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Meet the new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Zubairu Gambo

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Rear Admiral Zubairu Gambo was born on 22 April 1966 and hails from Nasarawa LGA of Kano State. He enlisted into the Nigerian Navy on the 24 September 1984 as a member of Regular Course 36/and was commissioned sub-Lieutenant on 24 September 1988.

He is an underwater Warfare specialist with sub-specialisation in intelligence. The Senior Officer has attended several military courses which include; Sub-Technical course and Officers course both at NNS QUORRA. He also attended Junior Division 48/99 and Senior Course 26 both at AFCSC Jaji.

Other courses attended include The National Defence Course at the South African National Defence College. Until his appointment as the Chief of Naval Staff, he was the Director of Procurement at the Defence Space Administration.

The Senior Officer holds a PGD in Transport Management and a Masters Degree in Transport Management (Logistics Option) both from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology.

He is a member of of the Nigerian Institute of Management, Fellow of the Certified Institute of Shipping, Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria as well as Fellow of the National Defence College , South Africa.

The Senior Officer has been awarded the Grand Service Star GSS, Distinguished Service Star DSS, Passed Staff Courae PSC and other several decorations and awards.

He is married to Hajiya Nana AishatGamno and the marriage is blessed with 3 children.

One person shot dead during a clash between anti-riot policemen and protesting members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria

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One person has been reportedly shot dead during a clash between anti-riot policemen and protesting members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria

Read also: Breaking: Buhari Appoints new service chiefs as Buratai, others resigned

The protest kicked off at the National Human Rights Commission junction in the Maitama area of Abuja, with members of the group chanting anti-government songs to demand the release of their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat, from the Kaduna Correctional Centre.

A detachment of armed policemen upon sighting the crowd near Transcorp Hilton junction fired teargas canisters and live bullets to disperse them.

Read also: God will restore Nigeria’s glory in 2021 – Clerics declare after 21 days prophetic fast

One of the protesters was said to have been shot in the stomach while some others sustained injuries.

The Secretary of Academic Forum of the Movement, Abdullahi Musa, also confirmed the death of the member as a result of the gunshot injuries he sustained in his stomach.

The situation caused pandemonium in the area as motorists and passersby ran in different directions to avoid being caught in the melee.

One person was also shot in the hand on Monday when the police swooped on the sect at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, during a similar procession.

Breaking: Buhari Appoints new service chiefs as Buratai, others resigns!

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President Muhammad Buhari on Tuesday accepted the immediate resignation and retirement of the nation’s service chiefs, following calls for their sack by many Nigerians.
Special adviser on media and publicity to the president, Femi Adesina, made this known in a tweet on Tuesday, where he also announced the appointment of replacements for the outgone service chiefs,
He further announced

Read also: Wife of Akeredolu’s Chief of Staff kidnapped regains freedom

Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.

The President congratulated the new Service Chiefs and urged them to be loyal and dedicated in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Buhari also accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs, and their retirement from service.

Read also: Wife of Akeredolu’s Chief of Staff kidnapped

Those retired are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

Breaking: Buhari appoints new Service Chiefs

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Buhari mourns

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs, and their retirement from service.

Those involved are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

President Buhari thanks the outgoing Service Chiefs for what he calls their “overwhelming achievements in our efforts at bringing enduring peace to our dear country,” wishing them well in their future endeavours.

The new Service Chiefs are: Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.

The President congratulates the new Service Chiefs, and urges them to be loyal and dedicated in the discharge of their responsibilities.

 

Business Daily: Nigeria’s Rising Inflation Rate; Impact On Economy

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Troops eliminate more terrorists, destroy their enclaves in Borno, Yobe state 

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Troops of Operation TURA TAKAIBANGO a subsidiary Operation of Operation LAFIYA DOLE in the North East has continued to degrade the Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals as they eliminate more Boko Haram/ Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists in their enclaves at Chindila town in Yobe State and Mayankari in Borno state respectively.

According to the Acting Director Defence Media Operations Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, on 25 January 2021 at about 1pm, the gallant troops of 233 Bn located at Babangida on an aggressive clearance patrol made contact with Boko Haram criminals at Chindila village.

“The troops engaged the terrorists with fierce volume of fire and neutralized 5 of them in the process while some escaped with gunshots wounds. Items recovered include; 3 x AK 47 Rifles, quantity 5 x Magazines,17 Rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. The gallant troops are in pursuit of the enemies and have continued to dominate the general area.

“In another development, on 25 Jnauary 2021 at about 4pm troops of 151 Bn, 202 Bn and elements of Multinational Joint Task Force on fighting patrol made contact with some Boko Haram marauding criminals at Mayankari.

“In a swift and aggressive response engaged the terrorists with heavy gunfire and the process neutralized 3 Boko Haram criminals while others escaped with gunshot wounds. Items recovered include: 3 x AK 47 Rifles, 1 x Solar panel and 1 x Improvised Explosive Device making equipment. The troops thereafter destroyed their hideout after the encounter and exploiting the general area in search of the escaped criminals.

“The continuous successes recorded by the gallant troops of Operation TURA TAKAIBANGO against the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province main hideouts where they plot and carry out their evil acts against civilian targets is an indication of their capitulation and the end of all criminal elements within the North East.

“The troops of Operation TURA TAKAIBANGO are highly commended once againfor their dedication and dexterity in flushing out remnants of the terrorists from their hideouts. They are also encouraged to continue on the path of the successess so far recorded.

He assured the entire populace of the North East region of the Nigerian Army’s renewed vigour and zeal to crush the remnants of Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province criminals from their enclaves in this zone.

 

 

God will restore Nigeria’s glory in 2021 – Clerics declare after 21 days prophetic fast

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PRESS/NEWSPAPER REVIEW: Press Talk 26th Jan. 2021

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Southwest’s lingering conflagration and its political undertone 

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By Rotimi Akinbile

Finally, the missing link in the puzzle unfolding in Southwest Nigeria has been discovered with the recent  expose by no less a person than Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on political matters.

Ojudu in a widely circulated piece he wrote, narrated how a meeting was arranged between Southwest political leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and leading Southwest political thug, Sunday Igboho in order not to disrupt the Ekiti rerun election in 2009.

The story confirms what many have been saying about the real forces behind Igboho who recently issued a quit notice to Fulani in Yorubaland and has even moved to enforce the order by sacking the Sarkin Fulani and his family from Igangan community in Oyo State.

The boldness Igboho exhibited to issue the threats and the swift manner he moved to enforce his own orders coupled with the fact that he has not been arrested up till now, goes to reinforce the fact that Igboho is not a mere thug but a well equipped tool in the hands of certain politicians.

The question is, who are these powerful politicians that are using Igboho to cause confusion and mayhem in Nigeria. An analysis of the Ojudu narration exposes two things: the first is that Igboho is a political thug available to the highest bidder, the second is that, many of the top politicians in the Southwest are aware of this and they use him when the occasion demands and three, that the political godfather of the Southwest, Tinubu, does not only know Igboho but had used his services in the past to his advantage and even offered him a ‘golden handshake.’

What can be deduced from this is simple: that since 2009, there has been a relationship between Tinubu and Igboho and two, that with Tinubu’s ability to offer a ‘golden handshake,’ that the loyalty of Igboho could be and has been sustained over the years.

This, exactly is why current happenings in the Southwest cannot be dismissed as mere happenstance by some misguided elements to evict the Fulani from Yorubaland as it bears all the traits of a rehearsed plot.

The whole episode bears the mark of a script well written to draw the attention of the rest of the country to the Southwest and to pressure certain political forces into accepting certain candidates that have not been accepted as eligible to succeed Mr. President.

First, it was the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu who asked the Fulani in certain parts of his state to vacate those places or be penalised.
Then Igboho fell into the picture and the entire country has not remained the same again.

As one tries to make meaning out of the matter, it will be apt to scrutinise the precedent scenario so as to grasp the full picture of what is going on in the Southwest with Igboho and Tinubu.

In the late 90s, when it was clear that General Sani Abacha was not ready to hand over the reins of government to anyone else, but was bent on perpetuating himself in power, politicians in the Southwest took a decision aimed at forcing the General to quit and sponsored Ganiu Adams to take over the leadership of the Odua Peoples Congress, OPC, from Dr. Federico Fasehun and the OPC under Adams began to unleash mayhem in the Southwest that made governance more difficult for Abacha.

By then, many of the NADECO leaders including Tinubu had gone on self exile and the junta could not identify the real forces behind the OPC. It was much later when Nigeria returned to democracy and most of those self exiled pro-democracy activists returned that the picture became clearer that it was just a political tool to protect and advance the cause of certain interests.

Now the whole drama is being repeated with a slight adjustment to the dramatis personae. Rather than Adams, we now have Igboho, but the people behind the plot, those directing the scenes from behind have not changed.

Clearly, what is happenings in the Southwest is the voice of Jacob but the hand of Esau. While it is Akeredolu and Igboho whose voices are being heard, it is obvious that it is Bola Ahmed Tinubu that is somewhere playing the music.

It is well known that Tinubu wants to be President of Nigeria and his quest for the coveted office has intensified in recent times because age is not in his side and this seems his best opportunity given that he belongs to the ruling party and the incumbent is serving his second term.

But Tinubu has been served sufficient notice that APC cannot hand over the presidential ticket to him as there are many issues dogging his ambition that makes him ineligible for the presidency.

The first is that he has many criminal allegations against him that it will not be good to have him succeed a President who has done much to fight corruption.

The second is that he was the one that nominated the current vice president and it will not be fair to exclude other politicians from the Southwest who have served the country well in order to please him and thirdly, it is the people that will decide their President in 2023 and not any other person.

But Tinubu appears desperate and is trying all including using the old and discarded methods of NADECO to twist the arms of the powers that be. This is why Igboho has been unleashed on us.

But Tinubu’s presidential ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian as it self serving and not based on the desires to transform the country.
Nigeria does not need people who believe in the power of money and violence. It is time the nation is freed from the grip of the old order and allowed to move ahead.

Akinbile is a public affairs analyst and wrote from Akure.

Gov Zulum’s Victory Bell at Biu

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By Charles Ibekwe

Since the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East, Nigeria in 2009, Nigeria has witnessed a period classified as one of the most trying in its history. I would say that the Boko Haram insurgency was underestimated. Consequently, conventional tactics were deployed in an asymmetric war.

And the outcome of such military deployment remains a topic for another day. However, the crux of this piece is to systematically analyze the security situation in present-day North-East Nigeria and the factors that have proved to be the game-changer in the prosecution of the war against insurgency.

There have been concerted efforts that have resulted in gains and losses. There has been realignment and strategizing towards nipping the Boko Haram scourge in the mud. This is why the focus of this piece would be centered around 2016 to date when the Nigerian Military gained ascendency over the Boko Haram insurgents.

At the front of the renewed charge is the Nigerian Army, the arm of service that has received praises and bashings in equal measures from stakeholders and other segments of the Nigerian population. Despite, all the Nigerian Army has continued in a most commendable fashion.

This much was brought to bear recently by the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum at the occasion of the formal presentation of First Class Staff of Office to the Emir of Biu Emirate in Borno State, HRH, Mai Mustafa Umar Mustapha II.

Governor Babagana Zulum indeed captured the real situation of things regarding the efforts of the Nigerian Army in the prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency that has ravished most parts of North-East Nigeria mainly Borno State. In his words, he stated thus:

“I must commend the Chief of Army Staff, Directors and Principal Staff Officers of Army Headquarters, the Theatre Commander, the General Officer Commanding, Sector Commanders, Brigade Commanders and Commanding Officers, Men and Officers of the Nigerian Army, Men and Officers of the Nigerian Police Force and other paramilitaries, Civilian Joint Task Force, hunters and vigilante for the support they have rendered in securing the territorial integrity of our nation”.

This coming from the governor of a state that is regarded as the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency is an indication that the commendation that has poured in for the leadership of the Nigerian Army and other paramilitary agencies involved in the Boko Haram insurgency is indeed worth every inch of it. The statement has also quashed some of the negative narrative pushed by some segment of the population with regards to the commitment of the Nigerian Army in the preservation of the country’s territorial integrity.

I believe that no other person is competent to comment on the Boko Haram insurgency than the governor of the state that is the epicenter of the insurgency. In my opinion, the governor has demonstrated patriotism through his actions, and I expect all those hanging on the fence to come to terms with this reality.

I don’t hold brief for the Nigerian Army or any other paramilitary agency. But I am constrained to lend my voice to this debate because I am conversant with the happenings in North-East Nigeria. And I know of the tremendous sacrifices that have gone into the restoration of normalcy in the region.

I recall that on numerous occasions I had advocated that Nigerians must form the habit of appreciating the efforts of the Nigerian Army. This is especially with the fact that we were up against an ideology that is deeply rooted in mischief, politics and extremism. This is indeed what the Boko Haram insurgency is all about. Take it or leave it.

It is not a conventional war, and as such, we should not expect troops to move in and smoke out Boko Haram insurgents within a timeframe. No, that is abnormal thinking that Nigerians must avoid. And unfortunately, this has been the yardstick that has been used in measuring the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. This is also aside from the conspiracies both internally and externally by some vested interest towards ensuring that the Boko Haram insurgents continue to perpetuate evil and cause untold hardship in North-East Nigeria.

If not for anything, when one makes a detailed comparison of the state of affairs in North-East Nigeria pre-2015 and post- 2015, we would realize that a lot has changed for good and the threats posed by the Boko Haram insurgents has been reduced tremendously. From controlling over 16 local government areas, to directly engaging the Nigerian Army in battles and many other daring acts which included the systematic spread of terror to other parts of the country including the Federal Capital Territory.

Today, the story has changed as the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents have been confined to the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin region, with no territory under their control and largely carrying out offensives in Gestapo hit and run style. If this is not something that should elicit commendation, I wonder what else should do—my candid thoughts.

If not for anything, I am glad that such a statement from the Governor of Borno State would inspire the troops to work harder because their efforts have been noticed and commended. This psychological boost is what is indeed needed as we push towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency. I used the word push because this is an ideological war and not a conventional war. And as some of us may know, insurgencies the world over is not something that comes to an end with the snap of the fingers. Some historical accounts stated that insurgencies take a minimum of 15 years to be addressed entirely because insurgency is an evolving phenomenon.

The Boko Haram insurgency is not any different; we recall that the target was security agents initially. From there it moved to the establishment of caliphates. It also moved to abductions and attacks on soft targets in women and children and today; it is now focused on guerrilla warfare.

Having said all, I am also in awe as to why Governor Babagana Zulum chose to make this statement in Biu. In case we do not know, the Biu Emirate has remained one of the regions in Borno State that have shown outstanding commitment towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency in the state. The Civilian Joint Task Force that is in place in all parts of Borno state is an expansion of the Biu model that was effective in neutralizing Boko Haram threats.

As a fact, the Boko Haram insurgents found it difficult to recruit fighters from Biu. And it is on record that they always meet their waterloo whenever they attempt to infiltrate Biu. And this is largely why Biu has remained one of the most peaceful cities in Nigeria. With the benefit of hindsight, the governor indeed was strategic in the choice of Biu to make such a remarkable statement.

I am glad. I am elated, and I must not fail to use this medium to register my profound appreciation to the leadership style of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai who has led the Nigerian Army at this historical time. He has displayed a firm conviction towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. His approach and strategy are topnotch, and I won’t talk about the numerous awards that have come his way for lack of space. But what I can say is that the provision of leadership in the Nigerian Army is responsible for the feats recorded in the prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

I can only wonder what the story would have been if there had been a continuation of the pre-2015 era where troops’ morale was at its lowest ebb. I dare to say that if this momentum is sustained, the Boko Haram insurgency would be a thing of the past soon. But we all have a role to play; we must continue to extend our support in ways that we can as this is not a conventional war but an asymmetric one.

I doff my hat for the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai for he is indeed the soldiers’ soldier. And one that is an epitome of hard work, resilience and passion for Nigeria. What more can I say? This is indeed a victory bell in Biu.

Ibekwe is a public affairs commentator based in Enugu.

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