A Must-Read/Must-Share: Statement By Prof. M. Nur Alkali, CON, Made In Maiduguri, Borno During Pres Jonathan’s State Visit

Your Excellency, the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, we all here, on behalf of our various communities that we represent are highly honored to receive you on your two days official visit to Borno state.
We thank Your Excellency for this kind gesture. Your visit to the state was long awaited particularly within the period of the crises we have all passed through.
We are also aware that Mr. President has been briefed regularly on the crisis which has engulfed this state for the last five years through various sources.
Whatever may have been told to you, Mr. President, may not be as authentic as coming here by yourself to see things for yourself and to interact with the representatives of the various communities assembled here in this town hall-like setting.
To be frank everyone both within here and in the streets would like to talk and the version of the message they would communicate maybe different and diverse.
But the theme of the messages will be the same—that the sectarian conflict since your government ordered the first fire to be shot to “nib in the bud a potentially dangerous situation” has brought a great deal of hardship to the peoples in their homes, in the streets, in the markets and on the farmlands.
Everyone did his or her best to absorb the shock, bear the pains, and tolerate excessive cross-fire that went on. There is hardly anyone in this meeting who has not lost a close relation, family member or very close friend.
This town is full of orphans, fathers and mothers without their children, lost men and women, some in detention, some in hiding and some incapacitated—a tale of horror, grief and agony.
In this crossfire more innocent people have died. The nature of the operation is frightening. When the militants kill one soldier, a whole ward or street is put on fire and dead bodies often litter the street.
We lack information or statistics of innocent peoples who have died or kept in detention and how many of the militants were actually, killed, arrested and detained. Markets are closed, shops destroyed, road blocks in all major and minor roads.
Mr. President Sir, we urge you to personally investigate this situation of horror and terror because the extent of damage done is enormous. H.E., the Governor of Borno State Alh. Kashim Shettima continues to appeal for calm and tolerance because as he says “hard times never last forever”.
“Borno had seen many conflicts in the last one thousand years, both natural and man-made, but we have always come out of these much stronger, confident and resilient.”
We shall come out of this one too and bounce back to peace, harmony and stability again. The time to do this is now, that the combatants have announced a ceasefire publicly and called for a dialogue.
Mr. President even if it is one person who came forward to call for peace, he should be received with open arms and reintegrated into the wider society.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. There is no doubt that there is a general suspicion and fear and almost certainly these fears are genuine—particularly in a situation where even people who go to claim dead bodies are considered suspects and detained without any hope for trial.
There is nationwide call for amnesty or better still, pardon to be granted to the militants in such a way the militants in the Niger Delta were granted.
If I may recall Mr. President, your call for the militants to come into the open as a condition for amnesty to be offered to them is inappropriate as the situation of this sectarian conflict is different from what obtains in the Niger Delta where as you stated, the militants actually came out to be received.
In the Niger Delta, the situation was different because many of them were already operating openly and well known to the security forces and the government.
The nature of the two conflicts are different. Here you are dealing with people who believe they are fighting on the basis of some ideology, not necessarily religious or political but fundamentally social and the desire to bring about certain changes in the ways of life of the society.
Even then, if one may recollect, in the case of Niger Delta, late President Umaru Musa Yaradua granted them pardon before they talked about ceasefire. They were heavily compensated, rehabilitated, and given all kinds of job to do.
Some of the responsibilities given to them are such as policing the oil bunkering and piracy going on in our high seas—as a situation of getting the thief to catch a thief.
Here, the issue is more doctrinal and ideological and in case where the militants believe that their success is death. It is a worldwide phenomenon that young men and women with no jobs, no proper education, stricken by poverty and neglected by their society, simply take up arms to fight what they consider as injustice.
Their being called Boko Haram is confusing because they themselves did not give that name to themselves. Their being killed, destroyed, maimed, has only helped to infuriate them further while their doctrines and ideologies continue to rage on. They gather sympathy and membership from the thousands of orphans, widows and widowers which further strengthens their position.
Borno is the only state of the federation which has common borders with three sovereign nation states, Cameroun, Chad and Niger and the whole corridor linking the Lake Chad to the river Nile and the Mediterranean coast is a theatre of war.
The factor of insurgency and movement of displaced persons in places like Southern Sudan, Darfur and recently Central African Republic, with people trading in small arms has compounded the situation even further.
Mr. President, Sir, we are dealing with a more complex problem and the application of our solution remains faulty. There is no alternative to the dialogue which Your Excellency has repeatedly considered unacceptable.
But the truth is that, in conflict resolution and crisis management, dialogue is an internationally accepted concept and where people have begun to talk about peace, they should be granted the pardon and the earlier we commence, the better.
The dialogue or even multi-logue through various fronts may not be something that could be achieved in one month, one year or even more, but let us begin by working out the required strategy and serious approach to the solution, one day we will strike on the real issues at stake and overcome the problem.
Use of force breeds more violence and crisis and as HRH, the Shehu has raised in his speech yesterday, and I quote “what peace and tolerance do not achieve, violence and intolerance can never achieve”.
Mr. President, we sincerely appeal that, before you leave Borno State you will assure everybody the commencement of dialogue, grant of a pardon, rehabilitation and compensation for lives lost, homes destroyed and properties lost or stolen.
This I believe is the minimum expectation from every person living in Borno and the rest of Nigeria.
May Allah guide us along the right path to overcome these challenges, Amin. Consider the environment in all things you do.
- PROF. M. NUR ALKALI, CON was former VC UNIMAID(1985-1993), DG NIPS Kuru Jos 1994-1999, Director centre for Trans-Saharan Studies UNIMAID 2000-Date
NewBytes

SOME OF THE PROMISES MADE BY GEJ DURING THE 2011 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.

1. He Promised to rule for only one term.

2. He promised a constitutional role for Traditional Rulers.

3. On March 17th 2011, in Dutse the Jigawa state capital, he promised:"If I win the election, within my four years in office, I will establish domestic airports in all the states without airports.

4. In Nasarawa, at the flag-off of his campaign he promised at least a university in every state including building specialist Almajiri schools to shore up education in the North so as to eradicate illiteracy.

5. On February 8th in Ibadan, the day he called some people "rascals", he promised to create jobs and improve the power sector.

6. On Feb 9th, he was in Bauchi he promised to intensify oil and gas exploration in the North-East as part of efforts to harness resources for economic development. Also he pledged to boost agriculture, power and water supply for wealth creation and revenue generation. Then he assured that projects such as the Mambilla hydro-electricity, Jada irrigation project and Kafin Zaki dam in Taraba, Adamawa and Bauchi would be pursued to boost agriculture and industrial development. He promised that your administration would establish two universities in the region.

7. In Portharcourt on Feb 12 where he made lots of promises.He announced that the NNPC, in partnership with the private sector, would establish a petrochemical plant in the Niger Delta. He promised the plant will create job opportunities for the Niger Delta youths. He went ahead to promise the implementation of Local Content Law and Petroleum Industry Bill. That was the event that we saw the stampede that claimed the lives of Nigerians.

8. In Kaduna- He promised massive transformation of the agricultural sector through construction of large dams and distribution of one million metric tonnes of fertilizers for the 2011 farming season.He also pledged to establish Almajiri model schools to address the challenges of the Almajiris.

9. In Benue-He promised to revolutionize agriculture and establish industries in the country through a five-year plan.He also promised to complete the irrigation project in Otukpo, promised that the second Niger Bridge and the Benue Bridge projects will be worked on in the next four years.

10. February 17th, he was in Plateau where he shocked the entire country with amazing promises. First of all, he pledged to refocus on the solid mineral development of the state and make it one of the key revenue sources in Nigeria. He promised to build more dams and complete ongoing ones, so as to boost agricultural growth. In addtion he promised to complete the Vom-Manchok-Jos road to boost economic links between Plateau and Kaduna states.

11. On Feb 21, he was in Kogi and promised among other things promised that the dredging of the River Niger and Lokoja-Abuja road dualisation would be completed very soon.

12. In Kwara State on Feb22, he pledged that the irrigation project in Shonga would be completed soon to boost the commercial farming activities of the New Nigeria Farmers in the area. He also said the Jebba-Mokwa road and Jebba bridge would be given adequate attention to ease transportation in the area.

13. On February 24, Mr. President,pledged to rehabilitate ALL ailing industries in Aba.

14. Mr.President, on Feb 25th in Anamabra, said there is a plan to build a power station in the state, assuring that within four years your administration would construct and rehabilitate ALL federal roads leading to Anambra as well as the South East. He equally to provide potable water to the densely populated Onitsha and Nnewi cities and tackle erosion in the South-East.

15. In Ebonyi state he promised to dualise the Enugu-Abakaliki federal highway in addition to establishing a secretariat for ALL Federal government's agencies and parastatals in Ebonyi.

16. In Niger state, he promised more power generation. That your government would map out a five-year strategic plan for road projects.

17. On Feb 27, he was in Asaba, the Delta state capital. He revealed that “The NNPC is developing a new programme that will absorb about 5,000 youths.

18. On March 2nd, he was in Ondo where he promised that roads and other basic infrastructure across the states will be developed in four years. He also promised the exploitation of the vast bitumen deposits in the state for national economic development and employment generation.

19. On that same day, March 2nd, his campaign train was in Ekiti state. While there, he promised that more than N50 billion federal intervention projects were ongoing in the state.

20. On March 9th, in Sokoto, he promised to rehabilitate the abandoned Shagari irrigation project as well as reviving the nation’s rail system and figh the menace of desertification in the country.

21.The date was March 12th 2011 and he was in Ogun state.He rode to Abeokuta through rail. He promised an improved power supply before the end of the year through the Integrated Power Project (IPP) initiative.He also pledged to build more refineries, encourage downstream activities, resuscitate rail transportation and create jobs.

22.On March 14th,his campaign train moved to Kebbi where he promised to establish a federal university next year (2012). He also promised to create jobs through science and technology, tackle environmental challenges and boost health care delivery.

23.On March 15,he was in Katsina, where he promised to enhance the living standard of Nigerians through implementation of people-oriented programmes that would provide citizens the necessary opportunities to realise their potentials.

24.In Kano, he pledged to resuscitate the nation’s power sector and encourage the development of small and medium scale enterprises in the country while ensuring justice, equity and fair play in the polity.

Nigerians are judging you with the level of fulfillment so far.Goodluck everybody!!!!

PDP Fears Buhari More Than God – El- Rufai

Former Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El-Rufai said
General Muhammadu Buhari is his
preferred candidate for the 2015
presidential polls.
El-Rufai who spoke to Radio France
International Hausa Service denied
eyeing the presidency saying it was just
a propaganda by the Peoples Democratic
Party.
“Those who are saying Buhari should
step aside for me are not members of
our party. May be they are PDP members
who are afraid of General Buhari. This is
because the way they fear Buhari – I
swear they do not fear God the
almighty,” he said.
Reacting to comments credited to Nuhu
Ribadu about his book - The Accidental
Public Servant - he said “it is not possible
for me to write a book and everybody
becomes convinced about what I wrote.
But nobody came out to say Nasiru has
lied in the book. The only thing they say
is that they are not happy – like Nuhu
Ribadu, he has said he never read the
book, so if you didn’t read the book why
talk?
“The way I look at it, even Atiku
Abukabar’s people who wrote
rejoinders have not read the book. I
hope that by now they have read it, and
may be that is why they kept quite.
There is no way everybody will agree
with the book and there is no way one
would say he never committed any
mistake,” he said.
El-Rufai also challenged his critics to
write their own books for “Nigerians to
choose which one they will read”
because as far as he is concerned, he
wrote the truthPDP as he knew it.

CPC PRESS RELEASE: LEMU REPORT: Any hope for its implementation? - By: Rotimi Fashakin

Sequel to the post-election violence that erupted in some parts of
Northern Nigeria after the 2011 general elections, the ruling People
Democratic Party (PDP) made spirited efforts to demonize the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and its national leader, General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB).

First, a notable journalist and newspaper columnist became a hireling in using his Guardian Newspaper column (on 22nd April, 2011) in disseminating unfounded piece of disinformation about GMB and CPC. He was eventually rewarded – for the hatchet job- with a plum appointment as the Senior Adviser to the President on media and Publicity upon the latter’s inauguration on 29th May, 2011.

Second, on the basis of the mendacious scribble of this unscrupulous hireling and with immense state resources, the cyberspace, like the nation space, became engulfed in falsehood about GMB and CPC!

Third, as a way of giving legal and institutional impetus to its
propagandist schemes, the PDP-led Federal Government empanelled on 11th May, 2011 a group of twenty-two (22) eminent Nigerians- in what became known as the Lemu committee - to investigate the cause of the
Post-election violence.

The Panel submitted its report to the
Government on 10th October, 2011 containing far-reaching
recommendations. Whilst the Lemu Committee was still sitting, the police authorities declared at a public forum that: “No fewer than 5,356 people were arrested during and after the April 2011 General Elections in the country for electoral offences. Out of the number, 2,341 were arrested before the polls and 3,015 for post-election violence.”

The poser is:
What has happened to those apprehended by the Police for perpetrating this heinous crime against humanity? Left off the hook? Remanded in police custody? Being prosecuted in a court of law? Nigerians need to know.

Meanwhile, aside identifying – as a major cause of electoral violence – existing widespread desire by the people for change as a result of the parlous state of the Nation’s infrastructure and legitimized culture of impunity festered by the PDP rulers since 1999 and previous governments, the Lemu Committee recommended the setting up of Electoral Offences’ Tribunal.

In May, 2012 – more than seven months after submission of Lemu report - the PDP-led Federal Government (with much fanfare) adopted the establishment of special electoral offences’ tribunal as part of the implementation of the Lemu panel. It is more than nine months after the release of the white-paper, and there is absolutely nothing to show that this very important endeavour is being pursued with pertinacious vigour.

Indeed, the nonchalance of this regime on this score connotes that:
• The Jonathan regime did not really intend to unearth the truth about the post-election violence in 2011 but sought to use the eminent Nigerians in the Lemu Panel as pawns to be used to indict CPC and its leader, GMB!
• The Jonathan regime, being the greatest beneficiary of the anomalous electoral system in 2011, is unwilling to make fundamental changes that will truly give sovereignty to the Nigerian people.
• The PDP will be unwilling to support any sustainable, expeditious trial of electoral offences because electoral manipulations and infractions have become the reason for its tenacious hold on political power in these thirteen years.

As a Party, we call on the Nigerian people to demand the
implementation of this report without any further delay. It is in so
doing that true democratic values shall be deepened in the Nigerian polity.

God bless Nigeria.

Rotimi Fashakin (Engr.)
National Publicity Secretary, CPC.
(Thursday, February 28, 2013).

SPEECH BY GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR AT THE AFRICA DIASPORA CONFERENCE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, TUESDAY, 5TH MARCH 2013

Protocols

1. May I thank the organizers for inviting me and my associates to this conference which, if I may say so, is growing in influence by the day. The presence of many Nigerians and distinguished Britons on these historic premises testifies to the importance and to the high expectations of this occasion. At the end of today’s proceedings many of us hope to have a better understanding of our problems and perhaps identify more effective solutions to those problems.
2. My contribution today is based on reflection and practical observation rather than on studious research or scholarly presentation. It is a soldier’s and politician’s broad observations on democracy and economic development in my country, Nigeria.

By convention one usually would like to talk about his country outside its shores in glowing terms extolling its virtues and defending its values and interests. But the situation in our country is so bad and no one knows this better than the international community, that it would be futile to take this line today.

Furthermore, it would be counter-productive to efforts we are all making to understand and accept our shortcomings with a view to taking steps towards a general improvement. If you continue to be in denial, as Nigeria’s government and its apologists are wont to do, you will lose all credibility.

DEMOCRACY

3. There is no point in rehearsing all the text-book theories of democracy to this august gathering. But in practical terms there are, I think, certain conditions without which true democracy cannot survive. These conditions include, but are not limited to, the level of literacy; level of economic attainment; reasonable homogeneity; rights of free speech and free association; a level playing field; free and fair elections; adherence to the rule of law and an impartial judiciary. But these imperatives are not applicable to all countries and all climes. India for example, suffers from great poverty and diversity but its efforts at running a democracy are exemplary.
4. Democracy can best flourish when a certain level of educational attainment or literacy exists in the society. The vast majority of the voters must be in a position to read and write and consequently distinguish which is which on the voters card to make their choices truly theirs. In recent elections in Nigeria, many voters had to be guided – like blind men and women – as to which name and logo represent their preferred choices or candidates to vote for. When one does not know what the thing is all about, it is difficult to arrive at a free choice. It will be even more difficult to hold elected office holders to account and throw them out for non-performance at the next election. Under these circumstances, democracy has a long way to go. Our collective expectations on a democratic system of government in less advanced countries must, therefore, be tempered by these realities.

5. Nor must we discount the role of economic development on the democratic process. An even more compelling determinant to human behavior than education is, I think, economic condition. I will return to this topic when discussing elections, but suffice to remark here that if, for example, on election day, a voter wakes up with nothing to eat for himself and his family and representatives of a candidate offer him, say N500 (£2) he faces a hard choice: whether to starve for the day or abandon his right to vote freely.
As the celebrated American economist, late Professor J.K. Galbraith said: “Nothing circumscribes freedom more completely than total absence of money”.

6. For democracy to function perfectly, a reasonable level of ethnic, linguistic or cultural homogeneity must exist in a country and this applies to all countries whether more developed or less developed. In the US, which like Nigeria is a federation, Hawaii and Alaska send two senators each to Washington as do California and New York. In our own country, Bayelsa with a population of less than two million elects three senators to the National Assembly in Abuja equal to Lagos State with a population of over ten million. Nassarawa State with about two million people and Kano State with over five times the population also send 3 senators each to Abuja. Such dilution clearly negates the intent and spirit of democracy.

7. Central and critical to democracy is adherence to the rule of law. That is to say, no individual, institution, not even government itself can act outside the confines of law without facing sanctions. Executive arbitrariness can only be checked where there is respect for the law. Other desirable conditions of democracy such as freedom of speech and association can only flourish in an atmosphere where the law is supreme. Law does not guarantee but allows a level playing field. In the absence of the rule of law, free and fair elections and an independent judiciary cannot exist.

8. As a result of the virtual absence of the rule of law, elections in Nigeria since 2003 have not been free and fair. As a participant, I can relate to this audience my experiences during the 2003, 2007 and 2011 Presidential elections. Hundreds of candidates have similar experiences in State, Federal legislature and Gubernatorial elections. Under Nigerian law, these elections are governed by the 1999 constitution, the Electoral Law and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acts of 2002, 2006 and 2010. Ordinarily, an election is an occasion when contestants will join the electorate in celebration of freedom, because the will of the majority has prevailed. Winners and losers alike come together to work in the interest of their country. But this happens only if the elections were deemed free and fair. In 2003, INEC, the body charged with the conduct of elections in our country tabled results in court which were plainly dishonest. We challenged them to produce evidence for the figures. They refused. The judges supported them by saying, in effect, failure to produce the result does not negate the elections! In a show of unprecedented dishonesty and unprofessionalism, the President of the Court of Appeal read out INEC’s figures (which they refused to come to court to prove or defend) as the result accepted by the Court. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, said this was okay.

9. In 2007, the violations of electoral rules were so numerous that most lawyers connected with the case firmly believed that the elections would be nullified. I will refer to just two such violations. The Electoral Act of 2006 stipulated that ballot papers SHALL be serially numbered and voters result sheets must also be tallied on serially numbered papers. INEC produced ballot papers with NO serial numbers and also used blank sheets thereby making it well nigh impossible to have an audit trail. At all events, at the final collation centre the chief electoral officer, after 11 (eleven) states (out of 36) were tallied excused himself from the room – apparently on a toilet break – and announced the “final results” to waiting journalists. He had the “results” in his pocket. At the time, several states had not completed transmission of their tallies. As in 2003 the courts rubber-stamped this gross transgression of the rules. Some election returns confirmed by INEC stamps included, 28th April, two (2) days before the election, 29th April, a day before the election and astonishingly, 31st April a date which does not exist on the calendar, illustrating the farcical nature of the election. The Supreme Court split 4-3 in favour of the Government.

10. In 2011 all pretences at legality and propriety were cast aside. In the South-South and South-Eastern States, turn-out of voters was recorded by INEC at between 85% - 95% even though in the morning of the election the media reported sparse attendance at polling booths. The rest of the country where opposition parties were able to guard and monitor the conduct of the Presidential election turn-out averaged about 46%. In many constituencies in the South-South and South-East, votes cast far exceeded registered figures.

11. Which brings us to the need for an impartial Judiciary in a democratic setting. The judicial arm of the government, properly speaking, should be the interpreter and arbiter of executive and legislative actions but the Nigerian government since 1999 has successfully emasculated the judiciary and turned it into a yes-man. An independent and impartial judiciary would have overturned all the Presidential elections since 2003. In addition, hundreds of cases of judicial misconduct have marred elections to Local Government, State and Federal Legislatures. The Judiciary has run its reputation down completely since 2003.

12. Here, I would like to say a few words about the international observers. In 1999 the greatly revered former US President, Jimmy Carter walked off in a huff at the conduct of that year’s Presidential election. But compared to what took place afterwards, the 1999 election was a model of propriety. I am sure many Nigerians like me feel gratitude to the international community, notably the Catholic Secretariat who deployed over 1,000 observers in 2003 and the National Democratic Institute in Washington for their work in Nigeria. In 2003 and 2007, all the international observer teams, along with domestic observers concluded that those two elections fell far short of acceptable standards. The Nigerian government, along with the international community ignored those critical reports. Some members of this audience may recall the trenchant criticisms by the UK and US governments on the Zimbabwean elections held about the same time as Nigeria’s. Now the Zimbabwean elections were very much better conducted than the Nigerian elections as the opposition party in Zimbabwe actually was declared to have won the parliamentary elections.

13. Yet Western Governments turned a blind eye to Nigerian elections and an eagle eye on Zimbabwe’s and its supposed shortcomings. No better illustration of double-standards can be cited. Accordingly, in 2011, the international observers, having seen their painstaking work in earlier years completely ignored, took the line of least resistance and concluded after cursory examinations that the elections were okay.

14. So it is quite clear from these brief recollections that many preliminary elements of a democratic set-up are missing in Nigeria namely: level of educational development, level of economic development, homogeneity, level playing field, rule of law, impartial judiciary and free and fair elections.

15. As observed earlier, democracy cannot function optimally without a certain level of economic attainment.

16. Economically, Nigeria is a potential powerhouse, a large population, 167 million by the last official estimate, arable land, more than 300, 000 square kilometers, 13,000 square kilometers of fresh water. In addition, the country has gas, oil, solid minerals, forests, fisheries, wind power and potentials for tourism and hosting of international sporting events. It is a miracle waiting to happen. The lack of leadership and policy continuity has resulted in great under-achievement.

17. Many Nigerians in the audience today will relate to the situation of our countrymen and women. More than 100 million of our people live below $2 a day according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics and many internationally recognized estimates. We lack security, are short of food, water, live in poor shelters with hardly any medicare to speak of. Small scale farmers, foresters, micro businesses such as market women, washermen, vulcanizers, tailors, street corner shop-keepers and the like lack both power and meaningful access to small scale credit to ply their trade and prosper.

No wonder, the publication, “The African Economic Outlook 2012” under the auspices of the United Nations lamented that poverty and underdevelopment were on the increase. In fact, GDP figures in the raw or in outline tell little about the spread of wealth, employment levels, infrastructural development and the effect of socio-economic programmes such as schooling, health care, and security on the generality of the population. You may sell a lot of oil in an era of high oil prices and boost your GDP and boast about it. But there is nothing to boast about when 100 million of your people are in poverty and misery. Life is a daily hassle; a daily challenge. It is under these circumstances that many a voter is tempted to sell off his voting card for a pittance on Election Day.

CONCLUSION

18. We now come to crux of the matter by attempting some answers to the very pertinent questions which the organizers of this conference put to me. How stable is Nigeria’s economy? The short answer is that it very much depends on the international oil market. The failure over the years to diversify and strengthen the economy or to invest in the global economy has left Nigeria perilously at the mercy of global oil prices. Instead of using the so-called excess crude account which in other countries goes by the name of Sovereign Wealth Fund to develop major domestic infrastructure such as Power, Railways, Road development, the account has been frittered down and applied to current consumption. There is no magic, no short-cut to economic development. We must start from first principles – by developing agriculture and industries. Sixty years ago, we exported considerable quantities of cocoa, cotton, groundnuts, rubber and palm kernels. There were sizeable incomes to the farmers. Indeed in two years, if I recall correctly, 1951 and 1953, Nigeria produced a million tons of groundnuts. Today, other than a few thousand tons of cocoa, hardly any cotton, rubber or palm products are exported.

19. Until and unless serious budgetary attention is paid to agriculture, the vast majority of rural population will remain on subsistence basis and will eventually wither away by migration to the cities and increasing the stress on urban life. What is required is applying today’s technology, primarily improved seeds and seedlings, irrigation systems, use of weather forecasts, and above all, substantial subsidies and access to cheap credit. In Nigeria, the basic tools for agricultural take-off, the Six River Basin Authorities were wantonly scrapped in 1986 under the disastrous Structural Adjustment Programme. They are the best vehicle for our country’s agricultural revival and expansion.

INDUSTRIES
20. Next to agriculture, government and railways industries are the country’s biggest employers of labour. Industries are vital in absorbing urban workforce. Nigeria’s burgeoning industrial growth was brought to an abrupt halt by the Structural Adjustment Programme which massively devalued the naira under IMF harassment and bullying. Uninterrupted Nigeria’s capacity by now would have been able to produce basic machine tools, bicycles, motor cycles, car parts, parts for industrial machinery and the likes. But alas, the car industry is down; tyre manufacturing is down, both Michelin and Dunlop have closed; battery manufacturing and sugar industries are down; cable industries all but down: all in the wake of the Structural Adjustment Programme. The last 14 years have added to the misery due to red tape, high interest rates, power shortages and competition from developed economies under World Trade Organization (WTO) imperatives. Subsuming all these problems is the old and ever-present devil: corruption.
Corruption has shot through all facets of government and economic life in our country. Until serious efforts are made to tackle corruption which is beyond the capacity of this government, economic growth and stability will elude us. On corruption, don’t just take my word for it. The Chairman of one of the bodies charged with the task of fighting corruption in Nigeria, Mr. Ekpo Nta of Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offensive Commission (ICPC) was quoted by the Daily Trust newspaper of 14th February, 2013 as saying that there was no political will to fight corruption in Nigeria.

21. A second fundamental question asked by the organizers is: Can Nigeria as presently structured administratively and politically emerge an economically competitive nation? I believe it can. There is a lively debate going on in our country about the need to re-structure the country. What shape this reform is going to take is uncertain. Even the most vocal advocates of re-structuring the country, although long on rhetoric seem short and vague on details. We have tried regions and this was deemed lopsided and a trap to minorities. We tried twelve, nineteen and now thirty six (36) states and there is clamour for more. I firmly believe that state creation has now become dysfunctional, as disproportionate amounts of our meager resources go to over-heads at the expense of basic social services and infrastructural development. Moreover, I also believe that Nigeria’s problem is not so much the structure but the process. Nevertheless, I believe a careful and civil conversation should be held to look closely at the structure.

22. But how do we go about it? Go back to the Regions? I do not think this would be acceptable; except perhaps in the old Western Region. Try the present Six Geo-political Zones as federating units? I believe there will be so much unrest and strife in South-South and North-Central; this is not to say that there will be no pockets of resistance in the North West and North East as well – the consequence of all these will unsettle the country. Go back to General Gowon’s 12 state structure? Here too, entrenched personal or group interests will make collapsing and merging states impossible to operate in a democratic set-up. It is only when you come face to face with the problem you will appreciate the complications inherent in re-structuring Nigeria.

23. However, once a national consensus is reached, however defective, the environment will facilitate political and economic stability. At long last we can look forward to Nigeria finding its place among the BRIC nations and instead of BRIC, the media would be talking of BRINC nations: Brazil, Russia, India, Nigeria and China. I sincerely hope this happens in my lifetime.

24. The third question put to me by the organizers is: Can the present electoral body in Nigeria guarantee and deliver credible elections that will strengthen the nation’s democracy in 2015?

25. All the present indications are that INEC as it is presently constituted would be unable to deliver any meaningful elections in 2015. I have gone to some lengths earlier in my talk to describe INEC’s conduct in the last decade. The Electoral Body has developed a very cozy relationship with Executive and Judicial arms of government that its impartiality is totally lost. In the run-up to the last elections INEC requested (and received with indecent haste) in excess of 80 billion naira (about £340m.) a hefty sum by any standards, so that it could conduct the elections including organizing bio-metric voters data specifically for the 2011 elections.

26. But when opposition parties challenged the patently dishonest figures it announced and subpoenaed the bio-metric data in court, INEC refused to divulge them on the laughable excuse of “National Security”. INEC’s top echelon is immersed deep in corruption and only wholesale changes at the top could begin to cure its malaise. What is required is a group of independent minded people, patriotic, incorruptible but with the capacity to handle such a strenuous assignment of conducting elections in Nigeria. It is not difficult to find such people but whether the Government and the National Assembly have the inclination to do so I am not so sure. The only way I and many more experienced politicians than myself expect the 2015 elections to be remotely free and fair is for the opposition to be so strong that they can effectively prevent INEC from rigging. I would like, here, Mr. Chairman to repeat what I have said time and time again at home in Nigeria with regards to the election aftermath. Some commentators and public figures have wrongly pointed accusing fingers at me for inciting post-election violence. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been a public servant all my adult life: a soldier, a federal minister, a state governor and the head of state. My duty is to Nigeria first and foremost. Post-election violence was triggered by the grossest injustice of election rigging and accompanying state high-handedness.

27. Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I will attempt to address the two very important questions you put to me namely: How can the poverty level in Nigeria be reduced? And How can the masses generally benefit from the nation’s vast wealth? As remarked earlier, there is no short cut to poverty eradication than to get people to work and earn money. Poverty means lack of income. If serious efforts are made to support agriculture through states and local government apparatus in the shape of inputs, i.e fertilizers and pesticides, extension services and provision of small-scale credits, agriculture will boom within 5 – 7 years. Farmers will generate more income to enable them to grow the food the country needs and to look after our environment. In addition, the drift to urban centres will be greatly reduced. Equal attention should be paid to the revival of employment-generating activities such as Railways, Industries, notably textiles and other land and forest resource based industries to absorb urban labour to tackle poverty, reduce urban stress and crime and at the same time boost the economy. However, these two major policy initiatives can only succeed if there is substantial improvement in power generation. As remarked earlier, adequate provision of power will help small scale business to thrive and link-up with the general economy. Power is the site of the legion, in other words, it is central to all economic activity.

28. May I, Mr. Chairman, conclude this presentation by referring to the distribution of income in Nigeria today? No better illustration of the huge income disparity can be quoted than the statement of Malam Adamu Fika, Chairman of the Committee set up by Government to review the Nigerian public service. In the course of presentation of his Report, the Chairman pointed out that 18,000 public officers consume in the form of salaries, allowances and other perquisites N1.126 trillion naira (£4billion) of public funds. The total Nigerian budget for 2013 is N4.9 trillion (£20 billion). This is the worst form of corruption and oppression. A wholesale look at public expenses vis-à-vis the real need of the country has become urgent.

29. Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Members, Distinguished Guests, I thank you for your patience and attention.

General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
London – United Kingdom
Tuesday, March 5th 2013.

Draft Criminal Charges Detail How Gov. Peter Odili Plundered Rivers State's $500million To Set Up Arik Air And Buy Up Media At AIT, Thisday, Newswatch And ChannelsTV

Peter Odili , Mary Odili and judges

By SaharaReporters, New York

SaharaReporters has obtained detailed draft charges that never made it to the courts regarding the brazen looting of Rivers State treasury by the state’s former governor, Peter Odili. The documents show how Mr. Odili used a combination of government officials and personal companies disguised as fronts to fleece Rivers State to the tune of N100 billion between 2004 and 2007.
Saharareporters’ analysis of the draft charges, which were prepared by well-known Nigerian lawyer Festus Keyamo on behalf of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under the chairmanship of Mrs. Farida Waziri, reveal that, between December 2004 and September 2006, Emmanuel Nkatah, a personal staff of the governor operating at the Rivers State liaison office in Abuja, alone withdrew over N4 billion naira from Zenith Bank account No. 6010916567 which belonged to Rivers State Government House.
The 220-count draft indictment targeted Mr. Odili and 24 others regarding allegations of theft, conspiracy to commit theft, money laundering and fraud.

The draft charges listed other accused persons and beneficiaries of Mr. Odili’s extensive looting. The list includes founder of Arik Airline, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, former Minister of Aviation, Babalola Borisade, two former People's Democratic Party chairmen, Ahmadu Alli and Barnabas Gemade. Also listed as co-accused are Pauline K. Tallen, Mrs. Olufemi Agagu, Ike Nwachukwu, a retired general, and Ukandi Damanchi, a professor.

The businesses named in the charge sheet include Courage Communications Ltd, Attn Ltd, Ragolis Water Ltd, M/S Wetland Health Services Ltd, Transky Ltd, Foby Eng. Ltd, First Medical/Sterile Company Ltd, Habila Resources Ltd, Rockson Engineering Co. Ltd, Ojemai Farms Ltd, Ojemai Investments Ltd, and Godsonic Oil Company Ltd, an oil company owned by Peter Odili which also has business interests in the Nigeria/Sao Tome Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4.
The documents reveal, for instance, that between January 2004 and December 2006, Mr. Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, the alter ego of Rockson Eng. Ltd, received over N60 billion from the accounts of the Rivers State government. Also between September 2005 and the year 2006, Mr. Borishade was the beneficiary of an illegal diversion of over N4 billion in the guise that it would be used to rehabilitate Port Harcourt International Airport. On March 3rd and March 10th 2006, then Governor Odili withdrew the sum of $2 million U.S. dollars for personal use but in the guise that the money would be used to sponsor senior government officials on a trip abroad. As his tenure as governor drew to a close, Mr. Odili intensified the questionable withdrawals. On March 16, 2007, he withdrew another $2 million for the same purpose of sponsoring senior government officials on a foreign trip. On April 20th 2007, he withdrew another $2 million for the same purpose. On May 23, 2007, days before he left office, he withdrew another $1 million.

Of particular interest in the indictments is Mr. Odili’s corrupt entanglement with several major media organs. The charge sheet listed some media companies that received huge sums of money from Mr. Odili’s loot. SaharaReporters learnt that the dole-outs to the media were designed to buy their silence.
The biggest chunk of the payoffs went to Nduka Obaigbena's Leaders and Company Ltd, the publishers of ThisDay newspapers, Raymond Dokpesi's Daar Communications PLC, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower FM, John Momoh's Channels Television Ltd, and Newswatch Communications Ltd, publishers of Newswatch magazine whose chief executive is Ray Ekpu.
In particular, the charge sheet stated that between 2004 and 2007, Gov. Odili channeled almost N2 billion to Daar Communication, over N300 million to Leaders and Company, N50 million to Channels Television Ltd and over N100 million to Newswatch Communications Ltd. all received part of the loot from Mr. Odili's slush fund.
In addition, Mr. Odili was notorious for doling out cash to numerous prominent editors, columnists and reporters. Thanks to his policy of bribing the media, he received little or no negative publicity during his eight-year rule. “Governor Odili presided over Rivers State at a time when a lot of revenue was rolling in here,” said a Port Harcourt-based politician. “Yet, the state capital, Port Harcourt, was in very bad condition and the state had no good roads or other infrastructure. Where did all the money go? Why did members of the press not ask questions?”
Sometimes, Mr. Odili splashed cash on party officials as well as other notable figures. Among those who received N20 million each were Mr. Ahmadu Ali, Mrs. Olufemi Agagu, Mr. Barnabas Gemade, and retired General Ike Nwachukwu. 

The documents indicate that the scale at which public funds were converted to private use was staggering. There was clear evidence of money laundering and blatant stealing of Rivers State funds for the personal use of the governor and his cronies.

Mr. Odili’s legal trouble started on October 31, 2006 when a petition came into the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The commission launched investigations into various allegations of corruption and financial crimes leveled against Mr. Odili and other officials of the Rivers State Government. On December 12, 2006, the EFCC issued an interim investigative report and prepared a draft of 223 charges against the governor.

In a counter-move, the then Attorney-General of the state, and later Nigeria's Foreign Affairs minister, Odein Ajumogobia, on February 23, 2007 sued the EFCC, the then Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rotimi Amaechi, and other defendants in a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. In the suit, Mr. Ajumogobia asked Justice Ibrahim Nyaure Buba  of the federal High Court in port Harcourt to bar the EFCC from investigating, prosecuting or ever harassing Mr. Odili and officials of his administration. In the suit (number FHC/PH/CS/78/2007), the then Attorney-General claimed that the EFCC had no powers to investigate the state government and that such a move went contrary to provisions of Nigeria’s Constitution which gave such power to the State House of Assembly. The suit asked the court to bar the EFCC from sharing whatever information it had gathered with the media or coercing the State House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings on the governor.

On March 20, 2007, Justice Buba granted the Rivers State government all that the state’s Attorney-General prayed for in what is now called a perpetual injunction. Upon leaving office, Mr. Peter Odili again went to court and asked that he should be made a beneficiary of the perpetual injunction granting him permanent immunity from prosecution. Again, Justice Buba’s court agreed. The judge imposed “a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from arresting, detaining and arraigning Odili on the basis of his tenure as governor based on the purported investigation.”
In 2007, the Nuhu Ribadu led EFCC claimed they immediately file an appeal but the court of appeal never assigned the case as Mary Odili was a judge with enormous powers at the Court during the period.
Again in 2008, the EFCC filed an appeal against Justice Buba’s ruling. In the brief, the EFCC argued that the commission had the right under the statute that created it to investigate economic crimes allegedly committed by the state government and Mr. Odili. It also argued that the Buba Court was wrong in proceeding with an “Original Summons when it was obvious that the parties were in serious contentions on the facts.” The appeal described Justice Buba’s action as “at best incompetent,” insisting that the court “lacked jurisdiction” to hear the case. It concluded that “the judge was wrong to have issued the declaratory orders and injunctions against the Appellant (EFCC) which amount to prohibiting [the EFCC] from carrying out its statutory functions and setting aside its report when in fact the report was not even placed before him.”

Five years after, the EFCC’s appeal is still at the Appeal Court of Nigeria in the Port Harcourt judicial division waiting for the lower court’s verdict to be vacated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Odili also went to the same court and on January 27, 2011 won a ruling that he should be joined as an interested party in the substantial case.
However, no date has been set for the hearing. Sources close to Saharareporters said that the administrations of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan have had no interest in seeing Mr. Odili tried. “Both President Yar’Adua and now President Jonathan subtly encouraged the no-action status quo,” a legal source in Abuja told SaharaReporters.
In fact, while Mr. Odili’s charges had been prepared and awaiting filing at the Federal High court, President Jonathan nominated his wife, Mary Odili, to the Supreme Court in May 2011. Several sources told SaharaReporters that Mrs. Odili played a key role in the plot to scuttle the wide-ranging indictment against her husband.

After governing the oil-rich Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, Mr. Odili ran for president in 2007. But he was forced to withdraw when some interests within his party confronted him with the numerous allegations of embezzlement of government funds during his governorship.
In his autobiography, Conscience and History, published last year, Mr. Odili acknowledged that he negotiated the charges against him with then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr. Odili offered to drop his presidential bid in exchange for a sort of soft landing that initially included being offered the Vice-Presidential slot. That slot was later given to Mr. Goodluck Jonathan.

Former Governor Odili is one of the nine governors whose corruption cases are in perpetual limbo in the courts. Others are James Ibori of Delta State, currently serving jail time in London for corruption, Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia state, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State, Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, Boni Haruna of Adamawa State, and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State.
In spite of the swirl of corruption around Mr. Odili, he had no difficulty persuading Lincoln University, one of America’s most prestigious historically Black colleges, to accept donations from him, a fact noted by Human Rights Watch. By the end of 2006, Mr. Odili had become one of the school’s largest donors, with at least $1.64 million in donations. During that year, the university bestowed a controversial honorary degree on Mr. Odili. Lincoln held a luncheon in his honor, and named a building after him, actions that drew outrage from Nigerian groups as well as Human Rights Watch.
Political sources in Abuja told SaharaReporters that several factors have helped Mr. Odili evade prosecution so far. One factor is his wife, whose position as a justice of the Supreme Court makes her an insider who is able to ensure that her husband will not face a no-nonsense judge. Another factor is that Mr. Odili was very close to former President Obasanjo, and was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Obasanjo’s failed plan to change the Nigerian constitution in order to continue as president. Besides, since the end of his tenure as governor, Mr. Odili has moved to Abuja where he maintains a quiet profile, making as little political noise as possible. After years of feuding with his successor, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Mr. Odili and the Rivers State governor had a kind of reconciliation in 2011, just as Mrs. Odili was elevated to Nigeria’s apex court. In a country where political considerations are often paramount, Mr. Odili has ensured that he is not perceived as a political threat to President Jonathan and other powerful political interests while his businesses which are proceeds of corruption booms.
 Mr. Keyamo’s detailed charge sheet was prepared for former EFCC chairman Farida Waziri. The file was inherited by current EFCC chairman Ibrahim Lamorde who has failed to prosecute Mr. Odili despite the fact that, as several legal authorities told SaharaReporters, the so-called injunction obtained by the former Rivers State governor does not really stand in the way of the anti-corruption agency.

NJC to sack more judges

 by  Lanre Adewole- Lagos

News coming out of the nation’s judiciary top echelon is pointing to the sack of more judges as different panels set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) are about to turn in their final reports, a top source revealed on Friday.
The source, who was shocked by the ongoing probe of Justice Abubakar Talba of the Abuja High Court over the controversial sentencing of  pension scam suspect, Yakubu Yusufu, told Saturday Tribune that feelers from other committees working on allegations against others judges under probe were returning damning verdicts.
One of such judges was involved in the controversial trial of a former governor for corruption, coming up with a controversial conclusion.
His indictment was said to be inevitable following the confession of the said former governor to grand larceny.
The council’s Performance and Evaluation Committee, headed by a retired justice of the Supreme Court, reportedly entered dismissal recommendation for the said judge, who currently sits in a state in the North-Central.
Talba’s fate may also have been sealed, considering reports that an incriminating piece of evidence had been sourced against him over his alleged dumping of an agreement among him, Yusufu and the prosecuting Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the execution of the controversial plea-bargain involving Yusufu’s alleged theft of N2 billion pension fund.
Though it could not be confirmed if any case of corruption had been established against Talba, Saturday Tribune source noted that reneging on an agreement by all the parties in the said suit and concluding on another without the involvement of the prosecution would amount to unethical conduct, which may ultimately put Talba on the firing line.
The source also disclosed that some judges were found guilty of dereliction of duties by the evaluation panel, adding that those that had earlier been queried for same offence would definitely be shown the way out.
Saturday Tribune can also disclose that the NJC, on Friday, received the police investigative report that indicted the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, Tunji Ijaya, chieftains of the Action Congress of Nigeria and telecommunications giant, MTN, for unethical communications during the hearing and determination of the Osun State Governorship Election Appeal Tribunal.
The police report was made available to the council by former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, seeking a review of the council’s probe clearing Salami over the alleged unethical communication.
A source disclosed that the report was received on Friday and briefly deliberated upon.
It was learnt that the council will meet on March 13 and 14, and might use the platform to deliberate on whether to re-open the Salami probe or not.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja would on March 11 deliver judgment in a suit seeking to reinstate Salami to office without the assent of the approving authority; President Goodluck Jonathan.

NJC had no objection to the prayers of the plaintiff and others respondents; Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Mohammed Adoke did not enter an appearance.
NigerianTribune