Understanding why wailers are after Gov Zulum

By Philip Agbese

Bigoted partisans have come to free reign in Nigeria. Very unconscionably and irresistibly, these partisan lees which have populated Nigeria delight in politicizing national security. It is the only explication which sufficiently accounts for their unbearably selfish outrage and mouthing of inanities on resurgence of insecurities in the country.

These dregs in the country have a single plank of reasoning. Insofar as they are not in control of political power, those entrusted with it must have their efforts deliberately disparaged, undermined and dimmed. Unfortunately, Nigeria as a country has enough quotient of gullible persons, who share some affinities with these power leeches. They tend to easily believe any garbage marketed to them like a breast-feeding baby, without any thought.

Now, it is commonly discernible the resurgent insecurities and the co-coordinatively heightened campaigns of denigration are flanks of the same game. The very demeaning and callous scolding of President Muhammadu Buhari and also, the unjustified knocks of Lt. Gen. TY Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and ombudsman of the counter-insurgency operations streams from a mindset of Nigeria’s avowed Luciferians.

Therefore, expectedly, they secretly and variously stoke the flames of insecurities manifest in Boko Haram insurgency, armed banditry, herdsmen/farmers atrocities and generally, upping the momentum of violent crimes to destabilize the country. But these orphans of the power game feel very offended with people who publicly praise the genuine efforts of Government in confronting headlong, the multifarious insecurities they have foisted on Nigeria.

Borno state Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum incurred their wrath a few days ago. He offended the sensibilities of these breed of Satanists clandestinely destroying Nigeria, by daring to publicly declare that in spite occasional setbacks, which is normal in every human endeavour, his state enjoys greater peace and respite security-wise under the current political and the Military leaderships in country.

So, the wailers have gone berserk to the level of combustion. Had adversaries an opportunity, Gov. Zulum would have been sent to Golgotha long before now for the effrontery of such public eulogy of their perceived enemy.

Borno state is the bastion of Boko Haram terrorism, from where it extended its tentacles to other parts of the Northeast and throughout the country, as known to Nigerians before the Buhari Presidency. However, the atrocities of insurgents and terrorists have been confined to the Northern axis of Borno now by the crop of today’s Military leaders.

President Buhari and the leader of Nigeria’s counter-terrorism operations, Gen. Buratai have been able to exculpate the other five states of the Northeast geopolitical zone where insurgency blossomed with consuming rage on the people. Dispassionate and non-partisan Nigerians domiciled in the states of Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba can also joyously attest to this testimony and the difference.

So, Gov. Zulum is not the only person who has his head clear upstairs to sight and feel the reality, with resounding choruses of accolades to the incumbent leaders who have performed this historical feat. And truly, it is expected that the wailers and haters of Nigeria would bark against him like mad dogs.

To their disfigured senses and defective or devious logic, it would have been more pleasing for the Governor to have twisted the reality. Zulum should have hoaxed a continuing rage of insurgency and terrorism in Borno, a state famed globally as the hub of terrorism.

Only this sort of utterances would have raised a platform for these partisan lees who are playing games with national security to fault, condemn and censure President Buhari and Gen. Buratai. It would have been weaponized to hurl fresh invectives of incompetence on these leaders.

Then, the benchwarmers in National Assembly (NASS) would have renewed its calls for the resignation of President Buhari or sack of Service Chiefs. It would have been a field day for some previously failed and expired politicians to exercise their stiffened jaws in pretentious aura of patriotism. In such circumstances, the sabs would use and amply an isolated incident of Boko Haram/ISWAP attack on a community to blast every leader.

But it is mere wishful thinking that the subverts’ antics can defeat Nigeria or the gimmicks would distract Gen. Buratai or even blindfold conscionable Nigerians into believing the imaginary hallucinations. The perverts are really having bad times.

Truth they say is bitter and effervescent. For the naysayers and haters of Nigeria to bolster the ruinous campaigners’, the only news, and probably, that which they believe as true is when there is a report, suggesting Boko Haram has murdered two or even more soldiers.

These cursed souls get extremely excited when there are speculations about terrorists attacking and overrunning a Military Base anywhere in the Northeast. When a village is sacked by Boko Haram is the only truth which blends with their narrowed and partisan senses. It powerfully animates the social media for days with a blitzkrieg of the odd news, whether real or fake.

Very hot and bile public commentaries and analysis faulting every effort in fighting the insecurities would sprout. That’s when one notices even professional bricklayers in the camp of destroyers brickbats to bargain for public recognition as Sun Tzu’s best reincarnates in modern warfare in Nigeria.

But when the military foils a planned attack on innocent citizens, the haters request to know details; they ask the military to furnish them with details. When the details and pictorial evidence are provided, they still doubt it. The prejudices are exercised because none of them is willing to say a simple costless “thank you” to President Buhari; gallant troops or leader of the counter-insurgency operations, Gen. Buratai for the display of rewarding military ingenuity in the warfront.

The enemies of Nigeria suffer permanently from an incurable amnesia. When Gen. Buratai demystified the dreaded Sambisa, no lullabies resonated for him from the camp of haters and veiled sponsors of terrorism. When he cleared the Chad Basin and killed over 2,000 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in 60 days, they again demanded for pictorial evidence.

When the evidence was presented and too glaring to repudiate; they rejigged the narrative by claiming the Chadian President Idriss Deby led troops to clear it. Thank God for Nigeria’s very professional Army which has refused to be distracted or have their spirit dampened.

Recently when Zulum took out time to appreciate Mr. President for keeping Maiduguri safe, these same charlatans saw it as an opportunity to disown the Governor of Borno. Prof. Zulum provoked the ire of these devious locusts by acknowledging a better security situation in the Borno under the Buhari Presidency than when ex-President Goodluck Jonathan occupied Aso Rock.

Zulum was blunt that certified records beginning from 2011 to date from the 27 LGAs of the state lucidly indicate that Buhari has outperformed his predecessors on Borno’s security challenges. But by now, Nigerians have known the truth and understand that Prof. Zulum is a different breed when it comes to fighting the war against insurgency.

As a civilian, he might not know all the nitty gritty or may not fully understand the scientific approaches or dimensions of fighting the insurgency and military tactics. But a trait peculiar and the unwaning obsession in Zulum is his desire to see peace return to every part of Borno. He has seen and felt the overall impact of generous respite to the people of Borno under the Buhari Presidency.

And its not the first time Gov. Zulum would eulogize President Buhari on counter-insurgency. In February 2020, even when the anger generated by the Auno killings still whirled; Gov. Zulum told President Buhari during the latter’s condolence visit; “…the people of the state still remember the days before Buhari’s emergence, when 20 out of the 27 local government areas were in the hands of Boko Haram while; all the five routes into Borno state were largely inaccessible with exception of Maiduguri-Kano road. In addition to sporadic bombings and killings in the state capital, Maiduguri. Close to about 20 local government areas resettled under Buhari. In fact, in the year 2016/2017 we celebrated the demise of the Boko Haram insurgency….”

While the wailers misconstrue it as a verbal flaw; Zulum wasn’t wrong when he agreed that Maiduguri has been peaceful and far better under the Buhari administration than at any other time. No one else should have a better testimony. First, Zulum is a home boy who has lived all his life in Maiduguri. Secondly, he has taxied to every nook and cranny of the state and therefore, susceptible to the truth as masturbated today.

Thirdly, Gov. Zulum has worked in Maiduguri and privileged to serve in government at a senior level before now. Zulum is in the best position to always say the truth on tempo of insurgency and he has done it exactly. The haters are free to go and split their heads. But Buhari and the Nigerian Military have exceedingly outperformed their predecessors on counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria.

Agbese, a human rights activist wrote this piece from Agila, Benue State.

ICC and its macabre dance

By Richard Murphy

The International Criminal Court (ICC) finally lost it. The decision of its outgoing prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, to investigate Nigeria’s Security Forces for human rights abuses and the equivalent of war crimes is one that the officials of that institution should have better weighed and advise against. Bensouda’s desperation to score achievements before leaving office is no justification for the shabby job that led to that decision. Since the organization is a continuum, her successor could have continued with the necessary factfinding, which means she need not have rushed to justify whatever deal she has ongoing with Amnesty International.
A fair disclaimer each time the name ICC is mentioned it is to clearly state that it has earned itself the unpleasant title of being the court for undermining African countries. It has become obsessed with facilitating the disruption of African countries, humiliating their leaders and incapacitating their key institutions. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that African leaders are cited for trial by the international court for supposed crimes that would not get a mention if same were committed by their counterparts on other continents.
ICC’s decision on Nigeria is suspect in all ramifications because it ties too much into previously identified destabilization agenda being implemented against the country. That decision shows an organization that is not in charge of what it is putting out but one that is taking instructions from outside its own fold. This faux pax raises too many posers.
A first thought that a discerning institution that is truly interested in world peace would have taken time to consider the potential consequences of its pronouncement on the country against which they are directed. In the case of Nigeria, ICC’s decision is one that would further worsen the already testy security situation in the land. There have been sufficient expert views in the past that emasculating the military with the treat if being dragged before the ICC is something that would demoralise troops while incentivising the terrorists they are fighting against. The warning sign for this is how the Court find significant infractions against the terrorists, but it marketed its report in a manner that suggested that the troops committed the bulk of the infractions it is talking about. This shows a bias, a commitment to demonize the government troops while doing all that is possible to protect the terrorists that should rightly be in jail or even executed for their vicious crime.
In a situation where the government troops are no longer able to fight terrorists because they have been cowed with ICC the world can be rest assured that Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist groups will simply decimate the population. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) will exploit such situation to grow into a monster worse than Boko Haram. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) would find a conducive environment to achieve its nefarious mission of trying to balkanise Nigeria. In summary, having frightened troops would make Nigeria into one horror show and ICC would have at that prove that is it not one if the entities that signed up into making Nigeria into a failed entity.
Secondly, ICC is legitimizing Boko Haram by placing it on the same, if not higher, pedestal as the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Although it labelled Boko Haram and its splinter groups as “non-state actors” it nonetheless treated them as if they are superior to the government forces. This is disconcertingly consistent with the kind of branding that Amnesty International has been doing for terrorist groups operating in Nigeria by given them more rights than citizens and the security forces. It is thus evident that ICC is working to set Nigeria up in a manner that offers advantage to agents of destabilization that Boko Haram represents.
If ICC setting Nigeria up for failure is frightening then one better not contemplate the unfolding disaster of the International Criminal Court being in bed with a discredited international NGO, Amnesty International. The entirety of the ICC’S evidence derives from Amnesty International, its affiliates, its proxy NGOs and individuals fronting for it. This explains why it seems the ICC has a watertight case because the body of “evidence” at its disposal is solid. That solidity is nothing, but a density achieved through a collage of fake news, manufactured reality and a lot of acting.
It is interesting to note that part of those that collated the so-called petitions and evidence the ICC is basing its decision upon are NGOs, Amnesty International’s allies, that were into the business of passing military intelligence, shared in pursuit of keeping their staffers safe, to Boko Haram terrorists. These are NGOs that provide logistics to terrorists under the pretext of doing humanity work. If these organization’s inputs can form the basis of ICC’s decisions, then the entire world is in trouble. It is a matter of time before terrorists rule the world, and it is ICC that would make it possible – first in African countries and later in the countries that today see themselves as too advanced to be bothered by the charade that this organization is acting.
Several indigenous groups in Nigeria has raised alarms in the past to the effect that the activities of certain foreign NGOs were akin to working to the answer; these groups compile reports that will result in the ICC finding against Nigeria. These reports were never accurate to start with, but they are now the basis the ICC is proceeding with the charade it is planning. ICC is dancing a macabre dance to a tune being played by Amnesty International and it is like the court is trampling on the graves of the victims of terrorism, who would possibly be alive if the Nigerian military is not incapacitated by threats of being dragged to the Hague. The Court’s position is as perverted as they come.
There is only one sliver of sense in the position announced by the ICC, which is that it mentioned Boko Haram as an entity it is interested in investigating. This in itself leaves a sour taste in the mouth because one begins to wonder about the essence of investigating a known terrorist group that has killed tens of thousands of people while dislocating hundreds of thousands more when its indictment could have simply been announced. From the massacre of entire market towns to the decimation of worshippers in their scared places of worship, Boko Haram has on its own documented the trail of blood that has become its hallmark. The terrorists commit the crimes and make video to boast of them so it is not as if the Court, Amnesty International and whoever is bribing both of them cannot see the actual evidence before their eyes. But the military is being scapegoated to achieve the objective of undermining Nigeria.
What will redeem ICC therefore is for it to haul Boko Haram’s deranged leader, Abubakar Shekau, his amirs and the leaders of rival factions to the Hague. Perhaps ICC will succeed in getting international forces to paradrop into Sambisa Forest or anywhere else Shekau and his ilk are holed up in the Lake Chad Basin and smoke them out to stand trial. It should similarly drag out the leaders of the international ISIS brand since they send instructions and support to their Nigerian franchise. That is what it should focus on and not hounding those that have committed themselves to making this happen in the present.
It bears mentioning that any investigation the ICC plans to carry out must occur in a sequence that has Boko Haram commanders and fighters being the first to answer for their atrocities. The Court admitted that it “recognises that the vast majority of criminality within the situation is attributable to non-state actors.” By focusing first on Boko Haram, any investigation, if at all necessary, will prove without a string of doubt that the troops of the Nigerian Security Forces and their commanders have nothing worry about because the bulk of the crimes being attributed to them were the handiwork of Boko Haram terrorists that were then framed by their collaborating NGOs to appear as infractions committed by the Nigerian troops. In other instances, NGOs simply cooked up lies that have now stuck because the military did not waste efforts in dispelling the lies as they were too busy doing the actual work of fighting terrorism.
The biggest loser of this charade is the International Criminal Court. African countries had contemplated mass withdrawal from the instrument setting up the ICC and it is about time too given its clearly racist and anti-African agenda even under someone if African descent. Should ICC continue the way it is going the Rome Statute will soon be worth less than the number of letters in its name.

Murphy, a security expert wrote from Calabar.

Religious Blacklist: CALSER faults US over Nigeria’s classification

The Centre For African Liberation And Socio-Economic Rights (CALSER) has condemned the United States’ blacklist of Nigeria as a religious intolerant nation, describing the report and its intent as subjective. 

According to CALSER, the U.S’ assertion is a disservice to Nigeria as it will serve to further aggravate the problems on the ground rather than help. 

The centre made this known at a press conference on Friday by its Executive Director, Barrister Ehis Imoukhuede. 

Contrary to claims by the United States, the CALSER said members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) or any other group were never prevented from worshipping in the fashion they prefer. 

The centre further said that it is irresponsible to hold the Federal Government accountable for crimes committed by Boko Haram and ISWAP. 

According to the group, it is misleading and unfair to infer that Boko Haram killed only Christians, adding that the classification of herdsmen as Muslims and farmers as Christians is a lazy stereotype that rings of racism. 

The centre, however, advised the United States to send its mandarins to Nigeria to undertake a proper study of not just the religious relations in the country but to also understand the peculiar dynamics that do not lend themselves to the series of fallacies that made it into that report.

It added that the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari is working for the wellbeing of all Nigerians. 

Read Full statement below:

The United States recently placed Nigeria on a religious freedom blacklist, in its Nigeria 2019 International Religious Freedom Report which is published on November 5, 2020. Let us state from the onset that this is a strategy for preparing the ground to impose sanctions on Nigeria if in the United States’ estimate it thinks that progress has not been made in ensuring religious freedom for the diverse ethnic nationalities of the country.  

Unfortunately, the report and its intent are subjective going by what we can glean from it. For instance, the report in its executive summary said: “Throughout the year, Shia Muslims, under the auspices of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), conducted a series of demonstrations – including several in July against the ongoing detention of IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky – resulting in violent confrontations between protesters and security forces, which left as many as 30 dead, including protesters and police.”

Other noteworthy excerpts from the report are: “Terrorist groups including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA) attacked population centres and religious targets and maintained a growing ability to stage forces in rural areas and launch attacks against civilian and military targets across the North East, according to observers.”  

The report further speculated that: “Conflicts between predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen and predominantly Christian farmers in the North Central states continued throughout the year, although the violence was lower than during the 2017-2018 spike, reportedly due to government intervention and efforts of civil society to resolve conflicts.”
Gentlemen of the press, from the foregoing you can see that the United States’ 2019 International Religious Freedom Report conclusions on Nigeria are a disservice to Nigeria because it will serve to further aggravate the problems on the ground rather than help. 

First, it is inconceivable that the United States can regard security operations against IMN as a denial of religious freedom. No one prevented IMN members from worshipping in the fashion they prefer to the extent that they also respect the rights of other people, for instance, the right of others to have access to public infrastructures like the roads that its members usually obstruct. The reality is that IMN is a proscribed group based on constitutionally recognized processes, which included a White Paper on the Kaduna State Judicial Panel of Inquiry. The trial of its leader is by a competent court of Kaduna State, which leaves one wondering if the United States will tolerate Nigeria meddling into matters being handled by its circuit courts.

Secondly, it is a travesty that borders on being irresponsible to hold the Federal Government accountable for crimes committed by Boko Haram and ISWAP, which the United States and its media organizations have refused to properly designate as terrorist groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin. This refusal to so classify Boko Haram has been behind the absence of international support to eradicate it from operating in the region.
 
If Boko Haram’s crimes are being imputed to Nigeria, then the United States must accept joint responsibility as the nation that created the atmosphere that allowed these terrorists to thrive and torment Nigerians of all religious shades. The US’ activities in the Middle East and North Africa supported the growth of ISIS brand of terrorism and also flooded those areas with weapons that have found their way into the hands of Boko Haram terrorists. 

We must not also lose sight of the fact that it is misleading and unfair to infer that Boko Haram killed only Christians or killed more Christians. Boko Haram kill Nigerians and the loss of any human life is a tragedy. Boko Haram bombed mosques and killed Muslims, Christians, Animist, Agnostics and Atheists all alike. Reducing the acts of terror being committed by Boko Haram to a sectarian debate is an irresponsible act that should not be encouraged. 

Similarly, classifying herdsmen as Muslims and farmers as Christians is a lazy stereotype that rings of racism. It is in the same territory as Americans referring to Africa as a country when it is in reality a continent. The lack of Nigeria’s sectarian appreciation on the part of the US report is a major reason to discard its findings. 
Furthermore, we observe that the report significantly relied on secondary sources like “news reports”.

Unfortunately, these reports that the report relied on were dominated by fake news and organizations that are involved in the manufacture of dissent. Some of the organizations that were cited were at some points in the past found complicit in sharing military intelligence with Boko Haram, which leaves us to question the reliability of what they passed on as news or facts. Some of the individuals that these organizations cited or interview are also questionable. 

It is pertinent that the United States send its mandarins to Nigeria to undertake a proper study of not just the religious relations in the country but to also understand the peculiar dynamics that do not lend themselves to the series of fallacies that made it into that report.

The US must know not to act on fake news as this detracts from its global standing.  

We want to categorically tell the United States that the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari is working for the wellbeing of all Nigerians. The military is fighting Boko Haram as the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that is because the life of every Nigerian is considered important. 

If the US is interested in intervening, we believe that it should start by not paying lips service to issues of Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist entities that thrive because of its geostrategic activities like supporting al-Nusra affiliates in Syria, which in turn ship their US-supplied weapons to Boko Haram and ISWAP.

GENERAL BURATAI – Between An Exceptional Leader And His Detractors

By Kolawole Abe

It is remarkable that our patriotic military chiefs continue to give their best even in the face of these disincentives. Well before the progress made by the international coalition against ISIS, the Nigerian military and security agencies led by The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, had made a great progress against Boko Haram and its affiliates.
Many successes has been recorded under his leadership as he has been steadfast in the discharge of his duty, and providing aid to civil authority. The military has also flushed Boko Haram out of its operational base in Camp Zero, Sambisa Forest, and have also kept the terrorists out of the many towns and villages they have tried to recapture.
Report has it that, internal security in Nigeria has improved drastically from where we were in 2015 when Buratai took over command of the Nigerian Army. However, we
recognize that there are potent threats that require the military to continually review their operations. The Nigeria Army has witnessed a lot of reorganization and redeployment in a bid to improve their overall operational responsiveness and professionalism. In recent time, he approved the redeployment of some field and operational commanders in order to inject new ideas in the command and control structure in various Nigeria Army operations across the country.
These are achievements that speak to the commitment of the military getting the job done for which one should ordinarily commend their sacrifices but for the fact that it is a job they willingly signed up for. They kept pressing on, holding the memories of their fallen heroes. Amidst brutal resistance in fighting the Nation just cause against insurgency, their resilience remained high.
We are not oblivious of the relentless effort, persistence and scarifices the chief of army staff (COAS) General Buratai has kept taking, in order to combat insurgency and banditry. But it is so regrettable and unfortunate that the citizens being shielded from all these dangers has given themselves out cheaply to be coaxed by politicians who are not happy with the success of our country on the way against insurgency.
In bid to detract the COAS, supports are being given to bandits to fuel the matters of terrorism, which are being masked as “Insurgency.” They fall easily for the bait given to them without reasoning beyond the monetary benefits they are being offered.
For the unwary, it is been misinterpreted as “the Boko haram groups are being hardy to an extent that it is able to dismay the Nigerian military.” The reality is however that the ability of the terrorists to regroup each time they are decimated should alarm all law-abiding citizens. The group’s seeming resilience should raise questions about the nature of support it is getting to put up such defiance. This support unfortunately is from home and abroad, some unscrupulous Nigerians and their foreign collaborators. They have masterminded this show of shame as a diet to feeding their selfish and wicked interest. They being among the greater beneficiaries of special and classified security treatment enjoyed from the effort of the military, still have the audacity to publicly discredit the ambiguous effort of General Buratai.
Having ran out of strategies, they resolved into using fund embezzlement and terrorist alliance as a tool in distracting him from getting focused.
There have been several reports about individuals, groups and organizations being closet supporters of Boko Haram. These distractions are often packaged as well-intentioned interventions by activists and NGOs, which creates bandwagon effect as people are inclined to trust the positions expressed by these opinion molders.
Report has it that some citizens have been paid to be social activists to pull down the military institution, all in the bid to discredit them is therefore highly uncalled for and should have no place in our country.
Little do we know about the effect of the strategies of these detractors, because the reality is however that the seeming interventions are unnecessary distraction elements that will reverse recent gains made on the war against insurgency. Each time such paid activists criticize the military, they therefore undermine the counter-insurgency efforts. In many instances, the damage done goes beyond the now, because as Nigeria’s foreign partners have sometimes referenced the activities of such activists as justifications for withholding military cooperation to Nigeria or to block crucial arms deals that would contribute to the anti-terror war efforts.
Still, the COAS has remained unperturbed and not dismayed by the futile efforts being thrown at him by his detractors. He has always been keeping the wheel of the fight against insurgency moving, and not permitting their distractions to move him in his line of duty.
The army chief and leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, Lt.Gen. TY Buratai has not given the insurgents ample operational laxity in the Northeast where they prided in false invincible power and strength. This has remained a pain in their daunting efforts, and has reaffirmed their continuous futility as ever before. These bad eggs in human skins need to separated and broken off from the good ones, because they are a big cancer to the nation as a whole. When not weeded out, they become a menace that will bring ills, misfortune and setback to our dear country.
It is worthy of note that those who deliberately manipulate facts for the purpose of sabotaging the military should be mindful that only a thin line separates what they see to be harmless mischief and commission of crimes.
For the sake of tranquillity in the Nation, we advise detractors and their agents to leave the Chief of Army Staff alone, so that he can give maximum concentration to his works. He has been tried, and has proven himself beyond all doubts as an exceptional leader, who is ever ready to give optimal discharge of his duty any time the clarion call to action is being heard. He will never compromise for terrorists to take over the country, because he holds the interest of the country very dear to his heart. God Bless Nigeria.

Abe is former spokesman, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

ICC: Group defends Nigeria military against allegations

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Human Rights (CCSGHR) have distanced themselves from the position of the International Criminal Court to investigate Nigerian security forces over alleged war crimes. 

The umbrella association of civil society organisations in the country said it is alarmed by the ICC, adding that the criminal court has lost focus and only seeking attention.  

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja through Deputy National Secretary, Comrade Moses Attah, the human rights groups said ICC relied on fake news from the Amnesty International in arriving at its decision on the military. 

They further noted that the criminal court has promoted colonialism in a puerile attempt to return the African continent to western domination. 

The groups added that the ICC is “undertaking a hatchet job in active collaboration with Amnesty International and notoriously to undermine the efforts of the Nigerian Military in the war against terrorism”. 

The coalition, however, urged Nigerians not to tolerate any attempt by individuals and groups to intimidate the country and its Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism. 

While warning all agents of Amnesty International to desist from the despicable attempt to discredit the efforts of the troops, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups expressed solidarity with the Nigerian Military.  

Read the full statement below:

Ladies and Gentlemen, you are all welcome to this press conference by the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Human Rights in Nigeria to shed light and put issues in proper perspective with regards to the position of the International Criminal Court intending to investigate the Nigerian Security Forces over allegations of crimes against humanity, as well war crimes in the fight against terrorism in the country. 

As a background, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Human Rights is the umbrella association of civil society organizations in Nigeria dedicated to tasking the government on the dividends of democracy as well as holding the government accountable in the enforcement of its social contract to the people. 

We are holding this press conference as strategic stakeholders in the war against terrorism in Nigeria in the sense that we have followed the strategies deployed by the Nigerian Military in the prosecution of the war against terrorism closely. 

It suffices to add that the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Human Rights has in times too numerous to mention issued statements and reports in the appraisal of the operations of the Nigerian Military in the prosecution of the war against terrorism and other acts of militancy in Nigeria. 

We are consequently alarmed by the recent position of the International Criminal Court, alleging that the Nigerian Military would be investigated for crimes against humanity. This, in our opinion, is not only uncharitable but an indication that the International Criminal Court has lost focus of its mandate. 

We wish to state that the attempt by the International Criminal Court in this regards can be best described as attention-seeking in a bid to validate its already eroded relevance in the scheme of affairs on the global scene. 

This attempt at discrediting the efforts of the Nigerian Military is obviously in poor taste and a reason why questions must be asked as regards the objectivity of the ICC in identifying and dealing with crimes against humanity over the years. 

This is also on the heels that the International Criminal Court has over the years displayed an unimaginable level of bias towards the African continent while feigning ignorance to the atrocities and violations committed in western climes. 

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups is alarmed that the International Criminal Court that is neck-deep in credibility issues in its prosecution of perceived crimes against humanity has relied substantially on fake news from the stable of Amnesty International in arriving at its decision on the Nigerian Military.  

In our considered opinion, what the International Criminal Court has attempted in its recent position is nothing but a subtle promotion of colonialism in a puerile attempt to return the African continent to western domination. 

We wish to state that most African governments have challenged the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court, accusing it of being biased against their continent. They have declared their countries’ intention to cease being ICC members. 

Many observers have suggested that the conception of justice in Africa differs from the one adopted by the international community. Proponents of this argument claim that the western conception of justice is being forced upon Africans using the instrument of the International Criminal Court. 

The useful question to ask here would be: Why hasn’t the ICC been able to exercise jurisdiction over atrocity situations outside of Africa? The answer lies in the fact that the ICC has transformed into a political weapon for sale to the highest bidder and this much the promoters of Amnesty International have capitalized on in the case of Nigeria. 

It, therefore, the considered opinion of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Human Rights that the ICC is undertaking a hatchet job in active collaboration with Amnesty International and notoriously to undermine the efforts of the Nigerian Military in the war against terrorism. 

We are using this medium to sound a note of warning that Nigerians would not tolerate any attempt by individuals and groups to intimidate Nigeria and its Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism. 

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups is also warning all agents of Amnesty International to desist from the despicable attempt to discredit the efforts of the Nigerian Military in the fight against terrorism. 

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups stands in solidarity with the Nigerian Military and states in unequivocal terms that the efforts of the Nigerian Military are indeed appreciated in the quest towards addressing the threats posed by terrorist groups in Nigeria. 

This press conference is indeed intended to put issues in proper perspectives. Thank you all for your time and attention. 

Religious Blacklist: U.S misled by CAN, terrorists, Igbo group alleges

The Igbos in Nigeria Movement (INM) has blamed what it termed “political” Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and groups that have showed incurable bias and sympathy for terrorist organisations for the inclusion of Nigeria in the United States’ blacklist for religious intolerance. 

The group said it came to this conclusion after a thorough review of the circumstances that led to the inclusion of Nigeria. 

In a statement signed by its President, Mazi Ifeanyi Igwe, the Igbo group said the U.S. was misled by the political wing of CAN and groups affiliated to terrorism. 

The INM noted that the U.S’ report was extracted from NGOs and international news reports that are totally out of tune with the reality in Nigeria.

According to the group, the United States’ blacklist could ultimately incite Christians against their Muslim neighbours in parts of the country that have till date remained peaceful and free of ethno-sectarian crisis

The INM, however, that the United States discards its report listing Nigeria as a country that promotes religious persecution as it is lacking in facts while it is a product of misleading reports by the political wings of supposed religious groups.

Read the full statement below:

The Igbos in Nigeria Movement (INM) taken time to review the inclusion of Nigeria on the Special Watch List for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom by the States Department of the United States in its 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Nigeria. 

The logical conclusion we arrived at upon our review is the United States was misled by the political wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and groups that have shown incurable bias and sympathy for terrorist organizations.

INM’s decision to make this public clarification derives from the realization that the UN report contained too many fallacies that will do long term damage to harmonious relations among the diverse ethnic nationalities in Nigeria if they are not immediately challenged, exposed as false and rejected in their entirety. 

We particularly noted that the US report was largely based on the information it extracted from NGOs and international news reports that are totally out of tune with the reality in Nigeria. The NGOs and the news outlets engaged in a lot of inferences and generalization that magnified incidents in a way that fits into preconceived stereotypes they have for Nigeria.

It must be noted and documented that CAN, which the report relied heavily on for input and subsequent endorsement and marketing of its content, has in recent years metamorphosed into the NGO wing of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It has made it a mission to frame whatever the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing from the perspective of the ethnic and sectarian prism, which has served to sow divisions where none existed prior.

INM is concerned that the manner that the US report is promoting the concept of Muslims versus Christians will dangerously incite Christians against their Muslim neighbours in parts of the country that have till date remained peaceful and free of ethno-sectarian crisis. We further fear that the report is validating a suggestion that other ethnic groups should exterminate the Fulani from Nigeria. 

We are raising this alarm because of the risks this report poses as something that will incite and inflame passion among the Igbos, first as having large Christian population and secondly as originally being from the south-east of Nigeria, in a manner that will make them take the law into their hands. This has the potential of misleading our people to commit crimes in addition to sparking off tit-for-tat reprisals that will make the whole of Nigeria a sectarian war zone. 

INM, therefore, demands that the United States discards its report listing Nigeria as a country that promotes religious persecution as it is lacking in facts while it is a product of misleading reports by the political wings of supposed religious groups. The wild categorization of Nigerians as sharply divided along ethnic and sectarian lines is something that the US also has to desist from doing forthwith because experience has shown us that these concepts of identity war that is projected into the consciousness of Nigerians amount to a kind of subtle war that is meant to make Nigerians kill themselves.

Nigerian Army and General Buratai’s drive on infrastructure

By Thomas Uzah PhD

It will be twisted logic and misplaced sense of judgment of the exact reality to assert that the Nigerian Army is having good times in infrastructural provisions under the supervision of its current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai. It is more appropriate to say, the Nigerian Army has landed in its best of times on infrastructural provisions and exceptional welfare packages under the guardianship of the COAS, Gen. Buratai.

Before the reality of the leadership of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari, discerning Nigerians knew several other salient reasons accounted for the persistent open anger expressed by soldiers in the warfront. The persistent mutinous actions by troops at the frontlines fighting Boko Haram was partly attributable to the absolute neglect and defacement of the infrastructural image and welfare of officers and soldiers.

Soldiers experienced and endured dilapidated Barracks, acute shortage of office and residential accommodations, poor state of Army Guest Houses and camps throughout the country. Some Army Barracks had not tested any flavour of renovation or rehabilitation since Nigeria’s first post-independence era Defence Minister, Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu built the structures in the early sixties. History has recorded him as a leader who massively built new Barracks and renovated old ones.

Like Ribadu; Gen. Buratai has carved an enviable niche for himself in the new Millennium as an Army Chief who has generously built new Barracks for the Army and massively renovated old ones in virtually all parts of the country. African proverb says, a chic which would grow into a cock is known the very it is hatched.

So, Gen. Buratai started exuding the signs of a genuine leader, reformer, a positive minded personality and charismatic goal-getter on all fronts the first day he assumed office as Nigeria’s COAS. He toured Army formations and units across the country; bemoaned the competitively dilapidated state of Army Barracks and facilities, whilst he silently took notes on the urgent interventions each of the Barracks required to transform into a habitable dwelling place for soldiers.

The Army boss believes in the philosophy that a soldier deserves the best in peacetime because he faces death every minute in wartimes. Though, Gen. Buratai sauntered unto the leadership of the Nigerian Army at the time Nigeria was plunged into economic crunch. But the reality of meagre budgetary votes and insufficient funding of the Army to date did not deter Gen. Buratai from putting smiles on the faces of officers and soldiers.

With a supportive Commander-In-Chief, President Buhari, Gen. Buratai has propelled the Nigerian Army on an unprecedented and incredible structural expansion and physical development in the last five years. He corrected and normalized what appeared to have been an intentionally institutionalized structural decay, deformities and degeneration of almost three decades in barely five years of his leadership.

And the real good news is that the Army Chief has not felt he has done enough to assuage the depravities his colleagues’ yet. Therefore, he hungers to accomplish more in impactful legacies for the Nigerian Army. And to properly uplift Army personnel welfare, Gen, Buratai has starched an extra mile to partner with private estate developers to berth his vision of normalizing the accommodation deficits, which hitherto plagued the Nigerian Army for decades.

Reputed as a focused leader, with a functional mind, Gen. Buratai has conceptualized and delivered his development agenda for the Nigerian Army under the broad divisions of policy frameworks of NA Property Limited and NA Welfare Limited by Guarantee, Army Post-Service Housing Scheme and Nigeria Army Farm and Ranches among a motley of others.

Gen. Buratai is a man of taste and elegance. And one unique feature of Buratai’s touch on structural transformation of the Army is that he has phased out the Lord Lugard’s structures which dotted Army formations/ Barracks and replaced them with modern architectural masterpieces. And the new buildings are also an aesthetic consummation of the dynamism of architecture’s latest wonders of awful edifices. They are a sight to behold everywhere. He replaced obsolete amenities, facilities and equipment in the Army Barracks and units with state-of-the art latest models.

The establishment of two new Army Divisions by Gen. Buratai in conformity with the Presidential directive on new Nigerian Army Order of Battle (ORBAT) is not the most cheering news. But it is the pleasant shock that the new Nigerian Army Divisions 6 and 8 in Port Harcourt, Rivers state and Monguno, Borno state are fully operationalized. And it is because the Army Chief worked assiduously to get all the needed structures ready within record time.

Gen. Buratia has replicated the same portrait in the new and novel Nigerian Army University Biu (NAUB); the first Nigerian Army War College, the Nigerian Army Aviation School as well as the renovation and construction of new buildings at the Nigerian Army School of Artillery in Kachia, Kaduna State. He renovated and modernized the Office of the Military Secretary at the Army Headquarters Abuja; built and equipped the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Abuja, which is serving the dual purpose of an expansive office accommodation and modern resource venue for workshops and seminars for soldiers.

Still in Abuja, the fanciful modern structures at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment at Giri, consisting of new 150 flats of accommodation in the Barracks accommodating 150 families of officers and soldiers is legendary in the recent history of the Nigerian Army. Okene in Kogi State has also hosted a new Army Forward Operations Base’s (FOB), and military barracks.

The testimony also reflected at the newly built headquarters of the 331 Artillery Tactical Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Buratai in Biu LGA of Borno state. The structural development inclination of Gen. Buratai started quite early in his leadership. By 2016, the renovation of 10 blocks of 30 flats each at the Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos was completed.

The development streak descended on the 3 Brigade Kano, where new blocks of multiple flats of accommodation for soldiers in the Bukavu Barracks, Kano have been completed. It amazingly displays two newly constructed blocks of 24 flats each and five renovated blocks of 12 flats each. Still under Gen. Buratai’s leadership, the Nigerian Army renovated and remodeled accommodation for 120 soldiers in Ribabu Cantonment and Dalet Barracks, under 1 Division (1 DIV) Nigerian Army, Kaduna, comprising of flashy 120 flats.

And the Nigerian Army’s partnership with Betonic West Limited has launched a N7.5 billion Army Post-Service Housing project in Otukpo and Ohimini LGAs of Benue state. The same rewarding partnership with Belemaoil Producing Limited, has earned the Army a 3-story building containing 30 flats at the 16 Brigade Headquarters, Camp Buratai, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Gen. Buratai has established a dozen Army Forward Operations Bases (FOBs) throughout Nigeria with all the necessary facilities.

Quite impactfully too, the leadership of the Nigerian Army by Gen. Buratai has rehabilitated and re-equipped all existing Army hospitals, medical facilities and Referral hospitals. The aim is to give the best medical care to “Wounded Soldiers in Action” (WIA) as wels of families of Army personnel. He has finalized this vision by building a new Referral Hospitals, located in Maiduguri, Borno state.

And work is earnestly in progress at the new Army Referral Hospital, located in Abakaliki, Ebony state to make healthcare delivery more accessible and affordable to soldiers, their families and even members of the host communities. Gen. Buratai is indeed, the Nigerian Army’s Mr. Infrastructure. Even at the risk of flattery, it is more accurate to say the Nigerian has never experienced these robust structural developments and expansions in recent times as spearheaded by Gen. Buratai. It is precisely, the best of times for the Nigerian Army.

Therefore, after Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu, no COAS since post -independence Nigeria has rapaciously upgraded structures of the Nigerian Army like Gen. Buratai. He has evidently done so much to better the lot of his colleagues more than anyone else.

Gen. Buratai represents the changing face of Nigerian Army’s structural beauty and development revolution in Nigeria. Nigerian Army missed a leader in Gen. Buratai at the time Nigeria bubbled in excess wealth, but with no committed leaders. Had Gen. Buratai climbed the ladder of leadership at such glorious times, Nigerian Army would have been a perfect example of another El Dorado in Nigeria.

Uzah PhD is Head of Department, Mass Communication, Kwararafa University Wukari.

Religious Intolerance: Christian group rejects US blacklisting of Nigeria

Some Christian youths have rejected the United States’ designation of Nigeria as one of the religious intolerant countries in the world. 

The group, under the auspices of Young Christian Forum of Nigeria (YCFN) said the U.S’ assessment lacks objectivity in every form and was made without recourse to the religious plurality of Nigeria. 

Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Abuja, President, Pastor Prince Gideon, said the U.S.lacks “moral authority to label Nigeria as a religious intolerant country for the fact that there hasn’t been any instance where adherents of the various religious faiths in Nigeria have been hindered or prevented from practising or engaging in their religious beliefs”.   

According to the YCfN, there hasn’t been any instance where the government has placed restrictions on religious expressions, adding that no Christian or Muslim has been prosecuted for practising their faiths. 

The group also reminded the U.S. that the Nigerian government has never shut a religious place of worship under any guise. 

The group, therefore, demanded an unreserved apology to be tendered to Nigeria and Nigerians from the United States of America. 

It, however, advised the U.S to begin the process of removing Nigeria from its blacklist of countries of concern for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violation.

Read full statement below:

This press conference by the Young Christian Forum of Nigeria became necessary given the latest development where Nigeria was classified as a religious intolerant county by the United States of America. 

The Young Christian Forum as the umbrella body of young Christians in Nigeria is taken aback by the position of the United States of America in this regard which in our considered opinion is lacking in every form of objectivity. We are consequently amazed at how such classification could be made without recourse to the religious plurality of Nigeria. 

It is our considered opinion that the United States of America does not have any moral authority to label Nigeria as a religious intolerant country for the fact that there hasn’t been any instance where adherents of the various religious faiths in Nigeria have been hindered or prevented from practising or engaging in their religious beliefs.  

The Young Christian Forum sees this as an affront to our sensibilities as a people and as a country because the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria explicitly guarantees all citizens of Nigeria the right to religious freedom and this has been the norm from time immemorial.  

The Young Christian Forum is not aware of any of such restrictions in Nigeria. The vibrant Nigerian press has not reported that with regards to restrictions on religious freedom or instances of religious favouritism by all tiers of government in Nigeria. 

It remains a figment of the United States of America that there are religious restrictions in Nigeria. If this is not the case, we wonder how the United States of America arrived at such an illogical conclusion. 

The attendant designation of Nigeria as a country of concern in religious freedom is very uncharitable and a display of crass ignorance by the American authorities in what can be termed a plot to spark mutual suspicion amongst the adherents of the various religious groupings in the country. 

The United States of America must come to terms with the fact that designating a sovereign country like Nigeria as religiously intolerant is an act of sabotage that does not spell well for the psychological psyche of Nigerians. 

The Young Christian Forum as a critical stakeholder in Nigeria is most embarrassed by the action of the United States of America because it is evident that there is more than meets the eyes. 

It is also a dishonourable action for the American authorities to attempt to pitch the various religions against each other in Nigeria by making wild and unsubstantiated allegations that can’t be back by any fact.   

The Young Christian Forum wishes to use this medium to enlighten the American authorities that their line of thought is defective and not a reflection of the realities on the ground in Nigeria with regards to the rights of Nigerian citizens to practice any religion of their choice.  

This is on the heels that in Nigeria, there hasn’t been any instance where the government has placed restrictions on religious expressions. As a fact, no Christian or Muslim has been prosecuted for practising their faiths. It is also on record that the government has shut no religious place of worship under any guise. 

The Young Christian Forum consists of members from various interdenominational organizations, and to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any curricular restricting the rights of our members or citizens to worship or association. The American authorities must, as a matter of morality desists from making unguarded statements that are capable of igniting a sectarian conflict in Nigeria such as this. 

We consequently demand that an unreserved apology be tendered to Nigeria and Nigerians from the United States of America because their classification of Nigeria as a country with egregious religious violations is untoward and smacks of a mockery of the sincerity of the United States of America on issues of global concern in all ramifications. 

The Young Christian Forum is calling on all Nigerians to avoid any terrorist tagging by any country. We are a country of noblemen and women with a high level of religious tolerance. As such, we refuse to be painted in a bad light. 

We are using this medium to call on the United States of America to begin the process of removing Nigeria from the list of countries it has designated as a country of concern for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations. Nigeria and Nigerians deserve her respectful position amongst the comity of nations as one of the countries with impeccable records in religious tolerance. 

The Young Christian Forum of Nigeria is calling on the international community as well as our development partners to disregard the insinuations by the United States of America, which by and large is more political than reality. 

I thank you all for your time, and God bless abundantly.

APC group seeks Speaker Gbajaabimila resignation over alleged unpatriotism

The Coalition of APC Democrats has passed a vote of no confidence on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, consequently demanding his resignation from office.  

The group said Gbajabiamila has displayed gross abuse of office and complete disregard for the APC as a party.  

Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Abuja through its National Coordinator, Kabiru Adamu Matazu it said the Lagos lawmaker’s unwholesome activities reached at an all-time low in recent weeks. 

From pretending to be a nationalist whilst at the same time cheering hoodlums during the EndSARS protests, the APC group noted that Gbaja has ridiculed the office of the president with his constant bashing and invitations.  

Instead of synergising with the executive to deliver on the campaign promises of the APC, the coalition accused the Speaker of constantly attacking the policies of the Federal Government.  

The Coalition of APC Democrats, therefore, concludes that Gbajabiamila has lost the party’s support and it would be against all forms of morality for him to continue to occupy the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

It, however, demanded that the Surulere I legislature step down for a loyal member of the APC to assume the position in the interest of the party and the country.

The group further warned its members that it would no longer tolerate such scorn from a supposed high ranking member of the party. 

Read the full statement below:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the leadership of the Coalition of APC Democrats welcome you all to this important press conference put together to shed light on the unwholesome activities of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in recent times. 

It is a statement of the fact that Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has indeed demonstrated an uncanny penchant for playing to the gallery on issues of national concern since he was elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressive Congress. 

The disdain of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila for the APC led federal government has reached an alarming crescendo with his constant attacks on the policies of the government in an attempt to give a false impression to members of the unsuspecting general public with regards to democratic governance in the country. 

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as a high ranking APC member ought to know that his accession as the Speaker of the House of Representative was a function of the collective effort of the APC to ensure that all arms of government work in synergy towards delivering on the campaign promises of the APC led the government to the good people of Nigeria. 

The Coalition of APC Democrats have in times past cautioned the Speaker on his public grandstanding which portrays the APC led government in a bad light. But he has instead carried on with impunity not minding whose ox is gored. 

The serial bashing and invitations extended of the President is the greatest insult that Mr President has received. The Speaker cannot claim to be a party man, yet subjecting the President to public ridicule, which is just one of the numerous instances where his disdain and lack of respect for the President has been brought to the fore. 

The Coalition of APC Democrats views such disposition as not only despicable but an insult to the sensibilities of APC democrats across the nook and cranny of Nigeria that toiled tirelessly towards his emergence as Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

The case of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is indeed that of ingratitude and disdain for the ideals of the APC as a party of democrats. He has also notoriously been rewarding those that financed his elections while ignoring the efforts of the party in bringing him on board to be eligible to seek election into the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Coalition of APC Democrats states that indeed the unwholesome activities of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is such that defeats common sense as it can be best described as an act of ingratitude and a coup against the APC as a party. 

We also recall how he contributed to the EndSARS campaign that almost tore the country into pieces by pretending to be a nationalist whilst at the same time cheering the hoodlums to bring down the country. 

The Coalition of APC Democrats consequently states in unequivocal terms that Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has lost our support as it would be against all forms of morality for him to continue to occupy the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

We are by this medium informing the members of the general public that the Coalition of APC Democrats has passed a vote of no confidence on the Speaker of the House of Representatives for gross abuse of office and complete disregard for the APC as a party. 

We, therefore, demand unequivocally that the Speaker resigns his position in the national interest and allow any loyal member of the party to assume the position of Speaker in the interest of the party and the country.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is a lesson in dishonesty and should not be trusted by the general public as he has displayed his real tendencies which by and large is self-serving and dancing to the dictates of his paymasters. 

We also wish to state that Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is not democrat but an opportunist that thrives in blackmail and public grandstanding, which is highly misleading and detrimental to the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria. 

He is not fit for purpose as he has elected to be against the interest of the APC as a party that is committed to delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians that were unanimous in giving their mandate to the APC to lead Nigeria right in the quest towards sustainable socio-economic development.  

The Coalition of APC Democrats wishes to advise Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to tow the path of honour by resigning his position as the Speaker of the House of Representatives as it is apparent that he is out on a mission of self-aggrandizement, which is against the ideals of the APC as a party. 

We also wish to inform members of the APC across the nook and cranny in Nigeria that the actions of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila do not reflect or represents the commitment of the APC in ensuring that Nigeria is placed on the path of greatness and as such he should be treated as a self-serving traitor. 

The public ridicule of the APC as a party by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is enough as we shall no longer tolerate such scorn from a supposed high ranking member of the party any longer. 

The leadership of the Coalition of APC Democrats is putting it on record that we have disassociated from Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, and as such behoves on him to take his trade of dishonesty to his paymasters. 

Thank you all, and God bless.

Boko Haram and Before We Crucify Zulum

By Mohammed Zanna

At the face of “glaring truth,” false peddlers will still arise among the people. These are people that seek not after the country’s interests, but after their own selfish gains. They scream for proofs and evidence at any news that indicates Boko haram recording casualties.Their delight is in hearing the victory of boko haram insurgency and not its defeat. The increase in the number of boko Haram victims arouse their interest in order to deliberate on how incompetent the President has been in tackling matters of insecurity.

Early this year, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen TY Buratai relocated fully to the North East where he is overseeing and directing the overall operations in the theatre and other Nigerian Army operations across the country. Prior to his relocation, the COAS had been on operational tour to troops’ locations in the North East Theatre of operation since April.

Despite the success of the Nigerian Army in killing and disarming more than 3000 suspected Boko Haram fighters in military operations in north-east Nigeria, they were accused of overstating enemy casualties. They went further to release images of vehicles and weaponry captured from Boko Hara Niger, Chad and Cameroon military coalition with Nigeria to help combat the threat.
These same charlatans claimed that they will all a fun show from media houses.

Even when there are no claims of responsibility for recent massacre, these people are swift to put forward that the assault bore the hallmark of the dreaded Boko Haram armed group.

Contrary to their predictable assertions and opinions, Governor Babagana Zulum indicated clearly that President Muhammadu Buhari has still performed better in handling Borno’s security challenges. This did not sit well with them, and they have been expressing indignation at the governors’ statement.

Zulum said that the years before Buhari came into power; numbers of local government were no-go-areas. Insurgents were so bold to attack and take over military facilities like the army barrack. In fact, it was not possible to move a few kilometres out of Maiduguri. But now, things are safe, and lives are more secured than it used to be.
Zulum said “from statewide statistics on affairs in the 27 local government areas since 2011, the fact is that despite the recent happenings in Borno state, the security situation in Borno state and indeed that of the entire North East Sub-Borno region is still far better under Buhari, and this is based on records. There were daily attacks and bomb blasts I many parts of Maiduguri, the most populated part of the state, but all of these have stopped under Buhar. These are the records and no one can dispute these records.”

Borno state has been the target of bombings in the past, blamed on Boko Haram since it widened its brutal insurgency. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed during the group’s campaign for a breakaway Islamic state. All these attacks have ceased in the past five years, and this is due to the approach and tactics taken by President Muhammadu Buhari since he got into power.

The statement of the Borno governor has been found to be TRUE. The attacks by terrorists groups have been random and largely restricted to villages in northern Borno. There are others that have been close to the capital, Maiduguri but the terrorist group has not been able to attack the Northeast like it did in the past. Definitely, records have supported Governor Zulum’s statement that churches and mosques have been hardly attacked and that no major attack has taken place in the capital. Boko Haram used to bomb churches, mosques and markets, but all that has been halted now.

To put a perspective to it, we can recall that in the past many attacks on churches and mosques especially at the end of the year use to be a reoccurring incident since the advent of Boko Haram insurgency. These were times, families were scared to go to their farms, service in churches won’t hold without the presence of military men, people were always careful to gather in their large numbers for festivity, and many homes were lay desolate due to incessant attacks from this deadly group.

From few records of Boko Haram attacks in the few years back;

Mountain of Fire bomb blast that happened on 25th December, 2011.

The church in kano and Maiduguri that was attacked by Boko Haram gunmen, which took the lives of at least 19 people around April, 2012.

A Sucide bomber that detonated himself at a church in Jos, were 6 worshippers were killed on the 25th February, 2012.

St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger that was bombed on the 25th of December, 2011.

On 19th of January 2013, the Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero was attacked. Two of his sons were injured, while his driver and three guards were killed.

Boko Haram attacked the heavily fortified Giwa military barracks in Maiduguri, freeing comrades from a detention facility. –March 14, 2014
Nine persons were killed when Boko Haram attacked two offices of ThisDay newspaper in Abuja and Kaduna

Boko Haram attacked a Military School near Kano, Killing four officers on the 15th of December 2011

Boko Haram attacked President Buhari’s convoy in July 23 2014, along Ali Akilu Road Kawo-Kaduna at about 2:30pm. 82 people, including his personal relations and security aides were killed.

A sucide bombimg that killed 15 shites in Yobe state on the 3rd of November 2014

Not forgetting the 56 people that were killed in an attack on a Maiduguri mosque on the 12th of Augusut, 2013.

Futhermore, we should not quickly forget the era when they make bold attacks on different regions even after they have publicized it on media, they make their threats open to notable figures in the country and dared them not to move to places where they have placed restrictions.

Who do you think would have known it better than Zulum himself? Definitely, there is no one. This is a man that has seen and witnessed many attacks caused by this group. He is a man that speaks the truth and seeks after his own people’s security. He might not know all, nor fully understand the approaches to fighting the insurgency and military tactics and so on. But one thing we cannot take away from Professor Zulum is his desire to ensure the stability of peace and Unity is returned to every part of Borno. He has worked and spent a great considerable time of his life in Maiduguri for him to have known how safe and secured the state has been, overtime. He is a son of the soil, and he will keep fighting insurgency.

Governor Zulum is right to say that President Buhari has done better on tackling insecurity, and we can boldly say that the President is ever working and our Military are never relenting. Only in a matter of time would insurgency no longer be seen in the sand of time.

Zanna is a counter-terrorism analyst and wrote from Maiduguri.