All the deities in my domain are now dead –Eze Ogbonnaya,Abia State

All the deities in my domain are now dead

HRH, Eze Cletus Uwadiegwu Ogbonnaya is one Abia State
traditional ruler who speaks his mind with forthrightness. He
is a veteran journalist who practiced for 23 years and rose to
the position of Editor and Managing Editor at various times,
before answering the call of his people to come home and be
their traditional ruler. He has been on the throne for 14 years.
Quite often, traditional rulers tend to be polygamous, but the
monarch who has been married for 35 years to his wife holds
the view that a man does not need to substitute his wife as
along she performs her duties well. In this interview he relives
the experience of ascending to the throne and his career as a
journalist, particularly, the story that got him detained for one
month under Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s Decree 4 of
1984.
Excerpts…
Could you give us a snap shot of who Eze Ogbonnaya is?
HRH Eze Cletus Uwadiegwu Ogbonnaya is the Ojim 1 of
Umuanya Autonomous Community, Uturu , the host
community of Abia State University, Uturu. I practiced
journalism for 23 years. I graduated from University of Nigeria,
Nsukka in 1978 with a degree in Mass Communication. I was
in journalism practice up to 2001, when Umuanya Autonomous
Community, Uturu was created and my people felt that they
needed somebody with my level of exposure to be the Eze. It
was on that basis that I came home and since then I have
been the traditional ruler of this community for 14 years. I got
a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from Imo State
University, Owerri. I have an honorary doctorate degree
(Doctor of Literature) from an American University and I am a
member of the Governing Council of Gregory University, Uturu,
a private University in Abia State. I sit on the Governing
Council of the Brethren College of Theology, Umuahia, Nigerian
affiliate of National University, USA.
I am 63 years, having been born on October 30, 1951; I am a
product of Holy Cross School, Uturu, where I got my First
Leaving Certificate in 1964, before proceeding to Acquinas
Secondary School, Nsu, Mbano. I was barely 16 years old and
in Class-3, when the Nigerian Civil War started in 1967; like
all other young men in Biafra with true Igbo blood in them, I
enlisted into the Biafran Army on February 12, 1968. I fought
as an infantry and a ranger in the guerilla wing of the Biafran
Army. I was an intelligence officer too. When the war ended in
1970, everybody had to start all over again.
What does it feel like being an Eze?
I had no idea that I was going to be an Eze; the constitution
of Umuanya community specifies that the Ezeship is neither
hereditary, by seniority of villages or by rotation. What you
have is a situation, where any time there is vacancy for Eze,
the person seen to be most eligible either through election or
selection becomes the Eze. I was not born into royalty, I’m a
free son of the soil and luckily in Uturu, we do not have the
outcast system. Any free born son of Uturu can aspire to be
the monarch in his own community; so by the grace of God, I
became the monarch on personal merit. My people saw me fit
and qualified to be their monarch. I feel honored and that is
why I left journalism and the left urban area to relocate to the
rural community. I have been here for the past 14 years.
Were you given a new name when you became the Eze of your
community?
From my title, Ojim, you get the history of the community.
Ojim was the legendary founder of Uturu, Umuanyim, and he
was very warlike. Through conquest, he extended our frontiers
up to Okigwe, we have a border with Okigwe, towards Ihube.
In those days, Umuanyi people were said to be very warlike.
They could muster up to 400 men in the warfront. And allow
400 men to remain at home to defend the home; that is why
we are called Ojim Nnu Egbe. Nnu is 400 in Igbo, it means
that we were able to muster 400 soldiers with 400 guns both
at the warfront and home front to defend us. There were other
artifacts discovered through study that man had lived in
Uturu, between 300,000 years ago to 500,000. We have where
we call Ekeukwu which is our own Garden of Eden, where the
first man was said to have settled. Again the man Uturu was
said to have migrated from the Onoafia area in Afikpo, Ebonyi
state.
What is your religion?
I am a Christian, I was born into Christianity but I am a
student of comparative religion. I am into Jewish studies and I
can call myself a messianic Jew if one can look at it that way.
Do you have gods that you worship, and how many shrines do
you have?
You know the tragedy of African gods is that if you don’t
worship it after some time, they will die. Since Christianity
came to Uturu in 1906, the British man subdued Uturu people,
which my grandfather, Ogbonnaya, was one of the traditional
defenders, and introduced Christianity, we have heard that
those deities are gone and even if they were anywhere, nobody
will tell you this is where they are now because nobody goes
there again. They are all dead, all those deities.
How did you develop interest in journalism?
When I was young, I was buying this Catholic newspaper for
two pence weekly and another that was being sold for four
pence; so when I eventually went to Port Harcourt, my elder
brother who was working with The Voice Agency in London
was buying papers like Daily Flash, Eastern Nigeria Guardian,
Newsweek and Time magazines Magazine. So I started
reading those papers and this made me a voracious reader.
That was what made me develop interest in journalism. After
passing school certificate in 1971, I went to St Augustine’s
Grammar School, Nkwerre, for my Higher School Certificate
(HSC). I had a wonderful result, ABB (A in Government, B in
History and B in Economics). In 1975, all the five universities I
applied to for admission offered me direct entry. My first
interest was to become a lawyer, so if I had been well-
advised, I would have taken a degree in Law rather than Mass
Communication. Nsukka offered me Mass Communication,
UNILAG (Mass Comm), University of Ibadan (Political Science)
, University of Benin (Political Science) and University of Ife
(now Obafemi Awolowo University) offered me Law. If I had ac­
cepted, I would the offer from Ife, Eme Awah, the Senior
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and I would have been together at
Ife.
Do you regret studying and practicing journalism?
I studied Mass Communication, so I don’t regret it. I did my
NYSC at Ondo State Radio station, Oba Ile Akure in 1978/79,
and from there I joined NTA Aba, Channel 6 as Editor II, under
Mazi Ukonu. In 1980, when Abiola started Concord and as a
vibrant young man, I resigned from NTA Aba and joined
Concord Newspapers as the first Chief Correspondent in old
Imo State. In 1986, I was among the first Community Concord
Editors appointed by Abiola. I joined Concord the same day
with Dele Giwa, Innocent Oparadike, Tom Borha, Doyin Abiola
(was still a maiden then) and Mike Awoyinfa. They were all
our contemporaries in Concord. In 1989, when the Community
Concord experiment failed, I went to Lagos and was appointed
Defence Correspondent with the rank of Assistant Editor. I
covered the Gideon Orkar coup on April 22, 1990. I was in
Dodan Barracks as the battle raged; I was at Radio Nigeria,
Ikoyi when Gideon Orkar was captured. During the trials at
Brigade of Guards on Kofo Abayomi, which Ike Nwachukwu
presided over as Chairman of the Military Tribunal, I covered
all those events for Concord. I almost lost my life during the
coup because some soldiers captured us at the airport and
thoroughly beat us. Eventually, we covered the trial and
execution of Gideon Orkar. In 1990 after 10 years in Concord I
left to be the Editor of Arthur Nzeribe’s Spectator newspaper
in Owerri. The paper folded up and I went into private public
relations/advertising practice. In 1996, I joined Iwuanyanwu’s
National Post as the first Deputy Editor. I left in 2000 as
Managing Editor of National Post and we floated Announcer
Express in Owerri which is still publishing, myself, Joe Anyama
and Victor Alozie, who is now the Head of Mass
Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede. I was the
Executive Director, Publications when my people said I should
come home to be the Eze.
As the traditional ruler, do you still engage in private
business?
The issue of traditional rulership in Igbo land is a different
ballgame from what you have in Yorubaland and Northern
states. Any Eze in Igbo land who is not sufficiently buoyant
cannot survive on the throne, no matter what the government
gives you; you must have what you are doing and that is why
you see some our traditional rulers resident in Lagos. How
many of us are in our communities? Any Eze in Igbo land who
stays put in his community will find it difficult to feed himself,
not to talk of his family. That is why you must have
something that you are doing.
As an Eze, can you participate in politics?
That one is completely out of it. From day one you know that
you have nothing to do in politics. In fact, if some of us who
are traditional rulers in Igbo land had gone into politics,
politics in Igbo land would have been hotter than what we are
having. Most of us who are traditional rulers are born politi­
cians and if not that we are not free like other people, politics
would have been hotter.
How many wives do you have, and where and when did you
meet your first wife?
(He laughs first and said) Polygamy is out of the way, I have
one wife, who is the mother of my children and I have never
contemplated taking a second wife. She has not been found
wanting in her duties, both in the palace and in my bedroom,
so I don’t need a substitute. My wife is from Imo State. We
were all in old Imo State. She was posted to Uturu as a
teacher after her Grade II Teachers Certificate Course in 1978
and I came home from NTA Aba, around January 30, 1980. We
met when she was teaching in Uturu and one thing led to
another and we have been together for the past 35 years.
What actually attracted you to her?
Her simplicity and honesty was what attracted me to her.
There were no pretences when we met unlike others who play
this hide and seek game. Again, her elder brother had been a
friend of mine and I never knew that, so when she mentioned
his name, I asked if she was a sister to this my friend and she
said yes, and from there, we started talking and that was it.
You said that you don’t have a second wife and that you have
no plans of marrying another. Why?
It is in Yoruba land, where you have Yoruba Obas, like the late
Olateru-Olagbegi of Owo, who was said to have over 100
children, even in his old age of 90s, he still had a younger
wife. It is part of their own culture, but with Christianity in
Igbo land, and from the way we were brought up, one wife is a
burden so there is no point. It has never occurred to me any
day to take a second wife.
A lot of people have the view that royalty has to do with a lot
of wives and children, what do you think?
In Yoruba land, in the North, and even Islam permits them to
have more than one wife or as much as you can control, and
in most of the Yoruba land you find Muslims marrying more
than one wife. Yoruba people by nature are polygamous and
you see some of them under the guise of Islam taking many
wives. But it is not like that in Igbo land. I doubt if there is
any Eze in Uturu, where we have 24 autonomous communities,
who has a second wife.
Does this mean that no lady has ever attracted your attention
and you decided to commandeer her or take her as a wife?
That reminds me of the story of one Oba at Akure where I did
my national youth service, a former Deji of Akure, who was
said to be very fond of moving around the palace in the
evening and any time he saw any young lady would marry her
whether she liked it or not.
You have only one queen who has been with you for the past
35 years. Does she perform her duties to your satisfaction?
Yes, she is an educationist and she is of a school principal in
the Abia State school system and she would retire next year.
She has never been found wanting in her duties, she makes
room for every other job that concerns the palace and it
doesn’t affect her professional calling. That is why I have
been progressing.
What kind of food is your favorite?
From infancy, I have always loved eating yams because we
produce yams; people come to our market, Nkwo Achara to
buy yams. I like ‘swallow’, no day passes without my having
swallow. These days, I take wheat, but in those days, it could
be garri, akpu or even pounded yam.
Do you drink alcohol?
You may be surprised to hear that for the past 34 years I
have never tasted beer, not even as a practicing journalist; the
reason being that when I came into journalism, a bottle of
beer was 80 kobo. During my youth service in Akure there was
one place called Motor Motel, near Adeyemi College of
Education, I think beer was sold there at 60 kobo. The general
impression was that journalists drink and that journalists
could take 10 bottles of beer in a day without paying kobo.
When I came to Owerri, I was still taking beer, but I felt
insulted one day that somebody came to my office, weeping
that he wanted to see the late Governor Sam Mbakwe. I made
it possible for him to see the governor, and the next time we
met in a friend’s office, the first thing he did was to tell them
to get me beer to drink and I felt insulted and from that day I
vowed not to drink beer again – that was in February 1981. I
know that I write better when I am tipsy, but I don’t want
alcohol to control me. As an Eze, they are all in my palace,
but I don’t like them to control me.
What attire do you feel most comfortable wearing?
As a journalist, I used to dress in very formal manner. There
was a time I had up to 10 suits, because you don’t know
where you can meet any personality that you may want to
interview. I was noted for wearing suit, particularly when I was
at NTA Aba. I used to run a programme called Behind the
News, so I could meet people and interview them anywhere,
but since I became Eze, it became a different style of
dressing; all those my suits, I don’t wear them again, I don’t
wear tie again. At least while appearing in public, you have to
wear something that distinguishes you as a traditional ruler, it
is already part of us. But when am relaxing, I wear simple
clothes like jumper as an elder; in the house I wear simple
things within the palace, but while going outside I have to
dress formally as an Eze.
Tell us about your happiest moment.
The day my wife had our first child who is now married, I was
happy that very day having seen myself as a father. Again, the
day my people made me the Eze on a platter of gold, I felt
very happy that I had been recognized; recently, when my
second daughter was called to the Bar at the Nigerian Law
School, Abuja, on November 26, 2014.
Looking back, which day would say was your most
embarrassing moment?
It happened during my days as a journalist, when I was
detained under Decree 4, in 1984, when Ike Nwachukwu, who
was the then military governor of Imo State. I wrote a story
with the headline, ‘5000 Teachers lose jobs in Imo.’ And Ike
Nwachukwu ordered that I should be arrested. I was detained
for one month. Our General Manager in Concord, M.C.
Ajuluchukwu, who was coming from Enugu to seek my release
was involved in an accident and had to go back. My wife had
to write a letter through Dr Okereke, the then Attorney General
in Imo State, and it was read at the State Executive Council
meeting. In fact, Ike Nwachukwu had ordered that I should be
charged under Decree 4 when Dr. Okereke reminded him that
Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon had imprisoned
Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor in Lagos, and argued that
it would be unfortunate to have another journalist from Imo
State imprisoned. The Decree 4 said that even if you wrote the
truth and it was embarrassing to the government, the
journalist must be jailed. So I remained in detention for one
month.
Where would say is your favorite holiday spot?
Before the Boko Haram insurgency started, I always
considered the Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi State as my
favourite holiday spot, followed by Obudu Ranch in Cross River
State and the Baguada Lake in the North. I had opportunities
to travel to those places.
And your favourite quotes?
I have a lot of quotes, but what I normally tell people is that
they should do unto others as they will want others to do unto
them. Then because of this mad rush for wealth in Nigeria, I
came across a quote in the Bible and since I came across it, it
has tailored my life. It says: “A man sitting over ill-acquired
wealth is like a hen trying to hatch an egg it never laid. At the
end the wealth disappears and it becomes stupid.” Since I
came across that quotation in the Bible, it has been guiding
my life. So that is why when you see some people, they will
be so wealthy while alive, immediately they die, the wealth
disappears. If you have stolen public property, because you
have public office, you are sitting over ill-acquired wealth. At
the end the wealth will disappear and you will not have the
opportunity for repentance or even making restitution. I live a
very simple life. I am not bothered with whatever as long as I
can take care of my family and meet the basic necessities of
life, nature will take care of itself.
Do you wear designer clothes?
I don’t, but I have a tailor in Okigwe who sews for me. I don’t
go to the market to buy, but I have someone who sews all my
clothes.
Can you remember any of the funny things you did since
ascending the throne?
Yes, some of the people who shouted Hosanna! yesterday
eventually turned out to say crucify him. Not that I used to
take people for granted but all that glitters is not gold, and
then when people come with different ideas, you have to be
careful in being able to see which is which. The counsel of
Ahithophel is what many people will bring to you. That advice
they are bringing to you is to destroy you so you have to be
careful. I know what I have passed through since I ascended
the throne.
Are there any sporting activities you cannot do without?
I try to exercise within the compound, I cannot be seen
outside now trying to jog or something like that, because as
the traditional ruler I cannot do things like that. I have to
maintain some privacy. Whatever exercise I do, I do it within
my compound to maintain some privacy.
How much time do you spend with your children?
When they are around, I spend quality time with them. Inciden­
tally, journalism is the type of job that keeps you working
without finding time for yourself. That was one of the things
that made me to leave Lagos. In 1989, when I was transferred
to Lagos, my family was in Owerri and every month, I would
drive to Owerri to be with my family and then come back to
Lagos. So immediately I saw the opportunity to go and edit
Nzeribe’s paper along Okigwe Road, Owerri, I resigned and
came back to Owerri, even while in Owerri , it was not long
before Abia State was created and my wife and children had
to move to Umuahia. Even when my family was in Umuahia, I
was still working in Owerri up to the time that this Ezeship
came and I went back home. Anytime I was around, I ensured
that I spent time with them, but I think that journalism took
me too far. Even my daughter who is now a lawyer, I was the
one that influenced her to go and read Law – the Law that I
missed. I wanted her to read Law particularly because we are
close.
How old is your last child?
I don’t have too many children; I have two girls and a boy.
The girls are both graduates now and the young man is still in
secondary school. After our first two issues, we spent fourteen
years before having him. My daughter who is a lawyer now
was already in Uturu Secondary School in Class 1, when the
mother conceived and had him. So you can see the gap
between them, the boy is just 17 and he is in SS 3 now.
What do you despise as a person?
I hate people telling lies, pretending to be what they are not. I
also don’t like people who are not straightforward. People
who try to cut corners put me off. The people who boast and
create the impression that they are what they are not.
If you could change one thing about your life, what would
that be?
Trusting people so much; I trusted people so much and they
disappointed me. If I had to live my life again, I would be very
careful in trusting people and the type of people to trust.
What virtue do you admire most in people?
I like people who work hard, who don’t expect manna to fall
from heaven; whatever you get out of your efforts, you admire
it. But if you think you can get things to drop on your laps
every day of your life without working for them, it is your
business. I hate people being lazy. I worked in the private
sector and it helped me so much, I didn’t work in the civil
service, the private sector made me to put in extra hours of
duty.
How would you describe yourself?
I can describe myself as a very simple man, a typical Uturu
man who was brought up to be honest in all he does. I was
brought up as a typical Catholic child who if he tells lies must
go for confession. That molded our lives. Today it is no longer
the same.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would want to be remembered as the man who came, saw
and conquered.

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Ngige campaign train moves into Awka North

Ngige

C ommunities in Awka North Local Government Area of Anam­
bra State yesterday played host to the All Progressives
Congress candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District,
Sen. Chris Ngige amid promise to pay him back for the good
works he did in their area.
Members of the communities- Amansea, Ebenebe, Amanuke
and Urum all trooped out en-mass at the various reception
centres, singing his praise, for impacting positively on the lives
of the residents of the community.
In each of the communities visited, Sen. Ngige identified some
projects which he said had provided relief to the people of the
area.
At Amansea, Sen. Ngige, who was accompanied on the visit
by the APC candidate for the House of Representatives for
Awka North and South, Chief Emeke Nwogbo and the party’s
candidate for Anambra State House of Assembly Barr. C.C
Madukife reminded the people how he responded positively to
their plight when corpses were dumped at Ezu River, which
was their source of drinking water and for their domestic use
by providing them with bore-hole.
Sen. Ngige also said that he provided 60 MBA transformers to
ensure effective electricity distribution to Amansea and its
environs.
He said that more than 100 students from the community
received scholarship from secondary schools to University.
He appealed to the people to vote for him en- mass to enable
him continue in the Senate and to attract more constituency
projects.

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Ekweremadu attracts N986m water project, canvasses votesfor PDP in Enugu

Ekweremadu attracts N986m water project

The Federal Government has awarded a N986 million contract
for the construction of the Greater Oji River Water Project to
supply water to every home in Oji River Local Government
Area of Enugu State.
This was made known by the Deputy President of the Senate
and senator representing Enugu West Senatorial District,
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, during a project inspection and
campaign tour of Oji River LGA last week.
Addressing his constituents, Senator Ekweremadu said he
attracted the water project to help address the water needs of
the people permanently, noting that it was regrettable that Oji
River, which was the source of water for Enugu township had
no portable water of their own.
He explained: “We have done many boreholes, but we believe
that boreholes cannot solve the water challenge in Oji River.
We, therefore, came up with a new project called Greater Oji
River Water Project, which will provide water everywhere in Oji
River and environ. The project has been designed and
awarded; and we believe that the work will start very soon.”
Also inspecting the ongoing work at the multi-million naira
Youth Development Centre at Achi, the Deputy President of the
Senate disclosed that he had already concluded plans with an
Italian firm to run the facilities at the centre and similar ones
he attracted in Awgu, Aninri, Udi and Ezeagu LGAs.
The senator who was in company of his wife, Dr. Nwanneka
Ekweremadu, government functionaries, and party stawarts,
said he regarded the Youth Development Centre as his
flagship project in Oji River LGA given the primary targets.

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Huge crowd welcomes Imoke, Ayade as campaign trainstorms Ikom

In continuation of the Cross River State Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, campaign rally ahead of the general elections, a
huge crowd of supporters besieged the Government College,
Ikom, to receive the campaign train led by the Chairman of
the Campaign Council, Governor Liyel Imoke, the party
governorship standard bearer, Senator Ben Ayade, as well as
other candidates of the party.
The huge crowd which had turned out as early as 8am to
receive Ayade and his running mate, Professor Ivara Esu, bore
large posters, banners and handbills bearing photographs of
President Goodluck Jonathan, Ben Ayade and other candidates
with messages such as ‘No vacancy at Aso Rock Villa’,
‘President Jonathan, you have done very well, you deserve a
second term’, ‘Ayade for continuity’, Owan Enoh, it’s your turn
at the Senate’.
In a carnival manner, the crowd sang, danced and chanted the
names of both President Jonathan and Senator Ayade.
Addressing the teeming crowd, comprising the old and the
young, the state governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, reminded them
of the need to queue behind the PDP team compromising
President Goodluck Jonathan, the governorship candidate and
his running mate as well as the senatorial, House of
Representatives and House of Assembly candidates from the
zone. Imoke charged the party supporters not to make the
mistake of sending wrong representatives who would not
promote their collective interest but their own narrow and
selfish agenda. “Do not allow those who have benefited from
the party but who have suddenly decided to pitch their tents
elsewhere to deceive you with promises they know too well
that they cannot deliver,” Imoke said.
He said: “No representatives in Abuja have the capacity to
attract anything to you. It is only the governor in Calabar that
can do that. But then, he needs the people you are sending to
Abuja to work with him because you cannot afford to have
your governor in PDP and your senator and House of
Representatives members in another party.”
Assuring the campaign team of total support, the paramount
ruler of Ikom, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Ntool Emang Peter Eku,
said: “Since 1999, the people of Ikom have always followed
the PDP. We have enjoyed tremendously from aligning with the
PDP, we are not ready to shift position now. It does not
matter how many of our sons and daughters may be in other
parties, but PDP is the only one united family we know. My
subjects decided long before the campaign train berthed in our
domain that we will support President Goodluck Jonathan,
Senator Ben Ayade, John Owan Enoh, and Mike Etaba all the
way.”

crowd welcomes Imoke

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Only railway hoax in Nigeria is by the APC –Jonathancampaign organisation

railway hoax in Nigeria

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign
Organisation (PDPPCO) has described the attack of the All
Progressives Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (AP­
CPCO) on President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements in
Nigeria’s railway sector as laughable, adding that the only
railway hoax in present-day Nigeria was perpetrated by Rotimi
Amaechi, an APC governor.
In a statement released in Abuja, the PDPPCO said that, “for
the APCPCO to resort to attacking a verifiable achievement
that is on the ground and being enjoyed by millions of Nige­
rians is not only laughable, but also a clear indication that
President Jonathan has completely overwhelmed the APC with
the sheer quantum and quality of his achievements in rail and
other sectors of the economy.”
The Campaign Organisation in a statement signed by the
Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said:
“The charge of the APCPCO is mind-boggling considering the
contradictions therein. In the same statement where they
alleged that the railway sector achievements are a hoax, they
themselves on their own readily admit, and I quote, ‘only
about 2,000km have so far been rehabilitated.” Where then is
the hoax, if by the APC’s own admission ‘only about 2,000km
have so far been rehabilitated?’ Is it not a verifiable fact that
the railways were completely comatose since the 1980s? Is it
also not a fact that it is President Jonathan’s administration
that has resuscitated the railways?
“Even the APC informed Nigerians in their statement that
tickets for the Lagos- Kano service costs N1,930 per
passenger, which is far cheaper than travelling by road or by
air. And concerning the dubious allegation that ‘it costs about
N10, 000 per passenger to produce that Lagos-Kano service,’
the APC may wish to engage the services of more experienced
railway experts who will surely explain that the initial outlay
cost of a rail system always repays itself several times over
due to the exceedingly long period of usage.
“Talking of purported derailments, that is a grievous insult on
the intelligence of Nigerians and, indeed, an evil wish on the
part of the APC as derailments often result in loss of lives. In
this day and age, the derailment of even a cargo coach on a
train line anywhere in the world attracts instant international
attention. So the APC can quit spreading devious lies all in the
name of politics,” Fani-kayoed said.

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Police intercept arms-laden trucks in Kwara

arms-laden trucks

The Kwara State Police command yesterday intercepted two
vehicles laden with arms and ammunition in Kosubosu, a
border town in the Baruten Local Government Area of the
state.
The Police Commissioner, Salihu Garba, who confirmed the
incident said the arrests were made at separate locations,
adding that he had already dispatched men from the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) to bring the vehicles and the
suspects to the state headquarters of the command.
Police sources said one of the vehicles marked Lagos XU 110
BDG was coming from Burkina-Faso to Ibadan before officials
of the Kosubosu Divisional Police Headquarters nabbed the
driver alongside other accomplices.
According to the source, the ammunitions, which comprised
several cartons of cartridges and pistols, were kept in a hidden
place in the truck. The incident came on the heels of the alarm
raised by the state chairman of the All Progressive Congress
(APC), Alhaji Ishola Balogun-Fulani over what he described as
increasing spate of violent attack against members of his
party by people, he claimed, were working for the Peoples
Democratic Part (PDP).
Balogun-Fulani, who recalled the recent attack on the official
convoy of Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed at Isapa, in Ekiti Local
Government Area, also claimed that members of the party
were attacked in Oyun, Oyun Local Government Area, where
five people were shot and others brutally wounded.
He also alleged that some people working for the PDP were
destroying campaign billboards of the APC and asked the
police to act against such incidence if there were no secret
collaboration against the APC.

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Man in police net for kidnapping his girlfriend

kidnapping his girlfriend

A 25-year old man, Ekuase Sunday, who masterminded the ab­
duction of his girlfriend, is now in police custody.
Sunday told journalists that his decision to arrange the
kidnapping of the victim was induced by his friend, Amas, who
strongly suggested that he should teach her a bitter lesson.
Sunday who was paraded along with other suspects for
various crimes by the Edo State Police Command, said he was
shocked and hurt when the girl told him that their relationship
was over.
His words: “Amas said it would be unfair for the girl to break
with me. We agreed that we would take the girl for four days
so that she would learn a lesson. I went to their house and
was told four guys came to take her away. I went to the fam­
ily house and I was arrested and up till now I have not seen
Amas.”
Others paraded for kidnapping included one Theophilus Agoro
whose gang was paid N400,000 as ransom by the family of
the victim.
Also paraded by the police was a farmer identified as Obozoke
who killed one Omoniyi Oguare he caught harvesting his
cocoa pods. The suspect reportedly killed his victim with a cut­
lass during a fight.
The State Police commissioner, Foluso Adebanjo, while
parading the suspects, announced the end of his stay in the
state.
The parade of suspects was like a valedictory session for the
Commissioner of Police who is heading to the National
Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
Adebanjo happily noted that no bank robbery was witnessed
during his time as the police boss in Edo State even as he
said that kidnapping and other criminal activities were
reduced to the barest minimum.

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Polls: Give us adequate security, Igbos in the North, FCT tellJonathan

Give us adequate security, Igbos in the North, FCT tell
Jonathan

Igbos residing in northern part of the country and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT) have said that President Goodluck
Jonathan is rather toying with the proverbial tiger’s tail if he
fails to provide adequate and maximum security for them
before, during and after the general elections in the region.
To this end, the Igbos said that they are considering sending a
powerful delegation to meet with the president to give clear
assurance of adequate protection of lives and property during
and after the election.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday, the newly elected
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Northern States, Barrister Austin Amaechi
said his people had suffered enough killings and humiliation in
recent past in the north.
He said the need to call for caution has become imperative
because it would be foolhardy to subject his kinsmen who are
still alive to similar fate in the event that the election turns
bloody. The newly elected Ohanaeze Ndigbo President for the
entire northern zone was the immediate past Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Kaduna State chapter President, having defeated Chief
Emmanuel Ezeugo, in a keenly contested election in Suleja,
Niger State, few weeks ago.
Chief Amaechi, advised his people to remain calm in their
respective domains in the region without entertaining any fear
over the forthcoming election. He assured his people of
getting federal government’s nod to provide adequate security
for them.

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Full INEC Chairman's Statement on 2015 Election Schedule

INEC Chairman's Statement

Last night, INEC chairman announced the postponement of
the 2015 general elections. Below is the full statement he
gave to the press...
Ladies and Gentlemen, We invited you here today to
make known the position of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) on the timetable for the
2015 general elections. Let me state from the outset that
the Commission’s position was reached after carefully
weighing the suggestions from briefings held with
different stakeholders in the electoral process.
The conduct of elections in a country like Nigeria is invariably
a collective venture that involves not just the Election
Management Body (EMB), but also a diverse range of
stakeholders, notably security agencies, political parties and
their candidates, voters, as well as interest groups, such as
the civil society organizations and the media.To guarantee
successful conduct of elections, there are things that are
wholly the responsibility of the EMB. But there are other
things critical for the success of elections, which fall outside
the control of the EMB.
In other words, while INEC must work hard to perfect its
systems and processes for conducting elections, and take
responsibility for any imperfections thereof, whatever the
Commission does may not by itselfbe sufficient to guarantee
the success of elections. There are a number of issues in the
preparation and conduct of an election, the most critical of
which is security, which is not under the control of INEC.
Current State of INEC’s Preparedness
On Thursday, February 5, 2015, I was invited to brief the
National Council of State, which is the highest advisory to the
President comprising past and present leaders in Nigeria, on
the level of preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015 general
elections. I made a presentation to the Council titled
‘ Preparations for the 2015 General Elections: Progress Report,’
in which I gave a detailed account of what the Commission
has been doing in readiness for the national elections
(National Assembly and Presidential) scheduled for February
14th , and the state elections (Governorship and State
Assembly) scheduled for February 28th , 2015.
The summary of my presentation to the National Council of
State meeting is that, for matters under its control, INEC is
substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled,
despite discernible challenges being encountered with some of
its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Cards
(PVCs) by registered members of the public.
In addition, INEC has been doing everything it can to facilitate
the collection of the PVCs by registered members of the
public.As at 5th February 2015, the total number of PVCs
collected was 45, 829, 808, representing 66.58% of the total
number of registered voters.
In the delivery and deployment of electoral materials, INEC is
also at a comfort level in its readiness for the general
elections as scheduled (see the presentation to the Council of
State). The Commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or
fully accomplished. But our level of preparedness, despite a
few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible
elections as scheduled on February 14 th and February 28th .
Compared with 2011 when, within a short time, we conducted
general elections that were universally adjudged free, fair and
credible and the best in Nigeria’s recent electoral history, our
processes are today better refined, more robust and therefore
capable of delivering even better elections.
Other Variables
But as I mentioned earlier, there are some other variables
equally crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general
elections that are outside the control of INEC. One important
variable is security for the elections.
While the Commission has a very good working relationship
with all security agencies, especially on the platform of the
Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security
(ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent
for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to
it by the Security and Intelligence Services. I would like to
reiterate here that INEC is an EMB and not a security agency.
It relies on the security services to provide a safe environment
for personnel, voters, election observers and election materials
to conduct elections wherever it deploys. Where the security
services strongly advise otherwise, it would be unconscionable
of the Commission to deploy personnel and call voters out in
such a situation.
Last Wednesday, which was a day before the Council of State
meeting, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA)
wrote a letter to the Commission, drawing attention to recent
developments in four Northeast states of Borno, Yobe,
Adamawa and Gombe currently experiencing the challenge of
insurgency. The letter stated that security could not be
guaranteed during the proposed period in February for the
general elections.
This advisory was reinforced at the Council of State meeting
on Thursday where the NSA and all the Armed Services and
Intelligence Chiefs unanimously reiterated that the safety and
security of our operations cannot be guaranteed, and that the
Security Services needed at least six weeks within which to
conclude a major military operation against the insurgency in
the Northeast; and that during this operation, the military will
be concentrating its attention in the theatre of operations
such that they may not be able to provide the traditional
support they render to the Police and other agencies during
elections.
INEC’s Decision
We have done wide ranging consultation to enable us have as
much input as is necessary before taking an informed
decision. In the series of consultations that we held with
stakeholders, the questions consistently posed to them for
consideration are:
(i) In view of the latest development, should
INEC proceed with the conduct of the general
elections as scheduled in spite of this strong
advice; and if so, what alternative security
arrangements are available to be put in place?
(ii) Or, should INEC take the advice and adjust
the schedules of the general elections within the
framework of Constitutional provisions?
The Commission held a meeting after the consultations,
and decided to take the advice of the Security Chiefs and
adjust the dates of the elections. We have done this
relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010 (As
Amended), which states thus: “Where a date has been
appointed for the holding of an election, and there is
reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is
likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that
date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a
result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the
Commission may postpone the election and shall in
respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another
date for the holding of the postponed election, provided
that such reason for the postponement is cogent and
verifiable”.
INEC notbeing a security agency that could by itself guarantee
protection for personnel and materials, as well as voters
during elections, the Commission cannot lightly wave off the
advice by the nation’s Security Chiefs. The Commission is
specifically concerned about the security of our ad hoc staff
who constitute at least 600,000 young men and women,
together with our regular staff, voters, election observers as
well as election materials painstakingly acquired over the last
one and half years. This concern is limited not just to the
areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria experiencing
insurgency; the risk of deploying young men and women and
calling people to exercise their democratic rights in a situation
where their security cannot be guaranteed is a most onerous
responsibility. Under such circumstances, few EMBs across
the world, if any, would contemplate proceeding with the
elections as scheduled. No matter the extent of INEC’s
preparedness, therefore, if the security of personnel, voters,
election observers and election materials cannot be
guaranteed, the life of innocent young men and women as well
the prospects of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections
would be greatly jeopardised.
Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the
2015 general elections thus: the national elections (i.e.
Presidential and National Assembly) are now to hold on March
28th , 2015; while the state elections (Governorship and State
Assembly) are to hold on April 11th , 2015. It should be noted
that this rescheduling falls within the constitutional framework
for the conduct of the elections, notably, Sections 76(2),
116(2), 132(2) and 178(2). See also Section 25 of the
Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).
For the avoidance of doubt, we will under no
circumstancesapprove an arrangement that is not in line with
the provisions of our laws. Our hope is that with this
rescheduling, the security services will do their best to ensure
that the security environment needed for safe and peaceful
conduct of the 2015 elections is rapidly put in place.
We in INEC reassure all Nigerians and indeed the international
community of our commitment to do everything within the law
and to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. We
call on the security agencies to honour their commitment to
restore sufficient normalcy for elections to take place within
the period of extension. We also call on Nigerians, political
parties, candidates and all other stakeholders to accept this
decision in good faith and ensure the maintenance of peace.
As for us in INEC we’ll endeavour to use the period of the
extension to keep on perfecting our systems and processes for
conducting the best elections in Nigeria’s history. In
particular, we believe that we would resolve all outstanding
issues related to non-collection of PVCs, which agitate the
minds of many Nigerians.
Finally, we wish to call on all Nigerians to accept our
decision, which is taken in good faith and the best interest of
deepening democracy ion our country.
Thank you.
Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR
Chairman, INEC

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2015 election is most crucial event for Nigeria since the 1914amalgamation –General Sam Momah

General Sam Momah was the minister of science and
technology during the last military regime of the late General
Sani Abacha and General Abdulsalami Abubakar from 1995 to
1999, when power was handed over a democratically elected
government and he honourably retired. The pioneer
commandant of the Nigerian War College held numerous po­
sitions in the course of his military career. Some of the posi­
tions include: Adjutant General of the Army, Commander Train­
ing and Doctrine Command, Member of the Provisional Ruling
Council.
General Momah, an intellectual with a doctoral degree in
Strategic Studies, is a council member of the University of Jos
and Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka. He was also the Vice
President, Third World Academy of Science with Headquarters
in Italy. Interestingly, has First Class honours degree in Civil
Engineering and a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers
(FNSE). He was conferred with the national honour of
Commander of the Federal Republic in 1998, Momah is a
strategic thinker, voracious reader and author of six high
profile books on economy, technology, global disorder, new
world order and national security. In the run up to the general
elections, he spoke with a group of journalists on several na­
tional issues. Excerpts …
As a senior citizen of this country, what do you think about
the preparedness of INEC with regards to the forthcoming
general elections?
First and foremost, I doff my hat for Professor Attahiru Jega,
for his courage in registering APC as a political party. It is the
most defining political development in our political history,
since the amalgamation. That has brought Nigerian politics to
the fore, and given the country, that international recognition.
That is because when it was just one big party and a splinter
of so many smaller parties, PDP used to have its way and the
PDP didn’t bother to develop itself. But now that we have two
big political parties, I believe that Nigerian politics has now
come of age. From now, we will expect something better. I
believe that INEC is ready to have a free and fair election. But
whether the players will play to the rule is disturbing to some
of us.
But INEC in a way contributed to the problems
Definitely, INEC has its problems. They even told us that INEC
materials arrived in bits and pieces from abroad. INEC is still
talking about having enough generators to run the centres.
And of course, Jega told us some months ago that he has no
problem with funding, but right now, we know that INEC has
funding problems because recently, they could not pay staff
that are to run the registration centres. That is why some
days back, when the electorate went there, they did not see
the officials because they were not being paid. This is quite
unfortunate because we had four years to prepare for this
election, so why should we now be importing these cards
piecemeal? I don’t understand. But we still believe that the
INEC is ready and the election should take place. INEC has
told us that they have registered 52 million Nigerians. We
expected that they would register 100 million people out of the
170 million Nigerians. Any attempt to rig the election, will
have dire consequences. The first and second republics ran
into problems because of the rigging of elections. Once
election is rigged, the country goes into turmoil and
consequences of any rigging of this particular election would
be worse because of the circumstances of the situation. It is
my hope that nobody tries to rig this election.
Are you optimistic that Nigerians are ready to vote?
I believe that Nigerians are ready to vote. They have been
sensitized enough. To my mind, this election is the most
crucial event Nigerians hasve ever faced since the
amalgamation of 1914 because, this election is important for
many reasons. We have had the first 100 years as a nation;
we know how Nigerians fared, very poorly. Now in 2015, we
are entering the second 100 years of our existence as a
nation. So this election is crucial, it will determine what
happens to Nigeria in the next 100 years. There is need for
Nigerians to take it seriously and vote the right person. I
believe that there is need for change. Boko Haram is a
menace; we never had it so bad, for a country to have some
other persons hoisting their flag in its territories; it is unheard
of. Therefore, we need somebody who will deal with Boko
Haram instantly and expeditiously. Secondly, the price of fuel
coming down at this time, is a divine arrangement or blessing
to give Nigerians the idea that if a government that has been
there for 16 years has not improved their situation, now that
the oil money is no more there, it calls for concern and a re-
think because definitely, someone who couldn’t manage you
during the boom era, will definitely not be able to manage you
during the burst era! So it is important for us to see the
handwriting on the wall, and vote for change. Of course, we
have tried a political party for 16 years without major change,
so we must give another political party a chance so that there
will be competition between the parties. If we don’t effect this
change, some analysts foresee Boko Haram over-running
Nigeria in two years’ time, apart from other internal crises.
And it will happen. We can’t gamble with that kind of thing!
That will fulfill the prediction of the United States of America
about the country breaking up. So this change must take
place to avoid Nigeria disintegrating. It is ridiculous for a
sitting president to tell us to re-elect him, so that he can
defeat Boko Haram. Then why is he the president, because as
president, he already has all the powers to defeat Boko
Haram, he doesn’t need to wait for re-election to do so! If he
has in the last few months recaptured more than half of the
territories that Boko Haram over-ran, he wouldn’t need to
campaign. We would have voted for him! But he didn’t and
now that election is here, his people are junketing about the
place raising petty issues and leaving the real issues that
should be discussed aside. It is unfortunate. We need a
change.
As Principal Staff Officer to Major General Muhammadu
Buhari, when he was the Commander of the 4th Division,
Nigeria Army, Lagos, what have you got to say about the
controversy surrounding the General’s certificate?
Honestly, the certificate issue is very embarrassing to some of
us because, here we are talking about the survival of Nigeria.
We know that Nigeria is at the brink of collapse, and here we
are, with one of our best Generals, who trained in the best
institutions in Europe and America, even in the US War
College, which by all standards is a postgraduate institution,
and you are talking about school certificate. I find it ridiculous
and unbelievable how our political class, and the political
parties could be so petty and mundane at this crucial time. It
is unnecessary to go that low because we must win at all
cost. The certificate saga was something that they should
have realised that they were denigrating the image of Nigeria
and not just General Buhari. That is one of your best Generals
and you are denigrating him, what would outsiders think of
us! It should not have been taken that far. The point of
change that the nation has now reached is natural. It is the
point that we must reach, to effect a change. And if they don’t
want that change and they continue with blackmailing and
denigration, then that will be unfortunate. The campaign
should be issue-based, not on petty personal things. We
should concentrate on choosing the best candidate come
February 14, 2015.
How do you rate the two major contenders in the forthcoming
presidential elections?
Jonathan has tried his best. I doff my hat for him for holding
the constitutional conference; he has given the women
affirmation 35 per cent gender equality, he has tried to tinker
with agriculture, the cassava bread issue, which has now
virtually died, and now he is trying to bring up rice issue. I
know he voted about N100 billion to revive the textile
industry. But the point is that when you have a president that
says stealing is not corruption, treats corruption with kid
gloves, then most of that money released, just disappears.
There is no system that will progress if there is no
accountability. Jonathan has tried, but he has left the core
issue, which is security. If you cannot secure the lives of
Nigerians, then I do not see why you are there as the
Commander-in-Chief of the country. You are keeping some of
us sleepless. Right now, we have a country where kidnapping
is the order of the day, a country where unemployment is off
the roof, about 80 million Nigerians are unemployed, we have
a country that God has blessed with petroleum, but we are
importing oil and refineries are left unutilized. We have a
country where the index of growth, power, is virtually non-
existent. Nigeria is 187 out of 189 on the global index, so we
are almost the last in the least of countries in terms of
availability of power. We generate less than 4000 megawatts
of electricity for 170 million people while South African with 50
million people generates about 40,000 megawatts of
electricity. The president has not dealt with the core issues
that would have made Nigeria what it ought to be. We know
what our foreign reserve was when he came in. It was 48
billion dollars now we know what it is. Naira is going down
the drain with about N200 to the dollar; our money is almost
getting valueless. So when you ask me to compare the two, I
think that we do not have a comparison to make.
How convinced are you that General Buhari can perform better
than Jonathan when he becomes the president of Nigeria?
Everybody has antecedents; I worked under Buhari as his
Principal Staff Officer when he was a General Officer Com­
manding. We know him as incorruptible, we know him as
being a man of Spartan life, one who is disciplined. We know
him as a man of his words; his word is his bond, so he can
be trusted. He has been patriotic, he is an achiever, one that
you give a task to and he gets it done. To us in the army, we
know that there is no doubt that General Buhari is vying to
become the president of Nigeria virtually for only patriotic
reasons. I was privileged to visit him in Daura when I went
there to attend an event; I was amazed to find out that Buhari
has only a bungalow! There were no luxury leather chairs
there but simple wooden chairs. He lives a Spartan life
because he does not believe in tampering with money that is
not his. I think we have a Mandela in him and a Julius
Nyerere in him. Nigerians should better realise the quality of
leadership that Buhari intends to bring to them, to regain
Nigeria’s image abroad. Having seen Nigeria in those good old
days and now seeing Nigeria degenerate to what it is now, a
country where graduates come out 10 years after, no jobs, no
plans for the jobs because the facilities are not there, and the
environment to create such jobs is not in place. Someone like
Buhari believes that the situation should be corrected.
How about the insinuations that General Buhari is a religious
fanatic?
That I must say is absolute rubbish. That shows the level of
ignorance among some Nigerians. That is because, in Nigerian
Army, there is no way you can climb up to become a General if
you are a religious fanatic. The troops are made up of people
from various tribes and ethnic groupings. To be an effective
commander, you have to be seen as being neutral. So in the
army we do not tolerate such. The troops are made up of
Christians, Muslims and other religions, and you have to
command them.
What can you say about the quality of the election
campaigns?
The campaigns have been very poor in quality. It has been
very disgraceful because they have not been issue-based. It
has been praise singing and mudslinging. The issue should be
about the candidates telling us what they want to do in the
next four years and how they intend to implement their
programmes. The campaigns have not been what it should be.
It has been more of a jamboree. Even a debate at this time
does not make sense because people have trivialised the
election issues to the point of asking for certificate of a
General in the Nigerian Army. So you can imagine what a
debate will look like. Why are they not telling us how they are
going to deal with Boko Haram? Obama became re-elected
based on two issues. They asked him: ‘If you are elected,
what will you do about Osama bin Laden,’ and he replied, ‘I
will kill him.’ Journalists were shocked that Obama could be
that brutal and blunt. When he became president, he quietly
planned and killed Osama bin Laden. Based on that, he was
re-elected. Americans like someone keeping his words. Again
during Storm Katrina, it was towards the election and Obama
left his campaign preparation to go and look after the people
that were affected by the storm. He used his incumbent
opportunity to prove that he is a caring person. That is what I
expected the incumbent Nigerian president to have done. All
the displaced persons should have been taken care of and
Boko Haram crushed. If he had done that, he wouldn’t need to
campaign, people would vote for him. So these issues are
clear and straightforward. We can’t go on this way; we need a
change! We are toying with something that can spell disaster
if we fail to effect a change now. May God forbid such disaster
upon us!
There has been the heating up of the polity with the militants
in the creeks threatening war if the election does not go in
favour of the incumbent president. What do you have to say
about this?
Well I am not surprised that this is coming up, because for
long or too long we have treated militants and all sorts of
law-breakers in this country with kid’s gloves. We have even
talked of negotiating with Boko Haram, people who do not just
shoot but also slit throats! They have been killing people like
goats. It is hard to believe that the government spends N24
billion annually on the militants to guard our pipelines! Yet
they do not guard the pipelines. They break it and scoop oil
making us to lose a minimum of US$1m everyday! So if an
individual now goes to buy warship, you can imagine what is
on ground! A warship is never switched off; it is always on 24
hours of the day. It is a task to maintain it and expensive to
run. And that is what an individual has. We have given them
too much latitude and too much money. It has come to a
point where we must assert our sovereignty as a people,
because the country belongs to every one of us. They buy
warships and build universities abroad because they are so
wealthy. This impunity must stop else Nigeria will go down
the drain. It’s unfortunate that many Nigerians do not know
that Nigeria is sinking! It must be prevented. When people
make such statements, you can imagine the state of madness
that we are in.
Looking at the price of oil now, and the federal government’s
austerity measures, the Minister of Finance has said that we
should tighten our belts this year. How do you think this will
play out for and against the economy?
I have my respect for the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, she is an intelligent lady, but the issue
remains that in the budget, we haven’t seen how they intend
to counter the downturn in oil price. I was expecting to see
major agricultural programmes, how to mobilize Nigerians, like
what we had during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s time where he
went behind his house while in the state house with his hoe
and started farming – Operation Feed the Nation. He
demonstrated it and Nigerians then realised that farming is for
everybody, not just for farmers. We have reached that stage
where you just have to have a tomato garden behind your
house. There must be collective farming. I expected Jonathan
to mobilize Nigerians like that. The price of oil will continue to
go down; the prediction is that it could even go down as far
as $30, and then the cost of producing the oil becomes more
than its value price. So we must go back to land, as we may
not be able to import rice, import this and that from abroad.
What I see the Minister of Agriculture doing now is gimmicks.
The austerity measure is neither here nor there, because from
her calculation, the country can only save about N10.8 billion,
that is not enough money for Tompolo to spend in a week!
What do you think is the implication of the visit of the Ameri­
can Secretary of State to Nigeria against the backdrop of the
drumbeats of war after 2015 election?
It is sad that Nigeria is now treated more or less like a
banana republic. They know that the country’s currency is bat­
tered, the country’s future is not assured, therefore the
coming of Kerry is with all good intentions, but it also goes to
show how Nigeria’s image has been dented internationally. He
came as a headmaster coming to address his students! A
foreign secretary coming to talk to our president! If it had
been President Obama that came, that would be
understandable. And the president had to go and meet him in
Lagos and I saw the president giggling and feeling happy. For
Christ’s sake Nigeria is the giant of Africa! Why are we made
to seem inconsequential? And he was telling the politicians
that they have to behave or they will not give them visa to
visit their country. That is why we are saying that there has
to be a change, because unless this change comes, things will
go worse, and before we know it, it will be like Sudan, Somalia
and Afghanistan. These countries are just 10 million people,
and so on, the international community can manage their
nuisance value, but for 170 million people to be rendered
useless, it is going to spell disaster for the entire world. We
will be eating up ourselves, we will be worse than animals. We
must avoid that kind of situation. The president said that
terrorism is everywhere, that we should be patient. But Nigeria
is not just any country. It is the leading country in Africa. We
have to deal with Boko Haram and other internal issues so
that we can face real development. When the president does
not have that urgency of situation, I get worried!
What do you think of General Obasanjo’s recent book and
what do you think Mugabe’s recent choice as the Chairman
of AU portends for African’s diplomacy?
What I will like to say is that no matter what, our Head of
State in this country, have all acted with element of patriotism
for this country. Even Jonathan too! But the issue is that they
have limitations, they should know when to leave when the
ovation is loudest. I wish Jonathan conducts this election to
be free and fair and leave honourably. Obasanjo has written
his memoir, no matter his shortcomings, he has done a lot for
this country. He sacrificed his life, Ibrahim Babangida,
Abdulsalami Abubakar too, all of them. But when the limit
comes, realise it and leave. Obasanjo’s book is good because
if you want to be a leader, you must be a reader.
Unfortunately, some of us don’t read. I have written my sixth
book. Obasanjo’s book is for posterity to learn and make
corrections from history. I doff my hat for Mugabe for at that
age, he is still standing on his feet and I wish the strength he
shows about his health could be transferred to Zimbabwe’s
economy.
It’s unfortunate that Zimbabwe’s economy has been going
down the drain, collecting farms from the whites and sharing
it around, has not done them any good. Now that he is the
Chairman of AU, let’s hope that he brings his wisdom to bear
on African issues like what is happening in Nigeria. AU should
be able to support Nigeria effectively to see how we can deal
with Boko Haram, but we must not depend on outsiders to
solve our problems.
What is the main problem in our approach to the fight
against Boko Haram?
The main problem is that we are trying to fight insurgency
warfare like a conventional warfare. Our troops are
conventional soldiers. That is, fighting from trenches. But
Boko Haram is mobile, difficult to pin down so we need a
terrorist approach to deal with them. We need to infiltrate
their lines. You don’t fight them by dropping bombs from
aircraft, you will be killing poor innocent civilians; you infiltrate
their commands and deal with them internally. By now we
should have thousands of trained spies. Go in there and be
sending us information and eliminating their main leaders one
after another. We should terrorise the internal structure of
Boko Haram.
We are not doing that, and they are waxing stronger. They
have seized Baga to ensure their economic life because Baga
is a major commercial centre. They are strategizing for future
warfare against the entire country. When they capture the
Lake Chad area, the fishing area, they are sure of some
sustenance, and then they can start moving in. So this is the
reason why we must wake up now from slumber. Right now
they have surrounded Maiduguri, if they get in it becomes
more difficult to dislodge them. This is the time to fight with
all our breath. In terms of worst global terrorism, Nigeria is
now number three. It is that bad. So these are the real issues.

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PDP welcomes polls’ shift

Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation
(PDPPCO) said it concurred with yesterday’s decision by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the
scheduled February general elections since “it is in the best
interest of deepening democracy and in the national interest’’.
Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi
Fani-Kayode stated in a swift response to the poll shift
announcement that INEC ‘’must be commended for showing
the courage to shift the elections after acknowledging the fact
that its state of preparedness was not 100 per cent.’’
According to Fani-Kayode, “Since this decision has been taken
in the interest of deepening democracy and in national
interest, we accept it in good faith and we commend INEC’s
courage and obvious commitment to ensuring a free and fair
election.
“With this decision, INEC has allayed the fears of many of our
citizens that they may not have had the opportunity to vote
for the candidates and parties of their choice on election day.
“INEC has, by the decision, ensured that no one will be
disenfranchised and has helped to guarantee the safety and
security of every single one of our citizens during the course of
the elections.
“We are constrained to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly
condemn the opposition APC for its paranoid delusions and its
far-fetched and childish conspiracy theories when it comes to
the issue of poll shift.
“By insisting that the elections should be conducted on
February 14th, the opposition was not only dangerously
flirting with chaos but was also putting our country firmly on
the path of confrontation, division, injustice, disaster and
destruction.
“This is especially so, given the fact that no less than 34
percent of eligible voters have not been able to access their
Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) up till today- just seven days
before the original date of the election. A situation where such
a large percentage of our people would have been
disenfranchised is unacceptable and the fact that the APC was
insensitive to that fact speaks volumes.
“We are aware that INEC is having numerous logistical
problems and numerous internal challenges and we believe
that the poll shift will afford them the badly-needed time to
tackle and resolve those problems and challenges before we
arrive at the new dates that have been fixed for the elections.
“We believe that INEC must have drawn a useful guide from
available security reports from the North-eastern zone where,
despite the very serious challenges that our people are facing
there from Boko Haram, we believe that elections must hold.
We must insist on this in order to ensure that no part of the
country lose their right to freely, safely and peacefully
participate in the coming elections and to vote for the
candidates of their choice.
“It is against the backdrop of these developments that we
commend INEC for finding the courage to do the right thing.
In the same breath, we condemn the opposition APC leaders
and members who are set to unleash confusion, mendacity
and despondency everywhere and who are blaming everyone
except themselves for the situation in which we have found
ourselves.
“It is a glaring testimony to their irresponsible and reckless
disposition that they continue to insist on having an election
on a date that the institution that is constitutionally charged
to conduct that election has said that it would be impossible
to go ahead under the present circumstances.
“The shift of date is a welcome development. It is solely the
decision of INEC. The decision is not ours but we commend
them (INEC) for showing courage by owning up to the fact
that they are not ready to go ahead on February 14th. The
shift will help INEC to organise themselves properly, to put
their house in order and to put in place all the necessary ar­
rangements for the polls. The shift will also enable the na­
tion’s security agencies to do what they have to in order to
secure the north-eastern zone and ensure that elections can
hold there.”

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Emir of Kano promises to lead with fairness

The 57th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi 11 has
pledged to discharge his duties with justice, equity, fairness
and transparency as the leader of the people of Kano Emirate
just as he promised to uphold the legacy of his predecessors.
The monarch made these pledges, Saturday, during his
coronation, which took place at the Coronation Hall, Kano
State Government House.
Sanusi in his remarks thanked Allah for making the coronation
possible while declaring that it is Allah that gives power to
whoever that pleases him.
He expressed gratitude to all those who played different roles
towards his ascension to the throne as the Emir of Kano,
especially the kingmakers as well as the state Governor, Rabiu
Kwankwaso.
The monarch paid glowing tribute to his predecessor, Alhaji
Ado Bayero, noting that the late Emir spent over 51 years on
the throne and contributed immensely to the development of
his people.
He said the Kano Emirate would never forget his contributions
even as he prayed Allah to bless his soul and grant him a
place in Paradise.
He also prayed Allah to give him the strength to administer
his people while charging members of the traditional
institution to put their hands on deck in addressing the
problems of insecurity, girl -child education and qualitative
healthcare delivery to the people, among others.
Ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Emir charged the po­
litical class to desist from making inciting comments that are
capable of inflaming the polity.He expressed gratitude to all
those who attended the ceremony, notably the Sultan of
Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abbubakar11, the Oba of Lagos, Oba
Rilwan Akiolu, former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ti­
nubu, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari among others.
Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in his remarks,
insisted that the monarch was selected after a very meticu­
lous process, adding that the selection exercise was
characterized by constructive engagements with the
kingmakers Council and other stakeholders in the state who
were either contacted or had offered their advice on their own
volition.
Kwankwaso stressed that Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi’s appoint­
ment was guided by a collective and careful judgment of his
ability and creditability to provide the needed purposeful
leadership for the emirate
Kwankwaso implored the traditional institution in the state to
complement his administration’s efforts through sensitization
and mobilization of the people for the policies of his
administration.
The monarch’s oath of office was administered by the Chief
Imam of Kano, Prof. Sani Zaharaddeen; the Kano traditional
regalia was conferred on him by the kingmakers, led by the
Madakin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Nabahani Ibrahim, while the State
Governor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso presented him
with his staff of office. The ceremony was also attended by
dignitaries among who are the emirs in the North, two former
heads of state, General Yakubu Gowon (retd) and General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd), some northern governors (past and
present) among others.
State governors, who attended the ceremony included those of
Borno, Kaduna , Niger, Kwara, Edo, Yobe and Zamfara States
while the business class was led by muliti- billionaire business­
man Alhaji Aminu Dangote and his uncle, Alhaji Aminu Dantata
among several others.
Also in attendance was the Speaker of the Federal House of
Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tanbuwal as well as several
legislators from the North.

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Ohanaeze blames leadership crisis on Okorocha, Amechi

The apex Igbo socio cultural organisation , Ohanaeze Ndigbo
has accused former aviation minister in the first republic, Chief
Mbazuluike Amechi and Imo State governor, Chief Rochas
Okorocha of fueling the crisis rocking the leadership of the
organisation.
The President General of Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Igariwey who
disclosed this at a press conference in Enugu at the weekend
accused Chief Amechi of playing divisive role because of
issues relating to funding of the reparation committee which
he heads.
Igariwey said that Ohanaeze could not fund the committee to
the extent demanded by Amechi, noting that his committee
had even gone on fund drive but realised a little.
He said that Amechi accepted the extension of Ohanaeze
national officers term to four years during the time of the late
President General, Amb. Raph Uwechue.
He, therefore, said that for Amechi to now turn around to say
the tenure of office was two years was mischievous.
He also regretted that Okorocha chose to join forces with
Amechi to cause more confusion in Ohanaeze.
Igariwey insisted that there was no friction in the organisation,
stressing that only some individuals who felt they were not
getting enough money from him had gone to create trouble
with a view to fronting themselves for political relevance.
“What is happening in Ohanaeze is purely about money.
Certain persons want to negotiate on behalf of Ndigbo for
2015 general elections and not necessarily for the Igbo
interest but solely for their selfish interest,” he maintained.
Igariwey who dismissed the issue of tenure as basis for the
crisis denied receiving N5 billion as gratification to endorse
President Goodluck Jonathan for the presidential election.
He said that the allegation that they took bribe from the
presidency was baseless as their adoption of the incumbent
President was borne out of wide consultations with various
interest groups in Igbo land.
He noted that the interest of Ndigbo would be more protected
if President Jonathan was re-elected, adding that it is only
Jonathan that would implement the report of the national
constitutional conference that supported, among other things,
the creation of nine states in each of the six geo-political
zones in the country.
He, therefore, urged Ndigbo wherever they reside to be vigilant
before, during and after the forthcoming general elections,
pointing out that the county at the moment is sitting on a keg
of gunpowder.
“I have to be sincere with you, if Jonathan wins, there is likely
going to be trouble and if Buhari wins, there is also likely
going to be problem. So, what we should pray to God for now
is for Him to save us from this dangerous situation,” he said

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Lebanese couple offers N.4m settlement after torturingNigerian woman

The Lebanese couple that tortured a Nigerian woman has
offered her N400, 000 in a bid to settle the matter amicably,
Sunday Sun has gathered.
The woman at the centre of the alleged torture and who is an
indigene of Delta State, Mrs. Grace Okpara, revealed in an
interview with Sunday Sun that the couple, Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Yazbeck offered her the said amount during a meeting
with the Divisional Police Officer of the Ibafo Police Station,
where the matter was incidented.
Okpara had alleged that during a confrontation at the
company, Hala and her husband, Joseph Yazbeck, beat her
thoroughly. She said that they held her hair and dragged her
all the way from an office to a workshop. She further alleged
that the couple boasted that they would kill her and nothing
would happen. On account of the torture meted out to her by
the couple, Okpara ended up in hospital for days.
As Sunday Sun gathered, Hala and her husband both work as
management executives of Buildwell Plant and Equipment
Industry Limited, a logistics company located along the
Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
Following the incident, the police had invited the Yazbecks,
but they failed to honour the invitation until after four days.
When they eventually visited the police station, Hala insisted
that it was even Okpara that actually beat her, and claimed
that she never laid a finger on her.
After much argument, the couple agreed to settle with the
aggrieved worker and offered her the sum of N400,000, which
she refused, choosing instead to have the matter charged to
court as soon as the striking judiciary workers resumed
duties.
With pains, Okpara recalled that prior to the torture incident,
Hala had been a thorn in her flesh right from when she began
working with the company four years ago. She said that
torturing workers was a common occurrence in the company.
She blamed the present state of affairs on the high
unemployment rate in the country, which prevents maltreated
Nigerians workers from speaking out against the injustices
perpetrated on them mostly by Lebanese-owned companies.
According to her, Lebanese employers often brag about how
they have bought the Nigerian system, claiming that even if
they kill a Nigerian working in their companies, the government
would not do anything against them.
“So that fateful day,” Okpara recalled, “I was coming from one
direction of the workshop when I saw her at the other end. I
saw her in front of our store, she was shouting on somebody.
I decided to avoid her. I turned to enter one office. That is
how I do anytime I see her. Even when I have not seen her,
people will call me ‘Grace oh!, your madam is coming.’ And I
will start hiding. In that kind of job, there is no freedom.
“I didn’t know that she had already seen me. So, she started
shouting at me, saying that she had told me not to go there
again. I stopped and told her that I wanted to take something
from the office. When I tried to enter the office, I didn’t know
that she ran after me. The next thing, she grabbed my dress.
Then she slapped me and kicked me with her leg.
“I was like ‘Madam, what is all this now.’ People were trying
to hold her. She said I should go and collect my pay off, that I
had been sacked. I said ‘fine, it is better. Give me the pay off
and let me walk out of this place instead of being treated like
a slave.
“Immediately I said that, the husband hit me from the back
because he was standing there too. He queried why I should
talk to his wife like that. I said, ‘Ah ah, Mr. Joe, why are you
beating me?’ When the woman saw her husband’s reaction,
she resumed beating me. The man then pulled my hair and
together they dragged me out of the office to the workshop. I
was trying to fight back, but nobody was there to rescue me.
Everybody was there watching; they couldn’t do anything
because they didn’t want to lose their jobs.
“Eventually, one guy came and gave the man an elbow. He
was like ‘this one is too much, do you people want to kill
her?’ When they left me, I was still trying to fight back
because I didn’t understand why they should treat me like
that. That was when the woman took her phone and started
recording me; that she would use that as evidence. I picked
up something and said I would break the phone, because how
can you be beating me and also recording it at the same
time?
“The workers were not happy at all. It was as if there was
rioting in the company that day. They didn’t even know how I
managed to escape from the company because, maybe they
would not have allowed me to go out. When I left, I went to
the Ibafo Police Station and reported to the police, because
the woman’s husband had said that he was going to kill me
and nothing will happen. After I gave the police my statement,
they took me to a hospital where I was admitted for days.”
When Sunday Sun contacted Mrs. Hala Yazbeck via her
mobile phone, she answered, but became silent when the
matter was mentioned. After about half a minute, a male voice
came on and asked, “Yes, how may I help you?”
After the matter was introduced, his reply was: “Now listen…
there is no need for that. It is just a dispute between two
colleagues and I think that it should have been sorted out by
now. We need to avoid these things, please, I beg you.”
“Have you settled the matter, our reporter asked him?” His
answer was sharp. “Please, there is no need for this. It is a
dispute between colleagues and my legal department is
working on it. Thank you very much, madam,” and the line
went off.

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Beauty queen loses home, crown, certificates to strange fire

These are not pleasant days for the second runner-up of the
Miss Fashion Nigeria 2014/2015 pageant, Chinaza Violet
Chikeluba, who lost her crown to an early morning fire on
January 14, 2015, which gutted her family home in Agulu,
Anambra State.
For Chikeluba, the fire incident was definitely not a welcome
way to begin the year, and understandably left her wishing
that she had not witnessed it. As it turned out, her aged
mother was the only one at home when the fire started.
Efforts to put out the fire failed and their two-bedroom family
house in Agulu, Anambra State was razed to the ground.
Chikeluba had shared the house with her mother, after
relocating home just to be close to her, following the
completion of her studies at Delta State University, Abraka,
(DELSU) where she read Education (Economics).
Recalling the painful incident, she told Sunday Sun: “I was
attending a health programme at Awka. Early that morning I
got a call from my cousin that our family house was on fire.
Immediately, I took a bus to our village in Agulu in Anambra
State. When I got there, I saw a lot of people trying to quench
the fire. My mother was just crying and lamenting. I was
staying with her, but I went for a two-week programme. That
Wednesday was the third day of the programme. I left the
house on the Sunday of that week. It was only my aged
mother that was at home.
“Later on when I asked her what really happened, she said
that early that morning when she woke up, she wanted to go
for morning mass. She lit a candle as she was preparing for
church. She does not even use candle; I don’t know why she
lit a candle that morning. Sometimes, if I lit candle, she would
be angry with me. I think it is a satanic plot or something. I
don’t really know.”
Continuing the sad tale, Chikeluba said: “She wanted to get
her chaplet and prayer book from under her pillow. Just then,
the candle fell from her hand and rolled under the under the
mattress. Afrer picking it up, she did not know that the
mattress had caught fire and was burning. But when she
became aware of it, my mother began to call for help, but the
gate to our house had not yet been opened. This delayed the
neighbours that came around to help. In the confusion to open
the gate, the raging fire did much damage. Some people even
had to jump over the fence in order to help her quench the
fire.
“All the efforts they made to quench the fire were in vain
because everything got burnt. Everything – including all my
certificates from primary school to university, my crown as
Miss Fashion Nigeria (Tourism), my creative wears that I use
in modeling, everything was lost to the inferno.”
After graduating from DELSU in 2011 and completing the
national youth service, Chikeluba took up a teaching
appointment in a private school, while honing her craft as a
model.
“I was teaching in a private school and also modeling before I
decided to come home to stay with my mother. I was then
looking for another job in Awka so that I could be close to her.
I am so devastated by the fire incident. I want help from the
public. My mother is a poor widow. She has been suffering; I
was even the one trying to make life meaningful for her. We
don’t really have any hope right now. We don’t know who to
run to. I am appealing to kind-hearted Nigerians to please
come to our aid, whatever they can afford to give. So that we
can start to rebuild the house because before you know it
now, the rain will come back.
“My mother has been blaming herself for the whole thing. She
has refused to go inside. She has been sleeping outside. The
incident is really frustrating to her. We are squatting with
some neighbours, but my mother is still sleeping outside.”
Interestingly, Chikeluba’s modeling career began while she
was in school and she was crowned as Miss Campus 2010.
When she featured in the Miss Fashion Nigeria pageant, she
represented Anambra State.
Until the fire incident happened, the distraught queen said she
had planned to go on visitations during the Valentine season
as part of her assignments as the reigning queen of the
tourism component of the Miss Fashion Nigeria Pageant.
On this sad outcome, Chikeliuba said: “It has really affected
me because I am like an only child. My elder sister is married.
The little money I was making I was using to care for my
mother. Everything we had in the house was burnt. I was
trying to see how I could take care of my mother. The thing
has really drained my purse. I had plans to celebrate this
valentine at the orphanage, though it is still on my mind.”

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Polls postponement: Chime, Ugwuanyi urge Enugu voters toremain with party

Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State and the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Hon Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi, have urged the people of the state not to despair
over the postponement of the February polls.
Chime and Ugwuanyi who spoke yesterday at Enugu North
council headquarters during the ongoing campaigns disclosed
that election had been postponed by six weeks. The governor
told the people to vote for the PDP regardless of the new date
set for the polls.
Also speaking, Ugwuanyi urged the people to remain with the
party no matter when the election would hold. He pledged to
continue with all the policies, programmes and projects of
Chime in what he called seamless continuity. Ugwuanyi noted
that Enugu was home to all Nigerians who lived in the Coal
City.
Reacting to the postponement of the date for the election, the
former Governor of Anambra State and the Deputy Director
General of the PDP National Campaign Council, Mr. Peter Obi
said INEC announcement of shift of dates of the election was
good for the country and democracy. “Elections are about
credible processes that lead to the election itself. The
announcement is in line with the law and it will allow time for
appropriate distribution of permanent voter card which at the
moment is 34 percent of eligible voters. It will also allow INEC
to address other challenges necessary for a free and fair
election”, Obi said

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PRESIDENTIAL POLL: Why Jonathan deserves second term –Pa Olanihun Ajayi

Afenifere leader and associate of the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, Pa Olanihun Ajayi, 87, in this interview speaks on the
build up to the general elections, expressing disappointment in
the quality of offerings of the political gladiators.
Pa Ajayi stressed the need to return to the path of true
federalism to avert break-up of the country. He also spoke on
why he believed President Goodluck Jonathan should have
another term in office.
Excerpts:
The state of the nation appears cloudy. What do you think?
I am really devastated about what is going on. The politicians
there are, in the true sense of it, very few. What they are doing
really irritates, saddens and, of course, disappoints me.
In specific terms, what do you see that makes you sad?
I don’t see what I expect to see, patriotism. What I see is, ‘oh,
how am I going to get elected so that money will flow?’ ‘ How
can I continue to be in power and authority?’ That is what I
see. I don’t see seriousness, or deep sense of commitment, as
you would find in Cameron (British Prime Minister), or the
chancellor of Germany or as you will find in Obama (American
President). I have said on several occasions that the pillars of
democracy here are malfunctioning, if they are functioning at
all. The first of it is the executive, what sort of executive do
we have in Abuja or in the states? The executive is very bad,
very irresponsible. We don’t have a strong, confident and
powerful judiciary. And the judiciary is the most important
part of democracy. It is not performing.
Even with the reforms in the judiciary?
Well, the lady who just retired started putting in place some
reforms, but before we could begin to see the real impact of
the reforms, she left. And they put another one there who may
retire in two years time. Then the legislature, the National
Assembly people are self-serving. They are the highest paid in
the world. I used to have a senator here. I didn’t know him. Is
it not surprising that I didn’t know the senator in charge of my
district? In England, it is not so. If you have any problem, you
go to your representative in the House of Commons. It is not
so here. And yet we are so wealthy. Our lawmakers are self-
serving people. How many bills have they passed since they
went in there? The fourth pillar of democracy is the press.
There was a time when we used to have a wonderful press in
this country, particularly during the Babangida and Abacha
time, oh fantastic, very strong and committed. Immediately
after the Abubakar transition, we discovered that most
journalists were being bought over by the governors, they were
given cars, appointments, etc, and those things shut their
mouths. And you find out that some of these governors buy
into the papers. Of course, when I own my paper, I dictate
what you write. By the way, which of these political parties
has ideology? Have you read their manifestoes, do they even
have at all? Of course, if they have, they don’t do it the way it
ought to be done. The First Republic, I love that period very
much, I have a lot of regards and gratitude to God for that
period, it was the golden era, particularly in this part of
Nigeria. If you go to Lagos now, you find that some roads are
made while some are neglected. If you go to Ibadan or Ijebu-
Ode, or Abeokuta, you find fly-overs, you find roads well done
but if you ask what the governor of Oyo State paid per- ki­
lometre, and then ask the governor of Ogun State the same
question, you will see that the difference is wide, very wide,
and, of course, if you ask who the contractors were, you will
discover that the companies are owned by a governor or a
politician. So, tell me how can we perform honourably in that
sort of situation?
What advice can you give in order to return to that golden
era?
What advice would I give them when election is already here?
We are going into serious danger because the Niger-Delta
people are saying if Jonathan loses, you are going to see hell
and, of course, the boys in the North are saying should Buhari
lose, you are going to suffer. Where are we? In any case,
someone will win. If there is no stalemate, someone will win. I
think the advice will be in form of question, and that is, what
are they going to do for us? The rhetoric we hear from time to
time is, ‘We are going to do some roads, we are going to do
this.’’
I think you should ask them how much you are going to pay
per kilometre of road? Or if you are going to provide housing,
how much would a two, three-bedroom house cost . If you
say you are providing classrooms, how much will a classroom
cost? Today, if you want to buy foodstuff, you go to the
North. What if they shut their gate, what are we going to do
about it? Where do you have better land for agriculture? Is it
in the North or here? It is here, but government is not doing
anything about it? If I were in government, I would have a
special arrangement with all my chairmen of local government
areas that, based on expert advice I received about a
particular local government, potato would be very good to
plant there, cassava will be good. ‘So, therefore, go and find
land where we can plant all that I have mentioned. When you
get the land, I will provide the money to implement the cultiva­
tion’.
Afenifere recently endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for
re-election. What informed the decision?
Well, quite frankly, the question of presidential election should
not arise in this country at all. In this place called Nigeria,
there are so many nationalities, these are different countries
before we became Nigeria, but, the white people just came,
uninvited, and began to take positions as if you were taking
positions in a farm. So, putting us together, as it is now, is
absolutely wrong. We don’t need a monarch, or an emperor as
we have in Nigeria; we are running a unitary form of
government. This is not true federalism. We don’t need a
president. Let everybody be on his own so that he can be
making progress. When that happens, there won’t be ani­
mosity, hatred or witch-hunting and jealousy as we now have.
Until we do that, Nigeria cannot have peace; you know what
happened in the defunct USSR, before 1989/91, where there
was implosion in the place and the many regions there
decided to break away from Russia. In Czechoslovakia, there
were, two dominant nationalities and there was no love lost
between them, but they were staying together. Then the
leaders met and said they could not continue like that.
Eventually they met and agreed that the Czechs should return
to their side and the Slovakia to their own side, and there was
peace. There was also the issue of Yugoslavia, a country
precisely like Nigeria with about eight ethnic nationalities, but
they were never the same. They said the unity of Nigeria is
not negotiable, stupid people! It is those who benefit from the
irregularities going on in the country that are saying that. The
earlier we can sit down as we did in March to August last year
and negotiate our unity, the better for Nigeria.
Why did the Afenifere endorse Jonathan for second term?
(Cuts in) Afenifere is dealing with a sta-tus- quo issue. What
do we have and what have we been having? Since 1960, we
have had about 36 years of Nigeria’s rulers coming from the
North. And, now they are saying they want power back. And
they are saying `if you don’t give us you are going to see hell’,
and the other people who are holding on to it are saying ‘if
you let the thing slip from our hand, we are going to show you
pepper’. Now, talking about our approval of Jonathan for a
second term, I think he is the third or thereabout of a civilian
president that would be coming from the South. In this kind of
situation where majority of the presidents had come from the
North, do you think there would be satisfaction and peace?
So, this president is a southerner and we have not had
southerners as we have northerners as President or Head of
State. And, of course, Jonathan is trying to do a second term.
I think we should give him.
So, it is a matter of supporting the minority.
Yes. What I detest, of course, is the boasting in the Niger-
Delta that should Jonathan lose, heavens would come down.
And on the other side, the northern boys saying if Buhari does
not win the election, there will be hell here on earth. But
maybe be they should go ahead and do whatever they like
because the situation should not have arisen at all. Nigeria
does not need President. I think we should have something
similar to what is going on in Switzerland.
How do we go about that one?
The conference we had in March was rubbish. Yes, we came
back with state police, local government autonomy, devolution
of power. This means we have shrunk the exclusive list. In
1960, we had 28 functions in the exclusive list. When we
became republic in 1963, the thing was about 29. In 1979, I
think it went to about 60. In 1999, everything just went up. I
think what we should do now if we don’t want trouble is to
negotiate how to live together because we are not immune to
what happened in Yugoslavia, it can happen here. I hope you
remember Operation Wetie.
There are people who benefit from the irregularities going on
in the oil sector, they don’t want the status quo to be
disturbed. They want it retained.
So what do you see happening in this election now?
I don’t know what is going to happen. Anything may happen.
But quite frankly, neither of the two main presidential
candidates has come to say I am going to do 1,2,3,4 and each
is going to cost me xyz amount and this is where I am going
to get the money. The Afenifere endorsement of Jonathan will
obviously pit it against the ‘progressives’ in the South- West,
or what do you think?
We just had to make a choice. Before APC came, it used to be
ACN. But then, we had some boys who broke away from A.D
and from PDP and formed ACN.
It is a question of six and half a dozen. There is no much
difference between APC and PDP. I don’t know the ideology of
APC because I have never seen their manifesto, ditto the PDP.
I see the election as the shadow of our crisis that is
thickening and our body politic is not well and very vulnerable
particularly when you hear the reactions of the Niger- Delta
people and the boys from the North. I hope we would get it
right but not at a great cost.

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