Airport reopening: FAAN conducts simulation excercise

Ahead of anticipated lifting of restriction on air travel in Nigeria, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has conducted simulation excercise at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. This is to test all the protocols designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at the Airports.

Nigerian airports have been shutdown in excess three months to avert spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the aviation sector is set to reopen again.

The simulation excercise which began around 8am saw passengers go through all the protocols before boarding the Aero Contractor flight at about 11:20am. The flight was operated on a B737 marked NG110 with 51 passengers on board.

The excercise which entails a 1.5m physical distance markings, two hand wash areas and bags disinfecting area. Also hand sanitizers were placed in strategic locations even as Port Health workers were seen taking temperature levels of intending passengers.
Passengers were mandated to follow all protocols at all times.
Speaking on the excise, the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika said: “The flight simulation is to achieve five things: firstly it is to maintain physical distance with each other, secondly, it is to wear protective materials such as face mask and face shield, thirdly, It is to maintain hygiene, fourthly, it is to clean the area and surfaces and that is a function of the robot itself apart from identifying the passengers. Lastly, it is to also seat in a environment that is clean and hygienic maintaining physical distancing. So we can board the aircraft decontaminated so we don’t contaminate others. All of the things that has happened here is to ensure we don’t spread COVID-19 19” he explained.
According to him, the authorities “are ensuring efficient facilitation of passengers so time is not wasted in adopting the new normal.”
“We will announce all the protocols again before opening. But you need to be at the airport three hours ahead of your flight” he stated.
“The experience is quite nice but it takes a bit of time which is why you will need to be at the airport three hours before your local flight.
For international flight, we may do five hours” he stated.
Explaining further, Sen. Sirika stated that we have demostrated here in a mock manner a sick person. You saw how the area was condoned off, the sick taken away to safe area and the scene disinfected. You saw the health workers in their PPEs come around to evacuate the sick person. All these is to adhere to the new normal he said.
“You also saw that if you are served tea or beverages, you pick it yourself in a disposable cup” he said.
“Everything for me in this demo excercise worked very well. We came and began maintaining physical distance right from the outside. All the markings are there, and we respected that. During the checking procedure, we were shielded from the check-in officials, we got our boarding passes and during boarding, we detached our boarding passes and dropped the other end without physical contact. So contacts with people have been reduced so we can remain safe” he further explained.
Speaking on the protocol inside the flight he said: “There will also be social distancing in the aircraft. But new ideas are coming on board on how to remain seated to make the carbon economical okay and to ensure we don’t infect each other. Those new norms are coming and we will implement them in such a way that flights are profitable. WHO and ICAO have developed protocols of the sitting.”

Is Dogara A Coward? “He Left PDP For The Same Reason Akpabio Did”

By Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe [Chem Engr, NYC]

Who does Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara thinks he is fooling?

His decision to exit the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for the All Progressive Congress [APC] could not have come at a more convenient time. A time when the current Speaker of the House of Representative Rt. Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila mandated the Federal Minister of Niger Delta Affair to put his mouth where his money is – and produce the names of the supposed federal lawmakers who were recipients of the Niger Delta Development Commission [NDDC] contract bonanza and related fraud.

Just when the Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio responded that the recipients were not the members of the current House of Representatives but the members of the previous House of Representative under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Yabuku Dogara – Dogara woke up and discovered the corrupt nature of PDP in Bauchi State – and the pristineness of the APC. He suddenly came to realization he no longer wants a part of it.

Who does he expect to believe the tale he just discovered after more than one year the Government of Bauchi State is corrupt? After partaking in the unholy communion? Who is fooling who? And, who is gullible enough to believe the fairy tale?

The Cambridge dictionary defines a hypocrite as “someone who says they have particular moral beliefs but behaves in way that shows these are not sincere”. And, defines a coward as “a person who is not brave and is too eager to avoid danger, difficulty, or pain”.

If only the Nigerian public knew the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] was hot on his trail and had pulled his files, it would be clearer to understand the predicament Dogara finds himself.

The EFCC had begun investigating his activities while at the Green Chamber – and had concluded on its findings. To arrest the former Speaker was the next move. Dogara was faced with arrest and prosecution – in the same manner Senator Godswill Akpabio was faced with arrest prior to his shameful exit. Like Akpabio, Dogara flipped the switch and crossed over for the political cleaners where his sins will be forever forgiven – and amnesty granted, at the APC.

In Akpabio’s case, he was rewarded for his crossover, and for the synthetically manufactured battle he waged against the Governor of Akwa Ibom – the PDP Governor who took over the Governor’s seat after his exit. He was awarded a ministerial position in return.

In the case of Dogara, the play cards are the same. Off the bat, following his crossover, he launched his version of a synthetically manufactured battle against the PDP Governor of Bauchi State – detailing what he termed as corruption with the Bala Mohammed administration. An administration that has won accolades beyond the boundaries of Bauchi Stare as worthy of emulation. One that has revamped the educational infrastructure within the span of 12months by adding over 350 classroom blocks across the wards that makeup the State. Has achieved the erection of world standard molecular laboratory for the testing of Covid19 that presently serves four neighboring States at over 300 samples daily. Road construction networks in proportions never witnessed in the history of the State – including water treatment plants to accommodate the increase in population due to migration of IDPs.    

The question then becomes what is really Dogara’s agenda? It cannot be Bala Mohammed or his administration.

Apart from freeing himself from the grips of the EFCC. He maybe positioning for the Vice President position against the 2023 presidential elections or a Ministerial position.

As a coward battling out of the fear of possible prosecution, it is evident he has sold his rights and integrity to the drowning APC. A vomit he excreted. With which face will he face his former colleagues whom he lampooned when he defected from the APC to the PDP?

After labelling the APC, the party of corruption, he has returned to the party of corruption. Now, he sees the PDP as the party of corruption. Who is he fooling? And to imagine he was the number four citizen of the country for 4years defines the trouble with governance in Nigeria.

“What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid directly into a private company’s account?” – was one of the questions Dogara wanted answered. He claimed it led to his decision to exit the party.

Dogara, himself, knows firsthand the truth behind the non-existent loan. But he is earger to play dirty. He wants to play ostrich. Dogara knows the Bauchi Government never secured any N4.6billion loan.

The supposed N4.6billion concerns a legitimate contract awarded to a contractor for the purchase of vehicles for the government. The Bauchi State government, as most clever state governments do, issued the contractor an Irrevocable Standing Purchase Order [ISPO] – which in layman’s term means the Bauchi State government reached an agreement for the contractor to be paid in monthly installments through automatic deductions from the government’s bank account. Armed with the ISPO, the contractor approached a financial institution and presented the ISPO as a collateral to secure a loan. The contractor was awarded the loan – and the vehicles were delivered.

Dogara puzzlingly called simple transaction a loan in an open letter released to the public.

And to know that Dogara was among the recipients of the vehicles is disheartening and exposes his hypocrisy. He collected a Toyota Land Cruiser. Yes, he even wrote a thank you letter to the State government acknowledging the receipt of the vehicle.    

Dogara’s defection back to the APC may not be his last defection. It should be understood Dogara left the PDP for his personal gains and not for the benefit of good governance. The fear of EFCC prosecution and/or persecution propelled his exit [cowardice] – but to author a letter depicting the government of Bauchi as corrupt is weak and unnecessary.      

Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe is a Chemical/Environmental Engineer resides in New York  

Protests: Group allege Ugochinyere, Govs behind plot to destabilize Nigeria

A group, Coalition of Nigerian Youths Groups (CNYG) has alleged that they have uncovered a clandestine move by Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere and some governors to mobilize youths across the country to cause a semblance of the Arab Spring protest to destabilize the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The youth groups vowed to resist a repeat of the wild anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that cut across the Arab world in the early 2010s. 

Led by Comrade Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah, the groups at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday said parts of the series of activities lined up for the evil agenda is to protest against the Security and Service Chiefs, blackmail top Buhari appointees with phantom corruption allegations and call for their resignation which after done will usher in officers that will be unable to curtail the protests across the country. 

At that stage, the CNYG disclosed that most of their job is already completed as the protesters would freely pounce and hijack the government and install their paymasters. 

Recall that Ugochinyere was recently arrested and released over a 4-count charge bordering on defaming Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the entire House of Representatives.

He had accused the leadership of the house of collecting $10 million bribe from the Bill Gates Foundation to pass the infectious disease control bill. 

And according to CNYG, two oppoition governors, Nyesome Wike of Rivers State and Governor Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto are aiming to exploit his new found fame to upstage the ruling government. 

The groups added that the aim is to overwhelm the security architecture of the country and then blame the government for not doing enough to safeguard Nigeria. 

CNYG, therefore, challenged the security agencies to bring Ikenga, his cohorts and sponsors to book before it is too late. 

The group, however, warned that it will remain resolute, not allowing some selfish and narrow-minded people to drag the entire country into a mess.

Read full statement below:

Gentlemen of the press, the Coalition of Nigerian Youths Groups (CNYG) has received credible intelligence that one Ugochinyere Ikenga purportedly speaking for the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has been mobilized with the sum of 500 million Naira with the expressed brief to destabilize the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The 500 million naira allegedly came from two sources – namely – Gov Nyesome Wike of Rivers State and Governor Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, who also handed down the brief.

The mobilization is a continuation of other ongoing attempts to instigate violence in several parts of the country under the pretext of protesting insecurity in these parts of the country. The particular modus operandi that Ikenga is meant to deploy is to mobilize protests that will direct violence against law enforcement personnel and will require the military to be brought in to regain control of the situation; the protesters will then provoke the troops deployed to manage the situation such that they will be compelled to use force. The CUPP’s spokesperson, Ikenga has reportedly secured the services of killers who will use government-issued ordinance to kill some of the protesters and blame the military for such deaths.

The objective of this devilish scheme is in multiple folds. First is that these sponsors, who mobilized Ikenga, are desirous of painting President Buhari as lacking in democratic credentials and consequently attract international condemnation to him for violently clamping down on protesters, even though these protesters would actually be killed by their own side. The projection of this axis of evil is that the protests will spiral into violence on a scale that will lead to the collapse of the government and consequently pave way for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to hijack the government.

The second objective is similar to the first one in that Ikenga’s sponsor is expectant that a violent clampdown on protesters will give them the leverage to have the military chiefs removed from office and thus pave way for more junior officers to come on board. This is based on the expectation that they can have officers of certain ethnic origins, who will be pliable to organizing a coup to overthrow the government and hand power to the Tambuwal as interim President and Wike as interim Vice President or vice versa.

Two youth groups, acting in conjunction with a faction of the youth council installed by the opposition, are also part of the plot. They have been given the marching order to congregate their members for the protests. They were specifically cautioned not to divulge to the people being recruited to protest that the gatherings are programmed to turn violent.

These are long-running plots of the PDP, which were hatched even before that party lost the General Elections of 2019. Gentlemen of the press recall that there had been concerns expressed about phase one of this evil plot, which was the instigation of violence to truncate the conduct of the elections. The successful conduct of the elections, which the PDP lost has seen the chieftains of that party implementing phase two of the plot that is about overwhelming the security architecture of the country and then blame the government for not doing enough to safeguard Nigeria. 

They resolved on this change or government to truncate our democracy as the only viable way that the opposition can successfully come into power before the 2023  due date for a change in government. This they intend to achieve by mobilizing massive protests against the Service Chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of SSS. These hardworking individuals will be accused of sleaze through the publication of fathom allegations of corruption against them.

The exposure of that phase two has now made this desperate person to launch phase three, which is to isolate the military services from the government by getting President Buhari to sack the military chiefs and create a vacuum that will allow the killers recruited by the opposition to unleash full terror on the population. This is why part of the plot is to criminalize the military and the police such that they will become repulsive to associate with. Parts of the plot is to call on Nigerian troops and people of a particular ethnic group (Igbos) to withdraw their services from the military (Army, Navy, Air Force ) the Police and Department of State Services, citing a harsh clampdown on protesters and non-sacking of the military chiefs as reasons.

Another version of intelligence available to us indicated that Ikenga has reached out to fugitive from justice, fugitive from justice and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to support in inciting serving officers and men of Igbo ancestry to desert or mutiny in the military. 

The Coalition of Nigerian Youths Groups (CNYG) is calling for the immediate arrest and investigation of the arrowheads of these evil plots and their sponsors. Should the government elect to not arrest these people out of a fear of potential backlash, we want to tell the world that Nigerians will rise up to protect the country from coup plotters and any attempt to destabilize the government. Those angry at the result of the last elections in Nigeria should wait for the next election to test their popularity and not jeopardize the peace of the country.

We are sounding a note of warning to CUPP, IPOB and the youth arrest and investigation of the arrowheads of these evil plots and their sponsors. Should the government elect to not arrest these people out of a fear of potential backlash,  that has been mobilized to burn the country that Nigeria is not the Middle East where the hapless citizens allowed crisis and protest contractors to burn down their countries over their heads? The countries that cheered on the Arab Spring protestors will today not accept refugees from the same places they laid waste to. This is why we remain resolute that we will not allow a group of selfish and narrow-minded people to drag the entire country into the mess they are attempting to create.

Our warning is easy to understand. Anyone that threatens the safety of Nigeria should be prepared for consequences.

Nabena Drums Support For APC Caretaker/Convention Planning Committee

**Urge Party Members to Withdraw Court Cases

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yekini Nabena has urged party members to support the newly-constituted APC Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee chaired by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni.

Nabena urged aggrieved party members, reported state factions and members of the dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) among other stakeholders to drop cases against the party in the courts, in line with the admonition of President Muhammadu Buhari during the 8th resumed meeting of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) held on Thursday.

“Percieved fears of a witchhunt is misplaced. The APC Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee headed by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni has been given a mandate by the APC NEC to reform our party and ensure unity across party ranks.

“There can be contestations which is not unusal in a political organisation, but the task before us now is to support APC Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee to settle our differences and bring the much needed reconciliation and peace to our dear needs at this point.

The leader of our party, President Muhammadu Buhari has called on party members to withdraw cases against the party in court. Its welcome development that many members have began adhering to the president’s call. I urge other members and groups to do same for the growth and unity of our party.

“Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states are forthcoming. We must now come together as united political for to consolidate and win the elections.” Nabena stated.

Group asks Nigerians to ignore call for Service Chiefs sack

The Network for Justice and Truth (NJT) has urged Nigerians to disregard the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) and its call for the sack of the Service Chiefs. 

NJT alleged that Intersociety is an arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and like the proscribed group, it has a long history of violence, killings and unrest with an inexplicable animosity for President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Intersociety had accused the military’s top shots of manipulating the Armed Forces service rules and Nigerian constitution to extend their tenure of office indefinitely. 

However, in a statement signed by its President, Dr Ifeanyi Anayo Dike, on Friday, NJT described the group as “ignorant”, only carrying out the wishes of its paymasters. 

It added that such insinuation in all ramification is lacking in merit, objectivity and above all against national interest. 

NJT, therefore, called on the unsuspecting general public to ignore the statement from Intersociety as there is no iota of truth in the various allegations against the Service Chiefs. 

While warning Intersociety and their sponsors to desist from their nefarious activities, the Network for Justice and Truth urged other security stakeholders to extend their unalloyed support to President Buhari and the Service Chiefs. 

Read full statement below:

The Network for Justice and Truth wishes to draw the attention of the general public to the threats posed by the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) to peace and development in Nigeria. 

Intersociety, as an organization over the years, have been known to turn the truth on its head through its activities, especially with regards to issues of national interest such as sustainable peace and development.

It is a known fact that their hatred for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been hinged on the tough stance on the activities of terrorist and militant groups in the country. 

The Network for Justice and Truth is consequently not surprised by its highly misleading statement accusing the Service Chiefs of manipulating the armed forces service rules and Nigerian constitution to extend their tenure of office indefinitely. 

The statement by Intersociety is at best uncharitable and an exhibition of crass ignorance on the operations of the security sector in Nigeria. This is aside from the fact that the group, by all intent and purposes, are carrying out the wishes of their paymasters that are against the interest of Nigeria.

It is appalling as well as despicable for intersociety to attempt to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians with its diatribe on the Service Chiefs that have exhibited a high level of professionalism and dedication to preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria.  

The Network for Justice and Truth wishes to advise members of the unsuspecting general public to disregard the statement from Intersociety in its ramification for lacking in merit, objectivity and above all in the national interest.

We wish to state that Intersociety is playing the card of a greater plot by some disgruntled politicians that have in numerous times attempted to take over the affairs of the country through the back door having failed woefully at the general elections. 

It is therefore not surprising that Intersociety has been recruited into the plot because of its cash and carry policy and as well as its avowed sympathy for separatist and militant organizations in Nigeria. 

It is, therefore, a statement of the fact that their gross with the Service Chiefs is their refusal to allow the disintegration of the country into fragments for the benefit of their sponsors despite the massive amount of monies deployed for the purpose destabilizing the country by the  sponsors of acts of criminality across the country.  

These dissident elements have continued to demonstrate their hatred for the Muhammadu Buhari administration and other well-meaning stakeholders who have to keep sleepless night to prevent the country from collapsing into the abyss. 

It must be stated that Intersociety is indeed an affiliation of militant groups in the country. They have been known to be providing covert support to these groups and with the tough stance of the service chiefs in ensuring that their nefarious activities are curtailed to the barest minimum is giving organizations like Intersociety sleepless nights.

Consequently, their agenda is to trigger violence across the country using phantom and unnecessary allegations against the Service Chiefs in the country as in this case which the generality of Nigerians must be aware of. 

We wish to use this medium to inform the members of the unsuspecting general public to disregard the statement from Intersociety as there is no iota of truth in the various allegations against the Service Chiefs. 

The Network for Justice and Truth and the generality of other well-meaning stakeholders in the critical security sector in Nigeria extends their unalloyed support to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari through its numerous efforts towards curtailing the politically instigated acts of terrorism and criminalities in the country. 

The likes of Intersociety and their sponsors must desist from their nefarious ways in the interest of peace and tranquillity in the country. They must also leave the Service Chiefs to concentrate on that task at hand as this is not the time for distractions. 

It is advised that this is indeed the time for all and sundry to continue to extend their support to the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in this critical point of our existence.

APC group allege PDP governors orchestrating mutiny among Armed Forces

The APC Youth Solidarity Network (APCYSN) has vowed to resist any attempt by some governors in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to “truncate the nation’s hard-earned democracy due to their selfish taste for power” . 

According to the group, there is an ongoing plot to trigger a mutiny in the ranks of the military to give advantage to Boko Haram terrorists, thereby rubbishing the efforts of the Service Chiefs. 

In a statement signed by Coordinator, Comrade Danesi Momoh, on Friday, APCYSN alleged that while the Federal Government was battling and winning the fight against COVID-19, these politicians planted seeds of tribal discord in the military. 

Mr Momoh said his group had intercepted hate messages sent to poison the minds of young officers from the South, so as to encourage them not to obey others from their superiors.

The group, however, strongly warned: “these unpatriotic elements to stay away from this cause of action because it is not in the interest of the country”. 

It added that such open invitation to overthrow the current government is a serious issue which should not be toyed with. 

While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for his handling of insecurity, COVID-19 and APC crisis, the group passed a vote of confidence on the Service Chiefs and others involved in securing the lives of Nigerians. 

Introduction:

Recent happenings on the political turf coupled with other challenges the country is facing have left no one in doubt that we are in a trying period of our nationhood.

The nation has been upbeat about politics and the security of its citizens lately. 

But we are not alarmed because we know that these are temporary setbacks which are normal on the path to greater nationhood that can be overcome with the right counter-strategies. 

We have observed that because of these hiccups, some are already sharpening their tools to cause division and strife in the country and we on our part feel it is high time we expose them before they go far with their nefarious acts.

Much as a vast majority of Nigerians are impressed with governments’ handling of the COVID 19 pandemic, the political skirmish in the APC and the threat to internal security which have been handled professionally, these naysayers want to use these avenues to instigate a major crisis in the country.

 The Crux of the matter:

These unpatriotic elements are trying hard, even as the Federal  Government is doing it’s best, to make the situation worse for Nigerians by planting seeds of tribal discord within the military in order to instigate mutiny within the institution.

The plan according to what we gathered, is to poison the minds of young officers from the Southern parts of the country with hate messages, so as to encourage them not to obey others from their superiors who are not from the same region with them.

Our organisation has intercepted several messages they have sent to the young military officers from the southern part of the country calling on them to defy the orders of their superiors if they are not from the zone.

The mutiny is intended to shake the very foundation of the military and to frustrate the efforts of the service chiefs towards defeating terrorism and insurgency which they have sworn to achieve.

This attempt at anarchy, according to the details of the plan, is to further build up internal strife and chaos in the military so as to weaken the institution by giving the impression that the entire structure is unorganised and divided against itself.

If this is attained,  the next stage according to the heinous plan would be to nudge the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists to take advantage of the division to overrun a major town in the Northeast with wanton bloodletting so as to create panic and disaffection within the civil populace to paint the current set of service chiefs and the government in bad light.

This stage would then be followed by the release of copious videos and sponsored messages from certain groups and individuals to call for the removal of the service chiefs.

The icing on the cake would be to call on the military to intervene in the political affairs of the country through a coup de’tat. 

Already some opposition figures and civil society activists are being sponsored by those disgruntled elements since the military and the Police were unavailable to be used as election riggers to remove President Buhari from power and having lost woefully in the last elections. 

The planners are desperate about carrying out their plans to coincide with the recent crisis in the APC so as to overwhelm the system and make the country ungovernable for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the ultimate target of the scheme.

The PDP governors who are working in cahoots with some APC leaders who have not been favoured in the recent power tussle within the party, also want to heat the polity so as to create an atmosphere of chaos and political cataclysm for the overthrow of the current administration and have indicated that they are not averse to a military coup since it has become clear that they cannot make any headway in 2023.

This, we learnt, is because they have realised that with the dwindling prospects of the PDP and waning popularity of all its leaders including, there is no way they can achieve their plan of getting the presidency hence are prepared to truncate the hard-earned democracy not minding the cost to the nation.

They also fear that the APC governors have been more up and doing as far as political calculations for 2023 are concerned, and may finally bury the ambitions of the PDP bigwigs who have nowhere to run to when their political boats hit the rock in 2023.

But they have failed as we have uncovered their plans and have all the details in the palms of our hands.

Our Position:

We strongly advise these unpatriotic elements to stay away from this cause of action because it is not in the interest of the country.

The open invitation to an overthrow of the government is a serious issue which should not be toyed with and fanning the embers of ethnic discord is hardly what Nigeria can afford at this time.

Let us in our ambitions be guided by the greater good of the country

We commend President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs on how they are fighting terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.

We commend the President on how he has handled the crisis within the APC which shows that he is the best thing to have happened to our democracy. 

The group hereby passes a vote of confidence on the Security Chiefs, the IGP, the DG NIA and all others who are doing their best to make the country better. 

Boko Haram: Amnesty International as NGO Wing

By Israel Abiodun

That the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria has lingered is a function of various factors. There has been an unimaginable level of conspiracy against the Nigerian Military from multiple quarters. From those that have been benefiting from the heist, down to those that have used the insurgency as a means to achieving political gains.

To say that the actions of these groups and individuals are despicable would be an understatement. It is indeed a shame on how some have elected to be blinded by selfishness to be cruel to humanity.

I have followed the trajectory of the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria since 2009 when the group began its violent campaign against the country. I have marvelled on how they have been able to sustain a war with the Nigerian Military all the years. At some point, I felt that God was angry with Nigeria. Also, I thought that the end of Nigeria was in sight because the way and manner the Boko Haram group grew in their strength and sophistication left so many things to the imagination.

The harder the Nigerian Army pushed, the more the Boko Haram group became deadlier, and this made me ask pertinent questions. I also undertook researches with the help of some professors in war and strategic studies. And guess what? The results were mindboggling. I was dumbfounded and came to terms with reality. I consequently concluded that there is indeed more than meet the eyes in the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria.

If we must admit, the Nigerian Military, as well as some critical stakeholders, raised an alarm of the activities of some organizations parading themselves as advocates of the people, while in truth, they have been providing tactic and logistic support to the group.

One of such organizations is Amnesty International, the organization that pretends to be advocating for the preservation and protection of human rights. But it’s all a ruse because their activities in Nigeria have been nothing short of constituting a clog in our wheels of progress.

Amnesty International does not mean well for Nigeria. This much can be easily deciphered when a lens is focused on the tilt of their annual reports and the various disjointed press statements credited to it.

The lies, the hatred, the distractions and of late the rendering of intellectual support to the Boko Haram group are some of the ways Amnesty International have continually undermined Nigeria’s efforts towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

As unbelievable as this might sound, it is the starkness of the reality before us hence this piece. This position is not hinged on hearsay, but a product of critical analysis of the method of operation of Amnesty International and their position on issues that concerns the Boko Haram group.

Have we wondered why the various annual reports of Amnesty International on the conduct of the Nigerian Military in the prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency has been consistent in condemning the Military? Have we also wondered why Amnesty International’s major preoccupation in Nigeria in the past five years has been that of constant rebuff and antagonism for the Nigerian Military whenever gains are recorded in decimating the Boko Haram group.

Isn’t it more curious that Amnesty International tends to value the lives of Boko Haram Insurgents than that of the victims of their nefarious activities? Have we ever read reports by Amnesty International condemning the killing of innocent woman and children by Boko Haram? Have we ever read statements of Amnesty International condemning the killing of humanitarian workers by Boko Haram? Have we also read any report from Amnesty International condemning the use of underage girls for suicide missions? The list is indeed endless.

Yet this is the same Amnesty International that sees nothing good in the efforts of the Nigerian Military in its various operations. Again, the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram group are normal and not worthy of condemnation. This is where we are today and at the mercies of Amnesty International. They do not only cause a distraction to the Nigerian Military, but they have also unofficially assumed the position of spokesperson of the Boko Haram group.

The curious thing is that we might not have realized that Amnesty International, through their actions, have been running terrorist propaganda for the Boko Haram group. This is on the heels that propaganda is indeed a potent weapon of war and not just tanks and bullets. The propaganda machinery of Amnesty International is a strategy with an overarching objective to provide intellectual support to the Boko Haram group, thereby demoralizing the troops in the theatre of operations in North-East Nigeria.

Amnesty International amplifies messages that would dampen the morale of troops. Amnesty International would accuse the Nigerian Military of the arbitrary killing of Boko Haram members. Amnesty International would castigate the operations of the Nigerian Military when gains are being recorded, yet, it would maintain an unholy silence when Boko Haram terrorist ambush soldiers, plant landmines and burn down communities.

Amnesty International would also turn a blind eye when young girls are strapped with bombs and detonated in places of worships and public spaces with the bulk of the casualties innocent women and children.
At this point, I am overwhelmed with emotions. I can only wish that Nigerians know a fraction of the evil plots of Amnesty International against Nigeria. And to imagine the level of progress that would have been made in the war against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria is more depressing.

The conspiracy theorists would say when a “fact” tastes good and is repeated enough; we tend to believe it, no matter how false it may be. Understanding the illusory truth effect can keep us from being bamboozled. This is the case of Amnesty International in Nigeria and its entrenchment of illusory truth. And this is the time for Nigerians to understand the illusory truth effect and rise in support of the efforts of the Nigerian Military in addressing the threats posed by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Amnesty International must retrace its steps and respect the sovereignty of Nigeria because it won’t be business as usual anymore. There are two options: be guided by the principle of truth and objectivity or leave the country. They should take this message to their sponsors wherever they are that Nigerians are resolute this time around. The past campaign for its expulsion from Nigeria should be fresh in their minds. Nigerians won’t tolerate any act of sabotage from Amnesty International and any other organization. Enough is indeed enough. Nigerians are watching.

Abiodun wrote this piece from Ibadan.

Oshiomhole: End godfatherism in APC – Lukman

Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari over his role in the resolution of the leadership crisis in the All progressive Congress (APC).

Reacting over the dissolution of the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC), Lukman argued that the development speaks volume of the reality that there is no more room for godfatherism in the APC.

The PGF boss in a statement entitled “lessons from APC Leadership Crisis and Resolution” argued that but for President Buhari’s timely intervention, the Oshiomhole led NWC allegedly doing the bidding of their godfathers would have destroyed the party beyond repair.

Enjoining chieftains of the party to reposition the party ahead of the 2023 general elections, he urged the Governor Mai Mala Buni led caretaker committee to invoke article 21 of the party constitution on any erring party members that drags the party to court over the dissolution of the Oshiomhole led NWC.

According to him: “The current APC leadership crisis is partly triggered by the reality of the changes being experienced in Nigerian politics whereby godfathers are being challenged by local leaders.

“Who would have ever thought that ward executives could activate a process that consumed the National Chairman and the whole National Working Committee of the ruling party?

“In all our democratic experiences, especially under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), a National Chairman only get removed on account of disagreement with the President or top leadership of the party at national level.

“This is largely accountable for why our democracy is so concentrated with so much power at national level. National officers are less accountable and operate almost as gods. Somehow, APC appears to have succeeded in altering this.

“This may mean a big opportunity to broaden the base of our democracy such that accountability mechanisms are strengthened within the party and decentralised to local levels.

“How can this be achieved? Will APC leaders take steps to achieve that? While in the case of the current leadership crisis, it is a case of the survival instinct of Governor Godwin Obaseki mobilising the APC executives of Ward 10, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State against Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former APC National Chairman, it simply means that all officials of the party must ensure that they have good relationship with their ward executives.

“As argued by Moises Naim, although these ward leaders don’t have ‘coercive power of large and expert organisation but the counterpower that comes from being able to oppose and constrain what those big players can do. Their power is of a new kind; not the massive, overwhelming, and often coercive power…what happens when power is radically scattered, diffused, and decayed? Chaos and anarchy. The war of all against all.

“A world where players have enough power to block everyone else’s initiatives, but no one has the power to impose its preferred course of action is a world where decisions are not taken, taken too late, or watered down to the point of ineffectiveness.

“War of all against all was exactly what happened in APC. Everybody – members, leaders, sympathisers, supporters, etc. took part in the conflict. No player or actor in the conflict had enough power to block others and no one had enough power to impose preferred positions.

“Decisions are blocked as our party’s constitution was practically set aside resulting in organs not meeting. When eventually NEC met and the decisions came, it was late, at least not able to save Governor Obaseki even though it adopted the controversial governorship primary election that produced Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the Governorship candidate of the party for the 2020 election. How effective were these decisions?

“With the NEC successfully held, have the crisis been resolved? No, but at least it can be said the ugly period is over. To the extent that we have a Convention Working Committee that will manage the party for a period of six months and organise a National Convention to elect a new leadership, it can be said that the crisis will be resolved. Given that a section of the dissolved National Working Committee (NWC) are threatening legal actions against the decision of the NEC, what does this mean?

“It simply means that a section of the dissolved NWC are working against the party. Perhaps the Convention Working Committee should consider invoking provisions of Article 21: Discipline of Party Members of the APC constitution by taking advantage of the now discovered micropowers of ward leaders. Based on that those members of the dissolved NWC who attempt to institute legal actions against the decisions of NEC should be appropriately sanctioned.

“It is the responsibility of the Convention Working Committee to ensure that all the rascally conducts of party leaders that characterised the APC leadership conflict are brought under control. We should on no account tolerate conduct of any leader of the party, which makes them more associated with activities of bandits who don’t respect any rule or any leader.”

Sadiya Farouq: Where Buhari Got It Right

By David Onmeje

“She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.” – J.M Storm

Much regrettably, Nigeria has become a perpetual host to disasters and emergencies, which induce humanitarian interventions very constantly. From floods, insurgencies, epidemics, fire outbreaks, communal skirmishes to oil/gas pipeline explosions, Nigeria is always faced with emergencies and humanitarian situations to manage.

Therefore, the need to have a ministry to centrally co-ordinate government relief efforts, packages and assistance to distressed Nigerians in an orderly and accountable manner became imperative.

So, through an executive pronouncement, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR created the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (MHADM & SD) on August 21, 2019 mainly to oversee the exercise of basic human benevolence for Nigerians thrown into trauma and distress by these sudden artificial or natural disasters.

But what loudly elicited generous excitement among Nigerians was the appointment of a woman of virtue, core humanist and epitome of compassion, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq as MHADM & SD’s pioneer Minister. She is not a newcomer to the peculiar humanitarian issues of Nigerians and what it takes to make government benevolence, social welfare and poverty alleviation packages reach the doorstep of the poorest Nigerians.

Her previous experience as federal commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons ((NCFRMI)) as well as her stint as staff of the National Assembly Service Commission (NAC) adequately equipped her for the elevation and new assignment.

Author Jane Austen said in “Sense and Sensibility” that “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do,” the Minister has demonstrated in less than one year on the saddle her competence and thorough grasp of the briefs of her office. She has unwittingly marketed herself as a caring, loving and compassionate mother, sister and Aunt to children, the aged, the poor and indeed all Nigerians in times of need.

The latest intervention of the MHADM & SD on a national emergency is the unexpected Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and its concomitant lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly disease. Hunger came knocking in all corners and the burning desire for survival of the poor or less privileged Nigerian was not only the concern of President Buhari; but a responsibility and assignment Minister Sadiya is discharging excellently.

Novelist Isadora Duncan cautioned in this wit that “Work hard at being the best version of yourself.” The Hon. Minister is constantly reminded of this wisdom and has handled this very difficult national assignment with calm, diligence and admiration, ensuring the targets and priorities she set for the ministry were achieved.

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement on March 29, 2020, wherein he ordered a total lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Lagos and Ogun state to curtail the spread of coronavirus, the Minister was also tasked to undertake the continuation of School Feeding Programme.

The President’s words; “Furthermore, although schools are closed, I have instructed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to work with State Governments in developing a strategy on how to sustain the school feeding programme during this period without compromising our social distancing policies.”

Initial skepticism greeted the decision as most Nigerians questioned the workability of a palliative on School Feeding Programme based on the prevailing circumstances. The cynics put the ingenuity of the Hon. Minister to doubts. But as she mapped out her strategies and commenced work in response to the Presidential directive, it vacated all the misgivings.

Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Minister did not only modify the scheme, but also stoutly defended the government’s action as doable at the official launch of the modified scheme in Abuja.

She trusted in her capacity and competence to conveniently and neatly execute the President’s vision, with a strong conviction that “Hunger is a serious by-product of this pandemic, which is why from the onset the ministry has been evolving strategies to facilitate humanitarian intervention. This is a globally accepted means of supporting children to continue to have access to nutrient-rich foods despite disruptions to the traditional channels of school feeding.”

And she proved her worth when the Ministry flagged off the programme on May 14, 2020 at Kuje Primary School in Abuja. She involved a wide net of actors and stakeholders in the implementation of the modified School Feeding programme, which she kick-started its pilot phase in schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the states of Lagos and Ogun where the impact of Covid-19 was tremendous before it would be expanded to other states of the country.

She adopted the model obtainable in the United States of America and the United Kingdom and tapped richly from the alliance with the World Food Programme (WFP). The Ministry also got State Governors of the respective states, PTAs, CSOs, EFCC, ICPC, Police and community leaders, including clerics and the teachers of the pupils involved in the implementation and extra-layer monitoring of the scheme.

She led the supervision to ensure the targeted 3.1 million households nationwide actually benefit from the scheme. She explained that “The Ministry in consultation and collaboration with state governments identified the distribution of Take-Home Rations (THR) to the households of the children on the programme as a feasible method of achieving this directive after exploring several options.

And Minister Sadiya simplified the complex process by issuing vouchers to the parents of participating children from households already registered in the National Social Register under the Ministry.

“The parent takes the voucher for verification by NYSC members at the school where the pupil is fed. After confirmation of all the relevant facts, the parent is issued the packaged food ration for their child or children. The parents go home with the raw foodstuff to cook for the child, which should last for four weeks.”

Philosopher R. H. Sin once stated that “Give a woman pain and she’ll turn it into power. Give that woman chaos and she’ll create peace.” Therefore, The Hon. Minister seized the opportunity of the modified School Feeding Programme to draw other benefits.

She revealed, “The ministry is using the opportunity of this modified program to collate and verify data with the support of CSOs and NGOs such as ActionAid, BudgIT, Tracka, and CMDA”.

The effective implementation of the programme excited the national body of Parents-Teacher Association (PTA) which publicly indicated their support of it. Minister Sadiya accomplished her targets; in the same manner and ease she conducted the payment of two months conditional cash transfers to the beneficiaries and deployment or relief materials to residents of satellite and commuter towns/communities around Lagos and Abuja in the period of Covid-19 lockdown in these areas.

In other spheres of the Ministry, the Minister has not failed either and as a foresighted leader thinks ahead of time. When the world celebrated the last International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq inaugurated the Nigeria People’s Disability Parliament.

The theme; “Promoting the Participation of Persons with Disabilities and their Leadership: Taking Action on the 2030 Development Agenda,” was captivating and it pulsated the initiative of the parliament in her order to “…enhance their visibility in the scheme of affairs in the country and a voice to air their thoughts.”

Feminist poet, Audrey Hepburn envisaged Minister Sadiya in mind in the poem, “The beauty of a woman.” Some verses in it says; “The beauty of a woman/isn’t in the clothes she wears/The figure that she carries,/or the way she combs her hair./ But true beauty in a woman,/ is reflected by her soul./ It’s the caring that she cares to give,/the passion that she shows;/And the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows.”

Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq is an embodiment of the true beauty of a woman in actions and care for the needy, the poor, the vulnerable and the passion burns eternally in her. President Buhari has again proven through her appointment that another patriotic Nigerian whose obsession with selfless public service is infectious. She is a square peg in a square hole.

Critics can vent their spleen, but the Minister is neither deterred nor distracted. And like world famous author and Afro-American poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar, Maya Angelou echoed in the poem “Still I Rise,” “You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies,/You may trod me in the very dirt/
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.” Nothing can deviate Minister Sadiya’s attention from excellently performing her duties. She is indisputably a “strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.”

Onmeje is a public affairs analyst and contributed this piece from the United Kingdom.

Insecurity: Understanding the Coalition of Northern Group as a Virus

By Adio Waziri

The biggest joke of the century is the so-called Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) which issued an ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to stem the tide of insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria or face mass protest. Ironically, the group is one of the reasons insecurity persists in northern Nigeria. 

A bunch of gerontocrats, who in their old age are claiming to belong to an age they have long crossed and are usurping the chances of the real youths in the society, have done more harm to the north than even some of the violent groups that have taken up arms against the Nigerian state. These mercenaries who hide under the guise of ‘youths’ to offer their services to political recidivists have again offered their discredited platform to the highest bidder to discredit the current administration. Their aim is to make the President Buhari-led administration look bad so they latched on to the recent security breaches witnessed in some northern parts of the country to make their kill. Unfortunately for them, however, this is one area people know they lack moral ground to issue any warning on as the leaders of this so-called Coalition have been the major cause of insecurity. 

Apart from encouraging laziness through thuggery, they have by their over-reliance on renegade and self-serving politicians built an army of followers from among an otherwise innocent, hardworking and unsuspecting lot and have come to make them believe the only way they can make ends meet is through violence and sabotage.

This group has done the worst service to northern interests by taking away the minds of the youths from usefully engaging in productive activities like farming and another semi-skilled labour and putting them on the streets in the name of hired protesters and some times nudging them into acts of violence. They are like Boko Haram that made young and promising northern youths to abandon school and tear their certificates with a promise of an Eldorado in brigandage and opportunism.

The CNG cannot be absolved from the corollary effect of the drug abuse that is killing northern youths as they have made these young and hapless recruits believe that the only way they can do the bidding of these misguided elements is to take mind-bending substances.

The height of the chicanery of this group, however, was the ultimatum they gave citizens of Nigeria some time back to vacate the North not minding the social, economic and security implication of that statement. To them, satisfying their paymasters to have more zeros added to their cheques was more important to them than the peace and unity of this country knowing fully well that their statement would have led to a major crisis of great proportions if not for divine intervention. 

It is this same set of people who want people to take them serious about the security situation in the north when it is clear to everyone that they are the problem. They cause a problem to happen and then hide behind one finger to pretend that they are doing something about it.

If that had been the only damage it would have been tolerable, but everybody knows that in this particular outing as in others, it is the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau playing out and there’s no denying the fact that they are being sponsored by the failed presidential candidate of an opposition party, who is doing his best to discredit the current administration. 

But that is not even the height of inanities. The stupidity of their position is exposed in the fact that they are issuing a threat to an administration that has done more than any other to secure Nigeria and every of its citizen wherever they find themselves. 

The CNG does not know and will not appreciate the much the government has committed to ensuring peace and security in Nigeria because they have been busy going around collecting money from political opponents and making all manners of careless statements to check. 

Neither would the group appreciate the much the government has done in terms of security when its leaders are busy misleading youths to abandon their lawful jobs to line up as thugs for politicians in the bid to line their pockets with filthy lucre.

However, CNG, even with its nonsensical posture and infantile pretence cannot say it did not know the efforts the current administration has put in place to ensure peace the last time it was asking certain citizens to vacate northern Nigeria. 

If only they know the shuttles top government officials had to engage in to suppress the angst of people and the number of efforts by security agencies to proactively nip the threats in the bud, they would not have been opening their mouths to comment on anything concerning security in the next five decades!

To be sure, the current administration does not need any reminder, least of all from an irresponsible bunch of useless adult delinquents to show commitment to security in Nigeria. President Buhari made it clear even in his inaugural speech that security, alongside the economy and fight against corruption would form the focus of his administration. He has not disappointed. 

The current administration has taken steps that dealt heavy blows on insurgency, banditry and related crimes. Troops recaptured all the local governments under the control of Boko Haram and checkmated the activities of criminal all over the country. 

CNG cannot pretend not to recognize the efforts of the Inspector General of Police Special Team led by ACP Abba Kyari which busted several hideouts of criminals including that of the most notorious kidnapper in the country, Evans, and arrested him or Nigerian troops sacked the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists from Sambisa forest and established a base at camp Zairo and rescued school girls that were captured in Dapchi, Yobe State.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai to show the seriousness of the government towards curbing insecurity, relocated to the Northeast and has been fighting the insurgents with great success. Last week, when there was a security breach in Katsina, all the Service Chiefs went to reinforce their commitment which led to counter operations that destroyed the base of the criminals and many of them were captured.

The government did all these without waiting for any hired group to remind it of its responsibilities to its citizens. The Federal Government is alive to its responsibilities towards citizens and does not need a bunch of lazy adults who prefer to see themselves as ‘youths’ to remind it, hence they can keep their advice to themselves. 

At the juncture, however, it is right to advice these elders who want to see themselves as youths that the best way they can help in addressing the problem of insecurity is to stop running to politicians for sponsorship on mischief and begin to seek gainful employment. They can lead the youths by example through farming and agriculture or by engaging in other skilled or semi-skilled labour.

Waziri is a development expert based in Kaduna.