Anecdotes

DONKEY CHRONICLES With Elder Ebi Komonibo

Be careful  is not as curse nor a clever way to abuse you for your blindness you know you definitely does not have. Rather, it is a liberal offer of an extra faculty of reasoning or sets of eyes on potential blind spots we all have.

Be careful when your head suddenly swells upon an achievement or upon the sound of  cheers of ovation. The flood does not discriminate what it carries and what it carries have no choice of the destination, except it has oars to steer and get off at a safe haven;  else be swept off into the sea of nonentity. The brain works best when it is not swollen.

Be careful when your throat itches for something you hand can not reach. Either the throat would try to elongate and because it cannot , it would make the brain to conceive what the rest of the body knows better not to pursue;
; or the hand to elongate like a lobster’s -ugly out of shape and good for nothing but to grab whatever that comes to sight.

Be careful not to short circuit your memory;  it is there for a reason. There is a reason why elephants are large and live long. Remember history, choose those things you must forgive and forget; learn the lessons and forge a path forward and prevent  collision with the past. If you do not, chances are history will repeat itself and you may find yourself in an infinite do loop of being undone.

Be careful of  the bridges you build and how you build them and to where you connect them. If the tonnage you need to haul across is far heavier than the capacity of the bridge, all your efforts will be in vain because the bridge will not be useful to you. If your tonnage is lighter but the bridge is designed at a higher cost to cater for heavy weights, then you may have taken up too much for the enterprise.  Sometimes it is better to have adequate pontoons which run at regular times on islands where pigs and wolves ,( for the interest of the pius and sheep),  are not welcomed .

Be careful when a notorious snake, comes around your property in the dead of the  night and sheds its skin. It is informing you that it is not dead but is getting bigger than it skin and its dietary demands are higher. If its taste or appetite had changed, you would have known because it would not be around the chicken coop but out there in fields sporting for rabbits and worms.

Be careful when your neighborhood who had ignored you and insulted you  whenever you ask about the planting season suddenly comes to borrow a plough from you. Think very hard on this one.

Please be careful and mind the gaps in my thinking.

Ebi Komonibo

UNDERSTANDING THE GRIEVANCE OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST GENERAL BUHARI AND HIS PARTY

By Emeka Ugwuonye

It might have taken me quite a while to put these thoughts and argument together. But it is important to understand why people felt so strongly against Buhari and why I encountered the greatest resistance ever each time I took a position favourable to Buhari.

Whenever I see a trend that is persistent and seems to go against simple logic, I don’t just dismiss it or ignore it. Instead, I pull back and reexamine my position and that of my opponent to try to discover new elements or merit that I might have ignored. So, I have been asking myself: why is it that many people I really consider wise and intelligent have been quite defiant and adamant in their opposition to any attempt to accept Buhari? Why are they so adamant in their rejection of Buhari and why do they attack me with so much ferocity each time I criticise President Jonathan?

By series of coincidences, these questions were fully and finally addressed this evening at a private dinner with a very close and dear friend. She is a member of DPA. She is a quiet person. She is so well educated that she has been the editor of a major magazine in Nigeria. She used to follow my writings on DPA and Facebook generally and once in a while, she would oblige a comment, usually supportive and complementary. I would say that this friend has a lot of respect for me and for my viewpoints. She also tends to know how passionate and relentless I could be when I take a position.

Over the time since I began to comment on Jonathan toward the elections, I noticed that my friend stopped commenting on my posts. She never said a word. At some point, I wondered if she was still on DPA. Yes, she is on DPA. I wondered if she was too busy to follow my posts and comments. After church today, I called her and asked why she has been so silent on my posts lately. She told me that she disagreed with me totally on my positions either critical of Jonathan or supportive of Buhari. She sounded unusually serious and pointed in her remarks. And she managed to let me know she really had more to say on the matter. I immediately fixed a dinner and invited her. I chose a place where we could have a private corner to discuss at length.

Dinner was smooth and we talked about her work and my work and our travels and other things. After dinner, I settled for Martini while she asked for Cognac, old school style. I put it to her: “What is wrong? Why do you think I have been wrong in my views on Nigerian politics?”

She lifted her glass, but didn’t quite get it to her lips, and she started: “Emeka, I am actually shocked that you don’t seem to understand Nigeria and its history well. Was it because you spent so many years in America?”
She then took a sip, very slowly. She continued: “Emeka, have you heard about the quoter system in this country? Do you know that kids from certain states would get admitted into the Unity schools with 10 points, while your child from your state will not get admitted to the same school even with 100 points?”

She continued, “Do you know that things were so bad that, you would not be able to get a contract from Government of Nigeria if you did not speak Hausa. If you liked, you could have all the education in this world, but unless you could speak Hausa and you were Hausa, you would not get anything, however good your proposal may be?”
I didn’t interrupt her.
“Emeka, do you know that you would write a great proposal for contract and come into the ministry, but because you are not Hausan, you would never get a contact. Instead, they would cross out your name on your proposal and use it to award a contract to an Hausan man, who would turn around and sell it to you?”
Not done, she went on: “So, when I read you encouraging that Buhari should be President or lampooning Jonathan, I wonder what is wrong with you”. To drive her point home, she went on to say: “Emeka, do you know that if you were from the North and you went to Harvard, you would not need to work half as hard as you work and you would be awash with cash just because you are Hausan? Look at what is going in in the Customs, NNPC, Police, Armed Forces. Look at how they stuffed those places with people who are not as educated or even as competent or hardworking as people from the South. And Igbos and other minorities are unemployed”

I came in this point: “How does Jonathan remaining the President change all that?”
She cut in: “It will not happen overnight, but it is happening. Yes, Jonathan has made blunders. But having a Southerner as a President would prevent the Northerners from continuing to marginalise the Southerners at the same rate. And by the way”, she was leaning forward with all the emphasis, “the years that Obasanjo and Jonathan have been in office have begun to roll back that system of injustice. Now, the Northerners are learning that they have to work hard too. They are learning they have work like others. For the first time, free money is no longer flowing as it used to and they are getting restless. All this Boko Haram is happening because they are no longer having it easy with free money at the expense of others”. She stopped.

Then she continued: “Emeka, as long as a Southerner is President, the North will continue to sabotage him because they are not having it easy anymore. They must render the country ungovernable”.
I came in again at this point: “But you can’t really keep the North away from power indefinitely. There is no mechanism for that. Besides, that shouldn’t to be desirable. You can’t active that militarily and you cannot achieve that through the democratic process, given the official demographics”.

“I know that”, she cut in. “I know that, but the goal is to suspend that evil practice for as long as possible so that they would not be able to reconstitute it by the time power returns to them”

Then I asked her: “Why do so many people insist that Buhari did not have a high school certificate?”.
“Because they know that if you are from the North, all corners would be cut for you. If Buhari was an Igbo or Yoruba or of any of the minority tribes, he would never have been a General or a former Head of State. Indeed, you see Directors in Government parastatals from the North who do not know how to write their names or speak English. Yet they are Directors, while Southerners are unemployed. So, it is perfectly possible that Buhari did not have school certificate. They didn’t need that to get to any position they desired. And that is what having a Southern President is changing”

Then I asked her: “What has Jonathan done to change the situation?”. She replied: “It is going to be a slow process. But Jonathan is doing something. Can you see how the pension scandal is coming to light because a Southern President is busting that system. Also, the fertiliser scam, the ghost workers scam. All that are reducing now that you have a Southern President. It is too soon to return power to them. Buhari will immediately return to their old ways if he becomes President”.

Our conversation continued deep into the night, until about 40 minutes ago when I began to write this piece.
Basically, I found her observations to be real. It is a concern deep enough in the minds of many, and it is sufficient to justify the way they feel about this election and the deep fears they have about power returning to a Northerner so soon. Indeed, this conversation was deep. I could relate it to so many other observations and bits of information out there in general. Honestly, if you share these observations or hold them to be true, it is difficult not to support Jonathan if you are a Southerner. It explains many things. It explains the attitude of Southern people toward Boko Haram. It explains how the people understood the phrase “making the country ungovernable”. Indeed, it explains the anger and bitterness on the part of people who believe that they have been victims of an unjust system.

I am glad I had this conversation. While it did not address all the issues and nuances to this sort of complex social and political system, it raised enough substantive consideration to justify my slowing down my criticisms of Jonathan. I ought to be more sensitive to the feelings of the people of the South. My main regret now is that the people of the South are not speaking up openly and directly about these injustices. They tend to address them by proxy and by body language. I believe that these issues deserve an open treatment. Nigerian people who have been marginalised should have recourse and ability to resists such injustices. We need to have a solution that will stand regardless of who is President.

In any event, I promised my friend, and rightly so, that I would relent on my attacks on Jonathan. I will basically watch the situation as it unfolds. I wish I knew this earlier. I might have been able to help in a more effective way. I hope Nigerians will find lasting justice.

 

Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire, is an Attorney at Law and the Founder and Principal Administrator Due Process Advocacy Group

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The thoughts contained in this article are the Author’s and do not reflect Sayelba Times’ Editorial Policy

 

U.S. blocks Israeli arms deal with Nigeria

Citing human rights abuses and widespread corruption in nixing helicopter sale, the United States has reportedly vetoed a 2014 arms sale of US-made Cobra helicopters by Israel to Nigeria.

Though the resale of decommissioned gunships was approved by Israel’s Defence Ministry, Washington stopped the deal over concerns that the Nigerian government was not doing enough to avoid civilian casualties in its ongoing fight with Boko Haram, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday.

The canceled sale has further strained Washington’s already tense ties with Nigeria over the government’s response to the five-year-long insurgency by the Islamist group.

Beyond its concern over human rights abuses, the Obama administration has significantly limited its security assistance to Nigeria in recent months, due to widespread government corruption and a possible Boko Haram infiltration into the Nigerian military, The New York Times reported in December.

Though Asia remains Israel’s biggest arms customer, military exports to African nations virtually doubled in 2013.  A total of $224 million worth of arms and military technology was sold to African countries, compared to $107 million in 2012.

According to defence sources, a second African country could be a potential buyer for the helicopters, though the Defence Ministry declined to comment on the report.

During a visit to Nigeria on Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was prepared to increase its support for the fight against Boko Haram, provided next month’s elections take place peacefully and democratically

Revealed: How PDP chiefs forged Buhari document

APC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, GEN. MUHAMMADU BUHARI (R) DISCUSSING WITH THE RUNNING MATE, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, AT APC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RALLY IN PORTHARCOURT, RIVERS ON TUESDAY

Blogger accuses Fani-Kayode of doctoring mail

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders seem to be hanging on tenaciously to their puerile stand that All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has not come clean on its academic qualifications.

It emerged yesterday that the PDP Presidential Campaign Council manipulated a Cambridge University e-mail to justify its claim that Gen. Buhari’s West African School Certificate’s statement of result was forged.

PDP Campaign Council spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode has been accused of doctoring an e-mail from Cambridge.

An accountant and blogger, Mr. Suraj Oyewale, claimed in a message published by Premium Times that the e-mail received from Cambridge by his friend, Sodiq Alabi, was doctored by Fani-Kayode to achieve another purpose. Fani-Kayode has not disputed this claim.

Oyewole said: “The controversy over the secondary school results of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, continues as the  University of Cambridge has said that Hausa Language, which is one of the subjects listed by Buhari, was not offered in its examinations in 1961.

“The disclosure was contained in a statement from the office of the Director of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation claiming it came through an e-mail dated Thursday, January 22, 2015 from the institution’s Archives Delivery Service Officer, Jacky Emerson, to one SODIQ ALABI who requested for confirmation if the examination body offered Hausa Language in the 1961 West African Certificate Examination it organised.

“Emerson, in his one-sentence reply, said: “According to the Regulations for 1961, African Language papers, including those for Hausa, WERE NOT included for West African School Certificate.

“This development may have further cast doubts on the certificate which is purported to be General Buhari’s.  He is yet to react to the assertion by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation that the document (the published certificate) was forged and illegally procured.” (Capitalizations mine)

Sodiq was shocked such falsehood was attributed to him by Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode and wanted misrepresentation.

“Sodiq Alabi (sodiqalabi@ hotmail.com) had written an email to Cambridge Assessment, the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicates, on January 22, 2015, 13.31 hours, to confirm whether Hausa was truly offered by it in 1961 examinations. By 4.10pm same day, Jacky Emerson (archives@ cambridgeassessment.org.uk), Archive Services Delivery officer of Cambridge Assessment, replied thus: “Dear Sodiq Alabi, According to the Regulations of 1961, African Language papers, WERE SET for West Africa School Certificate.”

“A screenshot of this email exchange was shared with us on Facebook by Sodiq and it went viral on the internet.

“The email triggered other Nigerians to send emails to Cambridge Assessment for independent confirmation and the school came out with a statement on its website the next day. In the release titled, ‘Statement in response to Nigerian Presidential election enquiries”, the school stated, ‘The organisation also confirmed that according to the Regulations for 1961, African Language papers, including those for Hausa, WERE SET for the West African School Certificate.” Here is the link to the Cambridge Assessment website where this confirmation was published: http://cambridgeassessment.org.uk/news/statement-in-response-to-nigerian-presidential-election-enquiries/.

“It is however surprising that Femi Fani-Kayode went ahead to alter the content of Sodiq’s email in his press statement to, ‘According to the Regulations for 1961, African Language papers, including those for Hausa, WERE NOT included for West African School Certificate.’, and still quoted the email as the source.

“It is very unfortunate that this is the man speaking for the President’s re-election campaign. How do we believe every other ‘fact’ he has quoted has not been altered as well? It is a shame.

He added: “This is not the first time President Jonathan’s men are forging or altering documents to demonise anyone perceived as the President’s ‘enemy’. His New Media Assistant, Reno Omokri, was also busted in February, last year, when he hid under a pseudonym, Wendel Simlin, to send false but damaging reports to newspapers to demonise the then just suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. A dig into the source of the computer used in typing the document showed it was a certain Reno Omokri that authored it!”

APC: Jonathan, PDP are Terrified of Feb Elections

National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Muhammed

•   Calls for probe of attacks on president’s convoy
•   INEC to release full list of guber candidates tuesday

Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, Chuks Okocha and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday at a news conference in Lagos said President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are terrified of the outcome of next month’s presidential election, hence their attempt to scuttle the general election in its entirety.

APC said despite local and international concerns, the Jonathan administration has continued to pursue a clearly thought-out agenda to scuttle next month’s general election, using a two-pronged approach.

“All in all, these arguments against election postponement are a smokescreen. The truth is that the forthcoming elections terrify the PDP and the Jonathan administration to such an extent that they are looking for ways to postpone or scuttle the polls,” APC said.

APC, however, insisted that the February dates for the elections were sacrosanct and must hold as scheduled, saying it was more comfortable with the assurances of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, that the commission is ready for the elections as scheduled, than the alarm raised by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), calling for a postponement.

National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, who briefed journalists, said the APC had on January 22 rejected the call by Dasuki for the postponement of the elections, ostensibly to give more time for INEC to distribute permanent voters’ cards (PVCs).

But APC said: “In spite of this, we have noted with dismay that the Jonathan administration has continued to pursue the plot to shift the elections.

“That plot in itself is one of a two-pronged approach being pursued by the administration to either shift or scuttle the elections, which are scheduled for February 14th and 28th.

“The other is the campaign for an interim government. It is important to state here that for the APC as a party, both options represent the Devil’s Alternative (apologies to British writer Frederick Forsyth, who has a book by the same title), and are totally, absolutely unacceptable to us under any circumstance.”

The APC noted that “when President Goodluck Jonathan met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday, the president said he told the visiting US top diplomat that the ‘May 29th handover date was sacrosanct’.

“We say this is not reassuring enough, and that for us, the February 14th and 28th dates for the elections are as sacrosanct as the handover date of May 29th.”

The APC, which insisted that the only institution with the right to express reservations or misgivings about the state of preparations for the elections is INEC, added: “We are more assured by the call made by Mr. Kerry, that the elections should be held on time as scheduled. Nothing short of that will be acceptable to our party.

“We are also satisfied with the assurance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it is ready for the elections. The electoral body has also said it will continue with PVC distribution until the eve of the elections. Therefore, the orchestrated campaign about INEC not being ready for the elections is sheer baloney!

“Now, make no mistakes about it, we are aware of the limitless capacity of the PDP and the Jonathan administration for anti-democratic and desperate actions in pursuit of selfish motives that have nothing to do with the interest of the good people of Nigeria.

“We are aware of the clandestine moves, including reaching out to various interest groups and hiring talking heads to make the television rounds, being made by the administration to get the elections shifted.

“The Jonathan administration’s apologists are hiding under the facade that millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised if the elections should proceed as scheduled.

“Again, they are using the terror attacks in some parts of the North to advance their election shift argument. We sincerely hope the recent escalation of Boko Haram attacks, and the siege on Maiduguri on Sunday, a day after President Jonathan campaigned in the city, are not connected to this sophistry.

“If indeed the Jonathan administration is genuinely concerned that many Nigerians have not received their PVCs, let it declare a three-day public holiday to give working Nigerians the opportunity to collect their PVCs.

“Let the government work with INEC to ensure that the PVCs are distributed at the polling units. If these steps are followed, within five days, the distribution would have been completed.”
Concluding, the APC spokesman said: “Let me summarise the stand of our party, the APC, regarding next month’s general election: APC is ready for the elections, and under no circumstances will we accept a postponement.

“For us, February 14th and 28th are as sacrosanct as May 29th, the handover date. The government has had four years to prepare, and the dates for the elections were announced over a year ago, therefore there is no going back now.

“We note that the PDP has also said it is ready for the polls. That is good news. Let them now end their clandestine push for either a postponement or the formation of an interim government, stop engaging in scare and scandal mongering and dwell on issues ahead of the polls.

“We are satisfied with the assurances by INEC that it is ready for the polls, and we call on the Jonathan administration to give the electoral body all the support and resources it requires to organise successful elections.

“Any postponement of the elections will mean that INEC is not independent and that it is being dictated to by the federal government, a position that will hurt the credibility of the electoral umpire.

“Finally, any postponement on the basis of the insurgency in the North-east will represent a victory for the terrorist group Boko Haram, and will create a constitutional logjam that will take Nigeria back to 1993. Believe me, we have travelled that route before and it was not pleasant.”

APC also called on the Inspector-General of Police (IG) to urgently institute a probe into the stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign train in Bauchi and Katsina States last week.

The party said its decision to ask for the probe followed the revelation by a top PDP member that the attack was indeed stage managed by unnamed PDP stalwarts.

In a statement on Monday by the party’s spokesman, it said the investigation was necessary in view of the criminal nature of the attacks, and the attempt to shift the blame to the APC.

“We stand by our earlier statement in which we pointedly accused the PDP of sponsoring the attacks on President Jonathan in Katsina and Bauchi as part of its devilish plan to demonise the opposition and force a postponement of next month’s general election, and we are glad we have been proved right,” Mohammed said.

“We will like to quote what Governor Isa Yuguda said on the Hausa Service of the BBC as reported by Daily Trust and other media outlets on Sunday: ‘I am sure and let the world know that the people who did this thing were PDP members and those politicians in Abuja were the ones behind it; they were not APC members.

“They found these youths on the road and gave them brooms and they instructed them that when the president was passing they should raise the brooms and pelt them at him’,” APC said.
The party said it was now apparent that the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation was out of tune with developments within its own party, hence its spokesman considers the APC’s statement that the attack was orchestrated by the PDP as “absurd and reckless”, without a shred of evidence to support this specious argument.

Meanwhile, the clamour for the postponement of the elections appears to be getting some support from civil society groups, as the Nigerian Hopes Alive Project yesterday blocked the office of INEC in Abuja demanding members of the extension of both the Presidential and National Assembly elections slated for February 14 by 60 days.

They also demanded that the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections slated for February 28 be extended by two months.

For hours, members of the group in their white vests and green face caps blocked all entrances leading to Zambesi Crescent that leads to INEC’s office.

As a result, other establishments such as Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), West African Examination Council (WAEC), the Veterinary Council and National Medical Council (NMC) were blocked by the protesting civil society organisation.

Its members chanted slogans like: “Why Nigerians want a 60 day extension”, “INEC has not produced all the PVCs”, “Those produced have not been adequately distributed”, Section 135 (3) of the 1999 constitution allows for the extension” and “Please support this call to save our nation from imminent disaster”.

Speaking to THISDAY, the coordinator of the group, Mrs. Ifeanyinwa Nwagbo, said the extension of the next month general election would be the most necessary thing to do, as it would help reduce violence on election day.

She said: “Imagine that INEC in the last eight months commenced the distribution of the permanent voters’ cards and within the eight months has only succeeded in distributing 38 million cards out of the 68 million eligible voters.

“What magic would INEC do to distribute 30 million PVCs between now and the presidential election, which is less than 16 days?

“What magic can it perform, when it is not sure that all the PVCs will be received from the manufacturers?

“Our demand is clear, extend the general election by 60 days. It is still within the constitution. The United States should not tell us what to do, because if it is in their country; they know what to do and do it right.

“It is still within the constitution to extend it and save the nation from imminent disaster. If eligible voters go to the polling stations and see their names, but they were not allowed to vote, do you know the level of violence it would cause? We are saying that a stitch in time saves  more than nine.”

As the protesters refused to disperse and the traffic situation was becoming chaotic, the security officials in INEC took the leaders of the group to meet with members of the Election Management Body (EMB).

However, Jega and his national commissioners were holding a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 states and FCT.

At the meeting, Jega told the RECs that the meeting was necessary, as it would help the commission to put heads together on the general election.

According to the INEC chairman, “We have to have this meeting because it is important as we approach the 2015 elections, so that we can take stock as we prepare adequately for the very daunting and challenging task ahead.

“As we approach the elections, obviously all sort of things are going to happen, politicians are very busy with their campaigns and quite often the commission gets dragged into the politicisation of the campaigns.”

He informed the commissioners and RECs to remain focused and to busy themselves by ensuring that the 2015 elections are remarkably much better than the 2011 general election.

“We have to continue to ensure that whatever we do, we remain impartial and non-partisan and we must create a level playing field for all political parties, candidates and contestants.
“We need to ensure that we are ready to conduct, free fair and credible elections in the 2015.

“We also need to assure ourselves that indeed we are ready for the business ahead of us,” he said.

Also, in an INEC bulletin made available to journalists, the commission announced the rejection of governorship candidates submitted by political parties.

INEC is expected to publish the list of all the governorship candidates of all the political parties contesting the February 28 election today.

According to the INEC bulletin, “The parties and affected states are: Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) in Delta State; Labour Party (LP) in Niger State; New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Ogun State; Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in Oyo State; United Democratic Party in Rivers State; and Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in Sokoto and Zamfara States, respectively.”

The commission’s decision was contained in a Decision Extract signed by the Director in the commission’s secretariat, Ishiaku A. Gali.

It said the commission had also approved that the House of Representatives election in Ado/Opoku/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, being uncontested, the nominated candidate should be declared elected on the day of the election by the Returning Officer.

THISDAY

Agric Minister Lauds Lawmakers over GES Bill

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has commended members of the National Assembly for their wisdom in demanding legislation for the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme.

Adesina said this on Monday in Abuja at a one-day stakeholders’ meeting on the draft bill for the consolidation of the scheme.

He stated that the legislation would not only define the roles and responsibilities of the system, but clearly define a legal framework for constant and orderly implementation of the scheme.

The legislation, according to Adesina, would also prescribe appropriate remedial action to address any failure in the system.

“Having acknowledged the advantages and success recorded in the GES scheme, and in order to ensure its sustainability, the National Assembly members in their wisdom and in the interest they have for farmers in their respective constituencies, called for a comprehensive legal framework that will institutionalise the scheme.

Such legislation would not only define roles and responsibilities, prescribe appropriate remedial action to address any failure, but also clearly define the legal framework for a constant and orderly implementation of the scheme,” he said.

The minister who was represented by his Senior Technical Adviser, Dr. Martin Fregene, noted that the legislation would allow GES to continue, irrespective of the political party in power.

“GES must continue, irrespective of who is in power, this bill seeks to institutionalise the GES scheme and give it a life of its own, so that it will no longer be a discretionary programme,” Adesina added.

Adesina stated further that; “between 2012 and 2014, a total of 14 million farmers received subsidised farm inputs, using the electronic vouchers on their mobile phones to directly pay private sector input retailers via the scheme.”

Legal Consultant to the ministry,  Yemi Akinseye George (SAN), noted that  the draft bill, when passed into law, stipulates a sanction of between one to three years imprisonment without an option of fine for defaulters.

THISDAY

53 Insurgents Killed as Jonathan Promises More Equipment for Troops This Week

President Goodluck Jonathan 

•   Michika under renewed attack  S’Africa to send forces to fight Boko Haram

Jaiyeola Andrews, Senator Iroegbu in Abuja and Daji Sani in Yola with agency report

Determined to win the war against Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said the Nigerian Armed Forces would take delivery of more military hardware this week.

This is just as the continuing coordinated ground and air mop-up operations by the military in Maiduguri and Kodunga in Borno State led to the killing of more Boko Haram terrorists.

The sect had launched multiple attacks on the Borno State capital, Maiduguri and Mongonu on Sunday, but were repelled by Nigerian troops in Maiduguri and neigbouring Kodunga.

However, Mongonu and a military installation in the border town were captured by the Islamists after fierce fighting with the troops.

On the arrival of the new military hardware, the president made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, at his palace in the Kwara State capital.

Jonathan was in Ilorin for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign rally.

He expressed confidence that with the delivery of the equipment in two weeks, the military would move faster towards halting insurgency.

“You have observed us for the past four years. Yes, we have security challenges relating to the Boko Haram saga mainly in the North-east.

“Although their excesses extend to other parts of the North like Abuja, Sokoto, Gombe and Kano, but it is mainly in the North-east. We are working hard and we shall surely bring it to a halt.

“As far as the military is concerned, even as we are talking, we are expecting more platforms this week and next week.

“I believe that in the next two weeks or so, we will be able to move faster than we are moving.

“We have intervened in so many areas; agriculture that touches the life of the ordinary Nigerian is one of the areas that we have been working very hard on.
“We are trying to move agriculture to the next level, to a level that young graduates will be able to embrace,” Jonathan said.

He assured the emir that his administration was poised to move the nation forward by creating more jobs, as well as diversifying the economy.¨Jonathan told the traditional ruler that he was in the palace to personally inform him that he was interested in seeking re-election.

He also introduced the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Senator Simeon Ajibola, to the tradition ruler.

He said under the PDP, people of the state would continue to enjoy freedom and improved quality of life.

Gambari told the president that having watched his performance over the years, he was convinced that he had done very well.

He prayed that God would crown the president’s effort with success. He urged all politicians to conduct their campaigns without violence. He said since he heard of the president’s campaign trip to the state, he had been praying to God to make it hitch-free.

Earlier, the National Chairman of the  PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, had told the emir that the delegation was in the palace to seek his support and prayers so that the PDP could continue the good work it had started.

As the president opened up on the additional equipment expected to arrive this week, dozens of insurgents were killed yesterday when the military continued its ground and air mop-up activities in the aftermath of “diversionary terrorist attacks on Maiduguri and Konduga on Sunday”.

A statement by PR Nigeria, a media advisory to government security agencies, said security sources confirmed that at least 53 more terrorists lost their lives, as troops in pursuit of the terrorists engaged those that fled and the additional reinforcements on the outskirts of Konduga and Maiduguri in a battle from Sunday night to early yesterday morning.

According to PR Nigeria, the sources added that health and emergency workers were contending with the challenge of evacuating terribly mangled corpses of the terrorists for mass burial.

Also, a tweet on the twitter handle of the Defence Headquarters disclosed that a substantial number of heavy weapons had been captured in addition to the number of terrorists that died between Sunday and Monday.

It added that Nigerian forces also recorded some casualties but “troops and air force patrols are still ongoing”.

A military source told PR Nigeria that the suicidal attempt on Maiduguri and Konduga might have been staged to divert troops’ attention from their goal of commencing the “once and for all” battle against the terrorists by members of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) from Cameroun, Niger, Nigeria and Chad planned for early this week.

There are fears that saboteurs among local sympathisers in one of the affected communities might have betrayed the troops, especially on the plan to annihilate the terrorists in order to pave the way for the success and peaceful conduct of the forthcoming elections in every part of the country.

A top intelligence source also told THISDAY that there are ongoing operations on several fronts by the troops, as they fight to reclaim lost territories, including Monguno, which was captured by the terrorists on Sunday.

The source said that even though the towns were yet to be liberated, the terrorists are dying in large numbers with their charred bodies littering the streets and bushes due to the pitched battles.

“There is a fierce battle going on in Monguno, supported by the continuous aerial bombardment of their position. As a result, there are many casualties on their side. Many of them are being killed and the charred bodies of their fighters are all over the place,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the headquarters of Michika Local Government Area in Adamawa State was reportedly attacked by the Boko Haram sect yesterday.

A military source, who confirmed the attack, revealed that the military authorities had drafted more troops to the area so as to repel the insurgents from taking control of the town and its environs.

The source said the Nigeria troops, in collaboration with local hunters, were involved in the fierce battle with the insurgents.

He expressed confidence that the troops would overwhelm the insurgents in the battle for Michika.

Also confirming the attack, the secretary of the local hunters association, Mr. James Philip, revealed that the insurgents had been on the rampage for three days in communities around Michika.

He said people living in the affected communities had fled and taken refuge in the surrounding hills while some were hiding in the bushes.

He said although the insurgents had killed several people in the areas, the troops and local hunters were doing everything possible to repel them completely from the communities.

“The troops also killed several insurgents. These boys don’t stay in Michika; they come from their hideouts to attack whenever they want to, and normally come in their hundreds to attack,” he said.

An eyewitness also disclosed that the insurgents stormed Michika at about 4 pm from Sambisa forest, but on reaching the town they met stiff resistance from the troops detailed to cordon off the area.

The member representing Michika in the Adamawa State House pof Assembly, Adamu Kamale, also confirmed that for three days the insurgents had had a field day, in surrounding areas before targeting Michika.

He urged the federal government to act fast to prevent the insurgents from overrunning Michika and wiping out other surrounding villages.

In September last year, Michika was captured by the insurgents for some weeks. However, troops and local hunters, in a counter-attack, recovered the town.

In a related development, former South African defence force soldiers will reportedly form the core of a multinational team of private military experts, who are en route to Nigeria, to help the country fight against Boko Haram militants.

Netwerk24 reported yesterday that the 100-strong team has been tasked with training the Nigerian military in a massive campaign against the terrorist organisation.

According to the Netwerk24 report, Boko Haram leaders and fighters will be targeted.

The team will attempt to thwart Boko Haram’s bloody raids and also try to free the remaining kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram last year.

The leader of the team told Netwerk24 that they are not mercenaries, but have a government contract to assist the Nigerian military with training. The team involves South Africans who gained experience during the border wars, as well as Britons, Indians and other nationalities.

The African Union is reportedly considering military intervention as a regional multinational force including Niger, Chad and Cameroun to fight against Boko Haram.

An earlier report revealed that a team of South Africans were involved in training Nigerian soldiers, and the Nigerian government had asked for additional training.

A military expert earlier in January warned that South Africa would be under threat if its soldiers joined AU forces in fighting against Boko Haram.

THISDAY

Buhari’s Certificate: Lawyer in Court, Seeks Disqualification

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari

•  Opposition party: We anticipated suit to stop our candidate

Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
With the suspension of the three-week-old industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and reopening of federal courts across the country, an Abuja-based lawyer, Chukwunweike Okafor, on Monday asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 14 presidential election, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, over the controversy surrounding his secondary school credentials.

Okafor claimed that Buhari had failed to prove that he has the minimum educational qualification to run for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In an originating summons filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the plaintiff asked the court to disqualify Buhari from contesting the presidential election because he gave false information in his INEC Form CF 001 and attached an affidavit dated November 24, 2014, where he stated that his educational qualification was the West African School Certificate (WASC) and that it was in the custody of the Secretary, Military Board, which was denied by the Nigerian Army.

According to the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2015, the plaintiff listed Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the three respondents respectively.

He contended that the statement of result issued by Government Secondary School, Katsina, belonging to one Mohamed Buhari was not the same as Major-General Muhammadu Buhari.

The plaintiff also averred that the time prescribed in the Electoral Act for the submission of personal particulars of candidates and their documents or their substitution closed on December 30, 2014, long before the APC candidate produced his purported certificate.

He stated that the qualification to contest the presidential election in Nigeria is a threshold issue and the legal framework for that is contained in the Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution, and Section 31 of the Electoral Act (as amended).

Specifically, the plaintiff listed four stages including submission, publication, verification and validation that a candidate vying for the Office of the President must go through sequel to Section 31(1), (2), (3), (5) and (6), adding that this was not the case for the APC presidential candidate.

In the past few weeks, the dust has refused to settle over Buhari’s certificate, even after his school released his statement of result and the Cambridge University/WASC printout last week.

Dismissing the documents, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called them forgeries.

The suit is principally hinged on Section 131 of the Constitution which prescribes a minimum qualification for nomination to participate in presidential election and Section 31 of the Electoral Act which mandates all presidential candidates to depose an affidavit in proof of compliance with the constitutional requirement to be President of Nigeria.

The plaintiff is contending that Buhari failed to prove that he has the minimum educational qualification to run for president, and that the APC candidate’s WASC result was false, as not only did he not attach it to his nomination form as required, but his claim that the certificates were in the custody of the military had been denied by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye.

The plaintiff formulated a number of questions for the court’s determination, one of which was: “Whether the information given by Buhari in the prescribed forms and submitted to INEC for the 2015 presidential election does not contain falsehood?”
If yes, Okafor equally asked whether Buhari should not therefore be disqualified from the said election.

In his prayers before the court, the plaintiff said should the answer to the question be in the affirmative, the plaintiff urged the court to declare that the information contained in Buhari’s Form CF 001 stating that his educational qualification was the WASC statement of result was false, and therefore disqualify Buhari from contesting the presidential election.

The plaintiff, in the second prayer, is asking the court to declare that the information contained in Buhari’s affidavit dated November 24, 2014, stating that the Secretary of Military Board was in custody of his WASCE certificate was false and therefore disqualify Buhari from contesting the election.

In prayer three, the plaintiff is seeking an order disqualifying Buhari by reason of giving false information on oath in his Form CF 001 and the affidavit dated November 24, 2014.

Finally, the plaintiff asked the court to compel INEC to remove Buhari’s name and that of his party (APC) in the list of persons and political parties eligible to contest the February presidential election.

Reacting to the lawsuit instituted against its candidate, APC said it anticipated the suit in a bid to stop its presidential candidate from contesting the February 14 election.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the move was part of President Goodluck Jonathan’s plot to scuttle the elections.

Mohammed, who spoke on the phone with THISDAY on Monday night, said: “We anticipated it. It is only Act One, Scene One of Jonathan’s plot to scuttle this general election.

“He is simply terrified as he knows he will lose the election. More desperate acts will emerge in the coming days.”

THISDAY