Inspirational Photo: Nelson Mandela’s 2003 Prophetic Statement On Buhari Becomes True…

 

This is a photo of The Sun News paper in 2003.

[Lazywrita]

Controversial DOYIN OKUPE congratulates Buhari – interesting statement…

The senior special assistant on public affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has congratulated President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, and his party, the All Progressives Congress, over their victory in Saturday’s presidential election.

Below is the statement as posted on his Facebook page…..

“It has pleased the Almighty God to give victory to General Muhammedu Buhari, the Presidential candidate of the APC and the President elect.

“We accept this as the Will of God and I personally congratulate the General for his success.

“We have ran a good race and fought a gallant battle.

“We are bowed but not cowed.

“We lost the crown but we gained a trophy.

“The PDP family must not despair;

“If it took General Buhari 30 years to come back to power, it should take us much less.

“For the opportunities we have had we give God All the Glory.

“To millions of our supporters we say thanks

“To those who are our adversaries, the battle has been fought, and it has been won & lost

“The strife is over for the next four years ONLY.

“We rejoice with APC and the people of Nigeria on the progress we have jointly made in our democratic journey.

“For our democracy to endure it is important that the winner clearly emerges while the loser concedes with equanimity.

“Certainly we will be back. We will overcome this defeat and rise again to power and glory

“In a twinkle of an eye.

“God bless Nigeria.”

Femi Fani-Kayode on Jonathan; once questioned his competence…

Femi Fani-Kayode

The former minister questioned the competence of President Goodluck Jonathan.

A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, said President Goodluck Jonathan by his misrule is leaving a legacy of “destruction and disaster” in Nigeria.

Speaking at a book launch in Lagos on Wednesday, Mr. Fani-Kayode, in a speech titled ”A Date with Destiny,” said the administration of Mr. Jonathan has plunged the country into financial recklessness, bloodbath (apart from during the civil war) and total misrule never before experienced in the country.

On the planned amnesty for the violent insurgent group, Boko Haram, the former minister said it is an “inglorious endeavour” and an “exercise in futility” that will “set a dangerous precedent.”

“4, 400 precious souls cut short and slaughtered like chicken by Boko Haram in the last two years. How can our government sleep well at night with all that innocent blood that has flowed whilst they are at the helm of affairs of our nation?” the former minister said.

“More innocent souls have been killed in the last 2 years by terrorists than at any other time in the history of Nigeria outside the civil war. How does President Jonathan and his”today’s men” feel about winning such a dubious and dishonourable title? Does he still regard Boko Haram as “his siblings” who he “cannot hurt”?

“Why did the President refuse to visit the good people of the northeast for so long despite the fact that hundreds of people are still being slaughtered there by Boko Haram every day?” he added.

He said the government has proved it does not “give a damn” to the suffering of the people and the loss of lives by not visiting the troubled region until politicians from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) did; and the president’s lukewarm and delayed response to the recent massacre of 185 people in Baga.

“He did not visit the place until the APC governors took the initiative, did the right thing, went there boldly and paved the way? It was only after that initiative was taken by the opposition that our President woke up from his deep slumber, remembered that he was the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces and saw fit to go to the north-east. Why did he take so long before doing so?”

“Does the fact that it took our Government two days to even acknowledge that the Baga massacres ever took place and that when they finally did all they said was that they would ”investigate it” not seem rather insensitive? This was after the Sec. Gen. of the U.N. and numerous other world leaders had not only condemned the massacre but had also expressed their condolences to our President, to the Nigerian people and to those that lost their loved ones. Yet to the best of my knowledge not one word of condolence or regret was offered by our President or our Government. Since when have we degenerated to such a point that when our people are killed in such a brazen manner and in such large numbers we don’t even seem to ”give a damn”? Since when have we become a nation of sociopaths that have no feeling and that do not value human life?” he said.

Mr. Fani-Kayode said the Jonathan administration has refused to tackle corruption and therefore has plunged the economy into deeper mire by its wanton display of financial impudence.

“When will our President and his ”today’s men” answer David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’s, question and tell him what they did with the 100 billion USD that they made from oil sales in the last two years? When will they answer Obi Ezekwesili’s question about how they squandered 67 billion USD of our foreign reserves? When will they answer the question that Nasir El Rufai asked sometime back about how they spent over 350 billion naira on security vote in one year alone? When will they answer the many questions that Pat Utomi and many other distinguished and courageous leaders and ”yesterday’s men” have raised about the trillions of naira that have been supposedly spent on oil subsidy payments in the last two years?” he asked.

“When will they implement the findings and recommendations of the Nuhu Ribadu report on the thievery that has gone on in the oil sector? When will they cultivate the guts and find the courage to respond to a call for a public debate to defend their abysmal record? When will these ”today’s men” stop being so reckless with our money? Why would our ”today’s man” FCT Minister budget 5 billion for the ”rehabilitation of prostitutes in the Abuja”? Why would he budget 7.5 billion naira for a new ”FCT city gate”? Why would he budget 4 billion naira for some kind of building or centre for the First Lady? Why would the Federal Government of ”todays men” budget 1 billion naira for food in the Villa? Are these the priorities of ”today’s men”? And all this when Nigeria is back in foreign debt to the tune of 9 billion USD and is still borrowing, when local debt has hit almost 50 billion USD, when 40 per cent of Nigerians are unemployed, when graduate unemployment has hit 80 per cent, when 40 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to good food and are described by the U.N.D.P as being ”hungry” and when 70 per cent of Nigerians are living below the poverty line? Is this the vision of ”today’s men?”

[PREMIUM TIMES]

UNBELIEVABLE: Femi Fani-Kayode betrays Jonathan days after defeat; questions his competence…

The headline above was the initial title for the write-up. I have changed the title to reflect the period Femi Fani kayode was said to have made the statement which was in 2013 when it was originally published. I apologise for any mislead.

April 25, 2013Nnenna Ibeh.

Audio: President Jonathan’s phone call to congratulate Buhari..

 

Forgive me if I am a bit suspicious, but how did this audio tape get to the public domain? Could this be a prank? I am not sure…an official confirmation from outgoing President Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati would certainly be helpful.

On Reflection….President Goodluck’s Legacy.

On reflection…. 

Perhaps, that was his divine purpose. To save Nigeria from total calamity when the polity was at its most sensitive. 

Perhaps, he was chosen as a shoeless vice president, from an unlikely village in Otuoke to give hope to the forgotten and hopeful.

Perhaps, God chose Jonathan, the ‘bobo nice’ with the temperamental wife by his side, to show the world that he could get anyone to an unimaginable position .

Perhaps, God used President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to show Africans the way forward. That an African incumbent could conduct free and fair elections, lose and concede defeat.

Perhaps, God hardened the minds of Jonathan and his advisers when so much wrong was perpetrated. 

Perhaps, the promised era of greatness for Nigeria has finally come, and it will take an octogenarian to take Nigeria to the Promised Land where there would be milk and honey.

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari may therefore, after enduring three previous electoral defeats, had been prepared all along, on how best to lead the people of Nigeria to the Promised Land. Perhaps.

Perhaps, this is a lesson to all Nigerians that one day, it will all come to an end and because Jonathan was the chosen one, he would always have a legacy as the President who saved Nigeria from breaking up as the world had predicted.  Perhaps.

Perhaps, that was what God meant when he handpicked President Goodluck, just as he picked Samuel, destined to bring-goodluck at last to Nigeria.

Perhaps, this was what Goodluck Ebele Jonathan legacy was always going to be.

Perhaps.

 

 

SEGUN ADENIYI: “In losing Power, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has finally found himself.” – Good Read.

It remains for me the most memorable moment in the movie. The captain was informing the ship owner (who had bought into the lie that no force on earth or in heaven could sink the Titanic) that the ship had hit an iceberg. “From this moment, no matter what we do, the Titanic will founder,” he said. Having put so much faith in his own propaganda, the ship owner retorted: “But this ship cannot sink.” Without missing a beat, the captain responded: “She is made of iron, Sir. I assure you she can. And she will. It is a mathematical certainty.”

Because those who survive on rent in our country are adept at marketing their greed, they always succeed in selling to whoever occupies the number one office in Nigeria at any period that he is not only above the law, he is so powerful that he can never be defeated in an election. But with the current defeat of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), it is now very clear that the president of Nigeria is human, afterall and he can be ousted by the same people whose votes put him in power. That message has been most eloquently passed and our country will never remain the same again. It is a new day! 

For sure, the president of Nigeria has enormous financial resources he can mobilise at any given time while the security agencies and critical institutions of state work at his pleasure regardless of what is written in the Constitution. And he is forever surrounded by clowns and jobbers of all sorts-I was privileged to have seen many of them at work in the Villa-who sing the mantra that, as “President and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”-a title that is so needlessly repeated for his pleasure almost as if it is a line in the national anthem-he has such unlimited power that he can even turn a man into a woman. Now we know better.

Having never bought into the scam that a president of Nigeria cannot be defeated, I have since about four months ago been telling some people very close to President Jonathan that he was electorally vulnerable. But they never took me serious. In my personal encounter with the president in his office on July 23 last year (he sent for me), I particularly explained to him that he was increasingly being perceived as “anti-North” and that it could hurt him at the general election. I recall the president interjected by saying “but Segun, you know me… ” to which I replied that it was not my view but a perception challenge he should deal with. If he made efforts in that direction, they were either too little or too late, going by the results of the presidential election across the entire Northern zone where Buhari won outright in 16 out of 19 States. Details of that private encounter I had with the president will come in my coming book on the 2015 general elections in Nigeria that should be out before the end of the year.

Needless to say, I am not one of the people surprised by the outcome of the presidential election. In the fourth instalment of my 2015 election series, “A Time to Choose”, on 29 January this year, I wrote: “as the incumbent, Jonathan will run on his record which unfortunately would include not only his performance in office (which is not as bad as being projected) but also mismanaged relationships that may have been more costly in terms of the eroded support base. We may never know how much political damage the president inflicted on himself by his failed bid to install a Speaker for the House of Representatives in June 2011 and the refusal to accept defeat gracefully thereafter; the futile attempt to oust Rotimi Amaechi as the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Chairman and how that eventually led to the split within the ruling party; the ill-feelings from aggrieved party members who lost out at the recent PDP primaries; the unfortunate Chibok ‘Waka-Come’ theatrics at the Villa by the president’s wife that went viral internationally; the saga of the ‘unaccounted for billions of Dollars’ in oil receipts that is yet to be conclusively resolved and the accompanying drama with Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that played out from the CBN Governorship office in Abuja to the Emir’s palace in Kano; the presidential redefinition of corruption as being different from–and perhaps more tolerable than-stealing; the evident contradictions inherent in the fact that those who once ran a vicious media campaign against Jonathan, baptizing him with the moniker, ‘clueless president’ are now the ones speaking for him etc. The thing about elections is that choices are usually made by most voters on the basis of sentiments (and emotions) such as the foregoing and that is why the incumbent is often disadvantaged, especially when the public mood is as fouled as it is in Nigeria today…”

I wrote that three months ago and I have been proved to be correct. However, despite the bitterness that characterised the 2015 presidential election campaigns, President Jonathan redeemed himself when it mattered most not only by the way he gracefully accepted defeat and congratulated Buhari even before the collation of results was concluded on Tuesday but also by the manner in which he rose to the occasion last Saturday.

Despite the discomfort of having to stand in the heat, Jonathan comported himself very well as the president, not a partisan, as we all watched on national television how three card readers failed to read his biometrics and accredit him for voting at his home town, Otueke, Bayelsa State. At a time television camera could project very clearly that his wife was already boiling with anger, the president said he was prepared to wait for as long as it would take for it to work before he was eventually accredited manually. Calm in disposition and measured in his utterances, Jonathan refused to be goaded by the reporters who were asking him leading questions about the use of card reader, knowing where he stood on the issue. “President Jonathan is just one person, so if we have problem with one person, as far as the election is going on well nationally, I am not worried. There might be a delay, my interest is that we conduct a credible election,” he said.

At the end, even if he lost the election, President Jonathan has turned out to be a man of his word. The fact most people ignore is that given the objection of his party to the use of the card reader, if the president had stormed out of the polling unit at Otuoke when three card readers failed him, that probably would have been the end of the election. And by now, Nigeria would be on the boil. Fortunately for all of us, Jonathan chose not to travel that familiar road often trudged by African leaders and history will forever be kind to him for it.

That Nigerians are today proud of Jonathan is not in doubt and it is a shame that it would take a defeat for him to approximate to the president many had wanted to see in recent years. But in the days and weeks to come when he begins the self-introspection as to how he lost the presidency, Jonathan should look no farther than his immediate environment. From his overbearing wife who used the campaign podium to preach hate, forgetting that there indeed is a God in heaven who promised in the Bible to “overturn, overturn, overturn… until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” regardless of whether such a person is “analogue” or “brain dead” to people like Godsday Orubebe who made a disgraceful public show of himself on Tuesday not to mention Chief Edwin Clarke and confederates who, forgetting that politics is a game of addition, imagined they could abuse and blackmail the whole of Nigeria into re-electing their Ijaw kinsman.

 

How and why Jonathan lost will be a subject of interrogation in my coming book but it is a pity that his handlers paid scant attention to my warning of 19 January 2012, in a piece titled “Their Son, Our President”, which rankled Aso Rock and for which someone procured the services of hacks to attack me. I hope that Jonathan’s people will go back to read (http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/their-son-our-president/107435/) and reflect on what might have been had they taken counsel in the Yoruba adage that when your tuber of yam is growing too big, you use your hand to cover it.

For an election that had been predicted to be the end of our country, Nigerians have every right to be happy about the turn of events but there are just too many heroes and the first to be commended is the ordinary voter who stood under the sun and in the rain to exercise his/her franchise. And then the much-maligned chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega. Calm under pressure, mature in his approach to issues, serene in the face of provocation yet so firm and resolute in his conviction, Jega has written his name into the history books by delivering when it mattered most. With any other person, it is doubtful if we would be where we are today as a nation. And of course we must commend our president-elect, Buhari, not only for his tenacity of purpose (having lost three previous times) but also for the maturity with which he handled the campaign irritations from some PDP bigwigs and the president’s wife.

Finally, the biggest accolades go to the president who conceded defeat so that his nation can move on. By that simple but important gesture of patriotism, honour and nobility, Jonathan has earned the status that one old man imagined he could confer on himself just by the theatrics of tearing his party card before television camera. I just hope that the leaders of the victorious APC would have the decency to treat the president with respect in the remaining period of his tenure and after he leaves office. He deserves it.

I will be a bloody hypocrite to say that I was praying for Jonathan to win the presidential election. To be honest, I felt the country could do with some Change (even if I still don’t know its content) because of the way Jonathan mismanaged a couple of serious national issues, especially the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east. There was also this academic interest about whether the proposition in my May 2011 research paper ‘Divided Opposition as Boon to African Incumbents’ on factors shaping incumbent elections in Africa with special focus on Nigeria, would prove to be correct. Now that my thesis has been validated, I enjoy no real satisfaction that Jonathan is leaving office this way because, despite my misgivings about some of the people around him or his mixed stewardship, I still have a strong affection for the president who I consider a very good man.

If the president needed any validation that he acted wisely, it is by the outpouring of congratulations to him from all over the world and the way he has practically repositioned our country for business. Perhaps nobody has captured the situation as succinctly as Mr. Mo Ibrahim, one of Africa’s wealthiest men and philanthropist, who said yesterday: “The news from Nigeria today is wonderful. Africa’s largest country has concluded a peaceful election process. Furthermore, the incumbent has already gracefully conceded and congratulated his successor – a first for Nigeria and a benchmark for other African countries to follow. Today, we Africans are all proud of Nigeria and President Jonathan. Thank you Mr. President. If you are seeking a legacy, you have definitely achieved it.”

Last Saturday in my hotel room in Lagos, my friend and research assistant, Dipo Akinkugbe, with whom I was watching on television the drama of Jonathan and the Card Reader as the election accreditation exercise unfolded, said after the president had fielded questions from reporters and left: “This is a rare display of statesmanship that I have not seen in President Jonathan for a long time.”

That, I told him, is the essential Jonathan whose Ijaw handlers and a few power mongers from other parts of the country did not allow to blossom. But in falling from power through the electoral process, Jonathan has risen in the estimation of Nigerians for his statesmanlike concession to General Buhari.

Perhaps, in this final moment of loneliness, the President finally acted as Jonathan, unencumbered by the hidden motives of the army of power merchants and ethnic salesmen who have held him hostage all these years. Perhaps it is this last act of selfless submission to the will of the people that will eternally redeem Jonathan in Nigerian history. This end, then, could justify the murky path of this humble man from Otuoke who started life without shoes but has risen to great power and now to the honour roll of great Nigerians.

The message from the foregoing is profound yet so simple: In losing power, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has finally found himself.

by Segun Adeniyi [ALL AFRICA]

Jimi Agbaje (JK’s) 10 remarkable similarities with Buhari.

1. Buhari FAILED to win at previous attempts, just like JK.

2. Buhari CONTESTED under another party in 2015 elections, just like JK.

3. Buhari was told he was TOO OLD, just like JK.

4. Buhari was labelled a LIAR by the opposition, just like JK.

5. Buhari had (exam results) CERTIFICATE controversy, just like JK (tax certificate).

6.  Buhari was told he could NEVER UNSEAT a ruling party, just like JK.

7.  Buhari advocated for CHANGE of power after 16 years, just like JK.

8.   Buhari is very POPULAR with the grassroots, just like JK.

9.   Buhari wants to fight CORRUPTION, just like JK.

10. Buhari has BOLD IDEAS – “Sai Buhari”, just like JK – “JK is ok”

 

 

 

Where did it all go wrong for Jonathan? 5 Reasons.

For the first time ever a Nigerian president has failed to win the popular vote. It’s a landmark for democracy, but where did it all go wrong for Jonathan? 

 Goodluck Jonathan misread the mood on the Chibok kidnappings and alienated all the wrong people. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP

Goodluck Jonathan has earned the dubious distinction of being the first president in Nigerian history to lose an election. In many ways, Jonathan was the architect of his own downfall. He made critical mistakes that turned the public and allies against him, and led them to gravitate towards the opposition. Here’s where it all went wrong:

1. Don’t cross the boss

When Nigeria emerged from 15 years of military rule in 1999, Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic party (PDP) was formed by wealthy retired generals to inherit power from the military. One of the godfathers was General Olusegun Obasanjo, who has governed Nigeria twice (between 1976-1979 and 1999-2007). Jonathan made the mistake of alienating Obasanjo; leading the general to write a public 18-page letter containing lacerating criticism of the president in December 2013. A party member likened Obasanjo’s hectoring of Jonathan to a father’s disappointment with his son.

Getting on the wrong side of Obasanjo is the political equivalent of crossing a mafia don

Rather than make peace with the 77-year-old, Jonathan’s office retaliated.

Getting on the wrong side of Obasanjo is the political equivalent of crossing a mafia don. You will pay. Obasanjo’s attacks on Jonathan intensified. In February, an irate Obasanjo quit the PDP and dramatically ripped up his party membership card on television.

Jonathan was naïve to think he could remain president without the support of PDP godfathers like Obasanjo. Although Nigeria is no longer under military rule, many retired millionaire generals call the shots from behind the scenes.

2. Playing fair

Previous Nigerian presidents were too cynical to expose themselves to the unpredictable risk of a fair election. The election victories of PDP presidents during the past 16 years have been partially “assisted” by electoral malpractice. That changed when Jonathan nominated Professor Attahiru Jega as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) in 2010. Jega vowed to reform Nigeria’s electoral process to ensure free and fair elections.

The former university lecturer exuded calm authority and integrity. He has painstakingly prepared for the task over the past four years by studying the rigging methods used in previous elections, implementing an elaborate system of voter registration, training thousands of electoral staff, and introducing biometric readers to identify voters by reading their thumbprint.

Jonathan created the environment for the emergence of these changes and gave Jega the freedom and authority to conduct reforms that led to a credible election. But by giving Jega a free hand to play fair, he allowed Jega to craft the weapons that were used to oust him from power.

3. Boko Haram and the Chibok kidnaps 

Jonathan’s relations with party members at times resembled a football coach antagonising his star players

When Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in northern Nigeria, Jonathan failed to realise how much this would capture the public’s attention, both locally and internationally. His failure to speak about the kidnap for several weeks made him appear uncaring. These shortcomings were exacerbated by the behaviour of his wife, Patience, when she met the mothers of the kidnapped girls. Her ostentatious display and over-the-top emotions were mercilessly parodied.

Jonathan’s perceived casual indifference to the suffering of his people was compounded when he was photographed celebrating his niece’s lavish weddingjust a few days after Boko Haram had killed 2,000 people in the town of Baga.

4. Bad management

Jonathan’s relations with party members at times resembled a football coach antagonising his star players into leaving for rival teams. His tendency to fall out with colleagues simultaneously weakened his party and strengthened the opposition. He quarrelled with one after another; leading several of them to leave the party in frustration and join the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). The alliance between these and the opposition shoved Jonathan out of power.

5. Corruption and cronyism 

Nigerians refer to their country’s resources as the “national cake” which must be shared by its citizens. There was a perception that Jonathan gave slices of the cake largely to members of his own community. Many powerful members of his government were from Jonathan’s region in the deep south of the country. Even Jonathan’s wife was appointed as a senior civil servant in his home state of Bayelsa.

There was a perception that Jonathan gave slices of the cake largely to members of his own community

Under Jonathan’s presidency many militant leaders from the oil producing Niger Delta area in the south have become very rich from government patronage and contracts. Some of them have been awarded security contracts to guard the oil installations they once protested against and attacked.

Jonathan has also pardoned a former ally accused of fraud and money laundering, increasing the cloud of suspicion hanging over his government.

These events caused deep resentment in other parts of Nigeria and created the impression that Jonathan ran a government that benefits those from his part of the country, the south, but not many others.

Jonathan even managed to get into a public feud with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the respected Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. In February 2014 Sanusi alleged that $20bn of Nigerian oil revenue was unaccounted for. Rather than investigating the claims Jonathan fired Sanusi for his impertinence at publicly hinting of government fraud.

Buhari’s victory is historic and unprecedented. However Jonathan was responsible almost as much as Buhari was.

Max Siollun is a Nigerian historian and author.Twitter @maxsiollun

[THE GUARDIAN]

Jimi Agbaje vs Akinwunmi Ambode: Will the wind of CHANGE hit Lagos or remain in Abuja?

Scent of victory in Lagos elections

IT is generally admitted in  politics, as with any  competition, that failure is an orphan. In  contradistinction, the smell of victory and the taste  of  success is  known  to  be sweet. In the Lagos State  governorship  election in which  Jimi Agbaje of the PDP  and Akin  Ambode  of the APC  will  lock horns in the election  of April  11,  2015, the  dust of campaign  is clearing  and it is becoming  clear  who  Lagosians will vote for in that historical and crucial  election. Amongst  Lagosians  generally,  it is becoming  obvious  by the day that change is  imminent  in Alausa.

This is a development  that should be worrisome  to the ruling party  in the state for the past 16  years  and that is the APC. Curiously, the APC is advocating  change  in Abuja  and continuity in Alausa. But it has confused  its teeming supporters in the process  of  campaign  all over  Lagos where the slogan is change  ostensibly because the party leaders  have  taken  their victory in  Lagos  for  granted. Inadvertently, they have forgotten that Lagosians  are even more interested  in their  fate in Lagos than  the  person who occupies Aso Rock  in the March 28  elections.

This is  because  of the proverb  they invoke which says when  your house is on fire you put it out first before that of your neighbour. To  Lagosians, the way  the APC  campaign  team  has been conducting its campaign  has  shown clearly  that it lacks  confidence  in  its candidate  Akin  Ambode  who  has been tied  to the apron string of the incumbent  governor of the state, Raji  Fashola  who, although is a lawyer,  is not much  of an articulate person and politician himself. Keen watchers  of Lagos  2015  elections campaigns have seen this lack of confidence in the ability  of Akin Ambode  to say the  correct  things  to win votes  as  the first  sign  that his candidature  is very vulnerable  especially  in a state  where  it has  always  been  taken  for  granted  that whoever  Bola Tinubu picks will  have  a walk  over  to the governor’s  lodge at Alausa.

This has been the trend for the last 16 years but the emergence  of  Jimi Agbaje  as the PDP  governorship  candidate  has tilted  the pendulum  of power against the APC in  the forthcoming April  11 governorship  elections  in the state. Indeed the worry amongst  the Lagos electorate and  Lagosians  in  general is  not that Agbaje  and the PDP  will claim  Lagos in the governorship  elections but by what  margin of victory.

Again the reason and tell tale  signs  are  there  for  all  to see. The first  is that Lagosians  have  successfully  resented  and resisted the winner-takes-all  attitude  of the Akin Ambode campaign  machinery  which  brought on board  its  own personnel and  shunned Fashola  loyalists  after  the APC  primaries  that gave the party  governorship ticket  to Akin  Ambode. The  Ambode people  forgot that the Fashola  loyalists are still  in power  and wielded enormous power clout  which  they  have  used to highlight Ambode’s in articulation  and  incoherence  of ideas  even  as their leader was forced to campaign  for Ambode  all  over  Lagos.

These loyalists  have  become bona fide fifth  columnists in the APC campaign  machinery and it is not too certain that some of them are not sympathetic to the  emergent and victory-sensing Jimi Agbaje PDP campaign  machinery .

In many instances,  Lagosians  have started seeing  hitherto inaccessible and unavailable powerful  Lagos  State  officials  and even  commissioners showing up at parties  and social  events which they have shunned  with  contempt  in the recent  past. The message  they seem  to be passing  to their surprised  acquaintances
is  that they  are  back  because  the game  is up  and they know for certain  that it cannot be business  as usual in  the corridors of power in  Lagos politics.

This  is  because the Jimi Agbaje’s  PDP  campaign  in Lagos State  has upset the  apple  cart  of power in  Alausa  and a non -member  of the ruling APC  is  poised  to wrest power  from  the  powers  that  be in  the  leadership  of the party in the state. Such  is the scent  of victory amongst Lagosians  and defected APC  supporters  that  they  now  only  pray to  God and for good  health  to see them  through to  April  11 when  they  cast  their  ballot  to seal  Jimi  Agbaje’s  victory  as the next  governor  of  Lagos State,  Insha Allah
• Alao, a public commentator, writes from Lagos.

[GUARDIAN]

Below is a comment from Adesegun Damazio., a reader of JSD.  I thought it was a brilliant piece.. 

0 0 Rate This This is perhaps one of the most concise analysis of the Lagos State polity. Though many may find it obscure and lacking in details, this piece markedly accentuates the projections of a well-informed Lagosian. Rewind to the events leading to the 2007 Lagos State Gubernatorial elections during which it had seemed as though the Late Engr. Funsho Williams would have a walk in the park at the polls until his fateful demise, Lagosians have since taught the PDP lingering lessons on how to choose a candidate whose astuteness would either be at par with Late Funsho Williams, or perhaps, surpass it. They neither saw that in Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro nor Dr. Ade Dosumu. Fast forward to the modern day, and you’d see how well many Lagosians have come to accept Mr. Jimi Agbaje, as a man who represents true progressivism, owing to his slogans and various debates. I was unable to vote during the 2007 elections since i was few years short of the voting age, but it was easy for me to discern whom the best candidate was – Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, a man who until the death of Funsho Williams probably hadn’t declared interest in running for the post. I probably would have had to battle with constant headaches if in 2015, Agbaje and Fashola were up against each other as fresh political entrants, as both men emanate sheer brilliance and technical know-how. Alas! The battle between Jimi Agbaje & Akin Ambode is a mismatch in my own opinion, as I believe it’s clear who’s miles ahead of the other. However, I’ll urge true Lagosians to task their conscience when heading to the polls come April 11, 2015. If the APC truly represent what they claim, a man like Mr. Jimi Agbaje oughtn’t have to battle with an APC-led Federal Government. If we truly practice a democratic system, and have studied the two top gubernatorial candidates, Mr. Jimi Agbaje sure deserves to win by a significant margin. He’s openly maintained that APC & PDP all have brazenly corrupt politicians, so I don’t expect anybody to chant the hypocritical claims of Jimi being in the wrong party. In conclusion, I hear some people say they want continuity in Lagos State, and I ask, has Mr. Jimi Agbaje threatened to discontinue any meaningful and progressive establishment set up by the Fashola-led administration? Dear Lagosians, I don’t know what informs your decision but best be sure you vote for quality and not commodity. God bless.

Reasons why Jega remained calm when accused by Orubebe.

On the allegations of bias against him by PDP chieftain, Mr Godsday Orubebe, at the National Collation Centre in Abuja on Tuesday, Jega said he was unperturbed because he knew he had nothing to hide.

“I maintained my calmness because I knew all the allegations were false. There is nothing that frightens me or disturbs me because, of all our actions, we have explanations for them,” he added.

JEGA TO QUIT AS INEC CHAIRMAN; not interested in another term.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, has declared that he is not interested in another term when his current tenure expires in June.

Jega was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 to replace Prof Maurice Iwu.

Speaking in an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Hausa) Thursday night, Jega said having played his role in the political space for five years, it was time another person to contribute his or her own quota.

He said: “I am grateful to God. I was asked to come and contribute my own quota to the national development and I have done my bit to the best of my ability. 

“Whatever assignment one will do for five years – just like this difficult one, to me if one is able to successfully accomplish the task, someone else should be given the opportunity, because for me I am not interested and if I am requested to serve again, I will not do it, by God’s grace,” Jega said.

He pointed out that the introduction of the card reader device in the 2015 general elections had significantly helped to make the presidential election transparent, adding that challenges recorded would be looked into in the forthcoming governorship/state assembly elections.

On the allegations of bias against him by PDP chieftain, Mr Godsday Orubebe, at the National Collation Centre in Abuja on Tuesday, Jega said he was unperturbed because he knew he had nothing to hide.

“I maintained my calmness because I knew all the allegations were false. There is nothing that frightens me or disturbs me because, of all our actions, we have explanations for them,” he added.

[DAILY POST]

BUHARI’S BLUE PRINT: ‘MY First 100 Days In Office’ – (@ThisIsBuhari)

Dear Compatriots,

In the past few months that I have traveled round this country on campaigns, I have experienced the sheer beauty of our diversity. From Port Harcourt to Kano, from Abeokuta to Gusau, I experienced first-hand the daily sufferings and struggles of our people. I also experienced the overwhelming desire of our people for change.

When I arrived in Port Harcourt on the 5th of January to start my campaigns, I was met by our teeming supporters, who stayed till late in the evening to welcome us. Among them were many young men and women, who in the few minutes that I shared with them at the airport, made me to reflect on what kind of future awaits them in our country.

The gestures of 90-year-old Hajia Fadimatu Mai Talle Tara from Kebbi State and 9-years-old Nicole Eniiyi Benson from Lagos State, who donated their life-savings to my campaign, reflect the overwhelming desire of our people for change. In their gestures, I perceived a longing for the days when honour, national pride and dignity of labour were the fundamental social principles that governed our country. As I encountered millions of our youths, who sometimes run for hours in front of my car and hanging precariously on our campaign vehicles at our state rallies, I also pondered the enormity of the task ahead. How do we give jobs to our youth? How do we reform our economy and make it work for every Nigerian?

I know however, that what we require to revamp our economy and rebuild our country is our ability to galvanize all our citizens to believe once again in their government, in their country and especially, to believe in themselves. This can only happen if we are able to rebuild the trust and belief that our people used to have in government, and indeed, in our nation. The leadership that I will provide will be built on this critical awareness. I intend to lead with integrity and honour and commit myself totally to everything that is of concern to our people: security, employment, health, education, good governance and others.

This Covenant is to outline my agenda for Nigeria and provide a bird’s eye view of how we intend to bring about the change that our country needs and deserves. This Covenant is derived from the manifesto of my party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). It however, represents my pledge to you all when I become your President.

I have no doubt that God being on our side, with the abiding support of all Nigerians, we shall all witness the great change that we desire and achieve the Nigeria of our dream.

Corruption and Governance

No matter how vast our resources, if they are not efficiently utilized, they will only benefit a privileged few, leaving the majority in poverty. I believe if Nigeria does not kill corruption; corruption will kill Nigeria.

I pledge to:

• Publicly declare my assets and liabilities and encourage my political appointees to also publicly declare their assets and liabilities.

• Affirm that our strategy for tackling corruption will not only focus on punishment. Rather, it will also provide incentives for disclosure and transparency.
• Show personal leadership in the war against corruption and also hold all the people who work with me to account.
• Inaugurate the National Council on Procurement as stipulated in the Procurement Act so that the Federal Executive Council, which has been turned to a weekly session of contract bazaar, will concentrate on its principal function of policy making.
• Review and implement audit recommendations by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
• Work with the National Assembly towards the immediate enactment of a Whistle Blower Act.
• Work with the National Assembly to strengthen ICPC and EFCC by guaranteeing institutional autonomy including financial and prosecutorial independence and security of tenure of officials.
• Make the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) an autonomous and operational agency.
• Encourage proactive disclosure of information by government institutions in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.
• Ensure all MDAs regularly comply with their accountability responsibilities to Nigerians through the National Assembly.
• Work with the leadership of the National Assembly to cut down the cost of governance.
• Present a national anti-corruption Strategy.

Access to Justice and Respect for Fundamental Human Rights

One of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria is building a country that is fair to all of its citizens; a country in which all individuals feel and know that they are valued members of society with constitutionally guaranteed rights; a country that respects human dignity, promotes human development, fosters human equality and advances human freedom.

I pledge to:

• Lead a government founded on values that promote and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms. I will promote the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law, affirm separation of the powers of government and support an independent judiciary.
• Present a detailed strategy for protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms provided for in our Constitution. There will be emphasis on the rights of vulnerable persons including women, children and persons living with disabilities as well as access to justice and prisons reforms.
Insurgency and Insecurity
I have had the opportunity to serve my country in the military up to the highest level, as a Major General and as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In the course of my service, I had defended the territorial integrity of Nigeria. And if called upon to do so again, I shall rise to the occasion. As a father, I feel the pain of the victims of insurgency, kidnapping and violence whether they are the widows and orphans of military, paramilitary or civilians.
I pledge to:
• Ensure that under my watch, no force, external or internal, will occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil. I will give all it takes to ensure that our girls kidnapped from Chibok are rescued and reunited with their families.
• Deliver a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping, rural banditry and ensure that never again will Nigerian children be slaughtered or kidnapped at will.
• Boost the morale of our fighting forces and the generality of Nigerians by leading from the front as the Commander-in-Chief and not hide in the comfort and security of Aso Rock.
• Give especial attention to the welfare of our armed forces and all other security personnel and their families, including State-guaranteed life insurance for all officers and men as well as protect the families of our fallen heroes.
• Ensure that acts of heroism and valour in the service to the nation are publicly recognized and celebrated.
• Establish close working relationship with governors of the states affected by insurgency, with leaders of our neighbouring countries and with leaders around the world to cooperate in combating insurgency, oil theft, piracy and criminality.
• Activate regular meetings of the National Police Council to ensure the discharge of its true constitutional roles in a transparent and accountable way.
• Fight for you, and alongside you. We will fight together to defeat terrorism. But I will be honest with you about our challenges and I will bear the responsibilities of my charge. I will not lie to you or exaggerate our triumphs. My administration will be thoroughly transparent in every step of our daily struggle and together we will win the war.

Niger Delta

In many years of oil exploration, the Niger Delta has become perhaps, the world’s worst eco-system, a byword for environmental degradation, exploitation and diseases. I believe that protecting the livelihood of our people in the Niger Delta should transcend our interest its oil.

I pledge to:

• Commit myself and my administration to the protection and regeneration of the environment in the Niger Delta and to ensure that oil companies comply with global best practices on environmental protection.
• Sustain and streamline the human capital development in the Niger Delta, especially focusing on youth and women.
• Reform investment in infrastructural development of the Niger Delta and ensure that the NDDC is held accountable to its mandate.
Diversity
Nigeria’s greatest asset is her people. My commitment is to invest in our people and ensure that they have the opportunity to achieve their full potentials and enjoy the full benefits of their citizenship, regardless of their religion, region, ethnicity, gender or disability.
I pledge to:
• Continually acknowledge our diversity and consciously promote equality and equity in all government businesses and activities.
• Implement the National Gender Policy including 35% of appointive positions for women.
• Work with the National Assembly to pass the National Disability Act and the Equal Opportunities Bill.

Health

We must give real meaning to the old saying that Health is Wealth. We must take all possible measures to ensure that our people stay healthy, but we must also ensure that when they fall ill, they can get help.
Healthcare in Nigeria is in crises. Too many people do not get any treatment. For those who do get treated, all too often, the care they receive is poor. Far too many die from easily treatable diseases and what should be routine treatment often end in death. Furthermore, Nigeria is set to miss our MDG targets. The statistics speak for themselves.

I pledge to:

• Unveil a health sector review policy to ensure efficient and effective management of our health systems with focus on prevention.
• Ensure that no Nigerian will have any reason to go outside the country for medical treatment.
• Guarantee financial sustainability to the health sector and minimum basic health care for all.
• Review occupational health laws and immediately commence enforcement of the provisions to reduce hazards in the work place.
• Partner with State Governments and development partners to ensure all-round implementation of our primary health plans by expanding access to health insurance for rural communities.
Education
I believe that our education system must prepare our children for the responsibilities of citizenship and prepare our youths to contribute to the development of our country. Therefore, I shall focus on restoring the lost glory of our education by implementing reforms that will bring quality back into our schools and position our universities and polytechnics to provide market-relevant skills to our youths.
I pledge to:
• Embark on a program of mass mobilisation to ensure that all children of school age, no matter where they may reside in our country, and no matter the social conditions of their parents, are in school. Working in co-operation with the State Governments, we shall make the required investments in infrastructure, learning materials, nutrition and children healthcare. To this end, UBEC Fund will be reviewed to ensure greater efficiency in utilization.
• Provide on-the-job retraining opportunities for existing teachers at both the basic and secondary levels while providing the right incentives to keep teachers in the classrooms and attract bright young men and women to take up career in teaching.
• Work with other levels of government and through relevant government agencies to allocate resources to schools while strengthening community participation in school management.
• Implement a comprehensive review of the goal and content of our secondary education to ensure that it also serves the purpose of skills acquisition and fits purpose.
• Set up Colleges of Skills and Enterprise to replace the old technical colleges. This will be done with direct participation from relevant industry and professional groups in the private sector. Based on local market demands, each of the colleges will focus on high job demand sectors of the economy such as agriculture, ICT, telecommunications, entertainment, construction, oil and gas and sports.
• Establish special purpose fund for a Secondary School level education.
• Improve the competitiveness of our universities and polytechnics and position them at the heart of the national productivity, innovation and enterprise.
• Pursue a policy of non-discrimination between the universities and the polytechnics.

Agriculture

Oil has served our country, but it has also excluded majority of Nigerians from the mainstream of our economy. I am convinced that our guarantee for inclusive growth is agriculture.

I pledge to:

•Make agriculture a major focus of the government and lay the institutional foundation to attract large-scale investments and capital to the sector.
•Actively promote a well-coordinated and innovatively funded Youth in Commercial Agribusiness Programme.
•Establish agricultural produce storage, pricing and marketing systems to ensure real commercial value and minimize waste.
•Work with State Governments to launch Agricultural Support Programmes that will drive agricultural land development and mechanization.
•Revamp, revitalize and improve on the national agricultural extension and rural support service system.
•Lay the groundwork for a standardized market uptake and aggregation outlets for specific agricultural produce.
•Revamp the key development banks (Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Import & Export Bank) to fund inclusive agricultural value chain operations
•Liberalise and expand agricultural and rural insurance system with premium subventions support to farmers
•Revamp the agricultural cooperative system to drive rural agriculture and improve stakes for smallholder farmers.
•Develop a system of small-scale irrigation systems to ensure all-year round farming.
•Revamping key agriculture research institutions and deliver their outputs through effective network of extension services.

Management of the Economy for Shared Prosperity

All Nigerians deserve to benefit from our collective wealth. We promise not to leave any Nigerian behind in our determination to create, expand and ensure equitable and effective allocation of economic opportunities. No matter the amount of wealth we create, it would be meaningless unless it benefits the majority of our people.
Power
Our failure to ensure a stable supply of electricity has been an impediment to economic growth, productivity and national security.

I pledge to:

• Address the gaps in power sector privatization to ensure it serves the needs of our people.
• Explore and develop alternative sources of power such as small, medium and large hydro plants, wind, coal and solar and other forms of renewable energy to ensure efficient and affordable power supply.
• Invest in technical skills development for efficient management of energy resources.

Sports and Culture

Sports and culture are important instruments for social cohesion, national integration and promotion of positive national image. They also provide a strong platform for youth development and the expression of our abundant creative talents.

I pledge to:

• Invest and encourage investments in both small and large-scale sports facilities to enable mass participation in sports.
• Ensure that participation in sports become a core component of our education at all levels.
• Activate incentives for the private sector to invest in the development of high performance sports.

Culture

I pledge to:

• Support real investments in the entertainment, arts and creative industries.
• Strengthen the regulatory framework to protect and preserve our culture and creative industry and prevent it from the scourge of piracy.
• Develop and strengthen the value link-chain of the culture industry to deepen the industry and provide jobs.

 

VIDEO: President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari’s acceptance speech…

This was the moment, President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari received INEC Certificate Of Return from the Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega who pledged that the commission would continue to do its best, under all circumstances, to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

VIDEO: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Buhari’s victory, a birthday gift…