Abuja Killings: The truth, lies and politics

BY LEVINUS  NWABUGHIOGU

W ere the victims of Apo Shooting on September 20, 2013 really members of Boko Haram as advanced by the Department of  State Security Service (DSS) or mere squatters in an uncompleted building allegedly owned by a retired Army General? Was that a case of another extra Judicial killing in the Federal Capital Territory by the operatives of security agencies? Saturday Vanguard in this special report reveals all the sides of the story.

Like almost always, mum is the word. But the rage is on. The anger and the public outcry have reached a crescendo. Questions are flooding the streets. Whodunit? But no one, not even the Department of Security Service (DSS) which is obviously, centrally involved in the controversy could lend a more convincing voice. And the Army whose men provided military back-up from Guards Brigade, according to reports, is yet to officially tell their role in the development. The whole thing appears highly shrouded in secrecy. And the result is the festering hearsay in almost every quarter of the society.

On the day of the incident, Friday, September 20, 2013, Marilyn Ogar, Director, Public Relations of the DSS had said a shoot-out occurred between her men and suspected Boko Haram Sect members which unfortunately resulted to the death of some of the ‘insurgents.’ She also said it was a joint operation with the Army. But not many people heard Ogar say the Police was involved. Many Nigerians did not only describe Ogar’s submission as tacit, they also dismissed it with a wave of hand, saying it lacked reasoning and logic.

But then, deaths were recorded. In one fell swoop, seven persons died instantly in what seemed to Ogar as a gun duel. At the last count, the death toll was 10 and other victims whose whereabouts were unknown as at Wednesday were over 26. When Saturday Vanguard called Ogar for more enquires, she conspicuously sounded regimental and swiftly dropped this: “I have no comments. I am the one who gives releases to the press when I have.” And then she ended the call from her end. But hers was better compared to Frank Mba, the Police Force Headquarters Public Relations officer (PRO) who did not respond to the text messages sent to his phone.

Survivors in hospital

Could this be another case of extra judicial killing by security agents whom the law requires to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians and in most cases, arrest and bring to justice, culprits instead of summary killing? Fears and suspicions really abound.

Now, recall the controversial ‘Apo Six’ in June 2005, which claimed the lives of six young traders at the MechanicVillage including a woman who was said to be a fiancée to one of the traders. Recall also the underhand developments which indicted the Police over the shooting. Sadly, till date, justice is yet to be served on the case after eight years.

Indeed, like the “Apo six”, the incident on September 20 is also another Apo killing. And because of the number of casualties, many have come to tag it “ Apo 10.”

The “Apo 10” happened in an uncompleted building located at the Kyari close, Zone E Apo Legislative Quarters, near the GuduCemetery in the FederalCapitalTerritory , FCT.

The story

The story is told in two parallels that prompt discrepancies. While the official position, being Ogar’s preliminary statement that swayed many Nigerians, corroborates the presence of ‘terrorists’ in the uncompleted building and a vexing fire-shot that got the DSS operatives and the soldiers triggered during an operation meant to excavate a cache of arms said to have been buried by the “insurgents” around in the building, counter-arguments from the sorrow-stricken survivors of the shooting, eye-witnesses, concerned citizens including a member of the House of Representatives, the neighborhood, Human Rights Activist and sympathetic members of the public vehemently reject the official view.

Agreed that the dead were squatters in the building, they posited that the victims were young Nigerians who engaged in various businesses such as operating commercial tricycles otherwise called “Keke NAPEP”, Mai-ruwa (water suppling), sachet water selling, amongst other petty trading as means of livelihood. To them, linking the young chaps to Boko Haram was unacceptable.

Another aspect of the story has it that the building belongs to a retired Army General who became greatly irked upon a knowledge that squatters had taken over his house. Sources said that a few days before the raid, someone in the toga of the owner of the house had issued stern threats to deal with the squatters without further pre-information. But at the moment, the person’s identity is still not known.

And here a few questions arise. Why is the identity of the General or the owner of the building not disclosed yet? Why would the security operatives embark on a nocturnal digging of arms without first securing the environment till daylight? Where are the arms now? If the story of non-Police involvement is worth the salt, why would there be an operation of such nature without the Police? Why were the survivors of the shooting left without police protection even around their sick beds in the hospital since Boko Haram cases are considered high profile? Many questions, less answers.

Many Nigerians including Hon. Amiru Tukur Idris Nadabo, Member representing Bakori/Danja Constituency, KatsinaState in the House of Representatives who spoke to Saturday Vanguard explained that such sites with heavy presence of young men who try to eke out a living were common within Abuja and its environs. Nadabo however said that the boys usually enter into an agreement with perhaps, the Mai-Guard (local Guard) in and around such buildings which would see them pay a token ranging from N100 to N300 each as accommodation charge per night. He said  that was the case with the victims of the shooting of which four of the dead were members of his Constituency in KatsinaState .

Hear him: “: “As of now, we have four of my constituents killed and about nine of them are missing. We don’t know where they are. Since Friday, we have been trying to get in touch with those that arrested them. We are trying to locate where they have been taken them. They are about 26. Some are from Zamfara, two are from Yobe ; two are from Kaduna ; and others from Sokoto and Kebbi States .

“I have visited the scene of the incident. Actually, it’s an uncompleted building. You see similar buildings around Wuse 11, Apo and Asokoro. You see these buildings being occupied by these hustlers, these Keke Napep drivers; people who push trucks and pure water sellers.”

The  rent/threats

Nadabo told Saturday Vanguard that his late constituents had brought to his knowledge a threat by the  supposedly owner of the uncompleted building who threatened fire and brimstone. He also recalled an earlier disagreement between the boys and the “caretaker” of the facility which was later settled. According to him, he had plans to relocate the boys amid the conflicts but hesitated when apparently, relative peace returned.

Vanguard

Al-Mustapha, Dokubo-Asari, Mohammed Abacha’s moves unsettle North

 by  Kola Oyelere- Kano

THE newfound love between Major Hamza al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the former Head of State, General Abacha Sanni, and the Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, is currently unsettling political circles in the North.

Dokubo-Asari has not hidden his disdain for any political arrangement that would return presidential power to the North in 2015, and al-Mustapha’s association with the ex-militant is seen by politicians in the region as a ploy to scuttle the North’s chance of wresting power from President Goodluck Jonathan in the next general election.

Apart from this perceived ‘unholy’ allicance, political watchers in the region view the recent defection of Alhaji Muhammed Abacha, the son of the former military ruler, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a move by the Jonathan camp to tackle some powerful politicians who are believed to control political power in Kano, especially the state governor, Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

But sensing the danger such move could pose to the interest of the North, a coalition of youths from the region, under the aegis of the Northern Youth Revival Movement (NYRM), on Friday threatened to disown al-Mustapha over the purported romance with Dokubo-Asari, saying it is capable of denying the North the chance to produce the president come 2015.

Saturday Tribune gathered that most politicians loyal to Jonathan are confused over the ongoing political crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and believe that both al-Mustapha and Abacha can use their present influence to tilt the scale in the president’s favour in the race to the presidency in 2015.

It was gathered further that while al-Mustapha is seen as a potent factor to checkmate most of the politicians in the North as well as a better tool to sell Jonathan’s candidature to the region, he is also being seen as a bridge builder to the people in South through his association with Dokubo-Asari.

Politicians in Jonathan’s camp are also convinced that Muhammed Abacha’s influence in Kano politics is not only capable of dividing the politicians in the state, but is also capable of rallying political support for Jonathan when he eventually secures the ticket of his party to contest the 2015 presidency.

Disturbed by this purported political permutation, some youths in the North addressed a press conference, during which they condemned the said alliance between al-Mustapha and Dokubo-Asari, saying “we hereby condemn the so-called Al-Mustapha –Dokubo Kaduna conference under the auspices of the National United Alliance, and call on the northern youth to dissociate themselves from any act that is unprogressive to the region (sic!).”

The youths made the call at a joint addressed by the Northern Coalition Movement, comprising the Northern Youth Interactive Forum (represented by its Strategy and Planning Officer, Alhaji Kabiru Bako); the Youth Coalition Movement (represented by Alhaji Haruna Sparrom) and the Northern Youth Revival Movement, represented by Comrade Ahmed Tahir.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Alhaji Kabiru Bako said it was an anomaly for al-Mustapha to still be referring to himself as a youth at the age of 54, saying he could no longer speak on behalf of youths. He then berated him for organising a rally in Owerri on behalf of northern youths.

Though the youths said they sympathised with the former CSO over his incarceration for over 14 years, they, however, warned him not to use his release (from prison) by Jonathan’s administration to hoodwink and mislead youths from the region.

They said, “We are using this medium to call on our northern youths to be patriotic to the region in order not to be manipulated ahead of the 2015 general election by Goodluck Jonathan using Major al-Mustapha.”

“As we will move to disown Major al-Mustapha, we also advise him to (face) his court litigation and be more prayerful this time, as he may not enjoy the prayer of the Northern people, now that they have known his true colour.”

NigerianTribune

‘THIS IS NOT THE NIGERIA WE DREAMNT OF AT INDEPENDENCE’

In this interview with John Shiklam, the Chairman of the Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF), Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, speaks on Nigeria at 53, insisting Nigerians have not realised their dreams at independence as a result of corruption and bad leadership

Nigeria is celebrating its 53 years as an independent nation, as a young man in the 1960s, what were your expectations at independence?

We had a national anthem that time part of which goes thus: “Help us to build a nation, where no man is bound, though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”. We were so excited, carrying the Nigerian flag that time as we sang this Anthem. Our expectation that time was that of oneness, we were hoping for a great nation. We were hoping for a country where we will see ourselves as one and work together to develop it, a country where everybody will make his input to develop it. We were very happy that the British colonialists were going away and Nigeria was an independent nation.

We were so happy that we were going to be equal to the white man who was lording it over us. We were dreaming of a nation that will compete with other nations in all aspects of development. We dreamt of a nation of a happy and united people. These were our expectations at that time. Unfortunately, it is a very sad story since the colonial masters left us 53 years ago.

What was responsible for these failed dreams, what really went wrong?

One of the basic reasons for our failure is bad leadership. We got independence from the whiteman and we became slaves to blackman. For a blackman to make his brother a slave is a horrible thing. We have not made the progress we anticipated. How many kilometres have we added to the railway that the British left behind 53 years ago? Our young people today are disillusioned. When we were growing up things were good. In those days, once you get your A ‘Level (Advance Level) certificate, you will go straight to the university. When you graduate, a job and a brand new car is waiting for you. We never heard of graduates being jobless. The salary was low, but the purchasing power was high. Today, nothing seems to be working well, there is high level of unemployment, poverty, crime and so on.

Corruption was very minimal in those days and those found to be corrupt were never spared. Now corruption has become the norm and corrupt people are being glorified and held in high esteem. Our value system has collapsed. There is corruption everywhere and a society that thrives on corruption will never make any meaningful progress. Look at the way they are stealing crude oil. One third of the crude oil is being stolen, the one that is not stolen, when they want to ship it abroad, we don’t know the quantity they shipped. They can load 1,250 barrels and hide 1000 barrels. Between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), our money is stolen. When it gets to the Federal Government, before they share it with the states, some money is stolen, when the states get their share, they will steal part of the amount for local governments, the contractor will steal his own and no meaningful development takes place. So stealing is going on everywhere.

In those days, we had leaders who believed in Nigeria. They believed in serving their people. Awolowo believed in making the West the best place, Sardauna saw what Awolowo was doing and wanted to make the North better than the South-west. I went to Government College, Keffi from 1963 to 1967 and we were paying only three pounds as school fees. When you are going to the school, the native authority will give you money to go to the school. If you are going back for holiday, the school will give you transport money to go back. During that time, we were given everything, uniforms, books, feeding etc free. Now, what has happened? The public schools which produced the ruling elites have collapsed as a result of corruption. Can you imagine 200 children sitting on the ground in the class! Let me tell you, a Grade II Teacher of those days is better than the NCE graduates of today. Secondary school leavers of those days are much better than degree holders of today. So, what have we achieved all these years?

So, what is responsible? How did we miss it?

We don’t have patriotic leaders in this country. How many houses and cars did Sardauna and Tafawa Balewa acquired? Their children schooled in Nigeria. So we don’t have leaders. We don’t have leaders that want to make Nigeria great. We don’t have people who are masses oriented. Where are the likes of the radical Aminu Kano, the likes of Hajiya Gambo Sawaba and several others today? The types of leaders we have today are greedy and self-centred people who are only interested in primitive acquisition of wealth at the expense of the people and the nation.

We didn’t have many hospitals in those days but they were good. Today our hospitals have become mortuaries. The masses are being oppressed; at independence we didn’t think that Nigerians will be subjected to this kind of oppression by their leaders.
Because of the failure of leadership at all levels, terrible things are happening to us today. It was very strange when Dele Giwa was killed by bomb, today people are being killed by bombs. We never heard of kidnapping, but today people are being kidnapped rampantly. We are retrogressing instead of progressing.

When I went to Government College, Keffi we had people from all tribes and religion and we saw ourselves as brothers and friends. We didn’t know anything about tribal and religious differences. Now we have turned our children against each other. People are killing in the name of religion. Nobody wants to see the other. The civil service was a place of pride and honour. Now we have over employed people in the civil service. Where two people are supposed to work, ten people are employed there. There is no efficiency except corruption. The civil servants of those days served the nation with dedication and integrity. But now it has been bastardised and people are stealing mercilessly, including the stealing of pension for those who have retired from work. This is very callous.

How many of our youths are looking up to tomorrow with joy? You have 1.5 million of them who want to enter the university or polytechnic but only half a million of them can be admitted. The rest of them will remain at home. Those who get the admission don’t even know when they will graduate because of incessant strike by the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU). If ASUU is not on strike, non academic staff will go on strike, the same thing with the polytechnics. How can a responsible government make agreement in 2009 and still fighting over the implementation of the agreement four years after? So for me, Nigeria is in a bad shape.

What do you think is the way forward for the country?

We need to do a rethink and chart a new course. That is why 2014 is very important because Nigeria will be 100 years by next year since the amalgamation. I am of the opinion that we need to sit down at a sovereign national conference and ask ourselves whether we still want to live together as one entity. If we want to live together we must all agree on certain terms - all of us must agree to be equal partners. We must agree to stop all these terrible things that have continued to be a clog in the wheel of progress to the nation. If we want to separate, we don’t need to carry guns to separate, we should use biro and signed it and separate peacefully without bloodshed.

The way things are, we are at a cross road. How many of those who are parading themselves as patriots and leaders truly have the interest of this country at heart. A lot of them are not fit to be in leadership positions. We have lost out. So we must sit down and discuss and evolve a system that will move Nigeria forward. Which legacy are these so called leaders leaving behind? Today we are still talking about the legacies of Awolowo, Sardauna and others because of their exemplary leadership and their achievements which are still glaring till today. Today we are still talking of Audu Bako because of the irrigation revolution he embarked upon in Kano during his days as military governor. What can you pinpoint as the legacy of the present crop of leaders that we have today? The North held power for so many years, what did they achieve for the North? The North has more local governments than the southern part of the country yet the region has remained very poor and backward in everything compared to other parts of the country.

Why do they want power to come to the North again having ruled the country for many years? To me, every zone should hold office for eight years. I don’t care whether power comes back to the North or not, let the South-South do their two terms, then we move to the East, let them do their own, then power will come to the North and it will be the turn of the northern Christians because the North has produced nine presidents, only one of them, Gen. Yakubu Gowon is a Christian.

We need to adopt this system because our leaders have become so sectional that once they are in power, they pay more attention to the development of the section they come from. If Nigerian leaders strive to ensure the development of all sections of the country, all the agitation about powershift or rotation would not have arisen. If a governor is developing the entire state other than his locality, nobody will be shouting that it is their turn to produce the governor in the next election.

Look at Niger State with a large population of Christians, but both the governor and deputy governor are Muslims. This is very insulting to the Christians and these are some of the things that cause disaffection and agitation. So it is time for us to sit down and discuss and chart a new direction for a great nation.

ThisDay

Nyako is the cause of crises in PDP -Grace Bent

The crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are increasingly looking intractable given the emergence of strange scenarios at the instance of warring factions. In this interview withADEMOLA ADEGBITE, a stakeholder of the party in Adamawa State, Senator Grace Folashade Bent, catalogues the origin of the crises, tracing the roots to Adamawa. She offers insights into other means of addressing the PDP challenges.

THERE have been reports that the current crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) originally stemmed from Adamawa State as a result of the governor’s move to maintain grip on politics in his state. As a stakeholder, what can you say to this?
I have long wanted to explain the root of the crises within the PDP as it affects my state, Adamawa, if only to set the records straight. The problem in Adamawa PDP had been on for years before it boomeranged and is now snowballing into larger crises in the party. If you could recall, the problem in Adamawa PDP began with the dissolution of Adamawa PDP executive by the national headquarters of the party. That executive, led by Mijinyawa Kugama, had expired long ago, but the state governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, still wanted to force it on the rest of PDP members in the state. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to intervene by writing the national headquarters of PDP asking it to conduct a congress for election of the new exco in Adamawa. The governor adamantly insisted that the exco must not go. This problem had been there before Alhaji Bamanga Tukur became the PDP National Chairman.

I recall that at a point, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, then an elder in Adamawa PDP, led a delegation to Chiefs Nwodo and Ogbulafor on the need for the party to hold a congress in Adamawa. So, you can appreciate the dilemma of Tukur on the issue at the moment. Again, the incumbent President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as Nigeria’s vice president then, had headed a committee on Adamawa PDP crises. He was the Chairman on Reconciliation Committee. On two occasions, his committee recommended for a congress to be held in Adamawa.

That was under the administration of the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua. Then as the President of Nigeria, Jonathan had cause to invite the stakeholders of Adamawa politics to the Presidential Villa. He appealed to us to go back to Adamawa and help Nyako win his governorship election. But after winning the election, the governor ensured that every stakeholder got sidelined from the PDP, some hounded out of the party to join the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

This has been the case. Unfortunately for us stakeholders, there has never been fair hearing for us. The governor has been the only one calling the shots. He has been using the state’s resources to fight us and the most regrettable thing is that he has been mobilising members of the Governors Forum to be on his side, notwithstanding fighting a wrong cause. The governors had this impression that their colleague was being humiliated and so vowed to fight on his behalf without bothering to listen to the other side of the divide in Adamawa. This is unfortunate, more so when the governors reduced this crisis to a problem between them and Bamanga Tukur. It is not so. The governor of Adamawa was the cause of it all.

So what part did you stakeholders play?
When we saw that the PDP was losing grounds in Adamawa and members were crossing to other parties, elders of the party made representations to the NWC and stated our case. Of course, Bamanga Tukur, who was part of the struggle, had become the chairman. He set up different committees which also recommended the conduct of fresh congress in the state. It was when Nyako was not cooperating by insisting on the Kugama-led expired exco that the NWC dissolved the exco. A fresh congress, supervised by INEC, was held and members heaved a sigh of relief. That never went well with Nyako; neither did it go well with a few of his colleagues, most especially the chairman of the Governors Forum, Rotimi Amaechi. Amaechi, funny enough, went to the NWC and instructed it to reverse its decision on Adamawa, just like that. He did not speak with the likes of Professor Jubril Aminu and other elders in the state before holding on to that decision. Where is the sense of fair hearing by the then Governors Forum. We in Adamawa felt such things were never right because they were injurious to democracy.

Now, when the Amaechi’s side of the Governors Forum saw that Bamanga Tukur was not going to reverse himself on the Adamawa issue, the next thing was their decision to make PDP ungovernable. The fair-minded among the governors took the pain to call the stakeholders and find out the truth on Adamawa. These are the ones who have since been standing on the side of justice and equity.

Now, Admiral Nyako and the Governors Forum began to mount overbearing influence on the party and they have been whipping anti-PDP sentiment ever since. Even when they set up the Lamido’s committee on Adamawa, Lamido never bothered to call the stakeholders for hearing. The committee just took a one-sided decision in favour of their fellow governor. The conclusion was that it is either PDP returns their colleague’s exco in Adamawa or that Bamanga Tukur should resign. Is that what democracy is all about? That was the beginning of setting options for the PDP and Mr. President. As far as we are concerned in Adamawa, Governor Nyako should be held responsible for the escalation of crises in the PDP. He was the one who mobilised all the governors to start this problem because he whipped the sentiment that what happened to him would happen to the other governors. But he was wrong and his colleagues were wrong in following him too.

The point we members of PDP should be stressing is that no one is bigger than the party and we must instill the principle of justice, fairness and equity in the party. This is a party the founding fathers had wanted every member to run on equal basis; that is common ownership. If that happens at the national level, it should happen in every state. Come to think of it, Governor Nyako was not a founding member of PDP. He came from the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and almost immediately after joining PDP became the Adamawa governor. Since he joined, he has been lording it over those he met, including Professor Jubril Aminu, veterans like Wilberforce Juta, Tony Ananiah, Col Kama, Dr Aliyu Idi Hong, Dr Umar Ardo, John Elias, Boni Haruna, and many more who are not just stakeholders, but who had spent their money, time and energy in building the party.

Why do you think the governor was insisting on having his way all the time, most especially on the issue of PDP state exco?
You should appreciate that he was coming from a military background where authorities flow from only one direction and others must just obey. He has not imbibed the culture of democracy fully, because he still believes he could lead politicians like a military Admiral. Democracy, you know, is the government of the people by the people and for the people. Our governor must realise this. Again, Governor Nyako got the governorship seat without any challenge. When he was brought in, all the stakeholders rallied round him and campaigned for his victory. The people I had mentioned earlier worked very hard to support and sustain him in power. But when he got the power, he surrounded himself with sycophants who probably told him to send every major stakeholder away if he is to always have a full grip of the party. And that is what he did. If they are beginning to spend the money belonging to the state to fight their personal cause, it is better they realise on time that that money belongs to everybody in the state. At the appropriate time, people will ask questions. These have been the issues affecting the overall PDP at the moment.

Some people are attributing the problem in PDP today to the inaction of the Presidency and the PDP national officers on some issues. Do you share in that conclusion?
Hitherto, this party had been operating as a family, and nobody had envisaged the turn of events. What you referred to as inaction by the authorities in the party is their display of sense of maturity and fairness. First, they brought in the elders to intervene and ensure that normalcy returns to the party. Who would ever believe that the G7 governors would not listen to even the elders? Since I joined this party, I have never seen the level of impunity being displayed by members. The PDP had held a convention to elect its national officers at the Eagle Square.

The INEC issued PDP a certificate of registration and I do not see the New PDP claiming ownership of the certificate. I see the efforts by the new PDP members as just crying wolf where there is none. Take for instance, when the elders call them to a roundtable and asked for their grievances, they gave stiff conditions which to me are ludicrous, very laughable. For God’s sake, how can a breakaway faction of PDP say they want the president to drop his ambition to run for second term? That the EFCC should not probe anyone of them and that the sack of Adamawa exco should be reversed? These are self-serving conditions that will never impact positively on the lives of an average Nigerian. The New PDP members are just proving to the world that they are not sensitive to the yearnings of all Nigerians. How many of the governors have been able to put in place good programmes that were adjudged to have touched the lives of their people. Why are they fighting desperately, talking about 2015 as if they have tomorrow in their hands? Can anyone of us just forget that there is only one Supreme Being who watches over all of us and who decides everybody’s fate? You are asking Jonathan not to run in 2015. If he decides to run then, what powers do you have to stop him? However, I think it is only personal aggrandizement and selfish motives coupled with the bad belle syndrome that is ruling the conduct of members of the New PDP. Nigerians understand better now as they have gradually been overcoming the initial raising of the dusts.

Many watchers of the political scenarios conclude that the New PDP members will never back down, having gone far in taking actions against the main PDP. How do you see the problem ending?
Of course, they will not want to go back into PDP because of ego reasons; but they should find a good soft landing for themselves and play ball with the President to give them a soft landing. If they would not do that, the only option available to them is to form a new political party and then leave the PDP. At least if you are not satisfied with the pattern of leadership of somebody, you stay away from such a person. If seven out of 23 governors decide to go their way, does that mean the PDP will die?

How would you appraise Jonathan’s approach to the PDP crises?
Although a school of thought believes that the president should have wielded the stick right from the beginning, you should appreciate the manner by which the president works. The president, I know, believes in dialogue and so had set machinery in motion for that option to resolve the problem. I want to give it to the president for being humble in sitting with the governors in dialogue. That is commendable. You could see when Governor Aliyu Babangida was reading a communiqué at the end of their meeting with the president and the president stood humbly by his side. That is very encouraging and it got me endeared to him. I even learnt that the president, ab initio, was ready to play ball with the governors, but the way they were going about it makes the idea of dialogue, which everybody believes in, unworkable for now.

Do you think the ongoing crises in PDP will rub on its chances of winning in the next presidential election?
I don’t think so.

Why?
It is because our democracy is young and just gathering momentum. The good thing is that Nigerians have come to realise that PDP is the most organised party among all, having stood the test of time. Even though you may not ascribe outright excellence to PDP in some areas, yet you can give the credit to it for sustaining democracy for this long. It has never happened in Nigeria that democracy would run for more than 15 years. I still think that Nigerians believe that a devil you know well is better than the angel you really do not know. Nigerians do not have problem with PDP as a party, but the problem they have is with the individuals. But I know that the prayer by most Nigerians is for PDP to get more credible candidates to bear its flags during the next round of elections in 2015. I have interacted with a lot of people in Nigeria and I know that their conclusion is that they neither have a problem with the party’s manifesto, nor the constitution nor the party’s organ, they have problems with the kind of leadership it has been producing. So they want some set of good candidates, people-oriented individuals to lead and give them what they wanted in the next political dispensation.

If you are to suggest steps by the PDP leadership to overcome the current crises in the party, what would you say?
I have said over and over again that cases must be treated on their individual merit. There is no need to join the bandwagon on issues at stake. Some members of the party felt that the leadership had wronged them in some ways. Yes, the party is not infallible. So I want to support the idea of dialogue. I want to appeal to members of the party who are aggrieved to take the matter gently by thinking like real stakeholders, rather than acting like fighters. In politics, we disagree to agree and if we must maintain a good balancing of opinion in the party, we must all come to the roundtable to iron out our differences. The problem in PDP still has solution if the warring parties agree to operate with open minds. But I feel it is really not good for a side to want to lord it on the other. We are equal partners in PDP. All the same, the PDP cannot operate successfully without maintaining discipline among its members. There is need for party supremacy. That is what is making the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa to forge ahead. ANC in South Africa experiences crises too. They had one most recently, but members came together to resolve their differences and it has since been moving on. If we don’t keep a mechanism for conflict resolution in PDP, we are bound to experience rumblings that would always undermine efforts by the leadership to stay afloat. It is bad when some people just feel that they are higher in status than the party or where some members just felt they are too big for the party to contain. So, in the long run, if the aggrieved party members feel they can no longer remain in the PDP for reasons best known to them, the best option at the end is for them to leave and form their own parties, if that would bring a lasting peace to both parties.

Has President Jonathan ever impressed you as a leader?
You can judge a leader from different perspectives. A leader is analysed, criticised, commended, condemned, or rather dismissed based on certain attributes he exhibits. The way I see President Jonathan may be different from the way you or other person sees him. I have been in government before, and I realised that the way you see things within is different from the way the people outside see same things. So, I will be cautious in assessing President Jonathan the way most people assess him. For me, however, I think President Jonathan has made some giant strides since he got into the saddle. First of all, you can appreciate him better by the way he has been trudging along despite confronting too many battles and fighting too many enemies. Some of his enemies are uncompromising. They give an impression that whatever good he does must be opposed and run down. This certainly has made ordinary Nigerians to feel that the president has really been trying. Talk of public sympathy, which is currently growing for the president here. I see the Jonathan’s government as trying to galvanise energy towards solving some of the problems it met on the ground. The government has been trying against all odds to leave good impression that it is capable of addressing the challenges facing Nigeria.

Take for instance the problem of security. Were it not for the consistent battles the present government has been waging against terrorism, where would Nigeria have been today? The president’s calmness, hopeful mien and steady disposition to issues may not be what many Nigerians desired, but his approaches have been producing results in some ways and Nigeria has been moving forward. Under President Jonathan, there has been stability in the oil and gas sector like we never experienced before. His government is improving on power generating capacity and you can feel the process of development and building of infrastructure in strategic parts of the country. So, the country needs some measure of stability for the government to excel. To me, it is unfair to always put the president on the spot just for personal gains and reasons. Opposition is good and healthy for democracy, but when it becomes destructible, that is where the problem lies.

APC governors, legislators in crucial meeting over 2015

by  Dapo Falade - Abuja

GOVERNORS on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as members of the party in the National Assembly on Friday held a crucial meeting at the Lagos Lodge, Abuja.

Though details of the meeting, which was still on as at press time, were not known, a party source told Saturday Tribune that it was to deliberate on mattes connected with preparations for the party’s national convention.

It was also gathered that the meeting would set modalities for the party’s national executive meeting, where members are expected to reach a conclusion on the mode of primary to adopt in picking the candidates for the 2015 general election, especially the presidential election.

As at press time, the party’s leadership was awaiting the arrival of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, who, as the APC Deputy National Chairman, was expected to chair the meeting, as well as Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and some other caucus leaders.

The newly-registered political party, comprising the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), is said to be battling with a fresh crisis over the choice of candidates for the various elective offices in the forthcoming election.

The leadership of the party is said to be confronted with either adopting the party primary method of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or opting for equal representation of delegates across the states.

A party source disclosed that adopting the PDP style of primary could lead to a situation whereby the APC-controlled states would have more delegates than in states where it is not in control.

This mode of primary, according to the source, will result in all members of state executives, state legislators and preferably special advisers to governors, becoming special delegates to the national convention of the party.

States not under the control of the party will invariably have as delegates only members of the executives of the party, which means that the affected states will have fewer delegates than the APC-controlled states.

It was further gathered that this mode of party primary, if adopted, would favour the members of former ACN who control the South-West, as well as loyalists of national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, thereby giving them an undue advantage at the national convention of the party.

The second option available to the party, according to the source, is for its leadership to adopt equal representation of delegates in all the states so as not to put at disadvantage any state in the selection of the party’s candidate.

 The sources hinted that the second option may favour the camp of former presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari; and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Malam Nasir el-Rufai, who is APC Interim National Secretary.

A report has it that Buhari has threatened to pull out of the merger arrangement if it is discovered that the choice of candidates for the elective offices in the forthcoming general election is skewed in favour of a particular caucus in the party.

NigerianTribune

Zik, Awo, Jonathan? The difference is clear

In the ongoing internal crisis in Peoples Democratic Party, two groups are engaged in what is now a cutthroat rivalry to vanquish one of the other.

The first group believes Goodluck Jonathan must go and the party will continue ruling, while the other group believes that Jonathan must stay and fight to keep the party ruling. While the first group collectively seems to be executing its battle plan with well-prepared and committed men, Jonathan completely relies on his men to read the compass for him.

Prospects of the political survival of the Aso Rock landlord, therefore, depend on the accuracy or otherwise of those reading the compass for him. As the captain of the ship in the storm, Goodluck Jonathan may need to have a second look at the route being laid out for him purportedly for a guaranteed safe landing or he may hit the rocks.

The first caution for Goodluck Jonathan is not to see himself as a Zik (never mind Azikiwe as one of Jonathan’s names) or Awo in fighting off the challenge to his presidency. Jonathan is neither of the two men, who were in a class of their own. The collapse of every challenge to their leadership at various stages had to do more with their political invincibility, a status they attained not only over decades but also from popular following. Also, from every challenge to their leadership, Zik and Awo increased in political stature because of their towering personality recognised at home and abroad.

In a way, Zik made NCNC and Awo similarly made the Action Group. When the NCNC was founded under the leadership of Herbert Macaulay, the party was mainly a Lagos affair. Macaulay died later in 1946 during a planned nation-wide tour. Zik succeeded Macaulay and spread the party to the whole country especially the east and the west.

Dominating the east, the party also gave Awo’s party Action Group, the strongest opposition in the West, with Zik winning in Ijesha, Oyo and Mid-West. In fact, in the 1954 federal elections to the House of Representatives in Lagos, Zik’s NCNC won in east and western regions. Hence, along with ministers from the east, NCN also produced federal ministers from the west, Adegoke Adelabu, Kola Balogun, Festus Okotie-Eboh and J.M. Johnson.

That was the Zik challenged for his NCNC leadership in 1953 and 1958. Hence the challengers had no chance.

Equally, Awolowo started with Adeyemo Alakija’s Area Council, which was also a mainly Lagos affair. But in 1950, Awolowo and his lieutenants formed the Action Group at Owo and within a short time dominated the entire western region (today’s South-West, Edo and Delta). After the dispute over the 1951 elections to Western House of Assembly and loss of the 1954 federal elections to Zik, he (Awo) thereafter eroded NCNC’s sbonghold in the West and opened area of support in minority areas in the east, hitherto, Zik’s stronghold. As Zik opened up the North in alliance with Aminu Kano’s NEPU, Awolowo equally established support in the Middle Belt in alliance with Joseph Tarka’s United Middle-Belt Congress.

In 1956, Awo established his party’s stronghold in the west beyond reasonable doubt by winning the regional elections. Also, in 1959 federal elections, Awo regained the west from Zik. Again, that was the Awo who successfully defeated the challenge to his leadership in 1962.

Noticeably, Zik and Awo expanded the support base of their respective political party and increased in political stature more than that. When both Zik and Awo defeated their challengers, none of the two was head of a regional or federal government. Political popularity and popular support were their weapons of war. When Professor Eyo Ita in 1953 (as leader of government business in eastern region on the platform of NCNC) and the sit-tight ministers challenged Zik’s leadership, he (Zik) was leader of opposition in the west. Equally when Awo’s leadership was challenged in 1962, he (Awo) was leader of opposition in federal parliament in Lagos.

None of Zik or Awo had the advantage of state apparatus like the police, the EFCC, the SSS, even the judiciary with which to clobber challengers of their leadership. In short, Zik and Awo survived challengers to their leadership purely on merit.

In contrast, the PDP which Goodluck Jonathan inherited in 2010 is today less popular. Indeed, the party has lost control of many state governments since that time, not the least South-west zone. Also, unlike Zik and Awo who survived on personal merit, Jonathan’s main strength against his challengers for the PDP leadership derives from his (mis?)use of state apparatus like the EFCC, the police, the SSS and the judiciary with which he intimidates his opponents. Even then, he can still be defeated, judging from history. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo despite EFCC, the police, SSS and judiciary was defeated in his third term bid, even by PDP members of National Assembly. As a matter of fact, out of office and without weapons of intimidation listed above, Obasanjo has lost control of PDP at the local level in Ogun State. If equally stripped of the aforementioned weapons of terror, Jonathan will also become a paper tiger.

In no way, therefore, can the solid and personal dominance of Zik and Awo in their days of political storm be compared to Jonathan’s current problem, such to automatically guarantee his political survival. Whether Professor Eyo Ita, the sit-tight ministers or K.O. Mbadiwe were justified in their challenge to Zik’s leadership or whether Chief S.L. Akintola was not entirely wrong in facing up to Awo was just of no importance to the passionate supporters of Zik and Awo. The backing for their heroes was natural and unsolicited.

On the contrary, the PDP had never been a genuine political party or an aggregation of political compatibles. Obasanjo, as an incumbent elected president on the platform of PDP openly acknowledged that fact.

To worsen matters for Jonathan in his survival prospects is his dismissal of mine ministers whose possible offense might be guilt by association or sponsorship. In their days, Zik or Awo would have strengthened their position with their measure. The same cannot be said of President Jonathan largely owing to entirely different political atmosphere. Today, almost half of PDP; Jonathan’s National Assembly members have either openly disowned him or are waiting to land the knockout punch.

The slightest further push by either side for a showdown may reduce Jonathan’s support among PDP members in National Assembly to less than half. It was not clear whether a kite was being flown with the recent media speculation on a planned impeachment of the leadership of both chambers in the National Assembly. In the present political circumstances, such a move, even if not instigated by President Jonathan, will be tactless, will fail and be sourced to Aso Rock. Hawks in Jonathan’s opposing camp may even seize on such a gamble to commence counter impeachment proceedings against Jonathan.

The charges will be the same as overlooked in the past, like violation of or failure to implement the finance act, disrespect for constitutional provisions or series of non-payment of public funds to the federation account or expenditure without National Assembly approval. Impeachment attempt against leadership of National Assembly is therefore like a hot iron that must not be touched.

Post-mortem of the dropped ministers vividly illustrates Jonathan’s survival/electoral risk. Quite a number of the ex-ministers are from the North, especially the North-west, the zone with the largest solid votes in the 2011 presidential elections. Jonathan (however he got the votes) attracted that support not on personal basis but because the governors of those states, relying on an alleged agreement that Jonathan would not run in 2015, delivered the votes for the PDP. It is most unlikely that dropping those ministers would enhance prospects of resolving the PDP crisis.

The situation is not better in South-west. Before the current crisis, PDP was solidly represented in Osun State by former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and his former deputy, Erelu Olusola Obada, recently dropped as federal minister of defense. With the emergence of ACN (now APC) administration in the state, it could be conceded PDP might have lost some ground.

Whatever semblance of PDP support in the state rested in the former first two citizens of Osun. When the PDP crisis erupted especially with the emergence of former governor Oyinlola as National Secretary of the NEW PDP, Erelu Obada was caught in the middle but still with her following as a PDP Federal Minister. Her removal as a Minister now creates a threefold opposition for President Jonathan in Osun State – the APC group and the Oyinlola/Erelu Obada group.

APC’s goof on Labaran Maku

Quite unusually, the normally ever-pungent opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) shot itself on the foot for criticising acting Defence Minister, Labaran Maku. The party accused Maku of deploying troops to Nasarawa State (the minister’s state of origin) to protect his religious/ethnic interests in the violence being perpetrated by the Ombatse sect.Ordinarily, the APC might have had a point if its homework on the development met the party’s usual high standard. After all, the same Ministry of Defence when General Theophilus Danjuma was in charge during Obasanjo’s presidency, deployed troops to Zaki-Biam in the civil strife between the Tivs and Wukari. The massacre, noted for its one-sidedness, was almost unprecedented in the history of inter-communal violence in the country.

However, in the recent case of Nasarawa, as the APC was demanding the re-deployment of Labaran Maku from the Ministry of Defence, the same APC Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, was claiming credit for requesting President Jonathan to send troops to contain the Ombatse violence.

Why then should the APC have accused Labaran Maku, as it turned out, unfairly for abusing his office to send troops to protect his religious/political/ethnic interest?

APC should be humble enough to publicly withdraw its accusation.

TheSun

There’re still bitter issues against Jonathan in South East – Chekwas Okorie

From CHIDI NNADI, Enugu

With the commencement of international flight to Enugu through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport and mobilization for work on the second Niger Bridge, many in the South-East believe that President Goodluck Jonathan has taken a bold step in ending the marginalization of the Igbo nation.

But the founder and National Chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie told Saturday Sun that though what Jonathan had done was commendable, there are still many other bitter issues needed to be addressed to make the country practise true federalism.

He, therefore, said it was high time the country considered a national conference as now being supported by the presidency and National Assembly.

He also for the first time revealed how renowned philanthropist, Prince Arthur Eze supported the formation of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in his bid to make the Igbo have an “address” just as he gave knocks to those who frowned at the billionaire businessman landing at the Akanu Ibiam Airport in his private jet before the official date for the inauguration.

Okorie also unveiled the governorship candidate of the UPP in the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State, Prof Benedict Ndubuisi Akanegbu, saying that he is the candidate to beat. Excerpts:

What will you say about the marginalisation of the Igbo and President Jonathan’s efforts at redressing this?

What I would say as an appreciative person is that half bread is always better than none. The issue of Igbo marginalization as a matter of fact is bitter than the three things you have mentioned: the issue of international airport, Second Niger Bridge and denying us one state. In fact, our type of federalism is a very important factor. Whether you give us an additional state or not, you will look at the federating units that make up the Nigerian federation. So, we are thinking that the geo-political zones ought to be the federating units; it doesn’t matter the number of states you have in each of the federating units. The important thing is that what they get from Nigeria will be on equal terms with those who have more states and this will solve the problem of number of states. I will go beyond the number of states to the number of local governments. For instance, in the South-East geo-political zone, there are only 95 local governments areas. It was the Dasuki Report that created those local governments. And in the North West alone, we have 188 local governments; almost double that of the South East. The local governments are critical factors in revenue sharing. Even the issue of land mass was brought into revenue sharing calculation. And population that cannot be substantiated by any reliable data was also used. However, the ones that people see everyday are these ones that you have mentioned; but what about erosion control, the zone is devastated. In fact, the South East has been declared a disaster area in terms of environmental devastation long ago, almost in the same category with the oil spillage in the Niger Delta area. But be that as it may, the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has initiated some measures other governments have been shying away from either deliberately or in the bid to continue to perpetuate the marginalization of the Igbo. So, it is to the credit of Jonathan’s administration that the international airport has become a reality. What may be required now is to beef up the infrastructure and maybe increase the number of flights that will be coming to the airport, but at least, it has taken off. We are also satisfied that the second Niger Bridge contract has also been awarded and we are looking at it being completed within the first tenure of Jonathan’s administration. For the issue of state creation, it was the military that handed over the 1999 Constitution that was very mischievously and wickedly left in the provisions of the constitution conditions that will make it absolutely impossible to create new states, such that it will be like the camel passing through the eye of the needle for an additional state to be created and that is why between 1999 and today, no new state has ever been created whereas the military governments were creating states at their own whims and caprices. That was one of the reasons some people felt that a national conference is needed to address the inaccuracy of our federalism and since the National Assembly has also shown reluctance, because again, it is dominated by northern legislators, to liberalize the process of state creation so that this can be made possible. But if it is the way I look at it, I look at it as half bread being better than none, but the agitation has not been addressed to the extent that one can relax and say things are now okay.

Would you then ask for a National Conference where some of these issues can be addressed?

I am one of those who have been involved in the clamour for a national conference for a long time. I have been part of every national conference. Actually, Ikemba and I were the principal actors from the South East, we belonged to that group that was coordinated by Chief Solomon Asemota. And later on, we combined with other people to form PRONACO, all for the purpose of national conference. Before all of that, there was Igbo think-tank that was coordinated by Barrister Nwokolo; again, it was all for a national conference and that was mostly the Igbo angle to it that was needed to put pressure, combine and exchange hands to other like-minded groups to bring it about. I remember that Prof Chinedu Nebo at one time chaired the Igbo think-tank. So, I have been very much involved in it and support it because it is what I believe that can ensure a more equitable Nigerian federation that will guarantee Nigerians their citizenship rights and develop other opportunities. But I have also heard and seen it that none of the groups I mentioned or any group that does not have the backing of the government can ever convoke a legitimate, feasible national conference because it requires a lot of logistics. And by the time you finish the conference and come to certain resolutions, there should be a national referendum to give effect to the constitution that will be drafted as a result of the agreements reached. And who will go to call for a national referendum except the government in power. All said and done, we still look forward to the president giving support to it. So, the recent positive comments of the Mr. President and the Senate President with regards to national conference is, to some of us, very cheering shift from what has been the case before now because they appeared to be so scared of touching it even with a long spoon. And some people in the North are beginning to see that it will be in their interest too to have a national conference.

Is it true that businessman, Arthur Eze helped in the formation of APGA?

I have known him for quite some time before APGA and that was why, when the idea of APGA came, I saw him as someone I could approach to support the idea. And people shouldn’t forget that I have made two previous attempts at party formations, in 1996 and 1998, but those ones were for Peoples Democratic Congress (PDC) and they were not successful. So, when the third opportunity came, I went to Prince Arthur Eze and shared this thought with him. I must say he is very royal, patriotic and a highly philanthropic Igbo man. He didn’t think twice about the need for a political party that will be based on Igbo initiative. I remember him using the expression that “Igbo people should have an address” and I picked that expression from him. He said that someone who doesn’t have an address, his letters would never be directed to him and so politically, we didn’t have address and he suggested the use of the word, UPGA, and he said we should even use UPGA if only to honour Dr Michael Okpara who led the first alliance; though UPGA then was not a political party but an alliance and we immediately took to that advice and proceeded. He gave me the take-off fund with which that exercise was started and we began to bring in other people. And that was not the best of his business period, but this is somebody that if he believes in something, he will empty his pocket to support it. And that was the extent he gave me, both moral and financial supports. So, somewhere along the line as we were almost approaching the registration of the party, INEC changed the rule and said any party’s name that has been used before will not be used again, and any symbol used before will not be used again. Then, of course, I now had to make quick consultations with one or two top Igbo people in INEC and changed the “U” to “A”, so instead of UPGA it now became APGA, that was how the name came about.

TheSun