Why I won’t reject calls to be PDP chairman -Tukur | Print | E-mail Written by Idowu Samuel, Editor, North-East /North Central Bureau, in Abuja Wednesday, 13 July 2011 Alhaji Bamanga Tukur Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chairman African Business Roundtable and NEPAD Business Group, Private Sector, has no predilection for granting media interviews. Yet, he took a break from his tight official schedules when the Nigerian Tribune sought his views on the state of the nation. He speaks on sundry national political issues in this interview conducted by Idowu Samuel, Editor, North-East /North Central Bureau, in Abuja. You seem to have withdrawn to the background politically for some time until recently when you were touted as a possible chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Why was your interest that low in politics? That is not true. I am an experienced politician and you know politicians do not retire, but you don’t expect me at my age to be running up and down looking for political patronage. If I begin to do that, where lies the fate of young men and women like you who still have the energy to serve.  You have not been seeing me in the open playing politics, but people like me do not relent in ensuring that things work well in this country. I am an elderstatesman and I can speak with any body in power, either at the state or federal level and say this is what he or she can do to make things better and I don’t need to shout on top of may voice to do that. I have been playing good roles in making this country to move forward and there is no need to make noise about it. As an elder statesman, what is the state of the nation to you, now? We have not been doing badly, no matter what critics say. It is through a democratic process that the present government was formed. We are happy about that and it is because the last elections were well acknowledged. There is nothing perfect in human endeavour. We will make mistakes and we will correct the mistakes by our own wisdom, so we are learning, and this is not a bad beginning. Secondly, we are lucky to have a young president who is equally educated and eager to work. He does not have any baggage to worry about. He made many promises during campaigns and now is the time to sit down to work out how to fulfil those promises. He has started appointing his ministers and we hope that that will drive the process and draw him close to fulfilling the promises he had made. I am encouraged because the rest of the world can now begin to look up to Nigeria for leadership. Our job by now is to support the President, package him and make him the focal point of leadership not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa. By doing this, we hope to see the emergence of United States of Africa one day. That is my own dream. It can only happen if we begin to build the foundation, and we are already building the foundation. What needs to be done now is to mobilise Nigerians in support of the present administration to address the challenges confronting it so that there will be less crisis and rancour and for the government to address our immediate areas of needs, including Infrastructure, agriculture, health, power, youth development, employment  and others. Now that a new cabinet is evolving, we pray that the President will give a matching order to the ministers to focus keen attention on these areas of needs. They are all critical portfolios and again the expectation is that the ministers would not look back in performing their duties so that they will give the kind of results that the President and the rest of Nigeria have been expecting. The state of national economy seems to be bothering most Nigerians. Are you also worried and what to you is the way forward? Yes, the present moment is difficult for Nigeria. But Nigeria is not the only country passing through economic stress. It cuts across the whole world, most especially, the so called developed countries. If you talk about Nigeria, just take a look at Greece, the old Greece. See what is happening there. The same thing is happening in the United States and of course you can see that the British government has been grappling with protests from the labour unions. France is also affected in a way, so it is a global phenomenon. It is a new era in the global economy and the reason is that people have developed to a certain stage and their expectations are getting higher and almost difficult to meet and so people take to agitation. That is the problem. So how do we get out of this problem in Nigeria? We do that by a proper re-orientation. The government must insist on this and then drive the populace to work harder, get more focussed and committed to a growth process for the national economy. Most importantly, we Nigerians should learn how to accommodate one another and to allow peace to reign. Nigeria is facing a stiff security challenge at the moment with the unrest in some parts of the North at the instance of a religious sect. what do you think is the way out? The reason we are facing these kinds of problems is because we allow our young population to stay idle and so they would be restive. The starting point for us is to start planning for the youth. We have to go back to the drawing board to fashion out the ways and means of making the Nigerian youth get more engaged. It is important for the government to get the statistics of enrolment in schools from primary level up to tertiary and the number of them that are graduating annually so that special programmes could be designed for them. The problem we have in this country is that we do not seem to have realised the potentialities in the Nigerian youth and how they could be used to turn things around. If you look at it critically, we always have a young population which means that if the bulk of  the people who constitute the population are somewhat engaged, there would be a limit to youth restiveness and agitation in Nigeria. We have to address the problem of youth unemployment before it gets too late. That is the idea. Corruption seems to be another major problem confronting Nigeria. How do we tackle that? Yes, the problem is getting more alarming and endemic. So how do we tackle that? It is simply by making sure that those found to be guilty of acts of corruption with strong proofs are not allowed to escape justice. If people are suspected to be plundering the public sector or demanding things that do not belong to them, they should be sanctioned, and the sanction must be correct and firm. The political relationship between the North and the South turned sour over the issue of zoning during the last general election. What are you elders doing to tackle the problem? It is all political and I believe with time we will overcome it. Now, there have been reports that Bamanga has been tipped for PDP national chairmanship. If that is the case what can people like us do if not to unite this federation with such an opportunity? For me I do not see any sacrifice as too great or too little for this country to remain united, indivisible and indissoluble. There is every need to cement the divide between the North and South in terms of political harmony in order to heal the bruises. Mechanism must be put in place for us to call people to a round table to see that we resolve and document popular agreement on zoning so that the suspicion that exists between the North and South would be a thing of the past. It is a question of appealing to everybody to come on board so that we can collectively rebuild the foundation of our national unity. Your interest in the chairmanship position of PDP still remains in the realm of speculations. Are you actually nursing the ambition to be? This is not a question of ambition. The truth is that some people feel that I can do it. I have been reading about it on the pages of newspapers, and I know that some people have been talking to me too. So, if eventually they ask me to be the National Chairman of PDP, why not? I will take it. If I do, then, for me, it is pay back time to my country. It is pay back because there is nothing the position of chairman of PDP would give me that I don’t have today. There is nothing special I will be expecting from the post at this point in my life other than to use the God given resources in me to serve the party and my country. Today, I earn respect from across the globe and I thank God that he has blessed me tremendously. The chairmanship of PDP cannot give me the recognition that I command today from across the world. If I can go up to the United Nations and address the entire world on crucial global issues and then continue to play relevant roles at that level, you can then understand what I am talking about. At the level of African Union, it is the same, in West Africa; it is the same in terms of recognition. If you head the African Business Round Table (ABR) and everybody looks up to you, that is something to me. You know, people outside the country used to call me a president without a country. They say I am a borderless President and then we will all laugh. But then, that is recognition from very high quarters at global level. So, there is nothing I cannot do to make PDP flourish if asked to be chairman, it is the party and Nigeria that will stand to gain. As the chairman ABR, what level of economic patronage have you won for Nigeria? African Business Round Table is to bring investments from any part of the world into African countries. It is also to forge business partnership among African businessmen. That is why I am also Chairman NEPAD Business Group Africa, Private Sector. What we are to ensure is a seamless partnership between the public and private sectors across Africa. It is not something you can easily measure, because our efforts are on-going. And you can see the responses in the attempts by some African countries to legislate for good laws, good government and socially responsible investment opportunities in their respective countries. Lastly, can you suggest to President Jonathan the next immediate steps he should take now that he has constituted his government? Let him direct the attention of his government immediately to the issue of security. I am aware of efforts being made already to stem the tide of crisis in some parts of the federation, but then we all need a pro-active security system to be put in place to nip in the bud any plan for breakdown of law and order wherever they may be coming from. I believe also that the President should intensify efforts on power with a view to increasing electricity supply in the country.

Northern grandmasters, governance and 2015

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Written by Idowu Samuel Wednesday, 27 July 2011

From left, Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau, Atiku Abubakar

The present politics in Nigeria is pregnant with ambiguities, partly due to the cold attitude of some northern political juggernauts to activities of government. Idowu Samuel, Editor North-East/North-Central Operations, examines these intricacies and the implication for 2015.

The contemporary politics of Nigeria has thrown up apprehensions now characterised by perceived uncanny reticent and malice by northern political grandmasters, who seem contented staying aloof, as government activities run haphazardly. From indications, the 2011 presidential election had succeeded in raising more posers, while leaving room for suspicion among major players in a manner that makes future politics more endangered.

Nigeria did not just find itself in this cul-de-sac. The failure of political elites to find a common ground on the issue of zoning actually complicated matters such that President Goodluck Jonathan appears alienated from a major section of the country, the North, which never wanted him in the saddle for obvious reasons.

Close to four months after the 2011 presidential election, the North has been in turmoil with a seeming unending bloodletting which is occurring more like an unstated protest against the political status-quo ante in the country.

Northern grandmasters after presidential poll
Before the last general election, the North, indeed, relied on its presidential candidates, represented by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Aliyu Gusau, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Bukola Saraki, all on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to regain the presidential power it lost due to the death of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. It also counted on the experiences of General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to make a difference with the election. It fought to actualise its desire to reclaim the presidential power while it made very strident advocacy on return of the power through zoning. The northern political elite, led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma, added an impetus by forging a consensus among all the aspirants. It eventually narrowed down its choice of presidential candidate to Atiku who contested the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary against President Jonathan.

The failure by the North to get the presidential power seemed to constitute an anathema to governance at the centre today. Ciroma, who heads the Northern Political Leaders Forum, had severally decried the manner the ruling PDP addressed the issue of zoning and then ended up adopting a wait-and-see attitude to subsequent political events in the country.

In the same vein, each of the presidential aspirants had voiced dissention to the election that produced Jonathan, as they expressed reservations to his government which they believed merely usurped the slot due to the North through alleged political subterfuges. Although, the spate of unrest in some parts of the North has never been linked to any of the presidential aspirants, there is a general belief that, had the political juggernauts rallied round President Jonathan in the present critical moments in Nigeria, the activities of Boko Haram, which have been occasioning killings and destruction of properties in some parts of the North, would not have got to the peak. Worst still, since President Jonathan took the oath of office on May 29, none of the northern presidential aspirants had been seen around the corridors of power, courting the president in any form. Their resolve to stay aloof appears very conspiratorial in a manner that suggests that they are only keen in watching the outcome of their distaste with the present government.

Although the presidential election, held in April, had been lost and won, there are reasons why eyes cannot go off the northern presidential aspirants, given the tendency of each one of them to bounce back to make more statements in the politics of immediate future of Nigeria.

Ibrahim Babangida
The Minna-born General has been consistent in sticking to the standpoint of the northern elders on zoning of political offices. He had surprised Nigerians, most especially his supporters, when he backed out of the 2011 presidential race in support of the consensus candidate by the North.

There were times Babangida went out of his way raise voice against the manner the ruling PDP swept the issue of zoning under the carpet.

Not too long ago, when members of the House of Representatives jettisoned the zoning principle by the PDP to elect Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Speaker, Babangida came out of his shell immediately to offer a congratulatory message and took a step further to lampoon PDP for creating chances for such rebellious tendency demonstrated by Tambuwal and his supporters.

Babangida has since been keeping to himself, while cutting short his usual vivacious movements around power. Although there were reports that Babangida had said goodbye to presidential contest in the future, yet, given his unassuming nature, it is not clear whether or not Nigerians could hold him to that.

Aliyu Gusau
Gusau, among the northern presidential aspirants, presents the most interesting story, given his present attitude to the government of President Jonathan. He was obviously the closest to Jonathan, having served as the National Security Adviser (NSA) in his government. Yet, he was the first to pull away the moment he declared his ambition to be president through the 2011 presidential election.

Gusau believes in the northern cause and did everything possible to support it by suspending his aspiration to support the Northern consensus candidate. But unlike IBB, Gusau has been most taciturn since the end of the presidential election, and had not been seen, not even once, around the corridors of power where he had work for most part of his service years. It is doubtful whether Gusau, referred to in security circles as the Spy Master, had made contributions to the myriads of security challenges confronting the Jonathan government of late. Gusau is never known as a man of speeches, neither is he known as a man who loves the klieg lights, yet, the former NSA is unpredictable too. Gusau has sufficient time to make up his mind whether to make his third shots at the presidency or not by 2015, that is if age would allow him to do so by then.

Atiku Abubakar
It is not in doubt that Atiku Abubakar spearheaded the fight for the North to regain power in 2011. His past and present political antecedents have depicted him as a fighter, starting with when he confronted his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, on the question of ambition. It was by sheer political wizardry that Atiku outsmarted other northern presidential aspirants to emerge as the consensus candidate for the North during the April presidential election. He made no pretences about his preparedness to take over the presidential power from Jonathan in April, even up to the manifesto night when he carpeted the president vigorously. Since he lost the primary, Atiku has wound down his vibrant campaign organisation to keep a low profile. He only comments on political matters, just any time he felt the necessity. There is no underrating the former vice-president when the game of politics is involved. A foxy politician, Atiku fought valiantly from the zone of political relegation before the April presidential election to regain fame and form. He made a dramatic entry into the presidential race after re-aligning with PDP and eventually picked the nomination form.

The incumbent president and his supporters had to deploy state arts and guile in politics to subdue him in the process. The antics by Jonathan and his spin doctors really destabilised Atiku during the election. Given the advantage of age, Atiku holds a great prospect in taking another shot at the presidential seat in 2015.

Bukola Saraki
With a successful stint in government after eight years as governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki took a shot at the presidency in 2011. It was the best option available to him. He had mounted a robust campaign to actualise his presidential dreams, as he deployed tact and wits all the way. At a time it was difficult for the North to pick a consensus candidate, Saraki came with a proposal that he should be considered as the best option, flaunting age advantage, sound education and youthfulness as his strong points. Yet, he aligned with the decision of the northern elders to pick a consensus candidate.

After the presidential election, Saraki contested and won election into the Senate. That has afforded him the scope to widen his political horizon and also the time to re-strategise politically. If he resolves, at the end of the day, to take another shot at the presidency in 2015, Saraki really has age to count on. His disposition to political issues in the Senate will determine the mileage he will gain in the future politics of Nigeria. He is one politician that the North

Kebbi Central: Tribunal Declares Aliero Winner By Saka Ibrahim 17 Aug 2011 Senator Adamu Aliero, former FCT Minister   The National and State Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State Tuesday, nullified the election of the Senator representing Kebbi Central senatorial district, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and declared former governor of the state, Senator Adamu Aliero, as the winner of the election. The tribunal also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return from Bagudu and issue it to Aliero as the lawful winner of the election. Aliero was former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Alero Edodo Eruaga, along with Justice Muhammad Inuwa Ali, and Justice Adedotun Grace Onibokun, in their 19-page ruling, said the application brought by Bagudu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and INEC for the tribunal to set aside the July 30 invocation of paragraph 18(11) lacked merit. Before Tuesday’s ruling, the tribunal had on July 30, this year, invoked paragraph 18(11) of the Electoral Act on Bagudu, PDP and INEC for their failure to produce the report of their inspection of polling materials before the tribunal whereas Aliero and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) complied.According to him, the argument of the respondents as regards the issue on report of  inspection material had been contradicted, thereby compelling the tribunal to dismiss it. “Election petitions are distinct from the ordinary civil proceedings. It is such that in certain circumstances that slightest default in complying with a procedural step which otherwise could either be cured or waived in ordinary civil proceedings could result in fatal consequences to the parties, these averment were neither contradicted and/or controverted nor was there an opposition to the written addresses. “It is trite that were depositions in a counter affidavit are not specifically denied by way of a further affidavit in support of an application such evidence or deposition in the counter affidavit will be deemed as the truth of the matter and the court can act   on it,” he said. “That a lack of reaction contrarily to the submission of counsel is deemed to be a concession to the point of being made. Based on the above principles of law we hereby affirmed our judgment of July 30, this year, and order the 3rd respondent to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the 1st respondent, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and issue a Certificate of Return to the 1st petitioner, Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero of the congress for progressive change as the lawful person to represent Kebbi Central Senatorial District of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Eruaga averred. The judge reminded the parties that the jurisdiction of an Election Tribunal to deal with election petition was a very special nature different from that of an ordinary civil case, adding that: “It is plain that the proceedings are special for which special provisions are made under the constitution.”

Money Laundering: Danjuma Wants Sen Uzamere Prosecuted Wed, 17/08/2011  | TONY AMOKEODO Senator Daisy Danjuma has urged the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), to prosecute an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) member of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, for his alleged involvement in impersonation, bribery, corruption and money laundering. In a petition dated July 26, 2011 and addressed to the AGF, Senator Danjuma further alleged that Senator Uzamere had been referring to himself as an ‘architect’ when he had no qualification to that effect. According to the petitioner, in spite of the fact that Senator Uzamere is not a registered member of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria, he has continued to make use of the title of ‘Arc’. The petition, which was made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, was also copied to the Senate president, Senator David Mark, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri and the registrar, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria. Senator Danjuma further drew the attention of the AGF to the fact that the regulatory body of architects had disowned Senator Uzamere in a letter dated May 25, 2011 and confirmed that, “We did not have the name of Mr. Ehige Uzamere in our register of architects entitled to practice in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is therefore not entitled to use the appellation ‘Arc’ as provided by the Architects (Registration etc) Act Cap A19 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.” She further urged the AGF to note that the ACN senator had flouted the provision of section 14 of the Architects (Registration etc) Act and should be prosecuted accordingly. On the issue of bribery, corruption and money laundering, the petitioner urged the AGF to take judicial notice of the fact that Senator Uzamere and his firms were mentioned in the course of prosecution of certain persons for money laundering offences against the laws of England. The petition reads in part, ‘In the course of those proceedings, it became apparent that Senator Uzamere and the said companies had been engaged in the distribution of bribes and related offences. While other persons who were implicated in the charge have since been convicted and had their assets seized by both the Nigerian and English courts, Senator Uzamere, on the contrary, in spite of being a central character in the bribery and corruption of public officials, instead of having his assets confiscated and he himself imprisoned, has been allegedly promoted into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. ‘The Engilsh courts must look down on us that in spite of their own findings, that he not only continues to walk our streets a free man, but is branded a senator of the Federal Republic .‘ Senator Danjuma also attached the letter from the architects’ regulatory body and a copy of the judgement of the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division and Royal Court of Justice Strand London, dated December 3, 2007 as an annexure, to justify her claim. Asking the AGF to take necessary action on her petition, Senator Danjuma said, “My purpose in this letter, therefore, is to appeal to you to set in motion processes to prosecute Senator Uzamere for offences which he himself has admitted in several statements to various law enforcement agents and which have been the subjects of adverse comments by foreign courts. It is my conviction and my hope that in the spirit of the rule of law, which is now taking root in the country, you will take a stand which will be a pointer to others like Senator Uzamere that crimes will no longer go unpunished in the country.”

Before Our Own Riots Start… 14 Aug 2011 Simon Kolawole Live!: Email: simonkolawole@thisdayonline.com Let’s be honest: we did not foresee the London riots. We did not foresee the arson and the looting. Many of us grew up thinking London was heaven, the best place on earth. Our parents and grandparents never ceased praying for us that one day, we would visit “Ilu Oba” (The Land of the Queen). Go to the UK High Commission and see crowds of young Nigerians desperately applying for visas. A frustrated cousin of mine called me last month seeking my approval and support to travel to London. He has graduated, done his youth service and has been applying for jobs for the past two years. There is no job in sight. He is downcast, completely tired of living off the goodwill of friends and family. “I want to travel to London. I don’t mind washing toilets to help out my widowed mother and my younger ones,” he said. If only he knew that “London” is not what it used to be and even toilet-washing jobs are now very hard to come by! The London riots—which spread to other cities in England in a matter of hours—took many by surprise. The immediate cause, it seems, was the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham by the police. Duggan, who was riding in a minicab, died from a single gunshot wound to his chest. He was said to have been on the watch list of the Met Police. His family members and friends organised a peaceful protest to register their displeasure and seek justice. It initially went well. But then some young persons seized the opportunity to unleash mayhem, burning and looting at will. The gory spectacle shocked millions around the world. Why did the people—most of them youths—resort to looting and arson? The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, described the carnage as the handiwork of criminals. He said angrily: “And to the lawless minority, the criminals who have taken what they can get, I say this: We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done.” In his opinion—and in the opinion of many British politicians and commentators—what happened on the streets last week should be considered as criminality, pure and simple. Some guys just gathered and started looting. And they will pay dearly for it. Cameron even spoke about poor parenting, poor discipline in schools, general lack of morals and an erosion of ethics and values. Not a mention of economic hardship. If you hold a contrary opinion—say you suggest there is more to the mob action than a mere mind for criminality—you are likely to be accused of justifying the looting. It’s a delicate line. Labour MP Harriet Harman said government cuts were to blame for the riots; she was virtually slaughtered for this. Maybe she was being partisan, her party having been rooted out of power by the coalition of the Conservative Party and Lib Dems. It is easy to think Harman was just trying to play opposition politics. However, I align with her, partially. While I would not hold government cuts solely responsible for the carnage, I would say the warning signal had been there for a while but the politicians and economy managers refused to acknowledge it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is your typical neo-liberal economist: cut social expenditure to the barest minimum; go for the jugular of subsidies; ignore public reaction as much as possible and continue to insist there is no alternative to your policies. With the global economic crises hurting consumption globally in 2008, the Labour government under PM Gordon Brown reduced VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15.5 per cent for 13 months to stimulate consumer spending. The coalition has since increased VAT to 20 per cent as it tried to plug the holes in public finance. But this had a negative impact on purchasing power. Yet, nobody seemed to pay attention to that. The coalition government went on an expenditure-cutting spree. The youths were the worst hit. Their weekly benefits were reduced, thousands of jobs cut, civil service recruitment frozen and university tuition fees tripled (from next year, the fees could move from a range of £2,500-£3,000 to anywhere near £9,000). Student debts are mounting. University students have been demonstrating since the fee rise was announced, with some of them getting violent. Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla were once physically attacked, while a young student was imprisoned for throwing a fire-extinguisher at a building during the protests. These were signals of what was to come, but it was easily missed. Nobody seemed to pay attention. Meanwhile, Britons watched as MPs piled expenses on expenses; taxpayers were made to pay for a lawmaker’s obsession with pornography. The expenses scandal was all over the newspapers. The bankers too, who ran their banks aground and were bailed out with public funds, did not give up their taste for insane rewards: many of them were still collecting fat bonuses, presumably for their recklessness, at taxpayers’ expense! Public anger was brewing but nobody paid attention. Resentment was rising. The politicians and economy managers went about their normal business, assuming perhaps that there was nothing to worry about. For me, the Duggan murder was the tipping point. The initial demonstration, hough peaceful, offered an opportunity for pent-up anger to be let loose. The ensuing riots, we all know, had nothing to do with Duggan. There is no link whatsoever between the fatal shooting and the looting spree. But too many issues had piled up; too much resentment against government had been bottled up; too much anger had been residing in the recesses of the minds of the youths. Nobody paid attention to the warning signals that had been flashing. Suddenly, an unrelated event happened; suddenly, the youths had an excuse to go on the streets; suddenly, the criminally minded seized the opportunity to unleash terror on an otherwise peaceful, orderly society. I do not justify the crime, by any means, but something bred the anger. Something fed the crime. We should not ignore that as Cameron is trying to do. Yes, the gangs are criminal. But that is not all there is to this brigandage. I have heard many Nigerians say this kind of riots cannot happen here. Our people are docile, they say. Even in the face of blatant looting of national treasury and economic hardship, Nigerians are going about their normal business as if they are enjoying the spectacle. Fela sang: “My people dey fear too much!” Beautiful Nubia added: “My people too dey suffer in silence. They will never talk until it’s too late for them.” I differ slightly. There were spontaneous riots all over the country in 1989—called SAP Riots. The immediate cause was the Ebony Rumours—the incredible allegations made against the then military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, falsely claimed to have been published in the American magazine. But there had been pent-up frustration in the land: the rumours simply triggered an explosion. Since Nigerians have rioted once, they can riot again. In the last 12 years, we have been inundated with reports of mindless corruption in public office. Billions of dollars stolen; emergency billionaires, who are nothing but money launderers and thieves, are walking on our heads. The roads remain in poor condition. Power supply is as horrible as it could be. Public schools are an eyesore. Jobs are so hard to come by. Out there, we have a lot of frustrated youths. I mix with them. I talk to them. I see their pains. Anytime they read stories about the jumbo allowances of the lawmakers, they are very bitter. When they hear of the billions of naira spent on power sector and yet we live in the Dark Age, they let out curses. I don’t know if they will take to the streets one day, burning and looting, but I know that the ingredients for a London-style upheaval are available. We should not ignore the flashing signals. In a way, the riots have already started, but a different kind of riots caused by unemployment and idleness. The senseless kidnappings are a form of riot. There seems to be a belief that kidnapping the wife or children or mother of a public officer and the rich is a way of getting some benefit from the system. Boko Haram, militancy and motor park touting are forms of rioting. Nigerian politicians need to know that there is a lot of anger and frustration on the streets. Nigerians may look docile. But, let’s be honest: we never knew frustrated London youths would one day resort to looting over a matter that was basically none of their business. That is how resentment works. And Four Other Things... Fuel from Niger Good news for Nigeriens—soon, they could be exporting petroleum products to Nigeria. It could be as early as December this year, according to the Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou. His target is Northern Nigeria, which he said would be getting supplies from the Zinder Refinery in Niger. We also learnt during the week that Chad has achieved sufficiency in local refining, meaning fuel importation has come to an end in that country. Where does this leave Nigeria? Many years ago, I did ask that since those who got refinery licences were not willing to build because of our regulated market, what should we do? Fold our arms and watch? I did suggest that government should build new refineries to achieve sufficiency in production, lease out the management and then sell off the companies later. The policy makers laughed at me. Six, seven years later, we’re still waiting for a new refinery to be built while we continue to burn billions of dollars on fuel importation. That’s Nigeria. Lessons from UK Riots A 20-year-old British soldier, Liam Bretherton, 20, is on trial after walking into a shop with a £2000 guitar moments after it was looted in Manchester during last week’s upheaval. The owner of the shop became suspicious when Bretherton offered the guitar for sale. He checked the serial number on the instrument, locked the soldier in the shop and called the police. He was eventually arrested and charged to court, where he was ready to plead guilty to “handling a stolen good”, claiming he bought it for £20 from a looter. He insisted he was not the one who looted the shop; he only bought a stolen item. The point I want to make here is: if it was Nigeria, the soldier would probably have resisted arrest, while his colleagues would have attacked the police station for daring to apprehend him. By the way, what has happened to those who killed the DPO and DCO at Badagry? Another case of “unknown soldier”? …And the Jokes Nigerians are quite witty, and the social media is offering them a good platform to display their skills. In the heat of the UK riots, many jokes were flying around on facebook, twitter and blackberry.  One said: “FG plans to evacuate Nigerian citizens from London.  Citizens reply: Mr President,​ thank you for your concern... we prefer the riot!" Another said President Goodluck Jonathan had called PM David Cameron and offered two detachments of MOPOL to help quell the uprising and stop the looting. For football followers, what about this? “Riots get to Old Trafford. Wenger caught on CCTV looting trophies!!!!” Adios, Fabregas One of the most prolonged transfer sagas in football history—Cesc Fabregas moving from Arsenal to Barcelona—will hopefully end this week. To football followers, it is one of the most bewildering moves ever. Fabregas, who was not homesick when he moved from Spain to England at the age of 16, is now homesick at 24! He is not guaranteed first-team football at Barcelona, with star performers like Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta well-established in the first eleven, and Alcantara Thiago on the rise. Incredibly, Fabregas is reportedly taking a huge £5 million pay cut to make this move. Why? Given that Arsenal has not won a league title in seven years, Fabregas' motivation is very clear: he wants to win trophies—even if it means sitting on the bench like Aleksander Hleb, another gifted one who left Arsenal for Barcelona and won five trophies the following year, virtually without kicking a ball!

Tinubu’s Lecture Stokes Crisis Between ACN And CPC. Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu’s comments during a lecture at the Chatham House, London, recently, where he endorsed the election of President Goodluck Jonathan seems to be earning him more foes than friends especially from the CPC, which has accused the ACN chieftain of being a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agent. STANLEY NKWOCHA reports the rift.    While delivering a lecture at the Chattam House in London recently, Action Congress of Nigeria chieftain, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, told the world that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, won the last presidential election in Nigeria. This declaration came after the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari and some of his supporters were at the same venue earlier to give the part account of what happened during the said elections. Buhari had submitted that the elections were rigged by the ruling party.   In his mild submission, Tinubu said though results allocated to the PDP’s flag bearer to a large extent were doubtful in some areas, he was convinced that Jonathan won the election.   “I believe Jonathan won the election but that the returns attributed to him in some parts of the country obviously appeared exaggerated.” Tinubu, attributed Jonathan’s victory to the “unique circumstances of Jonathan’s rise to power” which made the public to see him “as a distinctive figure.”   Since making the submissions, the banters being thrown at the ACN chieftain has known no bound. Tinubu, who at a point contemplated becoming a running mate to Buhari, and who said that the candidate of his own party, Ribadu, was a Sarkozy, a Cameron and an Obama rolled into one, is in the middle of thick jabs.   Tinubu, had blamed the ‘weak’ campaign of the opposition for their defeat, saying that they naively thought that the public’s disenchantment with the PDP “was enough to get rid of them at the polls. He took a swipe at “a group of people dissatisfied with the outcome of the general elections,” who through their “political machinations” are worsening the security situation in the country, referring particularly to the Boko Haram menace. He then pledged his “‘full sympathy and support’ for the president in finding solution to the disturbing phenomenon.”   Commenting on the incident recently, Uchenna Osigwe, apparently a staunch supporter of Buhari, wondered what could have led Tinubu into making such assertions. He alluded that Tinubu’s outburst might not be unconnected with his frustrations at the collapse of the CPC/ACN merger.   Said Osigwe: “Anybody who had followed Tinubu’s words and actions during the so-called alliance talks with Buhari’s CPC would not be very surprised at what Tinubu told the world in London. While Buhari consistently held out hope for a possible alliance, or at the very least, a working plan with the ACN, Tinubu had from the very beginning—once his request to be Buhari’s running mate was rejected by the latter on the grounds that it would be a Muslim- Muslim ticket, which, given the situation in the country, would be doomed. “In Tinubu’s words in the same report, ‘the opposition parties danced with each other but did not embrace’. Buhari, on the other hand, called for what he described as a ‘political maturity’ from both parties, who are in a way ideological soul mates, in order to dislodge the PDP. So, while Buhari was holding out hope for a workable alliance, Tinubu had gone to town to rule out any such alliance,” Osigwe fumed.   Tracing the history of the failed merger bid, Osigwe said it was regrettable that after the ACN had failed to live up to its side of the bargain, it was now blaming and churning out its frustrations on the CPC and its presidential candidate. He inferred that the party was never serious at working out a merger in the first place. Osigwe continued: “Campaigning in Kano on the 22nd of March 2011for his presidential candidate, namely Nuhu Ribadu, whom he compared to Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy of USA, UK and France respectively, Tinubu declared that the CPC was parading ‘expired leadership.’ Juxtaposed to what he said in his Chatham House ‘lecture,’ to the effect that the insecurity in the country was caused by the political machinations of a group who were not happy with the outcome of the general elections, you have a good idea of who Tinubu was referring to. There was undoubtedly a question of good faith in the alliance talks.   “Initially, when Buhari refused to run under ACN, again for good reasons, they agreed that the CPC would provide the presidential candidate while the ACN would provide the running mate. CPC was the first to ratify their presidential candidate and instead of ACN respecting their agreement, they went ahead and produced a presidential candidate. From that point on, the alliance was as good as dead. Again, Tinubu coming out to insist on being the running mate to Buhari, according to CPC sources, makes it clear that the party wasn’t serious about a workable alliance in the first place.”   As if the defence above wasn’t enough, the writer posited that Tinubu was used to frustrate the merger, adding that the PDP had made it a point of duty to always send agents after Buhari each time he decided to contest the presidential election.   “One of the revelations that came out in the run up to the April 2011 presidential elections in Nigeria was the allegation the former governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa levelled against Tinubu, accusing the latter of being a PDP agent whose brief was to frustrate any alliance with Buhari’s CPC. But Tinubu was the first to make the allegation that there were PDP agents planted to frustrate the alliance, whereupon Bafarawa told him he might have to look in the mirror to recognize one such agent! Was Tinubu’s insistence on being Buhari’s running mate part of the plan to frustrate the alliance talks?” “There’s a pattern here: each time Buhari comes out to contest, the PDP sends their agents after him, possibly making one of those agents his running mate. They failed in 2003 because his running mate, Chuba Okadigbo, stood firmly with him, but that cost him his life. That game was again attempted in 2011.   “Since they couldn’t plant someone close enough, his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, was smart enough to understand that those same agents were trying to trick him into signing a post-dated letter of resignation. In other words, they wanted to blackmail him in advance and, through that, weaken Buhari once again. Currently there is a serious effort to divide the ranks of the CPC by creating ‘factions’ in the party,” Osigwe harped.   While attempts to get the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to comment on the issue failed, an ACN chieftain who preferred anonymity, dismissed Osigwe’s submission, describing it as a “macabre dance meant to impress the courts”.   The chieftain said that the party owed no one apologies as to the best of its knowledge, the submissions of Tinubu was done without bias and clearly was devoid of hatred for any particular party or individual. He said it was about time the CPC tolerated the views of other political parties and took itself from the ‘cocoon of political hallucination’.   For the ACN and CPC – the leading opposition parties in the country, it is back to the trenches of political rivalry that is clearly self induced and created. Is this the beginning of an opposition clocked against itself? While the PDP seems to be smiling all the way, for the opposition, it may be a long walk down the brink. Perhaps the quest for power retrieval is a million miles away.

Two Generals Fooling Around.

Simon Kolawole Live!: Email: simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com

Don’t be fooled: there is more to the mudslinging between Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida than a mere disagreement over their supposed achievements in office. I will try to explore that today. To recap, Babangida had, on the eve of his 70th birthday, once again glamorised his achievements in office between 1985 and 1993 in spite of the “modest” oil revenue, while his successors, he said, enjoyed higher oil revenue and did not do better. In fact, he made reference to the billions of dollars spent on power by President Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007 without any results. “During my years as president, I managed poverty to achieve commendable results but these days, people manage affluence to achieve poverty,” he said.

Obasanjo replied the following day, wondering if Babangida had decided to be a fool at 70 because of the statements credited to him. Then he quoted some Bible passages which, on the one hand, said you should not answer a fool according to his folly “lest thou also be like unto him”; and, on the other hand, said you should answer a fool according to his folly, “lest he be wise in his own conceit”. Obasanjo said he was torn between the two. Then he went down memory lane about his achievements as military head of state as well as civilian president.

Normally, Babangida would have waited for the next day to respond. But it was too “hot” to ignore. He swiftly issued a statement, signed by his spokesperson, pouring as much acid as he could on Obasanjo. “Calling [me] ‘a fool at 70’, especially by a man reportedly and allegedly accused by his own son of incest, is at best a compliment. Nigerians surely know who is truly a fool or the greatest fool of this century,” he said, and went on to highlight that murders and air crashes were common in Obasanjo’s days in power. In fact, he accused Obasanjo of plundering the nation’s resources.

However, it was quite refreshing listening to the two men use gutter language against each other, something you would normally expect from some smelly, shabbily dressed, rotten-toothed guys at Oshodi bus stop. It shows the calibre of generals and presidents that we have managed to produce in this country. I must confess, however, that I am a bit surprised Babangida chose to play the role of the antagonist in this instance. The original attack came on the eve of his birthday unprovoked. This is very rare.

In the past, it was Obasanjo who usually took on Babangida and—maybe because of the rules of military fraternity—Babangida hardly replied openly. In the days of SAP (which Babangida eulogises till this day), Obasanjo often played the populist, taking Babangida to shreds as Nigerians went through economic hardship. The naira was losing value by the day, factories were closing down, subsidies were getting leaner and meaner and there was discontent in the land. Typical of Obasanjo, he rode the waves and opened fire on Babangida, who—obviously out of respect—never replied him.

In 1993, Obasanjo granted an explosive interview to TELL magazine, describing Babangida’s government as a fraud. “As a result of what somebody called financial and fiscal rascality, we now have an administration deficit. Deficit budgeting, deficit financing, deficit trading but more importantly, we have an administration that is deficit in credibility. That is very, very important. It’s deficit in honesty, deficit in honour, deficit in truth. The only thing it has in surplus is saying something and doing something else,” Obasanjo famously said. That edition sold out; I remember only reading the photocopies. Babangida did not respond openly. Indeed, when the then military president annulled June 12 later on, Obasanjo was said to have been a brain behind the setting up of an Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. In fact, to give the ING some legitimacy, Obasanjo reportedly said in South Africa that the acclaimed winner of June 12, Bashorun MKO Abiola, “is not the messiah”.

In less than 100 days, the ING collapsed, as it was meant to be, and Gen. Sani Abacha took over government. He knew Obasanjo quite well and one of the first decisions he had to take was whether or not to have Obasanjo freely roaming the streets and granting interviews against his government. Abacha, as ruthless as he was, locked Obasanjo up on the charges of being involved in a coup plot. Other key figures locked up—Maj. Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Abiola—never came out alive. Obasanjo survived. Babangida was one of the power brokers who installed Obasanjo as president in 1999—no matter attempts by Obasanjo to deny this now. In fact, while the retired generals led by Babangida and TY Danjuma provided the funds for Obasanjo’s presidential campaign, the Atiku Abubakar wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) provided the political foot soldiers.

Ironically, again, Obasanjo, in an attempt to rubbish suggestions that he was being backed by Babangida, kept attacking him in the public to distance himself from the Minna-born general. And, yet again, Babangida did not utter a word publicly. I was told then that he was grumbling in Minna that Obasanjo was abusing him too much, but that was it. Today, I now wonder: what went so wrong between them that Babangida finally decided to launch his own attacks against Obasanjo at peace time? All we know is that even though their relationship might have deteriorated over the years, Babangida had always managed to keep his cool in public.

Indulge me to hazard a guess this morning and piece a theory together. When Obasanjo’s candidacy was being promoted in 1999, the belief was that he would do only one term. A second term was not part of the script. Invariably, Babangida and Atiku were eyeing the position in 2003. Unfortunately, Obasanjo decided to go for a second term. Babangida, again partly out of respect and partly out of fear of failure, decided to forgo his ambition and wait for another day—this time 2007. As 2007 approached, Obasanjo began to nurse his third term ambition. He had stretched his luck too far. The combination of Babangida, Atiku and Danjuma successfully “penetrated” the National Assembly and the plot failed (though I totally agree that public opinion and TV also played a key role).

What happened next? The EFCC immediately arrested Mohammed, Babangida’s son, in what many discerning observers saw as an attempt to get back at those who opposed the third term project. He was released without charge. Atiku was presented with the PTDF scandal to battle with by the EFCC, which also summarily terminated Gen. Mohamed Marwa’s presidential ambition on the accusation of making his account available to Abacha for money-laundering. For those who never knew, Danjuma was Marwa’s “godfather” and major backer in his presidential bid. Obasanjo made sure he paid his opponents back in their own coin. He walked out of Aso Rock satisfied that they had all seen red.

But then the Obasanjo-installed president, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, died. The eight-year slot thought to have been reserved for the North was coming back to the South through Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. And, boy, Obasanjo did everything possible to frustrate the quest by Babangida (and Atiku) to unseat Jonathan. It was a cold, freezing war between the generals. My conclusion, therefore, is that with nothing more to lose or gain at 70, Babangida simply let go of his bottled-up resentment for Obasanjo. He had been too loyal to Obasanjo for ages and hardly got anything in return. For Obasanjo, calling somebody a fool for criticising his government is typical. He was just being himself. He believes he is God’s greatest gift to mankind.

Now as to the argument—who was better between Obasanjo and IBB as president—I would like to answer this way: if both men were as good as they are now trying to make us believe, we would not be hopelessly battling with poor power supply, battered roads, sick healthcare system, collapsed refineries and bankrupt public morality today. I would therefore advise both of them to stop fooling around.

And Four Other Things...

Aikhomu's Football Legacy

I was never a fan of Admiral Augustus Aikhomu—I'm not going to be pouring emergency encomium on him because he died. However, I admired the Admiral for one thing: he was the main secret behind the success of Clemens Westerhof as the coach of the Super Eagles. The Dutchman was recruited in 1989 by the late Chief SB Williams, former chairman of National Sports Commission (NSC). He could have been fired hastily the Nigerian way but for the political protection he enjoyed from Aikhomu, who was Nigeria's No. 2 citizen. Westerhof got everything he wanted, including keeping away preying sports ministers. The then NSC chairman, Chief Alex Akinyele, threatened to fire him for failing to win the African Cup of Nations in 1992. It was Akinyele that was fired instead. What happened next? Nigeria went on to qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever and then won the African Cup of Nations in 1994. That was the last time the Super Eagles tasted success in international football. Adieu, Aikhomu.

Suspending Salami

The Ayo Salami/Aloysius Katsina-Alu face-off is just a symptom of the deep-seated animosity, mutual suspicion and ego games in the judiciary. The outcome of the probe of Salami’s allegations against Katsina-Alu over the “arrest” of the 2007 Sokoto governorship election petition is a bit of an anti-climax: the Nigeria Judicial Council (NCJ) has suspended Salami, who is president of the court of appeal, and recommended his retirement for failing to apologise to Katsina-Alu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, over the allegation which it described as false. Lawyers are still arguing if NJC can suspend him. But my take on the whole issue is different. Salami has been constituting panels that installed ACN government in many states—so the PDP would want to see him go. Predictably, ACN would be mad. One man’s loss is another’s gain. It’s all politics, fellow Nigerians.

Apapa Dead-end

Anytime I wake up in the morning, I hardly want to go to the office. Not that I am tired of this job but because trailers and tankers have made my office in Apapa, Lagos State, a no-go area. We used to engage them in a battle of wits. After working all day and you want to go home at night, you can’t because they always block the road. It has now become impossible to gain access to our office as they start block the road from early morning. We hoisted a flag of surrender since there was nobody to protect us. We started parking on the other side of the road (and this does not cause traffic in any way). You know what? LASTMA, which ordinarily should be clearing the road of the traffic caused by tankers so we can park in our own compound, now tows our cars for parking by the way side. What a nice way of punishing the victims.

Oni and Mimiko

The chairman of Labour Party in Ondo State, Dr. Olaiya Oni, has resigned. Why? Is he going to defect to another party or just remain an ordinary member of LP? Nobody knows yet. However, the reasons he gave for his decision are a bit curious to me. While saying Governor Olusegun Mimiko had performed creditably well, he said he was unhappy with the choice of Oba for his hometown and Mimiko had failed to help dethrone him. He also said the governor was sending N450,000 “only” from the state treasury to him every month even though “I disposed of my assets—landed property, shares in blue-chip companies and banks—to support the struggle”. Dr. Oni also talked a lot about his bruised ego, complaining that he was not involved in the choice of running mate and transition committee. While I understand Oni’s grievances, I don’t think he should have put some of those things in writing. He didn’t protect himself enough.