Sunday, 29 March 2015

CORRUPTION: Obasanjo’s eight years worse than Abacha’s – Ribadu

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Pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu allegedly described corruption under President Olusegun Obasanjo as worse than that of late General Sani Abacha, according to United States cable obtained by Wikileaks.
The report released by Wikileaks stated that a meeting which the former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders had with Mallam Ribadu to discuss his removal from the EFCC, Ribadu told the US ambassador that Obasanjo was good at covering his tracks while admitting that corruption was worse under Obasanjo. Ribadu was quoted as saying that former President Obasanjo knew how to play the game. “Although he created the EFCC and understood its importance for him with the international community, Ribadu explained, that by far and even more than the Abacha days, corruption under Obasanjo’s eight years was far worse.
See extracts of the cable below:
Classified by Ambassador Robin Sanders for Reasons 1.4 (b, c, & d).
1. (S) Summary: Ambassador had 4-hour private discussion with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on the evening of December 28 at her residence to hear his views on the recent announcement that he will be transferred from the EFCC to the country’s leadership school, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). Ribadu took the opportunity to cover not only the politics behind this move, but also spent several hours discussing a range of EFCC pending cases that he wanted to share, including his personal views on Yar’Adua, former President Obasanjo, recently indicted former Delta State Governor Ibori, and the illicit enrichment open cases on the Police Inspector General Mike Okiro and Attorney General Aondoakaa.
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,
It seemed that he wanted someone outside of the EFCC to know the details of active investigations as a possible failsafe given the current negative political climate surrounding his pending transfer.
Ribadu also said he planned to show up to his office on December 31, 2007, as usual and would continue to do so )- unless he was physically blocked — until the effective date of his transfer (February 2008). Ribadu said, without a doubt, yes, the warrant on Ibori was the seminal action that made Yar’Adua support the transfer.
He added that he was worried that Yar’Adua was not strong enough to balance the pressures on him from his inner circle — many he had already blocked from illicit enrichment The Ambassador expressed to him the U.S.’s strong concerns over the tenor of events and how unsettling this is given what appears to be a reversal of Yar’Adua’s strong anti-corruption messages while in Washington. Coming on the heels of the U.S. visit, this action has hurt our initial sense of his commitment on these key democracy pillars. The EFCC Chair was pleased to hear of the international interest in the situation and added that anything is still possible in terms of a reversal as Yar’Adua tends to respond to the last person who speaks with him. He thought pressure from the international community could be useful. Ribadu said if the transfer prevails then his Lagos deputy, Lamorde, would likely be brought up to serve as Acting. He then praised the USG training provided by Treasury’s FinCen, and said whether he was at the EFCC or not, the USG should continue its efforts to help as his team was dedicated and committed. Ribadu said that the EFCC needed a few more concrete tools such as a Crime Center, housing a data base on all criminal activity, and hoped the U.S. would help on this.
Ambassador provided the EFCC Chair with all her contact information, noted she had a pending weekend response call from the President, and told him that he had active supporters who would be following this issue, notwithstanding the Ambassador.
2. (S) Following Yar’Adua’s positive U.S. trip, fairly upbeat sentiments by Nigerians at year’s end on his tenure, and his own end of year national address calling on adherence to transparency, not only do we need to be concerned about this action, but also what appears to be other steps against the EFCC. Even if Ribadu is gone or if ours or other efforts prevail, there are potentially other possible actions on the horizon to reduce the EFCC’s prowess by such as removing others on Ribadu’s team, and merging it with other less focused and effective entities such as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Whatever his motives, Yar’Adua has made a major political misstep as his tribunal results loom near. End Summary
Ribadu: Discusses the Run-up to his Transfer:
¶3. (S) The Ambassador had a 4-hour discussion (8pm-midnight) at her residence December 29 with about-to-be transferred Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chair Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Rumors began on the move late December 27, followed up by an official press announcement by Police Inspector General Mike Okiro December 28. Ribadu was seconded from the police senior leadership in April 2003 to lead the then newly created EFCC by former President Obasanjo. Ribadu is officially being transferred to the country’s National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in February 2008.
Ribadu told Ambassador that the transfer was not only official, but had been approved by President Yar’Adua. The Ambassador asked Nigeria’s anti-corruption czar if he thought that there could be a reversal of the pending transfer if there was significant outcry. Ribadu said in his dealings to date with the President, that he did not view him as a strong man (said in both the sense of not only his health, but his style and demeanor), and that he is easily swayed by the last person that speaks with him. He added that he did not see Yar’Adua as corrupt and was a nice guy, but said quite frankly that he thought he was weak, as a result of his low key personality, his lack of international exposure, and his lack of a political base. Ribadu said Yar’Adua is very worried about his election being overturned and is getting advice from some whose hands are tarnished with illicit enrichment on how to secure a positive outcome of the pending February or March 2008 tribunal decision.
The EFCC czar then commented that despite his overall problems with the judiciary as judges were always being bribed, it had held up democracy more than some of the other government branches. The judiciary and judges here are very corruptible and this corruption has played a role in some of the tribunal cases to date, he commented. Nigeria needs something in its constitution to put a check and balance on the judiciary.
¶4. (S) The Ambassador then asked whether the warrant on the former Delta State Governor Ibori was the trigger on his ouster now, given that pressure to remove him was not new. Ribadu said without a doubt yes. He added that Ibori had promised to help Yar,Adua several weeks ago (prior to the latter’s Washington trip) with the tribunal if he got the EFCC Chair off his back. Yar’Adua had resisted to date, but as his tribunal results loom near in early February or March 2008, the President has a sense that the verdict could go either way (ref a). He is very unsettled about his prospects, Ribadu noted. Without direct reference to the Foreign Minister, who mentioned this issue in a December 28 telecon, the Ambassador asked Ribadu what his relationship had been with the President up to this point (ref C). Ribadu then described in detail his last meetings with both the President and separately with Ibori.
¶5. (S) The EFCC chief noted that the President had always wanted him to cool down a bit as he thought he could do things more quietly. But despite this, he was always able to reach the President and they never had cross words. However, he added he felt that the support he would need to bring in some of the bigger political fish was not there )primarily because the President does not have his own political soldiers within the PDP, the media, or among Nigeria’s novo rich power brokers, nor his own thugs or the overall clout of former President Obasanjo. Ribadu said that Ibori had also tried to bribe him to drop the investigation, coming to him with a box that contained $ 15 million (USD) in cash as an offering to leave him alone.
Ribadu laughing said, can you imagine $15 million in cash in a box; this will be used against him in the trial. We have it locked up as evidence. He added that they have thus far found only $300 million (USD) that Ibori has stolen, but knows that he stole much more, estimating that during his eight years in office he took roughly 60 per cent of the Delta State treasury for his own use, including buying three planes and ownership in several public and private corporations.
¶6. (S) Turning back to President Yar,Adua, the Ambassador asked who the bad apples around Yar,Adua were and was there anyone in his inner circle that he would deem not only credible but also incorruptible.
Continuing, the Ambassador asked if there are any good guys in the Villa? He said the only person who was truly respectable, honest and trying always to do the right thing was the President’s Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Abdullahi Mohammed, but he likes to stay away from both policy and politics.
Pending Investigations: A Who’s Who of Criminal Activity
7. (S) Ribadu, seeming to be in an environment where he felt comfortable and relaxed, told the Ambassador he wanted to share some more of what is really going on. He began with a list of pending investigations. At the top of the list were both Attorney General (AG) Aondoakaa and Police Inspector General Mike Okiro. Of note, the EFCC chairman said that, we came very close to catching Okiro in the act in a parked car receiving several million dollars from Ibori in cash,
but he added, we were not able to close the deal as we could not catch the actual handover, and my investigators feared getting any closer to the cars. On the AG, Ribadu continued, we have a dossier on him and his illegal money dealings, including getting money from Ibori, but we need to catch him, and we will. In addition, Ribadu said the EFCC has criminal investigations open on 100 Nigeria individuals (mostly government officials from the Obasanjo era) and is following roughly 200 Nigerian criminal organizations. This is why my next step is to create a Crime Center, which would have a data base that all law enforcement agencies could access. The EFCC Chief stated that the USG had played an enormous role in the capacity building, expertise and integrity of the EFCC, as the U.S. set the best example on these issues. He knew that his team was dedicated, honest and committed as they all want to see a better Nigeria and improve Nigeria,s image around the world. &Whether I am at the EFCC or not, whatever the U.S. can do to continue to improve the Commission’s capacity would be welcomed,8 he commented. Ambassador said she would discuss not only the Crime Center idea he had with her team and Washington, but also ensure that Treasury was aware of the importance of continuing overall technical assistance when possible to the EFCC. She added though, if his transfer prevailed despite her efforts and others, we would be as active as possible to encourage any new EFCC leadership to continue on the same path.
On Obasanjo and his daughter Iyabo:
¶8. (S) Ambassador asked about Obasanjo and his daughter, National Assembly Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who is currently being investigated over contracts to an Austrian company. Ribadu said that the EFCC had called her in on December 27 and questioned her for hours. They also had documents on the transactions and questioned the head of the Austrian company. In the end, he added, we determined that there was no illicit enrichment of state funds, but a business deal gone badly between two parties, where promises were made and not kept, and one party getting mad at the other. On former president Obasanjo, the Commissioner said, he really knew how to play the game. Although he created the EFCC and understood its importance for him with the international community, Ribadu explained, that by far even more than the Abacha days where he was the sole thief, corruption under Obasanjo’s eight years was far worse. However, he added, Oba was a political machine and knew how to play the game for the international community, cover his tracks and for good or bad got it as regards to what the EFCC’s role was and should be.”
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2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS: FACTUAL ANALYSES AND MY ENDORSEMENT (CONCLUDED)



Temple Chima Ubochi
ubochit@hotmail.de
Bonn, Germany

Count your blessings - not your troubles (Dale Carnegie)Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company (Charles Evans Hughes)
People who fight fire with fire end up with only the ashes of their own integrity (Michael Josephson)
Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior (Logan Pearsall Smith)
The ugliest word in the world is revenge. It spells hate; it spells fear; it spells greed. For my loss, I must kill; I must steal - must avenge. It's your fault; you must pay; you must bleed (Jonathan Lockwood Huie)

Why Buhari might lose the election
uhari might not win, because, the corrupt and powerful Nigerians, such as the former heads of state and the powerful retired Generals, Admirals and Air marshals etc will see to it that he is not elected, as they know that they will be in trouble when Buhari becomes the president of Nigeria. And Buhari complicated his case by saying what he will do as a president, even before the casting of the votes, thereby tipping off the corrupt elements. That was the same kind of mistake Gideon Orkar made during the coup attempt he led, that made it, the coup, to fail. Remember that Orkar announced the excising of present day north-eastern part of Nigeria, today's Boko Haram enclave, out of Nigeria, even before the consolidation of the coup. Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) was right that "People unfit for freedom -- who cannot do much with it --are hungry for power", in that, despite whatever Buhari says, his quest for power is only driven by hatred, revenge or rancor, just as J. Pierpoint Morgan (1837 -1913) wrote that "A man generally has two reasons for doing a thing. One that sounds good, and a real one". He wants to pay those who overthrew him in their own coin; he wants to deal with the military hierarchy for not covering him up in his certificate saga; he wants to deal with president Jonathan and some members of his administration for killing Boko Haram members, and for declaring a state of emergency in some northern states, thereby making the area a desolate place for economic activities; he wants to get at the Judges for not ruling in his favor, on three occasions, when he challenged the elections' results which went against him.

Just as Eric Berne (1910 -1970) wrote that "A loser doesn't know what he'll do if he loses, but talks about what he'll do if he wins, and a winner doesn't talk about what he'll do if he wins, but knows what he'll do if he loses", Buhari should have kept his plans to himself until he wins the election and gets into office, as his fake assurance later that all those who looted prior to May 29, 2015, would be forgiven, didn't move anybody, because, the "big shots", he is after, saw his later comment as dubiously cloaked. Because of what Buhari said, IBB and Abdulsalami Abubakar had to endorse the re-election bid of President Jonathan. These men, their friends and cohorts will never allow Buhari to be the president of Nigeria. Even Obasanjo, who is attacking President Jonathan, will never support Buhari, in the real sense of it (forget about what he says outside), because, he knows too well that Kirikiri would be his home once Buhari emerges the President of Nigeria. Babangida and the Emir of Minna endorsed and pledged their support for Goodluck Jonathan. Babangida went as far as saying that " Nigeria's safe in Jonathan's hands'' 247ureports reported that former President Ibrahim Babangida has described President Goodluck Jonathan as dependable leader for the country. He stated this when he played host to Jonathan and his campaign entourage in Minna. The former military leader said Jonathan was a leader who would continue with the dreams of the country's founding fathers. Babangida said he shared the same passion of peaceful, stable and developed Nigeria with Jonathan. He added that "whenever I discussed with him, I see a young man who has passion for Nigeria. Under Jonathan, Nigeria is in safe hands. The President later visited the palace of the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago, where he solicited the support and cooperation of the royal father. He said he would continue with the development strides in the areas of transport, power, education and general infrastructure. Bahago pledged the support of his emirate for Jonathan, adding that the electoral reforms put in place would ensure peace and progress of the country.''.

Alhaji Balarabe Musa also described the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as a fascist, intolerant and an arrogant self-righteous politician. In his words " APC is constituted by, at least, 70 per cent of defectors from the PDP, raising questions as to how much difference it is from the PDP. Buhari has a track record of human right abuses, a tendency towards fascist intolerance and an arrogant self-righteousness ethos; the APC (unlike the PDP) has arrogantly refused to make any overtures towards other political formations not linked with the PDP; the class composition and agenda of both the APC and the PDP are no different".

Few days to APC's national convention in Lagos, Asiwaju Tinubu, his political group and his party, the APC, contemplated denying Buhari the nomination by planning to switch support towards the presidential aspiration of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, when the latter entered the race. Saturday Vanguard on November 15, 2014, wrote that Team Tinubu, the camp of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was compelled by some former Nigerian leaders and Northern Islamic leaders to drop its support for the 2015 presidential aspiration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. The Paper told Nigerians that several other factors were taken into consideration by the Tinubu camp in trying to switching support. Among the other factors was the three former heads of state, two from the north and one from the south and a very influential retired army chief from the northeast who has also held political appointments in the present dispensation were among those cited by sources as having prevailed on the Tinubu camp to drop support for Buhari. Also, the decision of the Tinubu camp to drop support for Buhari, it was learnt, also followed reservations from some sections of the north notably, some Islamic leaders. Hear one of Tinubu's associates: "It is not that we planned dumping Buhari, the Islamic clerics, the imams and the political leaders in the north particularly three former heads of state said that they don't want the man". Bola Tinubu is not sure of what Buhari will do, if he wins, and might not be comfortable with his presidency, as I wrote previously that one of the reasons Tinubu and the APC wanted to support the speaker of the house of reps, Tambuwal, instead of Buhari, prior to APC's primaries, was the "fears in Asuwaju's camp that the man may destroy Asiwaju and may come back to hurt him and some of Asuwaju's loyalists".

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State even said it point blank that Buhari can't win the election with the kind of cabals surrounding him. Lamido described the "cabals as dangerous elements'', while noting that those deceiving Buhari were the former members of the PDP who dumped the party and moved closer to Buhari. In his words: "These cabals seeking elective positions are betrayers. They betrayed PDP; the party which made them what they are today. They will also betray Buhari as soon as they get what they want, just as they are calling PDP all sorts of names and regard Buhari like god now. They will turn their back on him soon". More so, it has been alleged that some other Northern leaders have withdrawn support for Buhari. First of all; it has been alleged that Atiku Abubakar and leaders of thought in the North do not see Buhari again as the messiah they have been waiting for, as they see Buhari's presidency as not being in the interest of the north, because, he's likely to serve only a term, thereby shortchanging the north again. The northern leaders think that, in the long run, the south-west region will be the gainers of Buhari's election victory, and for that, are withdrawing their support.

Prominent northern group, Northern Emancipation Network (NEM), a non-governmental organization, in a statement in Abuja, signed by its coordinator, Abdulazeez Suleiman, the organization said, amongst other things, that "Our worry is hinged on the many moral questions that surround the personality of General Muhammadu Buhari, who was imposed by the opposition All Progressives Congress as representing the North in the presidential contest. The most worrying is the nature of double standards that are now shaping Buhari's characteristics as he makes a fourth attempt at the presidency". The group also said some outsiders from the North, who are projecting Buhari, could have hidden agenda to take power through the backdoor, adding that those projecting him may be planning to exercise power on his behalf. The group also expressed dismay at the constant harassments being faced by supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan in the North, adding that the elders should call perpetrators to order. In its words: "The North should rather reciprocate the many efforts made by President Jonathan to change the life of the ordinary northerner than go on a wild goose chase that could further darken its political future". Alleging that Buhari had issues with his wife, sometime ago, for allegedly receiving gifts from Babangida, who toppled him in 1985, the group said "First, we find it quite unfortunate that the same Buhari is now, out of sheer desperation, turning to Babangida for political support. We were, therefore, amazed when reports said that Buhari had personally gone to seek support from IBB and Obasanjo, both of whom he once described as political enemies in an interview with Weekly Trust. Based on this and many other moral questions around Buhari, our group is compelled to reiterate its stand that he is not and cannot be the sole northern candidate for the presidency." The NEM also expressed its concern that certain desperation to take power in 2015 has made the northern political elite so blind as not to consider the quality of candidate that was hoisted by the opposition as the North's sole candidate, the group frowned at recent claims for the adoption of Buhari as the North's sole presidential candidate by a certain group of elders. NEM insisted, even as it called on all well-meaning northerners to resist the temptation of dragging the region and its people into the personal war for ascendancy waged by its predator-elite.

Robert Brault admonished that people should "Be careful of selfish motives. You can mistake them for principles and end up dying for them". Buhari might have plans to deal with the corrupt ones, but, the vagaries of politics have made him to change his opinion, as he is now ready to forgive those who looted prior to May 29, 2015, assuming he ever wins the election. Even if Buhari is all out to give a bitter lesson to the corrupt ones, his hands are tied, as he has "dined with the devils without using long spoon". Buhari is now a compromised human being and will not have the gut to fight corruption, as he has promised, because, he's now corruption personified. Peter obi completed the sentences by saying that "I have always maintained that General Buhari is a respected elder statesman, we must acknowledge that the personal integrity of Buhari does not translate to party or corporate integrity. Having observed that General Buhari is a man of integrity, we should be bothered by the antecedents of most of the people around him. The primary characteristic of a corrupt person is greed, always manifested in primitive acquisition of everything for himself, his family and cronies. This is exactly the history of the feudal lords. If we exclude Buhari and one or two others in the APC, you will notice that the party boasts the greediest set of Nigerians ready to acquire the country for their selfish ends - if they come into office. History is not too remote for us to examine these people and their acquisitions in public office and juxtapose our findings with what they had before going into politics. Good leadership requires humility, honesty, tolerance, simplicity and the ability to work with dedication towards making the society a better place. As somebody who has held public office, I can tell you that the more a person is addicted to conspicuous consumption & primitive acquisition, the more corrupt the person will be".

In the words of Albert Camus (1913-1960) "I'll tell you a big secret, my friend: Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It happens every day", I hereby tell Buhari that Nigerians decided to reject him, for the fourth and last time, even from the first day he picked the nomination form. Iwish him well as he takes care of his grandchildren (as a retiree). The future belongs to those youngsters and not their grandpa anymore!


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Friday, 27 March 2015

JONATHAN vs. BUHARI: WHO CHAMPIONS THE CAUSE OF NIGERIAN WOMEN BETTER?


Temple Chima Ubochi
ubochit@hotmail.de
Bonn, Germany

There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women (Kofi Annan)
Women's empowerment is intertwined with respect for human rights (Mahnaz Afkhami)
When women thrive, all of society benefits, and succeeding generations are given a better start in life (Kofi Annan)
If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation (Abigail Adams)

t would be a deceit to still think that this is a men's world, as the women are now conquering frontiers which were formerly the men's terrorties. Even if some people still think that it's a men's world, but, James Brown sang, in 1966, that the world would be nothing without the women to power it. The men must have built this world with the inspiration from the women. Men need the women and vice versa, so, the era of keeping the women in the kitchen or for domestic chores only is long over. Although many greedy women or wives have brought disgrace and scandal for the womenfolk, through their attitude, the few good ones are pearls to behold. Any man who has a good wife is a lucky and happy person,  because, a good wife can help build up any man to any height. Support from a good wife is priceless, but, hard to find in today's world, because of insatiable appetite for money or something to inherit by all means. A good woman, if found, is a jewel.

The world over, some countries have had leaders who were women, and those women gave a good account of themselves, as they performed creditably well. Indira Ghandi propelled India to a new height during her time as The Prime Minister of India. Who can forget the British Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, and how she messmerized the world with her unique leadership quality and style? The whole world were in absolute awe of Thatcher. Even now, the most powerful woman in the world, German's chancellor, Angela Merkel, is making her marks. Angela Merkel is a good leader as such that Germans are not ready to relieve her of that leadership position yet. Although Merkel has hinted about leaving, to have more time for her husband, but, to the best of my knowledge, the Germans are not ready to let her go, unless she makes that decision herself.

 When Buhari was the head of state, he apointed no woman to a position of authority, despite the fact that that was Ghandi and Thatcher's era. Now, as presidential candidate, he caused an outrage when he said that he would abolish the office of the first lady, if elected. That statement Buhari made turned out to be a big political error; he was attacked by both men and women for that, and people started saying that he is a man who wants to see women only in pudah, not to be seen or heard. People started reasoning that Buhari's opinion might have influenced him to hide his wife away from the public all along. People started saying that why Mrs. Buhari was not part of Buhari's campaign, previously, was as a result of his belief that women are not to be seen or heard. What was it Buhari actually said? The News Express on 26/12/2014 reported that "Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari, says he will not have an office for first lady if elected in next year's election.In an exclusive interview with Weekly Trust in Kaduna, Buhari said his decision was premised on the fact there is no office of first lady in the Nigerian Constitution, just as there is no official role for presidents' wives. Rather, he said ministries which are constitutional should be allowed to play their roles. There is the Ministry of Women Affairs, and so on," he said".

 Some of us might think that Nigeria's current first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is overstepping her bounds, in words and deeds, but, that's not enough reason for anybody to contemplate abolishing the office of the first lady. What President Jonathan must do, after winning the election, is to rein in some of the excesses of his wife, and then, everything would be alright. Although the first lady have no role ascribed to her by the constitution of Nigeria, but, she can play a major role in the society such as receiving guests, visiting orphanages, helping the less privileged people, leading the fight for the right of women and malnourished children, infant mortality rate, kidnapping and girl child trafficking. Ms. Buhari acknowledged those roles when she even defended the role of the first lady.

 The outrage unleashed by Buhari's statement that he would abolish the office of the first lady, if he wins the election, forced him to unveil his wife and that of his running mate on a campaign podium in Abekouta.

 According to bodedolu.com: Gradually, gradually, General Buhari is shelving his rigidity and position on women! He succumbed to popular trend and finally unveiled his wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari. That would mean that if he wins the coming election, his wife would have a role to play. The Sunday Trust of Jan. 18, 2015 wrote: "Until recently in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, when she showed up at the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally and took photographs with her hostess, Funsho, wife of the Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, the wife of the presidential candidate of the APC, retired General Muhammadu Buhari was virtually anonymous. Only a few people could be said to have known her physically beyond Katsina and Kaduna States where her husband hails from and lives".
Because of politics and criticisms, Buhari's wife is now everywhere, doing everything such as buying suya and frying akara by the roadside, trying to identify with the ordinary people now for the sake of hoodwinking some gullible Nigerians. Everything the Buharis are doing now is just to court votes, and after the elections, they will revert to their old lives. Nigerians are no longer to be deceived. Watch the pic. of Ms. Buhari frying akara below.
Another issue that has cropped up in this election is the question of when Buhari married his current wife. If Ashia Buhari is said to be 35 years old, and she married her husband, Buhari, in 1989, and Buhari is now 72 years, so when did he married his wife and at what age? Do the mathematics yourself. I stand to be corrected here.

To minimize the political damage Buhari's statement has caused, his wife went on the defensive by saying that her husband, General Buhari, will be guided by provisions of the Nigerian Constitution in all of his actions. According to her, the subject of whether or not there will be an office for the First Lady was not issue because as a woman she has her role already carved out. In her words: "When my husband is elected as the president of this country, he will rule the country within the rule of law based on the constitution of the country. If the office of the first lady is constitutionally recognized, he will not tamper with it but if it is not, that's okay."

Anybody or party that alienates the women would pay a big political price for it, because, more than 55 percent of registered voters are women, and women are more likely to turn out en masse to vote more than the men. Women become emotionally attached to everything; they are very passoniate about anything that will affect their children, positively or negatively. That's why; the women have recognized the importance of this election, and are all out to make a difference. That was why Remi Sonaiya of Kowa Party, the first woman running for president in Nigeria's history, has said that women don't want to continue being cheerleaders again. She told some of Nigeria's most influential businesswomen and company executives at the meeting on women's participation in politics recently: "We have done enough of cheerleading. Women cannot keep on being cheerleaders in this country". The Vanguard of Wed., March 18, 2015, wrote that "There may be many women at the head of businesses in Africa's most populous nation and leading economy, but, as in the rest of the continent, politics remains for the most part a man's world. Sonaiya is hoping to change all that, following the example of presidents such as Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf or Malawi's Joyce Banda, to break through the glass ceiling to high office. In reality, she has no chance of beating the two main candidates - President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari - but she has brought, for reformers, a welcomed fresh voice to the campaign. Sonaiya, a 60-year-old former French professor in Ile-Ife in southwestern Osun state, has not been discouraged by the challenge. She and her party KOWA decided to prove that it was possible to campaign without a wealthy "godfather" or a private jet in a country where male politicians spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on huge public rallies and gifts for supporters".

From his records, Buhari has no political regards for the women. On the contrary, President Jonathan has done much for the womenfolk, more than any other president or head of state. Goodluck Jonathan gave some powerful cabinet ministries, departments and agencies to women. For example, the former World Bank executive, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is the finance minister and the co-ordinating minister for the economy, while Diezani Alison-Madueke is the oil minister as well as the first woman to hold the rotating presidency of the oil cartel OPEC. The Nigeria First lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has called on Nigeria women to vote for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan saying he is the only one that could take care of their interest. According to Daily Trust, Ms. Jonathan stated this on Tuesday March 3, 2015, in Lokoja, Kogi State, during a rally to galvanize women support for President Jonathan's re-election. She said past governments restricted women to the kitchen but that Jonathan came and changed the status quo by appointing women into various leadership positions as well as empowering them to take care of the home front. She was partly right! In her words: "Goodluck set up programme for the women so that they can get money to trade and takecare of their children. He also set up Sure-P to create employment for youth and women as well as taking care of pregnant women in the hospital till delivering period at no cost. Jonathan is the only one that can take care of women effectively". Dame Jonathan added that APC and its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has nothing to offer because he was there before and could not offer any change.

It's not an over-statement to say that no leader in the history of Nigeria has pushed the cause of Nigerian women like Jonathan. Even the Women in Clergy confirmed that. The Global Reporters reported that "The reelection bid of President Goodluck Jonathan received a major boost, as a group of female clergy, Women in Clergy, threw their weight behind his aspiration by endorsing him for a second term in his office. The decision of the group, comprising female pastors and other Christian women, was disclosed by its President, Prophetess Nonie Roberson, in a statement issued in Abuja". Read full story below
It's not for nothing that President Goodluck Jonathan is known as the Women's Champion. He has pushed their agenda more than anyone else before him. The women have taken notice, and will definitely turn out en masse to vote for him, so that he will continue championing their cause, as he does that better than anyone else, for now.

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Shadrach Ogiriki wrote:
I present to you Nigerians most Gender friendly president, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
President GEJ has done a lot for the Nigerian women which includes the following:
President Goodluck Jonathan is the first Nigerian President to appoint a female justice as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Which is the highest office in the Nigerian judiciary.
President Goodluck Jonathan is the first Nigerian President to appoint a female Justice as the President of the Court of appeal.
President Goodluck Jonathan is the first Nigerian president to appoint a woman as the Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)
President Goodluck Jonathan is the first Nigerian President to appoint a woman as the first female Minister of Petroleum. This woman still went ahead to be the first female president of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). She got this position through her office as the minister of Petroleum.

President Goodluck Jonathan has now. made it possible for Nigerian girls to gain admission into the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). With this singular effort, very soon we are expecting to start having our first set of female Brigader Generals, female Major Generals, female LT Generals, Female 5 star Generals and maybe a female will be the first Field Marshal of the Nigerian army.
President Goodluck Jonathan have broken so many barriers against the Nigerian woman. Now a Nigerian woman can reach the peak of her profession. President Jonathan has done a lot for the Nigerian women. Lastly. President Jonathan has the highest number of women in his Federal Executive Council (FEC ). So many women were made Minister under this current administration. So many women were given important appointment under this current administration.
Nigerian women have never had it better under any other administration. Jonathan has succeeded in the mobilization of a lot women into Nigerian politics.

Ken wrote:
I can understand majority of Buhari's supporters and why they are supporting Buhari, because most of them are literal morons, cult-like followers, who just follow sheepishly even if Buhari pees on their shoes, they would still be following and echoing "sai Buhari", but what is difficult for me to understand or comprehend is the reason why some whom I consider educated people that should reason with their heads, joined this cult-like following and echoing the same "sai Buhari" without asking questions.
Some of this group has been defending women and are against child or underage marriage which is a worthy cause but I can't understand why they can't ask some questions when a 73 year old man seeking to lead them thereby presenting himself as a role model, is a husband to a supposedly 35 year old lady. Of course if he married the lady when the lady was an adult, the disparity in age will totally be the choice of the man and the woman but if he married her when the girl is a child or underage it becomes a totally different thing.

Report has it that Buhari married Hajia Aisha in 1989 which if calculated will leave the woman at age 9 when Buhari, your "shining example" who should be about 47 years old then, married the lady as his wife. No wonder Buhari never let her into the public domain all the while himself was in the politics from the early 90's even when he was the PTF chairman because letting her out will have people calling him the child's dad not knowing that he is the husband.


There are things that should get reasonable people thinking rationally and this is one of them, if someone's moral antenna does not tell him that marrying a child or underage girl is morally wrong, I wonder what else his moral antenna would tell him that is morally wrong. What exactly is it that make someone a "shinning" example or a role model leader.

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Chad Strongman Says Nigeria Is Absent in Fight Against Boko Haram

THE NEW YORK TIMES

AFRICA

NDJAMENA, Chad — Chad’s president, Idriss Déby, speaks in a soft mumble, wears spectacles and an immaculate white robe, and is to be found in the quiet inner recesses of a gilt-edged, marble presidential palace — under crystal chandeliers and vaulted arches that seem part Renaissance, part Vegas — at the dusty center of his country’s capital.
Yet he is undeniably one of Africa’s most formidable strongmen. His men once whipped Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s fighters in a desert battle, and he has survived numerous rebel assaults and coup attempts. More recently, his forces have successfully battled the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram and Al Qaeda’s regional affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM — shoring up his credentials as the West’s favorite African autocrat.
Still, in discussing his military’s victory in the Boko Haram stronghold of Damasak, inNigeria, Mr. Déby showed no hint of triumphalism. Instead, he was frustrated, impatient: His men were stuck, still awaiting any sign of Nigerian forces who could come take over. He does not want to be holding Nigerian territory, he said. He wants to be on the move.
Chadian soldiers in the Nigerian town of Damasak, which was taken from Boko Haram militants this month. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
“We want the Nigerians to come and occupy, so we can advance,” Mr. Déby complained in an interview at his palace last week. “We’re wasting time, for the benefit of Boko Haram,” he added. “We can’t go any further in Nigeria. We’re not an army of occupation.”
The president says he took up the war against Boko Haram reluctantly, and mostly as a bid for economic survival; Chad is a landlocked country, dependent on land trade routes through the militant group’s territory.
In the process, he has embarrassed Nigeria — a small-country president cleaning up a far bigger and richer one’s mess — and he has overshadowed the militaries of neighboring Cameroon and Niger that are less well equipped, while earning the gratitude of Western leaders.
Those leaders once shunned him for his shaky human rights record, low corruption ranking, nepotism, and brutal police force. In fact, those conditions have not changed. His country ranks fourth from the bottomon the United Nations Human Development Index of 187 nations, with rock-bottom life expectancy and schooling levels. The Chadian elite connected to him enjoy gargantuan villas, looming above the battered one-story dwellings of ordinary people. Last week, clandestinely recorded video images showed his police officers whipping half-naked student demonstrators. And his military forces were accused of serious human rights violations during their intervention in the Central African Republic last year.
Yet Mr. Déby, 62, is a pariah no more. Now the French foreign minister smiles at him in photographs. Although he insists he is not “Africa’s policeman,” the West is only too happy to call on his forces in a region seething with Islamist terrorists.
While his tough, turbaned soldiers occupy towns in Nigeria recently ruled by Boko Haram, his up-to-date helicopter gunships are bombing the bloodthirsty sect in other places. Already, at least three important towns in Nigeria’s northeast — Damasak, Dikwa and Gamboru — have been taken by the Chadians. And his troops, after driving thousands of miles into the desert, are still in northern Mali taking on Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
With billions of dollars in oil revenues since the early 2000s, military spending at least double that of most African countries, and 40 years of tough civil wars, most of which Mr. Deby has personally taken part in, he has built himself a formidable fighting machine whose movements and actions he coordinates personally, say those who know him.
Without Mr. Déby and his battle-hardened soldiers, analysts and diplomats say, there would be nobody on the ramparts in this vulnerable part of Africa. “The Chadians are essential. They are the most capable military in the region, by a long shot,” said a veteran diplomat who spent years here. “They are pretty much incomparable.”
Now, with Boko Haram on the ropes, temporarily at least, and in no small part thanks to his men, Mr. Déby might seem positioned for a triumphalist victory lap. But those who know him well say this is not how he operates.
“Déby does things coldly. He doesn’t do things out of sentiment. That’s his strength,” said Saleh Makki, a veteran opposition member of Parliament who spent 147 days in Mr. Déby’s jails in 2013 after being accused — falsely, he said — of fomenting a coup plot.
Indeed, the army’s relative strength is itself a function of Mr. Déby’s calculated insecurity. Rebels have made it to the capital twice in the past 10 years, burning ministry buildings, shooting and looting in the streets. The last time, in 2008, Mr. Deby found himself holding out nearly alone in the palace, refusing to evacuate. He took power by force himself at the head of a rebel movement in 1990 and has not budged since.

GRAPHIC

Boko Haram: The Other Islamic State

Maps showing the violent rise of the Islamist militant group that is waging a campaign of terror in Nigeria.
 OPEN GRAPHIC
“Unfortunately, we have known lots of adventures in this country,” was Mr. Déby’s discreet summation of Chad’s postcolonial history.
Mr. Déby’s army — lavishly equipped with Sukhoi warplanes and French light tanks, made up substantially of fighters from his ethnicity, the Zaghawa, and from his home region in the desert north — is as much an instrument of personal survival as of national defense, say opposition leaders and outside analysts.
“When Déby is gone, this puzzle will fall to pieces,” said Saleh Kebzabo, the longtime opposition leader here. “It’s not a national army,” he said. “Instead of developing the country, he’s super-equipped the army,” Mr. Kebzabo said.
Mr. Déby first won the admiration of the West as a military tactician in 1987, when as the commander of Chadian forces he sent his men’s Toyota pickup trucks racing through the desert to outflank Colonel Qaddafi’s Libyan forces with a swift pincer movement. These days, the commander chafes at Nigeria’s lack of coordination with his forces, and the much larger country’s apparent immobility on its own terrain.
Mr. Déby’s anger at the Nigerians was barely restrained in the interview.
“All we’re doing is standing in place,” Mr. Déby said. “And it is to the advantage of Boko Haram.”
“We’ve been on the terrain for two months, and we haven’t seen a single Nigerian soldier,” he added. “There is a definite deficit of coordination, and a lack of common action.”
He said that time was running out for a larger victory against Boko Haram. “Soon it will be rainy season,” he said, explaining that it will be more difficult for troops to maneuver. “This will give Boko Haram a three-month bonus.”
The Nigerians, for their part, are publicly dismissive of their smaller neighbor, still insisting that it is they who are doing the heavy lifting against Boko Haram, not Mr. Déby’s forces.
Diplomats and analysts acknowledge that the Nigerians have finally gotten into the fight, along with the help of South African mercenaries. But they still view Chad as an indispensable force. “I don’t see any way of successfully confronting the Boko Haram without Chadian assistance,” said the veteran diplomat.
That Western recognition for Mr. Déby and his army chafes, in turn, at the opposition and civil society in Chad, systematically locked out of power for years.
“The responsibility of the West is huge,” Mr. Kebzabo said angrily. “They’ve found someone to do their dirty work. Then, they close their eyes.”

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