2015: Plot To Stop Jonathan Thickens

 by Adesuwa Tsan, George Agba, Kunle Olasanmi and Sola Adebayo
Uncertain about the eligibility or otherwise of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest in 2015, some powerful politicians and groups in the country have assembled a team of lawyers to challenge him whenever he declares his intention to take a shot at the nation’s No. 1 job, LEADERSHIP Sunday has gathered.
The constitution provides that a president can only serve two terms, which President Goodluck has served already.
Checks by LEADERSHIP Sunday show that some top politicians are waiting for the president to declare to enable them embark on the legal battle, as any move in that direction now would amount to a wild goose chase.
Consequently, Jonathan is reportedly having serious thoughts over his 2015 re-election ambition because of the constitutional obstacles in his way. Lawyers across the country have also started debating the issue.
It was gathered that the president is presently scouting for a candidate from the northern part of the country he can trust, in the event that he failed to scale through the legal hurdle.
LEADERSHIP also gathered from sources close to Jonathan that he has been on the lookout for a northern candidate since it became obvious that declaring intention to run in the 2015 elections will be greeted by various lawsuits contesting his constitutional eligibility.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “There are two constitutional provisions that are in question. The first is section 135 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which states that no president can take the oath of office of the president of Nigeria more than twice.
“You will recall that on May 6, 2010, President Jonathan was sworn in by Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu as the fifth president of Nigeria after the death of then president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Upon winning the presidential election in 2011, he was again sworn in and took the oath of office as the sixth president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means he has been sworn in twice already, not as acting president but with full powers as commander-in-chief.”
Section 135 (1) & (2) of the Constitution provide thus:
“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a person shall hold the office of President until – (a) his successor in office takes the oath of office; (b) he dies whilst holding such office; or (c) the date when his resignation from office takes effect; or (d) he otherwise ceases to hold office in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date, when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as President under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office; and (b) in any case, the person last elected to that office under this Constitution took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office but, for his death, has taken such oaths”.
According to the source, the president is aware that there are people who are patiently waiting for a declaration of intent to run for the office in 2015 before they proceed to the courts for interpretation of the section and, ultimately, to stop him.
Jonathan, he continued, has never been desperate to return in 2015 but for pressure from his kinsmen and other political associates who have been egging him on.
“Also, his aspiration is not based on his conviction but due to pressure from the south-south and, specifically, the Ijaw people. This is one of the reasons he has been postponing declaration for 2015.”
Jonathan is also said to be concerned that if he decides to take his chances and declare for 2015 and in the event that the courts deliver a verdict ruling him out of the race, the PDP may lose the presidency without a ready candidate in place as flag-bearer of the party.
The president, it was learnt, is also worried that his delayed declaration may also impede the 2015 transition in view of INEC’s demand for the list of each party’s candidates by October-November this year.
“The timetable released by INEC states that parties must submit the list of their candidates by November, latest, this year, and pegged presidential elections for February. From November to that date is roughly two months and Mr president is aware that there is really no time to go through the processes of a court case even if it is expedited. Another consideration he is making is that there may not be enough time for the party to get a flag-bearer if he is disqualified and this may lead to losing the presidency to the opposition,” the source added.
So far, Jonathan is yet to settle on any candidate; he is reportedly being careful with choosing a successor whom he can truly trust.
Groups forge legal trap, lawyers debate eligibility
Prominent lawyers in the country were however divided in their opinions on the eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election.
While some said he is eligible to contest, others are of the view that his election into office again in 2015 will amount to a third term in office.
A senior advocate, Abubakar Malami, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that what Nigerians should be talking about now is the duration of the tenure of the president in office and not how many times he takes the oath of office.
According to him, if the president is elected again, he would have spent more than eight years in office against the provisions of the constitution.
“He is not eligible to contest because he would have been in the office for more than eight years. There is clear constitutional breach that has to be addressed,” Malami said.
A professor of law and a senior advocate, Chief Awa Kalu, disagreed with the views expressed by Malami. He said the period President Jonathan took over as acting president should not be seen as part of his first term in office. He said taking over as president is not about the number of times you take the oath of office but about the number of years you spend in office.
On his part, Mr Ahmed Raji, another senior advocate who was cautious in his approach to the issue, did not reach any conclusion.
Mr Raji said section 137(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution is the appropriate section that should be applied in dealing with the issue.
He said the question to ask is whether he has been elected twice into office.
“He was sworn into office in 2010 after the death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The swearing-in does not amount to an election.
“In 2012, in the case of Governor Nyako and four other governors, the Supreme Court said nobody can spend more than eight years in office cumulatively. How is the Supreme Court going to resolve this issue?” he asked.
Lagos lawyer Mr Festus Keyamo said the constitution is silent on the kind of problem we are having now.
According to him, what the constitution anticipates is a person who has been elected and not a person who has not taken the oath of office twice.
Efforts by this paper to get the Presidency to react to this development did not yield results. Attempts by our correspondent to reach the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, on phone proved futile as his mobile phone numbers could not go through. Even text messages and e-mail sent to him to confirm whether the president was having second thoughts about running and whether it was true that he is searching for a successor were not replied.
The message sent to him by our correspondent reads thus: “Good evening sir. There is a report in my office for tomorrow’s (today’s) publication that some powerful interests in the country’s political circle are about to file a suit to challenge and stop the president from contesting the 2015 presidential election on the ground that he has already taken 2 oaths of office as president as stated in section 135 (1) and (2) of the constitution. Because of this, they said the president is likely to shelve his ambition and is searching for a credible northern candidate. Is the presidency aware of this?”
But Abati had, a few weeks ago, spoken to LEADERSHIP in an exclusive interview on whether, with the House of Reps caucus of the PDP and some other groups coming to ask him to do so, the president was thinking of declaring his ambition soon.
He said he had no information on this, and no authorisation to make a categorical statement on the president’s 2015 presidential ambition.
The presidential spokesman said: “I don’t have any information on that as at this moment, and I have no authorization to make any categorical statement, but you know that in a political situation such as we are in — it is not just members of the House of Representatives and some other groups who have been commending President Jonathan for his sterling performance, for his quality leadership, for his visionary leadership, for the success of his transformation agenda and for the purpose-driven government that he has provided. And the commendation is in order.
“But in terms of declaring for 2015, President Jonathan has responded to this question on many occasions in the recent past and he has said that when the time comes, it will be his responsibility to address Nigerians on what his choice, his decision, in the matter is. So, people should just wait for him to do so at his own time and not play games with what is clearly a simple matter. It is like a wedding proposal: You do or you do not? Yes, I do…”
It is an exercise in futility – NACOJSP
The National Coalition for Jonathan and Sambo Presidency (NACOJSP), has described the attempt to stop President Goodluck Jonathan through the Supreme Court, as an exercise in futility.
NACOJSP said the issue of eligibility of Jonathan to seek re-election in the 2015 presidential election has been settled by courts of competent jurisdictions, adding that those planning to approach the Supreme Court to revisit the matter, were merely “wasting their time to re-open a settled case.”
The National Secretary of the Baord of Trustees of NACOJSP, Dr. Benjamin Irikefe, in his reaction yesterday night, said such action would be tantamount to a waste of judicial process. Irikefe expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would waste no time in dismissing such case, which he described as a “frivolous and handiwork of desperate political jobbers.”
He said various courts of competent jurisdiction, which had earlier tried similar cases, had pronounced that Jonathan was eligible and qualified to run.
“The issue of eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015 is a settled matter. Any attempt to re-open the case is an exercise in futility. This case was dead and buried but some desperate and failed politicians are trying to exhume it for self-seeking motives.”
“This case had been listed and tried by many courts which have returned the same judgement that President Jonathan is very eligible and qualified to seek fresh mandate of Nigerians in 2015.
“Let them go to Supreme Court to waste thier time because the case would be dismissed with ignominy as a waste of judicial process. Let those opposed to Jonathan go to the polls with him to test their popularity rather than seeking to manipulate the judiciary. This will only be an opportunity for the Supreme Court to re-affirm the judgements of the various lower courts that President is not disallowed by the constitution to seek another four-year mandate of Nigerians.
“This is not a new thing but the latest gang-up will also fail as usual because President Goodluck Jonathan has intimidating support base nationwide that would make his re-election in 2015 a mere formality,” Irikefe added.

Stephen Davis’ 7-Year Secret Deals With Boko Haram.

.FG flew him in presidential jet, lodged him at Transcorp Hilton
.Probe those named by the Australian, Restore Joint Task Force in Borno – Col. Kontagora
.I’m ready to face Ex-Governor Sheriff – Davis

With a truckload of soldiers, a good intention and a high expectation, 63-year-old Reverend Stephen Davis, an Australian, drove into the darkness of New Marte, an uncertain darkness made accessible by the half-full moon. The large expanse of land in the corridor of the Lake Chad Basin, with President Olusegun Obasanjo had opened up for farming under an irrigation scheme which shares border with Cameroon.

It is located in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State. Instead of the intended farming activities, the field that stretches beyond where the eyes could reach, occupying a space of some 50,000 hectares, had been subdued by the Boko Haram sect.

To demonstrate their control over that land and space, the militant sect had set up camps on the farms, and had asked the Australian and the ladies who wanted to negotiate the release of close to 300 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok to meet them there under the cover of darkness.

“We had to drive to New Marte because that’s where the sect commanders we were in touch with wanted to talk to us,” a woman who was on the entourage told our reporter. “It was a very dangerous trip to make at night, but the sect had given us the assurance that they would not attack us.”

In was in late April, about two weeks after the abduction of the schoolgirls from their hostel in Chibok, and Reverend Davis had reached out to the sect members who wanted to know what government wanted to put on the table in the deal to have the girls released.

“It was a very scary encounter,” the woman elaborated. “At about 3.00am, we saw the sect members engaged in a kind of military drill. We initially thought it was the Nigerian Army personnel who were training, but we were wrong; it was the sect members. We even discovered that the soldiers who accompanied us to the camp abandoned us in the night. I thank God that we came out of the place alive. At the end of it all, we gained nothing, because government did not demonstrate the commitment to obtain the release of the girls.”

The scene above was one of the encounters The Reverend Davis, recognised as an international arbitrator, had in his efforts to obtain the release of Chibok girls, a five-month struggle that has come to nothing – but frustration.
His 7-year relationship with Boko Haram

Our reporter learnt that Reverend Davis didn’t jump into the Boko Hararm crisis recently. The former Canon Emeritus at Coventry Cathedral in the United Kingdom and an associate of The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has had a relationship with the sect that spanned over a period of seven years. His initial contact with them was way back in 2003 through a group in the North-East, called Women Peace and Security Network. This group, Sunday Trust learnt, was cultivating the young men in the region, and training them on the need to eschew violence. As one who worked in the Church of England’s Ministry of Reconciliation, Reverend Davis learnt about the activities of the women and decided to visit Nigeria to appraise their activities. In the process, he became acquainted with the Boko Haram sect, its leadership, among them the late Mohammed Yusuf and even Abubakar Shekau.

“He knew all these people before the sect went violent,” one of the women who have worked closely with The Reverend Davis told our reporter. “It’s not like he came here to make a name after the abduction of Chibok girls. As at the time we came in contact with him, he had done some work in other parts of the world, including his secret negotiation for peace in the Niger Delta. Davis showed us many photographs of himself with leaders of the Niger Delta militants. Many of those photographs were in his computer. He showed us evidence of the work he has done in other parts of the world. At a point, the Tony Blair Foundation wanted to come into Nigeria to negotiate with the sect through him. But Davis was already working for government, and the Foundation didn’t want to work with government. So, he didn’t spearhead that project. His expertise is known all over the world.”

Corroborating this position, The Reverend Davis told The Mail of London in June this year that he had had an “ongoing contact” with Boko Haram, describing it as “a long process of building trust on both sides.” Our reporter learnt further that even during the period in which the Presidential Committee on Peace in the North-East was meeting with members of the sect, The Reverend Davis was helpful. “He was lodged at the Transcorp Hilton, and flew in a presidential jet. A top official in the presidency paid his bills. We held meetings with him and elements in the sect at Transcorp Hilton. You know what that means. At a time government was desperate about the release of Chibok girls from captivity, the presidential jet was used to convey him to Maiduguri. Thereafter, he would be given the security cover while he met with the sect’s leaders.”

Speaking about his own experience, The Reverend Davis said in an interview with The Cable, an online publication, recently that, “I have been involved in peace negotiations in Nigeria since 2004 when President Olusegun Obasanjo invited me to intervene in the Niger Delta crisis. With a local Nigerian colleague, I spoke with Asari Dokubo and took him to Obasanjo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Because Asari is a Muslim, the Muslim boys in the North heard about me and warmed up to me. I did a report in 2005 on the threat of extremism among young northern Muslims.

“Obasanjo’s security chiefs dismissed the report with a wave of the hand. They said no such thing existed. In 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, who desired to end the militancy in the Niger Delta, invited me and made me presidential envoy. I toured all the northern states. I went to the country’s borders. I came back with a report that there were some budding sects in the North. The national security adviser (NSA) at the time, Gen. Sarki Mukhtar, dismissed the report. He said they didn’t exist. A succession of NSAs dismissed all these reports and allowed the groups to flourish.

“By the time President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in 2011, these groups had spread all over the North. They had cells and commanders in 16 out of the 19 northern states. President Jonathan called me and sought my opinion on the best way to tackle the militancy and bring it to an end.

“I knew many of the leaders. I spoke with them. They trusted me. They initially wanted to kill me. They thought I was an American but I told them I was not. They also thought I was British but I said I was not. I told them I was an Australian. They relaxed. I don’t know why but they became more accommodating. They became friendly and, gradually, we built the trust.

They started feeling free with me. I don’t call them Boko Haram. I call them JAS. People call them Boko Haram. They don’t call themselves Boko Haram.”

BUNGLED EFFORTS FOR PEACE DEAL AND RELEASE OF CHIBOK GIRLS

Our reporter learnt that last year, while government took steps to enter into dialogue and peace deal with the sect, Reverend Davis made contacts with the sect’s commanders and secured a kind of terms of peace agreement from them. We learnt that in the first instance, the sect wanted women and children of the sect’s leaders released from captivity. The Reverend Davis, Sunday Trust, learnt, successfully convinced government to release that class of detainees on June 14, 2013, but when the sect leaders who wanted to drop their arms sought unconditional amnesty, government disagreed with them, hence the peace process collapsed.

The lady who worked closely with Davis added that, “When the dialogue committee was at work, the Australian, too, was in secret talks with some of the sect’s leaders. There were 12 Boko Haram commanders with whom he worked, and their main demand was that their women and children in detention should be released as a sign of government’s seriousness. After that, they would name the persons who would negotiate other terms of peace agreement with government. That was the stage we were. Suddenly, instead of government to take that line of action, it decided to declare a state of emergency. The sect leaders, therefore, went into hiding, believing that any effort to negotiate with government would lead to their death. They gave an example of some persons who met government in Kaduna for peace talks, but were later caught and killed.”

Speaking in an interview The Cable on how this peace deal collapsed, Reverend Davis said, “They wanted training for the widows of their deceased fighters. They asked the government to give these women cottage training. They, ironically, wanted education for the children of their deceased members. That is why I don’t call them Boko Haram (“Western education is a taboo”). They asked that the children be sent to school. They also wanted the government to rebuild villages that were destroyed by the security agencies. They asked for amnesty as well. :

The president said he would not grant amnesty in the sense that they meant it. He said those who surrendered their arms would not be prosecuted, but those who continued to commit more crimes would face the law and would be charged with treason. They also wanted women and children who were being held in custody to be released. Their leaders that I spoke with were ready to accept the conditions. But the NSA then, Gen. Owoye Azazi, went vehemently against it. He said there should be no negotiation with terrorists. He completely turned the military against the peace deal I was working on, even though we were very close to bringing an end to the insurgency the same way we did it in the Niger Delta. The military then refused to back the deal. They succeeded in convincing the president not to accept it. I could understand where they were coming from: the security budget was like $6 billion and any peace deal would seriously reduce their budget.”

It was in the same manner that the effort to release Chibok girls failed, because the military didn’t want government to yield to the sect’s demands.

THE CURRENT OUTBURST AND COUNTER-ACCUSATIONS

The Reverend Davis claimed that he went to town with the story of his frustration in rescuing the Chibok girls because he couldn’t imagine how a government would behave as if all was well when over 300 girls are held in captivity by a very violent sect. According to him, “We are talking about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.”

Though his major concern has been the need to release the young girls from captivity, his comment on the supposed sponsors of the sect has taken a central position. In his interviews, The Reverend Davis claimed that some of the sect’s commanders named former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and General Azubuike Ihejirika, a former Chief of Army Staff, as some of the sponsors of the sect. He also listed an unnamed official of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as an agent through which funds are mobilized for the sect.

Both ex-Governor Sheriff and General Azubuike have dismissed the allegations. It is not clear how the retired General was implicated in the sponsorship of the sect, but elements in Maiduguri told our reporter that the disbandment of the Joint Task Force (JTF) led to the escalation of the insurgency.

“Many of us think Ihejirika deliberately disbanded the JTF,” our reporter was told. “What it meant was that only the army would be in charge of the operation, and that’s not possible. When the JTF was in force, all the services, the SSS, Police, Navy, Air Force, Customs, Immigration, etc, were involved in intelligence gathering, which helped in the operations. But now, the army is alone, and that is why the sect has an upper hand.”

It is difficult to understand why government has disowned The Reverend Davis, saying it has nothing to do with him, but Sunday Trust learnt that a section in government believed that the Australian was not dealing with the mainstream elements in the sect.

“Davis’ contact with the sect is through a woman who truly has a measure of contact with Boko Haram,” another person who claims to understand the working of the sect argued. “However, I don’t believe the woman knows anybody in the Shura Council who take decisions. There are all sorts of splinter units, all of them in Boko Haram, but to reach the core of the group is no tea party. I don’t think the Australian did. Those in the fringes may have their own measure of influence, but the hardliners hold the ace. Perhaps, government discovered this and decided to do away with him and his roles.”

AN INDEPENDENT BODY SHOULD PROBE DAVIS ALLEGATION:

A former Commissioner of Police and social critic, Abubakar Tsav has said the federal government should constitute an independent body to look into the allegations by the Australian negotiator, Stephen Davies.

Describing the allegations as weighty, Tsav said it was rather curious that the federal government that was said to have engaged Mr. Davies is now denying ever engaging the Australian hostage negotiator.

“How can a foreigner come into the country and travel to such places without the knowledge of the authorities that be? The denial by the federal government over Mr. Davies engagement follows that same pattern of denial over the Chibok girls abduction, where the security agencies came out to say they had rescued the girls only to recant later. So they are always giving false information over security matters.

“It is therefore only through an independent body of investigation that the allegations made by Mr. Davies, that a former Borno governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, and former army chief, General Ihejirika, are sponsors of Boko Haram should be properly inverstigated,” Tsav said.

Commenting on Ihejirika’s exoneration by the DSS, Tsav said: “It is possible that Ihejirika could sponsor Boko Haram in order to avenge what the northern troops did to his people during the Civil War. For instance, it is rather curious that up till now the circumstances that led to the death of the late General Shuwa are still unknown.”

Also, speaking to Sunday Trust at the weekend, the former military administrator, Colonel Isa Kontagora reasoned that former governor Modu Sheriff might have been linked with Boko Haram because one of his cabinet members that was arrested and killed in a very suspicious manner with the sect leader, Muhammad Yusuf during the insurgency crisis in Maiduguri when he was serving as governor of Borno State, was a member of the sect. “If this and many other things are why they think he has any explanation to make concerning the insurgency issue, I think he should be thoroughly investigated.”

Col Kontagora (retired) added that it was wrong for the DSS to exonerate former Chief of Army Staff Azubuike Iherijika without investigating the allegations leveled against him on the insurgency issue. “If anyone is mentioned, I think what is proper is for the authorities to investigate him on all the allegations. Nigerians need to know if he is a culprit or not. They need to know the financiers or backers of the sect so that government can approach it in a way that will help to restore sanity to the community.”

Kontagora insisted that the claims made by Stephen Davis should not be swept under the carpet.
“Government should investigate it thoroughly to get to the root of the matter and put an end to the mess. Anyone found wanting, either in financing the terrorist group or otherwise, should be prosecuted.”

WHAT FUTURE FOR PEACE IN THE NORTH-EAST?

The lady who claimed to have worked closely with Davis and had met some of the sect members told our reporter that government’s emphasis on the use of force made those who initially planned to renounce violence to have a rethink.

“Government is not ready for peace talks, hence many of them who initially wanted to drop arms have joined the violent wing. It seems they are determined to fight to death or success, and that is very bad for our country. All over the world, insurgency is defeated through dialogue, but we have taken the other course, which is tough and rough. It’s only God that can save us. I feel strongly that Jonathan wants peace, but the issue is apparently beyond him. You have all sorts of government officials and godfathers who benefit from the violence. They are in control, so they don’t want the violence to end.”

The Reverend Davis, in his interview with The Cable made a similar statement, saying government can’t overcome the crisis without entering into a peace deal: “A peace deal backed by a strong military is the way out. But the government must first bring the sponsors of insurgency to book. Government must arrest and interrogate the politicians funding the insurgency. Government must cut off the supply of funds to the militants.

“There is a ritualist group in Boko Haram that delights in slaughtering people. This group is being heavily supported by someone based in Cairo, Egypt with funds supplied by Nigerian politicians and power brokers. If funding is cut to this guy, there are many commanders in the Boko Haram camp who are ready to dialogue, release the captive girls and end the insurgency.”

Daily Trust.

Ike Ikechukwu Mbachu's status.

I am impressed. Written by someone who is not Bini. I am proud. Not because I am from Benin but proud of Ike Ikechukwu Mbachu. This is a detribalized Nigerian and should be emulated. Thanks Ike for this objective write up on Benin. I will cherish it.  - Eddy Ogunbor

In my next life; apart from my present tribe, if I was asked to chose a tribe,I will gladly chose the Edo tribe. I will chose to be an Edo man, not bcos this is where I was born and spent nearly all my years in Nigeria and acquired all my education. Primary, secondary, and University. I will not chose it bcos the Edos are the most "de-tribalized" tribe in Nigeria. People ask me why it is so difficult to pigeon hole myself into a particular tribe, I simply say bcos of the way and the town I was raised up. I was raised in a street in Benin city, where tribes played essentially no role. In the street I grow in, people cared less about where one came from. We were all one. I digress. Sorry.
Okay, I will like to be a Benin man bcos of the respect they accord their tradition. The core traditional Benin man does not joke with his tradition and culture. Especially they don't joke with their traditional ruler, His Royal Majesty Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa I. The next thing to God in Benin city is the Oba literally. And boy! does the Oba respect himself?? For me, I will say he is the best traditional ruler I have ever seen in the world. Unlike the pretenders in the East calling themselves Igwe and the rogues in the North calling themselves Emirs, the Oba respects his heritage, he administers his throne with candor, with panache, He knows what is expected of him, this is why you will never hear him speak flippantly. His speeches are always measured and full of wisdom. Not for the Oba the childish display of wealth, not for the Oba, puerile politicking,not for the Oba to talk from both sides of the mouth. Not for the Oba gallivanting around the globe with lasses young enough to be his daughters in the name of celebrating his birthday. The Oba doesn't treat his throne like a relic which in reality most traditional stools in Nigeria are. He knows he is the custodian of a great heritage called the Benin kingdom, He knows the culture, dignity and respect of millions of Binis rest on his shoulders. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE OBA POSE IN FRONT OF ANOTHER PALACE TALK LESS OF ONE IN ENGLAND! Like we say in Benin slang "ororo no dey fail, Oba no dey go transfer" Meaning the Oba is as constant as the northen star in his Palace. He seldom leaves his palace. People come to him, he doesnt go to people.
I am saying all these bcos of the Western Czar who has decided to belittle his throne and his cultural heritage by strutting around the streets of London displaying his female trophies wearing skin-clutching trousers and posing in front of the palace of a queen who should normally be his equal. This is an aberration! And should not be encouraged!

Reuben Abati Lied: President Jonathan Did Lead 600-Man Delegation To 2013 UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Confesses

         

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bashir Wali, has confirmed that President Goodluck Jonathan did lead a massive 600-man delegation to the United Nations General Assembly last year, as reported at that time by SaharaReporters.

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by SAHARAREPORTERS

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bashir Wali, has confirmed that President Goodluck Jonathan did lead a massive 600-man delegation to the United Nations General Assembly last year, as reported at that time by SaharaReporters. Ambassador Aminu Wali

It was the world’s largest, he also confirmed.  He described the size of Nigeria’s delegations to the General Assembly every year as “embarrassing.”
Mr. Wali, a former Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, made the startling disclosures yesterday in Abuja while addressing heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
In the Minister’s words, 80% of the people in the delegation have no business being on them, and do not add any value.
See Also         President Goodluck Jonathan Leads 600-Man Delegation To United Nations General Assembly 82 Comments 11 Months Ago SaharaReporters broke the story on September 22, 2013, disclosing disclosed that the delegation included including an inner circle of about 26 people.  It was bloated by about 547 civil servants drawn from the MDAs, who overran some of New York City’s priciest hotels.
Our story was immediately denounced by presidential spokesman Reuben Abati as lacking “substance,” and “a continuation today by Saharareporters.com of its usual scurrilous and baseless attacks” on Mr. Jonathan’s administration.
“There is also no substance to the rehashed charge of profligacy which Sahara reporters annually make against the President when he leads Nigeria’s delegation to the UN General Assembly,” he said in a statement, asserting that the delegation was “less than 30” persons.
“Other than them, the only other persons who are in New York for the UN General Assembly with the President’s knowledge and approval are relevant ministers and few essential aides,” Abati said, adding that Mr. Jonathan’s delegation was not out of proportion with Nigeria’s size, role and relevance in Africa and the global community.
“Sahara Reporters’ claim that the President’s delegation is the largest at this year’s General Assembly is an unjustifiable fabrication which can never stand any rigorous test of truthfulness,” the spokesman said.  “We are certainly aware that many Nigerian citizens are currently on visits to New York. These persons are here for their own purposes and neither President Jonathan nor his administration has any responsibility for the presence of these persons in New York.
“We will not be surprised if it is such persons who include Nigerian businessmen who are here for an African Business Roundtable event, members of non-governmental organizations and tourists that SaharaReporters  has been counting, for the sole purpose of mischief-making, as “members of the Nigerian delegation,” he also said.
Mr. Abati dismissed what he called “SaharaReporters’ usual fare of mischief, outright falsehood and erroneous speculation,” saying he wanted to “affirm for the benefit of the unwary that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation that the President took a 600-man delegation to New York.” President goodluck Jonathan addressing the UN last year State House Photo
Shoving Abati’s very words back at him, Ambassador Wali’s remarks not only vindicated our report, it put it in perspective.
“The size of Nigeria’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly last year was 567; that is something that is certainly way, way out; certainly it is unacceptable. On that basis I asked that they send me the list of three countries: Germany, South Africa and Egypt, to compare with what we in Nigeria have. None of them is up to one third of our own delegation,” the Minister said.
He regretted that not even China with a population of over one billion people can compare with the number of delegates that Nigeria sends to the event annually, confirming that Nigeria did have the largest of all the delegations to New York in 2013.
What is worse, the ambassador observed that 80 per cent of Nigeria’s vast delegations to the General Assembly do not add any value to the team’s work at the assembly.
“So, you can see that there is certainly need to really take a second look and see that those of our delegates that go the UN General Assembly do have value. It is not a question of having a jamboree, but indeed, it is more like a jamboree.
“I happen to have observed for four years as Nigeria’s ambassador to the UN, the delegation of Nigeria to the UN General Assembly. So, I know and if we are going to be honest to ourselves, I know that 80 per cent of the delegates that go from Nigeria do not add value to our team to the UN.”
Mr. Wali assured that his ministry was working to ensure that the country has value for money, stressing that there ought to be some measure of accountability and responsibility on the part of Nigeria’s delegates.
He is now awaiting the approval of President Jonathan to place a ceiling on the number of delegates that will be in New York this year, he said, declaring that Nigeria can “certainly” not afford a 567-man delegation.
“It is certainly something we will have to take a second look at again and see how we can look credible when it comes to issues like this,” the minister said.
It is an open secret that Nigeria’s public servants seize every opportunity to travel abroad on bogus official assignments, including meaningless workshops, seminars and conferences, as a ruse for collecting generous travel allowances known as estacode. Some of them do not even bother to show up at such events, preferring to shop, visit relatives or attend to other private businesses.
The 69th General Assembly opens next Tuesday, September 16.  The annual general debate will begin the following week, and President Jonathan is expected to be there.   
Nigeria’s 2014 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly on December 19, 2013 by Finance Minister Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala showed capital expenditure of only 27 percent of the total.  The other 73 per cent would go into feeding the recurrent monster, including greedy and corrupt officials.
  OUR ORIGINAL STORY: President Goodluck Jonathan Leads 600-Man Delegation To United Nations General Assembly
Nigeria, which has failed to focus on implementing the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, is sending a record 600-man delegation to the 68th General Assembly in New York which will focus on a follow-up plan, SaharaReporters investigations reveal.
The delegation is led by President Goodluck Jonathan, who will speak at the plenary debate on Tuesday.  It includes two state governors and the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
Most members of the delegation are 547 civil servants drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as advance team members who arrived in New York earlier to make preparations for the trip of the President.
 The Nigerian delegation is by far the largest of any nation at this year's UN event, the theme of which is: “Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage.”
 SaharaReporters findings show that President Jonathan’s inner entourage comprises 26 people, including security aides, his wife, doctor and political associates.
The Nigeria leader, who has been much-criticized for squandering resources and for failing to lead by example, arrived in New York today and is staying at the lavish The Pierre Hotel across from New York’s Central Park in a presidential suite that will cost Nigeria at least $10,000 per night.  This means his tab for accommodation alone, for one room, will hit at least $50,000.  
 According to the hotel’s documentation, the 39th floor presidential suite, which features an expansive living room and two bedrooms, among others, may be combined with other rooms and suites to provide up to 6 bedrooms and a private floor, an opulent option Mr. Jonathan is likely to have jumped at.  According to the hotel’s itinerary which was seen by Saharareporters, he is booked for five nights.
 Several other members of the Nigerian delegations are booked in hotels around the city by the Nigerian consulate and staff members of some of the ministries that arrived in advance.
 Nigeria has become internationally-known for wasting valuable development funds on lavish foreign trips.  It would be recalled that during last year’s United Nations General Assembly, for instance, the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, booked into two rooms in two different expensive hotels.  One of them was a $5,000 per night suite at the Four Seasons Hotel at 57 East 57th Street, and the other a 28th floor room at the Pierre for $3,000 per night.  It was unclear how she slept in two different hotels at the same time.
In addition, Ms. Alison Madueke’s delegation of seven from her Ministry also rented 10 limousines, at a cost of $1,800 per day, some of which were never used. 
As SaharaReporters reported last year, the profligacy of the Nigerian delegation attracted the attention of America’s National Broadcasting Corporation in New York, which reported on how African delegates from the poorest countries stayed in some of the most expensive hotels during the UN General Assembly and shopped in high-priced retail stores.
Mr. Jonathan will commence his official duties in New York this afternoon by engaging in an all-expenses paid lunch date with Nigerian professionals selected by Nigerian diplomats in the US.  The invitation-only event was chosen after the President and his inner circle abandoned a Town Hall plan for fear of protesters in the New York area.
    Reuben Abati SEE TEXT OF REUBEN ABATI'S REBUTTAL BELOW:
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT JONATHAN NOT IN NEW YORK WITH 600-MAN DELEGATION
We have noted with regret the continuation today by Saharareporters.com of its usual scurrilous and baseless attacks on the Jonathan Administration with publication of a false claim that the President is leading a 600-man delegation to the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
While we trust that discerning members of the public who are already very familiar with Sahara Reporters’ usual fare of mischief, outright falsehood and erroneous speculation will rightly dismiss this latest claim as a fresh manifestation of the online medium’s ill-will towards President Jonathan and his administration, we wish to affirm for the benefit of the unwary that there is absolutely no truth in the allegation that the President took a 600-man delegation to New York.
There is also no substance to the rehashed charge of profligacy which Sahara reporters annually makes against the President when he leads Nigeria’s delegation to the UN General Assembly.
The truth is that less than 30 persons arrived in New York with the President this morning as members of his entourage. Other than them, the only other persons who are in New York for the UN General Assembly with the President’s knowledge and approval are relevant ministers and few essential aides.
President Jonathan’s official delegation is definitely not out of proportion with Nigeria’s size, role and relevance in Africa and the global community.
Sahara Reporters’ claim that the President’s delegation is the largest at this year’s General Assembly is an unjustifiable fabrication, which can never stand any rigorous test of truthfulness.
We are certainly aware that many Nigerian citizens are currently on visits to New York. These persons are here for their own purposes and neither President Jonathan nor his administration has any responsibility for the presence of these persons in New York.
We will not be surprised if it is such persons who include Nigerian businessmen who are here for an African Business Roundtable event, members of non-governmental organizations and tourists that Sahara Reporters has been counting, for the sole purpose of mischief-making, as “members of the Nigerian delegation”.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
September 22, 2013

DAVIS vs FED GOVT - THE DENIAL WONT WORK

Critical Discourse's photo.

We heard that govt has denied engaging Mr Davis..hardly surprising though . In all honesty both the govt and the Media are the offending lots here..when the news broke out that Davis was meeting the terrorist to wade into the crisis , a weakened or may b overwhelmed and confused govt welcomed the idea , no denial then - as of then , just anything will do..the level of complicity and guilt of the govt is again on display here.. Why did the govt not disown Mr Davis when the media was awash with the news of his presence in the scene of negotiation..sure his name , before now had featured many times over. The govt had enough time to disown him then ..but turning around now to disown him underscores a bitter fact , which is , the govt is not pleased with his disclosure..govt is not pleased with his findings. The question then is why is govt not comfortable with his findings.. the normal thing to do , if govt has nothing to hide is to dig in and countervail but surely not to disown him now..besides this man never claimed that he was appointed by the govt, that bit was Nigeria's media creation and the govt was comfortable with it then.. Stephen Davis is a Reverend , renowned international negotiator , he had also been with the Niger Delta militants ( picture below) on the same mission ..the picture he took with them is allover the social media, am sure you hv seen it, so this man is just doing his thing , appointed or not and we hv no reason to disown him because we are not comfortable with his revelation ..worse still, the govt has no alternative revelation on the BH sponsorship . That Davis came out to say he was not appointed was a natural honest reaction to the govt's attempt at disowning him- quite normal reaction from sincere mind I must say.. This even adds credibility to the mans character - being truthful even at a huge cost..sure the man insists on his revelation...Finally we all know that the govt run by PDP would have embraced Mr Davis if he had named innocent people that the govt and the PDP had all along been struggling to rope them in and tar them with the BH stigma..the govt is just being half smart and opportunistic

Nigerian Military, Yesterday and Today

By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

In 1983, some Chadian soldiers invaded some communities in Nigeria. Chad had been in a prolonged civil war and its soldiers were known to be ruthless.

Nigerian armed forces were under the simple going but honest President Alhaji Shehu Shagari as its Commander-in-Chief and the COAS or CDS was Wushishi (forgive my memory). The then GOC of the 3rd Division in Jos under whose command the Northeast fall was Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari. Surely, northerners dominated the top command positions in the military then.

Without hesitation, the GOC in Jos was given the signal to flush out the Chadians. But on his own, the stern Buhari was determined to, in addition, teach them a lesson they will never forget.

In a twinkle, Buhari mobilized his soldiers and personally led them in the field. Within few days Nigerian soldiers not only got the Chadians to flee but they chased the latter right into Chad. Buhari couldn't stop. It took quite some effort to get the soldier in him to pull the brakes. Later, he will claim that he didn't know that he was already deep into Chad.

Buhari the GOC had an excellent relationship with his soldiers. He never allowed superiors to oppress their juniors or edit their allowances. He was riding a 504 saloon car and lived in a simple bungalow along Bauchi road adjacent to the Unijos Main Campus. When he was appointed the head of state after the coup, his soldiers in the barracks went wild in happiness. He bade them farewell, not knowing that it will be forever.

Well the Chadians never dared encroaching into Nigeria again. Buhari has permanently imprinted a lesson in them: Nigeria is mighty and no rat should dare step in its foot. The success was possible because the military chiefs and officers then were truly Nigerian. They believed in their hearts, not in their words only, that that the territorial integrity of this nation is not for bargain, its military must be strong and well catered for, and money was not their goal.

When the Maitatsine riots resurfaced in the Northeast during his regime, Buhari was the C-in-C and the story of how they were crushed ended in the burial of that sect forever.

No insurgency in Northern Nigeria surfaced again until when Obasanjo came to power. Like a joke, a group calling itself Nigerian Taliban surfaced in Yobe state. It engaged the police and the authorities in fights using guns and explosives. It was unbelievable. They were overcome but not wiped out. They had the chance to shift their base to Maiduguri and get patronised by the governors of Yobe and Borno states who gave them positions in government as a strategy of appeasement.

But the group couldn't be appeased. It continued to organise itself and train for a showdown to the full knowledge of the authorities in Abuja and at the dismay of the then SSS Director, Gadzama, who was from Borno and knew the risk his community and the nation at large would face in future.

When I raised this point at a conference in Kano, one of the former governors involved tried to discredit me, something I immediately objected to. These are facts, hard facts. Obasanjo as the C-in-C didn't do enough. By the time Yar'adua made an attempt to suppress the group extrajudicially, it was too late and, he too, didn't live a year longer than Muhammad Yusuf.

The death of Yaradua was a loss for the nation and its military. He gave the Niger Deltan terrorists a choice between war and peace. They chose peace. He sacked the then Chief of Defence Staff then, Andrew Azazi, for his involvement in arming the Niger Deltans and playing the fifth columnist in the fight against them. An army investigation report warned the nation of the existence of politicians from that region who nurse secessionist ambitions and who could become leaders of the country one day. A probe into their activities and level of
involvement in the arms theft, the report said, was necessary to avoid putting our national security at risk. Yar'adua, unfortunately, didn't institute the probe that would have seen Jonathan impeached. And he died, shortly and sadly. Thus, those fears expressed in the COAS office report in the theft of armoury from Kaduna and Jaji depots became real.

Jonathan, a Niger Deltan, became President. He returned Azazi as his National Security adviser and with that a different course was charted for the military.

Now, Nigerians have seen what a different calibre of leader Jonathan is. Also, the world has witnessed the mettle of the people - from the former Eastern region - he has chosen to lead the military and fight the insurgency. Their estimation in the eyes of the world is very low. Never in our history has a Nigerian president been so much a subject of ridicule by world leaders and press. Never in the history of our military has it performed so disastrously bad in the protection of the Nigerian citizen and became a subject of international disdain and contempt to the extent that the Americans said they will not share intelligence with it. How could they do so when they knew among our military are sponsors of Boko Haram, as Stephen Davies recently disclosed. (And believe me I have not seen a soldier in Ihejirika because he instantly became rattled by the disclosure, failed to put even a faint defence but resorted to blaming the president and Elrufai for underfunding the military.)

From Ihejirika to Minimah, various international and local media reports have shown our soldiers as neglected, ill-equipped, underpaid and many of them sadistic - taking delight in torturing Nigerians and killing them - as we have seen in the reported massacres of Baga and the latest slaughter video which the authorities said they are still investigating.

The Nigerian military is certainly witnessing its lowest moments. Soldiers are deserting it, as the authorities themselves confessed, and in moments of attack on civilians, they are seen running along with civilians for their dear lives. In one or two occasions, they fled to Cameroon in their hundreds where they were disarmed, packed into schools and escorted, like women and children, back to Nigeria. They arrived Mubi looking haggard, hungry and in need of help. Even in the battles that saw the fall of towns like Gwoza, Banki, Gamboru, Izge, Damboa, Bama, Gulak, Michika and Bazza, our soldiers were seen outrunning civilians for safety as their officers outrun civilian elites in building posh houses and riding the latest brands of cars.

What a depressing moment for every true Nigerian! What a moment of truth for our military! It is not a time for denial or pride, as a diplomat put it last week, because there is nothing to deny and nothing to be proud of when bandits earlier described as "ghosts" by the President can now capture large towns and keep them, one after another, and get our soldiers fleeing.

The Chadian soldiers that we could easily liquidate in 1983 today, in contrast, stand with their shoulders high. Three weeks ago, when Boko Haram abducted some 85 Nigerians and moved them across to a forest in Chad, Chadian soldiers instantly located them, fought them gallantly and freed the hostages, handing them back to Nigeria. Chad, for God's sake! Our Chibok girks and other abductees on Nigeria continue to languish in the hands of Boko Haram for my months now, awaiting for a rescue that will never come. Their government tells them: "You see, we can't rescue you because we don't want to see you harmed. You're safer there." What an excuse!

Cameroon too has been defeating the insurgents at every encounter, sometimes even crossing the border to assist Nigerian soldiers as it was reported in Ngala two weeks ago. Even yesterday, they routed the insurgents at a border town where they killed more than 100 of the latter.

Nigeria, where are the GOCs like Buhari, the chiefs like Wushishi, and Presidents like Shagari? Where are your courageous commanders like Shagaya and Malu who as true Nigerians earned us respect in Liberia and Sierra Leone?

The present GOC of the same 3 DIV, Zaruwa, must prove his mettle to Nigerians. His hometown, Bazza, is in the hands of Boko Haram, and so is Michika and Gulak. We want to see the reinvention of Buhari, Malu or Shagaya in him. Incidentally, the Chief of Defence Staff, Barde, is from neighbouring Mubi, a town that is half-deserted as it awaits its turn in the invasion tsunami of Boko Haram. Its people have been fleeing to Yola in their thousands. He too, we want to see a Wushishi reinvented in him. Let us see in the duo the reinvention of the ancient, legendary Margi warrior. We hope, but only hope can we afford, that the C-in-C and the COAS will give them all the support they need.

The comparison between yesterday and today for the Nigerian President and his military is truly odious. Nigerian leaders and indeed its military need to take a long, hard look at themselves. What went wrong and who are responsible for this state of shame? If we are serious, heads must roll. We also need a different set of leaders and commanders that are truly Nigerians in their past and future.

The spokeman for the Nigerians military, Olukolade, said Nigerians should not be discouraged with these setbacks and lose hope in the military. But, sincerely, where can we find the courage, where can we see the hope?

10 September 2014

Bola Tinubu Replies Tom Ikimi

            

I ordinarily would not have responded to Tom Ikimi's lengthy chronicle of falsehoods, cheap blackmail and abuse. My only reason for this response is that I know Tom Ikimi's style. He subscribes to the view that no matter how unbelievable a lie may sound if you brazenly assert it and repeat it often enough you may persuade many that it is in fact true.  I have seen Ikimi perpetrate this deviousness in his years in public life.

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I ordinarily would not have responded to Tom Ikimi's lengthy chronicle of falsehoods, cheap blackmail and abuse. My only reason for this response is that I know Tom Ikimi's style. He subscribes to the view that no matter how unbelievable a lie may sound if you brazenly assert it and repeat it often enough you may persuade many that it is in fact true.  I have seen Ikimi perpetrate this deviousness in his years in public life.

Bola Tinubu
1. Regarding Ikimi's bid for the Chairmanship of the Party. It was clear to practically everyone who had the interest of the party at heart that we simply could not have a man of Tom Ikimi's antecedents as Chair of the party. As chairman of the NRC, one of the only two political parties in the country under the military transition programme, Tom Ikimi not only connived with the then military regime to annul the elections, terminate the democratic process and sell off his party. He became Abacha's foreign minister, convincing the world that heinous state murders like the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa were just acts! If Ikimi were the Chair of APC the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break .No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such people are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud, I believe my role is to do all I can to project them. Who in their right mind would compare the highly principled Chief Bisi Akande, or Chief Oyegun with a Tom Ikimi? Either of these two men are known for their no-nonsense styles, not once in their careers would you hear that they betrayed a cause or were anybody's stooge.
2. Ikimi also concocts a story of a meeting he claims I had with Deziani on the Oando/ ConocoPhillips transaction on the eve of the APC Convention.
Only a Tom Ikimi can come up with the absurd falsehood that on the eve of the APC Convention when I was in crucial meetings practically round the clock I was meeting with the Minister for Petroleum! What exactly would have been the point of such a meeting especially on the eve of the Convention? Was it to prevent Tom Ikimi from emerging as Chairman of the APC? To what end? Of what value would it be to anyone except Ikimi himself? Besides if this was so why he is back to the same party that purportedly planned his down fall?
What is the Oando/ConocoPhillips transaction anyway? For those who do not know this is a private sale of the assets of ConocoPhillips to Oando.  It was not patronage of any kind from the Federal government. The Federal government's involvement was merely to formally consent to the sale. I was not involved and I have never been involved in any of Oando's transactions.
Typically he plays on the fact that Wale Tinubu of Oando is my nephew.  Oando has been thoroughly investigated by South African and British authorities in the past 5 years as part of the process of listing the company on the stock exchanges of those countries. Those rigorous and comprehensive investigations conducted by the governments and risk control investigators are to discover the actual ownership of shares in the company. Politically exposed persons like myself are prime targets for those investigations. All these investigations have shown that I have no investments in Oando. My public position on the entire transaction is that if an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas entity run by young serious minded Nigerians raise money transparently in the international capital markets to purchase private assets of a multi-national the Federal government ought to give its consent. That it took so long is shameful. The Conoco/Phillips transaction was a $1.7 billion dollars investment in Nigeria that would create more jobs,witness the establishment of allied industries and make the Nigerian Economy  more attractive. I would have been extremely proud to have made such a transaction possible.

3. Regarding the nonsense about selling out on Ribadu. I think common sense should dictate that if ever such a deal were reached we would have had to inform our members in all the States. How could that have been done secretly? How do you tell hundreds of thousands of people not to vote for your own party without it becoming public knowledge?

At the formation of the APC, a crucial debate ensued about what to do about persons like Ikimi who had done awful things in the past, but who were now minded to align with the progressive tendency in Nigerian politics. Should we forever blacklist them? This would have been the easiest route, but it would have kept rancor alive. It would have made us slaves to the bleakest chapters of our past. Instead we opted to extend the hand of brotherhood, reconcile and put the past behind us. This would enable a broader political consensus, while also giving the likes of Ikimi an opportunity to atone for their grievous wrongs against the people and be rehabilitated.
We recognized that many leading Nigerians had committed acts of shame. Some for private profit, others who were otherwise decent people who had become prisoners to a terrible system.
Not surprisingly, Ikimi acting true to type abuse that magnanimity. He was never sincerely committed to the party. He was always playing out a PDP script. He only wanted the chairmanship of the party as a bargaining chip for negotiations with his benefactors.  His defection purportedly on account of the loss of the chairmanship of the party is a mere subterfuge, once his ploy failed he had no other objective within the party, I knew he would go back to his sponsors. He is back in the company he deserves. And APC is better for it.
-Bola Ahmed Tinubu