Thursday, 19 December 2013

Kukah, Bakare Express Divergent Views On Obasanjo’s Letter To Jonathan


OBJ's letterThe Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and the Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, yesterday gave divergent views on the open letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Though Bishop Kukah admitted reading only the first and last pages of the letter, he said the reactions it has generated in the polity was an indication that the contents conveyed personal rather than national interests.
The respected clergy, who spoke at a memorial service in the first year remembrance of the late Kaduna State Governor, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa in Kaduna, said there are procedures for removing a sitting President from office.
According to him, apart from a coup, another way to acquire political power is through an election.
He said: “I am sure some of you have read Obasanjo’s letter. I was one of the first people to get the letter, but not from Obasanjo. I read page one and the conclusion. I have not read the rest. You hear politicians tell you about the threat of doom and bloodshed.
“When food is almost ready, very bitter political enemies who have not been talking will begin to talk, because food is almost ready. So far, there is corruption, the erosion of integrity, the corrosion that passes authority in Nigeria. We have not even come close to what politics is. We have bandits and all kinds of people who want only the key.
“We must continue to pray for Nigeria because we are rescinding and have forgotten what our overall objective should be.
“(Former South African President Nelson) Mandela is dead and Nigeria had better adjust itself very quickly to take its rightful position.
“There are rules to every game. You want to be President; there is a date. You don’t want somebody to be President; there is a process. Short of a coup, there is no other way of accessing power, except through an election.
“For me, what lies before us is not about President Goodluck Jonathan, because even if he stays for 20, he will go one day. But really, we should wake up.
“The idea is that somebody moved from this party to that party or going and coming from Abuja. All of us who are fooling ourselves will soon be left stranded when the matter is settled”.
In his own reaction to the letter, Pastor Bakare, who was running mate to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in the 2011 general elections, urged President Jonathan to respond to the allegations raised by the former president in his letter even though Mr. Obasanjo lacked the credibility to speak on national issues.
Bakare spoke in Ogba, Ikeja, during a church service at his Latter Rain Assembly.
The lawyer-turned pastor also advised Mr. Jonathan to respond to the weighty allegations before the year 2013 runs out.
“President Jonathan should respond to the letter. He should not wait until January to do so; he should respond now. We may discredit the messenger but we cannot discredit the message”.

InformationNigeria

Bayelsa Elders Write Jonathan: We are Not Feeling the Impact of Govt


Goodluck-Jonathan-091222.jpg - Goodluck-Jonathan-091222.jpg
President Goodluck  Jonathan


By Segun James 
The people of the oil producing areas of Bayelsa State have written to President Goodluck Jonathan protesting against the alleged continued neglect of their area by the federal government.
The elders therefore raised the alarm on the rising anger and impatience of the people especially the youths against multinational oil companies operating in the area.
In a letter which was signed by Emeritus Professor E. J. Alagoa , Professor Youpele Beredugo,  Alabo Jikekuma Ombu-Kieri, Sir C.T Ikelemote, Dr. Young Dede, Ms. Ruby Iwoyefa Nyananyo, Chief Nengi James and Chief Howells Aburuku, among others, they declared that in spite of over 50-years of old oil exploration and 10-year per cent of nation's oil and 15 per gas production, the federal government had failed to deliver on road construction promised the Nembe communities 40 years ago.
The position of the elders which was read at the weekend during the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Nembe Se Congress by the Bayelsa Commission for Environment, Mr. Inuruo Wills, argued that the relationship between Nembe territory and the country had been one sided as the territory had only been good for economic exploration, extraction of resources and an export terminal for extracted resources.
The angry elders and respectable academics in the letter warned against the rising anger and impatience with Oil multinational companies operating in the area and the federal government over alleged deceit on the construction and completion of four major road projects in the area including the 66 years old Yenegwe-Kolo-Nembe-Brass road project.
The Nembe elders noted with concern that Nigeria is infamous for its callous neglect of the Niger Delta region particularly the Nembe territory which is the most tragic example of that neglect. “The starkest metaphor for this age-long neglect is that along the Akassa kin, Obioku through the Okoroma sector to the towns of Nembe and into Okoroba, Oluasiri and Mini-Ikensi sectors remain till today unconnected by road to the hinterland,” the statement said.
They listed among the proposed and abandoned road projects in Nembe communities to include Yenegwe-Kolo-Nembe-Brass road by the federal government since 1973; the Otuegila-Amurekeni-Amutoro-Emago/Kugbo-Oluasiri-Okoroba-Biokponga-Nembe road by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC); the Akpilai/Ogbia-Nembe road proposed by the first civilian government in Bayelsa State and the 22 kilometre-Ogbia, Nembe road by the state government.
"Aside from the commitment handed by the present administration to get the SPDC, NDDC and the contractor-Setraco limited-to complete the road within the rescheduled deadline of the end of 2014 or early 2015, none other has been delivered. The federal government, SPDC and the past administrations of the state have failed in their road promises.


"What is the fate of these road projects? How do we get our various stakeholders to keep faith with their legal and social obligations to Nembe? Has SPDC tricked us and finally abandoned the Otuegila-Emago-Oluasiri-Nembe road? Is the Ogbia-Nembe road the only serious project NDDC intends to do for the entire Nembe communities with quota that we contribute to the commission which is roughly N300billion yearly budget? Will the federal government prove to us through concrete infrastructural evidence that it now cares about the people and territory of Nembe?

"Whilst it takes the federal government the better part of the century to connect us by road, there exists a vast and expanding network of oil and gas pipelines across our territory connecting prolific oil wells to flow stations to export terminals and so on. In some 40 to 50 years of oil and gas production, the Nigerian government has in league with the oil companies virtually drilled the life out of our communities,” the forum stated.

The group continued: "Our rivers as well as groundwater have been massively poisoned through the worst case of cumulative oil pollution in the world. Gas is continually flared at several points like some oversized Olympic touches at the expense of the people lungs."


ThisDay

NDDC Has Not Justified Huge Amount Of Funds Released By FG – Jonathan


nddcGoodluck Jonathan on Monday placed embargo on award of new contracts in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC until all outstanding projects are completed.
This is just as he expressed regrets that nothing on the ground showed that the huge amount of funds pumped into the commission by the Federal Government was being judiciously utilized and vowed that henceforth, both the board and management of the commission would be “clinically watched”.
Mr. Jonathan made this known at the inauguration of the new board of NDDC Board chaired by Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw held at Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The president also warned members of the board against in-fighting which he said marred the activities of their predecessor before they were dissolved.
According to President Jonathan, “The Niger Delta people feel that the NDDC is not really doing what they are supposed to do over the period.
“There are so many ongoing projects and a body like NDDC should not just go into a voyage of contracts procurement.
“Ongoing projects must be completed for people to benefit before new ones are awarded.
“There are just too many ongoing projects and we believe that you don’t even have enough manpower to manage the ongoing projects.
“If you aggregate the total amount of money the Federal Government has spent on this agency, it is enormous but I do not believe on ground that we have something to show very clearly”, he said.
Mr. Jonathan added that “People are so inquisitive now; society is becoming more open and of course the freedom of press laws and so on, so everybody will want to know what is happening in the NDDC and it is your responsibility to do things differently”.
In his response on behalf of other members of the board, Ewa-Henshaw said they were not unmindful of the criticisms that have trailed the performances of the commission for a number of years.
He assured that they would do their best possible to change the perception Nigerians have of NDDC.
“By adopting a fresh approach and forging a new direction and focus, we hope to create a new more positive image for the commission”, he said.
Other members of the board are the Managing Director of the Commission, Bassey Dan-Abia, Executive Director (Finance and Administration), Dr Itotenaan Ogiri, (Rivers) and Executive Director (Projects) Tuoyo Omatsuli (Delta).
Also on the board are, Turofade Oyarede (Bayelsa), Ephraim Sobere Etete (Rivers), Etim Inyang Jnr (Akwa Ibom); Adah Andeshi (Cross River) and Tom Amioku (Delta), Samuel Nwogu (Abia), Uchegbu Kyrian (Imo), Maj.-Gen Suleiman Said (Niger, North Central) and Alhaji Abdumalik Mahmud (Bauchi, North East).
Information Nigeria reports that Edo and Ondo States and the North East are yet to have nominees on the board.

InformationNigeria

Daughter Of Former President Obasanjo Writes Father, Says He Is Liar, Manipulator And Hypocrite


Fromer President Olusegun Obasanjo and daughter Iyabo bello-Obasanjo 
 
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
LAGOS — In what is turning out to be a season of open letters, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo, has ruled out further communication with her father till death, describing him as a liar, manipulator, two-faced hypocrite determined to foist on President Goodluck Jonathan what no one would contemplate with him as president.
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo in a letter to her father accused him of having an egoistic craving for power and living a life where only men of low esteem and intellect thrive.
In the 11-page letter dated December 16, 2013 exclusively obtained by Vanguard, Iyabo accused her father of orchestrating a third term for himself as president, cruelty to family members, abandonment of children and grandchildren, and also, a legendary reputation of maltreatment of women.
Iyabo who forswore further political engagements in Nigeria denied any political motive for her missive, and described Nigeria as a country where her father and his ilk have helped to create a situation where smart, capable people bend down to imbeciles to survive. She particularly noted her experience as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health when she led the committee on a retreat appropriated for in the budget only for her to be prosecuted for it.
Iyabo, first child of the former president, started the letter titled, Open Letter to my Father with a 4th century Chinese proverb by Mencius which states: “The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.”
Her letter:
“It brings me no joy to have to write this but since you started this trend of open letters I thought I would follow suit since you don’t listen to anyone anyway. The only way to reach you may be to make the public aware of some things. As a child well brought up by my long-suffering mother in Yoruba tradition, I have been reluctant to tell the truth about you but as it seems you still continue to delude yourself about the kind of person you are and I think for posterity’s sake it is time to set the records straight.
“I will return to the issue of my long-suffering mother later in this letter.
“Like most Nigerians, I believe there are very enormous issues currently plaguing the country but I was surely surprised that you will be the one to publish such a treatise. I remember clearly as if it was yesterday the day I came over to Abuja from Abeokuta when I was Commissioner of Health in OgunState, specifically to ask you not to continue to pursue the third term issue.
“I had tried to bring it up when your sycophantic aides were present and they brushed my comments aside and as usual you listened to their self-serving counsel. For you to accuse someone else of what you so obviously practiced yourself tells of your narcissistic megalomaniac personality.  Everyone around for even a few minutes knows that the only thing you respond to is praise and worship of you. People have learnt how to manipulate you by giving you what you crave. The only ones that can’t and will not stroke your ego are family members who you universally treat like shit (sic) apart from the few who have learned to manipulate you like others.
“Before I continue, Nigerians are people who see conspiracy and self-service in everything because I think they believe everyone is like them. This letter is not in support of President Jonathan or APC or any other group or person, but an outpouring from my soul to God. I don’t blame you for the many atrocities you have been able to get away with, Nigerians were your enablers every step of the way. People ultimately get leaders that reflect them.
“Getting back to the story, I made sure your aides were not around and brought up the issue, trying to deliver the presentation of the issue as I had practiced it in my head. I started with the fact that we copied the US constitution, which has term limits of two terms for a President. As is your usual manner, you didn’t allow me to finish my thought process and listen to my point of view. Once I broached the subject you sat up and said that the US had no term limits in the past but that it had been introduced in the 1940s after the death of President Roosevelt, which is true.
I wanted to say to you: when you copy something you also copy the modifications based on the learning from the original; only a fool starts from scratch and does not base his decisions on the learning of others. In science, we use the modifications found by others long ago to the most recent, as the basis of new findings; not going back to discover and learn what others have learnt. Human knowledge and development and civilization will not have progressed if each new generation and society did not build on the knowledge of others before them.
The American constitution itself is based on several theories and philosophies of governance available in the 18th century. Democracy itself is a governance method started by the ancient Greeks. America’s founding fathers used it with modifications based on what hadn’t worked well for the ancient Greeks and on new theories since then.
“As usual in our conversations, I kept quiet because I know you well.  You weren’t going to change your mind based on my intervention as you had already made up your mind on the persuasion of the minions working for you who were ripping the country blind. When I spoke to you, your outward attitude to the people of the country was that you were not interested in the third term and that it was others pushing it. Your statement to me that day proved to me that you were the brain behind the third term debacle. It is therefore outrageous that you accuse the current President of a similar two-facedness that you yourself used against the people of the country.
“I was on a plane trip between Abuja and Lagos around the time of the third term issue and I sat next to one of your sycophants on the plane.  He told me: “Only Obasanjo can rule Nigeria”.  I replied: “God has not created a country where only one person can rule. If only one person can rule Nigeria then the whole Nigeria project is not a viable one, as it will be a non-sustainable project”
“I don’t know how you came about Yar’Adua as the candidate for your party as it was not my priority or job. Unlike you, I focus on the issues I have been given responsibility over and not on the jobs of others. It was the day of the PDP Presidential Campaign in Abeokuta during the state-by-state tour of 2007 that Yar’Adua got sick and had to be flown abroad. The MKO Abiola Stadium was already filled with people by 9am when I drove by (and) we had told people based on the campaign schedule that the rally would start at noon.
At 11 am I headed for the stadium on foot; it was a short walk as there were so many cars already parked in and out. As I walked on with two other people, we saw crowds of people leaving the stadium. I recognized some of them as politicians and I asked them why people were leaving. They said  the Presidential candidate had died. I was alarmed and shocked. I walked back home and received a call from a friend in Lagos who said the same and added that he had died in the plane carrying him abroad for treatment and that the plane was on its way to Katsina to bury him.
I called you, and told you the information and that the stadium was already half-empty. You told me to go to the stadium and tell the people on the podium to announce that the Presidential candidate had taken ill that morning but the rest of the team, including you and the Vice-Presidential candidate would arrive shortly.  I did as I was told, but even the people on the podium at first didn’t make the announcement because they thought it was true that Yar’Adua had died. I had to take the microphone and make the announcement myself. It did little good. People kept trooping out of the stadium. Your team didn’t arrive until 4pm and by this time we had just a sprinkling of people left.
That evening after the disaster of a rally, you said you had insisted that the Presidential candidate fly to Germany for a check-up although you said he only had a cold. I asked why would anyone fly to Germany to treat a cold?  And you said “I would rather die than have the man die at this time.”  I thought of this profound statement as things later unfolded against me.  Then I thought it a stupid statement but as usual I kept quiet, little did I know how your machinations for a person would be used against me.  When Yar’Adua eventually died, you stayed alive, I would have expected you to jump into his grave.
I left Nigeria in 1989 right after youth service to study in the US and I visited in 1994 for a week and didn’t visit again until your inauguration in 1999. In between, you had been arrested by Abacha and jailed. We, your children, had no one who stood with us. Stella famously went around collecting money on your behalf but we had no one.  We survived. I was the only one of the children working then as a post-doctoral fellow when I got the call from a friend informing me of your arrest.
A week before your arrest, you had called me from Denmark and I had told you that you should be careful that the government was very offended by some of your statements and actions and may be planning to arrest or kill you as was occurring to many at the time.  The source of my information was my mother who, agitated, had called me, saying I should warn you as this was the rumour in the country. As usual you brushed aside my comments, shouting on the phone that they cannot try anything and you will do and say as you please.  The consequence of your bravado is history.
We, your family, have borne the brunt of your direct cruelty and also suffered the consequences of your stupidity but got none of the benefits of your successes. Of course, anyone around you knows how little respect you have for your children.
You think our existence on earth is about you. By the way, how many are we? 19, 20, 21? Do you even know?  In the last five years, how many of these children have you spoken to? How many grandchildren do you have and when did you last see each of them? As President you would listen to advice of people that never finished high school who would say anything to keep having access to you so as to make money over your children who loved you and genuinely wished you well.
“At your first inauguration in 1999, I and my brothers and sisters told you we were coming from the US. As is usual with you, you made no arrangements for our trip, instead our mom organized to meet each of us and provided accommodation. At the actual swearing-in at Eagle Square, the others decided to watch it on TV. Instead I went to the square and I was pushed and tossed by the crowd.
I managed to get in front of the crowd where I waved and shouted at you as you and General Abdulsalam Abubakar walked past to go back to the VIP seating area. I saw you mouth ‘my daughter’ to General Abdullahi who was the one who pulled me out of the crowd and gave me a seat. As I looked around I saw Stella and Stella’s family prominently seated but none of your children.  I am sure General Abdullahi would remember this incident and I am eternally grateful to him.
 Getting back to my mother, I still remember your beating her up continually when we were kids. What kids can forget that kind of violence against their mother?  Your maltreatment of women is legendary.  Many of your women have come out to denounce you in public but since your madness is also part of the madness of the society, it is the women that are usually ignored and mistreated. Of course, you are the great pretender, making people believe you have a good family life and a good relationship with your children but once in a while your pretence gets cracked.

When Gbenga gave a ride to help someone he didn’t know but saw was in need and the person betrayed his trust by tapping his candid response on the issues going on between you and your then vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, you had your aides go on air and denounce the boy before you even spoke to him to find out what happened.  What kind of father does that? Your atrocities to some of my other siblings I will let them tell in their own due time or never if they choose.


Some of the details of our life are public but the people choose to ignore it and pretended we enjoyed some largesse when you were President.

This punishing the innocent is part of Nigeria’s continuing sins against God. While you were military head of state and lived in Dodan Barracks, we stayed either with our mum in the two-bedroom apartment provided for her by General Murtala Mohammed or with your relatives, Bose, Yemisi and your sisters’ kids in the Boys Quarters of Dodan Barracks. At Queens College, I remember being too ashamed to tell my wealthy classmates from Queen’s College, Lagos we lived in the two room Boys Quarters or in the two room flat on Lawrence Street.

No, we did not have privileged upbringing but our mother emphasized education and that has been our salvation.  Of my mother’s 6 children 4 have PhDs.  Of the two without PhD, one has a Master’s and the other is an engineer.  They are no slouches.  Education provided a way to make our way in the world.

You are one of those petty people who think the progress and success of another takes from you.  You try to overshadow everyone around you, before you and after you.  You are the prototypical “Mr. Know it all”.  You’ve never said “I don’t know” on any topic, ever.  Of course this means you surround yourself with idiots who will agree with you on anything and need you for financial gain and you need them for your insatiable ego.  This your attitude is a reflection of the country. It is not certain which came first, your attitude seeping into the country’s psyche or the country accepting your irresponsible behavior for so long.

Like you and your minions, it’s a symbiotic relationship. Nigeria has descended into a hellish reality where smart, capable people to “survive” and have their daily bread prostrate to imbeciles.  Everybody trying to pull everybody else down with greed and selfishness — the only traits that gets you anywhere. Money must be had and money and power is king. Even the supposed down-trodden agree with this.

Nigeria accused me of fraud with the Ministry of Health.  As you yourself know, both in Abeokuta and Abuja I lived in your houses as a Senator. In Lagos, I stayed in my mum’s bungalow which she succeeded in getting from you when you abandoned her with six children to live in Abeokuta with Stella.

I borrowed against my four-year Senate salary to build the only house I have anywhere in the world in Lagos. I rent out the house for income.  I don’t have much in terms of money but I am extremely happy. I tried to contribute my part to the development of my country but the country decided it didn’t need me.  Like many educated Nigerians my age, there are countries that actually value people doing their best to contribute to society and as many of them have scattered all over the world so have many of your children.

I can speak for myself and many of them; what they are running away from is that they can’t even contribute effectively at the same time as they have to deal with constant threats to their lives by miscreants the society failed to educate; deal with lack of electricity and air pollution resulting from each household generating its own electricity, and the lack of quality healthcare or education and a total lack of sense of responsibility of almost every person you meet.  Your contribution to this scenario cannot be overestimated.

You and your cronies mentioned in your letter have left the country worse than you met it at your births in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Nigeria is not the creation of any of you, and although you feel you own it and are “Mr Nigeria” deciding whether the country stays together or not, and who rules it; you don’t.  Nigeria is solely the creation of the British. My dear gone Grandmother whose burial you told people not to attend was not born a Nigerian but a proud Ijebu-Yoruba woman. Togetherness is a choice and it must serve a purpose.

As for Nigerians thinking I have their money, when it was obvious I was part of the Yar’Adua (government’s) anti-Obasanjo phenomenon that was going on at the time. The Ministry of Health and international NGOs paid for a retreat for the Senate Committee on Health.  The House Committee on Health was treated exactly the same way. The monies were given to members as estacode and the rest used for accommodation, flights and feeding.  While the Senate was on the retreat in Ghana, the EFCC asked the House Committee to return the monies they received for their retreat and asked us in the Senate to return ours on our return which I refused, as it was already used for the purpose it was earmarked for in the budget that year which was to work on the National Health Bill.
The House Committee had not gone on their retreat. I did nothing wrong and my colleagues and I on the retreat did our work conscientiously. I asked the EFCC not to drag my colleagues into it and I am proud I suffered alone. As is usual in a society where people who are not progressive but take pleasure in the pain of others, most Nigerians were happy, not looking at the facts of the matter, just the suffering of an Obasanjo.

As the people that stole their millions are hailed by them the innocent is punished. When the court case was thrown out because it lacked merit even against the Minister, no newspaper carried the news. The wrongful malicious prosecution of an Obasanjo was not something they wanted to report; just her downfall.  But it really wasn’t about me, it was about right and wrong in society and every society gets the fruit of the seeds it sows.

How do you think God will provide good leaders to such a people? God helps those who help themselves. I have realized that as an Obasanjo I am not entitled to work in Nigeria in any capacity.  I am not entitled to work in health, which is my training, or in any field or anywhere in the country or participate in any business. I have learnt this lesson well and there are societies that actually think capable, well-educated people are important to their society’s progress. Apparently, unless I am eating from the dustbin, Nigerians and possibly you will not be satisfied.  I thank God it has not come to that based on God-given brains and brawn.

When I left Nigeria in 1989 for graduate studies in America, you promised to pay my school fees and no living expenses. This you did and I am grateful for because, working in the kitchen and then the library at University of California, Davis and later, working on the IT desk and later as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell gave me valuable work ethics for life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.  As a black woman in the early 21st century, I have achieved much and done more than most. My wish is that black girls all over the world will have the capacity to create their lives, make mistakes, learn from it and move ahead.

Moving back to Nigeria, thinking I wanted to serve was obviously a grave mistake but one brought about by the tragic incident of April 20, 2003. This was the day five people were shot dead in my car.  The mother of the children was an acquaintance I had met only one day before the incident.

We had attended the same high school and university but she was there ten years earlier than I. She had also studied public health in the UK as I had in the US. It was these coincidences that made us connect on our first meeting and then she decided to visit on the Saturday of the election of 2003 when the incident occurred. I am scarred for life by that incident and I know the mother was too as we both looked back to see two men on each side of my car shooting.

I understand her trauma and her behaviour since then can be judged from that. Nigeria is a nasty place that pushes people to lose their compass. I participated in the campaigns leading to the elections that day, more because this was my first experience of electoral process in Nigeria. Growing up there were no elections and I was too young in the 1979 and 1983 elections. It was interesting to see democracy at work.  When Gbenga Daniel who I campaigned for offered me a job, I probably would have declined it, if not for the memory of the dead.
I felt I had to engage in making the country progress and to avoid such incidences in the future.  I don’t need to tell you or anyone what kind of governor and person Gbenga Daniel is. As usual when I found out, you would not listen to my opinion but found out for yourself. I also campaigned for Amosun for the Senate in 2003. I have had some wonderful Nigerians do good to me, I will never forget the then Minister of Women Affairs, who saw me talking in the crowd at a campaign event and was alarmed and said “bad things can happen to you out there, I will give you one of the orderlies assigned to my office to follow you”.  This was the policeman that died in my car that day.  I never really thought bad things would happen to me, I moved around freely in society until that shooting scarred me and I accepted a police detail.  I was constantly scared for my life after that.

You called me after your vengeful letter as usual; looking out for yourself and thinking you will bribe me by saying the APC will use me for the Senate. Do you really know me and what I want out of life?
Anyone that knows me knows I am done with anything political or otherwise in Nigeria.  I have so much to do and think to make this world a better place than to waste it on fighting with idiots over a political post that does no good to society.  That letter you wrote to the President, would you have tolerated such a letter as a sitting President?  Don’t do to others what you will not allow to be done to you. The only thing I was using that was yours was the house in Abuja where I left my things when I left the country. I eventually rented it out so that the place would not fall apart but as usual you want to take that as well. You can’t have it without explaining to Nigerians how you came about the house?

As I said earlier, this is not about politics but my frustration with you as a father and a human being.  I am not involved with what is currently going on in Nigeria; I don’t talk to any Nigerian other than friends on social basis.  I am not involved with any political groups or affiliation.  You mentioned Governor Osoba when you spoke to me, yes I was walking down the street of Cambridge, Massachussets a few months ago, when I looked up and saw him reading a map trying to cross the street.
I greeted him warmly and offered to give him a ride to where he was going.  This I did not do because I wanted anything from him politically but because that is how I was raised by my mother to treat an adult who I really had no ill-will towards. Some said he was part of the people that manipulated the elections for me to lose in 2011. I don’t have any ill-will to him for that because I think they did me a favour and someone has to win and lose.

I had told you I wasn’t going to run in 2011 but you manipulated me to run; that was my mistake.  Losing was a blessing.  As usual you wanted me to run for your self-serving purpose to perpetuate your name in the political realm and as the liar that you are, you later denied that it was you who wanted me to run in 2011.

In 2003 I ran because I wanted to and I thought getting to the central government I will be able to contribute more to improving lives and working on legislation that impacts the country. I found that nothing gets done; every public official in Nigeria is working for himself and no one really is serving the public or the country.

The whole system, including the public themselves wants oppressors, not people working for their collective progress. When no one is planning the future of a country, such a country can have no future.   I won’t be your legacy, let your legacy be Nigeria in the fractured state you created because, it was always your way or the highway.
This is the end of my communication with you for life. I pray Nigeria survives your continual intervention in its affairs.

Sincerely,
Iyabo Obasanjo, DVM, PhD
Massachusetts,
USA.

Saharareporters

Moles in the Nigerian Military


militaryDele Agekameh.

Since 2009, the country has been reeling from serious attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists. It started like isolated attacks involving terrorists who daily sneaked into people’s homes and murdered them in cold blood. Their activities later grew in proportion and capacity to wreak havoc on hapless citizens. These satanic activities were no longer confined to the homes of their victims, they also hacked people down on the streets, highways, churches, mosques and wherever they chose to ply their lethal wares.
Today, it has assumed the status of an epidemic on its own with countless people and numerous security agents fallen victims in the hands of these terrorists who seem very determined. It was this frightening dimension introduced into the whole saga that prompted the Federal Government to impose a state of emergency on the three North-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. This underscores the government’s resolve to confront the growing incidence of violence and insecurity in the country.
While justifying the need for the measure, President Goodluck Jonathan bemoaned the breakdown of law and order in the affected states, parts of which he said terrorists had taken over. In a nationwide television broadcast, the President said: “Following recent developments in the affected states, it has become necessary for Government to take extraordinary measures to restore normalcy… Accordingly, the Chief of Defence Staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations. The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary actions, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists.”
After this proclamation, the military moved in with their war arsenals. The first few months were hectic as the terrorists seemed to have dug in. With the more sophisticated weapons paraded by the Nigerian troops at that time, the terrorists were soon routed from city centres as they took to their heels and sought sanctuary in the hills and dense forests of the North-east. But just as people were beginning to heave a sigh of relief, the terrorists came up with deadly attacks using guerrilla tactics. And because the troops were not fighting a conventional war, they had to be mindful in their assault against the terrorists so as not to incur heavy civilian casualties.
As it is, the terrorists seem to be capitalising on the self-restraint of the troops to wreak havoc on defenceless and innocent people, particularly in Borno State, which is the stronghold of the terrorists. Added to this is the fact that the terrorists who obviously enjoy some external support from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, have grown in sophistication in recent times. This is apparent from the deadly attack unleashed on many targets, including a military base in Maiduguri on December 2.
The attack, which came barely a few days after the President got approval of the National Assembly to extend the emergency operation in the North-east by another six months, took everybody, including military authorities, by surprise. Unfortunately, it was the military that suffered the heaviest casualty in the attack as about five aircraft were disabled by the terrorists when the Air Force base in the town was hit. Other military formations, including checkpoints, were not spared in the coordinated attack. That was just one of the many attacks in which the military suffered serious setback.
Sometimes ago, at least 40 Nigerian soldiers were reportedly killed and 65 others went missing in a deadly ambush by suspected members of the extremist group in the state. The casualty, one of the heaviest for the military in its ongoing campaign, occurred along the Baga –Maiduguri Road on Friday, September 13, in what was described as a classic case of operational and communication failure. A detachment of soldiers under the 134 Battalion of the 12 Brigade under the Multi National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, stationed in Kangarwa village in Kukawa Local Government, had conducted a reconnaissance in order to gather intelligence around the area. During the exercise, they established the presence of previously unnoticed Boko Haram camps. The soldiers returned to their base and filed a report. The report recommended aerial bombardment of the area ahead of a ground operation by troops.
Unfortunately, the plan was cancelled at the last minute by a senior officer without formal communication to the more than 100 troops that had already advanced on the area. Consequently, due to lack of communication, the troop ran into the terrorists without knowing that the aerial bombardment had been cancelled and they were caught unawares.
The soldiers were trapped in the ambush as they came under heavy fire from the terrorists who had surrounded the area, leaving at least 40 soldiers dead. Some 65 others were missing. The terrorists also confiscated a huge cache of weapons from the soldiers. The attack jolted the army authorities which immediately ordered an investigation into the suspected operational blunder that gave the terrorists such an upper hand. The authorities were so irked that the commanding officer of the unit was instantaneously removed from his post.
That attack came less than two months after a similar miscalculation on August 4, which also resulted in a heavy casualty following a similar surprise attack by the terrorists on a camp at Malam Fatori where no fewer than 20 soldiers got missing. Just as with past failures and massacres, the military authorities had placed a lid on the two incidents. These terrorists’ assault are a sad reminder of the difficulties which daily confront the military in its campaign against a dodgy but adept enemy that continues to take advantage of mistakes by military planners to inflict heavy casualties on the military.
This was probably why the December 2 attack on the Air Force base and other security formations in Maiduguri sent the military authorities back to the drawing board. New strategies seem to be unfolding. It may have included the trial of those being held for terrorists’ activities. The Defence Headquarters recently recommended 500 suspects for immediate trial in respect of terrorist operations in the three North-east states. Some of those slated for trial include high-profile suspects, some of whom had been training other terrorists in weapon handling. Among the suspects are a medical doctor and some paramilitary or service personnel who had been fighting on the side of the terrorists. While some of the suspects might face trial in the states where they committed terror-related activities, others may be arraigned before federal high courts.
In the same vein, the report also asked the authorities to release 167 others from detention. It described 614 cases inconclusive and recommended a review of the issues against the suspects. The suspects are among the almost 1,400 detainees screened by the Joint Investigation Team set up by the Defence Headquarters at the detention facilities in Maiduguri, Yola and Damaturu between July and September this year. The report also proposed that some of the detainees be tried for other offences ranging from armed robbery, murder to drug-related offences. This is a good development.
From all indications, the military high command needs to look inward in order to be able to contain the activities of these terrorists. There is no doubt that with the various ambushes and surprise attacks on military formations, there are moles within the military itself.
Take the attack on the Air Force Base for example. Without insiders’ involvement, it would not have been easy for the terrorists to overrun the base and other military establishments with ease. And the fact that the attack was carried out by the terrorists as a pre-emptive attack on the military on the eve of a planned major offensive on the terrorists’ locations in the forests and hills of Maiduguri, shows the hands of insiders in the whole episode.
The military will do itself some measure of good if it can conduct a thorough investigation into both the December 2 spontaneous attacks and previous attacks on security formations in the past. It is only by doing this that the wings of the Boko Haram terrorists can be safely clipped.
The opinion expressed above is solely that of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Nigeria Intel. 

NigeriaIntel

First Lady Threatens PDP Governors over Tukur


Dame-Patience-Jonathan-1710.jpg - Dame-Patience-Jonathan-1710.jpg
 First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan

The First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan has continued to meddle in the affairs of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as it has emerged that she has been haranguing the party's governors into sparing the embattled National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
Tukur has been blamed for much of the crises that have bedevilled the party, leading to calls for his removal by the governors.
His removal was also one of the key demands of the seven aggrieved governors of the party, five of whom have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Their departure notwithstanding, the remaining governors of PDP have continued to push for his ouster on the grounds that it would usher peace and reconciliation in the party.
However, in the bid to stop his removal, the first lady, THISDAY learnt, has in recent days been summoning the governors of the party and mounting pressure on them to drop the idea of Tukur's sack.
It was gathered that some of the governors she has met with include Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada, with businesswoman, Ms. Bola Shagaya, in attendance.
Sources said that at the meeting, the first lady made it clear that the governors should throw his support behind Tukur, failing which she would use her influence to ensure that he does not get the ticket of the party for a second term.
The sources also disclosed that Mrs. Jonathan extended her campaign to the Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio, and his Abia State counterpart, Theodore Orji.
When she met with them individually, the source said, she informed them that should they insist on Tukur's ouster, she would impede their efforts to determine who their successors will be.
They said: "The first lady is very determined to ensure Tukur remains the chairman of the party, as she is of the view that his sack could make her husband, the president, vulnerable.  She also does not have confidence that if Tukur is removed, there is a guaranty that his successor will protect the interest of the president as the elections draw near.
"Others, however, say that the reason she is interferring is because she is backing other governorship aspirants in many states, and a Tukur chairmanship will guaranty her candidates a free ride.
"But her meddlesomeness in the affairs of the party is causing anger and disquiet among the governors who have vowed to resist any attempt on her part to foist her demands on them."
The governors had at a meeting last Friday in Abuja unanimously agreed that Tukur should be shown the door, but given a soft landing to facilitate his exit from office.
They are proposing, among other sweetners, an ambassadorial posting for him to quit as chairman.
The sources said the governors determination to have Tukur sent packing was made worse following his meeting with senators last week, where he promised them that he will back them against the governors and make them full National Executive Committee (NEC) members.
The governors are expected to meet with the president today after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting to insist on Tukur's ouster.
 
ThisDay

"A Society Under Surveillance Is No Longer a Democracy"


MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
astasiHow Ironic That The STASI (Emblem Above) Set the Standard for Surveillance. It Could Happen Here.Last week, the Guardian UK reported that 500 authors, including five Noble Prize winners, signed a manifesto calling for a curtailing of the emergence of surveillance states, led by the US:
A person under surveillance is no longer free; a society under surveillance is no longer a democracy. To maintain any validity, our democratic rights must apply in virtual as in real space.
What could be a more fundamental right than the ability to think and express oneself freely, without the state gathering a digital mountain of our private lives?
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It's no coincidence that the Guardian UK broke the Edward Snowden revelations about he NSA, which confirmed the worst fears about the extent to which the US government has been spying without any significant restrictions -- and casting an extremely wide net that went way beyond what might be needed for national security interests.
A British author, Jeanette Winterson, signed the author's declaration, stating:
We have had no debate, no vote, no say, hardly any information about how our data is used and for what purpose. Our mobile phones have become tracking devices. Social networking is data profiling. We can't shop, spend, browse, email, without being monitored. We might as well be tagged prisoners. Privacy is an illusion. Do you mind about that? I do.
In fact, the UK has a special role to play in the US surveillance state, due to its longterm cooperation with America in electronic communication and data program extending back to the Cold War ECHELON project (which still exists in an expanded role).   The touting of ECHELON as a national security necessity was severely tarnished when it was revealed that it was often used for high-level industrial espionage that would favor US companies.
Having just returned from Berlin and visited a rather revealing STASI museum in a far corner of what was once East Berlin, it is clear to me that while the US has in no way become an infested society of informers, it has developed the capabilities to control its population through using purloined information and intercepted communications.  This was a favored STASI practice to demoralize East Germans and turn them into informers through blackmail.  They had a system of nearly 100,000 agents and staff -- and more that 150,000 informers in East Germany.  The STASI "campus" was vaste, perhaps one square mile of buildings, not to mention a system of political prisions throughout the former Soviet block nation.
Although their functions are, it appears, thus far limited to collecting data, the US has an estimated million government employees and consultants working on "classified data" (remember Snowden was a consulant for Booz Allen).  Some of them are active intelligence agents abroad and some of them use information for creating domestic infiltration of protest groups, but we are far from being a STASI-like society -- yet we have gone a long way toward making such a horrifiyingly controlled political system possible.
A singular problem with the NSA's broad swathe of surveillance is that if someone comes into power who wishes to control the population through intimidation (and J. Edgat Hoover did this to high-level figures) and threats of prosecution, the information has been assembled to get the job done.  That could be just one 9/11 away from actually happening.
Call it a conspiratorial outlook, but re-read the words of the writers who decry the growth of the surveillance state:
A person under surveillance is no longer free; a society under surveillance is no longer a democracy. To maintain any validity, our democratic rights must apply in virtual as in real space.
Those who find comfort that we are far from a STASI state at this time may not realize how far the infrastructure for such a possiblity has advanced.

TruthOut