Friday, 26 October 2018
TEXT OF THE PRESS BRIEFING ON THE UPDATE OF CORDON AND SEARCH OPERATION ON THE MISSING MAJOR GENERAL IDRIS M ALKALI (RETIRED) BY THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING 3 DIVISION MAJOR GENERAL BENSON AKINROLUYO ON 26 OCTOBER 2018
Protocol
1. Gentlemen of the press, you are all welcome to 3 Division Conference Room, venue for today’s press briefing. In line with the Division’s drive of keeping the public informed through the media about the cordon and search operation being conducted for the missing senior officer, Major General Idris Alkali. I shall be briefing you on the latest development based on available verifiable facts.
2. You would recall that on 2 September 2018 at about 8:00pm, unknown gunmen attacked a shopping complex located at Lafande Community on the outskirt of Jos metropolis in Dura-Du District of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. As a result of the attack, 11 people were killed while others sustained various degrees of injuries. The attack triggered protest by the people of the area on the morning of 3 September 2018. Irate youths in their hundreds trooped out, blocked the Eastern Bypass with stones and other dangerous objects. The immediate past Chief of Administration (Army), Major General Idris Alkali who recently disengaged from the Nigerian Army after 35 years meritorious service to the Nigerian Army and the country was travelling from Abuja to Bauchi via Jos same day. The senior officer was travelling alone in his black Toyota Corolla car with registration number, KWARA MUN 670 AA. Credible intelligence revealed that his car was stopped and he introduced himself as a general to the hoodlums who had barricaded the road that he was just passing through to Bauchi. The senior officer was assaulted and killed. Thereafter, his belongings such as clothings, cash, phones and laptop were shared by those who killed him. His body was dragged before being moved to somewhere else and his car was driven and pushed into the abandoned mining pit filled with water. The irate youths who followed his car to the abandoned mining pit filled with water on many tri-cycles popularly known as “Keke NAPEP” jubilated for reason best known to them or for mission accomplished. He was later buried in a shallow grave in an area popularly known as, “No man’s land” within the community.
3. Headquarters 3 Division was tasked to conduct a search and rescue operation for the missing senior officer by the Army Headquarters. The search and rescue operation is headed by the Commander 3 Division Garrison, Brigadier General Umar Muhammed. During the search and rescue operation at the Dura-Du District, soldiers deployed were warned not to eat and drink anything from the community for fear of being poisoned. Hence, soldiers were fed from the barracks throughout the duration of the operation. At the onset of task, on 20 September 2018, rented protesters made up of women from Lafande community and beyond were mobilized in their hundreds to protest against the evacuation of water in the abandoned mining pit. The women claimed that the evacuation of water in the abandoned mining pit would spiritually affects their children by making them to fall sick and their husbands would die. The protest by the women was therefore seen as an attempt to prevent us from showing the whole world the heinous crimes the community had committed over the years which were still ongoing before now. After the cordon and search operation, some people were apprehended. Those who were apprehended were those who witnessed or heard about the incident but failed to report to the nearest security agency. Also apprehended were those who were at the scene of the incident as at the time the senior officer was killed. Please be informed that some were released and others paraded and handed over to the Nigerian Police for further investigation.
4. Gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, having pumped the water from the abandoned mining pit for 2 weeks or thereabout despite protests by women attributing all kinds of mythical affliction that would befall their husbands and children, the following were recovered:
a. On 21 September 2018, recovery of a door of a white bus.
b. On 29 September 2018, a black Toyota Corolla Car with registration number KWARA MUN 670 AA, a customized T-Shirt with Nigerian Army Logo and the General’s name inscribed on it, as well as a pair of canvass shoe belonging to the deceased senior officer.
c. On 2 October 2018, a white Toyota LiteAce bus with registration number PLATEAU RYM 307 XA, which was reported missing with the driver on 24 June 2018 and a red Rover car with registration number BAUCHI AG 645 TRR which was allegedly reported to have been buried along with the occupants on 31 January 2013.
You will have the opportunity to interact with the families of the owners of the Toyota LiteAce Bus and Rover car immediately after this press briefing.
5. On 29 September 2018, when the general’s black Toyota Corolla car was recovered from the abandoned mining pit, those involved and those not involved in the killing of the senior officer held a meeting to relocate his corpse away from the community. This is because of the inherent danger it would attract to the community. Consequently, a 10 man team was constituted to relocate his corpse earlier buried in a shallow grave within the community to elsewhere. A specialist in preservation of corpse was contracted. The specialist assisted in exhuming his corpse from the shallow grave to elsewhere. Only few trusted members of the community knew where his corpse was relocated to. The specialist is currently in our custody. Again, this is an attempt to cover up the heinous crime committed by the community. There exist other evidence and indicators that pointed to the fact that those who were involved in the killing of the senior officer are being supported and backed by community leaders within the Dura-Du District. In recent times, they have been staging press conferences and writing petitions in order to smear the image of the Division in particular and the Nigerian Army in general. This Division will not yield to the antics or blackmail by those who have committed this dastardly crime. Therefore, the following people at large have been declared wanted by the relevant authority based on their degree of culpability in the killing of the senior officer:
a. Da Chuwang Samuel ( aka MORINHO). He is 28 years old and a panel beater by profession. He hails from Doi Du village area of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. He was believed to be the master mind in the assault and killing of Major General Idris Alkali.
b. Mr Nyam Samuel (aka SOFT TOUCH). He is 25 years old and a panel beater by profession as well as younger brother of “Morinho”. He was believed to have been involved in the assault and killing of the senior officer.
c. Mr Pam Gyang Dung ( aka BOSS). He hails from Latya 2 Doi Du Village in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. His profession is farming and mining. He is also the Mai Anguwa of Latya 2. “Boss” who is 53 years old is a friend to “Morinho”. He was also believed to be involved in the killing of Major General Idris Alkali.
d. Mr Mathew Wrang (aka AMESCO). He is 27 years old. In addition, one locally made pistol was recovered from his house during cordon and search operation.
e. Mr Moses Gyang (aka BOSS). He is Pam Gyang Dung, aka “Boss” son. He is 25 years old.
f. Mr Timothy Chuan. He is 26 years old. He is a tipper driver and also a sand vendor by profession. He was identified to have driven the senior officer’s car to Dura village and subsequently pushed it into the abandoned mining pit filled with water.
g. Da Yakubu Rap. He is 52 years old and the district head of Dura village. He co - chaired the meeting held to relocate the corpse of the senior officer from a shallow grave to elsewhere immediately his car was found in the abandoned mining pit filled with water.
h. Mr Chuwang Istifanus Pwajok Stephen (aka TIFA). He is 46 years old and a surveyor/business man by profession. He participated in the meeting held to relocate the corpse of the senior officer from a shallow grave to elsewhere after his car was found in the abandoned mining pit filled with water.
Please note that 4 different sources not known to each other at various times took us to the opened shallow grave where the senior officer was earlier buried but subsequently removed. Furthermore, sniffer dogs that have been cultured with the personal effects of the senior officer led us to the same opened shallow grave. That was the only grave we were led to by different people and sniffer dogs. We did not go to any other grave as the operation was carried out based on credible intelligence. Like I always say, the cordon and search operation is intelligence driven and that is why the operation has been conducted in line with international best practices and respect for human rights. This further explains why the Division did not clamp down on the entire community. Only the perpetrators are being targeted.
6. At this point, let me reiterate that all the actors involved in this dastardly act who are still at large are known to us. All efforts are being made to get them arrested and be brought to justice as their photographs and personal details are with the relevant security agencies. The cordon and search operation conducted by own troops has really exposed the heinous crimes being committed by the few but fully supported and concealed by the entire community. I want to commend members of the public for their cooperation and still solicit for anyone with credible information on where the senior officer was reburied. It is the civic responsibility of the Dura-Du community to produce the corpse of the deceased senior officer and those who were involved in the killing of the senior officer. This Headquarters can be reached on GSM number 09074028881 as sources of information would be protected and treated as confidential. Let me use this opportunity to appreciate all those that supported us during the search and rescue operation. A letter had earlier been formally written to appreciate Vehicle Inspection Office, National Emergency Management Agency and all the good and peace loving people on the Plateau. In the same vein, let me also appreciate the support from all other security agencies such as Operation SAFE HAVEN, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, National Security and Civil Defence Corps and Fire Service as well as all other security agencies for their support throughout the entire operation. Above all, let me appreciate the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and his Principal Staff Officers for their strategic guidance and support. I also want to appreciate the Director Military Intelligence and the Provost Marshal (Army) for their technical and specialist support. Similarly, I wish to commend and appreciate all commanders and principal staff officers of this Division for their hard work and diligence. Our operations will continue until the corpse of the deceased senior officer is recovered and the perpetrators of this heinous crime are arrested.
7. Finally, the Division also wishes to emphasize its adherence to the principles and respect of human rights in the discharge of its constitutional roles. It further calls on everyone within its Area of Responsibility to remain vigilant and report any suspected breach of the peace to security agencies.
8. Thank you and God bless. I will now take questions from you and clarify doubt if any.
Social Investment Programmes of the Buhari Administration.
“I am in london to speak about Social Investment Programmes of the Buhari Administration, how far and how well.
We are feeding 9.2 Million Children in close to 50,000 schools in 26 States.
We are paying 500,000 graduates 30,000 naira every month. That is 15 billion naira every month.
We have given 10,000 naira TraderMoni to about 200,000 beneficiaries in different markets around the country and the goal is to reach at least 2,000,000 petty traders.
We are paying close to 300,000 poor and vulnerable households 5,000 every month. Our target is at least a million homes.
These are verifiable numbers that anyone can check. The figures are real. The beneficiaries are real and the Government is serious.
2019 election will be tough. I have no doubt about that.
But the difference is clear. It is a contest between one candidate who cares about the country and the other who cares about his Companies.
One who cares about the Poor and the other who cares about his pockets.
One who has set up structures of ease of doing business so Americans can come to Nigeria, and the other who wants a visa so he can go to America.
This is a serious time and I hope people are paying attention. “
Ismaeel Ahmed
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Social Infrastructure Projects.
We are feeding 9.2 Million Children in close to 50,000 schools in 26 States.
We are paying 500,000 graduates 30,000 naira every month. That is 15 billion naira every month.
We have given 10,000 naira TraderMoni to about 200,000 beneficiaries in different markets around the country and the goal is to reach at least 2,000,000 petty traders.
We are paying close to 300,000 poor and vulnerable households 5,000 every month. Our target is at least a million homes.
These are verifiable numbers that anyone can check. The figures are real. The beneficiaries are real and the Government is serious.
2019 election will be tough. I have no doubt about that.
But the difference is clear. It is a contest between one candidate who cares about the country and the other who cares about his Companies.
One who cares about the Poor and the other who cares about his pockets.
One who has set up structures of ease of doing business so Americans can come to Nigeria, and the other who wants a visa so he can go to America.
This is a serious time and I hope people are paying attention. “
Ismaeel Ahmed
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Social Infrastructure Projects.
Between Buhari and Atiku: The Nigerian reality*
By: A. Adaba
http://thenationonlineng.net/between-buhari-and-atiku-the-nigerian-reality/
There is a battle for the soul of Nigeria. Whoever wins this great battle will determine whether Nigeria breaks away from the past and becomes a truly prosperous and value-oriented country or we continue with our philosophy of survival of the fittest, pretending to be a giant economy based on weak economic fundamentals.
I will like to begin this article in a rather controversial way by submitting that Nigeria has no economic problem. What many “experts” and social commentators have glossed over is the fact that our economy has for many decades been driven and inflated by the proceeds of corruption.
A report, titled “Collective Action on Corruption in Nigeria, a Social Norms Approach to Connecting Societies and Institutions,” revealed that close to $400 billion was stolen from Nigeria’s public accounts from 1960 to 1999. The report further added that between 2005 and 2014 when PDP was in power, over $182 billion was lost through illicit financial flows from the country. We may therefore be talking about an economy that has been driven by about $1trillion of illicit money over 5 decades, if we add the private sector corruption.
The Nigerian economy is simply now contracting to a level devoid of the heavy inflows from corruption and unethical business practices, which over 80% of the population have grown used to as the norm. We failed to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable economic growth and even destroyed the economic foundation laid by our heroes’ past. Most of our industrial estates have been converted to religious estates, our comparative advantage in agriculture has diminished. Our huge youthful human capital we were proud of has consistently deteriorated in quality.
If truth must be told, what we urgently need in Nigeria is national reorientation that will be hinged on Lifestyle Adjustment Program (LAP), especially by the so-called “elites” and “middle class” in the society. We have developed a weak middle class from a very faulty and weak economic structure, primarily driven by massive supply of money from the proceeds of corruption and with high velocity which made almost every single person in Nigeria a beneficiary of the culture of corruption. We have created multi-millionaires and billionaires from the proceeds of corruption and a good example is Alhaji Abubakar Atiku who is now vying to be the President of Nigeria. At the base of the wealth of a significant number of the middle class or elite class in Nigeria there is proceed of corruption or unethical business practices. The impact of these on the economy is beginning to reduce because of the necessary adjustments being made by the current administration and it is causing the personal wealth of these classes of multi-millionaires to reduce and the same impact is felt across all spheres of our national life. Corruption is no longer at the scale that it used to be, and we are all feeling it and throwing tantrums.
Over the decades Nigerians have been used to unmerited and unjustifiable income. You do a supply contract and make 500% profit. You import substandard products and make 200% profit. You don’t import any petroleum product, but you collect government petroleum subsidy. You win government contract, collect mobilization fee and simply abscond with it. In all of these, the “elites” also evade tax and levies in every aspect of their economic activity. Government has been used to unaccountable free money from the sale of crude oil without thinking, without adding any value or without being a good negotiator. Doing business with government offered the greatest return. The proceeds of corruption trickles down, the multiplier effect is amazing, and the citizens benefited from it one way or the other while we destroy the future because we fail to create a real middle which class which is the backbone of any economy. We all felt cool with the situation and hoped that our own “breakthrough” would come someday.
This situation made many Nigerians to live far above their means. We build houses we don’t need, we live in neighborhoods our real income cannot afford, we send children to schools we cannot afford. We throw needless lavish parties, we buy cars we can ill afford under normal circumstances just to impress. We spend lavishly on imported goods. We create a large population of “runs” girls by throwing ridiculous money at sexual and social pleasure. Everybody in Nigeria wants to “belong”, at any cost and with speed.
Rather than pay tax, Nigerians pay huge amounts as tithes and offerings from proceeds of corruption, hoping to bribe God. In reaction to the huge revenues recorded by religious centers, religious leaders build huge structures that require a huge amount of money to maintain. We produce more churches and pastors than we produce SMEs. The religious leaders pray for the congregation to have “extraordinary breakthroughs” in an economy that is not extraordinary. Pastors buy private jets and live luxury lifestyle from the proceeds of the tithes and offerings from “breakthroughs” which is often corruption. This is being threatened. Little wonder some of these religious leaders are now in camp with certified corrupt and immoral persons to bring back corruption.
Even the high rate of crime in the country is part of the consequences of decades of corruption. It has created a huge inequality in the society that it has become survival of the fittest. This was the country PDP left behind and the foundation upon which they built our economy. Unfortunately, shame is making most of the so called “elites” and “middle class” Nigerians not to accept the reality of their current positions and are therefore unwilling to adjust their lifestyles.
What has come to fore now is that the government of President Mohammadu Buhari has significantly reduced the flow of funds from corruption which is the foundation upon which all our economic and social activities were built. That is what PDP and the nay-sayers define as “incompetence”. Buhari is simply not “competent” to allow the country to be run as usual, he is not “competent” because he has refused that money should be shared and not invested in critical infrastructure. If we genuinely love this country, we would support the continuation of this administration so that we can all come down from our high horses and do a lifestyle adjustment program (LAP) which would make us live within our means as decent citizens while we push hard to grow our economy with solid fundamentals.
Undoubtedly this process of breaking from the past hurts just like every healing. We only need to endure and think of what is in our collective long-term interest. Our current socio-economic orientation is not how quality nations are built and this is what makes PDP’s rule for 16 years a calamity of unequal dimension in the history of this country. If we go back to that era, in a few years this country would be unsafe for all of us. Our future as a nation will be in danger.
The choice in 2019 is a choice between President Buhari’s deliberate strategy of correcting the faulty economic foundation which over the decades was significantly driven by proceeds of corruption or electing Atiku and returning to the era of massive corruption-based economy with all its risks and consequences which includes lack of proper justice, unsustainable socio-economic lifestyle, survival of the fittest, a society largely divided along the line of oppressors and the oppressed.
Buhari’s strategy requires reorientation, requires the moderation of lifestyle by many elites who have become oppressors of the masses. Buhari’s strategy is for the long term good of all, especially the oppressed, the weakest and the most vulnerable in the society who should not continue to survive on the crumbs that fall into their hands from the huge amounts being stolen but enjoy decent infrastructure. The huge inequality which we witnessed in the era of unfettered corruption breeds no good.
It is difficult to trust Atiku and his associates who have invested substantial amount of money obtained through proceeds of corruption on his obsession for power since 2002. Our foreign reserve is growing. We cannot afford to leave that in the hands of desperate, self-centered and vicious capitalists. Corruption will be more sophisticated if Atiku becomes president. He is a business man whose first objective will be to recoup his investment and stabilize his businesses and that of his associates. They will be more focused on themselves and a few that are fortunate to be close to them. Yes, the crumbs will trickle down and everybody will be happy in the short term, but that is not the way to build a nation.
Atiku’s restructuring claim is deceptive. It is simply a ploy that can only be swallowed by the uninformed. The Executive arm of government can do very little on restructuring based on the nature of our constitution. It is the legislature that can make it happen. Painting himself as Alhaji Restructuring is a sign of dishonesty and desperation. We simply need a National Assembly of people that understand the issues in Nigeria, people that are willing to make sacrifices and are committed to taking this country to a higher level. Atiku was hand in glove with Bukola Saraki to make this 8th Assembly a clog in the wheel of implementation of the programs of the ruling party APC. The executive can only recommend to the legislature it cannot on its own cause restructuring to happen through executive orders. Nigerians can only trust Atiku at their peril. He will throw everything at this election just to get access to our treasury and our commonwealth and recoup his investment. He’s in it for the money.
The calamity visited on Nigeria by PDP for 16 years can never be transformed in 4 years. The progress made by President Buhari may be slow but it’s better slow than reckless. I’m indeed genuinely very worried about Atiku presidency. He’s a business man who sees politics as business. Nothing in Atiku’s history suggests that it is his love for Nigeria that is driving him and his associates to invest so much of illicit money in this obsession. It’s simply a business decision for him.
We need to start rebuilding our economic foundation for the future by first reducing the influence of corruption on our GDP, which became significant during the military regimes and continued to grow under PDP. This is the only way we can know the real value of our economy and begin to lay a solid foundation that would ensure sustainable growth and prepare a great country for the coming generation. President Buhari has done very well on that. We must understand that it is impossible to eliminate corruption, we can only gradually reduce it. The big achievement is to continue to reduce the volume over a period, reduce the scale and get it to a level that it becomes less attractive.
The second step is massive investment in infrastructure. I am particularly excited about some of the projects of this administration. The Lagos/Ibadan rail project, for instance, which is planned to link up to the north via Kaduna is impressive. Such projects lay a solid foundation for general prosperity. If this had been done 10 years ago the multiplier effect of not doing it will not be haunting us today. With that rail line comes new investment opportunities, real job creation and increase in disposable income.
Indeed, turnaround management is not an easy task. It requires patience. President Buhari, being the chief driver of Nigeria’s turnaround also need to make leadership adjustment and quickly too. There is the need to be more decisive in the areas of security and national orientation. The negative publicity of the President and his administration emanates from what he has done or failed to do in these two areas. The President needs to rejig his executive team. The National Orientation Agency needs to be revived, redirected and well-funded. You cannot succeed and sustain this type of turnaround management without a virile national reorientation campaign. That is the biggest error of this administration and I hope and pray it will not come to haunt it.
In all, a President Buhari is a better fit for our current challenges which are more socio-political than economic. Atiku is too desperate. He cannot lead the change from our past culture he is a major beneficiary of. We would simply be the laughing stock of the world if we make a certified and well documented corrupt person the President. Atiku carefully chose his running mate, another capitalist that would gladly look the other way in matters of corruption. In 2017, Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano alleged that his predecessor, this same Mr Peter Obi demanded the sum of N7.5billion from him for sponsoring his election in 2013. Is this the type of combination we want to entrust our future in their hands? The good news is that nobody in the PDP camp has accused President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo of corruption now or in their past. Would we rather throw this value away and opt for people with questionable character and wealth?
Let’s shake off the curse on this country once and for all. We should not be carried away by what Atiku is saying. His former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo has documented his appraisal of Atiku in black and white and the whole world has read it. Nobody knows Atiku better than Obasanjo, notwithstanding his unconvincing “forgiveness” of Atiku. Obasanjo’s well documented objective appraisal of Atiku is simply that he not fit for public service. Nigerians beware!
Adaba writes from Osogbo, State of Osun.
*//Source:*
http://thenationonlineng.net/between-buhari-and-atiku-the-nigerian-reality/
Thursday, 25 October 2018
ON THE CANDIDATURE OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI.
"Supporters of Buhari believe that his candidature would guarantee vast support for APC in the North-west, North-east and other parts of the country because most people in the North, specially the masses, see him as the defender of the downtrodden.
An ardent supporter of Buhari, Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi, maintained that the former Head of State was one of the few sincere Nigerians with integrity and the only one that has the capacity to defeat PDP in the presidential election.
Abdullahi said, “The masses of this country and those who want positive change in this country want Buhari as president in 2015. He is the only person that can tackle corruption and poverty and fix this country. He is a man with impeccable track record and he is the best candidate for the APC.”
This Day Newspaper.
An ardent supporter of Buhari, Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi, maintained that the former Head of State was one of the few sincere Nigerians with integrity and the only one that has the capacity to defeat PDP in the presidential election.
Abdullahi said, “The masses of this country and those who want positive change in this country want Buhari as president in 2015. He is the only person that can tackle corruption and poverty and fix this country. He is a man with impeccable track record and he is the best candidate for the APC.”
This Day Newspaper.
PRESS RELEASE RE: SECURITY BEEF UP AT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
1. The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to unfounded and unsubstantiated news trending on some online media about the presence of Army personnel at the National Assembly. The report alleged that soldiers were trying to take over the National Assembly. This report is not only false but also misleading.
2. The Nigerian Army wishes to state categorically that troops of Guards Brigade are routinely deployed within Abuja and its environs on receipt of any intelligence report of mischievous elements that may want to cause mayhem. Therefore, as part of the routine responsibilities of the Brigade, troops were deployed at the Three Arms Zone of the Federal Capital Territory based on intelligence report of a planned invasion by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (aka Shiite). Hence, troops were deployed to forestall any breach of peace and security.
3. The Nigerian Army wishes to state that media platforms should verify their stories before publication to avoid misleading the general public.
4. The Nigerian Army is a professional and responsible organisation that conducts its operations in line with the international best practices.
5. The public is hereby advised to disregard the information and go about their legitimate businesses.
6. In view of the above, you are please requested to disseminate this important information to the general public.
7. Thank you for your kind cooperation.
TEXAS CHUKWU
Brigadier General
Director Army Public Relations
Wednesday, 24 October 2018
THE 'OSHIOMOLE MUST GO' COALITION : REUBEN ABATI
Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be having a good laugh wherever he is. If he is just finishing a meal, he can afford to pick his teeth and belch from the deepest part of his biological system, and even turn up his nose as he asks for a glass of water. He can also look around and thank Karma for being kind to him, as he gulps down the water and reflects on the circumstances of the APC since he was shunted aside and Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State and former labour leader, supplanted him.
Oyegun’s waterloo was the election in Ondo State and the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as Governor, and before then, his power-tussle with some key stakeholders in the South West wing of the ruling party. Oyegun was accused of being disdainful of reconciliation within the party, and not willing to work with some prominent stakeholders. He was seen as an obstacle to party cohesion. He was sacrificed. His place was taken by Adams Oshiomhole. Oyegun took his humiliation with absolute equanimity and has not since then uttered any fighting words nor has he openly worn his hurt on his sleeves. If he is aggrieved, it would be difficult to find enough evidence, in this season of extreme emotionalism, to prove that such is the case. But if he has been so studiously silent, why we do we think he should laugh and pick his teeth?
Our answer is as follows. His successor, Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, in less than one year of supplanting him has blown nearly all the bridges of goodwill and conspiracy that brought him to power as Chairman of the ruling party. In October 2017, 17 APC governors plotted to remove John Odigie-Oyegun as Chairman of the ruling APC. He was accused of being too close to only 7 out of the 24 APC governors in the country then and that he was using his position to the advantage of the purportedly famous 7. These seven Governors were named as Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), and Samuel Ortom (Benue). They were called Oyegun’s “anointed Governors” with whom he was ruling the party. The loyalists of John Odigie-Oyegun at the time insisted that Adams Oshiomhole who had left the Governorship of Edo State and was looking for a job – so they alleged – was the man behind the anti-Oyegun plot. The detractors took their case to President Muhammadu Buhari. Oyegun soon lost his job. Oshiomhole replaced him.
But right now, in what looks like poetic justice, Oshiomhole is at the point where Oyegun was in 2017, and I dare say, he is in a worse position. We are told that 15 out of the 21 Governors of the APC, are now collecting signatures to force the National Executive Committee of the APC to unseat Adams Oshiomhole. In 2017, 17 APC Governors out of 24 wanted Oyegun out. Today, it is not just even 15 Governors that are against Adams Oshiomhole, there is a coalition of APC Presidential aspirants and you can add to that, other aspirants at every level in the recently concluded APC primaries, who are calling for Adams Oshiomhole’s head.
They accuse him of extortion and fraud. They say he has become “a cancer to APC”. Since his assumption of office, Adams Oshiomhole began to carry on like a “little Hitler”- that is what his own party members say behind him – and don’t ask anyone to come forward to say so publicly. Oshiomhole having won the crown of Chairmanship began to pound the floor like a conqueror. He issued threats to Ministers and threatened to sanction them if they did not listen to the party. He in fact began to sound as if he was President of the country. At more illumined moments, he even tried to do the job of the Minister of Information, party spokesperson and presidential spokespersons. He projected himself as a bundle of exaggerated enthusiasm and ambition.
The recent party primaries exposed the limits of Chairman Oshiomhole’s over-reaching politics. The Governors that were against Oyegun were 17. The ones that were for him were 7 as reported. In less than one year of taking over, Oshiomhole is far less popular. Under his watch, all the alleged pro-Oyegun Governors are biting their fingers. They have been battered, crippled, harassed and humiliated. Nasir el-Rufai almost had a heart-ache trying to prove his relevance in Kaduna politics.
The same with Rochas Okorocha of Imo. In Plateau, Simon Lalong began to sound openly like a member of the opposition. Samuel Ortom of Benue chose the option of defection back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Yahaya Bello (Kogi) is neither here nor there. He follows wherever the Buhari tide flows. But the real issue is that even the Governors that used to be anti-Oyegun and pro-Oshiomhole have turned against Oshiomhole. They don’t want him anymore. In the same manner in which a majority rose against Oyegun in 2017, they have risen against him. This time, the problem is not coming from just Governors, but members of the National Assembly, and all the way down to the grassroots.
Evidentially, the APC, with Chairman Oshiomhole’s NWC in charge, conducted problematic primaries in states like Edo, Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Imo, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kano, Oyo… with negative results. Oshiomhole deployed the powers of the National Working Committee and his influence as Chairman, but he alienated the party’s power base. For this reason, the state Governors and other critical stakeholders are up in arms.
In Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun does not understand why some Godfathers in Lagos and Oyo state will be allowed to have their way and he would not be allowed to have a say in the choice of his own successor. In Zamfara, the Governor even threatened to take the law into his hands if his importance was ignored. In Kaduna, Governor el-Rufai’s arch-rival, Senator Shehu Sani is on his way out of the APC, into another party, and that has split the party in Kaduna state. In Lagos State, the party’s incumbent Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has been left in limbo, dangling between survival, a lost bid for a second term, and the threat of impeachment around his neck.
On October 21, Oshiomhole, through his aide, issued a statement saying that the reason there is a rebellion against him is because he has been a champion of party supremacy and internal democracy within the APC. Nobody believes that wordy, rambling statement. What is clear is that the party primaries conducted by the APC under Oshiomhole’s watch have been far from transparent. They have been divisive and disruptive. The state of the APC right now, as I have argued elsewhere, is where the PDP was in 2015. Too many APC aspirants feel that they have been marginalized and excluded because Oshiomhole working with other actors, has hijacked the party.
His argument that he is being persecuted because he is insisting on party supremacy is unimpressive. The APC party primaries were riddled with double standards and a descent into fascism by a man once known as a comrade. Oshiomhole may have committed the error of too much identification with the master. He talks about party supremacy. Those who use that phrase should be diplomatically reminded to double-check the source and quality of their knowledge.
They like to quote the United Kingdom, but not even in the UK is the party absolutely supreme – people hold on to their right to differ and be independent. Nobody votes in the House of Commons or the House of Lords like a robot. That is why Prime Minister Theresa May doesn’t have the absolute support of either her cabinet or the parliament on the question of Brexit. In the United Sates, the jurisdiction that we model our democracy after, nobody is a zombie under the banner of party supremacy. That explains the prolonged debate over the suitability of Brett Kavanaugh as a nominee for the US Supreme Court bench, despite the 51-49 majority in favour of Republicans. In Nigeria, the party Chairman expects party members at all levels to be zombies who take directives from the party. Adams Oshiomhole has not been defending party supremacy. He has been defending the supremacy of Adams Oshiomhole, and that is why he may lose his position as Chairman of the party.
Two things: we must remind ourselves that Governors are very powerful members of either ruling or opposition parties in Nigeria. They control the grassroots for the party and when their party is in power, they wield even greater influence. In either the PDP or the ruling APC, they insist on the control of the party through indirect primaries. In the last APC party primaries, the National Working Committee of the APC marginalized the Governors by voting for direct primaries, despite an earlier agreement that some latitude will be allowed based on the peculiar circumstances in each state. In handling the petitions from the various states, Oshiomhole ignored what had been previously agreed. The tragedy for the APC is that President Buhari is reportedly on the side of the party and Adams Oshiomhole.
President Buhari may support Oshiomhole but can he afford to go into the 2019 elections with a broken, damaged party? I may have predicted the implosion of the APC somewhat too early, but it seems to me that with Oshiomhole now asking the “Red Cross” to save him from drowning, the ruling APC in Nigeria, may have finally arrived at the crossroads. In 2015, the PDP talked about changing the game. The APC said they were bringing change. Now, the pre-election circumstances of the ruling APC may well be the game changer for the 2019 Nigerian Presidential and general elections. My simple view is that while changing Oshiomhole on the eve of the game may be the inevitable outcome of his own self-inflicted nemesis, perhaps the APC needs to beware of the lessons of history. If he is removed, there will be no orchids for him. If he survives as Chairman, the APC will still pay a price. The APC faces a Hobson’s choice.
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