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on June 25, 2009.
Jonathan and Buhari
Jonathan said he expected Buhari to lead the way in persuading the Boko Haram insurgents in the North to stop bombings and enter into dialogue with the Federal Government with a view to ending the violence in the region, which is threatening to disrupt the economy of the region and Nigeria.
The President, who sent the message to Buhari through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, accused the former head of state of making false allegations against him during his interview in London last week.
What Buhari told BBC in London
During the interview with the BBC, Buhari had said that the Federal Government should be held responsible for the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria, accusing the leadership of not taking steps to halt the slide, which has claimed many lives and property in the region.
Buhari said: “The problem of terrorism is not confined to the North alone. Insecurity generally should be blamed on the Federal Government.
“The world is very much concerned about two things — the issue of security and economic wellbeing of a nation. Security is number one. A nation can only be economically viable if there is security. But how did all these crises start? How did the crises begin and assume this dimension?
“Until now, everyday, they abduct people and receive ransoms. How was the problem reduced? How did it start? What method was employed to convince them to mellow down?
“Similarly, what we should look at is, how did the Boko Haram start? We know all these. Security is the responsibility of the government.
“It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to know how this thing started and how to go about it.”
Jonathan takes on Buhari
But Okupe asked Nigerians to demand from Buhari what he had done as a leader in the North and a former head of state to halt the attacks by the sect.
He said: “Nigerians should ask him (Buhari) that as a former Head of state and as someone who wants to be president again, what he has done to end this insurgence in the country.
“Or is it when he becomes President, he will stop the insurgence? No, it does not work that way. He should emulate President Jonathan who went to the creeks of the Niger Delta canvassing peace and dialogue with the militants of the Niger Delta.
“Everybody knows that it was General Buhari, who vowed to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Jonathan if he loses the last presidential election. It was in Minna, that he said that once votes are countered and he loses that people should go for blood. He said in Hausa language. General Buhari is the person who sowed the wind that the nation is now reaping in whirlwind.
“He is not in any position to apportion blames on the issue of violence in the North or in Nigeria in general. He is a protagonist of violence. The only position he sees for not being the President is to call for violence. This government has tried as much as possible to contain some of Buhari’s unguarded statements. I don’t think anybody in Nigeria will take Buhari very serious when he makes such comments.
“If there is anybody to blame, General Buhari comes number one on that list. Have you ever seen General Buhari visit BornoState or condemn the acts of the Boko Haram or condole whether Christians or Muslims that have been killed?
“A man who can traverse the whole length and breadth of Nigeria, yet he cannot use that clout that he has and get leaders together to put an end to the insurgence in the country. And yet he finds it comfortable to blame other people. What has he done as a former Head of State to help Nigeria and Nigerians stop the militancy in the North or in other parts of the country?”
» 2015 Elections Will Be Free And Fair – Jonathan «
President Goodluck Jonathan has once again promised that the 2015 general elections would be free and fair. Jonathan said that there was no alternative to fair election, given the premise that there could not be peace without justice.
The President, who spoke yesterday at Mpu, Enugu State, said it was almost impossible to guarantee good governance without free and fair election. According to him, it is the level of political manipulation that breeds bickering among politicians.
The President was at Mpu, Aninri Local Government, for the dedication of the All Saints Anglican Covenant Church built by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. Jonathan said his administration was determined to make a difference in the lives of Nigerians. He said: “You cannot talk about good governance where the elections of people are manipulated; you cannot steal a mandate and turn round to say that you can govern well.
“Lawyers will say you can’t build anything on nothing. If your coming to power from councillorship to Presidency is based on manipulation, there is no good thing you can do there.
You cannot go and celebrate. “First and foremost, people must vote for you and you cannot talk about doing something good without their support. “It is actually during the military that they use big guns to overthrow those with small guns and take over. In the political dispensation, you must be properly elected, we must make sure that electoral processes are sanitised and the votes of Nigerians count.
“I know the kind of statement people make each time we leave here to other places; sometimes I feel so humiliated, and now the story has changed. “What I can promise Nigerians is that with your prayers, we have our challenges no doubt, but most countries have their challenges, that we will make those little changes that will make a difference in our lives.”
Jonathan decried the tendency of Nigerians to abandon the country for others because of the challenges confronting it, stressing that building a virile future was the collective responsibility of all and sundry. He said: “If we leave Nigeria and go elsewhere where we have all kinds of friends who may use business passports that can give you automatic entry into countries, but they still regard you as a Nigerian.
You cannot fit in properly until you come home. “We have talked about building the church, let us join hands and build a nation that our children, grandchildren and Nigerians unborn will be happy, irrespective of provocation and political differences.
“Just like the primate said, every leader comes and goes but as a leader, you pray that you leave behind something solid. If we progress from here, the whole country becomes highly developed.” The President praised Ekweremadu for building the church, which he likened to the one built by Solomon for God in the Bible.
Primate of the Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Nicholas Okoh, in a sermon, said the Nigeria’s problems were intractable because of human manipulation, adding that her people had not used her numerous religions to build an enterprise that could impact on development
Source: National Mirror Online
FG Provides $100m For Exploration Of Oil In The North
CHAIRMAN OF THE NORTHERN ECONOMIC SUMMIT, PROFESSOR JERRY GANA
The Northern Economic Summit (G-20) has disclosed that the federal government has provided the sum of $100 million in 2013 to facilitate the exploration activities for oil and gas in the region.
The areas where such explorations are ongoing include the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Bida basin, and Sokoto-Rima basin, among others.
Chairman of the Northern Economic Summit and former minister, Professor Jerry Gana, who gave a progress report of action taken on economic development issues by the group since its 2011 summit, said that the money would be used for continuous assessment of hydrocarbon resource potentialities of the seven inland basins in Nigeria.
Besides the $100 million for 2013, Gana said that government had, in 2011, provided the sum of $70 million and another $70 million in year 2012 for the same exercise.
“Government provided in 2011, $70 million; 2012, $70 million and 2013, $100 million for the hydrocarbon exploration in the Lake Chad Basin and other northern hydrocarbon basins.
“In 2011, NNPC had, through its technical consultants, concluded the search, evaluation and identification of capable Airborne Geophysical Survey companies for hydrocarbon exploration of the inland basin of Nigeria,” the professor said.
Gana said that government had concluded the necessary arrangements to award the contract for airborne gravity, magnetic and electromagnetic exploration surveys of the seven inland basins in the country
On hydro-electric power project at Zungeru and the Mambila plateau, the chairman remarked that government had included the Mambilla power project among the projects to be supported under the NIPP/NDPHC programme, noting that there are many ongoing generation, transmission and distribution projects designed to improve power supply in the northern part of the country.
“It is important to note that government has awarded the 700 megawatts Zungeru hydro-power project at the cost of $1.2 billion (N170 billion). Ground breaking ceremony will be performed in April 2013,” Gana said.
The chairman further remarked that the Kashimbila Dam had reached advanced stage of construction, while Gurara Phase 1 had been completed.
On the Mambilla hydro power project, Gana said that the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for the construction works had been signed with two Chinese companies at a construction cost of $6.4 billion, while the bidding process and financing arrangement is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013.
The summit also urged the Book Haram sect to embrace dialogue in order to foster peace in the northern region as development can only thrive under a peaceful atmosphere.
Source: The Will Nigeria
‘My Oga at the Top’: Adesuyi replaces Shem as Lagos Commandant
Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, has finally replaced Mr. Obafaiye Shem, the man who postulated the “my oga at the top” mantra, as commandant of Lagos State Command. He was replaced by Mr. Adesuyi Clement from Oyo State Command.
The Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr. Olu Abolurin, who was in Lagos weekend over the alleged killing of two of his officers by some policemen, introduced the new Commandant to journalists.
However, he did not give reasons for Obafaye’s removal but sources hinted that it may not be unconnected with his recent interview on Channels Television live programme.
Before now, authorities of NSCDC have denied taking any disciplinary action against Mr. Shem over the said interview. Their reaction followed claims that Shem had been sacked on the orders of the Minister of Interior, who supervises the NSCDC.
Shem’s ordeal started when he appeared on Channels Television morning programme ‘Sunrise’ and when asked the NSCDC website he said:
“Hmmm, the website is, excuse me, my Oga at the top knows the website”. He again, cleared his throat and said: “My Oga at the top is working on the website and I don’t have them”.
When the presenters insisted that he give a functioning website address of the para-military outfit, he dropped the bombshell: “ww.nscdc, that’s all”.
Immediately, the interview went viral and has become so popular to the extent that t-shirts with “my oga at the top” insignia has been produced and selling like hot cake across the country, even as some DJs and musicians have done what they called a remix of the phrase.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/04/my-oga-at-the-top-adesuyi-replaces-shem-as-lagos-commandant/
Say no to child labour>>>
Nigeria
Nigeria is a wonder country of dummies in the high authority, i was wondering what kind of brain our customs authority has over the years….>>>>>>>>>>>
Customs will impound contraband of cloths, chicken, vegetable oils just name them and burnt them when in realty we have less privilege people in our society, motherless babies home can benefit from such cloths, our prisons who work naked, we have disaster all over the country and money is budgeted for buying of relief material when such contraband should be the readily succor for the affected persons.
Does that means our authority are dummies that they don’t think or what?
Imagine what effect 5000 cartons of impounded chicken will do when you distributed that to the prison or less privilege homes, so also the impounded trailers of lace, brocade, 2nd hand clothes and other textile materials will add values to the aforementioned under privilege in our society.
Please is there anyone that has the ears of the oga above (VILLA) to call the customs to order?
This guys don’t know the service they do to this less privilege persons, is totally un acceptable, henceforth this practice of burning textile materials or burying chicken must stop and channel or hand over such consumables contraband to relevant agency and less privilege home for proper utilization…
In develop world things like chicken if impounded normally they re circle it to animal feeds e.t.c. but in Nigeria when we have serious poverty challenges are playing mightier than thou when in reality we have people that has less or nothing survive on, what an irony of a country of DUMMIES AUTHORITY that lack vision and simple arithmetic of life saving!!!
