Nigeria’s search for an effective Leader – The obnoxious truth about the forthcoming presidential race

Two major presidential candidates are on the forefront- from the two largest parties. The incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Nigeria’s search for an effective Leader – The obnoxious truth about the forthcoming presidential race

ANTHONY OBI OGBO

It has indeed come down to this – a race Between Rightwing Dictator and an Established Thief

 

For over 58 years, Nigeria has been in search of leaders with the right motive and intelligence to truly move the country to a self-sustaining level. For a country blessed with natural resources, only an insignificant number live above the poverty line. Every four years, the country’s political atmosphere is charged as different personalities vie for the most exalted office of President of the Federal Republic Nigeria. Yet the country remains unlucky in electing effective leaders who will institutionalize ethical leadership, and steer the country to an enviable status from the current global embarrassment.

 

It is not news then that Nigeria’s General Elections will be held on 16 February 2019. The campaign by political parties have intensified at various constituencies, and in most cases rough, as loyalist engage each other at rallies and on social media. But two major presidential candidates are on the forefront- from the two largest parties. The incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

 

These two candidates are not new in Nigeria’s political arena. Buhari who has been in office since 2015  was a Major General in the Nigerian Army and previously served as the Head of State from 1983 to 1985, after taking power in a military coup d’état that dethroned the Democratic Government at the time. Atiku was the Governor-elect of Adamawa State when he was selected by the then Presidential Candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo as his running mate. He served as the Vice President from 1999 to 2007.

 

Undeniably, he is not medically fit; during his first two years, he shuttled to-and-from unknown medical facilities abroad to attend to his constantly failing health. Atiku, on the other hand, has spent his time making lavish trips abroad while he courted local chiefs and political godfathers to explore his political options and chances.  Nonetheless, Atiku has visible investments in local and multinational corporations operating in Nigeria.

 

The purpose of this article is not to highlight the political history of these individuals. While the majority of voters are divided between the two major platforms, the APC and PDP, the choice of Presidency remains a tough call in a Nation currently dwindling through economic and sociopolitical turmoil. Currently, little or no progress has been made by the incumbent in addressing major issues bedeviling the country. From the economy through internal security, Buhari has fumbled without a blueprint and made flimsy excuses each time. Undeniably, he is not medically fit; during his first two years, he shuttled to-and-from unknown medical facilities abroad to attend to his constantly failing health. For a public servant who seeks to lead a country of over 200 million people, Buhari has continued to put on lid on his medical fitness. Atiku, on the other hand, has spent his time making lavish trips abroad while he courted local chiefs and political godfathers to explore his political options and chances.  Nonetheless, Atiku has visible investments in local and multinational corporations operating in Nigeria.

 

Unfortunately, Buhari’s first term has not yielded the projected fruits because he does not appear to have the answers to institutionalized corruption and economic challenges that Nigeria currently faces. Yet, voters are skeptical about Atiku due to his horribly scandalous transgressions as a public servant.

 

Unfortunately, Buhari’s first term has not yielded the projected fruits because he does not appear to have the answers to institutionalized corruption and economic challenges that Nigeria currently faces. Yet, voters are skeptical about Atiku due to his horribly scandalous transgressions as a public servant.

 

Personally, I have spent the last five years criticizing Buhari; his dictatorial demeanor, ignorance in matters of contemporary leadership, and blindness to political governance. In fact, in my book, Governance – The Buhari’s Way, I described him as the most dangerous bee that lands on a scrotum. “Punch it, you smash your manhood; leave it, and you are stung to death.” Yes, he is that killer-bee that perches on the balls, wheezing for a destructive sting. He was involved—one way or the other—in every Nigerian military rule since the 1966-1969 civil war; participated in coups; and, as a retired junta member, ran three presidential races without a scrap of success, until a coalition of parties determined to change the witless government of the day, gave him the platform that aided his electoral victory in the 2015 General Elections.

 

Atiku, on the other hand, is no good. He is one of those politician elites who prospered through public-fund looting.  Bombastically rich, Atiku shuttles rich cities in the Middle East and would swagger money, extravagant gifts, and young women.  Atiku’s fraud case with William Jefferson – a former Louisiana politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 made global history.

 

Jefferson, infamous for having $90,000 in bribe money hidden in his freezer, is serving a 13-year prison sentence after being convicted on a slew of federal corruption charges.  One of the most puzzling and intriguing facets of the case is that Jefferson’s partner-in-crime Atiku, the Vice President of Nigeria at the time divided his time between his Vice President position and Potomac, MD., where he and one of his four wives maintain a $2.2 million mansion.  While Jefferson resides in a rent-free jail, Abubakar not only remains free but also, he is a Presidential candidate in a country where thieves are glorified. Unfortunately, it is leadership culture in Africa that most thieves do not go to jail, but occupy public offices. So, Atiku is no exception.

 

Buhari’s 2015 promise of fighting corruption is paralyzed by his inaction of reported sleaze around his protégés and trusted officials. This has become a major ethical burden to the Nigerian President.  Atiku, in this campaign moment, has paraded written pieces of literature about solving Nigeria’s moral issues. However, it would take a moral person to fight an immoral society. Atiku’s moral standing is still questionable.

 

The Presidential race beyond parties is clear; the voters would be left with two candidates that have no proven capacity to move the country forward. Burahi’s path for a moral society is a good proposal, but in both his years as a dictator and first term as an elected leader, he has shown a total lack of intellectual capacity to address matters of ethical governance. His 2015 promise of fighting corruption is paralyzed by his inaction of reported sleaze around his protégés and trusted officials. This has become a major ethical burden to the Nigerian President.  Atiku, in this campaign moment, has paraded written pieces of literature about solving Nigeria’s moral issues. However, it would take a moral person to fight an immoral society. Atiku’s moral standing is still questionable.

 

Notwithstanding the lapses these two candidates exhibit, today, they are barring fangs to tear each other apart in a Presidential race a week away. Voters should be worried, that Buhari even as a failed incumbent, has a challenger that may not be trusted with the country. One of the core doctrines of change in the political contest is not just a handover of the leadership baton. The challenger must be morally and intellectually upright; must tender convincing proposal for change; and must show knowledge of conversion of strategies into governance actions. So far, Atiku’s camp has been parading basic campaign posters of unsubstantiated policy proposals irrelevant to major issues of the moment.  

 

To be clear, this article is not an endorsement of any candidate but a synopsis of the uncertainties that befog Nigeria’s chances to attract a good leader in the forthcoming elections. The next best solution could have been a radical change initiated by a frustrated population. This might entail a disregard of the two major candidates for entirely somebody new for a holistic political detour. But the current political terrain would not support that option in a society where traditional and tribal connectivity still dominates social and political actions.

 

Without a doubt, this race might boil down to a choice between Buhari, a timid, nepotic but stingy rightist who would sit down on the national wealth without a clue about how to invest, and a lavish and irresponsible spender called Atiku, who could share the national treasury with the wolves that currently surround his candidacy.

 

So, voters might be faced with a choice between two candidates, one is a dictator, and the other an established thief. Without a doubt, this race might boil down to a choice between Buhari, a timid, nepotic but stingy rightist who would sit down on the national wealth without a clue about how to invest, and a lavish and irresponsible spender called Atiku, who could share the national treasury with the wolves that currently surround his candidacy.

 

Buhari’s battle with his health might yet not be over. So he might make more trips to fix himself. But Atiku has equally spent more time beyond the shores. He would lie to the nation that he was at a strategy meeting in Dubai, whereas he was busy meeting with unscrupulous money mongers that invest in his campaign. So, the choice is clear, between a weak, clueless, ailing incumbent who might still make many more trips abroad to heal a retiring soul, and a challenger whose fiscal recklessness, corrupt personality, and affiliation with dishonest political vandals might further sink Nigeria’s economy irreparably.

Either way, Nigeria continues the search for an effective leadership – it might take time.

_____________

♦ Anthony Ogbo, PhD is the author of the Influence of Leadership (2015)  and the Maxims of Political Leadership (2019). Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

Nigeria summons representative of US ambassador over Trump comments

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s government on Monday summoned a representative of the the U.S. ambassador to explain reported remarks by President Donald Trump that immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from “shithole countries”, the foreign ministry said.

Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama “sought clarification on the veracity or otherwise of the substance of the remarks, stressing that if they were true, they were deeply hurtful, offensive and unacceptable”, the ministry said in a statement.

Trump reportedly made the remarks at a private meeting with lawmakers on immigration on Thursday. A U.S. senator who attended the gathering said the president used “vile, vulgar” language, including repeatedly using the word “shithole” when speaking about African countries.

The Nigerian foreign ministry statement noted the “very warm and cordial relations that presently exist” between Nigeria and the U.S.

The United States, represented by Deputy Chief of Mission David J. Young as the ambassador was not in Nigeria, said there were contradictory accounts as to whether the remarks were made, the statement said.

In a separate statement, a U.S. embassy spokesman said Young “reiterated the excellent relations that exist between the United States and Nigeria and they discussed future cooperation between the two countries”.

The U.S. president on Friday denied using such derogatory language. But he has been widely condemned in many African countries and by international rights organisations. African Union countries demanded an apology on Friday.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Paul Carsten; Editing by Andrew Roche)

President Buhari –The Last Days of the Dictator

Buhari, as a dictator in the 80s, and as the President now. It is an ancestral duty to fight such living dictators until, one-by-one, they expire to embrace their graves. Then, their victims shall grace their wakes with crocodile tears and melodious sounds of the “Amazing Grace.”
By Anthony Obi Ogbo

I know that Africans do not like discussing death until it strikes like a lightening. But at all times, we must not be shy to discuss death because it is an inevitable dilemma waiting on every individual.  Now a tenant in an obscure hospital in London, Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, whether dead or alive, is approaching the closing times of his life. Rumors of his death have clouded the social media with unsubstantiated news and analysis, but his camp is not just communicating. They are not talking the way they should. They have babbled with explanations about diagnosis and treatment of this Dictator, and at a time claimed he was just on a vacation.

The moment of death is inescapable. Based on Buhari’s age and shabby vigor, the exit of this dictator should be expected. In fact, he might have gone into an endless sleep to face his final judgment. Then, Nigerians would have another opportunity to start all over to structure a constructive path in their quest for national unity. Likewise, he might still be alive; then Nigerians would continue in their dreadful hardship.

Buhari was groomed in an uncultivated military community, where the powers and rattling sounds of AK-47 subjugate constitutional system. But the Nigerian army, as bad as it may look, has within her commands, some exceptionally brilliant soldiers who could speak the official language of defense. These good men, unfortunately are stifled out of service by a system where mediocrity outruns excellence; leaving behind a fragment of boneheaded officers unable to differentiate between a pipe bomb and beer can. Buhari represents this ugly culture; and this explains why a man who has no proof of High School Certificate could rise beyond the law, his country, and the entire masses.

What I actually do as part of my job is keep accurate records of how they live, terrorize their constituents, and eventually die like idiots. I do not empathize with their constituents because I am not in the emotional card-making business. I document and share their funerals, and compile deceitful eulogies by hypocrites that grace their horrific burial moments.

It is therefore an ancestral duty to fight such living dictators until, one-by-one, they expire to embrace their graves. Then, their victims shall grace their wakes with crocodile tears and melodious sounds of the “Amazing Grace.” For Buhari, this occasion is a matter of time; and he would be etched to the earth; where he would  torment the masses no more. Then, Nigeria shall become free, and the enslaved commonalities would regain their freedom and take their country back.

Just like any Dictator, Buhari is grinding toward the finishing line, with one foot on the ground and the other in the grave. But such is life – a merry-go-round with retributive surprises. It is interesting watching this man as he exits his physical being to resume an interminable sleep. Then he would question God on why He created the female sex; why He kept the oil in Delta; why He allowed IBB to remove him; why He created tribes other than the Fulanis; why He did not zone his death to the South;  and why the hell He wasn’t buried with that gigantic building called Aso Rock.

Dictators are nothing but self-made demigods tormenting a peaceful world. But to sickness and death, their wicked powers become innocuous and theatrical. Before you accuse me of mischievously advocating evil, you must be aware that I have nothing to do with how dictators die. My job is to report leaders; the good and the bad ones; how they rule; and how eventually, they are punished by their deeds through the vengeful Law of Karma.

I do not shoot Dictators because I do not have a gun, and have never owned a gun. I do not have the power to kill them, and would not wish them dead either; I do not give them ear infection; I don’ not give them cancer, and in general, I do not cause their afflictions.  What I actually do as part of my job is keep accurate records of how they live, terrorize their constituents, and eventually die like idiots. I do not empathize with their constituents because I am not in the emotional card-making business. I document and share their funerals, and compile those deceitful eulogies by hypocrites that grace their horrific burial moments.

But for sake of order of open trial, Buhari should be presumed dead until proven alive by his cohorts, who have dramatically denied the masses basic information about the presumably, Chief Executive.

♦ Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D. is the publisher of Houston-based International Guardian, and the author of The Influence of Leadership

UN says 75,000 children in Nigeria risk dying in ‘months’

A young child suffering from severe malnutrition lies on a bed in the ICU ward at the In-Patient Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP
A young child suffering from severe malnutrition lies on a bed in the ICU ward at the In-Patient Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP

By Agence France-Presse (The Telegraph).

 

The United Nations warned on Tuesday that 75,000 Nigerian children risk dying in “a few months” as hunger grips the country’s ravaged northeast in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Boko Haram jihadists have laid waste to the impoverished region since taking up arms against the government in 2009, displacing millions and disrupting farming and trade.

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has reclaimed territory from the Islamists but the insurgency has taken a brutal toll, with over 20,000 people dead, 2.6 million displaced from their homes, and famine taking root.

 UN humanitarian coordinator Peter Lundberg said the crisis was unfolding at “high speed.””Currently our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance,” by 2017, Mr Lundberg told reporters in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Out of them, 400,000 children are in critical need of assistance, while 75,000 could die “in (the) few months ahead of us,” Mr Lundberg said.

The UN hopes to target half of the 14 million people – a population bigger than Belgium – with the Nigerian government working to reach the rest.

But Mr Lundberg said that the UN did not have enough money to avert the crisis and called on international partners, the private sector and Nigerian philanthropists to “join hands” to tackle the problem.

“We need to reach out to the private sector, to the philanthropists in Nigeria,” Mr Lundberg said.

“We will ask international partners to step in because we can only solve this situation if we actually join hands.”

Maiduguri, the capital of northeast Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram, has doubled in size to two million people as a result of people seeking refuge in camps for internally displaced people.

Despite the World Food Programme warning of “famine-like conditions”, the UN has not declared a “level three” emergency, the classification for the most severe crisis that would draw more attention and desperately needed funds to Nigeria.

“The humanitarian response hasn’t scaled up adequately to meet a growing demand for food, particularly in the more remote camps in the northeast,” Roddy Barclay, intelligence analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice.

Nigerian vigilante and security sources told AFP in September that at least 10 people were starving to death daily in a camp for IDPs near the Borno capital.

There is also the ongoing issue of insecurity. Despite the recent military gains, Boko Haram still prowls the northeast region and stages attacks and suicide bombings.

“The Nigerian army has scored notable military successes in containing Boko Haram. But that’s not to say they have stabilised the region entirely,” Mr Barclay said.

“Movement in remote zones remains high risk and the focus remains overwhelmingly on furthering military gains rather than addressing the very real socio-economic impact of the crisis.”

Those zones include the shared borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the Lake Chad Basin, said Ryan Cummings, director at intelligence firm Signal Risk.

“The scale of the humanitarian disaster in northeast Nigeria has been grossly underestimated,” Mr Cummings said.

“There’s an estimated one million people still living in communities inaccessible because of the ongoing insecurity.”

Now the fear is that Boko Haram will try to capitalise on the failure of the Nigerian government – and the international community – to save the hungry.

“There are many claims that resources allocated to IDP camps are being misdirected into avenues of corruption, so aid is not reaching the people,” Mr Cummings said.

Boko Haram could prey on that anger, he said, warning that “they could potentially end up being recruited back to Boko Haram.”

Nigeria’s President Buhari says Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau ‘wounded’

Abuja (AFP) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Sunday that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is “wounded”, in his first comments on military claims that the jihadi leader was injured in an attack.

Nigeria’s armed forces said on Tuesday that Shekau had been wounded in an air strike on Boko Haram’s forest stronghold, but released no further statement or evidence confirming his condition.

“We learnt that in an air strike by the Nigeria Air Force he was wounded,” Buhari said in a statement from Nairobi, where he is attending a development conference.

“Indeed their top hierarchy and lower cadre have a problem,” Buhari said. “They are not holding any territory and they have split to small groups attacking soft targets.”

Buhari said that Shekau had been “edged out” of the group, adding credence to claims that Islamic State (IS)-appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi was now in charge of the insurgency.

Signs of a power struggle in the top echelons of the jihadi group appeared earlier this month when Shekau released a video denying he had been ousted.

Barnawi is believed to be the 22-year-old son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf and was announced as the group’s leader in August by IS.

Buhari made his remarks from Nairobi this weekend where he is attending the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a summit designed to boost ties between Africa and Japan.

The president also said he “is prepared to talk to bona fide leaders of Boko Haram” to negotiate the release of 218 Chibok girls captured by the militants in 2014.

Boko Haram has ravaged northeast Nigeria in its quest to create a fundamentalist Islamic state, killing over 20,000 people and displacing 2.6 million from their homes.

Turning to another major security concern in Nigeria, Buhari threatened militants sabotaging oil infrastructure in the southern swamplands of the Niger delta.

“We will deal with them as we dealt with Boko Haram if they refuse to talk to us,” Buhari said.

The country’s petroleum minister has said that as a result of the ongoing attacks Nigeria’s oil output has dropped 23 per cent from last year to 1.5 million barrels per day, according to Bloomberg News.

Groups including the Niger Delta Avengers are demanding a greater share of oil revenues, political autonomy, and infrastructure development in the southern riverlands where despite massive oil wealth people still struggle to access basic health care and education.

Buhari said his government was in talks with the some of the militants but said there was no “ceasefire”, despite an announcement by the Avengers last week.

Buhari’s parochial appointments – “Punch” Editorial

CARRIED to power on a groundswell of goodwill and disgust at the thoroughly corrupt Goodluck Jonathan administration, Muhammadu Buhari appears bent on political self-immolation. While he received massive support from across the country to become President, he is by his appointments, presenting himself as a parochial, sectional leader. For the sake of the country’s corporate survival, he should rise above primordial instincts and become a father to all Nigerians.

In his inaugural speech just over a year ago, Buhari promised Nigerians that “having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians. I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.”  But too often, the pledge has been honoured in the breach. Buhari’s sectionalism is not only unprecedented, it could not have come at a worse time. The reality today is that Nigerians are deeply divided. Seventeen years of dashed hopes of progress under a democratic dispensation have reopened the deep fissures in the polity and polarised the populace into mutually suspicious camps. Sectarianism and ethnicity have been rearing their poisonous heads. The presidential election of 2015 was particularly divisive, with some major actors openly deploying base religious and regional sentiments. Add to this the terrible state of the economy that Buhari inherited, headlined by a collapse in global crude oil prices, our main export earner, and the rapacious emptying of the national treasury by previous governments, and you have a seething, discontented people.

It is a sad reality of the Nigerian experience that when crisis − political or economic − hits, segments of the populace retreat into ethnic and sectarian cocoons. It is in this combustible mix that Buhari stubbornly presses ahead with appointments that weigh heavily in favour of his northern regional base.

He struck again last month when he removed Ibe Kachikwu as head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to put a Northerner; named another, Hadiza Bala-Usman, as managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority along with three executive directors, two of whom are also Northerners. Before then, he had ring-fenced himself with appointees from his northern constituency at the Presidency, thereby deepening the long-held fears of many Southerners that he has not overcome his well-known insularity.

But the 1999 Constitution explicitly stipulates in Chapter 14 subsection 3 that the “composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall…reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups…” Buhari is breaching this with impunity in his appointments. Apart from this, Nigeria’s plural setting demands that no group or ethnic nationality is seen as too domineering in critical areas of governance.

We declare emphatically that this is corruption. It is wrong to view stealing of government funds as the only form of corruption. A former member of the House of Representatives, Junaid Muhammed, alleges that not only is Buhari sectional in his appointments, several appointees are actually his relatives. Nigerians did not vote against the Jonathan administration’s impunity for corruption, only to be assaulted with another pernicious impunity for cronyism.

Among his first appointments, even while he dithered on assembling a cabinet: he recalled a retired officer to man the Department of State Services; a former army officer to head the Nigeria Customs Service; a personal acquaintance as Chief of Staff, and loaded the other security and law enforcement agencies heavily in favour of Northerners. While the DSS head is from his hometown, Daura, the others are also almost all Northerners and overwhelmingly Muslims. In spite of public opinion, he replaced the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, a Southerner, with a Northerner, an assistant inspector-general whose ascension induced the retirement in one fell swoop of 21 DIGs and AIGs who were senior to him. This is beyond absurdity.

We declare emphatically that this is corruption. It is wrong to view stealing of government funds as the only form of corruption. A former member of the House of Representatives, Junaid Muhammed, alleges that not only is Buhari sectional in his appointments, several appointees are actually his relatives. Nigerians did not vote against the Jonathan administration’s impunity for corruption, only to be assaulted with another pernicious impunity for cronyism.

Buhari should be told that sectionalism and nepotism are also acts of corruption. You do not wage war against financial corruption while indulging in sectional and sectarian favouritism. It is self-defeating; a veritable weak link that the formidable ranks of those fighting back furiously to preserve the existing corrupt order are already capitalising on. The President simply does not need this. Many are willing to concede that he is only demonstrating political naiveté; now, however, is the time to radically change tactics.

The country is in a bad shape, compelling that all efforts be made to rally all segments of the polity behind measures to reverse economic recession, defeat terrorism in the North-East, renewed militancy and sabotage in the South-South zone, Fulani herdsmen’s terrorism in the North-Central and general insecurity across the country. The government admitted that the country is technically in recession last week, while Bloomberg reported that foreign reserves fell to just over $26 billion in June; oil production also fell to about 1.6 million barrels per day, while over 4,440 megawatts of power were lost last week, both due to sabotage of crude and gas facilities by criminals in the Niger Delta region. Meanwhile, though seriously degraded, Boko Haram terrorists are recovering their ability to ambush and inflict casualties on Nigerian troops.

More importantly, the South-East and South-South zones voted massively against Buhari, who is deepening their alienation from his government by his lopsided appointments. But in truly democratic societies, elected leaders go all out to unite their people after elections.  Apart from meeting the constitutional requirement that a minister be appointed from each of the 36 states, the two zones are sparsely represented in the Federal Government. If some past presidents indulged in primitive sectionalism, Buhari should not. Olusegun Obasanjo, alone among our last four presidents, significantly sought to rise above such primordial instincts. Buhari, also a former military head of state, and senior citizen, ought to do better, having tried and failed thrice before to win the Presidency exclusively with Northern votes. His party, the All Progressives Congress, the National Assembly and civil society groups should be more vigorous in resisting this trend.

It is time to put an end to this provincial inclination. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic nationalities and wide disparities in culture. If, as Buhari wrongly repeats that Nigeria’s unity is inviolable, why then does he alienate many Nigerians with appointments? Until we take the right, inevitable step of restructuring the country, the minimum expected of a Nigerian president is to ensure equity in federal appointments.

♦ Culled from The Nigerian Punch

ASO ROCK MEETING: BUHARI COURTS OBASANJO TO COVER-UP MULTIPLE REGIME SCANDALS

An unnamed Aso Rock employee confirmed that both leaders discussed briefly about a recent trip made by Obasanjo, but stated, “Buhari need’s Baba’s help to cover his own past and also make sure Aisha’s U.S. scandal doesn’t bring more disgrace to his regime."
An unnamed Aso Rock employee confirmed that both leaders discussed briefly about a recent trip made by Obasanjo, but stated, “Buhari need’s Baba’s help to cover his own past and also make sure Aisha’s U.S. scandal doesn’t bring more disgrace to his regime.”

Revealed:

Meeting was also about Aisha-Jefferson money-laundering scandal

Buhari  scared because Obasanjo is the only one to rightly expose his past fraudulent records;

Has been pacifing Obasanjo with free access to Aso Rock and undisclosed paid responsibilities

A meeting between a former and the current Nigeria’s Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari respectively may have been underreported, International Guardian reliably gathered. Conflicting reports about the closed-door meeting had flooded the social media, but authentic source reveals that the two leaders actually had a chat over a thread of past scandals involving some United States-based companies and key Nigerian officials, including the one in which the First Lady Aisha Buhari was involved.

A source from Aso Rock, the seat of Nigeria’s presidency indicated the meeting was about critical national issues including the Senate and the Delta crisis.  Obasanjo, in his own conflicting report, told journalists he had delivered messages he brought overseas to the President. The former president who recently travelled to Liberia and Gambia, said, “I have messages that these two countries will want me to deliver to the president.”

An unnamed Aso Rock employee confirmed that both leaders discussed briefly about a recent trip made by Obasanjo, but stated, “Buhari need’s   Baba’s help to cover his own past and also make sure Aisha’s U.S. scandal doesn’t bring more disgrace to his regime. I don’t know about oversea message. Since when has baba become Buhari’s messenger? ”

United States, it may be recalled,  recently reopened investigations of Mrs Buhari’s  suspected money laundering with a former United States congressman, William J. Jefferson who was sentenced to 13 years in prison 2009 for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Deliberations and bilateral engagements about a possible Mrs. Buhari’s prosecution remain in rock-solid secrecy.

Why Aisha Buhari canceled her planned visit to the United States

Earlier in July, International Guardian revealed that Buhari’s  regime was looking at Aisha’s foreign immunity options under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). FSIA –defines the jurisdiction of United States courts in suits against foreign states – where a foreign state generally is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of another sovereign state.

The FSIA option appeared to have failed leaving the Buhari’s regime with a rather fraudulent approach. The regime floated a fake passport of another “Aisha Buhari” in the media, claiming that Jefferson’s collaborator was not the First Lady. To further suppress the indictment of the First lady, Buhari has been tactically courting Obasanjo who had threatened in the past to release killer-documents about both Buhari and the wife.

President Buhari, it may be recalled, had requested assistance from the United States to carry out his threats to arrest and prosecute past ministers and other officials who stole Nigeria’s oil and diverted government’s money to personal accounts – a move that would have exposed previous fraudulent engagements in the Obasanjo’s regime.

APC crisis latest – Why Tinubu unleashed his bloggers against Buhari

Buhari’s plans swiftly boomeranged, prompting the General to personally send apologies to Obasanjo. Obasanjo was already gathering a dossier which included documents linking President Buhari and key allies and colleagues in his administration to major fraud related to various affairs of the government, when he received President Buhari’s “es·prit de corps” plea for a common understanding and restraint. To further appease the aged former leader, President Buhari quickly announced a retraction of his threats, announcing publicly that he would not extend his corruption probe beyond the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Since then, Buhari has courted Obasanjo unconditionally, allowing him free access to Aso Rock, and appeasing him with undisclosed paid responsibilities, it was reliably gathered. The recent meeting between both leaders, therefore, was not a surprise.  

Last year, International Guardian reported how President Obasanjo was the only one to rightly expose President Buhari’s negative past records of public accountability, revealing his readiness to hit the blogs with documents that would shock the nation. The story also narrated how Buhari as the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) between 1998-99, failed to account for a missing 25 billion naira, confiscating all related documents and obstructing all investigative channels. A source close to the All Progressives Congress (APC) told our newsroom than that “When it comes to being vindictive, you know Baba does not waste time and Buhari should have known better.”

Lost Year in Nigeria Under Buhari Leaves Economy on Knees

This year, Nigeria’s local-bond yields have climbed 276 basis points to 13.46 percent, leaving them as the only such securities among 31 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg to make losses. Electricity output has plunged to about a 30th of that of South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy, as attacks on pipelines cut supplies of natural gas to power plants.
This year, Nigeria’s local-bond yields have climbed 276 basis points to 13.46 percent, leaving them as the only such securities among 31 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg to make losses. Electricity output has plunged to about a 30th of that of South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy, as attacks on pipelines cut supplies of natural gas to power plants.

Muhammadu Buhari took office as Nigeria’s president a year ago on a wave of optimism that the ex-military ruler could revive a nation battered by falling oil prices and decades of corruption.  Now, Africa’s biggest economy is on its knees, forcing Buhari to throw in the towel on a central pillar of his economic policy — a currency peg.

“It was difficult to imagine a scenario in which things got worse,” said Malte Liewerscheidt, a Nigeria analyst at Bath, U.K.-based consultant Verisk Maplecroft. “But it’s been a lost year. What’s missing is sound macroeconomic policies.”

Nigeria will soon enter a recession, according to the central bank, and an upsurge of militant attacks since February has sent crude production, which usually accounts for 70 percent of government revenue, plummeting to an almost 30-year low. Delays in approving a budget and a cabinet as well as Buhari’s refusal to weaken an overvalued currency — until he hinted at relenting last week — have caused foreign investors to flee.

Foreign investors, fearing a devaluation, are staying away. Foreign direct investment was the lowest last year since the 2007-08 global financial crisis, and Citigroup Inc. said deals have ground to a halt. Capital controls prompted JPMorgan Chase & Co. in September to kick Nigeria out of its local-currency emerging-market bond indexes, tracked by more than $200 billion of funds.

Bond Losses

This year, Nigeria’s local-bond yields have climbed 276 basis points to 13.46 percent, leaving them as the only such securities among 31 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg to make losses. Electricity output has plunged to about a 30th of that of South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy, as attacks on pipelines cut supplies of natural gas to power plants.

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When Buhari beat then-President Goodluck Jonathan in the first election victory by an opposition candidate, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration called it an “historic step for Nigeria and Africa.” A 73-year-old retired major-general who ruled from 1983 to 1985, Buhari campaigned to end the corruption he said was “killing” his country. He and his All Progressives Congress party promised to crush Boko Haram, whose Islamist insurgency has led to thousands of deaths in the northeast since 2009, and boost economic growth to as much as 10 percent.

Naira Peg

Now recession looms. The economy contracted in the first quarter by 0.4 percent, the first decline since 2004. If Buhari doesn’t alter his stance on the naira and loosen the restrictions used to defend its peg to the dollar, output will probably sink further, according to Mark Bohlund, an Africa economist with Bloomberg Intelligence in London.

“The Nigerian economy is at high risk of experiencing its first full-year recession since 1987,” Bohlund said. An improvement next year depends on security being restored in the oil-rich Niger River delta region and “a shift toward more market-based economic policy.”

Buhari was dealt a tough hand. He inherited a virtually empty treasury and Jonathan’s administration did little to diversify the economy, leaving it vulnerable to the crash in oil prices since 2014. A rainy-day fund known as the Excess Crude Account was whittled down to barely $2 billion when Buhari took office, from $21 billion in 2008.

Boko Haram

The president has won plaudits from investors for beating back Boko Haram and trying to overhaul graft-ridden institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., the management of which he sacked. Yet they have been left bemused by his economic policies.

He opted to keep gasoline prices capped at 87 naira ($0.44) a liter ($1.76 a gallon) until months of shortages and unrest over long fuel lines forced him to increase them by 67 percent in mid-May. He has also clung to the naira peg even as evidence showed a dollar shortage was strangling the economy. Buhari continues to oppose devaluation, though he has given the central bank leeway to implement a more flexible currency regime, his spokesman, Garba Shehu, said on Monday.

Under Governor Godwin Emefiele, the central bank began to fix the naira at 197-199 against the dollar in late February 2015, even as other oil exporters from Russia to Colombia and Kazakhstan let their currencies drop. Buhari has backed that stance since coming to power.

Businesses are struggling to operate as the central bank, whose reserves have fallen to a more than 10-year low, runs out of the dollars they need to import raw materials and equipment. Many are forced to turn to the black market, where the naira’s value has plunged to around 350 per dollar. That’s pushed the inflation rate to 13.7 percent, the highest in almost six years.

Currency Squeeze

U.S. carrier United Airlines said would it stop flying to Nigeria next month, in part because of the hard-currency squeeze, and British Airways said it may follow suit. Foreign airlines have the naira-equivalent of $575 million trapped in the country that they can’t repatriate, according to the International Air Traffic Association. The Africa president of Unilever, whose Nigerian unit has seen its shares drop 29 percent since Buhari became president, called the currency policy “very insane.”

The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted on May 24 to allow “greater flexibility” in the foreign-exchange market, which investors hoped meant that banks would be allowed to trade the naira more freely. Yet, while Emefiele said a new system would be unveiled “in the coming days,” no changes have been made.

Policy Failure

It was an “admission of the inevitable failure of the policy, which created a black market economy,” said Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor at the central bank who now teaches at Tufts University in Boston. “The exchange-rate policy contributed quite significantly to creating a recessionary situation. It hit manufacturers, who could not access forex. It has created unemployment.”

The economy is so weak that Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun says officials probably won’t be able to collect enough taxes to meet the revenue target in this year’s record 6.1 trillion naira budget, which was only passed this month after senators said Buhari’s team made mistakes in the first version sent to them.

Nigeria’s 36 states, most of which depend on monthly handouts from the federal government, are on average three to four months late with salary payments to teachers, doctors and other civil servants, according to the oil minister.

“There’s a sense of exasperation among investors,” said Ronak Gopaldas, a Johannesburg-based analyst at Rand Merchant Bank. “There’s still a level of goodwill toward Buhari and his government, but it’s dissipating. The man on the street is really struggling.”

Nigerian court blocks general strike over petrol price rise

File photo of past street activities of Nigeria Labour Congress. The Nigerian Industrial Court ruled that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which represent workers from the public and private sectors, could not proceed with the industrial action.
File photo of past activities of the Nigeria Labour Congress. The Nigerian Industrial Court ruled that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which represent workers from the public and private sectors, could not proceed with the industrial action.

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian labour unions representing millions of workers have been blocked from staging a general strike in protest at government plans to increase petrol prices by up to 67 percent.

The unions announced last week that they would hold an indefinite strike from Wednesday unless the government reversed its decision to scrap a costly fuel subsidy scheme and raise gasoline prices to help it to tackle Nigeria’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Ministers hope the move will help to fund fuel imports needed because Nigeria’s refineries have been neglected for years.

The Nigerian Industrial Court ruled that the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, which represent workers from the public and private sectors, could not proceed with the industrial action.

“The defendants are hereby restrained from carrying out the threat contained in their communique,” Justice Babatunde Adejumo said in his ruling on Tuesday, citing the risk of civil disorder and people going hungry.

Nigeria tried to end fuel subsidies in 2012, doubling the price of gasoline overnight, but later reinstated some of the subsidy to end a wave of protest strikes held in defiance of another court ruling.

Talks between the unions and government officials aimed at averting industrial action were scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress could not be reached for immediate comment on whether they would obey the latest court order or if the talks would go ahead

Is Nigerian leader’s pal ‘fantastically corrupt’? Friend of African president accused of stealing £500million

Tow of a kind? Rotimi Amaechi (left), who travelled with the president to the summit, is Nigeria’s transport minister and is said to have bankrolled Buhari’s presidential campaign. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3590934/Is-Nigerian-leader-s-pal-fantastically-corrupt-Friend-African-president-accused-stealing-500million.html#ixzz48uzRKQqA Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Tow of a kind? Rotimi Amaechi (left), who travelled with the president to the summit, is Nigeria’s transport minister and is said to have bankrolled Buhari’s presidential campaign.

By Paul Cahalan  (The Mail on Sunday)
When David Cameron was caught on camera last week before an anti-corruption summit describing Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt’, the African state’s president rallied to the Prime Minister’s defence by agreeing with him. But although Muhammadu Buhari is seen by some as leading the battle against corruption, worrying allegations swirl around one of his close allies.

Muhammadu Buhari seen by some as leading the battle against corruption

But worrying allegations swirl around one of Nigerian leader’s close allies

Rotimi Amaechi accused of misappropriating £338m commission probing sale of state assets

Also accused of diverting £140m of state funds into Buhari’s presidential campaign

Rotimi Amaechi, who travelled with the president to the summit, is Nigeria’s transport minister and is said to have bankrolled Buhari’s presidential campaign. In the Nigerian press he has been dubbed ‘ATM’ – the American term for cash machine – because of his ability to produce vast sums of money at short notice.

When David Cameron was caught on camera last week before an anti-corruption summit describing Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt’, the African state’s president rallied to the Prime Minister’s defence by agreeing with him. But although Muhammadu Buhari is seen by some as leading the battle against corruption, worrying allegations swirl around one of his close allies.
When David Cameron was caught on camera last week before an anti-corruption summit describing Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt’, the African state’s president rallied to the Prime Minister’s defence by agreeing with him. But although Muhammadu Buhari is seen by some as leading the battle against corruption, worrying allegations swirl around one of his close allies.

He remains in his post despite being accused of misappropriating £338million by a commission investigating the sale of state assets. Some of that money is likely to have come from UK taxpayers, who gave the country £1billion in aid over five years to 2014, including £248million in 2014 alone.  Separately, Amaechi is accused of diverting £140million of state funds into Buhari’s presidential campaign, with reports he paid for media, consultants and private jets.

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