2015 Potential Candidates And Their Endorsements

The presidential elections scheduled for February 14, 2015, are slowly approaching with no aspirant officially declaring his interest. However, this does not mean that the race for a place at the Aso Rock has not started yet, as endorsements are already rolling in for potential candidates.

^{None of the potential candidates declared for the ticket so far.}
1. Goodluck Jonathan
The number of pro-presidential groups grows day by day. The current leader of the nation was endorsed by South South group ‘De Servants for Jonathan’, while Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) vowed to mobilise 3 million of its members to actualise Jonathan’s re-election bid.
At the same time the Northern Elders Forum issued an ultimatum for President Jonathan, to bring the Chibok girls back by October 2014 or forget about his 2015 ambitions.
2. Atiku Abubakar
The former vice president (1999 – 2007) has been recently endorsed by South South Youth Forum for Atiku. The group is convinced that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar fits all the requirements for the leader of Nigeria, stands out from other candidates “based on his experience and wide network, major criteria that will better the lots of Nigerians.”
The veteran politician believes he has lots to offer for Nigeria. He has embarked on a ‘peace tour’ across the country to prove this point.
3. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
The Governor of Kano State was endorsed for the race a couple of days ago by 34 members of state’s House of Assembly. The decision was made because the assemblymen see him as a “resolute, competent and detribalized leader” who can deal “with the  prevailing security challenge and other socio-political problems”.
4. Muhammadu Buhari
The former military head of state is deemed as a great candidate too. According to a poll conducted about 4 months ago by the movement ‘For The Future Nigeria’ Nigerians would be satisfied if the All Progressives Congress issues a ticket for Buhari and Governor Fashola.  The chances of ex general have also increased in the light of terrorist attack on his convoy in Kaduna on July 23, and Buhari’s miraculous survival, without a single scratch.
5. Bukola Saraki
The senator, who represents Kwara central senatorial district, said he would announce his intention to compete “at the right time”. Another prominent APC member sees party’s victory in Osun State as a good sign and a first step for defeating the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015.
It would be noted that the office of the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, keeps silent on Amaechi’s plans, but the power, influence and charisma of the governor should not be underestimated as well.
SOURCES: Naij.com news

2015: APC in a Four Horse Race

       

 General Muhammadu Buhari

• As parties plot strategies to maintain regional strongholds

By Chuks Okocha 

Though, formal campaigns for next year’s general election are yet to begin, the race for the presidential tickets of the major political parties is certainly hotting up. The parties are also exploring possible permutations that would give them political advantage in the various geopolitical zones.

While President Goodluck Jonathan may not have any strong challenger for the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket, in the All Progressives Congress, it looks set to be a four horse race between former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki; and Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Each of the aspirants has some things going for him in the race, and downsides, too.

This is inspite of the fact that Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday declared his intention to run for the presidency on the platform of the party and newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah, has been holding consultations about his presidential aspiration.

Buhari, a native of Daura in Katsina State, ran unsuccessfully for the presidential office in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 general elections. He has a strong grassroots support in the North, and across the country. Buhari is famous for an impressive record of honesty and a tough anticorruption stance. He is generally seen as the foremost contender for the APC presidential ticket.

The modified direct primaries approved on August 21 by the national leadership of APC for the choice of the party’s presidential candidate, beginning October, also appears to put the former Head of State in pole position. The system, which will involve about 300, 000 party members chosen from the ward, local government, and national levels voting to elect the presidential candidate, is hailed for its ability to reduce the influence of moneybags.

But, Buhari, a Muslim, is criticised, especially, in the South and among the country’s Christian population, for his alleged strong religious views. He is also believed to lack the wherewithal to finance an effective campaign and maintain strong political structures in the different states of the country. At 72, it is thought in some quarters that Buhari may not have the energy and drive to effectively lead a large and diverse country like Nigeria.

Atiku, 68, is from Adamawa State. He was presidential candidate of Action Congress in the 2007 election. Ahead of the 2011 general election, he was consensus candidate of the Northern Political Leaders Forum and contested unsuccessfully against Jonathan for the PDP presidential ticket. He also contested the presidential primaries of the now defunct Social Democratic Party in 1993 and placed third after Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.

The former vice president maintains robust political structures across the country and he is believed to have cross-party sympathy. Atiku is thought to have a huge war chest for campaigns and maintenance of his structures. He runs a media office that is widely adjudged to be the most vigorous in the country at the moment. His wide political network fits perfectly into the modified direct primaries approach adopted by APC for the election of its presidential candidate.

However, Atiku does not seem to have strong grassroots popularity. The October 11 governorship bye-election in his native Adamawa State may also be a hurdle before Atiku, as sources within APC say it may be taken as a gauge of his popularity and strength in his home state and, thus, his capacity to effectively hold the party’s presidential ticket.

Saraki, a native of Kwara State, is a medical doctor and senator. He successfully led the Nigeria Governors’ Forum as governor of Kwara State.

Saraki comes from a strong political background and he, apparently, leveraged his position as NGF chairman to make a lot of contacts across the country. He has a good control of APC in his state, and the party, the ruling party in the state, has a big chance of  retaining control of the state in the next general election, which stands Saraki in good stead in the presidential race. Saraki, 52, also has age on his side.

But Saraki’s North-central origin may not count in his favour in the North, as most people in the region may likely prefer someone from the North-west or North-east.

Kwankwaso, 58, has a strong experience in the civil service and politics. He was the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives in 1992 and delegate to the Constitutional Conference in 1994. The former defence minister swept to power in 2011 with a strong political ideology anchored on the Kwankwasiyya Movement, eight years after losing the governorship seat to Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

Kwankwaso has strong support among the APC governors and in Kano State he is widely admired for his excellent performance. The Kwankwasiyya Ambassadors of Nigeria, a group backing his presidential aspiration, though based in Kano State, is a strong political force trying to take the message of his performance beyond the state.
However, Kwankwaso does not seem to have political structures beyond Kano State that can support an effective presidential campaign.

Besides the four aspirants, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal is also widely speculated to nurse a presidential ambition on the platform of APC. He is currently a member of PDP, but there is a strong suspicion he may soon defect to APC.

Meanwhile, ahead of the presidential election, PDP and APC are plotting strategies focused on gaining advantage in states and geopolitical zones with high voting strength.

THISDAY gathered that PDP strategists are banking on support from the South-south and South-east, while APC is counting on the North-west and North-east, with both parties readying to slug it out in the North-central and South-west, which are seen as battleground zones.

A senior presidency official said, “The general permutation for the 2015 presidential election is based on the support of the South-south states, irrespective of the fact that Edo State and Rivers State are technically in the hands of the opposition APC.” 

PDP estimates to get at least 70 per cent of South-east votes. It hopes to get even more in the South-south, Jonathan’s native zone. But whatever PDP may lose in the South-south and South-east, it hopes to cover in the North-central, whose states are governed by PDP, except Nasarawa State, the source said.

“The low population strength in the two geopolitical zones of South-east and South-south is reinforced with the voting strength in the North-central.” The source explained that Jonathan would get more than 25 per cent of the votes in the North-east and North-west states. He said PDP strategists believed the party would get between 40 and 50 per cent of the votes in the South-west, which they recognised as the stronghold of the opposition.
The South-west has the second highest voter population after North-west.

An APC chieftain, who is among the main strategists of the party, told THISDAY that whatever votes PDP could garner would be countered in the states of Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Katsina, which he described as the stronghold of the opposition.

‘Buhari deserves APC’s presidential ticket’ in 2015

       by Muideen Olaniyi  

 

Mr Bala Mohammed Yahaya is the coordinator of Buhari for President Youth Frontier, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, the chieftain of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Niger State-born politician speaks on what makes retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari the leading APC presidential aspirant who can win election in 2015. Excerpts:

You have been mobilising your party’s youth towards the emergence of retired Maj.Gen. Buhari as APC’s presidential flag bearer. Why are you so passionate about the General’s undeclared ambition?
General Muhammadu Buhari is a household name across Nigeria’s landscape. He is a quintessential political figure that enjoys the sincere goodwill of our national elites as well as genuine popularity among the Nigerian masses, since the advent of our current democratic dispensation.
I have read some self-contradictory and obviously orchestrated reports about the chances of some contenders for our party’s presidential flag-bearer for 2015 elections. There is no doubt that Nigerians are polarised along ethno-religious line and politicians are unfortunately exploiting the division to gain undeserved sympathy. But in politics, the most important thing as far as power is concerned, especially at this period of dangerous politicking, is the electoral value possessed by a party’s flag bearer. The candidate for a national post should have a wide range of followership within and outside his region.
It is in line with the above postulation that I say without any prevarication that General Buhari is the best candidate going by his impeccable records and pedigree.

What values do you think Buhari possess which others do not have?
As an enthusiastic reader of the political barometers of Nigeria, I am convinced and persuaded that General Buhari towers above other candidates, considering his doggedness and preternatural popularity.
We all recall with absolute clarity how he formed and nurtured the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) within six months to the general elections and yet produced key office holders at different levels of government. An analysis of the man Buhari will reveal vividly the picture of an incorruptible, transparent and a no-nonsense politician of the ilk of world’s best past and present leaders.
He has reiterated times without number that corruption has eaten so deep into the fabric of this country and that only a strong-willed and disciplined person can rid it of this cankerworm. This he made so clear shortly after he was endorsed as the presidential flag bearer of the then All People’s Party (APP) in 2003.
He said: “When economic mismanagement and official thievery of the national resources on an unprecedented scale leads to hunger, poverty and desperation, the entire society becomes a tinder box and it needs just a little elite tinkering to ignite. There is a grinding poverty of vision, of initiative and of ideas across the entire leadership spectrum particularly in the nation’s executive branch. Once again, leadership in Nigeria has become a total stranger to transparency and accountability and betrayal of trust is the order of the day. In other words, corruption which, way back on May 30th 1999, President Obasanjo promised to eliminate is nowadays enjoying unprecedented prosperity”.
It is true that the APC is strategically positioned to win the presidential seat next year. But none of the party’s presidential hopeful, with due regards, can be compared to General Buhari.

What is the basis of your optimism that your mentor and the APC will win the 2015 elections?
No, we are not just optimistic. But we are really confident that Nigerians will vote wisely for Buhari and their votes will count this time around. Coming back to your question, let’s look at the possible policy areas where General Buhari will succeed vis-à-vis other contestants who have not really mastered the complexity of the Nigerian state and what the people are yearning for.
Firstly, education is an important sector that has suffered neglect over the years. This accounts for the poor quality of our graduates. This decline in the educational standard cuts across all levels; primary, secondary and tertiary. With General Buhari at the helms of affairs, this sector will surely be revamped and education will be made affordable for the common man who cannot bear the outrageous fees being charged at the moment.
The spasmodic face-off between the federal government and tertiary institutions, teachers will become a thing of the past under a Buhari’s presidency. The atmosphere of teaching and learning which is nothing to write home about shall be improved considerably.
Secondly, health care delivery is another area that the General will give utmost attention to. Most of our hospitals are in a state of dilapidation with near or total dearth of facilities. In fact, they have become mere consulting clinics. No serious minded nation treats the issue of health with levity, while health is regarded in other climes as a matter of life and death.
Thirdly, the roads network system in Nigeria is something that has drawn condemnation from various quarters, as they have become death traps, consuming precious lives on a daily basis. The number of lives lost on our highways can only be quantified by the Federal Road Safety Commission. This unfortunate development is embarrassing to this nation.
Some of these roads have suffered neglect over time. The previous government has turned a blind eye to this important area.
But above all, the critical things in Nigeria today are issues of security and corruption. And these precisely are areas where General Buhari has drawn much of national and international reputation. You will remember him as a foremost military strategist and civil war veteran as well as a personification of probity in public service in his various capacities as military commander, military governor, federal minister and head of state.

What are the chances of his scaling the hurdles of your party’s primaries, as a precondition for the presidential contest?
General Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the cause of Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. For a man to form and nurture a political party six months to 2011 general elections and  posed a great political threat to the ruling party, such a man is, without an atom of doubt, a political Goliath whose party is capable of consuming or wrestling power from the incumbent government. No wonder, the declaration of his name sends jitters down the spines of the power wielders, political buccaneers and gladiators alike in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In synopsis, the road to 2015 presidency can only be successfully navigated by an experienced and fearless locofoco of General Buhari’s mode. I therefore, urge all and sundry, irrespective of party affiliations, to throw their weight behind this patriot, as the nation needs a man of iron determination to steer the ship of the state at this trying moment when insurgency has taken over the nation due to lack of political will and pervasive corruption on the part of the leadership of our dear country. 

DISSECTING IKIMI’S BIKINI PROBLEM AND HIS HATRED FOR TINUBU

By- Edmund Otudeko

Any one attempting to write Tom’s surname on a smartphone or tablet will find that the in-built auto-correct feature will attempt to write the surname as ‘Bikini’-that flimsy, not-meant-for-high-occasion clothing worn by fun seekers on beaches.

While this gives good cause to LaughOutLoud, it isn’t really Tom’s fault but it is very telling in an ironic way. Tom has come to symbolize that typical ‘not-to-be-taken-serious’ Nigerian politician whose value at any gathering is, at best, comic, and at worst, disruptive. This is why, when Tom recently felt compelled to write an article justifying why he decided to renounce his membership of the only credible opposition party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC), many people were amused. This is because he didn’t have to offer any justification. No one was expecting any justification from him. After all, what is it to Nigerians that this Tom was decamping…once again…as usual and…as expected?

After reflecting on Tom’s flip flopping on the political stage over the years, his ignominious role in the dark days of Nigeria’s political history and his childish rant in the letter announcing his departure from the APC, one could not but understand how, in the minds of discerning citizens and keen political watchers, the reputation of Tom as one not to be entrusted with the important and consequential was fully earned.

Given his antecedents as the ‘sell out’ Chairman of the National Republican Convention, Tom is rightly regarded in political circles as the fun seeking beach goer in a bikini. While I won’t advise any one to conjure up the picture of Tom in a bikini in one’s mind, the metaphor explains why Tom will never be trusted with any office of consequence. No one invites the bikini wearer to the high table.

Tom continues to complain to any one who would listen that he was barred by certain forces from emerging as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress. The truth is that Tom keeps missing the point and breaking one of the fundamental rules of life inscribed in the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: Man, know thyself. Tom should look in the mirror and limit his ambitions and his opinion of himself. Tom was not barred by ‘certain forces’. Tom was barred by the will of the members of the party. And the members were right. No Nigerian would have taken the party seriously with Tom as its Chairman.

Only very exceptional men can manage the inherent weakness of man in failing to know himself. Tom does not appear to be one of such exceptional men. Tom needs to begin to see himself as he is seen and as he is:

• Tom cannot, even under the most twisted definition of the term, be counted as a true Nigerian Progressive. He is one of those of whom Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu spoke of in the Punch Newspapers of June 12, 2013: “Many who connived with the clique in those debasing and disenfranchising years are … today even masquerading as champions of democracy … Such people include those … who now today sit atop parties’ Boards of Trustees … Some reign at the pinnacle of the legislative arm of government in Abuja. There are numerous others in the arms of government and even among the progressives, who ought really to search their conscience, if the survival, well-being and progress of Nigeria is truly in their agenda.”

• Tom cannot live down his role in the scuttling of the aspirations of Nigerians in 1993. For, if one is revolted by the duplicitous politicians who, while heading political parties connived with the military to annul and waste the democratic gains of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections, one of one’s prime objects of anger should be Tom.

• If one is convinced-as are all independent observers and students of history-that most of our nation’s woes are the result of years of military misadventure in governance aided by self-serving and sycophantic civilian politicians, Tom should deservedly be one’s punching bag.

• Tom is one of the Nigerians who have helped the PDP design, oil and perfect its anti-democratic electoral fraud machine. One needs look no further than to Chief Tom Ikimi, the owner of the ‘Obasan-joooh….Obasan-jooh’ voice that, in 2003, manufactured the contraption that foisted even more years of PDP misrule on Nigeria. (In furtherance of that electoral fraud machine, the PDP stole the recent election in Ekiti and, even before formally declaring for the PDP, Tom is already helping that party spread the official lie by blaming APC’s loss in that state on the perception of APC’s leaders by the people of Ekiti.)

• Tom is one of the lead facilitators of that dark episode in Nigeria’s history when, 19 years ago, the respected playwright and activist, Mr. Ken Saro Wiwa and others were gruesomely murdered by the ruthless regime of General Sani Abacha which Tom enthusiastically, obediently and dutifully served as an adviser and foreign minister and who proudly and unapologetically defended gruesome murders and miscarriage of justice before the whole world.

• Tom is undoubtedly that imposing man who possesses fairly impressive oratory prowess. But it is largely for amusement as of those fun seekers in bikinis. However, people who know what is at stake should not be amused by it. We must begin to reject the culture and leaders that promote the use of empty words and phrases to disguise the issues or to disguise their own lack of understanding of the issues and lack of good will and intentions.

Tom, in his defection rant, claimed to have played a prominent role in the founding of the Action Congress of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress and felt that entitled him to the Chairmanship of the APC. In light of the above, he should know that if he had been promoted ‘in his bikini’ to such a high office in the APC, which is Nigeria’s surest bet out of the doldrums, all progressives would have been part of those George Santayana referred to as “Those who do not remember history” and are, ipso facto, “condemned to repeat its mistakes.” If the military and the PDP would gladly treat Chief Tom Ikimi as a leader, the APC rightly cured itself of such malady. The APC must not been seen as suffering from collective amnesia.

The only problem with Tom’s rant and diatribe is his attempt to cast aspersions on otherwise principled politicians dedicated to the struggle to liberate Nigeria from the shackles of corrupt and inept leadership foisted on the nation by Tom’s natural family, the Peoples Democratic Party (“PDP”). In the same old, intellectually lazy fashion we have become accustomed to from PDP sympathizers and enemies of progressive politics, Tim joined the ranks of desperate detractors of the Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in attempting to cast aspersions on his person and integrity.

It is a historical fact that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one of the visionary behind, and one of the principal architects involved in, the formation of the All Progressives Congress. It was the Asiwaju’s personal leadership that led the now-defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to unanimously support the vision to cast lot with the APC and it was his (and few others’) tireless and selfless investment of time and resources that built the APC into the formidable alternative party that it now is.

Long before the formation of the APC, the Asiwaju has since cemented his reputation as the leader of a new brand of politics and activism in Nigeria. The politics that vigorously promote the welfare of the electorate and activism that courageously and doggedly pursues the enthronement of the rule of law and the pursuit of business as unusual for the sake of the greater good.

In his first Inaugural Address as the Governor of Lagos State, he famously said, “As flag-bearers, we are not unmindful of the heavy burden and responsibility that we carry. We are not unmindful of the huge expectations of our people, young and old, man and woman, able and disabled. Nor are we unmindful of the misery and poverty that the generality of our people have had to endure almost forty years after Independence. … Our goal, as the Prophet of old commands, is to lighten the burden of our people, alleviating poverty by providing jobs for our youths, houses, secure homes, water, good roads and creating efficient mass transportation system, industrial development and providing life more abundant for our people.”

And long before his election into executive office, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played key roles in Nigerian politics. He was elected to the Senate from Lagos West constituency with the highest votes in the country in the short-lived Third Republic. In the Senate he was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Currency and Appropriations. In that capacity, he initiated a far-reaching probe of the finances of the National Assembly that set him at loggerheads with the legislative bureaucracy and the military regime at the helm of affairs at the time.

Asiwaju was also at the forefront of Chief MKO Abiola’s campaign for presidency in 1993. When the June 12, 1993 election, described as the freest and fairest in the country’s history was annulled, he emerged as one of the fiercest opponents of the annulment. As the arrowhead of the struggle to actualize Abiola’s mandate, the military junta reached out to him severally to jump ship and come over to their side. He was offered juicy appointments and contracts to no avail. He refused to betray his principled commitment to the sanctity of a free and fair election. Exasperated by Tinubu’s intransigence, the military viciously went after him. He was detained. His house was fire-bombed. He eventually had to flee the country for his dear life. His wife, now Senator Oluremi Tinubu and her children had to be smuggled out into exile. Tinubu, while in exile remained steadfast in his commitment to the pro-democracy struggle, making great personal and financial
sacrifices towards this effort. A pseudo democrat would rather enjoy the transient benefits of economic and political power rather than risk his life fighting for truth and justice but not Tinubu who remained steadfast.

It is in the light of the Asiwaju’s indisputable record of service and sterling leadership that the attempts by some elements in and outside the APC to reduce the Asiwaju’s influence in the party raise red flags for many Nigerians who have anchored their hope of Nigerian redemption on the APC.

Do people like Tom think that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim to leadership is simply that he was once elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic or that he performed as one of the most conscientious Governors of Lagos State in recent years? No! It is because of his profile in courage! It is because of his sacrifice for the greater good in good times and bad times. Who was the rallying point and strategic voice for all the opposition figures in the dark days following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential elections? Who was in the forefront of the global assault on the regime of General Sani Abacha? Who was the governor that redefined governance after years of mismanagement by the military? Who was the governor with the courage and vision to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to establish the fiscal rights of States in the Federation? Who is the politician with acumen and endurance to organize the political opposition that our
democracy surely needs to survive? It is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Thus, to reduce the influence of such a leader or to discount the value of his guidance is the recipe for doom. The people perish when they lack vision, so the holy writ says. In the same way, the APC will lose its way if it forsakes the counsel, leadership and vision of its founders and, in particular, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Asiwaju has always sided with the aspirations of the people of Nigeria and his vision is, first, of leadership that is not about the spoils of office or ethnic loyalties but about ideas. The prime idea being that democratic governance must be transparently fair and must deliver tangible benefits to the people.

Also, the Asiwaju’s vision is of the promotion of leaders whose democratic credentials are unimpeachable, he himself having sacrificed greatly both during the struggle for the enthronement of democracy and now during this struggle for the enthronement of good governance. In the dark days of the June 12 struggle, was it not the Asiwaju who sacrificed greatly to mobilise and support the forces of democratic governance? Was it not the Asiwaju who successfully led the defence of the Constitution and the rights of states against an imperial presidency? Was he not the one who led democratic forces to ward off an onslaught of the might of the humongous and corruptly oiled political machinery of the PDP in the desperate effort to ‘capture’ the states of the South West? Was it not during his leadership that the winning electoral strategies that restored progressivism to most parts of the South West were successfully formulated and implemented?

Furthermore, the Asiwaju’s vision for the APC is of the elevation to leadership of persons who are not men of mere words but men who have toiled in office for the sake of the people and who have performed so exceptionally well that they can raise their heads up high and walk confidently among the people of this country. The Asiwaju himself was a popular Governor of the cosmopolitan state of Lagos for 8 years. It was the Asiwaju’s administration in Lagos that in 2001 became, perhaps, the first state administration to record 90% budget performance. In fact, for his excellent performance as the Executive Governor of Lagos State of Nigeria (1999 – 2007), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu received several awards. These include Best Governor in Nigeria for Y2000 by the Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce; Y2002 Best Practices Prize in Improving the Living Environment, awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works and the UN Habitat Group; and the Y2000 Best
Computerized Government in Nigeria Award by the Computer Association of Nigeria.

In the Asiwaju’s vision, the APC should be a party of resolute leaders who are in the forefront of the fight for justice, for good governance, for the integrity of the ballot box, for real development and for change in a corrupt and dysfunctional polity. It should be a party of leaders who are echoing the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln who himself paid the supreme sacrifice in his leadership of his people by dedicating themselves to the unfinished work which heroes in the past have thus far so nobly advanced. The APC of the Asiwaju’s vision should be a party of leaders dedicated to the great task remaining before us: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish.

The APC will also do well to take advantage of the Asiwaju’s wide, varied and rich experience of Nigeria. He has been priviledged to know Nigeria well from the perspective of an ordinary citizen living in a country struggling with developmental issues and every day infrastructural problems; from the perspective of a Nigerian living in the diaspora; from the perspective of a citizen making his first foray into the murky waters of politics; from the perspective of an activist-politician co-leading the often very dangerous struggle against military dictatorship; from the perspective of a public servant twice elected to serve as the governor of the largest, richest and most cosmopolitan state in Nigeria; and from the perspective of a political leader now seeking to put democracy on firmer footing by organizing a viable, coherent, and alternative political leadership for Nigeria

For the umpteenth time, people like Tom must surely be reminded that it is intellectually lazy to capitalize on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s relationship with the Managing Director of Oando Plc to create ridiculous conspiracy theories. Surely, the deal between Oando Plc and Conoco Phillips is one scrutinized by regulators in Nigeria, the United States and South Africa. To suggest that it was a front for some shady deal is lazy and also mischievous, uninformed and rash.

Tom referred to the number of defectors from the APC to justify his own defection. But he should be reminded that the struggle of the opposition is not one that can be endured by all. It is a natural phenomenon for the chaff to be separated from the grain. The wheel of the formidable machine of progressivism will continue to roll undeterred. When the battle is finally ended and the roll is called, we know those whose names will be missing.
Even the most ardent sympathizer and fan of the PDP or President Goodluck Jonathan now agrees that Nigeria is in desperate need of a breath of fresh air, longing for an influx of air that is not stale or smelly, a portion of air that is not "contaminated" with unpleasant people or situations and demanding a new, fresh, and imaginative approach to the Nigerian Project. Gladly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has, thanks to the vision of courage of selfless and indefatigable progressives, offered longsuffering Nigerians an alternative to the clueless and debilitating failed leadership offered the nation by the PDP over the last 15 years.
And as the year of battle draws close, there may be more defections but there also will be more people enlisting for the struggle. But even as the APC is seeking the help of all and sundry to defeat the cancerous monster that is the PDP, only men of sterling characters and reputation may apply. Beach goers and large men in Bikinis may keep amusing themselves.

Our C-in-C Needs to Earn His Stripes

       

Postscript  By Waziri Adio, Email: waziri.adio@thisdaylive.com

The last few weeks have not been good for us in our fight against terrorism. And that is putting it mildly. Boko Haram has put our troops on the back-foot and has significantly expanded the climate of fear beyond its immediate areas of operation. More than at any other time, we need President Goodluck Jonathan to rise up to the occasion and earn his stripes or epaulettes as our Commander-in-Chief. He needs to take charge and lead this war with more decisiveness before the terrorists run us out of territory. President Jonathan needs to quickly shake things up, starting with, but not limited to the leadership of our security agencies.

If he needed any evidence that those leading the war on terror and that our current war-plan are not producing the desired result, President Jonathan got more than enough in the space of two weeks. Within that time, Boko Haram became more murderous and more audacious, graduating from a mere hit-and-run terrorist organisation to a conquest-minded terror group, with an eye on sitting pretty on our territory. Within that time, Boko Haram took over police training academies in two states. Within that time, Boko Haram captured Gwoza, Gamboru-Ngala and Dikwa in Borno State and Limankara in Adamawa State, and hoisted its flags as indication of conquest. And within that time, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the terrorist group, declared an Islamic Caliphate within our country. This last move, which has been dismissed by our officials as delusional and crazy, clearly has Islamic state written all over it and should get all of us, including our president, deeply worried. It has clearly bumped this war in another territory.

Unfortunately, the news from our side has been equally, if not more, disturbing. And it is disturbing because it shows a soughing mismatch between our seriousness about winning this war and the determination of the increasingly emboldened terrorists. About the same time that Boko Haram launched a series of lightning offensives against us, wives of some soldiers demonstrated in Maiduguri against the deployment of their husbands to fight the insurgents, a group of soldiers reportedly refused to confront the terrorists without adequate arms, and 480 Nigerian soldiers “tactically manoeuvred” into Cameroun and had to be disarmed, quartered and escorted back to Nigeria days after by our less illustrious neighbour. 

The curious case of the 480 soldiers is a new low for us as a country as well as a sad marker of the sharp decline of our military profile and prowess. We used to be the big brother in the neighbourhood, with our soldiers gallantly bailing out other countries in distress, and with remarkable success, especially in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Now we are becoming both a laughing stock and a potential problem for the sub-region and a clear worry for the world.

To be sure, fighting terrorism remains uncharted territory even for the most technologically and militarily advanced countries. Terrorism is asymmetrical warfare with no known enemies and no clear enemy lines. Unlike in conventional warfare that traditional militaries are trained for, the enemy in asymmetrical warfare thrives on disguise, sabotage, surprise and fear. These challenges should be acknowledged, though it does not mean we could not have done better given the residual and immediate experience of our troops in fighting insurgents at home and abroad and given the quantum of resources allocated to this war so far.

Also, the gallant efforts and uncommon sacrifice of our troops must be appreciated. They put their lives on the line to keep us safe. But this is the more reason we should make adequate provisions for them. Sadly, this doesn’t seem so. For a while now, national and international media have been heaving with stories about how corruption is undermining the war against terror, about how our soldiers are lowly resourced, poorly motivated and clearly out-gunned by the terrorists, about how soldiers lobby not to be posted to the North-east, about how our soldiers are deserting in droves, and about occasional mutinies. Most of those stories have been brushed aside or rebutted with clever sound-bites. With issues of morale, welfare, and ammunition denied rather than addressed, it was inevitable that soldiers’ wives would become demonstrators, or that soldiers themselves would refuse to fight or would conveniently undertake tactical manoeuvres into another country. 

Clearly, the reverses of the last two weeks have been well foretold. It is important that our Commander-in-Chief gives the marching orders for these recent setbacks to be reversed. But regaining lost grounds will not be enough. President Jonathan needs to come to terms with the fact that we are officially in a state of war and that his most important job as both president and Commander-in-Chief is to secure our territory and keep us safe. His transformation agenda is important, but real transformation can only occur and make sense when there is security of life and property. At the moment, most Nigerians do not feel secure, including those living far from the assumed frontlines. This is partly because there is no clear sign we are winning the war.

The good news is that most Nigerians are convinced that our forces are capable of routing the insurgents if given the necessary support and leadership. But the word out there is that operational support is low, cornered by those in the cosy offices at the expense of those on the battle-fields. What could pass for the military and the civilian leadership of the war does not look fit-for-purpose. Members of our military high command, save for a few, look mostly out of shape and uninspiring. Though intelligence gathering should be at the heart of the war against terror, the Department of State Security (DSS) is more interested in showboating and in engaging perceived enemies of the government. The Minister of Defence is mysteriously under the radar while the junior minister seems more interested in burnishing his political profile.

As the Commander-in-Chief, President Jonathan needs to demonstrate that the task of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria and of protecting Nigerians is dear to him. He should take advantage of the recent setbacks to salvage the flailing war on terror. His present war team is not helping him much. He should be tired of all the excuses and the lies. He should be embarrassed about how our country is being diminished and about how Nigerians are living in fear, turned to refugees in neighbouring countries and kidnapped and killed at will by some deranged terrorists. He needs a new war team. He needs people with fresh ideas and with fire in their bellies. Shaking up the team will inspire confidence, will signal that result is important to our president, and will show that he is determined to win this war.

But changing the team is not enough. The president needs to ensure accountability in the management of allocated resources and insist that our troops are adequately taken care of and well-motivated, including with symbolic gesture of being visited by their Commander-in-Chief.

Getting more money for the war effort might be important, but much more important is to ensure that we are not just throwing money at problems and not creating a tunnel for scarce public resource to end up in private pockets or in the war-chest for a different war. The president should also insist on a comprehensive review of our war plan. At the moment, what we do most of the time is reacting while the terrorists dictate the pace. We need to improve both our reaction time and our offensive capabilities.

We should not be reduced to celebrating recovery of territories that shouldn’t have been taken over in the first place. With combined ground and air power, we need to smoke out the terrorists and decimate them. While the soft approach to fighting terrorism is a good complement of the military approach and is a reasonable medium to long-term strategy, we need to comprehensively rout the terrorists first. So we need to urgently fix our boots-on-the-ground approach. And lastly, the president needs to address the mind-set that frames Boko Haram as a political campaign against him by a section of the country and the opposition. Apart from being defeatist, this mind-set is divisive and unhelpful. This is a war against Nigeria and Nigerians. We don’t need excuses from our president. We need him to do what presidents and Commanders-in-Chief do.

ThisDay

Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sheriff, Ihejirika Sponsor Boko Haram, Exonerates Buhari, El-Rufai

Dino Melaye tackles Fani-Kayode over Boko Haram comments

September 1, 2014Press Release

Femi Fani-Kayode’s stout defense of an alleged Boko Haram sponsor, as identified by the Jonathan Administration-appointed negotiator Stephen Davis, and his attempt to continue pointing accusing fingers at my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is hasty, indecent and unconscionable.
The last time I checked, Mr. Fani-Kayode was not a duly-constituted independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations by the Negotiator. One therefore wonders how he could so quickly exonerate any of those who were fingered by Dr. Davis purely on the basis of sheer sentiments, as well as unbridled hatred for the APC
What Mr. Fani-Kayode’s desperate moves have shown is that the earth-shaking revelation by President Jonathan’s Negotiator has unnerved his party, the PDP, and the administration. It has shown the veracity of the saying that when you point one finger at someone, four others are pointing at you.
The sponsors of Boko Haram are right within the PDP, as alleged by Dr. Davis, who named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and ”a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January, rightly sacked by the President.” This has corroborated what the President had said that Boko Haram is right within his own Administration.
What one would expect from a government that is keen on finding the true sponsors of Boko Haram and ending the insurgency – instead of playing politics with it – is to support an independent inquiry into the allegation, instead of rushing to shoot it down and casting
aspersion on the man who made the revelation on international television.
In the rush to discredit Dr. Davis, the Jonathan Administration and its attack dogs have forgotten that President Jonathan himself appointed the Australian to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram. They have forgotten that if at all the Negotiator has any sympathy, it will be for President Jonathan who appointed him.
I am glad that the truth about Boko Haram’s sponsors has finally come out. I advise the Jonathan Administration to look inwards instead of unleashing attack dogs on Dr. Davis and sending spin doctors, some of whom will do anything to evade justice over the allegation they face on their own, to the media to try to change the narratives.
Those who planted Modu Sheriff in the APC so they can label the party a Boko Haram sponsor knew what they were doing. They knew his antecedents. And when the APC decided to frustrate Modu Sheriff and his likes out of the party, they should simply have embraced him and accept that they have finally been hoisted by their own petard.
Enough of the distracting finger-pointing by the likes of the loquacious and truth-twisting Mr. Fani-Kayode. The cat has been let out of the bag!
Dino Melaye
Abuja, Aug. 31, 2014

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/167563-dino-melaye-tackles-fani-kayode-over-boko-haram-comments.html#sthash.crrqk7xf.dpuf

Dino Melaye tackles Fani-Kayode over Boko Haram comments

September 1, 2014Press Release

Femi Fani-Kayode’s stout defense of an alleged Boko Haram sponsor, as identified by the Jonathan Administration-appointed negotiator Stephen Davis, and his attempt to continue pointing accusing fingers at my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is hasty, indecent and unconscionable.
The last time I checked, Mr. Fani-Kayode was not a duly-constituted independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations by the Negotiator. One therefore wonders how he could so quickly exonerate any of those who were fingered by Dr. Davis purely on the basis of sheer sentiments, as well as unbridled hatred for the APC
What Mr. Fani-Kayode’s desperate moves have shown is that the earth-shaking revelation by President Jonathan’s Negotiator has unnerved his party, the PDP, and the administration. It has shown the veracity of the saying that when you point one finger at someone, four others are pointing at you.
The sponsors of Boko Haram are right within the PDP, as alleged by Dr. Davis, who named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and ”a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January, rightly sacked by the President.” This has corroborated what the President had said that Boko Haram is right within his own Administration.
What one would expect from a government that is keen on finding the true sponsors of Boko Haram and ending the insurgency – instead of playing politics with it – is to support an independent inquiry into the allegation, instead of rushing to shoot it down and casting
aspersion on the man who made the revelation on international television.
In the rush to discredit Dr. Davis, the Jonathan Administration and its attack dogs have forgotten that President Jonathan himself appointed the Australian to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram. They have forgotten that if at all the Negotiator has any sympathy, it will be for President Jonathan who appointed him.
I am glad that the truth about Boko Haram’s sponsors has finally come out. I advise the Jonathan Administration to look inwards instead of unleashing attack dogs on Dr. Davis and sending spin doctors, some of whom will do anything to evade justice over the allegation they face on their own, to the media to try to change the narratives.
Those who planted Modu Sheriff in the APC so they can label the party a Boko Haram sponsor knew what they were doing. They knew his antecedents. And when the APC decided to frustrate Modu Sheriff and his likes out of the party, they should simply have embraced him and accept that they have finally been hoisted by their own petard.
Enough of the distracting finger-pointing by the likes of the loquacious and truth-twisting Mr. Fani-Kayode. The cat has been let out of the bag!
Dino Melaye
Abuja, Aug. 31, 2014

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/167563-dino-melaye-tackles-fani-kayode-over-boko-haram-comments.html#sthash.crrqk7xf.dpuf

Dino Melaye tackles Fani-Kayode over Boko Haram comments

September 1, 2014Press Release

Femi Fani-Kayode’s stout defense of an alleged Boko Haram sponsor, as identified by the Jonathan Administration-appointed negotiator Stephen Davis, and his attempt to continue pointing accusing fingers at my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is hasty, indecent and unconscionable.
The last time I checked, Mr. Fani-Kayode was not a duly-constituted independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations by the Negotiator. One therefore wonders how he could so quickly exonerate any of those who were fingered by Dr. Davis purely on the basis of sheer sentiments, as well as unbridled hatred for the APC
What Mr. Fani-Kayode’s desperate moves have shown is that the earth-shaking revelation by President Jonathan’s Negotiator has unnerved his party, the PDP, and the administration. It has shown the veracity of the saying that when you point one finger at someone, four others are pointing at you.
The sponsors of Boko Haram are right within the PDP, as alleged by Dr. Davis, who named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and ”a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January, rightly sacked by the President.” This has corroborated what the President had said that Boko Haram is right within his own Administration.
What one would expect from a government that is keen on finding the true sponsors of Boko Haram and ending the insurgency – instead of playing politics with it – is to support an independent inquiry into the allegation, instead of rushing to shoot it down and casting
aspersion on the man who made the revelation on international television.
In the rush to discredit Dr. Davis, the Jonathan Administration and its attack dogs have forgotten that President Jonathan himself appointed the Australian to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram. They have forgotten that if at all the Negotiator has any sympathy, it will be for President Jonathan who appointed him.
I am glad that the truth about Boko Haram’s sponsors has finally come out. I advise the Jonathan Administration to look inwards instead of unleashing attack dogs on Dr. Davis and sending spin doctors, some of whom will do anything to evade justice over the allegation they face on their own, to the media to try to change the narratives.
Those who planted Modu Sheriff in the APC so they can label the party a Boko Haram sponsor knew what they were doing. They knew his antecedents. And when the APC decided to frustrate Modu Sheriff and his likes out of the party, they should simply have embraced him and accept that they have finally been hoisted by their own petard.
Enough of the distracting finger-pointing by the likes of the loquacious and truth-twisting Mr. Fani-Kayode. The cat has been let out of the bag!
Dino Melaye
Abuja, Aug. 31, 2014

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/167563-dino-melaye-tackles-fani-kayode-over-boko-haram-comments.html#sthash.crrqk7xf.dpuf

ackles Fani-Kayode over Boko Haram comments

September 1, 2014Press Release

Femi Fani-Kayode’s stout defense of an alleged Boko Haram sponsor, as identified by the Jonathan Administration-appointed negotiator Stephen Davis, and his attempt to continue pointing accusing fingers at my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is hasty, indecent and unconscionable.
The last time I checked, Mr. Fani-Kayode was not a duly-constituted independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations by the Negotiator. One therefore wonders how he could so quickly exonerate any of those who were fingered by Dr. Davis purely on the basis of sheer sentiments, as well as unbridled hatred for the APC
What Mr. Fani-Kayode’s desperate moves have shown is that the earth-shaking revelation by President Jonathan’s Negotiator has unnerved his party, the PDP, and the administration. It has shown the veracity of the saying that when you point one finger at someone, four others are pointing at you.
The sponsors of Boko Haram are right within the PDP, as alleged by Dr. Davis, who named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and ”a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January, rightly sacked by the President.” This has corroborated what the President had said that Boko Haram is right within his own Administration.
What one would expect from a government that is keen on finding the true sponsors of Boko Haram and ending the insurgency – instead of playing politics with it – is to support an independent inquiry into the allegation, instead of rushing to shoot it down and casting
aspersion on the man who made the revelation on international television.
In the rush to discredit Dr. Davis, the Jonathan Administration and its attack dogs have forgotten that President Jonathan himself appointed the Australian to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram. They have forgotten that if at all the Negotiator has any sympathy, it will be for President Jonathan who appointed him.
I am glad that the truth about Boko Haram’s sponsors has finally come out. I advise the Jonathan Administration to look inwards instead of unleashing attack dogs on Dr. Davis and sending spin doctors, some of whom will do anything to evade justice over the allegation they face on their own, to the media to try to change the narratives.
Those who planted Modu Sheriff in the APC so they can label the party a Boko Haram sponsor knew what they were doing. They knew his antecedents. And when the APC decided to frustrate Modu Sheriff and his likes out of the party, they should simply have embraced him and accept that they have finally been hoisted by their own petard.
Enough of the distracting finger-pointing by the likes of the loquacious and truth-twisting Mr. Fani-Kayode. The cat has been let out of the bag!
Dino Melaye
Abuja, Aug. 31, 2014

     

 

 

   

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/167563-dino-melaye-tackles-fani-kayode-over-boko-haram-comments.html#sthash.crrqk7xf.ZpqqCpKk.dpuf

ackles Fani-Kayode over Boko Haram comments

September 1, 2014Press Release

Femi Fani-Kayode’s stout defense of an alleged Boko Haram sponsor, as identified by the Jonathan Administration-appointed negotiator Stephen Davis, and his attempt to continue pointing accusing fingers at my party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is hasty, indecent and unconscionable.
The last time I checked, Mr. Fani-Kayode was not a duly-constituted independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations by the Negotiator. One therefore wonders how he could so quickly exonerate any of those who were fingered by Dr. Davis purely on the basis of sheer sentiments, as well as unbridled hatred for the APC
What Mr. Fani-Kayode’s desperate moves have shown is that the earth-shaking revelation by President Jonathan’s Negotiator has unnerved his party, the PDP, and the administration. It has shown the veracity of the saying that when you point one finger at someone, four others are pointing at you.
The sponsors of Boko Haram are right within the PDP, as alleged by Dr. Davis, who named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and ”a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January, rightly sacked by the President.” This has corroborated what the President had said that Boko Haram is right within his own Administration.
What one would expect from a government that is keen on finding the true sponsors of Boko Haram and ending the insurgency – instead of playing politics with it – is to support an independent inquiry into the allegation, instead of rushing to shoot it down and casting
aspersion on the man who made the revelation on international television.
In the rush to discredit Dr. Davis, the Jonathan Administration and its attack dogs have forgotten that President Jonathan himself appointed the Australian to negotiate the release of the Chibok girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram. They have forgotten that if at all the Negotiator has any sympathy, it will be for President Jonathan who appointed him.
I am glad that the truth about Boko Haram’s sponsors has finally come out. I advise the Jonathan Administration to look inwards instead of unleashing attack dogs on Dr. Davis and sending spin doctors, some of whom will do anything to evade justice over the allegation they face on their own, to the media to try to change the narratives.
Those who planted Modu Sheriff in the APC so they can label the party a Boko Haram sponsor knew what they were doing. They knew his antecedents. And when the APC decided to frustrate Modu Sheriff and his likes out of the party, they should simply have embraced him and accept that they have finally been hoisted by their own petard.
Enough of the distracting finger-pointing by the likes of the loquacious and truth-twisting Mr. Fani-Kayode. The cat has been let out of the bag!
Dino Melaye
Abuja, Aug. 31, 2014

     

 

 

   

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/167563-dino-melaye-tackles-fani-kayode-over-boko-haram-comments.html#sthash.crrqk7xf.ZpqqCpKk.dpuf

            

In SaharaReporters Interview, Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sherriff, Ihejirika Sponsor Boko Haram, Exonerates Buhari, El-Rufai.

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In SaharaReporters Interview, Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sherriff, Ihejirika Sponsor Boko Haram, Exonerates Buhari, El-Rufai.
   Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, and Boko Haram commanders in 2013 after BH reportedly agreed to dialogue

Stephen Davis, an Australian hostage negotiator who spent some time in Nigeria trying to secure the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State, told SaharaReporters that he stands by his widely reported allegations that former Governor Modu Sherriff of Borno State and a former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika (ret.), were among the top sponsors of the Islamist insurgents who have massacred thousands of Nigerians and foreigners and made the northeast part of Nigeria a highly militarized zone.

In an extensive telephone interview with SaharaReporters yesterday, Dr. Davis also accused an unnamed senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as a man based in Cairo, Egypt whom he claimed operates as Boko Haram’s bagman. He said both men, in addition to Mr. Sheriff and former General Ihejirika, were major players in the funding and continued existence of the deadly Islamist sect.

Dr. Davis told SaharaReporters that he did not want to name the CBN official as this may prejudice investigation by Nigeria’s security services. Both accused men have reacted furiously to Mr. Davis’ allegation, with the former Borno governor threatening to travel to Australia to sue his accuser while Mr. Ihejirika accused former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El Rufai, of being a “commander” of Boko Haram. Three days ago, Mr. El Rufai had posted transcripts and video of Mr. Davis’ accusations of the former governor and ex-Army chief on social media.

Asked whether Mr. El Rufai and former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, had a hand in funding or sponsoring Boko Haram, Dr. Davis said their names have not been mentioned to him by any Boko Haram connections.

Also, asked to explain why Mr. Ihejirika, a non-Muslim who hails from the predominantly Christian southeastern part of Nigeria, became a Boko Haram “sponsor,” Mr. Davis said, “Boko Haram commanders and some connected with them told me on several occasions Ihejirika was one of their sponsors.”

He also disclosed that Mr. Sheriff always had the best military protection in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeast, a protection he claimed the ex-governor enjoyed after he left office.
Dr. Davis reiterated that his allegations were informed by discussions he had with several Boko Haram field commanders over a long period of time. Asked if President Goodluck Jonathan was aware of the insurgents’ sponsors and their specific roles, Dr. Davis said he was unsure of the extent of information currently before President Jonathan. He added that Mr. Jonathan had been weakened by lack of military loyalty and a history of security negligence. He gave the example of repeated attempts to bring the growth of Al Qa’eda associated cells to the attention of NSA’s since 2006 only to have them dismiss such reports as baseless. “By the time Goodluck Jonathan became president Boko Haram had become a potent weapon with a command structure embedded in 16 northern states fanned by support from corrupt politicians.”
He further gave the example of Nigeria’s Minister of Defense, Aliyu Gusau, whom he accused of basically leaving Mr. Jonathan to carry his can without taking any responsibility for his work.
The Australian negotiator also revealed that his years working with Nigerian presidents on matters of terrorism had shown that, even when some prominent individuals are known to be involved in criminality, the presidents are simply too afraid to take them on. He cited the example of the Niger Delta region. He told SaharaReporters that he and former President Olusegun Obasanjo found out that Abiye Sekibo, who was then Mr. Obasanjo’s Transport Minister, had contracted the assassins who killed a prominent politician, Harry Marshall. He said he tried to persuade Mr. Obasanjo to prosecute Mr. Sekibo, but the then president declined, stating that such a trial could bring down his government.
Dr. Davis touched on several aspects of Boko Haram activities, showing that he was quite knowledgeable about the sect’s actions. He told SaharaReporters that Boko Haram runs about six major camps in the northeast and neighboring countries, adding that 700 fighters inhabited each camp. In addition there are a range of smaller camps within Borno State, which are often temporary and to which kidnapped girls are taken to be used by the insurgents.

The Australian revealed that earlier this year Boko Haram was a loose coalition of three Islamist militant groups that worked with one another, claiming that, since four months ago, the sects had merged into one single entity, become more cohesive, strategically effective and powerful. “They are now linking with other terrorist group in the region and will soon be very difficult to dismantle. If these political sponsors think they can turn these groups off after the 2015 elections they are going to be surprised to find it is out of their control.”

On why he had chosen to speak out publicly at this time, Dr. Davis stated that, from experience, any terrorist group that has lasted more than eight years after its formation would likely exist for another 20 or more years before it can be dismantled. It thus becomes embedded for a generation and the likelihood of dismantling it was very low. “If we don’t do our utmost now to dismantle Boko Haram then we may not be able to do so for another generation. That is a very gloomy scenario for Nigeria.”

He touched on former National Security Adviser, Owoye Andrew Azazi, whom he described as utterly corrupt. He said Mr. Azazi, who was a retired Army general, was planning to buy into the Hilton hotel chain in London to the tune of $100 million before he died in a helicopter crash on December 15, 2012.

Dr. Davis painted a portrait of Nigeria’s various intelligence units as operating in silos that refuse to share information that could tame terrorist groups. To illustrate his point, the Australian cited the example of the State Security Services. According to him, months after the SSS won the extradition from the Sudan of Aminu Ogwuche, a suspected terror mastermind who reportedly planned the deadly bombing of an Abuja bus station, the intelligence agency had yet to interrogate Mr. Ogwuche about his links with the three young men he reportedly contracted to carry out the bombing.

Dr. Davis said the young men were three in number and that they lived in the home of a CBN official who also carried out banking transactions for Boko Haram through the CBN. He said two other young collaborators in the Nyanya Motor Park bombing remain on the run.

The Australian hostage negotiator vowed to make more revelations about Boko Haram’s sponsors, adding that he believed the sect could only be dismantled if their sponsors were exposed and prosecuted. In particular, he said he could not see why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not already moved on Sheriff for his extensive looting of public funds when he was the Borno State governor, and for leaving the roads in Borno State in a terrible shape that has enabled Boko Haram to ambush Nigeria troops and massacre them mercilessly. He also added that the former governor should face the ultimate trial for financing the recruitment of young men to the Islamist sect.

Dr. Davis dismissed Mr. Sheriff’s threat to travel to Australia to sue him for his statements as grandstanding and seeking to divert attention from the real issue of Mr. Sheriff’s involvement with Boko Haram. He added that he would be pleased to meet the former governor at the airport whenever he developed the courage to come to Australia.
  Saharareporters

Buhari will run for president in 2015 –Dembo

      by Misbahu Bashir & Dickson Salami, Kaduna  

  

Former Head of State, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari, will soon declare his intention to run for president in the 2015 election under the All Progressives Congress (APC) party chieftain and former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Alhaji Umaru Dembo has said.

He said yesterday at the inauguration of the Isah Ashiru governorship campaign team in Kaduna that Buhari will make his intention public as soon as he returns from his overseas trip.
“There have been speculations that Buhari will anoint Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State as a preferred presidential candidate because he will not contest himself, having vied for the presidency on three previous elections. But I want to dispel the rumour because General Buhari will contest the 2015 election rather than anointing another candidate”, he said.
Also speaking, the Director General of the Ashiru Campaign Organization, Ambassador Sule Buba, said  more members of the PDP will join the APC in Kaduna State, adding that southern Kaduna which used to a stronghold of the PDP has now been taken over by the APC and founders of the PDP in the state have already joined the APC.

DailyTrust