APC’s A Real Alternative To PDP, Says Saraki

 

The registration of All Progressives Congress (APC) is an indication that Nigeria has got a real opposition party, according to former governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Saraki, who represents Kwara Central in the upper chamber of the National Assembly and is the chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, made this known yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, while speaking with newsmen.
He explained that prior to the formation of the APC, all the parties claiming to be opposition were merely regional parties.
Describing the registration of APC as a good development, Saraki said, “Elections will not be taken for granted again. APC is good for our democracy. It is a real alternative. It will make those of us in the Peoples Democratic Party to sit tight.

“But time will tell how cohesive the APC people are. Before we have regional opposition parties and that made them unattractive. It will take a lot to dislodge a party as large as PDP,” he added.
Speaking further, Saraki called for the diversification of the nation’s economy as a panacea to the incessant cases of oil theft.
“There should be laws to check the activities of oil thieves. We should have the political will to tackle headlong those involved in this act of economic sabotage”, he added.

InformationNigeria

Egypt: Morsi's Wife Says He is coming back

The wife of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has spoken at a rally celebrating Eid al Fitr, promising her husband is "coming back". Naglaa Mahmoud told thousands of his supporters to remain

defiant in the face of the military-backed government's warnings that security forces will clear the ongoing protests.

Mr Morsi's supporters have been protesting in the streets of Cairo since Egypt's first democratically elected leader was removed in what many see as a military coup at the start of July.
The new government, which has the backing of Egypt's powerful military, has told them that if they don't disperse, they will be removed.
Wearing a flowing veil that covered most of her body, Ms Mahmoud spoke to the crowds gathered at a sit-in at that Raba'a al Adawiya mosque in Cairo's Nasr City suburb.
She recited a verse from the Koran before delivering what she described as "good news," saying Egypt "is Islamic".
"We are victorious," Ms Mahmoud told the crowd, saying protesters would prevail.
It had been thought that Ms Mahmoud was held with her husband in an undisclosed location along with one of her children.
But demonstrators in Nasr City cheered her arrival to the makeshift stage. She did not say where she had been since the coup.
Mr Morsi is being held with his top aides, a number of whom have been transferred over the past days to a prison in southern Cairo.
They face charges including instigating violence that led to deadly street clashes between those who supported and those who opposed Mr Morsi's rule.
Mr Morsi's children also have joined the Nasr City protest camp and called for the release of their father.
The camp is the site of one of two sit-ins by Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group and its allies.
Protesters demand Mr Morsi's reinstatement, restoration of the suspended constitution drafted under Mr Morsi and the return of his Islamist-dominated legislative council which was also disbanded.
Critics believe that the Brotherhood - one of the country's oldest religious and political groups - is rejecting any meditation with the new government in order to prompt a possibly bloody confrontation with security forces.
Foreign diplomats, including several senior American senators and European diplomats, as well as Arab foreign ministries have tried and failed to mediate between the two sides.
It appears that any state crackdown will wait until next week. The Cabinet statement said the government was keen not to take action during the Eid celebrations that mark the end of Ramadan.

iPaidABribe

Skippy, the guardian angel? Australian boy says kangaroo saved him during night lost in bush

 

Kangaroo helps save missing child

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Boy, 7, says kangaroo helped him survive a chilly night in the Australian bush
• He says he went missing from a family picnic after a kangaroo ate flowers he was picking
• He spent nearly 24 hours lost in in bush while a search party looked for him
• His father said the kangaroo was "a gift from God"

(CNN) -- A seven-year-old boy who spent a winter's night lost in chilly conditions in the Australian bush says a friendly kangaroo is the reason he survived.

South Australian police said Simon Kruger went missing in the Deep Creek Conservation Park, south of Adelaide, after wandering away from a family picnic shortly after 1.15pm Saturday.

A search party of about 40, including two rescue helicopters, was mobilized to locate Simon, who was wearing just a fleece top and track pants and was not equipped for a night in the elements.

The search party continued their efforts through the night, operating using parachute flares, before a rescue helicopter spotted him about 500 meters from where he had gone missing nearly 24 hours earlier.

He was winched to safety shortly after noon Sunday, a police spokesman told CNN, having sustained minor injuries from his night in the wilderness.

But what has drawn the most attention about the episode is Simon's account of how he survived.

"Dad, I'm okay - I slept under a tree and there were kangaroos," were his first words to his father as he was reunited with his family, The Australian newspaper reported.

His father, Etienne, told Australia's 7 News said that his son had been picking flowers for his mother when a kangaroo approached him.

"A kangaroo came closer to him and ate the flowers from him, and the kangaroo fell asleep next to him," Etienne Kruger told the network. "I think God sent a kangaroo to keep him warm."

The boy's mother, Linda Kruger, added: "I think it was a miracle, when I smell his jacket, it's kangaroo -- bush and kangaroo."

The Krugers had been confident throughout the search that their son would be found safe, with the father telling The Australian that his son was strong and resourceful.

He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday that his son was recovering well from his ordeal, and acting "as if nothing had happened."

"He's had a nice shower last night and a good sleep," he said. "He's certainly got something to tell at show and tell now."

CNN

‘Buhari is dealing with people who deceived Ribadu’

 

By OLAYINKA AJAYI
Following  the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the  emergence of  All Progressive Congress, APC, Tolagbe Animashaun,  a PDP senatorial aspirant  in Lagos Central District, in this interview,  explains how the PDP can resolve issues facing it.  Excerpts:    
Five northern governors burying the PDP?
They can threaten hell and brimstone.  What we need to do is to sit down at the round table and settle issues like adults, because PDP is a very big party that will outlive  other parties; what is happening is expected of a party that is as massive as the PDP.
If you remember,  during the 2011 general elections, there were issues  that sounded as if they were not going to be solved but they were ironed out. I am positive that the PDP is going to survive the tumult  that is going on now because there have been re-conciliatory moves by all forces involved; that is the major reason the party is going to surmount the challenges.
Do you envisage the PDP making any head way in 2015?
There is absolutely no party like the PDP in Nigeria, one million parties can merge  and   endorsed by the court, but what you put into consideration first is the caliber of those coming together, you will realize that they are people bent on manipulation and dribbling of the masses.

Tolagbe Animashaun

I have a very high regard for the former head of state, Gen. Buhari, but, eventually, he will realize that he is dealing with deceitful people. If you also remember, in 2011, they deceived and used former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was their presidential candidate, and dumped him. We are going to put our house in order and I  am sure we are having this storm in order to have a calm.
Is PDP democratic enough in selecting its key officers?
I am yet to see any political party  that is as transparent as the PDP in Nigeria.  Recently, we were supposed to have our convention  for the purpose of electing our national officers  but the court restrained us and we obeyed.  So, which other way can we be more democratic as compared to other political parties that just appoint families and friends.
How soon will PDP put their house together ?
Reconciliation is in process.  A committee has been set up to look into the matter.  The committee is headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State  Seriake Dickson.  I am sure all the parties involved in this crisis will come to the table to talk including the governors that are threatening to bury the PDP. You must realize that people talk when their horses are goaded, and it is better to be together than to be apart
Plans to impeaching  Gov. Rotimi Amaechi?
This party has made many people and I don’t see anybody biting the finger that feeds him, but that does not mean that nobody is hindered not to have aspirations, you can aspire to be the president or whatever you want to be but you ought to respect the authority of the president of the nation and also the authority of the party.
As far as I am concerned, there is some level of indiscipline on the part of the governor of Rivers State towards the authorities. Whatever grudges you may have can be sorted out within and not on the pages of newspapers. In all sincerity, he is a Nigerian and he has every right to nurse an ambition, but he has to put his ambition in check.
Chances of PDP winning any seat in South-west come 2015?
Currently the present administration has not been fair to us in the South-west and we have made representation to the government.  Lagos also does not have a representative in the Federal  Executive Council (FEC) and it is seriously affecting the fortunes of the party in the state because we don’t have a minister that will speak on our behalf  in Abuja.  The President   is aware of this and we have shouted on the roof top that  he is not being fair to us in the South-west.
It may interest you to know that Lagosians  are fed-up with multiple taxation in Lagos, bad roads and motor cycles being seized.  If the party can give us our own minister, we have a good  chance of winning Lagos for PDP in 2015. Also we believe that we were robbed in the last local government  elections by the Action Congress of Nigeria, especially in Eredo local government area of Badagry; Ikoyi – Obalende, Agbado – Okeodo  where we won the Chairmanship election and the courts gave the mandates  to the ACN.  So, all we need is to have the backing of our formidable party  in 2015.
For instance, the vote Mr. President garnered during last  presidential election was as a result of  the efforts of what the PDP did in Lagos. I believe we can do the same again if he recognizes that he needs our support to emerge in 2015.

Vanguard

Time For Nigeria's ''Big Men'' to Give back to Society

By Zainab Usman

Nigeria's former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, recently announced that he is offering one undergraduate/postgraduate scholarship to young Nigerians, to cover study within Nigeria or in a foreign institution. The details of the scheme titled “Education Solutions” are available on his website here.

The scholarship scheme has been attracting mixed reactions on social media so far– applause and condemnation in almost equal proportion. Personally, I am very ambivalent about it. While I will not condemn it, I certainly think more can be done to improve education as a whole in Nigeria, through teacher trainings and workshops, provision of books and study materials, advocacy campaigns and so on, rather than giving out one scholarship. To be fair to the former vice president though, he has emphasised that it is a nascent, pilot scheme, and he does own one of the most reputable private universities in the country, the American University of Nigeria.

Ultimately, there is no harm in our former public officials giving back to society. Giving out scholarships through a competitive process that selects the best and the brightest and changes someone’s life positively certainly beats sitting idly about, making self-serving, inflammatory and polarising press statements threatening that “Power Must Return to the North or Else…” or “Power Must Remain in the South or Else…” whilst sitting on a huge mound of fortune that is either frittered away in obscene and vainglorious consumption, or that lies dormant in Swiss Banks, South African hotels, Malibu mansions and Emirati apartment blocks. Call it the lesser of two evils if you must.

Now imagine if more of Nigeria’s “big men” were to invest in education, advocacy, and productive enterprises at home. We probably wouldn’t be begging the Americans, Europeans and lately the Chinese to do OUR work for us: to come establish labour-intensive manufacturing firms on our shores. If only 10% of Nigeria’s $170 billion stashed in foreign accounts (these are 2003 figures, the current figures must be several multiples of this amount) were to be re-invested back home, the tremendous impact it would have on our economy is best left to the imagination.

I have argued severally that a lot of our former public officials need to make themselves useful. It has been 14 years since the transition to democracy. These 14 years have created many former governors, former ministers, former senators, former ambassadors and others who have held influential positions (I haven’t even included the titans of the military era). These are individuals with the resources and the clout to make a direct positive impact on their communities in numerous ways. A few of them have proceeded to establish consultancies, NGOs, think tanks or are still engaged in politics or policy. Some have chosen to retire in peace. Many others have temporarily skulked back into the depths of obscurity, resurfacing occasionally to rally young Nigerians to their ethno-centric, bigoted and self-serving causes.

There are so many productive ways to get involved.

One way is advocacy and enlightenment campaigns on leadership and good governance to ensure people at the grassroots stop selling their votes to the highest bidder.

Another is advocacy and enlightenment campaigns to ensure young women are enrolled and allowed to complete at the barest minimum secondary school education especially in the North East and North West.

A third could be the establishment of profit-making enterprises (if they can’t find competent local managers, they can hire qualified expatriates – there are many!) which will create value and jobs in their communities and make more money for them.

A fourth could be teaching and lecturing in many of our tertiary institutions that are wallowing in the dearth of expertise and learning equipment. Writing opinion pieces on the pages of newspapers is just not enough. Young Nigerians in tertiary institutions will benefit tremendously from the wealth of their experience in public service.

The list is endless. Most of them are influential. Many of them have the resources. Many of them can make a difference.

It is really tempting to dismiss Atiku Abubakar’s scholarship scheme or to question his motive. Indeed, one might even wonder whether the scheme will last beyond the 2014 elections primaries. Nevertheless, society will definitely benefit from more of the well-to-do giving back in useful ways that will make a real difference to people’s lives.


Saharareporters
 

Develop Your Country – Briton Tells Nigerian Youths

 

A member of Volunteer Service Overseas, Mr. Michael Young, a citizen of United Kingdom has charged Nigerian youths to stay in their country to contribute to its development instead of risking their lives searching for unreal greener pasture.
Young, who stated this along his counterpart, Miss Samuel Joy Ben during a press conference in Ilorin to mark the beginning of International Youth Day celebration in collaboration with National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Kwara State chapter, said immigrants could make it in their countries without embarking on dangerous journey.
Narrating his experience with Nigerian immigrants in UK, Young disclosed that his contact with a Nigerian man with his family in his country was not palatable.
“I met him in the toilet, he told me he has a wife and children in Nigeria whom he had to cater for. He told me he has to work for 15 hours washing toilets in different places.
“The question is, why can’t they stay in Nigeria? You can’t make it in this country because life in UK is too expensive. Youths can be in Nigeria and contribute to the development of the country”.
The volunteer, who appealed to government to ensure good policies on education, said it is through compulsory education for children between 6 to 18 years that helped UK to reduce poverty and youth unrest.
Young caution Nigerian youths and immigrants to be sure of where they are going if at all they want to travel abroad, stressing that the risk facing foreigners are too challenging.
His counterpart, Miss Ben advised Nigerian youths to change their attitude towards acquisition of money, stressing that there are many ways they could contribute meaningful to the society.
In his reaction, the Chairman of NYCN, Comrade Kazeem Adekanye noted that the main agenda of many youths in Nigeria travelling abroad is to seek greener pasture which lures them into series of problems.
He appealed to Nigerian youths to stay in the country and utilise their skills, talents for the development of the nation, stressing that over 70 million Nigerian youths out of over 150 million Nigerians are enough to build the nation.

DiasporaScope

Buhari: Bomb or bubble?

 

The newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC , is faced with the difficult predicament of containing the determination of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to contest the next presidential election.
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
His last military posting before he was proclaimed military head of state in December 1983 was as General Officer Commanding the 3rd Armoured Brigade, Jos. Giving that military backdrop, it is not surprising that he is being accused of confusing the newly registered APC with the Armoured Personnel Carrier, APC, one of the military vehicles used to position him in power 30 years ago.
Though General Buhari has renounced the utilization of force in the realization of political goals, many of his new political allies are still apprehensive about him. Their fear is his determination to contest the next presidential elections due in 2015.
Receiving visitors from the Democratic Emancipation Movement, who paid him a courtesy call in his Kaduna home last Tuesday, the former military ruler vowed that he would present himself for nomination to the APC for the 2015 presidential election. He, nevertheless, pledged that he would abide by the result of the primary contest if he loses out.
“My decision will be tied to the constitution of the APC. If the party chooses me as its candidate. I will contest. If the members do not consider me, I will not contest, but I will still support the party,” he said.
Refusal to rule himself out
After contesting and failing in the last three presidential elections, 2011, 2007 and 2003, many of his allies in the APC are bothered by the refusal of the retired general to rule himself out of the next contest.
Their fear is essentially based on their suspicion that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP see him as the easiest candidate of the APC to defeat. It is not for nothing. Apparently filed somewhere in the national headquarters of the PDP, is the election manual: Easy steps to defeat Muhammadu Buhari in an election.

*Buhari

His refusal to rule himself out of the contest was just too irritating for some.
Indeed, once his assertion emerged on Wednesday, a senior member of the new party close to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and also close to Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal came out to chastise the former military ruler for attempting to use his personal ambition to derail the collective goal of the new party to oust the ruling party.
“By our calculations, a younger and vibrant politician should run as our candidate so as to give the Peoples Democratic Party a good fight; but from the way things are, we are stocked in between telling Buhari outrightly not to run and allowing him to continue with some ripple effects coming our way later,” the ranking member of the National Assembly told newsmen.
The response of the lawmaker which was on the basis of anonymity because he apparently did not want to further stir crisis in the party that has just been registered. It was nevertheless reflective of the increasing difficulties of party officials in handling the Buhari question. The Buhari question is, remarkably, not suggestive of any moral or integrity deficit in the former military ruler.
While most Nigerians readily would not fault Buhari on the crucial issues of corruption facing the country, most would readily agree that he has been so much painted in the negative by the PDP in the last three elections as an Islamist and one who would put the majority of corrupt elite to jail should he get his hands on the levers of power again.
The National Assembly member told journalists in the off the record session, that Buhari and Tinubu had reached an agreement in the preliminary talks leading to the merger of the three parties that formed the APC for the duo to abstain in the 2015 presidential primary of the party.
He said it was the opinion of party stakeholders for the APC to look for fresh blood to confront the PDP. Such suggestions, however, do not go down well with many in the Buhari fan club, especially in the North who see him as the only one with the moral fiber in the ruling class able to deliver the country from its demons.
Internal democracy
Senator Sulieman Nazif, a one time fervent supporter of Atiku Abubakar but now a vibrant fan of Buhari said as much during a press interaction with newsmen in Zaria, last month.
“What I am trying to point out is that when we talk of internal democracy, General Buhari is a member of APC, he is a Nigerian, he was one of those that fought for the unity of this country, so he has the mandate to contest.
“He is one individual alive today in the history of Nigeria that has more than 12 million votes uninfluenced by money or anything, so if he contests again he will win.”
Claimingthat Buhari’s past failures were because of rigging, he said: “Today in Nigeria, there is nobody that can beat him in a fair and free election. I am a young man, I know what the man can do, I know the kind of overwhelming support he has, and we are talking about democracy, government of the people by the people and for the people.
Another Buhari enthusiast, Osita Okechukwu, who is a chieftain of the APC, responded to what he claimed to be the negative mud being deliberately poured on his man. He said yesterday: “They rigged him out in 2003. They rigged him out in 2007, the outcome was Doctrine of Necessity. They rigged him out in 2011, the outcome was rudderless leadership.”
Buhari who is presently 71, would be 73 at the time of the next presidential election. Though he has not been reported to have suffered any major health challenge, many are of the opinion that at his age he should better give his moral support to any of the younger elements in the party.
Speaker Tambuwal, who is a member of the PDP and has been the focus of many eyes as the most likely candidate of the APC, was endorsed by the National Assembly member.
One possible response of those aiming to resolve the Buhari question is to conduct a presidential primary which they claim Buhari would lose.
In the last three elections he conducted he almost always emerged on the basis of consensus. In 2007 he was nominated as the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP only after Ahmed Yerima was forced to step down on the convention ground.
In 2011, he was easily adopted as the candidate of the Congress for Progressive, CPC without a contest. In the APC, the former military head of state is, however, bound to meet strong opposition especially from those desperate to stop the PDP.
How the new party responds to the issues concerning Buhari would be a major factor in determining its prospects in the 2015 election which is now less than two years away.

 

Vanguard