Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Saturday, 23 May 2015
Thursday, 5 February 2015
SHOCKING BAKARE BOMBSHELL: How I Was Forced To Sign Resignation Letter As V.P Candidate To Buhari In 2011
A shocking video has emerged of Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly openly admitting that he refused to sign a resignation letter that would have seen him hand over his vice presidential position had General Buhari been successful in his presidential campaign in 2011.
In an interview with Kadaria Ahmed aired in July 2013, the firebrand pastor cum politician was queried as to whether his refusal to step down contributed to the breakdown of the proposed merger between CPC and ACN prior to the 2011 elections.
“It was not stepping down that was the issue,” Bakare responded. “It was resigning on paper with my signature, to sign as Vice President of Nigeria. I said, ‘No, I can’t do that. I can resign as Tunde Bakare, a candidate, but I cannot resign as Vice President, an office I have not occupied.’ That is illegal.”
“Are you saying they were willing to allow your name to go forward in the polls and then they expected that once you’d won the election, you would resign as Vice President?” queried Ahmed in the pilot edition of her show ‘Straight Talk With Kadaria’ currently airing on Channels Television.
“That is what they were asking for,” Bakare admitted. “But I was not ready to commit perjury, to sign an office I have not occupied.”
Clearly perplexed, Kadaria questioned as to why Bakare still chose to support a party that intentionally instructed him to be involved in perjury, adding that his position as a pastor puts him on an even higher moral pedestal in the eyes of the public.
“My moral code is simple – I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world,” Bakare retorted. “Light does not run away from darkness and salt does not run away from corruption. What you do is contact without contamination.”
The user who uploaded a short snippet of the interview on YouTube today opined that a similar agreement had been forged with current Vice presidential candidate, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) led by Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
“This is the same agreement their stooge, Pastor Yemi Osibanjo, has signed for Tinubu that will ensure APC's dream for a Muslim/Muslim Ticket if Buhari wins,” the video description controversially reads.
Watch short version of the video below...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr_95vQq7I0#action=share
Sunday, 1 February 2015
I support Jonathan because he believes in Nigeria’s unity — IBB opens up
I support Jonathan because he believes in Nigeria’s unity — IBB opens up
In this interview, former military president, General Ibrahim
Badamasi Babangida, clarifies his position on his statement suggesting
that he is in support of the re-election bid of President Goodluck
Jonathan. Babangida also speaks on the murder of Dele Giwa in 1986,
the Interim National Government, ING, Sani Abacha’s coup and the loss of
his long time companion and wife, Maryam.
Aired last Wednesday on Channels TV, the interview was an episode in the current affairs programme, STWK (Straight Talk With Kadaria), anchored by Kadaria Ahmed.
Excerpts:
Do you support President Jonathan’s attempt at re-election?
Firstly, I appreciate the fact that he came to visit me and, during our discussion, I found him to be a man who believes in the unity of this country and I did allude to that and I said I found him to be someone who has a very strong belief about the unity of this country.
Those of us who fought the civil war – I still carry a bullet so I have a permanent reminder in me – anything that relates to Nigeria’s unity, we get impassioned about it.
So what I said is that the President believes in the unity of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the President to keep this country one.
So, as far as the 2015 elections are concerned, President Jonathan has your blessing
Well, as far as 2015 is concerned, all the presidential candidates – 14 of them – have my blessings.
The only difference is (and I did mention it) that I have not been able to read what they have offered to this country and I am going to do that and whoever offers what I’m looking for, I am going to vote for.
What exactly did you mean when you said that if what you read in the papers these days is anything to go by, then your administration was saintly?
I am an avid reader of Nigerian newspapers, so when I read a statement like $16billion spent trying to provide power for this country or somebody kept under his bed N300m, if what I’m reading is true, then we were angels.
Not because you did any spending or because your level of spending was less or because you didn’t touch public money?
We did have a regulation.
You can’t, for example, keep more than ‘X’ amount of money in your vault or in your safe. We followed strictly the financial regulations and now it boggles my mind how somebody could put N300m under his bed.
I once removed a governor for N300,000, because he overspent what we had given him as limit on security.
But that didn’t mean that your government was squeaky clean because there was the Okigbo report about the over $12b oil windfall that was allegedly squandered by your administration.
First of all, may his soul rest in peace (Sani Abacha). The report was from 1986 to 1994, a period of eight years. By the time the late Pius Okigbo submitted his report, he said between 1986 to 1994, $12.4b accrued to the Federal Government. Nobody could deny that. Out of that amount, he said $1.4 or thereabouts came in during the Gulf War.
But, if you had done your home work well, you would know that the war lasted three months and there was no way you could make $1.4b in three months at the rate of $12 or $10 per barrel, producing about 800,00 per day.
The government did not indict anybody, neither did the report indict anybody. He was an acknowledged economist and what he said is that ‘X’ amount of money would have accrued into the reserves.
The government had an option to either go and put the money in the bank and say it was saving it or you meet some of the demands of the situation at that time.
Considering that you ruled Nigeria for some eight years, do you take any responsibility for the state of Nigeria today?
Well, you take responsibility for anything either good or bad – that is what leadership is all about and I think so far, as far as I am concerned, I take full responsibility for what we did.
Would the June 12 issue be something that when you look back you regret?
History will one day come and apportion blames to various actors in the whole saga.
There are a lot of people today in this country who supported what we did at that time.
What was the rationale behind the annulment?
We discussed the security situation and we were worried about putting up a government that would not last.
What were the conditions that raised those concerns?
There was this security problem that was dicey and the only people who could tell you what could happen were those of us in government, we the practitioners of violence by our profession. We knew there was a high level of frustration in the society which could provide a very fertile ground for a coup d’etat.
But in the end that was what happened because …
(Cuts in) In the end we were right because we speculated rightly.
Was it a plan?
No, it couldn’t have been a plan.
Don’t forget that there was a speculation by prominent people in the country who were saying at that time that the worst civilian government was better than this contraption (Interim National Government, ING).
The reason for that question was based on what you said about the coup issue because when you left, you did not retire General Abacha, a man who had been a central player in many successful coups and you left him in charge of the army more or less. That is why I asked if it was a plan for him to take over?
When we established the ING, we wanted to give it teeth; so whoever was in power would believe that it had backing.
So it never occurred to you that he (Abacha) wanted the number one job for himself?
It never crossed my mind quite honestly.
So when he executed this coup, what did you think?
It didn’t come to me as a surprise because all of you in this country at that time gave him the wherewithal to do it. I’ve always said a coup will always succeed if there is frustration in the society and that frustration was seen and orchestrated at that time, if you remember, coming from very prominent people, that this contraption was not better than the worst civilian government, and some of us knew at that time that if a coup happened, Nigerians would jump into the streets to welcome it.
So, why didn’t you retire Abacha knowing that there was a fertile ground and you had a coup maker…
(Cuts in) If there had been pressure on the ING for an election in six months’ time, Abacha would not have found it easy to stage a coup.
Given the fact that Nigerians wanted a government they elected and not the contraption you put together, why did you find it difficult to understand why Nigerians would not line up behind it?
I tell you what happened before that contraption came about
Now you are calling it contraption by the way?
(Laughter). No I like the word. I’m very fond of that word.
At that time in the whole of this country, you can go and check it, there wasn’t a single voice that said ‘let’s take a chance with the ING, let’s give it a chance if it would work’.
But it didn’t have legitimacy because they were not soldiers and they were not elected civilians
I governed for eight years, using decree. That contraption was given a constitution and that constitution was supported by a law. It was legitimately done as is done all over the world.
You were away when the Abacha coup happened. But when you came back, did he get in touch?
We did discuss and he took his time to explain to me what happened.
Did you give him any advice on how to run government or how soon he should hand over to civilians?
Those were things which he knew very well because he had been part and parcel of the administration for eight years; he knew the political actors in the country and he went ahead to call them, explaining to them what had happened, trying to legitimize what he had done and, believe it, there were a lot of politicians who supported him because he talked to them.
Are you surprised at how his government became one that was very repressive and he became known, perhaps, as one of the worst dictators Nigeria had ever known?
Yes and no. Yes because people would see him as a military person and secondly he was a man of limited words, you could not predict him.
No, because he had worked with us, worked with other people, had a good knowledge of how the system worked, how to keep security in the country. These were things that he knew and you could not deny him those things.
In 1986, you decided that Nigeria’s status as an observer at the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, should change to become a full member knowing that Nigeria has an almost equal population of Christians and Muslims.
Nigeria went into the OIC as an observer in 1973 under General Yakubu Gowon and I went in as a full member in 1986. That was a simple foreign policy decision that we took. It was a tool to enhance our foreign policy.
But the view of the ordinary Nigerian is that to be in OIC meant you were an Islamic country. And Nigeria is not an Islamic country. So why take us in there?
That has been proved wrong. Again, this is the beautiful thing about this country because people speculate a lot. As at the time we went in there, there were countries that were there which were not Islamic countries. I was quite surprised by the outrage that followed that decision because people translated it to mean that our government wanted to make Nigeria an Islamic country which is stupid. We had a Constitution which stated clearly at that time that no religion must be made superior to another.
In the years since then, as far as you know, what has been the specific benefit that we’ve got?
I think it helped us to push our foreign policy on issues that were of common concern because immediately after that I recognized Israel, knowing the feelings of the Islamic countries about Israel. I went ahead single-handedly to recognize Israel when everybody in the OAU went against it; we stuck to our gun; so if you accuse me of joining OIC, you must also accuse me of normalizing relations with Israel
We are in a situation in the country today where we have insurgents with a warped version of Islam which they claim they want to foist on the nation in some states. Do you think these sorts of decisions are the sort of things that plant seeds on the minds of some people claiming to want to promote one religion above another?
I’m glad you used the word ‘warped’. What is happening now is something that Nigerians should rise and fight against; Muslims should rise and fight against it because some people are spoiling the name of Islam, and this is not what Islam stands for.
Given the fact that we are a nation of different ethnicities, wouldn’t it have been better to pursue policies that would not divide us along religious lines – and this is even outside the Boko Haram insurgency?
I grew up here in Minna and there is where we call a mixed court where you find a Christian, a Muslim and an unbeliever, yet three of them will sit together to preside over cases which touch on traditions of the different groups and this we have been doing damn well. Everyone has a religion and you keep to it; even Islam frowns at imposition of the religion on others.
The question I’m driving at is that if, perhaps, we don’t pursue public policies that further strengthen the division that already exists, could we perhaps have had a better chance of making it as a nation and not one divided along ethnic and religious lines
My answer to that is yes.
So any regrets about taking Nigeria into the OIC?
No!
You don’t see that as a policy capable of further dividing us as a nation even though, by your own admission, Christians complained?
By your reaction, as a generation, it would be better not to toe those lines because they are very sensitive. It has been done before and the consequences were not so good for the country.
We had a civil war. Nobody would like to have a war again. The good thing is that from 1970 till today, I have never come across people who believe in the division of this country.
So, in your view, no regrets because we are learning from your mistakes?
The answer is yes!
What should we do about Boko Haram?
The first thing is that people must believe that this affects Nigeria generally and not just a part or just a religion. Like the civil war, the whole country was mobilized against secession and there was unity against he secession and I think we must accept that this problem is a Nigerian problem and everybody should come together to fight this phenomenon.
In practical terms, how do we begin to build unity so that Nigerians can see the problem as a Nigerian problem?
First of all, the leadership at all levels must be mobilized against Boko Haram. At the political level, people should watch what they say and the religious leaders also have a role to play just as the businessmen must be involved. Once Nigerians see that everyone is mobilized against the insurgency, no one would want to step out of line. Nigerians have to be mobilized and that would make it easier to win the war.
From a military point of view, are you surprised at the performance of our military against Boko Haram?
What you should be asking is that is this the same military of Nigeria that has been exceptional all over the world – in the Congo, Tanzania, UN operations, ECOWAS operations?
The question really is that by all accounts, the army you served in was a formidable army; so what did you people do that time that appears different from what is going on now?
When I was 22 as a 2nd Lieutenant, I had been told that I had no other country to die for except Nigeria, but now you’ve got 18 year olds or 19year olds or graduates asking ‘what is this Nigerianness they are talking about?’. They wouldn’t give a damn and, therefore, you have to do a re-orientation to bring this patriotism back.
Could it not be that some of us can say Nigeria had been good to us, so we had no option than to be committed. But you have the young ones today, say, of 30, who would be asking, ‘what the hell’ because they have had to fend for themselves one way or the other? They don’t see what the country has done for them. Shouldn’t government start by providing for the people and making them responsive to the needs of patriotism?
Government would have to take responsibility, I agree.
You’ve repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the murder of journalist Dele Giwa, but because you were the military head of state at that time and because your former press secretary, Debo Bashorun, alleged that you knew about it, many Nigerians are a bit skeptical about what you have said. Do you understand why they have been skeptical?
It is because they think I was the head of government at that time and I knew that anything that goes wrong they will like to blame it on somebody and the fact that everybody in the media said I knew about it never came to me as a surprise at all.
What about the role played by Major Bashorun, did that come as a surprise to you?
I stumble on the information in one of the papers that he wrote a book. But I have always maintained one thing: I know the young man very well but I don’t join issues with people to whom I am senior.
Was he upset with you and, therefore, would want to make you look bad?
That is his business, not mine.
At the time of Giwa’s death, did you order any investigations at all into the circumstances of the killing?
It could have been prejudicial because you guys in the media went to court and I couldn’t have ordered anything because the matter was already in the court. There were very good lawyers and activists pursuing that case; so we allowed the courts to try the case.
Aren’t you curious as to who killed Dele Giwa?
He was fortunate because he belonged to the journalism profession and the media kept the issue alive up till today. The issue of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane and Bola Ige would remain and people will like to pin it on somebody.
Is there any chance that some rogue elements in your government, without your knowledge, could have decided to teach Dele Giwa a lesson because he was critical of your administration?
I have maintained that I dominate my environment and my environment relates to the people I work with, people who work with me, people I relate to. I am fairly well-informed about things before they happen or immediately after they happen.
Do you have any regrets at all about your time in office?
I had a good time in office and would continue to be grateful to Nigerians for supporting me during that period and, if there is one thing I would have loved to do differently (not regretting), it would have been to make it constitutional that Nigeria should have a two-party state.
Why?
Because I believed then and I still believe now that it is the surest way of promoting the peace and stability of Nigeria and it worked. So, let’s institutionalise it. It’s just like the Land Use Act, it is in the Constitution. Some people may not like some aspects of it but it is there; so you have to work round it.
As a young soldier, did you ever envisage that your life would take the path it has taken?
As a young officer, my intention was maybe not the commander of a unit, so I was looking at the rank of a major or a Lt-Colonel, comparing the size of the Nigerian Army at that time.
But fate dealt you a different hand, how do you feel about that?
I feel gratified and I feel nice that while I planned, God had His own wish on His subjects.
You lost your long time companion and wife, Maryam, in December 2009. What has life been like without her?
She was a real companion who got to understand and accept me for what I am and tried to make the best of me and that is what I am missing. She was the one who would look at me and say ‘you’re wrong’ and I had to accept and bury my pride and I will say ‘sorry, you’re right’. That is the sort of counseling I am missing now.
How much time do you spend with the children and grand children to try and fill the vacuum that she’s left?
The children are doing very well and they have become a sort of friends to me. We sit down and talk and sometimes we disagree. My greatest source of pleasure now is seeing my grand children coming to me to say good night or when they return from school and they come to greet me. It reminded me of my time when I was growing up.
Many had thought that by now you would have re-married?
I will tell you an interesting story. There was a woman I was joking with and I said, ‘Okay, why don’t you marry me?’ and she said, ‘No I won’t’. And I asked her why? She said, ‘I am not sure I can spoil you the way your wife used to spoil you; so don’t put any idea into my head’.
Aired last Wednesday on Channels TV, the interview was an episode in the current affairs programme, STWK (Straight Talk With Kadaria), anchored by Kadaria Ahmed.
Excerpts:
Do you support President Jonathan’s attempt at re-election?
Firstly, I appreciate the fact that he came to visit me and, during our discussion, I found him to be a man who believes in the unity of this country and I did allude to that and I said I found him to be someone who has a very strong belief about the unity of this country.
Those of us who fought the civil war – I still carry a bullet so I have a permanent reminder in me – anything that relates to Nigeria’s unity, we get impassioned about it.
So what I said is that the President believes in the unity of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the President to keep this country one.
So, as far as the 2015 elections are concerned, President Jonathan has your blessing
Well, as far as 2015 is concerned, all the presidential candidates – 14 of them – have my blessings.
The only difference is (and I did mention it) that I have not been able to read what they have offered to this country and I am going to do that and whoever offers what I’m looking for, I am going to vote for.
What exactly did you mean when you said that if what you read in the papers these days is anything to go by, then your administration was saintly?
I am an avid reader of Nigerian newspapers, so when I read a statement like $16billion spent trying to provide power for this country or somebody kept under his bed N300m, if what I’m reading is true, then we were angels.
Not because you did any spending or because your level of spending was less or because you didn’t touch public money?
We did have a regulation.
You can’t, for example, keep more than ‘X’ amount of money in your vault or in your safe. We followed strictly the financial regulations and now it boggles my mind how somebody could put N300m under his bed.
I once removed a governor for N300,000, because he overspent what we had given him as limit on security.
But that didn’t mean that your government was squeaky clean because there was the Okigbo report about the over $12b oil windfall that was allegedly squandered by your administration.
First of all, may his soul rest in peace (Sani Abacha). The report was from 1986 to 1994, a period of eight years. By the time the late Pius Okigbo submitted his report, he said between 1986 to 1994, $12.4b accrued to the Federal Government. Nobody could deny that. Out of that amount, he said $1.4 or thereabouts came in during the Gulf War.
But, if you had done your home work well, you would know that the war lasted three months and there was no way you could make $1.4b in three months at the rate of $12 or $10 per barrel, producing about 800,00 per day.
The government did not indict anybody, neither did the report indict anybody. He was an acknowledged economist and what he said is that ‘X’ amount of money would have accrued into the reserves.
The government had an option to either go and put the money in the bank and say it was saving it or you meet some of the demands of the situation at that time.
Considering that you ruled Nigeria for some eight years, do you take any responsibility for the state of Nigeria today?
Well, you take responsibility for anything either good or bad – that is what leadership is all about and I think so far, as far as I am concerned, I take full responsibility for what we did.
Would the June 12 issue be something that when you look back you regret?
History will one day come and apportion blames to various actors in the whole saga.
There are a lot of people today in this country who supported what we did at that time.
What was the rationale behind the annulment?
We discussed the security situation and we were worried about putting up a government that would not last.
What were the conditions that raised those concerns?
There was this security problem that was dicey and the only people who could tell you what could happen were those of us in government, we the practitioners of violence by our profession. We knew there was a high level of frustration in the society which could provide a very fertile ground for a coup d’etat.
But in the end that was what happened because …
(Cuts in) In the end we were right because we speculated rightly.
Was it a plan?
No, it couldn’t have been a plan.
Don’t forget that there was a speculation by prominent people in the country who were saying at that time that the worst civilian government was better than this contraption (Interim National Government, ING).
The reason for that question was based on what you said about the coup issue because when you left, you did not retire General Abacha, a man who had been a central player in many successful coups and you left him in charge of the army more or less. That is why I asked if it was a plan for him to take over?
When we established the ING, we wanted to give it teeth; so whoever was in power would believe that it had backing.
So it never occurred to you that he (Abacha) wanted the number one job for himself?
It never crossed my mind quite honestly.
So when he executed this coup, what did you think?
It didn’t come to me as a surprise because all of you in this country at that time gave him the wherewithal to do it. I’ve always said a coup will always succeed if there is frustration in the society and that frustration was seen and orchestrated at that time, if you remember, coming from very prominent people, that this contraption was not better than the worst civilian government, and some of us knew at that time that if a coup happened, Nigerians would jump into the streets to welcome it.
So, why didn’t you retire Abacha knowing that there was a fertile ground and you had a coup maker…
(Cuts in) If there had been pressure on the ING for an election in six months’ time, Abacha would not have found it easy to stage a coup.
Given the fact that Nigerians wanted a government they elected and not the contraption you put together, why did you find it difficult to understand why Nigerians would not line up behind it?
I tell you what happened before that contraption came about
Now you are calling it contraption by the way?
(Laughter). No I like the word. I’m very fond of that word.
At that time in the whole of this country, you can go and check it, there wasn’t a single voice that said ‘let’s take a chance with the ING, let’s give it a chance if it would work’.
But it didn’t have legitimacy because they were not soldiers and they were not elected civilians
I governed for eight years, using decree. That contraption was given a constitution and that constitution was supported by a law. It was legitimately done as is done all over the world.
You were away when the Abacha coup happened. But when you came back, did he get in touch?
We did discuss and he took his time to explain to me what happened.
Did you give him any advice on how to run government or how soon he should hand over to civilians?
Those were things which he knew very well because he had been part and parcel of the administration for eight years; he knew the political actors in the country and he went ahead to call them, explaining to them what had happened, trying to legitimize what he had done and, believe it, there were a lot of politicians who supported him because he talked to them.
Are you surprised at how his government became one that was very repressive and he became known, perhaps, as one of the worst dictators Nigeria had ever known?
Yes and no. Yes because people would see him as a military person and secondly he was a man of limited words, you could not predict him.
No, because he had worked with us, worked with other people, had a good knowledge of how the system worked, how to keep security in the country. These were things that he knew and you could not deny him those things.
In 1986, you decided that Nigeria’s status as an observer at the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, should change to become a full member knowing that Nigeria has an almost equal population of Christians and Muslims.
Nigeria went into the OIC as an observer in 1973 under General Yakubu Gowon and I went in as a full member in 1986. That was a simple foreign policy decision that we took. It was a tool to enhance our foreign policy.
But the view of the ordinary Nigerian is that to be in OIC meant you were an Islamic country. And Nigeria is not an Islamic country. So why take us in there?
That has been proved wrong. Again, this is the beautiful thing about this country because people speculate a lot. As at the time we went in there, there were countries that were there which were not Islamic countries. I was quite surprised by the outrage that followed that decision because people translated it to mean that our government wanted to make Nigeria an Islamic country which is stupid. We had a Constitution which stated clearly at that time that no religion must be made superior to another.
In the years since then, as far as you know, what has been the specific benefit that we’ve got?
I think it helped us to push our foreign policy on issues that were of common concern because immediately after that I recognized Israel, knowing the feelings of the Islamic countries about Israel. I went ahead single-handedly to recognize Israel when everybody in the OAU went against it; we stuck to our gun; so if you accuse me of joining OIC, you must also accuse me of normalizing relations with Israel
We are in a situation in the country today where we have insurgents with a warped version of Islam which they claim they want to foist on the nation in some states. Do you think these sorts of decisions are the sort of things that plant seeds on the minds of some people claiming to want to promote one religion above another?
I’m glad you used the word ‘warped’. What is happening now is something that Nigerians should rise and fight against; Muslims should rise and fight against it because some people are spoiling the name of Islam, and this is not what Islam stands for.
Given the fact that we are a nation of different ethnicities, wouldn’t it have been better to pursue policies that would not divide us along religious lines – and this is even outside the Boko Haram insurgency?
I grew up here in Minna and there is where we call a mixed court where you find a Christian, a Muslim and an unbeliever, yet three of them will sit together to preside over cases which touch on traditions of the different groups and this we have been doing damn well. Everyone has a religion and you keep to it; even Islam frowns at imposition of the religion on others.
The question I’m driving at is that if, perhaps, we don’t pursue public policies that further strengthen the division that already exists, could we perhaps have had a better chance of making it as a nation and not one divided along ethnic and religious lines
My answer to that is yes.
So any regrets about taking Nigeria into the OIC?
No!
You don’t see that as a policy capable of further dividing us as a nation even though, by your own admission, Christians complained?
By your reaction, as a generation, it would be better not to toe those lines because they are very sensitive. It has been done before and the consequences were not so good for the country.
We had a civil war. Nobody would like to have a war again. The good thing is that from 1970 till today, I have never come across people who believe in the division of this country.
So, in your view, no regrets because we are learning from your mistakes?
The answer is yes!
What should we do about Boko Haram?
The first thing is that people must believe that this affects Nigeria generally and not just a part or just a religion. Like the civil war, the whole country was mobilized against secession and there was unity against he secession and I think we must accept that this problem is a Nigerian problem and everybody should come together to fight this phenomenon.
In practical terms, how do we begin to build unity so that Nigerians can see the problem as a Nigerian problem?
First of all, the leadership at all levels must be mobilized against Boko Haram. At the political level, people should watch what they say and the religious leaders also have a role to play just as the businessmen must be involved. Once Nigerians see that everyone is mobilized against the insurgency, no one would want to step out of line. Nigerians have to be mobilized and that would make it easier to win the war.
From a military point of view, are you surprised at the performance of our military against Boko Haram?
What you should be asking is that is this the same military of Nigeria that has been exceptional all over the world – in the Congo, Tanzania, UN operations, ECOWAS operations?
The question really is that by all accounts, the army you served in was a formidable army; so what did you people do that time that appears different from what is going on now?
When I was 22 as a 2nd Lieutenant, I had been told that I had no other country to die for except Nigeria, but now you’ve got 18 year olds or 19year olds or graduates asking ‘what is this Nigerianness they are talking about?’. They wouldn’t give a damn and, therefore, you have to do a re-orientation to bring this patriotism back.
Could it not be that some of us can say Nigeria had been good to us, so we had no option than to be committed. But you have the young ones today, say, of 30, who would be asking, ‘what the hell’ because they have had to fend for themselves one way or the other? They don’t see what the country has done for them. Shouldn’t government start by providing for the people and making them responsive to the needs of patriotism?
Government would have to take responsibility, I agree.
You’ve repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the murder of journalist Dele Giwa, but because you were the military head of state at that time and because your former press secretary, Debo Bashorun, alleged that you knew about it, many Nigerians are a bit skeptical about what you have said. Do you understand why they have been skeptical?
It is because they think I was the head of government at that time and I knew that anything that goes wrong they will like to blame it on somebody and the fact that everybody in the media said I knew about it never came to me as a surprise at all.
What about the role played by Major Bashorun, did that come as a surprise to you?
I stumble on the information in one of the papers that he wrote a book. But I have always maintained one thing: I know the young man very well but I don’t join issues with people to whom I am senior.
Was he upset with you and, therefore, would want to make you look bad?
That is his business, not mine.
At the time of Giwa’s death, did you order any investigations at all into the circumstances of the killing?
It could have been prejudicial because you guys in the media went to court and I couldn’t have ordered anything because the matter was already in the court. There were very good lawyers and activists pursuing that case; so we allowed the courts to try the case.
Aren’t you curious as to who killed Dele Giwa?
He was fortunate because he belonged to the journalism profession and the media kept the issue alive up till today. The issue of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane and Bola Ige would remain and people will like to pin it on somebody.
Is there any chance that some rogue elements in your government, without your knowledge, could have decided to teach Dele Giwa a lesson because he was critical of your administration?
I have maintained that I dominate my environment and my environment relates to the people I work with, people who work with me, people I relate to. I am fairly well-informed about things before they happen or immediately after they happen.
Do you have any regrets at all about your time in office?
I had a good time in office and would continue to be grateful to Nigerians for supporting me during that period and, if there is one thing I would have loved to do differently (not regretting), it would have been to make it constitutional that Nigeria should have a two-party state.
Why?
Because I believed then and I still believe now that it is the surest way of promoting the peace and stability of Nigeria and it worked. So, let’s institutionalise it. It’s just like the Land Use Act, it is in the Constitution. Some people may not like some aspects of it but it is there; so you have to work round it.
As a young soldier, did you ever envisage that your life would take the path it has taken?
As a young officer, my intention was maybe not the commander of a unit, so I was looking at the rank of a major or a Lt-Colonel, comparing the size of the Nigerian Army at that time.
But fate dealt you a different hand, how do you feel about that?
I feel gratified and I feel nice that while I planned, God had His own wish on His subjects.
You lost your long time companion and wife, Maryam, in December 2009. What has life been like without her?
She was a real companion who got to understand and accept me for what I am and tried to make the best of me and that is what I am missing. She was the one who would look at me and say ‘you’re wrong’ and I had to accept and bury my pride and I will say ‘sorry, you’re right’. That is the sort of counseling I am missing now.
How much time do you spend with the children and grand children to try and fill the vacuum that she’s left?
The children are doing very well and they have become a sort of friends to me. We sit down and talk and sometimes we disagree. My greatest source of pleasure now is seeing my grand children coming to me to say good night or when they return from school and they come to greet me. It reminded me of my time when I was growing up.
Many had thought that by now you would have re-married?
I will tell you an interesting story. There was a woman I was joking with and I said, ‘Okay, why don’t you marry me?’ and she said, ‘No I won’t’. And I asked her why? She said, ‘I am not sure I can spoil you the way your wife used to spoil you; so don’t put any idea into my head’.
Friday, 30 January 2015
Ghana-Nigeria Trade War Over…?
Nigeria Traders to build their Market in Ghana
The latest Press Release by the Nigeria High Commissioner Amb. Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan, with members of the Nigeria Media Center has given Nigerian Traders relief on the lingering trade issue with GUTA, Amb.Onafowokan confirmed to Nigerian Media houses in Ghana that after talks held between hi m and the members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Ghana few dews ago, the ministry of trade has given directives for land to be allocated for building of Nigerian Market in the regions of Ghana.
The Career Diplomat Amb.Onafowokan commended the president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, the foreign Minister Miss Hanna Tetteh, Hon. Haruna Idrissu the minister of labour and productivity, and confessed being extremely and most grateful to the new minister of trade Hon. Ekow Spio -Garbrah and his deputy Mr. Murtala Mohammed for their deep understanding of the importance of trade and international economic relations in the affairs of the nations, he lauded the new minister of trade for saying it categorically that it will not augur well for west Africa, if traders shops are locked and they are forced to go back to their countries, in the absence of what to do because if same treatments are met to Ghanaians it will affect the economic situation of Ghanaians who are also trading in other countries “ I appreciate the wisdom of Hon. Ekow Spio-Garbah and the new tolerant stand of the Ghanaian government and its people which is very considerate and fair ,via reconsidering the decision of clamping down on retail traders in Ghana and also taking steps to ensure that closed Nigerian shops were re-opened, and foreign traders are once more protected and can do their business and live free in Ghana without fear of molestation again ”
The meeting which resulted to this new positive development was actually undertaken by Amb.Onafowokan to make complaints on the incessant harassment of foreign traders which includes Nigerian traders in traditional markets of Ghanaians, which he found strange because Nigerians and Ghanaians have been trading side by side in those markets for over 100 years peacefully, and why the sudden change of attitude, and was happy by the high sense of understanding demonstrated by the ministry of trade and Industry Ghana that resulted in something positive coming out of the meeting ” The Ghanaian Government has done the wisest thing, and I commend them for knowing what to do in the face of such a delicate issue which also involves satisfying the interest of their citizens but moreover of gratifying the collective interest of Africans as a people thereby contributing to the economic growth of the ECOWAS Region, On the land allocation to be given to Nigerian community Ghana for erecting of their market, we plead for the assistance of Federal Government of Nigeria back home to assist in building the market, we the Nigeria High commission though we don’t have money to give them, we will work hard to ensure that this land allocation becomes a reality.”
When questioned by the media on the time frame on the fulfillment of the promise of land allocation he answered that no time was given but the Nigeria high commission has already responded to the promise with a letter immediately to ensure that the trail doesn’t go cold and the promise for land allocation be redeemed in the shortest time possible.
The high commissioner also confirmed that the land allocation for foreigners market or Nigerian market will not be in Accra alone, but in other affected regions like Kumasi, Ho, Wa , koforidua, Brong Ahafo and wherever they don’t want Nigerian traders in their markets and need them to move.
Amb.Onafowokan believes that Nigerian traders will appreciate this development because they agreed to this notion when he raised it before them during their visit, and it’s a good step towards finally putting this issue to a final rest because it’s more so a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
He confessed not wanting Ghanaians to lose out on the war because if Ghanaians shops are closed in Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Gabon and other countries, it will hit them hard more, and moreover too Ghanaians at home in Ghana needs to operate freely in their markets and make profits as well, so Ghana Govt reversing the decision and also choosing the option of land allocation for Nigerian traders to build their market is close to perfection in putting this issue to a final rest, this new stand of Ghana government is one of insight and intelligence he concluded.
Nigerian traders protest that led to the new development.
The Eviction order from the Ministry of Trade and Industry with a push from the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA),that resulted in clamp downs on their businesses has caused panic grips among Nigerian Traders in Ghana, this is after a month notice given to them to quit their act of engaging retail business in Ghana’s traditional Markets elapsed a almost 2 weeks ago.
• Nigerian traders complain to High Commission earlier
This action prompted the All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC – Ghana); a body that looks into the welfare of Nigerians living in Ghana in collaboration with Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) to organized a Press – Conference and a March Protest to the Nigerians High Commissioner to explain their grievances on Trade Issue and also to seek for the protection of their businesses in Ghana from the Government back home.
The press statement sought the Intervention of President John Dramani Mahama as the Chairman of ECOWAS to loud his voice on ECOWAS Protocol Treaty for the free movement of people Goods and Services across the borders of the Sub-Region as both countries are members, the Traders entreated the President John Mahama who is also the ECOWAS Chairman to raise a strong dialogue to ensure that the problem between GUTA and NUTAG is resolved once and for all, because the Trade Issue has always been like a sleeping Dog that sleeps and wakeup from time to time, adding to the fact that it consumes time and money and can result to hostilities among the citizens of the two nation. “It needs to be solved amicably via dialogue with the major players concerned by the issue and with representatives from the Government of the two Nations” ,and appealed to President Mahama to reconsider the decision to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Gipc), Law that Prohibits foreigners in the Country from doing Retail business.
the associations in their statement also pleaded to the Hon. Speaker Edward Kobby Doe Adjaho to be mild on the Trade prohibition law from the floor House on non-Ghanaians engaging retail business as stated in Sections: 27 (1) (a) and ‘28’ (2) of the GIPC Law 2013, Act ‘865’ which stated that a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a citizen should not participate in the Sale of goods or provision of services in a market place eg Petty Trading or Hawking or Selling of goods in a stall at any market place “and” A person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if the person invest in the enterprise not less than US$ 1 million in cash or goods and services relevant to the Investment.
They also drew attention of the Minister of trade Ghana and members of Parliament to temper justice with mercy on the Domestic Law on Trade Prohibition for foreigners doing retail business in Ghana because the Law will have serious consequences on foreign traders in the Country.
Mr. Moses Owharo, the President of All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC-Ghana) on his part said it’s tantamount to crime against humanity if the Ghana Govt goes ahead with this clamp down on Nigerian traders on so short a notice, because effects of implementing the Law will be hard on many families since these traders do not have other options of livelihood apart from Trading ,besides majority of these traders are from the eastern part of Nigerians (Igbos) and they are known for Business all over the World ,not only in Ghana alone.
He added,it is a matter of great concern against the backdrop of the upkeep of their Ghanaian wives and husbands given as Inter-Marriages between Ghanaians and Nigerians are high among these traders and particularly the future of their children who are also half Ghanaians.
He then pleaded for leniency from the Ghana Government as the two nations are friends and brethren in sub-Sahara region of Africa and are entwined in history, culture, Inter-marriage, Economic, and Educational aspects of life.
He voiced out strongly that NUTAG was not to question the rational for the Trade prohibition Law or challenge the Authority of Government, but rather,are appealing Law-makers for leniency and for the Government to reconsider and resolve not to Implement the said Domestic Law of the land at this time.
He also indicated that Nigerian traders had made immense contributions to the Ghanaian Economy in the areas of employments, Taxations, Infrastructures, Manpower and also likewise Ghanaians doing business in Nigeria so Ghana Government should see to second thought to this domestic Law to put temper unto it, as Government of the people, it needs to protect the interest of both parties and let not history repeat itself like it did in the past.
“We need to play maturity in our differences as we are two giants of the ECOWAS Region and others look upto us,-Nigerians- the Destination and Ghana the gateway to Africa. We should not allow politics and activists to destroy the house we build for ECOWAS unity and peace in the region for over 34 years of ECOWAS Integrations, liberation. We need each other, no country is sufficient on its own.”
“We need to Jaw-Jaw this trade Issue and bring a lasting solution to it, we plead for the Government for a reconsideration of the Implementation of the Trade Prohibition Law and think twice on the implications that may bring to the two countries. We are all working towards the progress and development of our people in the sub-region.” He concluded.
The latest Press Release by the Nigeria High Commissioner Amb. Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan, with members of the Nigeria Media Center has given Nigerian Traders relief on the lingering trade issue with GUTA, Amb.Onafowokan confirmed to Nigerian Media houses in Ghana that after talks held between hi m and the members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Ghana few dews ago, the ministry of trade has given directives for land to be allocated for building of Nigerian Market in the regions of Ghana.
The Career Diplomat Amb.Onafowokan commended the president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, the foreign Minister Miss Hanna Tetteh, Hon. Haruna Idrissu the minister of labour and productivity, and confessed being extremely and most grateful to the new minister of trade Hon. Ekow Spio -Garbrah and his deputy Mr. Murtala Mohammed for their deep understanding of the importance of trade and international economic relations in the affairs of the nations, he lauded the new minister of trade for saying it categorically that it will not augur well for west Africa, if traders shops are locked and they are forced to go back to their countries, in the absence of what to do because if same treatments are met to Ghanaians it will affect the economic situation of Ghanaians who are also trading in other countries “ I appreciate the wisdom of Hon. Ekow Spio-Garbah and the new tolerant stand of the Ghanaian government and its people which is very considerate and fair ,via reconsidering the decision of clamping down on retail traders in Ghana and also taking steps to ensure that closed Nigerian shops were re-opened, and foreign traders are once more protected and can do their business and live free in Ghana without fear of molestation again ”
Hon Ekow Spio- Garbrah Minister of Trade and Industry Ghana
This was out of the result of Nigeria High commissioners visit to the
ministry of trade and Industry Ghana following the peaceful
demonstration of the embittered traders to the High commission after
closures of their shops.The meeting which resulted to this new positive development was actually undertaken by Amb.Onafowokan to make complaints on the incessant harassment of foreign traders which includes Nigerian traders in traditional markets of Ghanaians, which he found strange because Nigerians and Ghanaians have been trading side by side in those markets for over 100 years peacefully, and why the sudden change of attitude, and was happy by the high sense of understanding demonstrated by the ministry of trade and Industry Ghana that resulted in something positive coming out of the meeting ” The Ghanaian Government has done the wisest thing, and I commend them for knowing what to do in the face of such a delicate issue which also involves satisfying the interest of their citizens but moreover of gratifying the collective interest of Africans as a people thereby contributing to the economic growth of the ECOWAS Region, On the land allocation to be given to Nigerian community Ghana for erecting of their market, we plead for the assistance of Federal Government of Nigeria back home to assist in building the market, we the Nigeria High commission though we don’t have money to give them, we will work hard to ensure that this land allocation becomes a reality.”
When questioned by the media on the time frame on the fulfillment of the promise of land allocation he answered that no time was given but the Nigeria high commission has already responded to the promise with a letter immediately to ensure that the trail doesn’t go cold and the promise for land allocation be redeemed in the shortest time possible.
The high commissioner also confirmed that the land allocation for foreigners market or Nigerian market will not be in Accra alone, but in other affected regions like Kumasi, Ho, Wa , koforidua, Brong Ahafo and wherever they don’t want Nigerian traders in their markets and need them to move.
Amb.Onafowokan believes that Nigerian traders will appreciate this development because they agreed to this notion when he raised it before them during their visit, and it’s a good step towards finally putting this issue to a final rest because it’s more so a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
He confessed not wanting Ghanaians to lose out on the war because if Ghanaians shops are closed in Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Gabon and other countries, it will hit them hard more, and moreover too Ghanaians at home in Ghana needs to operate freely in their markets and make profits as well, so Ghana Govt reversing the decision and also choosing the option of land allocation for Nigerian traders to build their market is close to perfection in putting this issue to a final rest, this new stand of Ghana government is one of insight and intelligence he concluded.
Nigerian traders protest that led to the new development.
The Eviction order from the Ministry of Trade and Industry with a push from the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA),that resulted in clamp downs on their businesses has caused panic grips among Nigerian Traders in Ghana, this is after a month notice given to them to quit their act of engaging retail business in Ghana’s traditional Markets elapsed a almost 2 weeks ago.
• Nigerian traders complain to High Commission earlier
This action prompted the All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC – Ghana); a body that looks into the welfare of Nigerians living in Ghana in collaboration with Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) to organized a Press – Conference and a March Protest to the Nigerians High Commissioner to explain their grievances on Trade Issue and also to seek for the protection of their businesses in Ghana from the Government back home.
The press statement sought the Intervention of President John Dramani Mahama as the Chairman of ECOWAS to loud his voice on ECOWAS Protocol Treaty for the free movement of people Goods and Services across the borders of the Sub-Region as both countries are members, the Traders entreated the President John Mahama who is also the ECOWAS Chairman to raise a strong dialogue to ensure that the problem between GUTA and NUTAG is resolved once and for all, because the Trade Issue has always been like a sleeping Dog that sleeps and wakeup from time to time, adding to the fact that it consumes time and money and can result to hostilities among the citizens of the two nation. “It needs to be solved amicably via dialogue with the major players concerned by the issue and with representatives from the Government of the two Nations” ,and appealed to President Mahama to reconsider the decision to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Gipc), Law that Prohibits foreigners in the Country from doing Retail business.
the associations in their statement also pleaded to the Hon. Speaker Edward Kobby Doe Adjaho to be mild on the Trade prohibition law from the floor House on non-Ghanaians engaging retail business as stated in Sections: 27 (1) (a) and ‘28’ (2) of the GIPC Law 2013, Act ‘865’ which stated that a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a citizen should not participate in the Sale of goods or provision of services in a market place eg Petty Trading or Hawking or Selling of goods in a stall at any market place “and” A person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if the person invest in the enterprise not less than US$ 1 million in cash or goods and services relevant to the Investment.
They also drew attention of the Minister of trade Ghana and members of Parliament to temper justice with mercy on the Domestic Law on Trade Prohibition for foreigners doing retail business in Ghana because the Law will have serious consequences on foreign traders in the Country.
Mr. Moses Owharo, the President of All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC-Ghana) on his part said it’s tantamount to crime against humanity if the Ghana Govt goes ahead with this clamp down on Nigerian traders on so short a notice, because effects of implementing the Law will be hard on many families since these traders do not have other options of livelihood apart from Trading ,besides majority of these traders are from the eastern part of Nigerians (Igbos) and they are known for Business all over the World ,not only in Ghana alone.
He added,it is a matter of great concern against the backdrop of the upkeep of their Ghanaian wives and husbands given as Inter-Marriages between Ghanaians and Nigerians are high among these traders and particularly the future of their children who are also half Ghanaians.
He then pleaded for leniency from the Ghana Government as the two nations are friends and brethren in sub-Sahara region of Africa and are entwined in history, culture, Inter-marriage, Economic, and Educational aspects of life.
He voiced out strongly that NUTAG was not to question the rational for the Trade prohibition Law or challenge the Authority of Government, but rather,are appealing Law-makers for leniency and for the Government to reconsider and resolve not to Implement the said Domestic Law of the land at this time.
He also indicated that Nigerian traders had made immense contributions to the Ghanaian Economy in the areas of employments, Taxations, Infrastructures, Manpower and also likewise Ghanaians doing business in Nigeria so Ghana Government should see to second thought to this domestic Law to put temper unto it, as Government of the people, it needs to protect the interest of both parties and let not history repeat itself like it did in the past.
“We need to play maturity in our differences as we are two giants of the ECOWAS Region and others look upto us,-Nigerians- the Destination and Ghana the gateway to Africa. We should not allow politics and activists to destroy the house we build for ECOWAS unity and peace in the region for over 34 years of ECOWAS Integrations, liberation. We need each other, no country is sufficient on its own.”
“We need to Jaw-Jaw this trade Issue and bring a lasting solution to it, we plead for the Government for a reconsideration of the Implementation of the Trade Prohibition Law and think twice on the implications that may bring to the two countries. We are all working towards the progress and development of our people in the sub-region.” He concluded.
Ghana-Nigeria Trade War Over…?
Nigeria Traders to build their Market in Ghana
The latest Press Release by the Nigeria High Commissioner Amb. Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan, with members of the Nigeria Media Center has given Nigerian Traders relief on the lingering trade issue with GUTA, Amb.Onafowokan confirmed to Nigerian Media houses in Ghana that after talks held between hi m and the members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Ghana few dews ago, the ministry of trade has given directives for land to be allocated for building of Nigerian Market in the regions of Ghana.
The Career Diplomat Amb.Onafowokan commended the president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, the foreign Minister Miss Hanna Tetteh, Hon. Haruna Idrissu the minister of labour and productivity, and confessed being extremely and most grateful to the new minister of trade Hon. Ekow Spio -Garbrah and his deputy Mr. Murtala Mohammed for their deep understanding of the importance of trade and international economic relations in the affairs of the nations, he lauded the new minister of trade for saying it categorically that it will not augur well for west Africa, if traders shops are locked and they are forced to go back to their countries, in the absence of what to do because if same treatments are met to Ghanaians it will affect the economic situation of Ghanaians who are also trading in other countries “ I appreciate the wisdom of Hon. Ekow Spio-Garbah and the new tolerant stand of the Ghanaian government and its people which is very considerate and fair ,via reconsidering the decision of clamping down on retail traders in Ghana and also taking steps to ensure that closed Nigerian shops were re-opened, and foreign traders are once more protected and can do their business and live free in Ghana without fear of molestation again ”
The meeting which resulted to this new positive development was actually undertaken by Amb.Onafowokan to make complaints on the incessant harassment of foreign traders which includes Nigerian traders in traditional markets of Ghanaians, which he found strange because Nigerians and Ghanaians have been trading side by side in those markets for over 100 years peacefully, and why the sudden change of attitude, and was happy by the high sense of understanding demonstrated by the ministry of trade and Industry Ghana that resulted in something positive coming out of the meeting ” The Ghanaian Government has done the wisest thing, and I commend them for knowing what to do in the face of such a delicate issue which also involves satisfying the interest of their citizens but moreover of gratifying the collective interest of Africans as a people thereby contributing to the economic growth of the ECOWAS Region, On the land allocation to be given to Nigerian community Ghana for erecting of their market, we plead for the assistance of Federal Government of Nigeria back home to assist in building the market, we the Nigeria High commission though we don’t have money to give them, we will work hard to ensure that this land allocation becomes a reality.”
When questioned by the media on the time frame on the fulfillment of the promise of land allocation he answered that no time was given but the Nigeria high commission has already responded to the promise with a letter immediately to ensure that the trail doesn’t go cold and the promise for land allocation be redeemed in the shortest time possible.
The high commissioner also confirmed that the land allocation for foreigners market or Nigerian market will not be in Accra alone, but in other affected regions like Kumasi, Ho, Wa , koforidua, Brong Ahafo and wherever they don’t want Nigerian traders in their markets and need them to move.
Amb.Onafowokan believes that Nigerian traders will appreciate this development because they agreed to this notion when he raised it before them during their visit, and it’s a good step towards finally putting this issue to a final rest because it’s more so a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
He confessed not wanting Ghanaians to lose out on the war because if Ghanaians shops are closed in Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Gabon and other countries, it will hit them hard more, and moreover too Ghanaians at home in Ghana needs to operate freely in their markets and make profits as well, so Ghana Govt reversing the decision and also choosing the option of land allocation for Nigerian traders to build their market is close to perfection in putting this issue to a final rest, this new stand of Ghana government is one of insight and intelligence he concluded.
Nigerian traders protest that led to the new development.
The Eviction order from the Ministry of Trade and Industry with a push from the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA),that resulted in clamp downs on their businesses has caused panic grips among Nigerian Traders in Ghana, this is after a month notice given to them to quit their act of engaging retail business in Ghana’s traditional Markets elapsed a almost 2 weeks ago.
• Nigerian traders complain to High Commission earlier
This action prompted the All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC – Ghana); a body that looks into the welfare of Nigerians living in Ghana in collaboration with Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) to organized a Press – Conference and a March Protest to the Nigerians High Commissioner to explain their grievances on Trade Issue and also to seek for the protection of their businesses in Ghana from the Government back home.
The press statement sought the Intervention of President John Dramani Mahama as the Chairman of ECOWAS to loud his voice on ECOWAS Protocol Treaty for the free movement of people Goods and Services across the borders of the Sub-Region as both countries are members, the Traders entreated the President John Mahama who is also the ECOWAS Chairman to raise a strong dialogue to ensure that the problem between GUTA and NUTAG is resolved once and for all, because the Trade Issue has always been like a sleeping Dog that sleeps and wakeup from time to time, adding to the fact that it consumes time and money and can result to hostilities among the citizens of the two nation. “It needs to be solved amicably via dialogue with the major players concerned by the issue and with representatives from the Government of the two Nations” ,and appealed to President Mahama to reconsider the decision to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Gipc), Law that Prohibits foreigners in the Country from doing Retail business.
the associations in their statement also pleaded to the Hon. Speaker Edward Kobby Doe Adjaho to be mild on the Trade prohibition law from the floor House on non-Ghanaians engaging retail business as stated in Sections: 27 (1) (a) and ‘28’ (2) of the GIPC Law 2013, Act ‘865’ which stated that a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a citizen should not participate in the Sale of goods or provision of services in a market place eg Petty Trading or Hawking or Selling of goods in a stall at any market place “and” A person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if the person invest in the enterprise not less than US$ 1 million in cash or goods and services relevant to the Investment.
They also drew attention of the Minister of trade Ghana and members of Parliament to temper justice with mercy on the Domestic Law on Trade Prohibition for foreigners doing retail business in Ghana because the Law will have serious consequences on foreign traders in the Country.
Mr. Moses Owharo, the President of All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC-Ghana) on his part said it’s tantamount to crime against humanity if the Ghana Govt goes ahead with this clamp down on Nigerian traders on so short a notice, because effects of implementing the Law will be hard on many families since these traders do not have other options of livelihood apart from Trading ,besides majority of these traders are from the eastern part of Nigerians (Igbos) and they are known for Business all over the World ,not only in Ghana alone.
He added,it is a matter of great concern against the backdrop of the upkeep of their Ghanaian wives and husbands given as Inter-Marriages between Ghanaians and Nigerians are high among these traders and particularly the future of their children who are also half Ghanaians.
He then pleaded for leniency from the Ghana Government as the two nations are friends and brethren in sub-Sahara region of Africa and are entwined in history, culture, Inter-marriage, Economic, and Educational aspects of life.
He voiced out strongly that NUTAG was not to question the rational for the Trade prohibition Law or challenge the Authority of Government, but rather,are appealing Law-makers for leniency and for the Government to reconsider and resolve not to Implement the said Domestic Law of the land at this time.
He also indicated that Nigerian traders had made immense contributions to the Ghanaian Economy in the areas of employments, Taxations, Infrastructures, Manpower and also likewise Ghanaians doing business in Nigeria so Ghana Government should see to second thought to this domestic Law to put temper unto it, as Government of the people, it needs to protect the interest of both parties and let not history repeat itself like it did in the past.
“We need to play maturity in our differences as we are two giants of the ECOWAS Region and others look upto us,-Nigerians- the Destination and Ghana the gateway to Africa. We should not allow politics and activists to destroy the house we build for ECOWAS unity and peace in the region for over 34 years of ECOWAS Integrations, liberation. We need each other, no country is sufficient on its own.”
“We need to Jaw-Jaw this trade Issue and bring a lasting solution to it, we plead for the Government for a reconsideration of the Implementation of the Trade Prohibition Law and think twice on the implications that may bring to the two countries. We are all working towards the progress and development of our people in the sub-region.” He concluded.
The latest Press Release by the Nigeria High Commissioner Amb. Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan, with members of the Nigeria Media Center has given Nigerian Traders relief on the lingering trade issue with GUTA, Amb.Onafowokan confirmed to Nigerian Media houses in Ghana that after talks held between hi m and the members of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Ghana few dews ago, the ministry of trade has given directives for land to be allocated for building of Nigerian Market in the regions of Ghana.
The Career Diplomat Amb.Onafowokan commended the president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, the foreign Minister Miss Hanna Tetteh, Hon. Haruna Idrissu the minister of labour and productivity, and confessed being extremely and most grateful to the new minister of trade Hon. Ekow Spio -Garbrah and his deputy Mr. Murtala Mohammed for their deep understanding of the importance of trade and international economic relations in the affairs of the nations, he lauded the new minister of trade for saying it categorically that it will not augur well for west Africa, if traders shops are locked and they are forced to go back to their countries, in the absence of what to do because if same treatments are met to Ghanaians it will affect the economic situation of Ghanaians who are also trading in other countries “ I appreciate the wisdom of Hon. Ekow Spio-Garbah and the new tolerant stand of the Ghanaian government and its people which is very considerate and fair ,via reconsidering the decision of clamping down on retail traders in Ghana and also taking steps to ensure that closed Nigerian shops were re-opened, and foreign traders are once more protected and can do their business and live free in Ghana without fear of molestation again ”
Hon Ekow Spio- Garbrah Minister of Trade and Industry Ghana
This was out of the result of Nigeria High commissioners visit to the
ministry of trade and Industry Ghana following the peaceful
demonstration of the embittered traders to the High commission after
closures of their shops.The meeting which resulted to this new positive development was actually undertaken by Amb.Onafowokan to make complaints on the incessant harassment of foreign traders which includes Nigerian traders in traditional markets of Ghanaians, which he found strange because Nigerians and Ghanaians have been trading side by side in those markets for over 100 years peacefully, and why the sudden change of attitude, and was happy by the high sense of understanding demonstrated by the ministry of trade and Industry Ghana that resulted in something positive coming out of the meeting ” The Ghanaian Government has done the wisest thing, and I commend them for knowing what to do in the face of such a delicate issue which also involves satisfying the interest of their citizens but moreover of gratifying the collective interest of Africans as a people thereby contributing to the economic growth of the ECOWAS Region, On the land allocation to be given to Nigerian community Ghana for erecting of their market, we plead for the assistance of Federal Government of Nigeria back home to assist in building the market, we the Nigeria High commission though we don’t have money to give them, we will work hard to ensure that this land allocation becomes a reality.”
When questioned by the media on the time frame on the fulfillment of the promise of land allocation he answered that no time was given but the Nigeria high commission has already responded to the promise with a letter immediately to ensure that the trail doesn’t go cold and the promise for land allocation be redeemed in the shortest time possible.
The high commissioner also confirmed that the land allocation for foreigners market or Nigerian market will not be in Accra alone, but in other affected regions like Kumasi, Ho, Wa , koforidua, Brong Ahafo and wherever they don’t want Nigerian traders in their markets and need them to move.
Amb.Onafowokan believes that Nigerian traders will appreciate this development because they agreed to this notion when he raised it before them during their visit, and it’s a good step towards finally putting this issue to a final rest because it’s more so a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
He confessed not wanting Ghanaians to lose out on the war because if Ghanaians shops are closed in Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Gabon and other countries, it will hit them hard more, and moreover too Ghanaians at home in Ghana needs to operate freely in their markets and make profits as well, so Ghana Govt reversing the decision and also choosing the option of land allocation for Nigerian traders to build their market is close to perfection in putting this issue to a final rest, this new stand of Ghana government is one of insight and intelligence he concluded.
Nigerian traders protest that led to the new development.
The Eviction order from the Ministry of Trade and Industry with a push from the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA),that resulted in clamp downs on their businesses has caused panic grips among Nigerian Traders in Ghana, this is after a month notice given to them to quit their act of engaging retail business in Ghana’s traditional Markets elapsed a almost 2 weeks ago.
• Nigerian traders complain to High Commission earlier
This action prompted the All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC – Ghana); a body that looks into the welfare of Nigerians living in Ghana in collaboration with Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) to organized a Press – Conference and a March Protest to the Nigerians High Commissioner to explain their grievances on Trade Issue and also to seek for the protection of their businesses in Ghana from the Government back home.
The press statement sought the Intervention of President John Dramani Mahama as the Chairman of ECOWAS to loud his voice on ECOWAS Protocol Treaty for the free movement of people Goods and Services across the borders of the Sub-Region as both countries are members, the Traders entreated the President John Mahama who is also the ECOWAS Chairman to raise a strong dialogue to ensure that the problem between GUTA and NUTAG is resolved once and for all, because the Trade Issue has always been like a sleeping Dog that sleeps and wakeup from time to time, adding to the fact that it consumes time and money and can result to hostilities among the citizens of the two nation. “It needs to be solved amicably via dialogue with the major players concerned by the issue and with representatives from the Government of the two Nations” ,and appealed to President Mahama to reconsider the decision to implement the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Gipc), Law that Prohibits foreigners in the Country from doing Retail business.
the associations in their statement also pleaded to the Hon. Speaker Edward Kobby Doe Adjaho to be mild on the Trade prohibition law from the floor House on non-Ghanaians engaging retail business as stated in Sections: 27 (1) (a) and ‘28’ (2) of the GIPC Law 2013, Act ‘865’ which stated that a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a citizen should not participate in the Sale of goods or provision of services in a market place eg Petty Trading or Hawking or Selling of goods in a stall at any market place “and” A person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if the person invest in the enterprise not less than US$ 1 million in cash or goods and services relevant to the Investment.
They also drew attention of the Minister of trade Ghana and members of Parliament to temper justice with mercy on the Domestic Law on Trade Prohibition for foreigners doing retail business in Ghana because the Law will have serious consequences on foreign traders in the Country.
Mr. Moses Owharo, the President of All Nigerian Community in Ghana (ANC-Ghana) on his part said it’s tantamount to crime against humanity if the Ghana Govt goes ahead with this clamp down on Nigerian traders on so short a notice, because effects of implementing the Law will be hard on many families since these traders do not have other options of livelihood apart from Trading ,besides majority of these traders are from the eastern part of Nigerians (Igbos) and they are known for Business all over the World ,not only in Ghana alone.
He added,it is a matter of great concern against the backdrop of the upkeep of their Ghanaian wives and husbands given as Inter-Marriages between Ghanaians and Nigerians are high among these traders and particularly the future of their children who are also half Ghanaians.
He then pleaded for leniency from the Ghana Government as the two nations are friends and brethren in sub-Sahara region of Africa and are entwined in history, culture, Inter-marriage, Economic, and Educational aspects of life.
He voiced out strongly that NUTAG was not to question the rational for the Trade prohibition Law or challenge the Authority of Government, but rather,are appealing Law-makers for leniency and for the Government to reconsider and resolve not to Implement the said Domestic Law of the land at this time.
He also indicated that Nigerian traders had made immense contributions to the Ghanaian Economy in the areas of employments, Taxations, Infrastructures, Manpower and also likewise Ghanaians doing business in Nigeria so Ghana Government should see to second thought to this domestic Law to put temper unto it, as Government of the people, it needs to protect the interest of both parties and let not history repeat itself like it did in the past.
“We need to play maturity in our differences as we are two giants of the ECOWAS Region and others look upto us,-Nigerians- the Destination and Ghana the gateway to Africa. We should not allow politics and activists to destroy the house we build for ECOWAS unity and peace in the region for over 34 years of ECOWAS Integrations, liberation. We need each other, no country is sufficient on its own.”
“We need to Jaw-Jaw this trade Issue and bring a lasting solution to it, we plead for the Government for a reconsideration of the Implementation of the Trade Prohibition Law and think twice on the implications that may bring to the two countries. We are all working towards the progress and development of our people in the sub-region.” He concluded.
Jehovah Witness ask members not to vote
As Nigerians prepare to elect new leaders that will run the affairs of the country in the next four years, members of Jehovah’s Witness have been banned from participating in the electoral process and by implication, they are forbidden from voting for any candidate or contesting in any election.
They claimed that participating in an election was satanic and contrary to God’s commandment.
Findings revealed that members of Jehovah’s Witness were warned not to obtain voter’s cards and that they should not vote during the elections.
The directive was not a mere order as any member found participating or voting during the elections will be excommunicated.
When our reporter spoke to some of the members who confirmed the directive, they claimed that the order was right because they are still waiting for the kingdom of God that is yet to be establshed on earth.
A minister in the congregation, James Uduok, explained that every member of Jehovah’s Witness knows that participating in election is satanic and contrary to the will of God.
Uduok said that the teaching of the Witness was strongly embedded in the Bible and all members must adhere strictly to the teaching or leave the congregation.
The members defended their decision not to vote or get involved in the electoral process by quoting Mathew 6: 9 and Mathew 4: 8.
Mathew 6: 9 says: “This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven may your holy name be honoured. May your kingdom come.”
To members of Jehovah’s Witness, this scripture implies that the kingdom of God has not come and they are still waiting for it to come.
Also, Mathew 4: 8 is a scripture that dwells on how the devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and promised to give them to Him if He bowed down and worshipped him. Members of Jehovah’s Witness claim that this world belongs to satan and insist that God’s kingdom has not yet come.
When our reporter sought the views of non members, especially pastors, their response was contrary to the teaching of the Witnesses.
Pastor Jude Chukwurah noted that their belief was strange because the same Bible mandated Christians to respect constituted authority.
“God recognises leadership and authority of leaders in the society,” he said.
Chukwurah said even in ages past, there was clamour for leaders as reported in the Bible and the people elected their leaders.
Another pastor, Michael James, said the Witnesses are misinterpreting the Bible and should be ignored.
He warned that their belief was not consistent with biblical teaching, adding that if such teaching is followed it could lead their members to imbibe false doctrine that could lead them to hell.
Residents sabotage governments's effort in figthing insurgents
Coordinated attacks by Boko Haram on Maiduguri, Konduga and Monguno in Borno State confirmed claims that there are moles in the North-East who divulge military operations to insurgents. There were also hints that the Armed Forces may have intended to dislodge terrorists in order to clear the entire region for a peaceful polls next month.
Sources said this week’s attacks were a desperate and diversionary attempt to pre-empt a massive onslaught and create an escape route for Boko Haram commanders.
The sources said, “but the most callous aspect of the attacks was the conscription and deployment of child-soldiers, teenage-female suicide bombers and animals to frustrate troops.
Senior military officers knowledgeable in military tactics and operations concerning plans to launch the “wipe off” attack on terrorists infested locations in the North East said the attacks on the three towns could be a further confirmation of allegations that there were Boko Haram moles in high places.
“It is common knowledge that the military were preparing a comprehensive onslaught on the Boko Haram terrorists in an operation meant to rid the entire region of insurgency in time for the general elections.
According to the source, last weekend’s multiple strike by the insurgents was meant to slow down or even prevent and divert the attention of the military from commencing the determined operation against them.
The source noted that the pattern of the attack was also common to the terrorists who embark upon such desperate and unlikely to succeed attacks just to create room for commanders to escape from their camps in view of impending military raids in the areas.
The source said: “The increasing use of child fighters and women in their campaign of terror in the recent encounter is quite baffling. They used animals, armed children and occasional women to confront the soldiers while their commanders operate from the back and mostly in the armoured vehicles”
Some residents of the three towns were also blamed for aiding and abetting the terrorists by providing information about troops’ movements and wonder how the military can succeed in the fight against terrorists when those they are supposed to be defending are the real enemies.
“The recent retreat of soldiers from Monguno occurred following betrayal of the troops by some locals who leaked some information to the terrorists and subsequent attacks from strange locations within the community.
Unfortunately, troops do not have the same leeway to operate like terrorists because they are bound to observe international rules of engagement.
“Attacks or retaliation by the military on suspected areas occupied by civilians could be tagged as human right abuse and negating international conventions on rules of engagements.
Sunday, 25 January 2015
One Japanese hostage of ISIS has been executed, according to new video and 10 More
http://mashable.com/2015/01/24/japan-government-isis-video/?utm_content=feature_img&utm_cid=mash-prod-email-topstories&utm_emailalert=daily&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyOne
Japanese hostage of ISIS has been executed, according to new video
A Japanese hostage held by ISIS has been beheaded and another is being
held as ransom, according to a video that surfaced online Saturday.
Father throws two weeks old daughter into lagoon
■ Mother of baby thrown into lagoon cries out
■ Culprit set free by naval authorities
■ Culprit set free by naval authorities
Almost three years after her baby was callously thrown into the Lagos lagoon, by the naval rating that impregnated her in the course of a short-lived marriage, Glory Yusuf, has opened up on the horrible experience.
For nine long months, Glory bore the pain and stress of pregnancy. Like every other woman expecting her first child, she had great expectations for her unborn child. On the day of her baby’s birth, she struggled to stay alive for her child.
Even when the pain of childbirth overwhelmed her body, she still managed to heed all the instructions from the healthcare givers who helped with the labour.
Finally, Glory pushed out her child into the world. It was a bouncing baby girl! There was joy in her heart and immediately, the pains started to recede.
Eight days after, she staged a naming ceremony during which she named her bundle of joy Happiness. No doubt, she expected that the girl would become for her a source of unending happiness.
The only person who was not happy with the birth of Happiness was her own father, Moses Joseph, a naval rating. Few days after Happiness was born, her father came for her, but not with love in his eyes. He came with a sneaking determination to commit murder.
After two failed attempts at getting the baby from the mother, Joseph resorted to taking the law into his own hands. He hired thugs, went after the mother of the child with arms and eventually snatched her from its mother.
The incident happened in the dark hours of February 2, 2012 at the Boundary Ajegunle area of Lagos. The baby was just two weeks old.
Sunday Sun met with the young woman recently, and discovered rather painfully that the man who had bagged a 10-year jail term following a court-martial by the Nigerian Navy has since been set free.
That sobering fact just added to the pain of the mother of the victim who told our reporter that she is yet to find rest ever since the brutal end of her baby’s life.
With pain in her eyes, Glory struggled to recall the story as it happened. “He came to my house after the naming ceremony and demanded for the baby. I refused because I didn’t know what he wanted to do with a one-week-old baby.
“He then told me that he wanted to take the baby to the motherless babies home. And I was like ‘God forbid, how can you take my baby to a motherless babies home when I am still alive?’ I refused to let him take the baby that day and he fought me.”
Glory conceived Happiness in the course of an inchoate marital relationship. Trouble started after Glory discovered that Joseph was married and had lied to her about his status. It happened while her pregnancy was approaching five months. A woman visited the couple with two children.
Joseph had told Glory that the woman was his late brother’s wife and that she had come to beg for school fees for the children. She swallowed the story hook, line and sinker.
Three days after, she discovered that the woman was actually Joseph’s wife and the children, the fruits of his union with her. When she demanded an explanation, the man told her to abort her pregnancy now that she knows about his marriage.
Since she was not given to abortion, Glory left the house and struggled her way through the pregnancy. It was surprising to have Joseph making a demand for the child after he had asked her to terminate it.
Continuing her narration, Glory said that in his efforts to have the child, Joseph beat her to a coma and seized the child.
“I did not even know when he took the baby away. It was even my neighours that ran after him and took the baby from him. They told him that he couldn’t take away such a young baby like that from its mother. When I woke up, they gave me my baby and told me what had happened. I was so grateful to them. After that, I called my mother and told her that the father of my baby wanted to take the child from me. And she then promised to come to Lagos from our state, Kogi.
“The very day my mother entered Lagos was the second time the man came back for the child. After greeting my mother, he said he wanted to take the baby. My mother was very angry with him. She asked him what he wanted to do with a week-old baby and if something was wrong with him. After quarrelling with my mother, he promised to come back for the child. In my mind, I thought that he would come back the way he had been coming. But the night he came back, he came with about eight-armed men around 3:00am.
“They pointed a gun at me and demanded for the baby. But I refused to give them the child. Then they knocked my mother down and said they were going to shoot me if I didn’t give them the baby. Then my mother started begging me to give them the child since it was the father of the baby that is asking for her. At a point I had to let them take the baby and they went off with her. As they were leaving, I started shouting and ran after them. That was when I saw the father of my baby outside with those boys. He didn’t enter the room with them. They started their bikes and left.
“Then I ran inside, took my phone and started calling him to return my baby, but his number was not going through. I kept trying the number till 4:00am, but it was not going through. So, I ran to their barracks. When the gateman saw me crying, he asked what the matter was and I told him. He said the matter was beyond him, that he would take me to the barracks chief. After hearing my story, the barracks chief asked me if I was sure of what I just told him and I said yes. Then he asked them to call the man.
“When they called him, he said he was at Boundary where his baby was stolen. The barracks chief then ordered him back to the barracks. When he got there, I held him and begged him to return my baby, but he denied knowledge of the incident. He was even telling me to go and look for his baby. The barracks chief then asked me again and I told him that I was sure the man came with the people that took my baby. In fact, if I see the very man that took the baby from me I can still recognize him. The barracks chief then took us to Navy Town.
“When we got to the town, the man was still denying. So, they said they would take the matter to the overalloga upstairs, so that the oga will ask the man the question himself. As they were going, the father of my baby gave his phones and N17,000 to one Hausa boy that has been following us. He told the boy that he was expecting a call from the mother of his children; that when she calls he should direct her to the Navy Town and give her the money. As they were going up, one of the phones started ringing. When the boy picked it, one of the boys who snatched the baby from me was heard saying: oga, where are you now? We are at Marine Beach waiting, but you are not here. Come and settle us now.’
“The boy cut the call, took the phone to a military police officer that was also there and reported what he heard. The officer then took the phone from him and called the boys back and started speaking Hausa to them. When he asked who they were, the boys became angry and were like: ‘So, you don’t know us again. We followed you to your girlfriend’s house to take your baby. Now, you don’t know who we are.’
“As a result of that phone call, they did not take him up again. Instead, they put the man in a vehicle and with some other military police officers and drove him to the Marine Beach. When they got there, they called back the number and that was where they arrested two of those boys; Ilaya and Bello. After they were questioned, the boys explained how they collected the baby and that when they left my house; they had put the baby in an Indomie carton and thrown her into the lagoon. When they said that, I was shattered. I was crying; that they should go into the water and get my baby. Even if it was her corpse; that I wanted to see my baby again,” she said amid tears.
By this time, Glory was fighting hard to keep the tears away, but without much success. You could see a woman who has been through a lot in one lifetime.
Following that revelation, the woman said the Nigerian Navy promised to handle the matter. “After the trial, they told me that they sentenced the man to 10 years imprisonment; and that the case was over. I could not believe it, but because I did not have anybody that would support me, I just left the matter in God’s hands,” Glory said.
As if that was not enough, Glory claimed that not long after the jail term was handed down, she started seeing the same man who killed her child.
“It was not up to six months when I started to see him. The first time, I saw him at Airways Bus Stop here in Apapa as I was going to CMS. He was on bike and in Navy uniform. Another time, I saw him at Ajegunle in the night. He was wearing only the Navy beret. Even as at December, I still saw him.”
Glory, who said she would like to move on with her life, told our reporter that she could not find rest until justice was served in the murder of her infant daughter. “Every time I remember the things I went through having that baby, I just want to die. I am tired. I can’t even sleep at night. I am worried,” she said, fighting back the tears.
Following the incident, Glory said she lost the job she was doing on Lagos Island because she was always going from one place to another in search of justice. The court case was also taking much of her time and as a result, her employer disengaged her.
So, right now, she is struggling to eke out a living with no tangible source of livelihood. But uppermost in her mind is her desire to ensure that the killer of her child is duly brought to book. “Nobody has the right to take away the life of my child like that. It is God that created her and I am sure that he has a purpose for her life. I just want her killer to face the full weight of the law.” Before the Navy took up the matter, Access to Justice had commenced a Coroner’s inquest into the death of the infant. But on the request of the Navy, the matter was discontinued at the time.
So, in its reaction to the release of the Naval rating, the NGO said the action was highly condemnable. “It is distressing to discover that, less than two years after Joseph was sentenced by the Naval Court Martial, he has since been walking the streets a free man in uniform having been released on the basis of an alleged administrative review by the Navy for which the decease’s mother, Miss Glory Yusuf was never notified.
“This so called administrative release of the Naval Rating is a cause for grave concern as it is bewildering to imagine that the Nigerian Navy could release a man whose conduct was so barbaric and inhumane when he had not served out his jail term.
“What is worse is that Mr. Joseph still retains his employment as a service man within the Nigerian Navy despite the guilty verdict handed down by the Court Martial. This action by the Nigerian Navy clearly demonstrates its disregard for human life, particularly the life of the two weeks old innocent child that was intentionally taken away by her own father.
“Access to Justice is concerned that this action by the Nigerian Navy sends negative indications to the public that naval officers responsible for any criminal act against civilians can easily escape the arm of justice under administrative guise and be fully rewarded thereafter with the retention of their stewardship.
The body called on the Lagos State Government, the Attorney General of Lagos State and stakeholders in the justice sector “to demonstrate their commitment to enhancing respect for human life by immediately taking steps to inquire into the circumstances of the naval rating’s release to demonstrate that the state government would not condone or tolerate law enforcement agents’ arbitrariness and abuse of civilian’s rights,” the statement read in part.
I’m angry with Jonathan–Dokubo Asari
COUTESY CHIDI OBINECHE
Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, ex-militant and leader of Niger Delta Volunteers Force (NDVF) is angry.
He sees Nigeria as a huge contraption that is bound to collapse..
For him, his greatest desire is to see the country break up, even as he urges the South and the Middle belt to rise up and confront those he said have an unhidden mission to conquer and dominate everywhere.
A glimpse: “So for them, their grip on power, their intention for which they left Guinea, spreading death and destruction, destroying Borgu, destroying Kanem Bornu, destroying Kwararafa, destroying the Oyo Empire, destroying the Gbagis, destroying the Katafs, destroying all civilizations on their way to take power is fading. They know that it will not last forever.”
He vows to lead the battle to debunk the myth of ‘born to rule’ which has been their driving force.
He describes Gideon Orkah, the leader of the April 1991 botched coup d’etat against ex-president Ibrahim Babangida, which excised large portions of the North- west from Nigeria, as a prophet who saw what many did not see.
Dokubo warns those who deride Jonathan not to dare “a deaf and dumb man” by pushing him to the wall as his bid to get off the wall may be catastrophic for them.
Saying that Rivers State governor is a traitor, he likened him to the biblical Judas Iscariot, who committed suicide after betraying Jesus.
He speaks more on Obasanjo, February polls, and related issues. Excerpts:
Ahead of the general elections next month, what are your basic fears?
Normally, elections are special when a northern candidate, a Gambari candidate is involved. They believe that they will resort to violence. Reports of violence have been coming in, in Kaduna, where somebody driving the president’s branded bus was beaten to the point of coma. A couple of days ago, a bus was burnt in Jos North; a branded bus of the president was burnt in Jos North. The arsonists were chanting, “Haram me, Muna fike kafere. Baba yoyo oyo yo. Sai Buhari.” It’s all recorded. These are the things that will trigger retaliation. In Rivers State today, APC secretariat in Okirika Local Government Area has been bombed according to reports. There was also a reported case of shooting of APC members. People are not going to fold their arms. There would be actions and reactions from the North and the South. This is very, very unhealthy, because at all times, they initiate violence and people just ignore them and say let us forget about them; why are we bothering about them? This cannot continue forever. People have to stand up to defend themselves. These are the fears, because they know that in every free and fair election, they will not be able to get underage children to vote. We all saw underage children collecting PVCs, very openly. Nobody confronted them, they did it openly. They will incite and scare people away from coming out to vote. The insurgency which they masterminded to make the government of Goodluck Jonathan not to be able to have a grip over the country is raging as a result of the promise they made after the last elections that they will make the country ungovernable for Goodluck.
You said if the violence continues, it may spark off some reactions?
The reactions are already there with what has happened in Rivers State, and I know that it’s going to spread all over the South very soon, it’s going to spread. Look at what is happening in Lagos State, where posters of PDP candidates are being torn, and I saw somebody on television boasting, talking that there is a law. So, the law permits APC to paste their posters and the PDP not to paste their posters? If you drive out, on federal roads, federal highways, federal pavements, PDP posters are being torn, APC posters are spared. I drove round Lagos Third Mainland Bridge and all the expressways which are owned by the Federal Government and maintained by the Federal Government. Lagos State Government officials are bringing bad policies in the name of APC, going about defacing posters.
Don’t you think this is just the icing on the cake, and elections may not hold now that violence is erupting?
It’s for the North and their supporters to moderate their actions, because they had always been the people to initiate violence. It’s for them to moderate, see reason and live with human beings.They want to reduce us to their level. But there is nothing we can do about it. If they want us to come to their level, there is no other option than to come to their level. We will not fold our arms and die. We will not fold our arms and watch them take the mandate that was freely given to Goodluck, that will be freely given to him on February 14 to continue for another four uninterrupted years until 2019. So, we are not going to fold our arms and watch them fight people, and watch them have an exclusivity to violence.
They say actions beget reactions. The way things are going now, Nigeria is like standing on a tinder box. If the North do not let go, if they don’t allow Jonathan rule if he wins, on your own part, what are you going to do?
Jonathan will win, no matter the way they want it, he will win. So, they are the ones who have problems.
But in the North, they don’t support Jonathan, and if you look at the possible voters’ dispersal index, you will see who will possibly win in the election?
The voting in the last elections was very clear. Apart from Taraba State, no part of the North east and North west voted for Jonathan. We keep records.
So you are saying that Jonathan can still bounce back without their support?
He will win. This is the map of the 2011 elections (opens i-Pad to show the delineation in the voting pattern of Nigerians) red is for CPC, green for PDP. Taraba is the only state that they did not win. PDP got Plateau, Nassarawa, Kogi, Benue, Abuja, Kwara in the North central.
But politics is dynamic. Things have since changed since 2011 and there are two grey areas APC is latching on to swing votes, and these are insecurity and corruption. Things have really changed in voters loyalty switch. You don’t think so?
Which corruption are you talking about?
The talk is that Jonathan is condoning corruption and that they will stamp it out, if they win.
Excuse me please. There are about 800 governments in Nigeria. We have 774 local governments. We have 36 states and Abuja and that is over 800 governments. Sixty-four local governments in Kano State are under an APC governor. Is it Jonathan that diverts Local government money? Money meant for the local governments. The budget of three states controlled by APC is almost the entire budget of the federation. The budget of Rivers State, the budget of Lagos State, the budget of Kano State are almost the budget of the federal government, N400 and something billion, and N500 and something billion budgets for Rivers and Lagos. The Federal Government budget is close to N4 trillion. So, these governments are controlled by APC. What have they done about corruption? The Federal Government is just one tier of government, and when you look at it, it’s not even up to a quarter of the budget of all the local governments and states put together. So, which corruption are we talking about?
You see, people get easily deceived. You go home and ask your local government chairman, whether he is APC or PDP or APGA what he has done with the money allocated to him monthly. In most of the states, elections are not held. The governors of these states, mostly APC states confiscate local government money and they use it as they deem fit. So, how? where? what corruption? The people who stand to talk as if everybody is a fool, as if they are going to pull a wool over our eyes and we won’t know what has happened in Lagos State, Rivers State, Akwa Ibom State, Edo State, Kano State, Delta State, Borno State and Yobe State should equally concern all of us. I think that corruption is not peculiar to the Federal Government. Corruption is endemic and it cuts across all the tiers of government.
There is palpable fear especially from feelers in the North that if Jonathan returns to power, the country may disintegrate. Don’t you habour that fear too?
I will be very happy if Nigeria disintegrates. It will be the greatest thing that will happen in my lifetime. It will be the fulfillment of my greatest wishes and aspirations.
Why do you say so?
I hate… I am not a Nigerian. Why should anybody force me to be a Nigerian. Where did I sit down with anybody to accept to be a Nigerian? Where? I never sat with anybody. So, it would be the greatest fulfillment of my wish and aspiration. It is my dream come true. Having said that, they don’t have the monopoly of violence. They should be told. They should be made to understand that they don’t have. Nobody will tolerate them any longer.
But as arms are pouring into the Boko Haram enclave, there is peace on this other side, the south. No proliferation of weapons…
(cuts in) Then the people in the South are stupid. If they tied their hands, I certainly have not tied my hands. I am not waiting for anybody. I will protect myself, my family, my community and my country. The right to life is the greatest right. It’s the first right that is accorded to me by God, and by everything that exists. So, as far as I am concerned, if any southerner sits down and folds his arms, and thinks that he will not prepare to defend himself and wait for the North, as they come from Guinea to overrun him, then he has himself to blame. I will not be that foolish, and those who believe in me and listen to me are not waiting. They are preparing. We too are preparing and we are waiting for them and Insha Allah, because we stand for justice, we will defeat them.
The Gambaris as you call them hinge their opposition to Jonathan on the reason that they believe that he is usurping their slot in the zoning arrangement of the PDP. The argument is that a northerner should have stepped into Yara’Adua’s shoes when he died and not Jonathan. Are you fazed by that?
You see people don’t go with the whims and caprices of individuals. Countries are ruled by laws and the greatest law, the law that governs the country is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as they call it. The constitution says that when a president dies, the vice president takes over; when a president is incapacitated, the vice president takes over. And the constitution clearly states that every citizen has the right to aspire for any office. And in every democracy, the right of first offer is given to the sitting president by his political party. In their belief that they are born to rule, they make rules they think are superior to the constitution. It was not the right of any other people when Yakubu Gowon was succeeded by Murtala Mohammed. After Murtala Mohammed, they brought Olusegun Obasanjo, who was overshadowed by Yar’Adua. It was their right. Then Shagari took over, Shagari handed over to Babangida, Babangida handed over to Abacha; Abacha handed over to Abdulsalam. Then they brought Olusegun Obasanjo, their puppet, who handed over to Yar’Adua. You see, for the first time, somebody has become president that they did not decide for the people.
So, for them, their grip on power, their intention, for which they left Guinea, spreading death and destruction, destroying Borgu, destroying Kanem Borno, destroying Kwararafa, destroying the Oyo empire, destroying the Gbagis, destroying the Katafs, destroying all civilizations on their way to take power is fading. They know that it will not last forever. And they see that Nigeria is their most prized trophy in their battle for the subjugation of the nations which are indigenous to this part of the world. They have been defeated in the Central African Republic (CAR), the aborigines, the owners of CAR have kicked them out of their land. And they know that if that continues, if it starts in Cameroun, if the Cameroonians also do the same thing, it will come to us. And with this, we will finally kick them out and rid ourselves of their colonial mentality and sovereignty. They know it, and our people are not aware of the historical importance of the invasion of our land by these people from Guinea.
They know that instead of living amicably with other nationalities, as strangers on our land, not offending our sensibilities, insulting us, they keep on exhibiting high sense of insensibility towards the owners of the land. Even though they have committed genocide, all manners of crime against us, we still have the large heart to accommodate them. It’s for me, for most of us who know these historical facts and their importance to our lives, a responsibility to say the truth. We believe that Gideon Orkah was a prophet. He was a prophet who saw beyond what all of us could not see. When he stood up and said these people would be excised from Nigeria, that they have to purge themselves of this feeling of colonizing other people, to take what belongs to others, that they have to first of all purge themselves, and if we are satisfied that they have totally done that, that there is a purgation of this noxious idea of born to rule, then we will admit them back to live with us as equals. But many people did not know.
Former vice-president Alex Ekwueme recently exploded saying he has been betrayed and neglected and the Igbos have also been betrayed by Jonathan, and as a result he cannot guarantee bloc Igbo votes for Jonathan in the forthcoming presidential elections. What is your view on that?
I am very, very disappointed when elders become childish and senile. If there is one man that I respect and I look up to, if there is one man that I see as a role model, it’s Alex Ekwueme. So, Buhari who put him in prison when he committed no crime, put him in Kirikiri and left Shagari under house arrest is the one that has not betrayed the Igbos?. What did Obasanjo do for him, when he was president? What did Yar’Adua do for him when he was president? A Goodluck Jonathan, under who an Igbo man for the first time became Chief of Army Staff is now anti- Igbo? Pray, all parts of the financial sector, the economy of Nigeria are controlled by the Igbos. The Minister of Finance, Central Bank Governor, D. G. Budget, D.G, Due Process, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, are all controlled by Igbos. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF is an Igbo, Deputy Senate President is an Igbo, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives is an Igbo. So how has the Igbos been betrayed?. The Second Niger Bridge, nobody constructed it until now. Construction has commenced. I went there. Julius Berger was there. I saw it, and that was in October.
Today, there is an airport in Enugu. International flights are coming into Igbo heartland. It never happened. Nobody ever permitted it. Igbos must go through Lagos. Everybody must go through Lagos. There are a lot of things happening in Igboland today. So, for somebody to say Igbos have been betrayed, I feel very scandalized and I just held my head. Because, as somebody who has Igbo blood flowing in me, I feel that the old man, something must have gone wrong with him somewhere, because if something has not gone wrong with him, he will know that the person he is indirectly campaigning for was the man who put him in prison without trial. It is so unfortunate.
The North appears to be homogenous, and the South so atomistic. Don’t you think if the push comes to shove, the North will leverage on their homogeneity and ride over the entire landscape?
I don’t know what you mean by homogeneity of the North. Where do you keep Nasarawa State? Where do you keep Plateau? Where do you keep Taraba State? Where do you keep Kaduna State? Where do you keep Kogi State? Benue State? Where is the homogeneity of the North? Even if they claim to be homogenous, the Gambari invaders who have made slavery acceptable to the Hausas, how have they related with other people?. So, for me, I am not a coward. Let the enemy plan, but he will fail in his plan. I believe it, I know it and I am prepared for it. And I am ready at any moment to confront the enemy and to make sure that at least whatever he tries to do this time, he will fail. And he will be humiliated, and what happened in Central Africa Republic will happen here.
Let me take you to Obasanjo. He has been making scathing criticisms of the president. But surprisingly, he showed up at his daughter’s wedding and Jonathan was persuaded to pay him a visit at his country home, Abeokuta. Do you trust him?
I don’t need to trust Obasanjo. I am really pissed off at the attitude of President Goodluck Jonathan in condoning this old rascal. I am really pissed off. I was to go to the wedding. I had already taken my bath when I heard that Obasanjo was at the wedding, I didn’t want to go and spoil anything. So, I decided not to go. Definitely, if I went and he says anything disparaging about me, I will respond. I didn’t want that to happen. So, whatever reason Goodluck allowed him to come there is best known to both of them.
Do you not think it was out of desperation that the president is seeking support from Obasanjo in his re-election bid?
Jonathan was not the first to go there. Obasanjo came to his daughter’s wedding. So it’s reciprocal. Jonathan said that some past leaders talk like motor park touts, and then in the next two, three days, Obasanjo surfaced at the wedding. So, Jonathan decided to pay him a visit, maybe, e get as e be, he will support him. That’s why I find it difficult to seek elective offices because I cannot condescend to this sort of level. I believe that this man, Olusegun Obasanjo is evil, and should be treated as such.
Historically, each time Obasanjo makes a peace overture, something snaps. It happened in the case of the late Chuba Okadigbo, it happened with Audu Ogbeh. In fact, he even danced with Okadigbo’s wife and the next day he was impeached. He ate pounded yam with Audu Ogbeh in his house and a few days later he was sacked as national chairman of PDP. People read a lot of ominous signs into these peace overtures to Jonathan. Do you relate to this?
I cannot answer what I don’t know. The mystery is there. I am not Goodluck Jonathan. These questions are meant for Goodluck Jonathan. There are certain things I cannot do for Goodluck Jonathan or answer for him. I am an Ijaw man; I am from the south, and I support the position that it is the right of our people from the South and the middle belt to hold on to power perpetually as against those who are foreigners, who invaded our land, who continue to colonize our people. These people ordinarily should have been told to go back to where they came from. If by our magnanimity we want them, then they should be able to be amenable and accept to live with us as human beings. So, if Goodluck Jonathan plays with the destinies of the people, our collective destinies, and continues to hobnob with people like Obasanjo, who are beneficiaries of these colonial institutions of the Gambaris, then it is unfortunate. It is unfortunate if he does not understand the historical relevance of these events. I believe he will not rest on his oars. He will try to cover all areas of leakages so that the enemy will not have the exclusive power to overwhelm him. So, for me, I think that it’s very unfortunate. The president should be decisive in dealing with those who are not really against him, but against the aspirations of the collectivity of the South and the Middle belt.
Somebody from the South called for an insurrection or mutiny in the armed forces should the election fail to meet the basic test of fairness. He went ahead to say that a parallel government would be set up. Are you comfortable with that? That man is from Rivers State.
Chibuike Amaechi is a traitor, and there are ways to treat traitors. Judas was given some pieces of silver coins to betray Jesus Christ and after that he became frustrated and hanged himself. The treachery of Chibuike Amaechi? He has started getting the pay back. He wanted to become the vice presidential candidate of APC. He could not get it. On February 14th , he will fail in his bid to sell the people of the South –south. And after he fails, because this is a man who said Jonathan is favouring Biafrans, who denies to be an Igbo, but recently in Abia, he said, “me I am Igbo, I speak Igbo language, ask Jonathan to speak Igbo”. He thinks he can hoodwink the people, and deceive the people. He went to Bayelsa, he put his hands in his pocket, saying there is no money, we are suffering. This is a man who was a houseboy to Peter Odili, a driver, a nobody; the process was manipulated for him to become what he is today. Look at his picture in 1999, when he was looking like a malnourished young man, to a governor flying in a private jet, junketing from one place to another, spending billions of naira. Everybody has his day. He is having his time. Our people say ore nini. Chubuike Amaechi, even if the people do not punish him, will punish himself because he will have nowhere to go to. I am telling you because after February 14, I even say nobody should talk to him. He will commit suicide. He will commit suicide with his own hands, because when you betray your people, like Judas, the consequences will be far reaching.
For me, he is so shameless trying to say APC put up the roller coaster he called mono rail from station junction to UTC, even if it isn’t moving. They lifted the train and put it there and they show it. They think they are deceiving people. The people are not deceived. Goodluck Jonathan will win. If anybody attempts a parallel government, hmm, do not push a deaf and dumb man. When he fights back it will be terrible. They are pushing Goodluck Jonathan. They are pushing him. He did not use power like Obasanjo did in sacking Ladoja; in locking Ngige in a toilet as a governor, in chasing Dariye away, in chasing Fayose away, in putting Alamieyeseigha in prison. Goodluck Jonathan, because he refused to use these powers is clueless, is weak, is incompetent. Don’t fight with a deaf and dumb man. Whatever you are talking, he does not hear you. He can’t even express himself. So anything that enters his hand is a weapon. For us, if they make Jonathan to make a 360 degrees turn, I pity them.
I don’t pray that Goodluck Jonathan should change his nature. Sometimes I get very angry with the president. Why is the president not taking action? At times, I look back and I tell myself, maybe that is his nature. That is what has worked for him. We are not the same. If it is somebody like me that is the president, ah! by now a lot of issues would have been settled, Obasanjo will not be anywhere around and be talking. It’s Goodluck. You abuse him and he will come and sit down with you and eat with you. It’s the good side of him. Maybe that’s why God has kept him alive and successful. I pray that he should not change his nature, no matter what, to become a Dokubo Asari. Because, if he becomes a Dokubo Asari, nobody will be able to stay in this country.
I listened to one APC man on television, he was talking that nobody has run out of the country because this is a government that condones corruption and accommodates the corrupt. So El-Rufai that ran away when Yar’Adua was there and came back during Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure was corrupt.
That’s why he ran away. And now they are fielding him to become governor of Kaduna State. Ribadu, who until recently was with them, who ran away and came back… look, don’t dare this man, Goodluck. I am telling them, they should not dare, because when you push a man to the wall and he does not become a ghost, and he cannot pass through the wall, he will resist you, he will fight you back, and in fighting you back, it’s the fight of his life and he will not consider any other thing, his own is to fight to get himself off the wall and be able to defend himself and survive. Let us not reach that stage..If we reach that stage, the Ango Abdullahis, the lie-lie Mohammeds and all of them will regret and taste what it means to be an Obasanjo and a Buhari in government.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)