Newsdiaryonline

A Presidency Steeped In Self-Denial,By Mohammed Haruna

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:29:19 +0000

Like godfather like godson; President Goodluck Jonathan, it seems, likes to live in political self-denial, just like his presently estranged godfather and erstwhile benefactor, former president, General Olusegun Obasanjo. We are all too familiar, aren’t we, with the incredible denial by the former president that he ever even contemplated a third term agenda, much less want one. God, he has repeatedly said, has never denied him whatever he wanted. So if he had wanted a third term God, presumably, would’ve had no choice but give it to him. Therefore all those who had accused him of wanting to carry on beyond 2007, he has said to everyone who cared to listen, were nothing but malicious mischief makers.
Like his estranged godfather, President Jonathan has been accusing anyone who says he has since made up his mind to contest the 2015 presidential election as a malicious mischief maker, possibly worse. He is too busy fulfilling the peoples’ mandate, he says, to have time to think of any re-election. Yet anyone with half an eye, indeed even someone with no eyes at all, must have the most credulous mind not to see through the president’s denial as so much hogwash.
Proofs that our president not only wants a second term – some would say a third, because he has already been sworn in twice as president – but does so desperately are ten a kobo. However the two most glaring are the absurd drama that has surrounded the recent election of the chairmanship of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the authoritative lead story in the penultimate Monday’s edition of Thisday (June 10) about moves by the presidency to kill the Senate’s constitutional proposal for a six-year, single-term limit for the president and governors in place of the current four-year, two term limit.
Actually it’s a misnomer to refer to the proposal as Senate’s, simple reason being it originated from the presidency itself. It’s hard, if not impossible, to find a more classic case than this one of the curse, arguably of Chinese origin, that one should be careful what one wishes for lest it comes true.
First, when the presidency set up its constitutional amendment committee last year under former Chief Justice of the country, Justice Alfa Modibbo Belgore, members agreed that the committee should not waste time revisiting a number of issues that had been settled by a similar committee under President Obasanjo. Top of these was the issue of the four-year, two-term executive term limit. A minority, reportedly with the backing of the presidency, tried forcefully to change the provision to five- or six-year single term. It failed.
Undeterred, the presidency sent an executive bill to the National Assembly still proposing same. This was in spite of the fact that during the nation-wide tour by the National Assembly committee on constitutional amendment to gauge public opinion, the idea was roundly rejected in all the six geo-political zones in the country, including the president’s South-South. The change was necessary, it had argued, because it would concentrate the minds of incumbents on the job at hand and save the country the corruption, sweat, tears and blood that has characterised elections under the status quo. Seemingly sensible arguments at first glance, but so much nonsense when you look again. (But this is a matter for possibly another day).
It is this executive bill the presidency, according to Thisday, has now made a volte-face about. Obviously, the presidency was not careful enough in making this wish; apparently it did not think that it was possible to get its wish in a form it would not like. Which was exactly what happened; the Senate granted its wish, alright. But then it exempted the president and first term governors from being beneficiaries.
Clearly the Senate’s caveat has exposed the motive of the presidency’s attempt to force the issue since last year as purely selfish. It has also helped in no small way to expose the presidency’s repeated denial that the incumbent wants to stay put beyond 2015 as untenable.
What is true of the presidency’s attempt to kill its own bill is perhaps even truer of the absurd drama that has surrounded the recent election of the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Few arguments, if any, can be more ridiculous than those offered by the governors who have rejected the election last month of Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the forum’s chairman.
The rejectionist camp of 16 governors led by the factional chairman, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau, says the election of Amaechi by 19 votes against Jang’s 16 was in violation of the forum’s tradition of choosing its chair by consensus rather than through election. The camp also says by an understanding, the chair was supposed to have rotated back to the North after Amaechi had served two years. It also says the score-line did not reflect an earlier unanimous endorsement of Jang by the 19 Northern governors.
The one simple answer to the first two arguments is, if the rejectionists knew all these, why did they participate in the election at all? Why, in the first place, did they not reject it outright the first time it was proposed last year and instead merely postponed it twice? Was it not because they were not sure they would make the numbers back then? Is it then not a mark of poor sportsmanship to reject the result simply because they calculated wrongly that this time they had the numbers?
As for the last argument about the immorality of breaching agreements, where were they when the president and his erstwhile benefactor repudiated a written agreement written in black and white about rotation and power shift between the North and the South which both of them had signed? Chickens, it seems, have this nasty habit of always coming home to roost!
The leading rejectionist, it would appear, is Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State. So strong was his feeling about what he said was the immorality of some of his colleagues going back on their endorsement of Jang that he announced he was resigning from the Northern States Governors’ Forum for the remaining two years of his office. “By my own culture, background and religion,” he said, “I believed that whatever is agreed upon, we must stand by it unless it is illegal.”
Coming from someone who won his office on one party platform only to abandon it for another so soon after his election and without any consultations with those who voted for him, this is indeed very rich.
Untenable and ridiculous as the rejection of the election of Amaechi as chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum is it does not begin to compare in its hilarity to the presidency’s claim through its spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, that it had no interest whatsoever in who got elected. If the presidency had no interest in the matter why was it quick, too quick, to receive Jang in the presidential villa as the new chair? And, except for a presidency that thrives in self-denial, who does not know that it lost the contest essentially because in its desperation to replace Amaechi at all costs it could not even make up its mind who to substitute him with?
The presidency should stop pretending that good governance rather than the 2015 elections remains its priority – that is, if it ever was.

FEEDBACK
Re: Mamman Kontagora
Sir,
I have read your tribute to late Mamman Kontagora who was a blessing to this country during his life time. May his soul rest in peace. However, the PTF of Gen Abacha’s regime you mentioned in the tribute was Petroleum Trust Fund not Petroleum Task Force as you said.
Adewuyi Adegbite, Ogbomoso, Oyo State. +2347013065440.
Sir,
Reference your tribute to the late Maj-Gen Mamman Kontagora. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that he was Minister of Works between 1987 & 1993 not 1993 & 1995 as you said. Ahmed, Abuja. +2348020756861.
Sir,
Refer to you Wednesday’s tribute on General Mamman Tsoho Kontagora. You left out one aspect of his national assignment; he also served as Chairman, Presidential Committee on Stadia Development (between 1993 and 1995), in preparation for the hosting for the first time, World Youth Cup championship. It was successful.
+2348023082100.
Sir,
I’m a son-in-law to late Gen Kontagora, married to Ramatu, one of his daughters. May Allah (SWT) forgive him. Contrary to what you said, his mother was Hausa while his father was Nupe.
Muhammad Shuaibu Umar. +2348079975555.

CORRECTION
In my piece last week on my thoughts from Amman, I gave the population of Jordan of which the city is the capital as over two million. The figure was wrong. Jordan’s population, according to the World Bank’s The Little Data Book was 5.7 million in2009. With a population growth rate of 3.2% annually it is probably 6.4 million today.

Nigerian Woman Caught Between Benevolence and Rape ,By Garba Shehu

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:22:19 +0000

Are there countries in which women are worse treated than in Nigeria? Yes, I would say, there are, especially in those dictatorships that profess to practicing Islam in the way it should not, and in all those countries, where capitalism has transformed women into sex slaves.

In this country under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, there has been a very visible effort to raise the involvement of women in public affairs. Despite their disadvantages in other areas, women in large number have been made ministers. One of them Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is both Minister of Finance and the de-facto Prime Minister, the highest-ever position achieved by any woman in Nigeria. There has equally been a rise in the number of women achievers in fields as diverse as business, entertainment and sports.

As many are bound to believe, we live in a country where most of the population is under-privileged, and so therefore, one cannot isolate women and talk about their problems. But to say this is to make a grave omission of the prejudices and crimes against women that are so pervasive and deep-rooted. Crimes against women have crossed all limits and must therefore become a matter for serious concern to the authorities in Nigeria. The fact that we have a woman “Prime Minister” and CEOs of banks and corporations does not mean that women in Nigeria have freedom and safety.

The recent conviction by a Magistrate’s Court in Kiyawa, Jigawa State of a senior academic and professor (names withheld) of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has tragically highlighted the type of sexual harassment women (married and unmarried) suffer in work places. In pleading for a remission of his sentence to a two months period of imprisonment, the Professor confessed to his sexual predation and pleaded his age, saying he was a grandfather. The universities in the country have for some time now become “free zones” where the Nigerian State has ceased to exist and no cases of rape or sexual harassment get any serious attention. In fact victims in such cases are often told to remain silent for the sake of propriety.

The rising incidence of rape against women calls in particular the need for urgent government attention and a roll-back plan. A recent survey by the Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), investigating the reasons for high HIV prevalence and lower age of first sex among adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years found that “forced sex was the main reason for sexual debut” after love and peer pressure. Thirty-one percent (31%) of girls, many of them with HIV reported that their first sexual debut is rape.

Many blame the Nollywood and foreign movies for the rising incidence of rape, which in my view is largely untrue because there are millions of people like myself who watch movies daily and don’t think that rape is the right way to go.

No one would however, deny that Nollywood is a bad reflection of the Nigerian society when it comes to the issue of women. In movies such as “Blackberry Babes” and “Fazebook Babes”, women are portrayed, to quote the words of another writer, “as cold and two-timing, always in search of a rich man o r sugar daddy… (films) do their bit in normalizing rape culture in Nigeria and generating sympathy for rapists and abusers.

There is also a truism in assentions made to the effect that rape happens because of the Nigerian culture. One Morufu Garba, a fake prophet was recently nabbed by the police in Ebute-metta area of Lagos. His victim, one Aminat Ajale told “Crime Alert” that Garba requested to have a few words with her and from the moment he tapped her shoulders, she lost control of her senses and action.

In this country, rape occurs in some police stations, in the Aso Rock in the reported case of a Personal Assistant to President Jonathan and for which a clampdown of silence was allegedly imposed on Villa staff and, as many Nigerians would recall, in the hallowed palaces of our rulers as in the celebrated story of the “royal rape” involving the Youth Corp member who narrated how a traditional ruler raped her during service. Military operations like the one in Odi, Bayelsa State have often been dogged by allegations of rape. None of these, in their horrid details amount to the chilling rate of South Africa rapes where a uniquely rape phenomenon, the “corrective rape” by which lesbians are targeted and raped to “cure” their sexuality is currently sparking a massive outrage.

This notwithstanding, the treatment of women in Nigeria leaves one with no option than to say it is regressive and depressive. As many are bound to argue, there are many communities in this country in which it is the man who is at the receiving end from the woman. This is true in many homes where the woman is the bread winner and the poor man would just fear to even comment. But to tell the truth, both government and the citizens need to come out of their deep denial and act together to roll back the pervasive crime and prejudice against our women.

To borrow the words of Mrs. Onikepo Oshodi, President, Women Empowerment Movement, “we want the government to come out and tell us what their position is especially the Ministry of Women Affairs. We cannot continue to watch like this. They have to do more than they are doing.”

Fayemi’s Final Triumph (2) By Dele Agekameh

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:17:28 +0000

I was with General Adetunji Olurin from October 2006 till March 2007 as media consultant, when he was in charge in Ekiti State as the Administrator. This was sequel to the political crisis that engulfed the state after the dramatic impeachment of Ayodele Fayose, erstwhile governor of the state. A member of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Fayose was impeached by the PDP-controlled State House of Assembly in highly controversial circumstances. This led to the war of succession as two members of the ruling party – Friday Aderemi and Biodun Olujimi – laid claim to the seat of power. Aderemi was the Speaker of the House of Assembly who presided over the impeachment of Fayose, while Olujimi was the deputy governor at the time of impeachment. Both Fayose and Olujimi were swept

off in the political volcano that swept the man of power away from his ‘throne’. At that time, Fayose had almost converted the governorship position to an imperial majesty dishing out orders which the highly enlightened people of Ekiti found not only distasteful but undignifying of a people with practically one of the largest colony of professors and academics.

Olujimi did not take kindly to the blanket removal of herself and her principal. That resentment soon snowballed into a near major conflagration as she took on Aderemi, who had immediately pronounced himself governor in line with the constitution. It was in the hullabaloo that ensued that the then maximum President (note the use of the word ‘maximum’), Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo, slammed a six-month emergency rule on the state. Although the emergency rule declaration on October 17, 2006 almost stirred another ‘okiki’ (hue and cry) as certain members of the House of Representatives vehemently

kicked against the move.

By the provisions of the Constitution, the House of Representatives automatically assumes the duty of legislation for any state placed under emergency rule. The implication of this was that from then on, the duties of the State House of Assembly, which had been suspended, fell on the House of Representatives. The argument then was that Obasanjo ought to have consulted the House before making the declaration and subsequent appointment of a retired General to take over the running of affairs. Some of the members of the House, especially some principal officers, then seized the opportunity to extort money from the Presidency in order to dance to the President’s tune.

One other salient issue that came up in the House of Reps over the emergency rule was the dissolution of the local government councils. This was buoyed by internal wrangling in the political landscape of Ekiti itself, especially the fresh bid by those who wanted to succeed Olurin after the expiration of his six-month duty tour as Administrator within the PDP-dominated House of Assembly that was billed to resume sitting immediately the emergency period was over.

It was really a testing time for Ekiti politics but through prayers, divine intervention and perhaps sophistication of the people of Ekiti, no violence of the minutest magnitude was witnessed during the period. The rest is history. It was a sharp departure from the prevailing political atmosphere in the country today characterised by arson, killings and brigandage of unimaginable proportion which have completely taken over the landscape. This is probably the type of lawlessness and jungle justice a person like Segun Oni might have wished for in order to enable him to actualize his weird and myopic ambition to rule or misrule Ekiti once more since he cannot get his way through in the courts.

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‘I think Oni should go and look for something more profitable for him to do at the moment. His brand of politics has since become extinct with the coming into the arena by Fayemi and his group’

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Unfortunately, and surprisingly too, after the latest defeat at the Supreme Court, Oni has now

conceded defeat and said that he could not question God. But the reality is that elections will still hold in this country, and dissatisfied parties will still run to the courts and pursue appeals, even beyond the final point as it now appears. But should the electoral process always be compromised and made questionable? Should politicians always question the will of the people? And shall we then not question the decisions of the judiciary?

Should people or a person like Oni continue to weep and gnash their teeth over spilled milk, when in actual fact, it is glaringly clear to all that Fayemi possesses more administrative, management and human relations acumen to lead his people than the lacklustre administration or style of governance which completely alienated Oni and his government from the people? See the tumultuous crowd that heralded the news of the recent Supreme Court verdict on the Oni-Fayemi challenge. It is apparent that, that same large number or even twice or thrice that could have taken to the streets in protests if Oni had mistakenly been

returned to the Government House. Perhaps, he could have thought about the option of ruling from his hometown of Ifaki Ekiti, if he had been returned to government. And, that is, if his people would not reject him outrightly.

Oni and others in his clique are no match for Fayemi whose sense of reasoning and scholarly adventurism are enough to send the Onis of this world scampering for cover. Who dare mention a Lilliputian in the gathering of giants? It is an abnormality, a complete misnomer.

Having said all these, it is instructive to sound a note of warning to the electorate in Ekiti State that 2014 is almost here when elections will be keenly contested in the state. Fayemi and his lieutenants in the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, now re-christened All Progressive Congress, APC, will be standing proudly with the flag of the party soaring higher and higher, Ekiti people should shine their eyes. Do not allow these never-do-well politicians who are clothed like normal human beings confuse you. Vote for Fayemi and his lieutenants and shame the devil. Apart from Fayemi and his henchmen in the APC, no other politician

in Ekiti today has anything to offer or that is better to offer the people. They are only after the lean finances of the government, the public till which they are only interested in plundering and plunging the populace into endless poverty, misery and want. You can take their money because it is your money, take their rice and other perquisites but reject them at the final polls. They are not deserving of your votes. Any vote for them is a vote for hunger, deprivation and mass slaughter through non-provision of the essentials of a meaningful living like Fayemi and his people have been doing for the people in the past three years.

I am not an indigene of Ekiti but I have lived in Ekiti, I have enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of the people, I have observed them from both afar and within. Ekitis are a hardworking lot. With good leaders, they can be the food basket of Nigeria. They have hectares of uncultivated, arable lands scattered all over the state. They are a proud people because they believe in what they can do with either their brains or their hands. I do not see any other society in Nigeria or Africa that parades such a contingent of professors and other

academics. It is only in Ekiti that every family has at least one professor or more. They dot the whole landscape, every town, every village, every hamlet. They are just ubiquitous.

I think Oni should go and look for something more profitable for him to do at the moment. His brand of politics has since become extinct with the coming into the arena by Fayemi and his group. Politics is not the best for Oni. As a water engineer, he can retire to his village in one of the hinterlands and devote his talents to agriculture, especially irrigation farming, channelization and all that. Let him leave politics for the Fayemis of this world!

Labour Movement,Party Embarrassed By Mimiko’s Role in NGF Crisis,Says NLC Vice President

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:49:58 +0000

By Danlami Nmodu The conduct of Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko with regards to the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum ,NGF is a source of embarrassment to members of the Labour Party and the Labour Movement in Nigeria.Comrade Issa Aremu, deputy secretary, Labour Party and vice president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) made this remark in a statement made available to Newsdiaryonline.com on Tuesday.He called on Mimiko to urgently return to the path of social democracy. “As a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party, I am constrained to call on the Labour Party’s Governor of Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko to urgently return to the path of social democracy which is the proclaimed ideology of the Labour Party (LP) and stop his current unacceptable open patronage of anti-democratic forces within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF)”Aremu said . Aremu who is the vice president of Nigeria Labour Congress,NLC said ,“Members of the Labour Party and labour movement (which formed the party) have been grossly embarrassed with the recent exhibited role of Governor Mimiko in the election of the Forum's chairman and the eventual factionalization of the NGF.” He pointed out that “It is an open globally acknowledged democratic fact that Governor Rotimi Amaechi won the NGF election. Labour Party members are therefore shocked that Governor Mimiko (who just emerged from a similar free and fair election based on secret ballot) would be party to an unacceptable disputation of a simple majoritarian election by 36 governors. Labour Party’s Governor of Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko must urgently refill his democratic account which has suffered huge deficit by his uncritical association with governors who are no respecter for simple majoritarian outcomes.” Mimiko has remained one of the pillars of support for Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang-led faction of NGF .At the NGF election, Amaechi won by 19 votes to defeat Jang who polled 16 votes.But Jang has continued to lay claim to victory with the support of Mimiko and other members of his faction. Aremu’s statement is an addition to the voices of reason that have been insisting that Amaechi should be the legitimate NGF chairman.Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa said the party’s decision to suspend Amaechi was a blunder just as he insisted on Amaechi .An equally powerful statement in defence of Amaechi’s mandate was made on Monday by Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso who said only Amaechi has the mandate of the governors to be called NGF chairman. Read the full text of Aremu’s statement below:

June 18, 2013

GOVERNOR MIMIKO MUST URGENTLY RENEW HIS SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC CREDENTIALS

THE PROBLEM As a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party, I am constrained to call on the Labour Party’s Governor of Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko to urgently return to the path of social democracy which is the proclaimed ideology of the Labour Party (LP) and stop his current unacceptable open patronage of anti-democratic forces within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). Members of the Labour Party and labour movement (which formed the party) have been grossly embarrassed with the recent exhibited role of Governor Mimiko in the election of the Forum's chairman and the eventual factionalization of the NGF. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY Social democracy is the official ideology of the Labour Party. It among others, asserts that the only acceptable constitutional form of government is representative democracy under the rule of law, the bedrock of which is one person one vote. It is an open globally acknowledged democratic fact that Governor Rotimi Amaechi won the NGF election. Labour Party members are therefore shocked that Governor Mimiko (who just emerged from a similar free and fair election based on secret ballot) would be party to an unacceptable disputation of a simple majoritarian election by 36 governors. Labour Party’s Governor of Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko must urgently refill his democratic account which has suffered huge deficit by his uncritical association with governors who are no respecter for simple majoritarian outcomes. The NEC of Labour Party held on the 11th of April. One of the key resolutions of the National Executive Council (NEC) was commitment to ideologically driven politics, unity and indivisibility of Nigeria. NGF is a pan-Nigerian forum. Any attempt to undermine the Forum through anti-democratic posturing further stresses the Federation at this critical period of national security challenges. Labour Party cannot and should not be enlisted on the side of reactionary personality conflict that unnecessarily (atomises) the nation. Lastly LP is expected as a progressive party to constructively encourage President Goodluck Jonathan to act at all times as a statesman who should be above partisanship, look at the bigger picture of the nation and not marginal preoccupation of some partisan governors. The President came in through pan-Nigerian mandate, he should not be pushed to the politics of the margins. President Jonathan has commendably respected the outcomes of elections in states where even his party lost including Ondo state under Labour Party. We should encourage the President along this path of respect for democratic outcomes and not diminish the President from statesmanship to crude partisanship. Certainly an LP governor should not be party to anything less than democracy and statesmanship! It is never late for Governor Mimiko to redeem himself and the LP. At best he must respect the outcome of the NGF election just as the world respected the outcomes of our party's election in Ondo state. NATIONAL UNITY All the governors must work together to foster the unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and engage more in policy ideas on good governance and national development and not divisive politics of gangs. Issa Aremu mni Deputy Secretary, Labour Party and Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

How Forensic Examination Exposed Oil Thieves – Witness

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:25:01 +0000

A forensic analyst with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Muktar Bello, who is also a witness in the ongoing trial of Joseph Amaechi and 13 others, over their alleged illegal oil bunkering today, June 18, 2013 told a Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by Justice Evoh Stephen Chukwu, how forensic examination of the mobile phones of the accused persons established their complicity in the crime.

Led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Austin Emumejakpor, Muktar told the court that he conducted the examination by using a computer running on Microsoft operating system with a cellebrite device

The device, according to Muktar, is a forensic extraction device commonly used by law enforcement agencies to harvest information from mobile devices. He further explained that the device has an in-built mechanism that protects the integrity of the data extracted which is automatically transferred to a computer.

However, the defence counsel, Rotimi Ojo, contested the admissibility of the document which the prosecution sought to tender as exhibit on the grounds that the document is not the original copy. But Emumejakpor urged the court to discountenance the objection, as the document had been duly certified in line with the provisions of the law.

In his ruling, Justice Chukwu said a certified true copy of any document is admissible in evidence and accordingly admitted same as exhibit. Further hearing of the case has been adjourned to June 24, 2013.

It will be recalled that the accused persons were arrested by officers of the 177 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army at Toto Military checkpoint, Nasarawa State with 14 trailer load of suspected crude oil and handed over to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution. The accused are Joseph Amaechi, Israel Friday, Ubadia Francis, Abayomi Adebisi, Abdullahi Idris, Samuel Job, Onah Peter Ode, Sabo Tasha Hassan, Abdullahi Moh’d, Abubakar Abdulkadir, Ehiogu Paul, Ibrahim Saidu, Garba Mohammed and Bartholomew Onyema.

Kalu Commends PDP on Wamakko’s Recall ,Seeks Urgent End to NGF Crisis

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:06:33 +0000

Former Governor of Abia State, Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, has praised the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party for its decision to recall the suspended Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko. Kalu, a foundation member of the PDP, in a statement on Tuesday by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi, said the decision showed that the leadership of the party was a listening one. He particularly praised the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, and other members of the National Working Committee for such magnanimity. He said: "What the party has shown by this decision is that it cannot only bark but also bite. "And by also rescinding the decision to suspend the amiable governor, the party shows it equally has the large heart to forgive trespasses." Kalu commended the roles played by the Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors' Forum, Barrister Godswill Akpabio. He said that the move by Akpabio and his colleagues was a master stroke and a huge step towards ensuring the party forged a united front ahead of the 2015 general election. Kalu then appealed to the leadership of the PDP to also intervene in the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors' Forum. He said though the NGF was a larger body that included governors elected on the platform of other parties, the intervention of the PDP was necessary because the two men contending for the leadership of the Forum - Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Jonah Jang of Plateau State - are members of the PDP. He said: "The PDP needs all hands to be on deck to ensure total victory in the 2015 polls. "So no effort should be spared to achieve this."

Oshiomhole Mourns Legogie, Says He Was A True Democrat

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:03:14 +0000

Governor Adams Oshiomhole has described the late Deputy Senate President, Senator Albert Legogie, as a true democrat who gave his all for the growth of Nigeria’s democracy. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, Comrade Oshiomhole said “news of the death of Senator Albert Legogie came to me as a rude shock. I offer my personal commiserations and the condolence of the people and government of Edo State on this sad loss. “His death is a great loss not only to his family, but also to the people of Edo State whom he served so devotedly culminating in his emergence as Deputy Senate President in the Third Republic. “As an elder statesman, Senator Legogie refused to be constrained by political differences as he willingly offered his advice on ways to move our dear state forward. “His death has robbed our State and indeed the nation of a true democrat who gave his all for the enthronement of true democracy in the country. As a democrat who believes in the welfare of the people and the sanctity of the ballot box, Legogie was at the forefront in the struggle for democracy in the post-military Nigeria and was part of those who gave teeth to the democratic process. Despite being a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, he was particularly involved in Adams Oshiomhole’s political aspiration and remained impressed by his achievements since the inception of the administration till date. He will be sorely missed by all true democrats and indeed, the great people of Edo State. “I pray for the peaceful repose of his soul and for God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the loss”,the statement said.

Northern Govs Condole Media Trust over Editor’s Death

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:00:42 +0000

The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has condoled with Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and Aminiya over the death of its Managing Editor Suleiman Mohammed who died on Thursday.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Alyu described the late Editor as a thorough bred journalist who touched the lives of many in a positive way and helped to strengthen freedom and democracy.

The forum described his death as a great loss to journalism profession and humanity in general.

“All the titles on the Media Trust stable have become leading lights in the nation’s media industry because of the vision, commitment and hard work of seasoned professionals like the late Suleiman Mohammed and hordes of other journalists who have worked or are still working for the Newspapers,’’ said a statement signed by Governor Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo.

The statement expressed the hope that the generation of journalists who benefited from the immense knowledge and managerial acumen of the late Editor will keep the flag flying by nurturing and sustaining the high standards that were set by Malam Suleiman.

The forum commiserated with the members of the family of the late Editor and prayed that God will give them the fortitude to bear the irredeemable loss, while also granting the departed eternal rest.

Did PDP Crisis muffle Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyongo’s Governance Drums? By Adagbo Onoja

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:37:22 +0000

It is exactly a week today, (Tuesday, June 18th, 2013) that Peter Anyang’ Nyongo’o, a Professor of Political Science and a Senator of the Republic of Kenya came to Nigeria, delivered a paper on a weighty, all-inclusive topic as “Governance in Africa: The Challenges of the Next 50 Years” but without his intervention becoming a subject of critical reviews and a huge debate in the Nigerian media. The first 50 years of independence for virtually every African state has been a nightmare for everyone else but those who eased themselves into the power loop, either through election, selection or military coup. The governance arena has thus been dominated by very clannish so-called leaders who privatized the public space, vandalized common patrimony, sublet national interests to whoever it pleased them and stayed on in power till God mercifully took them away in disgrace. So, the only plausible reason for this observable but certainly an inadvertent blackout for Anyang’ Nyong’o must be the earthquake in “our great party”, the PDP. It is pardonable that the climax of the peculiar contradiction whereby those who really know the pains and pangs of forming the party have never ran the party is bound to be very dramatic. And it has been no less, to the extent that an Anyang Nyongo’s intervention could not get the attention it deserved in the Nigerian media. I probably need to explain what I mean by those who formed the party never running it. In that sentence, I am simply saying that I would be shocked if PDP would be what it is today if an Alex Ekwueme or an Adamu Ciroma or a Solomon Lar, an Iyorchia Ayu, a Jerry Gana or a Sule Lamido were in charge of the soul of the party. These are those who are still alive. Three others –Bola Ige, Abubakar Rimi and Francis Ella are dead. Many people claim they formed PDP. Yes, we agree with that but we also know that the day the party was proclaimed was not the day the party was formed. Before that day, there were people working in several ways on the party. We are referring to the activities of those who put heads together and, among other things, wrote a letter to General Sani Abacha at the height of his power, asking him not to transmute into a civilian president. Some of us recall the interview of Chief Solomon Lar where he detailed the scenario in the Villa on the day he went to submit that letter to Abacha. These are what we refer to when we mention the names above. There is nothing more patriotic than what they did at that moment. So, we know them as the founders of the PDP. This is one way of saying the PDP was a project of radical tradition before it was taken over by hijackers, magicians and dreamers. Whether there can still be a reclamation, a re-incarnation and a renaissance will depend substantially on how this is tackled because, everywhere else, the party question is the most serious question in politics. The outcome is always disaster where a ruling party has politically ill-educated mandarins. This diversion came about in the attempt to put my hands on why Anyang Nyongo’s lecture didn’t get that space in the Nigerian media. I may be wrong. There could be a million other reasons but it is the truth that PDP has consumed disproportionate share of media attention for the wrong reasons of late. To the extent that someone we can say is the man without whom the news about African politics is no news did not get that attention. Apart from Professor Wamba Dia Wamba in the DRC, Anyang’ Nyong’o is about the only other African academic of note who has made a successful transition from academia to politics. Both of them are now senators in their respective countries. But in the case of Anyang’ Nyongo, he graduated from party building to being a cabinet minister before winning election as a senator. So, he is a credible source of wisdom on the subject matter of governance in Africa in the next 50 years. His credibility is enhanced by the fact that he published a lot on African politics as an academic before becoming a practical politician. And it is further enhanced by the fact of being a former minister of what we call National Planning in Nigeria. African ministers of National Planning are among those late Julius Nyerere classified as structurally running the risk of being seen as beggars because their job entails begging development partners. The other two are ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs. Again, Anyang’ Nyong’o must be one of the few who can say today that Nyerere was dead right on that or totally wrong. I must add to this brief the point that Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o is an American educated Political Scientist. That means that he was groomed. For, American social science is functionally strong. So strong that, in fact, American universities must be the foundation of American power. In any case, Nyong’o went got a First class from Makerere University, one of Africa’s top flight universities till today. So, the transnational NGO, Centre for Democracy and Development, (CDD) as well as the NEPAD Office, Abuja and Africa Vision 525 got it right when they jointly brought him to speak on the above topic. Many of us who attended the lecture at Rockview Royale Hotel were certainly not disappointed. He not only raised issues, he also presented scenarios about Africa that are quite unsettling. I am still hoping that the full text of his intervention would be published so that no one is robbed of the painful pleasure of reading at a go. But as also a journalist, my expectation was particularly to pin him down to an interview, the type of interview in which I ask only the type of questions that I consider relevant, hardly the stuff that an editor would halt production in anticipation. But, how else would an interview with an Anyang’ Nyong’o be if the question were not going to include the followings, among others: (1) What comes to your mind today when you think of the Dar debate, the Kenyan debate, the Ibadan debates, the Zaria debates and so on? (2) Yourself and someone like Professor Ernest Wamba Dia Wamba appear to be resolving an age long debate in African politics- the question of whether activist scholars should get involved in government or not. What trend are you observing or can you for see across Africa? (3) Could it be that Africa has lost the discourse and the discursive wars? Nowhere has Pan-Africanism, African Socialism, national liberation or post-colonialism have been sustainably operationalized. Instead, they have been shoved aside in favour of democracy, Responsibility to Protect, Humanitarian Interventionism and what have you. (4) When you recall the debate between Ali Mazrui and the late Archie Mafeje, who would you say today got it right? (5) Do you think Africa can get out of the mess it is in, with particular reference to the African State or whatever passes for the state in Africa? (6) You made a ‘snappy’ reference to what Nyerere once described as ‘football democracy’ in your lecture as the last albatross on Africa’s neck. Football democracy was, of course, Nyerere’s own paradigm for the culture of politics as cut throat competition and the dribbling, mischief and sham elections we have in most of Africa. What, in your view, is the foundation of the peculiar football nature of democracy in Africa? (7) Would you like to take another look at the Single party controversy? Was it that hopeless in the light of 1989 to date? (8) To what extent are you prepared to ignore the civilisational debate in the explanation of the African crisis? I mean, the Asians have done it to the point that people are talking of Eastphalia, as opposed to Westphalia. The Latin Americans are doing it. Not only are the Africans not doing it, they are also not manifesting any signs that they know how hopeless their situation is. You only need to listen to most of the African leaders to come to this conclusion. (9) In some of your papers before you became a practicing politician, one of your arguments is that the problem goes beyond people electing their leaders and that the more central issue is about people controlling those who were elected or selected. From your own assessment of the trend across Africa, are we making progress or regressing in terms of people controlling those they (s)elected (10) One phrase I would like to abstract from your lecture the way I heard it is where you said that “society has not been constructed in any positive way in Africa”. Can you put your finger on the most decisive force responsible for this? (11) My last question, Prof, is this and it stems from the fact that you were in the university system. Why shouldn’t the present generation bulala your own generation by any means for, above everything, vandalizing the universities? Makerere University in Uganda where you got the first part of your education was a world class university as far as defining Africa was concerned. So also was Dares Salaam in Tanzania where the Dar debate took place. Here in Nigeria, the universities were absolutely very good. We know this by the issues they took on and the way they approached the issues. Then everything started collapsing, a free fall at the end of which only the rubble is left. Why did your generation do this to the present and in-coming generations? Unfortunately, no such interview clicked. I am still looking for the person to blame for it among Professor Okello Oculi, Dr Jibrin Ibrahim of CDD and myself. But I would keep my questions. They don’t get rotten. But the point is that the earlier we begin to listen to the educated, informed and experientially qualitative voices of the Anyang’ Nyongo’s across Africa, the better. This is because it is already trite thing now to say that the world has left Africa behind. Far, far behind!

Jonathan Seeks More International Cooperation In War Against Terrorism

Newsdiaryonline — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:27:34 +0000

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Tuesday in Abuja restated his call for greater global cooperation and coordination in the war against terrorism. Speaking at separate audiences with the new ambassadors of Israel, Russia, Greece and Algeria who presented their letters of credence to him at the Presidential Villa, President Jonathan said that Nigeria and other countries will benefit immensely from greater collaboration amongst their security agencies on efforts to combat domestic and international terrorism. The President told the incoming ambassadors that Nigeria would welcome increased cooperation from countries that are more experienced in such matters for its ongoing operations against domestic terrorist groups. President Jonathan told the new Israeli Ambassador, Mr. Uriel Palti that he looked forward to visiting Israel later this year and discussing ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also assured Mr. Alekos Oikonomopoulos, Mr. Nikolay Udovichenko, Mr. Belkacem Smaili and Mr. Amadou Habibou, the new ambassadors of Greece, Russia, Algeria and Senegal respectively, that the Federal Government will fully support their efforts to strengthen existing cordial relations between Nigeria and their countries. The new ambassadors all expressed their delight at being posted to Nigeria and promised to do everything possible to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between their countries and Nigeria.